cstr/en-wiktionary-extracted-all huggingface dataset:
swagger
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈswæɡ.ə/
ipa: /ˈswæɡ.ɚ/
rhymes: -æɡə(ɹ)
Forms: form: swaggers
form: swaggering
form: swaggered
form: swaggered
Etymology: A frequentative form of swag (“to sway”), first attested in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595), see quotations.
Senses: examples: text: What hempen home-ſpuns haue we ſwaggering here, / So neere the Cradle of the Faierie Queene?
ref: c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i], page 152, column 1:
text: He is a political humbug, the greatest of all humbugs; a man who swaggers about London clubs and consults solemnly about his influence, and in the country is a nonentity.
ref: 1845, B[enjamin] Disraeli, chapter XI, in Sybil; or The Two Nations. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, book II, page 235:
glosses: To behave (especially to walk or carry oneself) in a pompous, superior manner.
examples: text: To be great is not […] to swagger at our footmen.
ref: 1698, Jeremy Collier, A Moral Essay upon Pride:
text: For the common Soldier when he goes to the Market or Ale-house will offer this Money, and if it be refused, perhaps he will SWAGGER and HECTOR, and Threaten to Beat the BUTCHER or Ale-Wife, or take the Goods by Force, and throw them the bad HALF-PENCE.
ref: 1724, “The Drapier’s Letters”, in Dublin and London, Jonathan Swift, published 1730, Letter 1, p. 14:
text: “They say there’s something wrong with our president!” Mr. Trump swaggered at his indoor Tulsa rally in June,[…]
ref: 2020, Matt Flegenheimer, “A President’s Positive Test and the Year That Won’t Let Up”, in The New York Times:
glosses: To boast or brag noisily; to bluster; to bully.
examples: text: It's the injustice… he is so unjust—
whiskey-blind, swaggering home at five.
ref: 1959, Robert Lowell, “To Speak of Woe That Is in Marriage”, in Life Studies:
glosses: To walk with a swaying motion.
Derived terms: swaggerer
swaggeringly
swagger-jack
swagger it
aswagger
swagger
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈswæɡ.ə/
ipa: /ˈswæɡ.ɚ/
rhymes: -æɡə(ɹ)
Forms: form: swaggers
Etymology: A frequentative form of swag (“to sway”), first attested in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595), see quotations.
Senses: examples: text: After spending so much of the season looking upwards, the swashbuckling style and swagger of early season Spurs was replaced by uncertainty and frustration against a Norwich side who had the quality and verve to take advantage
ref: 2012 April 9, Mandeep Sanghera, “Tottenham 1 - 2 Norwich”, in BBC Sport:
glosses: Confidence, pride.
examples: text: He steered with no end of a swagger while you were by; but if he lost sight of you, he became instantly the prey of an abject funk, and would let that cripple of a steamboat get the upper hand of him in a minute.
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:
glosses: A bold or arrogant strut.
examples: text: Too often we honor swagger and bluster and the wielders of force; too often we excuse those who are willing to build their lives on the shattered dreams of others.
ref: 1968, Robert F. Kennedy, On the Mindless Menace of Violence:
glosses: A prideful boasting or bragging.
Derived terms: swag
swagger coat
swagger portrait
swagger stick
swagger
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈswæɡ.ə/
ipa: /ˈswæɡ.ɚ/
rhymes: -æɡə(ɹ)
Forms: form: more swagger
form: most swagger
Etymology: A frequentative form of swag (“to sway”), first attested in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595), see quotations.
Senses: examples: text: It is to be a very swagger affair, with notables from every part of Europe, and they seem determined that no one connected with a newspaper shall be admitted.
ref: 1899, Robert Barr, Jennie Baxter, Journalist:
text: 15 March, 1896, Ernest Rutherford, letter to Mary Newton
Mrs J.J. [Thomson] looked very well and was dressed very swagger and made a very fine hostess.
text: Mrs. Morton was well known for her Americanisms, her swagger dinner parties, and beautiful Paris gowns.
ref: 1908, Baroness Orczy, The Old Man in the Corner:
glosses: Fashionable; trendy.
swagger
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈswæɡ.ə/
ipa: /ˈswæɡ.ɚ/
rhymes: -æɡə(ɹ)
Forms: form: swaggers
Etymology: From swag + -er.
Senses: examples: text: There were now more swaggers passing down Ferry Street and more coming to ask for food […].
ref: 1982, Janet Frame, An Angel at my Table, Virago, published 2024, page 25:
text: She looked down in her half-dreaming state and thought they might be swaggers. There were lots of them that year, camped out on the riverbank netting for whitebait, then fanning out around the streets selling their catch door to door.
ref: 2017, Fiona Farrell, Decline and Fall on Savage Street, →ISBN, page 66:
glosses: Someone carrying a swag; a swagman.
swain
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /sweɪn/
rhymes: -eɪn
Forms: form: swains
form: swaine
form: swein
Etymology: From Middle English swayn, swain, sweyn, swein, from Old English sweġen (attested also as personal name Swein, Sweġen), from Old Norse sveinn, from Proto-Germanic *swainaz (“relative, young man, servant”), from Proto-Indo-European *swé (“oneself; separate; apart”), thus properly one's own.
Cognate with Danish svend (“hireling, young man”), Norwegian svein (“lad, young man, servant”) Icelandic sveinn (“boy, lad, servant”), Swedish sven (“swain, servant”), Low German Sween, dialectal German Schwein, Old English swān (“swineherd, lad”).
