cant

(kănt)
n.

1. Angular deviation from a vertical or horizontal plane or surface; an inclination or slope.
2. A slanted or oblique surface.
3. 1. A thrust or motion that tilts something.
   2. 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.]

cant² (kănt)
n.

1. Monotonous talk filled with platitudes.
2. Hypocritically pious language.
3. The special vocabulary peculiar to the members of an underworld group; argot.
4. Cant See Shelta.
5. Whining speech, such as that used by beggars.
6. The special terminology understood among the members of a profession, discipline, or class but obscure to the general population; jargon. See synonyms at dialect.

intr.v., cant·ed, cant·ing, cants.

1. To speak tediously or sententiously; moralize.
2. To speak in argot or jargon.
3. To speak in a whining, pleading tone.

[Anglo-Norman cant, song, singing, from canter, to sing, from Latin cantāre.]

cantingly cant'ing·ly adv.
cantingness cant'ing·ness n.

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now usually means 'insincere pious or moral talk':

shameful surrender to the prevalent cant and humbug of the age—Daily Telegraph, 1992.

Its older (18th century–19th century) and often derogatory meaning, 'the secret language or jargon used by certain classes or professions', is confined to historical novels and scholarly discussion of language.

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noun

Deviation from a particular direction: grade, gradient, heel, inclination, incline, lean, list, rake, slant, slope, tilt, tip. See rise/fall, straight/bent.

verb

To depart or cause to depart from true vertical or horizontal: heel, incline, lean, list, rake, slant, slope, tilt, tip. See straight/bent.

cant²

noun

1. A variety of a language that differs from the standard form: argot, dialect, jargon, lingo, patois, vernacular. See words.
2. Specialized expressions indigenous to a particular field, subject, trade, or subculture: argot, dialect, idiom, jargon, language, lexicon, lingo, patois, terminology, vernacular, vocabulary. See words.

n

Definition: jargon
Antonyms: standard

v. (of a ship) swing round: the ship canted to starboard.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

1. A salient corner.
2. A line or surface angled in relation to another, as a sloped wall.
3. Masonry “on cant” is laid with joints sloping between front and back surfaces; the vertical joints are laid normally.
4. A log partly or wholly squared off.

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IN BRIEF: Insincere talk. Also: A slanting surface.

The bevel on the jewel had a very steep cant.

Tutor's tip: I "can't" (can not) believe the political "cant" (hypocritical speech) has gone this far.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

For a list of words related to canting, see:

• Bad, False, Evil, Insincere, or Dishonest

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See words rhyming with "cant."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Cant.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - forbrydersprog, slang, jargon
v. tr. - tale hyklerisk, tale i floskler
v. intr. - bruge floskler

2.
v. intr. - stille på skrå, skråne, hælde, skære skråt af
n. - vinkel, skrå kant, hældning

Nederlands (Dutch)
ongemeende vrome praat, modieuze uitdrukking, veiling, helling, kanteling, buitenhoek van een gebouw, jargon, schijnheilig/ smekend spreken, kantelen, van richting doen veranderen, afkanten, veilen

Français (French)
1.
n. - déclivité, dévers (des rails), (Naut) gîte
v. tr. - renverser (qch), retourner (qch), (Naut) chavirer (un canot pour le réparer), incliner, pencher, (Rail) surhausser (le rail extérieur), biseauter, écorner
v. intr. - (Constr) s'incliner, se trouver incliné, (Naut) gîter

2.
v. intr. - parler avec hypocrisie ou avec affectation
n. - paroles creuses, notions creuses, jargon (des avocats), argot, clichés, expressions stéréotypées

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Abhang, Neigung, Ruck, Schräge
v. - kippen, sich neigen, schräg stellen

2.
v. - Jargon reden, (abwert) schwafeln
n. - Jargon, Phrase, Heuchelei, Scheinheiliger

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - λοξή ή επικλινής επιφάνεια, λοξότμηση, αναμασήματα, υποκριτικοί λόγοι, ακαταλαβίστικα, ειδική διάλεκτος

Italiano (Italian)
versante, pendio, gergo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - inclinação (f), ângulo (m) externo, movimento (m) brusco, jargão (m), linguagem (f) hipócrita, lamúria (f)

Русский (Russian)
ханжество, склон, уклон, блатной жаргон

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - rampa, bisel, inclinación, pendiente
v. tr. - inclinar, ladear, invertir, arrojar, lanzar
v. intr. - inclinarse, ladearse

2.
v. intr. - expresarse con afectación, hablar en forma hipócrita
n. - jerga, jerigonza

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - förbrytarspråk, slang, jargong, snedslipad kant, sluttning, stöt

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 斜面, 斜边, 斜坡, 外角, 角落, 使具有斜面, 斜切, 将...斜掷出去, 使倾斜, 使倾覆, 猛扔, 倾斜, 斜穿, 斜过, 倾覆

2. 黑话, 切口, 哀号, 单调的哼声, 行话, 术语, 言不由衷的话, 伪善的言词, 使用黑话, 伪善地说教, 说言不由衷的话

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 斜面, 斜邊, 斜坡, 外角, 角落
v. tr. - 使具有斜面, 斜切, 將...斜擲出去, 使傾斜, 使傾覆, 猛扔
v. intr. - 傾斜, 斜穿, 斜過, 傾覆

2.
n. - 黑話, 切口, 哀號, 單調的哼聲, 行話, 術語, 言不由衷的話, 偽善的言詞
v. intr. - 使用黑話, 偽善地說教, 說言不由衷的話

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 경사, 모서리, 갑자기 밀기
v. tr. - 기울이다, 비스듬히 밀다, 모서리를 자르다
v. intr. - 기울다, 뒤집다, 배가 방향을 바꾸다

2.
v. intr. - 점잔 빼는 말투를 쓰다, 은어를 쓰다
n. - 위선적인 말투, 은어, 가련한 말투

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 仲間ことば, 隠語, 偽善的な言い方, うわべだけのことば, 傾き, 斜面, 急な動き
v. - 傾ける, 傾く, 斜めに押す

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) ريا, نفاق انحراف, ميلان‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮עמדה מוטה, תנועת פתע אלכסונית, צלע של גביש, שיפוע, נטייה‬
v. tr. - ‮שיפע, הטה, הפך‬
v. intr. - ‮הסתובב סביב (כלי-שייט)‬
n. - ‮משלב דיבור, ביטויים אופנתיים, דברי צביעות, התחסדות, צביעות‬
v. intr. - ‮דיבר במשלב דיבור מסוים, אמר דברי צביעות, השתמש בביטויים אופנתיים‬

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