cstr/en-wiktionary-extracted-all huggingface dataset:
sheet anchor
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: sheet anchors
form: sheet-anchor
Etymology: From shoot and anchor.
Senses: examples: text: The Ship having thus depth of water again, and come into a place of some convenient anchourage, our first anchour not holding us, we let fall our sheet anchour […]
ref: 1661, anonymous author, A Narrative of the Success of the Voyage of the Right Honourable Heaneage Finch, London, page 3:
text: By Noon the Sea went very high indeed, and our Ship rid Forecastle in, shipp’d several Seas, and we thought once or twice our Anchor had come home; upon which our Master order’d out the Sheet Anchor; so that we rode with two Anchors a-Head, and the Cables vered out to the better End.
ref: 1719, Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe, London: W. Taylor, page 10:
topics: nautical
transport
glosses: A large, spare anchor used in an emergency.
examples: text: 1691, Ezekiel Hopkins, An Exposition of the Ten Commandments, with Other Sermons, London: Nathanael Ranew, “The Ninth Commandment,” p. 62,
And doubtless when other Arguments have been baffled by a Temptation, this hath been a Sheet Anchor to the Soul, and hath often held it in the greatest Storms, when the Wind and Waves have beat most furiously against it.
text: “[…] If you are afeard of goblins, brother, put your trust in the Lord, and he’ll prove a sheet-anchor to you.”
ref: 1762, Tobias Smollett, chapter 18, in The Life and Adventures of Sir Launcelot Greaves, volume 2, London: J. Coote, page 124:
text: […] you can imagine how like being struck by lightning it was to find myself in a country where written contracts were worthless!—that main security, that sheet-anchor, that absolute necessity, of business.
ref: 1872, Mark Twain, chapter 14, in Roughing It, Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company, page 115:
text: […] I had the joyful vision of myself far from home, from the familiar faces, from all my sheet-anchors, sitting on a milestone in the dark […]
ref: 1955, Samuel Beckett, translated by Patrick Bowles and Samuel Beckett, Molloy, New York: Grove Press, Part 2, pp. 171-172:
text: 1971, Nelson Mandela, letter to the wife of fellow-prisoner Mac Maharaj dated 1 February, 1971, in Sahm Venter (ed.), The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela, New York: Liveright, 2018,
It is the prettiest portrait of her that I’ve seen. Its message is clear & unambiguous: Darling I’m the centre of the universe; sheet anchor of all your dreams!
glosses: A source of help in times of danger; last resort.
topics: ball-games
cricket
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A batsman who provides dependable defence while a series of other batsmen score rapidly.
Related terms: bower anchor
shininess
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: shininesses
Etymology: From shiny + -ness.
Senses: glosses: The visual property of something shining with reflective light; shine.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: The coefficient of specular reflectivity associated with the surface of an object being displayed.
Related terms: shiningness
short leg
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: short legs
Senses: examples: text: When he dismissed Keith Miller, caught at short leg off a lifter, I turned round to Tony Lock[.]
ref: 1990, Ashes: Battles and Bellylaughs, Byron Bay: Swan Publishing, page 148:
topics: ball-games
cricket
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
synonyms: word: Boot Hill
glosses: A fielding position on the leg side, square of, and close to the batsman.
topics: ball-games
cricket
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A fielder in this position.
short of a length
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Senses: topics: ball-games
cricket
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: of a ball that pitches short of a good length; a ball that bounces closer to the bowler than the area of the pitch regarded as the best for dismissing or restricting the scoring of the batsman.
bur
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /bɝ/
ipa: /bɜː/
ipa: /bʌr/
ipa: /bøː/
note: Liverpool, fair–fur merger
ipa: /beː/
note: Humberside, Teesside, fair–fur merger
ipa: /bɛː/
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)
homophone: burr
homophone: Burr
homophone: birr (fern–fir–fur merger)
homophone: bare
homophone: bear (both fair–fur merger)
Forms: form: burs
form: burr
Etymology: From Middle English burre, from a North Germanic language, such as Danish burre (“bur, burdock”). See also burr.
Senses: glosses: A rough, prickly husk around the seeds or fruit of some plants.
glosses: Any of several plants having such husks.
glosses: A rotary cutting implement having a selection of variously shaped heads.
glosses: Alternative form of burr (“small piece of material”).
Derived terms: beach bur
buffalo bur
buffalo-bur
buffalo-bur nightshade
bur block
burdock
burfish
burgrass
burlike
bur marigold
bur oak
bur-reed
burry
burseed
burweed
butterbur
cocklebur
sandbur
attacker
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈtækɚ/
rhymes: -ækə(ɹ)
Forms: form: attackers
Etymology: From attack + -er.
Senses: examples: text: […] expecting the woman to take her attacker into physical custody is tantamount to preventing the arrest. If she could handle him, she probably would not need to call the police in the first place.
ref: 1981, Del Martin, Battered Wives, page 90:
text: In this manner, the victim may be able to discover the one or many zombied systems that are causing the DoS attack but probably won't be able to track down the actual attacker.
ref: 2011, James M. Stewart, CompTIA Security+ Review Guide: Exam SY0-301, page 133:
text: The targets suggest the attackers are sympathetic to the vast censorship apparatus known as the Great Firewall of China.
ref: 2015 March 31, Dan Goodin, “Massive denial-of-service attack on GitHub tied to Chinese government”, in Ars Technica, retrieved 01 Apr 2015:
glosses: Someone who attacks.
topics: ball-games
games
hobbies
lifestyle
soccer
sports
synonyms: forward
striker
front man
hypernyms: player#Noun
<
person#Noun
glosses: One of the players on a team in football (soccer) in the row nearest to the opposing team's goal, who are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals.
