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behavior

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Behavior
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be⋅hav⋅ior

  [bi-heyv-yer]
Use behavior in a Sentence
–noun
1. manner of behaving or acting.
2. Psychology, Animal Behavior.
a. observable activity in a human or animal.
b. the aggregate of responses to internal and external stimuli.
c. a stereotyped, species-specific activity, as a courtship dance or startle reflex.
3. Often, behaviors. a behavior pattern.
4. the action or reaction of any material under given circumstances: the behavior of tin under heat.
Also, especially British, behaviour.

Origin:
1375–1425; behave + -ior (on model of havior, var. of havor < MF (h)avoir ≪ L habēre to have); r. late ME behavoure, behaver. See behave, -or 1

Related forms:
be⋅hav⋅ior⋅al, adjective
be⋅hav⋅ior⋅al⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. demeanor, manners; bearing, carriage. Behavior, conduct, deportment, comportment refer to one's actions before or toward others, esp. on a particular occasion. Behavior refers to actions usually measured by commonly accepted standards: His behavior at the party was childish. Conduct refers to actions viewed collectively, esp. as measured by an ideal standard: Conduct is judged according to principles of ethics. Deportment is behavior related to a code or to an arbitrary standard: Deportment is guided by rules of etiquette. The teacher gave Susan a mark of B in deportment. Comportment is behavior as viewed from the standpoint of one's management of one's own actions: His comportment was marked by a quiet assurance.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Behavior
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be·hav·ior   (bĭ-hāv'yər)   
n.  

  1. The manner in which one behaves.

    1. The actions or reactions of a person or animal in response to external or internal stimuli.

    2. One of these actions or reactions: "a hormone . . . known to directly control sex-specific reproductive and parenting behaviors in a wide variety of vertebrates" (Thomas Maugh II).

  3. The manner in which something functions or operates: the faulty behavior of a computer program; the behavior of dying stars.


[Middle English behavour, from behaven, to behave (on the model of havour, behavior, from Old French avoir, from avoir, to have); see behave.]
be·hav'ior·al adj., be·hav'ior·al·ly adv.
Synonyms: These nouns all pertain to a person's actions as they constitute a means of evaluation by others. Behavior is the most general: The children were on their best behavior.
Conduct applies to actions considered from the standpoint of morality and ethics: "Life, not the parson, teaches conduct" (Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.)
Deportment more narrowly pertains to actions measured by a prevailing code of social behavior: "[Old Mr. Turveydrop] was not like anything in the world but a model of Deportment" (Charles Dickens).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: be·hav·ior
Variant: or chiefly British be·hav·iour /bi-'hA-vy&r/
Function: noun
1 : themanner of conducting oneself
2 a : anything that an organism does involving action and response to stimulation b : the response of an individual, group, or speciesto its environment —be·hav·ior·al or chiefly British be·hav·iour·al /-vy&-r&l/ adjective —be·hav·ior·al·ly or chiefly British be·hav·iour·al·ly /-r&-lE/ adverb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

behavior be·hav·ior (bĭ-hāv'yər)
n.

  1. The actions or reactions of persons or things in response to external or internal stimuli.

  2. The manner in which one behaves.

be·hav'ior·al adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
behavior   (bĭ-hāv'yər)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. The actions displayed by an organism in response to its environment.

  2. One of these actions. Certain animal behaviors (such as nest building) result from instinct, while others (such as hunting) must be learned.

  3. The manner in which a physical system, such as a gas, subatomic particle, or ecosystem, acts or functions, especially under specified conditions.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Idioms & Phrases

behavior

see on one's best behavior.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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