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View synonyms for linear

linear

[ lin-ee-er ]

adjective

  1. of, consisting of, or using lines:

    linear design.

  2. pertaining to or represented by lines:

    linear dimensions.

  3. extended or arranged in a line:

    a linear series.

  4. involving measurement in one dimension only; pertaining to length:

    linear measure.

  5. of or relating to the characteristics of a work of art in which forms and rhythms are defined chiefly in terms of line.
  6. having the form of or resembling a line:

    linear nebulae.

  7. progressing logically from step to step; having a regular sequence of stages:

    Such linear thinking can inhibit true innovation and creative exploration.

  8. Mathematics.
    1. consisting of, involving, or describable by terms of the first degree.
    2. having the same effect on a sum as on each of the summands:

      a linear operation.

  9. Electronics. delivering an output that is directly proportional to the input:

    a linear circuit; a linear amplifier.

  10. threadlike; narrow and elongated:

    a linear leaf.



linear

/ ˌlɪnɪˈærɪtɪ; ˈlɪnɪə /

adjective

  1. of, in, along, or relating to a line
  2. of or relating to length
  3. resembling, represented by, or consisting of a line or lines
  4. having one dimension
  5. designating a style in the arts, esp painting, that obtains its effects through line rather than colour or light and in which the edges of forms and planes are sharply defined Compare painterly
  6. maths of or relating to the first degree

    a linear equation

  7. narrow and having parallel edges

    a linear leaf

  8. electronics
    1. (of a circuit, etc) having an output that is directly proportional to input

      linear amplifier

    2. having components arranged in a line


linear

/ lĭnē-ər /

  1. Being or resembling a line.


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Derived Forms

  • ˈlinearly, adverb
  • linearity, noun

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Other Words From

  • lin·e·ar·ly adverb
  • non·lin·e·ar adjective
  • sub·lin·e·ar adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of linear1

First recorded in 1635–45; from Latin līneāris “of, belonging to lines”; line 1, -ar 1

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Word History and Origins

Origin of linear1

C17: from Latin līneāris of or by means of lines

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Example Sentences

Lepore has a different, though still linear, metaphor for the history of feminism: “a river, wending.”

He is known to be difficult, because of his love of the Latinate, and his non-linear, digressive, even symphonic, narrative style.

But the reasoning only made sense if the tumor grew in a linear, predictable way.

In his own words it was “the linear equivalent of the sensation of flight.”

I call them Hyperserials: shows with a purer, more intense focus on one linear, series-long plotline.

The child now aims at constructing a particular linear representation, that of a man, a horse, or what not.

Curious differences appear in respect of the completeness of this linear noting or enumerating of features.

This habit of scribble may persist after a child attempts a linear description of the parts of an object.

Now the series treated of in the text agrees with this linear progression in nothing whatever but in being a progression.

She says 'fifteen hundred feet'; the law says she ought t' read 'fifteen hundred linear feet.'

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