abacus |an instrument for performing calculations by sliding counters along rods or in grooves abandon |to give (oneself) over unrestrainedly abase |To lower in rank, prestige, or esteem abash |to destroy the self-possession or self-confidence of:disconcert abate |to reduce in degree or intensity:MODERATE:to reduce in value or amount abbreviate |to make briefer; especially :to reduce to a shorter form intended to stand for the whole abdicate |to relinquish (as sovereign power) formally aberrant |deviating from the usual or natural type:ATYPICAL abet |to assist or support in the achievement of a purpose abeyance |temporary inactivity:SUSPENSION abhor |to regard with extreme repugnance abiding |to remain stable or fixed in a state abject |cast down in spirit abjure |to renounce upon oath abnegate |SURRENDER, RELINQUISH abolish |To do away with; annul abolitionism |principles or measures fostering abolition especially of slavery aboveboard |be in a straightforward manner abrasion |a wearing, grinding, or rubbing away by friction abridge |to shorten by omission of words without sacrifice of sense:CONDENSE abrogate |to abolish by authoritative action:ANNUL abscond |to depart secretly and hide oneself absolve |to set free from an obligation or the consequences of guilt abstain |to refrain deliberately and often with an effort of self-denial from an action or practice abstemious |marked by restraint especially in the consumption of food or alcohol abstinent |voluntary forbearance especially from indulgence of an appetite or craving or from eating some foods:ABSTENTION abstract |having only intrinsic form with little or no attempt at pictorial representation or narrative content abstruse |difficult to comprehend:RECONDITE abuse |to attack in words:REVILE abysmal |immeasurably low or wretched accede |to express approval or give consent:give in to a request or demand accelerate |to move faster:gain speed accessible |capable of being understood or appreciated accessory |present in a minor amount and not essential as a constituent accidental |occurring unexpectedly or by chance acclimate |to adapt to a new temperature, altitude, climate, environment, or situation accolade |an expression of praise accommodate |to provide with something desired, needed, or suited (as a helpful service, a loan, or lodgings) accomplice |one associated with another especially in wrongdoing accost |to approach and speak to often in a challenging or aggressive way accrete |ACCUMULATE accumulate |to gather or pile up especially little by little:AMASS accuse |to charge with a fault or offense:BLAME acerbity |Sourness of taste, character, or tone. achromatic |designating color perceived to have zero saturation and therefore no hue, such as neutral grays, white, or black acme |the highest point or stage acquiesce |to accept, comply, or submit tacitly or passively acquisition |the act of acquiring acquit |to discharge completely acre |A unit of area in the U.S. Customary System, used in land and sea floor measurement acrid |sharp and harsh or unpleasantly pungent in taste or odor:IRRITATING acrimonious |caustic , biting , or rancorous especially in feeling, language, or manner acumen |mental keenness ad lib |without restraint or limit , to speak, sing, or act without a script, saying whatever words come into one's mind adamant |unshakable or immovable especially in opposition:UNYIELDING adapt |to make fit (as for a specific or new use or situation) often by modification addendum |textual matter that is added onto a publication; usually at the end addict |to devote or surrender (oneself) to something habitually or obsessively addicted |be addicted to adherent |one that adheres:as a follower of a leader, party, or profession adhesive |Tending to adhere; sticky. adjacent |having a common endpoint or border also immediately preceding or following adjourn |to suspend a session indefinitely or to another time or place adjunct |something joined or added to another thing but not essentially a part of it ad-lib |with little or no preparation or forethought admission |the act or process of admitting admonish |to express warning or disapproval to especially in a gentle, earnest, or solicitous manner adore |to regard with loving admiration and devotion adroit |having or showing skill, cleverness, or resourcefulness in handling situations adulate |to flatter or admire excessively or slavishly adulterate |to corrupt, debase, or make impure by the addition of a foreign or inferior substance or element stickler adumbrate |to suggest or disclose partially adversary |one that contends with, opposes, or resists:ENEMY advert |to turn the mind or attention advertise |to announce publicly especially by a printed notice or a broadcast advocate |to plead in favor of aerate |to supply (the blood) with oxygen by respiration aerial |of, relating to, or occurring in the air or atmosphere aesthetic |adj. a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste and with the creation and appreciation of beauty aesthetics |The branch of philosophy that deals with the nature and expression of beauty affable |characterized by ease and friendliness affected |assumed artificially or falsely:PRETENDED affection |tender attachment:FONDNESS affidavit |a sworn statement in writing made especially under oath or on affirmation before an authorized magistrateor officer affiliate |to bring or receive into close connection as a member or branch affiliation |joining; associating with affinity |likeness based on relationship or causal connection afflict |a:to distress so severely as to cause persistent suffering or anguish b:TROUBLE, INJURE affliction |n. affluent |having a generously sufficient and typically increasing supply of material possessions agenda |a list or outline of things to be considered or done aggrandize |to make appear great or greater:praise highly aggravate |to make worse, more serious, or more severe:intensify unpleasantly aggregate |to collect or gather into a mass or whole aggressive |Inclined to behave in a hostile fashion. aggrieve |to give pain or trouble to:DISTRESS agonized |suffered extreme pain or great anguish. agony |intense pain of mind or body:ANGUISH, TORTURE airtight |impermeable to air or nearly so alacrity |promptness in response:cheerful readiness albino |an organism exhibiting deficient pigmentation alchemy |a medieval chemical science and speculative philosophy aiming to achieve the transmutation of the base metals into gold, the discovery of a universal cure for disease, and the discovery of a means of indefinitely prolonging life alibi |an excuse usually intended to avert blame or punishment align |to bring into line or alignment allay |to subdue or reduce in intensity or severity:ALLEVIATE allegiance |devotion or loyalty to a person, group, or cause allegory |the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations abouthuman existence alleviate |RELIEVE, LESSEN alliterate |the repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables allowance |a share or portion allotted or granted allude |to make indirect reference; broadly:REFER aloft |at or toward the upper rigging. aloof |removed or distant either physically or emotionally alphabetical |arranged in the order of the letters of the alphabet altitude |Vertical distance or elevation above any point or base-level, as the sea. altruism |unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others amalgamate |to merge into a single body amass |to collect for oneself:ACCUMULATE ambiguous |doubtful or uncertain especially from obscurity or indistinctness ambivalent |continual fluctuation (as between one thing and its opposite) amble |to walk slowly or leisurely; stroll ambrosial |suggestive of ambrosia; fragrant or delicious ameliorate |to make better or more tolerable amenable |readily managed; willing to be led amenity |something that conduces to comfort, convenience, or enjoyment amiable |being friendly, sociable, and congenial amicable |characterized by friendly goodwill:PEACEABLE amiss |in a faulty way:IMPERFECTLY amorphous |having no definite form:SHAPELESS amphibian |any of a class (Amphibia) of cold-blooded vertebrates (as frogs, toads, or salamanders) intermediate in many characters between fishes and reptiles and having gilled aquatic larvae and air-breathing adults amplify |to make larger or greater (as in amount, importance, or intensity):INCREASE amplitude |the quality or state of being ample:FULLNESS amulet |a charm (as an ornament) often inscribed with a magic incantation or symbol to protect the wearer against evil (as disease or witchcraft) or to aid him anaerobic |living, active, occurring, or existing in the absence of free oxygen analgesic |insensibility to pain without loss of consciousness analogy |a:resemblance in some particulars between things otherwise unlike:SIMILARITY b:comparison based on such resemblance analysis |separation of a whole into its component parts anarchist |one who rebels against any authority, established order, or ruling power anathema |the denunciation of something as accursed ancestor |one from whom a person is descended and who is usually more remote in the line of descent than a grandparent ancillary |serving as an aid or accessory; auxiliary anecdote |a usually short narrative of an interesting, amusing, or biographical incident anemic |lacking force, vitality, or spirit anesthetic |lacking awareness or sensitivity anhydrous |free from water and especially water of crystallization animation |possessing or characterized by life:ALIVE animus |a usually prejudiced and often spiteful or malevolent ill will annals |a record of events arranged in yearly sequence annotate |comment; make explanatory notes annoy |to disturb or irritate especially by repeated acts annul |to declare or make legally invalid or void anodyne |something that soothes, calms, or comforts anomalous |inconsistent with or deviating from what is usual, normal, or expected:IRREGULAR, UNUSUAL anonymous |not named or identified antagonize |to incur or provoke the hostility of antediluvian |made, evolved, or developed a long time ago anterior |coming before in time or development anthology |a collection of selected literary pieces or passages or works of art or music antic |characterized by clownish extravagance or absurdity anticipatory |to give advance thought, discussion, or treatment to antidote |a remedy to counteract the effects of poison antipathy |settled aversion or dislike:DISTASTE antiquate |To make old or out of date. antiquated |existing since or belonging to earlier times:ANCIENT antiseptic |opposing sepsis, putrefaction, or decay; anvil |a heavy usually steel-faced iron block on which metal is shaped apathy |lack of feeling or emotion:IMPASSIVENESS apex |the highest or culminating point aphorism |a terse formulation of a truth or sentiment:ADAGE apiary |a place where bees are kept; especially :a collection of hives or colonies of bees kept for their honey aplomb |poise apocalyptic |forecasting the ultimate destiny of the world:PROPHETIC apocrypha |writings or statements of dubious authenticity apologist |one who speaks or writes in defense of someone or something apophasis |Allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned, as in I will not bring up my opponent's questionable financial dealings apoplectic |greatly agitated apostasy |renunciation of a religious faith apostrophe |a mark ' used to indicate the omission of letters or figures, the possessive case, or the plural of letters or figures apothecary |one who prepares and sells drugs or compounds for medicinal purposes appall |to overcome with consternation, shock, or dismay apparel |to put clothes on:DRESS appeal |to make an earnest request appealing |having appeal:PLEASING appease |to bring to a state of peace or quiet:CALM appellation |A name, title, or designation. appetite |an inherent craving applause |approval publicly expressed applicant |one who applies appoint |to name officially apposite |highly pertinent or appropriate:APT appreciable |capable of being perceived or measured apprehension |suspicion or fear especially of future evil:FOREBODING apprentice |an inexperienced person:NOVICE approbation |COMMENDATION, PRAISE appropriate |1. to take or make use of without authority or right 2. especially suitable or compatible:FITTING approval |The act of approving approve |to have or express a favorable opinion of approximate |nearly correct or exact apropos |being both relevant and opportune apt |unusually fitted or qualified:READY aquatic |growing or living in or frequenting water aqueduct |a conduit for water aquifer |a water-bearing stratum of permeable rock, sand, or gravel arachnid |any of a class (Arachnida) of arthropods comprising chiefly terrestrial invertebrates, including the spiders, scorpions, mites, and ticks, and having a segmented body divided into two regions of which the anterior bears four pairs of legs but no antennae arbor |a shelter of vines or branches or of latticework covered with climbing shrubs or vines arboreal |of, relating to, or resembling a tree archaic |of, relating to, or characteristic of an earlier or more primitive time:ANTIQUATED archetype |the original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies:PROTOTYPE; also :a perfect example archipelago |an expanse of water with many scattered islands architect |a person who designs buildings and advises in their construction archive |a place in which public records or historical documents are preserved arctic |bitter cold:FRIGID ardor |extreme vigor or energy:INTENSITY arduous |hard to accomplish or achieve:DIFFICULT argot |an often more or less secret vocabulary and idiom peculiar to a particular group arid |excessively dry armory |a place where arms and military equipment are stored arrest |to make inactive arresting |catching the attention:STRIKING, IMPRESSIVE arrhythmic |lacking rhythm or regularity arrogance |a feeling or an impression of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or presumptuous claims arroyo |a brook; a creek ;a water-carved gully or channel arsenal |a:an establishment for the manufacture or storage of arms and military equipmentb:a collection of weapons articulate |to give clear and effective utterance to:put into wordsratiocination:thinking:articulation:talking artifacts |something created by humans usually for a practical purpose; especially :an object remaining from a particular period artifice |false or insincere behavior artless |free from guile or craft:sincerely simple ascendant |governing or controlling influence:DOMINATION ascent |an upward slope or rising grade:ACCLIVITY ascetic |austere in appearance, manner, or attitude aseptic |preventing infection askew |out of line:AWRY aspect |a position facing a particular direction:EXPOSURE asperity |roughness of manner or of temper:HARSHNESS aspersion |slanderous remark aspirant |One who aspires, as to advancement, honors, or a high position. aspiration |a strong desire to achieve something high or great assert |to state or declare positively and often forcefully or aggressively assess |to determine the importance, size, or value of asset |the entire property of a person, association, corporation, or estate applicable or subject to the payment of debts assiduous |marked by careful unremitting attention or persistent application assuage |to lessen the intensity of (something that pains or distresses):EASE assume |to take to or upon oneself:UNDERTAKE astounding |causing astonishment or amazement astute |having or showing shrewdness and perspicacity asylum |an inviolable place of refuge and protection giving shelter to criminals and debtors:SANCTUARY asymmetrical |not of equal size or similar shape: atone |to supply satisfaction