*fling*

n. A diminutive dwarf. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Flung p. pr. & vb. n. Flinging. ] [ OE. flingen, flengen, to rush, hurl; cf. Icel. flengia to whip, ride furiously, OSw. flenga to strike, Sw. flänga to romp, Dan. flenge to slash. ] 1. To cast, send, to throw from the hand; to hurl; to dart; to emit with violence as if thrown from the hand; as, to fing a stone into the pond. [ 1913 Webster ]

'T is Fate that flings the dice: and, as she flings,
Of kings makes peasants, and of peasants kings. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

He . . . like Jove, his lighting flung. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

I know thy generous temper well.
Fling but the appearance of dishonor on it,
It straight takes fire. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To shed forth; to emit; to scatter. [ 1913 Webster ]

The sun begins to fling
His flaring beams. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Every beam new transient colors flings. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To throw; to hurl; to throw off or down; to prostrate; hence, to baffle; to defeat; as, to fling a party in litigation. [ 1913 Webster ]

His horse started, flung him, and fell upon him. Walpole. [ 1913 Webster ]

To fling about, to throw on all sides; to scatter. --
To fling away, to reject; to discard. [ 1913 Webster ] Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition. Shak. --
To fling down. (a) To throw to the ground; esp., to throw in defiance, as formerly knights cast a glove into the arena as a challenge. [ 1913 Webster ] This question so flung down before the guests, . . .
Was handed over by consent of all
To me who had not spoken. Tennyson. (b) To overturn; to demolish; to ruin. --
To fling in, to throw in; not to charge in an account; as, in settling accounts, one party flings in a small sum, or a few days' work. --
To fling off, to baffle in the chase; to defeat of prey; also, to get rid of. Addison. --
To fling open, to throw open; to open suddenly or with violence; as, to fling open a door. --
To fling out, to utter; to speak in an abrupt or harsh manner; as, to fling out hard words against another. --
To fling up, to relinquish; to abandon; as, to fling up a design. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To throw; to wince; to flounce; as, the horse began to kick and fling. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cast in the teeth; to utter abusive language; to sneer; as, the scold began to flout and fling. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To throw one's self in a violent or hasty manner; to rush or spring with violence or haste. [ 1913 Webster ]

And crop-full, out of doors he flings. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

I flung closer to his breast,
As sword that, after battle, flings to sheath. Mrs. Browning. [ 1913 Webster ]

To fling out, to become ugly and intractable; to utter sneers and insinuations. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A cast from the hand; a throw; also, a flounce; a kick; as, the fling of a horse. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A severe or contemptuous remark; an expression of sarcastic scorn; a gibe; a sarcasm. [ 1913 Webster ]

I, who love to have a fling,
Both at senate house and king. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A kind of dance; as, the Highland fling. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A trifing matter; an object of contempt. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

England were but a fling
Save for the crooked stick and the gray goose wing. Old Proverb. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. a short period during which one indulges one's wishes, whims, or desires in an unrestrained manner. [ PJC ]

6. a love affair. [ PJC ]

7. a casual or brief attempt to accomplish something. [ informal ]
Syn. -- shot. [ PJC ]

8. a period during which one tries a new activity; as, he took a fling at playing tennis. [ PJC ]

To have one's fling, to enjoy one's self to the full; to have a season of dissipation. J. H. Newman. “When I was as young as you, I had my fling. I led a life of pleasure.” D. Jerrold. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who kicks up the dust; a streetwalker; a low manner. [ Obs. ] Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who flings; one who jeers. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) The id. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A gibe; a contemptuous remark. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Ornamentation on the border of a thing; specifically, the inlaid border of a musical instrument, as a violin. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (a) The act or process of making the grooves in a rifled cannon or gun barrel. (b) The system of grooves in a rifled gun barrel or cannon. [ 1913 Webster ]

Shunt rifling, rifling for cannon, in which one side of the groove is made deeper than the other, to facilitate loading with shot having projections which enter by the deeper part of the grooves. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Moving with a dragging, scraping step. “A shuffling nag.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Evasive; as, a shuffling excuse. T. Burnet. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. In a shuffling manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Quarrying) Rough dressing by knocking off knobs or projections; knobbing. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Being of small value or importance; trivial; paltry; as, a trifling debt; a trifling affair. -- Tri"fling*ly, adv. -- Tri"fling*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

