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Literary notes about defined (AI summary)

In literature, "defined" functions as a versatile tool that both clarifies abstract concepts and delineates physical or conceptual boundaries. Authors often use it to explain ideas by setting limits or exacting criteria; for example, Bertrand Russell speculates that knowledge could be defined as "true belief" [1] while Durkheim distinguishes specific rites through precise definition [2]. In more descriptive narrative, the term highlights clarity and sharp contours—Tolstoy’s characters are described as having more defined features [3], and Verne portrays natural elements with well-defined outlines [4]. In academic and grammatical texts, "defined" serves as an instrument for accuracy, specifying meaning and structure in diverse contexts such as Latin grammar entries [5, 6, 7]. Whether establishing the limits of dominions [8] or setting the components of personality [9], the word "defined" consistently acts as a bridge between vagueness and precise understanding within literature.
  1. At first sight we might imagine that knowledge could be defined as 'true belief'.
    — from The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
  2. The rites can be defined and distinguished from other human practices, moral practices, for example, only by the special nature of their object.
    — from The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life by Émile Durkheim
  3. Her features were more defined and had a calm, soft, and serene expression.
    — from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy
  4. Towards the northwest stood out the rugged and well-defined outlines of the sides of the volcano, like a gigantic claw hovering over the island.
    — from The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne
  5. 514 Deponents , defined, 725 , 1486 ; imper.
    — from A Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges by George Martin Lane
  6. Asyndetic , coordination, defined, 1637 ; in simple sentences, 1638-1642 ; between sentences or periods, 2123-2127 .
    — from A Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges by George Martin Lane
  7. The English preposition "with" may be said to have three rather clearly defined different meanings.
    — from A Complete Grammar of Esperanto by Ivy Kellerman Reed
  8. The boundary line of his dominions was never clearly defined; but his principal park embraced a circuit of fifty miles.
    — from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe
  9. Personality may then be defined as the sum and organization of those traits which determine the rôle of the individual in the group.
    — from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park

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