Definitions Quotes

What is your personal definition of "good"?
A world in which everyone is universally empathetic and exercises love and respect with full change-making power. ~ Bill Drayton

The only analogy I have before me is Socrates. My task is a Socratic task, to revise the definition of what it is to be a Christian. For my part I do not call myself a "Christian" (thus keeping the ideal free), but I am able to make it evident that the others are still less than I. ~ Soren Kierkegaard

Mankind is a science that defies definitions. ~ Robert Burns

All definitions are a part of the intellectual dissection and compartmentalization of control. ~ Bryant McGill

I think most newspapermen by definition have to be liberal; if they're not liberal, by definition of it, then they can hardly be good newspapermen. If they're preordained dogmatists for a cause, then they can't be very good journalists. ~ Walter Cronkite

A guy that throws what he intends to throw, that's the definition of a good pitcher. ~ Sandy Koufax

The definition of the problem, rather than its solution, will be the scarce resource in the future. ~ Esther Dyson

One should not be too distracted by definitions. Ideas transcend definitions. ~ Neil DeGrasse Tyson

When a decision is made to cope with the symptoms of a problem, it is generally assumed that the corrective measures will solve the problem itself. They seldom do. Engineers cannot seem to get this through their heads. These countermeasures are all based on too narrow a definition of what is wrong. Human measures and countermeasures proceed from limited scientific truth and judgment. A true solution can never come about in this way. ~ Masanobu Fukuoka

The death penalty is used in such a blatantly racist way in the United States. There is no way that can be defended under any kind of definition of justice by anybody. ~ Assata Shakur

Dogs are wonderful, and in many ways unique. But they are remarkably unremarkable in their intellectual and experiential capacities. Pigs are every bit as intelligent and feeling, by any sensible definition of the words. They can't hop into the back of a Volvo, but they can fetch, run and play, be mischievous, and reciprocate affection. So why don't they get to curl up by the fire? Why can't they at least be spared being tossed on the fire? ~ Jonathan Safran Foer

There are innumerable definitions of God, because His manifestations are innumerable. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Throw away the light, the definitions, and say what you see in the dark. ~ Wallace Stevens

Frankly, [the definition of woman] is a problem that the lesbians do not have because of a change of perspective. 'Woman' has meaning only in heterosexual systems of thought and heterosexual, economic systems. Lesbians are not women. ~ Monique Wittig

Art is a reality, not a definition; inasmuch as it approaches a reality, it approaches perfection, and inasmuch as it approaches a mere definition, it is imperfect and untrue. ~ Benjamin Haydon

Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy. ~ H.L. Mencken

If you want a definition of poetry, say: Poetry is what makes me laugh or cry or yawn, what makes my toenails twinkle, what makes me want to do this or that or nothing and let it go at that. ~ Dylan Thomas

I don't have a definition of Jazz. You're just supposed to know it when you hear it. ~ Thelonious Monk

Some artists are told what to like and told definitions of what the music business is. That's a problem. Music is artistry, and you want your music heard, your act known. But artists don't know. They are ignorant the minute they sign a contract. ~ Chuck D

When you say 'fear of the unknown', that is the definition of fear; fear is the unknown, fear is what you do not know, and it's genetically within us so that we feel safe. We feel scared of the woods because we're not familiar with it, and that keeps you safe. ~ M. Night Shyamalan

Pretty is so boring now. There are so many different definitions of 'pretty.' It's so much broader than before. The old pretty is boring - nobody cares anymore. ~ Zendaya

Simply coming to the perpetrator and delivering the message is Nozick's definition of revenge. And in that sense, Adi is exacting revenge. When people ask, "Does Adi want revenge?" - they mean violent revenge. But in Nozick's formulation, it is revenge. That is the essence of revenge. ~ Errol Morris

The world would be a paradise of peace and justice if global citizens shared a common definition of love which would guide our thoughts and action. ~ Bell Hooks

Good character consists of recognizing the selfishness that inheres in each of us and trying to balance it against the altruism to which we should all aspire. It is a difficult balance to strike, but no definition of goodness can be complete without it. ~ Alan Dershowitz

I asked her if she believed you could ever truly understand another culture. I told her the longer I stayed, the more asinine the attempt seemed, and that what I'd become more interested in is how we believed we could be objective in any way at all, we who each came in with our own personal definitions of kindness, strength, masculinity, femininity, God, civilisation, right and wrong. ~ Lily King

