terms and definitions :
science | skepticism
unless otherwise indicated
--abnormally (adv)
abnormality (n) -ties (pl) -
1. The condition of not being normal.
2. A phenomenon or occurrence that is not normal.
alternative
(n) -
1a. The choice between two mutually exclusive possibilities.
b. A situation presenting such a choice.
c. Either of these possibilities.
2. Usage Problem One of a number of things from which one must be chosen.
(adj) -
1. Allowing or necessitating a choice between two or more things.
2a. Existing outside traditional or established institutions or systems: an alternative lifestyle.
b. Espousing or reflecting values that are different from those of the establishment or mainstream: an alternative newspaper; alternative greeting cards.
3. Usage Problem Substitute or different; other.
--alternatively (adv)
anomalous (adj) -
1. Deviating from the normal or common order, form, or rule.
2. Equivocal, as in classification or nature.
--anomalously (adv), anomalousness (n)
anomaly -lies (pl) -
1. Deviation or departure from the normal or common order, form, or rule.
2. One that is peculiar, irregular, abnormal, or difficult to classify: "Both men are anomalies; they have. . . likable personalities but each has made his reputation as a heavy" (David Pauly).
3. Astronomy The angular deviation, as observed from the sun, of a planet from its perhelion.
--anomalistic (adj), anomalistically (adv)
arcane (adj) - Known or understood by only a few: arcane economic theories.
arcanum (n) -na or -nums (pl) -
1. A deep secret; a mystery.
2. often arcana Specialized knowledge or detail that is mysterious to the average person: "knows the arcana of police procedure and the intricacies of litigation" (George F. Will).
3. A secret essence or remedy; an elixir.
baffle -fled, fling, flies
(v)(tr) -
1. To frustrate or check (a person) as by confusing or perplexing; stymie.
2. To impede the force or movement of.
(n) -
1. A usually static device that regulates the flow of a fluid or light.
2. A partition that prevents interference between sound waves in a loudspeaker.
--bafflement (n), baffler (n)
bewilder (v)(tr) -dered, dering, ders -
1. To confuse or befuddle, especially with numerous conflicting situations, objects, or statements.
2. To cause to lose one's bearings; disorient: The twists and turns in the cave soon bewilder us.
--bewilderedly (adv), bewilderedness (n), bewilderingly (adv)
beyond
(prep) -
1. On the far side of; past: Just beyond the fence.
2. Later than; after: beyond midnight.
3. To a degree that is past the understanding, reach, or scope of: an evil beyond remedy.
4. To a degree or amount greater than: rich beyond his wildest dreams.
5. In addition to: asked for nothing beyond peace and quite.
(adv) -
1. Farther along or away.
2. In addition; more: wanted her share but nothing beyond.
(n) -
1. That which is past or to a degree greater than knowledge or experience; the unknown: "Sputnik, the first satellite to enter the great beyond of space" (Dale Russakoff).
2. The world beyond death; the herafter.
bizarre (adj) - Strikingly unconventional and far-fetched in style or appearance; odd.
--bizarrely (adv), bizarreness (n)
confound (tr v) -founded, founding, founds -
1. To cause to become confused or perplexed.
2. To fail to distinguish; mix up: confound fiction and fact.
3. To make (something bad) or worse: Do not confound the problem by losing your temper.
4. To cause to be ashamed; abash: an invention that confounded the skeptics.
5. To damn.
6a. To frustrate: trivial demands that confounded the peace talks.
b. Archaic To bring to ruination.
--confounder (n), confoundingly (adv)
confounded (adj) -
1. Confused; befuddled: A crowd of confounded bystanders stared at the appalling wreckage.
2. Used as an intensive: a confounded fool.
--confoundedly (adv), confoundedness (n)
conformist
(n) - A person who uncritically or habitually conforms to the customs, rules, or styles of a group.
(adj) - Marked by conformity or convention: "Underneath the image, teenagers today are surprisingly conformist" (Selina S. Guber).
--conformism (n)
conformity (conformance) (n) -ties (pl) -
1. Similarity in form or character; agreement: I acted in conformity with my principles.
2. Action or behavior in correspondance with socially accepted standards, conventions, rules, or laws: conformity to university regulations.
