the body of members of an organization or group; "they polled their membership"; "they found dissension in their own ranks"; "he joined the ranks of the unemployed"
the act of accepting with approval; favorable reception; "its adoption by society"; "the proposal found wide acceptance"
a legal proceeding that creates a parent-child relation between persons not related by blood; the adopted child is entitled to all privileges belonging to a natural child of the adoptive parents (including the right to inherit)
an ability to understand the meaning or importance of something (or the knowledge acquired as a result); "how you can do that is beyond my comprehension"; "he was famous for his comprehension of American literature"
the act of containing; keeping something from spreading; "the containment of the AIDS epidemic"; "the containment of the rebellion"
(physics) a system designed to prevent the accidental release of radioactive material from a reactor
a policy of creating strategic alliances in order to check the expansion of a hostile power or ideology or to force it to negotiate peacefully; "containment of communist expansion was a central principle of United States' foreign policy from 1947 to the 1975"