# Dictionary

Topic: Holder
Definition:
HOLDER, n.  One who holds or grasps in his hand, or embraces with his arms.
1.  A tenant; one who holds land under another.
2.  Something by which a thing is held.
3.  One who owns or possesses; as a holder of stock, or shares in a joint concern.
4.  In ships, one who is employed in the hold.


Topic: Holding
Definition:
HOLDING, ppr.  Stopping; confining; restraining; keeping; retaining; adhering; maintaining, &c.
HOLDING, n.  A tenure; a farm held of a superior.
1.  The burden or chorus of a song.
2.  Hold; influence; power over.


Topic: Hole
Definition:
HOLE, n.
1.  A hollow place or cavity in any solid body, of any shape or dimensions, natural or artificial.  It may differ from a rent or fissure in being wider.  A cell; a den; a cave or cavern in the earth; an excavation in a rock or tree; a pit, &c. Is.11. Ezek.8. 
Nah.2.  Matt.8.
2.  A perforation; an aperture; an opening in or through a solid body, left in the work or made by an instrument.
 Jehoida took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it. 2 Kings 12.
3.  A mean habitation; a narrow or dark lodging.
4.  An opening or means of escape; a subterfuge; in the vulgar phrase, he has a hole to creep out at.
Arm-hole, the arm-pit; the cavity under the shoulder of a person.
1.  An opening in a garment for the arm.
HOLE, v.i.  To go into a hole.
HOLE, v.t.  To cut, dig or make a hole or holes in; as, to hole a post for the insertion of rails or bars.
1.  To drive into a bag, as in billiards.


Topic: Holily
Definition:
HO'LILY, adv. [from holy.]  Piously; with sanctity.
1.  Sacredly; inviolably; without breach. [Little used.]


Topic: Holiness
Definition:
HO'LINESS, n. [from holy.]  The state of being holy; purity or integrity of moral character; freedom from sin; sanctity.  Applied to the Supreme Being, holiness denotes perfect purity or integrity of moral character, one of his essential attributes.
 Who is like thee, glorious in holiness? Ex.15.
1.  Applied to human beings, holiness is purity of heart or dispositions; sanctified affections; piety; moral goodness, but not perfect.
 We see piety and holiness ridiculed as morose singularities.
2.  Sacredness; the state of any thing hallowed, or consecrated to God or to his worship; applied to churches or temples.
3.  That which is separated to the service of God.
 Israel was holiness unto the Lord. Jer.2.
4.  A title of the pope, and formerly of the Greek emperors.


Topic: Holloa
Definition:
HOLLO'A, exclam.  A word used in calling.  Among seamen, it is the answer to one that hails, equivalent to, I hear, and am ready.


Topic: Hollow
Definition:
HOL'LOW, a.
1.  Containing an empty space, natural or artificial, within a solid substance; not solid; as a hollow tree; a hollow rock; a hollow sphere.
 Hollow with boards shalt thou make it. Ex.27.
2.  Sunk deep in the orbit; as a hollow eye.
3.  Deep; low; resembling sound reverberated from a cavity, or designating such a sound; as a hollow roar.
4.  Not sincere or faithful; false; deceitful; not sound; as a hollow heart; a hollow friend.
Hollow spar, the mineral called also chiastolite.
HOL'LOW, n.  A cavity, natural or artificial; any depression of surface in a body; concavity; as the hollow of the hand.
1.  A place excavated; as the hollow of a tree.
2.  A cave or cavern; a den; a hole; a broad open space in any thing.
3.  A pit.
4.  Open space of any thing; a groove; a channel; a canal.
HOL'LOW, v.t.  To make hollow, as by digging, cutting, or engraving; to excavate.
 Trees rudely hollowed did the waves sustain.
HOL'LOW, v.i.  To shout.  [See Holla and Hollo.]


Topic: Hollow-hearted
Definition:
HOL'LOW-HE`ARTED, a.  Insincere; deceitful; not sound and true; of practice or sentiment different from profession.


Topic: Hollow-root
Definition:
HOL'LOW-ROOT, n.  A plant, tuberous moschatel, or inglorious, constituting the genus Adoxa; a low plant, whose leaves and flowers smell like musk; hence it is sometimes called musk-crowfoot.


Topic: Hollowness
Definition:
HOL'LOWNESS, n.  The state of being hollow; cavity; depression of surface; excavation.
1.  Insincerity; deceitfulness; treachery.


Topic: Holly
Definition:
HOL'LY, n. [perhaps L. ilex, for hilex; L. celo.]
The holm tree, of the genus Ilex, of several species. The common holly grows from 20 to 30 feet high; the stem by age becomes large, and is covered with a grayish smooth bark, and set with branches which form a sort of cone.  The leaves are oblong oval, of a lucid green on the upper surface,but pale on the under surface; the edges are indented and waved, with sharp thorns terminating each of the points.  The flowers grow in clusters and are succeeded by roundish berries, which turn to a beautiful red about Michaelmas.  This tree is a beautiful evergreen.
Knee-Holly, a plant, the butcher's broom, of the genus Ruscus.
Sea-Holly, a plant, of the genus Eryngium.


Topic: Hollyhock
Definition:
HOL'LYHOCK,n.  A plant of the genus Alcea, bearing flowers of various colors.  It is called also rose-mallow.


Topic: Holm
Definition:
HOLM, n.  The evergreen oak; the ilex.
1.  An islet, or river isle.
2.  A low flat tract of rich land on the banks of a river.


Topic: Holocaust
Definition:
HOL'OCAUST, n. [Gr. whole,and burnt, to burn.]  A burnt-sacrifice or offering, the whole of which was consumed by fire; a species of sacrifice in use among the Jews and some pagan nations.


Topic: Holograph
Definition:
HOL'OGRAPH, n. [Gr. whole, and to write.]  A deed or testament written wholly by the grantor's or testator's own hand.


Topic: Holometer
Definition:
HOLOM'ETER, n. [Gr. all, and to measure.]  An instrument for taking all kinds of measures, both on the earth and in the heavens; a pentameter.


Topic: Holster
Definition:
HOLSTER, n. [L. celo.]  A leathern case for a pistol, carried by a horseman at the fore part of his saddle.


Topic: Holy
Definition:
HO'LY, a.
1.  Properly, whole, entire or perfect, in a moral sense.  Hence, pure in heart, temper or dispositions; free from sin and sinful affections.  Applied to the Supreme Being, holy signifies perfectly pure, immaculate and complete in moral character; and man is more or less holy, as his heart is more or less sanctified, or purified from evil dispositions.  We call a man holy,when his heart is conformed in some degree to the image of God, and his life is regulated by the divine precepts.  Hence, holy is used as nearly synonymous with good, pious, godly.
 Be ye holy; for I am holy. 1 pet.1.
2.  Hallowed; consecrated or set apart to a sacred use, or to the service or worship of God; a sense frequent in Scripture; as the holy sabbath; holy oil; holy vessels; a holy nation; the holy temple; a holy priesthood.
3.  Proceeding from pious principles,or directed to pious purposes; as holy zeal.
4.  Perfectly just and good; as the holy law of God.
5.  Sacred; as a holy witness.
Holy of holies, in Scripture, the innermost apartment of the Jewish tabernacle or temple, where the ark was kept,and where no person entered, except the high priest, once a year.
Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit, the Divine Spirit; the third person in the Trinity; the sanctifier of souls.
Holy war, a war undertaken to rescue the holy land, the ancient Judea, from the infidels; a crusade; an expedition carried on by christians against the Saracens in the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries; a war carried on in a most unholy manner.


Topic: Holy-one
Definition:
HO'LY-ONE, n.  An appellation of the Supreme Being, by way of emphasis.
1.  An appellation of Christ. Is.43.
2.  One separated to the service of God. Deut. 33.


Topic: Holy-rood
Definition:
HOLY-ROOD day, n.  A festival observed by Roman Catholics in memory of the exaltation of our Savior's cross.


Topic: Holy-thursday
Definition:
HO'LY-THURSDAY, n.  The day on which the ascension of our Savior is commemorated, ten days before Whitsuntide.


Topic: Holyday
Definition:
HOL'YDAY, n.  A day set apart for commemorating some important event in history; a festival intended to celebrate some event deemed auspicious to the welfare of a nation; particularly an anniversary festival, devoted to religious solemnities; as christmas holydays.
1.  A day of joy and gayety.
2.  A day of exemption from labor; a day of amusement.
HOL'YDAY, a.  Pertaining to a festival; as a holyday suit of clothes.


Topic: Homage
Definition:
HOM'AGE, n. [L. homo, man.]
1. In feudal law, the submission, loyalty and service which a tenant promised to his lord or superior,when first admitted to the land which he held of him in fee; or rather the act of the tenant in making this submission, on being invested with the fee.  The ceremony of doing homage was thus performed.  The tenant, being ungirt and uncovered, kneeled and held up both his hands between those of the lord, who sat before him, and there professed that 'he did become his man, from that day forth, of life and limb and earthly honor,' and then received a kiss from his lord.
2.  Obeisance; respect paid by external action.
 Go, go, with homage yon proud victors meet.
3.  Reverence directed to the Supreme Being; reverential worship; devout affection.
HOM'AGE, v.t.  To pay respect to by external action; to give reverence to; to profess fealty.


Topic: Homager
Definition:
HOM'AGER, n.  One who does homage, or holds land of another by homage.'s Pyrophorus,ignited muriate of lime.


Topic: Home
Definition:
HOME, n. [Gr. a house, a close place, or place or rest.]
1.  A dwelling house; the house or place in which one resides.  He was not at home.
 Then the disciples went away again to their own home. John 20.
 Home is the sacred refuge of our life.
2.  One's own country.  Let affairs at home be well managed by the administration.
3.  The place of constant residence; the seat.
 Flandria, by plenty, made the home of war.
4.  The grave; death; or a future state.
 Man goeth to his long home. Eccles.12.
5.  The present state of existence.
 Whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. 2 Cor.5.
HOME, a.  Close; severe; poignant; as a home thrust.
HOME, adv. [This is merely elliptical; to being omitted.]
1.  To one's own habitation; as in the phrases, go home, come home, bring home, carry home.
2.  To one's own country.  Home is opposed to abroad, or in a foreign country.  My brother will return home in the first ship from India.
3.  Close; closely; to the point; as, this consideration comes home to our interest, that is, it nearly affects it.  Drive the nail home, that is, drive it close.
To haul home the top-sail sheets, in seamen's language, is to draw the bottom of the top-sail close to the yard-arm by means of the sheets.
An anchor is said to come home, when it loosens from the ground by the violence of the wind or current, &c.


Topic: Homebred
Definition:
HO'MEBRED, a.  Native; natural; as homebred lusts.
1.  Domestic; originating at home; not foreign; as homebred evil.
2.  Plain, rude; artless; uncultivated; not polished by travel.
 Only to me two homebred youths belong.


Topic: Homeliness
Definition:
HO'MELINESS, n. [from homely.]  Plainness of features; want of beauty.  It expresses less than ugliness.
1.  Rudeness; coarseness; as the homeliness of dress or of sentiments.


Topic: Homely
Definition:
HO'MELY, a. [from home.]  Of plain features; not handsome; as a homely face.  It expresses less than ugly.
 Let time, which makes you homely, make you wise.
1.  Plain, like that which is made for common domestic use; rude; coarse; not fine or elegant; as a homely garment; a homely house; homely are.
 Now Strephon daily entertains
 His Chloe in the homeliest strains.
HO'MELY, adv.  Plainly; rudely; coarsely; as homely dressed. [Little used.]


Topic: Homemade
Definition:
HO'MEMADE, a.  Made at home; being of domestic manufacture; made either in private families, or in one's own country.


Topic: Homespun
Definition:
HO'MESPUN, a.  Spun or wrought at home; of domestic manufacture.
1.  Not made in foreign countries.
2.  Plain; coarse; rude; homely; not elegant; as a homespun English proverb; a homespun author.
HO'MESPUN, n.  A coarse,unpolished, rustic person.


Topic: Homicide
Definition:
HOM'ICIDE, n. [L.  homicidium;  homo, man, and caedo, to strike, to kill.]
1.  The killing of one man or human being by another.  Homicide is of three kinds, justifiable, excusable, and felonious; justifiable, when it proceeds from unavoidable necessity, without an intention to kill, and without negligence; excusable, when it happens from misadventure, or in self-defense; felonious, when it proceeds from malice, or is done in the prosecution of some unlawful act, or in a sudden passion.  Homicide committed with premeditated malice, is murder.  Suicide also, or self-murder, is felonious homicide. Homicide comprehends murder and manslaughter.
1.  A person who kills another; a manslayer.


Topic: Homily
Definition:
HOM'ILY, n.  [Gr. to converse in company, a company or assembly.]
A discourse or sermon read or pronounced to an audience; or a plain, familiar discourse on some subject of religion, such as an instructor would deliver to his pupils, or a father to his children.


Topic: Hommoc
Definition:
HOM'MOC, n.  [I suppose this to be an Indian word.]
A hillock or small eminence of a conical form, sometimes covered with trees.


Topic: Hommony
Definition:
HOM'MONY, n. [Indian.]  In America, maiz hulled and broken, but coarse, prepared for food by being mixed with water and boiled.


Topic: Homogeneous
Definition:
HOMOGE'NEOUS, a.  [Gr. like, and kind.]  Of the same kind or nature; consisting of similar parts, or of elements of the like nature. Thus we say, homogeneous particles, elements or principles; homogeneous bodies.


Topic: Homologous
Definition:
HOMOL'OGOUS, a.  [Gr. similar, and proportion.]  Proportional to each other; a term in geometry, applied to the corresponding sides and angles of similar figures; as, homologous angles.


Topic: Homonymous
Definition:
HOMON'YMOUS, a. [Gr. like, and name.]  Equivocal; ambiguous; that has different significations, or may be applied to different things.


Topic: Homophony
Definition:
HOMOPH'ONY, n.  [Gr. like, sound.]  Likeness of sound.  Among the Greeks, a kind of music performed in unison, in opposition to antiphony.


Topic: Homotonous
Definition:
HOMOT'ONOUS, a. [Gr. like, and tone.]  Equable; of the same tenor; applied to diseases which have a uniform tenor of rise, state, or declension.


Topic: Hone
Definition:
HONE, n.  A stone of a fine grit, used for sharpening instruments that require a fine edge, and particularly for setting razors. [We never, I believe, call a hone, a whet-stone.  The latter is a stone of coarse grit.  See the word.]
HONE, v.t.  To rub and sharpen on a bone; as, to hone a razor.
HONE, v.i.  To pine; to long.


Topic: Honest
Definition:
HON'EST, a. on'est. [L. honestus, from honos, honor.]
1.  Upright; just; fair in dealing with others; free from trickishness and fraud; acting and having the disposition to act at all times according to justice or correct moral principles;  applied to persons.
 An honest man's the noblest work of God.
 An honest physician leaves his patient, when he can contribute no farther to his health.
2.  Fair; just; equitable; free from fraud; as an honest transaction; an honest transfer of property.
3.  Frank; sincere; unreserved; according to truth; as an honest confession.
4.  Sincere; proceeding from pure or just principles, or directed to a good object; as an honest inquiry after truth; an honest endeavor; honest views or motives.
5.  Fair; good; unimpeached.
 Seek seven men of honest report. Acts.6.
6.  Decent; honorable; or suitable.
 Provide things honest in the sight of all men. Rom.12.
7.  Chaste; faithful.
 Wives may be merry, and yet honest too.
HON'EST, v.t. on'est.  To adorn; to grace. [Not used.]


Topic: Honestly
Definition:
HON'ESTLY, adv. on'estly.  Uprightly; justly; with integrity and fairness; as a contract honestly made.
1.  With frank sincerity; without fraud or disguise; according to truth; as, to confess honestly one's real design.
2.  By upright means; with upright conduct; as, to live honestly.
3.  Chastely; with conjugal loyalty and fidelity.


Topic: Honesty
Definition:
HON'ESTY, n.  on'esty. [L. honestas.]
1. In principle, an upright disposition; moral rectitude of heart; a disposition to conform to justice and correct moral principles, in all social transactions.  In fact, upright conduct; an actual conformity to justice and moral rectitude.
2.  Fairness; candor; truth; as the honesty of a narrative.
3.  Frank sincerity.
Honesty is chiefly applicable to social transactions, or mutual dealings in the exchange of property.


Topic: Honey
Definition:
HON'EY, n. hun'y.
1.  A sweet vegetable juice, collected by bees from the flowers of plants, and deposited in cells of the comb in hives.  Honey, when pure, is of a moderate consistence, of a whitish color,tinged with yellow,sweet to the taste, of an agreeable smell, soluble in water, and becoming vinous by fermentation.  In medicine, it is useful as a detergent and aperient. It is supposed to consist of sugar, mucilage, and an acid.
2.  Sweetness; lusciousness.
 The king hath found
 Matter against him, that forever mars
 The honey of his language.
3.  A word of tenderness; sweetness; sweet one.
HON'EY, v.t.  To talk fondly.  [Little used.]
1.  To sweeten.


Topic: Honey-comb
Definition:
HON'EY-COMB, n.  A substance of a firm, close texture, formed by bees into hexagonal cells for repositories of honey, and for the eggs which produce their young.


Topic: Honey-dew
Definition:
HON'EY-DEW, n.  A sweet saccharine substance, found on the leaves of trees and other plants in small drops like dew.  It is said there are two species; one secreted from the plants, and the other deposited by a small insect called the aphis, or vine-fretter.  Bees and ants are said to be fond of honey-dew.


Topic: Honey-guide
Definition:
HON'EY-GUIDE, n.  A species of Cuckoo, found in Africa, which will conduct persons to hives of wild honey.


Topic: Honey-suckle
Definition:
HON'EY-SUCKLE, n.  A genus of plants, the Lonicera, of many species, one of which is called woodbine.


Topic: Honor
Definition:
HON'OR, n. on'or. [L.  honor, honos.]
1.  The esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation.
 A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country. Matt.13.
2.  A testimony of esteem; any expression of respect or of high estimation by words or actions; as the honors of war; military honors; funeral honors; civil honors.
3.  Dignity; exalted rank or place; distinction.
 I have given thee riches and honor. 1 Kings 3.
 Thou art clothed with honor and majesty. Ps. 104.
 In doing a good thing, there is both honor and pleasure.
4.  Reverence; veneration; or any act by which reverence and submission are expressed,as worship paid to the Supreme Being.
5.  Reputation; good name; as, his honor is unsullied.
6.  True nobleness of mind; magnanimity; dignified respect for character, springing from probity, principle or moral rectitude; a distinguishing trait in the character of good men.
7.  An assumed appearance of nobleness; scorn of meanness, springing from the fear of reproach, without regard to principle; as, shall I violate my trust?  Forbid it, honor.
8.  Any particular virtue much valued; as bravery in men, and chastity in females.
9.  Dignity of mien; noble appearance.
 Godlike erect, with native honor clad.
    10. That which honors; he or that which confers dignity; as,the chancellor is an honor to his profession.
    11. Privileges of rank or birth; in the plural.
 Restore me to my honors.
    12. Civilities paid.
 Then here a slave, or if you will, a lord,
 To do the honors,and to give the word.
    13. That which adorns; ornament; decoration.
 The sire then shook the honors of his head.
    14. A noble kind of seignory or lordship, held of the king in capite.
On or upon my honor, words accompanying a declaration which pledge one's honor or reputation for the truth of it. The members of the  house of lords in Great Britain are not under oath, but give their opinions on their honor.
Laws of honor, among persons of fashion, signify certain rules by which their social intercourse is regulated,and which are founded on a regard to reputation.  These laws require a punctilious attention to decorum in external deportment, but admit of the foulest violations of moral duty.
Court of honor, a court of chivalry; a court of civil and criminal jurisdiction, having power to redress injuries of honor, and to hold pleas respecting matters of arms and deeds of war.
HON'OR, v.t on'or. [L. honoro.]
1.  To revere; to respect; to treat with deference and submission, and perform relative duties to.
 Honor thy father and thy mother. Ex.20.
2.  To reverence; to manifest the highest veneration for, in words and actions; to entertain the most exalted thoughts of; to worship; to adore.
 That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. John 5.
3.  To dignify; to raise to distinction or notice; to elevate in rank or station; to exalt.  Men are sometimes honored with titles and offices, which they do not merit.
 Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honor. Esth.6.
4.  To glorify; to render illustrious.
 I will be honored upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host. Ex.14.
5.  To treat with due civility and respect in the ordinary intercourse of life.  The troops honored the governor with a salute.
6.  In commerce, to accept and pay when due; as, to honor a bill of exchange.


Topic: Honorable
Definition:
HON'ORABLE, a. [L. honorabilis.]
1.  Holding a distinguished rank in society; illustrious or noble.
 Sheehem was more honorable than all the house of his father. Gen.34.
 Many of them believed; also of honorable women who were Greeks--not a few. Acts.17.
2.  Possessing a high mind; actuated by principles of honor, or a scrupulous regard to probity, rectitude or reputation.  He is an honorable man.
3. Conferring honor, or procured by noble deeds; as honorable wounds.
4.  Consistent with honor or reputation.  It is not honorable to oppress the weak, or to insult the vanquished.
5.  Respected; worthy of respect; regarded with esteem.
 Marriage is honorable in all. Heb.13.
6.  Performed or accompanied with marks of honor,or with testimonies of esteem; as an honorable burial.
7. Proceeding from an upright and laudable cause,or directed to a just and proper end; not base; not reproachful; as an honorable motive.  Nothing can be honorable which is immoral.
8.  Not to be disgraced.
 Let her descend; my chambers are honorable.
9.  Honest; without hypocrisy or deceit; fair.
 His intentions appear to be honorable.
    10. An epithet of respect or distinction; as the honorable senate; the honorable gentleman.
    11. Becoming men of rank and character, or suited to support men in a station of dignity; as an honorable salary.


Topic: Honorableness
Definition:
HON'ORABLENESS, n.  The state of being honorable; eminence; distinction.
1.  Conformity to the principles of honor,probity or moral rectitude; fairness; applied to disposition or to conduct.


Topic: Honorably
Definition:
HON'ORABLY, adv.  With tokens of honor or respect.  The man was honorably received at court.
1.  Magnanimously; generously; with a noble spirit or purpose.  The prince honorably interposed to prevent a rupture between the nations.
2.  Reputably; without reproach.
 Why did I not more honorably starve?


Topic: Honorary
Definition:
HON'ORARY, a.  Conferring honor, or intended merely to confer honor; as an honorary degree; an honorary crown.
1.  Possessing a title or place without performing services or receiving a reward; as an honorary member of a society.
HON'ORARY, n.  A lawyer's fee.
1.  The salary of a professor in any art or science.


Topic: Honored
Definition:
HON'ORED, pp.  Respected; revered; reverenced; elevated to rank or office; dignified; exalted; glorified; accepted and paid, as a bill of exchange.


Topic: Honorer
Definition:
HON'ORER, n.  One that honors; one that reveres, reverences or regards with respect.
1.  One who exalts, or who confers honors.


Topic: Honoring
Definition:
HON'ORING, ppr.  Respecting highly; reverencing; exalting; dignifying; conferring marks of esteem; accepting and paying, as a bill.


Topic: Hood
Definition:
HOOD.  [L. fraternitas.]
HOOD, n.
1.  A covering for the head used by females, and deeper than a bonnet.
2.  A covering for the head and shoulders used by monks; a cowl.
3.  A covering for a hawk's head or eyes; used in falconry.
4.  Any thing to be drawn over the head to cover it.
5.  An ornamental fold that hangs down the back of a graduate to mark his degree.
6.  A low wooden porch over the ladder which leads to the steerage of a ship; the upper part of a galley-chimney; the cover of a pump.
HOOD, v.t.  To dress in a hood or cowl; to put on a hood.
 The friar hooded, and the monarch crowned.
1.  To cover; to blind.
 I'll hood my eyes.
2.  To cover.
 And hood the flames.


Topic: Hood-wink
Definition:
HOOD'-WINK, v.t. [hood and wink.]  To blind by covering the eyes.
 We will blind and hood-wink him.
1.  To cover; to hide.
 For the prize I'll bring thee to,
 Shall hood-wink this mischance.
2.  To deceive by external appearances of disguise; to impose on.


Topic: Hoodman
Definition:
HOOD'MAN, blind, n.  A play in which a person blinded is to catch another and tell his name; blindman's bluff.


Topic: Hoof
Definition:
HOOF, n.
1.  The horny substance that covers or terminates the feet of certain animals, as horses, oxen, sheep, goats, deer, &c.
2.  An animal; a beast.
 He had not a single hoof of any kind to slaughter.
HOOF, v.i.  To walk, as cattle.  [Little used.]


Topic: Hoof-bound
Definition:
HOOF'-BOUND, a.  A horse is said to be hoof-bound when he has a pain in the fore-feet, occasioned by the dryness and contraction of the horn of the quarters, which straightens the quarters of the heels,and often makes him lame.


Topic: Hoofed
Definition:
HOOF'ED, a.  Furnished with of hoofs.
 Of all the hoofed quadrupeds,the horse is the most beautiful.


Topic: Hook
Definition:
HOOK, n.  
1.  A piece of iron or other metal bent into a curve for catching, holding and sustaining any thing; as a hook for catching fish; a teeter-hook; a chimney-hook; a pot-hook, &c.
2.  A snare; a trap.
3.  A curving instrument for cutting grass or grain; a sickle; an instrument for cutting or lopping.
4.  That part of a hinge which is fixed or inserted in a post.  Whence the phrase, to be off the hooks, to be unhinged, to be disturbed or disordered.
5.  A forked timber in a ship, placed on the keel.
6.  A catch; an advantage. [Vulgar.]
7.  In husbandry, a field sown two years running. [Local.]
By hook and by crook, one way or other; by any means, direct or indirect.
HOOK, v.t.  To catch with a hook; as, to hook a fish.
1.  To seize and draw, as with a hook.
2.  To fasten with a hook.
3.  To entrap; to ensnare.
4.  To draw by force or artifice.
To hook on, to apply a hook.
HOOK, v.i.  To bend; to be curving.


Topic: Hooked
Definition:
HOOK'ED, a.  Bent into the form of a hook; curvated. The claws of a beast are hooked.
1.  Bent; curvated; aquiline; as a hooked nose.
HOOK'ED, pp.  Caught with a hook; fastened with a hook.


Topic: Hoop
Definition:
HOOP, n.  A band of wood or metal used to confine the staves of casks,tubs, &c. or for other similar purposes.  Wooden hoops are usually made by splitting an oak or hickory sapling into two parts; but sometimes they are made of thin splints and of other species of wood.
1.  A piece of whalebone in the form of a circle or ellipsis, used formerly by females to extend their petticoats; a farthingale.
2.  Something resembling a hoop; a ring; any thing circular.
HOOP, v.t.  To bind or fasten with hoops; as, to hoop a barrel or puncheon.
1.  To clasp; to encircle; to surround.
HOOP, v.i.  to shout; to utter a loud cry, or a particular sound by way of call or pursuit.
HOOP, v.t. To drive with a shout or outcry.
1.  To call by a shout or hoop.
HOOP, n.  A shout; also, a measure, equal to a peck.
1.  The hoopoe.


Topic: Hoot
Definition:
HOOT, v.i.
1.  To cry out or shout in contempt.
 Matrons and girls shall hoot at thee no more.
2.  To cry, as an owl.
 The clamorous owl, that nightly hoots.
HOOT, v.t.  To drive with cries or shouts uttered in contempt.
 Partridge and his clan may hoot me for a cheat.
HOOT, n.  A cry or shout in contempt.


Topic: Hope
Definition:
HOPE, n.  [L. cupio.]
1.  A desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable.  Hope differs from wish and desire in this, that it implies some expectation of obtaining the good desired, or the possibility of possessing it.  Hope therefore always gives pleasure or joy; whereas wish and desire may produce or be accompanied with pain and anxiety.
 The hypocrite's hope shall perish.  Job.8.
 He wish'ed, but not with hope--
 Sweet hope!  kind cheat!
 He that lives upon hope, will die fasting.
2.  Confidence in a future event; the highest degree of well founded expectation of good; as a hope founded on God's gracious promises; a scriptural sense.
 A well founded scriptural hope,is, in our religion, the source of ineffable happiness.
3.  That which gives hope; he or that which furnishes ground of expectation, or promises desired good.  The hope of Israel is the Messiah.
 The Lord will be the hope of his people.  Joel 3.
4.  An opinion or belief not amounting to certainty, but grounded on substantial evidence.  The christian indulges a hope, that his sins are pardoned.
HOPE, v.i.
1.  To cherish a desire of food, with some expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable.
 Hope for good success.
 Be sober and hope to the end. 1 Pet.1.
 Hope humbly then, with trembling pinions soar.
2.  To place confidence in; to trust in with confident expectation of good.
 Why art thou cast down, O my soul,and why art thou disquieted within me?  Hope thou in God. Ps.43.
HOPE, v.t.  To desire with expectation of good, or a belief that it may be obtained.  But as a transitive verb, it is seldom used,and the phrases in which it is so used are elliptical, for being understood.
 So stands the Thracian herdsman with his spear,
 Full in the gap,and hopes the hunted bear.
HOPE, n.  A sloping plain between ridges of mountains. [Not in use.]


Topic: Hopeful
Definition:
HO'PEFUL, a. Having qualities which excite hope; promising or giving ground to expect good or success; as a hopeful youth; a hopeful prospect.
1.  Full of hope or desire,with expectation.
 I was hopeful the success of your first attempts would encourage you to the trial of more nice and difficult experiments.


Topic: Hopefully
Definition:
HO'PEFULLY, adv.  In a manner to raise hope; in a way promising good.  He prosecutes his scheme hopefully.
1.  In a manner to produce a favorable opinion respecting some good at the present time.  The young man is hopefully pious.
2.  With hope; with ground to expect.


Topic: Hopeless
Definition:
HO'PELESS, a.  Destitute of hope; having no expectation of that which is desirable; despairing.
 I am a woman, friendless, hopeless.
1.  Giving no ground of hope or expectation of good; promising nothing desirable; desperate; as a hopeless condition.


Topic: Hoping
Definition:
HO'PING, ppr.  Having hope; indulging desire of good with the expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable.
1.  Confiding in.


Topic: Hopper
Definition:
HOP'PER, n.  [See Hop.]  One who hops, or leaps on one leg.
1. Properly, a wooden trough through which grain passes into a mill; so named from its moving or shaking.  But we give the name to a box or frame of boards, which receives the grain before it passes into the trough, and also to a similar box which receives apples for conducting them into a mill.
1.  A vessel in which seed-corn is carried for sowing.


Topic: Horary
Definition:
HO'RARY, a.  [L. horarius; L. hora hour.]
1.  Pertaining to an hour; noting the hours; as the horary circle.
2.  Continuing an hour.


Topic: Hore
Definition:
HORE, n.  A woman, married or single, who indulges unlawful sexual intercourse; also, a prostitute; a common woman; a harlot; a woman of ill fame.  [This word comprehends adultress and fornicatrix, and all lewd women whether paid for prostitution or not.]
HORE, v.i. To indulge unlawful sexual commerce, as a male or female; to be habitually lewd.


Topic: Horedom
Definition:
HO'REDOM, n.  The practice of unlawful sexual commerce; habitual or customary lewdness of males or females.
1.  In Scripture,idolatry.


Topic: Horehound
Definition:
HO'REHOUND, n.  The name of several plants of different genera. The common horehound is the Marrubium vulgare. It has a bitter taste, and is used as an attenuant.


Topic: Horeson
Definition:
HO'RESON, n.  [hore and son.]  A bastard; the son of a hore; a term of reproach or contempt,sometimes used in a ludicrous sense expressing dislike.


Topic: Horizon
Definition:
HOR'IZON, n. [Gr. to bound, a limit.]  The line that terminates the view, when extended on the surface of the earth; or a great circle of the sphere, dividing the world into two parts or hemispheres; the upper hemisphere which is visible, and the lower which is hid.  The horizon is sensible,and rational or real.  The sensible, apparent, or visible horizon, is a lesser circle of the sphere, which divides the visible part of the sphere from the invisible.  It is eastern or western; the eastern is that wherein the sun and stars rise; the western, that wherein they set.  The rational, true, or astronomical horizon, is a great circle whose plane passes through the center of the earth, and whose poles are the zenith and nadir.  This horizon would bound the sight, if the eye could take in the whole hemisphere.


Topic: Horizontal
Definition:
HORIZON'TAL, a.  Pertaining to the horizon, or relating to it.
1.  Parallel to the horizon; on a level; as a horizontal line or surface.
2.  Near the horizon; as horizontal misty air.


Topic: Horizontally
Definition:
HORIZON'TALLY, adv.  In a direction parallel to the horizon; on a level; as a ball carried horizontally.


Topic: Horn
Definition:
HORN, n. [L. cornu]
1.  A hard substance growing on the heads of certain animals, and particularly on cloven-footed quadrupeds; usually projecting to some length and terminating in a point.  Horns are generally bent or curving, and those of some animals are spiral.  They serve for weapons of offense and defense.  The substance of horns is gelatinous, and in Papin's digester it may be converted into jelly.
Horn is an animal substance, chiefly membranous, consisting of coagulated albumen, with a little gelatin and phosphate of lime.
The horns of deer possess exactly the properties of bone,and are composed of the same constituents, only the proportion of cartilage is greater.
2.  A wind instrument of music, made of horn; a trumpet.  Such were used by the Israelites.
3.  In modern times, a wind instrument made of metal.
4. An extremity of the moon, when it is waxing or waning, and forming a crescent.
5.  The feeler or antenna of an insect.
6.  The feeler of a snail, which may be withdrawn; hence, to pull or draw in the horns, is to repress one's ardor, or to restrain pride.
7.  A drinking cup; horns being used anciently for cups.
8.  A winding stream.
9.  Horns, in the plural, is used to characterize a cuckold.   He wears the horns.
    10. In Scripture, horn is a symbol of strength or power.
 The horn of Moab is cut off. Jer.48.
 Horn is also an emblem of glory, honor, dignity.
 My horn is exalted in the Lord. 1 Sam.2.
 In Daniel, horn represents a kingdom or state.


Topic: Hornbill
Definition:
HORN'BILL, n. A fowl of the genus Buceros,which has a flat bony forehead with two horns; a native of the E. Indies.


Topic: Hornblend
Definition:
HORN'BLEND, n.  A mineral of several varieties, called by Hauy amphibole.  It is sometimes in regular distinct crystals; more generally the result of confused crystallization, appearing in masses, composed of lamins, acicular crystals or fibers, variously aggregated.  Its prevailing colors are black and green.


Topic: Hornbook
Definition:
HORN'BOOK, n.  The first book of children, or that in which they learn their letters and rudiments; so called from its cover of horn. [Now little used.]


Topic: Hornet
Definition:
HORN'ET, n.  An insect of the genus Vespa or wasp, the Vespa crabro.  It is much larger and stronger than the wasp, and its sting gives severe pain.  This insect constructs a nest of leaves or other substance which resembles brown paper of a light color. This is attached to the branches of trees,and often of the size of a half-peck measure.


Topic: Hornpipe
Definition:
HORN'PIPE, n.  An instrument of music in Wales, consisting of a wooden pipe with horns at the ends; one to collect the wind blown from the mouth; the other to carry off the sounds as modulated by the performer.
1.  An air or tune of triple time, with six crotchets in a bar; four to the descending beat,and two to the ascending.


Topic: Hornstone
Definition:
HORN'STONE, n.  A siliceous stone, a subspecies of quartz. It is divided by Jameson into splintery, conchoidal, and wood-stone.  [See Chert.]


Topic: Horography
Definition:
HOROG'RAPHY, n. [Gr. hour, and to write.]
1.  An account of hours.
2.  The art of constructing dials.


Topic: Horologe
Definition:
HO'ROLOGE, n. [L. horologium; Gr. hour, and to tell.]
An instrument that indicates the hour of the day. But chronometer is now generally used.


Topic: Horologiography
Definition:
HOROLOGIOG'RAPHY, n. [Gr. hour, discourse, and to describe.]
An account of instruments that show the hour of the day; also, of the art of constructing dials.


Topic: Horology
Definition:
HOROL'OGY, n. [Gr. hour, and to indicate.  See Horologe.]
The art of constructing machines for measuring and indicating portions of time, as clocks, watches, &c.


Topic: Horometrical
Definition:
HOROMET'RICAL, a. [from horometry.]  Belonging to horometry, or to the measurement of time by hours and subordinate divisions.


Topic: Horometry
Definition:
HOROM'ETRY, n. [Gr. hour, and measure.]
The art or practice of measuring time by hours and subordinate divisions.


Topic: Horoscope
Definition:
HOR'OSCOPE, n.  [Gr. hour, and to view or consider.]
1.  In astrology, a scheme or figure of the twelve houses, or twelve signs of the zodiac, in which is marked the disposition of the heavens at a given time, and by which astrologers formerly told the fortunes of persons, according to the position of the stars at the time of their birth.
2.  The degree or point of the heavens arising above the eastern point of the horizon at any given time when a prediction is to be made of a future event.


Topic: Horoscopy
Definition:
HOROS'COPY, n.  The art or practice of predicting future events by the disposition of the stars and planets.


Topic: Horrent
Definition:
HOR'RENT, a. [L. horrens.  See Horror.]  Bristled; standing erect as bristles; pointing outward.
 With bright emblazonry and horrent arms.


Topic: Horrible
Definition:
HOR'RIBLE, a. [L. horribilis. See Horror.]  Exciting or tending to excite horror; dreadful; terrible; shocking; hideous; as a horrible figure or sight; a horrible story.
 A dungeon horrible on all sides round.


Topic: Horribleness
Definition:
HOR'RIBLENESS, n.  The state or qualities that may excite horror; dreadfulness; terribleness; hideousness.


Topic: Horribly
Definition:
HOR'RIBLY, adv.  In a manner to excite horror; dreadfully; terribly; as horribly loud; horribly afraid.


Topic: Horrid
Definition:
HOR'RID, a. [L. horridus.  See Horror.]
1.  That does or may excite horror; dreadful; hideous; shocking; as a horrid spectacle or sight; horrid sympathy.
2.  Rough; rugged.  This is the literal and primary sense.
 Horrid with fern, and intricate with thorn.
3.  Shocking; very offensive; a colloquial sense.


Topic: Horrisonous
Definition:
HORRIS'ONOUS, a. [L. horrisonus; horreo, to shake, and sonus, sound.]   Sounding dreadfully; uttering a terrible sound.


Topic: Horror
Definition:
HOR'ROR, n. [L. from horreo, to shake or shiver, or to set up the bristles,to be rough.]
1.  A shaking, shivering or shuddering, as in the cold fit which precedes a fever.  This ague is usually accompanied with a contraction of the skin into small wrinkles, giving it a kind of roughness.
2.  An excessive degree of fear,or a painful emotion which makes a person tremble; terror; a shuddering with fear; but appropriately, terror or a sensation approaching it, accompanied with hatred or detestation.  Horror is often a passion compounded of fear and hatred or disgust.  The recital of a bloody deed fills us with horror.
 A horror of great darkness fell on Abram. Gen.15.
 Horror hath taken hold on me, because of the wicked that forsake thy law. Ps.119.
3.  That which may excite horror or dread; gloom; dreariness.
 And breathes a browner horror on the woods.
4.  Dreadful thoughts.
5.  Distressing scenes; as the horrors of war or famine.


Topic: Horse
Definition:
HORSE, n. hors.
1.  A species of quadrupeds of the genus Equus, having six erect and parallel fore-teeth in the upper jaw, and six somewhat prominent in the under jaw; the dog teeth are solitary, and the feet consist of an undivided hoof.  The horse is a beautiful animal, and of great use for draught or conveyance on his back.  Horse, in English, is of common gender, and may comprehend the male and female.
2.  A constellation.
3.  Cavalry; a body of troops serving on horseback.  In this sense, it has no plural termination.  We say, a thousand horse, a regiment of horse.
4.  A machine by which something is supported; usually a wooden frame with legs.  Various machines used in the arts are thus called.
5.  A wooden machine on which soldiers ride by way of punishment; sometimes called a timber-mare.
6.  In seamen's language, a rope extending from the middle of a yard to its extremity, to support the sailors while they loose, reef or furl the sails, also, a thick rope extended near the mast for hoisting a yard or extending a sail on it.
To take horse to set out to ride on horseback.
1.  To be covered, as a mare.
HORSE, v.t.  To mount on a horse.
1.  To carry on the back.
 The keeper, horsing a deer.
2.  To ride astride; as ridges horsed.
3.  To cover a mare, as the male.


Topic: Horse-chestnut
Definition:
HORSE-CHESTNUT, n.  A large nut,the fruit of a species of Aesculus; or the tree that produces it.  The tree is much cultivated for shade.


Topic: Horseback
Definition:
HORSEBACK, n.  hors'back.  The state of being on a horse; the posture of riding on a horse.
 I saw them salute on horseback.


Topic: Horseboat
Definition:
HORSEBOAT, n.  A boat used in conveying horses over a river or other water.
1.  A boat moved by horses; a new species of ferry-boat.


Topic: Horseman
Definition:
HORSEMAN, n.  A rider on horseback.
1.  A man skilled in riding.
2.  A soldier who serves on horseback.


Topic: Horseradish
Definition:
HORSERADISH, n.  A plant of the genus Cochlearia, a species of scurvy grass,having a root of a pungent taste.


Topic: Horseshoe-head
Definition:
HORSESHOE-HEAD, n.  A disease of infants, in which the sutures of the skull are too open; opposed to headmold-shot.


Topic: Hortation
Definition:
HORTA'TION, n.  [L. hortatio, from hortor, to exhort.]
The act of exhorting, or giving advice; exhortation; advice intended to encourage.  [But exhortation is generally used.]


Topic: Hortative
Definition:
HOR'TATIVE, a.  Giving exhortation, advisory.
HOR'TATIVE, n.  Exhortation; a precept given to incite or encourage.


Topic: Horticulture
Definition:
HOR'TICULTURE, n. [L. hortus,  garden, and cultura, culture, from colo, to till.]  The cultivation of a garden; or the art of cultivating gardens.


Topic: Hortussiccus
Definition:
HORTUSSICCUS, n. [L.]  Literally, a dry garden; an appellation given to a collection of specimens of plants, carefully dried and preserved.


Topic: Hosanna
Definition:
HOSAN'NA, n.  s as z. [Heb. save, I beseech you.]
An exclamation of praise to God, or an invocation of blessings.  In the Hebrew ceremonies, it was a prayer rehearsed on the several days of the feast of tabernacles,in which this word was often repeated.


Topic: Hose
Definition:
HOSE, n. plu. hosen or hose; pron. hoze, ho'zn.
1.  Breeches or trowsers.
2.  Stockings; coverings for the legs.  This word, in mercantile use, is synonymous with stockings,though originally a very different garment.
3.  A leathern pipe,used with fire-engines, for conveying water to extinguish fires.


Topic: Hospitable
Definition:
HOS'PITABLE, a. [L. hospitalis, from hospes, a guest.]
1.  Receiving and entertaining strangers,with kindness and without reward; kind to strangers and guests; disposed to treat guests with generous kindness; as a hospitable man.
2.  Proceeding from or indicating kindness to guests; manifesting generosity; as a hospitable table; hospitable rites.
3.  Inviting to strangers; offering kind reception; indicating hospitality.
 To where yon taper cheers the vale,
 With hospitable ray.


Topic: Hospital
Definition:
HOS'PITAL, n. [L. hospitalis, supra.]
1. A building appropriated for the reception of sick,infirm and helpless paupers,who are supported and nursed by charity; also, a house for the reception of insane persons, whether paupers or not, or for seamen, soldiers, foundlings, &c. who are supported by the public, or by private charity, or for infected persons, &c.
2.  A place for shelter or entertainment.
HOS'PITAL, a.  Hospitable. [Not in use.]


Topic: Hospitality
Definition:
HOSPITAL'ITY, n. [L. hospitalitas.]  The act or practice of receiving and entertaining strangers or guests without reward, or with kind and generous liberality.
 A bishop--must be given to hospitality. 1 Tim.3.
 Hospitality I have found as universal as the face of man.


Topic: Hospitaller
Definition:
HOS'PITALLER, n. [from hospital.]  Properly, one residing in a hospital for the purpose of receiving the poor and strangers.  The hospitallers were an order of knights who built a hospital at Jerusalem for pilgrims.  They were called knights of St. John, and are the same as the knights of Malta.


Topic: Hospitate
Definition:
HOS'PITATE, v.i. [L. hospitor.]  To reside or lodge under the roof of another. [Not used.]
HOS'PITATE, v.t.  To lodge a person.  [Not used.]


Topic: Host
Definition:
HOST, n. [L.hostis, a stranger, an enemy, probably of the same family.  See Hospitable.]
1.  One who entertains another at his own house, without reward.
 Homer never entertained guests or hosts with long speeches.
2.  One who entertains another at his house for reward; an innkeeper; a landlord.
3.  A guest; one who is entertained at the house of another.  The innkeeper says of the traveler,he has a good host,and the traveler says of his landlord, he has a kind host.  [See Guest.]
HOST, n. [L. hostis, a stranger, an enemy.]  The sense is probably transferred from a single foe to an army of foes.]
1.  An army; a number of men embodied for war.
2.  Any great number or multitude.
HOST, n. [L. hostia, a victim or sacrifice, from hostis, an enemy.]
In the Romish church, the sacrifice of the mass, or the consecrated wafer, representing the body of Christ, or as the Catholics allege, transubstantiated into his own body.
HOST, v.i.  To lodge at an inn; to take up entertainment.  [Little used.]
HOST, v.t.  To give entertainment to.  [Not used.]


Topic: Hostage
Definition:
HOS'TAGE, n.  A person delivered to an enemy or hostile power, as a pledge to secure the performance of the conditions of a treaty or stipulations of any kind, and on the performance of which the person is to be released.


Topic: Hostess
Definition:
HOSTESS, n.  A female host; a woman who entertains guests at her house.
1.  A woman who keeps an inn.


Topic: Hostile
Definition:
HOS'TILE, a. [L. hostilis, from hostis, an enemy, that is, a foreigner.]
1.  Belonging to a public enemy; designating enmity, particularly public enmity, or a state of war; inimical; as a hostile band or army; a hostile force; hostile intentions.
2.  Possessed by a public enemy; as a hostile country.
3.  Adverse; opposite; unfriendly.  [But the word is not properly applied to private enmity, or mere unfriendliness.]


Topic: Hostility
Definition:
HOSTIL'ITY, n.  [L. hostilitas, from hostis, an enemy.]
1.  The state of war between nations or states; the actions of an open enemy; aggression; attacks of an enemy.  These secret enmities broke out in hostilities.
 Hostility being thus suspended with France.
 We have carried on even our hostilities with humanity.
2.  Private enmity; a sense less proper.


Topic: Hot
Definition:
HOT, a.
1.  Having sensible heat; opposed to cold; as a hot stove or fire; a hot cloth; hot liquors.  Hot expresses more than warm.
2.  Ardent in temper; easily excited or exasperated; vehement.
 Achilles is impatient, hot and revengeful.
3.  Violent; furious; as a hot engagement or assault.
4.  Eager; animated;; brisk; keen; as a hot pursuit, or a person hot in a pursuit.
5.  Lustful; lewd.
6.  Acrid; biting; stimulating; pungent; as hot as mustard or pepper.


Topic: Hotbed
Definition:
HOT'BED, n.  In gardening, a bed of earth and horsedung or tanner's bark, covered with glass to defend it form the cold air, intended for raising early plants, or for nourishing exotic plants of warm climates, which will not thrive in cool or temperate air.


