| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | domesticated, compliant |
| Synonyms: | acclimatized, amenable, biddable, bridled, broken, busted, civilized, cultivated, disciplined, docile, domestic, fearless, gentle, gentle as a lamb, habituated, harmless, harnessed, housebroken, kindly, manageable, meek, mild, muzzled, obedient, overcome, pliable, pliant, subdued, submissive, tractable, trained, unafraid, unresisting, yoked |
| Antonyms: | unmanageable, untamed, violent, wild |
| Main Entry: | tame |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | domesticate, make compliant |
| Synonyms: | break, break in, break the spirit, bridle, bring to heel, bust, check, conquer, curb, discipline, domesticize, domiciliate, enslave, gentle, house-train, housebreak, humble, mitigate, mute, pacify, repress, restrain, soften, subdue, subjugate, suppress, temper, tone down, train, vanquish, water down |
| Main Entry: | bland |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | tasteless; undistinctive |
| Synonyms: | banal, blah*, boring, dull, dull as dishwater, flat, flavorless, ho hum, humdrum, insipid, milk-and-water, monotonous, nerdy, nothing, pabulum, sapless, tame, tedious, unexciting, uninspiring, uninteresting, unstimulating, vanilla, vapid, waterish, watery, weak, wimpy, wishy-washy, zero* |
| Antonyms: | delicious, distinctive, sharp, tasty, yummy |
| Main Entry: | boring |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | uninteresting |
| Synonyms: | arid, bomb*, bromidic, bummer, characterless, cloying, colorless, commonplace, dead*, drab, drag*, drudging, dull, flat*, ho hum, humdrum, insipid, interminable, irksome, lifeless, monotonous, moth-eaten, mundane, nothing, nowhere, platitudinous, plebeian, prosaic, repetitious, routine, spiritless, stale, stereotyped, stodgy, stuffy, stupid, tame, tedious, threadbare, tiresome, tiring, trite, unexciting, uninteresting, unvaried, vapid, wearisome, well-worn, zero* |
| Antonyms: | exciting, fascinating, interesting |
| Main Entry: | break |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | weaken, cause instability |
| Synonyms: | bankrupt, bust, confound, confute, controvert, cow, cripple, declass, degrade, demerit, demoralize, demote, disconfirm, dispirit, disprove, downgrade, enervate, enfeeble, humiliate, impair, impoverish, incapacitate, pauperize, rebut, reduce, refute, ruin, subdue, tame, undermine |
| Notes: | to brake is to slow or stop while break is to cause to separate into pieces suddenly or violently, smash or crack |
| Antonyms: | stabilize, strengthen |
| Main Entry: | break in |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | train in new skill |
| Synonyms: | accustom, condition, educate, gentle, get used to, habituate, initiate, instruct, prepare, tame |
| Main Entry: | chasten |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | correct, humiliate |
| Synonyms: | abase, admonish, afflict, berate, call down, castigate, chastise, chide, cow, curb, discipline, exprobate, fulminate against, have on the carpet, humble, objurgate, penalize, punish, rake over the coals, rebuke, reprehend, repress, reprimand, reproach, reprove, restrain, scold, scourge, soften, subdue, take to task, tame, tongue-lash, try, upbraid |
| Notes: | chasten means to correct by punishment, to take to task - to restrain or subdue; chastise means to punish, as by beating or to criticize severely |
| Antonyms: | aid, animate, assist, boost, cheer, comfort, embolden, encourage, help, honor, uplift |
| Main Entry: | check |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | hinder, restrain |
| Synonyms: | arrest, baffle, bar, bit, bottleneck, bridle, checkmate, choke, circumvent, constrain, control, counteract, curb, cut short, delay, discourage, foil, frustrate, halt, harness, hold, hold back, hold down, hold in, impede, inhibit, interrupt, keep back, limit, moderate, neutralize, nip in the bud, obstruct, obviate, pause, play for time, preclude, prevent, rebuff, reduce, rein in, repress, repulse, retard, slacken pace, slow down, snub, squelch, stay, stop, suppress, tame, terminate, thwart, withhold |
| Antonyms: | aid, allow, assist, expedite, help, indulge, liberate, permit |
| Main Entry: | civilize |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make cultured; develop |
| Synonyms: | acculturate, acquaint, advance, better, cultivate, edify, educate, elevate, enlighten, ennoble, enrich, ethicize, foster, help forward, humanize, idealize, improve, indoctrinate, inform, instruct, polish, promote, reclaim, refine, sophisticate, spiritualize, tame, uplift |