medium-hard vocab

Chunk 1/5 (100 lines):

abate

to become less intense

aberration

a departure from what is normal

abstain

to choose not to do something

accrue

to build up over time

acumen

keen insight and good judgment

adamant

refusing to change one's mind

adept

highly skilled

admonish

to warn or scold firmly

adroit

skillful and clever

aesthetic

related to beauty or art

affirm

to state as true

aggravate

to make worse

aggregate

combined into a whole

alacrity

eager readiness

allay

to reduce or calm

alleviate

to make less severe

allocate

to distribute for a purpose

amalgamate

to combine into one

ambiguous

open to more than one meaning

ambivalent

holding mixed feelings

ameliorate

to make better

amiable

pleasant and friendly

anachronistic

out of its proper time period

analogous

similar in a key way

anecdotal

based on personal stories not proof

animosity

strong hostility

anomalous

unusual or unexpected

antagonize

to provoke hostility

antithetical

directly opposed

apathetic

showing little interest

appease

to calm by giving in

appraise

to evaluate

ardent

passionate and enthusiastic

arduous

requiring great effort

articulate

able to express clearly

ascertain

to find out with certainty

assertive

confidently forceful

assiduous

hardworking and persistent

assuage

to relieve or lessen

astute

shrewd and perceptive

atone

to make amends

attenuate

to reduce in strength

audacious

bold and daring

austere

plain and strict

authenticate

to prove as genuine

avaricious

greedy for wealth

banal

boringly common

belligerent

aggressively hostile

benevolent

kind and well meaning

benign

harmless and gentle

beset

to trouble or attack repeatedly

bolster

to support or strengthen

brazen

shamelessly bold

brevity

shortness of speech or writing

cajole

to persuade with flattery

candid

honest and direct

capacious

roomy and spacious

capricious

unpredictable and changeable

catalyst

something that speeds up change

caustic

sharply sarcastic or corrosive

censure

strong public criticism

circuitous

indirect and roundabout

clarify

to make clear

coerce

to force by pressure or threats

cogent

clear and convincing

coherent

logically organized and clear

collaborate

to work together

complacent

self satisfied and unconcerned

concede

to admit reluctantly

concise

brief and clear

concur

to agree

condone

to approve or allow

confer

to grant or bestow

conflated

mixed together and treated as one

conspicuous

easily noticed

constrain

to limit or restrict

construe

to interpret in a particular way

contempt

disrespectful dislike

contend

to argue or assert

contentious

likely to cause argument

contradict

to assert the opposite

contrived

artificially created

conventional

based on tradition or common practice

corroborate

to confirm with evidence

counterfeit

fake and made to deceive

credulous

too ready to believe

crucial

extremely important

cursory

quick and not thorough

daunting

intimidating and difficult

dearth

a shortage or lack

debate

to discuss opposing views

debilitate

to weaken greatly

decorum

proper behavior

deference

respectful yielding to others

definitive

final and authoritative

delineate

to describe precisely

demur

to object politely

denote

to indicate or mean