constitute

Word family

con·sti·tute /ˈkɒnstɪtjuːt $ ˈkɑːnstɪtuːt/ W3 AWL verb

1 [linking verb]BE to be considered to be something 被视为，被算作

Failing to complete the work constitutes a breach of the employment contract.

不能完成工作被视为违反雇用合同。

The rise in crime constitutes a threat to society.

犯罪率上升对社会构成了威胁。

2 [linking verb]BE if several people or things constitute something, they are the parts that form it 组成，构成 SYN make up

We must redefine what constitutes a family.

我们必须对家庭的构成重新定义。

In everyday English, people usually say make up rather than constitute: 在日常英语中，人们一般说make up，而不说constitute

His letters to his wife make up the middle section of the book.

他写给妻子的书信构成了本书的中间部分。

n GRAMMAR: Using the progressive

In meanings 1 and 2, constitute is not used in the progressive. You say:

This constitutes a criminal offence.

✗Don’t say: This is constituting a criminal offence.

However, the participle form constituting is often used:

Fish products are significant in Japan’s imports, constituting 30% of the total.

3 [transitiveT] formalSTART something/MAKE something START to officially form a group or organization 成立，设立 SYN found

The Federation was constituted in 1949.

该联盟成立于1949年。

n Grammar

Constitute is usually passive in this meaning.

Examples from the Corpus

constitute• Nitrogen constitutes 78% of the earth's atmosphere.• We may need to redefine what constitutes a family.• The spread of international crime and corruption constitutes a major threat to the global economy.• Taken together, they constitute a quite dramatic increase in inequality.• The local authority decided that the present housing conditions constituted a risk for the mother and baby.• It is sometimes difficult to believe that the different groups living within our borders constitute a single society.• The focus is upon clues which together constitute a text ready for reading and interpretation.• No one doubts that they remain guesses; but what would constitute an intelligent as opposed to an unintelligent guess?• The very act of concluding a conflicting treaty would constitute breach and could be treated as such by its other parties.• Children constitute four out of every ten poor people in the United States.• The company's action constituted fraud.• The long ball constitutes more than half her shooting.• Because journalists don't think the congressman constitutes much of a threat, they don't write or broadcast stories about him.• And their gardening shows are designed for audiences who live somewhere other than the sizzling hell that constitutes summer in Tucson.• The thin layers that constitute the laser head are only 400 atoms thick.• Alaska is the largest of the fifty states that constitute the USA.• According to Marx, "money constitutes true power."

Origin constitute

(1400-1500) Latin past participle of constituere “to set up, constitute”, from com- ( → COM-) + statuere “to set up”

con·sti·tute verb →n GRAMMAR1 →n GRAMMAR2
→REGISTER1

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