English Dictionary — Definitions & Meanings

wispy

adj

Thin and light, like a small, delicate strand.

wisteria

noun

A climbing woody vine with hanging clusters of purple, pink, or white flowers, popular for covering walls and trellises.

wistful

adjective

Filled with a gentle sadness or longing, especially for something in the past.

wistfulness

noun

A feeling of quiet, gentle longing or sadness.

wit

noun

The ability to say clever, funny things quickly.

witch

noun

A person, especially in folklore, believed to have magical powers, particularly one who uses them for harmful purposes.

witchcraft

noun

The practice of using magic or supernatural power, especially as attributed to witches.

witchdom

noun

The practice of magic or supernatural powers.

witchery

noun

A single act of magic performed by a witch.

witching

adjective

Relating to or having the power of witchcraft; bewitching.

witchy

adjective

Resembling or characteristic of a witch, especially in style or atmosphere.

wite

verb

To blame someone or hold them responsible for something wrong.

witful

adj

Clever and sensible, showing good judgement.

witfulness

noun

The quality of being clever and sensible; awareness.

with

preposition

In the company of; alongside.

with that being said

phrase

Used to introduce a point that qualifies or partly contradicts what you have just said, while acknowledging that the earlier point still stands.

withal

adverb

In addition to what has already been said; besides.

withcall

verb

To call someone or something back.

withdraught

noun

(law) The ending of a court case for good because the person who brought it withdrew it.

withdraw

verb

To take money out of a bank account.

withdrawal

noun

The act of taking money out of an account, or the sum of money taken out.

withdrawing

noun

The act of taking or pulling something back; withdrawal.

withdrawn

adjective

Quiet and reluctant to engage or socialize with others.

wither

verb

To shrink, dry up, or lose freshness, especially from lack of water.

withered

adjective

Shrunken, dried out, or faded, especially from age or lack of water.

withering

adjective

Extremely harsh or scornful, intended to crush or humiliate.

witherite

noun

A yellow-grey mineral form of barium carbonate, BaCO₃

withers

noun

The ridge between a four-legged animal's shoulder blades, usually the tallest part of its back and used to measure its height.

withersake

noun

Someone who has abandoned their beliefs and betrayed others.

Witherspoon

name

A Scottish surname derived from a place name meaning "sheep pasture near wether (castrated ram) land."

witherward

adj

Opposed or working against something.

withheld

adjective

Kept back or not given, especially information.

withhold

verb

To refuse to give, share, or reveal something.

withholding

noun

The deduction of tax from an employee's pay before it is paid out.

within

preposition

Inside the physical limits of something.

without

preposition

Not having or accompanied by something.

withsake

verb

To give up or turn away from something completely.

withset

verb

To oppose or resist something.

withspeak

verb

To argue against what someone has said.

withstand

verb

To resist or hold up successfully against pressure, force, or attack.

withstandable

adj

Able to be withstood.

withy

noun

An osier, a kind of willow known scientifically as Salix viminalis.

witless

adjective

Lacking intelligence or common sense; foolish.

witlessness

noun

A lack of intelligence or good sense.

witley

name

A village and civil parish in Waverley borough, Surrey, England (OS grid ref SU9439).

witness

noun

A person who sees an event happen and can describe it afterward.

witnessing

noun

The act of seeing an event happen, or of giving testimony about it.

witney

name

A town and civil parish with a town council in West Oxfordshire district, Oxfordshire, England (OS grid ref SP3510).

wits

noun

A person's mental sharpness or ability to think and react quickly, especially under pressure.

witsec

noun

The U.S. federal Witness Security Program, which relocates and protects witnesses who testify against dangerous criminals.

Witt

name

A German and English surname, often derived from a nickname meaning "wise" or "white."

Witten

name

A German surname and place name, notably borne by physicist Edward Witten.

witter

verb

To talk on and on about unimportant things.

witticism

noun

A clever and amusing remark.

wittiness

noun

The characteristic of being witty.

witting

adj

Having awareness or knowledge of something.

wittingly

adv

In a deliberate, on-purpose way.

witty

adjective

Cleverly funny; able to make quick, amusing remarks.

wiz

noun

Someone remarkably skilled or talented at something, especially informally.

wizard

noun

In folklore and fantasy fiction, a man who practises magic; a sorcerer.

wizardcraft

noun

Witchcraft practised by a wizard.

wizardry

noun

The practice of magic; sorcery.

wizened

adj

Thin and covered in wrinkles, often through old age or illness.

wlw

noun

Women loving women: an umbrella term for women attracted to other women, taking in lesbian, bisexual, pansexual and queer women alike.

wo

intj

A command used to make a horse slow down or stop (a variant of "whoa").

woad

noun

Woad is a plant, Isatis tinctoria, traditionally grown for the blue dye taken from its leaves.

wobble

verb

To move unsteadily from side to side, rocking rather than moving smoothly.

wobbles

noun

A shaky, unsteady feeling, especially in the legs or on one's feet.

wobbling

noun

The rocking, unsteady movement of something that wobbles.

wobbly

adj

Unsteady, shaky, or likely to wobble.

wode

adj

(archaic) Extremely angry, or out of one's mind.

wodehousian

adj

In the style of the English writer P. G. Wodehouse, known for his comic novels with eccentric characters.

woden

name

The Germanic chief god, distributor of talents and god of wisdom and war (corresponding to Odin), especially in his Anglo-Saxon form.

woe

noun

Deep sadness or distress, or a misfortune that causes it.

woebegone

adj

Describing a person weighed down by suffering or hardship and full of woe, meaning great distress or sadness; more loosely, forlorn, sad, or unhappy.

woefare

noun

A feeling of sadness or unhappiness.

woeful

adj

Full of sorrow or distress.

woefully

adv

To a shockingly great or inadequate extent.

wog

noun

An ethnic slur used, mainly in British and Australian English, for people of certain non-white or Mediterranean backgrounds.

wok

noun

A large, round-bottomed pan used for stir-frying and other East Asian cooking.

woke

adj

Aware of and actively concerned about social injustice, especially around race.

woken

verb

Past participle of wake: roused from sleep.