Senses: glosses: A young man or boy in service; a servant.
glosses: A knight's servant; an attendant.
examples: text: theſe that ſeeme but ſilly country Swaines,
May haue the leading of so great an hoſte,
As with their waight ſhal make the mountains quake.
ref: c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:
glosses: A country labourer; a countryman, a rustic.
examples: text: Why thus from the Plain does my Shepherdess rove
Forsaking Her Swain and neglecting his love?
ref: a. 1722, Matthew Prior, “Chanson Francoise. Translated”, in H. Bunker Wright, Monroe K. Spears, editors, The Literary Works of Matthew Prior, Second edition, volume I, Oxford: Clarendon Press, published 1971, page 687:
text: You're the belle of the ball, and these are all your swains, hoping for a glimpse of ankle.
ref: 2016 Zack Woods (as Donald "Jared" Dunn), "Founder Friendly", Silicon Valley episode 19
glosses: A rural lover; a male sweetheart in a pastoral setting.
Derived terms: boatswain
coxswain
swaining
swainling
swang
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: swăng
ipa: /swæŋ/
rhymes: -æŋ
Forms: form: swangs
Senses: glosses: A swamp.
swang
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: swăng
ipa: /swæŋ/
rhymes: -æŋ
Forms: form: swangs
form: swanging
form: swanged
form: swanged
Senses: examples: text: Turn on my blinker light and then I swang it slow
ref: 2005, Chamillionaire (featuring Krayzie Bone), "Ridin'", The Sound of Revenge
text: I'mma swang, I'mma swing my slab lean to the left
ref: 2006, Trae (featuring Pimp C and Big Hawk), "Swang", Restless
text: Caine pulled off burning rubber and swanging side to side.
ref: 2010, G. Washington, Karma from the Cradle to the Street, Xlibris, published 2010, →ISBN, page 118:
qualifier: African-American Vernacular
glosses: To steer one's vehicle from side to side while driving.
swang
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: swăng
ipa: /swæŋ/
rhymes: -æŋ
Senses: glosses: simple past of swing. Now largely replaced by swung.
Related terms: swing-swang
swanky
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈswæŋki/
rhymes: -æŋki
Forms: form: swankier
form: swankiest
Etymology: From swank + -y.
Senses: examples: text: His manner never had been modest or retiring. Now it was unmistakably swanky; he was putting on side to an extent that made fellows who observed him smile and shrug their shoulders.
ref: 1930, Frank Richards, The Magnet: Tale-Bearer in Chief:
text: So anyway, anniversary night and I've gone off. The sensational dinner, booked a swanky hotel and had a blinder.
ref: 1995, Paul Vautin, Turn It Up!, Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia, page 126:
glosses: Rather posh, elegant, ritzy.
Synonyms: swank
swankish
Derived terms: swankily
swankiness
swanky
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈswæŋki/
rhymes: -æŋki
Forms: form: swankies
Etymology: From swank + -y.
Senses: glosses: Alternative form of swankie.
swathe
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /sweɪð/
ipa: /swɑð/
ipa: /sweɪð/
ipa: /swɔð/
rhymes: -eɪð
Forms: form: swathes
Etymology: From Middle English swathe, swath, from Old English swaþu, swæþ (“bandage”), probably akin to Old English swaþul, sweþel (“a swathe, wrap, band, bandage”).
Senses: glosses: A bandage; a band.
swathe
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /sweɪð/
ipa: /swɑð/
ipa: /sweɪð/
ipa: /swɔð/
rhymes: -eɪð
Forms: form: swathes
form: swathing
form: swathed
form: swathed
Etymology: From Middle English swathen, from Old English *swaþian, akin to Old English besweþian (“to swathe, swaddle”).
Senses: examples: text: Their children are never swathed, or bound about with any thing when they are first born' but are put naked into the bed with their parents to lie.
ref: 1664, A briefe description of the whole world wherein is particularly described all the monarchies, empires, and kingdoms of the same, with their academies, as also their severall titles and scituations thereunto adjoyning, Archbishop Abbot, quoted in A Dictionary of the English Language, Samuel Johnson, 1755
text: The head was swathed in linen bands that had been white, but were now stained and discoloured with damp, but of this I shall not speak more, and beneath the chin-cloth the beard had once escaped.
ref: [1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC:
text: Josie herself looked animated and almost royal with the white bandage which swathed her forehead like a crown.
ref: 1980 December 27, Andrea Loewenstein, “Voices in the Night”, in Gay Community News, volume 8, number 23, page 12:
glosses: To bind with a swathe, band, bandage, or rollers
swathe
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /sweɪð/
ipa: /swɑð/
ipa: /sweɪð/
ipa: /swɔð/
rhymes: -eɪð
Forms: form: swathes
Etymology: From Middle English swathe, from Old English swaþu (“track, trace”), from Proto-Germanic *swaþō. More at swath.
Senses: examples: text: United's stature is such that one result must not bring the immediate announcement of a shift in the balance of power in Manchester - but the swathes of empty seats around Old Trafford and the wave of attacks pouring towards David de Gea's goal in the second half emphasised that City quite simply have greater firepower and talent in their squad at present.
ref: 2011 October 23, Phil McNulty, “Man Utd 1 - 6 Man City”, in BBC Sport:
text: 2012, The Economist, Sep 29th 2012 issue, Venezuela’s presidential election: The autocrat and the ballot box
As well as the advantages of abused office, Mr Chávez can boast enduring popularity among a broad swathe of poorer Venezuelans. They like him for his charisma, humble background and demotic speech.
text: The female leads who cut a swathe through the centuries
ref: 2014 May 24, The Guardian:
text: Colleges say 'swathe of cuts' threatens adult education
ref: 2015 March 25, BBC:
text: Thomas Brassey (1805-70) should be equally famous, yet he is unknown to swathes of the greater populace. His plaque is at Chester.
ref: 2021 December 29, Stephen Roberts, “Stories and facts behind railway plaques: Chester (1848)”, in RAIL, number 947, page 57:
glosses: Alternative spelling of swath.
sway
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: swā
ipa: /sweɪ/
rhymes: -eɪ
Forms: form: sways
Etymology: From earlier swey (“to fall, swoon”), from Middle English sweyen, from Old English *swǣġan (“to bend, bow”), from Proto-West Germanic *swaigijan, from Proto-Germanic *swaigijaną (compare Saterland Frisian swooie (“to swing, wave, wobble”)), from Proto-Indo-European *sweh₁- (compare Lithuanian svai̇̃gti (“to become giddy or dizzy”), the second element of Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌-𐬱𐬑𐬎𐬀𐬑𐬙𐬀 (paⁱri-šxuaxta, “to surround”), Sanskrit स्वजते (svájate, “he embraces, enfolds”).
