<HEAD><TITLE>DICTIONARY: asteroid - astride</TITLE></HEAD>
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<A HREF="x.dic">X</A>
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<A HREF="z.dic">Z</A>
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<A NAME="asteroid">
<B>asteroid, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>any one of the thousands of very small objects that revolve about the sun, chiefly between the orbit of Mars and the orbit of Jupiter; planetoid. The mass of the moon is about thirty times the combined mass of all known asteroids. <DD><B> 2. </B>any one of a class of echinoderms, usually having five arms or rays radiating from a central disc, a mouth under this disc, and rows of tubular walking feet; starfish. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>starlike. <DD><B> 2. </B>resembling a starfish. </DL>
<A NAME="asteroidal">
<B>asteroidal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with asteroids. <BR> <I>Ex. A meteorite ... that was launched quite unceremoniously somewhere in the asteroidal belt sometime during the last two billion years ... was recovered recently (Science News Letter).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="asterophyllite">
<B>asterophyllite, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a member of a genus of fossil plants, with leaves arranged in whorls, found in the coal formations of Europe and America. </DL>
<A NAME="asteryellows">
<B>aster yellows,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a virus disease of aster plants, characterized by yellowing and dwarfing. </DL>
<A NAME="asthenia">
<B>asthenia, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> lack or loss of strength; weakness; debility; adynamia. </DL>
<A NAME="asthenic">
<B>asthenic, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of or characterized by asthenia; weak; debilitated; adynamic. <DD><B> 2. </B>characterized by a tall, spare body build. <BR> <I>Ex. He thought that schizophrenia was found more frequently among those with the asthenic type of body, characterized by a slender, narrow trunk, long legs, and a narrow, angular face (Ogburn and Nimkoff).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a person who has asthenia. <DD><B> 2. </B>a person of the asthenic type. </DL>
<A NAME="asthenopia">
<B>asthenopia, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Medicine.) weakness of the eyes or visual organs. </DL>
<A NAME="asthenopic">
<B>asthenopic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having to do with, or suffering from, asthenopia; resembling asthenopia. </DL>
<A NAME="asthenosphere">
<B>asthenosphere, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a region of the earth's mantle directly beneath the lithosphere, having a thickness of a hundred miles or more and consisting of hot, soft, or weak rock material. </DL>
<A NAME="asthenospheric">
<B>asthenospheric, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with the asthenosphere. <BR> <I>Ex. The descending lithosphere displaces asthenospheric material, forcing it upward to form new crust (Science News).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="asthma">
<B>asthma, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a chronic disease that makes breathing difficult and causes coughing. Asthma is an allergy characterized by intermittent or continuous difficulty in breathing and a sense of constriction in the chest. <BR> <I>Ex. Asthma attacks the smooth lung muscles instead of the upper respiratory system, and is most commonly caused by mold spores, but it can be caused by anything that can cause hay fever (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="asthmatic">
<B>asthmatic, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of or having to do with asthma. <DD><B> 2. </B>having asthma. <BR> <I>Ex. A plump, asthmatic man came panting into the room (Edgar Maass).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a person who has asthma. adv. <B>asthmatically.</B> </DL>
<B>astigmatic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having astigmatism. <DD><B> 2. </B>having to do with or characterized by astigmatism. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) the astigmatic views of a bigot.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>correcting astigmatism. <BR> <I>Ex. astigmatic lenses.</I> adv. <B>astigmatically.</B> </DL>
<B>astigmatism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the structural defect of an eye or of a lens that makes objects look indistinct or gives imperfect images. With perfect focus, all the rays of light, entering through the cornea, converge at one point on the retina; with astigmatism they do not. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) inability or refusal to accept what is right or true. <BR> <I>Ex. the moral astigmatism of a bigot.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="astilbe">
<B>astilbe, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any plant of a genus of the saxifrage family, having long spikes of small, white flowers. </DL>
<A NAME="astir">
<B>astir, </B>adverb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>in motion; stirring with activity or excitement. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) I found Western Europe astir with efforts to rethink current policies, to realign current political groupings (Harper's).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>out of bed. <BR> <I>Ex. Most farmers are astir early each morning.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="astolat">
