---
title: defining — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «defining» in the school dictionary: Most important in showing what someone or something is really like: «a defining moment». Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# defining

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** someone, defining relative clause, information, Winning, defining feature, We · **What happens:** show, be, give, set out, mean, tell · **To what, where:** exact meaning, limits, word, information, you, person · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«defining» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 6 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [defining in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/defining.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Most important in showing what someone or something is really like: «a defining moment».

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:defining:m1:1
# text = Most important in showing what someone or something is really like: «a defining moment».
1	Most	most	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	2	amod	_	_
2	important	important	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
3	in	in	SCONJ	IN	_	4	mark	_	_
4	showing	show	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	_
5	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	4	obj	_	_
6	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	16	nsubj	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	conj	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	cop	_	_
10	really	really	ADV	RB	_	16	advmod	_	_
11	like	like	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	11	punct	_	_
13	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
15	defining	defining	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
16	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent what=Recipient |
| 2 | **is** *in a quote* | present | someone |  |  |  | like a defining moment |  | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: verb — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Giving the exact meaning of a word, or setting out the limits of something.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:defining:m2:1
# text = Giving the exact meaning of a word, or setting out the limits of something.
1	Giving	give	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	exact	exact	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	meaning	meaning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
9	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	setting	set	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	1	conj	_	_
11	out	out	ADP	RP	_	10	compound:prt	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	limits	limit	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obj	_	_
14	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	13	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | gerund |  | the exact meaning of a word |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent meaning=Theme |
| 2 | **set out** | gerund |  | the limits of something |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **mean** |  |  | a word |  |  |  |  | nom meaning «communication transitive»: of=patient |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: grammar — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A «defining relative clause» gives information that tells you exactly which person or thing is meant.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:defining:m3:1
# text = A «defining relative clause» gives information that tells you exactly which person or thing is meant.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
2	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	defining	defining	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
4	relative	relative	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	clause	clause	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
7	gives	give	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	information	information	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
9	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	10	nsubj	_	_
10	tells	tell	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	acl:relcl	_	_
11	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	10	iobj	_	_
12	exactly	exactly	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
13	which	which	DET	WDT	PronType=Int	14	det	_	_
14	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nsubj:pass	_	_
15	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	conj	_	_
17	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	18	aux:pass	_	_
18	meant	mean	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	10	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | present | a defining relative clause | information |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent information=Theme |
| 2 | **tell** *speech: assert* | present | information |  | you |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent you=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 3 | **mean** | present · passive |  | which person or thing |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Topic |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Winning the final was a defining moment for the team.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:defining:x1:1
# text = Winning the final was a defining moment for the team.
1	Winning	win	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	7	csubj	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	final	final	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	defining	defining	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	team	team	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **win** | gerund |  | the final |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent final=Eventuality |
| 2 | **is a** | past | Winning | a defining moment |  |  |  | for the team | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A defining feature of a triangle is that it has three sides.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:defining:x2:1
# text = A defining feature of a triangle is that it has three sides.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	defining	defining	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	feature	feature	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	triangle	triangle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
8	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
11	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	12	nummod	_	_
12	sides	side	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | a defining feature of a triangle |  |  |  |  | have *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **feature** |  |  | a triangle |  |  |  |  | nom feature «cognition transitive»: of=patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We are defining the new words in our vocabulary books.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:defining:x3:1
# text = We are defining the new words in our vocabulary books.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	defining	define	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
9	vocabulary	vocabulary	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	books	book	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **define** | present · progressive | We | the new words |  | our vocabulary books |  |  | vn reflexive\_appearance-48.1.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent word=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Kindness is her defining quality.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:defining:x4:1
# text = Kindness is her defining quality.
1	Kindness	kindness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
4	defining	defining	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	quality	quality	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Kindness | her defining quality |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Defining what a «fair» game means helped end the argument.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:defining:x5:1
# text = Defining what a «fair» game means helped end the argument.
1	Defining	define	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	csubj	_	_
2	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	1	obj	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
4	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	fair	fair	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
7	game	game	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
8	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	helped	help	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	ccomp	_	_
10	end	end	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	xcomp	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	argument	argument	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **define** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn reflexive\_appearance-48.1.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent what=Theme |
| 2 | **mean** | present | Defining |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **help** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 4 | **end** | infinitive |  | the argument |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V NP.eventuality»: agent=Subeventuality argument=Eventuality |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the sentence «The book that I read was long», «that I read» is a defining clause.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:defining:x6:1
# text = In the sentence «The book that I read was long», «that I read» is a defining clause.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	sentence	sentence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obl	_	_
4	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	book	book	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	obj	_	_
8	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	read	read	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
10	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
11	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
14	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	17	mark	_	_
16	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	17	nsubj	_	_
17	read	read	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	22	csubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	17	punct	_	_
19	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	22	cop	_	_
20	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
21	defining	defining	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	22	amod	_	_
22	clause	clause	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	22	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **read** *in a quote* | past | I | the book |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent that=Topic |
| 2 | **is** *in a quote* | past | the book |  |  |  |  | long *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **read** *in a quote* | past | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **is a** | present |  | a defining clause |  | the sentence |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
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