- mystique n. An aura of heightened value, interest, or meaning surrounding something, arising from attitudes and beliefs that impute special power or mystery to it: the cowboy mystique; the mystique of existentialism. - mythomania n. A compulsion to embroider the truth, engage in exaggeration, or tell lies. - mythomaniac adj. - mythopoeic or mythopeic also mythopoetic adj. 1. Of or relating to the making of myths. 2. Serving to create or engender myths; productive in mythmaking. - mythopoeia, mythopoesis n. - mythos n. pl. mythoi 1. Myth. 2. Mythology. 3. The pattern of basic values and attitudes of a people, characteristically transmitted through myths and the arts. - nab -tr.v. Informal 1. To seize (a fugitive or wrongdoer); arrest. 2. To grab; snatch. -nabber n. - nacreous cloud n. A cloud resembling a cirrus, showing iridescent coloration when the sun is several degrees below the horizon. - naff1 adj. Chiefly British Slang Unstylish, cliched, or outmoded. - naff2 -intr.v. Chiefly British Slang To fool around or go about. - nag2 n. 1. A horse, especially: a. An old or worn-out horse. b. Slang A racehorse. - naiad n. 1. Greek Mythology One of the nymphs who lived in and presided over brooks, springs, and fountains. 3. The aquatic nymph of certain insects, such as the mayfly, damesfly, or dragonfly. 4. An aquatic plant of the genus Naias. - nail biter n. 1. One who bites one's fingernails as a nervous habit. 2. A situation marked by tense nervousness or apprehension, especially an athletic contest whose outcome is uncertain near its finish. -nail-biting n. - namby-pamby adj. 1. Insipid and sentimental. 2. Lacking vigor or decisiveness; spineless. n. One that is insipid, sentimental, or weak. - name of the game n. Slang The essential part or quality necessary for the success of an enterprise or the fulfillment of a goal: "The name of the game was to get the story". - Nanda Devi A peak, 7,821.7m high, of the Himalaya Mountains in northern India. - nap1 -intr.v. 2. To be unaware of imminent danger or trouble: be off guard: The civil unrest caught the police napping. - nap2 n. A soft or fuzzy surface on fabric or leather. -tr.v. To form or raise a soft or fuzzy surface on (fabric or leather). - nap3 -tr.v. To pour or put a sauce or gravy over (a cooked dish): "a stuffed veal chop napped with an elegant Port sauce." - nape n. The back of the neck. - narc or nark n. Slang A law enforcement officer who deals with narcotics violations. - narcissism n. 3. Erotic pleasure derived from contemplation or admiration of one's own body or self, especially as a fixation on or a regression to an infantile stage of development. - narco- prefix 1. Numbness; stupor; lethargy: narcolepsy. 2. Narcotic drug: narcoanalysis. - narcodollar n. A U.S. dollar acquired from illegal drug traffic. Often used in the plural. - narcolepsy n. A disorder characterized by sudden and uncontrollable, though often brief, attacks of deep sleep, sometimes accompanied by paralysis and hallucinations. - narcoleptic adj. - narcoma n. Stupor or unconsciousness produced by a drug or other chemical substance. - narcosis n. A condition of deep stupor or unconsciousness produced by a drug or other chemical substance. - narcoterrorism n. Terrorism carried out to prevent interference with or divert attention from illegal narcotics trafficking. - narcotism n. 1. Addiction to narcotics such as opium, heroin, or morphine. 2. Narcosis. - nark2 n. Chiefly British Slang n. An informer, especially a police informer. -intr.v. To be an informer. - narrow n. 1. A part of little width, as a pass through mountains. 2. narrows (used with a sing. or pl. verb) a. A body of water with little width that connects two larger bodies of water. b. A part of a river or an ocean current that is not wide. - narrowcast -intr.v. To transmit, as by cable, programs confined to the interests of a specific group of viewers, subscribers, or listeners, such as physicians, business people, or teenagers. - nary adj. Not one: "Frequently, measures of major import ... glide through the chambers with nary a whisper of debate" (G. B. Merry). - nastic adj. Of, relating to, or characterized by the tendency in plant parts to move in a direction determined by an internal stimulus, as an increased rate of cellular growth on one surface or side of the plant part. (See tropism.) - natant adj. Floating or swimming in water. - natation n. The act or skill of swimming. - natatorial adj. of, relating to, adapted for, or characterized by swimming: a natatorial appendage; natatorial birds. - natatorium n. An indoor swimming pool. - natch adv. Slang Of course; naturally. [Shortening and alteration of NATURALLY.] - nativism n. 1. A sociopolitical policy, especially in the U.S. in the 19th century, favoring the interests of established inhabitants over those of immigrants. |