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| acumen n 1: a tapering point 2: shrewdness shown by keen insight [syn: insightfulness] See also: [insightfulness] |
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| adulterate adj : mixed with impurities [syn: adulterated, debased] v : corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance; often by replacing valuable ingredients with inferior ones; "adulterate liquor" [syn: stretch, dilute, debase] See also: [adulterated] [debased] [stretch] [dilute] [debase] |
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| amalgamate adj : joined together into a whole; "United Industries"; "the amalgamated colleges constituted a university"; "a consolidated school" [syn: amalgamated, coalesced, consolidated, fused] v : to bring or combine together or with something else; "resourcefully he mingled music and dance" [syn: mix, mingle, commix, unify] See also: [amalgamated] [coalesced] [consolidated] [fused] [mix] [mingle] [commix] [unify] |
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| archaic adj 1: so extremely old as seeming to belong to an earlier period; "a ramshackle antediluvian tenement"; "antediluvian ideas"; "archaic laws" [syn: antediluvian, antiquated] 2: little evolved from or characteristic of an earlier ancestral type; "archaic forms of life"; "primitive mammals"; "the okapi is a short-necked primitive cousin of the giraffe" [syn: primitive] See also: [antediluvian] [antiquated] [primitive] |
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| aver v 1: report or maintain; "He alleged that he was the victim of a crime"; "He said it was too late to intervene in the war"; "The registrar says that I owe the school money" [syn: allege, say] 2: to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true; "Before God I swear I am innocent" [syn: affirm, verify, assert, avow, swan, swear] [also: averring, averred] See also: [allege] [say] [affirm] [verify] [assert] [avow] [swan] [swear] [averring] [averred] |
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| bolster n : a pillow that is often put across a bed underneath the regular pillows [syn: long pillow] v 1: support and strengthen; "bolster morale" [syn: bolster up] 2: prop up with a pillow or bolster 3: add padding to; "pad the seat of the chair" [syn: pad] See also: [long pillow] [bolster up] [pad] |
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| bombastic adj : ostentatiously lofty in style; "a man given to large talk"; "tumid political prose" [syn: declamatory, large, orotund, tumid, turgid] See also: [declamatory] [large] [orotund] [tumid] [turgid] |
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| diatribe n : thunderous verbal attack [syn: fulmination] See also: [fulmination] |
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| dissemble v 1: make believe with the intent to deceive; "He feigned that he was ill"; "He shammed a headache" [syn: feign, sham, pretend, affect] 2: hide under a false appearance; "He masked his disappointment" [syn: cloak, mask] 3: behave unnaturally or affectedly; "She's just acting" [syn: pretend, act] See also: [feign] [sham] [pretend] [affect] [cloak] [mask] [act] |
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| eccentric adj 1: conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual; "restaurants of bizarre design--one like a hat, another like a rabbit"; "famed for his eccentric spelling"; "a freakish combination of styles"; "his off-the-wall antics"; "the outlandish clothes of teenagers"; "outre and affected stage antics" [syn: bizarre, freakish, freaky, flaky, off-the-wall, outlandish, outre] 2: not having a common center; not concentric; "eccentric circles" [syn: nonconcentric] [ant: concentric] n 1: a person with an unusual or odd personality [syn: eccentric person, flake, oddball, geek] 2: a person of a specified kind (usually with many eccentricities); "a real character"; "a strange character"; "a friendly eccentric"; "the capable type"; "a mental case" [syn: character, type, case] See also: [bizarre] [freakish] [freaky] [flaky] [off-the-wall] [outlandish] [outre] [nonconcentric] [concentric] [eccentric person] [flake] [oddball] [geek] [character] [type] [case] |
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| endemic adj 1: of or relating to a disease (or anything resembling a disease) constantly present to greater or lesser extent in a particular locality; "diseases endemic to the tropics"; "endemic malaria"; "food shortages and starvation are endemic in certain parts of the world" [syn: endemical] [ant: epidemic, ecdemic] 2: native to or confined to a certain region; "the islands have a number of interesting endemic species" [ant: cosmopolitan] 3: originating where it is found; "the autochthonal fauna of Australia includes the kangaroo"; "autochthonous rocks and people and folktales"; "endemic folkways"; "the Ainu are indigenous to the northernmost islands of Japan" [syn: autochthonal, autochthonic, autochthonous, indigenous] n 1: a disease that is constantly present to a greater or lesser degree in people of a certain class or in people living in a particular location [syn: endemic disease] 2: a plant that is native to a certain limited area; "it is an endemic found only this island" See also: [endemical] [epidemic] [ecdemic] [cosmopolitan] [autochthonal] [autochthonic] [autochthonous] [indigenous] [endemic disease] |
