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robable; unlikely to be true; not to be expected under the circumstances or in the usual course of events; as, an improbable story or event. He . . . sent to Elutherius, then bishop of Rome, an improbable letter, as some of the contents discover. Milton. -- Im*prob"a*ble*ness, n. -- Im*prob"a*bly, adv.…

d account; practical application, as of a doctrine, principle, or theory, stated in a discourse. "A good improvement of his reason." S. Clarke. I shall make some improvement of this doctrine. Tillotson.

Charge or attribution of evil; censure; reproach; insinuation. Let us be careful to guard ourselves against these groundless imputation of our enemies. Addison.

, and the like. -- To be in for it. (a) To be in favor of a thing; to be committed to a course. (b) To be unable to escape from a danger, penalty, etc. [Colloq.] -- To be (or keep) in with. (a) To be close or near; as, to keep a ship in with the land. (b) To be on terms of friendship, familiarity, or intimacy with; to…

Not affable; reserved in social intercourse.

The formal beginning or initiation of any movement, course of action, etc.; as, the inauguration of a new system, a new condition, etc.

of masonry employed in building walls, in which the stones were not squared nor laid in courses; rubblework.

Coming or happening accidentally; not in the usual course of things; not in connection with the main design; not according to expectation; casual; fortuitous. As the ordinary course of common affairs is disposed of by general laws, so likewise men's rarer incident necessities and utilities should be with special equity…

To deviate from a line, direction, or course, toward an object; to lean; to tend; as, converging lines incline toward each other; a road inclines to the north or south.

Having no communion or intercourse with each other. [Obs.] Sir M. Hale.

t; 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*tive*ness, n. Lamb. His usual incommunicativeness. G. Eliot.

unsteadiness; changeableness; variableness. Mutability of temper, and inconsistency with ourselves, is the greatest weakness of human nature. Addison.

A demon; a fiend; a lascivious spirit, supposed to have sexual intercourse with women by night. Tylor. The devils who appeared in the female form were generally called succubi; those who appeared like men incubi, though this distinction was not always preserved. Lecky.

To turn from a straight line or course; to bend; to crook. Cheyne.

parate from; exclusive; irrespective. That obligation in general, under which we conceive ourselves bound to obey a law, independent of those resources which the law provides for its own enforcement. R. P. Ward.

anything; unconcernedness; equilibrium; indifferentism; indifference. Gladstone. To give ourselves to a detestable indifferency or neutrality in this cause. Fuller. Moral liberty . . . does not, after all, consist in a power of indifferency, or in a power of choosing without regard to motives. Hazlitt.…

Not direct; not straight or rectilinear; deviating from a direct line or course; circuitous; as, an indirect road.

Oblique course or means; dishonest practices; indirectness. "By indirections find directions out." Shak.

In an direct manner; not in a straight line or course; not in express terms; obliquely; not by direct means; hence, unfairly; wrongly. To tax it indirectly by taxing their expense. A. Smith. Your crown and kingdom indirectly held. Shak.

Deviation from an upright or straightforward course; unfairness; dishonesty. W. Montagu.