| Main Entry: | rudiments |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | fundamentals |
Synonyms: |
ABCs, basics, beginnings, elements, essentials, first principles, foundation, guts*, heart, nitty-gritty, principles |
| Main Entry: | rudiment |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | basis |
Synonyms: |
base, bed, bottom, cornerstone, foot, footing, foundation, fundament, fundamental, ground, groundwork, rest, resting place, root, seat, substructure, support |
| Main Entry: | rudiment |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | element |
Synonyms: |
aspect, basic, basis, bit, component, constituent, detail, drop*, essential, facet, factor, fundamental, hint, ingredient, item, material, matter, member, part, part and parcel, particle, particular, piece, portion, principle, root, section, stem, subdivision, trace, unit, view |
| Main Entry: | basis |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | foundation for belief, action |
Synonyms: |
antecedent, assumption, authority, axiom, backbone, background, backing, base, bedrock, cause, center, chief ingredient, core, crux, data, dictum, essence, essential, evidence, explanation, footing, fundamental, hard fact, heart, infrastructure, justification, keynote, keystone, law, nexus, nucleus, postulate, premise, presumption, presupposition, principal element, principle, proof, reason, root, rudiment, sanction, security, source, substratum, support, theorem, theory, underpinning, warrant |
| Main Entry: | beginning |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | start of an event or action |
Synonyms: |
alpha, basis, birth, blastoff, commencement, creation, dawn, dawning, day one, genesis, inauguration, inception, induction, infancy, initiation, installation, introduction, kickoff, onset, opener, opening, origin, origination, outset, point of departure, preface, prelude, presentation, rise, root, rudiment, source, spring, square one, starting point, takeoff, threshold, top |
Antonyms: |
completion, conclusion, consummation, end, ending, finish, goal, termination |
| Main Entry: | egg |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | seed, cell; embryo of an animal |
Synonyms: |
bud, cackle, cackleberry, germ, nucleus, oospore, ovum, roe, rudiment, spawn, yellow eye |
| Main Entry: | essential |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | necessity, basic |
Synonyms: |
ABCs, bottom line, brass tacks, condition, element, essence, fire and ice, fundamental, groceries, guts*, heart, meat and potatoes, must, name of the game, nitty-gritty, nuts and bolts, part and parcel, precondition, prerequisite, principle, quintessence, requirement, requisite, rudiment, sine qua non, stuff, substance, vital part, where one's at |
| Notes: | the words crucial, essential, and vital cannot be qualified (cannot be more or less...) |
Antonyms: |
accessory, auxiliary, nonessential, subsidiary, throwaway, trivia |
| Main Entry: | fundamental |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | basic, essential part |
Synonyms: |
ABCs, axiom, basis, bottom line, brass tacks, coal and ice, component, constituent, cornerstone, element, factor, foundation, guts*, heart, law, nitty-gritty, principium, principle, rock bottom, rudiment, rule, sine qua non, theorem |
Antonyms: |
addition, auxiliary, extra, subordinate, trivia |
| Main Entry: | germ |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | beginning |
Synonyms: |
bud, cause, egg, embryo, inception, nucleus, origin, ovule, ovum, root, rudiment, seed, source, spark, spore, sprig, sprout |
| Main Entry: | grammar |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | language rules |
Synonyms: |
ABCs, accidence, alphabet, elements, fundaments, linguistics, morphology, principles, rudiments, sentence structure, stratification, structure, syntax, tagmemics |