Copy of `Princeton University - WordNet - a lexical database for the English language`

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Princeton University - WordNet - a lexical database for the English language Category: General Date & country: 27/01/2008, USA Words: 85192

mercenary(a)
freelance(a) adjective used of soldiers hired by a foreign army

mercer
noun a dealer in textiles (especially silks)

Mercer
noun British maker of printed calico cloth who invented mercerizing (1791-1866)

mercerized
mercerised adjective of cotton thread that has been treated with sodium hydroxide to shrink it and increase its luster and affinity for dye; `mercerized cotton`

merchandise
noun commodities offered for sale; `good business depends on having good merchandise`; `that store offers a variety of products`

merchandise
verb engage in the trade of; `he is merchandising telephone sets`

merchant
merchandiser noun a businessperson engaged in retail trade

merchant bank
noun a credit card processing bank; merchants receive credit for credit card receipts less a processing fee

merchant marine
noun the crew of a merchant vessel

merchant-venturer
noun a merchant who undertakes a trading venture (especially a venture that sends goods overseas)

merchantability
noun the state of being fit for market; ready to be bought or sold

merchantable
sellable adjective fit to be offered for sale; `marketable produce`

merciful
adjective (used conventionally of royalty and high nobility) gracious; `our merciful king`

mercifully
adverb in a manner that may be cruel but avoids suffering; `we more mercifully had our bouncing betties go off at the head`

mercifulness
mercy noun a disposition to be kind and forgiving; `in those days a wife had to depend on the mercifulness of her husband`

mercifulness
mercy noun leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice; `he threw himself on the mercy of the court`

merciless
adjective having or showing no mercy; `the merciless enemy`; `a merciless critic`; `gave him a merciless beating`

mercilessly
pitilessly adverb without pity; in a merciless manner; `he was mercilessly trounced by his opponent in the House`

mercilessness
unmercifulness noun inhumaneness evidenced by an unwillingness to be kind or forgiving

mercurial
adjective relating to or containing or caused by mercury; `mercurial preparations`; `mercurial sore mouth`

mercurial ointment
noun an ointment containing mercury

Mercurialis
genus Mercurialis noun a genus of slender herbs belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae

mercuric
mercurous adjective of or containing mercury

mercuric chloride
mercury chloride noun a white poisonous soluble crystalline sublimate of mercury; used as a pesticide or antiseptic or wood preservative

mercury
noun temperature measured by a mercury thermometer; `the mercury was falling rapidly`

mercury barometer
noun barometer that shows pressure by the height of a column of mercury

mercury cell
noun a primary cell consisting of a zinc anode and a cathode of mercury oxide and an electrolyte of potassium hydroxide

mercury fulminate
fulminate of mercury noun a fulminate that when dry explodes violently if struck or heated; used in detonators and blasting caps and percussion caps

mercury poisoning
noun a toxic condition caused by ingesting or inhaling mercury; acute mercury poisoning causes a metallic taste and vomiting and diarrhea and kidney problems that may lead to death

Mercury program
noun a program of rocket-powered flights undertaken by US between 1961 and 1963 with the goal of putting a man in orbit around the earth; `under the Mercury program each flight had one astronaut`

mercury thermometer
mercury-in-glass thermometer noun thermometer consisting of mercury contained in a bulb at the bottom of a graduated sealed glass capillary tube marked in degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit; mercury expands with a rise in temperature causing a thin thread of mercury to rise in the tube

mercury-contaminated
adjective contaminated by mercury

mercury-vapor lamp
noun ultraviolet lamp that emits a strong bluish light (rich in ultraviolet radiation) as electric current passes through mercury vapor

mercy
noun something for which to be thankful; `it was a mercy we got out alive`

mercy seat
noun the golden covering of the ark of the covenant

mere
noun a small pond of standing water

mere(a)
adjective being nothing more than specified; `a mere child`

Meredith
George Meredith noun English novelist and poet (1828-1909)

merely
simply adverb and nothing more; `I was merely asking`; `it is simply a matter of time`; `just a scratch`; `he was only a child`; `hopes that last but a moment`

merestone
meerestone noun an old term for a landmark that consisted of a pile of stones surmounted by an upright slab

meretricious
adjective like or relating to a prostitute; `meretricious relationships`

meretriciously
adverb in a meretricious manner; `the boat is meretriciously decorated`

merganser
fish duck noun large crested fish-eating diving duck having a slender hooked bill with serrated edges

merger agreement
acquisition agreement noun contract governing the merger of two or more companies

