cant

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary EnglishRelated topics: Linguistics cantcant1 /kænt/ noun [uncountable] 1 PRETENDinsincere talk about moral or religious principles by someone who is pretending to be better than they really are2 formalSL special words used by a particular group of people, especially in order to keep things secret SYN slang thieves’ cantExamples from the Corpuscant• If there was one thing that he hated fervently it was affectation and cant.• Along with that sound goes the overpowering stench of mendacity and cant.• His viewpoint is remarkably free of idealism or cant.• And yet their eyes, their lips, a certain shy grin or quizzical cant of an eyebrow, look strangely familiar.• But what about the cant of usury and the mode of treating that he ought to know?• Their cant was not religious but phrenological.cantcant2 verb [intransitive, transitive] HORIZONTALto lean, or make something lean→ See Verb table Examples from the Corpuscant• This city could reconfigure parts of itself, great vitrodur panels sliding smoothly, tilting, canting.• It maddened him and he canted athwart.• Grave Digger clears all the yellow cars, canting far to one side.• She was sitting down by the gate, one hand on her neck, her head canted over at a fierce angle.• The controls are canted toward the driver.Origin cant1 (1600-1700) cant "to speak, talk like a beggar trying to get money" ((16-18 centuries)), from Latin cantare; → CHANT1

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Word of the day on edge nervous, especially because you are expecting something unpleasant to happen

Verb table

cant

Simple Form

Present

I, you, we, they cant

he, she, it cants

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Past

I, you, he, she, it, we, they canted

Present perfect

I, you, we, they have canted

he, she, it has canted

Past perfect

I, you, he, she, it, we, they had canted

Future

I, you, he, she, it, we, they will cant

Future perfect

I, you, he, she, it, we, they will have canted

> View Less

Continuous Form

Present

I am canting

he, she, it is canting

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you, we, they are canting

Past

I, he, she, it was canting

you, we, they were canting

Present perfect

I, you, we, they have been canting

he, she, it has been canting

Past perfect

I, you, he, she, it, we, they had been canting

Future

I, you, he, she, it, we, they will be canting

Future perfect

I, you, he, she, it, we, they will have been canting

> View Less

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