| composed |
| 1. adj. showing composure. | |
| 2. v. simple past tense and past participle of compose | |
| compose |
| 1. v. To make something by merging parts. | |
| The editor composed a historical journal from many individual letters. | |
| Try to compose your thoughts. | |
| 2. v. To make up the whole; to constitute. | |
| A church is composed of its members. | |
| 3. v. (transitive, nonstandard) To comprise. | |
| 4. v. (transitive, or intransitive) To construct by mental labor; to think up; particularly, to produce or create a literary or musical work. | |
| The orator composed his speech over the week prior. | |
| Nine numbered symphonies, including the Fifth, were composed by Beethoven. | |
| It's difficult to compose without absolute silence. | |
| 5. v. (sometimes reflexive) To calm; to free from agitation. | |
| The defendant couldn't compose herself and was found in contempt. | |
| 6. v. To arrange the elements of a photograph or other picture. | |
| 7. v. To settle (an argument, dispute etc.); to come to a settlement. | |
| 8. v. To arrange in proper form; to reduce to order; to put in proper state or condition. | |
| 9. v. (printing, dated) To arrange (types) in a composing stick for printing; to typeset. | |
| 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. | |
| inherently |
| 1. adv. In an inherent way; naturally, innately, unavoidably. | |
| different |
| 1. adj. Not the same; exhibiting a difference. | |
| 2. adj. Various, assorted, diverse. | |
| 3. adj. Distinct, separate; used for emphasis after numbers and other determiners of quantity. | |
| Several different scientists all reached this conclusion at about the same time. | |
| 4. adj. Unlike most others; unusual. | |
| 5. n. (mathematics) The different ideal. | |
| 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. | |
| distinct |
| 1. adj. Capable of being perceived very clearly. | |
| Her voice was distinct despite the heavy traffic. | |
| 2. adj. Different from one another (with the preferable adposition being "from"). | |
| Horses are distinct from zebras. | |
| 3. adj. Noticeably different from others; distinctive. | |
| Olga's voice is quite distinct because of her accent. | |
| 4. adj. Separate in place; not conjunct or united; with from. | |
| 5. adj. (obsolete) Distinguished; having the difference marked; separated by a visible sign; marked out; specified. | |
| 6. adj. (obsolete) Marked; variegated. | |
| elements |
| 1. n. plural of element | |
| 2. n. (pluralonly) Outdoor weather, such as wind or rain. | |
| 3. n. (pluralonly) The basic tenets of an area of knowledge. | |
| 4. n. (pluralonly) The bread and wine of the Eucharist. | |
| element |
| 1. n. One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based. | |
| Letters are the elements of written language. | |
| 2. n. (chemistry) Any one of the simplest chemical substances that cannot be decomposed in a chemical reaction or by any chemical means and made up of atoms | |
| 3. n. One of the four basic building blocks of matter in theories of ancient philosophers and alchemists: water, earth, fire, and air. | |
| 4. n. (legal) A required aspect or component of a cause of action. A deed is regarded a violation of law only if each element can be proved. | |
| 5. n. (set theory) One of the objects in a set. | |
| 6. n. Any of the teeth of a zip fastener. | |
| 7. n. A small part of the whole. | |
| an element of doubt; an element of the picture | |
| 8. n. (plural only, with "the") Atmospheric forces such as strong winds and rains. | |
| exposed to the elements | |
| 9. n. A place or state of being that an individual or object is best suited to. | |
| to be in one's element | |
| 10. n. (Christianity, usually plural) The bread and wine taken at Holy Communion. | |
| 11. n. A group of people within a larger group having a particular common characteristic. | |
| You sometimes find the hooligan element at football matches. | |
| 12. n. A component in electrical equipment, often in the form of a coil, having a high resistance, thereby generating heat when a current is passed through it. | |
| The element in this electric kettle can heat the water in under a minute. | |
| 13. n. (computing) One of the conceptual objects in a markup language, usually represented in text by a matching pair of tags. | |
| 14. v. (obsolete) To compound of elements. | |
| 15. v. (obsolete) To constitute and be the elements of. | |
| incongruous |
| 1. adj. Not similar or congruent; not matching or fitting in. | |
| 2. adj. (math) Of two numbers, with respect to a third, such that their difference can not be divided by it without a remainder. | |
| 20 and 25 are incongruous with respect to 4. | |
