a. done in a moment; continuing only a moment; lasting a very short time
E.g. All the night I heard but three sounds at three long intervals, -- a step creak, a momentary renewal of the snarling, canine noise, and a deep human groan.
a. very important; of outstanding significance or consequence
E.g. I knew that was something that would remain momentous in any setting.
n. product of a body's mass and its velocity; impelling force or strength; impetus
E.g. He says he's trying to gain momentum from the U.N. to the G-20, to this Copenhagen summit in December.
n. house of religious retirement, or of seclusion from ordinary temporal concerns, especially for monks
E.g. The only regular visitors to the monastery in winter are parties of skiers who go there at Christmas and Easter.
n. progeny resulting from a cross between two breeds; anything of mixed breed
E.g. You also have to imagine that in an odd mongrel accent of Sicilian born and raised, but learned English in a Scottish slum.
n. speech uttered by a person alone; dramatic soliloquy
E.g. I am not really a big fan of Sarah either but what she said in her opening monologue is true.
a. marvelous; strange; extraordinary on account of ugliness, viciousness, or wickedness
E.g. Jim was monstrous proud about it, and he got so he would hardly notice the other niggers.
n. dark-colored person generally; broad area of open land, often high but poorly drained
E.g. I think running water is much more attractive in moor and mountain country than in the fat and sluggish South.
v. be dull and spiritless; be gloomy or dejected
E.g. I mope for a while, during which I may curse some more because a good curse needs mileage to really sharpen its impact.
n. legal delay of payment; suspension of an ongoing or planned activity
E.g. They say that they also are concerned about the environment but that a moratorium is a recipe for economic disaster.
a. ill humored; sullen; depressingly dark; gloomy; persistent
E.g. Though we feel sad at someone's pain and sorrow, feeling morose is difficult while actively wishing the person to be happy.
n. a place, especially a funeral home, where dead bodies are kept before burial or cremation
E.g. Reports from Iraq this June showed that Baghdad's main mortuary had already received the bodies of more than 6,000 people since that start of 2006.
v. stimulate; impel; provide with an incentive; move to action
E.g. In order to motivate someone, you must have an understanding of the driving factors behind that person.
a. multi-colored; mixed; having elements of great variety
E.g. He wore a loose tunic and looser trousers, homespun and dyed in motley green and brown.
n. moist sticky mixture, especially of mud and filth; earth, rocks, or clay excavated in mining
E.g. I am trapped in muck, down in the hole, wondering how my shoes got full of water.
a. belonging to this earth or world; not ideal or heavenly; concerned with commonplaces; ordinary
E.g. Unlike other players, the CEO and Secretariat are less interested in mundane benefits than in value.
v. be absorbed in one's thoughts; consider or say thoughtfully
E.g. For a moment we muse about the beauty of the scene, but our thoughts soon change as we recall our own personal problems.
v. call together; cause to come together; gather; summon up
E.g. Fritz says if the best answer you can muster is "Georgetown," you're definitely not going to win.
n. change; alteration, either in form or qualities.
E.g. Interestingly, the mutation is also associated with certain other negative physiological consequences.
a. refraining from producing speech or vocal sound; unable to speak; expressed without speech; unspoken
E.g. At the very least, to be consistent, you should remain mute when confronted with those who do feel they have some grasp on Truth.
n. sheep; flesh of a sheep; loose woman; prostitute
E.g. People like to have mutton in the winter.
a. of very large or indefinite number; of ten thousand
E.g. In China, for example, where a number of different dialects are spoken, the same character can be pronounced in myriad ways.
v. catch or seize suddenly or by a sudden thrust and grasp
E.g. I would think there's a good chance another station might nab it and finish it.
a. neatly or smartly dressed; neat, trim, and smart
E.g. Chuck Lowell was there with several of his men, all of them in natty three-piece suits, looking more like successful businessmen than spies.
a. relating to ships, sailors, or navigation
E.g. I dressed myself in nautical rig, and went on deck to see all that I could.
a. very wicked; infamous by being extremely wicked
E.g. Our elected leaders, movie stars and sports heroes sometimes engaged in nefarious activities but rarely were they headlined in the daily newspapers.
n. neglect; failure to take reasonable care; state or quality of being negligent
E.g. As for employment, this negligence is apparent in a variety of aspects, such as qualification and training.
n. someone seeking revenge; source of harm or ruin; opponent that cannot be beaten or overcome
E.g. Ally's main nemesis is Georgia, a beautiful lawyer who also happens to be married to Ally's ex-boyfriend, a partner in her firm.
v. make neutral and thus inoffensive
E.g. The treaty might neutralize the small republic.
n. connection; tie; core or center
E.g. I have not covered the main nexus, the money.
v. bite by little at a time; seize gently with the mouth; eat slowly or in small bits
E.g. He didn't answer, but just continued to nibble at his food.
n. an alkaloid poison that occurs in tobacco
E.g. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health measured the nicotine yield of different brands between 1998 and 2004 and found a worrying increase across the board.
n. ideal condition of rest, harmony, stability, or joy; condition of Buddha
E.g. Despite his desire to achieve nirvana, the young Buddhist found that even the buzzing of a fly could distract him from his meditation.
a. of or relating to or occurring in the night; most active at night
E.g. They wouldn't rest until the large black snake, which appears to be nocturnal, is no longer free.
n. act of naming or nominating; designation of a person as a candidate for office
E.g. His nomination as chief executive was approved by the board.
n. homesickness; bittersweet longing for things of past.
E.g. We've been there for a couple weeks now and the nostalgia is there, but we are trying to keep everything fresh.
n. quality of being novel; newness; something new and unusual
E.g. Another novelty is the Japanese garden with its bamboo fence, the posts and door of entrance being carved with remarkable taste and boldness.
n. beginner; person new to a field or activity
E.g. To do this appears so abrupt that the novice is apt to make a further effort to finish up the subject.
n. slight push or shake, as with the elbow, in order to call attention or convey intimation
E.g. The difference between whether a shove or a nudge is more appropriate might go to the harm that results.
n. wedding ceremony; social event at which the ceremony of marriage is performed
E.g. Their nuptials were eagerly chronicled by the local media.