cstr/en-wiktionary-extracted-all huggingface dataset:
allure
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈlʊɚ/
ipa: /əˈlɚ/
ipa: /əˈlʊə/
ipa: /əˈljʊə/
ipa: /əˈlɔː/
ipa: /əˈlʉːɹ/
ipa: /əˈluːɹ/
rhymes: -ʊə(ɹ)
Forms: form: allures
form: alluring
form: allured
form: allured
Etymology: From Middle English aluren, from Old French aleurer, alurer, from a (“to, towards”) (Latin ad) + leurre (“lure”). Compare lure.
Senses: examples: text: [They retained] their ſweet skill in wonted melody; / Which euer after they abuſd to ill, / T’allure weake trueillers, whom gotten they did kill.
ref: 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 31, pages 370–371:
text: Injustice doth allure them; as the honour of their vertuous actions enticeth the good.
ref: 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 8, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
text: A tender voice his wondring ear allur'd.
ref: 1737, R[ichard] Glover, “Book VI”, in Leonidas. A Poem., page 152:
glosses: To entice; to attract.
Synonyms: word: attract
word: entice
word: tempt
word: decoy
word: seduce
word: allure
word: arrest
word: becharm
word: beguile
word: bewitch
word: beckon
word: captivate
word: charm
word: court
word: delight
word: draw
word: enchant
word: engage
word: enthrall
word: entrance
word: enrapture
word: fascinate
word: hypnotize
word: interest
word: intrigue
word: mesmerize
word: pull
word: pull in
word: sirenize
word: spellbind
word: tole
Hypernyms: word: incite
word: stimulate
Hyponyms: word: decoy
word: entice
word: lure
word: win over
Derived terms: allurance
allurement
allurer
unallured
Related terms: word: lure
word: capture
word: hold
word: attractive
allure
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈlʊɚ/
ipa: /əˈlɚ/
ipa: /əˈlʊə/
ipa: /əˈljʊə/
ipa: /əˈlɔː/
ipa: /əˈlʉːɹ/
ipa: /əˈluːɹ/
rhymes: -ʊə(ɹ)
Forms: form: allures
form: alure
Etymology: From Middle English alure, alour, from Old French alure, aleure (“walk, gait”), from aler (“to go”) + -ure.
Senses: examples: Harper's Magazine
The swing, the gait, the pose, the allure of these men.
glosses: Gait; bearing.
glosses: The walkway along the top of a castle wall, sometimes entirely covered and normally behind a parapet; the wall walk.
allusion
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈlu.ʒən/
rhymes: -uːʒən
Forms: form: allusions
Etymology: From Latin allūsiōnem, accusative singular of allūsiō (“the act of playing with”), from allūdō (“play with; allude”), from al-, combining form of ad (“to”), + lūdō (“play”): compare French allusion.
Senses: examples: text: I remember, before the Dwarf left the Queen, he followed us one day into thoſe gardens, and my Nurſe having ſet me down, he and I being cloſe together, near ſome Dwarf Apple trees, I muſt need ſhew my Wit, by a ſilly Alluſion between him and the Trees, which happens to hold in their Language as it doth in ours.
ref: 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part I (A Voyage to Lilliput), pages 226–227:
text: We draw the conclusion then, that the very reason why the multitude, or the world, as they were designated by the Savior, did not receive an explanation upon his parables, was, because of unbelief. To you, he says, (speaking to his disciples) it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: and why? because of the faith and confidence which they had in him. This parable was spoken to demonstrate the effects that are produced by the preaching of the word; and we believe that it has an allusion directly, to the commencement, or the setting up of the kingdom in that age[…]
ref: 1835, Joseph Smith, Jr., Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate:
text: I shall reserve for my future work the discussion of these difficulties, and the tables themselves of the proportional numbers of the varying species. Dr. Hooker permits me to add, that after having carefully read my manuscript, and examined the tables, he thinks that the following statements are fairly well established. The whole subject, however, treated as it necessarily here is with much brevity, is rather perplexing, and allusions cannot be avoided to the “struggle for existence,” “divergence of character,” and other questions, hereafter to be discussed.
ref: 1859, Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species:
text: In order to understand some of the allusions readers must remember that the Autobiography was originally written in the form of "epistles addressed to Mr. Robert Riddell at London, by his friend and relative," to which, in their collected form, the author had given the title "Obscurities in Private Life Developed; or, Robinson Crusoe Untravelled."
ref: 1881, John Younger, quoting J. & J.H. Rutherfurd, “Publishers' Note”, in Autobiography of John Younger, Shoemaker, St. Boswells, Kelso, Scotland: J. & J.H. Rutherfurd, page iv:
text: The influence of Lucretius on Virgil was pervasive, especially in Virgil's Georgics; and it is in clear allusion to Lucretius that Virgil wrote, “Happy is the man who can read the causes of things.”
ref: 2014, Kathleen Kuiper [editor], Classical Authors: 500 BCE to 1100 CE:
glosses: An indirect reference; a hint; a reference to something supposed to be known, but not explicitly mentioned.
Related terms: allude
almighty
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɔːlˈmaɪti/
rhymes: -aɪti
Forms: form: more almighty
form: most almighty
form: allmighty
form: all-mighty
Etymology: From Middle English almyghty, almighty, from Old English ælmihtiġ (“all-powerful”), from Proto-Germanic *alamahtīgaz, equivalent to al- + might + -y.
