Wiki Junior
Words explained
Did you read a difficult word in AGJ that you don't understand? Want to test your vocabulary skills? Here's an archive of highlighted words from past issues of the magazine.
to shake or move briskly; to disturb or excite emotionally.
to lessen; to make easier to endure.
having no specific shape; formless.
coloured or made in a way that indicates special capabilities for defense.
to calm, soothe, satisfy or relieve; to bring to a state of peace.
to utter clearly and distinctly; to pronounce with clarity.
made by humans; imitation.
the basic unit of a chemical element.
promising success; favourable; fortunate.
enthusiastic; eager; dedicated; keen.
to decay and become part of the environment.
the production of light by living organisms.
a carefree episode or activity; a playful escapade.
a class of organic compounds that form the supporting tissues of plants; carbohydrates are important food for animals and people.
a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide produced by a person, company or location at a given time; the environmental impact of
carbon emissions.
belonging to the Cetacea, an order of aquatic, mainly marine mammals, including the whales and dolphins.
joined or closely packed together; dense; solid
the associated or secondary meaning of a word or expression in addition to its primary meaning.
a person or other agent guilty of or responsible for an offense or fault.
to expose (a claim, assertion, sentiment, etc.) as being false or exaggerated.
conduct; behaviour; facial appearance.
the make-up of a set of teeth including their kind, number and arrangement.
to mark or point out; indicate; show.
not possessing, untouched by, lacking.
any of various types of sailing vessels used by Arabs on the east African, Arabian and Indian coasts.
to spread out or scatter thinly or widely.
to see or recognise by sight or some other sense; to distinguish.
to pull down or disassemble; to take apart.
easily managed, handled or trained; teachable.
the money, goods, gifts or estate that a wife brings to her husband at marriage.
an object or its representation, symbolising a quality, state class of persons, etc.; a symbol.
an expert on environmental problems; any person who works to protect the air, water, ethos: filament: gait: heartening: helm: mitigate: mottled: quintessential: russet: stagnant: subsist: urbanise: whimsical: animals, plants and other natural resources from pollution or its effects.
of, pertaining to or resembling a horse.
the process by which the surface of the Earth is worn away by the action of water, glaciers, winds, waves, etc.
having no certain or definite course; wandering; not fixed; deviating from the usual course.
the character or disposition of a person, group, organisation, community, etc.
to separate and eliminate waste or harmful matter from an organic body
a very fine thread or thread-like structure.
strikingly bold or brilliant; showy; colourful.
a manner of stepping, walking or running.
the basic physical unit of heredity.
of or pertaining to the internal heat of the Earth.
a cell, group of cells or organ producing a secretion.
encouraging; to give confidence to, cheer.
to steer, direct or take leadership of.
half of a sphere
a pillar of rock, usually of fantastic shape, left by erosion.
having an extremely bad reputation.
the ceremonies or rites of admission or passage; formal admission or acceptance into an organisation, club or group.
material that prevents or reduces the passage, ransfer or leakage of heat, electricity or sound.
independent of one’s will; not by one’s own choice; unintentional; unconscious.
an area of limestone terrane characterised by sinks, ravines and underground streams.
the emission of light by a substance that has not been heated.
any basic process of organic functioning or operating.
a large, busy city.
the act, practice or art of imitating or copying.
to lessen in force or severity; to make milder or more gentle.
spotted or blotched in colouring.
one billionth of a metre.
of or pertaining to night; done, occurring or coming at night; active at night.
a central part about which other parts are grouped or gathered;
core; in physics, the positively charged mass within an atom, composed of neutrons and protons.
the curved path, usually elliptical, described by a planet, satellite, spaceship, etc., around a celestial body, such as the Sun.
a loss or impairment of voluntary movement in a body part, caused by injury or disease of the nerves, brain or spinal cord.
to become aware of, know or identify by means of the senses; to recognise.
a stage in a process of change or development.
a process where plants use carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or water to help make energy. Photosynthesis is vital for life on Earth, as it provides oxygen that every living organism depends on.
the most perfect embodiment or form of something.
extremely hungry; famished; voracious.
an end organ or a group of end organs of sensory neurons, specialised to be sensitive to stimulating agents such as touch or heat.
to make a ray of light change direction when it enters at an angle.
characterised by or suggestive of something similar.
a remaining, usually small part, quantity, number or the like; a fragment or scrap.
light brown, yellowish brown or reddish brown.
a person who questions the validity or logic of something that is supposed to be factual; someone who doubts the truth of something.
able to supply one’s own needs without external help.
an elf, fairy or goblin.
not flowing or running (as in water or air); inactive.
characterised by a fixed or stationary condition; showing little or no change; lacking movement or development.
of or pertaining to the stars; consisting of stars; like a star, as in brilliance, shape, etc.
a set form; convention; to give a fixed form to.
a well-fortified place; fortress.
to exist, to remain alive; to provide sustenance or support for.
moderate in respect to temperature.
the quality or property of being tenacious, firm or persistent.
to pass or move over, along or through; to extend across or over.
to make or cause to become city-like
the good fortune, health, happiness, etc. of a person, group or organsiation; well-being.
playful, fanciful, mischievous