Derived terms: counter-attacker
cyberattacker
dictionary attacker
extra attacker
personal attacker
suicide attacker
shoulder arms
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: shoulder arms
Senses: topics: government
military
politics
war
coordinate_terms: slope arms
glosses: a position or command in the manual of arms in which one places a rifle on the either left or right shoulder, with the forearm parallel to the ground and the hand holding the butt.
topics: government
military
politics
war
glosses: a military command in which one places a rifle in the side of the flank and gripped by either left or right hand.
shoulder arms
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: shoulders arms
form: shouldering arms
form: shouldered arms
form: shouldered arms
Senses: topics: government
military
politics
war
coordinate_terms: slope arms
glosses: Of a soldier at drill, to place a rifle on the right shoulder, with the forearm parallel to the ground and the hand holding the butt.
topics: government
military
politics
war
glosses: Of a soldier at drill, to place a rifle in the side of the flank and gripped by either left or right hand.
topics: ball-games
cricket
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To deliberately lift the bat out of the path of the ball when it is judged to be missing the wicket.
sightscreen
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: sightscreens
Etymology: From sight + screen.
Senses: examples: text: The batsman swung and thwacked it behind him over the sight-screens.
ref: 1982, Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything, page 24:
topics: ball-games
cricket
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A large screen, at each end of a cricket field, coloured to provide visual contrast to the cricket ball, to aid the batsman in seeing its movement through the air.
silky
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈsɪlki/
rhymes: -ɪlki
homophone: Sylki
Forms: form: silkier
form: silkiest
Etymology: From Middle English sylky, equivalent to silk + -y.
Senses: examples: text: silky hair
text: cloth with a silky lustre
text: A portion of the Baromez does present a rude resemblance in its shape to the figure of an animal, and is covered by a soft downy substance, which may be compared to a silky fleece, of a reddish-brown colour, and which gives to it more the appearance of a dog than a lamb.
ref: [1866], “The Field and the Heath”, in Beauties and Wonders of Vegetable Life; […], London: The Religious Tract Society, […], →OCLC, page 263:
text: Then I looked close at the scalp he stroked, which was of the silkiest blonde. For a moment I was sure it come from Olga’s dear head, and reckoned also he had little Gus’s fine skull-cover someplace among his filthy effects, the stinking old savage, living out his life of murder, rapine, and squalor, and I almost knifed him before I collected myself and realized the hair was honeyer than my Swedish wife’s.
ref: 1964, Thomas Berger, “My Indian Wife”, in Little Big Man, New York, N.Y.: Dial Press, →LCCN, page 214:
text: The door opened, and there stood Miss Ellerby, looking as Miss Ellerby should, unschoolmarmish and casually chic in a silky shirt, faded jeans, and running shoes.
ref: 1986, E. N. Welch, “Just an Unofficial Investigation”, in Cynthia Manson, editor, Murder on Main Street: Small-Town Crime from Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine & Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, New York, N.Y.: Barnes & Noble Books, published 1993, →ISBN, page 238:
glosses: Similar in appearance or texture (especially in softness and smoothness) to silk.
examples: text: a silky wine
text: a silky voice
text: silky skills
text: If you have a circular polarizer or a neutral density (grey) filter, put that in front of the lens too. This will slow down the shutter speed even further to get silkier, smoothier (that's a word!) water motion.
ref: 2017, Gary L. Friedman, The Friedman Archives Guide to the Sony RX-10 IV:
glosses: Smooth and pleasant; seductive.
topics: biology
botany
natural-sciences
glosses: Covered in long, slender, glistening hairs pressed close to the surface; sericeous.
examples: text: Cribs and formula, strollers and baby food epitomize silky parenting.
glosses: Having sensibilities of mainstream culture, in contrast to crunchy.
Synonyms: sense: like silk
word: silken
sense: like silk
word: silklike
sense: like silk
word: seric
Derived terms: appressed-silky
silkily
silkiness
silky anteater
silky-flycatcher
silky-haired
silky lacewing
silky mama
silky mom
silky oak
silky smooth
silky soft
silky
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈsɪlki/
rhymes: -ɪlki
homophone: Sylki
Forms: form: silkies
Etymology: From Middle English sylky, equivalent to silk + -y.
Senses: glosses: Alternative spelling of silkie.
cash cow
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: cash cows
Etymology: An allusion to the dairy cow, who once acquired (and having given birth) may be milked on an ongoing basis.
