Avulsion noun [ Latin avulsio .]
1. A tearing asunder; a forcible separation.

The avulsion of two polished superficies.
Locke.

2. A fragment torn off. J. Barlow.

3. (Law) The sudden removal of lands or soil from the estate of one man to that of another by an inundation or a current, or by a sudden change in the course of a river by which a part of the estate of one man is cut off and joined to the estate of another. The property in the part thus separated, or cut off, continues in the original owner. Wharton. Burrill.

Avuncular adjective [ Latin avunculus uncle.] Of or pertaining to an uncle.

In these rare instances, the law of pedigree, whether direct or avuncular , gives way.
I. Taylor.

Await transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Awaited ; present participle & verbal noun Awaiting .] [ Old French awaitier , agaitier ; ... (L. ad ) + waitier , gaitier to watch, French guetter . See Wait .]
1. To watch for; to look out for. [ Obsolete]

2. To wait on, serve, or attend. [ Obsolete]

3. To wait for; to stay for; to expect. See Expect .

Betwixt these rocky pillars Gabriel sat,
Chief of the angelic guards, awaiting night.
Milton.

4. To be in store for; to be ready or in waiting for; as, a glorious reward awaits the good.

O Eve, some farther change awaits us night.
Milton.

Await intransitive verb
1. To watch. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

2. To wait ( on or upon ). [ Obsolete]

3. To wait; to stay in waiting. Darwin.

Await noun A waiting for; ambush; watch; watching; heed. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Awake transitive verb [ imperfect Awoke Awaked ; past participle Awaked ; (Obsolete) Awaken , Awoken ; present participle & verbal noun Awaking . The form Awoke is sometimes used as a past participle ] [ Anglo-Saxon āwæcnan , intransitive verb (imp. awōc ), and āwacian , intransitive verb (imp. awacode ). See Awaken , Wake .]
1. To rouse from sleep; to wake; to awaken.

Where morning's earliest ray . . . awake her.
Tennyson.

And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us; we perish.
Matt. viii. 25.

2. To rouse from a state resembling sleep, as from death, stupidity., or inaction; to put into action; to give new life to; to stir up; as, to awake the dead; to awake the dormant faculties.

I was soon awaked from this disagreeable reverie.
Goldsmith.

It way awake my bounty further.
Shak.

No sunny gleam awake s the trees.
Keble.

Awake intransitive verb To cease to sleep; to come out of a state of natural sleep; and, figuratively, out of a state resembling sleep, as inaction or death.

The national spirit again awoke .
Freeman.

Awake to righteousness, and sin not.
1 Cor. xv. 34.

Awake adjective [ From awaken , old past participle of awake .] Not sleeping or lethargic; roused from sleep; in a state of vigilance or action.

Before whom awake I stood.
Milton.

She still beheld,
Now wide awake , the vision of her sleep.
Keats.

He was awake to the danger.
Froude.

Awaken transitive verb & i. [ imperfect & past participle Awakened ; present participle & verbal noun Awakening .] [ Middle English awakenen , awaknen , Anglo-Saxon āwæcnan , āwæcnian , intransitive verb ; prefix on- + wæcnan to wake. Confer Awake , transitive verb ] To rouse from sleep or torpor; to awake; to wake.

[ He] is dispatched
Already to awaken whom thou nam'st.
Cowper.

Their consciences are thoroughly awakened .
Tillotson.

Syn. -- To arouse; excite; stir up; call forth.

Awakener noun One who, or that which, awakens.

Awakening adjective Rousing from sleep, in a natural or a figurative sense; rousing into activity; exciting; as, the awakening city; an awakening discourse; the awakening dawn. -- A*wak"en*ing*ly , adverb

Awakening noun The act of awaking, or ceasing to sleep. Specifically: A revival of religion, or more general attention to religious matters than usual.

Awakenment noun An awakening. [ R.]

Awanting adjective [ Prefix a- + wanting .] Missing; wanting. [ Prov. Scot. & Eng.] Sir W. Hamilton.

Award transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Awarded ; present participle & verbal noun Awarding .] [ Old French eswarder to look at, consider, decide, judge; es (L. ex ) + warder , garder , to observe, take heed, keep, from Old High German wartēn to watch, guard. See Ward .] To give by sentence or judicial determination; to assign or apportion, after careful regard to the nature of the case; to adjudge; as, the arbitrators awarded damages to the complainant.

To review
The wrongful sentence, and award a new.
Dryden.

Award intransitive verb To determine; to make an award.

Award noun [ Confer Old French award , awart , esgart . See Award , transitive verb ]
1. A judgment, sentence, or final decision. Specifically: The decision of arbitrators in a case submitted. "Impatient for the award ." Cowper.

An award had been given against.
Gilpin.

