Antonyms for take wind out of sails
Grammar : Verb |
Spell : noun wind, Literary wahynd; verb wind |
Phonetic Transcription : noun wɪnd, Literary waɪnd; verb wɪnd |
Definition of take wind out of sails
Origin :- "air in motion," Old English wind, from Proto-Germanic *wendas (cf. Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Middle Dutch, Dutch wind, Old Norse vindr, Old High German wind, German Wind, Gothic winds), from PIE *we-nt-o- "blowing," from root *we- "to blow" (cf. Sanskrit va-, Greek aemi-, Gothic waian, Old English wawan, Old High German wajan, German wehen, Old Church Slavonic vejati "to blow;" Sanskrit vatah, Avestan vata-, Hittite huwantis, Latin ventus, Old Church Slavonic vetru, Lithuanian vejas "wind;" Lithuanian vetra "tempest, storm;" Old Irish feth "air;" Welsh gwynt, Breton gwent "wind").
- Normal pronunciation evolution made this word rhyme with kind and rind (Donne rhymes it with mind), but it shifted to a short vowel 18c., probably from influence of windy, where the short vowel is natural. A sad loss for poets, who now must rhyme it only with sinned and a handful of weak words. Symbolic of emptiness and vanity since late 13c.
- I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind. [Ernest Dowson, 1896]
- Meaning "breath" is attested from late Old English; especially "breath in speaking" (early 14c.), so long-winded, also "easy or regular breathing" (early 14c.), hence second wind in the figurative sense (by 1830), an image from the sport of hunting.
- Figurative phrase which way the wind blows for "the current state of affairs" is suggested from c.1400. To get wind of "receive information about" is by 1809, perhaps inspired by French avoir le vent de. To take the wind out of (one's) sails in the figurative sense (by 1883) is an image from sailing, where a ship without wind can make no progress. Wind-chill index is recorded from 1939. Wind energy from 1976. Wind vane from 1725.
- As in puncture : verb deflate someone's idea, feelings
- As in cross : verb betray, hinder
- As in defeat : verb frustrate
Synonyms for take wind out of sails
- backtalk
- baffle
- balk
- beat down
- beat the system
- blank
- block
- blow sky high
- bollix
- buck
- bury
- cast down
- cause setback
- checkmate
- circumvent
- confound
- contravene
- cook
- counterplot
- crab
- cramp
- crimp
- cross
- deny
- disappoint
- discomfit
- disconcert
- discourage
- discredit
- disillusion
- disprove
- double-cross
- edge out
- explode
- flatten
- flummox
- foil
- foul up
- frustrate
- have bone to pick
- humble
- impede
- interfere
- invalidate
- knock bottom out
- knock props from under
- knock props out
- louse up
- neutralize
- nonplus
- nose out
- nullify
- obstruct
- oppose
- outwit
- overturn
- poke full of holes
- put end to
- puzzle
- quell
- reduce
- refute
- resist
- ruin
- scuttle
- sell
- sell out
- shave
- shellac
- shoot full of holes
- skunk
- snafu
- spoil
- squash
- stab in the back
- stonewall
- stump
- stymie
- subdue
- subjugate
- surmount
- take down a peg
- take on
- take wind out of sails
- throw for loop
- thwart
- undo
- victimize
Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019