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The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms INTRO ...

The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms INTRO ...

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contentious, antagonistic, <strong>of</strong>fensive, truculent, fierce,<br />

ferocious, warlike, bellicose, martial, jingoistic, hawkish:<br />

Those who have experienced war are not likely to be militant. 2<br />

warring, fighting, combatant, combating, embattled; at war, up<br />

in arms: <strong>The</strong> militant members <strong>of</strong> the council refused to discuss<br />

terms.<br />

--n. 3 fighter, aggressor, combatant, belligerent, warrior,<br />

soldier: <strong>An</strong>yone who experiences the hardships <strong>of</strong> a long strike<br />

may think twice before being a militant.<br />

military adj. 1 martial, soldierly, naval, army, fighting, service: <strong>The</strong><br />

military machine was poised to strike.<br />

--n. 2 (armed) services or forces, army, navy, air force,<br />

military establishment, soldiery: <strong>The</strong> military will oppose any<br />

reductions in spending for arms.<br />

militate v. 1 Usually, militate against. discourage, work or go or<br />

operate against, foil, counter, countervail, cancel (out),<br />

reduce (possibility <strong>of</strong>), prevent, hinder, resist, oppose: His<br />

poor prison record militates against his early parole. 2<br />

Usually, militate for or in favour <strong>of</strong>. be on the side <strong>of</strong>,<br />

favour, further, promote, help, aid: <strong>The</strong> same reasoning that<br />

militated in favour <strong>of</strong> lower taxes then persists today.<br />

milk v. drain, bleed, extract, tap, exploit, wring, draw <strong>of</strong>f or out,<br />

withdraw: <strong>The</strong> comic milked the joke for yet another laugh. <strong>The</strong><br />

taxman is milking me dry.<br />

milksop n. sissy or Brit also cissy, coward, weakling, namby-pamby,<br />

mollycoddle, cry-baby, nancy (boy), dastard, poltroon, caitiff,<br />

(little) Lord Fauntleroy, poltroon, Archaic caitiff, US<br />

milquetoast, Colloq chinless wonder, Brit mother's or mummy's<br />

boy, US mama's boy, pantywaist, Slang pansy: We want men, not<br />

milksops, in the Marines.<br />

mill n. 1 grinder, quern, crusher, roller: In many parts <strong>of</strong> the<br />

world, corn is still ground by hand in a stone mill. 2 plant,<br />

factory, works, workshop, shop, foundry: This mill turns out<br />

rolled steel. 3 been through the mill. experienced,<br />

knowledgeable, sophisticated, toughened, hardened, seasoned,<br />

battle-scarred, Colloq been through the wringer, in the know:

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