📖 A — The English dictionary · page 5

abstruse — In Jewish tradition, meaning 1: Hard to understand because it is deep or complicated.↗ Example: The Notes have been extended, and it is hoped that they explain and illustrate difficult passages, and render this abstruse treatise more comprehensible than it has been hitherto found.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893)↗

absurd — Everyday, meaning 1: Very silly and not making sense; ridiculous.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: So unreasonable it is laughable: «an absurd price».↗ Example: It's absurd to wear a coat in this heat!↗ · The Mad Hatter's riddle had an absurd answer – or none at all.↗ · The price of the toy was absurd.↗ · Alice thought the whole trial was absurd.↗ · An answer of 2.5 buses is absurd – we need 3 buses.↗ · His excuse was so absurd that everyone laughed.↗ · "What an absurd idea," said the hen.↗

absurdity — Everyday, meaning 1: Absurdity is the quality of being so silly or unreasonable that it makes people laugh.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: An absurdity is a silly thing that someone says or does.↗ Example: The king laughed at the absurdity of the plan.↗ · Labakan's absurdities made the workmen giggle.↗ · She told so many absurdities that nobody believed her.↗ · The story is full of absurdity, and that is why it is funny.↗

absurdly — Everyday, meaning 1: In a silly or ridiculous way, so that people think it is foolish or unreasonable.↗ Example: He jumped about absurdly on one leg.↗ · She dressed absurdly for the party.↗ · "Don't behave so absurdly," said Mum.↗

abundance — Everyday, meaning 1: A very large amount of something, more than enough.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: The state of having plenty, being rich in things such as food or water.↗ Example: There was an abundance of apples in the orchard this autumn.↗ · Wild flowers grow in abundance by the river.↗ · The rainforest has an abundance of animals and plants.↗ · Our class had an abundance of ideas for the school fair.↗ · After the long drought, the rains brought abundance to the farms.↗ · Fresh water is found in abundance in Canada.↗ · The teacher said we had an abundance of time, so no need to rush.↗ · The peasants were quite contented with this arrangement, which gave them food and money in abundance.↗ · because thou didst not serve the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things; (Torah DEU.28.47, JPS 1917)↗ · They shall call peoples unto the mountain; there shall they offer sacrifices of righteousness; for they shall suck the abundance of the seas, and the hidden treasures of the sand.↗ (Torah DEU.33.19, JPS 1917)↗ · Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance.↗ (Writings 2CH.24.11, JPS 1917)↗ · For by these He judgeth the peoples; He giveth food in abundance.↗ (Writings JOB.36.31, JPS 1917)↗ · Or darkness, that thou canst not see, and abundance of waters cover thee.↗ (Writings JOB.22.11, JPS 1917)↗

abundant — Everyday, meaning 1: Existing in large amounts; more than enough.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Rich in something: abundant in fish.↗ Example: Fruit is abundant in summer.↗ · The rivers here are abundant in fish.↗ · Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe.↗ · Rain was abundant this spring.↗ · 12 is an abundant number because 1+2+3+4+6 = 16, which is more than 12.↗ · Wildlife is abundant in the national park.↗ · A WALNUT TREE standing by the roadside bore an abundant crop of fruit.↗ · And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed: 'The LORD, the LORD, God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth; (Torah EXO.34.6, JPS 1917)↗ · Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to His abundant greatness.↗ (Writings PSA.150.2, JPS 1917)↗ · O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy covetousness.↗ (Prophets JER.51.13, JPS 1917)↗ · 'Come ye, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to-morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.'↗ (Prophets ISA.56.12, JPS 1917)↗

abundantly — Everyday, meaning 1: In large amounts, more than enough.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Very, completely (in "abundantly clear").↗ Example: Wild flowers grow abundantly in the meadow.↗ · The teacher made it abundantly clear that phones must be off.↗ · Fish were abundantly found in the lake long ago.↗ · It is abundantly obvious that the plant needs water.↗ · Apples grew abundantly this autumn.↗ · The rules were abundantly clear.↗ · Here are found rubies and many precious things, and rare plants grow abundantly, with cedar trees and cocoa palms.↗ · And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.↗ (Torah EXO.1.7, JPS 1917)↗ · For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it hath increased abundantly; and the LORD hath blessed thee whithersoever I turned.↗ (Torah GEN.30.30, JPS 1917)↗ · And Moses lifted up his hand, and smote the rock with his rod twice; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their cattle.↗ (Torah NUM.20.11, JPS 1917)↗ · Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.↗ (Writings SNG.5.1, JPS 1917)↗ · I will abundantly bless her provision; I will give her needy bread in plenty.↗ (Writings PSA.132.15, JPS 1917)↗ · He cleaved rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink abundantly as out of the great deep.↗ (Writings PSA.78.15, JPS 1917)↗

