*li*

n. [ L. abalienatio: cf. F. abaliénation. ] The act of abalienating; alienation; estrangement. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., neut. pl. ] (Zool.) A group of cirripeds having abdominal appendages. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a sect in Africa (4th century), mentioned by St. Augustine, who states that they married, but lived in continence, after the manner, as they pretended, of Abel. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Habiliment. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Abilities [ F. habileté, earlier spelling habilité (with silent h), L. habilitas aptitude, ability, fr. habilis apt. See Able. ] The quality or state of being able; power to perform, whether physical, moral, intellectual, conventional, or legal; capacity; skill or competence in doing; sufficiency of strength, skill, resources, etc.; -- in the plural, faculty, talent. [ 1913 Webster ]

Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren. Acts xi. 29. [ 1913 Webster ]

Natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning by study. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

The public men of England, with much of a peculiar kind of ability. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Capacity; talent; cleverness; faculty; capability; efficiency; aptitude; aptness; address; dexterity; skill. Ability, Capacity. These words come into comparison when applied to the higher intellectual powers. Ability has reference to the active exercise of our faculties. It implies not only native vigor of mind, but that ease and promptitude of execution which arise from mental training. Thus, we speak of the ability with which a book is written, an argument maintained, a negotiation carried on, etc. It always something to be done, and the power of doing it. Capacity has reference to the receptive powers. In its higher exercises it supposes great quickness of apprehension and breadth of intellect, with an uncommon aptitude for acquiring and retaining knowledge. Hence it carries with it the idea of resources and undeveloped power. Thus we speak of the extraordinary capacity of such men as Lord Bacon, Blaise Pascal, and Edmund Burke. “Capacity, ” says H. Taylor, “is requisite to devise, and ability to execute, a great enterprise.” The word abilities, in the plural, embraces both these qualities, and denotes high mental endowments. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. ab + ligatus, p. p. of ligare to tie. ] To tie up so as to hinder from. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. abligurito, fr. abligurire to spend in luxurious indulgence; ab + ligurire to be lickerish, dainty, fr. lingere to lick. ] Prodigal expense for food. [ Obs. ] Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ See Able. ] Perhaps. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ /mhw>, adv. [ See Able. ] Perhaps; possibly. [ Scotch ] Burns. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Abnormalities 1. The state or quality of being abnormal; variation; irregularity. Darwin. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Something abnormal. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Abolished p. pr. & vb. n. Abolishing. ] [ F. abolir, L. abolere, aboletum; ab + olere to grow. Cf. Finish. ] 1. To do away with wholly; to annul; to make void; -- said of laws, customs, institutions, governments, etc.; as, to abolish slavery, to abolish folly. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To put an end to, or destroy, as a physical objects; to wipe out. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

And with thy blood abolish so reproachful blot. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

His quick instinctive hand
Caught at the hilt, as to abolish him. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To Abolish, Repeal, Abrogate, Revoke, Annul, Nullify, Cancel. These words have in common the idea of setting aside by some overruling act. Abolish applies particularly to things of a permanent nature, such as institutions, usages, customs, etc.; as, to abolish monopolies, serfdom, slavery. Repeal describes the act by which the legislature of a state sets aside a law which it had previously enacted. Abrogate was originally applied to the repeal of a law by the Roman people; and hence, when the power of making laws was usurped by the emperors, the term was applied to their act of setting aside the laws. Thus it came to express that act by which a sovereign or an executive government sets aside laws, ordinances, regulations, treaties, conventions, etc. Revoke denotes the act of recalling some previous grant which conferred, privilege, etc.; as, to revoke a decree, to revoke a power of attorney, a promise, etc. Thus, also, we speak of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Annul is used in a more general sense, denoting simply to make void; as, to annul a contract, to annul an agreement. Nullify is an old word revived in this country, and applied to the setting of things aside either by force or by total disregard; as, to nullify an act of Congress. Cancel is to strike out or annul, by a deliberate exercise of power, something which has operative force. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. abolissable. ] Capable of being abolished. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who abolishes. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. abolissement. ] The act of abolishing; abolition; destruction. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. abolitio, fr. abolere: cf. F. abolition. See Abolish. ] The act of abolishing, or the state of being abolished; an annulling; abrogation; utter destruction; as, the abolition of slavery or the slave trade; the abolition of laws, decrees, ordinances, customs, taxes, debts, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The application of this word to persons is now unusual or obsolete [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. relating to or favoring abolition, especially the abolition of slavery. WordNet 1.5 ]

