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base has 40 distinct synonyms spread across 21 of its 30 senses. Each sense below keeps its own list, because a synonym belongs to a meaning and not to a word: swapping one sense's substitute into another sense's sentence is how a thesaurus makes writing worse. WordNet records no antonym for it — antonymy is a relation between word forms rather than concepts, so it is deliberately sparse.
Counts are distinct word forms across every sense. A synonym that appears under three senses is counted once here and shown three times below, under each sense it belongs to.
installation from which a military force initiates operations
“the attack wiped out our forward bases”
lowest support of a structure
“it was built on a base of solid rock”
a place that the runner must touch before scoring
“he scrambled to get back to the bag”
the bottom or lowest part
“the base of the mountain”
(anatomy) the part of an organ nearest its point of attachment
“the base of the skull”
a lower limit
“the government established a wage floor”
the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained
“the whole argument rested on a basis of conjecture”
a phosphoric ester of a nucleoside; the basic structural unit of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA)
the bottom side of a geometric figure from which the altitude can be constructed
“the base of the triangle”
the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area
“the industrial base of Japan”
the principal ingredient of a mixture
“glycerinated gelatin is used as a base for many ointments”
a flat bottom on which something is intended to sit
“a tub should sit on its own base”
(electronics) the part of a transistor that separates the emitter from the collector
serving as or forming a base
“the painter applied a base coat followed by two finishing coats”
situate as a center of operations
“we will base this project in the new lab”
2 of the 30 recorded senses carry no synonym, antonym or related term, so they are not shown above. Every sense, with its definition and examples, is on the full entry for base.
Synonyms, antonyms and the broader and narrower relations for base come from Princeton University’s WordNet. Full sources and licences.
having or showing an ignoble lack of honor or morality
“that liberal obedience without which your army would be a base rabble”
illegitimate