-
Taken Aback
(aback)
(adv) taken by surprise.
Syn= surprised
Ex= I was taken aback by her insults.
-
Abashed
(Abash)
(adj) Embarrassed or ashamed.
Syn= embarrassed
Ex= I felt abashed by my child's behavior.
Syn= embarrassed
-
Abate
(abeyt)
v. formal. to become less strong or intense.
Ex= Public anger does not appear to be abating.
The baby's cry does not seem to be abating.
-
Abdicate
(abdikeit)
v. to officially give up the position of being king or queen.
Syn= renounce
Ex= the king abdicated when he married a divorcee.
-
Abduct
(abduct)
v. to take someone away by force.
Syn= kidnap
Ex= the presidents's son was abducted.
-
Aberration
(aberreichon)
n. something that is completely different from what usually happens or from what someone usually does.
Ex= the teacher said my poor performance on the test was an aberration.
-
Abet
(abet)
v. assist or encourage, usually in some wrong doing.
Syn= aid
Ex= the convict abetted his parner in prison to escape.
-
Abhor
(ab-jor)
v. formal. to hate something, especially because you think it is morally wrong.
Syn= hate, destest, despise, loathe.
Ex= I abhor discrimination of any kind.
-
Abhorrent adj
(abjorrent)
Abhorrence n
(abjorrens)
adj. formal. behavior or beliefs that are abhorrent are unnaceptable because they are morally wrong. abominable.
Ex=her nudity was an abhorrent insult to her neighbors.
-
Abide
(a-baid)
v. (cant't abide) to tolerate
Ex= I can't abide his stupid jokes
-
Abiding
(abaidin)
adj. literary. continuing for a long time and not likely to change.
ex= our father had an abiding love for nature.
-
Abject
(abjekt)
adj. abject poverty/ failure/ terror/ despair.. the state of being extremely poor, unsuccessful..
Ex= 3% of the population admitted to be succumbed in adject poverty.
-
Ablaze
(ableiz)
adj. written. on fire
ex= during the riot, a police car was set ablaze.
-
Abode
(aboud)
n. formal. the place where you live.
Syn= residence
Ex= You can send the letter to my current abode.
-
Abound
(abound)
v. To exist in large numbers. be abundant or plentiful.
Ex= Coffee shops abound in American small towns.
-
Aboveboard
adj. honest and legal.
Ex= the agreement seems to be aboveboard.
-
Abrasive
(abreisiv)
adj. rude and annoying.
Syn= harsh
Ex= an abrasive personality/character
-
Abreast
adv. to make sure that you know the most recent facts about a subject.
Ex= please keep us abreast of his progress.
-
Abridge
adj. an abridge form of a book, play, etc. has been made shorter.
Ant= unabridge
Ex= an abridge version of the dictionary.
-
Abrupt
(abropt)
adj. sudden and unexpected.
Ex= the car stopped abruptly.
-
Abscond
(abs-kand)
v. formal. to leave a place without permission, or to leave somewhere after stealing something.
Ex= the accountant absconded with the cash from the safe.
-
Absentee
n. formal. someone who is supposed to be in a place but is not there.
Ex= there were 3 absentees in today's class.
-
Absently
adv. in an abesent-minded manner; inattentively.
Ex= He read the letter absently.
-
Abstain
(absteyn)
v. to deliverately not vote for or against something.
ex= three members of the committee abstained.
-
Abstract
adj. based on ideas rather than real events or proof.
Ex= Beauty is an abstract idea.
-
Absurd
(abzerd)
adj. unreasonable, ridiculous.
Ex= it's absurd to pay all that money for something you're only going to use once.
-
Abysmal
(abismol)
adj. extremely bad
Ex= the thief has made abysmal moral decisions.
-
Abyss
(uh-bis)
n. literary. a very dangerous or frightening situation. hell. abismo.
ex= the country might plunge into the abyss of economic ruin.
after he abducted the witness, she was led into the abyss of nervous breakdown.