Topic: Hotchpot
Definition:
HOTCH'POT, n.
1.  Properly, a mingled mass; a mixture of ingredients.
2.  In law, a mixing of lands.  Thus lands given in frank-marriage to one daughter, shall, after the death of the ancestor, be blended with the lands descending to her and then be divided in equal portions to all the daughters.


Topic: Hotcockles
Definition:
HOT'COCKLES, n. plu. A play in which one covers his eyes, and guesses who strikes him, or his hand placed behind him.


Topic: Hotel
Definition:
HOTEL', n.
1.  A palace.
2.  An inn; a house for entertaining strangers or travelers.  It was formerly a house for genteel strangers or lodgers, but the name is now given to any inn.


Topic: Hothouse
Definition:
HOT'HOUSE, n.  A  house kept warm to shelter tender plants and shrubs from the cold air; a place in which the plants of warmer climates may be reared, and fruits ripened.
1.  A bagnio, or place to sweat and cup in.
2.  A brothel.


Topic: Hotly
Definition:
HOT'LY, adv. [from hot.]  With heat.
1.  Ardently; vehemently; violently; as a stag hotly pursued.
2.  Lustfully.


Topic: Hotspur
Definition:
HOT'SPUR, n. [hot and spur.]  A man violent, passionate, heady, rash or precipitate.
1.  A kind of pea of early growth.
HOT'SPUR, a.  Violent; impetuous.


Topic: Hough
Definition:
HOUGH, n. hok.
1.  The lower part of the thigh; the ham; the joint of the hind leg of a beast that connects the thigh with the leg.
2.  An adz; a hoe.  [Not in use.]
HOUGH, v.t. hok.  To hamstring; to disable by cutting the sinews of the ham.
1.  To cut with a hoe.


Topic: Hound
Definition:
HOUND, n. [L. canis.]  A generic name of the dog; but in English it is confined to a particular breed or variety, used in the chase.  It has long, smooth, pendulous ears.
HOUND, v.t.  To set on the chase.
1.  To hunt; to chase.


Topic: Houndfish
Definition:
HOUND'FISH, n.  A fish, called also Galeus laevis, with a long round body, and ash-colored sides and back.
A species of shark, the Squalus mustelus.


Topic: Hour
Definition:
HOUR, n. our. [L. hora; also L. tempestivus, from tempus.  See Time.  But hour, hora, afterward came to signify a certain portion or division of the day.  This has been different in different nations.]
1.  A space of time equal to one twenty fourth part of the natural day, or duration of the diurnal revolution of the earth.  An hour answers to fifteen degrees of the equator.  It consists of 60 minutes, each minute of 60 seconds, &c.
2.  Time; a particular time; as the hour of death.
 Jesus saith, woman,my hour is not yet come. John.2.
3.  The time marked or indicated by a chronometer, clock or watch; the particular time of the day.  What is the hour?  At what hour shall we meet?  I will be with you at an early hour.
Good hour, signifies early or seasonably.
 You have arrived at a good hour.
To keep good hours, to be at home in good season; not to be abroad late, or at the usual hours of retiring to rest.
Hours, in the plural, certain prayers in the Romish church, to be repeated at stated times of the day, as matins and vespers.


Topic: Hourglass
Definition:
HOUR'GLASS, n. our'glass.  A chronometer that measures the flux of time by the running of sand from one glass vessel to another, through a small aperture.  Instead of sand, dry egg shells pulverized are sometimes used. The quantity of sand may be so proportioned as to measure an hour, a half hour, or a quarter.
1.  Space of time.


Topic: Hourly
Definition:
HOUR'LY, a.  our'ly.  Happening or done every hour; occurring hour by hour; frequent; often repeated.
 Observe the waning moon with hourly view.
1.  Continual.
 We must live in hourly expectation of having the troops recalled.
HOUR'LY, adv. our'ly.  Every hour; frequently; continually.
 Great was their strife which hourly was renewed.


Topic: Hourplate
Definition:
HOUR'PLATE, n. our'plate.  The plate of a clock or other time-piece on which the hours are marked; the dial.


Topic: House
Definition:
HOUSE, n. hous.  [L. casa; Heb. to put on, to cover.]
1.  In a general sense, a building or shed intended or used as a habitation or shelter for animals of any kind; but appropriately, a building or edifice for the habitation of man; a dwelling place, mansion or abode for any of the human species.  It may be of any size and composed of any materials whatever, wood, stone, brick, &c.
2.  An edifice or building appropriated to the worship of God; a temple; a church; as the house of God.
3.  A monastery; a college; as a religious house.
4.  The manner of living; the table.  
 He keeps a good house, or a miserable house.
5.  In astrology, the station of a planet in the heavens, or the twelfth part of the heavens.
6.  A family of ancestors; descendants and kindred; a race of persons from the same stock; a tribe. It particularly denotes a noble family or an illustrious race; as the house of Austria; the  house of Hanover.  So in Scripture, the house of Israel,or of Judah.
 Two of a house few ages can afford.
7.  One of the estates of a kingdom assembled in parliament or legislature; a body of men united in their legislative capacity, and holding their place by right or by election.  Thus we say, the house of lords or peers of Great Britain; the house of commons; the house of representatives.  In most of the United States, the legislatures consist of two houses, the senate, and the house of representatives or delegates.
8.  The quorum of a legislative body; the number of representatives assembled who are constitutionally empowered to enact laws. Hence we say, there is a sufficient number of representatives present to form a house.
9.  In Scripture, those who dwell in a house and compose a family; a household.
 Cornelius was a devout man, and feared God with all his house. Acts.10.
    10. Wealth; estate.
 Ye devour widows' houses.  Matt.23.
    11. The grave; as the house appointed for all living. Job.30.
    12. Household affairs; domestic concerns.
 Set thy house in order.  2 Kings.20.
    13. The body; the residence of the soul in this world; as our earthly house. 2 Cor.5.
    14. The church among the Jews.
 Moses was faithful in all his house.  Heb.3.
    15. A place of residence. Egypt is called the house of bondage. Ex.13.
    16. A square, or division on a chess board.
HOUSE, v.t. houz.  To cover from the inclemencies of the weather; to shelter; to protect by covering; as, to house wood; to house farming utensils; to house cattle.
1.  To admit to residence; to harbor.
 Palladius wished him to house all the Helots.
2.  To deposit and cover, as in the grave.
3.  To drive to a shelter.
HOUSE, v.i. houz.  To take shelter or lodgings; to keep abode; to reside.
 To house with darkness and with death.
1.  To have an astrological station in the heavens.
 Where Saturn houses.


Topic: House-breaker
Definition:
HOUSE-BREAK'ER, n. house'-breaker. One who breaks, opens and enters a house by day with a felonious intent, or one who breaks or opens a house, and steals therefrom, by daylight.


Topic: House-breaking
Definition:
HOUSE-BREAKING, n. hous'-breaking.  The breaking, or opening and entering of a house by daylight, with the intent to commit a felony, or to steal or rob.  The same crime committed at night is burglary.


Topic: Housebote
Definition:
HOUSEBOTE, n.  hous'bote.  
1.  In law, a sufficient allowance of wood to repair the house and supply fuel.


Topic: Household
Definition:
HOUSEHOLD, n. hous'hold.  Those who dwell under the same roof and compose a family; those who belong to a family.
 I baptized also the household of Stephanus. 1 Cor.1.
1.  Family life; domestic management.
HOUSEHOLD, a.  hous'hold.  Belonging to the house and family; domestic; as household furniture; household affairs.


Topic: Household-stuff
Definition:
HOUSEHOLD-STUFF, n.  hous'hold-stuff.  The furniture of a house; the vessels, utensils and goods of a family.


Topic: Householder
Definition:
HOUSEHOLDER, n. hous'holder.  The master or chief of a family; one who keeps house with his family.  Matt.13.


Topic: Housekeeper
Definition:
HOUSEKEEPER, n. hous'keeper. One who occupies a house with his family; a man or woman who maintains a family; a man or woman who maintains a family state in a house; a householder; the master or mistress of a family.
1.  A female servant who has the chief care of the family and superintends the other servants.
2.  One who lives in plenty.  [Not in use.]
3.  One who keeps much at home.  [Not used.]
4.  A housedog.  [Not used.]


Topic: Housekeeping
Definition:
HOUSEKEEPING, a. hous'keeping.  Domestic; used in a family; as housekeeping commodities.  [Little used.]
HOUSEKEEPING, n. [As above.]  The family state in a dwelling.
1.  Hospitality; a plentiful and hospitable table.  [Not used in U. States.]


Topic: Housel
Definition:
HOUS'EL, n. houz'l.  The eucharist; the sacred bread.
HOUS'EL, v.t.  To give or receive the eucharist.


Topic: Houseleek
Definition:
HOUSELEEK, n.  hous'leek. [See Leek.]  A plant of the genus Sempervivum, which is found on the tops of houses.  The lesser houseleek is of the genus Sedum.


Topic: Houseless
Definition:
HOUSELESS, n. hous'less.  Destitute of a house or habitation; as the houseless child of want.
1.  Destitute of shelter.


Topic: Housewife
Definition:
HOUSEWIFE, n. hous'wife. [house and wife; contracted into huswife,hussy.]    The mistress of a family.
1.  A female economist; a good manager.
2.  One skilled in female business.
3.  A little case or bag for articles of female work.


Topic: Housewifely
Definition:
HOUSEWIFELY, a. hous'wifely.  Pertaining to the mistress of a family.
1.  Taken from housewifery, or domestic affairs; as a housewifely metaphor.


Topic: Housewifery
Definition:
HOUSEWIFERY, n. hous'wifery.  The business of the mistress of a family; female business in the economy of a family; female management of domestic concerns.


Topic: Housing
Definition:
HOUS'ING , n.  Among seamen, a small line formed of three strands, smaller than rope-yard, used for seizings, &c.


Topic: Hover
Definition:
HOV'ER, v.i.
1.  To flap the wings, as a fowl; to hang over or about, fluttering or flapping the wings, with short irregular flights.
 Great flights of birds are hovering about the bridge, and settling on it.
2.  To hang over or around, with irregular motions.
 A hovering mist came swimming o'er his sight.
3.  To stand in suspense or expectation.
4.  To wander about from place to place in the neighborhood; to move back and forth; as an army hovering on our borders; a ship hovering on our coast.
HOV'ER, n.  A protection or shelter by hanging over.


Topic: How
Definition:
HOW, adv.  In what manner.  I know not how to answer.
 How can a man be born when he is old?
 How can these things be? John 3.
1.  To what degree or extent.  How long shall we suffer these indignities? How much better is wisdom than gold!
 O how love I thy law!  How sweet are thy words to my taste. Ps.119.
2.  For what reason; from what cause.
 How now, my love, why is your cheek so pale?
3.  By what means.  How can this effect by produced?
4.  In what state.
 How, and with what reproach shall I return!
5.  It is used in a sense marking proportion; as how much less; how much more.
 Behold, he putteth no trust in his servants--how much less in them that dwell in houses of clay-- Job.4.
By how much they would diminish the present extent of the sea, so much they would impair the fertility and fountains and rivers of the earth.
6.  It is much used in exclamation.
 How are the mighty fallen!  2 Sam.1.
7.  In some popular phrases, how is superfluous or inelegant.
 Thick clouds put us in some hope of land; knowing how that part of the South Sea was utterly unknown.


Topic: Howbeit
Definition:
HOWBE'IT, adv. [how, be, and it.]  Be it as it may; nevertheless; notwithstanding; yet; but; however.


Topic: However
Definition:
HOWEV'ER, adv. [how and ever.]  In whatever manner or degree; as, however good or bad style may be.
1.  At all events; at least.
 Our chief end is to be freed from all, if it may be, however, from the greatest evils.
2. Nevertheless; notwithstanding; yet.  I shall not oppose your design; I cannot however approve of it.
 You might howe'er have took a fairer way.


Topic: Howker
Definition:
HOW'KER, n.  A Dutch vessel with two masts, a main and a mizen-mast; also, a fishing boat with one mast, used on the coast of Ireland.


Topic: Howl
Definition:
HOWL, v.i. [L. ululo.]
1.  To cry as a dog or wolf; to utter a particular kind of loud, protracted and mournful sound.  We say, the dog howls; the wolf howls. Hence,
2.  To utter a loud, mournful sound, expressive of distress; to wail.
 Howl lye, for the day of the Lord is at hand. Is.13.
 Ye rich men, weep and howl. James.5.
3.  To roar; as a tempest.
HOWL, v.t. To utter or speak with outcry.
 Go--howl it out in deserts.
HOWL, n.  The cry of a dog or wolf, or other like sound.
1.  The cry of a human being in horror or anguish.


Topic: Howling
Definition:
HOWL'ING, ppr.  Uttering the cry of a dog or wolf; uttering a loud cry of distress.
HOWL'ING, a.  Filled with howls, or howling beasts; dreary.
Innumerable artifices and stratagems are acted in the howling wilderness and in the great deep,that can never come to our knowledge.
HOWL'ING, n.  The act of howling; a loud outcry or mournful sound.


Topic: Howsoever
Definition:
HOWSOEV'ER, adv. [how, so, and ever.]
1.  In what manner soever.
2.  Although.
[For this word, however is generally used.]


Topic: Hoy
Definition:
HOY, n.  A small vessel, usually rigged as a sloop, and employed in conveying passengers and goods from place to place on the sea coast, or in transporting goods to and from a ship in a road or bay.
HOY, an exclamation, of no definite meaning.


Topic: Huckster
Definition:
HUCK'STER, n.  
1.  A retailer of small articles, of provisions, nuts, &c.
2.  A mean trickish fellow.
HUCK'STER, v.i.  To deal in small articles, or in petty bargains.


Topic: Huddle
Definition:
HUD'DLE, v.i.
1.  To crowd; to press together promiscuously, without order or regularity.  We say of a throng of people, they huddle together.
2.  To move in a promiscuous throng without order; to press or hurry in disorder.  The people huddle along, or huddle into the house.
HUD'DLE, v.t.  To put on in haste and disorder; as, she huddled on her clothes.
1.  To cover in haste or carelessly.
2.  To perform in haste and disorder.
3.  To throw together in confusion; to crowd together without regard to order; as, to huddle propositions together.
HUD'DLE, n.  A crowd; a number of persons or things crowded together without order or regularity; tumult; confusion.


Topic: Hue
Definition:
HUE, n.  Color; dye.
 Flow'rs of all hue.
HUE, in the phrase hue and cry, signifies a shouting or vociferation.  In law, a hue and cry is the pursuit of a felon or offender, with loud outcries or clamor to give an alarm.


Topic: Huff
Definition:
HUFF, n.
1.  A swell of sudden anger or arrogance.
 A Spaniard was wonderfully upon the huff about his extraction.
2.  A boaster; one swelled with a false opinion of his own value or importance.
 Lewd shallow-brained huffs make atheism and contempt of religion the badge of wit.
HUFF, v.t.  To swell; to enlarge; to puff up.
1.  To hector; to bully; to treat with insolence and arrogance; to chide or rebuke with insolence.
HUFF, v.i.  To swell; to dilate or enlarge; as, the bread huffs.
1.  To bluster; to swell with anger, pride or arrogance; to storm.
 This arrogant conceit made them huff at the doctrine of repentance.
 A huffing, shining, flattering, cringing coward.


Topic: Hug
Definition:
HUG, v.t.
1.  To press close in an embrace.
 --And hugged me in his arms.
2.  To embrace closely; to hold fast; to treat with fondness.
 We hug deformities, if they bear our names.
3.  To gripe in wrestling or scuffling.
To hug the land, in sailing, to sail as near the land as possible.
hug the wind, to keep the ship close-hauled.
HUG, n.  A close embrace.
1.  A particular gripe in wrestling or scuffling.


Topic: Huge
Definition:
HUGE, a.
1.  Very large or great; enormous; applied to bulk or size; as a huge mountain; a huge ox.
2.  It is improperly applied to space and distance, in the sense of great, vast, immense; as a hugh space; a hugh difference.  This is inelegant, or rather vulgar.
3.  In colloquial language, very great; enormous; as a huge feeder.


Topic: Hugger-mugger
Definition:
HUG'GER-MUGGER, n. [Hugger contains the elements of hug and hedge, and mugger, those of smoke.]
In hugger-mugger, denotes in privacy or secrecy, and the word adverbially used, denotes secretly.  [It is a low cant word.]


Topic: Hulk
Definition:
HULK, n.  
1.  The body of a ship, or decked vessel of any kind; but the word is applied only to the body of an old ship or vessel which is laid by as unfit for service.  A sheer-hulk is an old ship fitted with an apparatus to fix or take out the masts of a ship.
2. Any thing bulky or unwieldy.  [Not used.]
HULK, v.t.  To take out the entrails; as, to hulk a hare.  [Little used.]


Topic: Hull
Definition:
HULL, n.
1.  The outer covering of any thing, particularly of a nut or of grain.  Johnson says, the hull of a nut covers the shell.
2.  The frame or body of a ship, exclusive of her masts, yards and rigging.
To lie a hull, in seamen's language, is to lie as a ship without any sail upon her, and her helm lashed a-lee.
To strike a hull, in a storm, is to take in the sails, and lash the helm on the lee-side of a ship.
HULL, v.t.  To strip off or separate the hull or hulls; as, to hull grain.
1.  To pierce the hull of a ship with a cannon-ball.
HULL, v.i.  To float or drive on the water without sails.


Topic: Hulotheism
Definition:
HU'LOTHEISM, n. [Gr. matter, and God.]  The doctrine or belief that matter is God, or that there is no God, except matter and the universe.


Topic: Hum
Definition:
HUM, v.i.  To utter the sound of bees; to buzz.
1.  To make an inarticulate buzzing sound.
 The cloudy messenger turns me his back,
 And hums--
2.  To pause in speaking, and make an audible noise like the humming bees.
 He hummed and hawed.
3.  To make a dull, heavy noise like a drone.
 Still humming, on their drowsy course they took.
4.  To applaud.
HUM, v.t.  To sing in a low voice; as, to hum a tune.
1.  To cause to hum; to impose on.
HUM, n.  The noise of bees or insects.
1.  A low confused noise, as of crowds; as the busy hum of men.
2.  Any low dull noise.
3.  A low inarticulate sound, uttered by a speaker in a pause; as hums and haws.
4.  An expression of applause.
HUM, exclam.  A sound with a pause, implying doubt and deliberation.


Topic: Human
Definition:
HU'MAN, a. [L. humanus; Heb. form, species.]
1.  Belonging to man or mankind; pertaining or relating to the race of man; as a human voice; human shape; human nature; human knowledge; human life.
2.  Having the qualities of a man.
3.  Profane; not sacred or divine; as a human author. [Not in use.]


Topic: Humane
Definition:
HUMA'NE, a.  [supra.]  Having the feelings and dispositions proper to man; having tenderness, compassion, and a disposition to treat others with kindness; particularly in relieving them when in distress, or in captivity, when they are helpless or defenseless; kind; benevolent.
1.  Inclined to treat the lower orders of animals with tenderness.


Topic: Humanely
Definition:
HUMA'NELY, adv.  With kindness, tenderness or compassion; as, the prisoners were treated humanely.
1.  In a humane manner; with kind feelings.


Topic: Humanist
Definition:
HU'MANIST, n.  A professor of grammar and rhetoric; a philologist; a term used in the universities of Scotland.
1.  One versed in the knowledge of human nature.


Topic: Humanity
Definition:
HUMAN'ITY, n.  [L. humanitas.]
1.  The peculiar nature of man, by which he is distinguished from other beings.  Thus Christ, by his incarnation, was invested
with humanity.
2.  Mankind collectively; the human race.
 If he is able to untie those knots,he is able to teach all humanity.
 It is a debt we owe to humanity.
3.  The kind feelings, dispositions and sympathies of man,by which he is distinguished from the lower orders of animals; kindness; benevolence; especially, a disposition to relieve persons in distress, and to treat with tenderness those who are helpless and defenseless; opposed to cruelty.
4.  A disposition to treat the lower orders of animals with tenderness, or at least to give them no unnecessary pain.
5.  The exercise of kindness; acts of tenderness.
6.  Philology; grammatical studies.
Humanities, in the plural, signifies grammar, rhetoric and poetry; for teaching which there are professors in the universities of Scotland.


Topic: Humanize
Definition:
HU'MANIZE, v.t.  To soften; to render humane; to subdue dispositions to cruelty, and render susceptible of kind feelings.
 Was it the business of magic to humanize our natures?


Topic: Humanly
Definition:
HU'MANLY, adv.  After the manner of men; according to the opinions or knowledge of men.  The present prospects,humanly speaking, promise a happy issue.
1.  Kingly; humanely.


Topic: Humblebee
Definition:
HUM'BLEBEE, n. [L. bombus, a buzzing.]
A bee of a large species, that draws its food chiefly from clover flowers.


Topic: Humbly
Definition:
HUM'BLY, adv. In a humble manner; with modest submissiveness; with humility.
 Hope humbly the, with trembling pinions soar,
 Wait the great teacher, death, and God adore.
1.  In a low state or condition; without elevation.


Topic: Humboldite
Definition:
HUM'BOLDITE, n. [from Humbold.]  A rare mineral recently described, occurring in small crystals,nearly colorless and transparent, or of a yellowish tinge and translucent; rarely separate, but usually aggregated; their primary form, an oblique rhombic prism.


Topic: Humid
Definition:
HU'MID, a.  [L.humidus, from humeo, to be moist.]
1.  Moist; damp; containing sensible moisture; as a humid air or atmosphere.
2.  Somewhat wet or watery; as humid earth.


Topic: Humidity
Definition:
HUMID'ITY, n.  Moisture; dampness; a moderate degree of wetness which is perceptible to the eye or touch, occasioned by the absorption of a fluid, or its adherence to the surface of a body. When a cloth has imbibed any fluid to such a degree that it can be felt, we call it humid; but when no humidity is perceptible, we say it is dry.  Quicksilver communicates no humidity to our hands or clothes, for it does not adhere to them; but it will adhere to gold, tin and lead, and render them humid and soft to the touch.
1.  Moisture in the form of visible vapor, or perceptible in the air.


Topic: Humiliation
Definition:
HUMILIA'TION, n.  The act of humbling; the state of being humbled.
1.  Descent from an elevated state or rank to one that is low or humble.
 The former was a humiliation of deity; the latter, a humiliation of manhood.
2.  The act of abasing pride; or the state of being reduced to lowliness of mind, meekness, penitence and submission.
 The doctrine he preached was humiliation and repentance.
3.  Abasement of pride; mortification.


Topic: Humility
Definition:
HUMIL'ITY, n. [L. humilitas.]
1.  In ethics, freedom from pride and arrogance; humbleness of mind; a modest estimate of one's own worth. In theology, humility consists in lowliness of mind; a deep sense of one's own unworthiness in the sight of God, self-abasement, penitence for sin, and submission to the divine will.
 Before honor is humility. Prov.15.
 Serving the Lord with all humility of mind. Acts.20.
2.  Act of submission.
 With these humilities they satisfied the young king.


Topic: Humite
Definition:
HU'MITE, n.  A mineral of a reddish brown color, and a shining luster; crystallized in octahedrons, much modified by truncation and bevelment.  It is named from Sir Abm. Hume.


Topic: Humming
Definition:
HUM'MING, ppr.  Making a low buzzing or murmuring sound.
HUM'MING, n.  The sound of bees; a low murmuring sound.


Topic: Humming-bird
Definition:
HUM'MING-BIRD, n.  A very small bird of the genus Trochilus; so called from the sound of its wings in flight.  The rostrum is subulate, filiform, and longer than the head; the tongue is filiform and tubulous.  It never lights to take food, but feeds while on the wing.


Topic: Humor
Definition:
HU'MOR, n. [L. from humeo, to be moist.]
1.  Moisture; but the word is chiefly used to express the moisture or fluids of animal bodies, as the humors of the eye.  But more generally the word is used to express a fluid in its morbid or vitiated state.  Hence, in popular speech, we often hear it said,the blood is full of humors.  But the expression is not technical nor correct.
Aqueous humor of the eye, a transparent fluid, occupying the space between the crystalline lens and the cornea, both before and behind the pupil.
Crystalline humor or lens, a small transparent solid body, of a softish consistence, occupying a middle position in the eye, between the aqueous and vitreous humors, and directly behind the pupil.  It is of a lenticular form, or with double convex surfaces, and is the principal instrument in refracting the rays of light, so as to form an image on the retina.
Vitreous humor of the eye, a fluid contained in the minute cells of a transparent membrane, occupying the greater part of the cavity of the eye, and all the space between the crystalline and the retina.
2.  A disease of the skin; cutaneous eruptions.
3. Turn of mind; temper; disposition, or rather a peculiarity of disposition often temporary; so called because the temper of mind has been supposed to depend on the fluids of the body.  Hence we say, good humor; melancholy humor; peevish humor.  Such humors, when temporary, we call freaks, whims, caprice.  Thus a person characterized by good nature may have a fit of ill humor; and an ill natured person may have a fit of good humor. So we say, it was the humor of the man at the time; it was the humor of the multitude.
4.  That quality of the imagination which gives to ideas a wild or fantastic turn, and tends to excite laughter or mirth by ludicrous images or representations. Humor is less poignant and brilliant than wit; hence it is always agreeable. Wit,directed against folly, often offends by its severity; humor makes a man ashamed of his follies, without exciting his resentment. Humor may be employed solely to raise mirth and render conversation pleasant, or it may contain a delicate kind of satire. 
5.  Petulance; peevishness; better expressed by ill humor.
 Is my friend all perfection? has he not humors to be endured?
6.  A trick; a practice or habit.
 I like not the humor of lying.
HU'MOR, v.t.  To gratify by yielding to particular inclination, humor,wish or desire; to indulge by compliance. We sometimes humor children to their injury or ruin.  The sick,the infirm, and the aged often require to be humored.
1.  To suit; to indulge; to favor by imposing no restraint, and rather contributing to promote by occasional aids.  We say, an actor humors his part, or the piece.
 It is my part to invent,and that of the musicians to humor that invention.


Topic: Humoral
Definition:
HU'MORAL, a.  Pertaining to or proceeding from the humors; as a humoral fever.
Humoral pathology, that pathology, or doctrine of the nature of diseases, which attributes all morbid phenomena to the disordered condition of the fluids or humors.


Topic: Humoring
Definition:
HU'MORING, ppr.  Indulging a particular wish or propensity; favoring; contributing to aid by falling into a design or course.


Topic: Humorist
Definition:
HU'MORIST, n.  One who conducts himself by his own inclination, or bent of mind; one who gratifies his own humor.
 The humorist is one that is greatly pleased or greatly displeased with little things; his actions seldom directed by the reason and nature of things.
1.  One that indulges humor in speaking or writing; one who has a playful fancy or genius.  
2.  One who has odd conceits; also, a wag; a droll.


Topic: Humorous
Definition:
HU'MOROUS, a. Containing humor; full of wild or fanciful images; adapted to excite laughter; jocular;as a humorous essay; a humorous story.
1.  Having the power to speak or write in the style of humor; fanciful; playful; exciting laughter; as a humorous man or author.
2.  Subject to be governed by humor or caprice; irregular; capricious; whimsical.
 I am known to be a humorous patrician.
 Rough as a storm, and humorous as the wind.
3.  Moist; humid.  [Not in use.]


Topic: Humorously
Definition:
HU'MOROUSLY, adv. With a wild or grotesque combination of ideas; in a manner to excite laughter or mirth; pleasantly; jocosely.  Addison describes humorously the manual exercise of ladies' fans.
1.  Capriciously; whimsically; in conformity with one's humor.
 We resolve by halves, rashly and humorously.


Topic: Humorousness
Definition:
HU'MOROUSNESS, n.  The state or quality of being humorous; oddness of conceit; jocularity.
1.  Fickleness; capriciousness.
2.  Peevishness; petulance.


Topic: Humorsome
Definition:
HU'MORSOME, a.  Peevish; petulant; influenced by the humor of the moment.
 The commons do not abet humorsome, factious arms.
1.  Odd; humorous; adapted to excite laughter.


Topic: Hump
Definition:
HUMP, n. [L.umbo.]  The protuberance formed by a crooked back; as a camel with one hump,or two humps.


Topic: Hunch
Definition:
HUNCH,n. [See the Verb.]  A hump; a protuberance; as the hunch of a camel.
1.  A lump; a thick piece; as a hunch of bread; a word in common vulgar use in New England.
2.  A push or jerk with the fist or elbow.
HUNCH, v.t.  To push with the elbow; to push or thrust with a sudden jerk.
1. To push out in a protuberance; to crook the back.


Topic: Hundred
Definition:
HUND'RED, a. [L. centum.]  Denoting the product of ten multiplied by ten, or the number of ten times ten; as a hundred men.
HUND'RED, n.  A collection, body or sum, consisting of ten times ten individuals or units; the number 100.
1.  A division or part of a county in England, supposed to have originally contained a hundred families,or a hundred warriors, or a hundred manors. [But as the word denotes primarily a circuit or division, it is not certin that Alfred's divisions had any reference to that number.]


Topic: Hundreder
Definition:
HUND'REDER, n.  In England, a man who may be of a jury in any controversy respecting land within the hundred to which he belongs.
1.  One having the juriscition of a hundred.


Topic: Hungary-water
Definition:
HUNGARY-WATER, n.  A distilled water prepared from the tops of flowers of rosemary; so called froma queen of Hungary, for whose use it as first made.


Topic: Hunger
Definition:
HUN'GER, n.
1.  An uneasy sensation occasioned by the want of food;  a craving of food by the stomach; craving appetite. Hunger is not merely want of food, for persons when sick,may abstain long from eating without hunger, or an appetite for food.  Hunger therefore is the pain or uneasiness of the stomach of a healthy person, when too long destitute of food.
2.  Any strong or eager desire.
 For hunger of my gold I die.
HUN'GER, v.i.  To feel the pain or uneasiness which is occasioned by long abstinence from food; to crave food.
1.  To desire with great eagerness; to long for.
 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness. Matt.5.
HUN'GER, v.t.  To famish.  [Not in use.]


Topic: Hungerly
Definition:
HUN'GERLY, a.  Hungry; wanting food or nourishment.
HUN'GERLY, adv.  With keen appetite. [Little used.]


Topic: Hungrily
Definition:
HUN'GRILY, adv. [from hungry.]  With keen appetite; voraciously.
 When on harsh acorns hungrily they fed.


Topic: Hungry
Definition:
HUN'GRY, a. Having a keen appetite; feeling pain or uneasiness from want of food.  Eat only when you are hungry.
1.  Having an eager desire.
2.  Lean; emaciated, as if reduced by hunger.
 Cassius has a lean and hungry look.
3. Not rich or fertile; poor; barren; requiring substances to enrich itself; as a hungry soil; a hungry gravel.


Topic: Hunt
Definition:
HUNT, v.t.
1.  To chase wild animals, particularly quadrupeds, for the purpose of catching them for food, or for the diversion of sportsmen; to pursue with hounds for taking, as game; as, to hunt  stag or a hare.
2.  To go in search of, for the purpose of shooting; as, to hunt wolves, bears, squirrels or partridges.  This is the common use of the word in America.  It includes fowling by shooting.
3.  To pursue; to follow closely.
 Evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him. Ps.140.
4.  To use, direct or mange hounds in the chase.
 He hunts a pack of dogs.
To hunt out or after, to seek; to search for.
To hunt from, to pursue and drive out or away.
To hunt down, to depress; to bear down by persecution or violence.
HUNT, v.i.  To follow the chase. Gen.27.
1.  To seek wild animals for game, or for killing them by shooting when noxious; with for; as, to hunt for bears or wolves; to hunt for quails, or for ducks.
2.  To seek by close pursuit; to search; with for.
 The adulteress will hunt for the precious life. Prov.6.
HUNT, n. A chase of wild animals for catching them.
1.  A huntsman. [Not in use.]
2.  A pack of hounds.
3.  Pursuit; chase.
4.  A seeking of wild animals of any kind for game; as a hunt for squirrels.


Topic: Hunter
Definition:
HUNT'ER, n.  One who pursues wild animals with a view to take them, either for sport or for food.
1.  A dog that scents game, or is employed in the chase.
2.  A horse used in the chase.


Topic: Hunting
Definition:
HUNT'ING, ppr.  Chasing for seizure; pursuing; seeking; searching.
HUNT'ING, n.  The act or practice of pursuing wild animals, for catching or killing them. Hunting was originally practiced by men for the purpose of procuring food, as it still is by uncivilized nations.  But among civilized men, it is practiced mostly for exercise or diversion, or for the destruction of noxious animals,as in America.
1.  A pursuit; a seeking.


Topic: Huntsman
Definition:
HUNTS'MAN, n.  One who hunts, or who practices hunting.
1.  The servant whose office it is to manage the chase.


Topic: Hurdle
Definition:
HUR'DLE, n. [L. crates.]
1.  A texture of twigs, osiers or sticks; a crate of various forms, according to its destination.  The English give this name to a sled or crate on which criminals are drawn to the place of execution. In this sense, it is not used in America.
2.  In fortification, a collection of twigs or sticks interwoven closely and sustained by long stakes.  It is made in the figure of a long square, five or six feet by three and a half. Hurdles serve to render works firm, or to cover traverses and lodgments for the defense of workmen against fire-works or stones.
3.  In husbandry, a frame of split timber or sticks wattled together, serving for gates, inclosures, &c.


Topic: Hurl
Definition:
HURL, v.t.  
1.  To throw with violence; to drive with great force; as, to hurl a stone.
 And hurl them headlong to their fleet and main.
2.  To utter with vehemence; as, to hurl out vows. [Not in use.]
3.  To play at a kind of game.
HURL, n.  The act of throwing with violence.
1.  Tumult; riot; commotion.


Topic: Hurry
Definition:
HUR'RY, v.t. [L. curro.]
1.  To hasten; to impel to greater speed; to drive or press forward with more rapidity; to urge to act or proceed with more celerity; as, to hurry the workmen or the work. Our business hurries us.  The weather is hot and the load heavy; we cannot safely hurry the horses.
2.  To drive or impel with violence.
 Impetuous lust hurries him on to satisfy the cravings of it.
3.  To urge or drive with precipitation and confusion; for confusion is often caused by hurry.
 And wild amazement hurries up and down
 The little number of your doubtful friends.
To hurry away, to drive or carry away in haste.
HUR'RY, v.i.  To move or act with haste; to proceed with celerity or precipitation.
 The business is urgent; let us hurry.
HUR'RY, n.  A driving or pressing forward in motion or business.
1.  Pressure; urgency to haste.  
 We cannot wait long; we are in a hurry.
2.  Precipitation that occasions disorder or confusion.
 It is necessary sometimes to be in haste, but never in a hurry.
3.  Tumult; bustle; commotion.
 Ambition raises a tumult in the soul, and puts it into a violent hurry of thought.


Topic: Hurt
Definition:
HURT, v.t. pret. and pp. hurt.
1.  To bruise; to give pain by a contusion, pressure, or any violence to the body. We hurt the body by a severe blow, or by tight clothes, and the feet by fetters. Ps.105.
2.  To wound; to injure or impair the sound state of the body,as by incision or fracture.
3.  To harm; to damage; to injure by occasioning loss.  We hurt a man by destroying his property.
4.  To injure by diminution; to impair.  
 A man hurts his estate by extravagance.
5.  To injure by reducing in quality; to impair the strength,purity or beauty of.
 Hurt not the wine and the oil--Rev.6.
6.  To harm; to injure; to damage, in general.
7.  To wound; to injure; to give pain to; as, to hurt the feelings.
HURT, n.  A wound; a bruise; any thing that gives pain to the body.
 The pains of sickness and hurts.
1.  Harm; mischief; injury.
 I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. Gen.4.
2.  Injury; loss.
 Why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings? Ezra.4.


Topic: Hurters
Definition:
HURT'ERS, n.  Pieces of wood at the lower end of a platform, to prevent the wheels of gun-carriages from injuring the parapet.


Topic: Hurtful
Definition:
HURT'FUL, a.  Injurious; mischievous; occasioning loss or destruction; tending to impair or destroy.  Negligence is hurtful to property; intemperance is hurtful to health.


Topic: Hurtle
Definition:
HURT'LE, v.i. [from hurt.]  To clash or run against; to jostle; to skirmish; to meet in shock and encounter; to wheel suddenly.  [Not now used.]
HURT'LE, v.t.  To move with violence or impetuosity.
1.  To push forcibly; to whirl.


Topic: Hurtless
Definition:
HURT'LESS, a.  Harmless; innocent; doing no injury; innoxious; as hurtless blows.
1.  Receiving no injury.


Topic: Husband
Definition:
HUS'BAND, n. s as z.
1.  A man contracted or joined to a woman by marriage.  A man to whom a woman is betrothed, as well as one actually united by marriage, is called a husband. Lev.19. Deut.22.
2. In seaman's language, the owner of a ship who manages its concerns in person.
3.  The male of animals of a lower order.
4.  An economist; a good manager; a man who knows and practices the methods of frugality and profit.  In this sense, the word is modified by an epithet; as a good husband; a bad husband. [But in America, this application of the word is little or not at all used.]
5.  A farmer; a cultivator; a tiller of the ground. [In this sense, it is not used in America.  We always use husbandman.]
HUS'BAND, v.t.  To direct and manage with frugality in expending any thing; to use or employ in the manner best suited to produce the greatest effect; to use with economy. We say, a man husbands his estate,his means or his time.
 He is conscious how ill he has husbanded the great deposit of his Creator.
1.  To till; to cultivate with good management.
2.  To supply with a husband. [Little used.]


Topic: Husbandman
Definition:
HUS'BANDMAN, n. A farmer; a cultivator or tiller of the ground; one who labors in tillage. In America, where men generally own the land on which they labor,the proprietor of a farm is also a laborer or husbandman; but the word includes the lessee and the owner.
1.  The master of a family. [Not in use in America.]


Topic: Husbandry
Definition:
HUS'BANDRY, n.  The business of a farmer, comprehending agriculture or tillage of the ground, the raising, managing and fattening of cattle and other domestic animals, the management of the dairy and whatever the land produces.
1.  Frugality; domestic economy; good management; thrift.  But in this sense we generally prefix good; as good husbandry.
2.  Care of domestic affairs.


Topic: Hush
Definition:
HUSH, a. [Heb. to be silent.]  Silent; still; quiet; as, they are hush as death.  This adjective never precedes the noun which it qualifies, except in the compound, hushmoney.
HUSH, v.t.  To still; to silence; to calm; to make quiet; to repress  noise; as, to hush the noisy crown; the winds were hushed.
 My tongue shall hush again this storm of war.
1.  To appease; to allay; to calm, as commotion or agitation.
 Wilt thou then
 Hush my cares?
HUSH, v.i.  To be still; to be silent.
HUSH, imperative of the verb, used as an exclamation, be still; be silent or quiet; make no noise.
To hush up, to suppress; to keep concealed.
 This matter is hushed up.


Topic: Husk
Definition:
HUSK, n.  The external covering of certain fruits or seeds of plants.  It is the calyx of the flower or glume of corn and grasses, formed of valves embracing the seed. The husks of the small grains, when separated, are called chaff; but in America we apply the word chiefly to the covering of the ears or seeds of maiz, which is never denominated chaff.  It is sometimes used in England for the rind, skin or hull of seeds.
HUSK, v.t.  To strip off the external integument or covering of the fruits or seeds of plants; as, to husk maiz.


Topic: Husking
Definition:
HUSK'ING, ppr.  Stripping off husks.
HUSK'ING, n.  The act of stripping off husks.  In New England, the practice of farmers it to invite their neighbors to assist them in stripping their maiz, in autumnal evenings, and this is called a husking.


Topic: Husky
Definition:
HUSK'Y, a.  Abounding with husks; consisting of husks.
1.  Resembling husks; dry; rough.
2.  Rough, as sound; harsh; whizzing.


Topic: Huso
Definition:
HU'SO, n. A fish of the genus Accipenser, whose mouth is in the under part of the head; the body is naked, or without prickles or protuberances. It grows to the length of twenty four feet, and its skin is so tough that it is used for ropes in drawing wheel-carriages. It inhabits the Danube and the rivers of Russia, and of its sounds is made isinglass.


Topic: Hussar
Definition:
HUS'SAR, n. s as z.  A mounted soldier of horseman, in German cavalry.  The hussars are the national cavalry of Hungary and Croatia.  Their regimentals are a fur cap adorned with a feather, a doublet, a pair of breeches to which the stockings are fastened, and a pair of red or yellow boots. Their arms are a saber, a carbine and pistols.  Hussars now form a part of the French and English cavalry.


Topic: Hussy
Definition:
HUSS'Y, n. [contracted from huswife,housewife.]
1.  A bad or worthless woman.  It is used also ludicrously in slight disapprobation or contempt.  Go, hussy, go.
2.  An economist; a thrifty woman.


Topic: Hustings
Definition:
HUS'TINGS, n.
1.  A court held in Guildhall, in London, before the lord mayor and aldermen of the city; the supreme court or council of the city.  In this court are elected the aldermen and the four members of parliament.
2. The place where an election of a member of parliament is held.


Topic: Huswife
Definition:
HUS'WIFE, n. A worthless woman; a bad manager. [See Hussy.]
1.  A female economist; a thrifty woman.
HUS'WIFE, v.t.  To manage with economy and frugality.


Topic: Huswifery
Definition:
HUS'WIFERY, n.  The business of managing the concerns of a family by a female; female management, good or bad.


Topic: Hut
Definition:
HUT, n.  A small house,hovel or cabin; a mean lodge or dwelling; a cottage. It is particularly applied to log-houses erected for troops in winter.
HUT, v.t.  To place in huts, as troops encamped in winter quarters.
HUT, v.i.  To take lodgings in huts.
 The troops hutted for the winter.


Topic: Huzza
Definition:
HUZZ`A, n.  A shout of joy; a foreign word used in writing only, and most preposterously, as it is never used in practice.  The word used in our native word hoora, or hooraw. [See Hoora.]


Topic: Hyacinth
Definition:
HY'ACINTH, n. [L. hyacinthus.]
1.  In botany, a genus of plants, of several species, and a great number of varieties.  The oriental hyacinth has a large, purplish, bulbous root, from which spring several narrow erect leaves; the flower stalk is upright and succulent, and adorned with many bell-shaped flowers,united in a large pyramidical spike, of different colors in the varieties.
2.  In mineralogy, a mineral, a variety of zircon, whose crystals,when distinct, have the form of a four-sided prism, terminated by four rhombic planes,which stand on the lateral edges. Its structure is foliated; its luster, strong; its fracture, conchoidal. Its prevailing color is a hyacinth red, in which the red is more or less tinged with yellow or brown. It is sometimes transparent, and sometimes only translucent.
 Hyacinth is a subspecies of pyramidical zircon.


Topic: Hyads
Definition:
HY'ADS, n. [Gr. to rain; rain.]  In astronomy, a cluster of seven stars in the Bull's head, supposed by the ancients to bring rain.


Topic: Hyalite
Definition:
HY'ALITE, n.  Muller's glass.  It consists chiefly of silex,and is white, sometimes with a shade of yellow, blue or green.


Topic: Hybrid
Definition:
HYB'RID, n. [Gr. injury, force, rape; L. hybrida.]
A mongrel or mule; an animal or plant, produced from the mixture of two species.


Topic: Hydra
Definition:
HY'DRA, n. [L. hydra. Gr. water.]
1.  A water serpent.  In fabulous history, a serpent or monster in the lake or marsh of Lerna, in Peloponnesus, represented as having many heads, one of which, being cut off, was immediately succeeded by another, unless the wound was cauterized.  Hercules killed this monster by applying firebrands to the wounds, as he cut off the heads.  Hence we give the name to a multitude of evils, or to a cause of multifarious evils.
2.  A technical name of a genus of Zoophytes, called polypus, or polypuses.
3.  A southern constellation, containing 60 stars.


Topic: Hydracid
Definition:
HYDRAC'ID, a. [Gr. water, and acid.]  An acid formed by the union of hydrogen with a substance without oxygen.


Topic: Hydragogue
Definition:
HY'DRAGOGUE, n. hy'dragog. [Gr. water, and a leading or drawing; to lead or drive.]  A medicine that occasions a discharge of watery humors; a name that implies a supposition that every purgative has the quality of evacuating a particular humor.  But in general, the stronger cathartics are hydragogues.


Topic: Hydrangea
Definition:
HYDRAN'GEA, n. [Gr. water, and a vessel.]  A plant which grows in the water, and bears a beautiful flower. Its capsule has been compared to a cup.


Topic: Hydrant
Definition:
HY'DRANT, n. [Gr. to irrigate, from water.]  A pipe or machine with suitable valves and a spout, by which water is raised and discharged from the main conduit of an aqueduct.


Topic: Hydrate
Definition:
HY'DRATE, n. [Gr. water.]  In chimistry, a compound, indefinite proportions, of a metallic oxyd with water.
A hydrate is a substance which has formed so intimate a union with water as to solidify it, and render it a component part. 
Slaked lime is a hydrate of lime.


Topic: Hydraulics
Definition:
HYDRAUL'ICS, n.  The science of the motion and force of fluids, and of the construction of all kinds of instruments and machines by which the force of fluids is applied to practical purposes; a branch of hydrostatic.
Hydraulics is that branch of the science of hydrodynamics which treats of fluids considered as in motion.


Topic: Hydrocarbonate
Definition:
HYDROC`ARBONATE, n. [Gr. water, or rather hydrogen, and L. carbo, a coal.]  Carbureted hydrogen gas, or heavy inflammable air.


Topic: Hydrocele
Definition:
HY'DROCELE, n. [Gr. water, and tumor.]  Any hernia proceeding from water; a watery tumor, particularly one in the scrotum.
A dropsy of the scrotum.


Topic: Hydrocephalus
Definition:
HYDROCEPH'ALUS, n. [Gr. water, and the head.]  Dropsy of the head; a preternatural distension of the head by a stagnation and 
extravasation of the lymph, either within or without the cranium.


Topic: Hydrochloric
Definition:
HYDROCHLO'RIC, a. [hydrogen and chloric.]
Hydrochloric acid is muriatic acid gas, a compound of chlorine and hydrogen gas.


Topic: Hydrocyanic
Definition:
HYDROCYAN'IC, a. [Gr. water, or rather hydrogen, and blue.]
The hydrocyanic acid is the same as the prussic acid.


Topic: Hydrodynamics
Definition:
HYDRODYNAM'ICS, n.  That branch of natural philosophy which treat of the phenomena of water and other fluids, whether in motion or at rest; of their equilibrium, motion, cohesion, pressure, resistance, &c.  It comprehends both hydrostatics and hydraulics.


Topic: Hydrofluoric
Definition:
HYDROFLUOR'IC, a. [Gr. water.]  Consisting of fluorin and hydrogen.  The hydrofluoric acid is obtained by distilling a mixture of one part of the purest fluor spar in fine powder, with two of sulphuric acid.


Topic: Hydrogen
Definition:
HY'DROGEN, n. [Gr. water, and to generate; so called as being considered the generator of water.]
In Chimistry, a gas which constitutes one of the elements of water, of which it is said by Lavoisier to form fifteen parts in a hundred; but according to Berzelius and Dulong, hydrogen gas is 11.1 parts in a hundred,  and oxygen 88.9. Hydrogen gas is an aeriform fluid,the lightest body known, and though extremely inflammable itself,it extinguishes burning bodies, and is fatal to animal life.  Its specific gravity is 0.0694, that of air being 1.00.  In consequence of its extreme lightness, it is employed for filling air balloons.


Topic: Hydrographer
Definition:
HYDROG'RAPHER, n.  [See Hydrography.]  One who draws maps of the sea, lakes or other waters, with the adjacent shores; one who describes the sea or other waters.


