English noun: action |
1. | action (act) something done (usually as opposed to something said) |
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| Samples | There were stories of murders and other unnatural actions.
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| Broader (hypernym) | act, deed, human action, human activity |
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| Narrower (hyponym) | accenting, accentuation, accomplishment, achievement, aggression, alienation, application, arrival, beatification, benignity, bruxism, carrying into action, carrying out, change, choice, civility, consultation, course, course of action, destabilisation, destabilization, economy, emphasizing, employment, engagement, execution, fetch, forbiddance, hostility, inhibition, interaction, jump-start, jumpstart, kindness, opposition, option, performance, pick, pickings, play, playing, politeness, prohibition, reference, res gestae, resistance, reverence, saving, selection, stupefaction, swordplay, taking, thing, transfusion, transgression, vampirism |
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2. | action (state) the state of being active |
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| Samples | His sphere of activity. He is out of action.
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| Synonyms | activeness, activity |
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| Broader (hypernym) | state |
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| Narrower (hyponym) | agency, behavior, behaviour, busyness, eructation, eruption, extravasation, hum, operation, overdrive, play, swing |
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| Attribute | active |
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| Antonyms | inaction, inactiveness, inactivity |
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3. | action (act) a military engagement |
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| Samples | He saw action in Korea.
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| Synonyms | military action |
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| Broader (hypernym) | group action |
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| Narrower (hyponym) | amphibious landing, battle, blockade, conflict, defence, defense, defensive measure, electronic warfare, encirclement, engagement, EW, fight, police action, resistance, saber rattling, sabre rattling, sally, sortie, war, warfare |
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| Domain category | armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine |
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4. | action (process) a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings) |
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| Samples | The action of natural forces. Volcanic activity.
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| Synonyms | activity, natural action, natural process |
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| Broader (hypernym) | physical process, process |
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| Narrower (hyponym) | absorption, acidification, adiabatic process, aeration, antiredeposition, capture, capture, cataphoresis, centrifugation, chemical action, chemical change, chemical process, chromatography, clotting, coagulation, concretion, condensation, convection, curdling, curing, decay, demagnetisation, demagnetization, desorption, dielectrolysis, diffusion, disintegration, dissolution, distillation, distillment, drift, ecesis, ecological succession, effervescence, electrophoresis, establishment, extinction, extraction, feedback, filtration, flocculation, flow, formation, fossilisation, fossilization, geologic process, geological process, hardening, inactivation, ion exchange, ionisation, ionization, ionophoresis, leach, leaching, magnetic induction, magnetisation, magnetization, materialisation, materialization, natural selection, nuclear reaction, opacification, oscillation, oxygenation, pair creation, pair formation, pair production, phase change, phase transition, physical change, precession of the equinoxes, radiation, release, rigidification, rigidifying, saltation, scattering, selection, sericulture, set, sink, soak, soakage, soaking, softening, solidification, solidifying, sorption, source, state change, stiffening, stimulation, succession, survival, survival of the fittest, synergism, synergy, temperature change, transduction, transpiration, vitrification |
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5. | action (communication) the series of events that form a plot |
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| Samples | His novels always have a lot of action.
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| Broader (hypernym) | plot |
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6. | action (attribute) the trait of being active and energetic and forceful |
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| Samples | A man of action.
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| Broader (hypernym) | drive |
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7. | action (artifact) the operating part that transmits power to a mechanism |
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| Samples | The piano had a very stiff action.
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| Synonyms | action mechanism |
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| Broader (hypernym) | mechanism |
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| Narrower (hyponym) | firing mechanism, gunlock, movement, piano action, pump action, slide action |
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| Part holonym | key |
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| Part meronym | gun, keyboard |
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8. | action (act) a judicial proceeding brought by one party against another; one party prosecutes another for a wrong done or for protection of a right or for prevention of a wrong |
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| Synonyms | action at law, legal action |
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| Broader (hypernym) | legal proceeding, proceeding, proceedings |
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| Narrower (hyponym) | antitrust case, civil action, counterclaim, criminal prosecution, custody case, lis pendens, prosecution, test case, test suit |
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| Domain category | jurisprudence, law |
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9. | action (act) an act by a government body or supranational organization |
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| Samples | Recent federal action undermined the segregationist position. The United Nations must have the power to propose and organize action without being hobbled by irrelevant issues. The Union action of emancipating Southern slaves.
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| Broader (hypernym) | group action |
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10. | action (act) the most important or interesting work or activity in a specific area or field |
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| Samples | The action is no longer in technology stocks but in municipal bonds. Gawkers always try to get as close to the action as possible.
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| Broader (hypernym) | work |
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English verb: action |
1. | action (social) institute legal proceedings against; file a suit against |
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| Samples | He was warned that the district attorney would process him. She actioned the company for discrimination.
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| Synonyms | litigate, process, sue |
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| Pattern of use | Somebody ----s somebody |
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| Broader (hypernym) | challenge |
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| Narrower (hyponym) | expedite |
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| Verb group | litigate |
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2. | action (creation) put in effect |
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| Samples | Carry out a task. Execute the decision of the people. He actioned the operation.
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| Synonyms | accomplish, carry out, carry through, execute, fulfil, fulfill |
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| Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something |
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| Broader (hypernym) | complete, effect, effectuate, finish, set up |
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| Narrower (hyponym) | complete, consummate, consummate, discharge, dispatch, do, get over, perform, run |
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| Verb group | carry out, follow out, follow through, follow up, go through, implement, put through |
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