Words starting with M

455 words from the Lexfall vocabulary, each with a definition and an example sentence.

maceration Softening and whitening of the skin caused by prolonged exposure to moisture.
machiavellian Cunning and unscrupulous in pursuit of power.
machination A crafty scheme or plot.
macrocytic Describing red blood cells that are larger than normal.
macrocytosis The presence of abnormally large red blood cells, indicated by a raised mean corpuscular...
macrolide A class of antibiotic that inhibits bacterial protein synthesis and is often used for...
macronutrient A nutrient required in large amounts, namely carbohydrate, protein or fat.
macula The small central part of the retina responsible for detailed central and colour vision.
macular degeneration A progressive disease of the macula causing loss of central vision, most commonly related...
macule A flat, circumscribed area of altered skin colour measuring less than one centimetre,...
magic number A SaaS efficiency metric dividing new recurring revenue by the prior period's...
magnanimity Generosity and nobility of spirit, especially towards a rival or defeated opponent.
magnanimous Generous and forgiving, especially toward a rival.
maim To wound or injure someone so as to cause lasting disfigurement or loss of function.
main character Someone who acts as if the world revolves around them.
main character energy Living as though the world is your movie and everyone else is cast.
mainstreaming The integration of a human-rights perspective into all policies, programmes and...
maintenance The application of trust income for the support, education or benefit of a beneficiary,...
maintenance covenant A financial covenant tested at fixed intervals regardless of any action by the borrower,...
maintenance dose The regular dose given to sustain a steady therapeutic level of a drug once the desired...
major haemorrhage protocol A hospital pathway that rapidly delivers blood products to a massively bleeding patient.
majoritarianism The principle that the numerical majority is entitled to prevail in political...
majority lenders The lenders whose combined commitments meet the agreed threshold, usually two-thirds,...
make a concession To agree to give up part of your position to help reach an agreement.
make no admissions A pleading formula by which a party neither admits nor denies an allegation, thereby...
make-or-buy Relating to the decision whether to produce something in-house or purchase it from...
make redundant To dismiss an employee because their role is no longer needed by the business.
make-whole Describing a call provision that compensates bondholders for lost interest with a premium...
make-whole premium A prepayment amount compensating lenders for lost future interest when debt is retired...
make-whole relief Remedies designed to restore a wronged employee to the position they would have occupied...
making available The act of putting a work online such that the public can access it from a place and time...
mala fide Done in bad faith, with dishonest intent or knowledge of wrongdoing.
malabsorption Impaired uptake of nutrients from the gut into the body.
maladministration Inefficient, improper, or dishonest management of an organisation's affairs.
maladroit Clumsy and inept in action, movement or handling of situations.
malaise A general feeling of being unwell that the patient often finds hard to describe precisely.
malapportionment The unequal distribution of representation so that some votes carry more weight than...
malapropism The mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, often to comic effect.
malefactor A person who commits a crime or does wrong.
malfeasance Wrongdoing or misconduct, especially by a public official.
malice The intention or reckless disregard that makes a wrongful act blameworthy in law.
malice aforethought The intent to kill or cause grievous bodily harm that marks a killing as murder.
malignancy A cancerous growth with the capacity to invade tissue and spread to distant sites.
malignant Cancerous and able to spread.
malignant hyperthermia An inherited hypermetabolic crisis of skeletal muscle triggered by volatile agents or...
malinger To feign illness or incapacity in order to avoid duty or work.
malingering The deliberate fabrication or gross exaggeration of symptoms motivated by an external...
malinvestment Misallocated investment in unsound projects, typically induced by artificially low...
