: Its Middle English roots meant "cunning" or "crafty," but it has since evolved to describe attractiveness.

: In the 1300s, this meant "foolish," "silly," or "ignorant". By the 1800s, it shifted to mean "kind," "considerate," or "friendly".

: Ameliorative approaches in social work often focus on treating the symptoms of a problem—such as providing food drives to "ameliorate hunger" or air conditioning to "ameliorate heat"—rather than immediately tackling the root causes.