<B>ablaut, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (in Indo-European languages) the systematic substitution of one root vowel sound for another in different inflectional forms or derivatives of a word, as in <I>ring, rang, rung;</I> gradation. </DL>
<A NAME="ablaze">
<B>ablaze, </B>adjective, adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>on fire; in a blaze; blazing. <BR> <I>Ex. The forest was set ablaze by lightning.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>shining brightly; flashing or brilliant. <BR> <I>Ex. The hotel was ablaze with lights.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>in great excitement. <BR> <I>Ex. I was ablaze with anger when he kicked my dog.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="able">
<B>able, </B>adjective, <B>abler,</B> <B>ablest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having enough power, skill, means, or talent to do something; capable. <BR> <I>Ex. Most little children are able to walk before they are able to talk. A cat is able to see in the dark.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>having more power or skill than most others have; skillful. <BR> <I>Ex. She is an able teacher.</I> (SYN) expert, clever, accomplished. <DD><B> 3. </B>done with skill. <BR> <I>Ex. The audience applauded his able speech.</I> (SYN) effective. <DD><B> 4. </B>legally authorized or qualified. <DD><B> 5. </B>having the necessary qualifications. <BR> <I>Ex. an able seaman.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="able">
<B>-able,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (suffix.) <DD><B> 1. </B>(<I>added to verbs</I>) that can be ____ed; able to be ____ed. <BR> <I>Ex. Enjoyable = that can be enjoyed.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(<I>added to nouns</I>) suitable for ____; giving ____. <BR> <I>Ex. Comfortable = giving comfort.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(<I>added to nouns</I>) inclined to ____; such as to ____. <BR> <I>Ex. Peaceable = inclined to peace.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(<I>added to verbs and nouns</I>) fit to be ____ed; deserving of ____. <BR> <I>Ex. Wearable = fit to be worn. Lovable = deserving of love.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>(<I>added to verbs</I>) liable to be ____. <BR> <I>Ex. Breakable = liable to be broken.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="ablebodied">
<B>able-bodied, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> strong and healthy; physically fit. <BR> <I>Ex. All able-bodied barbarians were soldiers (Bulletin of Atomic Scientists).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="ablebodiedseaman">
<B>able-bodied seaman</B> or <B>able seaman,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an experienced seaman who can perform all the duties required of a seaman, especially a trained deckhand on a merchant vessel. (Abbr:) A.B. </DL>
<A NAME="ableday">
<B>Able Day,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the day of the first atomic-bomb test at Bikini; July 1, 1946 (June 30 in the United States). Also, <B>A-day.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="ablegate">
<B>ablegate, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a papal envoy who brings to newly appointed cardinals the insignia of office or presents of honor. </DL>
<A NAME="ableism">
<B>ableism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> discrimination favoring those who are physically or mentally fit. <BR> <I>Ex. The trustees are committed to diversity ... [and] talked about ableism (Bryn Mawr Now).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="ablet">
<B>ablet, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) the bleak, a freshwater fish. </DL>
<B>ablution, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>Often, <B>ablutions.</B> a washing or cleansing as a religious ceremony of purification. <DD><B> 2. </B>Often, <B>ablutions.</B> a washing or cleansing of one's body. <BR> <I>Ex. to perform one's morning ablutions.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>the water or other liquid used. <BR><I>expr. <B>ablutions,</B> </I>(British.) a public washroom. <BR> <I>Ex. The Holemen's dwelling [had] accommodation for about one hundred souls, with communal ablutions at either end (Punch).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="ablutionary">
<B>ablutionary, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with ablution. </DL>
<A NAME="ably">
<B>ably, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> in an able manner; with skill; capably. <BR> <I>Ex. The meeting was ably run by the chairman.</I> (SYN) well, competently, cleverly. </DL>
<A NAME="abm">
<B>ABM</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD> antiballistic missile. </DL>
<A NAME="abnaki">
<B>Abnaki, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ki</B> or <B>-kis.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a member of a confederacy of North American Indians who lived in Maine and eastern Canada in colonial days. <DD><B> 2. </B>the Algonkian language of these tribes. </DL>
<A NAME="abnegate">
<B>abnegate, </B>transitive verb, <B>-gated,</B> <B>-gating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to deny (anything) to oneself; renounce or give up (a privilege or luxury). noun <B>abnegation.</B> noun <B>abnegator.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="abnormal">
