com·po·si·tion (k m p -z sh n)n.1. a. The combining of distinct parts or elements to form a whole. b. The manner in which such parts are combined or related. c. General makeup: the changing composition of the electorate. d. The result or product of composing; a mixture or compound. 2. Arrangement of artistic parts so as to form a unified whole. 3. a. The art or act of composing a musical or literary work. b. A work of music, literature, or art, or its structure or organization. 4. A short essay, especially one written as an academic exercise. 5. Law A settlement whereby the creditors of a debtor about to enter bankruptcy agree, in return for some financial consideration, usually proffered immediately, to the discharge of their respective claims on receipt of payment which is in a lesser amount than that actually owed on the claim. 6. Linguistics The formation of compounds from separate words. 7. Printing Typesetting.
[Middle English composicioun, from Old French composition, from Latin compositi , compositi n-, from compositus, past participle of comp nere, to put together; see component.]
com po·si tion·al adj. com po·si tion·al·ly adv. |
composition [ˌkɒmpəˈzɪʃən]n1. the act of putting together or making up by combining parts or ingredients 2. something formed in this manner or the resulting state or quality; a mixture 3. the parts of which something is composed or made up; constitution 4. (Music, other) (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Art Terms) a work of music, art, or literature 5. (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Art Terms) the harmonious arrangement of the parts of a work of art in relation to each other and to the whole 6. (Social Science / Education) a piece of writing undertaken as an academic exercise in grammatically acceptable writing; an essay 7. (Communication Arts / Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) Printing the act or technique of setting up type 8. (Linguistics) Linguistics the formation of compound words 9. (Philosophy / Logic) Logic the fallacy of inferring that the properties of the part are also true of the whole, as every member of the team has won a prize, so the team will win a prize 10. (Law) a. a settlement by mutual consent, esp a legal agreement whereby the creditors agree to accept partial payment of a debt in full settlement b. the sum so agreed 11. (Chemistry) Chem the nature and proportions of the elements comprising a chemical compound [from Old French, from Latin compositus; see composite, -ion] compositional adj Composition an aggregate; a mixture; objects or persons of different natures associated together.
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms | Noun | 1. | composition - the spatial property resulting from the arrangement of parts in relation to each other and to the whole; "harmonious composition is essential in a serious work of art"placement, arrangement - the spatial property of the way in which something is placed; "the arrangement of the furniture"; "the placement of the chairs" | | 2. | composition - the way in which someone or something is composedproperty - a basic or essential attribute shared by all members of a class; "a study of the physical properties of atomic particles" structure - the manner of construction of something and the arrangement of its parts; "artists must study the structure of the human body"; "the structure of the benzene molecule" phenotype - what an organism looks like as a consequence of the interaction of its genotype and the environment texture, grain - the physical composition of something (especially with respect to the size and shape of the small constituents of a substance); "breadfruit has the same texture as bread"; "sand of a fine grain"; "fish with a delicate flavor and texture"; "a stone of coarse grain" karyotype - the appearance of the chromosomal makeup of a somatic cell in an individual or species (including the number and arrangement and size and structure of the chromosomes) | | 3. | composition - a mixture of ingredientsmixture - (chemistry) a substance consisting of two or more substances mixed together (not in fixed proportions and not with chemical bonding) paste - any mixture of a soft and malleable consistency ambrosia, beebread - a mixture of nectar and pollen prepared by worker bees and fed to larvae compost - a mixture of decaying vegetation and manure; used as a fertilizer soup - any composition having a consistency suggestive of soup | | 4. | composition - a musical work that has been created; "the composition is written in four movements"morceau - a short literary or musical composition sheet music - a musical composition in printed or written form; "she turned the pages of the music as he played" music - an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner realisation, realization - a musical composition that has been completed or enriched by someone other than the composer coda, finale - the closing section of a musical composition intermezzo - a short piece of instrumental music composed for performance between acts of a drama or opera allegro - a musical composition or musical passage to be performed