-
Acclaim
(aklein)
v. to praise someone or something publicly.
Ex= Massiel was accaimmed as the best student in RCC.
-
Acclimate
v. to become used to the weather, way of living, etc. in a new place, or to make someone do this.
Ex. it took me a week to get acclimated to the new neighborhood.
-
Accolade
(akoleid)
n. award. high praise.
Ex= she received an accolade for best singer of the year.
-
Accost
v. formal. to go up to someone you do not know and speak to him in a impolite or threatening way. to comfront.
Ex= I was accosted by a guy asking for money.
-
Accrue
(uhkru)
v. to increase over a period of time. to accumulate.
Ex= I have $300 accrued on my savings account.
-
Accustomed
(uhkostumd)
adj. formal. to be used to something.
Ex= my eyes got quickly accostumed to using contact lenses.
-
Ace
(eis)
v. spoken. to do very well on a test, a piece of written work.
Ex= Danny aced her spelling test.
-
Acerbic
adj. sour or bitter in taste. harsh in tone
Ex= gratefruits have an acerbic flavor.
a barrage of acerbic comments.
-
Acquaint
(akweint)
v. acquaint yourself with sth. formal. to deliverately find out about something. to make known or familiar.
Ex= We have already acquanted ourselves with the facts.
Why don't you two get acquainted?
-
Acquaintance
(akweintens)
n. someone you know but not very well.
Ex= he's an old acquaintance of mine from school.
-
Acquiesce
(akwies)
v. formal. to agree to do what someone wants without protest.
Ex= the teacher acquiesced to he request for an assistant although he thinks he doesnt need one.
-
Acquit
(akwit)
v. to decide in a court of law that someone is not guily of a crime.
Ex= jose was acquitted of murder.
-
Acrid
(akrid)
adj. having a very strong and bad smell that hurt your nose or throat.
Ex= a cloud of acrid smoke.
-
Acrimonious
(akramonious)
adj. an acrimonious meeting, argument, etc. involves a lot of anger and disagreement.
Ex= an acrimonious divorce
-
Acrimony
(akramouni)
n. formal. very angry feelings between people, often strongly expressed.
Ex= she let her acrimony out.
-
Acumen
(akiumen)
n. the ability to think quickly and make good judgements.
Ex= even though she's just 7, she had excellent acumen skills.
-
Acute
(akiut)
adj. very serious or severe.
Ex= the patient presents in acute pain
-
Adage
(adeich)
n. proberb
-
Adamant
adj. formal. determined not to change your opinion, decision, etc
Ex= Massiel has remain adamantly opposed to moving out from Rockland
-
Adept
adj. good at doing something that needs care or skill.
Ex= he has become adept at cooking.
-
Adequate
(adikuit)
adj. enough in quantity or in quality for a particular purpose.
- Ex= we have not given adequate information.
- Her icome is hardly adequate to pay the bills.
-
Adherence
(adirens)
n. the act of behaving according to particular rules, ideas, or beliefs.
Ex= a strict adherence to religious beliefs.
-
Ad hoc
(ad jok)
adv. adj. done when necessary, rather than planned or regular.
Ex= an ad hoc reunion
-
Adjacent
adj. formal. next to something.
Ex= the building adjacent to the library.
-
Adjoining
adj. next to something, and connected to it.
Ex= or bedroom has an adjoining bathroom.
-
Adjourn
(uh-jurn)
v. to stop a meetin or a legal process for a short time or until a later date.
Ex= this court is adjourned until 3pm tomorrow.
-
Adjudicate
v. to settle a dispute judicially.
Ex= After long arguments, we've decided to adjudicate the case to court.
-
Adjunct
1. n. formal. something that is added or joined to something else, but is not part of it.
Ex= medication can be a useful adjunct to physical therapy.
