abarticulation | (noun) dislocation of a joint | - |
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abbreviation | (noun) shortening something by omitting parts of it | - |
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(noun) a shortened form of a word or phrase | - |
abdication | (noun) a formal resignation and renunciation of powers | Synonyms: stepping down |
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(noun) the act of abdicating | Synonyms: stepping down |
abduction | (noun) the criminal act of capturing and carrying away by force a family member; if a man's wife is abducted it is a crime against the family relationship and against the wife | - |
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(noun) (physiology) moving of a body part away from the central axis of the body | - |
aberration | (noun) an optical phenomenon resulting from the failure of a lens or mirror to produce a good image | Synonyms: distortion, optical aberration |
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(noun) a disorder in one's mental state | - |
(noun) a state or condition markedly different from the norm | Synonyms: aberrance, aberrancy, deviance |
abjection | (noun) a low or downcast state | Synonyms: abasement, degradation |
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abjuration | (noun) a disavowal or taking back of a previous assertion | Synonyms: recantation, retraction |
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ablactation | (noun) the act of substituting other food for the mother's milk in the diet of a child or young mammal | Synonyms: weaning |
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(noun) the cessation of lactation | - |
ablation | (noun) surgical removal of a body part or tissue | Synonyms: cutting out, excision, extirpation |
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(noun) the erosive process that reduces the size of glaciers | - |
ablution | (noun) the ritual washing of a priest's hands or of sacred vessels | - |
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abnegation | (noun) renunciation of your own interests in favor of the interests of others | Synonyms: denial, self-abnegation, self-denial, self-renunciation |
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(noun) the denial and rejection of a doctrine or belief | - |
abocclusion | (noun) the condition in which the upper teeth do not touch the lower teeth when biting | - |
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abolition | (noun) the act of abolishing a system or practice or institution (especially abolishing slavery) | Synonyms: abolishment |
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abolitionism | (noun) the doctrine that calls for the abolition of slavery | - |
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abolitionist | (noun) a reformer who favors abolishing slavery | Synonyms: emancipationist |
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abomination | (noun) an action that is vicious or vile; an action that arouses disgust or abhorrence | - |
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(noun) hate coupled with disgust | Synonyms: abhorrence, detestation, execration, loathing, odium |
(noun) a person who is loathsome or disgusting | - |
abortion | (noun) termination of pregnancy | - |
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(noun) failure of a plan | Synonyms: miscarriage |
abortionist | (noun) a person (who should be a doctor) who terminates pregnancies | - |
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abrasion | (noun) the wearing down of rock particles by friction due to water or wind or ice | Synonyms: attrition, detrition, grinding |
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(noun) erosion by friction | Synonyms: attrition, corrasion, detrition |
(noun) an abraded area where the skin is torn or worn off | Synonyms: excoriation, scrape, scratch |
abreaction | (noun) (psychoanalysis) purging of emotional tensions | Synonyms: catharsis, katharsis |
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abrogation | (noun) the act of abrogating; an official or legal cancellation | Synonyms: annulment, repeal |
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abruption | (noun) an instance of sudden interruption | Synonyms: breaking off |
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abscission | (noun) the act of cutting something off | Synonyms: cutting off |
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(noun) shedding of flowers and leaves and fruit following formation of scar tissue in a plant | - |
absolution | (noun) the act of absolving or remitting; formal redemption as pronounced by a priest in the sacrament of penance | Synonyms: remission, remission of sin, remittal |
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(noun) the condition of being formally forgiven by a priest in the sacrament of penance | - |
absolutisation | (noun) the process of rendering something absolute or converting it into an absolute. | Synonyms: absolutization |
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absolutization | (noun) the process of rendering something absolute or converting it into an absolute. | Synonyms: absolutisation |
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absorption | (noun) the mental state of being preoccupied by something | Synonyms: engrossment, preoccupancy, preoccupation |
