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Offensive to good morals and public decency; notoriously offensive; as, a disorderly house.

The act of dispensing or dealing out; distribution; often used of the distribution of good and evil by God to man, or more generically, of the acts and modes of his administration. To respect the dispensations of Providence. Burke.

s by for before the indirect object. Endure and conquer; Jove will soon dispose To future good our past and present woes. Dryden. Suspicions dispose kings to tyranny, husbands to jealousy, and wise men to irresolution and melancholy. Bacon. To dispose of. (a) To determine the fate of; to exercise the power of control o…

Inclined to mirth; jolly. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl. Well disposed, in good condition; in good health. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Disposal. [Obs.] Goodwin.

stion; to deny the truth or validity of; as, to dispute assertions or arguments. To seize goods under the disputed authority of writs of assistance. Bancroft.

unworthy of regard or notice; as, to disregard the admonitions of conscience. Studious of good, man disregarded fame. Blackmore.

Loss or want of reputation or good name; dishonor; disrepute; disesteem. "A disreputation of piety." Jer. Taylor.

Injury; mischief. We shall rather perform good offices unto truth than any disservice unto their relators. Sir T. Browne.

ishing quality; sharply defined difference; as, the distinction between real and apparent good. The distinction betwixt the animal kingdom and the inferior parts of matter. Locke.

ight be confounded; as, to distinguish the sound of a drum. We are enabled to distinguish good from evil, as well as truth from falsehood. Watts. Nor more can you distinguish of a man, Than of his outward show. Shak.

ent of rent, the reparation of an injury done, etc.; to take by distress; as, to distrain goods for rent, or of an amercement.

One who distrains; the party distraining goods or chattels. Blackstone.

Bouvier. Kent. Burrill. If he were not paid, he would straight go and take a distress of goods and cattle. Spenser. The distress thus taken must be proportioned to the thing distrained for. Blackstone. Abuse of distress. (Law) See under Abuse.

divide among several or many; to deal out; to apportion; to allot. She did distribute her goods to all them that were nearest of kindred. Judith xvi. 24.

A writ commanding the sheriff to distrain a person by his goods or chattels, to compel a compliance with something required of him.

maintain the existence of two gods or of two original principles (as in Manicheism), one good and one evil; dualism.

neglecting it may do much danger. Shak. He waved indifferently' twixt doing them neither good not harm. Shak.

A bill tied to goods, containing some direction, as the name of the owner, or the place to which they are to be sent; a label. Bailey.

A matter of doctrine; also, a system of doctrines. T. Goodwin. Sir T. Elyot.