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A sudden breaking off; a violent separation of bodies. Woodward.

constantly engaged in action; energetic; diligent; busy; -- opposed to dull, sluggish, indolent, or inert; as, an active man of business; active mind; active zeal.

al impulse or natural impulse acting upon and swaying the mind; any emotion; as, the benevolent affections, esteem, gratitude, etc. ; the malevolent affections, hatred, envy, etc.; inclination; disposition; propensity; tendency. Affection is applicable to an unpleasant as well as a pleasant state of the mind, when impr…

To move with a violent, irregular action; as, the wind agitates the sea; to agitate water in a vessel. "Winds . . . agitate the air." Cowper.

Pertaining to violent contests, bodily or mental; pertaining to athletic or polemic feats; athletic; combative; hence, strained; unnatural. As a scholar, he [Dr. Parr] was brilliant, but he consumed his power in agonistic displays. De Quincey.

To writhe with agony; to suffer violent anguish. To smart and agonize at every pore. Pope.

Violent contest or striving. The world is convulsed by the agonies of great nations. Macaulay.

With might; with full force; vigorously; violently; exceedingly. They on the hill, which were not yet come to blows, perceiving the fewness of their enemies, came down amain. Milton. That striping giant, ill-bred and scoffing, shouts amain. T. Parker.

other thing. The vexatious tyranny of the individual despot meets its analogue in the insolent tyranny of the many. I. Taylor.

Violent hatred leading to active opposition; active enmity; energetic dislike. Macaulay.

nniversary week, that week in the year in which the annual meetings of religious and benevolent societies are held in Boston and New York. [Eastern U. S.]

for; as, my correspondent apologized for not answering my letter. To apologize for his insolent language. Froude.

f Earl Reimund, though at first but a buzz, soon got a sting in the king's head, and he violently apprehended it. Fuller. The eternal laws, such as the heroic age apprehended them. Gladstone.

A violent onset or attack with physical means, as blows, weapons, etc.; an onslaught; the rush or charge of an attacking force; onset; as, to make assault upon a man, a house, or a town. The Spanish general prepared to renew the assault. Prescott. Unshaken bears the assault Of their most dreaded foe, the strong southwe…

One who assaults, or violently attacks; an assailant. E. Hall.

e particular purpose; as, the American Association for the Advancement of Science; a benevolent association. Specifically, as among the Congregationalists, a society, consisting of a number of ministers, generally the pastors of neighboring churches, united for promoting the interests of religion and the harmony of the…

Together. [Obs.] Spenser. He and Aufidius can no more atone Than violentest contrariety. Shak.

Very grievous or violent; terrible; as, atrocious distempers. [Obs.] Cheyne.

e restraints of law, religion, or decorum; bold in wickedness; presumptuous; impudent; insolent. " Audacious traitor." Shak. " Such audacious neighborhood." Milton.

ers to interpret the indications of the barometer so as to determine the existence of a violent storm at a distance of several hundred miles.