build up

Questions about build up

What is another word for build up?

Across its 5 senses, build up has 8 distinct synonyms: work up, build, progress, arm, fortify, gird, ramp up, develop. Each belongs to a specific meaning, listed on this page under the sense it serves.

What is the opposite of build up?

WordNet records no antonym for build up. Antonymy in WordNet is a relation between specific word forms rather than between concepts, so it is recorded only where lexicographers judged the pairing direct. An absence here means none was recorded, not that none can be imagined.

Why are the synonyms for build up split into groups?

Because build up carries 5 recorded senses and each has its own set of substitutes. A single flat list would put words from unrelated meanings side by side with nothing to tell them apart, which is exactly how a writer picks the wrong one. The grouping comes from WordNet's synsets, not from an editorial judgement of ours.

Where do the synonyms for build up come from?

From Princeton University's WordNet, a lexical database maintained by lexicographers since 1985. A synonym here means a word form that shares a synset with this word — a set of forms interchangeable in one recorded context. Nothing on this page is generated by a language model.

Other views of build up

• Full entry for build upAll 5 senses, with examples, usage labels, syllables and pronunciation.
• Rhymes for build upWhether this word can be rhymed at all — it is not in the pronouncing dictionary.
• Thesaurus homeHow WordNet synsets work, and the collections built for synonym work.