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Antonyms for compass


Grammar : Noun, verb
Spell : kuhm-puh s
Phonetic Transcription : ˈkʌm pəs



Definition of compass

Origin :
  • c.1300, "space, area, extent, circumference," from Old French compas "circle, radius, pair of compasses" (12c.), from compasser "to go around, measure, divide equally," from Vulgar Latin *compassare "to pace out" (source of Italian compassare, Spanish compasar), from Latin com- "together" (see com-) + passus "a step" (see pace (n.)).
  • The mathematical instrument so called from mid-14c. The mariners' directional tool (so called since early 15c.) took the name, perhaps, because it's round and has a point like the mathematical instrument. The word is in most European languages, with a mathematical sense in Romance, a nautical sense in Germanic, and both in English.
  • noun boundary, periphery
  • verb enclose
  • verb achieve, get
Example sentences :
  • But, nerved as he was by desperation, he found the task greater than he could compass.
  • Extract from : « Brave and Bold » by Horatio Alger
  • The rock is very magnetic, and the compass is quite useless.
  • Extract from : « Explorations in Australia » by John Forrest
  • I was tired of trying to steer a course for myself, with no compass to go by.
  • Extract from : « The Conquest of Fear » by Basil King
  • This fact is sustained by evidences teeming upon us from every point of the compass.
  • Extract from : « Ridgeway » by Scian Dubh
  • We were without a compass, and steered by the direction of the wind and sea.
  • Extract from : « Ned Myers » by James Fenimore Cooper
  • And what the word means, in its full horror, only a child can compass.
  • Extract from : « Meadow Grass » by Alice Brown
  • Thus the Barnacles were all over the world, in every direction—despatch-boxing the compass.
  • Extract from : « Little Dorrit » by Charles Dickens
  • I knew it was something connected with a point of the compass and a door.
  • Extract from : « Life And Adventures Of Martin Chuzzlewit » by Charles Dickens
  • Once or twice he consulted Uncle Ben, and as often glanced at his compass.
  • Extract from : « Roden's Corner » by Henry Seton Merriman
  • Can he compass his spirit with meekness, and strangle a natural oath?
  • Extract from : « Farm Ballads » by Will Carleton

Synonyms for compass

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019