1. linear(a = adj.all) additive - designating or involving an equation whose terms are of the first degree;
Antonym: nonlinear
Derived form noun linearity1
2. linear(a = adj.all) one-dimensional - of or in or along or relating to a line; involving a single dimension; "a linear measurement"
Antonyms: cubic, planar
3. linear(a = adj.all) analog, analogue - of a circuit or device having an output that is proportional to the input; "analogue device"; "linear amplifier"
4. linear(s = adj.all) elongate - (of a leaf shape) long and narrow;
5. linear(s = adj.all) running - measured lengthwise; "cost of lumber per running foot"
1. Of or pertaining to a line; consisting of lines; in a straight direction; lineal. [1913 Webster]
2. Like a line; narrow; of the same breadth throughout, except at the extremities; as, a linear leaf. [1913 Webster]
3. Thinking in a step-by-step analytical and logical fashion; contrasted with
"Linear thinkers concluded that by taking
the world apart, the actions of people were more predictable and
controllable."
linear, adj.
1 a of or in lines; in lines rather than masses (linear development). b of length (linear extent).
2 long and narrow and of uniform breadth.
3 involving one dimension only.
Idiom:
linear accelerator Physics an accelerator in which particles travel in straight lines, not in closed orbits. Linear B a form of Bronze Age writing found in Crete and parts of Greece and recording a form of Mycenaean Greek: an earlier undeciphered form (Linear A) also exists. linear equation an equation between two variables that gives a straight line when plotted on a graph. linear motor a motor producing straight-line (not rotary) motion by means of a magnetic field.
Derivative:
linearity n. linearize v.tr. (also -ise). linearly adv.
Etymology:
L linearis f. linea LINE(1)
N continuity, consecution, consecutiveness, succession, round, suite, progression, series, train chain, catenation, concatenation, scale, gradation, course, ceaselessness, constant flow, unbroken extent, procession, column, retinue, cortege, cavalcade, rank and file, line of battle, array, pedigree, genealogy, lineage, race, ancestry, descent, family, house, line, line of ancestors, strain, rank, file, line, row, range, tier, string, thread, team, suit, colonnade, continuous, continued, consecutive, progressive, gradual, serial, successive, immediate, unbroken, entire, linear, in a line, in a row, uninterrupted, unintermitting, unremitting, unrelenting (perseverence), perennial, evergreen, constant, continuously, seriatim, in a line, in succession, in turn, running, gradually, step by step, gradatim, at a stretch, in file, in column, in single file, in Indian file.
N paternity, parentage, consanguinity, parent, father, sire, dad, papa, paterfamilias, abba, genitor, progenitor, procreator, ancestor, grandsire, grandfather, great- grandfather, fathership, fatherhood, mabap, house, stem, trunk, tree, stock, stirps, pedigree, lineage, line, family, tribe, sept, race, clan, genealogy, descent, extraction, birth, ancestry, forefathers, forbears, patriarchs, motherhood, maternity, mother, dam, mamma, materfamilias, grandmother, paternal, parental, maternal, family, ancestral, linear, patriarchal, avi numerantur avorum, happy he with such a mother, hombre bueno no le busquen abolengo, philosophia stemma non inspicit.
N length, longitude, span, mileage, distance, line, bar, rule, stripe, streak, spoke, radius, lengthening, prolongation, production, protraction, tension, tensure, extension, line, nail, inch, hand, palm, foot, cubit, yard, ell, fathom, rood, pole, furlong, mile, league, chain, link, arpent, handbreadth, jornada, kos, vara, astronomical unit, AU, light- year, parsec, nanometer, nm, micron, micrometer, millimicron, millimeter, mm, centimeter, cm, meter, kilometer, km, pedometer, perambulator, scale, long, longsome, lengthy, wiredrawn, outstretched, lengthened, sesquipedalian, interminable, no end of, macrocolous, linear, lineal, longitudinal, oblong, as long as my arm, as long as today and tomorrow, unshortened &c (shorten), lengthwise, at length, longitudinally, endlong, along, tandem, in a line, in perspective, from end to end, from stem to stern, from head to foot, from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot, from top to toe, fore and aft.
linear a, linear accelerator, linear algebra, linear b, linear equation, linear leaf, linear measure, linear operator, linear perspective, linear programming, linear regression, linear unit, metric linear unit, microwave linear accelerator, nautical linear unit