N. action, performance, doing, &c. v, perpetration, exercise, excitation, movement, operation, evolution, work, labor, praxis, execution, procedure, handicraft, business, agency, deed, act, overt act, stitch, touch, gest transaction, job, doings, dealings, proceeding, measure, step, maneuver, bout, passage, move, stroke, blow, coup, coup de main, coup d'etat, tour de force, feat, exploit, achievement, handiwork, workmanship, manufacture, stroke of policy, actor

V. do, perform, execute, achieve, transact, enact, commit, perpetrate, inflict, exercise, prosecute, carry on, work, practice, play, employ oneself, ply one's task, officiate, have in hand, labor, be at work, pursue a course, shape one's course, act, operate, take action, take steps, strike a blow, lift a finger, stretch forth one's hand, take in hand, put oneself in motion, put in practice, carry into execution, act upon, be an actor, take a part in, act a part in, play a part in, perform a part in, participate in, have a hand in, have a finger in the pie, have to do with, be a party to, be a participator in, bear a hand, lend a hand, pull an oar, run in a race, mix oneself up with, be in action, come into operation

Adj. doing, acting, in action, in harness, on duty, in operation

Adv. in the act, in the midst of, in the thick of, red-handed, in flagrante delicto, while one's hand is in

Phr. "action is eloquence", actions speak louder than words, actum aiunt ne agas, "awake, arise, or be forever fall'n", dii pia facta vident, faire sans dire, fare fac, fronte capillata post est occasio calva, "our deeds are sometimes better than our thoughts", "the great end of life is not knowledge but action", "thought is the soul of act", vivre-ce nest pas respirer c'est agir, "we live in deeds not years"

N. severity, strictness, harshness, rigor, stringency, austerity, inclemency, arrogance, precisianism, arbitrary power, absolutism, despotism, dictatorship, autocracy, tyranny, domineering, oppression, assumption, usurpation, inquisition, reign of terror, martial law, iron heel, iron rule, iron hand, iron sway, tight grasp, brute force, brute strength, coercion, strong hand, tight hand, hard lines, hard measure, tender mercies, sharp practice, pipe-clay, officialism, tyrant, disciplinarian, precisian, martinet, stickler, bashaw, despot, hard master, draco, oppressor, inquisitor, extortioner, harpy, vulture, accipitres, birds of prey, raptorials, raptors

V. be -severe, assume, usurp, arrogate, take liberties, domineer, bully, tyrannize, inflict, wreak, stretch a point, put on the screw, be hard upon, bear a heavy hand on, lay a heavy hand on, be down upon, come down upon, ill treat, deal hardly with, deal hard measure to, rule with a rod of iron, chastise with scorpions, dye with blood, oppress, override, trample under foot, tread under foot, tread upon, trample upon, tread down upon, trample down upon, crush under an iron heel, ride roughshod over, rivet the yoke, hold a tight hand, keep a tight hand, force down the throat, coerce, give no quarter

Adj. severe, strict, hard, harsh, dour, rigid, stiff, stern, rigorous, uncompromising, exacting, exigent, exigeant, inexorable, inflexible, obdurate, austere, hard-headed, hard-nosed, hard-shell, relentless, spartan, draconian, stringent, strait-laced, searching, unsparing, iron- handed, peremptory, absolute, positive, arbitrary, imperative, coercive, tyrannical, extortionate, grinding, withering, oppressive, inquisitorial, inclement, cruel, haughty, arrogant, precisian

Adv. severely, with a high hand, with a strong hand, with a tight hand, with a heavy hand, at the point of the sword, at the point of the bayonet

Phr. delirant reges plectuntur achivi, manu forti, ogni debole ha sempre il suo tiranno