Synonyms for base

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modified

low, ignoble, sordid; see mean 1, vulgar 1. See syn. study at mean.

noun

A point from which action is initiated
home, headquarters, camp, post, station, home base, base of operations, base camp, starting point, point of departure, field, landing field, strip, airport, airfield, airstrip, hangar, port, terminal, garrison, billet, center, depot, supply base, dock, harbor, anchorage, seat, base line.
The principal or basic ingredient
chief constituent, core, essence, filler; see essence 1.
The bottom, thought of as a support
foundation, support, bottom, pedestal, stand, bed, rest, foot, root, trunk, footing; see also foundation 2.
Foundation of a belief or statement
basis, groundwork, underpinning, principle, authority; see also basis 1.
A goal, especially in baseball
mark, bound, station, plate, post, goal, first base, first, second base, second, keystone*, third base, third, hot corner*, home plate, platter*, corner*, bag*, sack*.

base, as compared here, refers to a part or thing at the bottom acting as a support or underlying structure the base of a lamp; basis, conveying the same idea, is the term preferred for nonphysical things the basis of a theory; foundation stresses solidity in the underlying or supporting thing and often suggests permanence and stability in that which is built on it the foundation of a house; groundwork, closely synonymous with foundation, is principally applied to nonphysical things the groundwork of a good education

off base*

erring, mistaken, incorrect; see mistaken 1, wrong 2.

See base in Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus II

adjective

Having or proceeding from low moral standards:
ignoble, low, low-down, mean², sordid, squalid, vile. See right
Of decidedly inferior quality:
cheap, lousy, miserable, paltry, poor, rotten, shoddy, sleazy, trashy. (Informal) cheesy. (Slang) crummy, schlocky. See good
(Archaic)
Lacking high station or birth:
baseborn, common, dÃ©classÃ©, declassed, humble, ignoble, lowly, mean², plebeian, unwashed, vulgar. See over

noun

The lowest or supporting part or structure:
basis, bed, bottom, foot, footing, foundation, fundament, ground, groundwork, seat, substratum, underpinning (often used in plural). See over
That on which something immaterial, such as an argument or a charge, rests:
basis, footing, foundation, fundament, ground (often used in plural), groundwork, underpinning (often used in plural). See over
A fundamental principle or underlying concept:
basis, cornerstone, foundation, fundament, fundamental, root¹, rudiment (often used in plural). See over
A center of organization, supply, or activity:
complex, headquarters, station. (Military) installation. See place
The main part of a word to which affixes are attached:
root¹, stem, theme. See words

verb

To provide a basis for:

build, establish, found, ground, predicate, rest¹, root¹, underpin. See over

See base in American Heritage Dictionary 4 Synonyms

base ¹basis foundation ground ¹groundwork

These nouns all pertain to what underlies and supports. Base is applied chiefly to material objects: the wide base of the pyramid.
Basis is used in a nonphysical sense: “Healthy scepticism is the basis of all accurate observation” (Arthur Conan Doyle).
Foundation often stresses firmness of support for something of relative magnitude: “Our flagrant disregard for the law attacks the foundation of this society” (Peter D. Relic).
Ground is used figuratively in the plural to mean a justifiable reason: grounds for divorce.
Groundwork usually has the sense of a necessary preliminary: “It [the Universal Declaration of Human Rights] has laid the groundwork for the world's war crimes tribunals” (Hillary Rodham Clinton).

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