amenities :: convenient features; courtesies amiable :: agreeable; lovable; warmly friendly amicable :: politely friendly; not quarrelsome amiss :: wrong; faulty amity :: friendship amnesia :: loss of memory amnesty :: pardon amok (also amuck) :: in a state of rage amoral :: nonmoral amorous :: moved by sexual love; loving amorphous :: formless; lacking shape or definition amphibian :: able to live both on land and in water amphitheater :: oval building with tiers of seats ample :: abundant amplify :: broaden or clarify by expanding; intensify; make stronger amputate :: cut off part of body; prune amulet :: charm; talisman anachronism :: something or someone misplaced in time analgesic :: causing insensitivity to pain analogous :: comparable analogy :: similarity; parallelism anarchist :: person who seeks to overturn the established government; advocate of abolishing authority anathema :: solemn curse; someone or something regarded as a curse ancestry :: family descent anchor :: secure or fasten firmly; be fixed in place ancillary :: serving as an aid or accessory; auxiliary anecdote :: short account of an amusing or interesting event anemia :: condition in which blood lacks red corpuscles anesthetic :: substance that removes sensation with or without loss of consciousness anguish :: acute pain; extreme suffering angular :: sharp-cornered; stiff in manner animadversion :: critical remark animated :: lively; spirited animosity :: active enmity animus :: hostile feeling or intent annals :: records; history anneal :: reduce brittleness and improve toughness by heating and cooling annex :: attach; *take possession of* annihilate :: destroy annotate :: comment; make explanatory notes annuity :: yearly allowance annul :: make void; cancel anodyne :: drug that relieves pain; opiate anoint :: apply ointment or oil esp as religious ceremony; consecrate anomalous :: abnormal; irregular anomaly :: irregularity anonymity :: state of being nameless; anonymousness antagonism :: hostility; active resistance antecede :: precede antecedents :: preceding events or circumstances that influence what comes later; ancestors or early background antediluvian :: antiquated; extremely ancient anthem :: song of praise or patriotism anthology :: book of literary selections by various authors anthropoid :: manlike anthropologist :: student of the history and science of humankind anthropomorphic :: having human form or characteristics

anticlimax :: letdown in thought or emotion antidote :: remedy to counteract a poison or disease antipathy :: aversion; dislike antiquated :: obsolete; outdated antiseptic :: substance that prevents infection antithesis :: contrast; direct opposite of or to anvil :: iron block used in hammering out metals apathy :: lack of caring; indifference ape :: imitate or mimic aperture :: opening; hole apex :: tip; summit; climax aphasia :: loss of speech due to injury or illness aphorism :: pithy maxim or saying apiary :: a place where bees are kept aplomb :: self-possession; assurance; poise apocalyptic :: prophetic; pertaining to revelations apocryphal :: untrue; made up apogee :: highest point apolitical :: having an aversion or lack of concern for political affairs apologist :: one who writes in defense of a cause or institution apostate :: one who abandons his religious faith or political beliefs apothecary :: druggist