quickly in a brisk lively manner allegretto - a musical composition or musical passage to be performed at a somewhat quicker tempo than andante but not as fast as allegro andante - a musical composition or musical passage to be performed moderately slow introit - a composition of vocal music that is appropriate for opening church services solo - a musical composition for one voice or instrument (with or without accompaniment) trio - a musical composition for three performers octette, octet - a musical composition written for eight performers canon - a contrapuntal piece of music in which a melody in one part is imitated exactly in other parts etude - a short composition for a solo instrument; intended as an exercise or to demonstrate technical virtuosity toccata - a baroque musical composition (usually for a keyboard instrument) with full chords and rapid elaborate runs in a rhythmically free style fantasia - a musical composition of a free form usually incorporating several familiar themes movement - a major self-contained part of a symphony or sonata; "the second movement is slow and melodic" largo - (music) a composition or passage that is to be performed in a slow and dignified manner larghetto - (music) a composition or passage played in a slow tempo slightly faster than largo but slower than adagio suite - a musical composition of several movements only loosely connected medley, pastiche, potpourri - a musical composition consisting of a series of songs or other musical pieces from various sources nocturne, notturno - a pensive lyrical piece of music (especially for the piano) adagio - (music) a composition played in adagio tempo (slowly and gracefully); "they played the adagio too quickly" song, vocal - a short musical composition with words; "a successful musical must have at least three good songs" study - a composition intended to develop one aspect of the performer's technique; "a study in spiccato bowing" capriccio - an instrumental composition that doesn't adhere to rules for any specific musical form and is played with improvisation motet - an unaccompanied choral composition with sacred lyrics; intended to be sung as part of a church service; originated in the 13th century incidental music - music composed to accompany the action of a drama or to fill intervals between scenes | | 5. | composition - musical creationrealisation, realization - the completion or enrichment of a piece of music left sparsely notated by a composer recapitulation - (music) the repetition of themes introduced earlier (especially when one is composing the final part of a movement) | | 6. | composition - the act of creating written works; "writing was a form of therapy for him"; "it was a matter of disputed authorship"adoxography - fine writing in praise of trivial or base subjects; "Elizabethan schoolboys were taught adoxography, the art of eruditely praising worthless things"; "adoxography is particularly useful to lawyers" drafting - writing a first version to be filled out and polished later metrification - writing a metrical composition (or the metrical structure of a composition) redaction - the act of putting something in writing profile - write about; "The author of this article profiles a famous painter" paragraph - write paragraphs; work as a paragrapher rewrite - rewrite so as to make fit to suit a new or different purpose; "re-write a play for use in schools" write copy - write for commercial publications; "She writes copy for Harper's Bazaar" draft, outline - draw up an outline or sketch for something; "draft a speech" author - be the author of; "She authored this play" co-author - be a co-author on (a book, a paper) ghostwrite, ghost - write for someone else; "How many books have you ghostwritten so far?" annotate, footnote - add explanatory notes to or supply with critical comments; "The scholar annotated the early edition of a famous novel" write out, write up - put into writing; write in complete form; "write out a contract" script - write a script for; "The playwright scripted the movie" | | 7. | composition - art and technique of printing with movable type | | 8. | composition - an essay (especially one written as an assignment); "he got an A on his composition"essay - an analytic or interpretive literary composition term paper - a composition intended to indicate a student's progress during a school term | | 9. | composition - something that is created by arranging several things to form a unified whole; "he envied the composition of their faculty"creation - an artifact that has been brought into existence by someone paste-up - a composition of flat objects pasted on a board or other backing; "they showed him a paste-up of the book jacket" |
compositionnoun5. creation, making, production, fashioning, formation, putting together, invention, compilation, formulation These plays are arranged in order of their composition.Quotations "At school, composition tests your stamina, whereas translation requires intelligence. But in later life you can scoff at those who did well in composition" [Gustave Flaubert The Dictionary of Received Ideas]
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