abasement n 1: a low or downcast state; "each confession brought her into an attitude of abasement"- H.L.Menchken [syn: {degradation}, {abjection}] 2: depriving one of self-esteem [syn: {humiliation}] abdicate v : give up, such as power, as of monarchs and emperors, or duties and obligations; "The King abdicated when he married a divorcee" [syn: {renounce}] abeyance n : temporary cessation or suspension [syn: {suspension}] abject adj 1: of the most contemptible kind; "abject cowardice"; "a low stunt to pull"; "a low-down sneak"; "his miserable treatment of his family"; "You miserable skunk!"; "a scummy rabble"; "a scurvy trick" [syn: {low}, {low-down}, {miserable}, {scummy}, {scurvy}] 2: most unfortunate or miserable; "the most abject slaves joined in the revolt"; "abject poverty" 3: showing utter resignation or hopelessness; "abject surrender" [syn: {resigned}, {unhopeful}] abjure v : formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure; "He retracted his earlier statements about his religion"; "She abjured her beliefs" [syn: {recant}, {forswear}, {retract}, {resile}] abstruse adj : difficult to penetrate; incomprehensible to one of ordinary understanding or knowledge; "the professor's lectures were so abstruse that students tended to avoid them"; "a deep metaphysical theory"; "some recondite problem in historiography" [syn: {deep}, {recondite}] accouchement n : the parturition process in human beings; having a baby; the process of giving birth to a child [syn: {childbirth}, {childbearing}, {vaginal birth}] accoutrement n : clothing that is worn or carried, but not part of your main clothing [syn: {accessory}, {accouterment}] acquiesce v : to agree or express agreement; "The Maestro assented to the request for an encore" [syn: {assent}, {accede}] [ant: {dissent}] acquiescence n 1: acceptance without protest 2: agreement with a statement or proposal to do something; "he gave his assent eagerly"; "a murmur of acquiescence from the assembly" [syn: {assent}] acrostic n 1: a puzzle where you fill a square grid with words reading the same down as across [syn: {word square}] 2: verse in which certain letters such as the first in each line form a word or message acumen n 1: a tapering point 2: shrewdness shown by keen insight [syn: {insightfulness}] adjudicate v 1: put on trial or hear a case and sit as the judge at the trial of; "The football star was tried for the murder of his wife"; "The judge tried both father and son in separate trials" [syn: {judge}, {try}] 2: bring to an end; settle conclusively; "The case was decided"; "The judge decided the case in favor of the plaintiff"; "The father adjudicated when the sons were quarreling over their inheritance" [syn: {decide}, {settle}, {resolve}] adjure v 1: ask for or request earnestly; "The prophet bid all people to become good persons" [syn: {bid}, {beseech}, {entreat}, {press}, {conjure}] 2: command solemnly admonish v 1: admonish or counsel in terms of someone's behavior; "I warned him not to go too far"; "I warn you against false assumptions"; "She warned him to be quiet" [syn: {warn}, {discourage}, {monish}] 2: warn strongly; put on guard [syn: {caution}, {monish}] 3: take to task; "He admonished the child for his bad behavior" [syn: {reprove}] adroit adj 1: skillful (or showing skill) in adapting means to ends; "cool prudence and sensitive selfishness along with quick perception of what is possible--these distinguish an adroit politician"; "came up with a clever story"; "an ingenious press agent"; "an ingenious scheme" [syn: {clever}, {ingenious}] 2: quick or skillful or adept in action or thought; "an exceptionally adroit pianist"; "an adroit technician"; "his adroit replies to hecklers won him many followers"; adumbrate v 1: describe roughly or briefly or give the main points or summary of; "sketch the outline of the book"; "outline his ideas" [syn: {sketch}, {outline}] 2: give to understand; "I insinuated that I did not like his wife" [syn: {intimate}, {insinuate}] adventitious adj : associated by chance and not an integral part; "poetry is something to which words are the accidental, not by any means the essential form"- Frederick W. Robertson; "they had to decide whether his misconduct was adventitious or the result of a flaw in his character" [syn: {accidental}] aesthetic n : (philosophy) a philosophical theory as to what is beautiful; "he despised the esthetic of minimalism" [syn: {esthetic}] aesthetic adj 1: relating to or dealing with the subject of aesthetics; "aesthetic values" [syn: {esthetic}] 2: concerning or characterized by an appreciation of beauty or good taste; "the aesthetic faculties"; "an aesthetic person"; "aesthetic feeling"; "the illustrations made the book an aesthetic success" [syn: {esthetic}, {aesthetical}, aetiology n 1: the cause of a disease [syn: {etiology}] 2: the philosophical study of causation [syn: {etiology}] affinity n 1: the force attracting atoms to each other and binding them together in a molecule; "basic dyes have an affinity for wool and silk" [syn: {chemical attraction}] 2: (immunology) the attraction between an antigen and an antibody 3: kinship by marriage or adoption; not a blood relationship [syn: {kinship by marriage}] [ant: {consanguinity}] 4: (biology) state of relationship between organisms or groups of organisms resulting in resemblance in structure or agal n : a cord (usually of goat's hair) that Arabs (especially Bedouins) wind around their heads to hold down the kaffiyeh agnation n : line of descent traced through the paternal side of the family [syn: {patrilineage}] agrarian adj : relating to rural matters; "an agrarian (or agricultural) society"; "farming communities" [syn: {agricultural}, {farming(a)}] akimbo adj : (used of arms and legs) bent outward with the joint away from the body; "a tailor sitting with legs akimbo"; "stood with arms akimbo" [syn: {akimbo(ip)}] adv : with hands on hips and elbows extending outward; "she stood there akimbo" albedo n : the ratio of reflected to incident light [syn: {reflective power}] albuginea n : whitish tunic alembic n : an obsolete kind of container used for distillation; two retorts connected by a tube allegory n 1: a short moral story (often with animal characters) [syn: {fable}, {parable}, {apologue}] 2: a visible symbol representing an abstract idea [syn: {emblem}] 3: an expressive style that uses fictional characters and events to describe some subject by suggestive resemblances; an extended metaphor alliteration n : use of the same consonant at the beginning of each stressed syllable in a line of verse; "around the rock the ragged rascal ran" [syn: {initial rhyme}, {beginning rhyme}, {head rhyme}] allocution n : (rhetoric) a formal or authoritative address that advises or exhorts altercation n : noisy quarrel [syn: {affray}, {fracas}] amalgamate adj : joined together into a whole; "United Industries"; "the amalgamated colleges constituted a university"; "a consolidated school" [syn: {amalgamated}, {coalesced}, {consolidated}, {fused}] amalgamate v : to bring or combine together or with something else; "resourcefully he mingled music and dance" [syn: {mix}, {mingle}, {commix}, {unify}] ambage n : a style that involves indirect ways of expressing things [syn: {circumlocution}, {periphrasis}] ambo n : a platform raised above the surrounding level to give prominence to the person on it [syn: {dais}, {podium}, {pulpit}, {rostrum}, {stump}, {soapbox}] ameliorate v 1: to make better; "The editor improved the manuscript with his changes" [syn: {better}, {improve}, {amend}, {meliorate}] [ant: {worsen}] 2: get better; "The weather improved toward evening" [syn: {better}, {improve}, {meliorate}] [ant: {worsen}] amorphous adj 1: having no definite form or distinct shape; "amorphous clouds of insects"; "an aggregate of formless particles"; "a shapeless mass of protoplasm" [syn: {formless}, {shapeless}] 2: lacking the system or structure characteristic of living bodies [syn: {unstructured}] 3: without real or apparent crystalline form; "an amorphous mineral"; "amorphous structure" [syn: {uncrystallized}, {uncrystallised}] amort adj : utterly cast down amortize v : liquidate gradually [syn: {amortise}] anachronism n 1: something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred [syn: {mistiming}, {misdating}] 2: an artifact that belongs to another time 3: a person who seems to be displaced in time; who belongs to another age anachronistic adj : chronologically misplaced; "English public schools are anachronistic" [syn: {anachronic}, {anachronous}] analytical adj 1: using or skilled in using analysis (i.e., separating a whole--intellectual or substantial--into its elemental parts or basic principles); "an analytic experiment"; "an analytic approach"; "a keenly analytic man"; "analytical reasoning"; "an analytical mind" [syn: {analytic}] [ant: {synthetic}] 2: of a proposition that is necessarily true independent of fact or experience; "`all spinsters are unmarried' is an analytic proposition" [syn: {analytic}] [ant: {synthetic}] anathema n 1: a detested person; "he is an anathema to me" [syn: {bete noire}] 2: a formal ecclesiastical curse accompanied by excommunication ancillary adj : relating to something that is added but is not essential; "an ancillary pump"; "an adjuvant discipline to forms of mysticism"; "The mind and emotions are auxilliary to each other" [syn: {accessory}, {adjunct}, {adjuvant}, {appurtenant}, {auxiliary}, {subsidiary}] anhedonia n : an inability to experience pleasure animus n : a feeling of ill will arousing active hostility [syn: {animosity}, {bad blood}] anomaly n 1: deviation from the normal or common order or form or rule [syn: {anomalousness}] 2: a person who is unusual [syn: {unusual person}] 3: (astronomy) position of a planet as defined by its angular distance from its perihelion (as observed from the sun) anorectic adj 1: suffering from anorexia nervosa; pathologically thin [syn: {anorexic}] 2: causing loss of appetite; "an anorectic (or anorexigenic) drug" [syn: {anorexigenic}] n : a person suffering from anorexia nervosa [syn: {anorexic}] anserine adj 1: of or resembling a goose 2: having or revealing stupidity; "ridiculous anserine behavior"; "a dopey answer"; "a dopey kid"; "some fool idea about rewriting authors' books" [syn: {dopy}, {dopey}, {foolish}, {goosey}, {goosy}, {gooselike}] antebellum adj : belonging to a period before a war especially the American Civil War antecedent adj : preceding in time or order [syn: {preceding}] [ant: {subsequent}] antecedent n 1: someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent) [syn: {ancestor}, {ascendant}, {ascendent}, {root}] [ant: {descendant}] 2: a preceding occurrence or cause or event 3: anything that precedes something similar in time; "phrenology was an antecedent of modern neuroscience" [syn: {forerunner}] anthesis n : the time and process of budding and unfolding of blossoms [syn: {blossoming}, {flowering}, {florescence}, {inflorescence}, {efflorescence}] antinomy n : a contradiction between two statements that seem equally reasonable antiphrasis n : the use of a word in a sense opposite to its normal sense (especially in irony) antithetic adj : sharply contrasted in character or purpose; "practices entirely antithetical to her professed beliefs"; "hope is antithetic to despair" [syn: {antithetical}] apathy n 1: an absence of emotion or enthusiasm 2: the trait of lacking enthusiasm for or interest in things generally [syn: {indifference}, {spiritlessness}] aperient adj : mildly laxative n : a purging medicine; stimulates evacuation of the bowels [syn: {purgative}, {cathartic}, {physic}] aperture n 1: a device that controls amount of light admitted 2: a natural opening in something 3: an man-made opening; usually small aphorism n : a short pithy instructive saying [syn: {apothegm}, {apophthegm}] apocryphal adj 1: of questionable authenticity 2: of or belonging to the Apocrypha apogee n 1: a final climactic stage; "their achievements stand as a culmination of centuries of development" [syn: {culmination}] 2: apoapsis in Earth orbit; the point in its orbit where a satellite is at the greatest distance from the Earth [ant: {perigee}] apopemptic adj : addressed to one who is departing; "apopemptic hymns" apophatic adj : of or relating to the belief that God can be known to humans only in terms of what He is not (such as `God is unknowable') apostasy n 1: the state of having rejected your religious beliefs or your political party or a cause (often in favor of opposing beliefs or causes) [syn: {renunciation}, {defection}] 2: the act of abandoning a party or cause [syn: {tergiversation}] apostate adj : not faithful to religion or party or cause n : a disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc. [syn: {deserter}, {renegade}, {turncoat}, {recreant}, {ratter}] apostatise v : abandon one's beliefs or allegiances [syn: {apostatize}, {tergiversate}] appellation n : identifying word or words by which someone or something is called and classified or distinguished from others [syn: {denomination}, {designation}, {appellative}] apropos adj : of an appropriate or pertinent nature [ant: {malapropos}] adv 1: by the way; "apropos, can you lend me some money for the weekend?" [syn: {incidentally}] 2: at an opportune time; "your letter arrived apropos" [syn: {seasonably}, {timely}, {well-timed}] arcadian adj : used of idealized country life; "a country life of arcadian contentment"; "a pleasant bucolic scene"; "charming in its pastoral setting"; "rustic tranquility" [syn: {bucolic}, {pastoral}, {rustic}] n : an inhabitant of Arcadia archipelago n : a group of many islands in a large body of water [also: {archipelagoes} (pl)] arduous adj 1: characterized by toilsome effort to the point of exhaustion; especially physical effort; "worked their arduous way up the mining valley"; "a grueling campaign"; "hard labor"; "heavy work"; "heavy going"; "spent many laborious hours on the project"; "set a punishing pace" [syn: {backbreaking}, {grueling}, {gruelling}, {hard}, {heavy}, {laborious}, {punishing}, {toilsome}] 2: taxing to the utmost; testing powers of endurance; "his final, straining burst of speed"; "a strenuous task"; arrogate v 1: demand as being one's due or property; assert one's right or title to; "He claimed his suitcases at the airline counter"; "Mr. Smith claims special tax exemptions because he is a foreign resident" [syn: {claim}, {lay claim}] [ant: {forfeit}] 2: make undue claims to having [syn: {assign}] 3: seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession; "He assumed to himself the right to fill all positions in the town"; "he articulate v 1: provide with a joint; "the carpenter jointed two pieces of wood" [syn: {joint}] 2: put into words or an expression; "He formulated his concerns to the board of trustees" [syn: {give voice}, {formulate}, {word}, {phrase}] 3: speak, pronounce, or utter in a certain way; "She pronounces French words in a funny way"; "I cannot say `zip wire'"; "Can the child sound out this complicated word?" [syn: {pronounce}, {enounce}, {sound out}, {enunciate}, {say}] artifice n : a deceptive maneuver (especially to avoid capture) [syn: {ruse}] ascetic n : practices self denial as spiritual discipline [syn: {abstainer}] ascetic adj 1: pertaining to or characteristic of an ascetic or the practice of rigorous self-discipline; "ascetic practices" [syn: {ascetical}] 2: practicing great self-denial; "Be systematically ascetic...do...something for no other reason than that you would rather not do it"- William James; "a desert nomad's austere life"; "a spartan diet"; "a spartan existence" aside n 1: a line spoken by an actor to the audience but not intended for others on the stage 2: a message that departs from the main subject [syn: {digression}, {excursus}, {divagation}, {parenthesis}] adv 1: on or to one side; "step aside"; "stood aside to let him pass"; "threw the book aside"; "put her sewing aside when he entered" 2: out of the way (especially away from one's thoughts); "brush the objections aside"; "pushed all doubts away" [syn: {away}] asperse v : charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone; "The journalists have defamed me!" "The article in the paper sullied my reputation" [syn: {defame}, {slander}, {smirch}, {denigrate}, {calumniate}, {smear}, {sully}, {besmirch}] aspersion n 1: a disparaging remark; "in the 19th century any reference to female sexuality was considered a vile aspersion"; "it is difficult for a woman to understand a man's sensitivity to any slur on his virility" [syn: {slur}] 2: an abusive attack on a person's character or good name [syn: {calumny}, {slander}, {defamation}, {denigration}] 3: the act of sprinkling water in baptism (rare) [syn: {sprinkling}] assail v 1: attack someone physically or emotionally; "The mugger assaulted the woman"; "Nightmares assailed him regularly" [syn: {assault}, {set on}, {attack}] 2: launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with; "Hitler attacked Poland on September 1, 1939 and started World War II"; "Serbian forces assailed Bosnian towns all week" [syn: {attack}] [ant: {defend}] 3: attack in speech or writing; "The editors of the left-leaning paper attacked the new House Speaker" [syn: {attack}, assent n : agreement with a statement or proposal to do something; "he gave his assent eagerly"; "a murmur of acquiescence from the assembly" [syn: {acquiescence}] v : to agree or express agreement; "The Maestro assented to the request for an encore" [syn: {accede}, {acquiesce}] [ant: {dissent}] assiduous adj : marked by care and persistent effort; "her assiduous attempts to learn French"; "assiduous research"; "sedulous pursuit of legal and moral principles" [syn: {sedulous}] assuage v 1: cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of; "She managed to mollify the angry customer" [syn: {pacify}, {lenify}, {conciliate}, {appease}, {mollify}, {placate}, {gentle}, {gruntle}] 2: satisfy (thirst); "The cold water quenched his thirst" [syn: {quench}, {slake}, {allay}] 3: provide physical relief, as from pain; "This pill will relieve your headaches" [syn: {relieve}, {alleviate}, {palliate}] atelier n : a studio especially for an artist or designer [syn: {artist's workroom}] atrophy n 1: a decrease in size of an organ caused by disease or disuse [syn: {wasting}, {wasting away}] 2: any weakening or degeneration (especially through lack of use) [syn: {withering}] v : undergo atrophy; "Muscles that are not used will atrophy" [also: {atrophied}] attainder n : cancellation of civil rights [syn: {civil death}] attrition n 1: erosion by friction [syn: {abrasion}, {corrasion}, {detrition}] 2: the wearing down of rock particles by friction due to water or wind or ice [syn: {grinding}, {abrasion}, {detrition}] 3: sorrow for sin arising from fear of damnation [syn: {contrition}, {contriteness}] 4: a wearing down to weaken or destroy; "a war of attrition" 5: the act of rubbing together; wearing something down by friction audacious adj 1: invulnerable to fear or intimidation; "audacious explorers"; "fearless reporters and photographers"; "intrepid pioneers" [syn: {brave}, {dauntless}, {fearless}, {intrepid}, {unfearing}] 2: unrestrained by convention or propriety; "an audacious trick to pull"; "a barefaced hypocrite"; "the most bodacious display of tourism this side of Anaheim"- Los Angeles Times; "bold-faced lies"; "brazen arrogance"; "the modern world with its quick material successes and insolent augend n : a number to which another number (the addend) is added augur n : (ancient Rome) a religious official who interpreted omens to guide public policy [syn: {auspex}] v 1: indicate by signs; "These signs bode bad news" [syn: {bode}, {portend}, {auspicate}, {prognosticate}, {omen}, {presage}, {betoken}, {foreshadow}, {foretell}, {prefigure}, {forecast}, {predict}] 2: predict from an omen aureate adj 1: elaborately or excessively ornamented; "flamboyant handwriting"; "the senator's florid speech" [syn: {florid}, {flamboyant}, {showy}] 2: having the deep slightly brownish color of gold; "long aureate (or golden) hair"; "a gold carpet" [syn: {gilded}, {gilt}, {gold}, {golden}] auspicious adj 1: attended by favorable circumstances; "an auspicious beginning for the campaign" [ant: {inauspicious}] 2: tending to favor or bring good luck; "miracles are auspicious accidents"; "encouraging omens"; "a favorable time to ask for a raise"; "lucky stars"; "a prosperous moment to make a decision" [syn: {encouraging}, {favorable}, {favourable}, {lucky}, {prosperous}] austere adj 1: severely simple; "a stark interior" [syn: {severe}, {stark}] 2: of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect; "an austere expression"; "a stern face" [syn: {stern}] 3: practicing great self-denial; "Be systematically ascetic...do...something for no other reason than that you would rather not do it"- William James; "a desert nomad's austere life"; "a spartan diet"; "a spartan existence" [syn: {ascetic}, {ascetical}, {spartan}] avarice n 1: reprehensible acquisitiveness; insatiable desire for wealth (personified as one of the deadly sins) [syn: {greed}, {covetousness}, {rapacity}, {avaritia}] 2: extreme greed for material wealth [syn: {avariciousness}, {covetousness}, {cupidity}] aversive adj : tending to repel or dissuade; "aversive conditioning" avidity n : a positive feeling of wanting to push ahead with something [syn: {eagerness}, {avidness}, {keenness}] axil n : the upper angle between an axis and an offshoot