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Action vs Address - What's the difference?

action | address |

As nouns the difference between action and address

is that action is something done so as to accomplish a purpose while address is direction or superscription of a letter, or the name, title, and place of residence of the person addressed.

As verbs the difference between action and address

is that action is (management) to act on a request etc, in order to put it into effect while address is (obsolete) to prepare oneself.

As an interjection action

is demanding or signifying the start of something, usually an act or scene of a theatric performance.

action

English

(wikipedia action)

Noun

(en noun)
  • Something done so as to accomplish a purpose.
  • A way of motion or functioning.
  • Knead bread with a rocking action .
  • A fast-paced activity.
  • an action movie
  • A mechanism; a moving part or assembly.
  • a rifle action
  • (music): The mechanism, that is the set of moving mechanical parts, of a keyboard instrument, like a piano, which transfers the motion of the key to the sound-making device.Marshall Cavendish Corporation Growing Up with Science p.1079
  • (slang) sexual intercourse.
  • She gave him some action .
  • The distance separating the strings and the fretboard on the guitar.
  • (military) Combat.
  • He saw some action in the Korean War.
  • (legal) A charge or other process in a law court (also called lawsuit and actio ).
  • (mathematics) A mapping from a pairing of mathematical objects to one of them, respecting their individual structures. The pairing is typically a Cartesian product or a tensor product. The object that is not part of the output is said to act'' on the other object. In any given context, ''action'' is used as an abbreviation for a more fully named notion, like group action or ''left group action.
  • The event or connected series of events, either real or imaginary, forming the subject of a play, poem, or other composition; the unfolding of the drama of events.
  • (art, painting and sculpture) The attitude or position of the several parts of the body as expressive of the sentiment or passion depicted.
  • (bowling) spin put on the bowling ball.
  • (business, obsolete, a Gallicism) A share in the capital stock of a joint-stock company, or in the public funds.
  • * Burke
  • The Euripus of funds and actions .

    Derived terms

    * actioner * action hero * action item * action man * action movie * action star * actions speak louder than words * direct action * ! * lost in action * missing in action * piece of the action * social action * take action

    See also

    * deed *

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • Demanding or signifying the start of something, usually an act or scene of a theatric performance.
  • The director yelled ‘Action !’ before the camera started rolling.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (management) To act on a request etc, in order to put it into effect.
  • * {{quote-book, year=2004
  • , publisher=Pearson Education , author=Ros Jay, Richard Templar , title=Fast Thinking Manager's Manual , edition=Second edition , chapter=Fast thinking: project , section=Fast Thinking Leader citation , isbn=9780273681052 , page=276 , passage=‘Here, give me the minutes of Monday’s meeting. I’ll action your points for you while you get on and sort out the open day.’}}
  • * {{quote-book, year=2005
  • , publisher=Routledge , author=Fritz Liebreich , title=Britain's Navel and Political Reaction to the Illegal Immigration of Jews to Palestine, 1945-1948 , chapter=The physical confrontation: interception and diversion policies in theory and practice citation , isbn=9780714656373 , page=196 , passage=Violent reactions from the Jewish authorities were expected and difficulties of actioning the new guidelines were foreseen.}}
  • * {{quote-book, year=2007
  • , publisher=The Stationery Office , editor= , author=Great Britain: Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman , title=Tax Credits: Getting it wrong? 5th report session 2006-2007 , chapter=Case study: 11257 , section=Chapter 2: Changes and developments since June 2005 citation , isbn=9780102951172 , page=26 , passage=HMRC said that one reason they had not actioned her appeal was because she had said in her appeal form ‘I am appealing against the overpayment for childcare for 2003-04, 2004-05’, thus implying she was disputing her ‘overpayment’.}}
  • (transitive, chiefly, archaic) To initiate a legal action against someone.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1856
  • , publisher=Stringer & Townsend , author=Thomas Chandler Haliburton , title=The Attaché: or Sam Slick in England , section=Chapter XLVII: The Horse Stealer; or All Trades Have Tricks But Our Own , edition=New Revised Edition citation , page=270 , passage=‘I have no business to settle with you—arrest me, Sir, at your peril and I’ll action you in law for false imprisonment.’}}
  • * {{quote-book, year=1844
  • , year_published= , publisher=T. C. Newby , author=Robert Mackenzie Daniel , title=The Grave Digger: A novel by the author of The Scottish Heiress , volume=I , section=Chapter IX: How the Grave-differ entertained a lady citation , pages=189-190 , passage=“Scrip threatened me at first with an action for slander—he spoke of actions to the wrong man though—action! no, no no. I should have actioned him—ha! ha! [...]”}}
  • * {{quote-book, year=1871
  • , year_published=2002 , publisher=Oxford University Press US , author=Michael Shermer , quotee=(Alfred Russell Wallace) , title=In Darwin’s shadow: The Life and Science of Alfred Russell Wallace , section=Chapter 10. Heretic Personality citation , isbn=9780195148305 , page=261 , passage=I have actioned him for Libel, but he won’t plead, and says he will make himself bankrupt & won’t pay a penny.}}
  • * {{quote-book, year=1996
  • , publisher=Boydell & Brewer , author=Darryl Mark Ogier , title=Reformation and Society in Guernsey , chapter=Discipline: Enforcement , section=Part Two: The Calvinist Regime citation , isbn=9780851156033 , page=148 , passage=In 1589 the Court went so far as to effect a reconciliation between Michel le Petevin and his wife after she actioned him for ill treatment and adultery with their chambermaid.}}

