-
amorous
adj. Having a propensity for falling in love.
-
amorphous
adj. Without determinate shape.
-
amour
n. A love-affair, especially one of an illicit nature.
-
ampere
n. The practical unit of electric-current strength.
-
ampersand
n. The character &; and.
-
amphibious
adj. Living both on land and in water.
-
Amphitheater
n. An edifice of elliptical shape, constructed about a central open space or arena.
-
-
-
Amputate
v. To remove by cutting, as a limb or some portion of the body.
-
-
anachronism
n. Anything occurring or existing out of its proper time.
-
Anagram
n. The letters of a word or phrase so transposed as to make a different word or phrase.
-
Analogous
- adj. Corresponding (to some other) in certain respects, as in form, proportion,
- relations.
-
analogy
- n. Reasoning in which from certain and known relations or resemblance others
- are formed.
-
Analyst
n. One who analyzes or makes use of the analytical method.
-
Analyze
v. To examine minutely or critically.
-
anarchy
n. Absence or utter disregard of government.
-
anathema
n. Anything forbidden, as by social usage.
-
Anatomy
n. That branch of morphology which treats of the structure of organisms.
-
Ancestry
n. One's ancestors collectively.
-
Anecdote
n. A brief account of some interesting event or incident.
-
Anemia
n. Deficiency of blood or red corpuscles.
-
Anemic
adj. Affected with anemia.
-
Anemometer
n. An instrument for measuring the force or velocity of wind.
-
Anesthetic
adj. Pertaining to or producing loss of sensation.
-
-
-
Anglophobia
n. Hatred or dread of England or of what is English.
-
Anglo-Saxon
- n. The entire English race wherever found, as in Europe, the United States,
- or India.
-
Angular
adj. Sharp-cornered.
-
-
Animadversion
n. The utterance of criticism or censure.
-
Animadvert
v. To pass criticism or censure.
-
Animalcule
n. An animal of microscopic smallness.
-
Animate
v. To make alive.
-
-
-
Annals
n. A record of events in their chronological order, year by year.
-
Annex
v. To add or affix at the end.
-
Annihilate
v. To destroy absolutely.
-
Annotate
v. To make explanatory or critical notes on or upon.
-
Annual
adj. Occurring every year.
-
Annuity
n. An annual allowance, payment, or income.
-
Annunciation
n. Proclamation.
-
Anode
n. The point where or path by which a voltaic current enters an electrolyte or the like.
-
Anonymous
adj. Of unknown authorship.
-
Antagonism
- n. Mutual opposition or resistance of counteracting forces, principles, or
- persons.
-
Antarctic
adj. Pertaining to the south pole or the regions near it.
-
Ante
v. In the game of poker, to put up a stake before the cards are dealt.
-
-
Antecedent
- n. One who or that which precedes or goes before, as in time, place, rank,
- order, or causality.
-
Antechamber
n. A waiting room for those who seek audience.
-
Antedate
v. To assign or affix a date to earlier than the actual one.
-
Antediluvian
adj. Of or pertaining to the times, things, events before the great flood in the days of Noah.
-
Antemeridian
adj. Before noon.
-
Antemundane
adj. Pertaining to time before the world's creation.
-
Antenatal
adj. Occurring or existing before birth.
-
-
Anteroom
n. A room situated before and opening into another, usually larger.
-
Anthology
n. A collection of extracts from the writings of various authors.
-
-
Anthropology
n. The science of man in general.
-
Anthropomorphous
adj. Having or resembling human form.
-
Antic
n. A grotesque, ludicrous, or fantastic action.
-
Antichrist
n. Any opponent or enemy of Christ, whether a person or a power.
-
Anticlimax
n. A gradual or sudden decrease in the importance or impressiveness of what is said.
-
Anticyclone
n. An atmospheric condition of high central pressure, with currents flowing outward.
-
Antidote
- n. Anything that will counteract or remove the effects of poison, disease, or the
- like.
-
Antilogy
n. Inconsistency or contradiction in terms or ideas.
-
Antipathize
v. To show or feel a feeling of antagonism, aversion, or dislike.
-
Antiphon
n. A response or alteration of responses, generally musical.
-
Antiphony
n. An anthem or other composition sung responsively.
-
Antipodes
n. A place or region on the opposite side of the earth.
-
Antiquary
n. One who collects and examines old things, as coins, books, medals, weapons, etc.
-
antiquate
v. To make old or out of date.
