Returning

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Return \Re*turn"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Returned}; p. pr. & vb.
     n. {Returning}.] [OE. returnen, retournen, F. retourner;
     pref. re- re- + tourner to turn. See {Turn}.]
     1. To turn back; to go or come again to the same place or
        condition. "Return to your father's house." --Chaucer.
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              On their embattled ranks the waves return. --Milton.
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              If they returned out of bondage, it must be into a
              state of freedom.                     --Locke.
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              Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
                                                    --Gen. iii.
                                                    19.
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     2. To come back, or begin again, after an interval, regular
        or irregular; to appear again.
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              With the year
              Seasons return; but not me returns
              Day or the sweet approach of even or morn. --Milton.
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     3. To speak in answer; to reply; to respond.
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              He said, and thus the queen of heaven returned.
                                                    --Pope.
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     4. To revert; to pass back into possession.
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              And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the
              kingdom return to the house of David. --1Kings xii.
                                                    26.
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     5. To go back in thought, narration, or argument. "But to
        return to my story." --Fielding.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  returning
       adj 1: tending to return to an earlier state [syn: {reverting}]
       2: tending to be turned back [syn: {returning(a)}, {reversive}]