<B>amaryllis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a lilylike bulbous plant with clusters of large, red, white, purple, or pink flowers; belladonna lily. </DL>
<A NAME="amaryllis">
<B>Amaryllis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a name for a country girl in pastoral poetry. </DL>
<A NAME="amaryllisfamily">
<B>amaryllis family,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a group of perennial herbs resembling those of the lily family, including the narcissus, amaryllis, snowdrop, and onion. Their seeds are monocotyledonous and come from an inferior ovary. </DL>
<A NAME="amass">
<B>amass, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to heap together; pile up, especially for oneself; accumulate; collect. <BR> <I>Ex. The miser amassed a fortune for himself.</I> (SYN) gather, hoard, aggregate. adj. <B>amassable.</B> noun <B>amasser.</B> noun <B>amassment.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="amate">
<B>amate, </B>transitive verb, <B>amated,</B> <B>amating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Archaic.) to dismay; daunt. <BR> <I>Ex. A half-blown flow'ret which cold blasts amate (Keats).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="amaterasu">
<B>Amaterasu, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the goddess of the sun, in the Shinto religion, from whom by Japanese tradition the emperor of Japan is supposed to be descended. </DL>
<A NAME="amateur">
<B>amateur </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a person who does something for pleasure, not for money or as a profession. <BR> <I>Ex. For an amateur, our science teacher is a pretty accurate weather forecaster.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>an athlete who is not a professional. <BR> <I>Ex. Only amateurs are permitted to compete in the Olympic games. An amateur is one who engages in sports merely for the enjoyment he gets from them and who never capitalizes on his athletic skills to any degree whatsoever (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a person who does something rather poorly. <BR> <I>Ex. You can tell from his painting that he is an amateur, completely without training.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>a superficial student or worker; dabbler. (SYN) dilettante. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of an amateur; made or done by amateurs. <BR> <I>Ex. amateur painting, amateur baseball. Our school has an amateur orchestra.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>being an amateur. <BR> <I>Ex. an amateur golfer, an amateur pianist.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="amateurish">
<B>amateurish, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> done as an amateur might do it; not expert; not very skillful. <BR> <I>Ex. Mr. Scarpini, whose fluency and muscularity I admired last year when he appeared with the orchestra in a Prokofieff concerto, disclosed a flimsy, not to say amateurish, approach to Mozart's subtle melodies (New Yorker).</I> adv. <B>amateurishly.</B> noun <B>amateurishness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="amateurism">
<B>amateurism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an amateurish way of doing things. <DD><B> 2. </B>the position or rank of an amateur. <BR> <I>Ex. We must try to understand the Russian's conception of amateurism and professionalism (Atlantic).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="amateurship">
<B>amateurship, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality, character, or status of an amateur. </DL>
<A NAME="amati">
<B>Amati, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a violin, cello, or other stringed instrument, made at Cremona, Italy, by Nicolo Amati (1596-1684), or a member of his family. These instruments are considered among the first of the modern type. </DL>
<B>amatory, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of love; expressing love; having to do with making love or with lovers. <BR> <I>Ex. an amatory look. Valentine cards often have amatory verses on them.</I> (SYN) amorous, erotic. </DL>
<A NAME="amaurosis">
<B>amaurosis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> partial or complete loss of vision through loss of power of the optic nerve, without noticeable external change in the eye. </DL>
<A NAME="amaurotic">
<B>amaurotic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or characterized by amaurosis. </DL>
<A NAME="amauroticidiocy">
<B>amaurotic idiocy,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a fatal disease of children caused by degeneration of the cells of the central nervous system, transmitted genetically as a result of two recessive alleles; Tay-Sachs disease. </DL>
<A NAME="amaximisadminima">
<B>a maximis ad minima,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Latin.) from the greatest to the least. <BR> <I>Ex. They are likely to be sold bad insurance, make bad realty investments, and sing away their legal right a maximis ad minima (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="amaze">