Senses: examples: text: God almighty
text: The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], 1611, →OCLC, Genesis 17:1: “I am the Almightie God.”
synonyms: all-powerful
omnipotent
glosses: Unlimited in might; omnipotent; all-powerful
examples: text: I heard an almighty crash and ran into the kitchen to see what had happened.
text: When Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen both went cheaply inside the first hour on the fifth day, a further 134 were needed and there was a genuine sense that an almighty upset might just come off.
ref: 2012 May 21, Tom Fordyce, “England v West Indies: Hosts cruise home in Lord's Test”, in BBC Sport:
glosses: Great; extreme; terrible.
examples: text: The almighty press condemned him without trial.
glosses: Having very great power, influence, etc.
Derived terms: almightiful
almightily
almightiness
Almighty
almighty dollar
almightyship
Christ almighty
superalmighty
Related terms: might
mighty
almighty
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɔːlˈmaɪti/
rhymes: -aɪti
Forms: form: allmighty
form: all-mighty
Etymology: From Middle English almyghty, almighty, from Old English ælmihtiġ (“all-powerful”), from Proto-Germanic *alamahtīgaz, equivalent to al- + might + -y.
Senses: examples: text: I stepped into the clear, rushing water. It was almighty cold!
ref: 2007, Richard Laymon, Savage, page 203:
glosses: Extremely; thoroughly.
almoner
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: ăl′mə-nər
enpr: ä′mə-
ipa: /ˈal.mə.nə/
note: conservative
ipa: /ˈæl-/
ipa: /ˈɑː.mə-/
ipa: /ˈæl.mə.nəɹ/
ipa: /ˈɑ.mə-/
ipa: /ˈɒ.mə-/
ipa: /ˈæl.mə.nə/
ipa: /ˈɐː.mə-/
ipa: /ˈɛl.mə.nə/
ipa: /ˈɐː.mə-/
ipa: /-nɐ/
ipa: /-na/
ipa: /ˈal.mə.nəɹ/
ipa: /ˈa.mə-/
ipa: /ˈal.mo.nəʳ/
ipa: /ˈaː.mo-/
rhymes: -ælmənə(ɹ)
rhymes: -ɑːmənə(ɹ)
Forms: form: almoners
Etymology: From Middle English aumener, aulmener, from Old French almosnier, from almosne (“alms”), from Latin eleemosyna. See alms, Almosen.
Senses: glosses: A person who distributes alms, especially the doles and alms of religious houses, almshouses.
examples: text: the almoner of a prince or bishop
text: Francesca, from where she stood, could hear the Queen giving a laughing account of the Due de Domville's attachment to Mademoiselle Menneville, the prettiest of her maids of honour, all of whom were pretty. "It is a passion of the good old time, and has already lasted some four years; but Madame la Duchesse de Vantadour, his mother, will not hear of it. Never before was a lover of fifty so put out, to think that he cannot yet have his own way. Not content with his own cares, when obliged to be absent he leaves his almoner to take charge of her. It is gallantry equally antediluvian and interminable; I suppose they will be married one day, and buried the next."
ref: 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter V, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 54:
glosses: A person who dispenses alms on behalf of another person.
glosses: A hospital official responsible for patient welfare and aftercare.
Derived terms: almonership
subalmoner
apiarist
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈeɪpi.əɹɪst/
Forms: form: apiarists
Etymology: From apiary + -ist.
Senses: examples: text: Some late and very curious experiments, however, of M. Huber, one of the most celebrated apiarists in Europe, have shewn that the pollen has no share whatever in the formation of wax; but that this substance is produced indiscriminately from honey, sugar, or any other saccharine matter, which serves as food for the bees.
ref: 1815, Edward T. W. Polehampton, The Gallery of Nature and Art, page 310:
text: In addition to this there are, within the borders of the United States, thousands of good locations for the apiarist — forest, prairie, swamp, and mountain regions — where agriculture has not yet gained a foothold, either because of remoteness from markets or the uninviting character of soil or climate.
ref: 1905, “Bee keeping”, in Farmers' Bulletin, number 59, page 9:
text: Reverend Lorenzo Langstroth, a nineteenth- century apiarist, teacher and clergyman who is considered to be the father of American beekeeping, first described this type of hive in 1853.
ref: 2014, Doug Purdie, Backyard Bees: A guide for the beginner beekeeper, page 17:
glosses: beekeeper
beekeeper
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈbiˌkipɚ/
Forms: form: beekeepers
form: bee-keeper
form: bee keeper
Etymology: From bee + keeper.
Senses: glosses: A person who maintains hives and keeps bees, especially for the production of honey.
Synonyms: word: apiarist
word: apiator
word: apiculturist
word: beeherd
word: beehiver
word: beemaster
word: bee-master
word: bee master
word: beemistress
word: bee-mistress
word: bee mistress
Related terms: apiculture
beehiving
beekeeping
lobo
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈləʊbəʊ/
rhymes: -əʊbəʊ
Forms: form: lobos
form: loafer
Etymology: Borrowed from Spanish lobo (“wolf”). Doublet of lupus and wolf.
