| ascending | (noun) the act of changing location in an upward direction | Synonyms: ascension, ascent, rise |
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| ashbin | (noun) a bin that holds rubbish until it is collected | Synonyms: ash-bin, ash bin, ashcan, dustbin, garbage can, trash barrel, trash bin, trash can, wastebin |
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| asininity | (noun) the quality of being asinine; stupidity combined with stubbornness | - |
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| asking | (noun) the verbal act of requesting | Synonyms: request |
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| asparaginase | (noun) antineoplastic drug (trade name Elspar) sometimes used to treat lymphoblastic leukemia | Synonyms: Elspar |
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| asparagine | (noun) a crystalline amino acid found in proteins and in many plants (e.g., asparagus) | - |
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| aspirin | (noun) the acetylated derivative of salicylic acid; used as an analgesic anti-inflammatory drug (trade names Bayer, Empirin, and St. Joseph) usually taken in tablet form; used as an antipyretic; slows clotting of the blood by poisoning platelets | Synonyms: acetylsalicylic acid, Bayer, Empirin, St. Joseph |
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| assassin | (noun) a murderer (especially one who kills a prominent political figure) who kills by a surprise attack and often is hired to do the deed | Synonyms: assassinator, bravo |
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| (noun) a member of a secret order of Muslims (founded in the 12th century) who terrorized and killed Christian Crusaders | - |
| assassination | (noun) murder of a public figure by surprise attack | - |
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| (noun) an attack intended to ruin someone's reputation | Synonyms: blackwash, character assassination |
| assassinator | (noun) a murderer (especially one who kills a prominent political figure) who kills by a surprise attack and often is hired to do the deed | Synonyms: assassin, bravo |
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| assembling | (noun) the act of gathering something together | Synonyms: aggregation, collecting, collection |
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| assenting | (noun) agreeing with or consenting to (often unwillingly) | Synonyms: accession |
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| assigning | (noun) the act of distributing something to designated places or persons | Synonyms: assignment |
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| astatine | (noun) a highly unstable radioactive element (the heaviest of the halogen series); a decay product of uranium and thorium | Synonyms: At, atomic number 85 |
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| astringence | (noun) a sharp astringent taste; the taste experience when a substance causes the mouth to pucker | Synonyms: astringency |
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| astringency | (noun) the ability to contract or draw together soft body tissues to check blood flow or restrict secretion of fluids | Synonyms: stypsis |
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| (noun) a sharp astringent taste; the taste experience when a substance causes the mouth to pucker | Synonyms: astringence |
| astringent | (noun) a drug that causes contraction of body tissues and canals | Synonyms: astringent drug, styptic |
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| atorvastatin | (noun) an oral drug (trade name Lipitor) that is effective in lowering triglycerides; potent in reducing LDL cholesterol because higher doses can be given | Synonyms: Lipitor |
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| atrazine | (noun) a synthetic compound derived from triazine that is widely used as an agricultural herbicide | - |
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| atropine | (noun) a poisonous crystalline alkaloid extracted from the nightshade family; used as an antispasmodic and to dilate the eye pupil; also administered in large amounts as an antidote for organophosphate nerve agents or organophosphate insecticides | - |
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| attainability | (noun) the state of being achievable | Synonyms: achievability, attainableness |
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| attainableness | (noun) the state of being achievable | Synonyms: achievability, attainability |
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| attainder | (noun) cancellation of civil rights | Synonyms: civil death |
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| attainment | (noun) the act of achieving an aim | - |
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| (noun) arrival at a new stage | - |
| (noun) an ability that has been acquired by training | Synonyms: accomplishment, acquirement, acquisition, skill |
| attending | (noun) the act of being present (at a meeting or event etc.) | Synonyms: attendance |
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| (noun) the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others | Synonyms: attention |
| aubergine | (noun) egg-shaped vegetable having a shiny skin typically dark purple but occasionally white or yellow | Synonyms: eggplant, mad apple |
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| (noun) hairy upright herb native to southeastern Asia but widely cultivated for its large glossy edible fruit commonly used as a vegetable | Synonyms: brinjal, eggplant, eggplant bush, garden egg, mad apple, Solanum melongena |
| australopithecine | (noun) any of several extinct humanlike bipedal primates with relatively small brains of the genus Australopithecus; from 1 to 4 million years ago | - |
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| autoinjector | (noun) a hypodermic syringe to use in injecting yourself with a liquid | - |
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| autosexing | (noun) (especially of domestic fowl) breeding to reveal differential sex characteristics at hatching | - |
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| auxin | (noun) a plant hormone that promotes root formation and bud growth | - |
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| aventurine | (noun) a translucent quartz spangled with bits of mica or other minerals | Synonyms: sunstone |