Senses: examples: text: The managers of a cash cow are primarily responsible for the generation of cash, and they should in principle be willing to give cash away to those other businesses in the portfolio which need it most.
ref: 1980, D. J. Hall, M. A. Saias, “Strategy Follows Structure!”, in Strategic Management Journal, volume 1, number 2, page 181:
topics: business
coordinate_terms: star
dog
glosses: A product, service, or enterprise that generates ongoing, high net free cash flows.
examples: text: Hollinger International, the owner of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, claimed in the 175-page filing that its former chief executive had treated the company as his "cash cow".
ref: 2004 May 11, Dan Milmo, “Press tycoon Lord Black used company as ‘cash cow’, says $1.25bn lawsuit”, in The Guardian, retrieved 30 Oct 2008:
text: Meanwhile, "Mr Spears is keen on protecting his cash cow, um, wife. Brit's bodyguards have been teaching Kev how to shoot a handgun," the New York Post says.
ref: 2004 October 5, “Britney's new digs”, in The Age (Australia), retrieved 30 Oct 2008:
text: Many of the League Championship Series’ 10 teams are backed by billionaires who also own traditional U.S. sports teams. But the sport has not yet become a cash cow. To get in on League of Legends, teams had to pay Riot $10 million to $13 million.
ref: 2021 January 30, Kellen Browning, “They’re Flocking to America to Make a Fortune Playing Video Games”, in The New York Times:
synonyms: moneymaker
money-spinner
golden goose
glosses: Someone or something which is a dependable source of appreciable amounts of money.
refract
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: rhymes: -ækt
Forms: form: refracts
form: refracting
form: refracted
form: refracted
Etymology: From Latin refrāctum, neuter form of refrāctus, the past participle of refringō, itself from re- (“again”) + frangō (“I break”).
Senses: topics: natural-sciences
physical-sciences
physics
glosses: Of a medium, substance, object, etc.: to deflect the course of (light rays), esp. when they enter the medium, etc., at an oblique angle; to cause refraction of (light, other electromagnetic radiation, or sound or other wave phenomena).
glosses: To mediate; to alter; to distort.
topics: engineering
natural-sciences
optics
physical-sciences
physics
glosses: To cause (light) to change direction as a result of entering a different medium.
examples: text: A prism can refract light.
topics: medicine
ophthalmology
sciences
glosses: To measure, and often also to correct with lenses, the refractive error of (an eye) or the eyes of (a person).
Derived terms: refracting
refracting telescope
Related terms: refraction
refractive
refractory
refrangible
refringent
reflect
boodler
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: boodlers
Etymology: From boodle + -er.
Senses: examples: text: Boodlers, according to the dealers in boodle, are divided into two categories, the honest and the dishonest boodlers. The honest boodler is the alderman who, when bought, stays bought,' and does not sell out to the other side; the dishonest boodler is perfectly willing to take money from both sides and dispose of his vote, not according to the first bid, but the last.
ref: 1894, William T. Stead, If Christ Came to Chicago: A Plea for the Union of All Who Love in the Service of All Who Suffer, Part III, Chapter 1:
text: I guess it kept him reminded about his graft whenever he saw the siren voice of the boodler tip him the wink with a bribe in its hand.
ref: 1904 November, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “The Phonograph and the Graft”, in Cabbages and Kings, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., page 124:
text: One might suppose that this flood of summonses caused consternation. It did not, because the boodlers were too strongly entrenched to fear an attack; bribery had been too long rampant to expect a sudden pruning and too many prominent St. Louisans were involved to permit the esclandre going very far.
ref: 1904, Claude Hazeltine Wetmore, chapter IV, in The Battle Against Bribery: Being the Only Complete Narrative of Joseph W. Folk's Warfare on Boodlers, Including Also the Story of the Get-rich-quick Concerns and the Exposure of Bribery in the Missouri Legislature:
text: "Hey, Pinski! You old boodler! How much do you expect to get out of this traction business?" (This from a voice somewhere in the rear.)
Mr. Pinski (turning to one side as if pinched in the neck). "The man that says I am a boodler is a liar! I never took a dishonest dollar in my life, and everybody in the Fourteenth Ward knows it."
ref: 1914, Theodore Dreiser, chapter LXI, in The Titan:
glosses: One, especially a politician, who seeks or receives boodle; a political grafter.
topics: ball-games
baseball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A person displaying unsportsmanlike behavior.
Derived terms: boodlerism
daisy cutter
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: daisy cutters
form: daisy-cutter
form: daisycutter
Etymology: * From plowing through a field and flattening and mowing down hypothetical daisies.
* (explosive): From flattening vegetation in a round region creating a clearing reminiscent of a daisy flower
Senses: topics: ball-games
baseball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A well-struck ground ball.
topics: ball-games
cricket
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A low ball that bounces more than once before reaching the batsman.
glosses: A fast-going horse that does not lift its feet high.
topics: government
military
politics
war
synonyms: Big Blue 82
cheeseburger
glosses: The BLU-82 bomb, known for its ability to flatten a forest into a helicopter landing zone.
Coordinate terms: english: massive ordnance airburst
translation: massive ordnance airburst
alt: GBU-43
word: MOAB
english: massive ordnance penetrator
translation: massive ordnance penetrator
alt: GBU-57
word: MOP
word: Father of all Bombs
dew drop
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: dew drops
Senses: glosses: Alternative form of dewdrop.
show a little ginger
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: shows a little ginger
form: showing a little ginger
form: showed a little ginger
form: showed a little ginger
form: shown a little ginger
Senses: topics: ball-games
baseball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To play harder or smarter.
basetender
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: basetenders
Etymology: From base + tender.
Senses: topics: ball-games
baseball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A baseman.
baseman
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: basemen
Etymology: From base + man.
Senses: topics: ball-games
baseball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
softball
sports
glosses: A player positioned at or near a base: first baseman, second baseman or third baseman.
Related terms: baseperson
basewoman
banjo hit
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: banjo hits
Senses: topics: ball-games
baseball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A weakly hit fly ball which goes just over the infielders.
