Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary
CONFIGURATE — CONGIARY
CONFIGURATE, v.i. [L. See Configure.] To show like the aspects of the planets towards each other.
CONFIGURATION, n. [L.]
1. External form, figure, shape; the figure which bounds a body, and gives it its external appearance, constituting one of the principal differences between bodies.
2. Aspects of the planets; or the face of the horoscope, according to the aspects of the planets toward each other at any time.
3. Resemblance of one figure to another.
CONFIGURE, v.t. [L., to form, figure.] To form; to dispose in a certain form, figure or shape.
CONFINABLE, a. That may be confined or limited.
CONFINE, n. [L., at the end or border, adjoining; a limit; end, border, limit. See Fine.] Border; edge; exterior part; the part of any territory which is at or near the end or extremity. It is used generally in the plural, and applied chiefly to the countries, territory, cities, rivers, etc. We say, the confines of France, or of Scotland, and figuratively, the confines of light, of death, or the grave; but never, the confines of a book, table or small piece of land.
CONFINE, a. Bordering on; lying on the border; adjacent; having a common boundary.
CONFINE, v.i. To border on; to touch the limit; to be adjacent or contiguous, as one territory, kingdom or state to another; usually followed by on; sometimes by with. England confines on Scotland. Connecticut confines on Massachusets, New-York, Rhode Island and the sound.
CONFINE, v.t. [See supra.]
1. To bound or limit; to restrain within limits; hence, to imprison; to shut up; to restrain from escape by force or insurmountable obstacles, in a general sense; as, to confine horses or cattle to an inclosure; to confine water in a pond, to dam; to confine a garrison in a town; to confine a criminal in prison.
2. To immure; to deep close, by a voluntary act; to be much at home or in retirement; as, a man confines himself to his studies, or to his house.
3. To limit or restrain voluntarily, in some act or practice; as, a man may confine himself to the use of animal food.
4. To tie or bind; to make fast or close; as, to confine air in a bladder, or corn in a bag or sack.
5. To restrain by a moral force; as, to confine men by laws. The constitution of the United States confines the states to the exercise of powers of a local nature.
CONFINED, pp. Restrained within limits; imprisoned; limited; secluded; close.
CONFINELESS, a. Boundless; unlimited; without end.
CONFINEMENT, n.
1. Restraint within limits; imprisonment; any restraint of liberty by force or other obstacle or necessity; as the confinement of a debtor or criminal to a prison, or of troops to a besieged town.
2. Voluntary restraint; seclusion; as the confinement of a man to his house, or to his studies.
3. Voluntary restraint in action or practice; as confinement to a particular diet.
4. Restraint from going abroad by sickness, particularly by child-birth.
CONFINER, n. He or that which limits or restrains.
CONFINER, n.
1. A borderer; one who lives on confines, or near the border of a country.
2. He or that which is near the limit; a near neighbor; he or that which is adjacent or contiguous; as confiners in art; confiners between plants and animals, as oysters.
CONFINING, ppr. Restraining; limiting; imprisoning.
CONFINITY, n. [L.] Contiguity; nearness; neighborhood.
CONFIRM, v.t. [L., to make firm. See Firm.]
1. To make firm, or more firm; to add strength to; to strengthen; as, health is confirmed by exercise.
2. To fix more firmly; to settle or establish.
Confirming the souls of the disciples. Acts 14:22.
I confirm thee in the priesthood. Maccabees.
Confirm the crown to me and to mine heirs.
3. To make firm or certain; to give new assurance of truth or certainty; to put past doubt.
The testimony of Christ was confirmed in you. 1 Corinthians 1:6.
4. To fix; to radicate; as, the patient has a confirmed dropsy.
5. To strengthen; to ratify; as, to confirm an agreement, promise, covenant or title.
6. To make more firm; to strengthen; as, to confirm an opinion, a purpose or resolution.
7. To admit to the full privileges of a Christian, by the imposition of hands.
CONFIRMABLE, a. That may be confirmed, established or ratified; capable of being made more certain.
CONFIRMATION, n.
1. The act of confirming or establishing; a fixing, settling, establishing or making more certain or firm; establishment.
In the defense and confirmation of the gospel, ye are all partakers of my grace. Philippians 1:7.
2. The act of ratifying; as the confirmation of a promise, covenant, or stipulation.
3. The act of giving new strength; as the confirmation of health.
4. The act of giving new evidence; as the confirmation of opinion or report.
5. That which confirms; that which gives new strength or assurance; additional evidence; proof; convincing testimony; as, this fact or this argument is a confirmation of what was before alleged.