for:EXPIATE atrocious |extremely wicked, brutal, or cruel:BARBARIC attenuate |to lessen the amount, force, magnitude, or value of:WEAKEN attorney |A person legally appointed by another to act as his or her agent in the transaction of business, specifically one qualified and licensed to act for plaintiffs and defendants in legal proceedings audacious |intrepidly daring:ADVENTUROUS audible |heard or capable of being heard augur |to foretell especially from omens auspicious |affording a favorable auspice:PROPITIOUS austere |markedly simple or unadorned authenticity |not false or imitation:REAL, ACTUAL authoritative |having the weight of authority; dictatorial authority |power to influence or command thought, opinion, or behavior autocracy |government in which one person possesses unlimited power avarice |excessive or insatiable desire for wealth or gain:GREEDINESS, CUPIDITY aversion |a feeling of repugnance toward something with a desire to avoid or turn from avid |characterized by enthusiasm and vigorous pursuit avulse |to separate, cut, or tear off by avulsion awash |covered with water:FLOODED awe |an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime awkward |lacking dexterity or skill awl |a pointed tool for marking surfaces or piercing small holes (as in leather or wood) awning |a rooflike cover extending over or in front of a place (as over the deck or in front of a door or window) as a shelter awry |in a turned or twisted position or direction:ASKEW babble |to utter meaningless or unintelligible sounds backhanded |INDIRECT, DEVIOUS; especially:SARCASTIC backset |SETBACK badge |a device or token especially of membership in a society or group badger |to harass or annoy persistently badinage |playful repartee:BANTER baffle |to check or break the force or flow of by or as if by a baffle bait |ENTICE, LUREto attack in speech or writing as by derision or insult; to gall or exasperate by repeated wanton attacks baleful |deadly or pernicious in influence balk |to check or stop by or as if by an obstacle:BLOCK balky |refusing or likely to refuse to proceed, act, or function as directed or expected ballad |a narrative composition in rhythmic verse suitable for singing ballast |Heavy material that is placed in the hold of a ship or the gondola of a balloon to enhance stability. ballet |a theatrical art form using dancing, music, and scenery to convey a story, theme, or atmosphere balm |a balsamic resin, especially:one from small tropical evergreen trees balmy |having the qualities of balm:SOOTHING bamboozle |to deceive by underhanded methods:DUPE, HOODWINK ban |to prohibit especially by legal means ban:protect banal |lacking originality, freshness, or novelty:TRITE baneful |productive of destruction or woe:seriously harmful banish |to drive out or remove from a home or place of usual resort or continuance, especially compulsory removal from a country not necessarily one's own banister |a handrail with its supporting posts banquet |a sumptuous feast; especially :an elaborate and often ceremonious meal for numerous people often in honor of a person barb |a biting or pointedly critical remark or comment barbarous |mercilessly harsh or cruel bareface |Having no covering over the face. barefaced |OPEN, UNCONCEALED bargain |to negotiate over the terms of a purchase, agreement, or contract:HAGGLE baroque |characterized by grotesqueness, extravagance, complexity, or flamboyance barren |lacking vegetation, especially useful vegetation barter |to trade by exchanging one commodity for another base |being of comparatively low value and having relatively inferior properties baseboard |a molding covering the joint of a wall and the adjoining floor bathetic |exceptional commonplaceness:TRITENESS bedeck |to clothe with finery:DECK bedlam |a place, scene, or state of uproar and confusion belabor |to explain or insist on excessively beleaguer |TROUBLE, HARASS belie |to show (something) to be false or wrong belittle |to speak slightingly of:DISPARAGE bellicose |favoring or inclined to start quarrels or wars belligerence |an aggressive or truculent attitude, atmosphere, or disposition bellwether |One that serves as a leader or as a leading indicator of future trends bemoan |to express deep grief or distress over bend |to make submissive:SUBDUE,COMPROMISE benediction |the invocation of a blessing beneficent |doing or producing good; especially :performing acts of kindness and charity benign |a:showing kindness and gentleness b:FAVORABLE, WHOLESOME bent |a strong inclination or interest:BIAS bequest |something bequeathed:LEGACY berate |to scold or condemn vehemently and at length beseech |to request earnestly:IMPLORE besmirch |SULLY, SOIL betray |to deliver to an enemy by treachery bibliography |a list of writings with time and place of publication (such as the writings of a single author or the works referred to in preparing a document etc.) bibliophile |a lover of books especially for qualities of format; also :a book collector bigot |a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices bit |the jaws of tongs or pincers bland |not irritating, stimulating, or invigorating:SOOTHING blandishment |something that tends to coax or cajole:ALLUREMENT blase |bored with pleasure or dissipation blaspheme |to speak of or address with irreverence blast |a violent gust of wind blatant |completely obvious, conspicuous, or obtrusive especially in a crass or offensive manner:BRAZEN blazon |to publish widely:PROCLAIM bleach |to remove color or stains from blemish |to spoil by a flaw blight |a disease or injury of plants resulting in withering, cessation of growth, and death of parts without rotting bliss |complete happiness blunder |a gross error or mistake resulting usually from stupidity, ignorance, or carelessness blunt |to make less sharp or definite blur |to make indistinct and hazy in outline or appearance;obscure blurb |A brief publicity notice, as on a book jacket. blurt |to utter abruptly and impulsively ? usually used with out bluster |to talk or act with noisy swaggering threats boding |an omen, prediction, or presentiment especially of coming evil:PORTENT ,FOREBODING boggle |to hesitate because of doubt, fear, or scruples boisterous |noisily turbulent:ROWDY bolster |a structural part designed to eliminate friction or provide support or bearing bombast |pretentious inflated speech or writing bonhomie |good-natured easy friendliness bonus |something in addition to what is expected or strictly due boo |to deride especially by uttering boo boon |BENEFIT, FAVOR boor |a rude or insensitive person bootless |USELESS, UNPROFITABLE bore |to make a hole by or as if by boring bottleneck |NARROW {bottleneck:indefinite} ?????? bough |a branch of a tree; especially :a main branch bound |a:to make secure by tying b:to confine, restrain, or restrict as if with bonds c:to put under an obligation d:to constrain with legal authority box |to fight with the fists:engage in boxing box:fight:debate:argue bracing |giving strength, vigor, or freshness bracket |an overhanging member that projects from a structure (as a wall) and is usually designed to support a vertical load or to strengthen an angle brackish |REPULSIVE braggadocio |a:empty boasting b:arrogant pretension:COCKINESS braid |made by intertwining three or more strands braided | brake |to retard or stop by a brake brash |done in haste without regard for consequences brassy |being shamelessly bold brattish |an ill-mannered annoying child bravura |marked by an ostentatious display of skill bray |to emit (an utterance or a sound) loudly and harshly brazen |marked by contemptuous boldness breach |to make a breach in breezeway |a roofed often open passage connecting two buildings (as a house and garage) or halves of a building brevity |shortness or conciseness of expression bribe |to induce or influence by or as if by bribery bridle |to restrain, check, or control with or as if with a bridle brisk |keenly alert:LIVELY bristle |to take on an aggressive attitude or appearance (as in response to a slight) brittle |easily broken, cracked, or snapped broach |to open for the first time bromide |a commonplace or hackneyed statement or notion browbeat |to intimidate by a stern manner or arrogant speech bruit |to noise abroad:REPORT buck |to refuse assent:BALK bucolic |relating to or typical of rural life budge |to give way:YIELD buffer |to lessen the shock of:CUSHION buffoon |a ludicrous figure:CLOWN bulge |a protuberant or swollen part or place bully |one habitually cruel to others who are weaker bumper |a device for absorbing shock or preventing damage bumptious |presumptuously, obtusely, and often noisily self-assertive:OBTRUSIVE bungle |to act or work clumsily and awkwardly buoy |support;uplift buoyant |a:capable of floating b:CHEERFUL, GAY burgeon |to grow and expand rapidly:FLOURISH burial |the act or process of burying burlesque |mockery usually by caricature burnish |to make shiny or lustrous especially by rubbing numb:insensible:burnish:lustrous burrow |to construct by tunneling busybody |an officious or inquisitive person butt |to thrust or push head foremost:strike with the head or horns buttress |1. to furnish or shore up with a buttress; also :SUPPORT, STRENGTHEN 2. a projecting structure of masonry or wood for supporting or giving stability to a wall or building bygone |gone by:PAST; especially:OUTMODED byline |a line at the beginning of a news story, magazine article, or book giving the writer's name cabal |the artifices and intrigues of a group of persons secretly united to bring about an overturn or usurpation especially in public affairs cache |hiding place cacophony |harsh or discordant sound:DISSONANCE cadet |one in training for a military or naval commission; especially :a student in a service academy cadge |BEG, SPONGE caisson |a usually 2-wheeled vehicle for artillery ammunition attachable to a horse-drawn limber cajole |to persuade with flattery or gentle urging especially in the face of reluctance:COAX calamity |An event that brings terrible loss, lasting distress, or severe affliction; a disaster: calcify |to make inflexible or unchangeable calibrate |to determine, rectify, or mark the graduations of calligrapher |one who writes a beautiful callous |a:feeling no emotion b:feeling no sympathy for others callow |lacking adult sophistication:IMMATURE callus |a thickening of or a hard thickened area on skin or bark calorie |the amount of heat required at a pressure of one atmosphere to raise the temperature of one gram of water one degree Celsius that is equal to about 4.19 joules calumniate |to utter maliciously false statements, charges, or imputations about camaraderie |a spirit of friendly good-fellowship cameo |a:a small piece of sculpture on a stone or shell cut in relief in one layer with another contrasting layer serving as backgroundb:A brief but dramatic appearance of a prominent actor, as in a single scene of a motion picture. camouflage |behavior or artifice designed to deceive or hide candidate |one that aspires to or is nominated or qualified for an office, membership, or award candor |unreserved, honest, or sincere expression:FORTHRIGHTNESS cane |A stick used as an aid in walking or carried as an accessory canon |a regulation or dogma decreed by a church council canonical |appearing in a biblical canon ; of or relating to or required by canon law canopy |a cover (as of cloth) fixed or carried above a person of high rank or a sacred object:BALDACHIN cantankerous |difficult or irritating to deal with canvas |a piece of cloth backed or framed as a surface for a painting canvass |to seek orders or votes:SOLICIT canyon |a deep narrow valley with steep sides and often with a stream flowing through it capitulate |to cease resisting:ACQUIESCE caprice |a sudden, impulsive, and seemingly unmotivated notion or action caption |the part of a legal document that shows where, when, and by what authority it was taken, found, or executed captivate |to influence and dominate by some special charm, art, or trait and with an irresistible appeal carefree |Free of worries and responsibilities. careworn |showing the effect of grief or anxiety caricature |exaggeration by means of often ludicrous distortion of parts or characteristics carnal |fleshly carouse |to drink liquor deeply or freely carp |to find fault or complain querulously cartographer |one that makes maps cast |the set of actors in a dramatic production; to assign a certain role to (an actor) castigate |to subject to severe punishment, reproof, or criticism castigation |severe punishment catalyze |BRING ABOUT, INSPIRE supervisor:oversight,catalysis:initiate cataract |WATERFALL; especially:a large one over a precipice catastrophe |a momentous tragic event ranging from extreme misfortune to utter overthrow or ruin categorical |ABSOLUTE, UNQUALIFIED cater |to supply what is required or desired catholic |COMPREHENSIVE, UNIVERSAL; especially :broad in sympathies, tastes, or interests caustic |marked by incisive sarcasm cavalier |A gallant or chivalrous man, especially one serving as escort to a woman of high social position; a gentleman caveat |a warning enjoining one from certain acts or practices cavern |CAVE; especially:one of large or indefinite extent cavil |to raise trivial and frivolous objection cavort |to walk or move in a spirited manner:PRANCE cede |to yield or grant typically by treaty celebrity |the state of being celebrated cement |a binding element or agency:as a substance to make objects adhere to each other censor |to examine in order to suppress or delete anything considered objectionable censorious |marked by or given to censure censure |to find fault with and criticize as blameworthy census |a count of the population centrifuge |a machine using centrifugal force for separating substances of different densities, for removing moisture, or for simulating gravitational effects ceramic |of or relating to the manufacture of any product (as earthenware, porcelain, or brick) made essentially from a nonmetallic mineral (as clay) by firing at a high temperature ceremony |a formal act or series of acts prescribed by ritual, protocol, or convention certitude |the state of being or feeling certain cessation |a temporary or final ceasing (as of action):STOP chaff |the seed coverings and other debris separated from the seed in threshing grain chagrin |disquietude or distress of mind caused by humiliation, disappointment, or failure chameleon |any of a family (Chamaeleontidae) of chiefly arboreal Old World lizards with prehensile tail, independently movable eyeballs, and unusual ability to change the color of the skin champion |to act as militant supporter of:UPHOLD, ADVOCATE chaotic |a:a state of utter confusion b:a confused mass or mixture charade |a word represented in riddling verse or by picture, tableau, or dramatic action charlatan |one making usually showy pretenses to knowledge or ability:FRAUD, FAKER chary |discreetly cautious:as a:hesitant and vigilant about dangers and risks b:slow to grant, accept, or expend chasm |a deep cleft in the surface of a planet (as the earth):GORGE check |to block the progress of chef |a skilled cook who manages the kitchen (as of a restaurant) cherubic |innocent-looking usually chubby and rosy chevron |a sleeve badge that usually consists of one or more chevron-shaped stripes that indicates the wearer's rank and service (as in the armed forces) chiaroscuro |the interplay or contrast of dissimilar qualities, pictorial representation in terms of light and shade without regard to color chic |smart elegance and sophistication especially of dress or manner:STYLE chicanery |deception by artful subterfuge or sophistry:TRICKERY chide |to voice disapproval to:reproach in a usually mild and constructive manner:SCOLD