Set 11

parsimony |ˈpɑːsɪməni|
1 ebony blunts tools very rapidly: make less sharp, make blunt,
make dull. ANTONYMS sharpen, hone.
2 age hasn't blunted my passion for the good things in life: dull,
deaden, dampen, soften, numb, weaken, take the edge off;
calm, cool, temper, muffle, impair, allay, abate; tone down,dilute, sap, water down, thin, reduce, moderate; assuage,
alleviate, mollify, ease, relieve, slake, sate, appease;
diminish, decrease, lessen, deplete. ANTONYMS intensify,
sharpen.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD
blunt, candid, forthright, frank, outspoken
See candid.
These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between
closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.inadvertently |ˌɪnədˈvəːt(ə)ntli|
adverb
without intention; accidentally: his name had been
inadvertently omitted from the list.
inadvertently
adverb
his name had been inadvertently omitted from the list:
accidentally, by accident, unintentionally, unwittingly;
unawares, without noticing, in all innocence; by mistake,
mistakenly. ANTONYMS deliberately.
secretly |ˈsiːkrɪtli|
adverb
in a secret way; without others knowing: the two were secretly
married in 1751 | I was embarrassed, but secretly pleased too.
secretly
adverb1 the microphones had been used for secretly recording
conversations: covertly, without anyone knowing, in secret, in
private, privately, in confidence, confidentially, behind
closed doors, behind the scenes, behind someone's back,
under cover, under the counter, discreetly, unobserved,
quietly, furtively, stealthily, on the sly, on the quiet, privily,
conspiratorially, clandestinely, on the side; Latinsub rosa, in
camera; informal on the q.t.. ANTONYMS publicly.
2 I think he was secretly jealous of Bartholomew: privately, in
one's heart, in one's heart of hearts, in one's innermost
thoughts. ANTONYMS openly.
accidentally |aksɪˈdɛnt(ə)li|
adverb
by chance; inadvertently: his gun went off accidentally.
accidentally knocked the vase over.
accidentally
adverb
we met accidentally | they accidentally set off a smoke alarm:
fortuitously, by accident, by chance, by a mere chance, by atwist of fate, adventitiously, as luck would have it, by a
fluke, flukily, coincidentally, by coincidence,
serendipitously; by a happy chance, by good fortune, by a
piece of luck; unexpectedly; unintentionally, inadvertently,
involuntarily, unpremeditatedly, unthinkingly; unwittingly,
unknowingly, unconsciously, subconsciously, unawares; by
mistake, mistakenly, misguidedly; N. Amer. by
happenstance.
completely |kəmˈpliːtli|
adverb
totally; utterly: the fire completely destroyed the building | [ as
submodifier ] : you must be completely mad
completely
adverb
he had always been completely honest with her: totally, entirely,
wholly, thoroughly, fully, utterly, absolutely, perfectly,
unreservedly, unconditionally, quite, altogether, downright;
in every way, in every respect, in all respects, one hundredper cent, every inch, to the hilt, to the core, all the way;
informal dead, deadly, totes. ANTONYMS partially.
deliberate
adjective |dɪˈlɪb(ə)rət|
1 done consciously and intentionally: a deliberate attempt to
provoke conflict.
2 careful and unhurried: a conscientious and deliberate worker.
• fully considered; not impulsive: a deliberate decision.
verb |dɪˈlɪbəreɪt| [ no obj. ]
engage in long and careful consideration: she deliberated
over the menu.
• [ with obj. ] consider (a question) carefully: jurors
deliberated the fate of those charged | [ with clause ] : they
deliberated what they should do with him.
DERIVATIVES
deliberateness |dɪˈlɪb(ə)rətnɪs| noun,
deliberator |dɪˈlɪbəreɪtə| noun
ORIGIN late Middle English (as an adjective): from Latin
deliberatus,‘considered carefully’, past participle ofdeliberare, from de- ‘down’ + librare ‘weigh’ (from libra
‘scales’).
deliberate
adjective
1 a deliberate attempt to provoke conflict: intentional,
calculated, conscious, done on purpose, intended, planned,
meant, considered, studied, knowing, wilful, wanton,
purposeful, purposive, premeditated, pre-planned, thought
out in advance, prearranged, preconceived, predetermined;
aforethought; voluntary, volitional; Law , dated prepense.
ANTONYMS accidental, unintentional.
2 she took a couple of small, deliberate steps towards him: careful,
cautious, unhurried, measured, regular, even, steady;
leisurely; laborious, ponderous. ANTONYMS hasty.
3 a careful and deliberate worker: methodical, systematic,
careful, painstaking, meticulous, thorough. ANTONYMS
careless.
verb
there was a long painful silence while she deliberated on his
words | they sat and deliberated what to do with him: thinkabout, think over, ponder, consider, contemplate, reflect on,
muse on, meditate on, ruminate on, mull over, chew over,
turn over in one's mind, give thought to, cogitate about;
brood over, dwell on; put on one's thinking cap, be in a
brown study; discuss, debate, weigh up; N. Amer. think on;
archaic pore on; rare excogitate, cerebrate.
urge |ˈəːdʒ|
verb [ with obj. and usu. infinitive ]
try earnestly or persistently to persuade (someone) to do
something: he urged her to come and stay with us | [ with
direct speech ] : ‘Do try to relax,’ she urged.
• recommend (something) strongly: I urge caution in
interpreting these results | [ with clause ] : they are urging that
more treatment facilities be provided.
• [ with obj. and adverbial ] encourage (a person or animal)
to move more quickly or in a particular direction: drawing up
outside the house, he urged her inside.
• (urge someone on) encourage someone to continue or
succeed: he could hear her voice urging him on.
noun [ often with infinitive ]a strong desire or impulse: he felt the urge to giggle | sexual
urges.
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin urgere ‘press, drive’.
egg 2 |ɛg|
verb [ with obj. ] (egg someone on)
encourage someone to do something foolish or risky. he liked
to boast and she would egg him on shamelessly.
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old Norse eggja ‘incite’.
egg
noun
ovum, gamete, germ cell, zygote; informal nit; Austral.
informal goog; (eggs) clutch, roe, spawn, seed, flyblow.
PHRASES
bad egg informal he assured my parents that I'm not a bad egg.
See scoundrel.
verb
PHRASESegg someone on ‘Teach him a lesson’, shouted the boys, egging
their friend on: urge, goad, incite, provoke, prick, sting,
propel, push, drive, prod, prompt, induce, impel, spur on,
cheer on; encourage, exhort, stimulate, motivate, galvanize,
act as a stimulus to, act as an incentive to, inspire, stir; N.
Amer. informal root on, light a fire under; rare incentivize.
WORD LINKS
oval, ovate, ovoid egg-shaped
oology study or collecting of birds' eggs
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.
dampen |ˈdamp(ə)n|
verb [ with obj. ]
1 make slightly wet: the fine rain dampened her face.
2 make less strong or intense: nothing could dampen her
enthusiasm.
• reduce the amplitude of (a sound source): slider switches on
the mixers can dampen the drums.dampen
verb
1 the fine rain dampened her face: moisten, damp, wet, dew,
water, irrigate, humidify; literary bedew; rare sparge,
humify, humect. ANTONYMS dry; drench.
2 nothing could dampen her enthusiasm: lessen, decrease,
diminish, reduce, lower, moderate, damp, damp down, put
a damper on, throw cold water on, calm, cool, chill, dull,
blunt, tone down, deaden, temper, discourage; suppress,
extinguish, quench, stamp out, smother, stifle, muffle,
blanket, mute, silence, quieten, overcome, curb, limit, check,
still, restrain, inhibit, deter. ANTONYMS heighten.
hinder 1 |ˈhɪndə|
verb [ with obj. ]
make it difficult for (someone) to do something or for
(something) to happen: language barriers hindered
communication between scientists.
ORIGIN Old English hindrian‘injure or damage’, of
Germanic origin; related to German hindern, also to behind.hinder
verb
technical difficulties have hindered our progress: hamper, be a
hindrance to, obstruct, impede, inhibit, retard, baulk,
thwart, foil, baffle, curb, delay, arrest, interfere with, set
back, slow down, hold back, hold up, forestall, stop, halt;
restrict, restrain, constrain, block, check, curtail, frustrate,
cramp, handicap, cripple, hamstring, shackle, fetter,
encumber; informal stymie; Brit. informal throw a spanner
in the works of, throw a spoke in the wheel of; N. Amer.
informal bork, throw a monkey wrench in the works of; rare
cumber, trammel. ANTONYMS help; facilitate.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD
hinder, hamper, impede, obstruct
All these words apply to making progress slower or more
difficult.
■ Hinder refers generally to the creation of difficulties or
delays that hold people back from doing something or
prevent processes from proceeding smoothly (ministers were
suspected of deliberately hindering the progress of the bill).■ Hamper is typically used of physical burdens that weigh
someone down or make their movement awkward (he was
laden with parcels and further hampered by an enormous
umbrella), and, by extension, it is applied to problems and
handicaps that interfere with effective action (they were
hampered by shortage of funds). It rarely refers to a deliberate
action or has a person as its subject.
■ Impede refers to slowing something down or getting in
the way (rivers impeded north–south communications | in what
ways did economic factors impede progress? ).
■ Obstruct is used primarily of a physical object that
literally blocks the way (the horse charged between the trees
which obstructed its path). Its use is extended to the typically
deliberate creation of non-physical obstacles, making
something difficult though usually not impossible (he was
charged with obstructing the police investigation), and is often
used in legal or criminal contexts.
These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between
closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.discourage |dɪsˈkʌrɪdʒ|
verb [ with obj. ]
cause (someone) to lose confidence or enthusiasm: tedious
regulations could discourage investors.
• prevent or try to prevent (something) by showing
disapproval or creating difficulties: the plan is designed to
discourage the use of private cars.
• persuade (someone) against an action: we want to
discourage children from smoking.
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French descouragier,
from des- (expressing reversal) + corage ‘courage’.
discourage
verb
1 we want to discourage children from smoking: deter,
dissuade, disincline, turn aside; put off, talk out of, scare off,
warn off, advise against, urge against; rare dehort.
ANTONYMS encourage, persuade.
2 Nicky was discouraged by his hostile tone: dishearten, dispirit,
demoralize, make despondent, make downhearted, cast
down, depress, disappoint, dampen someone's hopes, dashsomeone's hopes, cause to lose heart; put off, unnerve,
daunt, intimidate, cow, unman, crush; archaic deject.
ANTONYMS encourage, hearten.
3 he looked the other way to discourage further conversation:
prevent, stop, put a stop to, avert, fend off, stave off, ward
off; inhibit, hinder, check, curb, obstruct, suppress, put a
damper on, throw cold water on. ANTONYMS encourage.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD
discourage, deter, dissuade
Someone who lacks the authority to order another person
not to do something may have to adopt other means of
preventing them.
■ To discourage someone from doing something is to make
them more reluctant to do or continue with it by
undermining their confidence or optimism about their
chances of success or about the desirability of what they are
aiming to achieve (her father discouraged her from going into
the legal profession). Circumstances, as well as a person, may
have this effect (their work experience has discouraged them
from a career in engineering), and the object of the verb can be
an action rather than a person (inflation discouragesinvestment). Discourage can also be used to express official
disapproval that stops short of an actual order (the Hospital
discourages smoking).
■ To deter someone from doing something involves
creating, constituting, or pointing out a serious obstacle that
will confront them if they go ahead with their plans (high
fees deter some patients from visiting a consultant). The object of
deter can also be an action (the main aim of cruise missiles is to
deter an attack). The word is often associated with preventing
crime and military aggression (even an unwired alarm box is
often sufficient to deter a burglar), and this sense is continued
in the noun deterrent (NATO's nuclear deterrent).
■ To dissuade someone is to use rational arguments that
make them see the difficulty or undesirable nature of their
proposed course of action (we tried to dissuade Steven from
marrying). The object of dissuade is always a person (or body
of people), not an action or event.
These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between
closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.inferior |ɪnˈfɪərɪə|
adjective
1 lower in rank, status, or quality: schooling in inner-city areas
was inferior to that in the rest of the country.
• of low standard or quality: inferior goods.
• Law (of a court or tribunal) susceptible to having its
decisions overturned by a higher court.
• Economics denoting goods or services which are in
greater demand during a recession than in a boom, for
example second-hand clothes.
2 chiefly Anatomy low or lower in position. ulcers located in
the inferior and posterior wall of the duodenum.
• Botany (of the ovary of a flower) situated below the sepals
and enclosed in the receptacle.
3 (of a letter, figure, or symbol) written or printed below the
line.
noun
1 a person lower than another in rank, status, or ability: her
social and intellectual inferiors.
2 Printing an inferior letter, figure, or symbol.
DERIVATIVESinferiorly adverbinferior ( sense 2 of the adjective)
ORIGIN late Middle English (in sense 2 of the adjective):
from Latin, comparative of inferus ‘low’.
inferior
adjective
1 they are regarded as inferior by other staff: lower in status,
lesser, second-class, second-fiddle, minor, subservient,
lowly, humble, menial, not very important, not so
important, below someone, beneath someone, under
someone's heel; lower-ranking, lower in rank, subordinate,
junior, secondary, subsidiary, ancillary. ANTONYMS
superior; senior.
2 I had to put up with inferior accommodation: second-rate,
substandard, low-quality, low-grade, downmarket,
indifferent, mediocre, unsatisfactory, shoddy, shabby,
deficient, flawed, imperfect, unsound; poor, bad, awful,
dreadful, disagreeable, deplorable, wretched, leaving much
to be desired; informal grotty, crummy, dire, rotten, lousy,
poxy, third-rate, God-awful, not up to much, not up to snuff,
the pits; Brit. informal duff, rubbish, ropy, pants, a load of
pants. ANTONYMS first-rate, high quality.noun
how dare she treat him as an inferior? subordinate, junior,
underling, minion, menial; informal bitch. ANTONYMS
superior.
superior |suːˈpɪərɪə, sjuː-|
adjective
1 higher in rank, status, or quality: a superior officer | the new
model is superior to every other car on the road.
• of high standard or quality: superior malt whiskies.
• greater in size or power: deploying superior force.
• (superior to) above yielding to or being influenced by: I
felt superior to any accusation of anti-Semitism.
2 having or showing an overly high opinion of oneself;
conceited: that girl was frightfully superior.
3 (of a letter, figure, or symbol) written or printed above the
line.
4 chiefly Anatomy further above or out; higher in position.
• Botany (of the ovary of a flower) situated above the sepals
and petals.
noun1 a person superior to another in rank or status, especially a
colleague in a higher position: obeying their superiors' orders.
• the head of a monastery or other religious institution.
2 Printing a superior letter, figure, or symbol.
DERIVATIVES
superiorly adverb
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French superiour,
from Latin superior, comparative of superus ‘that is above’,
from super ‘above’.
Superior |səˈpi(ə)rēərsəˈpɪriər|
a port city in northwestern Wisconsin, on Lake Superior,
adjacent to Duluth in Minnesota; pop. 26,223 (est. 2008).
Superior, Lake |suːˈpɪərɪə, sjuː-|
the largest of the five Great Lakes of North America, on the
border between Canada and the US. With an area of 82,350
sq. km (31,800 sq. miles), it is the largest freshwater lake in
the world.
superior
adjective1 a superior officer had never apologized to him before: higher-
ranking, higher-level, senior, higher, higher-up, upper-level,
upper, loftier. ANTONYMS inferior, junior.
2 the superior candidate: better, more expert, more skilful,
more advanced; worthier, fitter, preferred, predominant,
prevailing, surpassing. ANTONYMS inferior, worse.
3 they recognized the value of superior workmanship: finer,
better, higher-grade, higher-calibre, surpassing, of higher
quality, greater, grander; supreme, accomplished, expert,
consummate. ANTONYMS inferior, low-quality.
4 a very superior chocolate: good-quality, high-quality, first-
class, first-rate, top-quality, high-grade, of the first water, of
the first order; choice, select, exclusive, rare, singular,
unique, prime, prize, upmarket, fine, excellent, superb,
distinguished, exceptional, outstanding, marvellous,
superlative, special; best, choicest, finest, matchless,
peerless, unequalled, perfect, flawless; Frenchpar excellence.
ANTONYMS inferior, low-quality.
5 a superior hotel: high-class, upper-class, select, exclusive,
elite; Brit. upmarket; informal classy, posh, snobby.
ANTONYMS inferior, downmarket.6 Jake regarded her with superior amusement: condescending,
supercilious, patronizing, haughty, disdainful, lofty, lordly,
pompous, snobbish, snobby; informal high and mighty,
hoity-toity, uppity, snooty, stuck-up, toffee-nosed, fancy-
pants, jumped up, too big for one's boots, uppish.
ANTONYMS humble, modest.
noun
my immediate superior in the department: manager, boss, chief,
supervisor, senior, controller, headman, foreman.
ANTONYMS inferior, subordinate, assistant.
indifferent |ɪnˈdɪf(ə)r(ə)nt|
adjective
1 having no particular interest or sympathy; unconcerned:
he gave an indifferent shrug | most workers were indifferent to
foreign affairs.
2 neither good nor bad; mediocre: a pair of indifferent
watercolours.
• not good; fairly bad: in spite of very indifferent weather.
DERIVATIVES
indifferently adverbORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘having no
partiality for or against’): via Old French from Latin
indifferent- ‘not making any difference’, from in- ‘not’ +
different- ‘differing’ (see different) .
indifferent
adjective
1 Government cannot be indifferent to the long-term success of
business: unconcerned about, apathetic about/towards,
uncaring about, casual about, nonchalant about, offhand
about, uninterested in, uninvolved in/with; heedless of,
mindless of, careless of, regardless of, oblivious to; reckless
about, cavalier about, frivolous about, dismissive of;
unimpressed by, bored by, weary of, unmoved by,
unresponsive to, lukewarm about, unenthusiastic about,
phlegmatic about; impassive, dispassionate, aloof,
insouciant, detached, distant, cold, cool, unresponsive,
passionless, unemotional, emotionless, unmoved, unfeeling,
unsympathetic, callous; rare poco-curante. ANTONYMS
heedful; caring.2 both players played indifferent shots: mediocre, ordinary,
commonplace, average, middle-of-the-road, middling,
medium, moderate, everyday, workaday, tolerable,
passable, adequate, fair; inferior, second-rate, uninspired,
undistinguished, unexceptional, unexciting, unremarkable,
run-of-the-mill, not very good, pedestrian, prosaic,
lacklustre, forgettable, amateur, amateurish; informal OK,
so-so, bog-standard, fair-to-middling, (plain) vanilla,
nothing to write home about, no great shakes, not so hot,
not up to much; NZ informal half-pie. ANTONYMS
brilliant.
cart |kɑːt|
noun
a strong open vehicle with two or four wheels, typically
used for carrying loads and pulled by a horse: a horse and
cart.
• a shallow open container on wheels that may be pulled or
pushed by hand.
• (also shopping cart)N. Amer.a supermarket trolley.
verb [ with obj. ]1 convey or put in a cart or similar vehicle: the meat was
pickled in salt and carted to El Paso.
2 [ with obj. and adverbial of direction ] informal carry (a
heavy or cumbersome object) somewhere with difficulty:
they carted the piano down three flights of stairs.
• remove or convey (someone) somewhere
unceremoniously: they were carted off to the nearest police
station.
• Cricket hit (the ball) with a powerful stroke that sends it a
long way. he carted Sinfield for
six.
PHRASES
in the cart Brit. informal in trouble or difficulty. if he didn't
finish the round the whole team would be in the cart.
put the cart before the horse reverse the proper order or
procedure of something.
DERIVATIVES
carter noun,
cartful noun (pl.cartfuls)ORIGIN Middle English: from Old Norse kartr, probably
influenced by Anglo-Norman French and Old Northern
French carete, diminutive of carre (see car) .
pay through the nose informal pay much more than a fair
price. they paid through the nose for one-to-one intensive tuition.
pay 1 |peɪ|
verb (past and past participlepaid |peɪd| )
1 [ with obj. ] give (someone) money that is due for work
done, goods received, or a debt incurred: [ with obj. and
infinitive ] : the traveller paid a guide to show him across | [ no
obj. ] : I'll pay for your ticket.
• give (a sum of money) in exchange for goods or work
done or to settle a debt: the company was rumoured to have
paid 450p a share | [ with two objs ] : they paid him an annual
retainer.
• hand over or transfer the amount due of (a debt, wages,
etc.) to someone: I always prefer to pay all my bills by cheque.• (of work, an investment, etc.) provide someone with (a
sum of money): jobs that pay £5 an hour.
• [ no obj. ] (of a business, activity, or an attitude) be
profitable or advantageous: crime doesn't pay | [ with
infinitive ] : it pays to choose varieties carefully.
2 [ no obj. ] suffer a misfortune as a consequence of an
action: the destroyer would have to pay with his life.
3 [ with two objs ] give (attention, respect, or a compliment)
to (someone): no one paid them any attention.
• make (a visit or call) to (someone): she has been prevailed
upon to pay us a visit.
• [ with obj. ] give what is due or deserved to: it was his way
of paying out Maguire for giving him the push.
noun [ mass noun ]
the money paid to someone for regular work: an entitlement
to sickness pay.
PHRASES
he who pays the piper calls the tune proverb the person
who provides the money for something has the right to
determine how it's spent.in the pay of employed by. mercenaries in the pay of one or
other of the competing local rulers.
pay attention see attention.
pay one's compliments see compliment.
pay court to see court.
pay dearly obtain something at a high cost or great effort.
his master must have paid dearly for such a magnificent beast. •
suffer for a misdemeanour or failure: they paid dearly for
wasting goalscoring opportunities.
pay one's dues see due.
pay for itself (of a thing) earn or save enough money to
cover the cost of its purchase. the best insulation will pay for
itself in less than a year.
pay it forward respond to a person's kindness to oneself by
being kind to someone else: I will take the support I have had
and try to pay it forward whenever I can.
pay its (or one's) way (of an enterprise or person) earn
enough to cover its or one's costs. some students are paying
their way through college.
pay one's last respects show respect towards a dead person
by attending their funeral.pay one's respects make a polite visit to someone: we went to
pay our respects to the head lama.
pay through the nose informal pay much more than a fair
price. they paid through the nose for one-to-one intensive tuition.
you pays your money and you takes your choice informal
used to convey that there is little to choose between one
alternative and another.
PHRASAL VERBS
pay someone back repay a loan to someone. a regular
amount was deducted from my wages to pay her back. • take
revenge on someone: he had left him out to pay him back for
stealing his wife.
pay something back repay a loan to someone. the money
should be paid back with interest. [ with two objs ] : they did pay
me back the money.
pay something in pay money into a bank account. this
statement may include cheques that you've recently paid in.
pay off informal (of a course of action) yield good results;
succeed: all the hard work I had done over the summer paid off.
pay someone off dismiss someone with a final payment:
when directors are fired, they should not be lavishly paid off.pay something off pay a debt in full. I've saved up enough to
pay off my mortgage.
pay something out (or pay out) 1 pay a large sum of money
from funds under one's control. she had to pay out £300 for
treatment. 2 let out (a rope) by slackening it: I began paying
out the nylon line.
pay up (or pay something up)pay a debt in full: you've got
ninety days to pay up the principal.
DERIVATIVES
payer noun
ORIGIN Middle English (in the sense ‘pacify’): from Old
French paie (noun), payer (verb), from Latin pacare
‘appease’, from pax, pac- ‘peace’. The notion of ‘payment’
arose from the sense of ‘pacifying’ a creditor.
pearl 1 |pəːl|
noun
1 a hard, lustrous spherical mass, typically white or bluish-
grey, formed within the shell of a pearl oyster or other
bivalve mollusc and highly prized as a gem. a linen garmentdecorated with pearls. [ mass noun ] : necklaces of amethyst and
pearl. [ as modifier ] : a pair of pearl earrings.
• an artificial imitation of a pearl.
• (pearls) a necklace of pearls. tweeds look traditional teamed
with twinset and pearls.
• something resembling a pearl: the sweat stood in pearls
along his forehead.
• short for mother-of-pearl.
• [ mass noun ] a very pale bluish grey or white colour like
that of a pearl. [ as modifier ] : her dress was a lovely pearl grey.
2 a person or thing of great worth: he has some pearls of
wisdom to offer.
verb [ no obj. ]
1 literary form pearl-like drops: the juice on the blade pearled
into droplets.
• [ with obj. ] make bluish-grey: sunset pearling the sky above
the hills.
2 (usu. as nounpearling) dive or fish for pearl oysters. [ as
modifier ] : the pearling industry.
PHRASEScast pearls before swine offer valuable things to people
who do not appreciate them.[with biblical allusion to Matt.
7:6.]
