| half-breed | | |
| n. (person) | 1. half-breed | an offensive term for an offspring of parents of different races (especially of Caucasian and American Indian ancestry). |
| ~ derogation, disparagement, depreciation | a communication that belittles somebody or something. |
| ~ half-caste | an offensive term for the offspring of parents of different races or cultures. |
| adj. | 2. half-blooded, half-bred, half-breed | (of animals) having only one purebred parent. |
| ~ animal, animate being, beast, creature, brute, fauna | a living organism characterized by voluntary movement. |
| ~ crossbred | bred from parents of different varieties or species. |
| bedlam | | |
| n. (state) | 1. bedlam, chaos, pandemonium, topsy-turvydom, topsy-turvyness | a state of extreme confusion and disorder. |
| ~ confusion | disorder resulting from a failure to behave predictably.; "the army retreated in confusion" |
| ~ balagan | a word for chaos or fiasco borrowed from modern Hebrew (where it is a loan word from Russian).; "it was utter and complete balagan!" |
| n. (artifact) | 2. bedlam, booby hatch, crazy house, cuckoo's nest, funny farm, funny house, loony bin, madhouse, nut house, nuthouse, sanatorium, snake pit | pejorative terms for an insane asylum. |
| ~ insane asylum, mental home, mental hospital, mental institution, psychiatric hospital, asylum, institution | a hospital for mentally incompetent or unbalanced person. |
| confusion | | |
| n. (state) | 1. confusion | disorder resulting from a failure to behave predictably.; "the army retreated in confusion" |
| ~ disorder | a disturbance of the peace or of public order. |
| ~ demoralisation, demoralization | a state of disorder and confusion.; "his inconsistency resulted in the demoralization of his staff" |
| ~ bluster | noisy confusion and turbulence.; "he was awakened by the bluster of their preparations" |
| ~ bedlam, chaos, pandemonium, topsy-turvydom, topsy-turvyness | a state of extreme confusion and disorder. |
| ~ hugger-mugger | a state of confusion.; "he engaged in the hugger-mugger of international finance" |
| ~ schemozzle, shemozzle | (Yiddish) a confused situation or affair; a mess. |
| n. (cognition) | 2. confusedness, confusion, disarray, mental confusion, muddiness | a mental state characterized by a lack of clear and orderly thought and behavior.; "a confusion of impressions" |
| ~ cognitive state, state of mind | the state of a person's cognitive processes. |
| ~ disorientation | confusion (usually transient) about where you are and how to proceed; uncertainty as to direction.; "his disorientation was the result of inattention" |
| ~ distraction | mental turmoil.; "he drives me to distraction" |
| ~ daze, haze, fog | confusion characterized by lack of clarity. |
| ~ half-cock | confusion resulting from lack of preparation. |
| ~ jamais vu | the experience of being unfamiliar with a person or situation that is actually very familiar; associated with certain types of epilepsy. |
| ~ bafflement, befuddlement, bemusement, bewilderment, mystification, obfuscation, puzzlement | confusion resulting from failure to understand. |
| ~ perplexity | trouble or confusion resulting from complexity. |
| n. (feeling) | 3. confusion, discombobulation | a feeling of embarrassment that leaves you confused. |
| ~ embarrassment | the shame you feel when your inadequacy or guilt is made public. |
| n. (act) | 4. confusion | an act causing a disorderly combination of elements with identities lost and distinctions blended.; "the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel" |
| ~ compounding, combining, combination | the act of combining things to form a new whole. |
| ~ babel | a confusion of voices and other sounds. |
| n. (act) | 5. confusion, mix-up | a mistake that results from taking one thing to be another.; "he changed his name in order to avoid confusion with the notorious outlaw" |
| ~ error, fault, mistake | a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention.; "he made a bad mistake"; "she was quick to point out my errors"; "I could understand his English in spite of his grammatical faults" |
| crossbreed | | |
| n. (animal) | 1. cross, crossbreed, hybrid | (genetics) an organism that is the offspring of genetically dissimilar parents or stock; especially offspring produced by breeding plants or animals of different varieties or breeds or species.; "a mule is a cross between a horse and a donkey" |
