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An American Dictionary of the English Language

by Noah Webster

Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)

Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865

Entries
95,912
Pages
1,538
Illustrations
2,133

Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.

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  1. Ab'sence, n.p. 7A state of being absent or withdrawn from a place or from companionship. The advantage of his absence took the king. Shak. 2. Want; destitution. “In the absence of conventional law.” Kent. 3.…
  2. Ab'sent, a.p. 7Withdrawn from, or not present in, a place. “Expecting absent friends.” Shak. 2. Inattentive to what is passing; heedless. What is commonly called an absent man is commonly either a very weak or a…
  3. Ab-sēnt′, v. t.p. 7To take or withdraw to such a distance as to prevent intercourse; — used with the reciprocal pronoun. If after due summons any member absents himself, he is to be fined. Addison. 2. To cause the…
  4. Ăb'sen-tā'ne-oūs, a.p. 7Pertaining to absence; habitually absent. Bailey.
  5. Ăb'sen-tā'tion, n.p. 7The act of absenting one's self. Wakefield.
  6. Ăb'sen-teē', n.p. 7One who absents himself from his country, office, post, or duty, and the like; especially a landholder who lives at a distance from his estate; as, an Irish absentee. Edgeworth.
  7. Ab'sen-tee'ism, n.p. 7The state or habit of an absentee; absence from duty or station; the practice of living at a distance from one's estate.
  8. Ab-sĕnt'er, n.p. 7One who absents himself.
  9. Ab-sĕnt'ment, n.p. 7A state of being absent. Barrow.
  10. Ab-sĭnthe', n.p. 7A cordial of brandy flavored with wormwood. Bescherelle.
  11. Ab-sĭn'thi-an, a.p. 7Of the nature of wormwood. Randolph.
  12. Ab-sin'thi-âte, v. t.p. 7To impregnate with wormwood. Ogilvie.
  13. Ab-sin’thi-ā’ted, p. a.p. 7Impregnated with wormwood.
  14. Ab-sĭnth'ine, n.p. 7(Chem.) The bitter principle of wormwood, or Artemisia absinthium. Gregory.
  15. Ab-sĭn'thi-ŭm, n.p. 7(Bot.) The common wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), a bitter plant, used as a tonic.
  16. Ab'sis, n.p. 7See Apsis.
  17. Ab-sĭst', v. i.p. 7To stand or leave off; to relinquish. [Obs.] Bailey.
  18. Ab-sĭst'ençe, n.p. 7A standing off.
  19. Ăb'so-lūte, a.p. 7Completed, or regarded as complete; finished; perfect; total; as, absolute perfection, absolute beauty. So absolute she seems, And in herself complete. Milton. 2. Freed or loosed from any limitation…
  20. Ăb'so-lūte-ly, adv.p. 7In an absolute, independent, or unconditional manner; wholly; positively.
  21. Ab'so-lūte-ness, n.p. 7The quality of being absolute; independence of every thing extraneous; completeness; positiveness. Wright.
  22. Ab'so-lū'tion, n.p. 7(Civ. Law.) An acquittal, or sentence of a judge declaring an accused person innocent. 2. (Rom. Cath. Church.) A remission of sin pronounced in favor of one who makes due confession thereof. Hook. ❧…
  23. Ab'so-lū'tiṣm, n.p. 7State of being absolute, or principles of absolute government. The element of absolutism and prelacy was controlling. Palfrey. 2. Doctrine of absolute decrees. Ash.
  24. Ab'so-lū'tist, n.p. 7One who is in favor of an absolute government.
  25. Ab'so-lū-tist'ic, a.p. 7Pertaining to absolutism.
  26. Ab-sōl'ū-to-ry, a.p. 7Absolving; that absolves. “An absolutory sentence.” Ayliffe.
  27. Ab-sōlv'a-ble, a.p. 7That may be absolved.
  28. Ab-sŏlv'a-to-ry, a.p. 7Containing absolution, pardon, or release; having power to absolve. Cotgrave.
  29. Ab-sŏlve', v. t.p. 7To set free or release from, as from some obligation, debt, or responsibility, or from that which subjects a person to a burden or penalty; as, to absolve a person from a promise; to absolve an…
  30. Ab-sōl'ver, n.p. 7One who absolves.