DERIVATIVES
pearler noun
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French perle,
perhaps based on Latin perna ‘leg’, extended to denote a
leg-of-mutton-shaped bivalve.
spurious |ˈspjʊərɪəs|
adjective
not being what it purports to be; false or fake: separating
authentic and spurious claims.
• (of a line of reasoning) apparently but not actually valid:
this spurious reasoning results in nonsense.
• archaic (of offspring) illegitimate.
DERIVATIVES
spuriously adverb,
spuriousness noun
ORIGIN late 16th cent. (in the sense ‘born out of wedlock’):
from Latin spurius ‘false’ + -ous.spurious
adjective
it was possible to arrange retirements on spurious medical
grounds: bogus, fake, not genuine, specious, false, factitious,
counterfeit, fraudulent, trumped-up, sham, mock, feigned,
pretended, contrived, fabricated, manufactured, fictitious,
make-believe, invalid, fallacious, meretricious; artificial,
imitation, simulated, ersatz; informal phoney, pseudo,
pretend; Brit. informal cod; rare adulterine. ANTONYMS
authentic, genuine, real.
judicial |dʒuːˈdɪʃ(ə)l|
adjective
of, by, or appropriate to a law court or judge; relating to the
administration of justice: a judicial inquiry into the allegations
| a judicial system.
DERIVATIVES
judicially adverb
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin judicialis, from
judicium ‘judgement’, from judex (see judge) .usage: See usage at judicious.
judicial
adjective
a judicial inquiry: legal, judiciary, juridical, judicatory,
forensic, jurisdictive; official.
genuine |ˈdʒɛnjʊɪn|
adjective
truly what something is said to be; authentic: genuine 24-
carat gold.
• (of a person, emotion, or action) sincere: a genuine attempt
to put things right | there was genuine affection in his voice.
DERIVATIVES
genuinely adverb,
genuineness noun
ORIGIN late 16th cent. (in the sense ‘natural or proper’):
from Latin genuinus, from genu ‘knee’ (with reference to the
Roman custom of a father acknowledging paternity of a
newborn child by placing it on his knee); later associated
with genus ‘birth, race, stock’.genuine
adjective
1 is that a genuine Picasso? authentic, real, actual, original,
pukka, bona fide, true, veritable, unfeigned, unadulterated,
unalloyed; sterling; attested, undisputed, rightful,
legitimate, lawful, legal, valid, sound; Germanecht; informal
the real McCoy, the genuine article, the real thing, your
actual, kosher, honest-to-goodness; Austral./NZ informal
dinkum; rare simon-pure. ANTONYMS bogus.
2 she's a very genuine person: sincere, honest, truthful,
unhypocritical, meaning what one says, straightforward,
direct, frank, candid, open; artless, natural, unaffected,
guileless, ingenuous; informal straight, upfront, on the level;
N. Amer. informal on the up and up; Austral./NZ informal
dinkum. ANTONYMS fake; bogus; insincere.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD
genuine, sincere, unfeigned, unaffected
See sincere.
These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between
closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.authentic |ɔːˈθɛntɪk|
adjective
1 of undisputed origin and not a copy; genuine: the letter is
now accepted as an authentic document.
• made or done in the traditional or original way, or in a
way that faithfully resembles an original: the restaurant
serves authentic Italian meals | every detail of the film was totally
authentic.
• based on facts; accurate or reliable: an authentic depiction of
the situation.
• (in existentialist philosophy) relating to or denoting an
emotionally appropriate, significant, purposive, and
responsible mode of human life.
2 Music (of a church mode) containing notes between the
final (the principal note) and the note an octave higher.
Compare with plagal.
DERIVATIVES
authentically adverb [ as submodifier ] : the food is
authentically Cajun
ORIGIN late Middle English: via Old French from late Latin
authenticus, from Greek authentikos ‘principal, genuine’.authentic
adjective
1 the first authentic Rubens in the museum's collection | an
authentic document: genuine, original, real, actual, pukka,
bona fide, true, veritable; sterling; attested, undisputed,
rightful, legitimate, lawful, legal, valid; Germanecht;
informal the real McCoy, the genuine article, the real thing,
your actual, kosher, honest-to-goodness; Austral./NZ
informal dinkum; rare simon-pure. ANTONYMS fake,
spurious.
2 an authentic depiction of the situation: reliable, dependable,
trustworthy, authoritative, honest, faithful; accurate, exact,
factual, true, truthful, veracious, true to life; informal
straight from the horse's mouth; rare veridical. ANTONYMS
unreliable, inaccurate.
substantial |səbˈstanʃ(ə)l|
adjective
1 of considerable importance, size, or worth: a substantial
amount of cash.• strongly built or made: a row of substantial Victorian villas.
• (of a meal) large and filling. breakfast is a substantial buffet.
the first meal of the day should be substantial.
• important in material or social terms; wealthy: a
substantial Devon family.
2 concerning the essentials of something: there was
substantial agreement on changing policies.
3 real and tangible rather than imaginary: spirits are shadowy,
human beings substantial.
DERIVATIVES
substantiality |-ʃɪˈalɪti| noun
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French substantiel or
Christian Latin substantialis, from substantia ‘being,
essence’ (see substance) .
substantial
adjective
1 spirits are shadowy, human beings substantial: real, true,
actual, existing; physical, solid, material, concrete, corporeal,
tangible, non-spiritual; rare unimaginary. ANTONYMS
incorporeal, abstract.2 substantial progress had been made: considerable, real,
material, weighty, solid, sizeable, meaningful, significant,
important, notable, major, marked, valuable, useful,
worthwhile. ANTONYMS insubstantial, worthless.
3 the plaintiff is unlikely to recover substantial damages: sizeable,
considerable, significant, large, ample, appreciable, goodly,
decent; informal tidy.
4 a row of substantial Victorian villas: sturdy, solid, stout,
strong, well built, well constructed, durable, long-lasting,
hard-wearing, imperishable, impervious. ANTONYMS
insubstantial, jerry-built.
5 the food is fit for substantial country gentlemen: hefty, stout,
sturdy, strapping, large, big, solid, bulky, burly, well built,
weighty, portly, tubby, chubby, beefy. ANTONYMS slight,
gaunt.
6 substantial City companies: successful, buoyant, booming,
doing well, profit-making, profitable, prosperous, wealthy,
affluent, moneyed, well-to-do, rich, large; informal in the
money, rolling in it, loaded, stinking rich, quids in.
ANTONYMS paltry.7 he is in substantial agreement with Lomax: fundamental,
essential, basic.
parody |ˈparədi|
noun (pl.parodies)
an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or
genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect: the film
is a parody of the horror genre | [ mass noun ] : his provocative
use of parody.
• an imitation or version of something that falls far short of
the real thing; a travesty: he gave her a parody of a smile.
verb (parodies, parodying, parodied) [ with obj. ]
produce a humorously exaggerated imitation of (a writer,
artist, or genre). his speciality was parodying schoolgirl fiction.
• mimic humorously: he parodied his friend's voice.
DERIVATIVES
parodic |pəˈrɒdɪk| adjective,
parodically adjective,
parodist nounORIGIN late 16th cent.: via late Latin from Greek parōidia
‘burlesque poem’, from para- ‘beside’ (expressing alteration)
+ ōidē ‘ode’.
parody
noun
1 a parody of the Gothic novel: satire, burlesque, lampoon,
pastiche, caricature, take-off, skit, imitation, mockery;
informal spoof, send-up; W. Indian informal pappyshow;
Brit. vulgar slang piss-take; rare pasquinade, pasticcio.
2 an appalling parody of the truth: distortion, travesty, poor
imitation, caricature, mockery, misrepresentation,
perversion, corruption, debasement; apology for.
verb
his speciality was parodying schoolgirl fiction: satirize,
burlesque, lampoon, caricature, mimic, imitate, ape, copy,
do, do an impression of, make fun of, travesty, take off;
informal send up; Brit. vulgar slang take the piss out of.
ridicule |ˈrɪdɪkjuːl|
noun [ mass noun ]the subjection of someone or something to mockery and
derision: he is held up as an object of ridicule.
verb [ with obj. ]
subject to mockery and derision: his theory was ridiculed and
dismissed.
ORIGIN late 17th cent.: from French, or from Latin
ridiculum, neuter (used as a noun) of ridiculus ‘laughable’,
from ridere ‘to laugh’.
ridicule
noun
he was subjected to ridicule by his colleagues: mockery, derision,
laughter, scorn, scoffing, contempt, jeering, sneering, sneers,
jibes, jibing, joking, teasing, taunts, taunting, ragging,
chaffing, twitting, raillery, sarcasm, satire, lampoon,
burlesque, caricature, parody; informal kidding, kidology,
ribbing, joshing; Brit. informal winding up, taking the
mickey; N. Amer. informal goofing, razzing, pulling
someone's chain; Austral./NZ informal chiacking; archaic
sport; Brit. vulgar slang taking the piss. ANTONYMS praise,
respect.verb
it was easy to ridicule him in his battered old hat: deride, mock,
laugh at, heap scorn on, hold up to shame, hold up to
ridicule, expose to ridicule, jeer at, jibe at, sneer at, show up,
treat with contempt, scorn, make fun of, poke fun at, make
jokes about, laugh to scorn, scoff at, pillory, be sarcastic
about, satirize, lampoon, burlesque, caricature, parody,
tease, taunt, rag, chaff, twit; informal kid, rib, josh, wind up,
take the mickey out of; N. Amer. informal goof on, rag on,
razz, pull someone's chain; Austral./NZ informal chiack,
poke mullock at, sling off at; Brit. vulgar slang take the piss
(out of); dated make sport of; archaic quiz, flout (at).
ANTONYMS praise.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD
ridicule, mockery, derision
See mockery.
These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between
closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.
jeopardize |ˈdʒɛpədʌɪz| (also jeopardise)
verb [ with obj. ]put (someone or something) into a situation in which there
is a danger of loss, harm, or failure: a devaluation of the dollar
would jeopardize New York's position as a financial centre.
jeopardize
verb
relocating outside London will jeopardize their competitiveness:
threaten, endanger, imperil, menace, risk, put at risk, expose
to risk, put in danger, expose to danger, put in jeopardy, put
on the line; leave vulnerable, leave unprotected;
compromise, prejudice, be prejudicial to; be a danger to,
pose a threat to; damage, injure, harm, do harm to, be
detrimental to, drive a nail into the coffin of; archaic peril.
ANTONYMS safeguard.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD
jeopardize, endanger, imperil, risk
See endanger.
These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between
closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.
twist |twɪst|verb [ with obj. ]
1 form into a bent, curling, or distorted shape: a strip of metal
is twisted to form a hollow tube | her pretty features twisted into
a fearsome expression.
• [ with obj. and adverbial ] form (something) into a
particular shape by taking hold of one or both ends and
turning them: she twisted her handkerchief into a knot.
• [ with obj. and adverbial ] turn or bend into a specified
position or in a specified direction: he grabbed the man and
twisted his arm behind his back.
• (twist something off) remove something by pulling and
rotating it: beetroot can be stored once the leaves have been
twisted off.
• [ no obj. ] move one's body so that the shoulders and hips
are facing in different directions: she twisted in her seat to look
at the buildings.
• [ no obj., with adverbial ] move in a wriggling or writhing
fashion: he twisted himself free.
• injure (a joint) by wrenching it: he twisted his ankle trying to
avoid his opponent's lunge.• distort or misrepresent the meaning of (words): he twisted
my words to make it seem that I'd claimed she was a drug addict.
2 cause to rotate around a stationary point; turn: she twisted
her ring round and round on her finger.
• [ with obj. and adverbial ] wind around or through
something: she twisted a lock of hair around her finger.
• move or cause to move around each other; interlace:
[ with obj. ] : she twisted her hands together nervously | the
machine twists together strands to make a double yarn.
• make (something) by interlacing or winding strands
together. he could twist a rope strong enough to hold a mule.
• [ no obj. ] take or have a winding course: the railway lines
twist and turn round the hills.
3 [ no obj. ] dance the twist.
4 Brit. informal cheat; defraud.
5 [ no obj. ] (in pontoon) request, deal, or be dealt a card face
upwards.
noun
1 an act of twisting something around a stationary point: the
taps needed a single twist to turn them on.• an act of turning one's body or part of one's body: with a
sudden twist, she got away from him.
• (the twist) a dance with a twisting movement of the body,
popular in the 1960s. lets do the twist.
• [ mass noun ] the extent of twisting of a rod or other
object.
• [ mass noun ] force producing twisting; torque.
• [ mass noun ] forward motion combined with rotation
about an axis.
• the rifling in the bore of a gun: barrels with a 1:24 inch twist.
2 a thing with a spiral shape: a barley sugar twist.
• Brit.a paper packet with twisted ends. he handed her a twist
of paper.
• a small quantity of tobacco, sugar, salt, or a similar
substance, wrapped in such a packet. he bought a packet of
crisps with a blue twist of salt in them.
• a curled piece of lemon peel used to flavour a drink. she
drank vodka and tonic with a twist of lemon.
3 a distorted shape: he had a cruel twist to his mouth.• an unusual feature of a person's personality, typically an
unhealthy one. her lack of considerateness is a personality twist
which could bring her problems.
• Brit. informal a swindle.
4 a point at which something turns or bends: the car
negotiated the twists and turns of the mountain road.
• an unexpected development of events: it was soon time for
the next twist of fate in his extraordinary career.
• a new treatment or outlook; a variation: she takes
conventional subjects and gives them a twist.
5 [ mass noun ] a fine strong thread consisting of twisted
strands of cotton or silk.
6 Brit.a drink consisting of two ingredients mixed together.
7 a carpet with a tightly curled pile.
PHRASES
round the twist Brit. informal out of one's mind; crazy: the
games she plays drive me round the twist.
twist someone's arm informal pressurize someone into
doing something that they are reluctant to do. I've twisted his
arm and he'll get you some tickets.twist in the wind be left in a state of suspense or
uncertainty. rather than giving clear public guidance, politicians
let NATO commanders twist in the wind.
twist someone around one's little finger see little finger.
twists and turns complicated dealings or circumstances: the
twists and turns of her political career.
ORIGIN Old English (as a noun), of Germanic origin;
probably from the base of twin and twine. Current verb
senses date from late Middle English.
twist
verb
1 the force of the impact had twisted the chassis: crumple, crush,
buckle, mangle, warp, bend out of shape, misshape, deform,
distort; N. Amer. informal pretzel. ANTONYMS straighten.
2 her face twisted with rage: contort, screw up, quirk.
3 Ma was anxiously twisting a handkerchief: wring, squeeze,
knead.
4 Marco twisted round in his seat to look at her: turn (round),
swivel (round), skew (round), spin (round), pivot, rotate,
revolve.5 she twisted out of his grasp: wriggle, writhe, squirm, worm,
wiggle.
6 he landed awkwardly and twisted his ankle: sprain, wrench,
turn, rick, crick.
7 you are deliberately twisting my words: distort, misrepresent,
change, alter, pervert, falsify, warp, skew, put the wrong
slant on, misinterpret, misconstrue, misstate, misquote,
quote/take out of context, misreport; garble.
8 he reached for the radio and twisted the knob: twiddle, adjust,
turn, rotate, swivel.
9 she twisted a lock of hair around her finger: wind, twirl, coil,
curl, wrap.
10 cables made up of several wires twisted together: intertwine,
twine, entwine, interlace, weave, plait, interweave, braid,
wreathe, coil, wind; literary pleach.
11 the road twisted and turned through the hills: wind, bend,
curve, turn, meander, weave, zigzag, swerve, loop,
corkscrew, snake, worm.
PHRASES
twist someone's arm informal don't let him twist your arm if
you really don't want to go: pressurize, coerce, bulldoze, force,railroad; persuade; talk someone into something; informal
lean on, put the screws on.
noun
1 the twist of a dial: turn, twirl, spin, rotation, roll.
2 the strange twist of his mouth betrayed an inner fury:
contortion, contorted/distorted shape.
3 a slight personality twist which could cause her problems:
quirk, idiosyncrasy, foible, eccentricity, peculiarity, oddity,
kink; aberration, fault, flaw, imperfection, defect, failing,
weakness; deviation, perversion.
4 long twists of black hair: ringlet, curl, corkscrew, coil; lock,
hank.
5 the twists and turns of the mountain road: bend, curve, turn,
zigzag, loop, kink, dog-leg; Brit. hairpin bend.
6 the twists and turns of the plot: convolution, complication,
complexity, intricacy; surprise, revelation.
7 Loretta was still trying to take in this curious twist of fate :
development, turn of events, incident, happening,
occurrence; turnabout.
8 a new twist on an old theme: interpretation, slant, outlook,
angle, approach, treatment; alteration, variation.imitate |ˈɪmɪteɪt|
verb [ with obj. ]
take or follow as a model: his style was imitated by many other
writers.
• copy (a person's speech or mannerisms), especially for
comic effect: she imitated my Scots accent.
• copy or simulate: synthetic fabrics can now imitate everything
from silk to rubber.
DERIVATIVES
imitable adjective
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin imitat- ‘copied’, from
the verb imitari; related to imago ‘image’.
imitate
verb
1 it was quite acceptable for artists to imitate other artists:
emulate, copy, take as a model, model oneself on, take as a
pattern, pattern oneself on/after, follow the example of, take
as an example, take as a role model, take after, follow, followin someone's steps/footsteps; echo, parrot; follow suit, take
a leaf out of someone's book; informal rip off.
2 he was a splendid mimic, and loved to imitate Winston
Churchill: mimic, do an impression of, impersonate, ape;
parody, caricature, burlesque, travesty, mock; masquerade
as, pose as, pass oneself off as; informal take off, send up,
spoof, do; N. Amer. informal make like; archaic monkey;
rare personate.
3 the tombs imitated houses: resemble, look like, be like,
simulate; match, echo, mirror; bring to mind, remind one of.
sane |seɪn|
adjective
(of a person) of sound mind; not mad or mentally ill: hard
work kept me sane.
• reasonable or sensible: a sane discussion of the important
social issues of our time.
DERIVATIVES
sanely adverb,
saneness noun
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from Latin sanus ‘healthy’.sane
adjective
1 an accused person is presumed to be sane until they can prove
the contrary: of sound mind, right in the head, in one's right
mind, in possession of all one's faculties, able to think/
reason clearly, lucid, clear-headed, rational, coherent,
balanced, well balanced, stable, normal; Latincompos
mentis; informal all there. ANTONYMS insane, mad.
2 who would think it sane to use nuclear weapons? sensible,
practical, advisable, responsible, realistic, full of common
sense, prudent, circumspect, pragmatic, wise, reasonable,
rational, mature, level-headed, commonsensical, judicious,
politic, sound, balanced, sober. ANTONYMS foolish.
silly |ˈsɪli|
adjective (sillier, silliest)
1 having or showing a lack of common sense or judgement;
absurd and foolish: another of his silly jokes | ‘Don't be silly’
she said.• ridiculously trivial or frivolous: he would brood about silly
things.
• [ as complement ] used to convey that an activity or
process has been engaged in to such a degree that someone
is no longer capable of thinking or acting sensibly: he often
drank himself silly | his mother worried herself silly over him.
2 archaic (especially of a woman, child, or animal) helpless;
defenceless.
3 [ attrib. ] Cricket denoting fielding positions very close to
the batsman: silly mid-on.
noun (pl.sillies) informal
a foolish person (often used as a form of address): come on,
silly.
PHRASES
the silly season high summer regarded as the season when
newspapers often publish trivial material because of a lack
of important news.
DERIVATIVES
sillily adverb,
silliness nounORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘deserving of pity
or sympathy’): alteration of dialect seely‘happy’, later
‘innocent, feeble’, from a West Germanic base meaning
‘luck, happiness’. The sense ‘foolish’ developed via the
stages ‘feeble’ and ‘unsophisticated, ignorant’.
silly
adjective
1 don't be so silly: foolish, stupid, unintelligent, idiotic,
brainless, mindless, witless, imbecilic, imbecile, doltish;
imprudent, thoughtless, rash, reckless, foolhardy,
irresponsible; mad, erratic, unstable, scatterbrained, feather-
brained; flighty, frivolous, giddy, fatuous, inane, immature,
childish, puerile, half-baked, empty-headed, half-witted,
slow-witted, weak-minded; informal daft, crazy, dotty,
scatty, loopy, screwy, soft, brain-dead, cretinous, thick,
thickheaded, birdbrained, pea-brained, pinheaded, dopey,
dim, dim-witted, dippy, pie-faced, fat-headed, blockheaded,
boneheaded, lamebrained, chuckleheaded, dunderheaded,
wooden-headed, muttonheaded, damfool; Brit. informal
divvy; Scottish & N. English informal glaikit; N. Amer.informal dumb-ass, chowderheaded; S. African informal
dof; W. Indian informal dotish; dated tomfool. ANTONYMS
sensible, rational.
2 that was a silly thing to do: unwise, imprudent, thoughtless,
foolish, stupid, idiotic, senseless, mindless, fatuous; rash,
reckless, foolhardy, irresponsible, inadvisable, injudicious,
ill-considered, misguided, inappropriate, illogical,
irrational, unreasonable; hare-brained, absurd, ridiculous,
ludicrous, laughable, risible, farcical, preposterous, asinine;
informal daft, crazy. ANTONYMS sensible, rational.
3 he would brood about silly things: trivial, trifling, frivolous,
footling, petty, niggling, small, slight, minor, insignificant,
unimportant, inconsequential, of little account; informal
piffling, piddling; N. Amer. informal small-bore.
ANTONYMS important.
4 he often drank himself silly: senseless, insensible,
unconscious, stupid, dopey, into a stupor, into oblivion, into
senselessness, into a daze; numb, dazed, stunned, stupefied,
groggy, muzzy.
nouninformal come on, silly: nincompoop, dunce, simpleton;
informal nitwit, ninny, dimwit, dope, dumbo, dummy,
chump, goon, jackass, fathead, bonehead, chucklehead,
knucklehead, lamebrain, clod, pea-brain, pudding-head,
thickhead, wooden-head, pinhead, airhead, birdbrain,
scatterbrain, noodle, donkey; Brit. informal silly billy, stupe,
nit, clot, twit, berk, twerp; Scottish informal nyaff, sumph,
gowk, balloon; N. Amer. informal bozo, boob, schlepper,
goofball, goof, goofus, galoot, lummox, dip, simp, spud,
coot, palooka, poop, yo-yo, dingleberry; Austral./NZ
informal drongo, dill, alec, galah, nong, bogan, poon,
boofhead; S. African informal mompara; informal, dated
muttonhead, noddy; archaic clodpole, spoony, mooncalf.
WORD TOOLKIT
silly
See foolish.
Word Toolkits illustrate the difference between close
synonyms by means of words typically used with them.
insane |ɪnˈseɪn|
adjectivein a state of mind which prevents normal perception,
behaviour, or social interaction; seriously mentally ill: he had
gone insane.
• (of an action or quality) characterized or caused by
madness: his eyes were glowing with insane fury.
• extremely annoyed: a fly whose buzzing had been driving me
insane.
• extremely foolish; irrational: she had an insane desire to
giggle.
DERIVATIVES
insanely adverb
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin insanus, from in- ‘not’ +
sanus ‘healthy’.
insane
adjective
1 she was examined by three doctors and declared insane:
mentally ill, severely mentally disordered, of unsound
mind, certifiable, psychotic, schizophrenic; mad, mad as a
hatter, mad as a March hare, deranged, demented, out of
one's mind, out of one's head, not in one's right mind, sickin the head, unhinged, unbalanced, unstable, disturbed,
crazed, crazy, hysterical; Latinnon compos mentis; Brit.
sectionable; informal raving mad, stark staring/raving mad,
away with the fairies, not all there, bonkers, cracked, batty,
bats, cuckoo, loony, loopy, nuts, nutty, nutty as a fruitcake,
screwy, bananas, off one's rocker, off one's head, off one's
chump, off one's nut, off the wall, round the bend; Brit.
informal crackers, barmy, barking, barking mad, off one's
trolley, round the twist, as daft as a brush, not the full
shilling; N. Amer. informal buggy, nutsy, nutso, out of one's
tree, wacko, squirrelly; Canadian & Austral./NZ informal
bushed; NZ informal porangi. ANTONYMS sane.
2 he made an insane suggestion: extremely foolish, idiotic,
stupid, silly, senseless, nonsensical, pointless, absurd,
ridiculous, ludicrous, farcical, laughable, preposterous,
weird, bizarre, fatuous, inane, imbecilic, moronic, asinine,
mindless, hare-brained, half-baked, ill-conceived;
impracticable, untenable, implausible, unreasonable,
irrational, illogical, unrealistic, unthinkable; informal potty,
crazy, mad, off beam, way out, full of holes, cock-eyed; Brit.
informal daft, barmy. ANTONYMS sensible.3 the fly's buzzing had been driving me insane: mad, crazy;
angry, annoyed, irritated, cross, vexed, exasperated,
incensed, enraged; informal aggravated, hot under the
collar, foaming at the mouth; Brit. informal spare, crackers.
