| Word | Definition |
| Adulation | flattery; admiration |
| Adulterate | to make impure by adding inferior or tainted substances |
| Advent | arrival |
| Adventitious | associated w/by chance: accidental; casual |
| Adversary | an opponent; an enemy |
| Adverse | unfavorable; hostile |
| Adversity | poverty; misfortune |
| Advert | to refer to |
| Advocacy | act of supporting, pleading, or recommending |
| Advocate | to urge; plead for |
| Aegis | shield; defense |
| Aerie | bird nest of large prey (eagle, hawk) |
| Aesthetic | artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciating the beautiful |
| Affable | approachable; friendly |
| Affected | artificial; pretended; assumed in order to impress |
| Affidavit | written statement made under oath |
| Affiliation | joining; associating with |
| Affinity | kinship |
| Affirmation | positive assertion; confirmation; solemn pledge by one who refuses to take an oath |
| Affix | to attach or add on; to fasten |
| Affliction | state of distress; cause of suffering |
| Affluence | abundance; wealth |
| Affront | insult; offense; intentional act of disrespect |
| Agape | openmouthed |
| Agenda | items of business at a meeting |
| Agglomeration | collection; heap |
| Aggrandize | to widen in scope; to increase in size; to make greater in power |
| Aggregate | to gather; to accumulate |
| Aggressor | an attacker |
| Aghast | horrified |
| Agility | state of being agile; nimbleness (moving w/ease); dexterity |
| Agitate | stir up; disturb |
| Agnostic | one who is skeptical of the existence of a god or any ultimate reality |
| Agog | highly excited; intensely curious |
| Agrarian | pertaining to land or its cultivation |
| Alacrity | cheerful promptness; eagerness |
| Alchemy | medieval chemistry |
| Alcove | nook; recess |
| Alias | an assumed name; moniker |
| Alienate | make hostile; separate |
| Alimentary | providing nourishment |
| Alimony | payments made to an ex-spouse after divorce |
| Allay | calm; pacify |
| Allege | state without proof |
| Allegiance | loyalty |
| Allegory | story in which characters are used as symbols; fable; symbolic representation |
| Alleviate | relieve |
| Alliteration | use of the same consonant at the beginning of each stressed syllable in a line of verse
<around the rock the ragged rascal ran> |
| Allocate | to assign |
| Alloy | (N) a mixture as of metals |
| Alloy | (V) to mix; to make less pure; to lessen or to moderate |
| Allude | to refer indirectly |
| Allure | to entice; to attract |
| Allusion | indirect reference |
| Alluvial | pertaining to soil deposits left by running water |
| Aloof | apart; reserved; distant |
| Aloft | (adv) upward; (prep) on top of: above <The sailor climbed aloft into the rigging.> |
| Altercation | noisy quarrel; heated dispute |
| Altruistic | generous; concerned for others |
| Amalgamate | to combine; unite in one body |
| Amass | to collect |
| Amazon | female warrior |
| Ambidextrous | capable of using either hand equally |
| Ambience or Ambiance | environment; atmosphere |
| Ambiguous | unclear or doubtful in meaning |
| Ambivalence | the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes |
| Amble | moving at an easy pace |
| Ambrosia | food of the gods |
| Ambulatory | able to walk; not bedridden |
| Ameliorate | to improve <Many social workers have attempted to ameliorate the conditions of people living in the slums.> |
| Amenable | readily manged or willing to be lead; answerable or accountable legally |
| Amend | to correct; to change, generally for the better |
