Set 10

SPELL CORRECTION
humorous | hjuːm(ə)rəs|
adjective
causing laughter and amusement; comic: a humorous and
entertaining talk.
• having or showing a sense of humour: his humorous grey
eyes.
DERIVATIVES
humorously adverb,
humorousness noun
usage: Note that although humor is the American spelling of
humour, humorous is not an American form. This word is
spelled the same way in both British and American English,
and the spelling humourous is regarded as an error.
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humorous
adjective
the novel is a humorous account of a developing relationship:
amusing, funny, entertaining, comic, comical, chucklesome,
diverting, witty, jocular, light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek, wry,
waggish, whimsical, playful; hilarious, uproarious, riotous,
zany, facetious, farcical, absurd, droll; informal priceless,
wacky, side-splitting, rib-tickling, a scream, a hoot, a laugh, a
barrel of laughs; informal, dated killing; rare jocose.
ANTONYMS serious; boring.
narcissism | nɑːs s z(ə)m, nɑː s s-|
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noun [ mass noun ]
excessive interest in or admiration of oneself and one’s physical
appearance.
• Psychology extreme selfishness, with a grandiose view of one’s
own talents and a craving for admiration, as characterizing a
personality type.
• Psychoanalysis self-centredness arising from failure to
distinguish the self from external objects, either in very young
babies or as a feature of mental disorder.
DERIVATIVES
narcissist noun
ORIGIN early 19th cent.: via Latin from the Greek name
Narkissos (see Narcissus) + -ism.
 4 OF 288
vanity
noun
1 she had none of the vanity so often associated with beautiful
women: conceit, conceitedness, self-conceit, narcissism, self-love,
self-admiration, self-regard, self-absorption, self-obsession, self-
centredness, egotism, egoism, egocentrism, egomania; pride,
haughtiness, arrogance, boastfulness, swagger, imperiousness,
cockiness, pretension, affectation, airs, show, ostentation;
literary vainglory, braggadocio. ANTONYMS modesty.
2 the vanity of all desires of the will: futility, uselessness,
pointlessness, worthlessness, purposelessness, idleness,
fruitlessness, profitlessness.
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acquire |ə kwʌ ə|
verb [ with obj. ]
1 buy or obtain (an asset or object) for oneself: I managed to
acquire all the books I needed.
2 learn or develop (a skill, habit, or quality): I’ve acquired a
taste for whisky.
• come to have (a particular reputation) as a result of one’s
behaviour or activities. he acquired a reputation for scrupulous
honesty.
PHRASES
an acquired taste a thing that one comes to like over time:
pumpkin pie is an acquired taste.
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DERIVATIVES
acquirable adjective,
acquiree noun(Finance),
acquirer noun
ORIGIN late Middle English acquere, from Old French
aquerre, based on Latin acquirere ‘get in addition’, from ad- ‘to’
+ quaerere ‘seek’. The English spelling was modified ( c.1600)
by association with the Latin word.
acquire
verb
she acquired a collection of fine art prints | I rapidly acquired
the confidence of the leadership: obtain, come by, come to have,
 7 OF 288

get, receive, gain, earn, win, come into, come in for, take
possession of, take receipt of, be given; buy, purchase, procure,
possess oneself of, secure; gather, collect, pick up, appropriate,
amass, build up, hook, net, land; achieve, attain; informal get
one’s hands on, get one’s mitts on, get hold of, grab, bag, score,
swing, nab, collar, cop. ANTONYMS lose; part with.
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restrict |r str kt|
verb [ with obj. ]
put a limit on; keep under control: some roads may have to be
closed at peak times to restrict the number of visitors.
• deprive (someone or something) of freedom of movement or
action: cities can restrict groups of protesters from gathering on a
residential street.
• (restrict someone to) limit someone to only doing or having (a
particular thing) or staying in (a particular place): I shall
restrict myself to a single example.
• (restrict something to) limit something to (a particular place,
time, or group): the Zoological Gardens were at first restricted to
members and their guests.
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• withhold (information) from general disclosure: at first the
Americans tried to restrict news of their involvement in Vietnam.
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin restrict- ‘confined, bound
fast’, from the verb restringere (see restrain) .
restrict
verb
1 a busy working life restricted his leisure activities: limit, set/
impose limits on, keep within bounds, keep under control,
regulate, control, moderate, cut down on.
2 the cuff supports the ankle without restricting movement:
hinder, interfere with, impede, hamper, obstruct, block, slow, check,
curb, retard, handicap, straitjacket, tie, cramp.
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3 he managed to restrict himself to a 15-minute speech: confine,
limit; make do with only, be happy with.
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communicative |kə mjuːn kət v|
adjective
willing, eager, or able to talk or impart information: Lew was a
very communicative chap.
• relating to the conveyance or exchange of information: the
communicative process in literary texts.
DERIVATIVES
communicatively adverb
ORIGIN late Middle English: from late Latin communicativus,
from communicat- ‘shared’, from the verb communicare (see
communicate) .
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communicative
adjective
she is always very pleasant and communicative: forthcoming,
expansive, informative, expressive, unreserved, uninhibited, vocal,
outgoing, frank, open, candid; talkative, conversational, chatty,
gossipy, loquacious, garrulous, voluble, verbose, effusive, gushing;
informal mouthy, gabby, windy, gassy, talky; rare multiloquent,
multiloquous. ANTONYMS uncommunicative.
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function | fʌŋ(k)ʃ(ə)n|
noun
1 an activity that is natural to or the purpose of a person or
thing: bridges perform the function of providing access across
water | bodily functions.
• [ mass noun ] practical use or purpose in design: building
designs that prioritize style over function.
• a basic task of a computer, especially one that corresponds to a
single instruction from the user.
2 Mathematics a relation or expression involving one or more
variables: the function (bx + c).
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• a variable quantity regarded in relation to one or more other
variables in terms of which it may be expressed or on which its
value depends. the magnetic field has varied as a function of time.
• Chemistry a functional group. the carboxyl group was replaced
by functions that included tetrazolyl-, sulphonyl-, and
phosphoryl-.
3 a thing dependent on another factor or factors: class shame is
a function of social power.
4 a large or formal social event or ceremony. he was obliged to
attend party functions.
verb [ no obj. ]
work or operate in a proper or particular way: her liver is
functioning normally.
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• (function as) fulfil the purpose or task of (a specified thing): the
museum intends to function as an educational and study centre.
DERIVATIVES
functionless adjective
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from French fonction, from Latin
functio(n-), from fungi ‘perform’.
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function
noun
1 the main function of the machine: purpose, task, use, role;
reason, basis, justification.
2 the committee’s function is to arrange social activities:
responsibility, duty, concern, province, aim, activity, assignment,
obligation, charge; task, chore, job, role, errand, mission, detail,
undertaking, commission; capacity, post, situation, office,
occupation, employment, business, operation; Frenchraison d’être;
informal thing, bag, line of country, pigeon.
3 casualties are a function of war: consequence, result, outcome,
ramification, corollary, concomitant; dated issue. ANTONYMS
cause.
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4 he was obliged to attend political functions: social event, party,
occasion, social occasion, affair, gathering, reception, soirée,
celebration, jamboree, gala; N. Amer. levee; informal do, bash,
shindig, shindy, blowout; Brit. informal rave-up, thrash, knees-
up, jolly, beanfeast, bunfight, beano, lig.
verb
1 if we unplug a TV set, it ceases to function: work, go, run, be in
working/running order, operate, perform, be in action, be
operative. ANTONYMS malfunction.
2 the museum intends to function as an educational and study
centre: serve, act, operate, perform, work, behave; have/do the job
of, play the role of, act the part of, perform the function of, do
duty as, constitute, form.
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serve |səːv|
verb [ with obj. ]
1 perform duties or services for (another person or an
organization): Malcolm has served the church very faithfully.
• provide (an area or group of people) with a product or service:
a hospital which serves a large area of Wales.
• [ no obj. ] be employed as a member of the armed forces: he
had hoped to serve with the Medical Corps.
• spend (a period) in office, in an apprenticeship, or in prison: he
is serving a ten-year jail sentence.
2 present (food or drink) to someone: they serve wine instead of
beer | serve white wines chilled.
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• present (someone) with food or drink: the cafe refused to serve
him with the tea | [ with two objs ] : Peter served them generous
portions of soup.
• (of food or drink) be enough for: the recipe serves four people.
• chiefly Brit.attend to (a customer in a shop): she turned to
serve the impatient customer.
• supply (goods) to a customer.
• [ no obj. ] Christian Church act as a server at the celebration
of the Eucharist.
• [ with two objs ] archaic play (a trick) on (someone): I
remember the trick you served me.
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3 Law deliver (a document such as a summons or writ) in a
formal manner to the person to whom it is addressed: the court
then issues the summons and serves it on your debtor.
• deliver a document to (the addressee) in a formal manner: they
were just about to serve him with a writ.
4 be of use in achieving or satisfying: this book will serve a useful
purpose | the union came into existence to serve the interests of
musicians.
• [ no obj. ] be of some specified use: the square now serves as the
town’s chief car park | [ with infinitive ] : sweat serves to cool
down the body.
• [ with obj. and adverbial ] treat (someone) in a specified way:
Cornish homeowners wonder if they are being fairly served.
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• (of a male breeding animal) copulate with (a female).
5 [ no obj. ] (in tennis and other racket sports) hit the ball or
shuttlecock to begin play for each point of a game: he tossed the
ball up to serve | [ with obj. ] : serve the ball on to the front wall.
• (serve out) win the final game of a set or match while serving.
Fitzgerald then served out for the set.
6 Nautical bind (a rope) with thin cord to protect or strengthen
it.
7 Military operate (a gun). before long Lodge was the only man
in his section able to serve the guns.
noun
1 (in tennis and other racket sports) an act of hitting the ball or
shuttlecock to start play: he was let down by an erratic serve.
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2 Austral. informal a reprimand: he would be willing to give the
country a serve in an English newspaper.
PHRASES
if my memory serves (me)if I remember correctly: if my memory
serves me, this is not the first time.
serve at table act as a waiter. she was reduced to the landlord’s
daughter who served at table.
serve someone right be someone’s deserved punishment or
misfortune: it would serve you right if Jeff walked out on you.
serve one’s time (chiefly US also serve out one’s time)hold office
for the normal period: every sergeant had served his time as a
constable. • (also serve time)spend time in office, in an
apprenticeship, or in prison: he is serving time in Swansea Prison.
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serve one’s/its turn be useful or helpful. now that they have
served their turn, cut some of them out. suppressing his ire
would hardly serve his turn at this juncture.
serve two masters take orders from two superiors or follow two
conflicting or opposing principles or policies at the same time. it is
never easy to serve two masters.[with biblical allusion to Matt.
6:24.]
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French servir, from Latin
servire, from servus ‘slave’.
serve
verb
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1 they have served their political masters faithfully for the past
40 years: work for, be in the service of, perform duties for, be
employed by, have a job with; obey, be obedient to, carry out the
wishes of.
2 I decided that I wanted to work somewhere where I could serve
the community: be of service to, be of use to, help, give help to,
assist, give assistance to, aid, lend a hand to, give a helping hand
to, do a good turn to, make a contribution to, do one’s bit for, do
something for, benefit; minister to, succour.
3 altogether she had served on the committee for 11 years: be a
member of, work on, be on, sit on, have/hold a place on, perform
duties on, carry out duties on.
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4 California is limiting the number of terms a politician can
serve in office | Lewis served his apprenticeship in Scotland: carry
out, perform, do, fulfil, complete, discharge; spend, go through.
5 serve the soup hot with lots of crusty bread | dinner is served at
candlelit tables: dish up/out, give out, distribute, set out, plate up,
spoon out, ladle out; present, provide, supply, make available.
6 Elizabeth walked off to serve another customer: attend to, give
one’s attention to, attend to the requirements of, deal with, see to;
assist, help, look after, take care of.
7 the landlord’s daughter served at table: act as waiter/waitress,
wait, distribute food/refreshments; N. Amer. informal sling hash,
sling plates.
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8 they were just about to serve him with a writ: deliver to,
present with, give to, hand over to, cause to accept.
9 she stabbed the cigarette out in a saucer serving as an ashtray:
act as, function as, fulfil the function of, do duty as, do the work
of, act as a substitute for.
10 official forms are obtainable that, with minor adaptation, will
serve in all but a few cases: suffice, be adequate, be good enough,
be all right, fit/fill the bill, do, answer; be useful, serve a purpose,
meet requirements, suit.
11 Cornish householders wonder if they are being fairly served:
treat, deal with, act towards, behave towards, conduct oneself
towards, handle.
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multilingual |mʌlt l ŋgw(ə)l|
adjective
in or using several languages: a multilingual dictionary.
DERIVATIVES
multilingualism noun,
multilingually adverb
consequent | k ns kw(ə)nt|
adjective
1 following as a result or effect: the social problems of pupils and
their consequent educational difficulties | you’ve got a university
place consequent on your exam results.
• archaic logically consistent.
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2 Geology (of a stream or valley) having a direction or character
determined by the original slope of the land before erosion.
noun
1 Logic the second part of a conditional proposition, whose truth is
stated to be implied by that of the antecedent.
2 Music the second or imitating voice or part in a canon.
ORIGIN late Middle English: via Old French from Latin
consequent- ‘overtaking, following closely’, from the verb
consequi .
consequent
adjective
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this was the best we could do, and we hope that the consequent
errors are not too great: resulting, resultant, ensuing,
consequential; following, subsequent, successive, sequential;
attendant, accompanying, concomitant; collateral, associated,
related, connected, linked. ANTONYMS causal; unrelated.
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standard | standəd|
noun
1 a level of quality or attainment: their restaurant offers a high
standard of service | the government’s ambition to raise standards
in schools.
• a required or agreed level of quality or attainment: half of the
beaches fail to comply with European standards | [ mass noun ] :
their tap water was not up to standard.
• Brit. historical (in elementary schools) a grade of proficiency
tested by examination or the form or class preparing pupils for
such a grade. she was still in boarding school and had twice
repeated the same standard.
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2 something used as a measure, norm, or model in comparative
evaluations: the wages are low by today’s standards | the system
had become an industry standard.
• (standards) principles of conduct informed by notions of
honour and decency: a decline in moral standards.
• the prescribed weight of fine metal in gold or silver coins: the
sterling standard for silver.
• a system by which the value of a currency is defined in terms
of gold or silver or both.
• a measure for timber, equivalent to 165 cu. ft (4.67 cubic
metres).
3 (especially with reference to jazz or blues) a tune or song of
established popularity.
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4 a military or ceremonial flag carried on a pole or hoisted on a
rope.
• used in names of newspapers: a report in the Evening
Standard.
5 a tree or shrub that grows on an erect stem of full height.
• a shrub grafted on an erect stem and trained in tree form. [ as
modifier ] : a standard rose.
• Botany the large, frequently erect uppermost petal of a
papilionaceous flower. Also called vexillum.
• Botany one of the inner petals of an iris flower, frequently
erect.
6 an upright water or gas pipe.
adjective
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1 used or accepted as normal or average: the standard rate of
income tax | it is standard practice in museums to register objects
as they are acquired.
• (of a size, measure, design, etc.) regularly used or produced;
not special or exceptional: all these doors come in a range of
standard sizes.
• (of a work, repertoire, or writer) viewed as authoritative or of
permanent value and so widely read or performed: his essays on
the interpretation of reality became a standard text.
• denoting or relating to the form of a language widely accepted
as the usual correct form: speakers of standard English.
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2 [ attrib. ] (of a tree or shrub) growing on an erect stem of full
height. standard trees are useful for situations where immediate
height is needed.
• (of a shrub) grafted on an erect stem and trained in tree form:
standard roses.
PHRASES
raise one’s (or the) standard take up arms; oppose: he is the only
one who has dared raise his standard against her.
DERIVATIVES
standardly adverb any natural law theory standardly requires
a form of rational justification
ORIGIN Middle English (denoting a flag raised on a pole as a
rallying point, the authorized exemplar of a unit of
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measurement, or an upright timber): shortening of Old French
estendart, from estendre ‘extend’; in sense 4 of the noun, sense 5
of the noun, sense 6 of the noun, influenced by the verb stand.
essential | sɛnʃ(ə)l|
adjective
1 absolutely necessary; extremely important: [ with infinitive ] :
it is essential to keep up-to-date records | fibre is an essential
ingredient of our diet.
• [ attrib. ] fundamental or central to the nature of something or
someone: the essential weakness of the plaintiff’s case.
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2 (of an amino acid or fatty acid) required for normal growth
but not synthesized in the body and therefore necessary in the
diet.
3 Medicine (of a disease) with no known external stimulus or
cause; idiopathic: essential hypertension.
noun (usu. essentials)
a thing that is absolutely necessary: we only had the bare
essentials in the way of equipment.
• (essentials) the fundamental elements or characteristics of
something: he was quick to grasp the essentials of an opponent’s
argument.
DERIVATIVES
essentiality |-ʃ al ti| noun,
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essentialness noun
ORIGIN Middle English (in the sense ‘in the highest degree’):
from late Latin essentialis, from Latin essentia (see essence) .
standard
noun
1 the standard of work is very good: quality, level, grade, degree,
worth, calibre, merit, excellence.
2 half the beaches fail to comply with European standards:
guideline, norm, yardstick, benchmark, gauge, measure, criterion,
guide, touchstone, model, pattern, example, exemplar, paradigm,
ideal, archetype, specification, requirement, rule, principle, law,
canon.
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3 offenders against society’s standards are punished: principle,
rule of living; (standards) code of behaviour, code of honour,
morals, scruples, ethics, ideals.
4 the raising of the regiment’s standard will be a particularly
poignant moment: flag, banner, pennant, pennon, streamer,
ensign, colour(s), banderole; Brit. pendant; Nautical burgee; in
ancient Romevexillum; rare gonfalon, guidon, labarum.
adjective
1 the standard rate of income tax: normal, usual, typical, stock,
common, ordinary, customary, conventional, habitual,
accustomed, expected, wonted, everyday, regular, routine, day-to-
day, daily, established, settled, set, fixed, traditional, quotidian,
prevailing. ANTONYMS unusual, special.
