‖n. [ D., earth-pig. ] (Zool.) An edentate mammal, of the genus Orycteropus (Orycteropus afer), somewhat resembling a pig, common in some parts of Southern Africa. It is a nocturnal ungulate, burrows in the ground with its powerful claws, and feeds entirely on ants and termites, which it catches with its long, extensile, slimy tongue. It is the sole extant representative of the order Tubulidentata. [ Spelled also Aard-vark. ]
Syn. --ant bear, anteater, Orycteropus afer, oryctere, orycterope [ 1913 Webster WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Pref. ab- + evacuation. ] (Med.) A partial evacuation. Mayne. AS [ 1913 Webster ]

a. That may be absolved. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Conferring absolution; absolutory. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to the accusative case. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. acervalis, fr. acervus heap. ] Pertaining to a heap. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Heaped, or growing in heaps, or closely compacted clusters. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. acervatus, p. p. of acervare to heap up, fr. acervus heap. ] To heap up. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. acervatio. ] A heaping up; accumulation. [ R. ] Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Heaped up; tending to heap up. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ F., lit., on horseback. ] Astride; with a part on each side; -- used specif. in designating the position of an army with the wings separated by some line of demarcation, as a river or road. [ 1913 Webster ]

A position à cheval on a river is not one which a general willingly assumes. Swinton. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. 1. 1 the possibility of being achieved or accomplished; -- a property which may be possessed by a contemplated act.
Syn. -- attainability, attainableness [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Capable of being achieved. Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. OF. achevance. ] Achievement. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Elyot. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To make active. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. (Sewage treatment) treated with aeration and bacteria to aid decomposition; -- of sewage [ WordNet 1.5 ]

3. (Physics) made reactive or more reactive; -- of e.g. a molecule
Syn. -- activated, excited [ WordNet 1.5 ]

4. rendered active; -- as e.g. radioactive or luminescent or photosensitive or conductive
Syn. -- activated [ WordNet 1.5 ]

5. (Military) set up and placed on active assignment a newly activated unit
Syn. -- activated [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. prenom. 1. causing motion or action or change
Syn. -- actuating(prenominal) [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. same as activation{ 1 }.
Syn. -- energizing, activation [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. the process of making active.
Syn. -- energizing, activating [ WordNet 1.5 2. making active and effective (as a bomb). [ 1913 Webster ]

certain devices, as bombs or artillery shells, are designed to be unable to operate until a specific action (activation or arming) is taken to make them operable. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. any agency bringing about activation; (Biol.) a molecule that increases the activity of an enzyme or a protein that increases the production of a gene product in DNA transcription. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Of or relating to the relating to the adjective; of the nature of an adjective; adjective. W. Taylor (1797) [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. As, or in the manner of, an adjective; adjectively. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. adjuvans, p. pr. of adjuvare to aid: cf. F. adjuvant. See Aid. ] Helping; helpful; assisting. [ R. ] “Adjuvant causes.” Howell. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. adjuvamentum, fr. adjuvare to help; ad + juvare to help. ] 1. An assistant. [ R. ] Yelverton. AS [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Med.) An ingredient in a prescription drug, which aids or modifies the action of the principal ingredient. AS [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Med., Immunology) A substance that non-specifically enhances immune response to an antigen, such as by enhancing the production of antibodies. AS [ AS ]

‖ [ L., according to the value. ] (Com.) A term used to denote a duty or charge laid upon goods, at a certain rate per cent upon their value, as stated in their invoice, -- in opposition to a specific sum upon a given quantity or number; as, an ad valorem duty of twenty per cent. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Advanced p. pr. & vb. n. Advancing #). ] [ OE. avancen, avauncen, F. avancer, fr. a supposed LL. abantiare; ab + ante (F. avant) before. The spelling with d was a mistake, a- being supposed to be fr. L. ad. See Avaunt. ] 1. To bring forward; to move towards the van or front; to make to go on. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To raise; to elevate. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

They . . . advanced their eyelids. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To raise to a higher rank; to promote. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ahasueres . . . advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes. Esther iii. 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To accelerate the growth or progress; to further; to forward; to help on; to aid; to heighten; as, to advance the ripening of fruit; to advance one's interests. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To bring to view or notice; to offer or propose; to show; as, to advance an argument. [ 1913 Webster ]