3. Geology The relationship between adjacent layers of sedimentary rock.
corporeal (adj) -
1. Of, relating to, or charactaristic of the body.
2. Of a material nature.
--corporeality (n), corporealness (n), corporeally (adv)
corporeity (n) - The state of being material or corporeal; physical existence.
decipher (v)(tr) -phered, phering, phers -
1. To read or interpret (ambiguous, obscure, or illegible matter).
2. To convert from a code or cipher to plain text; decode.
--decipherable (adj), decipherer (n), decipherment (n)
eerie (eery) (adj) -rier, riest.-
1a. Inspiring inexplicable fear, dread, or uneasiness; strange and frightening.
b. Suggestive of the supernatural; mysterious.
2. Scots Frightened or intimidated by superstition.
--eerily (adv), eeriness (n)
eldritch (adj) - Strange or unearthly; eerie.
esoteric (adj) -
1a. Intended for or understood by only a particular group: an esoteric cult.
b. Of or relating to that which is known by a restricted number of people.
2a. Confined to a small group: esoteric interests.
b. Not publicly disclosed; confidential.
--esoterically (adv)
extrasensory (adj) - Being outside the normal range or bounds of the senses.
fact (n) -
1. Knowledge or information based on real occurences: an account based on fact; a blur of fact and fancy.
2a. Something demonstrated to exist or known to have existed: Genetic engineering is now a fact.
b. A real occurence; an event: had to prove the facts of the case.
c. Something believed to be true or real: a document laced with mistaken facts.
3. A thing that has been done, especially a crime: an accessory before the facts.
4. Law The aspect of a case at law comprising events determined by evidence: The jury made a finding of fact.
-Idiom: in (point of) fact In reality or in truth; actually.
factual (adj) -
1. Of the nature of fact; real.
2. Of or containing facts.
--factuality (n), factually (adv), factualness (n)
fanciful (adj) -
1. Created in the fancy; unreal: a fanciful story.
2. Tending to indulge in fancy: a fanciful mind.
3. Showing invention or whimsy in design; imaginative.
--fancifully (adv), fancifulness (n)
fancy
(n) -cies (pl) -
1. The mental faculty through which whims, visions, and fantasies are summoned up; imagination, especially of a whimsical or fantasic nature.
2. An image or a fantastic invention created by the mind.
3. A capricious notion; a whim.
4. A capricious liking or inclination.
5. Critical sensibility; taste.
6. Amorous or romantic attachment; love.
7a. The enthusiasts or fans of a sport or pursuit considered as a group.
b. The sport or pursuit, such as boxing, engaging the interest of such a group.
(adj) -cier, ciest -
1. Highly decorated; a fancy hat.
2. Arising in the fancy; capricious.
3. Executed with skill; complex or intricate: the fancy footwork of a figure skater.
4. Of superior grade; find: fancy preserves.
5. Excessive or exorbitant: paid a fancy price for the car.
6. Bred for unusual qualites or special points.
(v)(tr) -cied, cying, cies -
1. To visualize; imagine: "She tried to fancy what the flame of a candle looks like after the candle is blown out" (Lewis Carroll).
2. To take a fancy to; like.
3. To suppose; guess.
--fancily (adv), fanciness (n)
fantasize (v) -sized, sizing, sizes
(tr) - To portray in the mind; imagine.
(intr) - To indulge in fantasies.
fantastic (fantastical)
(adj) -
1. Quaint or strange in form, conception, or appearance.
2a. Unrestrainedly fanciful; extravagant: fantastic hopes.
b. Bizarre, as in form or appearance; strange: fantastic attire; fantstic behavior.
c. Based on or existing only in fantasy; unreal: fantastic ideas about her own superiority.
3. Wonderful or superb; remarkable: a fantastic trip to Europe.
(n) - An eccentric person.
--fantasticality (n), fantastically (adv)
fantasticate (v)(tr) -cated, cating, cates -
To make fantastic: "[his] splendidly baroque style adorns and fantasticates his thought" (New York Times).
--fantastication (n)
fantasy
(n) -sies (pl) -
1. The creative imagination; unrestrained fancy.
2. Something, such as an invention, that is a creation of the fancy.
3. A capricious or fantastic idea; a conceit.
4a. Fiction characterized by highly fanciful or supernatural elements.
b. An example of such fiction.
