MAGNITUDE
Dictionary entry overview: What does magnitude mean?
• MAGNITUDE (noun)
The noun MAGNITUDE has 3 senses:
1. the property of relative size or extent (whether large or small)
2. a number assigned to the ratio of two quantities; two quantities are of the same order of magnitude if one is less than 10 times as large as the other; the number of magnitudes that the quantities differ is specified to within a power of 10
3. relative importance
Familiarity information: MAGNITUDE used as a noun is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
• MAGNITUDE (noun)
Meaning:
The property of relative size or extent (whether large or small)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Context examples:
they tried to predict the magnitude of the explosion / about the magnitude of a small pea
Hypernyms ("magnitude" is a kind of...):
property (a basic or essential attribute shared by all members of a class)
Attribute:
measurable; mensurable (capable of being measured)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "magnitude"):
absolute magnitude ((astronomy) the magnitude that a star would have if it were viewed from a distance of 10 parsecs (32.62 light years) from the earth)
extent (the distance or area or volume over which something extends)
amount (how much of something is available)
intensity; intensity level; strength (the amount of energy transmitted (as by acoustic or electromagnetic radiation))
muchness (greatness of quantity or measure or extent)
bulk; mass; volume (the property of something that is great in magnitude)
size (a large magnitude)
size (the physical magnitude of something (how big it is))
triplicity (the property of being triple)
multiplicity (the property of being multiple)
amplitude (greatness of magnitude)
degree (the seriousness of something (e.g., a burn or crime))
dimension (the magnitude of something in a particular direction (especially length or width or height))
order; order of magnitude (a degree in a continuum of size or quantity)
dimension; proportion (magnitude or extent)
Meaning:
A number assigned to the ratio of two quantities; two quantities are of the same order of magnitude if one is less than 10 times as large as the other; the number of magnitudes that the quantities differ is specified to within a power of 10
Classified under:
Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas
Synonyms:
magnitude; order of magnitude
Hypernyms ("magnitude" is a kind of...):
ratio (the relative magnitudes of two quantities (usually expressed as a quotient))
Meaning:
Relative importance
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Context example:
a problem of the first magnitude
Hypernyms ("magnitude" is a kind of...):
importance (the quality of being important and worthy of note)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "magnitude"):
extensiveness; largeness (large or extensive in breadth or importance or comprehensiveness)
