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INSTITUTION
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of starting something for the first time; introducing something new
Example:
the foundation of a new scientific society
Synonyms:
creation; foundation; founding; initiation; innovation; instauration; institution; introduction; origination
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("institution" is a kind of...):
beginning; commencement; start (the act of starting something)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "institution"):
authorship; paternity (the act of initiating a new idea or theory or writing)
Derivation:
institute (set up or lay the groundwork for)
institutionalise (cause to be admitted; of persons to an institution)
Sense 2
Meaning:
An establishment consisting of a building or complex of buildings where an organization for the promotion of some cause is situated
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("institution" is a kind of...):
establishment (a public or private structure (business or governmental or educational) including buildings and equipment for business or residence)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "institution"):
home; nursing home; rest home (an institution where people are cared for)
orphanage; orphans' asylum (a public institution for the care of orphans)
penal facility; penal institution (an institution where persons are confined for punishment and to protect the public)
Derivation:
institutional (relating to or constituting or involving an institution)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A hospital for mentally incompetent or unbalanced person
Synonyms:
asylum; insane asylum; institution; mental home; mental hospital; mental institution; psychiatric hospital
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("institution" is a kind of...):
hospital; infirmary (a health facility where patients receive treatment)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "institution"):
Bedlam; booby hatch; crazy house; cuckoo's nest; funny farm; funny house; loony bin; madhouse; nut house; nuthouse; sanatorium; snake pit (pejorative terms for an insane asylum)
Derivation:
institutional (relating to or constituting or involving an institution)
institutionalise; institutionalize (cause to be admitted; of persons to an institution)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A custom that for a long time has been an important feature of some group or society
Example:
he had become an institution in the theater
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("institution" is a kind of...):
custom; tradition (a specific practice of long standing)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "institution"):
levirate (the biblical institution whereby a man must marry the widow of his childless brother in order to maintain the brother's line)
Sense 5
Meaning:
An organization founded and united for a specific purpose
Synonyms:
establishment; institution
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("institution" is a kind of...):
organisation; organization (a group of people who work together)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "institution"):
medical institution (an institution created for the practice of medicine)
financial institution; financial organisation; financial organization (an institution (public or private) that collects funds (from the public or other institutions) and invests them in financial assets)
issuer (an institution that issues something (securities or publications or currency etc.))
charity (an institution set up to provide help to the needy)
company (an institution created to conduct business)
faith; organized religion; religion (an institution to express belief in a divine power)
vicariate; vicarship (the religious institution under the authority of a vicar)
educational institution (an institution dedicated to education)
academy; honorary society (an institution for the advancement of art or science or literature)
Derivation:
institutional (organized as or forming an institution)
institutional (relating to or constituting or involving an institution)
Context examples:
The term may also refer to the institution (clinic) providing this activity.
(Clinical, NCI Thesaurus)
Taking a folic acid supplement daily before pregnancy may reduce the risk of gestational, or pregnancy-related, diabetes, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
(Daily folic acid supplement may reduce risk of gestational diabetes, National Institutes of Health)
Comprised of nine academic and public institutions and private organizations.
(Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium, NCI Thesaurus)
I had never heard of the institution, and my face must have proclaimed as much, for Sherlock Holmes pulled out his watch.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The Press, Watson, is a most valuable institution, if you only know how to use it.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Neurons absorb and release water when they relay messages throughout the brain, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
(Neurons absorb and release water when firing, National Institutes of Health)
To be associated with; this is usually used as a description of the relationship of a person to an institution.
(Affiliated, NCI Thesaurus)
So much so that institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) have recommended a reduction in the consumption of these free sugars.
(Not enough scientific evidence linking noncaloric sweeteners with adverse effects on gut microbiota, University of Granada)
The republican institutions of our country have produced simpler and happier manners than those which prevail in the great monarchies that surround it.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
Indicates the person, group, or institution who carried out the action.
(Performed By, NCI Thesaurus)
