Adjacent Words

Magnitude definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MAG'NITUDE, n. [L. magnitudo.] Extent of dimensions or parts; bulk; size; applied to things that have length, breadth or thickness.
1. Greatness; grandeur.
With plain heroic magnitude of mind.
2. Greatness, in reference to influence or effect; importance. In affairs or magnitude, disdain not to take counsel.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the property of relative size or extent (whether large or small); "they tried to predict the magnitude of the explosion"; "about the magnitude of a small pea"
2: a number assigned to the ratio of two quantities; two quantities are of the same order of magnitude if one is less than 10 times as large as the other; the number of magnitudes that the quantities differ is specified to within a power of 10 [syn: order of magnitude, magnitude]
3: relative importance; "a problem of the first magnitude"

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin magnitudo, from magnus Date: 15th century 1. a. great size or extent b. (1) spatial quality ; size (2) quantity, number 2. the importance, quality, or caliber of something 3. a number representing the intrinsic or apparent brightness of a celestial body on a logarithmic scale in which an increase of one unit corresponds to a reduction in the brightness of light by a factor of 2.512 4. a numerical quantitative measure expressed usually as a multiple of a standard unit 5. the intensity of an earthquake represented by a number on an arbitrary scale <a magnitude six earthquake>

Britannica Concise

In astronomy, the measure of the brightness of a star or other celestial body. The brighter the object, the lower the number assigned as a magnitude. In ancient times, six magnitude classes were used, the first containing the brightest stars (see Hipparchus). In the present system, a difference of one magnitude is defined as a ratio of brightness of 2.512 times. Thus, a difference of five magnitudes corresponds to a brightness ratio of 100 to 1. Apparent magnitude is an object's brightness as seen from earth (e.g., -26.7 for the sun, about -11 for the moon). Absolute magnitude is an object's brightness as it would be seen at a distance of 10 parsecs (32.6 light-years; e.g., 4.8 for the sun). See also albedo, photometry.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 largeness. 2 size. 3 importance. 4 a the degree of brightness of a star (see also absolute magnitude, apparent magnitude). b a class of stars arranged according to this (of the third magnitude). Phrases and idioms: of the first magnitude very important. Etymology: ME f. L magnitudo f. magnus great

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Magnitude Mag"ni*tude, n. [L. magnitudo, from magnus great. See Master, and cf. Maxim.] 1. Extent of dimensions; size; -- applied to things that have length, breath, and thickness. Conceive those particles of bodies to be so disposed amongst themselves, that the intervals of empty spaces between them may be equal in magnitude to them all. --Sir I. Newton. 2. (Geom.) That which has one or more of the three dimensions, length, breadth, and thickness. 3. Anything of which greater or less can be predicated, as time, weight, force, and the like.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. If you talk about the magnitude of something, you are talking about its great size, scale, or importance. An operation of this magnitude is going to be difficult... N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp 2. You can use order of magnitude when you are giving an approximate idea of the amount or importance of something. America and Russia do not face a problem of the same order of magnitude as Japan. = scale PHRASE: order inflects

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Size, bulk, volume, extent, bigness, dimension, mass. 2. Greatness, importance, consequence. 3. Greatness, grandeur, sublimity, loftiness. 4. (Math.) Quantity.

Moby Thesaurus

Beehive, Cepheid variable, Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, Hyades, Messier catalog, NGC, Pleiades, Seven Sisters, absolute magnitude, amount, ampleness, amplitude, area, bigness, binary star, black hole, body, boundlessness, breadth, bulk, caliber, consequence, coverage, depth, diameter, dimension, dimensions, double star, dwarf star, enormity, enormousness, expanse, expansion, extension, extent, fixed star, force, formidableness, fullness, gauge, giant star, gigantism, girth, globular cluster, grandeur, grandness, gravity star, great scope, greatness, height, hugeness, immensity, import, importance, infinity, intensity, largeness, length, main sequence star, mass, mass-luminosity law, matter, measure, measurement, might, mightiness, moment, momentousness, muchness, neighborhood, neutron star, note, nova, numbers, open cluster, order, pith, plenitude, populations, power, prodigiousness, proportion, proportions, pulsar, quantity, quantum, quasar, quasi-stellar radio source, radio star, radius, range, reach, red giant star, relative magnitude, scale, scope, significance, signification, size, sky atlas, spectrum-luminosity diagram, spread, star, star catalog, star chart, star cloud, star cluster, stellar magnitude, strength, stupendousness, substance, sum, supernova, tour de force, tremendousness, tune, variable star, vastness, vicinity, volume, weight, weightiness, white dwarf star, whole, width