|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
disorder
dis·or·der / disˈôrdər/ • n. a state of confusion: tiresome days of mess and disorder. ∎ the disruption of peaceful and law-abiding behavior: recurrent food crises led to periodic outbreaks of disorder. ∎ Med. a disruption of normal physical or mental functions; a disease or abnormal condition: eating disorders | an improved understanding of mental disorder. • v. [tr.] [usu. as adj.] (disordered) disrupt the systematic functioning or neat arrangement of: she went to comb her disordered hair his sleep is disordered. ∎ Med. disrupt the healthy or normal functioning of: a patient who is mentally disordered. |
|
|
Cite this article
"disorder." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "disorder." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-disorder.html "disorder." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-disorder.html |
|
Disorder
DisorderDisorder can be described as the absence of structure and differentiation. Its religious and scientific connotations have been negative in many cultures, identifying God as the source of creational order. In thermodynamics, the entropy of a closed system is a measure of its disorder, which can only increase in due course of time. Chaotic systems show disorder, insofar it is impossible to indefinitely predict the behavior of their elements. Still, an overall structural order can emerge from inherent disorder, which may indicate that systemic order is transcended disorder and that a certain amount of disorder is necessary for emergent and adaptive structural processes. See also Chaos Theory; Emergence; Entropy dirk evers |
|
|
Cite this article
EVERS, DIRK. "Disorder." Encyclopedia of Science and Religion. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. EVERS, DIRK. "Disorder." Encyclopedia of Science and Religion. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3404200147.html EVERS, DIRK. "Disorder." Encyclopedia of Science and Religion. 2003. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3404200147.html |
|
disorder
|
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "disorder." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "disorder." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-disorder.html T. F. HOAD. "disorder." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-disorder.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
