| ala | (noun) a wing of an insect | - |
|---|
| (noun) a flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism | - |
| alabaster | (noun) a very light white | - |
|---|
| (noun) a compact fine-textured, usually white gypsum used for carving | - |
| (noun) a hard compact kind of calcite | Synonyms: Mexican onyx, onyx marble, oriental alabaster |
| alacrity | (noun) liveliness and eagerness | Synonyms: briskness, smartness |
|---|
| alalia | (noun) paralysis of the vocal cords resulting in an inability to speak | - |
|---|
| alanine | (noun) a crystalline amino acid that occurs in many proteins | - |
|---|
| alarm | (noun) a device that signals the occurrence of some undesirable event | Synonyms: alarm system, warning device |
|---|
| (noun) a clock that wakes a sleeper at some preset time | Synonyms: alarm clock |
| (noun) an automatic signal (usually a sound) warning of danger | Synonyms: alarum, alert, warning signal |
| (noun) fear resulting from the awareness of danger | Synonyms: consternation, dismay |
| alarmism | (noun) needless warnings | - |
|---|
| alarmist | (noun) a person who alarms others needlessly | - |
|---|
| alarum | (noun) an automatic signal (usually a sound) warning of danger | Synonyms: alarm, alert, warning signal |
|---|
| alastrim | (noun) a mild form of smallpox caused by a less virulent form of the virus | Synonyms: Cuban itch, Kaffir pox, milk pox, pseudosmallpox, pseudovariola, variola minor, West Indian smallpox, white pox |
|---|
| alb | (noun) a white linen liturgical vestment with sleeves; worn by priests | - |
|---|
| albacore | (noun) large pelagic tuna the source of most canned tuna; reaches 93 pounds and has long pectoral fins; found worldwide in tropical and temperate waters | Synonyms: long-fin tunny, Thunnus alalunga |
|---|
| (noun) relatively small tuna with choice white flesh; major source of canned tuna | - |
| albatross | (noun) large web-footed birds of the Southern Hemisphere having long narrow wings; noted for powerful gliding flight | Synonyms: mollymawk |
|---|
| (noun) (figurative) something that hinders or handicaps | Synonyms: millstone |
| albedo | (noun) the ratio of reflected to incident light | Synonyms: reflective power |
|---|
| albinism | (noun) the congenital absence of pigmentation in the eyes and skin and hair | - |
|---|
| albino | (noun) an animal with congenital albinism | - |
|---|
| (noun) a person with congenital albinism: white hair and milky skin; eyes are usually pink | - |
| albite | (noun) a widely distributed feldspar that forms rocks | Synonyms: white feldspar |
|---|
| albizia | (noun) any of numerous trees of the genus Albizia | Synonyms: albizzia |
|---|
| albizzia | (noun) any of numerous trees of the genus Albizia | Synonyms: albizia |
|---|
| albuca | (noun) any of various plants of the genus Albuca having large clusters of pale yellow flowers; South Africa | - |
|---|
| albuginea | (noun) whitish tunic | - |
|---|
| album | (noun) a book of blank pages with pockets or envelopes; for organizing photographs or stamp collections etc | - |
|---|
| (noun) one or more recordings issued together; originally released on 12-inch phonograph records (usually with attractive record covers) and later on cassette audiotape and compact disc | Synonyms: record album |
| albumen | (noun) the white part of an egg; the nutritive and protective gelatinous substance surrounding the yolk consisting mainly of albumin dissolved in water | Synonyms: egg white, ovalbumin, white |
|---|
| (noun) a simple water-soluble protein found in many animal tissues and liquids | Synonyms: albumin |
| albumin | (noun) a simple water-soluble protein found in many animal tissues and liquids | Synonyms: albumen |
|---|
| albuminoid | (noun) a simple protein found in horny and cartilaginous tissues and in the lens of the eye | Synonyms: scleroprotein |
|---|
| albuminuria | (noun) the presence of excessive protein (chiefly albumin but also globulin) in the urine; usually a symptom of kidney disorder | Synonyms: proteinuria |
|---|
