mark

1 a person or thing that is made fun of <in the wake of the sex scandal, the governor became the favorite mark of late-night comedians> Synonyms butt, derision, jest, joke, laughingstock, mock, mockery, sport, targetRelated Words chump, dupe, fall guy, fool, gull, monkey, pigeon, sap, sucker, victimNear Antonyms darling, favorite, pet

2 a person or thing that is the object of abuse, criticism, or ridicule <the child's small stature and offbeat personality made her an easy mark for bullies> Synonyms butt, target, prey, sitting duck, victimRelated Words laughingstock, mockery, pilgarlic; lightning rod; fall guy, goat, scapegoat, whipping boyNear Antonyms gossip, gossiper, talebearer, tattler, tattletale, troublemaker; defamer, libeler, libelist, traducer; baiter, heckler, needler, ribber, taunter, tease, teaser, tormentor (also tormenter), torturer; derider, insulter, mocker, ridiculer, scoffer, scorner; caricaturist, lampooner, parodist, satirist

3 overall quality as seen or judged by people in general <a brand of crystal that bears the mark of excellence> Synonyms character, fame, reputation, name, note, odor, rep [slang], report, reputeRelated Words credit, honor; celebrity, notoriety, renown; image, persona; admiration, regard, reverenceNear Antonyms discredit, disgrace, dishonor, disrepute, ignominy, infamy, obloquy, odium, opprobrium, reproach, shame

4 something set up as an example against which others of the same type are compared <lately his playing hasn't been up to the mark expected of a concert pianist> Synonyms bar, barometer, benchmark, criterion, gold standard, grade, standard, measure, metric, par, touchstone, yardstickRelated Words case, example, instance; average, norm, rule; acme, apex, meridian, peak, pinnacle, summit, zenithNear Antonyms aberration, abnormality, deviation

5 something that one hopes or intends to accomplish <set marks for expected daily output> Synonyms aim, ambition, aspiration, bourne (also bourn), design, dream, end, idea, ideal, intent, intention, goal, meaning, object, objective, plan, point, pretension, purpose, target, thingRelated Words grail, holy grail; plot, project, scheme; desire, hope, mind, wish; nirvana; destination, terminusNear Antonyms means, method, way

6 something that sets apart an individual from others of the same kind <a sensitive expression that is the mark of a poet> Synonyms affection, attribute, attribution, character, criterion, diagnostic, differentia, feature, fingerprint, hallmark, characteristic, marker, note, particularity, peculiarity, point, property, quality, specific, stamp, touch, traitRelated Words badge, indication, sign; emblem, symbol, token; charm, grace; excellence, merit, virtue; eccentricity, idiosyncrasy, oddity, quirk; individuality, singularity, uniqueness

7 something that spoils the appearance or completeness of a thing <a small mark where the car had scraped a wall> Synonyms blight, blotch, defect, deformity, disfigurement, excrescence, excrescency, fault, flaw, imperfection, mar, blemish, pockmark, scarRelated Words abnormality, distortion, irregularity, malformation, misshape; bug, glitch, kink; blot, blur, spot, stain, taint; damage, defacement, impairment, injury; failing, weaknessNear Antonyms adornment, decoration, embellishment, enhancement, ornament

8 the power to bring about a result on another <a person of some mark in the field of evolutionary biology> Synonyms impact, influence, effect, repercussion, swayRelated Words authority, clout, prestige, pull, weight; command, domination, dominion, mastery; consequence, importance, significance; sovereignty (also sovranty), supremacyNear Antonyms helplessness, impotence, impotency, powerlessness, weakness