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characterized
     1. v. simple past tense and past participle of characterize
     characterize
          1. v. to depict someone or something a particular way (often negative)
          2. v. to determine the characteristics of
by
     1. prep. Near or next to.
           The mailbox is by the bus stop.
     2. prep. At some time before (the given time), or before the end of a given time interval.
           Be back by ten o'clock!  We will send it by the first week of July.
     3. prep. Indicates the actor in a clause with its verb in the passive voice: Through the action or presence of.
           The matter was decided by the chairman.  The boat was swamped by the water.  He was protected by his body armour.
     4. prep. Indicates the creator of a work: Existing through the authorship etc. of.
           There are many well-known plays by William Shakespeare
     5. prep. Indicates the cause of a condition or event: Through the action of, caused by, responsibility for; by dint of.
     6. prep. Indicates a means: Involving/using the means of.
           I avoided the guards by moving only when they weren't looking.
     7. prep. Indicates a source of light used as illumination.
           The electricity was cut off, so we had to read by candlelight.
     8. prep. Indicates an authority, rule, or permission followed.
           I sorted the items by category.  By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife.
     9. prep. Indicates the amount of some progression: With a change of.
           Our stock is up by ten percent.
     10. prep. In the formulae X by X and by Xs, indicates a steady progression, one X after another.
           We went through the book page by page.  We crawled forward by inches.
     11. prep. Indicates a referenced source: According to.
           He cheated by his own admission.
     12. prep. Indicates an oath: With the authority of.
           By Jove! I think she's got it!  By all that is holy, I'll put an end to this.
     13. prep. Used to separate dimensions when describing the size of something.
           It is easy to invert a 2-by-2 matrix.  The room was about 4 foot by 6 foot.  The bricks used to build the wall measured 10 by 20 by 30 cm.
     14. prep. (horse breeding) Designates a horse's male parent (sire); cf. out of.
           She's a lovely little filly, by Big Lad, out of Damsel in Distress.
     15. adv. Along a path which runs by the speaker.
           I watched as it passed by.
     16. adv. In the vicinity, near.
           There was a shepherd close by.
           The shop is hard by the High Street.
     17. adv. To or at a place, as a residence or place of business.
           I'll stop by on my way home from work.
           We're right near the lifeguard station. Come by before you leave.
     18. adv. Aside, away.
           The women spent much time after harvest putting jams by for winter and spring.
     19. adj. Out of the way, subsidiary.
     20. n. (card games) A pass
     21. interj. alternative spelling of bye
rigorous
     1. adj. Showing, causing, or favoring rigour; scrupulously accurate or strict; thorough.
           a rigorous officer of justice
           a rigorous execution of law
           a rigorous inspection
     2. adj. Severe; intense.
           a rigorous winter.
self
     1. pron. (obsolete) Himself, herself, itself, themselves; that specific (person mentioned).
           This argument was put forward by the defendant self.
     2. pron. (commercial or humorous) Myself.
           I made out a cheque, payable to self, which cheered me up somewhat.
     3. n. The subject of one's own experience of phenomena: perception, emotions, thoughts.
     4. n. An individual person as the object of his own reflective consciousness (plural selves).
     5. n. (botany) A seedling produced by self-pollination (plural selfs).
     6. n. (molecular biology, immunology) Any molecule, cell, or tissue of an organism's own (belonging to the self), as opposed to a foreign (nonself) molecule, cell, or tissue (for example, infective, allogen
     7. v. (botany) To fertilise by the same individual; to self-fertilise or self-pollinate.
     8. v. (botany) To fertilise by the same strain; to inbreed.
     9. adj. Having its own or a single nature or character, as in colour, composition, etc., without addition or change; unmixed.
           a self bow: one made from a single piece of wood
           a self flower or plant: one which is wholly of one colour
     10. adj. (obsolete) Same.
     11. adj. (molecular biology, immunology) Of or relating to any molecule, cell, or tissue of an organism's own (belonging to the self), as opposed to a foreign (nonself) molecule, cell, or tissue (for example
denial
     1. n. (logic) The negation in logic.
           The denial of "There might be X" is the null, "False, there is no X.".
     2. n. A refusal to comply with a request.
           Every time we asked for an interview we got a denial.
     3. n. An assertion of untruth.
           The singer has issued a sweeping denial of all the rumors.
     4. n. Refusal to believe a problem exists
           We couldn't break through his denial about being alcoholic.
     5. n. (dated, psychology) A defense mechanism involving a refusal to accept the truth of a phenomenon or prospect.
           He is in denial that he has a drinking problem.
or
     1. conj. Connects at least two alternative words, phrases, clauses, sentences, etc. each of which could make a passage true. In English, this is the "inclusive or." The "exclusive or" is formed by "either(...)
