Definitions
An Incomplete Selection Of Contemplative Definitions
A
absurdity | əbˈsərdədē, əbˈzərdədē |
noun
(plural absurdities)
the quality or state of being ridiculous or wildly unreasonable:
Duncan laughed at the absurdity of the situation | the absurdities of haute cuisine.
these artworks convey a sense of the absurdity of contemporary life:
preposterousness, ridiculousness, ludicrousness, incongruity, inappropriateness,
risibility, idiocy, stupidity, foolishness, folly, silliness, inanity, insanity;
unreasonableness, irrationality, illogicality, pointlessness, senselessness; informal craziness.
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agape 1 | əˈɡāp |
adjective [predicative]
(of the mouth) wide open, especially with surprise or wonder:
Downes listened, mouth agape with incredulity.
agape 2 | äˈɡäˌpā, ˈaɡəpā |
noun Theology
Christian love, especially as distinct from erotic love or emotional affection.
• a communal meal in token of Christian fellowship,
as held by early Christians in commemoration of the Last Supper.
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agnostic | aɡˈnästik |
noun
a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known
of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena;
a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God.
adjective
relating to agnostics or agnosticism.
• (in a nonreligious context) having a doubtful or noncommittal attitude toward something:
until now I've been fairly agnostic about electoral reform.
noun
as far as I know, Stevens was an atheist, or at least an agnostic:
skeptic, doubter, doubting Thomas, cynic;
unbeliever, nonbeliever, rationalist; rare nullifidian.
ANTONYMS believer, theist.
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anthropocentric | ˌanTHrəpəˈsentrik |
adjective
regarding humankind as the central or most important element of existence,
especially as opposed to God or animals.
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anthropomorphism | ˌanTHrəpəˈmôrfizəm |
noun
the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to a god, animal, or object.
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antimatter | ˈan(t)ēˌmadər, ˈanˌtīˌmadər |
noun
Physics: molecules formed by atoms consisting of antiprotons, antineutrons, and positrons.
Stable antimatter does not appear to exist in our universe.
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aphorism |ˈafəˌrizəm|
noun
a pithy observation that contains a general truth,
such as, “if it ain't broke, don't fix it.”
a concise statement of a scientific principle,
typically by an ancient classical author.
Origin: early 16th century:
from French aphorisme or late Latin aphorismus,
from Greek aphorismos ‘definition,’ from aphorizein ‘define.’
Thesaurus: she was a fount of Orwellian aphorisms:
saying, maxim, axiom, adage, epigram, dictum,
gnome, proverb, saw, tag; rare apophthegm.
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apologist | əˈpäləjəst |
noun
a person who offers an argument in defense of something controversial:
an enthusiastic apologist for fascism in the 1920s.
one of Eisenhower's better-known apologists:
defender, supporter, upholder, advocate, proponent, exponent, propagandist,
champion, campaigner; informal cheerleader.
ANTONYMS critic.
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arbitrary | ˈärbəˌtrerē |
adjective
based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system:
his mealtimes were entirely arbitrary.
• (of power or a ruling body) unrestrained and autocratic in the use of authority:
arbitrary rule by King and bishops has been made impossible.
• Mathematics (of a constant or other quantity) of unspecified value.
1 an arbitrary decision: capricious, whimsical, random, chance, unpredictable;
casual, wanton, unmotivated, motiveless, unreasoned, unsupported, irrational,
illogical, groundless, unjustified; personal, discretionary, subjective.
ANTONYMS reasoned, rational.
2 the arbitrary power of the prince: autocratic, dictatorial, autarchic,
undemocratic, despotic, tyrannical, authoritarian, high-handed;
absolute, uncontrolled, unlimited, unrestrained.
ANTONYMS democratic.
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ascetic | əˈsedik |
adjective
characterized by or suggesting the practice of severe self-discipline and abstention
from all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons:
an ascetic life of prayer, fasting, and manual labor | a narrow, humorless, ascetic face.
noun
a person who practices severe self-discipline and abstention.
adjective
an ascetic life:
austere, self-denying, abstinent, abstemious, self-disciplined, self-abnegating;
simple, puritanical, monastic; reclusive, eremitic, hermitic; celibate, chaste.
ANTONYMS sybaritic.
noun
a desert ascetic:
abstainer, puritan, recluse, hermit, anchorite, solitary;
fakir, Sufi, dervish, sadhu; archaic eremite.
ANTONYMS sybarite.
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assumption | əˈsəm(p)SH(ə)n |
noun
1 a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof:
they made certain assumptions about the market |
[with clause] : we're working on the assumption that the time of death was after midnight.
2 the action of taking or beginning to take power or responsibility:
the assumption of an active role in regional settlements.
3 (Assumption) the reception of the Virgin Mary bodily into heaven.
This was formally declared a doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church in 1950.
See also Dormition.
• the feast in honor of this, celebrated on August 15.
4 archaic arrogance or presumption.
1 an informed assumption: supposition, presumption, belief, expectation, conjecture, speculation,
surmise, guess, premise, hypothesis; conclusion, deduction, inference;
rare illation, notion, impression.
2 the assumption of power by revolutionaries: seizure, arrogation, appropriation,
expropriation, commandeering, confiscation, hijacking, wresting.
3 the early assumption of community obligation:
acceptance, shouldering, tackling, undertaking.
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atheism | ˈāTHēˌizəm |
noun
disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods.
atheism was not freely discussed in his community:
nonbelief, disbelief, unbelief, irreligion, skepticism, doubt, agnosticism; nihilism.
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atheist | ˈāTHēəst |
noun
a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of God or gods:
he is a committed atheist.
why is it often assumed that a man of science is probably an atheist?
nonbeliever, disbeliever, unbeliever, skeptic, doubter, doubting Thomas, agnostic; nihilist.
ANTONYMS believer.
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atom | ˈadəm |
noun
the basic unit of a chemical element.
• atoms as a source of nuclear energy: the power of the atom.
An atom, roughly 10-8 cm in diameter,
consists of a tiny, dense, positively charged nucleus made of neutrons and protons,
surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons.
Each chemical element consists of atoms that possess a characteristic number of protons. Atoms are held together in molecules by sharing electrons.
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autodidact | ˌôdōˈdīdakt |
noun
a self-taught person.
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awareness | əˈwernəs |
noun
knowledge or perception of a situation or fact:
we need to raise public awareness of the issue | there is a lack of awareness of the risks.
• concern about and well-informed interest in a particular situation or development:
a growing environmental awareness | his political awareness developed.
the level of public awareness is questionable:
consciousness, recognition, realization; understanding, grasp, appreciation, knowledge, insight;
familiarity; informal light-bulb moment; formal cognizance.
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attribute
verb | əˈtriˌbyo͞ot |
[with object] (attribute something to)
regard something as being caused by (someone or something):
he attributed the firm's success to the efforts of the managing director |
the bombing was attributed to the IRA.
• ascribe a work or remark to (a particular author, artist, or speaker):
the building was attributed to Frank Lloyd Wright.
• regard a quality or feature as characteristic of or possessed by (someone or something):
ancient peoples attributed magic properties to certain stones.
noun | ˈatrəˌbyo͞ot |
1 a quality or feature regarded as a characteristic or inherent part of someone or something:
flexibility and mobility are the key attributes of our army.
• a material object recognized as symbolic of a person,
especially a conventional object used in art to identify a saint or mythical figure.
2 Computing a piece of information which determines the properties
of a field or tag in a database or a string of characters in a display.
3 Grammar an attributive adjective or noun.
4 Statistics a real property which a statistical analysis is attempting to describe.
verb
they attributed their success to him:
ascribe to, assign to, accredit to, credit to, impute to; put down to, chalk up to;
hold responsible for, blame on, pin on; connect with, associate with.
noun
1 he has all the attributes of a top player:
quality, characteristic, trait, feature, element, aspect, property,
sign, hallmark, mark, distinction; informal X factor.
2 the hourglass is the attribute of Father Time:
symbol, mark, sign, hallmark, trademark.
B
belief | bəˈlēf |
noun
1 an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists:
his belief in the value of hard work | a belief that solitude nourishes creativity.
• something one accepts as true or real; a firmly held opinion or conviction:
we're prepared to fight for our beliefs |
contrary to popular belief, Aramaic is a living language.
• a religious conviction: Christian beliefs |
I'm afraid to say belief has gone | local beliefs and customs.
2 (belief in) trust, faith, or confidence in someone or something:
a belief in democratic politics | I've still got belief in myself.
1 it's my belief that age is irrelevant: opinion, view, conviction, judgment,
thinking, way of thinking, idea, impression, theory, conclusion, notion.
2 belief in the value of hard work: faith, trust, reliance, confidence, credence.
ANTONYMS disbelief, doubt.
3 traditional beliefs: ideology, principle, ethic, tenet, canon;
doctrine, teaching, dogma, article of faith, creed, credo.
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believer | bəˈlēvər |
noun
1 a person who believes that a specified thing is effective, proper, or desirable:
a firm believer that party politics has no place in local government | a believer in ghosts.
2 an adherent of a particular religion; someone with religious faith.
a cause with few believers:
devotee, adherent, disciple, follower, supporter.
ANTONYMS infidel, skeptic.
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biology | bīˈäləjē | (abbreviation biol.)
noun
the study of living organisms, divided into many specialized fields
that cover their morphology, physiology, anatomy, behavior, origin, and distribution.
• the plants and animals of a particular area: the biology of Chesapeake Bay.
• the physiology, behavior, and other qualities of a particular organism
or class of organisms: human biology.
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bliss | blis |
noun
perfect happiness; great joy:
she gave a sigh of bliss.
• a state of spiritual blessedness, typically that reached after death.
verb
[no object] informal (bliss out or be blissed out) reach a state of perfect happiness,
typically so as to be oblivious of everything else: [as adjective] : blissed-out hippies.
noun
1 she gave a sigh of bliss:
joy, happiness, pleasure, delight, ecstasy, elation, rapture, euphoria.
ANTONYMS misery.
2 religions promise perfect bliss after death:
blessedness, benediction, beatitude, glory, heavenly joy, divine happiness; heaven, paradise.
ANTONYMS hell.
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Brahman | ˈbrɑːmən |
noun
(plural Brahmans)
1 (also Brahmin) a member of the highest Hindu caste,
originally that of the priesthood: [as modifier] : a Brahman family.
2 [mass noun] the ultimate reality underlying all phenomena in the Hindu scriptures:
Brahman is formless but is the birthplace of all forms in visible reality.
ORIGIN from Sanskrit brāhmaṇa (Brahman (sense 1) ),
brahman (Brahman (sense 2) ).
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Buddha | ˈbo͝odə | (often the Buddha)
a title given to the founder of Buddhism, Siddartha Gautama (c. 563–c. 460 bc).
Born a prince in what is now Nepal, he renounced wealth and family to become an ascetic,
and after achieving enlightenment while meditating, taught all who came to learn from him.
• (as noun a buddha) Buddhism a person who has attained full enlightenment.
• a statue or picture of the Buddha.
ORIGIN Sanskrit, literally ‘enlightened’, past participle of budh ‘know’.
C
cancer |ˈkansər|
noun
the disease caused by an uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in a part of the body:
he's got cancer | smoking is the major cause of lung cancer.
• a malignant growth or tumor resulting from the division of abnormal cells:
most skin cancers are curable.
• a practice or phenomenon perceived to be evil or destructive and hard to contain or eradicate:
racism is a cancer sweeping across Europe.
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caste | kast |
noun
each of the hereditary classes of Hindu society,
distinguished by relative degrees of ritual purity or pollution and of social status:
members of the lower castes | a man of high caste.
• the system of dividing society into hereditary classes.
• any class or group of people who inherit exclusive privileges or are perceived as socially distinct:
those educated in private schools belong to a privileged caste.
• Entomology (in some social insects) a physically distinct individual
with a particular function in the society.
There are four basic classes, or varnas, in Hindu society:
Brahman (priest), Kshatriya (warrior), Vaishya (merchant or farmer), and Shudra (laborer).
she could not marry outside her caste:
class, social class, social order, rank, level, stratum, echelon, status; dated estate, station.
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chemistry | ˈkeməstrē | (abbreviation chem.)
noun
(plural chemistries)
the branch of science that deals with the identification of the substances of which matter is composed; the investigation of their properties and the ways in which they interact, combine, and change; and the use of these processes to form new substances.
• the chemical composition and properties of a substance or body: the chemistry of soil.
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civil | ˈsiv(ə)l |
adjective
1 [attributive]
relating to ordinary citizens and their concerns,
as distinct from military or ecclesiastical matters: civil aviation.
• (of disorder or conflict) occurring between citizens of the same country.
• Law relating to private relations between members of a community; noncriminal: a civil action.
• Law relating to civil law.
2 courteous and polite: we tried to be civil to him.
3 (of time measurement or a point in time) fixed by custom or law
rather than being natural or astronomical: civil twilight starts at sunset.
1 a civil marriage: secular, nonreligious, lay; formal laic.
ANTONYMS religious.
2 civil aviation: nonmilitary, civilian.
ANTONYMS military.
3 a civil war: internal, domestic, interior, national.
ANTONYMS international, foreign.
4 he behaved in a civil manner: polite, courteous,
well mannered, well bred, chivalrous, gallant;
cordial, genial, pleasant, affable; gentlemanly, ladylike.
ANTONYMS discourteous, rude.
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civilization | ˌsivələˈzāSH(ə)n |
noun
the stage of human social development and organization
which is considered most advanced:
they equated the railroad with progress and civilization.
• the process by which a society or place reaches an advanced stage
of social development and organization.
• the society, culture, and way of life of a particular area:
the great books of Western civilization |
the early civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt.
• the comfort and convenience of modern life,
regarded as available only in towns and cities:
the fur traders moved further and further from civilization.
1 a higher stage of civilization:
human development, advancement, progress, enlightenment,
culture, refinement, sophistication.
2 ancient civilizations: culture, society, nation, people.
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common sense | ˌkämən ˈsens |
noun
good sense and sound judgment in practical matters:
[as modifier] : a common-sense approach | use your common sense.
I had the common sense to phone an ambulance instead of yelling at him to get up:
good sense, sense, native wit, sensibleness, judgment, levelheadedness, prudence, discernment,
canniness, astuteness, shrewdness, wisdom, insight, perception, perspicacity;
practicality, capability, resourcefulness, enterprise;
informal horse sense, gumption, savvy, smarts, street smarts.
ANTONYMS folly.
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compassion | kəmˈpaSHən |
noun
sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others:
the victims should be treated with compassion.
have you no compassion for a fellow human being?
pity, sympathy, empathy, fellow feeling, care, concern, solicitude, sensitivity, warmth,
love, tenderness, mercy, leniency, tolerance, kindness, humanity, charity.
ANTONYMS indifference, cruelty.
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conditioning | kənˈdɪʃənɪŋ |
noun
1 check the condition of your wiring: state, shape, order.
2 they lived in appalling conditions:
circumstances, surroundings, environment, situation, setup, setting, habitat.
3 she was in top condition: fitness, health, form, shape, trim, fettle.
4 a liver condition:
disorder, problem, complaint, illness, disease, ailment, sickness, affliction, infection, upset.
5 a condition of membership:
stipulation, constraint, prerequisite, precondition, requirement,
rule, term, specification, provision, proviso.
verb
1 their choices are conditioned by the economy:
constrain, control, govern, determine, decide; affect, touch; form, shape, guide, sway, bias.
2 our minds are conditioned by habit:
train, teach, educate, guide; accustom, adapt, habituate, mold, inure.
3 condition the boards with water:
treat, prepare, prime, temper, process, acclimatize, acclimate, season.
4 a product to condition your skin:
improve, nourish, tone (up), moisturize.
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conscience | ˈkän(t)SHəns |
noun
an inner feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide
to the rightness or wrongness of one's behavior:
he had a guilty conscience about his desires | Ben was suffering a pang of conscience.
her conscience would not allow her to remain silent:
sense of right and wrong, moral sense, inner voice;
morals, standards, values, principles, ethics, beliefs;
compunction, scruples, qualms.
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consciousness | ˈkän(t)SHəsnəs |
noun
the state of being awake and aware of one's surroundings:
she failed to regain consciousness and died two days later.
• the awareness or perception of something by a person:
her acute consciousness of Mike's presence.
• the fact of awareness by the mind of itself and the world:
consciousness emerges from the operations of the brain.
1 she failed to regain consciousness:
awareness, wakefulness, alertness, responsiveness, sentience.
ANTONYMS unconsciousness.
2 her acute consciousness of Luke's presence:
awareness of, knowledge of the existence of, alertness to, sensitivity to, realization of,
cognizance of, mindfulness of, perception of, apprehension of, recognition of.
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contemplation | ˌkän(t)əmˈplāSH(ə)n |
noun
the action of looking thoughtfully at something for a long time:
the road is too busy for leisurely contemplation of the scenery.
• deep reflective thought: he would retire to his room for study or contemplation.
• the state of being thought about or planned.
• religious meditation.
• (in Christian spirituality) a form of prayer or meditation
in which a person seeks to pass beyond mental images and concepts
to a direct experience of the divine.
1 the contemplation of beautiful objects:
viewing, examination, inspection, observation, survey, study, scrutiny.
2 the monks sat in quiet contemplation:
thought, reflection, meditation, consideration, rumination, deliberation,
reverie, introspection, brown study; formal cogitation, cerebration.
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cosmopolitan | ˌkäzməˈpälətn |
adjective
including or containing people from many different countries:
immigration transformed the city into a cosmopolitan metropolis.
• familiar with and at ease in many different countries and cultures:
his knowledge of French, Italian, and Spanish made him genuinely cosmopolitan.
