Strength takes many forms: there’s physical strength, as in muscular power, but there’s also mental and emotional strength. That’s where fortitude comes in. Fortitude refers to mental and emotional strength in facing difficulty, adversity, danger, or temptation courageously. Someone who displays great fortitude has tremendous resolve and is able to stay the course for what they think is right, no matter what challenges arise.

Someone who is irritable is easily annoyed, angered, or provoked. Someone who is petulant is impatient, impulsive, and sulky if they don’t get their way. Sound a little childish? That would be a correct assessment of how this word is used! Petulant suggests immaturity and is often used to describe behavior that is unseemly or surprising considering age or stature.

The adjective cognizant implies more understanding, attentiveness, and reasoning than simple sensory awareness. One can be aware of a sound in the distance, but such a state does not necessarily suggest any sort of deliberate recognition or engagement with its occurrence. Cognizant is frequently used in the phrase cognizant of the fact to indicate that a person has incorporated knowledge or understanding of something into their decision-making process.