Chapter 1
Aberration – Banal
This chapter covers the following words, each with its part of speech, pronunciation, and descriptive meaning.
Usage of the word is also illustrated in three to five sample sentences.
aberration abolish abominable aboriginal abortive absolve abusive abyss accommodate acknowledge acme adherent adjacent adjutant adorn advent advert affirmation affront agape | agenda aghast agitate alienate amass amend amorphous amphibian amputate anchor animated annex anomaly anthropoid apex apologist appellation arbiter arrogance ashen | aspirant assay assessment assimilate astronomical avid bait balk balm banal |
Meaning: abnormality; the act of departing from the normal
Usage 1: Her willingness to work in a group is an aberration; she is usually a loner.
Usage 2: There appears to be an aberration in the data that no one can explain.
Usage 3: His course was determined and he would tolerate no aberration.
Usage 4: You must order straight from the menu, with no aberration or modification.
Usage 5: Can you find the aberration in that homogeneous group?
Meaning: cancel; to put an end to
Usage 1: We hope they abolish the practice of imprisoning people for their political views.
Usage 2: To abolish slavery is an essential requirement of all modern societies.
Usage 3: Some people believe that no form of death penalty is acceptable, and we should abolish it entirely.
Usage 4: I advocate that we abolish the use of cell phones on all types of public transportation.
Usage 5: If we abolish the legal right to own a gun, what will be the effect?
Meaning: detestable; extremely unpleasant; worthy of causing disgust
Usage 1: Her treatment of her younger siblings is abominable; there is no way I’d ask her to babysit.
Usage 2: That abominable woman rudely interrupted me again!
Usage 3: The conditions at the cabin in the mountains were abominable; it hadn’t been inhabited for years.
Usage 4: Your snowman is abominable; he has no eyes, nose, or mouth!
Usage 5: Don’t you agree that the odor of dead fish at the fish market is abominable?
Meaning: being the first of its kind in a region; original or earliest known
Usage 1: The pottery of this area’s aboriginal inhabitants is exquisitely beautiful.
Usage 2: I was fascinated by our study of the island’s animals, including those that were aboriginal.
Usage 3: The dark jungle looked primeval, filled as it was with aboriginal plants and animals.
Usage 4: The aboriginal people of the area must have thought the settlers were crazy.
Usage 5: How do their aboriginal practices influence their modern customs and traditions?
Meaning: unsuccessful; fruitless; failing to succeed
Usage 1: There were several abortive attempts to start a rocket program, but none was successful.
Usage 2: The rebel insurgence was abortive and was quickly brought down.
Usage 3: She refused to believe the student demonstration would be abortive, but the rest of us knew it would fail.
Usage 4: After my abortive effort to make homemade chocolate truffles, I decided store-bought ones were superior.
Usage 5: I hear you made an abortive trip to Alaska; what happened?
Meaning: pardon (an offense); exonerate; exculpate; to pronounce free from guilt or blame
Usage 1: One goal of confession is to allow a priest to absolve a sinner from his/her sins.
Usage 2: I refuse to absolve you for the hurtful comments you made.
Usage 3: You think your good deeds will somehow absolve you from all your misdeeds, but you’re wrong.
Usage 4: There would be no need to absolve you if you didn’t do anything wrong in the first place.
Usage 5: Did she finally absolve him of the accusations that he was unfaithful?
Meaning: coarsely insulting; physically harmful; harsh or injurious; using harsh language
Usage 1: Her abusive behavior towards her peers ended in a fight.
Usage 2: I know you are angry, but please refrain from using abusive language.
Usage 3: That use of power is abusive; surely we can find another way to accomplish our goals.
Usage 4: Chocolate and I have an abusive relationship; I can’t resist its decadence.
Usage 5: Is she afraid because he has been an abusive husband?
Meaning: enormous chasm; a deep, immeasurable space
Usage 1: The earthquake caused the ground to separate and form an abyss.
Usage 2: The volcano experts crept towards the edge of the opening and stared down into the abyss.
Usage 3: He has fallen into an abyss of sadness.
Usage 4: I am not only out of money; my wallet has become a gaping abyss.
Usage 5: Is that abyss bottomless?
Meaning: oblige or help someone; to provide suitably
Usage 1: We hope they can accommodate this request, even though it is an unusual one.
Usage 2: I fail to see why we need to accommodate their interests; they are not even trying to comprom...
