edge

1 a harsh or sharp quality the teacher's voice had a sarcastic edge as she welcomed the tardy student to class Synonyms acerbity, acidity, acidness, acridity, acridness, acrimoniousness, acrimony, acuteness, asperity, bite, bitterness, harshness, keenness, poignance, poignancy, pungency, roughness, sharpness, tartness Related Words ginger, punch, spice, tang; raucousness, severeness, severity, shrillness, virulence, vitriol; cattiness, maliciousness; pointedness, thorniness Near Antonyms gentleness, kindliness Antonyms mildness, softness

2 the line or relatively narrow space that marks the outer limit of something the design along the edge of the plate is badly worn Synonyms borderline, bound, boundary, brim, circumference, compass, confines, border, edging, end, frame, fringe, hem, margin, perimeter, periphery, rim, skirt, skirting, vergeRelated Words ambit; brink, crest, curb, cusp, lip; ceiling, maximum; demarcation, extent, limitation, measure, mere, restriction, termination; borderland, frontier, march, outskirts, pale, selvage; lap; shoreNear Antonyms center, core, heart; inner, inside, interior, middle, within

3 the more favorable condition or position in a competition my big feet give me something of an edge in swimming Synonyms better, bulge, catbird seat, drop, advantage, high ground, inside track, jump, pull, stead, upper hand, vantage, whip handRelated Words allowance, head start, lead, leg up, margin, odds, start; ascendancy (also ascendency), command, dominance, mastery, predominance, superiority, supremacy, transcendence, transcendency; precedence, preference, prerogative, privilege, seniority; break, foothold, opportunity; benefit, blessing, boon, felicity, godsend, manna, windfallNear Antonyms detriment, stranglehold; disparity, imbalance, inequality, unevenness; disability, failing, impairment, shortcoming; bar, catch, check, clog, crimp, embarrassment, hindrance, hitch, hurdle, impediment, interference, let, manacle, obstacle, obstruction, rub, shackle, stop, trammel; lurch, setbackAntonyms disadvantage, drawback, handicap, liability, minus, penalty, strike

4 the power to produce a desired result the utter lack of enforcement provisions totally blunts the edge of the law Synonyms efficacy, effectiveness, effectualness, efficaciousness, efficacity, efficiency, productivenessRelated Words ability, capability, capacity; potency, puissance, strengthNear Antonyms inability, inadequacy, inadequateness, incompetence, incompetencyAntonyms ineffectiveness, ineffectuality, ineffectualness, inefficiency

5 an interval of time just before the onset of something the nation's economy was on the edge of collapse when the Federal Reserve took exceptionally bold action Synonyms brink, cusp, point, threshold, vergeRelated Words nick