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2 this book will certainly become the standard work on the
subject: definitive, established, classic, recognized, approved,
accepted, authoritative, most reliable, most complete, exhaustive,
official.
WORD TOOLKIT
standard
See typical.
Word Toolkits illustrate the difference between close synonyms by
means of words typically used with them.
complex | k mplɛks|
adjective
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1 consisting of many different and connected parts: a complex
network of water channels.
• not easy to analyse or understand; complicated or intricate: a
complex personality | the situation is more complex than it
appears.
2 Mathematics denoting or involving numbers or quantities
containing both a real and an imaginary part.
3 Chemistry denoting an ion or molecule in which one or more
groups are linked to a metal atom by coordinate bonds. in
naming complex ions, the names of the ligands are cited first.
noun
1 a group or system of different things that are linked in a close
or complicated way; a network: a complex of mountain roads.
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• a group of similar buildings or facilities on the same site: a
leisure complex | a complex of hotels.
2 Psychoanalysis a related group of repressed or partly
repressed emotionally significant ideas which cause psychic
conflict leading to abnormal mental states or behaviour.
• informal a strong or disproportionate concern or anxiety about
something: there’s no point having a complex about losing your
hair.
3 Chemistry an ion or molecule in which one or more groups are
linked to a metal atom by coordinate bonds. two guanine bases
can attach themselves to the same platinum atom, forming a
stable complex.
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• any loosely bonded species formed by the association of two
molecules: cross-linked protein–DNA complexes.
verb [ with obj. ] Chemistry
make (an atom or compound) form a complex with another: the
DNA was complexed with the nuclear extract.
DERIVATIVES
complexation noun(Chemistry),
complexly adverb
ORIGIN mid 17th cent. (in the sense ‘group of related elements’):
from Latin complexus, past participle (used as a noun) of
complectere ‘embrace, comprise’, later associated with complexus
‘plaited’; the adjective is partly via French complexe .
complex
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adjective
1 a complex situation | criminal law is an extremely complex
subject: complicated, involved, intricate, convoluted, tangled,
elaborate, serpentine, labyrinthine, tortuous, impenetrable,
Byzantine, Daedalian, Gordian; difficult, hard, knotty, tricky,
thorny, problematical; informal fiddly; rare involute, involuted.
ANTONYMS simple, straightforward.
2 a complex structure: compound, composite, compounded,
multiplex.
noun
1 a complex of mountain roads: network, system, interconnected
system/structure/scheme, nexus, web, tissue; combination,
composite, synthesis, fusion, aggregation.
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2 informal there’s no point having a complex about losing your
hair: obsession, phobia, fixation, preoccupation; neurosis;
Frenchidée fixe; informal hang-up, thing, bee in one’s bonnet.
WORD TOOLKIT
complex
See intricate.
Word Toolkits illustrate the difference between close synonyms by
means of words typically used with them.
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consequent | k ns kw(ə)nt|
adjective
1 following as a result or effect: the social problems of pupils and
their consequent educational difficulties | you’ve got a university
place consequent on your exam results.
• archaic logically consistent.
2 Geology (of a stream or valley) having a direction or character
determined by the original slope of the land before erosion.
noun
1 Logic the second part of a conditional proposition, whose truth is
stated to be implied by that of the antecedent.
2 Music the second or imitating voice or part in a canon.
 46 OF 288







ORIGIN late Middle English: via Old French from Latin
consequent- ‘overtaking, following closely’, from the verb
consequi .
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consequent
adjective
this was the best we could do, and we hope that the consequent
errors are not too great: resulting, resultant, ensuing,
consequential; following, subsequent, successive, sequential;
attendant, accompanying, concomitant; collateral, associated,
related, connected, linked. ANTONYMS causal; unrelated.
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course |kɔːs|
noun
1 the route or direction followed by a ship, aircraft, road, or river:
the road adopts a tortuous course along the coast | the new fleet
changed course to join the other ships.
• the way in which something progresses or develops: the course
of history.
• (also course of action) [ count noun ] a procedure adopted to
deal with a situation: my decision had seemed to be the wisest
course open to me at the time.
2 a dish, or a set of dishes served together, forming one of the
successive parts of a meal: guests are offered a choice of main
course | [ in combination ] : a four-course meal.
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3 an area of land set aside and prepared for racing, golf, or
another sport.
4 a series of lectures or lessons in a particular subject, leading to
an examination or qualification: a business studies course.
• Medicine a series of repeated treatments or doses of medication:
the doctor prescribed a course of antibiotics.
• Bell-ringing a series of changes which brings the bells back to
their original order, or the changes of a particular bell.
5 a continuous horizontal layer of brick, stone, or other material
in a wall.
6 a pursuit of game (especially hares) with greyhounds by sight
rather than scent.
7 a sail on the lowest yards of a square-rigged ship.
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8 a set of adjacent strings on a guitar, lute, etc., tuned to the
same note.
verb
1 [ no obj., with adverbial of direction ] (of liquid) move without
obstruction; flow: tears were coursing down her cheeks | figurative :
exultation coursed through him.
2 [ with obj. ] pursue (game, especially hares) with greyhounds
using sight rather than scent: many of the hares coursed escaped
unharmed | [ no obj. ] : she would course for hares with her
greyhounds.
PHRASES
course of action see course ( sense 1 of the noun).
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the course of nature events or processes which are normal and to
be expected: each man would, in the course of nature, have his
private opinions.
in (the) course of —— 1 undergoing the specified process: a new
text book was in course of preparation. 2 during the specified
period or activity: he was a friend to many people in the course
of his life.
in (or over) the course of time as time goes by: the property will
deteriorate in the course of time.
of course used to introduce an idea or action as being obvious or
to be expected: the point is of course that the puzzle itself is
misleading. • used to give or emphasize agreement or permission:
‘Can I see you for a minute?’ ‘Of course.’. • introducing a
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qualification or admission: of course we’ve been in touch by
phone, but I wanted to see things for myself.
off course not following the intended route. the car went
careering off course.
on course following the intended route: he battled to keep the ship
on course | figurative : we need to spend money to get the economy
back on course. • (on course for/to do something) likely to
achieve something: he was on course for victory.
run (or take) its course complete its natural development without
interference: his illness had to run its course to the crisis.
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French cours, from Latin
cursus, from curs- ‘run’, from the verb currere .
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course
noun
1 the island was not very far off our course: route, way, track,
direction, tack, path, line, journey, itinerary, channel, trail,
trajectory, flight path, bearing, heading, orbit, circuit, beat,
round, run.
2 a device which changed the course of history: progression,
development, progress, advance, advancement, evolution,
unfolding, flow, movement, continuity, sequence, order,
succession, rise, march, furtherance, forwarding, proceeding.
3 what is the best course to adopt? plan (of action), course of
action, method of working, MO, line of action, process, procedure,
practice, approach, technique, style, manner, way, means, mode
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of behaviour, mode of conduct, methodology, system, policy,
strategy, programme, formula, regimen; Latinmodus operandi;
rare praxis.
4 the race is over ten laps of the course: track, racetrack,
racecourse, circuit, ground, stadium, speedway, velodrome, route,
trail; in ancient Romecircus; rare cirque.
5 the waiter served them their next course: dish, menu item.
6 work flowed in during the course of the day: duration, passing,
passage, lapse, period, term, span, spell, sweep.
7 he’s taking a course in art history: programme of study,
course of study, educational programme, set of lectures,
curriculum, syllabus, schedule; classes, lectures, studies.
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8 a course of antibiotics: programme, series, sequence, system,
schedule, regimen.
9 six courses of bricks were laid: layer, thickness, stratum, seam,
vein, band, bed.
PHRASES
in due course I look forward to hearing from you in due course:
at the appropriate time, when the time is ripe, in time, in due
time, in the fullness of time, in the course of time, at a later time,
at a later date, at length, at a future time/date, at some point in
the future, in the future, in time to come, as time goes on/by, by
and by, one day, some day, sooner or later, in a while, after a bit,
eventually.
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of course 1 there are, of course, exceptions to the rule: naturally,
as might be expected, as you/one would expect, needless to say,
not unexpectedly, certainly, to be sure, as was anticipated, as a
matter of course; obviously, clearly, it goes without saying;
informal natch. 2 ‘Have you got a minute?’ ‘Of course.’: yes,
certainly, definitely, absolutely, by all means, with pleasure;
informal sure thing.
on course he remains on course for re-election in two years: on
track, on target, on schedule.
verb
1 she was aware of the blood coursing through her veins: flow,
pour, race, stream, run, rush, gush, pump, move, cascade, flood,
surge, sweep, roll; Brit. informal sloosh.
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2 several hares are coursed each week on the estate: hunt, chase,
pursue, stalk, run down, run after, give chase to, follow, track,
trail, shadow, hound, dog; informal tail.
giddiness | g d n s|
noun [ mass noun ]
1 a sensation of whirling and a tendency to fall or stagger;
dizziness: symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and giddiness.
2 a state of excitable frivolity. the fans can be forgiven their
giddiness.
giddiness
noun
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I nearly fell down with giddiness: dizziness, light-headedness, loss
of balance/equilibrium, spinning/swimming of the head;
faintness, weakness at the knees, unsteadiness, shakiness,
wobbliness; Scottish mirligoes, dwalm; informal wooziness, legs
like jelly, rubbery legs; technical megrim, sturdy, scotoma;
archaic turnsick; rare vertiginousness. ANTONYMS steadiness.
seedy | siːdi|
adjective (seedier, seediest)
1 sordid and disreputable: his seedy affair with a soft-porn
starlet.
• shabby and squalid: an increasingly seedy and dilapidated
property.
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2 dated unwell: she felt weak and seedy.
DERIVATIVES
seedily adverb,
seediness noun
seedy
adjective
1 he began hanging out at a seedy bar: sordid, disreputable,
seamy, sleazy, corrupt, shameful, low, dark, squalid,
unwholesome, unsavoury, rough, mean, nasty, unpleasant.
ANTONYMS classy.
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2 the live-in caretaker of a seedy block of flats: dilapidated,
tumbledown, ramshackle, derelict, ruinous, falling to pieces,
decrepit, gone to rack and ruin, in ruins, broken-down,
crumbling, decaying, disintegrating; neglected, uncared-for,
unmaintained, depressed, run down, down at heel, shabby,
dingy, slummy, insalubrious, squalid; informal shambly,
crummy; Brit. informal grotty; N. Amer. informal shacky.
ANTONYMS high-class, fashionable.
3 dated feeling rather seedy. See ill (sense 1 of the adjective).
sordid | sɔːd d|
adjective
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1 involving immoral or dishonourable actions and motives;
arousing moral distaste and contempt: the story paints a sordid
picture of bribes and scams.
2 dirty or squalid: the overcrowded housing conditions were
sordid and degrading.
DERIVATIVES
sordidly adverb,
sordidness noun
ORIGIN late Middle English (as a medical term in the sense
‘purulent’): from French sordide or Latin sordidus, from sordere
‘be dirty’. The current senses date from the early 17th cent.
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disreputable |d s rɛpj təb(ə)l|
adjective
not considered to be respectable in character or appearance: he
was heavy, grubby, and vaguely disreputable.
DERIVATIVES
disreputableness noun,
disreputably adverb
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out of order 1 (of a device) not working properly or at all. the
elevator was out of order. 2 not in the correct sequence. he
recorded the seven pieces out of order. 3 not according to the rules
of a meeting, legislative assembly, etc. he ruled the objection out
of order. • Brit. informal (of a person or their behaviour)
unacceptable or wrong: Chris was well out of order.
order | ɔːdə|
noun
1 [ mass noun ] the arrangement or disposition of people or things
in relation to each other according to a particular sequence,
pattern, or method: I filed the cards in alphabetical order.
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• a state in which everything is in its correct or appropriate
place: she tried to put her shattered thoughts into some
semblance of order.
• a state in which the laws and rules regulating public behaviour
are observed and authority is obeyed: the army was deployed to
keep order.
• the prescribed or established procedure followed by a meeting,
legislative assembly, debate, or court of law: the meeting was
called to order.
• a stated form of liturgical service, or of administration of a rite,
prescribed by ecclesiastical authority.
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2 an authoritative command or instruction: he was not going to
take orders from a mere administrator | [ with infinitive ] : the
skipper gave the order to abandon ship.
• a verbal or written request for something to be made, supplied,
or served: the firm has won an order for six tankers.
• a thing made, supplied, or served as a result of an order: he
would deliver special orders for the Sunday dinner.
• a written direction of a court or judge: she was admitted to
hospital under a guardianship order.
• a written direction to pay money or deliver property.
3 a particular social, political, or economic system: they were
dedicated to overthrowing the established order.
• (often orders) a social class: the upper social orders.
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• a rank in the Christian ministry, especially that of bishop,
priest, or deacon.
• (orders) the rank of a member of the clergy or an ordained
minister of the Church: he took priest’s orders. See also holy
orders.
• Theology any of the nine grades of angelic beings in the
celestial hierarchy as formulated by Pseudo-Dionysius.
4 (also Order)a society of monks, nuns, or friars living under the
same religious, moral, and social regulations and discipline: the
Franciscan Order.
• historical a society of knights bound by a common rule of life
and having a combined military and monastic character. the
Templars were also known as the Order of Christ.
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• an institution founded by a monarch along the lines of a
medieval crusading monastic order for the purpose of honouring
meritorious conduct.
• the insignia worn by members of an order of honour or merit.
• a Masonic or similar fraternity.
5 [ in sing. ] the quality or nature of something: poetry of the
highest order.
• [ with adj. ] the overall state or condition of something: the
house had only just been vacated and was in good order.
6 Biology a principal taxonomic category that ranks below class
and above family. the higher orders of insects.
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7 any of the five classical styles of architecture (Doric, Ionic,
Corinthian, Tuscan, and Composite) based on the proportions of
columns and the style of their decoration.
• any style of architecture subject to uniform established
proportions.
8 [ mass noun ] [ with modifier ] Military equipment or
uniform for a specified purpose or of a specified type: the platoon
changed from drill order into PT kit.
• (the order) the position in which a rifle is held after ordering
arms. See order arms below.
9 Mathematics the degree of complexity of an equation,
expression, etc., as denoted by an ordinal number.
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• the number of differentiations required to reach the highest
derivative in a differential equation.
• the number of elements in a finite group.
• the number of rows or columns in a square matrix.
verb
1 [ reporting verb ] give an authoritative instruction to do
something: [ with obj. and infinitive ] : she ordered me to leave |
[ with direct speech ] : ‘Stop frowning,’ he ordered | [ with
clause ] : he ordered that the ship be abandoned | [ with obj. ] :
the judge ordered a retrial.
• [ with obj. ] (order someone about/around) continually tell
someone to do things in an overbearing way. she resented being
ordered about.
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• [ with obj. and complement ] N. Amer.command (something) to
be done or (someone) to be treated in a particular way: he
ordered the anchor dropped.
2 [ with obj. ] request (something) to be made, supplied, or served:
my mate ordered the tickets last week | [ with two objs ] : I asked
the security guard to order me a taxi | [ no obj. ] : are you ready
to order, sir?
3 [ with obj. ] arrange (something) in a methodical way: all
entries are ordered by date | (as adj., in combination-ordered) :
her normally well-ordered life.
PHRASES
by order according to directions given by the proper authority.
he was released from prison by order of the court.
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in order 1 according to a particular sequence. list the points you
intend to cover and put them in order. 2 in the correct condition
for operation or use. it is the liquidator’s task to put the affairs
of the company in order. 3 in accordance with the rules of
procedure at a meeting, legislative assembly, etc. surely it is in
order for Conservative Members to put various policy options to
the Prime Minister? • appropriate in the circumstances: a little
bit of flattery was now in order.
in order for (or that)so that: staff must be committed to the
change in order for it to succeed.
in order to do something with the purpose of doing something: he
slouched into his seat in order to avoid drawing attention to
himself.
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of the order of chiefly Brit. 1 approximately: sales increases are
of the order of 20%. 2 Mathematics having the order of
magnitude specified by.
on order (of goods) requested but not yet received from the
supplier or manufacturer. the helicopters have been on order for
two years.
on the order of chiefly N. Amer. 1 approximately. 2 similar to:
singers on the order of Janis Joplin.
Order! (or Order! Order!)a call for silence or the observance of
the prescribed procedures by someone in charge of a meeting,
legislative assembly, etc.
order arms Military hold a rifle with its butt on the ground
close to one’s right side.
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order of battle the units, formations, and equipment of a military
force.
the order of the day 1 the prevailing custom or state of affairs:
on Sundays, a black suit was the order of the day | confusion
would seem to be the order of the day. 2 (in a legislature) the
business to be considered on a particular day.
orders are orders commands must be obeyed, however much one
may disagree with them. orders are orders and you’re only doing
your duty.
order to view Brit.an estate agent’s request to an occupier to
allow inspection of their premises by a client.
out of order 1 (of a device) not working properly or at all. the
elevator was out of order. 2 not in the correct sequence. he
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recorded the seven pieces out of order. 3 not according to the rules
of a meeting, legislative assembly, etc. he ruled the objection out
of order. • Brit. informal (of a person or their behaviour)
unacceptable or wrong: Chris was well out of order.
to order according to a customer’s particular requirements: the
jumpers are knitted to order.
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French ordre, from Latin
ordo, ordin- ‘row, series, rank’.
order
noun
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1 the list is in alphabetical order: sequence, arrangement,
organization, disposition, structure, system, series, succession;
grouping, classification, categorization, codification,
systematization, disposal, form; layout, array, set-up, line-up.
2 I tried to restore the room to some semblance of order: tidiness,
neatness, orderliness, trimness, harmony, apple-pie order.
ANTONYMS chaos, disarray, untidiness.
