style

plural styles · alternative stile · alternative stylee · alternative obsolete stile

1. Senses relating to a thin, pointed object.
   1. countablehistoricaluncountableA sharp stick used for writing on clay tablets or other surfaces; a stylus; (by extension, obsolete) an instrument used to write with ink; a pen.

      Thus while his Thoughts the lingring Day beguile, / To gentle Arcite let us turn our Style; [...]

      1700, [John] Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite: Or, The Knight’s Tale. In Three Books.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, book II, page 26

   2. countableuncountableA tool with a sharp point used in engraving; a burin, a graver, a stylet, a stylus.

      From Job xix. 24. it appears to have been usual in his day, to write or engrave upon Plates of Lead, which might easily be done with a Pen, or Graver, or Style of Iron, or other hard metal.

      1821, James Townley, chapter I, in Illustrations of Biblical Literature, Exhibiting the History and Fate of the Sacred Writings, from the Earliest Period to the Present Century; […], volume I, London: Printed [by B. Crompton] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […], →OCLC, part I (From the Giving of the Law to the Birth of Christ), page 27

   3. countableuncountableThe gnomon or pin of a sundial, the shadow of which indicates the hour.

      1 more example

      Laſt of all fit a Triangular Iron, whoſe angular point being laid to the Center of the Dyal Plane, one ſide muſt agree with the Subſtilar Line, and its other ſide with the Stilar Line; ſo is the Stile made. And this Stile you muſt erect perpendicularly over the Subſtilar Line on the Dyal Plane, and there fix it. Then is your Dyal finiſhed.

      1697, Joseph Moxon, “Operat[ioni] II. To Describe a Dyal upon a Horizontal Plane.”, in Mechanick Dyalling: Teaching any Man, though of an Ordinary Capacity and Unlearned in Mathematicks, to Draw a True Sun-dial on any Given Plane, […], 3rd edition, London: Printed for James Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 17

   4. countableuncountablebiologyThe stalk that connects the stigma(s) to the ovary in a pistil of a flower.

      The calyx of Theophraſta is a ſmall, permanent perianthium, divided into five obtuſe ſegments, making obtuſe angles alſo with one another: [...] the ſtyle is ſubulated, and ſhorter than the corolla: the ſtigma is acute.

      1751, John Hill, A General Natural History: Or, New and Accurate Descriptions of the Animals, Vegetables, and Minerals of the Different Parts of the World; […], London: Printed for Thomas Osborne, […], →OCLC, page 268

      Synonyms: stylet

   5. countableuncountablemedicineA kind of surgical instrument with a blunt point, used for exploration.

      Synonyms: stylet

   6. countableuncountablebiologyA small, thin, pointed body part.

      Synonyms: stylet

   7. countableuncountablebiologyA long, slender, bristle-like process near the anal region.

      the anal styles of insects

      Synonyms: stylet

2. broadlycountableuncountableA particular manner of expression in writing or speech, especially one regarded as good.

   May I not vvrite in such a ſtile as this? / In ſuch a method too, and yet not miſs / Mine end, thy good? vvhy may it not be done?

   1678, John Bunyan, “The Author’s Apology for His Book”, in The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC

   4 more examples

   Read Lord Bolingbroke's [book] with great attention, as well as to the ſtyle as to the matter. I wiſh you could form yourſelf ſuch a ſtyle in every language. Style is the dreſs of thoughts, and a well-dreſſed thought, like a well-dreſſed man, appears to great advantage.

   1752 January 21 (indicated as 1751 Old Style), Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield, “Letter CCVIII”, in Letters Written by the Late Right Honourable Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield, to His Son, Philip Stanhope, Esq; […] In Four Volumes, 6th edition, volume III, London: Published by Mrs. Eugenia Stanhope, […]; printed for J[ames] Dodsley, […], published 1775, →OCLC, page 113

   The public will naturally expect, that in chuſing a Patron for the Life of Cicero, I should addreſs myſelf to ſome perſon of illuſtrious rank, diſtinguished by his parts and eloquence, and bearing a principal share in the great affairs of the Nation; who, according to the uſual ſtyle of Dedications, might be the proper ſubject of a compariſon with the Hero of my piece.