The noun derived from the verb.
Senses: glosses: The act of swaying; a swaying motion; a swing or sweep of a weapon.
examples: text: The old song caused a little sway in everyone in the room.
glosses: A rocking or swinging motion.
examples: text: I doubt I'll hold much sway with someone so powerful.
text: Though both Mr. Knight and Mr. Hennessey view themselves as traders first, the “finfluencer” culture has flourished with the surge in online interest, and they have considerable sway.
ref: 2021 April 28, Tara Siegel Bernard, “Trading Stock Tips on TikTok, Newbies Are Deeply Invested in Learning”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
text: […] the slowly dawning realisation that, as the billionaire venture capitalist Michael Moritz put it, they have “no sway” over what they unleashed.
ref: 2025 June 9, Gaby Hinsliff, quoting Michael Moritz, “Trump has unleashed something terrifying in the US – that even he may be powerless to control”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
glosses: Influence, weight, or authority that inclines to one side
glosses: Preponderance; turn or cast of balance.
examples: text: Prospero:[…]Confederates / (ſo drie he was for Sway) with King of Naples / To giue him Annuall tribute, doe him homage / Subiect his Coronet, to his Crowne and bend / The Dukedom yet vnbow'd (alas poore Millaine) / To moſt ignoble ſtooping.
ref: 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
text: Prayuth's return as prime minister takes Thailand back to 1980s. Military still holds sway in a democracy that has yet to mature.
ref: 2019 June 8, Toru Takahashi, “Prayuth's return as prime minister takes Thailand back to 1980s”, in Nikkei Asian Review, Nikkei Inc, retrieved 09 Jun 2019:
glosses: Rule; dominion; control; power.
glosses: A switch or rod used by thatchers to bind their work.
glosses: The maximum amplitude of a vehicle's lateral motion.
Derived terms: anti-sway bar
hold sway
sway-backed
sway bar
sway-bracing
excessive
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɪkˈsɛsɪv/
rhymes: -ɛsɪv
homophone: exessive
Forms: form: more excessive
form: most excessive
Etymology: From Middle English excessive, excessif, from Old French excessif, from Medieval Latin excessivus, equivalent to excess + -ive.
Senses: examples: text: Putting a wide vibrato on a single 16th triplet note at 160 beats per minute seems rather excessive.
text: "You can throw off your cumbersome disguise here," said Lucy, though the words could scarcely be distinguished, from her excessive agitation, Evelyn hastily caught up a cloak and cap laid ready for him, and a few minutes brought them into the sitting-room.
ref: 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter VII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 54:
glosses: Exceeding the usual bounds of something; too much (of amount); extravagant; immoderate.
wikipedia: Baroque
Synonyms: word: excessive
word: extravagant
word: unmeasured
word: unreasonable
word: extreme
word: immoderate
word: intemperate
word: lavish
word: nimious
topics: law
word: obscene
word: overmuch
word: overweening
word: over the top
word: prodigal
word: undue
word: unrestrained
word: wanton
Hyponyms: word: baroque
word: decadent
word: exorbitant
word: Gatsbyesque
word: gaudy
word: hedonistic
word: wasteful
Derived terms: excessively
excessiveness
excessive number
excessivism
nonexcessive
overexcessive
ultraexcessive
ultra-excessive
unexcessive
Related terms: exceed
excess
swerve
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /swɜːv/
ipa: /swɝv/
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)v
Forms: form: swerves
form: swarve
Etymology: From Middle English swerven, swarven, from Old English sweorfan (“to file; rub; polish; scour; turn aside”), from Proto-Germanic *swerbaną (“to rub off; wipe; mop”), from Proto-Indo-European *swerbʰ- (“to turn; wipe; sweep”). Cognate with West Frisian swerve (“to wander; roam; swerve”), Dutch zwerven (“to wander; stray; roam”), Low German swarven (“to swerve; wander; riot”), Swedish dialectal svärva (“to wipe”), Icelandic sverfa (“to file”).
Senses: examples: text: The distinction between using a skill subconsciously and employing it in the full knowledge of what was happening made a dramatic difference. I could execute a swerve to avoid an obstacle in a fraction of the time it previously took.
ref: 1990, American Motorcyclist, volume 44, number 7, page 11:
glosses: A sudden movement out of a straight line, for example to avoid a collision.
examples: text: […] indubitable evidence of a swerve from the principle of the work.
ref: 1874, William Edwin Boardman, Faith-work, Or the Labours of Dr. Cullis, in Boston, page 56:
glosses: A deviation from duty or custom.
topics: ball-games
cricket
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: Synonym of drift (“sideways movement imparted by spin bowler”).
synonyms: word: drift
extra: sideways movement imparted by spin bowler
Derived terms: body swerve
exorbitant
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɪɡˈzɔːbɪtənt/
ipa: /ɛɡˈzɔːbɪtənt/
ipa: /ɪɡˈzoɹbətənt/
ipa: /ɛɡˈzoɹbətənt/
Forms: form: more exorbitant
form: most exorbitant
Etymology: From Middle English exorbitant, through Old French from Late Latin exorbitāns, present active participle of exorbitō (“to go out of the track”), from ex (“out”) + orbita (“wheel-track”); see orbit. Compare French exorbitant.
