REINFORCEMENT

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does reinforcement mean? 

• REINFORCEMENT (noun)
  The noun REINFORCEMENT has 5 senses:

1. a military operation (often involving new supplies of men and materiel) to strengthen a military force or aid in the performance of its mission

2. information that makes more forcible or convincing

3. (psychology) a stimulus that strengthens or weakens the behavior that produced it

4. a device designed to provide additional strength

5. an act performed to strengthen approved behavior

  Familiarity information: REINFORCEMENT used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• REINFORCEMENT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A military operation (often involving new supplies of men and materiel) to strengthen a military force or aid in the performance of its mission

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

reenforcement; reinforcement; support

Context example:

they called for artillery support

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

military operation; operation (activity by a military or naval force (as a maneuver or campaign))

Domain category:

armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)

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

close support (close-in firing by one unit against an enemy engaged by another unit)

Derivation:

reinforce (make stronger)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Information that makes more forcible or convincing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

reenforcement; reinforcement

Context example:

his gestures provided eloquent reinforcement for his complaints

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

confirmation (information that confirms or verifies)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(psychology) a stimulus that strengthens or weakens the behavior that produced it

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

reinforcement; reinforcer; reinforcing stimulus

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

input; stimulant; stimulation; stimulus (any stimulating information or event; acts to arouse action)

Domain category:

psychological science; psychology (the science of mental life)

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

positive reinforcer; positive reinforcing stimulus (a reinforcing stimulus that serves to increase the likelihood of the response that produces it)

negative reinforcer; negative reinforcing stimulus (a reinforcing stimulus whose removal serves to decrease the likelihood of the response that produced it)

Derivation:

reinforce (strengthen and support with rewards)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A device designed to provide additional strength

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

reinforcement; strengthener

Context example:

he used gummed reinforcements to hold the page in his notebook

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

device (an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose)

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

backing; mount (something forming a back that is added for strengthening)

brace; bracing (a structural member used to stiffen a framework)

brace (a support that steadies or strengthens something else)

safety arch (an undecorated arch that is included in order to strengthen or support a construction)

Derivation:

reinforce (make stronger)

Sense 5

Meaning:

An act performed to strengthen approved behavior

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

reinforcement; reward

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

approval; approving; blessing (the formal act of approving)

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

carrot (promise of reward as in)

Derivation:

reinforce (strengthen and support with rewards)

 Context examples 

A ring-like device designed for lining a round opening for reinforcement or protection.

(Grommet Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

Neurotransmission mediated by the Dopamine D2 Receptor (DRD2) plays a key role in the control of movement, in reward and reinforcement mechanisms in psychiatric disorders, and in the neuromodulation of appetitive behaviors.

(Dopamine Receptor D2, NCI Thesaurus)

A stimulus causing an organism to behave so as to minimize exposure to it (as in negative reinforcement or punishment procedures).

(Aversive Stimulus, NCI Thesaurus)

The sheriff's office arranged for reinforcements from across Nevada.

(Millions don't turn up to 'storm' US airbase for extraterrestrial evidence, Wikinews)

Don't do anything rude, pray Jo; I won't have any fuss made, so let it all pass and behave yourself, begged Amy, as she departed early, hoping to find a reinforcement of flowers to refresh her poor little table.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)