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| evanescent adj : tending to vanish like vapor; "evanescent beauty" |
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| exacerbate v 1: make worse; "This drug aggravates the pain" [syn: worsen, aggravate, exasperate] [ant: better] 2: exasperate or irritate [syn: exasperate, aggravate] See also: [worsen] [aggravate] [exasperate] [better] |
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| fervent adj 1: characterized by intense emotion; "ardent love"; "an ardent lover"; "a burning enthusiasm"; "a fervent desire to change society"; "a fervent admirer"; "fiery oratory"; "an impassioned appeal"; "a torrid love affair" [syn: ardent, burning(a), fervid, fiery, impassioned, perfervid, torrid] 2: sincerely or intensely felt; "a cordial regard for his visitor's comfort"; "a cordial abhorrence of waste"; "a fervent hope" [syn: cordial] 3: extremely hot; "the fervent heat...merely communicated a genial warmth to their half-torpid systems"- Nathaniel Hawthorne; "set out...when the fervid heat subsides"- Frances Trollope [syn: fervid] See also: [ardent] [burning(a)] [fervid] [fiery] [impassioned] [perfervid] [torrid] [cordial] |
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| fortuitous adj 1: having no cause or apparent cause; "a causeless miracle"; "fortuitous encounters--strange accidents of fortune"; "we cannot regard artistic invention as...uncaused and unrelated to the times" [syn: causeless, uncaused] 2: occurring by happy chance; "profits were enhanced by a fortuitous drop in the cost of raw materials" See also: [causeless] [uncaused] |
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| germane adj : having close kinship and appropriateness; "he asks questions that are germane and central to the issue" [syn: germane(p), related] See also: [germane(p)] [related] |
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| grandiloquence n : high flown style; excessive use of verbal ornamentation [syn: grandiosity, magniloquence, rhetoric] See also: [grandiosity] [magniloquence] [rhetoric] |
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| hackneyed adj : repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse; "bromidic sermons"; "his remarks were trite and commonplace"; "hackneyed phrases"; "a stock answer"; "repeating threadbare jokes"; "parroting some timeworn axiom"; "the trite metaphor `hard as nails'" [syn: banal, commonplace, old-hat, shopworn, stock(a), threadbare, timeworn, tired, trite, well-worn] See also: [banal] [commonplace] [old-hat] [shopworn] [stock(a)] [threadbare] [timeworn] [tired] [trite] [well-worn] |
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| halcyon adj 1: idyllically calm and peaceful; suggesting happy tranquillity; "a halcyon atmosphere" 2: marked by peace and prosperity; "a golden era"; "the halcyon days of the clipper trade" [syn: golden, prosperous] n 1: (Greek mythology) a woman who was turned into a kingfisher [syn: Alcyone] 2: a large kingfisher widely distributed in warmer parts of the Old World [syn: genus Halcyon] 3: a mythical bird said to breed at the time of the winter solstice in a nest floating on the sea and to have the power of calming the winds and waves See also: [golden] [prosperous] [Alcyone] [genus Halcyon] |
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| hedonism n 1: the pursuit of pleasure as a matter of ethical principle 2: an ethical system that evaluates the pursuit of pleasure as the highest good |
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| hegemony n : the domination of one state over its allies |
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| iconoclast n : someone who tries to destroy traditional ideas or institutions [syn: image breaker] See also: [image breaker] |
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| idolatrous adj 1: relating to or practicing idolatry; "idolatrous worship" 2: blindly or excessively devoted or adoring |
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| impassive adj 1: having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; not easily aroused or excited; "her impassive remoteness"; "he remained impassive, showing neither interest in nor concern for our plight"- Nordhoff & Hall; "a silent stolid creature who took it all as a matter of course"-Virginia Woolf; "her face showed nothing but stolid indifference" [syn: stolid] 2: deliberately impassive in manner; "deadpan humor"; "his face remained expressionless as the verdict was read" [syn: deadpan, expressionless, poker-faced, unexpressive] See also: [stolid] [deadpan] [expressionless] [poker-faced] [unexpressive] |