Senses: examples: text: It’s a nice car, but they are charging an exorbitant price for it.
text: You also have to pay exorbitant interest if you have credit card debt.
text: But whatever might be the internal thoughts of Macedonian officers, they held their peace before Alexander [the Great], whose formidable character and exorbitant self-estimation would tolerate no criticism.
ref: 1856, George Grote, chapter XCIV, in History of Greece, volume XII, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, part II (Continuation of Historical Greece), page 282:
text: Love, being an extremely exacting usurer (a sense of exorbitant profit, spiritually, by an exchange of hearts, being at the bottom of pure passions, as that of exorbitant profit, bodily or materially, is at the bottom of those of lower atmosphere), every morning his feelings were as sensitive as the money-market in calculations upon his chances.
ref: 1874, Thomas Hardy, “Gabriel’s Resolve—The Visit—The Mistake”, in Far from the Madding Crowd. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC, page 38:
text: In addition, many low-income people are “unbanked” (not served by a financial institution), and thus nearly eaten alive by exorbitant fees.
ref: 2015 January 19, Charles M[cRay] Blow, “How Expensive It Is to Be Poor”, in The New York Times (A section), New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 Apr 2021, page 19:
synonyms: extortionate
inordinate
glosses: Exceeding proper limits; excessive or unduly high; extravagant.
Synonyms: word: disproportionate
word: exorbiant
word: exorbitant
word: extortionable
word: extortionate
word: extortious
word: extravagant
word: inordinate
word: sky-high
word: usurious
Hypernyms: word: excessive
Hyponyms: word: sibylline
Derived terms: exorbitance
exorbitantly
exorbitant privilege
unexorbitant
Related terms: exorbitate
immoderate
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Forms: form: more immoderate
form: most immoderate
Etymology: From Middle English inmoderat, immoderate, from Latin immoderātus, see -ate (adjective-forming suffix).
Senses: examples: text: Many of the initial responses to GPT-4’s exam prowess were predictably immoderate: AI can keep up with human lawyers, or apply to Stanford, or make “education” useless.
ref: 2023 March 21, Ian Bogost, “Is This the Singularity for Standardized Tests?”, in The Atlantic:
glosses: Not moderate; excessive.
Derived terms: immoderately
immoderateness
Related terms: immoderation
stimuli
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈstɪm.jʊˌlaɪ̯/
ipa: /ˈstɪm.jʊˌliː/
ipa: /ˈstɪm.jʊˌlaɪ̯/
ipa: /ˈstɪm.jəˌlaɪ̯/
Senses: glosses: plural of stimulus
shameless
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Forms: form: more shameless
form: most shameless
Etymology: From Middle English shameles, shamelees, schameles, schomeles, schomeleas, from Old English sċamlēas, sċeamlēas (“without shame; shameless”), from Proto-Germanic *skamalausaz (“shameless”), equivalent to shame + -less. Cognate with West Frisian skamteleas (“shameless”), Dutch schaamteloos (“shameless”), German schamlos (“shameless”), Danish skamløs (“shameless”), Swedish skamlös (“shameless”), Icelandic skammlaus (“shameless; unashamed”).
Senses: synonyms: unshameable
glosses: Having no shame, no guilt nor remorse over something considered wrong; immodest, brazen; unable to feel disgrace.
examples: text: Near-synonyms: blameless, unblameable
text: He shall be as now nameles,
But he shall not be blameles,
Nor he shall not be shameles;
For sure he wrought amys, […]
ref: c. 1503–1512, John Skelton, Ware the Hauke; republished in John Scattergood, editor, John Skelton: The Complete English Poems, 1983, →OCLC, page 62, lines 38–41:
glosses: Not subject to other people’s shaming or reproach.
Derived terms: shamelessly
shamelessness
immodest
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɪˈmɑdəst/
rhymes: -ɒdəst
Forms: form: more immodest
form: most immodest
Etymology: From im- + modest.
Senses: antonyms: modest
glosses: Without customary restraint or modesty of expression; shameless.
Synonyms: boastful
Derived terms: immodestly
immodesty
modesty
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈmɒd.ə.sti/
Forms: form: modesties
Etymology: Borrowed from Middle French modestie, from Latin modestia; equivalent to modest + -y.
Senses: examples: text: At her invitation he outlined for her the succeeding chapters with terse military accuracy ; and what she liked best and best understood was avoidance of that false modesty which condescends, turning technicality into pabulum.
ref: 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
glosses: The quality of being modest; having a limited and not overly high opinion of oneself and one's abilities.
glosses: Moderate behaviour; reserve.
examples: text: ... but the cars of chaste women have either coverings thrown over them, or white sheets hung over; for instance, on the cars of the female part of the family of the deceased Nawabs Khanduran and Muzaffar Khan, there used generally to be fastened thick dirty white cloths, and in like manner also on their palanquins—although one brother was the chief treasurer, and the other a commander of seven thousand men. And most assuredly this is a requirement of modesty; for one whose palanquin or cart is turned out with much splendour, verily the idea comes to the minds of the sight-seers and common people, that in it there must be some lovely one, bright as the morning, the envy of the fairies. Hence, for the cars or palanquins for women to ride in to be greatly embroidered is, in the opinion of certain men of standing, who are worthy to be trusted, of great infamy.
ref: 1871, Sher Ali Afsos, translated by Henry Court, The Araish-i-Mahfil, or, The Ornament of the Assembly, page 31:
glosses: Pudency, avoidance of sexual explicitness.