ANTONYMS calm.
dispatch |dɪˈspatʃ| (also despatch)
verb [ with obj. ]
1 send off to a destination or for a purpose: he dispatched
messages back to base | [ with obj. and infinitive ] : the
government dispatched 150 police to restore order.
2 deal with (a task or opponent) quickly and efficiently: the
Welsh team were dispatched comfortably by the opposition.
• kill: he dispatched the animal with one blow.
noun
1 [ mass noun ] the sending of someone or something to a
destination or for a purpose: a resolution authorizing the
dispatch of a peacekeeping force.
• promptness and efficiency: the situation might change, so he
should proceed with dispatch.2 an official report on state or military affairs: in his battle
dispatch he described the gunner's bravery.
• a report sent in from abroad by a journalist. he conducted
meetings for the correspondents and censored their dispatches.
3 [ mass noun ] the killing of someone or something: the
executioner's merciful dispatch of his victims.
DERIVATIVES
dispatcher noun
ORIGIN early 16th cent.: from Italian dispacciare or Spanish
despachar ‘expedite’, from dis-, des- (expressing reversal) +
the base of Italian impacciare,Spanish empachar ‘hinder’.
dispatch, despatch
verb
1 the press releases have all been dispatched: send, send off, post,
mail, ship, freight; forward, transmit, consign, remit, convey.
2 all serious business was dispatched in the morning: deal with,
finish, dispose of, conclude, settle, sort out, discharge,
execute, perform; expedite, push through, accelerate, hasten,
speed up, hurry on; informal make short work of.3 in such films the good guy must always dispatch a host of
vicious villains: kill, put to death, do to death, do away with,
put an end to, finish off, take the life of, end the life of;
slaughter, butcher, massacre, wipe out, mow down, shoot
down, cut down, destroy, exterminate, eliminate, eradicate,
annihilate; murder, assassinate, execute; informal bump off,
knock off, polish off, do in, top, take out, snuff out, erase,
croak, stiff, zap, blow away, blow someone's brains out, give
someone the works; N. Amer. informal ice, off, rub out,
waste, whack, smoke, scrag; N. Amer. euphemistic
terminate with extreme prejudice; literary slay.
noun
1 we have 125 cases of wine ready for dispatch: sending, posting,
mailing, shipping, transmittal, consignment.
2 he carries out his duties with efficiency and dispatch:
promptness, speed, speediness, swiftness, rapidity,
quickness, briskness, haste, hastiness, hurriedness, urgency;
literary fleetness, celerity; rare expedition, expeditiousness,
promptitude.
3 she read out the latest dispatch from the front: communication,
communiqué, bulletin, release, report, account,announcement, statement, missive, letter, epistle, message,
instruction; news, intelligence; informal memo, info, low-
down, dope; literary tidings.
4 the hound was used for the capture and dispatch of the wolf:
killing, slaughter, massacre, destruction, extermination,
elimination, liquidation; murder, assassination, execution;
literary slaying.
idealistic |ˌʌɪdɪəˈlɪstɪk, ʌɪˌdɪəˈlɪstɪk, ʌɪˌdiːəˈlɪstɪk|
adjective
characterized by idealism; unrealistically aiming for
perfection: idealistic young doctors who went to work for the
rebels.
DERIVATIVES
idealistically |-ˈlɪstɪk(ə)li| adverb
idealistic
adjectivetheir creed appeals to the idealistic young: utopian, visionary,
romantic, quixotic, dreamy, unrealistic, impractical, castle-
building. ANTONYMS realistic; cynical; defeatist.
WORD TOOLKIT
idealistic
See quixotic.
Word Toolkits illustrate the difference between close
synonyms by means of words typically used with them.
pragmatic |pragˈmatɪk|
adjective
dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is
based on practical rather than theoretical considerations: a
pragmatic approach to politics.
• relating to philosophical or political pragmatism.
• Linguistics relating to pragmatics.
DERIVATIVES
pragmatically adverb
ORIGIN late 16th cent. (in the senses ‘busy, interfering,
conceited’): via Latin from Greek pragmatikos ‘relating tofact’, from pragma ‘deed’ (from the stem of prattein ‘do’).
The current senses date from the mid 19th cent.
practical
adjective
1 they have practical experience of language-teaching methods:
empirical, hands-on, pragmatic, real, actual, active, applied,
experiential, experimental, non-theoretical, in the field;
informal how-to; technical heuristic; rare empiric.
ANTONYMS theoretical.
2 the opposition have failed to put forward any practical
alternatives: feasible, practicable, realistic, viable, workable,
possible, within the bounds/realms of possibility,
reasonable, sensible, useful, helpful, constructive; informal
doable; rare accomplishable.
3 do you want your clothes to be practical or frivolous?
functional, serviceable, sensible, useful, utilitarian, utility,
everyday, workaday, ordinary; suitable, appropriate.
4 I'm just being practical—we must find a ground-floor flat:
realistic, sensible, down-to-earth, pragmatic, businesslike,matter-of-fact, reasonable, rational, commonsensical, hard-
headed, no-nonsense, with one's/both feet on the ground;
informal hard-nosed. ANTONYMS impractical.
5 it was a practical certainty that he would try to raise more
money: virtual, effective, in effect.
enthusiastic |ɪnˌθjuːzɪˈastɪk, ɛn-|
adjective
having or showing intense and eager enjoyment, interest, or
approval: he could be wildly enthusiastic about a project.
DERIVATIVES
enthusiastically adverb
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from Greek enthousiastikos, from
enthous ‘possessed by a god’ (see enthusiasm) .
enthusiastic
adjective
an enthusiastic supporter of Scottish rugby: eager, keen, avid,
ardent, fervent, warm, passionate, zealous, lively, vivacious,
energetic, vigorous, dynamic, vehement, fiery, excited,
exuberant, ebullient, spirited, hearty, wholehearted,committed, willing, ready, devoted, fanatical, earnest.
ANTONYMS apathetic.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD
enthusiastic, eager, keen, avid
See eager.
These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between
closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.
partial |ˈpɑːʃ(ə)l|
adjective
1 existing only in part; incomplete: a question to which we
have only partial answers.
2 favouring one side in a dispute above the other; biased: the
paper gave a distorted and very partial view of the situation.
3 (partial to) having a liking for: you know I'm very partial to
bacon and eggs.
nounMusic
a component of a musical sound; an overtone or harmonic.
strings would like to oscillate as closely as possible to harmonic
partials.
DERIVATIVESpartialness noun
ORIGIN late Middle English (in sense 2 of the adjective):
from Old French parcial ( sense 2 of the adjective),French
partiel ( sense 1 of the adjective), from late Latin partialis,
from pars, part- ‘part’.
partial
adjective
1 the partial recovery of the economy: incomplete, limited,
qualified, restricted, imperfect, fragmentary, unfinished.
ANTONYMS complete, total, whole.
2 the paper gave a distorted and very partial view of the situation:
biased, prejudiced, partisan, one-sided, slanted, skewed,
coloured, interested, parti pris, discriminatory, preferential,
jaundiced; unjust, unfair, inequitable, unbalanced.
ANTONYMS unbiased, impartial, disinterested.
PHRASES
be partial to Celeste was partial to bacon sandwiches: like, love,
enjoy, have a liking for, be fond of, be keen on, have a
fondness for, have a weakness for, have a soft spot for, have
a taste for, be taken with, care for, have a predilection/proclivity/penchant for, be enamoured of; informal adore,
be mad about/on, have a thing about, be crazy about, be
potty about, be nutty about; N. Amer. informal cotton to, be
nutso over/about; Austral./NZ informal be shook on.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD
partial, biased, prejudiced
See biased.
These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between
closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.an |an, ən|
determiner
the form of the indefinite article (see a 1 ) used before words
beginning with a vowel sound.
usage: Is it ’ a historical document’ or ’ an historical
document’? ‘ A hotel’ or ‘ an hotel’? There is still some
divergence of opinion over which form of the indefinite
article should be used before words that begin with h- and
have an unstressed first syllable. In the 18th and 19th
centuries people often did not pronounce the initial h for
these words, and so an was commonly used. Today the h is
pronounced, and so it is logical to use a rather than an.
However, the indefinite article an is still encountered before
the h in both British and American English, particularly
with historical: in the Oxford English Corpus around a
quarter of examples of historical are preceded with an
rather than a.
an- 1 |an|
prefix
variant spelling of a- 1 before a vowel (as in anaemia).
an- 2 |ən, an|prefix
variant spelling of ad- assimilated before n (as in annihilate,
annotate).
an- 3 |an|
prefix
variant spelling of ana- shortened before a vowel (as in
aneurysm).
ana- |ˈanə| (usu. an- before a vowel)
prefix
1 up: anabatic.
2 back: anamnesis.
3 again: anabiosis.
ORIGIN from Greek ana ‘up’.
a 1 |ə, eɪ| (an before a vowel sound) [ called the indefinite
article ]
determiner
1 used when mentioning someone or something for the first
time in a text or conversation: a man came out of the room | it
has been an honour to meet you. Compare with the.
• used with units of measurement to mean one such unit: a
hundred | a quarter of an hour.• [ with negative ] one single; any: I simply haven't a thing to
wear.
• used when mentioning the name of someone not known
to the speaker: a Mr Smith telephoned.
• someone like (the name specified): you're no better than a
Hitler.
2 used to indicate membership of a class of people or things:
he is a lawyer | this car is a BMW.
3 in, to, or for each; per (used when expressing rates or
ratios): typing 60 words a minute | a move to raise petrol prices
by 3p a litre.
ORIGIN Middle English: weak form of Old English ān‘one’.
usage: On the question of using a or an before words
beginning with h, see usage at an.
a- 1 |ə, eɪ, a| (often an- before a vowel)
prefix
not; without: atheistic | acephalous.
ORIGIN from Greek.
-an |(ə)n|
suffix
1 forming adjectives and nouns, especially from:• names of places: Cuban.
• names of systems: Anglican.
• names of zoological classes or orders: crustacean.
• names of founders: Lutheran.
2 |an| Chemistry forming names of organic compounds,
chiefly polysaccharides: dextran.
ORIGIN from Latin -anus, -ana, -anum .
the |before a consonant ðə; before a vowel ðɪ; stressed ðiː|
[ called the definite article ]
determiner
1 denoting one or more people or things already mentioned
or assumed to be common knowledge: what's the matter? |
call the doctor | the phone rang. Compare with a 1 .
• used to refer to a person, place, or thing that is unique: the
Queen | the Mona Lisa | the Nile.
• informal or archaic denoting a disease or affliction: I've got
the flu.
• (with a unit of time) the present; the current: dish of the day
| man of the moment.• informal used instead of a possessive to refer to someone
with whom the speaker or person addressed is associated:
I'm meeting the boss | how's the family?
• used with a surname to refer to a family or married
couple: the Johnsons were not wealthy.
• used before the surname of the chief of a Scottish or Irish
clan: the O'Donoghue.
2 used to point forward to a following qualifying or
defining clause or phrase: the fuss that he made of her | the top
of a bus | I have done the best I could.
• (chiefly with rulers and family members with the same
name) used after a name to qualify it: George the Sixth |
Edward the Confessor | Jack the Ripper.
3 used to make a generalized reference to something rather
than identifying a particular instance: he taught himself to
play the violin | I worry about the future.
• used with a singular noun to indicate that it represents a
whole species or class: they placed the African elephant on their
endangered list.
• used with an adjective to refer to those people who are of
the type described: the unemployed.• used with an adjective to refer to something of the class or
quality described: they are trying to accomplish the impossible.
• used with the name of a unit to state a rate: they can do 120
miles to the gallon | 35p in the pound.
4 enough of (a particular thing): he hoped to publish monthly, if
only he could find the money.
5 (pronounced stressing ‘the’) used to indicate that someone
or something is the best known or most important of that
name or type: he was the hot young piano prospect in jazz.
6 used adverbially with comparatives to indicate how one
amount or degree of something varies in relation to another:
the more she thought about it, the more devastating it became.
• (usu. all the ——) used to emphasize the amount or
degree to which something is affected: commodities made all
the more desirable by their rarity.
ORIGIN Old English se, sēo, thæt, ultimately superseded by
forms from Northumbrian and North Mercian thē, of
Germanic origin; related to Dutch de, dat, and German der,
die, das .bouquet |bʊˈkeɪ, bəʊˈkeɪ, ˈbʊkeɪ|
noun
1 an attractively arranged bunch of flowers, especially one
presented as a gift or carried at a ceremony.
• an expression of approval; a compliment: we will happily
publish the bouquets and brickbats.
2 the characteristic scent of a wine or perfume: the aperitif has
a faint bouquet of almonds.
ORIGIN early 18th cent.: from French (earlier ‘clump of
trees’), from a dialect variant of Old French bos ‘wood’.
Sense 2 dates from the mid 19th cent.
fine 1 |fʌɪn|
adjective
1 of very high quality; very good of its kind: this was a fine
piece of film-making | fine wines.
• worthy of or eliciting admiration: what a fine human being
he is | a fine musician.
• good; satisfactory: relations in the group were fine.• used to express one's agreement with or acquiescence to
something: anything you want is fine by me, Linda | he said
such a solution would be fine.
• in good health and feeling well: ‘I'm fine, just fine. And
you?’.
• (of the weather) bright and clear: it was another fine winter
day.
• imposing or impressive in appearance: Donleavy was a fine
figure of a man.
• (of speech or writing) sounding impressive and grand but
ultimately insincere: fine words seemed to produce few practical
benefits.
• denoting or displaying a state of good, though not
excellent, preservation in stamps, books, coins, etc.
• (of gold or silver) containing a specified high proportion
of pure metal: the coin is struck in .986 fine gold.
2 very thin or narrow: a fine nylon thread | fine flyaway hair.
• (of a point) sharp. I sharpened the leads to a fine point.
• made or consisting of small particles: the soils were all fine
silt.• of delicate or intricate workmanship or structure: fine bone
china.
• (of something abstract) subtle and therefore perceived
only with difficulty and care: there is a fine distinction between
misrepresenting the truth and lying.
• (of a physical faculty) sensitive and discriminating: he has
a fine eye for the detail and texture of social scenery.
3 Cricket directed or stationed behind the wicket and close
to the line of flight of the ball when it is bowled.
noun (fines)
very small particles found in mining, milling, etc.
adverb
1 informal in a satisfactory or pleasing manner; very well:
‘And how's the job-hunting going?’ ‘Oh, fine.’ | mother and baby
are both doing fine.
2 Cricket behind the wicket and close to the line of flight of
the ball when it is bowled.
verb
1 [ with obj. ] clarify (beer or wine) by causing the
precipitation of sediment during production.
• [ no obj. ] (of liquid) become clear.2 make or become thinner: [ no obj. ] : she'd certainly fined
down—her face was thinner.
3 [ no obj. ] (fine up) N. English & Austral./NZ informal (of
the weather) become bright and clear.
PHRASES
cut it (or things) fine allow a very small margin of
something, especially time: boys who have cut it rather fine are
scuttling into chapel.
do someone fine suit or be enough for someone.
fine feathers make fine birds proverb beautiful or
expensive clothes may make the wearer seem more
impressive than is really the case.
a fine line a subtle distinction between two concepts or
situations: there's a fine line between humour and
inappropriateness | the president has been treading a fine line
on immigration.
the finer points of the more complex or detailed aspects of:
he went on to discuss the finer points of his work.
——'s finest N. Amer. informal the police of a particular
city: Moscow's finest.one's finer feelings one's feelings of honour, loyalty, or
duty; one's conscience or sense of morality.
one's finest hour the time of one's greatest success.
fine words butter no parsnips proverb nothing is achieved
by empty promises or flattery.
not to put too fine a point on it to speak bluntly: not to put
too fine a point on it, your Emily is a liar.[figuratively, with
reference to the sharpening of a weapon, tool, etc.]
one fine day at some unspecified or unknown time: one fine
day he decided to take an apartment in Rome.
DERIVATIVES
finely adverb,
fineness noun
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French fin, based on
Latin finire ‘to finish’ (see finish) .
fine 2 |fʌɪn|
noun
a sum of money exacted as a penalty by a court of law or
other authority: a parking fine.
verb [ with obj. ]punish (someone) for an illegal or illicit act by making them
pay a sum of money: she was fined £1500 for driving offences.
DERIVATIVES
fineable |ˈfʌɪnəb(ə)l| adjective
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French fin ‘end,
payment’, from Latin finis ‘end’ (in medieval Latin denoting
a sum paid on settling a lawsuit). The original sense was
‘conclusion’ (surviving in the phrase in fine); also used in
the medieval Latin sense, the word came to denote a penalty
of any kind, later specifically a monetary penalty.
fine 1
adjective
1 fine wines | a fine collection of furniture: excellent, first-class,
first-rate, great, exceptional, outstanding, admirable, quality,
superior, splendid, magnificent, beautiful, exquisite, choice,
select, prime, supreme, superb, wonderful, sublime,
superlative, very good, of high quality, of a high standard,
second to none, top, rare; informal A1, top-notch,
splendiferous, stellar; N. Amer. informal dandy; Brit.
informal, dated top-hole. ANTONYMS poor.2 he proposed marriage to a fine lady: worthy, admirable,
praiseworthy, laudable, estimable, upright, upstanding,
respectable, seemly, ladylike, gentlemanly; attractive, good-
looking, handsome, lovely, pretty, striking, stunning,
delightful, well favoured; Scottish & N. English bonny;
archaic comely, fair.
3 the advertising initiative is fine, but it's not enough on its own:
all right, acceptable, suitable, good, good enough, agreeable,
fair, passable, satisfactory, adequate, reasonable, up to
scratch, up to the mark, up to standard, up to par, average,
tolerable; informal OK, tickety-boo. ANTONYMS
unsatisfactory.
4 I feel fine: in good health, well, healthy, all right, fit,
fighting fit, as fit as a fiddle, as fit as a flea, robust, strong,
vigorous, blooming, thriving, in good shape, in good
condition, in fine fettle; informal OK, in the pink, up to
snuff. ANTONYMS ill.
5 it was a fine day: fair, dry, bright, clear, sunny, sunshiny,
cloudless, unclouded, without a cloud in the sky, warm,
balmy, summery, clement, agreeable, pleasant, nice, benign.
ANTONYMS inclement.6 a fine old eighteenth-century house: impressive, imposing,
dignified, striking, splendid, grand, majestic, magnificent,
august, lofty, stately.
7 she went out to show off her fine clothes: elegant, stylish,
graceful, expensive, smart, chic, fashionable, modish, high
fashion; fancy, luxurious, sumptuous, lavish, opulent,
grand, plush, exquisite; informal flashy, flash, snazzy,
snappy, swanky, ritzy, sharp.
8 he has a fine mind: keen, quick, alert, acute, sharp, bright,
brilliant, astute, clever, intelligent, perspicacious, finely
honed, penetrating. ANTONYMS slow.
9 a fine china tea service: delicate, fragile, frail, breakable,
dainty, insubstantial; formal frangible. ANTONYMS coarse.
10 her fine golden hair: thin, light, delicate, wispy, floaty,
flyaway, feathery. ANTONYMS thick.
11 she sharpened her pencil to a fine point: sharp, keen, acute,
sharpened, honed, razor-sharp, razor-like, whetted; narrow,
slender, slim, thin. ANTONYMS blunt, thick.
12 the fine material of her nightdress: sheer, light, lightweight,
thin, flimsy, ultra-fine, insubstantial; diaphanous, filmy,
chiffony, gossamer, gossamery, wispy, silky, gauzelike,gauzy, cobwebby, shimmering, transparent, translucent, see-
through, airy, ethereal. ANTONYMS coarse, thick.
13 a fine gold chain: pure, sterling, solid, refined,
unadulterated, unalloyed, unmixed, unblended, unpolluted,
uncontaminated, one hundred per cent, flawless, perfect.
ANTONYMS plated, alloyed.
14 a beach of fine sand: fine-grained, powdery, dusty, chalky,
floury, powdered, ground, granulated, crushed, pulverized;
technical comminuted, triturated; archaic pulverulent,
levigated. ANTONYMS coarse.
15 for fine detailed work you could use a smaller brush: intricate,
delicate, detailed, minute, elaborate, ornate, dainty,
meticulous, painstaking.
16 there is a fine distinction between the two: subtle, fine-drawn,
ultra-fine, precise, minute, nice, narrow, tenuous; hair-
splitting, elusive, abstruse, overnice.
17 you have no respect for people's finer feelings: elevated, lofty,
exalted, high, grand, sublime; refined, cultivated, cultured,
civilized, distinguished, sophisticated. ANTONYMS base.
18 there's no better gift you could choose to show your fine taste:
discerning, discriminating, tasteful, refined, sensitive,cultivated, cultured, fastidious, particular, critical,
intelligent, stylish; rare discriminative. ANTONYMS vulgar.
adverb
informal you're doing fine: well, all right, not badly,
satisfactorily, in a satisfactory manner/way, adequately,
nicely, tolerably, suitably, aptly, appropriately; informal OK,
good. ANTONYMS badly.
fine 2
noun
if convicted they face heavy fines: financial penalty,
punishment, forfeit, forfeiture, sanction, punitive action,
penalty, fee, charge, penance; (fines) damages; formal mulct;
Brit. historical amercement.
verb
they were fined for breaking environmental laws: penalize,
punish by fining, impose a fine on, exact a penalty from,
charge; informal sting; formal mulct; Brit. historical amerce.
free |friː|adjective (freer |ˈfriːə| , freest |ˈfriːɪst| )
1 able to act or be done as one wishes; not under the control
of another: I have no ambitions other than to have a happy life
and be free | a free choice.
• [ with infinitive ] able or permitted to take a specified
action: you are free to leave.
• (of a state or its citizens or institutions) subject neither to
foreign domination nor to despotic government: a free press.
• historical not a slave. the poor among the free men joined the
slaves against the rich.
• [ in names ] denoting an ethnic or political group actively
opposing an occupying or invading force, in particular the
groups that continued resisting the Germans in the Second
World War after the fall of their countries. the Free Dutch,
Free Polish, and Free Norwegian fleets. See also Free French.
2 [ often as complement ] not or no longer confined or
imprisoned: the researchers set the birds free.
• not physically obstructed or fixed: he tried to kick his legs
free.
• Physics (of power or energy) disengaged or available. See
also free energy.• Physics & Chemistry not bound in an atom, a molecule, or
a compound: the atmosphere of that time contained virtually no
free oxygen. See also free radical.
• Linguistics denoting a linguistic form that can be used in
isolation.
3 not subject to engagements or obligations: she spent her free
time shopping.
• (of a facility or piece of equipment) not occupied or in use:
the bathroom was free.
4 (free of/from) not subject to or affected by (something
undesirable): our salsas are free of preservatives.
5 given or available without charge: free health care.
6 using or expending something without restraint; lavish:
she was always free with her money.
• frank or unrestrained in speech, expression, or action: he
was free in his talk of revolution.
• archaic overfamiliar or forward.
7 (of literature or music) not observing the normal
conventions of style or form.
• (of a translation) conveying only the broad sense; not
literal.8 Sailing (of the wind) blowing from a favourable direction
to the side or aft of a vessel.
adverb
1 without cost or payment: ladies were admitted free.
2 Sailing with the sheets eased. I kept her off the wind and
sailing free until I had all square forward.
verb (frees, freeing, freed) [ with obj. ]
1 release from confinement or slavery: they were freed from
jail.
• release from physical obstruction or restraint: I had to tug
hard and at last freed him | she struggled to free herself from the
tenacious mud.
2 remove something undesirable or restrictive from: his
inheritance freed him from financial constraints | free your body
of excess tension.
3 make available for a particular purpose: we are freeing
management time for alternative work.
PHRASES
for free informal without cost or payment. these professionals
were giving their time for free.free and easy informal and relaxed: enjoy the free and easy
lifestyle.
free, gratis, and for nothing humorous without charge.
a free hand freedom to act completely at one's own
discretion. Congress had given him a free hand to take care of
the situation.
free on board (or rail)(abbrev.: f.o.b. or f.o.r.)including or
assuming delivery without charge to a ship (or railway
wagon).
(a) free rein see rein.
a free ride used in reference to a situation in which someone
benefits without having to make a fair contribution: it is time
for the scientific community to stop giving alternative medicine a
free ride.
the free world the non-communist countries of the world,
as formerly opposed to the Soviet bloc.
it's a free country said when justifying a course of action.
it's a free country, a man can buy lunch for a pretty girl.
make free with treat without proper respect: he'll have
something to say about your making free with his belongings.
