Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An instrument that measures the physiological responses of an individual to questions from an examiner who interprets the results as indicating the likelihood that the individual is telling or not telling the truth in giving the answers.
- transitive verb To test (a criminal suspect, for example) with a polygraph.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A modified form of sphygmograph by which two or more tracings can be taken simultaneously.
- noun An instrument for multiplying copies of a writing; a gelatin copying-pad.
- noun An author of many works.
- noun A collection of different works written either by one or by different authors; a book containing articles or treatises on different subjects.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun An instrument for multiplying copies of a writing; a manifold writer; a copying machine.
- noun In bibliography, a collection of different works, either by one or several authors.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
device which measures and records severalphysiological variables such asblood pressure ,heart rate ,respiration and skin conductivity while a series of questions is being asked to a subject, in an attempt to detect lies. - noun dated An mechanical instrument for multiplying copies of a writing, resembling multiple
pantographs . - noun archaic A collection of different works, either by one or several authors.
- verb To
administer a polygraph test.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a medical instrument that records several physiological processes simultaneously (e.g., pulse rate and blood pressure and respiration and perspiration)
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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And to ask someone to take a polygraph is a major thing, but she said she was willing to do it.
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A Mr. Hawkins of Frankford, near Philadelphia, has invented a machine which he calls a polygraph, and which carries two, three, or four pens.
Letters 1760
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As Radford later described his work — in polygraph tests, sworn testimony, and interviews with historians and journalists — he spent 13 months illegally obtaining NSC documents and turning them over to his superiors, with the understanding that the two admirals were, in turn, funneling the materials to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and other top uniformed commanders.
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a machine, which he calls a polygraph, and which carries two, three, or four pens.
Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 4 Thomas Jefferson 1784
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For the closest relative that TV has among other machines is not the cinema projector or computer, but the polygraph, aka the lie detector.
BREAKFAST WITH SOCRATES ROBERT ROWLAND SMITH 2010
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For the closest relative that TV has among other machines is not the cinema projector or computer, but the polygraph, aka the lie detector.
BREAKFAST WITH SOCRATES ROBERT ROWLAND SMITH 2010
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GRACE: When you tell a judge your client passed a polygraph, that is it, you said.
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I think the polygraph is a better investigative tool.
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NEJAME: Well, I think, in your experience and background, as you have said before, the strength of the polygraph is the strength of the person administering it.
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My suggestion is that we add to the camera and microphone another scientific device called the polygraph, which records emotional content in answering questions.
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