Derived terms: false modesty
modesty bag
modesty bit
modesty board
modesty glasses
modesty panel
modesty piece
outrage of modesty
overmodesty
plural of modesty
Related terms: modestly
lewd
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ljuːd/
ipa: /lud/
rhymes: -uːd
homophone: leud
Forms: form: lewder
form: lewdest
Etymology: From Middle English lewed, lewd, leued (“unlearned, lay, lascivious”), from Old English lǣwede (“unlearned, ignorant, lay”), of uncertain origin. Formally similar to a derivative of the past participle of Old English lǣwan (“to reveal, betray”) in the sense of "exposed as being unlearned" or "easily betrayed, clueless", from Proto-West Germanic *lāwijan, from Proto-Germanic *lēwijaną (“to betray”), from *lēwą (“an opportunity, cause”), from Proto-Indo-European *lēw- (“to leave”). If so, then cognate with Old High German gilāen, firlāen (“to betray”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐍅𐌾𐌰𐌽 (galēwjan, “to give over, betray”), Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐍅 (lēw, “an opportunity, cause”). Or, according to the OED, probably from Vulgar Latin *laigo-, from Late Latin lāicus (“of the people”), from Ancient Greek λαϊκός (laïkós).
Senses: examples: text: Onstage he was known for ricochet riffs on politics, social issues and cultural matters both high and low; tales of drug and alcohol abuse; lewd commentaries on relations between the sexes; and lightning-like improvisations on anything an audience member might toss at him.
ref: 2014 August 11, Dave Itzkoff, “Robin Williams, Oscar-Winning Comedian, Dies at 63 in Suspected Suicide”, in New York Times:
synonyms: lubricious
lecherous
glosses: Lascivious, sexually promiscuous, rude.
examples: text: So these great clerks their little wisdom show / To mock the lewd, as learn'd in this as they.
ref: 1599, John Davies, Nosce Teipsum:
glosses: Lay; not clerical.
examples: text: My ſcoles are not for unthriftes untaught, / For frantick faitours half mad and half ſtraught; / But my learning is of another degree / To taunt theim like liddrons, lewde as thei bee.
ref: c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton, Againſt venemous tongues enpoyſoned with ſclaunder and falſe detractions &c.
glosses: Uneducated.
examples: text: But the Jews, which believed not, […] took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, […] and assaulted the house of Jason.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 17:5:
text: Too lewd to work, and ready for any kind of mischief.
ref: 1829, Robert Southey, Sir Thomas More; or, Colloquies on the Progress and Prospects of Society:
glosses: Vulgar, common; typical of the lower orders.
glosses: Base, vile, reprehensible.
Derived terms: lewdity
lewdly
lewdness
lewdsome
lewdster
overlewd
unlewd
lewd
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ljuːd/
ipa: /lud/
rhymes: -uːd
homophone: leud
Forms: form: lewds
Etymology: From Middle English lewed, lewd, leued (“unlearned, lay, lascivious”), from Old English lǣwede (“unlearned, ignorant, lay”), of uncertain origin. Formally similar to a derivative of the past participle of Old English lǣwan (“to reveal, betray”) in the sense of "exposed as being unlearned" or "easily betrayed, clueless", from Proto-West Germanic *lāwijan, from Proto-Germanic *lēwijaną (“to betray”), from *lēwą (“an opportunity, cause”), from Proto-Indo-European *lēw- (“to leave”). If so, then cognate with Old High German gilāen, firlāen (“to betray”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐍅𐌾𐌰𐌽 (galēwjan, “to give over, betray”), Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐍅 (lēw, “an opportunity, cause”). Or, according to the OED, probably from Vulgar Latin *laigo-, from Late Latin lāicus (“of the people”), from Ancient Greek λαϊκός (laïkós).
Senses: examples: text: Nudes, lewds and smutty outhouse cards, although they can be bought in some of the rowdy joints, are a negligible percentage of the total, and are unobtainable in the chain stores, drugstores and travel stations which are the outlets for […]
ref: 1944, The Saturday Evening Post, volume 217, page 25:
text: […] also put it, he learned “the difference between nudes and lewds."
ref: 1996, Cigar Aficionado, page 309:
glosses: A sexually suggestive image, particularly one which does not involve full nudity.
Derived terms: vag-lewd
lewd
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ljuːd/
ipa: /lud/
rhymes: -uːd
homophone: leud
Forms: form: lewds
form: lewding
form: lewded
form: lewded
Etymology: From Middle English lewed, lewd, leued (“unlearned, lay, lascivious”), from Old English lǣwede (“unlearned, ignorant, lay”), of uncertain origin. Formally similar to a derivative of the past participle of Old English lǣwan (“to reveal, betray”) in the sense of "exposed as being unlearned" or "easily betrayed, clueless", from Proto-West Germanic *lāwijan, from Proto-Germanic *lēwijaną (“to betray”), from *lēwą (“an opportunity, cause”), from Proto-Indo-European *lēw- (“to leave”). If so, then cognate with Old High German gilāen, firlāen (“to betray”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐍅𐌾𐌰𐌽 (galēwjan, “to give over, betray”), Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐍅 (lēw, “an opportunity, cause”). Or, according to the OED, probably from Vulgar Latin *laigo-, from Late Latin lāicus (“of the people”), from Ancient Greek λαϊκός (laïkós).
