cstr/en-wiktionary-extracted-all huggingface dataset:
cognitive dissonance
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: cognitive dissonances
Senses: examples: text: In the state of ultimate commitment, a true believer feels better for having raised and or given money to the cause. It also aids in overcoming cognitive dissonance (the cause "must be" worthwhile to have attracted these funds). All kinds of rationales are given and accepted for the displayed wealth of the leaders, but it is fascinating to see the blind acceptance being replaced by questioning and scorn as the hypocrisies and double standards begin to make themselves felt.
ref: 1989, Marc Galanter, Cults and New Religious Movements: A Report of the American Psychiatric Association, American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., →ISBN, page 102:
text: If a given activity fails and it causes the death of a follower, it is because the rest of the group had insufficient faith or that it was done too late. Should the extraterrestrial beings not descend at the appointed time, then it may also be explained as due to their being frightened by the non-believers. Thus all plots and prophecies become possible — the capacity to reduce cognitive dissonance is the cement of the cult when it confronts reality, and this is why the layman is helpless before the nonsense that is spread by these speeches.
ref: 1999, Jean-Marie Abgrall, Soul Snatchers: The Mechanics of Cults, Algora Publishing, →ISBN, page 84:
text: By turning over all their possessions, members were making an irreversible commitment to the cult. Once such a commitment is made, people are unlikely to abandon positive attitudes toward the group (Festinger, Riecken, & Schachter, 1982). After expending so much effort, questioning commitment would create cognitive dissonance (Osherow, 1988). It is inconsistent to prove devotion to a belief by donating all of your possessions and then to abandon those beliefs. In other words, to a large extent, cult members persuade themselves.
ref: 2001, Kenneth S. Bordens, Irwin A. Horowitz, Social Psychology, Lawrence Erlbaum, →ISBN, page 223:
text: Much of the research literature has reintroduced classic cognitive dissonance theory to provide theoretical justification for a sequence of behavior change–belief change. The focus has been upon maintenance of conversion within groups when prophecy appears to fail.
ref: 2003, Bernard Spilka, The Psychology of Religion, The Guilford Press, →ISBN, page 356:
text: As a low-level experience of cognitive dissonance, how does one maintain faith in an organization when some of the most basic claims are contradicted by evidence and ordinary experience?
ref: 2009, “Researching Scientology: Perceptions, Premises, Promises, and Problematics, by Douglas E. Cowan”, in James R. Lewis, editor, Scientology, Oxford University Press, USA, →ISBN, page 56:
topics: human-sciences
psychology
sciences
glosses: A conflict or anxiety resulting from inconsistencies between one's beliefs and one's actions or other beliefs.
Related terms: doublethink
internal conflict
truthiness
inconsistency
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌɪnkənˈsɪst(ə)nsi/
ipa: /ˌɪnkənˈsɪstənsi/
Forms: form: inconsistencies
Senses: examples: text: It was a strange inconsistency, but never till then had I been so much struck with the worthless and frivolous life of society. Never till then did I feel the deep and eternal debt of gratitude that human nature owes to those who assert its higher influence; who feel their generous activity stirred by a thrice noble emulation; who appeal from the present to the future, and redeem their kind, by shewing of how much that is good and great ambition and genius are capable.
ref: 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 4–5:
glosses: The state of being inconsistent.
topics: human-sciences
logic
mathematics
philosophy
sciences
glosses: An incompatibility between two propositions that cannot both be true.
Synonyms: contrariety
deviation
difference
disagreement
disparity
disproportion
disproportionateness
dissimilarity
dissonance
divergence
incongruity
inconsonance
inequality
paradox
unlikeness
variance
Derived terms: dynamic inconsistency
time inconsistency
splicing
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: -aɪsɪŋ
Forms: form: splicings
Senses: glosses: The act by which things are spliced.
glosses: The point at which two things are spliced.
Derived terms: alternative RNA splicing
gene splicing
RNA splicing
self-splicing
splicing
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: -aɪsɪŋ
Senses: glosses: present participle and gerund of splice
surprising
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /səˈpɹaɪzɪŋ/
ipa: /sɚˈpɹaɪzɪŋ/
note: General American, r-dissimilation
ipa: /səˈpɹaɪzɪŋ/
rhymes: -aɪzɪŋ
Etymology: From surprise + -ing.
Senses: glosses: present participle and gerund of surprise
surprising
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /səˈpɹaɪzɪŋ/
ipa: /sɚˈpɹaɪzɪŋ/
note: General American, r-dissimilation
ipa: /səˈpɹaɪzɪŋ/
rhymes: -aɪzɪŋ
Forms: form: more surprising
form: most surprising
Etymology: From surprise + -ing.
Senses: examples: text: A surprising number of people attended the rally.
text: With this the second of three games in seven days for Stoke, it was hardly surprising to see nine changes from the side that started against Newcastle in the Premier League on Monday.
ref: 2011 November 3, David Ornstein, “Macc Tel-Aviv 1-2 Stoke”, in BBC Sport:
text: Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.
ref: 2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, page 68:
glosses: Causing surprise.
Synonyms: word: astonishing
word: unexpected
word: astounding
word: awesome
word: random
word: shocking
word: spontaneous
word: sudden
word: surprise
word: surprising
word: unbelievable
word: unpredictable
word: wonderful
Derived terms: surprisingly
surprising
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /səˈpɹaɪzɪŋ/
ipa: /sɚˈpɹaɪzɪŋ/
note: General American, r-dissimilation
ipa: /səˈpɹaɪzɪŋ/
rhymes: -aɪzɪŋ
Forms: form: surprisings
Etymology: From surprise + -ing.