chip |a small usually thin and flat piece (as of wood or stone) cut, struck, or flaked off choke |to check normal breathing of by compressing or obstructing the trachea or by poisoning or adulterating available air choleric |easily moved to often unreasonable or excessive anger:hot-tempered chord |three or more musical tones sounded simultaneously choreography |the composition and arrangement of dances especially for ballet chorus |a body of singers who perform choral compositions chronic |always present or encountered; especially :constantly vexing, weakening, or troubling chronicle |a usually continuous historical account of events arranged in order of time without analysis or interpretation chronological |of, relating to, or arranged in or according to the order of time churlish |marked by a lack of civility or graciousness:SURLY cinder | cineast |a film or movie enthusiast cipher |a method of transforming a text in order to conceal its meaning circuitous |not being forthright or direct in language or action circumference |the perimeter of a circle circumlocutory |the use of an unnecessarily large number of words to express an idea circumscribe |to construct or be constructed around (a geometrical figure) so as to touch as many points as possible circumspect |careful to consider all circumstances and possible consequences:PRUDENT circumvent |to manage to get around especially by ingenuity or stratagem cistern |an artificial reservoir (as an underground tank) for storing liquids and especially water (as rainwater) citation |an official summons to appear (as before a court) civility |COURTESY, POLITENESS clairvoyant |unusually perceptive:DISCERNING clamp | clandestine |marked by, held in, or conducted with secrecy:SURREPTITIOUS clarion |loud and clear clarity |the quality or state of being clear:LUCIDITY clasp |a device (as a hook) for holding objects or parts together claustrophobia |abnormal dread of being in closed or narrow spaces cleft |a usually V-shaped indented formation:a hollow between ridges or protuberances clement |inclined to be merciful:LENIENT cliche |a trite phrase or expression clique |a narrow exclusive circle or group of persons; especially one held together by common interests, views, or purposes clog |something that shackles or impedes:ENCUMBRANCE closed-minded |not easily subdued, remedied, or removed closet |a cabinet or recess for especially china, household utensils, or clothing clot |a coagulated mass produced by clotting of blood cloture |closing, device (in Parliament) to end a debate by voting cloudburst |a sudden copious rainfall clout |PULL, INFLUENCE cloying |excessively sweet or sentimental clumsy |lacking dexterity, nimbleness, or grace coagulant |something that produces coagulation coalesce |to unite into a whole:FUSE coarse |not precise or detailed with respect to adjustment or discrimination coax |to manipulate with great perseverance and usually with considerable effort toward a desired state or activity coda |a concluding musical section that is formally distinct from the main structure coerce |to bring about by force or threat coeval |of the same or equal age, antiquity, or duration cogent |appealing forcibly to the mind or reason:CONVINCING cognizant |knowledgeable of something especially through personal experience colander |a perforated utensil for washing or draining food collapse |to fall or shrink together abruptly and completely collude |CONSPIRE, PLOT colonnade |a series of columns set at regular intervals and usually supporting the base of a roof structure colossal |of a bulk, extent, power, or effect approaching or suggesting the stupendous or incredible coma |a state of profound unconsciousness caused by disease, injury, or poison combustible |capable of combustion comely |having a pleasing appearance:not homely or plain comity |friendly social atmosphere:social harmony commencement |1. the ceremonies or the day for conferring degrees or diplomas 2. an act, instance, or time of beginning commend |to mention with approbation:PRAISE commensurate |equal in measure or extent:COEXTENSIVE commercial |an advertisement broadcast on radio or television commingle |mingle together commitment |an engagement to assume a financial obligation at a future date committed |OBLIGATE, BIND commodious |comfortably or conveniently spacious:ROOMY commonsense |sound and prudent but often unsophisticated judgment commotion |an agitated disturbance:TO-DO compendium |a brief summary of a larger work or of a field of knowledge:ABSTRACT compensate |to offset an error, defect, or undesired effect complacency |COMPLACENCE; especially :self-satisfaction accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies complaisance |disposition to please or comply:AFFABILITY compliant |ready or disposed to comply:SUBMISSIVE compliment |expressing or containing a compliment comply |to conform or adapt one's actions to another's wishes, to a rule, or to necessity composed |free from agitation:CALM; especially :SELF-POSSESSED compress |to reduce in size or volume as if by squeezing compromise |1. to come to agreement by mutual concession 2. to cause the impairment of compunction |anxiety arising from awareness of guilt concatenate |to link together in a series or chain concede |to grant as a right or privilege concentrate |to bring or direct toward a common center or objective:FOCUS concerted |mutually contrived or agreed on concerto |a piece for one or more soloists and orchestra with three contrasting movements concession |an act of yielding conciliate |APPEASE:to cause to subside:ALLAY especially :to buy off (an aggressor) by concessions usually at the sacrifice of principles concise |marked by brevity of expression or statement:free from all elaboration and superfluous detail conciseness | concomitant |that which accompanies concord |a state of agreement:HARMONY concur |to act together to a common end or single effect condemn |to declare to be reprehensible, wrong, or evil usually after weighing evidence and without reservation condescending |showing or characterized by condescension:PATRONIZING condign |deserved, appropriate condole |to express sympathetic sorrow condone |to pardon or overlook voluntarily; especially :to treat as if trivial, harmless, or of no importance conducive |tending to promote or assist confess |to disclose one's faults; specifically :to unburden one's sins or the state of one's conscience to God or to a priest confidant |one to whom secrets are entrusted confident |characterized by assurance; especially :SELF-RELIANT confine |something that restrains confluence |a coming or flowing together, meeting, or gathering at one point conform |to be similar or identical; also :to be in agreement or harmony confront |to face especially in challenge:OPPOSE congeal |to make viscid or curdled:COAGULATE congenial |OCIABLE, GENIAL congenial:bonhomie ???:?? 9????: congruent |superposable so as to be coincident throughout conjecture |inference from defective or presumptive evidence connive |to cooperate secretly or have a secret understanding connoisseur |EXPERT; especially :one who understands the details, technique, or principles of an art and is competent to act as a critical judge conquest |the act or process of conquering conscientious |Thorough and assiduous consensus |group solidarity in sentiment and belief conservative |tending or disposed to maintain existing views, conditions, or institutions:TRADITIONAL conservatory |a school specializing in one of the fine arts conserve |to keep in a safe or sound state considerable |worth consideration:SIGNIFICANT consign |to give, transfer, or deliver into the hands or control of another; also :to commit especially to a final destination or fate console |to alleviate the grief, sense of loss, or trouble of:COMFORT consolidat | consolidate |to join together into one whole:UNITE consonance |harmony or agreement among components conspicuous |obvious to the eye or mind conspiracy |An agreement to perform together an illegal, wrongful, or subversive act. constellation |the configuration of stars. constitute |to appoint to an office, function, or dignity constrained |to appoint to an office, function, or dignity constringe |to cause to contract; constrict. consult |COUNCIL, CONFERENCE; specifically :a deliberation between physicians on a case or its treatment consummate |Complete in every detail; of the highest degree; extremely skilled and accomplished. contagious |communicable by contact:CATCHING contaminate |to soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association contemplate |to view or consider with continued attention:meditate on consider contempt |the act of despising:the state of mind of one who despises:DISDAIN content |feeling or manifesting satisfaction with one's possessions, status, or situation contentious |exhibiting an often perverse and wearisome tendency to quarrels and disputes contingent |likely but not certain to happen:POSSIBLE contort |to twist into or as if into a strained shape or expression contortion | contradictory |involving, causing, or constituting a contradiction contravene |to oppose in argument:CONTRADICT contrite |grieving and penitent for sin or shortcoming contrived |ARTIFICIAL, LABORED control |an individual or group used as a standard of comparison in a control experiment contumacious |stubbornly disobedient:REBELLIOUS conundrum |a:a question or problem having only a conjectural answer b:an intricate and difficult problem convalesce |to recover health and strength gradually after sickness or weakness convenience |something (as an appliance, device, or service) conducive to comfort or ease convention |usage or custom especially in social matters conventional |lacking originality or individuality:TRITE convergent |tending to move toward one point or to approach each other:CONVERGING conversant |having frequent or familiar association convert |to bring over from one belief, view, or party to another convex |curved or rounded like the exterior of a sphere convey |to transfer or deliver to another conviction |1. a strong persuasion or belief 2. the act or process of convicting of a crime especially in a court of law convivial |relating to, occupied with, or fond of feasting, drinking, and good company convoke |to call together to a meeting convoluted |INVOLVED, INTRICATE convulsion |an abnormal violent and involuntary contraction or series of contractions of the muscles coop |a cage or small enclosure (as for poultry) copious |present in large quantity:taking place on a large scale coquette |a woman who endeavors without sincere affection to gain the attention and admiration of men cord |a unit of wood cut for fuel equal to a stack 4 x 4 x 8 feet or 128 cubic feet cordon |a line of persons or objects around a person or place cornucopia |an inexhaustible store:ABUNDANCE coronation |the act or occasion of crowning; also :accession to the highest office corporeal |having, consisting of, or relating to a physical material body:as a:not spiritual b:not immaterial or intangible:SUBSTANTIAL corral |a pen or enclosure for confining or capturing livestock corroborate |to support with evidence or authority:make more certain corrosive |tending or having the power to corrode cosmopolitan |having worldwide rather than limited or provincial scope or bearing cosset |to treat as a pet:PAMPER coterie |an intimate and often exclusive group of persons with a unifying common interest or purpose countenance |to extend approval or toleration to:SANCTION counterfeit |made in imitation of something else with intent to deceive:FORGED counterpart |one of two corresponding copies of a legal instrument:DUPLICATE court |to seek the affections of; especially :to seek to win a pledge of marriage from courtesy |a courteous act or expression coven |an assembly or band of usually 13 witches covetous |marked by inordinate desire for wealth or possessions or for another's possessions cow |to destroy the resolve or courage of cowardice |lack of courage or resolution cower |to shrink away or crouch especially for shelter from something that menaces, domineers, or dismays cozen |cheat; hoodwink; swindle craft |skill in planning, making, or executing:DEXTERITY cramp |restricted; narrowed crass |having or indicating such grossness of mind as precludes delicacy and discrimination craven |lacking the least bit of courage:contemptibly fainthearted craving |an intense, urgent, or abnormal desire or longing credence |acceptance as true or valid; belief credulous |ready to believe especially on slight or uncertain evidence creek |a natural stream of water normally smaller than and often tributary to a river creep |to move slowly,quietly and carefully, esp so as not to attract attention crescendo |a gradual increase; specifically :a gradual increase in volume of a musical passage crest |the top of a wave crestfallen |feeling shame or humiliation:DEJECTED criterion |a standard on which a judgment or decision may be based crockery |EARTHENWARE cronyism |partiality to cronies especially as evidenced in the appointment of political hangers-on to office without regard to their qualifications croon |to sing or speak in a gentle murmuring manner; especially :to sing in a soft intimate manner adapted to amplifying systems crouch |to bend or bow servilely:CRINGE crown |to place a crown or wreath on the head of; specifically :to invest with regal dignity and power crucial |important or essential as resolving acrisis:DECISIVE crude |marked by the primitive, gross, or elemental or by uncultivated simplicity or vulgarity crutch |a support typically fitting under the armpit for use by the disabled in walking crux |an essential point requiring resolution or resolving an outcome cryptic |having or seeming to have a hidden or ambiguous meaning:MYSTERIOUS cuisine |manner of preparing food:style of cooking; also:the food prepared culpable |meriting condemnation or blame especially as wrong or harmful cultivated |REFINED, EDUCATED cumbersome |unwieldy because of heaviness and bulk cunning |characterized by wiliness and trickery curator |one that has the care and superintendence of something; especially:one in charge of a museum, zoo, or other place of exhibit curmudgeon |a crusty, ill-tempered, and usually old man curriculum |A group of related courses, often in a special field of study: cursory |rapidly and often superficially performed or produced:HASTY curt |sparing of words:TERSE curtail |to make less by or as if by cutting off or away some part cyclone |a storm or system of winds that rotates about a center of low atmospheric pressure, and often brings heavy rain cynical |having or showing the attitude or temper of a cynic; especially :contemptuously distrustful of human nature and motives dabble |to work or involve oneself superficially or intermittently especially in a secondary activity or interest daft |SILLY, FOOLISH dally |a:to act playfully; especially :to play amorously b:to deal lightly:TOY damp |MOISTURE,HUMIDITY, DAMPNESS damper |a dulling or deadening influence dandy |a man who gives exaggerated attention to personal appearance dank |unpleasantly moist or wet dapper |neat and trim in appearance dappled |marked with small spots or patches contrasting with the background daredevil |a recklessly bold person dart |to move suddenly or rapidly fall dastard |a person who acts treacherously or underhandedly daunt |to lessen the courage of:COW, SUBDUE dawdle |to move lackadaisically deactivate |to make inactive or ineffective deaden |to impair in vigor or sensation:BLUNT deadpan |marked by an impassive matter-of-fact manner, style, or expression dearth |an inadequate supply:LACK debark |To unload, as from a ship or an airplane. debase |to lower in status, esteem, quality, or