| AA |
abbreviation of "Alcoholics Anonymous," a world-wide recovery program for alcoholics, administered through chapters. |
| abstract |
hard to understand because not based on one's experience of the world. [1/3 definitions] |
| abstract expressionism |
(sometimes cap.) a school of painting that arose after World War II and that was marked by expressive but nonrepresentational images formed by an apparently random and often unconventional application of paint. |
| acacia |
a tree that grows in tropical areas of the world, especially in parts of Africa and Australia. The branches of an acacia spread out very wide and evenly across the top. Sometimes the top of the tree looks almost flat. |
| age |
the contemporary world. [1/11 definitions] |
| Ahura Mazda |
in Zoroastrianism, the supreme deity and creator of the world; Ormazd. |
| alien |
belonging to another country in the world. [1/6 definitions] |
| alienation |
a state of profound disaffection from the world of objective reality. [1/3 definitions] |
| allied |
(cap.) of the Allies in World War I or II. [1/3 definitions] |
| Allies |
in World War I, the alliance of France, Great Britain, Russia, and other nations against the Central Powers. [2 definitions] |
| Althea Gibson |
U.S. professional tennis player, who was the first African-American woman to win all the major world singles tennis titles (b.1927--d.2003). |
| Anzac |
a soldier in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I (acronym for "Australia and New Zealand Army Corps"). [1/2 definitions] |
| apocalypse |
any instance of terrible destruction and devastation, esp. on a scale that could bring about an end to the world. [1/3 definitions] |
| Armistice Day |
November 11, the anniversary of the armistice ending World War I, called Veterans Day in the United States. |
| axis |
(capitalized) the name for the union of Germany, Italy, Japan, and other countries during the Second World War. [1/2 definitions] |
| B-17 |
a four-engine U.S. bomber extensively used in World War II; Flying Fortress. |
| B-29 |
a heavy U.S. bomber used late in World War II; Superfortress. |
| baby boom |
the dramatic population increase in the United States during the decade following World War II. |
| baby boomer |
a person born in the United States during the decade following World War II, in which the population increased dramatically. |
| bat2 |
a small mammal that flies. Bats have small bodies and large wings covered with skin. Most bats eat at night, when they use sound to find and catch flying insects. Bats are found in most parts of the world. There are around one thousand kinds of bats. Their wingspans range from less than two inches to more than five feet. Some kinds of bats live in large colonies that roost in caves or in a section of forest. |
| beau monde |
the world of high and fashionable society. |