Home > Antonyms > Antonyms for chain

Antonyms for chain

Grammar : Noun, verb
Spell : cheyn
Phonetic Transcription : tʃeɪn

Definition of chain

Origin :
  • c.1300, from Old French chaeine "chain" (12c., Modern French chaîne), from Latin catena "chain" (source also of Spanish cadena, Italian catena), of unknown origin, perhaps from PIE root *kat- "to twist, twine" (cf. Latin cassis "hunting net, snare").
  • Figurative use from c.1600. As a type of ornament worn about the neck, from late 14c. Chain of stores is American English, 1846. Chain gang is from 1834; chain reaction is from 1916 in physics, specific nuclear physics sense is from 1938; chain mail first recorded 1822, in Scott, from mail (n.2). Before that, mail alone sufficed. Chain letter recorded from 1892; usually to raise money at first; decried from the start as a nuisance.
  • Nine out of every ten givers are reluctant and unwilling, and are coerced into giving through the awful fear of "breaking the chain," so that the spirit of charity is woefully absent. ["St. Nicholas" magazine, vol. XXVI, April 1899]
  • Chain smoker is attested from 1886, originally of Bismarck (who smoked cigars), thus probably a loan-translation of German Kettenraucher. Chain-smoking is from 1930.
  • noun succession, series
  • noun connected metal links; jewelry made of such links
  • verb manacle in metal
Example sentences :
  • Blow it,” he said, taking off the chain, “my mouth is too full of slime.
  • Extract from : « The Armourer's Prentices » by Charlotte M. Yonge
  • It is possible that this is one link in the chain of influence which she was weaving around them.
  • Extract from : « Ester Ried Yet Speaking » by Isabella Alden
  • It must value men as men, not as functions of a chain of conventionalities.
  • Extract from : « The Call of the Twentieth Century » by David Starr Jordan
  • He opened the door an inch and I could see a chain between the crack.
  • Extract from : « The Underdog » by F. Hopkinson Smith
  • The chain and small brooch should be used if the hat pin is of much value.
  • Extract from : « A Woman Tenderfoot » by Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson
  • An ingenious substitute for the chain and whip of the slave-driver.
  • Extract from : « The Devil's Dictionary » by Ambrose Bierce
  • "That's so, you didn't fasten the chain to a stake or a tree," said Owen.
  • Extract from : « With Trapper Jim in the North Woods » by Lawrence J. Leslie
  • But Tito, brought up at the end of a chain, was a poor runner.
  • Extract from : « Johnny Bear » by E. T. Seton
  • Time and absence have but strengthened the chain that binds us.
  • Extract from : « Alice, or The Mysteries, Complete » by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
  • They had wrapped the links of the chain in grass and leaves, so that no clanking was heard.
  • Extract from : « Welsh Fairy Tales » by William Elliott Griffis

Synonyms for chain

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019