English Vocab List

Word Definition Sentence
Abate (v) To reduce in amount, degree, or intensity He abated the total number of sheep to 2.
Aberration (n) A departure from the normal His performance that night was quite the aberration.
Abet (v) To approve, encourage, and support His friends abetted him to stuffy for the test.
Abject (adj) Submissive; to shrink back, as in fear. After he was attacked, he acted very abject.
Abrogate (v) To abolish, do away with, or cancel I have decided to abrogate this program.
Abstemious (adj) Eating and drinking in moderation. He ate an abstemious amount of food tonight.
Abstruse (adj) Difficult to understand His speech was too long and abstruse for me to understand.
Accolade (n) An expression of approval The professor was received accolades from his peers.
Accost (v) To greet; To address The speaker accosted his audience before he began.
Accrue (v) To increase, accumulate, or come about as a result of growth I accrued interest in my savings account.
Acerb (adj) Bitter in taste Their coffee is always so acerb.
Acme (n) The highest point, as of achievement or development He reached the acme of his career.
Acolyte (n) Novice; young assistant My new acolyte makes many mistakes.
Acquiesce (v) To comply passively; yield She acquiesced her spot when the bully came.
Acrimonious (adj) Bitter and sharp in language or tone. He told her to go away in an acrimonious tone.
Acumen (n) Quickness, accuracy, and keenness of judgment or insight. He would make a great lawyer because he has excellent acumen.
Adamant (adj) Persistent; stubborn They were adamant that they could go first.
Admonition (n) Cautionary advice or warning. The teacher gave the troublemaker an admonition.
Adulation (n) Excessive praise The man was showered with adulation when he returned.
Adumbrate (v) To foreshadow The events that night adumbrated what was to come.
Adventitious (adj) Happening by chance It was very adventitious of us to bump into each other
Aeon (n) An indefinitely long period of time He was in the dressing for aeons.
Aesthetic (adj) Pertaining to the beautiful Makeup is an absolute aesthetic necessity.
Affable (adj) Sociable; easy and pleasant to speak to The politician proved to be an affable man.
Affluent (adj) Prosperous; rich After high school, she became the most affluent of us all.
Aggravate (v) To make worse or more troublesome. The clumsy man aggravated the situation further.
Aggregate (adj) Total; to form into a mass or whole The aggregate count of the votes was 4057.
Agnostic (n) One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God. An agnostic knows that life is too complex to understand.
Alacrity (adj) Cheerful willingness; eagerness The children were bursting with alacrity outside the toy store.
Alleviate (v) Lighten; make more bearable I took an Advil to alleviate the pain.
Alluvial (adj) Pertaining to mud left by running water The ground was alluvial after the rain.
Altercation (n) Intense quarrel The two dogs got into an altercation at the park.
Altruistic (adj) Unselfish; characterized by kindness The philanthropist was adulated for being so altruistic.
Ambiguous (adj) Vague; open to more than on interpretation This story has a very ambiguous message.
Ameliorate (v) To make better I think I will ameliorate my computer soon.
Amenable (adj) Responsive to advice, authority, or suggestion The amenable acolyte listened carefully.
Amity (n) State of friendship The amity between those two is very strong.
Analogy (n) A comparison based on similarities I made an interesting analogy between cars and life.
Anathema (n) A ban, curse, or denunciation The adult announced an anathema on the child.
Anomalous (adj) Abnormal; irregular The way he dressed is anomalous from everyone else.
Antipathy (n) A strong dislike I could tell she had a strong antipathy for that man.
Antithesis (n) Direct contrast; opposition Black is the antithesis of white.
Apathy (n) Lack of interest or concern By falling asleep, you could see his apathy.
Apocryphal (adj) Not genuine or authentic The student submitted apocryphal plagiarism of another person’s work.
Apostate (n) A renegade; a person who defected The apostate left his group to join the rival group.
Apposite (adj) Strikingly appropriate and relevant His answer was apposite to the question.
Apt (adj) Exactly suitable; appropriate The essay began with an apt quotation.
Arbiter (n) Judge; one with power to judge The arbiter decided in his favour.
Arbitrary (adj) Biased; prejudiced The decision was an arbitrary one because the judge knew the accused.
Arboreal (adj) Pertaining to trees The man stood and stretched his arms in an arboreal way.