   1790, Conyers Middleton, “To the Right Honorable John Lord Hervey, Lord Keeper of His Majesty’s Privy Seal”, in The History of the Life of M. Tullius Cicero, new edition, volume I, Basel: Printed for J. J. Tourneisen [i.e., Johann Jakob Thurneysen]; and J. L. Legrand, →OCLC, page iii

   After all, it is style alone by which posterity will judge of a great work, for an author can have nothing truly his own but his style; facts, scientific discoveries, and every kind of information, may be seized by all; but an author's diction cannot be taken from him.

   1806 February, Isaac D’Israeli, “Remarks on Style”, in The Literary Magazine, and American Register, volume V, number XXIX, Philadelphia, Pa.: Published by J[ohn] Conrad & Co. [et al.], →OCLC, page 105, column 1

   Methods for more "intelligent" spellchecking as well as for automatic checking of grammar and style are on the way, but they will require the support of electronic dictionaries.

   1995, “Perspectives”, in Henning Bergenholtz, Sven Tarp, editors, Manual of Specialised Lexicography: The Preparation of Specialised Dictionaries (Benjamins Translation Library; 12), Amsterdam; Philadelphia, Pa.: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 236

   1. broadlycountableuncountableA legal or traditional term or formula of words used to address or refer to a person, especially a monarch or a person holding a post or having a title.

      Near-synonyms: term of address, form of address, title

      5 more examples

      Monarchs are often addressed with the style of Majesty.

      The villagers styled him as my Liege, and this style, once established, was seldom forgone.

      Every Printing-houſe is by the Cuſtom of Time out of mind, called a Chappel; and all the Workmen that belong to it are Members of the Chappel: and the Oldeſt Freeman is the Father of the Chappel. I ſuppoſe the ſtile was originally conferred upon it by the courteſie of ſome great Churchman, or men, (doubtleſs when Chappels were in more veneration than of late years they have been here in England) who for the Books of Divinity that proceeded from a Printing-houſe, gave it the Reverend Title of Chappel.

      1683, Joseph Moxon, “§ 25. The Office of the Warehouse-keeper. [(As an Appendix.) Ancient Customs Used in a Printing-house.]”, in Mechanick Exercises: Or, The Doctrine of Handy-books. Applied to the Art of Printing, volume II, London: Printed for Joseph Moxon […], →OCLC, number XXII, page 356

      One ſtyle to a gracious benefactor, another to a proud, inſulting foe.

      1796, Edmund Burke, A Letter from the Right Honourable Edmund Burke to a Noble Lord [William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam], on the Attacks Made upon Him and His Pension, in the House of Lords, by the Duke of Bedford and the Earl of Lauderdale, Early in the Present Sessions of Parliament, London: Printed for J. Owen, […], and F[rancis] and C[harles] Rivington, […], →OCLC, page 10

      During the whole of the reign of George I., the money was of the same species and value as that of Queen Anne, but to his style upon the reverse, were added his German titles, with Fidei Defensor [Defender of the Faith], which then, for the first time, appeared upon the coins, although it had been constantly used in the style of our monarchs from Henry VIII., on whom it was conferred by Pope Leo X., in the year 1521.

      1821 May 26, “Annals of the Coinage of Britain and Its Dependencies, from the Earliest Period of Authentic History to the End of the Fiftieth Year of the Reign of His Majesty King George III. By the Rev. Rogers Ruding, […] The Second Edition, Corrected, Enlarged, and Continued to the Close of the Year 1818. 5 vols. 8vo. With a 4to. vol. of Plates. London, 1819. [book review]”, in The Literary Chronicle and Weekly Review; […], volume III, number 106, London: Printed by Davidson, […], published by [John] Limbird, […], sold also by Souter [et al.], →OCLC, page 327

      Synonyms: term of address, form of address, title

   2. broadlycountableuncountableA style name.
3. countableuncountableA particular manner of creating, doing, or presenting something, especially a work of architecture or art.

