Set 16

splendid |ˈsplɛndɪd|
adjective
magnificent; very impressive: a splendid view of Windsor Castle |
his robes were splendid.
• informal excellent; very good: a splendid fellow | [ as
exclamation ] : ‘Is your family well? Splendid!’.
DERIVATIVES
splendidly adverb [ as submodifier ] : a splendidly ornate style,
splendidness noun
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from French splendide or Latin
splendidus, from splendere ‘shine, be bright’.
splendid
adjective
1 a splendid palazzo on the Grand Canal | their splendid costumes:
magnificent, sumptuous, grand, impressive, imposing, superb,
spectacular, resplendent, opulent, luxurious, palatial, deluxe,
rich, fine, costly, expensive, lavish, ornate, gorgeous, glorious,
dazzling, elegant, handsome, beautiful; stately, majestic, kingly,
princely, regal, noble, proud;
ANTONYMS modest, unimpressive,ordinary.
2 an MP with a splendid reputation: distinguished, glorious,
glittering, illustrious, remarkable, outstanding, exceptional,
celebrated, renowned, famous, impressive, notable, noted,
eminent, noble, lofty, venerable, exemplary. ANTONYMS
undistinguished.
3 informal we had a splendid holiday: excellent, wonderful,
marvellous, magnificent, superb, glorious, sublime, lovely,
delightful, first-class, first-rate; informal super, great, smashing,
amazing, fantastic, terrific, tremendous, phenomenal,
sensational, incredible, heavenly, stellar, gorgeous, dreamy,
grand, fabulous, fab, fabby, fantabulous,
supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, awesome, magic, ace, cool,
mean, bad, wicked, mega, crucial, mind-blowing, far out, A1,
sound, out of this world, marvy, spanking;
ANTONYMS dreadful, awful, horrible.
excellent |ˈɛks(əә)l(əә)nt|
adjective
extremely good; outstanding: the lorry was in excellent condition |
their results are excellent.
exclamation
used to indicate approval or pleasure: ‘What a lovely idea!
Excellent!’.
DERIVATIVES
excellently adverb
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the general sense
‘outstanding’ in either a good or bad way): from Old French,
from Latin excellent- ‘being pre-eminent’, from excellere
(see excel). The current appreciatory sense dates from the
early 17th cent.

excellent
adjective
the wine was good and the meal excellent: very good, superb,
outstanding, magnificent, of high quality, of the highest quality,
of the highest standard, exceptional, marvellous, wonderful,
sublime, perfect, eminent, pre-eminent, matchless, peerless,
supreme, first-rate, first-class, superior, superlative, splendid,
admirable, worthy, sterling, fine; informal super, A1, ace, great,
terrific, tremendous, fantastic, fab,top-notch, tip-top, class,
awesome, magic, wicked, cool, out of this world, too good to
be true, mind-blowing; Brit. informal brilliant, brill, smashing,
champion, bosting; Austral. informal beaut, bonzer;
ANTONYMS poor, inferior.
just |dʒʌst|
adjective
based on or behaving according to what is morally right and
fair: a just and democratic society | fighting for a just cause.
• (of treatment) deserved or appropriate in the circumstances:
we all get our just deserts.
• (of an opinion or appraisal) well founded; justifiable: these
simplistic approaches have been the subject of just criticism.
adverb
1 exactly: that's just what I need | you're a human being, just like
everyone else.
• exactly or almost exactly at this or that moment: she's just
coming | we were just finishing breakfast.
2 very recently; in the immediate past: I've just seen the local paper.
3 barely; by a little: inflation fell to just over 4 per cent | I only just
caught the train.
4 simply; only; no more than: just a bad day in the office | they were
just interested in making money.
• really; absolutely (used for emphasis): they're just great.
• used as a polite formula for giving permission or making a
request: just help yourselves.
• [ with modal ] possibly (used to indicate a slight chance of
something happening or being true): it might just help.

PHRASES
just as well a good or fortunate thing: it was just as well I didn't
know at the time.

just a minute (or moment, or second, etc.)used to ask
someone to wait or pause for a short time. just a minute—my
friend's left something behind.
 • used to interrupt someone,especially in protest or disagreement.
‘They know what to do.’
‘Now just a moment!’ the American interrupted.
just now 
1 at this moment: it's pretty hectic just now.
2 a little time ago: she was talking to me just now.

DERIVATIVES
justness noun
ORIGIN late Middle English: via Old French from Latin
justus, from jus ‘law, right’.

just
adjective
1 a just and democratic society | Max was a just man: fair, fair-
minded, equitable, even-handed, impartial, unbiased,
objective, neutral, disinterested, unprejudiced, open-minded,
non-partisan, non-discriminatory; honourable, upright,
upstanding, decent, honest, righteous, ethical, moral, virtuous,
principled, full of integrity, good, right-minded, straight,
reasonable, scrupulous, trustworthy, incorruptible, truthful,
sincere;. ANTONYMS unjust, unfair.
2 a just reward | his just deserts: deserved, well deserved, well
earned, merited, earned; rightful, due, proper, fitting,
appropriate, apt, suitable, befitting; ANTONYMS undeserved.
3 just criticism: valid, sound, well founded, well grounded,
justified, justifiable, warranted, warrantable, defensible,
defendable, legitimate, reasonable, logical;
ANTONYMS unfair, wrongful.
adverb
1 I just saw him: a moment ago, a second ago, a short time ago,
very recently, not long ago, lately, only now.
2 that's just what I need | she's just right for him: exactly, precisely,
absolutely, completely, totally, entirely, perfectly, utterly, wholly,
thoroughly, altogether, in every way, in every respect, in all
respects, quite;
3 we just made it: by a narrow margin, narrowly, only just, by
inches, by a hair's breadth, by the narrowest of margins; barely,
scarcely, hardly;
4 she's just a child | it's just you and me now: only, merely, simply,
but, nothing but, no more than; at best, at most; alone, to the
exclusion of everyone/everything else, and no one else, and
nothing else;
5 the colour's just fantastic: really, absolutely, completely, entirely,
totally, altogether, positively, quite, one hundred per cent;
indeed, truly.

minute 1 |ˈmɪnɪt|
noun
1 a period of time equal to sixty seconds or a sixtieth of an
hour: we waited for twenty minutes | I'll be there in ten minutes' time.
• the distance covered in a minute by someone driving or
walking: the hotel is situated just ten minutes from the centre of the resort.
• informal a very short time: come and sit down for a minute.
• a point in time: she was laughing one minute and crying the next.

PHRASES
any minute (or at any minute)very soon. a fight seemed likely
to break out at any minute.
at the minute Brit. informal at the present time. I've got things
on my mind at the minute.
by the minute very rapidly: matters grew worse by the minute.
just (or wait) a minute 
1 used as a request to delay an action
or decision for a short time: wait a minute—I have to put my make-
up on.
2 used as a prelude to a query or objection. wait a minute
—that just isn't true.
the minute (or the minute that)as soon as. let me know the
minute he returns.
not for a minute not at all: he didn't fool me for a minute.

ORIGIN late Middle English: via Old French from late Latin
minuta, feminine (used as a noun) of minutus ‘made
small’. The senses ‘period of sixty seconds’ and ‘sixtieth of a
degree’ derive from medieval Latin pars minuta prima ‘first
minute part’.