character debilitate |to impair the strength of:ENFEEBLE debonair |LIGHTHEARTED, NONCHALANT debris |the remains of something broken down or destroyed debunk |to expose the sham or falseness of debut |a first appearance decadence |the process of becoming decadent:the quality or state of being decadent decant |to pour out, transfer, or unload as if by pouring decelerate |to reduce the speed of:slow down decibel |a unit for expressing the relative intensity of sounds on a scale from zero for the average least perceptible sound to about 130 for the average pain level decipher |a:to make out the meaning of despite indistinctness or obscurity b:to interpret the meaning of decode |to convert (as a coded message) into intelligible form decorum |propriety and good taste in conduct or appearance decrepit |wasted and weakened by or as if by the infirmities of old age dedication |a devoting or setting aside for a particular purpose default |a failure to pay financial debts deference |respect and esteem due a superior or an elder; also:affected or ingratiating regard for another's wishes deficiency |an amount that is lacking or inadequate:SHORTAGE defile |a narrow passage or gorge definitive |serving to provide a final solution or to end a situation defoliate |to deprive of leaves especially prematurely deforest |the action or process of clearing of forests; also :the state of having been cleared of defraud |to deprive of something by deception or fraud deft |characterized by facility and skill defuse |to make less harmful, potent, or tense defy |to challenge to do something considered impossible:DARE dehydrate |to remove bound water or hydrogen and oxygen from (a chemical compound) in the proportion in which they form water deify |To worship or revere as a god deject |to make gloomy deleterious |harmful often in a subtle or unexpected way deliberate |to think about or discuss issues and decisions carefully delicacy |the quality or state of being dainty:FINENESS delinquent |offending by neglect or violation of duty or of law deliquesce |To dissolve gradually and become liquid by absorption of moisture from the air. delirium |a mental disturbance characterized by confusion, disordered speech, and hallucinations delude |to mislead the mind or judgment of:DECEIVE, TRICK deluge |adj. an overflowing of the land by water b:a drenching rain delve |to make a careful or detailed search for information demagogue |a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power demanding |requiring much time, effort, or attention:EXACTING demise |DIE, DECEASE demography |the statistical study of human populations especially with reference to size and density, distribution, and vital statistics demolition |the act of demolishing; especially :destruction in war by means of explosives demoralize |a:to weaken the morale of:DISCOURAGE, DISPIRIT b:to upset or destroy the normal functioning of c:to throw into disorder demotic |Of or relating to the common people; popular demur |to take exception:OBJECT denigrate |to cast aspersions on:DEFAME denouement |the final outcome of the main dramatic complication in a literary work denounce |to pronounce especially publicly to be blameworthy or evil dent |a depression or hollow made by a blow or by pressure denude |to strip of all covering or surface layers denunciate |to pronounce especially publicly to be blameworthy or evil depart |to go away:LEAVE depict |to represent by or as if by a picture deplete |to lessen markedly in quantity, content, power, or value deplore |to feel or express strong disapproval of; condemn. deploy |to extend (a military unit) especially in width deportation |the removal from a country of an alien whose presence is unlawful or prejudicial depose |to testify to under oath or by affidavit deposit |to lay down or leave behind by a natural process depravity |a corrupt act or practice deprecate |BELITTLE, DISPARAGE depreciate |to lower the price or estimated value of depress |to press down deprivation |the state of being deprived:PRIVATION; especially :removal from an office, dignity, or benefice deracinate |UPROOT derelict |a destitute homeless social misfit:VAGRANT, BUM deride |to subject to usually bitter or contemptuous ridicule derivative |lacking originality:BANAL derogatory |expressive of a low opinion:DISPARAGING descendant |one deriving directly from a precursor or prototype descent |an inclination downward:SLOPE desecrate |to violate the sanctity of:PROFANE desert |to withdraw from or leave usually without intent to return desiccate |to preserve (a food) by drying:DEHYDRATE designate | despair |to lose all hope or confidence despicable |deserving to be despised:so worthless or obnoxious as to rouse moral indignation despise |to look down on with contempt or aversion despondent |feeling or showing extreme discouragement, dejection, or depression dessert |a usually sweet course or dish (as of pastry or ice cream) served at the end of a meal desultory |disappointing in progress or performance:SLUGGISH detach |to separate especially from a larger mass and usually without violence or damage detain |to hold or keep in or as if in custody deter |to turn aside, discourage, or prevent from acting detestable |arousing or meriting intense dislike:ABOMINABLE detour |to send by a circuitous route detract |to diminish the importance, value, or effectiveness of something detritus |a product of disintegration, destruction, or wearing away deviation |noticeable or marked departure from accepted norms of behavior devise |to form in the mind by new combinations or application of and ideas or principles devolve |deputize; pass to others devoted |devote:to give over or direct (as time, money, or effort) to a cause, enterprise, or activity devout |devoted to religion or to religious duties or exercises dew |moisture condensed upon the surfaces of cool bodies especially at night dexterous |mentally adroit and skillful:CLEVER diabolic |of, relating to, or characteristic of the devil:DEVILIS diabolize | diagnose |to recognize (as a disease) by signs and symptoms diaphanous |characterized by such fineness of texture as to permit seeing through diatribe |a bitter and abusive speech or writing didactic |designed or intended to teach die |any of various tools or devices for imparting a desired shape, form, or finish to a material or for impressing an object or material diehard |strongly or fanatically determined or devoted diffident |hesitant in acting or speaking through lack of self-confidence diffuse |being at once verbose and ill-organized digit |A human finger or toe. dignity |quality or state of being worthy, honored, or esteemed digress |to turn aside especially from the main subject of attention or course of argument dilapidate |to bring into a condition of decay or partial ruin dilate |to enlarge or expand in bulk or extent:DISTEND, WIDEN dilatory |characterized by procrastination:TARDY dilettante |a person having a superficial interest in an art or a branch of knowledge:DABBLER diligent |characterized by steady, earnest, and energetic effort:PAINSTAKING dilute |to diminish the strength, flavor, or brilliance of by admixture dimension | diminish |to make or become smaller ,less, or less important din |a loud continued noise; especially :a welter of discordant sounds dingus |an ornamental attachment or decoration:DOODAD dingy |SHABBY, SQUALID diocesan |a bishop having jurisdiction over a diocese diplomatic |of or engaged in diplomacy; tactful or suave dire |DISMAL, OPPRESSIVE dirge |a song or hymn of grief or lamentation; especially :one intended to accompany funeral or memorial rites disabuse |to free from error, fallacy, or misconception disaffected |discontented and resentful especially against authority REBELLIOUS disagreeable |causing discomfort:UNPLEASANT, OFFENSIVE disarm |to deprive of means, reason, or disposition to be hostile disarray |(n.) (state of) disorder disavow |to deny responsibility for:REPUDIATE discard |to get rid of especially as useless or unpleasant discernible | discerning |showing insight and understanding:DISCRIMINATING discharge |to dismiss from employment disciple |one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another discipline |a rule or system of rules governing conduct or activity disclaim |to renounce a legal claim to discography |a descriptive list of phonograph records by category, composer, performer, or date of release discombobulate |to confuse or disconcert discomfit |to put into a state of perplexity and embarrassment:DISCONCERT discommode |to cause inconvenience to:TROUBLE discompose |to destroy the composure of disconcert |to throw into confusion discord |lack of agreement or harmony (as between persons, things, or ideas) discourse |formal and orderly and usually extended expression of thought on a subject discredit |to deprive of good repute:DISGRACE discrepancy |Divergence or disagreement, as between facts or claims; difference. discrete |(adj.) separate; individually distinct; composed of distinct parts discretion |the quality of being discreet:CIRCUMSPECTION; especially :cautious reserve in speech frivolous discretionary |left to discretion:exercised at one's own discretion discriminate |to mark or perceive the distinguishing or peculiar features of discursive |moving from topic to topic without order:RAMBLING disdain |a feeling of contempt for what is beneath one:SCORN disembody | disengage |to release from something that engages or involves disentangle |(v.) to free from confusion disgorge |to discharge by the throat and mouth:VOMIT disgruntle |to make ill-humored or discontented , usually used as a participial adjective disguise |to furnish with a false appearance or an assumed identity disgust |marked aversion aroused by something highly distasteful:REPUGNANCE dishevel |to throw into disorder or disarray disinclination |a preference for avoiding something:slight aversion disinfect |to free from infection especially by destroying harmful microorganisms disinterested |free from selfish motive or interest:UNBIASED disjunctive |marked by breaks or disunity dismantle |to take to pieces; also :to destroy the integrity or functioning of disparage |to depreciate by indirect means (as invidious comparison):speak slightingly about disparate |containing or made up of fundamentally different and often incongruous elements dispassionate |not influenced by strong feeling; especially :not affected by personal or emotional involvement dispatch |promptness and efficiency in performance or transmission disposal |systematic destruction; especially :destruction or transformation of garbage disquiet |to take away the peace or tranquillity of:DISTURB, ALARM disregard | disrupt |to throw into disorder dissect |to analyze and interpret minutely dissemble |to put on a false appearance:conceal facts, intentions, or feelings under some pretense disseminate |to spread abroad as though sowing seed dissension |DISAGREEMENT; especially:partisan and contentious quarreling dissent |to withhold assent dissertation |an extended usually written treatment of a subject; specifically :one submitted for a doctorate dissipate |dispel; squander dissociate |to separate from association or union with another dissolute |lacking restraint; especially :marked by indulgence in things dissolve |to cause to pass into solution to separate into component parts:DISINTEGRATE dissonance |lack of agreement; especially :inconsistency between the beliefs one holds or between one's actions and one's beliefs dissuade |to advise (a person) against something distention |the act of distending or the state of being distended especially unduly or abnormally distillation |the process of purifying a liquid by successive evaporation and condensation distinction |the quality or state of being distinguishable distinguished |marked by eminence, distinction, or excellence distort |to twist out of the true meaning or proportion distract |to draw or direct (as one's attention) to a different object or in different directions at the same time distraught |agitated with doubt or mental conflict distress |great pain/cause discomfort district | ditch |a long narrow excavation dug in the earth ditty |an especially simple and unaffected song diurnal |of, relating to, or occurring in the daytime diver | diverge |to move or extend in different directions from a common point:draw apart divert |to turn from one course or use to another:DEFLECT divestiture |the act of divesting divulge |to make known (as a confidence or secret) doctrine |a principle or position or the body of principles in a branch of knowledge or system of belief:DOGMA dodder |to progress feebly and unsteadily doff |to remove (an article of wear) from the body dogged |marked by stubborn determination doggerel |loosely styled and irregular in measure especially for burlesque or comic effect; also:marked by triviality or inferiority doggo |in hiding dogma |something held as an established opinion;especially:a definite authoritative tenet doldrums |state or period of inactivity, stagnation, or slump dolorous |causing, marked by, or expressing misery or grief dolt |a stupid person domicile |a dwelling place:place of residence:HOME domination |supremacy or preeminence over another don |to put on (an article of clothing) donor |one that gives, donates, or presents something doodle |an aimless or casual scribble, design, or sketch dour |STERN, HARSH downpour |a pouring or streaming downward; especially:a heavy rain doyen |a:the senior member of a body or group b:a person considered to be knowledgeable or uniquely skilled as a result of long experience in some field of endeavor doze |to fall into a light sleep draconian |CRUEL; also:SEVERE drain |to exhaust physically or emotionally drawl |to utter in a slow lengthened tone dreary |having nothing likely to provide cheer, comfort, or interest:GLOOMY, DISMAL drench |to wet thoroughly (as by soaking or immersing in liquid) drivel |to utter in an infantile or imbecilic way drizzle |a fine misty rain droll |having a humorous, whimsical, or odd quality drone |to speak in a monotonous tone: droplet |a tiny drop (as of a liquid) drudgery |dull, irksome, and fatiguing work:uninspiring or menial labor dubious |questionable or suspect as to true nature or quality dulcet |pleasing to the ear dull |lacking brilliance or luster dullard |a stupid or unimaginative person dune |a hill or ridge of sand piled up by the wind dupe |one that is easily deceived or cheated:FOOL dwelling |a shelter (as a house) in which people live dyspeptic |INDIGESTION eaglet |a young eagle earnest |characterized by or proceeding from an intense and serious state of mind earplug |device of pliable material for insertion into the outer opening of the ear (as to keep out water or deaden sound) earshot |the range within which the unaided voice may be heard earsplitting |distressingly loud or shrill easel |An upright frame for supporting something, such as an artist's canvas eavesdrop |to listen secretly to the private conversation of others ebb |recede; lessen ebullience |the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts or feelings:EXUBERANCE eccentric |deviating from conventional or accepted usage or conduct especially in odd or whimsical ways echelon |an arrangement of a body of troops with its units each somewhat to the left or right of the one in the rear like a series of steps eclat |brilliant or conspicuous success eclectic |selecting what appears to be best in various doctrines, methods, or styles eclipse |a falling into obscurity or decline; also :the state of being eclipsed ecstasy |a state of overwhelming emotion; especially :rapturous delight ecstatic |feeling great rapture or delight ecumenical |worldwide or general in