Which of the following is true of good definitions?
A) A good definition provides all of the essential characteristics of what is being defined.
B) A good definition can use the word being defined (or a variation of that word) as a part of the definition.
C) A good definition makes use of figurative language.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A good definition provides all the essential characteristics of what is being defined; and so a good definition does not pick out too many or too few things. A good definition will not use the very word being defined in the definition, since such a definition could only aid us if we already knew the definition of the word. A good definition avoids obscure and figurative language, since the purpose of a definition is to help us understand the word, while such language may prevent us from understanding.

Which of the Following Is True of Good Definitions