adrenocortical
- a of or derived from the cortex of the adrenal glands
ad-lib
- n remark made spontaneously without prior preparation
his ad-libs got him in trouble with the politicians - v perform without preparation
- s with little or no preparation or forethought
his ad-lib comments showed poor judgment - s said or done without having been planned or written in advance
he made a few ad-lib remarks
ad hoc
- s often improvised or impromptu
- s for or concerned with one specific purpose
- r for one specific case
ad hominem
- s appealing to personal considerations (rather than to fact or reason)
acuminate
- v make sharp or acute; taper; make (something) come to a point
- s (of a leaf shape) narrowing to a slender point
acute
- n a mark (') placed above a vowel to indicate pronunciation
- a having or experiencing a rapid onset and short but severe course
acute appendicitis
the acute phase of the illness
acute patients - s extremely sharp or intense
acute pain
felt acute annoyance - s having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions
an acute observer of politics and politicians - a of an angle; less than 90 degrees
- s ending in a sharp point
- s of critical importance and consequence
an acute (or critical) lack of research funds
acyclic
- a not cyclic; especially having parts arranged in spirals rather than whorls
- a having an open chain structure
adjectival
- a of or relating to or functioning as an adjective
adjectival syntax
adagio
- n (music) a composition played in adagio tempo (slowly and gracefully)
they played the adagio too quickly - n a slow section of a pas de deux requiring great skill and strength by the dancers
- s (of tempo) leisurely
- r slowly
here you must play adagio
adamant
- n very hard native crystalline carbon valued as a gem
- s impervious to pleas, persuasion, requests, reason; she would have none of him"- W.Churchill
he is adamant in his refusal to change his mind
adamantine
- a consisting of or having the hardness of adamant
- s having the hardness of a diamond
- s impervious to pleas, persuasion, requests, reason; she would have none of him"- W.Churchill
adaptable
- a capable of adapting (of becoming or being made suitable) to a particular situation or use
to succeed one must be adaptable
the frame was adaptable to cloth bolts of different widths
adapted
- v make fit for, or change to suit a new purpose
- v adapt or conform oneself to new or different conditions
- s changed in order to improve or made more fit for a particular purpose
seeds precisely adapted to the area