I. kənzˈtrəkt, (ˈ)känz|tr-, kənˈstr-, (ˈ)kän|str- adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin constructus, past participle of construere
archaic : constructed
II. kənzˈtrəkt, kənˈstr- transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin constructus, past participle of construere to pile up, construct, from com- + struere to pile up, arrange, build — more at structure
1. obsolete : to construe or interpret (as a document, statement, expression)
2. : to form, make, or create by combining parts or elements : build , fabricate
in constructing the new freeway
construct a new dormitory
a well- constructed blend of unimpeachable teas — New Yorker
an elegantly constructed pair of dark green trousers — Mollie Panter-Downes
3.
a. : to create by organizing ideas or concepts logically, coherently, or palpably
a well- constructed argument
Proust constructs a moral scheme out of phenomena whose moral values are always shifting — Edmund Wilson
b.
(1) : to arrange (words or morphemes) in a meaningful combination
(2) : to produce (as a sentence) by such arrangement of words or morphemes
4.
a. : to draw (a geometrical figure) with suitable instruments so as to fulfill certain specified conditions
construct a regular octagon with sides of given length
b. : to assemble separate and often disparate elements into (an abstract or nonrepresentational sculptural creation)
5.
a. : to fabricate out of heterogeneous or discordant elements
by India, they mean the political unit constructed by English rule — D.W.Brogan
a constructed international language — Edward Sapir
b.
(1) : feign
constructed dignity — John Buchan
(2) : to infer in law
Synonyms: see build
III. ˈkänzˌtrəkt, ˈkänˌstr- noun
( -s )
1. : something that is constructed especially by a process of mental synthesis: as
a. : an object of thought constituted by the ordering or systematic uniting of experiential elements (as percepts and sense data) and of terms and relations
b. : an intellectual or logical construction : an operational concept ; also : the result of such a construction or concept
the constructs of science
2.
a. : construct state
b. : a noun in the construct state
IV. noun
1. : something produced by human effort
the East bloc was always an unnatural construct — Walter Isaacson
2. : an idea or organization of ideas that is artificial, subjective, or tenuous in its origin or construction