| Library / English Dictionary |
ROLE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group
Example:
play its role
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("role" is a kind of...):
duty (work that you are obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "role"):
capacity (a specified function)
hat (an informal term for a person's role)
portfolio (the role of the head of a government department)
lieu; place; position; stead (the post or function properly or customarily occupied or served by another)
second fiddle (a secondary role or function)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Normal or customary activity of a person in a particular social setting
Example:
what is your role on the team?
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("role" is a kind of...):
activity (any specific behavior)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "role"):
gender role (the overt expression of attitudes that indicate to others the degree of your maleness or femaleness)
position ((in team sports) the role assigned to an individual player)
Sense 3
Meaning:
What something is used for
Example:
ballet is beautiful but what use is it?
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("role" is a kind of...):
usefulness; utility (the quality of being of practical use)
Attribute:
functional (designed for or capable of a particular function or use)
nonfunctional (not having or performing a function)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "role"):
raison d'etre (the purpose that justifies a thing's existence)
Sense 4
Meaning:
An actor's portrayal of someone in a play
Example:
she played the part of Desdemona
Synonyms:
character; part; persona; role; theatrical role
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("role" is a kind of...):
characterization; enactment; personation; portrayal (acting the part of a character on stage; dramatically representing the character by speech and action and gesture)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "role"):
bit part; minor role (a small role)
heavy (a serious (or tragic) role in a play)
hero (the principal character in a play or movie or novel or poem)
ingenue (the role of an innocent artless young woman in a play)
name part; title role (the role of the character after whom the play is named)
heroine (the main good female character in a work of fiction)
baddie; villain (the principal bad character in a film or work of fiction)
Context examples:
Your genes and family history may play a role.
(Mental Disorders, NIH)
These findings regarding the Asian elephants point to the important role they play in the ecosystem.
(Thai Elephants Help Spread Jungle Fruit's Seeds, Sadie Witkowski/VOA)
This gene plays a role in both cellular detoxification and platelet degranulation.
(ABCC4 Gene, NCI Thesaurus)
This allele, which encodes canalicular multispecific organic anion transporter 2 protein, plays a role in bile metabolism and transport.
(ABCC3 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)
This gene plays a role in the transport of organic anions and nucleotides.
(ABCC5 Gene, NCI Thesaurus)
This allele, which encodes menin protein, plays a role in repression of transcription by RNA polymerase II.
(MEN1 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)
The allele is thought to play a role in cellular defense and aberrations are thought to play a role in tumor multidrug resistance.
(ABCG2 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)
This gene plays a role in xenobiotic transport and multi-drug resistance.
(ABCG2 Gene, NCI Thesaurus)
This protein plays a role in both proteolysis and integrin-mediated signaling.
(A Disintegrin and Metalloprotease with Thrombospondin Motifs 1, NCI Thesaurus)
This allele, which encodes canalicular multispecific organic anion transporter 1 protein, plays a role in both multidrug resistance and organic anion transport.
(ABCC2 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)