| ~ organism, being | a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently. |
| ~ dihybrid | a hybrid produced by parents that differ only at two gene loci that have two alleles each. |
| ~ monohybrid | a hybrid produced by crossing parents that are homozygous except for a single gene locus that has two alleles (as in Mendel's experiments with garden peas). |
| ~ genetic science, genetics | the branch of biology that studies heredity and variation in organisms. |
| v. (contact) | 2. cross, crossbreed, hybridise, hybridize, interbreed | breed animals or plants using parents of different races and varieties.; "cross a horse and a donkey"; "Mendel tried crossbreeding"; "these species do not interbreed" |
| ~ breed | cause to procreate (animals).; "She breeds dogs" |
| ~ backcross | mate a hybrid of the first generation with one of its parents. |
| mess | | |
| n. (state) | 1. mess, messiness, muss, mussiness | a state of confusion and disorderliness.; "the house was a mess"; "she smoothed the mussiness of the bed" |
| ~ disorderliness, disorder | a condition in which things are not in their expected places.; "the files are in complete disorder" |
| n. (state) | 2. fix, hole, jam, kettle of fish, mess, muddle, pickle | informal terms for a difficult situation.; "he got into a terrible fix"; "he made a muddle of his marriage" |
| ~ difficulty | a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome.; "grappling with financial difficulties" |
| ~ dog's breakfast, dog's dinner | a poor job; a mess.; "they made a real dog's breakfast of that job" |
| n. (food) | 3. mess | soft semiliquid food.; "a mess of porridge" |
| ~ aliment, alimentation, nourishment, nutriment, sustenance, nutrition, victuals | a source of materials to nourish the body. |
| n. (food) | 4. mess | a meal eaten in a mess hall by service personnel. |
| ~ meal, repast | the food served and eaten at one time. |
| n. (artifact) | 5. mess, mess hall | a (large) military dining room where service personnel eat or relax. |
| ~ dining-room, dining room | a room used for dining. |
| ~ officer's mess | a mess for the exclusive use of officers. |
| ~ training table | planned meals for athletes in training (usually served in a mess hall). |
| ~ armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine | the military forces of a nation.; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker" |
| n. (quantity) | 6. batch, deal, flock, good deal, great deal, hatful, heap, lot, mass, mess, mickle, mint, mountain, muckle, passel, peck, pile, plenty, pot, quite a little, raft, sight, slew, spate, stack, tidy sum, wad | (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent.; "a batch of letters"; "a deal of trouble"; "a lot of money"; "he made a mint on the stock market"; "see the rest of the winners in our huge passel of photos"; "it must have cost plenty"; "a slew of journalists"; "a wad of money" |
| ~ large indefinite amount, large indefinite quantity | an indefinite quantity that is above the average in size or magnitude. |
| ~ deluge, flood, inundation, torrent | an overwhelming number or amount.; "a flood of requests"; "a torrent of abuse" |
| ~ haymow | a mass of hay piled up in a barn for preservation. |
| v. (consumption) | 7. mess | eat in a mess hall. |
| ~ armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine | the military forces of a nation.; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker" |
| ~ eat | eat a meal; take a meal.; "We did not eat until 10 P.M. because there were so many phone calls"; "I didn't eat yet, so I gladly accept your invitation" |
| v. (change) | 8. mess, mess up | make a mess of or create disorder in.; "He messed up his room" |
| ~ disarray, disorder | bring disorder to. |
| puzzle | | |
| n. (communication) | 1. mystifier, puzzle, puzzler, teaser | a particularly baffling problem that is said to have a correct solution.; "he loved to solve chessmate puzzles"; "that's a real puzzler" |
| ~ problem | a question raised for consideration or solution.; "our homework consisted of ten problems to solve" |
| ~ sudoku | a number puzzle in which the numbers 1 through 9 must be placed into a grid of cells so that each row or column contains only one of each number. |
| ~ acrostic, word square | a puzzle where you fill a square grid with words reading the same down as across. |
