| Main Entry: | parry |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | ward off, circumvent |
Synonyms: |
anticipate, avoid, block, bypass, deflect, dodge, duck*, elude, en garde, evade, fence, fend off, forestall, hold at bay, preclude, prevent, rebuff, rebuke, repel, repulse, resist, shirk, shun, sidestep, stave off |
Antonyms: |
deal with, face, meet |
| Main Entry: | answer |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | reply, react |
Synonyms: |
acknowledge, answer back, argue, back at you, back talk, be in touch, claim, comeback, contest, counterclaim, defend, deny, disprove, dispute, echo, explain, feedback, field the question, get back at, get back to, give a snappy comeback, parry, plead, rebut, refute, rejoin, remark, resolve, respond, retaliate, retort, return, sass, say, settle, shoot back, solve, squelch, talk back, top* |
| Notes: | an answer is something said, written, or done in return; a reply is an answer that satisfies a detail in a question |
Antonyms: |
ask, question |
| Main Entry: | avoidance |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | eluding; preventing |
Synonyms: |
absention, circumvention, delay, departure, dodge, dodging, elusion, escape, escapism, eschewal, evasion, flight, forbearance, nonparticipation, parry, passive resistance, prevention, recession, recoil, restraint, retreat, run-around, self-restraint, shirking, shunning, steering clear of |
Antonyms: |
meeting |
| Main Entry: | confute |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | disprove, refute |
Synonyms: |
blow sky high, break, bring to naught, confound, contradict, controvert, defeat, demolish, dismay, disprove, expose, invalidate, knocks props out from under, negate, oppugn, overcome, overthrow, overturn, overwhelm, parry, prove false, prove wrong, put down, rebut, set aside, shut up, silence, subvert, tap, upset, vanquish |
Antonyms: |
affirm, attest, confirm, endorse, prove, verify |
| Main Entry: | counter |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | answer, respond in retaliation |
Synonyms: |
backtalk, beat, bilk, buck, circumvent, contravene, counteract, counterwork, cross, dash, disappoint, fly in the face of, foil, frustrate, have bone to pick, hinder, hit back, match, meet, offset, oppose, parry, pit, play off, resist, respond, retaliate, return, ruin, take on, thumbs down, vie, ward off |
| Main Entry: | defeat |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | conquer in military manner |
Synonyms: |
ambush, annihilate, bar, bear down, beat, best, block, butcher, crush, decimate, demolish, discomfit, drown, entrap, finish off, halt, hinder, impede, lick, mow down, obliterate, obstruct, outflank, outmaneuver, overpower, overrun, overthrow, overwhelm, parry, prevail over, quell, reduce, repel, repress, repulse, roll back, rout, route, sack, scatter, shipwreck, sink, slaughter, smash, subdue, subjugate, suppress, surmount, swamp, torpedo, trample, trash, upset, vanquish, whip, wipe out |
Antonyms: |
give up, lose, surrender |
| Main Entry: | deflect |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | bounce off; turn aside |
Synonyms: |
avert, bend, cover up, curve, deviate, disperse, diverge, divert, fend, glance off, hold off, hook, keep off, parry, pivot, ricochet, sheer, shy, sidetrack, slew, slip, swerve, twist, veer, volte-face, wheel, whip, whirl, wind |
| Main Entry: | dodge |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | avoid |
Synonyms: |
circumlocute, dark, deceive, ditch, duck, elude, equivocate, escape, evade, fence, fend off, fudge, get around, get out of, give the slip, hedge, juke, lurch, malinger, move to the side, parry, pussyfoot, put the move on, shake, shake off, shift, shirk, short-circuit, shuffle, sidestep, skip out on, skirt, slide, slip, swerve, tergiversate, tergiverse, trick, turn aside, weasel |
Antonyms: |
confront, encounter, face, meet, stand up to |
| Main Entry: | duck |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | drop down; avoid |
Synonyms: |
bend, bob, bow, crouch, dip, dive, dodge, double, elude, escape, evade, fence, lower, lurch, move to side, parry, plunge, shirk, shun, shy, sidestep, stoop, submerge |
Antonyms: |
face, jump, meet |
| Main Entry: | equivocate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | avoid an issue |
Synonyms: |
beat around the bush, beg the question, blow hot and cold, cavil, cloud the issue, con, cop a plea, cop out, cover up, dodge, double-talk, elude, escape, eschew, evade, falsify, fence, fib, flip-flop, fudge, give run around, hedge, hem and haw, jive, lie, mince words, palter, parry, pass the buck, prevaricate, pussyfoot, quibble, run around, shuck, shuffle, sidestep, sit on the fence, stonewall, tell white lie, tergiversate, tergiverse, waffle, weasel |
Antonyms: |
face, meet, speak on |