"hold a mirror to" meaning in All languages combined

See hold a mirror to on Wiktionary

Verb [English]

Forms: holds a mirror to [present, singular, third-person], holding a mirror to [participle, present], held a mirror to [participle, past], held a mirror to [past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|hold<,,held> a mirror to}} hold a mirror to (third-person singular simple present holds a mirror to, present participle holding a mirror to, simple past and past participle held a mirror to)
  1. To reflect; to represent and by resemblance provide insight into.
    Sense id: en-hold_a_mirror_to-en-verb-XcnpGioB
  2. To elucidate; to make explicit some aspect of.
    Sense id: en-hold_a_mirror_to-en-verb-nSdG7Z0-
  3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see hold, mirror. Synonyms: hold up a mirror to
    Sense id: en-hold_a_mirror_to-en-verb-Uexq3-MH Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 17 20 63

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for hold a mirror to meaning in All languages combined (4.3kB)

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "holds a mirror to",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "holding a mirror to",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "held a mirror to",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "held a mirror to",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "hold<,,held> a mirror to"
      },
      "expansion": "hold a mirror to (third-person singular simple present holds a mirror to, present participle holding a mirror to, simple past and past participle held a mirror to)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2009, Leah Wilson, In the Hunt: Unauthorized Essays on Supernatural, page 39",
          "text": "Or, as Dr. Gregory Stevenson suggests, do the supernatural trials and tribulations of the Winchesters appeal because they merely hold a mirror to the more mundane terrors we all face every day?",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010, J. P. Singh, Globalized Arts: The Entertainment Economy and Cultural Identity",
          "text": "Such representations, which hold a mirror to the oppressed person's reality, arise from problem posing and dialogues that allow the meek to grasp the dimensions of their oppression.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2011, Reginald Nettles, Rochelle Balter, Multiple Minority Identities, page 44",
          "text": "If these children have been their parents' gifts and teachers, then these stories shared by struggling but resilient parents is a gift to all of us. They hold a mirror to our own perceptions and to the influence—good and bad—that we can have on those we are trying to help.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Peter Johnson, Collingwood's The Idea of History",
          "text": "Bradley points towards this modern renaissance in history because he sees that history does not hold a mirror to the past, but embraces it through the critical understanding of the historian.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013, Making Sense of Hamlet!",
          "text": "They must be natural as theatre is meant to hold a mirror to reality and represent it.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To reflect; to represent and by resemblance provide insight into."
      ],
      "id": "en-hold_a_mirror_to-en-verb-XcnpGioB",
      "links": [
        [
          "reflect",
          "reflect"
        ],
        [
          "represent",
          "represent"
        ],
        [
          "resemblance",
          "resemblance"
        ],
        [
          "insight",
          "insight"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2005, Omar Swartz, In Defense of Partisan Criticism, page 55",
          "text": "To speak \"truth to power\" should not be considered negative: to hold a mirror to society, even a mirror that embodies the biases and anguish of its creator, is not a negative act.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009, Miriam Neff, From One Widow to Another: Conversations on the New You, page 38",
          "text": "My daughter Valerie, who has a unique ability to hold a mirror to my behavior, helped me see reality.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Merianne Liteman, Sheila Campbell, Jeffrey Liteman, Retreats That Work, page 143",
          "text": "All a facilitator can do is hold a mirror to the group.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013, Gillian I. Leitch, Donald E. Palumbo, C.W. Sullivan III, Doctor Who in Time and Space",
          "text": "In defining its media role, according to Hugh Greene, director-general of the BBC, the channel should continue to strive “to hold a mirror to what was going on in contemporary British society.”",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To elucidate; to make explicit some aspect of."
      ],
      "id": "en-hold_a_mirror_to-en-verb-nSdG7Z0-",
      "links": [
        [
          "elucidate",
          "elucidate"
        ],
        [
          "explicit",
          "explicit"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "17 20 63",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2011, David Borgenicht, Joshua Piven, Ben H. Winters, The Complete Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Man Skills",
          "text": "Hold a mirror to the pet's nose. If no condensation appears, the animal is probably dead.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see hold, mirror."
      ],
      "id": "en-hold_a_mirror_to-en-verb-Uexq3-MH",
      "links": [
        [
          "hold",
          "hold#English"
        ],
        [
          "mirror",
          "mirror#English"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "7 0 93",
          "word": "hold up a mirror to"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "hold a mirror to"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "holds a mirror to",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "holding a mirror to",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "held a mirror to",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "held a mirror to",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "hold<,,held> a mirror to"
      },
      "expansion": "hold a mirror to (third-person singular simple present holds a mirror to, present participle holding a mirror to, simple past and past participle held a mirror to)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2009, Leah Wilson, In the Hunt: Unauthorized Essays on Supernatural, page 39",
          "text": "Or, as Dr. Gregory Stevenson suggests, do the supernatural trials and tribulations of the Winchesters appeal because they merely hold a mirror to the more mundane terrors we all face every day?",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010, J. P. Singh, Globalized Arts: The Entertainment Economy and Cultural Identity",
          "text": "Such representations, which hold a mirror to the oppressed person's reality, arise from problem posing and dialogues that allow the meek to grasp the dimensions of their oppression.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2011, Reginald Nettles, Rochelle Balter, Multiple Minority Identities, page 44",
          "text": "If these children have been their parents' gifts and teachers, then these stories shared by struggling but resilient parents is a gift to all of us. They hold a mirror to our own perceptions and to the influence—good and bad—that we can have on those we are trying to help.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Peter Johnson, Collingwood's The Idea of History",
          "text": "Bradley points towards this modern renaissance in history because he sees that history does not hold a mirror to the past, but embraces it through the critical understanding of the historian.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013, Making Sense of Hamlet!",
          "text": "They must be natural as theatre is meant to hold a mirror to reality and represent it.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To reflect; to represent and by resemblance provide insight into."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "reflect",
          "reflect"
        ],
        [
          "represent",
          "represent"
        ],
        [
          "resemblance",
          "resemblance"
        ],
        [
          "insight",
          "insight"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2005, Omar Swartz, In Defense of Partisan Criticism, page 55",
          "text": "To speak \"truth to power\" should not be considered negative: to hold a mirror to society, even a mirror that embodies the biases and anguish of its creator, is not a negative act.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009, Miriam Neff, From One Widow to Another: Conversations on the New You, page 38",
          "text": "My daughter Valerie, who has a unique ability to hold a mirror to my behavior, helped me see reality.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Merianne Liteman, Sheila Campbell, Jeffrey Liteman, Retreats That Work, page 143",
          "text": "All a facilitator can do is hold a mirror to the group.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013, Gillian I. Leitch, Donald E. Palumbo, C.W. Sullivan III, Doctor Who in Time and Space",
          "text": "In defining its media role, according to Hugh Greene, director-general of the BBC, the channel should continue to strive “to hold a mirror to what was going on in contemporary British society.”",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To elucidate; to make explicit some aspect of."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "elucidate",
          "elucidate"
        ],
        [
          "explicit",
          "explicit"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2011, David Borgenicht, Joshua Piven, Ben H. Winters, The Complete Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Man Skills",
          "text": "Hold a mirror to the pet's nose. If no condensation appears, the animal is probably dead.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see hold, mirror."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "hold",
          "hold#English"
        ],
        [
          "mirror",
          "mirror#English"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "hold up a mirror to"
    }
  ],
  "word": "hold a mirror to"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.