Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - Letter A - Page 6

About (adv.) Nearly; approximately; with close correspondence, in quality, manner, degree, etc.; as, about as cold; about as high; -- also of quantity, number, time.

About (adv.) To a reserved position; half round; in the opposite direction; on the opposite tack; as, to face about; to turn one's self about.

About-sledge (n.) The largest hammer used by smiths.

Above (prep.) In or to a higher place; higher than; on or over the upper surface; over; -- opposed to below or beneath.

Above (prep.) Figuratively, higher than; superior to in any respect; surpassing; beyond; higher in measure or degree than; as, things above comprehension; above mean actions; conduct above reproach.

Above (prep.) Surpassing in number or quantity; more than; as, above a hundred. (Passing into the adverbial sense. See Above, adv., 4.)

Above (adv.) In a higher place; overhead; into or from heaven; as, the clouds above.

Above (adv.) Earlier in order; higher in the same page; hence, in a foregoing page.

Above (adv.) Higher in rank or power; as, he appealed to the court above.

Above (adv.) More than; as, above five hundred were present.

Aboveboard (adv.) Above the board or table. Hence: in open sight; without trick, concealment, or deception.

Above-cited (a.) Cited before, in the preceding part of a book or writing.

Abovedeck (a.) On deck; and hence, like aboveboard, without artifice.

Above-mentioned (a.) Alt. of Above-named

Above-named (a.) Mentioned or named before; aforesaid.

Abovesaid (a.) Mentioned or recited before.

Abox (adv. & a.) Braced aback.

Abracadabra (n.) A mystical word or collocation of letters written as in the figure. Worn on an amulet it was supposed to ward off fever. At present the word is used chiefly in jest to denote something without meaning; jargon.

Abradant (n.) A material used for grinding, as emery, sand, powdered glass, etc.

Abraded (imp. & p. p.) of Abrade

Abrading (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Abrade

Abrade (v. t.) To rub or wear off; to waste or wear away by friction; as, to abrade rocks.

Abrade (v. t.) Same as Abraid.

Abrahamic (a.) Pertaining to Abraham, the patriarch; as, the Abrachamic covenant.

Abrahamitic (a.) Alt. of ical

ical (a.) Relating to the patriarch Abraham.

Abraham-man (n.) Alt. of Abram-man

Abram-man (n.) One of a set of vagabonds who formerly roamed through England, feigning lunacy for the sake of obtaining alms.

Abraid (v. t. & i.) To awake; to arouse; to stir or start up; also, to shout out.

Abranchial (a.) Abranchiate.

Abranchiata (n. pl.) A group of annelids, so called because the species composing it have no special organs of respiration.

Abranchiate (a.) Without gills.

Abrase (a.) Rubbed smooth.

Abrasion (n.) The act of abrading, wearing, or rubbing off; the wearing away by friction; as, the abrasion of coins.

Abrasion (n.) The substance rubbed off.

Abrasion (n.) A superficial excoriation, with loss of substance under the form of small shreds.

Abrasive (a.) Producing abrasion.

Abraum (n.) Alt. of Abraum salts

Abraum salts (n.) A red ocher used to darken mahogany and for making chloride of potassium.

Abraxas (n.) A mystical word used as a charm and engraved on gems among the ancients; also, a gem stone thus engraved.

Abray (v.) See Abraid.

Abreast (adv.) Side by side, with breasts in a line; as, "Two men could hardly walk abreast."

Abreast (adv.) Side by side; also, opposite; over against; on a line with the vessel's beam; -- with of.

Abreast (adv.) Up to a certain level or line; equally advanced; as, to keep abreast of [or with] the present state of science.

Abreast (adv.) At the same time; simultaneously.

Abregge (v. t.) See Abridge.

Abrenounce (v. t.) To renounce.

Abrenunciation (n.) Absolute renunciation or repudiation.

Abreption (n.) A snatching away.