5. An imagined event or psychological need.
6. An unrealistic or improbable suppostion.
7. Music See fantasia (sense 1)
8. A coin issued especially by a questionable authority and not inteded for use as currency.
9. Obsolete A hallucination.
(v)(tr) -sied, sying, sies - To imagine; visualize.
fantasyland (n) - A place conjured up by the imagination, often populated by bizarre inhabitants: a fictional fantasyland teeming with unicorns and elves.
imaginary
(adj) -
1. Having existence only in the imagination; unreal.
2. Mathematics
a. Of or being the coefficient of the imaginary unit in a complex number.
b. Of, involving, or bing an imaginary number.
c. Involving only a complex number of which the real part is zero.
(n) -ies (pl) - Mathematics An imaginary number.
--imaginarily (adv), imaginariness (n)
imagination (n) -
1a. The formation of a mental image of something that is neither perceived as real nor present to the senses.
b. The mental image so formed.
c. The ability or tendency to form such images.
2. The ability to confront and deal with reality by using the creative power of the mind; resourcefullness: handled the problems with great imagination.
3. A traditional or widely held belief or opinion.
4. Archaic
a. An unrealistic idea or notion; a fancy.
b. A plan or scheme.
--imaginational (adj)
immaterial (adj) -
1. Of no importance or relevance; inconsequential or irrelevant.
2. Having no material body or form.
--immaterially (adv), immaterialnesss (n)
immaterialism (n) - A metaphysical doctrine denying the existence of matter.
--immaterialist (adj, n)
immateriality (n) -ties (pl) -
1. The state or quality of being immaterial.
2. Something immaterial.
immaterialize (tr v) -ized, izing, izes - To render immaterial.
incorporeal (adj) -
1. Lacking material form or substance.
2. Law Of or relating to property or an asset that does not have value in material form, as a right or patent.
--incorporeality (n), incorporeally (adv)
incredible (adj) -
1. So implausible as to elicit disbelief: gave an incredible explanation of the cause of the accident.
2. Astonishing: dresssed with incredible speed.
incorporeity (n) - The state or quality of being incorporeal; immateriality.
inexplainable (adj) - Difficult or impossible to explain; inexplicable.
--inexplainably (adv)
inexplicable (adj) - Difficult or impossible to explain or account for.
--inexplicability (n), inexplicableness (n), inexplicably (adv)
inscrutable (adj) - difficult to fathom or understand; impenetrable.
--inscrutability (n), inscrutableness (n), inscrutably (adv)
insubstantial (adj) -
1. Lacking substance or reality.
2a. Not firm or solid, flimsy.
b. Delicately fine.
3. Negligible in size or amount.
--insubstantiality (n)
metaphysic (n) -
1a. Metaphysics
b. A system of metaphysics.
2. An underlying philosophical or theoretical principle: a belief in luck, the metaphysic of the gambler.
metaphysical (adj) -
1. Of or relating to metaphysics.
2. Based on speculative or abstract reasoning.
3. Highly abstract or theoretical; abtruse.
4a. Immaterial; incorporeal.
b. Supernatural
5. often Metaphysical Of or relating to the poetry of a group of 17th-century English poets whose verse is characterized by an intellectually challenging style and extended metaphors comparing very dissimilar things.
--metaphysically (adv)
metaphysics (n) -
1. Philosophy The branch of philosophy that examines the nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and matter, substance and attribute, fact and value.
2. The theoretical or first principles of a particular discipline: the metaphysics of law.
3. A priori speculation upon questions that are unanswerable to scientific observation, analysis, or experiment.
4. Excessively subtle or recondite reasoning.
mysterious (adj) -
1. Of, relating to, or being a mystery: mysterious and infinite truths.
2. Simultaneously arousing wonder and inquisitiveness, and eluding explanation or comprehension: a mysterious visitor, mysterious conduct.
--mysteriously (adv), mysteriousness (n)
mystery (1) (n) -ies (pl) -
1. One that is not fully understood or that baffles or eludes the understanding; an enigma: How he got in is a mystery.
2. One whose identity is unknown and who arouses curiosity: The woman in the photograph is a mystery.
3. A mysterious character or quality: a landscape with mystery and charm.
4. A work of fiction, a drama, or film dealing with a puzzling crime.
5. The skills, lore, or practices that are peculiar to a particular activity or group and are regarded as the special province of initiates. Often used in the plural: the mysteries of Freemasonry; the mysteries of cooking game.
