English Words: A

35,202 words · Page 20 of 705

Africanadj

Of or pertaining to Africa.

Africananoun

Collectible objects, such as maps, documents and artifacts, peculiar to Africa, especially Southern Africa.

Africanismnoun

Eurocentric representation of Africans or people of African ancestry.

Afridinoun

A member of a Pashtun tribe.

Afrikaansname

A Germanic language descending from Dutch; the primary language of the descendants of Dutch and other European settlers, as well as many mixed-race (e.g. Rehoboth Basters) living in South Africa and in Namibia. Also, one of the eleven official languages of South Africa and until 1990 one of three official languages of Namibia.

Afrikanernoun

A member of an ethnic group of northwestern European ancestry and associated with southern Africa and the Afrikaans language.

afrobeatnoun

Music that combines West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) with American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersecting rhythms, and percussion.

aftnoun

The rear part (after end) of a ship or other vessel.

afteradv

Behind; later in time; following.

afterbirthnoun

The placenta and other material expelled via the birth canal following childbirth or parturition in mammals.

afterburnernoun

A device in a jet engine which injects fuel into the exhaust system to increase the thrust.

aftercarenoun

The care given to a patient during recovery from an operation or after hospitalization.

afterglownoun

The glow seen in the sky after sunset.

afterlifenoun

A conscious existence after death; a supernatural life that follows one's natural life, in some worldviews.

aftermarketnoun

The market for further goods and services, such as replacement parts and accessories, subsequent to the sale of a product such as an automobile or computer.

aftermathnoun

That which happens after, that which follows, usually of strongly negative connotation in most contexts, implying a preceding catastrophe.

afternoonnoun

The part of the day from noon or lunchtime until sunset, evening, or suppertime or 6pm.

afternoonsadv

Every afternoon.

afterpartynoun

Alternative spelling of after-party.

aftersnoun

Dessert.

afterschooladj

Taking place immediately after school classes.

aftershavenoun

a lotion, gel, or liquid used after finishing shaving

aftershocknoun

An earthquake that follows in the same vicinity as another, usually larger, earthquake (the "mainshock").

aftertastenoun

A taste of something that persists when it is no longer present.

afterthoughtnoun

A reflection after an act; a later or subsequent thought, action, or expedient.

afterwardadv

Alternative form of afterwards.

afterwardsadv

At a later or succeeding time; after that;

afterwordnoun

an epilogue.

Aftonname

A city in Iowa.

agnoun

Clipping of agriculture.

aganoun

Alternative spelling of agha.

Agadirname

A city in Souss-Massa, Morocco.

againadv

Another time: indicating a repeat of an action.

againstprep

In a contrary direction to.

agamanoun

Any of the various small, long-tailed lizards of the subfamily Agaminae of family Agamidae, especially in genera Acanthocercus, Agama, Dendragama, Laudakia, Phrynocephalus, Trapelus and Xenagama.

Agamemnonname

One of the most distinguished heroes of Greek mythology. He is the son of King Atreus of Mycenae and Queen Aerope and the brother of Menelaus. He is famous for rallying the Greeks in the Trojan War, yet infamous for the sacrifice of his daughter Iphigenia at the commencement of the war.

agapeadj

In a state of astonishment, wonder, expectation, or eager attention; as with mouth hanging open.

agarnoun

A gelatinous substance obtained from red algae, especially Gracilaria species, used as a bacterial culture medium, in electrophoresis and as a food additive.

Agardname

A surname from Danish.

agarosenoun

A polymeric cross-linked polysaccharide extracted from the seaweed agar; used to make gels that are used in electrophoresis.

Agarwalnoun

Alternative form of Agrawal.

Agassiname

A surname from Armenian, Persian, Turkish, or Assyrian Neo-Aramaic.

agatenoun

A semitransparent, uncrystallized silicate mineral and semiprecious stone, presenting various tints in the same specimen, with colors delicately arranged and often curved in parallel alternating dark and light stripes or bands, or blended in clouds; various authorities call it a variety of chalcedony, a variety of quartz, or a combination of the two.

Agathaname

A female given name from Ancient Greek.

Agathonname

A male given name from Ancient Greek.

agavenoun

Any plant in the large, variable genus Agave of succulent plants, commonly armed with formidable prickles, flowering at maturity after several years, and generally dying thereafter; large species, such as the maguey or century plant, (Agave americana), produce gigantic inflorescences. Several are of economic importance as sources of fibre such as sisal, and alcoholic beverages such as tequila.

agenoun

The amount of time that some being has been alive, or that some thing has been in existence, as measured from its birth or origin until the present or until some other given reference point. (Often measured in number of years; alternatively in months, days, hours, etc.; see also the usage notes)

agedadj

Old.

ageeadv

Aside, on or to one side; awry; off from the straight line.

ageingadj

UK, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa standard spelling of aging.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English alphabetical index for the letter A contains 35,202 headwords drawn from our Wiktionary-derived dictionary table. At 50 entries per page the browse splits into 705 pages, and you are currently viewing page 20. Every row above is a dictionary-backed entry with a canonical slug, and each links through to a full definition page with pronunciation, senses, etymology, and related-word data where available.

On this page 50 of 50 entries carry a part-of-speech tag and 50 carry at least one stored definition. Coverage varies across letters because Wiktionary volunteers build entries at different speeds for different parts of the alphabet, letters with common starting sounds (S, C, T, P) usually have the densest coverage, while less frequent starters (X, Q, Z) tend to have shorter but more specialised lists. PlainSpell surfaces whatever data is present and links back to the source when a definition is not yet recorded.

For readers using this index as a spelling reference, the guarantee is that every form you see on the list is a documented English headword, not a guess, not a derived inflection lacking a lemma row. If a word you expected to find is absent from the "A" list, it usually means the form exists only as an inflection of another lemma (e.g. a past participle stored under the infinitive) or the entry has not yet been imported from Wiktionary. Use the search bar or the misspelling lookup to resolve these cases.