Dictionary Section: A (2021)
Aaron’s Rod –several tall, flower-bearing plants
Abattoir –slaughterhouse.
Abnegation –the act of renouncing or rejecting something; self-denial.
Abstruse –difficult to understand/obscure.
Acrimonious –(typically of speech/debate) angry and bitter.
Acronym –an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word.
Ad hominem –responding to arguments by attacking a person's character rather than the content of their arguments.
Adiaphora –concept of things outside of moral law/actions that morality neither mandates nor forbids.
Adroit –skillful and quick with use of hands.
Affect –^1 to influence or change; ^2 to show or display falsely.
Affidavit –a written statement confirmed by oath or affirmation, for use as evidence in court.
Agathusia –benevolent suicide/self-sacrifice of one's own life for sake of the greater good.
Alacrity –brisk and cheerful readiness.
Alexipharmic –an antidote or poison.
Altruism –^1 selflessness; ^2 principle/practice of concern for the welfare of others.
Ambiance –character and atmosphere of a place.
Ambivalent –having mixed feelings about someone/thing.
Ameliorate –to make (something bad or unsatisfactory) better.
Anagram –a word, phrase, or name formed by rearranging the letters of another; word play resulting by rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase and using all original letters exactly once.
Anathema –^1 something or someone that is detested or shunned; ^2 a formal excommunication based on New Testament.
Androcracy –government run by men.
Anechoic –no echo.
Animadversion –^1 criticism or censure; ^2 a comment or remark, especially a critical one.
Anthropophagous –man-eating.
Apeiron –unlimited/infinite/indefinite.
Aphorisms –expressive observation that contains a general truth.
Apolitical –not interested or involved in politics.
Aporia –^1 an irresolvable internal contradiction or logical disjunction in a text, argument, or theory; ^2 the expression of doubt.
Appertain –^1 be relating to/concerning; ^2 be appropriate or applicable.
Arpeggio –musical technique where notes are played/sung in sequence, one after the other.
Ascetic –^1 characterizing/suggesting severe self-discipline from indulgence (usually for religion); ^2 a person who practices severe self-discipline and abstention.
Astrobleme –(star scar) mark left by a meteor.
Atavism –^1 tendency to revert to something ancient or ancestral; ^2 recurrence of traits of an ancestor in a subsequent generation.
Au fait –having good/detailed knowledge of something.
August –majestic/awe-inspiring.
Auralize –like visualizing with sound.
Austere –severe/strict in manner, attitude, or appearance;
Autodidact –one who has never had, or has abandoned, formal education in favor of their own path of learning; a self-taught person.
Avant-garde –^1 new and unusual/experimental ideas; 2na person/people introducing the ideas; ^3 a favoring or introducing the ideas.
Avoirdupois –a system of weights based on a pound of 16 ounces or 7,000 grains, widely used in English-speaking countries; weight/heaviness.
Avouch –(Archaic) affirm or assert.