| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | early, first |
| Synonyms: | avant-garde, brave, experimental, head, inaugural, initial, lead, original, primary, prime |
| Antonyms: | following, last, late, later |
| Main Entry: | pioneer |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | invent; lay the groundwork |
| Synonyms: | begin, colonize, create, develop, discover, establish, explore, found, go out in front, initiate, instigate, institute, launch, map out, open up, originate, prepare, show the way, spearhead*, start, take the lead, trailblaze |
| Main Entry: | adventurer |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | person who takes risks |
| Synonyms: | charlatan, daredevil, entrepreneur, explorer, fortune-hunter, gambler, globetrotter, hero, heroine, madcap, mercenary, opportunist, pioneer, pirate, romantic, speculator, stunt person, swashbuckler, traveler, venturer, voyager, wanderer |
| Main Entry: | apostle |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | preacher; supporter |
| Synonyms: | advocate, champion, companion, converter, evangelist, follower, herald, messenger, missionary, pioneer, propagandist, proponent, proselytizer, witness |
| Main Entry: | colonial |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | pioneering, relating to a nonindependent or new territory |
| Synonyms: | crude, dependent, dominion, early American, emigrant, frontier, immigrant, new, outland, pilgrim, pioneer, prerevolutionary, primitive, provincial, puritan, territorial, transplanted, uncultured, unsettled, unsophisticated, wild |
| Antonyms: | modern, new |
| Main Entry: | cutting edge |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | leading position |
| Synonyms: | advance guard, advancement, avant-garde, fore, forefront, front, front line, innovation, invention, leading edge, new wave, newest technology, pioneer, point, spearhead, van, vanguard |
| 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: | explorer |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | trailblazer |
| Synonyms: | adventurer, experimenter, inquisitive person, pathfinder, pilgrim, pioneer, searcher, seeker, traveler |
| Main Entry: | first |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | earliest in order |
| Synonyms: | aboriginal, ahead, antecedent, anterior, basic, beginning, cardinal, early, elementary, first off, front, fundamental, head, headmost, in the beginning, inaugural, inceptive, incipient, initial, introductory, key, lead off, leading, least, number one, numero uno, opening, original, pioneer, premier, primary, prime, primeval, primitive, primogenial, primordial, pristine, right up front, rudimentary, slightest, smallest |
| Antonyms: | final, last |