byzantine

  1. highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious

    Synonyms : convoluted, involved, knotty, tangled, tortuous

  2. a native or inhabitant of Byzantium or of the Byzantine Empire

    Type Of : asian, asiatic

  3. of or relating to the Eastern Orthodox Church or the rites performed in it

  4. of or relating to or characteristic of the Byzantine Empire or the ancient city of Byzantium

base

  1. a terrorist network intensely opposed to the United States that dispenses money and logistical support and training to a wide variety of radical Islamic terrorist groups; has cells in more than 50 countries

    Synonyms : al-qa'ida, al-qaeda, al-qaida, al qaeda, al qaida, qaeda

  2. of low birth or station (`base' is archaic in this sense)

    Synonyms : baseborn, humble, lowly
    Examples :
    • baseborn wretches with dirty faces

  3. use (purified cocaine) by burning it and inhaling the fumes

    Synonyms : free-base
    Type Of : drug, do drugs

  4. lowest support of a structure

    Synonyms : foot, foundation, fundament, groundwork, substructure, understructure
    Type Of : support
    Examples :
    • it was built on a base of solid rock

  5. a support or foundation

    Synonyms : pedestal, stand
    Type Of : support
    Examples :
    • the base of the lamp

  6. the most important or necessary part of something

    Synonyms : basis
    Type Of : part, component, component part, constituent, portion

  7. a place that the runner must touch before scoring

    Synonyms : bag
    Type Of : baseball equipment

  8. illegitimate

    Synonyms : baseborn

  9. (numeration system) the positive integer that is equivalent to one in the next higher counting place

    Synonyms : radix
    Type Of : number

  10. a phosphoric ester of a nucleoside; the basic structural unit of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA)

    Synonyms : nucleotide
    Type Of : ester

  11. a lower limit

    Synonyms : floor
    Type Of : control

  12. serving as or forming a base

    Synonyms : basal
    Examples :
    • the painter applied a base coat followed by two finishing coats

  13. the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained

    Synonyms : basis, cornerstone, foundation, fundament, groundwork
    Type Of : assumption, supposition, supposal

  14. (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed

    Synonyms : radical, root, root word, stem, theme
    Type Of : signifier, descriptor, word form, form

  15. the place where you are stationed and from which missions start and end

    Synonyms : home
    Type Of : location

  16. the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area

    Synonyms : infrastructure
    Type Of : store, fund, stock
    Examples :
    • the industrial base of Japan

  17. having or showing an ignoble lack of honor or morality

    Synonyms : mean, meanspirited
    Examples :
    • that liberal obedience without which your army would be a base rabble

  18. any of various water-soluble compounds capable of turning litmus blue and reacting with an acid to form a salt and water

    Synonyms : alkali
    Type Of : chemical compound, compound
    Examples :
    • bases include oxides and hydroxides of metals and ammonia

  19. not adhering to ethical or moral principles

    Synonyms : immoral
    Examples :
    • base and unpatriotic motives
    • a base, degrading way of life

  20. installation from which a military force initiates operations

    Synonyms : base of operations
    Type Of : military installation
    Examples :
    • the attack wiped out our forward bases

  21. use as a basis for; found on

    Synonyms : establish, found, ground
    Examples :
    • base a claim on some observation

  22. a flat bottom on which something is intended to sit

    Type Of : bottom, underside, undersurface
    Examples :
    • a tub should sit on its own base

  23. (anatomy) the part of an organ nearest its point of attachment

    Type Of : bottom
    Examples :
    • the base of the skull

  24. debased; not genuine

    Examples :
    • an attempt to eliminate the base coinage

  25. (electronics) the part of a transistor that separates the emitter from the collector

    Type Of : electrode

  26. situate as a center of operations

    Type Of : situate, locate
    Examples :
    • we will base this project in the new lab

  27. the bottom or lowest part

    Type Of : piece, part
    Examples :
    • the base of the mountain

  28. the bottom side of a geometric figure from which the altitude can be constructed

