<B>confluence, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a flowing together. <BR> <I>Ex. The confluence of those two streams forms a large river.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the place where two or more rivers, streams, or the like, come together. <BR> <I>Ex. They pitched camp at the confluence of the two streams. Morainic bands bound the confluence of Malaspina and Marvine glaciers in Alaska (Scientific American).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a body of water produced in this way. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) a coming together of people or things. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Figurative.) a throng; assemblage. </DL>
<A NAME="confluent">
<B>confluent, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>flowing or running together; blending into one. <BR> <I>Ex. confluent rivers.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Medicine.) <DD><B> a. </B>tending to join or run together. <BR> <I>Ex. confluent eruptions of the skin.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>characterized by such eruptions. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a stream which unites and flows with another of nearly equal size. <DD><B> 2. </B>a smaller stream flowing into a larger one. adv. <B>confluently.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="conflux">
<B>conflux, </B>noun. <B>=confluence.</B></DL>
<A NAME="confocal">
<B>confocal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Mathematics.) having the same focus or foci. </DL>
<A NAME="conform">
<B>conform, </B>verb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to act according to law or rule; be in agreement with generally accepted standards of business, law, conduct, or worship. <BR> <I>Ex. If you wish to be a member, you must conform to the rules of our club.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to become the same in form; correspond in form or character. <BR> <I>Ex. Her dress conformed to the pattern.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Historical.) to comply with the usages of the Church of England. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to make similar; make like. <DD><B> 2. </B>to bring into conformity; adapt. (SYN) adjust, accommodate, reconcile. <DD><I>adj. </I> (Obsolete.) <DD><B> 1. </B>consistent; accordant. <DD><B> 2. </B>similar; like. </DL>
<A NAME="conformability">
<B>conformability, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality or condition of being conformable. </DL>
<A NAME="conformable">
<B>conformable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B><B>=similar.</B> <DD><B> 2. </B>adapted; suited. (SYN) adjusted. <DD><B> 3. </B>in agreement; harmonious. (SYN) agreeable. <DD><B> 4. </B>obedient; submissive. <BR> <I>Ex. The boy was conformable to his father's wishes.</I> (SYN) tractable. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Geology.) (of strata) having the planes of stratification mutually parallel. noun <B>conformableness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="conformably">
<B>conformably, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> in a conformable manner. </DL>
<A NAME="conformal">
<B>conformal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Cartography.) having the same scale in all directions at any given point. <BR> <I>Ex. The Mercator is a conformal projection; i.e., any very small area, such as a small bay or peninsula, is shown in practically its true shape. Larger areas, however, are distorted both in shape and size (Finch and Trewartha).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Mathematics.) leaving unchanged the size of all angles. </DL>
<A NAME="conformance">
<B>conformance, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the act of conforming; conformity. </DL>
<B>conformation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the manner in which a thing is formed; structure; form. <BR> <I>Ex. the conformation of a flower.</I> (SYN) shape. <DD><B> 2. </B>the symmetrical arrangement of the parts of a thing. <DD><B> 3. </B>a conforming; adaptation. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Chemistry.) the geometric shape of a molecule in any of its states. </DL>
<A NAME="conformational">
<B>conformational, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Chemistry.) of or having to do with the geometric or three-dimensional shapes assumed by molecules in various states. <BR> <I>Ex. a conformational isomer, conformational changes in DNA.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="conformationalanalysis">
<B>conformational analysis,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the determination of the three-dimensional shapes of molecules whose atoms rotate around one or more bonds, especially for the purpose of correlating the preferred shapes with the physical and chemical properties of the molecules. <BR> <I>Ex. Conformational analysis has been invaluable in the synthesis of pharmacological agents, notably steroids and antibiotics of the tetracycline and penicillin families (Scientific American).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="conformator">
<B>conformator, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an apparatus for determining the conformation of anything. </DL>
<A NAME="conformer">
<B>conformer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person who conforms or complies with established forms or doctrines. <BR> <I>Ex. ... conformers to commonplace (John Stuart Mill).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Chemistry.) a compound whose differing molecular forms are due to conformational variations. </DL>
<A NAME="conformism">
