Defining

Define means “to set bounds to.” You define a thing, word, or concept by describing it to distinguish it from all similar things. If people don’t agree on the meaning of a word or an idea, they can’t share knowledge about it. Scientists take special care to define their terms precisely.“Climate Engineering,” a State of the Science Fact Sheet from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, opens with a definition:

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Climate engineering, also called geoengineering, refers to deliberate, large-scale manipulation of Earth’s climate intended to counteract human-caused climate change.

After outlining why this topic needs study, the fact sheet identifies its two main subdivisions:

Two different climate engineering approaches are commonly considered:

If you use a word in a special sense or invent a word, you have to explain it or your readers will be lost. In his article “When Past Disasters Are Prologue” (Nautilus, Issue 4), David Ropeik examines the utility of past disasters for predicting future ones, improving preparedness and survival rates, and increasing risk awareness. For instance, after a video of a comet colliding with Jupiter and several movies on the same theme, the public became aware of objects that might collide with the earth. Ropeik identifies and defines the term for this behavior.

What happened with asteroids is an example of what cognitive psychologists call the Availability Heuristic, a phenomenon whereby we tend to pay more attention to, and worry more about, matters that readily come to mind. Here’s an example: Does the letter r appear more frequently as the first letter in words, or the third? As you search through the words you know to figure this out, the first letter is the first thing that comes to mind. As a result, most people say r is more common as a first letter in words, but in fact it is more common as the third. The effect is compounded when strong emotions, like fear, are brought into play. Emotionally powerful experiences burn more deeply into our memories and are more readily summoned, and the speed and power of that recall give those memories disproportionate influence on our perceptions.

You might define an unfamiliar word to save readers a trip to the dictionary or a familiar but often misunderstood concept—such as guerrilla, liberal, or minimum wage—to clarify the meaning you intend. The more complex or ambiguous the idea, thing, movement, phenomenon, or organization, the longer the definition you will need to clarify the term for your readers.

DISCOVERY CHECKLIST

  • Have you used definitions to help your readers understand the subject matter, not to show off your knowledge?

  • Have you tailored your definition to the needs of your audience?

  • Is your definition specific, clear, and accurate?

  • Would your definition benefit from an example or from details?

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Learning by Doing Developing an Extended Definition

Learning by Doingimage Developing an Extended Definition

Write an extended definition (a paragraph or so) of a word listed below. Begin with a one-sentence definition of the word. Then, instead of turning to a dictionary or textbook, expand and clarify your ideas using strategies in this chapter—examples, details, induction or deduction, analysis, division, classification, comparison, contrast. You may also use negation (explaining what something is by stating what it is not). Share your definition with classmates.

dieting intelligence/ignorance plagiarism success
fear love privacy sustainability
gender peace racism war