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REINFORCEMENT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A military operation (often involving new supplies of men and materiel) to strengthen a military force or aid in the performance of its mission
Example:
they called for artillery support
Synonyms:
reenforcement; reinforcement; support
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("reinforcement" is a kind of...):
military operation; operation (activity by a military or naval force (as a maneuver or campaign))
Domain category:
armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "reinforcement"):
close support (close-in firing by one unit against an enemy engaged by another unit)
Derivation:
reinforce (make stronger)
Sense 2
Meaning:
An act performed to strengthen approved behavior
Synonyms:
reinforcement; reward
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("reinforcement" is a kind of...):
approval; approving; blessing (the formal act of approving)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "reinforcement"):
carrot (promise of reward as in)
Derivation:
reinforce (strengthen and support with rewards)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A device designed to provide additional strength
Example:
he used gummed reinforcements to hold the page in his notebook
Synonyms:
reinforcement; strengthener
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("reinforcement" is a kind of...):
device (an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "reinforcement"):
backing; mount (something forming a back that is added for strengthening)
brace; bracing (a structural member used to stiffen a framework)
brace (a support that steadies or strengthens something else)
safety arch (an undecorated arch that is included in order to strengthen or support a construction)
Derivation:
reinforce (make stronger)
Sense 4
Meaning:
(psychology) a stimulus that strengthens or weakens the behavior that produced it
Synonyms:
reinforcement; reinforcer; reinforcing stimulus
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("reinforcement" is a kind of...):
input; stimulant; stimulation; stimulus (any stimulating information or event; acts to arouse action)
Domain category:
psychological science; psychology (the science of mental life)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "reinforcement"):
positive reinforcer; positive reinforcing stimulus (a reinforcing stimulus that serves to increase the likelihood of the response that produces it)
negative reinforcer; negative reinforcing stimulus (a reinforcing stimulus whose removal serves to decrease the likelihood of the response that produced it)
Derivation:
reinforce (strengthen and support with rewards)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Information that makes more forcible or convincing
Example:
his gestures provided eloquent reinforcement for his complaints
Synonyms:
reenforcement; reinforcement
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("reinforcement" is a kind of...):
confirmation (information that confirms or verifies)