Senses: examples: text: "Well then,” dropping her bathrobe, lewding her lips, “how 'bout some lovee?”
ref: 2011, Cooper, The Queen's Assassin, page 189:
text: Now, the men could just have been watching the unusual APC running on the road, or just lewding at the women.
ref: 2016, George Saoulidis, The Girl Who Twisted Fate's Arm:
text: Each one lusting and lewding themselves - fighting against the spirit of change.
ref: 2019, Aldious Waite, Grape Juice Enlightenment: Immortal Mind, page 14:
glosses: To express lust; to behave in a lewd manner.
topics: lifestyle
glosses: To sexualize a character, especially in a fan illustration.
lewd
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ljuːd/
ipa: /lud/
rhymes: -uːd
homophone: leud
Forms: form: lewds
form: lewding
form: lewded
form: lewded
Senses: examples: text: Babbs, after many days of glumming in his Purina Chow redoubt, strolls over, lewding out, “Hi, Je-e-e-ed!” to Kesey's three-year-old son.
ref: 1968, Tom Wolfe, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test:
text: I was just lewding around, fucking furiously, drinking and doping and daring the devil.
ref: 1973, Yardbird Reader - Volumes 1-3, page 186:
text: Once lewded-out. I sampled the bourbon, then somebody suggested I take five more hits.
ref: 1996, Exquisite Corpse - Issues 56-61, page 54:
glosses: Alternative form of lude (“take the drug quaalude”).
vile
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /vaɪ(ə)l/
rhymes: -aɪl
homophone: vial
Forms: form: viler
form: more vile
form: vilest
form: most vile
Etymology: From Middle English vile, vyle, vyl, from Anglo-Norman ville, Old French vil, vile, from Latin vīlis.
Senses: examples: text: vile accusation
text: vile man
text: Turn now to the temperance revolution. In it we shall find a stronger bondage broken, a viler slavery manumitted, a greater tyrant deposed; in it, more of want supplied, more disease healed, more sorrow assuaged.
ref: 1842 February 22, Abraham Lincoln, “Address Before the Springfield Washingtonian Temperance Society”, in Arthur Brooks Lapsley, editor, The Papers and Writings of Abraham Lincoln:
text: The parties stooped to vile and unbecoming meannesses; infinite briberies, forgeries, perjuries, and all manners of debauchings of the principles and manners of the electors were attempted.
ref: 1870, William Minto, “Daniel Defoe”, in Acme Library of Standard Biography:
text: People crave human decency, warmth, and sincerity even in the vilest of circumstances…
ref: 2020 January 1, “Cultivating Myself Well and Helping People to Understand the Truth about Falun Dafa”, in Minghui:
glosses: Morally low; base; despicable.
examples: text: I glimpsed a vile squid-like creature in the depths.
text: vile taste
text: vile smell
text: vile smile
text: vile substance
text: vile weather
glosses: Causing physical or mental repulsion; horrid.
vile
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /vaɪ(ə)l/
rhymes: -aɪl
homophone: vial
Etymology: From Middle English vile, vyle, vyl, from Anglo-Norman ville, Old French vil, vile, from Latin vīlis.
Senses: examples: text: “I had seen those two work before—in the smoking-room the day prior to their attack on you, if I recollect it correctly, and so, knowing their methods, I am convinced that their enmity is a sufficient guarantee of the integrity of its object. Men such as they must cleave only to the vile, hating all that is noblest and best.”
ref: 1913 June–December, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Forging Bonds of Hate and ——?”, in The Return of Tarzan, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, […], published March 1915, →OCLC, pages 26–27:
glosses: That which is vile; vileness.
Synonyms: sense: morally low
word: base
sense: morally low
word: despicable
sense: morally low
word: mean
sense: morally low
word: ignoble
sense: morally low
word: inappropriate
Derived terms: vilify
Related terms: corpus vile
durance vile
vile vortex
lascivious
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ləˈsɪviəs/
Forms: form: more lascivious
form: most lascivious
Etymology: From Latin lascīviōsus, from lascīvia (“sportiveness, lustfulness”).
Senses: examples: text: Sir, I will answer anything. But I beseech you, if't be your pleasure and most wise consent, as partly I find it is, that your fair daughter, at this odd-even and dull watch o'the night, transported with no worse nor better guard but with a knave of common hire, a gondolier, to the gross clasps of a lascivious Moor – if this be known to you, and your allowance, we then have done you bold and saucy wrongs; but if you know not this, my manners tell me we have your wrong rebuke.
ref: c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
text: The colonel and his sponsor made a queer contrast: Greystone [the sponsor] long and stringy, with a face that seemed as if a cold wind was eternally playing on it. […] But there was not a more lascivious reprobate and gourmand in all London than this same Greystone.
ref: 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter I, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
text: Increasing numbers of English-speaking tourists have made a point of stopping in to snap pictures of themselves by the signpost at the entrance to the village, sometimes striking lascivious poses for social media.
ref: 2020 November 26, Philip Oltermann in Berlin, “Fugging hell: tired of mockery, Austrian village changes name”, in The Guardian:
glosses: Wanton; lewd, driven by lust, lustful.
Synonyms: wanton
lewd
lustful
Derived terms: lasciviously
lasciviousness
overlascivious
Related terms: lascious
lasciviency
lascivient
lascivity
lecherous
lustful
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: enpr: lûst′fl̩
ipa: /ˈlʌst.fəl/
Forms: form: more lustful
form: most lustful
form: lustfull
Etymology: From Middle English lustful, from Old English lustfull (“desirous, wishful”); equivalent to lust + -ful. Cognate with Dutch lustvol (“lustful, lusty”), German lustvoll (“pleasurable”), Swedish lustfyllt (“pleasurable”), Swedish lustfyllda (“lustful”).
Senses: examples: text: Many of the so-called rites of these secret societies were so patently ridiculous, that it is quite obvious that they were merely an excuse for men and women to indulge in sex-play and lustful gratification, frequently of an abnormal kind.
ref: 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 161:
glosses: Full of lust; driven by lust.
Synonyms: concupiscent
amorous
Derived terms: lustfully
lustfulness
unlustful
marble
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈmɑː.bəl/
ipa: /ˈmɑɹ.bəl/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)bəl
Forms: form: marbles
Etymology: Inherited from Middle English marble, marbre; from Anglo-Norman and Old French marbre, from Latin marmor, from Ancient Greek μάρμαρος (mármaros), perhaps related to μαρμάρεος (marmáreos, “gleaming”). The forms from French displaced Old English marma, which had previously been borrowed from Latin.