Topic: Hydrography
Definition:
HYDROG'RAPHY, n. [Gr. water, and to describe.]  The art of measuring and describing the sea, lakes, rivers and other waters; or the art of forming charts, exhibiting a representation of the sea coast, gulfs, bays, isles, promontories, channels, soundings, &c.


Topic: Hydroguret
Definition:
HYDROG'URET, n. A compound of hydrogen with a base.
Hydroguret is now scarcely used, except to give the derivative hydrogureted.


Topic: Hydroidic
Definition:
HYDROID'IC, a. [hydrogen and iodic.]  Denoting a peculiar acid or gaseous substance, produced by the combination of hydrogen and iodine.


Topic: Hydrolite
Definition:
HYDROLITE, n. [Gr. water, and a stone.]  A mineral whose crystals are described as six sided prisms, terminated by low six sided pyramids, with truncated summits.


Topic: Hydromancy
Definition:
HY'DROMANCY,n. [Gr. water and divination.]  A method of divination or prediction of events by water; invested, according to Varro, by the Persians, and practiced by the Romans.


Topic: Hydromel
Definition:
HY'DROMEL, n. [Gr. water, and honey.]  A liquor consisting of honey diluted in water.  Before fermentation, it is called simple hydromel; after fermentation, it is called vinous hydromel or mead.


Topic: Hydrometer
Definition:
HYDROM'ETER, n. [See Hydrometry.]  An instrument to measure the gravity, density, velocity, force, &c. of water and other fluids, and the strength of spirituous liquors.


Topic: Hydrometry
Definition:
HYDROM'ETRY, n. [Gr. water, and measure.]  The art of measuring, or the mensuration of the gravity, density, velocity, force, &c. of fluids, and the strength of rectified spirits.


Topic: Hydrophane
Definition:
HY'DROPHANE, n. [Gr. water, and to show.]  In mineralogy, a variety of opal made transparent by immersion in water.


Topic: Hydrophoby
Definition:
HY'DROPHOBY, n. [Gr. water, and to fear.]  A preternatural dread of water; a symptom of canine madness, or the disease itself, which is thus denominated.  This dread of water sometimes takes place in violent inflammations to the stomach, and in hysteric fits.


Topic: Hydropneumatic
Definition:
HYDROPNEUMAT'IC, a. [Gr. water, and inflated, breath, spirit.]
An epithet given to a vessel of water, with other apparatus for chimical experiments.


Topic: Hydroscope
Definition:
HY'DROSCOPE, n. [Gr. water, and to view.]  A kind of water clock,or instrument used anciently for measuring time, consisting of a cylindrical tube, conical at the bottom, perforated at the vertex, and the whole tube graduated.


Topic: Hydrostatics
Definition:
HYDROSTAT'ICS, n.  The science which treats of the weight, motion, and equilibriums of fluids, or of the specific gravity and other properties of fluids, particularly of water.
Hydrostatics is that branch of the science of hydrodynamics which treats of the properties of fluids at rest.


Topic: Hydrosulphuret
Definition:
HYDROSULPH'URET, n.  [hydrogen and sulphuret.]  A combination of sulphureted hydrogen with an earth, alkali or metallic oxyd.


Topic: Hydrosulphureted
Definition:
HYDROSULPH'URETED, a.  Combined with sulphureted hydrogen.
Hydrosulphuric acid, is called also hydrothionic acid, or sulphureted hydrogen.


Topic: Hydrotic
Definition:
HYDROT'IC, a. [Gr. water.]  Causing a discharge of water.
HYDROT'IC, n.  A medicine that purges off water or phlegm.


Topic: Hydroxanthate
Definition:
HYDROXAN'THATE, n. [Gr. water, and yellow.]  In chimistry, a compound of hydroxanthic acid with a base.


Topic: Hydroxanthic
Definition:
HYDROXAN'THIC, a.  A term used to denote a new acid, formed by the action of alkalies on the bisulphuret of carbon.  It is called also carbo-sulphuric acid.


Topic: Hyena
Definition:
HYE'NA, n. [L. hyaena.]  A quadruped of the genus Canis,having small naked ears, four toes on each foot, a straight jointed tail, and erect hair on the neck; an inhabitant of Asiatic Turkey, Syria,Persia and Barbary. It is a solitary animal,and feeds on flesh; it preys on flocks and herds, and will open graves to obtain food.  It is a fierce, cruel and untamable animal, and is sometimes called the tiger-wolf.


Topic: Hygrometer
Definition:
HYGROM'ETER, n. [Gr. moist, and measure.]  An instrument for measuring the degree of moisture of the atmosphere.


Topic: Hymen
Definition:
HY'MEN, n. [L. from Gr. membrana, pellicula,hymen.]
1.  In ancient mythology, a fabulous deity, the son of Bacchus and Venus, supposed to preside over marriages.
2.  In anatomy, the virginal membrane.
3.  In botany, the fine pellicle which incloses a flower in the bud.


Topic: Hymn
Definition:
HYMN, n. hym. [L. hymnus; Eng. hum.]song or ode in honor of God, and among pagans, in honor of some deity.  A hymn among christians is a short poem,composed for religious service, or a song of joy and praise to God.  The word primarily expresses the tune,but it is used for the ode or poem.
 And when the had sung a hymn, they went out to the mount of Olives. Matt.26.
HYMN, v.t. hym.  To praise in song; to worship by singing hymns.
1.  To sing; to celebrate in song. They hymn their maker's praise.
HYMN, v.i. hym.  To sing in praise or adoration.


Topic: Hyp
Definition:
HYP, n. [a contraction of hypochondria.]  A disease; depression of spirits.
HYP, v.t.  To make melancholy; to depress the spirits.


Topic: Hypallage
Definition:
HYPAL'LAGE, n. hypal'largy. [Gr. change, to change.]  
In grammar, a figure consisting of mutual change of cases. Thus in Virgil, dare classibus austros, for dare classes austris.  
Hypallage is a species of hyperbaton.


Topic: Hyper
Definition:
HYPER, Eng.over, is used in composition to denote excess, or something over or beyond.
1.  A hypercritic.  [Not used.]


Topic: Hyperbate
Definition:
HY'PERBATE, n. [Gr. to transgress, or go beyond.
In grammar, a figurative construction, inverting the natural and proper order of words and sentences.  The species are the anastrophe,the hysteron proteron, the hypallage, the synchysis, the tmesis, the parenthesis, and the proper hyperbaton, which last is a long retention of the verb which completes the sentence.


Topic: Hyperbole
Definition:
HYPER'BOLE, n. hyper'boly. [Gr. excess, to throw beyond,to exceed.]
In rhetoric, a figure of speech which expresses much more or less than the truth, or which represents things much greater or less, better or worse than they really are.  An object uncommon in size, either great or small, strikes us with surprise, and this emotion produces a momentary conviction that the object is greater or less than it is in reality.  The same effect attends figurative grandeur or littleness; and hence the use of the hyperbole,which expresses this momentary conviction.  The following are instances of the use of this figure.
 He was owner of a piece of ground not larger than a Lacedemonian letter.
 If a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Gen.13.
 Ipse arduus, alta que pulsat Sidera.
He was so gaunt, the case of a flagellet was a mansion for him.


Topic: Hyperbolically
Definition:
HYPERBOL'ICALLY, adv.  In the form of a hyperbola.
1.  With exaggeration; in a manner to express more or less than the truth.
 Scylla--is hyperbolically described by Homer as inaccessible.


Topic: Hyperbolize
Definition:
HYPER'BOLIZE, v.i.  To speak or write with exaggeration.
HYPER'BOLIZE, v.t. To exaggerate or extenuate.


Topic: Hyperboloid
Definition:
HYPER'BOLOID, n. [hyperbola, and Gr. form.]  A hyperbolic conoid; a solid formed by the revolution of a hyperbola about its axis.


Topic: Hyperborean
Definition:
HYPERBO'REAN, a. [L. hyperboreus; Gr. beyond, and the north.]
1.  Northern; belonging to or inhabiting a region very far north; most northern.
2.  Very cold; frigid.
HYPERBO'REAN, n.  An inhabitant of the most northern region of the earth.  The ancients gave this denomination to the people and places to the northward of the Scythians, people and regions of which they had little or no knowledge. The Hyperboreans then are the Laplanders,the Samoiedes, and the Russians near the White Sea.


Topic: Hypercatalectic
Definition:
HYPERCATALEC'TIC, a. [Gr. termination.]  A hypercatalectic verse, in Greek and Latin poetry, is a verse which has a syllable or two beyond the regular and just measure.


Topic: Hypercritic
Definition:
HYPERCRIT'IC, n. [Gr. beyond, and critical. See Critic.]
One who is critical beyond measure or reason; an over rigid critic; a captious censor.
HYPERCRIT'IC


Topic: Hypercritical
Definition:
HYPERCRIT'ICAL, a. Over critical; critical beyond use or reason; animadverting on faults with unjust severity; as a hypercritical reader.
1.  Excessively nice or exact; as a hypercritical punculio.


Topic: Hyperdulia
Definition:
HYPERDU'LIA, n. [Gr. beyond, and service.]  Super-service in the Romish church, performed to the virgin Mary.


Topic: Hypermeter
Definition:
HYPER'METER, n. [Gr. beyond, and measure.]  Anything greater than the ordinary standard of measure.
A verse is called a hypermeter, when it contains a syllable more than the ordinary measure.  When this is the case, the following line begins with a vowel, and the redundant syllable of the former line blends with the first of the following, and they are read as one syllable.


Topic: Hyphen
Definition:
HY'PHEN, n. [Gr. under one, or to one.]  A mark or short line made between two words to show that they form a compound word,or are to be connected; as in pre-occupied; five-leafed; ink-stand. In writing and printing, the hyphen is used to connect the syllables of a divided word, and is placed after the syllable that closes a line, denoting the connection of that syllable or part of a word with the first syllable of the next line.


Topic: Hypnotic
Definition:
HYPNOT'IC, a. [Gr. sleep.]  Having the quality of producing sleep; tending to produce sleep; narcotic; soporific.
HYPNOT'IC, n.  A medicine that produces, or tends to produce sleep; an opiate; a narcotic; a soporific.


Topic: Hypo
Definition:
HYPO, a Greek preposition, under, beneath; used in composition.  Thus, hyposulphuric acid is an acid containing less oxygen than sulphuric acid.


Topic: Hypobole
Definition:
HYPOB'OLE, n. hypob'oly.  [Gr. under, and to cast.]
In rhetoric, a figure in which several things are mentioned that seem to make against the argument or in favor of the opposite side,and each of them is refuted in order.


Topic: Hypocaust
Definition:
HYP'OCAUST, n. [Gr. to burn.]
1.  Among the Greeks and Romans, a subterraneous place where was a furnace to heat baths.
2.  Among the moderns,the place where a fire is kept to warm a stove or a hot-house.


Topic: Hypochondriac
Definition:
HYPOCHON'DRIAC, a.  Pertaining to the hypochondria, or the parts of the body so called; as the hypochondriac region.
1.  Affected by a disease, attended with debility, depression of spirits or melancholy.
2.  Producing melancholy, or low spirits.
HYPOCHON'DRIAC, n.  A person affected with debility, lowness of spirits or melancholy.


Topic: Hypochondriacism
Definition:
HYPOCHONDRI'ACISM, n.  A disease of men, characterized by languor or debility, depression of spirits or melancholy, with dyspepsy.


Topic: Hypocist
Definition:
HYP'OCIST, n. [Gr. sub cisto, under the distus.]  An inspissated juice obtained from the sessile asarum [Cytinus hypocistis,] resembling the true Egyptian acacia.  The juice is expressed from the unripe fruit and evaporated to the consistence of an extract, formed into cakes and dried in the sun.  It is an astringent, useful in diarrheas and hemorrhages.


Topic: Hypocrateriform
Definition:
HYPOCRATER'IFORM, a. [Gr. under, a cup, and form.]
Salver-shaped; tubular, but suddenly expanding into a flat border at top; applied to a monopetalous corol.


Topic: Hypocrisy
Definition:
HYPOC'RISY, n. [L. hypocrisis; Gr. simulation; to feign; to separate, discern or judge.]
1. Simulation; a feigning to be what one is not; or dissimulation, a concealment of one's real character or motives.  More generally, hypocrisy is simulation, or the assuming of a false appearance of virtue or religion; a deceitful show of a good character, in morals or religion; a counterfeiting of religion.
 Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  Luke 12.
2.  Simulation; deceitful appearance; false pretence.
 Hypocrisy is the necessary burden of villainy.


Topic: Hypocrite
Definition:
HYP'OCRITE, n.  
1.  One who feigns to be what he is not; one who has the form of godliness without the power, or who assumes an appearance of piety and virtue, when he is destitute of true religion.
 And the hypocrite's hope shall perish. Job.8.
2.  A dissembler; one who assumes a false appearance.
 Fair hypocrite, you seek to cheat in vain.


Topic: Hypocritically
Definition:
HYPOCRIT'ICALLY, adv.  With simulation; with a false appearance of what is good; falsely; without sincerity.


Topic: Hypogastric
Definition:
HYPOGAS'TRIC, a. [Gr. under, and the belly.]
1.  Relating to the hypogastrium, or middle part of the lower region of the belly.
2.  An appellation given to the internal branch of the iliac artery.


Topic: Hypogeum
Definition:
HYPOGE'UM, n. [Gr. under, and the earth.]  A name given by ancient architects to all the parts of a building which were under ground, as the cellar, &c.


Topic: Hypogynous
Definition:
HYPOGYNOUS, a. [Gr. under, and a female.]  A term applied to plants that have their corols and stamens inserted under the pistil.


Topic: Hypophosphorous
Definition:
HYPOPHOS'PHOROUS,n. [Gr. phosphorus.]  The hypophosphorous acid contains less oxygen than the phosphorous, and is obtained from the phosphuret of baryte.  It is a liquid which may be concentrated by evaporation, till it becomes viscid.  It has a very sour taste, reddens vegetable blues, and does not crystalize.


Topic: Hyposulphuric
Definition:
HYPOSUL'PHURIC, a. Hyposulphuric acid, is an acid combination of sulphur and oxygen, intermediate between sulphurous and sulphuric acid.


Topic: Hyposulphurous
Definition:
HYPOSUL'PHUROUS, a.  Hyposulphurous acid is an acid containing less oxygen than sulphurous acid.  This acid is known only in combination with salifiable bases.


Topic: Hypotenuse
Definition:
HYPOT'ENUSE, n. [Gr. to subtend.]  In geometry, the subtense or longest side of a right-angled triangle, or the line that subtends the right angle.


Topic: Hypothecate
Definition:
HYPOTH'ECATE, v.t. [L. hypotheca, a pledge; Gr. to put under, to suppose.]
1.  To pledge,and properly to pledge the keel of a ship, that is, the ship itself, as security for the repayment of money borrowed to carry on a voyage. In this case the lender hazards the loss of his money by the loss of the ship, but if the ship returns safe, he received his principal,with the premium or interest agreed on, though it may exceed the legal rate of interest.
2.  To pledge, as goods.


Topic: Hypothecation
Definition:
HYPOTHECA'TION, n.  The act of pledging, as a ship or goods, for the repayment of money borrowed to carry on a voyage; otherwise called bottomry.


Topic: Hypothecator
Definition:
HYPOTH'ECATOR, n.  One who pledges a ship or other property, as security for the repayment of money borrowed.


Topic: Hypothesis
Definition:
HYPOTH'ESIS, n. [L. from Gr. a supposition; to suppose.]
1.  A supposition; a proposition or principle which is supposed or taken for granted, in order to draw a conclusion or inference for proof of the point in question; something not proved,but assumed for the purpose of argument.
2.  A system or theory imagined or assumed to account for what is not understood.


Topic: Hysterics
Definition:
HYSTER'ICS, n.  A disease of women, proceeding from the womb, and characterized by fits or spasmodic affections of the nervous system.
A spasmodic disease of the primae viae, attended with the sensation of a ball rolling about the abdomen, stomach and throat.


Topic: Hysterocele
Definition:
HYS'TEROCELE, n. [Gr. the womb, and a tumor.]  A species of hernia, caused by a displacement of the womb.  A rupture containing the uterus.


Topic: Hysterotomy
Definition:
HYSTEROT'OMY, n. [Gr. the uterus, and a cutting.]  In surgery, the Cesarean section; the operation of cutting into the uterus for taking out a fetus, which cannot be excluded by the usual means.


Topic: I
Definition:
I is the ninth letter,and the third vowel of the English Alphabet.  We receive it through the Latin and Greek from the Shemitic jod,je, or ye, in Greek iwra,whence our English word jot.  The vowel in French, and in most European languages, has the long fine sound which we express by e in me, or ee in seen, meek.  This sound we retain in some foreign words which are naturalized in our language, as in machine, intrigue.  But in most English words this long sound is shortened, as in holiness, pity, gift; in which words the sound of i coincides with that of y in hypocrite,cycle,and at the end of words, in unaccented syllables, as in holy, glory.  It is this short sound of the French and Italian i, which we hear in the pronunciation of been, which we pronounce bin.  After l, this letter has sometimes the liquid sound of y, as in million, pronounced milyon.  This sound corresponds with that of the Hebrews, as in Joseph, which in Syria is pronounced Yoseph,and with the sound of the German j, as in ja, jahr, that is ya, yahr.
The sound of i long, as in fine, kind, arise, is diphthongal; it begins with a sound approaching that of broad a, but it is not exactly the same, as the organs are not opened to the same extent, and therefore the sound begins a little above that of aw.  The sound, if continued,closes with one that nearly approaches to that of e long.  This sound can be learned only by the ear.  This letter enters into several digraphs, as in fail, field,seize, feign, vein, friend; and with o in oil,join, coin,it helps to form a proper diphthong.
No English word ends with i, but when the sound of the letter occurs at the end of a word,it is expressed by y.
As a numeral I signifies one, and stands for as many units as it is repeated in times, as II, two, III, three, &c.  When it stands before V or X, it subtracts itself,and the numerals denote one less than the V or the X.  Thus IV expresses four, one less than V, five; IX stands for nine, one less than X, ten.  But when it is placed after V or X, it denotes the addition of an unit, or as many units as the letter is repeated in times.  Thus VI is five and one, or six, and XI is ten and one, or eleven; VIII stands for five and three, or eight, &c.
I, formerly prefixed to some English words, as in ibuilt, is a contraction of the Saxon prefix ge; and more generally this was written y.
I, pron. [L. ego.]  The pronoun of the first person; the word which expresses one's self, or that by which a speaker or writer denotes himself.  It is only the nominative case of the pronoun; in the other cases we use me.  I am attached to study; study delights me.  We often hear in popular language the phrase it is me, which is now considered to be ungrammatical, for it is I.  But the phrase may have come down to us from the use of the Welsh mi, or from the French use of the phrase, c'est moi.
In the plural, we use we, and us, which appear to be words radically distinct from I.  
Johnson observes that Shakespeare uses I for ay or yes.  In this he is not followed, and the use is incorrect.


Topic: Iambic
Definition:
IAM'BIC, n.  [L. imabicus;]  Pertaining to the iambus, a poetic foot consisting of two syllables, a short one followed by a long one.
IAM'BIC


Topic: Iambics
Definition:
IAM'BICS, n. plu. Verses composed of short and long syllables alternately.  Anciently, certain songs or satires, supposed to have given birth to ancient comedy.


Topic: Iambus
Definition:
IAM'BUS, n. [L. iambus.]  In poetry, a foot consisting of two syllables,the first short and the last long, as in delight.  The following line, consists wholly of iambic feet.
 He scorns the force that dares his fury stay.


Topic: Ibex
Definition:
IBEX, n. [L.]  The wild goat of the genus Capra,which is said to be the stock of the tame goat.  It has large knotty horns reclining on its back, is of a yellowish color,and its beard is black.  It inhabits the Alps.
The Aegagras, or wild goat of the mountains of Persia, appears to be the stock of the tame goat.  The IBex is a distinct species.


Topic: Ibis
Definition:
IBIS, n. [Gr. and L.]  A fowl of the genus Tantalus,and grallic order, a native of Egypt.  The bill is long, subulated,and somewhat crooked; the face naked,and the feet have four toes palmated at the base. This fowl was much valued by the Egyptians for destroying serpents.  It is said by Bruce not now to inhabit Egypt, but to be found in Abyssinia.
The ibis of the Egyptians is a species of the genus Scolopax.  It was anciently venerated either because it devoured serpents, or because the marking of its plumage resembled one of the phases of the moon,or because it appeared in Egypt with the rising of the Nile.
The ibis is common in Egypt during the overflowing of the Nile.


Topic: Icarian
Definition:
ICA'RIAN, a. [from Icarus, the son of Daedalus, who fled on wings to escape the resentment of Minos, but his flight being too high was fatal to him, as the sun melted the wax that cemented his wings.]
Adventurous in flight; soaring too high for safety, like Icarus.


Topic: Ice
Definition:
ICE, n. 
1.  Water or other fluid congealed, or in a solid state; a solid, transparent, brittle substance, formed by the congelation  of a fluid, by means of the abstraction of the heat necessary to preserve its fluidity, or to use language, congealed by cold.
2.  Concreted sugar.
To break the ice, is to make the first opening to any attempt; to remove the first obstructions or difficulties; to open the way.
ICE, v.t.  To cover with ice; to convert into ice.
1.  To cover with concreted sugar; to frost.
2.  To chill; to freeze.


Topic: Iceberg
Definition:
ICEBERG, n. [ice and a hill.]  A hill or mountain of ice, or a vast body of ice accumulated in valleys in high northern latitudes.
This term is applied to such elevated masses as exist in the valleys of the frigid zones; to those which are found on the surface of fixed ice; and to ice of great thickness and highth in a floating state.  These lofty floating masses are sometimes detached from the icebergs on shore, and sometimes formed at a distance from any land.  They are found in both the frigid zones, and are sometimes carried towards the equator as low as 40 degrees.


Topic: Iceblink
Definition:
ICEBLINK, n.  A name given by seamen to a bright appearance near the horizon, occasioned by the ice,and observed before the ice itself is seen.


Topic: Icehouse
Definition:
ICEHOUSE, n. [ice and house.] A repository for the preservation of ice during warm weather; a pit with a drain for conveying off the water of the ice when dissolved, and usually covered with a roof.


Topic: Iceisle
Definition:
ICEISLE, n. iceile. [ice and isle.]  A vast body of floating ice,such as is often seen in the Atlantic, off the banks of Newfoundland.


Topic: Icelandic
Definition:
ICELAND'IC, a.  Pertaining to Iceland; and as a noun, the language of the Icelanders.
Iceland spar, calcarious spar, in laminated masses, easily divisible into rhombs, perfectly similar to the primitive rhomb.


Topic: Iceplant
Definition:
ICEPLANT, n.  A plant of the genus Mesembryanthemem, sprinkled with pellucid, glittering, icy pimples.


Topic: Ichneumon
Definition:
ICHNEU'MON, n. [L. from the Gr. to follow the steps, a footstep; a follower of the crocodile.]
An animal of the genus Viverra, or weasel kind.  It has a tail tapering to a point, and its toes are distant from each other.  It inhabits Egypt, Barbary and India.  It destroys the most venomous serpents, and seeks the eggs of the crocodile, digging them out of the sand, eating them and destroying the young.  In India and Egypt, this animal is domesticated and kept for destroying rats and mice.
Ichneumon-fly, a genus of flies, of the order of hymenopters, containing several hundred species.  These animals have jaws, but no tongue; the antennae have more than thirty joints, and are kept in continual motion. The abdomen is generally petiolated, or joined to the body by a pedicle.  These animals are great destroyers of caterpillars, plant-lice and other insects, as the ichneumon is of the eggs and young of the crocodile.


Topic: Ichnography
Definition:
ICHNOG'RAPHY, n. [Gr. a footstep, and to describe.]  In perspective, the view of any thing cut off by a plane parallel to the horizon, just at the base of it, a ground-plot.


Topic: Ichor
Definition:
I'CHOR, n. [Gr.]  A thin watery humor, like serum or whey.
1.  Sanious matter flowing from an ulcer.


Topic: Ichthyolite
Definition:
ICH'THYOLITE, n. [Gr. a fish, and a stone.]  Fossil fish; or the figure or impression of a fish in rock.


Topic: Ichthyology
Definition:
ICHTHYOL'OGY, n. [Gr. a fish, and discourse.]  The science of fishes, or that part of zoology which treats of fishes,their structure, form and classification,their habits, uses, &c.


Topic: Icicle
Definition:
I'CICLE, n.  A pendent conical mass of ice, formed by the freezing of water or other fluid as it flows down an inclined plane, or collects in drops and is suspended.  In the north of England, it is called ickle.


Topic: Iconoclast
Definition:
ICON'OCLAST, n. [Gr. an image, and a breaker, to break.]  A breaker or destroyer of images; a name which Catholics give to those who reject the use of images in religious worship.


Topic: Iconography
Definition:
ICONOG'RAPHY, n. [Gr. an image, to describe.]  The description of images or ancient statues, busts, semi-busts, paintings in fresco, mosaic works, and ancient pieces of miniature.


Topic: Iconolater
Definition:
ICONOL'ATER, n. [Gr. an image, and a servant.]  One that worships images; a name given to Romanists.


Topic: Icosahedron
Definition:
ICOSAHE'DRON, n. [supra.]  A solid of twenty equal sides.
In geometry, a regular solid, consisting of twenty triangular pyramids, whose vertices meet in the center of a sphere supposed to circumscribe it, and therefore have their highths and bases equal.


Topic: Icosander
Definition:
ICOSAN'DER, n. [Gr. twenty, and a male.]  In botany, a plant having twenty or more stamens inserted in the calyx.
Note - A writer on botany has suggested that as the proper character of plants of this class is the insertion of the stamens in the calyx, it might be expedient to denominate the class, Calycandria.


Topic: Icosandrian
Definition:
ICOSAN'DRIAN, n.  Pertaining to the class of plants, Icosandria, having twenty or more stamens inserted in the calyx.


Topic: Icteritious
Definition:
ICTERI'TIOUS, a. [L. icterus,jaundice.]  Yellow; having the color of the skin when it is affected by the jaundice.


Topic: Icy
Definition:
I'CY, a. [from ice.]  Abounding with ice; as the icy regions of the north.
1.  Cold; frosty; as icy chains.
2.  Made of ice.
3.  Resembling ice; chilling.
 Religion lays not an icy hand on the true joys of life.
4.  Cold; frigid; destitute of affection or passion.
5.  Indifferent; unaffected; backward.


Topic: Idea
Definition:
IDE'A, n. [L. idea; Gr. to see, L. video.]
1.  Literally, that which is seen; hence, form, image, model of any thing in the mind; that which is held or comprehended by the understanding or intellectual faculties.
I have used the idea, to express whatever is meant by phantasm, notion, species, or whatever it is which the mind can be employed about in thinking.
Whatever the mind perceives in itself, or is the immediate object of perception, thought or understanding, that I call an idea.
The attention of the understanding to the objects acting on it, by which it becomes sensible of the impressions they make, is called by logicians, perception, and the notices themselves as they exist in the mind, as the materials of thinking and knowledge, are distinguished by the name of ideas.
An idea is the reflex perception of objects, after the original perception or impression has been felt by the mind.
In popular language, idea signifies the same thing as conception, apprehension, notion.  To have an idea of any thing is to conceive it.  In philosophical use, it does not signify that act of the mind which we call thought or conception, but some object of thought.
According to modern writers on mental philosophy, an idea is the object of thought, or the notice which the mind takes of its perceptions.
Darwin uses idea for a notion of external things which our organs bring us acquainted with originally, and he defines it, a contraction, motion or configuration of the fibers which constitute the immediate organ of sense; synonymous with which he sometimes uses sensual motion, in contradistinction to muscular motion.
1.  In popular use, idea signifies notion, conception, thought, opinion, and even purpose or intention.
2.  Image in the mind.
 Her sweet idea wandered through his thoughts.
    [A bad use of the word.]
3.  An opinion; a proposition.  These decisions are incompatible with the idea, that the principles are derived from the civil law.


Topic: Ideal
Definition:
IDE'AL, a.  Existing in idea; intellectual; mental; as ideal knowledge.
 There will always be a wide interval between practical and ideal excellence.
1.  Visionary; existing in fancy or imagination only; as ideal good.
2.  That considers ideas as images, phantasms, or forms in the mind; as the ideal theory or philosophy.


Topic: Idealism
Definition:
IDE'ALISM, n.  The system or theory that makes every thing to consist in ideas, and denies the existence of material bodies.


Topic: Identify
Definition:
IDEN'TIFY, v.t. [L. idem, the same, and facio, to make.]
1.  To ascertain or prove to be the same.  The owner of the goods found them in the possession of the thief,and identified them.
2.  To make to be the same; to unite or combine in such a manner as to make one interest, purpose or intention; to treat as having the same use; to consider as the same in effect.
 Paul has identified the two ordinances,circumcision and baptism, and thus, by demonstrating that they have one and the same use and meaning, he has exhibited to our view the very same seal of God's covenant.
 That treaty in fact identified Spain with the republican government of France, by a virtual acknowledgment of unqualified vassalage, and by specific stipulations of unconditional defense.
 Every precaution is taken to identify the interests of the people, and of the rules.
IDEN'TIFY, v.i.  To become the same; to coalesce in interest, purpose,use, effect, &c.
 --An enlightened self-interest, which, when well understood, they tell us will identify with an interest more enlarged and public.


Topic: Identifying
Definition:
IDEN'TIFYING, ppr.  Ascertaining or proving to be the same.
1.  Making the same in interest, purpose,use, efficacy, &c.


Topic: Identity
Definition:
IDEN'TITY, n.  Sameness, as distinguished from similitude and diversity.  We speak of the identity of goods found, the identity of persons, or of personal identity.


Topic: Ides
Definition:
IDES, n. plu. [L. idus.]  In the ancient Roman calendar, eight days in each month; the first day of which fell on the 13th of January, February, April, June, August, September, November and December, and on the 15th of March, May, July,and October.  The ides came between the calends and the nones, and were reckoned backwards.  This method of reckoning is still retained in the chancery of Rome,and in the calendar of the breviary.


Topic: Idiocrasy
Definition:
IDIOC'RASY, n. [Gr. proper, peculiar to one's self, and mixture, temperament, to mix.]
Peculiarity of constitution; that temperament, or state of constitution, which is peculiar to a person.


Topic: Idiocy
Definition:
ID'IOCY, n. [Gr. See Idiot.]  A defect of understanding; properly, a natural defect.
 Idiocy and lunacy excuse from the guilt of crime.


Topic: Idioelectric
Definition:
IDIOELEC'TRIC, a. [Gr. separate from others, peculiar to one's self,and electric.]
Electric per se, or containing electricity in its natural state.


Topic: Idiom
Definition:
ID'IOM, n. [L. idioma, from Gr. proper, or peculiar to one's self; Eng. widow, wide.]
1.  A mode of expression peculiar to a language; peculiarity of expression or phraseology. In this sense, it is used in the plural to denote forms of speech or phraseology, peculiar to a nation or language.
 And to just idioms fix our doubtful speech.
2.  The genius or peculiar east of a language.
 He followed the Latin language, but did not comply with the idiom of ours.
3.  Dialect.


Topic: Idiopathic
Definition:
IDIOPATH'IC, a.  [See Idiopathy.]  Pertaining to idiopathy; indicating a disease peculiar to a particular part of the body, and not arising from any preceding disease; as idiopathic head-ach.  The epilepsy is idiopathic, when it proceeds from some fault in the brain; but sympathetic,when it is the consequence of some other disorder.
The term idiopathic is also applied to general as well as local diseases,  as idiopathic fever.  It then signifies, not sympathetic or symptomatic, not arising from any previous disease.


Topic: Idiopathy
Definition:
IDIOP'ATHY, n. [Gr. proper, peculiar, and suffering, disease, to suffer.]
1.  An original disease in a particular part of the body; a disease peculiar to some part of the body and not proceeding from another disease.
2.  Peculiar affection.


Topic: Idiosyncrasy
Definition:
IDIOSYN'CRASY, n. [Gr. proper, with, and temperament.]  A peculiar temperament or organization of a body, by which it is rendered more liable to certain disorders than bodies differently constituted.


Topic: Idiot
Definition:
ID'IOT, n.[L. idiota; Gr. private,vulgar,unskilled, peculiar, that is, separate, simple.  See Idiom.]
1.  A natural fool or fool from his birth; a human being in form, but destitute of reason, or the ordinary intellectual powers of man.
 A person who has understanding enough to measure a yard of cloth, number twenty correctly, tell the days of the week, &c., is not an idiot in the eye of the law.
2.  A foolish person; one unwise.


Topic: Idiotism
Definition:
ID'IOTISM, n. [Gr. a form of speech taken from the vulgar.]
1.  An idiom; a peculiarity of expression; a mode of expression peculiar to a language; a peculiarity in the structure of words and phrases.
 Scholars sometimes give terminations and idiotisms suitable to their native language, to words newly invented.
2.  Idiocy.
 But it would be well to restrain this word to its proper signification, and keep idiocy and idiotism distinct.


Topic: Idle
Definition:
I'DLE, a.
1. Not employed; unoccupied with business; inactive; doing nothing.
 Why stand ye here all the day idle?  Matt.20.
 To be idle, is to be vicious.
2.  Slothful; given to rest and ease; averse to labor or employment; lazy; as an idle man; an idle fellow.
3.  Affording leisure; vacant; not occupied; as idle time; idle hours.
4.  Remaining unused; unemployed; applied to things; as, my sword or spear is idle.
5.  Useless; vain; ineffectual; as idle rage.
6.  Unfruitful; barren; not productive of good.
 Of antres vast and idle desarts.
 Idle weeds.
7.  Trifling; vain; of no importance; as an idle story; an idle reason; idle arguments.
8.  Unprofitable; not tending to edification.
 Every idle word that men shall speak,they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment. Matt.12.
Idle differs from lazy; the latter implying constitutional or habitual aversion or indisposition to labor or action, sluggishness; whereas idle, in its proper sense, denotes merely unemployed.  An industrious man may be idle, but he cannot be lazy.
I'DLE, v.i.  To lose or spend time in inaction, or without being employed in business.
To idle away, in a transitive sense, to spend in idleness; as, to idle away time.


Topic: Idleness
Definition:
I'DLENESS, n.  Abstinence from labor or employment; the state of a person who is unemployed in labor, or unoccupied in business; the state of doing nothing.  Idleness is the parent of vice.
 Through the idleness of the hands the house droppeth through. Eccles.10.
1.  Aversion to labor; reluctance to be employed, or to exertion either of body or mind; laziness; sloth; sluggishness.  This is properly laziness; but idleness is often the effect of laziness, and sometimes this word may be used for it.
2.  Unimportance; trivialness.
 Apes of idleness.
3.  Inefficacy; uselessness. [Little used.]
4.  Barrenness; worthlessness. [Little used.]
5.  Emptiness; foolishness; infatuation; as idleness of brain. [Little used.]


Topic: Idler
Definition:
I'DLER, n.  One who does nothing; one who spends his time in inaction, or without being engaged in business.
1.  A lazy person; a sluggard.


Topic: Idly
Definition:
I'DLY, adv.  In an idle manner; without employment.
1.  Lazily; sluggishly.
2.  Foolishly; uselessly; in a trifling way.
 A shilling spent idly by a fool, may be saved by a wiser person.
3.  Carelessly; without attention.
4.  Vainly; ineffectually; as, to reason idly against truth.


Topic: Idocrase
Definition:
ID'OCRASE, n. [Gr. form, and mixture; a mixed figure.]
A mineral, the vesuvian of Werner, sometimes massive,and very often in shining prismatic crystals.  Its primitive form is a four-sided prism with square bases.  It is found near Vesuvius, in unaltered rocks ejected by the volcano; also in primitive rocks, in various other localities.


Topic: Idol
Definition:
I'DOL, n. [L. idolum; Gr. form or to see.]
1.  An image, form or representation, usually of a man or other animal, consecrated as an object of worship; a pagan deity.  Idols are usually statues or images, carved out of wood or stone, or formed of metals, particularly silver or gold.
 The gods of the nations are idols. Ps.96.
2.  An image.
 Nor ever idol seemed so much alive.
3.  A person loved and honored to adoration.  The prince was the idol of the people.
4.  Any thing on which we set our affections; that to which we indulge an excessive and sinful attachment.
 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. 1 John.5.
 An idol is any thing which usurps the place of God in the hearts of his rational creatures.
5.  A representation. [Not in use.]  


Topic: Idolater
Definition:
IDOL'ATER, n. [L. idololatra.  See Idolatry.]
1.  A worshiper of idols; one who pays divine honors to images, statues, or representations of any thing made by hands; one who worships as a deity that which is not God; a pagan.
2.  An adorer; a great admirer.


Topic: Idolatrous
Definition:
IDOL'ATROUS, a.  Pertaining to idolatry; partaking of the nature of idolatry, or of the worship of false gods; consisting in the worship of idols; as idolatrous worship.
1.  Consisting in or partaking of an excessive attachment or reverence; as an idolatrous veneration for antiquity.


Topic: Idolatry
Definition:
IDOL'ATRY, n. [L. idololatria. Gr. idol, and to worship or serve.]
1.  The worship of idols, images, or any thing made by hands, or which is not God.
 Idolatry is of two kinds; the worship of images, statues, pictures, &c. made by hands; and the worship of the heavenly bodies,the sun, moon and stars, or of demons, angels, men and animals.
2.  Excessive attachment or veneration for any thing, or that which borders on adoration.


Topic: Idolize
Definition:
I'DOLIZE, v.t.  To love to excess; to love or reverence to adoration; as, to idolize gold or wealth; to idolize children; to idolize a virtuous magistrate or a hero.


Topic: Idoneous
Definition:
IDO'NEOUS, a. [L. idoneus; probably from the root of Gr. to be strong, able or sufficient.]
Fit; suitable; proper; convenient; adequate.  [Little used.]


Topic: Idyl
Definition:
IDYL, n. [L. idyllium; Gr. supposed to be from form.]
A short poem; properly, a short pastoral poem; as the idyls of Theocritus.


Topic: Ieland
Definition:
I'ELAND, n. i'land. [L. aqua,and land. This is the genuine English word, always used in discourse, but for which is used island, an absurd compound of Fr.isle and land, which signifies land in water-land, or rather ieland-land.]
1.  A portion of land surrounded by water; as Bermuda, Barbadoes, Cuba, Great Britain, Borneo.
2.  A large mass of floating ice.


Topic: If
Definition:
IF, v.t.  It is used as the sign of a condition, or it introduces a conditional sentence.  It is a verb, without a specified nominative.  In like manner we use grant, admit, suppose.  Regularly, if should be followed, as it was formerly, by the substitute or pronoun that, referring to the succeeding sentence or proposition.  If that John shall arrive in season, I will send him with a message.  But that is now omitted,and the subsequent sentence, proposition or affirmation may be considered as the object of the verb.  Give John shall arrive; grant,suppose, admit that he shall arrive, I will send him with a message.  The sense of if, or give, in this use, is grant, admit, cause to be, let the fact be,let the thing take place.  If then is equivalent to grant, allow, admit. 'If thou wilt, thou canst make me whole,' that is, thou canst make me whole, give the fact, that thou wilt.
 If thou art the son of God, command that these stones be made bread. Matt.14.
1.  Whether or not.
 Uncertain if by augury or chance.


Topic: Igneous
Definition:
IG'NEOUS, a. [L.igneus, from ignis, fire.]
1.  Consisting of fire; as igneous particles emitted from burning wood.
2.  Containing fire; having the nature of fire.
3.  Resembling fire; as an igneous appearance.


Topic: Ignescent
Definition:
IGNES'CENT, a. [L. ignescens, ignesco, from ignis, fire.]
Emitting sparks of fire when struck with steel; scintillating; as ignescent stones.
IGNES'CENT, n.  A stone or mineral that gives out sparks when struck with steel or iron.
 Many other stones, besides this class of ignescents, produce a real scintillation when struck against steel.


Topic: Ignipotent
Definition:
IGNIP'OTENT, a. [L. ignis, fire, and potens, powerful.]
Presiding over fire.  Vulcan is called the power ignipotent.


Topic: Ignite
Definition:
IGNI'TE, v.t. [L. ignis, fire.]  To kindle, or set on fire.
1.  More generally, to communicate fire to, or to render luminous or red by heat; as, to ignite charcoal or iron.  Anthracite is ignited with more difficulty than bituminous coal.
IGNI'TE, v.i.  To take fire; to become red with heat.


Topic: Igniting
Definition:
IGNI'TING, ppr.  Setting on fire; becoming red with heat.
1.  Communicating fire to; heating to redness.


Topic: Ignition
Definition:
IGNI'TION, n.  The act of kindling, or setting on fire.
1.  The act or operation of communicating fire or heat, till the substance becomes red or luminous.
2.  The state of being kindled; more generally, the state of being heated to redness or luminousness.
3.  Calcination.


Topic: Ignivomous
Definition:
IGNIV'OMOUS, a. [L. ignivomus; ignis, fire, and vomo, to vomit.]
Vomiting fire; as an ignivomous mountain, a volcano.


Topic: Ignoble
Definition:
IGNO'BLE, a. [L. ignobilis; in and nobilis. See Noble.]
1.  Of low birth or family; not noble; not illustrious.
2.  Mean; worthless; as an ignoble plant.
3.  Base, not honorable; as an ignoble motive.


Topic: Ignobly
Definition:
IGNO'BLY, adv.  Of low family or birth; as ignobly born.
1.  Meanly; dishonorably; reproachfully; disgracefully; basely.   The troops ignobly fly.


Topic: Ignominious
Definition:
IGNOMIN'IOUS, a. [L. ignominiosus.  See Ignominy.]
1.  Incurring disgrace; cowardly; of mean character.
 Then with pale fear surprised,
 Fled ignominious.
2.  Very shameful; reproachful; dishonorable; infamous.  To be hanged for a crime is ignominious.  Whipping, cropping and branding are ignominious punishments.
3.  Despicable; worthy of contempt; as an ignominious projector.


Topic: Ignominy
Definition:
IG'NOMINY, n. [L. ignominia; in and nomen, against name or reputation.]  Public disgrace; shame; reproach; dishonor; infamy.
 Their generals have been received with honor after their defeat; yours with ignominy after conquest.
 Vice begins in mistake, and ends in ignominy.


Topic: Ignoramus
Definition:
IGNORA'MUS, n. [L. we are ignorant; from ignoro.]
1.  The indorsement which a grand jury make on a bill presented to them for inquiry, when there is not evidence to support the charges, on which all proceedings are stopped, and the accused person is discharged.
2.  An ignorant person; a vain pretender to knowledge.


Topic: Ignorance
Definition:
IG'NORANCE, n. [L. ignorantia; ignoro,not to know; ignarus, ignorant; in and gnarus, knowing.]
1.  Want, absence or destitution of knowledge; the negative state of the mind which has not been instructed in arts, literature or science, or has not been informed of facts.  Ignorance may be general, or it may be limited to particular subjects.  Ignorance of the law does not excuse a man for violating it.  Ignorance of facts if often venial.
 Ignorance is preferable to error.
2.  Ignorances, in the plural, is used sometimes for omissions or mistakes; but the use is uncommon and not to be encouraged.


Topic: Ignorant
Definition:
IG'NORANT, a. [L. ignorans.]  Destitute of knowledge; uninstructed or uninformed; untaught; unenlightened. A man may be ignorant of the law, or of any art or science.  He may be ignorant of his own rights, or of the rights of others.
1.  Unknown; undiscovered; a poetical use; as ignorant concealment.
2.  Unacquainted with.
 Ignorant of guilt, I fear not shame.
3.  Unskillfully made or done.  [Not legitimate.]
 Poor ignorant baubles.
IG'NORANT, n.  A person untaught or uninformed; one unlettered or unskilled.
 Did I for this take pains to teach
 Our zealous ignorants to preach?


Topic: Ignorantly
Definition:
IG'NORANTLY, adv.  Without knowledge, instruction or information.
 Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.  Acts.17.
1.  Unskillfully; inexpertly.  A man may mistake blunders for beauties and ignorantly admire them.


Topic: Il
Definition:
Il, prefixed to words beginning with l, stands for in, as used in the Latin language, and usually denotes a negation of the sense of the simple word, as illegal, not legal; or it denotes to or on, and merely augments or enforces the sense, as in illuminate.


Topic: Ile
Definition:
ILE, so written by Pope for aile, a walk or alley in a church or public building. [Not in use.]
1.  An ear of corn.  [Not used.]


Topic: Ilex
Definition:
I'LEX, n. [L.]  In botany, the generic name of the Holly-tree.
Also, the Quercus ilex, or great scarlet oak.


Topic: Iliac
Definition:
IL'IAC, a. [L. iliacus, from ilia, the flank, or small intestines; Gr. to wind.]  Pertaining to the lower bowels, or to the ileum.  The iliac passion, is a violent and dangerous kind of colic, with an inversion of the peristaltic motion of the bowels.


Topic: Iliad
Definition:
IL'IAD, n. [from Ilium, Ilion, Troy.]  An epic poem, composed by Homer, in twenty four books.  The subject of this poem is the wrath of Achilles; in describing which,the poet exhibits the miserable effects of disunion and public dissensions.  Hence the phrase, Ilias malorum, an Iliad of woes or calamities, a world of disasters.


Topic: Ill
Definition:
ILL, n. 
1.  Bad or evil, in a general sense; contrary to good, physical or moral; applied to things; evil; wicked; wrong; iniquitous; as, his ways are ill; he sets an ill example.
2.  Producing evil or misfortune; as an ill star or planet.
3.  Bad; evil; unfortunate; as an ill end; an ill fate.
4.  Unhealthy; insalubrious; as an ill air or climate.
5.  Cross; crabbed; surly; peevish; as ill nature; ill temper.
6.  Diseased; disordered; sick or indisposed; applied to persons; as, the man is ill; he has been ill a long time; he is ill of a fever.
7.  Diseased; impaired; as an ill state of health.
8.  Discordant; harsh; disagreeable; as an ill sound.
9.  Homely; ugly; as ill looks, or an ill countenance.
    10. Unfavorable; suspicious; as when we say, this affair bears an ill look or aspect.
    11. Rude; unpolished; as ill breeding; ill manners.
    12. Not proper; not regular or legitimate; as an ill expression in grammar.
ILL, n.  Wickedness; depravity; evil.
 Strong virtue, like strong nature, struggles still,
 Exerts itself and then throws off the ill.
1.  Misfortune; calamity; evil; disease; pain; whatever annoys or impairs happiness, or prevents success.
 Who can all sense of other's ills escape,
 Is but a brute at beat in human shape.
ILL, adv.  Not well; not rightly or perfectly.
 He is ill at ease.
1.  Not easily; with pain or difficulty.  He is ill able to sustain the burden.
 Ill bears the sex the youthful lovers' fate,
 When just approaching to the nuptial state.
ILL, prefixed to participles of the present tense, and denoting evil or wrong, may be considered as a noun governed by the participle, or as making a part of a compound word; as an ill meaning man, an ill designing man, an ill boding hour; that is, a man meaning ill, an hour boding ill.  It is more consonant, however, to the genius of our language, to treat these and similar words as compounds.  In some cases, as before the participles of intransitive verbs, ill must be considered as a part of the compound, as in ill-looking.  When used before the perfect participle, ill is to be considered as an adverb, or modifying word, or to be treated as a part of the compound; as in ill-bred, ill-governed, ill-fated, ill-favored, ill-formed, ill-minded.  In these and all similar connections, it might be well to unite the two words in a compound by a hyphen.  As ill may be prefixed to almost any participle, it is needless to attempt to collect a list of such words for insertion.
 