DERIVATIVESfreeness noun
ORIGIN Old English frēo (adjective), frēon (verb), of
Germanic origin; related to Dutch vrij and German frei,
from an Indo-European root meaning ‘to love’, shared by
friend.
-free |friː|
combining form
free of or from: smoke-free | tax-free.
free
adjective
1 elementary education should be free: without charge, free of
charge, for nothing, complimentary, gratis, gratuitous, at no
cost; informal for free, on the house. ANTONYMS paid for;
expensive.
2 she was free of any pressures: unencumbered by, unaffected
by, clear of, without, devoid of, lacking in; exempt from, not
liable to, safe from, immune to, relieved of, released from,
excused of, exempted from; rid of; informal sans, minus.
ANTONYMS encumbered by.3 he will be free at the weekend: unoccupied, not at work, not
working, not busy, not tied up, between appointments, off
duty, off work, off, on holiday, on leave; idle, at leisure, with
time on one's hands, with time to spare; available,
contactable. ANTONYMS occupied; unavailable.
4 he found a free seat on the bus: vacant, empty, available,
spare, unoccupied, untaken, unfilled, unused, not in use;
uninhabited, tenantless; informal up for grabs. ANTONYMS
occupied, engaged, taken.
5 a citizen of a proud free nation: independent, self-governing,
self-governed, self-ruling, self-legislating, self-determining,
self-directing, non-aligned, sovereign, autonomous,
autarkic, democratic, emancipated, enfranchised; self-
sufficient; historical manumitted. ANTONYMS dependent.
6 a known child killer is still free: on the loose, at liberty, at
large; loose, unconfined, unbound, untied, unchained,
untethered, unshackled, unfettered, unrestrained,
unsecured. ANTONYMS captive.
7 people are free to choose where they wish to live: able to, in a
position to, capable of; allowed, permitted, unrestricted.
ANTONYMS unable.8 the free flow of water between adjoining tanks: unobstructed,
unimpeded, unrestricted, unhampered, unlimited, clear,
open, unblocked. ANTONYMS obstructed.
9 she caught the free end of the rope: unattached, unfastened,
unsecured, unhitched, untied, uncoupled, not fixed,
detached, loose. ANTONYMS attached.
10 she was always free with her money: generous, lavish,
liberal, open-handed, unstinting, giving, munificent,
bountiful, bounteous, charitable, extravagant, prodigal.
ANTONYMS mean.
11 he was known for his free and hearty manner: easy-going, free
and easy, tolerant, liberal, permissive, indulgent, relaxed,
casual, informal, unceremonious, unforced, natural, open,
frank, spontaneous, uninhibited, artless, ingenuous; good-
humoured, affable, friendly; informal laid-back,
unflappable. ANTONYMS strained; formal.
12 the children were rather too free with us: impudent,
impertinent, disrespectful; familiar, overfamiliar, over-free,
presumptuous, forward, bold, assertive; informal cheeky,
cocky, pushy. ANTONYMS polite.
PHRASESfree and easy the restaurant has a free and easy atmosphere:
easy-going, relaxed, casual, informal, unceremonious,
unforced, natural, open, spontaneous, uninhibited, friendly;
breezy, airy, jaunty, carefree; informal laid-back, upbeat.
ANTONYMS formal.
a free hand he was allowed a free hand in appointing new staff:
free rein, freedom, licence, latitude, leeway, scope,
flexibility; liberty, independence; Frenchcarte blanche.
free spirit you're too much of a free spirit for him: individualist,
individual, nonconformist, unorthodox person,
unconventional person, original, eccentric, bohemian,
maverick, rare bird, rarity; lone wolf, outsider; Latinrara
avis.
make free with he was unhappy about her making free with his
belongings: help oneself to, take, take possession of, take
over, hijack, appropriate, ‘borrow’, steal; use without asking,
treat without respect; informal walk off with; Brit. informal
nick, pinch.
verb
1 the government freed all political prisoners: release, liberate,
discharge, emancipate, set free, let go, set at liberty, setloose, let loose, turn loose, deliver; untie, unchain, unfetter,
unshackle, unmanacle, uncage, unleash; spare, pardon,
reprieve, clear; informal let off, let off the hook; literary
disenthral; historical manumit. ANTONYMS confine, lock
up.
2 earthquake victims had to be freed by firefighters: extricate,
extract, disentangle, disentwine, disengage, disencumber,
loosen, release, remove, get out, pull out, pull free, get loose,
get free; rescue, set free. ANTONYMS trap.
3 they wish to be freed from all legal ties: exempt, make
exempt, except, excuse, absolve; relieve of, absolve of,
unburden of, disburden of; strip of; rare dispense from.
costly |ˈkɒs(t)li|
adjective (costlier, costliest)
costing a lot; expensive: major problems requiring costly
repairs.
• causing suffering, loss, or disadvantage: the government's
biggest and most costly mistake.
DERIVATIVES
costliness nouncostly
adjective
1 his work was published in small and costly editions: expensive,
dear, high-cost, high-priced, highly priced, overpriced,
exorbitant, extortionate, immoderate, extravagant; lavish,
rich, deluxe, choice, fine, exquisite; valuable, priceless,
worth its weight in gold, worth a king's ransom; Brit.
upmarket, over the odds; informal steep, pricey.
ANTONYMS cheap, inexpensive.
2 in those weather conditions any mistakes could be costly:
catastrophic, ruinous, disastrous, calamitous, cataclysmic,
devastating, crippling, crushing, fatal, lethal, damaging,
harmful, injurious, deleterious, woeful, grievous,
lamentable, dire, awful, terrible, unfortunate; literary
direful. ANTONYMS beneficial.
cheap |tʃiːp|
adjective1 low in price, especially in relation to similar items or
services: local buses were reliable and cheap.
• charging low prices: a cheap restaurant.
• inexpensive because of inferior quality: cheap, shoddy
goods.
2 of little worth because achieved in a discreditable way
requiring little effort: her moment of cheap triumph.
• deserving contempt: a cheap trick.
• N. Amer. informal miserly: she's too cheap to send me a
postcard.
adverb
at or for a low price: a house that was going cheap because of
the war.
PHRASES
cheap and cheerful Brit.simple and inexpensive.
cheap and nasty Brit.of low cost and bad quality: the
materials can seem a bit cheap and nasty.
cheap at the price (or humorous at half the price)Brit.well
worth having, regardless of the cost. as an investment for the
future, the books are cheap at the price.on the cheap informal at low cost. proper care cannot be
provided on the cheap.
DERIVATIVES
cheapish adjective,
cheaply adverb,
cheapness noun
ORIGIN late 15th cent.: from an obsolete phrase good cheap‘a
good bargain’, from Old English cēap‘bargaining, trade’,
based on Latin caupo ‘small trader, innkeeper’.
cheap
adjective
1 the firm are offering cheap day trips to London: inexpensive,
low-priced, low-price, low-cost, economical, economic,
competitive, affordable, reasonable, reasonably priced,
moderately priced, keenly priced, budget, economy, cheap
and cheerful, bargain, cut-rate, cut-price, half-price, sale-
price, sale, reduced, on special offer, marked down,
discounted, discount, rock-bottom, giveaway; informal
bargain-basement, slashed, going for a song, dirt cheap; Brit.
informal bargainous. ANTONYMS expensive.2 the dashboard is plain without looking cheap: poor-quality,
second-rate, third-rate, substandard, low-grade, inferior,
common, vulgar, shoddy, trashy, rubbishy, tawdry, tinny,
brassy, worthless, meretricious, cheap and nasty, cheapjack,
gimcrack, Brummagem, pinchbeck; informal cheapo, junky,
tacky, kitsch, not up to much; Brit. informal naff, duff, ropy,
grotty, rubbish, twopenny-halfpenny; N. Amer. informal a
dime a dozen, tinhorn, two-bit, dime-store; Brit. vulgar
slang crap, crappy; N. Amer. vulgar slang chickenshit;
archaic trumpery. ANTONYMS high-class.
3 I disliked this film and its cheap exploitation of suffering:
despicable, contemptible, low, base, immoral, unscrupulous,
unprincipled, unsavoury, distasteful, unpleasant, mean,
shabby, sordid, vulgar, tawdry, low-minded, dishonourable,
discreditable, ignoble, sorry, shameful; Brit. informal
beastly; archaic scurvy. ANTONYMS admirable.
4 he made me feel cheap: ashamed, embarrassed, humiliated,
mortified, abashed, debased, degraded.
5 N. Amer. informal he was so generous he made the other
guests look cheap. See mean 2 .overseas(Brit. also oversea)
adverb |əʊvəˈsiːz|
in or to a foreign country, especially one across the sea: he
spent quite a lot of time working overseas.
adjective |ˈəʊvəsiːz| [ attrib. ]
from, to, or relating to a foreign country: overseas trips.
PHRASES
from overseas from abroad.
last 1 |lɑːst|
adjective [ attrib. ]
1 coming after all others in time or order; final: they caught
the last bus.
• met with or encountered after any others: the last house in
the village.
• the lowest in importance or rank: finishing in last place |
[ as complement ] : he came last in the race.
• (the last) the least likely or suitable: he's the last person I'd
turn to for help | the last thing she needed was a husband.
2 most recent in time; latest: last year | [ postpositive ] : your
letter of Sunday last.• immediately preceding in order; previous in a sequence or
enumeration: their last album | this last point is critical.
3 only remaining: it's our last hope.
adverb
1 on the last occasion before the present; previously: a
woman last heard of in Cornwall.
2 [ in combination ] after all others in order or sequence: the
last-named film.
3 (especially in enumerating points) lastly: and last, I'd like to
thank you all for coming.
noun (pl.same)
the last person or thing; the one occurring, mentioned, or
acting after all others: the last of their guests had gone | he was
eating as if every mouthful were his last.
• (the last of) the only part of something that remains: they
drank the last of the wine.
• [ in sing. ] the last position or finisher in a race or
competition: Lion Cavern came from last in a slowly run race.
• (the last) the end or last moment, especially death: he was
dead, having refused morphia to the last.• (the last) the last mention or sight of someone or
something: that was the last we saw of her.
PHRASES
at last (or at long last)in the end; after much delay: you've
come back to me at last
in the (or as a) last resort see resort.
—— one's last do something for the last time: the dying
embers sparked their last.
last but not least last in order of mention or occurrence but
not of importance. last but not least Gary in midfield has been
brilliant. last, but by no means least, much still needs to be done
to improve public attitudes.
one's (or the) last gasp see gasp.
the last minute the latest possible time before an event: the
visit was cancelled at the last minute.
last orders (N. Amer. also last call)(in a bar or pub) an
expression used to inform customers that closing time is
approaching and that any further drinks should be
purchased immediately: last orders, gentlemen, please.
the last straw see straw.last thing late in the evening, especially as a final act before
going to bed: I think having that cup of tea last thing at night
really helps.
the last word 1 the final or definitive pronouncement on or
decision about a subject: he's always determined to have the
last word. 2 the finest or most modern, fashionable, or
advanced example of something: the new flat is the last word
in luxury.
on one's last legs see leg.
ORIGIN Old English latost (adverb) ‘after all others in a
series’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch laatst, lest and
German letzt, also to late.
last 2 |lɑːst|
verb [ no obj. ]
1 [ with adverbial ] (of a process, activity, or state) continue
for a specified period of time: the guitar solo lasted for twenty
minutes | childhood seems to last forever.
2 continue to operate or remain usable for a considerable or
specified length of time: the car is built to last | a lip pencil
lasts longer than lipstick.• manage to continue in a state or position; survive or
endure: she managed to last out until the end of the programme
| his condition is so serious that he won't last the night | how
long does he reckon he'll last as manager?
• (of provisions or resources) be adequate or sufficient for a
specified length of time: green peppers which had been served
with their rice while supplies lasted | [ with obj. ] : he filled the
freezer with enough food to last him for three months.
ORIGIN Old English lǣstan, of Germanic origin, related to
German leisten ‘afford, yield’, also to last 3 .
last 3 |lɑːst|
noun
a shoemaker's model for shaping or repairing a shoe or
boot.
ORIGIN Old English lǣste, of Germanic origin, from a base
meaning ‘follow’; related to Dutch leest and German
Leisten .
last 1
adjective1 the last woman in the queue: rearmost, rear, hindmost,
bringing up the rear, nearest the rear, at the end, furthest
back, at the back (of the queue), aftermost, endmost,
furthest behind, final, ultimate, most remote, remotest,
furthest, utmost, extreme. ANTONYMS first, leading.
2 Rembrandt spent his last years in Amsterdam: closing,
concluding, final, ending, end, finishing, ultimate, terminal,
terminating; valedictory; later, latter. ANTONYMS early,
initial.
3 I'd be the last person to say anything against him: least likely,
most unlikely, most improbable, most reluctant; least
suitable, most unsuitable, most inappropriate, least
appropriate, least wanted, least favourite. ANTONYMS
first, most likely.
4 he scored a hat-trick last year: previous, preceding; latest,
most recent; prior, former. ANTONYMS next.
5 this was his last chance to prove it: final, only remaining, only
one left.
PHRASES
the last word 1 you'll marry my daughter over my dead body,
and that's my last word: final decision, summation, finalstatement, definitive statement, conclusive comment;
ultimatum. 2 she turned, determined to leave having had the last
word: concluding remark, final remark, final say, closing
statement, parting shot, Parthian shot. 3 the spa is the last
word in luxury and efficiency: the best, the peak, the acme, the
epitome, the quintessence, the most fashionable, the most
up to date, the latest, the newest; the pinnacle, the apex, the
apogee, the cream, the ultimate, the height, the zenith, the
utmost, the nonpareil, the crème de la crème, the ne plus
ultra, the dernier cri, the beau idéal; archaic the nonesuch.
adverb
the candidate coming last is eliminated: at the end, at the rear,
in the rear, behind, after.
noun
the most important business was left to the last: end, ending,
finish, close, conclusion, completion, finale, termination;
bitter end. ANTONYMS beginning, opening.
PHRASES
at last at last the storm died away: finally, in the end,
eventually, ultimately, at long last, after a long time, after aconsiderable time, in time, at the end of the day, in the
fullness of time; lastly, in conclusion.
last 2
verb
1 the hearing is expected to last for a number of days: continue,
go on, carry on, keep on, keep going, run on, proceed, be
prolonged; take; stay, remain, persist, endure. ANTONYMS
finish, end, stop.
2 she managed to last out until the end of the programme | how
long does he reckon he'll last as manager? survive, endure, hold
on, hold out, keep going, persevere, exist; informal stick it
out, hang on, stay around, hack it.
3 the car is built to last: endure, wear well, stand up, keep
going, bear up; withstand, resist; informal go the distance.
ANTONYMS wear out.
last 3
noun
the iron lasts on which he mended our shoes: mould, model,
pattern, form, matrix; anvil; N. English hobbing foot/boot.
ringleader |ˈrɪŋliːdə|noun
a person who initiates or leads an illicit or illegal activity. the
four ringleaders were sentenced to death on the gibbet.
greatly |ˈgreɪtli|
adverb
by a considerable amount; very much: I admire him greatly |
[ as submodifier ] : they now have greatly increased powers.
greatly
adverb
a frantic training programme greatly increases the risk of injury:
very much, much, by a considerable amount, considerably,
to a great extent, substantially, appreciably, significantly,
markedly, sizeably, seriously, materially, signally,
profoundly, to a great extent/degree; enormously, vastly,
immensely, tremendously, hugely, mightily, abundantly,
extremely, exceedingly, remarkably; informal plenty,
majorly, well, to the nth degree. ANTONYMS slightly; not at
all.surprise |səˈprʌɪz|
noun
1 an unexpected or astonishing event, fact, etc.: the
announcement came as a complete surprise.
• [ mass noun ] a feeling of mild astonishment or shock
caused by something unexpected: much to her surprise, she'd
missed him.
• [ as modifier ] denoting something done or happening
unexpectedly: a surprise attack.
2 [ as modifier ] Bell-ringing denoting a complex method of
change-ringing: surprise major.
verb [ with obj. ]
(of something unexpected) cause (someone) to feel mild
astonishment or shock: I was surprised at his statement |
[ with obj. and clause ] : Joe was surprised that he enjoyed the
journey.
• capture, attack, or discover suddenly and unexpectedly: he
surprised a gang stealing scrap metal.
PHRASES
surprise, surprise informal said when giving someone a
surprise. a voice called out ‘Surprise, surprise’ and all the lightssuddenly flashed on. • said ironically when one believes that
something was entirely predictable: we entrust you with
Jason's care and, surprise surprise, you make a mess of it.
take someone/thing by surprise attack or capture someone
or something unexpectedly. his flotilla was taken wholly by
surprise when fired on by the British warships. • (take someone
by surprise) happen when someone is not prepared: the
question took David by surprise.
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘unexpected
seizure of a place, or attack on troops’): from Old French,
feminine past participle of surprendre, from medieval Latin
superprehendere ‘seize’.
surprise
noun
1 Kate looked at me in surprise: astonishment, amazement,
incredulity, bewilderment, stupefaction, wonder, confusion,
disbelief; consternation.
2 the test was supposed to come as a big surprise: shock, bolt
from/out of the blue, thunderbolt, bombshell, revelation,source of amazement, rude awakening, eye-opener;
informal start; turn up for the books, shocker, whammy.
verb
1 I was so surprised when I got the letter telling me about the
award that I burst into tears: astonish, amaze, nonplus, startle,
astound, stun, flabbergast, stagger, shock, stop someone in
their tracks, stupefy, leave open-mouthed, take someone's
breath away, dumbfound, daze, benumb, confound, take
aback, jolt, shake up; informal bowl over, knock for six,
floor, blow someone's mind, strike dumb.
2 it seems that she surprised a burglar and he attacked her: take
by surprise, catch unawares, catch off guard, catch red-
handed, catch in the act, catch napping, catch out, burst in
on, catch someone with their trousers/pants down, catch in
flagrante delicto; Brit. informal catch on the hop.
vaguely |ˈveɪgli|
adverb
1 in a way that is uncertain, indefinite or unclear; roughly:
he vaguely remembered talking to her once.• in a way that is unfocused or lacks attention; absent-
mindedly: he nodded vaguely.
2 [ as submodifier ] slightly: he looked vaguely familiar.
vaguely
adverb
1 she looks vaguely familiar: slightly, a little, a bit, somewhat,
rather, moderately, to some degree, to a certain extent, in a
way, to a slight extent, faintly, obscurely, dimly; marginally,
a shade; informal sort of, kind of, kinda, ish. ANTONYMS
very.
2 he fired his rifle vaguely in our direction: roughly, more or
less, approximately, nearly, just about, practically, virtually,
as near as dammit, for all practical purposes, to all intents
and purposes; S. African plus-minus; informal pretty much.
ANTONYMS exactly.
3 he just smiles vaguely: absent-mindedly, abstractedly,
inattentively, with one's head in the clouds, vacantly,
vacuously, giddily, forgetfully; informal scattily, dizzily,
dippily.bilateral |bʌɪˈlat(ə)r(ə)l|
adjective
1 having or relating to two sides; affecting both sides:
bilateral hearing.
2 involving two parties, especially countries: the bilateral
agreements with Japan.
DERIVATIVES
bilaterally adverb
absurd |əbˈsəːd|
adjective
wildly unreasonable, illogical, or inappropriate: the
allegations are patently absurd.
• arousing amusement or derision; ridiculous: short skirts
and knee socks looked absurd on such a tall girl.
noun (the absurd)
an absurd state of affairs: the incidents that followed bordered
on the absurd.
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin absurdus ‘out of tune’,
hence ‘irrational’; related to surdus ‘deaf, dull’.absurd
adjective
what an absurd idea preposterous, ridiculous, ludicrous,
farcical, laughable, risible; idiotic, stupid, foolish, silly,
inane, imbecilic, insane, hare-brained; unreasonable,
irrational, illogical, nonsensical, pointless, senseless;
outrageous, shocking, astonishing, monstrous, fantastic,
incongruous, grotesque; unbelievable, incredible,
unthinkable, implausible; informal crazy; Brit. informal
barmy, daft. ANTONYMS reasonable, sensible.
vague |veɪg|
adjective
of uncertain, indefinite, or unclear character or meaning:
many patients suffer vague symptoms.
• thinking or communicating in an unfocused or imprecise
way: he had been very vague about his activities.
DERIVATIVES
vagueness noun,
vaguish adjectiveORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from French, or from Latin vagus
‘wandering, uncertain’.
vague
adjective
1 they could just make out the vague shape of a ship in the mist:
indistinct, indefinite, indeterminate, unclear; hazy, cloudy,
fuzzy, misty, lacking definition, blurred, blurry, out of focus,
murky, foggy, faint, shadowy, dim, obscure, nebulous,
shapeless, formless, unformed, amorphous; rare nebulose.
ANTONYMS clear, precise.
2 a vague description: imprecise, inexact, rough, approximate,
inexplicit, non-specific, loose, ill-defined, generalized,
ambiguous, equivocal, hazy, woolly; sketchy, incomplete,
inadequate, imperfect; superficial, cursory, perfunctory.
3 I'm a little vague about the details: unclear, hazy, uncertain,
unsure, undecided; puzzled, baffled, mystified, bemused,
bewildered, confused, nonplussed; indecisive, irresolute,
hesitant, tentative, wavering, vacillating; informal iffy.
ANTONYMS clear, certain.4 they had only vague plans: uncertain, undecided, yet to be
decided, unsure, unclear, unsettled, indefinite,
indeterminate, unknown, unestablished, unconfirmed,
unresolved, unascertained, pending, outstanding, in the
balance, up in the air, speculative. ANTONYMS firm.
5 she was so vague in everyday life: absent-minded, forgetful,
with a mind like a sieve, disorganized, unsystematic,
unreliable, undependable; dreamy, inattentive, abstracted,
with one's head in the clouds, scatterbrained, feather-
brained, feather-headed, birdbrained, empty-headed,
erratic, giddy; informal scatty, dizzy, dippy, not with it.
ANTONYMS organized, together.
WORD TOOLKIT
vague
See incomplete.
Word Toolkits illustrate the difference between close
synonyms by means of words typically used with them.
confused |kənˈfjuːzd|
adjective1 (of a person) unable to think clearly; bewildered: she was
utterly confused about what had happened.
• showing bewilderment: a confused expression crossed her
face.
• not in possession of all one's mental faculties, especially
because of old age: interviewing confused old people does take
longer.
2 lacking order and so difficult to understand: the confused
information supplied by authorities | reports about the incident
were rather confused.
• lacking clear distinction of elements; jumbled: the sound of
a sort of confused hammering and shouting.
DERIVATIVES
confusedly |kənˈfjuːsɪdli| adverb
confuse |kənˈfjuːz|
verb [ with obj. ]
make (someone) bewildered or perplexed: past and present
blurred together, confusing her still further.
• make (something) more complex or less easy to
understand: the points made by the authors confuse rather than
clarify the issue.• identify wrongly; mistake: a lot of people confuse a stroke
with a heart attack | purchasers might confuse the two products.
ORIGIN Middle English (in the sense ‘rout, bring to ruin’):
from Old French confus, from Latin confusus, past participle
of confundere ‘mingle together’ (see confound). Originally
all senses of the verb were passive, and therefore appeared
only as the past participle confused; the active voice occurred
rarely until the 19th cent. when it began to replace confound.
confused
adjective
1 children could be confused about what was going on:
bewildered, bemused, puzzled, perplexed, baffled,
stumped, mystified, stupefied, nonplussed, muddled,
befuddled, fuddled, dumbfounded, at sea, at a loss, at sixes
and sevens, thrown (off balance), taken aback, disoriented,
disconcerted, discomposed, troubled, discomfited,
unnerved, shaken, shaken up, dazed, stunned, astonished,
astounded; informal flummoxed, bamboozled,
discombobulated, clueless, fazed, floored, beaten; Canadian& Austral./NZ informal bushed; archaic wildered, mazed,
distracted.
2 her frail and confused elderly mother: demented, bewildered,
muddled, addled, befuddled, disoriented, disorientated,
(all) at sea, unbalanced, unhinged, senile, with Alzheimer's
disease. ANTONYMS lucid.
3 the first confused reports of the massacre: chaotic, muddled,
jumbled, unclear, untidy, disordered, disorderly,
disarranged, out of order, disorganized, upset, topsy-turvy,
at sixes and sevens; informal higgledy-piggledy.
ANTONYMS clear.
4 a confused recollection: vague, unclear, indistinct, imprecise,
blurred, nebulous, hazy, woolly, foggy, shadowy, dim,
imperfect, sketchy, obscure, remote. ANTONYMS precise.