Mallampati score A bedside grading of the visibility of the oropharyngeal structures used to predict the...
malnourished Suffering from a lack of proper nutrition.
malnutrition A state resulting from a deficiency, excess or imbalance of energy, protein or other...
malocclusion Any deviation from the ideal alignment of teeth or relationship between the dental arches.
malodorous Having a very unpleasant smell.
malpractice Improper or negligent conduct by a professional in breach of accepted standards.
malunion The healing of a fracture in a deformed, angulated or rotated position.
malus A provision allowing unvested or deferred remuneration to be reduced or cancelled before...
malversation Corrupt or fraudulent conduct in a position of trust, especially the misuse of entrusted...
mammography Low-dose X-ray imaging of the breast used chiefly for screening and assessment.
manage expectations To make sure people have a realistic understanding of what can be achieved and by when.
manage out To deliberately move a persistently underperforming employee towards leaving the...
manage up To proactively keep one's own senior leadership informed and aligned to secure support...
manageable Able to be dealt with or kept under control without too much difficulty.
managed float An exchange-rate system in which a currency floats but the central bank intervenes to...
management plan The planned course of treatment and monitoring for a patient.
management reserve A pool held above the baseline for genuinely unforeseeable work, released only by senior...
managerialism An excessive reliance on professional managers and management techniques over front-line...
managing up The deliberate practice of shaping your own manager's expectations, information, and...
mandamus A judicial order compelling a public body or official to perform a mandatory duty.
mandarin A powerful, senior official, especially one in the civil service regarded as remote and...
mandate An official instruction or requirement to carry out a particular task.
mandated lead arranger The bank appointed by the borrower to structure, underwrite and syndicate a loan to other...
mandatory Required by rule or law and therefore not optional.
mandatory order A remedy in judicial review compelling a public body to perform a public duty it has...
mandatory prepayment A compulsory early repayment of the loan triggered by defined events such as a disposal,...
mandible The lower jaw bone, which holds the lower teeth.
mange A skin disease of animals caused by parasitic mites, marked by itching and hair loss.
manic episode A distinct period of abnormally elevated or irritable mood with increased energy lasting...
manifest An itemised list of the cargo or passengers carried on a ship, aircraft, or vehicle.
manslaughter The unlawful killing of another without the malice aforethought required for murder.
manual handling The safe moving and lifting of patients using correct technique and equipment to prevent...
manual muscle testing A clinical assessment in which the strength of a muscle is graded by the resistance it...
manumission The formal freeing of a slave by their owner.
marasmus A form of severe malnutrition marked by profound wasting of fat and muscle from a general...
marcescent Withering but remaining attached to the plant rather than falling.
Mareva An injunction, now called a freezing order, restraining a defendant from removing or...
margin The rim of apparently normal tissue removed around a tumour, assessed for residual cancer.
margin of appreciation The latitude the European Court of Human Rights allows national authorities in assessing...
margin ratchet A mechanism that adjusts the interest margin up or down according to the borrower's...
margin scheme A VAT method charging tax only on a dealer's profit margin rather than the full sale...
margin squeeze An abuse whereby a vertically integrated dominant firm sets wholesale and retail prices...
marginal Relating to the additional cost or revenue arising from one more unit of output.
marginalisation The process of pushing a group to the edges of society and denying it full participation.
marginalism The economic doctrine that value and decisions are governed by incremental utility or...
margining The process of posting and adjusting collateral to cover a derivative position's...
maritime lien A privileged charge that attaches to a vessel from the moment a claim arises and travels...
mark-to-market Valued at current market prices rather than at original cost.
markdown A downward revision in the carrying value of an asset or investment.
market capitalisation The total market value of a company's outstanding shares.
market economy operator principle The test asking whether a private investor operating under normal market conditions would...
market forces The interplay of supply and demand that determines prices and allocates resources without...
market leader The company with the largest share and greatest influence in a particular market.
market penetration The degree to which a product has been adopted within its potential market.
market positioning The distinct place a brand or product occupies in the minds of target customers relative...
market segmentation The practice of dividing a broad market into distinct groups with shared needs or...
market share The portion of total sales in a market that a particular company or product commands.
marketing funnel The model of the customer journey from initial awareness through to purchase and beyond.
markup The amount added above cost or the fair rate to set the price a customer pays.
marriage value The additional value released when two separate interests in a property, such as a lease...
marshal To gather and organise people or resources in an orderly and purposeful way.
marshalling The equitable ordering of a creditor's recourse to funds so a junior creditor with access...
martinet A leader who enforces discipline and rules with rigid, unbending strictness.
martingale A process whose expected future value equals its present value, so no drift can be...
mass effect The displacement or distortion of adjacent structures caused by a space-occupying lesion.
