v. become smaller or draw together; compress
E.g. She waited for a few minutes to see if she was going to shrink any further.
n. bush
E.g. Afar, it offered a pale blank of mist and cloud; near a scene of wet lawn and storm-beat shrub, with ceaseless rain sweeping away wildly before a long and lamentable blast.
n. a hinged blind for a window
E.g. The aperture was so screened and narrow, that curtain or shutter had been deemed unnecessary; and when I stooped down and put aside the spray of foliage shooting over it, I could see all within.
a. affected with disease of any kind; ill; indisposed; not in health
E.g. He pictured himself lying sick unto death and his aunt bending over him beseeching one little forgiving word, but he would turn his face to the wall, and die with that word unsaid.
v. avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing
E.g. Please use that program to sidestep certain linking problems.
v. denote; mean; indicate
E.g. There, I had a friend's face under my gaze; and what did it signify that those young ladies turned their backs on me? I looked at it; I smiled at the speaking likeness: I was absorbed and content.
n. bony skeleton of the head of vertebrates
E.g. The skull supports the structures of the face and protects the head against injury.
n. block consisting of a thick piece of something
E.g. As hundreds of people watched from the river-bank, a crane slowly lowered the final stone slab into place, bringing together the two sides of the single arched bridge - an emotional moment for many of those present.
n. defamation; false and malicious statement or report about someone
E.g. I have proven that you slander the gay community.
v. cut; reduce largely
E.g. During the last election campaign, the French President Jacques Chirac promised he would slash value added tax on restaurant meals, to provide a boost for this crucial sector of the economy.
a. blindly imitative; characteristic of a slave or servant
E.g. Slavish devotion to her job ruled her life.
n. a serving that has been cut from a larger portion; piece; a share of something
E.g. The opening up of nearly thirty European countries to Chinese tour groups unlocks whole new vistas for the narrow but growing slice of the population with the disposable incomes to take advantage of it.
ad. a little; a bit
E.g. They've also agreed to decorate their shop windows with slightly bigger manikins.
a. covered with or resembling slime or mess mud
E.g. A slimy substance covered the rocks.
v. be at an angle; incline; gradient
E.g. "Shucks! what do you want to slope for?" "Well, I am not used to that kind of a crowd."
n. a district of a city marked by poverty and inferior living conditions
E.g. The insects are found everywhere, from the homes of the wealthiest industrialists to the lowliest slum dweller.
a. clever; intelligent; showing mental alertness and calculation
E.g. In an age of smart missiles and precision-guided weaponry President Bush is going to have to rely upon good old-fashioned charm if he is to win over America's sceptical NATO allies.
n. air pollution by a mixture of smoke and fog
E.g. Smog can cause damage to your heart and lungs - even when you can't see or smell it in the air around you.
v. conceal or hide; envelop completely; extinguish; deprive of the oxygen necessary for combustion
E.g. They try to smother fires as soon as possible.
n. a mass of snow heaped up by the wind
E.g. The purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship between snowdrift and wind flow.
n. crystal of snow
E.g. These four pop-up snowflake greeting cards are easy to make.
n. a small secluded room; well and tightly constructed
E.g. Now and then they came upon snug nooks carpeted with grass and jeweled with flowers.
n. bottom; underside of foot or shoe or boot; bottom surface of a plow
E.g. The back of the sole is attached to the shoe by a semi-circle of nails driven from the outside.
v. become solid
E.g. Testimony from Rove's former assistant may solidify case that he misled leak inquiry.
a. composed or performed by a single voice or instrument; unaccompanied; single
E.g. After a long and anxious night waiting for just the right conditions for launch, Steve Fossett and his ground crew decided to go ahead with his latest attempt at a solo circumnavigation.
n. a musician who performs a single
E.g. Although there may be passages where only the soloist is playing, generally the solo part is accompanied by the orchestra.
a. able to be dissolved; able to be explained
E.g. Sugar is soluble in water; put a sugar cube in water and it will quickly dissolve.
v. cause to feel better; give moral or emotional strength to
E.g. This state of things should have been to me a paradise of peace; but, in fact, my racked nerves were now in such a state that no calm could soothe, and no pleasure excites them agreeably.
n. being expert or having knowledge of some technical subject
E.g. Understanding affine transformations requires considerable mathematical sophistication.
n. autonomy; independence
E.g. Iraq's Foreign Minister, Mr. Zebari let slip first thing this morning the news that it had been decided to bring forward the transfer of sovereignty to today.
n. a vehicle for travelling in space
E.g. Almost thirty years ago, NASA's Mariner Ten spacecraft took the most recent pictures we have of Mercury, revealing a rocky surface - wrinkled like an old apple.
n. any of several small dull-colored singing birds feeding on seeds or insects
E.g. The water stood in my eyes to hear this avowal of his dependence; just as if a royal eagle, chained to a perch, should be forced to entreat a sparrow to become its purveyor.
a. developed or designed for a special activity or function
E.g. We knew his specialized qualifications for the job.
n. a specific kind of something
E.g. I walked fast till I got warm, and then I walked slowly to enjoy and analyse the species of pleasure brooding for me in the hour and situation.
v. detail; designate
E.g. He didn't specify what crimes he was referring to, but said if proof was found, the police would ask for charges to be brought.
n. demonstration; show
E.g. It's Children's Day today; already they're limbering up to show off the dances that make this event such a spectacle.
n. colored band produced when beam of light passes through a prism; a range of values
E.g. The FCC plans to obtain spectrum from a number of sources, including the Wireless Communications Service Band and the Advanced Wireless Services Band.
v. assume to be true without conclusive evidence; engage in buying or selling of a commodity for profit
E.g. Now, as to whether some people will probably speculate is Fidel Castro coming back to power, I definitely wouldn't go that far, but I think we can fairly say that the Cuban government wants to project an image of him as alive and well
n. ball; globe; a particular aspect of life or activity
E.g. I feel more inclination to put you in the way of keeping yourself, and shall endeavor to do so; but observe, my sphere is narrow.
n. dark green leaves; cooked or raw in salads
E.g. The larger portion of dietary iron is absorbed slowly in its many food sources, including spinach.