| hesitate | | |
| v. (stative) | 1. hesitate, waffle, waver | pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness.; "Authorities hesitate to quote exact figures" |
| ~ doubt | lack confidence in or have doubts about.; "I doubt these reports"; "I suspect her true motives"; "she distrusts her stepmother" |
| ~ dwell on, linger over | delay. |
| ~ boggle | hesitate when confronted with a problem, or when in doubt or fear. |
| ~ hover, linger | move to and fro.; "The shy student lingered in the corner" |
| ~ hover, oscillate, vacillate, vibrate | be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action.; "He oscillates between accepting the new position and retirement" |
| ~ falter, waver | be unsure or weak.; "Their enthusiasm is faltering" |
| v. (stative) | 2. hesitate, pause | interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing.; "The speaker paused" |
| ~ hem and haw | utter `hems' and `haws'; indicated hesitation.; "He hemmed and hawed when asked to address the crowd" |
| ~ scruple | hesitate on moral grounds.; "The man scrupled to perjure himself" |
| ~ delay | act later than planned, scheduled, or required.; "Don't delay your application to graduate school or else it won't be considered" |
| brace | | |
| n. (artifact) | 1. brace | a support that steadies or strengthens something else.; "he wore a brace on his knee" |
| ~ ankle brace | a brace worn to strengthen the ankle. |
| ~ back brace | a brace worn to support the back. |
| ~ knee brace | a brace worn to strengthen the knee. |
| ~ neck brace | a brace worn to steady the neck. |
| ~ skeg | a brace that extends from the rear of the keel to support the rudderpost. |
| ~ strengthener, reinforcement | a device designed to provide additional strength.; "the cardboard backing was just a strengthener"; "he used gummed reinforcements to hold the page in his notebook" |
| ~ support | any device that bears the weight of another thing.; "there was no place to attach supports for a shelf" |
| n. (quantity) | 2. brace, couple, couplet, distich, duad, duet, duo, dyad, pair, span, twain, twosome, yoke | two items of the same kind. |
| ~ fellow, mate | one of a pair.; "he lost the mate to his shoe"; "one eye was blue but its fellow was brown" |
| ~ 2, ii, two, deuce | the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number. |
| ~ doubleton | (bridge) a pair of playing cards that are the only cards in their suit in the hand dealt to a player. |
| n. (group) | 3. brace, pair | a set of two similar things considered as a unit. |
| ~ tweedledee and tweedledum, tweedledum and tweedledee | any two people who are hard to tell apart. |
| ~ set | a group of things of the same kind that belong together and are so used.; "a set of books"; "a set of golf clubs"; "a set of teeth" |
| n. (communication) | 4. brace | either of two punctuation marks ({ or }) used to enclose textual material. |
| ~ punctuation mark, punctuation | the marks used to clarify meaning by indicating separation of words into sentences and clauses and phrases. |
| n. (artifact) | 5. brace | a rope on a square-rigged ship that is used to swing a yard about and secure it. |
| ~ rope | a strong line. |
| ~ royal brace | a brace to secure the royal mast. |
| n. (artifact) | 6. brace, gallus, suspender | elastic straps that hold trousers up (usually used in the plural). |
| ~ man's clothing | clothing that is designed for men to wear. |
| ~ shoulder strap, strap | a band that goes over the shoulder and supports a garment or bag. |
| ~ plural, plural form | the form of a word that is used to denote more than one. |
| n. (artifact) | 7. brace, braces, orthodontic braces | an appliance that corrects dental irregularities. |
| ~ dental appliance | a device to repair teeth or replace missing teeth. |
| n. (artifact) | 8. bitstock, brace | a carpenter's tool having a crank handle for turning and a socket to hold a bit for boring. |
| ~ brace and bit | a drill consisting of a bit and a brace to hold and turn it. |
| ~ stock | the handle end of some implements or tools.; "he grabbed the cue by the stock" |
| n. (artifact) | 9. brace, bracing | a structural member used to stiffen a framework. |
| ~ crosspiece | a transverse brace. |
| ~ framework | a structure supporting or containing something. |
| ~ gusset plate, gusset | a metal plate used to strengthen a joist. |
| ~ guy cable, guy rope, guy wire, guy | a cable, wire, or rope that is used to brace something (especially a tent). |
| ~ stay | (nautical) brace consisting of a heavy rope or wire cable used as a support for a mast or spar. |
| ~ strengthener, reinforcement | a device designed to provide additional strength.; "the cardboard backing was just a strengthener"; "he used gummed reinforcements to hold the page in his notebook" |
| ~ stringer | brace consisting of a longitudinal member to strengthen a fuselage or hull. |
| ~ structural member | support that is a constituent part of any structure or building. |
| ~ strut | brace consisting of a bar or rod used to resist longitudinal compression. |
| ~ crosstie, railroad tie, sleeper, tie | one of the cross braces that support the rails on a railway track.; "the British call a railroad tie a sleeper" |
| v. (emotion) | 10. brace, poise | prepare (oneself) for something unpleasant or difficult. |
