payment extorted by gangsters on threat of violence; "every store in the neighborhood had to pay him protection"
the activity of protecting someone or something; "the witnesses demanded police protection"
the imposition of duties or quotas on imports in order to protect domestic industry against foreign competition; "he made trade protection a plank in the party platform"
the condition of being protected; "they were huddled together for protection"; "he enjoyed a sense of peace and protection in his new home"
acting in a manner that is gentle and mild and even-tempered; "his fingers have learned gentleness"; "suddenly her gigantic power melted into softness for the baby"; "even in the pulpit there are moments when mildness of manner is not enough"
incomprehensibility resulting from irrelevant information or meaningless facts or remarks; "all the noise in his speech concealed the fact that he didn't have anything to say"
the auditory experience of sound that lacks musical quality; sound that is a disagreeable auditory experience; "modern music is just noise to me"
a loud outcry of protest or complaint; "the announcement of the election recount caused a lot of noise"; "whatever it was he didn't like it and he was going to let them know by making as loud a noise as he could"
sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound); "he enjoyed the street noises"; "they heard indistinct noises of people talking"; "during the firework display that ended the gala the noise reached 98 decibels"
electrical or acoustic activity that can disturb communication
prevent from doing something or being in a certain state; "We must prevent the cancer from spreading"; "His snoring kept me from falling asleep"; "Keep the child from eating the marbles"
keep from happening or arising; make impossible; "My sense of tact forbids an honest answer"; "Your role in the projects precludes your involvement in the competitive project"
put down by force or intimidation; "The government quashes any attempt of an uprising"; "China keeps down her dissidents very efficiently"; "The rich landowners subjugated the peasants working the land"
(biology) the field of science concerned with processes of communication and control (especially the comparison of these processes in biological and artificial systems)
not tractable; difficult to manage or mold; "an intractable disposition"; "intractable pain"; "the most intractable issue of our era"; "intractable metal"
a methodical examination or review of a condition or situation; "he made an audit of all the plants on his property"; "an energy efficiency audit"; "an email log audit"
attend academic courses without getting credit
examine carefully for accuracy with the intent of verification; "audit accounts and tax returns"