set 2
jettison |ˈdʒɛtɪs(ə)n, -z(ə)n|
verb [ with obj. ]
throw or drop (something) from an aircraft or ship: six
aircraft jettisoned their loads in the sea.
• abandon or discard (someone or something that is no
longer wanted): the scheme was jettisoned.
noun [ mass noun ]
the action of jettisoning something. [ as modifier ] : the
jettison lever.
ORIGIN late Middle English (as a noun denoting the
throwing of goods overboard to lighten a ship in distress):
from Old French getaison, from Latin jactatio(n-), from
jactare ‘to throw’ (see jet 1 ). The verb dates from the mid
19th cent.
Thesaurus
jettison
verb
1 six aircraft jettisoned their loads into the sea: dump, drop,
ditch, discharge, eject, throw out, empty out, pour out, tip
1t
out, unload, throw overboard, throw over the side.
ANTONYMS load.
2 he sorted out his desk, jettisoning unwanted papers | the
scheme was jettisoned: discard, dispose of, throw away,
throw out, get rid of, toss out; reject, scrap, dispense with,
cast aside/off, abandon, relinquish, drop, have done with,
shed, slough off, shrug off, throw on the scrapheap;
informal chuck (away/out), fling, dump, ditch, axe, bin,
junk, get shut of; Brit. informal get shot of; N. Amer.
informal trash. ANTONYMS keep, retain.
ameliorate |əˈmiːlɪəreɪt|
verb [ with obj. ] formal
make (something bad or unsatisfactory) better: the reform
did much to ameliorate living standards.
improve;
DERIVATIVES
ameliorative adjective
ORIGIN mid 18th cent.: alteration of meliorate, influenced
by French améliorer, from meilleur ‘better’.
2t
improve
verb
1 staff looked for ways to improve the service: make better, better,
ameliorate, upgrade, refine, enhance, boost, build on, help, raise,
revamp, brush up, polish up, perk up, tweak; informal give a
facelift to; rare meliorate. ANTONYMS worsen, impair.
2 communications improved during the 18th century: get better, become
better, advance, progress, develop; make headway, come along,
make progress, take steps forward, pick up, rally, perk up, make
strides; informal look up. ANTONYMS worsen, deteriorate.
3 the dose is not repeated for as long as the patient continues to improve:
recover, get better, get well, recuperate, convalesce, gain strength,
rally, revive, strengthen, regain one's strength/health, get back on
one's feet, get over something; be on the road to recovery, be on
the mend; informal turn the corner, take a turn for the better, take
on a new lease of life; Brit. informal be on the up and up.
ANTONYMS deteriorate, become ill.
4 resources are needed to improve the offer: increase, make larger, make
bigger, raise, put up, add to, augment, supplement, top up,
enlarge; informal up, jack up, hike up, bump up, crank up, step up.
ANTONYMS decrease.
3t
PHRASES
improve on I cannot improve on his comments: surpass, better, do
better than, outdo, exceed, beat, top, trump, cap, outstrip,
overshadow, go one better than.
grotesque |gr!(ʊ)ˈtɛsk|
adjective
comically or repulsively ugly or distorted: a figure wearing a grotesque
mask.
• incongruous or inappropriate to a shocking degree: a lifestyle of
grotesque luxury.
noun
1 a very ugly or comically distorted figure or image: the rods are
carved in the form of a series of gargoyle faces and grotesques.
• [ mass noun ] a style of decorative painting or sculpture
consisting of the interweaving of human and animal forms with
flowers and foliage.
2 [ mass noun ] Printing a family of 19th-century sans serif
typefaces.
DERIVATIVES
grotesquely adverb,
grotesqueness noun
ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (as noun): from French crotesque (the
earliest form in English), from Italian grottesca, from opera or
pittura grottesca ‘work or painting resembling that found in
a grotto’; ‘grotto’ here probably denoted the rooms of ancient
4t
buildings in Rome which had been revealed by excavations, and
which contained murals in the grotesque style.
grotesque
adjective
1 a grotesque creature with a flattened body and a squashed head:
malformed, deformed, misshapen, misproportioned, distorted,
twisted, gnarled, mangled, mutilated; ugly, unsightly, monstrous,
hideous; freakish, unnatural, abnormal, bizarre, outlandish,
strange, odd, peculiar; fantastic, fanciful, whimsical; informal
weird, freaky, fugly; Brit. informal rum. ANTONYMS ordinary,
normal.
2 stories of grotesque mismanagement and wasting of money: outrageous,
monstrous, shocking, astonishing, preposterous, ridiculous,
ludicrous, farcical, unbelievable, unthinkable, incredible; informal
crazy.
5t
devious |ˈdiːvɪ!s|
adjective
1 showing a skilful use of underhand tactics to achieve goals: he's as
devious as a politician needs to be | they have devious ways of making money.
2 (of a route or journey) longer and less direct than the most
straightforward way. they arrived at the town by a devious route.
DERIVATIVES
deviously adverb,
deviousness noun
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from Latin devius (from de- ‘away
from’ + via ‘way’) + -ous. The original sense was ‘remote’; the
later sense ‘departing from the direct route’ gave rise to the
figurative sense ‘deviating from the straight way’ and hence ‘skilled
in underhand tactics’.
devious
adjective
1 he exposed the many devious ways in which governments bent the rules in
their favour: underhand, underhanded, deceitful, dishonest,
dishonourable, disreputable, unethical, unprincipled, immoral,
unscrupulous, fraudulent, cheating, dubious, dirty, unfair,
treacherous, duplicitous, double-dealing, Janus-faced, below the
belt, two-timing, two-faced, unsporting, unsportsmanlike; crafty,
cunning, calculating, artful, conniving, scheming, designing, sly,
wily, guileful, tricky; sneaky, sneaking, furtive, secret, secretive,
6t
clandestine, surreptitious, covert, veiled, shrouded, cloak-and-
dagger, hugger-mugger, hole-and-corner, hidden, back-alley,
backstairs, under the table, conspiratorial; N. Amer. snide, snidey;
informal crooked, shady, bent, low-down, murky, fishy; Brit.
informal dodgy; Austral./NZ informal shonky; S. African informal
slim. ANTONYMS above board.
2 the A832 is a devious route around the coastal fringes: circuitous,
roundabout, indirect, meandering, winding, serpentine, tortuous,
rambling; rare anfractuous. ANTONYMS direct.
evanescent |iːv!ˈnɛs(!)nt, ɛv-|
adjective
1 chiefly literary soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence;
quickly fading or disappearing: the evanescent Arctic summer.
2 Physics denoting a field or wave which extends into a region
where it cannot propagate and whose amplitude therefore
decreases with distance.
DERIVATIVES
evanescence noun,
evanescently adverb
ORIGIN early 18th cent. (in the sense ‘almost imperceptible’):
from Latin evanescent- ‘disappearing’, from the verb
evanescere (see evanesce) .
7t
evanescent
adjective
1 they were operating on an evanescent budget: vanishing, fading,
evaporating, melting away, disappearing, diminishing, dwindling,
shrinking, fugitive; rare fugacious. ANTONYMS unlimited.
2 this has only an evanescent effect on the rate of inflation: ephemeral,
fleeting, short-lived, short-term, passing, transitory, transient,
fugitive, momentary, temporary, brief, here today and gone
tomorrow; rare fugacious. ANTONYMS permanent.
SYNONYMS
debacle |deɪˈbɑːk(!)l|
noun
a sudden and ignominious failure; a fiasco. the only man to reach
double figures in the second-innings debacle.
ORIGIN early 19th cent. (in sense ‘the breaking up of ice in a
river’): from French débâcle, from débâcler ‘unleash’, from dé-
‘un-’ + bâcler ‘to bar’ (from Latin baculum ‘staff’).
debacle, débâcle
8t
noun
the coup attempt resulted in an embarrassing debacle: fiasco, failure,
catastrophe, disaster, disintegration, mess, wreck, ruin; downfall,
collapse, defeat, rout, overthrow, conquest, trouncing; informal
foul-up, screw-up, hash, botch, washout, fail; Brit. informal cock-
up, pig's ear; N. Amer. informal snafu; vulgar slang fuck-up, balls-
up.
ostracize |ˈɒstr!sʌɪz| (also ostracise)
verb
1 [ with obj. ] exclude from a society or group: she was declared a
witch and ostracized by the villagers.
2 (in ancient Greece) banish (an unpopular or overly powerful
citizen) from a city for five or ten years by popular vote. Themistocles
was indeed out of favour at Athens by the end of the 470s, when he was
ostracized.
ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Greek ostrakizein, from
ostrakon ‘shell or potsherd’ (on which names were written in
voting to banish unpopular citizens).
ostracize
verb
individuals who took such action risked being ostracized by their fellow
workers: exclude, shun, spurn, cold-shoulder, give someone the cold
shoulder, reject, repudiate, boycott, blackball, blacklist, cast off,
9t
cast out, shut out, avoid, ignore, snub, cut dead, keep at arm's
length, leave out in the cold, bar, ban, debar, banish, exile, expel;
Brit. send to Coventry; N. Amer. disfellowship; informal freeze
out, hand someone the frozen mitt; Brit. informal blank; dated
cut; Christianity excommunicate. ANTONYMS welcome, accept,
befriend, include.
prophylactic |ˌprɒfɪˈlaktɪk|
adjective
intended to prevent disease: prophylactic measures.
noun
1 a medicine or course of action used to prevent disease: I took
malaria prophylactics.
2 N. Amer.a condom.
DERIVATIVES
prophylactically adverb
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from French prophylactique, from
Greek prophulaktikos, from pro ‘before’ + phulassein ‘to
guard’.
prophylactic
adjective
10t
prophylactic measures should be taken: preventive, preventative,
precautionary, protective, disease-preventing, pre-emptive,
counteractive, preclusive, anticipatory, inhibitory, deterrent.
noun
1 vaccination remains one of the greatest prophylactics the world has ever
known: preventive measure, precaution, safeguard, safety measure;
preventive medicine.
2 N. Amer. a packet of prophylactics: condom, sheath; female
condom; Brit. trademark Durex, Femidom; informal Frenchy;
Brit. informal johnny, something for the weekend; N. Amer.
informal rubber, safe, safety, skin; Brit. informal, dated French
letter; dated protective.
coddle |ˈkɒd(!)l|
verb [ with obj. ]
1 treat (someone) in an indulgent or overprotective way: I was
coddled and cosseted.
2 cook (an egg) in water below boiling point. you may have your eggs
scrambled, poached, coddled, or boiled.