Synonyms: blooper
Related terms: banjo hitter
bedouin
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈbɛd.(ə.)wɪn/
Forms: form: bedouins
form: Bedouin
form: Bedu
form: Beduin
Etymology: From Old French beduin (compare French bédouin), from Arabic بَدَوِيِّين (badawiyyīn), plural of بَدَوِيّ (badawiyy), from collective noun بَدْو (badw, “nomads”).
Senses: glosses: A member of nomadic Arab tribes dwelling in the desert.
Derived terms: bedouinism
bedouinization
bedouinize
plug the runner
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: plugs the runner
form: plugging the runner
form: plugged the runner
form: plugged the runner
Senses: topics: ball-games
baseball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: Synonym of soak the runner.
synonyms: word: soak the runner
soak the runner
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: soaks the runner
form: soaking the runner
form: soaked the runner
form: soaked the runner
Senses: topics: ball-games
baseball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To throw the ball at the runner in order to "tag" him out (illegal after 1845).
Synonyms: plug the runner
splurge
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /splɜːd͡ʒ/
ipa: /splɝd͡ʒ/
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)dʒ
Forms: form: splurges
form: splurging
form: splurged
form: splurged
Etymology: Possibly from a blend of splash + surge, originally US. According to the OED, onomatopoeic.
Senses: examples: text: The tomato sauce was splurged all over the chips.
text: But the steamboats come in their time ; and I am sure that I address a large crowd of sympathizing auditors, now that I come to speak of the magnificent old "Fanny," spluttering and paddling, and splurging up to the little wharf under the lea of Peppers Hill, where the pine wood lay piled in fabulous quantities.
ref: 1884, Donald Grant Mitchell, Bound Together, A Sheaf of Papers/Norwich, 1659-1859, Norwich:
text: She waited a moment, quivering with the expectation of her husband's answer; then, as none came except the silent darkening of his face, she walked to the door and turned round to fling back: "Of course you can do what you like with your own house, and make any arrangements that suit your family, without consulting me; but you needn't think I'm ever going back to live in that stuffy little hole, with Hubert and his wife splurging round on top of our heads!"
ref: 1913, Edith Wharton, “Chapter XXXVIII”, in The Custom of the Country:
text: "And boy," he splurged, "we are filming a peach, a pip and a wow! Is it a knockout? Oh, baby! A prize-fight picture entitled 'The Honor of the Champion,' starring Reginald Van Veer, with Honey Precious for the herowine. Boy, will it pack the theayters!"
ref: 1930, Robert E. Howard, Sailors' Grudge:
glosses: To (cause to) gush; to flow or move in a rush.
examples: text: They decided to splurge on the biggest banana split for dessert.
text: I could see Schultz think, and revive, and splurge with his bets again.
ref: 1912, Jack London, The House of Pride:
text: Fans flew across the country, stayed in hotels, ate meals out, and splurged on everything from sweatshirts to limited-edition vinyl, with the average Eras attendee reportedly spending nearly $1,300.
ref: 2023 December 6, Sam Lansky, “Person of Year 2023 : Taylor Swift”, in Time, archived from the original on 06 Dec 2023:
synonyms: splash out
glosses: To spend lavishly or extravagantly, especially money.
glosses: To produce an extravagant or ostentatious display.
splurge
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /splɜːd͡ʒ/
ipa: /splɝd͡ʒ/
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)dʒ
Forms: form: splurges
Etymology: Possibly from a blend of splash + surge, originally US. According to the OED, onomatopoeic.
Senses: glosses: An extravagant or ostentatious display.
glosses: An extravagant indulgence; a spending spree.
spinet
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈspɪn.ɪt/
ipa: /spɪˈnɛt/
ipa: /ˈspɪn.ɪt/
rhymes: -ɛt
rhymes: -ɪnɪt
Forms: form: spinets
form: spinnet
Etymology: Borrowed from Italian spinetta.
Senses: examples: text: He gazed around until on the lid of a spinet he spotted a promising collection of bottles, gin, whiskey, vermouth and sherry, mixed with violin bows, a flute, a toppling pile of books, six volumes of Grove's Dictionary mingled with paperback thrillers, a guitar without any strings, a pair of binoculars, a meerschaum pipe and a jar half-full of wasps and apricot jam.
ref: 1956, Delano Ames, chapter 14, in Crime out of Mind:
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: A short, compact harpsichord or piano.
Derived terms: dumb spinet
Related terms: virginal
spinet
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈspɪn.ɪt/
ipa: /spɪˈnɛt/
ipa: /ˈspɪn.ɪt/
rhymes: -ɛt
rhymes: -ɪnɪt
ipa: /ˈspɪn.ɪt/
rhymes: -ɪnɪt
ipa: /ˈspɪn.ɪt/
ipa: /spɪˈnɛt/
ipa: /ˈspɪn.ɪt/
rhymes: -ɛt
rhymes: -ɪnɪt
Forms: form: spinets
Etymology: From Latin spīnētum. Doublet of spinney
Senses: examples: text: The invention was to have a Satyr lodged in a little spinet, by which her majesty and the prince were to come
ref: 1603, Ben Jonson, The Entertainment at Althorp:
glosses: A spinney.
poss
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Senses: glosses: Alternative form of poss..
poss
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: posses
form: possing
form: possed
form: possed
Senses: glosses: To mix with a vertical motion, especially when agitating laundry in a tub.
examples: Piers Plowman
A cat […] possed them [the rats] about.
glosses: To push; to dash; to throw.
Related terms: posser
biomimetics
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: /ˌbaɪəʊmɪˈmɛtɪks/
Etymology: From bio- + mimetics.
