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To entertain or occupy in a pleasant manner; to stir with pleasing or mirthful emotions; to divert. A group children amusing themselves with pushing stones from the top [of the cliff], and watching as they plunged into the lake. Gilpin.

Having power to amuse or entertain the mind; fitted to excite mirth. [R.] -- A*mu"sive*ly, adv. -- A*mu"sive*ness, n.

distorted by anamorphosis to its normal proportions. It usually consists of a cylindrical mirror.

or curved surface, which, when viewed from a certain point, or as reflected from a curved mirror or through a polyhedron, appears regular and in proportion; a deformation of an image.

Endowed with life; alive; living; animated; lively. The admirable structure of animate bodies. Bentley.

f the Linnæan genus Formica, which is now made a family of several genera; an emmet; a pismire.

An admirer of antiquity.

d from to the superior court, stating the case, etc.; a paper sent up on appeals in the admiralty courts. Wharton. Burrill. Apostles' creed, a creed of unknown origin, which was formerly ascribed to the apostles. It certainly dates back to the beginning of the sixth century, and some assert that it can be found in the…

nouns or pronouns, put in the same case, without a connecting word between them; as, I admire Cicero, the orator. Here, the second noun explains or characterizes the first. Growth by apposition (Physiol.), a mode of growth characteristic of non vascular tissues, in which nutritive matter from the blood is transformed…

to approach the city; to approach my cabin; he approached the age of manhood. He was an admirable poet, and thought even to have approached Homer. Temple.

charge by an exhibition of articles. He shall be articled against in the high court of admiralty. Stat. 33 Geo. III.

pprobation, of the prince. Prescott. Too many people read this ribaldry with assent and admiration. Macaulay. Royal assent, in England, the assent of the sovereign to a bill which has passed both houses of Parliament, after which it becomes law.

nd; to engage or fix, as the mind, attention, etc.; to invite or allure; as, to attract admirers. Attracted by thy beauty still to gaze. Milton.

Of a quality inspiring mingled admiration and reverence; having an aspect of solemn dignity or grandeur; sublime; majestic; having exalted birth, character, state, or authority. "Forms august." Pope. "August in visage." Dryden. "To shed that august blood." Macaulay. So beautiful and so august a spectacle. Burke. To min…

ory; as, an authoritative tone. The mock authoritative manner of the one, and the insipid mirth of the other. Swift. -- Au*thor"i*ta*tive*ly, adv -- Au*thor"i*ta*tive*ness, n.

eing regarded as having the power of spontaneous motion or action. Huxley. So great and admirable an automaton as the world. Boyle. These living automata, human bodies. Boyle.

Incarnation; manifestation as an object of worship or admiration.

Inspiring awe; filling with profound reverence, or with fear and admiration; fitted to inspire reverential fear; profoundly impressive. Heaven's awful Monarch. Milton.

ine of a modern religious pantheistical sect in Persia, which was founded, about 1844, by Mirza Ali Mohammed ibn Rabhik (1820 -- 1850), who assumed the title of Bab-ed-Din (Per., Gate of the Faith). Babism is a mixture of Mohammedan, Christian, Jewish, and Parsi elements. This doctrine forbids concubinage and polygamy,…

A thin stuff used for the backs of framed pictures, mirrors, etc.