English

congenial -J (kÃn j"nÆyÃl), adj. 1. agreeable, suitable, or pleasing in nature or character: congenial surroundings. 2. suited or adapted in spirit, feeling, temper, etc.; compatible: a congenial couple.

v.i. 1. to roam or go around in quest of plunder; make a raid for booty: Freebooters were marauding all across the territory. –v.t. 2. to raid for plunder (often used passively): At the war's end the country had been marauded by returning bands of soldiers. –n. 3. Archaic. the act of marauding.

n., pl. -boos. something that causes fear or worry; bugbear; bogy.

v., -tled, -tling, n. –v.t. 1. to cut, trim, or shape (a stick, piece of wood, etc.) by carving off bits with a knife. 2. to form by whittling: to whittle a figure. 3. to cut off (a bit). 4. to reduce the amount of, as if by whittling; pare down; take away by degrees (usually fol. by down, away, etc.): to whittle down the company's overhead; to whittle away one's inheritance.

n. 1. senseless, stupid, or exaggerated talk or writing; nonsense. 2. Obs. a muddled mixture of liquors.

n. 1. dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc. 2. the quality or state of being decorous; orderliness; regularity. 3. Usually, decorums. an observance or requirement of polite society.

adj. giving one's name to a tribe, place, etc.: Romulus, the eponymous founder of Rome.

n. (used with a sing. v.) the branch of medical science concerned with childbirth and caring for and treating women in or in connection with childbirth. Abbr.: OB, ob

moat n. 1. a deep, wide trench, usually filled with water, surrounding the rampart of a fortified place, as a town or a castle. 2. any similar trench, as one used for confining animals in a zoo. mossy adj., mossier, mossiest.

.t. 1. to conquer or subdue by superior force, as in battle. 2. to defeat in any contest or conflict; be victorious over: to vanquish one's opponent in an argument. 3. to overcome or overpower: He vanquished all his fears.

adj. 1. having a kindly disposition; gracious: a benign king. 2. showing or expressive of gentleness or kindness: a benign smile. 3. favorable; propitious: a series of benign omens and configurations in the heavens. 4. (of weather) salubrious; healthful; pleasant or beneficial. 5. Pathol. not malignant; self-limiting.

adj. known or understood by very few; mysterious; secret; obscure; esoteric: She knew a lot about Sanskrit grammar and other arcane matters.

adj., n., pl. -ar·ies. –adj. 1. used or adapted for setting property on fire: incendiary bombs. 2. of or pertaining to the criminal setting on fire of property. 3. tending to arouse strife, sedition, etc.; inflammatory: incendiary speeches. 4. tending to inflame the senses: an incendiary extravaganza of music and dance. –n. 5. a person who deliberately sets fire to

v., hemmed, hem·ming, n. –v.t. 1. to fold back and sew down the edge of (cloth, a garment, etc.); form an edge or border on or around. 2. to enclose or confine (usually fol. by in, around, or about): hemmed in by enemies. –n. 3. an edge made by folding back the margin of cloth and sewing it down. 4. the edge or border of a garment, drape, etc., esp. at the bottom.

n. 1. a descendant. 2. Also, cion. a shoot or twig, esp. one cut for grafting or planting; a cutting.

v., -laged, -lag·ing, n. –v.t. 1. to strip ruthlessly of money or goods by open violence, as in war; plunder: The barbarians pillaged every conquered city. 2. to take as booty. –v.i. 3. to rob with open violence; take booty: Soldiers roamed the countryside, pillaging and killing. –n. 4. the act of plundering, esp. in war.

n., pl. -nies. 1. leadership or predominant influence exercised by one nation over others, as in a confederation. 2. leadership; predominance. 3. (esp. among smaller nations) aggression or expansionism by large nations in an effort to achieve world domination.

n. 1. a general outburst of enthusiasm, excitement, controversy, or the like. 2. a prevailing fad, mania, or craze. 3. fury; rage; madness.