5 the bones lay in a confused mass: disorderly, disordered,
disorganized, disarranged, in disarray, out of order, out of
place, untidy, muddled, jumbled, in a jumble, in a mess,
mixed up, chaotic, upset, haywire, upside-down, topsy-
turvy, at sixes and sevens; informal higgledy-piggledy,
every which way; Brit. informal shambolic, like a dog's
dinner/breakfast. ANTONYMS neat.confuse
verb
1 there was no need to confuse students with too much
controversy: bewilder, baffle, mystify, bemuse, perplex,
puzzle, confound, befog, nonplus, disconcert, throw, set
someone thinking; informal flummox, discombobulate, faze,
stump, beat, fox, make someone scratch their head, floor,
fog; N. Amer. informal buffalo; archaic wilder, gravel, maze,
cause to be at a stand, distract, pose; rare obfuscate.
ANTONYMS enlighten.
2 the points made by the authors confuse rather than clarify the
issue: complicate, muddle, jumble, garble, make complex,
make (more) difficult, blur, obscure, make unclear, cloud,
obfuscate; archaic embroil. ANTONYMS simplify.
3 a lot of people confuse a stroke with a heart attack: mix up,
muddle up, confound; misinterpret as, mistake for, take for.
ANTONYMS distinguish.
iridescent |ˌɪrɪˈdɛs(ə)nt|
adjectiveshowing luminous colours that seem to change when seen
from different angles. the drake's head has an iridescent purple
sheen.
DERIVATIVES
iridescence noun,
iridescently adverb
ORIGIN late 18th cent.: from Latin iris, irid- ‘rainbow’ + -
escent.
iridescent
adjective
the iridescent films of oil on top of puddles: shimmering,
shimmery, glittering, sparkling, coruscating, dazzling,
shining, gleaming, glowing, lustrous, scintillating, dancing,
opalescent, opaline; multicoloured, kaleidoscopic, rainbow-
like, rainbow-coloured, many-hued, prismatic, colourful,
psychedelic; variegated, shot; literary glistering; rare
coruscant, fulgurating, effulgent, scintillant.
glowing |ˈɡləʊɪŋ|
adjectiveexpressing great praise: he received a glowing report from his
teachers.
DERIVATIVES
glowingly adverb
glow |gləʊ|
verb [ no obj. ]
give out steady light without flame: the tips of their cigarettes
glowed in the dark.
• have an intense colour and a slight shine: [ with
complement ] : a fluorescent screen glowed a faint green colour.
• (of a person's face) appear pink or red as a result of
warmth, health, embarrassment, etc.: he was glowing with
health.
• convey deep pleasure through one's expression or
bearing: Katy always glowed when he praised her.
noun [ in sing. ]
a steady radiance of light or heat: the setting sun cast a deep
red glow over the city.
• a feeling of warmth in the face or body: he could feel the
brandy filling him with a warm glow.
• a redness of the cheeks.• a strong feeling of pleasure or well-being: with a glow of
pride, Mildred walked away.
ORIGIN Old English glōwan, of Germanic origin; related to
Dutch gloeien and German glühen .
glowing
adjective
1 glowing street lights | the glowing coals: bright, shining,
radiant, glimmering, flickering, twinkling, incandescent,
candescent, luminous, luminescent, phosphorescent; lit up,
lighted, illuminated, ablaze; aglow, smouldering; literary
lambent, lucent, rutilant, ardent, fervent, fervid.
2 his glowing cheeks: rosy, pink, red, reddish, rose-red,
flushed, blushing; healthy-looking, fresh, radiant, blooming,
ruddy, high-coloured, florid; hot, burning; archaic sanguine;
rare erubescent, rubescent, rubicund. ANTONYMS pale.
3 the glowing colours of the textiles: vivid, vibrant, bright,
brilliant, colourful, rich, intense, strong, radiant, warm,
flaming. ANTONYMS dull.
4 a glowing report: highly complimentary, highly favourable,
enthusiastic, full of praise, commendatory, praising,admiring, lionizing, ecstatic, rapturous, rhapsodic,
eulogistic, laudatory, acclamatory, adulatory; fulsome;
informal rave; rare encomiastical, panegyrical, laudative.
ANTONYMS critical; unenthusiastic.
glow
verb
1 lights glowed from the windows of the high-street shops: shine,
radiate, shed a glow; gleam, glimmer, flicker, flare; rare
incandesce, phosphoresce, luminesce.
2 the remains of a fire glowed in the hearth: radiate heat, burn
without flames, smoulder.
3 her cheeks began to glow with embarrassment: flush, blush,
redden, go red, colour, colour up, go pink, crimson, go
scarlet, be suffused with colour; burn, radiate heat; archaic
mantle. ANTONYMS pale.
4 she glowed with pride: radiate, tingle, thrill; beam.
noun
1 the golden glow of the fire: radiance, light, brightness,
luminosity, shine, gleam, glimmer, incandescence,
phosphorescence, luminescence; richness, vividness,
brilliance; warmth, heat; rare lambency, lucency, irradiance.2 a delicate glow spread over her face: flush, blush, rosiness,
pinkness, redness, crimson, scarlet, reddening, ruddiness,
high colour; bloom, radiance; warmth. ANTONYMS pallor.
3 she felt a warm glow deep inside her: happiness, contentment,
pleasure, satisfaction, gratification, gladness.
nebulous |ˈnɛbjʊləs|
adjective
1 in the form of a cloud or haze; hazy: a giant nebulous glow.
• another term for nebular.
2 (of a concept) vague or ill-defined: nebulous concepts like
quality of life.
DERIVATIVES
nebulosity |-ˈlɒsɪti| noun,
nebulously adverb,
nebulousness noun
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘cloudy’): from
French nébuleux or Latin nebulosus, from nebula ‘mist’.
Sense 2 dates from the early 19th cent.
nebulousadjective
1 the figure was still nebulous—she couldn't quite see it:
indistinct, indefinite, unclear, vague, hazy, cloudy, fuzzy,
misty, lacking definition, blurred, blurry, out of focus, foggy,
faint, shadowy, dim, obscure, shapeless, formless,
unformed, amorphous; rare nebulose. ANTONYMS clear.
2 his nebulous ideas about salvation: vague, ill-defined, unclear,
hazy, uncertain, indefinite, indeterminate, imprecise,
unformed, muddled, confused, ambiguous, inchoate,
opaque, muddy. ANTONYMS well defined.
censor |ˈsɛnsə|
noun
1 an official who examines books, films, news, etc. that are
about to be published and suppresses any parts that are
considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to
security. the report was approved by the military censors. the
movie has been given an adults-only rating by film censors.
• Psychoanalysis an aspect of the superego which is said to
prevent certain ideas and memories from emerging intoconsciousness.[from a mistranslation of German Zensur
‘censorship’, coined by Freud.]
2 (in ancient Rome) either of two magistrates who held
censuses and supervised public morals.
verb [ with obj. ]
examine (a book, film, etc.) officially and suppress
unacceptable parts of it. the report had been censored ‘in the
national interest’. the letters she received were censored.
DERIVATIVES
censorial |-ˈsɔːrɪəl| adjective,
censorship noun
ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (in sense 2 of the noun): from Latin,
from censere ‘assess’.
usage: For an explanation of the difference between censor
and censure, see usage at censure.
censor
noun
the film censors: expurgator; examiner, inspector, editor.
verbletters home from the front line were censored: cut, delete, delete
parts of, redact, make cuts in, blue-pencil; examine, inspect;
edit, make changes to; make acceptable, expurgate,
bowdlerize, sanitize; informal clean up.
opinion |əˈpɪnjən|
noun
1 a view or judgement formed about something, not
necessarily based on fact or knowledge: that, in my opinion,
is right | the area's residents share vociferous opinions about the
future.
• [ mass noun ] the beliefs or views of a group or majority of
people: the changing climate of opinion.
• an estimation of the quality or worth of someone or
something: I had a higher opinion of myself than I deserved.
2 a statement of advice by an expert on a professional
matter: if in doubt, get a second opinion.
• Law a barrister's advice on the merits of a case. the solicitor
took counsel's opinion.• Law a formal statement of reasons for a judgement given.
a dissenting opinion adjudged that the government had the right
to protect ‘the symbolic value of the flag’.
PHRASES
be of the opinion that believe or maintain that. the
complainant being of the opinion that this provided grounds for
legal proceedings.
difference of opinion a disagreement or mild quarrel: there
was a difference of opinion between myself and the chief
planner.
a matter of opinion something not capable of being proven
either way. relativism tends to regard different beliefs as just a
matter of opinion.
ORIGIN Middle English: via Old French from Latin
opinio(n-), from the stem of opinari ‘think, believe’.
opinion
noun
she did not share her husband's opinion: belief, judgement,
thought(s), school of thought, thinking, way of thinking,
mind, point of view, view, viewpoint, outlook, angle, slant,side, attitude, stance, perspective, position, standpoint;
theory, tenet, conclusion, verdict, estimation, thesis,
hypothesis, feeling, sentiment, impression, reflections, idea,
notion, assumption, speculation, conception, conviction,
contention, persuasion, creed, dogma.
PHRASES
a matter of opinion whether this is desirable or not is a matter
of opinion: open to question, a debatable point, debatable,
open to debate, a moot point, open to/for discussion, up to
the individual.
be of the opinion I'm of the opinion that this is not necessary:
believe, think, consider, maintain, imagine, be of the view,
reckon, guess, estimate, conjecture, fancy, suspect, feel, have
a/the feeling, assume, presume, take it, suppose, expect,
gather; contend, put forward, be convinced, be of the
conviction, reason, deduce, conclude, theorize, hypothesize,
take as a hypothesis; N. Amer. informal allow; formal opine;
archaic ween.
in my opinion we have very little choice, in my opinion: as I see
it, in my view, to my mind, (according) to my way ofthinking, from my standpoint, personally, in my estimation,
in my judgement, in my book, for my money, if you ask me.
ungovernable |ʌnˈgʌv(ə)nəb(ə)l|
adjective
impossible to control or govern. an ungovernable sexual
impulse. the country had become ungovernable.
DERIVATIVES
ungovernability |-ˈbɪlɪti| noun,
ungovernably adverb
ungovernable
adjective
the country had become ungovernable: uncontrollable,
unmanageable, anarchic, chaotic, intractable; unruly,
disorderly, rebellious, riotous, wild, mutinous, obstreperous,
recalcitrant, refractory, undisciplined, disobedient; without
law and order. ANTONYMS orderly, tractable.
purview |ˈpəːvjuː|noun [ in sing. ] formal
the scope of the influence or concerns of something: such a
case might be within the purview of the legislation.
• range of experience or thought: social taboos meant that little
information was likely to come within the purview of women
generally.
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French
purveu ‘foreseen’, past participle of purveier (see purvey).
Early use was as a legal term specifying the body of a
statute following the words ‘be it enacted ...’.
imagination |ɪˌmadʒɪˈneɪʃ(ə)n|
noun
the faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or
concepts of external objects not present to the senses: she'd
never been blessed with a vivid imagination | her story captured
the public's imagination.
• [ mass noun ] the ability of the mind to be creative or
resourceful: she was set in her ways and lacked imagination.
• the part of the mind that imagines things: a girl who existed
only in my imagination.ORIGIN Middle English: via Old French from Latin
imaginatio(n-), from the verb imaginari ‘picture to oneself’,
from imago, imagin- ‘image’.
imagination
noun
1 he had a very vivid imagination: imaginative faculty, creative
power, fancy; informal mind's eye.
2 the government needs imagination in dealing with these
problems: creativity, imaginativeness, creativeness; vision,
inspiration, insight, inventiveness, invention,
resourcefulness, initiative, ingenuity, enterprise; originality,
innovation, innovativeness; individuality, unorthodoxy,
nonconformity; cleverness, wit, quick-wittedness, genius,
flair, panache; artistry, artistic power.
3 every once in a while an album captures the public's
imagination: interest, fascination, attention, passion,
curiosity, preoccupation.bogey 1 |ˈbəʊgi| Golf
noun (pl.bogeys)
a score of one stroke over par at a hole. [ as modifier ] : he
walked off the green with a bogey four.
• old-fashioned term for par 1 ( sense 1 of the noun). with a
handicap of 17, Jones receives an allowance against bogey of 13
strokes.
verb (bogeys, bogeying, bogeyed) [ with obj. ]
play (a hole) in one stroke over par.
ORIGIN late 19th cent.: perhaps from Bogey, denoting the
Devil (see bogey 2 ), regarded as an imaginary player.
bogey
noun
1 bogies and other denizens of the night: evil spirit, bogle, ghost,
spectre, phantom, hobgoblin, ogre, troll, demon, devil,
fiend, sprite, witch, warlock, apparition; informal spook.
2 home taping became the record industry's chief bogey: bugbear,
pet hate, bane, anathema, abomination, nightmare, horror,
dread, curse, thorn in one's flesh/side, bane of one's life,
bugaboo; Frenchbête noire; informal peeve.ultimately |ˈʌltɪmətli|
adverb
finally; in the end: the largest firms may ultimately become
unstoppable.
• at the most basic level: ultimately he has only himself to
blame.
ultimately
adverb
1 the cost will ultimately fall on the local authorities: eventually,
in the end, in the long run, at length, finally, sooner or later,
in time, in the fullness of time, after some time, in the final
analysis, when all is said and done, one day, some day,
sometime, at last, at long last; informal when push comes to
shove; Brit. informal at the end of the day. ANTONYMS
immediately.
2 he gave two ultimately contradictory reasons: fundamentally,
basically, primarily, essentially, at heart, deep down.alarm |əˈlɑːm|
noun [ mass noun ]
an anxious awareness of danger: the boat tilted and the
boatmen cried out in alarm | he views the right-wing upsurge in
Europe with alarm.
• [ in sing. ] a warning of danger: I hammered on several doors
to raise the alarm | Oliver smelled smoke and gave the alarm.
• [ count noun ] a warning sound or device: a burglar alarm.
• [ count noun ] an alarm clock. I set my alarm for 6:30.
verb
1 [ with obj. ] make (someone) feel frightened, disturbed, or
in danger: the government was alarmed by an outbreak of unrest.
2 (be alarmed) be fitted or protected with an alarm: this door
is locked and alarmed between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
ORIGIN late Middle English (as an exclamation meaning ‘to
arms’): from Old French alarme, from Italian allarme, from
all' arme ‘to arms’.
alarm
noun1 the girl spun round in alarm: fear, anxiety, apprehension,
trepidation, nervousness, unease, distress, agitation,
consternation, disquiet, perturbation, fright, panic, dread,
horror, shock, terror. ANTONYMS calmness, composure.
2 a smoke alarm: siren, warning sound, alarm signal, danger
signal, distress signal, alert; warning device, alarm bell, bell,
horn, whistle; red light, red flag; archaic tocsin.
verb
the news had alarmed her: frighten, scare, panic, startle,
unnerve, distress, agitate, upset, fluster, ruffle, disconcert,
shock, daunt, dismay, disturb, work up, terrify, terrorize,
petrify, make someone's blood run cold; informal put the
wind up someone, rattle, spook, scare the living daylights
out of.
guilty |ˈgɪlti|
adjective (guiltier, guiltiest)
culpable of or responsible for a specified wrongdoing: he
was found guilty of manslaughter | Williams pleaded guilty to
three separate offences.• justly chargeable with a particular fault or error: she was
guilty of a serious error of judgement.
• conscious of, affected by, or revealing a feeling of guilt: he
felt guilty about the way he had treated her | a guilty conscience.
• causing a feeling of guilt: a guilty secret.
PHRASES
not guilty innocent, especially of a formal charge.
DERIVATIVES
guiltily adverb,
guiltiness noun
ORIGIN Old English gyltig (see guilt,-y 1 ) .
guilty
adjective
1 he was found guilty of a criminal offence: culpable, to blame,
blameworthy, blameable, at fault, in the wrong, responsible,
answerable, accountable, liable; censurable, reproachable,
condemnable, reprehensible, erring, errant, delinquent,
offending, sinful, felonious, iniquitous, criminal, convicted;
archaic peccant. ANTONYMS innocent.2 he felt guilty at deceiving his family: ashamed, guilt-ridden,
conscience-stricken, remorseful, sorry, regretful, contrite,
repentant, penitent, rueful, abashed, shamefaced, sheepish,
hangdog; mortified, discomfited, distressed, uncomfortable;
in sackcloth and ashes; informal with one's tail between
one's legs; rare compunctious. ANTONYMS unrepentant.
attention |əˈtɛnʃ(ə)n|
noun [ mass noun ]
1 notice taken of someone or something; the regarding of
someone or something as interesting or important: he drew
attention to three spelling mistakes.
• the mental faculty of considering or taking notice of
someone or something: he turned his attention to the
educational system.
2 the action of dealing with or taking special care of
someone or something: her business needed her attention | he
was found guilty of failing to give a patient adequate medical
attention.• (attentions) things done to express interest in or please
someone: she felt flattered by his attentions.
3 Military a position assumed by a soldier, standing very
straight with the feet together and the arms straight down
the sides of the body: Saunders stood stolidly to attention.
• [ as exclamation ] an order to assume a straight standing
position.
PHRASES
pay attention take notice of someone or something: students
used to know how to pay attention, even when the lecture was
boring | if you pay attention to one thing, you have to ignore
something else. you've never paid that much attention to her
opinions.
DERIVATIVES
attentional adjective
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin attentio(n-), from
the verb attendere (see attend) .
attention
noun1 the issue clearly needs further attention: observation,
attentiveness, intentness, notice, concentration, heed,
heedfulness, mindfulness, regard, scrutiny; contemplation,
consideration, deliberation, thought, thinking, studying,
investigation, action.
2 he was likely to attract the attention of a policeman: awareness,
notice, observation, consciousness, heed, recognition,
regard, scrutiny, surveillance, attentiveness; curiosity,
inquisitiveness.
3 they failed to give adequate medical attention: care, treatment,
therapy, ministration, succour, relief, support, aid, help,
assistance, service.
4 the parson was effusive in his attentions: courtesy, civility,
politeness, respect, gallantry, urbanity, deference;
compliment, flattery, blandishment; overture, suggestion,
approach, suit, pass, wooing, courting.
PHRASES
pay attention an assortment of motivational tools is necessary to
keep them in class and paying attention: listen, be attentive,
attend, concentrate on, concentrate on hearing, give ear to,
lend an ear to; hang on someone's words.obvious |ˈɒbvɪəs|
adjective
easily perceived or understood; clear, self-evident, or
apparent: unemployment has been the most obvious cost of the
recession | [ with clause ] : it was obvious a storm was coming
in.
• derogatory predictable and lacking in subtlety: it was an
obvious remark to make.
DERIVATIVES
obviousness noun
ORIGIN late 16th cent. (in the sense ‘frequently
encountered’): from Latin obvius (from the phrase ob viam
‘in the way’) + -ous.
obvious
adjective
the reason was blindingly obvious | it's obvious that Bob's keen
on her: clear, plain, plain to see, crystal clear, evident,
apparent, manifest, patent, conspicuous, pronounced,
transparent, clear-cut, palpable, prominent, marked,
decided, salient, striking, distinct, bold, noticeable,perceptible, perceivable, visible, discernible, detectable,
observable, tangible, recognizable; unmistakable,
indisputable, self-evident, incontrovertible, incontestable,
axiomatic, demonstrable, undeniable, as plain as a pikestaff,
staring someone in the face, writ large, beyond doubt,
beyond question, written all over one, as clear as day,
blinding, inescapable; overt, open, undisguised,
unconcealed, frank, glaring, blatant, flagrant; informal as
plain as the nose on one's face, standing/sticking out like a
sore thumb, standing/sticking out a mile, right under one's
nose. ANTONYMS imperceptible, inconspicuous, obscure.
flee |fliː|
verb (flees, fleeing; past and past participlefled |flɛd| ) [ no
obj. ]
run away from a place or situation of danger: to escape the
fighting, his family fled from their village.
• [ with obj. ] run away from (someone or something): he
was forced to flee the country.
ORIGIN Old English flēon, of Germanic origin; related to
Dutch vlieden and German fliehen .flee
verb
1 she fled to her room and hid: run, run away, run off, make a
run for it, run for it, take flight, be gone, make off, take off,
take to one's heels, make a break for it, bolt, beat a (hasty)
retreat, make a quick exit, make one's getaway, escape,
absent oneself, make oneself scarce, abscond, head for the
hills, do a disappearing act; informal beat it, clear off, clear
out, vamoose, skedaddle, split, cut and run, leg it, show a
clean pair of heels, turn tail, scram; Brit. informal do a
runner, scarper, do a bunk; N. Amer. informal light out, bug
out, cut out, peel out, take a powder, skidoo; Austral.
informal go through, shoot through; vulgar slang bugger
off; archaic fly.
2 they fled the country: run away from, leave hastily/
abruptly, fly, escape from; informal skip.
assure |əˈʃʊə, əˈʃɔː|
verb1 [ reporting verb ] tell someone something positively to
dispel any doubts: [ with obj. and clause ] : Tony assured me
that there was a supermarket in the village | [ with obj. and
direct speech ] : ‘I quite understand,’ Mrs Lewis assured her |
[ with obj. ] : they assured him of their full confidence.
• (assure oneself) make sure of something: she assured
herself that he was asleep.
2 [ with obj. ] make (something) certain to happen: victory
was now assured | [ with clause ] : their influence assured that
the report would be tough.
• (be assured of) be certain to get: you would be assured of a
welcome.
3 chiefly Brit.cover (a life) by assurance. we guarantee to
assure your life.
• secure the future payment of (an amount) with insurance.
the sum assured can be paid as a lump sum.
DERIVATIVES
assurer noun
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French assurer,
based on Latin ad- ‘to’ (expressing change) + securus (see
secure) .assure
verb
1 we need to assure him of our loyal support | I can assure all our
consumers that the water is safe to drink: reassure, convince,
satisfy, persuade, guarantee, promise, tell; prove to, certify
to, attest to, confirm to, affirm to, pledge to, swear to, give
one's word to, give one's assurance to, vow to, declare to.
2 he made some changes in his cabinet to assure a favourable vote:
ensure, make certain, make sure; secure, guarantee, seal, set
the seal on, clinch, confirm, establish; informal sew up.
3 they guarantee to assure your life for £750,000: insure, provide
insurance for, cover, indemnify, guarantee, warrant.
panic 1 |ˈpanɪk|
noun [ mass noun ]
sudden uncontrollable fear or anxiety, often causing wildly
unthinking behaviour: she hit him in panic | [ in sing. ] : he
ran to the library in a blind panic.• [ count noun ] a state of widespread financial alarm
provoking hasty action: he caused an economic panic by his
sudden resignation | [ as modifier ] : panic selling.
• [ count noun ] informal a frenzied hurry to do something.
a workload of constant panics and rush jobs.
verb (panics, panicking, panicked)
feel or cause to feel panic: [ no obj. ] : the crowd panicked and
stampeded for the exit | [ with obj. ] : talk of love panicked her.
• [ with obj. ] (panic someone into) drive someone through
panic into (hasty action): we are not going to be panicked into a
decision.
PHRASES
panic stations Brit. informal a state of alarm or emergency:
many people were at panic stations because of popular unrest.
DERIVATIVES
panicky adjective
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from French panique, from
modern Latin panicus, from Greek panikos, from the name
of the god Pan, noted for causing terror, to whom woodland
noises were attributed.
panic 2 |ˈpanɪk| (also panic grass)noun [ mass noun ]
a cereal and fodder grass of a group including millet.
●Panicum and related genera, family Gramineae.
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin panicum, from
panus ‘ear of millet’ (literally ‘thread wound on a bobbin’),
based on Greek pēnos ‘web’, pēnion ‘bobbin’.
panic
noun
she felt a wave of panic | he ran outside in a panic: alarm,
anxiety, nervousness, fear, fright, trepidation, dread, terror,
horror, agitation, hysteria, consternation, perturbation,
dismay, disquiet, apprehension, apprehensiveness; informal
flap, fluster, state, cold sweat, funk, tizzy, tizz; N. Amer.
informal swivet. ANTONYMS calm, calmness.
verb
1 there's no need to panic: be alarmed, be scared, be nervous,
be afraid, overreact, become panic-stricken, take fright, be
filled with fear, be terrified, be agitated, be hysterical, lose
one's nerve, be perturbed, get overwrought, get worked up,go/fall to pieces, lose control, fall apart; informal flap, get in
a flap, lose one's cool, get the jitters, get into a tizzy/tizz,
run around like a headless chicken, freak, freak out, get in a
stew, get the willies, get the (screaming) heebie-jeebies; Brit.
informal get the wind up, go into a (flat) spin, have kittens,
lose one's bottle, throw a wobbly, have an attack of the
wobblies.
2 talk of love panicked her: frighten, alarm, scare, unnerve, fill
with panic, agitate, horrify, terrify; informal throw into a
tizzy/tizz, freak, freak out, spook; Brit. informal put the
wind up. ANTONYMS relax.
mischievous |ˈmɪstʃɪvəs|
adjective
1 causing or showing a fondness for causing trouble in a
playful way: mischievous children | a mischievous grin.