2. adj. adjunct preofessor/instructor =works part time at a college
-
Ad-lib
v. to improvise (speech, performance).
Ex= great dancers ad-lib regularly.
-
Admissible
adj. formal. accepted or allowed, especially in a court of law.
Ex= lies are unadmissible in the court
-
Admittance
n. permission to enter a place.
Ex= most paparazzies were unable to gain admittance backstage.
-
Admonish
(admanish)
v. leterary. to tell someone that s/he has done something wrong.
- Ex= I admonished him not to go too far.
- They admonished me for taking risks with my health
-
Adrift
(uhdrift)
adj. adv. floating without anchor.
Ex= an adrift boat.
-
Adroit
adj. smart and skillful, especially in the way you use words and arguments.
Ex= Chris is an adroit negotiator.
-
Adulation
n. formal. praise and admiration for someone that is more than what s/he really deserves.
Ex= because she has money, all she gets is pure adulation
-
Advent
- n. the advent of sth. the time when something first begins to be widely used.
- arrival.
Ex= the advent of the computer.
-
Adverse
adj. formal. not good or favorable
Ex= the recesion will have an adverse effect on the economy.
-
Adversity
n. difficulties or problems that seem to be caused by bad luck.
Ex= we remained hopeful in the face of adversity.
-
Advocate
v. to extremely support a particular way of doing things.
Ex= Extremists were openly advocating violence.
-
Aesthetic, Esthetic
adj. relating to beauty and the study of beauty.
Ex= aesthetically pleasing.
-
Afar
adv. literary. from afar from a long distance away.
Ex= she came from afar.
-
Affable
adj. friendly and easy to talk to.
Ex= an affable guy
-
Affectation
n. an action or type of behavior that is not natural or sincere.
Ex= the waitress served my food with affectation
-
Affinity
n. the feeling you have when you like and understand someone or something.
Ex. they have a natural affinity for each other.
-
Afflict
v. formal. to make some have a serious illness or experience serious problems.
- Ex= a country afflicted by famine.
- people afflicted with AIDS.
-
Affront
- 1) n. insult.
- Ex= turning his back on me was a deliberate affront.
2) v. to offend.
-
Afloat
adj. having enough money to operate or stay out of debt.
Ex= they are struggling to stay afloat.
-
Afresh
adv. formal. if you do something afresh, you do it again from the beginning.
Ex= we decided to move to Texas and start afresh.
-
Aggregate
adj. technical. total amount of something, especially money.
Ex= aggeagate income and investment
-
Aggrieved
(agrivd)
adj. angry or unhappy because you think you have been treated unfairly.
Ex= the team felt aggrieved when they didnt get the award after all the efforts they made.
-
Aghast
adj. horrified.
Ex= the witness was aghast when she found all the bodies.
-
Agnostic
n. someone who believes that it is impossible to know whether God exists or not.
Ex= he was an agnostic man.
-
Agonize
v. to think about a decision very careful and with a lot of effort.
Ex= for a long time she had agonized about/over what she should do.
-
Ailing
adj. weak or sick.
- Ex= the country's ailing economy.
- her ailing mother
-
Ailment
n. an illness that is not very serious.
Ex= the patient is receiving medication for his ailment.
-
Airborne
(erborn)
adj. carried through the air.
Ex= the airborne package arrived last night.
-
Ajar
adj. a door or window that is ajar is not completely closed.
Ex= an ajar window
-
Akin
adj. akin to sth. formal. similar to something.
Ex= his music is muc more akin to jass than rock.
-
Alas
(elas)
interjectation. literary. said in order to express sadness. =unfortunately, unluckily.
Ex= Alas, I can't stay.
-
Albeit
(awl-bee-it)
conjunction. formal. =although.
Ex=albeit the car is old, it runs pretty good.
-
Alderman
n. a city or town government official who is elected.
Ex= alderman usualy represents city wards.
