| a
|
(noun) the 1st letter of the Roman alphabet |
A |
| aa
|
(noun) a dry form of lava resembling clinkers |
- |
| aah
|
(verb) express admiration and pleasure by uttering `ooh' or `aah' |
ooh |
| aalii
|
(noun) a small Hawaiian tree with hard dark wood |
- |
| aardvark
|
(noun) nocturnal burrowing mammal of the grasslands of Africa that feeds on termites; sole extant representative of the order Tubulidentata |
Orycteropus afer,
ant bear,
anteater |
| aardwolf
|
(noun) striped hyena of southeast Africa that feeds chiefly on insects |
Proteles cristata |
| ab
|
(noun) the muscles of the abdomen |
abdominal,
abdominal muscle |
| aba
|
(noun) a loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth; worn by Arabs |
- |
| aba
|
(noun) a fabric woven from goat hair and camel hair |
- |
| abaca
|
(noun) a kind of hemp obtained from the abaca plant in the Philippines |
Manila hemp,
Manilla hemp |
| abaca
|
(noun) Philippine banana tree having leafstalks that yield Manila hemp used for rope and paper etc |
Manila hemp,
Musa textilis |
| abacinate
|
(verb) blind by holding a red-hot metal plate before someone's eyes |
- |
| aback
|
(adverb) having the wind against the forward side of the sails |
- |
| aback
|
(adverb) by surprise |
- |
| abactinal
|
(adjective) (of radiate animals) located on the surface or end opposite to that on which the mouth is situated |
- |
| abacus
|
(noun) a tablet placed horizontally on top of the capital of a column as an aid in supporting the architrave |
- |
| abacus
|
(noun) a calculator that performs arithmetic functions by manually sliding counters on rods or in grooves |
- |
| abaft
|
(adverb) at or near or toward the stern of a ship or tail of an airplane |
aft,
astern |
| abalone
|
(noun) any of various large edible marine gastropods of the genus Haliotis having an ear-shaped shell with pearly interior |
ear-shell |
| abamp
|
(noun) a unit of current equal to 10 amperes |
abampere |
| abampere
|
(noun) a unit of current equal to 10 amperes |
abamp |
| abandon
|
(verb) forsake, leave behind |
- |
| abandon
|
(verb) give up with the intent of never claiming again |
give up |
| abandon
|
(verb) leave behind empty; move out of |
empty,
vacate |
| abandon
|
(verb) stop maintaining or insisting on; of ideas or claims |
give up |
| abandon
|
(verb) leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch |
desert,
desolate,
forsake |
| abandon
|
(noun) the trait of lacking restraint or control; reckless freedom from inhibition or worry |
unconstraint,
wantonness |
| abandon
|
(noun) a feeling of extreme emotional intensity |
wildness |
| abandoned
|
(adjective) forsaken by owner or inhabitants |
derelict,
deserted |
| abandoned
|
(adjective) unrestrained and uninhibited |
- |
| abandonment
|
(noun) the act of giving something up |
desertion,
forsaking |
| abandonment
|
(noun) withdrawing support or help despite allegiance or responsibility |
defection,
desertion |
| abandonment
|
(noun) the voluntary surrender of property (or a right to property) without attempting to reclaim it or give it away |
- |
| abarticulation
|
(noun) dislocation of a joint |
- |
| abase
|
(verb) cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of |
humble,
humiliate,
mortify,
chagrin |
| abasement
|
(noun) a low or downcast state |
degradation,
abjection |
| abasement
|
(noun) depriving one of self-esteem |
humiliation |
| abash
|
(verb) cause to be embarrassed; cause to feel self-conscious |
embarrass |
| abashed
|
(adjective) feeling or caused to feel ill at ease or self-conscious or ashamed |
embarrassed,
chagrined |
| abashment
|
(noun) feeling embarrassed due to modesty |
bashfulness |
| abasia
|
(noun) inability to walk |
- |
| abasic
|
(adjective) of or relating to abasia (inability to walk) |
abatic |
| abatable
|
(adjective) capable of being abated |
- |
| abate
|
(verb) make less active or intense |
slack,
slake |
| abate
|
(verb) become less in amount or intensity |
slack,
die away,
slack off,
let up |
| abatement
|
(noun) an interruption in the intensity or amount of something |
reprieve,
respite,
suspension,
hiatus |
| abatement
|
(noun) the act of abating |
- |
| abatic
|
(adjective) of or relating to abasia (inability to walk) |
abasic |
| abatis
|
