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apotheosis
Ap·en·nines /'æpənaɪnz/ a RANGE of mountains in a line
down the middle of Italy, from the northwest of the country
to the south
a·per·i·tif /əˌperɪ'tiːf/ n a small alcoholic drink drunk before
a meal. People usually only drink aperitifs before special
meals, on social occasions.
ap·er·ture /'æpətʃər || 'æpərtʃuər/ n a hole, crack, or other
narrow opening, especially one that admits light into a
camera
ape·shit /'eɪpʃɪt/ adj AmE taboo slang uncontrollably angry: He
went apeshit when we told him about the mistake.
a·pex /'eɪpeks/ n pl. apexes or apices /'eɪpəsiːz/ fml or tech the
top or highest point of anything: the apex of a triangle (fig.)
the apex of his career
APEX, Apex /'eɪpeks/ adj BrE abbrev. for advanced purchase
excursion; used to describe plane tickets, train tickets etc
that are cheaper than the usual price because you buy them
several days or weeks before the date when you travel: The
Apex fare is just £200. | APEX tickets to Edinburgh
a·phid /'eɪfɪd, 'æfɪd/ also a·phis /'eɪfɪs, 'æfɪs/ n any of
various small insects (such as the GREENFLY) that live on the
juices of plants. Aphids are a PEST to farmers and gardeners,
as they can damage plants.
aph·o·rism /'æfərɪzəm/ n a true or wise saying or principle
expressed in a few words; MAXIM —aphoristic /ˌæfə'rɪstɪk /
adj
aph·ro·dis·i·ac /ˌæfrə'daɪziæk/ n, adj (a medicine, drug etc)
causing sexual excitement
Aph·ro·di·te /ˌæfrə'daɪti/ in Greek MYTHOLOGY, the goddess
of love and beauty. In Roman mythology her name is VENUS.
a·pi·ary /'eɪpɪəri || 'eɪpiəri/ n a place where bees are kept
a·piece /ə'piːs/ adv to, for, or from each person or thing;
each: The apples cost ten pence apiece. | We gave them three
tickets apiece.
a·plen·ty /ə'plenti/ adj [after n] old use or lit in great quantity; in
plentiful supply: They had money aplenty.
a·plomb /ə'plɒm || ə'plɑːm/ n [U] the power to remain calm
and steady in manner and behaviour in difficult situations;
SELF-POSSESSION; COMPOSURE: She handled their hostile
questioning with great aplomb.
APO /ˌeɪ piː 'əʊ/ n AmE abbrev. for Army Post Office; used in
addresses of soldiers serving on land outside the US →
compare FPO
a·poc·a·lypse /ə'pɒkəlɪps || ə'pɑː-/ n a description about the
future, especially about terrible things that will happen
when the world ends: To its opponents, genetic engineering is
a test-tube apocalypse.
a·poc·a·lyp·tic /əˌpɒkə'lɪptɪk || ˌpɑː-/ adj 1 telling of
great misfortunes in the future: apocalyptic warnings about
the coming of wars and hunger 2 of or like the end of the
world: apocalyptic scenes of death and destruction
A·poc·ry·pha, the /ə'pɒkrɪfə || ə'pɑː-/ a collection of Jewish
writings which form part of the OLD TESTAMENT in some
bibles. They do not appear in the HEBREW Bible, or many
modern Bibles.
a·poc·ry·phal /ə'pɒkrɪfəl || ə'pɑː-/ adj (especially of a story
concerning someone well known or important) widely
believed, but probably untrue: an apocryphal story about the
Prime Minister
ap·o·gee /'æpədʒiː/ n 1 tech the point where the path of an
object through space is farthest from the Earth → compare
PERIGEE 2 fml the highest point of power or success: the
apogee of his political career
a·po·lit·i·cal /ˌeɪpə'lɪtɪkəl / adj having no connection with
politics or no interest in politics
A·pol·lo /ə'pɒləʊ || ə'pɑː-/ n 1 in Greek and Roman MYTHOL-
OGY, the god of the Sun, medicine, poetry, music, and
PROPHECY. He is usually shown in pictures and SCULPTURES
as a beautiful young man. 2 lit a very beautiful young man →
see also ADONIS, GREEK GOD
A'pollo ,Program the US government space programme to
send people to the Moon, which succeeded in 1969 when the
Apollo 11 spacecraft landed on the Moon. Apollo 13 was a
later unsuccessful attempt to land on the Moon again, and
the words one of the ASTRONAUTS used when he thought
something was going wrong, 'Houston, we have a problem',
are sometimes now used in a humorous way. → see also Neil
ARMSTRONG, GEMINI PROGRAM, HOUSTON, MERCURY PRO-
GRAM
a·pol·o·get·ic /əˌpɒlə'dʒetɪk || ˌpɑː-/ adj showing or say-
ing that one is sorry for some fault or wrong: She was most
apologetic when she heard I had been kept waiting. | an
apologetic letter —-ally /-kli/ adv
ap·ol·o·gia /ˌæpə'ləʊdʒiə, -dʒə/ n [(for, of)] fml a formal
defence or explanation, especially of a belief
a·pol·o·gist /ə'pɒlədʒɪst || ə'pɑː-/ n [(for)] fml a person who
strongly supports a particular belief and can give arguments
in defence of it: one of the leading apologists for the govern-
ment's economic strategy
a·pol·o·gize also -gise BrE /ə'pɒlədʒaɪz || ə'pɑː-/ v [I(to, for)]
to say one is sorry, for example for having done something
wrong, or for causing pain or trouble: I apologized (to her)
for stepping on her foot. | I must apologize for not replying
sooner to your letter. | She kept us waiting for a whole hour
and she didn't even apologize!
