http://www.cs.indiana.edu/hyplan/raindurk/webster.html Cacophony ca-coph-o-ny \-ne^-\ (1656) :harsh or discordant sound: DISSONANCE; specif: harshness in the sound of words or phrases Celestial 1ce-les-tial \se-'les(h)-chel\ adj [ME, fr. MF, fr. L caelestis celestial, fr. caelum sky; akin to OE ha^-dor brightness] (14c) 1: of, relating to, or suggesting heaven or divinity 2: of or relating to the sky or visible heavens 3a: ETHEREAL, OTHERWORLDLY 3b: OLYMPIAN, SUPREME 4 [Celestial Empire, old name for China] cap: of or relating to China or the Chinese -- ce-les-tial-ly \-che-le^-\ adv 2celestial n (1573) 1: a heavenly or mythical being 2 cap: CHINESE 1a Abominable abom-i-na-ble \e-'ba^:m-(e-)ne-bel\ adj (14c) 1: worthy of or causing disgust or hatred: DETESTABLE 2: quite disagreeable or unpleasant * abom-i-na-bly \-ble^-\ adv Callousness 1cal-lous \'kal-es\ adj [MF calleux, fr. L callosus, fr. callum, callus callous skin; akin to Skt kin.a callosity] (15c) 1a: being hardened and thickened 1b: having calluses 2a: feeling no emotion 2b: feeling no sympathy for others -- cal-lous-ly adv * cal-lous-ness n Degenerate 1de-gen-er-ate \di-'jen-(e-)ret\ adj [ME degenerat, fr. L degeneratus, pp. of degenerare to degenerate, fr. de- + gener-, genus race, kind -- more at KIN] (15c) 1a: having declined (as in nature, character, structure, or function) from an ancestral or former state 1b: having sunk to a condition below that which is normal to a type; esp: having sunk to a lower and usu. peculiarly corrupt and vicious state 1c: DEGRADED 2: being mathematically simpler (as by having a factor or constant equal to zero) than the typical case 3: characterized by atoms stripped of their electrons and by very great density ; also: consisting of degenerate matter 4a: having two or more states or subdivisions 4b of a semiconductor: having a sufficient concentration of impurities to conduct electricity 5: having more than one codon representing an amino acid; also: being such a codon syn see VICIOUS -- de-gen-er-ate-ly adv -- de-gen-er-ate-ness n 2de-gen-er-ate \di-'jen-e-,ra^-t\ vi (1545) 1: to pass from a higher to a lower type or condition: DETERIORATE 2: to sink into a low intellectual or moral state 3: to decline in quality 4: to decline from a condition or from the standards of a species, race, or breed 5: to evolve or develop into a less autonomous or less functionally active form ~ vt :to cause to degenerate 3de-gen-er-ate \di-'jen-(e-)ret\ n (1555) :one that is degenerate: as a: one degraded from the normal moral standard b: a sexual pervert c: one showing signs of reversion to an earlier culture stage Dour dour \'du.(e)r, 'dau.(e)r\ adj [ME, fr. L durus hard -- more at DURING] (14c) 1: STERN, HARSH 2: OBSTINATE, UNYIELDING 3: GLOOMY, SULLEN -- dour-ly adv * dour-ness n Erudite er-u-dite \'er-(y)e-,d[0xF5]^-t\ adj [ME erudit, fr. L eruditus, fr. pp. of erudire to instruct, fr. e- + rudis rude, ignorant] (15c) :possessing or displaying erudition: LEARNED * er-u-dite-ly adv Frieze 1frieze \'fre^-z or (compare FRISE') fre^--'z\ [ME frise, fr. MF, fr. MD vriese] 1: a heavy durable coarse wool and shoddy fabric with a rough surface 2: a pile surface of uncut loops or of patterned cut and uncut loops 2frieze \'fre^-z\ n [MF frise, perh. fr. ML phrygium, frisium embroidered cloth, fr. L phrygium, fr. neut. of Phrygius Phrygian, fr. Phrygia Phrygia] (1563) 1: the