extent, influence, or application eddy |circular or spiral movement (e.g. of wind) edifice |BUILDING; especially :a large or massive structure efface |to make (oneself) modestly or shyly inconspicuous effervesce |to show liveliness or exhilaration effete |having lost character, vitality, or strength effluvia |a by-product especially in the form of waste effulgent |radiant splendor:BRILLIANCE effusive |characterized or formed by a nonexplosive outpouring of lava egalitarian |a belief in human equality especially with respect to social, political, and economic rights and privileges egocentric |concerned with the individual rather than society elaborate |marked by complexity, fullness of detail, or ornateness elastic |capable of being easily stretched or expanded and resuming former shape:FLEXIBLE elated |marked by high spirits:EXULTANT eleemosynary |of, relating to, or supported by charity elegant |of a high grade or quality:SPLENDID elegy |a song or poem expressing sorrow or lamentation especially for one who is dead elephantine |having enormous size or strength:MASSIVE elevate |to raise in rank or status:EXALT elf |a small lively creature; also :a usually lively mischievous or malicious person elicit |to draw forth or bring out elitism |leadership or rule by an elite ellipse |a closed plane curve resulting from the intersection of a circular cone and a plane cutting completely through it ellipsis |the omission of one or more words that are obviously understood but that must be supplied to make a construction grammatically complete elliptical |of or relating to deliberate obscurity (as of literary or conversational style) elongate |to extend the length of elucidate |to give a clarifying explanation emaciate |to cause to lose f unaffectlesh so as to become very thin emanate |to come out from a source emancipate |to free from restraint, control, or the power of another; especially :to free from bondage embargo |a legal prohibition on commerce embark |to make a start embarrass |to place in doubt, perplexity, or difficulties embed |to enclose closely in or as if in a matrix embezzle |to appropriate (as property entrusted to one's care) fraudulently to one's own use embolden |to instill with boldness or courage embrace |close encircling with the arms and pressure to the bosom especially as a sign of affection:HUG emigrate |to leave one's place of residence or country to live elsewhere eminence |one that is eminent, prominent, or lofty:as a person of high rank or attainments emphasis |special consideration of or stress or insistence on something emulate |strive to equal or excel enact |to establish by legal and authoritative act; specifically:to make (as a bill) into law enamel |a hard calcareous substance that forms a thin layer capping the teeth enclosure |something that encloses encomium |glowing and warmly enthusiastic praise; encompass |1. to form a circle about:ENCLOSE obsolete :to go completely around 2. to form a circle about:ENCLOSE encounter |to come upon face-to-face encumber |to impede or hamper the function or activity of:HINDER encyclopedia |a work that contains information on all branches of knowledge or treats comprehensively a particular branch of knowledge usually in articles arranged alphabetically often by subject endorse |to approve openly especially:to express support or approval of publicly and definitely enduring |LASTING, DURABLE enervate |to lessen the vitality or strength of enfeeble |to make feeble:deprive of strength enfranchise |to endow with a franchise:as to admit to the privileges of a citizen and especially to the right of suffrage engender |to cause to exist or to develop:PRODUCE engross |to take or engage the whole attention of:occupy completely enigmatic |of, relating to, or resembling an enigma:MYSTERIOUS enlighten |to furnish knowledge to:INSTRUCT enmity |positive, active, and typically mutual hatred or ill will ennoble |to make noble:ELEVATE ennui |a feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction:BOREDOM enrapture |to fill with delight ensconce |settle comfortably enslave |to reduce to or as if to slavery:SUBJUGATE ensue |to take place afterward or as a result entangle |to wrap or twist together:INTERWEAVE enthusiasm |strong excitement of feeling:ARDOR entice |to attract artfully or adroitly or by arousing hope or desire:TEMPT entrance |to carry away with delight, wonder, or rapture entrap |to catch in or as if in a trap entreaty |an act of entreating:PLEA entry |a descriptive record (as in a card catalog or an index) enumerate |to specify one after another:LIST enunciate |a:to make a definite or systematic statement of b:ANNOUNCE, PROCLAIM envision |to picture to oneself ephemeral |lasting a very short time epic |extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope epicure |one with sensitive and discriminating tastes especially in food or wine epigram |a concise poem dealing pointedly and often satirically with a single thought or event and often ending with an ingenious turn of thought epilogue |a concluding section that rounds out the design of a literary work; the final scene of a play that comments on or summarizes the main action; the concluding section of a musical composition:CODA episode |An incident or story in a literary work, separable from yet growing out of it. epistemology |the study or a theory of the nature and grounds of knowledge especially with reference to its limits and validity epitomize |to serve as the typical or ideal example of equable |marked by lack of noticeable, unpleasant, or extreme variation or inequality equipoise |a state of equilibrium equity |justice according to natural law or right; specifically :freedom from bias or favoritism equivocal |subject to two or more interpretations and usually used to mislead or confuse erect |1. characterized by firm or rigid straightness in bodily posture 2. SET UP, ESTABLISH erode |to diminish or destroy by degrees errant |traveling or given to traveling erratic |having no fixed course:WANDERING erudite |possessing or displaying erudition:LEARNED escalate |to increase in extent, volume, number, amount, intensity, or scope eschew |to avoid habitually especially on moral or practical grounds:SHUN esoteric |designed for or understood by the specially initiated alone espouse |to take up and support as a cause:become attached to esteem |to set a high value on:regard highly and prize accordingly estimable |worthy of esteem estrange |to arouse especially mutual enmity or indifference in where there had formerly been love, affection, or friendliness:ALIENATE etch |a chemical agent used in etching eternal |a:continued without intermission:PERPETUAL b:seemingly endless ethereal |a:lacking material substance:IMMATERIAL, INTANGIBLE b:marked by unusual delicacy or refinement ethics |the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation eulogize |to speak or write in high praise of:EXTOL euphemism |the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant euphonious |pleasing to the ear euphoria |a feeling of well-being or elation evacuate |a:to remove especially from a military zone or dangerous area b:to withdraw from military occupation of c:VACATE evade |to avoid answering directly:turn aside evanescent |tending to vanish like vapor evasive |tending or intended to evade:EQUIVOCAL everlasting |lasting or enduring through all time:ETERNAL evict |to force out:EXPEL evoke |to call forth or up ewe |the female of the sheep especially when mature; also :the female of various related animals exacerbate |to make more violent, bitter, or severe exacting |tryingly or unremittingly severe in making demands exaggerate |to enlarge or increase especially beyond the normal:OVEREMPHASIZE exalt |to elevate by praise or in estimation:GLORIFY exasperate |a:to excite the anger of:ENRAGE b:to cause irritation or annoyance to excavate |find by digging in the ground ; remove the inner part or the core of exceptional |deviating from the norm excerpt |to select (a passage) for quoting:EXTRACT exclamation |a sharp or sudden utterance excoriate |to censure scathingly excrete |to separate and eliminate or discharge (waste) from the blood or tissues or from the active protoplasm excruciate |to subject to intense mental distress exculpate |to clear from alleged fault or guilt exculpatory | excursive |constituting a digression:characterized by digression execrate |to declare to be evil or detestable:DENOUNCE execute |to carry out fully:put completely into effect exemplary |serving as a pattern exempt |free or released from some liability or requirement to which others are subjectexempt:liability:pardon:penalty exert |to bring to bear especially with sustained effort or lasting effect exhaust |to consume entirely:USE UP exhilarate |to make cheerful exhortation |language intended to incite and encourage exodus |a mass departure:EMIGRATION exonerate |to relieve of a responsibility, obligation, or hardship exorbitant |exceeding in intensity, quality, amount, or size the customary or appropriate limits exotic |introduced from another country:not native to the place where found expansive |characterized by high spirits, generosity, or readiness to talk:OPEN expedite |to accelerate the process or progress of:speed up expedition |efficient promptness:SPEED expiation |the act of making atonement explicit |fully revealed or expressed without vagueness, implication, or ambiguity:leaving no question as to meaning or intent exponent |one that expounds or interprets expurgate |to cleanse of something morally harmful, offensive, or erroneous; especially :to expunge objectionable parts from before publication or presentation exquisite |marked by flawless craftsmanship or by beautiful, ingenious, delicate, or elaborate execution extant |currently or actually existing extemporize |to do something extemporaneously:IMPROVISE; especially :to speak extemporaneously extenuate |to lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of by making partial excuses:MITIGATE exterminate |to get rid of completely usually by killing off extinct |no longer existing extinguish |to cause to cease burning:QUENCH extol |to praise highly:GLORIFY extort |to obtain from a person by force, intimidation, or undue or illegal power:WRING extraneous |a:not forming an essential or vital part b:having no relevance extravagant |a:spending much more than necessary b:PROFUSE, LAVISH extricate |to free or remove from an entanglement or difficulty extrinsic |not forming an essential or inherent part of a thing; extraneous. extrovert |a gregarious and unreserved person exuberant |joyously unrestrained and enthusiastic exude |to undergo diffusion exultant |filled with or expressing great joy or triumph:JUBILANT fabricate |CONSTRUCT, MANUFACTURE; specifically :to construct from diverse and usually standardized parts facetious |joking or jesting often inappropriately:WAGGISH facilitate |to make easier:help bring about faction |a party or group (as within a government) that is often contentious or self-seeking:CLIQUE fade |to change gradually in loudness, strength, or visibility fail-safe |incorporating some feature for automatically counteracting the effect of an anticipated possible source of failure faint |lacking strength or vigor:performed, offered, or accomplished weakly or languidly fainthearted |lacking courage or resolution:TIMID fallacy |a:a false or mistaken idea b:erroneous character:ERRONEOUSNESS falsehood |absence of truth or accuracy falter |a:to hesitate in purpose or action:WAVER b:to lose drive or effectiveness fantasy |imaginative fiction featuring especially strange settings and grotesque characters farce |ridiculous or empty show fascinate |to be irresistibly attractive fast |1. in a firm or fixed manner 2. the act to eat sparingly or abstain from some foods fasten |to attach especially by pinning, tying, or nailing fastidious |showing or demanding excessive delicacy or care fathom |to penetrate and come to understand fatigue |weariness or exhaustion from labor, exertion, or stress fatuous |complacently or inanely foolish:SILLY fawn |to court favor by a cringing or flattering manner faze |to disturb the composure of:DISCONCERT, DAUNT feckless |WEAK, INEFFECTIVE fecund |fruitful in offspring or vegetation:PROLIFIC feeble |markedly lacking in strength fender |a device in front of locomotives and streetcars to lessen injury to animals or pedestrians in case of collision feral |not domesticated or cultivated:WILD fertilize |to make fertile fervid |marked by often extreme fervor fervor |intensity of feeling or expression fetid |having a heavy offensive smell fetter |to restrain from motion, action, or progress fiasco |a complete failure fictitious |of, relating to, or characteristic of fiction:IMAGINARY fidelity |the quality or state of being faithful figurative |representing by a figure or resemblance:EMBLEMATIC figurine |a small carved or molded figure filibuster |the use of extreme dilatory tactics in an attempt to delay or prevent action especially in a legislative assembly filigree |ornamental openwork of delicate or intricate design filly |a young female horse usually of less than four years filter |a porous article or mass (as of paper or sand) through which a gas or liquid is passed to separate out matter in suspension finch |any of numerous songbirds (especially families Fringillidae, Estrildidae, and Emberizidae) having a short stout usually conical bill adapted for crushing seeds finesse |skillful handling of a situation:adroit maneuvering finicky |extremely or excessively nice, exacting, or meticulous in taste or standards flaccid |not firm or stiff; also :lacking normal or youthful firmness flagging |LANGUID, WEAK flamboyant |marked by or given to strikingly elaborate or colorful display or behavior flange |a projecting edge of cloth used for decoration on clothing flannel |outer garments of flannel; especially:men's trousers flatter |to praise excessively especially from motives of self-interest flaw |a defect in physical structure or form flax |any of a genus (Linum of the family Linaceae, the flax family) of herbs; especially:a slender erect annual (L. usitatissimum) with blue flowers commonly cultivated for its bast fiber and seed fledge |to acquire the feathers necessary for flight or independent activity flexible |capable of being flexed:PLIANT flinch |to withdraw or shrink from or as if from pain:WINCE; also :to tense the muscles involuntarily in anticipation of discomfort flint |a massive hard quartz that produces a spark when struck by steel flippancy |unbecoming levity or pertness especially in respect to grave or sacred matters flirt |to behave amorously without serious intent flit |to move about rapidly and nimbly. flock |a group of birds or mammals assembled or herded togetherto gather or move in a flock florid |flowery; ruddy flounder |to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually flourish |to grow luxuriantly:THRIVE flout |to treat with contemptuous disregard:SCORN fluctuate |to shift back and forth uncertainly fluent |a:ready or facile in speechb:effortlessly smooth and rapid:POLISHED flush |to pour liquid over or through; especially:to cleanse or wash out with or as if with a rush of liquid fluster |to put into a state of agitated confusion:UPSET fluvial |of, relating to, or living in a stream or river foible |a minor flaw or shortcoming in character or behavior:WEAKNESS foil |a thin piece of material (as metal) put under an inferior or paste stone to add color or brilliance foliage |the aggregate of leaves of one or more plants folly |a foolish act or idea foment |to promote the growth or development of:ROUSE, INCITE fondness |tender affection foolhardy |foolishly adventurous and bold:RASH footloose |having no ties:free