n. Stealing cattle on a large scale. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pref. ab- + reaction, after G. Abreagirung. ] (Psychotherapy) the purging of emotional tensions. See Catharsis, below.
Syn. -- catharsis, katharsis [ Webster 1913 Suppl. WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Cf. F. abstraction. See Abstract, a. ] 1. The act of abstracting, separating, or withdrawing, or the state of being withdrawn; withdrawal. [ 1913 Webster ]

A wrongful abstraction of wealth from certain members of the community. J. S. Mill. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Metaph.) The act process of leaving out of consideration one or more properties of a complex object so as to attend to others; analysis. Thus, when the mind considers the form of a tree by itself, or the color of the leaves as separate from their size or figure, the act is called abstraction. So, also, when it considers whiteness, softness, virtue, existence, as separate from any particular objects. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Abstraction is necessary to classification, by which things are arranged in genera and species. We separate in idea the qualities of certain objects, which are of the same kind, from others which are different, in each, and arrange the objects having the same properties in a class, or collected body. [ 1913 Webster ]

Abstraction is no positive act: it is simply the negative of attention. Sir W. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An idea or notion of an abstract, or theoretical nature; as, to fight for mere abstractions. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A separation from worldly objects; a recluse life; as, a hermit's abstraction. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Absence or absorption of mind; inattention to present objects. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. The taking surreptitiously for one's own use part of the property of another; purloining. [ Modern ] [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Chem.) A separation of volatile parts by the act of distillation. Nicholson. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to abstraction. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An idealist. Emerson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. action, L. actio, fr. agere to do. See Act. ] 1. A process or condition of acting or moving, as opposed to rest; the doing of something; exertion of power or force, as when one body acts on another; the effect of power exerted on one body by another; agency; activity; operation; as, the action of heat; a man of action. [ 1913 Webster ]

One wise in council, one in action brave. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An act; a thing done; a deed; an enterprise. (pl.): Habitual deeds; hence, conduct; behavior; demeanor. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Lord is a Good of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. 1 Sam. ii. 3. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The event or connected series of events, either real or imaginary, forming the subject of a play, poem, or other composition; the unfolding of the drama of events. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Movement; as, the horse has a spirited action. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Mech.) Effective motion; also, mechanism; as, the breech action of a gun. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Physiol.) Any one of the active processes going on in an organism; the performance of a function; as, the action of the heart, the muscles, or the gastric juice. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Orat.) Gesticulation; the external deportment of the speaker, or the suiting of his attitude, voice, gestures, and countenance, to the subject, or to the feelings. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. (Paint. & Sculp.) The attitude or position of the several parts of the body as expressive of the sentiment or passion depicted. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. (Law) (a) A suit or process, by which a demand is made of a right in a court of justice; in a broad sense, a judicial proceeding for the enforcement or protection of a right, the redress or prevention of a wrong, or the punishment of a public offense. (b) A right of action; as, the law gives an action for every claim. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. (Com.) A share in the capital stock of a joint-stock company, or in the public funds; hence, in the plural, equivalent to stocks. [ A Gallicism ] [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The Euripus of funds and actions. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

11. An engagement between troops in war, whether on land or water; a battle; a fight; as, a general action, a partial action. [ 1913 Webster ]

12. (Music) The mechanical contrivance by means of which the impulse of the player's finger is transmitted to the strings of a pianoforte or to the valve of an organ pipe. Grove. [ 1913 Webster ]

Chose in action. (Law) See Chose. --
Quantity of action (Physics), the product of the mass of a body by the space it runs through, and its velocity. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Action, Act. In many cases action and act are synonymous; but some distinction is observable. Action involves the mode or process of acting, and is usually viewed as occupying some time in doing. Act has more reference to the effect, or the operation as complete. To poke the fire is an act, to reconcile friends who have quarreled is a praiseworthy action. C. J. Smith. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. LL. actionabilis. See Action. ] That may be the subject of an action or suit at law; as, to call a man a thief is actionable. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an actionable manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ Cf. F. actionnaire. ] (Com.) A shareholder in joint-stock company. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Void of action. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. a policy of making active efforts to improve the employment or educational opportunities available to members of minority groups or women; -- achieved by employers or schools by using various techniques, but excluding the use of simple quotas or outright discrimination against white males. affirmative action is required by law for certain employers in the United States. [ PJC ]

n. [ L. arefacere to dry. ] The act of drying, or the state of growing dry. [ 1913 Webster ]

