Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - Letter O - Page 4
Obscurantist (n.) Same as Obscurant. -- Ed. Rev.
Obscurantist (n.) A person who is deliberately vague.
Obscuration (v. t.) The act or operation of obscuring; the state of being obscured; as, the obscuration of the moon in an eclipse. -- Sir J. Herschel.
Obscure (a.) Covered over, shaded, or darkened; destitute of light; imperfectly illuminated; dusky; dim.
His lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness. -- Prov. xx. 20.
Obscure (a.) Of or pertaining to darkness or night; inconspicuous to the sight; indistinctly seen; hidden; retired; remote from observation; unnoticed.
The obscure bird Clamored the livelong night. -- Shak.
The obscure corners of the earth. -- Sir J. Davies.
Obscure (a.) Not noticeable; humble; mean. "O base and obscure vulgar." -- Shak. "An obscure person." -- Atterbury.
Obscure (a.) Not easily understood; not clear or legible; abstruse or blind; as, an obscure passage or inscription.
Obscure (a.) Not clear, full, or distinct; clouded; imperfect; as, an obscure view of remote objects.
Obscure rays (Opt.), Those rays which are not luminous or visible, and which in the spectrum are beyond the limits of the visible portion.
Syn: Dark; dim; darksome; dusky; shadowy; misty; abstruse; intricate; difficult; mysterious; retired; unnoticed; unknown; humble; mean; indistinct.
Obscured (imp. & p. p.) of Obscure
Obscuring (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Obscure
Obscure (v. t.) To render obscure; to darken; to make dim; to keep in the dark; to hide; to make less visible, intelligible, legible, glorious, beautiful, or illustrious.
They are all couched in a pit hard by Herne's oak, with obscured lights. -- Shak.
Why, 't is an office of discovery, love, And I should be obscured. -- Shak.
There is scarce any duty which has been so obscured by the writings of learned men as this. -- Wake.
And seest not sin obscures thy godlike frame? -- Dryden.
Obscure (v. i.) To conceal one's self; to hide; to keep dark. [Obs.]
How! There's bad news.
I must obscure, and hear it. -- Beau. & Fl.
Obscure (n.) Obscurity. [Obs.] -- Milton.
Obscure (a.) Not clearly understood or expressed; "an obscure turn of phrase"; "an impulse to go off and fight certain obscure battles of his own spirit"-Anatole Broyard; "their descriptions of human behavior become vague, dull, and unclear" -- P.A.Sorokin; "vague...forms of speech...have so long passed for mysteries of science" -- John Locke [syn: obscure, vague].
Obscure (a.) Marked by difficulty of style or expression; "much that was dark is now quite clear to me"; "those who do not appreciate Kafka's work say his style is obscure" [syn: dark, obscure].
Obscure (a.) Difficult to find; "hidden valleys"; "a hidden cave"; "an obscure retreat" [syn: hidden, obscure].
Obscure (a.) Not famous or acclaimed; "an obscure family"; "unsung heroes of the war" [syn: obscure, unknown, unsung]
Obscure (a.) Not drawing attention; "an unnoticeable cigarette burn on the carpet"; "an obscure flaw" [syn: obscure, unnoticeable].
Obscure (a.) Remote and separate physically or socially; "existed over the centuries as a world apart"; "preserved because they inhabited a place apart"- W.H.Hudson; "tiny isolated villages remote from centers of civilization"; "an obscure village" [syn: apart(p), isolated, obscure].
Obscure (v.) Make less visible or unclear; "The stars are obscured by the clouds"; "the big elm tree obscures our view of the valley" [syn: obscure, befog, becloud, obnubilate, haze over, fog, cloud, mist].
Obscure (v.) Make unclear, indistinct, or blurred; "Her remarks confused the debate"; "Their words obnubilate their intentions" [syn: confuse, blur, obscure, obnubilate].
Obscure (v.) Make obscure or unclear; "The distinction was obscured" [syn: obscure, bedim, overcloud].
Obscure (v.) Reduce a vowel to a neutral one, such as a schwa.
Obscure (v.) Make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing; "a hidden message"; "a veiled threat" [syn: obscure, blot out, obliterate, veil, hide].
Obscurely (adv.) In an obscure manner. -- Milton.