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(noun) complete attention; intense mental effort | Synonyms: concentration, engrossment, immersion |
(noun) (chemistry) a process in which one substance permeates another; a fluid permeates or is dissolved by a liquid or solid | Synonyms: soaking up |
(noun) the process of absorbing nutrients into the body after digestion | Synonyms: assimilation |
(noun) (physics) the process in which incident radiated energy is retained without reflection or transmission on passing through a medium | - |
(noun) the social process of absorbing one cultural group into harmony with another | Synonyms: assimilation |
abstention | (noun) the trait of abstaining (especially from alcohol) | Synonyms: abstinence |
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abstraction | (noun) a general concept formed by extracting common features from specific examples | Synonyms: abstract entity |
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(noun) the act of withdrawing or removing something | - |
(noun) an abstract painting | - |
(noun) a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance | Synonyms: abstract |
(noun) preoccupation with something to the exclusion of all else | Synonyms: abstractedness |
(noun) the process of formulating general concepts by abstracting common properties of instances | Synonyms: generalisation, generalization |
abstractionism | (noun) an abstract genre of art; artistic content depends on internal form rather than pictorial representation | Synonyms: abstract art |
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(noun) a representation having no reference to concrete objects or specific examples | Synonyms: unrealism |
abstractionist | (noun) a painter of abstract pictures | Synonyms: abstract artist |
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acanthion | (noun) the craniometric point at the anterior extremity of the intermaxillary suture | - |
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acceleration | (noun) the act of accelerating; increasing the speed | Synonyms: quickening, speedup |
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(noun) an increase in rate of change | - |
(noun) (physics) a rate of increase of velocity | - |
accentuation | (noun) the act of giving special importance or significance to something | Synonyms: accenting, emphasizing |
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(noun) the use or application of an accent; the relative prominence of syllables in a phrase or utterance | - |
acceptation | (noun) the act of accepting with approval; favorable reception | Synonyms: acceptance, adoption, espousal |
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(noun) the accepted meaning of a word | Synonyms: word meaning, word sense |
(noun) acceptance as true or valid | - |
accession | (noun) the act of attaining or gaining access to a new office or right or position (especially the throne) | Synonyms: rise to power |
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(noun) the right to enter | Synonyms: access, admission, admittance, entree |
(noun) agreeing with or consenting to (often unwillingly) | Synonyms: assenting |
(noun) something added to what you already have | Synonyms: addition |
(noun) (civil law) the right to all of that which your property produces whether by growth or improvement | - |
(noun) a process of increasing by addition (as to a collection or group) | - |
acclamation | (noun) enthusiastic approval | Synonyms: acclaim, eclat, plaudit, plaudits |
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acclimation | (noun) adaptation to a new climate (a new temperature or altitude or environment) | Synonyms: acclimatisation, acclimatization |
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acclimatisation | (noun) adaptation to a new climate (a new temperature or altitude or environment) | Synonyms: acclimation, acclimatization |
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acclimatization | (noun) adaptation to a new climate (a new temperature or altitude or environment) | Synonyms: acclimation, acclimatisation |
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accommodation | (noun) the act of providing something (lodging or seat or food) to meet a need | - |
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(noun) (physiology) the automatic adjustment in focal length of the natural lens of the eye | - |
(noun) living quarters provided for public convenience | - |
(noun) in the theories of Jean Piaget: the modification of internal representations in order to accommodate a changing knowledge of reality | - |
(noun) a settlement of differences | - |
(noun) making or becoming suitable; adjusting to circumstances | Synonyms: adjustment, fitting |
accordion | (noun) a portable box-shaped free-reed instrument; the reeds are made to vibrate by air from the bellows controlled by the player | Synonyms: squeeze box |
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accordionist | (noun) a musician who plays the accordion | - |
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accreditation | (noun) the act of granting credit or recognition (especially with respect to an educational institution that maintains suitable standards) | - |
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accretion | (noun) (law) an increase in a beneficiary's share in an estate (as when a co-beneficiary dies or fails to meet some condition or rejects the inheritance) | - |
