The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Application \Ap`pli*ca"tion\, n. [L. applicatio, fr. applicare:
   cf. F. application. See Apply.]
   1. The act of applying or laying on, in a literal sense; as,
      the application of emollients to a diseased limb.
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   2. The thing applied.
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            He invented a new application by which blood might
            be stanched.                          --Johnson.
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   3. The act of applying as a means; the employment of means to
      accomplish an end; specific use.
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            If a right course . . . be taken with children,
            there will not be much need of the application of
            the common rewards and punishments.   --Locke.
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   4. The act of directing or referring something to a
      particular case, to discover or illustrate agreement or
      disagreement, fitness, or correspondence; as, I make the
      remark, and leave you to make the application; the
      application of a theory.
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   5. Hence, in specific uses:
      (a) That part of a sermon or discourse in which the
          principles before laid down and illustrated are
          applied to practical uses; the "moral" of a fable.
      (b) The use of the principles of one science for the
          purpose of enlarging or perfecting another; as, the
          application of algebra to geometry.
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   6. The capacity of being practically applied or used;
      relevancy; as, a rule of general application.
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   7. The act of fixing the mind or closely applying one's self;
      assiduous effort; close attention; as, to injure the
      health by application to study.
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            Had his application been equal to his talents, his
            progress might have been greater.     --J. Jay.
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   8. The act of making request of soliciting; as, an
      application for an office; he made application to a court
      of chancery.
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   9. A request; a document containing a request; as, his
      application was placed on file.
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Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

232 Moby Thesaurus words for "application":
   Ace bandage, Band-Aid, absorbed attention, absorption,
   accounting for, active use, address, adhesive tape, administration,
   answerability, appeal, appliance, applicability, applying,
   appositeness, ardor, arrogation, ascription, asking, assiduity,
   assiduousness, assignation, assignment, attachment, attention,
   attribution, band, bandage, bandaging, bearing, bestowal, binder,
   blame, boning, brace, brainwork, bulldog tenacity, busyness, cast,
   cataplasm, charge, claim, commitment, compress, concentration,
   concern, concernment, connection, connection with, conning,
   consideration, constancy, consumption, contemplation, cotton,
   court plaster, cram, cramming, cravat, credit, debate, dedication,
   deep study, deep thought, deliberation, demand, derivation from,
   desire, devotion, diligence, dogged perseverance, doggedness,
   dosage, dosing, dressing, drill, effort, elastic bandage, employ,
   employment, endurance, energeticalness, energy, enforcing,
   engagement, engrossment, entreaty, epithem, etiology, exercise,
   exercising, exertion, expressed desire, extensive study, fervor,
   fidelity, forcing, forcing on, four-tailed bandage, gauze,
   germaneness, giving, good use, grind, grinding, hard usage,
   hard use, headwork, heed, honor, ill use, immersion, impetration,
   imploration, imprecation, imputation, indefatigability, indent,
   industriousness, industry, insistence, insistency, inspection,
   intentness, interest, involvement, laboriousness, lint, loyalty,
   lucubration, materiality, meditation, mental labor, meting out,
   misuse, monomania, obsession, obstinacy, operation, orison,
   palaetiology, patience, patience of Job, permanence, perseverance,
   persistence, persistency, pertinaciousness, pertinacity,
   pertinence, perusal, petition, placement, plaster, plaster cast,
   plea, pledget, plodding, plugging, poultice, practice,
   preoccupation, prescribing, profound thought, rapt attention,
   reading, reference, reference to, regard, relatedness,
   relentlessness, relevance, request, requisition, resolution,
   respect, responsibility, restudy, restudying, review, roller,
   roller bandage, rough usage, rubber bandage, saddling, sedulity,
   sedulousness, single-mindedness, singleness of purpose, sling,
   slogging, solicitation, splint, sponge, stability, stamina,
   staying power, steadfastness, steadiness, stick-to-itiveness,
   strenuousness, stubbornness, studiousness, study, studying, stupe,
   subject, submersion, suit, supplication, swotting, tampon, tape,
   tenaciousness, tenacity, tent, tirelessness, tourniquet,
   triangular bandage, unremittingness, unsparingness,
   unswerving attention, usage, use, using up, utilization, vehemence,
   wide reading, wish, wrong use, zeal, zealousness