English Dictionary — Definitions & Meanings

falsify

verb

To alter information dishonestly, usually to deceive someone.

falsifying

noun

The act of dishonestly altering information or documents.

falsity

noun

A statement that is not true.

Falstaff

noun

A jovial, overweight, and boastful character, used allusively — from the Shakespeare character Sir John Falstaff.

falter

verb

To lose strength, confidence, or momentum; to hesitate or waver.

faltering

adjective

Weak, hesitant, or unsteady.

fam

noun

Short form of the word family.

fame

noun

The state of being well known and widely recognized, especially for achievement.

famed

adjective

Well known; famous.

familia

noun

A family or household, especially used to emphasize closeness or a tight-knit group (from Spanish/Latin).

familial

adjective

Relating to a family, or passed down within one.

familiar

adjective

Well known to you, or easy to recognise.

familiarise

verb

A non-Oxford British English standard spelling of familiarize.

familiarity

noun

Good knowledge of something gained through experience.

familiarize

verb

To make yourself or someone else knowledgeable about something new.

familiarly

adv

In a relaxed, informal way.

family

noun

A group of people related by blood, marriage, or adoption, especially parents and their children.

famine

noun

A severe, widespread shortage of food, often causing mass starvation.

famished

adjective

Extremely hungry.

famishment

noun

The state of being extremely hungry.

famous

adjective

Known widely by many people.

famously

adverb

In a way that is widely known; used to flag a well-known fact.

fan

noun

A device, hand-held or powered, that moves air to cool someone or something down.

fanatic

noun

Someone with extreme, unshakeable enthusiasm for a cause, belief, or hobby.

fanatical

adjective

Showing extreme, often unreasonable enthusiasm or devotion.

fanaticism

noun

Extreme, unquestioning devotion to a cause or belief.

fanatism

noun

Extreme intolerance towards views that differ from your own.

fanciable

adj

Good-looking enough to be sexually attractive to someone.

fancied

adjective

Existing only in the imagination.

fancier

noun

Someone with a strong interest in or enthusiasm for a particular hobby, especially breeding animals or plants.

fanciful

adjective

Based on imagination rather than fact or reality.

fancy

verb

British informal: to want or feel attracted to something or someone.

fancywork

noun

Decorative needlework or knitting, done for its appearance rather than for practical use.

fandangle

noun

Something silly or nonsensical.

fandango

noun

A lively Spanish dance, or the music that accompanies it.

fane

noun

A temple or sacred place (literary or archaic).

fanfare

noun

A short, triumphant burst of trumpets or horns played to announce something.

fang

noun

A long, pointed tooth used for biting, tearing, or injecting venom.

fangirl

noun

A woman or girl who is extremely enthusiastic about a particular interest, often in entertainment.

fangle

verb

To make, invent or create something.

fanlight

noun

A small, often fan-shaped window above a door, sometimes hinged so it can open.

fanned

adjective

Spread out in the shape of a fan.

Fannie

name

A feminine given name, a diminutive of Frances, and part of the nickname for the Federal National Mortgage Association.

fanning

noun

The act of moving air with a fan, or of spreading out in a fan shape.

Fanny

noun

British slang for the female genitals; American slang for the buttocks.

Fanta

noun

A brand of fruit-flavoured fizzy soft drink made by Coca-Cola.

fantabulous

adj

(informal) Extremely good or impressive.

fantasia

noun

A free-form musical piece that doesn't follow strict structure, often blending familiar melodies.

fantasise

verb

A non-Oxford British English standard spelling of fantasize.

fantasist

noun

Someone who invents imaginative stories or ideas.

fantasize

verb

To imagine something pleasant or desired, especially something unlikely to happen.

fantasizing

noun

The act of daydreaming or imagining something desired.

fantasm

noun

An archaic spelling of phantasm.

fantastic

adjective

Extremely good; wonderful.

fantastical

adjective

Existing only in fantasy or imagination; wildly strange or unreal.

fantastically

adverb

To an extreme or remarkable degree.

fantasy

noun

An imagined scenario, especially a pleasant or unrealistic one.

fanxian

name

Synonym of Fan (“a county of Puyang, Henan, China”).

fap

verb

Masturbate, of a man.

fappable

adj

Capable of being masturbated over; sexually alluring.

fapworthy

adj

So sexually attractive that someone would want to masturbate over it.

FAQ

noun

A section of a website, document or product manual that lists the questions people ask most often and gives short answers to them.

faqih

noun

A specialist in Islamic religious law.

far

adjective

Distant in space or time.

far sighted

adjective

Able to see distant objects clearly while close objects appear blurred. The usual British term is long-sighted and the clinical term is hyperopic.

fara

name

A female first name.

farad

noun

The standard unit used to measure the electrical capacitance of a capacitor.

Faraday

noun

A unit of electric charge used in electrolysis, roughly 96,487 coulombs.

Farage

name

An English surname, notably borne by a British politician known for his role in the Brexit campaign.

Farah

name

A given name of Arabic and Persian origin, meaning "joy" or "happiness."

faraway

adjective

Very distant; remote.

Farber

name

A German and Jewish surname, an occupational name for a dyer.

farce

noun

A comic play or film built on absurd situations, mistaken identity, slamming doors and characters behaving with wild improbability, written purely to get laughs rather than to say anything serious.

farcical

adj

Like a farce; ridiculous or absurd.

fare

noun

The money a passenger pays for a bus, train, taxi, or plane ticket.