mastectomy Surgical removal of the whole breast.
masterly Performed or done with the skill of a master.
masticate To chew food thoroughly before swallowing.
mastication The mechanical process of chewing food to prepare it for swallowing and digestion.
mastitis Inflammation of the mammary gland or udder, usually caused by infection.
mastocytosis An abnormal accumulation of mast cells in the skin or other tissues.
mastoiditis Suppurative inflammation of the air cells of the mastoid process, usually complicating...
matched orders Prearranged buy and sell orders entered to create the false appearance of trading...
matching The recognition of expenses in the same period as the revenues they help generate.
matching right A first bidder's contractual entitlement to meet the terms of any superior offer before...
mate's receipt A provisional document signed by the ship's mate acknowledging receipt of cargo on board,...
material adverse change A significant deterioration that lets a party walk away before a deal closes.
material adverse change clause A provision letting a buyer walk if the target suffers a serious deterioration before...
material breach A breach sufficiently serious that it deprives the innocent party of substantially the...
material weakness A deficiency in internal control severe enough that a significant misstatement could go...
materialism The doctrine that everything, including mind, is ultimately composed of physical matter.
materiality The threshold of significance that makes a breach or fact legally consequential.
materiality scrape A provision that reads materiality qualifiers out of the warranties when quantifying...
materialized view A stored, precomputed query result refreshed on a schedule rather than recalculated on...
matrimonial assets The property and financial resources built up by a couple during their marriage that are...
matrimonial home The property in which a married couple lived together as their main residence.
matrix An organisational structure in which staff report along two dimensions, such as function...
maturity The date on which a debt instrument becomes due for repayment.
matutinal Of, relating to, or occurring in the morning.
maudlin Self-pityingly or tearfully sentimental, often through drink.
maunder To talk or move in a rambling, aimless, or meandering way.
maven An expert enthusiast whom others trust for recommendations.
maverick spend Purchasing made outside approved contracts and sanctioned procurement channels.
maxilla The upper jaw bone, which holds the upper teeth.
maximum intensity projection A reconstruction technique that displays the highest-attenuation voxels along each...
may it please your Lordship A formal opening address by counsel to a senior judge at the outset of submissions.
mayhem The tort or crime of maliciously maiming or disabling another person.
me-too evidence Testimony from other employees about similar mistreatment, offered to establish a pattern...
mealy-mouthed Unwilling to state something plainly or honestly, using evasive or mincing language...
mean arterial pressure The average arterial pressure over a cardiac cycle, used as the main target for...
meander To move through a conversation slowly and without a clear direction.
means-tested Granted only to those whose income and assets fall below a set threshold.
measles A highly infectious viral illness causing fever, cough and a widespread rash, preventable...
measure of damages The legal basis on which the amount of compensation for a wrong is calculated.
MECE Describing a set of categories that are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive,...
mechanical ventilation The use of a machine to move air in and out of the lungs when a patient cannot breathe...
mechanism of injury The way in which a trauma occurred, used to predict the pattern and severity of injuries.
mechanistic Explaining phenomena purely in terms of physical causes and processes.
meconium The dark green, sticky first stool passed by a newborn, sometimes seen in the liquor...
media mix modeling A statistical method that estimates each channel's contribution to sales from aggregate...
mediastinum The central compartment of the thorax between the lungs, containing the heart, great...
mediate To help opposing parties reach their own agreement without imposing a decision.
mediation A consensual process in which a neutral facilitator assists parties to negotiate a...
medical emergency team A rapid-response team called to review a patient meeting predefined physiological...
medication on discharge The list of drugs the patient is to continue after leaving hospital, set out in a...
medication reconciliation The process of confirming an accurate list of all the medicines a patient is taking,...
medicines reconciliation The process of compiling an accurate list of a patient's current medicines and comparing...