Senses: examples: text: Open thy marble jaws, O tomb / And hide me, earth, in thy dark womb.
ref: 1751, George Frideric Handel, Thomas Morell (librettist), Jephtha:
topics: geography
geology
natural-sciences
petrology
hypernyms: metamorphic rock
<
rock
stone
<
material#Noun
glosses: A metamorphic rock of crystalline limestone.
topics: games
glosses: A small ball used in games, originally of marble but now usually of glass or ceramic.
examples: text: The Elgin Marbles were originally part of the temple of the Parthenon.
text: [I]t was a portrait of the Library, though not strictly correct as to its contents, since all the best of the marbles displayed in various parts of the house were brought into the painting by the artist, who made it up into a picturesque composition according to his own taste.
ref: 1828, JT Smith, Nollekens and His Times, Century Hutchinson, published 1986, page 164:
topics: archaeology
history
human-sciences
sciences
glosses: Statues made from marble.
examples: text: The marble is graded using the Australian system.
glosses: The marbling in meat.
Derived terms: all the marbles
Blue Marble
blue marble tree
Carrara marble
emmarble
enmarble
fire marble
green marble
lose one's marbles
Luna marble
marbelic
Marble Arch
Marble Bar
marble beef
marble berry
marble cake
Marble Canyon
marble cheese
marble cichlid
marble egg
marblefish
marble fox
marble goby
marble-hearted
Marble Hill
marbleization
marbleless
marblelike
marbleness
marble orchard
marble paper
marbler
marble run
marble rye bread
marbles
marble scissors
Marblette
marblewood
marblework
marblish
marbly
Moqui marble
mouthful of marbles
nonmarble
onyx marble
Pentelic marble
Picasso marble
pick up one's marbles and go home
Sussex marble
travertine marble
woolly marbles
marble
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈmɑː.bəl/
ipa: /ˈmɑɹ.bəl/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)bəl
Forms: form: more marble
form: most marble
Etymology: Inherited from Middle English marble, marbre; from Anglo-Norman and Old French marbre, from Latin marmor, from Ancient Greek μάρμαρος (mármaros), perhaps related to μαρμάρεος (marmáreos, “gleaming”). The forms from French displaced Old English marma, which had previously been borrowed from Latin.
Senses: examples: text: a marble mantel
text: marble paper
glosses: Made of, or resembling, marble.
examples: text: a marble heart
glosses: Cold; hard; unfeeling.
marjoram
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈmɑːd͡ʒ(ə)ɹəm/
ipa: /ˈmɑɹd͡ʒəɹəm/
Forms: form: marjorams
form: marjorum
form: marierom
Etymology: From Old French majorane, from Medieval Latin maiōrana.
Senses: examples: text: The Lillie I condemned for thy hand, / And buds of marierom had ſtolne thy haire
ref: 1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 99”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC:
text: Among the ancients, especially the Romans, marjoram was known to have an aphrodisiac value.
ref: 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 173:
synonyms: word: amaracus
glosses: A herb of the mint family, Origanum majorana, having aromatic leaves.
glosses: The leaves of this plant, especially dried, used in flavouring food.
Derived terms: sweet marjoram
wild marjoram
shroomer
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: rhymes: -uːmə(ɹ)
Forms: form: shroomers
Etymology: From shroom + -er.
Senses: glosses: A person who gathers wild mushrooms.
glosses: A person who consumes hallucinogenic mushrooms for their effects.
Synonyms: sense: one who gathers mushrooms
word: mushroomer
sense: one who consumes hallucinogenic mushrooms
word: shroomhead
marl
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: mäl
ipa: /mɑːl/
enpr: märl
ipa: /mɑɹl/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)l
Forms: form: marls
form: marle
Etymology: From Middle English marle, from Old French marle, from Late Latin margila, diminutive of marga (“marl”). Doublet of marla.
Senses: examples: text: ... uneasie steps / Over the burning Marle, not like those steps / On Heavens Azure...
ref: 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
text: Mr. Greenshields was the contractor selected to build the embankment, and over a hundred thousand tons of marl and moss compacted with brushwood were used in its construction.
ref: 1952 July, W. R. Watson, “Sankey Viaduct and Embankment”, in Railway Magazine, pages 486-487:
text: Important marl and marine-shell deposits are worked in Michigan, Virginia, and Florida.
ref: 1955, Robert Herman Bogue, The chemistry of portland cement, page 39:
text: The surroundings were unearthly. It was not a fish setting—only bare rock, no trees, pungent sagebrush, and marl dust floating when a truck passed.
ref: 1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 231:
text: Those loved unhappy shades whom Dante turned / To sticks and marl
ref: 2004, Peter Porter, “Why Did Dante Pick on Suicides”, in Afterburner:
glosses: A mixed earthy substance, consisting of carbonate of lime, clay, and possibly sand, in very variable proportions, and accordingly designated as calcareous, clayey, or sandy.
Derived terms: marlaceous
marlacious
Marlborough
marler
marlite
marllike
marlpit
marlstone
marly
shell marl
Related terms: greensand
marl
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: mäl
ipa: /mɑːl/
enpr: märl
ipa: /mɑɹl/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)l
Forms: form: marls
form: marling
form: marled
form: marled
form: marle
Etymology: From Middle English marle, from Old French marle, from Late Latin margila, diminutive of marga (“marl”). Doublet of marla.
Senses: glosses: To cover with the earthy substance called marl.
marl
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: mäl
ipa: /mɑːl/
enpr: märl
ipa: /mɑɹl/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)l
Forms: form: marls
form: marling
form: marled
form: marled
Senses: topics: nautical
transport
synonyms: marline
glosses: To cover, as part of a rope, with marline, marking a peculiar hitch at each turn to prevent unwinding.
marl
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: mäl
ipa: /mɑːl/
enpr: märl
ipa: /mɑɹl/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)l
Forms: form: marls
Etymology: Borrowed from Nyunga maarl.