-
Alienate
v. to make someone stop feeling friendly or stop feeling like s/he belongs in a group.
Ex= she alienated her friends when she became fanatically religious.
-
Alight
- 1) v. formal. if a bird, insect, etc. alights on something, it stops flying in order to stand on a surface.
- Ex=the downy woodpecker alights on
- the tree branches to rest.
- 2)adj. burning.
- Ex= several cars were set alight by rioters.
- 3)adj. someone whose face or eyes are alight is happy or excited
- Ex. she had an alight face after he proposed.
-
Align
v. to work together with another person or group because you have the same aims.
Ex= five Democrats have aligned themselves with the Republicants on this issue.
-
Alimony
(alemouni)
n. money that someone has to pay regularly to his/her spouse after a divorce.
Ex= my ex is giving me $500/m on alimony.
-
All-around
adj. good at doing many different things, especially in sports.
Ex= the best all-around player.
-
Allay
v. allay sb's fears/concerns/worries, etc. to make someone fell less afraid, worried, etc.
Ex=She was worried that I was going to steal her sandwich. But I allayed her fears by explaining that I had already eaten a dozen raw carrots.
-
Allegation
n. a statement that someone has done something illegal, which has not been proven. =accusation.
Ex= allegations of child abuse.
-
Allegiance
n. loyalty to or support for a leader, country, belief, etc. =commitment, loyalty.
Ex= his long allegiance to public service.
-
Allegory
n. a story, poem, painting, etc. in which the events and characters represent abstract ideas.
Ex= The blindfolded man carrying a set of scales is an allegory of justice.
-
Alley
n. a narrow street between buildings.
Ex= she got rapped while she was walking on the alley.
-
Alliteration
n. the use of he same sound at the beginning of several words, to make a special effect, especially i poetry.
Ex= Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked;If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,Where's the peck of pickled? peppers Peter Piper picked?
-
Allocate
v. to decide to use a particular amount of money, time, etc. for a particular purpose.
Ex= the money allocated to low income housing.
-
Allot
v. to use a particular amount of time for something, or give a particular share of something to someone or something.
- Ex= two hours were allotted for each interview.
- Each person was allotted 4 tickets.
-
Allowance
n. an amount or somethin that is acceptable or safe.
- Ex= a baggage allowance.
- The recommended daily allowance of vitamin C.
-
Allude
(elud)
v. allude to sb/sth. formal. to talk about something indirectly.
Ex= he alluded to the problem but did not mention it.
-
Allure
n. a pleasant or exciting quality hat attracts people. =fascination
- Ex= the allure of travel.
- I see no allure in men with long hair.
-
Allusion
n. formal. something said or written that mentions a subject, person, etc. in a way that is not direct.
Ex= his poetry is full of allusions to the Bible.
-
Ally
n. pl allies. a person or country that helps another, especially in war.
Ex= The US and its European allies.
-
Alma mater
n. the school, college, or university where I used to study.
Ex= Salome Urena School is my alma mater.
-
Almanac
n. a book giving information about a particular subject or activity.
Ex= the Almanac of American Politics.
-
Almighty
- 1) adj. having the power to do anything.
- Ex= almighty God.
- 2) adj. very important or powerful.
- Ex= the almighty dollar
-
Aloft
adv. literary. high up in the air.
Ex= eagles flew aloft that afternoon
-
Aloof
adj. adv. apart from other people and deliberately not doing things with them.
Ex= he held himself somewhat aloof from the others.
-
Altercation
n. formal. a noisy argument. angry dispute.
Ex= after their altercation, Massiel and Sarah refused to sit next to each other.
-
Altogether
adv. completely or entirely.
- Ex= he uses an altogether different method.
- there were five people altogether.
- I did rain a lot, but altogether it was a good trip.
-
Altruism
n. the practice of caring about the needs of other people before dealing with your own needs.
Ex= the priest is an altruist.
