4. endowment, gift, talent, genius; faculty, knack, ability, capability; specialty, bailiwick, stock in trade, trademark, forte, strong suit, Sl. bag, SL thing. attiltion, n. 1. friction, rubbing, rubbing against; abrasion, whetting, sanding, pumicing, grinding, filing, chafing, fraying, fretting, corrosion, corroding, gnawing, eating out or away, consumption, consuming, devouring; scraping, scrape, excoriation, grating, rasping; erosion, eroding, wearing, wearing down or away, detrition.
2. debilitation, debilitating, enfeeblement, enfeebling, weakening, enervation, enerving, exhaustion, exhausting; undermining, sapping, harassment, harassing, harrying, badgering, pestering, nagging, hectoring; plaguing, persecution, persecuting, tormenting.
3. decrease, decreasing, reduction, reducing, abatement, diminution, diminishing, lessening; dwindling, shrinking, subsidence, ebbing; waning, decline, lowering. attune, v. harmonize, coordinate, accord, assimilate, homologize; adapt, adjust, fit, tailor, measure, proportion; regulate, set, reconcile, synchronize. auburn, adj. reddish-brown, copper, copper-colored, rust, rust-colored, bronze, bronze-colored, titian, henna, cinnamon; golden-brown, light-brown, russet, chestnut-brown, chestnut.
au courant, French. 1. up-to-date, current, in the swim, enlightened, informed, well-informed, well-posted, in the know, Sl. hip, Sl. with it, Brit. Sl. suss; up on, abreast of.
2. stylish, modish, fashionable, in fashion, in style, in vogue, a la mode, all the rage, Sl. the thing; new, newfashioned, modern, up-to-the-minute, Inf. trendy, Sl. mod. auction, n. public sale, vendue, Scot and North Eng. roup, Chiefly Irish, cant; tag sale, yard sale, garage sale. audacious, adj. 1. bold, venturesome, adventuresome, adventurous; daring, brave, courageous, valiant, valorous, lion-hearted, stout-hearted; fearless, dauntless, intrepid, undaunted, unshrinking, unflinching; stalwart, doughty, mettlesome, plucky, Inf. spunky, hardy; virile, manly, tough, Sl. gutsy, Sl. ballsy.
2. presumptuous, overconfident, impertinent, assuming, insolent, impudent, brazen, brassy, rude; unabashed, shameless, forward, Inf fresh, bumptious, Inf. nervy, Inf. pushy; pert, Archaic, malapert, saucy, Inf. cheeky; rebellious, defiant, self-reliant, strong-willed.
3. foolhardy, rash, temerarious, reckless, desperate, wild; heedless, careless, harebrained, impulsive, hotheaded, madcap, headlong, daredevil, devil-may-care, death-defying, harum-scarum; injudicious, ill-considered, imprudent, indiscreet.
4. original, inventive, imaginative, unconventional, unorthodox; revolutionary, unprecedented, precedent-setting, radical, drastic, extreme; novel, untried, progressive, advanced.
5. lively, spirited, alert, alive, zesty, zestful, vivacious, Inf. zippy, peppy; ardent, fervent, hearty, keen; unrestrained, uninhibited, spontaneous, unconstrained, open, free. audacity, n. 1. boldness, courage, bravery, valor, hardihood, resoluteness, stalwartness; daring, derring-do, venturesomeness, adventurousness, fearlessness, intrepidity; backbone, grit, nerve, mettle, spirit, pluck, Inf. spunk, Inf. starch, Inf. guts; foolhardiness, rashness, temerity, recklessness, desperation; impetuosity, impetuousness, hot-headedness; imprudence, indiscretion, injudiciousness.
2. effrontery, impudence, Inf. cheek, Inf. brass, gall, bumptiousness; forwardness, chutzpah, assertiveness, Inf. pushiness; presumption, presumptuousness, insolence, impertinence; brazenness, brassiness, sauciness, rudeness, SI. mouth, SI. lip; self-importance, front, haughtiness, arrogance.
