Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Reluctance

Definitions: Reluctance

Reluctance

Noun

1. (physics) opposition to magnetic flux (analogous to electric resistance).

2. A certain degree of unwillingness; "a reluctance to commit himself"; "after some hesitation he agreed".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "reluctance" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1258. (references)

 

Specialty Definitions: Reluctance

DomainDefinitions

Electrical Engineering

The quotient of the magnetomotive force by the associated flux. Source: European Union. (references)

Mining

Magnetic quality analogous to resistance in the flow of electric current. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Synonyms: Reluctance

Synonyms: disinclination (n), hesitancy (n), hesitation (n), indisposition (n). (additional references)

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Synonyms within Context: Reluctance

ContextSynonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).

Dislike

Reluctance; backwardness; (unwillingness).

Dissuasion

Reluctance; (unwillingness); contraindication.

Unwillingness

Noun: unwillingness; Adjective: indisposition, indisposedness; disinclination, aversation; nolleity, nolition; renitence, renitency; reluctance; indifference; backwardness; Adjective: slowness; want of alacrity,want of readiness; indocility; (obstinacy).

Willingness

Adverb: willingly; Adjective: fain, freely, as lief, heart and soul; with pleasure, with all one's heart, with open arms; with good will, with right will; de bonne volonte, ex animo; con amore, heart in hand, nothing loth, without reluctance, of one's own accord, graciously, with a good grace.

Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

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Crosswords: Reluctance

English words defined with "reluctance": Burden of proofcheeseparing, close, coydisinclinationfaineancehesitancy, hesitationidleness, indispositionLoathnessnearparsimoniousness, parsimony, penny-pinchingReluct, reluctantly, Reluctation, Renitency, Repugnancythriftungrudging. (references)
Specialty definitions using "reluctance": GUILLOTINEmartyrRedgauntlet. (references)

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Modern Usage: Reluctance

DomainUsage

Clever

There is nothing so easy but that it becomes difficult when you do it with reluctance. (references; author: unknown)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Commercial Usage: Reluctance

DomainTitle

Books

  • Brushless Permanent-Magnet and Reluctance Motor Drives (Monographs in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Vol 21) (reference)

  • Call Power: 21 Days to Conquering Call Reluctance (reference)

  • Color of Reluctance (reference)

  • Earning What You're Worth?: The Psychology of Sales Call Reluctance (reference)

  • Electronic Control of Switched Reluctance Machines (Newnes Power Engineering) (reference)

    (more book examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Use in Literature: Reluctance

TitleAuthorQuote

Les Miserables

Hugo, Victor

The details, the hesitation, the slight reluctance possible were lost in this immense, luminous fact.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Non-Fiction Usage: Reluctance

SubjectTopicQuote

Health

Switching friends, along with a reluctance to have you get to know the new friends. (references)

Embarrassment of patients and the reluctance of both patients and health care providers to discuss sexual matters candidly contribute to underdiagnosis of erectile dysfunction. (references)

This lack of information, added to a pervasive reluctance of physicians to deal candidly with sexual matters, has resulted in patients being denied the benefits of treatment for their sexual concerns. (references)

Business

The reluctance to exercise has undoubtedly helped the modern health food industry boom from its early stages. (references)

Another hindrance to selling American cars in Singapore is the reluctance of American car companies to produce right-hand drive cars. U.S.-built vehicles are admired for their design and user benefits. (references)

The inability of Palestinian companies to import new cars and the reluctance of Israeli car distributors to set up operations in the West Bank and Gaza limited the passenger car market to used cars imported from Israel. (references)

Children

Philippines

Greater public awareness has eroded traditional reluctance to report abuses against children. (references)

Civil Liberties

Hong Kong

One complaint was that the Government's reluctance to associate with the writer, most of whose works are banned in China, contributed to the idea that Hong Kong residents should "self-censor" their behavior with a view to PRC political sensitivities. (references)

Economic History

Saudi Arabia

The SAG has a general reluctance to borrow externally except through parastatals. (references)

Human Rights

Congo

Guards have shown a reluctance to release prisoners out of fear of losing part of their incomes. (references)

Belarus

Some opposition figures expressed reluctance to visit some foreign embassies due to fear of reprisals. (references)

Cuba

Attorneys have reported reluctance to defend those charged in political cases due to fear of jeopardizing their own careers. (references)

Minorities

Kenya

Many persons of African descent resent those of Asian descent for their affluence, and for their reluctance to assimilate African culture and to employ blacks, particularly in management positions. (references)