to move about forbears | ford |A shallow place in a body of water, such as a river, where one can cross by walking or riding on an animal or in a vehicle forebear | forestry |the management of growing timber foreword |prefatory comments (as for a book) especially when written by someone other than the author forgery |an act of forging; especially:the crime of falsely and fraudulently making or altering a document (as a check) forgo |do without ; lose or lose the right to by some error, offense, or crime formidable |causing fear, dread, or apprehension forthright |free from ambiguity or evasiveness:going straight to the point fortify |to make strong:as to give physical strength, courage, or endurance to foster |to promote the growth or development of:ENCOURAGE founder |1. to become submerged:SINK 2. one that founds or establishes fracture |RUPTURE, TEAR fragile |a:easily broken or destroyedb:constitutionally delicate:lacking in physical vigor fraudulent |characterized by, based on, or done by fraud:DECEITFUL freelancer |a person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any one employer freewheel |to move, live, or play freely or irresponsibly frenzy |a violent mental or emotional agitation frequent |to associate with, be in, or resort to often or habitually fresco |the art of painting on freshly spread moist lime plaster with water-based pigments fret |an agitation of mind:IRRITATION friable |easily crumbled or pulverized friction |the rubbing of one body against another frieze |a heavy durable coarse wool and shoddy fabric with a rough surface frigid | frivolous |intensely cold frothy |gaily frivolous or light in content or treatment:INSUBSTANTIAL frowsy | frowzy |having a slovenly or uncared-for appearance frugal |characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources frustrate |a:to balk or defeat in an endeavorb:to induce feelings of discouragement in full-bodied |imparting to the palate the general impression of substantial weight and rich texture fulminate |to send forth censures or invectives fungi |any of a major group (Fungi) of saprophytic and parasitic spore-producing organisms usually classified as plants that lack chlorophyll and include molds, rusts, mildews, smuts, mushrooms, and yeasts furnace |an enclosed structure in which heat is produced furor |A general commotion; public disorder or uproar. furtive |done by stealth:SURREPTITIOUS fury |intense, disordered, and often destructive rage fussy |Calling for or requiring great attention to sometimes trivial details fusty |saturated with dust and stale odors:MUSTY futility |the quality or state of being futile:USELESSNESS gab |to talk in a rapid or thoughtless manner:CHATTER gadfly |a person who stimulates or annoys especially by persistent criticism gaffe |a social or diplomatic blunder gainsay |to declare to be untrue or invalid gait |a manner of walking or moving on foot galaxy |an assemblage of brilliant or notable persons or things gall |to fret and wear away by friction:CHAFE gallant |Possessing a brave or chivalrous spirit. galvanize |to stimulate or excite as if by an electric shock gamble |to stake something on a contingency:take a chance gangling |loosely and awkwardly built:LANKY garble |to so alter or distort as to create a wrong impression or change the meaning gargantuan |of immense size, volume, or capacity; gigantic garish |clothed in vivid colors garment |an article of clothing garner |a:GRANARY b:a grain bin garrulous |given to prosy, rambling, or tedious loquacity:pointlessly or annoyingly talkative gash |a deep long cut in flesh gasification |conversion into gas; especially:conversion of coal into natural gas gauche |lacking social experience or grace; also:not tactful:CRUDE gaudy |ostentatiously or tastelessly ornamented gauge |a measurement (as of linear dimension) according to some standard or system gear |a toothed wheel genealogy |an account of the descent of a person, family, or group from an ancestor or from older forms generality |the quality or state of being general genial |marked by or diffusing sympathy or friendliness genteel |free from vulgarity or rudeness:POLITE genuine |ACTUAL, TRUE germane |being at once relevant and appropriate:FITTING gesture |a movement usually of the body or limbs that expresses or emphasizes an idea, sentiment, or attitude ghastly |intensely unpleasant, disagreeable, or objectionable gibe |to deride or tease with taunting words giddy |lightheartedly silly:FRIVOLOUS ginger |a thickened pungent aromatic rhizome that is used as a spice and sometimes medicinally glacier |a large body of ice moving slowly down a slope or valley or spreading outward on a land surface glade |an open space surrounded by woods glance |a quick or cursory look glaze |to give a smooth glossy surface to glib |marked by ease and fluency in speaking or writing often to the point of being insincere or deceitful glimmer |a:to shine faintly or unsteadily b:to give off a subdued unsteady reflection glisten |to give off a sparkling or lustrous reflection of or as if of a moist or polished surface glitch |a usually minor malfunction gloat |express evil satisfaction; view malevolently gloomy |low in spirits:MELANCHOLY glorify |to make glorious by bestowing honor, praise, or admiration gloss |a brief explanation (as in the margin or between the lines of a text) of a difficult or obscure word or expression glossary |a collection of textual glosses or of specialized terms with their meanings glossy |having a surface luster or brightness glut |an excessive quantity:OVERSUPPLY glutinous |having the quality of glue:GUMMY glutton |one given habitually to greedy and voracious eating and drinking goad |something that urges or stimulates into action:SPUR gobble |to swallow or eat greedily goggle |to stare with wide or protuberant eyes goldbrick |to shirk duty or responsibility gorge |to eat greedily or to repletion gossamer |something light, delicate, or insubstantial gourmet |a connoisseur of food and drink; broadly :CONNOISSEUR grandeur |the quality or state of being grand:MAGNIFICENCE grandiloquent |be of a lofty, extravagantly colorful, pompous, or bombastic style, manner, or quality especially in language grandiose |characterized by affectation of grandeur or splendor or by absurd exaggeration grandstand |to play or act so as to impress onlookers grant |to bestow or transfer formally specifically :to give the possession or title of by a deed gratify |to be a source of or give pleasure or satisfaction to grating |noisily,rasping,harsh gratis |free gratuitous |not involving a return benefit, compensation, or consideration grave |having a serious and dignified quality or demeanor green |a:deficient in training, knowledge, or experience b:deficient in sophistication and savoir faire:NAIVE c:not fully qualified for or experienced in a particular function gregarious |tending to associate with others of one's kind:SOCIAL grievous |causing or characterized by severe pain, suffering, or sorrow grimace |a facial expression usually of disgust or disapproval grin |to draw back the lips so as to show the teeth especially in amusement or laughter; broadly :SMILE gripe |to complain with grumbling grisly |inspiring horror or intense fear groove |a long narrow channel or depression grotesque |FANCIFUL, BIZARRE grotto |A small cave or cavern grove |a planting of fruit or nut trees grovel |to lie or creep with the body prostrate in token of subservience or abasement grumble |to mutter in discontent guarantee |to engage for the existence, permanence, or nature of:undertake to do or secure guffaw |a loud or boisterous burst of laughter guile |deceitful cunning:DUPLICITY guilt |feelings of culpability especially for imagined offenses or from a sense of inadequacy:SELF-REPROACH gullible |easily duped or cheated gully |a trench which was orig. worn in the earth by running water and through which water often runs after rains gum |any of numerous colloidal polysaccharide substances of plant origin that are gelatinous when moist but harden on drying and are salts of complex organic acids gush |a sudden outpouring gust |a sudden brief rush of wind guzzle |to drink especially liquor greedily, continually, or habitually habitable |capable of being lived in:suitable for habitation hack |a writer who aims solely for commercial success hackneyed |lacking in freshness or originality hairbreadth | halcyon |CALM, PEACEFUL hale |free from defect, disease, or infirmity:SOUND; also :retaining exceptional health and vigor half-baked |a:lacking adequate planning or forethought b:lacking in judgment, intelligence, or common sense hallow |to make holy or set apart for holy use hallucination |perception of objects with no reality usually arising from disorder of the nervous system or in response to drugs (as LSD) halting |marked by a lack of sureness or effectiveness ham-handed |lacking dexterity or grace:HEAVY-HANDED hamper |to restrict the movement of by bonds or obstacles:IMPEDE hamstring |to make ineffective or powerless:CRIPPLE handle |to act, behave, or feel in a certain way when handled or directed hangdog |SAD, DEJECTED hankering |to have a strong or persistent desire:YEARN haphazard |marked by lack of plan, order, or direction hapless |having no luck:UNFORTUNATE harangue |to address in a ranting way harass |to annoy persistently harbinger |one that presages or foreshadows what is to come harbor |to give shelter or refuge to hard-bitten |seasoned or steeled by difficult experience:TOUGH hardheaded |STUBBORN, WILLFUL harebrained |FOOLISH harmonious |marked by accord in sentiment or action harness |UTILIZE harp |a plucked stringed instrument consisting of a resonator, an arched or angled neck that may be supported by a post, and strings of graded length that are perpendicular to the soundboard harrow |break up ground after plowing; torture harry |to make a pillaging or destructive raid on:ASSAULT harsh |a:causing a disagreeable or painful sensory reaction:IRRITATING b:physically discomforting:PAINFUL hasten |to move or act quickly hasty |done or made in a hurry haunt |to visit often:FREQUENT hauteur |ARROGANCE, HAUGHTINESS haven |harbour, safety place havoc |great confusion and disorder headlong |Impetuous; rash. hearken |to give respectful attention heart |to give heart to:CHEER:HEARTEN hearten |to give heart to heartrending |causing intense sorrow or distress hedge |a means of protection or defense (as against financial loss) hedonic |of, relating to, or characterized by pleasure heinous |hatefully or shockingly evil:ABOMINABLE heirloom |something of special value handed on from one generation to another helmet |any of various protective head coverings usually made of a hard material to resist impact hem |a border of a cloth article doubled back and stitched down herald |to give notice of:ANNOUNCE herbicide |an agent used to destroy or inhibit plant growth hereditary |characteristic of or fostered by one's predecessors heresy |an opinion or doctrine contrary to church dogma heretical |of, relating to, or characterized by departure from accepted beliefs or standards:UNORTHODOX hermit |one that retires from society and lives in solitude especially for religious reasons:RECLUSE herpetologist |one that a branch of zoology dealing with reptiles and amphibians hesitance |the quality or state of being hesitant:as a:INDECISION b:RELUCTANCE heterodox |Not in agreement with accepted beliefs, especially in church doctrine or dogma hidebound |having an inflexible or ultraconservative character hideous |offensive to the senses and especially to sight:exceedingly ugly hie |to go quickly:HASTEN hierarchy |the classification of a group of people according to ability or to economic, social, or professional standing hieroglyph |a character used in a system of hieroglyphic writing hike |to rise up; especially :to work upward out of place hilarity |high spirits that may be carried to the point of boisterous conviviality or merriment hint |a slight indication of the existence, approach, or nature of something:CLUE histrionic |of or relating to actors, acting, or the theater hive |a place swarming with activity hoard |to keep (as one's thoughts) to oneself hoary |extremely old:ANCIENT hoax |an act intended to deceive or trick hodgepodge |a heterogeneous mixture:JUMBLE homage |expression of high regard:RESPECT homely |Not attractive or good-looking homily |a lecture or discourse on or of a moral theme homogenize |to blend (diverse elements) into a uniform mixture hone |to make more acute, intense, or effective:WHET honorarium |a payment for a service (as making a speech) on which custom or propriety forbids a horn |a wind instrument used in a jazz band; especially :TRUMPET hortative |giving exhortation:ADVISORY horticulture |the science and art of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, or ornamental plants hospitable |liking to give hospitality hovel |a small, wretched, and often dirty house:HUT hub |the central part of a circular object (as a wheel or propeller) hubris |exaggerated pride or self-confidencehubristic humanitarian |a person promoting human welfare and social reform:PHILANTHROPIST humble |ranking low in a hierarchy or scale:INSIGNIFICANT, UNPRETENTIOUS humor |to soothe or content by indulgence hurdle |to leap over especially while running (as in a sporting competition hurricane |a tropical cyclone with winds of 74 miles (118 kilometers) per hour or greater that occurs especially in the western Atlantic, that is usually accompanied by rain, thunder, and lightning, and that sometimes moves into temperate latitudes husbandry |the control or judicious use of resources:CONSERVATION husk |a usually dry or membranous outer covering (as a pod or hull or one composed of bracts) of various seeds and fruits; also :one of the constituent parts husky |hoarse with or as if with emotion hybrid |something heterogeneous in origin or composition:COMPOSITE hymn |a song of praise or joy hyperbole |extravagant exaggeration hypercritical |meticulously or excessively critical??:hypocritical9adj.???: hypnotic |tending to produce sleep:SOPORIFIC hypocritical |characterized by hypocrisy; also :being a hypocrite ichthyologist |one that study a branch of zoology that deals with fishes idiosyncratic |a peculiarity of constitution or temperament:an individualizingcharacteristic or quality idolatrize |admires intensely and often blindly ignite |to set afire; also :KINDLE ignominy |deep personal humiliation and disgrace ignorant |destitute of knowledge or education also lacking knowledge or comprehension of the thing specified ignore |to reject (a bill of indictment) as ungrounded illegible |Undecipherable. illiteracy |the quality or state of being illiterate; especially :inability to read or write illuminati |persons who are or who claim to be unusually enlightened illumination |one of the decorative features used in the art of illuminating or in decorative lighting illusory |based on or producing illusion:DECEPTIVE illustrate |to provide with visual features intended to explain or decorate imbibe |to absorb or take in as if by drinking imbroglio |a violently confused or bitterly complicated altercation:EMBROILMENT imitation |the quality of an object in possessing some of the nature or attributes of a transcendent idea immaculate |having no stain or blemish:PURE immanent |remaining or operating within a domain of reality or realm of discourse:INHERENT; specifically :having existence or effect only within the mind or consciousness immaterial |of no substantial consequence:UNIMPORTANT immemorial |extending or existing since beyond the reach of memory, record, or tradition imminent |ready to take place; especially :hanging threateningly over one's head immune |not susceptible