           In Ohio, anyone under the age of 18 who wants a tattoo or body piercing needs the consent of a parent or guardian.
           He might get cancer, or be hit by a bus, or God knows what.
     2. conj. (logic) An operator denoting the disjunction of two propositions or truth values. There are two forms, the inclusive or and the exclusive or.
     3. conj. Counts the elements before and after as two possibilities.
     4. conj. Otherwise (a consequence of the condition that the previous is false).
           It's raining! Come inside or you'll catch a cold!
     5. conj. Connects two equivalent names.
           The country Myanmar, or Burma
     6. n. (logic, electronics) alternative form of OR
     7. n. (tincture) The gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms.
     8. adj. (tincture) Of gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms.
     9. adv. (obsolete) Early (on).
     10. adv. (obsolete) Earlier, previously.
     11. prep. (now archaic, or dialect) Before; ere.
self
     1. pron. (obsolete) Himself, herself, itself, themselves; that specific (person mentioned).
           This argument was put forward by the defendant self.
     2. pron. (commercial or humorous) Myself.
           I made out a cheque, payable to self, which cheered me up somewhat.
     3. n. The subject of one's own experience of phenomena: perception, emotions, thoughts.
     4. n. An individual person as the object of his own reflective consciousness (plural selves).
     5. n. (botany) A seedling produced by self-pollination (plural selfs).
     6. n. (molecular biology, immunology) Any molecule, cell, or tissue of an organism's own (belonging to the self), as opposed to a foreign (nonself) molecule, cell, or tissue (for example, infective, allogen
     7. v. (botany) To fertilise by the same individual; to self-fertilise or self-pollinate.
     8. v. (botany) To fertilise by the same strain; to inbreed.
     9. adj. Having its own or a single nature or character, as in colour, composition, etc., without addition or change; unmixed.
           a self bow: one made from a single piece of wood
           a self flower or plant: one which is wholly of one colour
     10. adj. (obsolete) Same.
     11. adj. (molecular biology, immunology) Of or relating to any molecule, cell, or tissue of an organism's own (belonging to the self), as opposed to a foreign (nonself) molecule, cell, or tissue (for example
discipline
     1. n. A controlled behaviour; self-control.
     2. n. An enforced compliance or control.
     3. n. A systematic method of obtaining obedience.
     4. n. A state of order based on submission to authority.
     5. n. A punishment to train or maintain control.
     6. n. (Catholicism) A whip used for self-flagellation.
     7. n. A set of rules regulating behaviour.
     8. n. A flagellation as a means of obtaining sexual gratification.
     9. n. A specific branch of knowledge or learning.
     10. n. A category in which a certain art, sport or other activity belongs.
     11. v. To train someone by instruction and practice.
     12. v. To teach someone to obey authority.
     13. v. To punish someone in order to (re)gain control.
     14. v. To impose order on someone.
austere
     1. adj. Grim or severe in manner or appearance
           The headmistress was an austere old woman.
     2. adj. Lacking trivial decoration; not extravagant or gaudy
           The interior of the church was as austere as the parishioners were dour.
Abstinent
     1. n. (religion, historical) One of a religious sect that appeared in France and Spain in the 3rd century, and practised abstinence from meat and sex.
     2. adj. Refraining from indulgence, especially from the indulgence of appetite.
     3. n. One who abstains; a faster.
     4. n. (usually capitalized religion historical) One of a sect who appeared in France and Spain in the 3rd century, and believed in abstinence towards meat and sex.
involving
     1. v. present participle of involve
     involve
          1. v. (archaic) To roll or fold up; to wind round; to entwine.
          2. v. (archaic) To envelop completely; to surround; to cover; to hide.
                to involve in darkness or obscurity
          3. v. To complicate or make intricate, as in grammatical structure.
          4. v. (archaic) To connect with something as a natural or logical consequence or effect; to include necessarily; to imply.
          5. v. To take in; to gather in; to mingle confusedly; to blend or merge.
          6. v. To envelop, enfold, entangle.
                to involve a person in debt or misery
                He's involved in the crime.
          7. v. To engage (someone) to participate in a task.
                How can we involve the audience more during the show?
                By getting involved in her local community, Mary met lots of people and also helped make it a nicer place to live.
          8. v. (mathematics) To raise to any assigned power; to multiply, as a quantity, into itself a given number of times.
                a quantity involved to the third or fourth power
a
     1. art. One; any indefinite example of; used to denote a singular item of a group.
           There was a man here looking for you yesterday.
     2. art. Used in conjunction with the adjectives score, dozen, hundred, thousand, and million, as a function word.
           I've seen it happen a hundred times.