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(noun) an increase by natural growth or addition | Synonyms: accumulation |
(noun) (geology) an increase in land resulting from alluvial deposits or waterborne sediment | - |
(noun) (biology) growth by addition as by the adhesion of parts or particles | - |
(noun) (astronomy) the formation of a celestial object by the effect of gravity pulling together surrounding objects and gases | - |
(noun) something contributing to growth or increase | - |
acculturation | (noun) the adoption of the behavior patterns of the surrounding culture | Synonyms: enculturation, socialisation, socialization |
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(noun) all the knowledge and values shared by a society | Synonyms: culture |
(noun) the process of assimilating new ideas into an existing cognitive structure | Synonyms: assimilation |
accumulation | (noun) the act of accumulating | Synonyms: accrual, accruement |
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(noun) several things grouped together or considered as a whole | Synonyms: aggregation, assemblage, collection |
(noun) (finance) profits that are not paid out as dividends but are added to the capital base of the corporation | - |
(noun) an increase by natural growth or addition | Synonyms: accretion |
accusation | (noun) a formal charge of wrongdoing brought against a person; the act of imputing blame or guilt | Synonyms: accusal |
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(noun) an assertion that someone is guilty of a fault or offence | Synonyms: charge |
acetylation | (noun) the process of introducing an acetyl group into a compound | - |
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acidification | (noun) the process of becoming acid or being converted into an acid | - |
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acquisition | (noun) the act of contracting or assuming or acquiring possession of something | - |
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(noun) an ability that has been acquired by training | Synonyms: accomplishment, acquirement, attainment, skill |
(noun) the cognitive process of acquiring skill or knowledge | Synonyms: learning |
(noun) something acquired | - |
acromion | (noun) the outermost point of the spine of the shoulder blade | Synonyms: acromial process |
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action | (noun) the most important or interesting work or activity in a specific area or field | - |
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(noun) a judicial proceeding brought by one party against another; one party prosecutes another for a wrong done or for protection of a right or for prevention of a wrong | Synonyms: action at law, legal action |
(noun) something done (usually as opposed to something said) | - |
(noun) a military engagement | Synonyms: military action |
(noun) an act by a government body or supranational organization | - |
(noun) the operating part that transmits power to a mechanism | Synonyms: action mechanism |
(noun) In firearms terminology, the mechanism that handles the ammunition (loads, locks, fires, and extracts the cartridges). | - |
(noun) the trait of being active and energetic and forceful | - |
(noun) the series of events that form a plot | - |
(noun) a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings) | Synonyms: activity, natural action, natural process |
(noun) the state of being active | Synonyms: activeness, activity |
activation | (noun) the activity of causing to have energy and be active | Synonyms: activating, energizing |
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(noun) making active and effective (as a bomb) | - |
(noun) stimulation of activity in an organism or chemical | - |
actualisation | (noun) making real or giving the appearance of reality | Synonyms: actualization, realisation, realization |
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actualization | (noun) making real or giving the appearance of reality | Synonyms: actualisation, realisation, realization |
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actuation | (noun) the act of propelling | Synonyms: propulsion |
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acylation | (noun) the process of introducing an acyl group into a compound | - |
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adaptation | (noun) (physiology) the responsive adjustment of a sense organ (as the eye) to varying conditions (as of light) | - |
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(noun) a written work (as a novel) that has been recast in a new form | Synonyms: version |
(noun) the process of adapting to something (such as environmental conditions) | Synonyms: adaption, adjustment |
adaption | (noun) the process of adapting to something (such as environmental conditions) | Synonyms: adaptation, adjustment |
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addiction | (noun) (Roman law) a formal award by a magistrate of a thing or person to another person (as the award of a debtor to his creditor); a surrender to a master | - |
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(noun) an abnormally strong craving | - |
(noun) being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming (especially alcohol or narcotic drugs) | Synonyms: dependance, dependence, dependency, habituation |
addition | (noun) the arithmetic operation of summing; calculating the sum of two or more numbers | Synonyms: plus, summation |
