NEAR

near, close, nigh

(adjective) not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances; “near neighbors”; “in the near future”; “they are near equals”; “his nearest approach to success”; “a very near thing”; “a near hit by the bomb”; “she was near tears”; “she was close to tears”; “had a close call”

approximate, near

(adjective) very close in resemblance; “sketched in an approximate likeness”; “a near likeness”

dear, good, near

(adjective) with or in a close or intimate relationship; “a good friend”; “my sisters and brothers are near and dear”

cheeseparing, close, near, penny-pinching, skinny

(adjective) giving or spending with reluctance; “our cheeseparing administration”; “very close (or near) with his money”; “a penny-pinching miserly old man”

near

(adjective) closely resembling the genuine article; “near beer”; “a dress of near satin”

about, almost, most, nearly, near, nigh, virtually, well-nigh

(adverb) (of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but; “the job is (just) about done”; “the baby was almost asleep when the alarm sounded”; “we’re almost finished”; “the car all but ran her down”; “he nearly fainted”; “talked for nigh onto 2 hours”; “the recording is well-nigh perfect”; “virtually all the parties signed the contract”; “I was near exhausted by the run”; “most everyone agrees”

near, nigh, close

(adverb) near in time or place or relationship; “as the wedding day drew near”; “stood near the door”; “don’t shoot until they come near”; “getting near to the true explanation”; “her mother is always near”; “The end draws nigh”; “the bullet didn’t come close”; “don’t get too close to the fire”

approach, near, come on, go up, draw near, draw close, come near

(verb) move towards; “We were approaching our destination”; “They are drawing near”; “The enemy army came nearer and nearer”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Adjective

near (comparative nearer, superlative nearest)

Physically close.

Synonym: close

Antonym: remote

Close in time.

Closely connected or related.

Close to one's interests, affection, etc.; intimate; dear.

Close to anything followed or imitated; not free, loose, or rambling.

So as barely to avoid or pass injury or loss; close; narrow.

Approximate, almost.

(British, in relation to a vehicle) On the side nearest to the kerb (the left-hand side if one drives on the left).

Antonym: off

(dated) Next to the driver, when he is on foot; (US) on the left of an animal or a team.

(obsolete) Immediate; direct; close; short.

(now, rare) Stingy; parsimonious. [from 17th c.]

Synonyms

• (physically close): see also near

Antonyms

• (physically close): see also distant

Adverb

near (comparative nearer, superlative nearest)

At or towards a position close in space or time.

Nearly; almost.

Usage notes

The sense of nearly or almost is dialect, colloquial, old-fashioned or poetic in certain uses, such as, in many cases, when near is used to directly modify a verb.

Preposition

near

Physically close to, in close proximity to.

Close to in time.

Close to in nature or degree.

Usage notes

Joan Maling (1983) shows that near is best analysed as an adjective with which the use of to is optional, rather than a preposition. It has the comparative and the superlative, and it can be followed by enough. The use of to however is usually British.

Antonyms

• far from

Verb

near (third-person singular simple present nears, present participle nearing, simple past and past participle neared)

(ambitransitive) To come closer to; to approach.

Noun

near (plural nears)

The left side of a horse or of a team of horses pulling a carriage etc.

Synonym: near side

Antonym: off side

Anagrams

• Arne, EARN, Earn, Nera, eRNA, earn, erna, nare, rean

Proper noun

Near (plural Nears)

A surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Near is the 16349^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 1762 individuals. Near is most common among White (90.86%) individuals.

Anagrams

• Arne, EARN, Earn, Nera, eRNA, earn, erna, nare, rean

Source: Wiktionary

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Near, adv. Etym: [AS. neár, compar. of neáh nigh. See Nigh.]

1. At a little distance, in place, time, manner, or degree; not remote; nigh. My wife! my traitress! let her not come near me. Milton.

2. Nearly; almost; well-nigh. "Near twenty years ago." Shak. "Near a fortnight ago." Addison. Near about the yearly value of the land. Locke.

3. Closely; intimately. Shak. Far and near, at a distance and close by; throughout a whole region.

– To come near to, to want but little of; to approximate to. "Such a sum he found would go near to ruin him." Addison.

– Near the wind (Naut.), close to the wind; closehauled.

Near, a. [Compar. Nearer; superl. Nearest.] Etym: [See Near, adv.]

1. Not far distant in time, place, or degree; not remote; close at hand; adjacent; neighboring; nigh. "As one near death." Shak. He served great Hector, and was ever near, Not with his trumpet only, but his spear. Dryden.

2. Closely connected or related. She is thy father's near kinswoman. Lev. xviii. 12.

3. Close to one's interests, affection, etc.; touching, or affecting intimately; intimate; dear; as, a near friend.

4. Close to anything followed or imitated; not free, loose, or rambling; as, a version near to the original.

5. So as barely to avoid or pass injury or loss; close; narrow; as, a near escape.

6. Next to the driver, when he is on foot; in the Unted States, on the left of an animal or a team; as, the near ox; the near leg. See Off side, under Off, a.

7. Immediate; direct; close; short. "The nearest way." Milton.

8. Close-fisted; parsimonious. [Obs. or Low, Eng.]

Note: Near may properly be followed by to before the thing approached'; but more frequently to is omitted, and the adjective or the adverb is regarded as a preposition. The same is also true of the word nigh.

Syn.

– Nigh; close; adjacent; proximate; contiguous; present; ready; intimate; dear.

Near, prep.

Definition: Adjacent to; close by; not far from; nigh; as, the ship sailed near the land. See the Note under near, a.

Near, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Neared; p. pr. & vb. n Nearing.] Etym: [See Near, adv.]

Definition: To approach; to come nearer; as, the ship neared the land.

Near, v. i.

Definition: To draw near; to approach. A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist! And still it neared, and neared. Coleridge.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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