The arefaction of the earth. Sir M. Hale. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. assuefacere to accustom to; assuetus (p. p. of assuescere to accustom to) + facere to make; cf. OF. assuefaction. ] The act of accustoming, or the state of being accustomed; habituation. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Custom and studies efform the soul like wax, and by assuefaction introduce a nature. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. attractio: cf. F. attraction. ] 1. (Physics) An invisible power in a body by which it draws anything to itself; the power in nature acting mutually between bodies or ultimate particles, tending to draw them together, or to produce their cohesion or combination, and conversely resisting separation. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Attraction is exerted at both sensible and insensible distances, and is variously denominated according to its qualities or phenomena. Under attraction at sensible distances, there are, -- (1.)
Attraction of gravitation, which acts at all distances throughout the universe, with a force proportional directly to the product of the masses of the bodies and inversely to the square of their distances apart. (2.)
Magnetic,
diamagnetic, and
electrical attraction, each of which is limited in its sensible range and is polar in its action, a property dependent on the quality or condition of matter, and not on its quantity. Under attraction at insensible distances, there are, -- (1.)
Adhesive attraction, attraction between surfaces of sensible extent, or by the medium of an intervening substance. (2.)
Cohesive attraction, attraction between ultimate particles, whether like or unlike, and causing simply an aggregation or a union of those particles, as in the absorption of gases by charcoal, or of oxygen by spongy platinum, or the process of solidification or crystallization. The power in adhesive attraction is strictly the same as that of cohesion. (3.)
Capillary attraction, attraction causing a liquid to rise, in capillary tubes or interstices, above its level outside, as in very small glass tubes, or a sponge, or any porous substance, when one end is inserted in the liquid. It is a special case of cohesive attraction. (4.)
Chemical attraction, or
affinity, that peculiar force which causes elementary atoms, or groups of atoms, to unite to form molecules. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The act or property of attracting; the effect of the power or operation of attraction. Newton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The power or act of alluring, drawing to, inviting, or engaging; an attractive quality; as, the attraction of beauty or eloquence. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. That which attracts; an attractive object or feature. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Allurement; enticement; charm. [ 1913 Webster ]

. 1. (Zool.) (a) The central mass of the aster in mitotic cell division; centrosphere. (b) Less often, the mass of archoplasm left by the aster in the resting cell. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. (Bot.) A small body situated on or near the nucleus in the cells of some of the lower plants, consisting of two centrospheres containing centrosomes. It exercises an important function in mitosis. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ L. benefactio, fr. benefacere to do good to one; bene well + facere to do. See Benefit. ] 1. The act of conferring a benefit. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A benefit conferred; esp. a charitable donation. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Gift; present; gratuity; boon; alms. [ 1913 Webster ]

. The breech mechanism in breech-loading small arms and certain special guns, as automatic and machine guns; -- used frequently in referring to the method by which the movable barrels of breech-loading shotguns are locked, unlocked, or rotated to loading position. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ L. calefactio: cf. F. caléfaction. ] 1. The act of warming or heating; the production of heat in a body by the action of fire, or by communication of heat from other bodies. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The state of being heated. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Chyle + L. facere to make. ] (Physiol.) The act or process by which chyle is formed from food in animal bodies; chylification, -- a digestive process. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ LL. cinefactio: L. cinis ashes + facere to make: cf. F. cinéfaction. ] incineration; reduction to ashes. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. coactio. ] Force; compulsion, either in restraining or impelling. Sojth. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. colliquefactus melted; col- + liquefacere; liquēre to be liquid + facere to make. ] A melting together; the reduction of different bodies into one mass by fusion. [ 1913 Webster ]