DERIVATIVES
coddler noun
ORIGIN late 16th cent. (in the sense ‘boil (fruit) gently’): origin
uncertain; sense 1 is probably a dialect variant of obsolete
11t
caudle‘administer invalids' gruel’, based on Latin caldum ‘hot
drink’, from calidus ‘warm’.
coddle
verb
don't coddle repeat offenders—some of them prefer jail: pamper, cosset,
mollycoddle, wait on someone hand and foot, cater to someone's
every whim; spoil, indulge, overindulge, humour, pander to;
spoon-feed, feather-bed, wrap in cotton wool, overparent; pet,
baby, mother, nanny; archaic cocker. ANTONYMS neglect, treat
harshly, be strict with.
flimsy |ˈflɪmzi|
adjective (flimsier, flimsiest)
insubstantial and easily damaged: a flimsy barrier.
• (of clothing) very light and thin: the flimsy garment fell from her.
• (of a pretext or account) weak and unconvincing: a pretty flimsy
excuse.
noun (pl.flimsies) Brit.
a document, especially a copy, made on very thin paper: credit-card
flimsies.
• [ mass noun ] very thin paper: sheets of yellow flimsy.
12t
DERIVATIVES
flimsily adverb,
flimsiness noun
ORIGIN early 18th cent.: probably from flimflam.
13t
flimsy
adjective
1 a succession of great waves had carried away all the flimsy wooden
buildings: insubstantial, slight, light, fragile, breakable, frail, shaky,
unstable, wobbly, tottery, rickety, ramshackle, makeshift; jerry-built,
badly built, thrown together, cheap, shoddy, gimcrack.
ANTONYMS sturdy.
2 the flimsy material of her dress: thin, light, lightweight, fine, ultra-
fine, diaphanous, sheer, delicate, insubstantial, floaty, filmy, silken,
chiffony, gossamer, gossamer-thin, gossamer-like, gossamery, gauzy,
gauzelike, cobwebby, feathery; translucent, transparent, see-
through; rare transpicuous, translucid. ANTONYMS thick.
3 this is very flimsy evidence on which to base any such assessment: weak,
feeble, poor, inadequate, insufficient, thin, unsubstantial,
unconvincing, implausible, unsatisfactory, paltry, trifling, trivial,
shallow. ANTONYMS sound.
phrases
disguise |dɪsˈgʌɪz|
verb [ with obj. ]
give (someone or oneself) a different appearance in order to
conceal one's identity: he disguised himself as a girl | Bryn was
disguised as a priest | (as adj.disguised) : a disguised reporter.
14t
• make (something) unrecognizable by altering its appearance,
sound, taste, or smell: does holding a handkerchief over the mouthpiece
really disguise your voice?
• conceal the nature or existence of (a feeling or situation): he made
no effort to disguise his contempt | (as adj.disguised) : his voice was heavy
with barely disguised emotion.
noun
a means of altering one's appearance to conceal one's identity: I
put on dark glasses as a disguise.
• [ mass noun ] the state of having altered one's appearance in
order to conceal one's identity: I told them you were a policewoman in
disguise.
• [ mass noun ] the concealing of one's true intentions or feelings:
the children looked at her without disguise.
DERIVATIVES
disguisement noun( archaic)
ORIGIN Middle English (meaning ‘change one's usual style of
dress’, with no implication of concealing one's identity): from Old
French desguisier .
disguise
verb
she tried to disguise the bruises with make-up | Stephen's controlled voice
disguised his true feelings: camouflage, conceal, hide, cover up, make
inconspicuous, mask, screen, shroud, veil, cloak; dissemble,
dissimulate, gloss over, varnish over, paper over; put up a
15t
smokescreen, misrepresent, falsify, give a false picture of.
ANTONYMS reveal, expose.
PHRASES
disguise oneself as Eleanor disguised herself as a man: dress oneself
up as, pass oneself of as, pretend to be, impersonate, pose as; rare
personate.
noun
1 his bizarre disguise drew stares from fellow shoppers: false appearance,
camouflage, concealment; outfit, costume; informal get-up.
2 a counsellor hopes gradually to strip away the disguises and help partners to
understand each other: facade, front, false front, cover-up, masquerade,
veneer, mask, veil; smokescreen, dissimulation, pretence,
deception.
aside |!ˈsʌɪd|
adverb
to one side; out of the way: he pushed his plate aside | they stood aside to
let a car pass | she must put aside all her antagonistic feelings.
• in reserve; for future use: she set aside some money for rent.
• used to indicate that one is dismissing a topic or changing to a
new subject: joking aside, I've certainly had my fill.
noun
a remark or passage in a play that is intended to be heard by the
audience but is supposed to be unheard by the other characters in
the play. Shakespeare's use of asides and soliloquies.
16t
• an incidental remark, or one not intended to be heard by
everyone present: ‘Does that make him a murderer?’ whispered Alice in an
aside to Fred.
PHRASES
aside from chiefly N. Amer.apart from. aside from gain the commoner
motives for murder are anger and jealousy.
take (or draw) someone aside move someone away from a
group of people in order to talk to them privately: he took him aside
and urged him to quit wasting his time and talent.
ORIGIN Middle English (originally on side): see a 2 ,side.
A-side
noun
the side of a pop single regarded as the main one.
aside
adverb
1 they stood aside to let a car pass: to one side, to the side; on one side,
alongside; apart, away, separately, alone, by oneself/itself, distant,
detached, in isolation.
2 that aside, he seemed a nice man: apart, notwithstanding.
PHRASES
aside from aside from his London office he has property in several African
capitals: apart from, besides, in addition to, over and above,
beyond, not counting, leaving aside, barring, other than, but (for),
excluding, not including, without, with the exception of, except,
except for, excepting, omitting, leaving out, short of, save (for).
17t
noun
‘Both her parents died a couple of years back,’ said Mrs Manton in an aside to
Betty: whispered remark, confidential remark, stage whisper;
soliloquy, monologue, apostrophe; casual remark, throwaway line;
digression, parenthetic remark, incidental remark, obiter dictum,
deviation, departure, red herring, excursus; archaic excursion.
callous |ˈkal!s|
adjective
showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others: his
callous comments about the murder made me shiver.
noun
variant spelling of callus.
DERIVATIVES
callously adverb,
callousness noun
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the Latin sense): from Latin
callosus ‘hard-skinned’.
callus |ˈkal!s| (also callous)
noun
a thickened and hardened part of the skin or soft tissue, especially
in an area that has been subjected to friction.
• Medicine the bony healing tissue which forms around the ends
of broken bone.
18t
• Botany a hard formation of tissue, especially new tissue formed
over a wound. [ mass noun ] : the exposed surface will quickly form
healing callus.
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin callus (more commonly
callum)‘hardened skin’.
callous
adjective
his callous disregard for the feelings and wishes of others: heartless,
unfeeling, uncaring, cold, cold-hearted, hard, as hard as nails,
hard-hearted, with a heart of stone, stony-hearted, insensitive,
lacking compassion, hard-bitten, cold-blooded, hardened, case-
hardened, harsh, cruel, ruthless, brutal; unsympathetic,
uncharitable, indifferent, unconcerned, unsusceptible, insensible,
bloodless, soulless; informal hard-boiled; rare indurate, indurated,
marble-hearted. ANTONYMS kind, compassionate.
misanthrope |ˈmɪz(!)nθr!ʊp, mɪs-| (also misanthropist |mɪ
ˈzanθr!pɪst, mɪˈsan-| )
noun
a person who dislikes humankind and avoids human society. Scrooge
wasn't the mean-spirited misanthrope most of us believe him to be.
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Greek misanthrōpos, from
misein ‘to hate’ + anthrōpos ‘man’.
19t
misanthrope, misanthropist
noun
hater of mankind, cynic, sceptic, churl, grouch, grump, recluse,
hermit, anchorite; in Japanhikikomori.
generate |ˈdʒɛn!reɪt|
verb [ with obj. ]
produce or create: changes which are likely to generate controversy | the
income generated by the sale of council houses.
• produce (energy, especially electricity).
• Mathematics & Linguistics produce (a set or sequence of items)
by performing specified mathematical or logical operations on an
initial set.
• Linguistics produce (a sentence or other unit, especially a well-
formed one) by the application of a finite set of rules to lexical or
other linguistic input.
• Mathematics form (a line, surface, or solid) by notionally moving
a point, line, or surface.
DERIVATIVES
generable |-r!b(!)l| adjective
ORIGIN early 16th cent. (in the sense ‘beget, procreate’): from
Latin generat- ‘created’, from the verb generare, from genus,
gener- ‘stock, race’.
generate
20t
verb
1 the move should generate extra business: cause, give rise to, lead to,
result in, bring about, bring into being, create, make, produce,
initiate, engender, spawn, sow the seeds of, occasion, effect,
originate, bring to pass, bring on, precipitate, prompt, provoke,
kindle, trigger, spark off, touch off, stir up, whip up, induce, inspire,
promote, foster, conjure; literary beget, enkindle; rare effectuate.
ANTONYMS destroy.
2 many factors determine which male is most likely to generate offspring:
procreate, breed, father, sire, engender, spawn, create, produce,
give life to, give birth to, bring into being, bring into the world,
bring forth, have; reproduce, propagate; literary beget.
phrases
stow |st!ʊ|
verb [ with obj. and adverbial ]
pack or store (an object) carefully and neatly in a particular place:
Barney began stowing her luggage into the boot.
PHRASES
stow it! informal used to tell someone to be quiet. stow it,
motormouth!
PHRASAL VERBS
21t
stow away conceal oneself on a ship, aircraft, or other passenger
vehicle in order to travel secretly or without paying the fare: he
stowed away on a ship bound for South Africa.
ORIGIN late Middle English: shortening of bestow.
stow
verb
Barney began stowing her luggage into the boot: pack, load, store; place,
put, put away, deposit; bundle, cram, jam, wedge, stash; informal
stuff, shove. ANTONYMS unload, remove.
PHRASES
stow away he stowed away on a ship bound for South Africa: hide,
conceal oneself, secrete oneself; travel secretly.
circumstantial |s!ːk!mˈstanʃ(!)l|
adjective
1 pointing indirectly towards someone's guilt but not conclusively
proving it: the prosecution will have to rely on circumstantial evidence.
2 (of a description) containing full details: the picture was so
circumstantial that it began to be convincing.
DERIVATIVES
circumstantiality |-ʃɪˈalɪti| noun,
circumstantially adverb
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from Latin circumstantia (see
circumstance) + -al.