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| averting | (noun) the act of preventing something from occurring | - |
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| (noun) the act of turning yourself (or your gaze) away | Synonyms: aversion |
| avitaminosis | (noun) any of several diseases caused by deficiency of one or more vitamins | Synonyms: hypovitaminosis |
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| awakening | (noun) the act of waking | Synonyms: wakening, waking up |
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| awarding | (noun) a grant made by a law court | Synonyms: award |
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| awning | (noun) a canopy made of canvas to shelter people or things from rain or sun | Synonyms: sunblind, sunshade |
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| ayin | (noun) the 16th letter of the Hebrew alphabet | - |
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| azadirachtin | (noun) insecticide | - |
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| azathioprine | (noun) an immunosuppressive drug (trade name Imuran) used to prevent rejection of a transplanted organ | Synonyms: Imuran |
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| azithromycin | (noun) a systemic antibacterial medicine (trade name Zithromax) that is prescribed to treat bacterial infections in many different parts of the body | Synonyms: Zithromax |
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| babbitting | (noun) lining a surface or bearing with Babbitt metal | - |
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| babbling | (noun) gibberish resembling the sounds of a baby | Synonyms: babble, lallation |
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| babyminder | (noun) a person who looks after babies (usually in the person's own home) while the babys' parents are working | Synonyms: baby minder, minder |
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| babysitting | (noun) the work of a baby sitter; caring for children when their parents are not home | Synonyms: baby sitting |
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| bacitracin | (noun) a polypeptide antibiotic of known chemical structure effective against several types of Gram-positive organisms; usually applied locally | - |
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| backflowing | (noun) a flow that returns toward its source | Synonyms: backflow |
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| backgrounding | (noun) the execution of low priority programs while higher priority programs are not using the processing system | Synonyms: background processing |
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| backing | (noun) the act of providing approval and support | Synonyms: backup, championship, patronage |
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| (noun) something forming a back that is added for strengthening | Synonyms: mount |
| (noun) financial resources provided to make some project possible | Synonyms: financial backing, financial support, funding, support |
| backlighting | (noun) lighting from behind | - |
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| backpacking | (noun) carrying something in a pack on the back | Synonyms: packing |
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| backsliding | (noun) a failure to maintain a higher state | Synonyms: lapse, lapsing, relapse, relapsing, reversion, reverting |
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| backspin | (noun) spin (usually of a moving ball) that retards or reverses the forward motion | - |
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| badgering | (noun) the act of harassing someone | Synonyms: bedevilment, torment, worrying |
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| badinage | (noun) frivolous banter | - |
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| badminton | (noun) a game played on a court with light long-handled rackets used to volley a shuttlecock over a net | - |
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| bagging | (noun) coarse fabric used for bags or sacks | Synonyms: sacking |
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| baiting | (noun) harassment especially of a tethered animal | - |
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| baking | (noun) cooking by dry heat in an oven | - |
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| (noun) making bread or cake or pastry etc. | - |
| balancing | (noun) getting two things to correspond | Synonyms: reconciliation |
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| baldachin | (noun) ornamented canopy supported by columns or suspended from a roof or projected from a wall (as over an altar) | - |
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| balkiness | (noun) likely to stop abruptly and unexpectedly | - |
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| balkline | (noun) line across a billiard table behind which the cue balls are placed at the start of a game | Synonyms: baulk-line, string line |
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| ballerina | (noun) a female ballet dancer | Synonyms: danseuse |
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| ballooning | (noun) flying in a balloon | - |
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| balloting | (noun) a choice that is made by counting the number of people in favor of each alternative | Synonyms: ballot, vote, voting |
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| ballpoint | (noun) a pen that has a small metal ball as the point of transfer of ink to paper | Synonyms: ballpen, ballpoint pen, Biro |
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| balminess | (noun) the quality of weather that is deliciously mild and soothing | Synonyms: softness |
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| bambino | (noun) a young child who is just beginning to walk | Synonyms: toddler, tot, yearling |
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| bandaging | (noun) the act of applying a bandage | Synonyms: binding, dressing |
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| banding | (noun) an adornment consisting of a strip of a contrasting color or material | Synonyms: band, stripe |
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| (noun) a stripe or stripes of contrasting color | Synonyms: band, stria, striation |
