Descriptionary

arbitrary adj. (ARB i trair ee) random; by chance or whim. All of the apple pies were equally delicious, so the judge's decision to award a blue ribbon to Mrs. Feeney was completely arbitrary.

arbitrate vb. (ARB i trayt) to mediate, negotiate, or act as judge. A disinterested third party was brought in to arbitrate the dispute.

arcane adj. (ar KAYN) mysterious or unknowable to all but a few. The famous astrophysicist's theories were rather arcane.

archaic adj. (ar KAY ik) outdated, ancient; anti­quated. Hangings and beheadings are an archaic form of criminal punishment.

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.