Senses: glosses: The study of the structure and function of living things as models for the creation of materials or products by reverse engineering.
Synonyms: bionics
biomimesis
biomimicry
Related terms: bioengineering
biomimetic
bion
biotechnology
read someone the riot act
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: reads someone the riot act
form: reading someone the riot act
form: read someone the riot act
form: read someone the riot act
Etymology: From read the Riot Act. See sense 2. The Riot Act is a historical British Act of Parliament enacted in 1714, which stated that once a statutory warning was read out to rioters and they failed to disperse within one hour, then authorities may use any force to disperse them with impunity.
Senses: examples: text: She really read him the riot act about his smoking habit.
glosses: To scold or berate somebody; to reprimand.
glosses: To give a formal warning for a riotous assembly to disperse, usually through reading a section of the Riot Act.
Related terms: lay down the law
Riot Act
biomimetic
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: /ˌbaɪəʊmɪˈmɛtɪk/
Etymology: From bio- + mimetic.
Senses: glosses: of, related to, or produced by biomimetics
Derived terms: biomimetically
nonbiomimetic
posses
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: plural of posse
posses
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Senses: glosses: third-person singular simple present indicative of poss
Related terms: possess
bionics
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈbaɪˌɒnɪks/
Etymology: From bio- + electronics. Coined by US Air Force medical doctor Jack E. Steele in 1958 to refer to the "flow of concepts from biology to engineering and vice versa".
Senses: glosses: The design of engineering systems, especially electronic ones, based on that of biological systems.
glosses: biomimetics
Derived terms: nanobionics
Related terms: alt: cyborg
word: bion
word: bionic
topics: biotechnology
engineering
medicine
sciences
physical-sciences
natural-sciences
word: biotech
possing
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Senses: glosses: present participle and gerund of poss
possed
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Senses: glosses: simple past and past participle of poss
posser
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: possers
Etymology: From poss + -er.
Senses: synonyms: dolly
glosses: A tool for possing, or agitating laundry in a tub. It usually takes the form a bell shape or a circular plate with holes and vertical handle attached at the centre.
glosses: One who posses.
blustery
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈblʌstəɹi/
Forms: form: more blustery
form: most blustery
Etymology: From bluster + -y.
Senses: examples: text: Currently, there are blustery winds blowing in Patagonia.
text: Fortunately, that May morning was bright and sunny; the breeze blew warm from the southland instead of cold and blustery from the lake, and it was the very best kind of a morning possible for being out of doors.
ref: 1920, Clara Ingram Judson, “Lost—One Doll Cart”, in Mary Jane’s City Home, New York: Barse & Hopkins, page 117:
text: He wished fleetingly that he could once more be out in the open, as when he was a boy—never in the house, but the sound of the blustery wind frightened him.
ref: 1957, Bernard Malamud, chapter 1, in The Assistant, New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, page 8:
synonyms: blusterous
gusty
glosses: Blowing in loud and abrupt bursts.
examples: text: Today is such a cold blustery day!
text: […] blustery winters with little snow, when the whole country is stripped bare and gray as sheet-iron.
ref: 1918, Willa Cather, My Ántonia, Introduction:
text: In the small hours of a blustery October morning in a south Devon coastal town that seemed to have been deserted by its inhabitants, Magnus Pym got out of his elderly country taxicab and, having paid the driver and waited till he had left, struck out across the church square.
ref: 1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy:
text: The drizzle became blustery rain as she approached Curracloe.
ref: 1999, Colm Tóibín, The Blackwater Lightship, New York: Scribner, page 88:
synonyms: blowy
blusterous
breezy
squally
stormy
tempestuous
windy
glosses: Accompanied by strong wind.
examples: text: Duke Wilhelm […] seems to have been of a headlong, blustery, uncertain disposition; much tossed about in the controversies of his day.
ref: 1858, Thomas Carlyle, History of Friedrich II of Prussia, London: Chapman and Hall, Volume 1, Book 3, Chapter 12, pp. 295-296:
text: He talks in a rather loud, blustery way and has a nervous, irritable manner.
ref: 1930, Dashiell Hammett, chapter 1, in The Maltese Falcon, New York: Knopf:
text: Uncle Miles wished only to dodge the issue that had hurled them apart, offering an effusive and blustery hospitality as an alternative to the air-clearing discussion which the situation so urgently called for.
ref: 1937, Lloyd C. Douglas, chapter 16, in Forgive Us Our Trespasses, London: Peter Davies, page 290:
text: Vayu was a large, strong, blustery character, full of drive and energy but mercurial in temperament.
ref: 1989, Shashi Tharoor, chapter 22, in The Great Indian Novel, New York: Arcade, published 2011:
text: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued this week to use a blustery “we will go it alone if we must” rhetoric publicly.
ref: 2024 May 9, Howard LaFranchi, “Historic Israeli desire to ‘go it alone’ is tested by Gaza and Iran”, in The Christian Science Monitor:
synonyms: blustering
blusterous
swaggering
glosses: Pompous or arrogant, especially in one's speech; given to outbursts.
raw_tags: of a person
Derived terms: blusteriness
unblustery
Related terms: blustering
blusterous
coconut palm
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: coconut palms
Senses: glosses: The tropical palm tree Cocos nucifera, having feathery leaves and bearing coconuts.
bluegrass
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: bluegrasses
form: blue grass
form: blue grass
Etymology: From blue + grass, from the bluish appearance of the massed grass in late Spring.
