| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | perseverance |
| Synonyms: | assurance, backbone*, boldness, bravery, certainty, certitude, constancy, conviction, courage, dauntlessness, decision, dedication, doggedness, dogmatism, drive, energy, fearlessness, firm-ness, fortitude, grit, guts*, hardihood, heart*, independence, indomitability, intrepidity, nerve*, obstinacy, persistence, pluck, purpose, purposefulness, resoluteness, resolution, resolve, self-confidence, single-mindedness, spine, spunk*, steadfastness, stiff upper lip, stubbornness, tenacity, valor, willpower |
| Antonyms: | disinterest, doubt, hesitation, irresolution, spinelessness, vacillation |
| Main Entry: | endurance |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | bearing hardship; staying power |
| Synonyms: | ability, allowance, backbone, bearing, capacity, continuing, cool, coolness, courage, enduring, forebearance, fortitude, grit, guts, gutsiness, heart*, holding up, intestinal fortitude, mettle, moxie*, patience, perseverance, persistence, pertinacity, pluck, resignation, resistance, resolution, restraint, spunk, stamina, standing, starch, strength, submission, sufferance, suffering, tenacity, tolerance, toleration, undergoing, vitality, will, withstanding |
| Main Entry: | essential |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | necessity, basic |
| Synonyms: | ABCs, bottom line, brass tacks, condition, element, essence, fire and ice, fundamental, groceries, guts*, heart, meat and potatoes, must, name of the game, nitty-gritty, nuts and bolts, part and parcel, precondition, prerequisite, principle, quintessence, requirement, requisite, rudiment, sine qua non, stuff, substance, vital part, where one's at |
| Notes: | the words crucial, essential, and vital cannot be qualified (cannot be more or less...) |
| Antonyms: | accessory, auxiliary, nonessential, subsidiary, throwaway, trivia |
| Main Entry: | focus |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | center of attraction |
| Synonyms: | bull's eye, center, core, cynosure, focal point, headquarters*, heart, hub, limelight, locus, meeting place, nerve center, point of convergence, polestar, seat, spotlight, target |
| Main Entry: | fortitude |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | strength of mind; guts |
| Synonyms: | backbone*, boldness, braveness, bravery, constancy, courage, courageousness, dauntlessness, determination, endurance, fearlessness, firmness, grit, gutsiness, hardihood, heart, intrepidity, mettle, moxie, nerve, patience, perseverance, pith, pluck, resoluteness, resolution, spine, spirit, spunk, stamina, starch, staying power, stick-to-itiveness, stomach, stoutheartedness, tenacity, true grit, valiancy, valor, valorousness, what it takes |
| Antonyms: | cowardice, helplessness, weakness |
| Main Entry: | foundation |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | basis for something physical or mental |
| Synonyms: | ABCs, authority, base, basics, bed, bedrock, bottom, bottom line, brass tacks, foot, footing, ground, groundwork, guts*, heart*, infrastructure, justification, nitty-gritty, nub, nuts and bolts, prop, reason, root, stay, substratum, substructure, support, underpinning, understructure |
| Main Entry: | fundamental |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | basic, essential part |
| Synonyms: | ABCs, axiom, basis, bottom line, brass tacks, coal and ice, component, constituent, cornerstone, element, factor, foundation, guts*, heart, law, nitty-gritty, principium, principle, rock bottom, rudiment, rule, sine qua non, theorem |
| Antonyms: | addition, auxiliary, extra, subordinate, trivia |
| Main Entry: | generosity |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | spirit of giving |
| Synonyms: | all heart, alms-giving, altruism, beneficence, benevolence, bounteousness, bounty, charitableness, charity, free giving, goodness, heart, high-mindedness, hospitality, kindness, largesse, liberality, magnanimity, munificence, nobleness, openhandedness, philanthropy, profusion, readiness, unselfishness |
| Antonyms: | greed, meanness, selfishness, stinginess |
| Main Entry: | gist |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | meaning, essence |
| Synonyms: | basis, bearing, bottom line, burden, core, drift, force, heart, idea, import, kernel, keynote, marrow, matter, meat*, name of the game, nature of the beast, nitty gritty, nuts and bolts, pith, point, punch line, quintessence, score, sense, short, significance, soul, spirit, stuff*, subject, substance, summary, tenor, theme, thrust, topic, upshot |