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| imperturbable adj : not easily perturbed or excited or upset; marked by extreme calm and composure; "hitherto imperturbable, he now showed signs of alarm"; "an imperturbable self-possession"; "unflappable in a crisis" [syn: unflappable] See also: [unflappable] |
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| implacable adj : impossible to placate; "an implacable enemy" [ant: placable] See also: [placable] |
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| impunity n : exemption from punishment or loss |
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| inchoate adj : only partly in existence; imperfectly formed; "incipient civil disorder"; "an incipient tumor"; "a vague inchoate idea" [syn: incipient] See also: [incipient] |
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| infelicitous adj 1: not appropriate in application; defective; "an infelicitous remark"; "infelicitous phrasing"; "the infelicitous typesetting was due to illegible copy" [ant: felicitous] 2: marked by or producing unhappiness; "infelicitous circumstances"; "unhappy caravans, straggling afoot through swamps and canebrakes"- American Guide Series [syn: unhappy] See also: [felicitous] [unhappy] |
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| insipid adj 1: lacking taste or flavor or tang; "a bland diet"; "insipid hospital food"; "flavorless supermarket tomatoes"; "vapid beer"; "vapid tea" [syn: bland, flat, flavorless, flavourless, savorless, savourless, vapid] 2: lacking significance or impact; "an insipid novel" 3: lacking interest or significance; "an insipid personality"; "jejune novel" [syn: jejune] 4: not pleasing to the sense of taste [syn: tasteless] See also: [bland] [flat] [flavorless] [flavourless] [savorless] [savourless] [vapid] [jejune] [tasteless] |
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| loquacious adj : full of trivial conversation; "kept from her housework by gabby neighbors" [syn: chatty, gabby, garrulous, talkative, talky] See also: [chatty] [gabby] [garrulous] [talkative] [talky] |
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| luminous adj : softly bright or radiant; "a house aglow with lights"; "glowing embers"; "lambent tongues of flame"; "the lucent moon"; "a sky luminous with stars" [syn: aglow(p), glowing, lambent, lucent] See also: [aglow(p)] [glowing] [lambent] [lucent] |
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| malevolent adj 1: wishing or appearing to wish evil to others; arising from intense ill will or hatred; "a gossipy malevolent old woman"; "failure made him malevolent toward those who were successful" [syn: malicious] [ant: benevolent] 2: extremely malevolent or malicious; "the malignant tongues of gossipers" [syn: malignant] 3: having or exerting a malignant influence; "malevolent stars"; "a malefic force" [syn: malefic, malign, evil] See also: [malicious] [benevolent] [malignant] [malefic] [malign] [evil] |
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| malleable adj 1: easily influenced [syn: ductile] 2: capable of being shaped or bent or drawn out; "ductile copper"; "malleable metals such as gold"; "they soaked the leather to made it pliable"; "pliant molten glass"; "made of highly tensile steel alloy" [syn: ductile, pliable, pliant, tensile, tractile] See also: [ductile] [pliable] [pliant] [tensile] [tractile] |
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| mendacity n : the tendency to be untruthful [ant: veracity] See also: [veracity] |
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| meticulous adj 1: marked by precise accordance with details; "was worryingly meticulous about trivial details"; "punctilious in his attention to rules of etiquette" [syn: punctilious] 2: marked by extreme care in treatment of details; "a meticulous craftsman"; "almost worryingly meticulous in his business formalities" [syn: picky] See also: [punctilious] [picky] |
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| misanthrope n : someone who dislikes people in general [syn: misanthropist] See also: [misanthropist] |
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| mitigate v 1: lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of; "The circumstances extenuate the crime" [syn: extenuate, palliate] 2: make less severe or harsh; "mitigating circumstances" See also: [extenuate] [palliate] |
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| obdurate adj 1: stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing [syn: cussed, obstinate, unrepentant] 2: showing unfeeling resistance to tender feelings; "the child's misery would move even the most obdurate heart" [syn: flinty, stony] See also: [cussed] [obstinate] [unrepentant] [flinty] [stony] |
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| obsequious adj 1: attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery [syn: bootlicking, fawning, sycophantic, toadyish] 2: attentive in an ingratiating or servile manner; "obsequious shop assistants" See also: [bootlicking] [fawning] [sycophantic] [toadyish] |