v.t. 1. to abrogate; annul; revoke; repeal. 2. to invalidate (an act, measure, etc.) by a later action or a higher authority.

v., -tled, -tling, n. –v.t. 1. to mark or diversify with spots or blotches of a different color or shade. –n. 2. a diversifying spot or blotch of color. 3. mottled coloring or pattern.

n. the state of being satiated; surfeit.

n. bitter, rankling resentment or ill will; hatred; malice

v 1. to wear to threads or shreds; fray. 2. to weary; tire out: Those six eight-year-olds frazzled me. –n. 3. the state of being frazzled or worn-out. 4. a remnant; shred.

v.t., v.i. Slang. to eat, esp. voraciously (often fol. by down or up): to scarf down junk food.

adj., -si·er, -si·est. 1. inclined to or feeling nausea, as the stomach, a person, etc.; nauseous; nauseated. 2. tending to cause nausea; nauseating. 3. uneasy or uncomfortable, as feelings, the conscience, etc. 4. squeamish; excessively fastidious.

n., pl. -sos, -soes. 1. a clause in a statute, contract, or the like, by which a condition is introduced. 2. a stipulation or condition. [1400–50; late ME < ML pr$v#s$, for pr$v#s$ (quod) it being provided (that), abl. neut. sing. of L pr$v#sus, ptp. of pr$vid"re to PROVIDE] —Syn.2. restriction, limitation, qualification. It is possible to do intense training on this diet, in my experience, with the provisos mentioned above.

n., v., -tured, -tur·ing. –n. 1. the formation or expression of an opinion or theory without sufficient evidence for proof. 2. an opinion or theory so formed or expressed; guess; speculation. 3. Obs. the interpretation of signs or omens. –v.t. 4. to conclude or suppose from grounds or evidence insufficient to ensure reliability. –v.i. 5. to form conjectures.

adj., smug·ger, smug·gest. 1. contentedly confident of one's ability, superiority, or correctness; complacent. 2. trim; spruce; smooth; sleek.

adj. 1. extraordinary in some bad way; glaring; flagrant: an egregious mistake; an egregious liar. 2. Archaic. distinguished or eminent.

n., pl. -sos, -si (-s"), adj. -n. 1. a person who has special knowledge or skill in a field. 2. a person who excels in musical technique or execution. 3. a person who has a cultivated appreciation of artistic excellence, as a connoisseur or collector of objects of art, antiques, etc. 4. Obs. a person who has special interest or knowledge in the arts and sciences; scientist;

adj. 1. having the power of perception by the senses; conscious. 2. characterized by sensation and consciousness. –n. 3. a person or thing that is sentient. 4. Archaic. the conscious mind.

adj. 1. producing laughter; amusing; funny: a comical fellow.

n. 1. a general breakup or dispersion; sudden downfall or rout: The revolution ended in a debacle. 2. a complete collapse or failure. 3. a breaking up of ice in a river. Cf. embacle. 4. a violent rush of waters or ice.

adj. 1. former; of times past: erstwhile friends.

v.t. 1. to force upon or impose fraudulently or unjustifiably (usually fol. by on or upon): to foist inferior merchandise on a customer. 2. to bring, put, or introduce surreptitiously or fraudulently (usually fol. by in or into): to foist political views into a news story.

adj. persistent in effort; stubbornly tenacious: a dogged worker.

n. 1. Plant Pathol. a. the rapid and extensive discoloration, wilting, and death of plant tissues. b. a disease so characterized. 2. any cause of impairment, destruction, ruin, or frustration: Extravagance was the blight of the family. 3. the state or result of being blighted or deteriorated; dilapidation; decay: urban blight. –v.t. 4. to cause to wither or decay; blast: Frost

v.i., -esced, -esc·ing. to assent tacitly; submit or comply silently or without protest; agree; consent: to acquiesce halfheartedly in a business plan.

adj. 1. in a dying state; near death. 2. on the verge of extinction or termination. 3. not progressing or advancing; stagnant: a moribund political party