Merginae
subfamily Merginae noun mergansers and closely related diving birds

Mergus
genus Mergus noun mergansers

mericarp
noun a carpel with one seed; one of a pair split apart at maturity

Merida
noun the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatan

meridian
adjective of or happening at noon; `meridian hour`

meringue
noun sweet topping especially for pies made of beaten egg whites and sugar

meringue kiss
noun a kiss made of sugar and egg white and baked slowly

merino
merino sheep noun white sheep originating in Spain and producing a heavy fleece of exceptional quality

Meriones
genus Meriones noun a genus of Cricetidae

Meriones longifrons
noun southern European gerbil

meristem
noun undifferentiated tissue from which new cells are formed, as at the tip of a stem or root

merit badge
noun a badge award to Boy Scouts in recognition of special projects

merit pay
noun extra pay awarded to an employee on the basis of merit (especially to school teachers)

merit system
noun the system of employing and promoting civil servants on the basis of ability

merited
deserved adjective properly deserved; `a merited success`

meritocracy
noun the belief that rulers should be chosen for their superior abilities and not because of their wealth or birth

meritocratic
adjective relating to or characteristic of a meritocracy; `meritocratic society`

meritorious
meritable adjective deserving reward or praise; `a lifetime of meritorious service`; `meritorious conduct`

meritoriously
adverb in a meritorious manner; `he served his country meritoriously`

Meriwether Lewis
noun United States explorer and soldier who lead led an expedition from St. Louis to the mouth of the Columbia River (1774-1809)

merl
merle noun common black European thrush

Merlangus
genus Merlangus noun whitings

Merlin
noun (Arthurian legend) the magician who acted as King Arthur`s advisor

merlon
noun a solid section between two crenels in a crenelated battlement

Merlot
noun dry red wine made from a grape grown widely in Bordeaux and California

Merluccius
genus Merluccius noun hakes

mermaid
noun half woman and half fish; lives in the sea

merman
noun half man and half fish; lives in the sea

Merman
noun United States singer who appeared in several musical comedies (1909-1984)

meromelia
noun congenital absence of part of an arm or leg

meronym
part name noun a word that names a part of a larger whole; ``brim` and `crown` are meronyms of `hat``

meronymy
part to whole relation noun the semantic relation that holds between a part and the whole

Meropidae
family Meropidae noun bee-eaters

Merops
genus Merops noun type genus of the Meropidae

Merostomata
class Merostomata noun used in some classifications; includes the orders Xiphosura and Eurypterida

Merovingian
adjective of or relating to the Merovingian dynasty or its members

merozoite
noun a cell that arises from the asexual division of a parent sporozoan during its life cycle

merrily
mirthfully adverb in a joyous manner; `they shouted happily`

Merrimac
noun an ironclad vessel built by the Confederate forces in the hope of breaking the blockade imposed by the North

Merrimack
Merrimack River noun a river that rises in south central New Hampshire and flows through Concord and Manchester into Massachusetts and empties into the Atlantic Ocean

merry-go-round
noun a never-ending cycle of activities and events (especially when they seem to have little purpose); `if we lose the election the whole legislative merry-go-round will have to start over`

merrymaking
conviviality noun a boisterous celebration; a merry festivity

Mertensia
genus Mertensia noun a genus of herbs belonging to the family Boraginaceae that grow in temperate regions and have blue or purple flowers shaped like funnels

Merton
Robert Merton noun United States sociologist (1910-2003)

Merton
noun United States religious and writer (1915-1968)

Meryta
genus Meryta noun small to medium evergreen dioecious trees of oceanic climates: puka

Meryta sinclairii
noun small roundheaded New Zealand tree having large resinous leaves and panicles of green-white flowers

mesa
table noun flat tableland with steep edges; `the tribe was relatively safe on the mesa but they had to descend into the valley for water`

Mesa Verde National Park
noun a national park in Colorado containing prehistoric cliff dwellings; semiarid landscape

Mesabi Range
noun a range of hills in northeastern Minnesota where rich iron ore deposits were discovered in 1887

mesalliance
noun a marriage with a person of inferior social status

Mesasamkranti
noun Hindu solar holiday at the beginning of the new astrological year when the sun enters the constellation Aries

mescal
noun a colorless Mexican liquor distilled from fermented juices of certain desert plants of the genus Agavaceae (especially the century plant)

mescal bean
coral bean noun shrub or small tree having pinnate leaves poisonous to livestock and dense racemes of intensely fragrant blue flowers and red beans

mescal button
sacred mushroom noun the button-shaped top of the mescal cactus; a source of psilocybin

mescaline
peyote noun the hallucinatory alkaloid that is the active agent in mescal buttons