The incorporation of metals by simple colliquefaction. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. compactio. ] The act of making compact, or the state of being compact. [ Obs. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Act of touching. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. contractio: cf. F. contraction. ] 1. The act or process of contracting, shortening, or shrinking; the state of being contracted; as, contraction of the heart, of the pupil of the eye, or of a tendon; the contraction produced by cold. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Math.) The process of shortening an operation. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The act of incurring or becoming subject to, as liabilities, obligation, debts, etc.; the process of becoming subject to; as, the contraction of a disease. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Something contracted or abbreviated, as a word or phrase; -- as, plenipo for plenipotentiary; crim. con. for criminal conversation, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Gram.) The shortening of a word, or of two words, by the omission of a letter or letters, or by reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one; as, ne'er for never; can't for can not; don't for do not; it's for it is. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. A marriage contract. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Action in opposition; hindrance resistance. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ They ] do not . . . overcome the counteraction of a false principle or of stubborn partiality. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a rival attraction. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ F. détraction, L. detractio. ] 1. A taking away or withdrawing. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The detraction of the eggs of the said wild fowl. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The act of taking away from the reputation or good name of another; a lessening or cheapening in the estimation of others; the act of depreciating another, from envy or malice; calumny.

Syn. -- Depreciation; disparagement; derogation; slander; calumny; aspersion; censure. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. diffraction. ] (Opt.) The deflection and decomposition of light in passing by the edges of opaque bodies or through narrow slits, causing the appearance of parallel bands or fringes of prismatic colors, as by the action of a grating of fine lines or bars. [ 1913 Webster ]

Remarked by Grimaldi (1665), and referred by him to a property of light which he called diffraction. Whewell. [ 1913 Webster ]

Diffraction grating. (Optics) See under Grating. --
Diffraction spectrum. (Optics) See under Spectrum. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being dissatisfied, unsatisfied, or discontented; uneasiness proceeding from the want of gratification, or from disappointed wishes and expectations. [ 1913 Webster ]

The ambitious man has little happiness, but is subject to much uneasiness and dissatisfaction. Addison.

Syn. -- Discontent; discontentment; displeasure; disapprobation; distaste; dislike. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. distractio: cf. F. distraction. ] 1. The act of distracting; a drawing apart; separation. [ 1913 Webster ]

To create distractions among us. Bp. Burnet. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which diverts attention; a diversion. “Domestic distractions.” G. Eliot. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A diversity of direction; detachment. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

His power went out in such distractions as
Beguiled all species. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. State in which the attention is called in different ways; confusion; perplexity. [ 1913 Webster ]

That ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction. 1 Cor. vii. 35. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Confusion of affairs; tumult; disorder; as, political distractions. [ 1913 Webster ]

Never was known a night of such distraction. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Agitation from violent emotions; perturbation of mind; despair. [ 1913 Webster ]

The distraction of the children, who saw both their parents together, would have melted the hardest heart. Tatler. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. Derangement of the mind; madness. Atterbury.

Syn. -- Perplexity; confusion; disturbance; disorder; dissension; tumult; derangement; madness; raving; franticness; furiousness. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. exactio: cf. F. exaction. ] 1. The act of demanding with authority, and compelling to pay or yield; compulsion to give or furnish; a levying by force; a driving to compliance; as, the exaction to tribute or of obedience; hence, extortion. [ 1913 Webster ]

Take away your exactions from my people. Ezek. xlv. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

Daily new exactions are devised. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Illegal exactions of sheriffs and officials. Bancroft. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which is exacted; a severe tribute; a fee, reward, or contribution, demanded or levied with severity or injustice. Daniel. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. excalfactio. ] A heating or warming; calefaction. [ Obs. ] Blount. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. extraction. ] 1. The act of extracting, or drawing out; as, the extraction of a tooth, of a bone or an arrow from the body, of a stump from earth, of a passage from a book, of an essence or tincture. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Derivation from a stock or family; lineage; descent; birth; the stock from which one has descended. “A family of ancient extraction.” Clarendon. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. That which is extracted; extract; essence. [ 1913 Webster ]