Terrible |ˈtɛrɪb(əә)l|
adjective
1 extremely bad or serious: a terrible crime | the terrible conditions in
which the ordinary people lived.
• extremely unpleasant or disagreeable: the weather was terrible.
very unskillful: despite passing my driving test first time, I'm a terrible
driver | I was terrible at basketball.
• [ attrib. ] informal used to emphasise the extent of something
unpleasant or bad: what a terrible mess.
• very unwell or troubled: I was sick all night and felt terrible for two
days.
2 causing or likely to cause terror; sinister: the stranger gave a
terrible smile.
PHRASES
DERIVATIVES
terribleness noun
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘causing terror’): via
French from Latin terribilis, from terrere ‘frighten’.
Terrible
adjective
1 a terrible crime | he suffered terrible head injuries: dreadful, awful,
appalling, horrific, horrifying, horrible, horrendous, atrocious,
abominable, abhorrent, frightful, fearful, shocking, hideous,
ghastly, grim, dire, hateful, unspeakable, gruesome, monstrous,
sickening, heinous, vile; serious, grave, acute, desperate,
grievous, distressing, lamentable;  ANTONYMS
minor, negligible, insignificant.
2 there was a terrible smell in the room: nasty, disgusting, very
unpleasant, awful, dreadful, ghastly, horrid, horrible, vile, foul,
abominable, frightful, loathsome, revolting, repulsive, odious,
sickening, nauseating, nauseous, repellent, repugnant,
horrendous, hideous, appalling, offensive, objectionable,
obnoxious; noxious, evil-smelling, foul-smelling, smelly,
stinking, rank, rancid, fetid, malodorous, acrid; informal
gruesome, putrid, diabolical, yucky, sick-making, God-awful,
gross, from hell, icky, stinky; Brit. informal beastly, grotty,
whiffy, pongy, niffy;
ANTONYMS nice, delightful, lovely, pleasant.
3 Blake was in terrible pain: severe, extreme, intense, excruciating,
agonizing, unbearable, intolerable, unendurable, insufferable.
ANTONYMS slight.
4 that's a terrible thing to say about anyone: unkind, nasty,
unpleasant, foul, obnoxious, vile, contemptible, despicable,
wretched, shabby; spiteful, mean, malicious, poisonous, mean-
spirited, cruel, hateful, hurtful; unfair, uncharitable, uncalled
for, below the belt, unacceptable, unwarranted; informal dirty,
filthy, dirty rotten, low-down, beastly, off;  ANTONYMS kind, nice.
5 I'm terrible at maths | Tom was a terrible father: very bad, dreadful,
awful, frightful, atrocious, hopeless, poor, inadequate, inferior,
unsatisfactory, laughable, substandard;   ANTONYMS brilliant.
6 informal you're a terrible flirt | the place was in a terrible mess:
incorrigible, outrageous, great, extreme; real, awful, dreadful,
frightful, shocking; informal impossible, fearful;
7 I feel terrible—I've been in bed all day: ill, unwell, poorly, bad,
indisposed, sick, queasy, nauseous, nauseated, peaky, liverish,
out of sorts, green about the gills; faint, dizzy, giddy, light-
headed;  ANTONYMS well.
8 he still feels terrible about what he did to John: guilty, conscience-
stricken, remorseful, guilt-ridden, ashamed, chastened,
contrite, sorry, full of regret, regretful, repentant, penitent,
shamefaced, self-reproachful, apologetic. ANTONYMS
untroubled, easy in one's mind.

proud |praʊd|
adjective
1 feeling deep pleasure or satisfaction as a result of one's own
achievements, qualities, or possessions or those of someone
with whom one is closely associated: a proud grandma of three boys
| she got nine passes and he was so proud of her.
• (of an event, achievement, etc.) causing someone to feel
proud: we have a proud history of innovation.
2 having or showing a high or excessively high opinion of
oneself or one's importance: he was a proud, arrogant man.
• conscious of one's own dignity: I was too proud to go home.
• imposing; splendid: bulrushes emerge tall and proud from the middle
of the pond.
PHRASES
do someone proud informal act in a way that gives someone
cause to feel pleased or satisfied: they did themselves proud in a game
which sent the fans home happy.
 • treat someone very well, typically by lavishly feeding
 or entertaining them.
DERIVATIVES
proudly adverb,
proudness noun
ORIGIN late Old English prūt, prūd‘having a high opinion of
one's own worth’, from Old French prud ‘valiant’, based on
Latin prodesse ‘be of value’. The phrase proud flesh dates back
to late Middle English, but the sense ‘slightly projecting’ is first
recorded in English dialect of the 19th cent.
proud
adjective
1 Moira was a delight to her proud parents | we are very proud of our
herb garden: pleased (with), glad (about/at), happy (about/at/
with), delighted (about/at/with), joyful (at), overjoyed (at/over),
thrilled (at/about/by/with), well pleased (with), satisfied (with),
gratified (at), content (at), appreciative (of). ANTONYMS
ashamed.
2 it's a proud day for all of our workers: pleasing, gratifying,
satisfying, fulfilling, rewarding, cheering, heart-warming;
happy, good, memorable, notable, red-letter, glorious, splendid,
wonderful, marvellous. ANTONYMS shameful.
3 they were poor but proud: self-respecting, dignified, noble, worthy;
independent. ANTONYMS humble.
4 he is too proud to admit to being in the wrong: arrogant, conceited,
vain, self-important, full of oneself, narcissistic, egotistical,
puffed up, jumped-up, boastful, smug, complacent, disdainful,
condescending, pretentious, scornful, supercilious, snobbish,
imperious, pompous, overbearing, bumptious, lordly,
presumptuous, overweening, haughty, high and mighty, high-
handed; informal cocky, big-headed, swollen-headed, too big
for one's boots, stuck-up, uppity, snooty, toffee-nosed,
highfalutin; ANTONYMS modest, humble.
5 she took a final look down the proud granite staircase: magnificent,
splendid, resplendent, grand, noble, stately, imposing, dignified,
distinguished, august, illustrious, striking, impressive, majestic,
glorious, sumptuous, marvellous, awe-inspiring, awesome,
monumental, palatial, statuesque, heroic; superb, regal, royal,
kingly, queenly, princely, imperial. ANTONYMS unimpressive.

upset
verb |ʌpˈsɛt| (upsets, upsetting; past and past
participleupset) [ with obj. ]
1 make (someone) unhappy, disappointed, or worried: the
accusation upset her | (as adj.upsetting) : a painful and upsetting
divorce.
2 knock (something) over: he upset a tureen of soup.
3 cause disorder in; disrupt: the dam will upset the ecological balance.
• disturb the digestion of (a person's stomach). the motion of the
boat would upset his stomach.

noun |ˈʌpsɛt|
1 an unexpected result or situation: the greatest upset in boxing
history.
2 [ mass noun ] the state of being unhappy, disappointed, or
worried: a legal dispute will cause worry and upset.
3 a disturbance of a person's digestive system: a stomach upset.
adjective
1 |ʌpˈsɛt| unhappy, disappointed, or worried: she looked pale and
upset.
2 |ˈʌpsɛt| (of a person's stomach) having disturbed digestion,
especially because of something eaten.
DERIVATIVES
upsetter |-ˈsɛtəә| noun,
upsettingly |-ˈsɛtɪŋli| adverb
upset
verb |(stress on the second syllable)|
1 the accusation upset her: distress, trouble, perturb, disturb,
discompose, unsettle, disconcert, discountenance, dismay,
disquiet, worry, bother, inconvenience, agitate, fluster, throw,
ruffle, unnerve, shake, frighten, alarm, anger, annoy, irritate,
vex, irk, fret, pester, harass, torment, plague, hurt, grieve;
informal hassle. ANTONYMS put at ease.
3 the dam will upset the ecological balance: disrupt, interfere with,
disturb, throw out, turn topsy-turvy, disorder, unsettle, confuse,
throw into confusion, throw into chaos, throw into disorder,
disorganize, disarrange, mix up, jumble, mess up, wreck, ruin.
ANTONYMS maintain.
4 his side were upset 2-1 by Sheffield United: defeat, beat, conquer,
vanquish, rout, overthrow, overcome, triumph over, be
victorious over, get the better of, worst, thrash, trounce, topple;

noun
1 |(stress on the first syllable)|a legal dispute will cause worry and
upset: distress, trouble, perturbation, disturbance, discomposure,
dismay, disquiet, worry, bother, inconvenience, agitation,
fluster, alarm, fright, anger, annoyance, irritation, vexation,
harassment, torment, hurt, grief. ANTONYMS calm, ease.
2 they nearly pulled off one of motor sport's biggest upsets: unexpected
result; major defeat, rout, trouncing, thrashing, drubbing,
toppling; surprise victory, coup ANTONYMS walkover.
3 a stomach upset: disorder, complaint, ailment, illness, sickness,
disease, malady, affliction, indisposition, infirmity; 
adjective
1 I was upset by Sheila's illness: distressed, troubled, perturbed,
disturbed, discomposed, unsettled, disconcerted,
discountenanced, dismayed, disquieted, worried, bothered,
inconvenienced, anxious, agitated, flustered, ruffled, unnerved,
shaken, frightened, alarmed, angered, annoyed, irritated,
vexed, irked, fretted, hurt, saddened, grieved; informal cut up,
choked; ANTONYMS unperturbed,
calm about.
2 an upset stomach: disordered, disturbed, unsettled, queasy, bad,
poorly, ill, sick; ANTONYMS settled.