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(noun) the act of adding one thing to another | - |
(noun) a component that is added to something to improve it | Synonyms: add-on, improver |
(noun) a suburban area laid out in streets and lots for a future residential area | - |
(noun) something added to what you already have | Synonyms: accession |
(noun) a quantity that is added | Synonyms: gain, increase |
adduction | (noun) (physiology) moving of a body part toward the central axis of the body | - |
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adhesion | (noun) faithful support for a cause or political party or religion | Synonyms: adherence, attachment |
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(noun) the property of sticking together (as of glue and wood) or the joining of surfaces of different composition | Synonyms: adherence, adhesiveness, bond |
(noun) a fibrous band of scar tissue that binds together normally separate anatomical structures | - |
(noun) abnormal union of bodily tissues; most common in the abdomen | - |
adjudication | (noun) the final judgment in a legal proceeding; the act of pronouncing judgment based on the evidence presented | - |
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adjunction | (noun) an act of joining or adjoining things | Synonyms: junction |
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adjuration | (noun) a solemn and earnest appeal to someone to do something | - |
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administration | (noun) a method of tending to or managing the affairs of some group of people (especially the group's business affairs) | Synonyms: disposal |
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(noun) the act of administering medication | Synonyms: giving medication |
(noun) the act of meting out justice according to the law | Synonyms: judicature |
(noun) the act of governing; exercising authority | Synonyms: governance, governing, government, government activity |
(noun) the persons (or committees or departments etc.) who make up a body for the purpose of administering something | Synonyms: brass, establishment, governance, governing body, organisation, organization |
(noun) the tenure of a president | Synonyms: presidency, presidential term |
admiration | (noun) a favorable judgment | Synonyms: appreciation |
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(noun) a feeling of delighted approval and liking | Synonyms: esteem |
(noun) the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising | Synonyms: wonder, wonderment |
admission | (noun) the act of admitting someone to enter | Synonyms: admittance |
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(noun) the right to enter | Synonyms: access, accession, admittance, entree |
(noun) an acknowledgment of the truth of something | - |
(noun) the fee charged for admission | Synonyms: admission charge, admission fee, admission price, entrance fee, entrance money, price of admission |
admonition | (noun) a firm rebuke | Synonyms: admonishment, monition |
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(noun) cautionary advice about something imminent (especially imminent danger or other unpleasantness) | Synonyms: monition, warning, word of advice |
adoption | (noun) the act of accepting with approval; favorable reception | Synonyms: acceptance, acceptation, espousal |
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(noun) the appropriation (of ideas or words etc) from another source | Synonyms: borrowing |
(noun) a legal proceeding that creates a parent-child relation between persons not related by blood; the adopted child is entitled to all privileges belonging to a natural child of the adoptive parents (including the right to inherit) | - |
adoration | (noun) the act of admiring strongly | Synonyms: idolisation, idolization |
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(noun) the worship given to God alone | Synonyms: latria |
(noun) a feeling of profound love and admiration | Synonyms: worship |
adsorption | (noun) the accumulation of molecules of a gas to form a thin film on the surface of a solid | Synonyms: surface assimilation |
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adulation | (noun) servile flattery; exaggerated and hypocritical praise | - |
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adulteration | (noun) the act of adulterating (especially the illicit substitution of one substance for another) | - |
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(noun) being mixed with extraneous material; the product of adulterating | Synonyms: debasement |
adumbration | (noun) a sketchy or imperfect or faint representation | - |
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(noun) the act of providing vague advance indications; representing beforehand | Synonyms: foreshadowing, prefiguration |
advection | (noun) (meteorology) the horizontal transfer of heat or other atmospheric properties | - |
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aeration | (noun) the act of charging a liquid with a gas making it effervescent | - |
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(noun) the process of exposing to air (so as to purify) | - |
aestivation | (noun) (botany) the arrangement of sepals and petals in a flower bud before it opens | Synonyms: estivation |
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(noun) (zoology) cessation or slowing of activity during the summer; especially slowing of metabolism in some animals during a hot or dry period | Synonyms: estivation |