-
Amalgamate
v. formal. to join in order to form one larger organization.
Ex= due to financial reasons, the two companies amalgamated in 1843
-
Ambiance/ambience
n. the way a place makes you feel. =atmosphere.
Ex= the restaurant's friendly ambiance
-
Ambidextrous
adj. able to use both hands with equal skill.
Ex= an ambidextrous surgeon
-
Ambiguous
- adj. open to two or more interpretations.
- Ex= their response was somewhat ambiguous.
-
Ambivalent
adl. not sure whether you want or like something or not.
Ex= his wife was ambialent about having another child.
-
Amble
v. to walk slowly in a relaxed way.
Ex= we ambled along/down the beach.
-
Ambush
n. sudden attack on someone by people who have been hiding and waiting to attack.
Ex= two soldiers were killed in a ambush.
-
Ameliorate
v. formal. to make something better.
Ex= the editor ameliorated the manuscript with his changes.
-
Amenable
adj. disposed or willing to comply.
Ex= my child is amenable to suggestions.
-
Amend
v. to make small changes or improvements, especially in the wars of a law.
Ex= the act was amended to protect wildlife.
-
Amends
n. make amends. to do something that shows you are sorry for something.
Ex= there must be some way I can make amends.
-
Amiable
adj. friendly and pleasant.
Ex= an amiable child
-
Amicable
adj. feeling friendly and ddoing things without arguments.
Ex= an amicable divorce
-
Amid
prep. formal. among or in the middle of.
Ex= life amid the horrors of war.
-
Amiss
adj. be amiss. formal. to be wrong. not functioning properly.
- Ex= she sensed something was amiss.
- something is amiss with the engine
-
Amok/Amuck
adv. run amok. to behave or happen in an uncontrolled way.
Ex= children shouldnt be allowed to run amok and cause chaos.
-
Amorphous
adj. formal. having no definite form or distinct shape.
- Ex= an aggregate of amorphous particles.
- an amorphous mass of protoplasm.
-
Amphibian
n. an animal such as a frog that can live on land and in water.
-
Ample
adj. more than enough.
Ex=there will be ample opportunity to ask questions.
-
Anachronism
n. someone or something that belongs to a time period other than that in which it is placed.
Ex= today, small farmers are almost an anachronism.
-
Anagram
n. a word or phrase made by changing the order of the letters in another word or phrase.
Ex= silent is an anagram of listen.
-
Analogous
adj. formal. similar to another siuation or thing.
Ex= the system works in a way that is analogous to a large clock.
-
Analogy
n. something that seems similar in two situations, processes, etc.
Ex= we can make/draw an analogy between the brain and a computer.
-
Anarchy
1)n. a situation in which no one obeys rules or laws. 2) situation in which there is no government in a country.
Ex= the period of anarchy before and after the riots.
-
Anathema
n. formal. a detested person. solemne curse.
- Ex= he is an anathema to me.
- The plague that swept through the village acted as an anathema upon the local people.
-
Androgynous
adj. having both masculine and femine characteristics.
-
Android
n. a robot that looks completely human.
-
Angst
n. strong feelings of anxiety and sadness because you are worried about your life.
Ex= Global financial experts expressed their angst at the crumbling world economy.
-
Anguish
n. suffering caused by extreme pain or worry.
- Ex= no! cried her mother with anguish.
- her anguished parents.
-
Animosity
n. formal. strong dislike or hostility.
Ex= she looked at her competition with animosity.
-
Annals
n. in the annals of history/science. in the whole history of a particular subject.
Ex=Throughout the annals of history, there has never been a presidential election as intriguing as the one occurring in 2008.
-
Annex
v. to take control of a country or area next to your own, especially by using force.
Ex= the US government annexed the hawaiian islands to the country in 1900
-
Annihilate
v. kill in large numbers.
Ex= the plague annihilate an entire population.
-
Anoint
v. to put oil or water on someone's head or body during a religious ceremony.