6. A religious divine revelation.
7a. An incident from the life of Jesus, especially the Incarnation, Passion, Crucifixion, or Resurrection, of particular importance for redemption.
b. One fo the 15 incidents from the lives of Jesus or the Blessed Virgin Mary, such as the Annunciation or the Ascension, serving in Roman Catholicism as the subject of meditation during recitation of the rosary.
8a. also Mystery One of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.
b. mysteries The consecrated elements of the Eucharist.
9a. A religious cult practicing secret rites to which only initiates are admitted.
b. A secret rite of such a cult.
mystic
(adj) -
1. Of or relating to religious mysteries or occult rites and practices.
2. Of or relating to mysticism or mystics.
3. Inspiring a sense of mystery and wonder.
4a. Mysterious, strange.
b. Enigmatic; obscure.
5. Mystical.
(n) - One who practices or believes in mysticism or a given form of mysticism: Protestant mystics.
mystical (adj) -
1. Of or having a spiritual reality or import not apparent to the intelligence or senses.
2. Of, relating to, or stemming from direct communication with ultimate reality or God: a mystical religion.
3. Enigmatic; obscure: mystical theories about the securities market.
4. Of or relating to mystic rites or practices.
5. Unintelligible; cryptic.
--mystically (adv), mysticalness (n)
mysticism (n) -
1a. Immediate consciousness of the transcendent or ultimate reality or God.
b. The experience of such communion as described by mystics.
2. A belief in the existence of realities beyond perceptual or intellectual apprehension that are central to being and directly accessible by subjective experience.
3. Vague, groundless speculation.
mystification (n) -
1. The act or an instance of mystifying.
2. The act or condition of being mystified.
3. Something intended to mystify.
mystify (v)(tr) -fied, fying, fies -
1. To confuse or puzzle mentally.
2. To make obscure or mysterious.
--mystifier (n), mystifyingly (adv)
mystique (n) - An aura of heightened value, interest, or meaning surrounding something, arising from attitudes and beliefs that impute special power or mystery to it: the cowboy mystique; the mystique of existentialism.
myth (n) -
1a. A traditional, typically ancient story dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes that serves as a fundamental type in the worldview of a people, as by explaining aspects of the natural world or delineating the psychology, customs, or ideals of a society: the myth of Eros and Psyche, a creation myth.
b. Such stories considered as a group; the realms of myth.
2. A popular belief or story that has become associated with a person, insitution, or ocurrance, especially one that is considered to illustrate a cultural ideal: a star whose fame turned her into a myth, the pioneer myth of suburbia.
3. A fiction or half-truth, especially one that forms a part of an ideology.
4. A fictitious story, person, or thing: "German artillery superiority on the Western Front was a myth" (Leon Wolff).
mythical (mythic) (adj) -
1. Of or existing in myth: the mythical unicorn.
2. Imaginary; fictitious.
3. often mythic Of or relating to, or having the nature of a myth: a novel of profound, almost mythic consequence.
natural (adj) -
1. Present in or produced by nature: a nutural pearl.
2. Of, relating to, or concerning nature: a natural environment.
3. Confomring to the usual or ordinary course of nature: a natural death.
4a. Not acquired; inherent: Love of power is natural to some people.
b. Having a particular character by nature: a natural leader.
c. Biology Not produced or changed artificially; not conditioned: natural immunity; a natural reflex.
5. Characterized by spontenaity and freedom from artificiality, affectation, or inhibitions.
6. Not altered, treated, or diguised: natural coloring; natural produce.
7. Fathfully representing nature or life.
8. Expected and accepted: "In Willie's mind marriage remained the natural and logical sequence to love" (Duff Cooper).
9. Established by moral certainty or conviction: natural rights.
10. Being in a state regarded as primitive, uncivilized, or unregerate.
11a. Related by blood: the natural parents of the child.
b. Born of unwed parents: a natural child.
12. Mathematics Of or relating to positive integers, sometimes including zero.
13. Music
a. Not sharped or flatted.
b. Having no sharps or flats.
(n) -
1a. One having all the qualifications necessary for success: You are a natural for this job.
b. One suited by nature for a certain purpose or function: She is a natural at mathematics.
2. Music
a. The sign placed before a note to cancel a preceding sharp or flat.
b. A note so affected.
3. A yellowish grey to pale orange yellow.
4. Games A combination in certain card and dice games that wins immediately.
5. An Afro hairstyle.
--naturalness (n)
normal
(adj) -
1. Conforming with, adhering to, or constituting a norm, standard, pattern, level, or type; typical: normal room temperature; one's normal weight; normal diplomatic relations.