6. In law, an assurance of title, by the conveyance of an estate or right in esse, from one man to another, by which a voidable estate is made sure or unavoidable, or a particular estate is increased, or a possession made perfect.
7. In church affairs, the act of ratifying the election of an archbishop or bishop, by the king, or by persons of his appointment.
8. The act or ceremony of laying on of hands, in the admission of baptized person to the enjoyment of Christian privileges. The person to be confirmed brings his godfather and godmother, and takes upon himself the baptismal vows. This is practiced in the Greek, Roman, and Episcopal churches.
CONFIRMATIVE, a. Having the power of confirming; tending to establish.
CONFIRMATOR, n. He or that which confirms.
CONFIRMATORY, a.
1. That serves to confirm; giving additional strength, force or stability, or additional assurance or evidence.
2. Pertaining to the rite of confirmation.
CONFIRMED, pp.
1. Made more firm; strengthened; established.
2. Admitted to the full privileges of the church.
CONFIRMEDNESS, n. A fixed state.
CONFIRMER, n. He or that which confirms, establishes or ratifies; one that produces new evidence; an attester.
CONFIRMING, ppr. Making firm or more firm; strengthening; ratifying; giving additional evidence or proof; establishing.
CONFIRMINGLY, adv. In a manner to strengthen or make firm.
CONFISCABLE, a. [See Confiscate.] That may be confiscated; liable to forfeiture.
CONFISCATE, v.t. [L., a basket, hamper or bag; hence, revenue or the Emperors treasure.] To adjudge to be forfeited to the public treasury, as the goods or estate of a traitor or other criminal, by way of penalty; or to condemn private forfeited property to public use.
The estate of the rebels was seized and confiscated.
CONFISCATE, a. Forfeited and adjudged to the public treasury, as the goods of a criminal.
CONFISCATED, pp. Adjudged to the public treasury, as forfeited goods or estate.
CONFISCATING, ppr. Adjudging to the public use.
CONFISCATION, n. The act of condemning as forfeited, and adjudging to the public treasury; as the goods of a criminal who has committed a public offense. Ezra 7:26.
CONFISCATOR, n. One who confiscates.
CONFISCATORY, a. Consigning to forfeiture.
CONFIT, n. A sweetmeat. [See Confect.]
CONFITENT, n. [L. See Confess.] One who confesses his sins and faults. [Not much used.]
CONFITURE, n. [L. This word is corrupted into comfit, which is now used.] A sweetmeat; confection; comfit.
CONFIX, v.t. [L., to fix, to thrust to or on. See Fix.] To fix down; to fasten.
CONFIXED, pp. Fixed down or to; fastened.
CONFIXING, ppr. Fixing to or on; fastening.
CONFIXURE, n. The act of fastening.
CONFLAGRANT, a. [L., to burn. See Flagrant.] Burning together; involved in a common flame.
CONFLAGRATION, n. [L. See Flagrant.]
1. A great fire or the burning of any great mass of combustibles, as a house, but more especially a city or a forest.
2. The burning of the world at the consummation of things, when the elements shall melt with fervent heat.
CONFLATION, n. [L., to blow. See Blow.]
1. The act of blowing tow or more instruments together.
2. A melting or casting of metal. [Little used.]
CONFLEXURE, n. A bending. [Not used.]
CONFLICT, n. [L., to strike, to flog, to lick.]
1. A striking or dashing against each other, as of two moving bodies in opposition; violent collision of substances; as a conflict of elements, or waves; a conflict of particles in ebulltion.
2. A fighting; combat, as between men, and applicable to individuals or to armies; as, the conflict was long and desperate.
3. Contention; strife; contest.
In our last conflict, four of his five wits went halting off.
4. Struggling with difficulties; a striving to oppose, or overcome.
The good man has a perpetual conflict with his evil propensities.
5. A struggling of the mind; distress; anxiety. Colossians 2:1.
6. The last struggle of life; agony; as the conflict with death.
7. Opposing operations; countervailing action; collision; opposition.
In exercising the right of freemen, the man of religion experiences no conflict between his duty and his inclination.
CONFLICT, v.i.
1. To strike or dash against; to meet and oppose, as bodies driven by violence; as conflicting waves or elements.
2. To drive or strike against, as contending men, or armies; to fight; to contend with violence; as conflicting armies.
3. To strive or struggle to resist and overcome; as men conflicting with difficulties.
4. To be in opposition or contradictory.
The laws of the United States and of the individual States, may, in some cases, conflict with each other.
CONFLICTING, ppr.
1. Striking, or dashing together; fighting; contending; struggling to resist and overcome.
2. Being in opposition; contrary; contradictory.
In the absence of all conflicting evidence.
