| Main Entry: | pitfall |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | hazard, trap |
Synonyms: |
booby trap, catch*, danger, deadfall, difficulty, downfall, drawback, entanglement, hook*, mesh*, mousetrap, peril, pit*, quicksand, risk, setup, snag*, snare, swindle*, toil, web |
| Notes: | a pitfall is an unforeseen or unexpected difficulty or disaster - or a trap in the form of a concealed hole; a pratfall is an embarrassing or humiliating mistake, blunder, or mishap - or a fall on the buttocks |
Antonyms: |
advantage, blessing, good luck |
| Concept: | [Source of danger.] Pitfall. |
| Category: | 2. Subservience to ends; contingent subservience |
Synonyms: |
-nouns
rocks, reefs, coral reef, sunken rocks, snags; sands, quicksands; syrt, syrtis; Goodwin sands, sandy foundation; slippery ground; breakers, shoals, shallows, bank, shelf, flat, lee shore, ironbound coast; rock ahead, breakers ahead., precipice; maelstrom, volcano; ambush; pitfall, trapdoor; trap (snare)., sword of Damocles; wolf at the door, snake in the grass, death in the pot; latency., ugly customer, dangerous person, le chat qui dort; firebrand, hornet's nest.
-phrases
latet anquis in herba [Vergil]; proximus ardet Ucalegon [Vergil].
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Antonyms: |
refuge |
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| Main Entry: | ambush |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | lying in wait; concealed position |
Synonyms: |
ambuscade, ambushment, camouflage, concealment, deception, hiding, hiding place, lurking, pitfall, shelter, trap, trick*, waiting, waylaying |
| Main Entry: | danger |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | hazard, troublesome situation |
Synonyms: |
clouds, crisis, double trouble, dynamite, emergency, endangerment, exigency, exposure, hot potato, insecurity, instability, jeopardy, menace, peril, pitfall, possibility, precariousness, precipice, probability, risk, risky business, slipperiness, storm, thin ice, threat, uncertainty, venture, vulnerability |
Antonyms: |
care, carefulness, guard, preservation, safety, security |
| Main Entry: | flaw |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | imperfection |
Synonyms: |
Catch-22, blemish, bug, catch*, defect, disfigurement, failing, fault, foible, glitch*, gremlin, pitfall, slipup, speck, spot, stain, typo, vice, wart, weak spot, weakness |
Antonyms: |
fine point, perfection, strength |
| Main Entry: | peril |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | danger, risk |
Synonyms: |
cause for alarm, double trouble, endangerment, exposure, hazard, insecurity, jeopardy, liability, menace, openness, pitfall, risky business, uncertainty, vulnerability |
Antonyms: |
safeness, safety, security |
| Main Entry: | snare |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | trap |
Synonyms: |
allurement, bait, booby trap, catch, come-on, deception, decoy, enticement, entrapment, inveiglement, lure, net, noose, pitfall, quicksand, seducement, temptation, trick, wire |
Antonyms: |
freedom, liberation |
| Main Entry: | trap |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | snare, trick |
Synonyms: |
allurement, ambuscade, ambush, artifice, bait, booby trap, come-on, conspiracy, deception, decoy, device, dragnet, enticement, feint, gambit, hook*, intrigue, inveiglement, lasso, lure, machination, maneuver, net, noose, pitfall, plot, ploy, prank, quagmire, quicksand, ruse, seducement, snag*, stratagem, subterfuge, temptation, wile |
| Main Entry: | booby trap |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | concealed trap |
Synonyms: |
ambush, baited trap, deadfall, decoy, hidden danger, land mine, mine, mousetrap, pitfall, set-up, snare, trap, trip wire |
| Main Entry: | snake in the grass |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | scoundrel |
Synonyms: |
Pandora's box, backstabber, creep, pitfall, rat, rat fink, skunk, snake, sneak, trap, villain, viper, weasel |