Search the Dictionary

A dangerous rock on the Italian coast opposite the whirpool Charybdis on the coast of Sicily, -- both personified in classical literature as ravenous monsters. The passage between them was formerly considered perilous; hence, the saying "Between Scylla and Charybdis," signifying a great peril on either hand.…

A play among children in which they are seated upon the opposite ends of a plank which is balanced in the middle, and move alternately up and down.

Indulgence of one's appetites, desires, or inclinations; -- the opposite of self-restraint, and self-denial.

One of two opposite directions in which a line, surface, or volume, may be supposed to be described by the motion of a point, line, or surface. Common sense, according to Sir W. Hamilton: (a) "The complement of those cognitions or convictions which we receive from nature, which all men possess in common, and by which t…

To turn or bend like a serpent, first in one direction and then in the opposite; to meander; to wind; to serpentine. [R.] The river runs before the door, and serpentizes more than you can conceive. Walpole.

plants of fertilizing or of being fertilized; as, staminate and pistillate flowers are of opposite sexes.

lation to, the rest; as, the upper side of a sphere; also, any part or position viewed as opposite to or contrasted with another; as, this or that side. Looking round on every side beheld A pathless desert. Milton.

unity, the sine of the arc that measures the angle; in a right-angled triangle, the side opposite the given angle divided by the hypotenuse. See Trigonometrical function, under Function. -- Versed sine, that part of the diameter between the sine and the arc.

The quality or state of being single, or separate from all others; the opposite of doubleness, complication, or multiplicity.

Turning to the left (of the spectator) in the ascending line; - - the opposite of dextrorse. See Dextrorse.

Uttered with a thin tone; -- the opposite of broad; as, the slender vowels long e and i. -- Slen"der*ly, adv. -- Slen"der*ness, n.

unication between the exhaust passage f and the port c, for the release of steam from the opposite end of the cylinder.

Having the quality opposite to adhesiveness; allowing or causing anything to slip or move smoothly, rapidly, and easily upon the surface; smooth; glib; as, oily substances render things slippery.

To make less harsh, less rude, less offensive, or less violent, or to render of an opposite quality. He bore his great commision in his look, But tempered awe, and softened all he spoke. Dryden.

roper vocal sound, as distinguished from mere breath sound; intonated; voiced; tonic; the opposite of nonvocal, or surd; -- sid of the vowels, semivowels, liquids, and nasals, and particularly of the consonants b, d, g hard, v, etc., as compared with their cognates p, t, k, f, etc., which are called nonvocal, surd, or…

That one of the four cardinal points directly opposite to the north; the region or direction to the right or direction to the right of a person who faces the east.

consequence of it. -- Special demurrer (Law), a demurrer for some defect of form in the opposite party pleading, in which the cause of demurrer is particularly stated. -- Special deposit, a deposit made of a specific thing to be kept distinct from others. -- Special homology. (Biol.) See under Homology. -- Special…

To go to opposite sides; to take an attitude of offense or defense, or of defiance; to quarrel. [Obs.] Are you such fools To square for this Shak.

Steadiness or firmness of character, firmness of resolution or purpose; the quality opposite to Ant: fickleness, Ant: irresolution, or Ant: inconstancy; constancy; steadfastness; as, a man of little stability, or of unusual stability.

quality or state of being staid; seriousness; steadiness; sedateness; regularity; -- the opposite of wildness, or Ant: levity. If sometimes he appears too gray, yet a secret gracefulness of youth accompanies his writings, though the staidness and sobriety of age wanting. Dryden.