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Meaning of action in English
Pronunciation
/ˈækʃ(ə)n/
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Verb
action
Definitions
1.
institute legal proceedings against
Examples
« file a suit against »
« He was warned that the district attorney would process him »
« She actioned the company for discrimination »
2.
put in effect
Examples
« carry out a task »
« execute the decision of the people »
« He actioned the operation »
Noun
action
Etymology
late Middle English: via Old French from Latin actio(n-), from agere‘do, act’
Definitions
1.
something done (usually as opposed to something said)
Examples
« there were stories of murders and other unnatural actions »
2.
the state of being active
Examples
« his sphere of activity »
« he is out of action »
Antonyms
inaction
inactivity
inactiveness
inaction
inactivity
inactiveness
inaction
inactivity
inactiveness
3.
a judicial proceeding brought by one party against another
Examples
« one party prosecutes another for a wrong done or for protection of a right or for prevention of a wrong »
4.
an act by a government body or supranational organization
Examples
« recent federal action undermined the segregationist position »
« the United Nations must have the power to propose and organize action without being hobbled by irrelevant issues »
« the Union actio »
5.
a military engagement
Examples
« he saw action in Korea »
6.
a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings)
Examples
« the action of natural forces »
« volcanic activity »
7.
the series of events that form a plot
Examples
« his novels always have a lot of action »
8.
the operating part that transmits power to a mechanism
Examples
« the piano had a very stiff action »
9.
the trait of being active and energetic and forceful
Examples
« a man of action »
10.
the most important or interesting work or activity in a specific area or field
Examples
« the action is no longer in technology stocks but in municipal bonds »
« gawkers always try to get as close to the action as possible »