irreverent |
1. adj. Lacking respect or seriousness. | |
2. adj. Courageous, straightforward, saucy, having mass appeal, but likely to offend. Challenging the status quo, rocking the boat. | |
an irreverent new work | |
an irreverent examination of reviewing | |
in |
1. prep. Used to indicate location, inclusion, or position within spatial, temporal or other limits. | |
2. prep. Contained by. | |
The dog is in the kennel. | |
3. prep. Within. | |
4. prep. Surrounded by. | |
We are in the enemy camp. Her plane is in the air. | |
5. prep. Part of; a member of. | |
One in a million. She's in band and orchestra. | |
6. prep. Pertaining to; with regard to. | |
What grade did he get in English? | |
Military letters should be formal in tone, but not stilted. | |
7. prep. At the end of a period of time. | |
They said they would call us in a week. | |
8. prep. Within a certain elapsed time | |
Are you able to finish this in three hours? The massacre resulted in over 1000 deaths in three hours. | |
9. prep. During (said of periods of time). | |
in the first week of December; Easter falls in the fourth lunar month; The country reached a high level of prosperity in his fi | |
10. prep. (grammar, phonetics, of sounds and letters) Coming at the end of a word. | |
English nouns in -ce form their plurals in -s. | |
11. prep. Into. | |
Less water gets in your boots this way. | |
12. prep. Used to indicate limit, qualification, condition, or circumstance. | |
In replacing the faucet washers, he felt he was making his contribution to the environment. | |
13. prep. Indicating an order or arrangement. | |
My fat rolls around in folds. | |
14. prep. Denoting a state of the subject. | |
He stalked away in anger. John is in a coma. | |
15. prep. Indicates, connotatively, a place-like form of someone's (or something's) personality, as his, her or its psychic and physical characteristics. | |
You've got a friend in me. He's met his match in her. | |
16. prep. Wearing (an item of clothing). | |
I glanced over at the pretty girl in the red dress. | |
17. prep. Used to indicate means, medium, format, genre, or instrumentality. | |
18. prep. (of something offered or given in an exchange) In the form of, in the denomination of. | |
Please pay me in cash — preferably in tens and twenties. | |
The deposit can be in any legal tender, even in gold. | |
Her generosity was rewarded in the success of its recipients. | |
19. prep. Used to indicate a language, script, tone, etc. of a text, speech, etc. | |
Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5" in C minor is among his most popular. | |
His speech was in French, but was simultaneously translated into eight languages. | |
When you write in cursive, it's illegible. | |
20. v. (obsolete, transitive) To enclose. | |
21. v. (obsolete, transitive) To take in; to harvest. | |
22. adv. (not comparable) Located indoors, especially at home or the office, or inside something. | |
Is Mr. Smith in? | |
23. adv. Moving to the interior of a defined space, such as a building or room. | |
Suddenly a strange man walked in. | |
24. adv. (sports) Still eligible to play, e.g. able to bat in cricket and baseball. | |
He went for the wild toss but wasn't able to stay in. | |
25. adv. (UK) Abbreviation of in aid of. | |
What's that in? | |
26. adv. After the beginning of something. | |
27. n. A position of power or a way to get it. | |
His parents got him an in with the company | |
28. n. (sport) The state of a batter/batsman who is currently batting – see innings | |
29. n. A re-entrant angle; a nook or corner. | |
30. adj. In fashion; popular. | |
Skirts are in this year. | |
31. adj. Incoming. | |
the in train | |
32. adj. (nautical, of the sails of a vessel) Furled or stowed. | |
33. adj. (legal) With privilege or possession; used to denote a holding, possession, or seisin. | |
in by descent; in by purchase; in of the seisin of her husband | |
34. adj. (cricket) Currently batting. | |
35. n. Inch. | |
language |
1. n. A body of words, and set of methods of combining them (called a grammar), understood by a community and used as a form of communication. | |
The English language and the German language are related. | |
Deaf and mute people communicate using languages like ASL. | |
2. n. The ability to communicate using words. | |
the gift of language | |
3. n. The vocabulary and usage of a particular specialist field. | |
legal language; the language of chemistry | |
4. n. The expression of thought (the communication of meaning) in a specified way. | |
body language; the language of the eyes | |
5. n. A body of sounds, signs and/or signals by which animals communicate, and by which plants are sometimes also thought to communicate. | |
6. n. (computing) A computer language; a machine language. | |
7. n. Manner of expression. | |
8. n. The particular words used in a speech or a passage of text. | |
