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Usage

• adjudicate

  If you adjudicate a competition or dispute, you officially decide who is right or what should be done concerning any difficulties that may arise.

• adventitious

  Something that happens unexpectedly and by chance that is not inherent or natural to a given item or situation is adventitious, such as a root appearing in an unusual place on a plant.

• adulterate

  If you adulterate something, you lessen its quality by adding inferior ingredients or elements to it.

• adept

  When you are adept at something, you are very good, skillful, or talented at it.

• unadorned

  Something that is unadorned is not made more attractive with ornament or decoration.

• adage

  An adage is an inherited saying or phrase that has been historically used to express a common experience.

• adjure

  When you adjure someone to do something, you persuade, eagerly appeal, or solemnly order them to do it.

• admonish

  When you admonish someone, you tell them gently but with seriousness that they have done something wrong; you usually caution and advise them not to do it again.

• adduce

  When you adduce, you give facts and examples in order to prove that something is true.

• advocate

  When you advocate a plan or action, you publicly push for implementing it.

• adumbrate

  To _adumbrate_ is to describe something incompletely or to suggest future events based on limited current knowledge.

• adjunct

  An adjunct is something that is added to or joined to something else that is larger or more important.

• adherent

  An adherent is a supporter or follower of a leader or a cause.

• advent

  The advent of something new, such as an invention, marks the beginning of its arrival or appearance to the world at large.

• adversary

  An adversary is a person who goes against you in some way, such as an opponent in a contest or a personal enemy in a conflict.

• adversity

  If you undergo adversity in life, you suffer from trouble, misfortune, and hardship.

• inadvertent

  Something that is done inadvertently is not done intentionally; rather, it is an accident that happens because someone is not being attentive to their surroundings.

• adjacent

  When something is adjacent to something else, it lies close to or neighbors it.

• adapt

  When you adapt to a new situation, you change in order to adjust or become used to it.

• adequate

  If you have an adequate amount of something, it is either enough or just enough.

• advertorial

  An advertorial is a long advertisement—usually appearing in a newspaper or magazine—that has the form and feel of a normal article or editorial but which is actually trying to sell something or push a point of view.

• animadversion

  Animadversion is the act of strongly criticizing another person for something they have done.

• adventurous

  An adventurous person loves trying new things or taking risks in order to make their life more exciting.

• advice

  When you give someone advice, you help them by suggesting that they do something in a certain way or direct them towards doing a particular thing.

• address

  A public address is a speech or talk that is formal in nature, such as the President speaking to the people of the United States on the television.

• adopt

  When you adopt something, such as a plan or idea, you accept it or choose to follow or use it.

• adjust

  When you adjust something, you change it in some way to make it fit or work better.