[syn: enforce, implement, apply]
9. refer (a word or name) to a person or thing;
- Example: "He applied this racial slur to me!"
10. apply oneself to;
- Example: "Please apply yourself to your homework"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Apply \Ap*ply"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Applied; p. pr. & vb. n.
Applying.] [OF. aplier, F. appliquer, fr. L. applicare to
join, fix, or attach to; ad + plicare to fold, to twist
together. See Applicant, Ply.]
1. To lay or place; to put or adjust (one thing to another);
-- with to; as, to apply the hand to the breast; to apply
medicaments to a diseased part of the body.
[1913 Webster]
He said, and the sword his throat applied. --Dryden.
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2. To put to use; to use or employ for a particular purpose,
or in a particular case; to appropriate; to devote; as, to
apply money to the payment of a debt.
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3. To make use of, declare, or pronounce, as suitable,
fitting, or relative; as, to apply the testimony to the
case; to apply an epithet to a person.
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Yet God at last
To Satan, first in sin, his doom applied. --Milton.
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4. To fix closely; to engage and employ diligently, or with
attention; to attach; to incline.
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Apply thine heart unto instruction. --Prov. xxiii.
12.
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5. To direct or address. [R.]
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Sacred vows . . . applied to grisly Pluto. --Pope.
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6. To betake; to address; to refer; -- used reflexively.
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I applied myself to him for help. --Johnson.
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7. To busy; to keep at work; to ply. [Obs.]
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She was skillful in applying his "humors." --Sir P.
Sidney.
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8. To visit. [Obs.]
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And he applied each place so fast. --Chapman.
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Applied chemistry. See under Chemistry.
Applied mathematics. See under Mathematics.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Apply \Ap*ply"\, v. i.
1. To suit; to agree; to have some connection, agreement, or
analogy; as, this argument applies well to the case.
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2. To make request; to have recourse with a view to gain
something; to make application. (to); to solicit; as, to
apply to a friend for information.
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3. To ply; to move. [R.]
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I heard the sound of an oar applying swiftly through
the water. --T. Moore.
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4. To apply or address one's self; to give application; to
attend closely (to).
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
apply
v 1: put into service; make work or employ for a particular
purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose; "use your
head!"; "we only use Spanish at home"; "I can't use this
tool"; "Apply a magnetic field here"; "This thinking was
applied to many projects"; "How do you utilize this tool?";
"I apply this rule to get good results"; "use the plastic
bags to store the food"; "He doesn't know how to use a
computer" [syn: use, utilize, utilise, apply,
employ]
2: be pertinent or relevant or applicable; "The same laws apply
to you!"; "This theory holds for all irrational numbers";
"The same rules go for everyone" [syn: apply, hold, go
for]
3: ask (for something); "He applied for a leave of absence";
"She applied for college"; "apply for a job"
4: apply to a surface; "She applied paint to the back of the
house"; "Put on make-up!" [syn: put on, apply]
5: be applicable to; as to an analysis; "This theory lends
itself well to our new data" [syn: lend oneself, apply]
[ant: defy, refuse, resist]
6: give or convey physically; "She gave him First Aid"; "I gave
him a punch in the nose" [syn: give, apply]
7: avail oneself to; "apply a principle"; "practice a religion";
"use care when going down the stairs"; "use your common
sense"; "practice non-violent resistance" [syn: practice,
apply, use]
8: ensure observance of laws and rules; "Apply the rules to
everyone"; [syn: enforce, implement, apply] [ant:
exempt, free, relieve]
9: refer (a word or name) to a person or thing; "He applied this
racial slur to me!"
10: apply oneself to; "Please apply yourself to your homework"
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
193 Moby Thesaurus words for "apply":
accouter, accredit, address, administer, affix, allot, ally,
appeal, appertain, apply for, apply to, appoint, appropriate,
ascribe, ask, ask for, assign, associate, attach, attend,
attribute, audition, authorize, bear, beg, beg leave, bend,
beseech, bespeak, bestow, bid, bind, blanket, block, bracket,
buckle down, call for, call on, call upon, canopy, carry out,
cement, circulate a petition, cloak, clothe, cloud, commission,
commit, concentrate, connect, cope, correlate, couple, cover,
cover up, cowl, crave, credit, curtain, dedicate, demand, desire,
devote, direct, do, dose, dose with, draw a parallel, dress up,
drudge, eclipse, embellish, embrocate, employ, enforce,
enforce upon, enrich, entreat, equate, equip, exercise, exploit,
fasten, file for, film, finger, fit out, fix, focus, force,
force upon, furbish, garnish, gear, give, glue, go, go after,
grind, handle, hood, identify, implore, importune, impute, indent,
interrelate, interview, lay on, lay over, link, make,
make a request, make a requisition, make application, mantle, mask,
memorialize, mete out to, muffle, name, nominate, obduce, obscure,
occult, order, outfit, overlay, overspread, parallel, parallelize,
pay attention, pertain, petition, place, pray, prefer a petition,
prescribe for, press, put, put in, put in for, put in force,
put in practice, put into execution, put on, put to use, put upon,
recur, refer, register, relate, relativize, repair, request,
requisition, rig, rub in, rub on, run, screen, scum, seek,
set about, set off, shield, sign a petition, solicit, spread over,
spruce up, stick, sue, suit, superimpose, superpose, supplicate,
take on, tap, tend, throw, tie, toil, try out, turn, turn out,
undertake, urge, use, utilize, veil, wed, whistle for, wish