22t
circumstantial
adjective
1 the prosecution will have to rely on circumstantial evidence: indirect,
inferred, inferential, deduced, presumed, conjectural; contingent;
inconclusive, unprovable; technical presumptive, implicative.
ANTONYMS provable.
2 the picture was so circumstantial that it began to be convincing: detailed,
particularized, particular, precise, minute, blow-by-blow; full,
comprehensive, thorough, exhaustive; explicit, specific.
ANTONYMS vague.
windfall |ˈwɪn(d)fɔːl|
noun
1 an apple or other fruit blown down from a tree or bush by the
wind.
2 a large amount of money that is won or received unexpectedly:
members are to get an average £520 cash windfall for voting ‘yes’ to the
merger.
windfall
noun
a £43,000 windfall: bonanza, jackpot, pennies from heaven,
unexpected gain; piece/stroke of good luck, godsend, manna from
heaven.
23t
perquisite |ˈp!ːkwɪzɪt|
noun formal
a benefit which one enjoys or is entitled to on account of one's job
or position: the wife of a president has all the perquisites of stardom.
• historical a thing which has served its primary use and to which
a subordinate or employee has a customary right.
ORIGIN late Middle English: from medieval Latin perquisitum
‘acquisition’, from Latin perquirere ‘search diligently for’,
from per- ‘thoroughly’ + quaerere ‘seek’.
perk 1
verb
PHRASES
perk up as he thought about the evening ahead he perked up slightly | the
economy has been slow to perk up: cheer up, brighten (up), become
more cheerful, become livelier, feel happier, take heart, be
heartened, liven up, revive; improve, get better, recover, rally, take
a turn for the better, look up, pick up, bounce back, be on the
mend; informal buck up.
perk someone/something up you look as though you could do with
something to perk you up: cheer up, liven up, brighten up, make more
cheerful/lively, make happier, raise someone's spirits, give someone
heart, give someone a boost/lift, revitalize, invigorate, energize,
enliven, ginger up, put new life/heart into, add some zest to, put
24t
some spark into, rejuvenate, refresh, vitalize, vivify, wake up;
informal buck up, pep up, zhoosh (up); rare inspirit.
perk 2
noun
your contract may offer a variety of perks, such as private health care: fringe
benefit, additional benefit, benefit, advantage, bonus, dividend,
extra, plus, premium, consideration, reward; N. Amer. lagniappe;
informal freebie; Brit. informal golden hello; formal perquisite;
rare appanage.
spell check words
parsimonious
adjective
mean, miserly, niggardly, close-fisted, penny-pinching, cheese-
paring, ungenerous, penurious, illiberal, close, grasping, Scrooge-
like, stinting, sparing, frugal; informal tight-fisted, stingy, tight,
mingy, money-grubbing, skinflinty; N. Amer. informal cheap; Brit.
vulgar slang tight-arsed, tight as a duck's arse; archaic near.
ANTONYMS generous, extravagant, lavish.
manageable |ˈmanɪdʒ!b(!)l|
adjective
able to be controlled or dealt with without difficulty: her long hair
was black, wavy, and manageable.
25t
DERIVATIVES
manageability |-ˈbɪlɪti| noun,
manageableness noun,
manageably adverb
manageable
adjective
1 a manageable amount of work: achievable, doable, practicable,
possible, feasible, reasonable, attainable, viable. ANTONYMS
impracticable, impossible.
2 a manageable child: controllable, compliant, tractable, pliant,
pliable, malleable, biddable, docile, amenable, manipulable,
governable, tameable, accommodating, acquiescent, complaisant,
yielding, submissive. ANTONYMS unmanageable.
3 a manageable tool: user-friendly, easy to use, handy; rare wieldy.
ANTONYMS unwieldy.
tumble |ˈtʌmb(!)l|
verb
1 [ no obj., with adverbial ] fall suddenly, clumsily, or headlong: she
pitched forward, tumbling down the remaining stairs.
• move or rush in a headlong or uncontrolled way: police and dogs
tumbled from the vehicle.
• [ with obj. ] rumple; disarrange: (as adj.tumbled) : his tumbled
bedclothes.
26t
2 [ no obj. ] perform acrobatic feats, typically handsprings and
somersaults in the air.
• (of a breed of pigeon) repeatedly turn over backwards in flight.
3 fall rapidly in amount or value: property prices tumbled.
4 [ with obj. ] dry (washing) in a tumble dryer. the machine gentle
tumbles the clothes in cool air for ten minutes.
5 [ no obj. ] (tumble to) informal understand the meaning or
hidden implication of (a situation): she'll ring again as soon as she
tumbles to what she's done.
6 [ with obj. ] informal have sexual intercourse with. he was tumbling
a strange woman.
7 [ with obj. ] clean (castings, gemstones, etc.) in a tumbling barrel.
noun
1 a sudden or headlong fall: I took a tumble in the nettles.
• an untidy or confused arrangement or state: her hair was a tumble of
untamed curls.
2 a handspring, somersault in the air, or other acrobatic feat.
3 a rapid fall in amount or value: a tumble in share prices.
4 informal an act of sexual intercourse.
5 US informal a friendly sign of recognition, acknowledgement, or
interest: not a soul gave him a tumble.
ORIGIN Middle English (as a verb, also in the sense ‘dance with
contortions’): from Middle Low German tummelen; compare
with Old English tumbian‘to dance’. The sense was probably
27t
influenced by Old French tomber ‘to fall’. The noun, first in the
sense ‘tangled mass’, dates from the mid 17th cent.
tumble
verb
1 he staggered a step or two and tumbled over : fall (over), fall down,
topple over, lose one's footing, lose one's balance, keel over, pitch
over, take a spill, collapse, fall headlong, fall head over heels, fall
end over end; trip, trip up, stumble; informal come a cropper;
dated measure one's length; archaic grabble.
2 journalists tumbled from the room, jabbering excitedly: hurry, rush,
scramble, pile; scurry, scuttle; jump, spring, bound.
3 a narrow brook tumbled over the rocks: cascade, fall, stream, flow, pour,
spill.
4 oil prices tumbled: fall steeply/sharply, plummet, plunge, dive,
nosedive, take a dive, drop rapidly, slump, slide, fall, decrease,
decline; informal crash, go into a tailspin. ANTONYMS rise, soar.
5 her face was devoid of make-up, and her hair was tumbled: tousle,
dishevel, ruffle, rumple, make untidy, disarrange, disorder, mess
up; N. Amer. informal muss (up).
6 informal I finally tumbled to what was happening: realize,
understand, grasp, comprehend, take in, apprehend, perceive, see,
recognize; see the light; informal latch on to, cotton on to, catch on
to, get, get wise to, get one's head around, figure out, get a fix on,
28t
get the message, get the picture, have an aha moment; Brit.
informal twig, suss; N. Amer. informal savvy.
noun
1 I took a tumble in the nettles: fall, trip, spill; informal nosedive,
header, cropper.
2 a tumble in share prices: drop, fall, plunge, dive, nosedive, slump,
decline, collapse; informal crash. ANTONYMS rise.
3 a tumble of bed linen: jumble, mess, clutter, confusion; chaos,
disorder, disarray.
presumptuous |prɪˈzʌm(p)tʃʊ!s|
adjective
(of a person or their behaviour) failing to observe the limits of
what is permitted or appropriate: I hope I won't be considered
presumptuous if I offer some advice.
DERIVATIVES
presumptuously adverb,
presumptuousness noun
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French presumptueux, from
late Latin praesumptuosus, variant of praesumptiosus ‘full of
boldness’, from praesumptio (see presumption) .
presumptuous
adjective
29t
it's rather presumptuous to judge my character on such short acquaintance:
brazen, overconfident, arrogant, egotistical, overbold, bold,
audacious, pert, forward, familiar, impertinent, fresh, free, insolent,
impudent, cocksure; cheeky, rude, impolite, uncivil, bumptious;
overhasty, hasty, premature, previous, precipitate, impetuous;
informal cocky; N. Amer. informal sassy; archaic presumptive,
assumptive. ANTONYMS timid, unassuming.
illustrious |ɪˈlʌstrɪ!s|
adjective
well known, respected, and admired for past achievements: his
illustrious predecessor | an illustrious career.
DERIVATIVES
illustriously adverb,
illustriousness noun
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin illustris ‘clear, bright’ + -
ous.
illustrious
adjective
an illustrious general: eminent, distinguished, acclaimed, noted,
notable, noteworthy, prominent, pre-eminent, foremost, leading,
paramount, prestigious, important, significant, influential, lionized;
renowned, famous, famed, well known, celebrated; esteemed,
honoured, respected, exalted, venerable, august, highly regarded,
well thought of, of distinction, of repute, of high standing;
30t
splendid, brilliant, remarkable, outstanding, great, noble, glorious,
grand, lofty. ANTONYMS unknown, obscure.
fill the blanks
cognizance |ˈkɒ(g)nɪz(!)ns| (also cognisance |-z(!)ns| )
noun
1 [ mass noun ] formal knowledge or awareness: the Renaissance
cognizance of Greece was limited.
• Law the action of taking judicial notice.
2 Heraldry a distinctive emblem or badge formerly worn by
retainers of a noble house.
PHRASES
take cognizance of formal attend to; take account of. the new
structure attempted to take cognizance of individual regions' needs.
ORIGIN Middle English conisance, from Old French conoisance,
based on Latin cognoscere ‘get to know’. The spelling with g,
influenced by Latin, arose in the 15th cent. and gradually affected
the pronunciation.
pronoun
whoever |huːˈɛv!|
relativepronoun
the person or people who; any person who: whoever wins should be
guaranteed an Olympic place.
31t
• regardless of who: come out, whoever you are.
interrogativepronoun
used for emphasis instead of ‘who’ in questions, typically
expressing surprise or confusion: whoever would want to make up
something like that?
usage: In emphatic use whoever is also written as two words:
whoever/who ever does he think he is? See usage at however.
whichever |wɪtʃˈɛv!|
relativedeterminer& pronoun
used to emphasize a lack of restriction in selecting one of a
definite set of alternatives: [ as determiner ] : choose whichever brand
you prefer | [ as pronoun ] : their pension should be increased annually in
line with earnings or prices, whichever is the higher.
• regardless of which: [ as determiner ] : they were in a position to
intercept him whichever way he ran | [ as pronoun ] : whichever they
choose, we must accept it.
whatever |wɒtˈɛv!|
relativepronoun& determiner
used to emphasize a lack of restriction in referring to any thing or
amount, no matter what: [ as pronoun ] : do whatever you like | [ as
determiner ] : take whatever action is needed.