or responsive; especially :having a high degree of resistance to a disease immure |to enclose within or as if within walls b:IMPRISON immutable |not capable of or susceptible to change imp |a mischievous child:URCHIN impair |to damage or make worse by or as if by diminishing in some material respect impassive |unsusceptible to or destitute of emotion impeccable | impecunious |having very little or no money usually habitually:PENNILESS impede |to interfere with or slow the progress of impend |to be about to occur impenetrable |incapable of being penetrated or pierced or incapable of being comprehended:INSCRUTABLE impenitent |not feeling or expressing humble or regretful pain or sorrow for sins or offenses imperative |expressive of a command, entreaty, or exhortation imperial |of, relating to, befitting, or suggestive of an empire or an emperor ;of superior or unusual size or excellence imperious |marked by arrogant assurance:DOMINEERING impertinent |given to or characterized by insolent rudeness imperturbable |marked by extreme calm, impassivity, and steadiness:SERENE impervious |not allowing entrance or passage:IMPENETRABLE also not capable of being damaged or harmed impetuosity |Rashness. impetuous |marked by impulsive vehemence or passion impiety |the quality or state of being impious:IRREVERENCE implacable |not placable:not capable of being appeased, significantly changed, or mitigated implement |CARRY OUT, ACCOMPLISH; especially:to give practical effect to and ensure of actual fulfillment by concrete measures implicate |to involve as a consequence, corollary, or natural inference:IMPLY implode |to collapse inward as if from external pressure; also:to become greatly reduced as if from collapsing importune |beg earnestly imposing |impressive in size, bearing, dignity, or grandeur impostor |one that assumes false identity or title for the purpose of deception impotent |not potent:lacking in power, strength, or vigor:HELPLESS impromptu |composed or uttered without previous preparation:EXTEMPORANEOUS improvident |not provident:not foreseeing and providing for the future improvised |to compose, recite, play, or sing extemporaneously imprudent |not prudent:lacking discretion impudent |marked by contemptuous or cocky boldness or disregard of others:INSOLENT impugn |to assail by words or arguments:oppose or attack as false or lacking integrity impuissance |WEAKNESS, POWERLESSNESS impute |to lay the responsibility or blame for often falsely or unjustly imputable:nettle inadvertent |not focusing the mind on a matter: INATTENTIVE inalienable |incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or transferred inane |lacking significance, meaning, or point: SILLY inanimate |not animated or lively:DULL inaugurate |to induct into an office with suitable ceremonies incandescent |strikingly bright, radiant, or clear incantation |singing or chanting of magic spells; magical formula incarnate |invested with bodily and especially human nature and form incendiary |of, relating to, or involving a deliberate burning of property incense |to arouse the extreme anger or indignation of inception |an act, process, or instance of beginning:COMMENCEMENT incessant |continuing or following without interruption:UNCEASING inch |to move by small degrees:progress slowly inchoate |being only partly in existence or operation; especially :imperfectly formed or formulated:FORMLESS incinerate |to cause to burn to ashes incipient |beginning to come into being or to become apparent incisive |impressively direct and decisive (as in manner or presentation) incite |to move to action:stir up:spur on:urge on inclement |lacking mildness:as severe in temper or action:UNMERCIFUL incogitant |THOUGHTLESS, INCONSIDERATE incongruent |not superposable so as to be coincident throughout,not congruent inconsequential of no significance:UNIMPORTANT incontrovertible not open to question:INDISPUTABLE incorrigible |incapable of being corrected or amended UNALTERABLE, INVETERATE incriminate |to charge with or show evidence or proof of involvement in a crime or fault inculcate |to teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions inculpate |INCRIMINATE incursion |a hostile entrance into a territory:RAID indefatigable |incapable of being fatigued:UNTIRING indelible |UNFORGETTABLE, MEMORABLE indemnity |security against hurt, loss, or damage indict |to charge with a crime by the finding or presentment of a jury (as a grand jury) in due form of law indifferent |marked by a lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern for something:APATHETIC indigenous |having originated in and being produced, growing, living, or occurring naturally in a particular region or environment indigent |suffering from indigence:IMPOVERISHED indispensability absolutely necessary:ESSENTIAL indoctrinate |to instruct especially in fundamentals or rudiments:TEACH indolent |averse to activity, effort, or movement:habitually lazy inducement |a motive or consideration that leads one to action or to additional or more effective actions indulgent |indulging or characterized by indulgence; especially:LENIENT indurate |to make hard ineffable |incapable of being expressed in words : INDESCRIBABLE ineluctable |not to be avoided, changed, or resisted:INEVITABLE inept |generally incompetent:BUNGLING ineptitude | inert |deficient in active properties; especially:lacking a usual or anticipated chemical or biological action inestimable |Above price. inevitable |incapable of being avoided or evaded inexorable |not to be persuaded or moved by entreaty:RELENTLESS infamy |evil reputation brought about by something grossly criminal, shocking, or brutal infatuate |to cause to be foolish:deprive of sound judgment infelicitous |not appropriate in application or expression infer |GUESS, SURMISE inferno |a place or a state that resembles or suggests hell infiltrate |to pass (troops, for example) surreptitiously into enemy-held territory infinite |immeasurably or inconceivably great or extensive: INEXHAUSTIBLE infirm |of poor or deteriorated vitality; especially:feeble from age inflame |to excite to excessive or uncontrollable action or feeling influx |a coming in infuriate |To make furious; enrage infuse |INSPIRE, ANIMATE ingenious |marked by originality, resourcefulness, and cleverness in conception or execution ingenuous |showing innocent or childlike simplicity and candidness ingrained |to work indelibly into the natural texture or mental or moral constitution ingratiating |capable of winning favor:PLEASING inherent |involved in the constitution or essential character of something:belonging by nature or habit:INTRINSIC inimical |a:having the disposition of an enemy:HOSTILEb:reflecting or indicating hostility:UNFRIENDLY inimitable |not capable of being imitated: MATCHLESS iniquity |gross injustice:WICKEDNESS initial |placed at the beginning:FIRST inkling |a slight knowledge or vague notion innocent |free from guilt or sin especially through lack of knowledge of evil:BLAMELESS innocuous |not likely to give offense or to arouse strong feelings or hostility:INOFFENSIVE, INSIPID innovation |the introduction of something new inquiry |examination into facts or principles:RESEARCH insatiable |incapable of being satisfied:QUENCHLESS insipid |lacking in qualities that interest, stimulate, or challenge:DULL, FLAT insolent |exhibiting boldness or effrontery:IMPUDENT insouciant |lighthearted unconcern:NONCHALANCE inspired |outstanding or brilliant in a way or to a degree suggestive of divine inspiration instate |to set or establish in a rank or office:INSTALL instigate |to goad or urge forward:PROVOKE instill |to impart gradually institute |to originate and get established:ORGANIZE insubordinate |disobedient to authority insular |characteristic of an isolated people; especially:being, having, or reflecting a narrow provincial viewpoint insularity |narrow-mindedness/isolated insulate |to place in a detached situation:ISOLATE; especially:to separate from conducting bodies by means of nonconductors so as to prevent transfer of electricity, heat, or sound insurgent |a person who revolts against civil authority or an established government; especially:a rebel not recognized as a belligerent intangible |not tangible:IMPALPABLE integral |essential to completeness:CONSTITUENT integrity |the quality or state of being complete or undivided:COMPLETENESS intelligible |capable of being understood or comprehended intemperate |not temperate especially:given to excessive use of intoxicating liquors intensify |to make intense or more intensive:STRENGTHEN inter |to deposit (a dead body) in the earth or in a tomb intercede |to intervene between parties with a view to reconciling differences:MEDIATE interdict |to forbid in a usually formal or authoritative manner interim |an intervening time:INTERVAL interlock |to become locked together or interconnected interlope |one that intrudes in a place or sphere of activity interminable |having or seeming to have no end; especially:wearisomely protracted intermittent |coming and going at intervals:not continuous interrogate |to question formally and systematically:probe intervene |to interfere usually by force or threat of force in another nation's internal affairs especially to compel or prevent an action intimate |1. to make known especially publicly or formally:ANNOUNCE 2. a friend or confidant marked by very close association, contact, or familiarity intimidate |to make timid or fearful:FRIGHTEN; especially:to compel or deter by or as if by threats intransigent |refusing to compromise or to abandon an extreme position or attitude:UNCOMPROMISING intrepid |characterized by resolute fearlessness, fortitude, and endurance intricacy |the quality or state of being intricate intrigue |to arouse the interest, desire, or curiosity of intrinsic |belonging to the essential nature or constitution of a thing intuition |The act or faculty of knowing or sensing without the use of rational processes; immediate cognition. inure |to accustom to accept something undesirable invective |of, relating to, or characterized by insult or abuse inveigh |to protest or complain bitterly or vehemently:RAIL inveigle |to win over by wiles:ENTICE inventory |an itemized list of current assets:as a catalog of the property of an individual or estate investigate |to make a systematic examination; especially:to conduct an official inquiry inveterate |firmly established by long persistence invidious |tending to cause discontent, animosity, or envy invigorate |to give life and energy to:ANIMATE; also:STIMULATE invincible |Incapable of being overcome or defeated; unconquerable. inviolate |not violated or profaned; especially :PURE invoice |a consignment of merchandise invoke |to put into effect or operation:IMPLEMENT invulnerable |incapable of being wounded, injured, or harmed irascible |marked by hot temper and easily provoked anger irate |arising from anger iridescence |a lustrous rainbowlike play of color caused by differential refraction of light waves (as from an oil slick, soap bubble, or fish scales) that tends to change as the angle of view changes irk |to make weary, irritated, or bored ironclad |so firm or secure as to be unbreakable:as a:BINDING irony |a pretense of ignorance and of willingness to learn from another assumed in order to make the other's false conceptions conspicuous by adroit questioning irradicable |impossible to eradicate : DEEP-ROOTED irreducible |impossible to transform into or restore to a desired or simpler condition irrelevant |not relevant:INAPPLICABLE irresolute |uncertain how to act or proceed:VACILLATING irreverent |lacking proper respect or seriousness; also :SATIRIC irritate |to provoke impatience, anger, or displeasure in:ANNOY issue |1. the act of publishing or officially giving out or making available 2. a matter that is in dispute between two or more parties isthmus |a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas itinerant |wandering; traveling jabber |to talk rapidly, indistinctly, or unintelligibly jaded |fatigued by overwork:EXHAUSTED jam |fatigued by overwork:EXHAUSTED jape |to make mocking fun of jar |to make a harsh or discordant sound jargon |The specialized or technical language of a trade, profession, or similar group. jaundice |a state or attitude characterized by satiety, distaste, or hostility jaunty |sprightly in manner or appearance:LIVELY jazz |American music developed especially from ragtime and blues and characterized by propulsive syncopated rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, varying degrees of improvisation, and often deliberate distortions of pitch and timbre jealous |having to do with or arising from feelings of envy, apprehension, or bitterness jealousy | jejune |devoid of significance or interest:DULL jest |an utterance (as a jeer or quip) intended to be taken as mockery or humor jettison |to get rid of as superfluous or encumbering : DISCARD jibe |to be in accord: AGREE jingoist |extreme chauvinism or nationalism marked especially by a belligerent foreign policy jitter |to be nervous or act in a nervous way jocund |marked by or suggestive of high spirits and lively mirthfulness jog |a movement, pace, or instance of jogging (as for exercise) joke |something said or done to provoke laughter; especially :a brief oral narrative with a climactic humorous twist jolt |to cause to move with a sudden jerky motion jot |to write briefly or hurriedly:set down in the form of a note jovial |markedly good-humored especially as evidenced by jollity and conviviality jubilant |EXULTANT judicious |having, exercising, or characterized by sound judgment:DISCREET juggernaut |a massive inexorable force, campaign, movement, or object that crushes whatever is in its path jumble |to mix into a confused or disordered mass justify |to prove or show to be just, right, or reasonable juxtapose |to place side by side kangaroo |any of various herbivorous leaping marsupial mammals of Australia, New Guinea, and adjacent islands with a small head, large ears, long powerful hind legs, a long thick tail used as a support and in balancing, and rather small foreleg ken |the range of vision kindle |to stir up:AROUSE kindred |of a similar nature or character:LIKE kink |a short tight twist or curl caused by a doubling or winding of something upon itself knack |a clever trick or stratagem knave |a tricky deceitful fellow knead |to work and press into a mass with or as if with the hands knit |to form by interlacing yarn or thread in a series of connected loops with needles knotty |marked by or full of knots; especially :so full of difficulties and complications as to be likely to defy solution kudos |fame and renown resulting from an act or achievement:PRESTIGE labile |readily or continually undergoing chemical, physical, or biological change or breakdown:UNSTABLE labored |lacking ease of expression labyrinth |something extremely complex or tortuous in structure, arrangement, or character:INTRICACY, PERPLEXITY laconic |using or involving the use of a minimum of words:concise to the point of seeming rude or mysterious lacrimose | lambaste |to attack verbally:CENSURE lamentable |expressing grief:MOURNFUL lampoon |a harsh satire usually directed against an individual landfill |a system of trash and garbage disposal in which the waste is buried between layers of earth to build up low-lying land landlord |the owner of property (as land, houses, or apartments) that is leased or rented to another landslide |the usually rapid downward movement of a mass of rock, earth, or artificial fill on a slope; also :the mass that moves down lane | languid |drooping or flagging from or as if from exhaustion:WEAK languish |to be or become feeble, weak, or enervated languor |listless indolence or