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FORMATION
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of forming or establishing something
Example:
he still remembers the organization of the club
Synonyms:
constitution; establishment; formation; organisation; organization
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("formation" is a kind of...):
beginning; commencement; start (the act of starting something)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "formation"):
unionisation; unionization (act of forming labor unions)
collectivisation; collectivization (the organization of a nation or economy on the basis of collectivism)
communisation; communization (the organization of a nation of the basis of communism)
federation (the act of constituting a political unity out of a number of separate states or colonies or provinces so that each member retains the management of its internal affairs)
colonisation; colonization; settlement (the act of colonizing; the establishment of colonies)
Derivation:
form (make something, usually for a specific function)
form (create (as an entity))
Sense 2
Meaning:
The act of fabricating something in a particular shape
Synonyms:
formation; shaping
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("formation" is a kind of...):
fabrication; manufacture; manufacturing (the act of making something (a product) from raw materials)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "formation"):
turning (the activity of shaping something on a lathe)
grooving; rifling (the cutting of spiral grooves on the inside of the barrel of a firearm)
granulation (the act of forming something into granules or grains)
metalwork; metalworking (the activity of making things out of metal in a skillful manner)
forging (shaping metal by heating and hammering)
filing (the act of using a file (as in shaping or smoothing an object))
Derivation:
form (give shape or form to)
form (make something, usually for a specific function)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Creation by mental activity
Example:
the formation of memories
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("formation" is a kind of...):
creating by mental acts (the act of creating something by thinking)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "formation"):
affixation (formation of a word by means of an affix)
Derivation:
form (develop into a distinctive entity)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A particular spatial arrangement
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("formation" is a kind of...):
arrangement; placement (the spatial property of the way in which something is placed)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "formation"):
raster (the rectangular formation of parallel scanning lines that guide the electron beam on a television screen or a computer monitor)
rig; rigging (formation of masts, spars, sails, etc., on a vessel)
split ((tenpin bowling) a divided formation of pins left standing after the first bowl)
Derivation:
form (give shape or form to)
form (make something, usually for a specific function)
Sense 5
Meaning:
An arrangement of people or things acting as a unit
Example:
a formation of planes
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("formation" is a kind of...):
arrangement (an orderly grouping (of things or persons) considered as a unit; the result of arranging)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "formation"):
rear (the back of a military formation or procession)
head (the front of a military formation or procession)
flank; wing (the side of military or naval formation)
center (the middle of a military or naval formation)
line (a formation of people or things one beside another)
line (a formation of people or things one behind another)
secondary (the defensive football players who line up behind the linemen)
backfield (the offensive football players who line up behind the linemen)
military formation (a formation of troops)
flight (a formation of aircraft in flight)
Derivation:
form (create (as an entity))
Sense 6
Meaning:
(geology) the geological features of the earth
Synonyms:
formation; geological formation
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)
Hypernyms ("formation" is a kind of...):
object; physical object (a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow)
Domain category:
geology (a science that deals with the history of the earth as recorded in rocks)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "formation"):
elevation; natural elevation (a raised or elevated geological formation)
oceanfront (land bordering an ocean)
chain; chain of mountains; mountain chain; mountain range; range; range of mountains (a series of hills or mountains)
relict (geological feature that is a remnant of a pre-existing formation after other parts have disappeared)
ridge; ridgeline (a long narrow range of hills)
ridge (a long narrow natural elevation on the floor of the ocean)
shore (the land along the edge of a body of water)
incline; side; slope (an elevated geological formation)
fountain; natural spring; outflow; outpouring; spring (a natural flow of ground water)
scree; talus (a sloping mass of loose rocks at the base of a cliff)
mineral vein; vein (a layer of ore between layers of rock)
crater; volcanic crater (a bowl-shaped geological formation at the top of a volcano)
wall (a vertical (or almost vertical) smooth rock face (as of a cave or mountain))
groundwater level; water level; water table (underground surface below which the ground is wholly saturated with water)
aquifer (underground bed or layer yielding ground water for wells and springs etc)
beach (an area of sand sloping down to the water of a sea or lake)
cave (a geological formation consisting of an underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea)
cliff; drop; drop-off (a steep high face of rock)
delta (a low triangular area of alluvial deposits where a river divides before entering a larger body of water)
diapir (a domed rock formation where a core of rock has moved upward and pierced through the more brittle overlying strata)
folium (a thin layer or stratum of (especially metamorphic) rock)
foreshore (the part of the seashore between the highwater mark and the low-water mark)
ice mass (a large mass of ice)
lakefront (land bordering a lake)
massif (a block of the earth's crust bounded by faults and shifted to form peaks of a mountain range)
monocline (a geological formation in which all strata are inclined in the same direction)
mouth (the point where a stream issues into a larger body of water)
depression; natural depression (a sunken or depressed geological formation)
Instance hyponyms:
Pillars of Hercules (the two promontories at the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar; according to legend they were formed by Hercules)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Natural process that causes something to form
Example:
the formation of pseudopods
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural processes
Hypernyms ("formation" is a kind of...):
action; activity; natural action; natural process (a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings))
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "formation"):
encrustation; incrustation (the formation of a crust)
reticulation ((photography) the formation of a network of cracks or wrinkles in a photographic emulsion)
Context examples:
To complicate matters further, previous observations with ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, revealed a lot of dust and gas in these early galaxies that fuelled rapid star formation.
(ESO Observations Reveal Black Holes' Breakfast at the Cosmic Dawn, ESO)
Thousands of previously uncharted mountains rising from the seafloor, called seamounts, have emerged through the map, along with new clues about the formation of the continents.
(New map uncovers thousands of unseen seamounts on ocean floor, NSF)
So if Mimas' core is oblong in shape, it likely represents a record of the moon's formation, frozen in time.
(Saturn Moon May Hide a 'Fossil' Core or an Ocean, NASA)
Michellamine B inhibits HIV reverse transcriptase (RT) activity and HIV-induced cellular fusion and syncytium formation, thereby inhibiting viral propagation.
(Michellamine B, NCI Thesaurus)
An invasive adenocarcinoma characterized by focal or extensive cartilage and/or bone formation.
(Adenocarcinoma with Cartilaginous and Osseous Metaplasia, NCI Thesaurus)
A lymphangioma characterized by the presence of collagen bundle formation.
(Acquired Progressive Lymphangioma, NCI Thesaurus)
This protein is involved in the modulation of both actin polymerization and formation of branching actin structures.
(Actin-Related Protein 2/3 Complex Subunit 1B, NCI Thesaurus)
It is characterized by the formation of purulent and painful abscesses in the mouth, lungs and gastrointestinal tract.
(Actinomycosis, NCI Thesaurus)
This gel may therefore prevent the formation of post-surgical intrauterine adhesions.
(Absorbable Adhesion Barrier Gel, NCI Thesaurus)
An abnormality in the formation or distribution of pigment, especially in the skin.
(Abnormal Pigmentation, NCI Thesaurus)
