We’ve started a comprehensive series of posts dedicated to helping you study for your school or national spelling bee. If you’ve arrived here via a search engine or outside link, please be sure to take a moment to visit the main post about 12th Grade Spelling Bee Words for some tips on how to practice and the best ways to become a better speller.
This post specifically covers 12th grade level words that start with the letter A. Lists for the other letters of the alphabet can be found in the main post here.
After you’ve read through the list, be sure to download our free spelling bee printables at the end to test your knowledge and help you study and master these words.
12th Grade Spelling Bee Words that Start with the Letter A
aberration: a deviation from what is normal, typical, or expected
“The aberration in the data was so small that it could easily be attributed to random error.”
abet: to assist or encourage someone to do something wrong or illegal
“He was charged with abetting the escape of a convicted murderer.”
abhor: to dislike intensely or passionately; hate
“I abhor violence in any form.”
abject: miserable; pitiful; hopeless
“After losing his job, he became an abject drunkard and could be found passed out in doorways and alleyways.”
abjure: to renounce or reject solemnly; disavow
“She abjured her former beliefs and embraced the new religion.”
abrogate: to abolish or annul by authoritative action; do away with
“The new law abrogates the old one.”
abscond: to leave hurriedly and secretly, typically to avoid detection or arrest
“He was accused of absconding with company funds.”
absolve: to free from blame or guilt; exonerate
“The jury absolved him of all charges.”
abstain: to choose not to do something or to refrain from doing something, especially as an act of self-denial
“I’m going to abstain from drinking for a month.”
abstemious: characterized by moderation or self-restraint, especially with regard to food and drink
“He was always abstemious, even when everyone else was indulging.”
abut: to border on; touch; adjoin
“The two countries abut each other.”
accede: to agree to a demand, request, or treaty
“The president acceded to the demands of the protesters.”
accession: the process of coming to power or taking office
“His accession to the throne was marked by great celebrations.”
acclivity: an upward slope or gradient
“The road ended in a steep acclivity.”
accolade: an expression of praise
“The novel has received accolades from critics and readers alike.”
acolyte: a young follower or assistant, especially of a priest in Christian worship
“She became an acolyte in the church at a very young age.”
admonish: to caution or advise against something
“I admonished him for talking back to his teacher.”
aesthetic: relating to beauty or good taste
“She has an eye for aesthetics and always knows what looks nice.”
affable: pleasantly easy to talk to; good-natured
“He’s one of the most affable people I’ve ever met.”
affected: behaving in an unnatural way in order to impress others
“She spoke in an affected voice that was clearly fake.”
affinity: a natural liking for and understanding of someone or something
“She has a great affinity for animals and plans to become a veterinarian.”
aggrandize: to make oneself appear better than one really is; boast
“He’s always aggrandizing himself and trying to make everyone like him.”
alacrity: eager and enthusiastic willingness
“I accepted the job offer with alacrity.”
amalgamate: to mix or blend together
“The two companies amalgamated to form a supercompany.”
ambiguous: open to more than one interpretation
“His statement was so ambiguous that I couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not.”
ameliorate: to make something better or improve
“Nothing could ameliorate the pain of losing my best friend.”
amiable: generally likable or enjoyable
“She’s always so amiable, it’s hard not to like her.”
antebellum: relating to the period before a war, typically the American Civil War
“The house is an antebellum mansion that was built in 1820.”
antediluvian: extremely old-fashioned or outdated
“His ideas about dating are antediluvian and need to be modernized.”
apathy: lack of interest in or concern for things that others find moving or exciting; indifference
“The apathy of the voters was evident in the low turnout on election day.”
apiary: a place where bees are kept
“He keeps an apiary in his backyard and sells honey at the farmer’s market.”
aplomb: self-confidence or assurance, especially when in a challenging situation
“She answered the difficult question with aplomb.”
appease: to make (someone) less angry or upset
“I tried to appease her by buying her flowers, but it didn’t work.”
apprise: to inform someone of something
“Please apprise me of any changes to the schedule.”
approbation: official approval
“The project received approbation from the city council.”
apropos: appropriate to the situation
“That’s a bit apropos of nothing, don’t you think?”
arbiter: a person with the power to decide an issue or make a binding judgment
“The arbiter of the dispute was unable to reach a decision.”
archipelago: a group of islands
“The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean.”
arrant: complete; utter
“That is an arrant lie and you know it!”
ascetic: practicing self-denial as a spiritual discipline
“He lives an ascetic lifestyle and has very few possessions.”
assuage: to make (something) less intense or severe
“The medication only assuaged the pain, it didn’t cure the illness.”
attenuate: to make (something) weaker or less intense
“The flu virus is highly attenuated by the time it’s injected into a vaccine.”
audacious: daring and fearless; adventurous
“It was audacious of him to try to climb the mountain without any gear.”
augur: to be a sign of (something bad); foreshadow
“The dark clouds augured a storm.”
aurora: a natural light display in the sky (northern lights)
“We went outside to watch the aurora borealis but didn’t see anything.”
austere: severe or strict in manner or appearance; unadorned
“The austere conditions in the prison were hard to adjust to.”
avarice: greediness for wealth or possessions
“His avarice is so great that he’s willing to do anything for money.”
aver: to state or affirm as true
“I aver that I am innocent of the charges against me.”
axiom: a self-evident truth that requires no proof
“One of my favorite axioms is ‘actions speak louder than words.'”
azure: a bright blue color
“The azure sky was clear and cloudless.”
Free Printable Worksheets and Study PDF’s
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