8-letter words starting with a
- abducted — Simple past tense and past participle of abduct.
- abductee — someone who is abducted
- abductor — any muscle that abducts (opposed to adductor).
- abdullah — 1882–1951, emir of Transjordan (1921–46) and first king of Jordan (1946–51). He joined the Arab revolt against Turkish rule in World War I; assassinated 1951
- abednego — one of Daniel's three companions who, together with Shadrach and Meshach, was miraculously saved from destruction in Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace (Daniel 3:12–30)
- abegging — in the act of begging
- abelmosk — a tropical bushy malvaceous plant, Hibiscus abelmoschus, cultivated for its yellow-and-crimson flowers and for its musk-scented seeds, which yield an oil used in perfumery
- abelungu — (South Africa, now chiefly pejorative) White people collectively.
- abeokuta — a town in W Nigeria, capital of Ogun state. Pop: 487 000 (2005 est)
- aberdare — a town in South Wales, in Rhondda Cynon Taff county borough. Pop: 31 705 (2001)
- aberdeen — a city in NE Scotland, on the North Sea: centre for processing North Sea oil and gas; university (1494). Pop: 184 788 (2001)
- aberrant — Aberrant means unusual and not socially acceptable.
- aberrate — to deviate from what is normal or correct
- abessive — the grammatical case indicating absence
- abetment — to encourage, support, or countenance by aid or approval, usually in wrongdoing: to abet a swindler; to abet a crime.
- abetting — to encourage, support, or countenance by aid or approval, usually in wrongdoing: to abet a swindler; to abet a crime.
- abettors — Plural form of abettor.
- abeyance — a state of being suspended or put aside temporarily
- abeyancy — (rare) Abeyance.
- abfarads — Plural form of abfarad.
- abhinaya — (dance) Use of the face and hands, in an expressive manner, similar to the kathakali dance of India.R:MW3 1976 page=3.
- abhorred — to regard with extreme repugnance or aversion; detest utterly; loathe; abominate.
- abhorrer — to regard with extreme repugnance or aversion; detest utterly; loathe; abominate.
- abiathar — a priest of Israel and a companion of David. I Sam. 22:20; II Sam. 15:24–36.
- abidable — Alternative spelling of abideable.
- abidance — the act or state of abiding.
- abide by — If you abide by a law, agreement, or decision, you do what it says you should do.
- abietate — a salt or ester of abietic acid.
- abigails — Plural form of abigail.
- abingdon — a market town in S England, in Oxfordshire. Pop: 36 010 (2001)
- abington — urban township in SE Pa., near Philadelphia: pop. 56,000
- abiocoen — The non-living components of an environment, such as water, soil, air, etc.
- abiogeny — (biology) abiogenesis.
- abiology — The sciences, such as geology and astronomy, that collectively deal with inorganic or lifeless bodies.
- abitrary — Misspelling of arbitrary.
- abjectly — utterly hopeless, miserable, humiliating, or wretched: abject poverty.
- abjuring — Present participle of abjure.
- abkhazia — a disputed region of NW Georgia, between the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains: a subtropical region, with mountains rising over 3900 m (13 000 ft); Abkhazian separatists seized control of the region in 1993; Russia formally recognized it as an independent republic following the Russian-Georgian war of 2008, although Georgia still claims the region as part of its territory. Capital: Sukhumi. Pop: 220 600 (2006 est). Area: 8600 sq km (3320 sq miles)
- ablating — Present participle of ablate.
- ablation — the surgical removal of an organ, structure, or part
- ablative — (in certain inflected languages such as Latin) denoting a case of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives indicating the agent in passive sentences or the instrument, manner, or place of the action described by the verb
- ablators — Plural form of ablator.
- ablegate — a papal envoy who has important duties abroad such as bringing a cardinal's insignia to him when he has just been appointed, or taking a message to a sovereign
- ableness — (uncountable, now, rare) Ability of body or mind; power; force; vigor. (First attested from around 1350 to 1470.).
- abligate — (obsolete) To tie up so as to hinder from.
- abluting — Present participle of ablute.
- ablution — the ritual washing of a priest's hands or of sacred vessels
- abnegate — to deny to oneself; renounce (privileges, pleasure, etc)
- abnormal — Someone or something that is abnormal is unusual, especially in a way that is worrying.
- aboideau — a dyke with a sluicegate that allows flood water to drain but keeps the sea water out