Senses: examples: text: We used to pay a $20.00 bounty a head on lobos for a good many years, but stopped it because it was abused. Lobo scalps from Arizona, [...]
ref: 1983, David Earl Brown, The Wolf in the Southwest: the making of an endangered species:
text: "That may be so," Donnelly allowed, "but there desperate men around these parts, especially wolfers who have been collecting bounties for lobo scalps since the big snows of the Hard Winter."
ref: 2001, Joseph A. West, Johnny Blue and the Hanging Judge, page 43:
glosses: A wolf.
sons
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /sʌnz/
rhymes: -ʌnz
homophone: suns
Senses: glosses: plural of son
meerkat
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈmɪəkat/
ipa: /ˈmɪəɹkæt/
rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)kæt
Forms: form: meerkats
form: meercat
form: mierkat
Etymology: From Afrikaans meerkat, transferred use of Dutch meerkat (“guenon [monkey]”), from Middle Dutch meercatte (literally “sea cat”), compare English mercat. Sometimes suggested to be influenced by or derived from an Indian source; compare Hindi मर्कट (markaṭ, “ape, monkey”) and Sanskrit मर्कट (markaṭa). Note however Old High German merikazza, so any influence from Indo-Aryan would have to be exceptionally early.
Senses: synonyms: suricate
glosses: Suricata suricatta, a small carnivorous mammal of the mongoose family, from the Kalahari Desert, known for its habit of standing on its hind legs.
silly goose
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: silly geese
Senses: glosses: A silly person; a simpleton.
Synonyms: silly billy
sussy baka
wild-goose chase
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: other: /ˌwaɪəldˈɡuːs tʃeɪs/
Forms: form: wild-goose chases
form: wild goose chase
Etymology: Early recorded use refers to a type of 16th century horse race where everyone had to try to follow the erratic course of the lead horse, like wild geese have to follow their leader in formation. Mentioned in 1593 in the English poet Gervase Markham’s book about horsemanship. Also mentioned in the William Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, scene 4 by the character Mercutio: “Nay, if our wits run the wild-goose chase, I am done; for thou hast more of the wild goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five.” Mentioned in Robert Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy (1621). Common use in the current may be the origin for the sport sense.
Senses: examples: text: I went on a wild-goose chase all over the town looking for that adapter until I discovered they no longer make them.
text: Diagnosing this software application's problems is a wild-goose chase because it is built in an environment that has poor debugging tools.
text: From the beginning he has never concealed his belief that Professor Challenger is an absolute fraud, that we are all embarked upon an absurd wild-goose chase and that we are likely to reap nothing but disappointment and danger in South America, and corresponding ridicule in England.
ref: 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
synonyms: merry dance
exercise in futility
fool's errand
snipe hunt
snark hunt
glosses: A futile search, a fruitless errand; a useless and often lengthy task whose execution is inordinately complex relative to the value of the outcome.
wikipedia: Anatomy of Melancholy
Gervase Markham
Robert Burton (scholar)
Romeo and Juliet
William Shakespeare
Related terms: red herring
the cake is a lie
tilt at windmills
chase a rainbow
go off into the weeds
goose-step
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: goose-steps
Etymology: An intentionally disparaging alternative name for the "balance step" (German Stechschritt, "cut step") from a fancied resemblance to the waddling of geese.
Senses: examples: text: The balance or goose-step introduced for their practice excites a fever of disgust.
ref: 1806 Feb. 11, Robert Thomas Wilson, Journal
text: A military parade is really a kind of ritual dance, something like a ballet, expressing a certain philosophy of life. The goose-step, for instance, is one of the most horrible sights in the world, far more terrifying than a dive-bomber. It is simply an affirmation of naked power; contained in it, quite consciously and intentionally, is the vision of a boot crashing down on a face. Its ugliness is part of its essence... Why is the goose-step not used in England? There are, heaven knows, plenty of army officers who would be only too glad to introduce some such thing. It is not used because the people in the street would laugh.
ref: 1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, Pt. I:
topics: government
military
politics
war
qualifier: typically derogatory
glosses: A style of march in which the legs advance in turn without bending the knee, whether as a low quick march or a rigorous high slow march for ceremonial occasions; the various drills associated with these marches.
topics: ball-games
games
hobbies
lifestyle
rugby
sports
glosses: A deceptive step that breaks the normal flow of running and allows a player to accelerate and/or change direction quickly while simultaneously confusing the defender.
Derived terms: goose-stepper
goose-step
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: goose-steps
form: goose-stepping
form: goose-stepped
form: goose-stepped
Etymology: An intentionally disparaging alternative name for the "balance step" (German Stechschritt, "cut step") from a fancied resemblance to the waddling of geese.
Senses: topics: government
military
politics
war
qualifier: typically derogatory
glosses: To march with a goose-step.
chip
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: chĭp
ipa: /t͡ʃɪp/
rhymes: -ɪp
Forms: form: chips
form: chipping
form: chipped
form: chipped
Senses: examples: text: ‘Lloyd, I’m gonna chip.’ ‘You just got here!’ ‘I know–but I gotta chip. Got shit to do.’
ref: 2012, Zadie Smith, NW, London: Penguin Books, published 2013, →ISBN, page 109:
glosses: To leave.
Related terms: english: probably not etymologically related
translation: probably not etymologically related
word: chip chip cheerio
acetones
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: plural of acetone
along
Language: English
Part of speech: prep
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈlɒŋ/
ipa: /əˈlæŋ/
ipa: /əˈlɔŋ/
ipa: /əˈlɑŋ/
rhymes: -ɒŋ
rhymes: -ɔŋ
Etymology: From Middle English, from Old English andlang, from prefix and- + lang (“long”). Doublet of endlong.
