hem and haw - Wordage.info - Free Thesaurus Tool for Word Discovery - Expanded Thesaurus, Reverse Dictionary Lookup

hem in collapse: surround in a restrictive manner; "The building was hemmed in by flowers"

tighten collapse: become tight or tighter; "The rope tightened"; make tight or tighter; "Tighten the wire"

circumscribe collapse: draw a line around; "He drew a circle around the points"; to draw a geometric figure around another figure so that the two are in contact but do not intersect

close in collapse: advance or converge on; "The police were closing in on him"

beading collapse: a beaded molding for edging or decorating furniture; ornamentation with beads

hedge collapse: a fence formed by a row of closely planted shrubs or bushes; an intentionally noncommittal or ambiguous statement; "when you say `maybe' you are just hedging"; any technique designed to reduce or eliminate financial risk; for example, taking two positions that will offset each other if prices change; minimize loss or risk; "diversify your financial portfolio to hedge price risks"; "hedge your bets"; avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues); "He dodged the issue"; "she skirted the problem"; "They tend to evade their responsibilities"; "he evaded the questions skillfully"; enclose or bound in with or as it with a hedge or hedges; "hedge the property"; hinder or restrict with or as if with a hedge; "The animals were hedged in"

debate collapse: the formal presentation of and opposition to a stated proposition (usually followed by a vote); argue with one another; "We debated the question of abortion"; "John debated Mary"; discuss the pros and cons of an issue

scruple collapse: an ethical or moral principle that inhibits action; uneasiness about the fitness of an action; a unit of apothecary weight equal to 20 grains; have doubts about; raise scruples; "He lied and did not even scruple about it"; hesitate on moral grounds; "The man scrupled to perjure himself"

pause collapse: temporary inactivity; a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something; cease an action temporarily; "We pause for station identification"; "let's break for lunch"

brim collapse: a circular projection that sticks outward from the crown of a hat; the top edge of a vessel or other container; fill as much as possible; "brim a cup to good fellowship"; be completely full; "His eyes brimmed with tears"

shy collapse: a quick throw; "he gave the ball a shy to the first baseman"; wary and distrustful; disposed to avoid persons or things; "shy of strangers"; easily startled or frightened; throw quickly; start suddenly, as from fight

deliberate collapse: by conscious design or purpose; "intentional damage"; "a knowing attempt to defraud"; "a willful waste of time"; marked by careful consideration or reflection; "a deliberate decision"

restrict collapse: place limits on (extent or access); "restrict the use of this parking lot"; "limit the time you can spend with your friends"; place restrictions on; "curtail drinking in school"; place under restrictions; limit access to; "This substance is controlled"

corral collapse: collect or gather; "corralling votes for an election"; arrange wagons so that they form a corral; enclose in a corral; "corral the horses"

recoil collapse: a movement back from an impact; the backward jerk of a gun when it is fired

enclose collapse: surround completely; "Darkness enclosed him"; "They closed in the porch with a fence"; close in or confine

retreat collapse: (military) withdrawal of troops to a more favorable position to escape the enemy's superior forces or after a defeat; "the disorderly retreat of French troops"; (military) a bugle call signaling the lowering of the flag at sunset; (military) a signal to begin a withdrawal from a dangerous position; a place of privacy; a place affording peace and quiet; make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity; "We'll have to crawfish out from meeting with him"; "He backed out of his earlier promise"; "The aggressive investment company pulled in its horns"; move away, as for privacy; "The Pope retreats to Castelgondolfo every summer"

shrink collapse: decrease in size, range, or extent; "His earnings shrank"; "My courage shrivelled when I saw the task before me"; become smaller or draw together; "The fabric shrank"; "The balloon shrank"; reduce in size; reduce physically; "Hot water will shrink the sweater"; "Can you shrink this image?"

selvage collapse: the edge of a fabric that is woven so that it will not ravel or fray; border consisting of an ornamental fringe at either end of an oriental carpet

purl collapse: a basic knitting stitch; gold or silver wire thread; make a murmuring sound; "the water was purling"; embroider with gold or silver thread; edge or border with gold or silver embroidery; knit with a purl stitch

rail collapse: any of numerous widely distributed small wading birds of the family Rallidae having short wings and very long toes for running on soft mud; a horizontal bar (usually of wood); short for railway; "he traveled by rail"; "he was concerned with rail safety"; complain bitterly; fish with a handline over the rails of a boat; "They are railing for fresh fish"; lay with rails; "hundreds of miles were railed out here"; convey (goods etc.) by rails; "fresh fruit are railed from Italy to Belgium"; separate with a railing; "rail off the crowds from the Presidential palace"; provide with rails; "The yard was railed"; enclose with rails; "rail in the old graves"

shuffle collapse: the act of mixing cards haphazardly; mix so as to make a random order or arrangement; "shuffle the cards"; walk by dragging one's feet; "he shuffled out of the room"; "We heard his feet shuffling down the hall"; move about, move back and forth; "He shuffled his funds among different accounts in various countries so as to avoid the IRS"

dodge collapse: a quick evasive movement; a statement that evades the question by cleverness or trickery; make a sudden movement in a new direction so as to avoid; "The child dodged the teacher's blow"; move to and fro or from place to place usually in an irregular course; "the pickpocket dodged through the crowd"

laughter collapse: the activity of laughing; the manifestation of joy or mirth or scorn; "he enjoyed the laughter of the crowd"

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