Canvass
['kænvəs]
Definition
(verb.) solicit votes from potential voters in an electoral campaign.
Typed by Harley--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) To sift; to strain; to examine thoroughly; to scrutinize; as, to canvass the votes cast at an election; to canvass a district with reference to its probable vote.
(n.) To examine by discussion; to debate.
(n.) To go trough, with personal solicitation or public addresses; as, to canvass a district for votes; to canvass a city for subscriptions.
(v. i.) To search thoroughly; to engage in solicitation by traversing a district; as, to canvass for subscriptions or for votes; to canvass for a book, a publisher, or in behalf of a charity; -- commonly followed by for.
(n.) Close inspection; careful review for verification; as, a canvass of votes.
(n.) Examination in the way of discussion or debate.
(n.) Search; exploration; solicitation; systematic effort to obtain votes, subscribers, etc.
Edited by ELLA
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Debate, discuss, dispute, agitate, ventilate, controvert.[2]. Investigate, examine, scrutinize, sift, study, consider, follow up, inquire into.[3]. Bespeak the votes of, solicit votes from.
n. [1]. Discussion, debate, dispute.[2]. Examination, scrutiny, sifting.[3]. Solicitation of votes.
Edited by Hugh
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Question, Investigate, challenge, test, dispute, solicit, sift, examine,discuss, apply_for, request
ANT:Pretermit, allow, ignore, disregard, admit, pass, misexamine, misinvestigate
Checked by Jocelyn
Definition
v.t. to sift examine: to discuss: to solicit votes contributions &c.—v.i. to solicit votes &c. (with for).—n. close examination: a seeking or solicitation.—n. Can′vasser.
Checked by Gilbert
Examples
- This was the first great political campaign for the Republicans in their canvass of 1864. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- But this decisive victory was the most effective campaign argument made in the canvass. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- The next step was to divide the region into a number of sub-districts and institute a house-to-house canvass to ascertain precisely the data and conditions pertinent to the project. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- I had heard him speak in the canvass of 1858, possibly several times, but I had never spoken to him. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- So voluntarily, so freely, so coolly to canvass it! Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- No one will canvass for this honour now--none envy my danger or labours. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- They appeared to be always excited about canvassing and electing. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- We think so very differently on this point, Mr. Knightley, that there can be no use in canvassing it. Jane Austen. Emma.
- The marriages of either were discussed; and their prospects in life canvassed with the greatest frankness and interest on both sides. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- The subject which had been so warmly canvassed between their parents, about a twelvemonth ago, was now brought forward again. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- Probably no organized piece of machinery has ever been so systematically exploited, so thoroughly advertised, so persistently canvassed, and so extensively sold as the sewing machine. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- In those days, this matter of slavery had never been canvassed as it has now; nobody dreamed of any harm in it. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- He had canvassed eagerly for this post. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
Typed by Keller