Senses: examples: text: But the comments of most of these novelists are the record of their continual surprisings by the varieties of moral and aesthetic truths.
ref: 1983, David Dowling, Novelists on Novelists, page xii:
glosses: A situation in which somebody is surprised.
xiphopagus
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Forms: form: xiphopagous
Etymology: From xipho- + -pagus.
Senses: examples: text: Of particular interest in the Section on Obstetrics is the detailed article touching on the xiphopagus twins Radica and Doodica.
ref: 1903 August 22, The Medical News, volume 83, page 383:
text: This type of anomaly, along with the xiphopagus type, is especially compatible with survival.
ref: 1986, Harry Hayes, An Anthology of Plastic Surgery, page 183:
text: Second, a discordant presentation does not preclude the diagnosis of conjoined twins, particularly in xiphopagus twins.
ref: 1995, L.G. Keith, Multiple Pregnancy: Epidemiology, Gestation, and Perinatal Outcome:
glosses: United at the xiphoid process.
raw_tags: of conjoined twins
Synonyms: xiphopagic
xiphopagus
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: xiphopagi
form: xiphopagous
Etymology: From xipho- + -pagus.
Senses: examples: text: Xiphopagi are those in which the ensiform processes are united by a cartilaginous bridge. The peritoneum passes for some distance into the connecting structure (the well-known Siamese twins were xiphopagi).
ref: 1885, Ernst Ziegler, A Text-book of Pathological Anatomy and Pathogenesis:
text: Dr. Chapot-Prevost, who successfully operated upon the only other living xiphopagus, has just published a report of his examination of the new living Chinese twins, Liou-Tang-Sen and Liou-Seng-Sen.
ref: 1901 May 4, “The New Living "Siamese" Twins”, in The Philadelphia Medical Journal, page 832:
text: In the case of a xiphopagus, there is most commonly only a band-like union in the region of the xiphoid process of the sternum.
ref: 2012, Richard Birnbaum, A Clinical manual of the malformations and congenital diseases of the foetus:
glosses: Either of a pair of congenitally joined twins (Siamese twin) united at the xiphoid process.
examples: text: They were born in the East Indies, and make the eighth case of xiphopagus reported.
ref: 1893, “A Case of Living Xiphopagus”, in The Medical and Surgical Reporter, volume 68, page 28:
text: The common twin types include thoracopagus, xiphopagus or omphalopagus, pygopagus, ischiopagus, and craniopagus.
ref: 2010, Diana Bianchi, Fetology: Diagnosis and Management of the Fetal Patient:
text: Thoracopagus is the most common type of conjoined twinning and, along with omphalopagus/xiphopagus, represents about 75% of reported cases.
ref: 2011, Bruno Bissonnette, Pediatric Anesthesia: Basic Principles, State of the Art, Future:
glosses: The condition of being such a twin.
Xian
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Pronunciation: ipa: /ʃiæn/
ipa: /ʃiɛn/
enpr: shyěn
Forms: form: Xians
Etymology: Borrowed from Chinese 咸 (Xián).
Senses: glosses: A surname from Chinese.
Xian
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ʃiæn/
ipa: /ʃiɛn/
enpr: shyěn
homophone: Christian
ipa: /ʃiæn/
ipa: /ʃiɛn/
enpr: shyěn
Forms: form: Xians
form: xian
form: Xtian
Etymology: From X as a stand-in for Ancient Greek Χ (Kh) as an initial representing Χριστος (Khristos, “Christ, the Anointed One”), q.v. In present use, a modern coinage after the model of Xmas.
Senses: glosses: Abbreviation of Christian.
Xian
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ʃiæn/
ipa: /ʃiɛn/
enpr: shyěn
homophone: Christian
ipa: /ʃiæn/
ipa: /ʃiɛn/
enpr: shyěn
Forms: form: xian
form: Xtian
Etymology: From X as a stand-in for Ancient Greek Χ (Kh) as an initial representing Χριστος (Khristos, “Christ, the Anointed One”), q.v. In present use, a modern coinage after the model of Xmas.
Senses: glosses: Abbreviation of Christian.
Related terms: Xianity
Xtianity
Xmas
Xianity
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: Xtianity
Etymology: From Christianity, replacing Christ with the abbreviation X, from Ancient Greek Χ (Kh, the letter chi), the first letter of Χριστός (Khristós, “Christ”). Compare the more common Xmas. By surface analysis, Xian + -ity.
Senses: examples: text: Not but that I perswade myselfe to bee able to convince you (if you list to undergoe yoʳ triall) how interolerable an injury it is you doe yʳselfe, in yᵉ first place, yʳ ignorant followers, yᵉ King's authority, yᵉ credit of the towne, and yᵉ progress of Xianity in general, in these parts, by yʳ schisme and separation.
ref: 1861, Sussex Archaeological Society, quoting Vicar of Rye, Sussex Archaeological Collections relating to the History and Antiquities of the County, volume 13, Sussex: George P. Bacon, page 62:
text: I believe Buddhism to be a simplification of Hinduism and Islam to be a simplification of Xianity.
ref: 1950 December 14, Lewis, C. S., letter to Sheldon Vanauken, quoted in Sleuthing C. S. Lewis by Kathryn Ann Lindskoog
glosses: Abbreviation of Christianity.
Related terms: Xian
Xmas
Xtianity
untrue
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ʌnˈtɹuː/
rhymes: -uː
Forms: form: more untrue
form: most untrue
form: untrew
Etymology: From Middle English untrewe, from Old English untrīewe, from Proto-West Germanic *untriuwī, from Proto-Germanic *untriwwiz. Equivalent to un- + true.