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| occlude v : block passage through; "obstruct the path" [syn: obstruct, obturate, impede, jam, block, close up] [ant: free] See also: [obstruct] [obturate] [impede] [jam] [block] [close up] [free] |
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| opprobrium n 1: state of disgrace resulting from public abuse [syn: obloquy] 2: a state of extreme dishonor; "a date which will live in infamy"- F.D.Roosevelt; "the name was a by-word of scorn and opprobrium throughout the city" [syn: infamy] [ant: fame] See also: [obloquy] [infamy] [fame] |
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| pedagogy n 1: the principles and methods of instruction [syn: teaching method, pedagogics] 2: the profession of a teacher; "he prepared for teaching while still in college"; "pedagogy is recognized as an important profession" [syn: teaching, instruction] 3: the activities of educating or instructing or teaching; activities that impart knowledge or skill; "he received no formal education"; "our instruction was carefully programmed"; "good teaching is seldom rewarded" [syn: education, instruction, teaching, educational activity] See also: [teaching method] [pedagogics] [teaching] [instruction] [education] [educational activity] |
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| pedantic adj : marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning especially its trivial aspects [syn: academic, donnish] See also: [academic] [donnish] |
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| penury n : a state of extreme poverty or destitution; "their indigence appalled him"; "a general state of need exists among the homeless" [syn: indigence, need, beggary, pauperism, pauperization] See also: [indigence] [need] [beggary] [pauperism] [pauperization] |
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| pervasive adj 1: spread throughout; "a pervasive anxiety overshadows the triumphs of individuals" [syn: pervading] 2: spreading throughout; "armed with permeative irony...he punctures affectations"; "the pervasive odor of garlic"; "an error is pervasive if it is material to more than one conclusion" [syn: permeant, permeating, permeative] See also: [pervading] [permeant] [permeating] [permeative] |
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| pine n 1: a coniferous tree [syn: pine tree, true pine] 2: straight-grained durable and often resinous white to yellowish timber of any of numerous trees of the genus Pinus v : have a desire for something or someone who is not present; "She ached for a cigarette"; "I am pining for my lover" [syn: ache, yearn, yen, languish] See also: [pine tree] [true pine] [ache] [yearn] [yen] [languish] |
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| pirate n 1: someone who uses another person's words or ideas as if they were his own [syn: plagiarist, plagiarizer, plagiariser, literary pirate] 2: someone who robs at sea or plunders the land from the sea without having a commission from any sovereign nation [syn: buccaneer, sea robber, sea rover] 3: a ship manned by pirates [syn: pirate ship] v 1: copy illegally; of published material 2: take arbitrarily or by force; "The Cubans commandeered the plane and flew it to Miami" [syn: commandeer, hijack, highjack] See also: [plagiarist] [plagiarizer] [plagiariser] [literary pirate] [buccaneer] [sea robber] [sea rover] [pirate ship] [commandeer] [hijack] [highjack] |
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| pith n 1: soft spongelike central cylinder of the stems of most flowering plants 2: the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience; "the gist of the prosecutor's argument"; "the heart and soul of the Republican Party"; "the nub of the story" [syn: kernel, substance, core, center, essence, gist, heart, heart and soul, inwardness, marrow, meat, nub, sum, nitty-gritty] See also: [kernel] [substance] [core] [center] [essence] [gist] [heart] [heart and soul] [inwardness] [marrow] [meat] [nub] [sum] [nitty-gritty] |
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| pithy adj : concise and full of meaning; "welcomed her pithy comments"; "the peculiarly sardonic and sententious style in which Don Luis composed his epigrams"- Hervey Allen [syn: sententious] adv : in a pithy sententious manner; "she expressed herself pithily" [syn: sententiously] [also: pithiest, pithier] See also: [sententious] [sententiously] [pithiest] [pithier] |
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| placate v : cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of; "She managed to mollify the angry customer" [syn: pacify, lenify, conciliate, assuage, appease, mollify, gentle, gruntle] See also: [pacify] [lenify] [conciliate] [assuage] [appease] [mollify] [gentle] [gruntle] |
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| platitude n : a trite or obvious remark [syn: cliche, banality, commonplace, bromide] See also: [cliche] [banality] [commonplace] [bromide] |