• having an exciting and glamorous character associated with travel and a mixture of cultures:
their designs became a byword for cosmopolitan chic.
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cult | kəlt |
noun
a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object:
the cult of St. Olaf.
• a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices
regarded by others as strange or sinister: a network of Satan-worshiping cults.
• a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing:
a cult of personality surrounding the leaders.
• [usually as modifier] a person or thing that is popular or fashionable,
especially among a particular section of society: a cult film.
1 a religious cult: sect, denomination, group, movement,
church, persuasion, body, faction.
2 the cult of eternal youth in Hollywood:
obsession with, fixation on, mania for, passion for, idolization of,
devotion to, worship of, veneration of.
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culture | ˈkəlCHər |
noun
1 the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively:
20th century popular culture.
• a refined understanding or appreciation of culture: men of culture.
2 the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements
of a particular nation, people, or other social group:
Caribbean culture | people from many different cultures.
• [with modifier] the attitudes and behavior characteristic of a particular social group:
the emerging drug culture.
3 Biology the cultivation of bacteria, tissue cells, etc.
in an artificial medium containing nutrients:
the cells proliferate readily in culture.
• a preparation of cells obtained from a culture:
the bacterium was isolated in two blood cultures.
4 the cultivation of plants: this variety of lettuce is popular for its ease of culture.
verb [with object] Biology
maintain (tissue cells, bacteria, etc.) in conditions suitable for growth.
1 exposing their children to culture: the arts, the humanities, intellectual achievement; literature, music, painting, philosophy, the performing arts.
2 a man of culture: intellectual/artistic awareness, education, cultivation, enlightenment,
discernment, discrimination, good taste, taste, refinement, polish, sophistication.
3 Afro-Caribbean culture: civilization, society, way of life,
lifestyle; customs, traditions, heritage, habits, ways, mores, values.
4 the culture of crops: cultivation, farming; agriculture, husbandry, agronomy.
Quote: Culture may even be described simply as that which makes life worth living.
T. S. Eliot Notes Towards a Definition of Culture (1948)
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cynicism | ˈsinəˌsizəm |
noun
1 an inclination to believe that people are motivated purely by self-interest;
skepticism: public cynicism about politics.
• an inclination to question whether something will happen or whether it is worthwhile; pessimism: cynicism about the future.
2 (Cynicism) a school of ancient Greek philosophers, the Cynics.
theirs was a childhood of absent parents and broken promises, so cynicism was hardly a surprise:
skepticism, doubt, distrust, mistrust, suspicion, disbelief; pessimism,
negativity, world-weariness, disenchantment.
ANTONYMS idealism.
D
dark energy
noun
Physics: a theoretical repulsive force that counteracts gravity
and causes the universe to expand at an accelerating rate:
Einstein's theories allow for the possible existence of dark energy.
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deism | ˈdēˌizəm, ˈdāˌizəm |
noun
belief in the existence of a supreme being,
specifically of a creator who does not intervene in the universe.
The term is used chiefly of an intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries
that accepted the existence of a creator on the basis of reason
but rejected belief in a supernatural deity who interacts with humankind.
Compare with theism.
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deity | ˈdēədē, ˈdāədē |
noun
(plural deities)
a god or goddess (in a polytheistic religion): a deity of ancient Greece.
• divine status, quality, or nature: a ruler driven by delusions of deity.
• (usually the Deity) the creator and supreme being (in a monotheistic religion such as Christianity).
• a representation of a god or goddess, such as a statue or carving.
the deities of ancient Greece:
god, goddess, divine being, supreme being, divinity, immortal;
creator, demiurge; godhead.
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delusion | dəˈlo͞oZHən |
noun
an idiosyncratic belief or impression that is firmly maintained
despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument,
typically a symptom of mental disorder: the delusion of being watched.
• the action of deluding or the state of being deluded:
what a capacity television has for delusion.
was her belief in his fidelity just a delusion?
misapprehension, misconception, misunderstanding, mistake, error,
misinterpretation, misconstruction, misbelief; fallacy, illusion, fantasy.
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democracy | dəˈmäkrəsē |
noun
(plural democracies)
a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state,
typically through elected representatives:
capitalism and democracy are ascendant in the third world.
• a state governed by a democracy:
a multiparty democracy.
• control of an organization or group by the majority of its members:
the intended extension of industrial democracy.
• the practice or principles of social equality:
demands for greater democracy.
freedom of speech is essential to democracy:
representative government, elective government;
self-government, government by the people; republic, commonwealth.
ANTONYMS dictatorship.
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desultory | ˈdesəlˌtôrē |
adjective
lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm:
a few people were left, dancing in a desultory fashion.
• (of conversation or speech) going constantly
from one subject to another in a halfhearted way;
unfocused: the desultory conversation faded.
• occurring randomly or occasionally:
desultory passengers were appearing.
the desultory interest you have in your child's welfare is appalling:
casual, cursory, superficial, token, perfunctory, halfhearted, lukewarm;
random, aimless, erratic, unmethodical, unsystematic, chaotic,
inconsistent, irregular, intermittent, sporadic, fitful.
ANTONYMS keen.
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dialectic | ˌdīəˈlektik | Philosophy
noun
(also dialectics) [usually treated as singular]
1 the art of investigating or discussing the truth of opinions.
2 inquiry into metaphysical contradictions and their solutions.
• the existence or action of opposing social forces, concepts, etc.
The ancient Greeks used the term dialectic to refer to various methods
of reasoning and discussion in order to discover the truth.
More recently, Kant applied the term to the criticism of the contradictions that arise
from supposing knowledge of objects beyond the limits of experience, e.g., the soul.
Hegel applied the term to the process of thought by which apparent contradictions
(which he termed thesis and antithesis) are seen to be part of a higher truth (synthesis).
feminism has of course contributed to this dialectic:
discussion, debate, dialogue, logical argument, reasoning,
argumentation, polemics; formal ratiocination.
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dichotomy | dīˈkädəmē |
noun
(plural dichotomies) [usually in singular]
a division or contrast between two things that are
or are represented as being opposed or entirely different:
a rigid dichotomy between science and mysticism.
• Botany repeated branching into two equal parts.
the great dichotomy between theory and practice:
contrast, difference, polarity, conflict; gulf, chasm, division, separation, split; rare contrariety.
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disingenuous | ˌdisənˈjenyo͞oəs |
adjective
not candid or sincere, typically by pretending
that one knows less about something than one really does.
that innocent, teary-eyed look is just part of a disingenuous act:
insincere, dishonest, untruthful, false, deceitful,
duplicitous, lying, mendacious; hypocritical.
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dogma | ˈdôɡmə |
noun
a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true:
the rejection of political dogma | the Christian dogma of the Trinity.
a dogma of the Sikh religion:
teaching, belief, tenet, principle, precept, maxim, article of faith,
canon; creed, credo, set of beliefs, doctrine, ideology.
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doubt | dout |
noun
a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction:
some doubt has been cast upon the authenticity of this account |
they had doubts that they would ever win.
verb
1 [with object] feel uncertain about: I doubt my ability to do the job.
• question the truth or fact of (something): who can doubt the value of these services? |
[with clause] : I doubt if anyone slept that night.
• disbelieve (a person or their word): I have no reason to doubt him.
• [no object] feel uncertain, especially about one's religious beliefs.
2 [with clause] archaic fear; be afraid: I doubt not your contradictions.
noun
1 there was some doubt as to the caller's identity:
uncertainty, unsureness, indecision, hesitation, dubiousness, suspicion, confusion;
queries, questions; formal dubiety.
ANTONYMS certainty.
2 a weak leader racked by doubt:
indecision, hesitation, uncertainty, insecurity, unease, uneasiness, apprehension;
hesitancy, vacillation, irresolution.
ANTONYMS confidence, conviction.
3 there is doubt about their motives:
skepticism, distrust, mistrust, doubtfulness, suspicion, cynicism,
uneasiness, apprehension, wariness, chariness, leeriness;
reservations, misgivings, suspicions; formal dubiety.
ANTONYMS trust.
verb
1 they doubted my story:
disbelieve, distrust, mistrust, suspect, have doubts about, be suspicious of,
have misgivings about, have qualms about, feel uneasy about,
feel apprehensive about, query, question, challenge.
ANTONYMS trust.
2 I doubt whether he will come:
think something unlikely, have (one's) doubts about, question, query, be dubious.
ANTONYMS be confident.
3 stop doubting and believe!
be undecided, have doubts, be irresolute, be ambivalent, be doubtful, be unsure,
be uncertain, be of two minds, hesitate, shilly-shally, waver, vacillate.
ANTONYMS believe.
* * * *
drama | ˈdrämə |
noun
1 a play for theater, radio, or television:
a gritty urban drama about growing up in Harlem.
• drama as a genre or style of literature: Renaissance drama.
2 an exciting, emotional, or unexpected series of events or set of circumstances:
a hostage drama | an afternoon of high drama at Fenway Park.
1 a television drama: play, show, piece, theatrical work, dramatization.
2 he is studying drama:
acting, the theater, the stage, the performing arts, dramatic art(s), stagecraft.
3 she liked to create a drama:
incident, scene, spectacle, crisis; excitement, thrill, sensation;
disturbance, commotion, turmoil; dramatics, theatrics.
* * * *
duality | d(y)o͞oˈalədē |
noun
(plural dualities)
1 the quality or condition of being dual:
the novel's deep duality about human motive.
• Mathematics the property of two theorems, expressions, etc.,
of being dual to each other.
• Physics the quantum-mechanical property
of being regardable as both a wave and a particle.
2 an instance of opposition or contrast
between two concepts or two aspects of something;
a dualism:
the photographs capitalize on the dualities of light and dark, stillness and movement.
there was a duality in her feelings towards Johnny:
doubleness, dualism, duplexity, ambivalence;
dichotomy, polarity, separation, opposition, difference.
E
ego | ˈēɡō |
noun
(plural egos)
a person's sense of self-esteem or self-importance: a boost to my ego.
• Psychoanalysis the part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and the unconscious
and is responsible for reality testing and a sense of personal identity.
Compare with id and superego.
• Philosophy (in metaphysics) a conscious thinking subject.
the defeat was a bruise to his ego:
self-esteem, self-importance, self-worth, self-respect, self-image, self-confidence.
* * * *
electromagnetic spectrum | əˌlektrōmaɡˈnetik | | ˈspektrəm |
noun
Physics: the range of wavelengths or frequencies
over which electromagnetic radiation extends.
* * * *
egocentric | ˌēɡōˈsentrik |
adjective
thinking only of oneself, without regard for the feelings or desires of others;
self-centered: their egocentric tendency to think of themselves as invulnerable.
• centered in or arising from a person's own existence or perspective:
egocentric spatial perception.
Ivy has finally outgrown her egocentric friends:
self-centered, egomaniacal, egoistic, egotistic, self-interested, selfish,
self-seeking, self-absorbed, narcissistic, vain, self-important.
ANTONYMS altruistic.
* * * *
egotism | ˈēɡəˌtizəm |
noun
the practice of talking and thinking about oneself excessively
because of an undue sense of self-importance:
in his arrogance and egotism, he underestimated Jill.
Darla's egotism will always thwart her chances for a lasting relationship:
self-centeredness, egomania, egocentricity, self-interest, selfishness, self-seeking,
self-serving, self-regard, self-love, narcissism, self-admiration,
vanity, conceit, self-importance; boastfulness.
* * * *
emotion | əˈmōSH(ə)n |
noun
a natural instinctive state of mind
deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others:
she was attempting to control her emotions |
his voice was low and shaky with emotion |
fear had become his dominant emotion.
• instinctive or intuitive feeling as distinguished from reasoning or knowledge:
responses have to be based on historical insight, not simply on emotion.
1 she was good at hiding her emotions:
feeling, sentiment; reaction, response.
2 overcome by emotion, she turned away:
passion, strength of feeling, warmth of feeling.
3 responses based purely on emotion:
instinct, intuition, gut feeling; sentiment, the heart.
* * * *
energy | ˈenərjē |
noun
(plural energies)
Physics: the property of matter and radiation
which is manifest as a capacity to perform work
(such as causing motion or the interaction of molecules):
a collision in which no energy is transferred.
• a degree or level of energy possessed by something or required by a process:
gamma rays at different energies.
* * * *
enlightenment | inˈlītnmənt, enˈlītnmənt |
noun
1 the action of enlightening or the state of being enlightened:
Robbie looked to me for enlightenment.
• the action or state of attaining or having attained spiritual knowledge or insight,
in particular (in Buddhism) that awareness which frees a person from the cycle of rebirth.
2 (the Enlightenment) a European intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries
emphasizing reason and individualism rather than tradition.
It was heavily influenced by 17th-century philosophers such as Descartes, Locke, and Newton,
and its prominent exponents include Kant, Goethe, Voltaire, Rousseau, and Adam Smith.
sharing her musical enlightenment with her children:
insight, understanding, awareness, wisdom, education, learning, knowledge;
illumination, awakening, instruction, teaching; sophistication, advancement, development,
open-mindedness, broad-mindedness; culture, refinement, cultivation, civilization.
* * * *
ephemeral | əˈfem(ə)rəl |
adjective
lasting for a very short time: fashions are ephemeral.
• (chiefly of plants) having a very short life cycle.
last year's ephemeral fashions:
transitory, transient, fleeting, passing, short-lived, momentary, brief, short;
temporary, impermanent, short-term; fly-by-night.
ANTONYMS permanent.
* * * *
Epicureanism | ˌepəkyəˈrēəˌnizəm, ˌepəˈkyo͝orēəˌnizəm |
| ˌepəkyəˈrēəˌnizəm, ˌepəˈkyo͝orēəˌnizəm |
noun
an ancient school of philosophy founded in Athens by Epicurus.
The school rejected determinism and advocated hedonism (pleasure as the highest good),
but of a restrained kind: mental pleasure was regarded more highly than physical,
and the ultimate pleasure was held to be freedom from anxiety and mental pain,
especially that arising from needless fear of death and of the gods.
* * * *
epiphany | əˈpifənē |
noun
(plural epiphanies) (also Epiphany)
the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi (Matthew 2:1–12).
• the festival commemorating the Epiphany on January 6.
• a manifestation of a divine or supernatural being.
• a moment of sudden revelation or insight.
* * * *
es·o·ter·ic| ˌesəˈterik |
adjective
intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people
with a specialized knowledge or interest: esoteric philosophical debates.
the question is dominated by esoteric debate:
abstruse, obscure, arcane, recherché, rarefied, recondite, abstract, difficult, hard,
puzzling, perplexing, enigmatic, inscrutable, cryptic, Delphic;
complex, complicated, involved, over/above one's head, incomprehensible, opaque,
unfathomable, impenetrable, mysterious, occult, little known, hidden,
secret, private, mystic, magical, cabbalistic;
rare involuted.
ANTONYMS simple; familiar
* * * *
eternal | əˈtərn(ə)l |
adjective
lasting or existing forever; without end or beginning:
the secret of eternal youth | fear of eternal damnation.
• (of truths, values, or questions) valid for all time;
essentially unchanging: eternal truths of art and life.
• informal seeming to last or persist forever,
especially on account of being tedious or annoying:
eternal nagging demands | she is an eternal optimist.
• used to emphasize expressions of admiration, gratitude, or other feelings:
to his eternal credit, he maintained his dignity throughout.
• (the Eternal) used to refer to an everlasting or universal spirit, as represented by God.
1 eternal happiness: everlasting, never-ending, endless, perpetual,
undying, immortal, abiding, permanent, enduring,
infinite, boundless, timeless; amaranthine.
ANTONYMS transient.
2 eternal vigilance: constant, continual, continuous, perpetual, persistent,
sustained, unremitting, relentless, unrelieved, uninterrupted, unbroken,
never-ending, nonstop, around/round-the-clock, endless, ceaseless.
ANTONYMS intermittent.
* * * *
eternity | əˈtərnədē |
noun
(plural eternities)
infinite or unending time:
their love was sealed for eternity |
this state of affairs has lasted for all eternity.
• a state to which time has no application; timelessness.
• Theology endless life after death: immortal souls destined for eternity.
• used euphemistically to refer to death:
he could have crashed the car and taken them both to eternity.
• (an eternity) informal a period of time that seems very long,
especially on account of being tedious or annoying:
a silence that lasted an eternity.
1 the memory will remain for eternity: ever, all time, perpetuity.
2 Theology souls destined for eternity:
the afterlife, everlasting life, life after death, the hereafter, the afterworld, the next world;
heaven, paradise, immortality.
3 informal I waited an eternity for you:
a long time, an age, ages, a lifetime; hours, years, eons; forever;
informal donkey's years, a month of Sundays, a coon's age.
* * * *
ethics | ˈeTHiks |
plural noun
1 [usually treated as plural] moral principles
that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity:
medical ethics also enter into the question | a code of ethics.
• the moral correctness of specified conduct:
many scientists question the ethics of cruel experiments.
2 [usually treated as singular] the branch of knowledge that deals with moral principles.
Schools of ethics in Western philosophy can be divided, very roughly, into three sorts.
The first, drawing on the work of Aristotle,
holds that the virtues (such as justice, charity, and generosity)
are dispositions to act in ways that benefit both the person possessing them
and that person's society.
The second, defended particularly by Kant,
makes the concept of duty central to morality:
humans are bound, from a knowledge of their duty as rational beings,
to obey the categorical imperative to respect other rational beings.