such as a branch or leafstalk azure adj : of a deep somewhat purplish blue color similar to that of a clear October sky; "October's bright blue weather" [syn: {cerulean}, {sky-blue}, {bright blue}] azure n : a light shade of blue [syn: {cerulean}, {sapphire}, {lazuline}, {sky-blue}] v : color azure; "Morning azured the village" banal adj 1: obvious and dull; "trivial conversation"; "commonplace prose" [syn: {commonplace}, {trivial}] 2: repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse; "bromidic sermons"; "his remarks were trite and commonplace"; "hackneyed phrases"; "a stock answer"; "repeating threadbare jokes"; "parroting some timeworn axiom"; "the trite metaphor `hard as nails'" [syn: {commonplace}, {hackneyed}, {old-hat}, {shopworn}, {stock(a)}, {threadbare}, {timeworn}, {tired}, {trite}, {well-worn}] bathymetry n : measuring the depths of the oceans [syn: {plumbing}] bedesman n : a person who is paid to pray for the soul of another [syn: {beadsman}] belie v 1: be in contradiction with [syn: {contradict}, {negate}] 2: represent falsely; "This statement misrepresents my intentions" [syn: {misrepresent}] [also: {belying}] bellicose adj : having or showing a ready disposition to fight; "bellicose young officers"; "a combative impulse"; "a contentious nature" [syn: {battleful}, {combative}, {contentious}] bereave v : deprive through death bereft adj 1: unhappy in love; suffering from unrequited love [syn: {lovelorn}, {unbeloved}] 2: sorrowful through loss or deprivation; "bereft of hope" [syn: {bereaved}, {grief-stricken}, {grieving}, {mourning(a)}, {sorrowing(a)}] bespoke adj : of clothing [syn: {bespoken}, {made-to-order}, {tailored}, {tailor-made}] bespeak v 1: be a signal for or a symptom of; "These symptoms indicate a serious illness"; "Her behavior points to a severe neurosis"; "The economic indicators signal that the euro is undervalued" [syn: {betoken}, {indicate}, {point}, {signal}] 2: express the need or desire for; ask for; "She requested an extra bed in her room"; "She called for room service" [syn: {request}, {call for}, {quest}] bibulous adj : given to or marked by the consumption of alcohol; "a bibulous fellow"; "a bibulous evening"; "his boozy drinking companions"; "thick boozy singing"; "a drunken binge"; "two drunken gentleman holding each other up"; "sottish behavior" [syn: {boozy}, {drunken}, {sottish}] bier n 1: a coffin along with its stand; "we followed the bier to the graveyard" 2: a stand to support a corpse or a coffin prior to burial bigot n : a prejudiced person who is intolerant of any opinions differing from his own blandish v : praise somewhat dishonestly [syn: {flatter}] [ant: {disparage}] blarney v : influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering; "He palavered her into going along" [syn: {wheedle}, {cajole}, {palaver}, {coax}, {sweet-talk}, {inveigle}] blarney n : flattery designed to gain favor [syn: {coaxing}, {soft soap}, {sweet talk}] blithe adj 1: lacking or showing a lack of due concern; "spoke with blithe ignorance of the true situation" 2: carefree and happy and lighthearted; "was loved for her blithe spirit"; "a merry blithesome nature"; "her lighthearted nature"; "trilling songs with a lightsome heart" [syn: {blithesome}, {lighthearted}, {lightsome}] bodacious adj 1: incorrigible; "a bodacious gossip" 2: unrestrained by convention or propriety; "an audacious trick to pull"; "a barefaced hypocrite"; "the most bodacious display of tourism this side of Anaheim"- Los Angeles Times; "bold-faced lies"; "brazen arrogance"; "the modern world with its quick material successes and insolent belief in the boundless possibilities of progress"- Bertrand Russell [syn: {audacious}, {barefaced}, {bold-faced}, {brassy}, {brazen}, {brazen-faced}, {insolent}] bourgeois adj 1: (according to Marxist thought) being of the property-owning class and exploitive of the working class 2: conforming to the standards and conventions of the middle class; "a bourgeois mentality" [syn: {conservative}, {materialistic}] 3: belonging to the middle class bourgeois n 1: a capitalist who engages in industrial commercial enterprise [syn: {businessperson}] 2: a member of the middle class [syn: {burgher}] brigand n : an armed thief who is (usually) a member of a band [syn: {bandit}] bromide n 1: any of the salts of hydrobromic acid; used as a sedative 2: a trite or obvious remark [syn: {platitude}, {cliche}, {banality}, {commonplace}] 3: a sedative in the form of sodium or potassium bromide bucolic adj 1: used of idealized country life; "a country life of arcadian contentment"; "a pleasant bucolic scene"; "charming in its pastoral setting"; "rustic tranquility" [syn: {arcadian}, {pastoral}, {rustic}] 2: relating to shepherds or herdsmen or devoted to raising sheep or cattle; "pastoral seminomadic people"; "pastoral land"; "a pastoral economy" [syn: {pastoral}] n 1: a country person [syn: {peasant}, {provincial}] 2: a short descriptive poem of rural or pastoral life [syn: {eclogue}, cachet n 1: an indication of approved or superior status [syn: {seal}, {seal of approval}] 2: a warrant formerly issued by a French king who could warrant imprisonment or death in a signed letter under his seal [syn: {lettre de cachet}] 3: a seal on a letter caitiff adj : despicably mean and cowardly n : a cowardly and despicable person cajole v : influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering; "He palavered her into going along" [syn: {wheedle}, {palaver}, {blarney}, {coax}, {sweet-talk}, {inveigle}] callow adj : lacking experience of life; "a callow youth of seventeen" [syn: {inexperienced}, {naive}, {unsophisticated}] calumny n 1: a malicious attack [syn: {defamation}, {obloquy}, {traducement}, {hatchet job}] 2: an abusive attack on a person's character or good name [syn: {aspersion}, {slander}, {defamation}, {denigration}] capitulate v : surrender under agreed conditions caprice n : a sudden desire; "he bought it on an impulse" [syn: {impulse}, {whim}] capricious adj 1: changeable; "a capricious summer breeze"; "freakish weather" [syn: {freakish}] 2: determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason; "a capricious refusal"; "authoritarian rulers are frequently capricious"; "the victim of whimsical persecutions" [syn: {impulsive}, {whimsical}] captious adj : tending to find and call attention to faults; "a captious pedant"; "an excessively demanding and faultfinding tutor" [syn: {faultfinding}] carnalize v 1: represent materialistically, as in a painting or a sculpture [syn: {sensualize}] 2: ascribe to an origin in sensation [syn: {sensualize}] 3: debase through carnal gratification [syn: {sensualize}, {sensualise}, {carnalise}] castigate v 1: censure severely; "She chastised him for his insensitive remarks" [syn: {chastise}, {objurgate}, {chasten}, {correct}] 2: inflict severe punishment on catabatic adj : of an air current or wind; moving downward or down a slope because of cooling especially at night [syn: {katabatic}] [ant: {anabatic}] catafalque n : a decorated bier on which a coffin rests in state during a funeral cataphatic adj : of or relating to the religious belief that God can be known to humans positively or affirmatively catharsis n 1: (psychoanalysis) purging of emotional tensions [syn: {katharsis}, {abreaction}] 2: purging the body by the use of a cathartic to stimulate evacuation of the bowels [syn: {katharsis}, {purgation}] cathartic adj 1: emotionally purging [syn: {psychotherapeutic}] 2: emotionally purging (of e.g. art) [syn: {releasing}] 3: strongly laxative [syn: {evacuant}, {purgative}] n : a purging medicine; stimulates evacuation of the bowels [syn: {purgative}, {physic}, {aperient}] cavalcade n : a procession of people traveling on horseback cavil n : an evasion of the point of an argument by raising irrelevant distinctions or objections [syn: {quibble}, {quiddity}] v : raise trivial objections [syn: {carp}, {chicane}] [also: {cavilling}, {cavilled}] ceremonious adj : rigidly formal or bound by convention; "their ceremonious greetings did not seem heartfelt" [syn: {conventional}] chagrin n : strong feelings of embarrassment [syn: {humiliation}, {mortification}] v : cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of; "He humiliated his colleague by criticising him in front of the boss" [syn: {humiliate}, {mortify}, {humble}, {abase}] chicanery n : the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them) [syn: {trickery}, {chicane}, {guile}, {wile}, {shenanigan}] cinque n : the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one [syn: {five}, {5}, {V}, {quint}, {quintet}, {fivesome}, {quintuplet}, {pentad}, {fin}, {Phoebe}, {Little Phoebe}] circumambulate v : walk around something [syn: {walk around}] circumlocution n 1: a style that involves indirect ways of expressing things [syn: {periphrasis}, {ambage}] 2: an indirect way of expressing something [syn: {indirect expression}] circumscribe v 1: draw a line around; "He drew a circle around the points" 2: restrict or confine, "I limit you to two visits to the pub a day" [syn: {limit}, {confine}] 3: to draw a geometric figure around another figure so that the two are in contact but do not intersect clamant adj 1: conspicuously and offensively loud; given to vehement outcry; "blatant radios"; "a clamorous uproar"; "strident demands"; "a vociferous mob" [syn: {blatant}, {clamorous}, {strident}, {vociferous}] 2: demanding attention; "clamant needs"; "a crying need"; "regarded literary questions as exigent and momentous"- H.L.Mencken; "insistent hunger"; "an instant need" [syn: {crying}, {exigent}, {insistent}, {instant}] cloister n 1: residence that is a place of religious seclusion (such as a monastery) [syn: {religious residence}] 2: a courtyard with covered walks (as in religious institutions) v 1: surround with a cloister, as of a garden 2: seclude from the world in or as if in a cloister; "She cloistered herself in the office" coalesce v 1: mix together different elements; "The colors blend well" [syn: {blend}, {flux}, {mix}, {conflate}, {commingle}, {immix}, {fuse}, {meld}, {combine}, {merge}] 2: fuse or cause to grow together cogent adj 1: having the power to influence or convince; "a cogent analysis of the problem"; "potent arguments" [syn: {potent}, {powerful}] 2: powerfully persuasive; "a cogent argument"; "a telling presentation"; "a weighty argument" [syn: {telling}, {weighty}] cognation n 1: line of descent traced through the maternal side of the family [syn: {matrilineage}, {enation}] 2: related by blood [syn: {consanguinity}, {blood kinship}] [ant: {affinity}] cognize v : be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about; "I know that the President lied to the people"; "I want to know who is winning the game!"; "I know it's time" [syn: {know}, {cognise}] [ant: {ignore}] cognomen n 1: a familiar name for a person (often a shortened version of a person's given name); "Joe's mother would not use his nickname and always called him Joseph"; "Henry's nickname was Slim" [syn: {nickname}, {moniker}, {sobriquet}, {soubriquet}] 2: the name used to identify the members of a family (as distinguished from each member's given name) [syn: {surname}, {family name}, {last name}] [also: {cognomina} (pl)] cohort n 1: a company of companions or supporters 2: a band of warriors (originally a unit of a Roman Legion) 3: a group people having approximately the same age [syn: {age group}, {age bracket}] collateral adj 1: descended from a common ancestor but through different lines; "cousins are collateral relatives"; "an indirect descendant of the Stuarts" [syn: {indirect}] [ant: {lineal}] 2: serving to support or corroborate; "collateral evidence" [syn: {confirmative}, {confirming}, {confirmatory}, {corroborative}, {corroboratory}, {substantiating}, {substantiative}, {validating}, {validatory}, {verificatory}, {verifying}] 3: accompaniment to something else; "collateral target damage collocate v 1: have a strong tendency to occur side by side; "The words 'new' and 'world' collocate" 2: group or chunk together in a certain order or place side by side [syn: {lump}, {chunk}] colloquy n 1: a conversation especially a formal one 2: formal conversation commiserate v : to feel or express sympathy or compassion [syn: {sympathize}, {sympathise}] competence n : the quality of being adequately or well qualified physically and intellectually [syn: {competency}] [ant: {incompetence}] complicity n : guilt as an accomplice in a crime or offense comport v 1: behave well or properly; "The children must learn to behave" [syn: {behave}] [ant: {misbehave}] 2: behave in a certain manner; "She carried herself well"; "he bore himself with dignity"; "They conducted themselves well during these difficult times" [syn: {behave}, {acquit}, {bear}, {deport}, {conduct}, {carry}] compulsive adj 1: caused by or suggestive of psychological compulsion; "compulsive drinking" 2: strongly motivated to succeed [syn: {determined}, {driven}] compulsive n : a person with a compulsive disposition; someone who feels compelled to do certain things compunction n : a feeling of deep regret (usually for some misdeed) [syn: {remorse}, {self-reproach}] concatenation n 1: the state of being linked together as in a chain; union in a linked series 2: the linking together of a consecutive series of symbols or events or ideas etc; "it was caused by an improbable concatenation of circumstances" 3: a series of things depending on each other as if linked together; "the chain of command"; "a complicated concatenation of circumstances" [syn: {chain}] 4: the act of linking together as in a series or chain concede v 1: admit, make a clean breast of; "She confessed that she had taken the money" [syn: {profess}, {confess}] 2: be willing to concede; "I grant you this much" [syn: {yield}, {grant}] 3: give over; surrender or relinquish to the physical control of another [syn: {yield}, {cede}, {grant}] 4: acknowledge defeat; "The candidate conceded after enough votes had come in to show that he would lose" conciliate v 1: cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of; "She managed to mollify the angry customer" [syn: {pacify}, {lenify}, {assuage}, {appease}, {mollify}, {placate}, {gentle}, {gruntle}] 2: come to terms; "After some discussion we finally made up" [syn: {reconcile}, {patch up}, {make up}, {settle}] 3: make compatible with; "The scientists had to accommodate the new results with the existing theories" [syn: {accommodate}, {reconcile}] conciliatory adj 1: making or willing to make concessions; "loneliness tore through him...whenever he thought of...even the compromising Louis du Tillet" [syn: {compromising}, {flexible}] [ant: {uncompromising}] 2: overcoming animosity or hostility; "spoke in a conciliating tone"; "a conciliatory visit" [syn: {conciliative}] [ant: {antagonistic}] condescend v 1: behave in a patronizing and condescending manner 2: do something that one considers to be below one's dignity [syn: {deign}, {descend}] 3: debase oneself morally, act in an undignified, unworthy, or dishonorable way; "I won't stoop to reading other people's mail" [syn: {stoop}, {lower oneself}] 4: treat condescendingly [syn: {patronize}, {patronise}] condign adj : fitting or appropriate and deserved; used especially of punishment; "condign censure" confiscate adj 1: surrendered as a penalty [syn: {forfeit}, {forfeited}] 2: taken without permission or consent especially by public authority; "the condemned land was used for a highway cloverleaf"; "the confiscated liquor was poured down the drain" [syn: {appropriated}, {condemned}, {confiscated}, {seized}, {taken over}] confiscate v : take temporary possession of as a security, by legal authority; "The FBI seized the drugs"; "The customs conflate v : mix together different elements; "The colors blend well" [syn: {blend}, {flux}, {mix}, {commingle}, {immix}, {fuse}, {coalesce}, {meld}, {combine}, {merge}] conflux n : a flowing together [syn: {confluence}, {merging}] confute v : prove to be false; "The physicist disproved his colleagues' theories" [syn: {disprove}] [ant: {prove}] congruent adj 1: corresponding in character or kind [syn: {congruous}] [ant: {incongruous}] 2: coinciding when superimposed [ant: {incongruent}] congruous adj 1: corresponding in character or kind [syn: {congruent}] [ant: {incongruous}] 2: suitable or appropriate together conjugate n : a mixture of two partially miscible liquids A and B produces two conjugate solutions: one of A in B and another of B in A [syn: {conjugate solution}] conjugate adj 1: joined together especially in a pair or pairs [syn: {conjugated}, {coupled}] 2: of a pinnate leaflet; having only one pair of leaflets 3: formed by the union of two compounds; "a conjugated protein" [syn: {conjugated}] connivance n 1: agreement on a secret plot [syn: {collusion}] 2: (law) tacit approval of someone's wrongdoing [syn: {secret approval}, {tacit consent}] connive v 1: encourage or assent to illegally or criminally 2: form intrigues (for) in an underhand manner [syn: {scheme}, {intrigue}] consanguine adj : related by blood [syn: {akin(p)}, {blood-related}, {cognate}, {consanguineous}, {kin(p)}] consensus n : agreement in the judgment or opinion reached by a group as a whole; "the lack of consensus reflected differences in theoretical positions"; "those rights and obligations are based on an unstated consensus" consociate v : bring or come into association or action; "The churches consociated to fight their dissolution" [syn: {associate}] constituent adj : constitutional in the structure of something (especially your physical makeup) [syn: {constituent(a)}, {constitutional}, {constitutive(a)}, {organic}] n 1: an artifact that is one of the individual parts of which a composite entity is made up; especially a part that can be separated from or attached to a system; "spare components for cars"; "a component or constituent element of a system" [syn: {component}, {element}] 2: a member of a constituency; a citizen who is represented in consultative adj : giving advice; "an advisory memorandum", "his function was purely consultative" [syn: {advisory}, {consultatory}, {consultive}] contagion n 1: any disease easily transmitted by contact [syn: {contagious disease}] 2: an incident in which an infectious disease is transmitted [syn: {infection}, {transmission}] 3: the communication of an attitude or emotional state among a number of people; "a contagion of mirth"; "the infection of his enthusiasm for poetry" [syn: {infection}] contention n 1: a point asserted as part of an argument 2: a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement; "they were involved in a violent argument" [syn: {controversy}, {contestation}, {disputation}, {disceptation}, {tilt}, {argument}, {arguing}] 3: the act of competing as for profit or a prize; "the teams were in fierce contention for first place" [syn: {competition}, {rivalry}] [ant: {cooperation}] contest n 1: an occasion on which a winner is selected from among two or more contestants [syn: {competition}] 2: a struggle between rivals v : to make the subject of dispute, contention, or litigation; "They contested the outcome of the race" [syn: {contend}, {repugn}] contiguity n : the attribute of being so near as to be touching [syn: {adjacency}, {contiguousness}] continence n 1: the exercise of self constraint in sexual matters [syn: {continency}] 2: voluntary control over urinary and fecal discharge contingent adj 1: possible but not certain to occur; "they had to plan for contingent expenses" 2: determined by conditions or circumstances not yet established; "arms sales contingent on the approval of congress" [syn: {contingent on(p)}, {dependent on(p)}, {dependant on(p)}, {depending on(p)}] 3: uncertain because of uncontrollable circumstances; "the results of confession were not contingent, they were certain"- George Eliot contraindicate v : make a treatment inadvisable [ant: {indicate}, {indicate}] contrite adj 1: feeling or expressing pain or sorrow for sins or offenses [syn: {remorseful}, {rueful}, {ruthful}, {sorry}] 2: feeling regret for a fault or offence contrition n : sorrow for sin arising from fear of damnation [syn: {attrition}, {contriteness}] contrivance n 1: a device that is very useful for a particular job [syn: {appliance}, {contraption}, {convenience}, {gadget}, {gizmo}, {gismo}, {widget}] 2: the faculty of contriving; inventive skill; "his skillful contrivance of answers to every problem" 3: an elaborate or deceitful scheme contrived to deceive or evade; "his testimony was just a contrivance to throw us off the track" [syn: {stratagem}, {dodge}] 4: an artificial or unnatural or obviously contrived conurbation n : an aggregation or continuous network of urban communities [syn: {urban sprawl}] convection n 1: the transfer of heat through a fluid (liquid or gas) caused by molecular motion 2: (meteorology) the vertical movement of heat or other properties by massive motion within the atmosphere corollary n 1: a practical consequence that follows naturally; "blind jealousy is a frequent corollary of passionate love" 2: (logic) an inference that follows directly from the proof of another proposition corpulent adj : excessively fat; "a weighty man" [syn: {obese}, {weighty}, {rotund}] corrade v : wear away [syn: {abrade}, {abrase}, {rub down}, {rub off}] correlate adj : mutually related [syn: {correlative}, {correlated}] correlate n : either of two correlated variables [syn: {correlative}] v 1: to bear a reciprocal or mutual relation; "Do these facts correlate?" 