| banging | (noun) the act of subjecting to strong attack | Synonyms: battering |
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| (noun) a continuing very loud noise | - |
| banking | (noun) transacting business with a bank; depositing or withdrawing funds or requesting a loan etc. | - |
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| (noun) engaging in the business of keeping money for savings and checking accounts or for exchange or for issuing loans and credit etc. | - |
| banning | (noun) an official prohibition or edict against something | Synonyms: ban, forbiddance, forbidding |
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| banqueting | (noun) eating an elaborate meal (often accompanied by entertainment) | Synonyms: feasting |
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| banting | (noun) wild ox of the Malay Archipelago | Synonyms: banteng, Bos banteng, tsine |
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| barbecuing | (noun) roasting a large piece of meat on a revolving spit out of doors over an open fire | - |
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| bareboating | (noun) boating by chartering a bareboat and providing your own crew and provisions | - |
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| bargain | (noun) an agreement between parties (usually arrived at after discussion) fixing obligations of each | Synonyms: deal |
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| (noun) an advantageous purchase | Synonyms: buy, steal |
| bargainer | (noun) someone who purchases and maintains an inventory of goods to be sold | Synonyms: dealer, monger, trader |
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| (noun) negotiator of the terms of a transaction | - |
| bargaining | (noun) the negotiation of the terms of a transaction or agreement | - |
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| baring | (noun) the removal of covering | Synonyms: denudation, husking, stripping, uncovering |
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| barracking | (noun) shouting to interrupt a speech with which you disagree | Synonyms: heckling |
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| barring | (noun) the act of excluding someone by a negative vote or veto | Synonyms: blackball |
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| baseline | (noun) the lines a baseball player must follow while running the bases | - |
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| (noun) the back line bounding each end of a tennis or handball court; when serving the server must not step over this line | Synonyms: service line |
| (noun) an imaginary line or standard by which things are measured or compared | - |
| basin | (noun) a bowl-shaped vessel; usually used for holding food or liquids | - |
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| (noun) a bathroom sink that is permanently installed and connected to a water supply and drainpipe; where you can wash your hands and face | Synonyms: lavatory, washbasin, washbowl, washstand |
| (noun) the entire geographical area drained by a river and its tributaries; an area characterized by all runoff being conveyed to the same outlet | Synonyms: catchment area, catchment basin, drainage area, drainage basin, river basin, watershed |
| (noun) a natural depression in the surface of the land often with a lake at the bottom of it | - |
| (noun) the quantity that a basin will hold | Synonyms: basinful |
| basinet | (noun) a medieval steel helmet | - |
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| basinful | (noun) the quantity that a basin will hold | Synonyms: basin |
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| bassine | (noun) coarse leaf fiber from palmyra palms used in making brushes and brooms | - |
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| bassinet | (noun) a basket (usually hooded) used as a baby's bed | - |
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| (noun) a perambulator that resembles a bassinet | - |
| bastinado | (noun) a form of torture in which the soles of the feet are beaten with whips or cudgels | Synonyms: falanga |
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| (noun) a cudgel used to give someone a beating on the soles of the feet | - |
| basting | (noun) moistening a roast as it is cooking | - |
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| (noun) a loose temporary sewing stitch to hold layers of fabric together | Synonyms: baste, basting stitch, tacking |
| bathing | (noun) immersing the body in water or sunshine | - |
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| (noun) the act of washing yourself (or another person) | Synonyms: washup |
| battering | (noun) the act of subjecting to strong attack | Synonyms: banging |
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| batting | (noun) (baseball) the batter's attempt to get on base | - |
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| (noun) stuffing made of rolls or sheets of cotton wool or synthetic fiber | Synonyms: batten |
| batwing | (noun) one of a pair of swinging doors (as at the entrance to a western saloon) | - |
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| bawdiness | (noun) the trait of behaving in an obscene manner | Synonyms: lewdness, obscenity, salaciousness, salacity |
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| bawling | (noun) loud cries made while weeping | Synonyms: wailing |
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| beading | (noun) a beaded molding for edging or decorating furniture | Synonyms: astragal, bead, beadwork |
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| (noun) ornamentation with beads | Synonyms: beadwork |
| beagling | (noun) hunting rabbits with beagles | - |
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| bearing | (noun) a rotating support placed between moving parts to allow them to move easily | - |
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| (noun) heraldry consisting of a design or image depicted on a shield | Synonyms: armorial bearing, charge, heraldic bearing |
| (noun) dignified manner or conduct | Synonyms: comportment, mien, presence |
| (noun) characteristic way of bearing one's body | Synonyms: carriage, posture |
| (noun) the direction or path along which something moves or along which it lies | Synonyms: aim, heading |
| (noun) relevant relation or interconnection | - |