Adjacent Words

State definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

STATE, n. [L., to stand, to be fixed.]
1. Condition; the circumstances of a being or thing at any given time. These circumstances may be internal, constitutional or peculiar to the being, or they may have relation to other beings. We say, the body is in a sound state, or it is in a weak state; or it has just recovered from a feeble state. The state of his health is good. The state of his mind is favorable for study. So we say, the state of public affairs calls for the exercise of talents and wisdom. In regard to foreign nations, our affairs are in a good state. So we say, single state, and married state.
Declare the past and present state of things.
2. Modification of any thing.
Keep the state of the question in your eye.
3. Crisis; stationary point; highth; point from which the next movement is regression.
Tumors have their several degrees and times, as beginning, augment, state and declination. [Not in use.]
4. Estate; possession. [See Estate.]
5. A political body, or body politic; the whole body of people united under one government, whatever may be the form of the government.
Municipal law is a rule of conduct prescribed by the supreme power in a state.
More usually the word signifies a political body governed by representatives; a commonwealth; as the States of Greece; the States of America. In this sense, state has sometimes more immediate reference to the government, sometimes to the people or community. Thus when we say, the state has made provision for the paupers, the word has reference to the government or legislature; but when we say, the state is taxed to support paupers, the word refers to the whole people or community.
6. A body of men united by profession, or constituting a community of a particular character; as the civil and ecclesiastical states in Great Britain. But these are sometimes distinguished by the terms church and state. In this case, state signifies the civil community or government only.
7. Rank; condition; quality; as the state of honor.
8. Pomp; appearance of greatness.
In state the monarchs marchd.
Where least of state, there most of love is shown.
9. Dignity; grandeur.
She instructed him how he should keep state, yet with a modest sense of his misfortunes.
10. A seat of dignity.
This chair shall be my state.
11. A canopy; a covering of dignity.
His high throne, under state of richest texture spread-- [Unusual.]
12. A person of high rank. [Not in use.]
13. The principal persons in a government.
The bold design pleasd highly those infernal states.
14. The bodies that constitute the legislature of a country; as the states general.
15. Joined with another word, it denotes public, or what belongs to the community or body politic; as state affairs; state policy.
STATE, v.t.
1. To set; to settle. [See Stated.]
2. To express the particulars of any thing verbally; to represent fully in words; to narrate; to recite. The witnesses stated all the circumstances of the transaction. They are enjoined to state all the particulars. It is the business of the advocate to state the whole case. Let the question be fairly stated.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation; "his state is in the deep south" [syn: state, province]
2: the way something is with respect to its main attributes; "the current state of knowledge"; "his state of health"; "in a weak financial state"
3: the group of people comprising the government of a sovereign state; "the state has lowered its income tax"
4: a politically organized body of people under a single government; "the state has elected a new president"; "African nations"; "students who had come to the nation's capitol"; "the country's largest manufacturer"; "an industrialized land" [syn: state, nation, country, land, commonwealth, res publica, body politic]
5: (chemistry) the three traditional states of matter are solids (fixed shape and volume) and liquids (fixed volume and shaped by the container) and gases (filling the container); "the solid state of water is called ice" [syn: state of matter, state]
6: a state of depression or agitation; "he was in such a state you just couldn't reason with him"
7: the territory occupied by a nation; "he returned to the land of his birth"; "he visited several European countries" [syn: country, state, land]
8: the federal department in the United States that sets and maintains foreign policies; "the Department of State was created in 1789" [syn: Department of State, United States Department of State, State Department, State, DoS] v
1: express in words; "He said that he wanted to marry her"; "tell me what is bothering you"; "state your opinion"; "state your name" [syn: state, say, tell]
2: put before; "I submit to you that the accused is guilty" [syn: submit, state, put forward, posit]
3: indicate through a symbol, formula, etc.; "Can you express this distance in kilometers?" [syn: express, state]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English stat, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French estat, from Latin status, from stare to stand — more at stand Date: 13th century 1. a. mode or condition of being <a state of readiness> b. (1) condition of mind or temperament <in a highly nervous state> (2) a condition of abnormal tension or excitement 2. a. a condition or stage in the physical being of something <insects in the larval state> <the gaseous state of water> b. any of various conditions characterized by definite quantities (as of energy, angular momentum, or magnetic moment) in which an atomic system may exist 3. a. social position; especially high rank b. (1) elaborate or luxurious style of living (2) formal dignity ; pomp — usually used with in 4. a. a body of persons constituting a special class in a society ; estate 3 b. plural the members or representatives of the governing classes assembled in a legislative body c. obsolete a person of high rank (as a noble) 5. a. a politically organized body of people usually occupying a definite territory; especially one that is sovereign b. the political organization of such a body of people c. a government or politically organized society having a particular character <a police state> <the welfare state> 6. the operations or concerns of the government of a country 7. a. one of the constituent units of a nation having a federal government <the fifty states> b. plural, capitalized The United States of America 8. the territory of a state II. transitive verb (stated; stating) Date: 1579 1. to set by regulation or authority 2. to express the particulars of especially in words ; report; broadly to express in words • statable or stateable adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 the existing condition or position of a person or thing (in a bad state of repair; in a precarious state of health). 2 colloq. a an excited, anxious, or agitated mental condition (esp. in a state). b an untidy condition. 3 (usu. State) a an organized political community under one government; a commonwealth; a nation. b such a community forming part of a federal republic, esp. the United States of America. 4 (usu. State) (attrib.) a of, for, or concerned with the State (State documents). b reserved for or done on occasions of ceremony (State apartments; State visit). c involving ceremony (State opening of Parliament). 5 (usu. State) civil government (Church and State; Secretary of State). 6 pomp, rank, dignity (as befits their state). 7 (the States) the legislative body in Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney. 8 Bibliog. one of two or more variant forms of a single edition of a book. 9 a an etched or engraved plate at a particular stage of its progress. b an impression taken from this. --v.tr. 1 express, esp. fully or clearly, in speech or writing (have stated my opinion; must state full particulars). 2 fix, specify (at stated intervals). 3 Law specify the facts of (a case) for consideration. 4 Mus. play (a theme etc.) so as to make it known to the listener. Phrases and idioms: in state with all due ceremony. of State concerning politics or government. State capitalism a system of State control and use of capital. State Department (in the US) the department of foreign affairs. State-house US the building where the legislature of a State meets. State house NZ a private house built at the government's expense. state of the art 1 the current stage of development of a practical or technological subject. 2 (usu. state-of-the-art) (attrib.) using the latest techniques or equipment ( state-of-the-art weaponry). state of grace the condition of being free from grave sin. state of life rank and occupation. state of things (or affairs or play) the circumstances; the current situation. state of war the situation when war has been declared or is in progress. State prisoner see PRISONER. State school a school managed and funded by the public authorities. State's evidence see EVIDENCE. States General hist. the legislative body in the Netherlands, and in France before 1789. State socialism a system of State control of industries and services. States' rights US the rights and powers not assumed by the United States but reserved to its individual States. State trial prosecution by the State. State university US a university managed by the public authorities of a State. Derivatives: statable adj. statedly adv. statehood n. Etymology: ME: partly f. ESTATE, partly f. L STATUS

