development

[dih-vel-uhp-muhnt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR development ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act or process of developing; growth; progress: child development; economic development.

a significant consequence or event: recent developments in the field of science.

a developed or advanced state or form: Drama reached its highest development in the plays of Shakespeare.

Music. the part of a movement or composition in which a theme or themes are developed, or unfolded and elaborated, by various technical means, so as to reveal their inherent possibilities.

a large group of private houses or of apartment houses, often of similar design, constructed as a unified community, especially by a real-estate developer or government organization.

Chess. the act or process of developing chess pieces.

Mining. the work of digging openings, as tunnels, raises, and winzes, to give access to new workings, and of erecting necessary structures.

Origin of development

1745–55; develop + -ment, or < French développement

Related formsde·vel·op·men·tal, de·vel·op·men·ta·ry, adjectivede·vel·op·men·tal·ly, adverban·ti·de·vel·op·ment, adjectivehy·per·de·vel·op·ment, nounhy·per·de·vel·op·men·tal, adjectivenon·de·vel·op·ment, nounnon·de·vel·op·men·tal, adjectivenon·de·vel·op·men·tal·ly, adverbpost·de·vel·op·men·tal, adjectivepre·de·vel·op·ment, nounself-de·vel·op·ment, nounsub·de·vel·op·ment, nounsu·per·de·vel·op·ment, nounun·de·vel·op·ment, nounun·de·vel·op·men·tal, adjectiveun·de·vel·op·men·tal·ly, adverb

Synonyms for development

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR development ON THESAURUS.COM

1. expansion, elaboration, growth, evolution; unfolding, opening, maturing, maturation. 3. maturity, ripeness. 5. community, subdivision.

Antonyms for development

1. deterioration, disintegration.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for developmental

artistic, developmental, unproved, empirical, preliminary, enlightening, refining, improving, enriching, advancing, sensitive, determinative, shaping, cultural, educational, beneficial, broadening, constructive, corrective, helpful

Examples from the Web for developmental

Contemporary Examples of developmental

But by and large I go over the same things for every developmental stage.
Kids Eat the Darndest Things: Laundry Pods, Teething Necklaces, and More Of The Weirdest Stuff Sending Kids to the E.R.
Russell Saunders
November 14, 2014
What kind of employers hire people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD)?
Hiring People With Disabilities Isn’t Just the Right Thing to Do—It’s Good for Business
Elizabeth Picciuto
October 27, 2014
Essentially he is arguing that there are functional trade-offs in developmental biology.
Why Aristotle Deserves A Posthumous Nobel
Nick Romeo
October 18, 2014
By the standards of Syndrome Z, her developmental progress is remarkable.
Parents Sue for 'Wrongful Birth'
Elizabeth Picciuto
August 17, 2014
According to Sarah and Mark, she is 40 and has a developmental age of about 14.
Parents Sue for 'Wrongful Birth'
Elizabeth Picciuto
August 17, 2014

Historical Examples of developmental

They are devised for disciplinary, postural, developmental, and health purposes.
College Teaching
Paul Klapper
The developmental period was 30-41 days at room temperature.
The Biotic Associations of Cockroaches
Louis M. Roth
I do not call the upholder of the developmental doctrine a believer of this kind.
Opuscula
Robert Gordon Latham
In fact, it is a developmental sequence, like that from the grub to the butterfly.
A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud
Neutral, because his efforts were conserving, not developmental.
Blue Goose
Frank Lewis Nason

British Dictionary definitions for developmental

development

noun

the act or process of growing, progressing, or developing

the product or result of developing

a fact, event, or happening, esp one that changes a situation

an area or tract of land that has been developed

Also called: development section the section of a movement, usually in sonata form, in which the basic musical themes are developed

chess

the process of developing pieces
the manner in which they are developed
the position of the pieces in the early part of a game with reference to their attacking potential or defensive efficiency

Derived Formsdevelopmental, adjectivedevelopmentally, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for developmental

adj.

1849, from development + -al (1). Developmentalist (1862) was a word for "follower of the theory of evolution."

development

1756, "an unfolding;" see develop + -ment. Of property, with the sense "bringing out the latent possibilities," from 1885 (Pickering's glossary of Americanisms, 1816, has betterments "The improvements made on new lands, by cultivation, and the erection of buildings, &c."). Meaning "state of economic advancement" is from 1902. Meaning "advancement through progressive stages" is 1836.

developmental in Medicine

development

[dĭ-vĕl′əp-mənt]

n.

The act of developing.

The state of being developed.

A significant event, occurrence, or change.

The natural progression from a previous, simpler, or embryonic stage to a later, more complex, or adult stage.

Related formsde•vel′op•men′tal (-mĕn′tl) adj.