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An American Dictionary of the English Language

by Noah Webster

Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)

Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865

Entries
95,912
Pages
1,538
Illustrations
2,133

Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.

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  1. Cŏn'-spis-sā'tion, n.p. 280The act of making thick or viscous; thickness. [Obs.] H. More.
  2. Con-spûr'cāte, v. t.p. 280To make filthy; to defile. [Obs.] Cockram.
  3. Cŏn'/spur-cā'/tion, n.p. 280The act of defiling; defilement; pollution. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.
  4. Cŏn'sta-ble, n.p. 280A high officer in the monarchical establishments of the middle ages. ☞ The constable of France was the first officer of the crown, and had the chief command of the army. It was also his duty to…
  5. Côn'sta-blêr'y, n.p. 280The body or jurisdiction of constables.
  6. Côn'sta-ble-ship, n.p. 280The office of a constable.
  7. Côn'sta-bless, n.p. 280The wife of a constable. [Obs.]
  8. Cŏn'sta-ble-wĭck, n.p. 280The district to which a constable's power is limited. Hale.
  9. Con-stăb'ŭ-la-ry, a.p. 280Pertaining to constables; consisting of constables.
  10. Con-stăb'ū-la-to-ry, n.p. 280A constablery. [Obs.]
  11. Cŏn'stan-cy, n.p. 280The quality of being constant or steadfast; freedom from change; stability; fixedness; as, the constancy of God in his nature and attributes; the constancy of creation. 2. Fixedness or firmness of…
  12. Cŏn’stant, a.p. 280Having fixedness or firmness in quality, nature, &c.; firm;—opposed to fluid. [Obs.] If ... you mix them, you may turn these two fluid liquors into a constant body. Boyle. 2. Not liable, or given, to…
  13. Cŏn'stant, n.p. 280That which is not subject to change; an invariable quantity. 2. (Math.) A quantity whose value always remains the same in the same expression. Math. Dict. Absolute constant (Math.), one whose value…
  14. Con-stăn’tĭ-a, n.p. 280A kind of wine from the Cape of Good Hope. Wright.
  15. Côn'stant-ly, adv.p. 280With constancy; firmly; steadily; continually; perseveringly.
  16. Cŏn'stăt, n.p. 280(Law.) A certificate showing what appears upon record touching a matter in question.
  17. Cŏn′/stel-lāte or Con-stĕl′lāte, v. i.p. 280To join luster; to shine with united radiance, or one general light. [Rare.] [See Note under CONTEMPLATE.] The several things which engage our affections shine forth and constellate in God. Boyle.
  18. Cŏn'stel-lāte or Con-stĕl'lāte, v. t.p. 280To unite in one luster or radiance, as stars. [R.] There is extant in the Scripture, to them who know how to constellate those lights, a very excellent body of moral precepts. Boyle. 2. To set or…
  19. Cŏn'stel-lā'tion, n.p. 280A cluster, assemblage, or group of fixed stars, situated near each other in the heavens, and designated by the names of animals, or other terrestrial objects, to which they are fancifully regarded as…
  20. Cŏn’ster-nā’tĭon, n.p. 280Amazement or horror that confounds the faculties, and incapacitates for consideration; excessive terror, wonder, or surprise; dismay. This increased the consternation and belief in every body that…
  21. Cōn'sti-pāte, v. t.p. 281To crowd or cram into a narrow compass; to press together or condense. [Obs.] Of cold the property is to condense and constipate. Bacon. 2. To stop, as a passage, by filling it, and preventing motion…
  22. Cŏn'sti-pā'tion, n.p. 281The act of crowding any thing into a less compass, or the state of being crowded or pressed together; condensation. “Fullness of matter, or a pretty close constipation . . . of its particles.” Boyle.…
  23. Con-stĭt'ū-en-cy, n.p. 281A body of constituents, or of electors who make choice of a representative.
  24. Con-stĭt'ū-ent, a.p. 281Serving to form, compose, or make up; elemental; constituting; component. Body, soul, and reason are the three parts necessarily constituent of a man. Dryden. 2. Having the power of electing or…
  25. Con-stĭt'ū-ent, n.p. 281The person or thing which establishes, determines, or constructs. Their first composure and origination require a higher and nobler constituent than chance. Hale. 2. That which constitutes or…
  26. Cŏn'sti-tūte, v. t.p. 281To cause to stand; to establish; to set; to enact. “Laws appointed and constituted by lawful authority.” Bp. Taylor. 2. To give formal existence to; to make up; to compose; to form. Truth and reason…
  27. Cŏn'sti-tūte, n.p. 281An established law. [Obs.] “A man that will not obey the king's constitute.” Preston.
  28. Cŏn'sti-tū'ter, n.p. 281One who constitutes or appoints.
  29. Cŏn'sti-tū'tion, n.p. 281The act of constituting, enacting, establishing, or appointing; formation. 2. The state of being; that form of being, or structure and connection of parts, which characterizes a system or body…