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

State State, n. [OE. stat, OF. estat, F. ['e]tat, fr. L. status a standing, position, fr. stare, statum, to stand. See Stand, and cf. Estate, Status.] 1. The circumstances or condition of a being or thing at any given time. State is a term nearly synonymous with ``mode,'' but of a meaning more extensive, and is not exclusively limited to the mutable and contingent. --Sir W. Hamilton. Declare the past and present state of things. --Dryden. Keep the state of the question in your eye. --Boyle. 2. Rank; condition; quality; as, the state of honor. Thy honor, state, and seat is due to me. --Shak. 3. Condition of prosperity or grandeur; wealthy or prosperous circumstances; social importance. She instructed him how he should keep state, and yet with a modest sense of his misfortunes. --Bacon. Can this imperious lord forget to reign, Quit all his state, descend, and serve again? --Pope. 4. Appearance of grandeur or dignity; pomp. Where least og state there most of love is shown. --Dryden. 5. A chair with a canopy above it, often standing on a dais; a seat of dignity; also, the canopy itself. [Obs.] His high throne, . . . under state Of richest texture spread. --Milton. When he went to court, he used to kick away the state, and sit down by his prince cheek by jowl. --Swift. 6. Estate, possession. [Obs.] --Daniel. Your state, my lord, again in yours. --Massinger. 7. A person of high rank. [Obs.] --Latimer. 8. Any body of men united by profession, or constituting a community of a particular character; as, the civil and ecclesiastical states, or the lords spiritual and temporal and the commons, in Great Britain. Cf. Estate, n., 6. 9. The principal persons in a government. The bold design Pleased highly those infernal states. --Milton. 10. The bodies that constitute the legislature of a country; as, the States-general of Holland. 11. A form of government which is not monarchial, as a republic. [Obs.] Well monarchies may own religion's name, But states are atheists in their very fame. --Dryden. 12. A political body, or body politic; the whole body of people who are united one government, whatever may be the form of the government; a nation. Municipal law is a rule of conduct prescribed by the supreme power in a state. --Blackstone. The Puritans in the reign of Mary, driven from their homes, sought an asylum in Geneva, where they found a state without a king, and a church without a bishop. --R. Choate. 13. In the United States, one of the commonwealth, or bodies politic, the people of which make up the body of the nation, and which, under the national constitution, stands in certain specified relations with the national government, and are invested, as commonwealth, with full power in their several spheres over all matters not expressly inhibited. Note: The term State, in its technical sense, is used in distinction from the federal system, i. e., the government of the United States. 14. Highest and stationary condition, as that of maturity between growth and decline, or as that of crisis between the increase and the abating of a disease; height; acme. [Obs.] Note: When state is joined with another word, or used adjectively, it denotes public, or what belongs to the community or body politic, or to the government; also, what belongs to the States severally in the American Union; as, state affairs; state policy; State laws of Iowa. Nascent state. (Chem.) See under Nascent. Secretary of state. See Secretary, n., 3. State bargea royal barge, or a barge belonging to a government. State bed, an elaborately carved or decorated bed. State carriage, a highly decorated carriage for officials going in state, or taking part in public processions. State paper, an official paper relating to the interests or government of a state. --Jay. State prison, a public prison or penitentiary; -- called also State's prison. State prisoner, one is confinement, or under arrest, for a political offense. State rights, or States' rights, the rights of the several independent States, as distinguished from the rights of the Federal government. It has been a question as to what rights have been vested in the general government. [U.S.] State's evidence. See Probator, 2, and under Evidence. State sword, a sword used on state occasions, being borne before a sovereign by an attendant of high rank. State trial, a trial of a person for a political offense. States of the Church. See under Ecclesiastical. Syn: State, Situation, Condition. Usage: State is the generic term, and denotes in general the mode in which a thing stands