2: bring into a mutual, complementary, or reciprocal relation; "I cannot correlate these two pieces of information" corroborate v 1: establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts; "his story confirmed my doubts"; "The evidence supports the defendant" [syn: {confirm}, {sustain}, {substantiate}, {support}, {affirm}] [ant: {negate}] 2: give evidence for [syn: {validate}] 3: support with evidence or authority or make more certain or confirm; "The stories and claims were born out by the evidence" [syn: {underpin}, {bear out}, {support}] coruscant adj : having brief brilliant points or flashes of light; "bugle beads all aglitter"; "glinting eyes"; "glinting water"; "his glittering eyes were cold and malevolent"; "shop window full of glittering Christmas trees"; "glittery costume jewelry"; "scintillant mica"; "the scintillating stars"; "a dress with sparkly sequins"; "`glistering' is an archaic term" [syn: {aglitter(p)}, {fulgid}, {glinting}, {glistering}, {glittering}, {glittery}, {scintillant}, {scintillating}, {sparkling(a)}, {sparkly}] coruscate v 1: reflect brightly; "Unquarried marble sparkled on the hillside" [syn: {sparkle}, {scintillate}] 2: be lively or brilliant or exhibit virtuosity; "The musical performance sparkled"; "A scintillating conversation"; "his playing coruscated throught the concert hall" [syn: {sparkle}, {scintillate}] coterie n : an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose [syn: {clique}, {ingroup}, {inner circle}, {pack}, {camp}] countenance n 1: the appearance conveyed by a person's face; "a pleasant countenance"; "a stern visage" [syn: {visage}] 2: formal and explicit approval; "a Democrat usually gets the union's endorsement" [syn: {sanction}, {endorsement}, {indorsement}, {warrant}, {imprimatur}] 3: the human face (`kisser' and `smiler' and `mug' are informal terms for `face' and `phiz' is British) [syn: {physiognomy}, {phiz}, {visage}, {kisser}, {smiler}, {mug}] v : consent to, give permission; "She permitted her son to visit credulity n : tendency to believe readily credulous adj 1: disposed to believe on little evidence; "the gimmick would convince none but the most credulous" [ant: {incredulous}] 2: showing a lack of judgment or experience; "so credulous he believes everything he reads" criterion n 1: a basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluated; "they set the measure for all subsequent work" [syn: {standard}, {measure}, {touchstone}] 2: the ideal in terms of which something can be judged; "they live by the standards of their community" [syn: {standard}] [also: {criteria} (pl)] culminate v 1: end, especially to reach a final or climactic stage; "The meeting culminated in a tearful embrace" [syn: {climax}] 2: bring to a head or to the highest point; "Seurat culminated pointillism" 3: reach the highest or most decisive point 4: of a celestial body: reach its highest altitude or the meridian 5: rise to, or form, a summit; "The helmet culminated in a crest" cumulative adj : increasing by successive addition; "the benefits are cumulative"; "the eventual accumulative effect of these substances" [syn: {accumulative}] cupidity n : extreme greed for material wealth [syn: {avarice}, {avariciousness}, {covetousness}] decadent adj : marked by excessive self-indulgence and moral decay; "a decadent life of excessive money and no sense of responsibility"; "a group of effete self-professed intellectuals" [syn: {effete}] n : a person who has fallen into a decadent state (morally or artistically) deciduous adj 1: (of plants and shrubs) shedding foliage at the end of the growing season [ant: {evergreen}] 2: (of teeth, antlers, etc.) being shed at the end of a period of growth; "deciduous teeth" decimate v 1: kill one in every ten, as of mutineers in Roman armies 2: kill in large numbers; "the plague wiped out an entire population" [syn: {eliminate}, {annihilate}, {extinguish}, {eradicate}, {wipe out}, {carry off}] decoction n : (pharmacology) the extraction by boiling of water-soluble drug substances decorum n : propriety in manners and conduct [syn: {decorousness}] [ant: {indecorum}, {indecorum}] deign v : do something that one considers to be below one's dignity [syn: {condescend}, {descend}] demagogue n : an orator who appeals to the passions and prejudices of his audience [syn: {demagog}, {rabble-rouser}] demimonde n : a class of woman not considered respectable because of indiscreet or promiscuous behavior demur v 1: take exception to; "he demurred at my suggestion to work on Saturday" [syn: {except}] 2: enter a demurrer [also: {demurring}, {demurred}] demur n : (law) a formal objection to an opponent's pleadings [syn: {demurral}, {demurrer}] [also: {demurring}, {demurred}] denudation n : the removal of covering [syn: {stripping}, {uncovering}, {baring}, {husking}] denunciation n : a public act of denouncing [syn: {denouncement}] deracinate v 1: move (people) forcibly from their homeland into a new and foreign environment; "The war uprooted many people" [syn: {displace}, {uproot}] 2: pull up by or as if by the roots; "uproot the vine that has spread all over the garden" [syn: {uproot}, {extirpate}, {root out}] desultory adj : marked by lack of definite plan or regularity or purpose; jumping from one thing to another; "desultory thoughts"; "the desultory conversation characteristic of cocktail parties" detraction n 1: a petty disparagement [syn: {petty criticism}] 2: the act of discrediting or detracting from someone's reputation (especially by slander); "let it be no detraction from his merits to say he is plainspoken" dialectal adj : belonging to or characteristic of a dialect; "dialectal variation" dialectic adj : of or relating to or employing dialectic; "the dialectical method" [syn: {dialectical}] dialectic n 1: any formal system of reasoning that arrives at the truth by the exchange of logical arguments 2: a contradiction of ideas that serves as the determining factor in their interaction; "this situation created the inner dialectic of American history" dianoetic adj : proceeding to a conclusion by reason or argument rather than intuition [syn: {discursive}] diaspora n 1: the body of Jews (or Jewish communities) outside Palestine or modern Israel 2: the dispersion of the Jews outside Israel; from the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 587-86 BC when they were exiled to Babylonia up to the present time 3: the dispersion or spreading of something that was originally localized (as a people or language or culture) dichotomy n : being twofold; a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses; "the dichotomy between eastern and western culture" [syn: {duality}] diffuse adj 1: spread out; not concentrated in one place; "a large diffuse organization" 2: lacking conciseness; "a diffuse historical novel" diffuse v 1: move outward; "The soldiers fanned out" [syn: {spread}, {spread out}, {fan out}] 2: spread or diffuse through; "An atmosphere of distrust has permeated this administration"; "music penetrated the entire building" [syn: {permeate}, {pervade}, {penetrate}, dilate v 1: become wider; "His pupils were dilated" [syn: {distend}] 2: add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing; "She elaborated on the main ideas in her dissertation" [syn: {elaborate}, {lucubrate}, {expatiate}, {exposit}, {enlarge}, {flesh out}, {expand}, {expound}] [ant: {abridge}] dilettante adj : showing frivolous or superficial interest; amateurish; "his dilettantish efforts at painting" [syn: {dilettantish}, {dilettanteish}, {sciolistic}] [also: {dilettanti} (pl)] dilettante n : an amateur who engages in an activity without serious intentions and who pretends to have knowledge [syn: {dabbler}, {sciolist}] [also: {dilettanti} (pl)] diligent adj 1: quietly and steadily persevering especially in detail or exactness; "a diligent (or patient) worker"; "with persevering (or patient) industry she revived the failing business" [syn: {persevering}] 2: characterized by care and perseverence in carrying out tasks; "a diligent detective investigates all clues"; "a diligent search of the files" [ant: {negligent}] disaffect v : arouse hostility or indifference in where there had formerly been love, affection, or friendliness [syn: {estrange}, {alienate}, {alien}] disambiguate v : state unambiguously or remove ambiguities from; "Can you disambiguate this statement?" discomfit v : cause to lose one's composure [syn: {upset}, {discompose}, {untune}, {disconcert}] disconcert v 1: cause to feel embarrassment; "The constant attention of the young man confused her" [syn: {confuse}, {flurry}, {put off}] 2: cause to lose one's composure [syn: {upset}, {discompose}, {untune}, {discomfit}] discursive adj 1: proceeding to a conclusion by reason or argument rather than intuition [syn: {dianoetic}] 2: (of e.g. speech and writing) tending to depart from the main point or cover a wide range of subjects; "amusingly digressive with satirical thrusts at women's fashions among other things"; "a rambling discursive book"; "his excursive remarks"; "a rambling speech about this and that" [syn: {digressive}, {excursive}, {rambling}] disingenuous adj : not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness; "an ambitious, disingenuous, philistine, and hypocritical operator, who...exemplified...the most disagreeable traits of his time"- David Cannadine; "a disingenuous excuse" [syn: {artful}] [ant: {ingenuous}] disparate adj 1: fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind; "such disparate attractions as grand opera and game fishing"; "disparate ideas" 2: including markedly dissimilar elements; "a disparate aggregate of creeds and songs and prayers" dispensation n 1: an exemption from some rule or obligation 2: a share that has been dispensed or distributed 3: the act of dispensing (giving out in portions) disseminate v : cause to become widely known; "spread information"; "circulate a rumor"; "broadcast the news" [syn: {circulate}, {circularize}, {circularise}, {distribute}, {propagate}, {broadcast}, {spread}, {diffuse}, {disperse}, {pass around}] dissertate v : talk or hold forth formally about a topic; "The speaker dissertated about the social politics in 18th century England" [syn: {discourse}] dissimulation n : the act of deceiving [syn: {deception}, {deceit}, {dissembling}] dissipation n 1: breaking up and scattering by dispersion; "the dissipation of the mist" 2: dissolute indulgence in sensual pleasure [syn: {profligacy}, {dissolution}, {licentiousness}] 3: useless or profitless activity; using or expending or consuming thoughtlessly or carelessly; "if the effort brings no compensating gain it is a waste"; "mindless dissipation of natural resources" [syn: {waste}, {wastefulness}] dissolute adj : unrestrained by convention or morality; "Congreve draws a debauched aristocratic society"; "deplorably dissipated and degraded"; "riotous living"; "fast women" [syn: {debauched}, {degenerate}, {degraded}, {dissipated}, {libertine}, {profligate}, {riotous}, {fast}] distinction n 1: a discrimination between things as different and distinct; "it is necessary to make a distinction between love and infatuation" [syn: {differentiation}] 2: high status importance owing to marked superiority; "a scholar of great eminence" [syn: {eminence}, {preeminence}, {note}] 3: a distinguishing quality; "it has the distinction of being the cheapest restaurant in town" 4: a distinguishing difference; "he learned the distinction diverge v 1: move or draw apart; "The two paths diverge here" [ant: {converge}] 2: have no limits as a mathematical series [ant: {converge}, {converge}] 3: extend in a different direction; "The lines start to diverge here"; "Their interests diverged" [ant: {converge}] 4: be at variance with; be out of line with [syn: {deviate}, {vary}, {depart}] [ant: {conform}] divest v 1: take away possessions from someone; "The Nazis stripped the Jews of all their assets" [syn: {deprive}, {strip}] 2: deprive of status or authority; "he was divested of his rights and his title"; "They disinvested themselves of their rights" [syn: {disinvest}] [ant: {invest}] 3: reduce or dispose of; cease to hold (an investment); "The company decided to divest"; "the board of trustees divested $20 million in real estate property"; "There was pressure on the univeristy to disinvest in South Africa" docent n : a teacher at some universities dogmatic adj 1: characterized by arrogant assertion of unproved or unprovable principles [syn: {dogmatical}] 2: relating to or involving dogma; "dogmatic writings" dragoon n : a member of a European military unit formerly composed of heavily armed cavalrymen v 1: compel by coercion, threats, or crude means; "They sandbagged him to make dinner for everyone" [syn: {sandbag}, {railroad}] 2: subjugate by imposing troops drudge n 1: one who works hard at boring tasks [syn: {hack}, {hacker}] 2: a laborer who is obliged to do menial work [syn: {peon}, {navvy}, {galley slave}] drudge v : work hard; "She was digging away at her math homework"; "Lexicographers drudge all day long" [syn: {labor}, {labour}, {toil}, {fag}, {travail}, {grind}, {dig}, {moil}] dubious adj 1: fraught with uncertainty or doubt; "they were doubtful that the cord would hold"; "it was doubtful whether she would be admitted"; "dubious about agreeing to go" [syn: {doubtful}] 2: open to doubt or suspicion; "the candidate's doubtful past"; "he has a dubious record indeed"; "what one found uncertain the other found dubious or downright false"; "it was more than dubitable whether the friend was as influential as she thought"- Karen Horney [syn: {doubtful}, dulcet adj 1: extremely pleasant in a gentle way; "the most dulcet swimming on the most beautiful and remote beaches" 2: pleasing to the ear; "the dulcet tones of the cello" [syn: {honeyed}, {mellifluous}, {mellisonant}, {sweet}] duplicitous adj : marked by deliberate deceptiveness especially by pretending one set of feelings and acting under the influence of another; "she was a deceitful scheming little thing"- Israel Zangwill; "a double-dealing double agent"; "a double-faced infernal traitor and schemer"- W.M.Thackeray [syn: {ambidextrous}, {deceitful}, {double-dealing}, {Janus-faced}, {two-faced}, {double-faced}, {double-tongued}] duplicity n 1: a fraudulent or duplicitous representation [syn: {fraudulence}] 2: acting in bad faith; deception by pretending to entertain one set of intentions while acting under the influence of another [syn: {double-dealing}] durance n : imprisonment (especially for a long time) dyad n : two items of the same kind [syn: {couple}, {pair}, {twosome}, {twain}, {brace}, {span}, {yoke}, {couplet}, {distich}, {duo}, {duet}, {duad}] dysphemism n : an offensive or disparaging expression that is substituted for an inoffensive one; "his favorite dysphemism was to ask for axle grease when he wanted butter" [ant: {euphemism}] ecdemic adj : of or relating to a disease that originates outside the locality in which it occurs [ant: {endemic}, {epidemic}] edacity n 1: excessive desire to eat [syn: {esurience}, {ravenousness}, {voracity}, {voraciousness}] 2: extreme gluttony [syn: {esurience}, {rapaciousness}, {rapacity}, {voracity}, {voraciousness}] efficacious adj 1: marked by qualities giving the power to produce an intended effect; "written propaganda is less efficacious than the habits and prejudices...of the readers"-Aldous Huxley; "the medicine is efficacious in stopping a cough" [ant: {inefficacious}] 2: producing or capable of producing an intended result or having a striking effect; "an air-cooled motor was more effective than a witch's broomstick for rapid long-distance transportation"-LewisMumford; "effective egalitarian adj : favoring social equality; "a classless society" [syn: {classless}] egalitarian n : a person who believes in the equality of all people [syn: {equalitarian}] [ant: {elitist}] egregious adj : conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible; "a crying shame"; "an egregious lie"; "flagrant violation of human rights"; "a glaring error"; "gross ineptitude"; "gross injustice"; "rank treachery" [syn: {crying(a)}, {flagrant}, {glaring}, {gross}, {rank}] elegy n : a mournful poem; a lament for the dead [syn: {lament}] elocution n : an expert manner of speaking involving control of voice and gesture elucidate v 1: make clear and (more) comprehensible; "clarify the mystery surrounding her death" [syn: {clarify}, {clear up}] [ant: {obfuscate}] 2: make free from confusion or ambiguity; make clear; "Could you clarify these remarks?"; "Clear up the question of who is at fault" [syn: {clear}, {clear up}, {shed light on}, {crystallize}, {crystallise}, {crystalize}, {crystalise}, {straighten out}, {sort out}, {enlighten}, {illuminate}] emaciated adj : very thin especially from disease or hunger or cold; "emaciated bony hands"; "a nightmare population of gaunt men and skeletal boys"; "eyes were haggard and cavernous"; "small pinched faces"; "kept life in his wasted frame only by grim concentration" [syn: {bony}, {cadaverous}, {gaunt}, {haggard}, {pinched}, {skeletal}, {wasted}] emanation n 1: something that is emitted or radiated (as a gas or an odor or a light etc.) 2: the act of emitting; causing to flow forth [syn: {emission}] 3: (theology) the origination of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost; "the emanation of the Holy Spirit"; "the rising of the Holy Ghost"; "the doctrine of the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son" [syn: {rise}, {procession}] eminent adj 1: (used of persons) standing above others in character or attainment or reputation; "our distinguished professor"; "an eminent scholar"; "a great statesman" [syn: {distinguished}, {great}] 2: standing above others in quality or position; "people in high places"; "the high priest"; "eminent members of the community" [syn: {high}] 3: having achieved eminence; "an eminent physician" 4: of imposing height; especially standing out above others; empirical adj 1: derived from experiment and observation rather than theory; "an empirical basis for an ethical theory"; "empirical laws"; "empirical data"; "an empirical treatment of a disease about which little is known" [syn: {empiric}] [ant: {theoretical}] 2: relying on medical quackery; "empiric treatment" [syn: {empiric}] empiricism n 1: (philosophy) the doctrine that knowledge derives from experience [syn: {empiricist philosophy}, {sensationalism}] 2: the application of empirical methods in any art or science 3: medical practice and advice based on observation and experience in ignorance of scientific findings [syn: {quackery}] emulation n 1: ambition to equal or excel 2: (computer science) technique of one machine obtaining the same results as another 3: effort to equal or surpass another enation n 1: line of descent traced through the maternal side of the family [syn: {matrilineage}, {cognation}] 2: a natural projection or outgrowth from a plant body or organ [syn: {plant process}] encomium n : a formal expression of praise [syn: {eulogy}, {panegyric}, {paean}, {pean}] [also: {encomia} (pl)] endemic n 1: a disease that is constantly present to a greater or lesser degree in people of a certain class or in people living in a particular location [syn: {endemic disease}] 2: a plant that is native to a certain limited area; "it is an endemic found only this island" endemic adj 1: of or relating to a disease (or anything resembling a disease) constantly present to greater or lesser extent in a particular locality; "diseases endemic to enervate v 1: weaken mentally or morally 2: disturb the composure of [syn: {faze}, {unnerve}, {unsettle}] engender v 1: call forth [syn: {breed}, {spawn}] 2: make children; "Abraham begot Isaac"; "Men often father children but don't recognize them" [syn: {beget}, {get}, {father}, {mother}, {sire}, {generate}, {bring forth}] enmity n 1: a state of deep-seated ill-will [syn: {hostility}, {antagonism}] 2: the feeling of a hostile person; "he could no longer contain his hostility" [syn: {hostility}, {ill will}] ennoble v 1: confer dignity or honor upon; "He was dignified with a title" [syn: {dignify}] 2: give a title to someone; make someone a member of the nobility [syn: {gentle}, {entitle}] enthusiast n 1: an ardent and enthusiastic supporter of some person or activity [syn: {partisan}, {partizan}] 2: a person having a strong liking for something [syn: {fancier}] entropy n 1: (communication theory) a numerical measure of the uncertainty of an outcome; "the signal contained thousands of bits of information" [syn: {information}, {selective information}] 2: (thermodynamics) a thermodynamic quantity representing the amount of energy in a system that is no longer available for doing mechanical work; "entropy increases as matter and energy in the universe degrade to an ultimate state of inert uniformity" [syn: {randomness}, {S}] environs n : the area in which something exists or lives; "the country--the flat agricultural surround" [syn: {environment}, {surroundings}, {surround}] envisage v : form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case; "Can you conceive of him as the president?" [syn: {imagine}, {conceive of}, {ideate}] ephemera See {ephemeron} [also: {ephemerae} (pl)] ephemeron n : an insect that lives only for a day in its winged form [syn: {ephemera}] [also: {ephemera} (pl)] ephemera n 1: something transitory; lasting a day 2: an insect that lives only for a day in its winged form [syn: ephemeral adj : enduring a very short time; "the