i|de´a|less

i|de´a|less
i|de|a «y DEE uh», noun.
1. a) a picture or notion of anything in the mind; mental image: »

to have an idea about how a thing should look. Eating candy and playing with toys are that little child's idea of happiness. What space does the idea of a pyramid occupy more than the idea of a grain of corn? (Samuel Johnson).

b) any result of mental activity or understanding; a thought, fancy, or opinion; view; belief: »

old-fashioned ideas. The new boy had no idea that work at school was so easy. I had an idea that the man might be a spy.

2. a) an understanding of what is to be aimed at or what is desirable or ought to be; a governing principle; point or purpose: »

The idea of a vacation is to get a rest. The statue has been restored and…because the idea is perfect and indestructible, all these injuries do not…impair the effect (Hawthorne).

SYNONYM(S): conception, concept. b) a notion of something to be done; plan of action; intention: »

the idea of an election by ballot (Edmund Burke). It's a good idea, if you can carry it out.

SYNONYM(S): conception, concept.
3. Music. a theme, phrase, or figure.
4. a) (in Platonic philosophy) one of the patterns of which things are imperfect copies and from which they derive their existence. b) the immediate object of thought or mental perception according to René Descartes and John Locke.
5. Obsolete. a person or thing regarded as perfect of its kind.
6. Obsolete. the mental image or picture of something previously seen or known: »

Though I despaired of possessing you…I doated still on your charming idea (Henry Fielding).

7. Obsolete. a figure; representation; likeness.
[< Latin idea < Greek idéā < ideîn to see]
i|de´a|less, adjective.
Synonym Study 1a, b Idea, notion, thought mean something understood or formed in the mind. Idea is the general word applying to something existing in the mind as the result of understanding, thinking, reasoning, imagination, etc.: »

Learn to express your ideas clearly.

Notion applies to an idea not fully, clearly, plainly, or completey formed or understood: »

I have only a notion of what you mean.

Thought applies to an idea formed by reflection or reasoning, rather than by the imagination: »

Tell me your thoughts on this proposal.

Usage idea. With a dependent verb, the idiom is idea of plus a gerund: »

They got the happy idea of climbing Sugarloaf Hill. Not: They got the happy idea to climb Sugarloaf Hill.


Useful english dictionary. 2012.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • less — less·est; less·ness; let·ter·less; li·cense·less; lid·less; life·less; life·less·ly; life·less·ness; light·less; light·less·ness; limb·less; lime·less; lim·it·less; line·less; lint·less; lip·less; list·less; list·less·ly; list·less·ness;… …   English syllables

  • less — [ les ] function word *** Less is the comparative form of the function word little and can be used in the following ways: as a determiner (before a noun): Eat less fat. Schools put less emphasis on being creative. as a pronoun: Connie did less… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Less Than Jake — performing in August 2006. Background information Origin Gainesville, Florida, United States …   Wikipedia

  • Less — Less, X Terminal Basisdaten Entwickler: Mark Nudelman Aktuelle Version: 429 (11. April 2009) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • less — Less, X Terminal Basisdaten Entwickler Mark Nudelman Aktuelle Version 4 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • less — Fichier log de la commnande emerge de gentoo affiché par less dans un terminal xfce …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Less — est une commande Unix permettant de visualiser un fichier texte page par page (sans le modifier). Sa fonction est similaire à la commande more, mais permet en plus de revenir en arrière ou de rechercher une chaîne. Contrairement à vi (qui permet… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Less (Unix) — less less est une commande Unix permettant de visualiser un fichier texte page par page (sans le modifier). Sa fonction est similaire à la commande more, mais permet en plus de revenir en arrière ou de rechercher une chaîne. Contrairement à vi… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Less-lethal weapon — Less lethal weapons, less than lethal weapons, non lethal weapons, non deadly weapons, or, more recently, compliance weapons are weapons intended to be unlikely to kill or to cause great bodily injury to a living target. In the past, police (or… …   Wikipedia

  • Less — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda less Captura de less en un terminal X. Desarrollador Mark Nudelman …   Wikipedia Español

  • Less — Вывод less в X Терминал Тип Системная утилита Разработчик Mark Nudelman ОС …   Википедия

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”