| ~ gear up, prepare, ready, set, fix, set up | make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc.; "Get the children ready for school!"; "prepare for war"; "I was fixing to leave town after I paid the hotel bill" |
| ~ nerve, steel | get ready for something difficult or unpleasant. |
| v. (contact) | 11. brace, stabilise, stabilize, steady | support or hold steady and make steadfast, with or as if with a brace.; "brace your elbows while working on the potter's wheel" |
| ~ beef up, fortify, strengthen | make strong or stronger.; "This exercise will strengthen your upper body"; "strengthen the relations between the two countries" |
| ~ ballast | make steady with a ballast. |
| ~ guy | steady or support with a guy wire or cable.; "The Italians guyed the Tower of Pisa to prevent it from collapsing" |
| v. (contact) | 12. brace | support by bracing. |
| ~ hold up, support, sustain, hold | be the physical support of; carry the weight of.; "The beam holds up the roof"; "He supported me with one hand while I balanced on the beam"; "What's holding that mirror?" |
| ~ tread | brace (an archer's bow) by pressing the foot against the center. |
| v. (body) | 13. arouse, brace, energise, energize, perk up, stimulate | cause to be alert and energetic.; "Coffee and tea stimulate me"; "This herbal infusion doesn't stimulate" |
| ~ affect | act physically on; have an effect upon.; "the medicine affects my heart rate" |
| ~ cathect | inject with libidinal energy. |
| ~ reanimate, recreate, revivify, vivify, revive, renovate, animate, quicken, repair | give new life or energy to.; "A hot soup will revive me"; "This will renovate my spirits"; "This treatment repaired my health" |
| ~ reinvigorate, invigorate | impart vigor, strength, or vitality to.; "Exercise is invigorating" |
| ~ liven, liven up, enliven, animate, invigorate | make lively.; "let's liven up this room a bit" |
| prop | | |
| n. (artifact) | 1. prop | a support placed beneath or against something to keep it from shaking or falling. |
| ~ pitprop, sprag | a wooden prop used to support the roof of a mine. |
| ~ support | supporting structure that holds up or provides a foundation.; "the statue stood on a marble support" |
| n. (artifact) | 2. prop, property | any movable articles or objects used on the set of a play or movie.; "before every scene he ran down his checklist of props" |
| ~ object, physical object | a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow.; "it was full of rackets, balls and other objects" |
| ~ custard pie | a prop consisting of an open pie filled with real or artificial custard; thrown in slapstick comedies. |
| ~ mise en scene, stage setting, setting | arrangement of scenery and properties to represent the place where a play or movie is enacted. |
| n. (artifact) | 3. airplane propeller, airscrew, prop | a propeller that rotates to push against air. |
| ~ propeller, propellor | a mechanical device that rotates to push against air or water. |
| ~ propeller plane | an airplane that is driven by a propeller. |
| v. (contact) | 4. prop, prop up, shore, shore up | support by placing against something solid or rigid.; "shore and buttress an old building" |
| ~ hold up, support, sustain, hold | be the physical support of; carry the weight of.; "The beam holds up the roof"; "He supported me with one hand while I balanced on the beam"; "What's holding that mirror?" |
| ~ bolster | prop up with a pillow or bolster. |
| prop up | | |
| duck | | |
| n. (animal) | 1. duck | small wild or domesticated web-footed broad-billed swimming bird usually having a depressed body and short legs. |
| ~ anseriform bird | chiefly web-footed swimming birds. |
| ~ anatidae, family anatidae | swimming birds having heavy short-legged bodies and bills with a horny tip: swans; geese; ducks. |
| ~ drake | adult male of a wild or domestic duck. |
| ~ quack-quack | child's word for a duck. |
| ~ duckling | young duck. |
| ~ diving duck | any of various ducks of especially bays and estuaries that dive for their food. |
| ~ dabbling duck, dabbler | any of numerous shallow-water ducks that feed by upending and dabbling. |
| ~ anas platyrhynchos, mallard | wild dabbling duck from which domestic ducks are descended; widely distributed. |
| ~ anas rubripes, black duck | a dusky duck of northeastern United States and Canada. |
| ~ teal | any of various small short-necked dabbling river ducks of Europe and America. |
| ~ anas penelope, widgeon, wigeon | freshwater duck of Eurasia and northern Africa related to mallards and teals. |
| ~ anas clypeata, shoveler, shoveller, broadbill | freshwater duck of the northern hemisphere having a broad flat bill. |
| ~ anas acuta, pin-tailed duck, pintail | long-necked river duck of the Old and New Worlds having elongated central tail feathers. |
| ~ sheldrake | Old World gooselike duck slightly larger than a mallard with variegated mostly black-and-white plumage and a red bill. |
| ~ oxyura jamaicensis, ruddy duck | reddish-brown stiff-tailed duck of North America and northern South America. |
| ~ bucephela albeola, bufflehead, butterball, dipper | small North American diving duck; males have bushy head plumage. |
| ~ bucephela clangula, goldeneye, whistler | large-headed swift-flying diving duck of Arctic regions. |
| ~ aythya valisineria, canvasback, canvasback duck | North American wild duck valued for sport and food. |
