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| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | reduce or cause to contract |
| Synonyms: | collapse, decrease, depreciate, depress, devalue, diminish, empty, exhaust, flatten, puncture, shrink, squash, void |
| Antonyms: | blow up, expand, inflate |
| Main Entry: | attenuate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | weaken |
| Synonyms: | abate, constrict, contract, cripple, debilitate, deflate, disable, dissipate, enfeeble, extenuate, lessen, mitigate, sap, shrink, thin, undermine, vitiate |
| Antonyms: | expand, increase, intensify, strengthen |
| Main Entry: | collapse |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | fall apart, break down |
| Synonyms: | belly up, bend, break, cave in, conk out, crack up, crumple, deflate, disintegrate, droop, drop, exhaust, fail, faint, fall down, flag, flake out, fold, founder, give, give in, give out, give way, go to pieces, go*, keel over, languish, shatter, subside, succumb, tire, topple, weaken, weary, wilt, yield |
| Antonyms: | build, increase, rise |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | contract |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | condense |
| Synonyms: | abate, abbreviate, abridge, become smaller, clench, compress, confine, constrict, consume, curtail, decline, decrease, deflate, draw in, dwindle, ebb, edit, epitomize, evaporate, fall away, fall off, grow less, lessen, lose, narrow, omit, purse, recede, reduce, shrink, shrivel, subside, syncopate, take in, tighten, wane, waste, weaken, wither, wrinkle |
| Notes: | a compact is a formal agreement on rights and conduct, a treaty is a compact between nations, and a contract is a compact between two business entities |
| Antonyms: | amplify, dilate, enlarge, expand, extend, increase, lengthen, spread, stretch |
| Main Entry: | debunk |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | disprove, ridicule |
| Synonyms: | cut down to size, deflate, demystify, discover, disparage, expose, lampoon, mock, puncture, show up, uncloak, unmask, unshroud |
| Antonyms: | prove, uphold |
| Main Entry: | depreciate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | devalue, lose value |
| Synonyms: | abate, cheapen, decay, decrease, decry, deflate, depress, deteriorate, devalorize, diminish, downgrade, drop, dwindle, erode, fall, lessen, lower, mark down, reduce, soften, underrate, undervalue, worsen, write down, write off |
| Antonyms: | gain value, increase, overrate, raise, rate |
| Main Entry: | explode |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | discredit |
| Synonyms: | belie, confute, debunk, deflate, discard, disprove, invalidate, puncture, refute, repudiate, shoot down, shoot full of holes |
| Notes: | explode is to blow up from a confined area outwards; implode means blow inwards, as a lightbulb does when it burns out |
| Antonyms: | prove |
| Main Entry: | flatten |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | level out |
| Synonyms: | abrade, beat down, compress, crush, debase, deflate, depress, even out, fell, floor, flush, grade, ground, iron out, knock down, lay, lay low, mow down, plane, plaster, prostrate, raze, roll, smash, smooth, spread out, squash, straighten, subdue, trample |
| Antonyms: | break, elevate, make uneven, raise, round |
| Main Entry: | humble |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | shame, put down |
| Synonyms: | abase, abash, bemean, break, bring down, cast down, chagrin, chasten, confound, confuse, crush*, cut to the quick, debase, deflate, degrade, demean, demote, deny, discomfit, discredit, disgrace, embarrass, hide, humiliate, lower*, make eat dirt, make one feel small, mortify, overcome, pop one's balloon, pull down, put away, put one away, put to shame, reduce, silence, sink, snub, squash, squelch, strike dumb, subdue, take down a peg, take down, upset |
| Antonyms: | build up, praise, promote |
* = informal/non-formal usage
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
