adj. prenom. 1. of the greatest importance. the all-important subject of disarmament
Syn. -- all important(predicate), crucial, essential, of the essence(predicate). [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. Opposition to imperialism. This term was applied originally in the United States, after the Spanish-American war (1898), to the attitude or principles of those opposing territorial expansion; in England, of those, often called Little Englanders, opposing the extension of the empire and the closer relation of its parts, esp. in matters of commerce and imperial defense. After the second world war, the term became used for opposition to any hegemony of one power over a foreign territory, and to the support for the national independence of territories, as in Africa, which were controlled by European nations. -- An`ti-im*pe"ri*al*ist, n. -- An`ti-im*pe`ri*al*is"tic a. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

n. [ from Colonel Blimp, a fictional character ] any elderly pompous reactionary.
Syn. -- Colonel Blimp. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. a small nonrigid airship used for observation or as a barrage balloon.
Syn. -- sausage balloon, sausage. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. [ from Colonel Blimp, a fictional character ] pompously ultraconservative and nationalistic. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. same as chimpanzee.
Syn. -- chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ From the native name: cf. F. chimpanzé, chimpansé, chimpanzée. ] (Zool.) An african ape (Pan troglodytes, formerly Anthropithecus troglodytes, or Troglodytes niger) which approaches more nearly to man, in most respects, than any other ape. It is the most intelligent of non-human animals, and when full grown, it is from three to four feet high. A variant called the pygmy chimpanzee, or bonobo, has been recently recognized as a separate species. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Crimped p. pr. & vb. n. Crimping. ] [ Akin to D. krimpen to shrink, shrivel, Sw. krympa, Dan. krympe, and to E. cramp. See Cramp. ] 1. To fold or plait in regular undulation in such a way that the material will retain the shape intended; to give a wavy appearance to; as, to crimp the border of a cap; to crimp a ruffle. Cf. Crisp. [ 1913 Webster ]

The comely hostess in a crimped cap. W. Irving. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To pinch and hold; to seize. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Hence, to entrap into the military or naval service; as, to crimp seamen. [ 1913 Webster ]

Coaxing and courting with intent to crimp him. Carlyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Cookery) To cause to contract, or to render more crisp, as the flesh of a fish, by gashing it, when living, with a knife; as, to crimp skate, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Firearms) In cartridge making, to fold the edge of (a cartridge case) inward so as to close the mouth partly and confine the charge. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

Crimping house, a low lodging house, into which men are decoyed and plied with drink, to induce them to ship or enlist as sailors or soldiers. --
Crimping iron. (a) An iron instrument for crimping and curling the hair. (b) A crimping machine. --
Crimping machine, a machine with fluted rollers or with dies, for crimping ruffles, leather, iron, etc. --
Crimping pin, an instrument for crimping or puckering the border of a lady's cap. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Easily crumbled; friable; brittle. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Now the fowler . . . treads the crimp earth. J. Philips. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Weak; inconsistent; contradictory. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The evidence is crimp; the witnesses swear backward and forward, and contradict themselves. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A coal broker. [ Prov. Eng. ] De Foe. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who decoys or entraps men into the military or naval service. Marryat. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A keeper of a low lodging house where sailors and emigrants are entrapped and fleeced. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Hair which has been crimped; -- usually in pl. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A game at cards. [ Obs. ] B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

Boot crimp. See under Boot. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act or practice of crimping; money paid to a crimp for shipping or enlisting men. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, crimps; as: (a) A curved board or frame over which the upper of a boot or shoe is stretched to the required shape. (b) A device for giving hair a wavy appearance. (c) A machine for crimping or ruffling textile fabrics. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Crimpled p. pr. & vb. n. Crimpling ] [ Dim. of crimp, v. t. ] To cause to shrink or draw together; to contract; to curl. [ R. ] Wiseman. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having a crimped appearance; frizzly; as, the crimpy wool of the Saxony sheep. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) A spring-blooming plant (Fritillaria imperialis) of the Lily family, having at the top of the stalk a cluster of pendent bell-shaped flowers surmounted with a tuft of green leaves. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Prob. a nasalized dim. of dip. See Dip, and cf. Dimble. ] 1. A slight natural depression or indentation on the surface of some part of the body, esp. on the cheek or chin. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

The dimple of her chin. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A slight indentation on any surface. [ 1913 Webster ]

The garden pool's dark surface . . .
Breaks into dimples small and bright. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Dimpled p. pr. & vb. n. Dimpling ] To form dimples; to sink into depressions or little inequalities. [ 1913 Webster ]

And smiling eddies dimpled on the main. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To mark with dimples or dimplelike depressions. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being dimpled, or marked with gentle depressions. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The ground's most gentle dimplement. Mrs. Browning. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Full of dimples, or small depressions; dimpled; as, the dimply pool. Thomson. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To free from the barriers or restrictions of a park. [ R. ] Spectator. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Free from warmth of passion or feeling. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To make worse; -- the opposite of improve. [ R. ] Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To grow worse; to deteriorate. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Reduction from a better to a worse state; as, disimprovement of the earth; specific features which are worse than former features; disimprovements in the new Windows operating system. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

‖pl. [ L. imperfecti imperfect. ] (Bot.) A heterogenous phylum of fungi which lack a sexual phase, or of which the sexual phase is not known. Some undoubtedly represent the conidium stages of various Ascomycetes. It is not considered a natural phylum, and is also called the Deuteromycota. The group is divided into the orders Sphæropsidales, Melanconiales, and Moniliales. It includes the genera Penicillium and Aspergillus, which reproduce asexually by means of conidia. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

a. [ W. gwymp fair, neat, comely. ] Smart; spruce; trim; nice. [ Obs. or Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. guimpe, guimple, a nun's wimple, F. guimpe, OHG. wimpal a veil G. wimpel pennon, pendant. See Wimple, n. ] A narrow ornamental fabric of silk, woolen, or cotton, often with a metallic wire, or sometimes a coarse cord, running through it; -- used as trimming for dresses, furniture, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

