abortive:unsuccessful: fruitless
abstemious:temperate: sparing in drink, etc.
abstruse:obscure: profound: difficult to understand
acetic:vinegary
acidulous:slightly
sour: sharp: caustic
acquiescent:accepting passively
acrid:sharp: bitterly pungent
acrimonious:stinging: caustic
actuarial:calculating; pertaining to insurance statistics
adamant:hard: inflexible
addle:rotten: muddled; crazy
adept:expert at
adipose:fatty
adroit:skillful
adventitious:accidental: casual
adverse:unfavorable: hostile
aesthetic:artistic: dealing with or capable off appreciation of the beautiful
affected:artificial: pretended
agape:openmouthed
aggregate:sum: total
aghast:horrified
albeit:although
alimentary:supplying nourishment
alluvial:pertaining to soil deposits left by rivers, etc.
aloof:apart; reserved
ambiguous:doubtful in meaning
ambulatory:able to walk
amenable:readily managed; willing to be led
amiable:agreeable; lovable
amicable:friendly
amorphous:shapeless
amphibian:able to live both on land in water
ample:abundant
amuck:in a state of rage
analogous:comparable
ancillary:serving as an aid or accessory; auxiliary
animated:lively
anomalous:abnormal; irregular
anonymous:having no name
antediluvian:antiquated; ancient
anthropoid:manlike
apathetic:indifferent
apocryphal:not genuine; sham
apposite:appropriate; fitting
apprehensive:fearful; discerning
aquiline:curved; hooked
arable:fit for plowing
arbitrary:fixed or decided; despotic
archaic:antiquated
arduous:hard; strenuous
aromatic:fragrant
arrant:thorough; complete; unmitigated
ascetic:practicing self-denial; austere
ashen:ash-colored
asinine:stupid
askance:with a sideway or indirect look
askew:crookedly; slanted; at an angle
assiduous:diligent
astral:relating to the stars
astute:wise; shrewd
astringent:binding; causing contraction
atheistic:denying the existence of God
athwart:across; in opposition
atypical:not normal
auspicious:favoring success
austere:strict; stern
autonomous:self-governing
auxiliary:helper, additional or subsidiary
averse:reluctant
avid:greedy; eager for
avuncular:like an uncle
awry:distorted; crooked
azure:sky blue
bacchanalian:drunken
baleful:deadly; destructive
balmy:mild; fragrant
banal:hackneyed; commonplace; trite
baneful:ruinous; poisonous
bantering:good-natured ridiculing
baroque:highly ornate
beatific:giving bliss; blissful
belated:delayed
bellicose:warlike
benevolent:generous; charitable
benighted:overcome by darkness
benign:kindly; favorable; not malignant
bereft:deprived of; lacking
berserk:frenzied
bicameral:two-chambered, as a legislative body
biennial:every two years
bilious:suffering from indigestion; irritable
bizarre:fantastic; violently contrasting
bland:soothing; mild
blasphemous:profane; impious
blatant:loudly offensive
bleak:cold; cheerless
blighted:suffering from a disease; destroyed
blithe:gay; joyous
bloated:swollen or puffed as with water or air
bogus:counterfeit; not authentic
boisterous:violent; rough; noisy
bombastic:pompous; using inflated language
bootless:useless
bountiful:generous; showing bounty
brazen:insolent
bristling:rising like bristles; showing irritation
brusque:blunt; abrupt
bucolic:rustic; pastoral
bumptious:self-assertive
buxom:plump; vigorous; jolly
cadaverous:like a corpse; pale
callous:hardened; unfeeling
calorific:heat-producing
canny:shrewd; thrifty
capacious:spacious
capricious:fickle; incalculable
captious:faultfinding
carnal:fleshly
carnivorous:meat-eating
carping:finding fault
catholic:broadly sympathetic; liberal
caustic:burning; sarcastically biting
celestial:heavenly
celibate:unmarried; abstaining from sexual intercourse
centigrade:measure of temperature used widely in Europe
centrifugal:radiating; departing from the center
cerebral:pertaining to the brain of intellect
chaffing:bantering; joking
chaotic:in utter disorder
chary:cautiously watchful
chaste:pure
checkered:marked by changes in fortune
chimerical:fantastic; highly imaginative
choleric:hot-tempered
chronic:long established as a disease
churlish:boorish; rude
ciliated:having minute hairs
circuitous:roundabout
circumspect:prudent; cautious
clairvoyant:having foresight
clandestine:secret
clarion:shrill trumpetlike sound
climactic:relating to the highest point
cogent:convincing
cognate:allied by blood; of the same or kindred nature
coincident:occurring at the same time
colossal:huge
combustible:easily burned
comely:attractive; agreeable
commensurate:equal in extent
commodious:spacious and comfortable
compatible:harmonious; in harmony with
complacent:self-satisfied
complaisant:trying to please; obliging
compliant:yielding
concentric:having a common center
concise:brief and compact
concurrent:happening at the same time
condign:adequate; deservedly severe
congenital:existing at birth
conjugal:pertaining to marriage
connubial:pertaining to marriage or the matrimonial state
consummate:complete
contentious:quarrelsome
contiguous:adjacent to; touching upon
contingent:conditional
contrite:penitent
contumacious:disobedient; resisting authority
conversant:familiar with
convivial:festive; gay; characterized by joviality
copious:plentiful
corporeal:bodily; material
corpulent:very fat
corrosive:eating away by chemicals or disease
cosmic:pertaining to the universe; vast
covert:secret; hidden; implied
covetous:avaricious; eagerly desirous of
coy:shy; modest; coquettish
crabbed:sour; peevish
crass:very unrefined; grossly insensible
craven:cowardly
crestfallen:dejected; dispirited
cryptic:mysterious; hidden; secret
culinary:relating to cooking
cursory:casual; hastily done