Medicines Use Review A structured, private consultation in which a pharmacist reviews a patient's regular...
meekness Gentle, humble forbearance that declines to assert itself aggressively.
meet a deadline To finish something by the required time.
meet halfway To compromise so that each side gives up something.
meet in the middle To reach a compromise in which each side moves partway from its original position.
meeting of the minds The parties' shared understanding of the terms to which they are agreeing.
megakaryocyte A large bone-marrow cell responsible for producing blood platelets.
megaloblastic Describing anaemia characterised by defective DNA synthesis, producing large marrow...
melaena The passage of black, tarry, offensive-smelling stools resulting from digested blood in...
melancholy A deep, pensive, often gentle sadness.
melanoma A malignant tumour arising from pigment-producing melanocytes, usually of the skin.
melasma An acquired symmetrical hyperpigmentation of sun-exposed facial skin, frequently...
melisma The singing of a single syllable over several successive notes.
mellifluous Pleasingly smooth and musical to hear.
memorandum A foundational document subscribed by a company's first members stating their intention...
memorandum of association The founding document by which the subscribers confirm their intention to form a company...
memorandum of understanding A document setting out a mutual understanding, typically without binding legal force.
memorial A comprehensive written submission combining a party's factual case, legal argument,...
menaces Threats of harm used as the means of an unlawful demand, especially in blackmail.
mendacious Habitually dishonest and given to telling lies.
mendacity The habitual practice of lying or deliberate untruthfulness.
mendicant A beggar, or a member of a religious order that lives by alms.
Ménière's disease An inner-ear disorder marked by episodic vertigo, fluctuating hearing loss, tinnitus and...
meningism The cluster of signs such as neck stiffness, headache and photophobia suggesting...
meningitis Inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, usually caused by...
mens rea The guilty state of mind required for a crime.
mental accounting The habit of treating money differently depending on its source or intended use rather...
mental availability How readily a brand is recalled across the full range of situations where a purchase...
mentalisation The capacity to understand behaviour in terms of underlying mental states in oneself and...
mentor To advise and develop a less experienced colleague over time through guidance and shared...
mentorship A developmental relationship in which an experienced colleague guides a less experienced...
mephitic Foul-smelling, especially of noxious or poisonous vapours.
mercantilism An economic doctrine holding that national wealth is maximised by promoting exports and...
merchandising The licensed exploitation of a character, personality, or brand across a range of...
mercurial Prone to sudden, unpredictable changes of mood.
meretricious Superficially attractive but in reality cheap, showy, or insincere.
merger The extinguishment of a lesser estate when it and a greater estate come into the same...
merger clause A provision declaring the written contract the complete and final expression of the deal.
merger control The regime under which concentrations above certain thresholds are reviewed and cleared,...
merger doctrine The rule denying copyright where an idea admits of only one or a very few expressions, so...
meritocracy A system in which advancement is based on ability and achievement rather than birth or...
meritocratic Based on rewarding people according to ability and achievement rather than status.
meritorious Deserving reward or praise.
mesentery The fold of peritoneum that attaches the intestine to the posterior abdominal wall and...
mesial Relating to the tooth surface nearer the midline of the dental arch.
mesne profits Compensation for the value of occupation recovered from someone wrongfully holding land.
mesothelioma A malignant tumour of the mesothelial lining of the pleura or peritoneum, often linked to...
messuage A dwelling-house together with its outbuildings, curtilage and adjacent land assigned to...
metabolic acidosis A build-up of acid in the body fluids, commonly resulting from the kidneys' failure to...
metabolism The body's chemical breakdown of a medicine into other substances.
metabolite A substance produced by or involved in the metabolism of a drug or other compound.
metacognition Awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes.
metafiction Fiction that self-consciously draws attention to its own status as an invented artefact.
metamorphopsia Distortion of the perceived shape of objects, with straight lines appearing wavy.
metaphysics The branch of philosophy that examines the ultimate nature of reality, existence and...
metaphysis The flared region of a long bone between the shaft and the growth plate, rich in...
metaplasia The reversible replacement of one mature cell type by another, as when oesophageal...
metastasis The spread of cancer to a new part of the body.
metastasise To spread from an original site to form secondary tumours elsewhere in the body.
metastatic Relating to the spread of cancer from its origin to distant sites in the body.
metatarsal Any of the five long bones connecting the ankle to the toes.
metatarsalgia Pain and tenderness in the ball of the foot beneath the long bones of the toes.
metes and bounds A method of describing land by its boundary lines, natural features, and measured...
