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form
has definitions from the fields of linguistics,writing,biology,education,chemistry,physical chemistry
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[ noun ] (linguistics) the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something
Synonyms Examples "the inflected forms of a word can be represented by a stem and a list of inflections to be attached" Used in print (Hugh Kelly and Ted Ziehe, "Glossary Lookup Made Easy"...)form - any unique sequence of alphabetic_characters that can appear in a language preceded and followed by a space . occurrence - an instance of a form in text . We accomplish this by compiling a list of text forms as text is read by the computer . A random storage scheme , based on the spelling of forms , provides an economical way to compile this text form list . A random storage scheme , based on the spelling of forms , provides an economical way to compile this text form list . Related terms word root citation_form ghost_word singular etymon plural abbreviation acronym linguistics |
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[ noun ] a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
Examples "sculpture is a form of art" "what kinds of desserts are there?" Used in print (The New York Times,...)He merely became victimized by a form of athletics that respects no one and aggravates all . (Schubert Ogden, Christ Without Myth....)In the absence of a truly adequate conceptuality in which the gospel can be expressed , the unavoidable need to demythologize it makes use of whatever resources are at_hand - and this usually means one or another of the various forms of `` folk religion '' current in the situation . Expressed differently : if the price for becoming a faithful follower of Jesus_Christ is some form of self-destruction , whether of the body or of the mind - sacrificium corporis , sacrificium intellectus - then there is no alternative but that the price remain unpaid . (Jaroslav Pelikan, The Shape of Death: life, death and...)If this aspect of death as punishment is not distinguished from the idea of death as natural termination , the conclusion seems inevitable that temporal existence itself is a form of punishment rather than the state into which man is put by the will of the Creator . (Bonnie Prudden, "The Dancer and the Gymnast"...)Bare feet are better for such work than any form of slipper . |
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[ noun ] a perceptual structure
Examples "the composition presents problems for students of musical form" "a visual pattern must include not only objects but the spaces between them" Used in print (The Times-Picayune, [New Orleans]...)People who take us for suckers are like the Westerner who had on exhibit his superior marksmanship in the form of a number of bull's-eye achievements . (William G. Pollard, Physicist and Christian....)Although the particular form of conceptualization which popular imagination had made in response to the experience of spirit was undoubtedly defective , the raw experience itself which led to such excesses remains with us as vividly as ever . (Schubert Ogden, Christ Without Myth....)If the content of faith is to be presented today in a form that can be `` understanded of the people '' - and this , it must_not be forgotten , is one of the goals of the perennial theological task - there is no other choice but to abandon completely a mythological manner of representation . Nor is it necessary to look_for such evidence in the great urban_centers of our culture that are admittedly almost entirely secularized and so profoundly estranged from the conventional forms in which the gospel has been communicated . Although the theological forms of the past continue to exist in a way they do not in a more secularized situation , the striking thing is the rapidity with which they are being reduced to a marginal existence . |
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[ verb ] create (as an entity)
Examples "social groups form everywhere" "They formed a company" Used in print (Booton Herndon, "From Custer to Korea, The 7th Cavalry"...)He had formed his own task_force of three stragglers and led them up the hill in a Fighting_Seventh charge . |
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[ verb ] to compose or represent:"This wall forms the background of the stage setting"
Synonyms Examples "The branches made a roof" "This makes a fine introduction" Used in print (Howard Nemerov, "Themes and Methods: The Early...)At_the_same_time the multiple transvestitism involved - the fat man as girl and as baby , as coquette pretending to be a baby - touches for a moment horrifyingly upon the secret sources of a life like Jacoby 's , upon the sinister dreams which form the sources of any human life . (B. J. D. Meeuse, The Story of Pollination....)Quite often , honeybees form a majority on the willow catkins . (Kenneth Hoffman and Ray Kunze, Linear Al...)Since * * f are linearly independent functions and the exponential_function has no zeros , these r functions * * f , form a basis for the space of solutions . (Frederick Mosteller et al., Probability with...)Or , what amounts to the same thing , if one die is tossed three times , each toss is a trial , and the three tosses form the experiment . (Joyce O. Hertzler, American Social Institutions;...)The beliefs of a religion also reflecting the values are expressed in creeds , dogmas , and doctrines , and form what Durkheim calls a credo . Related terms |