They [ books ] do preserve as in a vial the purest efficacy and extraction of that living intellect that bred them. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

The extraction of roots. (Math.) (a) The operation of finding the root of a given number or quantity. (b) The method or rule by which the operation is performed; evolution. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. factio a doing, a company of persons acting together, a faction: cf. F. faction See Fashion. ] 1. (Anc. Hist.) One of the divisions or parties of charioteers (distinguished by their colors) in the games of the circus. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A party, in political society, combined or acting in union, in opposition to the government, or state; -- usually applied to a minority, but it may be applied to a majority; a combination or clique of partisans of any kind, acting for their own interests, especially if greedy, clamorous, and reckless of the common good. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Tumult; discord; dissension. [ 1913 Webster ]

They remained at Newbury in great faction among themselves. Clarendon.

Syn. -- Combination; clique; junto. See Cabal. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. factionnaire, L. factionarius the head of a company of charioteers. ] Belonging to a faction; being a partisan; taking sides. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Always factionary on the party of your general. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One of a faction. Abp. Bancroft. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who promotes faction. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. (Chem.) To separate by means of, or to subject to, fractional distillation or crystallization; to fractionate; -- frequently used with out; as, to fraction out a certain grade of oil from pretroleum. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. fraction, L. fractio a breaking, fr. frangere, fractum, to break. See Break. ] 1. The act of breaking, or state of being broken, especially by violence. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Neither can the natural body of Christ be subject to any fraction or breaking up. Foxe. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A portion; a fragment. [ 1913 Webster ]

Some niggard fractions of an hour. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Arith. or Alg.) One or more aliquot parts of a unit or whole number; an expression for a definite portion of a unit or magnitude. [ 1913 Webster ]

Common fraction, or
Vulgar fraction, a fraction in which the number of equal parts into which the integer is supposed to be divided is indicated by figures or letters, called the denominator, written below a line, over which is the numerator, indicating the number of these parts included in the fraction; as 1/2, one half, 2/5, two fifths. --
Complex fraction, a fraction having a fraction or mixed number in the numerator or denominator, or in both. Davies & Peck. --
Compound fraction, a fraction of a fraction; two or more fractions connected by of. --
Continued fraction,
Decimal fraction,
Partial fraction, etc. See under Continued, Decimal, Partial, etc. --
Improper fraction, a fraction in which the numerator is greater than the denominator. --
Proper fraction, a fraction in which the numerator is less than the denominator. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Of or pertaining to fractions or a fraction; constituting a fraction; as, fractional numbers. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Relatively small; inconsiderable; insignificant; as, a fractional part of the population. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fractional crystallization (Chem.), a process of gradual and approximate purification and separation, by means of repeated solution and crystallization therefrom. --
Fractional currency, small coin, or paper notes, in circulation, of less value than the monetary unit. --
Fractional distillation (Chem.), a process of distillation so conducted that a mixture of liquids, differing considerably from each other in their boiling points, can be separated into its constituents. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. By fractions or separate portions; as, to distill a liquid fractionally, that is, so as to separate different portions. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Fractional. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To separate (a mixture of chemical substances) into different portions or fractions, as in the distillation of liquids. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the act or process of separating a mixture into portions of different composition, as in distillation or fractional crystallization.
Syn. -- fractional process. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

2. (Petroleum industry) Separation of crude oil into components of differing composition by fractional distillation. [ PJC ]

n. [ L. frigere to be cold + facere to make. ] The act of making cold. [ Obs. ] [ 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 ]

n. [ Pref. in. not + action: cf. inaction. ] Lack of action or activity; forbearance from labor; idleness; rest; inertness. Berkeley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. infractio: cf. F. infraction. ] The act of infracting or breaking; breach; violation; nonobservance; infringement; as, an infraction of a treaty, compact, rule, or law. I. Watts. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Insufficiency; emptiness. [ Obs. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Dissatisfaction. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]