Senses: examples: text: She says that I stole her necklace, but that's completely untrue.
text: "I know it is true, for an untrue word never passed her lips."
ref: 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 11:
text: This statement is untrue.
ref: 2004, George Carlin, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 264:
text: The service aggressively maintained its position until I produced evidence proving it was untrue - including a recording of one of the calls with a senior MI5 officer.
ref: 2025 July 6, Daniel De Simone, “How MI5 piled falsehood on falsehood in court in the case of a spy who abused women”, in BBC News, retrieved 06 Jul 2025:
synonyms: false
inaccurate
incorrect
unveridical
wrong
antonyms: true
glosses: False; not true.
examples: text: Now you say you're sorry / For being so untrue / Well, you can cry me a river, cry me a river
ref: 1953, Arthur Hamilton, “Cry Me a River”:
text: Let me be the one you come running to / I'll never be untrue
ref: 1971, “Let's Stay Together”, performed by Al Green:
text: Tonight you didn't come / And my senses all were reeling / I had a certain scary feeling you'd been untrue
ref: 2019, “The Night You Didn't Come”, in Becoming Peter Ivers, performed by Peter Ivers:
synonyms: false
perfidious
unfaithful
antonyms: faithful
glosses: Not faithful or loyal.
Synonyms: word: bastard
word: counterfactual
word: erroneous
word: fallacious
word: false
word: fictitious
word: inaccurate
word: incorrect
word: invented
word: made up
word: nonfactual
word: nontrue
word: nontruthful
word: pseudo-
word: spurious
word: untrue
word: untruthful
word: unveracious
word: unveridical
word: wrong
Hyponyms: word: concocted
word: deceitful
word: deceptive
word: dishonest
word: fabricated
word: falsified
word: faux
word: mendacious
word: misdirective
word: misleading
word: prevaricated
word: unfaithful
Derived terms: untruism
Related terms: word: artificial
word: falsehood
word: absurd
word: nonsense
word: fake
word: truth
electrostatic precipitator
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: electrostatic precipitators
Senses: glosses: a particulate collection device that removes particles from a flowing gas with electric forces
worn-out
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈwɔːn.aʊt/
ipa: /ˈwɔɹnˌaʊt/
Forms: form: more worn-out
form: most worn-out
Etymology: From worn (adjective; and past participle of wear) + out.
Senses: examples: text: There is no challenge in fighting a worn-out old man.
text: He still wears his old worn-out shoes.
text: You can barely read the worn-out logo on those shoes.
text: Her feet were frosted from exposure, in her old worn-out shoes, and it was only a question of time as to when she would succumb and be carried to the hospital.
ref: 1888, Donn Piatt, “The Sales-Lady of the City”, in The Lone Grave of the Shenandoah and Other Tales, Chicago, Ill.; […]: Belford, Clarke & Co., →OCLC, page 91:
synonyms: word: outworn
word: clapped out
word: damaged
word: defective
word: deteriorated
word: dilapidated
word: effete
word: faulty
word: munted
word: outworn
word: passé
word: raddled
word: ragged
word: ravaged
word: rinky-dink
word: shabby
word: unimproved
word: wasted
word: weakened
word: wrecked
word: wrecksome
word: worn
word: worn-out
word: worsened
glosses: Damaged due to continued or hard exposure or use until no longer effective or useful.
examples: text: The worn-out soccer players lined up to congratulate the other team.
synonyms: word: tired
word: bleareyed
word: bleary
word: bleary-eyed
word: bone-tired
word: bushed
word: tired out
word: spent
word: drained
word: dog-tired
word: dog-weary
word: exhausted
word: fatigued
word: forfairn
word: forlagen
word: forworn
word: heavyeyed
word: jaded
word: languid
word: enervated
word: out of gas
word: played out
word: run-down
word: shattered
word: shot
word: sleepy
word: stuffed
word: tired
word: washed out
word: weariful
word: weary
word: whacked
word: whipped
word: worn
word: worn out
word: banjaxed
word: beat
word: buggered
word: busted
word: dead tired
word: cream crackered
word: done
word: done in
word: done up
word: fagged out
word: fried
word: fucked
word: gassed
word: jiggered
word: Kerry Packered
word: knacked
word: knackered
word: nadgered
word: pooped
word: pooped out
word: pumped
word: shagged
word: shagged out
word: tuckered
word: tuckered out
word: wappened
word: zonked
glosses: Of a person or animal: exhausted or fatigued from exertion.
Related terms: outworn
wear
wear away
wear down
wear off
wear out
wear thin
unhealthy
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ʌnˈhɛlθi/
note: Indic
ipa: /anˈheld̪i/
rhymes: -ɛlθi
Forms: form: unhealthier
form: more unhealthy
form: unhealthiest
form: most unhealthy
Etymology: From un- + healthy.
Senses: examples: text: The villagers lived in unhealthy surroundings.
text: It makes up an estimated 73 percent of the U.S. food supply, and contains stereotypically “unhealthy” products like sodas, candies and hot dogs as well as seemingly “healthy” ones like whole grain breads, breakfast cereals, flavored yogurts and plant milks.
ref: 2024 May 9, Alice Callahan, “Are Some Ultraprocessed Foods Worse Than Others?”, in The New York Times:
glosses: characterized by, or conducive to poor health
examples: text: He was an unhealthy child.
text: ‘And at once he'll be on his high-horse – he knows everything! – and he'll prove, prove, that all unhealthy children must be lethal-chambered or the world will go to pieces.’
ref: 1924, Ford Madox Ford, Some Do Not… (Parade's End), Penguin, published 2012, page 39:
glosses: sick or ill
examples: text: He liked unhealthy reading material.
glosses: tending to corrupt
examples: text: He had an unhealthy interest in fire.
glosses: characterized by disturbed mental health
Synonyms: diseased
unhulled
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Etymology: From un- + hulled.
