'Improvement' definitions:
Definition of 'improvement'
From: WordNet
noun
A change for the better; progress in development [syn: improvement, betterment, advance]
noun
The act of improving something; "their improvements increased the value of the property"
noun
A condition superior to an earlier condition; "the new school represents a great improvement" [syn: improvement, melioration] [ant: declination, decline]
Definition of 'Improvement'
From: GCIDE
- Improvement \Im*prove"ment\, n.
- 1. The act of improving; advancement or growth; promotion in desirable qualities; progress toward what is better; melioration; as, the improvement of the mind, of land, roads, etc. [1913 Webster]
- I look upon your city as the best place of improvement. --South. [1913 Webster]
- Exercise is the chief source of improvement in all our faculties. --Blair. [1913 Webster]
- 2. The act of making profitable use or applicaton of anything, or the state of being profitably employed; a turning to good account; practical application, as of a doctrine, principle, or theory, stated in a discourse. "A good improvement of his reason." --S. Clarke. [1913 Webster]
- I shall make some improvement of this doctrine. --Tillotson. [1913 Webster]
- 3. The state of being improved; betterment; advance; also, that which is improved; as, the new edition is an improvement on the old. [1913 Webster]
- The parts of Sinon, Camilla, and some few others, are improvements on the Greek poet. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
- 4. Increase; growth; progress; advance. [1913 Webster]
- There is a design of publishing the history of architecture, with its several improvements and decays. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
- Those vices which more particularly receive improvement by prosperity. --South. [1913 Webster]
- 5. pl. Valuable additions or betterments, as buildings, clearings, drains, fences, etc., on land or premises; as, to convey the land together with all improvements. [1913 Webster]
- 6. (Patent Laws) A useful addition to, or modification of, a machine, manufacture, or composition. --Kent. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'improvement'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- about-face,
- accommodation,
- adaptation,
- adjustment,
- advance,
- alteration,
- amelioration,
- amendment,
- apostasy,
- apprenticeship,
- basic training,
- betterment,
- break,
- breaking,
- breeding,
- change,
- change of allegiance,
- change of heart,
- change of mind,
- changeableness,
- conditioning,
- constructive change,
- continuity,
- convalescence,
- conversion,
- cultivation,
- defection,
- degeneration,
- degenerative change,
- deterioration,
- development,
- deviation,
- difference,
- discipline,
- discontinuity,
- divergence,
- diversification,
- diversion,
- diversity,
- drill,
- drilling,
- enhancement,
- exercise,
- fetching-up,
- fitting,
- flip-flop,
- fostering,
- gain,
- gradual change,
- grooming,
- housebreaking,
- in-service training,
- increase,
- instauration,
- manual training,
- melioration,
- military training,
- mitigation,
- modification,
- modulation,
- new birth,
- nurture,
- nurturing,
- on-the-job training,
- overthrow,
- practice,
- preparation,
- progress,
- qualification,
- radical change,
- raising,
- re-creation,
- reactivation,
- readying,
- realignment,
- rearing,
- rebirth,
- reclamation,
- reconstitution,
- reconversion,
- recovery,
- recrudescence,
- recuperation,
- redemption,
- redesign,
- redintegration,
- reenactment,
- reestablishment,
- reform,
- reformation,
- regeneration,
- rehabilitation,
- rehearsal,
- reinstatement,
- reinstation,
- reinstitution,
- reinvestiture,
- reinvestment,
- remaking,
- renascence,
- renewal,
- repair,
- replacement,
- reshaping,
- restitution,
- restoration,
- restructuring,
- reversal,
- reversion,
- revival,
- revivification,
- revolution,
- rise,
- shift,
- sloyd,
- sudden change,
- switch,
- total change,
- training,
- transition,
- turn,
- turnabout,
- upbringing,
- upgrading,
- upheaval,
- upswing,
- variation,
- variety,
- violent change,
- vocational education,
- vocational training,
- worsening