Some ne'er advance a judgment of their own. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To make earlier, as an event or date; to hasten. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To furnish, as money or other value, before it becomes due, or in aid of an enterprise; to supply beforehand; as, a merchant advances money on a contract or on goods consigned to him. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. To raise to a higher point; to enhance; to raise in rate; as, to advance the price of goods. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. To extol; to laud. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Greatly advancing his gay chivalry. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To raise; elevate; exalt; aggrandize; improve; heighten; accelerate; allege; adduce; assign. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To move or go forward; to proceed; as, he advanced to greet me. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To increase or make progress in any respect; as, to advance in knowledge, in stature, in years, in price. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To rise in rank, office, or consequence; to be preferred or promoted. [ 1913 Webster ]

Advanced to a level with ancient peers. Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. avance, fr. avancer. See Advance, v. ] 1. The act of advancing or moving forward or upward; progress. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Improvement or progression, physically, mentally, morally, or socially; as, an advance in health, knowledge, or religion; an advance in rank or office. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An addition to the price; rise in price or value; as, an advance on the prime cost of goods. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The first step towards the attainment of a result; approach made to gain favor, to form an acquaintance, to adjust a difference, etc.; an overture; a tender; an offer; -- usually in the plural. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ He ] made the like advances to the dissenters. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A furnishing of something before an equivalent is received (as money or goods), towards a capital or stock, or on loan; payment beforehand; the money or goods thus furnished; money or value supplied beforehand. [ 1913 Webster ]

I shall, with pleasure, make the necessary advances. Jay. [ 1913 Webster ]

The account was made up with intent to show what advances had been made. Kent. [ 1913 Webster ]

In advance (a) In front; before. (b) Beforehand; before an equivalent is received. (c) In the state of having advanced money on account; as, A is in advance to B a thousand dollars or pounds. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Before in place, or beforehand in time; -- used for advanced; as, an advance guard, or that before the main guard or body of an army; advance payment, or that made before it is due; advance proofs, advance sheets, pages of a forthcoming volume, received in advance of the time of publication. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. In the van or front. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. In the front or before others, as regards progress or ideas; as, advanced opinions, advanced thinkers. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Far on in life or time. [ 1913 Webster ]

A gentleman advanced in years, with a hard experience written in his wrinkles. Hawthorne. [ 1913 Webster ]

Advanced guard, a detachment of troops which precedes the march of the main body. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. avancement, F. avancement. See Advance, v. t. ] 1. The act of advancing, or the state of being advanced; progression; improvement; furtherance; promotion to a higher place or dignity; as, the advancement of learning. [ 1913 Webster ]

In heaven . . . every one (so well they love each other) rejoiceth and hath his part in each other's advancement. Sir T. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

True religion . . . proposes for its end the joint advancement of the virtue and happiness of the people. Horsley. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An advance of money or value; payment in advance. See Advance, 5. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Law) Property given, usually by a parent to a child, in advance of a future distribution. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Settlement on a wife, or jointure. [ Obs. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who advances; a promoter. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A second branch of a buck's antler. Howell. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Aëronautics) The front edge (in direction of motion) of a supporting surface; -- contr. with following edge, which is the rear edge. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. (Aëronautics) The first of two or more surfaces arranged in tandem; -- contr. with following surface, which is the rear surface. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. Tending to advance. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. avantage, avauntage, F. avantage, fr. avant before. See Advance, and cf. Vantage. ] 1. Any condition, circumstance, opportunity, or means, particularly favorable to success, or to any desired end; benefit; as, the enemy had the advantage of a more elevated position. [ 1913 Webster ]

Give me advantage of some brief discourse. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The advantages of a close alliance. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Superiority; mastery; -- with of or over. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lest Satan should get an advantage of us. 2 Cor. ii. 11. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Superiority of state, or that which gives it; benefit; gain; profit; as, the advantage of a good constitution. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Interest of money; increase; overplus (as the thirteenth in the baker's dozen). [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

