Originality
[ə,rɪdʒɪ'nælɪtɪ] or [ə'rɪdʒə'næləti]
Definition
(noun.) the quality of being new and original (not derived from something else).
(noun.) the ability to think and act independently.
Edited by Dinah--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The quality or state of being original.
Checked by Alma
Examples
- This originality of thought and love of experiment for its own sake were to be chief characteristics of the future scientist. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- The originality of his principles, his eloquence, and his great physical strength and beauty created a profound sensation. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- The charm which the spontaneity of little children has for sympathetic observers is due to perception of this intellectual originality. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- No claim is made to originality in subject matter. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- They had little originality, and speedily became servile copyists, so that Palissy ware for a time lost the high place it had held. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- Personal initiative and individual genius are poorly regarded: many socialists are suspicious of originality. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Lily uttered a faint laugh--for once Mrs. Fisher lacked originality. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- I suppose there never was a young man with less originality than I have. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- Man, or at least criminal man, has lost all enterprise and originality. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- Yet the greater merit of the work is not the admirable art, but the originality of thought. Plato. The Republic.
- Emmy said and added, with great originality, I hope we shall have a calm passage. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Only minds of extraordinary toughness and originality could resist such a torrent of suggestion. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- But one mistake is rarely avoided: they imitate the old-fashioned thing their grandfather did, and ignore the originality which enabled him to do it. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- His was an all-round originality. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The Abomination of Desolation was no mystery to them; they had discovered that unutterable Thing in the characteristic others call Originality. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
Typist: Pierce