Wolcott

name

An English surname derived from a place name meaning "Wulfric's cottage."

wold

noun

An area of open, treeless land, such as grassland or moorland.

wolf

noun

A large wild canine, Canis lupus, that lives and hunts in packs.

Wolfe

name

An English surname derived from "wolf," originally a nickname for a fierce or cunning person.

wolfess

noun

A wolf that is female.

Wolff

name

A German surname meaning "wolf," often used as a nickname for a fierce or wolf-like person.

Wolfgang

name

A German male given name, most famously associated with the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

wolfish

adj

Relating to or resembling a wolf.

wolfman

noun

A man who transforms into a wolf-like creature; a werewolf.

wolfram

noun

An older name for the metallic element tungsten.

wolfsbane

noun

A poisonous flowering plant of the genus Aconitum, also known as monkshood or aconite.

Wolsey

name

An English surname, most notably borne by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a powerful advisor to King Henry VIII.

wolverine

noun

A stocky, powerful, solitary mammal (Gulo gulo) related to weasels, known for its strength and aggression relative to its size.

Wolves

noun

Plural of wolf.

woman

noun

An adult female human.

womanhater

noun

A person who hates women.

womanhood

noun

The state or condition of being a woman, especially as reached at maturity.

womaniser

noun

A non-Oxford British English standard spelling of womanizer.

womanish

adj

Typical of a woman; feminine, or, of a man, seen as unmanly.

womanizer

noun

A man who habitually flirts with, seduces, or pursues many women.

womankind

noun

Women as a whole group.

womanlikeness

noun

The quality of seeming like a woman; femininity.

womanliness

noun

The state of being womanly; femininity.

womanly

adj

Considered typical of, or fitting for, a woman; feminine.

womb

noun

The organ in a female mammal's body where offspring develop before birth; the uterus.

wombat

noun

A stocky, burrowing, plant-eating marsupial native to Australia.

Women

noun

Plural of woman.

womenfolk

noun

Women as a group, especially the female members of a family or community.

womenkind

noun

Women everywhere, thought of together as a single group.

wommon

noun

A feminist spelling of woman.

womon

noun

A feminist spelling of woman.

womxn

noun

A feminist spelling of woman.

womyn

noun

A feminist spelling of woman.

won

verb

Past tense and past participle of win.

wonder

noun

A feeling of amazement and curiosity caused by something remarkable or unexpected.

wondered

adj

Wonderful or extraordinary (archaic).

wonderful

adj

Extremely good, impressive, or pleasing.

wonderfully

adv

In an excellent or admirable way.

wondering

adj

Curious, questioning, or thoughtful.

wonderland

noun

An imaginary or real place full of wonders and marvels.

wonderment

noun

A feeling of surprise and admiration.

wonderworker

noun

A person who performs amazing or miraculous acts.

wonderworking

noun

The act of performing amazing or miraculous deeds.

wondrous

adj

Amazing or awe-inspiring; marvelous.

wone

noun

(archaic) A place where someone lives; a home.

wong

noun

A field or open piece of land (an old, mostly historical word).

wonga

name

The name of a locality in South Gippsland Shire, south eastern Victoria, Australia.

woning

noun

A dwelling or abode; somewhere that a person lives.

wonk

noun

(informal) Someone, often a student, who studies far more than most.

wonkaesque

adj

Reminding you of Willy Wonka, the eccentric chocolate-factory owner from Roald Dahl's stories.

wonky

adj

Not straight or properly aligned; wobbly or unstable.

wont

noun

A person's usual habit or custom.

wonted

adj

(literary) Done or happening as usual; customary.

wontedly

adv

(literary) As usual; in the customary way.

wontish

adj

(rare) Resembling a habit; usual or customary.

wontly

adv

(archaic) As a matter of habit; usually.

wonton

noun

A small Chinese dumpling, typically filled with meat or seafood and served in soup or fried.

woo

verb

To try to win someone's affection, love, or support.

woobie

noun

(informal) An item, such as a blanket or soft toy, that someone keeps for comfort.

wood

noun

The hard fibrous material that makes up the trunk and branches of a tree, used for building, fuel, and countless other purposes.

woodbine

noun

Any of a number of climbing vine species, particularly honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.) and the Parthenocissus creepers.

Woodbury

name

An English surname and place name meaning "fortified place in the woods."

woodcarver

noun

Someone who is good at carving shapes out of wood.

woodchuck

noun

A large North American ground squirrel, also called a groundhog, known for digging burrows.

woodcock

noun

A plump wading bird with a long, slender bill and mottled brown feathers, found in woodland and marshes.

woodcut

noun

A print made from a carved block of wood.

woodcutter

noun

A person whose job is to cut down trees or chop wood.

woodcutting

noun

The act of chopping down trees or cutting wood.