Shakespeare: Words and Phrases
adapted from the Collins English Dictionary
abate 1 VERB to abate here means to lessen or diminish âż There lives within the very flame of love/A kind of wick or snuff that will abate it (Hamlet 4.7) 2 VERB to abate here means to shorten âż Abate thy hours (A Midsummer Nightâs Dream 3.2) 3 VERB to abate here means to deprive âż She hath abated me of half my train (King Lear 2.4)
abjure VERB to abjure means to renounce or give up âż this rough magic I here abjure (Tempest 5.1)
abroad ADV abroad means elsewhere or everywhere âż You have heard of the news abroad (King Lear 2.1)
abrogate VERB to abrogate means to put an end to âż so it shall praise you to abrogate scurrility (Loveâs Labours Lost 4.2)
abuse 1 NOUN abuse in this context means deception or fraud âż What should this mean? Are all the rest come back?/Or is it some abuse, and no such thing? (Hamlet 4.7) 2 NOUN an abuse in this context means insult or offence âż I will be deaf to pleading and excuses/Nor tears nor prayers shall purchase our abuses (Romeo and Juliet 3.1) 3 NOUN an abuse in this context means using something improperly âż weâll digest/Thâabuse of distance (Henry II Chorus) 4 NOUN an abuse in this context means doing something which is corrupt or dishonest âż Come, bring them away: if these be good people in a commonweal that do nothing but their abuses in common houses, I know no law: bring them away. (Measure for Measure 2.1)
abuser NOUN the abuser here is someone who betrays, a betrayer âż IâŠdo attach thee/For an abuser of the world (Othello 1.2)
accent NOUN accent here means language âż In states unborn, and accents yet unknown (Julius Caesar 3.1)
accident NOUN an accident in this context is an event or something that happened âż think no more of this nightâs accidents (A Midsummer Nightâs Dream 4.1)
accommodate VERB to accommodate in this context means to equip or to give someone the equipment to do something âż The safer sense will neâer accommodate/His master thus. (King Lear 4.6)
according ADJ according means sympathetic or ready to agree âż within the scope of choice/Lies my consent and fair according voice (Romeo and Juliet 1.2)
account NOUN account often means judgement (by God) or reckoning âż No reckoning made, but sent to my account/With all my imperfections on my head (Hamlet 1.5)
accountant ADJ accountant here means answerable or accountable âż his offence isâŠ/Accountant to the law (Measure for Measure 2.4)
ace NOUN ace here means one or first referring to the lowest score on a dice âż No die, but an ace, for him; for he is but one./Less than an ace, man; for he is dead; he is nothing. (A Midsummer Nightâs Dream 5.1)
acquit VERB here acquit means to be rid of or free of. It is related to the verb quit âż I am glad I am so acquit of this tinderbox (The Merry Wives of Windsor 1.3)
afeard ADJ afeard means afraid or frightened âż Nothing afeard of what thyself didst make (Macbeth 1.3)
affiance NOUN affiance means confidence or trust âż O how hast thou with jealousy infected/The sweetness of affiance (Henry V 2.2)
affinity NOUN in this context, affinity means important connections, or relationships with important people âż The Moor replies/That he you hurt is of great fame in Cyprus,/And great affinity (Othello 3.1)
agnize VERB to agnize is an old word that means that you recognize or acknowledge something âż I do agnize/A natural and prompt alacrity I find in hardness (Othello 1.3)
ague NOUN an ague is a fever in which the patient has hot and cold shivers one after the other âż This is some monster of the isle with four legs, who hath gotâŠan ague (The Tempest 2.2)
alarm, alarum NOUN an alarm or alarum is a call to arms or a signal for soldiers to prepare to fight âż Whence cometh this alarum and the noise? (Henry VI part I 1.4)
Albion NOUN Albion is another word for England âż but I will sell my dukedom,/To buy a slobbery and a dirty farm In that nook-shotten isle of Albion (Henry V 3.5)
all of all PHRASE all of all means everything, or the sum of all things âż The very all of all (Loveâs Labours Lost 5.1)
amend VERB amend in this context means to get better or to heal âż at his touchâŠThey presently amend (Macbeth 4.3)
anchor VERB if you anchor on something you concentrate on it or fix on it âż My inventionâŠAnchors on Isabel (Measure for Measure 2.4)
anon ADV anon was a comm...