| n. (artifact) | 2. puzzle | a game that tests your ingenuity. |
| ~ chinese puzzle | intricate or ingenious puzzle consisting of boxes within boxes. |
| ~ game | the game equipment needed in order to play a particular game.; "the child received several games for his birthday" |
| ~ jigsaw puzzle | a puzzle that requires you to reassemble a picture that has been mounted on a stiff base and cut into interlocking pieces. |
| ~ tangram | a Chinese puzzle consisting of a square divided into seven pieces that must be arranged to match particular designs. |
| ~ crossword, crossword puzzle | a puzzle in which words corresponding to numbered clues are to be found and written in to squares in the puzzle. |
| v. (cognition) | 3. amaze, baffle, beat, bewilder, dumbfound, flummox, get, gravel, mystify, nonplus, perplex, pose, puzzle, stick, stupefy, vex | be a mystery or bewildering to.; "This beats me!"; "Got me--I don't know the answer!"; "a vexing problem"; "This question really stuck me" |
| ~ stump, mix up | cause to be perplexed or confounded.; "This problem stumped her" |
| ~ befuddle, confound, bedevil, confuse, discombobulate, fox, fuddle, throw | be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly.; "These questions confuse even the experts"; "This question completely threw me"; "This question befuddled even the teacher" |
| ~ riddle | set a difficult problem or riddle.; "riddle me a riddle" |
| ~ elude, escape | be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by.; "What you are seeing in him eludes me" |
| v. (emotion) | 4. puzzle | be uncertain about; think about without fully understanding or being able to decide.; "We puzzled over her sudden departure" |
| ~ chew over, meditate, mull, mull over, muse, ponder, think over, excogitate, reflect, ruminate, speculate, contemplate | reflect deeply on a subject.; "I mulled over the events of the afternoon"; "philosophers have speculated on the question of God for thousands of years"; "The scientist must stop to observe and start to excogitate" |
| befuddle | | |
| v. (cognition) | 1. bedevil, befuddle, confound, confuse, discombobulate, fox, fuddle, throw | be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly.; "These questions confuse even the experts"; "This question completely threw me"; "This question befuddled even the teacher" |
| ~ demoralize | confuse or put into disorder.; "the boss's behavior demoralized everyone in the office" |
| ~ baffle, bewilder, dumbfound, flummox, mystify, nonplus, perplex, puzzle, amaze, stupefy, gravel, vex, pose, stick, beat, get | be a mystery or bewildering to.; "This beats me!"; "Got me--I don't know the answer!"; "a vexing problem"; "This question really stuck me" |
| ~ disconcert, flurry, confuse, put off | cause to feel embarrassment.; "The constant attention of the young man confused her" |
| ~ disorient, disorientate | cause to be lost or disoriented. |
| ~ be | have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun).; "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer" |
| v. (consumption) | 2. befuddle, fuddle | make stupid with alcohol. |
| ~ inebriate, intoxicate, soak | make drunk (with alcoholic drinks). |
| confuse | | |
| v. (cognition) | 1. confound, confuse | mistake one thing for another.; "you are confusing me with the other candidate"; "I mistook her for the secretary" |
| ~ misidentify, mistake | identify incorrectly.; "Don't mistake her for her twin sister" |
| ~ obnubilate, obscure, blur, confuse | make unclear, indistinct, or blurred.; "Her remarks confused the debate"; "Their words obnubilate their intentions" |
| ~ mix up, jumble, confuse | assemble without order or sense.; "She jumbles the words when she is supposed to write a sentence" |
| v. (emotion) | 2. confuse, disconcert, flurry, put off | cause to feel embarrassment.; "The constant attention of the young man confused her" |
| ~ befuddle, confound, bedevil, confuse, discombobulate, fox, fuddle, throw | be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly.; "These questions confuse even the experts"; "This question completely threw me"; "This question befuddled even the teacher" |
| ~ fluster | cause to be nervous or upset. |
| ~ bother | make confused or perplexed or puzzled. |
| ~ distract, deflect | draw someone's attention away from something.; "The thief distracted the bystanders"; "He deflected his competitors" |