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[ noun ] any spatial attribute (especially as defined by outline)
Synonyms Examples "he could barely make out their shapes through the smoke" Used in print (Nathan Rapport, ""I've Been Here before!"...)Space in any form is completely measured by the three dimensions . (Richard F. McLaughlin, et al., "A study of the...)True terminal bronchioles comprise the most frequent form taken by the distal airways in types 1 , and 3 , , although small numbers of poorly developed respiratory bronchioles are present . Well developed respiratory bronchioles , on_the_other_hand , appear to be the only form taken by the distal airways in type 2 , . (William S. Haymond, "Is Distance an Original...)But by the tracing procedure , he could , in a strange obviously kinesthetic manner , find the unseen form ; could piece , as_it_were , the jumbled mass together into an organized whole and_then recognize it as a man or a triangle or whatever it turned_out to be . He was oblivious of the form of the object actually being viewed , precisely because he could not assign it to a visual shape , already learned and held in visual memory , as persons of normal vision do . |
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[ noun ] alternative names for the body of a human being
Examples "Leonardo studied the human body" "he has a strong physique" "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" Used in print (The Providence Journal...)Also fine are Sue_Lawless , as a mother more protective and belligerent than a female spider and just as destructive , Harold_Cherry , as her scratchy spouse , and Hildy_Weissman , as a vegetable in human form . (Clayton C. Barbeau, The Ikon....)The dark forms moved like mourners on some nocturnal pilgrimage , their dirge unsung for want of vocal_chords . (Robert Penn Warren, Wilderness....)Into the emptiness of the street , and his spirit , moved a form . The form was swathed in an army blanket , much patched , fastened at the neck with a cord . (Guy Bolton, The Olympians....)Pausing in the doorway he said : `` The form of the human female , unlike her mind and her spirit , is the most challenging loveliness in all nature '' . Related terms body person female_body juvenile_body adult_body male_body person homo leg |
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[ verb ] develop into a distinctive entity
Synonyms Examples "our plans began to take shape" Used in print (T. C. McClary, "The Flooded Desert," Argosy,...)Then he noticed the clouds racing upon them - heavy , ominous , leaden clouds that formed even as they sliced over the crests of the surrounding hills . Related terms |
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[ verb ] cause to shape or form
Synonyms Examples "shape a bun" "shape a ball from the dough" Used in print (Jay C. Harris and John R. Van Wazer, "Detergent...)As_is well_known , detergent actives belong_to the chemical class consisting_of moderately high molecular_weight and highly polar molecules which exhibit the property of forming micelles in solution . |
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[ verb ] make something, usually for a specific function
Examples "She molded the riceballs carefully" "Form cylinders from the dough" "shape a figure" "Work the metal into a sword" Used in print (Francis J. Johnston and John E. Willard, "The...)It appears possible to set a lower_limit of about * * f for the activation_energy of the abstraction of a chlorine atom from a carbon_tetrachloride molecule by a chlorine atom to form * * f radical . (B. J. D. Meeuse, The Story of Pollination....)After having mated , an Andrena female digs a hole straight down into the ground , forming a burrow about the size of a lead_pencil . (Jacob Robbins et al., "The thyroid-stimulating...)In the absence of additions to the homogenate , the product formed is an iodinated particulate protein ( Fawcett and Kirkwood , 1953 ; Taurog , Potter and Chaikoff , 1955 ; Taurog , Potter , Tong , and Chaikoff , 1956 ; Serif and Kirkwood , 1958 ; De_Groot and Carvalho , 1960 ) . In_addition , the iodoamino_acid formed in largest quantity in the intact thyroid is di-iodotyrosine . If tyrosine and a system generating hydrogen_peroxide are added to a cell-free homogenate of the thyroid , large quantities of free mono-iodotyrosine can be formed ( Alexander , 1959 ) . |
