ROLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does role mean? 

• ROLE (noun)
  The noun ROLE has 4 senses:

1. the actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group

2. an actor's portrayal of someone in a play

3. what something is used for

4. normal or customary activity of a person in a particular social setting

  Familiarity information: ROLE used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ROLE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

function; office; part; role

Context example:

play its role

Hypernyms ("role" is a kind of...):

duty (work that you are obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "role"):

capacity (a specified function)

hat (an informal term for a person's role)

portfolio (the role of the head of a government department)

lieu; place; position; stead (the post or function properly or customarily occupied or served by another)

second fiddle (a secondary role or function)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An actor's portrayal of someone in a play

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

character; part; persona; role; theatrical role

Context example:

she played the part of Desdemona

Hypernyms ("role" is a kind of...):

characterization; enactment; personation; portrayal (acting the part of a character on stage; dramatically representing the character by speech and action and gesture)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "role"):

bit part; minor role (a small role)

heavy (a serious (or tragic) role in a play)

hero (the principal character in a play or movie or novel or poem)

ingenue (the role of an innocent artless young woman in a play)

name part; title role (the role of the character after whom the play is named)

heroine (the main good female character in a work of fiction)

baddie; villain (the principal bad character in a film or work of fiction)

Sense 3

Meaning:

What something is used for

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

function; purpose; role; use

Context example:

ballet is beautiful but what use is it?

Hypernyms ("role" is a kind of...):

usefulness; utility (the quality of being of practical use)

Attribute:

functional (designed for or capable of a particular function or use)

nonfunctional (not having or performing a function)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "role"):

raison d'etre (the purpose that justifies a thing's existence)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Normal or customary activity of a person in a particular social setting

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

what is your role on the team?

Hypernyms ("role" is a kind of...):

activity (any specific behavior)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "role"):

gender role (the overt expression of attitudes that indicate to others the degree of your maleness or femaleness)

position ((in team sports) the role assigned to an individual player)

 Context examples 

This gene plays a role in transcriptional regulation, muscle development and transcriptional responses to stress and growth factors.

(MEF2A Gene, NCI Thesaurus)

You are very fortunate, for when Saturn moves you into Aquarius and your new role on December 16, 2020, Jupiter will follow into Aquarius three days later, on December 19, 2020.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

This gene plays a role in vasoconstriction.

(ACE Gene, NCI Thesaurus)

Most studies of zooplankton's role have assumed that behavior of particular zooplankton groups is representative of all zooplankton in the sea.

(Research provides new view of the critical role of plankton in marine carbon storage, National Science Foundation)

This variant has a role in regulating the activity of the APOA2 gene.

(International Research Team Finds Correlation Between Genetics and Obesity Is Modified by Diet, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

A type of bacteria involved in gum disease could play a role in the development of Alzheimer's, according to a new research.

(New Link Found between Alzheimer's & Gum Disease Bacteria, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

This gene plays a role in ATP catabolism.

(ABCF2 Gene, NCI Thesaurus)

This protein may play a role in melanin production.

(Melanoma Antigen Recognized by T-Cells 1, NCI Thesaurus)

This allele, which encodes medium-chain specific acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, mitochondrial protein, plays a role in lipid oxidation.

(ACADM wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

Mine is the role of the weak.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)