• regardless of what: [ as pronoun ] : you have our support, whatever you
decide | [ as determiner ] : whatever decision he made I would support it.
interrogativepronoun
32t
used for emphasis instead of ‘what’ in questions, typically
expressing surprise or confusion: whatever is the matter?
adverb
1 [ with negative ] at all; of any kind (used for emphasis): they
received no help whatever.
2 informal no matter what happens: we told him we'd back him
whatever.
exclamation informal
said as a response indicating a reluctance to discuss something,
often implying indifference: ‘I'll call you later.’ I shrugged. ‘Whatever.’.
PHRASES
or whatever informal or anything similar: use chopped herbs, nuts,
garlic, or whatever.
whatever next see next.
wherever |wɛːrˈɛv!|
relativeadverb
in or to whatever place (emphasizing a lack of restriction): meet me
wherever you like.
• in all places; regardless of where: it should be available wherever you go
to shop.
interrogativeadverb
used for emphasis instead of ‘where’ in questions, typically
expressing surprise or confusion: wherever can he have gone to?
conjunction
33t
in every case when: use wholegrain breakfast cereals wherever possible.
PHRASES
or wherever informal or any similar place: they need to keep in touch
with their editors in New York or Washington or wherever.
usage: See usage at however.
for |fɔː, f!|
preposition
1 in support of or in favour of (a person or policy): troops who had
fought for Napoleon | they voted for independence in a referendum.
2 affecting, with regard to, or in respect of: she is responsible for the
efficient running of their department | the demand for money.
3 on behalf of or to the benefit of: I got a present for you | these parents
aren't speaking for everyone.
• employed by: she is a tutor for the Open University.
4 having (the thing mentioned) as a purpose or function: networks
for the exchange of information | the necessary tools for making a picture
frame.
5 having (the thing mentioned) as a reason or cause: Aileen is proud
of her family for their support | I could dance and sing for joy.
6 having (the place mentioned) as a destination: they are leaving for
London tomorrow.
7 representing (the thing mentioned): the ‘F’ is for Fascinating.
34t
8 in place of or in exchange for: will you swap these two bottles for that
one?
• charged as (a price): copies are available for £1.20.
9 in relation to the expected norm of: she was tall for her age | it's
quite warm for this time of year.
10 indicating the length of (a period of time): he was jailed for 12
years | I haven't seen him for some time.
11 indicating the extent of (a distance): he crawled for 300 yards.
12 indicating an occasion in a series: the camcorder failed for the third
time.
conjunction literary
because; since: he felt guilty, for he knew that he bore a share of
responsibility for Fanny's death.
PHRASES
be for it Brit. informal be in imminent danger of punishment or
other trouble.
do something for one's country (or England etc.)Brit.
informal used to indicate that someone does or can do the
specified activity with great enthusiasm or tirelessness: you eating for
England, Barry?
for Africa S. African informal in huge numbers or quantities;
galore: I've got homework for Africa.
for all —— see all.
for ever see forever.
35t
for why informal for what reason: you're going to and I'll tell you for
why.
oh for —— I long for ——: oh for a strong black coffee!
there's (or that's) —— for you used ironically to indicate a
particularly poor example of (a quality mentioned): there's gratitude
for you.
ORIGIN Old English, probably a reduction of a Germanic
preposition meaning ‘before’ (in place or time); related to German
für, also to fore.
for- |fɔːunstressed f!|
prefix
1 denoting prohibition: forbid.
2 denoting abstention, neglect, or renunciation: forgive | forget |
forgo.
3 used as an intensifier: forlorn.
ORIGIN Old English.
to |t!; before a vowel tʊ; stressed tuː|
preposition
1 expressing motion in the direction of (a particular location):
walking down to the shops | my first visit to Africa.
• expressing location, typically in relation to a specified point of
reference: forty miles to the south of the site | place the cursor to the left of
the first word.
36t
• expressing a point reached at the end of a range or after a period
of time: a drop in profits from £105 m to around £75 m | from 1938 to
1945.
• chiefly Brit.(in telling the time) before (the hour specified): it's five
to ten.
2 approaching or reaching (a particular condition): Christopher's
expression changed from amazement to joy | she was close to tears.
• expressing the result of a process or action: smashed to smithereens.
• governing a phrase expressing someone's reaction to something:
to her astonishment, he smiled.
3 identifying the person or thing affected by or receiving
something: you were terribly unkind to her | they donated £400 to the
hospice.
4 identifying a particular relationship between one person and
another: he is married to his cousin Emma | he's economic adviser to the
president.
• used in various phrases to indicate how something is related to
something else (often followed by a noun without a determiner):
made to order | a prelude to disaster.
• indicating a rate of return on something, for example the
distance travelled in exchange for fuel used: my car only does ten miles
to the gallon.
• (to the) Mathematics indicating the power (exponent) to which
a number is raised: ten to the minus thirty-three.
5 indicating that two things are attached or linked: he had left his dog
tied to a drainpipe | they are inextricably linked to this island.
37t
6 concerning or likely to concern (something): a threat to world peace
| a reference to Psalm 22:18.
7 used to introduce the second element in a comparison: the club's
nothing to what it once was.
8 placed before a debit entry in accounting.
infinitive marker
1 used with the base form of a verb to indicate that the verb is in
the infinitive, in particular:
• expressing purpose or intention: I set out to buy food | I am going
to tell you a story.
• expressing an outcome or result: she was left to die | I managed to
escape.
• expressing a cause: I'm sorry to hear that.
• indicating a desired or advisable action: I'd love to go to France this
summer | the leaflet explains how to start a course.
• indicating a proposition that is known, believed, or reported
about a specified person or thing: a house that people believed to be
haunted.
• (about to) forming a future tense with reference to the
immediate future: he was about to sing.
• after a noun, indicating its function or purpose: a chair to sit on |
something to eat.
• after a phrase containing an ordinal number: the first person to
arrive.
2 used without a verb following when the missing verb is clearly
understood: he asked her to come but she said she didn't want to.
38t
adverb
so as to be closed or nearly closed: he pulled the door to behind him.
ORIGIN Old English tō (adverb and preposition), of West
Germanic origin; related to Dutch toe and German zu .
dare |dɛː|
verb (3rd sing. present usu. dare before an expressed or implied
infinitive)
1 (as modal usu. with infinitive with or without to often with
negative) have the courage to do something: a story he dare not write
down | she leaned forward as far as she dared.
• (how dare you) used to express indignation at something: how
dare you talk to me like that!
• (don't you dare) used to order someone threateningly not to do
something: don't you dare touch me.
2 [ with obj. and infinitive ] defy or challenge (someone) to do
something: she was daring him to disagree | [ with obj. ] : swap with me,
I dare you.
3 [ with obj. ] literary take the risk of; brave: few dared his wrath.
noun
a challenge, especially to prove courage: she ran across a main road
for a dare.
PHRASES
I dare say (or daresay)used to indicate that one believes
something is probable: I dare say you've heard about her.
DERIVATIVES
darer noun
39t
ORIGIN Old English durran, of Germanic origin; related to
Gothic gadaursan, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek
tharsein and Sanskrit dhṛṣ- ‘be bold’.
about |!ˈbaʊt|
preposition
1 on the subject of; concerning: I was thinking about you | a book about
ancient Greece | it's all about having fun.
• so as to affect: there's nothing we can do about it.
2 chiefly Brit.used to indicate movement within a particular area:
she looked about the room.
3 chiefly Brit.used to express location in a particular place: rugs were
strewn about the hall | he produced a knife from somewhere about his person.
• used to describe a quality apparent in a person: there was a look
about her that said everything.
adverb
1 chiefly Brit.used to indicate movement within an area: men were
floundering about | finding my way about.
2 chiefly Brit.used to express location in a particular place: there was
a lot of flu about.
3 (used with a number or quantity) approximately: reduced by about 5
per cent | he's about 35.
PHRASES
40t
be about to do something intend to do something, or be close
to doing something, very soon: the ceremony was about to begin.
be not about to do something be unwilling to do something: he
is not about to step down after so long.
be on about see on.
know what one is about informal be sensible, self-possessed,
and aware of how to deal with difficult situations. don't go to the
Congo without knowing what you're about.
ORIGIN Old English onbūtan, from on‘in, on’ + būtan‘outside
of ’ (see but 2 ) .
over |ˈ!ʊv!|
preposition
1 extending directly upwards from: I saw flames over Berlin | cook the
sauce over a moderate heat.
• above so as to cover or protect: an oxygen tent over the bed | ladle this
sauce over fresh pasta.
• extending above (an area) from a vantage point: views over Hyde
Park.
2 at a higher level or layer than: his flat was over the shop.
• higher in rank than: over him is the financial director.
• expressing authority or control: editorial control over what is included.
• expressing preference: I'd choose the well-known brand over that one.
• expressing majority: there was a slight predominance of boys over girls.
• higher in volume or pitch than: he shouted over the noise of the taxis.
3 higher or more than (a specified number or quantity): over 40
degrees C | they've been married for over a year.
4 expressing passage or trajectory across: she trudged over the lawn.
• beyond and falling or hanging from: he toppled over the side of the
boat.
• at the other side of; beyond: over the hill is a small village.
5 expressing duration: you've given us a lot of heartache over the years |
she told me over coffee.
6 expressing the medium by which something is done; by means
of: a voice came over the loudspeaker.
7 on the subject of: a long and heated debate over unemployment.
adverb
1 expressing passage or trajectory across an area: he leant over and
tapped me on the hand.
• in or to the place indicated: I'm over here.
2 beyond and falling or hanging from a point: she knocked the jug over.
3 used to express action and result: the car flipped over | hand the money
over.
• finished: the match is over | message understood, over and out.
4 used to express repetition of a process: the jukebox plays every song
twice over | the sums will have to be done over again.
nounCricket
a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the
pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.
PHRASES
be over no longer be affected by: we were over the worst.
get something over with do or undergo something unpleasant
or difficult, so as to be rid of it.
over against 1 adjacent to: over against the wall. 2 in contrast with:
over against heaven is hell.
over and above in addition to: exceptional service over and above what
normally might be expected.
over and done with completely finished.
over and over again and again: doing the same thing over and over
again.
ORIGIN Old English ofer, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch
over and German über, from an Indo-European word (originally
a comparative of the element represented by -ove in above) which is
also the base of Latin super and Greek huper .
over- |ˈ!ʊv!|
prefix
1 excessively; to an unwanted degree: overambitious | overcareful.
• completely; utterly: overawe | overjoyed.
2 upper; outer; extra: overcoat | overtime.