metformin A biguanide that lowers glucose chiefly by suppressing hepatic gluconeogenesis, used as...
methaemoglobinaemia An elevated level of oxidised haemoglobin that cannot bind oxygen, producing functional...
meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus A strain of Staphylococcus aureus resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics, commonly...
meticulous Showing great attention to detail and care over accuracy.
metonymy A figure of speech in which a thing is referred to by the name of something closely...
mettle A person's spirit, resilience, and courage when tested.
mezzanine Financing that ranks between senior debt and equity, typically carrying higher returns...
mezzanine finance A hybrid layer of funding ranking between senior debt and equity, offering higher returns...
miasma A thick, unpleasant or unhealthy vapour, atmosphere or smell.
microaggression A subtle, often unintentional remark or act that demeans a member of a marginalised group.
microalbuminuria The excretion of small but abnormal amounts of albumin in the urine, an early marker of...
microcytosis The presence of abnormally small red blood cells, reflected in a low mean corpuscular...
micrographia A progressive reduction in the size of handwriting characteristic of parkinsonism.
microinfluencer A social-media personality with a small but highly engaged and niche following.
micromanage To supervise work with excessive, controlling attention to small details.
micrometastasis A microscopic deposit of tumour cells at a distant site, undetectable by routine imaging.
micronutrient A vitamin or mineral required by the body in small quantities.
microphthalmos A developmental disorder in which one or both eyeballs are abnormally small.
micropsia A visual disturbance in which objects appear smaller than they actually are.
microscopy The examination of specimens using a microscope to reveal structures invisible to the eye.
microsite A small, standalone website created for a specific campaign or product.
microtome An instrument that cuts very thin sections of tissue for mounting on slides.
micturate To pass urine; to empty the bladder.
micturition The act of passing urine.
mid Thoroughly mediocre, especially when overhyped.
mid-stream urine A urine sample collected part-way through voiding to minimise contamination.
mid-year convention A discounting adjustment that assumes cash flows arrive evenly through the year rather...
midazolam A short-acting water-soluble benzodiazepine used for premedication, sedation and amnesia.
midline shift Displacement of the normally central brain structures across the midline, usually by a...
migraine A recurrent, often one-sided throbbing headache that may be accompanied by nausea and...
milestone A significant, zero-duration point in a schedule that marks the completion of a major...
millstone A heavy ongoing burden that weighs down a company's performance or strategic options.
mimesis The artistic representation or imitation of reality, especially in literature and drama.
minatory Expressing or conveying a threat.
mince To walk with short, dainty, affectedly delicate steps.
mindshare The amount of consumer attention and awareness a brand commands in its category.
mineralocorticoid An adrenal steroid, chiefly aldosterone, that regulates sodium and potassium balance.
minimum alveolar concentration The alveolar concentration of a volatile agent at which half of patients do not move in...
minimum inhibitory concentration The lowest concentration of an antimicrobial that prevents visible growth of an organism...
minimum viable product The most pared-down version of a product that can be released to test key assumptions...
minority An ownership stake that does not confer control, or the outside shareholders who hold it.
minority interest The portion of a subsidiary's equity not owned by the parent company.
miosis Constriction of the pupil, which may result from bright light, certain drugs or...
miotic Causing constriction of the pupil.
mirror image rule The requirement that an acceptance correspond exactly to the terms of the offer for a...
mirroring Subtly matching a counterpart's language or manner to build rapport in negotiation.
misalignment A persistent divergence of an exchange rate from its equilibrium level.
misappropriate To take or use funds or property dishonestly for one's own benefit.
misappropriation The wrongful taking or use of another's intangible property, notably trade secrets or...
misappropriation theory Basis for insider-trading liability where a person trades on confidential information in...
misclassification Wrongly labelling a worker as a contractor or as exempt to sidestep the obligations owed...
misconduct Improper or unacceptable behaviour by an employee that may justify disciplinary action.
miscreant A person who behaves badly or unlawfully; a villain.
misdemeanour A less serious criminal offence, ranking below a felony and usually carrying a lighter...
misdescription An inaccurate statement describing the subject matter of a contract.
