High Utility Academic Words Flashcards

Flashcards featuring high utility academic words and their definitions.

Abate

To reduce or lessen

Abrupt

Sudden and unexpected

Abundant

Plentiful; more than enough

Acclaim

High praise; approval

Acquiesce

To accept reluctantly but without protest

Adhere

To stick firmly to something

Adverse

Unfavorable; harmful

Advocacy

Support for a cause or policy

Aesthetic

Concerned with beauty or appearance

Aggravate

To make worse or more severe

Alleviate

To relieve or make less severe

Allude

To indirectly refer to

Altruism

Selfless concern for others

Ambiguous

Unclear or open to multiple interpretations

Ameliorate

To improve or make better

Analogous

Similar or comparable in some way

Analyze

To examine in detail

Antagonize

To provoke or make an enemy

Apathy

Lack of interest or emotion

Arbitrary

Based on random choice rather than reason

Articulate

To express clearly

Ascertain

To find out or determine

Aspiration

A strong desire to achieve something

Assert

To state confidently

Atypical

Not typical; unusual

Audacity

Boldness or daring

Augment

To increase or add to

Autonomous

Independent; self-governing

Benevolent

Kind and generous

Bolster

To support or strengthen

Brevity

Shortness or conciseness

Candid

Honest and straightforward

Capitulate

To surrender or give in

Censure

To criticize harshly

Charismatic

Charming and inspiring

Circumvent

To avoid or bypass cleverly

Cognizant

Aware; having knowledge

Coherent

Logical and consistent

Compel

To force or drive someone to do something

Comprehensive

Thorough and complete

Condescend

To talk down to someone

Consensus

General agreement

Convoluted

Complicated and difficult to understand

Credible

Believable or trustworthy

Debase

To lower in value or quality

Debunk

To prove wrong or false

Defer

To postpone or delay

Demean

To degrade or humiliate

Depict

To describe or show in a picture or words

Derive

To obtain from a source

Detriment

Harm or damage

Discreet

Careful to avoid attention or offense

Disparage

To belittle or speak negatively about

Disseminate

To spread widely

Dubious

Doubtful or uncertain

Elucidate

To explain clearly

Empathy

Understanding another's feelings

Ephemeral

Lasting a short time

Equitable

Fair and just

Erratic

Unpredictable or inconsistent

Euphemism

A mild term used instead of a harsh one

Exacerbate

To make worse

Feasible

Possible and practical

Fidelity

Loyalty and faithfulness

Fluctuate

To change or vary irregularly

Foretell

To predict the future

Fortify

To strengthen or reinforce

Futile

Useless; without effect

Hinder

To obstruct or slow down progress

Hypothesis

An educated guess

Imminent

About to happen

Impartial

Fair and unbiased

Inadvertent

Unintentional or accidental

Indifferent

Having no preference or concern

Induce

To bring about or cause

Inevitable

Certain to happen; unavoidable

Innovate

To create or introduce something new

Lucrative

Profitable or money-making

Magnanimous

Generous and forgiving

Meticulous

Extremely careful and precise

Mitigate

To make less severe

Obscure

Unclear or hard to understand

Plausible

Believable or reasonable

Proliferate

To increase or spread rapidly

Reconcile

To restore a relationship or agreement

Redundant

Unnecessary repetition

Resilient

Able to recover quickly

Scrutinize

To examine closely

Subtle

Not obvious; delicate in meaning

Suppress

To hold back or stop

Tenacious

Persistent and determined

Validate

To confirm or prove correct

Zealous

Passionate and enthusiastic