a·pol·o·gy /ə'pɒlədʒi || ə'pɑː-/ n 1 [(for)] a statement express-
ing that one is sorry for having done something wrong, for
causing pain or trouble etc: I make no apology for what I said
- it was a fair comment. | Please accept our apologies for
any inconvenience we have caused. | Your allegations are
completely untrue, and I demand an immediate apology. | I'm
afraid I was rather bad-tempered yesterday - I think I owe
you an apology. | The Finance Director sends her apologies
and is unable to attend the meeting 2 [(for)] lit a defence or
explanation of a belief, idea etc: Shelley's 'Apology for
Poetry' 3 [inml, often humor a very bad example of something
ap·o·plec·tic /ˌæpə'plektɪk / adj 1 violently excited and
angry, and often having a red face: The old general was
apoplectic with rage. 2 having or concerning apoplexy
—-ally /kli/ adv
ap·o·plex·y /'æpəpleksi/ n [U] the sudden loss of the ability
to move, feel, think etc, usually caused by too much blood in
the brain or by the bursting of one of the BLOOD VESSELS
there; STROKE²
a·pos·ta·sy /ə'pɒstəsi || ə'pɑː-/ n [U] fml leaving or giving up
of one's religious faith, political party, beliefs etc
a·pos·tate /ə'pɒsteɪt, -stət || ə'pɑː-/ n a person guilty of
apostasy
a pos·ter·i·o·ri /ˌeɪ pɒsteri'ɔːraɪ, ˌɑː pɒsteri'ɔːriː || ˌɑː
posteri'ɔri, ˌe pɑː-/ adj, adv Lat (of an argument) using
actual facts or results to form a judgment about cause (as in
the statement The streets are wet so it must have rained.) →
compare A PRIORI
a·pos·tle /ə'pɒsl || ə'pɑː-/ n 1 any of the 12 followers of
Christ chosen by him to spread his message to the
world 2 [(of)] a leader of a new political or other belief or
idea: one of the apostles of non-violent protest
A·postles' 'Creed, the a statement of religious belief in
the Christian religion, beginning 'I believe in God the
Father Almighty ...'
ap·os·tol·ic /ˌæpə'stɒlɪk || -'stɑː-/ adj 1 of or concerning
one of Christ's 12 apostles 2 of or concerning the POPE (the
leader of the Roman Catholic Church); PAPAL
a·pos·tro·phe /ə'pɒstrəfi || ə'pɑː-/ n the sign (') used in
writing a) to show that one or more letters or numbers have
been left out of a word or number (as in don't and '86 for do
not and 1986) b) before or after s to show possession (as in
John's book, James's book, children's books, company's product,
companies' products) c) before s to show the plural of letters
and numbers (as in There are two f's in off and Your 8's look
like S's)
a·pos·tro·phize also -phise BrE /ə'pɒstrəfaɪz || ə'pɑː-/ v [T]
fml to address a speech to (an absent person, or an idea or
quality as if it were a person)
a·poth·e·ca·ry /ə'pɒθəkəri || ə'pɑːθəˌkeri/ n old use a person
with a knowledge of chemistry who mixed and sold medi-
cines; PHARMACIST
a·poth·e·o·sis /əˌpɒθi'əʊsɪs || ˌpɑː-, ˌæpə'θiəsɪs/ n pl. -ses
/siːz/ [(of)] 1 the raising of a person or thing to the highest
possible honour and glory, or the state reached in this