2. The paper containing the decision of arbitrators; that which is warded. Bouvier.

Awarder noun One who awards, or assigns by sentence or judicial determination; a judge.

Aware adjective [ Middle English iwar , Anglo-Saxon gewær , from wær wary. The prefix ge- orig. meant together , completely . .... See Wary .]
1. Watchful; vigilant or on one's guard against danger or difficulty.

2. Apprised; informed; cognizant; conscious; as, he was aware of the enemy's designs.

Aware of nothing arduous in a task
They never undertook.
Cowper.

Awarn transitive verb [ Prefix a- + warn , Anglo-Saxon gewarnian . See Warn , transitive verb ] To warn. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Awash adjective [ Prefix a- + wash .] Washed by the waves or tide; -- said of a rock or strip of shore, or (Nautical) of an anchor, etc., when flush with the surface of the water, so that the waves break over it.

Away adverb [ Anglo-Saxon aweg , anweg , onweg ; on on + weg way.]
1. From a place; hence.

The sound is going away .
Shak.

Have me away , for I am sore wounded.
2 Chron. xxxv. 23.

2. Absent; gone; at a distance; as, the master is away from home.

3. Aside; off; in another direction.

The axis of rotation is inclined away from the sun.
Lockyer.

4. From a state or condition of being; out of existence.

Be near me when I fade away .
Tennyson.

5. By ellipsis of the verb, equivalent to an imperative: Go or come away; begone; take away.

And the Lord said . . . Away , get thee down.
Exod. xix. 24.

6. On; in continuance; without intermission or delay; as, sing away . [ Colloq.]

» It is much used in phrases signifying moving or going from; as, go away , run away , etc.; all signifying departure, or separation to a distance. Sometimes without the verb; as, whither away so fast ? "Love hath wings, and will away ." Waller. It serves to modify the sense of certain verbs by adding that of removal, loss, parting with, etc.; as, to throw away ; to trifle away ; to squander away , etc. Sometimes it has merely an intensive force; as, to blaze away .

Away with , bear, abide . [ Obsolete or Archaic] "The calling of assemblies, I can not away with ." ( Isa. i. 13 ), i. e., "I can not bear or endure [ it]." -- Away with one, signifies, take him away . " Away with him, crucify him." John xix. 15. -- To make away with . (a) To kill or destroy. (b) To carry off.

Away-going (ȧ*wā"go"ĭng) adjective (Law) Sown during the last years of a tenancy, but not ripe until after its expiration; -- said of crops. Wharton.

Awayward (ȧ*wā"wẽrd) adverb Turned away; away. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Awe (a) noun [ Middle English aʒe , aghe , from Icelandic agi ; akin to Anglo-Saxon ege , ōga , Goth. agis , Danish ave chastisement, fear, Greek 'a`chos pain, distress, from the same root as English ail . √3. Confer Ugly .]
1. Dread; great fear mingled with respect. [ Obsolete or Obsolescent]

His frown was full of terror, and his voice
Shook the delinquent with such fits of awe .
Cowper.

2. The emotion inspired by something dreadful and sublime; an undefined sense of the dreadful and the sublime; reverential fear, or solemn wonder; profound reverence.

There is an awe in mortals' joy,
A deep mysterious fear.
Keble.

To tame the pride of that power which held the Continent in awe .
Macaulay.

The solitude of the desert, or the loftiness of the mountain, may fill the mind with awe -- the sense of our own littleness in some greater presence or power.
C. J. Smith.

To stand in awe of , to fear greatly; to reverence profoundly.

Syn. -- See Reverence .

Awe transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Awed ; present participle & verbal noun Awing .] To strike with fear and reverence; to inspire with awe; to control by inspiring dread.

That same eye whose bend doth awe the world.
Shak.

His solemn and pathetic exhortation awed and melted the bystanders.
Macaulay.

Awe-stricken adjective Awe- struck.

Awe-struck adjective Struck with awe. Milton.

Awearied past participle Wearied. [ Poetic]

Aweary adjective [ Prefix a- + weary .] Weary. [ Poetic] "I begin to be aweary of thee." Shak.

Aweather adverb [ Prefix a- + weather .] (Nautical) On the weather side, or toward the wind; in the direction from which the wind blows; -- opposed to alee ; as, helm aweather ! Totten.

Aweigh adverb [ Prefix a- + weigh .] (Nautical) Just drawn out of the ground, and hanging perpendicularly; atrip; -- said of the anchor. Totten.

Aweless adjective See Awless .

Awesome adjective
1. Causing awe; appalling; awful; as, an awesome sight. Wright.

2. Expressive of awe or terror.

An awesome glance up at the auld castle.
Sir W. Scott.

Awesomeness noun The quality of being awesome.