pleased |pliːzd|
adjective
feeling or showing pleasure and satisfaction, especially at an
event or a situation: both girls were pleased with their new
hairstyles | he seemed really pleased that she was there | a pleased
smile.
• [ with infinitive ] willing or glad to do something: we will be
pleased to provide an independent appraisal.
• (pleased with oneself) proud of one's achievements,
especially excessively so; self-satisfied. as he led the way, he looked
very pleased with himself.
PHRASES
pleased to meet you said on being introduced to someone:
‘This is my wife.’ ‘Pleased to meet you.’.
DERIVATIVES
pleasedly adverb

please |pliːz|
verb [ with obj. ]
1 cause to feel happy and satisfied: he arranged a fishing trip to
please his son | [ with obj. and infinitive ] : it pleased him to be
seen with someone in the news.
• [ no obj. ] give satisfaction: she was quiet and eager to please.
• satisfy aesthetically. he was wearing a buttonhole that did not quite
please the eye.
2 (please oneself) take only one's own wishes into
consideration in deciding how to act or proceed: this is the first
time in ages that I can just please myself.
• [ no obj. ] wish or desire to do something: feel free to wander
around as you please.

adverb
used in polite requests or questions: please address letters to the
Editor | what type of fish is this, please?
• used to add urgency and emotion to a request: please, please
come home
• used to agree politely to a request: ‘May I ring you at home?’
‘Please do.’.
• used in polite or emphatic acceptance of an offer: ‘Would you
like a drink?’ ‘Yes, please.’.
• used to ask someone to stop doing something of which the
speaker disapproves: Rita, please—people are looking.
• used to express incredulity or irritation: Oh please, is that meant
to be a serious argument? .

Thesaurus
pleased
adjective
Edward seemed really pleased to see me: happy, glad, delighted,
gratified, grateful, thankful, content, contented, satisfied, well
pleased, thrilled, elated, as pleased as Punch, overjoyed, cock-
a-hoop, like a dog with two tails, like a child with a new toy;
ANTONYMS unhappy, dissatisfied.
PHRASES
pleased with oneself I was rather pleased with myself, and was
really trying to keep that smug look off my face: self-satisfied, smug,
complacent, self-congratulatory, superior, puffed up, self-
approving, well pleased, proud of oneself;

please
verb
1 he'd do anything to please her: make happy, give pleasure to, make
someone pleased/glad/content, make someone feel good,
delight, charm, amuse, divert, entertain, be agreeable to,
gladden, cheer up; satisfy, gratify, humour, oblige, content, suit;
informal tickle pink. ANTONYMS displease, annoy.
2 guests are urged to do as they please: like, want, wish, desire, see/
think fit, choose, be inclined, will, prefer, opt.

complicate |ˈkɒmplɪkeɪt|
verb [ with obj. ]
make (something) more complicated: increased choice will
complicate matters for the consumer | (as adj.complicating) : a
complicating factor.
• Medicine introduce complications in (an existing condition):
smoking may complicate pregnancy | (as adj.complicating) : patients
with complicating biliary calculi.
ORIGIN early 17th cent. (in the sense ‘combine, entangle,
intertwine’): from Latin complicat- ‘folded together’, from
the verb complicare, from com- ‘together’ + plicare ‘to
fold’.
Thesaurus
complicate
verb
involvement with Adam could only complicate her life: make (more)
difficult, make complex, make complicated, mix up; confuse,
muddle, entangle, embroil; informal mess up, snarl up, screw
up; embarrass;  ANTONYMS simplify.

pull |pʊl|
verb [ with obj. ]
1 [ usu. with adverbial ] exert force on (someone or something)
so as to cause movement towards oneself: he pulled her down on to
the couch | [ with obj. and complement ] : I pulled the door shut
behind me | figurative : they are pulled in incompatible directions by
external factors and their own beliefs | [ no obj. ] : the little boy pulled
at her skirt.

• [ with obj. and adverbial ] remove or extract (something) by
grasping and exerting force on it: she pulled a handkerchief out of
her pocket | he pulled on his boots | I pulled up some onions.
• [ with adverbial of direction ] (pull oneself) move in a
specified direction with effort, especially by taking hold of
something and exerting force: he pulled himself into the saddle.
2 attract (someone) as a customer; cause to show interest in
something: anyone can enter the show if they have a good act and the
ability to pull a crowd | tourist attractions which pull in millions of
foreign visitors.
3 informal cancel or withdraw (an entertainment or
advertisement): the gig was pulled at the first sign of difficulty.

PHRASES

pull someone's leg deceive someone playfully; tease
someone. getting married—are you pulling my leg?


pull the plug informal prevent something from happening or
continuing: the company pulled the plug on the deal.

pull strings make use of one's influence and contacts to gain
an advantage unofficially or unfairly. he tried to pull strings with
people he knew to avoid being called up.
pull the strings be in control of events or of other people's
actions. it's uncomfortable to know that someone else is pulling the strings.

pull together cooperate in a task or undertaking. employees and
managers began to pull together as a team.
pull oneself together recover control of one's emotions.
you've got to pull yourself together and find a job.
pull someone/thing to pieces see piece.
pull one's weight do one's fair share of work. he must pull his
weight or leave.

PHRASAL VERBS
pull back (or pull someone/thing back)
1 retreat or cause
troops to retreat from an area: the pact called on the rival forces to
pull back and allow a neutral force to take control.
• (pull back)
withdraw from an undertaking: the party pulled back from its only
positive policy.
2 Sport improve or restore a team's position by
scoring a goal: he pulled back a goal three minutes before half time |
Rovers pulled back to 4–3 with a goal two minutes from time.
pull something down 1 demolish a building. the house was
pulled down and the site redeveloped. 2 informal earn a sum of
money: he was pulling down sixty grand a year.
pull in Brit.
1 (of a vehicle) move to the side of or off the
road: he pulled in at the kerb. 2 (of a bus or train) arrive to take
passengers. he was ready and waiting half an hour before the express
pulled in.
pull someone/thing in
1 succeed in securing or obtaining
something: the party pulled in 10 per cent of the vote. • informal earn
a sum of money: you could pull in £100,000.

pull something off informal succeed in achieving or winning
something difficult: he pulled off a brilliant first round win.
pull out 
1 withdraw from an undertaking: he was forced to pull
out of the championship because of an injury.
• retreat or cause to
retreat from an area: the army pulled out, leaving the city in ruins |
(pull someone out) : the CIA had pulled its operatives out of
Tripoli.
2 (of a bus or train) leave with its passengers. the train
pulled out of the station at 2.05.
3 (of a vehicle) move out from
the side of the road, or from its normal position in order to
overtake: as he turned the corner a police car pulled out in front of him.
pull over (of a vehicle) move to the side of or off the road. I
decided to pull over on to the hard shoulder.
pull someone over (of the police) cause a driver to pull off
the road: he was pulled over for speeding.

pull through (or pull someone/thing through)get through
an illness or other dangerous or difficult situation: the illness is
difficult to overcome, but we hope she'll pull through.
pull up 1 (of a vehicle) come to a halt: he pulled up outside the
cottage. 2 increase the altitude of an aircraft.

DERIVATIVES
puller noun
ORIGIN Old English pullian‘pluck, snatch’; origin uncertain;
the sense has developed from expressing a short sharp action to
one of sustained force.
pull
verb
1 he pulled a small plastic box towards him: tug, haul, drag, draw,
trail, tow, heave, lug, strain at, jerk, lever, prise, wrench, wrest,
twist; N. Amer. pry; informal yank. ANTONYMS push.
2 I'll let you pull the next bad tooth: pull out, draw out, take out,
extract, remove, root out.
3 he still feels pain in his back where he has pulled a muscle: strain,
sprain, turn, wrench, rick, stretch, tear; dislocate, put out of
joint, damage.