misfeasance The improper performance of a lawful act, especially a breach of duty by a company...
misgiving A feeling of doubt or apprehension about a future event.
misjoinder The improper joining of parties or causes of action in a single proceeding.
mispricing A divergence between a security's market price and its fair value.
misprision Concealment of one's knowledge of a serious crime committed by another.
misrepresentation A false statement of fact that induces someone to enter a contract.
mission-critical Essential to the survival or core success of an organisation.
misstatement An untrue assertion of fact made in the course of dealing.
mistrial The ending of a trial before verdict because of a fundamental error or a deadlocked jury.
mitigable Capable of being lessened or avoided by taking reasonable steps.
mitigant A control or measure that reduces the likelihood or impact of a risk.
mitigate To make something bad less severe, serious, or painful.
mitigate a risk To take deliberate action that reduces the likelihood or impact of a potential problem.
mitigate loss To take reasonable steps to reduce the loss caused by another party's breach or wrong.
mitigating Tending to lessen the seriousness of an offence and so reduce the sentence.
mitigating circumstances Factors that reduce the seriousness of an offence or the offender's culpability and so...
mitigation The duty to take reasonable steps to reduce one's loss.
mitigation of loss The claimant's duty to take reasonable steps to reduce their financial loss, such as...
mitosis The process of cell division producing two identical daughter cells.
mix shift A change in the blend of products or segments sold that moves the average margin.
mixed-motive Describing a decision driven by both lawful and unlawful reasons, which shifts the burden...
MMR vaccine The combined vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella.
mnemonic A distinctive sound or symbol that triggers instant brand recognition.
moat A durable advantage that protects a firm from rivals.
mobilisation A hands-on technique using graded, controlled movement to improve joint or tissue...
mobilise To help a patient begin to move or walk again after injury or surgery.
mobility A patient's ability to move around.
mobility barrier A structural obstacle preventing a firm from crossing between strategic groups within an...
mobilize To organize and bring together resources or people for a particular purpose.
modality A particular method or type of medical imaging, such as ultrasound, CT or MRI.
Model Law The UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, adopted as a template by...
modified-release Describing a formulation designed to release its active ingredient slowly or at a...
modularity The design of a product from interchangeable, self-contained units.
modulation The regulation of one's response to sensory input to keep it at a comfortable, functional...
modus operandi A characteristic method of operating that links a series of offences to a suspect.
modus vivendi A practical arrangement that allows parties in dispute to coexist peacefully without...
moiety A half share, or more loosely any part, of an interest in land held jointly.
moil To work hard, toil or drudge, often laboriously.
mollify To soothe the anger or soften the hostility of a person or party.
molluscum A common viral skin infection producing small, dome-shaped, umbilicated papules.
momentum The tendency of a rising or falling price to keep moving in the same direction.
monetarism A school of thought holding that controlling the growth of the money supply is the chief...
monetarist Relating to the doctrine that controlling the money supply is the key to managing...
monetary policy The actions a central bank takes to manage the money supply and interest rates in order...
monetisation The strategy or process by which a business generates revenue.
monetise To convert an asset or activity into a source of revenue, or to fund a deficit by...
money had and received A historic restitutionary claim to recover money the defendant holds but in justice ought...
money multiple A measure of investment return expressing total cash returned as a multiple of the...
money supply The total amount of money circulating in an economy at a given time.
moneyness The degree to which an option is in or out of the money relative to its strike price.
moniker An informal name or nickname for a person or brand.
monism The doctrine that reality consists ultimately of a single kind of substance or principle.
monitor To watch a patient's condition closely over time.
monitored dosage system A device such as a blister pack that organises a patient's tablets by day and time to...
monoclonal Derived from a single cell clone, as in engineered antibodies used to target cancer.
monocytosis An increase in the absolute monocyte count, seen in chronic infection, inflammation and...
monofilament A thin, flexible fibre pressed against the skin to test whether protective sensation is...
monolithic Describing an organization that is large, rigid, and resistant to change.
mononeuropathy A disorder affecting a single peripheral nerve, often from compression or entrapment.
monoplegia Paralysis confined to a single limb.
monopolise To obtain exclusive control over the supply of a good or service.
