bear

1 a dull, unpleasant, or difficult piece of work the upcoming kitchen renovation sounds like a real bear Synonyms chore, beast, headache, job, killer, laborRelated Words drudgery, grind, heavy lifting, lucubration; effort, strain, sweat; burden, load, weight; bother, nuisance, troubleNear Antonyms breeze, child's play, cinch, duck soup, kid stuff, setup, snap

2 an irritable and complaining person you've been a real bear lately—are you having a bad week? Synonyms grouch, bellyacher, complainer, crab, crank, croaker, crosspatch, curmudgeon, fusser, griper, grouser, growler, grumbler, grump, murmurer, mutterer, sourpuss, whinerRelated Words hunks; malcontent, sorehead; grinch, killjoy, party pooper, spoilsport; defeatist, pessimist; faultfinder, kicker, nagger, nitpicker, objector, quibbler, repiner; crock [slang], hypochondriacNear Antonyms optimist, Pollyanna; happy camper

1 to bring forth from the womb luckily, she turned out to be able to bear children after all Synonyms birth [chiefly dialect], deliver, drop, have, mother, produce Related Words labor; breed, multiply, propagate, reproduce, spawn; beget, father, generate, get, sire; calve, kid, kindle, kitten, litter, pup, whelp Phrases give birth to Near Antonyms abort, lose, miscarry

2 to put up with (something painful or difficult) I can't bear the thought of losing another loved one Synonyms abide, absorb, accept, bide [chiefly dialect], brook, countenance, endure, go, hack, handle, meet, pocket, stand, stick out, stomach, support, sustain, sweat out, take, tolerate, wear [British] Related Words allow, permit, suffer, swallow; reconcile (to); acquiesce, agree (with or to), assent (to), capitulate, consent (to), respect, submit (to), yield (to) Phrases live with, lump (it), stand for, tough (it) out Near Antonyms decline, dismiss, refuse, reject, repudiate, spurn, turn down; combat, contest, fight, oppose, resist; avoid, bypass, circumvent, dodge, elude, escape, evade, miss; abstain (from), forbear, refrain (from)

3 to have a relation or connection I just found another fact that bears on this issue Synonyms appertain, apply, pertain, refer, relateRelated Words affect, concern, interest, involve, touch; associate, connect, couple, interrelate, link, tie in; deal (with), treat

4 to go on a specified course or in a certain direction the road bears left after the second traffic light Synonyms head, makeRelated Words aim, bend, direct, point, turn; beeline, light out, put, put out, set off, set out, strike, take off; face, orient, steer; about-face, back, come about, come round, cut, incline, put about, reverse, swerve, tack, turn back, veer, wheel, yaw

5 to hold up or serve as a foundation for the wooden bridge will only bear one truck at a time Synonyms support, bolster, brace, buttress, carry, prop (up), shore (up), stay, sustain, undergird, underpin, upholdRelated Words steady, truss, underlie

6 to keep in one's mind or heart I'm not one to bear grudges Synonyms harbor, cherish, entertain, have, hold, nurseRelated Words cultivate, foster, nurture, support, sustain; carry, keep, maintain, preserve, remember, retain, treasure; cleave (to), cling (to), hug, stick (to); brood (about or over), fixate (on or upon), obsess (about or over)Near Antonyms disregard, drop, forget, ignore, neglect, overlook; abjure, decline, deny, disdain, refuse, reject, repudiate, scorn; abandon, desert, discard, forsake, give up, part (with), quit, renounce, throw out; erase, expunge

7 to manage the actions of (oneself) in a particular way she bore herself well in her first public speaking event Synonyms acquit, behave, carry, comport, conduct, demean, deport, quitRelated Words check, collect, compose, constrain, contain, control, curb, handle, inhibit, quiet, repress, restrain; moderate, modulate, temper; act, impersonate, playNear Antonyms act up, carry on, cut up, misbehave, misconduct

8 to support and take from one place to another the rescue team came bearing much-needed food and supplies Synonyms carry, cart, convey, ferry, haul, lug, pack, tote, transportRelated Words deliver, hand over, transfer; forward, send, ship, transmit; bring, fetch, take; move, remove, shift

9 to take to or upon oneself I bear some responsibility for the mishap Synonyms accept, assume, shoulder, take over, undertakeRelated Words adopt, embrace, take up; advocate, back, champion, endorse (also indorse), espouse, stand by, support, uphold; accede, acquiesce, agree, assent, consent; reaccept, reassumeNear Antonyms abjure, recant, renounce, retract, take back, unsay, withdraw; decline, refuse, reject, spurn, turn down; abstain (from), forbear, refrain (from); avoid, bypass, detour; abandon, abnegate, forsake, give up, relinquish, spurn, surrender; back down, back off, backtrackAntonyms disavow, disclaim, disown, repudiate

10 to wear or have on one's person the right to bear arms Synonyms carry, packRelated Words flaunt, show off, sport; display, exhibit, parade, show

11 to be positioned along a certain course or in a certain direction the path will bear north after that marked tree Synonyms run, extend, go, head, lead, lieRelated Words cross, cut, pass; course, follow, span, traverse

12 to have as a requirement the violence in that country bears watching if the world wants to avoid a serious international conflict Synonyms need, challenge, claim, demand, necessitate, require, take, want, warrantRelated Words entail, involve; ask, beg, claim, clamor (for), cry (for); hurt (for), lack; command, enjoin, exact, insist, press, quest, stipulateNear Antonyms own, possessAntonyms have, hold

13 to have within gold-bearing ore Synonyms contain, boast, holdRelated Words accommodate, fit, take; case, encase, enclose (also inclose), encompass; harbor, house, lodge, shelter

14 to occupy a place or location a hot, humid air mass is now bearing just south of the Gulf Coast Synonyms be, stand, lie, sitRelated Words command, overlook; hang around, remain, rest, stay, stick around, tarry; await, wait; post, station; dwell, reside

15 to produce as revenue an interest-bearing savings account Synonyms yield, give, pay, returnRelated Words bring in, net; afford, furnish, provide, supply; pay off