abuse — Everyday, meaning 1: Using something wrongly or too much, so it does harm: drug abuse, abuse of power.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Cruel or violent treatment of a person or animal.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Rude, insulting words: shouting abuse.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: (verb) To treat someone cruelly.↗ Everyday, meaning 5: (verb) To use something badly or unfairly.↗ Everyday, meaning 6: To abuse someone can also mean to insult them with rude words.↗ Example: If anyone hurts you, it is abuse; tell a trusted adult.↗ · The fans shouted abuse at the referee.↗ · Animal abuse is a crime.↗ · He abused his power as captain.↗ · Don't abuse the trust your friends give you.↗ · The website has a button to report abuse.↗ · The Lion abused him as a traitor.↗ · Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing this resource, we have taken steps to prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893)↗

abuser — Everyday, meaning 1: An abuser is a person who hurts, frightens or treats another person or an animal badly, often again and again.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: An abuser is also someone who uses something in a harmful or wrong way, for example drugs or alcohol, or their power.↗ Example: The animal shelter rescued the dog from its abuser.↗ · No one has the right to hurt you; tell a trusted adult about any abuser.↗ · The abuser was sent to prison.↗ · Some people who were hurt are afraid to speak about their abuser.↗ · A drug abuser needs help and treatment.↗ · The law protects children from abusers.↗ · The king was an abuser of his power.↗

abusive — Everyday, meaning 1: Using rude, insulting or cruel words: «abusive language».↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Treating someone cruelly or violently, hurting them again and again: «an abusive relationship».↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Using something wrongly or unfairly, especially power.↗ Example: Abusive messages should be reported and blocked.↗ · The referee sent off the player for abusive language.↗ · No one deserves to be in an abusive home.↗ · If an adult is abusive to you, tell a teacher you trust.↗ · The website removes abusive comments.↗ · The shop sign said staff will not accept abusive behaviour.↗ · Turning upon him, in her anger and disappointment she called the poor man all the abusive names that she could think of.↗

abutment — Everyday, meaning 1: An abutment is a strong structure of stone, concrete or brick at each end of a bridge or arch that holds it up and takes its weight.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: An abutment is also the place where two things touch or join.↗ Example: The stone abutments hold up both ends of the bridge.↗ · Floodwater damaged the abutment, so the bridge was closed.↗ · An arch pushes outwards, so it needs strong abutments.↗ · In our bridge project, we used blocks as abutments.↗ · The old Roman bridge still rests on its original abutments.↗ · Engineers checked the abutments for cracks.↗

abyss — Everyday, meaning 1: An abyss is a very deep hole or gap in the ground, so deep it seems to have no bottom.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (literary) An abyss is a terrible situation or a huge difference that seems impossible to cross.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (science) The abyss is the deepest, darkest part of the ocean.↗ Example: The climbers looked down into the dark abyss.↗ · A rope bridge hung over the abyss.↗ · Strange glowing fish live in the abyss of the ocean.↗ · Alice wondered if she was falling into a bottomless abyss.↗ · The country was close to the abyss of war.↗ · No light reaches the abyss at the bottom of the sea.↗ · The dragon's cave opened onto a black abyss.↗ · The youth ran to look at it, and saw that a huge abyss had opened below the stone.↗ · Abyss ; the word is OUMQ for OMQ, a depth, vastness, or valley.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893)↗ · sunk in the abyss, whence water comes forth.↗ (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914))↗ · refers to viscous stones, sunk in the abyss, whence water comes (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914))↗