PHRASES
pull something apart it is wise to pull the gearbox apart only when
absolutely necessary: dismantle, disassemble, take/pull to pieces,
take/pull to bits, take apart, strip down; demolish, destroy,
break up. ANTONYMS build, assemble.
pull back the army was forced to pull back behind the canal:
withdraw, retreat, draw back, fall back, retire, disengage, pull
out, back off, give way/ground; flee, take flight, turn tail, beat a
(hasty) retreat. ANTONYMS advance.
pull something down several old buildings were pulled down:
demolish, knock down, take down, tear down, dismantle, raze,
raze to the ground, level, flatten, bulldoze, destroy, lay waste.
ANTONYMS build, erect.

tie |tʌɪ|
verb (ties, tying, tied)
1 [ with obj. and usu. with adverbial ] attach or fasten with
string or similar cord: Gabriel tied up his horse | they tied Max to a
chair | her long hair was tied back in a bow.
• fasten (something) by means of its strings or by forming the
ends into a knot or bow: Lewis tied on his apron.
• form (a string, ribbon, or lace) into a knot or bow. Renwick bent
to tie his shoelace.
2 [ with obj. ] restrict or limit (someone) to a particular
situation or place: she didn't want to be like her mother, tied to a
feckless man | she didn't want to be tied down by a full-time job.
[ with obj. ] connect; link: self-respect is closely tied up with the
esteem in which one is held by one's fellows.
3 (usu. ties) a thing that unites or links people: it is important that
we keep family ties strong.
• a thing that restricts someone's freedom of action: some cities
and merchants were freed from feudal ties.
4 a strip of material worn round the collar and tied in a knot at
the front with the ends hanging down, typically forming part of
a man's smart or formal outfit. his hand went up to his collar and
started to loosen his tie.
5 a result in a game or other competitive situation in which two
or more competitors or teams have the same score or ranking;
a draw: there was a tie for first place.
• Cricket a game in which the scores are level and both sides
have completed their innings, as distinct from a draw (a game
left incomplete through lack of time).

DERIVATIVES
tieless adjective
ORIGIN Old English tīgan (verb), tēah (noun), of Germanic
origin.
tie
verb
1 they tied Max to a chair: bind, tie up, tether, hitch, strap, truss,
fetter, rope, chain, make fast, moor, lash, attach, fasten, fix,
secure, join, connect, link, couple. ANTONYMS untie.
2 Renwick bent to tie his shoelace: do up; knot, make a knot in,
make a bow in, lace.
3 they tied for second place: draw, be equal, be even, be level, be
neck and neck.
PHRASES
tie someone down they didn't marry because she was afraid of
being tied down. See tie (sense 3 of the verb).
tie in you haven't seen how all this ties in with their long-term aims:
be consistent, tally, correlate, agree, be in agreement, accord,
concur, coincide, conform, fit in, harmonise, be in tune,
dovetail; correspond to, match, parallel, reflect, mirror;
tie someone/something up 
1 Gabriel tied up his pony: bind,
tie, tether, hitch, strap, truss, fetter, rope, chain, make fast,
moor, lash, attach, fasten, fix, secure; join, connect, link.
ANTONYMS untie.
2 do not tie your money up if you think you may
need it quickly: commit, make unavailable, invest long-term. 
3 he
is tied up in meetings all morning: occupy, engage, busy, keep busy,
book, reserve, commit. 
4 they were anxious to tie up the contract:
finalise, conclude, bring to a conclusion, wind up, wrap up,
complete, finish off, seal, set the seal on, settle, secure, clinch.

noun
1 a sleeveless jacket fastened at the back with ties: lace, string, cord,
ligature, wire, bond, fetter, link, fastening, fastener.
2 he was wearing a collar and tie: necktie; neckwear.
3 it is important that we keep family ties strong: bond, connection,
link, liaison, attachment, association, kinship, affiliation,
allegiance, friendship, cords, union, relationship, relatedness,
interdependence.
4 pets can be a tremendous tie: restriction, curb, limitation,
constraint, obligation, commitment, restraint, hindrance,
check, obstruction, encumbrance, impediment, handicap.
5 the race ended in a tie for first place: draw, dead heat, deadlock.


credible |ˈkrɛdɪb(əә)l|
adjective
able to be believed; convincing: few people found his story credible |
a credible witness.
• capable of persuading people that something will happen or
be successful: a credible threat.
DERIVATIVES
credibly adverb
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin credibilis, from
credere ‘believe’.
usage: Confusion often arises between the words credible and
creditable. Credible chiefly means ‘able to be believed;
convincing’ ( few people found his story credible), while creditable
means ‘deserving acknowledgement and praise but not
necessarily outstanding’ ( a very creditable 2–4 defeat).
credible
adjective
1 very few people found his story credible: believable, plausible, able
to hold water, within the bounds of possibility, reasonable,
sound, compelling, persuasive;
ANTONYMS unbelievable.

2 the existing lists did not form a credible basis for free and fair elections:
acceptable, trustworthy, reliable, dependable, sure, good, valid;
feasible, viable, tenable, sustainable, maintainable.
ANTONYMS untrustworthy.
charm |tʃɑːm|
noun
1 [ mass noun ] the power or quality of delighting, attracting,
or fascinating others: he was captivated by her youthful charm.
• [ count noun ] (usu. charms) an attractive or alluring
characteristic or feature: the hidden charms of the city.
2 a small ornament worn on a necklace or bracelet. the trinkets
were charms from his wife's bracelet.

verb [ with obj. ]
1 delight greatly: the books have charmed children the world over.
• use one's ability to please and attract in order to influence
(someone): he charmed her into going out.

charm
noun
1 people were captivated by her charm | she was resistant to his charms:
attractiveness, beauty, glamour, prettiness, loveliness; appeal,
allure, desirability, seductiveness, magnetism, sexual
magnetism.

verb
1 he charmed thousands with his singing: delight, please, win, win
over, appeal to, attract, captivate, allure, lure, draw, dazzle,
fascinate, bewitch, beguile, enchant, enthral, enrapture,
enamour, seduce, ravish, hypnotize, mesmerize, spellbind,
transfix, rivet, grip; rare rapture. ANTONYMS repel.

worthy |ˈwəәːði|
adjective (worthier, worthiest)
1 having or showing the qualities that deserve the specified
action or regard: these issues are worthy of further consideration.
• deserving effort, attention, or respect: generous donations to
worthy causes.
• good enough; suitable: no composer was considered worthy of the
name until he had written an opera.
2 characterized by good intent but lacking in humour or
imagination: worthy but tedious advice.

DERIVATIVES
worthily adverb,
worthiness noun
ORIGIN Middle English: from worth + -y 1 .