| albuterol | (noun) a bronchodilator (trade names Ventolin or Proventil) used for asthma and emphysema and other lung conditions; available in oral or inhalant forms; side effects are tachycardia and shakiness | Synonyms: Proventil, Ventolin |
|---|
| alcahest | (noun) hypothetical universal solvent once sought by alchemists | Synonyms: alkahest, universal solvent |
|---|
| alcalde | (noun) a mayor or chief magistrate of a Spanish town | - |
|---|
| alcapton | (noun) an acid formed as an intermediate product of the metabolism of tyrosine and phenylalanine | Synonyms: alkapton, homogentisic acid |
|---|
| alcaptonuria | (noun) a rare recessive metabolic anomaly marked by ochronosis and the presence of alkapton in the urine | Synonyms: alkaptonuria |
|---|
| alcazar | (noun) any of various Spanish fortresses or palaces built by the Moors | - |
|---|
| alchemist | (noun) one who was versed in the practice of alchemy and who sought an elixir of life and a panacea and an alkahest and the philosopher's stone | - |
|---|
| alchemy | (noun) a pseudoscientific forerunner of chemistry in medieval times | - |
|---|
| (noun) the way two individuals relate to each other | Synonyms: chemistry, interpersonal chemistry |
| alcohol | (noun) a liquor or brew containing alcohol as the active agent | Synonyms: alcoholic beverage, alcoholic drink, inebriant, intoxicant |
|---|
| (noun) any of a series of volatile hydroxyl compounds that are made from hydrocarbons by distillation | - |
| alcoholic | (noun) a person who drinks alcohol to excess habitually | Synonyms: alky, boozer, dipsomaniac, lush, soaker, souse |
|---|
| alcoholism | (noun) an intense persistent desire to drink alcoholic beverages to excess | Synonyms: dipsomania, potomania |
|---|
| (noun) habitual intoxication; prolonged and excessive intake of alcoholic drinks leading to a breakdown in health and an addiction to alcohol such that abrupt deprivation leads to severe withdrawal symptoms | Synonyms: alcohol addiction, drunkenness, inebriation |
| alcove | (noun) a small recess opening off a larger room | Synonyms: bay |
|---|
| aldehyde | (noun) any of a class of highly reactive chemical compounds; used in making resins and dyes and organic acids | - |
|---|
| alder | (noun) north temperate shrubs or trees having toothed leaves and conelike fruit; bark is used in tanning and dyeing and the wood is rot-resistant | Synonyms: alder tree |
|---|
| (noun) wood of any of various alder trees; resistant to underwater rot; used for bridges etc | - |
| alderfly | (noun) dark-colored insect having predaceous aquatic larvae | Synonyms: alder fly, Sialis lutaria |
|---|
| alderman | (noun) a member of a municipal legislative body (as a city council) | - |
|---|
| aldohexose | (noun) a monosaccharide sugar having six carbon atoms and an aldehyde group | - |
|---|
| aldol | (noun) an oily colorless liquid obtained by the condensation of two molecules of acetaldehyde; contains an alcohol group (-OH) and an aldehyde group (-CHO) | Synonyms: aldehyde-alcohol |
|---|
| aldose | (noun) a monosaccharide sugar that contains the aldehyde group or is hemiacetal | - |
|---|
| aldosterone | (noun) a corticosteroid hormone that is secreted by the cortex of the adrenal gland; regulates salt (sodium and potassium) and water balance | - |
|---|
| aldosteronism | (noun) a condition caused by overproduction of aldosterone | Synonyms: hyperaldosteronism |
|---|
| aldotetrose | (noun) A four-carbon aldose; for example, threose, erythrose. | - |
|---|
| aldotriose | (noun) Any aldose having three carbon atoms; in reality, just glyceraldehyde. | - |
|---|
| ale | (noun) a general name for beer made with a top fermenting yeast; in some of the United States an ale is (by law) a brew of more than 4% alcohol by volume | - |
|---|
| alecost | (noun) tansy-scented Eurasian perennial herb with buttonlike yellow flowers; used as potherb or salad green and sometimes for potpourri or tea or flavoring; sometimes placed in genus Chrysanthemum | Synonyms: balsam herb, bible leaf, Chrysanthemum balsamita, costmary, mint geranium, Tanacetum balsamita |
|---|
