<B>abide</B> (1), verb, <B>abode</B> or <B>abided,</B> <B>abiding.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to put up with; endure; tolerate. <BR> <I>Ex. A good housekeeper can't abide dust. She can't abide him.</I> (SYN) bear, stand. <DD><B> 2. </B>to await submissively; submit to; sustain. <BR> <I>Ex. He must abide his fatal doom (Joanna Baillie).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to await defiantly; withstand. <BR> <I>Ex. He soon learned to abide ... terrors which most of my bolder companions shrank from encountering (Hugh Miller).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Archaic.) to wait for; await. <BR> <I>Ex. I will abide the coming of my lord (Tennyson).</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to stay; remain; wait. <BR> <I>Ex. Abide with me for a time. I'll call upon you straight: abide within (Shakespeare). He within his ships abode the while (William Cowper).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to continue to live (in a place); reside; dwell. <BR> <I>Ex. No martin there in winter shall abide (John Dryden).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to continue (in some state or action). <BR> <I>Ex. ... ye shall abide in my love (John 15:10).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to continue in existence; endure. <BR> <I>Ex. Thou hast established the earth, and it abideth (Psalms 119:90).</I> (SYN) last. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Archaic.) to be left. <DD><B> 6. </B>(Obsolete.) to stay behind. <BR><I>expr. <B>abide by,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>to accept and follow out; be bound by. </I> <I>Ex. Both teams will abide by the umpire's decision.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to remain faithful to; stand firm by; be true to; fulfill. <BR> <I>Ex. Abide by your promise.</I> noun <B>abider.</B> </DL>
<B>abiding, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> continuing; lasting. <BR> <I>Ex. an abiding faith, the abiding classics of literature. The old sailor had an abiding love of the sea.</I> (SYN) permanent, steadfast. adv. <B>abidingly.</B> noun <B>abidingness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="abientot">
<B>a bientot,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) see you soon; good-by. </DL>
<A NAME="abieticacid">
<B>abietic acid,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an acid prepared from the resin of some species of pine, larch, and fir and used in soaps, varnishes, and plastics. </DL>
<A NAME="abigail">
<B>abigail, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a lady's maid. </DL>
<A NAME="abigail">
<B>Abigail, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the wife of Nabal and, after Nabal's death, of David (in the Bible, I Samuel 25:3-42). </DL>
<A NAME="ability">
<B>ability, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the power to do or act. <BR> <I>Ex. the ability to think clearly. The old horse still has the ability to work.</I> (SYN) capability, capacity. <DD><B> 2. </B>skill. <BR> <I>Ex. Washington had great ability as a general.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>power to do some special thing; natural gift; talent. <BR> <I>Ex. Musical ability often shows itself early in life.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="abimelech">
<B>Abimelech, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a son of Gideon who was set up as king of Israel by the people of Shechem (in the Bible, Judges 9). </DL>
<A NAME="abinit">
<B>ab init.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> ab initio. </DL>
<A NAME="abinitio">
<B>ab initio,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Latin.) from the beginning. <BR> <I>Ex. The decree was not a nullity in the sense of being void ab initio (London Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="abintra">
<B>ab intra,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Latin.) from within. </DL>
<A NAME="abiogenesis">
<B>abiogenesis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the supposed transformation of inanimate matter into living matter; spontaneous generation. </DL>
<A NAME="abiogenetic">
<B>abiogenetic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or relating to spontaneous generation. adv. <B>abiogenetically.</B> </DL>
<B>abiogenic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> not produced by living organisms; not biogenic. <BR> <I>Ex. abiogenic proteins.</I> adv. <B>abiogenically.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="abiogenicity">
<B>abiogenicity, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the condition of being abiogenic. </DL>
<A NAME="abiogenist">
<B>abiogenist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a believer in the theory of spontaneous generation. </DL>
<A NAME="abiological">
<B>abiological, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> not connected with biology; not biological. <BR> <I>Ex. rocks formed by abiological processes.</I> adv. <B>abiologically.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="abiotic">
<B>abiotic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having no life; lifeless. Our abiotic environment includes soil, water, atmosphere, radiation, and the weather. <DD><B> 2. </B>independent of the vital processes of a living organism. <BR> <I>Ex. an abiotic effect.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="abiotrophy">
<B>abiotrophy, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a degeneration of cells, tissues, or the like, due to congenital weakness. </DL>
<A NAME="abirritant">
<B>abirritant, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Medicine.) <DD><I>noun </I> a drug or medicine that relieves irritation. <DD><I>adj. </I> relieving irritation; soothing. </DL>
<A NAME="abirritate">
<B>abirritate, </B>transitive verb, <B>-tated,</B> <B>-tating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Medicine.) to deaden or lessen irritation in. noun <B>abirritation.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="abitur">
