Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • pronoun Used to refer to the person or thing present, nearby, or just mentioned.
  • pronoun Used to refer to what is about to be said.
  • pronoun Used to refer to the present event, action, or time.
  • pronoun Used to indicate the nearer or the more immediate one.
  • adjective Being just mentioned or present in space, time, or thought.
  • adjective Being nearer or more immediate.
  • adjective Being about to be stated or described.
  • adjective Informal Used as a substitute for the indefinite article.
  • adverb To this extent; so.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • That is now present or at hand: a demonstrative adjective used to point out with particularity a person or thing that is present in place or in thought.
  • Time just past or just at hand; the last or the next. The reference, whether to past or to future, is determined by the circumstances; this evening may mean either the evening now approaching, or next to come, or the evening now present, or the evening just past: as, it has occurred twice this year; I shall take care not to fail this (next) time. In this connection this is sometimes used for these, the sum being reckoned up, as it were, in a total.
  • This person or thing.
  • Something that has just preceded or has been mentioned or referred to.
  • Emphatically, something that is to be immediately said or done: as, Let me tell you this: I shall lend you no more money.
  • Elliptically, this person, place, state, time, position, circumstance, or the like: as, I shall leave this [place or town] to-morrow; this [state of affairs] is very sad; I shall abstain from wine from this [time] on; by this [time] we had arrived at the house.
  • When opposed to that, this refers to the person or thing that is nearer, that to the person or thing that is more distant; so, with things that have just been expressed, this refers to the thing last mentioned (and therefore nearer in time to the speaker), and that to the thing first mentioned (as being more remote).
  • For this; thus.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • preposition As a demonstrative pronoun, this denotes something that is present or near in place or time, or something just mentioned, or that is just about to be mentioned.
  • preposition As an adjective, this has the same demonstrative force as the pronoun, but is followed by a noun.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • determiner The (thing) here (used in indicating something or someone nearby).
  • determiner The known (thing) (used in indicating something or someone just mentioned).
  • determiner The known (thing) (used in indicating something or someone about to be mentioned).
  • determiner A known (thing) (used in first mentioning a person or thing that the speaker does not think is known to the audience). Compare with "a certain ...".
  • adverb To the degree or extent indicated.
  • pronoun The thing, item, etc. being indicated.
  • noun philosophy Something being indicated that is here; one of these.
  • interjection Internet slang Indicates the speaker's strong approval or agreement with the previous material.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old English; see to- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Middle English, from Old English þis (neuter demonstrative), from North Sea Germanic base *þa-, from Proto-Germanic *þat, from Proto-Indo-European *tód, extended form of demonstrative base *to-; + North Sea Germanic definitive suffix -s, from Proto-Indo-European *só (“this, that”).

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Examples

  • A quick note before I log off for a softball game later this evening: As you have noticed over the last few months..this blog has been all over the place.

    Archive 2010-04-01 Jeff C 2010

  • Gosh, you don't even have to dig to see the basis of this one..this is not a positive "come together" group.

    Watch out Tea Party, 'Coffee Party' gaining steam 2010

  • It makes the psychological analysis an end point or the penultimate point before, "and this is stupid, so shut up" when literary analysis starts out in the psychological world presented in the text and then moves outward to consider why the author created the scene/world, and why it was portrayed _this_ way and not _that_ way, or what it may mean that this scene parallels or contrasts another scene somewhere else in the text.

    Ferule & Fescue Flavia 2010

  • If you've been following the news this week on hot dogs and choking, it's likely you have an opinion on the suggestion to "redesign"  this popular kids 'food, particularly if you have young children.

    Hot dogs under fire: Doctors push for stronger labeling 2010

  • A quick note before I log off for a softball game later this evening: As you have noticed over the last few months..this blog has been all over the place.

    Shadows of the Apt Giveaway Reminder, Plus Housekeeping Jeff C 2010

  • I agree that this article is basically Spencer deciding "I think some women are like * this*, and that's CREEPY, and they suuuuck, so I'll write an article about it," and NYO is like "sex = pageviews, LOL," but ....

    Rrrowl! Beware Cougar's Young Niece, the Cheetah 2009

  • I agree that this article is basically Spencer deciding "I think some women are like * this*, and that's CREEPY, and they suuuuck, so I'll write an article about it," and NYO is like "sex = pageviews, LOL," but ....

    Rrrowl! Beware Cougar's Young Niece, the Cheetah 2009

  • Diary Entry by kwalsh (about the author) yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = '"Israel disputes this" no it doesn\'t'; yahooBuzzArticleSummary = 'Most comments in the media about settlement construction in the occupied territories which state the settlements are illegal under international law end with comment \'Israel disputes this\'.

    OpEdNews - Diary: "Israel disputes this" no it doesn't 2009

  • So if Hillary really has all this experience, why isn't she talking about * this*?

    Hillary Campaign: No, We Won The Nevada Caucuses 2009

  • I agree that this article is basically Spencer deciding "I think some women are like * this*, and that's CREEPY, and they suuuuck, so I'll write an article about it," and NYO is like "sex = pageviews, LOL," but ....

    Rrrowl! Beware Cougar's Young Niece, the Cheetah 2009

Comments

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  • I cannot believe that THIS is the first comment for the word ¨this¨

    April 15, 2019