3 6,000 police were needed to keep order: peace, control, lawful
behaviour, law and order, law, lawfulness, discipline, calm, quiet,
peace and quiet, quietness, peacefulness, peaceableness,
tranquillity, serenity. ANTONYMS disorder.
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4 the idea appealed to his sense of order: orderliness,
organization, method, system; symmetry, pattern, uniformity,
regularity, routine.
5 all the equipment was in good order: condition, state, repair,
shape, situation.
6 I had no choice but to obey his orders: command, instruction,
directive, direction, decree, edict, injunction, mandate, dictate,
commandment; law, rule, regulation, ordinance, statute, fiat,
diktat; demand, bidding, requirement, stipulation; summons,
writ, warrant; in Spanish-speaking countriespronunciamento; in
Tsarist Russiaukase; informal say-so; literary behest; rare
rescript.
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7 winning the order would mean about £60 million worth of work
for the company: commission, purchase order, request,
requisition, demand, call; booking, reservation, application.
8 the upper and lower orders of society: class, level, rank, caste,
grade, degree, position, station, category.
9 the established social order: system, class system, hierarchy,
pecking order, grouping, grading, ranking, scale.
10 the higher orders of insects: taxonomic group, class, subclass,
family, species, breed; technical taxon.
11 the head of a religious order: community, brotherhood,
sisterhood.
12 the Independent Orange Order: organization, association,
society, fellowship, body, fraternity, confraternity, sorority,
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brotherhood, sisterhood, lodge, guild, league, union, club;
denomination, sect; rare sodality.
13 diplomatic skills of a very high order: type, kind, sort, nature,
variety, ilk, genre, cast, style, brand, vintage; quality, calibre,
standard.
PHRASES
in order 1 list the points you intend to cover and put them in
order: in sequence, in alphabetical order, in numerical order, in
order of priority, in order of merit, in order of seniority. 2 when
he switched on the light and went in, he found everything in
order: tidy, neat, neat and tidy, orderly, straight, trim, shipshape
(and Bristol fashion), in apple-pie order, spick and span; in
position, in place. 3 I think it’s in order for me to take the credit,
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don’t you? appropriate, fitting, suitable, right, correct, proper;
acceptable, all right, permissible, permitted, allowable;
Frenchcomme il faut; informal okay.
of the order of the reduction was of the order of 11 percent:
roughly, approximately, about, around, just about, round about,
or so, or thereabouts, more or less, in the neighbourhood of, in the
region of, in the area of, in the vicinity of, something like, or
thereabouts, give or take (a few), in round numbers, rounded up/
down; near to, close to, nearly, not far off, almost, approaching;
Brit. getting on for; Latincirca; informal pushing, as near as
dammit; N. Amer. informal in the ballpark of; archaic nigh.
ANTONYMS precisely.
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the order of the day spectacle is the order of the day for many
younger artists: predominant, prevalent, current, customary,
established, common, widespread, preponderant, in force, in effect,
popular; informal the in thing.
out of order 1 the lift’s out of order: not working, not in working
order, not functioning, broken, broken-down, out of service, out of
commission, acting up, unserviceable, faulty, defective, non-
functional, inoperative, in disrepair; down; informal conked out,
bust, (gone) kaput, gone phut, on the blink, gone haywire, shot;
Brit. informal knackered, jiggered, wonky; N. Amer. informal on
the fritz, out of whack; Brit. vulgar slang buggered. 2 he wanted
to sack her on the spot—that’s really out of order: unacceptable,
unfair, unjust, unjustified, uncalled for, below the belt, out of
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turn, not done, unreasonable, unwarranted, unnecessary, wrong,
beyond the pale, improper, irregular; informal not on, a bit
much; Brit. informal a bit thick, off, not cricket; Austral./NZ
informal over the fence.
verb
1 he ordered me to return at once: instruct, command, direct,
enjoin, give the order to, give the command to, tell, require, charge,
adjure; literary bid.
2 Judge Butler ordered that assets worth £23,000 be confiscated
under the Drugs Trafficking Act: decree, ordain, rule, legislate,
lay down, dictate, prescribe, pronounce, determine; rare enact.
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3 you can order your tickets by phone: request, apply for, send
away/off for, write off for, put in an order for, place an order for,
requisition; book, reserve; commission, contract for; rare bespeak.
4 Derek struggled to order his thoughts | the messages are
ordered alphabetically: organize, put in order, set in order,
arrange, sort out, straighten out, marshal, dispose, lay out,
regulate; group, classify, categorize, catalogue, codify,
systematize, systemize, tabulate; Medicine triage; rare methodize.
PHRASES
order someone about/around tell someone what to do, give orders
to, boss about/around, bully, lord it over, dictate to, ride
roughshod over, dominate, domineer, browbeat; throw one’s
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weight about/around, lay down the law; informal push about/
around.
symptom | s m(p)təm|
noun
a physical or mental feature which is regarded as indicating a
condition of disease, particularly such a feature that is apparent
to the patient: dental problems may be a symptom of other illness.
Compare with sign ( sense 1 of the noun).
• an indication of the existence of something, especially of an
undesirable situation: the government was plagued by leaks—a
symptom of divisions and poor morale.
DERIVATIVES
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symptomless adjective
ORIGIN late Middle English synthoma, from medieval Latin,
based on Greek sumptōma ‘chance, symptom’, from sumpiptein
‘happen’; later influenced by French symptome .
symptom
noun
1 he described the symptoms of the disease: manifestation,
indication, indicator, sign, mark, feature, trait; Medicine
prodrome.
2 these bookshops are a symptom of the country’s present turmoil:
expression, sign, indication, mark, token, manifestation; omen,
augury, portent, warning, testimony, evidence, proof, clue, hint.
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virulent | v r l(ə)nt, v rj -|
adjective
1 (of a disease or poison) extremely severe or harmful in its
effects. a virulent strain of influenza. the poison is so virulent
that it kills a fish instantly.
• (of a pathogen, especially a virus) highly infective.
Staphylococcus aureus is a common organism whose virulent
strains are causing problems.
2 bitterly hostile: a virulent attack on liberalism.
DERIVATIVES
virulence noun,
virulently adverb
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ORIGIN late Middle English (originally describing a poisoned
wound): from Latin virulentus, from virus ‘poison’ (see virus) .
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virulent
adjective
1 some plant varieties can withstand being sprayed by the most
virulent herbicides: poisonous, toxic, venomous, noxious, deadly,
lethal, fatal, mortal, terminal, death-dealing, life-threatening,
dangerous, harmful, injurious, pernicious, damaging, destructive,
unsafe; contaminating, polluting; literary deathly, nocuous,
mephitic; archaic baneful. ANTONYMS non-toxic, harmless,
safe.
2 a virulent epidemic of cholera swept through London: highly
infectious, highly infective, highly contagious, infectious, infective,
contagious, rapidly spreading, communicable, transmittable,
transmissible, spreading, malignant, uncontrollable, pernicious,
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pestilential; severe, extreme, violent, dangerous, harmful, lethal,
life-threatening; informal catching; literary pestiferous.
ANTONYMS non-contagious.
3 a virulent attack on contemporary morals: vitriolic, malicious,
malevolent, malignant, malign, evil-intentioned, resentful,
hostile, spiteful, venomous, vicious, vindictive, bitter, rancorous,
acrimonious, mordant, astringent, incisive, cutting, biting,
scathing, caustic, stinging, blistering, searing, withering, abusive,
mean, nasty, aggressive, savage, harsh, devastating; informal
bitchy, catty; literary malefic, maleficent. ANTONYMS
amicable, benevolent.
impel | m pɛl|
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verb (impels, impelling, impelled) [ with obj. ]
drive, force, or urge (someone) to do something: financial
difficulties impelled him to desperate measures | [ with obj. and
infinitive ] : a lack of equality impelled the oppressed to fight.
• drive forward; propel: vital energies impel him in unforeseen
directions.
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘propel’): from Latin
impellere, from in- ‘towards’ + pellere ‘to drive’.
impel
verb
1 her sense of duty impelled her to keep up appearances: force,
compel, constrain, oblige, necessitate, require, demand, make,
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urge, exhort, press, apply pressure, pressure, pressurize, drive,
push, spur, prod, goad, incite, prompt, persuade, inspire.
2 vital energies impel him in unforeseen directions: propel, drive,
drive forwards, move forwards, move, actuate, set in motion, get
going, get moving.
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diagnosis | dʌ əg nə s s|
noun (pl.diagnoses |-siːz| ) [ mass noun ]
1 the identification of the nature of an illness or other problem by
examination of the symptoms: early diagnosis and treatment are
essential | [ count noun ] : a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease was
made.
2 the distinctive characterization in precise terms of a genus,
species, or phenomenon.
ORIGIN late 17th cent.: modern Latin, from Greek, from
diagignōskein ‘distinguish, discern’, from dia ‘apart’ +
gignōskein ‘recognize, know’.
diagnosis
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noun
1 the correct diagnosis of appendicitis depends on clinical
acumen: identification, recognition, discovery, detection,
pinpointing, reading, determination; confirmation, verification.
2 the experts could offer no diagnosis: opinion, prognosis,
judgement, verdict, pronouncement, conclusion, interpretation;
solution, result.
sensation |sɛn se ʃ(ə)n|
noun
1 a physical feeling or perception resulting from something that
happens to or comes into contact with the body: a burning
sensation in the middle of the chest.
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• [ mass noun ] the capacity to have physical sensations: they
had lost sensation in one or both forearms.
• an inexplicable awareness or impression: [ with clause ] : she
had the eerie sensation that she was being watched.
2 a widespread reaction of interest and excitement: his arrest for
poisoning caused a sensation.
• a person, object, or event that arouses widespread interest and
excitement: she was a sensation, the talk of the evening.
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from medieval Latin sensatio(n-),
from Latin sensus (see sense) .
sensation
noun
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1 excessive pressure on the eyeball causes a sensation of light:
feeling, sense, awareness, consciousness, perception, impression,
tickle, tingle, prickle.
2 I caused something of a sensation by announcing that this
boat would cost £1m: commotion, stir, uproar, furore, outrage,
scandal, impact; interest, excitement, agitation; informal splash,
to-do, hullabaloo.
3 the new cars were a sensation when they first appeared: great
success, sell-out, triumph, star attraction, talking point; informal
smash, smash hit, hit, box-office hit, show-stopper, winner,
crowd-puller, wow, knockout, biggie.
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ever
adverb
1 it’s the best thing I’ve ever done: at any time, at any point, on
any occasion, under any circumstances, on any account; up till
now, until now.
2 ever the optimist, he was intent on winning: always, forever, at
all times, eternally, until the end of time; informal until the
twelfth of never, until the cows come home, until hell freezes over,
until doomsday. ANTONYMS never.
3 the statistics show an ever increasing rate of crime: continually,
constantly, always, at all times, endlessly, perpetually,
incessantly, unceasingly, unremittingly, repeatedly, recurrently.
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4 will she ever learn? at all, in any way, on earth.
PHRASES
ever so Brit. informal she’s ever so happy. See extremely.
ever | ɛvə|
adverb
1 [ usu. with negative or in questions ] at any time: nothing ever
seemed to ruffle her | don’t you ever regret giving up all that
money?
• used in comparisons for emphasis: they felt better than ever
before | our biggest ever range.
2 at all times; always: ever the man of action, he was impatient
with intellectuals | caravan holidays remain as popular as ever |
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they lived happily ever after | [ in combination ] : he toyed with
his ever-present cigar.
3 [ with comparative ] increasingly; constantly: having to borrow
ever larger sums.
4 used for emphasis in questions expressing astonishment or
outrage: who ever heard of a grown man being frightened of the
dark? | why ever did you do it?
PHRASES
ever again [ usu. with negative ] at any time in the future: I
never have to set foot inside a classroom ever again | I honestly
cannot imagine ever again working in an office for someone else.
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ever and anon archaic occasionally: ever and anon the stillness is
rent by the scream of a gibbon.[from Shakespeare’s Love’s
Labour’s Lost ( v. ii. 101).]
ever since throughout the period since: she had lived alone ever
since her husband died.
ever so/such Brit. informal very; very much: I am ever so
grateful | she’s ever such a pretty cat | thanks ever so.
for ever see forever.
yours ever (also ever yours)a formula used to end an informal
letter, before the signature.
ORIGIN Old English ǣfre, of unknown origin.
felt 1 |fɛlt|
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noun [ mass noun ]
a kind of cloth made by rolling and pressing wool or another
suitable textile accompanied by the application of moisture or
heat, which causes the constituent fibres to mat together to create
a smooth surface. [ as modifier ] : a felt hat.
verb [ with obj. ]
1 make into felt; mat together. the fibres are shredded and felted
together.
• [ no obj. ] become matted: care must be taken in washing, or
the wool will shrink and felt.
2 cover with felt: (as adj.felted) : a felted roof.
DERIVATIVES
felty adjective
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ORIGIN Old English, of West Germanic origin; related to
Dutch vilt, also to filter.
felt 2 |fɛlt|
past and past participle of feel.
feel |fiːl|
verb (past and past participlefelt |fɛlt| ) [ with obj. ]
1 be aware of (a person or object) through touching or being
touched: she felt someone touch her shoulder | you can feel the
soft grass beneath your feet.
• be aware of (something happening) through physical sensation:
she felt the ground give way beneath her.
• examine or search by touch: he touched her head and felt her
hair | [ no obj. ] : he felt around for the matches.
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• [ no obj. ] be capable of sensation: the dead cannot feel.
• [ no obj., with complement ] give a sensation of a particular
physical quality when touched: the wool feels soft.
• (feel something out) informal investigate something cautiously:
they want to feel out the situation.
• (feel someone up) informal fondle someone surreptitiously and
without their consent, for one’s own sexual stimulation.
2 experience (an emotion or sensation): I felt a sense of
excitement | [ no obj., with complement ] : she started to feel really
sick | it felt odd to be alone again | [ no obj. ] : we feel very
strongly about freedom of expression.
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• [ no obj., with complement ] consider oneself to be in a
particular state or exhibiting particular qualities: he doesn’t feel
obliged to visit every weekend | she felt such a fool.
• [ no obj. ] (feel up to) have the strength and energy to do or
deal with: after the accident she didn’t feel up to driving.
• [ usu. with negative ] (feel oneself) be healthy and well: Ruth
was not quite feeling herself.
• be strongly affected by: he didn’t feel the loss of his mother so
keenly | investors who have felt the effects of the recession.
• [ no obj. ] (feel for) have compassion for: poor woman—I do
feel for her.
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3 [ with clause ] have a belief or impression, especially without
an identifiable reason: she felt that the woman positively disliked
her.
• hold an opinion: I felt I could make a useful contribution.
noun [ usu. in sing. ]
1 an act of touching something to examine it.
• [ mass noun ] the sense of touch: he worked by feel rather than
using his eyes.
2 a sensation given by an object or material when touched:
nylon cloth with a cotton feel.
• the impression given by something: a cafe with a cosmopolitan
feel.
PHRASES
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feel one’s age become aware that one is growing older and less
energetic.
feel free (to do something)have no hesitation or shyness (often
used as an invitation or for reassurance): feel free to say what
you like.
feel like (doing) something be inclined to have or do: I feel like
celebrating.
feel one’s oats see oat.
feel the pinch see pinch.
feel the pulse of see pulse 1 .
feel small see small.
feel one’s way find one’s way by touch rather than sight: he felt
his way back to the stairs. • proceed cautiously, especially in a
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situation that is unfamiliar: she was new in the job, still feeling
her way.
get a (or the) feel for (or of)become accustomed to: you can
explore to get a feel of the place.
have a feel for have a sensitive appreciation or an intuitive
understanding of: you have to have a feel for animals.
make oneself (or one’s presence) felt have a noticeable effect or
influence: the economic crisis began to make itself felt.
ORIGIN Old English fēlan, of West Germanic origin; related to
Dutch voelen and German fühlen .
feel
verb
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1 she encourages her customers to feel the fabrics: touch, stroke,
caress, fondle, finger, thumb, handle, manipulate, fiddle with, play
with, toy with, maul; put one’s hand on, lay a finger on;
informal paw.
2 she felt a steady breeze on her back: perceive, sense, detect,
discern, make out, notice, observe, identify; be sensible of, have a
sensation of, be aware of, be conscious of.
3 the patient does not feel pain during the procedure: experience,
undergo, go through, bear, endure, suffer, be forced to contend
with; know, have.
4 he began to feel his way towards the door: grope, fumble,
scrabble, pick, poke, explore.
5 feel the temperature of the water: test, try, try out, assess.
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6 he feels that he should go to the meeting: believe, think, consider
it right, consider, fancy, be of the opinion, hold, maintain, judge,
deem; suspect, suppose, assume, presume, conclude, come to the
conclusion that; N. Amer. figure; informal reckon. ANTONYMS
doubt.
7 I feel that he is only biding his time: sense, have a feeling, get
the impression, feel in one’s bones, have a hunch, have a funny
feeling, just know, intuit.
8 the air feels damp: seem, appear, strike one as.
PHRASES
feel for the press persecuted John and I felt for him: sympathize
with, be sorry for, pity, feel pity for, feel sympathy for, feel
compassion for, empathize with, identify with, be moved by, weep
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for, grieve for, sorrow for; commiserate with, condole with;
archaic compassion.
feel like I feel like an ice cream: want, would like, wish for, desire,
fancy, feel in need of, feel the need for, long for, crave, hanker
after, pine for, thirst for, be desperate for, be bent on; informal
have a yen for, yen for, be dying for.
noun
1 in murky water the divers work by feel: touch, sense of touch,
tactile sense, tactility, feeling, feeling one’s way, contact; texture.
2 he liked the feel of the paper: texture, surface, finish, grain, nap;
weight, thickness, consistency; quality, character.
3 lighting can radically alter the feel of a room: atmosphere,
ambience, aura, mood, feeling, air, impression, climate, character,
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overtone, undertone, tenor, spirit, quality, flavour, colour;
informal vibrations, vibes, vibe; rare subcurrent.