     3. art. One certain or particular; any single.Brown, Lesley, (2003)
           We've received an interesting letter from a Mrs. Miggins of London.
     4. art. The same; one.
           We are of a mind on matters of morals.
     5. art. Any, every; used before a noun which has become modified to limit its scope; also used with a negative to indicate not a single one.Lindberg, Christine A. (2007)
           A man who dies intestate leaves his children troubles and difficulties.
           He fell all that way, and hasn't a bump on his head?
     6. art. Used before plural nouns modified by few, good many, couple, great many, etc.
     7. art. Someone or something like; similar to; Used before a proper noun to create an example out of it.
           The center of the village was becoming a Times Square.
     8. prep. (archaic) To do with position or direction; In, on, at, by, towards, onto.
           Stand a tiptoe.
     9. prep. To do with separation; In, into.
           Torn a pieces.
     10. prep. To do with time; Each, per, in, on, by.
           I brush my teeth twice a day.
     11. prep. (obsolete) To do with method; In, with.
     12. prep. (obsolete) To do with role or capacity; In.
           A God’s name.
     13. prep. To do with status; In.
           King James Bible (II Chronicles 2:18)
             To set the people a worke.
     14. prep. (archaic) To do with process, with a passive verb; In the course of, experiencing.
           1964, Bob Dylan, The Times They Are a-Changin’
             The times, they are a-changin'.
     15. prep. (archaic) To do with an action, an active verb; Engaged in.
           1611, King James Bible, Hebrews 11-21
             Jacob, when he was a dying
     16. prep. (archaic) To do with an action/movement; To, into.
     17. v. (archaic, or slang) Have.
           I'd a come, if you'd a asked.
     18. pron. (obsolete, outside, England, and Scotland dialects) He.
     19. interj. A meaningless syllable; ah.
     20. prep. (archaic, slang) Of.
           The name of John a Gaunt.
     21. adv. (chiefly Scotland) All.
     22. adj. (chiefly Scotland) All.
withholding
     1. v. present participle of withhold
     2. n. The deduction of taxes from an employee's salary.
     3. n. The tax so deducted, and paid to local or national government.
     withhold
          1. v. To keep (a physical object that one has obtained) to oneself rather than giving it back to its owner.
          2. v. To keep (information, assent etc) to oneself rather than revealing it.
          3. v. (intransitive) To stay back.
of
     1. prep. Expressing distance or motion.
     2. prep.          (now obsolete, or dialectal) From (of distance, direction), "off".
     3. prep.          (obsolete except in phrases) Since, from (a given time, earlier state etc.).
     4. prep.          From, away from (a position, number, distance etc.).
                    There are no shops within twenty miles of the cottage.
     5. prep.          (North America, Scotland, Ireland) Before (the hour); to.
                    What's the time? / Nearly a quarter of three.
     6. prep. Expressing separation.
     7. prep.          (Indicating removal, absence or separation, with the action indicated by a transitive verb and the quality or substance by a grammatical object.)
                    Finally she was relieved of the burden of caring for her sick husband.
     8. prep.          (Indicating removal, absence or separation, with resulting state indicated by an adjective.)
                    He seemed devoid of human feelings.
     9. prep.          (obsolete) (Indicating removal, absence or separation, construed with an intransitive verb.)
     10. prep. Expressing origin.
     11. prep.          (Indicating an ancestral source or origin of descent.)
                    The word is believed to be of Japanese origin.
     12. prep.          (Indicating a (non-physical) source of action or emotion; introducing a cause, instigation); from, out of, as an expression of.
                    The invention was born of necessity.
     13. prep.          (following an intransitive verb) (Indicates the source or cause of the verb.)
                    It is said that she died of a broken heart.
     14. prep.          (following an adjective) (Indicates the subject or cause of the adjective.)
                    I am tired of all this nonsense.
     15. prep. Expressing agency.
     16. prep.          (following a passive verb) (Indicates the agent (for most verbs, now usually expressed with by).)
                    I am not particularly enamoured of this idea.
     17. prep.          (Used to introduce the "subjective genitive"; following a noun to form the head of a postmodifying noun phrase) (see also 'Possession' senses below).
                    The contract can be terminated at any time with the agreement of both parties.
     18. prep.          (following an adjective) (Used to indicate the agent of something described by the adjective.)
                    It was very brave of you to speak out like that.
     19. prep. Expressing composition, substance.
     20. prep.          (after a verb expressing construction, making etc.) (Used to indicate the material or substance used.)
                    Many 'corks' are now actually made of plastic.
     21. prep.          (directly following a noun) (Used to indicate the material of the just-mentioned object.)
                    She wore a dress of silk.
     22. prep.          (Indicating the composition of a given collective or quantitative noun.)
                    What a lot of nonsense!
