Essential Vocabulary List: Definitions for Academic and Professional Use

Essential Vocabulary List: Definitions and Meanings

• Abase: To humiliate; to lower in esteem or dignity; to humble.
• Abet: To support someone who has done something wrong.
• Abeyance: Temporary cessation.
• Abjure: To formally renounce or take back (a belief or claim).
• Abomination: Extreme loathing or disgust.
• Aboriginal: Native; indigenous.
• Abound: To be numerous or plentiful.
• Abrogate: To repeal or nullify (a law, right, or agreement).
• Accede: To give in; to agree.
• Accentuate: To emphasize or make more noticeable.
• Access: The right or means to approach or enter.
• Acclaim: To praise publicly and enthusiastically.
• Accord: To agree; to be in harmony; to grant or bestow.
• Accouterment: Personal clothing or equipment; trappings.
• Accrue: To accumulate over time.
• Acquisitive: Seeking or tending to acquire; greedy.
• Acquit: To find not guilty; to behave or conduct oneself.
• Acronym: A word made up of the initials of other words.
• Adage: A traditional saying; a proverb.
• Adduce: To bring forward as an example or as proof; to cite.
• Adjourn: To suspend until another time.
• Adjunct: Something added to something else; an assistant.
• Ad-lib: To improvise; to speak or act spontaneously.
• Advent: Arrival; coming; beginning.
• Adventitious: Accidental; connected to but nonetheless unrelated; irrelevant.
• Advocate: A person who argues in favor of a position.
• Affidavit: A sworn written statement made before an official.
• Affiliate: To become closely related with or associated.
• Affliction: Misery; illness; great suffering; a source of misery, illness, or great suffering.
• Afford: To give; to supply; to confer upon.
• Affront: An insult; a deliberate act of disrespect.
• Aftermath: Consequence; events following some occurrence or calamity.
• Aggrandize: To exaggerate; to cause to appear greater; to increase (something) in power, reputation, wealth, etc.
• Aggrieve: To mistreat; to do grievous injury to; to distress.
• Aghast: Terrified; shocked.
• Alchemy: A seemingly magical process of transformation.
• Alienate: To estrange; to cause to feel unwelcome or uninvolved.
• Allegiance: Loyalty.
• Allegory: A story in which the characters are symbols representing moral or spiritual meanings.
• Allot: To apportion, allocate, or assign.
• Altercation: A heated fight, argument, or quarrel.
• Amass: To pile up; to accumulate; to collect for one's own use.
• Amid: In the middle of.
• Anathema: Something or someone loathed or detested.
• Ancillary: Subordinate; providing assistance.
• Angst: Anxiety; fear; dread.
• Annex: To add or attach.
• Annuity: An annual allowance or income; the annual interest payment on an investment; any regular allowance or income.
• Antedate: To be older than; to have come before.
• Anterior: Situated in front.
• Swindler: A cheat; a con man.
• Volunteer: To offer freely; to join a cause.
• Harmony: Pleasant agreement; friendship.
• Inspire: To encourage; to give hope to.
• Glutton: One who eats or consumes excessively.
• Isolated: Alone; single; unconnected.
• Integrity: Honesty; trustworthiness.
• Responsive: Readily able to respond; friendly.
• Wary: Cautious; unsure.
• Deliberate: To think over carefully.