Topic: Ill-favored
Definition:
ILL-FA'VORED, a. [ill and favored.]  Ugly; ill-looking; wanting beauty; deformed.
 Ill-favored and lean fleshed. Gen. 41.


Topic: Ill-nature
Definition:
ILL-NA'TURE, n. [ill and nature.]  Crossness; crabbedness; habitual bad temper, or want of kindness; fractiousness.


Topic: Ill-natured
Definition:
ILL-NA'TURED, a.  Cross, crabbed; surly; intractable; of habitual bad temper; peevish; fractious.  An ill-natured person may disturb the harmony of a whole parish.
1.  That indicates ill-nature.
 The ill-natured task refuse.
2.  Intractable; not yielding to culture; as ill-natured land. [Not legitimate.]


Topic: Illapse
Definition:
ILLAPSE, n. illaps'.  [See Lapse.]  A sliding in; an immission or entrance of one thing into another.
1.  A falling on; a sudden attack.


Topic: Illaqueate
Definition:
ILLAQ'UEATE, v.t. [L. illaqueo; in and laqueo, to ensnare; laquens, a snare.]  To ensnare; to entrap; to entangle; to catch. [Little used.]


Topic: Illataive
Definition:
IL'LATAIVE, a. [See Illation.]  Relating to illation; that may be inferred; as an illative consequence.
1.  That denotes an inference; as an illative word or particle, as then and therefore.
IL'LATAIVE, n.  That which denotes illation or inference.


Topic: Illation
Definition:
ILLA'TION, n. [L. illatio; in and latio, a bearing; latus, from fero.]  An inference from premises; a conclusion; deduction.  [Little used.]


Topic: Illaudable
Definition:
ILLAUD'ABLE, a. [See Laudable.]  Not laudable; not worthy of approbation or commendation; as an illaudable motive or act.
1.  Worthy of censure or dispraise.


Topic: Illegal
Definition:
ILLE'GAL, a. [See Legal.]  Not legal; unlawful; contrary to law; illicit; as an illegal act; illegal trade.


Topic: Illegality
Definition:
ILLEGAL'ITY, n.  Contrariety to law; unlawfulness; as the illegality of trespass,or of false imprisonment.


Topic: Illegible
Definition:
ILLEG'IBLE, a. [See Legible.]  That cannot be read; obscure or defaced so that the words cannot be known.  It is a disgrace to a gentleman to write an illegible hand.  The manuscripts found in the ruins of Herculaneum are mostly illegible.


Topic: Illegitimacy
Definition:
ILLEGIT'IMACY, n. [See Legitimate.]
1.  The state of being born out of wedlock; the state of bastardy.
2.  The state of being not genuine, or of legitimate origin.


Topic: Illegitimate
Definition:
ILLEGIT'IMATE, a. [See Legitimate.]
1. Unlawfully begotten; born out of wedlock; spurious; as an illegitimate son or daughter.
2.  Unlawful; contrary to law.
3.  Not genuine; not of genuine origin; as an illegitimate inference.
4.  Not authorized by good usage; as an illegitimate word.
ILLEGIT'IMATE, v.t.  To render illegitimate; to prove to be born out of wedlock; to bastardize.


Topic: Illiberal
Definition:
ILLIB'ERAL, a. [See Liberal.]  Not liberal; not free or generous.
1.  Not noble; not ingenuous; not catholic; of a contracted mind.  Cold in charity; in religion, illiberal.
2.  Not candid; uncharitable in judging.
3.  Not generous; not munificent; sparing of gifts.
4.  Not becoming a well bred man.
5.  Not pure; not well authorized or elegant; as illiberal words in Latin.


Topic: Illiberality
Definition:
ILLIBERAL'ITY, n.  Narrowness of mind; contractedness; meanness; want of catholic opinions.
1.  Parsimony; want of munificence.


Topic: Illicit
Definition:
ILLIC'IT, a. [L. illicitus; in and licitus, from liceo, to permit.]
Not permitted or allowed; prohibited; unlawful; as an illicit trade; illicit intercourse or connection.


Topic: Illimitable
Definition:
ILLIM'ITABLE, a. [in,not, and limit,or L. limes.]
That cannot be limited or bounded; as the illimitable void.


Topic: Illimitedness
Definition:
ILLIM'ITEDNESS, n.  Boundlessness; the state of being without limits or restriction.
 The absoluteness and illimitedness of his commission was much spoken of.


Topic: Illinition
Definition:
ILLINI'TION, n. [L.illinitus, illinio, to anoint; in and lino, to besmear.]  A thin crust of some extraneous substance formed on minerals.
 It is sometimes disguised by a thin crust or illinition of black manganese.


Topic: Illiteracy
Definition:
ILLIT'ERACY, n. [from illiterate.]  The state of being untaught or unlearned; want of a knowledge of letters; ignorance.


Topic: Illiterate
Definition:
ILLIT'ERATE, a. [L. illiteratus; in and literatus; from litera, a letter.]   Unlettered; ignorant of letters or books; untaught; unlearned; uninstructed in science; as an illiterate man, nation or tribe.


Topic: Illness
Definition:
ILL'NESS, n. [from ill.]  Badness; unfavorableness; as the illness of the weather. [Not used.]
1.  Disease; indisposition; malady; disorder of health; sickness.  He has recovered from his illness.
2.  Wickedness; iniquity; wrong moral conduct.


Topic: Illogical
Definition:
ILLOG'ICAL, a. [See Logical.]  Ignorant or negligent of the rules of logic or correct reasoning; as an illogical disputant.
1.  Contrary to the rules of logic or sound reasoning; as an illogical inference.


Topic: Illude
Definition:
ILLU'DE, v.t. [L. illudo; in and ludo, to play.  See Ludicrous.]
To play upon by artifice; to deceive; to mock; to excite hope and disappoint it.


Topic: Illuminate
Definition:
ILLU'MINATE, v.t. [See Illume.]  To enlighten; to throw light on; to supply with light. [This word is used in poetry or prose.]
1.  To adorn with festal lamps or bonfires.
2.  To enlighten intellectually with knowledge or grace. Heb.10.
3.  To adorn with pictures, portraits and other paintings; as, to illuminate manuscripts or books, according to ancient practice.
4.  To illustrate; to throw light on, as on obscure subjects.
ILLU'MINATE, a.  Enlightened.
ILLU'MINATE, n.  One of a sect of heretics pretending to possess extraordinary light and knowledge.


Topic: Illuminated
Definition:
ILLU'MINATED, pp. Enlightened; rendered light or luminous; illustrated; adorned with pictures, as books.


Topic: Illuminati
Definition:
ILLUMINA'TI, n.  A church term anciently applied to persons who had received baptism; in which ceremony they received a lighted taper, as a symbol of the faith and grace they had received by that sacrament.
1.  The name of a sect of heretics, who sprung up in Spain about the year 1575, and who afterward appeared in France. Their principal doctrine was, that by means of a sublime manner of prayer, they had attained to so perfect a state as to have no need of ordinances, sacraments and good works.
2.  The name given to certain associations of men in modern Europe, who combined to overthrow the existing religious institutions, and substitute reason, by which they expected to raise men and society to perfection.


Topic: Illuminating
Definition:
ILLU'MINATING, ppr.  Enlightening; rendering luminous or bright; illustrating; adorning with pictures.
ILLU'MINATING, n. The act, practice or art of adorning manuscripts and books by paintings.


Topic: Illumination
Definition:
ILLUMINA'TION, n.  The act of illuminating or rendering luminous; the act of supplying with light.
1.  The act of rendering a house or a town light, by placing lights at the windows, or in elevated situations, as a manifestation of joy; or the state of being thus rendered light.
2.  That which gives light.
 The sun--is an illumination created.
3.  Brightness; splendor.
4.  Infusion of intellectual light; an enlightening of the understanding by knowledge, or the mind by spiritual light.
5.  The act, art or practice of adorning manuscripts and books with pictures.
6.  Inspiration; the special communication of knowledge to the mind by the Supreme Being.
 Hymns and psalms--are framed by meditation beforehand, or by prophetical illumination are inspired.


Topic: Illuminator
Definition:
ILLU'MINATOR, n.  He or that which illuminates or gives light.
1.  One whose occupation is to decorate manuscripts and books with pictures, portraits and drawings of any kind.  This practice began among the Romans, and was continued during the middle ages.  The manuscripts containing portraits, pictures and emblematic figures, form a valuable part of the riches preserved in the principal libraries in Europe.
From this word, by contraction, is formed limner.


Topic: Illumine
Definition:
ILLU'MINE, v.t. [L. illumino; in and lumino, to enlighten, from lumen, light.  See Luminous.]
1.  To illuminate; to enlighten; to throw or spread light on; to make light or bright.
[These words are used chiefly in poetry.]
2.  To enlighten, as the mind; to cause to understand.
3.  To brighten; to adorn.
 The mountain's brow,
 Illum'd with fluid gold--


Topic: Illusion
Definition:
ILLU'SION, n.  s as z. [L. illusio, from illudo, to illude.]  Deceptive appearance; false show, by which a person is or may be deceived, or his expectations disappointed; mockery.
 Ye soft illusions, dear deceits, arise!


Topic: Illusive
Definition:
ILLU'SIVE, a.  Deceiving by false show; deceitful; false.
 While the fond soul,
 Wrapt in gay visions of unreal bliss,
 Still paints th' illusive form.


Topic: Illusory
Definition:
ILLU'SORY, a. [L. illusus,illudo.]  Deceiving or tending to deceive by false appearances; fallacious. His offers were illusory.


Topic: Illustrate
Definition:
ILLUS'TRATE, v.t. [L. illustro; in and lustro, to illuminate. See Luster.]
1.  To make clear, bright or luminous.
2.  To brighten with honor; to make distinguished.
 Matter to me of glory! whom their hate
 Illustrates--
3.  To brighten; to make glorious, or to display the glory of; as, to illustrate the perfections of God.
4. To explain or elucidate; to make clear, intelligible or obvious, what is dark or obscure; as, to illustrate a passage of Scripture by comments, or of a profane author by a gloss.


Topic: Illustrated
Definition:
ILLUS'TRATED, pp.  Made bright or glorious.
1.  Explained; elucidated; made clear to the understanding.


Topic: Illustration
Definition:
ILLUSTRA'TION, n.  The act of rendering bright or glorious.
1.  Explanation; elucidation; a rendering clear what is obscure or abstruse.


Topic: Illustrative
Definition:
ILLUS'TRATIVE, a.  Having the quality of elucidating and making clear what is obscure; as an argument or simile illustrative of the subject.
1.  Having the quality of rendering glorious, or of displaying glory.


Topic: Illustrious
Definition:
ILLUS'TRIOUS, a. [L. illustris.]
1.  Conspicuous; distinguished by the reputation of greatness; renowned; eminent; as an illustrious general or magistrate; an illustrious prince.
2.  Conspicuous; renowned; conferring honor; as illustrious actions.
3.  Glorious; as an illustrious display of the divine perfections.
4.  A title of honor.


Topic: Illustriously
Definition:
ILLUS'TRIOUSLY, adv.  Conspicuously; nobly; eminently; with dignity or distinction.
1.  Gloriously; in a way to manifest glory.  The redemption of man displays illustriously the justice as well as the benevolence of God.


Topic: Image
Definition:
IM'AGE, n. [L. imago.]
1.  A representation or similitude of any person or thing, formed of a material substance; as an image wrought out of stone, wood or wax.
 Whose is this image and superscription?  Matt.22.
2.  A statue.
3.  An idol; the representation of any person or thing, that is an object of worship. The second commandment forbids the worship of images.
4.  The likeness of any thing on canvas; a picture; a resemblance painted.
5.  Any copy, representation or likeness.  
 The child is the image of its mother.
6.  Semblance; show; appearance.
 The face of things a frightful image bears.
7.  An idea; a representation of any thing to the mind; a conception; a picture drawn by fancy.
 Can we conceive
 Image of aught delightful, soft or great?
8.  In rhetoric, a lively description of any thing in discourse, which presents a kind of picture to the mind.
9.  In optics, the figure of any object, made by rays of light proceeding from the several points of it. Thus a mirror reflects the image of a person standing before it, as does water in a vessel or stream, when undisturbed.
IM'AGE, v.t.  To imagine; to copy by the imagination; to form a likeness in the mind by the fancy or recollection.
 And image charms he must behold no more.


Topic: Imagery
Definition:
IM'AGERY, n. im'ajry.  Sensible representations, pictures, statues.
 Rich carvings, portraitures and imagery.
1.  Show; appearance.
 What can thy imagery and sorrow mean?
2.  Forms of the fancy; false ideas; imaginary phantasms.
 The imagery of a melancholic fancy.
3.  Representations in writing or speaking; lively descriptions which impress the images of things on the mind; figures in discourse.
 I wish there may be in this poem any instance of good imagery.
4.  Form; make.


Topic: Imaginable
Definition:
IMAG'INABLE, a.  That may be imagined or conceived.  This point is proved with all imaginable clearness.


Topic: Imaginary
Definition:
IMAG'INARY, a.  Existing only in imagination or fancy; visionary; fancied; not real.
 Imaginary ills and fancied tortures.


Topic: Imagination
Definition:
IMAGINA'TION, n. [L. imaginatio.]  The power or faculty of the mind by which it conceives and forms ideas of things communicated to it by the organs of sense.
 Imagination I understand to be the representation of an individual thought.
 Our simple apprehension of corporeal objects, if present, is sense; if absent, is imagination [conception.]
 Imagination, in its proper sense,signifies a lively conception of objects of sight.  It is distinguished from conception, as a part from a whole.
The business of conception is to present us with an exact transcript of what we have felt or perceived.  But we have also a power of modifying our conceptions, by combining the parts of different ones so as to form new wholes of our own creation.  I shall employ the word imagination to express this power. I apprehend this to be the proper sense of the word, if imagination be the power which gives birth to the productions of the poet and the painter.
We would define imagination to be the will working on the materials of memory; not satisfied with following the order prescribed by nature, or suggested by accident, it selects the parts of different conceptions, or objects of memory, to form a whole more pleasing, more terrible, or more awful,than has ever been presented in the ordinary course of nature.
The two latter definitions give the true sense of the word, as now understood.
1.  Conception; image in the mind; idea.
 Sometimes despair darkens all her imaginations.
 His imaginations were often as just as they were bold and strong.
2.  Contrivance; scheme formed in the mind; device.
 Thou hast seen all their vengeance, and all their imaginations against me. Lam.3.
3.  Conceit; an unsolid or fanciful opinion.
 We are apt to think that space, in itself, is actually boundless; to which imagination, the idea of space of itself leads us.
4.  First motion or purpose of the mind. Gen.6.


Topic: Imagine
Definition:
IMAG'INE, v.t. [L. imaginor, from imago, image.]
1.  To form a notion or idea in the mind; to fancy.  We can imagine the figure of a horse's head united to a human body.
In this sense, fancy is the more proper word.
2.  To form ideas or representations in the mind, by modifying and combining our conceptions.
3.  To contrive in purpose; to scheme; to devise.
 How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? Ps.62.
IMAG'INE, v.i. To conceive; to have a notion or idea. I cannot imagine how this should have happened.


Topic: Imban
Definition:
IMBAN', v.t. [in and ban.]  To excommunicate, in a civil sense; to cut off from the rights of man, or exclude from the common privileges of humanity. 


Topic: Imband
Definition:
IMBAND', v.t. [in and band.]  To form into a band or bands.
 Beneath full sails imbanded nations rise.


Topic: Imbankment
Definition:
IMBANK'MENT, n.  The act of surrounding or defending with a bank.
1.  Inclosure by a bank; the banks or mounds of earth that are raised to defend a place,especially against floods.


Topic: Imbecile
Definition:
IM'BECILE, a. im'becil. [L. imbecillis.]  Weak; feeble; destitute of strength, either of body or of mind; impotent.


Topic: Imbecility
Definition:
IMBECIL'ITY, n. [L. imbecillitas.]
1.  Want of strength; weakness; feebleness of body or of mind.  We speak of the imbecility of the body or of the intellect, when either does not possess the usual strength and vigor that belongs to men, and which is necessary to a due performance of its functions.  This may be natural, or induced by violence or disease.
2.  Impotence of males; inability to procreate children.


Topic: Imbed
Definition:
IMBED', v.t. [in and bed.]  To sink or lay in a bed; to place in a mass of earth, sand or other substance, so as to be partly inclosed.


Topic: Imbibe
Definition:
IMBI'BE, v.t. [L. imbibo; in and bibo, to drink.]
1.  To drink in; to absorb; as, a dry or porous body imbibes a fluid; a sponge imbibes moisture.
2.  To receive or admit into the mind and retain; as, to imbibe principles; to imbibe errors.  Imbibing in the mind always implies retention, at least for a time.
3.  To imbue, as used by Newton; but he has not been followed.


Topic: Imbitter
Definition:
IMBIT'TER, v.t. [in and bitter.]  To make bitter.
1.  To make unhappy or grievous; to render distressing.  The sins of youth often imbitter old age.  Grief imbitters our enjoyments.
2.  To exasperate; to make more severe, poignant or painful.  The sorrows of true penitence are imbittered by a sense of our ingratitude to our Almighty Benefactor.
3.  To exasperate; to render more violent or malignant; as, to imbitter enmity, anger, rage, passion, &c.


Topic: Imbody
Definition:
IMBOD'Y, v.t. [in and body.]  To form into a body; to invest with matter; to make corporeal; as, to imbody the soul or spirit.
 An opening cloud reveals
 A heavenly form, imbodied and array'd
 With robes of light.
1.  To form into a body, collection or system; as, to imbody the laws of a state in a code.
2.  To bring into a band, company, regiment, brigade, army, or other regular assemblage; to collect; as, to embody the forces of a nation.
 Then Clausus came, who led a numerous band
 Of troops imbodied.
IMBOD'Y, v.i.  To unite in a body, mass or collection; to coalesce.


Topic: Imbodying
Definition:
IMBOD'YING, ppr.  Forming into a body; investing with a corporeal body.
1.  Collecting and uniting in a body.


Topic: Imbolden
Definition:
IMBOLDEN, v.t.  imboldn. [in and bold.]  To encourage; to give confidence to.
 Nothing imboldens sin so much as mercy.
IMBOLDEN, pp.  Encouraged; having received confidence.


Topic: Imborder
Definition:
IMBORD'ER, v.t. [in and border.]  To furnish or inclose with a border; to adorn with a border.
1. To terminate; to bound.


Topic: Imbosom
Definition:
IMBO'SOM, v.t. s as z. [in and bosom.]  To hold in the bosom; to cover fondly with the folds of one's garment.
1.  To hold in nearness or intimacy.
 --The Father infinite,
 By whom in bliss imbosomed sat the Son.
2.  To admit to the heart or affection; to caress.
 But glad desire, his late imbosom'd guest--
3.  To inclose in the midst; to surround.
 Villages imbosomed soft in trees--
4.  To inclose in the midst; to cover; as pearls imbosomed in the deep.


Topic: Imbosomed
Definition:
IMBO'SOMED, pp.  Held in the bosom or to the breast; caressed; surrounded in the midst; inclosed; covered.


Topic: Imbosoming
Definition:
IMBO'SOMING, ppr.  Holding in the bosom; caressing; holding to the breast; inclosing or covering in the midst.


Topic: Imbow
Definition:
IMBOW, v.t. [in and bow.]  To arch; to vault; as an imbowed roof.
1.  To make of a circular form; as imbowed windows.


Topic: Imbrown
Definition:
IMBROWN', v.t. [in and brown.]  To make brown; to darken; to obscure.
 The umpierc'd shade
 Imbrown'd the noon-tide bowers.
1.  To darken the color of; to make dirty.
 The foot grows black that was with dirt imbrown'd.
2.  To tan; to darken the complexion.


Topic: Imbrue
Definition:
IMBRUE, v.t. imbru'. [Gr. to moisten.]
1.  To wet or moisten; to soak; to drench in a fluid, chiefly in blood.
 Whose arrows in my blood their wings imbrue.
 Lucius pities the offenders,
 That would imbrue their hands in Cato's blood.
2.  To pour out liquor.


Topic: Imbrute
Definition:
IMBRU'TE, v.t. [in and brute.]  To degrade to the state of a brute; to reduce to brutality.
 --And mix with bestial slime
 This essence to incarnate and imbrute.
IMBRU'TE, v.i.  To sink to the state of a brute.


Topic: Imbue
Definition:
IMBUE,v.t. imbu'. [L. imbuo; in and the root of Eng. buck, to buck cloth, that is, to dip, drench or steep in water.]
1.  To tinge deeply; to dye; as, to imbue cloth.
2.  To tincture deeply; to cause to imbibe; as, to imbue the minds of youth with good principles.


Topic: Imitable
Definition:
IM'ITABLE, a. [L. imitabilis.  See Imitate.]
1.  That may be imitated or copied.  Let us follow our Savior in all his imitable conduct and traits of character.  There are some works of the ancients that are hardly imitable.  The dignified style of Johnson is scarcely imitable.
2.  Worthy of imitation.


Topic: Imitate
Definition:
IMI'TATE, v.t. [L. imitor; allied perhaps to Gr. similar, equal.]
1.  To follow in manners; to copy in form, color or quality.  We imitate another in dress or manners; we imitate a statue, a painting, a sound, an action, when we make or do that which resembles it.  We should seek the best models to imitate, and in morals and piety, it is our duty to imitate the example of our Savior. But as we cannot always make an exact similitude of the original,hence,
2.  To attempt or endeavor to copy or resemble; as, to imitate the colors of the rainbow, or any of the beauties of nature.  Cicero appears to have imitated the Greek orators.
3.  To counterfeit.
 This hand appear'd a shining sword to wield,
 And that sustain'd an imitated shield.
4.  To pursue the course of a composition, so as to use like images and examples.


Topic: Imitation
Definition:
IMITA'TION, n. [L. imitatio; imitor, to imitate.]
1.  The act of following in manner, or of copying in form; the act of making the similitude of any thing, or of attempting a resemblance.  By the imitation of bad men or of evil examples, we are apt to contract vicious habits.  In the imitation of natural forms and colors,we are often unsuccessful.  Imitation in music, says Rousseau, is a reiteration of the same air, or of one which is similar, in several parts where it is repeated by one after the other, either in unison, or at the distance of a fourth, a fifth, a third, or any interval whatever.  Imitation in oratory, is an endeavor to resemble a speaker or writer in the qualities which we propose to ourselves as patterns.
2.  That which is made or produced as a copy; likeness; resemblance.  We say, a thing is a true imitation of nature.
3.  A method of translating, in which modern examples and illustrations are used for ancient, or domestic for foreign, or in which the translator not only varies the words and sense,but forsakes them as he sees occasion.


Topic: Imitative
Definition:
IM'ITATIVE, a.  Inclined to follow in manner; as, man is an imitative being.
1.  Aiming at resemblance; that is used in the business of forming resemblances.  Painting is an initiative art.
2.  Formed after a model, pattern or original.
 This temple, less in form, with equal grace,
 Was imitative of the first in Thrace.
Imitative music, is that which is intended to resemble some natural operation, the passions, and the like.


Topic: Imitator
Definition:
IM'ITATOR, n.  One that follows in manners or deportment.
1.  One that copies, or attempts to make the resemblance of any thing.


Topic: Immaculate
Definition:
IMMAC'ULATE, n. [L.immaculatus; in and macula, a spot.]
1.  Spotless; pure; unstained; undefiled; without blemish; as immaculate reputation; immaculate thoughts.  Our Savior has set us an example of an immaculate life and conversation.
2.  Pure; limpid; not tinged with impure matter; as an immaculate fountain.
Immaculate conception, the conception of our Savior by the virgin Mary.


Topic: Immanacle
Definition:
IMMAN'ACLE, v.t. [in and manacle.]  To put manacles on; to fetter or confine; to restrain from free action.


Topic: Immaterial
Definition:
IMMATE'RIAL, a.
1.  Incorporeal; not material; not consisting of matter; as immaterial spirits.  The mind or soul is immaterial.
2.  Unimportant; without weight; not material; of no essential consequence.


Topic: Immaterialism
Definition:
IMMATE'RIALISM, n.  The doctrine of the existence or state of immaterial substances or spiritual beings.


Topic: Immateriality
Definition:
IMMATERIAL'ITY, n.  The quality of being immaterial, or not consisting of matter; destitution of matter; as the immateriality of the soul.


Topic: Immature
Definition:
IMMATU'RE, a. [L. immaturus; in and maturus.]
1.  Not mature or ripe; unripe; that has not arrived to a perfect state; applied to fruit.
2.  Not perfect; not brought to a complete state; as immature plans or counsels.
3.  Hasty; too early; that comes before the natural time.
[In this sense, premature is generally used.]


Topic: Immeability
Definition:
IMMEABIL'ITY, n. [L. in and meo, to pass.]  Want of power to pass.
The proper sense is, the quality of not being permeable, or not affording a passage through the pores. [Little used.]


Topic: Immeasurable
Definition:
IMMEAS'URABLE, a. immezh'urable. [in and measure.]
That cannot be measured; immense; indefinitely extensive; as an immeasurable distance or space; an immeasurable abyss.


Topic: Immediate
Definition:
IMME'DIATE, a. [L. in and medius, middle.]
1.  Proximate; acting without a medium, or without the intervention of another cause or means; producing its effect by its own direct agency. An immediate cause is that which is exerted directly in producing its effect, in opposition to a mediate cause, or one more remote.
2.  Not acting by second causes; as the immediate will of God.
3.  Instant; present; without the intervention of time.  We must have an immediate supply of bread.
 Immediate are my needs--
 Death--inflicted--by an immediate stroke.


Topic: Immediately
Definition:
IMME'DIATELY, adv.  Without the intervention of any other cause or event; opposed to mediately.
 The transfer, whether accepted immediately by himself, or mediately by his agent, vests in him the property.
1.  Instantly; at the present time; without delay, or the intervention of time.
 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will, be thou clean.  And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Matt.8.


Topic: Immedicable
Definition:
IMMED'ICABLE, a. [L. immedicabilis; in and medicabilis, from medico,to heal.]  Not to be healed; incurable.


Topic: Immemorable
Definition:
IMMEM'ORABLE, a. [L. immemorabilis; in and memorabilis. See Memory.]
Not to be remembered; not worth remembering.


Topic: Immemorial
Definition:
IMMEMO'RIAL, a. [L. in and memor, memoria.]
Beyond memory; an epithet given to time or duration, &c., whose beginning is not remembered, or cannot be traced and ascertained; as when it is said a man has possessed an estate in fee from time immemorial, or time out of mind.  Such possession constitutes prescription, or prescriptive right.  So we speak of immemorial use, custom or practice.  In England, a thing is said to be immemorial, when it commenced before the reign of Edward II.


Topic: Immense
Definition:
IMMENSE, a. immens'. [L. immensus; in and mensus,metior, to measure.]
1.  Unlimited; unbounded; infinite.
 O goodness infinite! goodness immense!
2.  Vast in extent; very great; as an immense distance.
3.  Huge in bulk; very large; as the immense body of Jupiter.


Topic: Immensity
Definition:
IMMENS'ITY, n.  Unlimited extension; an extent not to be measured; infinity.
 By the power we find in ourselves of repeating, as often as we will, any idea of space, we get the idea of immensity.
1.  Vastness in extent or bulk; greatness.


Topic: Immensurability
Definition:
IMMENSURABIL'ITY, n. [from immensurable.]  The quality of not being capable of measure; impossibility to be measured.


Topic: Immensurable
Definition:
IMMEN'SURABLE, a. [L. in and mensurabilis, from mensura, measure; mensus, metior.]  Not to be measured; immeasurable.
 The law of nature--a term of immensurable extent.


Topic: Immerge
Definition:
IMMERGE, v.t. immerj'.  [L. immergo; in and mergo, to plunge.]
1.  To plunge into or under a fluid.  [See Immerse, which is generally used.]
2. v.i. To enter the light of the sun, as a star, or the shadow of the earth, as the moon.


Topic: Immerse
Definition:
IMMERSE, v.t. immers'.  [L. immersus, from immergo; in and mergo, to plunge.]
1.  To put under water or other fluid; to plunge; to dip.
2.  To sink or cover deep; to cover wholly; as, to be immersed in a wood.
3.  To plunge; to overwhelm; to involve; to engage deeply; as, to immerse in business or cares.
 It is impossible for a man to have a lively hope in another life,and yet be deeply immersed in the enjoyment of this.


Topic: Immersed
Definition:
IMMERS'ED, pp.  Put into a fluid; plunged; deeply engaged; enveloped in the light of the sun, as a star, or in the shadow of the earth, as the moon.


Topic: Immersion
Definition:
IMMER'SION, n.  The act of putting into a fluid below the surface; the act of plunging into a fluid till covered.
1.  The state of sinking into a fluid.
2.  The state of being overwhelmed or deeply engaged; as an immersion in the affairs of life.
3.  In astronomy, the act of entering into the light of the sun,as a star, so as to be enveloped and invisible to the eye; or the state of being so enveloped.  Also, the entrance of the moon into the shadow of the earth, at the commencement of an eclipse; or the state of being enveloped in the shadow.  It is opposed to emersion.
The time when a star or planet is so near the sun as to be invisible; also,the moment when the moon begins to be darkened, and to enter the shadow of the earth.


Topic: Immesh
Definition:
IMMESH', v.t. [in and mesh.]  To entangle in the meshes of a net, or in a web. Observe whether the fly is completely immeshed.  The spider used his efforts to immesh the scorpion.


Topic: Immethodical
Definition:
IMMETHOD'ICAL, a. [in and methodical.  See Method.]
Having no method; without systematic arrangement; without order or regularity; confused.


Topic: Immigrate
Definition:
IM'MIGRATE, v.i. [L. immigro; in and migro, to migrate.]
To remove into a country for the purpose of permanent residence.  [See Emigrate.]


Topic: Imminence
Definition:
IM'MINENCE, n. [L. imminentia, immineo, to hang over.]
Properly, a hanging over, but used by Shakespeare for impending evil or danger. [Little used.]


Topic: Imminent
Definition:
IM'MINENT, a. [L. imminens, from immineo, to hang over; in and minor, to threaten.  See Menace.]
Literally, shooting over; hence, hanging over; impending; threatening; near; appearing as if about to fall on; used of evils; as imminent danger; imminent judgments, evils or death.


Topic: Imminution
Definition:
IMMINU'TION, n. [L. imminutio, imminuo; in and minuo, to lessen.]  A lessening; diminution; decrease.


Topic: Immission
Definition:
IMMIS'SION, n. [L. immissio, immitto; in and mitto,to send.]
The act of sending or thrusting in; injection; contrary to emission.


Topic: Immobility
Definition:
IMMOBIL'ITY, n. [L. immobilitas, from immobilis; in and mobilis, from moveo, to move.]  Unmovableness; fixedness in place or state; resistance to motion.


Topic: Immoderate
Definition:
IMMOD'ERATE, a. [L. immoderatus; in and moderatus.  See Moderate.]
Exceeding just or usual bounds; not confined to suitable limits; excessive; extravagant; unreasonable; as immoderate demands; immoderate passions, cares or grief.


Topic: Immodest
Definition:
IMMOD'EST, a. [L. immodestus; in and modestus, modest.  See the latter.]
1.  Literally, not limited to due bounds.  Hence, in a general sense, immoderate; exorbitant, unreasonable; arrogant.
2.  Appropriately, wanting in the reserve or restraint which decency requires; wanting in decency and delicacy.  It is immodest in decency and delicacy.  It is immodest to treat superiors with the familiarity that is customary among equals.
3.  Wanting in chastity; unchaste; lewd; as an immodest female.
4.  Impure; indelicate; as an immodest thought.
5.  Obscene; as an immodest word.


Topic: Immodesty
Definition:
IMMOD'ESTY, n. [L. immodestia.]  Want of modesty; indecency; unchastity.
1.  Want of delicacy or decent reserve.


Topic: Immolate
Definition:
IM'MOLATE, v.t. [L. immolo, to sacrifice; in and mola,meal sprinkled with salt, which was thrown on the head of the victim.]
1.  To sacrifice; to kill, as a victim offered in sacrifice.
2.  To offer in sacrifice.
 Now immolate the tongues and mix the wine.


Topic: Immolated
Definition:
IM'MOLATED, pp.  Sacrificed; offered in sacrifice.
 From the same altar on which the small states shall be immolated, will rise the smoke of sacrificed liberty,and despotism must be the dreadful successor.


Topic: Immoral
Definition:
IMMOR'AL, a. [in and moral.]  Inconsistent with moral rectitude; contrary to the moral or divine law; wicked; unjust; dishonest; vicious.  Every action is immoral which contravenes any divine precept,or which is contrary to the duties which men owe to each other.
1.  Wicked or unjust in practice; vicious; dishonest; as an immoral man. Every man who violates a divine law or a social duty, is immoral but we particularly apply the term to a person who habitually violates the laws.


Topic: Immorality
Definition:
IMMORAL'ITY, n.  Any act or practice which contravenes the divine commands or the social duties.  Injustice,dishonesty, fraud, slander, profaneness, gaming, intemperance, lewdness, are immoralities.  All crimes are immoralities; but crime expresses more than immorality.


Topic: Immortal
Definition:
IMMOR'TAL, a. [L. immortalis.  See Mortal.]
1.  Having no principle of alteration or corruption; exempt from death; having life or being that shall never end; as an immortal soul.
 To the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever. 1 Tim.1.
2.  Never ending; everlasting; continual.
 I have
 Immortal longings in me.
3.  Perpetual; having unlimited existence.  
 A corporation is called an immortal being.
4.  Destined to live in all the ages of this world; imperishable; as immortal fame.
 So Homer is called the immortal bard.


Topic: Immortality
Definition:
IMMORTAL'ITY, n.  The quality of never ceasing to live or exist; exemption from death and annihilation; life destined to endure without end; as the immortality of the human soul.
 --Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 2 Tim.1.
1.  Exemption from oblivion.
2.  Perpetuity; existence not limited; as the immortality of a corporation.


Topic: Immortalize
Definition:
IMMOR'TALIZE, v.t. 
1.  To render immortal; to make perpetual; to cause to live or exist while the world shall endure.  The Iliad has immortalized the name of Homer.
 Alexander had no Homer to immortalize his guilty name.
2.  To exempt from oblivion; to make perpetual.
IMMOR'TALIZE, v.i.  To become immortal.  [Not in use.]


Topic: Immovable
Definition:
IMMOV'ABLE, a. [in and movable.]  That cannot be moved from its place; as an immovable foundation.
1.  Not to be moved from a purpose; steadfast; fixed; that cannot be induced to change or alter; as a man who remains immovable.
2.  That cannot be altered or shaken; unalterable; unchangeable; as an immovable purpose or resolution.
3.  That cannot be affected or moved; not impressible; not susceptible of compassion or tender feelings; unfeeling.
4.  Fixed; not liable to be removed; permanent in place; as immovable estate.
5.  Not to be shaken or agitated.


Topic: Immovably
Definition:
IMMOV'ABLY, adv.  In a manner not to be moved from its place or purpose; or in a manner not to be shaken; unalterably; unchangeably.  Immovably firm to their duty; immovably fixed or established.


Topic: Immunity
Definition:
IMMU'NITY, n. [L. immuinitas, from immunis, free, exempt; in and munus,charge, office, duty.]
1.  Freedom or exemption from obligation.  To be exempted from observing the rites or duties of the church, is an immunity.
2.  Exemption from any charge, duty, office, tax or imposition; a particular privilege; as the immunities of the free cities of Germany; the immunities of the clergy.
3.  Freedom; as an immunity from error.


Topic: Immure
Definition:
IMMU'RE, v.t. [L. in and murus, a wall.]
1.  To inclose within walls; to shut up; to confine; as, to immure nuns in cloisters.
 The student immures himself voluntarily.
2.  To wall; to surround with walls.
 Lysimachus immured it with a wall. [Not usual.]
3.  To imprison.
IMMU'RE, n.  A wall. [Not used.]


Topic: Immutability
Definition:
IMMUTABIL'ITY, n. [L. immutabilitas; in and mutabilis, mutable, from muto, to change.]
Unchangeableness; the quality that renders change or alteration impossible; invariableness.  Immutability is an attribute of God.


Topic: Immutable
Definition:
IMMU'TABLE, a. [L.immutabilis; in and mutabilis.]invariable; unalterable; not capable or susceptible of change.
 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation.  Heb.6.


Topic: Imp
Definition:
IMP, n.
1.  A son; offspring; progeny.
 The tender imp was weaned.
 A lad of life, an imp of fame.
2.  A subaltern or puny devil.
IMP, v.t.  
1.  To graft.
2.  To lengthen; to extend or enlarge by something inserted or added; a term originally used by falconers, who repair a hawk's wing by adding feathers.
 Imp out our drooping country's broken wings.
 --The false north displays
 Her broken league to imp her serpent wings.
This verb is, I believe, used only in poetry.


Topic: Impact
Definition:
IMPACT', v.t. [L. impactus, from impingo; in and pango, to drive.]
To drive close; to press or drive firmly together.


Topic: Impair
Definition:
IMPA'IR, v.t. [L. pejor.]
1.  To make worse; to diminish in quantity, value or excellence.  An estate is impaired by extravagance or neglect.  The profligate impairs his estate and his reputation.
Imprudence impairs a man's usefulness.
2.  To weaken; to enfeeble.  The constitution is impaired by intemperance, by infirmity and by age. The force of evidence may be impaired by the suspicion of interest in the witness.
IMPA'IR, v.i.  To be lessened or worn out. [Little used.]


Topic: Impale
Definition:
IMPA'LE, v.t. [L. in and palus, a pole, a stake.]
1.  To fix on a stake; to put to death by fixing on an upright sharp stake.  [See Empale.]
2.  To inclose with stakes, posts or palisades.
3.  In heraldry, to join two coats of arms pale-wise.


Topic: Impalpable
Definition:
IMPAL'PABLE, a. [L. in and palpo, to feel.  [See Palpable.]
Not to be felt; that cannot be perceived by the touch; as an impalpable powder, whose parts are so minute that they cannot be distinguished by the senses, particularly by feeling.
1.  Not coarse or gross.


Topic: Impanation
Definition:
IMPANA'TION, n.  The supposed substantial presence of the body and blood of Christ, with the substance of the bread and wine, after consecration, in the eucharist; a tenet of the Lutheran church; otherwise called consubstantiation.


Topic: Impannel
Definition:
IMPAN'NEL, v.t.  [in and pannel.]  To write or enter the names of a jury in a list or on a piece of parchment, called a pannel; to form, complete or enroll a list of jurors in a court of justice.


Topic: Imparasyllabic
Definition:
IMPARASYLLAB'IC, a. [L. in, par, and syllaba.]
Not consisting of an equal number of syllables.  An imparasyllabic noun is one which has not the same number of syllables in all the cases; as lapis, lapidis; mens, mentis.


Topic: Imparity
Definition:
IMPAR'ITY, n. [in and parity; L. par, equal.]
1.  Inequality; disproportion.
2.  Oddness; indivisibility into equal parts.
3.  Difference of degree, rank or excellence.


Topic: Impark
Definition:
IMP`ARK, v.t. [in and park.]  To inclose for a park; to make a park by inclosure; to sever from a common.


Topic: Imparl
Definition:
IMP`ARL, v.i.  To hold mutual discourse; appropriately, in law, to have license to settle a lawsuit amicably; to have delay for mutual adjustment.


Topic: Imparlance
Definition:
IMP`ARLANCE, n.  Properly, leave for mutual discourse; appropriately, in law, the license or privilege of a defendant, granted on motion, to have delay of trial, to see if he can settle the matter amicably by talking with the plaintiff,and thus to determine what answer he shall make to the plaintiff's action.  Hence,
1.  The continuance of a cause till another day, or from day to day.


Topic: Imparsonee
Definition:
IMPARSONEE', a.  A parson imparsonee, is a parson presented, instituted and inducted into a rectory, and in full possession.


Topic: Impart
Definition:
IMP`ART, v.t. [L. impertior; in and partio, to divide; from pars, a part.]
1.  To give, grant or communicate; to bestow on another a share or portion of something; as, to impart a portion of provisions to the poor.
2.  To grant; to give; to confer; as, to impart honor or favor.
3.  To communicate the knowledge of something; to make known; to show by words or tokens.
 Gentle lady,
 When first I did impart my love to you--


Topic: Impartial
Definition:
IMP`ARTIAL, a. [in and partial, from part, L. pars.]
1.  Not partial; not biased in favor of one party more than another; indifferent; unprejudiced; disinterested; as an impartial judge or arbitrator.
2.  Not favoring one party more than another; equitable; just; as an impartial judgment or decision; an impartial opinion.


Topic: Impartiality
Definition:
IMPARTIAL'ITY, n.  imparshal'ity.  Indifference of opinion or judgment; freedom from bias in favor of one side or party more than another; disinterestedness.
 Impartiality is indispensable to an upright judge.
1.  Equitableness; justice; as the impartiality of a decision.


Topic: Impartially
Definition:
IMP`ARTIALLY, adv.  Without bias of judgment; without prejudice; without inclination to favor one party or side more than another; equitably; justly.


Topic: Impartibility
Definition:
IMPARTIBIL'ITY, n.  The quality of not being subject to partition.
1.  The quality of being capable of being communicated.


Topic: Impartible
Definition:
IMP`ARTIBLE, a. 
1.  Not partible or subject to partition; as an impartible estate.
2.  [from impart.]  That may be imparted, conferred, bestowed or communicated.


Topic: Impassable
Definition:
IMP`ASSABLE, a. [in and passable.  See Pass.]
That cannot be passed; not admitting a passage; as an impassable road, mountain or gulf.


Topic: Impassibleness
Definition:
IMPAS'SIBLENESS, n.  [from impassible.]
Exemption from pain or suffering; insusceptibility of injury from external things.


Topic: Impassionate
Definition:
IMPAS'SIONATE, v.t.  To affect powerfully.
IMPAS'SIONATE, a.  Strongly affected.
1.  Without passion or feeling.


Topic: Impassioned
Definition:
IMPAS'SIONED, a.  Actuated or agitated by passion.
 The tempter all impassioned, thus began.
1.  Animated; excited; having the feelings warmed; as an impassioned orator.
2.  Animated; expressive of passion or ardor; as an impassioned discourse.


Topic: Impassive
Definition:
IMPAS'SIVE, a. [L. in and passus, patior,to suffer.]
Not susceptible of pain or suffering; as the impassive air; impassive ice.


Topic: Impastation
Definition:
IMPASTA'TION, n. [in and paste.]  The mixtion of various materials of different colors and consistences, baked or united by a cement, and hardened by the air or by fire.


Topic: Impatience
Definition:
IMPA'TIENCE, n. [L. impatientia, from impatiens; in and patior, to suffer.]  Uneasiness under pain or suffering; the not enduring pain with composure; restlessness occasioned by suffering positive evil, or the absence of expected good. Impatience is not rage, nor absolute inability to bear pain; but it implies want of fortitude, or of its exercise.  It usually springs from irritability of temper.


Topic: Impatient
Definition:
IMPA'TIENT, a. [L. impatiens.]  Uneasy or fretful under suffering; not bearing pain with composure; not enduring evil without fretfulness,uneasiness, and a desire or effort to get rid of the evil.  Young men are impatient of restraint.  We are all apt to be impatient under wrongs; but it is a christian duty not to be impatient in sickness, or under any afflictive dispensation of Providence.
1.  Not suffering quietly; not enduring.
 Fame, impatient of extremes, decays
 Not more by envy than excess of praise.
2.  Hasty; eager; not enduring delay.  The impatient man will not wait for information; he often acts with precipitance.  Be not impatient for the return of spring.
3.  Not to be borne; as impatient smart.
This word is followed by of, at, for, or under.  We are impatient of restraint, or of wrongs; impatient at the delay of expected good; impatient for the return of a friend, or for the arrival of the mail; impatient under evils of any kind.  The proper use of these particles can be learnt only by practice or observation.
IMPA'TIENT, n.  One who is restless under suffering.


Topic: Impatiently
Definition:
IMPA'TIENTLY, adv.  With uneasiness or restlessness; as, to bear disappointment impatiently.
1.  With eager desire causing uneasiness; as, to wait impatiently for the arrival of one's friend.
2.  Passionately; ardently.


Topic: Impeach
Definition:
IMPE'ACH, v.t. [L. pango, pactus.]
1.  To hinder; to impede.  This sense is found in our early writers.
 These ungracious practices of his sons did impeach his journey to the Holy Land.
 A defluxion on my throat impeached my utterance.
[This application of the word is obsolete.]
2.  To accuse; to charge with a crime or misdemeanor; but appropriately, to exhibit charges of maladministration against a public officer before a competent tribunal, that is, to send or put on, to load.  The word is now restricted to accusations made by authority; as, to impeach a judge.  [See Impeachment.]
3.  To accuse; to censure; to call in question; as, to impeach one's motives or conduct.
4.  To call to account; to charge as answerable.
IMPE'ACH, n.  Hinderance.


Topic: Impeachable
Definition:
IMPE'ACHABLE, a.  Liable to accusation; chargeable with a crime; accusable; censurable.
1.  Liable to be called in question; accountable.
 Owners of lands in fee simple are not impeachable for waste.


Topic: Impeached
Definition:
IMPE'ACHED, pp.  Hindered.
1.  Accused; charged with a crime, misdemeanor or wrong; censured.
 The first donee in tail may commit waste, without being impeached.


Topic: Impeaching
Definition:
IMPE'ACHING, ppr.  Hindering.
1.  Accusing by authority; calling in question the purity or rectitude of conduct or motives.


Topic: Impeachment
Definition:
IMPE'ACHMENT, n.  Hinderance; impediment; stop; obstruction.
1.  An accusation or charge brought against a public officer for maladministration in his office.  In Great Britain, it is the privilege or right of the house of commons to impeach, and the right of the house of lords to try and determine impeachments.  In the U. States, it is the right of the house of representatives to impeach, and of the senate to try and determine impeachments.  In Great Britain, the house of peers, and in the U. States,the senate of the U.States, and the senates in the several states, are the high courts of impeachment.
2.  The act of impeaching.
3.  Censure; accusation; a calling in question the purity of motives or the rectitude of conduct, &c.  This declaration is no impeachment of his motives or of his judgment.
4.  The act of calling to account, as for waste.
5.  The state of being liable to account, as for waste.


Topic: Impearl
Definition:
IMPEARL, v.t. imperl'. [in and pearl.]  To form in the resemblance of pearls.
 --Dew-drops which the sun
 Impearls on every leaf, and every flower.
1.  To decorate with pearls, or with things resembling pearls.
 The dews of the morning impearl every thorn.


Topic: Impeccancy
Definition:
IMPEC'CANCY, n.  [See Impeccable.]  The quality of not being liable to sin; exemption from sin, error or offense.


Topic: Impede
Definition:
IMPE'DE, v.t. [L. impedio; supposed to be compounded of in and pedes, feet, to catch or entangle the feet.]
To hinder; to stop in progress; to obstruct; as, to impede the progress of troops.


Topic: Impediment
Definition:
IMPED'IMENT, n. [L. impedimentum.]  That which hinders progress or motion; hinderance; obstruction; obstacle; applicable to every subject, physical or moral.  Bad roads are impediments in marching and travelling.  Idleness and dissipation are impediments to improvement.  The cares of life are impediments to the progress of vital religion.
1.  That which prevents distinct articulation; as an impediment in speech.
IMPED'IMENT, v.t.  To impede. [Not in use.]


Topic: Impel
Definition:
IMPEL', v.t. [L. impello; in and pello, to drive.]
To drive or urge forward; to press on; to excite to action or to move forward, by the application of physical force, or moral suasion or necessity.  A ball is impelled by the force of powder; a ship is impelled by wind; a man may be impelled by hunger or a regard to his safety; motives of policy or of safety impel nations to confederate.
 The surge impelled me on a craggy coast.
 And several men impel to several ends.