ephemeral joys of childhood"; "a passing fancy"; "youth's transient beauty"; "love is transitory but at is eternal"; "fugacious blossoms" [syn: {passing}, {short-lived}, {transient}, {transitory}, {fugacious}] epicure n : a person devoted to refined sensuous enjoyment (especially good food and drink) [syn: {gourmet}, {gastronome}, {bon vivant}, {epicurean}, {foodie}] epigram n : a witty saying [syn: {quip}] epigraph n 1: a quotation at the beginning of some piece of writing 2: an engraved inscription episteme n : the body of ideas that determine intellectually certain knowledge at any particular time epitaph n 1: an inscription on a tombstone or monument in memory of the person buried there 2: a summary statement of commemoration for a dead person epithet n 1: a defamatory or abusive word or phrase; "sticks and stones may break my bones but names can never hurt me" [syn: {name}] 2: descriptive word or phrase eponym n 1: the name of a person for whom something is supposedly named; "Constantine I is the eponym for Constantinople" 2: a name derived from the name of person (real or imaginary) as the name of Alexandria is derived from the name of its founder: Alexander the Great equanimity n : steadiness of mind under stress; "he accepted their problems with composure and she with equanimity" [syn: {composure}, {calm}, {calmness}] [ant: {discomposure}] equivocal adj 1: open to two or more interpretations; or of uncertain nature or significance; or (often) intended to mislead; "an equivocal statement"; "the polling had a complex and equivocal (or ambiguous) message for potential female candidates"; "the officer's equivocal behavior increased the victim's uneasiness"; "popularity is an equivocal crown"; "an equivocal response to an embarrassing question" [syn: {ambiguous}] [ant: {unequivocal}] 2: open to question; "aliens of equivocal loyalty"; "his erudite adj : having or showing profound knowledge; "a learned jurist"; "an erudite professor" [syn: {learned}] escarpment n 1: a long steep slope or cliff at the edge of a plateau or ridge; usually formed by erosion [syn: {scarp}] 2: a steep artificial slope in front of a fortification [syn: {escarp}, {scarp}, {protective embankment}] estoppel n : a rule of evidence whereby a person is barred from denying the truth of a fact that has already been settled ethnography n : the branch of anthropology that provides scientific description of individual human societies [syn: {descriptive anthropology}] etiology n 1: the cause of a disease [syn: {aetiology}] 2: the philosophical study of causation [syn: {aetiology}] eulogist n : an orator who delivers eulogies or panegyrics [syn: {panegyrist}] euphemism n : an inoffensive expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive [ant: {dysphemism}] euphony n : any agreeable (pleasing and harmonious) sounds; "he fell asleep to the music of the wind chimes" [syn: {music}] euphoric adj : exaggerated feeling of well-being or elation [syn: {happy}] [ant: {dysphoric}] exasperate v 1: exasperate or irritate [syn: {exacerbate}, {aggravate}] 2: make furious [syn: {infuriate}, {incense}] 3: make worse; "This drug aggravates the pain" [syn: {worsen}, {aggravate}, {exacerbate}] [ant: {better}] exasperated adj : greatly annoyed; out of patience; "had an exasperated look on his face"; "felt exasperated beyond endurance" [syn: {cheesed off}, {browned off}] excerpt n : a passage selected from a larger work; "he presented excerpts from William James' philosophical writings" [syn: {extract}, {selection}] v : take out of a literary work in order to cite or copy [syn: {extract}, {take out}] excision n 1: the omission that is made when an editorial change shortens a written passage; "an editor's deletions frequently upset young authors"; "both parties agreed on the excision of the proposed clause" [syn: {deletion}, {cut}] 2: surgical removal of a body part or tissue [syn: {ablation}, {extirpation}, {cutting out}] 3: the act of banishing a member of the Church from the communion of believers and the privileges of the Church; cutting a person off from a religious society [syn: {excommunication}] excogitation n 1: thinking something out with care in order to achieve complete understanding of it 2: the creation of something in the mind [syn: {invention}, {innovation}, {conception}, {design}] excoriate v 1: express strong disapproval of; "We condemn the racism in South Africa"; "These ideas were reprobated" [syn: {condemn}, {reprobate}, {decry}, {objurgate}] 2: tear or wear off the skin or make sore by abrading; "This leash chafes the dog's neck" [syn: {chafe}] exculpate v : pronounce not guilty of criminal charges; "The suspect was cleared of the murder charges" [syn: {acquit}, {assoil}, {clear}, {discharge}, {exonerate}] [ant: {convict}] excursion n 1: a journey taken for pleasure; "many summer excursions to the shore"; "it was merely a pleasure trip"; "after cautious sashays into the field" [syn: {jaunt}, {outing}, {junket}, {pleasure trip}, {expedition}, {sashay}] 2: wandering from the main path of a journey [syn: {digression}] excursus n : a message that departs from the main subject [syn: {digression}, {aside}, {divagation}, {parenthesis}] execrable adj 1: of very poor quality or condition; "deplorable housing conditions in the inner city"; "woeful treatment of the accused"; "woeful errors of judgment" [syn: {deplorable}, {miserable}, {woeful}, {wretched}] 2: unequivocally detestable; "abominable treatment of prisoners"; "detestable vices"; "execrable crimes"; "consequences odious to those you govern"- Edmund Burke [syn: {abominable}, {detestable}, {odious}] 3: deserving a curse; "her damnable pride" [syn: {damnable}] execration n 1: hate coupled with disgust [syn: {abhorrence}, {abomination}, {detestation}, {loathing}, {odium}] 2: an appeal to some supernatural power to inflict evil on someone or some group [syn: {condemnation}, {curse}] 3: the object of cursing or detestation; that which is execrated exegesis n : an explanation or critical interpretation (especially of the Bible) [also: {exegeses} (pl)] exhort v 1: urge on or encourage especially by shouts; "The crowd cheered the demonstrating strikers" [syn: {cheer}, {inspire}, {urge}, {barrack}, {urge on}, {pep up}] 2: force or impel in an indicated direction; "I urged him to finish his studies" [syn: {urge}, {urge on}, {press}] exigency n 1: a pressing or urgent situation; "the health-care exigency" 2: a sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger) that requires immediate action; "he never knew what to do in an emergency" [syn: {emergency}, {pinch}] exigent adj 1: demanding attention; "clamant needs"; "a crying need"; "regarded literary questions as exigent and momentous"- H.L.Mencken; "insistent hunger"; "an instant need" [syn: {clamant}, {crying}, {insistent}, {instant}] 2: requiring precise accuracy; "an exacting job"; "became more exigent over his pronunciation" [syn: {exacting}] exonerate v : pronounce not guilty of criminal charges; "The suspect was cleared of the murder charges" [syn: {acquit}, {assoil}, {clear}, {discharge}, {exculpate}] [ant: {convict}] expatiate v : add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing; "She elaborated on the main ideas in her dissertation" [syn: {elaborate}, {lucubrate}, {exposit}, {enlarge}, {flesh out}, {expand}, {expound}, {dilate}] [ant: {abridge}] experiential adj 1: relating to or resulting from experience; "a personal, experiental reality" 2: derived from experience or the experience of existence; "the rich experiential content of the teachings of the older philosophers"- Benjamin Farrington; "formal logicians are not concerned with existential matters"- John Dewey [syn: {existential}] expiate v : make amends for; "expiate one's sins" [syn: {aby}, {abye}, {atone}] explicate v 1: make palin and comprehensible; "He explained the laws of physics to his students" [syn: {explain}] 2: elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses; "Could you develop the ideas in your thesis" [syn: {formulate}, {develop}] expound v 1: add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing; "She elaborated on the main ideas in her dissertation" [syn: {elaborate}, {lucubrate}, {expatiate}, {exposit}, {enlarge}, {flesh out}, {expand}, {dilate}] [ant: {abridge}] 2: state; "set forth one's reasons" [syn: {set forth}, {exposit}] expropriate v : deprive of possessions; "The Communist government expropriated the landowners" extant adj : still in existence; not extinct or destroyed or lost; "extant manuscripts"; "specimens of graphic art found among extant barbaric folk"- Edward Clodd [ant: {extinct}] extenuate v : lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of; "The circumstances extenuate the crime" [syn: {palliate}, {mitigate}] extirpate v 1: destroy completely, as if down to the roots; "the vestiges of political democracy were soon uprooted" [syn: {uproot}, {eradicate}, {exterminate}] 2: pull up by or as if by the roots; "uproot the vine that has spread all over the garden" [syn: {uproot}, {deracinate}, {root out}] 3: surgically remove (an organ) extirpation n 1: surgical removal of a body part or tissue [syn: {ablation}, {cutting out}, {excision}] 2: the act of pulling up or out; uprooting; cutting off from existence [syn: {excision}, {deracination}] extol v : praise, glorify, or honor; "extol the virtues of one's children"; "glorify one's spouse's cooking" [syn: {laud}, {exalt}, {glorify}, {proclaim}] [also: {extolling}, {extolled}] extrapolate v 1: draw from specific cases for more general cases [syn: {generalize}, {generalise}, {infer}] 2: estimate the value of [syn: {interpolate}] 3: gain knowledge of (an area not known or experienced) by extrapolating extricate v : release from entanglement of difficulty; "I cannot extricate myself from this task" [syn: {untangle}, {disentangle}, {disencumber}] extrinsic adj : not forming an essential part of a thing or arising or originating from the outside; "extrinsic evidence"; "an extrinsic feature of the new building"; "that style is something extrinsic to the subject"; "looking for extrinsic aid" [ant: {intrinsic}] exult v 1: feel extreme happiness or elation [syn: {walk on air}, {be on cloud nine}, {jump for joy}] 2: to express great joy; "Who cannot exult in Spring?" [syn: {rejoice}, {triumph}, {jubilate}] facetious adj : cleverly amusing in tone; "a bantering tone"; "facetious remarks"; "tongue-in-cheek advice" [syn: {bantering}, {tongue-in-cheek}] facile adj 1: arrived at without due care or effort; lacking depth; "too facile a solution for so complex a problem" 2: performing adroitly and without effort; "her easy grace"; "a facile hand" [syn: {easy}] 3: expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively; "able to dazzle with his facile tongue"; "silver speech" [syn: {eloquent}, {fluent}, {silver}, {silver-tongued}, {smooth-spoken}] factitious adj : not produced by natural forces; "brokers created a factitious demand for stocks" faience n : glazed earthenware decorated with opaque colors fain adv : in a willing manner; "this was gladly agreed to"; "I would fain do it" [syn: {gladly}, {lief}] fain adj : having made preparations; "prepared to take risks" [syn: {disposed(p)}, {inclined(p)}, {prepared}] fasces n : bundle of rods containing an axe with the blade protruding; in ancient Rome it was a symbol of a magistrate's power; in modern Italy it is a symbol of Fascism fastidious adj 1: giving and careful attention to detail; hard to please; excessively concerned with cleanliness; "a fastidious and incisive intellect"; "fastidious about personal cleanliness" [ant: {unfastidious}] 2: having complicated nutritional requirements; especially growing only in special artificial cultures; "fastidious microorganisms"; "certain highly specialized xerophytes are extremely exacting in their requirements" [syn: {exacting}] [ant: {unfastidious}] fatuous adj : complacently or inanely foolish [syn: {asinine}, {inane}, {mindless}, {vacuous}] fecundity n 1: the intellectual fruitfulness of a creative imagination [syn: {fruitfulness}] 2: the state of being fertile; capable of producing offspring [syn: {fertility}] [ant: {sterility}] 3: the quality of something that causes or assists healthy growth [syn: {fruitfulness}] [ant: {fruitlessness}] felicitate v : express congratulations [syn: {congratulate}] ferment n 1: a state of agitation or turbulent change or development; "the political ferment produced a new leadership"; "social unrest" [syn: {agitation}, {fermentation}, {unrest}] 2: a substance capable of bringing about fermentation 3: a process in which an agent causes an organic substance to break down into simpler substances; especially, the anaerobic breakdown of sugar into alcohol [syn: {zymosis}, {zymolysis}, {fermentation}, {fermenting}] 4: a chemical phenomenon in which an organic molecule splits fervid adj 1: characterized by intense emotion; "ardent love"; "an ardent lover"; "a burning enthusiasm"; "a fervent desire to change society"; "a fervent admirer"; "fiery oratory"; "an impassioned appeal"; "a torrid love affair" [syn: {ardent}, {burning(a)}, {fervent}, {fiery}, {impassioned}, {perfervid}, {torrid}] 2: extremely hot; "the fervent heat...merely communicated a genial warmth to their half-torpid systems"- Nathaniel Hawthorne; "set out...when the fervid heat subsides"- figment n : a contrived or fantastic idea; "a figment of the imagination" filial adj 1: designating the generation or the sequence of generations following the parental generation [ant: {parental}] 2: relating to or characteristic of or befitting an offspring; "filial respect" [ant: {parental}] flexure n 1: the state of being flexed (as of a joint) [syn: {flection}, {flexion}] 2: an angular or rounded shape made by folding; "a fold in the napkin"; "a crease in his trousers"; "a plication on her blouse"; "a flexure of the colon"; "a bend of his elbow" [syn: {fold}, {crease}, {plication}, {crimp}, {bend}] 3: act of bending a joint; especially a joint between the bones of a limb so that the angle between them is decreased [syn: {flexion}] [ant: {extension}] florid adj : elaborately or excessively ornamented; "flamboyant handwriting"; "the senator's florid speech" [syn: {aureate}, {flamboyant}, {showy}] fob n 1: a vest pocket to hold a pocket watch [syn: {watch pocket}] 2: an adornment that hangs from a watch chain 3: short chain or ribbon attaching a pocket watch to a man's vest [syn: {watch chain}, {watch guard}] [also: {fobbing}, {fobbed}] fob v : deceive somebody; "We tricked the teacher into thinking that class would be cancelled next week" [syn: {trick}, {fox}, {pull a fast one on}, {play a trick on}] foible n 1: a behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual [syn: {idiosyncrasy}, {mannerism}] 2: the weaker part of a sword's blade from the forte to the tip foist v 1: to force onto another; "He foisted his work on me" 2: insert surreptitiously or without warrant foment v 1: try to stir up public opinion [syn: {agitate}, {stir up}] 2: bathe with warm water or medicated lotions; "His legs should be fomented" fractious adj 1: stubbornly resistant to authority or control; "a fractious animal that would not submit to the harness"; "a refractory child" [syn: {refractory}] 2: easily irritated or annoyed; "an incorrigibly fractious young man"; "not the least nettlesome of his countrymen" [syn: {cranky}, {irritable}, {nettlesome}, {peevish}, {peckish}, {pettish}, {petulant}, {testy}, {tetchy}, {techy}] 3: unpredictably difficult in operation; likely to be troublesome; "rockets were much too fractious to be tested frivolous adj : not serious in content or attitude or behavior; "a frivolous novel"; "a frivolous remark"; "a frivolous young woman" [ant: {serious}] fugacious adj : enduring a very short time; "the ephemeral joys of childhood"; "a passing fancy"; "youth's transient beauty"; "love is transitory but at is eternal"; "fugacious blossoms" [syn: {ephemeral}, {passing}, {short-lived}, {transient}, {transitory}] fulgid adj : having brief brilliant points or flashes of light; "bugle beads all aglitter"; "glinting eyes"; "glinting water"; "his glittering eyes were cold and malevolent"; "shop window full of glittering Christmas trees"; "glittery costume jewelry"; "scintillant mica"; "the scintillating stars"; "a dress with sparkly sequins"; "`glistering' is an archaic term" [syn: {aglitter(p)}, {coruscant}, {glinting}, {glistering}, {glittering}, {glittery}, {scintillant}, {scintillating}, {sparkling(a)}, {sparkly}] fulminant adj : sudden and severe; "fulminant pain"; "fulminant fever" functionary n : a worker who holds or is invested with an office [syn: {official}] furtive adj 1: marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed; "a furtive manner"; "a lurking prowler"; "a sneak attack"; "stealthy footsteps"; "a surreptitious glance at his watch"; "someone skulking in the shadows" [syn: {lurking}, {skulking}, {sneak(a)}, {sneaky}, {stealthy}, {surreptitious}] 2: secret and sly or sordid; "backstairs gossip"; "his low backstairs cunning"- A.L.Guerard; "backstairs intimacies"; "furtive behavior" [syn: {backstair}, {backstairs}] gossamer adj 1: characterized by unusual lightness and delicacy; "this smallest and most ethereal of birds"; "gossamer shading through his playing" [syn: {ethereal}] 2: so thin as to transmit light; "a hat with a diaphanous veil"; "filmy wings of a moth"; "gauzy clouds of dandelion down"; "gossamer cobwebs"; "sheer silk stockings"; "transparent chiffon"; "vaporous silks" [syn: {diaphanous}, {filmy}, {gauzy}, {see-through}, {sheer}, {transparent}, {vaporous}, {cobwebby}] grandiloquent adj 1: lofty in style; "he engages in so much tall talk, one never really realizes what he is saying" [syn: {magniloquent}, {tall}] 2: puffed up with vanity; "a grandiloquent and boastful manner"; "overblown oratory"; "a pompous speech"; "pseudo-scientific gobbledygook and pontifical hooey"- Newsweek [syn: {overblown}, {pompous}, {pontifical}, {portentous}] gravitas n : formality in bearing and appearance; "he behaved with great dignity" [syn: {dignity}, {lordliness}] hebetude n : mental lethargy or dullness hegemony n : the domination of one state over its allies heuristic adj : of or relating to or using a general formulation that serves to guide investigation [ant: {algorithmic}] n : a commonsense rule (or set of rules) intended to increase the probability of solving some problem [syn: {heuristic rule}, {heuristic program}] hierarchy n 1: a series of ordered groupings of people or things within a system; "put honesty first in her hierarchy of values" 2: the organization of people at different ranks in an administrative body [syn: {power structure}, {pecking order}] homily n : a sermon on a moral or religious topic [syn: {preachment}] hyperbole n : extravagant exaggeration [syn: {exaggeration}] hyperbolic adj 1: enlarged beyond truth or reasonableness; "had an exaggerated (or inflated) opinion of himself"; "a hyperbolic style" [syn: {exaggerated}, {inflated}] 2: of or relating to a hyperbola; "hyperbolic functions" hypostatize v : construe as a real existence, of a conceptual entity [syn: {hypostatise}] iconoclast n : someone who tries to destroy traditional ideas or institutions [syn: {image breaker}] iconoclastic adj : characterized by attack on established beliefs or institutions idyllic adj 1: excellent and delightful in all respects; "an idyllic spot for a picnic" 2: suggestive of an idyll; charmingly simple and serene; "his idyllic life in Tahiti"; "the pastoral legends of America's Golden Age" [syn: {pastoral}] ignoble adj 1: completely lacking nobility in character or quality or purpose; "something cowardly and ignoble in his attitude"; "I think it a less evil that some criminals should escape than that the government should play an ignoble part"- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. [ant: {noble}] 2: not of the nobility; "of ignoble (or ungentle) birth"; "untitled civilians" [syn: {ungentle}, {untitled}] ignominious adj : (used of conduct or character) deserving or bringing disgrace or shame; "Man...has written one of his blackest records as a destroyer on the oceanic islands"- Rachel Carson; "an ignominious retreat"; "inglorious defeat"; "an opprobrious monument to human greed"; "a shameful display of cowardice" [syn: {black}, {disgraceful}, {inglorious}, {opprobrious}, {shameful}] ignominy n : a state of dishonor; "one mistake brought shame to all his family"; "suffered the ignominy of being sent to prison" [syn: {shame}, {disgrace}] immanence n : the state of being within or not going beyond a given domain [syn: {immanency}, {inherence}] immure v : lock up or confine, in or as in a jail; "The suspects were imprisoned without trial"; "the murderer was incarcerated for the rest of his life" [syn: {imprison}, {incarcerate}, {lag}, {put behind bars}, {jail}, {jug}, {gaol}, {put away}, {remand}] immutable adj : not subject or susceptible to change or variation in form or quality or nature; "the view of that time was that all species were immutable, created by God" [syn: {changeless}] [ant: {mutable}] imperious adj : able to deal authoritatively with affairs; "dismissed the matter with an imperious wave of her hand" [syn: {masterful}] impetuous adj 1: characterized by undue haste and lack of thought or deliberation; "a hotheaded decision"; "liable to such impulsive acts as hugging strangers"; "an impetuous display of spending and gambling"; "madcap escapades"; (`brainish' is archaic) [syn: {hotheaded}, {impulsive}, {madcap}, {tearaway(a)}, {brainish}] 2: marked by violent force; "impetuous heaving waves" implacable adj : impossible to placate; "an implacable enemy" [ant: {placable}] imprecate v 1: wish harm upon; invoke evil upon; "The bad witch cursed the child" [syn: {curse}, {beshrew}, {damn}, {bedamn}, {anathemize}, {anathemise}, {maledict}] [ant: {bless}] 2: utter obscenities or profanities; "The drunken men were cursing loudly in the street" [syn: {curse}, {cuss}, {blaspheme}, {swear}] imprecation n 1: the act of calling down a curse that invokes evil (and usually serves as an insult); "he suffered the imprecations of the mob" [syn: {malediction}] 2: a slanderous accusation impresario n : a sponsor who books and stages public entertainments [syn: {showman}, {promoter}] impudence n 1: an impudent statement [syn: {cheek}, {impertinence}] 2: the trait of being rude and impertinent; inclined to take liberties [syn: {crust}, {gall}, {impertinence}, {insolence}, {cheekiness}, {freshness}] impudent adj 1: marked by casual disrespect; "a flip answer to serious question"; "the student was kept in for impudent behavior" [syn: {insolent}, {snotty-nosed}, {flip}] 2: improperly forward or bold; "don't be fresh with me"; "impertinent of a child to lecture a grownup"; "an impudent boy given to insulting strangers" [syn: {fresh}, {impertinent}, {overbold}, {smart}, {saucy}, {sassy}] impunity n : exemption from punishment or loss impute v 1: attribute or credit to; "We attributed this quotation to Shakespeare"; "People impute great cleverness to cats" [syn: {ascribe}, {assign}, {attribute}] 2: attribute (responsibility or fault) to a cause or source; "The teacher imputed the student's failure to his nervousness" inalienable adj 1: incapable of being repudiated or transferred to another; "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights" [syn: {unalienable}] [ant: {alienable}] 2: not subject to forfeiture; "an unforfeitable right" [syn: {unforfeitable}] inanition n 1: weakness characterized by a lack of vitality or energy [syn: {lassitude}, {lethargy}] 2: exhaustion resulting from lack of food incarnate adj 1: possessing or existing in bodily form; "what seemed corporal melted as breath into the wind"- Shakespeare; "an incarnate spirit"; "`corporate' is an archaic term" [syn: {bodied}, {corporal}, {corporate}, {embodied}] 2: invested with a bodily form especially of a human body; "a monarch...regarded as a god incarnate" v 1: make concrete and real [ant: {disincarnate}] 2: represent in bodily form; "He embodies all that is evil wrong with the system"; "The painting substantiates the incipient adj : only partly in existence; imperfectly formed; "incipient civil disorder"; "an incipient tumor"; "a vague inchoate idea" [syn: {inchoate}] incorporeal adj : without material form or substance; "an incorporeal spirit" [syn: {immaterial}] [ant: {corporeal}] inculcate v : teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions; "inculcate values into the young generation" [syn: {instill}, {infuse}] indecorous adj 1: lacking propriety and good taste in manners and conduct; "indecorous behavior" [syn: {indelicate}] [ant: {decorous}] 2: not in keeping with accepted standards of what is right or proper in polite society; "was buried with indecent haste"; "indecorous behavior"; "language unbecoming to a lady"; "unseemly to use profanity"; "moved to curb their untoward ribaldry" [syn: {indecent}, {unbecoming}, {uncomely}, {unseemly}, {untoward}] indigenous adj : originating where it is found; "the autochthonal fauna of Australia includes the kangaroo"; "autochthonous rocks and people and folktales"; "endemic folkways"; "the Ainu are indigenous to the northernmost islands of Japan" [syn: {autochthonal}, {autochthonic}, {autochthonous}, {endemic}] indigo n 1: a blue dye obtained from plants or made synthetically [syn: {anil}, {indigotin}] 2: deciduous subshrub of southeastern Asia having pinnate leaves and clusters of red or purple flowers; a source of indigo dye [syn: {indigo plant}, {Indigofera tinctoria}] 3: a blue-violet color [also: {indigoes} (pl)] indolent adj 1: disinclined to work or exertion; "faineant kings under whose rule the country languished"; "an indolent hanger-on"; "too lazy to wash the dishes"; "shiftless idle youth"; "slothful employees"; "the unemployed are not necessarily work-shy" [syn: {faineant}, {lazy}, {otiose}, {slothful}, {work-shy}] 2: of tumors e.g.; slow to heal or develop and usually painless; "an indolent ulcer"; "leprosy is an indolent infectious disease" indomitable adj : impossible to subdue [syn: {never-say-die}, {unsubduable}] induce v 1: cause to arise; "induce a crisis" [syn: {bring on}] 2: cause to do; cause to act in a specified manner; "The ads induced me to buy a VCR"; "My children finally got me to buy a computer"; "My wife made me buy a new sofa" [syn: {stimulate}, {cause}, {have}, {get}, {make}] 3: cause to occur rapidly; "the infection precipitated a high fever and allergic reactions" [syn: {stimulate}, {rush}, {hasten}] 4: reason or establish by induction 5: produce electric current by electrostatic or magnetic induction n 1: a formal entry into an organization or position or office; "his initiation into the club"; "he was ordered to report for induction into the army"; "he gave a speech as part of his installation into the hall of fame" [syn: {initiation}, {installation}] 2: an electrical phenomenon whereby an electromotive force (EMF) is generated in a closed circuit by a change in the flow of current 3: reasoning from detailed facts to general principles [syn: {generalization}, ineffable adj 1: defying expression or description; "indefinable yearnings"; "indescribable beauty"; "ineffable ecstasy"; "inexpressible anguish"; "unspeakable happiness"; "unutterable contempt"; "a thing of untellable splendor" [syn: {indefinable}, {indescribable}, {unspeakable}, {untellable}, {unutterable}] 2: too sacred to be uttered; "the ineffable name of the Deity" [syn: {unnameable}, {unspeakable}, {unutterable}] inexorable adj 1: not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty; "grim determination"; "grim necessity"; "Russia's final hour, it seemed, approached with inexorable certainty"; "relentless persecution"; "the stern demands of parenthood" [syn: {grim}, {relentless}, {stern}, {unappeasable}, {unforgiving}, {unrelenting}] 2: not capable of being swayed or diverted from a course; unsusceptible to persuasion; "he is adamant in his refusal to change his mind"; "Cynthia was inexorable; she would iniquity n 1: absence of moral or spiritual values; "the powers of darkness" [syn: {wickedness}, {darkness}, {dark}] 2: morally objectionable behavior [syn: {evil}, {immorality}, {wickedness}] 3: an unjust act [syn: {injustice}, {unfairness}] injudicious adj : lacking or showing lack of judgment or discretion; unwise; "an injudicious measure"; "the result of an injudicious decision" innocuous adj 1: not injurious to physical or mental health [syn: {harmless}] [ant: {noxious}] 2: unlikely to harm or disturb anyone; "harmless old man" [syn: {harmless}] 3: not causing disapproval; "it was an innocuous remark"; "confined himself to innocuous generalities"; "unobjectionable behavior" [syn: {unobjectionable}] 4: lacking intent or capacity to injure; "an innocent prank" [syn: {innocent}] insalubrious adj : detrimental to health [syn: {unhealthful}, {unhealthy}] insidious adj 1: beguiling but harmful; "insidious pleasures" 2: intended to entrap 3: working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way; "glaucoma is an insidious disease"; "a subtle poison" [syn: {pernicious}, {subtle}] insolence n 1: the trait of being rude and impertinent; inclined to take liberties [syn: {crust}, {gall}, {impertinence}, {impudence}, {cheekiness}, {freshness}] 2: an offensive disrespectful impudent act insoluble adj 1: (of a substance) not easily dissolved [ant: {soluble}] 2: admitting of no solution or explanation; "an insoluble doubt" [ant: {soluble}] 3: without hope of solution; "an insoluble problem" insouciant adj : marked by blithe unconcern; "an ability to interest casual students"; "showed a casual disregard for cold weather"; "an utterly insouciant financial policy"; "an elegantly insouciant manner"; "drove his car with nonchalant abandon"; "was polite in a teasing nonchalant manner" [syn: {casual}, {nonchalant}] insularity n : the state of being isolated or detached; "the insulation of England was preserved by the English Channel" [syn: {insulation}, {insularism}, {detachment}] insuperable adj 1: impossible to surmount [syn: {insurmountable}] 2: incapable of being surmounted or excelled; "insuperable odds"; "insuperable heroes" [syn: {unconquerable}] intemperate adj 1: (of weather or climate) not mild; subject to extremes; "an intemperate climate"; "intemperate zones" [ant: {temperate}] 2: excessive in behavior; "intemperate rage" [ant: {temperate}] 3: given to excessive indulgence of bodily appetites especially for intoxicating liquors interdict n 1: an ecclesiastical censure by the Roman Catholic Church withdrawing certain sacraments and Christian burial from a person or all persons in a particular district 2: a court order prohibiting a party from doing a certain activity [syn: {interdiction}] v 1: destroy by firepower, such as an enemy's line of communication 2: command against; "I forbid you to call me late at night"; "Mother vetoed the trip to the chocolate store" [syn: {forbid}, intractable adj : not tractable; difficult to manage or mold; "an intractable disposition"; "intractable pain"; "the most intractable issue of our era"; "intractable metal" [ant: {tractable}] intrepid adj : invulnerable to fear or intimidation; "audacious explorers"; "fearless reporters and photographers"; "intrepid pioneers" [syn: {audacious}, {brave}, {dauntless}, {fearless}, {unfearing}] inured adj : made tough by habitual exposure; "hardened fishermen"; "a peasant, dark, lean-faced, wind-inured"- Robert Lynd; "our successors...may be graver, more inured and equable men"- V.S.Pritchett [syn: {enured}, {hardened}] invariable adj : not liable to or capable of change; "an invariable temperature"; "an invariable rule"; "his invariable courtesy" [ant: {variable}] invective n : abusive or venomous language used to express blame or censure or bitter deep-seated ill will [syn: {vituperation}, {vitriol}] inveigh v 1: complain bitterly [syn: {rail}] 2: speak against in an impassioned manner; "he declaimed against the wasteful ways of modern society" [syn: {declaim}] inveterate adj : having a habit of long standing; "a chronic smoker" [syn: {chronic}, {confirmed}, {habitual}, {inveterate(a)}] inviolable adj 1: that cannot be transgressed or dishonored; "the person of the king is inviolable"; "an inviolable oath" [ant: {violable}] 2: able to withstand attack; "an impregnable fortress"; "fortifications that made the frontier inviolable" [syn: {impregnable}, {secure}, {strong}, {unassailable}, {unattackable}] 3: must be kept sacred [syn: {inviolate}, {sacrosanct}] 4: not capable of being violated or infringed; "infrangible human rights" [syn: {absolute}, {infrangible}] irascible adj 1: quickly aroused to anger; "a hotheaded commander" [syn: {choleric}, {hotheaded}, {hot-tempered}, {quick-tempered}, {short}, {short-tempered}] 2: characterized by anger; "a choleric outburst"; "an irascible response" [syn: {choleric}] irredenta n : a region that is related ethnically or historically to one country but is controlled politically by another [syn: {irridenta}] irreducible adj : incapable of being made smaller or simpler; "an irreducible minimum"; "an irreducible formula"; "an irreducible hernia" [ant: {reducible}] isotope n : one of two or more atoms with the same atomic number but with different numbers of neutrons iterate v : to say, state, or perform again; "She kept reiterating her request" [syn: {repeat}, {reiterate}, {ingeminate}, {restate}, {retell}] itinerant adj 1: traveling from place to place to work; "itinerant labor"; "an itinerant judge" 2: working for a short time in different places; "itinerant laborers"; "a road show"; "traveling salesman"; "touring company" [syn: {road}, {touring}, {traveling}] n : an itinerant laborer who works for a short time in various places juggernaut n 1: a massive inexorable force that seems to crush everything in its way [syn: {steamroller}] 2: an avatar of Vishnu [syn: {Jagannath}, {Jagannatha}, {Jagganath}] 3: a crude idol of Krishna keratosis n : a skin condition marked by an overgrowth of layers of horny skin kindred adj 1: similar or related in quality or character; "a feeling akin to terror"; "kindred souls"; "the amateur is closely related to the collector" [syn: {akin(p)}, {related}] 2: related by blood or marriage; "kindred clans" n : group of people related by blood or marriage [syn: {kin}, {kin group}, {kinship group}, {clan}, {tribe}] kinesthetics n : the ability to feel movements of the limbs and body [syn: {kinesthesis}, {kinaesthesis}, {kinesthesia}, {kinaesthesia}, {muscle sense}, {sense of movement}] [ant: {kinanesthesia}] knout n : a whip with a lash of leather thongs twisted with wire; used for flogging prisoners lacerate v 1: cut or tear irregularly 2: deeply hurt the feelings of; distress; "his lacerating remarks" lacerate adj 1: irregularly slashed and jagged as if torn; "lacerate leaves" 2: having edges that are jagged from injury [syn: {lacerated}, {mangled}, {torn}] lachrymose adj : showing sorrow [syn: {dolorous}, {dolourous}, {tearful}, {weeping}] laconic adj : brief and to the point; effectively cut short; "a crisp retort"; "a response so curt as to be almost rude"; "the laconic reply; `yes'"; "short and terse and easy to understand" [syn: {crisp}, {curt}, {terse}] lament n 1: a cry of sorrow and grief; "their pitiful laments could be heard throughout the ward" [syn: {lamentation}, {plaint}, {wail}] 2: a song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person [syn: {dirge}, {coronach}, {requiem}, {threnody}] 3: a mournful poem; a lament for the dead [syn: {elegy}] v 1: express grief verbally; "we lamented the death of the child" [syn: {keen}] lascivious adj : driven by lust; preoccupied with or exhibiting lustful desires; "libidinous orgies" [syn: {lewd}, {libidinous}, {lustful}] lavation n : the work of cleansing (usually with soap and water) [syn: {wash}, {washing}] lectern n : desk or stand with a slanted top used to hold a text at the proper height for a lecturer [syn: {reading desk}] lexis n : all of the words in a language; all word forms having meaning or grammatical function librate v 1: determine the weight of; "The butcher weighed the chicken" [syn: {weigh}] 2: vibrate before coming to a total rest; "the children's swing librated" licentious adj : lacking moral discipline; especially sexually unrestrained; "coarse and licentious men" litany n 1: any long and tedious address or recital; "the patient recited a litany of complaints"; "a litany of failures" 2: a prayer consisting of a series of invocations by the priest with responses from the congregation locus n 1: the scene of any event or action (especially the place of a meeting) [syn: {venue}, {locale}] 2: the specific site of a particular gene on its chromosome 3: the set of all points or lines that satisfy or are determined by specific conditions; "the locus of points equidistant from a given point is a circle" [also: {loci} (pl)] locution n : a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations; "pardon the expression" [syn: {saying}, {expression}] lucre n 1: informal terms for money [syn: {boodle}, {bread}, {cabbage}, {clams}, {dinero}, {dough}, {gelt}, {kale}, {lettuce}, {lolly}, {loot}, {moolah}, {pelf}, {scratch}, {shekels}, {simoleons}, {sugar}, {wampum}] 2: the excess of revenues over outlays in a given period of time (including depreciation and other non-cash expenses) [syn: {net income}, {net}, {net profit}, {profit}, {profits}, {earnings}] lychgate n : a roofed gate to a churchyard, formerly used as a temporary shelter for the bier during funerals [syn: {lichgate}] magnanimous adj 1: noble and generous in spirit; "a greathearted general"; "a magnanimous conqueror" [syn: {greathearted}] 2: generous and understanding and tolerant; "a heart big enough to hold no grudges"; "that's very big of you to be so forgiving"; "a large and generous spirit"; "a large heart"; "magnanimous toward his enemies" [syn: {big}, {large}] magnate n : a very wealthy or powerful businessman; "an oil baron" [syn: {baron}, {big businessman}, {business leader}, {king}, {mogul}, {power}, {top executive}, {tycoon}] malaprop n : the unintentional misuse of a word by confusion with one that sounds similar [syn: {malapropism}] malediction n : the act of calling down a curse that invokes evil (and usually serves as an insult); "he suffered the imprecations of the mob" [syn: {imprecation}] malefactor n : someone who has committed (or been legally convicted of) a crime [syn: {criminal}, {felon}, {crook}, {outlaw}] malign adj 1: evil or harmful in nature or influence; "prompted by malign motives"; "believed in witches and malign spirits"; "gave him a malign look"; "a malign lesion" [ant: {benign}] 2: having or exerting a malignant influence; "malevolent stars"; "a malefic force" [syn: {malefic}, {malevolent}, {evil}] malign v : speak unfavorably about; "She badmouthes her husband everywhere" [syn: {badmouth}, {traduce}, {drag through the mud}] malignant adj 1: dangerous to health; characterized by progressive and uncontrolled growth (especially of a tumor) [ant: {benign}] 2: extremely malevolent or malicious; "the malignant tongues of gossipers" [syn: {malevolent}] malleable adj 1: easily influenced [syn: {ductile}] 2: capable of being shaped or bent or drawn out; "ductile copper"; "malleable metals such as gold"; "they soaked the leather to made it pliable"; "pliant molten glass"; "made of highly tensile steel alloy" [syn: {ductile}, {pliable}, {pliant}, {tensile}, {tractile}] malversate v : appropriate (as property entrusted to one's care) fraudulently to one's own use; "The accountant embezzled thousands of dollars while working for the wealthy family" [syn: {embezzle}, {defalcate}, {peculate}, {misappropriate}] martinet n : someone who demands exact conformity to rules and forms [syn: {disciplinarian}, {moralist}] masticate v 1: grind and knead; "masticate rubber" 2: chew (food); "He jawed his bubble gum"; "Chew your food and don't swallow it!"; "The cows were masticating the grass" [syn: {chew}, {manducate}, {jaw}] maudlin adj : effusively or insincerely emotional; "a bathetic novel"; "maudlin expressons of sympathy"; "mushy effusiveness"; "a schmaltzy song"; "sentimental soap operas"; "slushy poetry" [syn: {bathetic}, {drippy}, {hokey}, {mawkish}, {mushy}, {schmaltzy}, {schmalzy}, {sentimental}, {slushy}] mawkish adj : effusively or insincerely emotional; "a bathetic novel"; "maudlin expressons of sympathy"; "mushy effusiveness"; "a schmaltzy song"; "sentimental soap operas"; "slushy poetry" [syn: {bathetic}, {drippy}, {hokey}, {maudlin}, {mushy}, {schmaltzy}, {schmalzy}, {sentimental}, {slushy}] mendacious adj 1: given to lying; "a lying witness"; "a mendacious child" [syn: {lying(a)}] 2: intentionally untrue; "a mendacious statement" mendicant adj : practicing beggary; "mendicant friars" n 1: a male member of a religious order that originally relied soley on alms [syn: {friar}] 2: a pauper who lives by begging [syn: {beggar}] mercurial adj 1: liable to sudden unpredictable change; "erratic behavior"; "fickle weather"; "mercurial twists of temperament"; "a quicksilver character, cool and willful at one moment, utterly fragile the next" [syn: {erratic}, {fickle}, {quicksilver(a)}] 2: relating to or under the (astrological) influence of the planet Mercury; "the Mercurial canals" 3: relating to or having characteristics (eloquence, shrewdness, swiftness, thievishness) attributed to the god misanthrope n : someone who dislikes people in general [syn: {misanthropist}] misconstrue v : interpret in the wrong way; "Don't misinterpret my comments as criticism"; "She misconstrued my remarks" [syn: {misinterpret}, {misconceive}, {misunderstand}, {misapprehend}, {be amiss}] miscreant n : a person without moral scruples [syn: {reprobate}] misogyny n : hatred of women [syn: {misogynism}] modality n 1: a classification of propositions on the basis of whether they claim necessity or possibility or impossibility [syn: {mode}] 2: verb inflections that express how the action or state is conceived by the speaker [syn: {mood}, {mode}] 3: a particular sense [syn: {sense modality}, {sensory system}] 4: a method of therapy that involves physical or electrical therapeutic treatment modicum n : a small or moderate or token amount; "England still expects a modicum of eccentricity in its artists"- Ian Jack monolithic adj 1: imposing in size or bulk or solidity; "massive oak doors"; "Moore's massive sculptures"; "the monolithic proportions of Stalinist architecture"; "a monumental scale" [syn: {massive}, {monumental}] 2: characterized by massiveness and rigidity and total uniformity; "a monolithic society"; "a monolithic worldwide movement" nadir n 1: an extreme state of adversity; the lowest point of anything [syn: {low-water mark}] 2: the point below the observer that is directly opposite the zenith on the imaginary sphere against which celestial bodies appear to be projected [ant: {zenith}] nefarious adj : extremely wicked; "nefarious