| / English Dictionary |
TRIAL
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of testing something
Example:
he called each flip of the coin a new trial
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("trial" is a kind of...):
attempt; effort; endeavor; endeavour; try (earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "trial"):
assay (a quantitative or qualitative test of a substance (especially an ore or a drug) to determine its components; frequently used to test for the presence or concentration of infectious agents or antibodies etc.)
clinical test; clinical trial (a rigorously controlled test of a new drug or a new invasive medical device on human subjects; in the United States it is conducted under the direction of the FDA before being made available for general clinical use)
double blind (a test procedure in which the identity of those receiving the intervention is concealed from both the administrators and the subjects until after the test is completed; designed to reduce or eliminate bias in the results)
preclinical phase; preclinical test; preclinical trial (a laboratory test of a new drug or a new invasive medical device on animal subjects; conducted to gather evidence justifying a clinical trial)
audition; tryout (a test of the suitability of a performer)
field trial (a test of young hunting dogs to determine their skill in pointing and retrieving)
fitting; try-on; trying on (putting clothes on to see whether they fit)
Ministry of Transportation test; MOT; MOT test (a compulsory annual test of older motor vehicles for safety and exhaust fumes)
pilot program; pilot project (activity planned as a test or trial)
Snellen test (a test of visual acuity using a Snellen chart)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The act of undergoing testing
Example:
candidates must compete in a trial of skill
Synonyms:
test; trial
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("trial" is a kind of...):
attempt; effort; endeavor; endeavour; try (earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something)
Derivation:
try (put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to)
Sense 3
Meaning:
(law) the determination of a person's innocence or guilt by due process of law
Example:
most of these complaints are settled before they go to trial
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("trial" is a kind of...):
legal proceeding; proceeding; proceedings ((law) the institution of a sequence of steps by which legal judgments are invoked)
Meronyms (parts of "trial"):
plea (an answer indicating why a suit should be dismissed)
criminal prosecution; prosecution (the institution and conduct of legal proceedings against a defendant for criminal behavior)
defence; defense; demurrer; denial (a defendant's answer or plea denying the truth of the charges against him)
Domain category:
jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "trial"):
retrial (a new trial in which issues already litigated and to which the court has already rendered a verdict or decision are reexamined by the same court; occurs when the initial trial is found to have been improper or unfair due to procedural errors)
mistrial (a trial that is invalid or inconclusive)
show trial (a trial held for show; the guilt of the accused person has been decided in advance)
Scopes trial (a highly publicized trial in 1925 when John Thomas Scopes violated a Tennessee state law by teaching evolution in high school; Scopes was prosecuted by William Jennings Bryan and defended by Clarence Darrow; Scopes was convicted but the verdict was later reversed)
ordeal; trial by ordeal (a primitive method of determining a person's guilt or innocence by subjecting the accused person to dangerous or painful tests believed to be under divine control; escape was usually taken as a sign of innocence)
court-martial (a trial that is conducted by a military court)
Derivation:
try (put on trial or hear a case and sit as the judge at the trial of)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Trying something to find out about it
Example:
a trial of progesterone failed to relieve the pain
Synonyms:
test; trial; trial run; tryout
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("trial" is a kind of...):
experiment; experimentation (the testing of an idea)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "trial"):
field test; field trial (a test of the performance of some new product under the conditions in which it will be used)
alpha test ((computer science) a first test of an experimental product (such as computer software) carried out by the developer)
beta test ((computer science) a second test of an experimental product (such as computer software) carried out by an outside organization)
road test (a test to insure that a vehicle is roadworthy)
trial balloon (a test of public opinion)
Derivation:
try (take a sample of)
Sense 5
Meaning:
An annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event
Example:
a visitation of the plague
Synonyms:
trial; tribulation; visitation
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("trial" is a kind of...):
affliction (a cause of great suffering and distress)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "trial"):
fire (a severe trial)
Derivation:
try (give pain or trouble to)
Sense 6
Meaning:
(sports) a preliminary competition to determine qualifications
Example:
the trials for the semifinals began yesterday
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural events
Hypernyms ("trial" is a kind of...):
competition; contest (an occasion on which a winner is selected from among two or more contestants)
Domain category:
athletics; sport (an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
Present simple (first person singular and plural, second person singular and plural, third person plural) of the verb trial
Context examples:
Clinical trials are currently under way in the US, Pfluger said they are expecting the first data from there.
(German scientists find potential treatment for obesity, Agência Brasil)
A second list with 15 new words is read and the patient must recall the words in one trial.
(Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Auditory Verbal Learning Test Questionnaire, NCI Thesaurus)
The identifier of the subsequent trial that the patient is entering.
(Next Trial Identification, NCI Thesaurus)
A very few minutes more, however, completed the present trial.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
Catherine could not answer; and, after a short trial of other subjects, Mrs. Allen again returned to—“I really have not patience with the general!
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
As the trial had proceeded, her countenance had altered.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
“You seem pretty sure of him,” said he; “and for your sake, I hope you may be right. If it came to a trial, your name might appear.”
(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
Perhaps you will hardly think the better of me,—it is worth the trial however, and you shall hear every thing.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
I fled from my trial, therefore, and disappeared from the world.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
It is true that he hath not come to trial, but the trial hath come to him.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
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