  30. Cŏn'sti-tū'tion-al, a.p. 281Belonging to, or inherent in, the constitution, or in the structure of body or mind; as, a constitutional infirmity; constitutional ardor or dullness. 2. In accordance with, or authorized by, the…
  31. Cŏn’sti-tū’tion-al, n.p. 281A walk or other exercise taken for the benefit of health or the constitution. ☞ The term is said to have originated at Cambridge University, England. Thackeray.
  32. Cŏn/sti-tū'tion-al-ism, n.p. 281The theory, principles, or authority of a constitution. Carlyle.
  33. Cŏn/sti-tū'tion-al-ist, n.p. 281An adherent to the constitution. 2. A reformer of constitutions. “The revolutionists and constitutionalists of France.” Burke.
  34. Cŏn/sti-tū'tion-ăl'i-ty, n.p. 281The state of being constitutional, or of being inherent in the natural frame; as, the constitutionality of disease. Coxe. 2. The state of being consistent with the constitution or frame of…
  35. Cŏn/sti-tū'tion-al-ize, v. i.p. 281To take a walk or other exercise for the benefit of the health. [Eng. Universities.]
  36. Cŏn'sti-tū'tion-al-ly, adv.p. 281In accordance with the constitution or natural frame; naturally. “The English were constitutionally humane.” Hallam. 2. In accordance with the constitution or frame of government. Burke.
  37. Cŏn'sti-tū'tion-a-ry, a.p. 281Constitutional. [Rare.]
  38. Cŏn'sti-tū'tion-ist, n.p. 281One who adheres to the constitution of the country. Bolingbroke.
  39. Cŏn'sti-tū'tive, a.p. 281Tending or assisting to constitute, form, or compose; elemental; essential. An ingredient and constitutive part of every virtue. Barrow. 2. Having power to enact, establish, or create; instituting.…
  40. Cŏn'sti-tū'tive-ly, adv.p. 281In a constitutive manner.
  41. Con-strāin', v. t.p. 281To secure by bonds; to chain; to confine. He binds in chains The drowsy prophet, and his limbs constrains. Dryden. 2. To bring into a narrow compass; to compress; to constrict. How the strait stays…
  42. Con-strāin'a-ble, a.p. 281Capable of being constrained, forced, or repressed; liable to constraint, or to restraint. Hooker.
  43. Con-strāin'ed-ly, adv.p. 281By constraint; by compulsion. Hooker.
  44. Con-strāin'er, n.p. 281One who constrains.
  45. Con-strāint', n.p. 281The act of constraining, or the state of being constrained; compulsion; restraint; confinement. “Long imprisonment and hard constraint.” 2. That which constrains; any force or power which compels to…
  46. Con-strâint'ive, a.p. 281Having power to compel. [Rare.] “Constraining necessity of a constraintive vow.” Coxe.
  47. Con-strict', v. t.p. 281To draw together; to bind; to cramp; to draw into a narrow compass; to contract or cause to shrink. “Such things as constrict the fibers.” Arbuthnot.
  48. Con-strict'ed, p. a.p. 281Drawn together; bound; contracted; cramped. 2. (Bot.) Contracted or compressed so as to be smaller in certain places or parts than in others. Constricted Pod.
  49. Con-stric'tion, n.p. 281The act of constricting, or the state of being constricted; the act of binding or being bound. “A constriction of the parts inservient to speech.” Grew.
  50. Con-strict'ive, a.p. 281Serving to bind or constringe.
  51. Con-strict'or, n.p. 281That which constricts, draws together, or contracts. 2. (Anat.) A muscle which contracts or closes an orifice, or which binds and compresses an organ. 3. (Zool.) A serpent which secures its prey by…
  52. Con-stringe′, v. t.p. 281To draw together; to contract; to force to contract itself; to constrict. Strong liquors constringe, harden the fibers, and coagulate the fluids. Arbuthnot.
  53. Con-strĭn′gent, a.p. 281Having the quality of contracting, binding, or compressing. Thomson.
  54. Con-strŭct', v. t.p. 281To put together in their proper place and order the constituent parts of; to build; to form; as, to construct an edifice. 2. To devise and put in an orderly arrangement; to arrange; as, to construct…
  55. Cŏn'struct, a.p. 281Formed by, or relating to, construction, interpretation, or inference. Construct form or state (Heb. Gram.), the form which, in the genitive relation, is given to the governing substantive, instead…
  56. Con-strŭct'er, n.p. 281One who constructs or frames.
  57. Con-strŭc′tion, n.p. 281The act of constructing; the act of building, or of devising and forming; fabrication; composition. 2. The manner of putting together the parts of any thing so as to give to the whole its peculiar…
  58. Con-strŭc'tion-al, a.p. 281Pertaining to construction; deduced from construction or interpretation; constructional. Waterland.
  59. Con-strŭc'tion-ĭst, n.p. 281One who construes a writing or public instrument.
  60. Con-strūct'ive, a.p. 281Having ability to construct or form; employed in construction; as, to exhibit constructive power or talent. H. Miller. 2. Derived by construction or interpretation; not directly expressed, but…