See hold a mirror to in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
{
"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": "quote"
},
{
"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": "quote"
},
{
"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": "quote"
},
{
"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": "quote"
},
{
"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": "quote"
}
],
"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": "quote"
},
{
"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": "quote"
},
{
"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": "quote"
},
{
"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": "quote"
}
],
"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": "15 26 59",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "19 18 63",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with 1 entry",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "10 13 76",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with entries",
"parents": [],
"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": "quote"
}
],
"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",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries"
],
"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": "quote"
},
{
"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": "quote"
},
{
"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": "quote"
},
{
"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": "quote"
},
{
"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": "quote"
}
],
"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": "quote"
},
{
"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": "quote"
},
{
"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": "quote"
},
{
"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": "quote"
}
],
"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": "quote"
}
],
"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"
}
Download raw JSONL data for hold a mirror to meaning in English (4.2kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (8a39820 and 4401a4c). 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.
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