| ~ aythya ferina, pochard | heavy-bodied Old World diving duck having a grey-and-black body and reddish head. |
| ~ aythya americana, redhead | North American diving duck with a grey-and-black body and reddish-brown head. |
| ~ bluebill, scaup, scaup duck, broadbill | diving ducks of North America having a bluish-grey bill. |
| ~ wild duck | an undomesticated duck (especially a mallard). |
| ~ aix sponsa, summer duck, wood duck, wood widgeon | showy North American duck that nests in hollow trees. |
| ~ aix galericulata, mandarin duck | showy crested Asiatic duck; often domesticated. |
| ~ cairina moschata, muscovy duck, musk duck | large crested wild duck of Central America and South America; widely domesticated. |
| ~ sea duck | any of various large diving ducks found along the seacoast: eider; scoter; merganser. |
| ~ duck down | down of the duck. |
| ~ duck | flesh of a duck (domestic or wild). |
| n. (quantity) | 2. duck, duck's egg | (cricket) a score of nothing by a batsman. |
| ~ cricket | a game played with a ball and bat by two teams of 11 players; teams take turns trying to score runs. |
| ~ score | a number that expresses the accomplishment of a team or an individual in a game or contest.; "the score was 7 to 0" |
| n. (food) | 3. duck | flesh of a duck (domestic or wild). |
| ~ duck | small wild or domesticated web-footed broad-billed swimming bird usually having a depressed body and short legs. |
| ~ poultry | flesh of chickens or turkeys or ducks or geese raised for food. |
| ~ duckling | flesh of a young domestic duck. |
| n. (artifact) | 4. duck | a heavy cotton fabric of plain weave; used for clothing and tents. |
| ~ cloth, fabric, textile, material | artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers.; "the fabric in the curtains was light and semitransparent"; "woven cloth originated in Mesopotamia around 5000 BC"; "she measured off enough material for a dress" |
| v. (motion) | 5. duck | to move (the head or body) quickly downwards or away.; "Before he could duck, another stone struck him" |
| ~ move | move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion.; "He moved his hand slightly to the right" |
| v. (motion) | 6. duck | submerge or plunge suddenly. |
| ~ dive, plunge, plunk | drop steeply.; "the stock market plunged" |
| v. (motion) | 7. dip, douse, duck | dip into a liquid.; "He dipped into the pool" |
| ~ dip, dunk, souse, douse, plunge | immerse briefly into a liquid so as to wet, coat, or saturate.; "dip the garment into the cleaning solution"; "dip the brush into the paint" |
| v. (communication) | 8. circumvent, dodge, duck, elude, evade, fudge, hedge, parry, put off, sidestep, skirt | avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues).; "He dodged the issue"; "she skirted the problem"; "They tend to evade their responsibilities"; "he evaded the questions skillfully" |
| ~ beg | dodge, avoid answering, or take for granted.; "beg the question"; "beg the point in the discussion" |
| ~ quibble | evade the truth of a point or question by raising irrelevant objections. |
| ~ avoid | stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something.; "Her former friends now avoid her" |
| stoop | | |
| n. (act) | 1. stoop | an inclination of the top half of the body forward and downward. |
| ~ inclining, inclination | the act of inclining; bending forward.; "an inclination of his head indicated his agreement" |
| n. (artifact) | 2. stoop, stoup | basin for holy water. |
| ~ basin | a bowl-shaped vessel; usually used for holding food or liquids.; "she mixed the dough in a large basin" |
| n. (artifact) | 3. stoep, stoop | small porch or set of steps at the front entrance of a house. |
| ~ porch | a structure attached to the exterior of a building often forming a covered entrance. |
| v. (motion) | 4. bend, bow, crouch, stoop | bend one's back forward from the waist on down.; "he crouched down"; "She bowed before the Queen"; "The young man stooped to pick up the girl's purse" |
| ~ change posture | undergo a change in bodily posture. |
| ~ bend, flex | form a curve.; "The stick does not bend" |
| ~ squinch | crouch down. |
| ~ cower, huddle | crouch or curl up.; "They huddled outside in the rain" |
| v. (social) | 5. condescend, lower oneself, stoop | debase oneself morally, act in an undignified, unworthy, or dishonorable way.; "I won't stoop to reading other people's mail" |
| ~ act, move | perform an action, or work out or perform (an action).; "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel" |
| v. (motion) | 6. stoop | descend swiftly, as if on prey.; "The eagle stooped on the mice in the field" |
| ~ pounce, swoop | move down on as if in an attack.; "The raptor swooped down on its prey"; "The teacher swooped down upon the new students" |
| v. (motion) | 7. stoop | sag, bend, bend over or down.; "the rocks stooped down over the hiking path" |
| ~ slope, incline, pitch | be at an angle.; "The terrain sloped down" |
| v. (contact) | 8. stoop | carry oneself, often habitually, with head, shoulders, and upper back bent forward.; "The old man was stooping but he could walk around without a cane" |
| ~ carry, bear, hold | support or hold in a certain manner.; "She holds her head high"; "He carried himself upright" |
| prop | | |
| prop up | | |
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