Topic: Impend
Definition:
IMPEND', v.i. [L. impendeo; in and pendeo, to hang.]
1.  To hang over; to be suspended above; to threaten.  A dark cloud impends over the land.
 Destruction sure o'er all your heads impends.
2.  To be near; to be approaching and ready to fall on.
 It expresses our deep sense of God;s impending wrath.
 Nor bear advices of impending foes.


Topic: Impenetrability
Definition:
IMPENETRABIL'ITY, n. [from impenetrable.]
1.  The quality of being impenetrable.
2.  In philosophy, that quality of matter which prevents two bodies from occupying the same space at the same time.
3.  Insusceptibility of intellectual impression.


Topic: Impenetrable
Definition:
IMPEN'ETRABLE, a. [L. impenetrabilis; in and penetrabilis, from penetro, to penetrate.]
1.  That cannot be penetrated or pierced; not admitting the passage of other bodies; as an impenetrable shield.
2.  Not to be affected or moved; not admitting impressions on the mind.  The hardened sinner remains impenetrable to the admonitions of the gospel.
3.  Not to be entered by the sight; as impenetrable darkness.  Hence,
4.  Not to be entered and viewed by the eye of the intellect; as impenetrable obscurity or abstruseness.


Topic: Impenetrably
Definition:
IMPEN'ETRABLY, adv.  With solidity that admits not of being penetrated.
1.  With hardness that admits not of impression; as  impenetrably dull.


Topic: Impenitent
Definition:
IMPEN'ITENT, a.  Not penitent; not repenting of sin; not contrite; obdurate; of a hard heart.
 They died Impenitent.
IMPEN'ITENT, n.  One who does not repent; a hardened sinner.


Topic: Imperate
Definition:
IM'PERATE, a. [L. imperatus, impero, to command.]
Done by impulse or direction of the mind.  [Not used.]


Topic: Imperative
Definition:
IMPER'ATIVE, a. [L. imperativus, from impero, to command. See Empire.]
1.  Commanding; expressive of command; containing positive command, as distinguished from advisory, or discretionary. The orders are imperative.
2.  In grammar, the imperative mode of a verb is that which expresses command, entreaty, advice or exhortation; as, go, write, attend.


Topic: Imperceptible
Definition:
IMPERCEP'TIBLE, a.
1.  Not to be perceived; not to be known or discovered by the senses.  We say a thing is imperceptible to the touch, to the eye or sight, to the ear, to the taste or smell.  Hence,
2.  Very small; fine; minute in dimensions; or very slow in motion or progress; as, the growth of a plant or animal is imperceptible; it is too slow to be perceived by the eye.
IMPERCEP'TIBLE, n.  That which cannot be perceived by the senses on account of its smallness.  [Little used.]


Topic: Imperfect
Definition:
IMPER'FECT, a. [L. imperfectus; in and perfectus, finished, perfect; perficio, to perfect; per and facio, to make.]
1.  Not finished; not complete.  The work or design is imperfect.
2.  Defective; not entire, sound or whole; wanting a part; impaired.  The writings of Livy are imperfect.
3.  Not perfect in intellect; liable to err; as, men are imperfect; our minds and understandings are imperfect.
4.  Not perfect in a moral view; not according to the laws of God, or the rules of right.  Our services and obedience are imperfect.
5. In grammar, the imperfect tense denotes an action in time past, then present, but not finished.
6.  In music, incomplete; not having all the accessary sounds; as an imperfect chord.
 An imperfect interval is one which does not contain its complement of simple sounds.


Topic: Imperfection
Definition:
IMPERFEC'TION, n. [L. imperfectio, supra.]
Defect; fault; the want of a part or of something necessary to complete a thing; equally applicable to physical or moral subjects.  When fruit fails to come to maturity, and after it begins to decay, we denominate the defect, an imperfection.  Laws sometimes fail of the intended effect, either from their imperfection, or from the imperfection of the administration.  Men are all chargeable with imperfections, both in character and in conduct.


Topic: Imperfectly
Definition:
IMPER'FECTLY, adv.  In an imperfect manner or degree; not fully; not entirely; not completely; not in the best manner; not without fault or failure.


Topic: Imperial
Definition:
IMPE'RIAL, a. [L.imperialis, from impero, to command.  See Emperor.]
1.  Pertaining to an empire, or to an emperor; as an imperial government; an imperial diadem; imperial authority or edict; imperial power or sway.
2.  Royal; belonging to a monarch; as an imperial palace; imperial arts.
3.  Pertaining to royalty; denoting sovereignty.
4.  Commanding; maintaining supremacy; as the imperial democracy of Athens.
Imperial chamber, the sovereign court of the German empire.
Imperial city, a city in Germany which has no head but the emperor.
Imperial diet,an assembly of all the states of the German empire.


Topic: Imperialist
Definition:
IMPE'RIALIST, n.  One who belongs to an emperor; a subject or soldier of an emperor.  The denomination, imperialists,is often given to the troops or armies of the emperor of Austria.


Topic: Imperiality
Definition:
IMPERIAL'ITY, n. Imperial power.
1.  The right of an emperor to a share of the produce of mines, &c.
 The late empress having by ukases of grace, relinquished her imperialities on the private mines, viz. the tenths of the copper, iron, silver and gold--


Topic: Imperious
Definition:
IMPE'RIOUS, a. [L. imperiosus.]
1.  Commanding; dictatorial; haughty; arrogant; overbearing; domineering; as an imperious tyrant; an imperious dictator; an imperious man; an imperious temper.
2.  Commanding; indicating an imperious temper; authoritative; as imperious words.
3.  Powerful; overbearing; not to be opposed by obstacles; as a man of a vast and imperious mind.
4.  Commanding; urgent; pressing; as imperious love; imperious circumstances; imperious appetite.
5.  Authoritative; commanding with rightful authority.
 The commandment high and imperious in its claims.


Topic: Imperiously
Definition:
IMPE'RIOUSLY, adv.  With arrogance of command; with a haughty air of authority; in a domineering manner.
1.  With urgency or force not to be opposed.


Topic: Imperiousness
Definition:
IMPE'RIOUSNESS, n.  Authority; air of command.
1.  Arrogance of command; haughtiness.
 Imperiousness and severity is an ill way of treating men who have reason to guide them.


Topic: Imperishable
Definition:
IMPER'ISHABLE, a.  Not subject to decay; not liable to perish; indestructible; enduring permanently; as an imperishable monument; imperishable renown.
 Elegant discourses on virtue--will not supply the consolations of imperishable hope.


Topic: Impermeable
Definition:
IMPER'MEABLE, a. [L. in and permeo; per and meo, to pass.]
Not to be passed through the pores by a fluid; as impermeable leather.


Topic: Impersonal
Definition:
IMPER'SONAL, a. [L. impersonalis; in and personalis, from persona.  See Person.]
In grammar, an impersonal verb is one which is not employed with the first and second persons, I and thou or you, we and ye, for nominatives, and which has no variation of ending to express them, but is used only with the termination of the third person singular, with it for a nominative in English,and without a nominative in Latin; as, it rains, it becomes us to be modest; L. toedet; libet; pugnatur.


Topic: Impersuasible
Definition:
IMPERSUA'SIBLE, a. [L. in and persuasibilis.  See Persuade.]
Not to be moved by persuasion; not yielding to arguments.


Topic: Impertinent
Definition:
IMPER'TINENT, a. [L. impertinens, supra.]
1.  Not pertaining to the matter in hand; of no weight; having no bearing on the subject; as an impertinent remark.
2.  Rude; intrusive; meddling with that which does not belong to the person; as an impertinent coxcomb.
3.  Trifling; foolish; negligent of the present purpose.
IMPER'TINENT, n.  An intruder; a meddler; one who interferes in what does not belong to him.


Topic: Impertransible
Definition:
IMPERTRAN'SIBLE, a. [L. in and pertranseo; per and transeo, to pass over or through; trans and eo, to go.]
Not to be passed through. [Little used.]


Topic: Imperturbable
Definition:
IMPERTURB'ABLE, a. [L.in and perturbo, to disturb; per and turbo.]
That cannot be disturbed or agitated; permanently quiet.


Topic: Impervious
Definition:
IMPER'VIOUS, a. [L. impervius; in and pervius, passable; per and via, way.]
1.  Not to be penetrated or passed through; impenetrable; as an impervious gulf; an impervious forest.
2.  Not penetrable; not to be pierced by a pointed instrument; as an impervious shield.
3.  Not penetrable by light; not permeable to fluids.  Glass is pervious to light, but impervious to water. Paper is impervious to light.  In the latter sense only, impervious is synonymous with impermeable.


Topic: Impetiginous
Definition:
IMPETIG'INOUS, a. [L.impetigo, a ringworm.]
Resembling the ring-worm or tetters; covered with scaled or scabs; scurfy.


Topic: Impetration
Definition:
IMPETRA'TION, n.  The act of obtaining by prayer or petition.
1.  In law, the preobtaining of benefices from the church of Rome, which belonged to the disposal of the king and other lay patrons of the realm.


Topic: Impetuosity
Definition:
IMPETUOS'ITY, n. [See Impetuous.]  A rushing with violence and great force; fury; violence.
1.  Vehemence; furiousness of temper.


Topic: Impetuous
Definition:
IMPET'UOUS, a. [L. impetuosus, from impetus,impeto; in and peto, to urge, to rush.  See Bid.]
1.  Rushing with great force and violence; moving rapidly; furious; forcible; fierce; raging; as an impetuous wind; an impetuous torrent.
2.  Vehement of mind; fierce; hasty; passionate; violent; as a man of impetuous temper.


Topic: Impetuousness
Definition:
IMPET'UOUSNESS, n.  A driving or rushing with haste and violence; furiousness; fury; violence.
1.  Vehemence of temper; violence.


Topic: Impetus
Definition:
IM'PETUS, n. [L. supra.]  Force of motion; the force with which any body is driven or impelled.
1. The force with which one body in motion strikes another.


Topic: Impiety
Definition:
IMPI'ETY, n. [L. impietas;in and pietas, pius.]
1.  Ungodliness; irreverence towards the Supreme being; contempt of the divine character and authority; neglect of the divine precepts.  These constitute different degrees of impiety.
2.  Any act of wickedness,as blasphemy and scoffing at the Supreme Being, or at his authority; profaneness.  Any expression of contempt for God or his laws, constitutes an impiety of the highest degree of criminality. Disobedience to the divine commands or neglect of duty implies contempt for his authority,and is therefore impiety.  Impiety, when it expresses the temper or disposition, has no plural; but it is otherwise when it expresses an act of wickedness, for all such acts are impieties.


Topic: Impinge
Definition:
IMPINGE, v.i. impinj'. [L. impingo; in and pango, to strike. See Pack.]   To fall against; to strike; to dash against; to clash upon.
 The cause of reflection is not the impinging of light on the solid or impervious parts of bodies.


Topic: Impious
Definition:
IM'PIOUS, a. [L. impius; in and pius, pious.]
1.  Irreverent towards the Supreme Being; wanting in veneration for God and his authority; irreligious; profane.  The scoffer at God and his authority is impious.  The profane swear is impious.
 When vice prevails and impious men bear sway,
 The post of honor is a private station.
2.  Irreverent towards God; proceeding from or manifesting a contempt for the Supreme Being; tending to dishonor God or his laws,and bring them into contempt; as an impious deed; impious language; impious writings.


Topic: Implacableness
Definition:
IMPLACABLENESS, n. [from implacable.]   The quality of not being appeasable; inexorableness; irreconcilable enmity or anger.


Topic: Implacably
Definition:
IMPLA'CABLY, adv.  With enmity not to be pacified or subdued; inexorably; as, to hate a person implacably.


Topic: Implant
Definition:
IMPLANT', v.t. [in and plant, L. planto.]
To set, plant or infix for the purpose of growth; as, to implant the seeds of virtue, or the principles of knowledge in the minds of youth; to implant grace in the heart.  [It is now seldom or never used in its literal sense for setting plants or seeds in the earth.]


Topic: Implantation
Definition:
IMPLANTA'TION, n.  The act of setting or infixing in the mind or heart, as principles or first rudiments.


Topic: Implausible
Definition:
IMPLAUS'IBLE, a. s as z. [in and plausible.]
Not specious; not wearing the appearance of truth or credibility, and not likely to be believed; as an implausible harangue.


Topic: Implead
Definition:
IMPLE'AD, v.t. [in and plead.]  To institute and prosecute a suit against one in court; to sue at law.  The corporation shall have power to plead and be impleaded.
 Let them implead one another.  Acts.19.


Topic: Implement
Definition:
IM'PLEMENT,n. [Low L.implementum, from impleo, to fill; in and pleo.]may supply wants; particularly, as now used, tools, utensils, vessels, instruments; the tools or instruments of labor; the vessels used in a kitchen, &c.; as the implements of trade or of husbandry.  [It is a word of very extensive signification.]


Topic: Impletion
Definition:
IMPLE'TION, n. [L. impleo, to fill; in and pleo.]
The act of filling; the state of being full.
The impletion is either in simple or compound flowers. The impletion of simple flowers, is by the increase either of the petals, or of the nectary.


Topic: Implex
Definition:
IM'PLEX, a. [L. implexus.  See Implicate.]
Infolded; intricate; entangled; complicated.
Every poem is simple or implex; it is called simple, when there is no change of fortune in it; implex, when the fortune of the chief actor changes from bad to good, or from good to bad.


Topic: Implexion
Definition:
IMPLEX'ION, n.  [See Implicate.]  The act of infolding or involving; the state of being involved; involution. [Little used.]


Topic: Implicate
Definition:
IM'PLICATE, v.t. [L. implico, implicatus; in and plico, to fold.]
1.  To infold; to involve; to entangle.  [Seldom used in its literal sense.]
2.  To involve; to bring into connection with; also, to show or prove to be connected or concerned; as, the evidence does not implicate the accused person in this conspiracy.


Topic: Implicated
Definition:
IM'PLICATED, pp.  Infolded; involved.
1.  Involved; connected; concerned; proved to be concerned or to have had a part.
 Twenty persons are implicated in the plot.


Topic: Implication
Definition:
IMPLICA'TION, n. [L. implicatio, supra.]
1.  The act of infolding or involving.
2.  Involution; entanglement.
 Three principal causes of firmness are, the grossness, the quiet contact, and the implication of the component parts.
3. An implying, or that which is implied, but not expressed; a tacit inference, or something fairly to be understood,though not expressed in words.
 The doctors are, by implication of a different opinion.


Topic: Implicit
Definition:
IMPLIC'IT, a. [L. implicitus, from implico, supra.]
1.  Infolded; entangled; complicated.
 In his woolly fleece
 I cling implicit. [Little used.]
2.  Implied; tacitly comprised; fairly to be understood, though not expressed in words; as an implicit contract or agreement.
3.  Resting on another; trusting to the word or authority of another, without doubting or reserve, or without examining into the truth of the thing itself. Thus we give implicit credit or confidence to the declarations of a person of known veracity.  We receive with implicit faith whatever God has clearly revealed.


Topic: Implicitly
Definition:
IMPLIC'ITLY, adv.  By inference deducible, but not expressed in words; virtually; in reality, but not in name.
 He that denies the providence of God, implicitly denies his existence.
1.  By connection with something else; dependently; with unreserved confidence; without doubting, or without examining evidence. We are disposed to believe implicitly what a man of veracity testifies.
 Learn not to dispute the methods of his providence,but humbly and implicitly to acquiesce in and adore them.


Topic: Implied
Definition:
IMPLI'ED, pp.  [See Imply.]  Involved; contained virtually, though not expressed; as an implied promise.


Topic: Implore
Definition:
IMPLO'RE, v.t. [L. imploro; in and ploro, to cry out.]
1.  To call upon or for,in supplication; to beseech; to pray earnestly; to petition with urgency; to entreat; as, to implore the forgiveness of sins; to implore mercy.
 Imploring all the gods that reign above.
2.  To ask earnestly; to beg.
IMPLO'RE, v.i. To entreat; to beg.
IMPLO'RE, n.  Earnest supplication. [Not used.]


Topic: Imply
Definition:
IMPLY', v.t. [L. implico; in and plico, to fold.  See Implicate.]
1.  Literally, to infold or involve; to wrap up.
2.  To involve or contain in substance or essence, or by fair inference, or by construction of law, when not expressed in words.
 Where a malicious act is proved, a malicious intention is implied.
When a man employs a laborer to work for him, or an agent to transact business for him, the act of hiring implies an obligation,and a promise that he shall pay him a reasonable reward for his services.  Contracts are express or implied; express contracts are those in which an agreement or promise is expressed by words or in writing; implied contracts are such as arise from the presumption of law, or the justice and reason of the transaction.


Topic: Implying
Definition:
IMPLY'ING, ppr.  Involving; containing in substance, or by fair inference, or by construction of law.


Topic: Impoison
Definition:
IMPOIS'ON, v.t. s as z.  [See Poison.]
1.  To poison; to impregnate with poison; to corrupt with poison.
2.  To embitter; to impair; as, grief impoisons the pleasures of life.
3.  To kill with poison.


Topic: Impolicy
Definition:
IMPOL'ICY, n. [in and policy.]  Inexpedience; unsuitableness to the end proposed; bad policy; defect of wisdom; a word applied to private as well as public affairs.


Topic: Impoliticly
Definition:
IMPOL'ITICLY, adv.  Not wisely; not with due forecast and prudence; in a manner to injure public or private interest.


Topic: Imporosity
Definition:
IMPOROS'ITY, n. [in and porosity.]  Want of porosity; closeness of texture; compactness that excludes pores.


Topic: Import
Definition:
IMPO'RT, v.t. [L.importo; in and porto,to bar.  See Bear.]
1.  To bring from a foreign country or jurisdiction, or from another state, into one's own country, jurisdiction or state; opposed to export.  We import teas and silks from China, wines from Spain and France,and dry goods from Great Britain.  Great Britain imports cotton from American and India.  We may say also that Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine import flour from the middle states.
2.  To bear or convey, as signification or meaning; to mean; to signify; to imply.  We are to understand by a term, what it clearly imports.
3.  To be of weight to; to be of moment or consequence to; to bear on the interest of, or to have a bearing on.
 Her length of sickness, with what else more serious
 Importeth thee to know,this bears.
 If I endure it,what imports it you?


Topic: Importance
Definition:
IMPORT'ANCE, n.
1.  Weight; consequence; a bearing on some interest; that quality of any thing by which it may affect a measure, interest or result.  The education of youth is of great importance to a free government.  A religious education is of infinite importance to every human being.
2.  Weight or consequence in the scale of being.
 Thy own importance know.
 Nor bound thy narrow views to things below.
3.  Weight or consequence in self-estimation.
 He believes himself a man of importance.
4.  Thing implied; matter; subject; importunity. [In these senses, obsolete.]


Topic: Important
Definition:
IMPORT'ANT, a.  Literally, bearing on or to.  Hence, weighty; momentous; of great consequence; having a bearing on some interest, measure or result by which good or ill may be produced.  Truth is important to happiness as well as to knowledge, but none so important as religious truth.  The commerce of Great Britain is important to her navy, and her navy is important to her independence.  Men often forget the important end for which they were created.
1.  Bearing on; forcible; driving.
 He fiercely at him flew,
 And with important outrage him assailed.
2.  Importunate.  [Not used.]


Topic: Importation
Definition:
IMPORTA'TION, n.
1.  The act or practice of importing, or of bringing from another country or state; opposed to exportation.  Nations forbid the importation of commodities which are produced or manufactured in sufficient abundance at home.
2.  The ware or commodities imported.
 The importations, this season, exceed those of the last.
3.  Conveyance.


Topic: Importer
Definition:
IMPO'RTER, n.  He that imports; the merchant who,by himself or his agent, brings goods from another country or state.


Topic: Importing
Definition:
IMPO'RTING, ppr.  Bringing into one's own country or state from a foreign or distant state.
1.  Bearing, as a signification; meaning.
2.  Having weight or consequence.


Topic: Importunate
Definition:
IMPORT'UNATE, a. [L. importunus.  See Importune.]
1.  Bearing on; pressing or urging in request or demand; urgent and pertinacious in solicitation; as an importunate suitor or petitioner.
2.  Pressing; urgent; as an importunate demand.
3.  Inciting urgently for gratification; as importunate passions and appetites.


Topic: Importune
Definition:
IMPORTU'NE, v.t. [L. importunus; in and porto, to bear on.]
To request with urgency; to press with solicitation; to urge with frequent or unceasing application.
 Their ministers and residents here have perpetually importuned the court with unreasonable demands.
IMPORTU'NE, a. [L. importunus.  Formerly accented on the second syllable.]
1.  Pressing in request; urgent; troublesome by frequent demands; vexatious; unreasonable.
2.  Unseasonable.
[This word is obsolete; being superseded by importunate, unless perhaps in poetry.]


Topic: Importunely
Definition:
IMPORTU'NELY, adv.  With urgent solicitation; incessantly; continually; troublesomely.
1.  Unseasonably; improperly.


Topic: Importunity
Definition:
IMPORTU'NITY, n. [L. importunitas.]
Pressing solicitation; urgent request; application for a claim or favor,which is urged with troublesome frequency or pertinacity.  Men are sometimes overcome by the importunity of their wives or children.


Topic: Impose
Definition:
IMPO'SE, v.t. s as z. [L. impositum, from impono; in and pono, to put.  Pono, as written, belongs to Class Bn; and posui, positum, to Class Bs. or Bd.  The latter coincide with Eng.put.]
1.  To lay on; to set on; to lay on, as a burden, tax, toll, duty or penalty.  The legislature imposes taxes for the support of government; toll is imposed on passengers to maintain roads, and penalties are imposed on those who violate the laws. God imposes no burdens on men which they are unable to bear.
 On impious realms and barb'rous kings impose
 Thy plagues--
2.  To place over by authority or by force.
 The Romans often imposed rapacious governors on their colonies and conquered countries.
3.  To lay on, as a command; to enjoin, as a duty.
 Thou on the deep imposest nobler laws.
 Impose but your commands--
4.  To fix on; to impute.  [Little used.]
5.  To lay on, as hands in the ceremony of ordination, or of confirmation.
6.  To obtrude fallaciously.
 Our poet thinks not fit
 T' impose upon you what he writes for wit.
7.  Among printers, to put the pages on the stone and fit on the chase, and thus prepare the form for the press.
To impose on, to deceive; to mislead by a trick or false pretense; vulgarly, to put upon.  We are liable to be imposed on by others,and sometimes we impose on ourselves.
IMPO'SE, n. s as z. Command; injunction.  [Not used.]


Topic: Imposing
Definition:
IMPO'SING, ppr.  Laying on; enjoining; deceiving.
1.  Commanding; adapted to impress forcibly; as an imposing air or matter.
 --Large and imposing edifices, embosomed in the groves of some rich valley.


Topic: Imposing-stone
Definition:
IMPO'SING-STONE, n.  Among printers, the stone on which the pages or columns of types are imposed or made into forms.


Topic: Imposition
Definition:
IMPOSI'TION, n.  s as z. [L. impositio.  See Impose.]
1.  In a general sense, the act of laying on.
2.  The act of laying on hands in the ceremony of ordination, when the bishop in the episcopal church, and the ministers in congregational churches, place their hands on the head of the person whom they are ordaining, while one prays for a blessing on his labors.  The same ceremony is used in other cases.
3.  The act of setting on or affixing to; as the imposition of names.
4.  That which is imposed; a tax, toll, duty or excise laid by authority.  Tyrants oppress their subjects with grievous impositions.
5.  Injunction, as of a law or duty.
6.  Constraint; oppression; burden.
 Let it not be made, contrary to its own nature, the occasion of strife, a narrow spirit, and unreasonable impositions on the mind and practice.
7.  Deception; imposture.
 Being acquainted with his hand, I had no reason to suspect an imposition.
8.  A supernumerary exercise enjoined on students as a punishment.


Topic: Impossibility
Definition:
IMPOSSIBIL'ITY, n. [from impossible.]
1.  That which cannot be; the state of being not possible to exist.  That a thing should be and not be at the same time, is an impossibility.
2.  Impracticability; the state or quality of being not feasible or possible to be done.  That a man by his own strength should lift a ship of the line, is to him an impossibility, as the means are inadequate to the end.  [See Impossible.]


Topic: Impossible
Definition:
IMPOSS'IBLE, a. [L. impossibilis; in and possibilis, from possum, to be able.]
1.  That cannot be.  It is impossible that two and two should make five, or that a circle and a square make five, or that a circle and a square should be the same thing, or that a thing should be, and not be at the same time.
2.  Impracticable; not feasible; that cannot be done.
 With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. Matt.19.
 Without faith it is impossible to please God. Heb.11.
There are two kinds of impossibilities; physical and moral. That is a physical impossibility, which is contrary to the law of nature. A thing is said to be morally impossible, when in itself it is possible,but attended with difficulties or circumstances which give it the appearance of being impossible. [See Possible, Practicable and Impracticable.]


Topic: Impost
Definition:
IM'POST, n. [L. impositum, impono.]
1.  Any tax or tribute imposed by authority; particularly, a duty or tax laid by government on goods imported, and paid or secured by the importer at the time of importation.  Imposts are also called customs.
2.  In architecture, that part of a pillar in vaults and arches, on which the weight of the building rests; or the capital of a pillar, or cornice which crowns the pier and supports the first stone or part of an arch.


Topic: Imposthumate
Definition:
IMPOS'THUMATE, v.i. impos'tumate.  [See Imposthume.]
To form an abscess; to gather; to collect pus or purulent matter in any part of an animal body.
IMPOS'THUMATE, v.t.  To affect with an imposthume or abscess.


Topic: Imposthume
Definition:
IMPOS'THUME, n.  impos'tume. [This word is a corruption of apostem, L. apostema; Gr. to separate, to withdraw, or to stand off; to stand.]
An abscess; a collection of pus or purulent matter in any part of an animal body.
[This word and its derivatives, being mere corruptions, might well be suffered to pass into oblivion.]
IMPOS'THUME, v.i.  The same as imposthumate.


Topic: Impostor
Definition:
IMPOS'TOR, n. [Low L. impostor, from impono.  See Impose.]
One who imposes on others; a person who assumes a character for the purpose of deception; a deceiver under a false character.  It seems to be yet unsettled,whether Perkin Warbeck was an impostor.  A religious impostor may be one who assumes the character of a preacher, without authority; or one who falsely pretends to an extraordinary commission from heaven,and terrifies people with denunciations of judgments.


Topic: Imposture
Definition:
IMPOS'TURE, n. [L. impostura.  See Impose.]
Deception practiced under a false or assumed character; fraud or imposition practiced by a false pretender.
 --Form new legends,
 And fill the world with follies and impostures.


Topic: Impotent
Definition:
IM'POTENT, a. [L. impotens.]
1.  Weak; feeble; wanting strength or power; unable by nature, or disabled by disease or accident to perform any act.
 I know thou wast not slow to hear,
 Nor impotent to save.
2.  Wanting the power of propagation, as males.
3.  Wanting the power of restraint; not having the command over; as impotent of tongue.
IM'POTENT, n.  One who is feeble, infirm, or languishing under disease.


Topic: Impound
Definition:
IMPOUND', v.t. [in and pound.  See Pound.]
1.  To put, shut or confine in a pound or close pen; as, to impound unruly or stray horses, cattle, &c.
2.  To confine; to restrain within limits.


Topic: Impoverish
Definition:
IMPOV'ERISH, v.t.
1.  To make poor; to reduce to poverty or indigence.  Idleness and vice are sure to impoverish individuals and families.
2.  To exhaust strength, richness or fertility; as, to impoverish land by frequent cropping.


Topic: Impoverishment
Definition:
IMPOV'ERISHMENT, n.  Depauperation; a reducing to indigence; exhaustion; drain of wealth, richness or fertility.


Topic: Impracticableness
Definition:
IMPRAC'TICABLENESS, n.  [See Impracticable.]
1.  The state or quality of being beyond human power, or the means proposed;  infeasibility.
2.  Untractableness; stubbornness.


Topic: Impracticably
Definition:
IMPRAC'TICABLY, adv.  In a manner or degree that hinders practice.
 --Morality not impracticably rigid.


Topic: Imprecate
Definition:
IM'PRECATE, v.t. [L. imprecor; in and precor, to pray.  See Pray.]
To invoke, as an evil on any one; to pray that a curse or calamity may fall on one's self or on another person.


Topic: Imprecation
Definition:
IMPRECA'TION, n. [L. imprecatio.]  The act of imprecating, or invoking evil on any one; a prayer that a curse or calamity may fall on any one.


Topic: Impregn
Definition:
IMPRE'GN, v.t. impre'ne. [L. in and proegnans.  See Pregnant.]
To impregnate; to infuse the seed of young, or other prolific principle. [Used in poetry.  See Impregnate.]


Topic: Impregnable
Definition:
IMPREG'NABLE, a.
1.  Not to be stormed, or taken by assault; that cannot be reduced by force; able to resist attack; as an impregnable fortress.
2.  Not to be moved, impressed or shaken; invincible.
 The man's affection remains wholly unconcerned and impregnable.


Topic: Impregnably
Definition:
IMPREG'NABLY, adv.  In a manner to resist penetration or assault; in a manner to defy force; as a place impregnably fortified.


Topic: Impregnate
Definition:
IMPREG'NATE, v.t. [See Pregnant.]
1.  To infuse the principle of conception; to make pregnant, as a female animal.
2.  To deposit the fecundating dust of a flower on the pistils of a plant; to render prolific.
3.  To infuse particles of one thing into another; to communicate the virtues or one thing to another, as in pharmacy, by mixture, digestion, &c.
IMPREG'NATE, a.  Impregnated; rendered prolific or fruitful.


Topic: Impregnating
Definition:
IMPREG'NATING, ppr. Infusing seed or pollen; rendering pregnant; fructifying; fecundating; filling by infusion or mixture.


Topic: Impregnation
Definition:
IMPREGNA'TION, n. The act of fecundating and rendering fruitful; applied to animals or plants.
1.  The communication of the particles or virtues of one thing to another.
2.  That with which any thing is impregnated.
3.  Saturation.


Topic: Imprejudicate
Definition:
IMPREJU'DICATE, a. [L. in, proe, and judico.]
Not prejudged; unprejudiced; not prepossessed; impartial. [Not used.]


Topic: Impreparation
Definition:
IMPREPARA'TION, n. [in and preparation.]  Want of preparation; unpreparedness; unreadiness. [Little used.]


Topic: Imprescriptibility
Definition:
IMPRESCRIPTIBIL'ITY, n.  The state of being independent of prescription; the state which renders a thing not liable to be lost or impaired by the prescription of another, or by one's own non-user.


Topic: Imprescriptible
Definition:
IMPRESCRIP'TIBLE, a. [L. proescribo; proe and scribo, to write.]
That cannot be lost or impaired by non-user, or by the claims of another founded on prescription.
Rights of mere ability which a man may use or not at pleasure, without any person's having a right to prescribe to me on that subject, are imprescriptible.
The rights of navigation, fishing, and others that may be exercised on the sea, belonging to the right of mere ability, are imprescriptible.


Topic: Impress
Definition:
IMPRESS', v.t. [L. impressum, from imprimo; in and premo, to press.]
1.  To imprint; to stamp; to make a mark or figure on any thing by pressure; as, to impress coin with the figure of a man's head, or with that of any ox or sheep; to impress a figure on wax or clay.
2.  To print, as books.
3.  To mark; to indent.
4.  To fix deep; as, to impress truth on the mind, or facts on the memory.  Hence, to convict of sin.
5.  To compel to enter into public service, as seamen; to seize and take into service by compulsion, as nurses in sickness.  In this sense, we use press or impress indifferently.
6.  To seize; to take for public service; as, to impress provisions.


Topic: Impressed
Definition:
IMPRESS'ED, pp.  Imprinted; stamped; marked by pressure; compelled to enter public service; seized for public use; fixed in the mind; made sensible; convinced.


Topic: Impressible
Definition:
IMPRESS'IBLE, a.  That may be impressed; that yields to pressure; that may receive impressions.  Solid bodies are not easily impressible.
1.  That may be impressed; that may have its figure stamped on another body.


Topic: Impression
Definition:
IMPRES'SION, n. [L. impressio.]  The act of impressing, as one body on another; as a figure made by impression.
1.  Mark; indentation; stamp made by pressure; as, a seal makes an impression on wax.
2.  The effect which objects produce on the mind.  Thus we say, the truths of the gospel make an impression on the mind; they make no impression, or a deep and lasting impression.  The heart is impressed with love or gratitude.  We lie open to the impressions of flattery.
3.  Image in the mind; idea.
4.  Sensible effect.  The artillery made no impression on the fort.  The attack made no impression on the enemy.
5.  A single edition of a book; the books printed at once; as a copy of the last impression.  The whole impression of the work was sold in a month.
6.  Slight, indistinct remembrance.  I have an impression that the fact was stated to me, but I cannot clearly recollect it.


Topic: Impressive
Definition:
IMPRESS'IVE, a. Making or tending to make an impression; having the power of affecting, or of exciting attention and feeling; adapted to touch sensibility or the conscience; as an impressive discourse; an impressive scene.
1.  Capable of being impressed; susceptible.


Topic: Impressively
Definition:
IMPRESS'IVELY, adv. In a manner to touch sensibility, or to awaken conscience; in a manner to produce a powerful effect on the mind.


Topic: Impressment
Definition:
IMPRESS'MENT, n.  The act of impressing men into public service; as the impressment of seamen.
1.  The act of compelling into any service; as the impressment of nurses to attend the sick.
2.  The act of seizing for public use; as the impressment of provisions for the army.


Topic: Imprint
Definition:
IMPRINT', v.t. [L. imprimo; in and premo, to press.  See Print.]
1.  To impress; to make by pressure; as a character or device imprinted on wax or cloth.
2.  To stamp letters and words on paper by means of types; to print.
3.  To fix on the mind or memory; to impress.  Let your father's admonitions and instructions be imprinted on your mind.


Topic: Imprison
Definition:
IMPRIS'ON, v.t. impriz'n.
1.  To put into a prison; to confine in a prison or jail, or to arrest and detain in custody in any place.
2.  To confine; to shut up; to restrain from escape; to deprive of the liberty to move from place to place; as, to be imprisoned in a cell.
 He imprisoned was in chains remediless.
 Try to imprison the resistless winds.


Topic: Imprisonment
Definition:
IMPRIS'ONMENT, n.  The act of putting and confining in prison;
the act of arresting and detaining in custody.
1.  Confinement in a place; restraint of liberty to go from place to place at pleasure.  Appropriately, the confinement of a criminal or debtor within the walls of a prison, or in the custody of a sheriff, &c.
False imprisonment is any confinement of the person, or restraint of liberty, without legal or sufficient authority.  The arrest or detention of the person by an officer without warrant, or by an illegal warrant, or by a legal warrant executed at an unlawful time, is false imprisonment.


Topic: Improbability
Definition:
IMPROBABIL'ITY, n.  [See Improbable.]  The quality of being improbable, or not likely to be true; unlikelihood.


Topic: Improbable
Definition:
IMPROB'ABLE, a. [L. improbabilis; in and probabilis, from probo, to prove.]  Not likely to be true; not to be expected under the circumstances of the case.  It is always improbable that men will knowingly oppose their own interest; yet the fact is possible.  It is improbable that snow will fall in July, but not incredible.


Topic: Improbity
Definition:
IMPROB'ITY, n. [L. improbitas; in and probitas, from probo, to approve.]  That which is disapproved or disallowed; want of integrity or rectitude of principle; dishonesty.  A man of unknown improbity is always suspected, and usually despised.


Topic: Impromptu
Definition:
IMPROMP'TU, adv. [L. in promptu, in readiness, from promptus, ready, quick.]  Off hand; without previous study; as a verse uttered or written impromptu.
IMPROMP'TU, n.  A piece made off hand, at the moment, or without previous study; an extemporaneous composition.


Topic: Improper
Definition:
IMPROP'ER, a. [L. improprius; in and proprius, proper.]
1. Not proper; not suitable; not adapted to its end; unfit; as an improper medicine for a particular disease; an improper regulation.
2. Not becoming; not decent; not suited to the character, time or place; as improper conduct in church; improper behavior before superiors; an improper speech.
3.  Not according to the settled usages or principles of a language; as an improper word or phrase.
4.  Not suited to a particular place or office; unqualified; as, he is an improper man for the office.


Topic: Improperly
Definition:
IMPROP'ERLY, adv.  Not fitly; in a manner not suited to the end; in a manner not suited to the company, time, place and circumstances; unsuitably; incongruously.
1.  In a manner not according with established usages; inaccurately; ungrammatically; as, to speak or write improperly.


Topic: Impropriate
Definition:
IMPRO'PRIATE, v.t. [L. in and proprius, proper.]
1.  To appropriate to private use; to take to one's self; as, to impropriate thanks to one's self.  [Not used.]
2.  To annex the possessions of the church or a benefice to a layman.
IMPRO'PRIATE, a.  Devolved into the hands of a layman.


Topic: Impropriated
Definition:
IMPRO'PRIATED, pp.  Appropriated to one's self.  [See Appropriated.]
1.  Put in possession of a layman.


Topic: Impropriation
Definition:
IMPROPRIA'TION, n.  The act of putting an ecclesiastical benefice into the hands of a layman.
1.  The benefice impropriated.


Topic: Impropriator
Definition:
IMPRO'PRIATOR, n.  A layman who has possession of the lands of the church or an ecclesiastical living.


Topic: Impropriety
Definition:
IMPROPRI'ETY, n. [L. improprius.  See Improper.]
1.  Unfitness; unsuitableness to character, time, place or circumstances; as impropriety of behavior or manners.  Levity of conduct is an impropriety in a religious assembly and at a funeral.  Rudeness or forwardness in young persons before their superiors, is impropriety. Indecency and indecorum are improprieties.
2. Inaccuracy in language; a word or phrase not according with the established usages or principles of speaking or writing.
 Many gross improprieties, however authorized by practice, ought to be discarded.


Topic: Improsperous
Definition:
IMPROS'PEROUS, a. [in and prosperous.]  Not prosperous; not successful; unfortunate; not yielding profit; not advancing interest; as an improsperous undertaking or voyage.
[Unprosperous is the word most generally used in the sense.]


Topic: Improvability
Definition:
IMPROVABIL'ITY, n.  [See Improvable.]  The state or quality of being capable of improvement; susceptibility of being made better.


Topic: Improvable
Definition:
IMPROV'ABLE, a. [See Improve.]  Susceptible of improvement; capable of growing or being made better; that may be advanced in good qualities.
 We have stock enough, and that too of an improvable nature, that is capable of infinite advancement.
 Man is accommodated with moral principles,improvable by the exercise of his faculties.
 I have a fine spread of improvable lands.
1.  That may be used to advantage, or for the increase of any thing valuable.
 The essays of weaker heads afford improvable hints to better.
2.  Capable of tillage or cultivation.
 A scarcity of improvable lands began to be felt in these colonies.


Topic: Improvableness
Definition:
IMPROV'ABLENESS, n.  Susceptibility of improvement; capableness of being made better, or of being used to advantage.


Topic: Improve
Definition:
IMPROVE, v.t. improov'. [L. in and probo, to prove, or the adjective probus.]
1.  To make better; to advance in value or good qualities.  We amend a bad, but improve a good thing.
 A good education improves the mind and the manners.  A judicious rotation of crops tends to improve land.
2. To use or employ to good purpose; to make productive; to turn to profitable account; to use for advantage; to employ for advancing interest, reputation or happiness.
 Many opportunities occur of improving money, which,if a man misses,he may not afterwards recover.
 Melissus was a man of parts, capable or enjoying and improving life.
 True policy as well as good faith, in my opinion, binds us to improve the occasion.
 This success was not improved.
 Those who enjoy the advantage of better instruction,should improve their privileges.
 They were aware of the advantages of their position, and improved them with equal skill and diligence.
 Those moments were diligently improved.
 The candidate improved his advantages.
 A  hint that I do not remember to have seen opened and improved.
 Whatever interest we have at the throne of grace,should be improved in behalf of others.
 The court seldom fails to improve the opportunity.
 My lords, no time should be lost, which may promise to improve this disposition in America.
 If we neglect to improve our knowledge to the ends for which it was given--
 It is the fault of persons not improving that light.
 The shorter the time--the more eager were they to improve it.
 A young minister wishing to improve the occasion--
3.  To apply to practical purposes; as, to improve a discourse, or the doctrines stated and proved in a sermon.
4.  To advance or increase by use; in a bad sense.
 I fear we have not a little improved the wretched inheritance of our ancestors.
5.  To use; to employ; as, to improve a witness of a deposition.
 Let even the coach, the inns, or the ships be improved as openings for useful instruction.
6.  To use; to occupy; to cultivate.  The house or the farm is now improved by an industrious tenant.
This application is perhaps peculiar to some parts of the U. States. It however deviates little from that in some of the forgoing definitions.
IMPROVE, v.i. improov'.  To grow better or wiser; to advance in goodness, knowledge, wisdom or other excellence.  We are pleased to see our children improve in knowledge and virtue.  A farm improves under judicious management.  The artisan improves by experience.  It is the duty,as it is the desire of a good man, to improve in grace and piety.
 We take care to improve in our frugality and diligence.
1.  To advance in bad qualities; to grow worse.
 Domitian improved in cruelty toward the end of his reign.
[I regret to see this word thus used, or rather perverted.]
2.  To increase; to be enhanced; to rise.  
 The price of cotton improves, or is improved.
[A mercantile and modern use of the word.]
To improve on, to make useful additions or amendments to; to bring nearer to perfection; as, to improve on the mode of tillage usually practiced.


Topic: Improved
Definition:
IMPROV'ED, pp.  Made better, wiser or more excellent; advanced immoral worth, knowledge or manners.
1.  Made better; advanced in fertility or other good qualities.
2.  Used to profit or good purpose; as opportunities of learning improved.
3.  Used; occupied; as improved land.


Topic: Improvement
Definition:
IMPROVEMENT, n.  improov'ment.  Advancement in moral worth, learning, wisdom, skill or other excellence; as the improvement of the mind or of the heart by cultivation; improvement in classical learning, science or mechanical skill; improvement in music; improvement in holiness.
1.  Melioration; a making or growing better, or more valuable; as the improvement of barren or exhausted land; the improvement of the roads; the improvement of the breed of horses or cattle.
2.  A valuable addition; excellence added, or a change for the better; sometimes with on.
 The parts of Sinon, Camilla, and some few others, are improvements on the Greek poet.
3.  Advance or progress from any state to a better.
 There is a design of publishing the history of architecture, with its several improvements and decays.
4.  Instruction; growth in knowledge or refinement; edification.
 I look upon your city as the best place of improvement.
5.  Use or employment to beneficial purposes; a turning to good account; as the improvement of natural advantages or spiritual privileges.
 A good improvement of his reason.
6.  Practical application; as the improvement of the doctrines and principles of a sermon.
 I shall make some improvement of this doctrine.  
Hence,
7.  The part of a discourse intended to enforce and apply the doctrines, is called the improvement.
8.  Use; occupancy.
9.  Improvements, plu.,valuable additions or melioration, as building, clearings, drains, fences, &c., on a farm.


Topic: Improver
Definition:
IMPROV'ER, n.  One who improves; one who makes himself or any thing else better; as an improver of horses or cattle.
1.  That which improves,enriches or meliorates; as chalk is an improver of lands.


Topic: Improvided
Definition:
IMPROVI'DED, a. [L. improvisus; in and provideo, to foresee or provide.]   Unforeseen; unexpected; not provided against.


Topic: Improvidence
Definition:
IMPROV'IDENCE, n. [L. in and providens, providentia, from pro, before, and video, to see.]
Want of providence or forecast; neglect of foresight, or of the measures which foresight might dictate for safety or advantage.  Half the inconveniences and losses which men suffer are the effects of improvidence.


Topic: Improvident
Definition:
IMPROV'IDENT, a. [L. in and providens; pro and video, supra.]
Wanting forecast; not foreseeing what will be necessary or convenient, or neglecting the measures which foresight would dictate; wanting care to make provision for future exigences. Seamen are proverbially improvident.  It is sometimes followed by of; as improvident of harm.


Topic: Imprudence
Definition:
IMPRU'DENCE, n. [L. imprudentia; in and prudentia, prudence.]
Want of prudence; indiscretion; want of caution, circumspection, or a due regard to the consequences of words to be uttered or actions to be performed,or their probable effects on the interest, safety, reputation or happiness of one's self or others;  heedlessness; inconsiderateness; rashness.  Let a man of sixty attempt to enumerate the evils which his imprudence has brought on himself, his family, or his neighbors.


Topic: Imprudent
Definition:
IMPRU'DENT, a. [L. imprudens; in and prudens, prudent.]
Wanting prudence or discretion; indiscrete; injudicious; not attentive to the consequences of words or actions; rash; heedless.  The imprudent man often laments his mistakes, and then repeats them.


Topic: Impudence
Definition:
IM'PUDENCE, n. [L. impudens; in and pudens, from pudeo, to be ashamed.]  Shamelessness; want of modesty; effrontery; assurance accompanied with a disregard of the opinions of others.
 Those clear truths, that either their own evidence forces us to admit, or common experience makes it impudence to deny.


Topic: Impudent
Definition:
IM'PUDENT, a. [L. impudens.]  Shameless; wanting modesty; bold with contempt of others; saucy.
 When we behold an angel, not to fear
 Is to be impudent.


Topic: Impudently
Definition:
IM'PUDENTLY, adv.  Shamelessly; with indecent assurance.
 At once assail
 With open mouths, and impudently rail.


Topic: Impugn
Definition:
IMPU'GN, v.t. impu'ne. [L. impugno; in and pugno, to fight or resist.]  To oppose; to attack by words or arguments; to contradict.  The lawfulness of lots is impugned by some, and defended by others.
 The truth hereof I will not rashly impugn,or over-boldly affirm.


Topic: Impulse
Definition:
IM'PULSE, n. im'puls.  [L. impulsus, from impello.  See Impel.]
1.  Force communicated; the effect of one body acting on another.  Impulse is the effect of motion, and is in proportion to the quantity of matter and velocity of the impelling body.
2.  Influence acting on the mind; motive.
 These were my natural impulses for the undertaking.
3.  Impression; supposed supernatural influence on the mind.
 Meantime, by Jove's impulse, Mezentius armed,
 Succeeded Turnus--


Topic: Impulsion
Definition:
IMPUL'SION, n. [L. impulsio.  See Impel.]
1.  The act of driving against or impelling; the agency of a body in motion on another body.
2.  Influence on the mind; impulse.


Topic: Impulsive
Definition:
IMPULS'IVE, a.  Having the power of driving or impelling; moving; impellent.
 Poor men! poor papers!  We and they
 Do some impulsive force obey.


Topic: Impunity
Definition:
IMPU'NITY, n. [L. impunitas; in and punio, to punish.]
1.  Exemption from punishment or penalty.  No person should be permitted to violate the laws with impunity. Impunity encourages men in crimes.
2.  Freedom or exemption from injury.  Some ferocious animals are not be encountered with impunity.


Topic: Impure
Definition:
IMPU'RE, a. [L. impurus; in and purus, pure.]
1.  Not pure; foul; feculent; tinctured; mixed or impregnated with extraneous substance; as impure water or air; impure salt or magnesia.
2.  Obscene; as impure language or ideas.
3.  Unchaste; lewd; unclean; as impure actions.
4.  Defiled by sin or guilt; unholy; as persons.
5.  Unhallowed; unholy; as things.
6.  Unclean; in a legal sense; not purified according to the ceremonial law of Moses.
IMPU'RE, v.t.  To render foul; to defile.  [Not used.]


