Fry

Ardent

passionate; enthusiastic

Arduous

hard; difficult

Arid

very dry; lacking life, interest, or imagination

Aristocratic

of noble birth; snobbish

Armament

implements of war; the process of arming for war

Armistace

truce

Arraign

to bring to court to answer an indictment; to accuse

Arrant

utter; unmitigated; bad

Arrears

the state of being in debt; unpaid debts

Arsenal

a collection or armaments; a facility for storing or producing armament; a supply of anything useful

Artful

crafty; wily; sly

Articulate

to pronounce clearly; to express clearly

Artifice

a clever trick; cunning

Artisan

a person skilled in a craft

Ascendancy

supremacy; domination

Ascertain

to determine with certainty; to find out definitely

Ascetic

hermitlike; practicing self-denial

Ascribe

to credit to or assign; to attribute

Askance

with suspicion or disapproval

Aspersion

a slanderous or damning remark

Assail

to attack vigorously

Assert

to claim strongly; to affirm

Assess

to evaluate; to estimate; to appraise

Assiduous

hardworking; busy; quite diligent

Assimilate

to take in; to absorb; to learn thoroughly

Assuage

to soothe; to pacify; to ease the pain of; to relieve

Astringent

harsh; severe; withering

Astute

shrewd; keen in judgement

Asylum

a mental hospital or similar institution; refuge; a place of safety

Atheist

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

Atone

to make amends

Atrophy

to wither away; to decline from disuse

Attest

to give proof of; to declare to be true or correct; to give testimony

Attribute

to credit to or assign; to ascribe

Attrition

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

Audacity

boldness; reckless daring; impertinence

Augment

to make bigger; to add to; to increase

Augur

to serve as an omen or be a sign; to predict or foretell

August

inspiring admiration or awe

Auspices

protection; support; sponsorship

Auspicious

favorable; promising; pointing to a good result

Austere

unadorned; stern; forbidding; without excuses

Autocratic

ruling with absolute authority; extremely bossy

Autonomous

acting independently

Auxiliary

secondary; additional; giving assistance or aid

Avail

to help; to be of use; to serve

Avant-garde

the vanguard; members of a group especially of a literary or artistic one, who are at the cutting edge of their field

Avarice

greed; excessive love of riches

Aversion

a strong feeling of dislike

Avert

to turn away; to prevent

Avid

eager; enthusiastic

Avow

to claim; to declare boldly; to admit

Avuncular

like an uncle; especially a nice uncle

Awry

off course; twisted to one side

Axiom

a self-evident rule or truth; a widely accepted saying