Senses: examples: text: They were waiting for me in the drawing-room, which is a very large room, stretching along the entire front of the house, with three long windows reaching down to the floor
ref: 1892, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Copper Beeches”, in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, page 294:
text: My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price.
ref: 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter III, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
text: As we age, the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels.
ref: 2013 July-August, Stephen P. Lownie, David M. Pelz, “Stents to Prevent Stroke”, in American Scientist:
glosses: By the length of; in a line with the length of; lengthwise next to.
examples: text: The kine[…]went along the highway.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Samuel 1 1-Chapter-6/#2 6:2:
text: In the lightness of my heart I sang catches of songs as my horse gayly bore me along the well-remembered road.
ref: 1852, Mrs M.A. Thompson, “The Tutor's Daughter”, in Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion, page 266:
text: Swiftly and silently he made his way along the track which ran through the meadows.
ref: 1892, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Boscombe Valley Mystery”, in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, page 93:
text: We tiptoed into the house, up the stairs and along the hall into the room where the Professor had been spending so much of his time.
ref: 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter XIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
glosses: In a line with, with a progressive motion on; onward on; forward on.
Synonyms: word: alongst
word: endlong
alongside
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˌlɒŋˈsaɪd/
note: without the cot–caught merger
ipa: /əˌlɔŋˈsaɪd/
note: of Canada
ipa: /əˌlɑŋˈsaɪd/
note: of Canada
ipa: /əˈlɑŋˌsaɪd/
note: of the US
ipa: /əˌlɒŋˈsaɪd/
ipa: /əˌlɔŋˈsɑed/
ipa: /əˌlɒŋˈsaɪd/
ipa: [əˌlɔ̟ŋˈsɑe̯d]
Etymology: From along + side; compare alongsides.
Senses: examples: text: Ahoy! Bring your boat alongside.
text: All of a sudden, another car drew up alongside.
synonyms: level
glosses: Along the side; by the side; side by side; abreast.
Related terms: para-
alongside
Language: English
Part of speech: prep
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˌlɒŋˈsaɪd/
note: without the cot–caught merger
ipa: /əˌlɔŋˈsaɪd/
note: of Canada
ipa: /əˌlɑŋˈsaɪd/
note: of Canada
ipa: /əˈlɑŋˌsaɪd/
note: of the US
ipa: /əˌlɒŋˈsaɪd/
ipa: /əˌlɔŋˈsɑed/
ipa: /əˌlɒŋˈsaɪd/
ipa: [əˌlɔ̟ŋˈsɑe̯d]
Etymology: From along + side; compare alongsides.
Senses: synonyms: beside
next to
abreast
glosses: Side by side with.
examples: text: The nurse worked alongside the doctor.
text: The Italian opted for Bolton's Cahill alongside captain John Terry - and his decision was rewarded with a goal after only 13 minutes. Bulgaria gave a hint of defensive frailties to come when they failed to clear Young's corner, and when Gareth Barry found Cahill in the box he applied the finish past Nikolay Mihaylov.
ref: 2011 September 2, Phil McNulty, “Bulgaria 0-3 England”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 05 Aug 2020:
text: A “moving platform” scheme […] is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies on conventional rails. Local trains would use side-by-side rails to roll alongside intercity trains and allow passengers to switch trains by stepping through docking bays.
ref: 2013 June 1, “Ideas coming down the track”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, archived from the original on 11 Mar 2023, page 13 (Technology Quarterly):
text: Gatwick, on the other hand, is alongside the Brighton main line, with rail services both to the north (City and West End) and south.
ref: 2019 October, John Glover, “Heathrow rail expansion”, in Modern Railways, page 71:
glosses: Together with or at the same time.
Derived terms: alongside of
free alongside
free alongside ship
free alongside ships
aloof
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈluːf/
rhymes: -uːf
Forms: form: more aloof
form: most aloof
Etymology: From Middle English loof (“weather gage, windward direction”), probably from Middle Dutch (Compare Dutch loef (“the weather side of a ship”)), originally a nautical order to keep the ship's head to the wind, thus to stay clear of a lee-shore or some other quarter, hence the figurative sense of "at a distance, apart".
Senses: examples: text: Sisyphus also I saw, with unwelcomest taskage tormented, / Toilsomely hoisting aloof, unassisted, a ponderous round stone.
ref: 1829, William Taylor, Historic Survey of German Poetry (page 73)
text: The noise approaches, tho' our palace stood
 Aloof from streets, encompass'd with a wood
ref: 1697, John Dryden, “Part 13”, in Virgil's Aeneid, Harvard Classics edition, translation of original by Virgil, published 2004, page 113:
text: Mother[…]considered that the exclusiveness of Peter's circle was due not to its distinction, but to the fact that it was an inner Babylon of prodigality and whoredom, from which every Kensingtonian held aloof, except on the conventional tip-and-run excursions in pursuit of shopping, tea and theatres.
ref: 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 2, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:
glosses: At or from a distance, but within view, or at a small distance; apart; away.
examples: text: But to open the Bible in this spirit — to take the Book as from the hand of God, and then to look at it aloof, and with caution, as if throughout it were illusory and enigmatical, is the worst of all impieties.
ref: 1832, Isaac Taylor, Saturday evening, page 363:
glosses: Without sympathy; unfavorably.
aloof
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈluːf/
rhymes: -uːf
Forms: form: more aloof
form: most aloof
Etymology: From Middle English loof (“weather gage, windward direction”), probably from Middle Dutch (Compare Dutch loef (“the weather side of a ship”)), originally a nautical order to keep the ship's head to the wind, thus to stay clear of a lee-shore or some other quarter, hence the figurative sense of "at a distance, apart".
