METHOD


Meaning of METHOD in English

I. ˈmethəd noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle French or Latin; Middle French methode, from Latin methodus, from Greek methodos, from meta- + hodos way — more at cede

1. : a procedure or process for attaining an object: as

a. obsolete : the medical system of the methodists

b.

(1) : a systematic procedure, technique, or set of rules employed in philosophical inquiry : a particular approach to problems of truth or knowledge

the pragmatic method tries to interpret each notion by tracing its respective practical consequences — William James

the dialectical method assumes the primacy of matter

the method of the positivists applied to philosophy the procedures of the natural sciences

(2) : a discipline or system sometimes considered a branch of logic that deals with the principles applicable to inquiry into or exposition of some subject

(3) : a systematic procedure, technique, or mode of inquiry employed by or proper to a particular science, art, or discipline : methodology

the historical method

the method of logic

exploring the broadest possibilities of iconographic method — Harry Bober

(4) : a systematic plan followed in presenting material for instruction

the lecture method

a course in methods

(5) : a particular way of viewing, organizing, and giving shape and significance to artistic materials

hadn't found his method , but he had definitely found his theme — Graham Greene

method … can be determined only from the work as a whole — M.K.Spears

method and sensibility ought never … to be kept long separate — R.P.Blackmur

c.

(1) : a way, technique, or process of or for doing something

there are three methods of touring Britain by car — Richard Joseph

found their respective working methods congenial — Current Biography

often slow in their business methods — T.R.Ybarra

to whom she owed her excellent method — Opera News

(2) : a body of skills or techniques

deeply professional, learned in the art of the novel, heavily armed with method — J.D.Scott b. 1917

2.

a. : orderly arrangement, development, or classification : plan , design

the book is completely lacking in method

b. obsolete

(1) : a methodical exposition

(2) : a table of contents

(3) : an arrangement that follows a plan or design

c. : orderliness and regularity or habitual practice of them in action

thrift was as much in her nature as method — Sylvia T. Warner

time enough to do everything if only you used method — Angela Thirkell

Synonyms:

method , mode , manner , way , fashion , and system can all indicate the means used or the procedure followed in doing a given kind of work or achieving a given end. method can apply to any plan or procedure but usually implies an orderly, logical, effective plan or procedure, connoting also regularity

the crude methods of trial and error — Henry Suzzallo

the method of this book is to present a series of successive scenes of English life — G.M.Trevelyan

Marx's doctrine is not a system of scientific truths, it merely represents a method — one possible approach to social and historical reflection — Paolo Milano

surely not to leave to fitful chance the things that method and system and science should order and adjust — B.N.Cardozo

mode , sometimes interchangeable with method , seldom implies order or logic, suggesting rather custom, tradition, or personal preference

a rational mode of dealing with the insane — W.R.Inge

this intuition is essentially an aesthetic mode of apprehension — H.J.Muller

the mode of reproduction of plants and animals, however, is fundamentally identical — Encyc. Americana

manner usually suggests a personal or peculiar course or procedure, often interchanging with mode in this sense

the manner by which the present pattern of land ownership in this country has evolved — A.F.Gustafson

it is not consistent with his manner of writing Latin — G.C.Sellery

bearing loaves of sweet bread and of cornbread made with yeast in the Portuguese manner — Dana Burnet

way is general and interchangeable with method , mode , or manner

a special way to raise orchids

the way the machine works

the town's way of life

one's way of tying his tie

fashion , in this comparison, may be distinguished from way in often suggesting a more superficial origin or source as in a mere fashion or ephemeral style

was so popular that his subjects took to wearing monocles, in his fashion — Time

Harvard has stoutly and successfully resisted the fashion by which the grounds of an American college have come to be known as a campus — Official Register of Harvard University

who were poor in a fashion unknown to North America — Herbert Agar

system suggests a fully developed, often carefully formulated method, usually emphasizing the idea of rational orderliness

every new discovery claims to form an addition to the system of science as transmitted from the past — Michael Polanyi

behavior which is not in accord with the individual's system elicits responses of fear — Ralph Linton

an earnest plea for radical reformation of the system of assessment and taxation — C.A.Duniway

II. noun

Usage: usually capitalized

: a dramatic technique by which an actor seeks to gain complete identification with the inner personality of the character being portrayed

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.