4 he has a real feel for the language: aptitude, knack, flair, bent,
talent, gift, art, trick, faculty, ability, propensity, inclination;
head, mind, brain; informal know-how.
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liver 1 | l və|
noun
a large lobed glandular organ in the abdomen of vertebrates,
involved in many metabolic processes. cholesterol may
accumulate in the liver. a liver transplant.
• a organ similar to the liver in other animals.
• [ mass noun ] the flesh of an animal’s liver as food: [ as
modifier ] : liver pâté.
• [ mass noun ] a dark reddish brown. [ in combination ] : liver-
coloured lesions.
The liver’s main role is in the processing of the products of
digestion into substances useful to the body. It also neutralizes
harmful substances in the blood, secretes bile for the digestion of
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fats, synthesizes plasma proteins, and stores glycogen and some
minerals and vitamins. It was formerly supposed to be the seat
of love and violent emotion.
ORIGIN Old English lifer, of Germanic origin; related to
German Leber,Dutch lever .
liver 2 | l və|
noun [ with adj. or noun modifier ]
a person who lives in a specified way: a clean liver | high livers.
liver
noun
WORD LINKS
hepatic relating to the liver
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hepato- related prefix, as in hepatotoxic
hepatitis inflammation of the liver
hepatectomy removal of the liver
Word Links sections supply words that are related to the
headword but do not normally appear in a thesaurus because
they are not actual synonyms.
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abnormal |əb nɔːm(ə)l|
adjective
deviating from what is normal or usual, typically in a way that
is undesirable or worrying: the illness is recognizable from the
patient’s abnormal behaviour.
DERIVATIVES
abnormally adverb
ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: alteration (by association with Latin
abnormis ‘monstrous’) of 16th-cent. anormal, from French,
variant of anomal, via Latin from Greek anōmalos (see
anomalous) .
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abnormal
adjective
the laboratory investigations often yielded abnormal results:
unusual, uncommon, atypical, untypical, non-typical,
unrepresentative, rare, isolated, irregular, anomalous, deviant,
deviating, divergent, wayward, aberrant, freak, freakish; strange,
odd, peculiar, curious, bizarre, weird, queer; eccentric,
idiosyncratic, quirky; unexpected, unfamiliar, unconventional,
surprising, unorthodox, singular, exceptional, extraordinary, out
of the ordinary, out of the way; unnatural, perverse, perverted,
twisted, warped, corrupt, unhealthy, distorted, malformed; Brit.
out of the common; informal funny, oddball, off the wall, wacky,
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wacko, way out, freaky, kinky. ANTONYMS normal, typical,
common.
viral | vʌ r(ə)l|
adjective
1 of the nature of, caused by, or relating to a virus or viruses.
2 (of an image, video, piece of information, etc.) circulated
rapidly and widely from one Internet user to another: a viral ad
campaign | the video went viral and was seen by millions.
noun
an image, video, piece of information, etc. that is circulated
rapidly and widely on the Internet: the rise of virals in online
marketing.
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DERIVATIVES
virally adverb
whistle | w s(ə)l|
noun
1 a clear, high-pitched sound made by forcing breath through a
small hole between partly closed lips, or between one’s teeth.
• any similar high-pitched sound: the whistle of the boiling kettle.
• an instrument used to produce such a sound, especially for
giving a signal.
2 Brit. informal a suit.[from rhyming slang whistle and flute.]
verb
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1 [ no obj. ] emit a clear, high-pitched sound by forcing breath
through a small hole between one’s lips or teeth: the audience
cheered and whistled.
• [ with obj. ] produce (a tune) by whistling. the postman
whistled an old Rolling Stones number.
• emit a high-pitched sound: the kettle began to whistle.
• [ no obj., with adverbial ] produce a high-pitched sound by
moving rapidly through the air or a narrow opening: the wind
was whistling down the chimney.
• blow a whistle, especially as a signal: the referee did not
whistle for a foul.
• [ with obj. ] (whistle someone/thing up) summon something or
someone by making such a sound.
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2 [ no obj. ] (whistle for) wish for or expect (something) in vain:
you can go home and whistle for your wages.
PHRASES
blow the whistle on informal bring an illicit activity to an end by
informing on (the person responsible).
(as) clean as a whistle extremely clean or clear. • informal free
of incriminating evidence: the cops raided the warehouse but the
place was clean as a whistle.
whistle something down the wind 1 let something go; abandon
something. 2 archaic turn a trained hawk loose by casting it off
with the wind.
whistle in the dark pretend to be unafraid.
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whistle in the wind try unsuccessfully to influence something
that cannot be changed.
ORIGIN Old English (h)wistlian (verb), (h)wistle (noun), of
Germanic origin; imitative and related to Swedish vissla ‘to
whistle’.
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adept
adjective |ə dɛpt, adɛpt|
very skilled or proficient at something: she is adept at cutting
through red tape | an adept negotiator.
noun | adɛpt|
a person who is skilled or proficient at something: he is an adept
at imitation.
DERIVATIVES
adeptly adverb,
adeptness noun
ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Latin adeptus ‘achieved’, past
participle of adipisci ‘obtain, attain’.
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adept
adjective
the Minoans were adept at sculpting figures from ivory: expert,
proficient, accomplished, skilful, talented, gifted, masterly,
virtuoso, consummate, peerless; adroit, dexterous, deft, nimble-
fingered, handy, artful, able, capable, competent; brilliant, very
good, splendid, marvellous, formidable, outstanding, first-rate,
first-class, excellent, impressive, fine; informal great, top-notch,
top-drawer, top-hole, tip-top, A1, wizard, magic, ace, fab,
smashing, mean, crack, nifty, deadly, slick; Brit. informal brill,
a dab hand at; N. Amer. informal crackerjack; archaic or
humorous compleat; rare habile. ANTONYMS inept; mediocre.
noun
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adepts at kung fu and karate can smash through stacks of
roofing tiles. See expert (noun).
penultimate |p nʌlt mət|
adjective [ attrib. ]
last but one in a series of things; second last: the penultimate
chapter of the book.
ORIGIN late 17th cent.: from Latin paenultimus, from paene
‘almost’ + ultimus ‘last’, on the pattern of ultimate.
absolute | absəluːt|
adjective
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1 not qualified or diminished in any way; total: absolute secrecy |
absolute silence.
• used for emphasis when expressing an opinion: the policy is
absolute folly.
• (of powers or rights) not subject to any limitation;
unconditional: no one dare challenge her absolute authority | the
right to life is absolute.
• (of a ruler) having unrestricted power: Dom Miguel
proclaimed himself absolute monarch.
• Law (of a decree) final: the decree of nullity was made absolute.
See also decree absolute.
2 viewed or existing independently and not in relation to other
things; not relative or comparative: absolute moral standards.
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3 Grammar (of a construction) syntactically independent of the
rest of the sentence, as in dinner being over, we left the table.
• (of a transitive verb) used without an expressed object (e.g. guns
kill).
• (of an adjective) used without an expressed noun (e.g. the
brave).
nounPhilosophy
a value or principle which is regarded as universally valid or
which may be viewed without relation to other things: good and
evil are presented as absolutes.
• (the absolute) that which exists without being dependent on
anything else.
• (the Absolute) ultimate reality; God.
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DERIVATIVES
absoluteness noun
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin absolutus ‘freed,
unrestricted’, past participle of absolvere (see absolve) .
absolute | absəluːt|
adjective
1 not qualified or diminished in any way; total: absolute secrecy |
absolute silence.
• used for emphasis when expressing an opinion: the policy is
absolute folly.
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• (of powers or rights) not subject to any limitation;
unconditional: no one dare challenge her absolute authority | the
right to life is absolute.
• (of a ruler) having unrestricted power: Dom Miguel
proclaimed himself absolute monarch.
• Law (of a decree) final: the decree of nullity was made absolute.
See also decree absolute.
2 viewed or existing independently and not in relation to other
things; not relative or comparative: absolute moral standards.
3 Grammar (of a construction) syntactically independent of the
rest of the sentence, as in dinner being over, we left the table.
• (of a transitive verb) used without an expressed object (e.g. guns
kill).
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• (of an adjective) used without an expressed noun (e.g. the
brave).
nounPhilosophy
a value or principle which is regarded as universally valid or
which may be viewed without relation to other things: good and
evil are presented as absolutes.
• (the absolute) that which exists without being dependent on
anything else.
• (the Absolute) ultimate reality; God.
DERIVATIVES
absoluteness noun
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin absolutus ‘freed,
unrestricted’, past participle of absolvere (see absolve) .
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integral
adjective | nt gr(ə)l, n tɛgr(ə)l|
1 necessary to make a whole complete; essential or fundamental:
games are an integral part of the school’s curriculum | systematic
training should be integral to library management.
• included as part of a whole rather than supplied separately:
the unit comes complete with integral pump and heater.
• having all the parts that are necessary to be complete: the first
integral recording of the ten Mahler symphonies.
2 Mathematics of or denoted by an integer.
• involving only integers, especially as coefficients of a function.
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noun | nt gr(ə)l| Mathematics
a function of which a given function is the derivative, i.e. which
yields that function when differentiated, and which may express
the area under the curve of a graph of the function. See also
definite integral, indefinite integral.
• a function satisfying a given differential equation.
DERIVATIVES
integrality |- gral ti| noun,
integrally adverb
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from late Latin integralis, from integer
‘whole’ (see integer). Compare with integrate and integrity.
usage: There are two possible pronunciations for integral as an
adjective: one with the stress on the in- and the other with the
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stress on the -teg-. In British English, the second pronunciation is
sometimes frowned on, but both are acceptable as standard.
integral
adjective
1 communicating is an integral part of all human behaviour:
essential, fundamental, basic, intrinsic, inherent, constitutive,
innate, structural; vital, indispensable, necessary, requisite.
ANTONYMS incidental; peripheral.
2 the travelling hairdryer has integral cord storage: built-in,
inbuilt, integrated, incorporated, fitted, component, constituent;
rare integrant. ANTONYMS add-on.
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3 an integral approach to users and their needs: unified,
integrated, comprehensive, organic, composite, combined,
aggregate, undivided, overall, gross, entire, complete, whole, total,
full, intact. ANTONYMS fragmented; partial.
termination |təːm ne ʃ(ə)n|
noun
1 [ mass noun ] the action of terminating something or the fact
of being terminated: the termination of a contract.
• [ count noun ] an induced abortion. they would not want a
termination even if the baby was disabled.
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• [ count noun ] chiefly N. Amer.an act of dismissing someone
from employment. workers were informed of the terminations on
Wednesday.
• [ count noun ] chiefly N. Amer.an assassination.
2 a word’s final syllable or letters or letter, especially when
constituting an element in inflection or derivation.
3 [ with adj. ] archaic an ending or result of a specified kind: a
good result and a happy termination.
DERIVATIVES
terminational adjective
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘determination,
decision’): from Old French, or from Latin terminatio(n-), from
terminare ‘to limit, end’.
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termination
noun
1 the termination of a contract: ending, end, closing, close,
conclusion, finish, stop, stopping, stop, winding up,
discontinuance, discontinuation, breaking off, cessation, cutting
short; cancellation, dissolution; Law cesser, lapse; informal wind-
up. ANTONYMS start, beginning.
2 she never considered having a termination: abortion; rare
feticide.
sagacious |sə ge ʃəs|
adjective
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having or showing keen mental discernment and good judgement;
wise or shrewd: they were sagacious enough to avoid any
outright confrontation.
DERIVATIVES
sagaciously adverb
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from Latin sagax, sagac- ‘wise’ + -
ious.
sagacious
adjective
the President sent his most sagacious aide to help Republican
candidates: wise, clever, intelligent, with/showing great knowledge,
knowledgeable, sensible, sage; discerning, judicious, canny,
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penetrating, perceptive, acute, astute, shrewd, prudent, politic,
thoughtful, full of insight, insightful, percipient, perspicacious,
philosophical, profound, deep; informal streetwise; rare sapient.
ANTONYMS stupid, foolish.
pugnacious |pʌg ne ʃəs|
adjective
eager or quick to argue, quarrel, or fight: the increasingly
pugnacious demeanour of right-wing politicians.
DERIVATIVES
pugnaciously adverb
pugnacity |- nas ti| noun
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ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Latin pugnax, pugnac- (from
pugnare ‘to fight’, from pugnus ‘fist’) + -ious.
pugnacious
adjective
the bouncer that night was a pugnacious 42-year-old from East
London: combative, aggressive, antagonistic, belligerent, bellicose,
warlike, quarrelsome, argumentative, contentious, disputatious,
defiant, hostile, threatening, truculent; irascible, fiery, hot-
tempered, ill-tempered, bad-tempered, rough. ANTONYMS
peaceable; friendly.
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malicious |mə l ʃəs|
adjective
characterized by malice; intending or intended to do harm: he
was found guilty of malicious damage | a hotbed of rumour and
malicious chit-chat | the transmission of malicious software such
as computer viruses.
DERIVATIVES
maliciously adverb,
maliciousness noun
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French malicios, from Latin
malitiosus, from malitia (see malice) .
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malicious
adjective
he bore their malicious insults with dignity: spiteful, malevolent,
hostile, bitter, venomous, poisonous, evil-intentioned, ill-natured,
evil, baleful, vindictive, vengeful, vitriolic, rancorous, malign,
malignant, pernicious, mean, nasty, harmful, hurtful,
mischievous, destructive, wounding, cruel, unkind, defamatory;
informal bitchy, catty; literary malefic, maleficent.
ANTONYMS benevolent.
tenacious |t ne ʃəs|
adjective
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tending to keep a firm hold of something; clinging or adhering
closely: a tenacious grip.
• not readily relinquishing a position, principle, or course of
action; determined: this tenacious defence of local liberties |
you’re tenacious and you get at the truth.
• persisting in existence; not easily dispelled: a tenacious local
legend.
DERIVATIVES
tenaciously adverb,
tenaciousness noun
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from Latin tenax, tenac- (from tenere
‘to hold’) + -ious.
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tenacious
adjective
1 he paused for a moment, but without releasing his tenacious
grip: firm, tight, fast, clinging; strong, forceful, powerful,
unshakeable, immovable, iron. ANTONYMS loose, weak.
2 he had a reputation for being a tenacious man | a tenacious
battle to secure compensation: persevering, persistent,
pertinacious, determined, dogged, single-minded, strong-willed,
tireless, indefatigable, resolute, patient, purposeful, diligent,
assiduous, sedulous, unflagging, staunch, steadfast, untiring,
unwavering, unswerving, unshakeable, unyielding,
uncompromising, insistent, importunate, relentless, unrelenting,
inexorable, implacable; stubborn, intransigent, obstinate,
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obdurate, stiff-necked; N. Amer. rock-ribbed. ANTONYMS
irresolute.
3 he had a tenacious memory: retentive, good; photographic.
4 she struggled to free herself from the tenacious mud: sticky,
adhesive, clinging, gluey, gummy, glutinous, viscid, viscous,
mucilaginous; Brit. claggy; Scottish & N. English clarty.
garrulous | gar(j) ləs|
adjective
excessively talkative, especially on trivial matters: a garrulous cab
driver.
DERIVATIVES
garrulously adverb,
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garrulousness noun
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from Latin garrulus (from garrire ‘to
chatter, prattle’) + -ous.
garrulous
adjective
1 a garrulous old man who chattered like a magpie: talkative,
loquacious, voluble, verbose, long-winded, chatty, chattery,
chattering, gossipy, gossiping, babbling, blathering, prattling,
prating, jabbering, gushing, effusive, expansive, forthcoming,
conversational, communicative; informal mouthy, gabby, gassy,
windy, talky, yacking, big-mouthed, with the gift of the gab,
having kissed the Blarney Stone; Brit. informal wittering, able to
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talk the hind legs off a donkey, gobby; rare multiloquent,
multiloquous. ANTONYMS taciturn; reticent.
2 his garrulous and unreliable reminiscences: long-winded,
wordy, verbose, prolix, lengthy, prolonged; rambling, wandering,
maundering, meandering, digressive, diffuse, discursive,
periphrastic; gossipy, chatty; informal windy, gassy.
ANTONYMS concise.
WORD TOOLKIT
garrulous
See talkative.
Word Toolkits illustrate the difference between close synonyms by
means of words typically used with them.
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talkative | tɔːkət v|
adjective
fond of or given to talking: the talkative driver hadn’t stopped
chatting.
DERIVATIVES
talkatively adverb,
talkativeness noun
talkative
adjective
a talkative cab driver: chatty, loquacious, garrulous, voluble,
conversational, gossipy, gossiping, chattery, chattering, babbling,
blathering, gibbering, communicative; long-winded, wordy,
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verbose, profuse, prolix, rambling, gushing, effusive; informal
gabby, mouthy, big-mouthed, with the gift of the gab, having
kissed the blarney stone, yakking, gassy, talky; Brit. informal
able to talk the hind legs off a donkey; rare multiloquent,
multiloquous. ANTONYMS taciturn, reticent.
WORD TOOLKIT
talkative voluble garrulous
mood
nature
child
fellow
parrot critics
crowd
public
actress
fans old fool
crows
big shot
crone
geezer
Word Toolkits illustrate the difference between close synonyms by
means of words typically used with them.
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sedative | sɛdət v|
adjective
promoting calm or inducing sleep: the seeds have a sedative effect.
noun
a drug taken for its calming or sleep-inducing effect. she won’t
let them give her sedatives because of the baby. a mild sedative.
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French sedatif or
medieval Latin sedativus, from Latin sedat- ‘settled’, from the
verb sedare (see sedate 1 ) .
sedative
adjective
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he took a combination of sedative drugs: tranquillizing, calming,
depressant, soothing, calmative, relaxing, soporific; Medicine
neuroleptic.
noun
the doctor gave him a sedative: tranquillizer, calmative,
depressant, sleeping pill, soporific, narcotic, opiate; Medicine
neuroleptic; informal trank, sleeper, downer.
vocative | v kət v| Grammar
adjective
relating to or denoting a case of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives
in Latin and other languages, used in addressing or invoking a
person or thing.
