English noun: meiosis |
1. | meiosis (process) (genetics) cell division that produces reproductive cells in sexually reproducing organisms; the nucleus divides into four nuclei each containing half the chromosome number (leading to gametes in animals and spores in plants) |
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| Synonyms | miosis, reduction division |
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| Broader (hypernym) | cell division, cellular division |
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| Narrower (hyponym) | nondisjunction |
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| Part holonym | anaphase, cytokinesis, karyokinesis, metaphase, prophase, segregation, telophase |
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| Domain category | genetic science, genetics |
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2. | meiosis (communication) understatement for rhetorical effect (especially when expressing an affirmative by negating its contrary) |
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| Samples | Saying `I was not a little upset' when you mean `I was very upset' is an example of litotes.
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| Synonyms | litotes |
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| Broader (hypernym) | rhetorical device, understatement |
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