<B>conformism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the principle or policy of conformity; close adherence to established traditions, standards, usages, or the like. <BR> <I>Ex. To rob children of their privacy and the chance to be themselves leads them to inhibitions and conformism (Newsweek).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a belief in or insistence on conformity in thought and behavior. <BR> <I>Ex. The survey also discloses a rather surprising domesticity and conformism among British undergraduates (Manchester Guardian).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="conformist">
<B>conformist, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a person who conforms. <BR> <I>Ex. Usually, of course, the child becomes a conformist. The group exerts great pressure to get him to accept its values (Ogburn and Nimkoff).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Historical.) a person who complies with the usages of the Church of England. <DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with conformity or conformism. <BR> <I>Ex. The musical programmes especially are dreadfully conformist (Observer).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="conformistic">
<B>conformistic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> tending to or practicing conformism; conformist. <BR> <I>Ex. The result is that today, in matters of politics, Brazilians are conformistic (Atlantic).</I> adv. <B>conformistically.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="conformity">
<B>conformity, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>action in agreement with generally accepted standards of business, law, conduct, or worship; fitting oneself and one's actions to the ideas of others; compliance. <BR> <I>Ex. A deadly conformity will kill every impulse toward independence and dissent (Bulletin of Atomic Scientists).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>likeness; similarity; agreement. (SYN) correspondence, harmony, congruity, resemblance. <DD><B> 3. </B>obedience; submission. <DD><B> 4a. </B>compliance with the usages of the Church of England. <DD><B> b. </B>adherence to any legally established or publicly recognized religion. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Obsolete.) a point of resemblance. </DL>
<A NAME="confound">
<B>confound, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to confuse; perplex. <BR> <I>Ex. The people on the island were frightened and confounded by the violence of the storm. Confusion worse confounded (Milton).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to be unable to tell apart. <BR> <I>Ex. The teachers in school confounded the twins until one had to wear glasses.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to surprise and puzzle; disconcert. <BR> <I>Ex. He was ... confounded by incessant noise, and crowds, and hurry (Samuel Johnson).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to damn. <BR> <I>Ex. Confound your impudence.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>(Archaic.) to make uneasy and ashamed; abash. <BR> <I>Ex. Silent, and in face confounded long they sate, as strucken mute (Milton).</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>(Archaic.) to defeat; overthrow. <DD><B> 7. </B>(Obsolete.) to confute. <DD><B> 8. </B>(Obsolete.) to spoil; waste. noun <B>confounder.</B> </DL>
<B>confounding, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that confounds; causing confusion; perplexing. <BR> <I>Ex. The noise was so utterly confounding (Dickens).</I> adv. <B>confoundingly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="confraternity">
<B>confraternity, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a group of men united for some purpose or in a profession; brotherhood. (SYN) guild. </DL>
<A NAME="confrere">
<B>confrere, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a fellow member; colleague. <BR> <I>Ex. ... our fourth-graders and their confreres in other elementary school grades (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="confront">
<B>confront, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to meet face to face; stand facing. <BR> <I>Ex. Two queer-looking men confronted me as I stepped off the elevator.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to face boldly; oppose. <BR> <I>Ex. The little band of settlers, with hands on their rifles, confronted the bandits.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to bring face to face; place before. <BR> <I>Ex. We confronted the girl with the dish she had broken. The lawyer confronted the accused man with the forged check.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to compare. noun <B>confronter.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="confrontation">
<B>confrontation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of bringing together, especially for questioning or for comparison. <BR> <I>Ex. In the public philosophy, freedom of speech is conceived as the means to a confrontation of opinion (Atlantic).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>an open or direct clash; a face-to-face encounter between opponents. <BR> <I>Ex. He had a confrontation with his aloof and unresponsive daughter (John McCarten).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="confrontational">
<B>confrontational, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of or having to do with confrontation; involving confrontation. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=confrontationist.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="confrontationist">
<B>confrontationist, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> seeking or favoring confrontation. <BR> <I>Ex. The confrontationist politicians of our time ... have learned the value not of committing violence but of provoking it (Richard Hofstadter).</I> </DL>