(noun) a line of defense consisting of a barrier of felled or live trees with branches (sharpened or with barbed wire entwined) pointed toward the enemy |
abattis |
| abator
|
(noun) a person who abates a nuisance |
- |
| abattis
|
(noun) a line of defense consisting of a barrier of felled or live trees with branches (sharpened or with barbed wire entwined) pointed toward the enemy |
abatis |
| abattoir
|
(noun) a building where animals are butchered |
butchery,
shambles,
slaughterhouse |
| abaxial
|
(adjective) facing away from the axis of an organ or organism |
dorsal |
| abaxially
|
(adverb) in an abaxial manner |
- |
| abaya
|
(noun) (Arabic) a loose black robe from head to toe; traditionally worn by Muslim women |
- |
| abbacy
|
(noun) the jurisdiction or office of an abbot |
- |
| abbatial
|
(adjective) of or having to do with or belonging to an abbey or abbot, or abbess |
- |
| abbe
|
(noun) a French abbot |
- |
| abbess
|
(noun) the superior of a group of nuns |
mother superior,
prioress |
| abbey
|
(noun) a church associated with a monastery or convent |
- |
| abbey
|
(noun) a convent ruled by an abbess |
- |
| abbey
|
(noun) a monastery ruled by an abbot |
- |
| abbot
|
(noun) the superior of an abbey of monks |
archimandrite |
| abbreviate
|
(verb) reduce in scope while retaining essential elements |
cut,
reduce,
contract,
shorten,
abridge,
foreshorten |
| abbreviate
|
(verb) shorten |
- |
| abbreviated
|
(adjective) (of clothing) very short |
brief |
| abbreviated
|
(adjective) cut short in duration |
shortened,
truncated |
| abbreviation
|
(noun) a shortened form of a word or phrase |
- |
| abbreviation
|
(noun) shortening something by omitting parts of it |
- |
| abbreviator
|
(noun) one who shortens or abridges or condenses a written work |
abridger |
| abcoulomb
|
(noun) a unit of electrical charge equal to 10 coulombs |
- |
| abdicable
|
(adjective) capable of being discarded or renounced or relinquished |
- |
| abdicate
|
(verb) give up, such as power, as of monarchs and emperors, or duties and obligations |
renounce |
| abdication
|
(noun) a formal resignation and renunciation of powers |
stepping down |
| abdication
|
(noun) the act of abdicating |
stepping down |
| abdicator
|
(noun) one who formally relinquishes an office or responsibility |
- |
| abdomen
|
(noun) the region of the body of a vertebrate between the thorax and the pelvis |
belly,
stomach,
venter |
| abdomen
|
(noun) the cavity containing the major viscera; in mammals it is separated from the thorax by the diaphragm |
abdominal cavity |
| abdominal
|
(noun) the muscles of the abdomen |
ab,
abdominal muscle |
| abdominal
|
(adjective) of or relating to or near the abdomen |
- |
| abdominocentesis
|
(noun) centesis of the belly to remove fluid for diagnosis |
paracentesis |
| abdominoplasty
|
(noun) cosmetic surgery of the abdomen to remove wrinkles and tighten the skin over the stomach |
tummy tuck |
| abdominous
|
(adjective) having a large belly |
paunchy,
potbellied |
| abdominousness
|
(noun) the bodily property of a protruding belly |
paunchiness |
| abdominovesical
|
(adjective) of or relating to the abdomen and the urinary bladder |
- |
| abduce
|
(verb) advance evidence for |
cite,
adduce |
| abducens
|
(noun) a small motor nerve supplying the lateral rectus muscle of the eye |
nervus abducens,
sixth cranial nerve,
abducens nerve,
abducent,
abducent nerve |
| abducent
|
(noun) a small motor nerve supplying the lateral rectus muscle of the eye |
nervus abducens,
sixth cranial nerve,
abducens,
abducens nerve,
abducent nerve |
| abducent
|
(adjective) especially of muscles; drawing away from the midline of the body or from an adjacent part |
abducting |
| abduct
|
(verb) take away to an undisclosed location against their will and usually in order to extract a ransom |
nobble,
kidnap,
snatch |
| abduct
|
(verb) pull away from the body |
- |
| abducting
|
(adjective) especially of muscles; drawing away from the midline of the body or from an adjacent part |
abducent |
| 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 |
- |
| abduction
|
(noun) (physiology) moving of a body part away from the central axis of the body |
- |
| abductor
|
(noun) someone who unlawfully seizes and detains a victim (usually for ransom) |