Thirdly, utilitarianism asserts that the guiding principle of conduct
should be the greatest happiness or benefit of the greatest number.
your so-called newspaper is clearly not burdened by a sense of ethics:
moral code, morals, morality, values, rights and wrongs, principles, ideals,
standards (of behavior), value system, virtues, dictates of conscience.
* * * *
ethnocentric | ˌeTHnōˈsentrik |
adjective
evaluating other peoples and cultures according to the standards of one's own culture.
* * * *
evolution | ˌiːvəˈluːʃ(ə)n, ˈɛvəluːʃ(ə)n |
noun
1 the evolution of language: development, advancement, growth, rise,
progress, expansion, unfolding; transformation, adaptation, modification, revision.
2 his interest in evolution: Darwinism, natural selection.
The idea of organic evolution was proposed by some ancient Greek thinkers
but was long rejected in Europe as contrary to the literal interpretation of the Bible.
Lamarck proposed a theory that organisms became transformed
by their efforts to respond to the demands of their environment.
Lyell demonstrated that geological deposits
were the cumulative product of slow processes over vast ages.
This helped Darwin towards a theory of gradual evolution
over a long period by the natural selection of those varieties of an organism
slightly better adapted to the environment and hence more likely to produce descendants.
Combined with the later discoveries of the cellular and molecular basis of genetics,
Darwin's theory of evolution has, with some modification,
become the dominant unifying concept of modern biology.
A reflection by Joshua Ferris: Evolution implies in its most fundamental form
an organism’s natural progression over the course of time, either by accident or by adaption.
This is quite different from how Darwinism has come to be used,
to the point that I would argue they are not really relatable.
In its most fundamental form, Darwinism implies a cutthroat competition
among any two things to guarantee the survival of the fittest.
While an organism may evolve over time by means of some natural and self-sustaining mechanism, something locked in Darwinian struggle prevails over its terrestrial competition
through shrewd, violent, and/or unnatural means.
The difference has implications for certain judgments
moral, scientific, and metaphysical – we make about the world.
Darwinism frequently implies an agent, usually a human one,
aggressively seeking to triumph, while evolution is a process typically but not always
correctly assumed to be beneficial but godless, lacking an agent.
Those who might readily encourage a Darwinian wrestling match
might be expected to dismiss evolution out of hand.
(The senator from Kansas engaged in a Darwinian campaign to keep evolution out of the schools.)
* * * *
excellence | ˈeks(ə)ləns |
noun
the quality of being outstanding or extremely good:
a center of academic excellence | the award for excellence in engineering.
• archaic an outstanding feature or quality.
a center of medical excellence:
distinction, quality, superiority, brilliance, greatness, merit, caliber, eminence, preeminence, supremacy;
skill, talent, virtuosity, accomplishment, mastery.
Areté (Greek: ἀρετή), in its basic sense, means "excellence of any kind".
The term may also mean "moral virtue".
In its earliest appearance in Greek, this notion of excellence
was ultimately bound up with the notion of the fulfillment of purpose or function:
the act of living up to one's full potential.
Robert M. Pirsig, On the Nature of Areté,
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance:
The hero of the Odyssey is a great fighter, a wily schemer,
a ready speaker, a man of stout heart and broad wisdom
who knows that he must endure without too much complaining what the gods send;
and he can both build and sail a boat, drive a furrow as straight as anyone,
beat a young braggart at throwing the discus,
challenge the Pheacian youth at boxing, wrestling, or running;
flay, skin, cut up and cook an ox, and be moved to tears by a song.
He is in fact an excellent all-rounder; he has surpassing areté.
Areté implies a respect for the wholeness or oneness of life, nd a consequent dislike of specialization.
It implies a contempt for efficiency … or rather a much higher idea of efficiency,
an efficiency which exists not in one department of life but in life itself.
* * * *
exist | iɡˈzist |
verb [no object]
1 have objective reality or being:
there existed no organization to cope with espionage |
remains of these baths still exist on the south side of the Pantheon.
• be found, especially in a particular place or situation:
two conflicting stereotypes of housework exist in popular thinking today.
2 live, especially under adverse conditions:
only a minority of people exist on unemployment benefits alone |
how am I going to exist without you?
* * * *
ex·ist·ence | iɡˈzistəns |
noun
the fact or state of living or having objective reality:
the plane was the oldest Boeing remaining in existence |
the need to acknowledge the existence of a problem.
• continued survival:
she helped to keep the company alive when its very existence was threatened.
• a way of living: living in a city was more expensive than a rural existence.
• any of a person's supposed current, future, or past lives on this earth:
reaping the consequences of evil deeds sown in previous existences.
• all that exists: he believed in the essential unity of all existence.
• archaic a being or entity.
* * * *
existential | ˌeɡzəˈsten(t)SH(ə)l |
adjective
relating to existence.
• Philosophy concerned with existence,
especially human existence as viewed in the theories of existentialism.
• Logic (of a proposition) affirming or implying the existence of a thing.
* * * *
existentialism | ˌeɡzəˈsten(t)SHəˌlizəm |
noun
a philosophical theory or approach which emphasizes the existence of the individual person
as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will.
Generally taken to originate with Kierkegaard and Nietzsche,
existentialism tends to be atheistic
(although there is a strand of Christian existentialism deriving from the work of Kierkegaard),
to disparage scientific knowledge, and to deny the existence of objective values,
stressing instead the reality and significance of human freedom and experience.
The approach was developed chiefly in 20th-century Europe,
notably by Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, and Simone de Beauvoir.
* * * *
experience | ˌikˈspirēəns |
noun
practical contact with and observation of facts or events:
he had already learned his lesson by painful experience | he spoke from experience.
• the knowledge or skill acquired by experience over a period of time,
especially that gained in a particular profession by someone at work:
older men whose experience could be called upon | candidates with the necessary experience.
• an event or occurrence that leaves an impression on someone:
for the younger players it has been a learning experience.
verb [with object]
encounter or undergo (an event or occurrence):
the company is experiencing difficulties.
• feel (an emotion): an opportunity to experience the excitement of New York.
noun
1 qualifications and experience:
skill, knowledge, practical knowledge, understanding;
background, record, history; maturity, worldliness, sophistication;
informal know-how.
2 an enjoyable experience:
incident, occurrence, event, happening, episode;
adventure, exploit, escapade.
3 his first experience of business:
involvement in, participation in, contact with, acquaintance with,
exposure to, observation of, awareness of, insight into.
verb
some policemen experience harassment:
undergo, encounter, meet, come into contact with, come across,
come up against, face, be faced with.
* * * *
experiment | ikˈsperəmənt |
noun
a scientific procedure undertaken to make a discovery,
test a hypothesis, or demonstrate a known fact:
I have tested this by experiment | laboratory experiments on guinea pigs.
• a course of action tentatively adopted without being sure of the eventual outcome:
the previous experiment in liberal democracy had ended in disaster.
verb
[no object] perform a scientific procedure,
especially in a laboratory, to determine something:
she experimented on chickens as well as mice.
• try out new concepts or ways of doing things:
the designers experimented with new ideas in lighting.
noun
1 carrying out experiments:
test, investigation, trial, examination, observation;
assessment, evaluation, appraisal, analysis, study.
2 these results have been established by experiment: research, experimentation, observation, analysis, testing.
verb
they experimented with new ideas:
conduct experiments, carry out trials/tests, conduct research;
test, trial, do tests on, try out, assess, appraise, evaluate.
F
fallacy | ˈfaləsē |
noun
(plural fallacies)
a mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound argument:
the notion that the camera never lies is a fallacy.
• Logic a failure in reasoning which renders an argument invalid.
• faulty reasoning; misleading or unsound argument:
the potential for fallacy which lies behind the notion of self-esteem.
the fallacy that the sun moves round the earth:
misconception, misbelief, delusion, mistaken impression, error, misapprehension,
misinterpretation, misconstruction, mistake; untruth, inconsistency, myth.
* * * *
fortitude | ˈfôrdəˌt(y)o͞od |
noun
courage in pain or adversity:
she endured her illness with great fortitude.
courage, bravery, endurance, resilience, mettle, moral fiber,
strength of mind, strength of character, strong-mindedness,
backbone, spirit, grit, true grit, doughtiness, steadfastness
* * * *
frame of reference |freɪm əv|
noun
a set of criteria or stated values
in relation to which measurements or judgments can be made:
the observer interprets what he sees in terms of his own cultural frame of reference.
* * * *
freedom | ˈfrēdəm |
noun
the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint:
we do have some freedom of choice | he talks of revoking some of the freedoms.
• absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government:
he was a champion of Irish freedom.
• the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved:
the shark thrashed its way to freedom.
• the state of being physically unrestricted and able to move easily:
the shorts have a side split for freedom of movement.
• (freedom from) the state of not being subject to
or affected by (a particular undesirable thing):
government policies to achieve freedom from want.
• the power of self-determination attributed to the will;
the quality of being independent of fate or necessity.
• unrestricted use of something:
the dog is happy having the freedom of the house when we are out.
• archaic familiarity or openness in speech or behavior.
1 a desperate bid for freedom:
liberty, liberation, release, deliverance, delivery, discharge;
literary disenthrallment; historical manumission.
ANTONYMS captivity.
2 revolution was the only path to freedom:
independence, self-government, self-determination, self-rule, home rule,
sovereignty, nonalignment, autonomy; democracy.
ANTONYMS dependence.
3 freedom from local political accountability:
exemption, immunity, dispensation; impunity.
ANTONYMS liability.
4 freedom to choose your course of treatment:
right, entitlement, privilege, prerogative;
scope, latitude, leeway, flexibility, space, breathing space, room, elbow room;
license, leave, free rein, a free hand, carte blanche, a blank check.
ANTONYMS restriction.
G
geocentric | ˌjēōˈsentrik |
adjective
having or representing the earth as the center, as in former astronomical systems.
Compare with heliocentric.
• Astronomy measured from or considered in relation to the center of the earth.
* * * *
gestalt | ɡəˈSHtält | (also Gestalt)
noun
(plural gestalten | -ˈSHtältn, -ˈSHtôltn | or gestalts)
Psychology
an organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts.
* * * *
God | ɡäd |
noun
1 (in Christianity and other monotheistic religions)
the creator and ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority;
the supreme being.
2 (god) (in certain other religions) a superhuman being or spirit
worshiped as having power over nature or human fortunes;
a deity: a moon god | an incarnation of the god Vishnu.
• an image, idol, animal, or other object worshiped as divine or symbolizing a god.
• used as a conventional personification of fate:
he dialed the number and, the gods relenting, got through at once.
ORIGIN Old English, of Germanic origin;
related to Dutch god and German Gott.
* * * *
grace | ɡrās |
noun
1 simple elegance or refinement of movement:
she moved through the water with effortless grace.
2 courteous goodwill:
at least he has the grace to admit his debt to her.
• (graces) an attractively polite manner of behaving:
she has all the social graces.
3 (in Christian belief) the free and unmerited favor of God,
as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.
• a divinely given talent or blessing:
the graces of the Holy Spirit.
4 (also grace period) a period officially allowed for payment of a sum due
or for compliance with a law or condition,
especially an extended period granted as a special favor:
another three days' grace.
5 a short prayer of thanks said before or after a meal:
before dinner the Reverend Newman said grace.
6 (His, Her, or Your Grace) used as forms of description or address
for a duke, duchess, or archbishop: His Grace, the Duke of Atholl.
7 (the Graces or the Three Graces) (in Greek mythology)
three beautiful goddesses (Aglaia, Thalia, and Euphrosyne)
believed to personify and bestow charm, grace, and beauty.
verb [with object and adverbial]
do honor or credit to (someone or something) by one's presence:
she bowed out from the sport she has graced for two decades.
• (of a person or thing) be an attractive presence in or on; adorn:
Ms. Pasco has graced the front pages of magazines like Elle and Vogue.
1 she has the natural grace of a ballerina:
elegance, stylishness, poise, finesse, charm;
gracefulness, dexterity, adroitness; deftness, fluidity of movement, fluency, flow, suppleness,
smoothness, ease, effortlessness, naturalness, neatness, precision, agility, nimbleness, light-footedness;
informal poetry in motion; rare flowingness, lightsomeness.
ANTONYMS stiffness, inelegance
2 he at least had the grace to look sheepish:
courtesy, courteousness, politeness, manners, good manners,
mannerliness, civility, decorum, decency, propriety, breeding, respect, respectfulness;
consideration, thought, thoughtfulness, tact, tactfulness, diplomacy, etiquette;
humorous couth.
ANTONYMS effrontery
3 the artist's fall from grace:
favor, approval, approbation, acceptance, commendation, esteem,
regard, respect, preferment, liking, support, goodwill.
ANTONYMS disfavor
4 he was granted a house by grace of the king: favor, good will, generosity, kindness, benefaction, beneficence, indulgence.
5 they have been given five days' grace to decide:
deferment, deferral, postponement, suspension, putting off/back, adjournment,
delay, shelving, rescheduling, interruption, arrest, pause;
respite, stay, moratorium, reprieve;
North American tabling;
North American Law continuation;
rare put-off.6 say grace: prayer of thanks, thanksgiving, blessing, benediction.
* * * *
gravity | ˈɡravədē |
noun
Physics: the force that attracts a body toward the center of the earth,
or toward any other physical body having mass.
For most purposes Newton's laws of gravity apply,
with minor modifications to take the general theory of relativity into account.
• the degree of intensity of gravity, measured by acceleration.
* * * *
greed | ɡrēd |
noun
intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food:
mercenaries who had allowed greed to overtake their principles |
greed has taken over football | the colonists' greed for African land.
1 wasting resources in order to satisfy human greed:
avarice, greediness, acquisitiveness, covetousness,
rapacity, graspingness, cupidity, avidity, possessiveness, materialism;
mercenariness, predatoriness; informal money-grubbing, money-grabbing;
North American informal grabbiness; rare Mammonism, pleonexia.
ANTONYMS generosity
2 her mouth began to water with unashamed greed:
gluttony, greediness, hunger, ravenousness, voraciousness, voracity, insatiability;
gourmandizing, gourmandism;
intemperance, overeating, overconsumption, self-indulgence;
informal swinishness, piggishness, hoggishness, gutsiness;
rare edacity, esurience.
ANTONYMS temperance, asceticism
3 he appealed to their greed for power: desire, urge, need, appetite, hunger, craving, longing, yearning, hankering, hungering, thirst, pining; avidity, greediness, eagerness, enthusiasm, impatience; informal yen, itch.
ANTONYMS indifference
* * * *
grit | ɡrit |
noun
1 small loose particles of stone or sand: she had a bit of grit in her eye.
• [as modifier] (with numeral) indicating the grade of fineness of an abrasive: 220-grit paper.
• (also gritstone) a coarse sandstone: layers of impervious shales and grits.
2 courage and resolve; strength of character: he displayed the true grit of the navy pilot.
verb
(grits, gritting, gritted) [with object]
1 clench (the teeth), especially in order to keep one's resolve
when faced with an unpleasant or painful duty:
figurative : Congress must grit its teeth and take action |
(as adjective gritted) : “Not here,” he said through gritted teeth.
2 [no object] move with or make a grating sound:
fine red dust that gritted between the teeth.
noun
1 the grit from the paths: sand, dust, dirt; gravel, pebbles, stones.
2 just the grit we're looking for in a candidate:
courage, bravery, pluck, mettle, backbone, spirit, strength of character,
strength of will, moral fiber, steel, nerve, fortitude, toughness, hardiness, resolve, resolution,
determination, tenacity, perseverance, endurance; informal guts, spunk.
verb
Gina gritted her teeth: clench, clamp together, shut tightly; grind, gnash.
* * * *
group·think| ˈɡro͞opˌTHiNGk |
noun
the practice of thinking or making decisions as a group
in a way that discourages creativity or individual responsibility:
there's always a danger of groupthink when two leaders are so alike.
* * * *
gumption | ˈɡəmpSH(ə)n |
noun
informal shrewd or spirited initiative and resourcefulness:
she had the gumption to put her foot down and head Dan off from those crazy schemes.
informal we never thought Clarence would have the gumption to stand up to the committee –
and actually get what he wanted:
initiative, resourcefulness, enterprise, ingenuity, imagination;
astuteness, shrewdness, acumen, sense, common sense, wit, mother wit, practicality;
spirit, backbone, pluck, mettle, nerve, courage, wherewithal;
informal get-up-and-go, spunk, oomph, moxie, savvy, horse sense, (street) smarts.
* * * *
guna | ˈɡo͝onə |
noun
(in Vedanta) any of the three interdependent modes or qualities
of prakriti: sattva, rajas, or tamas.
Guṇa depending on the context means:
"string, thread, strand" or "virtue, merit, excellence" or "quality, peculiarity, attribute, property".
The concept is originally notable as a feature of Samkhya philosophy,
though possibly a later feature of it.
The gunas are now a key concept in nearly all schools of Hindu philosophy.
There are three gunas, according to this world view,
that have always been and continue to be present in all things and beings in the world.
These three gunas are called:
sattva (goodness, constructive, harmonious),
rajas (passion, active, confused),
tamas (darkness, destructive, chaotic).
All of these three gunas are present in everyone and everything,
it is the proportion that is different, according to Hindu worldview.
The interplay of these gunas
defines the character of someone or something, of nature,
and determines the progress of life.
H
heaven | ˈhevən |
noun
1 a place regarded in various religions as the abode of God (or the gods) and the angels,
and of the good after death, often traditionally depicted as being above the sky.
• God (or the gods):
Constantine was persuaded that disunity in the Church was displeasing to heaven.
• Theology a state of being eternally in the presence of God after death.
• used in various exclamations as a substitute for “God”:
heaven knows! | good heavens!
