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Agency; influence; production of effects. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

Want of claim to consideration or notice; want of influence or standing; meanness. Reduce him, from being the first person in the nation, to a state of insignificance. Beattie.

The act of gaining favor, affection, or influence, by gentle or artful means; -- formerly used in a good sense, as of friendly influence or interposition. Sir H. Wotton. I hope through the insinuation of Lord Scarborough to keep them here till further orders. Lady Cowper.

The act or power of exercising an elevating or stimulating influence upon the intellect or emotions; the result of such influence which quickens or stimulates; as, the inspiration of occasion, of art, etc. Your father was ever virtuous, and holy men at their death have good inspirations. Shak.

se into the mind; to communicate to the spirit; to convey, as by a divine or supernatural influence; to disclose preternaturally; to produce in, as by inspiration. And generous stout courage did inspire. Spenser. But dawning day new comfort hath inspired. Shak.

Moved or animated by, or as by, a supernatural influence; affected by divine inspiration; as, the inspired prophets; the inspired writers.

Moral soundness; honesty; freedom from corrupting influence or motive; -- used especially with reference to the fulfillment of contracts, the discharge of agencies, trusts, and the like; uprightness; rectitude. The moral grandeur of independent integrity is the sublimest thing in nature. Buckminster. Their sober zeal,…

Mutual or reciprocal action or influence; as, the interaction of the heart and lungs on each other.

The mutual influence, under certain conditions, of two streams of light, or series of pulsations of sound, or, generally, two waves or vibrations of any kind, producing certain characteristic phenomena, as colored fringes, dark bands, or darkness, in the case of light, silence or increased intensity in sounds; neutrali…

Mutual action or influence; interaction; as, the interplay of affection.

Not under the influence or control of the will; not voluntary; as, the involuntary movements of the body; involuntary muscle fibers.

atural susceptibility, characteristic of all living organisms, tissues, and cells, to the influence of certain stimuli, response being manifested in a variety of ways, -- as that quality in plants by which they exhibit motion under suitable stimulation; esp., the property which living muscle processes, of responding ei…

An effigy stuffed with straw; a scarecrow; hence, a man without property or influence. Milton.

A structure of wood or stone extended into the sea to influence the current or tide, or to protect a harbor; a mole; as, the Eads system of jetties at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Jetty ad (Naut.), a projecting part at the end of a wharf; the front of a wharf whose side forms one of the cheeks of a dock.…

A person, object, influence, or supernatural being which is supposed to bring bad luck or to cause things to go wrong. [Slang]

s, characteristic of species and genera, are produced in animals and plants by the direct influence of physical environments, and esp., in the case of animals, by effort, or by use or disuse of certain organs.

To bring under the power or influence of the Romans or Latins; to affect with the usages of the Latins, especially in speech. "Latinized races." Lowell.

the person or persons laughed at. -- To laugh out, to laugh in spite of some restraining influence; to laugh aloud. -- To laugh out of the other corner (or side) of the mouth, to weep or cry; to feel regret, vexation, or disappointment after hilarity or exaltation. [Slang]

To draw or direct by influence, whether good or bad; to prevail on; to induce; to entice; to allure; as, to lead one to espouse a righteous cause. He was driven by the necessities of the times, more than led by his own disposition, to any rigor of actions. Eikon Basilike. Silly women, laden with sins,led away by divers…

of a stem or rootstock, in which the sap for the use of the plant is elaborated under the influence of light; one of the parts of a plant which collectively constitute its foliage.