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allusion n. (uh LOO zshun) an indirect reference. By saying that someone has "an albatross around his neck," you're making an allusion to "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," the original source of the albatross metaphor.

aloof adj. (uh LOOF) distant; remote; withdrawn. Shawn was unusually aloof and barely said three words to us all night.

alter ego n. another side of one's personality. (Also, a close companion.) Sociopaths may be quite charm­ing; many of us would be hard-pressed at first to dis­cern their cold-blooded alter egos.

altruism n. (AL troo iz um) unselfish concern for others; assistance to others without desire for gain. He practiced altruism often by making anonymous donations.

ambiguous adj. (am BIG yoo us) that which can be understood in more than one way and is therefore unclear. The politician's statements were so ambigu­ous, we couldn't tell if she wanted to raise taxes or lower them.

ambivalent adj. (am BIV uh lent) having mixed feelings. We often feel ambivalent about city taxes; on one hand, we want better schools and services, yet on the other, we don't want to have to pay for them.

amenable adj. (uh MEEN uh bul) receptive to; agreeable and willing. I would be amenable to pay­ing higher taxes, as long as that extra money isn't wasted.

amiable adj. (AYM ee uh bul) friendly and agree­able. At the party, everyone was in an amiable mood.

amicable adj. (AM i kuh bul) friendly, with good­will. The two parties came to an amicable agreement and shook hands.

amnesty n. (AM nest ee) an official pardon. The political prisoners were given amnesty and released.

amorphous adj. (uh MOR fus) shapeless; unde­fined. An amorphous cloud drifted over our heads.

anachronism n. (uh NAK ruh niz um) someone or something that does not fit into its time period; a historical inaccuracy. A helicopter flown in Victorian times would be a glaring anachronism.

anarchy n. (AN ark ee) the complete absence of law and order; chaos. A world without government would be a world filled with anarchy.

androgynous adj. (an DROJ uh nus) having charac­teristics of both sexes. We couldn't tell if the androgy­nous rock star was a man or a woman.

angst n. (ANGST) anxious unhappiness. I'm antici­pating my 50th birthday with great angst.

animated adj. (AN uh MAYT id) lively and unin­hibited. It is difficult to become animated with some­one until you first break the ice with small talk.

animosity n. (AN uh MOS uh tee) hatred; ill will. The divorcing couple had too much animosity to solve their differences.