yielding
EnglishMerriam-Webster Dictionary/loose-jointedness'>loose-jointedness suppleness
EnglishMerriam-Webster DictionaryNear Antonyms
Antonyms
deterrent
Definition
- : serving to discourage, prevent, or inhibit : serving to deter //The ads had a deterrent effect on youth smoking.
- : relating to deterrence //a deterrent view of punishment
Other Words
- deterrent noun
- deterrently adverb
First Known Use
1829, in the meaning defined at sense 1History and Etymology
Latin deterrent-, deterrens, present participle of deterrēre to deterdeterrent
noun
Synonyms & Antonyms (Entry 1 of 2)
- something that makes movement or progress difficult //the homeowner put up a fence around his garden as a deterrent for animalsSynonymsRelated Words
adjective
Synonyms & Antonyms (Entry 2 of 2)
- as in preventiveAntonyms & Near Antonyms
detract
detracted; detracting; detracts
Definition
- intransitive verb
- : to diminish the importance, value, or effectiveness of something —often used with from //small errors that do not seriously detract from the book
- transitive verb
- : divert //didn't mean to detract attention from the guest of honor
- archaic : to speak ill of
- archaic : to take away
Examples
- //numerous typos in the text detract the reader's attention from the novel's intricate plot
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2History and Etymology
Middle English detracten "to speak ill of, slander," in part borrowed from Latin dētractus, past participle of dētrahere "to detach by pulling, strip off, pull down, deprive of, speak ill (of)," from dē- de- + trahere "to drag, draw, take along"; in part borrowed from Latin dētractāre, dētrectāre "to decline, evade, speak or write disparagingly of," iterative of dētrahere — more at abstract entry 1detract
verb
Synonyms & Antonyms
dictator
Definition
- : a person granted absolute emergency powerespecially, history : one appointed by the senate (see senate sense 1b) of ancient Rome: one holding complete autocratic control : a person with unlimited governmental power: one ruling in an absolute (see absolute sense 2) and often oppressive way //fascist dictators
- : one who says or reads something for a person to transcribe or for a machine to record : one that dictates (see dictate entry 1 sense 1)
Examples
- //The country was ruled by a military dictator.
- //the dictator had a fierce stranglehold on the country, keeping its people in poverty and ignorance
First Known Use
before 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1aHistory and Etymology
Middle English dictatour, borrowed from Latin dictātor, from dictāre "to say repeatedly, speak aloud words to be transcribed by another, issue as an order" + -tor, agent suffix — more at dictate entry 1NOTE: Though formally a derivative of dictāre, the noun dictātor is attested perhaps two centuries earlier in Latin and may be an independent formation, though the model for it is not clear; the sense "issue as an order" of dictāre may reflect influence of dictātor. The form tictator used in the Old English translation of Orosius's Historiae Adversum Paganos had no subsequent use.
dictator
noun
Synonyms
- a person who uses power or authority in a cruel, unjust, or harmful way //the dictator had a fierce stranglehold on the country, keeping its people in poverty and ignoranceRelated WordsSynonymous Phrases
diagonal
Definition (Entry 1 of 2)
- : joining two vertices of a rectilinear figure that are nonadjacent or two vertices of a polyhedral figure that are not in the same face: passing through two nonadjacent edges of a polyhedron //a diagonal plane
- : inclined obliquely from a reference line (such as the vertical) //wood with a diagonal grain: having diagonal markings or parts //a diagonal weave
noun
Definition (Entry 2 of 2)
- : a diagonal straight line or plane
- : a diagonal direction: a diagonal row, arrangement, or pattern: something oriented in diagonal position
- on the diagonal: in an oblique direction : diagonally
Examples
Adjective
- //The blanket is covered with diagonal stripes.
- //the diagonal design ran up the wall all the way from the lower left to the upper right-hand corner
Noun
- //a design with strong diagonals
- //the ramp was set at a low diagonal to make it easier for physically challenged patrons
History and Etymology
Adjective
Latin diagonalis, from Greek diagōnios from angle to angle, from dia- + gōnia angle; akin to Greek gony knee — more at knee entry 1diagonal
adjective
Synonyms & Antonyms (Entry 1 of 2)
- running in a slanting direction //The diagonal design ran up the wall all the way from the lower left to the upper right-hand corner.Synonyms
noun
Synonyms & Antonyms (Entry 2 of 2)
- the degree to which something rises up from a position level with the horizon //The ramp was set at a low diagonal to make it easier for wheelchairs.