Obscurely (adv.) In an obscure manner; "this work is obscurely written".
Obscurement (n.) The act of obscuring, or the state of being obscured; obscuration. -- Pomfret.
Obscureness (n.) Obscurity. -- Bp. Hall.
Obscureness (n.) The state of being humble and unimportant [syn: humbleness, unimportance, obscureness, lowliness].
Obscureness (n.) The state of being indistinct or indefinite for lack of adequate illumination [syn: obscurity, obscureness].
Obscureness (n.) The quality of being unclear or abstruse and hard to understand [syn: obscureness, obscurity, abstruseness, reconditeness] [ant: clarity, clearness, limpidity, lucidity, lucidness, pellucidity].
Obscurer (n.) One who, or that which, obscures.
Obscurity (n.) The quality or state of being obscure.
Syn: darkness; privacy; inconspicuousness; unintelligibleness; uncertainty.
You are not for obscurity designed. -- Dryden.
They were now brought forth from obscurity, to be contemplated by artists with admiration and despair. -- Macaulay.
Syn: Darkness; dimness; gloom. See Darkness.
Obscurity (n.) The quality of being unclear or abstruse and hard to understand [syn: obscureness, obscurity, abstruseness, reconditeness] [ant: clarity, clearness, limpidity, lucidity, lucidness, pellucidity].
Obscurity (n.) An obscure and unimportant standing; not well known; "he worked in obscurity for many years" [ant: prominence].
Obscurity (n.) The state of being indistinct or indefinite for lack of adequate illumination [syn: obscurity, obscureness].
Obsecrated (imp. & p. p.) of Obsecrate.
Obsecrating (p. pr. & vb, n.) of Obsecrate.
Obsecrate (v. t.) To beseech; to supplicate; to implore. [R.]. -- Cockerman.
Obsecration (n.) The act of obsecrating or imploring; as, the obsecrations of the Litany, being those clauses beginning with "By." -- Bp. Stillingfeet. -- Shipley.
Obsecration (n.) (Rhet.) A figure of speech in which the orator implores the assistance of God or man.
Obsecratory (a.) Expressing, or used in, entreaty; supplicatory. [R.] -- Bp. Hall.
Obsequent (a.) Obedient; submissive; obsequious. [Obs.] -- Fotherby.
Obsequience (n.) Obsequiousness. [R.]
Obsequies (n. pl.) See Obsequy.
Obsequious (a.) 諂媚的，奉承的，順從的 Promptly obedient, or submissive, to the will of another; compliant; yielding to the desires of another; devoted. [Obs.]
His servants weeping, Obsequious to his orders, bear him hither. -- Addison.
Obsequious (a.) Servilely or meanly attentive; compliant to excess; cringing; fawning; as, obsequious flatterer, parasite.
There lies ever in "obsequious" at the present the sense of an observance which is overdone, of an unmanly readiness to fall in with the will of another. -- Trench.
Obsequious (a.) [See Obsequy.] Of or pertaining to obsequies; funereal. [R.] "To do obsequious sorrow." -- Shak.
syn: Compliant; obedient; servile. See Yielding.
Obsequious (a.) Attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery [syn: {bootlicking}, {fawning}, {obsequious}, {sycophantic}, {toadyish}].
Obsequious (a.) Attentive in an ingratiating or servile manner; "obsequious shop assistants".
Obsequiously (adv.) 逢迎地；諂媚地 In an obsequious manner; compliantly; fawningly. -- Dryden.
Obsequiously (adv.) In a manner appropriate to obsequies. [Obs.]
Whilst I a while obsequiously lament The untimely fall of virtuous Lancaster. -- Shak.
Obsequiously (adv.) In an obsequious manner; "she acts obsequiously toward her boss" [syn: {obsequiously}, {subserviently}, {servilely}].
Obsequiousness (n.) 奉承；諂媚 The quality or state of being obsequious. -- South.
Obsequiousness (n.) Abject or cringing submissiveness [syn: {obsequiousness}, {servility}, {subservience}].
Obsequies (n. pl. ) of Obsequy
Obsequy (n.) The last duty or service to a person, rendered after his death; hence, a rite or ceremony pertaining to burial; -- now used only in the plural. -- Spencer.
