| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | base, core |
| Synonyms: | basis, bedrock, beginnings, bottom, cause, center, crux, derivation, essence, essentiality, footing, foundation, fountain, fountainhead, fundamental, germ, ground, groundwork, heart, inception, infrastructure, mainspring, marrow, motive, nub, nucleus, occasion, origin, pith, provenance, provenience, quick, quintessence, radicle, radix, reason, rhizome, rock bottom, seat, seed, soul, source, starting point, stem, stuff, substance, substratum, tuber, underpinning, well |
| Notes: | a rout is a disorderly crowd of people or an overwhelming defeat; a root is the usually underground organ of a plant that lacks buds or leaves or nodes and absorbs water and mineral salts - or the form of a word after all affixes are removed; a route is an established line of travel or access - or a road, course, or way for travel from one place to another |
| Antonyms: | derivation, derivative, sprout |
| Main Entry: | base |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | fundamental part |
| Synonyms: | authority, backbone, basis, chief constituent, core, essence, essential, evidence, foundation, fundamental, groundwork, heart, important part, infrastructure, key, origin, primary element, principal, principle, root, source, underpinning |
| Main Entry: | basis |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | foundation for belief, action |
| Synonyms: | antecedent, assumption, authority, axiom, backbone, background, backing, base, bedrock, cause, center, chief ingredient, core, crux, data, dictum, essence, essential, evidence, explanation, footing, fundamental, hard fact, heart, infrastructure, justification, keynote, keystone, law, nexus, nucleus, postulate, premise, presumption, presupposition, principal element, principle, proof, reason, root, rudiment, sanction, security, source, substratum, support, theorem, theory, underpinning, warrant |
| Main Entry: | beginning |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | start of an event or action |
| Synonyms: | alpha, basis, birth, blastoff, commencement, creation, dawn, dawning, day one, genesis, inauguration, inception, induction, infancy, initiation, installation, introduction, kickoff, onset, opener, opening, origin, origination, outset, point of departure, preface, prelude, presentation, rise, root, rudiment, source, spring, square one, starting point, takeoff, threshold, top |
| Antonyms: | completion, conclusion, consummation, end, ending, finish, goal, termination |
| Main Entry: | beginning |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | origin, cause |
| Synonyms: | antecedent, birth, conception, egg, embryo, font, fount, fountain, fountainhead, generation, genesis, germ, heart, principle, resource, root, seed, stem, well |
| Antonyms: | conclusion, outcome, result |
| Main Entry: | bottom |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | base, core |
| Synonyms: | basis, bottom line, cause, essence, essentiality, ground, heart, mainspring, marrow, origin, pith, principle, quintessence, root, soul, source, stuff, substance, virtuality |
| Antonyms: | exteriority, outside |
| Main Entry: | cause |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | agent, originator |
| Synonyms: | account, agency, aim, antecedent, author, basis, beginning, causation, consideration, creator, determinant, doer, element, end, explanation, foundation, genesis, ground, grounds, incitement, inducement, instigation, leaven, mainspring, maker, matter, motivation, motive, object, occasion, origin, prime mover, principle, producer, purpose, root, source, spring, stimulation |
| Antonyms: | consequence, development, effect, end, fruit, issue, outcome, outgrowth, product, result |
| Main Entry: | center |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | middle point |
| Synonyms: | axis, bull's-eye, centrality, centriole, centrum, core, cynosure, equidistance, essence, focal point, focus, gist, heart, hotbed, hub, inside, interior, intermediacy, kernel, mainstream*, marrow, middle of the road, midpoint, midst, nave, navel, nucleus, omphalos, pith, pivot, place, polestar, quick, radial point, root, seat |
| Antonyms: | border, boundary, edge, exterior, exteriority, margin, outside, outskirts, periphery, rim, surroundings |
| Main Entry: | core |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | center, gist |
| Synonyms: | amount, base, basis, body, bottom line, bulk, burden, consequence, corpus, crux, essence, focus, foundation, heart, import, importance, kernel, main idea, mass, meat and potatoes, meat*, middle, midpoint, midst, nitty gritty, nub, nucleus, origin, pith, pivot, purport, quick, root, significance, staple, substance, thrust, upshot |
| Antonyms: | covering, exterior, exteriority, outside, perimeter, surface |