Once upon a time, the ancient philosophers Plato
and Aristotle were arguing about the nature of
man. Aristotle defined “man” as a biped (or two-
legged), so Plato handed him a chicken. Nettled,
Aristotle amended his definition: “Man is a
featherless biped,” to which Plato handed him a
plucked chicken. -Ed Sams
What is the problem with Aristotle’s definition?
Correct
Grammar in
Making
Definitions
The word DEFINITION
/ˌdefəˈniSH(ə)n/ is a noun which
means a statement of the exact
meaning of a word, or the act of
making something definite, distinct,
or clear.
Definition
Kinds of Technical Intentional Definition
Definition 01 specifies the necessary and
sufficient set of features or
properties that are shared
by everything to which it
applies.
Term Definition
Baked Foods that are cooked
goods in an oven of some
fashion that uses
prolonged dry heat,
usually based on flour
or corn.
(According to Unified Compliance Framework)
Kinds of Technical Extensional Definition
Definition 02 is usually a list naming every
object (or at least enough of a
list to create clarity in the
reader’s mind) that belongs to
the concept.
Term Definition
Baked Bread, cakes, pastries,
goods cookies, biscuits,
scones, and similar
items of food that are
cooked in an oven of
some fashion.
(According to Unified Compliance Framework)
Kinds of Technical Stipulative Definition
Definition 03 is used when you make up a
term for the first time. This
means that you have
completed all the research
necessary and cannot find that
term anywhere.
Term Definition
Charlotte’s A baked vanilla flavored
Sprinkle scone, dusted with sugar,
scone covered in chocolate
sprinkles both baked in
and rolled onto the top of
the scone.
(According to Unified Compliance Framework)
Kinds of Technical Lexical Definition
Definition 04 is how the term is used in a
particular community (think
Urban Dictionary), or any of the
definitions in Compliance
Dictionary that are derived from
usage in a single document.
Term Definition
Charlotte’s These wonderful scones
Sprinkle are made with
scone ● N parts flour,
● N parts water,
● N parts yeast,
● N eggs,
● N chocolate nibs, etc.
(According to Unified Compliance Framework)
Kinds of Technical Partitive Definitions
Definition 05 are definitions that explain the
concept as being a part of a
greater whole; the distinct
part(s) of a more
comprehensive concept.
Term Definition
yeast A key ingredient for most
baked goods that are
commonly used as a
leavening agent in baking
bread and bakery
products.
(According to Unified Compliance Framework)
Kinds of Technical Functional Definitions
Definition 06 are definitions that explain the
actions or activities of the
concept in relation to the more
comprehensive concept.
Term Definition
yeast An ingredient that is
commonly used as a
leavening agent in baking
bread and bakery
products.
(According to Unified Compliance Framework)
Encyclopedic
Kinds of Technical Definitions
Definition 07 are definitions that not only
provide the context and
characteristics of the concept,
but they also provide
additional information about
the concept as well.
Term Definition
yeast As a key ingredient for most baked
goods that is commonly used as a
leavening agent in baking bread and
bakery products, where it converts the
fermentable sugars present in the
dough’s gluten into carbon dioxide and
ethanol, thus trapping the releasing
bubbles of gas into the gluten and
making the dough fill up like a balloon
as it rises.
(According to Unified Compliance Framework)
Kinds of Technical Theoretical Definition
Definition 08 is really a scientific hypothesis
in disguise. It attempts to
present an argument for a
concept.
Term Definition
American A scone in America is a derivative of the
British scone with the following differences
scone that have occurred because of time and
mannerisms. The American scone has twice
the butter-to-flour ratio as the British scone. It
is also normally chock-full of little bits of
lovely, such as currants, chocolate nibs, etc.
This has occurred because of the incorrigible
need for inclusiveness in the American
persona. They tend to blend everything and
include everything in everything. It seems
more is better applies not just to their life, but
to their baking world as well.
(According to Unified Compliance Framework)
Kinds of Technical Synonym Definitions
Definition 09 use synonyms of the concept
to describe the concept.
Term Definition
biscuit A British version of an
American cookie.
cookie An American version of a
British biscuit.
(According to Unified Compliance Framework)
Writing Definitions
A formal definition is based
upon a concise, logical
pattern that includes as
much information as it can
within a minimum amount
of space.
Writing Definitions
It consists of three parts:
1. The term (word or phrase) to be
defined
2. The class of object or concept
to which the term belongs
3. The differentiating
characteristics distinguish it
from all others of its class.
Example of Definition
Term Class/Category Feature/Characteristics
obtained from animal, vegetable, or
mineral sources that are soluble in
Oil is a greasy liquid
certain organic solvents but not in
water.
of writing for newspapers,
is the activity or
Journalism magazines, or news websites or
profession
preparing news to be broadcast.
is a group of
which are essential for normal
Vitamins organic
growth and nutrition.
compounds
● Define a word in simple and familiar terms.
● Avoid adding personal details to definitions because the audience may fail to
relate.
● Avoid definitions that are more complicated or more technical than the term
being defined.
● Avoid defining words using introductory adverb phrases like "X is when" and "X is
where" statements.
● Do not define a word with that same word in the definition. Repetition or
restatement of the word is not good.
Tips in Making Definitions
a. Thing to be defined + verb + general class word + wh-word + characteristics
A fire extinguisher is a portable device which contains chemicals that are sprayed
on a fire to put it out.
b. Sometimes the wh- word is omitted. A definition written in this way uses a reduced
relative clause.
A fire extinguisher is a portable device containing chemicals that are sprayed on a
fire to put it out.
c. The definition of other subjects, particularly academic ones, omit the wh-word.
History is the study of the past.
Patterns in Making Definitions
d. Academic subjects may be cautiously defined thus:
Psychology may be defined as the scientific study of the human mind, its
functions and behavior.
e. A definition may be extended to be more precise or to give more information
about the subject.
Calligraphy may be defined as the visual art related to writing. It is the
design and execution of lettering with a broad-tipped instrument, brush, or other
writing instrument.
Patterns in Making Definitions
Correct
Grammar in
Making
Definitions
C if the given definition follows the correct pattern and observes correct grammar and I if the
given definition is incorrectly constructed.
1. Denotation is the act of denoting.
C
2. Narrative, where a narrator tells a story of an event.
I
3. Religion is when you believe in God and you pray or
worship.
C
4. Biography is the life history of an individual, written
by someone else.
I
5. Literature, examples are poetry, novels, history,
biography, and essays.
I
6. Conjunction is a part of speech that connects two
parts of a sentence.
C
7. Speech is the ability to express one's thoughts and
emotions by speech sounds and gesture.
C
8. Fragment is an incomplete piece of a sentence and
does not contain a complete thought.
C
9. Anecdote is usually a short narrative of an
interesting, amusing, or biographical incident.
C
10. Context refers to the part of a text or statement
that surrounds a particular word or passage and
determines its meaning.