And with advantage means to pay thy love. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Tennis) The first point scored after deuce. [ PJC ]

Advantage ground, vantage ground. [ R. ] Clarendon. --
To have the advantage of (any one), to have a personal knowledge of one who does not have a reciprocal knowledge. “You have the advantage of me; I don't remember ever to have had the honor.” Sheridan. --
To take advantage of, to profit by; (often used in a bad sense) to overreach, to outwit. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Advantage, Advantageous, Benefit, Beneficial. We speak of a thing as a benefit, or as beneficial, when it is simply productive of good; as, the benefits of early discipline; the beneficial effects of adversity. We speak of a thing as an advantage, or as advantageous, when it affords us the means of getting forward, and places us on a “vantage ground” for further effort. Hence, there is a difference between the benefits and the advantages of early education; between a beneficial and an advantageous investment of money. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Advantaged p. pr. & vb. n. Advantaging ] [ F. avantager, fr. avantage. See Advance. ] To give an advantage to; to further; to promote; to benefit; to profit. [ 1913 Webster ]

The truth is, the archbishop's own stiffness and averseness to comply with the court designs, advantaged his adversaries against him. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

What is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? Luke ix. 25. [ 1913 Webster ]

To advantage one's self of, to avail one's self of. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Advantageous. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F. avantageux, fr. avantage. ] Being of advantage; conferring advantage; gainful; profitable; useful; beneficial; as, an advantageous position; trade is advantageous to a nation. [ 1913 Webster ]

Advabtageous comparison with any other country. Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

You see . . . of what use a good reputation is, and how swift and advantageous a harbinger it is, wherever one goes. Chesterfield. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Profitably; with advantage. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Profitableness. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. aestivalis, aestivus, fr. aestas summer. ] Of or belonging to the summer; as, æstival diseases. [ Spelt also estival. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ L. aestivare, aestivatum. ] 1. To spend the summer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) To pass the summer in a state of torpor. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ Spelt also estivate. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. (Zool.) The state of torpidity induced by the heat and dryness of summer, as in certain snails; -- opposed to hibernation. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) The arrangement of the petals in a flower bud, as to folding, overlapping, etc.; prefloration. Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ Spelt also estivation. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1 a natural family of chiefly tropical and xerophytic plants: includes Dracenaceae (Dracaenaceae); comprises plants that in some classifications are divided between the Amaryllidaceae and the Liliaceae.
Syn. -- family Agavaceae, agave family, sisal family. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Aggravated p. pr. & vb. n. Aggravating. ] [ L. aggravatus, p. p. of aggravare. See Aggrieve. ] 1. To make heavy or heavier; to add to; to increase. [ Obs. ] “To aggravate thy store.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To make worse, or more severe; to render less tolerable or less excusable; to make more offensive; to enhance; to intensify. “To aggravate my woes.” Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

To aggravate the horrors of the scene. Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

The defense made by the prisoner's counsel did rather aggravate than extenuate his crime. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To give coloring to in description; to exaggerate; as, to aggravate circumstances. Paley. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To exasperate; to provoke; to irritate. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

If both were to aggravate her parents, as my brother and sister do mine. Richardson (Clarissa). [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To heighten; intensify; increase; magnify; exaggerate; provoke; irritate; exasperate. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. 1 made more severe or intense, especially in law; as, aggravated assault.
Syn. -- intensified. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. 1 incited, especially deliberately, to anger. aggravated by passive resistance
Syn. -- provoked. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. 1. Making worse or more heinous; as, aggravating circumstances. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Exasperating; provoking; irritating. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

A thing at once ridiculous and aggravating. J. Ingelow. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an aggravating manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ LL. aggravatio: cf. F. aggravation. ] 1. The act of aggravating, or making worse; -- used of evils, natural or moral; the act of increasing in severity or heinousness; something additional to a crime or wrong and enhancing its guilt or injurious consequences. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Exaggerated representation. [ 1913 Webster ]

By a little aggravation of the features changed it into the Saracen's head. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An extrinsic circumstance or accident which increases the guilt of a crime or the misery of a calamity. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Provocation; irritation. [ Colloq. ] Dickens. [ 1913 Webster ]