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v. lower; degrade; humiliate.
Anna expected to have to curtsy to the King of Siam; when told to cast herself down on the ground before him, however, she refused to abase herself.
abasement, N. |
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v. embarrass.
He was not at all abashed by her open admiration. |
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v. subside or moderate.
Rather than leaving immediately, they waited for the storm to abate. |
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v. shorten.
Because we were running out of time, the lecturer had to abbreviate her speech. |
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v. renounce; give up.
Edward VII abdicated the British throne, he surprised the world. |
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n. deviation from the expectd or the normal; mental ireegularity or disorder.
Survivors of a major catastrophe are likely to exhibit aberrations of behavior because of the trauma they have experienced. |
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v. assist, usually in going something wrong; encourage.
She was unwilling to abet him in the swindle he had planned. |
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n. suspended action.
The deal was held in abeyance until her arrival. |
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v. detest; hate.
She abhorred all forms of bigotry.
n. abhorrence. |
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adj. wrethed; lacking pride.
On the streets of New York the homeless live in abject poverty, huddling in doorways to find shelter from the world. |
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v. renounce upon oath.
He abjured his allegiance to the king after finding the king had murdered his wife.
n. abjuration. |
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n. washing.
His daily ablutions were accompanies by loud noises that humorously labeled "Opera in the bath." |
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n. renunciation; self-sacrifice.
Though Rudolph and Duchess Flavia loved one another, thier love was doomed for she had to wed the king; their act of abnegation was necessary to preserce the kingdom. |
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v. cancel; to put an end to.
The president of the college refused to abolish the physical education requirement.
n. abolition. |
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adj. detestable; extremely unpleasant; very bad.
Mary liked John until she learned he was also dating Susan, then she called him an abominable young man, with abominable taste in women. |
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v. loathe; hate.
Moses scolded the idol worshippers in the tribe because he abominated the custom. |
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adj., n. being the first of its kind in a region; primitive; native.
Her studies of the primitive art forms of the aboriginal Indians were widely reported in the scientific journals.
n. Aborigine. |
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adj. unsuccessful; fruitless. Attacked by armed troops, the Chinese students had to abandon their abortive attempt to democratize Beijing peacefully.
v. abort. |
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adj. rubbing away; tending to grind down.
Just as abrasive cleaning powders can wear away a shiny finish, abrasive remarks can wear away a listener's patience.
v. abrade. |
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v. condense or shorten.
Because the publishers felt the public wanted a shorter version of War and Peace, they proceeded to abridge the novel. |
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v. abolish.
The kign intended to abrogate the decree issued by his prosecutor. |
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n. cutting off; separation.
When a flower or leaf separates naturally from the parent plant, this process is called abscission. |
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v. depart secretely and hide.
The teller who absconded with the bonds went uncaptured until someone recognized him from his photographer on Americas Most Wanted. |
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adj. complete; totally unlimited; certain.
Although the King of Siam was an abosolute monarch, he did not want to behead his unfaithful wife without absolute evidence of her infidelity. |
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v. pardon (an offense).
The father confessor absolved him of his sins.
n. absolution. |
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v. refuse; withhold from participation.
After considering the effect of alcohol on his athletic performance, he decided to abstain from drinking while he trained for the race. |
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adj. sparing in eating and drinking; temperate.
Concerned whether her vegetarian son's abstemious diet provided him with sufficient protein, the worried mother pressed food on him. |
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n. restraint from eating or drinking. The doctor recommended total abstinence from salted foods.
v. abstain. |
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adj. theorhetical; not concrete; nonrepresentational.
To him, hunger was an abstract concept; he had never missed a meal. |
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adj. obscure; profound; difficult to understand.
Baffled by the abstruse philosophical texts assigned in class, Dave asked Lexy to explain Kant's Critigue on Pure Reason. |
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adj. coarsley insulting; physically harmful.
An abusive parent damages a child both mentally and physically. |
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v. border upon; adjoin.
Where out estates abut, we must build a fence. |
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adj. bottomless.
His arrogance is exceeded only by his abysmal ignorance. |
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n. enormous chasm; vast; bottomless pit.
Darth Vader seized the evil emperor and hurled him into the abyss. |
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| adj. Related to a school; not practical or directly useful. The dean's talk about reforming academic policies was only an academic discussion. |
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v. agree.
If I accede to this demand for blackmail, I am afraid that I willl be the vistim of future demands. |
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| v. agree. If I accede to this demand for blackmail, I am afriad that I will be the victim of future demands. |
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| v. move faster. In our science class, we learn how falling bodies accelerate. |
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| adj. easy to approach; obtainable. We asked our guide whether the ruins were accessible on foot. |
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| n. additional object; useful but not essential thing. She brought an attractive handbag as an accessory for her dress. also ADJ. |
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