mag·ni·tude (m g n -t d , -tyd)n. 1. a. Greatness of rank or position: "such duties as were expected of a landowner of his magnitude" (Anthony Powell). b. Greatness in size or extent: The magnitude of the flood was impossible to comprehend. c. Greatness in significance or influence: was shocked by the magnitude of the crisis. 2. Astronomy The degree of brightness of a celestial body designated on a numerical scale, on which the brightest star has magnitude -1.4 and the faintest visible star has magnitude 6, with the scale rule such that a decrease of one unit represents an increase in apparent brightness by a factor of 2.512. Also called apparent magnitude. 3. Mathematics a. A number assigned to a quantity so that it may be compared with other quantities. b. A property that can be described by a real number, such as the volume of a sphere or the length of a vector. 4. Geology A measure of the amount of energy released by an earthquake, as indicated on the Richter Scale. [Middle English, from Old French, size, from Latin magnit  d , greatness, size, from magnus, great; see meg- in Indo-European roots.] |
magnitude [ˈmægnɪˌtjuːd]
n
1. relative importance or significance a problem of the first magnitude
2. relative size or extent the magnitude of the explosion
3. (Mathematics) Maths a number assigned to a quantity, such as weight, and used as a basis of comparison for the measurement of similar quantities
4. (Astronomy) Also called apparent magnitude Astronomy the apparent brightness of a celestial body expressed on a numerical scale on which bright stars have a low value. Values are measured by eye (visual magnitude) or more accurately by photometric or photographic methods, and range from -26.7 (the sun), through 1.5 (Sirius), down to about +30. Each integral value represents a brightness 2.512 times greater than the next highest integral value See also absolute magnitude
5. (Earth Sciences / Geological Science) Also called earthquake magnitude Geology a measure of the size of an earthquake based on the quantity of energy released: specified on the Richter scale See Richter scale
[from Latin magnitūdō size, from magnus great]
magnitudinous adj
| magnitude (mgn-td) 1. The degree of brightness of a star or other celestial body, measured on a logarithmic scale in which lower numbers mean greater brightness, such that a decrease of one unit represents an increase in brightness by a factor of 2.512. An object that is 5 units less than another object on the magnitude scale is 100 times more luminous. Because of refinements in measurement after the zero point was assigned, very bright objects have negative magnitudes.  The brightness of a celestial body as seen from Earth is called its apparent magnitude. (When unspecified, an object's magnitude is normally assumed to be its apparent magnitude.) The dimmest stars visible to the unaided eye have apparent magnitude 6, while the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius, has apparent magnitude -1.4. The full Moon and the Sun have apparent magnitudes of -12.7 and -26.8 respectively. The brightness of a celestial body computed as if viewed from a distance of 10 parsecs (32.6 light-years) is called its absolute magnitude. Absolute magnitude measures the intrinsic brightness of a celestial object rather than how bright it appears on Earth, using the same logarithmic scale as for apparent magnitude. Sirius has an absolute magnitude of 1.5, considerably dimmer than Rigel which, though its apparent magnitude is 0.12, has an absolute magnitude of -8.1. Stars that appear dim in the night sky but have bright absolute magnitudes are much farther from Earth than stars that shine brightly at night but have relatively dim absolute magnitudes. The Sun, a star of only medium brightness, has an absolute magnitude of 4.8. The degree of total radiation emitted by a celestial body, including all infrared and ultraviolet radiation in addition to visible light, is called its bolometric magnitude. Bolometric magnitude is generally measured by applying a standard correction to an object's absolute magnitude.2. A measure of the total amount of energy released by an earthquake, as indicated on the Richter scale. See more at Richter scale. |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. | magnitude - 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" property - a basic or essential attribute shared by all members of a class; "a study of the physical properties of atomic particles" absolute magnitude - (astronomy) the magnitude that a star would have if it were viewed from a distance of 10 parsecs (32.62 light years) from the earth proportion, dimension - magnitude or extent; "a building of vast proportions" order of magnitude, order - a degree in a continuum of size or quantity; "it was on the order of a mile"; "an explosion of a low order of magnitude" dimension - the magnitude of something in a particular direction (especially length or width or height) degree - the seriousness of something (e.g., a burn or crime); "murder in the second degree"; "a second degree burn" amplitude - greatness of magnitude multiplicity - the property of being multiple triplicity - the property of being triple size - the physical magnitude of something (how big it is); "a wolf is about the size of a large dog" size - a large magnitude; "he blanched when he saw the size of the bill"; "the only city of any size in that area" bulk, volume, mass - the property of something that is great in magnitude; "it is cheaper to buy it in bulk"; "he received a mass of correspondence"; "the volume of exports" muchness - greatness of quantity or measure or extent intensity, intensity level, strength - the amount of energy transmitted (as by acoustic or electromagnetic radiation); "he adjusted the intensity of the sound"; "they measured the station's signal strength" amount - the relative magnitude of something with reference to a criterion; "an adequate amount of food for four people" extent - the distance or area or volume over which something extends; "the vast extent of the desert"; "an orchard of considerable extent" |
| 2. | magnitude - 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 ratio - the relative magnitudes of two quantities (usually expressed as a quotient) | |
| 3. | magnitude - relative importance; "a problem of the first magnitude" extensiveness, largeness - large or extensive in breadth or importance or comprehensiveness; "the might have repercussions of unimaginable largeness"; "the very extensiveness of his power was a temptation to abuse it" importance - the quality of being important and worthy of note; "the importance of a well-balanced diet" |
magnitude
noun
1. importance, consequence, significance, mark, moment, note, weight, proportion, dimension, greatness, grandeur, eminence An operation of this magnitude is going to be difficult.
importance insignificance, triviality, unimportance
importance insignificance, triviality, unimportance
Translations
magnitude [ˈmægnɪtjuːd] N
1. (gen) → magnitud f; (= importance) → magnitud f, envergadura f
in operations of this magnitude → en operaciones de esta magnitud or envergadura
in operations of this magnitude → en operaciones de esta magnitud or envergadura
magnitude [ˈmægnɪtjuːd] n
(= large scale) → ampleur f
an operation of this magnitude → une opération de cette ampleur
They do not recognize the magnitude of the problem → Ils ne réalisent pas l'ampleur du problème. order of magnitude
an operation of this magnitude → une opération de cette ampleur
They do not recognize the magnitude of the problem → Ils ne réalisent pas l'ampleur du problème. order of magnitude
[earthquake] → magnitude f
(MATHEMATICS) → magnitude f
magnitude
n
→ Ausmaß nt, → Größe f; (= importance) → Bedeutung f; I didn’t appreciate the magnitude of the task → ich war mir über den Umfang der Aufgabe nicht im Klaren; in operations of this magnitude → bei Vorhaben dieser Größenordnung; a matter of the first magnitude → eine Angelegenheit von äußerster Wichtigkeit; a mistake of the first magnitude → ein Fehler ersten Ranges; order of magnitude → Größenordnung f
(Astron) → Größenklasse f
magnitude [ˈmægnɪtjuːd] n (gen) → vastità f inv, grandezza, ampiezza; (importance) → importanza (Astron) → magnitudine f
magnitude [ˈmægnɪtjuːd] n (gen) → vastità f inv, grandezza, ampiezza; (importance) → importanza (Astron) → magnitudine f
magnitude [ˈmægnɪtjuːd] n (gen) → vastità f inv, grandezza, ampiezza; (importance) → importanza (Astron) → magnitudine f
n magnitude [ˈmӕgnitjuːd]
1 importance a decision of great magnitude. omvang جَسامَه، أهميَّه величина důležitost vigtighed die Bedeutung σπουδαιότητα magnitud, importancia tähtsus اهمیت merkitys importance חֲשִיבוּת महत्ता važnost jelentőség penting mikilvægi importanza 重要さ 중요성 svarba, reikšmė svarīgums penting belangrijkheid størrelse, betydning ważność, znaczenie importância importanţă важность dôležitosť pomen značaj betydelse, vikt ความสำคัญ önem 重要性 важливість, значущість اہمیت tầm quan trọng 重要性
2 size a star of great magnitude. grootte حَجْم، ضَخامَه размер velikost størrelse die Größe μέγεθος tamaño, magnitud suurus اندازه suuruus magnitude גוֹדֶל विस्तार veličina nagyság ukuran stærð, styrkur grandezza, importanza 大きさ 크기 dydis, ryškis lielums besarnya grootte størrelse wielkość tamanho imensiune величина veľkosť velikost veličina storlek, omfattning ขนาดใหญ่ büyüklük 大小 величина; розмір جسامت kích cỡ 大小
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