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Definition: Terms
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A definition may either give the meaning that a term bears in general use (a descriptive definition), or that which the speaker intends to impose upon it for the purpose of his or her discourse (a stipulative definition). Stipulative definitions differ from descriptive definitions in that they prescribe a new meaning either to a term already in use or to a new term. A descriptive definition can be shown to be right or wrong by comparison to usage, while a stipulative definition cannot. A stipulative definition... may be more or less useful. A kind of often useful stipulative definitions are precising definitions.
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Any of the rhetorical strategies discussed in this section may be helpful in writing an expanded definition. For example, you may clarify a term by describing it, giving examples, telling a story, or explaining its causes or effects. In addition, you may ... be able to define by negation, that is, by telling what your term is not. Defining by nation may be especially helpful as a starting point because it allows you to distinguish your term from other similar terms and therefore eliminates confusion.
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There is a presumption in the classic example of a definition that the definiens can be stated. Wittgenstein argued that for some terms this is not the case.[21] The examples he used include game, number and family. In such cases, he argued, there is no fixed boundary that can be used to provide a definition. Rather, the items are grouped together because of a family resemblance. For terms such as these it is not possible and indeed not necessary to state a definition; rather, one simply comes to understand the use of the term.
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Many common religious terms lack a generally accepted, single, current definition. This leads to confusion over the meanings of certain religious terms, such as Christian, cult hell, heaven, occult, Paganism, salvation, Witch, Witchcraft, Unitarian, Universalist, Voodoo, etc. A reader must often look at the context in which the word is used in order to guess at the intent of the writer.
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As to some peculiarities of a definition essay, a term can be described in several ways. First of all, you can write about its function and define the meaning of the term through something it does. Definition essays ... recognize interpretation through structure, or in other words through the way something is organized. Finally, your evaluation essay can be strictly a logical analysis, where all sides are compared to find out the answer.
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Ask yourself whether your definition will be clear to readers who are unfamiliar with the term and are depending on you to help them understand. Never use a form of te word you are defining in your definition: To say that "fibrinolysis is the breakdown of fibrin by the action of fibrinolysin" is not helpful. Never use terms more complicated than the term you are defining: To define the femur as "the proximal bone of the lower or hind leg in vertebrates" is less helpful than calling it the thigh bone.
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