Fares

name

An Arabic masculine given name and surname, meaning "knight" or "horseman."

farewell

intj

Goodbye — said when parting, especially for a long time or for good.

Fargo

name

A surname and the largest city in North Dakota, USA, also the title of a well-known film and television series.

Farhad

name

A masculine given name of Persian origin, associated with a legendary tragic hero of Persian literature.

Farid

name

A masculine given name of Arabic origin, meaning "unique" or "unparalleled."

faries

name

A surname that comes from a given name of Scottish origin, first recorded in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, where the family held a seat from very early times.

Farley

name

An English surname and given name, originally denoting someone from a "fern clearing."

farlie

noun

Something strange or surprising that makes people marvel.

farm

noun

Land, together with its buildings, used for growing crops or raising animals.

farmer

noun

Someone who owns or works land to grow crops or raise livestock.

farmhand

noun

A person hired to do manual work on a farm.

farmhouse

noun

The main house on a farm, traditionally where the farmer and family live.

farming

noun

The business or practice of growing crops and raising animals.

Farmington

name

A common American place name, used for towns and cities across several states.

farmland

noun

Land used or suitable for growing crops or raising livestock.

farmstead

noun

The main house or building on a farm.

farmworker

noun

Someone employed to do jobs on a farm.

farmyard

noun

The open area around a farm's buildings, as distinct from the fields.

farmyardy

adj

Like a farmyard, or typical of one.

Farnsworth

name

An English surname, notably borne by the American inventor credited with developing electronic television.

Farnum

name

An English surname, a variant of Farnham, meaning "homestead among ferns."

faro

noun

A gambling card game where players bet on which cards will be turned up next from the deck.

Farr

name

An English surname, originally a nickname for a handsome person.

Farrah

name

A feminine given name of Arabic origin, meaning "joy" or "happiness."

Farrell

name

An Irish surname, derived from a Gaelic name meaning "man of valor."

farrier

noun

A person who trims horses' hooves and fits horseshoes to keep their feet healthy and balanced.

farrow

noun

A litter of baby pigs born together.

farrowing

adj

Giving birth to a group of baby pigs.

farse

noun

A passage in the local language added into a Latin church service.

Farsi

noun

The Persian language, especially the modern form spoken in Iran.

farsighted

adjective

Able to see things at a distance clearly while nearby objects look blurred; hyperopic. The usual American spelling, written without a hyphen.

farsightedness

noun

A condition that makes it hard to see things that are close up.

fart

verb

To release gas from the bowels through the anus.

farther

adjective

More distant in space; at a greater distance.

farthing

noun

A former British coin worth a quarter of an old penny.

farthingless

adj

Extremely poor, without any money at all.

farthole

noun

A filthy or repulsive place.

farting

noun

The act of passing gas from the anus.

fascia

noun

A long strip of material fixed along the edge of a roof, sometimes holding a gutter.

fascinate

verb

To hold someone's intense interest or attraction.

fascinated

adj

Extremely interested in or captivated by something.

fascinating

adj

Extremely interesting; capable of holding someone's attention completely.

fascination

noun

A strong feeling of interest in or attraction to something.

fascism

noun

A far-right, authoritarian, and intensely nationalist political system marked by centralized dictatorial power and suppression of opposition.

fascist

noun

A supporter or member of a fascist movement or party.

fascistic

adj

Connected with, or resembling, fascism; fascistoid; fascist.

fashion

noun

Popular styles of clothing and appearance at a given time, or the industry built around them.

fashionable

adj

In keeping with current trends and considered stylish.

fashionably

adv

In a fashionable or stylish manner.

fashioned

adj

Made or shaped in a particular style (often as part of the phrase "old-fashioned").

fashioning

noun

The process of making or shaping something.

fast

adj

Moving or able to move at high speed; quick.

fast paced

adjective

Moving or happening quickly, with events following one another in rapid succession.

fastback

noun

A car with a roofline that slopes smoothly down to the back.

fastball

noun

A pitch in baseball thrown at high speed, usually with little curve or spin.

fasten

verb

To attach or close something securely.

fastener

noun

A thing or person that fastens something.

fastening

noun

A hook or similar device that holds things together; a fastener.

faster

adj

The comparative form of "fast" — moving with greater speed.

fastidious

adj

Extremely careful about small details, especially cleanliness and order; hard to please.

fastigium

noun

The highest point of something; its peak.

fasting

noun

Going without food, often for religious, spiritual, or health reasons.

fastness

noun

How fast something is, in whichever sense the word is used.

fat

noun

A soft, greasy substance stored in the body (or found in food) that provides energy.

Fatah

name

A major Palestinian political and nationalist movement.

fatal

adj

Causing death.

fatalism

noun

The belief that everything that happens is fixed in advance by fate and cannot be changed by human action.

fatality

noun

A death caused by an accident, disaster, or violence.

fatally

adv

In a way that causes death.

fatberg

noun

A huge solid mass of fat and rubbish that blocks a sewer.

fate

noun

The power thought to control everything that happens, seen as unavoidable; also, the eventual outcome awaiting someone or something.

fated

adj

Destined to happen; determined in advance as if by fate.

fateful

adj

Having major, often life-changing, consequences.

Fateh

name

A masculine given name of Arabic origin, meaning "conqueror" or "victor."

Fates

name

In Greek mythology, the three goddesses (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos) said to control human destiny.