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discharge

To discharge is to fire a gun or an employee, or to set someone free from a hospital or jail. You'd probably like being discharged from jail, but not from your job, unless you really hate it.

As a verb, discharge is “to release,” and as a noun, it refers to the act of or setting free. You'd be discharged from the hospital once the discharge from your wound has stopped. Ew. The writer Ambrose Bierce jokingly defined emotion as "a prostrating disease caused by a determination of the heart to the head. It is sometimes accompanied by a copious discharge of hydrated chloride of sodium from the eyes.” Wouldn't want to cry in front of that guy!

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: discharge

1	v n	remove the charge from the sudden giving off of energy
2	v n	pour forth or release any of several bodily processes by which substances go out of the body
3	v n	free from obligations or duties a formal written statement of relinquishment
4	v	complete or carry out

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: discharge

v remove the charge from

Antonyms:: charge
fill or load to capacity; charge
saturate; show more antonyms...

Type of:: remove, take, take away, withdraw
remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract

v leave or unload

Synonyms:: drop, drop off, put down, set down, unload

Types:: wharf
discharge at a wharf; air-drop
drop (an object) from the air; unload from a plane or helicopter

Type of:: deliver
bring to a destination, make a delivery

v go off or discharge

Synonyms:: fire, go off

v cause to go off

Synonyms:: fire

Types:: show 10 types...; hide 10 types...; pop
fire a weapon with a loud explosive noise; let drive, let fly, loose off
fire as from a gun; blast, shoot
fire a shot; fusillade
attack with fusillade; blaze, blaze away
shoot rapidly and repeatedly; overshoot
shoot beyond or over (a target); sharpshoot, snipe
aim and shoot with great precision; fire, open fire
start firing a weapon; gun
shoot with a gun; pump
deliver forth

n the sudden giving off of energy

Types:: show 14 types...; hide 14 types...; electrical discharge
a discharge of electricity; blowup, detonation, explosion
a violent release of energy caused by a chemical or nuclear reaction; eruption, volcanic eruption
the sudden occurrence of a violent discharge of steam and volcanic material; impulse, nerve impulse, nervous impulse, neural impulse
the electrical discharge that travels along a nerve fiber; spike
a transient variation in voltage or current; Plinian eruption
a volcanic eruption in which a stream of gas and ash is violently ejected to a height of several miles; airburst
an explosion in the atmosphere; blast
an explosion (as of dynamite); backfire
a loud noise made by the explosion of fuel in the manifold or exhaust of an internal combustion engine; big bang
(cosmology) the cosmic explosion that is hypothesized to have marked the origin of the universe; backfire, blowback
the backward escape of gases and unburned gunpowder after a gun is fired; fragmentation
the scattering of bomb fragments after the bomb explodes; inflation
(cosmology) a brief exponential expansion of the universe (faster than the speed of light) postulated to have occurred shortly after the big bang; atmospheric electricity
electrical discharges in the atmosphere

Type of:: happening, natural event, occurrence, occurrent
an event that happens

n electrical conduction through a gas in an applied electric field

Synonyms:: arc, electric arc, electric discharge, spark

Types:: brush discharge
discharge between electrodes creating visible streamers of ionized particles; Saint Elmo's fire, Saint Elmo's light, Saint Ulmo's fire, Saint Ulmo's light, St. Elmo's fire, corona, corona discharge, corposant, electric glow
an electrical discharge accompanied by ionization of surrounding atmosphere; flashover
an unintended electric discharge (as over or around an insulator)

Type of:: electrical conduction
the passage of electricity through a conductor

n the act of discharging a gun

Synonyms:: firing, firing off

Types:: gun
the discharge of a firearm as signal or as a salute in military ceremonies

Type of:: shooting, shot
the act of firing a projectile

v pour forth or release

“discharge liquids”

