Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
linear [lin-ee-er] ExamplesWord Origin See more synonyms for linear on Thesaurus.com adjective
- of, consisting of, or using lines: linear design.
- pertaining to or represented by lines: linear dimensions.
- extended or arranged in a line: a linear series.
- involving measurement in one dimension only; pertaining to length: linear measure.
- of or relating to the characteristics of a work of art in which forms and rhythms are defined chiefly in terms of line.
- having the form of or resembling a line: linear nebulae.
- Mathematics.
- consisting of, involving, or describable by terms of the first degree.
- having the same effect on a sum as on each of the summands: a linear operation.
- Electronics. delivering an output that is directly proportional to the input: a linear circuit; a linear amplifier.
- threadlike; narrow and elongated: a linear leaf.
Origin of linear First recorded in 1635–45, linear is from the Latin word līneāris of, belonging to lines. See line1, -ar1 Related formslin·e·ar·ly, adverbnon·lin·e·ar, adjectivesub·lin·e·ar, adjective Related Words for linear precise, limited, slim, definite, precarious, slender, tight, cramped, thin, small, short, straightforward, solid, smooth, successive, consecutive, nonstop, true, continuous, exclusive Examples from the Web for linear Contemporary Examples of linear
But the reasoning only made sense if the tumor grew in a linear, predictable way.
How Big Pharma Holds Back in the War on Cancer
ProPublica
April 23, 2014
In his own words it was “the linear equivalent of the sensation of flight.”
Matisse: Innovator Until the End
Nico Hines
April 16, 2014
I call them Hyperserials: shows with a purer, more intense focus on one linear, series-long plotline.
Mad Men’s Dramatic Déjà Vu: ‘Time Zones’ Feels Redundant
Andrew Romano
April 14, 2014
The order of words in a book is dictated by the linear nature of the medium.
Why We Should Read World History
Lincoln Paine
December 25, 2013
It is a simple, linear view of how things work—if a measured amount of something is good, an all-out amount of it must be better.
Why Now is Not the Time for New Sanctions on Iran
Dylan Williams
November 5, 2013
Historical Examples of linear
Linear, elongated oblong, more than three times as long as wide.
Trees of the Northern United States
Austin C. Apgar
To this linear perspective is added moreover an atmospheric perspective.
Raphael Petrucci
Linear Logic Language, the pitfall of all the old researchers.
Harry Harrison (AKA Henry Maxwell Dempsey)
The Egyptians do not appear to have made any use of linear perspective.
The Theory and Practice of Perspective
George Adolphus Storey
They ascertain politics as sequential, linear, and deterministic.
The Civilization of Illiteracy
Mihai Nadin
British Dictionary definitions for linear linear adjective
- of, in, along, or relating to a line
- of or relating to length
- resembling, represented by, or consisting of a line or lines
- having one dimension
- 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 definedCompare painterly
- maths of or relating to the first degreea linear equation
- narrow and having parallel edgesa linear leaf
- electronics
- (of a circuit, etc) having an output that is directly proportional to inputlinear amplifier
- having components arranged in a line
Derived Formslinearity (ˌlɪnɪˈærɪtɪ), nounlinearly, adverbWord Origin for linear C17: from Latin līneāris of or by means of lines Word Origin and History for linear adj.
1640s, from French linéaire, from Latin linearis “belonging to a line,” from linea “string, line” (see line (n.)). Essentially the same word as lineal; “in Latin linearis the original suffix -alis was dissimilated to -aris, but in Late Latin this rule was no longer productive and the formation or re-formation in -alis remained unchanged.” [Barnhart]. Linear A and Linear B (1902-3) were names given to two related forms of linear Minoan writing discovered 1894-1901 in Crete by Sir Arthur Evans.
linear in Medicine linear [lĭn′ē-ər] adj.
- Of, relating to, or resembling a line; straight.
linear in Science linear [lĭn′ē-ər]
- Being or resembling a line.