Online dictionaryOnline dictionary
Synonyms, antonyms, pronunciation

  Home
English Dictionary      examples: 'day', 'get rid of', 'New York Bay'




Constitution   /kˌɑnstətˈuʃən/   Listen
noun
Constitution  n.  
1.
The act or process of constituting; the action of enacting, establishing, or appointing; enactment; establishment; formation.
2.
The state of being; that form of being, or structure and connection of parts, which constitutes and characterizes a system or body; natural condition; structure; texture; conformation. "The physical constitution of the sun."
3.
The aggregate of all one's inherited physical qualities; the aggregate of the vital powers of an individual, with reference to ability to endure hardship, resist disease, etc.; as, a robust constitution. "Our constitutions have never been enfeebled by the vices or luxuries of the old world."
4.
The aggregate of mental qualities; temperament. "He defended himself with... less passion than was expected from his constitution."
5.
The fundamental, organic law or principles of government of men, embodied in written documents, or implied in the institutions and usages of the country or society; also, a written instrument embodying such organic law, and laying down fundamental rules and principles for the conduct of affairs. "Our constitution had begun to exist in times when statesmen were not much accustomed to frame exact definitions." Note: In England the constitution is unwritten, and may be modified from time to time by act of Parliament. In the United States a constitution cannot ordinarily be modified, exept through such processes as the constitution itself ordains.
6.
An authoritative ordinance, regulation or enactment; especially, one made by a Roman emperor, or one affecting ecclesiastical doctrine or discipline; as, the constitutions of Justinian. "The positive constitutions of our own churches." "A constitution of Valentinian addressed to Olybrius, then prefect of Rome, for the regulation of the conduct of advocates."
Apostolic constitutions. See under Apostolic.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








Advanced search
     Find words:
Starting with
Ending with
Containing
Matching a pattern  

Synonyms
Antonyms
Quotes
Words linked to  

only single words



Share |
Add this dictionary
to your browser search bar





"Constitution" Quotes from Famous Books



... adhered to their position on internal improvements more consistently, perhaps, than to any other of the contentions which they had made before they came into power. Douglas did not, indeed, commit himself to that interpretation of the Constitution which justified appropriations for any enterprise which could be considered a contribution to the "general welfare," and he protested against various items in river and harbor bills. But as a rule he ...
— Stephen Arnold Douglas • William Garrott Brown

... who had become domiciled on Roman territory (Lange); only a class of degraded citizens, including neither the cives sine suffragio nor the artisans (Madvig); identical with the capite censi of the Servian constitution (Belot, Greenidge). See A. H. J. Greenidge, Infamia in Roman Law (1894), where Mommsen's theory is criticized; E. Belot, Histoire des chevaliers romains, i. p. 200 (Paris, 1866); L. Pardon, De Aerariis (Berlin, 1853); P. Willems, Le Droit public romain (1883); A. S. Wilkins ...
— Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia

... is expedient that the law of marriage in Scotland should be amended as far as the same affects the constitution of marriage in that country; be it enacted, by the Queen's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords spiritual and temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, ...
— Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 61, No. 379, May, 1847 • Various

... language, Russian - official language note: in March 1996, the Kyrgyz legislature amended the constitution to make Russian an official language, along with Kyrgyz, in territories and work places ...
— The 1996 CIA Factbook • United States. Central Intelligence Agency.

... soft, but yet its grasp is firm. It knows not yet the union of male and female, and yet its virile member may be excited;—showing the perfection of its physical essence. All day long it will cry without its throat becoming hoarse;—showing the harmony (in its constitution). ...
— Tao Teh King • Lao-Tze


More quotes...



Copyright © 2025 Dictionary One.com