     23. prep.          (Used to link a given class of things with a specific example of that class.)
                   Welcome to the historic town of Harwich.
     24. prep.          (Links two nouns in near-apposition, with the first qualifying the second); "which is also".
                    I'm not driving this wreck of a car.
     25. prep. Introducing subject matter.
     26. prep.          (Links an intransitive verb, or a transitive verb and its subject (especially verbs to do with thinking, feeling, expressing etc.), with its subject-ma
                    I'm always thinking of you.
     27. prep.          (following a noun (now chiefly nouns of knowledge, communication etc.)) (Introduces its subject matter); about, concerning.
                    He told us the story of his journey to India.
     28. prep.          (following an adjective) (Introduces its subject matter.)
                    This behaviour is typical of teenagers.
     29. prep. Having partitive effect.
     30. prep.          (following a number or other quantitive word) (Introduces the whole for which is indicated only the specified part or segment); "from among".
                    Most of these apples are rotten.
     31. prep.          (following a noun) (Indicates a given part.)
     32. prep.          (now archaic, literary, with preceding partitive word assumed, or as a predicate after to be) Some, an amount of, one of.
                    On the whole, they seem to be of the decent sort.
     33. prep.          (Links to a genitive noun or possessive pronoun, with partitive effect (though now often merged with possessive senses, below).)
                    He is a friend of mine.
     34. prep. Expressing possession.
     35. prep.          Belonging to, existing in, or taking place in a given location, place or time. Compare "origin" senses, above.
                    He was perhaps the most famous scientist of the twentieth century.
     36. prep.          Belonging to (a place) through having title, ownership or control over it.
                    The owner of the nightclub was arrested.
     37. prep.          Belonging to (someone or something) as something they possess or have as a characteristic; (the "possessive genitive". (With abstract nouns, this inter
                    Keep the handle of the saucepan away from the flames.
     38. prep. Forming the "objective genitive".
     39. prep.          (Follows an agent noun, verbal noun or noun of action.)
                    She had a profound distrust of the police.
     40. prep. Expressing qualities or characteristics.
     41. prep.          (now archaic, or literary) (Links an adjective with a noun or noun phrase to form a quasi-adverbial qualifier); in respect to, as regards.
                    My companion seemed affable and easy of manner.
     42. prep.          (Indicates a quality or characteristic); "characterized by".
                    Pooh was said to be a bear of very little brain.
     43. prep.          (Indicates quantity, age, price, etc.)
                    We have been paying interest at a rate of 10%.
     44. prep.          (US, informal considered incorrect by some) (Used to link singular indefinite nouns (preceded by the indefinite article) and attributive adjectives mod
                    It's not that big of a deal.
     45. prep. Expressing a point in time.
     46. prep.          (chiefly regional) During the course of (a set period of time, day of the week etc.), now specifically with implied repetition or regularity.
                    Of an evening, we would often go for a stroll along the river.
     47. prep.          (UK dialectal, chiefly in negative constructions) For (a given length of time).
                    I've not tekken her out of a goodly long while.
     48. prep.          (after a noun) (Indicates duration of a state, activity etc.)
                    After a delay of three hours, the plane finally took off.
physical
     1. adj. Having to do with the body.
           Are you feeling any physical effects?
     2. adj. Having to do with the material world.
           It's not so much a physical place as a state of mind.
     3. adj. Involving bodily force.
           This team plays a very physical game, so watch out.
     4. adj. Having to do with physics.
           The substance has a number of interesting physical properties.
     5. adj. (computing) Not virtual; directly corresponding to hardware operation.
     6. adj. (obsolete) Relating to physic, or medicine; medicinal; curative; also, cathartic; purgative.
     7. n. Physical examination.
           How long has it been since your last physical?
pleasure
     1. n. A state of being pleased or contented; gratification.
           He remembered with pleasure his home and family.
           I get a lot of pleasure from watching others work hard while I relax.
     2. n. A person, thing or action that causes enjoyment.
           It was a pleasure to meet you.
           Having a good night's sleep is one of life's little pleasures.
     3. n. One's preference.
           What is your pleasure: coffee or tea?
     4. n. (formal) The will or desire of someone or some agency in power.
           to hold an office at pleasure: to hold it indefinitely until it is revoked
           to be imprisoned at Her Majesty's pleasureupright - : to be imprisoned indefinitely
           at Congress's pleasure: whenever or as long as Congress desires
     5. interj. pleased to meet you
     6. v. To give or afford pleasure to; to please; to gratify.
     7. v. To give sexual pleasure to.
           Johnny pleasured Jackie orally last night.
     8. v. (intransitive, dated) To take pleasure; to seek or pursue pleasure.
           to go pleasuring
Dictionary entries from Wiktionary