Adrenaline Ad·re"nal·ine noun Also Ad*re"nal*in (Physiol. Chem.) A crystalline substance, C ₉ H ₁₃ O ₃ N, obtained from suprarenal extract, of which it is regarded as the active principle. It is used in medicine as a stimulant and hemostatic.

Adrian A"dri·an adjective [ Latin Hadrianus .] Pertaining to the Adriatic Sea; as, Adrian billows.

Adriatic A`dri·at"ic adjective [ Latin Adriaticus , Hadriaticus , from Adria or Hadria , a town of the Veneti.] Of or pertaining to a sea so named, the northwestern part of which is known as the Gulf of Venice.

Adrift A·drift" adverb & adjective [ Prefix a- (for on ) + drift .] Floating at random; in a drifting condition; at the mercy of wind and waves. Also fig.

So on the sea shall be set adrift .
Dryden.

Were from their daily labor turned adrift .
Wordsworth.

Adrip A·drip" adverb & adjective [ Prefix a- in + drip .] In a dripping state; as, leaves all adrip . D. G. Mitchell.

Adrogate Ad"ro·gate transitive verb [ See Arrogate .] (Rom. Law) To adopt (a person who is his own master).

Adrogation Ad`ro·ga"tion noun [ Latin adrogatio , arrogatio , from adrogare . See Arrogate .] (Rom. Law) A kind of adoption in ancient Rome. See Arrogation .

Adroit A·droit" adjective [ French adroit ; à (L. ad ) = droit straight, right, from Latin directus , past participle of dirigere . See Direct .] Dexterous in the use of the hands or in the exercise of the mental faculties; exhibiting skill and readiness in avoiding danger or escaping difficulty; ready in invention or execution; -- applied to persons and to acts; as, an adroit mechanic, an adroit reply. " Adroit in the application of the telescope and quadrant." Horsley. "He was adroit in intrigue." Macaulay.

Syn. -- Dexterous; skillful; expert; ready; clever; deft; ingenious; cunning; ready-witted.

Adroitly A·droit"ly adverb In an adroit manner.

Adroitness A·droit"ness noun The quality of being adroit; skill and readiness; dexterity.

Adroitness was as requisite as courage.
Motley.

Syn. -- See Skill .

Adry A·dry" adjective [ Prefix a- (for on ) + dry .] In a dry or thirsty condition. "A man that is adry ." Burton.

Adscititious Ad`sci·ti"tious adjective [ Latin adscitus , past participle of adsciscere , asciscere , to take knowingly; ad + sciscere to seek to know, approve, scire to know.] Supplemental; additional; adventitious; ascititious. " Adscititious evidence." Bowring. -- Ad`sci*ti"tious*ly , adverb

Adscript Ad"script adjective [ Latin adscriptus , past participle of adscribere to enroll. See Ascribe .] Held to service as attached to the soil; -- said of feudal serfs.

Adscript Ad"script noun One held to service as attached to the glebe or estate; a feudal serf. Bancroft.

Adscriptive Ad·scrip"tive adjective [ Latin adscriptivus . See Adscript .] Attached or annexed to the glebe or estate and transferable with it. Brougham.

Adsignification Ad·sig`ni·fi·ca"tion noun Additional signification. [ R.] Tooke.

Adsignify Ad·sig"ni·fy transitive verb [ Latin adsignificare to show.] To denote additionally. [ R.] Tooke.

Adstrict Ad·strict" transitive verb -- Ad*stric"tion , noun See Astrict , and Astriction .

Adstrictory Ad·stric"to·ry adjective See Astrictory .

Adstringent Ad·strin"gent adjective See Astringent .

Adsuki bean Ad·su"ki bean [ Jap. adzuki .] A cultivated variety of the Asiatic gram, now introduced into the United States.

Adularia Ad`u·la"ri·a noun [ From Adula , a mountain peak in Switzerland, where fine specimens are found.] (Min.) A transparent or translucent variety of common feldspar, or orthoclase, which often shows pearly opalescent reflections; -- called by lapidaries moonstone .

Adulate Ad"u·late transitive verb [ Latin adulatus , past participle of adulari .] To flatter in a servile way. Byron.

Adulation Ad`u·la"tion noun [ French adulation , from Latin adulatio , from adulari , adulatum , to flatter.] Servile flattery; praise in excess, or beyond what is merited.

Think'st thou the fiery fever will go out
With titles blown from adulation ?
Shak.

Syn. -- Sycophancy; cringing; fawning; obsequiousness; blandishment. -- Adulation , Flattery , Compliment . Men deal in compliments from a desire to please; they use flattery either from undue admiration, or a wish to gratify vanity; they practice adulation from sordid motives, and with a mingled spirit of falsehood and hypocrisy. Compliment may be a sincere expression of due respect and esteem, or it may be unmeaning; flattery is apt to become gross; adulation is always servile, and usually fulsome.

Adulator Ad"u·la`tor noun [ Latin , from adulari : confer French adulateur .] A servile or hypocritical flatterer. Carlyle.

Adulatory Ad"u·la·to·ry adjective [ Latin adulatorius , from adulari : confer Old French adulatoire .] Containing excessive praise or compliment; servilely praising; flattering; as, an adulatory address.

A mere rant of adulatory freedom.
Burke.

Adulatress Ad"u·la`tress noun A woman who flatters with servility.

