English dictionary — definitions & meanings

Fein

name

A Jewish surname of German or Yiddish origin, meaning "fine" or "elegant."

feint

noun

A deceptive move meant to distract an opponent from a real attack.

feisty

adj

Full of spirit and energy; not afraid to stand up for oneself.

Feldman

name

A Jewish and German surname meaning "field man," historically an occupational name.

feldspar

noun

Any of a large group of rock-forming aluminosilicate minerals containing potassium, sodium, or calcium that, together, make up about 60% of the Earth's outer crust.

Felicia

name

A female given name from Latin, masculine equivalent Felix.

felicific

adj

Of, pertaining to, or producing pleasure or happiness.

felicitation

noun

The act of felicitating; a wishing of joy or happiness; congratulation.

felicitator

noun

One who felicitates, or offers congratulation.

felicitous

adj

Characterized by felicity.

felicitousness

noun

The state or condition of being felicitous.

felicity

noun

A state of great happiness or contentment.

felid

noun

Any member of the cat family (Felidae).

feline

adj

Relating to cats, or resembling a cat in grace or manner.

Felipe

name

A masculine given name, the Spanish and Portuguese form of Philip, meaning "lover of horses."

Felix

name

A male given name from Latin.

fell

verb

To cut something down, especially a tree, or to knock someone or something to the ground.

Fella

name

An informal word for a man or fellow, occasionally used as a nickname.

fellah

noun

A peasant, farmer or agricultural laborer in the Middle East and North Africa.

fellate

verb

To stimulate the penis or scrotum using the mouth.

fellatio

noun

Oral sex performed on a penis.

feller

noun

A casual or dialectal way of saying "fellow," meaning a man or guy.

felling

noun

The act of cutting down trees.

fellow

noun

A man or boy; a guy.

Fellows

name

An English surname, originally denoting a member of a guild or fellowship.

fellowship

noun

A shared feeling of friendship and connection among people, or a group bound by common interests.

felon

noun

Someone convicted of a felony — a serious crime.

felonious

adj

Relating to or having the character of a felony; done with criminal intent.

felonization

noun

The act of criminalizing an act as a felony.

felonize

verb

To classify a crime as a felony.

felony

noun

A serious crime, typically punishable by at least a year in prison, as opposed to a lesser misdemeanor.

felt

noun

A dense fabric made by matting and pressing fibers, usually wool, rather than weaving them.

Felton

name

An English surname and place name, originally meaning "settlement by open land."

fem

noun

Synonym of femme.

female

noun

A person, animal, or plant of the sex or gender that produces eggs or bears offspring.

feminine

adj

Having qualities traditionally associated with women, such as gentleness or delicacy.

feminineness

noun

The state or condition of being feminine.

femininity

noun

The qualities or characteristics regarded as typical of women.

feminism

noun

A movement and set of beliefs advocating that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men.

feminist

noun

A person who supports feminism — the belief that women should have equal rights and opportunities to men.

femme

noun

A woman, or, in queer contexts, someone whose gender presentation is markedly feminine.

femme fatale

noun

A glamorous and mysterious woman who uses her charm to draw men into danger, ruin or disgrace, especially as a stock character in novels and films.

femoid

noun

A woman, occasionally referring to the especially hypergamous.

femoral

adj

Relating to the femur or the thigh.

femur

noun

The thighbone — the long bone running from the hip to the knee.

fen

noun

A low-lying wetland fed by groundwater, typically less acidic than a bog.

fence

noun

A barrier, usually made of wood, metal, or wire, marking a boundary or enclosing an area.

fenced

adj

Enclosed by a fence.

fencer

noun

A participant in the sport of fencing.

fencing

noun

The sport of duelling with swords under formal rules.

fend

verb

To look after or provide for oneself, without relying on others.

fender

noun

The part of a car body that covers the area around a wheel.

feng

noun

A style of curry associated with Eurasian cuisine, typically dry and heavily spiced.

fennel

noun

A plant with a mild anise-like flavor, used as a vegetable, herb, and spice.

Fenner

name

An English surname, an occupational name for someone who worked with hides or lived near a fen.

fentanyl

noun

A powerful synthetic opioid painkiller, far stronger than morphine, used medically but also widely abused and linked to overdose deaths.

Fenton

name

An English surname and given name meaning "settlement in the marshland."

Fenwick

name

An English surname and place name meaning "farm or settlement by the fen."

FER

noun

A gene responsible for encoding proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase FER.

feral

adj

Wild and untamed, especially describing an animal that has escaped domestication and now lives in the wild.

Ferdie

name

A masculine given name, an informal short form of Ferdinand.

Ferdinand

name

A masculine given name of Germanic origin, meaning "bold voyager" or "brave journey," borne by several European kings.

Ferengi

noun

In the Star Trek universe, a member of an alien species known for large ears and an intense focus on profit and trade.

Fergie

noun

An informal nickname for a Ferguson tractor.

Fergus

name

A masculine given name of Scottish and Irish Gaelic origin, meaning "man of vigor."

Ferguson

name

A Scottish surname meaning "son of Fergus."

ferine

adj

Pertaining to wild, menacing animals; feral.

Fermat

name

A French surname, notably borne by the 17th-century mathematician Pierre de Fermat.

ferment

verb

To undergo a chemical change caused by yeast or bacteria, often turning sugars into alcohol or acid.

fermentation

noun

The chemical process by which yeast, bacteria, or enzymes convert sugars into alcohol, acid, or gas, usually without oxygen.

fermented

adj

Made or changed by the process of fermentation.