or exists. The situation of a thing is its state in reference to external objects and influences; its condition is its internal state, or what it is in itself considered. Our situation is good or bad as outward things bear favorably or unfavorably upon us; our condition is good or bad according to the state we are actually in as respects our persons, families, property, and other things which comprise our sources of enjoyment. I do not, brother, Infer as if I thought my sister's state Secure without all doubt or controversy. --Milton. We hoped to enjoy with ease what, in our situation, might be called the luxuries of life. --Cock. And, O, what man's condition can be worse Than his whom plenty starves and blessings curse? --Cowley.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

State State, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stated; p. pr. & vb. n. Stating.] 1. To set; to settle; to establish. [R.] I myself, though meanest stated, And in court now almost hated. --Wither. Who calls the council, states the certain day. --Pope. 2. To express the particulars of; to set down in detail or in gross; to represent fully in words; to narrate; to recite; as, to state the facts of a case, one's opinion, etc. To state it. To assume state or dignity. [Obs.] ``Rarely dressed up, and taught to state it.'' --Beau. & Fl.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

State State, n. A statement; also, a document containing a statement. [R.] --Sir W. Scott.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

State State, a. 1. Stately. [Obs.] --Spenser. 2. Belonging to the state, or body politic; public.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Argillaceous Ar`gil*la"ceous, a. [L. argillaceus, fr. argilla.] Of the nature of clay; consisting of, or containing, argil or clay; clayey. Argillaceous sandstone (Geol.), a sandstone containing much clay. Argillaceous iron ore, the clay ironstone. Argillaceous schist or state. See Argillite.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Construct Con"struct, a. Formed by, or relating to, construction, interpretation, or inference. Construct form or state (Heb. Gram.), that of a noun used before another which has the genitive relation to it.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(states, stating, stated) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. You can refer to countries as states, particularly when you are discussing politics. Some weeks ago I recommended to EU member states that we should have discussions with the Americans. N-COUNT 2. Some large countries such as the USA are divided into smaller areas called states. Leaders of the Southern states are meeting in Louisville. N-COUNT 3. The USA is sometimes referred to as the States. (INFORMAL) N-PROPER: the N 4. You can refer to the government of a country as the state. The state does not collect enough revenue to cover its expenditure... N-SING: the N 5. State industries or organizations are financed and organized by the government rather than private companies. ...reform of the state social-security system. see state school ADJ: ADJ n 6. A state occasion is a formal one involving the head of a country. The president of Czechoslovakia is in Washington on a state visit. ADJ: ADJ n 7. When you talk about the state of someone or something, you are referring to the condition they are in or what they are like at a particular time. For the first few months after Daniel died, I was in a state of clinical depression... Look at the state of my car! N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp 8. If you state something, you say or write it in a formal or definite way. Clearly state your address and telephone number... The police report stated that he was arrested for allegedly assaulting his wife... 'Our relationship is totally platonic,' she stated... Buyers who do not apply within the stated period can lose their deposits. VERB: V n, V that, V with quote, V-ed 9. see also head of state, nation state, police state, welfare state 10. If you say that someone is not in a fit state to do something, you mean that they are too upset or ill to do it. When you left our place, you weren't in a fit state to drive. PHRASE: V inflects, PHR to-inf 11. If you are in a state or if you get into a state, you are very upset or nervous about something. I was in a terrible state because nobody could understand why I had this illness... PHRASE: v-link PHR 12. If the dead body of an important person lies in state, it is publicly displayed for a few days before it is buried. PHRASE: V inflects

