arduous
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excitement or eagerness; ZEAL: patriotic ardour | Her lack of enthusiasm dampened his ardour.
ar·du·ous /'ɑːdʒuəs||'ɑːrduəs/ adj fml needing hard and continuous effort; difficult: a long and arduous climb | arduous work —ly adv —ness n [U]
are¹ /ə; strong æ/ present tense pl. of BE: They are (living) here now. | Here we are! → see NOT (USAGE)
are² /eɪ/ n a unit of area → see TABLE 2
ar·e·a /'eəriə/ n 1 [C,U] the size of a surface measured by multiplying the length by the width: What's the area of your garden? | a room 16 square metres in area → compare VOLUME 2 [C] a) a part or division of the world, of a country etc; REGION: There aren't any big stores in this area (of the town). | He's the area sales manager for southern California. | The new factory will be built somewhere in the London area. b) such a part or division having a particular character or purpose: an area of high unemployment | the commercial area of a big city | (fig.) her lack of organization is an area of concern. | (fig.) She's doing brilliantly in her career, but her personal life is a disaster area. | (fig.) The question of who is responsible for the safety of the machinery is rather a grey area. (=not certain) 3 [C] a particular space or surface: There's a parking area behind the cinema. | a large room with a dining area at one end 4 [C] (the range or limits of) a subject, activity etc: new developments in the area of language teaching
Compare area, region, and district.
Area is the most general word for part of the Earth's surface. An area can be small or large, and is not thought of as a fixed land division: a rural area | the downtown area. A region is usually large, is usually part of a country, and may or may not be thought of as a fixed land division: The south-east is the richest region in England. | Edinburgh is in the Lothian region of Scotland. A district is smaller than a region and is usually a fixed land division of a country or city: the city's financial district | a postal district in London
'area code n a telephone CODE¹. Area codes in the US contain three numbers and the middle number is always 1 or 0. In the UK, area codes can contain three, four, or five numbers, depending on the area. The first number is always 0 and the middle number is always 1 or 2. Numbers beginning with the area code 800 (in the US) and 0800 (in the UK) are TOLL-FREE (=paid for by the receiver of the call).
a·re·na /ə'riːnə/ n 1 an enclosed area used for sports, public entertainments etc: The circus elephants were led into the arena. 2 a place of great activity, especially of competition or fighting: She entered the political arena at the age of 25.
A·rendt, Han·nah /'ɑːrənt, 'hɑːnə/ (1906-75) a US political PHILOSOPHER, writer, and teacher, who was born in Germany, but left there in 1941 to escape the NAZIS
aren't /ɑːnt||'ɑːrənt/ short for 1 are not: They aren't here. 2 (in questions) am not: I'm your friend, aren't I?
A·res /'ɛəriːz/ in Greek MYTHOLOGY, the god of war. In Roman mythology his name is MARS.
a·rête /ə'reɪt, ə'reɪt/ n tech a part of a mountain in the form of a long sharp edge with steep sides; RIDGE
ar·gent /'ɑːdʒənt||'ɑːr-/ n [U] poet (the colour of) silver: He carried an argent shield. —argent adj
Ar·gen·ti·na /ˌɑːdʒən'tiːnə, ˌɑːr-/ a large country in the southern part of South America, which also used to be called 'the Argentine'. Population: 38,740,807 (2003). Capital: Buenos Aires. → see also FALKLANDS WAR —Argentine /'ɑːdʒəntiːn -tɪn||'ɑːr- ' adj —Argentinian /ˌɑːdʒən'tɪniən, ˌɑːr-/ n, adj
ar·gon /'ɑːgɒn||'ɑːrgɑːn/ n [U] a chemically inactive gas that is a simple substance (ELEMENT), is found in the air, and is used in some electric lights
Ar·go·nauts, the /'ɑːgənɔːts||'ɑːr-/ in ancient Greek stories, a group of strong, brave men who sailed with JASON in the ship Argo to find the GOLDEN FLEECE
Ar·gos /'ɑːgɒs||'ɑːrgɑːs/ trademark a group of British stores that sells many types of goods for the home. Customers order goods by looking in a CATALOGUE, and then wait in the store until the goods are brought to them: the new Argos catalogue | I got it from Argos.
