SHAPING • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Shaping

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/ʃˈeɪpɪŋ/ Listen

verb

Shape v. t. (past shaped; past part. shaped or shapen; pres. part. shaping)

To form or create; especially, to mold or make into a particular form; to give proper form or figure to. "I was shapen in iniquity." "Grace shaped her limbs, and beauty decked her face."

To adapt to a purpose; to regulate; to adjust; to direct; as, to shape the course of a vessel. "To the stream, when neither friends, nor force, Nor speed nor art avail, he shapes his course." "Charmed by their eyes, their manners I acquire, And shape my foolishness to their desire."

To imagine; to conceive; to call forth (ideas). (archaic) "Oft my jealousy Shapes faults that are not."

To design; to prepare; to plan; to arrange. "When shapen was all this conspiracy, From point to point."

Shaping machine. (Mach.) Same as Shaper.

To shape one's self, to prepare; to make ready. (Obs.) "I will early shape me therefor."

Shape v. i. To suit; to be adjusted or conformable. (R.)

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Etymology of 'Shaping'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Shaping" Quotes from Famous Books

... institutions would weaken the impulse toward force and domination in two ways: first, by increasing the opportunities for the creative impulses, and by shaping education so as to strengthen these impulses; secondly, by diminishing the outlets for the possessive instincts. The diffusion of power, both in the political and the economic sphere, instead of its concentration in the hands of officials and captains ...

— Political Ideals • Bertrand Russell

... correspondence was penned there was not the least thought in the mind of either of the writers of giving the letters to the public. It was simply an interchange of ideas between men who had long known each other. When they were convinced, however, that publication might serve a useful purpose in shaping public opinion, both Mr. Schiff and Dr. Eliot cordially assented ...

— The New York Times Current History of the European War, Vol. 1, January 9, 1915 - What Americans Say to Europe • Various

... Leaving the shaping of the plant out of consideration and having in mind pruning proper, all efforts in pruning are directed toward two objects: (1) The production of leafy shoots to increase the vigor of the plant. (2) The promotion of the formation of fruit-buds. The first, in common parlance, ...

— Manual of American Grape-Growing • U. P. Hedrick

... the influence of trade in shaping civilization. It is commerce that to-day is carrying civilization to remote corners of the globe. Long before the dawn of history, it was an active agent in advancing culture. It is important to note the great expanse of commerce, both inland and marine, which prevailed ...

— The Prehistoric World - Vanished Races • E. A. Allen

... on her clasped hands, and her eyes on the splendid mass of fluffy clouds that were heaping up just over Mr. J. A. Harrison's house like a great white mountain, was far away in a delicious world where a certain schoolteacher was doing a wonderful work, shaping the destinies of future statesmen, and inspiring youthful minds and hearts ...

— Anne Of Avonlea • Lucy Maud Montgomery

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