| Term | Definition |
|
oaken |
adj. Made of or from oak. |
|
oakum |
n. Hemp-fiber obtained by untwisting and picking out loosely the yarns of old hemp rope. |
|
obdurate |
adj. Impassive to feelings of humanity or pity. |
|
obelisk |
n. A square shaft with pyramidal top, usually monumental or commemorative. |
|
obese |
adj. Exceedingly fat. |
|
obesity |
n. Excessive fatness. |
|
obituary |
adj. A published notice of a death. |
|
objective |
adj. Grasping and representing facts as they are. |
|
objector |
n. One who objects, as to a proposition, measure, or ruling. |
|
obligate |
v. To hold to the fulfillment of duty. |
|
obligatory |
adj. Binding in law or conscience. |
|
oblique |
adj. Slanting; said of lines. |
|
obliterate |
v. To cause to disappear. |
|
oblivion |
n. The state of having passed out of the memory or of being utterly forgotten. |
|
oblong |
adj. Longer than broad: applied most commonly to rectangular objects considerably elongated |
|
obnoxious |
adj. Detestable. |
|
obsequies |
n. Funeral rites. |
|
obsequious |
adj. Showing a servile readiness to fall in with the wishes or will of another. |
|
observance |
n. A traditional form or customary act. |
|
observant |
adj. Quick to notice. |
|
observatory |
n. A building designed for systematic astronomical observations. |
|
obsolescence |
n. The condition or process of gradually falling into disuse. |
|
obsolescent |
adj. Passing out of use, as a word. |
|
obsolete |
adj. No longer practiced or accepted. |
|
obstetrician |
n. A practitioner of midwifery. |
|
obstetrics |
n. The branch of medical science concerned with the treatment and care of women during pregnancy. |
|
obstinacy |
n. Stubborn adherence to opinion, arising from conceit or the desire to have one's own way. |
|
obstreperous |
adj. Boisterous. |
|
obstruct |
v. To fill with impediments so as to prevent passage, either wholly or in part. |
|
obstruction |
n. Hindrance. |
|
obtrude |
v. To be pushed or to push oneself into undue prominence. |
|
obtrusive |
adj. Tending to be pushed or to push oneself into undue prominence. |
|
obvert |
v. To turn the front or principal side of (a thing) toward any person or object. |
|
obviate |
v. To clear away or provide for, as an objection or difficulty. |
|
occasion |
n. An important event or celebration. |
|
Occident |
n. The countries lying west of Asia and the Turkish dominions. |
|
occlude |
v. To absorb, as a gas by a metal. |
|
occult |
adj. Existing but not immediately perceptible. |
|
occupant |
n. A tenant in possession of property, as distinguished from the actual owner. |
|
occurrence |
n. A happening. |
|
octagon |
n. A figure with eight sides and eight angles. |
|
octave |
n. A note at this interval above or below any other, considered in relation to that other. |
|
octavo |
n. A book, or collection of paper in which the sheets are so folded as to make eight leaves. |
|
octogenarian |
adj. A person of between eighty and ninety years. |
|
ocular |
adj. Of or pertaining to the eye. |
|
oculist |
n. One versed or skilled in treating diseases of the eye. |
|
oddity |
n. An eccentricity. |
|
ode |
n. The form of lyric poetry anciently intended to be sung. |
|
odious |
adj. Hateful. |
|
odium |
n. A feeling of extreme repugnance, or of dislike and disgust. |
|
odoriferous |
adj. Having or diffusing an odor or scent, especially an agreeable one. |
|
odorous |
adj. Having an odor, especially a fragrant one. |
|
off |
adj. Farther or more distant. |
|
offhand |
adv. Without preparation. |
|
officiate |
v. To act as an officer or leader. |
|
officious |
adj. Intermeddling with what is not one's concern. |
|
offshoot |
n. Something that branches off from the parent stock. |
|
ogre |
n. A demon or monster that was supposed to devour human beings. |
|
ointment |
n. A fatty preparation with a butter-like consistency in which a medicinal substance exists. |
|
olfactory |
adj. of or pertaining to the sense of smell. |
|
olive-branch |
n. A branch of the olive-tree, as an emblem of peace. |
|
ominous |
adj. Portentous. |
|
omission |
n. Exclusion. |
|
omnipotence |
n. Unlimited and universal power. |
|
Omnipotent |
adj. Possessed of unlimited and universal power. |
|
omniscience |
n. Unlimited or infinite knowledge. |
|
omniscient |
adj. Characterized by unlimited or infinite knowledge. |
|
omnivorous |
adj. Eating or living upon food of all kinds indiscriminately. |
|
onerous |
adj. Burdensome or oppressive. |
|
onrush |
n. Onset. |
|
onset |
n. An assault, especially of troops, upon an enemy or fortification. |
|
onslaught |
n. A violent onset. |
|
onus |
n. A burden or responsibility. |
|
opalescence |
n. The property of combined refraction and reflection of light, resulting in smoky tints. |
|
opaque |
adj. Impervious to light. |
|
operate |
v. To put in action and supervise the working of. |
|
operative |
adj. Active. |
|
operator |
n. One who works with or controls some machine or scientific apparatus. |
|
operetta |
n. A humorous play in dialogue and music, of more than one act. |
|
opinion |