I will . . . fetch him hence, and solemnly attend, With silent obsequy and funeral train. -- Milton
I will myself Be the chief mourner at his obsequies. -- Dryden.
The funeral obsequies were decently and privately performed by his family. -- J. P. Mahaffy.
Obsequy (n.) Obsequiousness. [Obs.] -- B. Jonson.
Observable (a.) Capable of being observed; discernible; noticeable. -- Sir. T. Browne.
The difference is sufficiently observable. -- Southey.
Observable (a.) Worthy of being observed; important enough to be noted or celebrated; as, an observable anniversary.
Observable (a.) Noteworthy; remarkable. -- Ob*serv"a*ble*ness, n. -- Ob*serv"a*bly, adv.
Observable (a.) Capable of being seen or noticed; "a discernible change in attitude"; "a clearly evident erasure in the manuscript"; "an observable change in behavior" [syn: discernible, evident, observable].
Observance (n.) 遵守，奉行 [U]；（節日、生日等的）紀念，慶祝 [C]；禮儀，儀式 [C] The act or practice of observing or noticing with attention; a heeding or keeping with care; performance; -- usually with a sense of strictness and fidelity; as, the observance of the Sabbath is general; the strict observance of duties.
It is a custom More honored in the breach than the observance. -- Shak.
Observance (n.) An act, ceremony, or rite, as of worship or respect; especially, a customary act or service of attention; a form; a practice; a rite; a custom.
At dances These young folk kept their observances. -- Chaucer.
Use all the observance of civility. -- Shak.
Some represent to themselves the whole of religion as consisting in a few easy observances. -- Rogers.
O I that wasted time to tend upon her, To compass her with sweet observances! -- Tennyson.
Observance (n.) Servile attention; sycophancy. [Obs.]
Salads and flesh, such as their haste could get, Served with observance. -- Chapman.
This is not atheism, But court observance. -- Beau. & Fl.
Syn: Observance, Observation. These words are discriminated by the two distinct senses of observe. To observe means (1) to keep strictly; as, to observe a fast day, and hence, observance denotes the keeping or heeding with strictness; (2) to consider attentively, or to remark; and hence, observation denotes either the act of observing, or some remark made as the result thereof. We do not say the observation of Sunday, though the word was formerly so used. The Pharisees were curious in external observances; the astronomers are curious in celestial observations.
Love rigid honesty, And strict observance of impartial laws. -- Roscommon.
Observance (n.) The act of observing; taking a patient look [syn: observation, observance, watching].
Observance (n.) A formal event performed on a special occasion; "a ceremony commemorating Pearl Harbor" [syn: ceremony, ceremonial, ceremonial occasion, observance].
Observance (n.) The act of noticing or paying attention; "he escaped the notice of the police" [syn: notice, observation, observance].
Observance (n.) Conformity with law or custom or practice etc. [syn: honoring, observance] [ant: nonobservance].
Observancy (n.) Observance. [Obs.]
Observanda (n. pl. ) of Observandum
Observandum (n.) A thing to be observed. -- Swift.
Observant (a.) 嚴格遵守……的 [（+of）]；觀察力敏銳的；當心的，注意的 Taking notice; viewing or noticing attentively; watchful; attentive; as, an observant spectator; observant habits.
Wandering from clime to clime observant stray'd. -- Pope.
Observant (a.) Submissively attentive; obediently watchful; regardful; mindful; obedient (to); -- with of, as, to be observant of rules.
We are told how observant Alexander was of his master Aristotle. -- Sir K. Digby.
Observant (n.) 〔古語〕遵守者，嚴守者；〔O-〕【天主教】（方濟各會）嚴守教規的修道士 One who observes forms and rules. [Obs.] -- Hooker.
Observant (n.) A sycophantic servant. [Obs.]
Silly ducking observants, That stretch their duties nicely. -- Shak.
Observant (n.) (R. C. Ch.) An Observantine.
Observant (a.) Paying close attention especially to details.
Observant (a.) Quick to notice; showing quick and keen perception [syn: observant, observing].
Observant (a.) (Of individuals) Adhering strictly to laws and rules and customs; "law-abiding citizens"; "observant of the speed limit" [syn: law-abiding, observant].
Observantine (n.) (R. C. Ch.) One of a branch of the Order of Franciscans, who profess to adhere more strictly than the Conventuals to the intention of the founder, especially as to poverty; -- called also Observants.
