movement

[moov-muhnt]

noun

1. the act, process, or result of moving.

   Antonyms: stasis, inertia

2. a particular manner or style of moving.

3. Usually movements. actions or activities, as of a person or a body of persons.

4. Military, Naval.,  a change of position or location of troops or ships.

5. abundance of events or incidents.

   Synonyms: eventfulness

6. rapid progress of events.

7. the progress of events, as in a narrative or drama.

8. Fine Arts.,  the suggestion of motion in a work of art, either by represented gesture in figurative painting or sculpture or by the relationship of structural elements in a design or composition.

9. a progressive development of ideas toward a particular conclusion.

   the movement of his thought.

10. a series of actions or activities intended or tending toward a particular end.

    the movement toward universal suffrage.

11. the course, tendency, or trend of affairs in a particular field.

12. a diffusely organized or heterogeneous group of people or organizations tending toward or favoring a generalized common goal.

    the antislavery movement; the realistic movement in art.

13. the price change in the market of some commodity or security.

    an upward movement in the price of butter.

14. bowel movement.

15. the working parts or a distinct portion of the working parts of a mechanism, as of a watch.

16. Music.

    1. a principal division or section of a sonata, symphony, or the like.

    2. motion; rhythm; time; tempo.

17. Prosody.,  rhythmical structure or character.

movement

/ ˈmuːvmənt /

noun

1. 1. the act, process, or result of moving

   2. an instance of moving

2. the manner of moving

3. 1. a group of people with a common ideology, esp a political or religious one

   2. the organized action of such a group

4. a trend or tendency in a particular sphere

5. the driving and regulating mechanism of a watch or clock

6. (often plural) a person's location and activities during a specific time

7. 1. the evacuation of the bowels

   2. the matter evacuated

8. music a principal self-contained section of a symphony, sonata, etc, usually having its own structure

9. tempo or pace, as in music or literature

10. fine arts the appearance of motion in painting, sculpture, etc

11. prosody the rhythmic structure of verse

12. a positional change by one or a number of military units

13. a change in the market price of a security or commodity

movement

1. In music, a self-contained division of a long work; each movement usually has its own tempo. A long, undivided composition is said to be in one movement.

Other Word Forms

• countermovement noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of movement¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French; move, -ment

Synonym Study

See motion.

Example Sentences

That is why I think it wise to think of Nazism and fascism as terms referring to specific European movements that grew out of the twentieth-century interwar period in Germany, Italy and Spain.”

Read more on Salon

Finally, reject the “stab-in-the-back” myth they manufactured to blame the consequences of their actions on domestic scapegoats — Congress, the news media, the antiwar movement and, ultimately, the antiwar majority of the American people.

Read more on Salon

His proposals shocked the city’s corporate elite and minted him a new leader of the progressive movement.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

To uncover how it traveled such a distance, the team ran computer models simulating the movement of drifting organisms on ocean currents.

Read more on Science Daily

Lawmakers are nearing a resolution to the government shutdown, with bipartisan talks reportedly increasing in pace and showing movement.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• change 
• crusade 
• demonstration 
• evolution 
• faction 
• flow 
• group 
• organization 
• party 
• shift 
• tendency 
• transfer 
• trend 
• unrest