CONFLUENCE, n. [L., to flow. See Flow.]
1. A flowing together; the meeting or junction of two or more streams of water, or other fluid; also, the place of meeting; as the confluence of the Tigris and the Frat, or of the Ohio and Mississippi.
2. The running together of people; the act of meeting and crowding in a place; a crowd; a concourse; the latter word is more generally used.
3. A collection; meeting; assemblage.
CONFLUENT, a. [L.]
1. Flowing together; meeting in their course, as two streams; as confluent streams.
2. In medical science, running together, and spreading over a large surface of the body; as the confluent small-pox.
3. In botany, united at the base; growing in tufts, as confluent leaves; running into each other, as confluent lobes.
CONFLUX, n. [L. See Confluence.]
1. A flowing together; a meeting of two or more currents of a fluid.
2. A collection; a crowd; a multitude collected; as a general conflux of people.
CONFLUXIBILITY, n. The tendency of fluids to run together. [Little used.]
CONFORM, a. [L., form.] Made to resemble; assuming the same form; like; resembling. [Little used.]
CONFORM, v.t. [L., to form, or shape, form.]
1. To make like, in external appearance; to reduce to a like shape, or form, with something else; with to; as, to conform any thing to a model.
2. More generally, to reduce to a likeness or correspondence in manners, opinions or moral qualities.
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son. Romans 8:29.
Be not conformed to this world. Romans 12:2.
3. To make agreeable to; to square with a rule or directory.
Demand of them why they conform not themselves to the order of the church?
CONFORM, v.i.
1. To comply with or yield to; to live or act according to; as, to conform to the fashion or to custom.
2. To comply with; to obey; as, to conform to the laws of the state.
CONFORMABLE, a.
1. Correspondent; having the same or similar external form, or shape; like; resembling; as an edifice conformable to a model or draft.
2. Having the same or similar manners, opinions or moral qualities.
The Gentiles were not made conformable to the Jews, in that which was to cease at the coming of Christ.
3. Agreeable; suitable; consistent; as, nature is conformable to herself.
4. Compliant; ready to follow directions; submissive; obsequious; peaceable; disposed to obey.
I have been to you a true and humble wife, At all time to your will conformable.
It is generally followed by to, but good writers have used with. In its etymological sense, that may be conformed, capable of being conformed, it seems not to be used.
CONFORMABLY, adv. With or in conformity; suitably; agreeably.
Let us settle, in our own minds, what rules to pursue and act conformably.
CONFORMATION, n.
1. The manner in which a body is formed; the particular texture or structure of a body, or disposition of the parts which compose it; form; structure; often with relation to some other body, and with adaptation to some purpose or effect.
Light of different colors is reflected from bodies, according to their different conformation. Varieties of sound depend on the conformation of the organs.
2. The act of conforming; the act of producing suitableness, or conformity; with to; as the conformation of our hearts and lives to the duties of true religion.
3. In medical science, the particular make or construction of the body peculiar to an individual; as a good or bad conformation.
CONFORMED, pp. Made to resemble; reduced to a likeness of; made agreeable to; suited.
CONFORMER, n. One who conforms; one who complies with established forms or doctrines.
CONFORMING, ppr. Reducing to a likeness; adapting; complying with.
CONFORMIST, n. One who conforms or complies; appropriately, one who complies with the worship of the church of England or of the established church, as distinguished from a dissenter, or nonconformist.
CONFORMITY, n.
1. Likeness; correspondence with a model in form or manner; resemblance; agreement; congruity with something else; followed by to or with.
A ship is constructed in conformity to a model, or in conformity with a model.
True happiness consists in conformity of life to the divine law.
2. Consistency; agreement.
Many instances prove the conformity of the essay with the notions of Hippocrates.
3. In theology, correspondence in manners and principles; compliance with customs.
Live no in conformity with the world.
CONFORTATION, n. [See Comfort.] The act of comforting or giving strength. [Not used.]
CONFOUND, v.t. [L., to pour out. Literally, to pour or throw together.]
1. To mingle and blend different things, so that their forms or natures cannot be distinguished; to mix in a mass or crowd, so that individuals cannot be distinguished.
2. To throw into disorder.
Let us go down, and there confound their language. Genesis 11:7.
3. To mix or blend, so as to occasion a mistake of one thing for another.
A fluid body and a wetting liquor, because they agree in many things, are wont to be confounded.
Men may confound ideas with words.
4. To perplex; to disturb the apprehension by indistinctness of ideas or words.
Men may confound each other by unintelligible terms or wrong application of words.
