following

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
following
    adj 1: about to be mentioned or specified; "the following items"
           [syn: {following(a)}, {undermentioned}]
    2: immediately following in time or order; "the following day";
       "next in line"; "the next president"; "the next item on the
       list" [syn: {following}, {next}]
    3: going or proceeding or coming after in the same direction;
       "the crowd of following cars made the occasion seem like a
       parade"; "tried to outrun the following footsteps" [ant:
       {leading}]
    4: in the desired direction; "a following wind"
    n 1: a group of followers or enthusiasts [syn: {following},
         {followers}]
    2: the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture; "the
       culprit started to run and the cop took off in pursuit" [syn:
       {pursuit}, {chase}, {pursual}, {following}]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Follow \Fol"low\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Followed}; p. pr. & vb.
   n. {Following}.][OE. foluwen, folwen, folgen, AS. folgian,
   fylgean, fylgan; akin to D. volgen, OHG. folg[=e]n, G.
   folgen, Icel. fylgja, Sw. f["o]lja, Dan. f["o]lge, and perh.
   to E. folk.]
   1. To go or come after; to move behind in the same path or
      direction; hence, to go with (a leader, guide, etc.); to
      accompany; to attend.
      [1913 Webster]

            It waves me forth again; I'll follow it. --Shak.
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   2. To endeavor to overtake; to go in pursuit of; to chase; to
      pursue; to prosecute.
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            I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they
            shall follow them.                    --Ex. xiv. 17.
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   3. To accept as authority; to adopt the opinions of; to obey;
      to yield to; to take as a rule of action; as, to follow
      good advice.
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            Approve the best, and follow what I approve.
                                                  --Milton.
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            Follow peace with all men.            --Heb. xii.
                                                  14.
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            It is most agreeable to some men to follow their
            reason; and to others to follow their appetites.
                                                  --J. Edwards.
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   4. To copy after; to take as an example.
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            We had rather follow the perfections of them whom we
            like not, than in defects resemble them whom we
            love.                                 --Hooker.
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   5. To succeed in order of time, rank, or office.
      [1913 Webster]

   6. To result from, as an effect from a cause, or an inference
      from a premise.
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   7. To watch, as a receding object; to keep the eyes fixed
      upon while in motion; to keep the mind upon while in
      progress, as a speech, musical performance, etc.; also, to
      keep up with; to understand the meaning, connection, or
      force of, as of a course of thought or argument.
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            He followed with his eyes the flitting shade.
                                                  --Dryden.
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   8. To walk in, as a road or course; to attend upon closely,
      as a profession or calling.
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            O, had I but followed the arts!       --Shak.
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            O Antony! I have followed thee to this. --Shak.
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   {Follow board} (Founding), a board on which the pattern and
      the flask lie while the sand is rammed into the flask.
      --Knight.

   {To follow the hounds}, to hunt with dogs.

   {To follow suit} (Card Playing), to play a card of the same
      suit as the leading card; hence, colloquially, to follow
      an example set.

   {To follow up}, to pursue indefatigably.

   Syn: Syn.- To pursue; chase; go after; attend; accompany;
        succeed; imitate; copy; embrace; maintain.

   Usage: - To {Follow}, {Pursue}. To follow (v.t.) denotes
          simply to go after; to pursue denotes to follow with
          earnestness, and with a view to attain some definite
          object; as, a hound pursues the deer. So a person
          follows a companion whom he wishes to overtake on a
          journey; the officers of justice pursue a felon who
          has escaped from prison.
          [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Following \Fol"low*ing\, n.
   1. One's followers, adherents, or dependents, collectively.
      --Macaulay.
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   2. Vocation; business; profession.
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from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Following \Fol"low*ing\, a.
   1. Next after; succeeding; ensuing; as, the assembly was held
      on the following day.
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   2. (Astron.) (In the field of a telescope) In the direction
      from which stars are apparently moving (in consequence of
      the earth's rotation); as, a small star, north following
      or south following. In the direction toward which stars
      appear to move is called preceding.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: The four principal directions in the field of a
         telescope are north, south, following, preceding.
         [1913 Webster]
    
from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
208 Moby Thesaurus words for "following":
      adherent, after, afterlife, alike, aped, appendage, appendant,
      attendance, attendant, audience, behind, below, body of retainers,
      buff, bugging, cadet, cavaliere servente, chase, clientage,
      clientele, cloak-and-dagger work, cohort, coming, coming after,
      consecution, consecutive, consecutiveness, consequent,
      consequential, consimilar, continuation, continuity, copied,
      copying, cortege, counterespionage, counterfeit, counterfeiting,
      counterintelligence, court, courtier, cynegetic, dangler,
      deducible, dependent, derivable, derivational, derivative, descent,
      disciple, dogging, electronic surveillance, emulation, ensuing,
      entourage, ersatz, espial, espionage, extension, fake, fakery, fan,
      favoring, final, fishing, flunky, follow, follow-up, follower,
      forgery, future time, halieutic, hanger-on, hangover, henchman,
      hit-off, homme de cour, homogeneous, hue and cry, hunting,
      identical, imitated, imitation, impersonation, imposture,
      impression, in full cry, in hot pursuit, in pursuit, infenible,
      intelligence, intelligence work, junior, lateness, later, like,
      line, lineage, lineal, logical sequence, military intelligence,
      mimesis, mimicked, mirroring, mock, nearly reproduced, next,
      next life, not unlike, observation, onomatopoeia, order,
      order of succession, parasite, parody, partisan, phony,
      piscatorial, piscatory, plagiarism, plagiary, postdate, postdating,
      posterior, posteriority, postposition, postpositional,
      postpositive, procession, progression, prolongation, prosecution,
      provenience, proximate, public, puisne, pursuance, pursuant,
      pursuer, pursuing, pursuit, pursuivant, quest, questing, remainder,
      repetition, resembling, resultant, resulting, retinue, rotation,
      rout, satellite, searching, secret police, secret service, sectary,
      seeking, sequacious, sequence, sequent, sequential, series, shadow,
      shadowing, similar, simulated, simulation, since, smacking of,
      something like, spying, stakeout, stalking, stooge, subjunction,
      subsequence, subsequent, subsequent to, succeeding, succession,
      successive, successiveness, successor, suffixation, suffixed,
      suggestive of, suite, supervenience, supervention, supporter,
      surveillance, synthetic, tagtail, tail, tailing, takeoff, tracking,
      tracking down, trailing, train, trainbearer, uniform with, votary,
      ward heeler, wiretap, wiretapping, younger

    

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