Senses: glosses: of a seed etc, not having had the hull removed
unimpeded
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Forms: form: more unimpeded
form: most unimpeded
Etymology: From un- + impeded.
Senses: examples: text: Please allow unimpeded access to the fire escape.
text: As the final whistle sounded, hordes of Russian fans ran unimpeded, and seemingly without any serious police presence or any barrier to stop them, towards England supporters gathered in their section of the stand.
ref: 2016 June 11, Phil McNulty, “England 1-1 Russia”, in BBC Sport:
glosses: Free from obstructions.
unimportant
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌʌnɪmˈpɔːtənt/
ipa: /ˌʌnɪmˈpɔɹtənt/
note: rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger
ipa: /ˌʌnɪmˈpo(ː)ɹtənt/
note: non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger
ipa: /ˌʌnɪmˈpoə.tənt/
Forms: form: more unimportant
form: most unimportant
Etymology: From un- + important.
Senses: synonyms: word: base
word: contemptible
word: foolish
word: for the birds
word: futile
word: frivolous
word: idle
word: ignorable
word: immaterial
word: inconsequential
word: inconsiderable
word: indifferent
word: insignificant
word: like a fart in a windstorm
word: meager
word: mean
word: minor
word: negligible
word: nothingburger
word: nondescript
word: paltry
word: petty
word: picayune
word: picayunish
word: piddling
word: piddly
word: pissant
word: pitiful
word: pointless
word: silly
word: simple
word: slight
word: tin-pot
word: trifling
word: trivial
word: two-bit
word: unimportant
word: unweighty
word: vain
word: worthless
word: wretched
antonyms: important
glosses: petty; not important or noteworthy
Derived terms: unimportantly
Related terms: unimportance
unaccented
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Forms: form: more unaccented
form: most unaccented
Etymology: From un- + accented.
Senses: glosses: Without any stress (accent).
raw_tags: of a word's sound or of a language
examples: text: The Frenchman spoke clear, unaccented English.
glosses: Not pronounced with a distinctive accent.
raw_tags: of a person's speech
synonyms: accentless
glosses: Having no accent marks.
raw_tags: of a written word
synonyms: accentless
diacriticless
undiacritized
glosses: Having no diacritical marks of any kind.
raw_tags: of a written word
Nance
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Senses: glosses: A diminutive of the female given name Nancy.
glosses: A Cornish surname.
Derived terms: Adams-Nance syndrome
Nance County
Nance-Horan syndrome
Nance
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: Nances
Senses: glosses: nancyboy
Nance
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: Nances
form: Nancing
form: Nanced
form: Nanced
Senses: glosses: To act in an effeminate manner.
Related terms: nonce
unanimity
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌjuːnəˈnɪmɪti/
Forms: form: unanimities
Etymology: From unanim(ous) + -ity, from Middle French unanimité, from Late Latin ūnanimitās. Displaced native Old English ānmōdnes (literally “one-mindedness”).
Senses: examples: text: Mankind were wrong, it seems, in concluding that all swans were white: are we also wrong, when we conclude that all men's heads grow above their shoulders, and never below, in spite of the conflicting testimony of the naturalist Pliny? As there were black swans, though civilised people had existed for three thousand years on the earth without meeting with them, may there not also be "men whose heads do grow beneath their shoulders," notwithstanding a rather less perfect unanimity of negative testimony from all observers? Most persons would answer No; it was more credible that a bird should vary in its colour, than that man should vary in the relative position of his principal organs.
ref: 1843, John Stuart Mill, “Of the Ground of Induction”, in A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive, being a Connected View of the Principles of Evidence, and the Methods of Scientific Investigation. […], volume I, London: John W[illiam] Parker, […], →OCLC, § 3, page 379:
text: Those responsible for preannouncing the Internet's hot new ideas are pushing Push with a ferocious unanimity.
ref: 1997 March 23, James Gleick, “Pushy, Pushy”, in The New York Times Magazine:
text: That was followed by a Florida Supreme Court ruling that found the jury must be unanimous to impose the death penalty, and Florida lawmakers adopted the unanimity requirement soon after.
ref: 2023 April 20, Sydney Kashiwagi, “DeSantis signs bill eliminating unanimous jury decisions for death sentences”, in CNN:
synonyms: consensus
antonyms: pluranimity
glosses: The condition of agreement by all parties, the state of being unanimous.
Related terms: unanimous
unanimously
napiform
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈneɪp.ɪ.fɔːm/
ipa: /ˈneɪ.pɪ.fɔɹm/
Forms: form: more napiform
form: most napiform
Etymology: From Latin nāpus (“turnip”) + -form.
Senses: examples: text: The primary root is transformed into an^([sic]) perennating storage root, which is tuberous or napiform and then often branched, […]
ref: 2007, K. Kubitzki, editor, The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants, volume IX, page 265:
topics: biology
botany
natural-sciences
glosses: Shaped like a turnip; spherical at the top, but with a tapering bottom.
unction
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ʌŋkʃən/
rhymes: -ʌŋkʃən
Forms: form: unctions
Etymology: Borrowed from Latin unctiō.