5. To abash; to throw the mind into disorder; to cast down; to make ashamed.
Be thou confounded and bear thy shame. Ezekiel 16:52.
Saul confounded the Jews at Damascus. Acts 9:22.
6. To perplex with terror; to terrify; to dismay; to astonish; to throw into consternation; to stupefy with amazement.
So spake the Son of God; and Satan stood a while as mute confounded what to say.
The multitude came together and were confounded. Acts 2:6.
7. To destroy; to overthrow.
So deep a malice to confound the race of mankind in one root.
CONFOUNDED, pp.
1. Mixed or blended in disorder; perplexed; abashed; dismayed; put to shame and silence; astonished.
2. Enormous; as a confounded tory. [Vulgar.]
CONFOUNDEDLY, adv. Enormously; greatly; shamefully; as, he was confoundedly avaricious. [A low word.]
CONFOUNDEDNESS, n. The state of being confounded.
CONFOUNDER, n. One who confounds; one who disturbs the mind, perplexes, refutes, frustrates and puts to shame or silence; one who terrifies.
CONFOUNDING, ppr. Mixing and blending; putting into disorder; perplexing; disturbing the mind; abashing, and putting to shame and silence; astonishing.
CONFRATERNITY, n. [L., fraternity, brother.] A brotherhood; a society or body of men, united for some purpose or in some profession; as the confraternity of Jesuits.
CONFRICATION, n. [L., to rub. See Friction.] A rubbing against; friction.
CONFRIER, n. One of the same religious order.
CONFRONT, v.t. [L.]
1. To stand face to face in full view; to face; to stand in front.
He spoke and then confronts the bull.
2. To stand in direct opposition; to oppose.
The East and West churches did both confront the Jews, and concur with them.
3. To set face to face; to bring into the presence of; as a accused person and a witness, in court, for examination and discovery of the truth; followed by with.
The witnesses are confronted with the accused, the accused with one another, or the witnesses with one another.
4. To set together for comparison; to compare one thing with another.
When I confront a medal with a verse, I only show you the same design executed by different hands.
CONFRONTATION, n. The act of bringing two persons into the presence of each other for examination and discovery of truth.
CONFRONTED, pp. Set face to face, or in opposition; brought into the presence of.
CONFRONTING, ppr. Setting or standing face to face, or in opposition, or in presence of.
CONFUSE, v.t. [L. See Confound.]
1. To mix or blend things, so that they cannot be distinguished.
Stunning sounds and voices all confused.
Every battle of the warrior is with confused noise. Isaiah 9:5.
2. To disorder; as, a sudden alarm confused the troops; a careless bookkeeper has confused the accounts.
3. To perplex; to render indistinct; as, the clamor confused his ideas.
4. To throw the mind into disorder; to cast down or abash; to cause to blush; to agitate by surprise, or shame; to disconcert.
A sarcastic remark confused the gentleman and he could not proceed in his argument.
Confused and sadly she at length replied.
CONFUSED, pp.
1. Mixed; blended, so that the things or persons mixed cannot be distinguished.
Some cried one thing, and some another; for the assembly was confused. Acts 19:32.
2. Perplexed by disorder, or want of system; as a confused account.
3. Abashed; put to the blush or to shame; agitated; disconcerted.
CONFUSEDLY, adv. In a mixed mass; without order or separation; indistinctly; not clearly; tumultuously; with agitation of mind; without regularity or system.
CONFUSEDNESS, n. A state of being confused; want of order, distinction or clearness.
The cause of the confusedness of our notions is want of attention.
CONFUSION, n.
1. In a general sense, a mixture of several things promiscuously; hence, disorder; irregularity; as the confusion of tongues at Babel.
2. Tumult; want of order in society.
The whole city was filled with confusion. Acts 19:29.
God is not the author of confusion. 1 Corinthians 14:33.
3. A blending or confounding; indistinct combination; opposed to distinctness or perspicuity; as a confusion of ideas.
4. Abashment; shame.
O Lord, let me never be put to confusion. Psalm 71:1.
We lie in shame and our confusion covereth us. Jeremiah 3:25.
5. Astonishment; agitation; perturbation; distraction of mind.
Confusion dwelt in every face.
6. Overthrow; defeat; ruin.
The makers of idols shall go to confusion together. Isaiah 45:16.
7. A shameful blending of natures, a shocking crime. Leviticus 18:23; Leviticus 20:12.
CONFUTABLE, a. [See Confute.] That may be confuted, disproved or overthrown; that may be shown to be false, defective or invalid; as, an argument or a course of reasoning is confutable.
