<B>constituent, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>forming a necessary part; making up. <BR> <I>Ex. Flour, liquid, salt, and yeast are constituent parts of bread.</I> (SYN) component. <DD><B> 2. </B>appointing; electing. <BR> <I>Ex. The school board is the constituent body for the high school.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>having the power to make or change a political constitution. <BR> <I>Ex. a constituent assembly.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a necessary part of a whole; component. <BR> <I>Ex. Sugar is the main constituent of candy.</I> <DD><B> 2a. </B>a voter. <BR> <I>Ex. A congressman receives many letters from his constituents.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>a person who lives in a certain constituency. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Linguistics.) one of two or more elements into which a word or group of words can be analyzed. <BR> <I>Ex. The immediate constituents of 'Poor John ran away' are the two forms of 'poor John' and 'ran away;' ... the constituents of 'poor John' are the morphemes 'poor' and 'John' (Leonard Bloomfield).</I> adv. <B>constituently.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="constitute">
<B>constitute, </B>transitive verb, <B>-tuted,</B> <B>-tuting.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to make up; form. <BR> <I>Ex. Seven days constitute a week.</I> (SYN) compose, comprise. <DD><B> 2. </B>to set up; establish. <BR> <I>Ex. Schools are constituted by law to teach boys and girls. The Salvation Army constituted a relief station for the victims of the fire.</I> (SYN) found. <DD><B> 3. </B>to enact. <BR> <I>Ex. Laws are constituted to protect individual rights and property.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to give legal form to. <DD><B> 5. </B>to appoint; elect. <BR> <I>Ex. The group constituted one member its leader.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>(Obsolete.) to set or place. </DL>
<A NAME="constitution">
<B>constitution, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the way in which a person or thing is organized; nature; make-up. <BR> <I>Ex. A person with a good constitution is strong and healthy. We may know the chemicals that constitute the human body, but we do not yet know the constitution of life.</I> (SYN) composition, organization, structure. <DD><B> 2a. </B>the fundamental principles according to which a nation, state, or group is governed. <BR> <I>Ex. The United States has a written constitution. One of the first steps in group organization is to outline a constitution and bylaws.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>a document stating these principles. (SYN) charter. <DD><B> 3. </B>the act of appointing, making, or forming. <DD><B> 4. </B>a setting up; establishment. (SYN) institution. <DD><B> 5. </B>a law, decree, or established custom. <BR><I>expr. <B>the Constitution,</B> </I>the written set of fundamental principles by which the United States is governed. It was first drawn up in 1787, ratified in 1788, and put into effect in 1789. Since then 26 amendments have been added to it. </DL>
<A NAME="constitutional">
<B>constitutional, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of or in the constitution of a person or thing; essential. <BR> <I>Ex. A constitutional weakness makes him catch a cold easily.</I> (SYN) inherent, basic. <DD><B> 2a. </B>of or according to the constitution of a nation, state, or group. <BR> <I>Ex. a citizen's constitutional rights. Slavery was abolished by a constitutional amendment in 1865. The Supreme Court must decide whether this law is constitutional.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>having the power of, or existing by virtue of and subject to, a constitution. <BR> <I>Ex. We have constitutional governments in the United States.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>adhering to or supporting a constitution. <BR> <I>Ex. a constitutional party.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>for one's health. <BR> <I>Ex. constitutional exercise, a constitutional walk.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a walk taken for the health. <BR> <I>Ex. After Sunday dinner Grandfather always takes his constitutional.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="constitutionalconvention">
<B>constitutional convention,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a convention held to write or to amend the constitution of a nation or state. </DL>
<A NAME="constitutionalism">
<B>constitutionalism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the principles of constitutional government. <DD><B> 2. </B>adherence to these principles. <DD><B> 3. </B>a constitutional system of government. noun <B>constitutionalist.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="constitutionality">
<B>constitutionality, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> accordance with the constitution of a nation, state, or group; being constitutional. <BR> <I>Ex. The constitutionality of freedom of speech has been upheld in the courts many times.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="constitutionalize">
<B>constitutionalize, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to make constitutional. <BR> <I>Ex. He was opposed to factions or formal groupings which would inevitably constitutionalize and impose their own majority rules (London Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="constitutionally">
