Antonyms of verb follow

1 of 24 senses of follow

Sense 1
follow -- (to travel behind, go after, come after; "The ducklings followed their mother around the pond"; "Please follow the guide through the museum")
       Antonym of precede (Sense 4)
      => precede, lead -- (move ahead (of others) in time or space)

Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb follow

24 senses of follow

Sense 1
follow -- (to travel behind, go after, come after; "The ducklings followed their mother around the pond"; "Please follow the guide through the museum")
       => travel, go, move, locomote -- (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast")

Sense 2
postdate, follow -- (be later in time; "Tuesday always follows Monday")

Sense 3
follow, fall out -- (come as a logical consequence; follow logically; "It follows that your assertion is false"; "the theorem falls out nicely")
       => result, ensue -- (issue or terminate (in a specified way, state, etc.); end; "result in tragedy")

Sense 4
follow, travel along -- (travel along a certain course; "follow the road"; "follow the trail")
       => travel, go, move, locomote -- (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast")

Sense 5
comply, follow, abide by -- (act in accordance with someone's rules, commands, or wishes; "He complied with my instructions"; "You must comply or else!"; "Follow these simple rules"; "abide by the rules")
       => obey -- (be obedient to)

Sense 6
follow, come after -- (come after in time, as a result; "A terrible tsunami followed the earthquake")
       => result, ensue -- (issue or terminate (in a specified way, state, etc.); end; "result in tragedy")

Sense 7
follow, conform to -- (behave in accordance or in agreement with; "Follow a pattern"; "Follow my example")
       => imitate, copy, simulate -- (reproduce someone's behavior or looks; "The mime imitated the passers-by"; "Children often copy their parents or older siblings")

Sense 8
follow -- (be next; "Mary plays best, with John and Sue following")
       => be -- (occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere; "Where is my umbrella?" "The toolshed is in the back"; "What is behind this behavior?")

Sense 9
adopt, follow, espouse -- (choose and follow; as of theories, ideas, policies, strategies or plans; "She followed the feminist movement"; "The candidate espouses Republican ideals")
       => choose, take, select, pick out -- (pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives; "Take any one of these cards"; "Choose a good husband for your daughter"; "She selected a pair of shoes from among the dozen the salesgirl had shown her")

Sense 10
follow -- (to bring something about at a later time than; "She followed dinner with a brandy"; "He followed his lecture with a question and answer period")

Sense 11
take after, follow -- (imitate in behavior; take as a model; "Teenagers follow their friends in everything")
       => imitate, copy, simulate -- (reproduce someone's behavior or looks; "The mime imitated the passers-by"; "Children often copy their parents or older siblings")

Sense 12
trace, follow -- (follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something; "We must follow closely the economic development is Cuba" ; "trace the student's progress")
       => analyze, analyse, study, examine, canvass, canvas -- (consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning; "analyze a sonnet by Shakespeare"; "analyze the evidence in a criminal trial"; "analyze your real motives")

Sense 13
watch, observe, follow, watch over, keep an eye on -- (follow with the eyes or the mind; "Keep an eye on the baby, please!"; "The world is watching Sarajevo"; "She followed the men with the binoculars")
       => check, check up on, look into, check out, suss out, check over, go over, check into -- (examine so as to determine accuracy, quality, or condition; "check the brakes"; "Check out the engine")

Sense 14
succeed, come after, follow -- (be the successor (of); "Carter followed Ford"; "Will Charles succeed to the throne?")

Sense 15
play along, accompany, follow -- (perform an accompaniment to; "The orchestra could barely follow the frequent pitch changes of the soprano")
       => play -- (play on an instrument; "The band played all night long")

Sense 16
keep up, keep abreast, follow -- (keep informed; "He kept up on his country's foreign policies")

Sense 17
come, follow -- (to be the product or result; "Melons come from a vine"; "Understanding comes from experience")
       => originate, arise, rise, develop, uprise, spring up, grow -- (come into existence; take on form or shape; "A new religious movement originated in that country"; "a love that sprang up from friendship"; "the idea for the book grew out of a short story"; "An interesting phenomenon uprose")

Sense 18
follow -- (accept and follow the leadership or command or guidance of; "Let's follow our great helmsman!"; "She followed a guru for years")
       => act, behave, do -- (behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself; "You should act like an adult"; "Don't behave like a fool"; "What makes her do this way?"; "The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people")

Sense 19
follow -- (adhere to or practice; "These people still follow the laws of their ancient religion")
       => practice, apply, use -- (avail oneself to; "apply a principle"; "practice a religion"; "use care when going down the stairs"; "use your common sense"; "practice non-violent resistance")

Sense 20
be, follow -- (work in a specific place, with a specific subject, or in a specific function; "He is a herpetologist"; "She is our resident philosopher")

Sense 21
surveil, follow, survey -- (keep under surveillance; "The police had been following him for weeks but they could not prove his involvement in the bombing")

Sense 22
pursue, follow -- (follow in or as if in pursuit; "The police car pursued the suspected attacker"; "Her bad deed followed her and haunted her dreams all her life")
       => travel, go, move, locomote -- (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast")

Sense 23
follow -- (grasp the meaning; "Can you follow her argument?"; "When he lectures, I cannot follow")
       => understand -- (know and comprehend the nature or meaning of; "She did not understand her husband"; "I understand what she means")

Sense 24
stick to, stick with, follow -- (keep to; "Stick to your principles"; "stick to the diet")
       => persevere, persist, hang in, hang on, hold on -- (be persistent, refuse to stop; "he persisted to call me every night"; "The child persisted and kept asking questions")

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