Ex= the priest laughed while he was anointing me.
-
Antagonism
n. strong opposition to or hatred o someone else.
Ex= Britney's antagonism toward the press.
-
Anthology
n. a set of stories, poems, etc. by different people collected together in one book.
Ex= my english book is an anthology of american literature.
-
Anticlimax
n. something that seems disappointing because it happens after something that was much better.
Ex= after all the advertising, the concert itself was kind of an anticlimax.
-
Antics
n. behavior that seems strange, funny, silly, or annoying.
Ex= we are all growing tired of his childish antics
-
Antler
n. one of the two horns that look like tree branches in the head of some animals such as deer.
-
Apartheid
(aparteit)
n. a system in which the different races in a country are separated from each other.
Ex= Apartheid has decreased in South Africa, but still is there, just in smaller portions.
-
Apathetic
adj. not interested in something.
Ex= students who are apathetic about learning.
-
Aperitif
n. a small alcoholic drink that you have before a meal.
Ex= I ordered pina colada as a aperitif.
-
Apex
(eipeks)
- n. the top or highest part of something.
- Ex= the apex of the pyramid.
- the most successful part of something.
- Ex= the apex of her career.
-
Aphorism
n. a short expression that says something true.
- Ex= Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
- Death with dignity is better than life with humiliation.
-
Aplomb
n. formal. with aplomb. in a confident or skillful way, especially in a difficult situation.
Ex= she answered all the questions with aplomb.
-
Apoplectic
n. so angry you cannot control yourself.
Ex. mr. smith was apoplectic when he found out about his wife's affair.
-
Appalled
adj. very shocked and upset.
Ex the boy's mother was appalled at/by the violence of the game.
-
Appalling
adj. shocking and terrible.
Ex= animals were kept in appalling conditions.
-
Appeal
- 1)v. to make an urgent public request for something.
- Ex= the water company appealed to everyone to save water.
- Charities appealing for money.
- 2)appeal to sth. to seem attractive or interesting to someone.
- Ex= the program should be appealing to older viewers.
-
Appease
v. to pacify.
Ex= a goat was killed to appease the spirits.
-
Append
v. formal. to add something, especially a separate part, to a piece of writing.
Ex= the results of he survey are appended to this document.
-
Appendage
n. a part that is joined to something larger.
Ex= Increasingly, the mass media are becoming major corporate concerns, rather than just appendages of business empires.
-
Appoint
- 1)v. formal. to arrange or decide a time or place for something to happen. Ex= they met at the appointed time.
- massiel appointed a new time for the trial.
- 2) to choose someone for a job, position, etc.
- Ex= chris was appointed to the Board of Trustees.
-
Apportion
v. to decide how something should be devided between various people.
- Ex= The payment of the secretaries salaries will be apportioned accordingly.
- The money will be apportioned on a fair shares basis.
- The same paragraph gives him the power to apportion liability for the payment of his fees by the parties.
-
Appraisal
n. an official judgement about how valuable, effective, or successful someone or something is.
- Ex= an appraisal of a ring. (=finding out how much it is worth).
- a performance appraisal (=judging how well someone does a job)
-
Apprehensive
adj. worried or anxious, especially about the future.
Ex= she was apprehensive about the demands of the job.
-
Apprised
v. formal. to formally or official tell someone about something.
Ex= Mrs. sawyer has been apprised of her medical condition.
-
-
Apropos
(ap-ruh-poh)
- 1) apropos of sth. formal. relating to something just mentioned. with reference to; in respect or regard to.
- Ex= a funny story apropos of politics.
- 2) apropos of nothing. not related to anything previously mentioned.
- Ex= apropos of nothing, he suddently asked me if I like cats!
-
Apt
apt to. adj. likely to do something.
Ex= A sentitive child is apt to become overwhelmed in busy situations.
-
Aptitude
n. a natural ability or skill, especially in learning.
