Vocabulary: Abash to Abject

ABASH (uh BASH): To make ashamed or embarrass.

• Example: Meredith felt abashed by forgetting her lines.
• "Unabashedly" means doing something without shame.

ABATE (uh BAYT): To subside or reduce.

• Example: Agony from spilled coffee abated gradually.
• Bad weather abates when good weather returns.
• Tax abatement: A reduction in taxes to encourage businesses.

ABDICATE (AB duh kayt): To step down from power or responsibility.

• Example: King Edward VIII abdicated to marry Wallis Warfield Simpson.
• People can abdicate duties even if they aren't monarchs.

ABERRATION (ab uh RAY shun): Something not typical, a deviation from the standard.

• Example: Soren's bad behavior was an aberration.
• An aberration is an aberrant occurrence.

ABHOR (ab HOR): To hate very, very much; to detest.

• Example: Emanuel abhorred having anvils dropped on his head.
• Abhorrence is the noun form.

ABJECT (AB jekt): Hopeless, extremely sad and servile; defeated.

• Example: Mia felt abject humiliation after a banana-peel accident.
• Often used with "poverty" (abject poverty).

ABNEGATE (AB nuh gayt): To deny oneself things; to reject; to renounce.

• Example: Ascetics practice self-abnegation.
• Self-abnegation involves sacrificing oneself for a higher purpose.

ABORTIVE (uh BOR tiv): Unsuccessful.

• Example: Marie and Elizabeth's effort to bake a cake was abortive.
• To abort something is to end it before completion.

ABRIDGE (uh BRIJ): To shorten or condense.

• Example: The editor abridged the massive book.
• An abridged dictionary is shortened.

ABSOLUTE (AB suh loot): Total or unlimited.

• An absolute ruler is unrestricted.
• An absolute rule has no exceptions.
• Absolute can also be a noun meaning something total.

ABSOLVE (ab ZOLV): To forgive, free from blame, free from sin, or free from obligation.

• Example: Priest absolved a sinner.
• Example: Jake absolved Ciara of going to the prom.
• The act of absolving is absolution.

ABSTINENT (AB stuh nunt): Voluntarily not doing something, especially something pleasant that is bad for you.

• Example: Beulah is now abstinent from smoking.
• Abstainer is a person who abstains.

ABSTRACT (AB strakt): Theoretical or impersonal.

• Example: He liked oysters in the abstract, but not in reality.
• To like something in the abstract is to like the idea of it.

ABSTRUSE (ab STROOS): Hard to understand.

• Example: The professor's article was abstruse.

ABYSMAL (uh BIZ mul): Extremely hopeless or wretched; bottomless.

• An abyss is a bottomless pit.
• Abysmal is being used somewhat sloppily sometimes, with the colloquial meaning “very bad”

ACCOLADE (AK uh layd): An award or honor.

• Generally used in the plural.
• Example: The dance troop received accolades from critics.

ACCOST (uh KAWST): To approach and speak to someone aggressively.

• Example: Amanda karate-chopped the stranger who accosted her.

ACERBIC (uh SUR bik): Sour, severe, like acid in temper, mood, or tone.

• Example: The teacher's comments were acerbic.
• Acerb and acerbic are synonyms; acerbity is the state of being acerbic.

ACQUIESCE (ak wee ES): To comply passively; to accept; to assent; to agree.

• Example: Pete acquiesced to walking the plank.
• Acquiesce and quiet are closely related.
• Acquiesce means to do something quietly without objection.

ACRID (AK rid): Harshly pungent; bitter.

• Example: The chili had an acrid taste.
• Can describe tastes, smells, and offensive comments/personalities.

ACRIMONIOUS (ak ruh MOH nee us): Full of spite; bitter; nasty.

• Example: The discussion turned acrimonious quickly.

ACUMEN (AK yoo mun): Keenness of judgment; mental sharpness.

• Example: A woman who knows how to turn money into more has business acumen.