base

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. basis, foundation, groundwork, support; basement, substructure; headquarters, depot; root; footing, floor; pavement; bottom; bedrock. —v. found, establish; predicate; ground, rest, or build upon. See cause, abode. —adj. debased, impure; counterfeit, spurious; low, vile. See disrepute, impurity, badness, servility, cowardice, improbity. Ant., noble, exalted.

II

(Roget's IV) modif.

Syn. low, ignoble, sordid; see mean 1 , vulgar 1 .

See Synonym Study at mean . n.

1. [A point from which action is initiated]

Syn. home, headquarters, camp, post, station, home base, base of operations, base camp, starting point, point of departure, field, landing field, strip, airport, airfield, airstrip, hangar, port, terminal, garrison, billet, center, depot, supply base, dock, harbor, anchorage, seat, base line.

2. [The principal or basic ingredient]

Syn. chief constituent, core, essence, filler; see essence 1 .

3. [The bottom, thought of as a support]

Syn. foundation, support, bottom, pedestal, stand, bed, rest, foot, root, trunk, footing; see also foundation 2 .

4. [Foundation of a belief or statement]

Syn. basis, groundwork, underpinning, principle, authority; see also basis 1 .

5. [A goal, especially in baseball]

Syn. mark, bound, station, plate, post, goal, first base, first, second base, second, keystone*, third base, third, hot corner*, home plate, platter*, corner*, bag*, sack*.

• off base*,

Syn. erring, mistaken, incorrect; see mistaken 1 , wrong 2 .

Syn.- base , as compared here, refers to a part or thing at the bottom acting as a support or underlying structure [ the base of a lamp ] ; basis , conveying the same idea, is the term preferred for nonphysical things [ the basis of a theory ] ; foundation stresses solidity in the underlying or supporting thing and often suggests permanence and stability in that which is built on it [ the foundation of a house ] ; groundwork , closely synonymous with foundation , is principally applied to nonphysical things [ the groundwork of a good education ]

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

1. foundation support, bottom, stand, pedestal, bed, foot, ground structure.

2. basis essence, core, foundation, source, backbone, root, fundamental, heart, principle.

3. headquarters center, station, home, post, camp.

II

v.

ground, derive, build, establish, rest, construct.

III

a.

1. inferior lowly, cheap, impure, debased.

2. contemptible low, mean, ignoble, dishonorable, indecent, disgraceful, despicable, sordid, degenerate, unprincipled, incorrigible, disreputable, slavish, wretched, servile, menial, cringing.

ANT.: 1. superior, pure. 2. noble, virtuous, principled

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) verb To provide a basis for: build, establish, found, ground, predicate, rest1, root1, underpin. See OVER.

V

(Roget's Thesaurus II) noun 1. The lowest or supporting part or structure: basis, bed, bottom, foot, footing, foundation, fundament, ground, groundwork, seat, substratum, underpinning (often used in plural). See OVER. 2. That on which something immaterial, such as an argument or a charge, rests: basis, footing, foundation, fundament, ground (often used in plural), groundwork, underpinning (often used in plural). See OVER. 3. A fundamental principle or underlying concept: basis, cornerstone, foundation, fundament, fundamental, root1, rudiment (often used in plural). See OVER. 4. A center of organization, supply, or activity: complex, headquarters, station. Military: installation. See PLACE. 5. The main part of a word to which affixes are attached: root1, stem, theme. See WORDS.

VI

(Roget's Thesaurus II) adjective 1. Having or proceeding from low moral standards: ignoble, low, low-down, mean2, sordid, squalid, vile. See RIGHT. 2. Of decidedly inferior quality: cheap, lousy, miserable, paltry, poor, rotten, shoddy, sleazy, trashy. Informal: cheesy. Slang: crummy, schlocky. See GOOD. 3. Archaic. Lacking high station or birth: baseborn, common, declasse, declassed, humble, ignoble, lowly, mean2, plebeian, unwashed, vulgar. See OVER.