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Disposing; tending to regulate; decretive. [Obs.] His dispositive wisdom and power. Bates.

One who disputes; one who argues A singularly eager, acute, and pertinacious disputant. Macaulay.

ul of health, money, etc., in the pursuit of pleasure; dissolute; intemperate. A life irregular and dissipated. Johnson.

The interval between two notes; as, the distance of a fourth or seventh. Angular distance, the distance made at the eye by lines drawn from the eye to two objects. -- Lunar distance. See under Lunar. -- North polar distance (Astron.), the distance on the heavens of a heavenly body from the north pole. It is the compl…

To twist of natural or regular shape; to twist aside physically; as, to distort the limbs, or the body. Whose face was distorted with pain. Thackeray.

The act of distorting, or twisting out of natural or regular shape; a twisting or writhing motion; as, the distortions of the face or body.

To turn from a regular or designed course. [Obs.] And disturb His inmost counsels from their destined aim. Milton.

An interruption of a state of peace or quiet; derangement of the regular course of things; disquiet; disorder; as, a disturbance of religious exercises; a disturbance of the galvanic current.

and of revelers to a flute accompaniment; hence, in general, a poem written in a wild irregular strain. Bentley.

To make a brief abstract of and inscribe in a book; as, judgments regularly docketed.

Low in style, and irregular in measure; as, doggerel rhymes. This may well be rhyme doggerel, quod he. Chaucer.

To direct; to put right or straight; to regulate; to order. [Obs.] At all times thou shalt bless God and pray Him to dress thy ways. Chaucer.

Any exercise, physical or mental, enforced with regularity and by constant repetition; as, a severe drill in Latin grammar.

quantities of a fluid to a test tube or other vessel. -- Dropping fire, a continued irregular discharge of firearms. -- Dropping tube, a tube for ejecting any liquid in drops.

Such as (a thing) ought to be; fulfilling obligation; proper; lawful; regular; appointed; sufficient; exact; as, due process of law; due service; in due time.

In a due, fit, or becoming manner; as it (anything) ought to be; properly; regularly.

e power of discriminating between different tones; as, a nice ear for music; -- in the singular only. Songs . . . not all ungrateful to thine ear. Tennyson.

ut.), to slacken a rope gradually. -- To ease a ship (Naut.), to put the helm hard, or regulate the sail, to prevent pitching when closehauled. -- To ease the helm (Naut.), to put the helm more nearly amidships, to lessen the effect on the ship, or the strain on the wheel rope. Ham. Nav. Encyc.

or laws; deviating from an appointed sphere or way; departing from the usual course; irregular; anomalous; odd; as, eccentric conduct. "This brave and eccentric young man." Macaulay. He shines eccentric, like a comet's blaze. Savage. Eccentric anomaly. (Astron.) See Anomaly. -- Eccentric chuck (Mach.), a lathe chuck…

Regulative; relating to the adaptation of means to an end. Grew.