abjure [v] give up abstain from, forswear, recant, renege, renounce, retract, take back, withdraw ablate [v] wear away erode, evaporate, melt, vaporize, ablaze [adj] on fire afire, aflame, alight, blazing, burning, conflagrant, fiery, flaming, flaring, ignited, lighted, ablaze [adj] very excited afire, angry, aroused, enthusiastic, fervent, frenzied, fuming, furious, heated, impassioned, incensed, intense, on fire, passionate, raging, stimulated, vehement; concept dull, unexcited ablaze [adj] brightly illuminated aflame, aglow, brilliant, flashing, gleaming, glowing, incandescent, luminous, radiant, refulgent, sparkling; concept dark, dim able [adj] capable of performing; having an innate capacity adept, adequate, adroit, agile, alert, apt, bright, capable, competent, cunning, deft, dexterous, easy, effortless, endowed, equipped, facile, fitted, good, intelligent, knowing, powerful, ready, smart, strong, worthy, ineffective, inept, infirm, powerless, unable, useless able [adj] able to perform well; having a proven capacity accomplished, adroit, agile, artful, au fait, brilliant, capable, clever, deft, dexterous, effective, effectual, efficient, equal to, experienced, expert, facile, gifted, ingenious, intelligent, keen, know backwards and forwards, know one’s onions, know the ropes, learned, masterful, masterly, powerful, practiced, prepared, proficient, qualified, re- sponsible, savvy, sharp, skilled, skillful, smart, talented, there, trained, up to it, up to snuff , up to speed, with it, delicate, feeble, inept, stupid, weak able-bodied [adj] physically strong and capable firm, fit, hale, hardy, healthy, hearty, lusty, powerful, robust, staunch, stout, strap- ping, sturdy, vigorous, delicate, infirm, weak ablution [n] washing bath, cleansing, deconta- mination, lavation, purification, shower, showering, ably [adv] capably adroitly, capably, competently; concept abnegate [v] renounce abstain, decline, forbear, forgo, give up, refrain, reject; concepts abnegation [n] denial, renouncement of some- thing abandonment, abstinence, eschewal, for- bearance, giving up, nixing, refusal, rejection, relinquishment, renunciation, sacrifice, self- Kipf_ _ p_c _r .qxp / / : PM Page ABNORMAL / ABOUT ab ab denial, stonewall, surrender, temperance; concepts, acquiescence, admittance, surrender, yielding abnormal [adj] different from standard or norm aberrant, anomalistic, anomalous, atypical, bizarre, curious, deviant, deviate, deviating, divergent, eccentric, exceptional, extraordinary, fantastic, funny, grody, gross, heteroclite, het- erodox, heteromorphic, irregular, odd, off-base, off-color, out of line, peculiar, preternatural, queer, screwy, spastic, strange, uncommon, unexpected, unnatural, unorthodox, unusual, weird; concept customary, normal, standard, straight, usual abnormality [n] being different from standard or norm aberrancy, aberration, anomalism, anomaly, atypicalness, bizarreness, deformity, deviance, deviancy, deviation, eccentricity, exception, extraordinariness, flaw, irregularity, oddity, peculiarity, preternaturalness, singularity, strangeness, uncommonness, unnaturalness, unusualness, weirdness; concept normality, normalness, sameness, standard aboard [adj] on or in a transportation object boarded, consigned, embarked, en route, in transit, loaded, on, on board, traveling; concept not on, off abode [n] building or place where one resides address, apartment, base, casa, condo, co-op, crash pad, crib, den, digs, domicile, dwelling, flat, flop, habitat, haunt, headquar- ters, hearth, hole, home, homestead, house, joint, lodging, pad, quarters, residence, roost , sanctuary, seat; concept abolish [v] do away with or put an end to abate, abrogate, annihilate, annul, call off, cancel, destroy, disestablish, dissolve, end, eradicate, erase, expunge, extinguish, extirpate, finish, in- hibit, invalidate, kill, negate, nix, nullify, oblit- erate, overthrow, overturn, prohibit, put an end to, put kibosh on, put the kibosh on, quash, repeal, repudiate, rescind, revoke, scrub, set aside, squelch, stamp out, subvert, supersede, suppress, terminate, undo, vacate, vitiate, void, wipe out, zap confirm, continue, enact, establish, institute, legalize, promote, ratify, support, uphold abolition [n] formal act of putting an end to, annulling