Adjacent Words

Content definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CONTENT, a. [L., to be held; to hold.] Literally, held, contained within limits; hence, quiet; not disturbed; having a mind at peace; easy; satisfied, so as not to repine, object, or oppose.
Content with science in the vale of peace.
Having food and raiment, let us be therewith content. 1 Timothy 6.
CONTENT, v.t.
1. To satisfy the mind; to make quiet, so as to stop complaint or opposition; to appease; to make easy in any situation; used chiefly with the reciprocal pronoun.
Do not content yourselves with obscure and confused ideas, where clearer are to be obtained.
Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas. Mark 15.
2. To please or gratify.
It doth much content me, to hear him so inclined.
CONTENT, n.
1. Rest or quietness of the mind in the present condition; satisfaction which holds the mind in peace, restraining complaint, opposition, or further desire, and often implying a moderate degree of happiness.
A wise content his even soul securd; By want not shaken, nor by wealth allurd.
2. Acquiescence; satisfaction without examination.
The style is excellent; the sense they humbly take upon content.
3. The term used in the House of Lords in England, to express an assent to a bill or motion.
CONTENT, n.
1. Often in the plural, contents. That which is contained; the thing or things held, included or comprehended within a limit or line; as the contents of a cask or bale; of a room or a ship; the contents of a book or writing.
2. In geometry, the area or quantity of matter or space included in certain lines.
3. The power of containing; capacity; extent within limits; as a ship of great content.
[But in this sense the plural is generally used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: satisfied or showing satisfaction with things as they are; "a contented smile" [syn: contented, content] [ant: discontent, discontented] n
1: everything that is included in a collection and that is held or included in something; "he emptied the contents of his pockets"; "the two groups were similar in content"
2: what a communication that is about something is about [syn: message, content, subject matter, substance]
3: the proportion of a substance that is contained in a mixture or alloy etc.
4: the amount that can be contained; "the gas tank has a capacity of 12 gallons" [syn: capacity, content]
5: the sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned [syn: content, cognitive content, mental object]
6: the state of being contented with your situation in life; "he relaxed in sleepy contentedness"; "they could read to their heart's content" [syn: contentedness, content]
7: something (a person or object or scene) selected by an artist or photographer for graphic representation; "a moving picture of a train is more dramatic than a still picture of the same subject" [syn: subject, content, depicted object] v
1: satisfy in a limited way; "He contented himself with one glass of beer per day"
2: make content; "I am contented" [ant: discontent]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin contentus, from past participle of contin?re to hold in, contain — more at contain Date: 15th century contented, satisfied <was content with her life as it was> II. transitive verb Date: 15th century 1. to appease the desires of 2. to limit (oneself) in requirements, desires, or actions III. noun Date: 1579 contentment <ate to his heart's content> IV. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Latin contentus, past participle of contin?re to contain Date: 15th century 1. a. something contained — usually used in plural <the jar's contents> <the drawer's contents> b. the topics or matter treated in a written work <table of contents> c. the principal substance (as written matter, illustrations, or music) offered by a World Wide Web site <Internet users have evolved an ethos of free content in the Internet — Ben Gerson> 2. a. substance, gist b. meaning, significance c. the events, physical detail, and information in a work of art — compare form 10b 3. a. the matter dealt with in a field of study b. a part, element, or complex of parts 4. the amount of specified material contained ; proportion

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. adj., v., & n. --predic.adj. 1 satisfied; adequately happy; in agreement. 2 (foll. by to + infin.) willing. --v.tr. make content; satisfy. --n. a contented state; satisfaction. Phrases and idioms: to one's heart's content to the full extent of one's desires. Etymology: ME f. OF f. L contentus satisfied, past part. of continere (as contain) 2. n. 1 (usu. in pl.) what is contained in something, esp. in a vessel, book, or house. 2 the amount of a constituent contained (low sodium content). 3 the substance or material dealt with (in a speech, work of art, etc.) as distinct from its form or style. 4 the capacity or volume of a thing. Etymology: ME f. med.L contentum (as contain)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Content Con*tent", n. 1. Rest or quietness of the mind in one's present condition; freedom from discontent; satisfaction; contentment; moderate happiness. Such is the fullness of my heart's content. --Shak. 2. Acquiescence without examination. [Obs.] The sense they humbly take upon content. --Pope. 3. That which contents or satisfies; that which if attained would make one happy. So will I in England work your grace's full content. --Shak. 4. (Eng. House of Lords) An expression of assent to a bill or motion; an affirmative vote; also, a member who votes ``Content.''. Supposing the number of ``Contents'' and ``Not contents'' strictly equal in number and consequence. --Burke.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Content Con*tent" (k[o^]n*t[e^]nt"), a. [F. content, fr. L. contentus, p. p. of contenire to hold together, restrain. See Contain.] Contained within limits; hence, having the desires limited by that which one has; not disposed to repine or grumble; satisfied; contented; at rest. Having food and rai ment, let us be therewith content. --1 Tim. vi. 8.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Content Con"tent (k[o^]n"t[e^]nt or k[o^]n*t[e^]nt"; 277), n.; usually in pl., Contents. 1. That which is contained; the thing or things held by a receptacle or included within specified limits; as, the contents of a cask or bale or of a room; the contents of a book. I shall prove these writings . . . authentic, and the contents true, and worthy of a divine original. --Grew. 2. Power of containing; capacity; extent; size. [Obs.] Strong ship's, of great content. --Bacon. 3. (Geom.) Area or quantity of space or matter contained within certain limits; as, solid contents; superficial contents. The geometrical content, figure, and situation of all the lands of a kingdom. --Graunt. Table of contents, or Contents, a table or list of topics in a book, showing their order and the place where they may be found: a summary.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Content Con*tent", v. t. [F. contenter, LL. contentare, fr. L. contentus, p. p. See Content, a.] 1. To satisfy the desires of; to make easy in any situation; to appease or quiet; to gratify; to please. Do not content yourselves with obscure and confused ideas, where clearer are to be attained. --I. Watts. Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them. --Mark xv. 15. 2. To satisfy the expectations of; to pay; to requite. Come the next Sabbath, and I will content you. --Shak. Syn: To satisfy; appease; plese. See Satiate.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

