based

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /beɪst/
• Rhymes: -eɪst

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: based
• Homophone: baste

Etymology 1

From base +‎ -ed.

Adjective

based (comparative more based, superlative most based)

1. Founded on; having a basis; often used in combining forms.

   That was a soundly based argument.

Hyponyms

founded on; having a basis in

• biobased
• bio-based
• broad-based
• carbon-based
• character-based
• class-based
• coal-based
• computer-based
• computerbased
• e-based
• event-based
• faith-based
• geobased
• holy based
• landbased
• magnetism-based interaction capture
• merit-based
• need-based
• object-based
• paper-based
• plant-based
• prototype-based
• rail-based
• rangebased
• reality-based
• rebased
• role-based
• rule-based
• sea-based
• silicon-based
• spacebased
• space-based
• stack-based
• textbased
• text-based
• tick-based
• tilebased
• time-based
• turn-based
• vegetable-based
• waterbased
• water-based
• webbased
• zero-based

 

Derived terms

• basedness
• case-based reasoning
• competition-based learning
• context-based learning
• design-based learning
• evidence-based
• evidence-based medicine
• holy mother of based
• inquiry-based learning
• model-based design
• model-based testing
• name-based type system
• outbased
• project-based learning
• rules-based order

 

Translations

founded on

• Danish: baseret
• Dutch: gebaseerd (nl), onderbouwd (nl)
• Esperanto: bazita
• Finnish: -pohjainen (fi), -varainen
• German: basiert (de), fundiert (de)
• Greek: βασιζόμενος (el) (vasizómenos), -παγής (-pagís)
• Latin: fundatus
• Macedonian: основан (osnovan)
• Norwegian: basert (no)
• Portuguese: baseado (pt), fundamentado (pt)
• Romanian: bazat (ro)
• Spanish: fundamentado (es), cimentado (es)
• Swedish: baserad (sv)
• Turkish: tabanlı (tr), temelli (tr)

Verb

based

1. simple past and past participle of base
   1. Being derived from (usually followed by on or upon).

      It's a new film based on a best-selling novel.

   2. Having a base.

      The ladder is based on the even sidewalk for stability.

   3. Having a base of operations.

      The company is based in New York.

Etymology 2

A reference to freebase cocaine, via basehead. Coined by American rapper from California Lil B to describe his lifestyle.

Adjective

based (comparative more based, superlative most based)

1. (slang, of a person) Not caring what others think about one's personality, style, or behavior; focused on maintaining individuality.

   Synonym: maverick

   • 2010 June 10, Lil B, Complex.com‎^[1]:

     Based means being yourself. Not being scared of what people think about you. Not being afraid to do what you wanna do. Being positive. […] Based is positive.

   • 2012 April 12, Duncan Cooper, “Based Scripture: The Full Transcript of Lil B’s Lecture at NYU”, in The Fader:

     You have to work as a human with empathy and love in your heart, staying positive and staying based and staying normal.

2. (Internet slang, sometimes humorous) Admirable; praiseworthy, especially if the thing that is considered "praiseworthy" is unpopular or controversial.
   • 2023 August 9, human1011, Hot Takes on Languages! #linguistics:

     I hate l'Académie Française, but their spelling reforms are kind of based.

   • 2024 June 7, Eric Parker, Connecting North Korea's Windows XP Clone to the Internet:

     I officially approve of North Korea. This is... this is incredibly based.

   Antonyms: cringe, unbased

   OP is based as hell

   1. (Internet slang, originally 4chan) Admirable for rejecting political correctness or socially progressive values.

      Synonym: unwoke

      based and redpilled

      My last account got banned for being too based.

      • 2019, Kira Stalker, "The Fracturing of the Alt Right: Conflicting Online Discourses Of White Nationalist Communities", thesis submitted to George Mason University, page 139:

        Those who are against Trump are not based at all. On February 16th, The Donald users comment on a “based” post in r/DankMemes which uses a classic Squidward sleeping meme to criticize those who are upset by Chris Pratt going to “church” (one which was purportedly anti-LGBT) but “ok” with sex predators in Hollywood: […]

      • 2019, anonymous, quoted in Cathrine Thorleifsson, "From cyberfascism to terrorism: On 4chan/pol/ culture and the transnational production of memetic violence", Nations and Nationalism, Volume 28, Issue 1, page 293:

        His [Brenton Tarrant's] meme-themed shooting greatly represents the spirit of the aussie people, in the sense of shitposting until their last moment, based and redpilled he is.

      • 2020, David Rubin, Don't Burn This Book: Thinking for Yourself in an Age of Unreason, unnumbered page:

        Then, in the same month, noted feminist Christina Hoff Sommers was branded “white supremacy-adjacent” by feminist Roxane Gay. Her reasoning? That our beloved “Based Mom” once appeared at an event with Milo Yiannopoulos and didn't disavow him enough.

Usage notes

• The term is formerly associated primarily with the alt right, but is currently used colloquially by non-alt right individuals, mostly without any political implications, although it might have political implications for certain individuals.

Translations

not caring what others think about oneself

• Bulgarian: базиран (bg) (baziran), бейсд (bejsd), основан (bg) (osnovan)
• Catalan: basat (ca)
• Dutch: gebaseerd (nl)
• Finnish: peisetti (fi)
• French: basé (fr)
• Galician: baseado
• Hungarian: bázisolt
• Italian: basato (it)
• Macedonian: базиран (baziran), заснован (zasnovan), затемелен (zatemelen)
• Polish: baza (pl) (online slang)
• Portuguese: baseado (pt)
• Russian: ба́за (ru) (báza) (online slang)
• Serbo-Croatian: bazirano (sh), utemeljeno (sh), zasnovano
• Spanish: basado (es)
• Swedish: baserad (sv) (humorous)
• Turkish: bazlı (tr)
• Welsh: bêsd (online slang)

(Internet slang) admirable, praiseworthy

• Ancient Greek: ἀρετή (aretḗ)
• Bulgarian: базиран (bg) (baziran), бейсд (bejsd)
• German: basiert (de)
• Hebrew: מבוסס
• Italian: basato (it)
• Portuguese: baseado (pt), based
• Romanian: bazat (ro) m
• Spanish: basado (es)
• Turkish: bazlı (tr)

Interjection

based

1. (Internet slang, sometimes humorous) Indicating emphatic approval of a statement or opinion, often a controversial or unpopular one.

   —There is no ethics in communism—Based.

Translations

Indicating emphatic approval of a statement or opinion

• Hebrew: מבוסס
• Spanish: basado (es)

Anagrams

• adebs, dBASE, beads, Abeds, Bedas