<B>Abitur, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (German.) a final examination given to secondary school students, passage of which authorizes matriculation in a university. </DL>
<A NAME="abject">
<B>abject, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>so low or degraded as to be hopeless; wretched; miserable. <BR> <I>Ex. Many people still live in abject poverty.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>deserving contempt; despicable. <BR> <I>Ex. abject flattery. Shame on you for your abject fear!</I> (SYN) contemptible, degraded. <DD><B> 3. </B>slavish. <BR> <I>Ex. abject submission.</I> (SYN) servile, groveling. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Obsolete.) cast off; rejected. <DD><I>noun </I> (Archaic.) an outcast. noun <B>abjectness.</B> adv. <B>abjectly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="abjection">
<B>abjection, </B>noun. <B>=abasement.</B></DL>
<A NAME="abjective">
<B>abjective, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> tending to abase; demoralizing. <BR> <I>Ex. an abjective influence.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="abjudge">
<B>abjudge, </B>transitive verb, <B>-judged,</B> <B>-judging.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to take away by judicial decision; rule out. </DL>
<A NAME="abjunction">
<B>abjunction, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Botany.) abstriction of spores. </DL>
<B>abjure, </B>transitive verb, <B>-jured,</B> <B>-juring.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to swear to give up; reject solemnly, formally, or on oath; renounce. <BR> <I>Ex. to abjure power, allegiance, or a claim or claimant. An alien must abjure his foreign citizenship before he can become an American citizen.</I> (SYN) forswear. <DD><B> 2. </B>to retract formally or solemnly; repudiate. <BR> <I>Ex. to abjure a belief, doctrine, or opinion formerly held.</I> (SYN) recant. <DD><B> 3. </B>to refrain from; avoid. <BR> <I>Ex. to abjure humor.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>abjure the realm.</B> </I>See under <B>realm.</B> noun <B>abjuration.</B> noun <B>abjurer,</B> <B>abjuror.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="abkari">
<B>abkari, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> in India: <DD><B> 1. </B>the manufacture and sale of alcoholic liquors. <DD><B> 2. </B>the government tax upon liquors. <DD><B> 3. </B>the licensing of dealers in alcoholic liquors. </DL>
<A NAME="abl">
<B>abl.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> ablative. </DL>
<A NAME="abl">
<B>ABL</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD> Automated Biological Laboratory. </DL>
<A NAME="ablactation">
<B>ablactation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the weaning of a child from the breast. </DL>
<B>ablastin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a substance in the blood that impairs the ability of germs to reproduce. </DL>
<A NAME="ablate">
<B>ablate, </B>verb, <B>-lated,</B> <B>-lating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>(Aerospace.) to remove by ablation. <DD><B> 2. </B>to remove by burning away, wearing down, or cutting away. <DD><I>v.i. </I> (Aerospace.) to undergo ablation. </DL>
<A NAME="ablation">
<B>ablation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Aerospace.) <DD><B> a. </B>the disintegration of part of the nose cone on a missile or spacecraft when it reenters the atmosphere. Ablation usually occurs as melting or vaporizing of an outer surface to protect the rest of the structure from excessive heat. <DD><B> b. </B>the removal or carrying away of heat by melting or vaporization. <DD><B> 2. </B>removal. <DD><B> 3. </B>the removal by surgery of a tumor or a part of the body. <DD><B> 4. </B>the wearing away of a glacier, snow, or other formation by melting or evaporation. <BR> <I>Ex. Yet, because there is so little ablation--return of moisture to the atmosphere--this light precipitation has become a glacier of up to a mile or more in depth (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="ablationshield">
<B>ablation shield,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a type of heat shield that uses up heat by melting and vaporizing. The air stream carries the molten particles and the hot gas vapor away from the spacecraft. </DL>
<A NAME="ablatival">
<B>ablatival, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> in or having to do with the ablative case. </DL>
<A NAME="ablative">
<B>ablative, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> (Grammar.) <B>1. </B>the case in Latin that expresses place from or in which, source, agent, cause, association, or instrument. <DD><B> 2. </B>a case with similar uses in some other inflected languages. <DD><B> 3. </B>a word or construction in this case. (Example:) <I>statu</I> and <I>quo</I> in the phrase <I>in statu quo nunc,</I> "in the state in which [something] now [is]." (Abbr:) abl. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of or showing the ablative. <BR> <I>Ex. ablative case.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Aerospace.) made to be removed by ablation. <BR> <I>Ex. An ablative nosecone is made of light materials, such as fiberglass, which burn and fall away as the missile reenters the atmosphere (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="ablativeabsolute">
<B>ablative absolute,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a Latin construction consisting of a noun or pronoun with an adjective, noun, or participle, both in the ablative case, expressing time, occasion, cause, or other circumstance. (Example:) <I>Sole oriente, tenebrae aufugiunt,</I> "The sun rising (that is, when or because the sun is rising), the shadows flee away." See also <B>absolute,</B> adj. def. 5a. </DL>
<A NAME="ablator">
<B>ablator,</B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Aerospace.) an ablating substance. </DL>