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noun
a word in the vocative case.
• (the vocative) the vocative case.
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French vocatif, -ive or
Latin vocativus, from vocare ‘to call’.
tinsel | t ns(ə)l|
noun [ mass noun ]
a form of decoration consisting of thin strips of shiny metal foil
attached to a long piece of thread. a room bedecked with tinsel
and fairy lights.
• showy or superficial attractiveness or glamour: his taste for the
tinsel of the art world.
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DERIVATIVES
tinselled (UStinseled)adjective,
tinselly adjective
ORIGIN late Middle English (denoting fabric either
interwoven with metallic thread or spangled): from Old French
estincele ‘spark’, or estinceler ‘to sparkle’, based on Latin scintilla
‘a spark’.
tinsel
noun
1 fairy lights and tinsel hung from the ceiling: spangle, glitter,
metallic yarn; rare clinquant.
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2 his taste for the tinsel of the art world: ostentation, showiness,
show, showing off, ostentatiousness, pretentiousness, pretension,
vulgarity, conspicuousness, obtrusiveness, display, flamboyance,
gaudiness, garishness, tawdriness, meretriciousness, brashness,
loudness, extravagance, ornateness, theatricality; kitschness,
affectation, bad taste, tastelessness, self-advertisement,
exhibitionism, flaunting; informal flashiness, flash, flashness,
glitz, glitziness, ritziness, swankiness, swank, splashiness.
adjective
Hollywood and its tinsel stardom: ostentatious, pretentious,
showy, conspicuous, obtrusive, flamboyant, gaudy, garish,
tawdry, meretricious, trashy, brash, vulgar, loud, extravagant,
fancy, ornate, affected, theatrical, overdone, over-elaborate;
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kitsch, tasteless; informal flash, flashy, over the top, OTT, glitzy,
ritzy, swanky, splashy; N. Amer. informal superfly, bling-bling,
dicty.
tinkle | t ŋk(ə)l|
verb
1 make or cause to make a light, clear ringing sound: [ no obj. ] :
cool water tinkled in the stone fountains | [ with obj. ] : the maid
tinkled a bell.
2 [ no obj. ] Brit. informal urinate. I needed to tinkle.
noun
1 a light, clear ringing sound: the distant tinkle of a cow bell.
• Brit. informal a telephone call: I’ll give them a tinkle.
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2 Brit. informal an act of urinating. you have to pay to go in
for a tinkle.
DERIVATIVES
tinkly adjective (tinklier, tinkliest)
ORIGIN late Middle English (also in the sense ‘tingle’):
frequentative of obsolete tink‘to chink or clink’, of imitative origin.
tinkle
verb
1 a bell tinkled as he went into the shop: ring, jingle, jangle,
chime, peal, ding, ping, clink, chink; rare tintinnabulate.
2 cool water tinkled in the stone fountain: splash, purl, babble,
burble; literary plash.
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noun
1 the tinkle of the doorbell: ring, chime, peal, ding, ping, clink,
chink, jingle, jangle; rare tintinnabulation.
2 the faint tinkle of water: splash, purl, babble, burble; literary
plash.
3 Brit. informal I’ll give them a tinkle: telephone call, phone call,
call; informal buzz; Brit. informal ring, bell.
decoration |dɛkə re ʃ(ə)n|
noun
1 [ mass noun ] the process or art of decorating something: the
lavish decoration of cloth with gilt | interior decoration.
• ornamentation: inside there was little decoration.
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• chiefly Brit.paint or wallpaper applied when decorating a
room: an authority on English furniture and decoration.
• [ count noun ] a thing that serves as an ornament: Christmas
tree decorations.
2 a medal or award conferred as an honour. a decoration won on
the field of battle. he was awarded the highest Australian
decoration.
ORIGIN late Middle English: from late Latin decoratio(n-),
from the verb decorare (see decorate) .
decoration
noun
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1 a vaulted ceiling with rich decoration: ornamentation,
adornment, trimming, embellishment, garnishing, gilding;
beautification, prettification; enhancements, enrichments, frills,
accessories, trimmings, finery, frippery.
2 the carriages were built with simple but attractive internal
decoration. See decor.
3 a Christmas tree decoration: ornament, trinket, bauble, knick-
knack, gimcrack, spangle, doodah, gewgaw, folderol, fandangle;
trimming, tinsel.
4 a decoration won on the field of battle: medal, award, badge,
star, ribbon, laurel, wreath, trophy, prize; colours, insignia;
military slang fruit salad; Brit. informal gong.
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tinpot | t np t|
adjective [ attrib. ] Brit. informal
(especially of a country or its leader) having or showing poor
leadership or organization: a tinpot dictator.
colourful | kʌləf l, -f(ə)l| (UScolorful)
adjective
1 having much or varied colour; bright: a colourful array of
fruit.
2 full of interest; lively and exciting: a controversial and
colourful character | a colourful account.
• involving variously disreputable activities: the financier had
had a colourful career.
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• (of language) vulgar or rude: she made it clear, in colourful
language, that she did not wish to talk to the police.
DERIVATIVES
colourfully adverb,
colourfulness noun
colourful
adjective
1 a colourful array of fruit: brightly coloured, bright-coloured,
deep-coloured, brilliant, glowing, radiant, vivid, rich, vibrant;
eye-catching, flamboyant, showy, gaudy, glaring, garish, flashy;
multicoloured, multicolour, many-coloured, many-hued,
rainbow, rainbow-like, varicoloured, variegated, harlequin,
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motley, prismatic, polychromatic, psychedelic; informal jazzy,
(looking) like an explosion in a paint factory. ANTONYMS
colourless.
2 he regaled her with a colourful account of that afternoon’s
meeting: vivid, graphic, lively, animated, dramatic, striking,
arresting, picturesque, interesting, stimulating, fascinating,
scintillating, rich, evocative, detailed, highly coloured.
ANTONYMS colourless.
labyrinth | lab(ə)r nθ|
noun
1 a complicated irregular network of passages or paths in which
it is difficult to find one’s way; a maze:
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labyrinth 1
you lose yourself in a labyrinth of little streets.
• an intricate and confusing arrangement: a labyrinth of
conflicting laws and regulations.
2 Anatomy a complex structure in the inner ear which contains
the organs of hearing and balance. It consists of bony cavities
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(the bony labyrinth) filled with fluid and lined with sensitive
membranes (the membranous labyrinth).
• Zoology an accessory respiratory organ of certain fish.
DERIVATIVES
labyrinthian |- r nθ ən| adjective
ORIGIN late Middle English (referring to the maze constructed
by Daedalus to house the Minotaur): from French labyrinthe or
Latin labyrinthus, from Greek laburinthos .
labyrinth
noun
1 a labyrinth of little streets: maze, warren, network, complex,
web, coil, entanglement.
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2 the labyrinth of conflicting laws and regulations: tangle, web,
morass, jungle, snarl, twist, turn, complexity, confusion,
complication, entanglement, convolution, intricacy; jumble,
mishmash, hotchpotch, hodgepodge; archaic perplexity.
meandering |mi andər ŋ|
adjective
following a winding course: meandering rivers flow at vastly
different rates.
• proceeding in a convoluted or undirected fashion: a brilliant
sample of meandering discourse | a florid and rather
meandering melody.
noun (usu. meanderings)
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an act of following a winding course: ox-bow lagoons left by the
river’s meanderings.
• an act of wandering in a leisurely or aimless manner: in the
course of his meanderings through the city.
• [ mass noun ] convoluted or undirected thought or language:
he has a penchant for obscure verbal meanderings.
meander |m andə|
verb [ no obj., with adverbial of direction ]
(of a river or road) follow a winding course: a river that
meandered gently through a meadow.
• wander at random: kids meandered in and out.
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• [ no obj. ] (of language, thought, etc.) proceed aimlessly or with
little purpose: a stylish offbeat thriller which occasionally
meanders.
noun (usu. meanders)
a winding curve or bend of a river or road: the river flows in
sweeping meanders.
• [ in sing. ] an indirect or aimless journey: a leisurely meander
round the twisting coastline road.
• an ornamental pattern of winding or interlocking lines.
ORIGIN late 16th cent. (as a noun): from Latin maeander,
from Greek Maiandros, the name of a river (see Menderes) .
meandering
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adjective
1 a meandering stream: winding, windy, zigzag, zigzagging,
twisting, turning, curving, serpentine, sinuous, snaking, snaky,
twisty, tortuous; rare anfractuous, flexuous, meandrous.
ANTONYMS straight.
2 meandering reminiscences: rambling, circuitous, roundabout,
digressive, discursive, indirect, diffuse, tortuous, convoluted; rare
anfractuous. ANTONYMS succinct.
WORD TOOLKIT
meandering
See serpentine.
Word Toolkits illustrate the difference between close synonyms by
means of words typically used with them.
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meander
verb
1 the river meandered gently through the meadow: zigzag, wind,
twist, turn, curve, curl, bend, snake.
2 we meandered along the path: stroll, saunter, amble, wander,
roam, ramble, rove, drift, maunder, stray, straggle; Scottish &
Irish stravaig; Irish streel; informal mosey, tootle; rare vagabond.
3 she meandered on about the difficulties: ramble, prattle,
maunder, prate, blather, blether, blither, drivel, chatter, rattle,
drift; Brit. informal witter, waffle, rabbit, natter.
noun
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1 the river flows in sweeping meanders: bend, loop, curve, twist,
turn, turning, coil, zigzag, oxbow, convolution; rare
anfractuosity, flexuosity.
2 a leisurely meander: wander, ramble, stroll, saunter, amble;
informal mosey, tootle.
rotate |rə( ) te t|
verb
1 move or cause to move in a circle round an axis or centre: [ no
obj. ] : the wheel continued to rotate | (as adj.rotating) : a
rotating drum | [ with obj. ] : the small directional side rockets
rotated the craft.
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2 [ no obj. ] pass to each member of a group in a regularly
recurring order: the job of chairing the meeting rotates.
• [ with obj. ] grow (different crops) in succession on a particular
piece of land to avoid exhausting the soil: these crops were
sometimes rotated with grass.
• [ with obj. ] change the position of (tyres) on a motor vehicle to
distribute wear. radial tyres should only be rotated from front to
rear on the same side.
DERIVATIVES
rotatable adjective,
rotative | rə tət v| adjective,
rotatory | rə tət(ə)ri, - te t(ə)ri| adjective
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ORIGIN late 17th cent.: from Latin rotat- ‘turned in a circle’,
from the verb rotare, from rota ‘wheel’.
rotate
verb
1 the wheels had to rotate continually to provide power: revolve, go
round, turn, turn round, move round, spin, gyrate, wheel, whirl,
twirl, swivel, circle, pirouette, pivot, reel.
2 many nurses rotate between high risk and low risk areas
during the course of their work: alternate, take turns, take it in
turns, work/act in sequence, trade places, change, switch,
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interchange, exchange, swap; pass from one to another in
rotation, move around.
pace 1 |pe s|
noun
1 a single step taken when walking or running. Kirov stepped
back a pace.
• a unit of length representing the distance between two
successive steps in walking. her eyes could size up a lad’s wallet
at fifty paces.
• a gait of a horse or other animal, especially one of the
recognized trained gaits of a horse.
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• [ mass noun ] literary a person’s manner of walking or
running: I steal with quiet pace.
2 [ mass noun ] speed in walking, running, or moving: he’s an
aggressive player with plenty of pace | [ in sing. ] : the ring road
allows traffic to flow at a remarkably fast pace.
• the speed or rate at which something happens or develops: the
industrial boom gathered pace | [ in sing. ] : the story rips along
at a cracking pace.
• Cricket the state of a wicket as affecting the speed of the ball.
he can cope with the pace of the Australian wickets.
verb
1 [ no obj., with adverbial of direction ] walk at a steady speed,
especially without a particular destination and as an expression
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of anxiety or annoyance: we paced up and down in exasperation |
[ with obj. ] : she had been pacing the room.
• [ with obj. ] measure (a distance) by walking it and counting
the number of steps taken: I paced out the dimensions of my new
home.
• [ no obj. ] (of a trained horse) move in a distinctive lateral gait
in which both legs on the same side are lifted together. he will
suddenly pace for a few steps, then go back into normal walk.
2 [ with obj. and adverbial ] move or develop (something) at a
particular rate or speed: the action is paced to the beat of a perky
march | (as adj., in combination-paced) : our fast-paced daily
lives.
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• lead (another runner in a race) in order to establish a
competitive speed: McKenna paced us for four miles.
• (pace oneself) do something at a slow and steady rate in order
to avoid overexertion: Frank was pacing himself for the long
night ahead.
PHRASES
change of pace chiefly N. Amer.a change from what one is used
to: the magenta is a change of pace from traditional red.
keep pace with move or progress at the same speed or rate as: fees
have been raised to keep pace with inflation.
off the pace behind the leader or leading group in a race or
contest. Duncan was two seconds off the pace. figurative : he was
well off the pace when it came to team politics.
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put someone (or something) through their (or its) paces make
someone (or something) demonstrate their (or its) abilities.
military musicians put would-be bandsmen through their paces.
set the pace be the fastest runner in the early part of a race.
Nolan set the pace over the cross-country course. • lead the way
in doing something: space movies have set the pace for the
development of special effects.
stand (or stay) the pace be able to keep up with another or others.
a sprinter will never stand the pace with a distance man.
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French pas, from Latin
passus ‘stretch (of the leg)’, from pandere ‘to stretch’.
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pace
noun
1 he stepped back a pace: step, stride, footstep.
2 they continued their steady slow pace: gait, stride, walk, tread,
march; rhythm.
3 he had driven home at a furious pace: speed, rate, swiftness,
quickness, rapidity, velocity, tempo, momentum; informal clip,
lick.
verb
she paced up and down | the chauffeur paced the forecourt
anxiously: walk, stride, tread, march, pound, patrol, walk up and
down, walk back and forth, cross, traverse.
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wriggle | r g(ə)l|
verb
1 twist and turn with quick writhing movements: [ no obj. ] : she
kicked and wriggled but he held her firmly | [ with obj. ] : she
wriggled her bare, brown toes.
• [ no obj., with adverbial of direction ] move in a particular
direction with wriggling movements: Susie wriggled out of her
clothes.
2 [ no obj. ] (wriggle out of) avoid (something) by devious means:
don’t try and wriggle out of your contract.
noun
a wriggling movement: she gave an impatient little wriggle.
DERIVATIVES
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wriggler noun,
wriggly adjective (wrigglier, wriggliest)
ORIGIN late 15th cent.: from Middle Low German wriggelen,
frequentative of wriggen ‘twist, turn’.
wriggle
verb
1 she tried to hug him but he fought and wriggled: squirm,
writhe, wiggle, jiggle, jerk, thresh, flounder, flail, twitch, turn,
twist, twist and turn, zigzag; snake, worm, slither, slink, crawl,
creep.
2 he tried to wriggle out of his responsibilities: avoid, shirk, dodge,
evade, elude, sidestep, circumvent, eschew; hide from, escape from,
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extricate oneself from, steer clear of; informal duck; archaic bilk.
ANTONYMS face up to.
noun
squirm, jiggle, wiggle, jerk, twist, turn.
cordial | kɔːd əl|
adjective
1 warm and friendly: the atmosphere was cordial and relaxed.
2 strongly felt: I earned his cordial loathing.
noun
1 Brit.a sweet fruit-flavoured drink. wine cups and fruit cordials.
[ mass noun ] : a tall glass of blackcurrant cordial.
• N. Amer. another term for liqueur.
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2 a pleasant-tasting medicine.
DERIVATIVES
cordiality |- al ti| noun,
cordially adverb
ORIGIN Middle English (also in the sense ‘belonging to the
heart’): from medieval Latin cordialis, from Latin cor, cord-
‘heart’.
cordial
adjective
1 he would always receive a cordial welcome at their house:
friendly, warm, genial, affable, amiable, pleasant, fond,
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affectionate, warm-hearted, good-natured, gracious, hospitable,
welcoming; sincere, earnest, wholehearted, heartfelt, hearty,
enthusiastic, eager. ANTONYMS unfriendly.
2 I earned his cordial loathing: intense, strong, acute, violent,
fierce, keen, fervent, ardent, passionate; heartfelt, wholehearted,
deep, deep-seated, deep-rooted, profound, overwhelming,
overpowering; rare fervid, perfervid, passional. ANTONYMS
mild.
noun
1 I often drank water with fruit cordial: squash, crush,
concentrate.
2 N. Amer. ginger wine is a cordial drunk at Christmas time:
liqueur; alcoholic drink.
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heartfelt | hɑːtfɛlt|
adjective
(of a feeling or its expression) deeply and strongly felt; sincere:
our heartfelt thanks.
heartfelt
adjective
our heartfelt thanks: sincere, genuine, unfeigned, deeply felt,
from the heart; earnest, profound, deep, wholehearted, ardent,
fervent, passionate, enthusiastic, eager, kindly, warm, cordial;
honest, bona fide; rare full-hearted. ANTONYMS insincere.
instinctive | n st ŋ(k)t v|
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adjective
relating to or prompted by instinct; done without conscious
thought: an instinctive distaste for conflict.
• (of a person) doing or being a specified thing apparently
naturally or automatically: he was an instinctive cook.
DERIVATIVES
instinctively adverb
instinctive
adjective
an instinctive understanding of machines | his instinctive
reaction is to blame someone else: intuitive, natural, innate,
inborn, inherent, inbred, instinctual, unconscious, subconscious,
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subliminal, emotional, intuitional, untaught, unlearned;
automatic, reflex, knee-jerk, mechanical, spontaneous,
involuntary, impulsive, unconditioned, unthinking,
unpremeditated; informal gut. ANTONYMS learned; conscious;
voluntary.
innate | ne t, ne t|
adjective
inborn; natural: her innate capacity for organization.
• Philosophy originating in the mind.
