May 2010

Notable Quotable: Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman was born May 31, 1819, and died in 1892. The groundbreaking and influential American poet embraced life and nature; his exuberance is revealed in many of the Whitman quotations used to illustrate dictionary entries.

For a look at all 59 citations from Walt Whitman, select the Unabridged as your Reference, and click on Advanced Search. Type "Whitman" into the Author box, and click on Search.

affecting adjective
"the scenes of disappointment are quite as affecting"

askant adverb
"and I saw askant the armies"

barbaric adjective; yawp noun
"I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world"

bard noun
"the bard walks in advance, leader of leaders"

fearful adjective
"our fearful trip is done, the ship has weathered every rack"

higgle verb
"the purchaser higgling about the odd cent"

infer verb
"democracy infers such loving comradeship"

kingcraft noun
"to abolish kingcraft, priestcraft, caste, monopoly"

netherward adjective
"in the netherward black of the night"

nigh adjective
"man in ... friend, brother, nighest neighbor"

orb noun
"solid, ironical, rolling orb"

procreant adjective
"the procreant urge of the world"

recall noun
"the war is completed -- the price is paid -- the title is settled beyond recall"

shyster noun
"there are tyrants and shysters in all positions, and especially those dressed in subordinate authority"

spaniel noun
"office seekers, ...spaniels well-trained to carry and fetch"

splendid adjective
"a splendid dish of ice cream"

staff noun
"my signs are a rainproof coat, good shoes and a staff cut from the woods"

swell verb
"it swells me to joyful madness"

vacant adjective
"the past, the future, majesty, love ... you are vacant of them"