| absence |
an instance or period of time of being away. [1/3 definitions] |
| accouchement |
childbirth, or a period of confinement for childbirth. |
| adjournment |
a period of being adjourned. [1/2 definitions] |
| adolescence |
the period between puberty and adulthood. [2 definitions] |
| adolescent |
of the period between puberty and adulthood. [1/3 definitions] |
| advent |
(cap.) the coming of Jesus Christ, or the period including four Sundays before Christmas. [1/2 definitions] |
| aftereffect |
an effect that follows its cause after some period of time, such as a delayed effect caused by a medicine or exposure to chemicals. |
| aftermath |
the period following a disastrous event. [1/2 definitions] |
| afternoon |
the period between noon and evening. [2 definitions] |
| age |
a distinctive period of cultural or geologic time. [2/11 definitions] |
| alert |
a warning or a period of warning, as of severe weather or military attack. [1/3 definitions] |
| Alexandrian |
of or pertaining to Alexander the Great or the period of his reign. [1/2 definitions] |
| Algonkian |
the Algonkian Period, or the rock formations that date from that time. [1/4 definitions] |
| a little |
a brief period of time. [1/5 definitions] |
| a.m. |
abbreviation of "ante meridiem" (Latin); the period from midnight until noon. |
| amortize |
to deduct (expenditures) by fixed amounts over a period of time. [2 definitions] |
| anachronism |
something that is or appears to be out of its appropriate time period. [1/2 definitions] |
| antebellum |
in or of the period prior to a war, esp. the American Civil War. (Cf. postbellum.) |
| antediluvian |
of the period before the Flood told of in the Bible. [1/4 definitions] |
| anticlimax |
a disappointing period of descent or decline in contrast to a previous rise. [1/3 definitions] |
| antique |
made in or belonging to earlier times; of a period long past. [1/5 definitions] |