DERIVATIVES
innately adverb,
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innateness noun
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin innatus, past
participle of innasci, from in- ‘into’ + nasci ‘be born’.
innate
adjective
people differ in terms of their innate abilities: inborn, natural,
inbred, congenital, inherent, intrinsic, instinctive, intuitive,
spontaneous, unlearned, untaught; hereditary, inherited, in the
blood, in the family; quintessential, organic, essential, basic,
fundamental, constitutional, built-in, inbuilt, ingrown, deep-
rooted, deep-seated; rare connate, connatural. ANTONYMS
acquired.
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CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD
innate, inherent, intrinsic, essential
See inherent.
These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between closely
related synonyms to help you find the best word.
rational | raʃ(ə)n(ə)l|
adjective
1 based on or in accordance with reason or logic: I’m sure there’s
a perfectly rational explanation.
• able to think sensibly or logically: Ursula’s upset—she’s not
being very rational.
• endowed with the capacity to reason: man is a rational being.
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2 Mathematics (of a number, quantity, or expression) expressible,
or containing quantities which are expressible, as a ratio of
whole numbers.
DERIVATIVES
rationality |- nal ti| noun,
rationally adverb
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘having the ability to
reason’): from Latin rationalis, from ratio(n-)‘reckoning,
reason’ (see ratio) .
rational
adjective
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1 a rational approach to the problem: logical, reasoned, well
reasoned, sensible, reasonable, cogent, coherent, intelligent, wise,
judicious, sagacious, astute, shrewd, perceptive, enlightened,
clear-eyed, clear-sighted, commonsensical, common-sense, well
advised, well grounded, sound, sober, prudent, circumspect, politic;
down-to-earth, practical, pragmatic, matter-of-fact, hard-headed,
with both one’s feet on the ground, unidealistic; informal joined-
up. ANTONYMS irrational, illogical.
2 she was not fully rational at the time of signing the agreement:
lucid, coherent, sane, in one’s right mind, able to think/reason
clearly, of sound mind, in possession of all one’s faculties; normal,
balanced, well balanced, clear-headed; Latincompos mentis;
informal all there. ANTONYMS insane.
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3 man is a self-conscious, rational being: intelligent, thinking,
discriminating, reasoning; cognitive, mental, cerebral, logical,
analytical, conceptual; rare ratiocinative.
inherent | n h ər(ə)nt, - hɛr(ə)nt|
adjective
existing in something as a permanent, essential, or characteristic
attribute: any form of mountaineering has its inherent dangers.
• Law vested in (someone) as a right or privilege.
• Linguistics (of an adjective) having the same meaning in both
attributive and predicative uses.
DERIVATIVES
inherence noun,
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inherently adverb
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from Latin inhaerent- ‘sticking to’,
from the verb inhaerere, from in- ‘in, towards’ + haerere ‘to stick’.
inherent
adjective
his belief in the inherent goodness of man: intrinsic, innate,
immanent, built-in, inborn, ingrained, deep-rooted; essential,
fundamental, basic, implicit, structural, characteristic, organic;
inseparable, permanent, indelible, ineradicable, ineffaceable,
inexpungible; natural, instinctive, instinctual, congenital, native;
rare connate, connatural. ANTONYMS acquired; alien.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD
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inherent, intrinsic, essential, innate
These words are all applied to qualities or features that are a
central element in something’s or someone’s nature.
■ Inherent is typically used to qualify words having negative
connotations (any form of mountaineering has its inherent
dangers | the anti-male sexism inherent in some areas of child
care). It tends to be used as a warning, indicating the
undesirable features or consequences of something.
■ Intrinsic is a more general term for an element regarded as
central to something’s nature. A feature or quality described as
intrinsic is typically either neutral or good (access to the arts is
intrinsic to a high quality of life). Intrinsic is often used to
emphasize that something possesses a quality in its own right,
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not through external or incidental factors (the analysis is
worthwhile because of its intrinsic interest).
■ An essential feature of someone or something is one that is so
important to their nature that without it they would not be the
same person or thing (ensuring that others have their turn is an
essential feature of citizenship | human expertise is essential to
any organization). Something may therefore be defined or
summarized by reference to an essential element (his essential
point is that those who hold information hold power). Essential
may be used to suggest that a characteristic is in fact
fundamental to someone, even if more superficial characteristics
conceal or contradict it (a belief in the essential goodness of
human nature).
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■ An innate characteristic is literally one with which someone is
born, contrasted with one that is acquired at some later stage in
life (everything speaks of innate good taste | students with innate
ability). Innate is also used in a weakened sense of ‘great’ or
‘deep-seated’ (he had an innate respect for a fellow professional
sportsman).
These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between closely
related synonyms to help you find the best word.
inborn | nbɔːn, n bɔːn|
adjective
existing from birth: an inborn defect in the formation of collagen.
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• natural to a person or animal: people think doctors have
inborn compassion.
inborn
adjective
a child’s inborn linguistic ability: innate, congenital, existing
from birth; inherent, inherited, hereditary, in the family, in one’s
genes, bred in the bone, inbred; natural, native, constitutional,
deep-seated, deep-rooted, ingrained, in one’s blood, inbuilt,
instinctive, instinctual, unlearned; rare connate, connatural.
ANTONYMS acquired, learned.
venial | viːn əl|
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adjectiveChristian Theology
denoting a sin that is not regarded as depriving the soul of
divine grace. we cannot prevent ourselves sometimes from
dreaming of performing venial if not mortal sins. everything
I’ve disclosed up to now can be seen as venial. Often contrasted
with mortal.
• (of a fault or offence) slight and pardonable.
DERIVATIVES
veniality |- al ti| noun,
venially adverb
ORIGIN Middle English: via Old French from late Latin
venialis, from venia ‘forgiveness’.
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usage: Venal and venial are sometimes confused. Venal means
‘susceptible to bribery, corrupt’, as in local customs officers are
notoriously venal, whereas venial is used to refer to a sin or
offence that is excusable or pardonable, as opposed to a mortal
sin.
venial
adjective
he had compounded a number of venial failings with the mortal
sin of adultery: pardonable, forgivable, excusable, condonable,
tolerable, permissible, allowable, understandable, justifiable;
slight, minor, unimportant, insignificant, trivial, trifling, not
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serious, all right, within accepted bounds. ANTONYMS
unforgivable, unpardonable, mortal.
EASILY CONFUSED WORDS
venial or venal?
There is only one letter’s difference in the spelling of these words;
but it marks the difference between a word used to excuse a
minor transgression and one denoting something far worse.
Venial is a Christian theological term for a sin that is less serious
than a mortal sin; more loosely, it denotes faults or offences that
are regarded as slight and pardonable (smoking cigarettes
became a venial sin in suburban high schools). Venal, on the
other hand, means ‘susceptible to bribery’ (drug traffickers
flourish where policemen are venal or lazy).
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These notes clear up confusion between similar-looking pairs.
minor | mʌ nə|
adjective
1 lesser in importance, seriousness, or significance: she requested
a number of minor alterations.
2 Music (of a scale) having intervals of a semitone between the
second and third degrees, and (usually) the fifth and sixth, and
the seventh and eighth. Contrasted with major.
• (of an interval) characteristic of a minor scale and less by a
semitone than the equivalent major interval. the E flat clarinet
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sounds a minor third higher than the written notes. Compare
with diminished.
• [ usu. postpositive ] (of a key or mode) based on a minor scale
and tending to produce a sad or pensive effect: Concerto in A
minor.
3 Brit. dated (following a surname in public schools) indicating
the younger of two brothers: Smith minor.
4 Logic (of a term) occurring as the subject of the conclusion of
a categorical syllogism.
• (of a premise) containing the minor term in a categorical
syllogism.
noun
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1 a person under the age of full legal responsibility. the court
would take account of the minor’s wishes.
2 Music a minor key, interval, or scale.
• Bell-ringing a system of change-ringing using six bells.
3 (minors) N. Amer.the minor leagues in baseball or American
football: Salinas was one of six teams in the minors.
4 N. Amer.a student’s subsidiary subject or course: a minor in
American Indian studies.
5 Logic a minor term or premise.
6 Bridge short for minor suit. a bid of two no trumps shows
strength in the minors.
7 a small drab moth which has purplish caterpillars that feed on
grass.
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●Genus Oligia, family Noctuidae.
verb [ no obj. ] (minor in) N. Amer.
study as or qualify in a subsidiary subject at college or
university. Clark had minored in Animal Science.
PHRASES
in a minor key (especially of a literary work) understated. only
Britain’s poetry, composed in a minor key, is disregarded.
ORIGIN Middle English: from Latin, ‘smaller, less’; related to
minuere ‘lessen’. The term originally denoted a Franciscan friar,
suggested by the Latin name Fratres Minores (‘Lesser Brethren’),
chosen by St Francis for the order.
minor
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adjective
1 minor structural alterations | a relatively minor problem: slight,
small; unimportant, insignificant, inconsequential,
inconsiderable, of little account, peripheral, subsidiary, negligible,
trivial, trifling, paltry, petty, footling; N. Amer. nickel-and-dime;
informal piffling, piddling. ANTONYMS major.
2 a minor poet: little known, unknown, lesser; unimportant,
insignificant, obscure, lightweight, subordinate; N. Amer. minor-
league; informal small-time, penny-ante; N. Amer. informal two-
bit, picayune, bush-league. ANTONYMS important,
considerable.
3 Brit. Smith minor: junior, younger.
noun
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the heir to the throne being a minor, there would have to be a
regency: child, infant, youth; adolescent, teenager, boy, girl, lad,
lass, schoolboy, schoolgirl; informal kid, kiddie. ANTONYMS
adult.
WORD TOOLKIT
minor
slight
unimportant
injury
problem
quibble
movement
offence
advantage
miracle
exaggeration
inconvenienc difference
e
setback
possibility
detail
topic
information
stuff
distinction
paperwork
Word Toolkits illustrate the difference between close synonyms by
means of words typically used with them.
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pardonable | pɑːd(ə)nəbl|
adjective
able to be forgiven; excusable: no mistake, even a tiny one, is
pardonable.
DERIVATIVES
pardonably adverb
excusable
adjective
an excusable mistake under the circumstances: forgivable,
pardonable, defensible, justifiable, condonable, understandable,
explainable; venial. ANTONYMS inexcusable, unforgivable.
clean |kliːn|
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adjective
1 free from dirt, marks, or stains: the room was spotlessly clean |
keep the wound clean.
• having been washed since last worn or used: a clean blouse.
• [ attrib. ] (of paper) not yet marked by writing or drawing: he
copied the advert on to a clean sheet of paper.
• (of a person) attentive to personal hygiene: by nature he was
clean and neat.
• free from pollutants or unpleasant substances: we will create a
cleaner, safer environment.
• free from or producing relatively little radioactive
contamination.
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• (of timber) free from knots: the forester and the sawyer reject
timber that is not straight and clean.
2 morally uncontaminated; pure; innocent: clean living.
• not sexually offensive or obscene: it’s all good clean fun.
• showing or having no record of offences or crimes: a clean
driving licence is essential for the job.
• played or done according to the rules: we are not completely
sure that the elections will be clean and fair.
• [ predic. ] informal not possessing or containing anything
illegal, especially drugs or stolen goods: I searched him and his
luggage, and he was clean.
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• [ predic. ] informal (of a person) not taking or having taken
drugs or alcohol. I had been here for only a fortnight and clean
for three weeks.
• free from ceremonial defilement, according to Mosaic Law or
other religious codes.
3 free from irregularities; having a smooth edge or surface: a
clean fracture of the leg.
• having a simple, well-defined, and pleasing shape: the clean
lines and pared-down planes of modernism.
• (of an action) smoothly and skilfully done: he took a clean
catch.
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4 (of a taste, sound, or smell) giving a clear and distinctive
impression to the senses; sharp and fresh: clean, fresh, natural
flavours.
adverb
1 so as to be free from dirt, marks, or unwanted matter: the room
had been washed clean.
2 informal used to emphasize the completeness of a reported
action, condition, or experience: he was knocked clean off his feet |
I clean forgot her birthday.
verb [ with obj. ]
make clean; remove dirt, marks, or stains from: clean your teeth
properly after meals | I cleaned up my room | (as
nouncleaning) : Anne will help with the cleaning.
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• remove the innards of (fish or poultry) prior to cooking. there
are a variety of ways to cook the herring, but it must first be
gutted and cleaned.
noun [ in sing. ]
an act of cleaning something: he gave the room a clean.
PHRASES
(as) clean as a whistle see whistle.
clean and jerk a weightlifting exercise in which a weight is
raised above the head following an initial lift to shoulder level.
clean bill of health see bill of health.
clean someone’s clock N. Amer. informal give someone a beating.
I assured her that if anything happened I would personally
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clean the Russian’s clock. • defeat or surpass someone decisively.
racing in this yacht he cleaned the clocks of the Regatta fleet.
clean house N. Amer.do housework. they cleaned house, washed
clothes, and cared for the children. • eliminate corruption or
inefficiency. the president acted quickly to clean house when the
allegations were made.
clean one’s plate eat up all the food put on one’s plate.
a clean sheet (or slate)an absence of existing restraints or
commitments: no government starts with a clean sheet. • (keep a
clean sheet) (in a football match) prevent the opposing side from
scoring. Scotland kept a clean sheet against the Welsh.
clean up one’s act informal begin to behave in a better way,
especially by giving up alcohol, drugs, or illegal activities. he
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planned to clean up his act, but in a last celebration bought
some coke and heroin.
come clean informal be completely honest; keep nothing hidden:
the Chancellor must come clean about his plans for increasing
taxation.
have clean hands be uninvolved and blameless with regard to an
immoral act: no one involved in the conflict has clean hands.
keep one’s hands clean not involve oneself in an immoral act.
Franco kept his own hands clean by using others to impose his
will.
keep one’s nose clean see nose.
make a clean breast of it confess fully one’s mistakes or
wrongdoings.
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make a clean job of something informal do something thoroughly.
make a clean sweep 1 remove all unwanted people or things ready
to start afresh. in 1917 many Soviet communists wanted to
make a clean sweep of the discredited old order. 2 win all of a
group of similar or related sporting competitions, events, or
matches. Annadale are almost certain of making a clean sweep
of the male athletics competitions.
PHRASAL VERBS
clean someone out informal use up or take all someone’s money:
they were cleaned out by the Englishman at the baccarat table.
clean something out thoroughly clean the inside of something: my
mom says I have to go and clean out the hamster ‘s cage.
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clean up informal make a substantial gain or profit. Francis put
three quid on a horse, figuring it was about time he cleaned up.
• win all the prizes available in a sporting competition. the
Germans cleaned up at Wimbledon.
clean something up restore order or morality to: the police chief
was given the job of cleaning up a notorious district.
DERIVATIVES
cleanable adjective,
cleanish adjective,
cleanness | kliːnn s| noun
ORIGIN Old English clǣne, of West Germanic origin; related to
Dutch and German klein ‘small’.
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clean
adjective
1 he bared his clean, white teeth in a smile | keep the wound clean:
washed, scrubbed, cleansed, cleaned, polished; spotless, unsoiled,
unstained, unspotted, unsullied, unblemished, immaculate,
pristine, speckless, dirt-free; hygienic, sanitary, disinfected,
sterilized, sterile, aseptic, decontaminated, healthy; pure, white,
whiter than white; laundered; informal squeaky clean, as clean as
a whistle. ANTONYMS dirty.
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2 a clean sheet of paper: blank, empty, bare, clear, plain, white;
unused, new, pristine, fresh, unmarked, unfilled, untouched.
ANTONYMS used.
3 he breathed in the sharp, clean air: pure, clear, fresh, crisp,
refreshing; unpolluted, uncontaminated, untainted, unmixed,
unadulterated; distilled, purified. ANTONYMS polluted.
4 Kate had envied her mother her nice clean life: virtuous, good,
upright, upstanding; honourable, respectable, reputable, decent,
righteous, moral, morally correct, ethical, exemplary, honest,
just; innocent, pure, chaste, undefiled, guiltless, blameless,
irreproachable, unimpeachable, pure as the driven snow, whiter
than white; Christianity immaculate, impeccable; informal
squeaky clean. ANTONYMS immoral.
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5 the investigation demonstrated that the firm is clean: innocent,
guiltless, blameless, clear, in the clear, not to blame, guilt-free,
crime-free, above suspicion, unimpeachable, irreproachable;
informal squeaky clean. ANTONYMS guilty.
6 a good clean fight: fair, honest, sporting, sportsmanlike, just,
upright, law-abiding, chivalrous, honourable, according to the
rules, according to Hoyle; informal on the level. ANTONYMS
dirty, unfair.
7 informal the staff at the facility gave them counselling and
taught them to stay clean: sober, teetotal, non-drinking, clear-
headed, as sober as a judge; drug-free, free of drugs, off drugs;
abstinent, self-restrained; informal dry, on the wagon, straight.
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8 these secateurs give a clean cut | he took a clean catch: neat,
smooth, crisp, straight, accurate, precise, slick. ANTONYMS
ragged.
9 the clean lines of a good design: simple, elegant, graceful,
uncluttered, trim, shapely, unfussy, uncomplicated; streamlined,
smooth, well defined, definite, clean-cut; regular, symmetrical.
ANTONYMS complex, elaborate.
PHRASES
come clean informal I’ll have to come clean—that story is only a
rumour: tell the truth, be completely honest, tell all, make a clean
breast of it; confess, own up, admit guilt, admit to one’s actions/
crimes/sins, accept blame/responsibility, plead guilty; informal
get something off one’s chest, fess up.
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adverb
informal I clean forgot her birthday: completely, entirely, totally,
fully, wholly, thoroughly, altogether, quite, utterly, absolutely.
verb
1 Dad had cleaned the kitchen windows: wash, cleanse, wipe,
sponge, scrub, mop, rinse, scour, swab, hose down, sluice (down),
flush, polish, disinfect; shampoo; floss; literary lave.
ANTONYMS dirty, soil.