Unsheathe your dagger definitions; Horseness is the Whatness of All Horse ... ~ James Joyce

With bisexuality, there's so much out there in terms of what that means and there are so many definitions, and it's about finding out what's right for you. ~ Evan Rachel Wood

We do not realize how deeply our starting assumptions affect the way we go about looking for and interpreting the data we collect. We should recognize that nonhuman organisms need not meet every new definition of human language, tool use, mind, or consciousness in order to have versions of their own that are worthy of serious study. We have set ourselves too much apart, grasping for definitions that will distinguish man from all other life on the planet. We must rejoin the great stream of life from whence we arose and strive to see within it the seeds of all we are and all we may become. ~ Sue Savage-Rumbaugh

Reflection on the infinite seems to call, almost by definition, for infinite reflection. ~ Daniel Taylor

Intrinsic value can be defined simply: It is the discounted value of the cash that can be taken out of a business during its remaining life. The calculation of intrinsic value, though, is not so simple. As our definition suggests, intrinsic value is an estimate rather than a precise figure, and it is additionally an estimate that must be changed if interest rates move or forecasts of future cash flows are revised. ~ Warren Buffett

Who was the cynic who had defined gratitude as thanks for favors to come? ~ Ursula Curtiss

Let him tell us he's never been hurt, but that's the definition of getting hurt. ~ Andre Ward

Now we shall possess a right definition of faith if we call it a firm and certain knowledge of God's benevolence toward us, founded upon the truth of the freely given promise in Christ, both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our hearts through the Holy Spirit. ~ John Calvin

The best definition that I heard of that is that a bureaucrat is a Democrat who has a job that a Republican wants. ~ Alben W. Barkley

The definition of inspire is 'to fill with the urge or ability to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.' There you have it: Jeffrey Bilhuber inspires me. I watch him make his magic, and I want to do the same. Those are always my favorite people, the ones who are so alive in the practice of their art that I want to jump in and join the fun. ~ Mariska Hargitay

At one point, I worked up a list of five requirements for a superhero: superpowers, a costume, a code name, a mission, and a milieu. If the character had three out of the five, they were a superhero. But that's just my definition. ~ Kurt Busiek

Definitions from Mulla Do-Piaza
Emotionalist:
A man or woman who thinks he has experienced the divine. ~ Idries Shah

The definition of a Racist is anybody winning an argument with a liberal. ~ Bill Whittle

In dark times, the definition of good art would seem to be art that locates and applies CPR to those elements of what's human and magical that still live and glow despite the times' darkness. ~ D.T. Max

My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular. ~ Adlai E. Stevenson II

Human free will implies God's prior decision not to tamper with the metaphysical base of that free will. It also implies man's ability to reject the persuasion God uses to influence that free will while leaving its metaphysical base intact! Persuasion, not compulsion, is what even He must rely upon! And persuasion, by its very definition, must be resistible! ~ Don Richardson

Really, a nightmare just really has to evoke some sort of, we call it, dysphoric emotion or something uncomfortable. You could be sad, you could be unhappy; you could be scared, anxious. But traditionally, the definition is you have to awaken from this nightmare. ~ Shelby Harris

The definition of genius, really, should be that that person can do what the rest of us have to learn how to do. ~ James Lipton

There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer. ~ Peter F. Drucker

The definition of a great picture is one that stays with you, one that you can't forget. It doesn't have to be technically good at all. ~ Steve McCurry

There is a strange duality in the human which makes for an ethical paradox. We have definitions of good qualities and of bad; not changing things, but generally considered good and bad throughout the ages and throughout the species. Of the good, we think always of wisdom, tolerance, kindliness, generosity, humility; and the qualities of cruelty, greed, self-interest, graspingness, and rapacity are universally considered undesirable. And yet in our structure of society, the so-called and considered good qualities are invariable concomitants of failure, while the bad ones are the cornerstones of success ... Perhaps no other animal is so torn between alternatives. Man might be described fairly adequately, if simply, as a two-legged paradox. ~ John Steinbeck

Perfect definition of atheist dogma. Your mind has been subjected to subtle mental conditioning year after year. Now the atheist lie has become the truth to you. A lie that can be blown away with the real truth. It just takes time to unwind the atheist mental conditioning. The truth is out there. Outside of atheist dogma lies the truth! ~ Vladimir Lenin

