1. (v. i.) To separate combatants by intervening.
2. (v. i.) To contend, contest, or altercate, esp. in a pertinacious manner on insufficient grounds.
3. (v. i.) To play fast and loose; to pass from one side to the other; to trim.
4. (v. t.) To separate, as combatants; hence, to quiet, to appease, as disputants.
5. (v. t.) To intervene in; to stop, or put an end to, by intervening; hence, to arbitrate.
6. (v. t. & i.) A shallow rapid in a river; also, the current below a waterfall.
Thesaurus Entries
abrupt, arduous, back down, balance, balk, blench, boggle, contend, contend for, debate, deliberate, demur, die hard, falter, fear, fight for, fight shy of, flinch, gag, hang back, hang off, have qualms, hem and haw, hesitate, hold off, hold out, hover, hum and haw, jib, kick, make bones about, not budge, object, pause, persevere, ponder, precipitate, precipitous, protest, pull back, quail, recoil, retreat, scruple, sheer, shilly-shally, shrink, shy, shy at, sideling, stall, stand out, stand pat, stick, stick at, stickle for, stipulate for, stop to consider, straddle the fence, strain, strain at, strive for, struggle for, stumble, take no denial, think twice about, vie for, waver, wince, withdraw, yield