kidnaper,
kidnapper,
snatcher |
| abductor
|
(noun) a muscle that draws a body part away from the median line |
abductor muscle |
| abeam
|
(adverb) at right angles to the length of a ship or airplane |
- |
| abecedarian
|
(adjective) alphabetically arranged (as for beginning readers) |
- |
| abecedarian
|
(noun) a novice learning the rudiments of some subject |
- |
| abecedarius
|
(noun) a poem having lines beginning with letters of the alphabet in regular order |
- |
| abed
|
(adverb) in bed |
- |
| abele
|
(noun) a poplar that is widely cultivated in the United States; has white bark and leaves with whitish undersurfaces |
Populus alba,
white aspen,
white poplar,
silver-leaved poplar,
aspen poplar |
| abelia
|
(noun) any of various deciduous or evergreen ornamental shrubs of the genus Abelia having opposite simple leaves and cymes of small white or pink or purplish flowers; Asia and Mexico |
- |
| abelmosk
|
(noun) bushy herb of tropical Asia grown for its yellow or pink to scarlet blooms that resemble the hibiscus |
Hibiscus moschatus,
musk mallow,
Abelmoschus moschatus |
| aberrance
|
(noun) a state or condition markedly different from the norm |
aberration,
deviance,
aberrancy |
| aberrancy
|
(noun) a state or condition markedly different from the norm |
aberration,
deviance,
aberrance |
| aberrant
|
(adjective) markedly different from an accepted norm |
deviant,
deviate |
| aberrant
|
(noun) one whose behavior departs substantially from the norm of a group |
- |
| aberrate
|
(verb) diverge from the expected |
- |
| aberrate
|
(verb) diverge or deviate from the straight path; produce aberration |
- |
| aberration
|
(noun) a state or condition markedly different from the norm |
deviance,
aberrance,
aberrancy |
| aberration
|
(noun) a disorder in one's mental state |
- |
| aberration
|
(noun) an optical phenomenon resulting from the failure of a lens or mirror to produce a good image |
distortion,
optical aberration |
| abet
|
(verb) assist or encourage, usually in some wrongdoing |
- |
| abetalipoproteinemia
|
(noun) a rare inherited disorder of fat metabolism; characterized by severe deficiency of beta-lipoproteins and abnormal red blood cells (acanthocytes) and abnormally low cholesterol levels |
- |
| abetment
|
(noun) the verbal act of urging on |
instigation,
abettal |
| abettal
|
(noun) the verbal act of urging on |
instigation,
abetment |
| abetter
|
(noun) one who helps or encourages or incites another |
abettor |
| abettor
|
(noun) one who helps or encourages or incites another |
abetter |
| abeyance
|
(noun) temporary cessation or suspension |
suspension |
| abeyant
|
(adjective) inactive but capable of becoming active |
dormant |
| abfarad
|
(noun) a capacitance unit equal to one billion farads |
- |
| abhenry
|
(noun) a unit of inductance equal to one billionth of a henry |
- |
| abhor
|
(verb) find repugnant |
execrate,
abominate,
loathe |
| abhorrence
|
(noun) hate coupled with disgust |
abomination,
execration,
detestation,
odium,
loathing |
| abhorrent
|
(adjective) offensive to the mind |
repugnant,
repulsive,
detestable,
obscene |
| abhorrer
|
(noun) a signer of a 1679 address to Charles II in which those who petitioned for the reconvening of parliament were condemned and abhorred |
- |
| abidance
|
(noun) acting according to certain accepted standards |
compliance,
conformation,
conformity |
| abidance
|
(noun) the act of dwelling in a place |
residence,
residency |
| abidance
|
(noun) the act of abiding (enduring without yielding) |
- |
| abide
|
(verb) dwell |
stay,
bide |
| abide
|
(verb) put up with something or somebody unpleasant |
digest,
put up,
endure,
stand,
stick out,
stomach,
suffer,
support,
bear,
brook,
tolerate |
| abiding
|
(adjective) lasting a long time |
imperishable,
enduring |
| abience
|
(noun) (psychology) an urge to withdraw or avoid a situation or an object |
- |
| abient
|
(adjective) characterized by avoidance or withdrawal |
- |
| ability
|
(noun) the quality of being able to perform; a quality that permits or facilitates achievement or accomplishment |
- |
| ability
|
(noun) possession of the qualities (especially mental qualities) required to do something or get something done |
power |