• over; above: overcast | overhang.
verb [ with obj. ]
throw or drop (something) from an aircraft or ship: six
aircraft jettisoned their loads in the sea.
• abandon or discard (someone or something that is no
longer wanted): the scheme was jettisoned.
noun [ mass noun ]
the action of jettisoning something. [ as modifier ] : the
jettison lever.
ORIGIN late Middle English (as a noun denoting the
throwing of goods overboard to lighten a ship in distress):
from Old French getaison, from Latin jactatio(n-), from
jactare ‘to throw’ (see jet 1 ). The verb dates from the mid
19th cent.
Thesaurus
jettison
verb
1 six aircraft jettisoned their loads into the sea: dump, drop,
ditch, discharge, eject, throw out, empty out, pour out, tip
1t
out, unload, throw overboard, throw over the side.
ANTONYMS load.
2 he sorted out his desk, jettisoning unwanted papers | the
scheme was jettisoned: discard, dispose of, throw away,
throw out, get rid of, toss out; reject, scrap, dispense with,
cast aside/off, abandon, relinquish, drop, have done with,
shed, slough off, shrug off, throw on the scrapheap;
informal chuck (away/out), fling, dump, ditch, axe, bin,
junk, get shut of; Brit. informal get shot of; N. Amer.
informal trash. ANTONYMS keep, retain.
ameliorate |əˈmiːlɪəreɪt|
verb [ with obj. ] formal
make (something bad or unsatisfactory) better: the reform
did much to ameliorate living standards.
improve;
DERIVATIVES
ameliorative adjective
ORIGIN mid 18th cent.: alteration of meliorate, influenced
by French améliorer, from meilleur ‘better’.
2t
improve
verb
1 staff looked for ways to improve the service: make better, better,
ameliorate, upgrade, refine, enhance, boost, build on, help, raise,
revamp, brush up, polish up, perk up, tweak; informal give a
facelift to; rare meliorate. ANTONYMS worsen, impair.
2 communications improved during the 18th century: get better, become
better, advance, progress, develop; make headway, come along,
make progress, take steps forward, pick up, rally, perk up, make
strides; informal look up. ANTONYMS worsen, deteriorate.
3 the dose is not repeated for as long as the patient continues to improve:
recover, get better, get well, recuperate, convalesce, gain strength,
rally, revive, strengthen, regain one's strength/health, get back on
one's feet, get over something; be on the road to recovery, be on
the mend; informal turn the corner, take a turn for the better, take
on a new lease of life; Brit. informal be on the up and up.
ANTONYMS deteriorate, become ill.
4 resources are needed to improve the offer: increase, make larger, make
bigger, raise, put up, add to, augment, supplement, top up,
enlarge; informal up, jack up, hike up, bump up, crank up, step up.
ANTONYMS decrease.
3t
PHRASES
improve on I cannot improve on his comments: surpass, better, do
better than, outdo, exceed, beat, top, trump, cap, outstrip,
overshadow, go one better than.
grotesque |gr!(ʊ)ˈtɛsk|
adjective
comically or repulsively ugly or distorted: a figure wearing a grotesque
mask.
• incongruous or inappropriate to a shocking degree: a lifestyle of
grotesque luxury.
noun
1 a very ugly or comically distorted figure or image: the rods are
carved in the form of a series of gargoyle faces and grotesques.
• [ mass noun ] a style of decorative painting or sculpture
consisting of the interweaving of human and animal forms with
flowers and foliage.
2 [ mass noun ] Printing a family of 19th-century sans serif
typefaces.
DERIVATIVES
grotesquely adverb,
grotesqueness noun
ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (as noun): from French crotesque (the
earliest form in English), from Italian grottesca, from opera or
pittura grottesca ‘work or painting resembling that found in
a grotto’; ‘grotto’ here probably denoted the rooms of ancient
4t
buildings in Rome which had been revealed by excavations, and
which contained murals in the grotesque style.
grotesque
adjective
1 a grotesque creature with a flattened body and a squashed head:
malformed, deformed, misshapen, misproportioned, distorted,
twisted, gnarled, mangled, mutilated; ugly, unsightly, monstrous,
hideous; freakish, unnatural, abnormal, bizarre, outlandish,
strange, odd, peculiar; fantastic, fanciful, whimsical; informal
weird, freaky, fugly; Brit. informal rum. ANTONYMS ordinary,
normal.
2 stories of grotesque mismanagement and wasting of money: outrageous,
monstrous, shocking, astonishing, preposterous, ridiculous,
ludicrous, farcical, unbelievable, unthinkable, incredible; informal
crazy.
5t
devious |ˈdiːvɪ!s|
adjective
1 showing a skilful use of underhand tactics to achieve goals: he's as
devious as a politician needs to be | they have devious ways of making money.
2 (of a route or journey) longer and less direct than the most
straightforward way. they arrived at the town by a devious route.
DERIVATIVES
deviously adverb,
deviousness noun
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from Latin devius (from de- ‘away
from’ + via ‘way’) + -ous. The original sense was ‘remote’; the
later sense ‘departing from the direct route’ gave rise to the
figurative sense ‘deviating from the straight way’ and hence ‘skilled
in underhand tactics’.
devious
adjective
1 he exposed the many devious ways in which governments bent the rules in
their favour: underhand, underhanded, deceitful, dishonest,
dishonourable, disreputable, unethical, unprincipled, immoral,
unscrupulous, fraudulent, cheating, dubious, dirty, unfair,
treacherous, duplicitous, double-dealing, Janus-faced, below the
belt, two-timing, two-faced, unsporting, unsportsmanlike; crafty,
cunning, calculating, artful, conniving, scheming, designing, sly,
wily, guileful, tricky; sneaky, sneaking, furtive, secret, secretive,
6t
clandestine, surreptitious, covert, veiled, shrouded, cloak-and-
dagger, hugger-mugger, hole-and-corner, hidden, back-alley,
backstairs, under the table, conspiratorial; N. Amer. snide, snidey;
informal crooked, shady, bent, low-down, murky, fishy; Brit.
informal dodgy; Austral./NZ informal shonky; S. African informal
slim. ANTONYMS above board.
2 the A832 is a devious route around the coastal fringes: circuitous,
roundabout, indirect, meandering, winding, serpentine, tortuous,
rambling; rare anfractuous. ANTONYMS direct.
evanescent |iːv!ˈnɛs(!)nt, ɛv-|
adjective
1 chiefly literary soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence;
quickly fading or disappearing: the evanescent Arctic summer.
2 Physics denoting a field or wave which extends into a region
where it cannot propagate and whose amplitude therefore
decreases with distance.
DERIVATIVES
evanescence noun,
evanescently adverb
ORIGIN early 18th cent. (in the sense ‘almost imperceptible’):
from Latin evanescent- ‘disappearing’, from the verb
evanescere (see evanesce) .
7t
evanescent
adjective
1 they were operating on an evanescent budget: vanishing, fading,
evaporating, melting away, disappearing, diminishing, dwindling,
shrinking, fugitive; rare fugacious. ANTONYMS unlimited.
2 this has only an evanescent effect on the rate of inflation: ephemeral,
fleeting, short-lived, short-term, passing, transitory, transient,
fugitive, momentary, temporary, brief, here today and gone
tomorrow; rare fugacious. ANTONYMS permanent.
SYNONYMS
debacle |deɪˈbɑːk(!)l|
noun
a sudden and ignominious failure; a fiasco. the only man to reach
double figures in the second-innings debacle.
ORIGIN early 19th cent. (in sense ‘the breaking up of ice in a
river’): from French débâcle, from débâcler ‘unleash’, from dé-
‘un-’ + bâcler ‘to bar’ (from Latin baculum ‘staff’).
debacle, débâcle
8t
noun
the coup attempt resulted in an embarrassing debacle: fiasco, failure,
catastrophe, disaster, disintegration, mess, wreck, ruin; downfall,
collapse, defeat, rout, overthrow, conquest, trouncing; informal
foul-up, screw-up, hash, botch, washout, fail; Brit. informal cock-
up, pig's ear; N. Amer. informal snafu; vulgar slang fuck-up, balls-
up.
ostracize |ˈɒstr!sʌɪz| (also ostracise)
verb
1 [ with obj. ] exclude from a society or group: she was declared a
witch and ostracized by the villagers.
2 (in ancient Greece) banish (an unpopular or overly powerful
citizen) from a city for five or ten years by popular vote. Themistocles
was indeed out of favour at Athens by the end of the 470s, when he was
ostracized.
ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Greek ostrakizein, from
ostrakon ‘shell or potsherd’ (on which names were written in
voting to banish unpopular citizens).
ostracize
verb
individuals who took such action risked being ostracized by their fellow
workers: exclude, shun, spurn, cold-shoulder, give someone the cold
shoulder, reject, repudiate, boycott, blackball, blacklist, cast off,
9t
cast out, shut out, avoid, ignore, snub, cut dead, keep at arm's
length, leave out in the cold, bar, ban, debar, banish, exile, expel;
Brit. send to Coventry; N. Amer. disfellowship; informal freeze
out, hand someone the frozen mitt; Brit. informal blank; dated
cut; Christianity excommunicate. ANTONYMS welcome, accept,
befriend, include.
prophylactic |ˌprɒfɪˈlaktɪk|
adjective
intended to prevent disease: prophylactic measures.
noun
1 a medicine or course of action used to prevent disease: I took
malaria prophylactics.
2 N. Amer.a condom.
DERIVATIVES
prophylactically adverb
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from French prophylactique, from
Greek prophulaktikos, from pro ‘before’ + phulassein ‘to
guard’.
prophylactic
adjective
10t
prophylactic measures should be taken: preventive, preventative,
precautionary, protective, disease-preventing, pre-emptive,
counteractive, preclusive, anticipatory, inhibitory, deterrent.
noun
1 vaccination remains one of the greatest prophylactics the world has ever
known: preventive measure, precaution, safeguard, safety measure;
preventive medicine.
2 N. Amer. a packet of prophylactics: condom, sheath; female
condom; Brit. trademark Durex, Femidom; informal Frenchy;
Brit. informal johnny, something for the weekend; N. Amer.
informal rubber, safe, safety, skin; Brit. informal, dated French
letter; dated protective.
coddle |ˈkɒd(!)l|
verb [ with obj. ]
1 treat (someone) in an indulgent or overprotective way: I was
coddled and cosseted.
2 cook (an egg) in water below boiling point. you may have your eggs
scrambled, poached, coddled, or boiled.