Awful adjective
1. Oppressing with fear or horror; appalling; terrible; as, an awful scene. "The hour of Nature's awful throes." Hemans.

2. Inspiring awe; filling with profound reverence, or with fear and admiration; fitted to inspire reverential fear; profoundly impressive.

Heaven's awful Monarch.
Milton.

3. Struck or filled with awe; terror- stricken. [ Obsolete]

A weak and awful reverence for antiquity.
I. Watts.

4. Worshipful; reverential; law-abiding. [ Obsolete]

Thrust from the company of awful men.
Shak.

5. Frightful; exceedingly bad; great; -- applied intensively; as, an awful bonnet; an awful boaster. [ Slang]

Syn. -- See Frightful .

Awfully adverb
1. In an awful manner; in a manner to fill with terror or awe; fearfully; reverently.

2. Very; excessively. [ Slang]

Awfulness noun
1. The quality of striking with awe, or with reverence; dreadfulness; solemnity; as, the awfulness of this sacred place.

The awfulness of grandeur.
Johnson.

2. The state of being struck with awe; a spirit of solemnity; profound reverence. [ Obsolete]

Producing in us reverence and awfulness .
Jer. Taylor.

Awhape transitive verb [ Confer whap blow.] To confound; to terrify; to amaze. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Awhile adverb [ Adj. a + while time, interval.] For a while; for some time; for a short time.

Awing adverb [ Prefix a- + wing .] On the wing; flying; fluttering. Wallace.

Awk (ak) adjective [ Middle English auk , awk (properly) turned away; (hence) contrary, wrong, from Icelandic öfigr , öfugr , afigr , turning the wrong way, from af off, away; confer Old High German abuh , Sanskrit apāc turned away, from apa off, away + a root ak , auk , to bend, from which come also English angle , anchor .]
1. Odd; out of order; perverse. [ Obsolete]

2. Wrong, or not commonly used; clumsy; sinister; as, the awk end of a rod (the but end). [ Obsolete] Golding.

3. Clumsy in performance or manners; unhandy; not dexterous; awkward. [ Obsolete or Prov. Eng.]

Awk adverb Perversely; in the wrong way. L'Estrange.

Awkly adverb
1. In an unlucky (left-handed) or perverse manner. [ Obsolete] Holland.

2. Awkwardly. [ Obsolete] Fuller.

Awkward (ak"weẽrd) adjective [ Awk + -ward .]
1. Wanting dexterity in the use of the hands, or of instruments; not dexterous; without skill; clumsy; wanting ease, grace, or effectiveness in movement; ungraceful; as, he was awkward at a trick; an awkward boy.

And dropped an awkward courtesy.
Dryden.

2. Not easily managed or effected; embarrassing.

A long and awkward process.
Macaulay.

An awkward affair is one that has gone wrong, and is difficult to adjust.
C. J. Smith.

3. Perverse; adverse; untoward. [ Obsolete] " Awkward casualties." " Awkward wind." Shak.

O blind guides, which being of an awkward religion, do strain out a gnat, and swallow up a cancel.
Udall.

Syn. -- Ungainly; unhandy; clownish; lubberly; gawky; maladroit; bungling; inelegant; ungraceful; unbecoming. -- Awkward , Clumsy , Uncouth . Awkward has a special reference to outward deportment. A man is clumsy in his whole person, he is awkward in his gait and the movement of his limbs. Clumsiness is seen at the first view. Awkwardness is discovered only when a person begins to move. Hence the expressions, a clumsy appearance, and an awkward manner. When we speak figuratively of an awkward excuse, we think of a want of ease and grace in making it; when we speak of a clumsy excuse, we think of the whole thing as coarse and stupid. We apply the term uncouth most frequently to that which results from the want of instruction or training; as, uncouth manners; uncouth language.

-- Awk"ward*ly (ak"weẽrd*lȳ) adverb -- Awk"ward*ness , noun

Awkward squad (Mil.) A squad of inapt recruits assembled for special drill.

Awl (al) noun [ Middle English aul , awel , al , Anglo-Saxon ǣl , awel ; akin to Icelandic alr , Old High German āla , German ahle , Lithuanian yla , Sanskrit ārā .] A pointed instrument for piercing small holes, as in leather or wood; used by shoemakers, saddlers, cabinetmakers, etc. The blade is differently shaped and pointed for different uses, as in the brad awl , saddler's awl , shoemaker's awl , etc.

Awl-shaped (al"shāpt`) adjective
1. Shaped like an awl.

2. (Nat. Hist.) Subulate. See Subulate . Gray.

Awless (a"lĕs) adjective
1. Wanting reverence; void of respectful fear. " Awless insolence." Dryden.

2. Inspiring no awe. [ Obsolete] "The awless throne." Shak. [ Written also aweless ]

Awlessness noun The quality of being awless.