2 (often heavens) literary the sky, especially perceived as a vault
in which the sun, moon, stars, and planets are situated:
Galileo used a telescope to observe the heavens.
3 informal a place, state, or experience of supreme bliss:
lying by the pool with a good book is my idea of heaven.
1 the good will have a place in heaven: paradise, nirvana, Zion;
the hereafter, the next world, the next life, Elysium, the Elysian Fields, Valhalla;
literary the empyrean.
ANTONYMS hell, purgatory.
2 a good book is my idea of heaven:
bliss, ecstasy, rapture, contentment, happiness, delight, joy, seventh heaven;
paradise, Utopia, nirvana.
ANTONYMS misery.
3 (the heavens) he observed the heavens:
the sky, the skies, the upper atmosphere, the stratosphere, space;
literary the firmament, the vault of heaven, the blue, the (wild/wide) blue yonder, the welkin,
the empyrean, the azure, the upper regions, the sphere, the celestial sphere.
* * * *
hedonistic | ˌhēdnˈistik, ˌhedəˈnistik |
adjective
engaged in the pursuit of pleasure; sensually self-indulgent:
a hedonistic existence of drink, drugs, and parties.
he's become less hedonistic since getting married:
self-indulgent, pleasure-seeking, sybaritic, lotus-eating, epicurean, good-time;
unrestrained, intemperate, immoderate, extravagant, decadent.
* * * *
heliocentric | ˌhēlēəˈsentrik |
adjective
having or representing the sun as the center,
as in the accepted astronomical model of the solar system.
Compare with geocentric
• Astronomy measured from or considered in relation to the center of the sun:
heliocentric distance.
* * * *
hell | hel | noun
a place regarded in various religions as a spiritual realm of evil and suffering,
often traditionally depicted as a place of perpetual fire beneath the earth
where the wicked are punished after death:
irreligious children were assumed to have passed straight to the eternal fires of hell.
• a state or place of great suffering; an unbearable experience:
I've been through hell | he made her life hell.
exclamation used to express annoyance or surprise or for emphasis:
oh, hell – where will this all end? | hell, no, we were all married.
• (the hell) informal expressing anger, contempt, or disbelief:
who the hell are you? | the hell you are!
1 they feared they would be consumed by flames in hell:
the netherworld, the land/abode of the dead, the infernal regions, the Inferno,
the nether regions, the abyss;
the abode of the damned, eternal damnation, eternal punishment, perdition;
hellfire, fire and brimstone;
Bible Gehenna, Tophet, Abaddon;
Judaism Sheol;
Greek Mythology Hades, Tartarus, Acheron;
Roman Mythology Avernus;
Scandinavian Mythology Niflheim;
literary the pit, the shades; archaic the lower world.
ANTONYMS heaven
2 he made her life hell:
a misery, purgatory, hell on earth, torture, agony, a torment, a nightmare, an ordeal, a trauma;
suffering, affliction, anguish, wretchedness, woe, tribulation, trials and tribulations.
ANTONYMS paradise
* * * *
hierophant | ˈhī(ə)rəˌfant |
noun
(plural hierophant)
a person, especially a priest in ancient Greece,
who interprets sacred mysteries or esoteric principles.
An ancient Greek priest who interpreted sacred mysteries,
especially the priest of the Eleusinian mysteries.
An interpreter of sacred mysteries or arcane knowledge.
One who explains or makes a commentary.
* * * *
hope | həʊp |
noun [mass noun]
1 a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen:
he looked through her belongings in the hope of coming across some information |
[count noun] : I had high hopes of making the Olympic team.
• [count noun] a person or thing that may help or save someone:
their only hope is surgery.
• grounds for believing that something good may happen:
he does see some hope for the future.
2 archaic a feeling of trust: our private friendship,
upon hope and affiance whereof, I presume to be your petitioner.
verb [no object]
want something to happen or be the case: he's hoping for an offer of compensation |
[with clause] : I hope that the kids are OK.
• [with infinitive] intend if possible to do something:
we're hoping to address all these issues.
* * * *
humility | (h)yo͞oˈmilədē |
noun
a modest or low view of one's own importance; humbleness.
he accepted the award with sincere humility:
modesty, humbleness, meekness, diffidence, unassertiveness;
lack of pride, lack of vanity; servility, submissiveness.
ANTONYMS pride.
* * * *
hygge | ˈh(y)o͞oɡə, ˈho͝oɡə |
noun
a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality
that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being
(regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture):
why not follow the Danish example and bring more hygge into your daily life? |
[as modifier] : count on candlelight —almost a requirement for that special hygge experience.
* * * *
hypocrisy | həˈpäkrəsē |
noun
(plural hypocrisies)
the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs
to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense.
must politics be the perennial benchmark of hypocrisy?
dissimulation, false virtue, cant, posturing, affectation, speciousness, empty talk,
insincerity, falseness, deceit, dishonesty, mendacity, pretense, duplicity;
sanctimoniousness, sanctimony, pietism, piousness;
informal phoniness, fraud.
ANTONYMS sincerity.
* * * *
hypothesis | hīˈpäTHəsəs |
noun
(plural hypotheses | -ˌsēz | )
a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence
as a starting point for further investigation:
professional astronomers attacked him for popularizing an unconfirmed hypothesis.
• Philosophy a proposition made as a basis for reasoning,
without any assumption of its truth.
ORIGIN late 16th century: via late Latin from Greek hupothesis ‘foundation’, from hupo ‘under’ + thesis ‘placing’.
his “steady state” hypothesis of the origin of the universe:
theory, theorem, thesis, conjecture, supposition, postulation, postulate,
proposition, premise, assumption; notion, concept, idea, possibility.
I
iconoclast | īˈkänəˌklast |
noun
1 a person who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions.
2 a destroyer of images used in religious worship.
• historical a supporter of the 8th- and 9th-century movement in the Byzantine Church
which sought to abolish the veneration of icons and other religious images.
• historical a Puritan of the 16th or 17th century.
in terms of the money culture in Washington,
she is iconoclast: critic, skeptic; heretic, unbeliever,
dissident, dissenter, infidel; rebel, renegade, mutineer.
* * * *
id | id |
noun
Psychoanalysis the part of the mind
in which innate instinctive impulses and primary processes are manifest.
Compare with ego and superego
* * * *
identity | ˌīˈden(t)ədē |
noun
(plural identities)
1 the fact of being who or what a person or thing is:
he knows the identity of the bombers | she believes she is the victim of mistaken identity.
• the characteristics determining who or what a person or thing is:
attempts to define a distinct Canadian identity.
• [as modifier] (of an object) serving to establish who the holder, owner, or wearer is
by bearing their name and often other details
such as a signature or photograph: an identity card.
2 a close similarity or affinity:
the initiative created an identity between the city and the suburbs.
3 Mathematics (also identity operation) a transformation that leaves an object unchanged.
• (also identity element) an element of a set which,
if combined with another element by a specified binary operation,
leaves that element unchanged.
4 Mathematics the equality of two expressions
for all values of the quantities expressed by letters, or an equation expressing this,
e.g. (x + 1)2 = x 2 + 2x + 1.
1 the identity of the owner: name, ID; specification.
2 she was afraid of losing her identity:
individuality, self, selfhood; personality, character, originality,
distinctiveness, differentness, singularity, uniqueness.
3 a case of mistaken identity:
identification, recognition, naming, singling out.
* * * *
idolatry |īˈdälətrē|
noun
worship of idols.
• extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone:
we must not allow our idolatry of art to obscure issues of political significance.
synonyms: idolization, fetishization, fetishism, idol worship, adulation, adoration,
reverence, veneration, glorification, lionization, hero-worshiping
"the prophets railed against idolatry"
* * * *
illumination | iˌlo͞oməˈnāSH(ə)n |
noun
1 lighting or light:
higher levels of illumination are needed for reading.
• (often illuminations) a display of lights on a building or other structure.
2 the art of illuminating a manuscript.
• an illuminated design in a manuscript.
3 clarification:
these books form the most sustained analysis and illumination of the subject.
• spiritual or intellectual enlightenment.
4 Physics another term for illuminance.
1 a floodlight provided illumination:
light, lighting, radiance, gleam, glow, glare; shining, gleaming, glowing;
brilliance, luminescence; literary illumining, irradiance,
lucency, lambency, effulgence, refulgence.
ANTONYMS darkness.
2 the illumination of a manuscript:
decoration, illustration, embellishment, adornment, ornamentation.
3 these books give illumination on the subject:
clarification, elucidation, explanation, revelation, explication.
4 it was an era of great illumination:
enlightenment, insight, understanding, awareness; learning, education, edification.
ANTONYMS ignorance.
* * * *
illusion | iˈlo͞oZHən |
noun
a thing that is or is likely to be wrongly perceived or interpreted by the senses:
the illusion makes parallel lines seem to diverge by placing them on a zigzag-striped background.
• a deceptive appearance or impression:
the illusion of family togetherness | the tension between illusion and reality.
• a false idea or belief: he had no illusions about the trouble she was in.
1 he had destroyed her illusions:
delusion, misapprehension, misconception, false impression;
fantasy, fancy, dream, chimera; fool's paradise, self-deception; false consciousness.
2 the lighting increases the illusion of depth:
appearance, impression, semblance; misperception, false appearance;
rare simulacrum.
3 it's just an illusion:
mirage, hallucination, apparition, figment of the imagination, trick of the light, trompe l'oeil;
deception, trick, smoke and mirrors.
4 Houdini's amazing illusions:
(magic) trick, conjuring trick; (illusions) magic, conjuring, sleight of hand, legerdemain.
* * * *
imaginary | iˈmajəˌnerē |
adjective
1 existing only in the imagination:
Chris had imaginary conversations with her.
2 Mathematics (of a number or quantity)
expressed in terms of the square root of a negative number
(usually the square root of −1, represented by i or j).
See also complex.
his imaginary friends:
unreal, nonexistent, fictional, fictitious, pretend, make-believe, mythical, mythological, fabulous, fanciful, storybook, fantastic;
made-up, dreamed-up, invented, concocted, fancied;
illusory, illusive, a figment of one's imagination;
archaic visionary.
ANTONYMS real, actual.
* * * *
imagination | iˌmajəˈnāSH(ə)n |
noun
the faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts
of external objects not present to the senses:
she'd never been blessed with a vivid imagination.
• the ability of the mind to be creative or resourceful:
technology gives workers the chance to use their imagination.
• the part of the mind that imagines things:
a girl who existed only in my imagination.
1 a vivid imagination: creative power, fancy, vision; informal mind's eye.
2 you need imagination in dealing with these problems:
creativity, imaginativeness, creativeness;
vision, inspiration, inventiveness, invention, resourcefulness, ingenuity;
originality, innovation, innovativeness.
3 the album captured the public's imagination:
interest, fascination, attention, passion, curiosity.
* * * *
immutable | i(m)ˈmyo͞odəb(ə)l |
adjective
unchanging over time or unable to be changed: an immutable fact.
the subtext of the liturgy had always been God's immutable power:
fixed, set, rigid, inflexible, permanent, established, carved in stone;
unchanging, unchanged, unvarying, unvaried, static,
constant, lasting, enduring, steadfast.
ANTONYMS variable.
* * * *
ineffable | inˈefəb(ə)l |
adjective
too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words:
the ineffable natural beauty of the Everglades.
• not to be uttered: the ineffable Hebrew name that gentiles write as Jehovah.
1 the ineffable, surging joy of the Beatles:
indescribable, inexpressible, beyond words, beyond description, begging description;
indefinable, unutterable, untold, unimaginable;
overwhelming, breathtaking, awesome, marvelous, wonderful, staggering, amazing.
2 the ineffable name of God:
unutterable, not to be uttered, not to be spoken, unmentionable, forbidden, taboo.
* * * *
inertia | iˈnərSHə |
noun
1 a tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged: the bureaucratic inertia of government.
2 Physics a property of matter
by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line,
unless that state is changed by an external force.
See also moment of inertia.
• [with modifier] resistance to change in some other physical property:
the thermal inertia of the oceans will delay the full rise in temperature for a few decades.
by the nature of its own inertia, the coal industry has remained an unshakable constant:
inactivity, inaction, inertness; unchanged state, stationary condition, stasis.
* * * *
in·fi·nite | ˈinfənət |
adjective
1 limitless or endless in space, extent, or size; impossible to measure or calculate:
the infinite mercy of God | the infinite number of stars in the universe.
• very great in amount or degree: he bathed the wound with infinite care.
• Mathematics greater than any assignable quantity or countable number.
• Mathematics (of a series) able to be continued indefinitely.
2 Grammar another term for nonfinite.
noun
(the infinite) a space or quantity that is infinite:
beyond the infinite, the space traveler is transformed.
• (the Infinite) God: intimations of the infinite.
1 the universe is spatially infinite:
boundless, unbounded, unlimited, limitless, without limit,
without end, never-ending, interminable, cosmic;
measureless, immeasurable, fathomless, unfathomed, bottomless;
extensive, vast.
ANTONYMS limited
2 an infinite number of small birds:
countless, uncountable, inestimable, indeterminable,
innumerable, numberless, immeasurable, incalculable, untold, very many;
great, vast, enormous, immense, prodigious, multitudinous;
rare innumerous, unnumberable.
ANTONYMS limited; small
3 she bathed the wound with infinite care:
very great, immense, supreme, absolute, total, real;
endless, unending, unlimited;
informal no end of.
ANTONYMS very little
* * * *
in·fin·i·tes·i·mal| ˌinfinəˈtes(ə)m(ə)l |
adjective
extremely small: an infinitesimal pause.
noun
Mathematics an indefinitely small quantity; a value approaching zero.
USAGE
Although this long word is commonly assumed to refer to large numbers,
infinitesimal describes only very small size.
While there may be an infinite number of grains of sand on the beach,
a single grain may be said to be infinitesimal.
a tiny fish with infinitesimal white scales:
minute, tiny, minuscule, extremely small, very small;
microscopic, nanoscopic, barely perceptible, imperceptible, inappreciable,
indiscernible, invisible to the naked eye; Scottish wee; informal teeny,
teeny-weeny, teensy-weensy, eensy-weensy, itsy-bitsy, itty-bitty;
British informal titchy, tiddly;
North American informal little-bitty.
ANTONYMS huge
* * * *
inscrutable | inˈskro͞odəb(ə)l |
adjective
impossible to understand or interpret: Guy looked blankly inscrutable.
he was a financial genius with inscrutable motives:
enigmatic, mysterious, unreadable, inexplicable, unexplainable,
incomprehensible, impenetrable, unfathomable, unknowable;
opaque, abstruse, arcane, obscure, cryptic.
ANTONYMS transparent.
* * * *
insight | ˈinˌsīt |
noun
the capacity to gain an accurate and deep intuitive understanding of a person or thing:
this paper is alive with sympathetic insight into Shakespeare.
• a deep understanding of a person or thing:
the signals would give marine biologists new insights into the behavior of whales.
• Psychiatry new understanding by a mentally ill person of the causes of their disorder.
1 your insight has been invaluable:
intuition, discernment, perception, awareness, understanding, comprehension,
apprehension, appreciation, penetration, acumen, perspicacity, judgment, acuity;
vision, wisdom, prescience; informal savvy.
2 an insight into the government:
understanding of, appreciation of, revelation about;
introduction to; informal eye-opener about.
* * * *
intuition | ˌint(y)o͞oˈiSH(ə)n |
noun
the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning:
we shall allow our intuition to guide us.
• a thing that one knows or considers likely from instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning:
your insights and intuitions as a native speaker are positively sought.
1 he works according to intuition: instinct, intuitiveness; sixth sense, clairvoyance, second sight.
2 this confirms an intuition I had: hunch, feeling (in one's bones), inkling, (sneaking) suspicion, idea, sense, notion; premonition, presentiment; informal gut feeling, gut instinct.
* * * *
irony | ˈīrənē |
noun
(plural ironies)
the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite,
typically for humorous or emphatic effect:
“Don't go overboard with the gratitude,” he rejoined with heavy irony.
• a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects
and is often amusing as a result: [with clause] :
the irony is that I thought he could help me.
• (also dramatic or tragic irony) a literary technique, originally used in Greek tragedy,
by which the full significance of a character's words or actions
are clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character.
1 that note of irony in her voice:
sarcasm, causticity, cynicism, mockery, satire, sardonicism.
ANTONYMS sincerity.
2 the irony of the situation:
paradox, incongruity, incongruousness.
ANTONYMS logic.
* * * *
ivory tower | ˈˌīv(ə)rē ˈˌtou(ə)r |
noun
a state of privileged seclusion or separation
from the facts and practicalities of the real world:
the ivory tower of academia.
* * * *
political correctness | pəˈlidəkəl kəˈrek(t)nəs |
(also political correctitude)
noun
the avoidance, often considered as taken to extremes,
of forms of expression or action that are perceived to exclude, marginalize,
or insult groups of people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against.
J
Jehovah | jəˈhōvə |
noun
a form of the Hebrew name of God used in some translations of the Bible.
ORIGIN from medieval Latin Iehouah, Iehoua,
from Hebrew YHWH or JHVH, the consonants of the name of God,
with the inclusion of vowels taken from 'ăḏōnāy ‘my lord’;
see also Yahweh, Tetragrammaton.
* * * *
Jesus | ˈjēzəs | (also Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth)
the central figure of the Christian religion.
Jesus conducted a mission of preaching and healing (with reported miracles)
in Palestine in about ad 28–30, which is described in the Gospels.
His followers considered him to be the Christ or Messiah and the Son of God,
and belief in his resurrection from the dead is the central tenet of Christianity.