Gimp nail, an upholsterer's small nail. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To notch; to indent; to jag. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ For glimse, from the root of glimmer. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A sudden flash; transient luster. [ 1913 Webster ]

LIght as the lightning glimpse they ran. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A short, hurried view; a transitory or fragmentary perception; a quick sight. [ 1913 Webster ]

Here hid by shrub wood, there by glimpses seen. S. Rogers. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A faint idea; an inkling. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Glimpsed p. pr. & vb. n. Glimpsing. ] to appear by glimpses; to catch glimpses. Drayton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To catch a glimpse of; to see by glimpses; to have a short or hurried view of. [ 1913 Webster ]

Some glimpsing and no perfect sight. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as gooseflesh. [ PJC ]

‖n. [ F. See 2d Gimp. ] 1. A kind of short blouse or chemisette, worn under a low-necked dress such as a jumper or pinafore. [ wns=2 ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. a piece of starched cloth covering the shoulders of a nun's habit. [ wns=1 ] [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. having a hearing impairment making hearing difficult; having a defective but functioning sense of hearing.
Syn. -- hard-of-hearing. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. (Med.) either of two forms of herpesvirus infection, distinguished as being caused by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), which causes mostly sores and eruptions around the mouth (cold sores and fever blisters) and at other points above the waist, and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), causing genital herpes. HSV-1 is also known in some cases to cause genital herpes infections. [ PJC ]

n. A hymn. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. imp a graft, AS. impa; akin to Dan. ympe, Sw. ymp, prob. fr. LL. impotus, Gr. &unr_; engrafted, innate, fr. &unr_; to implant; &unr_; in + &unr_; to produce; akin to E. be. See 1st In-, Be. ] 1. A shoot; a scion; a bud; a slip; a graft. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An offspring; progeny; child; scion. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The tender imp was weaned. Fairfax. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A young or inferior devil; a little, malignant spirit; a puny demon; a contemptible evil worker. [ 1913 Webster ]

To mingle in the clamorous fray
Of squabbling imps. Beattie. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Something added to, or united with, another, to lengthen it out or repair it, -- as, an addition to a beehive; a feather inserted in a broken wing of a bird; a length of twisted hair in a fishing line. [ Obs. or Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Imped p. pr. & vb. n. Imping. ] [ AS. impian to imp, ingraft, plant; akin to Dan. ympe, Sw. ympa, OHG. impfōn, impitōn, G. impfen. See Imp, n. ] 1. To graft; to insert as a scion. [ Obs. ] Rom. of R. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Falconry) To graft with new feathers, as a wing; to splice a broken feather. Hence, [ Fig. ]: To repair; to extend; to increase; to strengthen; to equip. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Imp out our drooping country's broken wing. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Who lazily imp their wings with other men's plumes. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

Here no frail Muse shall imp her crippled wing. Holmes. [ 1913 Webster ]

Help, ye tart satirists, to imp my rage
With all the scorpions that should whip this age. Cleveland. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. pref. im- not + pacare to quiet. See Pacate. ] Not to be appeased or quieted. [ Obs. ] Spenser. -- Im*pa"ca*bly, adv. [1913 Webster]

n. [ Pref. im- in + pack. ] The state of being closely surrounded, crowded, or pressed, as by ice. [ R. ] Kane. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Impacted; p. pr. & vb. n. Impacting. ] [ L. impactus, p. p. of impingere to push, strike against. See Impinge. ] 1. To drive close; to press firmly together: to wedge into a place. Woodward. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To affect or influence, especially in a significant or undesirable manner; as, budget cuts impacted the entire research program; the fish populations were adversely impacted by pollution. [ PJC ]

3. To collide forcefully with; to strike. [ PJC ]

n. 1. Contact or impression by touch; collision; forcible contact; force communicated. [ 1913 Webster ]

The quarrel, by that impact driven. Southey. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mech.) The single instantaneous stroke of a body in motion against another either in motion or at rest. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Driven together or close. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Specifically: (Dentistry) Grown in an abnormal direction so that it is wedged against another tooth and cannot erupt normally; -- of teeth, especially the third molar; as, to extract an impacted third molar. [ PJC ]

Impacted fracture (Surg.), a fracture in which the fragments are driven into each other so as to be immovable. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. impactio a striking : cf. F. impaction. ] 1. (Surg.) The driving of one fragment of bone into another so that the fragments are not movable upon each other; as, impaction of the skull or of the hip. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An immovable packing; (Med.), a lodgment of something in a strait or passage of the body; as, impaction of the fetal head in the strait of the pelvis; impaction of food or feces in the intestines of man or beast. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To paint; to adorn with colors. [ R. ] “To impaint his cause.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Impaired p. pr. & vb. n. Impairing. ] [ Written also empair. ] [ OE. empeiren, enpeiren, OF. empeirier, empirier, F. empirer, LL. impejorare; L. pref. im- in + pejorare to make worse, fr. pejor worse. Cf. Appair. ] To make worse; to diminish in quantity, value, excellence, or strength; to deteriorate; as, to impair health, character, the mind, value. [ 1913 Webster ]

Time sensibly all things impairs. Roscommon. [ 1913 Webster ]

In years he seemed, but not impaired by years. Pope.

Syn. -- To diminish; decrease; injure; weaken; enfeeble; debilitate; reduce; debase; deteriorate. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To grow worse; to deteriorate. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F. impair uneven, L. impar; im- not + par equal. ] Not fit or appropriate. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Diminution; injury. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, impairs. [ 1913 Webster ]