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EVEN
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
Example:
he enjoyed the evening light across the lake
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting time and temporal relations
Hypernyms ("even" is a kind of...):
day; daylight; daytime (the time after sunrise and before sunset while it is light outside)
Meronyms (parts of "even"):
sundown; sunset (the time in the evening at which the sun begins to fall below the horizon)
crepuscle; crepuscule; dusk; evenfall; fall; gloam; gloaming; nightfall; twilight (the time of day immediately following sunset)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "even"):
guest night (an evening when members of a club or college can bring their friends as guests)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Equal in degree or extent or amount; or equally matched or balanced
Example:
an even fight
Synonyms:
even; fifty-fifty
Classified under:
Similar:
equal (having the same quantity, value, or measure as another)
Derivation:
evenness (the quality of being balanced)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Of the score in a contest
Example:
the score is tied
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Similar:
equal (having the same quantity, value, or measure as another)
Derivation:
evenness (the quality of being balanced)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Being level or straight or regular and without variation as e.g. in shape or texture; or being in the same plane or at the same height as something else (i.e. even with)
Example:
the picture is even with the window
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
flat; level; plane (having a surface without slope, tilt in which no part is higher or lower than another)
flat-bottom; flat-bottomed; flatbottom; flatbottomed (having a flat bottom)
flush (of a surface exactly even with an adjoining one, forming the same plane)
justified (having words so spaced that lines have straight even margins)
lap-jointed (jointed so as to produce a flush surface)
straight-grained (of timber; having fibers that run in parallel)
level (oriented at right angles to the plumb)
straight; true (accurately fitted; level)
Also:
steady (not subject to change or variation especially in behavior)
smooth (having a surface free from roughness or bumps or ridges or irregularities)
Attribute:
evenness; invariability (a quality of uniformity and lack of variation)
Antonym:
uneven (not even or uniform as e.g. in shape or texture)
Derivation:
evenness (the quality of being balanced)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Divisible by two
Classified under:
Adjectives
Antonym:
odd (not divisible by two)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Occurring at fixed intervals
Example:
the even rhythm of his breathing
Synonyms:
even; regular
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
steady (not subject to change or variation especially in behavior)
Derivation:
evenness (a quality of uniformity and lack of variation)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Symmetrically arranged
Example:
a regular polygon
Synonyms:
even; regular
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
symmetric; symmetrical (having similarity in size, shape, and relative position of corresponding parts)
Derivation:
evenness (a quality of uniformity and lack of variation)
III. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they even ... he / she / it evens
Past simple: evened
Past participle: evened
-ing form: evening
Sense 1
Meaning:
Make even or more even
Synonyms:
even; even out
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "even" is one way to...):
regularise; regularize (make regular or more regular)
Cause:
even; even out (become even or more even)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Also:
even off; even out; even up (adjust for)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Become even or more even
Example:
even out the surface
Synonyms:
even; even out
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "even" is one way to...):
alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Sense 3
Meaning:
Make level or straight
Example:
level the ground
Synonyms:
even; even out; flush; level
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Hypernyms (to "even" is one way to...):
change surface (undergo or cause to undergo a change in the surface)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "even"):
grade (level to the right gradient)
strickle; strike (smooth with a strickle)
strickle (level off with a strickle in a measuring container)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
IV. (adverb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Used as an intensive especially to indicate something unexpected
Example:
I don't have even a dollar!
Classified under:
Sense 2
Meaning:
To a greater degree or extent; used with comparisons
Example:
a yet sadder tale
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Sense 3
Meaning:
In spite of; notwithstanding
Example:
even with his head start she caught up with him
Classified under:
Adverbs
Sense 4
Meaning:
To the full extent
Example:
loyal even unto death
Classified under:
Adverbs
Context examples:
Most people with pituitary tumors never even know they have them.
(Pituitary Tumors, NIH)
Well, these are useless complaints; I shall certainly find no friend on the wide ocean, nor even here in Archangel, among merchants and seamen.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
They happen in the first month of pregnancy, often before a woman even knows that she is pregnant.
(Neural Tube Defects, NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
The fruit is a multiple fruit that has a pungent odor when ripening, and is hence also known as cheese fruit or even vomit fruit.
(Morinda citrifolia, NCI Thesaurus)
Most miscarriages occur very early in the pregnancy, often before a woman even knows she is pregnant.
(Miscarriage, NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
Last evening when the Count came from his room he began by asking me questions on legal matters and on the doing of certain kinds of business.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
Wot ’re you good for anyw’y, I’d like to know? Eh? Wot ’re you good for any’wy? Cawn’t even carry a bit of tea aft without losin’ it.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
If you're thinking about breast reconstruction, talk to a plastic surgeon before the mastectomy, even if you plan to have your reconstruction later on.
(Breast Reconstruction, NIH: National Cancer Institute)
A sleep disorder characterized by a tendency for excessive sleepiness during the day which occurs even after adequate sleep in the nighttime.
(Narcolepsy, NCI Thesaurus)
Muscle disorders can cause weakness, pain or even paralysis.
(Muscle Disorders, NIH)
