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constituent definition

con·stitu·ent (kən stic̸h′o̵̅o̅ ənt)

adjective

  1. necessary in forming or making up a whole; component a constituent part
  2. that can or does appoint or vote for a representative
  3. authorized to make or revise a political constitution or establish a government a constituent assembly

Etymology: < L constituens, prp. of constituere: see constitute

noun

  1. a person who appoints another to act as agent or representative
  2. a member of a constituency, esp. any of the voters represented by a particular official
  3. a necessary part or element; component
  4. an element of a word or construction (Ex.: in “they painted signs” the main elements they and painted signs are called immediate constituents; the further morphologically indivisible elements they, paint, -ed, sign, and -s are called ultimate constituents)

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

constituent Synonyms

constituent

modif.

  1. Composing

    constituting, forming, component; see fundamental 1, integral.

  2. Voting

    electoral, electing, appointing, overruling; see electoral, voting.


constituent

n.

component, element, ingredient; see element 1, part 1. See syn. study at element.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

constituent Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • trace: Recent developments with cw diode lasers have realized the potential for compact instruments to perform in-situ measurements of atmospheric trace gas constituents.

Adjective modifier

  • atmospheric: ClO, OH, O 3 and NO 3 ) with selected atmospheric constituents ( e.g.

Modifies a noun

  • parish: To comply with the Act there needs to be a meeting in each of the constituent parishes, with each parish requesting a poll.

Noun used with modifier

  • chemical: However, to nourish the human system, these simple chemical constituents must be supplied in the form of vegetable or animal substances.

Possessives

  • gentleman: Gentleman's constituents to fear and everything for this country to gain.

Preposition: of

  • membrane: The diagram above shows the constituents of the plasma membrane.
constituent usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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"constituent." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/constituent>

APA Style

constituent. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/constituent

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