Observantly (adv.) In an observant manner.
Observantly (adv.) In an observant manner [syn: observantly, observingly].
Observation (n.) 觀察，觀測，瞭望，監視，注意 The act or the faculty of observing or taking notice; the act of seeing, or of fixing the mind upon, anything.
My observation, which very seldom lies. -- Shak.
Observation (n.) The result of an act, or of acts, of observing; view; reflection; conclusion; judgment.
In matters of human prudence, we shall find the greatest advantage in making wise observations on our conduct. -- I. Watts.
Observation (n.) Hence: An expression of an opinion or judgment upon what one has observed; a remark. "That's a foolish observation." -- Shak.
To observations which ourselves we make We grow more partial for the observer's sake. -- Pope.
Observation (n.) Performance of what is prescribed; adherence in practice; observance. [Obs.]
We are to procure dispensation or leave to omit the observation of it in such circumstances. -- Jer. Taylor.
Observation (n.) (Science) The act of recognizing and noting some fact or occurrence in nature, as an aurora, a corona, or the structure of an animal.
Observation (n.) (Science) Specifically, the act of measuring, with suitable instruments, some magnitude, as the time of an occultation, with a clock; the right ascension of a star, with a transit instrument and clock; the sun's altitude, or the distance of the moon from a star, with a sextant; the temperature, with a thermometer, etc.
Observation (n.) (Science) The information so acquired; as, to record one's observations carefully.
Note: When a phenomenon is scrutinized as it occurs in nature, the act is termed an observation. When the conditions under which the phenomenon occurs are artificial, or arranged beforehand by the observer, the process is called an experiment. Experiment includes observation.
To take an observation (Naut.), To ascertain the altitude of a heavenly body, with a view to fixing a vessel's position at sea.
Syn: Observance; notice; attention; remark; comment; note. See Observance.
Observation (n.) The act of making and recording a measurement.
Observation (n.) The act of observing; taking a patient look [syn: {observation}, {observance}, {watching}].
Observation (n.) A remark expressing careful consideration [syn: {observation}, {reflection}, {reflexion}]
Observation (n.) Facts learned by observing; "he reported his observations to the mayor".
Observation (n.) The act of noticing or paying attention; "he escaped the notice of the police" [syn: {notice}, {observation}, {observance}].
Observation (n.) (Watching) (B2) [ U ] 觀察；觀測；監視 The act of observing something or someone.
// Close observation of nature/human nature/ animal behaviour.
// The police are keeping the suspect under observation.
// She was admitted to hospital for observation (= so that doctors could watch her and see if anything was wrong with her).
Observation (n.) (Noticing) (B2) [ U ] 觀察 The fact that you notice or see something.
// She has remarkable powers of observation (= is very good at noticing things).
Observation (n.) (Noticing) (C1) [ C ] (Formal) 評論，評述；言論 A remark about something that you have noticed.
// The book is full of interesting observations on/ about the nature of musical composition.
// May I make an observation?
Observational (a.) Of a pertaining to observation; consisting of, or containing, observations. -- Chalmers.
Observational (a.) Relying on observation or experiment; "experimental results that supported the hypothesis" [syn: experimental, data-based, observational].
Observative (a.) Observing; watchful.
Observator (n.) [L.] One who observes or takes notice. [Obs.] -- Sir M. Hale.
Observator (n.) One who makes a remark. [Obs.] -- Dryden.
Observatories (n. pl. ) of Observatory
Observatory (n.) [C] 天文臺；氣象臺；瞭望臺；觀測所 A place or building for making observations on the heavenly bodies.
The new observatory in Greenwich Park. -- Evelyn.
Observatory (n.) A building fitted with instruments for making systematic observations of any particular class or series of natural phenomena.
Observatory (n.) A place, as an elevated chamber, from which a view may be observed or commanded.
Observatory (n.) (Mil.) A lookout on a flank of a battery whence an officer can note the range and effect of the fire; usually referred to as an observation post. -- Farrow.
Observatory (n.) A building designed and equipped to observe astronomical phenomena.
Observatory (n.) A structure commanding a wide view of its surroundings [syn: lookout, observation tower, lookout station, observatory].