<B>amaze, </B>verb, <B>amazed,</B> <B>amazing,</B> noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to surprise greatly; strike and overwhelm with sudden wonder; astound. <BR> <I>Ex. She was so amazed by the surprise party that she could not think of a thing to say. And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God (Luke 9:43).</I> (SYN) astonish. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Archaic.) to bewilder; perplex. <BR> <I>Ex. How vainly men themselves amaze (Andrew Marvell).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> (Archaic or Poetic.) amazement. </DL>
<B>amazement, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>great surprise; sudden and overwhelming wonder; astonishment. <BR> <I>Ex. The girl was filled with amazement when she first saw the ocean.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Archaic.) <DD><B> a. </B>overwhelming fear. <DD><B> b. </B>bewilderment. <DD><B> c. </B>stupefaction. </DL>
<B>Amazon, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Greek Legend.) one of a race of women warriors supposed to have lived near the Black Sea. <DD><B> 2. </B>the Amazon ant. </DL>
<A NAME="amazon">
<B>amazon, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a tall, strong, aggressive woman. <DD><B> 2. </B>any one of certain parrots of Central and South America. <DD><B> 3. </B>a hummingbird. </DL>
<A NAME="amazonant">
<B>Amazon ant,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of certain European and American red ants with long, sharp jaws that are so curved they cannot feed themselves or dig nests. They carry off and enslave young ants of other species to do this work for them. </DL>
<A NAME="amazonian">
<B>Amazonian, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of the Amazon River (in South America) or the region it drains. <DD><B> 2. </B>of the Amazons. <DD><B> 3. </B>Also, <B>amazonian.</B> (of a woman) like an Amazon; aggressive or warlike. <BR> <I>Ex. Mrs. Preston, a Russian, was as Amazonian and fair as Mme. Floquet was elfin and swart (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="amazonism">
<B>Amazonism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a condition in which women take on the work, attitudes, and other roles attributed to men; Amazonian state or character. </DL>
<A NAME="amazonite">
<B>amazonite, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a semiprecious stone, a bright, bluish-green variety of feldspar. </DL>
<A NAME="amazonstone">
<B>Amazon stone,</B> =amazonite.</DL>
<A NAME="amb">
<B>amb-,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (combining form.) theform of <B>ambi-</B> before vowels, as in <I>ambages.</I> </DL>
<B>ambary</B> or <B>ambari, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the fiber of an Asian plant of the mallow family, used especially for making ropes and cloth, as a substitute for hemp or jute. <DD><B> 2. </B>the plant itself, a species of hibiscus. </DL>
<A NAME="ambassade">
<B>ambassade, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Archaic.) an embassy. </DL>
<A NAME="ambassador">
<B>ambassador, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a representative of the highest rank sent by one government or ruler to another. <BR> <I>Ex. Our ambassador to France lives in Paris, the capital of France, and speaks and acts in behalf of the government of the United States.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a representative sent by one government or ruler to a meeting of an organization, usually an international organization concerning political affairs. <BR> <I>Ex. the Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, the Danish ambassador to NATO.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>any official messenger, agent, or representative with some special errand. <BR> <I>Ex. Miles Standish chose John Alden to be his ambassador.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) any member of a particular group thought of as representing the qualities, traits, or habits of his group. <BR> <I>Ex. A tourist abroad can be an ambassador of good will for his country.</I> <DD> Also, <B>embassador.</B> noun <B>ambassadorship.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="ambassadoratlarge">
<B>ambassador-at-large, </B>noun, pl. <B>ambassadors-at-large.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a minister accredited to no government in particular, but appointed on or for a special occasion. </DL>
<A NAME="ambassadorextraordinary">
<B>ambassador extraordinary,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an ambassador sent on a special mission. </DL>
<A NAME="ambassadorial">
<B>ambassadorial, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of an ambassador or ambassadors. <BR> <I>Ex. a conference on the ambassadorial level.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="ambassadorplenipotentiary">
<B>ambassador plenipotentiary,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an ambassador having full power to sign treaties. </DL>
<A NAME="ambassadress">
<B>ambassadress, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a woman ambassador. <DD><B> 2. </B>the wife of an ambassador. </DL>
<A NAME="ambassage">
<B>ambassage, </B>noun. =embassage.</DL>
<A NAME="ambassy">
<B>ambassy, </B>noun, pl. <B>-sies.</B> =embassy.</DL>
<A NAME="ambatch">
<B>ambatch, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a leguminous tree or shrub of tropical Africa, with very light, spongy wood. </DL>