I. NOUN USES (contents) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. The contents of a container such as a bottle, box, or room are the things that are inside it. Empty the contents of the pan into the sieve... Sandon Hall and its contents will be auctioned by Sotheby's on October 6. N-PLURAL: usu with supp, oft N of n 2. If you refer to the content or contents of something such as a book, speech, or television programme, you are referring to the subject that it deals with, the story that it tells, or the ideas that it expresses. She is reluctant to discuss the content of the play... The letter's contents were not disclosed. N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl, usu N of n 3. The contents of a book are its different chapters and sections, usually shown in a list at the beginning of the book. There is no initial list of contents. N-PLURAL 4. The content of something such as an educational course or a programme of action is the elements that it consists of. Previous students have had nothing but praise for the course content and staff... N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp, oft N of n 5. You can use content to refer to the amount or proportion of something that a substance contains. Sunflower margarine has the same fat content as butter... N-SING: n N II. ADJECTIVE AND VERB USES (contents, contenting, contented) Please look at category 4 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword. 1. If you are content with something, you are willing to accept it, rather than wanting something more or something better. I'm perfectly content with the way the campaign has gone... Not content with rescuing one theatre, Sally Green has taken on another. ADJ: v-link ADJ, ADJ to-inf, ADJ with n/-ing 2. If you are content, you are fairly happy or satisfied. He says his daughter is quite content. ADJ: v-link ADJ 3. If you content yourself with something, you accept it and do not try to do or have other things. He wisely contented himself with his family and his love of nature... Most manufacturers content themselves with updating existing models. VERB: V pron-refl with n, V pron-refl with/by -ing 4. to your heart's content: see heart

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. Satisfied, contented, easy in mind. II. v. a. Satisfy, appease, make easy, make contented. III. n. Satisfaction, ease, contentment, peace.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

The cull's content; the man is past complaining: a saying of a person murdered for resisting the robbers. Cant.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A thick liquor, in imitation of chocolate, made of milk and gingerbread.

Moby Thesaurus

acceptance, accepting, accommodation, accordant, achieve inner harmony, acquiescent, acquiescing, affirmative, agreeable, agreed, agreeing, alacritous, amenable, amusement, animal pleasure, appease, approving, ardent, assentatious, assenting, at ease, bewitch, bodily pleasure, burden, capacity, captivate, carnal delight, census, charm, charmed, cheer, cheerful, comfort, comfortable, compliable, compliant, components, composed, composition, composure, conceding, concessive, consentient, consenting, constituents, contented, contentedness, contentment, contents, cooperative, cordage, coziness, cozy, creature comforts, delight, delighted, disposed, divisions, docile, eager, ease, easy, easygoing, elements, endorsing, endpleasure, enjoyment, enrapture, entertainment, enthusiastic, entire satisfaction, essence, eupeptic, euphoria, euphoric, exhilarated, fain, favorable, favorably disposed, favorably impressed with, favorably inclined, felicity, forepleasure, forward, fruition, fulfilled, fulfillment, fun, game, glad, gladden, gladsome, gratification, gratified, gratify, great satisfaction, gusto, guts, happiness, happy, hearty enjoyment, import, in clover, in the mind, in the mood, inclined, index, ingredients, innards, insides, intellectual pleasure, intrigued, inventory, items, joie de vivre, keen pleasure, kicks, limit, list, load, luxury, measure, minded, nothing loath, of good comfort, part, parts, peace, peace of mind, peacefulness, permissive, physical pleasure, please, pleased, pleased as Punch, pleased with, pleasure, pliant, poundage, predisposed, prompt, prone, purport, put at ease, quantity, quick, quiet pleasure, ratifying, ready, ready and willing, receptive, reconciled, reconcilement, reconciliation, relish, resignation, resigned, responsive, room, sanctioning, sans souci, satisfaction, satisfied, satisfy, self-gratification, self-indulgence, sensual pleasure, sensuous pleasure, serenity, set at ease, sexual pleasure, significance, size, sold on, soothe, space, stowage, submissive, substance, sweetness of life, taken with, text, theme, thesis, thrill, thrilled, tickle, tickled, tickled pink, tickled to death, titillation, tonnage, topic, tractable, tranquillity, uncomplaining, ungrudging, unloath, unrefusing, unreluctant, unrepining, volume, voluptuousness, well-being, well-disposed, well-inclined, whole, willed, willing, willinghearted, without care, zealous, zest