-
Antique
adj. Pertaining to ancient times.
-
Antiseptic
n. Anything that destroys or restrains the growth of putrefactive microorganisms.
-
Antislavery
adj. Opposed to human slavery.
-
Antispasmodic
adj. Tending to prevent or relieve non-inflammatory spasmodic affections.
-
Antistrophe
- n. The inversion of terms in successive classes, as in the home of joy and
- the joy of home.
-
Antitoxin
n. A substance which neutralizes the poisonous products of micro-organisms.
-
Antonym
n. A word directly opposed to another in meaning.
-
Anxious
adj. Distressed in mind respecting some uncertain matter.
-
Apathy
n. Insensibility to emotion or passionate feeling.
-
-
Apex
n. The highest point, as of a mountain.
-
-
Apiary
n. A place where bees are kept.
-
-
Apology
n. A disclaimer of intentional error or offense.
-
Apostasy
n. A total departure from one's faith or religion.
-
-
Apostle
n. Any messenger commissioned by or as by divine authority.
-
Apothecary
n. One who keeps drugs for sale and puts up prescriptions.
-
Apotheosis
n. Deification.
-
appall
v. To fill with dismay or horror.
-
Apparent
adj. Easily understood.
-
-
Appease
v. To soothe by quieting anger or indignation.
-
Appellate
adj. Capable of being appealed to.
-
Appellation
n. The name or title by which a particular person, class, or thing is called.
-
Append
v. To add or attach, as something accessory, subordinate, or supplementary.
-
Appertain
v. To belong, as by right, fitness, association, classification, possession, or natural relation.
-
Apposite
adj. Appropriate.
-
Apposition
n. The act of placing side by side, together, or in contact.
-
Appraise
v. To estimate the money value of.
-
Appreciable
adj. Capable of being discerned by the senses or intellect.
-
Apprehend
v. To make a prisoner of (a person) in the name of the law.
-
Apprehensible
adj. Capable of being conceived.
-
-
Appropriate
adj. Suitable for the purpose and circumstances.
-
Aqueduct
n. A water-conduit, particularly one for supplying a community from a distance.
-
Aqueous
adj. Of, pertaining to, or containing water.
-
Arbiter
n. One chosen or appointed, by mutual consent of parties in dispute, to decide matters.
-
Arbitrary
adj. Fixed or done capriciously.
-
Arbitrate
v. To act or give judgment as umpire.
-
-
Arboreal
adj. Of or pertaining to a tree or trees.
-
Arborescent
adj. Having the nature of a tree.
-
Arboretum
n. A botanical garden or place devoted to the cultivation of trees or shrubs.
-
Arboriculture
n. The cultivation of trees or shrubs.
-
Arcade
n. A vaulted passageway or street; a roofed passageway having shops, etc., opening from it.
-
-
archaism
n. Obsolescence.
-
Archangel
n. An angel of high rank.
-
Archbishop
n. The chief of the bishops of an ecclesiastical province in the Greek, Roman, and Anglican church.
-
Archdeacon
n. A high official administrator of the affairs of a diocese.
-
Archaeology
n. The branch of anthropology concerned with the systematic investigation of the relics of man.
-
Archetype
n. A prototype.
-
Archipelago
- n. Any large body of water studded with islands, or the islands collectively
- themselves.
-
Ardent
adj. Burning with passion.
-
Ardor
n. Intensity of passion or affection.
-
-
Aristocracy
n. A hereditary nobility
-
aristocrat
n. A hereditary noble or one nearly connected with nobility.
-
Armada
n. A fleet of war-vessels.
-
Armful
n. As much as can be held in the arm or arms.
-
-
Aroma
n. An agreeable odor.
-
Arraign
v. To call into court, as a person indicted for crime, and demand whether he pleads guilty or not.
-
Arrange
v. To put in definite or proper order.
-
Arrangement
n. The act of putting in proper order, or the state of being put in order.
-
Arrant
adj. Notoriously bad.
-
Arrear
n. Something overdue and unpaid.
-
Arrival
n. A coming to stopping-place or destination.
-
Arrogant
adj. Unduly or excessively proud, as of wealth, station, learning, etc.
-
arrogate
v. To take, demand, or claim, especially presumptuously or without reasons or grounds.
-
Artesian well
n. A very deep bored well. water rises due to underground pressure
-
artful
adj. Characterized by craft or cunning.