ORIGIN from Christian Latin Iesus, from Greek Iēsous,
from a late Hebrew or Aramaicanalogous formation based on Yĕhōšûă‘ ‘Joshua’.
K
karma | ˈkärmə |
noun
(in Hinduism and Buddhism) the sum of a person's actions
in this and previous states of existence,
viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.
• informal destiny or fate, following as effect from cause.
* * * *
knowledge | ˈnäləj |
noun
1 facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education;
the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject: a thirst for knowledge |
her considerable knowledge of antiques.
• what is known in a particular field or in total;
facts and information: the transmission of knowledge.
• Philosophy true, justified belief; certain understanding, as opposed to opinion.
2 awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation:
the program had been developed without his knowledge |
he denied all knowledge of the overnight incidents.
1 his knowledge of history | technical knowledge:
understanding, comprehension, grasp, command, mastery;
expertise, skill, proficiency, expertness, accomplishment, adeptness, capacity, capability;
informal know-how.
ANTONYMS ignorance.
2 people anxious to display their knowledge:
learning, erudition, education, scholarship, schooling, wisdom.
ANTONYMS ignorance, illiteracy.
3 he slipped away without my knowledge:
awareness, consciousness, realization, cognition, apprehension, perception, appreciation;
formal cognizance.
ANTONYMS unawareness.
4 an intimate knowledge of the countryside:
familiarity with, acquaintance with, intimacy with.
5 inform the police of your knowledge:
information, facts, intelligence, news, reports, hot tip;
informal info, (the) lowdown.
L
language | ˈlaNGɡwij |
noun
1 the method of human communication, either spoken or written,
consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way:
a study of the way children learn language | [as modifier] : language development.
• any nonverbal method of expression or communication:
a language of gesture and facial expression.
2 the system of communication used by a particular community or country:
the book was translated into twenty-five languages.
• Computing a system of symbols and rules for writing programs or algorithms:
a new programming language.
3 the manner or style of a piece of writing or speech:
he explained the procedure in simple, everyday language.
• the phraseology and vocabulary of a certain profession, domain, or group of people: legal language.
• (usually as bad/strong language) coarse, crude, or offensive language: strong language.
1 the structure of language:
speech, writing, communication, conversation, speaking, talking, talk, discourse;
words, vocabulary.
2 the English language:
tongue, mother tongue, native tongue;
dialect, patois, slang, idiom, jargon, argot, cant;
informal lingo.
3 the booklet is written in simple, everyday language:
wording, phrasing, phraseology, style, vocabulary, terminology, expressions, turns of phrase,
parlance, form/mode of expression, usages, locutions, choice of words, idiolect;
informal lingo.
* * * *
Lao-tzu | ˌlä-ō ˈtso͞o, ˈdzə |
(also Laoze | ˈtsā, ˈdzā | )
(fl. 6th century bc),
Chinese philosopher traditionally regarded as the founder of Taoism
and author of the Tao-te-Ching, its most sacred scripture.
ORIGIN Chinese, literally ‘Lao the Master’.
* * * *
light | līt |
noun
the natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible:
the light of the sun | [in singular] : the street lamps shed a faint light into the room.
Visible light is electromagnetic radiation whose wavelength falls within the range to which the human
retina responds, i.e., between about 390 nm (violet light) and 740 nm (red). White light consists of a
roughly equal mixture of all visible wavelengths, which can be separated to yield the colors of the
spectrum, as was first demonstrated conclusively by Newton. In the 20th century it has become
apparent that light consists of energy quanta called photons that behave partly like waves
and partly like particles. The velocity of light in a vacuum is 299,792 km per second.
* * * *
linguistics | liNGˈɡwistiks |
plural noun [treated as singular]
the scientific study of language and its structure,
including the study of morphology, syntax, phonetics, and semantics.
Specific branches of linguistics include sociolinguistics, dialectology, psycholinguistics,
computational linguistics, historical-comparative linguistics, and applied linguistics.
* * * *
love | ləv |
noun
1 an intense feeling of deep affection:
babies fill parents with intense feelings of love | their love for their country.
• a deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone:
they were both in love with her | we were slowly falling in love | it was love at first sight.
• affectionate greetings conveyed to someone on one's behalf.
• a formula for ending an affectionate letter:
take care, lots of love, Judy.
• (Love) a personified figure of love, often represented as Cupid.
2 a great interest and pleasure in something:
his love for football | we share a love of music.
3 a person or thing that one loves: she was the love of his life |
their two great loves are tobacco and whiskey.
• British informal a friendly form of address:
it's all right, love.
• (a love) informal used to express affectionate approval for someone:
don't fret, there's a love.
4 (in tennis, squash, and some other sports)
a score of zero; nil: love fifteen | he was down two sets to love.
[apparently from the phrase play for love (i.e. the love of the game, not for money);
folk etymology has connected the word with French l'oeuf ‘egg’,
from the resemblance in shape between an egg and a zero.]
verb
[with object] feel a deep romantic or sexual attachment to (someone):
do you love me?
• like very much; find pleasure in:
I'd love a cup of tea, thanks | I just love dancing |
[as adjective, in combination] (-loving) : a fun-loving girl.
noun
1 his friendship with Helen grew into love:
deep affection, fondness, tenderness, warmth, intimacy, attachment, endearment;
devotion, adoration, doting, idolization, worship;
passion, ardor, desire, lust, yearning, infatuation, besottedness.
ANTONYMS hatred.
2 her love for fashion | a love of good food:
liking of/for, enjoyment of, appreciation of/for, taste for, delight for/in,
relish of, passion for, zeal for, appetite for, zest for, enthusiasm for, keenness for,
fondness for, soft spot for, weakness for, bent for, proclivity for, inclination for,
disposition for, partiality for, predilection for, penchant for.
3 their love for their fellow human beings:
compassion, care, caring, regard, solicitude, concern, friendliness, friendship,
kindness, charity, goodwill, sympathy, kindliness, altruism, unselfishness,
philanthropy, benevolence, fellow feeling, humanity.
4 he was her one true love:
beloved, loved one, love of one's life, dear, dearest, dear one, darling,
sweetheart, sweet, angel, honey; lover, inamorato, inamorata, amour, paramour.
5 their love will survive:
relationship, love affair, romance, liaison, affair of the heart, amour.
6 my mother sends her love:
best wishes, regards, good wishes, greetings, kind/kindest regards.
verb
1 she loves him:
care very much for, feel deep affection for, hold very dear,
adore, think the world of, be devoted to, dote on, idolize, worship;
be in love with, be infatuated with, be smitten with, be besotted with;
informal be mad/crazy/nuts/wild about, have a crush on, carry a torch for.
ANTONYMS hate.
2 Laura loved painting:
like very much, delight in, enjoy greatly, have a passion for,
take great pleasure in, derive great pleasure from, relish, savor;
have a weakness for, be partial to, have a soft spot for, have a taste for, be taken with;
informal get a kick out of, have a thing about,
be mad/crazy/nuts/wild about, be hooked on, get off on.
ANTONYMS hate.
* * * *
lyrical | ˈlirik(ə)l |
adjective
1 (of literature, art, or music) expressing the writer's emotions
in an imaginative and beautiful way:
the poet's combination of lyrical and descriptive power.
• (of poetry or a poet) lyric: Wordsworth's Lyrical Ballads.
2 relating to the words of a popular song: the lyrical content of his songs.
1 lyrical love poetry: expressive, emotional, deeply felt, personal, subjective, passionate, lyric.
2 she was lyrical about her success:
enthusiastic, rhapsodic, effusive, rapturous, ecstatic, euphoric, carried away.
ANTONYMS unenthusiastic.
M
mantra | ˈmantrə |
noun
(originally in Hinduism and Buddhism)
a word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation.
• a Vedic hymn.
• a statement or slogan repeated frequently:
the environmental mantra that energy has for too long been too cheap.
their newest mantra is "stay connected":
slogan, motto, maxim, catchphrase, catchword, watchword, byword, buzzword, tag (line).
* * * *
mass | mas |
noun
Physics: the quantity of matter which a body contains,
as measured by its acceleration under a given force
or by the force exerted on it by a gravitational field.
* * * *
materialism | məˈtirēəˌlizəm |
noun
1 a tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort
as more important than spiritual values.
2 Philosophy the doctrine that nothing exists except matter
and its movements and modifications.
• the doctrine that consciousness and will are wholly due to material agency.
See also dialectical materialism.
* * * *
monotheism | ˈmänōˌTHēizəm |
noun
the doctrine or belief that there is only one God.
* * * *
matter | ˈmadər |
noun
physical substance in general, as distinct from mind and spirit;
(in physics) that which occupies space and possesses rest mass, especially as distinct from energy:
the structure and properties of matter.
* * * *
meditation | ˌmedəˈtāSH(ə)n |
noun
the action or practice of meditating: a life of meditation.
• a written or spoken discourse expressing considered thoughts on a subject:
his later letters are intense meditations on man's exploitation of his fellows.
cultivating the presence of God through meditation:
contemplation, thought, thinking, musing, pondering, consideration, reflection,
deliberation, rumination, brooding, reverie, brown study,
concentration; prayer; formal cogitation.
* * * *
megalomania | ˌmeɡələˈmānēə |
noun
obsession with the exercise of power, especially in the domination of others.
• delusion about one's own power or importance
(typically as a symptom of manic or paranoid disorder).
* * * *
meme | mēm |
noun
an element of a culture or system of behavior
that may be considered to be passed from one individual to another
by nongenetic means, especially imitation.
• a humorous image, video, piece of text, etc.,
that is copied (often with slight variations)
and spread rapidly by Internet users.
* * * *
metaphysics | ˌmedəˈfiziks |
plural noun
[usually treated as singular]
the branch of philosophy that deals with the first principles of things,
including abstract concepts such as being, knowing,
substance, cause, identity, time, and space.
• abstract theory or talk with no basis in reality:
his concept of society as an organic entity is, for market liberals, simply metaphysics.
Metaphysics has two main strands:
that which holds that what exists lies beyond experience (as argued by Plato),
and that which holds that objects of experience constitute the only reality
(as argued by Kant, the logical positivists, and Hume).
Metaphysics has also concerned itself with a discussion
of whether what exists is made of one substance or many,
and whether what exists is inevitable or driven by chance.
* * * *
metaphysical | ˌmedəˈfizək(ə)l |
adjective
1 relating to metaphysics: the essentially metaphysical question of the nature of the mind.
• based on abstract (typically, excessively abstract) reasoning:
an empiricist rather than a metaphysical view of law.
• transcending physical matter or the laws of nature:
Good and Evil are inextricably linked in a metaphysical battle across space and time.
2 of or characteristic of the metaphysical poets.
1 metaphysical questions: abstract, theoretical, conceptual,
notional, philosophical, speculative, intellectual, academic.
2 Good and Evil are inextricably linked in a metaphysical battle:
transcendental, spiritual, supernatural, paranormal.
* * * *
mis·an·thrope | ˈmis(ə)nˌTHrōp, ˈmiz(ə)nˌTHrōp |
(also misanthropist | misˈanTHrəpist | )
noun
a person who dislikes humankind and avoids human society:
Scrooge wasn't the mean-spirited misanthrope most of us believe him to be.
hater of mankind, cynic, skeptic, churl, grouch,
grump, recluse, hermit, anchorite; in Japan hikikomori.
* * * *
moksha | ˈmōkSHə |
noun
(in Hinduism and Jainism) release from the cycle of rebirth impelled by the law of karma.
• the transcendent state attained as a result of being released from the cycle of rebirth.
* * * *
molecule | ˈmäləˌkyo͞ol |
noun
Chemistry: a group of atoms bonded together,
representing the smallest fundamental unit of a chemical compound
that can take part in a chemical reaction.
* * * *
moment | ˈmōmənt |
noun
1 a very brief period of time:
she was silent for a moment before replying | a few moments later he returned to the office.
• an exact point in time:
she would always remember the moment they met.
• an appropriate time for doing something; an opportunity:
I was waiting for the right moment.
• a particular stage in something's development or in a course of events:
one of the great moments in aviation history.
2 formal importance:
the issues were of little moment to the electorate.
3 Physics a turning effect produced by a force acting at a distance on an object.
• the magnitude of a turning effect produced by a force acting at a distance,
expressed as the product of the force and the distance from its line of action to a given point.
4 Statistics a quantity that expresses the average or expected value
of the first, second, third, or fourth power of the deviation of each component
of a frequency distribution from some given value, typically mean or zero.
The first moment is the mean, the second moment the variance,
the third moment the skew, and the fourth moment the kurtosis.
1 he thought for a moment:
little while, short time, bit, minute, instant, second, split second; informal sec.
2 the moment they met:
point (in time), time, hour.
3 formal issues of little moment:
importance, import, significance, consequence, note, weight, concern, interest.
* * * *
moral | ˈmôrəl |
adjective
1 concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior
and the goodness or badness of human character:
the moral dimensions of medical intervention | a moral judgment.
• concerned with or derived from the code of interpersonal behavior
that is considered right or acceptable in a particular society:
an individual's ambitions may get out of step with the general moral code |
the moral obligation of society to do something about the inner city's problems.
• [attributive] examining the nature of ethics
and the foundations of good and bad character and conduct:
moral philosophers.
2 holding or manifesting high principles for proper conduct:
he prides himself on being a highly moral and ethical person.
noun
1 a lesson, especially one concerning what is right or prudent,
that can be derived from a story, a piece of information, or an experience:
the moral of this story was that one must see the beauty in what one has.
2 (morals) a person's standards of behavior or beliefs concerning
what is and is not acceptable for them to do: the corruption of public morals |
they believe addicts have no morals and cannot be trusted.
adjective
1 moral issues: ethical, social, having to do with right and wrong.
2 a moral man: virtuous, good, righteous, upright,
upstanding, high-minded, principled, honorable, honest, just,
noble, incorruptible, scrupulous, respectable, decent, clean-living, law-abiding.
ANTONYMS dishonorable.
3 moral support: psychological, emotional, mental.
noun
1 the moral of the story: lesson, message,
meaning, significance, signification, import, point, teaching.
2 he has no morals: moral code, code of ethics,
(moral) values, principles, standards, (sense of) morality, scruples.
* * * *
Mu (negative)
The Japanese and Korean term mu (Japanese: 無; Korean: 무)
or Chinese wu (traditional Chinese: 無; simplified Chinese:
无), meaning "not have; without", is a key word in Buddhism, especially Zen traditions.
Some English translation equivalents of wú or mu 無 are:
"no", "not", "nothing", or "without"
nothing, not, nothingness, un-, is not, has not, not any
Pure human awareness, prior to experience or knowledge.
(This meaning is used especially by the Chan school)
A negative.
Caused to be nonexistent.
Impossible; lacking reason or cause.
Nonexistence; nonbeing; not having; a lack of, without.
The 'original nonbeing' from which being is produced in the Tao Te Ching.
In modern Chinese, Japanese and Korean it is commonly used in combination words
as a negative prefix to indicate the absence of something
(no ..., without ..., un- prefix), e.g., Chinese:
无-线; pinyin: wú-xiàn / mu-sen (無-線) / mu-seon (무-선 ) for "wireless".
In Classical Chinese, it is an impersonal existential verb meaning "not have".
The same character is also used in Classical Chinese as a prohibitive particle,
though in this case it is more properly written Chinese: 毋; pinyin: wú.
* * * *
mystic | ˈmistik |
noun
a person who seeks by contemplation and self-surrender
to obtain unity with or absorption into the Deity or the absolute,
or who believes in the spiritual apprehension of truths that are beyond the intellect.
adjective
another term for mystical.
1 a mystic experience:
spiritual, religious, transcendental, paranormal, otherworldly, supernatural, occult, metaphysical.
2 mystic rites:
symbolic, symbolical, allegorical, representational, metaphorical.
3 a figure of mystical significance:
cryptic, concealed, hidden, abstruse, arcane, esoteric, inscrutable, inexplicable,
unfathomable, mysterious, secret, enigmatic.
N
narcissistic | ˌnärsəˈsistik |
adjective
having an excessive or erotic interest in oneself and one's physical appearance:
a narcissistic actress.
• relating to narcissism: narcissistic personality disorder.
she was never happy in the narcissistic life that her press agent and manager had crafted for her:
vain, self-loving, self-admiring, self-absorbed, self-obsessed, conceited, self-centered,
self-regarding, egotistic, egotistical, egoistic; informal full of oneself.
* * * *
natural law | ˈnætʃ(ə)rəl lɔ |
noun
1 a body of unchanging moral principles regarded as a basis for all human conduct.
2 an observable law relating to natural phenomena: the natural laws of perspective.
• natural laws collectively.
* * * *
natural science | ˈˌnætʃ(ə)rəl ˈsaɪəns |
noun
(usually natural sciences)
a branch of science which deals with the physical world,
e.g. physics, chemistry, geology, biology.
• the branch of knowledge which deals with the study of the physical world.
* * * *
natural selection | ˈnaCH(ə)rəl səˈlekSH(ə)n |
(evolutionary theory) A process by which heritable traits
conferring survival and reproductive advantage to individuals, or related individuals,
tend to be passed on to succeeding generations and become more frequent in a population,
whereas other less favorable traits tend to become eliminated;
the differential survival and reproduction of phenotypes.
* * * *
nature | ˈnāCHər |
noun
the phenomena of the physical world collectively,
including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth,
as opposed to humans or human creations: the breathtaking beauty of nature.
• the physical force regarded as causing and regulating these phenomena:
it is impossible to change the laws of nature.
* * * *
negation |nəˈɡāSH(ə)n|
noun
1 the contradiction or denial of something:
there should be confirmation – or negation – of the findings.
