<B>assembly, </B>noun, pl. <B>-blies.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a group of people gathered together for some purpose; meeting. <BR> <I>Ex. The principal addressed the school assembly. A reception or a ball may be called an assembly.</I> (SYN) gathering, convention, congregation. <DD><B> 2. </B>a meeting of lawmakers. (SYN) legislature. <DD><B> 3. </B>the act of coming together; an assembling; meeting. <BR> <I>Ex. unlawful assembly.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>the act or process of putting together; fitting together; <BR> <I>Ex. In Detroit we saw the assembly of the parts which make up an automobile.</I> <DD><B> 5a. </B>the complete group of parts required to put something together. <BR> <I>Ex. the hull assembly of a model boat.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>the complete group of parts put together to form a unit. <BR> <I>Ex. The rear of an airplane has a tail assembly. The steering assembly of our car was damaged in the accident.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>a signal on a bugle or drum for troops to form in ranks. </DL>
<A NAME="assembly">
<B>Assembly, </B>noun, pl. <B>-blies.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the legislature or a legislative body of any one of various countries, states, or other political divisions, as: <DD><B> a. </B>(in the United States) the lower branch of the state legislature of some states (often called the <I>General Assembly</I>). <DD><B> b. </B>(in Canada) the legislature of a province (often called the <I>Legislative Assembly</I>). <DD><B> 2. </B>the legislative assembly of the United Nations (called the <I>General Assembly</I>). </DL>
<A NAME="assemblylanguage">
<B>assembly language,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a coding system of abbreviations, numerals, and additional symbols for programming an electronic computer. </DL>
<A NAME="assemblyline">
<B>assembly line,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a row of workers and machines along which work is passed until the final product is made. <BR> <I>Ex. Automobiles are produced on an assembly line where each worker repeats his special task.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="assemblyman">
<B>Assemblyman</B> or <B>assemblyman, </B>noun, pl. <B>-men.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a member of an Assembly. </DL>
<A NAME="assemblyplant">
<B>assembly plant,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a plant in which the parts of complete units are put together. <BR> <I>Ex. an automobile assembly plant.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="assemblyroom">
<B>assembly room,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (British, Archaic.) a ballroom. </DL>
<A NAME="assemblywoman">
<B>Assemblywoman</B> or <B>assemblywoman, </B>noun, pl. <B>-women.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a woman member of an Assembly. </DL>
<A NAME="assent">
<B>assent, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> to express agreement; consent; agree. <BR> <I>Ex. Everyone assented to the plans for the dance.</I> (SYN) concur, acquiesce, comply. <DD><I>noun </I> acceptance of a proposal or statement; agreement. <BR> <I>Ex. The teacher gave her assent to the plan.</I> noun <B>assenter.</B> </DL>
<B>assentingly, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> in an assenting manner; so as to express assent. </DL>
<A NAME="assentor">
<B>assentor, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B><B>=assenter.</B> <DD><B> 2. </B>a voter who, in addition to the proposer and seconder, endorses the nomination of a candidate in a British election. </DL>
<A NAME="assert">
<B>assert, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to state positively; declare firmly. <BR> <I>Ex. John asserts that he will go whether we do or not.</I> (SYN) affirm, maintain, aver. <DD><B> 2. </B>to insist on (a right or a claim); defend; maintain. <BR> <I>Ex. Assert your independence.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>assert oneself,</B> </I>to put oneself forward; make demands. <BR> <I>Ex. A leader must assert himself sometimes in order to be followed.</I> adj. <B>assertable,</B> <B>assertible.</B> noun <B>asserter.</B> </DL>
<B>assertion, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a positive statement; firm declaration. <BR> <I>Ex. His assertion of his innocence was believed by the jury.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the act of insisting on a right or claim. <BR> <I>Ex. If you say that you own the book, prove your assertion of ownership.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="assertive">
<B>assertive, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> too confident and certain; positive; forward. <BR> <I>Ex. John is an assertive boy, always insisting on his own rights and opinions.</I> (SYN) dogmatic. adv. <B>assertively.</B> noun <B>assertiveness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="assertivenesstraining">
<B>assertiveness training,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a method of training submissive individuals to behave with confidence, usually by adopting an aggressive attitude. <BR> <I>Ex. Cosmetic treatments, charm schools, assertiveness training--nothing helped make her anything except more ... self-conscious (TV Guide).</I> </DL>
<B>asses</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> plural of <B>ass.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="asses">
<B>asses</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> plural of <B>as</B> (2). </DL>
<A NAME="assesbridge">
<B>asses' bridge,</B> <B>=pons asinorum.</B></DL>
<A NAME="assess">
