cant
(redirected from cantic)Also found in: Thesaurus, Encyclopedia.
cant
insincere; the private language of the underworld; phraseology peculiar to a particular class or profession: the cant of the fashion industry; whining or singsong speech, esp. of beggars; hypocrisy, sham, pretense, humbug
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree
cant 1
(kănt)n.
1. Angular deviation from a vertical or horizontal plane or surface; an inclination or slope.
2. A slanted or oblique surface.
3.
a. A thrust or motion that tilts something.
b. The tilt caused by such a thrust or motion.
4. An outer corner, as of a building.
v. cant·ed, cant·ing, cants
v.tr.
1. To set at an oblique angle; tilt.
2. To give a slanting edge to; bevel.
3. To change the direction of suddenly.
v.intr.
1. To lean to one side; slant.
2. To take an oblique direction or course; swing around, as a ship.
[Middle English, side, from Old North French, from Vulgar Latin *cantus, corner, from Latin canthus, rim of wheel, tire, of Celtic origin.]
cant 2
(kănt)n.
1. Tedious or hackneyed language, especially when used sanctimoniously: "a merciless onslaught upon the cant of the age, the cant about progress, equality, [and] universal education" (C. Vann Woodward).
2.
a. The special vocabulary peculiar to the members of an underworld group; argot.
b. The special vocabulary of a profession, discipline, or social group; jargon.
3. Cant See Shelta.
4. Whining or singsong speech, such as that used by beggars.
intr.v. cant·ed, cant·ing, cants
1. To speak tediously or sanctimoniously.
2. To speak in argot or jargon.
3. To speak in a whining or singsong voice.
[Anglo-Norman cant, song, singing, from canter, to sing, from Latin cantāre; see kan- in Indo-European roots.]
cant′ing·ly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
cant
(kænt)n
1. insincere talk, esp concerning religion or morals; pious platitudes
2. stock phrases that have become meaningless through repetition
3. specialized vocabulary of a particular group, such as thieves, journalists, or lawyers; jargon
4. singsong whining speech, as used by beggars
vb
(intr) to speak in or use cant
[C16: probably via Norman French canter to sing, from Latin cantāre; used disparagingly, from the 12th century, of chanting in religious services]
ˈcanter n
ˈcantingly adv
cant
(kænt)n
1. inclination from a vertical or horizontal plane; slope; slant
2. a sudden movement that tilts or turns something
3. the angle or tilt thus caused
4. (Building) a corner or outer angle, esp of a building
5. an oblique or slanting surface, edge, or line
vb (tr)
6. to tip, tilt, or overturn, esp with a sudden jerk
7. (Mechanical Engineering) to set in an oblique position
8. (Building) another word for bevel1
adj
9. oblique; slanting
10. having flat surfaces and without curves
[C14 (in the sense: edge, corner): perhaps from Latin canthus iron hoop round a wheel, of obscure origin]
ˈcantic adj
cant
(kɑːnt)adj
dialect Scot and Northern English lusty; merry; hearty
[C14: related to Low German kant bold, merry]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
cant1
(kænt)n.
1. insincere or hypocritical statements, esp. pious platitudes.
2. the private language of the underworld.
3. the words and phrases peculiar to a particular class, profession, etc.
4. whining or singsong speech.
v.i. 5. to talk piously or hypocritically.
6. to beg in a whining or singsong tone.
[1495–1505; < Latin base cant- in cantus song, canticus singsong, etc.; see chant]
cant2
(kænt)n.
1. a salient angle.
2. a sudden movement that tilts or overturns a thing.
3. a slanting or tilted position.
4. an oblique line or surface, as one formed by cutting off the corner of a square or cube.
6. a sudden pitch or toss.
7. Also called flitch. a partly trimmed log.
adj. 8. oblique or slanting.
v.t. 9. to bevel; form an oblique surface upon.
10. to put in an oblique position; tilt; tip.
11. to throw with a sudden jerk.
v.i. 12. to take or have an inclined position; tilt; turn.
[1325–75; Middle English: side, border < Anglo-French cant, Old French chant]
cant′ic, adj.