Observatory (n.) A place where astronomers conjecture away the guesses of their predecessors.
Observed (imp. & p. p.) of Observe
Observing (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Observe
Observe (v. t.) To take notice of by appropriate conduct; to conform one's action or practice to; to keep; to heed; to obey; to comply with; as, to observe rules or commands; to observe civility.
Ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread. -- Ex. xii. 17.
He wolde no such cursedness observe. -- Chaucer.
Must I budge? Must I observe you? -- Shak.
With solemn purpose to observe Immutably his sovereign will. -- Milton.
Observe (v. t.) To be on the watch respecting; to pay attention to; to notice with care; to see; to perceive; to notice; to discover; as, to observe an eclipse; to observe the color or fashion of a dress; to observe the movements of an army; to observe an accident.
Observe (v. t.) To express as what has been noticed; to utter as a remark; to say in a casual or incidental way; to remark.
Observe (v. i.) To take notice; to give attention to what one sees or hears; to attend.
Observe (v. i.) To make a remark; to comment; to make an observation [3]; -- generally with on or upon.
I have barely quoted . . . without observing upon it. -- Pope.
Syn: To remark. See Remark.
Observe (v.) Discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of; "She detected high levels of lead in her drinking water"; "We found traces of lead in the paint" [syn: detect, observe, find, discover, notice].
Observe (v.) Make mention of; "She observed that his presentation took up too much time"; "They noted that it was a fine day to go sailing" [syn: note, observe, mention, remark].
Observe (v.) Observe with care or pay close attention to; "Take note of this chemical reaction" [syn: note, take note, observe].
Observe (v.) Watch attentively; "Please observe the reaction of these two chemicals".
Observe (v.) Show respect towards; "honor your parents!" [syn: respect, honor, honour, abide by, observe] [ant: disrespect].
Observe (v.) Behave as expected during of holidays or rites; "Keep the commandments"; "celebrate Christmas"; "Observe Yom Kippur" [syn: observe, celebrate, keep].
Observe (v.) Follow with the eyes or the mind; "Keep an eye on the baby, please!"; "The world is watching Sarajevo"; "She followed the men with the binoculars" [syn: watch, observe, follow, watch over, keep an eye on].
Observe (v.) Stick to correctly or closely; "The pianist kept time with the metronome"; "keep count"; "I cannot keep track of all my employees" [syn: observe, keep, maintain].
Observe (v.) Conform one's action or practice to; "keep appointments"; "she never keeps her promises"; "We kept to the original conditions of the contract" [syn: observe, keep] [ant: breach, break, go against, infract, offend, transgress, violate].
Observer (n.) One who observes, or pays attention to, anything; especially, one engaged in, or trained to habits of, close and exact observation; as, an astronomical observer.
The observed of all observers. -- Shak.
Careful observers may foretell the hour, By sure prognostic, when to dread a shower. -- Swift.
Observer (n.) One who keeps any law, custom, regulation, rite, etc.; one who conforms to anything in practice. "Diligent observers of old customs." -- Spenser.
These . . . hearkened unto observers of times. -- Deut. xviii. 14.
Observer (n.) One who fulfills or performs; as, an observer of his promises.
Observer (n.) A sycophantic follower. [Obs.] -- Beau. & Fl.
Observer (n.) A person who becomes aware (of things or events) through the senses [syn: perceiver, percipient, observer, beholder].
Observer (n.) An expert who observes and comments on something [syn: observer, commentator].
Observership (n.) The office or work of an observer.
Observing (a.) Giving particular attention; habitually attentive to what passes; as, an observing person; an observing mind. -- Ob*serv"ing*ly, adv.
Observing (a.) Quick to notice; showing quick and keen perception [syn: observant, observing].
Obsess (v. t.) [H] 迷住，使著迷；纏住；使窘困，使煩擾 To besiege; to beset. [Archaic] -- Sir T. Elyot.
Obsess (v. t.) To excessively preoccupy the thoughts or feelings of; to haunt the mind persistently.
Obsess (v. i.) To be excessively or persistently preoccupied with something; -- usually used with on or over; as, to obsess over an imagined insult.
At all ages children are driven to figure out what it takes to succeed among their peers and to give these strategies precedence over anything their parents foist on them. Weary parents know they are no match for a child's peers, and rightly obsess over the best neighborhood in which to bring their children up. -- Steven Pinker (How the Mind Works, p. 449-450 [1997]).
