Lesson 1
Senior Vocabulary
- adroit adj. skillful, clever
Everyone knew that he was adroit with figures, but he lacked the facility for public speaking.
syn: dexterous; apt ant: clumsy, awkward - adulterate verb to make impure, to contaminate
adj. impure
The fumes from the automobiles adulterate the air.
The police were concerned about all the adulterated drugs on the street.
ant: refine; refined - adventitious adj. accidental, nonessential
The scientists announced the breakthrough at a press conference and admitted that it had been an adventitious outcome.
syn: incidental - aegis noun a shield; protection, sponsorship
The candidate felt he had a change in the election because of the aegis of a former officeholder.
syn: backing - aesthetic adj. pertaining to beauty
The house was a bargain financially, but it lacked any aesthetic quality.
syn: artistic - affectation noun a phony attitude; pose
John felt that the outspoken Ruth was the only girl there who did not have any affections.
syn: insincerity; pose; sham ant: sincerity, genuineness - affinity noun an attraction to
The young man had an affinity for fast cars and easy money.
syn: partiality, fondness ant: aversion - affluence noun wealth; richness
Although Paul's family had much affluence, he was content to make do without their help.
syn: abundance ant: impoverished, destitute - agape adj. open-mouthed; surprised; agog
Even the judge was agape when the witness told the ridiculous story in court. - aggrandize verb to enlarge or to expand
Much of what they did was not to aid their country but to aggrandize their own positions.
syn: increase, augment, enrich ant: decrease, diminish - altruism noun a concern for others; generosity
Ben's altruism was apparent as he stopped at the scene of the accident to offer his assistance.
syn: unselfishness, magnanimity ant: selfishness, egoism - ambiguous adj. open to more than one interpretation
The candidate's ambiguous comments tended to confuse the issue even more.
syn: unclear, uncertain, vague ant: explicit, definite - amoral adj. lacking a sense of right and wrong
Although a greedy man, he was not amoral; there were some things he would not do for money. - amorphous adj. shapeless, formless, vague
Although the essay was due in two days, john couldn't get a handle on the topic, which remained amorphous to his mind.
- animosity noun hatred
There was a general feeling of animosity toward the judge for giving the boys such a harsh sentence.
syn: ill-will, hostility ant: friendliness, congeniality
