<B>forspend, </B>transitive verb, <B>-spent,</B> <B>-spending.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to wear out or exhaust (rare except for the past participle). <BR> <I>Ex. Into the woods my Master came Forspent with love and shame (Sidney Lanier).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="forspoke">
<B>forspoke, </B>verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> past tense and a past participle of <B>forspeak.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="forspoken">
<B>forspoken, </B>verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> a past participle of <B>forspeak.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="forsterstern">
<B>Forster's tern,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a white tern with a grayish mantle, deeply forked tail, and silvery wing tips, which nests in marshes of western North America and along the coast of the southeastern United States. </DL>
<A NAME="forswear">
<B>forswear, </B>verb, <B>-swore,</B> <B>-sworn,</B> <B>-swearing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to swear solemnly to give up; renounce on oath. <BR> <I>Ex. The coach asked the team to forswear smoking.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to deny solemnly or on oath. <DD><B> 3. </B>to perjure (oneself); swear (something) falsely; break (an oath). <BR> <I>Ex. purest faith unhappily forsworn (Shakespeare).</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to be untrue to one's sworn word or promise; swear falsely; commit perjury. noun <B>forswearer.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="forswore">
<B>forswore, </B>verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> past tense of <B>forswear.</B> <BR> <I>Ex. The team forswore smoking.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="forsworn">
<B>forsworn, </B>adjective, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> untrue to one's sworn word or promise; perjured. <DD><I>verb </I> the past participle of <B>forswear.</B> <BR> <I>Ex. He has forsworn his bad habits.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="forsythia">
<B>forsythia, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a shrub having many bell-shaped, yellow flowers in early spring before its leaves come out; golden bell. It belongs to the olive family. <DD><B> 2. </B>its flower. </DL>
<A NAME="fort">
<B>fort, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a strong building or place that can be defended against an enemy; fortified place; fortress. (SYN) fortification, stronghold. <DD><B> 2. </B>a permanent U.S. Army post. <BR> <I>Ex. Fort Benning, Georgia, is the site of the United States Army Infantry Center, and Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is the home of airborne combat units.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(in North America) a frontier trading post. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to fortify; enclose in a fort. <BR><I>expr. <B>hold the fort,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>to make a defense. </I> <I>Ex. The ambushed party held the fort desperately till reinforcements arrived.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to carry on. <BR> <I>Ex. Our colleagues ... having had their holidays earlier in the year, were holding the fort in our absence (London Times).</I> adj. <B>fortlike.</B> </DL>
<B>fortalice, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a small fort; outwork. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Obsolete.) a fortress. </DL>
<A NAME="forte">
<B>forte</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>something a person does very well; strong point. <BR> <I>Ex. Playing the piano is her forte.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the stronger part of the blade of a sword, between the middle and the hilt. </DL>
<A NAME="forte">
<B>forte</B> (2), adjective, adverb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Music.) <DD><I>adj. </I> loud; strong. <DD><I>adv. </I> loudly; strongly. <DD><I>noun </I> a passage or tone played loudly or strongly. (Abbr:) f (no period). </DL>
<A NAME="fortepiano">
<B>forte-piano, </B>adjective, adverb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Music.) <DD><I>adj. </I> suddenly and briefly loud, then immediately soft. <DD><I>adv. </I> loudly, then softly (used as a direction). <DD><I>noun </I> (Archaic.) a pianoforte. </DL>
<A NAME="forth">
<B>forth, </B>adverb, preposition.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adv. </I> <B>1. </B>forward; onward. <BR> <I>Ex. From that day forth he lived alone.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>into view or consideration; out. <BR> <I>Ex. The sun came forth from behind the clouds.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>away. <BR> <I>Ex. Go forth and seek your fortune.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Obsolete.) abroad. <DD><I>prep. </I> (Archaic.) away from; out of. <BR> <I>Ex. Steal forth thy father's house to-morrow night (Shakespeare).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>and so forth,</B> </I>and so on; and the like. <BR> <I>Ex. We ate cake, candy, nuts, and so forth. The anthology contains poems by Chaucer, Shakespeare, Pope, Byron, Shelley, Keats, and so forth.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="forth">
<B>FORTH</B> or <B>Forth, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a computer language that uses common English words, used especially for computer games and real-time applications involving control of machinery. </DL>
<A NAME="forthcoming">
<B>forthcoming, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>about to appear; approaching. <BR> <I>Ex. The forthcoming week will be busy.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>coming forth; ready when wanted. <BR> <I>Ex. She needed help, but none was forthcoming.</I> (SYN) available. <DD><B> 3. </B>ready to meet or make advances; accommodating. <BR> <I>Ex. They can afford to be forthcoming or coy just as his attitude warrants (Manchester Guardian).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> appearance; approach. </DL>
