| Library / English Dictionary |
ADVANCEMENT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Gradual improvement or growth or development
Example:
great progress in the arts
Synonyms:
advancement; progress
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("advancement" is a kind of...):
development (act of improving by expanding or enlarging or refining)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "advancement"):
forwarding; furtherance; promotion (the advancement of some enterprise)
stride (significant progress (especially in the phrase 'make strides'))
work flow; workflow (progress (or rate of progress) in work being done)
Derivation:
advance (develop further)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The act of moving forward (as toward a goal)
Synonyms:
advance; advancement; forward motion; onward motion; procession; progress; progression
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("advancement" is a kind of...):
motion; move; movement (the act of changing location from one place to another)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "advancement"):
push (an effort to advance)
career; life history (the general progression of your working or professional life)
march (a steady advance)
clear sailing; easy going; plain sailing (easy unobstructed progress)
leapfrog (advancing as if in the child's game, by leaping over obstacles or competitors)
Derivation:
advance (develop further)
advance (move forward, also in the metaphorical sense)
advance (cause to move forward)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Encouragement of the progress or growth or acceptance of something
Synonyms:
advancement; furtherance; promotion
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("advancement" is a kind of...):
encouragement (the expression of approval and support)
Derivation:
advance (give a promotion to or assign to a higher position)
Context examples:
Once wrench your heart from man, and fix it on your Maker, the advancement of that Maker's spiritual kingdom on earth will be your chief delight and endeavour; you will be ready to do at once whatever furthers that end.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
There could be no doubt of his obtaining leave of absence immediately, for he was still only a midshipman; and as his parents, from living on the spot, must already have seen him, and be seeing him perhaps daily, his direct holidays might with justice be instantly given to the sister, who had been his best correspondent through a period of seven years, and the uncle who had done most for his support and advancement; and accordingly the reply to her reply, fixing a very early day for his arrival, came as soon as possible; and scarcely ten days had passed since Fanny had been in the agitation of her first dinner-visit, when she found herself in an agitation of a higher nature, watching in the hall, in the lobby, on the stairs, for the first sound of the carriage which was to bring her a brother.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
I knew he would be true to himself, and now how proud I am to see my Jonathan rising to the height of his advancement and keeping pace in all ways with the duties that come upon him.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
But this description, I confess, does by no means affect the British nation, who may be an example to the whole world for their wisdom, care, and justice in planting colonies; their liberal endowments for the advancement of religion and learning; their choice of devout and able pastors to propagate Christianity; their caution in stocking their provinces with people of sober lives and conversations from this the mother kingdom; their strict regard to the distribution of justice, in supplying the civil administration through all their colonies with officers of the greatest abilities, utter strangers to corruption; and, to crown all, by sending the most vigilant and virtuous governors, who have no other views than the happiness of the people over whom they preside, and the honour of the king their master.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
My excellent father died about five years ago; and his attachment to Mr. Wickham was to the last so steady, that in his will he particularly recommended it to me, to promote his advancement in the best manner that his profession might allow—and if he took orders, desired that a valuable family living might be his as soon as it became vacant.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
Showing that the virus has been circulating in humans since at least the Bronze Age is a big scientific advancement, as previous attempts to estimate how long the virus has infected humans have ranged from 400 years to 34,000 years.
(Oldest genetic evidence of Hepatitis B virus found in ancient DNA from 4,500 year-old skeletons, University of Cambridge)
Scientists used brain signals recorded from epilepsy patients to program a computer to mimic natural speech — an advancement that could one day have a profound effect on the ability of certain patients to communicate.
(Scientists translate brain signals into speech sounds, National Institutes of Health)
Acknowledging this, you might want to take a slightly different approach to your pursuit of career advancement than you did in October.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
“Of these Spaniards I know nothing; but the French are very worthy gentlemen, and will do what they can for our advancement.”
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Elinor, with a very heavy heart, aware of the pain she was going to communicate, and perceiving, by Marianne's letter, how ill she had succeeded in laying any foundation for it, then sat down to write her mother an account of what had passed, and entreat her directions for the future; while Marianne, who came into the drawing-room on Mrs. Jennings's going away, remained fixed at the table where Elinor wrote, watching the advancement of her pen, grieving over her for the hardship of such a task, and grieving still more fondly over its effect on her mother.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