<B>Astolat, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Arthurian Legend.) a place thought by some to be in southeastern England (Surrey) near London. </DL>
<A NAME="astomatous">
<B>astomatous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(of animals) having no mouth. <DD><B> 2. </B>(of plants) having no stomata. </DL>
<B>astonish, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to surprise greatly; amaze. <BR> <I>Ex. The gift of ten dollars astonished the little boy.</I> (SYN) astound. adv. <B>astonishedly.</B> noun <B>astonisher.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="astonishing">
<B>astonishing, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> very surprising; amazing. adv. <B>astonishingly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="astonishment">
<B>astonishment, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>great surprise; sudden wonder; amazement. <DD><B> 2. </B>anything that causes great surprise. </DL>
<A NAME="astound">
<B>astound, </B>verb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> to shock with alarm or surprise; surprise very greatly; amaze. <BR> <I>Ex. She was astounded by the news that she had won the contest. I am astounded by the opinion of some of our city high school teachers that the Regents should be made easier because the percentage of failures has increased (New York Herald Tribune).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> (Archaic.) astonished. noun <B>astoundment.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="astounding">
<B>astounding, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> shocking with alarm or surprise; amazing. adv. <B>astoundingly.</B> </DL>
<B>Astraea, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Greek Mythology.) the goddess of justice. </DL>
<A NAME="astragal">
<B>astragal, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Architecture.) <DD><B> a. </B>a small, convex molding cut into the form of a string of beads. <DD><B> b. </B>a small, plain, convex molding. <DD><B> 2. </B>the anklebone; astragalus. </DL>
<A NAME="astragalar">
<B>astragalar, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with the anklebone. </DL>
<A NAME="astragalus">
<B>astragalus, </B>noun, pl. <B>-li.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the uppermost bone of the tarsus; anklebone; talus. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=astragal </B>(def. 1). </DL>
<A NAME="astrakhan">
<B>astrakhan, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the curly, furlike wool on the skin of stillborn or very young caracul lambs from Astrakhan. <DD><B> 2. </B>a rough woolen cloth that looks like this. Also, <B>astrachan.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="astral">
<B>astral, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of the stars; starry. <BR> <I>Ex. Euclidean geometry is inapplicable to astral measurements (Saturday Review).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Biology.) of or like an aster. <DD><B> 3. </B>of a substance beyond perception by the human senses alleged by theosophy to pervade the universe and enter all bodies, forming astral bodies. </DL>
<A NAME="astralbody">
<B>astral body,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Theosophy.) a body separate from the actual body and supposed to be able to leave it at will; a ghostlike double of the human body. </DL>
<A NAME="astrallamp">
<B>astral lamp,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an oil lamp so made that it casts no shadow on the table below. </DL>
<A NAME="astrally">
<B>astrally, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>in an astral manner; according to the stars. <DD><B> 2. </B>as an astral body. </DL>
<A NAME="astrand">
<B>astrand, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> on the strand; stranded. <BR> <I>Ex. The tall ship ... Amid the breakers lies astrand (Scott).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="astray">
<B>astray, </B>adjective, adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> out of the right way; wandering; off. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) Your reasoning is astray on that subject (adj.). The gate is open and all the cows have gone astray (adv.).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="astrict">
<B>astrict, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to bind up; compress. <DD><B> 2. </B>to bind by moral or legal obligation. <DD><B> 3. </B>to restrict; tie down; limit (to). noun <B>astriction.</B> </DL>
<B>astride, </B>preposition, adjective, adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>prep. </I> <B>1. </B>with one leg on each side of (something). <BR> <I>Ex. He sits astride his horse.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>on both sides of; extending over or across (something). <BR> <I>Ex. Kajang lies astride the tarred road to Singapore (London Times).</I> <DD><I>adj., adv. </I> <B>1. </B>with one leg on each side. <BR> <I>Ex. The knight sits astride on his horse.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>with legs far apart. </DL>