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Condition, situation, position, plight, predicament, pass, case, category. 2. Rank, condition, quality. 3. Commonwealth, civil community, body politic. 4. Pomp, parade, dignity, grandeur, magnificence, glory, greatness. II. v. a. Express (with particularity), explain, specify, set forth, narrate, recite, represent fully, declare, affirm. III. a. National, public.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

To lie in state; to be in bed with three harlots.

Moby Thesaurus

Babylonian splendor, Everyman, John Doe, Kreis, Public, affirm, air, allege, ally, announce, annunciate, archbishopric, archdiocese, archduchy, archdukedom, argue, arrondissement, articulate, assert, assever, asseverate, assign, attitude, aver, avouch, avow, bailiwick, bishopric, body politic, borough, brilliance, bring out, buffer state, canton, capacity, captive nation, ceremonial, character, chieftaincy, chieftainry, chime in, circumstance, circumstances, citizenry, city, city-state, civic, civil, claim, colony, come out with, common, common man, commonweal, commonwealth, communal, commune, community, community at large, conceive, condition, conditions, confess, confirm, congressional district, constablewick, constitution, contend, cosmopolitan, couch, couch in terms, count, country, county, declare, declare roundly, delineate, deliver, denominate, departement, describe, designate, determine, dignified, diocese, district, domain, dominion, duchy, dukedom, earldom, elaborateness, electoral district, electorate, elegance, elucidate, embody in words, empery, empire, enunciate, estate, everybody, everyman, everyone, everywoman, explain, expound, express, express the belief, federal, fix, folk, folks, footing, form, formal, formality, formularize, formulate, frame, free city, general, general public, gentry, give, give expression to, give notice, give words to, glory, gorgeousness, government, governmental, grand duchy, grandeur, grandiosity, grandness, hamlet, have, heraldry, hold, hundred, imperial, imposingness, impressiveness, indicate, insist, international, interpret, issue a manifesto, issue a statement, kingdom, land, lavishness, lay down, luxuriousness, luxury, magistracy, magnificence, maintain, majestic, majesty, make a statement, make an announcement, mandant, mandate, mandated territory, mandatee, mandatory, manifesto, mark, men, mention, metropolis, metropolitan area, mode, name, narrate, nation, national, nationality, nobility, nuncupate, oblast, official, okrug, paragraph, parish, people, people in general, persons, phase, phrase, pick out, pin down, plushness, point out, polis, polity, pomp, populace, population, poshness, position, possession, posture, power, precinct, predicate, present, pride, principality, principate, proclaim, profess, pronounce, protectorate, protest, proudness, province, public, publish a manifesto, puppet government, puppet regime, put, put in words, put it, quote, realm, recite, regal, region, rehearse, relate, report, republic, resplendence, rhetorize, riding, ritziness, royal, satellite, say, select, seneschalty, set, set down, set forth, set out, settlement, shape, sheriffalty, sheriffwick, shire, shrievalty, signify, situation, social, societal, society, soke, solemn, solemnity, sovereign nation, speak, speak out, speak up, specialize, specify, splendidness, splendiferousness, splendor, stage, stake, stand, stand for, stand on, state of affairs, state of being, stateliness, stately, stature, status, stipulate, structure, style, submit, sultanate, sumptuousness, superpower, supranational, swear, tell, territory, testify, throw out, toparchia, toparchy, town, township, utter, vent, ventilate, village, voice, vow, wapentake, ward, warrant, word, world, you and me