a. unclear or doubtful in meaning
E.g. His ambiguous instructions misled us; we did not know which road to take.
a. mixed; experiencing or expressing opposing or contradictory feelings
E.g. South Korea is one of the world's most successful trading nations but the population remains deeply ambivalent about the benefits of open markets.
a. responsive to advice or suggestion; responsible to higher authority; willing to comply with; agreeable
E.g. He was amenable to any suggestions that came from those he looked up to.
a. good-natured and likable; lovable; warmly friendly
E.g. In Little Women, Beth is the amiable daughter whose loving disposition endears her to all who know her.
a. exhibiting friendliness or goodwill; not quarrelsome
E.g. Beth's sister Jo is the hot-tempered tomboy who has a hard time maintaining amicable relations with those around her.
a. moved by sexual love; loving
E.g. "Love them and leave them" was the motto of the amorous Don Juan.
v. cut off part of body, especially by surgery; prune
E.g. When the doctors had to amputate the young man's leg to prevent the spread of cancer, he did not let the loss of a limb keep him from participating in sports.
a. experiencing extreme discomfort or discontent; feeling, expressing, or caused by anguish
E.g. We have to transfer these anguished victims of the earthquake at first.
v. destroy completely; reduce to nonexistence
E.g. The enemy in its revenge tried to annihilate the entire population.
v. make or declare void or invalid; reduce to nothing
E.g. The parents of the eloped couple tried to annul the marriage.
n. active resistance; condition of being an opposing principle, force, or factor
E.g. Barry showed his antagonism toward his new stepmother by ignoring her whenever she tried talking to him.
n. heavy block of iron or steel with a smooth, flat top on which metals are shaped by hammering
E.g. The man put the iron block on the anvil.
a. feeling or showing a lack of interest or concern; indifferent
E.g. But he shares Mary's apathetic and listless look: he seems to have more length of limb than vivacity of blood or vigor of brain.
n. lack of caring; indifference
E.g. A firm believer in democratic government, she could not understand the apathy of people who never bothered to vote.
n. highest point; vertex; summit; climax
E.g. He was at the apex of his career: he had climbed to the top of the heap.
a. offering or expressing an apology or excuse; serving as or containing a formal justification or defense
E.g. As they went by, one of their leaders shouted out to me in apologetic explanation.
n. text character used to mark the possessive or to show the omission of letters or numbers
E.g. The apostrophe is misused extensively; more so, perhaps, than any other punctuation mark.
n. ghostly figure; sudden or unusual sight; appearance; state of being visible
E.g. On the castle battlements, an apparition materialized and spoke to Hamlet, warning him of his uncle's treachery.
n. something appended to, or accompanying, a principal or greater thing, though not necessary to it
E.g. Now, if the extra appendage is hindering the dog, or is going to cause damage or injury to her, then yes, by all means, perform the surgery.
a. capable of being applied; fit or suitable to be applied; having relevance
E.g. In order to be able to check and compare price quotation, we need currently applicable insurance rates.
a. considerable; perceptible
E.g. Her office had no appreciable impact on improving global perceptions of the United States, and in some situations made things worse.
n. fearful or uneasy anticipation of the future; act of seizing or capturing; understanding
E.g. His nervous glances at the passersby on the deserted street revealed his apprehension.
a. capable of apprehending; knowing; conscious; relating to the faculty of apprehension; sensible; feeling; perceptive
E.g. Here I walked about for a long time, feeling very strange, and mortally apprehensive of some one coming in and kidnapping me.
v. approach; come near
E.g. The conclusions of yours both approximate to the truth.
a. consisting of, relating to, or being in water
E.g. Paul enjoyed aquatic sports such as scuba diving and snorkeling.
n. place where different tree varieties are exhibited
E.g. Walking along the tree-lined paths of the arboretum, Rita noted poplars, firs, and some particularly fine sycamores.
a. secret; mysterious; known only to the initiated
E.g. Secret brotherhoods surround themselves with arcane rituals and trappings to mystify outsiders.
n. study of artifacts and relics of early mankind
E.g. The professor of archaeology headed an expedition to the Gobi Desert in search of ancient ruins.
a. displaying or by strong enthusiasm or devotion; passionate
E.g. All her fellow demonstrators were busily making posters and handing out flyers, inspired by her ardent enthusiasm for the cause.
a. demanding great effort or labor; difficult
E.g. Her arduous efforts had sapped her energy.
n. one of the aristocracy or people of rank in a community; one of a ruling class; a noble
E.g. Her color photographs describe a special kind of aristocrat, one with innate dignity and nobility.
n. theory of numerical calculations
E.g. He found a way to set up equations about integers and other constructs in arithmetic.
n. a fleet of warships; a large group of moving things
E.g. Queen Elizabeth's navy defeated the mighty armada that threatened the English coast.
v. climb; mount
E.g. Boys ascend through the sky-light on to the roof.
n. upward slope or grade; movement upward
E.g. A 30 minute hike up to the base of the ferrate is followed by an unforgettable 2 hour ascent up the cliff.
a. utterly stupid or silly; inanely foolish
E.g. Your asinine remarks prove that you have not given this problem any serious consideration.
n. ambition; longing
E.g. The basic aspiration is that culture should serve as a rallying point for nation building - in practice neither the finances nor the security conditions seem very favourable.
a. positive; affirming confidently; affirmative; peremptory
E.g. Patterson seems like a decent fellow, but lacking in assertive leadership skills.
v. incorporate and absorb into mind; make similar; cause to resemble
E.g. The manner in which the United States was able to assimilate immigrants during the 19th and early 20th century will always be a source of pride to Americans.
ad. into separate parts or pieces; apart
E.g. A fierce quarrel split the partnership asunder: the two partners finally sundered their connections because their points of view were poles apart.