Topic: Impurple
Definition:
IMPUR'PLE, v.t. [in and purple;]  To color or tinge with purple; to make red or reddish; as a field impurpled with blood.
 The bright
 Pavement, that like a sea of jasper shone,
 Impurpled; with celestial roses, smil'd.


Topic: Imputable
Definition:
IMPU'TABLE, a.  [See Impute.]  That may be imputed or charged to a person; chargeable. Thus we say, crimes, sins, errors, trespasses are imputable to those who commit them.
1.  That may be ascribed to; in a good sense.
 This favor is imputable to your goodness, or to a good motive.
2.  Accusable; chargeable with a fault.  [Not proper.]
3.  That may be set to the account of another.  It has been a question much agitated, whether Adam's sin is imputable to his posterity.


Topic: Imputation
Definition:
IMPUTA'TION, n.  The act of imputing or charging; attribution; generally in an ill sense; as the imputation of crimes of faults to the true authors of them.  We are liable to the imputation or numerous sins and errors, to the imputation of pride, vanity and self-confidence; to the imputation of weakness and irresolution, or of rashness.
1.  Sometimes in a good sense.
 If I had a suit to Master Shallow, I would humor his men with the imputation of being near their master.
2.  Charge or attribution of evil; censure; reproach.
 Let us be careful to guard ourselves against these groundless imputations of our enemies, and to rise above them.
 3.  Hint; slight notice.


Topic: Impute
Definition:
IMPU'TE, v.t.  [L. imputo; in and puto, to think, to reckon; properly, to set, to put, to throw to or on.]
1.  To charge; to attribute; to set to the account of; generally ill, sometimes good.  We impute crimes,sins, trespasses, faults, blame, &c., to the guilty persons.  We impute wrong actions to bad motives, or to ignorance, or to folly and rashness.  We impute misfortunes and miscarriages to imprudence.
 And therefore it was imputed to him for 
righteousness. Rom.4.
2.  To attribute; to ascribe.
 I have read a book imputed to lord Bathurst.
3.  To reckon to one what does not belong to him.
 It has been held that Adam's sin is imputed to all his
posterity.
 Thy merit
 Imputed shall absolve them who renounce
 Their own both righteous and unrighteous deeds.


Topic: In
Definition:
IN, a prefix, L. in, is used in composition as a particle of negation, like the English un, of which it seems to be a dialectical orthography; or it denotes within, into, or among, as in inbred, incase; or it serves only to augment or render emphatical the sense of the word to which it is prefixed, as in inclose, increase.
In, before l, is changed into il, as in illusion; and before r, into ir, as in irregular; and into im, before a labial, as in imbitter, immaterial, impatient.
IN, prep. [L. in.]  In denotes present or inclosed, surrounded by limits; as in a house; in a fort; in a city.  It denotes a state of being mixed, as sugar in tea; or combined, as carbonic acid in coal, or latent heat in air.  It denotes present in any state; as in sickness or health.  It denotes present in time; as in that hour or day.  The uses of in, however, cannot, in all cases, be defined by equivalent words, except by explaining the phrase in which it is used; as in deed; in fact; in essence; in quality; in reason; in courage; in spirits, &c.  A man in spirits or good courage, denotes one who possesses at the time spirits or courage; in reason is equivalent to with reason; one in ten denotes one of that number, and we say also one of ten, and one out of ten.
In the name, is used in phrases of invoking, swearing, declaring, praying, &c.  In prayer, it denotes by virtue of, or for the sake of. In the name of the people, denotes on their behalf or part; in their stead, or for their sake.
     In, in many cases, is equivalent to on. This use of the word is frequent in the Scriptures; as, let fowls multiply in the earth. This use is more frequent in England than in America. We generally use on, in all similar phrases.
In signifies by or through.  In thee shall all nations be blessed. I am glorified in them.
In that, is sometimes equivalent to because.
 Some things they do in that they are men; some things in that they are men misled and blinded with error.
In these and similar phrases, that is an antecedent, substitute, or pronoun relating to the subsequent part of the sentence, or the subsequent clause.  God commendeth his love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  That is, in the fact stated in the latter clause, for which that is the substitute. Rom.5.
In as much, seeing; seeing that; this being the fact.  I will ride for health, inasmuch as I am infirm.
In is often used without the noun to which it properly belongs.  I care not who is in, or who is out, that is, in office, or out of office.  Come in, that is, into the house or other place.  Who has or will come in, that is, into office.  A vessel has come in, that is, into port, or has arrived.
To be or keep in with, to be close or near.
 Keep the ship in with the land.


Topic: Inability
Definition:
INABIL'ITY, n. [L. inhabilis; in and habilis.]
1.  Want of sufficient physical power or strength; as the inability of a man to raise an arm or a leg.
2.  Want of adequate means; as an inability to purchase a farm, or to fit out a ship.
3.  Want of moral power.  Moral inability is considered to be want of inclination, disposition or will, or a deep-rooted aversion to act,and therefore improperly so called.
 Moral inability aggravates our guilt.
4.  Want of intellectual strength or force; as an inability to comprehend a mathematical demonstration.
5.  Want of knowledge or skill; as an inability to read or write.


Topic: Inabstinence
Definition:
INAB'STINENCE, n. [in and abstinence.]  A not abstaining; a partaking; indulgence of appetite; as the inabstinence of Eve.


Topic: Inaccessibleness
Definition:
INACCESS'IBLENESS, n. [from inaccessible.]
The quality or state of being inaccessible, or not to be reached.


Topic: Inaccuracy
Definition:
INAC'CURACY, n. [from inaccurate.]  Want of accuracy or exactness; mistake; fault; defect; error; as an inaccuracy in writing, in a transcript, or in a calculation.


Topic: Inaccurate
Definition:
INAC'CURATE, a. [in and accurate.]  Not accurate; not exact or correct; not according to truth; erroneous; as an inaccurate man; he is inaccurate in narration; the transcript or copy is inaccurate; the instrument is inaccurate.


Topic: Inaccurately
Definition:
INAC'CURATELY, adv.  Not according to truth; incorrectly; erroneously.  The accounts are inaccurately stated.


Topic: Inactive
Definition:
INAC'TIVE, a. [in and active.]  Not active; inert; having no power to move.  Matter is, per se, inactive.
1.  Not active; not diligent or industrious; not busy; idle.  Also, habitually idle; indolent; sluggish; as an inactive officer.


Topic: Inactivity
Definition:
INACTIV'ITY, n. [in and activity.]  Inertness; as the inactivity of matter.
1.  Idleness, or habitual idleness; want of action or exertion; sluggishness.


Topic: Inadequacy
Definition:
INAD'EQUACY, n. [from inadequate.]  The quality of being unequal or insufficient for a purpose.
 The inadequacy and consequent inefficacy 
of the alleged causes--
1.  Inequality.
 Dr. Price considers this inadequacy of representation as our fundamental grievance.
2.  Incompleteness; defectiveness; as the inadequacy of ideas.


Topic: Inadequate
Definition:
INAD'EQUATE, a. [in and adequate. L. adoequatus, from adoequo, to equal.]
1.  Not equal to the purpose; insufficient to effect the object; unequal; as inadequate power, strength, resources.
2. Not equal to the real state or condition of a thing; not just or in due proportion; partial; incomplete; as inadequate ideas of God, of his perfections, or moral government; an inadequate compensation for services.
3.  Incomplete; defective; not just; as inadequate representation or description.


Topic: Inadhesion
Definition:
INADHE'SION, n. s as z. [in and adhesion.]  Want of adhesion; a not adhering.
 Porcelain clay is distinguished from colorific earths by inadhesion to the fingers.


Topic: Inadmissibility
Definition:
INADMISSIBIL'ITY, n. [from inadmissible.]  The quality of being inadmissible, or not proper to be received; as the inadmissibility of an argument, or of evidence in court, or of a proposal in a negotiation.


Topic: Inadmissible
Definition:
INADMIS'SIBLE, a.  Not admissible; not proper to be admitted, allowed or received; as inadmissible testimony; as inadmissible proposition.


Topic: Inalienable
Definition:
INA'LIENABLE, a. [L. alieno, alienus.]
Unalienable; that cannot be legally or justly alienated or transferred to another.  The dominions of a king are inalienable.  All men have certain natural rights which are inalienable. The estate of a minor is inalienable, without a reservation of the right of redemption, or the authority of the legislature.


Topic: Inanimate
Definition:
INAN'IMATE, v.t. [infra.]  To animate. [Little used.]
INAN'IMATE, a. [L. inanimatus; in and animo, animatus.]
1.  Destitute of animal life.  Plants, stones and earth are inanimate substances; a corpse is an inanimate body.
2.  Destitute of animation or life.


Topic: Inanition
Definition:
INANI'TION, n. [ L. inanis, empty.]
Emptiness; want of fullness; as inanition of body or of the vessels.


Topic: Inapplicable
Definition:
INAP'PLICABLE, a. [in and applicable.]  Not applicable; that cannot be applied; not suited or suitable to the purpose.  The argument or the testimony is inapplicable to the case.


Topic: Inapplication
Definition:
INAPPLICA'TION, n.  Want of application; want of attention or assiduity; negligence; indolence; neglect of study or industry.


Topic: Inapposite
Definition:
INAP'POSITE, a. s as z. [in and apposite.]  Not apposite; not fit or suitable; not pertinent; as an inapposite argument.


Topic: Inappreciable
Definition:
INAPPRE'CIABLE, a. [in and appreciable, from appreciate.]
1.  Not to be appreciated; that cannot be duly valued.
2.  That cannot be estimated.


Topic: Inappropriate
Definition:
INAPPRO'PRIATE, a. [in and appropriate.]
Not appropriate; unsuited; not proper.
1.  Not appropriate; not belonging to.


Topic: Inarch
Definition:
IN`ARCH, v.t. [in and arch.]  To graft by approach; to graft by uniting a cion to a stock without separating it from its parent tree.


Topic: Inarching
Definition:
IN`ARCHING, n.  A method of ingrafting, by which a cion, without being separated from its parent tree, is joined to a stock standing near.


Topic: Inarticulate
Definition:
INARTIC'ULATE, a. [in and articulate.]  Not uttered with articulation or junction of the organs of speech; not articulate; not distinct, or with distinction of syllables.  The sounds of brutes and fowls are, for the most part, inarticulate.


Topic: Inartificial
Definition:
INARTIFI'CIAL, a. [In and artificial.]
1.  Not done by art; not made or performed by the rules of art; formed without art; as an inartificial style of composition.
2.  Simple; artless.


Topic: Inattention
Definition:
INATTEN'TION, n. [in and attention.]  The want of attention, or of fixing the mind steadily on an object; heedlessness; neglect.
 Novel lays attract our ravished ears,
 But old, the mind with inattention hears.


Topic: Inattentive
Definition:
INATTENT'IVE, a. [in and attentive.]  Not fixing the mind on an object; heedless; careless; negligent; regardless; as an inattentive spectator or hearer, an inattentive habit.


Topic: Inaudible
Definition:
INAUD'IBLE, a. [in and audible.]  That cannot be heard; as an inaudible voice or sound.
1.  Making no sound; as the inaudible foot of time.


Topic: Inaugural
Definition:
INAUG'URAL, a. [L. inauguro; in and augur.]
1.  Pertaining to inauguration; as inaugural ceremonies.
2.  Made or pronounced at an inauguration; as an inaugural address.


Topic: Inaugurate
Definition:
INAUG'URATE, v.t. [supra.]  To introduce or induct into an office with solemnity or suitable ceremonies; to invest with an office in a formal manner; a word borrowed from the ceremonies used by the Romans when they were received into the college of augurs.  Kings and emperors are inaugurated by coronation; a prelate, by consecration; and the president of a college by such ceremonies and forms as give weight and authority to the transaction.
1.  To begin with good omens.  [Not used.]
INAUG'URATE, a. Invested with office.


Topic: Inauguration
Definition:
INAUGURA'TION, n.  The act of inducting into office with solemnity; investiture with office by appropriate ceremonies.


Topic: Inauguratory
Definition:
INAUG'URATORY, a.  Suited to induction into office; pertaining to inauguration; as inauguratory gratulations.


Topic: Inauration
Definition:
INAURA'TION, n. [L. inauro, inauratus; in and aurum, gold.]
The act or process of gilding, or covering with gold.


Topic: Inauspicious
Definition:
INAUSPI'CIOUS, a. [in and auspicious.]  Ill omened; unfortunate; unlucky; evil; unfavorable.  The war commenced at an inauspicious time,and its issue was inauspicious. The counsels of a bad man have an inauspicious influence on society.


Topic: Inca
Definition:
IN'CA, n. The name or title given by the natives of Peru to their kings and to the princes of the blood, before the conquest of that country by the Spaniards.


Topic: Incameration
Definition:
INCAMERA'TION, n. [in and camera, a chamber, or arched roof.]
The act or process of uniting lands, revenues or other rights to the pope's domain.


Topic: Incandescence
Definition:
INCANDES'CENCE, n. [L. incandescens, incandesco; in and candesco; candeo, caneo, to be white, to shine; canus, white.]
A white heat; or the glowing whiteness of a body caused by intense heat. We say, a metal is heated to incandescence.


Topic: Incantation
Definition:
INCANTA'TION, n. [L. incantatio, incanto; in and canto, to sing.]
The act of enchanting; enchantment; the act of using certain formulas of words and ceremonies, for the purpose of raising spirits.


Topic: Incapableness
Definition:
INCA'PABLENESS, n. [from incapable.]  The quality of being incapable; natural incapacity or want of power; as the incapableness of a child to comprehend logical syllogisms.
1.  Want of legal qualifications or of legal power; as the incapability of holding an office.


Topic: Incapacious
Definition:
INCAPA'CIOUS, a. [in and capacious.]  Not capacious; not large or spacious; narrow; of small content; as an incapacious soul.


Topic: Incapacitate
Definition:
INCAPAC'ITATE, v.t. [in and capacitate.]
1.  To deprive of capacity or natural power of learning, knowing, understanding or performing.  Old age and infirmity often incapacitate men to exercise the office of a judge.
2.  To render or make incapable; as, infancy incapacitates a child for learning algebra.
3.  To disable; to weaken; to deprive of competent power or ability. This is an improper use of the word.  The loss of an arm disables a soldier, but does not incapacitate him.
4.  To render unfit; as, infancy incapacitates one for marriage.
5.  To disqualify; to deprive of legal or constitutional requisites; as, conviction of a crime incapacitates one to be a witness.


Topic: Incapacity
Definition:
INCAPAC'ITY, n. [in and capacity.]  Want of capacity, intellectual power, or the power of receiving, containing or understanding; applied to the mind, and it may be natural or casual.  There is a natural incapacity in children to comprehend difficult propositions in logic or metaphysics, and a natural incapacity in men to comprehend the nature of spiritual beings.  The defect of understanding proceeding from intoxication, or from an injury done to the brain, is a casual incapacity.
1.  Want of qualification or legal requisites; inability; as the incapacity of minors to make binding contracts.
2.  Disqualification; disability by deprivation of power; as the incapacity of a convict to give testimony in a court of law.


Topic: Incarcerate
Definition:
INC`ARCERATE, v.t. [L. incarcero; in and carcer, a prison; Eng. cark, care; showing the primary sense is to press or strain.]
1.  To imprison; to confine in a jail.
2.  To confine; to shut up or inclose.
INC`ARCERATE, a.  Imprisoned; confined.


Topic: Incarn
Definition:
INC`ARN, v.t. [L. incarno; in and caro, carnis, flesh.]
To cover with flesh; to invest with flesh.
INC`ARN, v.i.  To breed flesh.


Topic: Incarnadine
Definition:
INC`ARNADINE, a.  [L. in and caro,flesh.]
Flesh-colored; of a carnation color; pale red.
INC`ARNADINE, v.t.  To dye red or flesh-color.  [Little used.]


Topic: Incarnate
Definition:
INC`ARNATE, v.t. [L. incarno; in and caro, flesh.]
To clothe with flesh; to embody in flesh.
INC`ARNATE, a. Invested with flesh; embodied in flesh; a the incarnate Son of God.
1. In Scotland, of a red color; flesh-colored.


Topic: Incarnation
Definition:
INCARNA'TION, n.  The act of clothing with flesh.
1.  The act of assuming flesh, or of taking a human body and the nature of man; as the incarnation of the Son of God.
2.  In surgery, the process of healing wounds and filling the part with new flesh.


Topic: Incarnative
Definition:
INC`ARNATIVE, v.  Causing new flesh to grow; healing.
INC`ARNATIVE, n.  A medicine that tends to promote the growth of new flesh, and assist nature in the healing of wounds.


Topic: Incase
Definition:
INCA'SE, v.t. [in and case.]  To inclose in a case.
1.  To inclose; to cover or surround with something solid.
 Rich plates of gold the folding doors incase.


Topic: Incautious
Definition:
INCAU'TIOUS, a. [in and cautious.]  Not cautious; unwary; not circumspect; heedless; not attending to the circumstances on which safety and interest depend;  as incautious youth.


Topic: Incendiary
Definition:
INCEND'IARY, n. [L. incendiarius, from incendo, to burn; in and candeo, to shine, or be on fire.]
1.  A person who maliciously sets fire to another man's dwelling house, or to any outhouse, being parcel of the same, as a barn or stable; one who is guilty of arson.
2.  Any person who sets fire to a building.
3.  A person who excites or inflames factions, and promotes quarrels.
 Several cities of Greece drove them out as incendiaries.
 Incendiaries of figure and distinction, who are the inventors and publishers of gross falsehoods, cannot be regarded but with the utmost detestation.
4.  He or that which excites.
INCEND'IARY, a.  Pertaining to the malicious burning of a dwelling; as an incendiary purpose.
1.  Tending to excite or inflame factions, sedition or quarrels.


Topic: Incense
Definition:
IN'CENSE, n. in'cens. [L. incensum, burnt, from incendo, to burn.]
1.  Perfume exhaled by fire; the odors of spices and gums, burnt in religious rites, or as an offering to some deity.
 A thick cloud of incense went up. Ezek. 8.
2.  The materials burnt for making perfumes.  The incense used in the Jewish offerings was a mixture of sweet spices, stacte, onycha, galbanum, and the gum of the frankincense tree.
 Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein and put incense thereon. Lex.10.
3.  Acceptable prayers and praises. Mal.l.
4.  In the Materia Medica, a dry resinous substance known by the name of thus and olibanum.
IN'CENSE, v.t. in'cens.  To perfume with incense.  In the Romish church, it is the deacon's office to incense the officiating priest or prelate, and the choir.


Topic: Incensement
Definition:
INCENSEMENT, n. incens'ment.  Violent irritation of the passions; heat; exasperation.  It expresses less than rage and fury.


Topic: Incension
Definition:
INCEN'SION, n. [L. incensio, from incendo, to burn.]
The act of kindling; the state of being on fire.


Topic: Incentive
Definition:
INCEN'TIVE, a. [Low L. incentivus, from incendo, to burn.]
Inciting; encouraging or moving.
 Competency is the most incentive to industry.
INCEN'TIVE, n. [Low L. incentivum.]
1.  That which kindles or inflames; used now in a figurative sense only.
2.  That which moves the mind or operates on the passions; that which incites or has a tendency to incite to determination or action; that which prompts to good or ill; motive; spur.  The love of money, and the desire of promotion, are two most powerful incentives to action.


Topic: Inception
Definition:
INCEP'TION, n. [L. inceptio, from incipio, to begin; in and capio, to take.]   Beginning.
 I hope this society will not be marked with vivacity of inception, apathy of progress, and prematureness of decay.


Topic: Inceptive
Definition:
INCEP'TIVE, a. [L. inceptivus, from incipio, to begin.]
Beginning; noting beginning; as an inceptive proposition; an inceptive verb, which expresses the beginning of action.
 A point is inceptive of a line, and a line is inceptive of a surface.


Topic: Incertitude
Definition:
INCER'TITUDE, n. [L. incertitudo, from incertus; in and certus, certain.]  Uncertainty; doubtfulness; doubt.


Topic: Incessant
Definition:
INCES'SANT, a. [L. in and cessans, from cesso, to cease.]
Unceasing; unintermitted; uninterrupted; continual; as incessant rains; incessant clamors.


Topic: Incest
Definition:
IN'CEST, n. [L. incestum; in and castus, chaste.]
The crime of cohabitation or sexual commerce between persons related within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by the law of a country.
Spiritual incest, is a like crime committed between persons who have  a spiritual alliance by means of baptism or confirmation.  It is also understood of a vicar or other beneficiary, who holds two benefices, the one depending on the collation of the other.


Topic: Incestuous
Definition:
INCEST'UOUS, a.  Guilty of incest; as an incestuous person.
1.  Involving the crime of incest; as an incestuous connection.


Topic: Inch
Definition:
INCH, n. [L. uncia, the twelfth part.]
1.  A lineal measure in Great Britain and the United States, being the twelfth part of a foot,and equal to the length of three barley corns.
2.  Proverbially, a small quantity or degree; as, to die by inches, to gain ground by inches.
3.  A precise point of time.
 Beldame, I think, we watch'd you at an inch. [Unusual.]
INCH, v.t.  To drive by inches or small degrees. [Little used.]
1.  To deal out by inches; to give sparingly. [Little used.]
INCH, v.i.  To advance or retire by small degrees. [Little used.]
Inched, is added to words of number; as four-inched.  But in American the common practice is to add only inch; as a seven-inch cable.


Topic: Inchoate
Definition:
IN'CHOATE, v.t. [L. inchoo.]  To begin.  [Little used.]
IN'CHOATE, a.  Begun; commenced.
 It is neither a substance perfect, nor a substance inchoate.


Topic: Inchoation
Definition:
INCHOA'TION, n.  The act of beginning; commencement; inception.
 The setting on foot some of those arts in those parts, would be looked on as the first inchoation of them.  [Little used.]


Topic: Incidence
Definition:
IN'CIDENCE, n. [L. incidens; incido, to fall on; in and cado, to fall.]
1.  Literally, a falling on; whence, an accident or casualty.
2.  The manner of falling on, or the direction in which one body falls on or strikes another.  The angle which the line of falling, or the direction of a moving body striking another, makes with the place struck, is called the angle of incidence.  When rays of light striking a body are reflected,the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection are equal.
 In equal incidences there is a considerable inequality of refractions.


Topic: Incident
Definition:
IN'CIDENT, a.  Falling; casual; fortuitous; coming or happening occasionally, or not in the usual course of things, or not according to expectation or in connection with the main design.
 As the ordinary course of common affairs is disposed of by general laws, so man's rarer incident necessities and utilities should be with special equity considered.
A proposition introduced by who,which, whose, whom, &c. is called an incident proposition; as, Julius, whose surname was Caesar, overcame Pompey.
1.  Happening; apt to happen; as intemperate passions incident to human nature; diseases incident to a climate; misfortunes incident to the poor.
2. Appertaining to or following the chief or principal.  A court baron is incident to a manor.
IN'CIDENT, n.  That which falls out; an event; casualty.
1.  That which happens aside of the main design; an episode or subordinate action.
 No person, no incident in a play but must be of use to carry on the main design.


Topic: Incidental
Definition:
INCIDENT'AL, a.  Happening; coming without design; casual; accidental; as an incidental conversation; an incidental occurrence.
1.  Not necessary to the chief purpose; occasional.
 By some persons, religious duties appear to be regarded as an incidental business.
INCIDENT'AL, n.  An incident.  [Little used.]


Topic: Incidentally
Definition:
INCIDENT'ALLY, adv.  Casually; without intention; accidentally.  I was incidentally present when the conversation took place.
1.  Beside the main design; occasionally.
 I treat either purposely or incidentally of colors.


Topic: Incipient
Definition:
INCIP'IENT, a. [L. incipiens,incipio; in and capio, to take.]
Beginning; commencing; as the incipient stage of a fever; incipient light or day.


Topic: Incised
Definition:
INCI'SED, a. [L. incisus, from incido, to cut.]
Cut; made by cutting; as an incised wound; incised lips.


Topic: Incision
Definition:
INCIS'ION, n. s as z. [L. incisio, from incido, to cut.]
1.  A cutting; the act of cutting into a substance.
2.  A cut; a gash; the separation of the surface of any substance made by a sharp instrument.  The surgeon with his knife makes an incision in the flesh, and the gardener, in a tree; but we do not say, an incision is made with a plow or a spade; at least such phraseology is unusual.
3.  Separation of viscid matter by medicines.


Topic: Incisive
Definition:
INCI'SIVE, a.  Having the quality of cutting or separating the superficial part of any thing.
Incisive teeth, in animals, are the fore teeth, the cutters.


Topic: Incitation
Definition:
INCITA'TION, n. [L. incitatio.  See Incite.]
1.  The act of inciting or moving to action; incitement.
2.  Incitement; incentive; motive; that which excites to action; that which rouses or prompts.


Topic: Incite
Definition:
INCI'TE, v.t. [L. incito; in and cito, to call, to stir up.]
1.  To move the mind to action by persuasion or motives presented; to stir up; to rouse; to spur on.
 Antiochus, when he incited Prusias to join in war, set before him the greatness of the Romans.
2.  To move to action by impulse or influence.
 No blown ambition does our arms incite.
3.  To animate; to encourage.


Topic: Incitement
Definition:
INCI'TEMENT, n.  That which incites the mind or moves to action; motive; incentive; impulse.
 From the long records of a distant age,
 Derive incitement to renew thy rage.


Topic: Inciting
Definition:
INCI'TING, ppr.  Exciting to action; stirring up.
In general, incite denotes to operate on the mind or will; excite has the same sense, but it extends also to the passions and to material substances; as, to excite action in the heart and arteries.


Topic: Incivility
Definition:
INCIVIL'ITY, n.  Want of courtesy; rudeness of manners towards others; impoliteness.
1.  Any act of rudeness or ill breeding; with a plural. Loud laughter and uncomely jests in respectable company, are incivilities and indecencies.


Topic: Incivism
Definition:
INCIV'ISM, n. [in and civism.]  Want of civism; want of love to one's country or of patriotism; unfriendliness to the state or government of which one is a citizen.


Topic: Inclemency
Definition:
INCLEM'ENCY, n. [L. inclementia.  See Clemency.]
1.  Want of clemency; want of mildness of temper; unmercifulness; harshness; severity; applied to persons.
2.  Roughness, boisterousness; storminess; or simply raininess; severe cold, &c.; applied to the weather.  We were detained by the inclemency of the weather.


Topic: Inclement
Definition:
INCLEM'ENT, a.  Destitute of a mild and kind temper; void of tenderness; unmerciful; severe; harsh.
1. Rough; stormy; boisterous; rainy; rigorously cold, &c.; as inclement weather; inclement sky.


Topic: Inclinable
Definition:
INCLI'NABLE, a. [L. inclinabilis.  See Incline.]
1.  Leaning; tending; as a tower inclinable to fall.
2.  Having a propension of will; leaning in disposition; somewhat disposed; as a mind inclinable to truth.


Topic: Inclination
Definition:
INCLINA'TION, n. [L. inclinatio.  See Incline.]
1.  A leaning; any deviation of a body or line from an upright position, or from a parallel line, towards another body; as the inclination of the head in bowing.
2.  In geometry, the angle made by two lines or planes that meet; as, the inclination of axis of the earth to the place of the ecliptic is 23 deg.28 feet.
3.  A leaning of the mind or will; propension or propensity; a disposition more favorable to one thing than to another. The prince has no inclination to peace.  The bachelor has manifested no inclination to marry. Men have a natural inclination to pleasure.
 A mere inclination to a thing is not properly a willing of that thing.
4.  Love; affection; regard; desire; with for.  Some men have an inclination for music, others for painting.
5.  Disposition of mind.
6.  The dip of the magnetic needle, or its tendency to incline towards the earth; also, the angle made by the needle with the horizon.
7.  The act of decanting liquors by stooping or inclining the vessel.


Topic: Incline
Definition:
INCLI'NE, v.t. [L. inclino; in and clino; Eng. to lean.]
1.  To lean; to deviate from an erect or parallel line toward any object; to tend.  Converging lines incline toward each other.  A road inclines to the north or south. Connecticut river runs south, inclining in some part of its course to the west, and below middletown, it inclines to the east.
2.  To lean; in a moral sense; to have a propension; to be disposed; to have some wish or desire.
 Their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech. Judges 9.
3. To have an appetite; to be disposed; as, to be inclined to eat.
INCLI'NE, v.t.  To cause to deviate from an erect, perpendicular or parallel line; to give a leaning to; as, incline the column or post to the east; incline your head to the right.
1.  To give a tendency or propension to the will or affections; to turn; to dispose.
 Incline our hearts to keep this law.
 Incline my heart to thy testimonies. Ps.119.
2. To bend; to cause to stoop or bow; as, to incline the head or the body in acts of reverence or civility.


Topic: Inclined
Definition:
INCLI'NED, pp.  Having a leaning or tendency; disposed.
Inclined plane, in mechanics, is a plane that makes an oblique angle with the plane of the horizon; a sloping plane.


Topic: Incloister
Definition:
INCLOIS'TER, v.t.  [in and cloister.]  To shut up or confine in a cloister.  [But cloister is generally used.]


Topic: Inclose
Definition:
INCLO'SE, v.t. s as z.  [L. inclusus, includo; in and claudo, or cludo.]
1. To surround; to shut in; to confine on all sides; as, to inclose a field with a fence; to inclose a fort or an army with troops; to inclose a town with walls.
2.  To separate from common grounds by a fence; as, to inclose lands.
3.  To include; to shut or confine; as, to inclose trinkets in a box.
4.  To environ; to encompass.
5.  To cover with a wrapper or envelop; to cover under seal; as, to inclose a letter or a bank note.


Topic: Inclosure
Definition:
INCLO'SURE, n.  The act of inclosing.
1.  The separation of land from common ground into distinct possessions by a fence.
2.  The appropriation of things common.
3.  State of being inclosed, shut up or encompasses.
4.  A space inclosed or fenced; a space comprehended within certain limits.
5.  Ground inclosed or separated from common land.
6.  That which is inclosed or contained in an envelop, as a paper.


Topic: Include
Definition:
INCLU'DE,v.t. [L. includo; in and cludo, to shut up.]
1.  To confine within; to hold; to contain; as, the shell of a nut includes the kernel; a pearl is included in a shell. [But in these senses we more commonly use inclose.]
2. To comprise; to comprehend; to contain.  The history of England necessarily includes a portion of that of France. The word duty, includes what we owe to God, to our fellow men, and to ourselves; it includes also a tax payable to the government.


Topic: Inclusive
Definition:
INCLU'SIVE, a.  Inclosing; encircling.
1.  Comprehended in the number or sum; as form Monday to Saturday inclusive, that is, taking in both Monday and Saturday.


Topic: Incoercible
Definition:
INCOER'CIBLE, a. [in and coercible, from coerce.]
Not to be coerced or compelled; that cannot be forced.


Topic: Incogitancy
Definition:
INCOG'ITANCY, n. [L. incogitantia; in and cogito, to think.]
Want of thought, or want of the power of thinking.


Topic: Incogitative
Definition:
INCOG'ITATIVE, a. [in and cogitative.]  Not thinking; wanting the power of thought; as, a vegetable is an incogitative being.


Topic: Incognito
Definition:
INCOG'NITO, adv. [L. incognitus; in and cognitus, known.]  
In concealment; in a disguise of the real person.


Topic: Incognizable
Definition:
INCOGN'IZABLE, a. incon'izable. [in and cognizable.]
That cannot be recognized, known or distinguished.
 The Lettish race, not a primitive stock of the Slavi, but a distinct branch, now become incognizable--


Topic: Incoherent
Definition:
INCOHE'RENT, a. [in and coherent.]
1.  Wanting cohesion; loose; unconnected; not fixed to each other; applied to material substances.
2.  Wanting coherence or agreement; incongruous; inconsistent; having no dependence of one part on another; as, the thoughts of a dreaming man, and the language of a madman, are incoherent.


Topic: Incombustibility
Definition:
INCOMBUSTIBIL'ITY, n. [from incombustible.]
The quality of being incapable of being burnt or consumed.


Topic: Incombustible
Definition:
INCOMBUST'IBLE, a. [in and combustible.]  Not to be burnt, decomposed or consumed by fire.  Amianth is an incombustible substance.


Topic: Income
Definition:
IN'COME, n. in'cum. [in and come.]  That gain which proceeds from labor, business or property of any kind; the produce of a farm; the rent of houses; the proceeds of professional business; the profits of commerce or of occupation; the interest of money or stock in funds.  Income is often used synonymously with revenue, but income is more generally applied to the gain of private persons, and revenue to that of a sovereign or of a state. We speak of the annual income of a gentleman, and the annual revenue of the state.
1.  A coming in; admission; introduction. [Not in use.]


Topic: Incoming
Definition:
IN'COMING, a.  Coming in.
IN'COMING, n. [in and come.]  Income; gain.
 Many incomings are subject to great fluctuations.


Topic: Incommensurability
Definition:
INCOMMENSURABIL'ITY, n. [from incommensurable.]  
The quality or state of a thing, when it has no common measure with another thing, or when the same thing will not exactly measure both.


Topic: Incommensurable
Definition:
INCOMMEN'SURABLE, a. [in and commensurable.]
Having no common measure.  Two lines are incommensurable, when, compared to each other, they have no common measure,that is, no measure that will exactly measure both. oth.  Quantities are incommensurable, when no third quantity can be found that is an aliquot part of both.


Topic: Incommensurate
Definition:
INCOMMEN'SURATE, a. [in and commensurate.]
1.  Not admitting of a common measure.
2.  Not of equal measure or extent; not adequate.  Our means are incommensurate to our wants.


Topic: Incommode
Definition:
INCOMMO'DE, v.t. [L. incommodo; in and commodo, con and modus.]
To give inconvenience to; to give trouble to; to disturb or molest in the quiet enjoyment of something, or in the facility of acquisition.  It denotes less than annoy, vex or harass.  We are incommoded by want of room to sit at ease.  Visits of strangers at unseasonable hours, incommode a family.  Often we are incommoded by a fashionable dress.


Topic: Incommodious
Definition:
INCOMMO'DIOUS, a. [L. incommodus.]  Inconvenient; not affording ease or advantage; unsuitable; giving trouble, without much injury.  A seat in church, or the site of a house may be incommodious.


Topic: Incommunicableness
Definition:
INCOMMU'NICABLENESS, n.  [from incommunicable.]
The quality of not being communicable, or capable of being imparted to another.


Topic: Incommunicating
Definition:
INCOMMU'NICATING, a.  Having no communion or intercourse with each other; as an administration in incommunicating hands.


Topic: Incommunicative
Definition:
INCOMMU'NICATIVE, a. Not communicative; not free or apt to impart to others in conversation.
1. Not disposed to hold communion, fellowship or intercourse with.
 The Chinese--an incommunicative nation.


Topic: Incomparable
Definition:
INCOM'PARABLE, a. [in and comparable.]  That admits of no comparison with others; usually in a good sense, but it may be properly used in a bad sense.  When we say, an incomparable man, we mean a man of good qualities, or of some excellence that raises him above comparison or equality with others.  So we say, incomparable excellence, virtue, wit, &c.  But incomparable baseness or malignity may be used with propriety.


Topic: Incomparably
Definition:
INCOM'PARABLY, adv.  Beyond comparison; without competition. Newton was incomparably the greatest philosopher the English nation had produced.


Topic: Incompatibility
Definition:
INCOMPATIBIL'ITY, n. [from incompatible.]
1.  Inconsistency; that quality or state of a thing which renders it impossible that it should subsist or be consistent with something else.  There is a permanent incompatibility between truth and falsehood.
2.  Irreconcilable disagreement.  During the revolution in France, incompatibility of temper was deemed a sufficient cause for divorcing man and wife.


Topic: Incompatible
Definition:
INCOMPAT'IBLE, a. [L. in and competo, to suit, to be proper or convenient; con and peto, to press toward, to seek, or press on.  It was formerly incompetible.]
1.  Inconsistent; that cannot subsist with something else. Thus, truth and falsehood are essentially incompatible, as are virtue and vice.  A degree of cold that congeals water is incompatible with vegetation.  Dissipation is incompatible with health, reputation and virtue.
2.  Irreconcilably different or disagreeing; incongruous; as incompatible tempers.
3. Legally or constitutionally inconsistent; that cannot be united in the same person, without violating the law or constitution.  By our constitution, the offices of a legislator and of a judge are incompatible,as they cannot be held at the same time by the same person.


Topic: Incompetent
Definition:
INCOM'PETENT, a. [L. in and competens, competo.  See Incompatible.]
1.  Wanting adequate powers of mind or suitable faculties; as an incompetent judge.  Infancy, derangement, want of learning or dotage may render a person incompetent to fill an office or to transact business.
2.  Wanting due strength or suitable faculties; unable.
3.  Wanting the legal or constitutional qualifications.  A person convicted of a crime, is an incompetent witness in a court of law or equity.
4.  Destitute of means; unable.
5.  Inadequate; insufficient; as incompetent testimony.
6.  Unfit; improper; legally unavailable.
 It is incompetent for the defendant to make this defense.


Topic: Incomplete
Definition:
INCOMPLE'TE, a. [in and complete.]
Not finished. The building is incomplete.
1.  Imperfect; defective.


Topic: Incompliance
Definition:
INCOMPLI'ANCE, n. [in and compliance.]
1.  Defect of compliance; refusal to comply with solicitations.
2.  Untractableness; unyielding temper or constitution.
 Self-conceit produces peevishness and incompliance of humor in things lawful and indifferent.


Topic: Incompliant
Definition:
INCOMPLI'ANT, a.  [in and compliant.]  
Unyielding to request or solicitation; not disposed to comply.


Topic: Incomposed
Definition:
INCOMPO'SED, a. [in and composed.]  Disordered; disturbed. [But this word is little used.  Instead of it we use discomposed.]


Topic: Incompossibility
Definition:
INCOMPOSSIBIL'ITY, n.  [in and composible.]
The quality of not being possible but by the negation or destruction of something; inconsistency with something. [Little used.]


Topic: Incompossible
Definition:
INCOMPOS'SIBLE, a. [in, con, and possible.]  Not possible to be or subsist with something else.  [This and the preceding word are little used, and can hardly be considered as legitimate English words.]


Topic: Incomprehensibilit
Definition:
INCOMPREHENSIBIL'ITY, n.  [See the next word.]
The quality of being incomprehensible, or beyond the reach of human intellect; inconceivableness.


Topic: Incomprehensible
Definition:
INCOMPREHENS'IBLE, a.
1.  That cannot be comprehended or understood; That is beyond the reach of human intellect; inconceivable.  The nature of spiritual being is incomprehensible to us, or by us.
2.  Not to be contained. [Little used.]


Topic: Incomprehensibly
Definition:
INCOMPREHENS'IBLY, adv.  In a manner which the human mind cannot comprehend or understand; inconceivably.


Topic: Incompressibility
Definition:
INCOMPRESSIBIL'ITY, n.  [See Incompressible.]  The quality of resisting compression, or of being incapable of reduction by force into a smaller compass.


Topic: Incompressible
Definition:
INCOMPRESS'IBLE, a. [in and compressible.]  Not to be compressed; not capable of being reduced by force into a smaller compass; resisting compression.  Water is not wholly incompressible.


Topic: Inconceivable
Definition:
INCONCE'IVABLE, a. [in and conceivable.]
1.  That cannot be conceived by the mind; incomprehensible. It is inconceivable to us, how the will acts in producing muscular motion.
2.  That cannot be understood.


Topic: Inconcludent
Definition:
INCONCLU'DENT, a. [L. in and concludens, concludo, to conclude.]
Not inferring a conclusion or consequence. [Little used.]


Topic: Inconclusive
Definition:
INCONCLU'SIVE, a. [in and conclusive.]  Not producing a conclusion; not closing, concluding or settling a point in debate or a doubtful question.  An argument or evidence is inconclusive, when it does not exhibit the truth of a disputed case in such a manner as to satisfy the mind, and put an end to debate or doubt.


Topic: Inconclusively
Definition:
INCONCLU'SIVELY, adv.  Without such evidence as to determine the understanding in regard to truth or falsehood.


Topic: Inconclusiveness
Definition:
INCONCLU'SIVENESS, n. Want of such evidence as to satisfy the mind of truth or falsehood,and put an end to debate.


Topic: Incondensable
Definition:
INCONDENS'ABLE, a. [in and condensable.]
1.  Not capable of condensation; that cannot be made more dense or compact.
2.  Not to be converted from a state of vapor to a fluid.


Topic: Incondite
Definition:
INCON'DITE, a. [L. inconditus; in and condo, to build.]
Rude; unpolished; irregular.  [Little used.]


Topic: Inconditional
Definition:
INCONDI'TIONAL, a. [in and conditional.]  Without any condition, exception or limitation; absolute.  [Not now used.  See Unconditional.]


Topic: Inconditonate
Definition:
INCONDI'TONATE, a. [in and condition.]
Not limited or restrained by conditions; absolute.  [Not now used.]


Topic: Inconformity
Definition:
INCONFORM'ITY, n. [in and conformity.]  Want of conformity; incompliance with the practice of others, or with the requisitions of law, rule or custom; non-conformity.  [The latter word is more commonly used, especially to express dissent in religion.]


Topic: Incongruence
Definition:
INCON'GRUENCE, n. [in and congruence.]  Want of congruence, adaptation or agreement; unsuitableness.  [Little used.  We now use incongruity.]


Topic: Incongruity
Definition:
INCONGRU'ITY, n. [in and congruity.]
1.  Want of congruity; impropriety; inconsistency; absurdity; unsuitableness of one thing to another.  The levity of youth in a grave divine, is deemed an incongruity between manners and profession.
2.  Disagreement of parts; want of symmetry.


Topic: Incongruous
Definition:
INCON'GRUOUS, a. [L incongruus.]  Not congruous; unsuitable; not fitting; inconsistent; improper. The dress of a seaman on a judge, would be deemed incongruous with his character and station.


Topic: Inconsequent
Definition:
INCON'SEQUENT, a.  Not following from the premises; without regular inference;as an inconsequent deduction or argument.


Topic: Inconsequential
Definition:
INCONSEQUEN'TIAL, a.  Not regularly following from the premises.
1.  Not of consequence; not of importance; of little moment.


Topic: Inconsiderable
Definition:
INCONSID'ERABLE, a. [in and considerable.]  Not worthy of consideration or notice; unimportant; small; trivial.  We speak of an inconsiderable distance; an inconsiderable quantity or amount; inconsiderable value. No sin is inconsiderable in the sight of a holy God.


Topic: Inconsiderate
Definition:
INCONSID'ERATE, a. [L. inconsideratus.  See Consider.]
1.  Not considerate; not attending to the circumstances which regard safety or propriety; hasty; rash; imprudent; careless; thoughtless; heedless; inattentive.  The young are generally inconsiderate.
2.  Proceeding from heedlessness; rash; as inconsiderate conduct.
3.  Not duly regarding; with of, before the subject; as inconsiderate of consequences.


Topic: Inconsiderately
Definition:
INCONSID'ERATELY, adv.  Without due consideration or regard to consequences; heedlessly; carelessly; rashly; imprudently.


Topic: Inconsiderateness
Definition:
INCONSID'ERATENESS, n.  Want of due regard to consequences; carelessness; thoughtlessness; inadvertence; inattention; imprudence.


Topic: Inconsistent
Definition:
INCONSIST'ENT, a. Incompatible; incongruous; not suitable. Loud laughter in grave company is inconsistent with good breeding.  Habitual gloom is inconsistent with health and happiness.
1.  Not consistent; contrary, so that one infers the negation or destruction of the other; or so that the truth of one proves the other to be false.  Two covenants, one that a man shall have an estate in fee, and the other that he shall hold it for years, are inconsistent.
2.  Not uniform; being contrary at different times.  Men are sometimes inconsistent with themselves.


Topic: Inconsistently
Definition:
INCONSIST'ENTLY, adv.  With absurdity; incongruously; with self-contradiction; without steadiness or uniformity.


Topic: Inconsolable
Definition:
INCONSO'LABLE, a. [in and consolable.]  Not to be consoled; grieved beyond susceptibility of comfort.


Topic: Inconsonancy
Definition:
INCON'SONANCY, n. [in and consonancy.]  Disagreement; inconsistency.  In music, disagreement of sounds; discordance.


Topic: Inconspicuous
Definition:
INCONSPIC'UOUS, a. [in and conspicuous.]
1.  Not discernible; not to be perceived by the sight.
2.  Not conspicuous.


Topic: Inconstancy
Definition:
INCON'STANCY, n. [L. inconstantia. See Constancy.]
1.  Mutability or instability of temper or affection; unsteadiness; fickleness.
2.  Want of uniformity; dissimilitude.


Topic: Inconstant
Definition:
INCON'STANT, a. [L. inconstans.]
1.  Mutable; subject to change of opinion, inclination or purpose; not firm in resolution; unsteady; fickle; used of persons; an inconstant in love or friendship.
2.  Mutable; changeable; variable; used of things.


Topic: Inconsumptible
Definition:
INCONSUMP'TIBLE, a. [L. in and consumptus.]
1.  Not to be spent, wasted or destroyed by fire. [Not used.]
2.  Not to be destroyed.  [Not used.]


Topic: Incontestable
Definition:
INCONTEST'ABLE, a.  Not contestable; not to be disputed; not admitting debate; too clear to be controverted; incontrovertible; as incontestable evidence, truth or facts.


Topic: Incontinent
Definition:
INCON'TINENT, a. [L. incontinens.]  Not restraining the passions or appetites, particularly the sexual appetite; indulging lust without restraint or in violation of law; unchaste; lewd.
1. Unable to restrain discharges.
In the sense of immediate or immediately,obs.
INCON'TINENT, n.  One who is unchaste.


Topic: Incontinently
Definition:
INCON'TINENTLY, adv.  Without due restraint of the passions or appetites; unchastely.
1. Immediately.


Topic: Incontrollable
Definition:
INCONTROLLABLE, a. [in and controllable.]
Not to be controlled; that cannot be restrained or governed; uncontrollable.


Topic: Incontrovertible
Definition:
INCONTROVERT'IBLE, a. [in and controvertible.]
Indisputable; too clear or certain to admit of dispute.


Topic: Inconvenient
Definition:
INCONVE'NIENT, a. [L. supra.]
1.  Incommodious; unsuitable; disadvantageous; giving trouble or uneasiness; increasing the difficulty of progress or success; as an inconvenient dress or garment; an inconvenient house; inconvenient customs; an inconvenient arrangement of business.
2.  Unfit; unsuitable.


Topic: Inconversable
Definition:
INCONVERS'ABLE, a. [in and conversable.]  Not inclined to free conversation; incommunicative; unsocial; reserved.


Topic: Inconvertibility
Definition:
INCONVERTIBIL'ITY, n. [from inconvertible.]  The quality of not being changeable or convertible into something else; as the inconvertibility of bank notes or other currency into gold or silver.


Topic: Inconvertible
Definition:
INCONVERT'IBLE, a. [in and convertible.]  Not convertible; that cannot be transmuted or changed into something else. One metal is inconvertible into another. Bank notes are sometimes inconvertible into specie.


Topic: Inconvincible
Definition:
INCONVIN'CIBLE, a. [in and convincible.]  Not convincible; that cannot be convinced; not capable of conviction.


Topic: Incorporal
Definition:
INCOR'PORAL, a. [in and corporal.  Not consisting of matter or body; immaterial. [Incorporeal is generally used.]