2. Biology Functioning or occurring in a natural way; lacking observable abnormalities or deficiencies.
3. Abbr. n or N Chemistry
a. Designating a solution having one gram equivalent weight of solute per liter of solution.
b. Designating an aliphatic hydrocarbon having a straight and unbranched chain of carbon atoms.
4. Mathematics
a. Being at right angles; perpendicular.
b. Perpendicular to the direction of a tangent line to a curve or a tangent plane to a surface.
5a. Relating to or characterized by average intelligence or development.
b. Free from mental illness; sane.
(n) -
1. Something normal; the standard: scored close to the normal.
2. The usual or expected state, form, amount, or degree.
3a. Corresponence to a norm.
b. An average.
4. Mathematics A perpendicular, especially a perpendicular to a line tangent to a plane curve or to a plane tangent to a space curve.
--normally (adv)
occult
(adj) -
1. Of, relating to, or dealing with supernatural influences, agencies, or phenomena.
2. Beyond the realm of human comprehension; inscrutable.
3. Available only to the initiate; secret: occult lore.
4. Hidden from view; concealed.
5a. Medicine Detectable only by microscopic examination or chemical analysis, as a minute blood sample.
b. Not accompanied by readily detetable signs or symptoms: occult carcinoma.
(n) - Occult practices or techniques: a student of the occult.
(v) -culted, culting, cults
(tr) -
1. To conceal or cause to disappear from view.
2. Astronomy To conceal by occultation: The moon occulted Mars.
(intr) - To become concealed or extinguished at regular intervals: a lighthouse beacon that occults every 45 seconds.
occultism (n) -
1. The study of the supernatural.
2. A belief in occult powers and the possibility of bringing them under human control.
--occultist (n)
odd (adj) -odder, oddest -
1. Deviating from what is ordinary, usual, or expected; strange or peculiar: an odd name; odd behavior.
2. Being in excess of the indicated or approximate number, extent, or degree.
3a. Constituting a remainder: had some odd dollars left over.
b. Small in amount: jingled the odd change in my pockets.
4a. Being one of an incomplete pair or set: an odd show.
b. Remaining after others have been paired or grouped.
5. Mathematics Designating an interger not divisible by two, such as 1, 3, and 5.
6. Not expected, regular, or planned: called at odd intervals.
7. Remote; out-of-the-way: found the antique shop in an odd corner of town.
(n) -
1. Something odd.
2. Sports
a. In the United States, a golf score one stroke higher than the score of one's opponent.
b. In Great Britain, a stroke added to a superior golfer's score or a stroke taken away from an inferior golfer's score in order to equalize the chances of winning a match.
--oddly (adv), oddness (n)
oddish (adj) - Somewhat odd.
oddity (n) -ties (pl) -
1. One that is odd.
2. The state or quality of being odd; strangeness.
paranormal (adj) - Beyond the range of normal experience or scientific explanation: such paranormal phenomena as telepathy; a mediums paranormal powers.
--paranormality (n), paranormally (adv)
parapsychology (n) - The study of the evidence for psychological phenomena, such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and psychokinesis, that are inexplicable by science.
--parapsychological (adj), parapsychologist (n)
preternatural (adj) -
1. Out of or being beyond the normal course of nature; differing from the natural.
2. Surpassing the normal or usual; extraordinary: "Below his preternatural affability there is some acid and steel" (George F. Will).
3. Transcending the natural or material order; supernatural.
--preternaturalism (n), preternaturally (adv), preternaturalness (n)
puzzle (v) -zled, zling, zles
(tr) -
1. To baffle or confuse mentally by presenting or being a difficult problem or matter.
2. To clarify or solve (something confusing) by reasoning or study: He puzzled out the significance of the statement.
(intr) -
1. To be perplexed.
2. To ponder over a problem in an effort to solve or understand it.
(n) -
1. Something, such as a game, toy, or problem, that requires ingenuity and often persistence in solving or assembling.
2. Something that baffles or confuses.
3. The condition of being perplexed; bewilderment.
--puzzler (n)
solvable (adj) - Possible to solve: solvable problems; a solvable riddle.
--solvability (n), solvableness (n)
solve (v) --solved, solving, solves
(tr) -
1. To find a solution to.
2. To work out a correct solution to (a problem).
(intr) - To solve an equation: Insert the values of the constants and solve for x.
