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CONSTITUTION
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of forming or establishing something
Example:
he still remembers the organization of the club
Synonyms:
constitution; establishment; formation; organisation; organization
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("constitution" is a kind of...):
beginning; commencement; start (the act of starting something)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "constitution"):
unionisation; unionization (act of forming labor unions)
collectivisation; collectivization (the organization of a nation or economy on the basis of collectivism)
communisation; communization (the organization of a nation of the basis of communism)
federation (the act of constituting a political unity out of a number of separate states or colonies or provinces so that each member retains the management of its internal affairs)
colonisation; colonization; settlement (the act of colonizing; the establishment of colonies)
Derivation:
constitute (set up or lay the groundwork for)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A United States 44-gun frigate that was one of the first three naval ships built by the United States; it won brilliant victories over British frigates during the War of 1812 and is without doubt the most famous ship in the history of the United States Navy; it has been rebuilt and is anchored in the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston
Synonyms:
Constitution; Old Ironsides
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Instance hypernyms:
sailing warship (a warship that was powered by sails and equipped with many heavy guns; not built after the middle of the 19th century)
Sense 3
Meaning:
The way in which someone or something is composed
Synonyms:
composition; constitution; make-up; makeup; physical composition
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("constitution" is a kind of...):
property (a basic or essential attribute shared by all members of a class)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "constitution"):
structure (the manner of construction of something and the arrangement of its parts)
phenotype (what an organism looks like as a consequence of the interaction of its genotype and the environment)
genetic constitution; genotype (the particular alleles at specified loci present in an organism)
grain; texture (the physical composition of something (especially with respect to the size and shape of the small constituents of a substance))
karyotype (the appearance of the chromosomal makeup of a somatic cell in an individual or species (including the number and arrangement and size and structure of the chromosomes))
Derivation:
constitute (to compose or represent)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Law determining the fundamental political principles of a government
Synonyms:
constitution; fundamental law; organic law
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("constitution" is a kind of...):
law (legal document setting forth rules governing a particular kind of activity)
Domain category:
jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)
Instance hyponyms:
Constitution; Constitution of the United States; U.S. Constitution; United States Constitution; US Constitution (the constitution written at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 and subsequently ratified by the original thirteen states)
Derivation:
constitutionalize (provide with a constitution, as of a country)
Sense 5
Meaning:
The constitution written at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 and subsequently ratified by the original thirteen states
Synonyms:
Constitution; Constitution of the United States; U.S. Constitution; United States Constitution; US Constitution
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Instance hypernyms:
constitution; fundamental law; organic law (law determining the fundamental political principles of a government)
Meronyms (parts of "Constitution"):
advice and consent (a legal expression in the United States Constitution that allows the Senate to constrain the President's powers of appointment and treaty-making)
Bill of Rights (a statement of fundamental rights and privileges (especially the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution))
Fourteenth Amendment (an amendment to the Constitution of the United States adopted in 1868; extends the guarantees of the Bill of Rights to the states as well as to the federal government)
Eighteenth Amendment (an amendment to the Constitution of the United States adopted in 1920; prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages; repealed in 1932)
Nineteenth Amendment (an amendment to the Constitution of the United States adopted in 1920; guarantees that no state can deny the right to vote on the basis of sex)
Domain category:
jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)
Context examples:
About sixty; but his constitution has been shattered by his life abroad, and he has been in failing health for some time.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Besides, the water was frightfully cold, and his was anything but a rugged constitution.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
These embryo-like structures express genes characteristic of the various types of progenitor cells necessary for the constitution of future tissues.
(Scientists develop mouse ‘embryo-like structures’ with organisation along body’s major axes, University of Cambridge)
After a silence of some minutes she observed—"With her constitution she should have lived to a good old age: her life was shortened by trouble."
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
The overall state of an individual's psychologic constitution.
(Mental Health, NCI Thesaurus)
Certainly, delicate ladies have very extraordinary constitutions, Mrs. Elton.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
Chromosomal constitution of cells which deviate from the normal by the addition or subtraction of chromosomes or chromosome pairs.
(Numerical Chromosomal Abnormality, NIH CRISP Thesaurus)
And, mark my words, Mr. Rodney Stone, you should honour the King, love your country, and uphold the glorious British Constitution.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
At its broadest level, genotype includes the entire genetic constitution of an individual.
(Genotype, NCI Dictionary)
The genetic constitution of an organism or cell, as distinct from its expressed features or phenotype.
(Genotype, NCI Thesaurus)
