Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of forming or reducing to shape.
  • noun Specifically The cutting and fitting of clothes; tailoring.
  • noun Representation; imagination; that which is formed or imagined.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun psychology A method of positive reinforcement of behaviour patterns in operant conditioning.
  • noun The action of the verb to shape.
  • verb Present participle of shape.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the act of fabricating something in a particular shape
  • noun any process serving to define the shape of something
  • adjective forming or capable of forming or molding or fashioning

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • Her face seemed to recede in the darkness and rain, the disbelief and injury in her expression shaping and reshaping itself in the overhead light.

    The Glass Rainbow James Lee Burke 2010

  • Her face seemed to recede in the darkness and rain, the disbelief and injury in her expression shaping and reshaping itself in the overhead light.

    The Glass Rainbow James Lee Burke 2010

  • Her face seemed to recede in the darkness and rain, the disbelief and injury in her expression shaping and reshaping itself in the overhead light.

    The Glass Rainbow James Lee Burke 2010

  • Her face seemed to recede in the darkness and rain, the disbelief and injury in her expression shaping and reshaping itself in the overhead light.

    The Glass Rainbow James Lee Burke 2010

  • The more freedom in shaping is given to users (e.g. open source technology), the more knowledge is required to contribute.

    Smart Mobs » Blog Archive » Toward a social ethics of technology 2006

  • So this is part of a process which they call shaping the battlefield.

    CNN Transcript Mar 23, 2003 2003

  • The possibilities in "shaping" the latter kind of narrative have by no means been exhausted, although most published novels don't seem much interested in exploring these possibilities.

    Narrative Strategies 2009

  • Apart from stating his belief that Europe should be more involved in shaping a new economic order where financial capitalism should be 'moralised' - which he sees as a justification for further political integration on an European level - Sarkozy also managed once more to give Turkey the cold shoulder treatment.

    Meanwhile in Brussels (and beyond)... 2009

  • R-Prime will have a huge role in shaping the American legislative agenda (asserting their balance of power in Congress), and if they are able to stay true to their Contract with America and make a difference, they will be poised for a strong showing in 2012 and 2016.

    Politics 2010

  • R-Prime will have a huge role in shaping the American legislative agenda (asserting their balance of power in Congress), and if they are able to stay true to their Contract with America and make a difference, they will be poised for a strong showing in 2012 and 2016.

    republican prime - reinvention 2009

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