ardent adj. (AR dent) passionate; fervent. In the late 1990s, many children became ardent collectors of Beanie Baby toys.
arduous adj. (AR joo us) extremely difficult or laborious. Shoveling a driveway clean after a blizzard is an arduous task.
aristocratic adj. (uh ris tuh KRAT ik) of nobility or the ruling class. Many who claim to have lived past lives also claim to have aristocratic bloodlines.
armchair general n. one who strategizes or criticizes the actions of others from the safety of an armchair and without any real-world experience. The football fan who constantly gripes about his team's plays is a classic armchair general.
arraign vb. (uh RAYN) to formally accuse or charge one of a crime in a court of law. We plan to arraign the suspect on Friday morning.
articulate adj. (ar TIK yuh lut) highly expressive; verbally proficient. Lawyers win and lose cases by their verbal skills and thus must always be articulate.
artifice n. (ART uh fis) craftiness; cleverness. The swindler separated the money from his victims with great artifice.
aspiration n. (AS pur AY shun) a goal or strong desire to achieve something; an ambition. The young girl had an aspiration to be a great basketball player, and so she practiced every day.
assiduous adj. (uh SID yoo us) diligent; hardworking. She has assiduous study habits.
assimilate vb. (uh SIM uh layt) to integrate; to make adjustments and fit in. It took me over a year to fully assimilate to Italian life.
astute adj. (uh STOOT) sharp or shrewd. When it comes to making a profit on Wall Street, my uncle is particularly astute.
asymmetrical adj. (AY sim ET rik ul) of contrasting or unmatching shape or size. The building was asymmetrical, with a dome on one side and a boxlike structure on the other.
atheism n. (AY thee iz um) disbelief in God; nonthe- ism. Atheism is the belief that God is nothing more than an invention of the human imagination.
atone vb. (uh TOHN) to make amends for a sin or a wrongdoing. The judge made the petty thief atone for his sins by forcing him to perform five hundred hours of community service.
atrocity n. (uh TROSS i tee) an outrageous or monstrous act or behavior. Countless atrocities will occur in times of war.
au courant adj. (oh koo RAHN) up to date and informed. The model's fashion decisions were always sharp and au courant.
audacious adj. (aw DAY shus) bold, especially in a way that lacks restraint and may be considered reckless. The terrorists hatched an audacious plan to blow up the White House.
auspicious adj. (aw SPISH us) favorable; propitious; denoting positive circumstances. The first warm day of May is an auspicious time to plant a vegetable garden.
austere adj. (aw STEER) severe or somber, in appearance or behavior. Also, plain and unadorned. The prison's interior was deliberately austere.
autonomous adj. (aw TON uh mus) self-directed; independent. The island's government required no outside intervention and was completely autonomous.
avant-garde n. (ah vahnt GARD) those involved in developing or using new techniques, technologies, etc., in the arts or other fields. Those entrepreneurs who started a business over the Internet were once part of an elite avant-garde; now they're in the mainstream.
avarice n. (AV ur iss) an extreme desire for wealth; greed. His avarice made him risk all of his income at the crap tables, where he quickly lost a small fortune.
aversion n. (uh VUR shun) a strong dislike. I have an aversion to fried pig's knuckles.
ax to grind a metaphor for a self-serving motive, especially one that may not be readily apparent to others. He voted for the amendment not out of the goodness of his heart, as he professed, but because he had an ax to grind and would secretly benefit from the change.
babe in the woods an innocent or naive person; a helpless person. When I arrived in New York, I was a babe in the woods.
backlash n. (BAK lash) a reprisal; a consequence from some action. The congressman's failure to serve the needs of his constituency will result in voter backlash.
badger vb. (BAJ ur) to harass, hound, or nag. The lawyer was warned not to badger the witness.
banal adj. (buh NAL) dull, especially due to overuse or overfamiliarity. The editor rejected the author's work because it was trite and banal.
bane n. (BAYN) ruin; cause of destruction. Pollution is the bane of healthy fish stocks.
baptism of fire a metaphor for an extremely difficult initiation. The city experienced a major earthquake; for the new mayor, it was a baptism of fire.
bargaining chip n. a thing of value that can be traded for something of equal value. In future negotiations, the president will use free trade as a bargaining chip.
bastion n. (BAS chun) a stronghold or place of great fortification. Around the world, America is considered a great bastion of freedom.
beachhead n. (BEECH hed) a metaphor for the establishment of a base of operations, especially at the shoreline of enemy territory. The company has established a beachhead in France and has plans to expand its sales base throughout Europe.
bear by the tail a metaphor for a very trying or harrowing predicament; the "tail grabber" either suffers great turmoil (being dragged through the underbrush), or risks being bitten or consumed (by the bear) if he lets go. With his vote to outlaw dancing on school grounds, the principal has grabbed the proverbial bear by the tail.
beard the lion to confront something or someone with great daring. By taking our complaints directly to the mayor, we would beard the lion in his own den.
bearish adj. (BAIR ish) pessimistic, particularly concerning the stock market. The market on Wall Street turned bearish today as the Dow Industrial Average dropped nearly 100 points.