Senses: glosses: Kentucky bluegrass, Poa pratensis.
Derived terms: taxonomic: Poa annua
word: annual bluegrass
taxonomic: Andropogon sericeus
word: Australian bluegrass
taxonomic: Poa ampla
word: big bluegrass
taxonomic: Poa bulbosa
word: bulbous bluegrass
taxonomic: Poa fendleriana
word: California bluegrass
taxonomic: Poa compressa
word: Canada bluegrass
taxonomic: Poa compressa
word: English bluegrass
taxonomic: Poa palustris
word: fowl bluegrass
taxonomic: Poa pratensis
word: Kentucky bluegrass
word: Merion bluegrass
taxonomic: Poa fendleriana
word: mutton bluegrass
taxonomic: Poa nevadensis
word: Nevada bluegrass
taxonomic: Poa trivialis
word: rough bluegrass
taxonomic: Poa trivialis
word: rough-stalked bluegrass
taxonomic: Poa secunda
word: Sandberg bluegrass
word: Sandberg's bluegrass
taxonomic: Poa pratensis
word: Shenendoah bluegrass
taxonomic: Poa arachnifera
word: Texas bluegrass
word: Wheeler's bluegrass
taxonomic: Poa nemoralis
word: wood bluegrass
bluegrass
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: blue grass
Etymology: From the band Blue Grass Boys, led by Bill Monroe; bluegrass is first attested in print in reference to the genre of music in 1956.
Senses: topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: A subgenre of country music with roots in Scots-Irish Appalachian folk music, blues, and jazz and characterized by banjos, fiddles, acoustic guitars, dobros, and mandolins; but containing no drums, electric guitars, pianos or other keyboard or wind instruments; using a bass fiddle to carry its rhythm.
Derived terms: bluegrasser
bluegrass gospel
bluegrass jazz
bluegrass-jazz
bluegrass-like
bluegrassy
newgrass
progressive bluegrass
thrashgrass
Related terms: high lonesome sound
blue grass
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: blue grasses
Senses: glosses: Alternative spelling of bluegrass.
countertransferences
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: plural of countertransference
welcher
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: welchers
form: welsher
Etymology: From welch + -er.
Senses: glosses: One who welches (i.e. who fails to repay a debt).
glosses: A Welshman or person of Welsh descent.
assuredly
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈʃʊɹɪdli/
ipa: /əˈʃɝɪdli/
ipa: /əˈʃʊəɹɪdli/
ipa: /əˈʃɔːɹɪdli/
Forms: form: more assuredly
form: most assuredly
Etymology: From assured + -ly.
Senses: examples: text: The hotel owner strode assuredly into the lobby.
glosses: In an assured manner; confidently.
examples: text: I soon came to think that […] there was something, assuredly, very strange going on […]
ref: 1973, Oliver Sacks, Awakenings:
text: My situation, you see, is as follows: this is my first appearance in a court of law, at the age of seventy; and so I am a complete stranger to the language of this place. Now if I were really from another country, you would assuredly excuse me if I spoke in the manner and dialect in which I had been brought up; […]
ref: 1993, Plato, translated by Hugh Tredennick and Harold Tarrant, “Justice and Duty (i): Socrates Speaks at his Trial: the Apology”, in The Last Days of Socrates (Penguin Classics), revised edition, London; New York, N.Y.: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 38:
glosses: For sure; certainly.
Derived terms: self-assuredly
passionately
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpæʃənətli/
Forms: form: more passionately
form: most passionately
Etymology: From passionate + -ly.
Senses: examples: text: “The story of this adoption is, of course, the pivot round which all the circumstances of the mysterious tragedy revolved. Mrs. Yule had an only son, namely, William, to whom she was passionately attached ; but, like many a fond mother, she had the desire of mapping out that son's future entirely according to her own ideas.[…]”
ref: 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Tragedy in Dartmoor Terrace”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:
text: And it was while all were passionately intent upon the pleasing and snake-like progress of their uncle that a young girl in furs, ascending the stairs two at a time, peeped perfunctorily into the nursery as she passed the hallway—and halted amazed.
ref: 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter I, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
text: Was the sorrow at Mrs. Inglethorp’s death so great? I realized that there was an emotional lack in the atmosphere. The dead woman had not the gift of commanding love. Her death was a shock and a distress, but she would not be passionately regretted.
ref: 1920, Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, London: Pan Books, published 1954, page 36:
glosses: In a passionate manner.
respectfully
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɹɪˈspɛkt.fəl.i/
Forms: form: more respectfully
form: most respectfully
Etymology: From respectful + -ly.
Senses: antonyms: disrespectfully
glosses: In a respectful manner.
Related terms: respectively
respectably
profoundly
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /pɹəˈfaʊndli/
Forms: form: more profoundly
form: most profoundly
Etymology: From Middle English profoundly, profoundely, equivalent to profound + -ly.