Ex= he never had much aptiude for business.
-
Arbiter
(ahr-bi-ter)
- n. person empowered to decide or judge.
- Ex= when my sister and I argued for something, my mom is always the arbiter.
-
Arbitrary
adj. decide or arranged without any reason or plan, often unfairly.
Ex= Trujillo impossed arbitrary rules over DR's citizens.
-
Archery
n. the sport of shooting arrows from a bow.
Ex= Robin Hood practice the archery.
-
Ardent
- adj. having very strong feelings of admiration about someone or something.
- Ex= the team's ardent fans.
-
Ardor
n. very strong feelings of admiration, excitement, or love.
Ex= the ardor of the bride.
-
Arguable
(ar-giu-able)
adj. doubtful, questionable.
Ex= he won the campaign by using arguable meanings.
-
Arguably
(ar-giu-abli)
adv. used when giving your opinion to say that there are good reasons why something might be true.
Ex= Wagner is arguably the best student in the school.
-
Arid
adj. getting very liltle rain, and therefore very dry.
Ex= arid land/ an arid climate
-
Armband
n. a band of material that you wear around your arm, for ex to show that someone you love has died.
Ex= she was wearing an armband in the funeral.
-
Armful
n. the amount of something that you can hold in one or both arms.
Ex= an armful of books.
-
Armistice
(armustis)
n. an agreement to stop fighting, usually for a specific period of time.
Ex= the 2 countries signed an armistice for 10 years.
-
Armpit
n. the hollow place under your arm where it joints your body.
-
Around-the-clock
adj. continuing or happening all the time, both day and night.
Ex= a station where you can get around-the-clock news.
-
Arouse
v. to make someone have a particular feeling.
Ex= Her behavior aroused the suspicions of the police.
-
Arraign
(uh-reyn)
v. law. to bring before a court.
Ex= the serial killer was arrigned yesterday.
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Array
n. impressive group.
Ex= a dazzling array of acting talent.
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Arrears
(ariars)
1) be in arrears. n. to owe someone money because your regular payment to him/her is late. Ex= We're 3 weeks in arrears with the verizo bill.
- 2) money that is owed and should already have been paid.
- Ex= the prime mimister promised that all wage arrears would be paid in May.
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Arson
n. the crime of deliberately burning a building.
Ex= He was accussed of arson.
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Artsy
adj. informal. interested in art, or seeming to know a lot about art.
Ex= an artsy investor.
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Ascertain
v. formal. to find out the truth about something.
Ex= the police have ascertained that the killer did not act alone.
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Ascetic
adj. living a simple life with no physical comforts.
Ex= The priest lead a very ascetic existence. (a life void of common worldy pleasures like sex, consumerism, etc.)
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Ascribe
v. ascribe smth to smth. formal. to say that something is caused by a particular person or thing.
Ex= Ana ascribed her problems to a lack of money.
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Ashen
adj. very pale because of shocked or fear.
Ex= her face was ashen when she saw her husband's ghost.
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Ashore
adv. onto or toward the shore of a lake, river, sea, or ocean.
- Ex= the body washed ashore on a remote beach.
- We came ashore at the Seven Lakes.
- We invited them ashore.
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Askance
adv. look askance (at sb/smth). if you look askance at something, you do not approve of it or think it is good. with suspicion or disapproval.
Ex= He looked askance at the offer.
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Askew
adv. not straight or level.
Ex= His coat was wrinkled and his hat was askew.
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Aspersion
n. formal. to criticize someone or something, or make an unfair judgement. a disparaging remark.
Ex= in the 19th century any reference to female sexuality was considered a vile aspersion.
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Assailant
n. formal. someone who attacks someone else.
Ex= The tough young girl fought to get away from her assailant, but she finally gave in when he threatened her with a knife.
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Assent
n. formal. official agreement.
Ex= The court gave its assent.
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Assert
- 1) v. to state firmly that something is true.
