Republic of the Philippines

Carmel Academy
Palauig, Zambales

ENGLISH 10 – SECOND QUARTER

DEFINITION
TECHNICAL DEFINITION
Technical Definition is a very detailed description of a term, process or phenomenon. When
preparing a document many times the writer has to use some term that might be unknown to the audience,
but is an essential to understand the author's idea. The length of the definition depends on the complexity of
the term and the audience for which is designed.
Example: A paper micrometer is a small measuring instrument used to measure the thickness of a piece of
paper. The micrometer is roughly the size of a regular stapler and four main parts: (1) frame, (2) dial, (3)
hand lever, and (4) piston. The total weight of the instrument is eight pounds. A micrometer has applications
for the production of paper as well as printing and publishing industries.
Types of Technical Definitions

 Parenthetical Definitions – used to define a simpler term with a short description enclosed in
parenthesis immediately after the term. It is also a short explanation of a word or phrase placed
unobtrusively in a sentence. Sometimes a parenthetical definition is itself only a word or short
phrase.

Examples:

Burger King has been trying unsuccessfully for years to buy the equity stock (common stock) of
McDonald's.

His uncle sells municipal revenue bonds, (bonds issued to finance projects that will eventually
generate their own revenues, such as a toll bridge).

 Sentence Definition - a one-sentence explanation of a word or phrase. Sentence definitions are

useful when your readers require a more formal or more informative clarification than parenthetical
definitions provide. A sentence definition usually follows a standard pattern in which the item being
defined (term) is placed in a class or category (genus) of similar items and then distinguished
(differentia) from them.

Examples: An acoustic coupler is a modem that attaches to a telephone handset to transmit

computer information over telephone lines.

A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices.

 Expanded Definition – used to define terms with a very detailed explanation using examples and
visuals.

In order to make a useful expanded definition one needs to expand on the following questions:

 How does it work?

 What are its parts?
 What does it look like?
 What does it do?
  Can it be compared to anything familiar?
 How it is used?
 What is its origin and background?
 What it's not?

To help answer these questions one can use the following:

 Give a synonym if available

 State formal definition
 Give examples
 Give operational definition
 Provide analogies
 Contrast with what it is not

Examples: A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes
in geometry. A triangle with vertices A, B, and C is denoted. In Euclidean geometry any three
points, when non-collinear, determine a unique triangle and simultaneously, a unique plane (i.e. a
two-dimensional Euclidean space).
Pythagorean theorem, (also known as Pythagoras' theorem), is a fundamental relation
in Euclidean geometry among the three sides of a right triangle. It states that the square of
the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two
sides. The theorem can be written as an equation relating the lengths of the sides a, b and c, often
called the ‘Pythagorean equation.’
2 2 2
a + b =c
where c represents the length of the hypotenuse and a and b the lengths of the triangle's other two
sides.

OPERATIONAL DEFINITION
The operational definition makes the abstract qualities concrete. It describes the observable
characteristics of a variable--the things that the researcher can observe or measure directly. The things you
can see and measure are visible representations of the abstract qualities. The operational definition has 3
parts: it gives concrete definitions for abstract qualities, it names the values of the variable, and it assigns a
number to each value of the variable.
Examples:
How would you ‘operationalize’ the meaning of hunger? How can you tell if someone is hungry?
You may define it in terms of procedure. You may say hunger means not eating for 24 hours.
Time is the quantity which comes in units of seconds which can be measured by a stopwatch.
Tantrum
Description: Laying on the floor, crying, yelling, throwing objects, and/or pounding fists on desk.
The episode is counted if it lasts 10 seconds or more and is counted as a new incident if separated by
5 minutes or more.
EXAMPLES NON-EXAMPLES
Laying on the floor for 20 seconds Throwing pencil and yelling ‘no’, then re-
directing to the task (lasting total of 7 seconds)
Sitting in chair and pounding on the desk Sitting in the chair without working but not
 without talking making any noise
Crying and yelling loudly about ‘fairness’ Crying after getting hurt

Therefore, Tantrum is a behaviour characterized by laying on the floor for 20 seconds, sitting in
chair and pounding on the desk without talking and crying and yelling loudly about ‘fairness.’

DEFINING ABSTRACT TERMS

Ways on How to Define Abstract Terms
For example, ‘What is love?’
1. Use narratives or anecdotes
My father never said ‘I love you’ to me. Yet, he made sure there is enough food on the table, money in our
pockets, clothing on our backs, and decent roof over our heads. He also made sure he is around during the
significant occasions or events in our school. To me, these are more powerful signs of his love than mere
words.
2. Say what it is not
Love is not a game that children play.
3. Give words that are synonymous in meaning.
Love is devotion or passion.
4. Give its etymology or origin.
The word love comes from the Old English word lufu, which means affection or desire.
5. Provide examples that may personify it.
Love is that feeling of selflessness when you know you are willing to give your last cookie to your friend
who needs it more.
Guidelines in Defining Terms
1. Refrain from defining words with expressions like ‘is when’ and ‘is where.’ Define with a noun, an
adjective with an adjective and so on.
Poor: Honesty is when you decide to tell the truth even if it will harm yourself or your loved ones.
Improved: Honesty is a virtue that makes you tell the truth.
2. Refrain from defining a word by just repeating it or a part of it.
Poor: Musicality is the quality of being musical.
Improved: Musicality is the quality of being melodious and having a pleasing tune.
3. Use easy-to-understand words when defining a term.
Poor: Global warming and climate change are terms for the observed century-scale rise in the average
temperature of the earth’s climate system and its related effects.
Improved: Global warming is primarily a problem of too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which acts
as a blanket, trapping heat and warming the planet.