n. purging or cleansing of any passage of body
E.g. Aristotle maintained that tragedy created a catharsis by purging the soul of base concepts.
a. capable of burning, corroding, dissolving, or eating away by chemical action
E.g. The critic's caustic remarks angered the hapless actors who were the subjects of his sarcasm.
n. ceremonial procession or display; succession or series
E.g. As described by Chaucer, the cavalcade of Canterbury pilgrims was a motley group.
a. relating to the sky or the heavens; supremely good; god or angel
E.g. She spoke of the celestial joys that awaited virtuous souls in the hereafter.
n. state of being unmarried; single life
E.g. The problem with the church's insistence on clerical celibacy is not sexual but social.
a. unmarried; abstaining from sexual intercourse
E.g. The perennial bachelor vowed to remain celibate.
v. expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism; blame
E.g. Today's paper will censure the senator for behavior inappropriate to a member of Congress.
n. bringing or coming to end; ceasing
E.g. The airline's employees threatened a cessation of all work if management failed to meet their demands.
n. trivial or worthless matter; thin dry bracts or scales, especially
E.g. When you separate the wheat from the chaff, be sure you keep the wheat.
n. lizard that changes color in different situations
E.g. Like the chameleon, he assumed the political thinking of every group he met.
n. deep opening in the earth surface
E.g. They could not see the bottom of the chasm.
n. rectangular frame attached working parts, as of automobile
E.g. Examining the car after the accident, the owner discovered that the body had been ruined but that the chassis was unharmed.
n. long-legged, swift-running wild cat tamed and used for hunting in India
E.g. The cheetah has an extremely flexible backbone that gives extra speed or force to its running motion.
n. gap or crack; short, sharp sound; money; cash
E.g. Through a chink she could see a bit of blue sky.
v. make a shop, sharp, cheerful sound, as of small birds or crickets
E.g. Birds had begun to chirp among the trees.
a. having qualities of ideal knight; faithful; brave
E.g. Toward his royal captive he behaved in chivalrous fashion.
a. having many small waves; rough with small waves
E.g. Smaller is sometimes best on calm days, but bigger is better in choppy water.
n. art of representing dances in written symbols; arrangement of dances
E.g. Merce Cunningham has begun to use a computer in designing choreography. A software program allows him to compose arrangements of possible moves and immediately view them onscreen.
n. partly burned or vitrified coal, or other combustible, in which fire is extinct; hot coal without flame
E.g. Mason, shivering as some one chanced to open the door, asked for more coal to be put on the fire, which had burnt out its flame, though its mass of cinder still shone hot and red.
n. secret code; an Arabic numeral or figure; a number
E.g. Lacking his code book, the spy was unable to decode the message sent to him in cipher.
v. surround an enemy; enclose or entrap; beat by cleverness and wit
E.g. In order to circumvent the enemy, we will make two preliminary attacks in other sections before starting our major campaign.
a. having the quality of being viscous or adhesive; soft and sticky; glutinous; damp and adhesive
E.g. As I laid her down, I covered her ice-cold and clammy hand with mine: the feeble fingers shrank from my touch; the glazing eyes shunned my gaze.
a. secret; conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods
E.g. After avoiding their chaperon, the lovers had a clandestine meeting.
n. metal striker that hangs inside bell and makes sound by hitting side; someone who applauds
E.g. Wishing to be undisturbed by the bell, Dale wound his scarf around the clapper to muffle the noise of its striking.
n. assigning to a class or category
E.g. The US government agency responsible for classifying viruses, the Centre for Disease Control, says it was in the process of deciding whether to change the strain's classification when it was informed that it had been widely circulated.
v. declare unavailable, as for security reasons; arrange or order by classes or categories
E.g. The US government agency responsible to classify viruses, the Centre for Disease Control, says it was in the process of deciding whether to change the strain's classification.
n. abnormal fear of being in narrow or enclosed spaces
E.g. His fellow classmates laughed at his claustrophobia and often threatened to lock him in his room.
v. split with or as if with a sharp instrument; pierce or penetrate; remain faithful to
E.g. Julia Child can cleave a whole roast duck in two.
n. crack or crevice; a split or indentation between two parts, as of the chin
E.g. Trying for a fresh handhold, the mountain climber grasped the edge of a cleft in the sheer rock face.
v. close tightly; grasp or grip tightly; fasten with a clinch
E.g. "Open wide," said the dentist, but Clint seemed to clench his teeth even more tightly than before.
v. hold firmly; hold fast by grasping or embracing tightly; set closely together; close tightly
E.g. The boxers clinch and the referee have to separate them.
n. small exclusive group of friends or associates
E.g. Fitzgerald wished that he belonged to the clique of popular athletes and big men on campus.
v. persuade or try to persuade by pleading or flattery; move to or adjust toward a desired end
E.g. Whenever the famished great girls had an opportunity, they would coax or menace the little ones out of their portion.
n. supplement or appendix, especially to a will
E.g. Miss Havisham kept her lawyers busy drawing up another codicil to add to her already complicated will.
v. restrain by force, especially by law or authority; repress; curb
E.g. In what sense does Dawkins want to coerce people into his belief?
n. tendency to keep together
E.g. A firm believer in the maxim "Divide and conquer," the evil emperor sought to disrupt the cohesion of the federation of free nations.
a. cohering or tending to cohere; well integrated
E.g. They created a cohesive organization as plan.
v. occur at the same time as; correspond
E.g. To coincide with World AIDS Day, the World Health Organization and UN AIDS are launching a campaign to treat three million HIV sufferers by the year 2005.
n. secret agreement for an illegal purpose; conspiracy
E.g. They're in collusion with the government and just want a piece of the pie like everyone else.
n. young of the equine genus or horse kind of animals; young, foolish fellow
E.g. The farmer did not wish to sell his fine colt, but when the horse dealer tickled his palm with a few hundred dollars, he consented.