Barron Vocabulary

Abash

to make ashamed; to embarrass (verb)

Abate

to subside; to reduce (verb)

Abdicate

to step down from a position of power or responsibility (verb)

Aberration

something not typical; a deviation from the standard (noun)

Abhor

to hate very, very much; to detest (verb)

Abject

hopeless; extremely sad and servile; defeated (adj.)

Abnegate

to deny oneself things; to reject; to renounce (verb)

Abortive

unsuccessful (adj.)

Abridge

to shorten; to condense (verb)

Absolute

total; unlimited (adj.)

Absolve

to forgive or free from blame; to free from sin; to free from an obligation (verb)

Abstinent

abstaining; voluntarily not doing something, especially something pleasant that is bad for you or has a bad reputation (adj.)

Abstract

theoretical; impersonal (adj.)

Abstruse

hard to understand (adj.)

Abysmal

extremely hopeless or wretched; bottomless (adj.)

Accolade

an award; and honor (noun)

Accost

to approach and speak to someone aggressively (verb)

Acerbic

sour; severe; like acid in temper, mood, or tone (adj.)

Acquiesce

to comply passively; to accept; to assent; to agree (verb)

Acrid

harshly pungent; bitter (adj.)

Acrimonious

full of spite; bitter; nasty (adj.)

Acumen

keenness of judgment; mental sharpness (noun)

Acute

sharp; shrewd (adj.)

Adamant

stubborn; unyielding; completely inflexible (adj.)

Address

to speak to; to direct one's attention to (verb)

Adherent

follower; supporter; believer (noun)

Admonish

to scold gently; to warn (verb)

Adroit

skillful; dexterous; clever; shrewd; socially at ease (adj.)

Adulation

wild or excessive admiration; flattery ( noun)

Adulterate

to contaminate; to make impure (verb)

Adverse

unfavorable; antagonistic (adj.)

Aesthetic

having to with artistic beauty; artistic (adj.)

Affable

easy to talk to; friendly (adj.)

Affectation

unnatural or artificial behavior, usually intended to impress (noun)

Affinity

sympathy; attraction; kinship; similarity (noun)

Affulent

rich; prosperous (adj.)

Agenda

program; the things to be done (noun)

Aggregate

sum total; a collection of separate things mixed together (noun)

Agnostic

one who believes that the existence of a god can be neither proven nor disproven (noun)

Agrarian

relating to land; relating to the management or farming of land (adj.)q

Alacrity

cheerful eagerness or readiness to respond (noun)

Allege

to assert without proof (verb)

Alleviate

to relieve, usually temporarily or incompletely; to make bearable; to lessen (verb)

Allocate

to distribute; to assign; to allot (verb)

Alloy

a combination of two or more things, usually metals (noun)

Allusion

an indirect reference (often to a literary work); a hint (noun)

Aloof

uninvolved; standing off; keeping one's distance (adj.)

Altruism

selflessness; generosity; devotion to the interests of others (noun)

Ambience

atmosphere; mood; feeling (noun)

Ambiguous

unclear in meaning; confusing; capable of being interpreted in different ways (adj.)

Ambivalent

undecided; having opposed feelings simultaneously (adj.)

Ameliorate

to make better or more tolerable (verb)

Amenable

obedient; willing to give in to the wishes of another; agreeable (adj.)

Amenity

pleasantness; attractive or comfortable feature (noun)

Amiable

friendly, agreeable (adj.)

Amnesty

an official pardon for a group of people who have violated a law or policy (noun)

Amoral

lacking a sense of right and wrong; neither good nor bad, neither moral nor immoral; without moral feelings (adj.)

Amorous

feeling loving, especially in a sexual sense; in love; relating to love (adj.)

Amorphous

shapeless; without a regular or stable shape; bloblike (adj.)

Anachronism

something out of place in time or history; an incongruity (noun)

Analogy

a comparison of one thing to another; similarity (noun)

Anarchy

absence of government or control; lawlessness; disorder (noun)

Anecdote

a short account of a humorous or revealing incident (noun)

Anguish

agonizing physical or mental pain (noun)

Animosity

resentment; hostility; ill will (noun)

Anomaly

an aberration; an irregularity; a deviation (noun)

Antecedent

someone or something that went before; something that provides a model for something that came after it (noun)

Antipathy

firm dislike (noun)

Antithesis

the direct opposite (noun)

Apartheid

the former policy of racial segregation and oppression in the Republic of South Africa (noun)

Apathy

lack of interest; lack of feeling (noun)

Aphorism

a brief, often witty saying; a proverb (noun)

Apocalypse

a prophetic revelation, especially one concerning the end of the world (noun)

Apocryphal

of dubious authenticity or origin; spurious (adj.)

Apotheosis

elevation to divine status; the perfect example of something (noun)

Appease

to soothe; to pacify by giving in to (verb)

Appreciate

to increase in value (verb)

Apprehensive

worried; anxious (adj.)

Approbation

approval; praise (noun)

Appropriate

to take without permission; to set aside for a particular use (verb)

Aptitude

capacity for learning; natural ability (noun)

Arbiter

one who decides; a judge (noun)

Arbitrary

random; capricious (adj.)

Arcane

mysterious; known only to a select few (adj.)

Archaic

extremely old; ancient; outdated (adj.)

Archetype

an original model or pattern (noun)

Ardent

passionate, enthusiastic (adj.)

Arduous

hard; difficult (adj.)

Aristocratic

of noble birth; snobbish (adj.)

Artful

crafty; wily; sly (adj.)

Artifice

a clever trick; cunning (noun)

Ascendancy

supremacy; domination (noun)

Ascetic

hermitlike; practicing self-denial (adj.)

Assiduous

hardworking; busy; quite diligent (adj.)

Assimilate

to take in; to absorb; to learn thoroughly (verb)

Assuage

to soothe; to pacify; to ease the pain of; to relieve (verb)

Astute

shrewd; keen in judgment (adj.)

Atheist

one who does not believe in the existence of any god or divine being (noun)

Attrition

gradual wearing away, weakening, or loss; a natural or expected decrease in numbers or size (noun)

Audacity

boldness; reckless daring; impertinence (noun)