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| nouna thing that causes disgust or hatred: this bill is an abomination to all mankind |informal : concrete abominations masquerading as hotels.• a feeling of hatred: their abomination of indulgence.ORIGIN Middle English: from Latin abominatio(n-), from the verbabominari (see abominate) . |
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adjective
of similar character: something akin togratitude overwhelmed her | genius and madnessare akin.• related by blood.ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: contracted form of of kin. |
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| adjective [ attrib. ]of, belonging to, inherited from, or denoting an ancestor or ancestors: the family's ancestral home | the only records of the ancestral forms are their fossils.ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French ancestrel, from ancestre (seeancestor) . |
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| adjective(esp. of a young person) inexperienced and immature: earnest and callow undergraduates.DERIVATIVEScallowly adverb.callowness nounORIGIN Old English calu‘bald’; probably from Latin calvus ‘bald.’ This was extended to mean ‘unfledged,’ which led to the present sense ‘immature.’ |
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| verb [ with obj. ]1 express complete disapproval of, typically in public; censure: fair-minded people declined to condemn her on mere suspicion.2 sentence (someone) to a particular punishment, esp. death: the rebels had beencondemned todeath | (as adj. condemned) : the condemned men.• officially declare (something, esp. a building) to be unfit for use: the pool has been condemned as a health hazard.• prove or show the guilt of: she could see in his eyes that her stumble had condemned her.• (of circumstances) force (someone) to endure something unpleasant or undesirable: the physical ailments that condemnedhim toa lonely childhood.DERIVATIVEScondemnable |-ˈdem(n)əbəl| adjectiveORIGIN Middle English ( sense 2): from Old French condemner, from Latincondemnare, from con- (expressing intensive force) + damnare ‘inflict loss on’ (see damn) . |
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| noun (pl. cowries)a marine mollusk that has a smooth, glossy, domed shell with a long narrow opening, typically brightly patterned and popular with collectors.[Genus Cypraea, family Cypraeidae, class Gastropoda: numerous species, including the small money cowrie (C. moneta).]• the flattened yellowish shell of the money cowrie, formerly used as money in parts of Africa and the Indo-Pacific area.ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Hindi kauṛī . |
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nouna person or institution that owes a sum of money. |
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| adjective1 disagreeing or incongruous: the principle of meritocracy is discordant with claims of inherited worth.• characterized by quarreling and conflict: a study of children in discordant homes.2 (of sounds) harsh and jarring because of a lack of harmony: bombs, guns, and engines mingled in discordant sound.PHRASESstrike a discordant note appear strange and out of place: the chair's modernity struck a discordant note in a room full of eighteenth-century furniture.DERIVATIVESdiscordance noun.discordancy |-dnsē| noun.discordantly adverbORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French descordant, present participle of descorder (see discord) . |
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| verb (enthralls, enthralling, enthralled) [ with obj. ]capture the fascinated attention of: she had been so enthralled by the adventure that she had hardly noticed the cold.• (also inthrall) archaic enslave.DERIVATIVESenthrallment (Brit. alsoenthralment)nounORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘enslave’; formerly also as inthrall): from en-1,in-2 (as an intensifier) + thrall. |
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| verb [ with obj. ]grind (one's teeth) together, typically as a sign of anger: no doubt he is gnashing his teeth in rage.• [ no obj. ] (of teeth) strike together; grind: the dog's jaws were primed to gnash.ORIGIN late Middle English: perhaps related to Old Norse gnastan ‘a gnashing.’ |
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| nouna person or thing that announces or signals the approach of another: witch hazels are the harbingers of spring.• a forerunner of something: these works were not yet opera, but they were the most important harbinger of opera.ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French herbergere, from herbergier‘provide lodging for,’ from herberge ‘lodging,’ from Old Saxon heriberga‘shelter for an army, lodging’ (from heri ‘army’ + a Germanic base meaning ‘fortified place’), related to harbor. The term originally denoted a person who provided lodging, later one who went ahead to find lodgings for an army or for a nobleman and his retinue, hence, a herald (mid 16th cent). |
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| nouna dry, dusty easterly or northeasterly wind on the West African coast, occurring from December to February.ORIGIN late 17th cent.: from Twi haramata . |
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adjectiveworshiping idols• treating someone or something as an idol |
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adjectivea assuming power or authority without justification; arrogant and domineering. |
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| adjectivein an initial stage; beginning to happen or develop• (of a person) developing into a specified type or role |
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adjectivehaving or showing a wish to do evil to others |
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verb [ with obj.]
inflict a violent and disfiguring injury on
• inflict serious damage on |
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verb (prophesies, prophesying, prophesied) [ with obj. ]
say that (a specified thing) will happen in the future |
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noun1 skill or expertise in a particular activity or field
2 bravery in battle. |
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| verb [ no obj. ](of a person's voice) shake or tremble in speaking, typically through nervousness or emotion.noun1 a shake or tremble in a person's voice.g |
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adjective(of a person's voice or other sound) imposingly deep and full.• capable of producing a deep or ringing sound• (of a speech or style) using imposing language
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| verb [ no obj. ]walk slowly and with heavy steps, typically because of exhaustion or harsh conditionsnouna difficult or laborious walk |
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nouna final demand or statement of terms, the rejection of which will result in retaliation or a breakdown in relations |
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| adjectivespeaking or spoken incessantly and fluently |
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