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picking on
| Main Entry: |
pick at/pick on
|
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | nag, provoke |
| Synonyms: | badger, bait, blame, bully, carp, cavil, criticize, find fault, foment, get at, get to, goad, hector, incite, instigate, quibble, start, tease, torment |
| Antonyms: | compliment, praise |
| Main Entry: | abuse |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | attack with words |
| Synonyms: | backbite, bad-mouth, bash, belittle, berate, blow off, calumniate, cap, castigate, cuss out, cut down, cut to the quick, decry, defame, derogate, discount, do a number on, dump on, give a black eye, hurl brickbat, insult, knock*, minimize, nag, offend, oppress, persecute, pick on, put down*, rag on, reproach, revile, ride*, rip up, run down, scold, signify, slam*, slap, sling mud, smear, sound*, swear at, tear apart, trash*, upbraid, vilify, vituperate, zing |
| Notes: | abuse carries with it some sense of harm; misuse refers to an incorrect use that may not lead to harm to misuse is to use something wrongly, to abuse is to misuse something so badly that you damage it |
| Antonyms: | acclaim, adulate, approve, commend, compliment, praise |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | aggravate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | annoy |
| Synonyms: | be at, be on the back of, bother, bug, bum*, dog, drive up the wall, exasperate, gall, get, get on one's nerves, get to, give a hard time, grate, hack, irk, irritate, nag, needle, nettle, peeve, pester, pick on, pique, provoke, tease, vex, wig |
| Notes: | to aggravate is to make something worse, while to exacerbate is to increase something's bitterness or harshness aggravate means 'to add to' an already troublesome or vexing matter or condition while irritate means 'to vex, annoy, or chafe' irritate means 'inflame' (originally 'excite, rouse'); aggravate means 'worsen' |
| Antonyms: | appease, gladden, make happy, mollify, soften |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | ascertain |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make sure |
| Synonyms: | catch on, check, check out*, check up on, confirm, determine, dig*, discover, divine, double-check, establish, eye*, eyeball, find out, fix, get down cold, get down pat, get hold of, get it down, get the hang of, identify, learn, learn the ropes, look-see, make certain, make sure, peg, pick up on, pick up*, read, see, settle, size, size up, tell, verify |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | beset |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | plague; hem in |
| Synonyms: | aggress, assail, attack, badger, bedevil, beleaguer, besiege, bug*, circle*, compass, dog*, drive up the wall, embarrass, encircle, enclose, encompass, entangle, environ, fall on, fall upon, girdle, give a bad time, give a hard time, give one the business, give the needle, harass, harry, hassle, infest, invade, jump on one's case, nag, nudge, overrun, perplex, pester, pick on, put the squeeze on, ride, ring, start in on, storm, strike, surround |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | bother |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | harass, annoy; give trouble |
| Synonyms: | afflict, aggravate, agitate, alarm, badger, bedevil, bore, browbeat, carp at, concern, cross, discommode, disconcert, disgust, dismay, displease, disquiet, distress, disturb, eat, embarrass, exacerbate, exasperate, goad, grate on, grieve, harry, hinder, hurt, impede, inconvenience, insult, intrude upon, irk, irritate, molest, nag, needle, nudge, pain, perplex, perturb, pester, pick on, plague, provoke, pursue, put out, ride, scare, spite, tantalize, taunt, tease, torment, trouble, upset, vex, worry |
| Antonyms: | aid, help, please |
| Main Entry: | discover |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | find, uncover |
| Synonyms: | ascertain, bring to light, catch, come across, come upon, conceive, contrive, debunk, design, detect, determine, devise, dig up, discern, disclose, distinguish, elicit, espy, explore, ferret out, get wind of, get wise to, glimpse, hear, identify, invent, learn, light upon, locate, look up, nose out, notice, observe, originate, perceive, pick up on, pioneer, realize, recognize, reveal, see, sense, smoke out, spot, think of, turn up, unearth |
| Notes: | The word discover goes back to Latin dis- and cooperire, meaning 'to remove the covering; completely uncover.' By 1553, it was used to mean 'seeing or gaining knowledge of something previously unknown' and 'finding out; bringing to light.' You discover ('uncover') something that is already there, something that has existed but is generally unknown - but you invent something that has never existed before. |
| Antonyms: | lose, miss, pass by |
| Main Entry: | distinguish |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | discern, identify |
| Synonyms: | beam*, catch, descry, detect, dig, discover, discriminate, eye, eyeball, flash*, focus, get a load of, get an eyeful, know, make out, mark, note, notice, observe, perceive, pick out, pick up on, read, recognize, remark, see, spot, spy, take in, tell, view |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | distress |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | worry, upset |
| Synonyms: | afflict, aggrieve, agonize, ail, be on one's case, bother, break, bug, burn up, depress, desolate, discombobulate, disquiet, disturb, do a number on, dog*, eat*, get to, get*, give a hard time, grieve, harass, harry, hound, hurt, injure, irk, irritate, make it tough for, miff, nag, needle, nit-pick, oppress, pain, peeve, perplex, pester, pick on, plague, push, push buttons, rack, sadden, strain, strap, stress, tick off, torment, torture, trouble, try, vex, weigh, wound |
| Antonyms: | assist, calm, comfort, help, soothe |
* = 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.
