method

(mĕth'əd)
n.

1. A means or manner of procedure, especially a regular and systematic way of accomplishing something: a simple method for making a pie crust; mediation as a method of solving disputes. See Usage Note at methodology.
2. Orderly arrangement of parts or steps to accomplish an end: random efforts that lack method.
3. The procedures and techniques characteristic of a particular discipline or field of knowledge: This field course gives an overview of archaeological method.
4. Method A technique of acting in which the actor recalls emotions and reactions from past experience and uses them in identifying with and individualizing the character being portrayed.

[Middle English, medical procedure, from Latin methodus, method, from Greek methodos, pursuit, method : meta-, beyond, after; see meta- + hodos, way, journey.]

SYNONYMS   method, system, routine, manner, mode, fashion, way. These nouns refer to the plans or procedures followed to accomplish a task or attain a goal. Method implies a detailed, logically ordered plan: "I do not know of a better method for choosing a presidential nominee" (Harry S. Truman). System suggests order, regularity, and coordination of methods: "Of generalship, of strategic system . . . there was little or none" (John Morely). A routine is a habitual, often tiresome method: "The common business of the nation . . . is carried on in a constant routine by the clerks of the different offices" (Tobias Smollett). Manner and fashion emphasize personal or distinctive behavior: a clearly articulated manner of speaking; issuing orders in an arbitrary and abrasive fashion. Mode often denotes a manner influenced by or arising from tradition or custom: a nomadic mode of life. Way is the least specific of these terms: "It is absurd to think that the only way to tell if a poem is lasting is to wait and see if it lasts" (Robert Frost).

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noun

1. The approach used to do something: fashion, manner, mode, modus operandi, style, system, way, wise². See means.
2. Systematic arrangement and design: order, orderliness, organization, pattern, plan, system, systematization, systemization. See order/disorder.

n

Definition: order
Antonyms: chaos, disorder

Since philosophy is largely the activity of reflecting on modes of thought, it is not surprising that its own methods are subject to its scrutiny. While different schools have frequently made claims for the one correct approach to philosophical problems, the march of history has not seen any consensus emerge. The early 20th century was dominated by philosophical attention to the nature of language, issuing in the two schools of analytical philosophy and phenomenology. Logical positivism and later linguistic philosophy were successors of the former, whilst a more historical approach to the nature of conceptual schemes is one of the legacies of the latter. Currently there is reasonable enthusiasm for a ‘naturalism’ that sees the activity of philosophy as continuous with that of science, differing mainly in the abstract nature of its problems and subject-matter: see naturalized epistemology. However critics doubt whether there is very much resembling science in the work of thinkers who enjoy this self-image, which can therefore seem more to be a piece of self-deception or science-envy. There is a natural temptation for philosophers to model themselves on the best accepted paradigms of successful disciplines of the time, be they mathematics, theology, history, linguistics, physics, or neuroscience.

IN BRIEF: A way of completing a task, especially a systematic way.

Almost all men are intelligent. It is method that they lack. — F. W. Nichol

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sign description: Both M-hands move in a forward motion away from the body.

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Quotes:

"The best theology would need no advocates; it would prove itself." - Karl Barth

"Anything that can be done chemically can be done by other means." - William S. Burroughs

"When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge." - Albert Einstein

"There is no method but to be very intelligent." - T. S. Eliot

"There is a point at which methods devour themselves." - Frantz Fanon

"A tree growing out of the ground is as wonderful today as it ever was. It does not need to adopt new and startling methods." - Robert Henri

See more famous quotes about Methods

Procedure for carrying out a particular task, e.g. investigating a hypothesis.

• agreement m. — when a particular factor is common to all occurrences of the disease, it may be that the common factor is the cause of the disease.
• analogy m. — when the circumstances of occurrence in one disease are similar to those in which another disease occurs, the diseases may come about in the same way even though the causes are different.
• concomitant variation m. — when variation in the frequency of the disease is mirrored by a similar variation in the strength of a particular agent which may be the cause.
• difference m. — when there are wide differences in the rate of occurrence of a disease and a high frequency is accompanied by the presence of the suspected cause and a low frequency by its absence.
• nearest neighbor m. — a method for establishing the population density of a particular species of animal or plant. One of the units is identified and the distance to its nearest neighbor of the same species measured. The number of units of that species in an area can then be established, the accuracy increasing with the number of measurements made.

n

A manner of performing an act or operation; a technique.

For a list of words related to method, see:

• Strategy and Tactics - method: system, technique, or specific plan of action
• Order, Hierarchy, and Systems - method: systematic procedure or mode of inquiry in a field or discipline

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See words rhyming with "method."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Method.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - metode, fremgangsmåde

idioms:

• method acting    skuespilsmetode
• method in one's madness    system i galskaben

Nederlands (Dutch)
methode, werkwijze, wetenschap van wetenschappelijk onderzoek

Français (French)
n. - méthode, mode (de paiement), philosophie, moyen (de transport), (Cin, Théât) philosophie " Actor's Studio "

idioms:

• method acting    méthode de Stanislavski, jeu " Actor's Studio "
• method in one's madness    ne pas être si fou qu'il n'en a l'air

Deutsch (German)
n. - Methode, Verfahren, System

idioms:

• method acting    Schauspielen nach dem Stanislawski-System
• method in one's madness    der Wahnsinn hat Methode

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - μέθοδος

idioms:

• method acting    (στην υποκριτική) μέθοδος
• method in one's madness    δεν είναι τόσο τρελός όσο φαίνεται

Italiano (Italian)
metodo

idioms:

• method acting    recitazione empatica
• method in one's madness    non essere matto come sembra

Português (Portuguese)
n. - método (m), ordem (f)

idioms:

• method acting    método de atuação
• method in one's madness    método próprio (m)

Русский (Russian)
метод, система, последовательность

idioms:

• method acting    работающий по системе
• method in one's madness    в его безумии есть система

Español (Spanish)
n. - método, procedimiento, manera, modo, modalidad

idioms:

• method acting    actor/actriz adeptos del sistema de Stanislavsky
• method in one's madness    no es tan loco como parece

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - metod, system

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
方法, 秩序, 条理

idioms:

• method acting    体验派表演法
• method in one's madness    乱中有序, 疯态中显出条理

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 方法, 秩序, 條理

idioms:

• method acting    體驗派表演法
• method in one's madness    亂中有序, 瘋態中顯出條理

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 수단, 규칙

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 方法, 手段, メソッド, スタニスラフスキーシステム, 体系, 順序

idioms:

• method acting    感情移入して演技する
• method in one's madness    そうする理由

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) طريقه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮שיטה, מתודה, סדר‬

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