Fermin

name

A masculine given name, the Spanish form of Firmin, from a Latin word meaning "firm."

fern

noun

A leafy green plant with no flowers or seeds that reproduces by releasing tiny spores, often found in shady, damp places.

Fernandes

name

A Portuguese surname meaning "son of Fernando."

Fernandez

name

A Spanish surname meaning "son of Fernando."

Fernando

name

A masculine given name of Spanish and Portuguese origin, a form of Ferdinand.

ferocious

adj

Extremely fierce, savage, or violent.

ferociously

adv

In a fierce, violent, or aggressive way.

ferociousness

noun

The quality of being ferocious.

ferocity

noun

Extreme fierceness or savage intensity.

Ferrara

noun

An Andrea Ferrara sword; (generally) a broadsword.

Ferrari

name

A surname from Italian.

Ferraris

name

An Italian surname.

Ferrell

name

An English surname.

Ferrer

name

A Catalan and Spanish surname, originally an occupational name for a blacksmith.

ferret

noun

A small, slender, domesticated relative of the weasel, sometimes used to hunt rabbits and other burrowing animals.

ferric

adj

Pertaining to, derived from, or containing iron.

Ferris

name

A surname and masculine given name, an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Fearghusa.

ferritic

adj

Of or relating to a ferrite.

ferrous

adj

Containing or relating to iron.

ferry

noun

A boat or ship that carries passengers and vehicles across a stretch of water on a regular route.

ferryboat

noun

A boat used to ferry passengers, vehicles, or goods across open water, especially one that runs to a regular schedule

ferryman

noun

A person whose job is to operate a ferry.

fershnickered

adj

Intoxicated by alcohol or drugs.

fertile

adj

Of land, capable of producing abundant crops or plant growth.

fertileness

noun

The state or characteristic of being fertile.

fertilise

verb

Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of fertilize.

fertility

noun

The ability to produce offspring or, of land, to grow crops abundantly.

fertilization

noun

The joining of a sperm and egg (or pollen and ovule) to produce offspring.

fertilize

verb

To add nutrients to soil to help plants grow better.

fertilizer

noun

A natural or chemical substance added to soil to help plants grow.

fervency

noun

The state of being fervent.

fervent

adj

Showing intense and sincere feeling; passionate and earnest.

fervently

adv

In a passionate, deeply earnest way.

fervid

adj

Intensely hot; radiating with energy.

fervidness

noun

The quality of being fervid.

fervor

noun

Intense and passionate feeling or enthusiasm.

fervour

noun

British spelling of fervor: intense and passionate feeling or enthusiasm.

fess

verb

To admit or confess to something, usually after some hesitation.

fest

noun

A gathering or event celebrating a particular theme or activity, often used informally as a suffix (e.g. "chili-fest").

festal

adj

festive, relating to a festival or feast

fester

verb

To become infected and produce pus, as an untreated wound.

festering

adj

Becoming infected, or worsening steadily through neglect.

festilogy

noun

A treatise on church festivals.

festival

noun

An organised series of events celebrating a particular theme, art form, or occasion.

festivalgoer

noun

A person attending a festival.

festive

adj

Having the cheerful, celebratory feel of a festival or holiday.

festivity

noun

A festival or similar celebration.

festooned

adj

Decorated with a string of lights, flowers, or paper hung in a curve between two points. It can also be used more broadly to describe a place that is richly decorated or covered in something, especially for a special occasion.

fet

verb

Archaic or dialectal: to fetch or bring something.

feta

noun

A crumbly white cheese made from sheep's or goat's milk, originally from Greece.

fetal

adj

Relating to a fetus, the developing stage of a mammal before birth.

fetch

verb

To go and get something, then bring it back.

fetching

adj

Attractive or appealing to look at.

fete

noun

A public festival or fair, often held to raise money for charity.

fetich

noun

Archaic spelling of fetish.

feticide

noun

The killing of a fetus or embryo; an induced abortion.

fetid

noun

The foul-smelling asafoetida plant, or its extracts.

fetish

noun

An object believed to hold magical or spiritual power.

fettler

noun

A person who maintains railway lines.

fetus

noun

An unborn mammal at a later stage of development, showing recognizable features of the adult animal.

feud

noun

A long-running, bitter conflict between two people, families, or groups.

feudal

adj

Relating to feudalism, the medieval system in which land was granted in exchange for service and loyalty.

feudalism

noun

A social system based on personal ownership of resources and personal fealty between a suzerain (lord) and a vassal (subject). Defining characteristics are direct ownership of resources, personal loyalty, and a hierarchical social structure reinforced by religion.

feudalistic

adj

Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of feudalism, feudal.

feudatory

adj

Relating to feudalism, feudal.

feuding

noun

The act of taking part in an ongoing bitter dispute.

fever

noun

A body temperature higher than normal, usually caused by illness.

fever dream

noun

Something so strange, disorienting or hard to believe that it feels unreal, as though it were imagined rather than lived through.

feverish

adj

Having a fever or an unusually high body temperature.

few

det

A small number of; not many.

fewer

det

Less; a smaller amount of something non-integral commonly expressed as an integer

fey

adj

Having a strange, otherworldly, or magical quality.

fez

noun

A brimless, cone-shaped felt hat, usually red, with a flat top and a tassel.

ff

character

A pair of lowercase letters written together in old handwriting or old-style print to represent a single capital F.

ffs

adv

Alternative letter-case form of FFS.

fi

noun

A solfège syllable representing the sharpened fourth note of a musical scale.

fiance

noun

A man who is engaged to be married.

fiasco

noun

A complete and often embarrassing failure.

fiat

noun

An official order or decree, especially one issued without needing agreement from others.