    Usage notes

    * The verb sense (term) is rejected by some usage authorities., page 3

    References

    * OED 2nd edition 1989 * Notes:

    address

    Noun

    (es)
  • Direction or superscription of a letter, or the name, title, and place of residence of the person addressed.
  • Act of addressing oneself to a person; a discourse or speech.
  • * 1887 , Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet , VII:
  • Mr. Gregson, who had listened to this address with considerable impatience, could contain himself no longer.
  • Manner of speaking to another; delivery.
  • Attention in the way one addresses a lady.
  • Skill; skillful management; dexterity; adroitness.
  • * 1813 , "Customs, Manners, and present Appearance of Constantinople", The New Annual Register, or General Repository of History, Politics, and Literature for the year 1812 , p. 179 (Google preview):
  • At their turning-lathes, they employ their toes to guide the chisel; and, in these pedipulations, shew to Europeans a diverting degree of address .
  • (obsolete) Act of preparing oneself.
  • A description of the location of a property.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-14, author=(Jonathan Freedland)
  • , volume=189, issue=1, page=18, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Obama's once hip brand is now tainted , passage=Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet. Perhaps we assume that our name, address and search preferences will be viewed by some unseen pair of corporate eyes, probably not human, and don't mind that much.}}
  • (by extension) The property itself.
  • (computing) A location in computer memory.
  • (Internet) An Internet address; URL.
  • Derived terms

    * subaddress, subaddressing

    Synonyms

    * adroitness * discourse * harangue * ingenuity * lecture * oration * petition * readiness * speech * tact

    Verb

  • (obsolete) To prepare oneself.
  • * (rfdate), (William Shakespeare)
  • Let us address to tend on Hector's heels.
  • (obsolete) To speech.
  • * (rfdate), (John Dryden)
  • Young Turnus to the beauteous maid addrest .
  • (obsolete) To aim; to .
  • * (rfdate), (Edmund Spenser)
  • And this good knight his way with me addrest .
  • (obsolete) To prepare or make ready.
  • * (rfdate), (Edmund Spenser)
  • His foe was soon addressed .
  • * (rfdate), (John Dryden)
  • Turnus addressed his men to single fight.
  • * (rfdate), (Jeremy Taylor)
  • The five foolish virgins addressed themselves at the noise of the bridegroom's coming.
  • (reflexive) To prepare oneself; to apply one's skill or energies (to some object); to betake.
  • * (rfdate) (Thomas Babington Macaulay)
  • These men addressed themselves to the task.
  • * 1851 , (Herman Melville), (Moby Dick) ,
  • [...] good heavens! dumplings for supper! One young fellow in a green box coat, addressed himself to these dumplings in a most direful manner.
  • (archaic) To clothe or array; to dress.
  • * (rfdate) Jewel
  • Tecla ... addressed herself in man's apparel.
  • To direct, as words (to any one or any thing); to make, as a speech, petition, etc. (to any one, an audience).
  • * (rfdate) (John Dryden)
  • ''The young hero had addressed his players to him for his assistance.
  • To direct speech to; to make a communication to, whether spoken or written; to apply to by words, as by a speech, petition, etc., to speak to; to accost.
  • * (rfdate) (Joseph Addison)
  • Are not your orders to address the senate?
  • * (rfdate) (Jonathan Swift)
  • The representatives of the nation addressed the king.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author=(Peter Wilby)
  • , volume=189, issue=6, page=30, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Finland spreads word on schools , passage=Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16.
  • To direct in writing, as a letter; to superscribe, or to direct and transmit.
  • To make suit to as a lover; to court; to woo.
  • To consign or intrust to the care of another, as agent or factor.
  • To address oneself to; to prepare oneself for; to apply oneself to; to direct one's speech or discourse to.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2012-03
  • , author=Lee A. Groat, volume=100, issue=2, page=128, magazine=(American Scientist) , title= Gemstones , passage=Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are […] . (Common gem materials not addressed in this article include amber, amethyst, chalcedony, garnet, lazurite, malachite, opals, peridot, rhodonite, spinel, tourmaline, turquoise and zircon.)}}
  • (formal) To direct attention towards a problem or obstacle, in an attempt to resolve it.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012, date=April 19, author=Josh Halliday, work=The Guardian
  • , title= Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised? , passage="By all means we want people to use social media, but we do not want you to use it in ways that will incite violence," said Jonathan Toy, Southwark council's head of community safety. "This remains a big issue for us and without some form of censorship purely focusing on [violent videos], I'm not sure how we can address it."}}
  • (computing) To refer a location in computer memory.
  • (golf) To get ready to hit the ball on the tee.
  • Usage notes

    * The intransitive uses can be understood as omission of the reflexive pronoun.