See accommodating.
See aching.
See ailing.
See aiming.
See alarming.
See altering.
See appreciating.
See approving.
See aspiring.
See assisting.
See attempting.
See attending.
See bearing.
See befitting.
See beginning.
See believing.
See bleaching.
See bleeding.
See blemishing.
See blenching.
See blossoming.
See blushing.
See boding.
See branching.
See breathing.
See burning.
See calculating.
See ceasing.
See changing.
See charming.
See communicating.
See complaining.
See complying.
See conceiving.
See conducing.
See confessing.
See conniving.
See consenting.
See considering.
See conspiring.
See consulting.
See consuming.
See contending.
See contriving.
See conversing.
See convincing.
See dawning.
See decaying.
See delaying.
See depending.
See derogating.
See deserving.
See desiring.
See despairing.
See detesting.
See deviating.
See differencing.
See discerning.
See discording.
See discriminating.
See disobliging.
See dispensing.
See dissembling.
See dissolving.
See distinguishing.
See distracting.
See disturbing.
See doubting.
See dreading.
See drooping.
See ebbing.
See echoing.
See edifying.
See ending.
See enduring.
See engaging.
See enjoying.
See entering.
See enterprising.
See entertaining.
See envying.
See existing.
See fadging.
See fading.
See fainting.
See faltering.
See fearing.
See feigning.
See fighting.
See fitting.
See flagging.
See flattering.
See flinching.
See folding.
See forbearing.
See foreboding.
See foreseeing.
See forgiving.
See giving.
See grudging.
See harming.
See heeding.
See hesitating.
See hoping.
See hurting.
See importing.
See imposing.
See improving.
See interesting.
See intermitting.
See intoxicating.
See inviting.
See jarring.
See laboring.
See lingering.
See listening.
See loving.
See meddling.
See meriting.
See mistrusting.
See moving.
See murmuring.
See obliging.
See observing.
See offending.
See opening.
See pardoning.
See paying.
See perceiving.
See performing.
See perishing.
See pitying.
See pleasing.
See possessing.
See preaching.
See prepossessing.
See presuming.
See pretending.
See prevailing.
See prevaricating.
See profiting.
See promising.
See proving.
See quailing.
See questioning.
See reasoning.
See recalling.
See reclining.
See recurring.
See referring.
See reflecting.
See refunding.
See refusing.
See rejoicing.
See relaxing.
See relishing.
See remembering.
See repenting.
See repining.
See reproving.
See repulsing.
See resisting.
See resolving.
See resting.
See returning.
See rewarding.
See sanctifying.
See satisfying.
See searching.
See seeing.
See setting.
See shrinking.
See sinking.
See sleeping.
See slipping.
See slumbering.
See speaking.
See stinting.
See stirring.
See stooping.
See submitting.
See sufficing.
See suiting.
See surging.
See suspecting.
See sweating.
See swerving.
See sympathizing.
See tasting.
See thriving.
See tiring.
See toiling.
See trading.
See trembling.
See trespassing.
See trifling.
See vacillating.
See varying.
See walking.
See wandering.
See waning.
See wasting.
See wavering.
See weeping.
See winking.
See winning.
See withdrawing.
See withering.
See wondering.
See working.
See writing.
See yielding.
----- and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

The above classes of words are unlimited in extent, and such compounds may be formed by any writer or speaker at will from almost all the adjectives or participles in the language, excepting those which have a recognized and usual negative correspondent with the prefix -in. No attempt will be made, therefore, to define them all in this Dictionary; many will be omitted from its Vocabulary which are negations of the simple word, and are readily explained by prefixing a not to the latter. Derivatives of these words in -ly and -ness will also, for the most part, be omitted for the same or similar reasons. [ 1913 Webster ]

There will be inserted as separate articles with definitions, the following: -- [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Those which have acquired an opposed or contrary, instead of a merely negative, meaning; as, unfriendly, ungraceful, unpalatable, unquiet, and the like; or else an intensive sense more than a prefixed not would express; as, unending, unparalleled, undisciplined, undoubted, unsafe, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Those which have the value of independent words, inasmuch as the simple words are either not used at all, or are rarely, or at least much less frequently, used; as, unavoidable, unconscionable, undeniable, unspeakable, unprecedented, unruly, and the like; or inasmuch as they are used in a different sense from the usual meaning of the primitive, or especially in one of the significations of the latter; as, unaccountable, unalloyed, unbelieving, unpretending, unreserved, and the like; or inasmuch as they are so frequently and familiarly used that they are hardly felt to be of negative origin; as, uncertain, uneven, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Those which are anomalous, provincial, or, for some other reason, not desirable to be used, and are so indicated; as, unpure for impure, unsatisfaction for dissatisfaction, unexpressible for inexpressible, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

II. Un- is prefixed to nouns to express the absence of, or the contrary of, that which the noun signifies; as, unbelief, unfaith, unhealth, unrest, untruth, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Compounds of this last class are given in full in their proper order in the Vocabulary. [ 1913 Webster ]