1. assiduous — persistently diligent, constant
I should have been more specific in my request, for Hervey’s assiduous nature interpreted my vague instructions as an order to read the entirety of the New York Herald-Tribune‘s sports pages from 1923 through 1950.
2. aroint — [archaic] begone, get hence
Aroint thee, ye vile knave, or taste my sword’s steel!
3. avenaceous — of or related to oats
“Oh, to be sure, it’s hearty, and healthy too, your avenaceous loaves, only it hurts my teeth, and the grains get stuck in my gums.”
4. abreact — to release a repressed emotion through the process of re-experiencing it
The shrink told me I was unable to fully abreact the response to my childhood trauma due to my deeply ingrained resistance to psychology, but I think it was because he was bollocks as a hypnotherapist.
5. abject — wretched, miserable; despicable
Difficult it was to regard the shivering, weeping, abject figure before us and feel anything but contempt for the former High Lord of the surrounding demesne.
6. abomination — object of disgust or hatred, detestable thing; feeling of extreme loathing
Woe! Woe to you cities which would permit this abomination within your walls! Woe to you people who advertise and encourage the congregation of these foul fiends!
7. autarchy — self-government; absolute power
Once the generals had made this concession, however, Lerbeck’s sway over the military was complete, and now the former second secretary found himself in a position of complete autarchy over the tiny principality.
8. attenuate — to make thin or thinner; to reduce the force of
The effectiveness of the vaccines made from this attenuated virus was proven by the much healthier flocks and herds in those regions.
9. anhedonia — inability to experience pleasure
Since the accident she just sits by the window in a state of anhedonia, not to say catatonia, and we are at our wit’s end just what to do.
10. amygdala — [anatomy] almond-shaped mass of nuclei within the temporal lobe with role in memory and emotion; pl. the tonsils; [obsolete] almond
Cocaine users showed abnormal patterns in the amygdala both during and after such stimulus.