Adjacent Words

Examination definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

EXAMINA'TION, n. [L. examinatio. See Examen.]
1. The act of examining; a careful search or inquiry, with a view to discover truth or the real state of things; careful and accurate inspection of a thing and its parts; as an examination of a house or a ship.
2. Mental inquiry; disquisition; careful consideration of the circumstances or facts which relate to a subject or question; a view of qualities and relations, and an estimate of their nature and importance.
3. Trial by a rule or law.
4. In judicial proceedings, a careful inquiry into facts by testimony; an attempt to ascertain truth by inquiries and interrogatories; as the examination of a witness or the merits of a cause.
5. In seminaries of learning, an inquiry into the acquisitions of the students, by questioning them in literature and the sciences, and by hearing their recitals.
6. In chimistry and other sciences, a searching for the nature and qualities of substances, by experiments; the practice or application of the docimastic art.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the act of examining something closely (as for mistakes) [syn: examination, scrutiny]
2: a set of questions or exercises evaluating skill or knowledge; "when the test was stolen the professor had to make a new set of questions" [syn: examination, exam, test]
3: formal systematic questioning [syn: interrogation, examination, interrogatory]
4: a detailed inspection of your conscience (as done daily by Jesuits) [syn: examen, examination]
5: the act of giving students or candidates a test (as by questions) to determine what they know or have learned [syn: examination, testing]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 14th century 1. the act or process of examining ; the state of being examined 2. an exercise designed to examine progress or test qualification or knowledge 3. a formal interrogation • examinational adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 the act or an instance of examining; the state of being examined. 2 a detailed inspection. 3 the testing of the proficiency or knowledge of students or other candidates for a qualification by oral or written questions. 4 an instance of examining or being examined medically. 5 Law the formal questioning of the accused or of a witness in court. Phrases and idioms: examination paper 1 the printed questions in an examination. 2 a candidate's set of answers. Derivatives: examinational adj. Etymology: ME f. OF f. L examinatio -onis (as EXAMINE)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Examination Ex*am`i*na"tion, n. [L. examinatio: cf. F. examination.] 1. The act of examining, or state of being examined; a careful search, investigation, or inquiry; scrutiny by study or experiment. 2. A process prescribed or assigned for testing qualification; as, the examination of a student, or of a candidate for admission to the bar or the ministry. He neglected the studies, . . . stood low at the examinations. --Macaulay. Examination in chief, or Direct examination (Law), that examination which is made of a witness by a party calling him. Cross-examination, that made by the opposite party. Re["e]xamination, or Re-direct examination, that made by a party calling a witness, after, and upon matters arising out of, the cross-examination. Syn: Search; inquiry; investigation; research; scrutiny; inquisition; inspection; exploration.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(examinations) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. An examination is a formal test that you take to show your knowledge or ability in a particular subject, or to obtain a qualification. (FORMAL) = exam N-COUNT 2. see also examine

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Inspection, observation. 2. Inquiry, search, research, scrutiny, investigation, inquisition. 3. Trial by questions (in order to elicit truth or to test qualifications), test.

Moby Thesaurus

Pap test, Socratic method, airing, analysis, anatomic diagnosis, appraisal, article, asking, assessment, assize, audition, biological diagnosis, biopsy, blue book, bringing into question, buzz session, canvassing, catechetical method, catechism, catechization, catechizing, causerie, challenge, change of venue, checkout, clinical diagnosis, colloquium, conference, consideration, contemplation, court-martial, cross-examination, cytodiagnosis, debate, debating, deliberation, descant, diagnosis, dialectic, dialogue, differential diagnosis, digital examination, discourse, discussion, dispute, disquisition, dissertation, electrocardiography, electroencephalography, electromyography, enquiry, essay, etude, exam, examen, exchange of views, excursus, exploration, exposition, eyeball inspection, feature, final, final examination, first approach, forum, going-over, great go, grilling, hearing, homily, honors, inquest, inquiring, inquiry, inquisition, inspection, interpellation, interrogation, introductory study, investigation, joint discussion, jury trial, laboratory diagnosis, logical analysis, logical discussion, lucubration, mammography, memoir, midsemester, midterm, mistrial, monograph, morceau, note, ocular inspection, open discussion, open forum, oral, oral examination, outline, overhaul, overhauling, overview, pandect, panel discussion, paper, paragraph, perlustration, perusal, physical diagnosis, physical examination, piece, postmortem diagnosis, prelim, preliminary study, probe, probing, prolegomenon, pumping, quality control, querying, questioning, quiz, quizzing, rap, rap session, research, research paper, review, run-through, scan, screed, scrutiny, search, seeking, seminar, serodiagnosis, sketch, smear, special article, study, survey, symposium, take-home examination, term paper, test, testing, the eye, theme, thesis, third degree, town meeting, tract, tractate, treatise, treatment, trial, trial by jury, tripos, urinalysis, uroscopy, ventilation, vetting, visitation, visual examination, viva, work-up, written, written examination