Abreuvoir (n.) The joint or interstice between stones, to be filled with mortar.

Abricock (n.) See Apricot.

Abridged (imp. & p. p.) of Abridge

Abridging (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Abridge

Abridge (v. t.) To make shorter; to shorten in duration; to lessen; to diminish; to curtail; as, to abridge labor; to abridge power or rights.

Abridge (v. t.) To shorten or contract by using fewer words, yet retaining the sense; to epitomize; to condense; as, to abridge a history or dictionary.

Abridge (v. t.) To deprive; to cut off; -- followed by of, and formerly by from; as, to abridge one of his rights.

Abridger (n.) One who abridges.

Abridgment (n.) The act of abridging, or the state of being abridged; diminution; lessening; reduction or deprivation; as, an abridgment of pleasures or of expenses.

Abridgment (n.) An epitome or compend, as of a book; a shortened or abridged form; an abbreviation.

Abridgment (n.) That which abridges or cuts short; hence, an entertainment that makes the time pass quickly.

Abroach (v. t.) To set abroach; to let out, as liquor; to broach; to tap.

Abroach (adv.) Broached; in a condition for letting out or yielding liquor, as a cask which is tapped.

Abroach (adv.) Hence: In a state to be diffused or propagated; afoot; astir.

Abroad (adv.) At large; widely; broadly; over a wide space; as, a tree spreads its branches abroad.

Abroad (adv.) Without a certain confine; outside the house; away from one's abode; as, to walk abroad.

Abroad (adv.) Beyond the bounds of a country; in foreign countries; as, we have broils at home and enemies abroad.

Abroad (adv.) Before the public at large; throughout society or the world; here and there; widely.

Abrogable (a.) Capable of being abrogated.

Abrogate (a.) Abrogated; abolished.

Abrogated (imp. & p. p.) of Abrogate

Abrogating (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Abrogate

Abrogate (v. t.) To annul by an authoritative act; to abolish by the authority of the maker or his successor; to repeal; -- applied to the repeal of laws, decrees, ordinances, the abolition of customs, etc.

Abrogate (v. t.) To put an end to; to do away with.

Abrogation (n.) The act of abrogating; repeal by authority.

Abrogative (a.) Tending or designed to abrogate; as, an abrogative law.

Abrogator (n.) One who repeals by authority.

Abrood (adv.) In the act of brooding.

Abrook (v. t.) To brook; to endure.

Abrupt (a.) Broken off; very steep, or craggy, as rocks, precipices, banks; precipitous; steep; as, abrupt places.

Abrupt (a.) Without notice to prepare the mind for the event; sudden; hasty; unceremonious.

Abrupt (a.) Having sudden transitions from one subject to another; unconnected.

Abrupt (a.) Suddenly terminating, as if cut off.

Abrupt (n.) An abrupt place.

Abrupt (v. t.) To tear off or asunder.

Abruption (n.) A sudden breaking off; a violent separation of bodies.

Abruptly (adv.) In an abrupt manner; without giving notice, or without the usual forms; suddenly.

Abruptly (adv.) Precipitously.

Abruptness (n.) The state of being abrupt or broken; craggedness; ruggedness; steepness.

Abruptness (n.) Suddenness; unceremonious haste or vehemence; as, abruptness of style or manner.

Abscesses (pl. ) of Abscess

Abscess (n.) A collection of pus or purulent matter in any tissue or organ of the body, the result of a morbid process.

Abscession (n.) A separating; removal; also, an abscess.

Abscind (v. t.) To cut off.

Abscision (n.) See Abscission.

Abscisses (pl. ) of Absciss

Absciss (n.) See Abscissa.

Abscissas (pl. ) of Abscissa

Abscissae (pl. ) of Abscissa

Abscissa (n.) One of the elements of reference by which a point, as of a curve, is referred to a system of fixed rectilineal coordinate axes.

Abscission (n.) The act or process of cutting off.

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