Senses: synonyms: western barred bandicoot
glosses: A species of bandicoot, Perameles myosurus, of southern Western Australia.
pliant
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈplaɪənt/
rhymes: -aɪənt
Forms: form: more pliant
form: most pliant
Etymology: From Middle English pliaunt, from Old French ploiant, present participle of ploiier (“to fold”).
Senses: examples: text: a pliant thread
text: pliant wax
text: Whether in its northern or southern home, the black-throated blue warbler builds its nest of bark, roots, and other pliant material, loose and rather bulky, in a variety of saplings, bushes, and weeds, but always a few inches or a few feet from the ground.
ref: 1917 April, “The Warblers of North America”, in The National Geographic Magazine:
synonyms: flexible
pliable
lithe
limber
plastic
glosses: Capable of plying or bending; readily yielding to force or pressure without breaking.
examples: text: I muſt haue wanton Poets, pleaſant wits,
Muſitians, that with touching of a ſtring
May draw the pliant king which way I pleaſe: […]
ref: 1594, Christopher Marlow[e], The Troublesome Raigne and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, King of England: […], London: […] [R. Robinson] for William Iones […], →OCLC, [Act I], signature A3, recto:
text: [A]nd it is without all controuerſie, that learning doth make the minds of men gentle, generous, maniable, and pliant to gouernment; whereas Ignorance makes them churliſh, thwart, and mutinous; […]
ref: 1605, Francis Bacon, “The First Booke”, in The Twoo Bookes of Francis Bacon. Of the Proficience and Aduancement of Learning, Diuine and Humane, London: […] [Thomas Purfoot and Thomas Creede] for Henrie Tomes, […], →OCLC, folio 11, recto:
text: Yet there was pleasant sadness that became
Meetly the gentle heart and pliant sense,
In that same idlesse—gazing on that brook
ref: 1839, William Gilmore Simms, “The Brooklet”, in Southern Passages and Pictures, New York: George Adlard, page 2:
text: [The king] had a pliant prime minister and a general who was telling him what he wanted to hear.
ref: 1988, A. J. Langguth, Patriots:
text: The person said one of the reasons the Chinese had been so pliant in development of a joint position on AI governance was that “playing nice” and acting as a “responsible partner” could help foster conversations about relaxation of US trade barriers later down the line.
ref: 2023 November 4, Madhumita Murgia, Anna Gross, Cristina Criddle, “Summit exposes tensions over AI development despite emollient Chinese tone”, in FT Weekend, page 12:
glosses: Easily influenced; tractable.
Derived terms: nonpliant
pliantly
pliantness
unpliant
recluse
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɹɪˈkluːs/
ipa: /ˈɹɛkluːs/
rhymes: -uːs
Forms: form: more recluse
form: most recluse
Etymology: From Old French reclus, past participle of reclure, from Latin reclūdere (“to disclose, to open”), from re- + claudō (“close”).
Senses: examples: text: a recluse monk or hermit
text: Hermits themſelves are not recluſe enough to ſeclude that ſubtile ſpirit, Vanity: […]
ref: 1667, J[ohn] Evelyn, Publick Employment and an Active Life, with Its Appanages, such as Fame, Command, Riches, Conversation, &c. Preferred to Solitude: […], London: […] J. M. for H[enry] Herringman […], →OCLC, page 6:
text: In meditation deep, recluse / From human converse.
ref: 1708, [John Philips], “(please specify the page)”, in Cyder. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], →OCLC:
glosses: Sequestered; secluded, isolated.
glosses: Hidden, secret.
Synonyms: reclusive
recluse
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɹɪˈkluːs/
ipa: /ˈɹɛkluːs/
rhymes: -uːs
Forms: form: recluses
Etymology: From Old French reclus, past participle of reclure, from Latin reclūdere (“to disclose, to open”), from re- + claudō (“close”).
Senses: examples: text: The recluse in the fable kept a cat to keep off the rats, and then a cow to feed the cat with milk, and a man to keep the cow and so on. My ambitions also grew like the family of the recluse.
ref: 1927-29, M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, translated 1940 by Mahadev Desai, Part I, Chapter xv
text: First, the president’s uncle died in 1985. Kaczynski was publicly revealed as the Unabomber more than a decade later, in 1996, when he was captured; before that, he had lived as a recluse in the Montana wilderness.
ref: 2025 July 16, Daniel Dale, “Fact check: Trump tells fictional story about his uncle and the Unabomber”, in CNN:
synonyms: anchorite
eremite
hermit
glosses: A person who lives in self-imposed isolation or seclusion from the world, especially for religious purposes; a hermit.
examples: text: that day of appearance taken out of the recluse and committed to safe custody
ref: 1563 March 30 (Gregorian calendar), John Foxe, Actes and Monuments of These Latter and Perillous Dayes, […], London: […] Iohn Day, […], →OCLC:
glosses: The place where a recluse dwells; a place of isolation or seclusion.
glosses: A brown recluse spider.
glosses: See also Thesaurus:recluse
Synonyms: word: aloner
word: anchoret
word: anchorite
word: eremite
word: hermit
word: Miller of Dee
word: monk
word: recluse
word: shut-in
word: solitary
word: sullen
Hypernyms: word: person
Derived terms: brown recluse
recluse spider
reclusive
Texas recluse
Related terms: word: loner
word: anthrophobe
word: outcast
recluse
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɹɪˈkluːs/
ipa: /ˈɹɛkluːs/
rhymes: -uːs
Forms: form: recluses
form: reclusing
form: reclused
form: reclused
Etymology: From Old French reclus, past participle of reclure, from Latin reclūdere (“to disclose, to open”), from re- + claudō (“close”).
Senses: glosses: To shut; to seclude.