*rating*

adj. prenom. [ p. pr. of ameliorate. ] causing improvement in or reducing the bad effects of an unfavorable condition.
Syn. -- ameliorative, amelioratory, meliorative [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. of or pertaining to a commemoration; serving to commemorate.
Syn. -- commemorative. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. harmful and often untrue; tending to discredit or malign; -- used of statements.
Syn. -- calumniatory, calumnious, defamatory, denigrative, libellous, libelous, slanderous. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. going from better to worse.
Syn. -- declining, failing, regressing, retrograde, retrogressive. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

pos>a. That exaggerates; enlarging beyond bounds. -- Ex*ag"ger*a`ting*ly, adv. [1913 Webster]

adj. 1. extremely annoying or displeasing.
Syn. -- annoying, infuriating, maddening, vexing. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. same as exacerbating.
Syn. -- aggravating, exacerbating. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. That exhilarates; cheering; gladdening. -- Ex*hil"a*ra`ting*ly, adv. [1913 Webster]

n. an act of hindering someone's plans or efforts.
Syn. -- frustration, thwarting, foiling. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. 1. preventing realization or attainment of a desire; causing frustration.
Syn. -- frustrative, thwarting. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. discouraging. Opposite of encouraging.
Syn. -- disappointing. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. (Med.) Resembling lightning; -- used to describe intense lancinating pains accompanying locomotor ataxy. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See 2d Grate. ] 1. A partition, covering, or frame of parallel or cross bars; a latticework resembling a window grate; as, the grating of a prison or convent. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Optics) A system of close equidistant parallel lines or bars, esp. lines ruled on a polished surface, used for producing spectra by diffraction; -- called also diffraction grating. Gratings have been made with over 40, 000 such lines to the inch, but those with a somewhat smaller number give the best definition. They are used, e. g., to produce monochromatic light for use in optical instruments such as spectrophotometers. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

3. pl. (Naut.) The strong wooden lattice used to cover a hatch, admitting light and air; also, a movable Lattice used for the flooring of boats. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ See Grate to rub harshy. ] That grates; making a harsh sound; harsh. -- Grat"ing*ly, adv. [1913 Webster]

n. A harsh sound caused by attrition. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the action of incorporating a racial or religious group into a community.
Syn. -- integration, desegregation. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Intolerant. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. giving freedom from restriction or restraint.
Syn. -- emancipating, emancipative, freeing. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

adj. lessening in intensity or strength. Opposite of intensifying. [ Narrower terms: tempering; weakening ] [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. making undecipherable or imperceptible; as, obliterating mists.
Syn. -- obscurant. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Diffusing odor or scent; fragrant. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. pr. p. of operate; as, the operating conditions of the oxidation pond. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. having an effect or influence.
Syn. -- at work(predicate), in operation, operant. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a calculation that results in an estimate that is too high.
Syn. -- overestimate, overestimation, overreckoning. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. 1. Having the power of entering, piercing, or pervading; sharp; subtile; penetrative; as, a penetrating odor. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Acute; discerning; sagacious; quick to discover; as, a penetrating mind. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a penetrating manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. With idle talk; with loquacity. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a preponderating manner; preponderantly. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Designed or employed to separate. [ 1913 Webster ]

Separating funnel (Chem.), a funnel, often globe-shaped, provided with a stopcock for the separate drawing off of immiscible liquids of different specific gravities. [ 1913 Webster ]