| Abbreviate | Shorten--can apply to many things besides words |
| Abstemious | Refusing to indulge, usually in drinking; from ABSTAIN |
| Abstract | Obscure; also, a written summary of a longer work |
| Aesthetic | Having to do with art or artistic quality |
| Amass | Accumulate; from A- (first meaning) and MASS. Verb |
| Ambiguous | Having more than one meaning; hence, unclear |
| Ambivalence | Uncertainty about choice or commitment; "wishy-washy" |
| Ambivalent | Adj. form of AMBIVALENCE |
| Amorphous | Lit. shapeless, formless; fig.-unclear, hard to follow |
| Anarchy | Lack of government; disorder; belief in having no government |
| Angular | Lit. with angles; fig. thin and bony, awkward-looking |
| Apathetic | Uncaring; insensitive; indifferent |
| Apprehensive | Concerned about the future; worried; scared |
| Arrogance | Obnoxious pride, often unaware |
| Articulate | Adj.-Speaking clearly. Verb.-To speak clearly |
| Ascetic | Extremely abstemious; avoiding society, like a monk or hermit |
| Assess | Lit.-determine the value of; fig.-analyze |
| Assiduous | Extremely careful and diligent; with close attention to detail |
| Assuage | Soothe; calm down; mollify |
| Atrophy | Wither away, usually because of disuse or uselessness |
| Augment | Help by adding to; supplement |
| Authoritative | Lit.-from the proper authority; fig.-certain or sure, because of authority behind it |
| Benevolent | Having good will; kind; charitable or generous |
| Benign | Kind or good; medical (as benign tumor) not cancerous |
| Bias | Choosing one party or group over another, usually unfair |
| Bizarre | Highly unusual, weird, usually with sense of distortion |
| Candor | Frank honesty; CANDID is adj. form |
| Censor | To refuse to allow something to be published, usually legally |
| Censure | Reprimand or discipline by a legal authority (Occasionally, the Senate will censure a member for wrongdoing.) |
| Chaotic | Disordered (from CHAOS) |
| Circumspect | Very careful in conduct; lit.-looking around, watchful |
| Coercion | Forcing someone to act against his will; from COERCE |
| Collaborate | To work together to produce something; can be positive in sense of cooperate, or negative in sense of conspire |
| Combustible | Lit.-highly flammable; fig.-provocative |
| Commensurate | Given in fair portions |
| Complacent | Self-satisfied, often with sense of indifference |
| Conflagration | Lit.-a fire; fig.-argument; battle |
| Conspiracy | A plot, usually a secret plan to change power of some kind, such as overthrow a government |
| Contaminate | Pollute; poison or infect; may be fig. in sense of ideas |
| Contempt | Strong lack of respect |
| Conviction | Lit.-judgment of guilty; fig.-strongly held belief |
| Dawdle | To take one's time aimlessly, dally |
| Dearth | Lit.-famine; fig.-profound lack |
| Debilitate | To make abnormally weak |
| Deference | From DEFER, to yield or refer to respectfully |
| Deleterious | Harmful |
| Denounce | Publicly accuse and vilify |
| Desecrate | Deface or destroy a holy object or place, usually with evil intent; lit.-to change from holy to ordinary use |
| Despot | Ruthless dictator, tyrant (accent on first syllable) |
| Deter | Stop or hinder (accent on last syllable) |
| Digression | Discussing something other than the subject at hand, in speech or in writing |
| Dilapidated | Rundown, falling apart, usually refers to structures |
| Diligent | Hard-working, usually with sense of care as well |
| Dilute | To weaken in strength; lit.-mixtures, fig.-ideas |
| Diminution | Becoming or growing smaller |
| Discern | Ably perceptively to choose or note differences |
| Discord | Lit.-lack of harmony in sound. Fig.-quarrelsome |
| Discriminate | To choose carefully or tastefully (positive). To choose with regard to appearances only (negative). |
| Disdain | Contempt; dislike or hatred for someone |
| Disparity | Unfair difference |
| Dissuade | To persuade someone not to do something or change mind |
| Diverse | Distinct, having different forms |
| Domineer | To rule in a coercive manner |
| Eccentric | Lit.-not rotating around a fixed center; fig.-distinctly and personally peculiar |
| Eccentricity | Noun, state of being eccentric |
| Effervescent | Lit.-bubbling or up-welling; fig.-lively, outgoing |
| Eloquence | Speaking with effective ability |
| Emaciated | Extremely thin, as a result of malnutrition or starving |
| Embellish | Lit.-to make more beautiful; fig.-to add unnecessary details |
| Erratic | Lit.-in a zigzag or aimless path; fig.-unpredictable |
| Expedite | To hasten the results, to make things go more quickly |
| Explicit | Plain and clearly expressed with no hidden meanings |
| Expunge | Erase, eradicate, remove all records of |
| Extricate | To release, get untangled, both lit. and
fig.
