noun

1. a demand by a sentry for a password or identification

2. questioning a statement and demanding an explanation

e.g. his challenge of the assumption that Japan is still our enemy

3. a formal objection to the selection of a particular person as a juror

4. a call to engage in a contest or fight

5. a demanding or stimulating situation

e.g. they reacted irrationally to the challenge of Russian power

noun

1. an event that occurs at a critical time

e.g. at such junctures he always had an impulse to leave
it was needed only on special occasions

Synonym: juncture

2. a vaguely specified social event

e.g. the party was quite an affair
an occasion arranged to honor the president
a seemingly endless round of social functions

Synonym: affairsocial occasionfunctionsocial function

3. reason

e.g. there was no occasion for complaint

4. an opportunity to do something

e.g. there was never an occasion for her to demonstrate her skill

5. the time of a particular event

e.g. on the occasion of his 60th birthday

verb

1. make attractive or acceptable

e.g. Honesty recommends any person

2. push for something

e.g. The travel agent recommended strongly that we not travel on Thanksgiving Day

Synonym: urgeadvocate

3. express a good opinion of

Synonym: commend

verb

1. consent or assent to a condition, or agree to do something

e.g. She agreed to all my conditions
He agreed to leave her alone

2. be in accord
be in agreement

e.g. We agreed on the terms of the settlement
I can't agree with you!
I hold with those who say life is sacred
Both philosophers concord on this point

Synonym: holdconcurconcord

3. achieve harmony of opinion, feeling, or purpose

e.g. No two of my colleagues would agree on whom to elect chairman

4. be agreeable or suitable

e.g. White wine doesn't agree with me

5. be compatible, similar or consistent
coincide in their characteristics

e.g. The two stories don't agree in many details
The handwriting checks with the signature on the check
The suspect's fingerprints don't match those on the gun

Synonym: matchfitcorrespondcheckjibegibetally

6. go together

e.g. The colors don't harmonize
Their ideas concorded

Synonym: harmonizeharmoniseconsortaccordconcordfit in

7. show grammatical agreement

e.g. Subjects and verbs must always agree in English

noun

1. the act of feeding by continual nibbling

Synonym: browsing

2. reading superficially or at random

Synonym: browsing

3. vegetation (such as young shoots, twigs, and leaves) that is suitable for animals to eat

e.g. a deer needs to eat twenty pounds of browse every day

verb

1. make a formal accusation
bring a formal charge

e.g. The plaintiff's lawyer complained that he defendant had physically abused his client

2. express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness

e.g. My mother complains all day
She has a lot to kick about

Synonym: kickplainsound offquetchkvetch

verb

1. make (someone) agree, understand, or realize the truth or validity of something

e.g. He had finally convinced several customers of the advantages of his product

Synonym: convertwin over

adj

1. eager to investigate and learn or learn more (sometimes about others' concerns)

e.g. a curious child is a teacher's delight
a trap door that made me curious
curious investigators
traffic was slowed by curious rubberneckers
curious about the neighbor's doings

2. beyond or deviating from the usual or expected

e.g. a curious hybrid accent
her speech has a funny twang
they have some funny ideas about war
had an odd name
the peculiar aromatic odor of cloves
something definitely queer about this town
what a rum fellow
singular behavior

Synonym: funnyoddpeculiarqueerrumrummysingular

3. having curiosity aroused
eagerly interested in learning more

e.g. a trap door that made me curious

noun

1. the point in time at which something must be completed

noun

1. the experiencing of affective and emotional states

e.g. she had a feeling of euphoria
he had terrible feelings of guilt
I disliked him and the feeling was mutual

2. an intuitive understanding of something

e.g. he had a great feeling for music

Synonym: intuitive feeling

3. a physical sensation that you experience

e.g. he had a queasy feeling
I had a strange feeling in my leg
he lost all feeling in his arm

4. the sensation produced by pressure receptors in the skin

e.g. she likes the touch of silk on her skin
the surface had a greasy feeling

Synonym: touchtouch sensationtactual sensationtactile sensation

5. a vague idea in which some confidence is placed

e.g. his impression of her was favorable
what are your feelings about the crisis?
it strengthened my belief in his sincerity
I had a feeling that she was lying

Synonym: impressionbeliefnotionopinion

6. the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people

e.g. the feel of the city excited him
a clergyman improved the tone of the meeting
it had the smell of treason