   His style is slow-build rave-up soul; the music, not the lyrics, relates the message.

   2004, Ethan Mordden, “Big Deals”, in The Happiest Corpse I’ve Ever Seen: The Last Twenty-Five Years of the Broadway Musical, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, →ISBN, page 108

   3 more examples

   [T]here are two distinct styles in history painting; the grand, and the splendid or ornamental. The great style stands alone, and does not require, perhaps does not so well admit, any addition from inferior beauties. The ornamental style also possesses its own peculiar merit. However, though the union of the two may make a sort of composite style, yet that style is likely to be more imperfect than either of those which goes to its composition.

   1825, Joshua Reynolds, “Discourse IV. Delivered at the Royal Academy.”, in Discourses on Painting and the Fine Arts, Delivered at the Royal Academy, London: Printed for Jones and Co., […], →OCLC, page 23, column 1

   To our English tastes it is unnecessary to advocate the style of [Diego] Velazquez. [...] Sir Joshua [Reynolds], [George] Romney, and [Henry] Raeburn, whether from imitation or instinct, seem powerfully imbued with his style, and some of our own time, even to our landscape painters, seem to possess the same affinity.

   1843, Allan Cunningham, chapter XI, in The Life of Sir David Wilkie; […] In Three Volumes, volume II, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 472

   This style was sometimes called Palladian from the fact of [Andrea] Palladio having fully developed and absorbed into his own system the styles of his great predecessors of the [Florentine] school, [...]

   1863 April 4, “Italian Architecture and Its Various European Offshoots”, in George Godwin, editor, The Builder. An Illustrated Weekly Magazine for the Architect, Engineer, Archæologist, Constructor, & Art-lover, volume XXI, number 1052, London: Publishing office, York Street, Covent Garden, W.C. [printed by Cox and Wyman], →OCLC, page 239, column 1

   1. countableuncountableA particular manner of acting or behaving; (specifically) one regarded as fashionable or skilful; flair, grace.

      As a dancer, he has a lot of style.

      2 more examples

      Backstabbing people is not my style.

      Running would feel better than hiding and waiting. It was not her style to hole up in the shadows.

      2015, Zachary Brown, The Darkside War (The Icarus Corps; book 1), London; New York, N.Y.: Saga Press, →ISBN, pages 197–198

   2. countableuncountableA particular way in which one grooms, adorns, dresses, or carries oneself; (specifically) a way thought to be attractive or fashionable.
   3. countableuncountablecomputingA visual or other modification to text or other elements of a document, such as boldface or italics.

      applying styles to text in a wordprocessor  Cascading Style Sheets

      2 more examples

      In today's assignment, you need to: [...] Right justify your heading in 12 point Helvetica font and plain text style.

      2001, Dee L. Fabry, Sally A. Seier, “Speaking, Technology, Analysis, and Reading through Research”, in Opening Doors to Reading: Building School-to-work Skills, Englewood, Colo.: Teacher Ideas Press, Libraries Unlimited, →ISBN, page 64

      The concept of creating styles has been around since long before the Web. Desktop publishing programs, such as Adobe InDesign, and even word processing programs, such as Microsoft Word, have long used styles to manage the formatting and editing of text on printed pages.

      2011, Janine Warner, “Cascading Style Sheets”, in Dreamweaver CS3 for Dummies, New York, N.Y.: John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN

   4. countableuncountablemediaA set of rules regarding the presentation of text (spelling, typography, the citation of references, etc.) and illustrations that is applied by a publisher to the works it produces.

      the house style of the journal

      2 more examples

      If you have to settle for an expert typist who has not completed recent dissertations for your school, buy two copies of the style manual, one for you and one for the typist.