Topic: Incorporate
Definition:
INCOR'PORATE, a. [in and corporate.]
1.  Not consisting of matter; not having a material body.  [Little used.]
2.  Mixed; united in one body; associated.
INCOR'PORATE, v.t. [L. incorporo; in and corpus, a body.]
1.  In pharmacy, to mix different ingredients in one mass or body; to reduce dry substances to the consistence of paste by the admixture of a fluid, as in making pills, &c.
2.  To mix and embody one substance in another; as, to incorporate copper with silver.
3.  To unite; to blend; to work into another mass or body; as, to incorporate plagiarisms into one's own composition.
4.  To unite; to associate in another government or empire.  The Romans incorporated conquered countries into their government.
5.  To embody; to give a material form to.
 The idolaters, who worshiped their images as gods, supposed some spirit to be incorporated therein.
6.  To form into a legal body, or body politic; to constitute a body, composed of one or more individuals,with the quality of perpetual existence or succession, unless limited by the act of incorporation; as, to incorporate the inhabitants of a city, town or parish; to incorporate the proprietors of a bridge, the stockholders of a bank, of an insurance company, &c.  New Haven was incorporated in January 1784; Hartford in May 1784.
INCOR'PORATE, v.i.  To unite so as to make a part of another body; to be mixed or blended; to grow into, &c.; usually followed by with.
 Painters' colors and ashes do better incorporate with oil.


Topic: Incorporated
Definition:
INCOR'PORATED, pp.  Mixed or united in one body; associated in the same political body; united in a legal body.


Topic: Incorporating
Definition:
INCOR'PORATING, ppr.  Mixing or uniting in one body or mass; associating in the same political body; forming a legal body.


Topic: Incorporation
Definition:
INCORPORA'TION, n. The act of incorporating.
1.  Union of different ingredients in one mass.
2.  Association in the same political body; as the incorporation of conquered countries into the Roman republic.
3.  Formation of a legal or political body by the union of individuals, constituting and artificial person.


Topic: Incorporeal
Definition:
INCORPO'REAL, a. [L. incorporalis, incorporeus.]
Not consisting of matter; not having a material body; immaterial.  Spirits are deemed incorporeal substances.


Topic: Incorrect
Definition:
INCORRECT', a. [in and correct.]  Not correct; not exact; not according to a copy or model, or to established rules; inaccurate; faulty.
 The piece, you think, is incorrect.
1.  Not according to truth; inaccurate; as an incorrect statement, narration or calculation.
2.  Not according to law or morality.


Topic: Incorrectly
Definition:
INCORRECT'LY, adv.  Not in accordance with truth or other standard; inaccurately; not exactly; as a writing incorrectly copied; testimony incorrectly stated.


Topic: Incorrectness
Definition:
INCORRECT'NESS, n.  Want of conformity to truth or to a standard; inaccuracy.  Incorrectness may consist in defect or in redundance.


Topic: Incorrigibility
Definition:
INCORRIGIBIL'ITY, n.  The quality of being bad, erroneous or depraved beyond correction; hopeless depravity in persons and error in things.


Topic: Incorrigible
Definition:
INCOR'RIGIBLE, a. [L. corrigo; con and rego.]
1.  That cannot be corrected or amended; bad beyond correction; as incorrigible error.
2.  Too depraved to be corrected or reformed; as an incorrigible sinner; an incorrigible drunkard.


Topic: Incorruptible
Definition:
INCORRUPT'IBLE, a.
1.  That cannot corrupt or decay; not admitting of corruption.  Thus gold, glass, mercury, &c., are incorruptible.  Spirits are supposed to be incorruptible.
 Our bodies shall be changed into incorruptible and immortal substances.
2.  That cannot be bribed; inflexibly just and upright.


Topic: Incorruption
Definition:
INCORRUP'TION, n. [in and corruption.]  Incapacity of being corrupted.
 It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption. 1 Cor.15.


Topic: Incorruptness
Definition:
INCORRUPT'NESS, n.  Exemption from decay or corruption.
1.  Purity of mind or manners; probity; integrity; honesty.


Topic: Incrassate
Definition:
INCRAS'SATE, v.t. [L. incrasso, incrassatus; in and crassus, thick.]
1.  To make thick or thicker; to thicken; the contrary to attenuate.
2.  In pharmacy, to make fluids thicker by the mixture of other substances less fluid, or by evaporating the thinner parts.
 Acids dissolve or attenuate; alkalies precipitate or incrassate.
INCRAS'SATE, v.i.  To become thick or thicker.
INCRAS'SATE


Topic: Incrassated
Definition:
INCRAS'SATED, a.  In botany, thickened or becoming thicker towards the flower, as a peduncle.
1.  Fattened.
INCRAS'SATED, pp.  Made thick or thicker.


Topic: Incrassative
Definition:
INCRAS'SATIVE, a.  Having the quality of thickening.
INCRAS'SATIVE, n.  That which has the power to thicken.


Topic: Increase
Definition:
INCRE'ASE, v.i. [L. incresco; in and cresco, to grow.]
1.  To become greater in bulk or quantity; to grow; to augment; as plants.  Hence, to become more in number; to advance in value, or in any quality good or bad.  Animal and vegetable bodies increase by natural growth; wealth increases by industry; heat increases, as the sun advances towards the meridian; a multitude increases by accession of numbers; knowledge increases with age and study; passion and enmity increase by irritation, and misery increases with vice.
 The Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another. 1 Thess.3.
2.  To become more violent; as, the fever increases; the pain increases; cold, wind or a storm increases.
3.  To become more bright or vivid; as, the light increases.
4.  To swell; to rise.
 The waters increased and bore up the ark. Gen.7.
5.  To swell; to become louder, as sound.
6.  To become of more esteem and authority.
 He must increase, but I must decrease.  John.3.
7.  To enlarge, as the enlightened part of the moon's disk.
INCRE'ASE, v.t.  To augment or make greater in bulk, quantity or amount; as, to increase wealth or treasure; to increase a sum or value.
1.  To advance in quality; to add to any quality or affection; as, to increase the strength of moral habits; to increase love, zeal or passion.
2.  To extend; to lengthen; as, to increase distance.
3.  To extend; to spread;as, to increase fame or renown.
4.  To aggravate; as, to increase guilt or trespass.
INCRE'ASE, n.  Augmentation; a growing larger; extension.
 Of the increase of his government and peace, there shall be no end. Is.9.
1.  Increment; profit; interest; that which is added to the original stock.
 Take thou no interest of him or increase; but fear thy God. Lev.25.
2.  Produce, as of land.
 Then shall the earth yield her increase. Ps.67.
3.  Progeny; issue; offspring.
 All the increase of thy house shall die in the flower of their age. 1 Sam. 2.
4.  Generation.
5.  The waxing of the moon; the augmentation of the luminous part of the moon, presented to the inhabitants of the earth.
 Seeds, hair, nails, hedges and herbs will grow soonest,if set or cut in the increase of the moon.
6.  Augmentation of strength or violence; as increase of heat, love or other passion; increase of force.
7.  Augmentation of degree; as increase of happiness or misery.


Topic: Incredibility
Definition:
INCREDIBIL'ITY, n.  [See Incredible.]  The quality of surpassing belief, or of being too extraordinary to admit of belief.


Topic: Incredible
Definition:
INCRED'IBLE, a. [L. incredibilis; in and credibilis, credible.]
That cannot be believed; not to be credited; too extraordinary and improbable to admit of belief.
 Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?  Acts.26.


Topic: Incredulity
Definition:
INCREDU'LITY, n.  The quality of not believing; indisposition to believe; a withholding or refusal of belief.
 Of every species of incredulity, religious unbelief is infinitely the most irrational.


Topic: Incredulous
Definition:
INCRED'ULOUS, a. [L. incredulus; in and credulus; credo, to believe.]  Not believing; indisposed to admit the truth of what is related; refusing or withholding belief.


Topic: Increment
Definition:
IN'CREMENT, n.  [L. incrementum, from incresco.  See Increase.]
1.  Increase; a growing in bulk, quantity,number, value or amount; augmentation.
2.  Produce; production.
3.  Matter added; increase.
4.  In mathematics, the quantity by which a variable quantity increases; a differential quantity.


Topic: Incriminate
Definition:
INCRIM'INATE, v.t. [L. in and criminor, to accuse.  See Crime.]
To accuse; to charge with a crime or fault.


Topic: Incrust
Definition:
INCRUST', v.t.  [L. incrusto; in and crusto, to crust.
To cover with a crust or with a hard coat; to form a crust on the surface of any substance; as iron incrusted with oxyd or rust; a vessel incrusted with salt.


Topic: Incrustation
Definition:
INCRUSTA'TION, n. [L. incrustatio.]
1.  A crust or rough coat of any thing on the surface of a body.
2.  A covering or lining of marble or other stone.


Topic: Incrystalizable
Definition:
INCRYS'TALIZABLE, a. [in and crystalizable.]
That will not crystalize; that cannot be formed into crystals.


Topic: Incubus
Definition:
IN'CUBUS, n. [L. incubo, to lie on.]
1.  The nightmare; an oppression of the breast in sleep, or sense of weight, with an almost total loss of the power of moving the body, while the imagination is frightened or astonished.
2.  A demon; an imaginary being or fairy.


Topic: Inculcate
Definition:
INCULC'ATE, v.t. [L. inculco, to drive or force on; in and calco, to tread,calx,the heel.]  To impress by frequent admonitions; to teach and enforce by frequent repetitions; to urge on the mind.  Our Savior inculcates on his followers humility and forgiveness of injuries.


Topic: Inculpable
Definition:
INCULP'ABLE, a. [L. in and culpabilis, from culpa, a fault.]
Without fault; unblamable; that cannot be accused.


Topic: Incumbency
Definition:
INCUM'BENCY, n. [from incumbent.]  A lying or resting on something.
1.  The state of holding or being in possession of a benefice, or of an office.
 These fines are to be paid to the bishop, only during his incumbency.
 There is no test of the tenure, but incumbency on the part of the king.


Topic: Incumbent
Definition:
INCUM'BENT, a. [L. incumbens, incumbo; in and cumbo, to lie down.]
1.  Lying or resting on.
 And when to move th'incumbent load they try.
2.  Supported; buoyed up.
 And fly incumbent on the dusky air.
3.  Leaning on, or resting against; as incumbent stamens or anthers, in botany.
4.  Lying on, as duty or obligation; imposed and emphatically urging or pressing to performance; indispensable.
 All men, truly zealous, will perform those good works which are incumbent on all christians.
INCUM'BENT, n.  The person who is in present possession of a benefice,or of any office. [It is applied to civil officers as well as to ecclesiastical.]


Topic: Incumbrance
Definition:
INCUM'BRANCE, n.  A burdensome and troublesome load; any thing that impedes motion or action, or renders it difficult or laborious; clog; impediment; embarrassment.
1.  A legal claim on the estate of another.


Topic: Incur
Definition:
INCUR', v.t. [L. incurro, to run against; in and curro, to run.]
1.  Literally, to run against; hence, to become liable to; to become subject to.  Thus, a thief incurs the punishment of the law by the act of stealing, before he is convicted, and we have all incurred the penalties of God's law.
2.  To bring on; as, to incur a debt; to incur guilt; to incur the displeasure of God; to incur blame or censure.
3.  To occur; to meet; to press on.


Topic: Incurability
Definition:
INCURABIL'ITY, n.  The state of being incurable; impossibility of cure; insusceptibility of cure or remedy.


Topic: Incurable
Definition:
INCU'RABLE, a.
1.  That cannot be cured; not admitting of cure; beyond the power of skill or medicine; as an incurable disease.
2.  Not admitting remedy or correction; irremediable; remediless; as incurable evils.
INCU'RABLE, n. A person diseased beyond the reach of cure.


Topic: Incursion
Definition:
INCUR'SION, n. [L. incursio, from incurro.  See Incur.]
1. Literally, a running into; hence, an entering into a territory with hostile intention; an inroad; applied to the expeditions of small parties or detachments of an enemy's army, entering a territory for attack, plunder or destruction of a post or magazine.  Hence it differs from invasion, which is the hostile entrance of any army for conquest.  During the revolution, the British troops made an incursion to Danbury, and destroyed the magazines.  In opposing this incursion, Gen. Wooster was killed.
2.  Attack; occurrence; as sins of daily incursion. [Unusual.]


Topic: Incurvate
Definition:
INCURV'ATE, v.t. [L. incurvo; in and curvus, bent.]
To bend; to crook; to turn from a right line or straight course.
INCURV'ATE, a.  Curved inwards or upwards.


Topic: Incurvation
Definition:
INCURVA'TION, n.  The act of bending.
1. The state of being bent, or turned from a rectilinear course; curvity; crookedness.
2.  The act of bowing, or bending the body in respect or reverence.


Topic: Indart
Definition:
IND`ART, v.t. [in and dart.]  To dart in; to thrust or strike in.
Indebitatus assumpsit.  [See Assumpsit.]


Topic: Indebted
Definition:
INDEBT'ED, a. indet'ted.
1.  Being in debt; having incurred a debt; held or obliged to pay.  A is indebted to B; he is indebted in a large sum, or to a large amount.
2.  Obliged by something received, for which restitution or gratitude is due.  We are indebted in our parents for their care of us in infancy and youth.  We are indebted to God for life.  We are indebted to the christian religion for many of the advantages, and much of the refinement of modern times.


Topic: Indecency
Definition:
INDE'CENCY, n. [L. indecens, indeceo; in and deceo, to become.]
That which is unbecoming in language or manners; any action or behavior which is deemed a violation of modesty, or an offense to delicacy, as rude or wanton actions, obscene language, and whatever tends to excite a blush in a spectator.  Extreme assurance or impudence may also be deemed indecency of behavior towards superiors.  [See Indecorum.]


Topic: Indecent
Definition:
INDE'CENT, a. [L. indecens.]  Unbecoming; unfit to be seen or heard; offensive to modesty and delicacy; as indecent language; indecent manners; an indecent posture or gesture.


Topic: Indeciduous
Definition:
INDECID'UOUS, a. [in and deciduous.]
Not falling, as the leaves of trees in autumn; lasting; evergreen.


Topic: Indecision
Definition:
INDECIS'ION, n. s as z. [in and decision.]  Want of decision; want of settled purpose or of firmness in the determinations of the will; a wavering of mind; irresolution.


Topic: Indecisive
Definition:
INDECI'SIVE, a. [in and decisive.]  Not decisive; not bringing to a final close or ultimate issue; as an indecisive battle or engagement; an argument indecisive of the question.
1.  Unsettled; wavering; vacillating; hesitating; as an indecisive state of mind; an indecisive character.


Topic: Indecisiveness
Definition:
INDECI'SIVENESS, n. The state of being undecided; unsettled state; state of not being brought to a final issue.


Topic: Indeclinable
Definition:
INDECLI'NABLE, a. [L. indeclinabilis; in and declino.]
Not declinable; not varied by terminations; as, pondo, in Latin, is an indeclinable noun.


Topic: Indecomposable
Definition:
INDECOMPO'SABLE, a.  s as z. [in and decomposable, decompose.]
Not capable of decomposition, or of being resolved into the primary constituent elements.


Topic: Indecorous
Definition:
INDEC'OROUS, a. [L. indecorus; in and decor, decus, deceo, to become.]  Unbecoming; violating good manners; contrary to the established rules of good breeding, or to the forms of respect which age and station require.  It is indecorous in a young person to take the highest place in company, when his superiors are present.  Indecorous is sometimes equivalent to indecent; but it is less frequently applied to actions which offend modesty and chastity.


Topic: Indecorum
Definition:
INDECO'RUM, n. [L. in and decorum.]  Impropriety of behavior; that in behavior or manners which violates the established rules of civility, or the duties of respect which age or station requires; an unbecoming action.  It is sometimes synonymous with indecency; but indecency, more frequently than indecorum, is applied to words or actions which refer to what nature and propriety require to be concealed or suppressed.


Topic: Indeed
Definition:
INDEE'D, adv. [in and deed.]  In reality; in truth; in fact.
 The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Rom.8.
Indeed is usually emphatical, but in some cases more so than in others; as,this is true; it is indeed.
 I were a beast indeed to do you wrong.
 Some sons indeed; some very few we see,
 Who keep themselves from this infection free.
 There is indeed no greater pleasure in visiting these magazines of war--
It is used to note concession or admission; as, ships not so large indeed, but better manned.
Indeed is used as an expression of surprise, or for the purpose of obtaining confirmation of a fact stated.  Indeed! is it possible? is it so in fact?


Topic: Indefatigable
Definition:
INDEFAT'IGABLE, a. [L. indefatigabilis; in and defatigo, fatigo, to fatigue.]   Unwearied; not tired; not exhausted by labor; not yielding to fatigue; as indefatigable exertions; indefatigable attendance or perseverance.
 Upborne with indefatigable wings.


Topic: Indefeasibility
Definition:
INDEFEASIBIL'ITY, n. [from indefeasible.]  The quality or state of being not subject to be made void; as the indefeasibility of a title.


Topic: Indefeasible
Definition:
INDEFE'ASIBLE, a. s as z. [in and defeasible; facio.]
Not to be defeated; that cannot be made void; as an indefeasible estate or title.


Topic: Indefensibility
Definition:
INDEFENSIBIL'ITY, n. [form indefensible.]
The quality or state of not being capable of defense or vindication.


Topic: Indefensible
Definition:
INDEFENS'IBLE, a. [in and defensible, from defend.]
1.  That cannot be defended or maintained.  A military post may be indefensible.  A bad cause is indefensible.
2.  Not to be vindicated or justified.  An improper action or indecent expression is indefensible.


Topic: Indefinite
Definition:
INDEF'INITE, a. [L. indefinitus; in and definitus, definio, to define; de and finio, to end, finis, end.]
1.  Not limited or defined; not determinate; not precise or certain; as an indefinite time.  An indefinite proposition, term or phrase, is one which has not a precise meaning or limited signification.
2.  That has no certain limits, or to which the human mind can affix none, as indefinite space.  A space may be indefinite, though not infinite.


Topic: Indefinitely
Definition:
INDEF'INITELY, adv. Without any settled limitation; as space indefinitely extended.
1.  Not precisely; not with certainty or precision; as, to use a word indefinitely.


Topic: Indeliberate
Definition:
INDELIB'ERATE, a. [in and deliberate.]  Done or performed without deliberation or consideration; sudden; unpremeditated; as the indeliberate commission of sin.


Topic: Indelible
Definition:
INDEL'IBLE, a. [L. indelebilis; in and delebilis, from deleo,to blot out.]
1.  Not to be blotted out; that cannot be effaced or canceled; as indelible letters or characters.  Indelible ink is such as cannot be taken out of paper or cloth, or not by ordinary means.
2.  Not to be annulled.
 They are endued with indelible power from above, to feed and govern this household. [Unusual.]
3.  That cannot be effaced or lost; as, impressions on the mind may be indelible; reproach or stain on reputation may be indelible.


Topic: Indelibly
Definition:
INDEL'IBLY, adv.  In a manner not to be blotted out or effaced; too deeply imprinted to be effaced, or to vanish.


Topic: Indelicacy
Definition:
INDEL'ICACY, n. [in and delicacy.]  Want of delicacy; want of decency in language or behavior, regarding what nature and manners 
require to be concealed.
1.  Want of a nice sense of propriety, or nice regard to refinement in manners or in the treatment of others; rudeness; coarseness of manners or language; that which is offensive to refined taste or purity of mind.


Topic: Indelicate
Definition:
INDEL'ICATE, a.  Wanting delicacy; indecent; but it expresses less than indecent; as an indelicate word or expression; indelicate behavior; indelicate customs.
1.  Offensive to good manners, or to purity of mind.


Topic: Indemnification
Definition:
INDEMNIFICA'TION, n.  [from indemnify.]
1.  The act of indemnifying, saving harmless, or securing against loss, damage or penalty.
2.  Security against loss.
3.  Reimbursement of loss, damage or penalty.


Topic: Indemnify
Definition:
INDEM'NIFY, v.t. [in and damnify; L. damnificus; damnum, loss.]
1.  To save harmless; to secure against loss, damage or penalty.
2.  To make good; to reimburse to one what he has lost.  We indemnify a man, by giving sufficient security to make good a future loss, or by actual reimbursement of loss, after it has occurred.


Topic: Indemnity
Definition:
INDEM'NITY, n. [L. in and damnum, loss.]
1.  Security given to save harmless; a writing or pledge by which a person is secured against future loss.
2.  Security against punishment.


Topic: Indent
Definition:
INDENT', v.t. [L. dens, a tooth.]
1.  To notch; to jag; to cut any margin into points or inequalities, like a row of teeth; as, to indent the edge of paper.
 The margins--are indented.
2.  To bind out by indentures or contract; as, to indent a young man to a shoemaker; to indent a servant.
INDENT', v.i.  To contract; to bargain or covenant. [From the practice of using indented writings or counterparts.]
INDENT', n. Incisure; a cut or notch in the margin of any thing, or a recess like a notch.
1.  A stamp.


Topic: Indentment
Definition:
INDENT'MENT, n.  A notch; a cut in the margin of paper or other things.
1.  A recess or depression in any border.


Topic: Indenture
Definition:
INDENT'URE,n.  A writing containing a contract.  Indentures are generally duplicates, laid together and indented, so that the two papers or parchments correspond to each other.  But indenting is often neglected, while the writings or counterparts retain the name of indentures.
INDENT'URE, v.t.  To indent; to bind by indentures; as, to indenture an apprentice.


Topic: Independence
Definition:
INDEPEND'ENCE, n. [in and dependence.]
1.  A state of being not dependent; complete exemption from control, or the power of others; as the independence of the Supreme Being.
2.  A state in which a person does not rely on others for subsistence; ability to support one's self.
3.  A state of mind in which a person acts without bias or influence from others; exemption from undue influence; self-direction.  Independence of mind is an important qualification in a judge.
Declaration of Independence,the solemn declaration of the Congress of the United States of America, on the 4th of July 1766, by which they formally renounced their subjection to the government of Great Britain.


Topic: Independent
Definition:
INDEPEND'ENT, a. [in and dependent.]
1.  Not dependent; not subject to the control of others; not subordinate.  God is the only being who is perfectly independent.
2.  Not holding or enjoying possessions at the will of another; not relying on others; not dependent.  We all wish to be independent in property; yet few men are wholly independent, even in property, and none independent for the supply of their wants.
3.  Affording the means of independence; as an independent estate.
4.  Not subject to bias or influence; not obsequious; self-directing; as a man of an independent mind.
5.  Not connected with. It is believed the soul may exist independent of matter.
6.  Free; easy; self-commanding; bold; unconstrained; as an independent air or manner.
7.  Separate from; exclusive.
 I mean the account of that obligation in general,under which we conceive ourselves bound to obey a law,independent of those resources which the law provides for its own enforcement.
8.  Pertaining to an independent or congregational church.  It is followed by of or on, both of which are well authorized. On is most conformable to analogy, for it always follows depend, but of is most common.
INDEPEND'ENT, n. One who, in religious affairs, maintains that every congregation of christians is a complete church, subject to no superior authority, and competent to perform every act of government in ecclesiastical affairs.


Topic: Independently
Definition:
INDEPEND'ENTLY, adv.  Without depending or relying on others; without control.
1.  Without undue bias or influence; not obsequiously.
2.  Without connection with other things.


Topic: Indestructibility
Definition:
INDESTRUCTIBIL'ITY,n.  [from indestructible.]
The quality of resisting decomposition, or of being incapable of destruction.


Topic: Indestructible
Definition:
INDESTRUC'TIBLE, a. [in and destructible.]  That cannot be destroyed; incapable of decomposition; as a material substance.


Topic: Indeterminable
Definition:
INDETERM'INABLE, a. [in and determinable.]
1. That cannot be determined ascertained or fixed.
2. Not to be determined or ended.


Topic: Indeterminate
Definition:
INDETERM'INATE, a. [in and determinate.]
1.  Not determinate; not settled or fixed; not definite; uncertain; as an indeterminate number of years.
2.  Not certain; not precise.


Topic: Indeterminately
Definition:
INDETERM'INATELY, adv.  Not in any settled manner; indefinitely;not with precise limits; as a space indeterminately large.
1. Not with certainty or precision of signification; as an idea indeterminately expressed.


Topic: Indetermination
Definition:
INDETERMINA'TION, n. [in and determination.]
1.  Want of determination; an unsettled or wavering state, as of the mind.
2.  Want of fixed or stated direction.


Topic: Index
Definition:
IN'DEX, n. plu. indexes, sometimes indices. [L. connected with idico, to show; in and dico.]
1.  That which points out; that which shows or manifests.
 Tastes are the indexes of the different qualities of plants.
2.  The hand that points to any thing, as the hour of the day, the road to a place.
3.  A table of the contents of a book.
 A table of references in an alphabetical order.
4.  In anatomy, the fore finger, or pointing finger.
5.  In arithmetic and algebra, that which shows to what power any quantity is involved; the exponent.
6.  The index of a globe, or the gnomon, is a little style fitted on the north pole, which by turning with the globe, serves to point to certain divisions of the hour circle.
7.  In music, a direct, which see.
Index expurgatory, in catholic countries, a catalogue of prohibited books.


Topic: Indexterity
Definition:
INDEXTER'ITY, n. [in and dexterity.]
1.  Want of dexterity or readiness in the use of the hands; clumsiness; awkwardness.
2.  Want of skill or readiness in any art or occupation.


Topic: Indian
Definition:
IN'DIAN, a. [from India, and this from Indus, the name of a river in Asia.]   Pertaining to either of the Indies, East or West.
IN'DIAN, n. A  general name of any native of the Indies; as an East Indian, or West Indian.  it is particularly applied to any native of the American continent.


Topic: Indianite
Definition:
IN'DIANITE, n. [from India.]  A mineral occurring in masses having a foliated structure and shining luster.  Its color is white or gray.


Topic: Indicant
Definition:
IN'DICANT, n. [L. indicans; in and dico, to show.]
Showing; pointing out what is to be done for the cure of disease.


Topic: Indicate
Definition:
IN'DICATE, v.t. [L. indico; in and dico, to show.]
1.  To show; to point out; to discover; to direct the mind to a knowledge of something not seen, or something that will probably occur in future. Thus, fermentation indicates a certain degree of heat in a liquor.  A heavy swell of the sea in calm weather often indicates a storm at a distance.  A particular kind of cloud in the west at evening, indicates the approach of rain.
2.  To tell; to disclose.
3.  In medicine, to show or manifest by symptoms; to point to as the proper remedies; as, great prostration of strength indicates the use of stimulants.


Topic: Indication
Definition:
INDICA'TION, n.  The act of pointing out.
1.  Mark; token; sign; symptom; whatever serves to discover what is not before known, or otherwise obvious.
 The frequent stops they make in the most convenient places, are plain indications of their weariness.
2. In medicine, any symptom or occurrence in a disease, which serves to direct to suitable remedies.
3.  Discovery made; intelligence given.
4.  Explanation; display.  [Little used.]


Topic: Indicative
Definition:
INDIC'ATIVE,a. [L. indicativus.]  Showing; giving intimation or knowledge of something not visible or obvious. Reserve is not always indicative of modesty; it may be indicative of prudence.
1.  In grammar, the indicative mode is the form of the verb that indicates,that is, which affirms or denies; as, he writes, he is writing; they run; we misimprove advantages.  It also asks questions; as, has the mail arrived?


Topic: Indicolite
Definition:
IN'DICOLITE, n. [indigo, or indico,and a stone.]
In mineralogy, a variety of shorl or tourmalin, of an indigo blue color, sometimes with a tinge of azure or green.


Topic: Indict
Definition:
INDICT, v.t. indi'te.  [L. indictus, from indico; in and dico, to speak.]  In law, to accuse or charge with a crime or misdemeanor, in writing, by a grand jury under oath.  It is the peculiar province of a grand jury to indict, as it is of a house of representatives to impeach.  It is followed by of; as indicted of treason or arson.


Topic: Indictable
Definition:
INDICTABLE, a. indi'table.  That may be indicted; as an indictable offender.
1. Subject to be presented by a grand jury; subject to indictment; as an indictable offense.


Topic: Indicting
Definition:
INDICTING, ppr.  indi'ting. Accusing, or making a formal or written charge of a crime by a grand jury.


Topic: Indiction
Definition:
INDIC'TION, n. [Low L. indictio, indico.]
1.  Declaration; proclamation.
2.  In chronology, a cycle of fifteen years, instituted by Constantine the Great; originally, a period of taxation.  Constantine having reduced the time which the Romans were obliged to serve in the army to fifteen years, imposed a tax or tribute at the end of that term, to pay the troops discharged.  This practice introduced the keeping of accounts by this period. But, as it is said, in honor of the great victory of Constantine over Mezentius, Sep. 24, A.D. 312, by which christianity was more effectually established, the council of Nice ordained that accounts of years should no longer be kept by Olympiads, but that the indiction should be used as the point from which to reckon and date years.  This was begun Jan.1, A.D. 313.


Topic: Indictment
Definition:
INDICTMENT, n. indi'tement.  A written accusation or formal charge of a crime or misdemeanor, preferred by a grand jury under oath to a court.
1. The paper or parchment containing the accusation of a grand jury.


Topic: Indifference
Definition:
INDIF'FERENCE, n. [L. indifferentia; in and differo, to differ. Indifferency is little used.]
1.  Equipoise or neutrality of mind between different persons or things; a state in which the mind is not inclined to one side more than the other; as when we see a contest of parties with indifference.
2.  Impartiality; freedom from prejudice, prepossession or bias; as when we read a book on controverted points with indifference. [This is a different application of the first definition.
3.  Unconcernedness; a state of the mind when it feels no anxiety or interest in what is presented to it. No person of humanity can behold the wretchedness of the poor with indifference.
4.  State in which there is no difference, or in which no moral or physical reason preponderates; as when we speak of the indifference of things in themselves.


Topic: Indifferent
Definition:
INDIF'FERENT, a. [L. indifferens.]
1.  Neutral; not inclined to one side, party or thing more than to another.
 Cato knows neither of them,
 Indifferent in his choice to sleep or die.
2.  Unconcerned; feeling no interest,anxiety or care respecting any thing.  It seems to be impossible that a rational being should be indifferent to the means of obtaining endless happiness.
 It was a remarkable law of Solon, that any person who, in the commotions of the republic, remained neuter, or an indifferent spectator of the contending parties, should be condemned to perpetual banishment.
3. Having no influence or preponderating weight; having no difference that gives a preference.  It is indifferent which road we take.
4.  Neutral, as to good or evil.  Things in themselves indifferent, may be rendered evil by the prohibition of law.
5.  Impartial; disinterested; as an indifferent judge, juror or arbitrator.
6.  Passable; of a middling state or quality; neither good, nor the worst; as indifferent writing or paper.
Indifferent, used adverbially, as indifferent honest, is ungrammatical and vulgar.


Topic: Indifferently
Definition:
INDIF'FERENTLY, adv.  Without distinction or preference; as, to offer pardon indifferently to all.
1.  Equally; impartially; without favor, prejudice or bias.
--They may truly and indifferently minister justice.
2.  In a neutral state; without concern; without wish or aversion.
 Set honor in one eye and death i'th' other,
 And I will look on death indifferently.
3.  Not well; tolerably; passably; as indifferently well; to be indifferently entertained.


Topic: Indigene
Definition:
IN'DIGENE, n. [L. indigena; in or ind, and geno, gigno, to beget, or to be born.]  One born in a country; a native animal or plant.


Topic: Indigenous
Definition:
INDIG'ENOUS, a. [L. indigena, supra.]
1.  Native; born in a country; applied to persons.
2.  Native; produced naturally in a country or climate; not exotic; applied to vegetables.


Topic: Indigent
Definition:
IN'DIGENT, a. [L. indigens.]  Destitute of property or means of comfortable subsistence; needy; poor.
 Charity consists in relieving the indigent.


Topic: Indigested
Definition:
INDIGEST'ED, a. [in and digested; L. indigestus.]
1.  Not digested; not concocted in the stomach; not changed or prepared for nourishing the body; indigested; crude.
2.  Not separated into distinct classes or orders, or into proper from; not regularly disposed and arranged.  Chaos is represented as a rude or indigested mass.
3.  Not methodized; not reduced to due form; crude; as an indigested scheme.
4.  Not prepared by heat.
5.  Not brought to suppuration, as the contents of an abscess or boil; as an indigested wound.


Topic: Indigestible
Definition:
INDIGEST'IBLE, a. [in and digestible.]
1.  Not digestible; not easily converted into chyme, or prepared in the stomach for nourishing the body.
2.  Not to be received or patiently endured.


Topic: Indigestion
Definition:
INDIGES'TION, n. [in and digestion.]  Want of due coction in the stomach; a failure of that change in food which prepares it for nutriment; crudity.
As a disease, dyspepsy; that state of the stomach, in which it is incapable of performing its natural healthy functions.


Topic: Indignant
Definition:
INDIG'NANT, a. [L. indignans, from indignor, to disdain; in and dignor,dignus.]  Affected at once with anger and disdain; feeling the mingled emotions of wrath and scorn or contempt,as when a person is exasperated at one despised, or by a mean action, or by the charge of a dishonorable act.  Goliath was indignant at the challenge of David.
 He strides indignant, and with haughty cries
 To single fight the fairy prince defies.


Topic: Indignation
Definition:
INDIGNA'TION, n. [L. indignatio.]
1.  Anger or extreme anger, mingled with contempt, disgust or abhorrence.
 When Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai. Esth.5.
2.  The anger of a superior; extreme anger; particularly, the wrath of God against sinful men for their ingratitude and rebellion.  2 Kings.3.
3.  The effects of anger; the dreadful effects of God's wrath; terrible judgments. Is.26.
4. Holy displeasure at one's self for sin. 2 Cor. 7.
 


Topic: Indignity
Definition:
INDIG'NITY, n. [L. indignitas.]  Unmerited, contemptuous conduct towards another; any action towards another which manifests contempt for him; contumely; incivility or injury, accompanied with insult.  Contemptuous words respecting one, or foul language in the presence of persons of character and delicacy, and indecent behavior, are indignities.  Christ on the cross was treated with the foulest indignity.


Topic: Indigo
Definition:
IN'DIGO, n. [L. indicum, from India.]  A substance or dye, prepared from the leaves and stalks of the indigo-plant, which are steeped in water till the pulp is extracted, when the tincture is drawn off and churned or agitated,till the dye begins to granulate.  The flakes are then left to settle; the liquor is drawn off,and the indigo is drained in bags and dried in boxes. It is used for dyeing blue.


Topic: Indigo-plant
Definition:
IN'DIGO-PLANT, n.  A plant of the genus Indigofera, from which is prepared indigo.  It is a native of Asia, Africa and America, and called by the native Americans, anil. The calyx is patent; the carina of the corol is furnished with a subulate, patulous spur on each side; the legume or pod is linear.  Several species are cultivated for making indigo, of which the most important are the tinctoria, or common indigoplant, the anil, a larger species,and the disperma, which furnishes the Guatimala indigo.


Topic: Indirect
Definition:
INDIRECT', a. [L. indirectus; in and directus, from dirigo.]
1.  Not straight or rectilinear; deviating from a direct line or course; circuitous.  From New York to England by Bordeaux, is an indirect course.
2.  Not direct; in a moral sense; not tending to a purpose by the shortest or plainest course, or by the obvious, ordinary means, but obliquely or consequentially; by remote means; as an indirect accusation; an indirect attack on reputation; an indirect answer or proposal. Hence,
3.  Wrong; improper.
4.  Not fair; not honest; tending to mislead or deceive.
 Indirect dealing will be discovered one time or other.
5.  Indirect tax, is a tax or duty on articles of consumption, as an excise, customs, &c.


Topic: Indirectly
Definition:
INDIRECT'LY, adv.  Not in a straight line or course; obliquely.
1.  Not by direct means.
2.  Not in express terms.  He indirectly mentioned the subject.
3.  Unfairly.
 Your crown and kingdom indirectly held.


Topic: Indiscernible
Definition:
INDISCERN'IBLE, a. [in and discernible.]  That cannot be discerned; not visible or perceptible; not discoverable.


Topic: Indiscerptible
Definition:
INDISCERP'TIBLE, a. [in and discerptible.]  Incapable of being destroyed by dissolution, or separation of parts.


Topic: Indisciplinable
Definition:
INDIS'CIPLINABLE, a. [in and disciplinable.]  That cannot be disciplined or subjected to discipline; not capable of being improved by discipline.


Topic: Indiscreet
Definition:
INDISCREE'T, a. [in and discreet.]  Not discreet; wanting in discretion; imprudent; inconsiderate; injudicious; as persons.
1.  Not according to discretion or sound judgment; as indiscreet behavior.


Topic: Indiscretion
Definition:
INDISCRE'TION,n. [in and discretion.]  Want of discretion; imprudence.  The grossest vices pass under the fashionable name, indiscretions.


Topic: Indiscriminate
Definition:
INDISCRIM'INATE, a. [L. indiscriminatus. See Discriminate.]
1.  Undistinguishing; not making any distinction; as the indiscriminate voraciousness of a glutton.
2.  Not having discrimination; confused.
3.  Undistinguished or undistinguishable.


Topic: Indiscriminating
Definition:
INDISCRIMIN'ATING, ppr. or a. Not making any distinction; as the victims of an indiscriminating spirit of rapine.


Topic: Indispensable
Definition:
INDISPENS'ABLE, a.  Not to be dispensed with; that cannot be omitted, remitted, or spared; absolutely necessary or requisite.  Air and water are indispensable to the life of man.  Our duties to God and to our fellow men are of indispensable obligation.


Topic: Indispensably
Definition:
INDISPENS'ABLY, adv.  Necessarily; in a manner or degree that forbids dispensation, omission or want.


Topic: Indispose
Definition:
INDISPO'SE, v.t. s as z.
1.  To disincline; to alienate the mind and render it averse or unfavorable to any thing.  A love of pleasure indisposes the mind to severe study and steady attention to business. The pride and selfishness of men indispose them to religious duties.
2.  To render unfit; to disqualify for its proper functions; to disorder; as the distemperature of indisposed organs.
3.  To disorder slightly, as the healthy functions of the body.
 It made him rather indisposed than sick.
4.  To make unfavorable or disinclined; with towards.
 The king was sufficiently indisposed towards the persons, or the principles of Calvin's disciples.


Topic: Indisposed
Definition:
INDISPO'SED, pp. or a. Disinclined; averse; unwilling; unfavorable.
1.  Disordered; disqualified for its functions; unfit.
2.  Slightly disordered; not in perfect health.


Topic: Indisposedness
Definition:
INDISPO'SEDNESS, n.  Disinclination; slight aversion; unwillingness; unfavorableness.
1.  Unfitness; disordered state.


Topic: Indisposing
Definition:
INDISPO'SING, ppr. Disinclining; rendering somewhat averse, unwilling or unfavorable.
1. Disordering; rendering unfit.


Topic: Indisposition
Definition:
INDISPOSI'TION, n.
1.  Disinclination; aversion; unwillingness; dislike; as the indisposition of men to submit to severe discipline; an indisposition to abandon vicious practices.
 A general indisposition towards believing.
2.  Slight disorder of the healthy functions of the body; tendency to disease. Indisposition is a slight defect of healthy action in bodily functions, rather than settled or marked disease.
3.  Want of tendency or natural appetency or affinity; as the indisposition of two substances to combine.


Topic: Indisputable
Definition:
INDIS'PUTABLE, a.  Not to be disputed; incontrovertible; incontestable; too evident to admit of dispute.


Topic: Indisputableness
Definition:
INDIS'PUTABLENESS, n.  The state or quality of being indisputable, or too clear to admit of controversy.


Topic: Indisputably
Definition:
INDIS'PUTABLY, adv.  Without dispute; in a manner or degree not admitting of controversy; unquestionably; without opposition.


Topic: Indissolubility
Definition:
INDISSOLUBIL'ITY, n.
1.  The quality of being indissoluble, or not capable of being dissolved, melted or liquefied.
2.  The quality of being incapable of a breach; perpetuity of union, obligation or binding force.


Topic: Indissoluble
Definition:
INDIS'SOLUBLE, a. [L. indissolubilis; in and dissolubilis, from dissolvo; dis and solvo,to loosen.]
1.  Not capable of being dissolved, melted or liquefied, as by heat or water.  Few substances are absolutely indissoluble by heat; many are indissoluble in water.
2.  That cannot be broken or rightfully violated; perpetually binding or obligatory; as an indissoluble league or covenant.  The marriage covenant is indissoluble, except in certain specified cases.
3.  Not to be broken; firm; stable; as indissoluble friendship; indissoluble bands of love.


Topic: Indissolubleness
Definition:
INDIS'SOLUBLENESS, The quality of being incapable of dissolution, separation or breach; indissolubility.


Topic: Indissolubly
Definition:
INDIS'SOLUBLY, adv. In a manner resisting separation; firmly united beyond the power of separation; in a manner not to be dissolved or broken.
On they move
Indissolubly firm.


Topic: Indissolvable
Definition:
INDISSOLV'ABLE, a. [in and dissolvable.]
1. That cannot be dissolved; not capable of being melted or liquefied.
2.  Indissoluble; that cannot be broken; perpetually firm and binding; as an indissolvable bond of union.
3. Not capable of separation into parts by natural process.


Topic: Indistinct
Definition:
INDISTINCT', a. [L. indistinctus; in and distinctus.  See Distinct.]
1.  Not distinct or distinguishable; not separate in such a manner as to be perceptible by itself.  The parts of a substance are indistinct, when they are so blended that the eye cannot separate them, or perceive them as separate. Sounds are indistinct, when the ear cannot separate them.  Hence,
2. Obscure; not clear; confused; as indistinct ideas or notions.
3.  Imperfect; faint; not presenting clear and well defined images; as indistinct vision; an indistinct view.
4.  Not exactly discerning. [Unusual.]


Topic: Indistinction
Definition:
INDISTINC'TION, n.  Want of distinction; confusion; uncertainty.
 The indistinction of many of the same name--
hath made some doubt.
1. Indiscrimination; want of distinction.
2.  Equality of condition or rank.


Topic: Indistinctly
Definition:
INDISTINCT'LY, adv.  Without distinction or separation; as when parts of a thing are indistinctly seen.
1.  Confusedly; not clearly; obscurely; as when ideas are indistinctly comprehended.
2.  Not definitely; not with precise limits; as when the border of a thing is indistinctly marked.


Topic: Indistinctness
Definition:
INDISTINCT'NESS, n. Want of distinction or discrimination; confusion; uncertainty.
1.  Obscurity; faintness; as the indistinctness of vision.


Topic: Indistinguishable
Definition:
INDISTIN'GUISHABLE, a. [in and distinguishable.]
That cannot be distinguished or separated; undistinguishable.


Topic: Indite
Definition:
INDI'TE, v.t. [L. indico, indictum; in and dico, to speak.]
1.  To compose; to write; to commit to words in writing.
 Hear how learn'd Greece her useful rules indites.
2.  To direct or dictate what is to be uttered or written.  The late President Dwight indited his sermons.
 My heart is inditing a good matter. Ps.45.
INDI'TE, v.i.  To compose an account of.
[This is from the same original as indict.  The different applications of the word have induced authors to express each in a different orthography, but without good reason.]


Topic: Individual
Definition:
INDIVID'UAL, . [L. individuus; in and dividuus, from divido, to divide.]
1.  Not divided, or not to be divided; single; one; as an individual man or city.
 --Under his great vicegerent reign abide
 United, as one individual soul.
2.  Pertaining to one only; as individual labor or exertions.
INDIVID'UAL, n.  A single person or human being.  This is the common application of the word; as,there was not an individual present.
1.  A single animal or thing of any kind.  But this word, as a noun, is rarely applied except to human beings.


Topic: Individualize
Definition:
INDIVID'UALIZE, v.t. To distinguish; to select or mark as an individual, or to distinguish the peculiar properties of a person from others.


Topic: Individually
Definition:
INDIVID'UALLY, adv.  Separately; by itself; to the exclusion of others.  Thirty men will unitedly accomplish what each of them individually cannot perform.
1. With separate or distinct existence.
 How should that subsist solitarily by itself, which hath no substance, but individually the very same whereby others subsist with it?
2.  Inseparably; incommunicably.
 Omniscience--an attribute individually proper to the Godhead.


Topic: Individuate
Definition:
INDIVID'UATE, a. Undivided.
INDIVID'UATE, v.t.  To make single to distinguish from others of the species.
 Life is individuated into infinite numbers, that have their distinct sense and pleasure.


Topic: Individuation
Definition:
INDIVIDUA'TION, a.  The act of making single or the same, to the exclusion of others.
1.  The act of separating into individuals by analysis.


Topic: Indivisible
Definition:
INDIVIS'IBLE, a. s as z. [in and divisible.  See Divide.]
That cannot be divided, separated or broken; not separable into parts.  Perhaps the particles of matter, however small, cannot be considered as indivisible.  The mind or soul must be indivisible.  A mathematical point is indivisible.
INDIVIS'IBLE, n.  In geometry, indivisibles are the elements or principles into which a body or figure may be resolved; elements infinitely small.


Topic: Indocible
Definition:
INDO'CIBLE, a. [in and docible; L. doceo, to teach.]
1.  Unteachable; not capable of being taught, or not easily instructed; dull in intellect.
2.  Intractable, as a beast.


Topic: Indoctrinate
Definition:
INDOC'TRINATE, v.t. [L. in and doctrina, learning.]
To teach; to instruct in rudiments or principles.
 He took much delight in indoctrinating his young unexperienced favorite.


Topic: Indolence
Definition:
IN'DOLENCE, n. [L. indolentia; in and doleo, to be pained.]
1.  Literally, freedom from pain.
2.  Habitual idleness; indisposition to labor; laziness; inaction or want of exertion of body or mind, proceeding from love of ease or aversion to toil. Indolence, like laziness, implies a constitutional or habitual love of ease; idleness does not.


Topic: Indolent
Definition:
IN'DOLENT, a.  Habitually idle or indisposed to labor; lazy; listless; sluggish; indulging in ease; applied to persons.
1.  Inactive; idle; as an indolent life.
2.  Free from pain; as an indolent tumor.


Topic: Indolently
Definition:
IN'DOLENTLY, adv.  In habitual idleness and ease; without action, activity or exertion; lazily.
 Calm and serene you indolently sit.


Topic: Indorse
Definition:
INDORSE, v.t. indors'. [L. in and dorsum, the back.]
1.  To write on the back of a paper or written instrument; as, to indorse a note or bill of exchange; to indorse a receipt or assignment on a bill or note.  Hence,
2.  To assign by writing an order on the back of a note or bill; to assign or transfer by indorsement. The bill was indorsed to the bank.
To indorse in blank, to write a name only on a note or bill, leaving a blank to be filled by the indorsee.


Topic: Indorsement
Definition:
INDORSEMENT, n. indors'ment.  The act of writing on the back of a note, bill, or other written instrument.
1.  That which is written on the back of a note, bill, or other paper, as a name, an order for payment,the return of an officer, or the verdict of a grand jury.


Topic: Indorser
Definition:
INDORS'ER, n.  The person who indorses, or writes his name on the back of a note or bill of exchange, and who, by this act, as the case may be, makes himself liable to pay the note or bill.


Topic: Indubious
Definition:
INDU'BIOUS, a. [L. indubius; in and dubius, doubtful.]
1.  Not dubious or doubtful; certain.
2.  Not doubting; unsuspecting; as indubious confidence.


Topic: Indubitable
Definition:
INDU'BITABLE, a. [L. indubitabilis; in and dubitabilis, from dubito, to doubt.]  Not to be doubted; unquestionable; evident; apparently certain; too plain to admit of doubt.