Types:: show 12 types...; hide 12 types...; eject, force out, squeeze out, squirt
cause to come out in a squirt; disperse, dot, dust, scatter, sprinkle
distribute loosely; play
discharge or direct or be discharged or directed as if in a continuous stream; volley
discharge in, or as if in, a volley; spritz
eject (a liquid) quickly; spray
scatter in a mass or jet of droplets; spray
be discharged in sprays of liquid; plash, spatter, splash, splatter, splosh, swash
dash a liquid upon or against; splash, splosh, sprinkle
cause (a liquid) to spatter about, especially with force; extravasate
force out or cause to escape from a proper vessel or channel; bespangle
dot or sprinkle with sparkling or glittering objects; aerosolise, aerosolize
disperse as an aerosol

Type of:: distribute, spread
distribute or disperse widely

v eliminate (a substance)

Synonyms:: eject, exhaust, expel, release

Types:: show 27 types...; hide 27 types...; cough out, cough up, expectorate, spit out, spit up
discharge (phlegm or sputum) from the lungs and out of the mouth; blow
free of obstruction by blowing air through; ejaculate
eject semen; abort
terminate a pregnancy by undergoing an abortion; ovulate
produce and discharge eggs; egest, eliminate, excrete, pass
eliminate from the body; bleed, hemorrhage, shed blood
lose blood from one's body; eruct, spew, spew out
eject or send out in large quantities, also metaphorical; fester, maturate, suppurate
ripen and generate pus; breathe, emit, pass off
expel (gases or odors); belch, bubble, burp, eruct
expel gas from the stomach; force out
emit or cause to move with force of effort; emanate, exhale, give forth
give out (breath or an odor); cough
exhale abruptly, as when one has a chest cold or congestion; miscarry
suffer a miscarriage; flow, menstruate
undergo menstruation; perspire, sudate, sweat
excrete perspiration through the pores in the skin; exudate, exude, ooze, ooze out, transude
release (a liquid) in drops or small quantities; make, make water, micturate, pass water, pee, pee-pee, piddle, piss, puddle, relieve oneself, spend a penny, take a leak, urinate, wee, wee-wee
eliminate urine; urinate
pass after the manner of urine; empty, evacuate, void
excrete or discharge from the body; ca-ca, crap, defecate, make, shit, stool, take a crap, take a shit
have a bowel movement; barf, be sick, cast, cat, chuck, disgorge, honk, puke, purge, regorge, regurgitate, retch, sick, spew, spue, throw up, upchuck, vomit, vomit up
eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth; ptyalise, ptyalize, spew, spit, spue
expel or eject (saliva or phlegm or sputum) from the mouth; spit out, splutter, sputter
spit up in an explosive manner; radiate
send out real or metaphoric rays; bubble
form, produce, or emit bubbles

v become empty or void of its content

Synonyms:: empty

Antonyms:: fill, fill up
become full

Types:: flow away, flow off
flow off or away gradually

Type of:: change state, turn
undergo a transformation or a change of position or action

n any of several bodily processes by which substances go out of the body

“the discharge of pus”

Synonyms:: emission, expelling

Types:: show 10 types...; hide 10 types...; ejaculation
the discharge of semen in males; elimination, evacuation, excreting, excretion, voiding
the bodily process of discharging waste matter; catamenia, flow, menses, menstruation, menstruum, period
the monthly discharge of blood from the uterus of nonpregnant women from puberty to menopause; defecation, laxation, shitting
the elimination of fecal waste through the anus; incontinence, incontinency
involuntary urination or defecation; hypermenorrhea, menorrhagia
abnormally heavy or prolonged menstruation; can be a symptom of uterine tumors and can lead to anemia if prolonged; micturition, urination
the discharge of urine; nocturnal emission
ejaculation during sleep (usually during a dream); oligomenorrhea
abnormally light or infrequent menstruation; premature ejaculation
ejaculation during the early stages of sexual excitement or soon after the insertion of the penis into the vagina

Type of:: activity, bodily function, bodily process, body process
an organic process that takes place in the body

n a substance that is emitted or released

Synonyms:: emission

Types:: show 7 types...; hide 7 types...; exudate, exudation
a substance that oozes out from plant pores; transudate, transudation
a substance that transudes; effluvium
a foul-smelling outflow or vapor (especially a gaseous waste); rheum
a watery discharge from the mucous membranes (especially from the eyes or nose); vaginal discharge
discharge of secretions from the cervical glands of the vagina; normally clear or white; gum
any of various substances (soluble in water) that exude from certain plants; they are gelatinous when moist but harden on drying; latex
a milky exudate from certain plants that coagulates on exposure to air