Romania

The centuries-long domination of the Orthodox Church, and its status as the majority religion, has resulted in the Orthodox Church's reluctance (in particular at the local level and with the support of low-level officials) to accept the existence of other religions. (references)

Political Economy

KUWAIT

Lack of staff and Kuwaiti officials' reluctance to publicize the names and locations where pirated products are seized have been two major obstacles. (references)

Trade

Ukraine

The reasons may include the continued reshuffling of key officials within the energy sector and reluctance within the government to diversify fuel supplies. (references)

Morocco

Although other Moroccan banks have expressed some interest in this program, they have not overcome the reluctance of Moroccan importers to take on the foreign exchange risk of borrowing in dollars. (references)

Croatia

The rationale for such developments lies in the reluctance of banks to offer financing based on anything other than "solid" collateral (real estate, securities) or an indirect government guarantee (extra-budgetary fund bills of exchange guaranteed by the government, loans to state-owned enterprises). (references)

Women

Ecuador

Many rapes are not reported due to the victims' reluctance to confront the perpetrators. (references)

Tajikistan

There is a widespread reluctance to discuss the issue or provide assistance to women in abusive situations. (references)

Belarus

The primary problem remained a general reluctance among women to report instances of domestic violence due to fear of reprisal and the social stigma. (references)

Worker Rights

Nepal

However, in general, labor remains widely unable to use collective bargaining effectively due to inexperience and employer reluctance to bargain. (references)

Indonesia

Moreover, NGO's allege that there still is considerable reluctance to acknowledge, both within society and the Government, that prostitution is a major industry. (references)

Bulgaria

The pervasive economic crisis and imminent, long-overdue privatizations continued to engender a heightened fear of unemployment, leading to reluctance on the part of workers to pursue wage and safety demands. (references)

Lexicography

Devil's Dictionary

MARTYR, n. One who moves along the line of least reluctance to a desired death.

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

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Speeches: Reluctance

SpeakerTermPhrase(s)

George Washington

1789-1797My very reluctance to ascribe too much importance to the opposition, had its extent been accurately seen, would have been a decided inducement to the smallest efficient numbers.

James Madison

1809-1817To render the justice of the war on our part the more conspicuous, the reluctance to commence it was followed by the earliest and strongest manifestations of a disposition to arrest its progress.

Ronald Reagan

1981-1989Our reluctance for conflict should not be misjudged as a failure of will.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Usage Frequency: Reluctance

"Reluctance" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Reluctance" is used about 1,023 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)
Parts of SpeechPercentUsage per
100 Million Words
Rank in English
Noun (singular)100%1,0237,253

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Expression: Reluctance

Expressions using "reluctance": do with reluctance make a show of reluctance without reluctance. Additional references.

Hypenated Usage

Ending with "reluctance": variable-reluctance.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Reluctance

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day

reluctance

11

switched reluctance motor

10

call reluctance

8

motor reluctance

5

switched reluctance

3

ac motor reluctance synchronous

3

reluctance variable

3

frost reluctance robert

3

motor reluctance stepper variable

2

sales call reluctance

2

generator reluctance switched

2
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translations: Reluctance

Language Translations for "reluctance"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.

Albanian

  

ngurrim (demur, dither, falter, fluctuation, hesitance, hesitancy, hesitation, reserve, shilly shally), mosdashje (aversion, disinclination, dislike, indisposition, unwillingness). (various references)

   

Arabic 

  

‏ممانعة, ‏مقاومة (fight, impedance, opposition, refractoriness, renitency, resistance, stamina, stand, strength), ‏نفور (antipathy, aversion, disaffection, disinclination, dislike, distaste, estrangement, indisposition, offish, recoil, repugnance, repulsion, revulsion, startle), ‏عدم رغبة (unwillingness), ‏إشمئزاز (abhorrence, horror, loathing, nausea, obsession, pout, qualm, recoil, repugnance, repulsion, revulsion, sway). (various references)

   

Bulgarian 

  

съпротива (defence, defense, opposition, resistance, stand, underground), отвращение (abhorrence, abomination, allergy, antipathy, detestation, disgust, disrelish, distaste, execration, horror, loathing, nausea, odium, phobia, recoil, repugnance, repulsion, revolt, scunner, sickener), неохота (chariness, disinclination, indisposition, unwillingness), нежелание (aversion, disinclination, indisposition, unwillingness), магнитно съпротивление. (various references)

   