Adult A·dult" adjective [ Latin adultus , past participle of adolescere , akin to alere to nourish: confer French adulte . See Adolescent , Old .] Having arrived at maturity, or to full size and strength; matured; as, an adult person or plant; an adult ape; an adult age.

Adult A·dult" noun A person, animal, or plant grown to full size and strength; one who has reached maturity.

» In the common law , the term is applied to a person who has attained full age or legal majority; in the civil law , to males after the age of fourteen, and to females after twelve.

Adulter A·dul"ter intransitive verb [ Latin adulterare .] To commit adultery; to pollute. [ Obsolete] B. Jonson.

Adulterant A·dul"ter·ant noun [ Latin adulterans , present participle of adulterare .] That which is used to adulterate anything. -- adjective Adulterating; as, adulterant agents and processes.

Adulterate A·dul"ter·ate transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Adulterated ; present participle & verbal noun Adulterating ] [ Latin adulteratus , past participle of adulterare , from adulter adulterer, probably from ad + alter other, properly one who approaches another on account of unlawful love. Confer Advoutry .]

1. To defile by adultery. [ Obsolete] Milton.

2. To corrupt, debase, or make impure by an admixture of a foreign or a baser substance; as, to adulterate food, drink, drugs, coin, etc.

The present war has . . . adulterated our tongue with strange words.
Spectator.

Syn. -- To corrupt; defile; debase; contaminate; vitiate; sophisticate.

Adulterate A·dul"ter·ate intransitive verb To commit adultery. [ Obsolete]

Adulterate A·dul"ter·ate adjective 1. Tainted with adultery.

2. Debased by the admixture of a foreign substance; adulterated; spurious.

-- A*dul"ter*ate*ly , adverb -- A*dul"ter*ate*ness , noun

Adulteration A·dul`ter·a"tion noun [ Latin adulteratio .] 1. The act of adulterating; corruption, or debasement (esp. of food or drink) by foreign mixture.

The shameless adulteration of the coin.
Prescott.

2. An adulterated state or product.

Adulterator A·dul"ter·a`tor noun [ Latin ] One who adulterates or corrupts. [ R.] Cudworth.

Adulterer A·dul"ter·er noun [ Formed from the verb adulter , with the E. ending -er . See Advoutrer .] 1. A man who commits adultery; a married man who has sexual intercourse with a woman not his wife.

2. (Script.) A man who violates his religious covenant. Jer. ix. 2.

Adulteress A·dul"ter·ess noun [ Fem. from Latin adulter . Confer Advoutress .] 1. A woman who commits adultery.

2. (Script.) A woman who violates her religious engagements. James iv. 4.

Adulterine A·dul"ter·ine adjective [ Latin adulterinus , from adulter .] Proceeding from adulterous intercourse. Hence: Spurious; without the support of law; illegal.

When any particular class of artificers or traders thought proper to act as a corporation without a charter, such were called adulterine guilds.
Adam Smith.

Adulterine A·dul"ter·ine noun An illegitimate child. [ R.]

Adulterize A·dul"ter·ize intransitive verb To commit adultery. Milton.

Adulterous A·dul"ter·ous adjective 1. Guilty of, or given to, adultery; pertaining to adultery; illicit. Dryden.

2. Characterized by adulteration; spurious. "An adulterous mixture." [ Obsolete] Smollett.

Adulterously A·dul"ter·ous·ly adverb In an adulterous manner.

Adultery A·dul"ter·y noun ; plural Adulteries [ Latin adulterium . See Advoutry .] 1. The unfaithfulness of a married person to the marriage bed; sexual intercourse by a married man with another than his wife, or voluntary sexual intercourse by a married woman with another than her husband.

» It is adultery on the part of the married wrongdoer.

The word has also been used to characterize the act of an unmarried participator, the other being married. In the United States the definition varies with the local statutes. Unlawful intercourse between two married persons is sometimes called double adultery ; between a married and an unmarried person, single adultery .

2. Adulteration; corruption. [ Obsolete] B. Jonson.

3. (Script.) (a) Lewdness or unchastity of thought as well as act, as forbidden by the seventh commandment. (b) Faithlessness in religion. Jer. iii. 9.

4. (Old Law) The fine and penalty imposed for the offense of adultery.

5. (Eccl.) The intrusion of a person into a bishopric during the life of the bishop.

6. Injury; degradation; ruin. [ Obsolete]

You might wrest the caduceus out of my hand to the adultery and spoil of nature.
B. Jonson.

Adultness A·dult"ness noun The state of being adult.

Adumbrant Ad·um"brant adjective [ Latin adumbrans , present participle of adumbrare .] Giving a faint shadow, or slight resemblance; shadowing forth.

Adumbrate Ad·um"brate transitive verb [ Latin adumbratus , past participle of adumbrare ; ad + umbrare to shade; umbra shadow.]

1. To give a faint shadow or slight representation of; to outline; to shadow forth.

Both in the vastness and the richness of the visible universe the invisible God is adumbrated .
Latin Taylor.

2. To overshadow; to shade.

Adumbration Ad`um·bra"tion noun [ Latin adumbratio .] 1. The act of adumbrating, or shadowing forth.

2. A faint sketch; an outline; an imperfect portrayal or representation of a thing.

Elegant adumbrations of sacred truth.
Bp. Horsley.

3. (Her.) The shadow or outlines of a figure.

Adumbrative Ad·um"bra·tive adjective Faintly representing; typical. Carlyle.

Adunation Ad`u·na"tion noun [ Latin adunatio ; ad + unus one.] A uniting; union. Jer. Taylor.

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