CONFUTANT, n. One who confutes or undertakes to confute.
CONFUTATION, n. The act of confuting, disproving, or proving to be false, or invalid; refutation; overthrow; as of arguments, opinions, reasoning, theory, or error.
CONFUTE, v.t. [L.]
1. To disprove; to prove to be false, defective or invaled; to overthrow; as, to confute arguments, reasoning, theory, error.
2. To prove to be wrong; to convict of error, by argument or proof; as, to confute an advocate at the bar; to confute a writer.
CONFUTED, pp. Disproved; proved to be false, defective or unsound; overthrown by argument, fact or proof.
CONFUTER, n. One who disproves, or confutes.
CONFUTING, ppr. Disproving; proving to be false, defective or invalid; overthrowing by argument or proof.
CONGE, n. [L.]
1. Leave; farewell; parting ceremony.
2. The act of respect performed at the parting of friends. Hence, the customary act of civility, on other occasions; a bow or a courtesy.
The captain salutes you with conge profound.
CONGE, v.i. To take leave with the customary civilities; to bow or courtesy. The preterite congeed is tolerable in English; but congeing will not be admitted, and congeeing is an anomaly.
Conge delire, in ecclesiastical affairs, the kings license or permission to a dean and chapter, to choose a bishop; or to an abbey or priory of his own foundation, to choose their abbot or prior. The king of Great Britain, as sovereign patron, had formerly the appointment of all ecclesiastical dignities; investing by crosier and ring, and afterwards by letters patent. But now the king, on demand, sends, his conge delire to the dean and chapter, with a letter missive, containing the name of the person he would have them elect, and if they delay the election twelve days, the nomination devolves on the king, who may appoint by letters patent.
CONGE, n. In architecture, a mold in form of a quarter round, or a cavetto, which serves to separate two members from one another; such as that which joins the shaft of the column to the cincture, called also apophyge. Also, a ring or ferrule, formerly used on the extremities of columns to keep them from splitting; afterwards imitated in stone-work.
CONGEAL, v.t. [L., to freeze, has the elements of cool, but it may be a different word.]
1. To change from a fluid to a solid sate, as by cold, or a loss of heat, as water in freezing, liquid metal or wax in cooling, blood in stagnating or cooling, etc.; to harden into ice, or into a substance of less solidity. Cold congeals water into ice, or vapor into hoar frost or snow, and blood into a less solid mass, or clot.
2. To bind or fix with cold. Applied to the circulating blood, it does not signify absolutely to harden, but to cause a sensation of cold, a shivering, or a receding of the blood from the extremities; as, the frightful scene congealed his blood.
CONGEAL, v.i. To grow hard, stiff or thick; to pass from a fluid to a solid state; to concrete into a solid mass. Melted lead congelas; water congeals; blood congeals.
CONGEALABLE, a. That may be congealed; capable of being converted from a fluid to a solid state.
CONGEALED, pp. Converted into ice, or a solid mass, by the loss of heat or other process; concreted.
CONGEALING, ppr. Changing from a liquid to a solid state; concreting.
CONGEALMENT, n. A clot or concretion; that which is formed by congelation. Also, congelation.
CONGELATION, n. [L.] The process of passing, or the act of converting, from a fluid to a solid state; or the state of being congealed; concretion. It differ from crystalization in this; in congelation the whole substance of a fluid may become solid; in crystalization, when a salt is formed, a portion of liquid is left. But the congelation of water is a real crystalization.
CONGENER, n. [L., kind, race.] A thing of the same kind or nature.
The cherry tree has been often grafted on the laurel, to which it is a congener.
CONGENER, CONGENEROUS, a. Of the same kind or nature; allied in origin or cause; as congenerous bodies; congenerous diseases.
CONGENERACY, n. Similarity of origin.
CONGENERIC, a. Being of the same kind or nature.
CONGENEROUSNESS, n. The quality of being from the same original, or of belonging to the same class.
CONGENIAL, a. [L. See Generate.]
1. Partaking of the same genus, kind or nature; kindred; cognate; as congenial souls.
2. Belonging to the nature; natural; agreeable to the nature; usually followed by to; as, this severity is not congenial to him.
3. Natural; agreeable to the nature; adapted; as a soil congenial to a plant.
CONGENIALITY, CONGENIALNESS, n. Participation of the same genus, nature or original; cognation; natural affinity; suitableness.
CONGENITE, CONGENITAL, a. [L., born, to beget, to be born.] Of the same birth; born with another; connate; begotten together.
Many conclusions of moral and intellectual truths seem to be congenite with us.
Native or congenital varieties of animals.