Defined Define Dɪˈfaɪn Story Difficult Somebody/Something Verb Term

• the term ‘mental illness’ is difficult to define.
• life imprisonment is defined as 60 years under state law.
• the goals of the project are clearly defined.
• at that time women's roles were quite narrowly defined.

define

Verb Forms

1. to say or explain what the meaning of a word or phrase is
• LANGUAGE BANK AT first
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/first_2#first_topg_2
• The term ‘mental illness’ is difficult to define.
• Life imprisonment is defined as 60 years under state law.

Extra Examples

• Thread count is defined as the number of threads in one square inch of fabric.
• Marriage is defined broadly enough in everyday English to cover same-sex marriages as well as the different-sex kind.
2. to describe or show the nature or range of somebody/something
• The goals of the project are clearly defined.
• At that time women's roles were quite narrowly defined.
• to be broadly/loosely defined
• The difficulty of a problem was defined in terms of how long it took to complete.
• It is difficult to define what makes him so popular.
• He defines himself as an independent.
• We have never defined ourselves in our own right.

Extra Examples

• Social values are not easy to define.
• The characters and story are well defined.
• The northern boundary of the US was defined through negotiation with Great Britain.
• We have chosen to define the scope of our study quite broadly.
• There may be problems if responsibilities are not adequately defined.
• This type of lymphoma is defined by the presence of specific malignant cells.
• the culturally defined role of women
• The horizontal and vertical angles of view define the limits of what is seen in the painting.
• The Institute defines itself as the agency supporting basic biomedical research.
• A ghost story may be broadly defined as a story concerned with the power of the dead to return and confront the living.
3. to make or establish the essential character or somebody/something
• For some, the football club defines their identity.
• to define the nature/character of somebody/something
• The novel told the story of a preacher-poet, who defines himself through his art.
4. to show clearly a line, shape or edge
• The mountain was sharply defined against the sky.

Word Origin

• late Middle English (also in the sense ‘bring to an end)’: from Old French definer, from a variant of Latin definire, from de- (expressing completion) + finire ‘finish’ (from finis ‘end’).