<B>constitutionally, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>in or by constitution; naturally. <BR> <I>Ex. The fat boy is constitutionally unable to run fast.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>according to a constitution. <BR> <I>Ex. an action constitutionally illegal.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="constitutionalmonarchy">
<B>constitutional monarchy,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a monarchy in which the ruler has only those powers given to him by the constitution and laws of the nation. <BR> <I>Ex. They [the Hittites] evolved a pioneering constitutional monarchy; their kings had to answer to a council of nobles (Newsweek).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="constitutionstate">
<B>Constitution State,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a nickname for Connecticut. </DL>
<A NAME="constitutive">
<B>constitutive, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having the power to establish or enact; instituting. <DD><B> 2. </B>making up or forming a thing; constituent. <DD><B> 3. </B>making a thing what it is; essential. <DD><B> 4. </B>(of an enzyme) present in the cell under all conditions, not formed in answer to the presence of its substrate. adv. <B>constitutively.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="constitutor">
<B>constitutor, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person or thing that constitutes. <BR> <I>Ex. Elocution is only an assistant, but not a constitutor of eloquence (Oliver Goldsmith).</I> </DL>
<B>constrain, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to force; compel; oblige. <BR> <I>Ex. The principal was constrained to punish the rude boy.</I> (SYN) coerce. <DD><B> 2. </B>to confine; imprison. <BR> <I>Ex. The wild animal was bound and constrained.</I> (SYN) restrict. <DD><B> 3. </B>to restrain; repress. <BR> <I>Ex. to constrain a cough during a concert.</I> (SYN) suppress. <DD><B> 4. </B>to force or produce by straining. <BR> <I>Ex. to constrain a nervous laugh.</I> (SYN) strain. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Obsolete.) to compress; contract. (SYN) constrict. adj. <B>constrainable.</B> </DL>
<B>constrainer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who constrains. </DL>
<A NAME="constraint">
<B>constraint, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>restraint; restriction; limitation. <BR> <I>Ex. The proposed legislation is not the best that the city can do, even within the existing political and financial constraints (New York Times). Thro' long imprisonment and hard constraint (Edmund Spenser).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>force; compulsion. <BR> <I>Ex. He appeared in court only under constraint of law.</I> (SYN) coercion. <DD><B> 3. </B>a holding back of natural feelings; forced or unnatural manner; embarrassed awkwardness. <BR> <I>Ex. We felt a little constraint with the new teacher for the first day or so.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>confinement. </DL>
<A NAME="constrict">
<B>constrict, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to draw together; contract; compress. <BR> <I>Ex. A rubber band can constrict what it encircles. A tourniquet stops the flow of blood by constricting the blood vessels.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="constriction">
<B>constriction, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of drawing together; compression; contraction. <DD><B> 2. </B>a feeling of tightness; constricted condition. <BR> <I>Ex. He coughed and complained of a constriction in his chest.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a constricted part. <DD><B> 4. </B>something that constricts. </DL>
<B>constrictor, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any snake that kills its prey by squeezing it with its coils. The boa, anaconda, and python are constrictors. <DD><B> 2. </B>a person or thing that constricts. <BR> <I>Ex. It has turned out to be an extraordinarily powerful bloodvessel constrictor (Harper's).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a muscle that constricts or narrows a part of the body. <BR> <I>Ex. the constrictors of the eyelids.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="constringe">
<B>constringe, </B>transitive verb, <B>-stringed,</B> <B>-stringing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to cause to contract; compress; constrict. </DL>
<A NAME="constringency">
<B>constringency, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality of being constringent. </DL>
<B>construability, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> capability of being construed. </DL>
<A NAME="construct">
<B>construct, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to put together; fit together; build; frame. <BR> <I>Ex. to construct the plot of a story. The explorers constructed a raft of logs fastened with tough vines. The ancient Greek temples were constructed mathematically.</I> (SYN) devise. <DD><B> 2. </B>to draw (a geometrical figure) so as to fulfill given conditions. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>an idea or theory resulting from a synthesis of impressions, learned facts, or study, and usually represented in an abstract name; concept. <BR> <I>Ex. Freedom, gravity, ego, and electron are constructs.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Linguistics.) a grammatical construction. noun <B>constructer.</B> </DL>