Chinese 

  

勉强 (reluctant). (various references)

   

Czech

  

zdráhání, odpor (antipathy, aversion, contradiction, disgust, dislike, distaste, nausea, opposition, protest, repugnance, repulsion, resentment, resistance, revulsion), neochota (unwillingness). (various references)

   

Danish

  

reluktans, magnetisk modstand. (various references)

   

Dutch

  

reluctantie. (various references)

   

Farsi 

  

مقاومت مغناطیسی , مخالف (Adversary, Adverse, Against, Alien, Antagonist, Averse, Con, Contrary, Converse, Defiant, Dissenter, Foe, Inadvisable, Irreconcilable, No, Opponent, Repugnant, Unfavorable, With), اکراه (Duress, Grudge), بیزاری (Abhorrence, Aversion, Disgust, Ennui, Grudge, Hatred, Loathloth, Tedium), بی میلی (Disaffection, Dismay, Distaste, Grudge, Lassitude). (various references)

   

Finnish

  

reluktanssi, magneettinen resistanssi. (various references)

   

French

  

réluctance. (various references)

   

German

  

Widerstreben (jib, oppose, to jib), magnetischer Widerstand, Abneigung (abhorrence, animosity, antipathy, aversion, disinclination, dislike, distaste, indisposition, objection, repugnance). (various references)

   

Greek 

  

απροθυμία (disinclination, perfunctoriness, reluctancy, unwillingness). (various references)

   

Hebrew 

  

מאון (refusal), אי רצון (disinclination, unwillingness). (various references)

   

Hungarian

  

vonakodás, idegenkedés (antipathy, averseness, aversion, disinclination, dislike, indisposition, repugnance, repulsion), ellenállás (capacitance, contrariness, counter-move, drag, kick, opposition, reacting force, rebellion, resistance, resistor, rheostat, stamina, stand, strength, traverse). (various references)

   

Indonesian

  

keengganan (aversion, dislike, indisposition). (various references)

   

Irish

  

leisce (laziness). (various references)

   

Italian

  

riluttanza (querulousness, tardiness, unwillingness). (various references)

   

Japanese Kanji 

  

未練 (attachment, lingering affection, regret), 名残惜しい (regret), 已む無く (out of necessity, unavoidably, unwillingness), 心残り (regret), 不本意 (unwilling). (various references)

   

Japanese Katakana 

  

な"りおしい (regret, reluctant parting), ふほ"い (unwilling), ""ろの"り (regret), やむなく (out of necessity, unavoidably, unwillingness), みれ" (attachment, lingering affection, regret). (various references)

   

Korean 

  

반항 (Withstand). (various references)

   

Manx

  

neuarryltys, lhiastid (diffidence, idleness, inaction, inactivity, indisposition, indolence, languidness, languor, lassitude, laziness, sloth, slowness, sluggishness). (various references)

   

Pig Latin

  

eluctanceray

   

Portuguese

  

relutância (difficulty, grudge, repugnance). (various references)

   

Romanian

  

rezistenţã (endurance, kick, lasting, opponency, opposition, proof, reliability, resistance, stamina, stand, stoutness, strength, tolerance of, toughness), repulsie (abhorrence, recoil, repulsion, revolt). (various references)

   

Russian 

  

отвращение (abhorrence, abomination, abominations, allergy, aversion, disgust, distaste, hatred, loathing, odium, recoil, repugnance, repulsion, revulsion, scunner), нежелание (disinclination, indisposition, unwillingness). (various references)

   

Serbo-Croatian

  

opiranje, odvratnost (averse, nausea, odiousness, odium, repugnance, repulsion, revulsion, sordidness, unpleasantness). (various references)

   

Spanish

  

reluctancia. (various references)

   

Swedish

  

reluktans, motvillighet. (various references)

   

Turkish

  

isteksizlik (aversion, disinclination, indisposition, repugnance, unwillingness), gönülsüzlük (disinclination, indisposition, unwillingness), direnç (capacitance, drag, resistance, strength), ağırdan alma (dilatoriness, procrastination). (various references)

   

Ukranian 

  

небажання (indisposition), магнітний опір. (various references)

   

Vietnamese 

  

sự miễn cưỡng (cheerlessness, constraint, disinclination), sự không thích (disinclination, dislike, disrelish, distaste, objection), sự bất đắc dĩ (cheerlessness, disinclination). (various references)

   

Welsh

  

hwyrfrydigrwydd (tardiness). (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Ancestral Language Translations: Reluctance

