20 A-Words to Adorn Your Vocabulary.

1. Abase
cause to feel shame
She is not abased or dejected, but exalted, rather.
— Sinclair, May
2. Aberration
a state or condition markedly different from the norm
While Tampa Bay has taken a huge nosedive a year after going 10-6, maybe that 2010 success was an aberration.
— Seattle Times (Dec 26, 2011)
3. Abhor
find repugnant
There are sane readers who abhor gratuitous violence but love Reacher’s menacing wisecracks.
— New York Times (Sep 20, 2011)
4.Abject
most unfortunate or miserable
Mr. Jobling stood wringing his hands helplessly, his flaccid features expressive of abject despair.
— Douglas, Hudson
5.Abrasive
sharply disagreeable; rigorous
“He has always been focused, driven, demanding and, as a result, very difficult and abrasive,” Mr. Norman said.
— New York Times (Oct 7, 2011)
6.Abstain
choose not to consume
Griffin felt that he had better abstain from questioning, and let his host run on.
— Marsh, Richard
7.Abstract
existing only in the mind
Presenting an abstract concept, waving our arms trying to describe it, we will lose our audience right away.
— Inc (Feb 20, 2012)
8.Abundant
present in great quantity
Fringing and barrier reefs are abundant throughout the archipelago, surrounding nearly every island.
— Gabel, Norman E.
9.Accentuate
to stress, single out as important
It was a carefully studied costume; and he accentuated its eccentricity by adopting theatrical attitudes and an air of satisfied negligence.
— Leblanc, Maurice
10.Acclimate
get used to a certain weather
The Jets will leave Friday for Denver, the better to acclimate to the altitude and change in time zone.
— New York Times (Oct 14, 2010)
11.Accomplice
a person who joins with another in carrying out some plan
Tiller, the thief, and a supposed accomplice, are under arrest.
— Various
12.Accord
concurrence of opinion
Friday’s accord removes one of two main sticking points that have been holding up a strategic partnership agreement between the two countries.
— Wall Street Journal (Mar 9, 2012)
13.Acerbic
harsh or corrosive in tone
They were complaining, sometimes yelling, and maybe a bit acerbic.
— New York Times (Mar 29, 2012)
14.Acme
the highest level or degree attainable
Paris wholly has got to the acme of its frenzy; whirled, all ways, by panic madness.
— Various
15.Acquiesce
to agree or express agreement
I favored building a fire and staying there till morning, but Frank preferred pushing on to camp, so I acquiesced.
— Shields, George O.
16.Acquit
pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
He said that in the absence of other evidence, “the accused is acquitted and discharged.”
— New York Times (Jan 9, 2012)
17.Acrimonious
marked by strong resentment or cynicism
At times, the two groups squabble like schoolchildren, and the exchange gets acrimonious.
— BBC (Feb 9, 2010)
18.Acute
extremely sharp or intense
Labor shortages are already so acute in many Chinese industrial zones that factories struggle to find enough people to operate their assembly lines.
— New York Times (Mar 31, 2012)
19.Adamant
impervious to pleas, persuasion, requests, reason
But high profile or no, Mr. Kors is adamant about keeping his personal life under wraps — even as his wedding day approaches.
— New York Times (Aug 5, 2011)
20.Adept
having or showing knowledge and skill and aptitude
He proved an adept playmaker, however, making several nice passes and finishing with 7 assists.
— New York Times (Jan 7, 2012)