be·hav·ior
(bĭ-hāv́yər)
[Middle English behavour, from behaven, to behave (on the model of havour, behavior) (from Old French avoir) (from avoir, to have); see behave.]
noun
- The manner in which one behaves.
- The actions or reactions of a person or animal in response to external or internal stimuli.
- One of these actions or reactions: “a hormone . . . known to directly control sex-specific reproductive and parenting behaviors in a wide variety of vertebrates” (Thomas Maugh II)
- The manner in which something functions or operates: the faulty behavior of a computer program; the behavior of dying stars.
derivatives
- be·hav́ior·al
- adjective
- be·hav́ior·al·ly
- adverb
synonyms:
behavior, conduct, deportment These nouns all pertain to a person's actions as they constitute a means of evaluation by others. Behavior is the most general: The children were on their best behavior. Conduct applies to actions considered from the standpoint of morality and ethics: “Life, not the parson, teaches conduct” (Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.) Deportment more narrowly pertains to actions measured by a prevailing code of social behavior: “was not like anything in the world but a model of Deportment” (Charles Dickens)