Type of:: material, stuff
the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object

n the pouring forth of a fluid

Synonyms:: outpouring, run

Types:: show 4 types...; hide 4 types...; jet, spirt, spurt, squirt
the occurrence of a sudden discharge (as of liquid); escape, leak, leakage, outflow
the discharge of a fluid from some container; spray
a jet of vapor; spritz
a quick squirt of some liquid (usually carbonated water)

Type of:: flow, flowing
the motion characteristic of fluids (liquids or gases)

n the act of venting

Synonyms:: venting

Type of:: emanation, emission
the act of emitting; causing to flow forth

v free from obligations or duties

Synonyms:: free

Types:: show 13 types...; hide 13 types...; disinvest, divest
deprive of status or authority; relieve, take over
free someone temporarily from his or her obligations; cut
discharge from a group; clear
free from payment of customs duties, as of a shipment; cashier
discharge with dishonor, as in the army; liberate, set free
grant freedom to; disembroil, disentangle, disinvolve
free from involvement or entanglement; dethrone
remove a monarch from the throne; spell
relieve (someone) from work by taking a turn; defrock, unfrock
divest of the frock; of church officials; affranchise, enfranchise
grant freedom to; as from slavery or servitude; emancipate, manumit
free from slavery or servitude; decolonise, decolonize
grant independence to (a former colony)

v pronounce not guilty of criminal charges

Synonyms:: acquit, assoil, clear, exculpate, exonerate

Antonyms:: convict
find or declare guilty

Types:: vindicate
clear of accusation, blame, suspicion, or doubt with supporting proof; whitewash
exonerate by means of a perfunctory investigation or through biased presentation of data; purge
clear of a charge

Type of:: judge, label, pronounce
pronounce judgment on

v release from military service

Synonyms:: muster out

Antonyms:: draft, enlist, muster in
engage somebody to enter the army

Types:: show 4 types...; hide 4 types...; deactivate
remove from active military status or reassign; demob, demobilise, demobilize
retire from military service; demobilise, demobilize, inactivate
release from military service or remove from the active list of military service; cannon
fire a cannon

Type of:: let go, let go of, release, relinquish
release, as from one's grip

n a formal written statement of relinquishment

Synonyms:: release, waiver

Types:: show 5 types...; hide 5 types...; exemption, granting immunity, immunity
an act exempting someone; fix
an exemption granted after influence (e.g., money) is brought to bear; official immunity
personal immunity accorded to a public official from liability to anyone injured by actions that are the consequence of exerting official authority; sovereign immunity
an exemption that precludes bringing a suit against the sovereign government without the government's consent; testimonial immunity, use immunity
an exemption that displaces the privilege against self-incrimination; neither compelled testimony or any fruits of it can be used against the witness who therefore can no longer fear self-incrimination

Type of:: relinquishing, relinquishment
the act of giving up and abandoning a struggle or task etc.

n the termination of someone's employment (leaving them free to depart)

Synonyms:: dismissal, dismission, firing, liberation, release, sack, sacking

Types:: show 8 types...; hide 8 types...; superannuation
the act of discharging someone because of age (especially to cause someone to retire from service on a pension); conge, congee
an abrupt and unceremonious dismissal; removal
dismissal from office; deactivation, inactivation
breaking up a military unit (by transfers or discharges); honorable discharge
a discharge from the armed forces with a commendable record; dishonorable discharge
a discharge from the armed forces for a grave offense (as sabotage or espionage or cowardice or murder); Section Eight
a discharge from the US Army based on unfitness or character traits deemed undesirable; purge
an abrupt or sudden removal of a person or group from an organization or place

Type of:: conclusion, ending, termination
the act of ending something

v complete or carry out

“discharge one's duties”

Synonyms:: complete, dispatch

Type of:: accomplish, action, carry out, carry through, execute, fulfil, fulfill
put in effect

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