n. A conclusion or judgment held with confidence, but falling short of positive knowledge. |
|
opponent |
n. One who supports the opposite side in a debate, discussion, struggle, or sport. |
|
opportune |
adj. Especially fit as occurring, said, or done at the right moment. |
|
opportunist |
n. One who takes advantage of circumstances to gain his ends. |
|
opportunity |
n. Favorable or advantageous chance or opening. |
|
opposite |
adj. Radically different or contrary in action or movement. |
|
opprobrium |
n. The state of being scornfully reproached or accused of evil. |
|
optic |
n. Pertaining to the eye or vision. |
|
optician |
n. One who makes or deals in optical instruments or eye-glasses. |
|
optics |
n. The science that treats of light and vision, and all that is connected with sight. |
|
optimism |
n. The view that everything in nature and the history of mankind is ordered for the best. |
|
option |
n. The right, power, or liberty of choosing. |
|
optometry |
n. Measurement of the powers of vision. |
|
opulence |
n. Affluence. |
|
opulent |
adj. Wealthy. |
|
oral |
adj. Uttered through the mouth. |
|
orate |
v. To deliver an elaborate or formal public speech. |
|
oration |
n. An elaborate or formal public speech. |
|
orator |
n. One who delivers an elaborate or formal speech. |
|
oratorio |
n. A composition for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra, generally taken from the Scriptures. |
|
oratory |
n. The art of public speaking. |
|
ordeal |
n. Anything that severely tests courage, strength, patience, conscience, etc. |
|
ordinal |
n. That form of the numeral that shows the order of anything in a series, as first, second, third. |
|
ordination |
n. A consecration to the ministry. |
|
ordnance |
n. A general name for all kinds of weapons and their appliances used in war. |
|
orgies |
n. Wild or wanton revelry. |
|
origin |
n. The beginning of that which becomes or is made to be. |
|
original |
adj. Not copied nor produced by imitation. |
|
originate |
v. To cause or constitute the beginning or first stage of the existence of. |
|
ornate |
adj. Ornamented to a marked degree. |
|
orthodox |
adj. Holding the commonly accepted faith. |
|
orthodoxy |
n. Acceptance of the common faith. |
|
orthogonal |
adj. Having or determined by right angles. |
|
orthopedic |
adj. Relating to the correcting or preventing of deformity |
|
orthopedist |
n. One who practices the correcting or preventing of deformity |
|
oscillate |
v. To swing back and forth. |
|
osculate |
v. To kiss. |
|
ossify |
v. to convert into bone. |
|
ostentation |
n. A display dictated by vanity and intended to invite applause or flattery. |
|
ostracism |
n. Exclusion from intercourse or favor, as in society or politics. |
|
ostracize |
v. To exclude from public or private favor. |
|
ought |
v. To be under moral obligation to be or do. |
|
oust |
v. To eject. |
|
out-and-out |
adv. Genuinely. |
|
outbreak |
n. A sudden and violent breaking forth, as of something that has been pent up or restrained. |
|
outburst |
n. A violent issue, especially of passion in an individual. |
|
outcast |
n. One rejected and despised, especially socially. |
|
outcry |
n. A vehement or loud cry or clamor. |
|
outdo |
v. To surpass. |
|
outlandish |
adj. Of barbarous, uncouth, and unfamiliar aspect or action. |
|
outlast |
v. To last longer than. |
|
outlaw |
n. A habitual lawbreaker. |
|
outlive |
v. To continue to exist after. |
|
out-of-the-way |
adj. Remotely situated. |
|
outpost |
n. A detachment of troops stationed at a distance from the main body to guard against surprise. |
|
outrage |
n. A gross infringement of morality or decency. |
|
outrageous |
adj. Shocking in conduct. |
|
outreach |
v. To reach or go beyond. |
|
outride |
v. To ride faster than. |
|
outrigger |
n. A part built or arranged to project beyond a natural outline for support. |
|
outright |
adv. Entirely. |
|
outskirt |
n. A border region. |
|
outstretch |
v. To extend. |
|
outstrip |
v. To go beyond. |
|
outweigh |
v. To surpass in importance or excellence. |
|
overdo |
v. To overtax the strength of. |
|
overdose |
n. An excessive dose, usually so large a dose of a medicine that its effect is toxic. |
|
overeat |
v. To eat to excess. |
|
overhang |
n. A portion of a structure which projects or hangs over. |
|
overleap |
v. To leap beyond. |
|
overlord |
n. One who holds supremacy over another. |
|
overpass |
v. To pass across or over, as a river. |
|
overpay |
v. To pay or reward in excess. |
|
overpower |
v. To gain supremacy or victory over by superior power. |
|
overproduction |
n. Excessive production. |
|
overreach |
v. To stretch out too far. |
|
overrun |
v. To infest or ravage. |
|
oversee |
v. To superintend. |
|
overseer |
n. A supervisor. |
|
overshadow |
v. To cast into the shade or render insignificant by comparison. |
|
overstride |
v. To step beyond. |
|
overthrow |
v. To vanquish an established ruler or government. |
|
overtone |
n. A harmonic. |
|
overture |
n. An instrumental prelude to an opera, oratorio, or ballet. |
|
overweight |
n. Preponderance. |