
apart | apart: adv. 1 aside, to one side, by oneself, at a distance, separate, separately: He stood apart when the awards were given out. 2 separately, distinctly, individually, singly, alone, independently: The provisions of the bill should be seen together as a whole, not viewed apart. 3 to or into pieces, asunder: At the touch of the button, the building blew apart. 4 apart from. except for, excepting, separately from, aside from, besides, but for, not including, excluding, not counting: Apart from the immediate family, no one knows of your indiscretions.
aperture | aperture: n. opening, space, gap, cleft, chink, crevice, crack, fissure, hole, chasm: As much water ran through as the aperture could accommodate.
apologetic | apologetic: adj. regretful, sorry, contrite, remorseful, penitent, rueful, repentant, conscience-stricken: The lad was most apologetic for having broken the window.
apologize | apologize: v. 1 beg or ask pardon, express regret(s), feel sorry or regretful or remorse(ful): You needn''t apologize for sneezing. 2 make or give excuses or explanation(s), defend, justify, vindicate, espouse: You don''t have to apologize for her.
appal | appal: v. dismay, shock, discomfit, unnerve, intimidate, terrify, frighten, scare, horrify, alarm, startle, daunt: The council were appalled to discover that the police superintendent was accepting bribes.
apparatus | apparatus: n. equipment, requisites, tool, instrument, utensil, device, implement, machine, machinery, gear, paraphernalia, tackle, outfit; appliance, Colloq contraption, gadgetry, gadget: The apparatus needed for the experiment is here.
apparel | apparel: n. clothing, attire, clothes, dress, raiment, garments, Colloq gear, rags, glad rags, duds, Slang US threads: The police found various items of apparel strewn about the flat.
apparent | apparent: adj. 1 evident, plain, clear, obvious, patent, unmistakable; conspicuous, marked, manifest, visible, discernible: It was apparent to all of us that she would become a successful opera singer. 2 appearing, seeming, illusory, ostensible, superficial, outward: In an apparent show of strength, he ordered his forces to attack the capital.
apparently | apparently: adv. 1 evidently, plainly, clearly, obviously, patently, manifestly: There is apparently no cure in sight for the disease. 2 seemingly, ostensibly, superficially, outwardly: In stop-action photography, the bullet apparently hangs in mid-air.
appeal | appeal: v. 1 entreat, supplicate, solicit, plead, petition, apply, sue; beseech, beg, implore, pray: She appealed to the king to release her son from the dungeon. 2 attract, be attractive to, allure, please; invite, tempt, beguile, fascinate, interest: He seems to appeal to older women. --n. 3 application, suit; entreaty, call, request, supplication, solicitation, petition, plea; prayer: Her appeal to the court has been dismissed. I don''t know if God heard our appeal. 4 attraction, lure, allurement, charm, fascination: It is not hard to see why his type would have some appeal.
appear | appear: v. 1 come forth, become visible or manifest, put in an appearance, materialize, surface, emerge, rise, arise, come up, enter (into) the picture, show oneself, turn up, arrive, come, Colloq crop or show up; Slang show: Suddenly, a vision appeared before me. His wife appeared after an absence of ten years. 2 perform, act, play, take the role or part of: She has appeared as Roxanne in dozens of productions of Cyrano de Bergerac . 3 occur, happen, come up, be included, figure, arrive: That four-letter word does not appear in written form till the 20th century. 4 seem, be clear or evident or plain or manifest; look: It appears that the money was taken while the manager was at lunch. 5 be published, come out, become available: The next issue will appear in March.
appearance | appearance: n. 1 arrival, advent; presence; publication: I was awaiting the appearance of the book in the shops. 2 aspect, look(s), form; mien, air, demeanour; bearing, manner: The doorman would not let him in because of his shabby appearance. 3 display, show: Their fine horses with their rich trappings made a splendid appearance. 4 semblance, show, hint, suggestion; illusion: She gave no appearance of wanting to go.