| alehoof | (noun) trailing European aromatic plant of the mint family having rounded leaves and small purplish flowers often grown in hanging baskets; naturalized in North America; sometimes placed in genus Nepeta | Synonyms: field balm, gill-over-the-ground, Glechoma hederaceae, ground ivy, Nepeta hederaceae, runaway robin |
|---|
| alehouse | (noun) a tavern where ale is sold | - |
|---|
| alembic | (noun) an obsolete kind of container used for distillation; two retorts connected by a tube | - |
|---|
| alendronate | (noun) a tablet (trade name Fosamax) prescribed to prevent or treat osteoporosis in women after menopause | Synonyms: Fosamax |
|---|
| aleph | (noun) the 1st letter of the Hebrew alphabet | - |
|---|
| alert | (noun) a warning serves to make you more alert to danger | Synonyms: alerting |
|---|
| (noun) an automatic signal (usually a sound) warning of danger | Synonyms: alarm, alarum, warning signal |
| (noun) condition of heightened watchfulness or preparation for action | Synonyms: qui vive |
| alerting | (noun) a warning serves to make you more alert to danger | Synonyms: alert |
|---|
| (noun) a state of readiness to respond | Synonyms: alertness |
| alertness | (noun) lively attentiveness | Synonyms: on the qui vive, sharp-sightedness |
|---|
| (noun) the process of paying close and continuous attention | Synonyms: vigilance, wakefulness, watchfulness |
| (noun) a state of readiness to respond | Synonyms: alerting |
| aleurone | (noun) granular protein in outermost layer of endosperm of many seeds or cereal grains | - |
|---|
| alewife | (noun) shad-like food fish that runs rivers to spawn; often salted or smoked; sometimes placed in genus Pomolobus | Synonyms: Alosa pseudoharengus, Pomolobus pseudoharengus |
|---|
| (noun) flesh of shad-like fish abundant along the Atlantic coast or in coastal streams | - |
| alexandrite | (noun) a green variety of chrysoberyl used as a gemstone | - |
|---|
| alexia | (noun) inability to perceive written words | Synonyms: visual aphasia, word blindness |
|---|
| alexic | (noun) a person with alexia | - |
|---|
| alfalfa | (noun) leguminous plant grown for hay or forage | - |
|---|
| (noun) important European leguminous forage plant with trifoliate leaves and blue-violet flowers grown widely as a pasture and hay crop | Synonyms: lucerne, Medicago sativa |
| alfilaria | (noun) European weed naturalized in southwestern United States and Mexico having reddish decumbent stems with small fernlike leaves and small deep reddish-lavender flowers followed by slender fruits that stick straight up; often grown for forage | Synonyms: alfileria, clocks, Erodium cicutarium, filaree, filaria, pin clover, pin grass, redstem storksbill |
|---|
| alfileria | (noun) European weed naturalized in southwestern United States and Mexico having reddish decumbent stems with small fernlike leaves and small deep reddish-lavender flowers followed by slender fruits that stick straight up; often grown for forage | Synonyms: alfilaria, clocks, Erodium cicutarium, filaree, filaria, pin clover, pin grass, redstem storksbill |
|---|
| alga | (noun) primitive chlorophyll-containing mainly aquatic eukaryotic organisms lacking true stems and roots and leaves | Synonyms: algae |
|---|
| algae | (noun) primitive chlorophyll-containing mainly aquatic eukaryotic organisms lacking true stems and roots and leaves | Synonyms: alga |
|---|
| algarobilla | (noun) mesquite pod used in tanning and dyeing | Synonyms: algarroba, algarrobilla |
|---|
| algarroba | (noun) evergreen Mediterranean tree with edible pods; the biblical carob | Synonyms: carob, carob bean tree, carob tree, Ceratonia siliqua |
|---|
| (noun) mesquite of Gulf Coast and Caribbean Islands from Mexico to Venezuela | Synonyms: Prosopis juliflora, Prosopis juliiflora |
| (noun) long pod containing small beans and sweetish edible pulp; used as animal feed and source of a chocolate substitute | Synonyms: algarroba bean, carob, carob bean, locust bean, locust pod |
| (noun) mesquite pod used in tanning and dyeing | Synonyms: algarobilla, algarrobilla |
| algarrobilla | (noun) mesquite pod used in tanning and dyeing | Synonyms: algarobilla, algarroba |
|---|
| algebra | (noun) the mathematics of generalized arithmetical operations | - |
