<B>constant, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>never stopping; incessant. <BR> <I>Ex. Three days of constant rain made the field muddy.</I> (SYN) ceaseless, continuous, perpetual. <DD><B> 2. </B>continually happening; repeated often or again and again. <BR> <I>Ex. A clock makes a constant ticking sound.</I> (SYN) persistent, unremitting. <DD><B> 3. </B>always the same; not changing. <BR> <I>Ex. If you walk due north, your direction is constant. I am constant as the northern star (Shakespeare). Some philosophers believe that human nature is constant.</I> (SYN) unchangeable, steady, uniform, invariable. <DD><B> 4. </B>faithful; loyal; steadfast. <BR> <I>Ex. A constant friend helps you when you need help.</I> (SYN) stanch, true, trusty. <DD><B> 5. </B>firm in mind or purpose; resolute. <BR> <I>Ex. He was constant and single-minded in his resolve to better the human race.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>(Mathematics, Physics.) retaining the same value; remaining the same in quantity, size, or other dimension. <BR> <I>Ex. a constant force.</I> <DD><B> 7. </B>(Obsolete.) certain; confident. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a thing that is always the same; value or quantity that does not change. <BR> <I>Ex. Birth and death and the changes of season are natural constants. The speed of light is an important constant in physics.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Mathematics.) a quantity assumed to be invariable throughout a given calculation or discussion. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Physics.) a numerical quantity expressing a relation or value, as of a physical property of a substance, that remains unchanged under certain conditions. <BR> <I>Ex. The velocity C of electromagnetic waves in free space is probably the most important fundamental constant known to modern physics (W. C. Vaughan).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="constantan">
<B>constantan, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an alloy consisting of copper and nickel, usually in the proportions of 60 per cent copper and 40 per cent nickel, used for electrical resistance heating and thermocouples. </DL>
<A NAME="constantia">
<B>Constantia, </B>noun. Often, <B>constantia.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a red or white wine of South Africa. <BR> <I>Ex. I have some of the finest old Constantia wine ... that ever was tasted (Jane Austen).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="constantinian">
<B>Constantinian, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with Constantine the Great or his reign. </DL>
<A NAME="constantinopolitan">
<B>Constantinopolitan, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with Constantinople (ancient Byzantium) or with the Eastern Empire or Church; Byzantine. <BR> <I>Ex. The Constantinopolitan Greek patriarchate.</I> </DL>
<B>constant-level balloon,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a balloon launched to float at fixed altitudes and transmit atmospheric data by radio. </DL>
<A NAME="constantly">
<B>constantly, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>always; without change. <BR> <I>Ex. He is constantly late.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>without stopping. <BR> <I>Ex. If a clock is kept wound it runs constantly. The girls chattered constantly.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>often; again and again. <BR> <I>Ex. He has to be reminded constantly to pay attention.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="constantspeedpropeller">
<B>constant-speed propeller,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an aircraft engine with a propeller that automatically maintains a uniform number of revolutions per minute under all conditions of flight. </DL>
<A NAME="constate">
<B>constate, </B>transitive verb, <B>-stated,</B> <B>-stating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to establish; ascertain; state positively. </DL>
<A NAME="constative">
<B>constative, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Grammar, Philosophy.) stating or asserting a wish, command, or plan, not its actual performance. "I hope to go" is a constative utterance; "I am going" is a performative utterance. </DL>
<A NAME="constellate">
<B>constellate, </B>transitive verb, intransitive verb, <B>-lated,</B> <B>-lating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to cluster together as stars in a constellation. </DL>
<A NAME="constellation">
<B>constellation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>a group of stars, usually having a geometric shape within a definite region of the sky. Constellations are often named after mythological figures. <BR> <I>Ex. The Big Dipper is the easiest constellation to locate. Why did no one teach me the constellations when I was a child? (Thomas Carlyle).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative:) <BR> <I>Ex. a constellation of scholars at a convention.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a division of the heavens occupied by a group of stars. <DD><B> 3. </B>(in astrology) the grouping or relative positions of the stars, thought to influence events, especially their position at the time of a person's birth. <DD><B> 4a. </B>(Psychology.) a complex group of related feelings and ideas. <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative:) <BR> <I>Ex. There comes a constellation of changes that mark passage over the brink into deep sleep (Scientific American).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="constellatory">
<B>constellatory, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having to do with or like a constellation. </DL>
<A NAME="consternate">
<B>consternate, </B>transitive verb, <B>-nated,</B> <B>-nating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to amaze and terrify; dismay. </DL>
<A NAME="consternation">
<B>consternation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> great dismay; paralyzing terror. <BR> <I>Ex. To our consternation the train rushed on toward the burning bridge.</I> (SYN) fright. </DL>
<A NAME="constipate">
<B>constipate, </B>transitive verb, <B>-pated,</B> <B>-pating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to cause constipation in. <BR> <I>Ex. It is a bad practice to get the habit of using cathartics, or laxatives, whenever you are constipated (Beauchamp, Mayfield, and West).</I> (SYN) bind. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Obsolete.) to crowd or pack closely together; condense. </DL>
<A NAME="constipation">
<B>constipation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a condition in which it is difficult to empty the bowels. <BR> <I>Ex. There was a time when almost any disorder--indigestion, a cold, an upset stomach, fatigue, headache--was promptly blamed on the villain constipation (Sidonie M. Gruenberg).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Obsolete.) condensation; compression. </DL>