monopolistic Relating to exclusive or near-exclusive control of a market.
monopoly Exclusive control of the supply of a good or service.
monopsonistic Relating to a market with a single dominant buyer able to depress the price it pays.
monopsony A market situation in which a single buyer faces many sellers and can therefore depress...
monosyllabic Speaking in single-word answers, often suggesting reluctance or low mood.
monotonic Consistently either increasing or decreasing, never reversing direction.
monthly recurring revenue The predictable subscription revenue a company can expect to receive each month.
mood-congruent Describing psychotic symptoms whose content matches the patient's prevailing mood, such...
moonlight To work a second job in addition to one's main employment, often covertly.
moonlighting The practice of holding a second job, usually in the evenings and often without the main...
moonshot An extremely ambitious, high-risk project pursued in hope of a breakthrough.
mootness The condition of a dispute that has ceased to present a live controversy, depriving the...
moraine An accumulation of rock and debris carried and deposited by a glacier.
moral hazard The tendency to take greater risks when shielded from the consequences of failure.
moral rights The author's personal rights to be identified as creator and to object to derogatory...
morale The confidence and spirits of a group.
moratorium A legally sanctioned pause on enforcing debts against a struggling company.
morbidity The incidence or prevalence of disease in a population.
mordant Sharply critical or sarcastic in a bitingly clever way.
moribund At the point of death, or in terminal decline and lacking vitality.
morose Sullen, gloomy and ill-tempered.
morphoea A localised form of scleroderma producing indurated, sclerotic plaques of skin without...
mortality The incidence of death, especially the risk of dying associated with a condition or...
mortgage A loan secured against property, giving the lender rights over it if the borrower fails...
mortgagee The lender in whose favour land is charged as security for a debt.
mortgagor The borrower who charges an interest in land as security for a loan.
mortmain The perpetual, inalienable holding of land by a corporation, historically restricted to...
mosaicking The generally forbidden practice of piecing together several unrelated disclosures to...
most favoured nation clause A promise to extend to one party any better terms later granted to anyone else.
mothball To suspend a project and preserve its assets so it can be revived later rather than...
motion in limine A pretrial application to exclude prejudicial evidence before it reaches the jury.
motor weakness A reduction in muscle strength that impairs the ability to move a limb normally.
moulder To decay slowly and crumble into dust through neglect or age.
mountebank A charlatan who deceives people, especially with false claims of skill.
mouth care The cleaning and moistening of a patient's mouth to maintain oral hygiene and comfort,...
move the goalposts To unfairly change the rules or conditions of something while it is still in progress.
move the needle To produce a noticeable, meaningful change in an important metric.
moving average An average recalculated over a sliding window of recent periods to smooth out short-term...
mucolytic A drug that thins and loosens mucus to ease its expulsion from the airways.
mucopurulent Containing or consisting of both mucus and pus.
mucositis Painful inflammation and ulceration of the mucous membranes, a common toxicity of cancer...
muda Any activity that consumes resources without adding value the customer will pay for.
mulct To punish by a fine, or to extract money from someone by fraud.
mull over To think about something carefully and at length before reaching a decision.
multi-let Describing a property occupied by several tenants under separate tenancies.
multi-organ dysfunction syndrome The progressive failure of two or more organ systems in a critically ill patient such...
multi-tier clause A dispute-resolution clause requiring escalating steps, such as negotiation or mediation,...
multicollinearity A situation where predictor variables are so strongly interrelated that their individual...
multidisciplinary Drawing on several professional disciplines working together on a patient's care.
multidisciplinary team A group of specialists from different fields who jointly plan a patient's cancer care.
multidrug-resistant Describing an organism that is non-susceptible to at least one agent in three or more...
multihoming Users' practice of running rival platforms in parallel rather than committing to just one.
multimodal Combining several different methods or drug classes to achieve a single therapeutic aim.
multimodal analgesia A strategy that combines analgesics with different mechanisms of action to improve pain...
multiparous Describing a woman who has given birth two or more times.
multiparty Involving more than two parties within a single arbitration.
multiple A ratio, such as price to earnings, used to value a company relative to a financial...
multiple sclerosis A chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system damages the protective covering...