2. of or pertaining to abolition [ PJC ]

n. The principles or measures of abolitionists. Wilberforce. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A person who favors the abolition of any institution, especially negro slavery. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To imbue with the principles of abolitionism. [ R. ] Bartlett. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being aboriginal. Westm. Rev. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state or quality of being absorbable. Graham (Chemistry). [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An abnormally intense inability to make decisions; severe irresolution.
Syn. -- indecision, indecisiveness, irresolution [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. showing abnormal inability to act or make decisions
Syn. -- aboulic [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ Pref. a- not + cauline. ] (Bot.) Same as Acaulescent. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Capacity of being kindled, or of becoming inflamed; inflammability. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being accentual. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ LL. acceptabilitas. ] The quality of being acceptable; acceptableness. “Acceptability of repentance.” Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. accessibilitas: cf. F. accessibilité. ] The quality of being accessible, or of admitting approach; receptibility. Langhorne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Accidental character or effect. Ruskin. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being accidental; accidentalness. [ R. ] Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being acclimated. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. acclimation. See Acclimate. ] Acclimatization. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Acclimated p. pr. & vb. n. Acclimating. ] [ F. acclimater; à (l. ad) + climat climate. See Climate. ] To habituate to a climate not native; to acclimatize. J. H. Newman. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Acclimation. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The process of becoming, or the state of being, acclimated, or habituated to a new climate; acclimatization. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being acclimatized. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of acclimatizing; the process of inuring to a new climate, or the state of being so inured. Darwin. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Acclimatized p. pr. & vb. n. Acclimatizing ] To inure or habituate to a climate different from that which is natural; to adapt to the peculiarities of a foreign or strange climate; said of man, the inferior animals, or plants. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of acclimating, or the state of being acclimated. [ R. ] Caldwell. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Acclivous. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Acclivous. I. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Acclivities [ L. acclivitas, fr. acclivis, acclivus, ascending; ad + clivus a hill, slope, fr. root kli to lean. See Lean. ] A slope or inclination of the earth, as the side of a hill, considered as ascending, in opposition to declivity, or descending; an upward slope; ascent. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. acclivis and acclivus. ] Sloping upward; rising as a hillside; -- opposed to declivous. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Ac- (perh. for the article a or for L. ad) + E. complice. See Complice. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A cooperator. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Success unto our valiant general,
And happiness to his accomplices! Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) An associate in the commission of a crime; a participator in an offense, whether a principal or an accessory. “And thou, the cursed accomplice of his treason.” Johnson. It is followed by with or of before a person and by in (or sometimes of) before the crime; as, A was an accomplice with B in the murder of C. Dryden uses it with to before a thing. “Suspected for accomplice to the fire.” Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Abettor; accessory; assistant; associate; confederate; coadjutor; ally; promoter. See Abettor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being an accomplice. [ R. ] Sir H. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act or state of being an accomplice. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Accomplished p. pr. & vb. n. Accomplishing. ] [ OE. acomplissen, OF. accomplir, F. accomplir; L. ad + complere to fill up, complete. See Complete, Finish. ] 1. To complete, as time or distance. [ 1913 Webster ]

That He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. Dan. ix. 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

He had accomplished half a league or more. Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To bring to an issue of full success; to effect; to perform; to execute fully; to fulfill; as, to accomplish a design, an object, a promise. [ 1913 Webster ]

This that is written must yet be accomplished in me. Luke xxii. 37. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To equip or furnish thoroughly; hence, to complete in acquirements; to render accomplished; to polish. [ 1913 Webster ]

The armorers accomplishing the knights. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

It [ the moon ] is fully accomplished for all those ends to which Providence did appoint it. Wilkins. [ 1913 Webster ]

These qualities . . . go to accomplish a perfect woman. Cowden Clarke. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To gain; to obtain. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To do; perform; fulfill; realize; effect; effectuate; complete; consummate; execute; achieve; perfect; equip; furnish. -- To Accomplish, Effect, Execute, Achieve, Perform. These words agree in the general idea of carrying out to some end proposed. To accomplish (to fill up to the measure of the intention) generally implies perseverance and skill; as, to accomplish a plan proposed by one's self, an object, a design, an undertaking. “Thou shalt accomplish my desire.” 1 Kings v. 9. [ 1913 Webster ] He . . . expressed his desire to see a union accomplished between England and Scotland. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ] To effect (to work out) is much like accomplish. It usually implies some degree of difficulty contended with; as, he effected or accomplished what he intended, his purpose, but little. “What he decreed, he effected.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ] To work in close design by fraud or guile
What force effected not. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ] To execute (to follow out to the end, to carry out, or into effect) implies a set mode of operation; as, to execute the laws or the orders of another; to execute a work, a purpose, design, plan, project. To perform is much like to do, though less generally applied. It conveys a notion of protracted and methodical effort; as, to perform a mission, a part, a task, a work. “Thou canst best perform that office.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ] The Saints, like stars, around his seat
Perform their courses still. Keble. [ 1913 Webster ] To achieve (to come to the end or arrive at one's purpose) usually implies some enterprise or undertaking of importance, difficulty, and excellence. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being accomplished; practicable. Carlyle. [ 1913 Webster ]