--solver (n)
spiritual
(adj) -
1. Of, relating to, consisting of, or having the nature of spirit; not tangible or material.
2. Of, concerned with, or affecting the soul.
3. Of, from, or relating to God; deific.
4. Of or belonging to a church or religion; sacred.
5. Relating to or having the nature of spirits or a spirit; supernatural.
(n) -
1a. A religious folk song of African-American origin.
b. A work composed in imitation of such a song.
2. Religious, spiritual, or ecclesiastical matters.
--spiritually (adv), spiritualness (n)
spooky (adj) -ier, iest
Informal -
1. Suggestive of ghosts or a ghost; eerie.
2. Easily startled; skittish.
--spookily (adv), spookiness (n)
strange -stranger, strangest
(adj) -
1. Not previously known; unfamiliar.
2a. Out of the ordinary, unusual or striking.
b. Differing from the normal.
3. Not of one's own or a particular locality, environment or kind; exotic.
4a. Reserved in manner; distant.
b. Not confortable or at ease; constrained.
5. Not accustomed or conditioned: She was strange to her new duties.
6. Archaic Of, relating to, or characteristic of another place or part of the world; foreign.
(adv) - In a strange manner.
--strangely (adv)
super- (prefix) -
1. Above, over; upon: superimpose.
2. Superior in size, quality, number, or degree: superfine.
3a. Exceeding a norm: supersaturate.
b. Excessive in degree or intensity: supersubtle.
c. Containing a specified ingredient in an unusually high proportion: superphosphate.
4. More inclusive than a specified category: superorder.
supernatural
(adj) -
1. Of or relating to existence outside the natural world.
2. Attributed to a power that seems to violate or go beyond natural forces.
3. Of or relating to a deity.
4. Of or relating to the immediate exercise of divine power; miraculous.
5. Of or relating to the miraculous.
(n) -That which is supernatural.
--supernaturally (adv), supernaturalness (n)
supernaturalism (n) -
1. The quality of being supernatural.
2. Belief in a supernatural agency that intervenes in the course of natural laws.
--supernaturalist (n), supernaturalistic (adj)
supernormal (adj) -
1. Greatly exceeding the normal or average but still obeying natural laws.
2. Paranormal.
transcend (v) -scended, scending, scends
(tr) -
1. To pass beyond the limits of: emotions that trandscend understanding.
2. To be greater than, as in intensity or power; surpass: love that transceds infatuation.
3. To exist above and independent of (material experience or the universe): "One never can see the thing in itself, because the mind does not transcend phenomena" (Hilaire Belloc).
(intr) - To be transcedent; excel.
transcendent (adj) -
1. Surpassing others; preeminent or spreme.
2. Lying beyond the ordinary range of perception: "fails to achieve a transcedent significance in suffering and squalor" (National Review).
3. Philosophy
a. Transcending the Aristotelian categories.
b. In Kant's theory of knowledge, being beyond the limits of experience and hence unknowable.
4. Being above and independent of the material universe. Used of the Deity.
--transcendence (n), transcendency (n), transcendently (adv)
transcendental (adj) -
1. Philisophy
a. Concerned with the a priori or intuitive basis of knowledge as independent of experience.
b. Asserting a fundamental irrationality or supernatural element in experience.
2. Surpassing al others; superior.
3. Beyond common thought or experience; mystical or supernatural.
4. Mathematics Of or relating to a real or complex number that is not the root of any polynomial that has positive degree and rational coefficients.
--transcendentally (adv)
transcendentalism (n) -
1. A literary and philosophical movement, associated with Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller, asserting the existence of an ideal spiritual reality that transcends the empirical and scientific and is knowable through intuition.
2. The quality or state of being transcendental.
--transcendentalist (n)
true -truer, truest
(adj) -
1a. Consistent with fact or reality; not false or erroneous.
b. Truthful.
