| / English Dictionary |
EQUALITY
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The quality of being the same in quantity or measure or value or status
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("equality" is a kind of...):
sameness (the quality of being alike)
Attribute:
equal (having the same quantity, value, or measure as another)
unequal (poorly balanced or matched in quantity or value or measure)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "equality"):
equatability (capability of being equated)
equivalence (essential equality and interchangeability)
evenness (the quality of being balanced)
isometry (equality of measure (e.g., equality of height above sea level or equality of loudness etc.))
balance (equality between the totals of the credit and debit sides of an account)
Antonym:
inequality (lack of equality)
Derivation:
equal (having the same quantity, value, or measure as another)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A state of being essentially equal or equivalent; equally balanced
Example:
on a par with the best
Synonyms:
equality; equation; equivalence; par
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("equality" is a kind of...):
position; status (the relative position or standing of things or especially persons in a society)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "equality"):
egalite; egality (social and political equality)
tie (equality of score in a contest)
Context examples:
I was so much astonished, that the oddness of introducing a madman in an asylum did not strike me at the moment; and, besides, there was a certain dignity in the man's manner, so much of the habit of equality, that I at once made the introduction: Lord Godalming; Professor Van Helsing; Mr. Quincey Morris, of Texas; Mr. Renfield.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
Elinor saw, and pitied her for, the neglect of abilities which education might have rendered so respectable; but she saw, with less tenderness of feeling, the thorough want of delicacy, of rectitude, and integrity of mind, which her attentions, her assiduities, her flatteries at the Park betrayed; and she could have no lasting satisfaction in the company of a person who joined insincerity with ignorance; whose want of instruction prevented their meeting in conversation on terms of equality, and whose conduct toward others made every shew of attention and deference towards herself perfectly valueless.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
He was on terms of intellectual equality with her.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
A curious equality of friendship, originating, I suppose, in our respective circumstances, sprung up between me and these people, notwithstanding the ludicrous disparity in our years.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
Equality of position and fortune is often advisable in such cases; and there are twenty years of difference in your ages.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
The plan of a drain, the change of a fence, the felling of a tree, and the destination of every acre for wheat, turnips, or spring corn, was entered into with as much equality of interest by John, as his cooler manners rendered possible; and if his willing brother ever left him any thing to inquire about, his inquiries even approached a tone of eagerness.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
In the name of equality they destroy equality.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
The equality between her and me was real; not the mere result of condescension on her part: so much the better—my position was all the freer.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
Assured of the love of such a woman—the disinterested love, for Jane Fairfax's character vouches for her disinterestedness; every thing in his favour,—equality of situation—I mean, as far as regards society, and all the habits and manners that are important; equality in every point but one—and that one, since the purity of her heart is not to be doubted, such as must increase his felicity, for it will be his to bestow the only advantages she wants.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
And when he did catch it, he leapt to equality at once.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
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