The language used in the law does not permit any other interpretation. | |
The language he used to talk to me was obscene. | |
9. n. Profanity. | |
10. v. (rare, now nonstandard, or technical) To communicate by language; to express in language. | |
11. n. A languet, a flat plate in or below the flue pipe of an organ. | |
taking |
1. adj. Alluring; attractive. | |
2. adj. (obsolete) Infectious; contagious. | |
3. n. The act by which something is taken. | |
4. n. A seizure of someone's goods or possessions. | |
5. n. A state of mental distress, resulting in excited or erratic behavior. | |
6. n. That which has been gained. | |
Count the shop's takings. | |
7. n. (in the plural) The cash or money received (taken) by a shop or other business; receipts. | |
Fred was concerned because the takings from his sweetshop had fallen again for the third week. | |
8. v. present participle of take | |
take |
1. v. To get into one's hands, possession or control, with or without force. | |
They took Charlton's gun from his cold, dead hands. | |
I'll take that plate off the table. | |
2. v. To seize or capture. | |
take the guards prisoner | |
take prisoners | |
After a bloody battle, they were able to take the city. | |
3. v. To catch or get possession of (fish or game). | |
took ten catfish in one afternoon | |
4. v. (transitive, cricket) To catch the ball; especially as a wicket-keeper and after the batsman has missed or edged it. | |
5. v. To appropriate or transfer into one's own possession, sometimes by physically carrying off. | |
Billy took her pencil. | |
6. v. To exact. | |
take a toll | |
take revenge | |
7. v. To capture or win (a piece or trick) in a game. | |
took the next two tricks | |
took Smith's rook | |
8. v. To receive or accept (something) (especially something given or bestowed, awarded, etc). | |
took third place | |
took bribes | |
The camera takes 35mm film. | |
9. v. To receive or accept (something) as payment or compensation. | |
The store doesn't take checks. | |
She wouldn't take any money for her help. | |
Do you take credit? | |
The vending machine only takes bills, it doesn't take coins. | |
10. v. To accept and follow (advice, etc). | |
take my advice | |
11. v. To receive into some relationship. | |
take a wife | |
The school only takes new students in the fall. | |
The therapist wouldn't take him as a client. | |
12. v. (transitive, intransitive, legal) To receive or acquire (property) by law (e.g. as an heir). | |
13. v. To remove. | |
take two eggs from the carton | |
14. v. To remove or end by death; to kill. | |
The earthquake took many lives. | |
The plague took rich and poor alike. | |
Cancer took her life. | |
He took his life last night. | |
15. v. To subtract. | |
take one from three and you are left with two | |
16. v. To have sex with. | |
17. v. To defeat (someone or something) in a fight. | |
Don't try to take that guy. He's bigger than you. | |
The woman guarding us looks like a professional, but I can take her! | |
18. v. To grasp or grip. | |
He took her hand in his. | |
19. v. To select or choose; to pick. | |
Take whichever bag you like. | |
She took the best men with her and left the rest to garrison the city. | |
I'll take the blue plates. | |
I'll take two sugars in my coffee, please. | |
20. v. To adopt (select) as one's own. | |
She took his side in every argument. | |
take a stand on the important issues | |
21. v. To carry or lead (something or someone). | |
She took her sword with her everywhere she went. | |
I'll take the plate with me. | |
22. v. (transitive, especially of a vehicle) To transport or carry; to convey to another place. | |
The next bus will take you to Metz. | |
I took him for a ride | |
I took him down to London. | |
23. v. (transitive, of a path, road, etc.) To lead (to a place); to serve as a means of reaching. | |
These stairs take you down to the basement. | |
Stone Street took us right past the store. | |
24. v. To pass (or attempt to pass) through or around. | |
She took the steps two or three at a time/ | |
He took the curve / corner too fast. | |
The pony took every hedge and fence in its path. | |
25. v. To escort or conduct (a person). | |
He took her to lunch at the new restaurant, took her to the movies, and then took her home. | |
26. v. (reflexive) To go. | |
27. v. To use as a means of transportation. | |
take the ferry | |
I took a plane. | |
He took the bus to London, and then took a train to Manchester. | |
He's 96 but he still takes the stairs. | |
28. v. (obsolete) To visit; to include in a course of travel. | |
29. v. To obtain for use by payment or lease. | |
She took a condo at the beach for the summer. | |
He took a full-page ad in the Times. | |
30. v. To obtain or receive regularly by (paid) subscription. | |
They took two magazines. | |
I used to take The Sunday Times. | |
31. v. To consume. | |