schemes"; "a villainous plot"; "a villainous band of thieves" [syn: {villainous}] neology n 1: a newly invented word or phrase [syn: {neologism}, {coinage}] 2: the act of inventing a word or phrase [syn: {neologism}, {coinage}] nexus n 1: the means of connection between things linked in series [syn: {link}] 2: a connected series or group noesis n : the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning [syn: {cognition}, {knowledge}] nominal adj 1: relating to or constituting or bearing or giving a name; "the Russian system of nominal brevity"; "a nominal lists of priests"; "taxable males as revealed by the nominal rolls" 2: insignificantly small; a matter of form only (`tokenish' is informal); "the fee was nominal"; "a token gesture of resistance"; "a tokenish gesture" [syn: {token(a)}, {tokenish}] 3: pertaining to a noun or to a word group that functions as a noun; "nominal phrase"; "noun phrase" nonchalant adj : marked by blithe unconcern; "an ability to interest casual students"; "showed a casual disregard for cold weather"; "an utterly insouciant financial policy"; "an elegantly insouciant manner"; "drove his car with nonchalant abandon"; "was polite in a teasing nonchalant manner" [syn: {casual}, {insouciant}] nonplus v : be a mystery or bewildering to; "This beats me!"; "Got me--I don't know the answer!"; "a vexing problem"; "This question really stuck me" [syn: {perplex}, {vex}, {stick}, {get}, {puzzle}, {mystify}, {baffle}, {beat}, {pose}, {bewilder}, {flummox}, {stupefy}, {gravel}, {amaze}, {dumbfound}] [also: {nonplussing}, {nonplusses}, {nonplussed}] nous n 1: common sense; "she has great social nous" 2: that which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason; "his mind wandered"; "I couldn't get his words out of my head" [syn: {mind}, {head}, {brain}, {psyche}] objurgate v 1: express strong disapproval of; "We condemn the racism in South Africa"; "These ideas were reprobated" [syn: {condemn}, {reprobate}, {decry}, {excoriate}] 2: censure severely; "She chastised him for his insensitive remarks" [syn: {chastise}, {castigate}, {chasten}, {correct}] obloquy n 1: state of disgrace resulting from public abuse [syn: {opprobrium}] 2: a malicious attack [syn: {defamation}, {calumny}, {traducement}, {hatchet job}] obnubilate v 1: make less visible or unclear; "The stars are obscured by the clouds" [syn: {obscure}, {befog}, {becloud}, {haze over}, {fog}, {cloud}, {mist}] 2: make unclear, indistinct, or blurred; "Her remarks confused the debate"; "Their words obnubilate their intentions" [syn: {confuse}, {blur}, {obscure}] obsequious adj 1: attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery [syn: {bootlicking}, {fawning}, {sycophantic}, {toadyish}] 2: attentive in an ingratiating or servile manner; "obsequious shop assistants" obstreperous adj 1: noisily and stubbornly defiant; "obstreperous boys" 2: boisterously and noisily aggressive; "kept up an obstreperous clamor" obverse n 1: the more conspicuous of two alternatives or cases or sides; "the obverse of this issue" 2: the side of a coin or medal bearing the principal stamp or design [ant: {reverse}] ocher adj : of a moderate orange-yellow color [syn: {ochre}] n 1: a moderate yellow-orange to orange color [syn: {ochre}] 2: any of various earths containing silica and alumina and ferric oxide; used as a pigment [syn: {ochre}] ocular adj 1: of or relating to or resembling the eye; "ocular muscles"; "an ocular organ"; "ocular diseases"; "the optic (or optical) axis of the eye"; "an ocular spot is a pigmented organ or part believed to be sensitive to light" [syn: {optic}, {optical}, {opthalmic}] 2: relating to or using sight; "ocular inspection"; "an optical illusion"; "visual powers"; "visual navigation" [syn: {optic}, {optical}, {visual}] 3: able to be seen; "be sure of it; give me the ocular proof"- odious adj : unequivocally detestable; "abominable treatment of prisoners"; "detestable vices"; "execrable crimes"; "consequences odious to those you govern"- Edmund Burke [syn: {abominable}, {detestable}, {execrable}] oligarchy n : a political system governed by a few people omniscient adj : infinitely wise [syn: {all-knowing}] oneiric adj : of or relating to or suggestive of dreams oneirism n : absent-minded dreaming while awake [syn: {reverie}, {revery}, {daydream}, {daydreaming}, {air castle}, {castle in the air}, {castle in Spain}] ontology n : the metaphysical study of the nature of being and existence onus n : an onerous or difficult concern; "the burden of responsibility"; "that's a load off my mind" [syn: {burden}, {load}, {encumbrance}, {incumbrance}] opprobrious adj 1: expressing offensive reproach [syn: {abusive}, {insulting}, {scornful}, {scurrilous}] 2: (used of conduct or character) deserving or bringing disgrace or shame; "Man...has written one of his blackest records as a destroyer on the oceanic islands"- Rachel Carson; "an ignominious retreat"; "inglorious defeat"; "an opprobrious monument to human greed"; "a shameful display of cowardice" [syn: {black}, {disgraceful}, {ignominious}, {inglorious}, {shameful}] ordinal adj 1: of or relating to a taxonomic order; "family and ordinal names of animals and plants" 2: being or denoting a numerical order in a series; "ordinal numbers"; "held an ordinal rank of seventh" [ant: {cardinal}] n : the number designating place in an ordered sequence [syn: {ordinal number}, {no.}] orogeny n : the process of mountain formation (especially by the upward displacement of the earth's crust) osculate v 1: be intermediate between two taxonomic groups; "These species osculate" 2: have at least three points in common with; "one curve osculates the other"; "these two surfaces osculate" 3: touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.; "The newly married couple kissed"; "She kissed her grandfather on the forehead when she entered the room" [syn: {kiss}, {buss}] paean n 1: a formal expression of praise [syn: {encomium}, {eulogy}, {panegyric}, {pean}] 2: (ancient Greece) a hymn of praise (especially one sung in ancient Greece to invoke or thank a deity) [syn: {pean}] palaver n 1: flattery intended to persuade [syn: {blandishment}, {cajolery}] 2: loud and confused and empty talk; "mere rhetoric" [syn: {hot air}, {empty words}, {empty talk}, {rhetoric}] v 1: speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly [syn: {chatter}, {piffle}, {prate}, {tittle-tattle}, {twaddle}, {clack}, {maunder}, {prattle}, {blab}, {gibber}, {tattle}, {blabber}, {gabble}] 2: influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering; "He palavered her into going along" [syn: {wheedle}, palindrome n : a word or phrase that reads the same backward as forward palisade n : fortification consisting of a strong fence made of stakes driven into the ground v : surround with a wall in order to fortify [syn: {wall}, {fence}, {fence in}, {surround}] palliate v 1: lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of; "The circumstances extenuate the crime" [syn: {extenuate}, {mitigate}] 2: provide physical relief, as from pain; "This pill will relieve your headaches" [syn: {relieve}, {alleviate}, {assuage}] palpable adj 1: capable of being perceived by the senses or the mind; especially capable of being handled or touched or felt; "a barely palpable dust"; "felt sudden anger in a palpable wave"; "the air was warm and close--palpable as cotton" [syn: {tangible}] [ant: {impalpable}] 2: can be felt by palpation; "a palpable tumor" paltry adj 1: not worth considering; "he considered the prize too paltry for the lives it must cost"; "piffling efforts"; "a trifling matter" [syn: {negligible}, {trifling}] 2: contemptibly small in amount; "a measly tip"; "the company donated a miserable $100 for flood relief"; "a paltry wage"; "almost depleted his miserable store of dried beans" [syn: {measly}, {miserable}] [also: {paltriest}, {paltrier}] panegyric adj : formally expressing praise [syn: {encomiastic}, {eulogistic}, {panegyrical}] panegyric n : a formal expression of praise [syn: {encomium}, {eulogy}, {paean}, {pean}] parabola n : a plane curve formed by the intersection of a right circular cone and a plane parallel to an element of the curve paradigm n 1: systematic arrangement of all the inflected forms of a word 2: a standard or typical example; "he is the prototype of good breeding"; "he provided America with an image of the good father" [syn: {prototype}, {epitome}, {image}] 3: the class of all items that can be substituted into the same position (or slot) in a grammatical sentence (are in paradigmatic relation with one another) [syn: {substitution class}] 4: the generally accepted perspective of a particular paragon n 1: an ideal instance; a perfect embodiment of a concept [syn: {idol}, {perfection}, {beau ideal}] 2: model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal [syn: {ideal}, {nonpareil}, {saint}, {apotheosis}, {nonesuch}, {nonsuch}] parapraxis n : a minor inadvertent mistake usually observed in speech or writing or in small accidents or memory lapses etc. [syn: {slip}, {slip-up}, {miscue}] [also: {parapraxes} (pl)] pariah n : a person who is rejected (from society or home) [syn: {outcast}, {castaway}, {Ishmael}] parlance n : a manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language [syn: {idiom}] parsimony n 1: extreme care in spending money; reluctance to spend money unnecessarily [syn: {parsimoniousness}, {thrift}, {penny-pinching}] 2: extreme stinginess [syn: {meanness}, {minginess}, {niggardliness}, {niggardness}, {parsimoniousness}, {tightness}, {tightfistedness}, {closeness}] parturition n : the process of giving birth [syn: {birth}, {giving birth}, {birthing}] paseo n : a path set aside for walking; "after the blizzard he shoveled the front walk" [syn: {walk}, {walkway}] pastiche n 1: a musical composition consisting of a series of songs or other musical pieces from various sources [syn: {medley}, {potpourri}] 2: a work of art that imitates the style of some previous work paternalism n : the attitude (of a person or a government) that subordinates should be controlled in a fatherly way for their own good peccadillo n : a petty misdeed [syn: {indiscretion}] [also: {peccadilloes} (pl)] peculate v : appropriate (as property entrusted to one's care) fraudulently to one's own use; "The accountant embezzled thousands of dollars while working for the wealthy family" [syn: {embezzle}, {defalcate}, {misappropriate}, {malversate}] pecuniary adj : relating to or involving money; "monetary rewards"; "he received thanks but no pecuniary compensation for his services" [syn: {monetary}] pedant n : a person who pays more attention to formal rules and book learning than they merit [syn: {bookworm}, {scholastic}] pedantic adj : marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning especially its trivial aspects [syn: {academic}, {donnish}] pedantry n : a ostentatious and inappropriate display of learning pejorative adj : expressing disapproval; "dyslogistic terms like `nitwit' and `scalawag'" [syn: {dyslogistic}, {dislogistic}] pendulous adj : having branches or flower heads that bend downward; "nodding daffodils"; "the pendulous branches of a weeping willow"; "lilacs with drooping panicles of fragrant flowers" [syn: {cernuous}, {drooping}, {nodding}] pensive adj 1: persistently or morbidly thoughtful [syn: {brooding}, {broody}, {contemplative}, {meditative}, {musing}, {pondering}, {reflective}, {ruminative}] 2: showing pensive sadness; "the sensitive and wistful response of a poet to the gentler phases of beauty" [syn: {wistful}] penury n : a state of extreme poverty or destitution; "their indigence appalled him"; "a general state of need exists among the homeless" [syn: {indigence}, {need}, {beggary}, {pauperism}, {pauperization}] perceptual adj : of or relating to the act of perceiving; "perceptual stimulus" perdition n : (Christianity) the abode of Satan and the forces of evil; where sinners suffer eternal punishment; "Hurl'd headlong...To bottomless perdition, there to dwell"- John Milton; "a demon from the depths of the pit" [syn: {Hell}, {Inferno}, {infernal region}, {nether region}, {the pit}] [ant: {Heaven}] peremptory adj 1: offensively self-assured or given to exercising usually unwarranted power; "an autocratic person"; "autocratic behavior"; "a bossy way of ordering others around"; "a rather aggressive and dominating character"; "managed the employees in an aloof magisterial way"; "a swaggering peremptory manner" [syn: {autocratic}, {bossy}, {dominating}, {high-and-mighty}, {magisterial}] 2: not allowing contradiction or refusal; "spoke in peremptory tones"; "peremptory commands" perfidy n 1: betrayal of a trust [syn: {perfidiousness}, {treachery}] 2: an act of deliberate betrayal [syn: {treachery}, {betrayal}, {treason}] perfuse v 1: force a fluid through (a body part or tissue); "perfuse a liver with a salt solution" 2: cause to spread or flush or flood through, over, or across; "The sky was suffused with a warm pink color" [syn: {suffuse}] peripatetic adj : traveling especially on foot; "peripatetic country preachers"; "a poor wayfaring stranger" [syn: {wayfaring}] n 1: a person who walks from place to place 2: a follower of Aristotle or an adherent of Aristotelianism [syn: {Aristotelian}, {Aristotelean}] periphrastic adj : roundabout and unnecessarily wordy; "had a preference for circumlocutious (or circumlocutory) rather than forthright expression"; "A periphrastic study in a worn-out poetical fashion,/ Leaving one still with the intolerable wrestle/ With words and meanings."-T.S.Eliot; (`ambagious' is archaic) [syn: {circumlocutious}, {circumlocutory}, {ambagious}] permutation n 1: an event in which one thing is substituted for another; "the replacement of lost blood by a transfusion of donor blood" [syn: {substitution}, {transposition}, {replacement}, {switch}] 2: the act of changing the arrangement of a given number of elements 3: complete change in character or condition; "the permutations...taking place in the physical world"- Henry Miller pernicious adj 1: exceedingly harmful [syn: {baneful}, {deadly}, {pestilent}] 2: working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way; "glaucoma is an insidious disease"; "a subtle poison" [syn: {insidious}, {subtle}] peroration n 1: a flowery and highly rhetorical oration 2: (rhetoric) the concluding section of an oration; "he summarized his main points in his peroration" persevere v : be persistent, refuse to stop; "he persisted to call me every night"; "The child persisted and kept asking questions" [syn: {persist}, {hang in}, {hang on}, {hold on}] petulant adj : easily irritated or annoyed; "an incorrigibly fractious young man"; "not the least nettlesome of his countrymen" [syn: {cranky}, {fractious}, {irritable}, {nettlesome}, {peevish}, {peckish}, {pettish}, {testy}, {tetchy}, {techy}] philanthropic adj 1: generous in assistance to the poor; "a benevolent contributor"; "eleemosynary relief"; "philanthropic contributions" [syn: {beneficent}, {benevolent}, {eleemosynary}] 2: of or relating to or characterized by philanthropy; "a philanthropic society" philology n : the humanistic study of language and literature [syn: {linguistics}] physiognomy n : the human face (`kisser' and `smiler' and `mug' are informal terms for `face' and `phiz' is British) [syn: {countenance}, {phiz}, {visage}, {kisser}, {smiler}, {mug}] physiological adj 1: of or relating to the biological study of physiology; "physiological psychology"; "Pavlov's physiological theories" 2: of or consistent with an organism's normal functioning; "physiologic functions"; "physiological processes" [syn: {physiologic}] pillory n : a wooden instrument of punishment on a post with holes for the neck and hands; offenders were locked in and so exposed to public scorn [syn: {stocks}] v 1: expose to ridicule or public scorn [syn: {gibbet}] 2: punish by putting in a pillory 3: criticize harshly or violently; "The press savaged the new President"; "The critics crucified the author for plagiarizing a famous passage" [syn: {savage}, {crucify}] [also: {pilloried}] piquant adj 1: having an agreeably pungent taste [syn: {savory}, {savoury}, {spicy}, {zesty}] 2: engagingly stimulating or provocative; "a piquant wit"; "salty language" [syn: {salty}] 3: attracting or delighting; "an engaging frankness"; "a piquant face with large appealing eyes" [syn: {engaging}] plaint n 1: a written statement of the grounds of complaint made to court law asking for the grievance to be redressed 2: a cry of sorrow and grief; "their pitiful laments could be heard throughout the ward" [syn: {lament}, {lamentation}, {wail}] plaintive adj : expressing sorrow [syn: {mournful}] platitude n : a trite or obvious remark [syn: {cliche}, {banality}, {commonplace}, {bromide}] plebeian adj 1: of the common people of ancient Rome; "a plebeian magistrate" [ant: {proletarian}, {patrician}] 2: of or associated with the great masses of people; "the common people in those days suffered greatly"; "behavior that branded him as common"; "his square plebeian nose"; "a vulgar and objectionable person"; "the unwashed masses" [syn: {common}, {vulgar}, {unwashed}] n : one of the common people [syn: {pleb}] plenary adj : full in all respects; "a plenary session of the legislature"; "a diplomat with plenary powers" poach v 1: hunt illegally; "people are poaching elephants for their ivory" 2: cook in a simmering liquid; "poached apricots" poignant adj 1: arousing affect; "the homecoming of the released hostages was an affecting scene"; "poignant grief cannot endure forever"; "his gratitude was simple and touching" [syn: {affecting}, {touching}] 2: keenly distressing to the mind or feelings; "poignant anxiety" polemic n 1: a writer who argues in opposition to others (especially in theology) [syn: {polemicist}, {polemist}] 2: a controversy (especially over a belief or dogma) polemic adj : of or involving dispute or controversy [syn: {polemical}] poltroon adj : characterized by complete cowardliness poltroon n : an abject coward [syn: {craven}, {recreant}] polynomial adj : having the character of a polynomial; "a polynomial expression" [syn: {multinomial}] n : a mathematical expression that is the sum of a number of terms [syn: {multinomial}] polyphonic adj 1: having two or more phonetic values; "polyphonic letters such as `a'" 2: of or relating to or characterized by polyphony; "polyphonic traditions of the baroque" [syn: {polyphonous}] 3: having two or more independent but harmonically related melodic parts sounding together [syn: {contrapuntal}] [ant: {monophonic}] pompous adj : puffed up with vanity; "a grandiloquent and boastful manner"; "overblown oratory"; "a pompous speech"; "pseudo-scientific gobbledygook and pontifical hooey"- Newsweek [syn: {grandiloquent}, {overblown}, {pontifical}, {portentous}] pontificate n : the government of the Roman Catholic Church [syn: {papacy}] v 1: administer a pontifical office 2: talk in a dogmatic and pompous manner; "The new professor always pontificates" portentous adj 1: of momentous or ominous significance; "such a portentous...monster raised all my curiosity"- Herman Melville; "a prodigious vision" [syn: {prodigious}] 2: of ominous significance [syn: {fateful}, {foreboding(a)}] 3: puffed up with vanity; "a grandiloquent and boastful manner"; "overblown oratory"; "a pompous speech"; "pseudo-scientific gobbledygook and pontifical hooey"- Newsweek [syn: {grandiloquent}, {overblown}, {pompous}, {pontifical}] poultice n : a medical dressing consisting of a soft heated mass of meal or clay that is spread on a cloth and applied to the skin to treat inflamed areas or improve circulation etc. [syn: {cataplasm}, {plaster}] v : dress by covering with a therapeutic substance [syn: {plaster}] prater n : an obnoxious and foolish and loquacious talker [syn: {chatterer}, {babbler}, {chatterbox}, {magpie}, {spouter}] precedence n 1: status established in order of importance or urgency; "...its precedence as the world's leading manufacturer of pharmaceuticals"; "national independence takes priority over class struggle" [syn: {precedency}, {priority}] 2: preceding in time [syn: {priority}, {antecedence}, {antecedency}, {anteriority}, {precedency}] [ant: {posteriority}] 3: the act of preceding in time or order or rank (as in a ceremony) [syn: {precession}, {precedency}] precept n 1: rule of personal conduct [syn: {principle}] 2: a doctrine that is taught; "the teachings of religion"; "he believed all the Christian precepts" [syn: {teaching}, {commandment}] precipitous adj 1: done with very great haste and without due deliberation; "hasty marriage seldom proveth well"- Shakespeare; "hasty makeshifts take the place of planning"- Arthur Geddes; "rejected what was regarded as an overhasty plan for reconversion"; "wondered whether they had been rather precipitate in deposing the king" [syn: {hasty}, {overhasty}, {precipitate}, {precipitant}] 2: characterized by precipices; "a precipitous bluff" 3: extremely steep; "an abrupt canyon"; "the precipitous rapids precocious adj 1: characterized by or characteristic of exceptionally early development or maturity (especially in mental aptitude); "a precocious child"; "a precocious achievement" [ant: {retarded}] 2: appearing or developing early; "precocious flowers appear before the leaves as in some species of magnolias" predation n 1: an act of plundering and pillaging and marauding [syn: {depredation}] 2: the act of preying by a predator who kills and eats the prey predication n : (logic) a