Search the Dictionary

bad disposition or temperament; sullenness; esp., a disposition to cause unhappiness to others. -- Ill temper, anger; moroseness; crossness. -- Ill turn. (a) An unkind act. (b) A slight attack of illness. [Colloq. U.S.] -- Ill will, unkindness; enmity; malevolence.

e of ignorance; a literary blunder. The many blunders and illiteracies of the first publishers of his [Shakespeare's] works. Pope.

r; the fancy. The imagination of common language -- the productive imagination of philosophers -- is nothing but the representative process plus the process to which I would give the name of the "comparative." Sir W. Hamilton. The power of the mind to decompose its conceptions, and to recombine the elements of them at…

To graft with new feathers, as a wing; to splice a broken feather. Hence, Fig.: To repair; to extend; to increase; to strengthen to equip. [Archaic] Imp out our drooping country's broken wing. Shak. Who lazily imp their wings with other men's plumes. Fuller. Here no frail Muse shall imp her crippled wing. Holmes. Help,…

Characterized by short wings covered with feathers resembling scales, as the penguins. -- n.

The process of repairing broken feathers or a deficient wing.

Not plumed; without plumes or feathers; featherless. [R.] Drayton.

excessive, arbitrary, or unlawful exaction; hence, a trick or deception put on laid on others; cheating; fraud; delusion; imposture. Reputation is an idle and most false imposition. Shak.

One who imposes upon others; a person who assumes a character or title not his own, for the purpose of deception; a pretender. "The fraudulent impostor foul." Milton.

A woman who imposes upon or deceives others. [R.] Fuller.

by the claims of another founded on prescription. The right of navigation, fishing, and others that may be exercised on the sea, belonging to the right of mere ability, are imprescriptible. Vattel (Trans. )

the new edition is an improvement on the old. The parts of Sinon, Camilla, and some few others, are improvements on the Greek poet. Addison.

being impudent; assurance, accompanied with a disregard of the presence or opinions of others; shamelessness; forwardness; want of modesty. Clear truths that their own evidence forces us to admit, or common experience makes it impudence to deny. Locke. Where pride and impudence (in fashion knit) Usurp the chair of wit…

Not bearing anthers; -- said of sterile stamens.

Not communicable; incapable of being communicated, shared, told, or imparted, to others. Health and understanding are incommunicable. Southey. Those incommunicable relations of the divine love. South. -- In`com*mu"ni*ca*ble*ness, n. -- In`com*mu"ni*ca*bly, adv.

Not communicative; not free or apt to impart to others in conversation; reserved; silent; as, the messenger was incommunicative; hence, not disposed to hold fellowship or intercourse with others; exclusive. The Chinese . . . an incommunicative nation. C. Buchanan. -- In`com*mu"ni*ca*tive*ly, adv. -- In`com*mu"ni*ca*ti…

Not comparable; admitting of no comparison with others; unapproachably eminent; without a peer or equal; matchless; peerless; transcendent. A merchant of incomparable wealth. Shak. A new hypothesis . . . which hath the incomparable Sir Isaac Newton for a patron. Bp. Warburton. -- In*com"pa*ra*ble*ness, n. -- In*com"pa…

being incongruous; want of congruity; unsuitableness; inconsistency; impropriety. The fathers make use of this acknowledgment of the incongruity of images to the Deity, from thence to prove the incongruity of the worship of them. Bp. Stillingfleet.

erate; not attentive to safety or to propriety; not regarding the rights or feelings of others; hasty; careless; thoughtless; heedless; as, the young are generally inconsiderate; inconsiderate conduct. It is a very unhappy token of our corruption, that therinconsiderate among us as to sacrifice morality to politics. Ad…

Leaning or resting; -- said of anthers when lying on the inner side of the filament, or of cotyledons when the radicle lies against the back of one of them. Gray.