Senses: examples: text: The King himſelf the ſacred Unction made, / As King by Office, and as Prieſt by Trade: […]
ref: c. 1678 (date written; published 1682), J[ohn] Dryden, “Mac Flecknoe”, in Mac Flecknoe: A Poem. […] With Spencer’s Ghost: Being a Satyr Concerning Poetry. […], London: […] H[enry] Hills, […], published 1709, →OCLC, page 6:
glosses: An ointment or salve.
examples: text: To be heir, and to be king / By sacred unction, thy deserved right.
ref: 1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, 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:
glosses: A religious or ceremonial anointing.
glosses: A balm or something that soothes.
examples: text: Krook almost smacks his lips with the unction of a horrible interest.
ref: 1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, chapter XI, in Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1853, →OCLC:
text: "Well, I'll say this for myself. If there's anything out of order where I'm about, I don't miss it." "I believe you," said Bradly with unction.
ref: 1938, Norman Lindsay, chapter XXI, in Age of Consent, London: T[homas] Werner Laurie […], →OCLC, page 223:
glosses: A quality in language, address or delivery which expresses sober and fervent emotion.
glosses: Unctuousness: A smug, exaggerated use of language; smarminess.
glosses: Divine or sanctifying grace.
Derived terms: extreme unction
undercooked
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: -ʊkt
Senses: glosses: simple past and past participle of undercook
undercooked
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: -ʊkt
Forms: form: more undercooked
form: most undercooked
Senses: examples: text: I can't eat this chicken – it's undercooked.
glosses: Insufficiently cooked, so as to be unpalatable or inedible.
examples: text: The broccoli was nicely undercooked.
text: For the main course, order any of the fresh fish from the blackboard; the swordfish is always wonderful (and nicely undercooked, unless you specify otherwise).
ref: 1987 April, “Restaurants”, in Orange Coast Magazine, volume 13, number 4, page 80:
text: The yellowfin tuna at a seaside restaurant is nicely undercooked.
ref: 2008, Robert D. Temple, Edge Effects: The Border-name Places, page 214:
text: She had fixed me a light supper — perfectly undercooked scrambled eggs, rye toast, a sliced orange, and a wedge of gouda cheese.
ref: 2020, Harold Fickett, The Holy Fool: A Novel, page 127:
glosses: Very lightly cooked.
examples: text: His stage portrayal of Hamlet was distinctly undercooked.
glosses: Done with insufficient energy, enthusiasm, etc.
Synonyms: underdone
unlearnt
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ʌnˈlɜːnt/
ipa: /ʌnˈlɝnt/
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)nt
Forms: form: unlearned
Etymology: From Middle English unlernd, equivalent to unlearn + -t.
Senses: glosses: simple past and past participle of unlearn
unlearnt
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ʌnˈlɜːnt/
ipa: /ʌnˈlɝnt/
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)nt
Forms: form: more unlearnt
form: most unlearnt
form: unlearned
Etymology: From un- (“not”) + learnt.
Senses: examples: text: Suckling is unlearnt behaviour in mammals.
glosses: Innate, inherent or inborn.
examples: text: The critic, Dennis, was not an unlearnt man, he felt the misery of public contempt and neglect in his latter days.
ref: 1827, The Whitby Magazine, and Monthly Literary Journal, page 311:
text: When Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost, especially being an unlearnt man, wasn't the lord ^([sic]) speaking through him?
ref: 2005, Oneil McQuick, The Voice..., page 457:
glosses: Uneducated.
Synonyms: sense: innate, inherent or inborn
word: inborn
word: innate
word: inherent
sense: not educated
word: uneducated
word: untrained
unlearn
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ʌnˈləːn/
ipa: /ʌnˈlɝn/
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)n
Forms: form: unlearns
form: unlearning
form: unlearned
form: unlearned
form: unlearnt
form: unlearnt
Etymology: From Middle English unlernen. By surface analysis, un- + learn.
Senses: examples: text: It was another lesson from Fort Hare that I had to unlearn in Johannesburg.
ref: 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London: Abacus, published 2010, page 80:
text: It is a language that, once learnt, I have been unable to unlearn.
ref: 2005, Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, page 231:
glosses: To discard the knowledge of.
glosses: To break a habit.
Related terms: deprogramming
blue line
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: blue lines
Senses: topics: hobbies
ice-hockey
lifestyle
skating
sports
coordinate_terms: red line
glosses: Either of the two thick blue lines on the ice that separate an attacking zone or defending zone from the neutral zone.
Related terms: blue line process
thin blue line
Romans
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɹəʊmənz/
ipa: /ˈɹoʊmənz/
Senses: topics: biblical
lifestyle
religion
synonyms: word: Rom.
glosses: The sixth book of the New Testament of the Bible, the epistle of St Paul to the Christians in Rome.
glosses: The 30th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.
glosses: A surname.
Romans
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɹəʊmənz/
ipa: /ˈɹoʊmənz/
Senses: glosses: plural of Roman
bacillus
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /bæˈsɪl.əs/
Forms: form: bacilli
Etymology: Learned borrowing from Latin bacillus (“little staff, wand”), diminutive of baculum (“stick, staff, walking stick”).
Senses: examples: text: 'This again,' said the Bacteriologist, slipping a glass slide under the microscope, 'is a preparation of the celebrated Bacillus of cholera - the cholera germ.'
ref: 1895, H. G. Wells, The Stolen Bacillus:
text: "You will conceive a bunch of grapes," said he, "which are covered by some infinitesimal but noxious bacillus.
ref: 1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Poison Belt […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
glosses: Any of various rod-shaped, spore-forming aerobic bacteria in the genus Bacillus, some of which cause disease.
glosses: Any bacilliform (rod-shaped) bacterium.
examples: text: The “bacillus of boom or depression,” he wrote, travels freely “from country to country.”
ref: 1934 [2018], Gottfried Haberler quoted in Quinn Slobodian, Globalists, 71
glosses: Something which spreads like bacterial infection.
