Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Behave
Be-have′
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Behaved
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Behaving
.] [AS. ]
behabban
to surround, restrain, detain (akin to G. gehaben
(obs.) to have, sich gehaben
to behave or carry one’s self); pref. be-
+ habban
to have. See Have
, Verb.
T.
1.
To manage or govern in point of behavior; to discipline; to handle; to restrain.
[Obs.]
He did
behave
his anger ere 't was spent. Shakespeare
2.
To carry; to conduct; to comport; to manage; to bear; – used reflexively.
Those that
behaved
themselves manfully. 2 Macc. ii. 21.
Be-have′
,Verb.
I.
To act; to conduct; to bear or carry one's self;
as, to
. behave
well or ill☞ This verb is often used colloquially without an adverb of manner; as, if he does not behave, he will be punished. It is also often applied to inanimate objects; as, the ship behaved splendidly.
Webster 1828 Edition
Behave
BEHA'VE
, v.t.1.
To restrain; to govern; to subdue. He did behave his anger e'er 'twas spent.
This sense is obsolete. Yet it often seems to be implied; for to behave one's self, is really, to govern one's self; to have in command.
2.
To carry; to conduct; used with the reciprocal pronoun; as, he behaves himself manfully. But the tendency of modern usage is to omit the pronoun; as, he behaves well.BEHA'VE
,Verb.
I.
Definition 2024
behave
behave
English
Verb
behave (third-person singular simple present behaves, present participle behaving, simple past and past participle behaved)
- (reflexive) To conduct (oneself) well, or in a given way.
- You need to behave yourself, young lady.
- Bible, 2 Maccabees ii. 21
- those that behaved themselves manfully
- (intransitive) To act, conduct oneself in a specific manner; used with an adverbial of manner.
- He behaves like a child whenever she's around.
- How did the students behave while I was gone?
- My laptop has been behaving erratically ever since you borrowed it.
- 2014 April 21, “Subtle effects”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8884:
- Manganism has been known about since the 19th century, when miners exposed to ores containing manganese, a silvery metal, began to totter, slur their speech and behave like someone inebriated.
- (obsolete, transitive) To conduct, manage, regulate (something).
- William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
- He did behave his anger ere 'twas spent.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.iii:
- who his limbs with labours, and his mind / Behaues with cares, cannot so easie mis.
- William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
- (intransitive) To act in a polite or proper way.
- His mother threatened to spank him if he didn't behave.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
to act in a specific manner
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to act in a polite or proper way
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