Verbs

If an entry word is a verb followed by a preposition, this tells you to use two words in together. An alternate preposition may also be found in parenthesis following the two words:

Entry Word: comply with
Function: verb
Text: 1 to act according to the commands of <the guards ran to comply with their ruler's orders>

hold off on
Function: verb
Text: to assign to a later time <held off on accepting the invitation in the hopes that something better would come along>

knock about
Function: verb
Text: to move about from place to place aimlessly <we knocked about from town to town>

If there are two words inside parentheses and they are separated by or, then either word can be used with the verb:

Entry Word: fit in or into
Function: verb
Text: to put among or between others <do you think you can fit this picture into the album?> <I can fit you in between my two o'clock and three o'clock appointments>

These verbs appear in the synonym lists followed by their customary adverb or preposition in parentheses. These entries are treated this way in the thesaurus because such verb combinations are not the usual form of dictionary entries, but it is only when the verb is used with the adverb or preposition that it matches the shared meaning of its synonym group.

When the meaning of a verb requires a direct object, all of the words in the synonym list take a direct object. If a verb does not take an object, none of the synonyms will take an object.

If you can't figure out from the shared meaning whether a word should have a direct object, or what kind of direct object it should have, you can look at how the verb is used in the verbal illustration.

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