-
Arthurian
adj. Pertaining to King Arthur, the real or legendary hero of British poetic story.
-
-
-
-
Ascension
n. The act of rising.
-
Ascent
n. A rising, soaring, or climbing.
-
Ascetic
adj. Given to severe self-denial and practicing excessive abstinence and devotion.
-
Ascribe
v. To assign as a quality or attribute.
-
Asexual
adj. Having no distinct sexual organs.
-
-
Askance
adv. With a side or indirect glance or meaning.
-
Asperity
n. Harshness or roughness of temper.
-
Aspirant
n. One who seeks earnestly, as for advancement, honors, place.
-
Aspiration
n. An earnest wish for that which is above one's present reach.
-
Aspire
v. To have an earnest desire, wish, or longing, as for something high and good, not yet attained.
-
Assailant
n. One who attacks.
-
Assassin
n. One who kills, or tries to kill, treacherously or secretly.
-
Assassinate
v. To kill, as by surprise or secret assault, especially the killing of some eminent person.
-
Assassination
n. Murderer, as by secret assault or treachery.
-
Assay
n. The chemical analysis or testing of an alloy ore.
-
Assent
v. To express agreement with a statement or matter of opinion.
-
Assess
v. To determine the amount of (a tax or other sum to be paid).
-
Assessor
n. An officer whose duty it is to assess taxes.
-
Assets
n. pl. Property in general, regarded as applicable to the payment of debts.
-
-
Assignee
- n. One who is appointed to act for another in the management of certain property
- and interests.
-
-
Assonance
n. Resemblance or correspondence in sound.
-
Assonant
adj. Having resemblance of sound.
-
Assonate
v. To accord in sound, especially vowel sound.
-
Assuage
v. To cause to be less harsh, violent, or severe, as excitement, appetite, pain, or disease.
-
Astringent
adj. Harsh in disposition or character.
-
Astute
adj. Keen in discernment.
-
Atheism
n. The denial of the existence of God.
-
Athirst
adj. Wanting water.
-
Athwart
adv. From side to side.
-
Atomizer
n. An apparatus for reducing a liquid to a fine spray, as for disinfection, inhalation, etc.
-
atone
v. To make amends for.
-
Atonement
n. Amends, reparation, or expiation made from wrong or injury.
-
Atrocious
adj. Outrageously or wantonly wicked, criminal, vile, or cruel.
-
Atrocity
n. Great cruelty or reckless wickedness.
-
Attaché
n. A subordinate member of a diplomatic embassy.
-
Attest
v. To certify as accurate, genuine, or true.
-
attorney-general
n. The chief law-officer of a government.
-
Auburn
adj. Reddish-brown, said usually of the hair.
-
-
Audible
adj. Loud enough to be heard.
-
Audition
n. The act or sensation of hearing.
-
Auditory
adj. Of or pertaining to hearing or the organs or sense of hearing.
-
Augment
v. To make bigger.
-
-
Augustinian
- adj. Pertaining to St. Augustine, his doctrines, or the religious orders called
- after him.
-
Aura
n. Pervasive psychic influence supposed to emanate from persons
-
aural
adj. Of or pertaining to the ear.
-
Auricle
n. One of the two chambers of the heart which receives the blood from the veins.
-
Auricular
adj. Of or pertaining to the ear, its auricle, or the sense of hearing.
-
Auriferous
adj. Containing gold.
-
aurora
n. A luminous phenomenon in the upper regions of the atmosphere.
-
Auspice
n. favoring, protecting, or propitious influence or guidance.
-
austere
adj. Severely simple; unadorned.
-
Autarchy
n. Unrestricted power.
-
authentic
adj. Of undisputed origin.
-
authenticity
- n. The state or quality of being genuine, or of the origin and authorship
- claimed.
-
autobiography
n. The story of one's life written by himself.
-
autocracy
n. Absolute government.
-
Autocrat
n. Any one who claims or wields unrestricted or undisputed authority or influence.
-
Automaton
- n. Any living being whose actions are or appear to be involuntary or
- mechanical.
-
Autonomous
adj. Self-governing.
-
Autonomy
n. Self-government.
-
autopsy
n. The examination of a dead body by dissection to ascertain the cause of death.
-
autumnal
adj. Of or pertaining to autumn.
-
auxiliary
- n. One who or that which aids or helps, especially when regarded as subsidiary
- or accessory.