ar·got /'ɑːgəʊ||'ɑːrgɑːt/ n [C,U] informal speech spoken and understood by only a small group of people, especially criminals
ar·gu·a·ble /'ɑːgjʊəbḷ||'ɑːr-/ adj 1 able to be supported with reasons: an arguable theory | It is arguable that the government has no right to interfere in this matter. 2 doubtful in some degree; QUESTIONABLE: an arguable decision → opposite UNARGUABLE —bly adv: Arguably, the criminal is a necessary member of society.
ar·gue /'ɑːgjuː||'ɑːr-/ v 1 [(with, over, about)] to express disagreement in words, often with strong feeling; quarrel: Do what you are told and don't argue (with me). | They're always arguing about/over money. 2 [I,T] to provide reasons for or against (something) clearly and in proper order: We could argue this point for hours without reaching any conclusions. | They argued the case for a non-nuclear defence policy. | a well-argued speech in favour of the proposal | He argued for/against the proposed tax cuts. | [+that] I would argue that/It could be argued that sending men to the moon is a waste of money. 3 [T+obj+into/out of] to persuade (someone) by showing reasons for or against an idea or course of action, often with strong feeling: She argued him into/out of leaving his job. 4 [T] fml to show; give signs (of); INDICATE: Her essay argued a very good grasp of the facts. | [+that] The way he spends money argues that he is rich. 5 argue the toss BrE infml to argue about a decision that has already been made and cannot be changed → see QUARREL (USAGE)
ar·gu·ment /'ɑːgjʊmənt||'ɑːr-/ n 1 [C] a disagreement, especially one that is noisy; quarrel: They were having an argument about whose turn it was to do the cooking. | They got into an argument about politics. 2 [C(for, against)] a reason given to support or disprove something: The committee listened to all the arguments for and against the proposal. The risk of heart disease is a powerful argument against smoking. | He made a strong/convincing argument against accepting the offer. | [+that] the familiar argument that the cost would outweigh the benefits 3 [U] the use of reason to decide something or persuade someone: We should try to settle this affair by argument, not by fighting. | Let's say for the sake of argument (=in order to help in deciding or understanding something) that the sale price will be £25: how much profit will that give us? 4 [C] a short account of the story or subject of a book, poem etc; SUMMARY
ar·gu·men·ta·tive /ˌɑːgjʊ'mentətɪv, ˌɑːr-/ adj derog (of a person) liking to ARGUE; QUARRELSOME —ly adv
Ar·gus /'ɑːgəs||'ɑːr-/ in ancient Greek stories, a creature with many eyes who was used by the goddess HERA as a guard. Newspapers are sometimes called the 'Argus' to give the idea that they are always watching carefully for news.
a·ri·a /'ɑːriə/ n a song that is sung by only one person in an OPERA or ORATORIO
ar·id /'ærɪd/ adj (of land) having so little rain as to be very dry and unproductive: the arid wastes of the Sahara | (fig.) arid studies that produce no new ideas —ity /ə'rɪdəti/ n [U]
a·ri·el¹ /'eəriəl/ trademark a type of washing powder or liquid sold in the UK
Ariel² a character in the play The Tempest by William SHAKESPEARE. Ariel is a spirit with magical powers who works for PROSPERO.
A·ries /'eəriːz 'eəriːɪz||'eəriːz/ n 1 [U] the first sign of the ZODIAC, represented by a RAM (=male sheep), which some people believe affects the character and life of people born between March 21 and April 20 2 [C] someone who was born between March 21 and April 20
a·right /ə'raɪt/ adv fml correctly; properly: Have I understood you aright?
a·rise /ə'raɪz/ v arose /ə'rəʊz/, arisen /ə'rɪzən/ [I] 1 [(from, out of)] to come into being or begin to be noticed; happen; appear: Some unexpected difficulties/opportunities have arisen. | A strong wind arose. | a meeting to discuss any matters arising from the recent changes in the law | The bank will extend your loan should the need arise. (=if it becomes necessary) 2 old use or poet to stand up from sitting, kneeling or lying: 'I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree.' (W.B. Yeats) The words 'Arise, Sir...' are used in the ceremony that takes place when someone is made a KNIGHT → see also DO
Ar·is·tide, Jean-Ber·trand /ˌærɪ'stiːd, dʒɒ