-worthy |ˈwəәːði|
combining form
deserving of a specified thing: newsworthy.
• suitable or fit for a specified thing: roadworthy.

worthy
adjective
Samuel was a worthy and responsible citizen | a worthy cause: virtuous,
good, moral, ethical, principled, high-principled, high-minded,
right-thinking, noble, upright, upstanding, righteous, solid,
decent, law-abiding, honest, honourable, respectable,
respected, venerable, reputable, trustworthy, trusty, trusted,
reliable, dependable, conscientious, irreproachable, blameless,
unimpeachable, exemplary, admirable, praiseworthy, laudable,
commendable, estimable, deserving, meritorious, creditable,
  ANTONYMS disreputable, unworthy.
PHRASES
be worthy of he believes everyone has ideas that are worthy of
attention: deserve, be deserving of, merit, warrant, rate, justify,
earn, be entitled to, have a right to, have a claim to/on, be
qualified for, qualify for. ANTONYMS be unworthy of, be
undeserving of.
noun
the candidate gained the support of some significant local worthies:
dignitary, notable, notability, celebrity, personage, famous
person, important person, person of note, luminary, public
figure, official, pillar of society, grandee, panjandrum, leading
light, name, big name, somebody, someone; informal VIP, top
brass, Mr Big, big Daddy, big shot, bigwig, big cheese, big fish,
big gun, big noise, celeb, biggie, heavy, hotshot;
ANTONYMS nobody.

serious |ˈsɪəәrɪəәs|
adjective
1 demanding or characterized by careful consideration or
application: marriage is a serious matter | we give serious consideration
to safety recommendations.
• solemn or thoughtful in character or manner: her face grew
serious.
• (of music, literature, or other art forms) requiring or meriting
deep reflection: he bridges the gap between serious and popular music.
2 acting or speaking sincerely and in earnest, rather than in a
joking or half-hearted manner: actors who are serious about their
work.
3 significant or worrying because of possible danger or risk;
not slight or negligible: she escaped serious injury.

serious
adjective
1 he had a serious expression on his face | Prudence was a thin, pale,
serious young woman: solemn, earnest, grave, sober, sombre,
unsmiling, poker-faced, stern, grim, dour, humourless, stony-
faced; thoughtful, preoccupied, deep in thought, pensive,
meditative, ruminative, contemplative, introspective; staid,
sedate, studious, bookish. ANTONYMS light-hearted,
cheerful, jovial.
2 we have some serious decisions to make: important, significant,
consequential, of consequence, momentous, of moment, key,
grave, weighty, far-reaching, major; urgent, pressing, crucial,
critical, vital, life-and-death, high-priority; no joke, no laughing
matter. ANTONYMS trivial, unimportant.
3 the president should give serious consideration to this advice: careful,
detailed, in-depth, deep, profound, meaningful. ANTONYMS
superficial.

5 four of the victims received serious injuries | he appealed for emergency
foreign aid to combat the serious shortages of foodstuff and medicines:
severe, grave, bad, critical, acute, alarming, worrying, grievous,
dreadful, terrible, dire, extreme, dangerous, perilous,
precarious; ANTONYMS minor, negligible.
6 is the government serious about developing decent employment
opportunities for women? in earnest, earnest, sincere,
wholehearted, genuine, meaning what one says; committed,
firm, resolute, resolved, determined. ANTONYMS
uncommitted, half-hearted, flippant.
7 informal she spends serious sums of money. See considerable.

believe |bɪˈliːv|
verb [ with obj. ]
1 accept that (something) is true, especially without proof: the
superintendent believed Lancaster's story | [ with clause ] : some 23 per
cent believe that smoking keeps down weight.
• accept the statement of (someone) as true: he didn't believe her.
• [ no obj. ] have religious faith. there are those on the fringes of the
Church who do not really believe.
• (believe something of) feel sure that (someone) is capable
of doing something: I wouldn't have believed it of Lavinia—what an
extraordinary woman!
2 [ with clause ] hold (something) as an opinion; think: I believe
we've already met | (believe someone/thing to be) : four men
were believed to be trapped.
PHRASES
believe it or not used to concede that a statement is
surprising: believe it or not, I was considered quite bright in those days.
believe me (or believe you me)used to emphasize the truth
of a statement: believe me, it is well worth the effort.
be unable to (or be hardly able to) believe one's luck be
amazed by how lucky one is on a particular occasion. Clarke
could hardly believe his luck as he put the ball into the empty net.
be unable to believe one's eyes (or ears)be amazed by
what one sees or hears. I couldn't believe my eyes when I opened the
box.
don't you believe it! used to express disbelief in the truth of
a statement. he says he is left of centre, but don't you believe it.
would you believe (it)? used to express amazement about
something: they're still arguing, would you believe it?

PHRASAL VERBS
believe in 
1 have faith in the truth or existence of: those who
believe in God.
2 be of the opinion that (something) is right or
acceptable: I don't believe in censorship of the arts.
3 have  confidence in (a person or a course of action):
he had finally begun to believe in her.


believe
verb
1 I don't believe you: be convinced by, trust, have confidence in,
consider honest, consider truthful. ANTONYMS disbelieve.
2 if you believe that story you will believe anything: regard as true,
accept as true, accept, be convinced by, give credence to,
credit, give credit to, trust, put confidence in, count on, rely on,
depend on; informal swallow, {swallow something hook, line,
and sinker}, fall for, go for, buy, take as gospel. ANTONYMS
disbelieve.
3 police believe they've identified the smuggler | I believe he worked for
you: think, be of the opinion that, think it likely that, have an
idea that, imagine, feel, have a feeling, hold, maintain, suspect,
suppose, assume, presume, conjecture, surmise, postulate that,
theorize that, conclude, come to the conclusion that, deduce;
understand, be given to understand, take it, gather, fancy,
guess ANTONYMS doubt.
PHRASES
believe in 
1 Lucy wasn't sure if she believed in God or not: be
convinced of the existence of, be sure of the existence of, be
persuaded of the existence of, believe in the existence of.
2 she believed in the benefits of Turkish baths for slimming:
have faith in, pin one's faith on, trust in, have every confidence in,
cling to, set store by, value, swear by, be convinced by,
be persuaded by; subscribe to, approve of, back, support,
advocate, champion;

obstreperous |əәbˈstrɛp(əә)rəәs|
adjective
noisy and difficult to control: the boy is cocky and obstreperous.
DERIVATIVES
obstreperously adverb,
obstreperousness noun

adjective
she was scolding some unruly children: disorderly, rowdy, wild,
unmanageable, uncontrollable, disobedient, disruptive,
attention-seeking, undisciplined,  rebellious,
mutinous, anarchic, chaotic, lawless, insubordinate, defiant,
wayward, wilful, headstrong, irrepressible, unrestrained,
obstreperous, difficult, intractable, out of hand, refractory,
recalcitrant; boisterous, lively, loud, noisy, rollicking, romping,
rumbustious, reckless, heedless; archaic contumacious.
ANTONYMS disciplined, obedient.
WORD TOOLKIT
unruly rebellious defiant

awkward |ˈɔːkwəәd|
adjective
1 causing difficulty; hard to do or deal with: some awkward
questions | the wheelbarrow can be awkward to manoeuvre.
• deliberately unreasonable or uncooperative: you're being damned
awkward!
2 causing or feeling uneasy embarrassment or inconvenience:
he had put her in a very awkward position | she felt awkward alone with
him.
3 not smooth or graceful; ungainly: Luther's awkward movements
impeded his progress.
• uncomfortable or abnormal: make sure the baby isn't sleeping in an
awkward position.
DERIVATIVES
awkwardly adverb
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘the wrong way
round, upside down’): from dialect awk‘backwards, perverse,
clumsy’ (from Old Norse afugr ‘turned the wrong way’) + -
ward.

awkward
adjective
1 one of the most awkward jobs is painting a ceiling: difficult, tricky;
Brit. informal fiddly. ANTONYMS easy, straightforward.
2 the box was heavy and awkward to carry: cumbersome, unwieldy,
unhandy; informal a devil; vulgar slang a bugger, a bastard;
rare cumbrous.
3 I'm sorry to call at such an awkward time: inconvenient, difficult,
inappropriate, inopportune, unfortunate; archaic
unseasonable. ANTONYMS convenient.
4 he had put her in a very awkward position: embarrassing,
uncomfortable, unpleasant, delicate, ticklish, tricky, sensitive,
problematic, problematical, troublesome, perplexing, thorny,
vexatious; humiliating, compromising;
5 she felt awkward alone with him: embarrassed, self-conscious,
uncomfortable, ill at ease, uneasy, tense, nervous, edgy, strained;
ANTONYMS relaxed, at  ease.
6 he was long-legged and rather awkward | his awkward movements:
clumsy, ungainly, uncoordinated, maladroit, graceless,
ungraceful, inept, inelegant, unskilful, unhandy, gauche, gawky,
gangling, blundering, lumbering, cloddish; wooden, stiff;
  ANTONYMS graceful, adroit.
7 Brit. you're being damned awkward: unreasonable, uncooperative,
unhelpful, difficult, annoying, obstructive, unaccommodating,
refractory, disobliging, contrary, perverse, tiresome,
exasperating, trying; stubborn, obstinate;
ANTONYMS amenable, cooperative.

sullen |ˈsʌləәn|
adjective
bad-tempered and sulky: a sullen pout.
• (of the sky) full of dark clouds: a sullen sunless sky.