Fig.-in sense of not developing an idea or project for awhile with the idea of returning to it later |
| Fastidious | Excessively attentive to detail, fussy |
| Flagrant | Openly scandalous or misbehaving |
| Frivolity | Lack of seriousness |
| Furtive | Secret, undercover, sneaky |
| Gluttonous | Overindulgent in food |
| Guile | Deceit |
| Gullible | Easily convinced or deceived, credulous |
| Humid | Very moist, especially air. ARID is a close antonym |
| Hypocritical | Adj. of HYPOCRITE; pretending to believe one thing while actually practicing different beliefs |
| Illuminate | To light up, both lit. and fig. (in sense of revealing truth) |
| Immune | Not susceptible to disease. Sometimes fig. in sense of being able to resist popular fads or ideas |
| Impartial | Unbiased; choosing or judging without special favor to either side |
| Implication | From IMPLY, related to IMPLICIT. What is figured out from a statement which is not directly stated. The result of "reading between the lines." |
| Inclined | Lit.-slanted, sloping; fig.-having a tendency toward |
| Indefatigable | Tireless, unable to make tired |
| Indifferent | Having no concern for (I could care less.) |
| Indolent | Lazy |
| Inevitable | Unable to be avoided; bound or destined to happen |
| Infer | To figure out an implication |
| Inflated | Lit.-expanded by pumping air into it; fig.-too large or overstated; not having the value it should |
| Innocuous | Harmless, or appearing harmless |
| Innovate | To make or discover something new |
| Inopportune | Poorly timed; improper time or occasion for something |
| Insipid | Bland, flavorless; both lit. and fig. |
| Insolvency | Unable to buy or pay bills, having no money, bankruptcy |
| Intractable | Unable to be convinced, led, or taught |
| Jettison | Eject; throw out or away |
| Labyrinth | A maze. Also fig. in sense of difficult situation which seems hard or impossible to escape from |
| Languid | Listless, not prone to activity, weak in action; lazy |
| Leniency | Being mild in punishment, merciful, indulgent |
| Levity | Lightheartedness, happy humor |
| Loath | Adj. reluctant, unwilling |
| Mar | To deface or disfigure |
| Miser | Hoarder of money; one who does not like to spend money |
| Monotony | Lit.-repetition of the same sound or tone; fig.-boredom, due to lack of change in situation |
| Objective | Noun.-purpose or goal. Adj.-impartial, not having to do with personal tastes or inclination |
| Obscure | Unclear, shadowy, both lit. and fig. |
| Opaque | Not allowing light to pass through. Fig.-(sometimes) hard to understand |
| Pious | Showing religious behavior; reverential |
| Prattle | Talking on and on about nothing important |
| Precocious | Developing before the natural season; often with respect to children who show abilities or maturity unexpected in one so young |
| Prodigal | Wasteful, profligate in spending (money, time, strength) |
| Prodigious | Very large, excessive |
| Profusion | Plenty, abundance, abundant supply |
| Prolific | Lit.-fertile, producing many offspring; fig.-productive |
| Provincial | Lit.-relating to a province; fig.-narrow, uncultured |
| Recalcitrant | Unsubmissive, unwilling, rebellious |
| Refute | Argue against; logically disprove |
| Rescind | To repeat or nullify, usually in legal sense |
| Resignation | Lit.-voluntarily quitting a position or job; fig.-submitting passively |
| Resolution | Lit.-agreed upon course of action (often legislative) |
| Respite | (Accent on first syllable, noun) rest, break in activity |
| Restraint | Lit.-The act of or something binding or holding back; Fig.-self-control |
| Revere | Hold in high esteem, honor |
| Scanty | Small, of small amount or size |
| Sequester | Hide, conceal, keep from contact with others (often legal as in a SEQUESTERED jury) |
| Servile | Slavish; excessively submissive |
| Skeptical | Having serious doubts about things (often with respect to questions of belief) |
| Squalor | Miserable or filthy poverty |
| Squander | Waste; spend wastefully |
| Stagnant | Lit.-not moving (hence stale or decaying); fig.-not taking action (hence, unchanging) |
| Static | Standing still, unchanging. Also radio interference |
| Subtle | Clever, crafty, ingenious, penetrating; also keenly discriminating (as a subtle difference). The "b" is silent. |
| Superficial | Only dealing with the surface or appearances; trivial |
| Terminate | Finish, end |
| Uniform | Adj.-identical or having same character (literally, "one form") |
| Valid | Legally supported; logically sound |
| Venerate | Respect and honor; worship; view as holy; (especially as a result of wisdom and experience) |
| Vilify | Say very bad things about, (literally "make vile") |
| Virtuoso | Someone very talented and skilled, usually in music |
| Virulent | Lit.-disease-causing (like VIRUS); fig.-bitter, malignant |
| Vulnerable | Susceptible; open to attack; easily exploited |
ARLINGTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