Grammar denial of the truth of a clause or sentence,
typically involving the use of a negative word
(e.g., not, no, never) or a word or affix
with negative force (e.g., nothing, non-).
Logic a proposition whose assertion
specifically denies the truth of another proposition:
the negation of A is, briefly, “not A.”
Mathematics inversion:
these formulae and their negations.
2 the absence or opposite of something actual or positive:
evil is not merely the negation of goodness.
* * * *
nihilism | ˈnīəˌlizəm, ˈnēəˌlizəm |
noun
the rejection of all religious and moral principles,
in the belief that life is meaningless.
• Philosophy extreme skepticism maintaining that nothing in the world has a real existence.
• historical the doctrine of an extreme Russian revolutionary party c. 1900
which found nothing to approve of in the established social order.
she could not accept Bacon's nihilism, his insistence that man is a futile being:
skepticism, negativity, cynicism, pessimism; disbelief, unbelief, agnosticism, atheism.
* * * *
nirvana | nərˈvänə, nirˈvänə |
noun
(in Buddhism) a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self,
and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth.
It represents the final goal of Buddhism.
• another term for moksha.
• a state of perfect happiness; an ideal or idyllic place:
Hollywood's dearest dream of small-town nirvana.
there are no shortcuts to nirvana:
paradise, heaven; bliss, ecstasy, joy, peace, serenity, tranquility; enlightenment.
ANTONYMS hell.
* * * *
non sequitur | nän ˈsekwədər |
noun
(plural non sequiturs or non sequuntur)
1 conclusion or statement that does not logically follow from the previous argument or statement:
his weird mixed metaphors and non sequiturs.
2 Any abrupt and inexplicable transition or occurrence:
Having a costumed superhero abduct the vicar was an utter non sequitur in the novel.
3 Any invalid argument in which the conclusion cannot be logically deduced from the premises;
a logical fallacy.
4 A statement that does not logically follow a statement that came before it.
5 (humor) A kind of pun that uses a change of word, subject,
or meaning to make a joke of the listener’s expectation.
* * * *
now | nou |
adverb
1 at the present time or moment: where are you living now? |
it's the most popular style of jazz right now | not now, I'm late |
[after preposition] : they should be back by now.
• at the time directly following the present moment; immediately:
if we leave now we can be home by ten | I'd rather do it now than leave it till later.
• under the present circumstances; as a result of something that has recently happened:
it is now clear that we should not pursue this policy |
I didn't receive the letter, but it hardly matters now.
• on this further occasion, typically as the latest in a series of annoying situations or events:
what do you want now?
• used to emphasize a particular length of time:
they've been married four years now.
• (in a narrative or account of past events) at the time spoken of or referred to:
she was nineteen now, and she was alone | it had happened three times now.
2 used, especially in conversation,
to draw attention to a particular statement or point in a narrative:
now, my first impulse was to run away | I don't like Scotch.
Now, if it had been Irish Whiskey you'd offered me.
3 used in or as a request, instruction, or question,
typically to give a slight emphasis to one's words:
we can hardly send her back, now can we? |
run along now | now, if you'll excuse me?
• used when pausing or considering one's next words:
let me see now, oh yes, I remember.
4 used at the end of an ironic question echoing a previous statement:
“Mom says for you to give me some of your stamps.” “Does she now?”.
1 I'm extremely busy now:
at the moment, at present, at the present (time/moment),
at this moment in time, currently, presently.
2 television is now the main source of news:
nowadays, today, these days, in this day and age; in the present climate.
3 you must leave now:
at once, straightaway, right away, right now, this minute,
this instant, immediately, instantly, directly, without further ado, promptly, without delay,
as soon as possible; informal pronto, straight off, ASAP.
O
oligarchy | ˈäləˌɡärkē |
noun
(plural oligarchies)
a small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution:
the ruling oligarchy of military men around the president.
• a country governed by an oligarchy:
the English aristocratic oligarchy of the 19th century.
• government by an oligarchy.
* * * *
op·ti·mism| ˈäptəˌmizəm |
noun
1 hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something:
the talks had been amicable and there were grounds for optimism.
2 Philosophy the doctrine, especially as set forth by Leibniz,
that this world is the best of all possible worlds.
• the belief that good must ultimately prevail over evil in the universe.
such statements reflect the growing optimism among members of the profession:
hopefulness, hope, confidence, buoyancy, cheer, good cheer,
cheerfulness, sanguineness, positiveness, positive attitude.
ANTONYMS pessimism
P
panpsychism | panˈsīˌkizəm |
noun
the doctrine or belief that everything material, however small,
has an element of individual consciousness.
* * * *
pantheism | ˈpanTHēˌizəm |
noun
1 a doctrine which identifies God with the universe, or regards the universe as a manifestation of God.
2 worship that admits or tolerates all gods.
* * * *
paradox | ˈperəˌdäks |
noun
a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition
that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true:
in a paradox, he has discovered that stepping back from his job
has increased the rewards he gleans from it.
• a statement or proposition that,
despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises,
leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory:
a potentially serious conflict between quantum mechanics and the general theory of relativity
known as the information paradox.
• a situation, person, or thing that combines contradictory features or qualities:
the mingling of deciduous trees with elements of desert flora
forms a fascinating ecological paradox.
the paradox of war is that you have to kill people in order to stop people from killing each other:
contradiction, contradiction in terms, self-contradiction, inconsistency, incongruity;
oxymoron; conflict, anomaly; enigma, puzzle, mystery, conundrum.
* * * *
parasite | ˈperəˌsīt |
noun
an organism that lives in or on another organism (its host)
and benefits by deriving nutrients at the host's expense.
• derogatory a person who habitually relies on or exploits others
and gives nothing in return.
Parasites exist in huge variety, including animals, plants, and microorganisms.
They may live as ectoparasites on the surface of the host
(e.g., arthropods such as ticks, mites, lice, fleas, and many insects infesting plants)
or as endoparasites in the gut or tissues (e.g., many kinds of worm),
and cause varying degrees of damage or disease to the host.
she longed to be free of the parasites in her family:
hanger-on, cadger, leech, passenger;
informal bloodsucker, sponger, bottom feeder, scrounger, freeloader, mooch.
* * * *
parochial | pəˈrōkēəl |
adjective
• having a limited or narrow outlook or scope:
this worldview seems incredibly naive and parochial.
she was constantly challenging their parochial approach to education:
narrow-minded, small-minded, provincial, narrow, small-town,
conservative, illiberal, intolerant; informal jerkwater.
ANTONYMS broad-minded.
* * * *
passion | ˈpaSHən |
noun
1 strong and barely controllable emotion:
a man of impetuous passion.
• a state or outburst of strong emotion:
oratory in which he gradually works himself up into a passion.
• intense sexual love:
their all-consuming passion for each other | she nurses a passion for Thomas.
• an intense desire or enthusiasm for something:
the English have a passion for gardens.
• a thing arousing enthusiasm:
modern furniture is a particular passion of Bill's.
2 (the Passion) the suffering and death of Jesus:
meditations on the Passion of Christ.
• a narrative of the Passion from any of the Gospels.
• a musical setting of any of the narratives of the Passion:
an aria from Bach's St. Matthew Passion.
1 the passion of activists: fervor, ardor, enthusiasm, eagerness, zeal, zealousness,
vigor, fire, fieriness, energy, fervency, animation, spirit, spiritedness, fanaticism.
ANTONYMS apathy.
2 he worked himself up into a passion: (blind) rage, fit of anger/temper, temper, towering rage, tantrum, fury, frenzy.
3 hot with passion: love, (sexual) desire, lust, ardor, infatuation, lasciviousness, lustfulness.
4 his passion for football:
enthusiasm, love, mania, fascination, obsession, fanaticism,
fixation, compulsion, appetite, addiction; informal thing.
5 French literature is my passion:
obsession, preoccupation, craze, mania, hobbyhorse.
6 the Passion of Christ:
crucifixion, suffering, agony, martyrdom.
* * * *
patience | ˈpāSHəns |
noun
the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset:
you can find bargains if you have the patience to sift through the dross.
1 she tried everyone's patience:
forbearance, tolerance, restraint, self-restraint, stoicism;
calmness, composure, equanimity, imperturbability, phlegm, understanding, indulgence.
2 a task requiring patience:
perseverance, persistence, endurance, tenacity, assiduity, application,
staying power, doggedness, determination, resolve, resolution, resoluteness.
* * * *
pattern | ˈpat(ə)n |
noun
1 a repeated decorative design: a neat blue herringbone pattern.
• an arrangement or design regularly found in comparable objects:
the house had been built on the usual pattern.
• a regular and intelligible form or sequence
discernible in the way in which something happens or is done:
a complicating factor is the change in working patterns | the murders followed a repeated pattern |
the school is located a few kilometers away and is run on the pattern of other army schools.
2 a model or design used as a guide in needlework and other crafts:
make a pattern for the zigzag edge.
• a set of instructions to be followed in making a sewn or knitted item:
the bag contained wool, needles, and a pattern for a sweater.
• a wooden or metal model from which a mould is made for a casting:
to make a split mould a wooden pattern has to be made first.
• a sample of cloth or wallpaper: [as modifier] :
it is easier to choose carpets from the roll than from a pattern book.
3 an example for others to follow: he set the pattern for subsequent study.
verb [with object]
1 (usually as adjective patterned) decorate with a recurring design:
rosebud patterned wallpapers.
2 give a regular or intelligible form to:
the brain not only receives information, but interprets and patterns it.
• (pattern something on/after) give something a form based on that of (something else):
the clothing is patterned on athletes' wear.
noun
1 the pattern on the wallpaper:
design, decoration, motif, marking, ornament, ornamentation.
2 the patterns of ant behavior:
system, order, arrangement, form, method, structure, scheme, plan, format, framework.
3 this would set the pattern for a generation:
model, example, criterion, standard, basis, point of reference, gauge, norm,
yardstick, touchstone, benchmark; blueprint, archetype, prototype.
4 textile patterns: sample, specimen, swatch.
verb someone else is patterning my life:
shape, influence, model, fashion, mold, style, determine, control.
verb
someone else is patterning my life:
shape, influence, model, fashion, mold, style, determine, control.
* * * *
perception | pərˈsepSH(ə)n |
noun
the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses:
the normal limits to human perception.
• the state of being or process of becoming aware of something through the senses:
the perception of pain.
• a way of regarding, understanding, or interpreting something; a mental impression:
Hollywood's perception of the tastes of the American public |
we need to challenge many popular perceptions of old age.
• intuitive understanding and insight:
“He wouldn't have accepted,” said my mother with unusual perception.
• Psychology & Zoology the neurophysiological processes, including memory,
by which an organism becomes aware of and interprets external stimuli.
1 our perception of our own limitations:
recognition, awareness, consciousness, appreciation, realization, knowledge, grasp,
understanding, comprehension, apprehension; formal cognizance.
2 popular perceptions of old age: impression, idea, conception, notion, thought, belief, judgment, estimation.
3 he talks with great perception:
insight, perceptiveness, percipience, perspicacity, understanding, sharpness, sharp-wittedness,
intelligence, intuition, cleverness, incisiveness, trenchancy, astuteness,
shrewdness, acuteness, acuity, discernment, sensitivity,
penetration, thoughtfulness, profundity;
formal perspicuity.
* * * *
perpetuity | ˌpərpəˈt(y)o͞oədē |
noun
(plural perpetuities)
1 a bond or other security with no fixed maturity date.
2 Law a restriction making an estate inalienable perpetually
or for a period beyond certain limits fixed by law.
3 the state or quality of lasting forever:
he did not believe in the perpetuity of military rule.
PHRASES: in perpetuity
the archive will be preserved in perpetuity as a unified collection:
forever, forevermore, permanently, for always, for good, perpetually,
for ever and ever, for all time, until the end of time, until hell freezes over,
eternally, for eternity, everlastingly; informal for keeps; archaic for aye.
* * * *
pes·si·mism| ˈpesəˌmizəm |
noun
‘a tendency to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen;
a lack of hope or confidence in the future:
the dispute cast an air of deep pessimism over the future of the peace talks.
• Philosophy a belief that this world is as bad as it could be
or that evil will ultimately prevail over good.
formerly he had been prone to pessimism, full of gloomy predictions about the future:
defeatism, negative thinking, negativity, expecting the worst, doom and gloom, gloom, gloominess;
hopelessness, lack of hope, cynicism, fatalism, depression, despair, melancholy, despondency,
dejection, angst, distrust, doubt; German Weltschmerz; informal looking on the black side.
* * * *
philosophy |fəˈläsəfē|
noun
(pl. philosophies)
the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence,
especially when considered as an academic discipline.
See also natural philosophy.
• a particular system of philosophical thought: Schopenhauer’s philosophy.
• the study of the theoretical basis of a particular branch of knowledge or experience:
the philosophy of science.
• a theory or attitude held by a person or organization
that acts as a guiding principle for behavior:
don't expect anything and you won't be disappointed, that's my philosophy.
* * * *
physics | ˈfiziks |
plural noun
[treated as singular]
the branch of science concerned with the nature and properties of matter and energy.
The subject matter of physics, distinguished from that of chemistry and biology,
includes mechanics, heat, light and other radiation, sound,
electricity, magnetism, and the structure of atoms.
• the physical properties and phenomena of something: the physics of plasmas.
* * * *
pragmatic | praɡˈmadik |
adjective
dealing with things sensibly and realistically
in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations:
a pragmatic approach to politics.
• relating to philosophical or political pragmatism.
• Linguistics relating to pragmatics.
she remains pragmatic in the most emotional circumstances:
practical, matter-of-fact, sensible, down-to-earth, commonsensical, businesslike,
having both/one's feet on the ground, hardheaded, no-nonsense; informal hard-nosed.
ANTONYMS impractical.
* * * *
pride | prīd |
noun
1 a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements,
the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated,
or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired:
the team was bursting with pride after recording a sensational victory |
a woman who takes great pride in her appearance.
• a person or thing that is the object or source of a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction:
the swimming pool is the pride of the community.
• literary the best state or condition of something; the prime:
in the pride ofyouth.
2 consciousness of one's own dignity:
he swallowed his pride and asked for help.
• the quality of having an excessively high opinion of oneself or one's importance:
the sin of pride.
3 a group of lions forming a social unit.
verb
(pride oneself on/upon) be especially proud of (a particular quality or skill):
she'd always prided herself on her ability to deal with a crisis.
1 their triumphs were a source of pride:
self-esteem, dignity, honor, self-respect, self-worth, self-regard, pride in oneself.
ANTONYMS shame.
2 take pride in a good job well done:
pleasure, joy, delight, gratification, fulfillment, satisfaction, a sense of achievement.
3 he refused her offer out of pride:
arrogance, vanity, self-importance, hubris, conceit, conceitedness, self-love, self-adulation,
self-admiration, narcissism, egotism, superciliousness, haughtiness, snobbery,
snobbishness; informal big-headedness; literary vainglory.
ANTONYMS modesty, humility.
4 the bull is the pride of the herd:
best, finest, top, cream, pick, choice, prize, glory, jewel in the crown.
ANTONYMS dregs.
5 the rose-covered trellis was the pride of the gardener:
source of satisfaction, pride and joy, treasured possession, joy, delight.
* * * *
problem | ˈpräbləm |
noun
1 a matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful
and needing to be dealt with and overcome:
they have financial problems | the problem of ageism in Hollywood.
• a thing that is difficult to achieve or accomplish:
motivation of staff can also be a problem.
• [as modifier] denoting or relating to people
whose behavior causes difficulties to themselves and others:
practitioners help families develop strategies
for managing problem behavior in teens | a problem family.
2 Physics & Mathematics an inquiry starting from given conditions
to investigate or demonstrate a fact, result, or law.
• Geometry a proposition in which something has to be constructed.
Compare with theorem.
• (in various games, especially chess) an arrangement of pieces
in which the solver has to achieve a specified result.
noun
1 they ran into a problem:
difficulty, trouble, worry, complication, difficult situation;
snag, hitch, drawback, stumbling block, obstacle, hurdle, hiccup, setback, catch;
predicament, plight; misfortune, mishap, misadventure;
dilemma, quandary; informal headache, nightmare.
2 I don't want to be a problem:
nuisance, bother, pest, irritant, thorn in one's side/flesh, vexation;
informal drag, pain, pain in the neck.
3 mathematical problems:
puzzle, question, poser, enigma, riddle, conundrum; informal teaser, brainteaser.
adjective
a problem child:
troublesome, difficult, unmanageable, unruly, disobedient,
uncontrollable, recalcitrant, delinquent.
ANTONYMS well behaved, manageable.
* * * *
prophet | ˈpräfət |
noun
1 a person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God:
the Old Testament prophet, Jeremiah.
• (the Prophet) (among Muslims) Muhammad.
• (the Prophet) (among Mormons) Joseph Smith or one of his successors.
• a person who advocates or speaks in a visionary way about a new belief, cause, or theory:
a prophet of radical individualism.
• a person who makes or claims to be able to make predictions:
the anti-technology prophets of doom.
2 (the Prophets) (in Christian use) the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel,
and the twelve minor prophets.
• (in Jewish use) one of the three canonical divisions of the Hebrew Bible,
distinguished from the Law and the Hagiographa, and comprising the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and the twelve minor prophets.
the queen was disturbed by the prophet's interpretation of her dreams:
seer, soothsayer, fortune teller, clairvoyant, diviner; oracle, augur, sibyl.