can't
(kænt, kɑnt) contraction of cannot.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
cant
Past participle: canted
Gerund: canting
Imperative |
---|
cant |
cant |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
cant
A specialized vocabulary used among a particular group of people.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
Noun | 1. | cant - stock phrases that have become nonsense through endless repetition |
2. | cant - a slope in the turn of a road or track; the outside is higher than the inside in order to reduce the effects of centrifugal force | |
3. | cant - a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves); "they don't speak our lingo" bite - a portion removed from the whole; "the government's weekly bite from my paycheck" swiz - British slang for a swindle shakedown - extortion of money (as by blackmail) power trip - (slang) a self-aggrandizing action undertaken simply for the pleasure of exercising control over other people dekko - British slang for a look square-bashing - drill on a barracks square shakedown - a very thorough search of a person or a place; "a shakedown by the police uncovered the drugs" caff - informal British term for a cafe deck - street name for a packet of illegal drugs Mickey Finn - slang term for knockout drops nick - (British slang) a prison; "he's in the nick" cert - an absolute certainty; "it's a dead cert" legs - staying power; "that old Broadway play really has legs" soup-strainer, toothbrush - slang for a mustache bunghole - vulgar slang for anus street name - slang for something (especially for an illegal drug); "`smack' is a street name for heroin" corker - (dated slang) a remarkable or excellent thing or person; "that story was a corker" baloney, bilgewater, boloney, bosh, drool, humbug, tommyrot, tosh, twaddle, taradiddle, tarradiddle - pretentious or silly talk or writing codswallop, folderol, trumpery, wish-wash, applesauce, tripe, rubbish, trash - nonsensical talk or writing skin flick - a pornographic movie dibs - a claim of rights; "I have dibs on that last slice of pizza" non-standard speech - speech that differs from the usual accepted, easily recognizable speech of native adult members of a speech community rhyming slang - slang that replaces words with rhyming words or expressions and then typically omits the rhyming component; "Cockney rhyming slang" burnup - a high-speed motorcycle race on a public road nosh-up - a large satisfying meal hood - (slang) a neighborhood 'hood - (slang) a neighborhood airhead - a flighty scatterbrained simpleton; "she's a total airhead"; "every airhead on a big salary rushed out to buy one" bad egg - (old-fashioned slang) a bad person boffin - (British slang) a scientist or technician engaged in military research good egg - (old-fashioned slang) a good person guvnor - (British slang) boss old man - (slang) boss out-and-outer - someone who is excellent at something schlockmeister, shlockmeister - (slang) a merchant who deals in shoddy or inferior merchandise squeeze - (slang) a person's girlfriend or boyfriend; "she was his main squeeze" suit - (slang) a businessman dressed in a business suit; "all the suits care about is the bottom line" tripper - (slang) someone who has taken a psychedelic drug and is undergoing hallucinations juice - electric current; "when the wiring was finished they turned on the juice" big bucks, big money, megabucks, pile, bundle - a large sum of money (especially as pay or profit); "she made a bundle selling real estate"; "they sank megabucks into their new house" key - a kilogram of a narcotic drug; "they were carrying two keys of heroin" skinful - a quantity of alcoholic drink sufficient to make you drunk; "someone had to drive me home last night because I had a skinful" juice - energetic vitality; "her creative juices were flowing" the trots - obscene terms for diarrhea | |
4. | cant - insincere talk about religion or morals | |
5. | cant - two surfaces meeting at an angle different from 90 degrees edge - a sharp side formed by the intersection of two surfaces of an object; "he rounded the edges of the box" splay - an outward bevel around a door or window that makes it seem larger | |
Verb | 1. | cant - heel over; "The tower is tilting"; "The ceiling is slanting" move - move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
cant
1noun
1. hypocrisy, pretence, lip service, humbug, insincerity, pretentiousness, sanctimoniousness, pious platitudes, affected piety, sham holiness Politicians are holding forth with their usual hypocritical cant.
cant
2verb tilt, angle, slope, incline, slant, bevel, rise The helicopter canted inward towards the landing area.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
cant 1
nounverb
cant 2
noun1. A variety of a language that differs from the standard form:
2. Specialized expressions indigenous to a particular field, subject, trade, or subculture:
argot, dialect, idiom, jargon, language, lexicon, lingo, patois, terminology, vernacular, vocabulary.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
رِياء، نِفاقكَلامُ اللُصوص
frázovitá řečhantýrkatlach
floskeljargon
kallistaakaltevuus
kántálásképmutatástolvajnyelvzsargon
hræsnislangur
argoveidmainiška kalbažargonas
liekulībažargons
frázy
argoyapmacık konuşma
cant
1 [kænt]A. N (= slope) → inclinación f, sesgo m; [of crystal etc] → bisel m
C. VI → inclinarse, ladearse
cant over VI + ADV → volcar
cant
2 [kænt]A. N
1. (= hypocrisy) → hipocresía(s) f(pl)
2. (= jargon) → jerga f
B. VI → camandulear
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
cant
[ˈkænt] n (= hypocritical talk) → discours m hypocrite, propos mpl hypocrites
vt → pencher
vi → pencher
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
cant
1 [kænt] n (hypocritical talk) → discorsi mpl ipocriti; (jargon) → gergocant
2 [kænt]1. vi (tilt) → inclinarsi
2. vt → inclinare; (overturn) → rovesciare
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
cant
(kӕnt) noun1. insincere talk. politicians' cant.
2. the special slang of a particular group of people. thieves' cant.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.