Senses: examples: text: I'm a courteous but somewhat aloof man that just tries to stay aloof of any infighting and squalid scandals.
text: None may ever hear the speech of the poets of that city, to whom the gods have spoken. It stands a city aloof. There hath been no rumour of it—I alone have dreamed of it, and I may not be sure that my dreams are true.
ref: 1906, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], Time and the Gods, London: William Heineman, →OCLC, page 3:
synonyms: remote
reserved
glosses: Reserved and remote; either physically or emotionally distant; standoffish.
Synonyms: word: aloof
word: cool
word: distant
word: frosty
word: hankty
word: hard-to-get
word: offish
word: quiet
word: remote
word: reserved
word: standoffish
word: strange
word: thorny
word: touch-me-not-ish
word: unapproachable
word: unbending
word: undemonstrative
word: unimpressionable
word: uninvolved
Hypernyms: word: alexithymic
Coordinate terms: word: apathetic
word: impartial
word: stern
Derived terms: aloofly
aloofness
Related terms: word: taciturn
word: unfriendly
aloof
Language: English
Part of speech: prep
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈluːf/
rhymes: -uːf
Etymology: From Middle English loof (“weather gage, windward direction”), probably from Middle Dutch (Compare Dutch loef (“the weather side of a ship”)), originally a nautical order to keep the ship's head to the wind, thus to stay clear of a lee-shore or some other quarter, hence the figurative sense of "at a distance, apart".
Senses: examples: text: Rivetus […] would fain work himself aloof these rocks and quicksands.
ref: 1643, John Milton, Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce:
glosses: Away from; clear of.
aloud
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈlaʊd/
rhymes: -aʊd
homophone: allowed
Etymology: From Middle English aloud, a loude (“aloud”), equivalent to a- + loud or a- + loude (“sound”).
Senses: examples: text: Try speaking aloud rather than whispering.
text: Then we relapsed into a discomfited silence, and wished we were anywhere else. But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud, and with such a hearty enjoyment that instead of getting angry and more mortified we began to laugh ourselves, and instantly felt better.
ref: 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
glosses: With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly.
examples: text: speaking aloud rather than thinking thoughts privately
text: He read the letter aloud. Sophia listened with the studied air of one for whom, even in these days, a title possessed some surreptitious allurement.
ref: 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:
glosses: Audibly, as opposed to silently/quietly.
Derived terms: read-aloud
talk-aloud protocol
talk aloud protocol
think aloud
aloud
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈlaʊd/
rhymes: -aʊd
homophone: allowed
Etymology: From Middle English aloud, a loude (“aloud”), equivalent to a- + loud or a- + loude (“sound”).
Senses: examples: text: When you are meditating with sound, it can be aloud or it can be silent
ref: 2004, James Anderson, The Art of God, page 176:
glosses: Spoken out loud.
alpine
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈæl.paɪn/
ipa: /ˈæl.pɪn/
Forms: form: more alpine
form: most alpine
Etymology: From Latin Alpīnus, from Alpēs (“the Alps”). Cognates include French alpin.
Senses: examples: text: alpine snows
text: alpine plants
text: What are alpine plants? The word alpine is used to denote the plants that grow naturally on all high mountain-chains, whether they spring from hot tropical plains or from green northern pastures. Above the cultivated land these flowers begin to occur on the fringes of the stately woods; they are seen in multitudes in the vast pastures which clothe many great mountain-chains, enamelling their soft verdure; and also where neither grass nor loose herbage can exist; or where feeble world-heat is quenched and mountains are crumbled into ghastly slopes of shattered rock by the contending forces of heat and cold, even there, amid the glaciers, they spring from Nature's ruined battle-ground, as if the mother of earth-life had sent up her loveliest children to plead with the spirits of destruction. Alpine plants fringe the vast fields of snow and ice of the high mountains, and at great elevations have often scarcely time to flower and ripen a few seeds before they are again imbedded in the snow; […]
ref: 1910, William Robinson, “Forewords to new edition”, in Alpine Flowers for Gardens: Rock, Wall, Marsh Plants, and Mountain Shrubs, 4th edition, John Murray, page ix-x:
glosses: Of, relating to, or inhabiting mountains, especially above the timberline.
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
skiing
sports
coordinate_terms: Nordic
glosses: Of or relating to slalom and downhill skiing.
Derived terms: afroalpine
alpine accentor
alpine anemone
alpine bullhead
alpine butterfly bend
alpine butterfly knot
alpine chough
alpine club-moss
alpine club moss
alpine clubmoss
alpine coil
alpine combined
Alpine County
alpine hawkweed
alpinely
alpine marmot
alpine meadow lizard
alpine-meadow lizard
alpine newt
alpine pasqueflower
alpine salamander
alpine saxifrage
alpine skier
alpine skiing
alpine snowboard
alpine snowboarder
alpine snowboarding
alpinesque
alpine start
alpinism
alpinist
Calpine
para-alpine
para alpine skiing
semialpine
alpine
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈæl.paɪn/
ipa: /ˈæl.pɪn/
Forms: form: alpines
Etymology: From Latin Alpīnus, from Alpēs (“the Alps”). Cognates include French alpin.
