[ F. ablet, ablette, a dim. fr. LL. abula, for albula, dim. of albus white. Cf. Abele. ] (Zool.) A small fresh-water fish (Leuciscus alburnus); the bleak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Ability of body or mind; force; vigor. [ Obs. or R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality or state of being abominable; odiousness. Bentley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being acceptable, or suitable to be favorably received; acceptability. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality or condition of being accommodable. [ R. ] Todd. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Chem.) A gaseous compound of carbon and hydrogen, in the proportion of two atoms of the former to two of the latter. It is a colorless gas, with a peculiar, unpleasant odor, and is produced for use as an illuminating gas in a number of ways, but chiefly by the action of water on calcium carbide. Its light is very brilliant. Watts. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having an acid quality; sour; acidulous. “With anxious, acidulent face.” Carlyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. The quality of being adaptable; suitableness. “General adaptability for every purpose.” Farrar. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being admirable; wonderful excellence. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being adorable, or worthy of adoration. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Affability. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Agility; nimbleness. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The quality of being agreeable or pleasing; that quality which gives satisfaction or moderate pleasure to the mind or senses. [ 1913 Webster ]

That author . . . has an agreeableness that charms us. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The quality of being agreeable or suitable; suitableness or conformity; consistency. [ 1913 Webster ]

The agreeableness of virtuous actions to human nature. Pearce. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Resemblance; concordance; harmony; -- with to or between. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The agreeableness between man and the other parts of the universe. Grew. [ 1913 Webster ]

See under Lace. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ Pref. a- + length. ] At full length; lengthwise. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ All + anerly singly, fr. ane one. ] Solely; only. [ Scot. ] Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being allowable; permissibleness; lawfulness; exemption from prohibition or impropriety. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Chem.) A gaseous hydrocarbon, C3H4, homologous with acetylene; propine. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being alterable; variableness; alterability. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. mixed feelings or emotions; uncertainty or vacillation in making a choice. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

2. (Psychol.) the simultaneous existence within a person of both positive and negative feelings toward another person or action, or toward an object (as of attraction and revulsion), resulting in internal conflict. [ PJC ]

adj. 1. 1 undecided as to whether or not to take a proposed course of action; having feelings both for and against the proposed action.
Syn. -- on the fence(predicate), suspensive, uncertain [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. The quality or state of being amenable; liability to answer charges; answerableness. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being amiable; amiability. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being amicable; amicability. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state or quality of being ample; largeness; fullness; completeness. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Chem.) One of a group of metameric hydrocarbons, C5H10, of the ethylene series. The colorless, volatile, mobile liquid commonly called amylene is a mixture of different members of the group. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Anility. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being answerable, liable, responsible, or correspondent. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Good as a remedy against disease of the spleen. -- n. An antisplenetic medicine. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality or state of being approachable; accessibility. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Associability. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Mining) A small dam to prevent free passage of water in an adit or level. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being attainable; attainability. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. attollens, p. pr. of attollere; ad + tollere to lift. ] Lifting up; raising; as, an attollent muscle. Derham. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being audible. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Competent power; validity; efficacy; as, the availableness of a title. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Quality of being available; capability of being used for the purpose intended. Sir M. Hale. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. benevolence, L. benevolentia. See Benevolent. ] 1. The disposition to do good; good will; charitableness; love of mankind, accompanied with a desire to promote their happiness. [ 1913 Webster ]

The wakeful benevolence of the gospel. Chalmers. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An act of kindness; good done; charity given. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A species of compulsory contribution or tax, which has sometimes been illegally exacted by arbitrary kings of England, and falsely represented as a gratuity. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Benevolence, Beneficence, Munificence. Benevolence marks a disposition made up of a choice and desire for the happiness of others. Beneficence marks the working of this disposition in dispensing good on a somewhat broad scale. Munificence shows the same disposition, but acting on a still broader scale, in conferring gifts and favors. These are not necessarily confined to objects of immediate utility. One may show his munificence in presents of pictures or jewelry, but this would not be beneficence. Benevolence of heart; beneficence of life; munificence in the encouragement of letters. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. benevolens, -entis; bene well (adv. of bonus good) + volens, p. pr. of volo I will, I wish. See Bounty, and Voluntary. ] Having a disposition to do good; possessing or manifesting love to mankind, and a desire to promote their prosperity and happiness; disposed to give to good objects; kind; charitable. -- Be*nev"o*lent*ly, adv. [1913 Webster]

Syn. -- Benevolent, Beneficent. Etymologically considered, benevolent implies wishing well to others, and beneficent, doing well. But by degrees the word benevolent has been widened to include not only feelings, but actions; thus, we speak of benevolent operations, benevolent labors for the public good, benevolent societies. In like manner, beneficent is now often applied to feelings; thus, we speak of the beneficent intentions of a donor. This extension of the terms enables us to mark nicer shades of meaning. Thus, the phrase “benevolent labors” turns attention to the source of these labors, viz., benevolent feeling; while beneficent would simply mark them as productive of good. So, “beneficent intentions” point to the feelings of the donor as bent upon some specific good act; while “benevolent intentions” would only denote a general wish and design to do good. [1913 Webster]

n. a span of 2000 years.
Syn. -- bimillennium. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. of or pertaining to the bimillennium. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. a span of 2000 years.
Syn. -- bimillenary. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. the year 2000 a. d. [ PJC ]

A canvas for a portrait measuring 58 by 94 inches. The half bishop measures 45 by 56. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Chem.) The quality of being bivalent. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. bis twice + valens, p. pr. See Valence. ] (Chem.) Equivalent in combining or displacing power to two atoms of hydrogen; dyad. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Blenched p. pr. & vb. n. Blenching. ] [ OE. blenchen to blench, elude, deceive, AS. blencan to deceive; akin to Icel. blekkja to impose upon. Prop. a causative of blink to make to wink, to deceive. See Blink, and cf. 3d Blanch. ] 1. To shrink; to start back; to draw back, from lack of courage or resolution; to flinch; to quail. [ 1913 Webster ]

Blench not at thy chosen lot. Bryant. [ 1913 Webster ]

This painful, heroic task he undertook, and never blenched from its fulfillment. Jeffrey. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To fly off; to turn aside. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Though sometimes you do blench from this to that. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To baffle; to disconcert; to turn away; -- also, to obstruct; to hinder. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Ye should have somewhat blenched him therewith, yet he might and would of likelihood have gone further. Sir T. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To draw back from; to deny from fear. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

He now blenched what before he affirmed. Evelyn. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A looking aside or askance. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

These blenches gave my heart another youth. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. & t. [ See 1st Blanch. ] To grow or make pale. Barbour. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who, or that which, scares another; specifically, a person stationed to prevent the escape of the deer, at a hunt. See Blancher. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who blenches, flinches, or shrinks back. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Law) See Blanch holding. [ 1913 Webster ]