Defined Quote by Edmund Burke

To define a thing is to substitute the definition for the thing itself.

— Georges Braque

It is not possible to define. Nothing has ever been finally found out. Because there is nothing final to find out.

— Charles Fort

What is a good definition? For the philosopher or the scientist, it is a definition which applies to all the objects to be defined,…

— Henri Poincare

What should we gain by a definition, as it can only lead us to other undefined terms?

— Ludwig Wittgenstein

The word 'definition' has come to have a dangerously reassuring sound, owing no doubt to its frequent occurrence in logical and mathematical writings.

— Willard Van Orman Quine

Odd that we think definitions are definitive.

— Larry Wall

Definitions are temporary verbalizations of concepts, and concepts- particularly difficult concepts- are usually revised repeatedly as our knowledge and understanding grows.

— Ernst Mayr

A definition is nothing else but an explication of the meaning of a word, by words whose meaning is already known. Hence it is…

— Thomas Reid

“To define a thing is to see it clearly, to see it as distinct from other things and at the same time to see…

— Michael Oakeshott

We want to do something and a definition is a means of doing it. If we want certain results then we must use certain…

— I. A. Richards

One should not be too distracted by definitions. Ideas transcend definitions.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson

A definition is the enclosing a wilderness of idea within a wall of words.

— Samuel Butler