Descriptionary

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.