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| plummet n : the metal bob of a plumb line [syn: plumb bob, plumb] v : drop sharply; "The stock market plummeted" [syn: plump] See also: [plumb bob] [plumb] [plump] |
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| polemical adj : of or involving dispute or controversy [syn: polemic] See also: [polemic] |
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| prodigal adj 1: very generous; "distributed gifts with a lavish hand"; "the critics were lavish in their praise"; "a munificent gift"; "his father gave him a half-dollar and his mother a quarter and he thought them munificent"; "prodigal praise"; "unsparing generosity"; "his unstinted devotion"; "called for unstinting aid to Britain" [syn: lavish, munificent, overgenerous, too-generous, unsparing, unstinted, unstinting] 2: recklessly wasteful; "prodigal in their expenditures" [syn: extravagant, profligate, spendthrift] 3: marked by rash extravagance; "led a prodigal life" n : a recklessly extravagant consumer [syn: profligate, squanderer] See also: [lavish] [munificent] [overgenerous] [too-generous] [unsparing] [unstinted] [unstinting] [extravagant] [profligate] [spendthrift] [squanderer] |
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| profuse adj : produced or growing in extreme abundance; "their riotous blooming" [syn: exuberant, lush, luxuriant, riotous] See also: [exuberant] [lush] [luxuriant] [riotous] |
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| proliferate v 1: grow rapidly; "Pizza parlors proliferate in this area" 2: cause to grow or increase rapidly; "We must not proliferate nuclear arms" |
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| querulous adj : habitually complaining; "a whining child" [syn: fretful, whiney, whining(a), whiny] See also: [fretful] [whiney] [whining(a)] [whiny] |
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| rancorous adj : showing deep-seated resentment; "preserve...from rancourous envy of the rich"- Aldous Huxley |
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| recalcitrant adj 1: marked by stubborn resistance to and defiant of authority or guidance; "a recalcitrant teenager"; "everything revolves around a refractory individual genius" [syn: refractory] 2: marked by stubborn resistance to authority; "the University suspended the most recalcitrant demonstrators" See also: [refractory] |
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| repudiate v 1: cast off or disown; "She renounced her husband"; "The parents repudiated their son" [syn: renounce] 2: refuse to acknowledge, ratify, or recognize as valid; "The woman repudiated the divorce settlement" 3: refuse to recognize or pay; "repudiate a debt" 4: reject as untrue, unfounded, or unjust; "She repudiated the accusations" See also: [renounce] |
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| rescind v : annul by recalling or rescinding; "He revoked the ban on smoking"; "lift an embargo"; "vacate a death sentence" [syn: revoke, annul, lift, countermand, reverse, repeal, overturn, vacate] See also: [revoke] [annul] [lift] [countermand] [reverse] [repeal] [overturn] [vacate] |
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| reverent adj 1: feeling or showing profound respect or veneration; "maintained a reverent silence" [ant: irreverent] 2: showing great reverence for god; "a godly man"; "leading a godly life" [syn: godly, worshipful] See also: [irreverent] [godly] [worshipful] |
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| rhetoric n 1: using language effectively to please or persuade 2: high flown style; excessive use of verbal ornamentation [syn: grandiosity, magniloquence, grandiloquence] 3: loud and confused and empty talk; "mere rhetoric" [syn: palaver, hot air, empty words, empty talk] 4: study of the technique and rules for using language effectively (especially in public speaking) See also: [grandiosity] [magniloquence] [grandiloquence] [palaver] [hot air] [empty words] [empty talk] |
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| salubrious adj 1: promoting health; healthful; "a healthy diet"; "clean healthy air"; "plenty of healthy sleep"; "healthy and normal outlets for youthful energy"; "the salubrious mountain air and water"- C.B.Davis; "carrots are good for you" [syn: healthy, good for you(p)] 2: favorable to health of mind or body; "not the most salubrious campsite"; "one of the less salubrious suburbs" See also: [healthy] [good for you(p)] |
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| solvent adj : capable of meeting financial obligations [ant: insolvent] n 1: a liquid substance capable of dissolving other substances; "the solvent does not change its state in forming a solution" [syn: dissolvent, dissolver, dissolving agent, resolvent] 2: a statement that solves a problem or explains how to solve the problem; "they were trying to find a peaceful solution"; "the answers were in the back of the book"; "he computed the result to four decimal places" [syn: solution, answer, result, resolution] See also: [insolvent] [dissolvent] [dissolver] [dissolving agent] [resolvent] [solution] [answer] [result] [resolution] |