part of an entablature between the architrave and the cornice -- see ENTABLATURE illustration 2: a sculptured or richly ornamented band (as on a building) 3: a band, line, or series suggesting a frieze Fervent fer-vent \'fer-vent\ adj [ME, fr. MF & L; MF, fr. L fervent-, fervens, prp. of ferve^-re to boil, glow -- more at BURN] (14c) 1: very hot: GLOWING 2: exhibiting or marked by great intensity of feeling: ZEALOUS syn see IMPASSIONED -- fer-vent-ly adv Mercenaries 1mer-ce-nary \'mers-)en-,er-e^-\ pl -nar-ies [ME, fr. L mercenarius, fr. merced-, merces wages -- more at MERCY] (14c) :one that serves merely for wages; esp: a soldier hired into foreign service Gibberish gib-ber-ish \'jib-(e-)rish, 'gib-\ n [prob. fr. gibber] (1554) :unintelligible or meaningless language: a: a technical or esoteric language b: pretentious or needlessly obscure language Squalor squa-lor \'skwa^:l-er also 'skwa^-l- or 'skwo[0xC7]l-\ n [L; akin to L squalidus squalid] (1621) :the quality or state of being squalid Slothful sloth-ful \'slo[0xC7]th-fel, 'slo^-th-\ adj (15c) :inclined to sloth: INDOLENT syn see LAZY -- sloth-ful-ly \-fe-le^-\ adv * sloth-ful-ness n Simultaneously si-mul-ta-neous \,s[0xF5]^--mel-'ta^--ne^--es, -nyes also ,sim-el-\ adj [(assumed) ML simultanus, fr. L simul at the same time -- more at SAME] (1660) 1: existing or occurring at the same time: exactly coincident 2: satisfied by the same values of the variables syn see CONTEMPORARY -- si-mul-ta-ne-ity \-te-'ne^--et-e^-, -'na^--\ n -- si-mul-ta-neous-ly \-'ta^--ne^--e-sle^-, -nye-\ adv * si-mul-ta-neous-ness n Sniveling 1sniv-el \'sniv-el\ vi -eled or -elled; -el-ing or -el-ling \-(e-)li{nj}\ [ME snivelen, fr. (assumed) OE snyflan; akin to D snuffelen to snuffle, snuffen to sniff, Gk nan to flow -- more at NOURISH] (14c) 1: to run at the nose 2: to snuff mucus up the nose audibly: SNUFFLE 3: to cry or whine with snuffling 4: to speak or act in a whining, sniffling, tearful, or weakly emotional manner * sniv-el-er \-(e-)ler\ n Ruminative ru-mi-nate \'r:u-me-,na^-t\ vb -nat-ed; -nat-ing [L ruminatus, pp. of ruminari to chew the cud, muse upon, fr. rumin-, rumen gullet; akin to Skt romantha ruminant] vt (1533) 1: to go over in the mind repeatedly and often casually or slowly 2: to chew repeatedly for an extended period ~ vi 1: to chew again what has been chewed slightly and swallowed: chew the cud 2: to engage in contemplation: REFLECT syn see PONDER -- ru-mi-na-tion \,r:u-me-'na^--shen\ n -- ru-mi-na-tive \'r:u-me-,na^-t-iv\ adj -- ru-mi-na-tive-ly adv * ru-mi-na-tor\-,na^-t-er\ n Trepidation trep-i-da-tion \,trep-e-'da^--shen\ n [L trepidation-, trepidatio, fr. trepidatus, pp. of trepidare to tremble, fr. trepidus agitated; akin to OE thrafian to urge, push, Gk trapein to press grapes] (1605) 1 archaic: a tremulous motion: TREMOR 2: timorous uncertain agitation: APPREHENSION syn see FEAR Virtuous vir-tu-ous \'verch-(e-)wes\ adj (14c) 1: POTENT, EFFICACIOUS 2a: having or exhibiting virtue 2b: morally excellent: RIGHTEOUS 3: CHASTE syn see MORAL -- vir-tu-ous-ly adv -- vir-tu-ous-ness n auto da fe au-to-da-fe' \,au.t-o^--de-'fa^-, ,o[0xC7]t-\ n, pl au-tos-da-fe' \-o^-z-de-\ [Pg auto da fe', lit., act of the faith] (1723) :the ceremony accompanying the pronouncement of judgment by the Inquisition and followed by the execution of sentence by the secular authorities; broadly :the burning of a heretic