Phase
[feɪz] or [fez]
Definition
(noun.) (astronomy) the particular appearance of a body's state of illumination (especially one of the recurring shapes of the part of Earth's moon that is illuminated by the sun); 'the full phase of the moon'.
(noun.) (physical chemistry) a distinct state of matter in a system; matter that is identical in chemical composition and physical state and separated from other material by the phase boundary; 'the reaction occurs in the liquid phase of the system'.
(noun.) a particular point in the time of a cycle; measured from some arbitrary zero and expressed as an angle.
(noun.) any distinct time period in a sequence of events; 'we are in a transitional stage in which many former ideas must be revised or rejected'.
(verb.) adjust so as to be in a synchronized condition; 'he phased the intake with the output of the machine'.
(verb.) arrange in phases or stages; 'phase a withdrawal'.
Typed by Carolyn--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) That which is exhibited to the eye; the appearance which anything manifests, especially any one among different and varying appearances of the same object.
(n.) Any appearance or aspect of an object of mental apprehension or view; as, the problem has many phases.
(n.) A particular appearance or state in a regularly recurring cycle of changes with respect to quantity of illumination or form of enlightened disk; as, the phases of the moon or planets. See Illust. under Moon.
(n.) Any one point or portion in a recurring series of changes, as in the changes of motion of one of the particles constituting a wave or vibration; one portion of a series of such changes, in distinction from a contrasted portion, as the portion on one side of a position of equilibrium, in contrast with that on the opposite side.
Inputed by Carmela
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Appearance (as of the moon or a planet), aspect.
Inputed by Brenda
Definition
n. aspect appearance at any stage: an era: the form in which an object or a question presents itself to the mind: the appearance at a given time of the illuminated surface exhibited by a planet—also Phā′sis:—pl. Phas′es.—adj. Phase′less unchanging.
Checker: Rene
Examples
- The object is but a phase of the active end,--continuing the activity successfully. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- Chemistry plays a part in every phase of life; in the arts, the industries, the household, and in the body itself, where digestion, excretion, etc. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- But every subject at some phase of its development should possess, what is for the individual concerned with it, an aesthetic quality. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- Before my eyes, too, his disposition seemed to unfold another phase; to pass to a fresh day: to rise in new and nobler dawn. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- The English mind again had a phase of brightness in the seventh and eighth centuries, and it did not shine again until the fifteenth. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The significance of habit is not exhausted, however, in its executive and motor phase. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- And now begins a new phase in the story of Alexander. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The taking of pictures is, of course, one of the interesting phases of the business from a popular standpoint. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- They had their undercurrent of fables and superstitions, their phases of fear and abjection and sacrificial fury. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- But from the phases of the moon, as his tillage increased, man's attitude would go on to the greater cycle of the seasons. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- It is of course possible to classify in a general way the various valuable phases of life. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- Moist phases mean, on the other hand, cooler days and warmer nights. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Phases of spreading and intermixture have probably alternated with phases of settlement and specialization in the history of mankind. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- These interesting phases of development of the old chemistry have been followed by the new theory of substitution, by Dumas and others. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
Typed by Aldo