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| specious adj 1: plausible but false; "specious reasoning"; "the spurious inferences from obsolescent notions of causality"- Ethel Albert [syn: spurious] 2: plausible but false; "a specious claim" 3: based on pretense; deceptively pleasing; "the gilded and perfumed but inwardly rotten nobility"; "meretricious praise"; "a meretricious argument" [syn: gilded, meretricious] See also: [spurious] [gilded] [meretricious] |
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| spurious adj 1: plausible but false; "specious reasoning"; "the spurious inferences from obsolescent notions of causality"- Ethel Albert [syn: specious] 2: born out of wedlock; "the dominions of both rulers passed away to their spurious or doubtful offspring"- E.A.Freeman [syn: bastard, bastardly, misbegot, misbegotten] 3: intended to deceive; "a spurious work of art" [syn: inauthentic, unauthentic] See also: [specious] [bastard] [bastardly] [misbegot] [misbegotten] [inauthentic] [unauthentic] |
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| subpoena n : a writ issued by court authority to compel the attendance of a witness at a judicial proceeding; disobedience may be punishable as a contempt of court [syn: subpoena ad testificandum] v : serve or summon with a subpoena; "The witness and her records were subpoenaed" See also: [subpoena ad testificandum] |
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| succinct adj : briefly giving the gist of something; "a short and compendious book"; "a compact style is brief and pithy"; "succinct comparisons"; "a summary formulation of a wide-ranging subject" [syn: compendious, compact, summary] See also: [compendious] [compact] [summary] |
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| superfluous adj 1: serving no useful purpose; having no excuse for being; "otiose lines in a play"; "advice is wasted words" [syn: otiose, pointless, wasted] 2: more than is needed, desired, or required; "trying to lose excess weight"; "found some extra change lying on the dresser"; "yet another book on heraldry might be thought redundant"; "skills made redundant by technological advance"; "sleeping in the spare room"; "supernumerary ornamentation"; "it was supererogatory of her to gloat"; "delete superfluous (or unnecessary) words"; "extra ribs as well as other supernumerary internal parts"; "surplus cheese distributed to the needy" [syn: excess, extra, redundant, spare, supererogatory, supernumerary, surplus] See also: [otiose] [pointless] [wasted] [excess] [extra] [redundant] [spare] [supererogatory] [supernumerary] [surplus] |
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| surfeit n 1: the state of being more than full [syn: excess, overabundance] 2: the quality of being so overabundant that prices fall [syn: glut, oversupply] 3: eating until excessively full [syn: repletion] v 1: supply or feed to surfeit [syn: cloy] 2: indulge (one's appetite) to satiety See also: [excess] [overabundance] [glut] [oversupply] [repletion] [cloy] |
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| tenacity n : persistent determination [syn: doggedness, perseverance, persistence, persistency, tenaciousness, pertinacity] See also: [doggedness] [perseverance] [persistence] [persistency] [tenaciousness] [pertinacity] |
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| tenuous adj 1: having little substance or significance; "a flimsy excuse"; "slight evidence"; "a tenuous argument"; "a thin plot" [syn: flimsy, slight, thin] 2: having thin consistency; "a tenuous fluid" 3: very thin in gauge or diameter; "a tenuous thread" See also: [flimsy] [slight] [thin] |
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| tirade n : a speech of violent denunciation [syn: philippic, broadside] See also: [philippic] [broadside] |
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| transient adj 1: of a mental act; causing effects outside the mind [syn: transeunt] [ant: immanent] 2: enduring a very short time; "the ephemeral joys of childhood"; "a passing fancy"; "youth's transient beauty"; "love is transitory but at is eternal"; "fugacious blossoms" [syn: ephemeral, passing, short-lived, transitory, fugacious] n 1: one who stays for only a short time; "transient laborers" 2: (physics) a short-lived oscillation in a system caused by a sudden change of voltage or current or load See also: [transeunt] [immanent] [ephemeral] [passing] [short-lived] [transitory] [fugacious] |
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| zealous adj : marked by active interest and enthusiasm; "an avid sports fan"; "a great walker"; "an eager beaver" [syn: avid, great, eager] See also: [avid] [great] [eager] |
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