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| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | push to do something |
| Synonyms: | agitate, arouse, drive, encourage, excite, exhort, goad, incite, instigate, pique, prick, prod, prompt, propel, rally, sic, spur, stimulate, stir up, urge, whip up |
| Antonyms: | discourage, dissuade, hold back, talk out of |
| Main Entry: | actuate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | start a function or action, motivate |
| Synonyms: | activate, animate, arouse, cause, drive, egg on, energize, excite, fire up, impel, incite, induce, influence, inspire, instigate, key up, mobilize, motivate, move, prompt, propel, put up to, quicken, rouse, spur, stimulate, turn on, work into lather, work up |
| Notes: | when something is activated, it is made active; when something is actuated, it is moved to take action (or produce a consequence) to actuate is a general word meaning 'to set working' and has more to do with mechanical action - while activate is used mainly in scientific expressions |
| Antonyms: | impede, stop |
| Main Entry: | agitate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | disturb, trouble someone |
| Synonyms: | alarm, argue, arouse, bug up, bug*, burn up, confuse, craze*, debate, discompose, disconcert, discuss, dispute, disquiet, distract, disturb, egg on, examine, excite, ferment, flurry, fluster, get to, incite, inflame, make flip, move, perturb, psych, push buttons, rouse, ruffle, spook, stimulate, stir, trouble, turn on, unhinge, upset, ventilate, work up, worry |
| Antonyms: | calm, not bother, quiet, soothe |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | anger |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make someone mad; become mad |
| Synonyms: | acerbate, affront, aggravate, agitate, annoy, antagonize, arouse, bait, blow up, boil over, boil, bristle, burn, burn up, chafe, craze*, cross, displease, egg on, embitter, enrage, exacerbate, exasperate, excite, fret, gall, get mad, get on one's nerves, goad, incense, inflame, infuriate, irritate, lose one's temper, madden, make sore, miff, nettle, offend, outrage, pique, provoke, raise hell, rankle, rant, rave, rile, ruffle, seethe, steam up, stew, stir up, tempt, umbrage, vex |
| Antonyms: | calm, forbear, make happy, quiet, soothe |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | annoy |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | irritate, upset |
| Synonyms: | T-off, abrade, agitate, ask for it, badger, be at, be on the back of, bedevil, beleaguer, bore, bother, break, bug, burn up, chafe, displease, distress, disturb, egg on, exasperate, fire up, gall, get, gnaw, harass, harry, heat up, henpeck, hit where one lives, irk, madden, make waves, miff, nag, needle, nettle, nudge, peeve, perturb, pester, plague, provoke, push button, ride, rile, ruffle, tease, tick off, trouble, turn off, vex, work on, worry |
| Antonyms: | aid, gratify, make happy, please, soothe |
| Main Entry: | decoy |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | bait, entrap |
| Synonyms: | allure, come on, con, deceive, delude, egg one on, ensnare, ensorcell, entice, fascinate, inveigle, lead on, lead up garden path, lure, mislead, mousetrap, rope in, seduce, shill, steer, suck in, tempt, toll, tout, trap, wile |
| Main Entry: | drive |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | move or urge on |
| Synonyms: | act upon, actuate, animate, arouse, bulldoze, chase, coerce, compel, constrain, dog*, egg on, encourage, force, goad, goose, harass, hasten, herd, hound, hurl, hurry, hustle, impel, induce, inspire, instigate, kick, lean on, make, motivate, nag, oblige, overburden, overwork, pound, press, pressure, prod, prompt, propel, provoke, push, put up to, railroad, ride herd on, rouse, rush, send, shepherd, shove, spirit up, spur, steamroll, stimulate, work on, worry |
| Antonyms: | check, curb, discourage, dissuade, halt, repress, retard, stop |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | encourage |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | give support; help |
| Synonyms: | abet, advance, advocate, aid, approve, assist, back, back up, befriend, bolster, boost, brace, comfort, console, countenance, develop, ease, egg on, endorse, favor, fortify, forward, foster, further, get behind, give a leg up, go for, improve, instigate, invite, pat on the back, prevail, promote, pull for, push, reassure, reinforce, relieve, root for, sanction, second, serve, side with, smile upon, solace, spur, strengthen, subscribe to, subsidize, succor, support, sustain, uphold |
| Antonyms: | block, confuse, deter, discourage |
| Main Entry: | enforce |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | put a rule, plan in force |
| Synonyms: | accomplish, administer, administrate, apply, carry out, coerce, commandeer, compel, constrain, crack down, demand, dictate, discharge, dragoon, drive, effect, egg on, emphasize, exact, execute, exert, expect, extort, force upon, fortify, fulfill, goad, hound, impel, implement, impose, incite, insist on, invoke, lash, lean on, make, necessitate, oblige, perform, press, prosecute, put into effect, put screws to, reinforce, require, sanction, spur, strain, stress, strong-arm, support, urge, whip, wrest |
| Antonyms: | abandon, disregard, drop, forego, forget, give up, neglect, overlook |
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2012 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2012 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
