Meaning & use
framing
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Meanings
noununcountable
The way an issue is described and presented, which influences how people understand and react to it.
Grammar: Usually no article, followed by of: the framing of the debate.
Patterns
- the framing of something
- framing as something
The framing of the policy as a tax cut made it more popular.
Reporters disagreed about the framing of the story.
Careful framing can turn a failure into a lesson.
noununcountable
The supporting structure of wood or metal that holds up a building, vehicle or other object.
Grammar: Used without a plural, for the whole skeleton: the framing of the house.
Patterns
- wooden framing
- steel framing
The builders finished the framing of the house in a week.
The old barn's wooden framing was still solid.
Light steel framing keeps the walls thin.
noununcountable
The choice of what to include in a photograph or film shot, and how it is arranged within the edges.
Grammar: Usually uncountable, with of or in a shot: the framing of the shot.
Patterns
- the framing of a shot
The photographer's framing put the lone tree off-center.
Tight framing made the room feel crowded.
She studied the framing in classic films.
Common combinations
- media framing
- Media framing shaped how people saw the strike.
- the framing of an issue
- The framing of the issue upset many voters.
- wall framing
- The carpenters checked the wall framing for damage.
- careful framing
- Careful framing can win an argument.
- picture framing
- He took a course in picture framing.
Synonyms and how they differ
- spin
- Spin is informal and suggests misleading presentation, while framing is a more neutral term for how information is presented.
- presentation
- Presentation covers any way of showing something, while framing stresses influence on interpretation.
- angle
- Angle means a particular viewpoint, which is narrower than the overall framing.
- structure
- Structure is the general word for supporting parts, and framing is the specific skeleton of a building.
Word family
Commonly confused: framing or framing vs. fraying?
framing vs framing vs. fraying
Fraying means wearing at the edge, as with rope or nerves, and is unrelated to framing.
Practice
Describing a plastic bag charge as an environmental reward rather than a tax is an example of ___.
Choose one answer.
Framing is choosing how to present an issue so that it shapes opinion; the other words do not describe that process.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “framing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.