DERIVATIVES
sullenly adverb,
sullenness |-əәnnɪs| noun

sullen
adjective
a bunch of sullen, spoilt brats: surly, sulky, pouting, sour, morose,
resentful, glum, moody, gloomy, joyless, frowning, glowering,
grumpy, touchy, peevish, indignant, embittered; bad-tempered,
ill-tempered, cross, angry, testy; unresponsive,
uncommunicative, unsociable, uncivil, unmannerly, unfriendly;
ANTONYMS cheerful, sociable.

unruly |ʌnˈruːli|
adjective (unrulier, unruliest)
disorderly and disruptive and not amenable to discipline or
control: a group of unruly children | figurative : Kate tried to control
her unruly emotions.
DERIVATIVES
unruliness noun
ORIGIN late Middle English: from un- 1 ‘not’ + archaic
ruly‘amenable to discipline or order’ (from rule) .

lazy |ˈleɪzi|
adjective (lazier, laziest)
1 unwilling to work or use energy: he was too lazy to cook.
• characterized by lack of effort or activity: they were enjoying a
really lazy holiday.
• showing a lack of care: lazy writing.
• (of a river) slow-moving. a lazy lowland river.

DERIVATIVES
lazily adverb
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: perhaps related to Low German
lasich ‘languid, idle’.

lazy
adjective
idle, indolent, slothful, work-shy, shiftless, loafing, inactive,
inert, sluggish, lethargic, languorous, listless, torpid, enervated,
slow-moving, slow, heavy, dull, plodding; remiss, negligent,
slack, lax, lackadaisical, impassive, good-for-nothing,
do-nothing; leisurely; informal bone idle;
ANTONYMS active, industrious, energetic.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD
lazy, idle, indolent
People described as any of these words are reluctant to
expend any energy or go to any trouble over work they
have to do.
■ Lazy is the most general word (he's too lazy to mow
the lawn). Of the three words, only lazy can also be used
to describe something done without much effort (lazy
speaking leads to lazy writing). Uncritically, it can be
used of a time when little effort is expended (what better
way to liven up these lazy summer days) or, figuratively,
of inanimate objects (the Neapolitan Riviera extends in a
lazy curve around the coast).
■ Idle can be more strongly critical than lazy (you're an
idle scrounger) but is normally used in more formal
contexts. Care is sometimes needed to avoid confusion
with the sense ‘out of work’, as in 10.3 per cent of the
workforce is now idle.
■ Indolent is rarer, and more formal still (their leaders
and functionaries have been indolent, self-serving, or
downright corrupt). It can sometimes indicate slow, even
graceful movements (she moved across the room with
an indolent, hip-swaying saunter).

dissent |dɪˈsɛnt|
noun [ mass noun ]
the holding or expression of opinions at variance with those
commonly or officially held: there was no dissent from this view.

verb [ no obj. ]
hold or express opinions that are at variance with those
commonly or officially held: two members dissented from the
majority | (as adj.dissenting) : there were a couple of dissenting
voices.
• disagree with the doctrine of an established or orthodox
Church.

dissent
verb
we do not dissent from the points that have been made: differ,
demur, diverge; disagree with, fail to agree with, express
disagreement with, be at variance/odds with, argue with, take
issue with; decline/refuse to support, not ratify, protest against,
object to, dispute, challenge, quibble over; reject, repudiate,
renounce, abjure. ANTONYMS assent, agree, accept.
noun
there were murmurs of dissent from the opposition benches:
disagreement, lack of agreement, difference of opinion,
argument, dispute; disapproval, objection, protest,
opposition, defiance, insubordination; conflict, friction, strife;
arguing, quarrelling, wrangling, bickering. ANTONYMS
agreement, acceptance.

unacceptable |ʌnəәkˈsɛptəәb(əә)l|
adjective
not satisfactory or allowable: unacceptable behaviour.
DERIVATIVES
unacceptability |-ˈbɪlɪti| noun
unacceptably adverb
unacceptable
adjective
four boys have been suspended for unacceptable behaviour:
intolerable,insufferable, unsatisfactory, impermissible,
inadmissible,inappropriate, unsuitable, undesirable,
unreasonable,objectionable, insupportable; offensive,
obnoxious,disagreeable, disgraceful, deplorable, terrible,
distasteful,displeasing, improper, unseemly,bad, poor;
informal not on, a bit much, out of order, out, not quite the
done thing, too much; ANTONYMS acceptable,satisfactory.

agreement |əәˈgriːm(əә)nt|
noun [ mass noun ]
harmony or accordance in opinion or feeling: the governments
failed to reach agreement | the two officers nodded in agreement.
• [ count noun ] a negotiated and typically legally binding
arrangement between parties as to a course of action: a trade
agreement | a verbal agreement to sell.
• the absence of incompatibility between two things;
consistency: agreement between experimental observations and theory.
• Grammar the condition of having the same number, gender,
case, and/or person as another word.

agreement
noun
1 all heads nodded in agreement: accord, concurrence, consensus,
harmony, accordance, unity, unison, concord, like-mindedness,
rapport, sympathy; assent, acceptance, consent, acquiescence,
endorsement, confirmation. ANTONYMS disagreement.
2 the defence minister signed an agreement on military cooperation:
contract, compact, treaty, covenant, pact, accord, deal,
bargain, settlement, concordat, protocol, entente,
arrangement, understanding, pledge, promise, bond.
3 there is some agreement between my view and that of the author:
correspondence, consistency, compatibility, conformity,
coincidence, harmony, concord, accord, accordance, congruity;
similarity, resemblance, likeness, identity, uniformity,
relationship, association, similitude. ANTONYMS discord.
discord
noun |ˈdɪskɔːd| [ mass noun ]
1 disagreement between people: a prosperous family who showed no
signs of discord.
• lack of agreement or harmony between things: the discord
between indigenous and Western cultures.
2 Music lack of harmony between notes sounding together: the
music faded in discord.
• [ count noun ] a chord which (in conventional harmonic
terms) is regarded as unpleasing or requiring resolution by
another.
• [ count noun ] any interval except unison, an octave, a perfect
fifth or fourth, a major or minor third and sixth, or their
octaves.
• [ count noun ] a single note dissonant with another.
verb |dɪsˈkɔːd| [ no obj. ] archaic
(of people) disagree: we discorded commonly on two points.
• (of things) be different: the party's views were apt to discord
with those of the leading members of the government.

discord
noun
1 stress resulting from financial difficulties or family discord: strife,
conflict, friction, hostility; disagreement, lack of agreement,
dissension, dispute, difference of opinion, discordance, disunity,
division, incompatibility, variance; antagonism, antipathy,
enmity, opposition, bad feeling, ill feeling, bad blood,
argument, quarrelling, squabbling, bickering, wrangling,
feuding, contention, clashing, falling-out, war, vendetta;
archaic jar; rare disaccord. ANTONYMS agreement, accord,
harmony.
2 the music faded in discord: dissonance, discordance, lack of
harmony, disharmony, cacophony, jarring, jangling.
ANTONYMS harmony.

disagreement |dɪsəәˈɡriːməәnt|
noun [ mass noun ]
lack of consensus or approval: there was some disagreement about the
details | [ count noun ] : disagreements between parents and
adolescents.
• lack of consistency or correspondence: disagreement between the
results of the two assessments.
disagreement
noun
1 at the conference there was disagreement over possible solutions: dissent,
lack of agreement, difference of opinion, dispute; variance,
controversy, disaccord, discord, contention, divisions.
ANTONYMS consensus, agreement.
2 a heated disagreement over politics: argument, debate, quarrel,
wrangle, squabble, altercation, dispute, disputation, war of
words, contretemps, misunderstanding; discord, strife, conflict;
bickering, sparring, contention, dissension, disharmony;
informal falling-out, tiff, barney, set-to, shouting/slanging
match, spat, ding-dong; Brit. informal row;
3 there was disagreement between the results of the two assessments:
difference, dissimilarity, variation, variance, discrepancy,
disparity, dissimilitude, unlikeness; incompatibility, incongruity,
contradiction, conflict, clash, contrast; divergence, deviation,
nonconformity. ANTONYMS agreement, correspondence.

group |gruːp|
noun [ treated as sing. or pl. ]
1 a number of people or things that are located, gathered, or
classed together: a group of boys approached | the bulbs should be
planted in groups.
• a number of people that work together or share certain
beliefs: I now belong to my local drama group.