appetite | appetite: n. 1 desire, inclination, proclivity, tendency, disposition, bent, preference, liking, predilection, zest, fondness, love, zeal; enthusiasm; taste, relish; Formal appetency, appetence: I have never lost my appetite for chocolate. They tried to suppress their bodily appetites, such as hunger and lust. 2 craving, hunger, thirst, desire, keenness, hankering, yearning, longing, passion, demand, Formal edacity: She developed an insatiable appetite for reading.
applaud | applaud: v. 1 approve, express approval, clap, cheer, give (someone) a hand, Colloq root (for): The audience applauded when the villain was caught. 2 express approval of, praise, laud, hail, commend: Susan''s parents applauded her decision to apply for university.
applause | applause: n. clapping, acclamation, acclaim, �clat; cheering, cheers; approval, commendation, approbation, praise, kudos, plaudit(s): At the curtain there was applause from the audience.
applicable | applicable: adj. fit, suitable, suited, appropriate, proper, apropos, fitting, befitting, pertinent, apt, germane, right, seemly, relevant, apposite: Are the laws of the mainland applicable to the islands?
application | application: n. 1 use, employment, utilization, practice, operation: The committee wants to see a sterner application of the law with respect to mail-order offers. 2 relevancy, relevance, reference, pertinence, germaneness, appositeness; bearing: The application of the regulation to present circumstances is somewhat vague. 3 attention; diligence, industriousness, effort, perseverance, persistence, assiduity, devotion, dedication, commitment, attentiveness Colloq stick-to-it-iveness; industry: Her application to her studies leaves little time for recreation. Without application, you will never develop much skill at the piano. 4 request, solicitation; appeal, petition, claim: Gavin made six job applications. The board will consider your application.
apply | apply: v. 1 fasten, fix, affix, stick, cement, glue: The signs were applied to the window with a special substance. 2 administer, rub in or on, embrocate: The doctor said to apply this ointment before retiring. 3 appropriate, assign, allot, credit; use, utilize, employ, put to use: He had many skills, but failed to apply them in his daily work. The money raised for food was illegally applied to paying the administrators. 4 bear, have bearing; be relevant, refer, pertain, appertain, relate, suit: I am not sure that the law applies to this situation. 5 devote, dedicate, commit, focus, concentrate, pay attention, address; do, attend, tend, Colloq buckle down (to): He stubbornly applies himself to the task at hand. 6 seek, go after; register, bid, try out, put in; audition, interview, make application: Are you qualified to apply for a job as a nanny? 7 petition, solicit; appeal, request: Geraldine applied to the court for compensation.
appoint | appoint: v. 1 fix, set, settle, determine, ordain, authorize, establish, destine, arrange, assign, allot, prescribe, decree: The time appointed for the execution has been delayed. 2 name, designate, nominate, elect; assign, delegate, commission, deputize; select, choose: I was delighted to have been appointed as chairman. 3 equip, fit out, furnish, decorate: They live comfortably in a well-appointed home in the suburbs.
appointment | appointment: n. 1 meeting, date, rendezvous, engagement; assignation, tryst: You are again late for your appointment. 2 nomination, election; assignment, designation; selection, choice: We fully approve of his appointment as chairman. 3 job, position, post, situation, office, place, assignment, Colloq berth, slot: He got the appointment as manager.
appreciate | appreciate: v. 1 value, find worthwhile or valuable; esteem, cherish, enjoy, admire, rate or regard highly, prize, treasure, respect: I appreciate all you have done for me. Delia''s contribution is not really appreciated. 2 increase or rise or gain in value or worth: The property in this area has been appreciating at a rate of about ten per cent a year. 3 understand, comprehend, recognize, perceive, know, be aware or cognizant or conscious of: Do you appreciate the implications of the new tax law?
appreciation | appreciation: n. 1 gratitude, thankfulness, gratefulness, thanks; acknowledgement; obligation: She is trying to think of an appropriate way to express her appreciation for all he has done. 2 increase, rise, advance, growth, enhancement, gain; aggrandizement: The appreciation in the value of the shares made me very wealthy on paper - till the stock-market crash. 3 understanding, comprehension, perception, recognition, knowledge, awareness; realization, enjoyment; admiration: It''s fortunate that Richard''s appreciation of the finer things in life is supported by his income.