Senses: examples: text: There can be little doubt that the autumn-flowering gentians are the elite of late-flowering alpines, but alas they can only be enjoyed by those gardeners with an acid soil, unless they can be grown in containers.
ref: 1991, Jack Elliott, Alpines in the Open Garden, Christopher Helm, →ISBN, page 64:
topics: biology
botany
natural-sciences
glosses: Any of several plants, native to mountain habitats, often grown in rock gardens.
alienist
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: /ˈeɪ.lɪ.ən.ɪst/
Forms: form: alienists
Etymology: Borrowed from French aliéniste, from aliéné (“insane”).
Senses: examples: text: ‘Are you an alienist?’ I interrupted. ‘Every doctor should be - a little,’ answered that original, imperturbably.
ref: 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 201:
text: A trial for poisoning means an exhaustive study not only of analytic chemistry, but of practical medicine on the part of all the lawyers in the case, while a plea of insanity requires that, for the time being, the district attorney shall become an alienist, familiar with every aspect of paranoia, dementia praecox, and all other forms of mania.
ref: 1912, Arthur Cheney Train, “Preparing a Criminal Case for Trial”, in Courts and Criminals:
text: "Speaking as a medical man," said I, "it appears to be a case for an alienist. The old gentleman's cerebral processes were disturbed by the love affair.[…]"
ref: 1923 March, Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Creeping Man”, in The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, published June 1927, →OCLC, page 215:
text: There was probably not an alienist in the land who, having listened so far, would not have sprung at George and held him down with one hand while with the other he signed the necessary certificate of lunacy. But Molly Waddington saw deeper into the matter.
ref: 1927 April 28, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, The Small Bachelor, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC:
glosses: An expert in mental illness, especially with reference to legal ramifications.
glosses: A psychiatrist.
Related terms: alienism
alteration
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɒl.tə(ɹ)ˈeɪ.ʃən/
ipa: /ɔl.tɚˈeɪ.ʃən/
ipa: /ɑl.tɚˈeɪ.ʃən/
rhymes: -eɪʃən
Forms: form: alterations
Etymology: From Old French alteracion (French altération), from Medieval Latin alterātiō. Morphologically alter + -ation.
Senses: examples: text: …alteration, though it be from worse to better, hath in it inconveniences…
ref: 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity:
glosses: The act of altering or making different.
glosses: The act of altering or making different.
A minor adjustment to clothing, such as hemming or shortening, to make it fit better.
examples: text: …and I saw by the alteration in your face that a train of thought had been started.
ref: 1892, Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Resident Patient”, in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes:
glosses: The state of being altered; a change made in the form or nature of a thing; a changed condition.
Derived terms: alterationist
microalteration
realteration
unalteration
ghostwriter
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: ghostwriters
form: ghost writer
Etymology: From ghost + writer.
Senses: examples: text: Smith was listed as the author of his autobiography, but a ghostwriter did most of the work.
text: Ghostwriters, typically the faceless forces behind many books by famous non-writers, are now becoming more visible, with celebrities openly teaming up with high-profile professionals.
ref: 2021 April 13, Cady Lang, “How Celebrity Memoirs Got So Good”, in Time:
glosses: A professional writer who is paid to write material that is officially credited to another person; one who writes on behalf of someone else, often for a celebrity.
KIA
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: /keɪ.aɪ.eɪ/
Forms: form: KIAs
form: K.I.A.
form: K. I. A.
Senses: topics: government
military
politics
war
glosses: A person who is killed in action.
Related terms: kiyi
KIA
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: /keɪ.aɪ.eɪ/
Forms: form: K.I.A.
form: K. I. A.
Senses: topics: government
military
politics
war
glosses: Initialism of killed in action.
Related terms: topics: military
war
government
politics
word: MIA
KIA
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Pronunciation: /keɪ.aɪ.eɪ/
Forms: form: K.I.A.
form: K. I. A.
Senses: examples: text: Formed in 1961 to fight for greater autonomy for the ethnic minority of the same name, the KIA had built itself into a formidable military force, with deep experience operating in mountainous terrain.
ref: 2025 July 18, Timothy McLaughlin, “A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China's Border. The Kachin Independence Organization fought for decades in obscurity. Now it's supplying essential minerals to manufacturers around the world”, in Bloomberg Businessweek, archived from the original on 18 Jul 2025:
glosses: Initialism of Kachin Independence Army.
gnome
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: nōm
ipa: /nəʊm/
enpr: nōm
ipa: /noʊm/
rhymes: -əʊm
homophone: Nome
homophone: nome
ipa: /nəʊm/
ipa: /nəʊmi/
enpr: nōm
ipa: /nəʊm/
enpr: nōm
ipa: /noʊm/
rhymes: -əʊm
homophone: Nome
homophone: nome
Forms: form: gnomae
form: gnomai
form: gnomes
Etymology: From Ancient Greek γνώμη (gnṓmē, “thought, opinion”), from the base of γιγνώσκω (gignṓskō, “to know”).