|---|
| algebraist | (noun) a mathematician whose specialty is algebra | - |
|---|
| algidity | (noun) prostration characterized by cold and clammy skin and low blood pressure | - |
|---|
| algin | (noun) a gum used especially as a thickener or emulsifier | Synonyms: alginic acid |
|---|
| algolagnia | (noun) sexual pleasure derived from inflicting or experiencing pain | Synonyms: algophilia |
|---|
| algology | (noun) the branch of botany that studies algae | Synonyms: phycology |
|---|
| algometer | (noun) device for measuring pain caused by pressure | - |
|---|
| algometry | (noun) measuring sensitivity to pain or pressure | - |
|---|
| algophilia | (noun) sexual pleasure derived from inflicting or experiencing pain | Synonyms: algolagnia |
|---|
| algophobia | (noun) a morbid fear of pain | - |
|---|
| algorism | (noun) computation with Arabic figures | - |
|---|
| (noun) the Arabic (or decimal) system of numeration | - |
| algorithm | (noun) a precise rule (or set of rules) specifying how to solve some problem | Synonyms: algorithmic program, algorithmic rule |
|---|
| alhamdulilah | (noun) An expression meaning 'praise God' in Arabic | - |
|---|
| alias | (noun) a name that has been assumed | Synonyms: assumed name, false name |
|---|
| alibi | (noun) (law) a defense by an accused person purporting to show that he or she could not have committed the crime in question | - |
|---|
| (noun) a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc. | Synonyms: exculpation, excuse, self-justification |
| alidad | (noun) surveying instrument used with a plane table for drawing lines of sight on a distant object and for measuring angles | Synonyms: alidade |
|---|
| (noun) surveying instrument consisting of the upper movable part of a theodolite including the telescope and its attachments | Synonyms: alidade |
| alidade | (noun) surveying instrument used with a plane table for drawing lines of sight on a distant object and for measuring angles | Synonyms: alidad |
|---|
| (noun) surveying instrument consisting of the upper movable part of a theodolite including the telescope and its attachments | Synonyms: alidad |
| alien | (noun) a person who comes from a foreign country; someone who does not owe allegiance to your country | Synonyms: foreigner, noncitizen, outlander |
|---|
| (noun) anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found | Synonyms: stranger, unknown |
| (noun) a form of life assumed to exist outside the Earth or its atmosphere | Synonyms: extraterrestrial, extraterrestrial being |
| alienage | (noun) the quality of being alien | Synonyms: alienism |
|---|
| alienation | (noun) the action of alienating; the action of causing to become unfriendly | - |
|---|
| (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 |
| alienator | (noun) an unpleasant person who causes friendly people to become indifferent or unfriendly or hostile | - |
|---|
| alienee | (noun) someone to whom the title of property is transferred | Synonyms: grantee |
|---|
| alienism | (noun) the quality of being alien | Synonyms: alienage |
|---|
| (noun) an obsolete term for the study and treatment of mental illness | - |
| alienist | (noun) a psychiatrist and specialist in the legal aspects of mental illness | - |
|---|
| alienor | (noun) someone from whom the title of property is transferred | - |
|---|
| alignment | (noun) the act of adjusting or aligning the parts of a device in relation to each other | - |
|---|
| (noun) the spatial property possessed by an arrangement or position of things in a straight line or in parallel lines | - |
| (noun) (astronomy) apparent meeting or passing of two or more celestial bodies in the same degree of the zodiac | Synonyms: conjunction |
| (noun) an organization of people (or countries) involved in a pact or treaty | Synonyms: alinement, alliance, coalition |
| alikeness | (noun) similarity in appearance or character or nature between persons or things | Synonyms: likeness, similitude |
|---|
| aliment | (noun) a source of materials to nourish the body | Synonyms: alimentation, nourishment, nutriment, nutrition, sustenance, victuals |
|---|