Descriptionary

volatile adj. (VOL uh tul) unstable; likely to explode. I would not advise investing in the stock market when it is this volatile.

volition n. (voh LISH un) conscious choice. I'm signing up for the army of my own volition; nobody is forcing me.

voracious adj. (vo RAY shus) extremely hungry or insatiable. He cut into his steak with voracious abandon.

waffle vb. (WAWF ul) to equivocate or speak ambig­uously. We don't want another governor who is going to waffle on the issues; we need someone who will make a firm decision and stick to it.

wanton adj. (WON tun) wild, unrestrained; reck­less. The boys were punished for the wanton destruc­tion of their bedrooms.

wary adj. (WAIR ee) cautious; leery. It's hard not to feel wary when walking through a graveyard at midnight.

WASP n. (WASP) white Anglo-Saxon Protestant. The north side of town is populated almost exclu­sively by WASPs.

Waterloo n. (WOT ur loo) defeat. A metaphor coined after Napoleon's defeat in Waterloo, Belgium, in 1815. Our team has beaten all challengers, but the game against our crosstown rivals next week may prove to be our Waterloo.

whimsical adj. (WIM suh kul) fanciful; out of the ordinary. His wood carvings of elves and trolls were whimsical.

wily adj. (WYE lee) sly, cunning; crafty. The wily coyote is not easily fooled.

windfall n. (WIND fall) a godsend; a boon; an unexpected stroke of good fortune. My tax refund last year came as a surprising windfall.

wistful adj. (WIST ful) full of sad longing; pensive. Whenever she was reminded of her youth, she became wistful and nostalgic.

zeal n. (ZEEL) passion; great or extreme enthusi­asm. Blinded by her zeal to lose weight, Sally con­sumed nothing but water and crackers for three days straight.

zealous adj. (ZEL us) passionate; fanatical; intense. He was a zealous believer in ESP and scoffed at the notion that it was only pseudoscience.

zenith n. (ZEE nith) the highest point; pinnacle. At its zenith, the company was manufacturing more baby buggy bumpers than any other competitor.

ex

Ind

A

Abaia 457 abandonment 312 abattre 79 abat-voix 45 abbess 461 abbey 45, 461 abbot 461 abdicate 604 abdomen 15, 20 abductor 237 abductor muscles 237 abeam 557, 580, 588 abercrombie 79 aberration 604 abhor 604 abisante 194 abject 604 ablation 139 able seaman 586 ablutions 461 aboard 441,498 abolla 63 abomasum 16 abominable 604 abomination 461 aborigine 471 abort 594 abortion 214 above 441 abozzo 51 abr. 423

abracadabra 313 abrading stone 471 Abrams 349 abraun 313 abreaction 247 abridge 604 abruption placentae 214 abs 506 abscond 302 absent healing 313 absinthe 194 absolute dating 471 absolute dud 359 absolute pitch 389 absolute zero 476 absolution 461 absolve 604 absorption 476 abstain 604 abstinence 261, 604 abstract 224, 604 abstract art 51 abstract expressionism 51 abstruse 604 abuse of process 303 abutment 23, 28 abyssal 153 abyssal hill 153 abyssal hills province 153 abyssal plain 153 abyssal zone 153 Abyssinian 3 academic 51 academic press 418 acaina 37 acanthus 23, 51 acanthus leaf 206 a cappella 389 accelerando 376 accelerant 397 accelerating universe 488 accelerator 476, 484, 567 accent 379 accent plant 128 accessory 303

accessory before/after the fact

303