      1993, Evelyn Hunt Ogden, “Spending Money and Using the 20th Century to Your Advantage”, in Completing Your Doctoral Dissertation or Master’s Thesis in Two Semesters or Less, 2nd edition, Lanham, Md.; Toronto, Ont.: ScarecrowEducation, Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, published 2003, →ISBN, page 60

      There are many excellent style manuals, and every good writer should have one or more of these at hand, along with the appropriate formatting instructions for the particular standard beng followed. This book is a how-to survival manual for students, researchers, and family members who need to learn and use APA [American Psychological Association] style and who would like to use some of the tools provided by Microsoft Word.

      2012, Larry A. Pace, “Preface and Acknowledgments”, in Using Microsoft Word to Write Research Papers in APA Style, Anderson, S.C.: TwoPaces.com, →ISBN, page 5

present singular third person styles · participle present styling · participle past styled · past styled · alternative stile · alternative obsolete stile

1. transitiveTo design, fashion, make, or arrange in a certain way or form (style).
2. formaltransitiveTo call or give a name or title to.

   The pope is styled His or Your Holiness.

   5 more examples

   […] Donenald O-Neale, rovvſed out of his lurking holes, in his miſsiue letters vnto the Pope, ſtileth himſelfe King of Vlſter, and in right of inheritance, the vndoubted Heire of all Ireland.

   1611, Iohn Speed [i.e., John Speed], “Elizabeth Qveene of England, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. the Sixtie One Monarch of the English Crowne, […]”, in The History of Great Britaine under the Conquests of yͤ Romans, Saxons, Danes and Normans. […], London: […] William Hall and John Beale, for John Sudbury and George Humble, […], →OCLC, book IX ([Englands Monarchs] […]), paragraph 37, page 837, column 1

   One morning, about a fortnight after I had obtained my liberty, Reldresal, principal secretary (as they style him) for private affairs, came to my house attended only by one servant.

   1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part I (A Voyage to Lilliput)

   This Fellow, I ſay, ſtiled himſelf a Lawyer, but was indeed a moſt vile Petty-fogger, without Senſe or Knowledge of any Kind; one of thoſe who may be termed Train-bearers to the Law; [...]

   1749, Henry Fielding, “Jones Arrives at Gloucester, and Goes to the Bell; the Character of that House, and of a Petty-fogger, which He there Meets with”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume III, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book VIII, page 200

   But when the proconſul perſiſted in requiring him to ſwear by the fortune of Cæſar, Polycarp ſaid, "Since thou oſtentatiouſly requireſt me to ſwear by what thou ſtyleſt the fortune of Cæſar, as if thou wert ignorant of what I am, hear me boldly ſpeak. I am a Chriſtian; and if thou wouldſt learn what is the doctrine of Chriſtianity, appoint a day, and hear."

   1776, “Of the Martyrs at Smyrna”, in [David Dalrymple, Lord Hailes], editor, Account of the Martyrs at Smyrna and Lyons, in the Second Century. With Explanatory Notes, Edinburgh: Printed by A. Murray and J. Cochran, →OCLC, pages 12–13

   Dr. Aitken's language is generally exact, though there is a quaintneſs, and an attempt at novelty, which is ſometimes diſagreeable. [...] He ſtyles 'recover a pleasing evidence of the operation of the medicines.'

   1782 December, “Elements of the Theory and Practice of Physic and Surgery. By John Aitken, M.D. 2 vols. 8vo. 14s. in Boards. Cadell. [book review]”, in The Critical Review: Or, Annals of Literature (Series the Fifth), volume LIV, London: Printed for A. Hamilton, […], →OCLC, page 438

   Synonyms: designate, dub, name, bename, call, clepe, denominate, designate

3. informaltransitiveTo create for, or give to, someone a style, fashion, or image, particularly one which is regarded as attractive, tasteful, or trendy.
4. USinformalintransitiveTo act in a way which seeks to show that one possesses style.

plural styles · alternative obsolete stile

1. obsoleteObsolete form of stile

   "Well, ma'am, I crossed over the style that 's there yet, and went along fair and easy, till I was near about the middle of the field, when something made me cast my eyes to the ground, a little before me[.]"

   1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume II, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 184

1. slanglifestyleThe ship of characters Stan Marsh and Kyle Broflovski from the South Park series.