-
avalanche
- n. The fall or sliding of a mass of snow or ice down a mountain-slope, often
- bearing with it rock.
- avarice
- n. Passion for getting and keeping riches.
-
Aver
v. To assert as a fact.
-
-
Aversion
n. A mental condition of fixed opposition to or dislike of some particular thing.
-
Avert
v. To turn away or aside.
-
aviary
n. A spacious cage or enclosure in which live birds are kept.
-
-
-
avow
v. To declare openly.
-
awaken
v. To arouse, as emotion, interest, or the like.
-
Awry
adv. & adj. Out of the proper form, direction, or position.
-
aye
adv. An expression of assent.
-
azalea
n. A flowering shrub.
-
azure
n. The color of the sky.
-
Baconian
adj. Of or pertaining to Lord Bacon or his system of philosophy.
-
-
-
Baffle
v. To foil or frustrate.
-
bailiff
n. An officer of court having custody of prisoners under arraignment.
-
Baize
n. A single-colored napped woolen fabric used for table-covers, curtains, etc.
-
bale
n. A large package prepared for transportation or storage.
-
-
ballad
n. Any popular narrative poem, often with epic subject and usually in lyric form.
-
balsam n. A medical preparation, aromatic and oily, used for healing.
-
-
Barcarole
n. A boat-song of Venetian gondoliers.
-
Barograph
- n. An instrument that registers graphically and continuously the atmospheric
- pressure.
-
Barometer
n. An instrument for indicating the atmospheric pressure per unit of surface.
-
barring
prep. Apart from.
-
baritone
adj. Having a register higher than bass and lower than tenor.
-
Bask
v. To make warm by genial heat.
-
bass
adj. Low in tone or compass.
-
Baste
v. To cover with melted fat, gravy, while cooking.
-
Baton
n. An official staff borne either as a weapon or as an emblem of authority or privilege.
-
Battalion
n. A body of infantry composed of two or more companies, forming a part of a regiment.
-
Batten
n. A narrow strip of wood.
-
batter
n. A thick liquid mixture of two or more materials beaten together, to be used in cookery.
-
-
Bawl
v. To proclaim by outcry.
-
Beatify
v. To make supremely happy.
-
beatitude
n. Any state of great happiness.
-
beau
n. An escort or lover.
-
-
beck
v. To give a signal to, by nod or gesture.
-
bedaub
v. To smear over, as with something oily or sticky.
-
Bedeck
v. To cover with ornament.
-
-
-
Befriend
v. To be a friend to, especially when in need.
-
Beget
v. To produce by sexual generation.
-
begrudge
v. To envy one of the possession of.
-
Belate
v. To delay past the proper hour.
-
belay
v. To make fast, as a rope, by winding round a cleat.
-
Belie
v. To misrepresent.
-
believe
v. To accept as true on the testimony or authority of others.
-
belittle
v. To disparage.
-
Belle
n. A woman who is a center of attraction because of her beauty, accomplishments, etc.
-
-
Belligerent
adj. Manifesting a warlike spirit.
-
-
benediction
n. a solemn invocation of the divine blessing.
-
Benefactor
n. A doer of kindly and charitable acts.
-
benefice
n. A church office endowed with funds or property for the maintenance of divine service.
-
beneficent
adj. Characterized by charity and kindness.
-
-
Beneficiary
n. One who is lawfully entitled to the profits and proceeds of an estate or property.
-
Benefit
n. Helpful result.
-
Benevolence
n. Any act of kindness or well-doing.
-
Benevolent
adj. Loving others and actively desirous of their well-being.
-
benign
adj. Good and kind of heart.
-
Benignant
adj. Benevolent in feeling, character, or aspect.
-
Benignity
n. Kindness of feeling, disposition, or manner.
-
-
bequeath
v. To give by will.
-
bereave
v. To make desolate with loneliness and grief.
-
Berth
n. A bunk or bed in a vessel, sleeping-car, etc.
-
-
Beset
v. To attack on all sides.
-
Besmear
v. To smear over, as with any oily or sticky substance.
-
-
Bestrew
v. To sprinkle or cover with things strewn.
-
Bestride
v. To get or sit upon astride, as a horse.
-
bethink
v. To remind oneself.
-
betide
v. To happen to or befall.
-
Betimes
adv. In good season or time.
-
betroth
v. To engage to marry.
-
Betrothal
n. Engagement to marry.
-
bevel
n. Any inclination of two surfaces other than 90 degrees.
