get or cause to become in a difficult or laborious manner
obtain by coercion or intimidation; "They extorted money from the executive by threatening to reveal his past to the company boss"; "They squeezed money from the owner of the business by threatening him"
an artifact (or system of artifacts) that is instrumental in accomplishing some end
the quality of being instrumental for some purpose
a subsidiary organ of government created for a special purpose; "are the judicial instrumentalities of local governments adequate?"; "he studied the French instrumentalities for law enforcement"
manifesting or characteristic of life; "a vital, living organism"; "vital signs"
performing an essential function in the living body; "vital organs"; "blood and other vital fluids"; "the loss of vital heat in shock"; "a vital spot"; "life-giving love and praise"
the complex of all the attributes--behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental--that characterize a unique individual; "their different reactions reflected their very different personalities"; "it is his nature to help others"
a person of considerable prominence; "she is a Hollywood personality"
characterized by energetic activity; "an active toddler"; "active as a gazelle"; "an active man is a man of action"
engaged in full-time work; "active duty"; "though past retirement age he is still active in his profession"
full of activity or engaged in continuous activity; "an active seaport"; "an active bond market"; "an active account"
tending to become more severe or wider in scope; "active tuberculosis"
disposed to take action or effectuate change; "a director who takes an active interest in corporate operations"; "an active antagonism"; "he was active in drawing attention to their grievances"
(of e.g. volcanos) erupting or liable to erupt; "active volcanos"
(of e.g. volcanos) capable of erupting
expressing action rather than a state of being; used of verbs (e.g. `to run') and participial adjectives (e.g. `running' in `running water')
expressing that the subject of the sentence has the semantic function of actor: "Hemingway favors active constructions"
exerting influence or producing a change or effect; "an active ingredient"
of the sun; characterized by a high level activity in sunspots and flares and radio emissions
in operation; "keep hope alive"; "the tradition was still alive"; "an active tradition"
taking part in an activity; "an active member of the club"; "he was politically active"; "the participating organizations"
engaged in or ready for military or naval operations; "on active duty"; "the platoon is combat-ready"; "review the fighting forces"