Dictionary entry details
• CAUSE (noun)
Meaning:
Events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural events
Context example:
they are trying to determine the cause of the crash
Hypernyms ("cause" is a kind of...):
inception; origin; origination (an event that is a beginning; a first part or stage of subsequent events)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cause"):
mutagenesis (an event capable of causing a mutation)
producer (something that produces)
factor (anything that contributes causally to a result)
aetiology; etiology (the cause of a disease)
antecedent (a preceding occurrence or cause or event)
Meaning:
A justification for something existing or happening
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Synonyms:
cause; grounds; reason
Context examples:
he had no cause to complain / they had good reason to rejoice
Hypernyms ("cause" is a kind of...):
justification (a statement in explanation of some action or belief)
Meaning:
A series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Synonyms:
crusade; campaign; cause; drive; effort; movement
Context examples:
he supported populist campaigns / they worked in the cause of world peace / the team was ready for a drive toward the pennant / the movement to end slavery / contributed to the war effort
Hypernyms ("cause" is a kind of...):
venture (any venturesome undertaking especially one with an uncertain outcome)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cause"):
youth crusade; youth movement (political or religious or social reform movement or agitation consisting chiefly of young people)
war (a concerted campaign to end something that is injurious)
reform (a campaign aimed to correct abuses or malpractices)
lost cause (a defeated cause or a cause for which defeat is inevitable)
gay lib; gay liberation movement (the movement aimed at liberating homosexuals from legal or social or economic oppression)
feminism; feminist movement; women's lib; women's liberation movement (the movement aimed at equal rights for women)
fund-raising campaign; fund-raising drive; fund-raising effort (a campaign to raise money for some cause)
campaigning; candidacy; candidature; electioneering; political campaign (the campaign of a candidate to be elected)
consumerism (a movement advocating greater protection of the interests of consumers)
charm campaign (a campaign of flattery and friendliness (by a company, politician, etc.) to become more popular and gain support)
anti-war movement (a campaign against entering or continuing a war)
ad blitz; ad campaign; advertising campaign (an organized program of advertisements)
Meaning:
Any entity that produces an effect or is responsible for events or results
Classified under:
Nouns with no superordinates
Synonyms:
causal agency; causal agent; cause
Hypernyms ("cause" is a kind of...):
physical entity (an entity that has physical existence)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cause"):
individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)
agent (a substance that exerts some force or effect)
danger (a cause of pain or injury or loss)
cause of death; killer (the causal agent resulting in death)
engine (something used to achieve a purpose)
life principle; vital principle (a hypothetical force to which the functions and qualities peculiar to living things are sometimes ascribed)
force; power (one possessing or exercising power or influence or authority)
manipulator; operator (an agent that operates some apparatus or machine)
deus ex machina (any active agent who appears unexpectedly to solve an insoluble difficulty)
catalyst (something that causes an important event to happen)
agent (an active and efficient cause; capable of producing a certain effect)
nature (a causal agent creating and controlling things in the universe)
occult; supernatural (supernatural forces and events and beings collectively)
theurgy (the effect of supernatural or divine intervention in human affairs)
first cause; prime mover; primum mobile (an agent that is the cause of all things but does not itself have a cause)
Destiny; Fate (the ultimate agency that predetermines the course of events (often personified as a woman))
Meaning:
A comprehensive term for any proceeding in a court of law whereby an individual seeks a legal remedy
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Synonyms:
suit; lawsuit; causa; case; cause
Context example:
the family brought suit against the landlord
Hypernyms ("cause" is a kind of...):
legal proceeding; proceeding; proceedings ((law) the institution of a sequence of steps by which legal judgments are invoked)
Domain category:
jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cause"):
bastardy proceeding; paternity suit (a lawsuit filed to determine the father of a child born out of wedlock (and to provide for the support of the child once paternity is determined))
moot (a hypothetical case that law students argue as an exercise)
criminal suit (a lawsuit alleging violations of criminal law by the defendant)
countersuit (a suit brought against someone who has sued you)
class action; class-action suit (a lawsuit brought by a representative member of a large group of people on behalf of all members of the group)
civil suit (a lawsuit alleging violations of civil law by the defendant)
• CAUSE (verb)
Meaning:
Give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally
Classified under:
Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing
Synonyms:
cause; do; make
Context examples:
cause a commotion / make a stir / cause an accident
Hypernyms (to "cause" is one way to...):
create; make (make or cause to be or to become)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "cause"):
force; impel (urge or force (a person) to an action; constrain or motivate)
actuate; incite; motivate; move; prompt; propel (give an incentive for action)
breed; engender; spawn (call forth)
call forth; evoke; kick up; provoke (evoke or provoke to appear or occur)
occasion (give occasion to)
make (compel or make somebody or something to act in a certain way)
effect; effectuate; set up (produce)
initiate; pioneer (take the lead or initiative in; participate in the development of)
determine; influence; mold; regulate; shape (shape or influence; give direction to)
facilitate (increase the likelihood of (a response))
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Meaning:
Cause to do; cause to act in a specified manner
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Synonyms:
cause; stimulate; induce; make; get; have
Context examples:
The ads induced me to buy a VCR / My children finally got me to buy a computer / My wife made me buy a new sofa
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "cause"):
compel; obligate; oblige (force or compel somebody to do something)
suborn (induce to commit perjury or give false testimony)
inspire; instigate; prompt (serve as the inciting cause of)
lead (cause to undertake a certain action)
let (actively cause something to happen)
encourage (spur on)
solicit (incite, move, or persuade to some act of lawlessness or insubordination)
bring (induce or persuade)
persuade (cause somebody to adopt a certain position, belief, or course of action; twist somebody's arm)
decide (cause to decide)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE
Somebody ----s somebody INFINITIVE
Sentence example:
They cause him to write the letter
