rub

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

v. t. buff, abrade, scour, polish; chafe, massage, stroke, graze; annoy, disturb. See friction, smoothness, discontent.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [A rubbing action]

Syn. massage, rubdown, brushing, stroke, smoothing, scraping, scouring, buffing, rasping, friction, attrition; see also touch 2 .

2. [A difficulty]

Syn. hindrance, obstacle, dilemma; see difficulty 1 , 2 , impediment 1 .

Ant. answer*, solution, aid.

v.

1. [To subject to friction]

Syn. stroke, scrape, smooth, abrade, scour, grate, grind, wear away, graze, rasp, knead, fret, massage, rub down, polish, shine, burnish, buff, brush, curry, scrub, swab, erase, rub out, file, chafe, clean.

2. [To apply by rubbing]

Syn. brush, daub, bedaub, paint, smear, spread, cover, coat, plaster, anoint, slather*.

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

1. massage rubdown, stroke, kneading, caress, patting, petting, friction.

2. obstacle hindrance, check, barrier, obstruction, difficulty, catch, snag.

II

v.

massage, rubdown, stroke, knead, caress, pat, pet, apply friction, brush, buff, wipe, burnish, abrade, scour, scrub.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I verb To remove or invalidate by or as if by running a line through or wiping clean. Also used with out: annul, blot (out), cancel, cross (off or out), delete, efface, erase, expunge, obliterate, scratch (out), strike (out), undo, wipe (out), x (out). Law: vacate. See CONTINUE. II noun A tricky or unsuspected condition: snag. Informal: catch. See LIMITED.