develop | ||
1. | [ verb ] make something new, such as a product or a mental or artistic creation | |
Examples: | "Her company developed a new kind of building material that withstands all kinds of weather" "They developed a new technique" |
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Related terms: | create build evolve development | |
2. | [ verb ] work out; as of a theory or an idea | |
Synonyms: | evolve germinate | |
Examples: | "We have developed a new theory of evolution" |
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Related terms: | create_by_mental_act | |
3. | [ verb ] gain through experience | |
Synonyms: | evolve acquire | |
Examples: | "I acquired a strong aversion to television" "Children must develop a sense of right and wrong" "Dave developed leadership qualities in his new position" "develop a passion for painting" |
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Related terms: | change grow explicate evolution | |
4. | [ verb ] come to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes) | |
Synonyms: | get grow acquire produce | |
Examples: | "He grew a beard" The patient developed abdominal pains" I got funny spots all over my body" "Well-developed breasts" |
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Related terms: | change pupate spring work_up sprout stool teethe teeth cut regrow leaf fledge pod acquiring | |
5. | [ verb ] come into existence; take on form or shape | |
Synonyms: | arise originate spring_up grow rise uprise | |
Examples: | "A new religious movement originated in that country" "a love that sprang up from friendship," "the idea for the book grew out of a short story" "An interesting phenomenon uprose" |
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Related terms: | become come well_up resurge come_forth head initiation emergence | |
6. | [ verb ] change the use of and make available or usable | |
Synonyms: | build_up | |
Examples: | "develop land" "The country developed its natural resources" "The remote areas of the country were gradually built up" |
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Related terms: | better settle redevelop train civilize exploitation development | |
7. | [ verb ] elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses | |
Synonyms: | formulate explicate | |
Examples: | "Could you develop the ideas in your thesis" |
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Related terms: | speculate redevelop mature conceptualization | |
8. | [ verb ] (education) create by training and teaching | |
Synonyms: | train educate prepare | |
Examples: | "The old master is training world-class violinists "we develop the leaders for the future" |
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Related terms: | teach drill housebreak retrain toilet-train train prepare training education education education trainer trainee train | |
9. | [ verb ] grow, progress, unfold, or evolve through a process of evolution, natural growth, differentiation, or a conducive environment | |
Examples: | "A flower developed on the branch" "The embryo develops into a fetus" "This situation has developed over a long time" |
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Related terms: | grow grow progress build bloom mature blossom evolve bud incubate age age spike dedifferentiate adolesce differentiate | |
10. | [ verb ] be gradually disclosed or unfolded; become manifest | |
Examples: | "The plot developed slowly"; |
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Related terms: | anticipate happen originate break | |
11. | [ verb ] cause to grow and differentiate in ways conforming to its natural development | |
Synonyms: | make_grow | |
Examples: | "The perfect climate here develops the grain" "He developed a new kind of apple" |
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Related terms: | change evolve grow elaborate discipline foliate grow | |
12. | [ verb ] make a country technologically advanced | |
Synonyms: | modernize modernise civilize | |
Examples: | "Many countries in Asia are now developing at a very fast pace" "Viet Nam is modernizing rapidly" |
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Related terms: | change change development | |
13. | [ verb ] disclose or reveal (obsolete) | |
Examples: | "We must develop the enemy soldiers" |
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Related terms: | detect grow grow evolve progress build bloom mature blossom bud incubate age age spike dedifferentiate differentiate adolesce growth | |
14. | [ verb ] generate gradually | |
Examples: | "We must develop more potential customers" "develop a market for the new mobile phone" |
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Related terms: | generate make | |
15. | [ verb ] grow emotionally or mature | |
Synonyms: | grow | |
Examples: | "The child developed beautifully in her new kindergarten" "When he spent a summer at camp, the boy grew noticeably and no longer showed some of his old adolescent behavior" |
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Related terms: | change outgrow make development | |
16. | [ verb ] superimpose a three-dimensional surface on a plane without stretching, in geometry | |
Related terms: | superimpose | |
17. | [ verb ] (photography) make visible by means of chemical solutions; of photographic film | |
Examples: | "Please develop this roll of film for me" |
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Related terms: | change underdevelop solarise redevelop photography photography development developer | |
18. | [ verb ] (music) elaborate by the unfolding of a musical idea and by the working out of the rhythmic and harmonic changes in the theme | |
Examples: | "develop the melody and change the key" |
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Related terms: | complicate explicate | |
19. | [ verb ] (chess,games) move one's chess pieces into strategically more advantageous positions | |
Examples: | "Spassky developed quickly" |
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Related terms: | play chess | |
20. | [ verb ] (chess,games) move into a strategically more advantageous position, of a chess piece | |
Examples: | "develop the rook" |
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Related terms: | play chess | |
21. | [ verb ] happen, as of an event | |
Synonyms: | recrudesce break | |
Examples: | "Report the news as it develops" "These political movements recrudesce from time to time" |
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Related terms: | anticipate happen erupt break_through development | |
22. | [ verb ] (mathematics) expand in the form of a series, in mathematics | |
Examples: | "Develop the function in the following form" |
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Related terms: | expand mathematics | |
Similar spelling: |
developer developed developing devolve |