acacia — Everyday, meaning 1: A tree or shrub with small leaves, often thorns, and yellow or white flowers, that grows in warm, dry places such as Africa and Australia.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: In Australia many acacias are called wattle; golden wattle is the national flower.↗ Example: Giraffes stretch their long necks to eat acacia leaves.↗ · The acacia had sharp thorns.↗ · In Australia, the golden wattle is a kind of acacia.↗ · Bees make honey from acacia flowers.↗ · We sat in the shade of an acacia on the savannah.↗ · Acacia trees can live in very dry places.↗ · The acacia-trees now overshadow every part of the island.↗ · and rams' skins dyed red, and sealskins, and acacia-wood; (Torah EXO.25.5, JPS 1917)↗ · And he made staves of acacia-wood, and overlaid them with gold.↗ (Torah EXO.37.4, JPS 1917)↗ · And thou shalt make staves of acacia-wood, and overlay them with gold.↗ (Torah EXO.25.13, JPS 1917)↗ · I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia-tree, and the myrtle, and the oil-tree; I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane-tree, and the larch together; (Prophets ISA.41.19, JPS 1917)↗

academic — Everyday, meaning 1: Academic means to do with school, study and learning, especially reading, writing and maths rather than practical skills.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: An academic is a person who teaches or does research at a university.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (formal) A question that is academic does not matter in real life because it will not change anything.↗ Example: The academic year starts after the summer holidays in the UK.↗ · She is very academic and loves books.↗ · His uncle is an academic at a university.↗ · Sport and academic subjects are both important.↗ · Whether we would have won is academic now; the game is over.↗ · Academic writing uses formal words.↗ · Our school is proud of its academic results.↗ · He is good at practical things as well as academic ones.↗

academy — Everyday, meaning 1: An academy is a school or college, often one that trains people in a special skill, such as music, dance, football or the police.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: In England an academy is a kind of state school paid for by the government but run by a trust instead of the local council.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: An academy can be a society of famous experts in science or art, such as a national academy of sciences.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: In ancient Greece the Academy was the school of the philosopher Plato.↗ Example: My cousin trains at a football academy on Saturdays.↗ · Our school became an academy last year.↗ · She won a place at a ballet academy.↗ · Plato taught at the Academy in Athens.↗ · The Academy of Sciences gave her a prize.↗ · The Royal Academy shows paintings in London.↗ · He wants to join the police academy when he grows up.↗ · The film won three Academy Awards.↗ · Holberg, Denmark's Moliere, founded here an academy for the sons of the nobles.↗

acc — Everyday, meaning 1: «acc.» is a short form of «account», as in a bank account.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: «acc.» is short for «accusative», a grammar case in languages like German, Latin and Ukrainian.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: «acc» can be short for «according (to)», «accompanied» or «accommodation» in notes and ads.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: (informal, online) «acc» is short for «account» (an online account) or «actually» in texting: «I acc love this song».↗ Example: Acc. no. 12345 is printed on the bank card.↗ · In German, «den» is the acc. form of «der».↗ · Ads say «acc. for 4 people» for a holiday cottage.↗ · Log in to your acc to play the game.↗ · «I acc finished my homework,» she texted.↗ · In the music, «acc.» can mark the accompaniment.↗

accede — Everyday, meaning 1: (formal) To agree to a request or demand, often after first not wanting to.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (formal) To take up an important job or position, especially to become king or queen (accede to the throne).↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (formal, law) For a country to join an agreement or an organisation.↗ Example: The head teacher finally acceded to our request for a longer break.↗ · The king's daughter acceded to the throne when he died.↗ · The company would not accede to the workers' demands.↗ · After much arguing, Dad acceded and let us keep the puppy.↗ · The country acceded to the treaty and became a member.↗ · The council acceded to the parents' wish for a crossing guard.↗ · She refused to accede to their threats.↗ · Zeus swore by the Styx (which was to the gods an irrevocable oath) to accede to her request whatsoever it might be.↗

accelerate — Everyday, meaning 1: To go faster or to make something go faster: the car accelerated.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To make something happen sooner or more quickly: rain accelerated the rusting.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (science) To change velocity, which includes speeding up, slowing down or changing direction.↗ Example: The car accelerated when the light turned green.↗ · A ball accelerates as it rolls down a slope.↗ · Pedal harder to accelerate on your bike.↗ · Warm weather accelerates the growth of mould.↗ · The rocket accelerated into space.↗ · A runner accelerates at the start of a race.↗ · (formal) The plan was accelerated to finish sooner.↗