|
| nadir |
n. point in the heavens directly beneath an observer |
| narcissist |
[ narcissism: ] an exceptional interest in or admiration for oneself, esp. one's physical appearance |
| narrative |
n. spoken or written account of events; story |
| nascent |
adj. beginning to exist; not yet well developed |
| natal |
pertaining to birth |
| natation |
swimming |
| natty |
adj. (infml ) (often derog ) smart and tidy; neat |
| nausea |
n. feeling of sickness or disgust |
| nauseate |
v. make feel nausea |
| nauseous |
adj. causing nausea; disgusting ; |
| nautical |
adj. of ships, sailors or navigation |
| navigable |
adj. suitable for ships, boats, etc to sail on |
| nebula |
n. light or dark patch in the night sky caused by a cluster of very distant stars or a cloud of dust or gas |
| nebulous |
adj. cloudlike; hazy ; |
| necromancy |
n. art or practice of communicating by magic with the dead in order to learn about the future |
| nectar |
n. sweet liquid produced by flowers and collected by bees for making honey |
| nefarious |
adj. wicked; unlawful |
| negate |
v. deny or disprove the existence of (sb/sth) |
| negation |
n. action of denying |
| negligence |
n. lack of proper care or attention; carelessness |
| negligible |
adj. of little importance or size; not worth considering |
| nemesis |
n. (usu sing) (fml) deserved and unavoidable punishment for wrong doing |
| neologism |
n. newly-invented word |
| neophyte |
n. person recently converted to some belief or religion |
| nepotism |
n. practice among people with power or influence of favouring their own relatives, esp by giving them jobs |
| nether |
adj. lower |
| nettle |
n. common wild plant with hairs on its leaves that sting and redden the skin when touched |
| nexus |
n. (fml ) connected group or series; bond or connection |
| nib |
n. metal point of a pen |
| nicety |
n. accuracy; precision |
| niggardly |
adj. mean; stingy |
| niggle |
v. ~ give too much time and attention to unimportant details; criticize in a petty way |
| nihilism |
n. total rejection of all religious and moral beliefs |
| nihilist |
n. believer in nihilism |
| nimble |
adj. able to move quickly and neatly; agile |
| nip |
v. press (sth) hard (eg between the finger and thumb, or the teeth, or with the claws as a crab does); pinch |
| nirvana |
n. state of perfect bliss in which the individual becomes absorbed into the supreme spirit |
| nocturnal |
adj. of or in the night; done or happening in the night |
| noisome |
adj. offensive; disgusting; stinking |
| nomadic |
adj. of nomads; wandering |
| nomenclature |
n. system of naming, esp in a particular branch of science |
| nominal |
adj. existing, etc in name only; not real or actual |
| nonchalance |
indifference; lack of interest |
| noncommittal |
neutral; unpledged; undecided |
| nondescript |
n, adj without a distinctive character and so not easily classified |
| nonentity |
n. person without any special qualities or achievements; unimportant person |
| nonplus |
v. surprise or puzzle (sb) greatly |
| nonsense |
n. meaningless words |
| noose |
n. loop in one end of a rope, with a knot that allows the loop to be tightened as the other end of the rope is pulled |
| nostalgia |
n. sentimental longing for things that are past |
| nostrum |
n. medicine falsely recommended as effective; quack remedy ; |
| notable |
adj. deserving to be noticed; remarkable |
| notch |
n. ~ V-shaped cut in an edge or surface V |
| notoriety |
n. fame for being bad in some way |
| nourish |
v. keep alive and well with food |
| nourishment |
n. food |
| nova |
n. (astronomy) star that suddenly becomes much brighter for a short period |
| novelty |
n. quality of being novel; newness; strangeness |
| novice |
n. person who is new and inexperienced in a job, situation, etc; beginner |
| noxious |
adj. harmful; poisonous |
| nuance |
n. subtle difference in meaning, colour, feeling, etc |
| nubile |
adj. old enough to marry |
| nugatory |
adj. worthless; pointless; not valid |
| nullify |
v. make (an agreement, etc) lose its legal force |
| numismatist |
n. expert in numismatics; collector of coins and medals ; |
| nuptial |
adj. of marriage or of a wedding |
| nurse |
n. person, usu female, trained to help a doctor to look after the sick or injured |
| nurture |
v. care for and educate |
| nutrient |
n, adj (substance) serving as or providing nourishment, esp for plants or animals |
| nutrition |
n. nourishment; food |
| nutritious |
adj. of (high) value as food; nourishing |