32. v. To receive (medicine) into one's body, e.g. by inhalation or swallowing; to ingest. | |
take two of these and call me in the morning | |
take the blue pill | |
I take aspirin every day to thin my blood. | |
33. v. To partake of (food or drink); to consume. | |
The general took dinner at seven o'clock. | |
34. v. To experience, undergo, or endure. | |
35. v. To undergo; to put oneself into, to be subjected to. | |
take sun-baths | |
take a shower | |
She made the decision to take chemotherapy. | |
36. v. To experience or feel. | |
She takes pride in her work. | |
the |
1. art. Definite grammatical article that implies necessarily that an entity it articulates is presupposed; something already mentioned, or completely specified later in that same sentence, or assumed already | |
I’m reading the book. (Compare I’m reading a book.) | |
The street in front of your house. (Compare A street in Paris.) | |
The men and women watched the man give the birdseed to the bird. | |
2. art. Used before a noun modified by a restrictive relative clause, indicating that the noun refers to a single referent defined by the relative clause. | |
The street that runs through my hometown. | |
3. art. Used before an object considered to be unique, or of which there is only one at a time. | |
No one knows how many galaxies there are in the universe. | |
God save the Queen! | |
4. art. Used before a superlative or an ordinal number modifying a noun, to indicate that the noun refers to a single item. | |
That was the best apple pie ever. | |
5. art. Added to a superlative or an ordinal number to make it into a substantive. | |
That apple pie was the best. | |
6. art. Introducing a singular term to be taken generically: preceding a name of something standing for a whole class. | |
7. art. Used before an adjective, indicating all things (especially persons) described by that adjective. | |
Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable. | |
8. art. Used to indicate a certain example of (a noun) which is usually of most concern or most common or familiar. | |
No one in the whole country had seen it before. | |
I don't think I'll get to it until the morning. | |
9. art. Used before a body part (especially of someone previously mentioned), as an alternative to a possessive pronoun. | |
A stone hit him on the head. (= “A stone hit him on his head.”) | |
10. art. When stressed, indicates that it describes an object which is considered to be best or exclusively worthy of attention. | |
That is the hospital to go to for heart surgery. | |
11. adv. 1=With a comparative ormore and a verb phrase, establishes a parallel with one or more other such comparatives. | |
The hotter the better. | |
The more I think about it, the weaker it looks. | |
The more money donated, the more books purchased, and the more happy children. | |
It looks weaker and weaker, the more I think about it. | |
12. adv. 1=With a comparative, and often withfor it, indicates a result more like said comparative. This can be negated withnone. | |
It was a difficult time, but I’m the wiser for it. | |
It was a difficult time, and I’m none the wiser for it. | |
I'm much the wiser for having had a difficult time like that. | |
name |
1. n. Any nounal word or phrase which indicates a particular person, place, class, or thing. | |
I've never liked the name my parents gave me so I changed it at the age of twenty. | |
2. n. Reputation. | |
3. n. An abusive or insulting epithet. | |
Stop calling me names! | |
4. n. A person (or legal person). | |
5. n. Those of a certain name; a race; a family. | |
6. n. (computing) A unique identifier, generally a string of characters. | |
7. n. (finance) An investor in Lloyds of London bearing unlimited liability. | |
8. n. Authority. | |
Halt in the name of the law! | |
9. v. To give a name to. | |
One visitor named Hou Yugang said he was not too concerned about climate change and Baishui’s melting. | |
(audio One visitor named Hou Yugang said he was not too concerned about climate change and Baishui’s melting.ogg Audio (US)) | |
10. v. To mention, specify. | |
He named his demands. | |
You name it! | |
11. v. To identify as relevant or important | |
naming the problem | |
12. v. To publicly implicate. | |
The painter was named as an accomplice. | |
13. v. To designate for a role. | |
My neighbor was named to the steering committee. | |
14. v. (Westminster system politics) To initiate a process to temporarily remove a member of parliament who is breaking the rules of conduct. | |
15. n. Any of several types of true yam (Dioscorea) used in Caribbean Spanish cooking. | |
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. | |
God |
1. n. A being such as a monotheistic God: a single divine creator and ruler of the universe. | |
2. interj. (short for, oh God): non-gloss, expressing annoyance or frustration. | |
