Lower; Humiliate

Defeated, Queen Zenobia was forced to abase herself before the conquering Romans, who made her march in chains before the emperor in the procession celebration his triump. 

Embarrass

He was not at all abashed by her open admiration.

Subside; Decrease, Lessen

Rather than leaving immediately, they waited for the storm to abate. 

Renounce; give up

When Edward VIII abdicatred the British throne to marry the woman he loved, he surprised the entire world. 

Abnormal or deviant

Given the aberrant nature of the data, we doubted the validity of the entire experiment. 

Aid, usually in doing something wrong; encourage

She was unwilling to abet him in the swindle he had planned. 

Detest; hate

She abhorred all forms of bigotry. 

Wretched; lacking pride

On the streets of New York the homeless live in abject poverty, huddling in door ways to find shelter from the wind. 

Renounce upon oath

He abjured his allegiance to the king. 

Repudiatrion; self-sacrifice

Though Rudolph and Duchess Flavia loved one another, their love was doomed, for she had to marry the king; their act of abnegation was necessary to preserve the kingdom. 

Detestable; extremely unpleasant; very bad

Mary liked John until she learned he was dating Susan; then she called him an abominable young man, with abominable taste in women.

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. 

Unsuccessful; fruitless

Attacked by armed troops, the chinese students had to abandon their abortive attempt to democratize Beijing peacefully. 

Abrade (Verb)

Wear away by friction; scrape; erode

Because the sharp rocks had abraded the skin on her legs, she dabbed iodine on the scrapes and abrasions. 

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. 

Condense or shorten

Because the publishers felt the public wanted a shorter version of War and Peace, they proceeded to abridge the novel. 

Depart secretly and hide

The teller who absconded with the bonds went uncaptured until someone recognized him from his photograph on "America's Most Wanted."

Pardon (an offense)

The father confessor absolved him of his sins.

Refrain; hold oneself back voluntarily from an action or practice

After considering the effects of alcohol on his athletic performance, he decided to abstain from dringing while he trained for the race. 

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. 

Theoretical; not concrete; nonrepresentational 

To him, hunger was an abstract concept; he had never missed a meal. 

Obscure; profound; difficult to understand

Baffled by the abstruce philosophical texts assigned in class, Dave asked Lexy to explain Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. 

Plentiful; possessing riches or resources

At his immigration interview, Ivan listed his abundant reasons for coming to America: the hope of religious freedom, the prospect of employment, the promise of a more abundant life. 

one

Monarchy - governement by one ruler

Monotheism - belief in one god 

Many

Multifarious - having many parts

Multitudinous - numerous

new

Neologism - newly coined word

Neophyte - beginner; novice 

not

Noncommittal - indecided

Nonentity - person of no importance 

against

Obloquy - imfamy; disgrace

Obtrude - push into prominence 

Occlude - close; block out 

Offend - insult 

Opponent - someone who struggles against; foe 

few

Oligarchy - governement by a few

all, every

Panacea - cure-all

Panorama - unobstructed view in all directions 

beyond, related

Parallel - similar

Paraphrase - restate; translate 

through, completly

Permeable - allowing passage through

Pervade - spread throughout 

around, near

Perimeter - outer boundary

Periphery - edge

Periphrastic - stated in a roundabout way

many

Polygamist - person with several spouses

Polyglot - speaking several languages

after

Postpone - delay 

Posteriity - generations that follow

Posthumous -  after death

before

Preamble - introductory statement

Prefix - word part placed before a root/stem

Premonition - forewarning

first

Primordial - existing at the dawn of time

Primogeniture - state of being the first born

forward, in favor of 

Propulsive - driving forward 

Proponent - supporter 

first

Prototype - first of its kind

false 

pseudonym - pen name