declaration of something self-evident; something that can be assumed as the basis for argument [syn: {postulation}] preponderant adj : having superior power and influence; "the predominant mood among policy-makers is optimism" [syn: {overriding}, {paramount}, {predominant}, {predominate}, {preponderating}] preposition n 1: a function word that combines with a noun or pronoun or noun phrase to form a prepositional phrase that can have an adverbial or adjectival relation to some other word 2: (linguistics) the placing of one linguistic element before another (as placing a modifier before the word it modifies in a sentence or placing an affix before the base to which it is attached) prescient adj : perceiving the significance of events before they occur; "extroardinarily prescient memoranda on the probable course of postwar relations"-R.H.Rovere privation n 1: a state of extreme poverty [syn: {want}, {deprivation}] 2: act of depriving someone of food or money or rights; "nutritional privation"; "deprivation of civil rights" [syn: {deprivation}] prodigious adj 1: so great in size or force or extent as to elicit awe; "colossal crumbling ruins of an ancient temple"; "has a colossal nerve"; "a prodigious storm"; "a stupendous field of grass"; "stupendous demand" [syn: {colossal}, {stupendous}] 2: of momentous or ominous significance; "such a portentous...monster raised all my curiosity"- Herman Melville; "a prodigious vision" [syn: {portentous}] 3: far beyond what is usual in magnitude or degree; "a night of proficient adj : having or showing knowledge and skill and aptitude; "adept in handicrafts"; "an adept juggler"; "an expert job"; "a good mechanic"; "a practiced marksman"; "a proficient engineer"; "a lesser-known but no less skillful composer"; "the effect was achieved by skillful retouching" [syn: {adept}, {expert}, {good}, {practiced}, {skillful}, {skilful}] profligate adj 1: recklessly wasteful; "prodigal in their expenditures" [syn: {extravagant}, {prodigal}, {spendthrift}] 2: unrestrained by convention or morality; "Congreve draws a debauched aristocratic society"; "deplorably dissipated and degraded"; "riotous living"; "fast women" [syn: {debauched}, {degenerate}, {degraded}, {dissipated}, {dissolute}, {libertine}, {riotous}, {fast}] profligate n 1: a dissolute man in fashionable society [syn: {rake}, {rip}, profundity n 1: wisdom that is recondite and abstruse and profound; "the anthropologist was impressed by the reconditeness of the native proverbs" [syn: {reconditeness}, {abstruseness}, {abstrusity}, {profoundness}] 2: intellectual depth; penetrating knowledge; keen insight; etc; "the depth of my feeling"; "the profoundness of the silence" [syn: {profoundness}] [ant: {superficiality}] 3: the intellectual ability to penetrate deeply into ideas [syn: {astuteness}, {profoundness}, {depth}] progenitor n : an ancestor in the direct line [syn: {primogenitor}] progeny n : the immediate descendants of a person; "she was the mother of many offspring"; "he died without issue" [syn: {offspring}, {issue}] prole n : a member of the working class (not necessarily employed); "workers of the world--unite!" [syn: {proletarian}, {worker}] proletarian adj 1: the lowest class of citizens of ancient Rome who had no property [syn: {propertyless}] [ant: {patrician}, {plebeian}] 2: belonging to or characteristic of the proletariat n : a member of the working class (not necessarily employed); "workers of the world--unite!" [syn: {prole}, {worker}] proletariat n : a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages; "there is a shortage of skilled labor in this field" [syn: {labor}, {labour}, {working class}] proliferate v 1: grow rapidly; "Pizza parlors proliferate in this area" 2: cause to grow or increase rapidly; "We must not proliferate nuclear arms" promptitude n : the characteristic of doing things without delay [syn: {promptness}] promulgate v 1: state or announce; "`I am not a Communist,' " he exclaimed; "The King will proclaim an amnesty" [syn: {proclaim}, {exclaim}] 2: put a law into effect by formal declaration propaedeutic adj : preceding and preparing for something; "preparatory steps" [syn: {preparatory}, {preparative}] n : a course that provides and introduction to an art or science (or to more advanced study generally) [syn: {propaedeutics}] propagate v 1: transmit from one generation to the next; "propagate these characteristics" 2: travel through the air; "sound and light propagate in this medium" 3: transmit; "propagate sound or light through air" 4: become distributed or widespread; "the infection spread"; "Optimism spread among the population" [syn: {spread}] 5: transmit or cause to broaden or spread; "This great civilization was propagated throughout the land" propitiate v : make peace with [syn: {appease}] prorogue v 1: hold back to a later time; "let's postpone the exam" [syn: {postpone}, {hold over}, {put over}, {table}, {shelve}, {set back}, {defer}, {remit}, {put off}] 2: adjourn by royal prerogative; without dissolving the legislative body prosaic adj 1: not fanciful or imaginative; "local guides describe the history of various places in matter-of-fact tones"; "a prosaic and unimaginative essay" [syn: {matter-of-fact}] 2: lacking wit or imagination; "a pedestrian movie plot" [syn: {pedestrian}, {prosy}, {earthbound}] 3: not challenging; dull and lacking excitement; "an unglamorous job greasing engines" [syn: {commonplace}, {humdrum}, {unglamorous}, {unglamourous}] protract v : lengthen in time; cause to be or last longer; "We prolonged our stay"; "She extended her visit by another day"; "The meeting was drawn out until midnight" [syn: {prolong}, {extend}, {draw out}] provenance n : where something originated or was nurtured in its early existence; "the birthplace of civilization" [syn: {birthplace}, {cradle}, {place of origin}] proverbial adj 1: of or relating to or resembling or expressed in a proverb; "he kicked the proverbial bucket"; "the proverbial grasshopper" 2: widely known and spoken of; "her proverbial lateness"; "the proverbial absentiminded professor"; "your proverbial dizzy blonde" provident adj 1: providing carefully for the future; "wild squirrels are provident"; "a provident father plans for his children's education" [ant: {improvident}] 2: careful in regard to your own interests; "the prudent use and development of resources"; "wild squirrels are provident" provincial adj 1: of or associated with a province; "provincial government" 2: characteristic of the provinces or their people; "deeply provincial and conformist"; "in that well-educated company I felt uncomfortably provincial"; "narrow provincial attitudes" [ant: {cosmopolitan}] provincial n 1: (Roman Catholic Church) an official in charge of an ecclesiastical province acting under the superior general of a religious order; "the general of the psychotropic adj : affecting the mind or mood or other mental processes; "psychoactive drugs" [syn: {psychoactive}] [ant: {nonpsychoactive}] punctilious adj : marked by precise accordance with details; "was worryingly meticulous about trivial details"; "punctilious in his attention to rules of etiquette" [syn: {meticulous}] punctiliousness n : strict attention to minute details [syn: {meticulousness}, {meticulosity}, {scrupulousness}] purl v 1: flow in a circular current, of liquids [syn: {eddy}, {whirlpool}, {swirl}, {whirl}] 2: make a murmuring sound; "the water was purling" 3: knit with a purl stitch 4: edge or border with gold or silver embroidery 5: embroider with gold or silver thread purl n 1: gold or silver wire thread 2: a basic knitting stitch [syn: {purl stitch}] purloin v : make off with belongings of others [syn: {pilfer}, {cabbage}, {pinch}, {abstract}, {snarf}, {swipe}, {hook}, {sneak}, {filch}, {nobble}, {lift}] purview n : the range of interest or activity that can be anticipated; "It is beyond the horizon of present knowledge" [syn: {horizon}, {view}] putative adj : commonly put forth or accepted as true on inconclusive grounds; "the foundling's putative father"; "the reputed (or purported) author of the book"; "the supposed date of birth" [syn: {putative(a)}, {purported(a)}, {reputed(a)}, {supposed(a)}] quaestor n : any of several public officials of ancient Rome (usually in charge of finance and administration) qualitative adj 1: involving distinctions based on qualities; "qualitative change"; "qualitative data"; "qualitative analysis determines the chemical constituents of a substance or mixture" [ant: {quantitative}] 2: relating to or involving comparisons based on qualities quantal adj : of or relating to a quantum or capable of existing in only one of two states [syn: {quantized}] quantifier n 1: (logic) a word (such as `some' or `all' or `no') that binds the variables in a logical proposition [syn: {logical quantifier}] 2: (grammar) a word that expresses a quantity (as `fifteen' or `many') quantitative adj 1: expressible as a quantity or relating to or susceptible of measurement; "export wheat without quantitative limitations"; "quantitative analysis determines the amounts and proportions of the chemical constituents of a substance or mixture" [ant: {qualitative}] 2: relating to the measurement of quantity; "quantitative studies" 3: (of verse) having a metric system based on relative duration of syllables; "in typical Greek and Latin verse of the quid n 1: the basic unit of money in Great Britain; equal to 100 pence [syn: {British pound}, {pound}, {pound sterling}] 2: something for something; that which a party receives (or is promised) in return for something he does or gives or promises [syn: {quid pro quo}] 3: a wad of something chewable as tobacco [syn: {chew}, {chaw}, {cud}, {plug}, {wad}] quiddity n 1: an evasion of the point of an argument by raising irrelevant distinctions or objections [syn: {quibble}, {cavil}] 2: the essence that makes something the kind of thing it is and makes it different from any other [syn: {haecceity}] quixotic adj : not sensible about practical matters; unrealistic; "as quixotic as a restoration of medieval knighthood"; "a romantic disregard for money"; "a wild-eyed dream of a world state" [syn: {romantic}, {wild-eyed}] radix n : (numeration system) the positive integer that is equivalent to one in the next higher counting place; "10 is the radix of the decimal system" [syn: {base}] [also: {radices} (pl)] raillery n : light teasing repartee [syn: {banter}, {give-and-take}, {backchat}] rancour n : a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will [syn: {resentment}, {bitterness}, {gall}, {rancor}] rapacious adj 1: living by preying on other animals especially by catching living prey; "a predatory bird"; "the rapacious wolf"; "raptorial birds"; "ravening wolves"; "a vulturine taste for offal" [syn: {predatory}, {raptorial}, {ravening}, {vulturine}, {vulturous}] 2: excessively greedy and grasping; "a rapacious divorcee on the prowl"; "ravening creditors"; "paying taxes to voracious governments" [syn: {ravening}, {voracious}] 3: devouring or craving food in great quantities; "edacious rapacity n 1: extreme gluttony [syn: {edacity}, {esurience}, {rapaciousness}, {voracity}, {voraciousness}] 2: reprehensible acquisitiveness; insatiable desire for wealth (personified as one of the deadly sins) [syn: {avarice}, {greed}, {covetousness}, {avaritia}] rapporteur n : a recorder appointed by a committee to prepare reports of the meetings recalcitrant adj 1: marked by stubborn resistance to and defiant of authority or guidance; "a recalcitrant teenager"; "everything revolves around a refractory individual genius" [syn: {refractory}] 2: marked by stubborn resistance to authority; "the University suspended the most recalcitrant demonstrators" recce n : reconnaissance (by shortening) [syn: {recco}, {reccy}] reciprocity n 1: a relation of mutual dependence or action or influence [syn: {reciprocality}] 2: mutual exchange of commercial or other privileges recluse adj : withdrawn from society; seeking solitude; "lived an unsocial reclusive life" [syn: {reclusive}, {withdrawn}] n : one who lives in solitude [syn: {hermit}, {solitary}, {solitudinarian}, {troglodyte}] recondite adj : difficult to penetrate; incomprehensible to one of ordinary understanding or knowledge; "the professor's lectures were so abstruse that students tended to avoid them"; "a deep metaphysical theory"; "some recondite problem in historiography" [syn: {abstruse}, {deep}] reconnoiter v : explore, often with the goal of finding something or somebody [syn: {scout}, {reconnoitre}] reconnoitre v : explore, often with the goal of finding something or somebody [syn: {scout}, {reconnoiter}] recriminate v : return an accusation against someone or engage in mutual accusations; charge in return reductive adj : characterized by or causing diminution or curtailment; "their views of life were reductive and depreciabory" - R.H.Rovere regale v : provide with choice or abundant food or drink; "Don't worry about the expensive wine--I'm treating"; "She treated her houseguests with good food every night" [syn: {treat}] regalia n 1: paraphernalia indicative of royalty (or other high office) 2: especially fine or decorative clothing [syn: {array}, {raiment}] reify v : consider an abstract concept to be real [also: {reified}] remittal n 1: a payment of money sent to a person in another place [syn: {remittance}, {remission}, {remitment}] 2: an abatement in intensity or degree (as in the manifestations of a disease); "his cancer is in remission" [syn: {remission}, {subsidence}] 3: the act of absolving or remitting; formal redemption as pronounced by a priest in the sacrament of penance [syn: {absolution}, {remission}, {remission of sin}] remonstrance n : the act of expressing earnest opposition or protest [syn: {expostulation}, {objection}] remonstrate v 1: argue in protest or opposition 2: present and urge reasons in opposition [syn: {point out}] 3: censure severely or angrily; "The mother scolded the child for entering a stranger's car"; "The deputy ragged the Prime Minister"; "The customer dressed down the waiter for bringing cold soup" [syn: {call on the carpet}, {rebuke}, {rag}, {trounce}, {reproof}, {lecture}, {reprimand}, {jaw}, {dress down}, {call down}, {scold}, {chide}, {berate}, {bawl out}, {chew out}, {chew up}, {have words}, {lambaste}, {lambast}] replete adj 1: filled to satisfaction with food or drink; "a full stomach" [syn: {full}, {replete(p)}] 2: (followed by `with')deeply filled or permeated; "imbued with the spirit of the Reformation"; "words instinct with love"; "it is replete with misery" [syn: {instinct(p)}, {replete(p)}] v : fill to satisfaction; "I am sated" [syn: {satiate}, {sate}, {fill}] reprobate adj : marked by immorality; deviating from what is considered right or proper or good; "depraved criminals"; "a perverted sense of loyalty"; "the reprobate conduct of a gambling aristocrat" [syn: {depraved}, {immoral}, {perverse}, {perverted}] n : a person without moral scruples [syn: {miscreant}] v 1: reject (documents) as invalid [ant: {approbate}] 2: abandon to eternal damnation; "God reprobated the unrepenting sinner" repudiate v 1: cast off or disown; "She renounced her husband"; "The parents repudiated their son" [syn: {renounce}] 2: refuse to acknowledge, ratify, or recognize as valid; "The woman repudiated the divorce settlement" 3: refuse to recognize or pay; "repudiate a debt" 4: reject as untrue, unfounded, or unjust; "She repudiated the accusations" repugn v : to make the subject of dispute, contention, or litigation; "They contested the outcome of the race" [syn: {contest}, {contend}] requite v : make repayment for or return something [syn: {repay}] rescind v : annul by recalling or rescinding; "He revoked the ban on smoking"; "lift an embargo"; "vacate a death sentence" [syn: {revoke}, {annul}, {lift}, {countermand}, {reverse}, {repeal}, {overturn}, {vacate}] reserve n 1: formality and propriety of manner [syn: {modesty}] 2: something kept back or saved for future use or a special purpose [syn: {backlog}, {stockpile}] 3: an athlete who plays only when another member of the team drops out [syn: {substitute}] 4: (medicine) potential capacity to respond in order to maintain vital functions 5: a district that is reserved for particular purpose [syn: {reservation}] 6: armed forces that are not on active duty but can be called resilient adj 1: recovering readily from adversity, depression, or the like 2: rebounds readily; "clean bouncy hair"; "a lively tennis ball"; "as resiliant as seasoned hickory"; "springy turf" [syn: {bouncy}, {live}, {lively}, {springy}, {whippy}] respite n 1: a (temporary) relief from harm or discomfort [syn: {reprieve}] 2: a pause from doing something (as work); "we took a 10-minute break"; "he took time out to recuperate" [syn: {recess}, {break}, {time out}] 3: an interruption in the intensity or amount of something [syn: {suspension}, {reprieve}, {hiatus}, {abatement}] 4: a pause for relaxation; "people actually accomplish more when they take time for short rests" [syn: {rest}, {relief}, {rest period}] reticent adj 1: temperamentally disinclined to talk [syn: {untalkative}] 2: cool and formal in manner [syn: {reserved}, {restrained}, {unemotional}] 3: reluctant to draw attention to yourself [syn: {self-effacing}] reticulate adj : resembling or forming a network; "the reticulate veins of a leaf"; "a reticulated highway system" [syn: {reticulated}, {reticular}] [ant: {nonreticulate}] reticulate v 1: form a net or a network 2: distribute by a network, as of water or electricity 3: divide so as to form a network retinue n : the group following and attending to some important person [syn: {cortege}, {suite}, {entourage}] retribution n 1: a justly deserved penalty [syn: {requital}] 2: the act of correcting for your wrongdoing 3: the act of taking revenge (harming someone in retaliation for something harmful that they have done) especially in the next life; "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord"--Romans 12:19; "For vengeance I would do nothing. This nation is too great to look for mere revenge"--James Garfield; "he swore vengeance on the man who betrayed him"; "the swiftness of divine retribution" [syn: {vengeance}, reverie n 1: absent-minded dreaming while awake [syn: {revery}, {daydream}, {daydreaming}, {oneirism}, {air castle}, {castle in the air}, {castle in Spain}] 2: an abstracted state of absorption [syn: {revery}] riparian adj : of or relating to or located on the banks of a river or stream; "riparian land" riposte n : a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one); "it brought a sharp rejoinder from the teacher" [syn: {rejoinder}, {retort}, {return}, {replication}, {comeback}, {counter}] v : answer back [syn: {retort}, {come back}, {repay}, {return}, {rejoin}] rubicund adj : inclined to a healthy reddish color often associated with outdoor life; "a ruddy complexion"; "Santa's rubicund cheeks"; "a fresh and sanguine complexion" [syn: {ruddy}, {sanguine}] rumination n 1: a calm lengthy intent consideration [syn: {contemplation}, {reflection}, {reflexion}, {musing}, {thoughtfulness}] 2: (of ruminants) chewing (the cud); "ruminants have remarkable powers of rumination" 3: regurgitation of small amounts of food; seen in some infants after feeding sacrosanct adj : must be kept sacred [syn: {inviolable}, {inviolate}] sagacity n 1: ability to make good judgments [syn: {sagaciousness}, {judgment}, {judgement}, {discernment}] 2: the trait of forming opinions by distinguishing and evaluating [syn: {judiciousness}, {sagaciousness}] salient adj 1: having a quality that thrusts itself into attention; "an outstanding fact of our time is that nations poisoned by anti semitism proved less fortunate in regard to their own freedom"; "a new theory is the most prominent feature of the book"; "salient traits"; "a spectacular rise in prices"; "a striking thing about Picadilly Circus is the statue of Eros in the center"; "a striking resemblance between parent and child" [syn: {outstanding}, {prominent}, {spectacular}, {striking}] salutary adj : tending to promote physical well-being; beneficial to health; "beneficial effects of a balanced diet"; "a good night's sleep"; "the salutary influence of pure air" [syn: {beneficial}, {good}] sanctimonious adj : excessively or hypocritically pious; "a sickening sanctimonious smile" [syn: {holier-than-thou}, {pietistic}, {pietistical}, {pharisaic}, {pharisaical}, {self-righteous}] sanction n 1: formal and explicit approval; "a Democrat usually gets the union's endorsement" [syn: {countenance}, {endorsement}, {indorsement}, {warrant}, {imprimatur}] 2: a mechanism of social control for enforcing a society's standards 3: official permission or approval; "authority for the program was renewed several times" [syn: {authority}, {authorization}, {authorisation}] 4: the act of final authorization; "it had the sanction of the sanguine adj 1: confidently optimistic and cheerful 2: inclined to a healthy reddish color often associated with outdoor life; "a ruddy complexion"; "Santa's rubicund cheeks"; "a fresh and sanguine complexion" [syn: {rubicund}, {ruddy}] sapience n : ability to apply knowledge or experience or understanding or common sense and insight [syn: {wisdom}] sardonic adj : disdainfully or ironically humorous; scornful and mocking; "his rebellion is the bitter, sardonic laughter of all great satirists"- Frank Schoenberner; "a wry pleasure to be...reminded of all that one is missing"- Irwin Edman [syn: {wry}] scintillant adj : having brief brilliant points or flashes of light; "bugle beads all aglitter"; "glinting eyes"; "glinting water"; "his glittering eyes were cold and malevolent"; "shop window full of glittering Christmas trees"; "glittery costume jewelry"; "scintillant mica"; "the scintillating stars"; "a dress with sparkly sequins"; "`glistering' is an archaic term" [syn: {aglitter(p)}, {coruscant}, {fulgid}, {glinting}, {glistering}, {glittering}, {glittery}, {scintillating}, {sparkling(a)}, {sparkly}] sclera n : whitish fibrous membrane (albuginea) that with the cornea forms the outer covering of the eyeball [syn: {sclerotic coat}] sedulous adj : marked by care and persistent effort; "her assiduous attempts to learn French"; "assiduous research"; "sedulous pursuit of legal and moral principles" [syn: {assiduous}] silex n 1: a pure form of finely ground silica 2: a vacuum coffee maker sobriquet n : a familiar name for a person (often a shortened version of a person's given name); "Joe's mother would not use his nickname and always called him Joseph"; "Henry's nickname was Slim" [syn: {nickname}, {moniker}, {cognomen}, {soubriquet}] socage n : land tenure by agricultural service or payment of rent; not burdened with military service sociology n : the study and classification of human societies solecism n : a socially awkward or tactless act [syn: {faux pas}, {gaffe}, {slip}, {gaucherie}] solicitous adj 1: full of anxiety and concern; "solicitous parents"; "solicitous about the future" 2: showing hovering attentiveness; "solicitous about about her health"; "made solicitous inquiries about our family" solicitude n : a feeling of excessive concern [syn: {solicitousness}] solipsism n : (philosophy) the philosophical theory that the self is all that you know to exist somatic adj : affecting or characteristic of the body as opposed to the mind or spirit; "bodily needs"; "a corporal defect"; "corporeal suffering"; "a somatic symptom or somatic illness" [syn: {bodily}, {corporal}, {corporeal}] sophism n : a deliberately invalid argument displaying ingenuity in reasoning in the hope of deceiving someone [syn: {sophistry}, {sophistication}] soubriquet n : a familiar name for a person (often a shortened version of a person's given name); "Joe's mother would not use his nickname and always called him Joseph"; "Henry's nickname was Slim" [syn: {nickname}, {moniker}, {cognomen}, {sobriquet}] sovereign adj 1: of political bodies; "an autonomous judiciary"; "a sovereign state" [syn: {autonomous}, {independent}, {self-governing}] 2: greatest in status or authority or power; "a supreme tribunal" [syn: {supreme}] sovereign n : a nation's ruler or head of state usually by hereditary right [syn: {crowned head}, {monarch}] specular adj : capable of reflecting light like a mirror; "mirrorlike surface of the lake"; "a specular metal" [syn: {mirrorlike}] speculator n 1: someone who makes conjectures without knowing the facts 2: someone who risks losses for the possibility of considerable gains [syn: {plunger}] stalwart adj 1: having rugged physical strength; inured to fatigue or hardships; "hardy explorers of northern Canada"; "proud of her tall stalwart son"; "stout seamen"; "sturdy young athletes" [syn: {hardy}, {stout}, {sturdy}] 2: dependable; "the stalwart citizens at Lexington"; "a stalwart supporter of the UN"; "stout hearts" [syn: {stout}] 3: used especially of persons; "a stalwart knight"; "a stouthearted fellow who had an active career in the army" [syn: {stouthearted}] strafe n : an attack of machine-gun fire or cannon fire from a low flying airplane; "the next morning they carried out a strafe of enemy airfields" strafe v : attack with machine guns or cannon fire from a low-flying plane; "civilians were strafed in an effort to force the country's surrender" stratum n 1: one of several parallel layers of material arranged one on top of another (such as a layer of tissue or cells in an organism) 2: an abstract place usually conceived as having depth; "a good actor communicates on several levels"; "a simile has at least two layers of meaning"; "the mind functions on many strata simultaneously" [syn: {level}, {layer}] [also: {strata} (pl)] subjacent adj : lying nearby but lower; "hills and subjacent valleys" [ant: {superjacent}] subjective adj 1: taking place within the mind and modified by individual bias; "a subjective judgment" [ant: {objective}] 2: of a mental act performed entirely within the mind; "a cognition is an immanent act of mind" [syn: {immanent}] [ant: {transeunt}] sublimate adj : made pure [syn: {purified}, {refined}] sublimate n : the product of vaporization of a solid v 1: direct energy or urges into useful activities 2: make more subtle or refined [syn: {rarefy}, {subtilize}] 3: remove impurities from, increase the concentration of, and separate through the process of distillation; "purify the water" [syn: {purify}, {make pure}, {distill}] 4: change or cause to change directly from a solid into a vapor subterfuge n : something intended to misrepresent the true nature of an activity; "he wasn't sick--it was just a subterfuge"; "the holding company was just a blind" [syn: {blind}] subversive adj : in opposition to a civil authority or government [syn: {insurgent}, {seditious}] subversive n : a radical supporter of political or social revolution [syn: {revolutionist}, {revolutionary}, {subverter}] suffuse v 1: cause to spread or flush or flood through, over, or across; "The sky was suffused with a warm pink color" [syn: {perfuse}] 2: to become overspread as with a fluid, a colour, a gleam of light; "His whole frame suffused with a cold dew" sumptuary adj : regulating or controlling expenditure or personal behavior; "sumptuary laws discouraging construction of large houses on small plots"; "sumptuary laws forbidding gambling" sumptuous adj : rich and superior in quality; "a princely sum"; "gilded dining rooms" [syn: {deluxe}, {gilded}, {luxurious}, {opulent}, {princely}] superfluity n : extreme excess; "an embarrassment of riches" [syn: {overplus}, {plethora}, {embarrassment}] superfluous adj 1: serving no useful purpose; having no excuse for being; "otiose lines in a play"; "advice is wasted words" [syn: {otiose}, {pointless}, {wasted}] 2: more than is needed, desired, or required; "trying to lose excess weight"; "found some extra change lying on the dresser"; "yet another book on heraldry might be thought redundant"; "skills made redundant by technological advance"; "sleeping in the spare room"; "supernumerary ornamentation"; "it was supererogatory of her to gloat"; superlative n 1: an exaggerated expression (usually of praise); "the critics lavished superlatives on it" 2: the highest level or degree attainable; "his landscapes were deemed the acme of beauty"; "the artist's gifts are at their acme"; "at the height of her career"; "the peak of perfection"; "summer was at its peak"; "...catapulted Einstein to the pinnacle of fame"; "the summit of his ambition"; "so many highest superlatives achieved by man"; "at the top of his profession" [syn: {acme}, {height}, {elevation}, suppliant adj : humbly entreating; "a suppliant sinner seeking forgiveness" [syn: {supplicant}, {supplicatory}] n : one praying humbly for something; "a suppliant for her favors" [syn: {petitioner}, {supplicant}] supplicant adj : humbly entreating; "a suppliant sinner seeking forgiveness" [syn: {suppliant}, {supplicatory}] n 1: someone who prays to God [syn: {prayer}] 2: one praying humbly for something; "a suppliant for her favors" [syn: {petitioner}, {suppliant}] supplicate v 1: ask humbly (for something); "He supplicated the King for clemency" 2: make a humble, earnest petition; "supplicate for permission" 3: ask for humbly or earnestly, as in prayer; "supplicate God's blessing" suppurate v 1: cause to ripen and discharge pus; "The oil suppurates the pustules" [syn: {mature}] 2: ripen and generate pus; "her wounds are festering" [syn: {fester}, {maturate}] surmount v 1: get on top of; deal with successfully; "He overcame his shyness" [syn: {overcome}, {get over}, {subdue}, {master}] 2: be on top of; "The scarf surmounted the gown" 3: reach the highest point of; "We scaled the Mont Blanc" [syn: {scale}] 4: be or do something to a greater degree; "her performance surpasses that of any other student I know"; "She outdoes all other athletes"; "This exceeds all my expectations"; "This car outperforms all others in its class" [syn: {surpass}, surreptitious adj 1: marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed; "a furtive manner"; "a lurking prowler"; "a sneak attack"; "stealthy footsteps"; "a surreptitious glance at his watch"; "someone skulking in the shadows" [syn: {furtive}, {lurking}, {skulking}, {sneak(a)}, {sneaky}, {stealthy}] 2: conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods; "clandestine intelligence operations"; "cloak-and-dagger activities behind enemy lines"; "hole-and-corner sycophant n : a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage [syn: {toady}, {crawler}, {lackey}] sylph n 1: a slender graceful young woman 2: an elemental being believed to inhabit the air symposium n : a meeting or conference for the public discussion of some topic especially one in which the participants form an audience and make presentations [also: {symposia} (pl)] synthetical adj 1: involving or of the nature of synthesis (combining separate elements to form a coherent whole) as opposed to analysis; "limnology is essentially a synthetic science composed of elements...that extend well beyond the limits of biology"- P.S.Welch [syn: {synthetic}] [ant: {analytic}] 2: of a proposition whose truth value is determined by observation or facts; "`all men are arrogant' is a synthetic proposition" [syn: {synthetic}] [ant: {analytic}] tacit adj : indicated by necessary connotation though not expressed directly; "gave silent consent"; "a tacit agreement"; "the understood provisos of a custody agreement" [syn: {implied}, {silent}, {understood}] taciturn adj : habitually reserved and uncommunicative [ant: {voluble}] tautology n 1: (logic) a statement that is necessarily true; "the statement `he is brave or he is not brave' is a tautology" 2: useless repetition; "to say that something is `adequate enough' is a tautology" tempestuousness n : a state of wild storminess tenacious adj 1: stubbornly unyielding; "dogged persistence"; "dour determination"; "the most vocal and pertinacious of all the critics"; "a mind not gifted to discover truth but tenacious to hold it"- T.S.Eliot; "men tenacious of opinion" [syn: {bulldog}, {dogged}, {dour}, {pertinacious}, {unyielding}] 2: (of memory) having greater than average range; "a long memory especially for insults"; "a tenacious memory" [syn: {long}] tentative adj 1: under terms not final or fully worked out or agreed upon; "probationary employees"; "a provisional government"; "just a tentative schedule" [syn: {probationary}, {provisional}, {provisionary}] 2: unsettled in mind or opinion; "drew a few tentative conclusions" [syn: {doubtful}] tenuous adj 1: having little substance or significance; "a flimsy excuse"; "slight evidence"; "a tenuous argument"; "a thin plot" [syn: {flimsy}, {slight}, {thin}] 2: having thin consistency; "a tenuous fluid" 3: very thin in gauge or diameter; "a tenuous thread" termagant n : a scolding nagging bad-tempered woman [syn: {shrew}] tertiary adj : coming next after the second and just before the fourth in position [syn: {third}, {3rd}] n : from 63 million to 2 million years ago [syn: {Tertiary period}] tetchy adj : easily irritated or annoyed; "an incorrigibly fractious young man"; "not the least nettlesome of his countrymen" [syn: {cranky}, {fractious}, {irritable}, {nettlesome}, {peevish}, {peckish}, {pettish}, {petulant}, {testy}, {techy}] [also: {tetchiest}, {tetchier}] thespian adj : of or relating to drama; "the movie director had thespian cooperation" n : a theatrical performer [syn: {actor}, {histrion}, {player}, {role player}] titular adj 1: of or relating to a legal title to something; "titulary rights" [syn: {titulary}] 2: of or associated with or bearing a title signifying nobility; "of titular rank" 3: derived from a title; "performed well in the titular (or title) role"; "the titular theme of the book" 4: of or associated with or bearing a title signifying status or function; "titular dignitaries" 5: being such in name only; "the nominal (or titular) head of tonsure n 1: the shaved crown of a monk's or priest's head 2: shaving the crown of the head by priests or members of a monastic order v : shave the head of a newly inducted monk torpid adj 1: slow and apathetic; "she was fat and inert"; "a sluggish worker"; "a mind grown torpid in old age" [syn: {inert}, {sluggish}] 2: in a condition of biological rest or suspended animation; "dormant buds"; "a hibernating bear"; "torpid frogs" [syn: {dormant}, {hibernating(a)}] torpor n 1: a state of motor and mental inactivity with a partial suspension of sensibility; "he fell into a deep torpor" [syn: {torpidity}] 2: inactivity resulting from torpidity and lack of vigor or energy [syn: {listlessness}, {torpidity}, {torpidness}] tractable adj 1: easily managed (controlled or taught or molded); "tractable young minds"; "gold is tractable"; "the natives...being...of an intelligent tractable disposition"- Samuel Butler [syn: {manipulable}] [ant: {intractable}] 2: readily reacting to suggestions and influences; "a responsive student" [syn: {responsive}, {amenable}] transcend v 1: go beyond; "Their loyalty exceeds their national bonds" [syn: {exceed}, {surpass}] 2: go beyond; "She exceeded our expectations"; "She topped her performance of last year" [syn: {exceed}, {overstep}, {pass}, {go past}, {top}] transcendence n 1: a state of being or existence above and beyond the limits of material experience [syn: {transcendency}] 2: the state of excelling or surpassing or going beyond usual limits [syn: {transcendency}, {superiority}] transverse adj : extending or lying across; in a crosswise direction; at right angles to the long axis; "cross members should be all steel"; "from the transverse hall the stairway ascends gracefully"; "transversal vibrations"; "transverse colon" [syn: {cross(a)}, {transversal}, {thwartwise}] travail n 1: concluding state of pregnancy; from the onset of labor to the birth of a child; "she was in labor for six hours" [syn: {parturiency}, {labor}, {labour}, {confinement}, {lying-in}, {childbed}] 2: use of physical or mental energy; hard work; "he got an A for effort"; "they managed only with great exertion" [syn: {effort}, {elbow grease}, {exertion}, {sweat}] v : work hard; "She was digging away at her math homework"; "Lexicographers drudge all day long" [syn: {labor}, {labour}, treacle n 1: a pale cane syrup [syn: {golden syrup}] 2: an expression that is excessively sweet and sentimental [syn: {mush}] tremulous adj : (of the voice) quivering as from weakness or fear; "the old lady's quavering voice"; "spoke timidly in a tremulous voice" [syn: {quavering}] trepid adj : timid by nature or revealing timidity; "timorous little mouse"; "in a timorous tone"; "cast fearful glances at the large dog" [syn: {fearful}, {timorous}] truculence n : obstreperous and defiant aggressiveness [syn: {truculency}] truculent adj 1: defiantly aggressive; "as truculent as a small boy who thinks his big brother can lick anybody" 2: aggressively hostile; "a truculent speech against the new government" tumid adj 1: ostentatiously lofty in style; "a man given to large talk"; "tumid political prose" [syn: {bombastic}, {declamatory}, {large}, {orotund}, {turgid}] 2: abnormally distended especially by fluids or gas; "hungry children with bloated stomachs"; "he had a grossly distended stomach"; "eyes with puffed (or puffy) lids"; "swollen hands"; "tumescent tissue"; "puffy tumid flesh" [syn: {bloated}, {distended}, {puffed}, {puffy}, {swollen}, {tumescent}, {turgid}] ubiquitous adj : being present everywhere at once [syn: {omnipresent}] umbrage n : a feeling of anger caused by being offended; "he took offence at my question" [syn: {offense}, {offence}] undiversified adj : not diversified [syn: {unvaried}] [ant: {diversified}] undulate adj : having a sinuate margin and rippled surface v 1: stir up (water) so as to form ripples [syn: {ripple}, {ruffle}, {riffle}, {cockle}] 2: occur in soft rounded shapes; "The hills rolled past" [syn: {roll}] 3: move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion; "The curtains undulated"; "the waves rolled towards the beach" [syn: {roll}, {flap}, {wave}] 4: increase and decrease in volume or pitch, as if in waves; urticate v 1: whip with or as with nettles 2: sting with or as with nettles and cause a stinging pain or sensation [syn: {nettle}] vacuity n 1: the absence of matter [syn: {vacuum}] 2: total absence of matter [syn: {vacuousness}] 3: a region empty of matter [syn: {vacuum}] 4: total lack of meaning or ideas [syn: {inanity}, {senselessness}, {mindlessness}, {pointlessness}] vagabond adj 1: wandering aimlessly without ties to a place or community; "led a vagabond life"; "a rootless wanderer" [syn: {rootless}] 2: continually changing especially as from one abode or occupation to another; "a drifting double-dealer"; "the floating population"; "vagrant hippies of the sixties" [syn: {aimless}, {drifting}, {floating}, {vagrant}] vagabond n 1: anything that resembles a vagabond in having no fixed place; "pirate ships were vagabonds of the sea" valance n : a decorative framework to conceal curtain fixtures at the top of a window casing [syn: {cornice}, {valance board}, {pelmet}] valetudinarian adj : of or relating to or characteristic of a person who is a valetudinarian n : weak or sickly person especially one morbidly concerned with his or her health vehemence n 1: intensity or forcefulness of expression; "the vehemence of his denial"; "his emphasis on civil rights" [syn: {emphasis}] 2: the property of being wild or turbulent; "the storm's violence" [syn: {ferocity}, {fierceness}, {furiousness}, {fury}, {violence}, {wildness}] venerable adj 1: impressive by reason of age; "a venerable sage with white hair and beard" 2: profoundly honored; "revered holy men" [syn: {august}, {revered}] venerate v : regard with feelings of respect and reverence; consider hallowed or exalted or be in awe of; "Fear God as your father"; "We venerate genius" [syn: {reverence}, {fear}, {revere}] vernacular n 1: a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves); "they don't speak our lingo" [syn: {cant}, {jargon}, {slang}, {lingo}, {argot}, {patois}] 2: the everyday speech of the people (as distinguished from literary language) vernacular adj : being or characteristic of or appropriate to everyday language; "common parlance"; "a vernacular term"; "vernacular speakers"; "the vulgar tongue of the vernal adj 1: suggestive of youth; vigorous and fresh [syn: {youthful}] 2: of or characteristic of or occurring in spring; "the vernal equinox" [ant: {summery}, {autumnal}, {wintry}] vertex n 1: the point of intersection of lines or the point opposite the base of a figure 2: the highest point (of something); "at the peak of the pyramid" [syn: {peak}, {apex}, {acme}] [also: {vertices} (pl)] vicissitude n 1: a variation in circumstances or fortune at different times in your life or in the development of something; "the project was subject to the usual vicissitudes of exploratory research" 2: mutability in life or nature (especially successive alternation from one condition to another) visceral adj 1: relating to or affecting the viscera; "visceral bleeding"; "a splanchnic nerve" [syn: {splanchnic}] 2: obtained through intuition rather than from reasoning or observation [syn: {intuitive}, {nonrational}] viscosity n : resistance of a liquid to sheer forces (and hence to flow) [syn: {viscousness}] vitriol n 1: (H2SO4) a highly corrosive acid made from sulfur dioxide; widely used in the chemical industry [syn: {oil of vitriol}, {sulfuric acid}, {sulphuric acid}] 2: abusive or venomous language used to express blame or censure or bitter deep-seated ill will [syn: {vituperation}, {invective}] v 1: expose to the effects of vitriol or injure with vitriol 2: subject to bitter verbal abuse [also: {vitriolling}, {vitriolled}] volatile adj 1: evaporating readily at normal temperatures and pressures; "volatile oils"; "volatile solvents" [ant: {nonvolatile}] 2: liable to lead to sudden change or violence; "an explosive issue"; "a volatile situation with troops and rioters eager for a confrontation" [syn: {explosive}] 3: marked by erratic changeableness in affections or attachments; "fickle friends"; "a flirt's volatile affections" [syn: {fickle}] 4: tending to vary often or widely; "volatile stocks"; voluble adj : marked by a ready flow of speech; "she is an extremely voluble young woman who engages in soliloquies not conversations" [ant: {taciturn}] wastrel n : someone who dissipates resources self-indulgently [syn: {waster}] wizen adj : lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness; "the old woman's shriveled skin"; "he looked shriveled and ill"; "a shrunken old man"; "a lanky scarecrow of a man with withered face and lantern jaws"-W.F.Starkie; "he did well despite his withered arm"; "a wizened little man with frizzy gray hair" [syn: {shriveled}, {shrivelled}, {shrunken}, {withered}, {wizened}] zamia n : any of various cycads of the genus Zamia; among the smallest and most verdant cycads ziti n : medium-sized tubular pasta in short pieces