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[ noun ] the spatial arrangement of something as distinct from its substance
Synonyms Examples "geometry is the mathematical science of shape" Used in print (Charles Wharton Stork, "Verner von Heidenstam"...)Each aspired to be a god in human form , but with each it was a different kind of god . (Jay Williams, The Forger....)There was the freshness of color , the freedom of perception , the lack of self-consciousness , but with a twist that made the forms leap from the page and smack you in the eye . |
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[ verb ] establish or impress firmly in the mind
Synonyms Examples "We imprint our ideas onto our children" Used in print (Edward E. Kelly, S.J., "Christian Unity in England"...)Since arriving here , however , I have formed a far different religious picture of present-day England . (Joyce O. Hertzler, American Social Institutions;...)Religion can summate , epitomize , relate , and conserve all the highest ideals and values - ethical , aesthetic , and religious - of man formed in his culture . |
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[ verb ] give shape to
Examples "form the clay into a head" Used in print (The Times-Picayune, [New Orleans]...)He just shot at the board and_then drew circles around the holes to form a bull's-eye . (Raymond C. Binder et al., editors, Proceedings...)The transpiring gas ejected from the anode formed a jet directed axially towards the cathode below . |
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[ noun ] the visual appearance of something or someone
Examples "the delicate cast of his features" Used in print (Chester G. Starr, The Origins of Greek Civili...)The rows of animals and birds , in_particular , suggest awareness of Oriental animal friezes , transmitted perhaps via Syrian silver bowls and textiles , but the specific forms of these rows on local vases and metal products are nonetheless Greek . (Marvin Schiller, "The Sheep's in the Meadow,"...)But that year was different , for just as the city , in the form of my street clothes , had intruded upon my mountain nights , so an essential part of the summer gave promise of continuing into the fall : Jessica and I , about to be separated not by a mere footbridge or mess-hall kitchen but by the immense obstacle of residing in cruelly distant boroughs , had agreed to correspond . Related terms |
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[ noun ] (physical chemistry) a distinct state of matter in a system; matter that is identical in chemical composition and physical state and separated from other material by the phase boundary
Synonyms Examples : "the reaction occurs in the liquid phase of the system" |
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[ noun ] (writing) a printed document with spaces in which to write
Examples "he filled out his tax form" Used in print ([Anonymous,] "The Attack on Employee Services"...)U._S._Rubber_Company , New_York , passes out a form itemizing the value of benefits . (Your Federal Income Tax. 1962 Edition (Revised to...)This form may be obtained from the local office of your district director . |
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[ noun ] a particular mode in which something is manifested
Examples "his resentment took the form of extreme hostility" Used in print (87th Congress, 1st Session. Congressional Record....)At this time of crisis in our Nation 's commuter railroads , a new threat to the continued operations of the New_York_Central has appeared in the form of the Chesapeake_+_Ohio_Railroad 's proposal for control of the Baltimore_+_Ohio_railroads . Related terms |
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[ noun ] (writing) an arrangement of the elements in a composition or discourse
Examples "the essay was in the form of a dialogue" "he first sketches the plot in outline form" Used in print (Newton Stallknecht, "Ideas and Literature," in Newton S...)But the historian of literature need not confine his attention to biography or to stylistic questions of form , `` texture '' , or technique . Related terms |
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[ noun ] (biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups
Examples "a new strain of microorganisms" Used in print (LeRoy Fothergill, "Biological Warfare", in Peter...)It is possible that certain mutational forms may be produced such_as antibiotic resistant strains . Related terms |
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[ noun ] (education) a body of students who are taught together
Examples "early morning classes are always sleepy" |
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[ noun ] an ability to perform well
Examples "he was at the top of his form" "the team was off form last night" Related terms |
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[ noun ] a mold for setting concrete
Examples "they built elaborate forms for pouring the foundation" Related terms |
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