Selfish people are, by definition, those whose activities are devoted to bringing themselves happiness. Yet ... these selfish people are far less likely to be happy than those whose efforts are devoted to making others happy. ~ Bernard Rimland

There are those who ask what authority, what theological qualification, the Council intended to give to its teachings, knowing that it avoided issuing solemn dogmatic definitions backed by the Church's infallible teaching authority. The answer is known by those who remember the conciliar declaration of March 6, 1964, repeated on November 16, 1964. In view of the pastoral nature of the Council, it avoided proclaiming in an extraordinary manner any dogmata carrying the mark of infallibility. ~ Pope Paul VI

It is by discourse that men associate; and words are imposed according to the apprehension of the vulgar. And therefore the ill and unfit choice of words wonderfully obsesses the understanding. Nor do the definitions or explanations, wherewith in some things learned men are wont to guard and defend themselves, by any means set the matter right. But words plainly force and overrule the understanding, and throw all into confusion, and lead men away into innumerable and inane controversies and fancies. ~ Francis Bacon

I'm not questioning *my* sexuality as much as I'm questioning the strict definitions and boxes of all *sexualities* and why we care so much about other people's intimate business. ~ A.S. King

I'm still spending my working life trying to mine people's souls and now they're complimenting me in reviews on the amount of time I spend in the gym. On the definition of my triceps. ~ Jason Isaacs

The mystical nature of American consumption accounts for its joylessness. We spend a great deal of time in stores, but if we don't seem to take much pleasure in our buying, it's because we're engaged in the acts of sacrifice and self-definition. Abashed in the presence of expensive merchandise, we recognize ourselves ... as suppliants admitted to a shrine. ~ Lewis H. Lapham

Among the many definitions of progress, "enemy of trees" and "killer of birds" seem to me the most apt. ~ Rabih Alameddine

My parents did not have a perfect marriage. It was pretty good, but it was not perfect. My marriage is not perfect. My wife is, but I happen to be imperfect. However, that does not discount the fact that the definition of marriage must be defended and protected. ~ Stockwell Day

The contents of a Brand Toolbox depend on the specific needs of the company but usually a Brand Toolbox contains An explanation of your brand strategy along with background and rationale so that everyone can understand why you're doing what you're doing, and definitions of key terms so everyone grasps the meaning behind the words Principles and guidelines for delivering brand values and attributes at key touchpoints between your brand and the outside world Sample applications for how the brand should be expressed and delivered Guides that walk people through important decisions, along with outlines that map processes so that people learn how to do things on brand like select a co-marketing partner and screen a new product ~ Denise Lee Yohn

Sense of Wonder ( ... ) may be defined as a shift in perspective so that the reader, having been made suddenly aware of the true scale of an event or venue, responds to the revelation with awe. ~ John Clute

Having federal officials, whether judges, bureaucrats, or congressmen, impose a new definition of marriage on the people is an act of social engineering profoundly hostile to liberty. ~ Ron Paul

Ye cannot know eternal reality by a definition. Time itself, and all the acts and events that fill time are the definition, and it must be lived. ~ C.S. Lewis

The best definition I can find of faith is the dependence upon the veracity of another. The Bible definition in the 11th chapter of Hebrews is, 'Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.' In other words, faith says amen to everything that God says. Faith takes God without any ifs, If God says it, Faith says I believe it; Faith says amen to it. ~ Dwight L. Moody

The definitions of the Church are the rules of true faith. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

A 5 yr. old's definition of nursery school: "A place where they teach children who hit, not to hit, and children who don't hit, to hit back." ~ James E. Myers

I am a girl of definitions, of logic, of black and white ~ Cecelia Ahern

Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo. ~ H.G.Wells

A geek by definition is somebody who eats live animals. I?ve never eaten live animals. ~ Crispin Glover

Literature is a form of language that breaks with the whole definition of genres as forms adapted to an order of representations, and becomes merely a manifestation of a language which has no other law than that of affirming in opposition to all other forms of discourse its own precipitous existence. ~ Michel Foucault

There is no such thing as real happiness in life. The justest definition that was ever given of it was "a tranquil acquiescence under an agreeable delusion"
I forget where. ~ Laurence Sterne

