| Learning / English Dictionary |
EXPRESSION
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of forcing something out by squeezing or pressing
Example:
the expression of milk from her breast
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("expression" is a kind of...):
squeeze; squeezing (the act of gripping and pressing firmly)
Derivation:
express (obtain from a substance, as by mechanical action)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The feelings expressed on a person's face
Example:
an angry face
Synonyms:
aspect; expression; face; facial expression; look
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("expression" is a kind of...):
countenance; visage (the appearance conveyed by a person's face)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "expression"):
leer (a suggestive or sneering look or grin)
light; spark; sparkle; twinkle (merriment expressed by a brightness or gleam or animation of countenance)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A group of words that form a constituent of a sentence and are considered as a single unit
Example:
I concluded from his awkward constructions that he was a foreigner
Synonyms:
construction; expression; grammatical construction
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("expression" is a kind of...):
constituent; grammatical constituent ((grammar) a word or phrase or clause forming part of a larger grammatical construction)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "expression"):
adjunct (a construction that can be used to extend the meaning of a word or phrase but is not one of the main constituents of a sentence)
clause ((grammar) an expression including a subject and predicate functioning as a part of a complex sentence)
complement (a word or phrase used to complete a grammatical construction)
involution (a long and intricate and complicated grammatical construction)
phrase (an expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence)
predicator (an expression that predicates)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A group of symbols that make a mathematical statement
Synonyms:
expression; formula
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("expression" is a kind of...):
mathematical statement (a statement of a mathematical relation)
Domain category:
math; mathematics; maths (a science (or group of related sciences) dealing with the logic of quantity and shape and arrangement)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "expression"):
exponential expression (a mathematical expression consisting of a constant (especially e) raised to some power)
primitive (a mathematical expression from which another expression is derived)
sentential function (formal expression containing variables; becomes a sentence when variables are replaced by constants)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Expression without words
Example:
the pulse is a reflection of the heart's condition
Synonyms:
expression; manifestation; reflection; reflexion
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("expression" is a kind of...):
demo; demonstration (a visual presentation showing how something works)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "expression"):
lamentation; mourning (the passionate and demonstrative activity of expressing grief)
act (a manifestation of insincerity)
blowup; ebullition; effusion; gush; outburst (an unrestrained expression of emotion)
Sense 6
Meaning:
The style of expressing yourself
Example:
his manner of expression showed how much he cared
Synonyms:
expression; formulation
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("expression" is a kind of...):
expressive style; style (a way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "expression"):
choice of words; diction; phraseology; phrasing; verbiage; wording (the manner in which something is expressed in words)
Anglicism; Briticism; Britishism (an expression that is used in Great Britain (especially as contrasted with American English))
Americanism (an expression that is characteristic of English as spoken by Americans)
idiom; parlance (a manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language)
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
boilerplate (standard formulations uniformly found in certain types of legal documents or news stories)
archaicism; archaism (the use of an archaic expression)
honorific (an expression of respect)
sentimentalism (the excessive expression of tender feelings, nostalgia, or sadness in any form)
Sense 7
Meaning:
The communication (in speech or writing) of your beliefs or opinions
Example:
the idea was immediate but the verbalism took hours
Synonyms:
expression; verbal expression; verbalism
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("expression" is a kind of...):
communicating; communication (the activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "expression"):
articulation; voice (expressing in coherent verbal form)
cold turkey (a blunt expression of views)
congratulation; felicitation ((usually plural) an expression of pleasure at the success or good fortune of another)
Derivation:
express (articulate; either verbally or with a cry, shout, or noise)
Sense 8
Meaning:
A word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
Example:
pardon the expression
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("expression" is a kind of...):
language; oral communication; speech; speech communication; spoken communication; spoken language; voice communication ((language) communication by word of mouth)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "expression"):
anatomical; anatomical reference (an expression that relates to anatomy)
southernism (a locution or pronunciation peculiar to the southern United States)
catchword; motto; shibboleth; slogan (a favorite saying of a sect or political group)
axiom; maxim (a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits)
epigram; quip (a witty saying)
adage; byword; proverb; saw (a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people)
idiom; idiomatic expression; phrasal idiom; phrase; set phrase (an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up)
agrapha (sayings of Jesus not recorded in the canonical Gospels)
sumpsimus (a correct expression that takes the place of a popular but incorrect expression)
tongue twister (an expression that is difficult to articulate clearly)
shucks (an expression of disappointment or irritation)
dysphemism (an offensive or disparaging expression that is substituted for an inoffensive one)
euphemism (an inoffensive or indirect expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive or too harsh)
ambiguity (an expression whose meaning cannot be determined from its context)
advice and consent (a legal expression in the United States Constitution that allows the Senate to constrain the President's powers of appointment and treaty-making)
calque; calque formation; loan translation (an expression introduced into one language by translating it from another language)
logion (a saying of Jesus that is regarded as authentic although it is not recorded in the Gospels)
Beatitude (one of the eight sayings of Jesus at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount; in Latin each saying begins with 'beatus' (blessed))
Sense 9
Meaning:
(genetics) the process of expressing a gene
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural processes
Hypernyms ("expression" is a kind of...):
biological process; organic process (a process occurring in living organisms)
Domain category:
genetic science; genetics (the branch of biology that studies heredity and variation in organisms)
Derivation:
express (manifest the effects of (a gene or genetic trait))
Context examples:
Together, EBNA2 and the human transcription factors change the expression of neighboring viral genes.
(Epstein-Barr virus protein can “switch on” risk genes for autoimmune diseases, National Institutes of Health)
Mary's countenance was equally intelligent—her features equally pretty; but her expression was more reserved, and her manners, though gentle, more distant.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
Holmes was silent and buried in thought with a pained expression upon his face, as one who finds himself in a perplexing position.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Duodenal expression of multidrug resistance protein 1 is also significantly reduced in individuals that have a homozygous phenotype for this allele.
(ABCB1 2 Allele, NCI Thesaurus)
Expression of the gene is linked to drug resistance for a subset of melanomas.
(ABCB5 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)
Elevated expression of the gene is associated with Gaucher and Hodgkin diseases, and with hairy cell, B-cell, and T-cell leukemias.
(ACP5 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)
A biologic subset of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas with a unique molecular signature or expression profile.
(Activated B-Cell-Like Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, NCI Thesaurus)
The nuclear receptor CAR is activated by many different exogenous compounds, including acetaminophen, inducing expression of three cytochrome P450 enzymes that transform acetaminophen into NAPQI, a reactive and toxic metabolite.
(Acetaminophen Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)
Aberrant expression of the gene may be involved in leukemia relapse.
(ABTB2 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)
Patients on a gluten-free diet also had higher levels of reovirus antibodies and IRF1 levels in their small intestines, suggesting reovirus infection may lead to long-lasting gene expression changes.
(Virus linked to food sensitivity, NIH)