LanguagePeriodTranslations
Latin500 BCE-Modern

reluctari. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Derivations & Misspellings: Reluctance

Derivations

Words beginning with "reluctance": reluctances. (additional references)


Misspellings

"Reluctance" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: reluctence, reluetance, relutance. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Rhyming with "Reluctance"

# of Phoneme MatchesPronunciationWord(s) rhyming with "reluctance" (pronounced rulu"ktuns or rēlu"ktuns)
6-u" k t u n sinductance.
4-t u n sacceptance, acquaintance, admittance, assistance, capacitance, coexistence, competence, consistence, distance, existence, importance, impotence, inadvertence, incompetence, inheritance, insistence, instance, omnipotence, persistence, pittance, remittance, repentance, resistance, sentence, subsistence, substance.
3-u n sabeyance, abhorrence, absence, abstinence, abundance, accordance, acquiescence, adherence, admirations, adolescence, affluence, allegiance, alliance, allowance, ambiance, ambience, ambivalence, ambulance, annoyance, appearance, appliance, arrogance, ascendance, assurance, attendance, audience, avoidance, balance, belligerence, beneficence, benevolence, bioscience, brilliance, cadence, chrominance, circumference, clairvoyance, Clarence, clearance, cognizance, coherence, coincidence, coinsurance, comeuppance, compliance, concurrence, condolence, conference, confidence, confluence, conformance, congruence, connivance, conscience, consequence, continuance, contrivance, convalescence, convenience, convergence, conveyance, correspondence, countenance, counterbalance, counterintelligence, credence, dalliance, decadence, Defeasance, deference, defiance, deliverance, dependence, deterrence, deviance, difference, diligence, disallowance, disappearance, discontinuance, disobedience, dissidence, dissonance, disturbance, divergence, dominance, ebullience, elegance, eloquence, emergence, eminence, endurance, entrance, equivalence, essence, evanescence, evidence, excellence, expedience, experience, extravagance, exuberance, flamboyance, Florence, forbearance, fragrance, furtherance, governance, grievance, guidance, hindrance, ignorance, imbalance, immanence, imminence, impatience, impedance, imprudence, incidence, incoherence, incontinence, inconvenience, independence, indifference, indulgence, inexperience, inference, influence, innocence, insignificance, insolence, insurance, intelligence, interdependence, interference, intolerance, intransigence, invariance, irrelevance, irreverence, issuance, jurisprudence, licence, license, luminance, luminescence, maintenance, malfeasance, negligence, neuroscience, noncompliance, noninterference, nonviolence, nuisance, obedience, observance, obsolescence, occurrence, omnipresence, opulence, ordinance, Ordnance, overabundance, overconfidence, overdependence, overreliance, parlance, patience, penance, performance, permanence, persecutions, perseverance, pestilence, petulance, phosphorescence, precedence, predominance, preeminence, preference, preponderance, prescience, presence, prevalence, prominence, protuberance, provenance, Providence, province, prudence, pseudoscience, quintessence, radiance, reappearance, reassurance, recalcitrance, recognizance, reconnaissance, recurrence, reemergence, reference, reinspections, reinsurance, relevance, reliance, remembrance, reminiscence, resemblance, residence, resilience, resonance, resurgence, reticence, reverence, riddance, science, semblance, senescence, sequence, severance, significance, silence, submergence, subservience, subsidence, surveillance, sustenance, teleconference, temperance, tolerance, transcendence, transference, transience, turbulence, unbalance, utterance, Valence, variance, vehemence, vengeance, videoconference, vigilance, violence, virulence.
6-u" k t u n sinductance.
4-t u n sacceptance, acquaintance, admittance, assistance, capacitance, coexistence, competence, consistence, distance, existence, importance, impotence, inadvertence, incompetence, inheritance, insistence, instance, omnipotence, persistence, pittance, remittance, repentance, resistance, sentence, subsistence, substance.
3-u n sabeyance, abhorrence, absence, abstinence, abundance, accordance, acquiescence, adherence, admirations, adolescence, affluence, allegiance, alliance, allowance, ambiance, ambience, ambivalence, ambulance, annoyance, appearance, appliance, arrogance, ascendance, assurance, attendance, audience, avoidance, balance, belligerence, beneficence, benevolence, bioscience, brilliance, cadence, chrominance, circumference, clairvoyance, Clarence, clearance, cognizance, coherence, coincidence, coinsurance, comeuppance, compliance, concurrence, condolence, conference, confidence, confluence, conformance, congruence, connivance, conscience, consequence, continuance, contrivance, convalescence, convenience, convergence, conveyance, correspondence, countenance, counterbalance, counterintelligence, credence, dalliance, decadence, Defeasance, deference, defiance, deliverance, dependence, deterrence, deviance, difference, diligence, disallowance, disappearance, discontinuance, disobedience, dissidence, dissonance, disturbance, divergence, dominance, ebullience, elegance, eloquence, emergence, eminence, endurance, entrance, equivalence, essence, evanescence, evidence, excellence, expedience, experience, extravagance, exuberance, flamboyance, Florence, forbearance, fragrance, furtherance, governance, grievance, guidance, hindrance, ignorance, imbalance, immanence, imminence, impatience, impedance, imprudence, incidence, incoherence, incontinence, inconvenience, independence, indifference, indulgence, inexperience, inference, influence, innocence, insignificance, insolence, insurance, intelligence, interdependence, interference, intolerance, intransigence, invariance, irrelevance, irreverence, issuance, jurisprudence, licence, license, luminance, luminescence, maintenance, malfeasance, negligence, neuroscience, noncompliance, noninterference, nonviolence, nuisance, obedience, observance, obsolescence, occurrence, omnipresence, opulence, ordinance, Ordnance, overabundance, overconfidence, overdependence, overreliance, parlance, patience, penance, performance, permanence, persecutions, perseverance, pestilence, petulance, phosphorescence, precedence, predominance, preeminence, preference, preponderance, prescience, presence, prevalence, prominence, protuberance, provenance, Providence, province, prudence, pseudoscience, quintessence, radiance, reappearance, reassurance, recalcitrance, recognizance, reconnaissance, recurrence, reemergence, reference, reinspections, reinsurance, relevance, reliance, remembrance, reminiscence, resemblance, residence, resilience, resonance, resurgence, reticence, reverence, riddance, science, semblance, senescence, sequence, severance, significance, silence, submergence, subservience, subsidence, surveillance, sustenance, teleconference, temperance, tolerance, transcendence, transference, transience, turbulence, unbalance, utterance, Valence, variance, vehemence, vengeance, videoconference, vigilance, violence, virulence.

