Abate

Abate: to reduce in amount, degree or severity

"As the hurricane's force abated, the winds dropped and the sea became calm."

Words with Similar Meanings

Aberrant

Abberant: deviating from what is normal or expected

"Since he had been a steady, cheerful worker for many years, his fellow postal workers did not expect his aberrant burst of rage."

Related Words

 Aberration: A deviation from what is normal

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Abscond

Abscond: to leave secretly

"The patron absconded from the restaurant without paying his bill by sneaking out the back door."

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Abstain

Abstain: to choose not to do something

"During Lent, practicing Catholics abstain from eating meat." 

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Abyss

Abyss: an extremely deep hole

 "The submarine dove into the abyss to chart the previously unseen depths"

 Related Words

Abyssal: Pertaining to great depth

Abysmal: Extremely bad

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Adulterate

Adulterate: to make impure 

"The restaurateur made his ketchup last longer by adulterating it with water."

Related Words

Unadulterated: Pure

Adultery: An illicit relationship; affair 

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Advocate

Advocate: to speak in favor of 

"The vegetarian advocated a diet containing no meat." 

Related Words

Advocacy: Active support for 

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Aesthetic

Aesthetic: concerning the appreciation of beauty

"The Aesthetic Movement regarded the pursuit of beauty to be the only true purpose of art."

Related Words

Asthete: someone unusually sensitive to beauty

Aestheticism: devoted to beauty

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Castigate

Castigate: to punish or criticize harshly 

"Americans are amazed at how harshly the authorities in Singapore castigate perpetrators of what would be only minor crimes in the United States."

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Catalyst

Catalyst: something that brings about a change in something else

"The imposition of harsh taxes was the catalyst that finally brought on the revolution."  

Related Words

Catalyze: to bring about a change in something else

Caustic

Caustic: biting in wit 

"Dorothy Parker gained her caustic reputation from her cutting, yet witty, insults."

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Chaos

Chaos: great disorder or confused situation

"In most religious tradtions, God created an ordered universe from a chaotic void."

Related Words

Abyssal: Pertaining to great depth

Words with Similar Meanings

Chauvinist

Chauvinist: someone prejudiced in favor of a group that he or she belongs to

"The attitude that men must be obeyed since they are inherently superior to women is common among male chauvinists."

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Aggrandize

Aggrandize: to increase in power. influence and reputation.

"The supervisor sought to aggrandize himself by claiming that the achievements of his staff were actually his own."

Alacrity

Alacrity: speed or quickness.

The restaurant won a reputation for fine service since the wait staff responded to their clients' requests with alacrity."

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Ambiguous

Ambiguous: doubtful or uncertain, can be interpreted several ways.

"The directions he gave were so ambiguous that we disagreed on which way to turn. "

Related Words

Ambiguity: Quality of being ambiuious

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Alleviate

Alleviate: to make more bearable.

"Taking aspirin helps to alleviate a headache."

Words with Similar Meanings

Amalgamte

Amalgamate: to combine, to mix together

"Giant Industries amalgamated with Mega Products to form Giant-Mega Products Incorporated."

Related Words

Amalgam : a mixture, especially of two metals.

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Ameliorate

Ameliorate: to make better; to improve.

"The doctor was able to ameliorate the patient's suffering using pain-killers."

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Anachronism

Anachronism: something out of place in time.

'The aged hippie used anachronistic phrases like 'groovy' and 'far out' that had not been popular for years."

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Analogous

Analogous: similar or alike In some way; equivalent to

"His mother argued that not going to college was analogous to throwing his life away."

Related Words

Analogy: a similarity between things that are otherwise dissimilar.

Analogue: something that is similar in some way to something else

Words with Similar Meanings

Anomaly

Anomaly: deviation from what is normal

"Albino animals may display too great an anomaly in their coloring to attract normally colored mates.•

Related Words

Anomalous: Deviating from what is normal

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Antagonize

Antagonize: to annoy or prevoke; to anger

"The child discovered that he could antagonize the cat by pulling its tail."

Related Words

Antagonistic: Tending to provoke conflict

Antagonist: Someone who fights another

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Antipathy

Antipathy: extreme dislike

"The antipathy between the French and the English regularly erupted into open warfare.•

Words with Similar Meanings

Apathy

Apathy: Lack of interest or emotion.

The apathy of voters is so great that less than half the people who are eligible to vote actually bother to do so.•

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Apocryphal

Apocryphal: of questionable authority or authenticity.

"There is no hard or authoritative evidence to support the apocryphal tales that link the Roswell, New Mexico. incident to a downed U.F.O."

Words with Similar Meanings

Approbation

Approbation: approval and praise.

"The approbation that Jerry Lewis received in France included a medal from the Ministry of Culture.•

Related Words

Approbate: to authorize.

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Arbitrary

Arbitrary: determined by chance or impulse.

"When you lack the information to judge what to do next, you will be forced to make an arbitrary decision."

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Arbitrate

Arbitrate: to judge a dispute between two opposing parties

"Since the couple could not come to agreement, a judge was forced to arbitrate their divorce proceedings."

Related Words

Arbitration: a process by which a conflict is resolved

Arbitrator: a judge

Words with Similar Meanings

Archaic

Archaic: ancient, old-fashioned

"Her archaic Commodore computer could not run the latest software."

Related Words

Archaism: an outdated word or phrase.

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Ardor

Ardor: intense and passionate feeling

"Bishop's ardor for landscape was evident when he passionately described the beauty of the scenic Hudson Valley"

Related Words

Ardent Expressing ardor; passionate

Words with Similar Meanings

Articulate

Articulate: able to speak clearly and expressively.

"She articulates her pro-labor views so clearty that unions are among her strongest supporters. "

Words with Similar Meanings

Assuage

Attenuate

Audacious

Austere