<B>assess, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to estimate the value of (property or income) for taxation; value (at). <BR> <I>Ex. The town clerk has assessed that house at $20,000.</I> (SYN) appraise. <DD><B> 2. </B>to fix the amount of (a tax, fine, or damages). <BR> <I>Ex. Damages from last week's flood have been assessed at $50,000.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Especially U.S.) to put a tax on or call for a contribution from (a person, property, or organization). <BR> <I>Ex. Each member of the club will be assessed one dollar to pay for the trip.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) to examine critically and estimate the merit, significance, or value of; criticize; evaluate. <BR> <I>Ex. The committee met to assess the idea of establishing a new university. It is impossible even for a scientist of genius to assess a lost opportunity of which he was unaware (Bulletin of Atomic Scientists).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>to portion out as a tax; apportion. adj. <B>assessable.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="assessedvaluation">
<B>assessed valuation,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the percentage of the total market value of property used by a government as a basis of taxation. </DL>
<A NAME="assessee">
<B>assessee, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person whose property has been assessed. </DL>
<A NAME="assessment">
<B>assessment, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of assessing. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) Every assessment of loyalty involves a subjective element (Bulletin of Atomic Scientists).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the amount of tax which is decided to be payable. <DD><B> 3. </B>an official valuation of property for purposes of taxation. <DD><B> 4. </B>valuation in general; appraisal. </DL>
<A NAME="assessor">
<B>assessor, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person who estimates the value of property or income for taxation. <DD><B> 2. </B>an assistant to a judge chosen because of his special knowledge of a field. </DL>
<A NAME="assessorial">
<B>assessorial, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with an assessor or assessors. </DL>
<A NAME="assessorship">
<B>assessorship, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the office, position, or function of an assessor. </DL>
<A NAME="asset">
<B>asset, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>something that has value; advantage. <BR> <I>Ex. Ability to get along with people is an asset in business.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>an item of value. </DL>
<A NAME="assets">
<B>assets, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>things of value; all items of value owned by a person or business and constituting the resources of the person or business. Real estate, cash, securities, inventories, patents, and good will are assets. <BR> <I>Ex. His assets include a house, a car, stocks, bonds, and jewelry. (Figurative.) Honesty is one of the judge's most valuable assets.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>property that can be used to pay debts. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Accounting.) the entries on a balance sheet that express in terms of money the value of the tangible things or intangible rights which constitute the resources of a person, business, or organization, as of a given date. </DL>
<A NAME="assetstripping">
<B>asset-stripping, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) the use of the assets of a company to finance an unrelated enterprise, such as another holding of a purchasing conglomerate. <BR> <I>Ex. Asset-stripping may not be so frequent a motive for takeovers as public opinion tends to assume (London Times).</I> noun <B>asset-stripper.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="asseverate">
<B>asseverate, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ated,</B> <B>-ating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to declare solemnly; state emphatically. (SYN) affirm, aver. adv. <B>asseveratingly.</B> noun <B>asseveration.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="asseverative">
<B>asseverative, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with asseveration; characterized by asseveration. </DL>
<A NAME="asshur">
<B>Asshur, </B>noun. <B>=Ashur </B>(the chief god of the ancient Assyrians).</DL>
<A NAME="assibilate">
<B>assibilate, </B>transitive verb, <B>-lated,</B> <B>-lating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to give a hissing sound to; make sibilant. <BR> <I>Ex. "Church" is an assibilated form of "kirk."</I> noun <B>assibilation.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="assideans">
<B>Assideans</B> or <B>Assidaeans, </B>noun pl. <B>=Hasidim.</B></DL>
<A NAME="assiduity">
<B>assiduity, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> careful, steady attention; diligence. <BR> <I>Ex. He led her through the artistic splendors of Florence with assiduity (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="assiduous">
<B>assiduous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> working hard and steadily; careful and attentive; diligent. <BR> <I>Ex. No error escaped his assiduous attention to detail.</I> (SYN) steady, unremitting, untiring. adv. <B>assiduously.</B> noun <B>assiduousness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="assiento">
<B>assiento, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Historical.) a contract between Spain and a foreign country, or a group of foreign merchants, for supplying African slaves. </DL>
<A NAME="assiette">
<B>assiette, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Bookbinding.) a compound of bole, bloodstone, and galena applied to the trimmed edges of pages before gilding. <DD><B> 2. </B>a serving of food; helping. </DL>