2 (of an action or statement) causing or intended to cause
harm or trouble: a mischievous allegation for which there is not a
shred of evidence.
DERIVATIVES
mischievously adverb,mischievousness noun
ORIGIN Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French
meschevous, from Old French meschever ‘come to an
unfortunate end’ (see mischief). The early sense was
‘unfortunate or calamitous’, later ‘having harmful effects’;
the sense ‘playfully troublesome’ dates from the late 17th
cent.
usage: Mischievous is a three-syllable word; it should not
be pronounced with four syllables, as if it were spelled
mischievious |mɪsˈtʃiːvɪəs| .
mischievous
adjective
1 a mischievous child: naughty, bad, badly behaved,
misbehaving, disobedient, troublesome, vexatious, full of
mischief; rascally, roguish, prankish, delinquent.
ANTONYMS well behaved, good.
2 a mischievous smile: playful, teasing, wicked, impish,
puckish, roguish, waggish, arch.
3 mischievous gossip: malicious, malevolent, hostile, spiteful,
bitter, venomous, poisonous, evil-intentioned, ill-natured,evil, baleful, vindictive, vengeful, vitriolic, rancorous,
malign, malignant, pernicious, mean, nasty, harmful,
hurtful, destructive, wounding, cruel, unkind, defamatory;
informal bitchy, catty; literary malefic, maleficent.
ANTONYMS harmless, well intentioned.
potential |pə(ʊ)ˈtɛnʃ(ə)l|
adjective [ attrib. ]
having or showing the capacity to develop into something
in the future: a campaign to woo potential customers.
noun
1 [ mass noun ] latent qualities or abilities that may be
developed and lead to future success or usefulness: a young
broadcaster with great potential | [ count noun ] : the potentials
of the technology were never wholly controllable.
• (often potential for/to do something) the possibility of
something happening or of someone doing something in the
future: pesticides with the potential to cause cancer.
2 Physics the quantity determining the energy of mass in a
gravitational field or of charge in an electric field. a change ingravitational potential. [ count noun ] : measurements of induced
electrical potentials.
DERIVATIVES
potentiality |-ʃɪˈalɪti| noun,
potentialize (also potentialise)verb,
potentially adverb [ as submodifier ] : potentially dangerous
products
ORIGIN late Middle English: from late Latin potentialis,
from potentia ‘power’, from potent- ‘being able’ (see
potent 1 ). The noun dates from the early 19th cent.
automatic |ɔːtəˈmatɪk|
adjective
1 (of a device or process) working by itself with little or no
direct human control: an automatic kettle that switches itself off
when it boils | calibration is fully automatic.
• (of a firearm) self-loading and able to fire continuously
until the ammunition is exhausted or the pressure on the
trigger is released. automatic weapons.• (of a motor vehicle or its transmission) using gears that
change by themselves according to speed and acceleration. a
four-speed automatic gearbox.
2 done or occurring spontaneously, without conscious
thought or attention: automatic physical functions such as
breathing | ‘Nice to meet you,’ he said, with automatic politeness.
• done or occurring as a matter of course and without
debate: he is the automatic choice for the senior team.
• (especially of a legal sanction) given or imposed as a
necessary and inevitable result of a fixed rule or particular
set of circumstances: he received an automatic one-match
suspension.
noun
1 a gun that continues firing until the ammunition is
exhausted or the pressure on the trigger is released. the rapid
fire of automatics.
2 a vehicle with automatic transmission. a Mercedes 300SL
five-speed automatic.
DERIVATIVES
automatically adverb,
automaticity |ɔːtəməˈtɪsɪti| nounORIGIN mid 18th cent.: from Greek automatos ‘acting of
itself’ (see automaton) + -ic.
automatic
adjective
1 automatic garage doors: mechanized, mechanical,
automated, push-button, preprogrammed, computerized,
electronic, robotic, unmanned; self-activating, self-
regulating, self-directing, self-executing. ANTONYMS
manual, hand-operated.
2 an automatic reaction: instinctive, involuntary, unconscious,
reflex, knee-jerk, reflexive, instinctual, subconscious,
unconditioned; spontaneous, impulsive, unthinking,
unpremeditated, unintentional, unintended, unbidden,
unwitting, inadvertent; mechanical; habitual; informal gut.
ANTONYMS conscious, intentional, deliberate.
3 he is the automatic choice for the senior team: inevitable,
unavoidable, inescapable, unpreventable, necessary,
ineluctable; certain, definite, undoubted, assured, obvious;
mandatory, compulsory.crisis |ˈkrʌɪsɪs|
noun (pl.crises |-siːz| )
a time of intense difficulty or danger: the current economic
crisis | [ mass noun ] : the monarchy was in crisis.
• a time when a difficult or important decision must be
made: [ as modifier ] : the situation has reached crisis point.
• the turning point of a disease when an important change
takes place, indicating either recovery or death.
ORIGIN late Middle English (denoting the turning point of
a disease): medical Latin, from Greek krisis ‘decision’, from
krinein ‘decide’. The general sense ‘decisive point’ dates
from the early 17th cent.
crisis
noun
1 events across the North Sea were building to a crisis: critical
point, decisive point, turning point, crossroads, critical
period, crux, climax, climacteric, culmination, height, head,
moment of truth, zero hour, point of no return, Rubicon;
informal crunch.2 the country was in the grip of an economic crisis | the fisheries
are in crisis: catastrophe, calamity, cataclysm, emergency,
disaster; predicament, plight, mess, dilemma, quandary,
setback, reverse, reversal, upheaval, drama; trouble, dire
straits, hard times, hardship, adversity, extremity, distress,
difficulty; informal fix, pickle, jam, stew, scrape, bind, hole,
sticky situation, hot water, hell, hell on earth, hassle, stress;
Brit. informal spot of bother.
negotiation |nɪgəʊʃɪˈeɪʃ(ə)n|
noun [ mass noun ]
1 (also negotiations) discussion aimed at reaching an
agreement: a worldwide ban is currently under negotiation |
negotiations between unions and employers.
2 the action or process of transferring legal ownership of a
document.
ORIGIN late 15th cent. (denoting an act of dealing with
another person): from Latin negotiatio(n-), from the verb
negotiari (see negotiate) .
negotiationnoun
1 the negotiations are due to resume in Geneva next week:
discussion(s), talks, consultation(s), parleying,
deliberation(s), conference, debate, dialogue; mediation,
arbitration, intercession, conciliation; bargaining, haggling,
wheeling and dealing, dickering.
2 the negotiation of the deal: working out, discussing the terms
of, arrangement, arranging, thrashing out, hammering out,
brokering; settlement, conclusion, completion, clinching,
pulling off, bringing off, transaction.
along |əˈlɒŋ|
preposition& adverb
1 moving in a constant direction on (a more or less
horizontal surface): [ as prep. ] : soon we were driving along a
narrow road | he saw Gray run along the top of the wall | [ as
adv. ] : we continued to plod along.
• used to refer to the passage of time or the making of
progress: [ as prep. ] : you'll pick up some valuable tips along
the way | [ as adv. ] : they asked how the construction was
coming along.2 [ prep. ] extending in a more or less horizontal line on: cars
were parked along the grass verge | the path along the cliff.
3 [ adverb ] in or into company with others: he had brought
along a friend of his.
PHRASES
along with in company with or at the same time as: I was
chosen, along with twelve other artists.
be (or come) along arrive: she'll be along soon.
ORIGIN Old English andlang, of West Germanic origin;
related to long 1 .
along
preposition
1 she walked along the corridor: down, throughout the length
of, from one end of ... to the other, through, across.
2 trees grew along the river bank: beside, by the side of, on the
edge of, alongside, next to, adjacent to, close by, in a line by,
one after the other by.
3 they'll have to stop somewhere along the way: on, at a point
on, in the middle of; in the course of, during.
adverb1 Maurice moved along past the other exhibits: onwards, on,
ahead, forward(s), further.
2 I invited a friend along: as company, with one, to accompany
one, as a partner, in company.
PHRASES
along with he spent three weeks at Etna along with two
colleagues: together with, accompanying, accompanied by, in
company with; at the same time as; as well as, in addition
to, plus, coupled with, added to, besides, on top of.
towards |təˈwɔːdz, twɔːdz, ˈtɔːdz| (chiefly N. Amer. also
toward)
preposition
1 in the direction of: they drove towards the German frontier.
• getting closer to achieving (a goal): moves towards EU
political and monetary union.
• close or closer to (a particular time): towards the end of
April.
2 expressing the relation between behaviour or an attitude
and the person or thing at which it is directed or with whichit is concerned: he was warm and tender towards her | our
attitude towards death.
3 contributing to the cost of: the council provided a grant
towards the cost of new buses.
ORIGIN Old English tōweardes (see to,-ward) .
towards
preposition
1 Henry strode towards her | he was heading towards
Manhattan: in the direction of, to, toward, so as to approach,
so as to near; on the way to, on the road to, en route for, in
the vicinity of. ANTONYMS away from.
2 they're working towards a drug-free future: with the aim of, in
order to obtain, in order to achieve, so as to achieve, for.
ANTONYMS away from.
3 towards evening dark clouds gathered: just before, shortly
before, near, nearing, around, approaching, close to, coming
to, getting on for, not quite.
4 it is impossible to be indifferent towards her: with regard to, as
regards, regarding, in/with regard to, in/with respect to,respecting, in relation to, concerning, about, in connection
with, apropos.
5 they offered to contribute £2,000 towards a fund to restore the
church's organ: as a contribution to, for, as a help to, to help,
to assist, supporting, promoting, assisting.
adapt |əˈdapt|
verb [ with obj. ]
make (something) suitable for a new use or purpose;
modify: hospitals have had to be adapted for modern medical
practice | [ with obj. and infinitive ] : the policies can be
adapted to suit individual needs.
• [ no obj. ] become adjusted to new conditions: a large
organization can be slow to adapt to change.
• alter (a text) to make it suitable for filming, broadcasting,
or the stage: the film was adapted from a Turgenev short story.
ORIGIN late Middle English: from French adapter, from
Latin adaptare, from ad- ‘to’ + aptare (from aptus ‘fit’).
adaptverb
1 we've adapted the hotels to suit their needs: modify, alter,
make alterations to, change, adjust, make adjustments to,
convert, transform, redesign, restyle, refashion, remodel,
reshape, revamp, rework, redo, reconstruct, reorganize;
customize, tailor; improve, make improvements to, amend,
refine; informal tweak. ANTONYMS preserve.
2 he has adapted well to his new home: adjust, acclimatize,
accommodate, attune, habituate, acculturate, conform;
familiarize oneself with, habituate oneself to, become
habituated to, get used to, orient oneself in, condition
oneself to; reconcile oneself to, resign oneself to, become
resigned to, come to terms with, find one's way around;
become naturalized, become seasoned, get one's bearings,
find one's feet, blend in, fit in; N. Amer. acclimate.
adopt |əˈdɒpt|
verb [ with obj. ]
1 legally take (another's child) and bring it up as one's own:
there are many people eager to adopt a baby.2 choose to take up or follow (an idea, method, or course of
action): this approach has been adopted by many big banks.
• choose and move to (a country or city) as one's permanent
place of residence.
3 take on or assume (an attitude or position): he adopted a
patronizing tone.
• Brit.choose (someone) as a candidate for office: she was
recently adopted as Labour candidate for the constituency.
• formally approve or accept (a report or suggestion): the
committee voted 5–1 to adopt the proposal.
4 Brit.(of a local authority) accept responsibility for the
maintenance of (a road).
DERIVATIVES
adoptable adjective,
adoptee noun,
adopter noun
ORIGIN late 15th cent.: via French from Latin adoptare,
from ad- ‘to’ + optare ‘choose’.
adopt
verb1 a republican constitution was adopted in 1971: embrace, take
on, acquire, affect, espouse, assume, appropriate, arrogate;
approve, endorse, agree to, consent to, accede to, accept,
ratify, validate, rubber-stamp, sanction, support, back, vote
for; informal give something the go ahead, give something
the green light, give something the thumbs up, OK, okay.
ANTONYMS abandon.
2 the people adopted him as their patron saint: choose, select,
pick, pick out, vote for, elect, settle on, decide on, single out,
plump for, opt for, name, nominate, designate, appoint.
ANTONYMS reject.
employ |ɪmˈplɔɪ, ɛm-|
verb [ with obj. ]
1 give work to (someone) and pay them for it: the firm
employs 150 people | [ with obj. and infinitive ] : temporary
staff can be employed to undertake the work | (as
adj.employed) : 83 percent of employed people were working in
full-time jobs .
• keep occupied: the newcomers are employed in developing
the technology into a product.2 make use of: the methods they have employed to collect the
data.
noun [ in sing. ]
the state of being employed for wages or a salary: I started
work in the employ of a grocer.
• archaic employment: her place of employ.
DERIVATIVES
employability |-ˈbɪlɪti| noun,
employable adjective
ORIGIN late Middle English (formerly also as imploy): from
Old French employer, based on Latin implicari ‘be involved
in or attached to’, passive form of implicare (see imply). In
the 16th and 17th cent. the word also had the senses ‘enfold,
entangle’ and ‘imply’, derived directly from Latin; compare
with implicate.
employed
adjective
employed married women tend to delay their childbearing:
working, in work, in employment, with a job, holding down
a job, with a career; professional, career; earning, waged, ingainful employment, earning one's living, breadwinning.
ANTONYMS unemployed.
employ
verb
1 Mary bought a Daimler and employed a chauffeur: hire,
engage, recruit, take on, take into employment, secure the
services of, sign up, sign, put on the payroll, enrol, appoint,
commission, enlist; retain, have in employment, have on the
payroll; indenture, apprentice; informal take on board.
ANTONYMS dismiss.
2 Sam was employed in carving a stone figure: occupy, engage,
involve, keep busy, tie up; absorb, engross, immerse.
3 the reactors employ carbon dioxide gas as a coolant | the team
employed subtle psychological tactics: use, utilize, make use of,
avail oneself of, put into service; implement, apply, exercise,
practise, put into practice, exert, bring into play, bring into
action, bring to bear; draw on, resort to, turn to, have
recourse to, take advantage of.condominium |ˌkɒndəˈmɪnɪəm|
noun (pl.condominiums)
1 N. Amer.a building or complex of buildings containing a
number of individually owned apartments or houses.
• each of the individual apartments or houses in a
condominium.
• [ mass noun ] the system of ownership by which
condominiums operate, in which owners have full title to
the individual apartment or house and an undivided
interest in the shared parts of the property.
2 [ mass noun ] the joint control of a state's affairs by other
states.
• [ count noun ] a state so governed. Sudan was from 1899 an
Anglo-Egyptian condominium.
ORIGIN early 18th cent.: modern Latin, from con- ‘together
with’ + dominium ‘right of ownership’ (see dominion).
Sense 1 dates from the 1960s.
multiplex |ˈmʌltɪplɛks|
adjective1 involving or consisting of many elements in a complex
relationship: multiplex ties of work and friendship.
• involving simultaneous transmission of several messages
along a single channel of communication.
2 (of a cinema) having several separate screens within one
building.
noun
1 a system or signal involving simultaneous transmission of
several messages along a single channel of communication.
2 a cinema with several separate screens.
verb [ with obj. ]
incorporate into a multiplex signal or system. thirty-two of
these signals can be multiplexed together to form a 2Mb data
stream.
DERIVATIVES
multiplexer (also multiplexor)noun
ORIGIN late Middle English in the mathematical sense
‘multiple’: from Latin.
duplex |ˈdjuːplɛks|noun
1 N. Amer.a residential building divided into two
apartments.
• a flat on two floors. [ as modifier ] : a plush Mayfair duplex
flat.
• chiefly N. Amer. & Austral.a semi-detached house.
2 Biochemistry a double-stranded polynucleotide molecule.
adjective
1 having two parts, in particular:
• N. Amer.(of a house) consisting of two flats.
• N. Amer.(of a flat) on two floors.
• (of paper or board) having two differently coloured layers
or sides.
• (of a printer or its software) capable of printing on both
sides of the paper.
2 (of a communications system, computer circuit, etc.)
allowing the transmission of two signals simultaneously in
opposite directions.
DERIVATIVES
duplexity noun rareORIGIN mid 16th cent. (as an adjective): from Latin duplex,
duplic-, from duo ‘two’ + plicare ‘to fold’. The noun dates
from the 1920s.
caravan |ˈkarəvan, karəˈvan|
noun
1 Brit.a vehicle equipped for living in, typically towed by a
car and used for holidays. they spent a fishing holiday in a
caravan. [ as modifier ] : a caravan holiday.
• a covered horse-drawn wagon: a Gypsy caravan.
• N. Amer.a covered lorry.
2 historical a group of people, especially traders or pilgrims,
travelling together across a desert in Asia or North Africa.
• any large group of people, typically with vehicles or
animals, travelling together in single file: a caravan of cars
and trucks.
ORIGIN late 15th cent. (in sense 2): from French caravane,
from Persian kārwān. The sense ‘covered horse-drawn
wagon’ dates from the early 19th cent.
caravannoun
1 they spent a fishing holiday in a caravan: mobile home,
camper, caravanette; N. Amer. trailer; informal van; Brit.
trademark Dormobile.
2 a gypsy caravan: wagon, covered cart, van.
3 the refugee caravan crossed the border: convoy, procession,
column, train, cavalcade, fleet, cortège, company, troop,
band, group, assemblage.
trio |ˈtriːəʊ|
noun (pl.trios)
a set or group of three people or things: the hotel was run by a
trio of brothers.
• a group of three musicians: a jazz trio.
• a composition written for three musicians: Chopin's G
minor Trio.
• the central, typically contrastive, section of a minuet,
scherzo, or march.
• (in piquet) a set of three aces, kings, queens, jacks, or tens
held in one hand.ORIGIN early 18th cent.: from Italian, from Latin tres
‘three’, on the pattern of duo.
trio
noun
threesome, three, triumvirate, triad, troika, triplex, trinity,
trilogy, triptych, triplets; rare triunity, triune, triplicity.
tritium |ˈtrɪtɪəm|
noun [ mass noun ] Chemistry
a radioactive isotope of hydrogen with a mass
approximately three times that of the usual isotope.(Symbol:
T)
Discovered in 1934, tritium has two neutrons as well as a
proton in the nucleus. It occurs in minute traces in nature
and can be made artificially from lithium or deuterium in
nuclear reactors; it is used as a fuel in thermonuclear bombs.
ORIGIN 1930s: from modern Latin, from Greek tritos
‘third’.trivet |ˈtrɪvɪt|
noun
an iron tripod placed over a fire for a cooking pot or kettle
to stand on.
• an iron bracket designed to hook on to bars of a grate for a
similar purpose.
• a stand or support with three or more legs.
PHRASES
(as) right as a trivet Brit. informal perfectly all right; in good
health.
ORIGIN late Middle English: apparently from Latin tripes,
triped- ‘three-legged’, from tri- ‘three’ + pes, ped- ‘foot’.
triumvirate |trʌɪˈʌmvɪrət|
noun
1 (in ancient Rome) a group of three men holding power, in
particular (the First Triumvirate) the unofficial coalition of
Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus in 60 bc and (the Second
Triumvirate) a coalition formed by Antony, Lepidus, and
Octavian in 43 bc .• a group of three powerful or notable people or things: a
triumvirate of three executive vice-presidents.
2 the office of triumvir in ancient Rome.
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from Latin triumviratus, from
triumvir (see triumvir) .
post-mortem |pəʊs(t)ˈmɔːtəm|
noun
(also post-mortem examination)an examination of a dead
body to determine the cause of death. the hospital will want to
carry out a post-mortem.
• an analysis or discussion of an event held soon after it has
occurred, especially in order to determine why it was a
failure: an election post-mortem on why the party lost.
adjective [ attrib. ]
relating to a post-mortem. a post-mortem report.
• happening after death: post-mortem changes in his body |
[ as adv. ] : assessment of morphology in nerves taken post-
mortem.
ORIGIN mid 18th cent.: from Latin, literally ‘after death’.post-mortem
noun
1 the hospital will want to carry out a post-mortem: autopsy,
post-mortem examination, PM, dissection, necropsy.
2 the very last thing she needed was a post-mortem of her failed
relationship: analysis, evaluation, assessment, appraisal,
examination, review, investigation, breakdown, critique,
study; rare anatomization.
mortuary |ˈmɔːtjʊəri, -tʃʊ-|
noun (pl.mortuaries)
a room or building in which dead bodies are kept, for
hygienic storage or for examination, until burial or
cremation.
adjective
relating to burial or tombs: mortuary rituals | a mortuary
temple.
ORIGIN late Middle English (denoting a gift claimed by a
parish priest from a deceased person's estate): from Latin
mortuarius, from mortuus ‘dead’. The current noun sense
dates from the mid 19th cent.mortuary
noun
three of the bodies have been taken to the mortuary: morgue,
funeral parlour, funeral chapel, funeral home; Brit. chapel of
rest; archaic charnel house, dead house, lich-house.
obituary |ə(ʊ)ˈbɪtʃʊəri, -tʃəri, -tjʊəri|
noun (pl.obituaries)
a notice of a death, especially in a newspaper, typically
including a brief biography of the deceased person. his
obituary of Samuel Beckett. [ as modifier ] : an obituary notice.
figurative : it is premature to write the obituary of British
science.
DERIVATIVES
obituarist noun
ORIGIN early 18th cent.: from medieval Latin obituarius,
from Latin obitus ‘death’, from obit- ‘perished’, from the
verb obire .obituary
noun
death notice, eulogy; informal obit; rare necrology,
necrologue.
homage |ˈhɒmɪdʒ|
noun [ mass noun ]
special honour or respect shown publicly: many villagers
come here to pay homage to the Virgin | [ count noun ] :
Daniel's films were a homage to her.
• historical formal public acknowledgement of feudal
allegiance: a man doing homage to his personal lord.
ORIGIN Middle English: Old French, from medieval Latin
hominaticum, from Latin homo, homin- ‘man’ (the original
use of the word denoted the ceremony by which a vassal
declared himself to be his lord's ‘man’).
homage
nounhe intended his book as an act of homage: respect, recognition,
admiration, esteem, adulation, acclaim, acclamation,
commendation, honour, reverence, worship; tribute,
acknowledgement, eulogy, accolade, panegyric, paean,
encomium, salute; rare laudation. ANTONYMS criticism.
PHRASES
pay homage to they paid homage to the local boy who became
president: honour, acclaim, applaud, praise, commend, extol,
salute, celebrate, commemorate, glorify, laud, magnify, pay
tribute to, sing the praises of, give recognition to, speak
highly of, take one's hat off to. ANTONYMS criticize.
oblique |əˈbliːk|
adjective
1 neither parallel nor at right angles to a specified or
implied line; slanting: we sat on the settee oblique to the
fireplace.
• Geometry (of a line, plane figure, or surface) inclined at
other than a right angle.
• Geometry (of an angle) acute or obtuse.• Geometry (of a cone, cylinder, etc.) with an axis not
perpendicular to the plane of its base.
• Anatomy (especially of a muscle) neither parallel nor
perpendicular to the long axis of a body or limb. an oblique
abdominal muscle.
2 not expressed or done in a direct way: he issued an oblique
attack on the President.
3 Grammar denoting any case other than the nominative or
vocative.
noun
1 Brit. another term for slash 1 ( sense 2 of the noun).
2 an oblique muscle. it is the obliques and abdominals which
create the well-trained look.
DERIVATIVES
obliqueness noun,
obliquity |əˈblɪkwɪti| noun
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin obliquus .
oblique
adjective1 an oblique line: slanting, slanted, sloping, at an angle,
angled, diagonal, aslant, slant, slantwise, sloped, inclined,
inclining, tilted, tilting, atilt, skew, on the skew, askew;
Scottish squint; N. Amer. cater-cornered, catty-cornered,
kitty-corner. ANTONYMS straight.
2 an oblique reference to the president: indirect, inexplicit,
roundabout, circuitous, circumlocutory, implicit, implied,
elliptical, evasive, backhanded; rare circumlocutionary,
ambagious. ANTONYMS direct, explicit.
3 he cast her an oblique glance: sidelong, sideways, furtive,
covert, sly, surreptitious.
noun
slash, forward slash, solidus, oblique stroke, backslash,
diagonal, virgule, slant.
optic |ˈɒptɪk|
adjective
relating to the eye or vision.
noun
1 a lens or other optical component in an optical instrument.
2 archaic or humorous the eye.3 Brit. trademark a device fastened to the neck of an
inverted bottle for measuring out spirits.
ORIGIN late Middle English: from French optique or
medieval Latin opticus, from Greek optikos, from optos
‘seen’.
opulent |ˈɒpjʊl(ə)nt|
adjective
ostentatiously costly and luxurious: the opulent comfort of a
limousine.
