wist|ful
/w
I
stfʊl/ ADJ
Someone who is
wistful
is rather sad because they want something and know that they cannot have it. □ [+
wit /w I t/ (wits )
1
N‑UNCOUNT
Wit
is the ability to use words or ideas in an amusing, clever, and imaginative way. □
2
N‑COUNT
If you describe someone as a
wit
, you mean that they have the ability to use words or ideas in an amusing, clever, and imaginative way. □
3
N‑SING
If you say that someone has
the wit
to
do something, you mean that they have the intelligence and understanding to make the right decision or take the right action in a particular situation. □
4
N‑PLURAL
[usu poss N
] You can refer to your ability to think quickly and cleverly in a difficult situation as your
wits
. □
5
N‑PLURAL
You can use
wits
in expressions such as
frighten
someone
out of their wits
and
scare the wits out of
someone to emphasize that a person or thing worries or frightens someone very much. [EMPHASIS
] □
6
PHRASE
If you
have
your
wits about
you or
keep
your
wits about
you, you are alert and ready to act in a difficult situation. □
7
PHRASE
If you say that you are
at
your
wits' end
, you are emphasizing that you are so worried and exhausted by problems or difficulties that you do not know what to do next. [EMPHASIS
] □
8
PHRASE
If you
pit
your
wits against
someone, you compete against them in a test of knowledge or intelligence. □
9
PHRASE
To wit
is used to indicate that you are about to state or describe something more precisely. [LITERARY
] □
witch /w I tʃ/ (witches )
1 N‑COUNT In fairy stories, a witch is a woman, usually an old woman, who has evil magic powers. Witches often wear a pointed black hat, and have a pet black cat.
2 N‑COUNT A witch is a man or woman who claims to have magic powers and to be able to use them for good or bad purposes.
witch|craft /w I tʃkrɑːft, -kræft/ N‑UNCOUNT Witchcraft is the use of magic powers, especially evil ones.
wi tch doc|tor (witch doctors ) also witch-doctor N‑COUNT A witch doctor is a person in some societies, for example in Africa, who is thought to have magic powers which can be used to heal people.
wi tch ha|zel N‑UNCOUNT Witch hazel is a liquid that you put on your skin if it is sore or damaged, in order to help it to heal.
wi tch-hunt (witch-hunts ) N‑COUNT A witch-hunt is an attempt to find and punish a particular group of people who are being blamed for something, often simply because of their opinions and not because they have actually done anything wrong. [DISAPPROVAL ]
witchy
/w
I
tʃi/ or
witch-like
ADJ
A
witchy
person looks or behaves like a witch.
Witchy
things are associated with witches. □
with
◆◆◆ /w
I
ð, w
I
θ/
In addition to the uses shown below,
with
is used after some verbs, nouns and adjectives in order to introduce extra information.
With
is also used in most reciprocal verbs, such as 'agree' or 'fight', and in some phrasal verbs, such as 'deal with' and 'dispense with'.
1
PREP
If one person is
with
another, they are together in one place. □