Siberian peasant monk who was religious advisor in the court of Nicholas II; was assassinated by Russian noblemen who feared that his debauchery would weaken the monarchy (1872-1916)
the junction between two neurons (axon-to-dendrite) or between a neuron and a muscle; "nerve impulses cross a synapse through the action of neurotransmitters"
a major part of the central nervous system which conducts sensory and motor nerve impulses to and from the brain; a long tubelike structure extending from the base of the brain through the vertebral canal to the upper lumbar region
having a play of lustrous rainbow-like colors; "an iridescent oil slick"; "nacreous (or pearlescent) clouds looking like mother-of-pearl"; "a milky opalescent (or opaline) luster"
having the paleness of wax; "the poor face with the same awful waxen pallor"- Bram Stoker; "the soldier turned his waxlike features toward him"; "a thin face with a waxy paleness"
made of or covered with wax; "waxen candles"; "careful, the floor is waxy"
the act of drilling a hole in the earth in the hope of producing petroleum
so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness; "a boring evening with uninteresting people"; "the deadening effect of some routine tasks"; "a dull play"; "his competent but dull performance"; "a ho-hum speaker who couldn't capture their attention"; "what an irksome task the writing of long letters is"- Edmund Burke; "tedious days on the train"; "the tiresome chirping of a cricket"- Mark Twain; "other people's dreams are dreadfully wearisome"
black clothing (worn as a sign of mourning); "the widow wore black"
(board games) the darker pieces
the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white)
a person with dark skin who comes from Africa (or whose ancestors came from Africa)
popular child actress of the 1930's (born in 1928)
British chemist who identified carbon dioxide and who formulated the concepts of specific heat and latent heat (1728-1799)
marked by anger or resentment or hostility; "black looks"; "black words"
of or belonging to a racial group having dark skin especially of sub-Saharan African origin; "a great people--a black people--...injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization"- Martin Luther King Jr.
extremely dark; "a black moonless night"; "through the pitch-black woods"; "it was pitch-dark in the cellar"
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light; "black leather jackets"; "as black as coal"; "rich black soil"
(of the face) made black especially as with suffused blood; "a face black with fury"
soiled with dirt or soot; "with feet black from playing outdoors"; "his shirt was black within an hour"
dressed in black; "a black knight"; "black friars"
(of coffee) without cream or sugar
(of events) having extremely unfortunate or dire consequences; bringing ruin; "the stock market crashed on Black Friday"; "a calamitous defeat"; "the battle was a disastrous end to a disastrous campaign"; "such doctrines, if true, would be absolutely fatal to my theory"- Charles Darwin; "it is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it"- Douglas MacArthur; "a fateful error"
stemming from evil characteristics or forces; wicked or dishonorable; "black deeds"; "a black lie"; "his black heart has concocted yet another black deed"; "Darth Vader of the dark side"; "a dark purpose"; "dark undercurrents of ethnic hostility"; "the scheme of some sinister intelligence bent on punishing him"-Thomas Hardy
(used of conduct or character) deserving or bringing disgrace or shame; "Man...has written one of his blackest records as a destroyer on the oceanic islands"- Rachel Carson; "an ignominious retreat"; "inglorious defeat"; "an opprobrious monument to human greed"; "a shameful display of cowardice"
offering little or no hope; "the future looked black"; "prospects were bleak"; "Life in the Aran Islands has always been bleak and difficult"- J.M.Synge; "took a dim view of things"