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cclesiastical; degree of excellence; preferment; exaltation. Macaulay. And the king said, What honor and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this Esth. vi. 3. Reuben, thou art my firstborn, . . . the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power. Gen. xlix. 3.

Prolixity; diffuse discourse. [Obs.] "What needeth greater dilatation" Chaucer.

o relate at large; to tell copiously or diffusely. [R.] Do me the favor to dilate at full What hath befallen of them and thee till now. Shak.

Inclined to defer or put off what ought to be done at once; given the procrastination; delaying; procrastinating; loitering; as, a dilatory servant.

ich evils or obstacles present themselves on every side, and it is difficult to determine what course to pursue; a vexatious alternative or predicament; a difficult choice or position. A strong dilemma in a desperate case! To act with infamy, or quit the place. Swift. Horns of a dilemma, alternatives, each of which is…

Somewhat like a dilettante.

Interested and persevering application; devoted and painstaking effort to accomplish what is undertaken; assiduity in service. That which ordinary men are fit for, I am qualified in; and the best of me is diligence. Shak.

Consisting of only one half of what the normal condition requires; having the appearance of lacking one half; as, a dimidiate leaf, which has only one side developed.

Somewhat dim; as, dimmish eyes. "Dimmy clouds." Sir P. Sidney.

To dine upon; to have to eat. [Obs.] "What will ye dine." Chaucer.

cture, consisting essentially of a triclinic feldspar and hornblende. It includes part of what was called greenstone.

leading by the short or shortest way to a point or end; as, a direct line; direct means. What is direct to, what slides by, the question. Locke.

pany or corporation; as, the directors of a bank, insurance company, or railroad company. What made directors cheat in South-Sea year Pope.

Any foul of filthy substance, as excrement, mud, dust, etc.; whatever, adhering to anything, renders it foul or unclean; earth; as, a wagonload of dirt. Whose waters cast up mire and dirt. Is. lvii. 20.

or moral power, means, fitness, and the like. Grossest faults, or disabilities to perform what was covenanted. Milton. Chatham refused to see him, pleading his disability. Bancroft.

at variance. They reject the plainest sense of Scripture, because it seems disagree with what they call reason. Atterbury.

The act of disapproving; mental condemnation of what is judged wrong, unsuitable, or inexpedient; feeling of censure. We have ever expressed the most unqualified disapprobation of all the steps. Burke.

rtions for which there is abundant positive evidence are often disbelieved, on account of what is called their improbability or impossibility. J. S. Mill.

e composure of; to discompose; to abash. The embrace disconcerted the daughter-in-law somewhat, as the caresses of old gentlemen unshorn and perfumed with tobacco might well do. Thackeray.

A counting off or deduction made from a gross sum on any account whatever; an allowance upon an account, debt, demand, price asked, and the like; something taken or deducted.