Antonyms for have it in for
Grammar : Adj, verb |
Spell : hav; unstressed huhv, uhv; for 26 usually haf |
Phonetic Transcription : hæv; unstressed həv, əv; for 26 usually hæf |
Definition of have it in for
Origin :- Old English habban "to own, possess; be subject to, experience," from Proto-Germanic *haben- (cf. Old Norse hafa, Old Saxon hebbjan, Old Frisian habba, German haben, Gothic haban "to have"), from PIE *kap- "to grasp" (see capable). Not related to Latin habere, despite similarity in form and sense; the Latin cognate is capere "seize." Old English second person singular present hæfst, third person singular present hæfð became Middle English hast, hath, while Old English -bb- became -v- in have. The past participle had developed from Old English gehæfd.
- Sense of "possess, have at one's disposal" (I have a book) is a shift from older languages, where the thing possessed was made the subject and the possessor took the dative case (e.g. Latin est mihi liber "I have a book," literally "there is to me a book"). Used as an auxiliary in Old English, too (especially to form present perfect tense); the word has taken on more functions over time; Modern English he had better would have been Old English him (dative) wære betere. To have to for "must" (1570s) is from sense of "possess as a duty or thing to be done" (Old English). Phrase have a nice day as a salutation after a commercial transaction attested by 1970, American English. Phrase have (noun), will (verb) is from 1954, originally from comedian Bob Hope, in the form Have tux, will travel; Hope described this as typical of vaudevillians' ads in "Variety," indicating a willingness to perform anywhere, any time.
- As in belligerent : adj nasty, argumentative
- As in scrappy : adj belligerent
- As in victimize : verb cheat, fool
Synonyms for have it in for
- aggressive
- antagonistic
- ardent
- at loggerheads
- bamboozle
- battling
- bellicose
- burn
- cantankerous
- chisel
- clip
- combative
- con
- contentious
- cozen
- deceive
- defraud
- discriminate against
- dupe
- exploit
- fierce
- fighting
- fleece
- flimflam
- flip
- gull
- have a bone to pick
- have chip on shoulder
- have it in for
- hoax
- hoodwink
- hostile
- hot
- hot-tempered
- immolate
- mean
- militant
- on the outs
- ornery
- persecute
- pick on
- pigeon
- prey on
- pugnacious
- quarrelsome
- rope in
- scrappy
- screw
- set up
- snow
- stack the deck
- stiff
- sting
- sucker
- swindle
- take advantage of
- trick
- truculent
- use
- warlike
Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019