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PILLAR
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
(architecture) a tall vertical cylindrical structure standing upright and used to support a structure
Synonyms:
column; pillar
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("pillar" is a kind of...):
upright; vertical (a vertical structural member as a post or stake)
Meronyms (parts of "pillar"):
cap; capital; chapiter (the upper part of a column that supports the entablature)
footstall; pedestal; plinth (an architectural support or base (as for a column or statue))
scape; shaft ((architecture) upright consisting of the vertical part of a column)
entasis (a slight convexity in the shaft of a column; compensates for the illusion of concavity that viewers experience when the sides are perfectly straight)
Domain category:
architecture (the discipline dealing with the principles of design and construction and ornamentation of fine buildings)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pillar"):
atlas; telamon (a figure of a man used as a supporting column)
caryatid (a supporting column carved in the shape of a person)
newel (the central pillar of a circular staircase)
pilaster (a rectangular column that usually projects about a third of its width from the wall to which it is attached)
pile; piling; spile; stilt (a column of wood or steel or concrete that is driven into the ground to provide support for a structure)
support column (a column that supports a heavy weight)
Holonyms ("pillar" is a part of...):
temple (an edifice devoted to special or exalted purposes)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A vertical cylindrical structure standing alone and not supporting anything (such as a monument)
Synonyms:
column; pillar
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("pillar" is a kind of...):
construction; structure (a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pillar"):
obelisk (a stone pillar having a rectangular cross section tapering towards a pyramidal top)
totem pole (a tribal emblem consisting of a pillar carved and painted with totemic figures; erected by Indian tribes of the northwest Pacific coast)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A fundamental principle or practice
Example:
science eroded the pillars of superstition
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("pillar" is a kind of...):
principle; rule (a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pillar"):
pillar of Islam ((Islam) one of the five religious obligations accepted by all Muslims)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A prominent supporter
Example:
he is a pillar of the community
Synonyms:
mainstay; pillar
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("pillar" is a kind of...):
admirer; booster; champion; friend; protagonist; supporter (a person who backs a politician or a team etc.)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Anything that approximates the shape of a column or tower
Example:
a thin pillar of smoke betrayed their campsite
Synonyms:
column; pillar; tower
Classified under:
Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes
Hypernyms ("pillar" is a kind of...):
form; shape (the spatial arrangement of something as distinct from its substance)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pillar"):
columella (a small column (or structure resembling a column) that is a part of a plant or animal)
hoodoo ((geology) a column of weathered and unusually shaped rock)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
Present simple (first person singular and plural, second person singular and plural, third person plural) of the verb pillar
Context examples:
It led to nothing; nothing but a view at the end over a low stone wall with high pillars, which seemed intended, in their erection, to give the appearance of an approach to the house, which never had been there.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
Roses covered the walls of the house, draped the cornices, climbed the pillars, and ran riot over the balustrade of the wide terrace, whence one looked down on the sunny Mediterranean, and the white-walled city on its shore.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
There was a main gateway of lichen-studded stone, each side pillar surmounted by mouldering heraldic emblems, but besides this central carriage drive I observed several points where there were gaps in the hedge and paths leading through them.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Jehovah was anthropomorphic because he could address himself to the Jews only in terms of their understanding; so he was conceived as in their own image, as a cloud, a pillar of fire, a tangible, physical something which the mind of the Israelites could grasp.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
From behind one pillar I could peep round quietly at the full front of the mansion.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
In the left pocket were two black pillars irregularly shaped: we could not, without difficulty, reach the top of them, as we stood at the bottom of his pocket.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
It is goal that can’t be undone, nor would you want to do so—it will be a goal worth working toward, for it will form one of the major pillars of your life.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
It got thicker and thicker, till it seemed as if it became concentrated into a sort of pillar of cloud in the room, through the top of which I could see the light of the gas shining like a red eye.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
We came at last to the wooden gate with the high stone pillars by the roadside, and, looking through between the rails, we saw the long avenue of oaks, and at the end of this ill-boding tunnel, the pale face of the house glimmered in the moonshine.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I had coasted along the lower wall of the orchard—turned its angle: there was a gate just there, opening into the meadow, between two stone pillars crowned by stone balls.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