affectation | (noun) a deliberate pretense or exaggerated display | Synonyms: affectedness, mannerism, pose |
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affection | (noun) a positive feeling of liking | Synonyms: affectionateness, fondness, heart, philia, tenderness, warmheartedness, warmness |
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affectionateness | (noun) a quality proceeding from feelings of affection or love | Synonyms: fondness, lovingness, warmth |
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(noun) a positive feeling of liking | Synonyms: affection, fondness, heart, philia, tenderness, warmheartedness, warmness |
affiliation | (noun) the act of becoming formally connected or joined | - |
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(noun) a social or business relationship | Synonyms: association, tie-up, tie |
affirmation | (noun) a judgment by a higher court that the judgment of a lower court was correct and should stand | - |
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(noun) a statement asserting the existence or the truth of something | Synonyms: avouchment, avowal |
(noun) (religion) a solemn declaration that serves the same purpose as an oath (if an oath is objectionable to the person on religious or ethical grounds) | - |
(noun) the act of affirming or asserting or stating something | Synonyms: assertion, statement |
affixation | (noun) formation of a word by means of an affix | - |
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(noun) the act of attaching or affixing something | Synonyms: attachment |
(noun) the result of adding an affix to a root word | - |
affliction | (noun) a cause of great suffering and distress | - |
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(noun) a condition of suffering or distress due to ill health | - |
(noun) a state of great suffering and distress due to adversity | - |
afforestation | (noun) the conversion of bare or cultivated land into forest (originally for the purpose of hunting) | - |
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affrication | (noun) the conversion of a simple stop consonant into an affricate | - |
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affusion | (noun) the act of baptizing someone by pouring water on their head | - |
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aficionado | (noun) a serious devotee of some particular music genre or musical performer | - |
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(noun) a fan of bull fighting | - |
aftersensation | (noun) an image (usually a negative image) that persists after stimulation has ceased | Synonyms: afterimage |
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agglomeration | (noun) the act of collecting in a mass; the act of agglomerating | - |
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(noun) a jumbled collection or mass | - |
agglutination | (noun) the building of words from component morphemes that retain their form and meaning in the process of combining | - |
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(noun) a clumping of bacteria or red cells when held together by antibodies (agglutinins) | - |
(noun) the coalescing of small particles that are suspended in solution; these larger masses are then (usually) precipitated | Synonyms: agglutinating activity |
aggravation | (noun) unfriendly behavior that causes anger or resentment | Synonyms: irritation, provocation |
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(noun) action that makes a problem or a disease (or its symptoms) worse | Synonyms: exacerbation |
(noun) an exasperated feeling of annoyance | Synonyms: exasperation |
aggregation | (noun) the act of gathering something together | Synonyms: assembling, collecting, collection |
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(noun) several things grouped together or considered as a whole | Synonyms: accumulation, assemblage, collection |
aggression | (noun) violent action that is hostile and usually unprovoked | Synonyms: hostility |
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(noun) deliberately unfriendly behavior | - |
(noun) the act of initiating hostilities | - |
(noun) a disposition to behave aggressively | - |
(noun) a feeling of hostility that arouses thoughts of attack | Synonyms: aggressiveness |
agitation | (noun) disturbance usually in protest | Synonyms: excitement, hullabaloo, turmoil, upheaval |
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(noun) the act of agitating something; causing it to move around (usually vigorously) | - |
(noun) the feeling of being agitated; not calm | - |
(noun) a state of agitation or turbulent change or development | Synonyms: ferment, fermentation, tempestuousness, unrest |
(noun) a mental state of extreme emotional disturbance | - |
agnation | (noun) line of descent traced through the paternal side of the family | Synonyms: patrilineage |
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alienation | (noun) the action of alienating; the action of causing to become unfriendly | - |
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(noun) (law) the voluntary and absolute transfer of title and possession of real property from one person to another | - |
(noun) the feeling of being alienated from other people | Synonyms: disaffection, estrangement |
(noun) separation resulting from hostility | Synonyms: estrangement |