multiplicand The annual figure of loss that is multiplied by the appropriate factor to produce a...
multiplier The figure by which an annual loss is multiplied to calculate a lump sum for future...
multipoint competition Rivalry between firms that confront each other across several markets simultaneously.
multiskilling The training of workers to perform several different tasks or roles.
multisourcing Buying the same input from several suppliers to reduce dependence on any one of them.
multivariate test An experiment that varies several elements at once to measure both their individual and...
munificence The quality of being extremely generous, especially with money.
munificent Extremely generous in giving, often on a grand scale.
mura In lean production, the waste caused by unevenness or variability in the flow of work.
muri In lean production, the waste of overburdening people or equipment beyond their capacity.
murmur An additional heart sound caused by turbulent blood flow, detected on auscultation.
murmuration A large, wheeling flock of starlings moving as one shifting mass.
muscle atrophy Wasting or loss of muscle bulk resulting from disuse, immobilisation, or nerve damage.
muscle guarding A protective involuntary tightening of muscles around a painful or injured area.
musculoskeletal Relating to the muscles and bones.
musky Having a warm, heavy, earthy scent like that of musk.
musth A periodic state of heightened aggression and sexual arousal in male elephants.
mutability The quality of being liable to change or inconstancy.
mutagen An agent that induces heritable changes in DNA, often contributing to cancer risk.
mutatis mutandis With the necessary changes made to fit a different but analogous situation.
mutism An inability or refusal to speak in the absence of a structural cause for the loss of...
mutual action plan A jointly owned timeline of steps both buyer and seller commit to in order to close by a...
mutual forbearance Tacit restraint among rivals who avoid aggression because they meet one another in...
mutual trust and confidence The implied duty on both employer and employee not to act in a way likely to destroy or...
mutual wills Wills made by two people on an agreement not to revoke, binding the survivor's estate in...
mutuality The quality of obligations or benefits being shared reciprocally between parties.
my learned friend The conventional way in which a barrister refers to opposing counsel in court.
myasthenia Muscular weakness, especially the fatigable weakness of the autoimmune disorder...
mycelium The mass of fine threads that forms the vegetative body of a fungus.
mydriasis Dilation of the pupil, whether physiological, drug-induced or pathological.
mydriatic Causing dilation of the pupil.
myeloablative Describing therapy that destroys bone-marrow function in preparation for transplantation.
myeloblast An immature precursor cell of the granulocyte series found in the bone marrow.
myelodysplasia A group of clonal marrow disorders featuring ineffective, dysplastic haematopoiesis and a...
myelofibrosis A myeloproliferative neoplasm in which marrow is progressively replaced by fibrous...
myeloma A malignant proliferation of plasma cells in the bone marrow, typically secreting a...
myelopathy Any pathological process affecting the spinal cord, typically producing upper motor...
myeloproliferative Characterised by overproduction of one or more of the bone-marrow cell lines.
myelosuppression Reduction of bone-marrow activity leading to fewer blood cells, often a dose-limiting...
myocardial infarction The death of heart muscle caused by a sudden interruption of its blood supply, commonly...
myocarditis Inflammation of the heart muscle, often following a viral infection.
myocardium The muscular middle layer of the heart wall responsible for contraction.
myoclonus A sudden, brief, involuntary jerk of a muscle or group of muscles.
myoglobinuria The presence of the muscle pigment myoglobin in the urine, typically following muscle...
myokymia Continuous, involuntary quivering or rippling of small bands of muscle fibres.
myopathy Any primary disease of muscle tissue characterised by weakness, usually of the proximal...
myopia A refractive error in which distant objects appear blurred because light focuses in front...
myositis Inflammation of muscle tissue, whether autoimmune, infectious or drug-induced.
myotome A group of muscles innervated by the motor fibres of a single spinal nerve root.
myotonia Delayed relaxation of a muscle after voluntary contraction or percussion.
myringotomy A surgical incision of the tympanic membrane, typically to drain middle-ear effusion or...
mystique An aura of mystery and glamour surrounding something.
myxoedema Severe hypothyroidism marked by non-pitting oedema from mucopolysaccharide deposition in...

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