From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
near
adv 1: near in time or place or relationship; "as the wedding
day drew near"; "stood near the door"; "don't shoot until
they come near"; "getting near to the true explanation";
"her mother is always near"; "The end draws nigh"; "the
bullet didn't come close"; "don't get too close to the
fire" [syn: near, nigh, close]
2: (of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite
accomplished; all but; "the job is (just) about done"; "the
baby was almost asleep when the alarm sounded"; "we're almost
finished"; "the car all but ran her down"; "he nearly
fainted"; "talked for nigh onto 2 hours"; "the recording is
well-nigh perfect"; "virtually all the parties signed the
contract"; "I was near exhausted by the run"; "most everyone
agrees" [syn: about, almost, most, nearly, near,
nigh, virtually, well-nigh]
adj 1: not far distant in time or space or degree or
circumstances; "near neighbors"; "in the near future";
"they are near equals"; "his nearest approach to
success"; "a very near thing"; "a near hit by the bomb";
"she was near tears"; "she was close to tears"; "had a
close call" [syn: near, close, nigh] [ant: far]
2: being on the left side; "the near or nigh horse is the one on
the left"; "the animal's left side is its near or nigh side"
[syn: near(a), nigh(a)]
3: closely resembling the genuine article; "near beer"; "a dress
of near satin"
4: giving or spending with reluctance; "our cheeseparing
administration"; "very close (or near) with his money"; "a
penny-pinching miserly old man" [syn: cheeseparing,
close, near, penny-pinching, skinny]
5: with or in a close or intimate relationship; "a good friend";
"my sisters and brothers are near and dear" [syn: dear,
good, near]
6: very close in resemblance; "sketched in an approximate
likeness"; "a near likeness" [syn: approximate, near]
v 1: move towards; "We were approaching our destination"; "They
are drawing near"; "The enemy army came nearer and nearer"
[syn: approach, near, come on, go up, draw near,
draw close, come near]