Constituent - Definition

adj 1: constitutional in the structure of something (especially
your physical makeup) [syn: constituent(a),
constitutional, constitutive(a), organic]
n 1: an artifact that is one of the individual parts of which a
composite entity is made up; especially a part that can be
separated from or attached to a system; "spare components
for cars"; "a component or constituent element of a system"
[syn: component, constituent, element]
2: a member of a constituency; a citizen who is represented in a
government by officials for whom he or she votes; "needs
continued support by constituents to be re-elected"
3: something determined in relation to something that includes
it; "he wanted to feel a part of something bigger than
himself"; "I read a portion of the manuscript"; "the smaller
component is hard to reach"; "the animal constituent of
plankton" [syn: part, portion, component part,
component, constituent]
4: (grammar) a word or phrase or clause forming part of a larger
grammatical construction [syn: constituent, grammatical
constituent]
5: an abstract part of something; "jealousy was a component of
his character"; "two constituents of a musical composition
are melody and harmony"; "the grammatical elements of a
sentence"; "a key factor in her success"; "humor: an
effective ingredient of a speech" [syn: component,
constituent, element, factor, ingredient]