Obsess (v.) Haunt like a ghost; pursue; "Fear of illness haunts her" [syn: {haunt}, {obsess}, {ghost}].
Obsess (v.) Be preoccupied with something; "She is obsessing over her weight".
Obsessed (a.) 著迷的，一門心思的；obsess 的動詞過去式、過去分詞 Having or showing excessive or compulsive concern; -- used with with.
Syn: haunted, preoccupied, taken up (predicate).
Obsessed (a.) Influenced or controlled by a powerful force such as a strong emotion.
Syn: possessed (predicate).
Obsessed (a.) Having or showing excessive or compulsive concern with something; "became more and more haunted by the stupid riddle"; "was absolutely obsessed with the girl"; "got no help from his wife who was preoccupied with the children"; "he was taken up in worry for the old woman" [syn: haunted, obsessed, preoccupied, taken up(p)].
Obsessed (a.) Influenced or controlled by a powerful force such as a strong emotion; "by love possessed" [syn: obsessed, possessed(p)].
OBSESSED, p.p. Vexed by an evil spirit, like the Gadarene swine and other critics. Obsession was once more common than it is now. Arasthus tells of a peasant who was occupied by a different devil for every day in the week, and on Sundays by two. They were frequently seen, always walking in his shadow, when he had one, but were finally driven away by the village notary, a holy man; but they took the peasant with them, for he vanished utterly. A devil thrown out of a woman by the Archbishop of Rheims ran through the trees, pursued by a hundred persons, until the open country was reached, where by a leap higher than a church spire he escaped into a bird. A chaplain in Cromwell's army exorcised a soldier's obsessing devil by throwing the soldier into the water, when the devil came to the surface. The soldier, unfortunately, did not.
Obsession (n.) 著迷，被纏住 [U]；擺脫不了的思想（或情感）[C] [（+about/ with）]；著魔，鬼迷 [U] The act of besieging. [Archaic] -- Johnson.
Obsession (n.) The state of being besieged; -- used specifically of a person beset by a spirit from without. [Archaic] -- Tylor.
Whether by obsession or possession, I will not determine. -- Burton.
Obsession (n.) An excessive preoccupation of the thoughts or feelings; the persistent haunting or domination of the mind by a particular desire, idea, or image.
Obsession (n.) Hence: Any driving motive; a compelling goal; -- not necessarily implying a negative judgment, as does sense 3; as, the coach was obsessed with winning the state championship.
Obsession (n.) Something that causes an obsession [3].
Obsession (n.) The state of being obsessed. Obsessional.
Obsession (n.) An irrational motive for performing trivial or repetitive actions, even against your will; "her compulsion to wash her hands repeatedly" [syn: {compulsion}, {obsession}].
Obsession (n.) An unhealthy and compulsive preoccupation with something or someone [syn: {obsession}, {fixation}].
Obsidian (n.) (Min.) A kind of glass produced by volcanoes. It is usually of a black color, and opaque, except in thin splinters.
Note: In a thin section it often exhibits a fluidal structure, marked by the arrangement of microlites in the lines of the flow of the molten mass.
Obsidian (n.) Acid or granitic glass formed by the rapid cooling of lava without crystallization; usually dark, but transparent in thin pieces.
Obsidional (a.) Of or pertaining to a siege.
Obsidional crown (Rom. Antiq.), A crown bestowed upon a general who raised the siege of a beleaguered place, or upon one who held out against a siege.
Obsigillation (n.) A sealing up. [Obs.] -- Maunder.
Obsign (v. t.) To seal; to confirm, as by a seal or stamp. [Obs.] -- Bradford.
Obsignate (v. t.) To seal; to ratify. [Obs.] -- Barrow.
Obsignation (n.) [L. obsignatio.] The act of sealing or ratifying; the state of being sealed or confirmed; confirmation, as by the Holy Spirit.
The spirit of manifestation will but upbraid you in the shame and horror of a sad eternity, if you have not the spirit of obsignation. -- Jer. Taylor.
Obsignatory (a.) Ratifying; confirming by sealing. [Obs.] -- Samuel Ward (1643)
Obsolesce (v. i.) To become obsolescent. [R.] -- Fitzed. Hall.