apprentice | apprentice: n. 1 novice, tiro or tyro, learner, starter, beginner, greenhorn, Colloq US rookie: Lever served as an apprentice in the soap factory. --v. 2 indenture, contract, bind: Cartwright was apprenticed to a carpenter before becoming a journeyman cabinet-maker.
approach | approach: v. 1 near, advance, draw or come near or nearer or close or closer, Formal come nigh: Claude approached the table. As night approached, the sky darkened. With approaching manhood, you must take on more responsibilities. 2 approximate, nearly equal, come close to, compare with: The total is beginning to approach your estimate. 3 make advances or overtures to, proposition, propose to, sound out, make (a) proposal to, solicit, Colloq chat up: Theo makes mincemeat of any man who tries to approach his daughter. --n. 4 approaches. advances, overtures, proposals, propositions: Michelle had no intention of discouraging Pierre''s approaches. 5 access, passage, way, path, course; entry: The approach to the house was overgrown with brambles. 6 advance, movement: Our approach to the gates was being watched very carefully. 7 method, procedure, modus operandi, way, technique, style, manner, attitude, Slang US MO (= ''modus operandi''): Our approach in dealing with the problem is different.
appropriate | appropriate: adj. 1 suitable, apt, fitting, fit, proper, right, meet, becoming, befitting, seemly, suited, apropos, correct, germane, pertinent, happy, felicitous: Will a dinner-jacket be appropriate attire? She has written a poem appropriate to the occasion. --v. 2 take, take over, seize, expropriate, arrogate, annex, impound; commandeer; steal, pilfer, filch, usurp, make away or off with, Colloq pinch, lift, Brit nick, US boost: The police appropriated the paintings. Somebody has appropriated my chair. 3 set aside or apart, devote, assign, earmark, allot, apportion: Most of the money has been appropriated for back taxes.
appropriately | appropriately: adv. fittingly, suitably, properly, correctly, aptly, rightly, becomingly, meetly: She came down appropriately dressed for dinner.
approval | approval: n. sanction, approbation, blessing, consent, agreement, concurrence; endorsement, acceptance, imprimatur, affirmation, �clat, confirmation, mandate, authorization; licence, leave, permission, rubber stamp, Colloq OK, okay, go-ahead, green light: I don''t think that the plan will meet with the committee''s approval. We gave our approval to proceed.
approve | approve: v. 1 Often, approve of. allow, countenance, condone, permit, sanction, authorize, endorse, put one''s imprimatur on, agree (to), accept, assent (to), go along with, Colloq OK or okay, give the green light or go-ahead or one''s blessing (to), rubber-stamp: The headmistress would never approve your leaving the building during classes. 2 confirm, affirm, support, ratify, uphold, subscribe to, second, give the stamp of approval to; favour, commend, recommend: Sheila Jones''s appointment to the commission has been approved unanimously. 3 approve of. sanction, consider fair or good or right, accept, favour, respect, be partial to, like, have regard for, have a preference for, tolerate, reconcile oneself to: I always had the feeling that her father didn''t quite approve of me.
approximate | approximate: adj. 1 rough, inexact, loose, imprecise, estimated, Colloq guestimated, ballpark: The figures are only approximate, not exact. --v. 2 near, approach, come close to, verge on: Your estimates approximate those of the budget committee. 3 resemble, approach, look or seem like; simulate: The laboratory tests on rats approximate the way the virus behaves in humans.
approximately | approximately: adv. approaching; nearly, almost, close to, about, around, give or take, roughly, generally: I haven''t seen Sally for approximately three weeks. There are approximately fifty people in the audience.
aptitude | aptitude: n. 1 fitness, suitability, appropriateness, relevance, applicability, suitableness, aptness: One need only look at an albatross in the air to appreciate its aptitude for flight. 2 tendency, propensity, disposition, predilection, bent, proclivity; talent, gift, ability, capability, facility, faculty, flair: Helen displays a natural aptitude for the violin. 3 intelligence, quick-wittedness, intellect; capacity, aptness: The aptitude of that new student sets her apart from the others in the class.