• wealthy: his more opulent tenants.
DERIVATIVES
opulently adverb
ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘wealthy’): from Latin
opulent- ‘wealthy, splendid’, from opes ‘wealth’.
taxidermy |ˈtaksɪˌdəːmi|
noun [ mass noun ]
the art of preparing, stuffing, and mounting the skins of
animals with lifelike effect.
DERIVATIVEStaxidermal |-ˈdəːm(ə)l| adjective,
taxidermic |-ˈdəːmɪk| adjective,
taxidermically adverb
ORIGIN early 19th cent.: from Greek taxis ‘arrangement’ +
derma ‘skin’.
taxonomy |takˈsɒnəmi|
noun [ mass noun ] chiefly Biology
the branch of science concerned with classification,
especially of organisms; systematics.
• the classification of something, especially organisms: the
taxonomy of these fossils.
• [ count noun ] a scheme of classification: a taxonomy of
smells.
DERIVATIVES
taxonomic |-səˈnɒmɪk| adjective,
taxonomical |-səˈnɒmɪk(ə)l| adjective,
taxonomically |-səˈnɒmɪk(ə)li| adverb,
taxonomist nounORIGIN early 19th cent.: coined in French from Greek taxis
‘arrangement’ + -nomia ‘distribution’.
toxicology |ˌtɒksɪˈkɒlədʒi|
noun [ mass noun ]
the branch of science concerned with the nature, effects, and
detection of poisons.
DERIVATIVES
toxicological |-kəˈlɒdʒɪk(ə)l| adjective,
toxicologically adverb,
toxicologist noun
demagogue |ˈdɛməgɒg|
noun
a political leader who seeks support by appealing to
popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational
argument. the Senator was a gifted demagogue, with particular
skill in manipulating the press.
• (in ancient Greece and Rome) a leader or orator who
espoused the cause of the common people. the Athenian
demagogues had definite and valuable functions within the state.DERIVATIVES
demagogic |-ˈgɒgɪk| adjective,
demagoguery |-ˈgɒg(ə)ri| noun,
demagogy noun
ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Greek dēmagōgos, from dēmos
‘the people’ + agōgos ‘leading’ (from agein ‘to lead’).
demagogue
noun
rabble-rouser, political agitator, agitator, soapbox orator,
firebrand; troublemaker, incendiary; informal tub-thumper.
prejudice |ˈprɛdʒʊdɪs|
noun [ mass noun ]
1 preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual
experience: English prejudice against foreigners | [ count
noun ] : deep-rooted class prejudices.
• dislike, hostility, or unjust behaviour deriving from
preconceived and unfounded opinions: accusations of racial
prejudice.2 chiefly Law harm or injury that results or may result from
some action or judgement: prejudice resulting from delay in the
institution of the proceedings.
verb [ with obj. ]
1 give rise to prejudice in (someone); make biased: the
statement might prejudice the jury.
2 chiefly Law cause harm to (a state of affairs): delay is likely
to prejudice the child's welfare.
PHRASES
with prejudice Law extinguishing any right to pursue a
claim in another suit. the suit was dismissed with prejudice.
without prejudice Law without detriment to any existing
right or claim: the payment was made without any prejudice to
her rights.
ORIGIN Middle English (in sense 2 of the noun): from Old
French, from Latin praejudicium, from prae ‘in advance’ +
judicium ‘judgement’.
prejudice
noun
1 male prejudices about women: preconceived idea,
preconception, preconceived notion; prejudgement.2 he claimed that his opponents were motivated by prejudice:
bigotry, bias, partisanship, partiality, intolerance,
discrimination, a jaundiced eye, preference, one-sidedness,
unfairness, inequality, inequity; racism, racialism, anti-
Semitism, chauvinism, sexism, ageism, heterosexism,
classism, fattism; US Jim Crowism.
3 without prejudice to the interests of other countries: detriment,
harm, disadvantage, damage, injury, hurt, impairment, loss.
verb
1 it was felt that the article would prejudice the jury: bias,
influence, sway, predispose, make biased, make partial,
make partisan, colour, poison, jaundice, warp, twist, slant,
distort; rare prepossess.
2 this could prejudice his chances of victory in the November
election: damage, be detrimental to, be prejudicial to, be
disadvantageous to, injure, harm, hurt, mar, spoil, impair,
undermine, be deleterious to, hinder, compromise, drive a
nail into the coffin of.
tyrant |ˈtʌɪr(ə)nt|
noun1 a cruel and oppressive ruler: the tyrant was deposed by
popular demonstrations.
• a person exercising power or control in a cruel,
unreasonable, or arbitrary way: her father was a tyrant and a
bully.
• (especially in ancient Greece) a ruler who seized absolute
power without legal right.
2 a tyrant flycatcher.
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French, via Latin from
Greek turannos .
tyrant
noun
1 an evil tyrant who has imprisoned all who oppose his regime:
dictator, despot, autocrat, absolute ruler, authoritarian,
oppressor.
2 her boss is an absolute tyrant: slave-driver, martinet, hard
taskmaster, scourge; bully.
WORD LINKS
tyrannicide killing of a tyrantWord Links sections supply words that are related to the
headword but do not normally appear in a thesaurus
because they are not actual synonyms.
dictator |dɪkˈteɪtə|
noun
a ruler with total power over a country, typically one who
has obtained control by force.
• a person who behaves in an autocratic way.
• (in ancient Rome) a chief magistrate with absolute power,
appointed in an emergency.
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin, from dictat-
‘dictated’, from the verb dictare (see dictate) .
dictator
noun
the country was ruled by a right-wing dictator: autocrat,
monocrat, absolute ruler; tyrant, despot, oppressor,
absolutist, totalitarian, authoritarian; informal supremo, Big
Brother; rare autarch.claustrophobia |ˌklɔːstrəˈfəʊbɪə|
noun [ mass noun ]
extreme or irrational fear of confined places. the small stuffy
room had begun to give him claustrophobia.
DERIVATIVES
claustrophobe noun
ORIGIN late 19th cent.: modern Latin, from Latin claustrum
‘lock, bolt’ + -phobia.
claustrophobia |ˌklɔːstrəˈfəʊbɪə|
noun [ mass noun ]
extreme or irrational fear of confined places. the small stuffy
room had begun to give him claustrophobia.
DERIVATIVES
claustrophobe noun
ORIGIN late 19th cent.: modern Latin, from Latin claustrum
‘lock, bolt’ + -phobia.toss |tɒs|
verb
1 [ with obj. and adverbial of direction ] throw (something)
somewhere lightly or casually: Suzy tossed her bag on to the
sofa | [ with two objs ] : she tossed me a box of matches.
• [ with obj. ] (of a horse) throw (a rider) off its back.
• [ with obj. ] throw (a coin) into the air in order to make a
decision between two alternatives, based on which side of
the coin faces uppermost when it lands: we could just toss a
coin | [ no obj. ] : he tossed up between courgettes and tomatoes
and courgettes won.
• [ with obj. ] settle a matter with (someone) by tossing a
coin: I'll toss you for it.
2 move or cause to move from side to side or back and forth:
[ no obj. ] : the trees tossed in the wind | [ with obj. ] : the yachts
were tossed around like toys in the harbour | (as adj., in
combination-tossed) : a storm-tossed sea.
• [ with obj. ] jerk (one's head or hair) sharply backwards.
Paula pursed her lips and tossed her head. she stood up, tossing
her hair out of her eyes.• [ with obj. ] shake or turn (food) in a liquid, so as to coat it
lightly: toss the pasta in the sauce.
3 [ with obj. ] N. Amer. informal search (a place). I could
demand her keys and toss her office.
noun
an act or instance of tossing something: a defiant toss of her
head | the toss of a coin.
• (the toss) the action of tossing a coin as a method of
deciding which team has the right to make a particular
decision at the beginning of a game: Somerset won the toss
and chose to bat.
PHRASES
give (or care) a toss [ usu. with negative ] Brit. informal care
at all: I don't give a toss what you think.
take a toss fall off a horse. I took a heavy toss when my horse
fell.
toss one's cookies N. Amer. informal vomit.
tossing the caber see caber.
toss a pancake turn a pancake by flipping it into the air so
that it lands in the pan on its opposite side.
PHRASAL VERBStoss something off produce something rapidly or without
thought or effort: some of the best letters are tossed off in a burst
of inspiration. • drink something rapidly or all at once. Roger
tossed off a full glass of Sauternes.
toss someone/oneself off (or toss off)Brit. vulgar slang
masturbate.
ORIGIN early 16th cent.: of unknown origin.
toss
verb
1 he tossed his tools into the boot: throw, hurl, cast, fling, sling,
pitch, shy, lob, propel, launch, project, send, dash, bowl;
informal heave, chuck, bung.
2 he tossed a coin and it landed heads up: flip, flick, spin, twist.
3 I tossed and turned all night: flail, thrash about, roll, tumble;
jerk, twitch, wriggle, writhe, squirm.
4 the ship tossed about, shaken furiously: lurch, reel, list, keel,
veer, labour, flounder, plunge, rock, roll, sway, undulate,
pitch, heave, wallow, make heavy weather; Nautical
pitchpole.5 toss the salad ingredients together gently: shake, stir, turn,
churn, mix, combine.
6 Paula pursed her lips and tossed her head: throw back, jerk,
jolt.
PHRASES
toss something off Roger tossed off a full glass of wine: drink
(up/down), quaff, swallow, gulp (down), drain, put away,
guzzle, sup, sip, finish off; informal down, swill, swig, slug,
sink, kill, polish off, knock back; Brit. informal neck; N.
Amer. informal scarf (down/up), snarf (down/up), chug;
rare ingurgitate, bib.
noun
Louise gave a small toss of her head: jerk, jolt, throw; cast, fling,
hurl, heave, delivery, lob.
aesthetic |iːsˈθɛtɪk, ɛs-| (US also esthetic)
adjective
concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty: the
pictures give great aesthetic pleasure.
• giving or designed to give pleasure through beauty: the
law applies to both functional and aesthetic objects.noun [ in sing. ]
a set of principles underlying the work of a particular artist
or artistic movement: the Cubist aesthetic.
DERIVATIVES
aesthetically adverb an aesthetically pleasing colour
combination
ORIGIN late 18th cent. (in the sense ‘relating to perception
by the senses’): from Greek aisthētikos, from aisthēta
‘perceptible things’, from aisthesthai ‘perceive’. The sense
‘concerned with beauty’ was coined in German in the mid
18th cent. and adopted into English in the early 19th cent.,
but its use was controversial until much later in the century.
aesthetic
adjective
the law applies to both functional and aesthetic objects:
decorative, ornamental, graceful, elegant, exquisite,
beautiful, attractive, pleasing, lovely, stylish, artistic,
tasteful, in good taste.
appealing |əˈpiːlɪŋ|adjective
1 attractive or interesting: village life is somehow more
appealing.
2 showing or expressing a desire for help or sympathy: an
appealing look.
DERIVATIVES
appealingly adverb
appeal |əˈpiːl|
verb [ no obj. ]
1 make a serious, urgent, or heartfelt request: police are
appealing for information about the incident | she appealed to
Germany for political asylum.
• (appeal to) try to persuade someone to do something by
calling on (a particular principle or quality): I appealed to his
sense of justice.
• Cricket (of the bowler or fielders) call on the umpire to
declare a batsman out, traditionally with a shout of ‘How's
that?’.
2 Law apply to a higher court for a reversal of the decision
of a lower court: he said he would appeal against the
conviction.• [ with obj. ] chiefly N. Amer.apply to a higher court for a
reversal of (the decision of a lower court): they have 48 hours
to appeal the decision.
3 be attractive or interesting: the range of topics will appeal to
youngsters.
noun
1 a serious, urgent, or heartfelt request: his mother made an
appeal for the return of the ring.
• Cricket a shout of ‘How's that?’ or a similar call by a
bowler or fielder to an umpire to declare a batsman out.
• [ mass noun ] entreaty: a look of appeal on his face.
• an attempt to persuade someone do to something by
calling on a particular principle or quality: an appeal to their
common cultural values.
2 Law an application to a higher court for a decision to be
reversed: he has 28 days in which to lodge an appeal | [ mass
noun ] : the right of appeal.
3 a request for donations to support a charity or cause: a
public appeal to raise £120,000.
4 [ mass noun ] the quality of being attractive or interesting:
the popular appeal of football.DERIVATIVES
appealer noun
ORIGIN Middle English (in legal contexts): from Old French
apel (noun), apeler (verb), from Latin appellare ‘to address’,
based on ad- ‘to’ + pellere ‘to drive’.
appealing
adjective
1 men found her trim figure and neat little face very appealing:
attractive, engaging, alluring, enchanting, captivating,
bewitching, fascinating, winning, winsome, likeable,
lovable, charming, delightful; beautiful, pretty, good-
looking, prepossessing, striking, fetching, delectable,
desirable; irresistible; Scottish & N. English bonny; Brit.
informal tasty; dated taking. ANTONYMS off-putting.
2 flying off to the Bahamas was an appealing prospect: inviting,
attractive, tempting, appetizing, enticing, seductive;
agreeable, to one's liking, pleasant, pleasing, pleasurable;
interesting, intriguing, irresistible; informal juicy, sexy.
ANTONYMS disagreeable, unappealing.WORD TOOLKIT
appealing
See enchanting.
Word Toolkits illustrate the difference between close
synonyms by means of words typically used with them.
appeal
verb
1 police are appealing for information: ask urgently/earnestly,
request urgently/earnestly, make an urgent/earnest
request, call, make a plea, plead, beg; sue.
2 Andrew appealed to me to help them: implore, beg, beseech,
entreat, call on, plead with, ask, request, petition, pray to,
apply to, solicit, exhort, adjure, invoke; lobby; rare obtest,
obsecrate, impetrate.
3 the thought of travelling appealed to me: attract, be attractive
to, interest, be of interest to, please, take someone's fancy,
charm, engage, fascinate, intrigue, tempt, entice, allure,
beguile, lure, invite, draw, whet someone's appetite;
informal float someone's boat, tickle someone's fancy.
ANTONYMS bore, leave someone cold.
noun1 an emotional appeal for help: plea, urgent/earnest request,
entreaty, cry, cry from the heart, call, petition, prayer,
supplication, solicitation, application, overture, suit;
Frenchcri de cœur; Latinde profundis; archaic orison; rare
imploration, adjuration, obtestation, impetration,
obsecration.
2 the cultural appeal of the island | her lack of sophistication was
part of her appeal: attraction, attractiveness, interest, allure,
charm, enchantment, fascination, beauty, charisma,
magnetism, temptation, seductiveness, drawing power,
enticement; informal pull.
3 on 13 March 1992, the Court allowed the appeal: retrial,
reconsideration, re-examination.
station |ˈsteɪʃ(ə)n|
noun
1 a place where passenger trains stop on a railway line,
typically with platforms and buildings: a railway station |
[ in names ] : Paddington Station.
• a bus or coach station.2 [ usu. with modifier ] a place or building where a specified
activity or service is based: a research station in the rainforest |
coastal radar stations.
• a small military base, especially of a specified kind: a naval
station.
• N. Amer.a subsidiary post office.
• Austral./NZa large sheep or cattle farm.
3 [ with modifier ] a company involved in broadcasting of a
specified kind: a radio station.
4 the place where someone or something stands or is placed
on military or other duty: the lookout resumed his station in the
bow.
• [ count noun ] dated one's social rank or position: Karen
was getting ideas above her station.
5 Botany a particular site at which an interesting or rare
plant grows.
6 short for Stations of the Cross.
verb [ with obj. and adverbial of place ]
put in or assign to a specified place for a particular purpose,
especially a military one: troops were stationed in the town |
a young girl had stationed herself by the door.ORIGIN Middle English (as a noun): via Old French from
Latin statio(n-), from stare ‘to stand’. Early use referred
generally to ‘position’, especially ‘position in life, status’,
and specifically, in ecclesiastical use, to ‘a holy place of
pilgrimage (visited as one of a succession’). The verb dates
from the late 16th cent.
station
noun
1 calling at all stations to Oxford: stopping place, stop, halt,
station stop, stage; terminus, terminal, depot; railway
station, train station, passenger station; bus station, coach
station.
2 a research station in the rainforest | a naval station:
establishment, base, base camp, camp; post, depot; mission;
site, facility, installation, yard; in India, historical
cantonment.
3 a police station: office, depot, base, headquarters, centre; N.
Amer. precinct, station house, substation; Indian kotwali,
thana; informal cop shop; Brit. informal nick.4 a radio station: channel, broadcasting organization;
wavelength.
5 Austral./NZ as a youngster he was sent out to Australia to
work as a jackaroo on a sheep station: ranch, range; farm.
6 the lookout resumed his station in the bow: assigned position,
post, area of duty, place, situation, location.
7 dated Karen was getting ideas above her station: rank, place,
status, position in society, social class, level, grade, standing;
caste; archaic condition, degree.
verb
a flagman was stationed at the road crossing: put on duty, post,
position, place, set, locate, site; establish, install; deploy,
base, garrison.
noun [ mass noun ]
extreme unwillingness to spend money or use resources: a
great tradition of public design has been shattered by government
parsimony.
PHRASES
principle (or law) of parsimony the scientific principle that
things are usually connected or behave in the simplest or
most economical way, especially with reference to
alternative evolutionary pathways. Compare with Occam's
razor.
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin parsimonia,
parcimonia, from parcere ‘be sparing’.
parsimony
noun
meanness, miserliness, parsimoniousness, niggardliness,
close-fistedness, closeness, penuriousness, penny-pinching,
cheese-paring, illiberality, frugality; informal stinginess,
minginess, tightness, tight-fistedness; N. Amer. cheapness;
archaic nearness. ANTONYMS generosity.expenditure |ɪkˈspɛndɪtʃə, ɛk-|
noun [ mass noun ]
the action of spending funds: the expenditure of taxpayers'
money.
• an amount of money spent: cuts in public expenditure.
• the use of energy, time, or other resources: work is the
expenditure of energy.
ORIGIN mid 18th cent.: from expend, suggested by obsolete
expenditor‘officer in charge of expenditure’, from medieval
Latin, from expenditus, irregular past participle of Latin
expendere (see expend) .
expenditure
noun
1 the expenditure of funds: spending, paying out, outlay,
disbursement, doling out; lavishing, squandering, waste,
wasting, frittering (away), dissipation, dissipating.
ANTONYMS saving; conservation.2 the government is anxious to reduce public expenditure:
outgoings, costs, payments, expenses, overheads, dues,
money spent; spending, outlay. ANTONYMS income.
bankruptcy |ˈbaŋkrʌptsi|
noun (pl.bankruptcies) [ mass noun ]
1 the state of being bankrupt: many companies were facing
bankruptcy | [ count noun ] : a 7% increase in bankruptcies.
2 the state of being completely lacking in a particular good
quality: the intellectual bankruptcy of the corporate media.
bankruptcy
noun
many companies were facing bankruptcy: insolvency,
liquidation, failure, (financial) ruin, ruination, debt,
indebtedness; penury, beggary; Brit. administration,
receivership; rare pauperdom. ANTONYMS solvency.
bankrupt |ˈbaŋkrʌpt|
adjective1 (of a person or organization) declared in law as unable to
pay their debts: his father went bankrupt and the family had to
sell their home.
• impoverished or depleted: a bankrupt country with no
natural resources.
2 completely lacking in a particular good quality: their cause
is morally bankrupt.
noun
a person judged by a court to be insolvent, whose property
is taken and disposed of for the benefit of their creditors.
verb [ with obj. ]
reduce (a person or organization) to bankruptcy: the strike
nearly bankrupted the union.
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Italian banca rotta ‘broken
bench’, from banca (see bank 2 ) and rompere ‘to break’. The
change in the ending was due to association with Latin
rupt- ‘broken’.
bankrupt
adjective1 the company was declared bankrupt: insolvent, bankrupted;
failed, ruined, wiped out, gone under; in debt, owing
money, in the red, in arrears; Brit. in administration, in
receivership; informal bust, belly up, gone to the wall, on
the rocks, broke, flat broke; informal, dated smashed; Brit.
informal skint, stony broke, cleaned out, in Queer Street;
Brit. informal, dated in Carey Street. ANTONYMS solvent.
2 this government is bankrupt of ideas: completely lacking in,
without, bereft of, exhausted of, devoid of, empty of,
depleted of, destitute of, vacant of, bare of, denuded of,
deprived of; in need of, wanting; informal minus, sans.
ANTONYMS teeming with.
noun
he was soon a bankrupt: insolvent, bankrupt person; debtor;
pauper.
verb
the strike nearly bankrupted the union: ruin, make bankrupt,
cause to go bankrupt, make insolvent, impoverish, reduce to
penury/destitution, bring to ruin, bring someone to their
knees, wipe out, break, cripple; rare pauperize, beggar.bribery |ˈbrʌɪbəri|
noun [ mass noun ]
the giving or offering of a bribe: his opponent had been guilty
of bribery and corruption | [ as modifier ] : a bribery scandal.
bribery
noun
they were charged with bribery and corruption: corruption,
subornation; N. Amer. payola; informal palm-greasing,
graft, hush money.
bribe |brʌɪb|
verb [ with obj. ]
dishonestly persuade (someone) to act in one's favour by a
gift of money or other inducement: they attempted to bribe
opponents into losing | [ with obj. and infinitive ] : they had
bribed an official to sell them a certificate.
nouna sum of money or other inducement offered or given to
bribe someone. lawmakers were caught accepting bribes to bring
in legalized gambling.
DERIVATIVES
bribable adjective,
briber noun
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French briber,
brimber ‘beg’, of unknown origin. The original sense was
‘rob, extort’, hence (as a noun) ‘theft, stolen goods’, also
‘money extorted or demanded for favours’, later ‘offer
money as an inducement’ (early 16th cent.).
corrupt |kəˈrʌpt|
adjective
1 having or showing a willingness to act dishonestly in
return for money or personal gain: unscrupulous logging
companies assisted by corrupt officials.
• evil or morally depraved: the old corrupt order.
2 (of a text or a computer database or program) made
unreliable by errors or alterations. a progressively corrupt
magnetic record is usable nonetheless.3 archaic (of organic or inorganic matter) in a state of decay;
rotten or putrid. a corrupt and rotting corpse.
verb [ with obj. ]
1 cause to act dishonestly in return for money or personal
gain: there is a continuing fear of firms corrupting politicians in
the search for contracts.
• cause to become morally depraved: he has corrupted the
boy.
2 change or debase by making errors or unintentional
alterations: a backup copy will be needed if the original copy
becomes corrupted | Epicurus's teachings have since been much
corrupted.
3 archaic infect; contaminate. (as adj. corrupting) : the
corrupting smell of death.
DERIVATIVES
corrupter noun,
corruptibility noun,
corruptible adjective,
corruptive adjective,
corruptly adverb,
corruptness nounORIGIN Middle English: from Latin corruptus, past
participle of corrumpere ‘mar, bribe, destroy’, from cor-
‘altogether’ + rumpere ‘to break’.
corrupt
adjective
1 they alleged that the government was inefficient and corrupt:
dishonest, dishonourable, unscrupulous, unprincipled,
amoral, untrustworthy, underhand, deceitful, double-
dealing, disreputable, discreditable, shameful, scandalous;
corruptible, bribable, buyable, venal, fraudulent, swindling,
grafting, criminal, lawless, felonious, villainous, nefarious,
iniquitous; Law malfeasant; informal crooked, shady, tricky,
dirty, low-down, rascally, scoundrelly; Brit. informal bent,
dodgy; archaic hollow-hearted. ANTONYMS honest, law-
abiding.
2 the earth was corrupt in God's sight: sinful, ungodly, unholy,
irreligious, unrighteous, profane, blasphemous, impious,
impure; immoral, depraved, degenerate, reprobate, vice-
ridden, perverted, debauched, dissolute, dissipated,
intemperate, decadent, profligate, wanton, abandoned,immodest, lustful, lascivious, lewd, lecherous, sordid; bad,
wicked, evil, base, low; informal warped. ANTONYMS
moral.
3 rural dialects were regarded as corrupt: impure, adulterated,
bastardized, alloyed, contaminated, debased, tainted,
polluted, infected; deviant, distorted. ANTONYMS pure.
verb
1 firms are corrupting politicians in the search for contracts:
bribe, suborn, buy, buy off, pay off; informal grease
someone's palm, give someone a backhander, give someone
a sweetener, keep someone sweet, get at, fix, square; Brit.
informal nobble. ANTONYMS purge.
2 they argued that pornography did not corrupt its readers:
pervert, debauch, deprave, warp, subvert, make degenerate,
lead astray, debase, degrade, defile, sully, infect, influence;
archaic demoralize. ANTONYMS purify.