Senses: examples: text: 1996, Giambattista Vico, Giorgio A. Pinton, Arthur W. Shippee (translators), The Art of Rhetoric, [1711-1741, Giambattista Vico, Institutiones Oratoriae], page 125,
The Greeks in their tongue call this second type of maxim noema. The gnome is more appropriate to the philosophers, and the noema to the orators, to the poets, and to the historians. To speak by gnomes alone was referred to by the Greeks as "philosophizing" which we Italians would render as "to mouth maxims" (sputar sentenze).
text: Thus, the gnome concerning the precarious nature of, and the potential suffering in, human life sent by the gods uttered by Electra is deconstructed by her choice of paradigm. By using Tantalos as an illustration, the play overturns the apparent meaning of the gnome.
ref: 2003, Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood, Tragedy and Athenian Religion, page 386:
synonyms: adage
apothegm
maxim
paroemia
proverb
sententia
glosses: A brief reflection or maxim; a pithy saying.
Related terms: gnomic
gnomometry
alterative
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɒl.tɹə.tɪv/
ipa: /ˈɒl.tə.ɹə.tɪv/
ipa: /ˈɔl.tɚˌaɪ.tɪv/
ipa: /ˈɔl.tɚ.ə.tɪv/
Forms: form: alteratives
Etymology: From Latin alterativum, noun use of alterativus.
Senses: examples: text: Amongst this number of cordials and alteratives I do not find a more present remedy than a cup of wine or strong drink, if it be soberly and opportunely used.
ref: 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 5, member 1, subsection v:
topics: medicine
sciences
glosses: A medicine or treatment which works by changing processes within the body, rather than by evacuating something etc.
alterative
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɒl.tɹə.tɪv/
ipa: /ˈɒl.tə.ɹə.tɪv/
ipa: /ˈɔl.tɚˌaɪ.tɪv/
ipa: /ˈɔl.tɚ.ə.tɪv/
Forms: form: more alterative
form: most alterative
Etymology: From Latin alterativum, noun use of alterativus.
Senses: glosses: Causing alteration.
topics: medicine
sciences
glosses: Causing alteration.
Gradually changing, or tending to change, a morbid state into a healthy one.
alternate
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: note: Indic
ipa: /ɔlʈə(r).neʈ/
ipa: /ɒlˈtɜː(ɹ).nət/
ipa: /ɔːlˈtɜː(ɹ).nət/
ipa: /ˈɔl.tɚ.nət/
ipa: /ˈɑl.tɚ.nət/
Etymology: Borrowed from Latin alternātus, the perfect passive participle of Latin alternō (“to take turns”) (see -ate (1,2 and 3)), from alternus (“one after another, by turns”), from alter (“other”) + -nus. Doublet of altern; see also alter.
Senses: examples: text: And bid alternate passions fall and rise
ref: 1711 May, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Criticism, London: […] W[illiam] Lewis […]; and sold by W[illiam] Taylor […], T[homas] Osborn[e] […], and J[ohn] Graves […], →OCLC:
text: One of the two boxes displaced by the new Pelaw installation will be Springwell, between Boldon Colliery and Pelaw, which has recently had the distinction of being manned by a husband and wife on alternate shifts.
ref: 1960 September, “Talking of Trains: Newcastle signal area enlarged”, in Trains Illustrated, page 522:
text: The service is half-hourly as far as Harrogate and Knaresborough, with alternate trains going on to York.
ref: 2021 December 15, Robin Leleux, “Awards honour the best restoration projects: The Arch Company Award for Urban Heritage: Knaresborough”, in RAIL, number 946, page 56:
glosses: Happening by turns; one following the other in succession of time or place; first one and then the other (repeatedly).
examples: text: Goldschmidt (Austria; creation July 27, 1862): [...] party, argent and gules, an eagle of alternate colors, [...]
ref: 1925, The Jewish Encyclopedia: Chazars-Dreyfus Case, page 128:
topics: government
heraldry
hobbies
lifestyle
monarchy
nobility
politics
glosses: Happening by turns; one following the other in succession of time or place; first one and then the other (repeatedly).
Alternating; (of e.g. a pair of tinctures which a charge is coloured) succeeding in turns, or (relative to the field) counterchanged.
examples: text: the alternate members 1, 3, 5, 7, etc.
topics: mathematics
sciences
glosses: Designating the members in a series, which regularly intervene between the members of another series, as the odd or even numbers of the numerals; every other; every second.
examples: text: Hyperlinked text is displayed in alternate color in a Web browser.
text: He lives in an alternate universe and an alternate reality.
glosses: Other; alternative.
examples: text: Many trees have alternate leaf arrangement (e.g. birch, oak and mulberry).
topics: biology
botany
natural-sciences
glosses: Distributed singly at different heights of the stem, and at equal intervals as respects angular divergence
raw_tags: of leaves
Derived terms: alternate action
alternate aerodrome
alternate allegation
alternate angles
alternate energy
alternate generation
alternate history
alternate juror
alternately
alternateness
alternate persona
alternate plumage
alternate reality game
alternate ring hitching
alternate timeline
alternate universe
Related terms: alternation
alternative
alternate
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: note: Indic
ipa: /ɔlʈə(r).neʈ/
Forms: form: alternates
Etymology: Borrowed from Latin alternātus, the perfect passive participle of Latin alternō (“to take turns”) (see -ate (1,2 and 3)), from alternus (“one after another, by turns”), from alter (“other”) + -nus. Doublet of altern; see also alter.
