a body of people sharing some common interest; "the reading public"
affecting the people or community as a whole; "community leaders"; "community interests"; "the public welfare"
not private; open to or concerning the people as a whole; "the public good"; "public libraries"; "public funds"; "public parks"; "a public scandal"; "public gardens"; "performers and members of royal families are public figures"
performance given by a traveling company of acrobats clowns and trained animals; "the children always love to go to the circus"
a frenetic disorganized (and often comic) disturbance suggestive of a large public entertainment; "it was so funny it was a circus"; "the whole occasion had a carnival atmosphere"
a genus of haws comprising the harriers
an arena consisting of an oval or circular area enclosed by tiers of seats and usually covered by a tent; "they used the elephants to help put up the circus"
(antiquity) an open-air stadium for chariot races and gladiatorial games
a travelling company of entertainers; including trained animals; "he ran away from home to join the circus"
with firmness and conviction; without compromise; "he stood foursquare for religious liberty and toleration"- C.G.Bowers; "dealt straightforwardly with all issues"
firmly and solidly; "hit the ball squarely"; "the bat met the ball squarely"; "planted his great bulk square before his enemy"
in a square shape; "a squarely cut piece of paper"; "folded the sheet of paper square"
directly and without evasion; not roundabout; "to face a problem squarely"; "the responsibility lies squarely with them"; "spoke forthright (or forthrightly) and to the point"
in a straight direct way; "looked him squarely in the eye"; "ran square into me"
the reason for a court's judgment (as opposed to the decision itself)
a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty; "my opinion differs from yours"; "what are your thoughts on Haiti?"
the legal document stating the reasons for a judicial decision; "opinions are usually written by a single judge"
a message expressing a belief about something; the expression of a belief that is held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof; "his opinions appeared frequently on the editorial page"
a government that undertakes responsibility for the welfare of its citizens through programs in public health and public housing and pensions and unemployment compensation etc.
a stage in psychosexual development when the child's interest is concentrated on the anal region; fixation at this stage is said to result in orderliness, meanness, stubbornness, compulsiveness, etc.
total debits and credits are equal; "the books looked balanced"
being in a state of proper balance or equilibrium; "the carefully balanced seesaw"; "a properly balanced symphony orchestra"; "a balanced assessment of intellectual and cultural history"; "a balanced blend of whiskeys"; "the educated man shows a balanced development of all his powers"
mercantile establishment consisting of a carefully landscaped complex of shops representing leading merchandisers; usually includes restaurants and a convenient parking area; a modern version of the traditional marketplace; "a good plaza should have a movie house"; "they spent their weekends at the local malls"
a public square with room for pedestrians; "they met at Elm Plaza"; "Grosvenor Place"
(computer science) the area of the screen in graphical user interfaces against which icons and windows appear
a person's social heritage: previous experience or training; "he is a lawyer with a sports background"
information that is essential to understanding a situation or problem; "the embassy filled him in on the background of the incident"
the part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in the foreground; "he posed her against a background of rolling hills"
relatively unimportant or inconspicuous accompanying situation; "when the rain came he could hear the sound of thunder in the background"
extraneous signals that can be confused with the phenomenon to be observed or measured; "they got a bad connection and could hardly hear one another over the background signals"
understate the importance or quality of; "he played down his royal ancestry"
powerful and effective language; "his eloquence attracted a large congregation"; "fluency in spoken and written English is essential"; "his oily smoothness concealed his guilt from the police"
concerned with or characterized by rigorous or adherence to recognized forms (especially in religion or art); "highly formalized plays like `Waiting for Godot'"