contract

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. compact, agreement, promise, bargain, covenant, stipulation, convention.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

Syn. agreement, legal agreement, covenant, compact, stipulation, contractual statement, contractual obligation, convention, understanding, promise, pledge, engagement, obligation, guarantee, liability, concordat, entente cordiale (French), settlement, arrangement, deal, gentleman's agreement, commitment, cartel, bargain, pact, lease, indenture, mise, the papers*; see also agreement 3 , record 1 , treaty .

v.

1. [To diminish]

Syn. shrink, condense, constrict, draw in, draw back, shrivel, weaken, be reduced in compass, become smaller, be drawn together, deflate, decline, fall away, abate, subside, grow less, ebb, wane, wrinkle, knit, lessen, lose, dwindle, consume, recede, fall off, wither, waste, evaporate; see also decrease 1 .

Ant. stretch*, expand, strengthen.

2. [To cause to diminish]

Syn. compress, condense, abbreviate, abridge, epitomize, edit, omit, narrow, confine; see also compress , decrease 2 .

3. [To enter into an agreement by contract]

Syn. covenant, pact, pledge, promise, undertake, come to terms, adjust, negotiate, negotiate a contract, bargain, strike a bargain, agree, settle, limit, bound, reach an agreement, reach an understanding, settle by covenant, engage, stipulate, consent, enter into a contractual obligation, sign the papers, accept an offer, obligate oneself, work out the details, put something in writing, swear to, sign for, assent, give one's word, initial, close, shake hands on it*, get together*; see also negotiate 1 , promise 1 .

4. [To catch; said of diseases ]

Syn. get, incur, become infected with; see catch 4 .

5. [To become obligated by; said especially of debts ]

Syn. become indebted, take on, obligate oneself; see owe .

Syn.- contract implies a drawing together of surface or parts and a resultant decrease in size, bulk, or extent [ cold contracts metals ] ; to shrink is to contract so as to be short of the original or normal length, amount, extent, etc. [ those shirts have shrunk ; shrinking profits ] ; condense suggests reduction of something into a more compact or more dense form without loss of essential content [condensed milk ] ; to compress is to press or squeeze into a more compact, orderly form [ a lifetime's work compressed into one volume ] ; deflate implies a reduction in size or bulk by the removal of air, gas, or in extended use, anything insubstantial [ to deflate a balloon, to deflate one's ego ]

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

agreement, arrangement, understanding, deal, covenant, pact, transaction, compact, bond, gentleman's agreement, obligation, pledge, legal document.

II

v.

1. compress reduce, narrow, squeeze, shorten, tighten, condense, recede, constrict, cramp, wither.

2. make an agreement agree, bargain, come to terms, bound, *hammer out a deal, put in writing, pledge, promise, guarantee, covenant.

ANT.: 1. expand, swell. 2. renege, back out

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I noun 1. A legally binding arrangement between parties: agreement, bond, compact2, convention, covenant, pact. See AGREE. 2. An agreement, especially one involving a sale or exchange: bargain, compact2, covenant, deal, transaction. See AGREE. II verb 1. To enter into a formal agreement : bargain, covenant See AGREE. 2. To assume an obligation: engage, pledge, promise, undertake. See AGREE, OBLIGATION. 3. To become affected with a disease: catch, develop, get, sicken, take. Idiom: come down with. See GET. 4. To reduce in size, as by drawing together: compact1, compress, constrict, constringe, shrink. See INCREASE.