See Also: Constant(medicine)
constant(dictionary)
gas constant(medicine)
Michaelis constant(dictionary)
planck's constant(medicine)
radioactive constant(medicine)
flotation constant(medicine)
sedimentation constant(medicine)
specificity constant(medicine)
time constant(medicine)

constant (iou)



constant adjective & noun. LME.
[Old & mod. French from Latin constant- pres. ppl stem of constare stand firm, formed as CON- + stare stand: see -ANT1.]
A. adjective.
Staying firm in mind or purpose; steadfast, resolute. LME.
Milton The best-resolved of men, The constantest.
Steadfast in attachment (to a person or cause), faithful, true. LME.
Pope Tho' fortune change, his constant spouse remains. E. Bowen She had been constant to the good resolutions made on her honeymoon.
Unchanging in condition, form, or magnitude; unvarying. M16.
a. Permanent; always maintained. M16-E19.
b. Continuing without intermission, incessant; unremitting; frequently occurring; (of a person) continually engaged in a particular activity. M17.
constant ATTENDANCE allowance.
Milton A constant reader of Saint Paul's Epistles. W. Lippmann In the industrial revolution there is constant technical change.
Confident; certain. M16-M17.
Not on the move, settled, steady. L16-M18.
b. noun.
Math. A numerical quantity which does not vary, or is assumed not to vary; Science a number expressing a relation, property, etc., and remaining the same in all circumstances or for the same substance in the same conditions. M19.
Avogadro constant, Boltzmann's constant, cosmical constant, cosmological constant, dielectric constant, gas constant, Planck's constant, solar constant, tidal constant, etc.
b. Logic. The name of, or a symbol representing, a particular individual, class, proposition, etc. M20.
c. Computing. = LITERAL noun 3. L20.
fig. A constant element or factor. M19.
L. Durrell The more I knew her the less predictable she seemed; the only constant was the frantic struggle to break through the barriers.