abolishment, abrogation, annihilation, annulment, cancellation, destruction, dissolu- tion, elimination, end, ending, eradication, extirpation, invalidation, negation, nullification, obliteration, overthrow, overturning, quashing, repeal, repudiation, rescinding, rescindment, rescission, revocation, subversion, suppression, termination, voiding, wiping out, withdrawal; concepts confirmation, establishment, establishment, institution, legalization, promotion abolitionist [n] person wanting something ended activist, advocate, opponent, revolution- ary; concept A-bomb [n] atomic bomb nuclear bomb, nuclear weapon, physics package, thermonuclear bomb; concept abominable [adj] awful, detestable abhorrent, atrocious, awful, bad, base, beastly, con- temptible, cursed, despicable, disgusting, foul, grim, grody, gross, hairy, hateful, heinous, hellish, horrible, horrid, loathsome, lousy, nau- seating, obnoxious, odious, offensive, repellent, reprehensible, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, rotten, sleazy, stinking, terrible, vile, wretched allur- ing, appealing, delightful, desirable, enjoyable, likeable, lovable, pleasant, sweet, wonderful abominate [v] detest abhor, despise, dislike, hate, loathe; concept abomination [n] object of extreme dislike, hate anathema, aversion, bother, curse, detesta- tion, evil, horror, nuisance, plague, shame, torment, beauty, blessing, delight, enjoyment, esteem, joy, love, treat abomination [n] wrongdoing crime, offense, wrong; concept benefit, right aboriginal [adj] belonging to one, existing in a place since prehistory ancient, earliest, endemic, first, indigenous, native, original, primary, primeval, primitive, primordial; concept foreign aborigine [n] first inhabitant aboriginal, autochthon, bushman, indigene, native, primitive; concept abort [v] stop or cancel something arrest, break off, call it quits, call off, check, cut off, drop, end, fail, halt, interrupt, knock it off, lay off, nullify, scrap, scratch, scrub, terminate; concept continue, keep abort [v] terminate or fail to complete pregnancy miscarry carry to term, keep abortion [n] expulsion of fetus aborticide, feticide, misbirth, miscarriage, termination; concepts, abortion [n] failure disappointment, disaster, fiasco, misadventure, premature delivery; concepts continuation, success abortive [adj] failing to achieve a goal failed, failing, fruitless, futile, ineffective, ineffectual, miscarried, unavailing, unproductive, unsuc- cessful, useless, vain, worthless; concept complete, consummated, effectual, efficient, fruitful, productive, successful abound [v] exist in abundance be alive with, be all over the place, be knee deep in, be no end to, be plentiful, be thick with, be up to one’s ears in, crawl with, crowd, flourish, flow, have a full plate, infest, overflow, proliferate, swarm, swell, teem, thrive; concept deficient, fail, lack, need, short, want abounding [adj] plentiful abundant, bountiful, copious, filled, flush, plenteous, prodigal, pro- fuse, prolific, replete, teeming , about [adv] in an opposite direction around, back, backward, in reverse, round; concept about [adv] lying anywhere without order, arrangement anyhow, any which way, around, here and there; concept about [prep] near an amount, quantity almost, approximately, in general, in the ball park, in the neighborhood, nearly, practically, pretty nearly, roughly; concept about [prep] concerning, relating to apropos, as concerns, as respects, dealing with, in Kipf_ _ p_c _r .qxp / / : PM Page ABOUT / ABSENT connection with, in relation to, in respect to, referring to, regarding, relative to, touching, touching on; concept about [prep] near or close to in position adjacent, beside, nearby, afar, away, distant, far, remote about [prep] on every side, in every direction around, encircling, round, surrounding, through, throughout; concept about-face [n] change in direction change- about, double, doubleback, reversal, reverse, turn, turnabout, volte-face; concept above [prep] higher in position aloft, atop, beyond, high, on high, on top of, over, over- head, raised, superior, upon; concept below, under above [prep] more, higher in amount, degree beyond, exceeding, greater than, larger than, over; concept below, deficient, fewer, less above [prep] superior to before, beyond, exceeding, prior to, superior to, surpassing; concept inferior, under aboveboard [adj] candid forthright, frank, honest, open, overt, right on, square, straight, straightforward, straight from shoulder, true, trustworthy, truthful, up front, veracious; concept deceitful, devious, lying, shady, underhanded