| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | low, vulgar |
| Synonyms: | abject, base, beggarly, contemptible, despicable, dirty, dishonest, mean, pitiable, scurvy, shabby, sordid, sorry, tawdry, vile |
| Notes: | cheap means relatively low in price or charging low prices, tastelessly showy, or of very poor quality while cheep is the short weak cry of a young bird, a chirp |
| Antonyms: | sophisticated, superior, upper |
| Main Entry: | coarse |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | not fine, rude |
| Synonyms: | base, bawdy, blue*, boorish, brutish, cheap, common, crass, crude, dirty, earthy, filthy, foul, foul-mouthed, gross, gruff, immodest, impolite, improper, impure, incult, indelicate, inelegant, loutish, low, lowbred, lowdown and dirty, mean, nasty, obscene, off-color, offensive, raffish, raunchy, raw, ribald, rough, roughneck, rude, scatological, smutty, tacky, uncivil, uncouth, uncultivated, uncultured, unrefined, vulgar, vulgarian |
| Antonyms: | gentle, nice, polite, refined, sophisticated |
| Main Entry: | contemptible |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | despicable, shameful |
| Synonyms: | abhorrent, abject, abominable, bad, base, beggarly, cheap, crass, currish, degenerate, despisable, detestable, dirty, disgusting, hateful, heel, ignoble, ignominious, inferior, low, low-down, lowest, mean, odious, outcast, paltry, pitiable, pitiful, poor, sad, scummy, scurvy, shabby, sordid, sorry*, swinish, unworthy, vile, worthless, wretched |
| Notes: | contemptible means deserving contempt, while contemptuous means bestowing contempt; the first sense of contemptuous was 'despising law and order' |
| Antonyms: | admirable, admired, good, honorable, loved, respectable, worthy |
| Main Entry: | core |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | center, gist |
| Synonyms: | amount, base, basis, body, bottom line, bulk, burden, consequence, corpus, crux, essence, focus, foundation, heart, import, importance, kernel, main idea, mass, meat and potatoes, meat*, middle, midpoint, midst, nitty gritty, nub, nucleus, origin, pith, pivot, purport, quick, root, significance, staple, substance, thrust, upshot |
| Antonyms: | covering, exterior, exteriority, outside, perimeter, surface |
| Main Entry: | cornerstone |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | vital element |
| Synonyms: | anchor, base, essential, foundation, key element, keystone, linchpin, main ingredient, mainspring, mainstay, pillar |
| Main Entry: | corrupt |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | dishonest |
| Synonyms: | base, bent, bribable, crooked, debauched, double-dealing, exploiting, extortionate, faithless, fast and loose, fixed, foul, fraudulent, gone to the dogs, inconstant, iniquitous, knavish, mercenary, nefarious, on the take, open, padded, perfidious, praetorian, profiteering, racket up, reprobate, rotten, shady, snide, suborned, tainted, treacherous, two-faced, underhanded, unethical, unfaithful, unprincipled, unscrupulous, untrustworthy, venal, wide open |
| Antonyms: | decent, honest, honorable, principled, pure, trustworthy, truthful, uncorrupt, upright |
| Main Entry: | cowardly |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | fearful |
| Synonyms: | afraid, anxious, apprehensive, backward, base, caitiff, chicken-hearted, cowering, cowhearted, craven, dastardly, diffident, dismayed, fainthearted, frightened, gutless, having the willies, jittery, lacking courage, lily-livered, nervous, no guts, panicky, paper tiger, pigeonhearted, pusillanimous, recreant, retiring, running scared, scared, shrinking, shy, soft*, spineless, timid, timorous, weak, weak-kneed, worthless, yellow*, yellow-bellied |
| Antonyms: | bold, brave, courageous, daring, dauntless, unafraid, undaunted, unfearful |
| Main Entry: | dastardly |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | rotten |
| Synonyms: | base, contemptible, cowardly, craven, despicable, low, mean, pusillanimous, underhanded, vile |
| Main Entry: | degenerate |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | corrupt, deteriorated |
| Synonyms: | base, debased, debauched, decadent, decayed, degenerated, degraded, demeaned, depraved, dissolute, effete, failing, fallen, flatitious, immoral, infamous, low, mean, miscreant, nefarious, overripe, perverted, retrograde, retrogressive, rotten, sinking, unhealthy, vicious, villainous, vitiated, wicked, worsen |
| Notes: | to degenerate means 'to decline in value, move lower on a scale' but to deteriorate means 'to worsen, to become lowered, or be reduced in value'; degenerate pertains more to character and virtue while deteriorate is more about loss of strength or vitality |
| Antonyms: | moral, upright, virtuous |