[syn: displace, fire, give notice, can, dismiss, give the axe, send away, sack, force out, give the sack, terminate]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Terminate \Ter"mi*nate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Terminated; p.
pr. & vb. n. Terminating.] [L. terminatus, p. p. of
terminare. See Term.]
1. To set a term or limit to; to form the extreme point or
side of; to bound; to limit; as, to terminate a surface by
a line.
[1913 Webster]
2. To put an end to; to make to cease; as, to terminate an
effort, or a controversy.
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3. Hence, to put the finishing touch to; to bring to
completion; to perfect.
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During this interval of calm and prosperity, he
[Michael Angelo] terminated two figures of slaves,
destined for the tomb, in an incomparable style of
art. --J. S.
Harford.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Terminate \Ter"mi*nate\, v. i.
1. To be limited in space by a point, line, or surface; to
stop short; to end; to cease; as, the torrid zone
terminates at the tropics.
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2. To come to a limit in time; to end; to close.
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The wisdom of this world, its designs and efficacy,
terminate on zhis side heaven. --South.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
terminate
v 1: bring to an end or halt; "She ended their friendship when
she found out that he had once been convicted of a crime";
"The attack on Poland terminated the relatively peaceful
period after WW I" [syn: end, terminate] [ant: begin,
commence, get, get down, lead off, set about,
set out, start, start out]
2: have an end, in a temporal, spatial, or quantitative sense;
either spatial or metaphorical; "the bronchioles terminate in
a capillary bed"; "Your rights stop where you infringe upon
the rights of other"; "My property ends by the bushes"; "The
symphony ends in a pianissimo" [syn: end, stop, finish,
terminate, cease] [ant: begin, start]
3: be the end of; be the last or concluding part of; "This sad
scene ended the movie" [syn: end, terminate]
4: terminate the employment of; discharge from an office or
position; "The boss fired his secretary today"; "The company
terminated 25% of its workers" [syn: displace, fire,
give notice, can, dismiss, give the axe, send away,
sack, force out, give the sack, terminate] [ant:
employ, engage, hire]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
98 Moby Thesaurus words for "terminate":
abandon, abolish, abort, attend, ax, become of, belay, boot out,
bounce, button up, cancel, cap, carry to completion, cashier,
cease, clean up, climax, close, close out, close up, come about,
come of, come out, complete, conclude, crown, culminate,
cut it out, cut off, desist, determine, develop, discharge,
discontinue, dismiss, dissolve, drop, drop it, end, ensue,
eventuate, extinguish, fall out, fare, finalize, finish,
finish off, finish up, fire, follow, get done, get it over,
get through, get through with, give over, halt, have done with,
hold, issue, kick out, knock it off, lay off, leave, leave off,
mop up, pan out, perfect, perorate, prorogate, prorogue, prove,
prove to be, quit, recess, refrain, relinquish, renounce, resign,
resolve, result, rise, round out, sack, scrap, scratch, scrub,
sign off, stay, stop, top off, top out, turn out, ultimate, unfold,
wind down, wind up, work out, wrap up