sap

1 active strength of body or mind a child full of sap and vivacity Synonyms beans, bounce, brio, dash, drive, dynamism, energy, esprit, gas, get-up-and-go, ginger, go, gusto, hardihood, juice, life, moxie, oomph, pep, punch, vigor, snap, starch, verve, vim, vinegar, vitality, zing, zipRelated Words animal spirits, animation, briskness, jauntiness, liveliness, snappiness, spirit, spiritedness, sprightliness, spunk, spunkiness, vibrance, vibrancy, vivaciousness, vivacity; ardor, élan, fervor, fire, passion, zeal; main, metal, mettle, might, muscle, potency, power, puissance, stamina, strength; brawniness, fitness, hardiness, huskiness, sturdiness, virility; health, healthiness, soundness, verdure, wellnessNear Antonyms indolence, laziness; debilitation, debility, delicacy, disablement, enfeeblement, faintness, feebleness, frailness, frailty, impotence, impotency, infirmity, powerlessness, puniness, slightness, softness, tenderness, weakness; enervation, exhaustion, inanition, prostrationAntonyms lethargy, listlessness, sluggishness, torpidity

2 one who is easily deceived or cheated some poor sap would probably fall for that telephone scam Synonyms chump, gull, mug [chiefly British], patsy, pigeon, pushover, dupe, soft touch, sucker, toolRelated Words cat's-paw, mark, target, victim; schlemiel (also shlemiel); butt, derision, laughingstock, mock, mockery; booby, dodo, fool, goose, half-wit, jackass, lunatic, monkey, nincompoop, ninny, nitwit, simp, simpleton, turkey, yo-yo; loser; blockhead, cretin, dolt, dope, dumbbell, dummy, dunce, idiot, imbecile, moron, schlub (also shlub) [slang], schlump [slang], schnook [slang]Near Antonyms cheat, cheater, confidence man, cozener, defrauder, dodger, hoaxer, shark, sharper, slicker, swindler, trickster

3 a heavy rigid stick used as a weapon or for punishment the sadistic prison guards freely used their saps to enforce discipline Synonyms bastinado (or bastinade), bat, baton, billy, billy club, bludgeon, cane, cudgel, nightstick, rod, rung [Scottish], club, shillelagh (also shillalah), staff, truncheon, waddy [Australian]Related Words blackjack, knobkerrie, mace; birch, crabstick, hickory, rattan, stave, switch; beetle, gavel, hammer, mallet, maul, sledgehammer; crook, crosier (or crozier), walking stick, whangee

4 the condition of being sound in body I may no longer have the sap of youth, but I do have the sapience that comes only with advanced years Synonyms fitness, healthiness, heartiness, robustness, health, soundness, verdure, wellness, wholeness, wholesomenessRelated Words fettle, shape; cleanliness, hygiene; hardiness, lustiness, robustiousness, ruggedness, stamina, strength, toughness, vigor, vigorousness, vitality; bloom, flush, flushness; activeness, agility, liveliness, spryness; weal, welfare, well-beingNear Antonyms debility, decrepitude, feebleness, frailness, infirmity, lameness, sickliness, weakness; ailment, condition, disease, disorder, malady, troubleAntonyms illness, sickness, unhealthiness, unsoundness

to diminish the physical strength of weeks of hard work had sapped her and left her exhausted Synonyms debilitate, devitalize, enervate, enfeeble, etiolate, prostrate, weaken, soften, tire, wasteRelated Words cripple, disable, hamstring, incapacitate; deplete, depress, exhaust, impoverish, unman, wash out; damage, harm, hurt, impair, injure, invalid, lay up; break down, grind (down), wear down, wear out; paralyzeNear Antonyms energize, invigorate, recruit, rejuvenate, vitalize; harden, season, toughenAntonyms beef (up), fortify, strengthen