Derived terms: Actinobacillus
bacillicidal
bacillicide
bacilliferous
colibacillus
comma bacillus
Döderlein's bacillus
Eberth's bacillus
Klebs-Löffler bacillus
Koch's bacillus
microbacillus
thiobacillus
unlock
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ʌnˈlɒk/
ipa: /ʌnˈlɑk/
ipa: /anˈlɔk/
rhymes: -ɒk
Forms: form: unlocks
form: unlocking
form: unlocked
form: unlocked
Etymology: From Middle English unloken, unlouken, onlouken, from Old English onlūcan (“to unlock”), equivalent to un- + lock. Cognate with Dutch ontluiken (“to unlock”).
Senses: examples: text: I unlocked the door and walked in.
glosses: To undo or open a lock or something locked by, for example, turning a key, or selecting a combination.
examples: text: I unlocked the dictionary article so I could edit it.
text: This computer game is shareware, but you can pay for a code to unlock the full version.
text: Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.
ref: 2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
text: The combination of the new station and road improvements is expected to unlock up to 14,000 new homes, with the council saying no more than 2,500 homes can be built at Beaulieu and north east Chelmsford without the station.
ref: 2019 October, “Funding for 20tph East London line service”, in Modern Railways, page 18:
glosses: To obtain access to something; to meet the requirements of a security or protection system.
topics: communications
electrical-engineering
engineering
mobile-telephony
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
telecommunications
telephony
glosses: To configure (a mobile phone) so that it is not bound to any particular carrier.
examples: text: The discovery of a clue unlocked the mystery.
text: Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it.
ref: 2022 April 14, Rupert Neate, quoting Elon Musk, “Elon Musk offers to buy Twitter for more than $40bn”, in The Guardian:
glosses: To disclose or reveal previously unknown knowledge or potential.
examples: text: He had come straight up without mishap or swerving off his course, and his shut teeth unlocked.
ref: 1912 January, Zane Grey, chapter 8, in Riders of the Purple Sage […], New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, →OCLC:
glosses: To be or become unfastened or unrestrained.
examples: text: He also warned of the supply chain issues, stating: "Don't pretend you're going to unlock half a dozen [electrification] schemes simultaneously because you'll probably flood the supply chain, we don't have the capacity."
ref: 2020 May 20, Richard Clinnick, “Electrification key to decarbonisation”, in Rail, page 16:
glosses: To make available.
examples: text: Saka's cross unlocked a well-organised Ukraine defence for Kane to pounce and set England on their way before producing a superb piece of individual skill to effectively end the contest.
ref: 2023 March 26, Phil McNulty, “England 2-0 Ukraine”, in BBC Sport:
glosses: To undermine something that has control over a situation; to find a way to counter or oppose.
Derived terms: achievement unlocked
unlock
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ʌnˈlɒk/
ipa: /ʌnˈlɑk/
ipa: /anˈlɔk/
rhymes: -ɒk
Forms: form: unlocks
Etymology: From Middle English unloken, unlouken, onlouken, from Old English onlūcan (“to unlock”), equivalent to un- + lock. Cognate with Dutch ontluiken (“to unlock”).
Senses: examples: text: Unlike modern, automated prisons, each cell here was locked and unlocked manually with a large skeleton key. The first duty was to get a proper head count of each inmate, insuring each was alive. Once done, an unlock was conducted.
ref: 1998, Steven Herberts, The Correctional Officer Inside Prisons, page 38:
text: The instructions between a lock and an unlock form a critical section.
ref: 2011, Ganesh Gopalakrishnan, Shaz Qadeer, Computer Aided Verification: 23rd International Conference:
glosses: The act of unlocking something.
examples: text: The other unlocks, like a grenade launcher or a sniper's steady ability, didn't fit into my playstyle.
ref: 2012 October 11, Craig Pearson, “Hands On: Medal Of Honour Warfighter”, in Rock Paper Shotgun:
topics: video-games
synonyms: unlockable
glosses: An initially hidden feature that is made available to reward the player for some achievement.
ribbing
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɹɪbɪŋ/
rhymes: -ɪbɪŋ
Etymology: From rib (“tease”, verb) + -ing; from the common practice of tickling the ribs to cause laughter.
Senses: glosses: present participle and gerund of rib
ribbing
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɹɪbɪŋ/
rhymes: -ɪbɪŋ
Forms: form: ribbings
Etymology: From rib (“tease”, verb) + -ing; from the common practice of tickling the ribs to cause laughter.
Senses: examples: text: I wish I'd had 30 dollars to lend her, it would have saved me a lot of ribbing at school.
ref: 1995, Paul Vautin, Turn It Up!, Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia, page 114:
text: The good-natured ribbing masks some serious points of contention not only within Berlin but also in German society as a whole.
ref: 2013 January 18, Nicholas Kulish, “Swabian Separatists Fling Spätzle to Make Their Point”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
glosses: The action of the verb to rib; teasing.
examples: text: The decoration found on the stems are perpendicular ribbings, ordinary rounded mouldings, and perpendicular lobings.
ref: 1919, MacIver Percival, The Glass Collector: A Guide to Old English Glass, page 31:
glosses: A rib, or the collective ribs, on an object.
glosses: An instance of teasing.
terminus
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈtɜːmɪnəs/
Forms: form: termini
form: terminuses
Etymology: Learned borrowing from Latin terminus (“boundary, limit”). Doublet of term, Terminus, and termon.