God, is this because of the "I don't love you anymore" T-shirt I bought? It was a joke fer chrissakes. | |
3. n. A deity or supreme being; a supernatural, typically immortal, being with superior powers. | |
The most frequently used name for the Islamic god is Allah. | |
4. n. alternative case form of God. | |
5. n. An idol. | |
6. n. A representation of a deity, especially a statue or statuette. | |
7. n. Something or someone particularly revered, worshipped, idealized, admired and/or followed. | |
8. n. (metaphor) A person in a high position of authority, importance or influence. | |
9. n. (metaphor) A powerful ruler or tyrant. | |
10. n. (colloquial) An exceedingly handsome man. | |
Lounging on the beach were several Greek gods. | |
11. n. (Internet) The person who owns and runs a multi-user dungeon. | |
12. v. To idolize. | |
13. v. To deify. | |
in |
1. prep. Used to indicate location, inclusion, or position within spatial, temporal or other limits. | |
2. prep. Contained by. | |
The dog is in the kennel. | |
3. prep. Within. | |
4. prep. Surrounded by. | |
We are in the enemy camp. Her plane is in the air. | |
5. prep. Part of; a member of. | |
One in a million. She's in band and orchestra. | |
6. prep. Pertaining to; with regard to. | |
What grade did he get in English? | |
Military letters should be formal in tone, but not stilted. | |
7. prep. At the end of a period of time. | |
They said they would call us in a week. | |
8. prep. Within a certain elapsed time | |
Are you able to finish this in three hours? The massacre resulted in over 1000 deaths in three hours. | |
9. prep. During (said of periods of time). | |
in the first week of December; Easter falls in the fourth lunar month; The country reached a high level of prosperity in his fi | |
10. prep. (grammar, phonetics, of sounds and letters) Coming at the end of a word. | |
English nouns in -ce form their plurals in -s. | |
11. prep. Into. | |
Less water gets in your boots this way. | |
12. prep. Used to indicate limit, qualification, condition, or circumstance. | |
In replacing the faucet washers, he felt he was making his contribution to the environment. | |
13. prep. Indicating an order or arrangement. | |
My fat rolls around in folds. | |
14. prep. Denoting a state of the subject. | |
He stalked away in anger. John is in a coma. | |
15. prep. Indicates, connotatively, a place-like form of someone's (or something's) personality, as his, her or its psychic and physical characteristics. | |
You've got a friend in me. He's met his match in her. | |
16. prep. Wearing (an item of clothing). | |
I glanced over at the pretty girl in the red dress. | |
17. prep. Used to indicate means, medium, format, genre, or instrumentality. | |
18. prep. (of something offered or given in an exchange) In the form of, in the denomination of. | |
Please pay me in cash — preferably in tens and twenties. | |
The deposit can be in any legal tender, even in gold. | |
Her generosity was rewarded in the success of its recipients. | |
19. prep. Used to indicate a language, script, tone, etc. of a text, speech, etc. | |
Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5" in C minor is among his most popular. | |
His speech was in French, but was simultaneously translated into eight languages. | |
When you write in cursive, it's illegible. | |
20. v. (obsolete, transitive) To enclose. | |
21. v. (obsolete, transitive) To take in; to harvest. | |
22. adv. (not comparable) Located indoors, especially at home or the office, or inside something. | |
Is Mr. Smith in? | |
23. adv. Moving to the interior of a defined space, such as a building or room. | |
Suddenly a strange man walked in. | |
24. adv. (sports) Still eligible to play, e.g. able to bat in cricket and baseball. | |
He went for the wild toss but wasn't able to stay in. | |
25. adv. (UK) Abbreviation of in aid of. | |
What's that in? | |
26. adv. After the beginning of something. | |
27. n. A position of power or a way to get it. | |
His parents got him an in with the company | |
28. n. (sport) The state of a batter/batsman who is currently batting – see innings | |
29. n. A re-entrant angle; a nook or corner. | |
30. adj. In fashion; popular. | |
Skirts are in this year. | |
31. adj. Incoming. | |
the in train | |
32. adj. (nautical, of the sails of a vessel) Furled or stowed. | |
33. adj. (legal) With privilege or possession; used to denote a holding, possession, or seisin. | |
in by descent; in by purchase; in of the seisin of her husband | |
34. adj. (cricket) Currently batting. | |
35. n. Inch. | |
vain |
1. adj. Overly proud of oneself, especially concerning appearance; having a high opinion of one's own accomplishments with slight reason. | |
2. adj. Having no real substance, value, or importance; empty; void; worthless; unsatisfying. | |
3. adj. Effecting no purpose; pointless, futile. | |
vain toil; a vain attempt | |
4. adj. Showy; ostentatious. | |