Senses: examples: text: He thought and wrote profoundly.
topics: manner
glosses: With depth, meaningfully.
examples: text: More profoundly, it has shaken our most fundamental assumptions.
qualifier: evaluative
glosses: Very importantly.
examples: text: From his childhood, she was profoundly troubled.
text: Leo was sleeping profoundly, and on the whole I thought it wise not to wake him.
ref: 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
text: In fact, the influence of signage in a certain area may exist anywhere on a continuum from profoundly effective to utterly trivial or completely insignificant, irrespective of the intent motivating the signs.
ref: 2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 11:
text: In 1997, Turkheimer, perhaps the preëminent behavior geneticist of his generation, published a short political meditation called “The Search for a Psychometric Left,” in which he called upon his fellow-liberals to accept that they had nothing to fear from genes. He proposed that “a psychometric left would recognize that human ability, individual differences in human ability, measures of human ability, and genetic influences on human ability are all real but profoundly complex, too complex for the imposition of biogenetic or political schemata.)
ref: 2021 September 6, Gideon Lewis-Kraus, quoting Eric Turkheimer, “Can Progressives Be Convinced That Genetics Matters?”, in The New Yorker, New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 14 Sep 2021, retrieved 24 Aug 2025:
text: Former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney said Monday if the Supreme Court does not resolve the issue of presidential immunity “quickly and decisively,” it will have a “profoundly negative impact” on the country.
ref: 2024 April 22, Colin McCullough, quoting Liz Cheney, “Cheney warns of ‘profoundly negative impact’ if SCOTUS doesn’t resolve Trump immunity case quickly”, in CNN:
qualifier: degree
glosses: Deeply; very; strongly or forcefully.
neatly
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈniːtli/
Forms: form: neatlier
form: more neatly
form: neatliest
form: most neatly
Etymology: From neat + -ly.
Senses: examples: text: I was delighted to see A Woman's Place take a stand against censorship. But I noted with some cynicism that the exhibit failed to include any of the numerous publications suppressed by institutions of the feminist community. It thus neatly avoided acknowledging the role being played by the women's movement as a force for censorship (and the rather sordid past of A Woman's Place itself).
ref: 1984 December 22, Gayle Rubin, “Censored: Anti-Porn Laws And Women's Liberation”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 23, page 8:
glosses: In a neat manner.
perpetually
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /pəˈpɛtʃʊəli/
ipa: /pəˈpɛtjʊəli/
ipa: /pɚˈpɛt͡ʃuəli/
Etymology: From Middle English perpetuelly; equivalent to perpetual + -ly.
Senses: examples: text: For whiche offence oure holy fader the pope enioyned hym to make hym to be prayed for perpetually / ⁊ lyke as he had done too be taken frome hym his naturall lyfe therfore he ſholde do foũde four tapers to brẽne perpetually about his body yͭ for yͤ extynccõn of his bodely lyf his ſoule may euer be remẽbred ⁊ lyf in heuẽ in ſpyrytuall lyfe
ref: [1502], Chronycle of Englonde, [London]: [Wynkyn de Worde], →OCLC:
text: Now her work dropped on her knee, and her book fell from her hand; she was perpetually seeking excuses for change of place; and the change brought added discomfort.
ref: 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “A First Disappointment”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 268–269:
text: But, like more than one similar North Wales beauty-spot, there had to be (at least at the time of which I write), a quarry, or ironworks, or some kind of industrial plant, which lay perpetually under a cloud of yellowish smoke—literally a blot on the landscape.
ref: 1955 January, R. S. McNaught, “From the Severn to the Mersey by Great Western”, in Railway Magazine, pages 18-19:
glosses: Seeming to never end; endlessly; constantly.
Synonyms: ceaselessly
incessantly
nonstop
continuously
coldly
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈkəʊldli/
enpr: kōldʹlē
ipa: /ˈkoʊldli/
Forms: form: more coldly
form: most coldly
Etymology: From Middle English coldliche, caldeliche, perhaps borrowed from Old Norse kaldliga (“coldly”); equivalent to cold + -ly. Displaced Middle English colde (“coldly”), from Old English cealde (“coldly”).
Senses: examples: text: 'He is a mighty handsome man!' 'I don't think so,' said Tess coldly.
ref: 1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, volume 1, London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., page 82:
text: Fritz Lang in Hollywood has remade the French "La Bête Humaine" story, setting the drama, a little coldly, among the great hooting diesels of the Middle West routes, […].
ref: 1958 February 24, David Gunston, “Railways on the Screen”, in Railway Magazine, page 90:
glosses: In a cold or uncaring manner; indifferently.
sweetly
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈswiːtli/
Forms: form: sweetlier
form: more sweetly
form: sweetliest
form: most sweetly
Etymology: From Middle English swetly, swetely, sweteliche, from Old English swētlīċe (“sweetly; pleasantly”), equivalent to sweet + -ly. Cognate with Old High German swuozlīhho (“sweetly”), Icelandic sætlega (“sweetly; with gratitude”), German süßlich (“sweetish; sugary”), Dutch zoetelijk (“sentimental”).
Senses: glosses: With a sweet taste or aroma.
examples: text: "No, Auntie," said Hardman, sweetly, seriously.
ref: 1958, Anthony Burgess, The Enemy in the Blanket (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 232:
text: "Hey, Sis, do yah want a Hertz Donut?" one of them sweetly said as the other one held out a donut bag. She reached for it. Her step-sister snatched the bag away and socked her hard in the arm instead.
"Hurts, Don't it?" they chime, laughing at her pain.
ref: 2006, Carmen Portnoy, The Money Pie: A Recipe for Women Investors, page 6:
glosses: In a sweet or pleasant manner.
examples: text: Sitting in the seat with the engine off before that day, the gears slid in so sweetly, and double de-clutching was so easy, I had done it a million times.
ref: 2000, Bob Foster, Birdum or Bust!, Henley Beach, SA: Seaview Press, page 21:
glosses: Nicely; finely; excellently.
furiously
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈfjʊə̯ɹi.ə̯sli/
Forms: form: more furiously
form: most furiously
Etymology: From Middle English furiously; equivalent to furious + -ly.