Senses: glosses: The end or final point of something.
examples: text: My brother supposes they must have filled outside London, for at that time the furious terror of the people had rendered the central termini impossible.
ref: 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 171:
text: The arrangement for certain long-distance trains to call at suburban stations (saving passengers the trouble of journeying to the termini), which proved popular last year, is being extended.
ref: 1951 June, “British Railways Summer Services”, in Railway Magazine, page 419:
text: Wuhan is the terminus for cruises to the Yanzi^([sic – meaning Yangtze]) River gorges.
ref: 1991, “China”, in All-Asia Guide, volume III, Hongkong: Review Publishing, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 45:
text: Thirty-five years ago, many journeys around London meant having to pass through the centre of the capital. That's no longer the case, which takes real pressure off the city's termini as well as underground routes such as the Circle Line.
ref: 2020 May 20, Paul Bigland, “East London Line's renaissance”, in Rail, page 49:
glosses: The end point of a transportation system, or the town or city in which it is located.
glosses: A boundary or border, or a post or stone marking such a boundary.
Derived terms: carboxy-terminus
C-terminus
N-terminus
Related terms: non-terminus
terminal
terminate
termination
terminus ad quem
terminus ante quem
terminus a quo
terminus post quem
terminus technicus
stitching
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈstɪt͡ʃɪŋ/
rhymes: -ɪtʃɪŋ
Forms: form: stitchings
Senses: examples: text: The stitching is coming undone on this shirt.
glosses: Stitches, collectively.
topics: computer-graphics
computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: Synonym of z-fighting.
synonyms: word: z-fighting
stitching
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈstɪt͡ʃɪŋ/
rhymes: -ɪtʃɪŋ
Senses: glosses: present participle and gerund of stitch
wigging
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈwɪɡɪŋ/
rhymes: -ɪɡɪŋ
Senses: glosses: present participle and gerund of wig
wigging
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈwɪɡɪŋ/
rhymes: -ɪɡɪŋ
Forms: form: wiggings
Senses: glosses: The action of the verb wig (in various senses).
examples: text: His Colonel talked to him severely when the cold weather ended. That made him more wretched than ever; and it was only an ordinary ‘Colonel's wigging’!
ref: 1888, Rudyard Kipling, “Thrown Away”, in Plain Tales from the Hills, Folio Society, published 2005, page 18:
synonyms: earwigging
glosses: A telling-off or reprimand.
examples: text: “So why are there so few women in the stunt industry? Many point to the practice of “wigging” – which is when male stunt actors play female characters.”
ref: 2018, Daniel Lavelle, “Why stuntwomen are angry about 'wigging' – and are changing the industry from within”, in The Guardian:
topics: broadcasting
film
media
television
glosses: The practice of male stuntmen performing for actresses.
pigging
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpɪɡɪŋ/
rhymes: -ɪɡɪŋ
Senses: examples: text: I can't get this pigging computer to work.
glosses: Damned (used as a mild intensive).
Synonyms: blasted
blooming
confounded
damned
pigging
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpɪɡɪŋ/
rhymes: -ɪɡɪŋ
Senses: glosses: present participle and gerund of pig
pigging
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpɪɡɪŋ/
rhymes: -ɪɡɪŋ
Forms: form: piggings
Senses: examples: text: The main reason for the high efficiencies obtained over previous piggings can be attributed to the vented swabs with the check valve.
ref: 1955, American Gas Association, Proceedings, volume 37, page 1083:
topics: engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: The use of a pig (the device) to clean a pipeline.
pigging
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpɪɡɪŋ/
rhymes: -ɪɡɪŋ
Forms: form: piggings
Senses: examples: text: He had his tea and hot rolls in a morning, while we were battening upon our quarter-of-a-penny loaf — our crug — moistened with attenuated small beer, in wooden piggings, smacking of the pitched leathern jack it was poured from.
ref: 1823, Charles Lamb, Essays of Elia:
glosses: Alternative form of piggin.
undecipherable
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: /ʌndɪˈsaɪfəɹəbəl/
/ʌndɪˈsaɪfɹəbəl/
/ʌndə-/
Forms: form: more undecipherable
form: most undecipherable
Etymology: From un- + decipherable.
Senses: glosses: Not easily deciphered; difficult to read.
Synonyms: word: indecipherable
sense: not easily deciphered
word: inexplicable
word: insolvable
word: unknowable
sense: difficult to read
word: indecipherable
sense: difficult to read
word: unreadable
sense: difficult to read
word: illegible
underinsured
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Forms: form: more underinsured
form: most underinsured
Etymology: From under- + insured.
Senses: glosses: not having sufficient insurance to cover loss or damage
glosses: not having proper health insurance
underinsured
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: underinsureds
Etymology: From under- + insured.
Senses: glosses: One who has insufficient insurance.
goaltender
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: goaltenders
Etymology: From goal + tender.
Senses: topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: a designated player that attempts to prevent the opposing team from scoring by protecting a goal.
Synonyms: goalie
goalkeeper
keeper
netkeeper
netminder
undersuit
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: undersuits
Etymology: From under- + suit.
Senses: glosses: A soft undergarment worn by divers and astronauts
glosses: Any suit worn under another suit; a suit of underclothes.
symposium
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /sɪmˈpəʊziəm/
ipa: /sɪmˈpoʊziəm/
ipa: /sɪmˈpəʉziəm/
ipa: /səmˈpɐʉziəm/
Forms: form: symposiums
form: symposia
Etymology: Borrowed from Latin symposium, from Ancient Greek συμπόσιον (sumpósion, “drinking party”) from συμπίνω (sumpínō, “drink together”) συν- (sun-, “together-”) + πίνω (pínō, “drink”).