Obsolesce (v.) Become obsolete, fall into disuse; "This word has not obsolesced, although it is rarely used".
Obsolescence (n.) The state of becoming obsolete.
Obsolescence (n.) The process of becoming obsolete; falling into disuse or becoming out of date; "a policy of planned obsolescence".
Obsolescent (a.) Going out of use; becoming obsolete; passing into desuetude.
Obsolescent (a.) Becoming obsolete.
Obsolete (a.) No longer in use; gone into disuse; disused; neglected; as, an obsolete word; an obsolete statute; -- applied chiefly to words, writings, or observances.
Obsolete (a.) (Biol.) Not very distinct; obscure; rudimental; imperfectly developed; abortive.
Syn: Ancient; antiquated; old-fashioned; antique; old; disused; neglected. See Ancient.
Obsolete (v. i.) To become obsolete; to go out of use. [R.] -- Fitzed. Hall.
Obsolete (a.) No longer in use; "obsolete words" [syn: disused, obsolete].
Obsolete. () This term is applied to those laws which have lost their efficacy, without being repealed.
Obsolete. () A positive statute, unrepealed, can never be repealed by non-user alone. 4 Yeates, Rep. 181; Id. 215; 1 Browne's Rep. Appx. 28; 13 Serg. & Rawle, 447. The disuse of a law is at most only presumptive evidence that society has consented to such a repeal; however this presumption may operate on an unwritten law, it cannot in general act upon one which remains as a legislative act on the statute book, because no presumption can set aside a certainty. A written law may indeed become obsolete when the object to which it was intended to apply, or the occasion for which it was enacted, no longer exists. 1 P. A. Browne's R. App. 28. "It must be a very strong case," says Chief Justice Tilghman, "to justify the court in deciding, that an act standing on the statute book, unrepealed, is obsolete and invalid. I will not say that such case may not exist -- where there has been a non-user for a great number of years; where, from a change of times and manners, an ancient sleeping statute would do great mischief, if suddenly brought into action; where a long, practice inconsistent with it has prevailed, and, specially, where from other and latter statutes it might be inferred that in the apprehension of the legislature, the old one was not in force." 13 Serg. & Rawle, 452; Rutherf. Inst. B. 2, c. 6, s. 19; Merl. Repert. mot Desuetude.
Obsolete (a.) No longer used by the timid. Said chiefly of words. A word which some lexicographer has marked obsolete is ever thereafter an object of dread and loathing to the fool writer, but if it is a good word and has no exact modern equivalent equally good, it is good enough for the good writer. Indeed, a writer's attitude toward "obsolete" words is as true a measure of his literary ability as anything except the character of his work. A dictionary of obsolete and obsolescent words would not only be singularly rich in strong and sweet parts of speech; it would add large possessions to the vocabulary of every competent writer who might not happen to be a competent reader.
Obsolete (a.) (C1) 廢棄的；過時的；淘汰的；老化的 Not in use any more, having been replaced by something newer and better or more fashionable.
// Gas lamps became obsolete when electric lighting was invented.
Obsoletely (adv.) In an obsolete manner.
Obsoleteness (n.) The state of being obsolete, or no longer used; a state of desuetude.
Obsoleteness (n.) (Biol.) Indistinctness; want of development.
Obsoleteness (n.) The property of being out of date and not current [syn: obsoleteness, superannuation].
Obsoletism (n.) A disused word or phrase; an archaism. -- Fitzed. Hall.
Obstacle (n.) 障礙，障礙物，妨礙，阻礙 That which stands in the way, or opposes; anything that hinders progress; a hindrance; an obstruction, physical or moral.
If all obstacles were cut away. And that my path were even to the crown. -- Shak.
Syn: Impediment; obstuction; hindrance; difficulty. See Impediment, and Obstruction.
Obstacle (n.) Something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted; "lack of imagination is an obstacle to one's advancement"; "the poverty of a district is an obstacle to good education"; "the filibuster was a major obstruction to the success of their plan" [syn: obstacle, obstruction].
Obstacle (n.) An obstruction that stands in the way (and must be removed or surmounted or circumvented).
Obstancy (n.) Opposition; impediment; obstruction. [Obs.] -- B. Jonson.