DIMENSIONS: FORM / Guide
C O N S I D E R A T I O N S
Grammar: A category in the inflection of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives, noting the syntactic relation of these words to other words in the sentence, indicated by the form or position of the words.
Ablative
Accusative
Dative
Genitive
Instrumental
Locative
Nominative
Possessive
Vocative
R E F E R E N C E S
Case n. 1. an instance of the occurrence, existence, etc., of something: This is a case of poor judgment. 2. The actual state of things: That is not the case. 3. situation, condition, or plight: a sad case. 4. a person or thing whose plight or situation calls for attention: This family is a hardship case. 5. a state of things requiring discussion, decision, or investigation: The police studied the murder case. 6. a statement of facts, reasons, etc., used to support an argument: a strong case against the proposed law. 7. an instance of disease, injury, etc. 8. a medical or surgical patient. 9. Law. a. a suit or action at law; cause. b. a set of facts giving rise to a legal claim, or to a defense to a legal claim. 10. Gram. a category in the inflection of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives, noting the syntactic relation of these words to other words in the sentence, indicated by the form or position of the words. 11. in any case, regardless of circumstances; anyhow. 12. in case, if it should happen that; if: In case I'm late, start without me. 13. in case of, in the event of. 14. in no case, under no condition; never. [ME cas OE cas(us) case [grammatical term] + OF cas event, etc.; both < L càsus]
-Syn. 1. Case, Instance, Example, Illustration suggest the existence or occurrence of a particular thing representative of its type. Case and Instance are closely allied in meaning, as are Example and Illustration. Case is a general word, meaning a fact, occurrence, or situation typical of a class: a case of assault and battery. An Instance is a concrete factual case that is adduced to explain a general idea; an instance of a brawl in which an assault occurred. An Example is one typical case, from many similar ones, used to make clear or explain the working of a principle [what may be expected of any others of the group]: This boy is an example of the effect of strict discipline. An Illustration exemplifies a theory or principle similarly, except that the choice may be purely hypothetical: The work of Seeing Eye dogs is an illustration of what is thought to be intelligence in animals. 2. circumtance.
[Urdang, Laurence, ed. Random House Dictionary of The English Language. New York: Random House, 1968.]
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