<B>abnormal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>not as it should be; very different from the ordinary conditions, the standard, or a type; unusual. <BR> <I>Ex. an abnormal amount of rain. It is abnormal for a man to be eight feet tall.</I> (SYN) exceptional, aberrant. <DD><B> 2. </B>(of a person) badly adjusted. noun <B>abnormalness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="abnormality">
<B>abnormality, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an abnormal form, feature, or happening. <BR> <I>Ex. He described abnormalities of cattle and hens which, he said, had been brought about by excessive development of the milk and egg producing organs (London Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>an abnormal condition. </DL>
<A NAME="abnormally">
<B>abnormally, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>in a manner not normal; irregularly. <BR> <I>Ex. to behave abnormally.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to an exceptional degree. <BR> <I>Ex. an abnormally hot day.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="abnormalpsychology">
<B>abnormal psychology,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the study of all forms of abnormal behavior of people, including the identification and classification of mental disorders, their causes, and their treatment; psychopathology. Students in this field are concerned with functional disorders, such as psychoses and neuroses, and organic disorders, such as loss of memory and mental retardation due to brain damage, circulation deficiencies, and similar causes. </DL>
<B>abo, </B>noun, pl. <B>abos.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Australian Slang.) an aborigine. </DL>
<A NAME="abo">
<B>ABO, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with a system of classifying blood factors, especially to determine blood compatibility in transfusions. The main factors or groups are A, B, AB, and O. <DD><I>noun </I> this system of classification. </DL>
<A NAME="aboard">
<B>aboard, </B>adverb, preposition, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adv. </I> <B>1. </B>on board; in or on a ship, train, bus, or airplane. <BR> <I>Ex. Until the children have climbed aboard no car may pass a school bus picking up pupils.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>alongside (a ship or shore). <BR> <I>Ex. close aboard.</I> <DD><I>prep. </I> on board of; on, in, or into (a ship, train, bus, or airplane). <BR> <I>Ex. Everybody was soon aboard the train.</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> (Baseball.) on base. <BR> <I>Ex. to hit a double with three runners aboard.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>all aboard!</B> </I>(U.S.) everybody on! (a call directing passengers to enter a train, bus, etc., or indicating that all have boarded). <BR> <I>Ex. "All aboard!" shouted the conductor, and everyone rushed for the train.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>come</B> (or <B>get</B>) <B>aboard,</B> </I>(U.S.) (Informal.) to join. <BR> <I>Ex. "When I came aboard the space program," the commander has said, "I felt like the greenest rookie in spring training" (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="abode">
<B>abode, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a place to live in; house or home; dwelling. <BR> <I>Ex. A simple hut was their abode. But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in (II Kings 19:27). ... one of those shows in which television cameras are conducted through the abodes of famous men (New York Times).</I> (SYN) residence, habitation, domicile. <DD><B> 2. </B>a stay or a sojourn in a place. <DD><I>verb </I> a past tense and a past participle of <B>abide</B> (1). <BR> <I>Ex. He abode there one year.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="abohm">
<B>abohm, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a theoretical electromagnetic unit of resistance in the centimeter-gram-second system, equal to (10 to the power of minus 9) ohm. </DL>
<B>aboil, </B>adverb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> in a boiling state. <BR> <I>Ex. The immediate vicinity was aboil ... a brisk beehive of military efficiency (Alastair Reed).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="aboiteau">
<B>aboiteau, </B>noun, pl. <B>-teaus</B> ; (French) <B>-teaux.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Canadian.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a sluice gate in the dikes along the Bay of Fundy. <BR> <I>Ex. The English apparently learned from the Acadians the special arts of building dikes and aboiteaux (Canadian Geographic Journal).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the dike itself. Also, <B>aboideau.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="abolish">
<B>abolish, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to put an end to; do away with (a law, institution, or custom) completely. <BR> <I>Ex. Many people wish that nations would abolish war. Slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865.</I> (SYN) annul, stop, suppress. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Obsolete.) to destroy. <BR> <I>Ex. Thus ... shall the Bastille be abolished (Thomas Carlyle).</I> adj. <B>abolishable.</B> noun <B>abolisher.</B> noun <B>abolishment.</B> </DL>
