Function
['fʌŋ(k)ʃ(ə)n] or ['fʌŋkʃən]
Definition
(noun.) the actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group; 'the function of a teacher'; 'the government must do its part'; 'play its role'.
(noun.) what something is used for; 'the function of an auger is to bore holes'; 'ballet is beautiful but what use is it?'.
(noun.) a formal or official social gathering or ceremony; 'it was a black-tie function'.
(noun.) a relation such that one thing is dependent on another; 'height is a function of age'; 'price is a function of supply and demand'.
(noun.) (mathematics) a mathematical relation such that each element of a given set (the domain of the function) is associated with an element of another set (the range of the function).
(verb.) perform as expected when applied; 'The washing machine won't go unless it's plugged in'; 'Does this old car still run well?'; 'This old radio doesn't work anymore'.
Checker: Maisie--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The act of executing or performing any duty, office, or calling; per formance.
(n.) The appropriate action of any special organ or part of an animal or vegetable organism; as, the function of the heart or the limbs; the function of leaves, sap, roots, etc.; life is the sum of the functions of the various organs and parts of the body.
(n.) The natural or assigned action of any power or faculty, as of the soul, or of the intellect; the exertion of an energy of some determinate kind.
(n.) The course of action which peculiarly pertains to any public officer in church or state; the activity appropriate to any business or profession.
(n.) A quantity so connected with another quantity, that if any alteration be made in the latter there will be a consequent alteration in the former. Each quantity is said to be a function of the other. Thus, the circumference of a circle is a function of the diameter. If x be a symbol to which different numerical values can be assigned, such expressions as x2, 3x, Log. x, and Sin. x, are all functions of x.
(v. i.) Alt. of Functionate
Edited by Albert
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Performance, execution, discharge, exercise.[2]. Province, business, office, duty, employment, occupation, part.
Typed by Harley
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Office, part, character, capacity, business, administration, discharge,operation, exercise, power, duty, employment
ANT:Usurpation, maladministration, misconduct, misdemeanor
Editor: Natasha
Definition
n. the doing of a thing: duty peculiar to any office: faculty exercise of faculty: the peculiar office of any part of the body or mind: power: a solemn service: (math.) a quantity so connected with another that any change in the one produces a corresponding change in the other: the technical term in physiology for the vital activity of organ tissue or cell.—adj. Func′tional pertaining to or performed by functions—opp. to Organic or Structural.—vs.t. Func′tionalise Func′tionate.—adv. Func′tionally.—n. Func′tionary one who discharges any duty: one who holds an office.—adj. Func′tionless having no function.
Typist: Martha
Unserious Contents or Definition
Devoid of joy.
Editor: Rosanne
Examples
- While there are several distinct parts of this device, each having its individual function, they may be considered as a whole under the general term of the escapement. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- To identify acting with an aim and intelligent activity is enough to show its value--its function in experience. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- Edison’s record was not for visual inspection, but was endowed with the mechanical function of reproducing sound. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- And when will you commence the exercise of your function? Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- In function and process, one man, one part, must of necessity be subordinate to another. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- It would not be unfair to say that it is always the function of the Roosevelts to take from the Bryans. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Hence in the several fishes furnished with electric organs, these cannot be considered as homologous, but only as analogous in function. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- Some weeks of spare time were at my disposal, before I entered on my functions by establishing myself in the suburbs of London. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- It is used by food manufacturers and performs highly important functions in certain commercial fields. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- But all men cannot preach or teach; doctrine is but one of many of the functions of life that are fundamentally righteous. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- You don't want to BE an animal, you want to observe your own animal functions, to get a mental thrill out of them. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- He seemed to take pleasure in his social functions, he smiled, and was abundant in hospitality. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Driven to think of it as bad, except for certain particular functions, they could, of course, not see its possibilities. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- This furnished visible evidence of the relative digestibility of different kinds of foods, and the general functions of the stomach. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- It is the functioning of an abstraction in its application to a new concrete experience,--its extension to clarify and direct new situations. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- But grandfather claimed that he functioned perfectly normally no matter how much he drank except that sometimes it was very hard to wake him. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
Inputed by Juana