- major axis n. The longer of the two lines about which an ellipse is
symmetrical; the axis that passes through both focuses of an ellipse.
- majoritarian adj. Based on majority rule: "a naively uncomplicated premise of
simple majoritarian democracy" (Saturday Review). n. A person who is an
advocate of majoritarianism.
Usage Note: Majority is often preceded by great (but not by greater) in
expressing emphatically the sense of "most of": The great majority approved.
The phrase "greater majority" is appropriate only when considering two
majorities: He won by a greater majority in this election than in the last.
- make up 1. To put together; construct or compose: make up a prescription. 2.
To constitute; form: Ten years make up a decade. 3a. To alter one's appearance
for a role on the stage, as with a costume and cosmetics. b. To apply
cosmetics. 4. To devise as a fiction or falsehood; invent: made up an excuse.
5a. To make good (a deficit or lack): made up the difference in the bill. b.
To compensate for: make up for lost time. 6. To resolve a quarrel: kissed and
made up. 7. To make ingratiating or fawning overtures. Used with to: made up
to his friend's boss. 8. To take (an exam or course) again or at a later time
because of previous absence or failure. 9. To set in order: make up a room.
10. Printing To select and arrange material for: made up the front page.
- make good: 1. To carry out successfully: made good his escape. 2. To fulfill:
made good her promise. 3. To make compensation for; make up for: made good the
loss. 4. To succeed: made good as a writer.
- on the make: Slang 1. Aggressively striving for financial or social
improvement: a young executive on the make. 2. Eagerly seeking a sexual
partner.
- makeover n. An overall treatment to improve the appearance or change the
image.
- makeup (or make-up) n. 1. The way in which something is composed or arranged;
composition or construction. 3. The qualities or temperament that constitute a
personality; disposition: Lying is not in her makeup. 4. Cosmetics applied
especially to the face. 5. Materials, such as cosmetics and costumes, that an
actor or actress uses in portraying a role. 6. A special examination for a
student who has been absent from or has failed a previous examination.
- makework n. Work of little value assigned or taken on only to keep someone
from being idle.
- making n. 1a. The act of one that makes. b. The process of coming into being:
trouble in the making. 2. The means of gaining success or realizing potential:
That job will be the making of you. 4a. The abilities or qualities needed for
development. Often used in the plural: She has the makings of a fine teacher.
b. The material or ingredients needed for maing or doing something: all the
makings of an apple pie. 5. makings Informal The paper and tobacco for rolling
a cigarette.
- makimono n. A horizontal Japanese decorative scroll featuring pictures or
calligraphy.
- malacology n. The branch of zoology that deals with mollusks.
- malady n. 1. A disease, a disorder, or an ailment. 2. An unwholesome
condition: the malady of discontent.
- mala fide adv. & adj. With or in bad faith.
- malaise n. 1. A vague feeling of bodily discomfort, as at the beginning of an
illness. 2. A general sense of depression or unease: "One year after the
crash, the markets remain mired in a deep malaise" (New York Times).
- malapropism n. 1. Ludicrous misuse of a word, especially by confusion with one
of similar sound. 2. An example of such misuse. [From malaprop, After Mrs.
Malaprop, a character in The Rivals, a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan.]
- malapropos adj. Out of place; inappropriate. adv.
- Maldives An island country in the Indian Ocean south west of Sri Lanka,
consisting of 19 atolls made up of more than 2,000 coral islands. --Maldivian
- male fern n. A fern having rhizomes and stalks that yield an oleoresin used to
expel tapeworms.
- malinger intr.v. To feign illness or other incapacity in order to avoid duty
or work.
- mallard n. A wild duck of which the male has a green head and neck. Most
domestic ducks descend from the mallard.
- malleolus n. Either of the two rounded protuberances on each side of the
ankle, the inner formed by a projection of the tibia, and the outer by a
projection of the fibula.
- malleus n. The hammer-shaped bone that is the outermost of the three small
bones in the mammalian middle ear. Also called hammer.
- mall walking n. An activity in which one walks around a shopping mall for
exercise.
- mammaplasty or mammoplasty n. Reconstructive or cosmetic plastic surgery to
alter the size or shape of the breast or breasts.
- Mammon n. 1. Bible. Riches, avarice, and worldly gain personified as a false
god in the New Testament.
- man n. 14. Nautical. A ship. Often used in combination: a merchantman; a
man-of-war.
- as one man 1. In complete agreement; unanimously. 2. With no exception: They
objected as one man.
- to a man Without exception: All were lost, to a man.