3 the apostolic writings had been corrupted by unknown persons:
alter, falsify, manipulate, tamper with, interfere with, tinker
with, doctor, distort; adulterate, bastardize, dilute,
contaminate, taint; informal fiddle with, cook; rare vitiate.
WORD TOOLKITcorrupt
See illegal.
Word Toolkits illustrate the difference between close
synonyms by means of words typically used with them.
deception |dɪˈsɛpʃ(ə)n|
noun [ mass noun ]
the action of deceiving someone: obtaining property by
deception.
• [ count noun ] a thing that deceives: a range of elaborate
deceptions.
ORIGIN late Middle English: from late Latin deceptio(n-),
from decipere ‘deceive’.
deception
noun
1 the court found that they had obtained money by deception:
deceit, deceitfulness, duplicity, double-dealing, fraud,
fraudulence, cheating, trickery, duping, hoodwinking,
chicanery, underhandedness, deviousness, slyness, cunning,
craft, craftiness, wiliness, artfulness, guile, dissimulation,dissembling, bluff, bluffing, lying, pretence, artifice,
treachery; informal crookedness, monkey business, funny
business, hanky-panky, jiggery-pokery, kidology; N. Amer.
informal monkeyshines; Irish informal codology; archaic
management, knavery.
2 she had proof that this was a deception: trick, stratagem,
device, ruse, scheme, dodge, manoeuvre, contrivance,
machination, subterfuge, cheat, swindle, confidence trick;
sham, fraud, pretence, imposture, hoax, fake,
misrepresentation, blind, wile, artifice, Trojan horse;
informal con, con trick, set-up, game, scam, sting, gyp, leg-
pull, flimflam; Brit. informal wheeze; N. Amer. informal
bunco, grift; Austral. informal lurk, rort; S. African informal
schlenter; Brit. informal, dated flanker; archaic shift, fetch,
rig.
deceive |dɪˈsiːv|
verb [ with obj. ]
deliberately cause (someone) to believe something that is
not true, especially for personal gain: I didn't intend to
deceive people into thinking it was French champagne.• (of a thing) give (someone) a mistaken impression: the area
may seem to offer nothing of interest, but don't be deceived.
• (deceive oneself) fail to admit to oneself that something is
true. it was no use deceiving herself any longer—she loved him
with all her heart.
• be sexually unfaithful to (one's regular partner): he had
deceived her with another woman.
DERIVATIVES
deceivable adjective,
deceiver noun
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French deceivre, from
Latin decipere ‘catch, ensnare, cheat’.
deceive
verb
1 she had been deceived by a clever confidence trickster: swindle,
defraud, cheat, trick, hoodwink, hoax, dupe, take in,
mislead, delude, fool, outwit, misguide, lead on, inveigle,
seduce, ensnare, entrap, beguile, double-cross, gull;
informal con, bamboozle, do, sting, gyp, diddle, fiddle,
swizzle, rip off, shaft, bilk, rook, pull a fast one on, pullsomeone's leg, take for a ride, pull the wool over someone's
eyes, throw dust in someone's eyes, put one over on, sell a
pup to, take to the cleaners; N. Amer. informal sucker,
snooker, stiff, euchre, bunco, hornswoggle; Austral. informal
pull a swifty on; archaic cozen, sharp; rare mulct.
2 he had deceived her with another woman: be unfaithful to, be
disloyal to, be untrue to, be inconstant to, cheat on, cheat,
betray, break one's promise to, play someone false, fail, let
down; informal two-time.
miserliness |ˈmʌɪzəlɪnɪs|
noun [ mass noun ]
excessive desire to save money; extreme meanness: the party
earned a damaging reputation for miserliness by cutting pensions.
• the quality of being small or inadequate; meagreness: the
relative miserliness of the prizes involved.
miserliness
noun
miserliness and greed are quickly followed by fear of losing the
money: avarice, acquisitiveness, parsimony,parsimoniousness, penny-pinching, cheese-paring, thrift;
meanness, niggardliness, close-fistedness, closeness,
penuriousness, illiberality, greed; asceticism, puritanism,
masochism; informal stinginess, minginess, tightness, tight-
fistedness; N. Amer. cheapness; archaic nearness.
ANTONYMS generosity.
tribulation |ˌtrɪbjʊˈleɪʃ(ə)n|
noun (usu. tribulations)
a cause of great trouble or suffering: the tribulations of being a
megastar.
• [ mass noun ] a state of great trouble or suffering: his time
of tribulation was just beginning.
ORIGIN Middle English: via Old French from ecclesiastical
Latin tribulatio(n-), from Latin tribulare ‘press, oppress’,
from tribulum ‘threshing board (constructed of sharp
points)’, based on terere ‘rub’.
tribulation
noundespite his tribulations he maintained a zest for life: trouble,
worry, anxiety, burden, cross to bear, affliction, ordeal, trial,
adversity, hardship, tragedy, trauma, reverse, setback, blow,
difficulty, problem, issue, misfortune, bad luck, stroke of
bad luck, ill fortune, mishap, misadventure; suffering,
distress, misery, wretchedness, unhappiness, sadness,
heartache, woe, grief, pain, anguish, agony; informal hassle;
archaic travails.
palpitation |palpɪˈteɪʃ(ə)n|
noun (usu. palpitations)
a noticeably rapid, strong, or irregular heartbeat due to
agitation, exertion, or illness. the stimulants gave me
palpitations.
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin palpitatio(n-),
from the verb palpitare (see palpitate) .
suffering |ˈsʌf(ə)rɪŋ|
noun [ mass noun ]the state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship: weapons
that cause unnecessary suffering | [ count noun ] : his disregard
for the sufferings of his fellow countrymen.
suffer |ˈsʌfə|
verb [ with obj. ]
1 experience or be subjected to (something bad or
unpleasant): he suffered intense pain | [ no obj. ] : he'd suffered
a great deal since his arrest.
• [ no obj. ] (suffer from) be affected by or subject to (an
illness or ailment): his daughter suffered from agoraphobia.
• [ no obj. ] become or appear worse in quality: his
relationship with Anne did suffer.
• [ no obj. ] archaic undergo martyrdom or execution.
2 archaic tolerate: France will no longer suffer the existing
government.
• [ with obj. and infinitive ] allow (someone) to do
something: my conscience would not suffer me to accept any
more.
PHRASES
not suffer fools gladly be impatient or intolerant towards
people one regards as foolish or unintelligent. he was aperfectionist who didn't suffer fools gladly.[with biblical
allusion to 2 Cor. 11–19.]
DERIVATIVES
sufferable adjective,
sufferer noun arthritis sufferers a deterioration in the sufferer's
condition
ORIGIN Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French
suffrir, from Latin sufferre, from sub- ‘from below’ + ferre ‘to
bear’.
suffering
noun
the war caused widespread civilian suffering: hardship, distress,
misery, wretchedness, adversity, tribulation; pain, agony,
anguish, trauma, torment, torture, hurt, hurting, affliction,
sadness, unhappiness, sorrow, grief, woe, angst, heartache,
heartbreak, stress; informal hell, hell on earth; literary
dolour.
suffer
verb1 I loved him too much to want to see him suffer: hurt, ache, be
in pain, feel pain, be racked with pain, endure agony,
agonize, be distressed, be in distress, experience hardship,
be upset, be miserable, be wretched.
2 he suffered from asthma for many years: be afflicted by, be
affected by, be troubled with, have, have trouble with.
3 England suffered a humiliating defeat: undergo, experience,
be subjected to, receive, encounter, meet with, endure, face,
live through, go through, sustain, bear.
4 the school's reputation has suffered: be impaired, be
damaged, deteriorate, fall off, decline, get worse.
5 he was obliged to suffer intimate proximity with the man he
detested: tolerate, put up with, bear, brook, stand, abide,
endure, support, accept, weather; informal stick, stomach;
Brit. informal wear, hack.
6 my conscience would not suffer me to accept any more: allow,
permit, let, give leave to, give assent to, sanction, give one's
blessing to; informal give the green light to, give the go
ahead to, give the thumbs up to, give someone/something
the nod, OK.weakness |ˈwiːknɪs|
noun
1 [ mass noun ] the state or condition of being weak: the
country's weakness in international dealings.
2 a disadvantage or fault: you must recognize your product's
strengths and weaknesses.
3 a person or thing that one is unable to resist or likes
excessively: you're his one weakness—he should never have met
you.
• (weakness for) a self-indulgent liking for: his weakness for
prawn cocktails.
weakness
noun
1 his illness resulted in weakness for the rest of his life: frailty,
feebleness, enfeeblement, puniness, fragility, delicateness,
delicacy, weakliness; infirmity, sickness, sickliness,
shakiness, debility, incapacity, indisposition, decrepitude,
enervation, fatigue, exhaustion, tiredness; informal
weediness. ANTONYMS strength, vigour.2 he has worked on his weaknesses and his form has improved:
fault, flaw, defect, deficiency, weak point/spot, failing,
foible, shortcoming, imperfection, blemish, Achilles heel,
chink in one's armour. ANTONYMS strength, forte.
3 he had a weakness for champagne: fondness, liking, love,
passion, partiality, preference, penchant, soft spot, bent,
predisposition, predilection, leaning, inclination, proneness,
proclivity, disposition, taste, eye; relish, zeal, enthusiasm,
appetite. ANTONYMS dislike.
4 the President's public changes of mind led to accusations of
indecision and weakness: spinelessness, timidity, cravenness,
cowardliness, pusillanimity, timorousness, indecisiveness,
indecision, irresolution, ineffectuality, uselessness,
ineptness, ineptitude, effeteness, meekness, tameness,
powerlessness, ineffectiveness, impotence, faint-
heartedness; informal chicken-heartedness. ANTONYMS
strength, resolve.
5 the symptoms include weakness of the eyes: inadequacy,
defectiveness, faultiness, deficiency, imperfection.
ANTONYMS strength, power.6 the weakness of this argument was soon shown up:
unconvincingness, untenability, tenuousness, implausibility,
unsatisfactoriness, slightness, poverty, inadequacy, thinness,
transparency; unsoundness, flimsiness, lameness,
hollowness. ANTONYMS strength.
7 the weakness of the sound | the weakness of the street lamps:
indistinctness, muffledness, mutedness, faintness, lowness,
low intensity; dimness, paleness, wanness, dullness,
feebleness. ANTONYMS strength.
WORD LINKS
asthenophobia fear of weakness
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.
stimulate |ˈstɪmjʊleɪt|
verb [ with obj. ]
raise levels of physiological or nervous activity in (the body
or any biological system): the women are given fertility drugs
to stimulate their ovaries.• encourage or arouse interest or enthusiasm in: the reader
could not fail to be stimulated by the ideas presented.
• encourage development of or increased activity in (a state
or process): the courses stimulate a passion for learning.
DERIVATIVES
stimulation |-ˈleɪʃ(ə)n| noun,
stimulative |-lətɪv| adjective,
stimulator noun,
stimulatory adjective
ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘sting, afflict’): from
Latin stimulat- ‘urged, goaded’, from the verb stimulare .
rampart |ˈrampɑːt|
noun (usu. ramparts)
a defensive wall of a castle or walled city, having a broad
top with a walkway and typically a stone parapet. a castle
with ramparts and a moat.
• a defensive or protective barrier: the open Pacific broke on
the far-off ramparts of the reef.
verb [ with obj. ]fortify or surround with or as if with a rampart: the town's
streets were ramparted with tall mounds of rubble.
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from French rempart, from remparer
‘fortify, take possession of again’, based on Latin ante
‘before’ + parare ‘prepare’.
staircase |ˈstɛːkeɪs|
noun
a set of stairs and its surrounding walls or structure. he
descended the broad staircase. a mirrored staircase.
• Brit.a set of stairs and the rooms leading off it in a large
building, especially a school or college.
parapet |ˈparəpɪt|
noun
a low protective wall along the edge of a roof, bridge, or
balcony. she stood on the bridge, leaning over the parapet to
watch the water race by.
• a protective wall or earth defence along the top of a trench
or other place of concealment for troops. the sandbags that
made up the parapet had been blown away and the wall of thetrench had caved in. figurative : Mr Scargill raised his head above
the parapet to call for the repeal of ‘anti-union’ legislation.
DERIVATIVES
parapeted adjective
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from French, or from Italian
parapetto ‘chest-high wall’, from para- ‘protecting’ + petto
‘chest’ (from Latin pectus).
parapet
noun
1 Marian leaned over the parapet of the bridge: balustrade,
barrier, wall, railing, fence.
2 the sandbags that made up the parapet had been blown away:
barricade, rampart, bulwark, bank, embankment,
fortification, defence, breastwork, earthwork, bastion;
battlement, castellation; rare bartizan.
scaffold |ˈskafəʊld, -f(ə)ld|
noun
1 a raised wooden platform used formerly for the public
execution of criminals.2 a structure made using scaffolding. [ as modifier ] : scaffold
boards.
verb [ with obj. ]
attach scaffolding to (a building): (as adj.scaffolded) : the
soot-black scaffolded structure.
DERIVATIVES
scaffolder noun they're having some restoration done and the
scaffolders were there from early morning
ORIGIN Middle English (denoting a temporary platform
from which to repair or erect a building): from Anglo-
Norman French, from Old French ( e)schaffaut, from the
base of catafalque.
lunatic |ˈluːnətɪk|
noun
a person who is mentally ill (not in technical use).
• an extremely foolish or eccentric person: this lunatic just
accelerated out from the side of the road.
adjective
mentally ill (not in technical use). a ward of lunatic old ladies.• extremely foolish or eccentric: he would be asked to acquiesce
in some lunatic scheme.
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French lunatique, from
late Latin lunaticus, from Latin luna ‘moon’ (from the belief
that changes of the moon caused intermittent insanity).
lunacy |ˈluːnəsi|
noun (pl.lunacies) [ mass noun ]
the state of being a lunatic; insanity (not in technical use): it
has been suggested that originality demands a degree of lunacy.
• extreme folly or eccentricity: such an economic policy would
be sheer lunacy.
ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (originally referring to insanity of an
intermittent kind attributed to changes of the moon): from
lunatic + -acy.
lunacy
noun
1 the survivors descended into despair and lunacy: insanity,
madness, mental illness, derangement, dementia,
dementedness, insaneness, loss of reason, unsoundness ofmind, mental instability, mania, frenzy, psychosis; informal
craziness. ANTONYMS sanity.
2 such an economic policy would be sheer lunacy: folly,
foolishness, foolhardiness, stupidity, idiocy, imbecility,
irrationality, illogicality, senselessness, nonsense, absurdity,
absurdness, madness, insanity; silliness, inanity,
ridiculousness, ludicrousness; informal craziness; Brit.
informal daftness. ANTONYMS sense, prudence.
stupidity |stʃʊˈpɪdɪti, stʃuːˈpɪdɪti, stjʊˈpɪdɪti, stjuːˈpɪdɪti|
noun [ mass noun ]
behaviour that shows a lack of good sense or judgement: I
can't believe my own stupidity | [ count noun ] : one of the
stupidities of our age.
• the quality of being stupid or unintelligent: a comedy of
infantile stupidity.
stupidity
noun
1 he cursed the older man's stupidity: lack of intelligence,
unintelligence, foolishness, denseness, brainlessness,ignorance, mindlessness, dull-wittedness, dull-headedness,
dullness, slow-wittedness, doltishness, slowness, vacancy;
gullibility, naivety; informal thickness, dimness, dumbness,
dopiness, doziness, craziness. ANTONYMS genius.
2 she blushed at the stupidity of the question: foolishness, folly,
silliness, idiocy, brainlessness, senselessness, irresponsibility,
injudiciousness, ineptitude, inaneness, inanity, irrationality,
absurdity, ludicrousness, ridiculousness, fatuousness,
fatuity, asininity, pointlessness, meaninglessness, futility,
fruitlessness, madness, insanity, lunacy; informal craziness;
Brit. informal daftness. ANTONYMS sagacity.
sensibility |ˌsɛnsɪˈbɪlɪti|
noun (pl.sensibilities) [ mass noun ]
1 the quality of being able to appreciate and respond to
complex emotional or aesthetic influences; sensitivity: the
study of literature leads to a growth of intelligence and sensibility.
• (sensibilities) a quality of delicate sensitivity that makes
one liable to be offended or shocked: the scale of the poverty
revealed by the survey shocked people's sensibilities.
2 Zoology, dated sensitivity to sensory stimuli.ORIGIN late Middle English (denoting the power of
sensation): from late Latin sensibilitas, from sensibilis ‘that
can be perceived by the senses’ (see sensible) .
sensibility
noun
1 the study of literature leads to a growth of intelligence and
sensibility: sensitivity, sensitiveness, finer feelings, delicacy,
subtlety, taste, discrimination, discernment; understanding,
insight, empathy, appreciation, awareness of the feelings of
others; feeling, intuition, intuitiveness, responsiveness,
receptivity, receptiveness, perceptiveness, awareness.
2 (sensibilities) the wording was changed because it might
offend people's sensibilities: feelings, emotions, finer feelings,
delicate sensitivity, sensitivities, susceptibilities, moral
sense, sense of outrage.
insanity |ɪnˈsanəti|
noun [ mass noun ]
the state of being seriously mentally ill; madness: he suffered
from bouts of insanity.• extreme foolishness or irrationality: it might be pure
insanity to take this loan | [ count noun ] : the insanities of our
time.
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from Latin insanitas, from insanus
(see insane) .
insanity
noun
1 insanity runs in her family: mental illness, mental disorder,
mental derangement, madness, insaneness, dementia,
dementedness, lunacy, instability, unsoundness of mind,
loss of reason; delirium, hysteria, mania, psychosis; informal
craziness; archaic crazedness; rare deliration. ANTONYMS
sanity.
2 it would be pure insanity to take this loan: folly, foolishness,
foolhardiness, idiocy, stupidity, imbecility, asininity, lunacy,
madness, silliness, senselessness, brainlessness,
thoughtlessness, irrationality, illogicality, absurdity,ludicrousness, ridiculousness; informal craziness; Brit.
informal daftness. ANTONYMS sense.
WORD LINKS
lyssophobia, maniphobia fear of insanity
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.
obtuse |əbˈtjuːs|
adjective
1 annoyingly insensitive or slow to understand: he wondered
if the doctor was being deliberately obtuse.
• difficult to understand, especially deliberately so: some of
the lyrics are a bit obtuse.
2 (of an angle) more than 90° and less than 180°. an obtuse
angle of 150°.
3 not sharp-pointed or sharp-edged; blunt. it had strange
obtuse teeth.
DERIVATIVES
obtusely adverb,
obtuseness noun,obtusity noun
ORIGIN late Middle English (in sense 3): from Latin
obtusus, past participle of obtundere ‘beat against’ (see
obtund) .
stupid
adjective
1 they're not as stupid as they look: unintelligent, ignorant,
dense, brainless, mindless, foolish, dull-witted, dull, slow-
witted, witless, slow, dunce-like, simple-minded, empty-
headed, vacuous, vapid, half-witted, idiotic, moronic,
imbecilic, imbecile, obtuse, doltish; gullible, naive; informal
thick, thick as two short planks, dim, dumb, dopey, dozy,
crazy, barmy, cretinous, birdbrained, pea-brained, pig-
ignorant, bovine, slow on the uptake, soft in the head, brain-
dead, boneheaded, lamebrained, thickheaded,
chuckleheaded, dunderheaded, wooden, wooden-headed,
fat-headed, muttonheaded; Brit. informal daft, not the full
shilling; N. Amer. vulgar slang dumb-ass. ANTONYMS
intelligent, clever, astute.
2 I promised never to make the same stupid mistake again:
foolish, silly, unintelligent, idiotic, brainless, mindless,scatterbrained, crackbrained, nonsensical, senseless,
irresponsible, unthinking, ill-advised, ill-considered, inept,
witless, damfool, unwise, injudicious, indiscreet, short-
sighted; inane, absurd, ludicrous, ridiculous, laughable,
risible, fatuous, asinine, pointless, meaningless, futile,
fruitless, mad, insane, lunatic; informal crazy, dopey,
cracked, half-baked, cock-eyed, hare-brained, nutty, potty,
dotty, batty, barmy, gormless, cuckoo, loony, loopy, zany,
screwy, off one's head, off one's trolley, out to lunch; Brit.
informal daft; Scottish & N. English informal glaikit; N.
Amer. vulgar slang half-assed. ANTONYMS sensible,
prudent.
3 all he'd do was sit and drink himself stupid: into a stupor, into
a daze, into a state of unconsciousness, into oblivion;
stupefied, dazed, groggy, sluggish, semi-conscious,
unconscious. ANTONYMS alert.
sharp-witted
adjective(of a person) quick to notice and understand things. she's a
sharp-witted interviewer with a knack for extracting embarrassing
quotes.
DERIVATIVES
sharp-wittedly adverb,
sharp-wittedness noun
transparent |tranˈspar(ə)nt, trɑːn-, -ˈspɛː-|
adjective
1 (of a material or article) allowing light to pass through so
that objects behind can be distinctly seen: transparent blue
water | fine transparent fabrics.
2 easy to perceive or detect: the residents will see through any
transparent attempt to buy their votes | the meaning of the poem
is by no means transparent.
• having thoughts or feelings that are easily perceived;
open: you'd be no good at poker—you're too transparent.
• (of an organization or its activities) open to public
scrutiny: if you had transparent government procurement,
corruption would go away.3 Computing (of a process or interface) functioning without
the user being aware of its presence.
4 Physics transmitting heat or other radiation without
distortion. CFCs and water vapour are virtually transparent to
incoming short-wave solar radiation.
DERIVATIVES
transparently adverb [ as submodifier ] : a transparently
feeble argument
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French, from
medieval Latin transparent- ‘shining through’, from Latin
transparere, from trans- ‘through’ + parere ‘appear’.
transparent
adjective
1 a transparent plastic film: see-through, clear, translucent,
pellucid, crystal clear, crystalline, limpid, glassy, glass-like,
liquid; unclouded, uncloudy; rare transpicuous.
ANTONYMS opaque, cloudy.
2 a transparent dress: filmy, gauzy, fine, sheer, light,
lightweight, thin, flimsy, see-through, diaphanous, chiffony,
gossamer, delicate. ANTONYMS thick, coarse.3 the symbolism of this myth is transparent: obvious, explicit,
unambiguous, unequivocal, clear, lucid, straightforward,
plain, (as) plain as the nose on your face, apparent,
unmistakable, manifest, conspicuous, patent, indisputable,
self-evident; rare transpicuous. ANTONYMS obscure,
ambiguous.
4 transparent lies: blatant, flagrant, obvious, patent, manifest,
undisguised, unconcealed, barefaced, glaring, shameless,
brazen, bold, unmistakable, clear, plain, visible, noticeable,
recognizable, distinct, evident, apparent, perceptible,
discernible, palpable; archaic arrant.
5 parliament should render government transparent: frank,
open, candid, honest, direct, forthright, unreserved, plain-
spoken, straight, straightforward, ingenuous, innocent,
guileless, simple, artless; accountable; informal upfront.
ANTONYMS cunning, secretive.
WORD TOOLKIT
transparent
See diaphanous.
Word Toolkits illustrate the difference between close
synonyms by means of words typically used with them.timid
adjective
I was too timid to ask for what I wanted: easily frightened,
lacking courage, fearful, apprehensive, afraid, frightened,
scared, faint-hearted; trembling, quaking, cowering, weak-
kneed; shy, diffident, bashful, self-effacing, shrinking,
unassuming, unassertive, reserved, retiring, reticent, quiet,
timorous, nervous, modest, demure, coy, meek, humble;
cowardly, pusillanimous, lily-livered, pigeon-hearted,
spineless, craven; informal wimpish, sissy, yellow, yellow-
bellied, chicken, gutless; archaic poor-spirited, recreant.
ANTONYMS bold, forthcoming, brazen.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD
timid, shy, bashful, diffident
See shy 1 .
These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between
closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.
blunt
adjective1 a blunt knife: not sharp, unsharpened, dull, dulled, worn
(down), edgeless. ANTONYMS sharp.
2 the scale is broad with a blunt tip: rounded, flat, thick, obtuse,
stubby, stubbed, unpointed. ANTONYMS pointed.
3 he had a blunt message for the audience: straightforward,
frank, plain-spoken, candid, direct, bluff, to the point,
forthright, unequivocal, point-blank, unceremonious,
undiplomatic, indelicate; brusque, abrupt, curt, short, sharp,
terse, crisp, gruff, bald, brutal, harsh, caustic; stark, bare,
simple, unadorned, unembellished, undisguised,
unvarnished, unqualified, pulling no punches, hard-hitting,
outspoken, speaking one's mind, not mincing one's words,
not beating about the bush, calling a spade a spade;
informal upfront, straight from the shoulder. ANTONYMS
subtle, tactful.
verb