2. Real; genuine.
3. Reliable; accurate: a true prophecy.
4. Faithful, as to a friend, vow, or cause; loyal.
5. Sincerely felt or expressed; unfeigned: true grief.
6. Fundamental; essential: his true motive.
7. Rightful; legitimate: the true heir.
8. Exactly conforming to a rule, standard, or pattern: trying to sing true B.
9. Accurately shaped or fitted: a true wheel.
10. Accurately placed, delivered, or thrown.
11. Quick and exact in sensing and responding.
12. Determined with reference to the earth's axis, not the magnetic poles: true north.
13. Conforming to the definitive criteria of a natural group; typical: The horseshoe crab is not a true crab.
14. Narrowly particularized; highly specific: spoke of probibilility in the truest sense of the word.
15. Computer Science Indicating one of two possible values taken by a variable in Boolean logic or a binary device.
(adv) -
1. In accord with reality, fact, or truthfulness.
2. Unswervingly; exactly: The archer aimed true.
3. So as to conform to a type, standard, or pattern.
(tr v) -trued, truing or trueing, trues - To position (something) so as to make it balanced, level, or square: trued up the long planks.
(n) -
1. Truth or reality. Used with the.
2. Proper alignment or adjustment: out of true.
--trueness (n)
truth (n) -truths (pl) -
1. Conformity to fact or actuality.
2. A statement proven to be or accepted as true.
3. Sincerity; integrity.
4. Fidelity to an original or standard.
5a. Reality; actuality.
b. often Truth That which is considered to be the supreme reality and to have the ultimate meaning and value of existence.
uncanny (adj) -
1. Peculiarly unsettling, as if of supernatural orgin or nature; eerie.
2. So keen and perceptive as to seem preternatural.
--uncannily (adv), uncanniness (n)
unco
(adj) - So unusual as to be surprising; uncanny.
(n) -cos (pl)
1. An unusual or amazing person.
2. A stranger.
3. uncos News.
(adv) - To an excessive degree; remarkably.
unearthly (adj) -ier, iest -
1. Not of this earth; preternatural; supernatural.
2. Unnaturally strange and frightening.
3. Ridiculously unreasonable or uncustomary; absurd: called me at an unearthly hour.
--unearthliness (n)
unknowable (adj) - Impossible to know, especially being beyond the range of human experience or understanding: the unknowable mysteries of life.
--unknowability (n), unknowableness (n), unknowable (n), unknowably (adv)
unknown
(adj) -
1. Not known; unfamiliar: a modern-day problem unknown in earlier times.
2a. Not identified or ascertained: received flowers from an unknown admirer.
b. Not established or verified.
3. Not well known or widely known: an unknown artist.
(n) -
1a. A person or thing that is unknown: "the abyss of the unknown" (Helena Petrovna Blavatsky).
b. A person who is not well known, as to the general public: cast an unknown in the starring role.
2. Mathematics A quantity of unknown numerical value.
unnatural (adj) -
1. In violation of a natural law.
2. Inconsistent with an individual pattern or custom.
3. Deviating from a behavioral or social norm: an unnatural attachment.
4. Contrived or constrained; artificial: smiled in an unnatural manner.
5. In violation of natural feelings; inhuman.
--unnaturally (adv), unnaturalness (n)
unravel
(tr v) -eled, eling, els or elled, elling, els -
1a. To undo or ravel the knitted fabric of.
b. To separate (entangled threads).
2. To seperate and clarify the elements of (something mysterious or baffling); solve.
(intr) - To become unraveled.
unspeakable (adj) -
1. Beyond description; inexpressible: unspeakable happiness.
2. Inexpressibly bad or objectionable: unspeakable poverty.
3. Not to be spoken: unspeakable thoughts.
--unspeakableness (n), unspeakably (adv)
unusual (adj) - Not usual, common, or ordinary.
--unusually (adv), unusualness (n)
usual (adj)-
1. Commonly encountered, experienced, or observed: the usual summer heat.
2. Regularly or customarily used: ended the speech with the usual expressions of thanks.
3. In conformity with regular practice or procedure: Come at the usual time.
-idiom: as usual As commonly or habitually happens: As usual, I slept late that Saturday morning.
weird --weirder, weirdest
(adj) -
1. Of, relating to, or suggestive of the preternatural or supernatural.
2. Of a strikingly odd or unusual character; strange.
3. Archaic Of or relating to fate or the Fates.
(n) -
1a. Fate; destiny.
b. One's assigned lot or fortune, especially when evil.
2. often Weird Greek & Roman Mythology One of the Fates.
(tr & tr v) --weirded, weirding, weirds - Slang To experience or cause to experience an odd, unusual, and sometimes uneasy sensation. Often used with out.
--weirdly (adv), weirdness (n)
weirdie (weirdy) (n) -ies (pl) - A strange person, event, or thing.