- Ex= Prof. Ross asserts that American schools are not strict enough.
- 2)to behave in a determined and confident way to make people respect you.
- Ex= the president tried to assert his power over the military.
- Don't be afraid to assert yourself in the interview.
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Assertion
n. something that you say or write that you strongly believe.
Ex= He repeated his assertion that he was innocent.
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Assess
v. to evaluate.
Ex= psychologist will assess the child's behvior.
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Asset
- 1) a company's assets are the things it owns.
- Ex= a company with $1.3 millions in assets.
- 2) something or someone that helps you to succeed.
- Ex= a sense of humor is a real asset.
- You're an asset to the company, George.
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Assured
- 1) adj. showing confidence in your abilities .
- Ex= an assured manner.
- 2) certain to be achieved.
- Ex= victory was assured.
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Astound
v. to make someone feel very surprised.
Ex= my brother's decision to join the army stounded us all.
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Astray
- 1)go astray. adv. formal. to be lost.
- Ex= one of the documents we sent them has gone astray.
2) lead sb astray. to encourage someone to do bad or inmoral things.
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Astride
adv. prep. having one leg on each side of something.
Ex= a young girl sitting astride a horse.
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Astringent
adj. criticizing someone very severely.
Ex= astringent remarks about how overweight she was.
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Atone
- v. formal. to do something to show that you are sorry for doing something wrong.
- Ex= Reilly would like to atone for his mistakes.
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Attest
v. to show or prove that something is true.
Ex= th crowd of people waiting outside his door attests to this young star's popularity.
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Attuned
be/become attuned to sth. adj. to be familiar with someone or something that you know how to deal with him, her, or it.
Ex= it took me a while to become attuned to the strong southern accent.
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Audible
adj. loud enough to be heard.
Ex= he voice was barely audible.
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Augment
v. formal. to increase the size or value of something.
- Ex=You could use sugar to augment the taste of coffee.
- the recent speech of the president augmented tensions in the Near East.
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Auspices
under the auspices of sb/sth. formal. with the help and support of a person or organization.
Ex= the research was done under the auspices of Harvard Medical School.
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Austere
- 1) adj. very strict and serious.
- Ex= a cold, austere woman.
- 2) very plain and simple.
- Ex= an austere style of painting.
- 3) without a lot of comfort or enjoyment.
- Ex= they lived an austere life.
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Austerity
n. bad economic conditions in which people do not have enough money to live.
Ex= the austerity of the war world one in Europe.
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Avail
- 1) to no avail. n. without success.
- Ex= we searched everywhere to no avail.
- 2) avail yourself of sth. formal. to accept an offer or use an opportunity.
- Ex= avail yourself of every chance to improve your english.
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Avenge
v.literary. to punish someone because s/he has harmed you, your family, or friends.
Ex= plans to avenge his father's death.
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Averse
not be averse to sth. adj. to like to do something.
Ex= I don't drink much, but I'm not averse to the to the occasional glass of wine.
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Aversion
n. a strong dislike of something or someone.
Ex= Mary has an aversion to cats.
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Avert
v. to prevent something bad from happening.
Ex= the whole thing could have been averted if you'd listened to us.
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Avow
v. formal. to say or admit something publicly.
Ex= the singer avowed the accusations of cheating.
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Awash
awash with/in sth. having too much of something.
Ex= TV is awash with talk shows.
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Awe
- 1) n. a feeling of great respect for someone or something.
- Ex= we were in awe of our father.
2) Awed. adj. an awed of silence.
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Awestruck
adj. feeling great awe.
Ex= we gazed awestruck at the pyramids.
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Awry
go awry. adj. to not happen in the way that was planned.
Ex= my carefully laid plans had already gone awry.
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Axiom
n. formal. a rule or principle that is considered by most people to be true.
Ex= it is an economic axiom that goods and services can be paid with only goods and services.
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