* * * *
pur·ga·to·ry| ˈpərɡəˌtôrē |
noun (plural purgatories)
(in Roman Catholic doctrine) a place or state of suffering
inhabited by the souls of sinners who are expiating their sins before going to heaven:
all her sins were forgiven and she would not need to go to Purgatory |
the punishment of souls in purgatory.
• mental anguish or suffering:
this was purgatory, worse than anything she'd faced in her life.
adjective archaic having the quality of cleansing or purifying:
infernal punishments are purgatory and medicinal.
the premed year was a necessary term of purgatory:
torment, torture, misery, suffering, affliction, anguish, agony,
wretchedness, woe, tribulation, hell, hell on earth;
an ordeal, a nightmare, a hellhole, an abyss;
trials and tribulations.
ANTONYMS paradise, bliss
Q
quantum | ˈkwän(t)əm |
noun
(plural quanta | -tə | )
Physics: a discrete quantity of energy proportional in magnitude
to the frequency of the radiation it represents.
• an analogous discrete amount of any other physical quantity,
such as momentum or electric charge.
* * * *
quantum mechanics | ˈˌkwɑn(t)əm məˈkænɪks |
plural noun
[treated as singular]
Physics: the branch of mechanics that deals with the mathematical description
of the motion and interaction of subatomic particles,
incorporating the concepts of quantization of energy, wave-particle duality,
the uncertainty principle, and the correspondence principle.
R
rab·bit hole
noun
1 a rabbit's burrow: a heather-covered hillside full of rabbit holes.
2 used to refer to a bizarre, confusing, or nonsensical situation or environment,
typically one from which it is difficult to extricate oneself:
he'll continue fearmongering to promote his agenda
no matter how far down the rabbit hole it takes him.
[with allusion to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865),
which describes how Alice enters a land of magic and strange logic by falling down a rabbit hole.]
* * * *
radiation | ˌrādēˈāSH(ə)n |
noun
Physics: the emission of energy as electromagnetic waves or as moving subatomic particles,
especially high-energy particles which cause ionization.
• the energy transmitted by radiation, as heat, light, electricity, etc.
* * * *
reality | rēˈalədē |
noun
(plural realities)
1 the world or the state of things as they actually exist,
as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them:
he refuses to face reality | Laura was losing touch with reality.
• a thing that is actually experienced or seen, especially when this is grim or problematic:
the harsh realities of life in a farming community | the law ignores the reality of the situation.
• a thing that exists in fact, having previously only existed in one's mind:
the paperless office may yet become a reality.
• the quality of being lifelike or resembling an original:
the reality of Marryat's detail.
• [as modifier] relating to reality TV: a reality show.
2 the state or quality of having existence or substance: youth, when death has no reality.
• Philosophy existence that is absolute, self-sufficient, or objective,
and not subject to human decisions or conventions.
1 distinguishing fantasy from reality:
the real world, real life, actuality; truth; physical existence.
ANTONYMS fantasy.
2 the harsh realities of life: fact, actuality, truth.
3 the reality of Steinbeck's detail: verisimilitude, authenticity, realism, fidelity, faithfulness.
ANTONYMS idealism.
* * * *
relativity | ˌreləˈtivədē |
noun
1 the absence of standards of absolute and universal application:
moral relativity.
2 Physics the dependence of various physical phenomena
on relative motion of the observer and the observed objects,
especially regarding the nature and behavior of light, space, time, and gravity.
The concept of relativity was set out in Einstein's special theory of relativity, published in 1905.
This states that all motion is relative and that the velocity of light in a vacuum has a constant value that nothing can exceed. Among its consequences are the following: the mass of a body increases and its length (in the direction of motion) shortens as its speed increases; the time interval between two events occurring in a moving body appears greater to a stationary observer; and mass and energy are equivalent and interconvertible. Einstein's general theory of relativity, published in 1915, extended the theory to accelerated motion and gravitation, which was treated as a curvature of the space-time continuum. It predicted that light rays would be deflected and shifted in wavelength when passing through a substantial gravitational field, effects that have been experimentally confirmed.
* * * *
relationship | rəˈlāSH(ə)nˌSHip |
noun
the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected,
or the state of being connected:
the study will assess the relationship between unemployment and political attitudes.
• the state of being connected by blood or marriage:
they can trace their relationship to a common ancestor.
• the way in which two or more people or organizations regard and behave toward each other:
the landlord–tenant relationship | she was proud of her good relationship with the staff.
• an emotional and sexual association between two people:
she has a daughter from a previous relationship.
1 the relationship between diet and diabetes:
connection, relation, association, link, correlation, correspondence,
parallel, alliance, bond, interrelation, interconnection.
2 evidence of their relationship to Buffalo Bill Cody:
family ties, family connections, blood ties, blood relationship, kinship,
affinity, consanguinity, common ancestry, common lineage.
3 the end of their relationship:
romance, (love) affair, love, liaison, amour, partnership;
informal bromance.
* * * *
religion | rəˈlijən |
noun
the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power,
especially a personal God or gods:
ideas about the relationship between science and religion.
• a particular system of faith and worship: the world's great religions.
• a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance:
consumerism is the new religion.
the freedom to practice their own religion:
faith, belief, worship, creed; sect, church, cult, denomination.
* * * *
religious | rəˈlijəs |
adjective
relating to or believing in a religion:
both men were deeply religious, intelligent, and moralistic | religious music.
• (of a belief or practice) forming part of someone's thought about or worship of a divine being:
he has strong religious convictions.
• belonging or relating to a monastic order or other group of people
who are united by their practice of religion:
religious houses were built on ancient pagan sites.
• treated or regarded with a devotion and scrupulousness appropriate to worship:
I have a religious aversion to reading manuals.
1 a religious person: devout, pious, reverent, godly,
God-fearing, churchgoing, faithful, devoted, committed.
ANTONYMS atheistic, irreverent.
2 religious beliefs: spiritual, theological, scriptural, doctrinal,
ecclesiastical, church, faith-based, churchly, holy, divine, sacred.
ANTONYMS secular.
3 religious attention to detail:
scrupulous, conscientious, meticulous, sedulous, punctilious, strict, rigorous, close.
ANTONYMS slapdash.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD
religious, devout, pious
Religious basically means ‘relating to a religion’ (the patriotic and religious duty of any Jew)
or ‘believing in a religion’ (the word is regarded by many religious people with considerable
disapproval), and both senses are neither critical nor approving. Only in the second sense can religious
be used after the verb to be, or be qualified by an adverb, to express the degree of someone's
commitment (he wasn't a churchgoer, but very religious). Sometimes it is used in an extended sense
to suggest that someone attaches particular importance to a secular object or pursuit; there may be
a critical suggestion that such devotion is misplaced (he always had a religious obsession with fame).
Devout is used to indicate a deep and genuine religious commitment (he was a devout Quaker
and would not allow a pub in the village), and is an approving word. It is also used to convey total
or uncritical enthusiasm for or commitment to a secular object (a devout soccer fan).
Pious, too, can convey religious commitment (donations to the Churchfrom pious laymen)
but is now mainly used pejoratively to denote hypocritical religiosity
(I know what's under that pious face of yours).
* * * *
republic | rəˈpəblik |
noun
a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives,
and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch.
• archaic a group with a certain equality between its members.
* * * *
resilience | rəˈzilyəns | (also resiliency)
noun
1 the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness:
the often remarkable resilience of so many British institutions.
2 the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape;
elasticity: nylon is excellent in wearability and resilience.
* * * *
rhetoric | ˈredərik |
noun
the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing,
especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.
• language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect on its audience,
but often regarded as lacking in sincerity or meaningful content:
all we have from the Opposition is empty rhetoric.
1 a form of rhetoric: oratory, eloquence, command of language, way with words.
2 empty rhetoric: bombast, turgidity, grandiloquence, magniloquence,
pomposity, extravagant language, purple prose;
wordiness, verbosity, prolixity; informal hot air; rare fustian.
* * * *
rut | rət |
noun
1 a long deep track made by the repeated passage of the wheels of vehicles.
2 a habit or pattern of behavior that has become dull and unproductive but is hard to change:
the administration was stuck in a rut and was losing its direction.
1 the car bumped across the ruts:
furrow, groove, trough, ditch, hollow, pothole, crater.
2 he was stuck in a rut:
boring routine, humdrum existence, habit, dead end.
S
sapient | ˈsāpēənt |
adjective
1 formal wise, or attempting to appear wise.
• (chiefly in science fiction) intelligent: sapient life forms.
2 relating to the human species (Homo sapiens):
our sapient ancestors of 40,000 years ago.
noun
a human of the species Homo sapiens.
* * * *
satori | səˈtôrē |
noun
Buddhism sudden enlightenment: the road that leads to satori.
* * * *
science | ˈsīəns |
noun
the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study
of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world
through observation and experiment: the world of science and technology.
• a particular area of science: veterinary science | the agricultural sciences.
• a systematically organized body of knowledge on a particular subject: the science of criminology.
• archaic knowledge of any kind.
* * * *
scientific method
noun
a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century,
consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment,
and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.
* * * *
scripture | ˈskripCHər
noun
(often Scripture or Scriptures) the sacred writings of Christianity contained in the Bible:
passages of scripture | the fundamental teachings of the scriptures.
• the sacred writings of another religion.
he appeals solely to scripture for his authority:
sacred text, Holy Writ, the Bible, the Holy Bible, the Gospel,
the Good Book, the Word of God, the Book of Books.
* * * *
secular | ˈsekyələr |
adjective
1 denoting attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious or spiritual basis:
secular buildings | secular moral theory.
Contrasted with sacred.
2 Christian Church (of clergy) not subject to or bound by religious rule;
not belonging to or living in a monastic or other order.
Contrasted with regular.
3 Astronomy of or denoting slow changes in the motion of the sun or planets.
4 Economics (of a fluctuation or trend) occurring or persisting over an indefinitely long period:
there is evidence that the slump is not cyclical but secular.
5 occurring once every century or similarly long period
(used especially in reference to celebratory games in ancient Rome).
secular music:
nonreligious, areligious, lay, temporal, worldly, earthly, profane; formal laic.
ANTONYMS holy, religious.
* * * *
seer | sir |
noun
1 a person who is supposed to be able, through supernatural insight, to see what the future holds.
• an expert who provides forecasts of the economic or political future:
our seers have grown gloomier about prospects for growth.
2 [usually in combination] chiefly archaic a person who sees something specified:
a seer of the future | ghost-seers.
the woeful predictions of an ancient seer:
soothsayer, oracle, prophet(ess), augur, prognosticator, diviner, visionary,
fortune teller, crystal gazer, clairvoyant, psychic, medium; literary sibyl.
* * * *
self | self |
noun
(plural selves | selvz | )
a person's essential being that distinguishes them from others,
especially considered as the object of introspection or reflexive action:
our alienation from our true selves |
[in singular] : guilt can be turned against the self |
language is an aspect of a person's sense of self.
• [with adjective] a person's particular nature or personality;
the qualities that make a person individual or unique:
by the end of the round he was back to his old self | Paula seemed to be her usual cheerful self.
• one's own interests or pleasure:
to love in an unpossessive way implies the total surrender of self.
• (with adjective one's self) used ironically to refer to oneself or someone else:
the only side worth supporting is your own sweet self.
adjective [attributive]
(of a trimming or cover) of the same material and color as the rest of the item:
a dress with self belt.
verb [with object] chiefly Botany
self-pollinate; self-fertilize: (as noun selfing) :
the flowers never open and pollination is normally by selfing.
• (usually as adjective selfed) Genetics cause (an animal or plant)
to breed with or fertilize one of the same hybrid origin or strain:
progeny were derived from selfed crosses.
self noun listen to your inner self:
ego, I, oneself, persona, person, identity, character, personality,
psyche, soul, spirit, mind, (inner) being.
ANTONYMS other.
* * * *
sentient | ˈsen(t)SH(ē)ənt |
adjective
able to perceive or feel things:
she had been instructed from birth in the equality of all sentient life forms.
any sentient creature should have the good sense to avoid something so dangerous:
(capable of) feeling, living, live; conscious, aware, responsive, reactive.
* * * *
serendipity | ˌserənˈdipədē |
noun
the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way:
a fortunate stroke of serendipity | a series of small serendipities.
the consequence of serendipity is sometimes a brilliant discovery:
(happy) chance, (happy) accident, fluke;
luck, good luck, good fortune, fortuity, providence; happy coincidence.
* * * *
skepticism | ˈskeptəˌsizəm | (British scepticism)
noun
1 a skeptical attitude; doubt as to the truth of something:
these claims were treated with skepticism.
2 Philosophy the theory that certain knowledge is impossible.
1 his ideas were met with skepticism:
doubt, doubtfulness, a pinch of salt; disbelief, cynicism, distrust, mistrust,
suspicion, incredulity; pessimism, defeatism; formal dubiety.
2 he passed from skepticism to religious belief:
agnosticism, doubt; atheism, unbelief, nonbelief.
* * * *
solipsism | ˈsäləpˌsizəm |
noun
the view or theory that the self is all that can be known to exist.
* * * *
soul | sōl |
noun
1 the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal.
• a person's moral or emotional nature or sense of identity:
in the depths of her soul, she knew he would betray her.
2 emotional or intellectual energy or intensity,
especially as revealed in a work of art or an artistic performance:
their interpretation lacked soul.
• African-American culture or ethnic pride.
• short for soul music.
3 the essence or embodiment of a specified quality:
he was the soul of discretion | brevity is the soul of wit.
• an individual person: I'll never tell a soul.
• a person regarded with affection or pity: she's a nice old soul.
1 seeing the soul through the eyes:
spirit, psyche, (inner) self, inner being, life force, vital force;
individuality, makeup, subconscious, anima;
Philosophy pneuma; Hinduism atman.
2 he is the soul of discretion:
embodiment, personification, incarnation, epitome, quintessence,
essence; model, exemplification, exemplar, image, manifestation.
3 not a soul in sight:
person, human being, individual, man, woman, mortal, creature.
4 their music lacked soul:
inspiration, feeling, emotion, passion, animation, intensity,
fervor, ardor, enthusiasm, warmth, energy, vitality, spirit.
* * * *
solution | səˈlo͞oSH(ə)n |
noun
1 a means of solving a problem or dealing with a difficult situation:
there are no easy solutions to financial and marital problems.
• the correct answer to a puzzle: the solution to this month's crossword.
• (solutions) products or services designed to meet a particular need:
we are an Internet marketing firm specializing in e-commerce solutions.
2 a liquid mixture in which the minor component (the solute)
is uniformly distributed within the major component (the solvent).
• the process or state of being dissolved in a solvent.
3 archaic the action of separating or breaking down;
dissolution: the solution of British supremacy in South Africa.
1 an easy solution to the problem:
answer, result, resolution, way out, fix, panacea;
key, formula, explanation, interpretation.
2 a solution of ammonia in water:
mixture, mix, blend, compound, suspension, tincture, infusion, emulsion.
* * * *
sound | sound |
noun
vibrations that travel through the air or another medium
and can be heard when they reach a person's or animal's ear:
light travels faster than sound.
* * * *
space-time | ˈspās ˈˌtīm |
noun
Physics the concepts of time and three-dimensional space
regarded as fused in a four-dimensional continuum.
* * * *
speculation | ˌspekyəˈlāSH(ə)n |
noun
the forming of a theory or conjecture without firm evidence:
there has been widespread speculation that he plans to quit
| this is pure speculation on my part | these are only speculations.
his resignation fuelled speculation of an imminent cabinet reshuffle:
conjecture, theorizing, hypothesizing, supposition, guesswork; talk;
theory, hypothesis, thesis, postulation, guess, surmise, opinion, notion;
prediction, forecast; informal guesstimate.
* * * *
spiritual | ˈspiriCH(o͞o)əl |
adjective
1 relating to or affecting the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things:
I'm responsible for his spiritual welfare | the spiritual values of life.
• (of a person) not concerned with material values or pursuits.
2 relating to religion or religious belief: the tribe's spiritual leader.
noun
(also Negro spiritual)
a religious song of a kind associated with black Christians of the southern US,
and thought to derive from the combination of European hymns
and African musical elements by black slaves.
1 your spiritual self: nonmaterial, incorporeal, intangible;
inner, mental, psychological; transcendent, ethereal, otherworldly,
mystic, mystical, metaphysical; rare extramundane.
ANTONYMS physical.
2 spiritual writings: religious, sacred, divine, holy,
nonsecular, church, ecclesiastical, faith-based, devotional.
ANTONYMS secular.
* * * *
spirituality | ˌspiriCHo͞oˈalədē |
noun
(plural spiritualities)
the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things:
the shift in priorities allows us to embrace our spirituality in a more profound way |
a deep sense of spirituality that connects them to the natural environment |
[count noun] : an interest in other cultures and spiritualities.
* * * *
stoicism | ˈstōəˌsizəm |
noun
1 the endurance of pain or hardship without the display of feelings and without complaint.
2 (Stoicism) an ancient Greek school of philosophy founded at Athens by Zeno of Citium.
The school taught that virtue, the highest good, is based on knowledge;
the wise live in harmony with the divine Reason (also identified with Fate and Providence)
that governs nature, and are indifferent to the vicissitudes of fortune and to pleasure and pain.
she accepted her sufferings with remarkable stoicism:
patience, forbearance, resignation, fortitude, endurance, acceptance, tolerance, phlegm.
ANTONYMS intolerance.
* * * *
superego | ˌso͞opərˈēɡō |
noun
(plural superegos)
Psychoanalysis the part of a person's mind that acts as a self-critical conscience,
reflecting social standards learned from parents and teachers.
Compare with ego and id.
* * * *
superstition | ˌso͞opərˈstiSH(ə)n |
noun
excessively credulous belief in and reverence for supernatural beings:
he dismissed the ghost stories as mere superstition.