Mrs. Heath wanted to sprinkle their minds with grass seed and watch the blades spike up through the earth, flat and predictable as a golf course. She wanted dependable students, well fed but not necessarily nourished. But he was not in that category. Admittedly, he could not count on his perceptions of letters and words, and he was not always accurate. He misused words most when he liked their sound. A sentence had a kind of music, and the word sounded right. The definitions were never as interesting as the sound they made coming out of your mouth. He rolled their flavors around on his tongue, tasting every nook and cranny, but he could not be trusted to deliver the right answer and she would never give him better than a C, no matter what genius work he produced. The way he saw it, his mind was a big unruly field of wildflowers. One day he would shower the world with blossoms. ~ Elizabeth Brundage

According to the dictionary, knock has two definitions: "to strike something with a sharp blow," and "to find fault with, a harsh and often petty criticism." Perhaps in human relationships both of these meanings could apply. Almost all men will respond to sincere praise and rebel at harsh and cutting criticisms. ~ Marvin J. Ashton

The definition of love is giving. ~ Bai Ling

The view is often defended that sciences should be built up on clear and sharply defined basal concepts. In actual fact no science, not even the most exact, begins with such definitions. The true beginning of scientific activity consists rather in describing phenomena and then in proceeding to group, classify and correlate them. ~ Sigmund Freud

In a way, this is a definition of shamanism. A shaman is a person who by some means has gotten out of their own culture. ~ Terence McKenna

An infinite question is often destroyed by finite answers. To define everything is to annihilate much that gives us laughter and joy. ~ Madeleine L'Engle

Both space and time are metrically amorphous, i.e. they do not have - despite how strongly we believe so - an inherent metric which would allow us to measure them without any definitions. In this sense, thus, neither space nor time is absolute. ~ Felix Alba-Juez

What's wrong with hip-hop is the system that controls the definition of it. There needs to be more balance on the airwaves. ~ Saul Williams

Q: Why bother doing proofs about programming languages? They are almost always boring if the definitions are right.
A: The definitions are almost always wrong.

- Anonymous ~ Benjamin C. Pierce

There is no response to stubbornly by many posed the question of the meaning of expeditions in the high mountains. I've never felt the need for such a definition. I walked to mountains and defeated them. That's all. ~ Jerzy Kukuczka

For excellence, the presence of others is always required. ~ Hannah Arendt

Dogs (like rats) are multitalented but they are also not very smart the way humans are. A recent book, devoted to the intelligence of dogs, is 250+ pages long (Stanley Coren, The Intelligence of Dogs: A Guide to the Thoughts, Emotions, and Inner Lives of Our Canine Companions, 1994). Interestingly, despite careful qualifications by Coren regarding definitions, the ranking of breeds by intelligence literally made newspaper headlines. We are obviously fascinated by the notion that dogs - or at least certain breeds of dog - might, just might, be really, really smart. It all makes as much sense as evaluating humans on our ability to sniff for bombs or echo-locate. ~ Jean Donaldson

Because we inhibit the same material world and manoeuvre with languages tied to common definitions, we talk to others in the assumption that they largely share our images and conceptions. ~ Alain De Botton

I believe the best definition of man is the ungrateful biped. ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Don't ever accuse anyone of being full of pride, undignified and unprofessional when simply they are wise to move away from dishonest schemers.
Dishonesty comprise too of layers of lies simply casted for impressive appearances. There are times too that corrupt hearts have their own confused, modified, self-affirming, pro-self interest business inclined definitions of professionalism, integrity, dignity and pride. ~ Angelica Hopes

When you're a kid it's sometimes just easier to go along with other people's definitions of who you are. ~ Samantha Irby

We must not define Jesus and his kingdom by fitting them within conventional understandings of kings and kingdoms. Rather, we must judge and deconstruct those conventional definitions in light of Jesus and his example. ~ Brian D. McLaren

The very last thing I want to do is to unsettle in the mind of any Christian, whatever his denomination, the concepts
for him traditional
by which he finds it profitable to represent to himself what is happening when he receives the bread and wine. I could wish that no definitions had ever been felt to be necessary; and, still more, that none had been allowed to make divisions between churches. ~ C.S. Lewis

The definition of black irony is Pro-lifers killing Doctors who do abortions ~ Bill Hicks