2 Chemistry a set of elements occupying a column in the
periodic table and having broadly similar properties arising
from their similar electronic structure.
• a combination of atoms having a recognizable identity in a
number of compounds. a methyl group.

3 Mathematics a set of elements, together with an associative
binary operation, which contains an inverse for each element
and an identity element.

verb [ with obj. and adverbial ]
put in a group or groups: three chairs were grouped around a table.
• put into categories; classify: molluscs are grouped into seven different
classes.
• [ no obj., with adverbial ] form a group or groups: growers
began to group together to form cooperatives.
DERIVATIVES
groupage noun

noun
1 she sorted the coins into groups: category, class, classification,
grouping, set, lot, batch, bracket, type, sort, kind, variety,
family, species, genus, breed, style; grade, grading, rank, status.
2 a group of passengers awaited their plane: crowd, band, company,
party, body, gathering, congregation, assembly, collection,
cluster, flock, pack, troop, gang, batch; informal bunch.
3 a coup attempt was mounted by a group within the parliament: faction,
division, section, clique, coterie, circle, set, ring, camp, bloc,
caucus, cabal, junta, fringe movement, splinter group, minority
group.
4 the women's group meets in the early afternoon: association, club,
society, league, guild, circle, union, consortium, cooperative,
partnership, syndicate; rare consociation.
5 a small group of islands: cluster, knot, collection, mass, clump,
bunch.
verb
1 patients were grouped according to their symptoms: categorize,
classify, class, sort, bracket, pigeonhole, grade, rate, rank;
designate, label, tag, brand; file, catalogue, list, tabulate, index,
assign.
2 she grouped the flowers beautifully in a small alcove: assemble,
collect, gather together, mass, amass, cluster, clump, bunch;
arrange, organize, marshal, range, line up, dispose.
3 the two parties grouped together for negotiating purposes: unite,
join up, join together, team up, join forces, pool resources, club
together, get together, come together, gather; collaborate, work
together, pull together, cooperate; link, ally, associate,
fraternize, form an alliance, affiliate, federate; amalgamate,
combine, merge, integrate, consolidate. ANTONYMS split up.

alone |əәˈləәʊn|
adjective& adverb
1 having no one else present; on one's own: [ as predic. adj. ] :
she was alone that evening | [ as adv. ] : he lives alone.
• without others' help or participation; single-handed: [ as
adv. ] : team members are more effective than individuals working alone |
[ as predic. adj. ] : they were not alone in dissenting from the advice.
• [ as adj. ] isolated and lonely: she was terribly alone and exposed.
2 [ as adv. ] indicating that something is confined to the
specified subject or recipient: he is answerable to Parliament alone |
it was a smile for him alone.
• used to emphasize that only one factor out of several is being
considered and that the whole is greater or more extreme: there
were fifteen churches in the town centre alone.
PHRASES
go it alone informal act by oneself without assistance. they lack
the knowledge and confidence to go it alone.
leave someone/thing alone 1 abandon or desert someone
or something: she was frightened because he had left her alone. 2 (also
let someone/thing alone or leave/let well alone)stop
disturbing, interfering with, or trying to improve someone or
something: if you see him on his way to school, just leave him alone |
she wished he would let her alone | take my advice and leave well alone.
DERIVATIVES
aloneness noun
ORIGIN Middle English: from all + one.
alone
adjective & adverb
1 she was alone in the house | he lived alone: by oneself, on one's
own, all alone, solo, lone, solitary, single, singly;
without an escort, unattended, unchaperoned, partnerless,
companionless; Latinsolus; Brit. informal on one's tod, on one's
lonesome, on one's jack, on one's Jack Jones; ANTONYMS
accompanied, in company.
2 he managed alone: unaided, unassisted, without help, without
assistance, by one's own efforts, under one's own steam,
independently, single-handedly, solo, on one's own, all alone,
off one's own bat, on one's own initiative. ANTONYMS with
help.
3 she felt terribly alone: lonely, isolated, solitary, deserted,
abandoned, forsaken, forlorn, friendless, desolate.
ANTONYMS loved, wanted.
4 a house standing alone: apart, by itself/oneself, separate,
detached, isolated, to one side, unconnected. ANTONYMS
among others.
5 you alone can inspire me: only, solely, just, uniquely, exclusively;
and no one else, and nothing else, to the exclusion of
everyone/everything else, no one but, nothing but.

individual |ɪndɪˈvɪdjʊ(əә)l|
adjective
1 [ attrib. ] single; separate: individual tiny flowers.
2 of or for a particular person: the individual needs of the children.
• designed for use by one person: a casserole served in individual
portions.
• characteristic of a particular person or thing: she was surprised
at how individual the others' bodies were.
• having a striking or unusual character; original: she creates her
own, highly individual landscapes.
noun
a single human being as distinct from a group: boat trips for
parties and individuals.
• a single member of a class: they live in a group or as individuals,
depending on the species.
• [ with adj. ] informal a person of a specified kind: the most
selfish, egotistical individual I have ever met.

individual
adjective
1 exhibitions devoted to individual artists: single, separate, discrete,
independent; sole, lone, solitary, isolated.
2 he had his own individual style of music: characteristic, distinctive,
distinct, typical, particular, peculiar, personal, personalized,
special; rare especial. ANTONYMS collective.
3 he has a chic and highly individual apartment: original, unique,
exclusive, singular, idiosyncratic, different, unusual, off-centre,
novel, unorthodox, atypical, out of the ordinary. ANTONYMS
ordinary.
noun
1 Peter was a rather stuffy individual: person, human being, human,
being, mortal, soul, creature, thing; man, gentleman, boy,
woman, lady, girl; figure, personage; informal character, type,
sort, beggar, cookie, customer, guy, devil, bunny, bastard; Brit.
informal bod, geezer, gent, punter; informal, dated body, dog;

2 she enjoyed the freedom of being an individual: individualist, free
spirit, nonconformist, original, eccentric, character, bohemian,
maverick, rare bird, rarity; loner, lone wolf, outsider.

solitary |ˈsɒlɪt(əә)ri|
adjective
1 done or existing alone: I live a pretty solitary life | tigers are
essentially solitary.
• (of a place) secluded or isolated: solitary farmsteads.
• (of a bird, mammal, or insect) living alone or in pairs,
especially in contrast to related social forms: a solitary wasp.
• (of a flower or other part) borne singly. each spider-like bloom is
solitary.
2 [ attrib. ] [ often with negative ] single; only: we have not a
solitary shred of evidence to go on.
noun (pl.solitaries)
1 a recluse or hermit. he had something of the solitary about him.
2 informal short for solitary confinement.
DERIVATIVES
solitarily adverb,
solitariness noun
ORIGIN Middle English: from Latin solitarius, from solus
‘alone’.
solitary
adjective
1 I live a pretty solitary life: lonely, companionless,
unaccompanied, by oneself/itself, on one's/its own, (all) alone,
friendless; antisocial, unsociable, withdrawn, reclusive,
cloistered, introverted, hermitic;
ANTONYMS sociable.
2 solitary farmsteads were sparingly dotted about: isolated, remote, out
of the way, outlying, off the beaten track, in the depths of ,
hard to find, lonely, in the back of beyond, in the hinterlands,
off the map, in the middle of nowhere, godforsaken, obscure,
inaccessible, cut-off, tucked away, unreachable; faraway, far-
flung; secluded, hidden, concealed, private, unfrequented,
unvisited, undisturbed, sequestered, desolate; N. Amer. in the
backwoods, lonesome; ANTONYMS accessible, busy.
3 we have not a solitary shred of evidence to go on: single, lone, sole,
unique, only, one, individual; odd.
noun
at school he remained a solitary: loner, lone wolf, introvert, recluse,
hermit; ;

singular |ˈsɪŋgjʊləә|
adjective
1 Grammar (of a word or form) denoting or referring to just
one person or thing. the third person singular form of the verb.
• single; unique: she always thought of herself as singular, as his only
daughter.
2 exceptionally good or great; remarkable: he had the singular good
fortune not to die in the trenches.
• strange or eccentric in some respect: no explanation accompanied
this rather singular statement.
noun
Grammar
a singular word or form.
• (the singular) the singular number: a word in the singular.