2 I would have to get my clothes cleaned: launder; dry-clean.
3 she began to clean the fish: gut, eviscerate, remove the innards
of, draw, dress.
PHRASES
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clean someone out informal the fine cleaned him out: bankrupt,
ruin, make insolvent, make penniless, wipe out, impoverish,
reduce to penury/destitution, bring to ruin, bring someone to
their knees, break, cripple; rare pauperize, beggar.
long 1 |l ŋ|
adjective (longer | l ŋgə| , longest | l ŋg st| )
1 measuring a great distance from end to end: a long corridor |
long black hair | the queue for tickets was long.
• (after a measurement and in questions) measuring a specified
distance from end to end: a boat 150 feet long.
• (of a journey) covering a great distance: I went for a long walk.
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• (of a ball in sport) travelling a great distance, or further than
expected or intended: he tried to head a long ball back to the
keeper.
• (of a garment or sleeves on a garment) covering the whole of a
person’s legs or arms. a sweater with long sleeves. he’s scarcely
old enough to be in long trousers.
• of elongated shape: shaped like a torpedo, long and thin.
2 lasting or taking a great amount of time: a long and
distinguished career | she took a long time to dress.
• (after a noun of duration and in questions) lasting or taking a
specified amount of time: a week-long course | the debates will be
90 minutes long.
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• [ attrib. ] seeming to last more time than is the case; lengthy:
serving long hours on the committee.
• (of a person’s memory) retaining things for a great amount of
time.
3 relatively great in extent: write a long report | a long list of
candidates.
• (after a noun of extent and in questions) having a specified
extent: the statement was three s long.
4 Phonetics (of a vowel) categorized as long with regard to
quality and length (e.g. in standard British English the vowel |uː|
in food is long as distinct from the short vowel | | in good).
• Prosody (of a vowel or syllable) having the greater of the two
recognized durations.
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5 (of odds or a chance) reflecting or representing a low level of
probability: winning against long odds.
6 Finance (of shares, bonds, or other assets) bought in advance,
with the expectation of a rise in price.
• (of a broker or their position in the market) buying or based
on long stocks.
• (of a security) maturing at a distant date.
7 (of a drink) large and refreshing, and in which alcohol, if
present, is not concentrated.
8 (long on) informal well supplied with: an industry that’s long
on ideas but short on cash.
noun
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1 [ mass noun ] a long period: see you before long | it will not be
for long.
2 a long sound such as a long signal in Morse code or a long
vowel or syllable: two longs and a short.
3 (longs) Finance long-dated securities, especially gilts.
• assets held in a long position.
adverb (longer | l ŋgə| , longest | l ŋg st| )
1 for a long time: we hadn’t known them long | an experience they
will long remember | his long-awaited Grand Prix debut.
• in questions about a period of time: how long have you been
working?
• at a time distant from a specified event or time: her son died
long ago | the work was compiled long after his death.
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• [ comparative ] [ with negative ] after an implied point of time:
he couldn’t wait any longer.
• (after a noun of duration) throughout a specified period: it
rained all day long.
2 (with reference to the ball in sport) at, to, or over a great
distance: the Cambridge side played the ball long.
• beyond the point aimed at; too far: he threw the ball long.
PHRASES
as (or so) long as 1 during the whole time that: they have been
there as long as anyone can remember. 2 provided that: as long
as you fed him, he would be cooperative.
be long take a long time to happen or arrive: sit down, tea won’t
be long.
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in the long run over or after a long period of time; eventually: it
saves money in the long run.
the long and the short of it all that can or need be said: the long
and short of it is, I must make something or be miserable.
long in the tooth rather old.[originally said of horses, from the
receding of the gums with age.]
long time no see informal it’s a long time since we last met (used
as a greeting).[in humorous imitation of broken English spoken
by an American Indian.]
so long see so.
take the long view think beyond the current situation.
DERIVATIVES
longish adjective
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ORIGIN Old English lang, long (adjective), lange, longe
(adverb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch and German
lang .
owe |ə |
verb [ with obj. ]
have an obligation to pay or repay (something, especially money)
in return for something received: they have denied they owe
money to the company | [ with two objs ] : you owe me £19.50 for
the electricity bill.
• owe something, especially money, to: I owe you for the taxi.
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• be under a moral obligation to give someone (gratitude, respect,
etc.): I owe it to him to explain what’s happened | [ with two
objs ] : I owe you an apology.
• (owe something to) have something because of: champagne
houses owe their success to brand image | I owe my life to you.
PHRASES
owe it to oneself (to do something)need to do something to protect
one’s own interests: you owe it to yourself to take care of your
body.
owe someone one informal feel indebted to someone: thanks, I owe
you one for this.
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—— owes one a living used to express disapproval of someone who
expects to receive financial support or other benefits without
doing any work: they think the world owes them a living.
ORIGIN Old English āgan‘own, have it as an obligation’, of
Germanic origin; from an Indo-European root shared by
Sanskrit īs ‘possess, own’. Compare with ought 1 .
owe
verb
I still owe him £200: be in debt (to), be indebted (to), be in
arrears (to), be under an obligation (to), be obligated (to), be
beholden to; be in debit, be overdrawn (by), be in the red;
informal be in debt to the tune of. ANTONYMS settle up.
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all the time he works all the time: constantly, the entire time,
around the clock, day and night, night and day, {morning, noon,
and night}, {day in, day out}, at all times, always, without a
break, ceaselessly, endlessly, incessantly, perpetually,
permanently, interminably, unceasingly, continuously,
continually, eternally, unremittingly, remorselessly, relentlessly;
informal 24/7; archaic without surcease. ANTONYMS never;
intermittently.
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time
noun
1 what time is it? hour; dated o’clock.
2 late at night was the best time to leave: moment, point, point
in time, occasion, hour, minute, second, instant, juncture, stage,
phase.
3 he worked there for a time: while, spell, stretch, stint, span,
season, interval, period, period of time, length of time, duration,
run, space, phase, stage, term; Brit. informal patch.
4 in the time of the dinosaurs: era, age, epoch, period, aeon, years,
days; generation, date.
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5 I’ve known a lot of women in my time: lifetime, life, life span,
allotted span, days, time on earth, existence, threescore years and
ten; this mortal coil; informal born days.
6 he had been a professional actor in his time: heyday, day, hour,
prime, best days/years, youth, vigour, springtime, salad days,
maturity.
7 he would have a hard time in prison: situation, state of affairs,
experience, life, way of life; conditions, circumstances, affairs,
surroundings, environment, context, background, ambience,
atmosphere.
8 tunes in waltz time: rhythm, tempo, beat, pulse, flow; metre,
measure, cadence, pattern; accent, stress.
PHRASES
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ahead of time the bridge was declared ready seven months ahead
of time: early, earlier than expected, earlier than required, in
good time, with time to spare, timely, in advance, sooner, in
readiness, already. ANTONYMS behind time, late.
ahead of one’s/its time he broke all the rules and achieved an
effect that was way ahead of its time: revolutionary, avant-garde,
futuristic, innovatory, innovative, innovational, trailblazing,
pioneering, groundbreaking, disruptive; ultra-modern, advanced,
highly developed, the latest, new, the newest, up to the minute.
ANTONYMS behind the times.
all the time he works all the time: constantly, the entire time,
around the clock, day and night, night and day, {morning, noon,
and night}, {day in, day out}, at all times, always, without a
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break, ceaselessly, endlessly, incessantly, perpetually,
permanently, interminably, unceasingly, continuously,
continually, eternally, unremittingly, remorselessly, relentlessly;
informal 24/7; archaic without surcease. ANTONYMS never;
intermittently.
at one time 1 she was a nurse at one time: formerly, previously,
once, in the past, at one point, at some point, once upon a time,
time was when, in days/times gone by, in times past, in the (good)
old days, back in the day, long ago; literary in days/times of
yore, of yore; archaic sometime, erst, erstwhile, whilom.
ANTONYMS never. 2 several matches were going on at one
time: simultaneously, at once, at the same time, at one and the
same time, at the same instant/moment, concurrently,
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concomitantly; together, all together, alongside each other, in
unison, in concert, in chorus, as a group; rare synchronously.
ANTONYMS separately, consecutively.
at the same time 1 they arrived at the same time: simultaneously,
at the same instant/moment, together, all together, as a group, at
once, at one and the same time, at one time, concurrently,
concomitantly, alongside each other, in unison, in concert, in
chorus; rare synchronously. ANTONYMS separately,
consecutively. 2 I can’t really explain it, but at the same time
I’m not convinced: nevertheless, nonetheless, even so, however, but,
still, yet, though, be that as it may, for all that, in spite of that/
everything, despite that/everything, after everything, having
said that, just the same, all the same, in any event, come what
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may, at any rate, notwithstanding, regardless, anyway, anyhow;
informal still and all; archaic howbeit, withal, natheless.
at times she is at times cruel and ruthless: sometimes,
occasionally, from time to time, (every) now and then/again,
every so often, (every) once in a while, on occasion, on occasions,
on the odd occasion, off and on, at intervals, periodically,
sporadically, spasmodically, erratically, irregularly,
intermittently, in/by fits and starts, fitfully, discontinuously,
piecemeal; rare interruptedly. ANTONYMS constantly.
behind time she was behind time and had to rush: late, not on
time, behind, behind schedule, behind target, behindhand,
delayed, running late, overdue, belated, tardy, unpunctual; slow,
dilatory. ANTONYMS ahead of time, early.
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behind the times the children considered Dad to be behind the
times: old-fashioned, outmoded, out of fashion, out of date,
unfashionable, frumpish, frumpy, out of style, outdated, dated,
out, outworn, old, former, dead, musty, old-time, old-world,
behindhand, past, bygone, archaic, obsolescent, obsolete, ancient,
antiquated, superannuated; defunct, medieval, prehistoric,
antediluvian, old-fogeyish, old-fangled, conservative, backward-
looking, quaint, anachronistic, crusted, feudal, fusty, moth-eaten,
olde worlde; Frenchdémodé, vieux jeu, passé; informal old hat,
square, not with it, out of the ark, creaky, mouldy; N. Amer.
informal horse-and-buggy, clunky, rinky-dink, mossy; archaic
square-toed. ANTONYMS up to date; ahead of one’s time.
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for the time being the sale has been cancelled for the time being,
at least until prices recover: for now, for the moment, for the
present, in the interim, for the nonce, in/for the meantime, in the
meanwhile; for a short time, for a short/little while, briefly,
momentarily, fleetingly; temporarily, provisionally, pro tem;
informal for the minute; Latinpro tempore, ad interim;
Frenchen attendant. ANTONYMS permanently.
from time to time all children act up from time to time: sometimes,
occasionally, (every) now and then/again, every so often, (every)
once in a while, on occasion, on occasions, on the odd occasion, off
and on, at times, at intervals, periodically, sporadically,
spasmodically, erratically, irregularly, intermittently, in/by fits
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and starts, fitfully, discontinuously, piecemeal; rare
interruptedly. ANTONYMS constantly.
in no time you’ll have perfect-looking skin in no time | I can run
there and back in no time: (very) soon, in a second, in a minute,
in a moment, in a trice, in a flash, shortly, any second, any
minute, any minute now, in a short time, in an instant, in less
than no time, in no time at all, in next to no time, before you
know it, before long; (very) quickly, rapidly, swiftly, at the speed
of light; suddenly, immediately, instantly, instantaneously,
promptly, without delay, post-haste; N. Amer. momentarily;
informal in a jiffy, in a sec, in a nanosecond, in two shakes, in
two shakes of a lamb’s tail, before you can say Jack Robinson,
before you can say knife, in the twinkling of an eye, in a
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twinkling, in the blink of an eye, in a blink, in the wink of an
eye, in a wink; Brit. informal in a tick, in two ticks, in a mo; N.
Amer. informal in a snap. ANTONYMS not for a while; slowly.
in good time we’ll be there in good time: punctual(ly), prompt(ly),
on time; early, with time to spare, ahead of time, before the
appointed time, ahead of schedule. ANTONYMS late.
in time 1 I came back in time for Molly’s party: early enough, in
good time, punctually, promptly, on time, not too late, with time
to spare, at the appointed/right time, on schedule. ANTONYMS
late. 2 the attraction of the uniform palled, and, in time, she left
the service: eventually, ultimately, finally, in the end, as time
goes on/by, by and by, one day, some day, sooner or later, in a
while, after a bit, in the long run, in the fullness of time, when all
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is said and done, at a later time, at a later date, at length, at a
future time/date, at some point in the future, in the future, in
time to come, in due course. ANTONYMS never.
many a time many a time they had gone to bed hungry:
frequently, often, repeatedly, again and again, over and over
(again), time and (time) again, time after time, many times, on
many occasions, many times over; {day in, day out}, day after
day, {week in, week out}, night and day, all the time; persistently,
recurrently, constantly, continually, regularly; N. Amer.
oftentimes; Latinad nauseam; literary many a time and oft, oft,
oft-times. ANTONYMS occasionally.
on time the train was on time | we paid our bills on time:
punctual(ly), prompt(ly), in time, in good time, to/on schedule,
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when expected, timely, well timed; informal on the dot; Brit.
informal bang/spot on time. ANTONYMS late.
time after time the camera produces excellent results time after
time: repeatedly, again and again, over and over (again), time
and (time) again, frequently, often, many times, many a time,
on many occasions, many times over; {day in, day out}, day
after day, {week in, week out}, night and day, all the time;
persistently, recurrently, constantly, continually, regularly; N.
Amer. oftentimes; Latinad nauseam; literary many a time and
oft, oft, oft-times. ANTONYMS sporadically, never.
verb
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1 his meeting had been timed for three o’clock: schedule, set, set up,
arrange, organize, fix, fix up, fix a time for, book, line up, slot in,
prearrange, timetable, bill, programme, plan; N. Amer. slate.
2 I had timed my arrival just about perfectly: regulate, adjust,
calculate, set, synchronize.
3 he timed it—it took two minutes and forty-three seconds:
measure, put a stopwatch on, meter, count; informal clock.
WORD LINKS
chronological, horological, temporal relating to time
chrono- related prefix, as in chronograph
horology study of time
chronometry, horology measurement of time
chronophobia fear of time
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Word Links sections supply words that are related to the
headword but do not normally appear in a thesaurus because
they are not actual synonyms.
numismatist
numismatics | njuːm z mat ks|
pluralnoun [ usu. treated as sing. ]
the study or collection of coins, banknotes, and medals.
DERIVATIVES
numismatist |njuː m zmət st| noun
escort
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noun | ɛskɔːt|
a person, vehicle, or group accompanying another for protection
or as a mark of rank: a police escort | [ mass noun ] : he was
driven away under armed escort.
• a man who accompanies a woman to a particular social event.
Louise and her escort were given the best table.
• a person, typically a woman, who may be hired to accompany
someone socially: [ as modifier ] : an escort agency.
• euphemistic a prostitute.
verb | skɔːt, ɛ-| [ with obj. ]
accompany (someone or something) somewhere as an escort: he
escorted her back to her hotel.
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ORIGIN late 16th cent. (originally denoting a body of armed
men escorting travellers): from French escorte (noun), escorter
(verb), from Italian scorta, feminine past participle of scorgere ‘to
conduct, guide’, based on Latin ex- ‘out of’ + corrigere ‘set
right’ (see correct) .
escort
noun |(stress on the first syllable)|
1 they were given a police escort: guard, bodyguard, protector,
safeguard, defender, minder, custodian; attendant, guide,
chaperone, retainer, aide, assistant, personal assistant, right-
hand man, right-hand woman, lady in waitingduenna, equerry,
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squire; entourage, retinue, suite, train, cortège, attendant
company, caravan; protection, defence, convoy.
2 she didn’t like going to clubs by herself and Graham was a
great escort: companion, partner, beau, attendant; informal date.
3 we offer a wide selection of young, good-looking, fun escorts:
paid companion, hostess; male escort, gigolo; in Japangeisha
(girl); in Chinasing-song girl; archaic courtesan.
verb |(stress on the second syllable)|
1 Father Barnes was escorted home by police officers: conduct,
accompany, guide, convoy, lead, usher, shepherd, take, direct,
steer; guard, protect, safeguard, defend.
2 he escorted her in to dinner: accompany, partner, take, bring,
come with, go with, take out, go out with.
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navigator | nav ge tə|
noun
a person who navigates a ship, aircraft, etc. the starry sky was a
navigator’s dream. the driver relies on his navigator’s skill at
reading the road.
• historical a person who explores by sea. New Zealand was
discovered by Dutch navigator, Abel Tasman.
• an instrument or device which assists in navigating a vessel or
aircraft.
• Computing a browser program for accessing data on the
Internet or another information system.
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navigator
noun
helmsman, steersman, pilot, guide, seaman, mariner; N. Amer.
wheelman.
outrider | a trʌ də|
noun
a person in a motor vehicle or on horseback who goes in front of
or beside a vehicle as an escort or guard.
• USa mounted official who escorts racehorses to the starting
post.
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• USa mounted herdsman who prevents cattle from straying
beyond a certain limit.
DERIVATIVES
outriding noun
security |s kj ər ti, s kjɔːr ti|
noun (pl.securities)
1 [ mass noun ] the state of being free from danger or threat: the
system is designed to provide maximum security against toxic
spills | job security.
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• the safety of a state or organization against criminal activity
such as terrorism, theft, or espionage: a matter of national
security.
• procedures followed or measures taken to ensure the security
of a state or organization: amid tight security the presidents met
in the Colombian resort.
• the state of feeling safe, stable, and free from fear or anxiety:
this man could give her the emotional security she needed.
2 a thing deposited or pledged as a guarantee of the fulfilment of
an undertaking or the repayment of a loan, to be forfeited in
case of default.
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3 (often securities) a certificate attesting credit, the ownership of
stocks or bonds, or the right to ownership connected with
tradable derivatives.
PHRASES
on security of something using something as a guarantee. strict
conditions attached to loans made on security of goods
remaining the property of the borrowers.