Your definition of who you are is your prison. You can set yourself free at any time. ~ Cheri Huber

There should essentially be no limits to the voluntary definition of marriage. ~ Ron Paul

Today, I slept in until 10,
Cleaned every dish I own,
Fought with the bank,
Took care of paperwork.
You and I might have different definitions of adulthood.
I don't work for salary, I didn't graduate from college,
But I don't speak for others anymore,
And I don't regret anything I can't genuinely apologize for.
And my mother is proud of me.
I burnt down a house of depression,
I painted over murals of greyscale,
And it was hard to rewrite my life into one I wanted to live
But today, I want to live.
I didn't salivate over sharp knives,
Or envy the boy who tossed himself off the Brooklyn bridge.
I just cleaned my bathroom,
did the laundry,
called my brother.
Told him, "it was a good day. ~ Kait Rokowski

Brick's detachment is at last broken through. His heart is accelerated; his forehead sweat-beaded; his breath becomes more rapid and his voice hoarse. The thing they're discussing, timidly and painfully on the side of Big Daddy, fiercely, violently on Brick's side, is the inadmissible thing that Skipper died to disavow between them. The fact that if it existed it had to be disavowed to "keep face" in the world they lived in, may be at the heart of the "mendacity" that Brick drinks to kill his disgust with. It may be the root of his collapse. Or maybe it is only a single manifestation of it, not even the most important. The bird that I hope to catch in the net of this play is not the solution of one man's psychological problem. I'm trying to catch the true quality of experience in a group of people, that cloudy, flickering, evanescent - fiercely charged! - interplay of live human beings in the thundercloud of a common crisis. Some mystery should be left in the revelation of character in a play, just as a great deal of mystery is always left in the revelation of character in life, even in one's own character to himself. This does not absolve the playwright of his duty to observe and probe as clearly and deeply as he legitimately can: but it should steer him away from "pat" conclusions, facile definitions which make a play just a play, not a snare for the truth of human experience. ~ Tennessee Williams

That is the definition of faith -- acceptance of that which we imagine to be true, that which we cannot prove. ~ Dan Brown

The world out there is not waiting for a new definition of Christianity; it's waiting for a new demonstration of Christianity. ~ Leonard Ravenhill

We shall not enter into any of the abstruse definitions of war used by publicists. We shall keep to the element of the thing itself, to a duel. War is nothing but a duel on an extensive scale. ~ Carl Von Clausewitz

If you look up the meaning of healing you can find many different definitions. There's the adjective, noun, and verb (with and without objects). For argument's sake we will use the verb. Still there are many definitions. The one that fits here is to free from evil; cleanse; purify; to heal the soul.
Free from evil, even if you didn't know it was there. ~ Mandi Lynn

There may or may not be a God or gods; the Siblings do not concern themselves with proving or disproving such a thing. By definition, gods are more powerful than men, and thus quite able to fend for themselves without help. ~ Steve Perry

Know Your Warning Signs That You've Persisted Too Long

Because anxiety causes thinking to get narrow and rigid, it can sometimes cause you to persist too long on certain tasks. Since anxious perfectionists tend to be particular and don't like unfinished tasks hanging over their heads, they can be especially vulnerable to this trap. Know the signs that you need to stop persisting. For example, if you work online, one of your personal signs of overpersistence might be that you've searched a forum for over 30 minutes looking for a solution to a problem and haven't found it. This would be a cue that taking a break from trying to solve your problem is likely to be more effective than banging away at it. Another example might be if you've been trying to convince your partner of something for over 10 minutes. You've explained your point of view several different ways, and you're still at loggerheads.
Define your overpersistence warning signs in objective and specific ways. This will make it harder to ignore them than if your definitions were fuzzy. ~ Alice Boyes

Democracy has many definitions, but what's in it for me is not an element of any of them. ~ Jeff Cooper

My definition of social justice: those who refuse to work deserve to go hungry. ~ Clayton Cramer

This solidarity can grow only in inverse ratio to personality ... Solidarity which comes from likenesses is at its maximum when the collective conscience completely envelops our whole conscience and coincides in all points with it ... when this solidarity exercises its force, our personality vanishes, as our definition permits us to say, for we are no longer ourselves, but the collective life. ~ Emile Durkheim

Generosity is, by definition, disinterested." (p.157) ~ Piero Ferrucci