the learned profession that is mastered by graduate study in a law school and that is responsible for the judicial system; "he studied law at Yale"
a rule or body of rules of conduct inherent in human nature and essential to or binding upon human society
a generalization that describes recurring facts or events in nature; "the laws of thermodynamics"
legal document setting forth rules governing a particular kind of activity; "there is a law against kidnapping"
the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order"
a legal document codifying the result of deliberations of a committee or society or legislative body
a short theatrical performance that is part of a longer program; "he did his act three times every evening"; "she had a catchy little routine"; "it was one of the best numbers he ever did"
a subdivision of a play or opera or ballet
a manifestation of insincerity; "he put on quite an act for her benefit"
behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself; "You should act like an adult"; "Don't behave like a fool"; "What makes her do this way?"; "The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people"
pretend to have certain qualities or state of mind; "He acted the idiot"; "She plays deaf when the news are bad"
discharge one's duties; "She acts as the chair"; "In what capacity are you acting?"
play a role or part; "Gielgud played Hamlet"; "She wants to act Lady Macbeth, but she is too young for the role"; "She played the servant to her husband's master"
perform on a stage or theater; "She acts in this play"; "He acted in `Julius Caesar'"; "I played in `A Christmas Carol'"
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel"
be engaged in an activity, often for no particular purpose other than pleasure
be suitable for theatrical performance; "This scene acts well"
(linguistics) a pitch or change in pitch of the voice that serves to distinguish words in tonal languages; "the Beijing dialect uses four tones"
the quality of something (an act or a piece of writing) that reveals the attitudes and presuppositions of the author; "the general tone of articles appearing in the newspapers is that the government should withdraw"; "from the tone of her behavior I gathered that I had outstayed my welcome"
a steady sound without overtones; "they tested his hearing with pure tones of different frequencies"
a musical interval of two semitones
the quality of a person's voice; "he began in a conversational tone"; "he spoke in a nervous tone of voice"
give a healthy elasticity to; "Let's tone our muscles"
change to a color image; "tone a photographic image"
change the color or tone of; "tone a negative"
vary the pitch of one's speech
utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically; "The students chanted the same slogan over and over again"
the reasoning involved in drawing a conclusion or making a logical judgment on the basis of circumstantial evidence and prior conclusions rather than on the basis of direct observation
a collection of books accepted as holy scripture especially the books of the Bible recognized by any Christian church as genuine and inspired
a complete list of saints that have been recognized by the Roman Catholic Church
a rule or especially body of rules or principles generally established as valid and fundamental in a field or art or philosophy; "the neoclassical canon"; "canons of polite society"
a contrapuntal piece of music in which a melody in one part is imitated exactly in other parts