| A | B |
| metonymy | the use of a closely related word as a substitute |
| spoonerism | a comical switching of the first sounds of words |
| acronym | a word made from first letters |
| diminutive | a suffix indicating smallness |
| coinage | an invented word |
| palindrome | a word spelled the same backward and forward |
| oxymoron | an expression with contardictory words |
| portmanteau word | a word formedfrom two other words |
| affix | a prefix or suffix |
| colloquial | conversational |
| dubious | doubtful |
| vacillate | to hesitate in choice of action or opinion |
| qualm | a sense of doubt |
| precarious | dangerous; unstable |
| apprehensive | nervous or uneasy |
| tentative | not fuly worked out; provisional |
| categorical | absolute |
| indeterminate | vague; unclear |
| unequivocal | perfectly clear |
| conclusive | decisive |