DERIVATIVES
coddler noun
ORIGIN late 16th cent. (in the sense ‘boil (fruit) gently’): origin
uncertain; sense 1 is probably a dialect variant of obsolete
11t
caudle‘administer invalids' gruel’, based on Latin caldum ‘hot
drink’, from calidus ‘warm’.
coddle
verb
don't coddle repeat offenders—some of them prefer jail: pamper, cosset,
mollycoddle, wait on someone hand and foot, cater to someone's
every whim; spoil, indulge, overindulge, humour, pander to;
spoon-feed, feather-bed, wrap in cotton wool, overparent; pet,
baby, mother, nanny; archaic cocker. ANTONYMS neglect, treat
harshly, be strict with.
flimsy |ˈflɪmzi|
adjective (flimsier, flimsiest)
insubstantial and easily damaged: a flimsy barrier.
• (of clothing) very light and thin: the flimsy garment fell from her.
• (of a pretext or account) weak and unconvincing: a pretty flimsy
excuse.
noun (pl.flimsies) Brit.
a document, especially a copy, made on very thin paper: credit-card
flimsies.
• [ mass noun ] very thin paper: sheets of yellow flimsy.
12t
DERIVATIVES
flimsily adverb,
flimsiness noun
ORIGIN early 18th cent.: probably from flimflam.
13t
flimsy
adjective
1 a succession of great waves had carried away all the flimsy wooden
buildings: insubstantial, slight, light, fragile, breakable, frail, shaky,
unstable, wobbly, tottery, rickety, ramshackle, makeshift; jerry-built,
badly built, thrown together, cheap, shoddy, gimcrack.
ANTONYMS sturdy.
2 the flimsy material of her dress: thin, light, lightweight, fine, ultra-
fine, diaphanous, sheer, delicate, insubstantial, floaty, filmy, silken,
chiffony, gossamer, gossamer-thin, gossamer-like, gossamery, gauzy,
gauzelike, cobwebby, feathery; translucent, transparent, see-
through; rare transpicuous, translucid. ANTONYMS thick.
3 this is very flimsy evidence on which to base any such assessment: weak,
feeble, poor, inadequate, insufficient, thin, unsubstantial,
unconvincing, implausible, unsatisfactory, paltry, trifling, trivial,
shallow. ANTONYMS sound.
phrases
disguise |dɪsˈgʌɪz|
verb [ with obj. ]
give (someone or oneself) a different appearance in order to
conceal one's identity: he disguised himself as a girl | Bryn was
disguised as a priest | (as adj.disguised) : a disguised reporter.
14t
• make (something) unrecognizable by altering its appearance,
sound, taste, or smell: does holding a handkerchief over the mouthpiece
really disguise your voice?
• conceal the nature or existence of (a feeling or situation): he made
no effort to disguise his contempt | (as adj.disguised) : his voice was heavy
with barely disguised emotion.
noun
a means of altering one's appearance to conceal one's identity: I
put on dark glasses as a disguise.
• [ mass noun ] the state of having altered one's appearance in
order to conceal one's identity: I told them you were a policewoman in
disguise.
• [ mass noun ] the concealing of one's true intentions or feelings:
the children looked at her without disguise.
DERIVATIVES
disguisement noun( archaic)
ORIGIN Middle English (meaning ‘change one's usual style of
dress’, with no implication of concealing one's identity): from Old
French desguisier .
disguise
verb
she tried to disguise the bruises with make-up | Stephen's controlled voice
disguised his true feelings: camouflage, conceal, hide, cover up, make
inconspicuous, mask, screen, shroud, veil, cloak; dissemble,
dissimulate, gloss over, varnish over, paper over; put up a
15t
smokescreen, misrepresent, falsify, give a false picture of.
ANTONYMS reveal, expose.
PHRASES
disguise oneself as Eleanor disguised herself as a man: dress oneself
up as, pass oneself of as, pretend to be, impersonate, pose as; rare
personate.
noun
1 his bizarre disguise drew stares from fellow shoppers: false appearance,
camouflage, concealment; outfit, costume; informal get-up.
2 a counsellor hopes gradually to strip away the disguises and help partners to
understand each other: facade, front, false front, cover-up, masquerade,
veneer, mask, veil; smokescreen, dissimulation, pretence,
deception.
aside |!ˈsʌɪd|
adverb
to one side; out of the way: he pushed his plate aside | they stood aside to
let a car pass | she must put aside all her antagonistic feelings.
• in reserve; for future use: she set aside some money for rent.
• used to indicate that one is dismissing a topic or changing to a
new subject: joking aside, I've certainly had my fill.
noun
a remark or passage in a play that is intended to be heard by the
audience but is supposed to be unheard by the other characters in
the play. Shakespeare's use of asides and soliloquies.
16t
• an incidental remark, or one not intended to be heard by
everyone present: ‘Does that make him a murderer?’ whispered Alice in an
aside to Fred.
PHRASES
aside from chiefly N. Amer.apart from. aside from gain the commoner
motives for murder are anger and jealousy.
take (or draw) someone aside move someone away from a
group of people in order to talk to them privately: he took him aside
and urged him to quit wasting his time and talent.
ORIGIN Middle English (originally on side): see a 2 ,side.
A-side
noun
the side of a pop single regarded as the main one.
aside
adverb
1 they stood aside to let a car pass: to one side, to the side; on one side,
alongside; apart, away, separately, alone, by oneself/itself, distant,
detached, in isolation.
2 that aside, he seemed a nice man: apart, notwithstanding.
PHRASES
aside from aside from his London office he has property in several African
capitals: apart from, besides, in addition to, over and above,
beyond, not counting, leaving aside, barring, other than, but (for),
excluding, not including, without, with the exception of, except,
except for, excepting, omitting, leaving out, short of, save (for).
17t
noun
‘Both her parents died a couple of years back,’ said Mrs Manton in an aside to
Betty: whispered remark, confidential remark, stage whisper;
soliloquy, monologue, apostrophe; casual remark, throwaway line;
digression, parenthetic remark, incidental remark, obiter dictum,
deviation, departure, red herring, excursus; archaic excursion.
callous |ˈkal!s|
adjective
showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others: his
callous comments about the murder made me shiver.
noun
variant spelling of callus.
DERIVATIVES
callously adverb,
callousness noun
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the Latin sense): from Latin
callosus ‘hard-skinned’.
callus |ˈkal!s| (also callous)
noun
a thickened and hardened part of the skin or soft tissue, especially
in an area that has been subjected to friction.
• Medicine the bony healing tissue which forms around the ends
of broken bone.
18t
• Botany a hard formation of tissue, especially new tissue formed
over a wound. [ mass noun ] : the exposed surface will quickly form
healing callus.
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin callus (more commonly
callum)‘hardened skin’.
callous
adjective
his callous disregard for the feelings and wishes of others: heartless,
unfeeling, uncaring, cold, cold-hearted, hard, as hard as nails,
hard-hearted, with a heart of stone, stony-hearted, insensitive,
lacking compassion, hard-bitten, cold-blooded, hardened, case-
hardened, harsh, cruel, ruthless, brutal; unsympathetic,
uncharitable, indifferent, unconcerned, unsusceptible, insensible,
bloodless, soulless; informal hard-boiled; rare indurate, indurated,
marble-hearted. ANTONYMS kind, compassionate.
misanthrope |ˈmɪz(!)nθr!ʊp, mɪs-| (also misanthropist |mɪ
ˈzanθr!pɪst, mɪˈsan-| )
noun
a person who dislikes humankind and avoids human society. Scrooge
wasn't the mean-spirited misanthrope most of us believe him to be.
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Greek misanthrōpos, from
misein ‘to hate’ + anthrōpos ‘man’.
19t
misanthrope, misanthropist
noun
hater of mankind, cynic, sceptic, churl, grouch, grump, recluse,
hermit, anchorite; in Japanhikikomori.
generate |ˈdʒɛn!reɪt|
verb [ with obj. ]
produce or create: changes which are likely to generate controversy | the
income generated by the sale of council houses.
• produce (energy, especially electricity).
• Mathematics & Linguistics produce (a set or sequence of items)
by performing specified mathematical or logical operations on an
initial set.
• Linguistics produce (a sentence or other unit, especially a well-
formed one) by the application of a finite set of rules to lexical or
other linguistic input.
• Mathematics form (a line, surface, or solid) by notionally moving
a point, line, or surface.
DERIVATIVES
generable |-r!b(!)l| adjective
ORIGIN early 16th cent. (in the sense ‘beget, procreate’): from
Latin generat- ‘created’, from the verb generare, from genus,
gener- ‘stock, race’.
generate
20t
verb
1 the move should generate extra business: cause, give rise to, lead to,
result in, bring about, bring into being, create, make, produce,
initiate, engender, spawn, sow the seeds of, occasion, effect,
originate, bring to pass, bring on, precipitate, prompt, provoke,
kindle, trigger, spark off, touch off, stir up, whip up, induce, inspire,
promote, foster, conjure; literary beget, enkindle; rare effectuate.
ANTONYMS destroy.
2 many factors determine which male is most likely to generate offspring:
procreate, breed, father, sire, engender, spawn, create, produce,
give life to, give birth to, bring into being, bring into the world,
bring forth, have; reproduce, propagate; literary beget.
phrases
stow |st!ʊ|
verb [ with obj. and adverbial ]
pack or store (an object) carefully and neatly in a particular place:
Barney began stowing her luggage into the boot.
PHRASES
stow it! informal used to tell someone to be quiet. stow it,
motormouth!
PHRASAL VERBS
21t
stow away conceal oneself on a ship, aircraft, or other passenger
vehicle in order to travel secretly or without paying the fare: he
stowed away on a ship bound for South Africa.
ORIGIN late Middle English: shortening of bestow.
stow
verb
Barney began stowing her luggage into the boot: pack, load, store; place,
put, put away, deposit; bundle, cram, jam, wedge, stash; informal
stuff, shove. ANTONYMS unload, remove.
PHRASES
stow away he stowed away on a ship bound for South Africa: hide,
conceal oneself, secrete oneself; travel secretly.
circumstantial |s!ːk!mˈstanʃ(!)l|
adjective
1 pointing indirectly towards someone's guilt but not conclusively
proving it: the prosecution will have to rely on circumstantial evidence.
2 (of a description) containing full details: the picture was so
circumstantial that it began to be convincing.
DERIVATIVES
circumstantiality |-ʃɪˈalɪti| noun,
circumstantially adverb
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from Latin circumstantia (see
circumstance) + -al.
