the quality of being rash and foolish; "trying to drive through a blizzard is the height of folly"; "adjusting to an insane society is total foolishness"
having once lived or existed or taken place in the real world as distinct from being legendary; "the historical Jesus"; "doubt that a historical Camelot every existed"; "actual historical events"
of or relating to the study of history; "historical scholars"; "a historical perspective"
(sports) a serve that is illegal (e.g., that lands outside the prescribed area); "he served too many double faults"
responsibility for a bad situation or event; "it was John's fault"
(electronics) equipment failure attributable to some defect in a circuit (loose connection or insulation failure or short circuit etc.); "it took much longer to find the fault than to fix it"
(geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other; "they built it right over a geological fault"; "he studied the faulting of the earth's crust"
the quality of being significant; "do not underestimate the significance of nuclear power"
a meaning that is not expressly stated but can be inferred; "the significance of his remark became clear only later"; "the expectation was spread both by word and by implication"
special and significant stress by means of position or repetition e.g.
special importance or significance; "the red light gave the central figure increased emphasis"; "the room was decorated in shades of grey with distinctive red accents"
endorsed authoritatively as having met certain requirements; "a certified public accountant"
holding appropriate documentation and officially on record as qualified to perform a specified function or practice a specified skill; "a registered pharmacist"; "a registered hospital"
having quality or payment or delivery guaranteed; "certified milk"; "certified check"; "certified mail"
presently existing in fact and not merely potential or possible; "the predicted temperature and the actual temperature were markedly different"; "actual and imagined conditions"
being or existing at the present moment; "the ship's actual position is 22 miles due south of Key West"
taking place in reality; not pretended or imitated; "we saw the actual wedding on television"; "filmed the actual beating"
existing in act or fact; "rocks and trees...the actual world"; "actual heroism"; "the actual things that produced the emotion you experienced"
being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something; "her actual motive"; "a literal solitude like a desert"- G.K.Chesterton; "a genuine dilemma"
the act of referring or consulting; "reference to an encyclopedia produced the answer"
the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression; the class of objects that an expression refers to; "the extension of `satellite of Mars' is the set containing only Demos and Phobos"
the relation between a word or phrase and the object or idea it refers to; "he argued that reference is a consequence of conditioned reflexes"
a publication (or a passage from a publication) that is referred to; "he carried an armful of references back to his desk"; "he spent hours looking for the source of that quotation"