inertia lank |not well filled out:SLENDER, THIN lapse |a slight error typically due to forgetfulness or inattention larder |a place where food is stored:PANTRY largesse |liberal giving (as of money) to or as if to an inferior; also :something so given lariat |a long light rope (as of hemp or leather) used with a running noose to catch livestock or with or without the noose to tether grazing animals:LASSO lash |to bind with or as if with a line lassitude |a condition of weariness or debility:FATIGUE latent |present and capable of becoming though not now visible, obvious, or active lathe | latitude |Freedom from normal restraints, limitations, or regulations. laudatory |of, relating to, or expressing praise lavish |expended or produced in abundance leaven |to raise (as bread) with a leaven lectern |a stand used to support a book in a convenient position for a standing reader; especially :one from which scripture lessons are read in a church service leer |to cast a sidelong glance leery |Suspicious or distrustful; wary legacy |something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past legend |an explanatory list of the symbols on a map or chart legible |capable of being read or deciphered:PLAIN legion |MANY, NUMEROUS lenient |exerting a soothing or easing influence:relieving pain or stress lethal |gravely damaging or destructive:DEVASTATING lethargy |the quality or state of being lazy, sluggish, or indifferent levee |an embankment for preventing flooding levelheaded |having sound judgment:SENSIBLE leverage |positional advantage; power to act effectively: levity |excessive or unseemly frivolity lexicographer |an author or editor of a dictionary liability |something for which one is liable; especially :pecuniary obligation liaison |a close bond or connection:INTERRELATIONSHIP liberal |marked by generosity:OPENHANDED libertine |a person who is unrestrained by convention or morality; specifically :one leading a dissolute life liberty |an action going beyond normal limits:as a:a breach of etiquette or propriety:FAMILIARITY libretto |the text of a work (as an opera) for the musical theater licentious |lacking legal or moral restraints; especially :disregarding sexual restraints lien |a charge upon real or personal property for the satisfaction of some debt or duty ordinarily arising by operation of law liken |compare limber |capable of being shaped:FLEXIBLE limerick |a light or humorous verse form of 5 chiefly anapestic verses of which lines 1, 2, and 5 are of 3 feet and lines 3 and 4 are of 2 feet with a rhyme scheme of aabba limousine |a large luxurious often chauffeur-driven sedan that sometimes has a glass partition separating the driver's seat from the passenger compartment limp |lacking firm texture, substance, or structure limpid |marked by transparency:PELLUCID linen |cloth made of flax and noted for its strength, coolness, and luster linger |tarry;saunter; to be slow to act:procrastinate linoleum |a floor covering made by laying on a burlap or canvas backing a mixture of solidified linseed oil with gums, cork dust or wood flour or both, and usually pigments lint |fuzz consisting especially of fine ravelings and short fibers of yarn and fabric lip | lissome |NIMBLE list |a deviation from the vertical:TILT; also :the extent of such a deviation listless |characterized by lack of interest, energy, or spirit:LANGUID lithe |characterized by easy flexibility and grace livid |lead-colored; black and blue; enraged loath |unwilling to do something contrary to one's ways of thinking:RELUCTANT loathe |To dislike (someone or something) greatly; abhor. lode |an ore deposit lofty |elevated in status:SUPERIOR loll |to act or move in a lax, lazy, or indolent manner:LOUNGE loophole |a similar opening to admit light and air or to permit observation lopsided |lacking in balance, symmetry, or proportion:disproportionately heavy on one side loquacious |given to fluent or excessive talk:GARRULOUS lottery |a drawing of lots in which prizes are distributed to the winners among persons buying a chance lounge |to act or move idly or lazily:LOAF loutish |resembling or befitting a lout loyal |unswerving in allegiance:as faithful in allegiance to one's lawful sovereign or government lubricate |to make smooth or slippery lucid |clear to the understanding:INTELLIGIBLE ludicrous |meriting derisive laughter or scorn as absurdly inept, false, or foolish lug |to carry laboriously lugubrious |MOURNFUL; especially :exaggeratedly or affectedly mournful lull |to cause to sleep or rest:SOOTHE lullaby |a soothing refrain; specifically :a song to quiet children or lull them to sleep lumen |a unit of luminous flux equal to the light emitted in a unit solid angle by a uniform point source of one candle intensity luminary |a person of prominence or brilliant achievement lurk |to lie in wait in a place of concealment especially for an evil purpose lush |growing vigorously especially with luxuriant foliage lustrous |reflecting light evenly and efficiently without glitter or sparkle numb:insensible:burnish:lustrous luxurious |marked by or given to self-indulgence lyric |the words of a song lyrics | maelstrom |a powerful often violent whirlpool sucking in objects within a given radius magnificent |Grand or noble in thought or deed; exalted. maladroit |lacking adroitness:INEPT malaise |uneasiness; distress malcontent |dissatisfied with the existing state of affairs:DISCONTENTED malicious |given to, marked by, or arising from malice malign |having or showing intense often vicious ill will:MALEVOLENT malinger |to pretend incapacity (as illness) so as to avoid duty or work malleable |capable of being altered or controlled by outside forces or influences malodor |an offensive odor mandatory |containing or constituting a command:OBLIGATORY mangle |to spoil, injure, or make incoherent especially through ineptitude mangy |having many worn or bare spots:SEEDY, SHABBY mania |excessive or unreasonable enthusiasm manifest |1. a list of passengers or an invoice of cargo for a vehicle (as a ship or plane) 2. easily understood or recognized by the mind:OBVIOUS manipulate |to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means especially to one's own advantage mansion |a large imposing residence manumit |to release from slavery manuscript |a written or typewritten composition or document as distinguished from a printed copy; also :a document submitted for publication mar |To impair the soundness, perfection, or integrity of; spoil marsh |a tract of soft wet land usually characterized by monocotyledons (as grasses or cattails) marsupial |any of an order of mammals comprising kangaroos, wombats, bandicoots, opossums, and related animals that do not develop a true placenta and that usually have a pouch on the abdomen of the female which covers the teats and serves to carry the martinet |a strict disciplinarian marvel |something that causes wonder or astonishment masquerade |to assume the appearance of something one is not masticate |to grind or crush (food) with or as if with the teeth in preparation for swallowing:CHEW mathematical | matriculate |to enroll as a member of a body and especially of a college or university mattress |a fabric case filled with resilient material (as cotton, hair, feathers, foam rubber, or an arrangement of coiled springs) used either alone as a bed or on a bedstead maudlin |weakly and effusively sentimental maven |one who is experienced or knowledgeable:EXPERT maverick |an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party mawkish |sickly or puerilely sentimental m meager |deficient in quality or quantity mean |PENURIOUS, STINGY meander |to wind or turn in its course measly |contemptibly small measured |marked by due proportion mechanical |Performed or performing in an impersonal or machinelike manner; automatic meddle |to interest oneself in what is not one's concern:interfere without right or propriety media |a nutrient system for the artificial cultivation of cells or organisms and especially bacteria mediate |to interpose between parties in order to reconcile them mediocre |of moderate or low quality, value, ability, or performance:ORDINARY, SO-SO meditate |to engage in contemplation or reflection medley |a musical composition made up of a series of songs or short pieces meet |precisely adapted to a particular situation, need, or circumstance:very proper meliorism |The belief that society has an innate tendency toward improvement and that this tendency may be furthered through conscious human effort. mellifluous |having a smooth rich flow melody |a sweet or agreeable succession or arrangement of sounds:TUNEFULNESS membrane |a thin soft pliable sheet or layer especially of animal or plant origin menace |to make a show of intention to harm mend |to put into good shape or working order again:patch up:REPAIR mendacious |given to or characterized by deception or falsehood or divergence from absolutetruth mentor |a trusted counselor or guide:TUTOR, COACH mercenary |one that serves merely for wages; especially :a soldier hired into foreign service mercurial |characterized by rapid and unpredictable changeableness of mood merited |deserved, be worthy of or entitled or liable to mesh |to cause (as gears) to engage mesmerism |hypnotic induction held to involve animal magnetism; broadly :HYPNOTISM messy |marked by confusion, disorder, or dirt:UNTIDY metaphor |a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them (as in drowning in money); broadly :figurative language meteoric |resembling a meteor in speed or in sudden and temporary brilliance meteorology |a science that deals with the atmosphere and its phenomena and especially with weather and weather forecasting meticulous |marked by extreme or excessive care in the consideration or treatment of details metrical |of, relating to, or composed in meter mettle |courage; spirit miff |a trivial quarrel migratory |WANDERING, ROVING mill |a building provided with machinery for grinding grain into flour mime |to act a part with mimic gesture and action usually without words minaret |a tall slender tower of a mosque having one or more balconies from which the summons to prayer is cried by the muezzin minatory |having a menacing quality:THREATENING mince |to walk with short steps in a prim affected manner mingle |to bring or mix together or with something else usually without fundamental loss of identity:INTERMIX minion |a servile dependent, follower, or underling mint |1. to make (as coins) out of metal:COIN 2. a vast sum or amount minuscule |very small minutia |a minute or minor detail miracle |an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment mirage |something illusory and unattainable mire |to cause to stick fast in or as if in mire mirth |gladness or gaiety as shown by or accompanied with laughter misanthrope |a person who hates or distrusts mankind misbehave |to behave badly mischievous |able or tending to cause annoyance, trouble, or minor injury miscreant |one who behaves criminally or viciously misdemeanor |a crime less serious than a felony miser |a mean grasping person; especially :one who is extremely stingy with money misfortune |a distressing or unfortunate incident or event misgiving |a feeling of doubt or suspicion especially concerning a future event mishap |an unfortunate accident misnomer |a name wrongly or unsuitably applied to a person or an object misrepresent |to give a false or misleading representation of usually with an intent to deceive or be unfair mite |any of numerous small acarid arachnids that often infest animals, plants, and stored foods and include important disease vectors mitigate |to make less severe or painful:ALLEVIATE mnemonics |a technique of improving the memory mobility |capable of moving or being moved:MOVABLE mockery |a subject of laughter, derision, or sport moderate |to lessen the intensity or extremeness of modicum |a small portion:a limited quantity molar |A tooth with a broad crown used to grind food, located behind the premolars. molding |a decorative plane or curved strip used for ornamentation or finishing mollify |to soothe in temper or disposition:APPEASE mollycoddle |a pampered or effeminate man or boy molt |the act or process of sheding hair, feathers, shell, horns, or an outer layer periodically; specifically :ECDYSIS momentous |IMPORTANT, CONSEQUENTIAL momentum |a property of a moving body that the body has by virtue of its mass and motion and that is equal to the product of the body's mass and velocity monochromatic |having or consisting of one color or hue monocle |an eyeglass for one eye monopolize |to get a monopoly of:assume complete possession or control of monotone |having the property either of never increasing or of never decreasing as the values of the independent variable or the subscripts of the terms increase :MONOTONIC montage |the production of a rapid succession of images in a motion picture to illustrate an association of ideas morass |something that traps, confuses, or impedes moratorium |a suspension of an ongoing or planned activity morbid |abnormally susceptible to or characterized by gloomy or unwholesome feelings mordant |biting and caustic in thought, manner, or style:INCISIVE moribund |being in the state of dying:approaching death morose |having a sullen and gloomy disposition morsel | mortar |a strong vessel in which material is pounded or rubbed with a pestle mosque |a building used for public worship by Muslims mosquito |any of a family (Culicidae) of dipteran flies with females that have a set of slender organs in the proboscis adapted to puncture the skin of animals and to suck their blood and that are in some cases vectors of serious diseases motile |exhibiting or capable of movement motivate |to provide with a motive:IMPEL motley |variegated in colorcomposed of diverse often incongruous elements mottle |to mark with spots or blotches of different color or shades of color as if stained mournful |causing sorrow or melancholy:GLOOMY movement |a distinct structural unit or division having its own key, rhythmic structure, and themes and forming part of an extended musical composition muddy |lacking in clarity or brightness:CLOUDY, DULL muffle |to wrap or pad with something to dull the sound mulish |unreasonably and inflexibly obstinate mumble |to utter with a low inarticulate voice mundane |characterized by the practical, transitory, and ordinary:COMMONPLACE municipality |a primarily urban political unit having corporate status and usually powers of self-government munificent |characterized by great liberality or generosity miser:munificent:zealot:blase ?>M:???:???:?????9????????: mural |a mural work of art (as a painting) murky |characterized by a heavy dimness or obscurity caused by or like that caused by overhanging fog or smoke murmur |a low indistinct but often continuous sound mute |to muffle, reduce, or eliminate the sound of myopic |a lack of foresight or discernment:a narrow view of something myriad |having innumerable aspects or elements nadir |the lowest point nag |to irritate by constant scolding or urging naive |deficient in worldly wisdom or informed judgment; especially :CREDULOUS narcissism |love of or sexual desire for one's own body nascent |coming or having recently come into existence natty |trimly neat and tidy:SMART nauseate |to feel disgust naysayer |one who denies, refuses, opposes, or is skeptical or cynical about something nebulous |INDISTINCT, VAGUE needy |being in want:POVERTY-STRICKEN nefarious |flagrantly wicked or impious:EVIL negotiate |to confer with another so as to arrive at the settlement of some matter neophyte |a new convert:PROSELYTE nepotism |favoritism (as in appointment to a job) based on kinship nerve |to give strength or courage to:supply with physical or mo