examination
Americannoun
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examinations
plural
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the act of examining; inspection; inquiry; investigation.
- Synonyms:
- observation
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the state of being examined.
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the act or process of testing pupils, candidates, etc., as by questions.
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the test itself; the list of questions asked.
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the answers, statements, etc., made by one examined.
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Law. formal interrogation.
noun
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the act of examining or state of being examined
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education
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written exercises, oral questions, or practical tasks, set to test a candidate's knowledge and skill
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( as modifier )
an examination paper
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med
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physical inspection of a patient or parts of his body, in order to verify health or diagnose disease
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laboratory study of secretory or excretory products, tissue samples, etc, esp in order to diagnose disease
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law the formal interrogation of a person on oath, esp of an accused or a witness
Synonym Usage
Examination, inspection, scrutiny refer to a looking at something. An examination usually means a careful noting of details: A thorough examination of the plumbing revealed a defective pipe. An inspection is a formal and official examination: an inspection of records, a military inspection. Scrutiny implies a critical and minutely detailed examination: The papers seemed to be in good order, but they would not stand close scrutiny. See also investigation.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of examination
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English examinacioun, from Middle French, Old French examinacion, examination, “interrogation,” from Latin exāminātiōn- (stem of exāminātiō ). See examine, -ation
Explanation
The most familiar and unpleasant meaning of examination, known to students around the world, is a test of one's knowledge in a particular area — an exam, in short. The original meaning of examination was considerably more spiritual — a test of one's conscience rather than a test of one's knowledge of algebra or French verbs. Any form of close inspection or analysis is an examination, not just a set of questions on a piece of paper. A doctor will give you an examination of your body if you're sick, and don't, for pity's sake, buy a used car without a careful examination under the hood. Kicking the tires just won't cut it.
Vocabulary lists containing examination
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 8
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 8
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The investigation began with an examination of data from two influential clinical trials, IMpower133 and CASPIAN.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
Both he and his film could share the same subtitle he used for his first short: “A glimpse into the penetrating insightful examination of the delusions of a bottom-dwelling dreamer.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
The hearing was also told an examination of a tag on the wetsuit found marks which could possibly have been a name, but scientific support officers were unable to enhance those marks.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
The pope announced to the public in St Peter's Square last Sunday, following the Angelus prayer, that a routine medical examination had revealed a nodule that doctors recommended should be removed.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
Cleveland, immense in black, paused a moment in sober examination of the crowd before him.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Direct evidence has been scarce because relatively few people who received amyloid-clearing drugs have undergone brain examinations after death.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026
In a statement, the IDF said it "publishes information regarding the outcomes of investigations and examinations when possible, subject to legal and operational considerations, as well as restrictions relating to privacy and information security".
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Mohn, a longtime underwriter of the museum’s flagship Made in L.A. biennial, said Ryan is extending the program’s impact by returning to participating artists for broader examinations of their work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
The internet is laden with Reddit arguments and academic examinations questioning Steinbeck’s portrait of her beastliness.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
It was wonderful to be able to read and write again, and I didn’t mind it at all that my first reading and writing in fifteen days was being done over final examinations.
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
