“Symbiosis” is a noun meaning “a mutually-beneficial relationship.” “Symbiotic” is the adjective that can describe such a relationship.

Example:  “The brightly-colored clownfish lives in symbiosis with sea anemones; the clownfish is immune to the anemone’s poison and hides within its tentacles, and in return the fish keeps the anemone free of waste matter and decay.”

“Superannuated” means old-fashioned or archaic, something that is outdated and obsolete.

Example:  “We were listening to an old radio play last night, and my niece asked what the funny clicking noise was when one of the characters made a telephone call; it seems rotary phones are completely superannuated, and no one under thirty even knows what they used to sound like.”

“Anthropomorphic” is an adjective meaning having the attributes of a human, but not being human. These attributes can be physical, emotional, or both.

Example:  “Many cultures placed figureheads at the front of their ships, whether simple painted eyes on either side of the bow or a carved statue of a woman, in the anthropomorphic  belief that this would help the ships navigate through any hazards.”

Something that is “cryptic” is obscure or otherwise hard to understand. A cryptic communication has a hidden meaning, and may be written in secret code.

Example:  “My nephew likes the fortune-telling machine at the county fair; he’ll spend hours dropping coins in the slot, watching the hand of the colorfully-dressed robot move back and forth, and collecting the cryptic messages printed out.”

To “decode” something is to make it clear and easy to understand; this verb can be either transitive or intransitive. In the intransitive sense, “decode” means “to figure something out.”

Example:  “When I was working at the embassy, we received daily communications from agents in the city, and my job was to decode the messages before passing them on to the diplomats.”

“Binary” means something that is separated into two parts that are both of equal importance, but are mutually exclusive. The so-called “binary language” is called that because its “letters” are only the number one and the number zero, nothing more, in increasingly complex combinations.

Example:  “The physics professor explained the concepts of absolutes and degrees by comparing two types of lighting fixtures: the first one had a binary switch that turned the light off or on, and the other had a dimmer switch that would allow the light to slowly brighten.”

“Malleable” means flexible or easily shaped, something that can be changed without breaking. You can also use this word to describe an intangible characteristic, such as someone’s personality.

Example:  “Sarah got into a lot of trouble when she was a child; she was so malleable that she’d do anything her schoolmates told her to, even if it was against the rules.”

“Dynamic” means constantly changing or moving. A synonym for dynamic is “active”; the opposite of dynamic is “static.”

Example:  “Now that graphics designers can include animation and movies, web pages have gotten to be much more dynamic.”

An octopus can squeeze its boneless body through a long narrow tube, or compact itself into a shallow underwater cave. This ability to take on different forms or characteristics is described by the word “protean,” meaning “extremely variable.” The word comes from the name of the oldest sea god in Greek mythology, Proteus.

Example:  “The protean skin coloration of animals like the chameleon and the reef squid allows them to blend in almost invisibly with their surroundings.”

A transmutation is a change that might not be apparent on the surface. By contrast, a metamorphosis is a complete change in form or substance. Depending on the circumstances, possible synonyms for “metamorphosis” include “reinvention” and “rebirth.”

Example:  “Children are always amazed at the process of metamorphosis that changes a lumpy leaf-chewing caterpillar into a delicate, nectar-sipping butterfly.”