• a widely held but unjustified belief in supernatural causation
leading to certain consequences of an action or event, or a practice based on such a belief:
she touched her locket for luck, a superstition she had had since childhood.
1 the old superstitions held by sailors: myth, belief, old wives' tale; legend, story.
2 medicine was riddled with superstition:
unfounded belief, credulity, fallacy, delusion, illusion;
magic, sorcery; informal humbug, hooey.
* * * *
supposition | ˌsəpəˈziSH(ə)n |
noun
an uncertain belief: they were working on the supposition that his death was murder |
their outrage was based on supposition and hearsay.
her supposition is based on previous results:
belief, surmise, idea, notion, suspicion, conjecture, speculation, inference,
theory, hypothesis, postulation, guess, feeling, hunch, assumption, presumption.
* * * *
synergy | ˈsinərjē |
(also synergism | -ˌjizəm | )
noun
the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances,
or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects:
the synergy between artist and record company.
there's no synergy between the two, so no costs are saved:
cooperative interaction, cooperation, combined effort, give and take.
* * * *
synthesis | ˈsinTHəsəs |
noun
(plural syntheses | -ˌsēz | )
1 the combination of ideas to form a theory or system:
the synthesis of intellect and emotion in his work | the ideology represented a synthesis of certain ideas.
Often contrasted with analysis.
• Grammar the process of making compound and derivative words.
• Linguistics the use of inflected forms rather than word order to express grammatical structure.
2 the production of chemical compounds by reaction from simpler materials:
the synthesis of methanol from carbon monoxide and hydrogen.
3 (in Hegelian philosophy) the final stage in the process of dialectical reasoning,
in which a new idea resolves the conflict between thesis and antithesis.
the synthesis of their diverse styles makes for a wonderful new sound in country music:
combination, union, amalgam, blend, mixture, compound, fusion, composite, alloy;
unification, amalgamation, marrying.
T
tabula rasa | ˈtäbyo͝olə ˈräsə, ˈräzə |
noun
(plural tabulae rasae | ˈtäbyo͝olē ˈräsē, ˈräzē | )
an absence of preconceived ideas or predetermined goals;
a clean slate: the team did not have complete freedom
and a tabula rasa from which to work.
• the human mind, especially at birth, viewed as having no innate ideas.
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Tao | dou, tou | (also Dao)
noun
(in Chinese philosophy) the absolute principle underlying the universe,
combining within itself the principles of yin and yang and signifying the way,
or code of behavior, that is in harmony with the natural order.
The interpretation of Tao in the Tao-te-Ching
developed into the philosophical religion of Taoism.
ORIGIN Chinese, literally ‘(right) way’.
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technology | tekˈnäləjē |
noun
(plural technologies)
the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry:
advances in computer technology | recycling technologies.
• machinery and equipment developed from the application of scientific knowledge.
• the branch of knowledge dealing with engineering or applied sciences.
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Tetragrammaton | ˌtetrəˈɡraməˌtän |
noun
the Hebrew name of God transliterated in four letters as YHWH or JHVH
and articulated as Yahweh or Jehovah.
ORIGIN Greek, neuter of tetragrammatos ‘having four letters’,
from tetra- ‘four’ + gramma, grammat- ‘letter’.
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theism | ˈTHēˌizəm |
noun
belief in the existence of a god or gods,
especially belief in one god as creator of the universe,
intervening in it and sustaining a personal relation to his creatures.
Compare with deism.
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theory | ˈTHirē |
noun
(plural theories)
a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something,
especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained:
Darwin's theory of evolution.
• a set of principles on which the practice of an activity is based:
a theory of education | music theory.
• an idea used to account for a situation or justify a course of action:
my theory would be that the place has been seriously mismanaged.
• Mathematics a collection of propositions to illustrate the principles of a subject.
1 I reckon that confirms my theory:
hypothesis, thesis, conjecture, supposition, speculation, postulation, postulate,
proposition, premise, surmise, assumption, presupposition;
opinion, view, belief, contention.
2 modern economic theory:
principles, ideas, concepts; philosophy, ideology, system of ideas, science.
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translation | transˈlāSH(ə)n, tranzˈlāSH(ə)n |
noun
1 the process of translating words or text from one language into another:
Constantine's translation of Arabic texts into Latin.
• a written or spoken rendering of the meaning of a word,
speech, book, or other text, in another language:
a German translation of Oscar Wilde's play |
a term for which there is no adequate English translation.
• the conversion of something from one form or medium into another:
the translation of research findings into clinical practice.
• Biology the process by which a sequence of nucleotide triplets in a messenger RNA molecule
gives rise to a specific sequence of amino acids during synthesis of a polypeptide or protein.
2 formal or technical the process of moving something from one place to another:
the translation of the relics of St. Thomas of Canterbury.
• Mathematics movement of a body from one point of space to another
such that every point of the body moves in the same direction and over the same distance,
without any rotation, reflection, or change in size.
the translation of the Bible into English:
rendition, rendering, conversion; transcription, transliteration.
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trib·al| ˈtrībəl |
adjective
of or characteristic of a tribe or tribes: tribal people in Malaysia.
• mainly derogatory characterized by a tendency to form groups or by strong group loyalty:
British industrial operatives remained locked in primitive tribal attitudes.
noun
(tribals) members of tribal communities, especially in South Asia.
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tribalism | ˈtrībəˌlizəm |
noun
the state or fact of being organized in a tribe or tribes.
• chiefly derogatory the behavior and attitudes
that stem from strong loyalty to one's own tribe or social group:
a society motivated by cultural tribalism.
the latest waves of violence were blamed on tribalism:
sectarianism, chauvinism; esprit de corps.
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tribe | trīb |
noun
1 a social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities
linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect,
typically having a recognized leader: indigenous Indian tribes | the Celtic tribes of Europe.
• (in ancient Rome) each of several political divisions,
originally three, later thirty, ultimately thirty-five.
• often derogatory a distinctive or close-knit group:
she made a stand against the social codes of her English middle-class tribe |
an outburst against the whole tribe of theoreticians |
the entire tribe is coming for Thanksgiving.
• informal a large number of people or animals:
tribes of children playing under the watchful eyes of nurses.
2 Biology a taxonomic category that ranks above genus and below family or subfamily,
usually ending in -ini (in zoology) or -eae (in botany).
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true believer
noun
(plural true believers)
Used other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning:
see true, believer. : A strict follower of a doctrine.
One who believes dogmatically in something regardless of evidence
or even conclusive proof that the thing is false or was staged;
one who has true-believer syndrome.
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truth | tro͞oTH |
noun
(plural truths | tro͞oT͟Hz, tro͞oTHs | )
the quality or state of being true: he had to accept the truth of her accusation.
• (also the truth) that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality:
tell me the truth | she found out the truth about him.
• a fact or belief that is accepted as true: the emergence of scientific truths.
1 he doubted the truth of her statement:
veracity, truthfulness, verity, sincerity, candor, honesty;
accuracy, correctness, validity, factuality, authenticity.
ANTONYMS dishonesty, falseness.
2 it's the truth, I swear: what actually happened, the case, so;
the gospel (truth), the honest truth.
ANTONYMS lies.
3 truth is stranger than fiction: fact(s), reality, real life, actuality.
ANTONYMS fiction.
4 scientific truths: fact, verity, certainty, certitude; law, principle.
ANTONYMS lie, falsehood.
ORIGIN Old English trīewth, trēowth‘faithfulness, constancy’(see true, -th2).
U
unconditional | ˌənkənˈdiSH(ə)n(ə)l |
adjective
not subject to any conditions: unconditional surrender.
they gave their mom's new husband an unconditional welcome:
wholehearted, unqualified, unreserved, unlimited, unrestricted, unmitigated, unquestioning;
complete, total, entire, full, absolute, out-and-out, unequivocal.
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understanding | ʌndəˈstandɪŋ |
noun [mass noun]
the ability to understand something;
comprehension: foreign visitors with little understanding of English.
• the power of abstract thought;
intellect: a child of sufficient intelligence and understanding.
• an individual's perception or judgment of a situation:
my understanding was that he would try to find a new supplier.
• sympathetic awareness or tolerance:
a problem that needs to be handled with understanding.
• an informal or unspoken agreement or arrangement:
he and I have an understanding | he had only been allowed to come
on the understanding that he would be on his best behavior.
adjective
1 sympathetically aware of other people's feelings;
tolerant and forgiving: people expect their doctor to be understanding.
2 archaic having insight or good judgment.
noun
1 test your understanding of the language:
comprehension, apprehension, grasp, mastery, appreciation, assimilation, absorption;
knowledge, awareness, insight, skill, expertise, proficiency;
informal know-how; formal cognizance.
ANTONYMS ignorance.
2 it was my understanding that this was free:
belief, perception, view, conviction, feeling, opinion, intuition, impression,
assumption, supposition, inference, interpretation.
3 she treated me with understanding:
compassion, sympathy, pity, feeling, concern, consideration, kindness,
sensitivity, decency, humanity, charity, goodwill, mercy, tolerance.
ANTONYMS indifference.
4 we had a tacit understanding:
agreement, arrangement, deal, bargain, settlement, pledge, pact,
compact, contract, covenant, bond, meeting of minds.
adjective
an understanding friend:
compassionate, sympathetic, sensitive, considerate, tender, kind, thoughtful,
tolerant, patient, forbearing, lenient, merciful, forgiving, humane;
approachable, supportive, perceptive.
verb
1 he couldn't understand anything we said:
comprehend, grasp, take in, see, apprehend, follow, make sense of, fathom;
unravel, decipher, interpret;
informal figure out, work out, make head(s) or tail(s) of,
get one's head around, get the drift of, catch on to, get;
Britishinformal twig.
2 she understood how hard he'd worked:
appreciate, recognize, realize, acknowledge, know, be aware of, be conscious of;
informal be wise to; formal be cognizant of.
3 I understand that you wish to go:
believe, gather, take it, hear (tell), notice, see, learn;
conclude, infer, assume, surmise, fancy.
exclamation I want out, understand? get it, get the picture,
see, right, know what I mean, get my drift, capisce, comprende.
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unfathomable | ˌənˈfaT͟Həməb(ə)l |
adjective
1 incapable of being fully explored or understood:
her gray eyes were dark with some unfathomable emotion.
2 (of water or a natural feature) impossible to measure the extent of.
unfathomable mysteries:
inscrutable, incomprehensible, enigmatic, indecipherable, impenetrable,
obscure, esoteric, mysterious, mystifying, deep, profound.
ANTONYMS penetrable.
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utilitarianism | yo͞oˌtiləˈterēəˌnizəm |
noun
the doctrine that actions are right if they are useful or for the benefit of a majority.
• the doctrine that an action is right insofar as it promotes happiness,
and that the greatest happiness of the greatest number
should be the guiding principle of conduct.
V
value | ˈvalyo͞o |
noun
1 the regard that something is held to deserve;
the importance, worth, or usefulness of something:
your support is of great value.
• the material or monetary worth of something: prints seldom rise in value |
equipment is included up to a total value of $500.
• the worth of something compared to the price paid or asked for it:
at $12.50 the book is a good value.
2 (values) a person's principles or standards of behavior;
one's judgment of what is important in life:
they internalize their parents' rules and values.
3 the numerical amount denoted by an algebraic term;
a magnitude, quantity, or number: the mean value of x |
an accurate value for the mass of Venus.
4 Music the relative duration of the sound signified by a note.
5 Linguistics the meaning of a word or other linguistic unit.
• the quality or tone of a spoken sound; the sound represented by a letter.
6 the relative degree of lightness or darkness of a particular color:
the artist has used adjacent color values as the landscape recedes.
verb (values, valuing, valued) [with object]
1 estimate the monetary worth of (something): his estate was valued at $45,000.
2 consider (someone or something) to be important or beneficial;
have a high opinion of: she had come to value her privacy and independence.
noun
1 houses exceeding $250,000 in value:
price, cost, worth; market price, monetary value, face value.
2 the value of adequate preparation cannot be understated:
worth, usefulness, advantage, benefit, gain, profit,
good, help, merit, helpfulness, avail;
importance, significance.
3 society's values are passed on to us as children:
principles, ethics, moral code, morals, standards, code of behavior.
verb
1 his estate was valued at $345,000:
evaluate, assess, estimate, appraise, price, put/set a price on.
2 she valued his opinion: think highly of, have a high opinion of,
hold in high regard, rate highly, esteem, set (great) store by,
put stock in, appreciate, respect; prize, cherish, treasure.
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vanity | ˈvanədē |
noun
(plural vanities)
1 excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements:
it flattered his vanity to think I was in love with him |
the personal vanities and ambitions of politicians.
• [as modifier] denoting a person or company that publishes works at the author's expense:
a vanity press.
2 the quality of being worthless or futile: the vanity of human wishes.
3 North American a dressing table.
• US a bathroom unit consisting of a washbasin typically set into a counter with a cabinet beneath.
1 she had none of the vanity often associated with beautiful women:
conceit, narcissism, self-love, self-admiration, self-absorption, self-regard, egotism;
pride, arrogance, boastfulness, cockiness, swagger, rodomontade;
informal big-headedness; literary vainglory.
ANTONYMS modesty.
2 the vanity of all desires of the will:
futility, uselessness, pointlessness, worthlessness, fruitlessness.
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virtue | ˈvərCHo͞o |
noun
1 behavior showing high moral standards:
paragons of virtue.
• a quality considered morally good or desirable in a person:
patience is a virtue.
• a good or useful quality of a thing:
Mike was extolling the virtues of the car | there's no virtue in suffering in silence.
• archaic virginity or chastity, especially of a woman.
2 (virtues) (in traditional Christian angelology)
the seventh highest order of the nine-fold celestial hierarchy.
1 the simple virtue of farm life:
goodness, virtuousness, righteousness, morality, integrity, dignity, rectitude,
honor, decency, respectability, nobility, worthiness, purity;
principles, ethics.
ANTONYMS vice, iniquity.
2 promptness was not one of his virtues:
strong point, good point, good quality, asset, forte, attribute, strength, talent, feature.
ANTONYMS failing.
3 archaic she lost her virtue in the city. See virginity.
4 I can see no virtue in this:
merit, advantage, benefit, usefulness, strength, efficacy, plus, point.
ANTONYMS disadvantage.
W
will | wil |
noun
1 [usually in singular] the faculty by which a person decides on and initiates action:
she has an iron will | a battle of wills between children and their parents | an act of will.
• control deliberately exerted to do something or to restrain one's own impulses:
a stupendous effort of will.
• a deliberate or fixed desire or intention:
Jane had not wanted them to stay against their will | [with infinitive] :
the will to live.
• the thing that one desires or ordains:
the disaster was God's will.
2 a legal document containing instructions
as to what should be done with one's money and property after one's death.
verb [with object]
1 chiefly formal or literary intend, desire, or wish (something) to happen:
he was doing what the saint willed | [with clause] :
marijuana, dope, grass—call it what you will.
• [with object and infinitive] make or try to make (someone) do something
or (something) happen by the exercise of mental powers:
reluctantly he willed himself to turn and go back | she stared into the fog, willing it to clear.
2 (will something to) bequeath something to (someone) by the terms of one's will.
• [with clause] leave specified instructions in one's will:
he willed that his body be given to the hospital.
noun
1 the will to succeed:
determination, willpower, strength of character, resolution,
resolve, resoluteness, single-mindedness, purposefulness, drive, commitment,
dedication, doggedness, tenacity, tenaciousness, staying power.
2 they stayed against their will:
desire, wish, preference, inclination, intention, intent, volition.
3 God's will:
wish, desire, decision, choice; decree, command.
4 the dead man's will:
testament, last will and testament, bequest.
verb
1 do what you will:
want, wish, please, see/think fit, think best, like, choose, prefer.
2 God willed it:
decree, order, ordain, command.
3 she willed the money to her husband:
bequeath, leave, hand down, pass on, settle on; Law devise.
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wisdom |ˈwizdəm|
noun
the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment;
the quality of being wise.
• the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment: some questioned the wisdom
of building the dam so close to an active volcano.
• the body of knowledge and principles that develops within a specified society or period:
the traditional farming wisdom of India.
wisdom, understanding, knowledge, sense, insight, perception, astuteness,
intelligence, acumen, prudence, sagacity, good judgment, penetration.
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word association | wərd əˌsōsēˈāSHən, əˌsōSHēˈāSHən |
noun
the spontaneous and unreflective production of other words
in response to a given word, as a game, a prompt to creative thought or memory,
or a technique in psychiatric evaluation.
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world-weary | ˈwərld ˌwi(ə)rē |
adjective
feeling or indicating feelings of weariness, boredom, or cynicism
as a result of long experience of life:
their world-weary, cynical talk.
X
Y
Yahweh | ˈyäˌwā |
(also Yahveh | -ˌvā, -ˌve | )
noun
a form of the Hebrew name of God used in the Bible.
The name came to be regarded by Jews (c. 300 bc) as too sacred to be spoken,
and the vowel sounds are uncertain.
ORIGIN from Hebrew YHWH with added vowels;
compare with Jehovah. See also Tetragrammaton.
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yoga | ˈyōɡə |
noun
a Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline,
a part of which, including breath control, simple meditation,
and the adoption of specific bodily postures, is widely practiced for health and relaxation.
The yoga widely known in the West is based on hatha yoga,
which forms one aspect of the ancient Hindu system of religious
and ascetic observance and meditation, the highest form of which is raja yoga
and the ultimate aim of which is spiritual purification and self-understanding
leading to samadhi or union with the divine.
Z