role
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Related to role: Role Conflict
role
a part played by an actor; a function: the role of a wife
Not to be confused with:
roll – to turn; to throw as in dice; a small bread
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree
role
(rōl)n.
1. also rôle A character or part played by a performer.
2. The characteristic and expected social behavior of an individual.
3. A function or position. See Synonyms at function.
4. Linguistics The function of a word or construction, as in a sentence.
[French rôle, from Old French rolle, roll of parchment (on which an actor's part was written), from Latin rotula, diminutive of rota, wheel; see roll.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
role
(rəʊl) orrôle
n
1. (Theatre) a part or character in a play, film, etc, to be played by an actor or actress
2. (Psychology) psychol the part played by a person in a particular social setting, influenced by his expectation of what is appropriate
3. usual or customary function: what is his role in the organization?.
[C17: from French rôle roll, an actor's script]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
role
or rôle
(roʊl)n.
1. a part or character played by an actor, singer, or other performer.
2. the proper or customary function of a person or thing.
3. the rights, obligations, and expected behavior patterns associated with a particular social status.
[1600–10; < French rôle roll (as of paper) containing the actor's part]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
role
– rollThese words are both pronounced /rəʊl/.
1. 'role'
Your role is your position and what you do in a situation or society.
What is the role of the university in modern society?
He had played a major role in the formation of the United Nations.
A role is also one of the characters that an actor or singer plays in a film, play, opera, or musical.
She played the leading role in The Winter's Tale.
2. 'roll'
A roll is a very small loaf of bread.
The soup is served with a roll and butter.
A roll of something such as cloth or paper is a long piece of it wrapped many times around itself or around a tube.
I bought a roll of wallpaper.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  role - the actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group; "the function of a teacher"; "the government must do its part"; "play its role"duty - work that you are obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons; "the duties of the job" capacity - a specified function; "he was employed in the capacity of director"; "he should be retained in his present capacity at a higher salary" hat - an informal term for a person's role; "he took off his politician's hat and talked frankly" portfolio - the role of the head of a government department; "he holds the portfolio for foreign affairs" lieu, stead, place, position - the post or function properly or customarily occupied or served by another; "can you go in my stead?"; "took his place"; "in lieu of" second fiddle - a secondary role or function; "he hated to play second fiddle to anyone" |
| 2. | role - an actor's portrayal of someone in a play; "she played the part of Desdemona" personation, portrayal, characterization, enactment - acting the part of a character on stage; dramatically representing the character by speech and action and gesture 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 | |
| 3. |  role - what something is used for; "the function of an auger is to bore holes"; "ballet is beautiful but what use is it?"usefulness, utility - the quality of being of practical use raison d'etre - the purpose that justifies a thing's existence | |
| 4. | role - normal or customary activity of a person in a particular social setting; "what is your role on the team?" activity - any specific behavior; "they avoided all recreational activity" gender role - the overt expression of attitudes that indicate to others the degree of your maleness or femaleness; "your gender role is the public expression of your gender identity" position - (in team sports) the role assigned to an individual player; "what position does he play?" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
role
noun
1. job, part, position, post, task, duty, function, office, capacity His role in the events has been pivotal.
2. part, character, representation, portrayal, impersonation Shakespearean women's roles
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
role
also rôlenoun
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
دَوْرقائِم بِدَوْر
roleúloha
rollefunktion
rooli
uloga
szerep
hlutverk
役割
역할
loma
rola
vloga
uloga
roll
หน้าที่หรือบทบาท
vai trò
role
[rəʊl]A. N (Theat, fig) → papel m
to cast sb in the role of (Theat, fig) → dar a algn el papel de
to play a role (Theat) → hacer un papel (fig) → desempeñar un papel (in en) supporting role → papel m secundario
to cast sb in the role of (Theat, fig) → dar a algn el papel de
to play a role (Theat) → hacer un papel (fig) → desempeñar un papel (in en) supporting role → papel m secundario
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
role
rôle [ˈrəʊl] n (= position, duty) → rôle m
He played a major role in the United Nations → Il a joué un rôle important aux Nations unies.
He played a major role in the United Nations → Il a joué un rôle important aux Nations unies.
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
role
n (Theat, fig) → Rolle f; in the role of Ophelia → in der Rolle der Ophelia; role reversal (Psych) → Rollentausch m
role
:role model
n (Psych) → Rollenbild nt
role-playing
n → Rollenspiel nt
role swapping
n → Rollentausch m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
rôle,
role
(rəul) noun1. a part played by an actor or actress in a play etc. He is playing the rôle of King Lear.
2. the actions or functions of a person in some activity. He played the rôle of peacemaker in the dispute.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
role
→ دَوْر úloha rolle Rolle ρόλος papel rooli rôle uloga ruolo 役割 역할 rol rolle rola função роль roll หน้าที่หรือบทบาท rol vai trò 角色Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
role
n. [theatre] papel;
v.
to play the ___ of → hacer el ___ de.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
role
n papel m; — model modelo de conducta; — playing o play juegos de rolEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.