Enhance Your Word Knowledge +(an extensive list of words with explanations that can expand and greatly improve your English vocabulary)abounds (uh BOUNDZ)
Existing in great quantities or numbers; to be prevalent: "The English language abounds (overflows, flourishes) in exact, vigorous, and colorful words to express all shades of meanings."
From Latin abundare, "to overflow" from ab-, "from" + undare, "to flow"; from unda, "a wave". abridge (uh BRIJ)
1. To reduce the length of; such as, a written text; to condense.
2. To cut short; to curtail; to shorten, especially by employing fewer words: "Within the past few years, publishers have found it necessary to abridge many classics in order to attract a greater reading public." From Latin ad-, "to" + breviare, "to shorten". abrogate (AB ruh gayt)
To cancel; to repeal; to abolish or annul: "The Secretary of State declared that further aggressive action by a certain foreign power would cause us to abrogate the treaty we had made with it."
From Latin ab-, "away" + rogare, "to ask, to propose". absolve (uhb ZOLV, uhb SOLV)
1. To free from guilt or to pronounce someone clear of guilt or blame: "Because new evidence had been discovered, the defendant was absolved of the criminal charge."
2. To relieve of a requirement or obligation: "He was absolved of having to pay his partner's debts." From Latin ab-, "from" + solvere, "to loosen". abstain (ab STAYN, uhb STAYN)
To refrain from something by one's own choice or voluntarily: "The final vote on the motion in the Senate had a majority in favor of the bill; however, the rest of the Senators abstained."
From Latin abs-, "from" + tenere, "to hold". academic (ak" uh DEM ik)
1. Relating to, or characteristic of a school, especially one of higher learning; such as, college, university, or other institution of learning: "Academic circles have been debating the value of Latin as a high school subject for years."
2. Theoretical rather than practical: "It is amazing how much heat the intercollegiate debate aroused; after all, the importance of the French Revolution is now only an academic question." The source of the terms academy, academic and related wordsOn the outskirts of ancient Athens there was a grove sacred to the hero Akademus. In this park the philosopher Plato established his school or college in about 385 B.C. Both the garden and the school were called Akademia after the name of the hero. The English words "academy, academic, academician, academical" and others from that family of words are derived from the name of Plato's school. The term "academy" is now applied to institutions of higher learning, secondary schools, or any place where special subjects, arts, and skills are taught, so we have military academies, riding academies, fencing academies, dancing academies, and even billiard academies. The meaning of the word has also been extended to include societies of learned people who have united to advance learning, literature, the arts, and the sciences; such as, the French Academy, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. accelerate (ak SEL uh rayt")
To speed up; to cause to occur sooner than expected; to cause to develop or to progress more quickly: "As she stepped on the gas, we could see the car accelerate faster than it should in such weather conditions."
"He is sure that cutting taxes will help to accelerate economic growth." From Latin ad-, "to" + celerare, "to hasten"; which came from celer, "quick". acidulous (uh SIJ uh luhs, uh SID yoo luhs)
Sour; acid in taste or manner; tart; harsh: an acidulous remark.
From Latin: acidus, "sour". agog (uh GAHG)
Excited; eager: "They are agog to see all the sights in Paris."
Old French a gogue, joke, joyfulness, merriment". ambidextrous (am bi DEK struhs)
Able to use both hands equally well; unusually skillful; versatile: an ambidextrous pianist: "He was ambidextrous in that he could pitch the ball equally well with either his left or his right hand."
From Latin: ambi-, "both" and dexter, "right". archetype (AR ki tighp")
An original pattern or model from which copies are made; a prototype: "The singer was an archetype of great singing despite her less than attractive appearance."
"She was considered an archetype writer of children's books." From Greek archetypon, from arch, "chief" and typos, "stamp, pattern". balderdash (BAHL duhr dash")
Trivial nonsense; senseless or pointless talk or writing: "We laugh at such balderdash that comes from these politicians and a certain left-wing talk-show host."
An English 17th-century term for a senseless mixing of beverages; such as, milk and ale; or originally a jumbled mix of liquors (milk and beer, beer and wine, etc.), transferred in 1674 to "senseless jumble of words". bane (BAYN)
Affliction; fatal injury or ruin; anything that ruins or spoils: "Poverty is the bane of many people these days."
From Old English bana, "destruction". bode (BOHD)
To foreshadow; to predict or to foretell; to presage by signs or by omens; to portend: "It is believed by some that a red sunset will bode good weather for sailors."
"The new evidence will bode ill for the lawyer's case." From Old English bodian, "to announce, to tell." brook (BROOK)
To put up with; to bear with; to tolerate; to endure: "He was an intolerant dictator who could brook no interference."
"The teacher said he would not brook such outrageous conduct in the classroom." The word brook nearly always, is used now with a negative construction; such as, no or not. From Old English brucan, "to use, to enjoy".  Simply click on this banner (or the following link) and you will be on your way to stimulate your brain for greater word comprehension with quizzes based on the words in this unit.If there are any numbers below, use them to see other pages in this unit.
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