<A NAME="forthgoing">
<B>forthgoing, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a going forth; a proceeding from or out. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>that goes forth. <DD><B> 2. </B>disposed to make advances; friendly; outgoing. </DL>
<B>forthright, </B>adjective, adverb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>frank and outspoken; straightforward; direct. <BR> <I>Ex. The speaker did not like the plan and made forthright objections to it.</I> (SYN) unswerving. <DD><B> 2. </B>proceeding in a straight course. <DD><I>adv. </I> <B>1. </B>straight ahead; directly forward. <DD><B> 2. </B>at once; immediately. <BR> <I>Ex. No more he spake, But thitherward forthright his ready way did make (Edmund Spenser).</I> (SYN) straightway. <DD><I>noun </I> a straight course or path. adv. <B>forthrightly.</B> noun <B>forthrightness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="forthwith">
<B>forthwith, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> at once; without delay; immediately. <BR> <I>Ex. The judge's summons ordered the witness to appear forthwith in court.</I> (SYN) instantly. </DL>
<A NAME="fortieth">
<B>fortieth, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>next after the 39th; last in a series of 40. <DD><B> 2. </B>one, or being one, of 40 equal parts. </DL>
<A NAME="fortifiable">
<B>fortifiable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that can be fortified. </DL>
<A NAME="fortification">
<B>fortification, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of making strong; process of adding strength to; fortifying. <BR> <I>Ex. The general was responsible for the fortification of the town.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a wall, fort, ditch, or other defense built to make a place strong. <DD><B> 3. </B>a place made strong by building walls, forts, ditches, or other defenses. (SYN) stronghold, citadel. <DD><B> 4. </B>the art or science of building military defenses. <DD><B> 5. </B>the enriching of foods with vitamins and minerals. </DL>
<A NAME="fortifiedwine">
<B>fortified wine,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any wine to which an alcoholic liquor, usually brandy, is added for strength. Many dessert wines, such as port and Madeira, are fortified wines. </DL>
<A NAME="fortifier">
<B>fortifier, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person or thing that fortifies. <BR> <I>Ex. Low-income households must rely on food fortifiers--say flour, wheat germ, etc. (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="fortify">
<B>fortify, </B>verb, <B>-fied,</B> <B>-fying.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to protect (a place) against attack; strengthen against attack; provide with forts, walls, ditches, or other defenses. <BR> <I>Ex. The soldiers fortified their position on the hill by building earthworks and erecting log walls.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to give support to; strengthen. <BR> <I>Ex. They fortified each other against the coming ordeal.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to enrich with vitamins and minerals. <BR> <I>Ex. to fortify bread.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to strengthen (a wine) with alcohol. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to build forts, walls, ditches, or other defenses; protect a place against attack. </DL>
<A NAME="fortis">
<B>fortis, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Phonetics.) <DD><I>adj. </I> uttered with muscular tension and force. <DD><I>noun </I> a fortis consonant. </DL>
<A NAME="fortisan">
<B>Fortisan, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Trademark.) a sturdy synthetic acetate fiber used for draperies, upholstery, and other purposes. </DL>
<A NAME="fortissimo">
<B>fortissimo, </B>adjective, adverb, noun, pl. <B>-mos,</B> <B>-mi.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Music.) <DD><I>adj. </I> very loud (used as a direction). <DD><I>adv. </I> very loudly. <DD><I>noun </I> a very loud passage or movement. <BR> <I>Ex. from lucid fortissimos to a sort of dry, understated pianissimo (New Yorker).</I> <DD> (Abbr:) ff (no periods), ff. </DL>
<A NAME="fortitude">
<B>fortitude, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>courage in facing pain, danger, or trouble; firmness of spirit. <BR> <I>Ex. She could bear the disappointments of other people with tolerable fortitude (Dickens). Adamantine fortitude, which sustained without flinching a mountain of responsibility (John Lothrop Motley).</I> (SYN) endurance, bravery, resolution. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Obsolete.) physical strength. </DL>
<A NAME="fortitudinous">
<B>fortitudinous,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> having or characterized by fortitude. </DL>
<A NAME="fortnight">
<B>fortnight, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> two weeks. <BR> <I>Ex. A new administration ... will take control at Washington in less than a fortnight's time (Saturday Review).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="fortnightly">
<B>fortnightly, </B>adverb, adjective, noun, pl. <B>-lies.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>adv. </I> once in every two weeks. <DD><I>adj. </I> appearing or happening once in every two weeks. <BR> <I>Ex. The establishment of a new Cominform fortnightly journal is reported (Observer).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a magazine published every two weeks. </DL>
<A NAME="fortran">
<B>FORTRAN</B> or <B>Fortran, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a computer language using algebraic notation for programming a computer, especially one involved in scientific and algebraic computations. <BR> <I>Ex. A computer is no better than the software that controls its operation. The BESM-6 can be programmed in Fortran and Algol, the two universal languages for scientific computer work (Scientific American).</I> </DL>
