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The act of making clear. [Obs.] Boyle.

Diluting; making thinner or weaker by admixture, esp. of water. Arbuthnot.

The act of diminishing, or of making or becoming less; state of being diminished; reduction in size, quantity, or degree; -- opposed to augmentation or increase.

th of each jaw united into a single beaklike plate. They are able to inflate the body by taking in air or water, and, hence, are called globefishes, swellfishes, etc. fishes, and sea hedgehogs.

An optical instrument, invented by Hipparchus, for taking altitudes, leveling, etc.

Partaking of the nature of two bodies; producing two substances. Wright.

The practice of taking snuff by rubbing the teeth or gums with a stick or brush dipped in snuff. [U.S.] Dipping needle, a magnetic needle suspended at its center of gravity, and moving freely in a vertical plane, so as to indicate on a graduated circle the magnetic dip or inclination.

affection or good will, esp. toward those in authority; unfriendliness; dislike. In the making laws, princes must have regard to . . . the affections and disaffections of the people. Jer. Taylor.

-- a normal nutritional process the reverse of assimilation; downward metabolism. The breaking down of already existing chemical compounds into simpler ones, sometimes called disassimilation. Martin.

tunate; calamitous; ill-fated; as, a disastrous day; a disastrous termination of an undertaking. Wherein I spake of most disastrous chances. Shak. -- Dis*as"trous*ly, adv. -- Dis*as"trous*ness, n.

separated, broken up, dissolved, or scattered; especially, to quit military service by breaking up organization.

y, in electricity, an instrument for discharging a Leyden jar, or electrical battery, by making a connection between the two surfaces; a discharging rod.

Causing discomfort; occasioning uneasiness; making sad. [Obs.] Sir P. Sidney.

nuing, or the state of being discontinued; want of continued connection or continuity; breaking off; cessation; interruption; as, a discontinuance of conversation or intercourse; discontinuance of a highway or of travel.

series; discontinuance. Upon any discontinuation of parts, made either by bubbles or by shaking the glass, the whole mercury falls. Sir I. Newton.

confidence; to deject; -- the opposite of encourage; as, he was discouraged in his undertaking; he need not be discouraged from a like attempt. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. Col. iii. 21.

That which discourages; that which deters, or tends to deter, from an undertaking, or from the prosecution of anything; a determent; as, the revolution was commenced under every possible discouragement. "Discouragements from vice." Swift.

The art and manner of speaking and conversing. Of excellent breeding, admirable discourse. Shak.

A making known; revelation; disclosure; as, a bankrupt is bound to make a full discovery of his assets. In the clear discoveries of the next [world]. South.

Observing distinctions; making differences; discriminating. "Discriminative censure." J. Foster. "Discriminative Providence." Dr. H. More.