primary meaning week 1: 0-50

Absolve

To declare someone free from guilt

Abstract

Existing in thought; not physical

Accessible

Able to be reached

Accommodation

A place to stay

Acerbic

Tasting sour or bitter

Acknowledge

To recognize the existence of

Acquisition

Buying an asset or object

Admonish

To scold someone

Adroit

Clever or skillful

Advocate

To support a cause

Aesthetic

Concerned with beauty

Affable

Friendly and good-natured

Affectation

Behavior that is artificial

Affinity

A liking for something

Agitate

To stir up a liquid

Alacrity

Brisk and cheerful readiness

Alienate

To make someone feel isolated

Alleviate

To make suffering less severe

Allusion

An indirect reference

Altruism

Disinterested selflessness

Ambiguous

Open to more than one interpretation

Ambivalent

Having mixed feelings

Ameliorate

To make something bad better

Amiable

Having a friendly manner

Anachronism

Something out of its time

Analogous

Comparable in certain ways

Anecdote

A short, amusing story

Anomaly

Something that deviates from the norm

Antagonism

Active hostility or opposition

Antipathy

A deep-seated feeling of dislike

Apathy

Lack of interest or concern

Appease

To pacify by acceding to demands

Apprehension

Anxiety or fear

Arbitrary

Based on random choice

Archaic

Very old or old-fashioned

Ardent

Enthusiastic or passionate

Articulate

To speak fluently and coherently

Artifact

An object made by a human

Artisan

A worker in a skilled trade

Ascendancy

Occupation of a position of power

Ascetic

Practicing self-denial

Aspire

To direct one's hopes toward

Assuage

To make an unpleasant feeling less intense

Astute

Having an ability to assess situations

Atrophy

Waste away of a body part

Attenuate

To reduce the force or value of

Augment

To make something greater

Austere

Severe or strict in manner

Authoritarian

Enforcing strict obedience

Autonomous

Having the freedom to govern itself