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eating away
| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | having acidic, corrosive properties |
| Synonyms: | acerbic, acidulous, acrid, anti-alkaline, biting, bleaching, corroding, disintegrative, dissolvent, eating away, eroding, erosive, oxidizing, rusting |
| Antonyms: | basic |
| Main Entry: | gnaw |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | bite, chew |
| Synonyms: | champ, chaw, chomp, consume, corrode, crunch, devour, eat, eat away, erode, gum, masticate, munch, nibble, wear |
| Main Entry: | undermine |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | weaken |
| Synonyms: | attenuate, blunt, clip one's wings, corrode, cripple, debilitate, dig, dig out, disable, eat away, enfeeble, erode, excavate, foil, frustrate, hollow out, hurt, impair, knock the bottom out of, mine, poke full of holes, ruin, sabotage, sandbag, sap, soften, subvert, threaten, thwart, torpedo, tunnel, undercut, wear, whittle away, wreck |
| Antonyms: | strengthen |
| Main Entry: | waste |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | spend or use without thought; dwindle |
| Synonyms: | atrophy, be of no avail, blow, burn up, consume, corrode, crumble, debilitate, decay, decline, decrease, deplete, disable, disappear, dissipate, divert, drain, droop, eat away, ebb, emaciate, empty, enfeeble, exhaust, fade, fritter away, frivol away, gamble away, gnaw, go to waste, lavish, lose, misapply, misemploy, misuse, perish, pour down the drain, run dry, run through, sap, sink, splurge, squander, thin, throw away, trifle away, undermine, wane, wear, wear out, wilt, wither |
| Notes: | wastage is loss through use such as wear, leakage, or decay; the gradual process of wasting; or an amount that is wasted -- while waste is loss through carelessness, inefficiency, or ignorance or another word for garbage or rubbish |
| Antonyms: | hoard, save |
| Main Entry: | whittle |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | cut away at; reduce |
| Synonyms: | carve, chip, consume, decrease, diminish, eat away, erode, fashion, form, hew, lessen, model, mold, pare, sculpt, shape, shave, trim, undermine, wear away |
| Antonyms: | build, increase |
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
| Concept: | Waste. |
| Category: | 2. Subservience to ends; actual subservience |
| Synonyms: |
-nouns
consumption, expenditure, exhaustion; dispersion; ebb; leakage (exudation); loss; wear and tear; waste; prodigality; misuse; wasting; rubbish (useless)., mountain in labor.
-verbs
spend, expend, use, consume, swallow up, exhaust; impoverish; spill, drain, empty; disperse., cast away, fool away, muddle away, throw away, fling away, fritter away; burn the candle at both ends, waste; squander., "waste its sweetness on the desert air " [Gray]; cast one's bread upon the waters, cast pearls before swine; employ a steam engine to crack a nut, waste powder and shot, break a butterfly on a weel; labor in vain (useless); cut blocks with a razor, pour water into a sieve., leak (run out); run to waste; ebb; melt away, run dry, dry up.
-adjectives
wasted; at a low ebb., wasteful (prodigal); penny wise and pound foolish.
-phrases
magno conatu magnas nugas; le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle; "idly busy rolls their world away" [Goldsmith].
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