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

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Anagrams: Reluctance

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Words within the letters "a-c-c-e-e-l-n-r-t-u"

-1 letter: calenture, crenulate.

-2 letters: canceler, caruncle, cerulean, clarence, nucleate, reaccent, relucent, ulcerate, uncreate.

-3 letters: accrete, cenacle, centare, centaur, central, cleaner, crenate, cuneate, enteral, eternal, lectern, lecture, lucarne, lucence, lucerne, neutral, nuclear, reclean, reenact, teleran, treacle, unclear, uncrate.

-4 letters: accent, accrue, acuter, antler, cancel, cancer, canter, cantle, carcel, careen, carnet, cartel, cental, center, centra, centre, cerate.

 Words containing the letters "a-c-c-e-e-l-n-r-t-u"
 

+1 letter: reluctances.

 

+2 letters: reluctancies, translucence.

 

+3 letters: translucences, uncorrectable.

 

+4 letters: conceptualizer, counterbalance, counterclaimed, translucencies.

 

+5 letters: circumferential, conceptualizers, counterbalanced, counterbalances, counterblockade, reconceptualize.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

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Alternative Orthography: Reluctance


Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)

52 65 6C 75 63 74 61 6E 63 65

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)

American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)

=

Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)

Braille (1829, in France) (references)

Morse Code (1836) (references)

.-.    .    .-..    ..-    -.-.    -    .-    -.    -.-.    .

Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)

Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)

01010010 01100101 01101100 01110101 01100011 01110100 01100001 01101110 01100011 01100101

HTML Code (1990) (references)

&#82 &#101 &#108 &#117 &#99 &#116 &#97 &#110 &#99 &#101

ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)

0052 0065 006C 0075 0063 0074 0061 006E 0063 0065

British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)

Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)

52717887698667806971

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INDEX

1. Definition
2. Synonyms
3. Crosswords
4. Usage: Modern
5. Usage: Commercial
6. Quotations: Fiction
7. Quotations: Non-fiction
8. Quotations: Speeches
9. Usage Frequency
10. Expressions
11. Expressions: Internet
12. Translations: Modern
13. Translations: Ancient
14. Derivations
15. Rhymes
16. Anagrams
17. Orthography
18. Bibliography


  

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.