DEAN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

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

1. an administrator in charge of a division of a university or college

2. United States film actor whose moody rebellious roles made him a cult figure (1931-1955)

3. a man who is the senior member of a group

4. (Roman Catholic Church) the head of the College of Cardinals

  Familiarity information: DEAN used as a noun is uncommon.

• DEAN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An administrator in charge of a division of a university or college

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

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

academic administrator (an administrator in a college or university)

Derivation:

deanship (the position or office of a dean)

Sense 2

Meaning:

United States film actor whose moody rebellious roles made him a cult figure (1931-1955)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

Dean; James Byron Dean; James Dean

Instance hypernyms:

actor; histrion; player; role player; thespian (a theatrical performer)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A man who is the senior member of a group

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

dean; doyen

Context example:

he is the dean of foreign correspondents

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

elder; senior (a person who is older than you are)

Sense 4

Meaning:

(Roman Catholic Church) the head of the College of Cardinals

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

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

cardinal ((Roman Catholic Church) one of a group of more than 100 prominent bishops in the Sacred College who advise the Pope and elect new Popes)

Domain category:

Church of Rome; Roman Catholic; Roman Catholic Church; Roman Church; Western Church (the Christian Church based in the Vatican and presided over by a pope and an episcopal hierarchy)

Derivation:

deanship (the position or office of a dean)

 Context examples 

“It has not been kind of you. We of the East have seen to very little of you—too little, indeed, of the Dean of American Letters, the Second.”

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Even though there has been very little research on vitamin C and tuberculosis, the nutrient is a safe compound, it's widely available, it's inexpensive, noted David Alland, associate dean of clinical research at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.

(Vitamin C Might Shorten Tuberculosis Treatment Time, Study Indicates, VOA/Steve Baragona)

You may be completing an important overseas trip during the full moon of February 8-9 or, if you are a professor or instructor at a college, completing your syllabus to give to the Dean.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

If the prediction is correct, then for the first time in history, parents will be able to point to a dark spot in the sky and say, ‘Watch, kids, there’s a star hiding in there, but soon it’s going to light up," Matt Walhout, dean for research and scholarship at Calvin College, said.

(Star Explosion Could Change Night Sky, VOA News)

They hold titles such as chief nursing officer, nursing director, chief operating officer of health care facilities and systems, nurse manager, consultant in nursing administration and management, dean, and director of faculty in graduate and undergraduate nursing programs.

(Nurse Administrator, NCI Thesaurus)

"I grant that as authorities to quote they are most excellent—the two foremost literary critics in the United States. Every school teacher in the land looks up to Vanderwater as the Dean of American criticism. Yet I read his stuff, and it seems to me the perfection of the felicitous expression of the inane. Why, he is no more than a ponderous bromide, thanks to Gelett Burgess. And Praps is no better. His 'Hemlock Mosses,' for instance is beautifully written. Not a comma is out of place; and the tone—ah!—is lofty, so lofty. He is the best-paid critic in the United States. Though, Heaven forbid! he's not a critic at all. They do criticism better in England.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Then there were a number of grammars, such as Metcalf’s, and Reed and Kellogg’s; and I smiled as I saw a copy of _The Dean’s English_.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

“I hardly think you’ll care to sacrifice the Dean of American Letters the Second,” he sneered.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)