22t
circumstantial
adjective
1 the prosecution will have to rely on circumstantial evidence: indirect,
inferred, inferential, deduced, presumed, conjectural; contingent;
inconclusive, unprovable; technical presumptive, implicative.
ANTONYMS provable.
2 the picture was so circumstantial that it began to be convincing: detailed,
particularized, particular, precise, minute, blow-by-blow; full,
comprehensive, thorough, exhaustive; explicit, specific.
ANTONYMS vague.
windfall |ˈwɪn(d)fɔːl|
noun
1 an apple or other fruit blown down from a tree or bush by the
wind.
2 a large amount of money that is won or received unexpectedly:
members are to get an average £520 cash windfall for voting ‘yes’ to the
merger.
windfall
noun
a £43,000 windfall: bonanza, jackpot, pennies from heaven,
unexpected gain; piece/stroke of good luck, godsend, manna from
heaven.
23t
perquisite |ˈp!ːkwɪzɪt|
noun formal
a benefit which one enjoys or is entitled to on account of one's job
or position: the wife of a president has all the perquisites of stardom.
• historical a thing which has served its primary use and to which
a subordinate or employee has a customary right.
ORIGIN late Middle English: from medieval Latin perquisitum
‘acquisition’, from Latin perquirere ‘search diligently for’,
from per- ‘thoroughly’ + quaerere ‘seek’.
perk 1
verb
PHRASES
perk up as he thought about the evening ahead he perked up slightly | the
economy has been slow to perk up: cheer up, brighten (up), become
more cheerful, become livelier, feel happier, take heart, be
heartened, liven up, revive; improve, get better, recover, rally, take
a turn for the better, look up, pick up, bounce back, be on the
mend; informal buck up.
perk someone/something up you look as though you could do with
something to perk you up: cheer up, liven up, brighten up, make more
cheerful/lively, make happier, raise someone's spirits, give someone
heart, give someone a boost/lift, revitalize, invigorate, energize,
enliven, ginger up, put new life/heart into, add some zest to, put
24t
some spark into, rejuvenate, refresh, vitalize, vivify, wake up;
informal buck up, pep up, zhoosh (up); rare inspirit.
perk 2
noun
your contract may offer a variety of perks, such as private health care: fringe
benefit, additional benefit, benefit, advantage, bonus, dividend,
extra, plus, premium, consideration, reward; N. Amer. lagniappe;
informal freebie; Brit. informal golden hello; formal perquisite;
rare appanage.
spell check words
parsimonious
adjective
mean, miserly, niggardly, close-fisted, penny-pinching, cheese-
paring, ungenerous, penurious, illiberal, close, grasping, Scrooge-
like, stinting, sparing, frugal; informal tight-fisted, stingy, tight,
mingy, money-grubbing, skinflinty; N. Amer. informal cheap; Brit.
vulgar slang tight-arsed, tight as a duck's arse; archaic near.
ANTONYMS generous, extravagant, lavish.
manageable |ˈmanɪdʒ!b(!)l|
adjective
able to be controlled or dealt with without difficulty: her long hair
was black, wavy, and manageable.
25t
DERIVATIVES
manageability |-ˈbɪlɪti| noun,
manageableness noun,
manageably adverb
manageable
adjective
1 a manageable amount of work: achievable, doable, practicable,
possible, feasible, reasonable, attainable, viable. ANTONYMS
impracticable, impossible.
2 a manageable child: controllable, compliant, tractable, pliant,
pliable, malleable, biddable, docile, amenable, manipulable,
governable, tameable, accommodating, acquiescent, complaisant,
yielding, submissive. ANTONYMS unmanageable.
3 a manageable tool: user-friendly, easy to use, handy; rare wieldy.
ANTONYMS unwieldy.
tumble |ˈtʌmb(!)l|
verb
1 [ no obj., with adverbial ] fall suddenly, clumsily, or headlong: she
pitched forward, tumbling down the remaining stairs.
• move or rush in a headlong or uncontrolled way: police and dogs
tumbled from the vehicle.
• [ with obj. ] rumple; disarrange: (as adj.tumbled) : his tumbled
bedclothes.
26t
2 [ no obj. ] perform acrobatic feats, typically handsprings and
somersaults in the air.
• (of a breed of pigeon) repeatedly turn over backwards in flight.
3 fall rapidly in amount or value: property prices tumbled.
4 [ with obj. ] dry (washing) in a tumble dryer. the machine gentle
tumbles the clothes in cool air for ten minutes.
5 [ no obj. ] (tumble to) informal understand the meaning or
hidden implication of (a situation): she'll ring again as soon as she
tumbles to what she's done.
6 [ with obj. ] informal have sexual intercourse with. he was tumbling
a strange woman.
7 [ with obj. ] clean (castings, gemstones, etc.) in a tumbling barrel.
noun
1 a sudden or headlong fall: I took a tumble in the nettles.
• an untidy or confused arrangement or state: her hair was a tumble of
untamed curls.
2 a handspring, somersault in the air, or other acrobatic feat.
3 a rapid fall in amount or value: a tumble in share prices.
4 informal an act of sexual intercourse.
5 US informal a friendly sign of recognition, acknowledgement, or
interest: not a soul gave him a tumble.
ORIGIN Middle English (as a verb, also in the sense ‘dance with
contortions’): from Middle Low German tummelen; compare
with Old English tumbian‘to dance’. The sense was probably
27t
influenced by Old French tomber ‘to fall’. The noun, first in the
sense ‘tangled mass’, dates from the mid 17th cent.
tumble
verb
1 he staggered a step or two and tumbled over : fall (over), fall down,
topple over, lose one's footing, lose one's balance, keel over, pitch
over, take a spill, collapse, fall headlong, fall head over heels, fall
end over end; trip, trip up, stumble; informal come a cropper;
dated measure one's length; archaic grabble.
2 journalists tumbled from the room, jabbering excitedly: hurry, rush,
scramble, pile; scurry, scuttle; jump, spring, bound.
3 a narrow brook tumbled over the rocks: cascade, fall, stream, flow, pour,
spill.
4 oil prices tumbled: fall steeply/sharply, plummet, plunge, dive,
nosedive, take a dive, drop rapidly, slump, slide, fall, decrease,
decline; informal crash, go into a tailspin. ANTONYMS rise, soar.
5 her face was devoid of make-up, and her hair was tumbled: tousle,
dishevel, ruffle, rumple, make untidy, disarrange, disorder, mess
up; N. Amer. informal muss (up).
6 informal I finally tumbled to what was happening: realize,
understand, grasp, comprehend, take in, apprehend, perceive, see,
recognize; see the light; informal latch on to, cotton on to, catch on
to, get, get wise to, get one's head around, figure out, get a fix on,
28t
get the message, get the picture, have an aha moment; Brit.
informal twig, suss; N. Amer. informal savvy.
noun
1 I took a tumble in the nettles: fall, trip, spill; informal nosedive,
header, cropper.
2 a tumble in share prices: drop, fall, plunge, dive, nosedive, slump,
decline, collapse; informal crash. ANTONYMS rise.
3 a tumble of bed linen: jumble, mess, clutter, confusion; chaos,
disorder, disarray.
presumptuous |prɪˈzʌm(p)tʃʊ!s|
adjective
(of a person or their behaviour) failing to observe the limits of
what is permitted or appropriate: I hope I won't be considered
presumptuous if I offer some advice.
DERIVATIVES
presumptuously adverb,
presumptuousness noun
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French presumptueux, from
late Latin praesumptuosus, variant of praesumptiosus ‘full of
boldness’, from praesumptio (see presumption) .
presumptuous
adjective
29t
it's rather presumptuous to judge my character on such short acquaintance:
brazen, overconfident, arrogant, egotistical, overbold, bold,
audacious, pert, forward, familiar, impertinent, fresh, free, insolent,
impudent, cocksure; cheeky, rude, impolite, uncivil, bumptious;
overhasty, hasty, premature, previous, precipitate, impetuous;
informal cocky; N. Amer. informal sassy; archaic presumptive,
assumptive. ANTONYMS timid, unassuming.
illustrious |ɪˈlʌstrɪ!s|
adjective
well known, respected, and admired for past achievements: his
illustrious predecessor | an illustrious career.
DERIVATIVES
illustriously adverb,
illustriousness noun
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin illustris ‘clear, bright’ + -
ous.
illustrious
adjective
an illustrious general: eminent, distinguished, acclaimed, noted,
notable, noteworthy, prominent, pre-eminent, foremost, leading,
paramount, prestigious, important, significant, influential, lionized;
renowned, famous, famed, well known, celebrated; esteemed,
honoured, respected, exalted, venerable, august, highly regarded,
well thought of, of distinction, of repute, of high standing;
30t
splendid, brilliant, remarkable, outstanding, great, noble, glorious,
grand, lofty. ANTONYMS unknown, obscure.
fill the blanks
cognizance |ˈkɒ(g)nɪz(!)ns| (also cognisance |-z(!)ns| )
noun
1 [ mass noun ] formal knowledge or awareness: the Renaissance
cognizance of Greece was limited.
• Law the action of taking judicial notice.
2 Heraldry a distinctive emblem or badge formerly worn by
retainers of a noble house.
PHRASES
take cognizance of formal attend to; take account of. the new
structure attempted to take cognizance of individual regions' needs.
ORIGIN Middle English conisance, from Old French conoisance,
based on Latin cognoscere ‘get to know’. The spelling with g,
influenced by Latin, arose in the 15th cent. and gradually affected
the pronunciation.
pronoun
whoever |huːˈɛv!|
relativepronoun
the person or people who; any person who: whoever wins should be
guaranteed an Olympic place.
31t
• regardless of who: come out, whoever you are.
interrogativepronoun
used for emphasis instead of ‘who’ in questions, typically
expressing surprise or confusion: whoever would want to make up
something like that?
usage: In emphatic use whoever is also written as two words:
whoever/who ever does he think he is? See usage at however.
whichever |wɪtʃˈɛv!|
relativedeterminer& pronoun
used to emphasize a lack of restriction in selecting one of a
definite set of alternatives: [ as determiner ] : choose whichever brand
you prefer | [ as pronoun ] : their pension should be increased annually in
line with earnings or prices, whichever is the higher.
• regardless of which: [ as determiner ] : they were in a position to
intercept him whichever way he ran | [ as pronoun ] : whichever they
choose, we must accept it.
whatever |wɒtˈɛv!|
relativepronoun& determiner
used to emphasize a lack of restriction in referring to any thing or
amount, no matter what: [ as pronoun ] : do whatever you like | [ as
determiner ] : take whatever action is needed.
