(1) Full of life; lively, vigorous, active. (2) Seeming or appearing to be alive.

Animated cartoon characters have been “given life” by film techniques, though the *animation* of drawings actually goes back to handheld toys in the 1830s. A child watching the cartoon may also be animated—squealing, laughing, and jumping around—as can a crowd of hockey fans or a rock- concert audience. And the best discussions and arguments are often highly animated.

(1) Showing a lofty and courageous spirit. (2) Generous and forgiving.

The basic meaning of *magnanimity* is “greatness of spirit.” Thus, magnanimity is the opposite of pettiness or “smallness.” A truly magnanimous person can lose without complaining and win without gloating. Angry disputes can sometimes be resolved when one side makes a magnanimous gesture toward the other. And it's the mark of magnanimity to give credit to everyone who worked on a project even if you'd rather it all went to you.

Ill will or resentment.

The important Latin word *animus* (very closely related to *anima*) could mean a great many things having to do with the soul and the emotions, one of them being “anger.” As an English word, *animus* has generally meant “ill will,” so it isn't mysterious that *animosity* means basically the same thing. Animosity can exist between two people, two groups or organizations, or two countries, and can sometimes lie hidden for years before reappearing. The deep animosities that exist between certain ethnic and religious groups sometimes seem as if they will last forever.

(1) Not alive; lifeless. (2) Not lively; dull.

The couch you sit on while you watch TV is an inanimate object, as is your footrest, your bag of snacks, and your remote control. Spend too much time on that couch and you risk becoming a couch potato. (A potato is an inanimate object.)

(1) Representing form or figure in art. (2) Saying one thing in terms normally meaning or describing another thing.

Words and phrases can have both literal and figurative meanings, and we all use words with both kinds of meanings every day of our lives. We can literally close the door to a room, or we can *figuratively* close the door to further negotiations—that is, refuse to take part in them. Figurative language includes *figures* of speech, such as similes (“she's been like a sister to me”) and metaphors (“a storm of protest”). And sometimes it's hard to tell whether a phrase is literal or figurative: If I say I “picked up” a little Spanish in Mexico, is that literal or figurative? You've probably noticed that lots of the definitions in this book show both a literal meaning (often something physical) and a figurative meaning (often nonphysical).

An arrangement of parts or elements; shape, design.

The term is very common in computer science and mathematics, and in scientific and technological fields in general. Thus, for example, two scientists won a 1962 Nobel Prize for their description of the configuration of the DNA molecule. Since then, researchers have studied what different configurations within the DNA strands mean and what they control, and genetic engineers have tried to *configure* or *reconfigure* DNA in new ways to prevent or treat diseases.

An image of a person, especially a crude representation of a hated person.

It was the practice of the ancient Egyptians to bury an effigy of a dead person along with that person's body. The idea was that if anything happened to the body in the afterlife, the effigy could be used as a spare. *Effigy* now usually refers to crude stuffed figures of the kind that get abused by angry protestors and unruly college students. But the small dolls that witches have used to bring pain and death on their victims can be called effigies as well. Actually, those witches and college kids seem to use their effigies for pretty much the same thing.

Something made up or imagined.

A figment is something formed from imaginary elements. Daydreams are figments; nightmares are figments that can seem very real. Most figments are everyday fears and hopes about small things that turn out to be imaginary. But when the radio play “The War of the Worlds” aired in 1938, it caused a panic among thousands of people who didn't realize the Martian invasion was just a figment of the author's imagination.