BOUNDARY; IMPEDIMENT.

Antonyms:

admittance, opening, road, transit,
entrance, passage, thoroughfare, way.

Prepositions:

A barrier _to_ progress, _against_ invasion; a barrier _between_
nations.

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BATTLE.

Synonyms:

action, combat, encounter, passage of arms,
affair, conflict, engagement, skirmish,
bout, contest, fight, strife.

_Conflict_ is a general word which describes opponents, whether
individuals or hosts, as dashed together. One continuous _conflict_
between entire armies is a _battle_. Another _battle_ may be fought upon
the same field after a considerable interval; or a new _battle_ may
follow immediately, the armies meeting upon a new field. An _action_ is
brief and partial; a _battle_ may last for days. _Engagement_ is a
somewhat formal expression for _battle_; as, it was the commander's
purpose to avoid a general _engagement_. A protracted war, including
many _battles_, may be a stubborn _contest_. _Combat_, originally a
hostile _encounter_ between individuals, is now used also for extensive
_engagements_. A _skirmish_ is between small detachments or scattered
troops. An _encounter_ may be either purposed or accidental, between
individuals or armed forces. _Fight_ is a word of less dignity than
_battle_; we should not ordinarily speak of Waterloo as a _fight_,
unless where the word is used in the sense of fighting; as, I was in the
thick of the _fight_.

Antonyms:

armistice, concord, peace, suspension of hostilities, truce.

Prepositions:

A battle _of_ giants; battle _between_ armies; a battle _for_ life,
_against_ invaders; a battle _to_ the death; the battle _of_ (more
rarely _at_) Marathon.

* * * * *

BEAT.

Synonyms:

bastinado, chastise, overcome, spank, thrash,
batter, conquer, pommel, strike, vanquish,
belabor, cudgel, pound, surpass, whip,
bruise, defeat, scourge, switch, worst.
castigate, flog, smite,

_Strike_ is the word for a single blow; to _beat_ is to _strike_
repeatedly, as a bird _beats_ the air with its wings. Others of the
above words describe the manner of _beating_, as _bastinado_, to _beat_
on the soles of the feet; _belabor_, to inflict a comprehensive and
exhaustive _beating_; _cudgel_, to _beat_ with a stick; _thrash_, as
wheat was _beaten_ out with the old hand-flail; t