• regardless of what: [ as pronoun ] : you have our support, whatever you
decide | [ as determiner ] : whatever decision he made I would support it.
interrogativepronoun
32t
used for emphasis instead of ‘what’ in questions, typically
expressing surprise or confusion: whatever is the matter?
adverb
1 [ with negative ] at all; of any kind (used for emphasis): they
received no help whatever.
2 informal no matter what happens: we told him we'd back him
whatever.
exclamation informal
said as a response indicating a reluctance to discuss something,
often implying indifference: ‘I'll call you later.’ I shrugged. ‘Whatever.’.
PHRASES
or whatever informal or anything similar: use chopped herbs, nuts,
garlic, or whatever.
whatever next see next.
wherever |wɛːrˈɛv!|
relativeadverb
in or to whatever place (emphasizing a lack of restriction): meet me
wherever you like.
• in all places; regardless of where: it should be available wherever you go
to shop.
interrogativeadverb
used for emphasis instead of ‘where’ in questions, typically
expressing surprise or confusion: wherever can he have gone to?
conjunction
33t
in every case when: use wholegrain breakfast cereals wherever possible.
PHRASES
or wherever informal or any similar place: they need to keep in touch
with their editors in New York or Washington or wherever.
usage: See usage at however.
for |fɔː, f!|
preposition
1 in support of or in favour of (a person or policy): troops who had
fought for Napoleon | they voted for independence in a referendum.
2 affecting, with regard to, or in respect of: she is responsible for the
efficient running of their department | the demand for money.
3 on behalf of or to the benefit of: I got a present for you | these parents
aren't speaking for everyone.
• employed by: she is a tutor for the Open University.
4 having (the thing mentioned) as a purpose or function: networks
for the exchange of information | the necessary tools for making a picture
frame.
5 having (the thing mentioned) as a reason or cause: Aileen is proud
of her family for their support | I could dance and sing for joy.
6 having (the place mentioned) as a destination: they are leaving for
London tomorrow.
7 representing (the thing mentioned): the ‘F’ is for Fascinating.
34t
8 in place of or in exchange for: will you swap these two bottles for that
one?
• charged as (a price): copies are available for £1.20.
9 in relation to the expected norm of: she was tall for her age | it's
quite warm for this time of year.
10 indicating the length of (a period of time): he was jailed for 12
years | I haven't seen him for some time.
11 indicating the extent of (a distance): he crawled for 300 yards.
12 indicating an occasion in a series: the camcorder failed for the third
time.
conjunction literary
because; since: he felt guilty, for he knew that he bore a share of
responsibility for Fanny's death.
PHRASES
be for it Brit. informal be in imminent danger of punishment or
other trouble.
do something for one's country (or England etc.)Brit.
informal used to indicate that someone does or can do the
specified activity with great enthusiasm or tirelessness: you eating for
England, Barry?
for Africa S. African informal in huge numbers or quantities;
galore: I've got homework for Africa.
for all —— see all.
for ever see forever.
35t
for why informal for what reason: you're going to and I'll tell you for
why.
oh for —— I long for ——: oh for a strong black coffee!
there's (or that's) —— for you used ironically to indicate a
particularly poor example of (a quality mentioned): there's gratitude
for you.
ORIGIN Old English, probably a reduction of a Germanic
preposition meaning ‘before’ (in place or time); related to German
für, also to fore.
for- |fɔːunstressed f!|
prefix
1 denoting prohibition: forbid.
2 denoting abstention, neglect, or renunciation: forgive | forget |
forgo.
3 used as an intensifier: forlorn.
ORIGIN Old English.
to |t!; before a vowel tʊ; stressed tuː|
preposition
1 expressing motion in the direction of (a particular location):
walking down to the shops | my first visit to Africa.
• expressing location, typically in relation to a specified point of
reference: forty miles to the south of the site | place the cursor to the left of
the first word.
36t
• expressing a point reached at the end of a range or after a period
of time: a drop in profits from £105 m to around £75 m | from 1938 to
1945.
• chiefly Brit.(in telling the time) before (the hour specified): it's five
to ten.
2 approaching or reaching (a particular condition): Christopher's
expression changed from amazement to joy | she was close to tears.
• expressing the result of a process or action: smashed to smithereens.
• governing a phrase expressing someone's reaction to something:
to her astonishment, he smiled.
3 identifying the person or thing affected by or receiving
something: you were terribly unkind to her | they donated £400 to the
hospice.
4 identifying a particular relationship between one person and
another: he is married to his cousin Emma | he's economic adviser to the
president.
• used in various phrases to indicate how something is related to
something else (often followed by a noun without a determiner):
made to order | a prelude to disaster.
• indicating a rate of return on something, for example the
distance travelled in exchange for fuel used: my car only does ten miles
to the gallon.
• (to the) Mathematics indicating the power (exponent) to which
a number is raised: ten to the minus thirty-three.
5 indicating that two things are attached or linked: he had left his dog
tied to a drainpipe | they are inextricably linked to this island.
37t
6 concerning or likely to concern (something): a threat to world peace
| a reference to Psalm 22:18.
7 used to introduce the second element in a comparison: the club's
nothing to what it once was.
8 placed before a debit entry in accounting.
infinitive marker
1 used with the base form of a verb to indicate that the verb is in
the infinitive, in particular:
• expressing purpose or intention: I set out to buy food | I am going
to tell you a story.
• expressing an outcome or result: she was left to die | I managed to
escape.
• expressing a cause: I'm sorry to hear that.
• indicating a desired or advisable action: I'd love to go to France this
summer | the leaflet explains how to start a course.
• indicating a proposition that is known, believed, or reported
about a specified person or thing: a house that people believed to be
haunted.
• (about to) forming a future tense with reference to the
immediate future: he was about to sing.
• after a noun, indicating its function or purpose: a chair to sit on |
something to eat.
• after a phrase containing an ordinal number: the first person to
arrive.
2 used without a verb following when the missing verb is clearly
understood: he asked her to come but she said she didn't want to.
38t
adverb
so as to be closed or nearly closed: he pulled the door to behind him.
ORIGIN Old English tō (adverb and preposition), of West
Germanic origin; related to Dutch toe and German zu .
dare |dɛː|
verb (3rd sing. present usu. dare before an expressed or implied
infinitive)
1 (as modal usu. with infinitive with or without to often with
negative) have the courage to do something: a story he dare not write
down | she leaned forward as far as she dared.
• (how dare you) used to express indignation at something: how
dare you talk to me like that!
• (don't you dare) used to order someone threateningly not to do
something: don't you dare touch me.
2 [ with obj. and infinitive ] defy or challenge (someone) to do
something: she was daring him to disagree | [ with obj. ] : swap with me,
I dare you.
3 [ with obj. ] literary take the risk of; brave: few dared his wrath.
noun
a challenge, especially to prove courage: she ran across a main road
for a dare.
PHRASES
I dare say (or daresay)used to indicate that one believes
something is probable: I dare say you've heard about her.
DERIVATIVES
darer noun
39t
ORIGIN Old English durran, of Germanic origin; related to
Gothic gadaursan, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek
tharsein and Sanskrit dhṛṣ- ‘be bold’.
about |!ˈbaʊt|
preposition
1 on the subject of; concerning: I was thinking about you | a book about
ancient Greece | it's all about having fun.
• so as to affect: there's nothing we can do about it.
2 chiefly Brit.used to indicate movement within a particular area:
she looked about the room.
3 chiefly Brit.used to express location in a particular place: rugs were
strewn about the hall | he produced a knife from somewhere about his person.
• used to describe a quality apparent in a person: there was a look
about her that said everything.
adverb
1 chiefly Brit.used to indicate movement within an area: men were
floundering about | finding my way about.
2 chiefly Brit.used to express location in a particular place: there was
a lot of flu about.
3 (used with a number or quantity) approximately: reduced by about 5
per cent | he's about 35.
PHRASES
40t
be about to do something intend to do something, or be close
to doing something, very soon: the ceremony was about to begin.
be not about to do something be unwilling to do something: he
is not about to step down after so long.
be on about see on.
know what one is about informal be sensible, self-possessed,
and aware of how to deal with difficult situations. don't go to the
Congo without knowing what you're about.
ORIGIN Old English onbūtan, from on‘in, on’ + būtan‘outside
of ’ (see but 2 ) .
over |ˈ!ʊv!|
preposition
1 extending directly upwards from: I saw flames over Berlin | cook the
sauce over a moderate heat.
• above so as to cover or protect: an oxygen tent over the bed | ladle this
sauce over fresh pasta.
• extending above (an area) from a vantage point: views over Hyde
Park.
2 at a higher level or layer than: his flat was over the shop.
• higher in rank than: over him is the financial director.
• expressing authority or control: editorial control over what is included.
• expressing preference: I'd choose the well-known brand over that one.
• expressing majority: there was a slight predominance of boys over girls.
• higher in volume or pitch than: he shouted over the noise of the taxis.
3 higher or more than (a specified number or quantity): over 40
degrees C | they've been married for over a year.
4 expressing passage or trajectory across: she trudged over the lawn.
• beyond and falling or hanging from: he toppled over the side of the
boat.
• at the other side of; beyond: over the hill is a small village.
5 expressing duration: you've given us a lot of heartache over the years |
she told me over coffee.
6 expressing the medium by which something is done; by means
of: a voice came over the loudspeaker.
7 on the subject of: a long and heated debate over unemployment.
adverb
1 expressing passage or trajectory across an area: he leant over and
tapped me on the hand.
• in or to the place indicated: I'm over here.
2 beyond and falling or hanging from a point: she knocked the jug over.
3 used to express action and result: the car flipped over | hand the money
over.
• finished: the match is over | message understood, over and out.
4 used to express repetition of a process: the jukebox plays every song
twice over | the sums will have to be done over again.
nounCricket
a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the
pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.
PHRASES
be over no longer be affected by: we were over the worst.
get something over with do or undergo something unpleasant
or difficult, so as to be rid of it.
over against 1 adjacent to: over against the wall. 2 in contrast with:
over against heaven is hell.
over and above in addition to: exceptional service over and above what
normally might be expected.
over and done with completely finished.
over and over again and again: doing the same thing over and over
again.
ORIGIN Old English ofer, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch
over and German über, from an Indo-European word (originally
a comparative of the element represented by -ove in above) which is
also the base of Latin super and Greek huper .
over- |ˈ!ʊv!|
prefix
1 excessively; to an unwanted degree: overambitious | overcareful.
• completely; utterly: overawe | overjoyed.
2 upper; outer; extra: overcoat | overtime.
• over; above: overcast | overhang.
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