    Type Of : flank
    Examples :
    • the base of the triangle

  29. the principal ingredient of a mixture

    Type Of : ingredient
    Examples :
    • glycerinated gelatin is used as a base for many ointments
    • he told the painter that he wanted a yellow base with just a hint of green
    • everything she cooked seemed to have rice as the base

  30. (used of metals) consisting of or alloyed with inferior metal

    Examples :
    • base coins of aluminum
    • a base metal

besiege

  1. surround so as to force to give up

    Synonyms : beleaguer, circumvent, hem in, surround
    Type Of : assail, attack
    Examples :
    • The Turks besieged Vienna

  2. cause to feel distressed or worried

    Type Of : distress
    Examples :
    • She was besieged by so many problems that she got discouraged

  3. harass, as with questions or requests

    Type Of : importune, insist
    Examples :
    • The press photographers besieged the movie star

behoove

  1. be appropriate or necessary

    Synonyms : behove
    Type Of : be
    Examples :
    • It behooves us to reflect on this matter

besmirch

  1. charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone

    Synonyms : asperse, calumniate, defame, denigrate, slander, smear, smirch, sully
    Type Of : charge, accuse

  2. smear so as to make dirty or stained

    Synonyms : smirch
    Type Of : smear

brusquely

  1. in a blunt direct manner

    Synonyms : bluffly, bluntly, flat out, roundly

banish

  1. ban from a place of residence, as for punishment

    Synonyms : ban
    Type Of : expel, throw out, kick out

  2. expel, as if by official decree

    Synonyms : bar, relegate
    Type Of : expel, kick out, throw out
    Examples :
    • he was banished from his own country

  3. expel from a community or group

    Synonyms : ban, blackball, cast out, ostracise, ostracize, shun
    Type Of : expel, throw out, kick out

  4. drive away

    Type Of : drive out, chase away, dispel, drive away, drive off, run off, turn back
    Examples :
    • banish bad thoughts
    • banish gloom

buck

  1. resist

    Synonyms : go against
    Type Of : oppose, react
    Examples :
    • buck the trend

  2. move quickly and violently

    Synonyms : charge, shoot, shoot down, tear
    Type Of : hie, belt along, race, pelt along, bucket along, cannonball along, speed, step on it, rush, hotfoot, rush along, hasten

  3. a piece of paper money worth one dollar

    Synonyms : clam, dollar, dollar bill, one dollar bill
    Type Of : government note, bank note, bank bill, bill, federal reserve note, banknote, banker's bill, greenback, note

  4. United States author whose novels drew on her experiences as a missionary in China (1892-1973)

    Synonyms : pearl buck, pearl sydenstricker buck

  5. a gymnastic horse without pommels and with one end elongated; used lengthwise for vaulting

    Synonyms : long horse, vaulting horse
    Type Of : horse, gymnastic horse

  6. a framework for holding wood that is being sawed

    Synonyms : horse, sawbuck, sawhorse
    Type Of : frame, framework

  7. jump vertically, with legs stiff and back arched

    Synonyms : hitch, jerk
    Type Of : move
    Examples :
    • the yung filly bucked

  8. mature male of various mammals (especially deer or antelope)

    Type Of : placental mammal, eutherian, placental, eutherian mammal

  9. to strive with determination

    Type Of : endeavour, endeavor, strive
    Examples :
    • John is bucking for a promotion

badger

  1. annoy persistently

    Synonyms : beleaguer, bug, pester, tease
    Type Of : torment, bedevil, crucify, dun, frustrate, rag

  2. a native or resident of Wisconsin

    Synonyms : wisconsinite
    Type Of : american

  3. persuade through constant efforts

    Type Of : persuade

  4. sturdy carnivorous burrowing mammal with strong claws; widely distributed in the northern hemisphere

    Type Of : musteline, musteline mammal, mustelid

becoming

  1. according with custom or propriety

    Synonyms : comely, comme il faut, decorous, seemly
    Examples :
    • her becoming modesty

  2. displaying or setting off to best advantage

    Examples :
    • a becoming new shade of rose
    • a becoming portrait