Senses: examples: text: Grateful alternates of substantial peace.
ref: 1718, Mat[thew] Prior, “Solomon on the Vanity of the World. A Poem in Three Books.”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], and John Barber […], →OCLC, (please specify the page):
glosses: That which alternates with something else; vicissitude.
examples: text: Corridors beyond this point have collapsed. I'm looking for an alternate. Careful.
ref: 2007 September 25, Bungie, Halo 3, spoken by Cortana (Jen Taylor), Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox 360, level/area: Cortana:
glosses: A substitute; an alternative; one designated to take the place of another, if necessary, in performing some duty.
topics: mathematics
sciences
glosses: A proportion derived from another proportion by interchanging the means.
glosses: A replacement of equal or greater value or function.
alternate
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: note: Indic
ipa: /ɔlʈə(r).neʈ/
ipa: /ˈɒl.tə(ɹ)ˌneɪt/
ipa: /ˈɔːl.tə(ɹ)ˌneɪt/
ipa: /ˈɔl.tɚ.neɪt/
ipa: /ˈɑl.tɚ.neɪt/
Forms: form: alternates
form: alternating
form: alternated
form: alternated
Etymology: Borrowed from Latin alternātus, the perfect passive participle of Latin alternō (“to take turns”) (see -ate (1,2 and 3)), from alternus (“one after another, by turns”), from alter (“other”) + -nus. Doublet of altern; see also alter.
Senses: examples: text: The most high God, in all things appertaining unto this life, for sundry wise ends alternates the disposition of good and evil.
ref: 1701, Nehemiah Grew, Cosmologia Sacra:
glosses: To perform by turns, or in succession; to cause to succeed by turns; to interchange regularly.
examples: text: The flood and ebb tides alternate with each other.
glosses: To happen, succeed, or act by turns; to follow reciprocally in place or time; followed by with.
examples: text: The land alternates between rocky hills and sandy plains.
glosses: To vary by turns.
examples: text: This case suggests that the alternation of a polyhedron should be bounded by actual vertex figures and alternated faces. The case of the cube is in agreement with this notion, since the alternated square is nothing.
ref: 1932, Harold Scott Macdonald Coxeter, The densities of the regular polytopes, part 2, reprinted in 1995, F. Arthur Sherk, Peter Mcmullen, Anthony C. Thompson, Asia Ivić Weiss (editors), Kaleidoscopes: Selected Writings of H. S. M. Coxeter, page 54:
topics: geometry
mathematics
sciences
glosses: To perform an alternation (removal of alternate vertices) on (a polytope or tessellation); to remove vertices (from a face or edge) as part of an alternation.
Synonyms: word: seesaw
word: alternate
word: interchange
Hypernyms: word: mix
word: sequence
word: switch
Hyponyms: word: interline
word: oscillate
word: pulsate
word: seesaw
word: stagger
word: take it in turns
word: take turns
word: toggle
word: yo-yo
word: counterchange
word: checker
word: freck
Derived terms: alternating caps
alternating case
alternating function
alternating group
alternating hemiplegia
alternating knot
alternatingly
alternating series
alternator
coalternate
nonalternating
polyalternating
prealternate
subalternating
unalternated
unalternating
Related terms: word: variant
word: every second
word: every other
alternately
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: [ɔːlˈtɜɹnətlɪ]
ipa: /ɔlˈtə(ɹ)nətliː/
ipa: /ˈɔl.tɚ.nət.li/
Etymology: From alternate + -ly.
Senses: examples: text: All night Katerina and I watched alternately, though, I shame to say, I slept more than I watched; and, having first ascertained that there was no change, I came directly hither.
ref: 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter IX, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 102:
text: Tired with the heat and my walk, I threw myself down on the grass in the shadow of the house, where I lay half-asleep enjoying a quiet rest, when I was startled by an unpleasant clamour, the jarring voice of a woman, who was trying by alternately scolding and using pet names to pacify a litter of grunting pigs on the farm.
ref: 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 278:
text: Well, I can't help noticing that you insult me and then you're polite to me alternately.
ref: 1970, “The Butcher Who is Alternately Rude and Polite”, in Monty Python's Flying Circus, season 2, episode 5, spoken by Customer (Michael Palin):
text: The 2025 timetable would feature two trains per hour, alternately routed via Kirkcaldy (with 11 intermediate stops) and Dunfermline (14 stops), with journey times ranging between 65 and 81 minutes.
ref: 2023 November 1, Robert Drysdale, “Leven is nearly back on track...”, in RAIL, number 995, page 58:
synonyms: alternatingly
glosses: In reciprocal succession; succeeding by turns; in alternate order.
topics: mathematics
sciences
glosses: By alternation; when, in a proportion, the antecedent term is compared with antecedent, and consequent.
examples: text: Downstairs, he was informed. That is, down the escalators, where there is both a women’s room (often with a line) and a men’s room (almost never with a line). Or alternately, he could ask the station master to buzz him into the “family” bathroom. He opted to go downstairs.
ref: 2008 July 18, Jennifer 8. Lee, “A ‘Women Only’ Restroom Renovation Tips the Balance at Grand Central”, in The New York Times:
text: Westerners have never quite understood the reverence in Japan for fugu, alternately known in English as puffer fish, globefish or blowfish, of the family Tetraodontidae.
ref: 2020 December 4, Ligaya Mishan, “The Appealing and Potentially Lethal Delicacy That Is Fugu”, in The New York Times Style Magazine:
glosses: Alternatively.