Synonym: spirittonefeelflavorflavourlooksmell

noun

1. the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture

e.g. the culprit started to run and the cop took off in pursuit

Synonym: pursuitchasepursual

2. a group of followers or enthusiasts

Synonym: followers

noun

1. anything indispensable

e.g. food and shelter are necessities of life
the essentials of the good life
allow farmers to buy their requirements under favorable conditions
a place where the requisites of water fuel and fodder can be obtained

Synonym: necessityessentialrequirementrequisite

noun

1. the appendage to an object that is designed to be held in order to use or move it

e.g. he grabbed the hammer by the handle
it was an old briefcase but it still had a good grip

Synonym: griphandgriphold

noun

1. the act of moving hurriedly and in a careless manner

e.g. in his haste to leave he forgot his book

Synonym: hasterushrushing

2. overly eager speed (and possible carelessness)

e.g. he soon regretted his haste

Synonym: hastehastinesshurriednessprecipitation

3. a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry

e.g. in a hurry to lock the door

Synonym: haste

verb

1. conduct an inquiry or investigation of

e.g. The district attorney's office investigated reports of possible irregularities
inquire into the disappearance of the rich old lady

Synonym: inquireenquire

2. investigate scientifically

e.g. Let's investigate the syntax of Chinese

Synonym: look into

noun

1. a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling

e.g. whether he praised or cursed me depended on his temper at the time
he was in a bad humor

Synonym: temperhumorhumour

2. verb inflections that express how the action or state is conceived by the speaker

Synonym: modemodality

3. the prevailing psychological state

e.g. the climate of opinion
the national mood had changed radically since the last election

Synonym: climate

noun

1. something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained

e.g. how it got out is a mystery
it remains one of nature's secrets

Synonym: enigmasecretclosed book

2. a story about a crime (usually murder) presented as a novel or play or movie

Synonym: mystery storywhodunit

verb

1. select as an alternative over another

e.g. I always choose the fish over the meat courses in this restaurant
She opted for the job on the East coast

Synonym: chooseopt

2. like better
value more highly

e.g. Some people prefer camping to staying in hotels
We prefer sleeping outside

3. promote over another

e.g. he favors his second daughter

Synonym: favorfavour

4. give preference to one creditor over another

noun

1. the act of reducing something unpleasant (as pain or annoyance)

e.g. he asked the nurse for relief from the constant pain

Synonym: easingeasementalleviation

2. the act of freeing a city or town that has been besieged

e.g. he asked for troops for the relief of Atlanta

3. aid for the aged or indigent or handicapped

e.g. he has been on relief for many years

4. assistance in time of difficulty

e.g. the contributions provided some relief for the victims

Synonym: succorsuccourministration

5. sculpture consisting of shapes carved on a surface so as to stand out from the surrounding background

Synonym: relievorilievoembossmentsculptural relief

6. a change for the better

Synonym: easingmoderation

7. the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed or reduced

e.g. as he heard the news he was suddenly flooded with relief

Synonym: alleviationassuagement

8. someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult)

e.g. the star had a stand-in for dangerous scenes
we need extra employees for summer fill-ins

Synonym: stand-insubstituterelieverbackupbackup manfill-in

9. (law) redress awarded by a court

e.g. was the relief supposed to be protection from future harm or compensation for past injury?

10. the condition of being comfortable or relieved (especially after being relieved of distress)

e.g. he enjoyed his relief from responsibility
getting it off his conscience gave him some ease

Synonym: ease

11. a pause for relaxation

e.g. people actually accomplish more when they take time for short rests

Synonym: respiterestrest period

noun

1. something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained

e.g. how it got out is a mystery
it remains one of nature's secrets

Synonym: mysteryenigmaclosed book

2. information known only to a special group

e.g. the secret of Cajun cooking

Synonym: arcanum

3. something that should remain hidden from others (especially information that is not to be passed on)

e.g. the combination to the safe was a secret
he tried to keep his drinking a secret

adj

1. having an allergy or peculiar or excessive susceptibility (especially to a specific factor)

e.g. allergic children
hypersensitive to pollen

Synonym: hypersensitivehypersensitizedhypersensitisedsensitizedsensitisedsupersensitivesupersensitizedsupersensitised

2. characterized by or caused by allergy

e.g. an allergic reaction

adj

1. caught or fixed

e.g. stuck in the mud

2. baffled

e.g. this problem has me completely stuck

noun

1. the act of buying

e.g. buying and selling fill their days
shrewd purchasing requires considerable knowledge

Synonym: purchasing