Definition Dictionary

A predicament in which conflicting requirements prevent a solution.

Absolute and without qualification or exception.

One word family: also includes categorically.

Providing a release of strong or pent-up emotions.

Sharply critical or sarcastic; literally, able to burn or corrode.

Showing a careless or dismissive attitude toward an important matter.

Continuing without stopping or interruption.

Relating to the sky or the heavens.

To express strong disapproval or issue a formal reprimand.

Intellectual and focused on thought rather than emotion.

The stopping or ending of an activity.

An obvious or misleading pretense that hides the real situation.

Trickery or deception used to gain an advantage.

To scold or express mild disapproval.

An imagined hope or creation unlikely to be realized; also a mythical composite creature.

A system of secret writing or a message written using it.

Following a winding or indirect route; also indirect in expression or action.

To place limits or restrictions on something.

Based on surrounding facts that support an inference about what happened.

To get around a difficulty, obstacle, or rule.

The quality of being easy to understand, perceive, or distinguish.

An expression or idea used so often that it has lost freshness or force.

The highest or most intense point in a sequence, especially in a story.

To become tiresome or unpleasant through an excess of something initially pleasing.

To thicken or change from a liquid into a clot or semisolid mass.