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; having the power of making a thing what it is; constituent; essential; pertaining to oe depending on the forms, so called of the human intellect. Of [the sounds represented by] letters, the material part is breath and voice; the formal is constituted by the motion and figure of the organs of speech. Holder.…

The practice or the doctrine of strict adherence to, or dependence on, external forms, esp. in matters of religion. Official formalism. Sir H. Rawlinson.

or with palisades, stockades, or other means of defense; a fortification. Detached works, depending solely on their own strength, belong to the class of works termed forts. Farrow.

Happening independently of human will or means of foresight; resulting from unavoidable physical causes. Abbott.

Receiving same unforeseen or unexpected good, or some good which was not dependent on one's own skill or efforts; favored with good forune; lucky.

e United States, the fourth day of July, the anniversary of the declaration of American independence; as, to celebrate the Fourth.

one's own impulses, desires, or inclinations; determining one's own course of action; not dependent; at liberty. That which has the power, or not the power, to operate, is that alone which is or is not free. Locke.

The state of being free; exemption from the power and control of another; liberty; independence. Made captive, yet deserving freedom more. Milton.

One who speculates or forms opinions independently of the authority of others; esp., in the sphere or religion, one who forms opinions independently of the authority of revelation or of the church; an unbeliever; -- a term assumed by deists and skeptics in the eighteenth century. Atheist is an old-fashioned word: I'm a…

g from Adam, and often go from good to bad, and from bad to worse; the merit of an action depends on the principle from which it proceeds; men judge of facts from personal knowledge, or from testimony. Experience from the time past to the time present. Bacon. The song began from Jove. Drpden. From high Mæonia's rocky s…

nnected therewith. -- Explicit function, a quantity directly expressed in terms of the independently varying quantity; thus, in the equations y = 6x2, y = 10 -x3, the quantity y is an explicit function of x. -- Implicit function, a quantity whose relation to the variable is expressed indirectly by an equation; thus,…

Dependent on the tension of a cord.

glittering and sounding generalities of natural right which make up the Declaration of Independence. R. Choate.

cal mile. See under Mile. -- Geographical variation, any variation of a species which is dependent on climate or other geographical conditions.

equate; sufficient; competent; sound; not fallacious; valid; in a commercial sense, to be depended on for the discharge of obligations incurred; having pecuniary ability; of unimpaired credit. My reasons are both good and weighty. Shak. My meaning in saying he is a good man is . . . that he is sufficient . . . I think…

A composition in which the bass, consisting of a few bars of independent notes, is continually repeated to a varying melody.

ents; to give a guarantee concerning; to engage, assure, or secure as a thing that may be depended on; to warrant; as, to guarantee the execution of a treaty. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of government. Constitution of the U. S.

An irregular mode of carrying on war, by the constant attacks of independent bands, adopted in the north of Spain during the Peninsular war.

h, through the tendency of the rotating wheel to preserve a constant plane of rotation, independently of the earth's motion.

To hold for support; to depend; to cling; -- usually with on or upon; as, this question hangs on a single point. "Two infants hanging on her neck." Peacham.