-
Bewilder
v. To confuse the perceptions or judgment of.
-
Bibliomania
n. The passion for collecting books.
-
Bibliography
n. A list of the words of an author, or the literature bearing on a particular subject.
-
Bibliophile
n. One who loves books.
-
Bibulous
adj. Fond of drinking.
-
-
Biennial
n. A plant that produces leaves and roots the first year and flowers and fruit the second.
-
bier
n. A horizontal framework with two handles at each end for carrying a corpse to the grave.
-
bigamist
n. One who has two spouses at the same time.
-
bigamy
n. The crime of marrying any other person while having a legal spouse living.
-
bight
n. A slightly receding bay between headlands, formed by a long curve of a coast-line.
-
bilateral
adj. Two-sided.
-
Bilingual
adj. Speaking two languages.
-
Biograph
n. A bibliographical sketch or notice.
-
Biography
n. A written account of one's life, actions, and character.
-
Biology
n. The science of life or living organisms.
-
Biped
n. An animal having two feet.
-
Birthright
n. A privilege or possession into which one is born.
-
bitterness
n. Acridity, as to the taste.
-
blasé
adj. Sated with pleasure.
-
blaspheme
v. To indulge in profane oaths.
-
Blatant
adj. Noisily or offensively loud or clamorous.
-
Blaze
n. A vivid glowing flame.
-
Blazon
v. To make widely or generally known.
-
-
blemish
n. A mark that mars beauty.
-
-
Blithesome
adj. Cheerful.
-
Blockade
n. The shutting up of a town, a frontier, or a line of coast by hostile forces.
-
Boatswain
- n. A subordinate officer of a vessel, who has general charge of the rigging,
- anchors, etc.
-
bodice
n. A women's ornamental corset-shaped laced waist.
-
-
boisterous
adj. Unchecked merriment or animal spirits.
-
Bole
n. The trunk or body of a tree.
-
bolero
n. A Spanish dance, illustrative of the passion of love, accompanied by caste nets and singing.
-
Boll
n. A round pod or seed-capsule, as a flax or cotton.
-
Bolster
v. To support, as something wrong.
-
Bomb
n. A hollow projectile containing an explosive material.
-
bombard
v. To assail with any missile or with abusive speech.
-
Bombardier
n. A person who has charge of mortars, bombs, and shells.
-
bombast
n. Inflated or extravagant language, especially on unimportant subjects.
-
-
Bore
v. To weary by tediousness or dullness.
-
Borough
n. An incorporated village or town.
-
Bosom
n. The breast or the upper front of the thorax of a human being, especially of a woman.
-
botanical
adj. Connected with the study or cultivation of plants.
-
botanize v. To study plant-life.
-
botany
n. The science that treats of plants.
-
Bountiful
adj. Showing abundance.
-
Bowdlerize
v. To expurgate in editing (a literary composition) by omitting words or passages.
-
Bowler
n. In cricket, the player who delivers the ball.
-
boycott
v. To place the products or merchandise of under a ban.
-
-
Braggart
n. A vain boaster.
-
Brandish
v. To wave, shake, or flourish triumphantly or defiantly, as a sword or spear.
-
bravado
n. An aggressive display of boldness.
-
-
Bray
n. A loud harsh sound, as the cry of an ass or the blast of a horn.
-
Braze
v. To make of or ornament with brass.
-
Brazier
n. An open pan or basin for holding live coals.
-
Breach
n. The violation of official duty, lawful right, or a legal obligation.
-
Breaker
n. One who trains horses, dogs, etc.
-
-
Brethren
n. pl. Members of a brotherhood, gild, profession, association, or the like.
-
Brevity
n. Shortness of duration.
-
bric-a-brac
n. Objects of curiosity or for decoration.
-
Bridle
- n. The head-harness of a horse consisting of a head-stall, a bit, and the reins.
- brigade
- n. A body of troops consisting of two or more regiments.
-
Brigadie
r n. General officer who commands a brigade, ranking between a colonel and a major-general.
-
Brigand
n. One who lives by robbery and plunder.
-
-
Brine
n. Water saturated with salt.
-
Bristle
n. One of the coarse, stiff hairs of swine: used in brush-making, etc.
-
Britannia
n. The United Kingdom of Great Britain.
-
Briticism
n. A word, idiom, or phrase characteristic of Great Britain or the British.
-
-
Broach
v. To mention, for the first time.
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