comprise

com·prise  (km-prz)

tr.v. com·prised, com·pris·ing, com·pris·es

1. To consist of; be composed of: "The French got ... French Equatorial Africa, comprising several territories" Alex Shoumatoff.

2. To include; contain: "The word 'politics' ... comprises, in itself, a difficult study of no inconsiderable magnitude" Charles Dickens. See Synonyms at include.

3. Usage Problem To compose; constitute: "Put together the slaughterhouses, the steel mills, the freight yards ... that comprised the city" Saul Bellow.

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[Middle English comprisen, from Old French compris, past participle of comprendre, to include, from Latin comprehendere, comprndere; see comprehend.]

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com·prisa·ble adj.

Usage Note: The traditional rule states that the whole comprises the parts and the parts compose the whole. In strict usage: The Union comprises 50 states. Fifty states compose (or constitute or make up) the Union. Even though careful writers often maintain this distinction, comprise is increasingly used in place of compose, especially in the passive: The Union is comprised of 50 states. Our surveys show that opposition to this usage is abating. In the 1960s, 53 percent of the Usage Panel found this usage unacceptable; in 1996, only 35 percent objected. See Usage Note at include.

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comprise

Verb

[-prising, -prised]

1. to be made up of: the group comprised six French diplomats, five Italians and three Bulgarians

2. to form or make up: women comprised 57 per cent of all employees, but less than 10 per cent of managers [French compris included]

USAGE: The use of of after comprise should be avoided: the library comprises (not comprises of) 500 000 books and manuscripts.

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	comprise - be composed of; "The land he conquered comprised several provinces"; "What does this dish consist of?" consist be - have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer"
	2.	comprise - include or contain; have as a component; "A totally new idea is comprised in this paper"; "The record contains many old songs from the 1930's" contain, incorporate include - have as a part, be made up out of; "The list includes the names of many famous writers"
	3.	comprise - form or compose; "This money is my only income"; "The stone wall was the backdrop for the performance"; "These constitute my entire belonging"; "The children made up the chorus"; "This sum represents my entire income for a year"; "These few men comprise his entire army" constitute, make up, represent, be make - constitute the essence of; "Clothes make the man" compose - form the substance of; "Greed and ambition composed his personality" form, constitute, make - to compose or represent:"This wall forms the background of the stage setting"; "The branches made a roof"; "This makes a fine introduction" straddle, range - range or extend over; occupy a certain area; "The plants straddle the entire state" fall into, fall under - be included in or classified as; "This falls under the rubric 'various'" pose, present - introduce; "This poses an interesting question" supplement - serve as a supplement to; "Vitamins supplemented his meager diet"

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comprise

verb 1. be composed of, include, contain, consist of, take in, embrace, encompass, comprehend

verb 2. make up, form, constitute, compose

USAGE The use of of after comprise should be avoided: the library comprises (not comprises of) 6,500,000 books and manuscripts. Consist, however, should be followed by of when used in this way: Her crew consisted of children from Devon and Cornwall.

Translations

comprise [kəmˈpraɪz] vt (also: be comprised of) → comprender, constar de

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comprise [kəmˈpraɪz] vt (also: be comprised of) → comprendre (= constitute); constituer, représenter

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comprise [kəmˈpraɪz] vt (also: be comprised of) → bestehen aus;

(constitute) → bilden, ausmachen

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comprise [kəmˈpraɪz] vt (also: be comprised of) → comprendere