Senses: examples: text: He glared furiously at the offender.
text: Case in point, as Lichfield detailed on Twitter last week: Almost as soon as the "hipster effect" article was published, a man furiously emailed the magazine claiming a photo of him was slanderously used alongside it without his permission. He was, it turned out, mistaken.
ref: 2019 March 11, Josh Hafner, “All hipsters look alike? Man claims article's 'hipster' photo is him, only to be mistaken”, in USA Today, archived from the original on 27 Feb 2024:
glosses: In a furious manner; angrily.
examples: text: He tried furiously to get it to work before the deadline.
text: Again we set to and bailed furiously. Fortunately the storm had now quite gone by[.]
ref: 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
text: “It was nonsense to pretend that he was afraid of the scandal, as no possible scandal could attach to him. This attitude of his gave me furiously to think, and I was slowly forced to the conclusion that Alfred Inglethorp wanted to be arrested.”
ref: 1920, Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, London: Pan Books, published 1954, page 179:
glosses: Quickly; frantically; with great effort or speed.
examples: text: Craig, who at twenty was taller than his father, blushed furiously as he practically threw two small boxes on the table in front of the twins. “Happy birthday”, he managed.
ref: 2004, Clara Mille, Under The Southern Cross, page 86:
glosses: Intensely, as with embarrassment.
Derived terms: colorless green ideas sleep furiously
cruelly
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈkɹuːəli/
ipa: /ˈkɹuːli/
rhymes: -uːli
Forms: form: more cruelly
form: most cruelly
Etymology: From Middle English cruelly; equivalent to cruel + -ly.
Senses: examples: text: In the meane time it chaunced, that Marcus Papyrius ſtroke one of the Galles on the heade with his ſtaffe, because he preſumed to ſtroke his bearde: with whiche iniurie the Gaulle beeing prouoked, ſlue Papyrius (as he ſate) with hys ſworde, and therewith the ſlaughter being begun with one, all the reſidue of thoſe auncient fatherly men as they ſat in theyr Chayres were ſlaine and cruelly murthered.
ref: 1577, Raphaell Holinshed, “The Historie of Englande”, in The Firste Volume of the Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande […], volume I, London: […] [Henry Bynneman] for Iohn Harrison, →OCLC, page 26, columns 1–2:
text: Unfortunately, if certain national leaders have their way and repeal the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the American dreams of hundreds of thousands of young people will be cruelly ripped away.
ref: 2017 August 24, Jay Inslee, “American dreams of young people will be cruelly ripped away”, in CNN:
glosses: In a cruel manner.
thoughtfully
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈθɔːtfʊli/
ipa: /ˈθɔːtfəli/
ipa: /ˈθɔːtfli/
enpr: thôt’fəl-lē
ipa: /ˈθɔtfəli/
enpr: thät’fəl-lē
ipa: /ˈθɑtfəli/
Forms: form: more thoughtfully
form: most thoughtfully
Etymology: From thoughtful + -ly.
Senses: examples: text: I opened my eyes, and the first thing they fell on was the venerable countenance of our old friend Billali, who was seated by the side of the improvised bed upon which I was sleeping, and thoughtfully stroking his long beard.
ref: 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
text: 'That button, it suggests possibilities,' said Poirot thoughtfully.
ref: 1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 105:
glosses: In a thoughtful or pensive manner.
glosses: In a way that shows kindness or consideration for others.
thickly
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈθɪkli/
Forms: form: thicklier
form: more thickly
form: thickliest
form: most thickly
Etymology: From Middle English thikly; equivalent to thick + -ly.
Senses: examples: text: In a large bedroom upstairs, the window of which was thickly curtained with a great woollen shawl lately discarded by the landlady, Mrs Rolliver, were gathered on this evening nearly a dozen persons, all seeking vinous bliss; all old inhabitants of the nearer end of Marlott, and frequenters of this retreat.
ref: 1891, Thomas Hardy, chapter IV, in Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume I, London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC, phase the first (The Maiden), pages 40–41:
text: These he held aside, ushering her into a dark sanctuary resinously scented and thickly carpeted with pine needles.
ref: 1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, →OCLC, page 148:
text: Through the thickly wooded and precipitous slopes on either side of the line there are one or two short rock tunnels.
ref: 1961 October, Voyageur, “The Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway”, in Trains Illustrated, page 601:
glosses: In a thick manner.
forcibly
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈfɔːsəbli/
Forms: form: forceably
Etymology: From Middle English forceably, equivalent to forcible + -ly.
Senses: examples: text: And suddenly; where injury of chance / Puts back leave-taking, justles roughly by / All time of pause, rudely beguiles our lips / Of all rejoindure, forcibly prevents / Our lock'd embrasures […]
ref: c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv]:
text: “Now get out of here,” and he grabbed Rokoff and Paulvitch each by the scruff of the neck and thrust them forcibly through the doorway, giving each an added impetus down the corridor with the toe of his boot.
ref: 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 21:
glosses: In a forcible manner, by force, against one's will.
examples: text: It was now cold, winter weather: forcibly recalling to his mind under what circumstances he had first travelled that road, and how many vicissitudes and changes he had since undergone.
ref: 1838 March – 1839 October, Charles Dickens, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1839, →OCLC:
glosses: In a forcible manner, with force, with powerful effect, powerfully, strongly.
Derived terms: nonforcibly