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French securite or
Latin securitas, from securus ‘free from care’ (see secure) .
security
noun
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1 the security of the nation’s citizens is our highest responsibility:
safety, freedom from danger; protection, safe keeping, shielding,
guarding, care; invulnerability, impregnability, unassailability.
ANTONYMS vulnerability, danger.
2 he could give her the security she needed: feeling of safety,
feeling of ease, absence of worry/anxiety, peace of mind, freedom
from doubt, certainty, happiness, comfort, confidence.
ANTONYMS disquiet.
3 employees have an interest in the security of their jobs:
certainty, safe future, assured future, safety, reliability,
dependability, solidness, soundness.
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4 the two accused men appeared in court amid tight security:
safety measures, safeguards; guards, surveillance, defence,
protection.
5 additional security for your loan may be required: guarantee,
collateral, surety, pledge, bond; hostage, pawn, backing, bail;
archaic gage, earnest.
genocide | dʒɛnəsʌ d|
noun [ mass noun ]
the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of
a particular nation or ethnic group. a campaign of genocide.
[ count noun ] : news of genocides went unreported.
DERIVATIVES
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genocidal |- sʌ d(ə)l| adjective
ORIGIN 1940s: from Greek genos ‘race’ + -cide.
regicide | rɛdʒ sʌ d|
noun [ mass noun ]
the action of killing a king.
• [ count noun ] a person who kills or takes part in killing a
king.
DERIVATIVES
regicidal |- sʌ d(ə)l| adjective
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin rex, reg- ‘king’ + -cide,
probably suggested by French régicide .
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counterfeit | ka ntəf t, -fiːt|
adjective
made in exact imitation of something valuable with the intention
to deceive or defraud: counterfeit £10 notes.
• pretended; sham: a counterfeit image of reality.
noun
a fraudulent imitation of something else: he knew the tapes to be
counterfeits.
verb [ with obj. ]
imitate fraudulently: my signature is extremely hard to
counterfeit.
• pretend to feel or possess (an emotion or quality): no pretence
could have counterfeited such terror.
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• literary resemble closely: sleep counterfeited Death so well.
DERIVATIVES
counterfeiter noun
ORIGIN Middle English (as a verb): from Anglo-Norman
French countrefeter, from Old French contrefait, past participle
of contrefaire, from Latin contra- ‘in opposition’ + facere ‘make’.
counterfeit
adjective
they were charged with supplying counterfeit cassettes: fake,
faked, copied, forged, feigned, simulated, sham, spurious, bogus,
imitation, substitute, dummy, ersatz; informal knock-off, pirate,
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pirated, phoney, pseud, pseudo; Brit. informal, dated cod.
ANTONYMS genuine.
noun
the shopkeeper knew the notes to be counterfeits: fake, forgery,
copy, reproduction, replica, imitation, likeness, lookalike, mock-up,
dummy, substitute, fraud, sham; informal phoney, pirate, knock-
off, rip-off, put-on, dupe. ANTONYMS original.
verb
my signature is extremely hard to counterfeit: fake, forge, copy,
reproduce, replicate, imitate, simulate, feign, falsify, sham;
informal pirate.
smuggle | smʌg(ə)l|
verb [ with obj. ]
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move (goods) illegally into or out of a country: he’s been
smuggling cigarettes from Gibraltar into Spain | (as
nounsmuggling) : cocaine smuggling has increased alarmingly.
• [ with obj. and adverbial of direction ] convey (someone or
something) somewhere secretly and illicitly: he smuggled out a
message.
ORIGIN late 17th cent.: from Low German smuggelen, of
unknown ultimate origin.
smuggle
verb
they smuggled drugs into Britain: bring/take illegally, run,
sneak.
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contraband | k ntrəband|
noun [ mass noun ]
goods that have been imported or exported illegally: customs men
had searched the carriages for contraband.
• trade in smuggled goods: the salt trade (and contraband in it)
were very active in the town.
• (also contraband of war)goods forbidden to be supplied by
neutrals to those engaged in war.
adjective
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imported or exported illegally, either in defiance of a total ban or
without payment of duty: contraband brandy.
• relating to traffic in illegal goods: the contraband market.
DERIVATIVES
contrabandist noun
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from Spanish contrabanda, from
Italian contrabando, from contra- ‘against’ + bando
‘proclamation, ban’.
contraband
noun
the salt trade (and contraband in it) were very active in the
town: smuggling, illegal traffic, black marketeering, trafficking,
bootlegging; the black market.
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adjective
contraband goods: smuggled, black-market, bootleg, bootlegged,
under the counter, illegal, illicit, unlawful; prohibited, banned,
proscribed, forbidden, interdicted; informal hot.
morbid | mɔːb d|
adjective
1 characterized by an abnormal and unhealthy interest in
disturbing and unpleasant subjects, especially death and disease:
his morbid fascination with the horrors of contemporary warfare.
2 Medicine of the nature of or indicative of disease: the
treatment of morbid obesity.
DERIVATIVES
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morbidity |- b d ti| noun,
morbidly adverb,
morbidness noun
ORIGIN mid 17th cent. (in the medical sense): from Latin
morbidus, from morbus ‘disease’.
morbid
adjective
1 a morbid fascination with the horrors of contemporary warfare:
ghoulish, macabre, unhealthy, gruesome, grisly, grotesque,
ghastly, horrible, unwholesome, death-obsessed; informal sick.
ANTONYMS wholesome.
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2 during the months leading up to my 40th birthday, I felt
decidedly morbid: gloomy, glum, sunk in gloom, melancholy,
lugubrious, pessimistic, morose, given to looking on the black side,
dismal, funereal, defeatist, sombre, doleful, melancholic,
despondent, dejected, sad, blue, depressed, downcast, down,
disconsolate, desolate, miserable, unhappy, heavy-hearted,
downhearted, dispirited, in low spirits, low-spirited, low, in the
doldrums; informal down in the dumps, down in the mouth.
ANTONYMS cheerful.
3 a morbid condition: diseased, pathological. ANTONYMS
healthy.
kleptomania | klɛptə( ) me n ə|
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noun [ mass noun ]
a recurrent urge to steal, typically without regard for need or
profit.
DERIVATIVES
kleptomaniac |-n ak| noun& adjective
ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: from Greek kleptēs ‘thief’ + -mania.
veracious |və re ʃəs|
adjective formal
speaking or representing the truth: a veracious account.
DERIVATIVES
veraciously adverb,
veraciousness noun
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ORIGIN late 17th cent.: from Latin verax, verac- (from verus
‘true’) + -ious.
veracious
adjective
the manuscripts contain veracious accounts of the event: true,
accurate, veritable, correct, errorless, unerring, exact, precise,
factual, literal, realistic, authentic, faithful, close, strict, just,
unelaborated, unvarnished; truthful, honest, sincere, frank,
candid, honourable, reputable, trustworthy, trusty, reliable,
dependable, scrupulous, upright, upstanding, ethical, moral,
righteous, virtuous, decent, good; informal on the nail, spot on,
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as true as I’m sitting/standing here. ANTONYMS untrue;
dishonest.
vulnerable | vʌln(ə)rəb(ə)l|
adjective
exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either
physically or emotionally: we were in a vulnerable position |
small fish are vulnerable to predators.
• Bridge (of a partnership) liable to higher penalties, either by
convention or through having won one game towards a rubber.
the authors advise a variable no-trump opening bid which means
weak non-vulnerable and strong vulnerable.
DERIVATIVES
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vulnerability |- b l ti| noun (pl.vulnerabilities) ,
vulnerableness noun,
vulnerably adverb
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from late Latin vulnerabilis, from
Latin vulnerare ‘to wound’, from vulnus ‘wound’.
vulnerable
adjective
1 they evacuated children from the most vulnerable cities: in
danger, in peril, in jeopardy, at risk, endangered, unsafe,
unprotected, ill-protected, unguarded; open to attack, attackable,
assailable, exposed, wide open; undefended, unshielded,
unfortified, unarmed, without arms, without weapons,
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defenceless, easily hurt/wounded/damaged, powerless, helpless;
rare pregnable, impuissant, resistless. ANTONYMS well
protected, invulnerable, resilient.
2 he is extremely sensible and less vulnerable to criticism than
most: exposed to, open to, wide open to, liable to, prone to, prey to,
susceptible to, subject to, not above, in danger of, at risk of, at the
mercy of, an easy target for, easily affected by; in the firing line;
rare susceptive of. ANTONYMS immune to, above.
venerable | vɛn(ə)rəb(ə)l|
adjective
accorded a great deal of respect, especially because of age, wisdom,
or character: a venerable statesman.
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• (in the Anglican Church) a title given to an archdeacon.
• (in the Roman Catholic Church) a title given to a deceased
person who has attained a certain degree of sanctity but has not
been fully beatified or canonized.
DERIVATIVES
venerability |- b l ti| noun,
venerableness noun,
venerably adverb
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin
venerabilis, from the verb venerari (see venerate) .
venerable
adjective
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he was a venerable and most pious king: respected, venerated,
revered, reverenced, worshipped, honoured, esteemed, hallowed,
august, distinguished, acclaimed, celebrated, lionized; renowned,
illustrious, glorious, legendary, famed, eminent, pre-eminent,
great, elevated, prominent, notable, noted; respectable, reputable,
decent, honourable, worthy, exemplary. ANTONYMS
disreputable, dishonourable.
verger | vəːdʒə|
noun
1 an official in a church who acts as a caretaker and attendant.
2 an officer who carries a rod before a bishop or dean as a
symbol of office.
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DERIVATIVES
vergership noun
ORIGIN Middle English (in sense 2): from Anglo-Norman
French (see verge 2 ) .
stoic | stə k|
noun
1 a person who can endure pain or hardship without showing
their feelings or complaining.
2 (Stoic)a member of the ancient philosophical school of Stoicism.
adjective
1 another term for stoical. a look of stoic resignation.
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2 (Stoic)of or belonging to the Stoics or their school of philosophy.
the Stoic philosophers. Seneca preached Stoic abstinence.
ORIGIN late Middle English: via Latin from Greek stōïkos,
from stoa (with reference to Zeno’s teaching in the Stoa Poikilē or
Painted Porch, at Athens).
stoical
adjective
my mother was more stoical and scorned such self-pity: long-
suffering, uncomplaining, patient, forbearing, accepting, stoic,
with the patience of Job, resigned, impassive, unemotional,
phlegmatic, philosophical, fatalistic, imperturbable, calm, cool,
unexcitable, stolid; informal unflappable; rare longanimous.
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resigned |r zʌ nd|
adjective
having accepted something unpleasant that one cannot do
anything about: my response is a resigned shrug of the shoulders.
DERIVATIVES
resignedly adverb,
resignedness noun
resign |r zʌ n|
verb
1 [ no obj. ] voluntarily leave a job or office: he resigned from the
government in protest at the policy.
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• [ with obj. ] give up (an office, privilege, etc.): four deputies
resigned their seats.
• Chess end a game by conceding defeat without being
checkmated: he lost his Queen and resigned in 45 moves.
2 (resign oneself to) accept that something undesirable cannot be
avoided: she resigned herself to a lengthy session | he seems
resigned to a shortened career.
• archaic surrender oneself to another’s guidance. he vows to
resign himself to her direction.
DERIVATIVES
resigner noun
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ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French resigner, from
Latin resignare ‘unseal, cancel’, from re- ‘back’ + signare ‘sign,
seal’.
resigned
adjective
‘What time?’ he asked, with a resigned sigh: patient, long-
suffering, uncomplaining, forbearing, tolerant, stoical,
philosophical, unprotesting, reconciled, fatalistic; acquiescent,
compliant, unresisting, non-resistant, passive, submissive,
subdued, docile, phlegmatic; rare longanimous. ANTONYMS
resistant.
resign
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verb
1 the senior management resigned after the losses were
announced: leave, go, hand in one’s notice, give in one’s notice,
give notice, stand down, step down, bow out, walk out; informal
quit, call it a day.
2 19 MPs resigned their parliamentary seats: give up, leave,
vacate, stand down from, retire from; informal quit, pack in, jack
in; archaic demit. ANTONYMS take up.
3 he had resigned his right to the title: renounce, relinquish, give
up, abandon, surrender, forgo, cede, abdicate, sign away; Law
disclaim; archaic forsake. ANTONYMS claim, assert, keep.
4 we resigned ourselves to a long wait: reconcile oneself to,
become resigned to, become reconciled to, have no choice but to
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accept, come to terms with, learn to live with, get used to the idea
of; give in to the inevitable, grin and bear it. ANTONYMS
refuse to accept.
passive | pas v|
adjective
1 accepting or allowing what happens or what others do, without
active response or resistance: the women were portrayed as
passive victims.
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2 Grammar denoting a voice of verbs in which the subject
undergoes the action of the verb (e.g. they were killed as opposed
to the active form he killed them). The opposite of active.
3 (of a circuit or device) containing no source of electromotive
force. a passive optical network is to be installed in 2000 homes.
• (of radar or a satellite) receiving or reflecting radiation from a
transmitter or target rather than generating its own signal.
passive sensors detect the emissions from enemy radar.
• (of a heating system) making use of incident sunlight as an
energy source. bananas can be grown at the highest altitude
using passive solar heating alone.
4 Chemistry (of a metal) made unreactive by a thin inert
surface layer of oxide.
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nounGrammar
a passive form of a verb.
• (the passive) the passive voice.
DERIVATIVES
passively adverb,
passiveness noun,
passivity |- s v ti| noun
ORIGIN late Middle English (in sense 2 of the adjective, also in
the sense ‘(exposed to) suffering, acted on by an external
agency’): from Latin passivus, from pass- ‘suffered’, from the verb
pati .
passive
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adjective
1 he played only a passive role in the proceedings: inactive, non-
active, non-participative, non-participating, uninvolved, dormant,
quiescent, inert.
2 the women were portrayed as passive victims: submissive,
acquiescent, unresisting, yielding, unassertive, non-resistant,
compliant, complaisant, pliant, resigned, obedient, docile,
tractable, malleable, pliable, meek, subdued, deferential,
forbearing, long-suffering, patient, lamblike, non-violent, supine;
non-aggressive; archaic resistless. ANTONYMS active, assertive.
3 the woman’s face was passive: emotionless, impassive,
indifferent, unemotional, unmoved, unconcerned, dispassionate,
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passionless, detached, unresponsive, undemonstrative, remote,
aloof, calm, apathetic, phlegmatic, lifeless.
tolerant | t l(ə)r(ə)nt|
adjective
1 showing willingness to allow the existence of opinions or
behaviour that one does not necessarily agree with: we must be
tolerant of others | a more tolerant attitude towards other
religions.
2 (of a plant, animal, or machine) able to endure specified
conditions or treatment: rye is reasonably tolerant of drought |
[ in combination ] : fault-tolerant computer systems.
DERIVATIVES
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tolerantly adverbtolerant ( sense 1)
ORIGIN late 18th cent.: from French tolérant, present
participle of tolérer, from Latin tolerare (see tolerate). Compare
with earlier intolerant.
tolerant
adjective
a more tolerant attitude towards other religions: open-minded,
forbearing, liberal, unprejudiced, unbiased, unbigoted; broad-
minded, catholic, patient, long-suffering, magnanimous,
sympathetic, understanding, charitable, lenient, indulgent,
permissive, free and easy, easy-going, complaisant, lax.
ANTONYMS intolerant, narrow-minded.
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connivance |kə nʌ v(ə)ns|
noun [ mass noun ]
willingness to allow or be secretly involved in an immoral or
illegal act: this infringement of the law had taken place with the
connivance of officials.
ORIGIN late 16th cent. (also in the Latin sense ‘winking’): from
French connivence or Latin conniventia, from connivere ‘shut
the eyes (to)’ (see connive) .
connivance
noun
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this infringement of the law had taken place with the connivance
of officials: collusion, complicity, collaboration, involvement,
assistance, abetting; tacit consent; conspiracy, plotting, scheming,
intrigue, machination, secret understanding; rare abetment,
condonation.
maintain |me n te n, mən te n|
verb [ with obj. ]
1 cause or enable (a condition or situation) to continue: the need
to maintain close links between industry and schools.
• keep (something) at the same level or rate: agricultural prices
will have to be maintained.
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• keep (a building, machine, or road) in good condition by
checking or repairing it regularly. the Department for
Transport is responsible for maintaining the main roads in
England.
2 provide with necessities for life or existence: the allowance covers
the basic costs of maintaining a child.
• keep (a military unit) supplied with equipment and other
requirements. an English garrison was maintained there in the
seventeenth century.
• archaic give one’s support to; uphold: the king swears he will
maintain the laws of God.
3 [ reporting verb ] state something strongly to be the case; assert:
[ with obj. ] : he has always maintained his innocence | [ with
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clause ] : he had persistently maintained that he would not
stand against his old friend.
DERIVATIVES
maintainability |- b l ti| noun,
maintainable adjective
ORIGIN Middle English (also in the sense ‘practise an action
habitually’): from Old French maintenir, from Latin manu
tenere ‘hold in the hand’.
maintain
verb
1 the need to maintain close links between industry and schools:
continue, keep, keep going, keep up, keep alive, keep in existence,
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carry on, preserve, conserve, prolong, perpetuate, sustain, bolster
(up), prop up, retain, support, bear. ANTONYMS break off.
2 the roads are maintained at public expense: keep in good
condition, keep in repair, keep up, service, rebuild, conserve,
preserve, keep intact, care for, take good care of, look after.
ANTONYMS neglect.
3 the costs of maintaining a family: support, provide for, keep,
finance; nurture, feed, nourish, sustain. ANTONYMS neglect.
4 he always maintained his innocence | he maintains that he is
innocent: insist (on), declare, assert, protest, state, aver, say,
announce, affirm, avow, profess, claim, allege, contend, argue,
swear (to), hold to; rare asseverate. ANTONYMS deny.
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5 the King swears he will maintain the laws of God: uphold,
defend, fight for, champion, support, back, advocate.
ANTONYMS abandon.
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