The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Force \Force\, n. [F. force, LL. forcia, fortia, fr. L. fortis
strong. See Fort, n.]
1. Capacity of exercising an influence or producing an
effect; strength or energy of body or mind; active power;
vigor; might; often, an unusual degree of strength or
energy; especially, power to persuade, or convince, or
impose obligation; pertinency; validity; special
signification; as, the force of an appeal, an argument, a
contract, or a term.
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He was, in the full force of the words, a good man.
--Macaulay.
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2. Power exerted against will or consent; compulsory power;
violence; coercion; as, by force of arms; to take by
force.
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Which now they hold by force, and not by right.
--Shak.
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3. Strength or power for war; hence, a body of land or naval
combatants, with their appurtenances, ready for action; --
an armament; troops; warlike array; -- often in the
plural; hence, a body of men prepared for action in other
ways; as, the laboring force of a plantation; the armed
forces.
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Is Lucius general of the forces? --Shak.
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4. (Law)
(a) Strength or power exercised without law, or contrary
to law, upon persons or things; violence.
(b) Validity; efficacy. --Burrill.
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5. (Physics) Any action between two bodies which changes, or
tends to change, their relative condition as to rest or
motion; or, more generally, which changes, or tends to
change, any physical relation between them, whether
mechanical, thermal, chemical, electrical, magnetic, or of
any other kind; as, the force of gravity; cohesive force;
centrifugal force.
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Animal force (Physiol.), muscular force or energy.
Catabiotic force [Gr. ? down (intens.) + ? life.] (Biol.),
the influence exerted by living structures on adjoining
cells, by which the latter are developed in harmony with
the primary structures.
Centrifugal force, Centripetal force, Coercive force,
etc. See under Centrifugal, Centripetal, etc.
Composition of forces, Correlation of forces, etc. See
under Composition, Correlation, etc.
Force and arms [trans. of L. vi et armis] (Law), an
expression in old indictments, signifying violence.
In force, or Of force, of unimpaired efficacy; valid; of
full virtue; not suspended or reversed. "A testament is of
force after men are dead." --Heb. ix. 17.
Metabolic force (Physiol.), the influence which causes and
controls the metabolism of the body.
No force, no matter of urgency or consequence; no account;
hence, to do no force, to make no account of; not to heed.
[Obs.] --Chaucer.
Of force, of necessity; unavoidably; imperatively. "Good
reasons must, of force, give place to better." --Shak.
Plastic force (Physiol.), the force which presumably acts
in the growth and repair of the tissues.
Vital force (Physiol.), that force or power which is
inherent in organization; that form of energy which is the
cause of the vital phenomena of the body, as distinguished
from the physical forces generally known.
Syn: Strength; vigor; might; energy; stress; vehemence;
violence; compulsion; coaction; constraint; coercion.
Usage: Force, Strength. Strength looks rather to power as
an inward capability or energy. Thus we speak of the
strength of timber, bodily strength, mental strength,
strength of emotion, etc. Force, on the other hand,
looks more to the outward; as, the force of
gravitation, force of circumstances, force of habit,
etc. We do, indeed, speak of strength of will and
force of will; but even here the former may lean
toward the internal tenacity of purpose, and the
latter toward the outward expression of it in action.
But, though the two words do in a few cases touch thus
closely on each other, there is, on the whole, a
marked distinction in our use of force and strength.
"Force is the name given, in mechanical science, to
whatever produces, or can produce, motion." --Nichol.
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Thy tears are of no force to mollify
This flinty man. --Heywood.
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More huge in strength than wise in works he was.
--Spenser.
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Adam and first matron Eve
Had ended now their orisons, and found
Strength added from above, new hope to spring
Out of despair. --Milton.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Composition \Com`po*si"tion\, n. [F. composition, fr. L.
compositio. See Composite.]
1. The act or art of composing, or forming a whole or
integral, by placing together and uniting different
things, parts, or ingredients. In specific uses:
(a) The invention or combination of the parts of any
literary work or discourse, or of a work of art; as,
the composition of a poem or a piece of music. "The
constant habit of elaborate composition." --Macaulay.
(b) (Fine Arts) The art or practice of so combining the
different parts of a work of art as to produce a
harmonious whole; also, a work of art considered as
such. See 4, below.
(c) The act of writing for practice in a language, as
English, Latin, German, etc.
(d) (Print.) The setting up of type and arranging it for
printing.
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2. The state of being put together or composed; conjunction;
combination; adjustment.
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View them in composition with other things. --I.
Watts.
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The elementary composition of bodies. --Whewell.
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3. A mass or body formed by combining two or more substances;
as, a chemical composition.
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A composition that looks . . . like marble.
--Addison.
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4. A literary, musical, or artistic production, especially
one showing study and care in arrangement; -- often used
of an elementary essay or translation done as an
educational exercise.
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5. Consistency; accord; congruity. [Obs.]
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There is no composition in these news
That gives them credit. --Shak.
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6. Mutual agreement to terms or conditions for the settlement
of a difference or controversy; also, the terms or
conditions of settlement; agreement.
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Thus we are agreed:
I crave our composition may be written. --Shak.
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7. (Law) The adjustment of a debt, or avoidance of an
obligation, by some form of compensation agreed on between
the parties; also, the sum or amount of compensation
agreed upon in the adjustment.
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Compositions for not taking the order of knighthood.
--Hallam.
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Cleared by composition with their creditors.
--Blackstone.
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8. Synthesis as opposed to analysis.
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The investigation of difficult things by the method
of analysis ought ever to precede the method of
composition. --Sir I.
Newton.
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Composition cloth, a kind of cloth covered with a
preparation making it waterproof.
Composition deed, an agreement for composition between a
debtor and several creditors.
Composition plane (Crystallog.), the plane by which the two
individuals of a twin crystal are united in their reserved
positions.
Composition of forces (Mech.), the finding of a single
force (called the resultant) which shall be equal in
effect to two or more given forces (called the components)
when acting in given directions. --Herbert.
Composition metal, an alloy resembling brass, which is
sometimes used instead of copper for sheathing vessels; --
also called Muntz metal and yellow metal.
Composition of proportion (Math.), an arrangement of four
proportionals so that the sum of the first and second is
to the second as the sum of the third and fourth to the
fourth.
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