Senses: glosses: A conference or other meeting for discussion of a topic, especially one in which the participants make presentations.
related: word: symposion
glosses: A drinking party in Ancient Greece, especially one with intellectual discussion.
examples: text: THE CONCISE ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF WORLD RAILWAY LOCOMOTIVES. Edited by P. Ransome-Wallis. Hutchinson. 50s. [...] The work is a symposium by writers who are mostly specialists in the topics about which they write.
ref: 1960 January, “New reading on railways”, in Trains Illustrated, page 26:
glosses: A collection of essays, articles or papers on a particular subject by a number of contributors.
Related terms: word: symposiast
word: sympotic
word: Symposium in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
urls: https://web.archive.org/https://www.lexico.com/definition/symposium
word: in
urls: https://web.archive.org/https://www.lexico.com/definition/symposium
word: Dictionary.com
urls: https://web.archive.org/https://www.lexico.com/definition/symposium
word: Oxford University Press
urls: https://web.archive.org/https://www.lexico.com/definition/symposium
word: 2019–2022
memorandum
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌmɛm.əˈɹæn.dəm/
Forms: form: memorandums
form: memoranda
Etymology: Learned borrowing from Latin memorandum, neuter of memorandus (“to be remembered”).
Senses: examples: text: ....be more difficult or uncertain than it had been for so many weeks, I had scarcely for a moment adverted to it as necessary, or placed it amongst my memoranda against this parting interview; and my final anxieties being spent in comforting her with hopes, and in pressing upon her the necessity of getting some medicines for a violent cough and hoarseness with which she was troubled, I wholly forgot it until it was too late to recall her.
ref: 1821, Thomas De Quincey, Confessions of an English Opium-Eater:
glosses: A short note serving as a reminder.
examples: text: The Trump administration will allow federal workers to promote their religious beliefs to colleagues, display religious items at work and pray together or individually, according to a memorandum issued Monday by the Office of Personnel Management.
ref: 2025 July 28, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, “Trump administration allows federal workers to promote religious beliefs”, in CNN:
glosses: A written business communication.
glosses: A brief diplomatic communication.
glosses: A page in an annual publication honoring the memory of a person who died during the past year.
Derived terms: countermemorandum
hortatory memorandum
Memorandist
memorandize
memorandum for record
memorandum for the record
memoranduming
memorandum of agreement
memorandum of association
memorandum of understanding
memorandum opinion
presidential memorandum
Related terms: memoir
memorate
memorial
memory
erratum
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɛˈɹɑːtəm/
ipa: /ɛˈɹɑtəm/
ipa: [ɛˈɹɑɾəm]
rhymes: -ɑːtəm
Forms: form: errata
Etymology: Borrowed from Latin errātum, neuter of errātus (“mistaken”).
Senses: examples: text: When the journal's editors found out about the misreported details, they issued an erratum.
synonyms: corrigendum
glosses: A published notice reporting an error belatedly discovered in a previous publication.
examples: text: Erratum / The correct ISBN for this book is […]
ref: 1996, Timon Screech, The Western Scientific Gaze and Popular Imagery in Later Edo Japan: The Lens within the Heart, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, copyright page:
glosses: An error, especially one in a printed work.
bryozoan
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌbɹɑɪəˈzəʊən/
Forms: form: bryozoa
form: bryozoans
Etymology: From translingual Bryozoa + -an.
Senses: examples: text: The blanket of bryozoans also blocks out some of the light needed by the blade for photosynthesis.
ref: 1991, Martha Holmes, Sea Trek, BBC Books, page 79:
text: Every microscopic individual in a bryozoan colony is a clone of the original animal that settled on the lake floor, and is a hermaphrodite, both male and female.
ref: 2022, Thomas Halliday, Otherlands, Penguin, published 2023, page 163:
topics: biology
natural-sciences
zoology
glosses: A member of the phylum Bryozoa of aquatic, usually colonial invertebrates.
Synonyms: word: ectoproct
word: polyzoan
word: moss animal
bryozoan
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌbɹɑɪəˈzəʊən/
Etymology: From translingual Bryozoa + -an.
Senses: topics: biology
natural-sciences
zoology
glosses: Pertaining to the Bryozoa.
Synonyms: word: polyzoan
word: polyzoic
Related terms: bryozoon
campanology
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: campanologies
Etymology: From Late Latin campāna (“bell”) + -ology.
Senses: glosses: The study of bells and their casting, tuning, and ringing.
Derived terms: campanologic
campanological
campanologist
Related terms: campanologically
bellringer
bell-ringer
bell ringer
bellringing
bell-ringing
despatch
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /dɪˈspætʃ/
ipa: /dəˈspætʃ/
ipa: /dɪˈspæt͡ʃ/
rhymes: -ætʃ
Forms: form: despatches
Senses: examples: text: The courier, bearing his despatches in the form of a hieroglyphical painting, ran with them to the first station,[…].
ref: 1843, William Hickling Prescott, The Conquest of Mexico, volume 1, published 1957, page 31:
text: Eldridge closed the despatch-case with a snap and, rising briskly, walked down the corridor to his solitary table in the dining-car.
ref: 1931, Francis Beeding, “1/1”, in Death Walks in Eastrepps:
text: There are special rooms where mail can be stored and stacked ready for despatch and accommodation with cooking facilities for T.P.O. crews who change from one mail train to another at Tamworth.
ref: 1962 December, “New station at Tamworth”, in Modern Railways, page 385:
glosses: Alternative form of dispatch.
Derived terms: despatch case