  31. Ab'so-nant, a.p. 7Discordant; contrary; opposed to consonant. “Absonant to nature.” Quarles.
  32. Āb'so-nāte, v. t.p. 7To avoid. [Obs.] Ash.
  33. Ăb'so-noŭs, a.p. 7Untunable, unmusical. Fotherby. 2. Opposed; contrary. “Absonous to our reason.” Glanville.
  34. Ab-sōrb', v. t.p. 7To drink in; to suck up; to imbibe; as a sponge, or as the lacteals of the body. Bacon. 2. Hence, to swallow up, or overwhelm; to engross or engage wholly; as, absorbed in study or the pursuit of…
  35. Ab-sôrb'a-bĭl'i-ty, n.p. 7A state or quality of being absorbable.
  36. Ab-sôrb'a-ble, a.p. 7Capable of being imbibed or swallowed. Kerr.
  37. Ab-sörb'ent, a.p. 7Imbibing; swallowing. Absorbent ground (Paint.), a ground prepared for a picture, chiefly with distemper, or water colors, by which the oil is immediately absorbed, and thus the work hastened. Brande.
  38. Ab-sŏrb'ent, n.p. 7(Med.) Any substance which absorbs liquids, as sponge, &c.; or which absorbs the acidity of the stomach, as magnesia, chalk, &c.; or which serves to dry up humors, &c. Dunglison. 2. (Physiol.) One of…
  39. Ăb'sor-bĭ'tion, n.p. 7Absorption. [Obs.] Ogilvie.
  40. Ab-sôrp't, p. p.p. 7Same as ABSORBED. “Absorpt in care.” Pope.
  41. Ab-sôrp'tion, n.p. 7The act or process of being absorbed and made to disappear by mechanical means; as, the absorption of bodies in a whirlpool. Nichol. 2. The process or act of being made passively to disappear in some…
  42. Ab-sôrp'tive, a.p. 7Having power to absorb or imbibe. Darwin.
  43. Ăb'sorp-tīv'i-ty, n.p. 7The power or capacity of absorption; as, the absorptivity inherent in organic beings. Dana.
  44. Abs'que hŏcp. 7(Law.) The technical words of denial used in traversing what has been alleged, and is repeated.
  45. Ab-stain′, v. i.p. 7To forbear, or refrain, voluntarily, and especially from an indulgence of the passions or appetites. Who abstains from meat that is not gaunt? Shak. Syn.—To refrain; forbear; withhold; deny one's…
  46. Ab-stāin'er, n.p. 7One who abstains.
  47. Ab-stē'mi-ous, a.p. 7Sparing in diet; refraining from a free use of food and strong drinks; temperate, abstinent. Instances of longevity are chiefly among the abstemious. Arbuthnot. 2. Sparingly used, or used with…
  48. Ab-stē'mi-ŏŏs-ly, adv.p. 8In an abstemious manner; temperately.
  49. Ab-stē'mi-ŏŏs-ness, n.p. 8The quality of being abstemious, temperate, or sparing in the use of food and strong drinks. ☞ This word expresses a greater degree of abstinence than temperance. It differs from abstinence because…
  50. Ab-stēn’tion, n.p. 8The act of holding off or restraining. Bp. Taylor.
  51. Ab-stērge', v. t.p. 8To make clean by wiping; to cleanse by lotions or similar applications. [Rare.] Johnson.
  52. Ab-stēr'gent, a.p. 8Serving to cleanse; detergent.
  53. Ab-stēr'se, v. t.p. 8To cleanse by wiping; to wipe clean; to absterge. Browne.
  54. Ab-stēr'sion, n.p. 8The act of wiping clean, or a cleansing by lotions or similar applications. The task of ablution and abstersion having been performed. W. Scott.
  55. Ab-stēr'sive, a.p. 8Having the quality of cleansing. Bacon.
  56. Ab-stēr'sive, n.p. 8Something cleansing. [Rare.] The strong abstersive of some heroic magistrate. Milton.
  57. Ăb'sti-nençe, n.p. 8The act or practice of abstaining; voluntary forbearance of any action, especially the refraining from an indulgence of appetite, or from customary gratifications of animal propensities. The…
  58. Ab'sti-nen-cy, n.p. 8Same as ABSTINENCE. [Rare.]
  59. Ab'sti-nent, a.p. 8Refraining from indulgence, especially in the use of food and drink. Beau. & Fl.
  60. Ăb'sti-nent, n.p. 8(Eccl. Hist.) One of a sect which appeared in France and Spain in the third century, and which opposed marriage, condemned the use of flesh meat, and placed the Holy Spirit in the class of created…