| ~ abash, embarrass | cause to be embarrassed; cause to feel self-conscious. |
| v. (creation) | 3. confuse, jumble, mix up | assemble without order or sense.; "She jumbles the words when she is supposed to write a sentence" |
| ~ confuse, confound | mistake one thing for another.; "you are confusing me with the other candidate"; "I mistook her for the secretary" |
| ~ addle, muddle, puddle | mix up or confuse.; "He muddled the issues" |
| ~ assemble, put together, tack together, piece, set up, tack | create by putting components or members together.; "She pieced a quilt"; "He tacked together some verses"; "They set up a committee" |
| v. (cognition) | 4. blur, confuse, obnubilate, obscure | make unclear, indistinct, or blurred.; "Her remarks confused the debate"; "Their words obnubilate their intentions" |
| ~ alter, change, modify | cause to change; make different; cause a transformation.; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" |
| ~ confuse, confound | mistake one thing for another.; "you are confusing me with the other candidate"; "I mistook her for the secretary" |
| ~ muddy | cause to become muddy.; "These data would have muddied the prediction" |
| nonplus | | |
| perplex | | |
| v. (change) | 1. complicate, perplex | make more complicated.; "There was a new development that complicated the matter" |
| ~ alter, change, modify | cause to change; make different; cause a transformation.; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" |
| ~ complexify | make complex.; "he unnecessarily complexified every problem" |
| ~ embrangle, snarl up, snarl | make more complicated or confused through entanglements. |
| puzzle | | |
| stump | | |
| n. (plant) | 1. stump, tree stump | the base part of a tree that remains standing after the tree has been felled. |
| ~ plant part, plant structure | any part of a plant or fungus. |
| ~ tree | a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms. |
| ~ stool | (forestry) the stump of a tree that has been felled or headed for the production of saplings. |
| n. (body) | 2. stump | the part of a limb or tooth that remains after the rest is removed. |
| ~ body part | any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity. |
| ~ tooth | hard bonelike structures in the jaws of vertebrates; used for biting and chewing or for attack and defense. |
| ~ limb | one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper. |
| n. (artifact) | 3. stump | (cricket) any of three upright wooden posts that form the wicket. |
| ~ cricket | a game played with a ball and bat by two teams of 11 players; teams take turns trying to score runs. |
| ~ post | an upright consisting of a piece of timber or metal fixed firmly in an upright position.; "he set a row of posts in the ground and strung barbwire between them" |
| ~ grille, lattice, wicket | small opening (like a window in a door) through which business can be transacted. |
| n. (artifact) | 4. ambo, dais, podium, pulpit, rostrum, soapbox, stump | a platform raised above the surrounding level to give prominence to the person on it. |
| ~ platform | a raised horizontal surface.; "the speaker mounted the platform" |
| v. (cognition) | 5. mix up, stump | cause to be perplexed or confounded.; "This problem stumped her" |
| ~ baffle, bewilder, dumbfound, flummox, mystify, nonplus, perplex, puzzle, amaze, stupefy, gravel, vex, pose, stick, beat, get | be a mystery or bewildering to.; "This beats me!"; "Got me--I don't know the answer!"; "a vexing problem"; "This question really stuck me" |
| v. (motion) | 6. stamp, stomp, stump | walk heavily.; "The men stomped through the snow in their heavy boots" |
| ~ walk | use one's feet to advance; advance by steps.; "Walk, don't run!"; "We walked instead of driving"; "She walks with a slight limp"; "The patient cannot walk yet"; "Walk over to the cabinet" |
| v. (competition) | 7. stump | travel through a district and make political speeches.; "the candidate stumped the Northeast" |
| ~ campaign, run | run, stand, or compete for an office or a position.; "Who's running for treasurer this year?" |
| v. (change) | 8. stump | remove tree stumps from.; "stump a field" |
| ~ clear | remove.; "clear the leaves from the lawn"; "Clear snow from the road" |
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