Topic: Induce
Definition:
INDU'CE, v.t. [L. induco; in and duco, to lead.]
1.  To lead, as by persuasion or argument; to prevail on; to incite; to influence by motives.  The emperor could not be induced to take part in the contest.
2.  To produce by influence.
 As this belief is absolutely necessary for all mankind, the evidence for inducing it must be of that nature as to accommodate itself to all species of men.
3.  To produce; to bring on; to cause; as a fever induced by extreme fatigue. The revolution in France has induced a change of opinions and of property.
4.  To introduce; to bring into view.
 The poet may be seen inducing his personages in the first Iliad.
5.  To offer by way of induction or inference. [Not used.]


Topic: Inducement
Definition:
INDU'CEMENT, n.  Motive; any thing that leads the mind to will or to act; any argument, reason or fact that tends to persuade or influence the mind.  The love of ease is an inducement to idleness.  The love of money is an inducement to industry in good men, and to the perpetration of crimes in the bad.


Topic: Induct
Definition:
INDUCT', v.t. [L. inductus, from induco; in and duco, to lead.]
Literally, to being in or introduce. Hence, appropriately,
1.  To introduce, as to a benefice or office; to put in actual possession of an ecclesiastical living or of any other office, with the customary forms and ceremonies.  Clerks or parsons are inducted by a mandate from the bishop to the archdeacon, who usually issued a precept to other clergymen to perform the duty. In the United States, certain civil officers and presidents of colleges, are inducted into office with appropriate ceremonies.


Topic: Inductile
Definition:
INDUCT'ILE, a. [in and ductile.]  Not capable of being drawn into threads, as a metal.  [See Ductile.]


Topic: Induction
Definition:
INDUC'TION, n. [L. inductio.  See Induct.]
1.  Literally, a bringing in; introduction; entrance. Hence,
2.  In logic and rhetoric, the act of drawing a consequence from two or more propositions, which are called premises.
3.  The method of reasoning from particulars to generals, or the inferring of one general proposition from several particular ones.
4.  The conclusion or inference drawn from premises or from propositions which are admitted to be true, either in fact, or for the sake of argument.
5.  The introduction of a clergyman into a benefice, or giving possession of an ecclesiastical living; or the introduction of a person into an office by the usual forms and ceremonies. Induction is applied to the introduction of officers, only when certain oaths are to be administered or other formalities are to be observed, which are intended to confer authority or give dignity to the transaction. In Great Britain, induction is used for giving possession of ecclesiastical offices.  In the United States, it is applied to the formal introduction of civil officers,and the higher officers of colleges.


Topic: Inductive
Definition:
INDUCT'IVE, a. Leading or drawing; with to.
 A brutish vice,
 Inductive mainly to the sin of Eve.
1.  Tending to induce or cause.
 They may be inductive of credibility. [Unusual.]
2.  Leading to inferences; proceeding by induction; employed in drawing conclusions from promises; as inductive reasoning.


Topic: Indue
Definition:
INDUE, v.t. indu'. [L. induo.  This word coincides nearly in signification with endow, that is, to put on, to furnish. Dueo is evidently a contracted word.]
1.  To put on something; to invest; to clothe; as, to indue matter with forms, or man with intelligence.
2.  To furnish; to supply with; to endow.


Topic: Indulge
Definition:
INDULGE, v.t. indulj'. [L. indulgeo; tolero.]
1.  To permit to be or to continue; to suffer; not to restrain or oppose; as, to indulge sloth; to indulge the passions; to indulge pride, selfishness or inclinations.
2.  To gratify, negatively; not to check or restrain the will, appetite or desire; as, to indulge children in amusements.
3.  To gratify, positively; to grant something not of right, but as a favor; to grant in compliance with wishes or desire.
 Yet, yet a moment, one dim ray of light
 Indulge, dread Chaos and eternal Night!
4.  In general, to gratify; to favor; to humor; to yield to the wishes of; to withhold restraint from.
It is remarked by Johnson, that if the matter of indulgence is a single thing, it has with before it; if it is a habit, it has in.  He indulged himself with a glass of wine; he indulges himself in sloth or intemperance.
INDULGE, v.t. indulj'.  To permit to enjoy or practice; or to yield to the enjoyment or practice of, without restraint or control; as, to indulge in sin, or in sensual pleasure.  This form of expression is elliptical, a pronoun being omitted; as, to indulge myself or  himself.
 Most men are more willing to indulge in easy vices, than to practice laborious virtues.
1.  To yield; to comply; to be favorable. [Little used.]


Topic: Indulged
Definition:
INDUL'GED, pp. Permitted to be and to operate without check or control; as love of pleasure indulged to excess.
1.  Gratified; yielded to; humored in wishes or desires; as a child indulged by his parents.
2.  Granted.


Topic: Indulgent
Definition:
INDUL'GENT, a.  Yielding to the wishes, desires,humor or appetites of those under one's care; compliant; not opposing or restraining; as an indulgent parent.
1.  Mild, favorable; not severe; as the indulgent censure of posterity.
2.  Gratifying; favoring; with of.
 The feeble old, indulgent of their ease.


Topic: Indurate
Definition:
IN'DURATE, v.i. [L. induro; in and duro, to harden.]
To grow hard; to harden or become hard.  Clay indurates by drying, and by extreme heat.
IN'DURATE, v.t.  To make hard.  Extreme heat indurates clay.  Some fossils are indurated by exposure to the air.
1. To make unfeeling; to deprive of sensibility; to render obdurate; as, to indurate the heart.


Topic: Industrious
Definition:
INDUS'TRIOUS, a. [L. industrius, from industria.]
1.  Diligent in business or study; constantly, regularly or habitually occupied in business; assiduous; opposed to slothful and idle.
 Frugal and industrious men are commonly friendly to the established government.
2.  Diligent in a particular pursuit, or to a particular end; opposed to remiss or slack; as industrious to accomplish a journey, or to reconcile contending parties.
3.  Given to industry; characterized by diligence; as an industrious life.
4.  Careful; assiduous; as the industrious application of knowing men.


Topic: Industriously
Definition:
INDUS'TRIOUSLY, adv.  With habitual diligence; with steady application of the powers of body or of mind.
1.  Diligently; assiduously; with care; applied to a particular purpose.  He attempted industriously to make peace. He industriously concealed his name.


Topic: Industry
Definition:
IN'DUSTRY, n. [L. industria.]  Habitual diligence in any employment, either bodily or mental; steady attention to business; assiduity; opposed to sloth and idleness.  We are directed to take lessons of industry from the bee.  Industry pays debts, while idleness or despair will increase them.


Topic: Indwelling
Definition:
INDWELL'ING, a. [in and dwelling.]  Dwelling within; remaining in the heart, even after it is renewed; as indwelling sin.
INDWELL'ING, n.  Residence within, or in the heart or soul.


Topic: Inebriant
Definition:
INE'BRIANT, a.  [See Inebriate.]  Intoxicating.
INE'BRIANT, n.  Any thing that intoxicates, as opium.


Topic: Inebriate
Definition:
INE'BRIATE, v.t. [L. inebrio, inebriatus; in and ebrio, to intoxicate; ebrius, soaked, drenched, drunken.  The Latin ebrius is contracted from ebrigus or ebregus, as appears from the Spanish embriagar, to intoxicate, embriago, inebriated; Gr. to water or irrigate.  See Rain.]
1.  To make drunk; to intoxicate.
2.  To disorder the senses; to stupefy, or to make furious or frantic; to produce effects like those of liquor, which are various in different constitutions.
INE'BRIATE, v.i.  To be or become intoxicated.
INE'BRIATE, n.  A habitual drunkard.
 Some inebriates have their paroxysms of inebriety terminated by much pale urine, profuse sweats, &c.


Topic: Ineffable
Definition:
INEF'FABLE, a. [L. ineffabilis; in and effabilis, from effor, to speak.]  Unspeakable; unutterable; that cannot be expressed in words; usually in a good sense; as the ineffable joys of heaven; the ineffable glories of the Deity.


Topic: Ineffective
Definition:
INEFFECT'IVE, a. [in and effective.]  Not effective; not producing any effect, or the effect intended; inefficient; useless.
 The word of God,without the spirit,is a dead and ineffective letter.
1.  Not able; not competent to the service intended; as ineffective troops; ineffective force.
2. Producing no effect.


Topic: Ineffectual
Definition:
INEFFECT'UAL, a. [in and effectual.]  Not producing its proper effect, or not able to produce its effect; inefficient; weak; as an ineffectual remedy; the Spaniards made an ineffectual attempt to reduce Gibraltar.  [See Inefficacious.]


Topic: Ineffectualness
Definition:
INEFFECT'UALNESS, n.  Want of effect, or of power to produce it; inefficacy.
 James speaks of the ineffectualness of some men's devotion.


Topic: Ineffervescibility
Definition:
INEFFERVESCIBIL'ITY, n.  The quality of not effervescing, or not being susceptible of effervescence.


Topic: Inefficacious
Definition:
INEFFICA'CIOUS, a. [L. inefficax; in and efficax, efficio, to effect; ex and facio, to make.]
Not efficacious; not having power to produce the effect desired, or the proper effect; of inadequate power or force.
Ineffectual, says Johnson, rather denotes an actual failure, and inefficacious, an habitual impotence to any effect.  But the distinction is not always observed, nor can it be; for we cannot always know whether means are inefficacious, till experiment has proved them ineffectual; nor even then, for we cannot be certain that the failure of means to produce an effect is to be attributed to habitual want of power, or to accidental and temporary causes. 
Inefficacious is therefore sometimes synonymous with ineffectual.


Topic: Inefficacy
Definition:
INEF'FICACY, n. [in and efficacy, L. efficacia.]
1.  Want of power to produce the desired or proper effect; inefficiency; as the inefficacy of medicines or of means.
2.  Ineffectualness; failure of effect.


Topic: Inefficiency
Definition:
INEFFI'CIENCY, n. [in and efficiency.]  Want of power or exertion of power to produce the effect; inefficacy.


Topic: Inefficient
Definition:
INEFFI'CIENT, a. [in and efficient.]  Not efficient; not producing the effect; inefficacious.
1.  Not active; effecting nothing; as an inefficient force.


Topic: Inelegant
Definition:
INEL'EGANT, a. [L. inelegans; in and elegans, from the root of eligo, to choose.]  Not elegant; wanting beauty or polish, as language, or refinement, as manners; wanting symmetry or ornament, as an edifice; in short, wanting in any thing which correct taste requires.


Topic: Ineligibility
Definition:
INELIGIBIL'ITY, n. [from ineligible.]  Incapacity of being elected to an office.
1.  State or quality of not being worthy of choice.


Topic: Ineligible
Definition:
INEL'IGIBLE, a. [in and eligible.]  Not capable of being elected to an office.
1.  Not worthy to be chosen or preferred; not expedient.


Topic: Ineloquent
Definition:
INEL'OQUENT, a. [in and eloquent.]  Not eloquent; not speaking with fluency, propriety, grace and pathos; not persuasive; used of persons.
1.  Not fluent, graceful or pathetic; not persuasive; as language or composition.


Topic: Ineluctable
Definition:
INELUCT'ABLE, a. [L. ineluctabilis.]  Not to be resisted by struggling; not to be overcome. [Not used.]


Topic: Inept
Definition:
INEPT', a. [L. ineptus; in and aptus, fit, apt.]
1.  Not apt or fit; unfit; unsuitable.
2.  Improper; unbecoming; foolish.


Topic: Inequality
Definition:
INEQUAL'ITY, n. [L. inoequalitas; in and oequalis, equal.]
1.  Difference or want of equality in degree, quantity, length, or quality of any kind; the state of not having equal measure, degree, dimensions or amount; as an inequality in size or stature; an inequality of number or of power; inequality of distances or of motions.
2. Unevenness; want of levelness; the alternate rising and falling of a surface; as the inequalities of the surface of the earth, or of a marble slab.
3.  Disproportion to any office or purpose inadequacy; incompetency; as the inequality of terrestrial things to the wants of a rational soul.
4.  Diversity; want of uniformity in different times or places, as the inequality of air or temperature.
5.  Difference of rank, station or condition; as the inequalities of men in society; inequalities of rank or property.


Topic: Inerrability
Definition:
INERRABIL'ITY, n. [from inerrable.]  Exemption from error or from the possibility of erring; infallibility.


Topic: Inert
Definition:
INERT', a. [L. iners; in and ars, art.  The English sense is drawn not from art, but from the primary sense, strength or vigorous action.]
1.  Destitute of the power of moving itself, or of active resistance to motion impressed; as, matter is inert.
2.  Dull; sluggish; indisposed to move or act.


Topic: Inertion
Definition:
INER'TION, n.  Want of activity; want of action or exertion.
 These vicissitudes of exertion and inertion of the arterial system, constitute the paroxysms of remittent fever.


Topic: Inertitude
Definition:
INERT'ITUDE, n.  The state of being inert, or a tendency to remain quiescent till impelled by external force to move.


Topic: Inertness
Definition:
INERT'NESS, n.  The state or quality of being inert, or destitute of the power to move per se; that quality of passiveness by which bodies persist in a state of rest, or of motion given to them by external force. In the language of philosophy, this quality is called vis inertioe, or inertia.
1.  Want of activity or exertion; habitual indisposition to action or motion; sluggishness.
In esse, [L.] in being; actually existing; distinguished from in posse, or in potentia, which denote that a thing is not, but may be.


Topic: Inestimable
Definition:
INES'TIMABLE, a. [L. inoestimabilis.  See Estimate.]
1.  That cannot be estimated or computed; as an inestimable sum of money.
2.  Too valuable or excellent to be rated; being above all price; as inestimable rights.  The privileges of American citizens, civil and religious, are inestimable.


Topic: Inevitable
Definition:
INEV'ITABLE, a. [L. inevitabilis; in and evitabilis, from evito, to shun.]  Not to be avoided; that cannot be shunned; unavoidable; that admits of no escape or evasion. To die is the inevitable lot of man; we are all subjected to many inevitable calamities.


Topic: Inevitably
Definition:
INEV'ITABLY, adv.  Without possibility of escape or evasion; unavoidably; certainly.
 How inevitably does immoderate laughter end in a sigh!


Topic: Inexcusable
Definition:
INEXCU'SABLE, a. s as z. [L. inexcusabilis; in and excusabilis, excuso.  See Excuse.]  Not to be excused or justified; as inexcusable folly.


Topic: Inexcusableness
Definition:
INEXCU'SABLENESS, n. The quality of not admitting of excuse or justification; enormity beyond forgiveness or palliation.
 This inexcusableness is stated on the supposition that they knew God, but did not glorify him.


Topic: Inexhausted
Definition:
INEXHAUST'ED, a. [in and exhausted.]
1.  Not exhausted; not emptied; unexhausted.
2.  Not spent; not having lost all strength or resources; unexhausted.


Topic: Inexhaustible
Definition:
INEXHAUST'IBLE, a. [in and exhaustible.]
1.  That cannot be exhausted or emptied; unfailing; as an inexhaustible quantity or supply of water.
2.  That cannot be wasted or spent; as inexhaustible stores of provisions.


Topic: Inexorable
Definition:
INEX'ORABLE, a. [L. inexorabilis; in and exorabilis, from exoro, to entreat; ex and oro, to pray.]
1.  Not to be persuaded or moved by entreaty or prayer; too firm and determined in purpose to yield to supplication; as an inexorable prince or tyrant; an inexorable judge.
2.  Unyielding; that cannot be made to bend.
 Inexorable equality of laws.


Topic: Inexpedient
Definition:
INEXPE'DIENT, a. [in and expedient.]  Not expedient; not tending to promote a purpose; not tending to a good end; unfit; improper; unsuitable to time and place.  Whatever tends to retard or defeat success in a good cause is inexpedient.  What is expedient at one time, may be inexpedient at another.


Topic: Inexperience
Definition:
INEXPE'RIENCE, n. [in and experience.]  Want of experience or experimental knowledge; as the inexperience of youth, or their inexperience of the world.


Topic: Inexpert
Definition:
INEXPERT', a. [in and expert.]  Not expert; not skilled; destitute of knowledge or dexterity derived from practice.
 In letters and in laws
 Not inexpert.


Topic: Inexpialbe
Definition:
INEX'PIALBE, a. [L. inexpiabilis.  See Expiate.]
1.  That admits of no atonement or satisfaction; as an inexpiable crime or offense.
2.  That cannot be mollified or appeased by atonement; as inexpiable hate.


Topic: Inexplicable
Definition:
INEX'PLICABLE, a. [L. inexplicabilis; in and explico, to unfold.]
That cannot be explained or interpreted; not capable of being rendered plain and intelligible; as an inexplicable mystery.


Topic: Inexplorable
Definition:
INEXPLO'RABLE, a. [in and explorable, from explore.]
That cannot be explored, searched or discovered.


Topic: Inexpressible
Definition:
INEXPRESS'IBLE, a. [in and expressible, from express.]
Not to be expressed in words; not to be uttered; unspeakable; unutterable; as inexpressible grief, joy or pleasure.


Topic: Inexpressibly
Definition:
INEXPRESS'IBLY, adv. In a manner or degree not to be told or expressed in words; unspeakably; unutterably.


Topic: Inexpugnable
Definition:
INEXPUG'NABLE, a. [L. inexpugnabilis; in and expugno; ex and pugno, to fight.]  Not to be subdued by force; not to be taken by assault; impregnable.


Topic: Inextinguishable
Definition:
INEXTIN'GUISHABLE, a. [in and extinguishable.]  That cannot be extinguished; unquenchable; as inextinguishable flame, thirst or desire.


Topic: Inextricable
Definition:
INEX'TRICABLE, a. [L. inextricabilis.  See Extricate.]
1.  Not to be disentangled; not to be freed from intricacy or perplexity; as an inextricable maze or difficulty.
2.  Not to be untied; as an inextricable knot.


Topic: Infallibleness
Definition:
INFAL'LIBLENESS, n. [from infallible.]  The quality of being incapable of error or mistake; entire exemption from liability to error; inerrability.  No human being can justly lay claim to infallibility.  This is an attribute of God only.


Topic: Infallibly
Definition:
INFAL'LIBLY, adv.  Without a possibility of erring or mistaking.
1.  Certainly; without a possibility of failure.  Our Savior has directed us to conduct that will infallibly render us happy.


Topic: Infamous
Definition:
IN'FAMOUS, a. [L. infamis; infamo, to defame; in and fama, fame.]
1.  Of ill report, emphatically; having a reputation of the worst kind; publicly branded with odium for vice of guilt; base; scandalous; notoriously vile; used of persons; as an infamous liar; an infamous rake or gambler.
2.  Odious; detestable; held in abhorrence; that renders a person infamous rake or gambler.
3.  Branded with infamy by conviction of a crime.  An infamous person cannot be a witness.


Topic: Infamously
Definition:
IN'FAMOUSLY, adv.  In a manner or degree to render infamous; scandalously; disgracefully; shamefully.
1.  With open reproach.


Topic: Infancy
Definition:
IN'FANCY, n. [L. infantia. See Infant.]
1.  The first part of life, beginning at the birth. In common usage, infancy extends not beyond the first year or two of life, but there is not a defined limit where infancy ends, and childhood begins.
2.  In law, infancy extends to the age of twenty one years.
3.  The first age of any thing; the beginning or early period of existence; as the infancy of the Roman republic; the infancy of a college or of a charitable society; the infancy of agriculture, of manufactures, or of commerce.


Topic: Infangthef
Definition:
INFANG'THEF, n.  In English law, the privilege granted to lords to judge thieves taken on their manors, or within their franchises.


Topic: Infant
Definition:
IN'FANT, n. [L. infans; in and fans, speaking, fari, to speak.]
1.  A child in the first period of life, beginning at his birth; a young babe. In common usage, a child ceases to be called an infant within the first or second year, but at no definite period. In some cases, authors indulge a greater latitude, and extend the term to include children of several years of age.
2.  In law, a person under the age of twenty one years, who is incapable of making valid contracts.
IN'FANT, a. Pertaining to infancy or the first period of life.
1.  Young; tender; not mature; as infant strength.


Topic: Infanta
Definition:
INFANT'A, n. In Spain and Portugal, any princes of the royal blood, except the eldest daughter when heiress apparent.


Topic: Infanticide
Definition:
INFANT'ICIDE, n. [Low L. infanticidium; infans, an infant, and coedo, to kill.]
1.  The intentional killing of an infant.
2.  The slaughter of infants by Herod. Matt.2.
3.  A slayer of infants.


Topic: Infantile
Definition:
IN'FANTILE, a. [L. infantilis.]  Pertaining to infancy, or to an infant; pertaining to the first period of life.


Topic: Infantry
Definition:
IN'FANTRY, n.  In military affairs,the soldiers or troops that serve on foot, as distinguished from cavalry; as a company,regiment or brigade of infantry.  In some armies, there have been heavy-armed infantry, and light-armed or light infantry, according to their manner of arming and equipping.


Topic: Infarction
Definition:
INFARC'TION, n. [L. infarcio, infercio, to stuff; in and farcio.]
The act of stuffing or filling; constipation.


Topic: Infatuate
Definition:
INFAT'UATE, v.t. [L. infatuo; in and fatuus, foolish.]
1.  To make foolish; to affect with folly; to weaken the intellectual powers, or to deprive of sound judgment.  In general, this word does not signify to deprive absolutely of rational powers and reduce to idiocy, but to deprive of sound judgment, so that a person infatuated acts in certain cases as a fool, or without common discretion and prudence.  Whom God intends to destroy, he first infatuates.
 The judgment of God will be very visible in infatuating a people, ripe and prepared for destruction.
2.  To prepossess or incline to a person or thing in a manner not justified by prudence or reason; to inspire with an extravagant or foolish passion, too obstinate to be controlled by reason.  Men are often infatuated with a love of gaming, or of sensual pleasure.


Topic: Infatuation
Definition:
INFATUA'TION, n.  The act of affecting with folly.
1.  A state of mind in which the intellectual powers are weakened, either generally, or in regard to particular objects, so that the person affected acts without his usual judgment, and contrary to the dictates of reason.  All men who waste their substance in gaming, intemperance or any other vice, are chargeable with infatuation.


Topic: Infeasibleness
Definition:
INFE'ASIBLENESS, n. s as z. [from infeasible.]
Impracticability; the quality of not being capable of being done or performed.


Topic: Infect
Definition:
INFECT', v.t. [L. inficio,infectus; in and facio.]
1.  To taint with disease; to infuse into a healthy body the virus, miasma, or morbid matter of a diseased body, or any pestilential or noxious air or substance by which a disease is produced. Persons in health are infected by the contagion of the plague, of syphilis, of small pox, of measles, of malignant fevers.  In some cases, persons can be infected only by contact, as in syphilis; in most cases,they may be infected without contact with the diseased body.
2.  To taint or affect with morbid or noxious matter; as, to infect a lancet; to infect clothing; to infect an apartment.
3.  To communicate bad qualities to; to corrupt; to taint by the communication of any thing noxious or pernicious.  It is melancholy to see the young infected and corrupted by vicious examples, or the minds of our citizens infected with errors.
4.  To contaminate with illegality.
INFECT', a.  Infected.  [Not used.]


Topic: Infected
Definition:
INFECT'ED, pp.  Tainted with noxious matter; corrupted by poisonous exhalations; corrupted by bad qualities communicated.


Topic: Infection
Definition:
INFEC'TION, n. [L. inficio.]  The act of infecting, or the act by which poisonous matter, morbid miasmata or exhalations produce disease in a healthy body.  The words contagion and infection are frequently confounded.  The proper distinction between them is this.  Contagion is the virus or effluvium generated in a diseased body, and capable of producing the specific disease in a healthy body by contact or otherwise.  Marsh miasm is not properly contagion.  Infection is any thing that taints or corrupts; hence it includes contagion, and any other morbid, noxious matter which may excite disease in a healthy body.  Hence, 
1.  The morbid cause which excites disease in a healthy or uninfected body.  This cause may be contagion from a diseased body, or other poisonous or noxious matter received into the body or under the skin.  The infection of the plague and of yellow fever, is said to be imported in ships and conveyed in clothing; persons are said to take the infection from a diseased person, or from the air of apartments where the sick are confined.  The infection spreads in a city, or it is free from infection.  Pestilential exhalations are called infections.
Infection is used in two acceptations; first, as denoting the effluvium or infectious matter exhaled from the person of one diseased, in which sense it is synonymous with contagion; and secondly, as signifying the act of communication of such morbid effluvium, by which disease is transferred.
2.  That which taints, poisons or corrupts by communication from one to another; as the infection of error or of evil example.
3.  Contamination by illegality, as in cases of contraband goods.
4.  Communication of like qualities.
 Mankind are gay or serious by infection.


Topic: Infectious
Definition:
INFEC'TIOUS, a. Having qualities that may taint, or communicate disease to; as an infectious fever; infectious clothing; infectious air; infectious miasma.
1.  Corrupting; tending to taint by communication; as infectious vices or manners.
2.  Contaminating with illegality; exposing to seizure and forfeiture.
 Contraband articles are said to be of an infectious nature.
3.  Capable of being communicated by near approach.
 Grief as well as joy is infectious.


Topic: Infectiousness
Definition:
INFEC'TIOUSNESS, n.  The quality of being infectious, or capable of communicating disease or taint from one to another.


Topic: Infecund
Definition:
INFE'CUND, a. [L. infoecundus; in and foecundus, prolific.]
Unfruitful; not producing young; barren.


Topic: Infelicity
Definition:
INFELIC'ITY, n. [L. infelicitas.  See Felicity.]
Unhappiness; misfortune.
1. Unfortunate state; unfaborableness; as the infelicity of the times, or of the occasion.


Topic: Infer
Definition:
INFER', v.t. [L. infero; in and fero, to bear or produce.]
1.  Literally, to bring on; to induce. [Little used.]
2.  To deduce; to draw or derive, as a fact or consequence.  From the character of God, as creator and governor of the world, we infer the indispensable obligation of all his creatures to obey his commands.  We infer one proposition or truth from another, when we perceive that if one is true, the other must be true also.
3.  To offer; to produce.  [Not used.]


Topic: Inference
Definition:
IN'FERENCE, n.  A truth or proposition drawn from another which is admitted or supposed to be true; a conclusion. Inferences result from reasoning, as when the mind perceives such a connection between ideas, as that, if certain propositions called premises are true, the conclusions or propositions deduced from them must also be true.


Topic: Inferior
Definition:
INFE'RIOR, a. [L. comp. from inferus, low.]
1.  Lower in place.
2.  Lower in station, age, or rank in life.  Pay due respect to those who are superior in station, and due civility to those who are inferior.
3.  Lower in excellence or value; as a poem of inferior merit; cloth of inferior quality or price.
4.  Subordinate; of less importance.  Attend to health and safety; ease and convenience are inferior considerations.
INFE'RIOR, n. A person who is younger, or of a lower station or rank in society.
 A person gets more by obliging his inferior, than by disdaining him.


Topic: Inferiority
Definition:
INFERIOR'ITY, n.  A lower state of dignity, age, value or quality.  We speak of the inferiority of rank, of office, of talents, of age, of worth.


Topic: Infernal
Definition:
INFERN'AL, a. [L. infernus.]
1.  Properly, pertaining to the lower regions, or regions of the dead, the Tartarus of the ancients.  Hence,
2.  Pertaining to hell; inhabiting hell; as infernal spirits.
3.  Hellish; resembling the temper of infernal spirits; malicious; diabolical; very wicked and detestable.
INFERN'AL, n.  An inhabitant of hell, or of the lower regions.
Infernal stone [Lapis infernalis.] a name formerly given to lunar caustic, a substance prepared from an evaporated solution of silver, or from crystals of silver.
Lunar caustic is nitrate of silver fused and cast in small cylinders.


Topic: Infertile
Definition:
INFER'TILE, a. [L. infertilis; in and fertilis.]
Not fertile; not fruitful or productive; barren; as an infertile soil.


Topic: Infest
Definition:
INFEST', v.t. [L. infesto.]  To trouble greatly; to disturb; to annoy; to harass.  In warm weather, men ar infested with musketoes and gnats; flies infest horses and cattle. The sea is often infested with pirates.  Small parties of the enemy infest the coast.
 These, said the genius, are envy, avarice, superstition,love, with the like cares and passions that infest human life.


Topic: Infestivity
Definition:
INFESTIV'ITY, n. [in and festivity.]  Want of festivity, or of cheerfulness and mirth at entertainments.


Topic: Infeudation
Definition:
INFEUDA'TION, n. [in and feudum, feud.]
1.  The act of putting one in possession of an estate in fee.
2.  The granting of tithes to laymen.


Topic: Infidel
Definition:
IN'FIDEL, a. [L. infidelis; in and fidelis; faithful.]
Unbelieving; disbelieving the inspiration of the Scriptures, or the divine institution of christianity.
 The infidel writer is a great enemy to society.
IN'FIDEL, n.  One who disbelieves the inspiration of the Scriptures, and the divine origin of christianity.


Topic: Infidelity
Definition:
INFIDEL'ITY, n. [L. infidelitas.]
1.  In general, want of faith or belief; a withholding of credit.
2.  Disbelief of the inspiration of the Scriptures, or the divine original of christianity; unbelief.
 There is no doubt that vanity is one principal cause of infidelity.
3.  Unfaithfulness, particularly in married persons; a violation of the marriage covenant by adultery or lewdness.
4.  Breach of trust; treachery; deceit; as the infidelity of a friend or a servant.  In this sense, unfaithfulness is most used.


Topic: Infiltration
Definition:
INFILTRA'TION, n.  The act or process of entering the pores or cavities of a body.
1.  The substance which has entered the pores or cavities of a body.
 Calcarious infiltrations, filling the cavities of other stones.


Topic: Infinite
Definition:
IN'FINITE, a. [L. infinitus; in and finitus, terminated.]
1.  Without limits; unbounded; boundless; not circumscribed; applied to time, space and qualities.  God is infinite in duration, having neither beginning nor end of existence.  He is also infinite in presence, or omnipresent, and his perfections are infinite.  We also speak of infinite space.
2.  That will have no end. Thus angels and men, though they have had a beginning, will exist in infinite duration.
3.  That has a beginning in space, but is infinitely extended; as, a line beginning at a point, but extended indefinitely, is an infinite line.
4.  Infinite is used loosely and hyperbolically for indefinitely large, immense, of great size or extent.
Infinite canon, in music, a perpetual fugue.


Topic: Infinitely
Definition:
IN'FINITELY, adv.  Without bounds or limits.
1.  Immensely; greatly; to a great extent or degree; as, I am infinitely obliged by your condescension.


Topic: Infiniteness
Definition:
IN'FINITENESS, n.  Boundless extent of time, space or qualities; infinity.
1.  Immensity; greatness.


Topic: Infinitive
Definition:
INFIN'ITIVE, a. [L. infinitivus.]
In grammar, the infinitive mode expresses the action of the verb, without limitation of person or number; as, to love.


Topic: Infinitude
Definition:
INFIN'ITUDE, n.  Infinity; infiniteness; the quality or state of being without limits; infinite extent; as the infinitude of space, of time, or of perfections.
1.  Immensity; greatness.
2.  Boundless number.


Topic: Infinity
Definition:
INFIN'ITY, n. [L. infinitas.]
1.  Unlimited extent of time, space or quantity; boundlessness.  We apply infinity to God and his perfections; we speak of the infinity of his existence, his knowledge, his power, his goodness and holiness.
2.  Immensity; indefinite extent.
3.  Endless or indefinite number; a hyperbolical use of the word; as an infinity of beauties.


Topic: Infirm
Definition:
INFIRM, a. inferm'. [L. infirmus; in and firmus.]
1.  Not firm or sound; weak; feeble; as an infirm body; an infirm constitution.
2.  Weak of mind; irresolute; as infirm of purpose.
3.  Not solid or stable.
 He who fixes on false principles, treads on infirm ground.
INFIRM, v.t. inferm'.  To weaken.  [Not used.]


Topic: Infirmity
Definition:
INFIRMITY, n. inferm'ity. [L. infirmitas.]
1.  An unsound or unhealthy state of the body; weakness; feebleness.  Old age is subject to infirmities.
2.  Weakness of mind; failing; fault; foible.
 A friend should bear a friend's infirmities.
3.  Weakness of resolution.
4.  Any particular disease; malady; applied rather to chronic, than to violent diseases.
5.  Defect; imperfection; weakness; as the infirmities of a constitution of government.


Topic: Infix
Definition:
INFIX', v.t. [L. infixus, infigo; in and figo, to fix.]
1.  To fix by piercing or thrusting in; as, to infix a sting, spear or dart.
2.  To set in; to fasten in something.
3.  To implant or fix, as principles,thoughts, instructions, as, to infix good principles in the mind, or ideas in the memory.


Topic: Inflame
Definition:
INFLA'ME, v.t. [L. inflammo; in and flamma, flame.]
1.  To set on fire; to kindle; to cause to burn; in a literal sense. But more generally,
2.  To excite or increase, as passion or appetite; to enkindle into violent action; as, to inflame love, lust or thirst; to inflame desire or anger.
3.  To exaggerate; to aggravate in description.
 A friend exaggerates a man's virtues, an enemy inflames his crimes. [Unusual.]
4.  To heat; to excite excessive action in the blood; as to inflame the blood or body; to inflame with wine.
5.  To provoke; to irritate; to anger.
6.  To increase; to exasperate; as, to inflame the enmity of parties, or the spirit of sedition.
7.  To increase; to augment; as, to inflame a presumption.
INFLA'ME, v.i.  To grow hot, angry and painful.


Topic: Inflammable
Definition:
INFLAM'MABLE, a.  That may be set on fire; easily enkindled; susceptible of combustion; as inflammable oils or spirits.


Topic: Inflammableness
Definition:
INFLAM'MABLENESS, n.  The quality of being susceptible of flame, or capable of taking fire; inflammability.


Topic: Inflammation
Definition:
INFLAMMA'TION, n. [L. inflammatio.]
1.  The act of setting on fire or inflaming.
2.  The state of being in flame.
3.  In medicine and surgery, a redness and swelling of any part of an animal body, attended with heat, pain and febrile symptoms.
4.  Violent excitement; heat; animosity; turbulence; as an inflammation of the body politic, or of parties.


Topic: Inflammatory
Definition:
INFLAM'MATORY, a.  Inflaming; tending to excite heat or inflammation; as medicines of an inflammatory nature.
1.  Accompanied with preternatural heat and excitement of arterial action; as an inflammatory fever or disease.
2.  Tending to excite anger, animosity, tumult or sedition; as inflammatory libels, writings, speeches or publications.


Topic: Inflate
Definition:
INFLA'TE, v.t. [L. inflatus, from inflo; in and flo, to blow.]
1.  To swell or distend by injecting air; as, to inflate a bladder; to inflate the lungs.
2.  To fill with the breath; to blow in.
3.  To swell; to puff up; to elate; as, to inflate one with pride or vanity.
INFLA'TE


Topic: Inflated
Definition:
INFLA'TED, a.  In botany, puffed; hollow and distended; as a perianth, corol, nectary, or pericarp.
INFLA'TED, pp.  Swelled or distended with air; puffed up.


Topic: Inflation
Definition:
INFLA'TION, n. [L. inflatio.]  The act of inflating.
1.  The state of being distended with air injected or inhaled.
2.  The state of being puffed up, as with vanity.
3.  Conceit.


Topic: Inflect
Definition:
INFLECT', v.t.  [L. inflecto; in and flecto, to bend.]
1.  To bend; to turn from a direct line or course.
 Are not the rays of the sun reflected, refracted and inflected by one and the same principle?
2.  In grammar, to vary a noun or a verb in its terminations; to decline,as a noun or adjective, or to conjugate, as a verb.
3. To modulate, as the voice.


Topic: Inflected
Definition:
INFLECT'ED, pp.  Bent or turned from a direct line or course; as an inflected ray of light; varied in termination.


Topic: Inflecting
Definition:
INFLECT'ING, ppr.  Bending or turning from its course;  varying in termination; modulating, as the voice.


Topic: Inflection
Definition:
INFLEC'TION, n. [L. inflectio.]  The act of bending or turning from a direct line or course.
1.  In optics,a property of light by which its rays, when they approach a body, are bent towards it or from it.
2.  In grammar, the variation of nouns, &c., by declension, and verbs by conjugation.
3. Modulation of the voice in speaking.
 More commonly inflection gives significance to tones.
Point of inflection, in geometry, the point where a curve begins to bend the contrary way.


Topic: Inflexibleness
Definition:
INFLEX'IBLENESS, n. [L. in and flexibilis, from flecto, to bend.]
1.  The quality of being inflexible, or not capable of being bent; unyielding stiffness.
2.  Obstinacy of will or temper; firmness of purpose that will not yield to importunity or persuasion; unbending pertinacity.


Topic: Inflexibly
Definition:
INFLEX'IBLY, adv.  With a firmness that resists all importunity or persuasion; with unyielding pertinaciousness; inexorable.  A judge should be inflexibly just and impartial.


Topic: Inflict
Definition:
INFLICT', v.t. [L. inflictus, infligo; in and fligo, to strike; Eng. to flog.]
To lay on; to throw or send on; to apply; as, to inflict pain or disgrace; to inflict punishment on an offender.
To inflict an office, condition, knowledge, tenderness, &c. on one, as used by Chesterfield, is not an authorized use of the word.


Topic: Infliction
Definition:
INFLIC'TION, n. [L. inflictio.]  The act of laying on or applying; as the infliction of torment or of punishment.
1.  The punishment applied.
 His severest inflictions are in themselves acts of justice and righteousness.


Topic: Inflorescence
Definition:
INFLORES'CENCE, n. [L. inflorescens, infloresco, infloreo; in and floreo, to blossom.]
1.  In botany, a mode of flowering, or the manner in which flowers are supported on their foot-stalks or peduncles.
 Inflorescence affords an excellent characteristic mark in distinguishing the species of plants.
2.  A flowering; the unfolding of blossoms.


Topic: Influence
Definition:
IN'FLUENCE, n. [L. influens, influo, to flow in; in and fluo, to flow.]  Literally, a flowing in, into or on, and referring to substances spiritual or too subtil to be visible, like inspiration.  Hence the word was formerly followed by into.
 God hath his influence into the very essence of all things.
It is not followed by on or with.
1.  In a general sense, influence denotes power whose operation is invisible and known only by its effects, or a power whose cause and operation are unseen.
2.  The power which celestial bodies are supposed to exert on terrestrial; as the influence of the planets on the birth and fortunes of men; an exploded doctrine of astrology.
3.  Moral power; power of truth operating on the mind, rational faculties or will, in persuading or dissuading, as the influence of motives, of arguments,or of prayer.  We say, arguments had no influence on the jury. The magistrate is not popular; he has no influence with the people; or he has great influence with the prince.
4.  Physical power; power that affects natural bodies by unseen operation; as, the rays of the sun have an influence in whitening cloth, and in giving a green color to vegetables.
5.  Power acting on sensibility; as the influence of love or pity in sympathy.
6.  Spiritual power, or the immediate power of God on the mind; as divine influence; the influences of the Holy Spirit.
IN'FLUENCE, v.t.  To move by physical power operating by unseen laws or force; to affect.
 These experiments succeed after the same manner in vacuo, as in the open air, and therefore are not influenced by the weight or pressure of the atmosphere.
1.  To move by moral power; to act on and affect, as the mind or will, in persuading or dissuading; to induce.  Men are influenced by motives of interest or pleasure.  An orator may influence the people to take arms, or to abandon an enterprise.
2.  To move, as the passions, as, to influence one by pity.
3.  To lead or direct. This revelation is sufficient to influence our faith and practice.


Topic: Influential
Definition:
INFLUEN'TIAL, a. Exerting influence or power by invisible operation, as physical causes on bodies, or as moral causes on the mind.  It is particularly used to express the operation of moral causes.
Influential characters, persons who possess the power of inclining or controlling the minds of others.


Topic: Influenza
Definition:
INFLUEN'ZA, n.  An epidemic catarrh.  The influenza of October and November, 1789, and that of April and May, 1790, were very general or universal in the United States, and unusually severe.  A like influenza prevailed in the winters of 1825 and 1826.


Topic: Influx
Definition:
IN'FLUX, n. [L. influxus, influo; in and fluo, to flow.]
1.  The act of flowing in; as an influx of light or other fluid.
2.  Infusion; intromission.
 The influx of the knowledge of God, in relation to everlasting life, is infinitely of moment.
3.  Influence, power.  [Not used.]
4.  A coming in; introduction; importation in abundance; as a great influx of goods into a country, or an influx of gold and silver.


Topic: Infold
Definition:
INFOLD, v.i. [in and fold.]  To involve; to wrap up or enwrap; to inclose.
 Infold his limbs in bands.
1.  To clasp with the arms; to embrace.
 Noble Banco, let me infold thee,
 And hold thee to my heart.


Topic: Inform
Definition:
INFORM', v.t. [L. informo, to shape; in and formo, forma, form.]
Properly, to give form or shape to, but in this sense not used.
1.  To animate; to give life to; to actuate by vital powers.
 Let others better mold the running mass
 Of metals, and inform the breathing brass.
 Breath informs this fleeting frame.
 --Breathes in our soul, informs our vital part.
[This use is chiefly or wholly poetical.]
2.  To instruct; to tell to; to acquaint; to communicate knowledge to; to make known to by word or writing; usually followed by of.  Before we judge, we should be well informed of the facts relating to the case.  A messenger arrived and informed the commander of the state of the troops.  Letters from Europe inform us of the commencement of hostilities between the Persians and Turks.
3.  To communicate a knowledge of facts to one by way of accusation.
 Tertullus informed the governor against Paul. Acts.24.
In this application the verb is usually intransitive; as, A informed against B.
INFORM', v.i.  To give intelligence.
 He might either teach in the same manner, or inform how he had been taught--
To inform against, to communicate facts by way of accusation; to give intelligence of a breach of law.  Two persons came to the magistrate, and informed against A.
INFORM', a. [L. informis.]  Without regular form; shapeless; ugly.


Topic: Informal
Definition:
INFORM'AL, a. [in and formal.]  Not in the regular or usual form; as an informal writing; informal proceedings.
1. Not in the usual manner; not according to custom; as an informal visit.
2.  Not with the official forms; as the secretary made to the envoy an informal communication.


Topic: Informality
Definition:
INFORMAL'ITY, n.  [from informal.]  Want of regular or customary form.  The informality of legal proceedings may render them void.


Topic: Informant
Definition:
INFORM'ANT, n.  One who informs, or gives intelligence.
1.  One who offers an accusation.  [See Informer, which is generally used.]


Topic: Informer
Definition:
INFORM'ER, n.  One who animates, informs or gives intelligence.
1.  One who communicates, or whose duty it is to communicate to a magistrate a knowledge of the violations of law, and bring the offenders to trial.


Topic: Informidable
Definition:
INFORM'IDABLE, a. [in and formidable.]  Not formidable; not to be feared or dreaded.
 Foe not informidable.


Topic: Informing
Definition:
INFORM'ING, ppr.  Giving notice or intelligence; telling.
1.  Communicating facts by way of accusation.
Informing officer, is an officer whose duty it is to inform against persons for breaches of law, as an attorney-general, a sheriff, constable, or grand juror.
A common informer, is any person who informs against another.


Topic: Informtion
Definition:
INFORM'TION, n. [L. informatio.]
1. Intelligence; notice, news or advice communicated by word or writing.  We received information of the capture of the ship by an arrival at Boston.  The information by the messenger is confirmed by letters.
2.  Knowledge derived from reading or instruction.
 He should get some information in the subject he intends to handle.
3.  Knowledge derived from the senses or from the operation of the intellectual faculties.
 The active informations of the intellect--
4.  Communication of facts for the purpose of accusation; a charge or accusation exhibited to a magistrate or court.  An information is the accusation of a common informer or of a private person; the accusation of a grand jury is called an indictment or a presentment.


Topic: Infract
Definition:
INFRACT', v.t. [L. infractus, from infringo; in and frango, to break.]  To break; to violate.  [This is synonymous with infringe; it is an unnecessary word and little used.]


Topic: Infraction
Definition:
INFRAC'TION, n. [L. infractio.  See Infract.]
The act of breaking; breach; violation; non-observance; as an infraction of a treaty, compact, agreement or law.
 


Topic: Inframundane
Definition:
INFRAMUND'ANE, a. [L. infra, below and mundanus, mundus, the world.]   Lying or being beneath the world.


Topic: Infrangible
Definition:
INFRAN'GIBLE, a. [in and frangible.]
1.  Not to be broken or separated into parts; as infrangible atoms.
2. Not to be violated.


Topic: Infrequent
Definition:
INFRE'QUENT, a. [L. infrequens; in and frequens, frequent.]uncommon; seldom happening or occurring to notice; unfrequent.


Topic: Infringe
Definition:
INFRINGE, v.t. infrinj'. [L. infringo; in and frango,to break.  See Break.]
1.  To break, as contracts; to violate, either positively by contravention, or negatively by non-fulfillment or neglect of performance.  A prince or a private person infringes an agreement or covenant by neglecting to perform its conditions, as well as by doing what is stipulated not to be done.
2.  To break; to violate; to transgress; to neglect to fulfill or obey; as, to infringe a law.
3.  To destroy or hinder; as, to infringe efficacy.  [Little used.]


Topic: Infringement
Definition:
INFRINGEMENT, n. infrinj'ment.  Act of violating; breach; violation; non-fulfillment; as the infringement of a treaty, compact or other agreement; the infringement of a law or constitution.


Topic: Infundibuliform
Definition:
INFUNDIB'ULIFORM, a. [L. infundibulum, a funnel, and form.]
In botany, having the shape of a funnel,as the corol of a flower; monopetalous, having a conical border rising from a tube.


Topic: Infuriate
Definition:
INFU'RIATE,a. [L. in and furiatus, from furia, fury.]
Enraged; mad; raging.
INFU'RIATE, v.t.  To render furious or mad; to enrage.


Topic: Infuscate
Definition:
INFUS'CATE,v.t. [L. infuscatus,infusco, to make black; in and fusco, fuscus,dark.]  To darken; to make black.


Topic: Infuse
Definition:
INFU'SE, v.t. s as z. [L. infusus, infundo, to pour in; in and fundo, to pour.]
1.  To pour in, as a liquid.
 That strong Circean liquor cease t'infuse.
2.  To instill, as principles or qualities.
 Why should he desire to have qualities infused into his son, which himself never possessed.
4.  To introduce; as, to infuse Gallicisms into a composition.
5.  To inspire with; as, to infuse the breast with magnanimity. [Not used.]
6.  To steep in liquor without boiling, for the purpose of extracting medicinal qualities.
 One scruple of dried leaves is infused in ten ounces of warm water.
7.  To make an infusion with an ingredient. [Not used.]
INFU'SE, n.  Infusion.


Topic: Infusibility
Definition:
INFUSIBIL'ITY, n.  [from infusible.]  The capacity of being infused or poured in.
1.  The incapacity of being fused or dissolved.


Topic: Infusible
Definition:
INFU'SIBLE, a. [from the verb.] That may be infused.  Good principles are infusible into the minds of youth.
INFU'SIBLE, a. [in, not, and fusible, from fuse.]  Not fusible; incapable of fusion; that cannot be dissolved or melted.
 The best crucibles are made of Limoges earth, which seems absolutely infusible.


Topic: Infusion
Definition:
INFU'SION, n. s as z.  The act of pouring in or instilling; instillation; as the infusion of good principles into the mind; the infusion of ardor or zeal.
1.  Suggestion; whisper.
 His folly and his wisdom are of his own growth,not the echo on infusion of other men.
2.  In pharmacy, the process of steeping in liquor, an operation by which the medicinal qualities of plants may be extracted by a liquor without boiling.
3.  The liquor in which plants are steeped, and which is impregnated with their virtues or qualities.