singular
adjective
1 the success of the appeal demonstrates the gallery's singular capacity to
attract sponsors: remarkable, extraordinary, exceptional,
outstanding, striking, signal, eminent, especial, particular,
notable, noteworthy, conspicuous, distinctive, impressive; rare,
unique, unparalleled, unprecedented, superior, superlative,
amazing, astonishing, phenomenal, astounding, sensational,
spectacular; informal tremendous, awesome, fantastic,
fabulous, terrific, stupendous, unreal. ANTONYMS ordinary,
run-of-the-mill.
2 Lydia wondered why Betty was behaving in so singular a fashion:
strange, unusual, odd, peculiar, funny, curious, extraordinary,
bizarre, eccentric, weird, queer, outlandish, offbeat,
unexpected, unfamiliar, abnormal, aberrant, atypical,
unconventional, out of the ordinary, off-centre, incongruous,
unnatural, anomalous, untypical, puzzling, mystifying,
mysterious, perplexing, baffling, unaccountable;
ANTONYMS normal,unsurprising.

acquit |əәˈkwɪt|
verb (acquits, acquitting, acquitted)
1 [ with obj. ] free (someone) from a criminal charge by a
verdict of not guilty: she was acquitted on all counts | the jury
acquitted Bream of murder.
2 (acquit oneself) conduct oneself or perform in a specified
way: the goalkeeper acquitted himself well.

ORIGIN Middle English (originally in the sense ‘pay a debt,
discharge a liability’): from Old French acquiter, from
medieval Latin acquitare ‘pay a debt’, from ad- ‘to’ +
quitare ‘set free’.
acquit
verb
1 the jury acquitted her of attempted arson: absolve, clear, exonerate,
exculpate, declare innocent, find innocent, pronounce not
guilty; discharge, release, liberate, emancipate, free, set free,
deliver, spare, exempt, dismiss; vindicate; informal let someone
off (the hook). ANTONYMS convict.
2 the boys acquitted themselves exceedingly well: conduct
oneself, bear oneself; perform, act, behave; rare comport
oneself, deport oneself.

smart |smɑːt|
adjective
1 (of a person) clean, tidy, and well dressed: you look very smart.
• (of clothes) attractively neat and stylish: a smart blue skirt.
• (of an object) bright and fresh in appearance: a smart green van.
• (of a place) fashionable and upmarket: a smart restaurant.
• (of a device) programmed so as to be capable of some
independent action: hi-tech smart weapons.

verb [ no obj. ]
(of part of the body) feel a sharp stinging pain: her legs were
scratched and smarting | (as adj.smarting) : Susan rubbed her
smarting eyes.
• feel upset and annoyed: defence chiefs are still smarting from the
government's cuts.

PHRASES
look smart chiefly Brit.be quick: come up here, and look smart
about it!
DERIVATIVES
smartingly adverb,
smartly adverb,
smartness noun

smart
adjective
1 you look very smart | a pair of smart black shoes: well dressed, well
turned out, fashionably dressed, fashionable, stylish, chic,
modish, elegant, neat, besuited, spruce, trim, dapper, debonair;
shiny, gleaming, bright, spotless, clean, spick and span;
ANTONYMS scruffy.
2 a smart restaurant: fashionable, stylish, high-class, exclusive,
chic, fancy; Brit. upmarket; N. Amer. high-toned; informal
trendy, posh, ritzy, plush, plushy, classy, swanky, glitzy, fancy-
pants; Brit. informal swish; ANTONYMS unfashionable, downmarket.
3 he set off at a smart pace: brisk, quick, fast, rapid, swift, lively,
spanking, energetic, spirited, vigorous, jaunty; informal snappy,
cracking, rattling. ANTONYMS slow.

PHRASES
look smart Brit. come up here and look smart about it! be quick,
hurry up, speed up;

condemn |kəәnˈdɛm|
verb [ with obj. ]
1 express complete disapproval of; censure: most leaders roundly
condemned the attack | the plan was condemned by campaigners.
2 sentence (someone) to a particular punishment, especially
death: the rebels had been condemned to death | (as
adj.condemned) : the condemned men.
• (of circumstances) force (someone) to endure or accept
something unpleasant: the physical ailments that condemned him
to a lonely childhood.
• prove or show to be guilty or unsatisfactory: she could see in his
eyes that her stumble had condemned her.
3 officially declare (something) to be unfit for use: the pool has
been condemned as a health hazard.
DERIVATIVES
condemnable |-ˈdɛmnəәb(əә)l| adjective
ORIGIN Middle English (in sense 2): from Old French
condemner, from Latin condemnare, from con- (expressing
intensive force) + damnare ‘inflict loss on’ (see damn) .

condemn
verb
1 he condemned such players for dragging the name of football through the
dirt: censure, criticize, castigate, attack, denounce, deplore,
decry, revile, inveigh against, blame, chastise, berate, upbraid,
reprimand, rebuke, reprove, reprehend, take to task, find fault
with, give someone/something a bad press; deprecate,
disparage; informal slam, hammer, lay into, cane, blast;
ANTONYMS praise, commend.
2 the rebels had been condemned to death: sentence, pass sentence on;
convict, find guilty. ANTONYMS acquit.
3 the pool has been condemned as a health hazard: declare unfit,
declare unsafe; denounce, criticize.
4 she could see in his eyes that her mistake had condemned her:
incriminate, prove to be guilty, prove one's guilt, implicate;

despair |dɪˈspɛː|
noun [ mass noun ]
the complete loss or absence of hope: a voice full of self-hatred and
despair | in despair, I hit the bottle.
verb [ no obj. ]
lose or be without hope: we should not despair | she despaired of
finding a good restaurant nearby.
PHRASES
be the despair of cause to lose hope: such students can be the
despair of conscientious teachers.

despair
noun
many parents feel pain and despair about their teenage children:
hopelessness, desperation, distress, anguish, pain, unhappiness;
dejection, depression, despondency, disconsolateness, gloom,
melancholy, melancholia, misery, wretchedness;
discouragement, defeatism, pessimism.
ANTONYMS hope; joy.
PHRASES
be the despair of my handwriting was the despair of my teachers:

verb
don't despair if you didn't win this time: lose hope, give up hope,
abandon hope, give up, lose heart, be discouraged, be
despondent, be demoralized, resign oneself, throw in the
towel/sponge, quit, surrender; be pessimistic, look on the black
side;

mild |mʌɪld|
adjective
1 not severe, serious, or harsh: mild criticism | mild flu-like
symptoms.
• (of weather) moderately warm, especially less cold than
expected: mild winters.
• (of a feeling) not intense or extreme: she looked at him in mild
surprise.
• (of a medicine or cosmetic) acting gently. a mild sedative.
• (of food, drink, or tobacco) not sharp, hot, or strong in
flavour: a mild Italian cheese.
2 gentle and not easily provoked: she was implacable, despite her
mild exterior.
noun [ mass noun ] Brit.
a kind of dark beer not strongly flavoured with hops.
DERIVATIVES
mildish adjective

mild
adjective
1 he continued in the same mild tone of voice: gentle, tender, soft, soft-
hearted, tender-hearted, sensitive, sympathetic, warm, warm-
hearted, unassuming, conciliatory, placid, meek, modest,
docile, calm, tranquil, serene, peaceful, peaceable, pacific,
good-natured, amiable, affable, genial, easy, easy-going,
mellow. ANTONYMS harsh.
2 a mild punishment: lenient, clement, light; compassionate,
pitying, forgiving, merciful, forbearing, humane. ANTONYMS
cruel, harsh.
3 he was eyeing her with mild interest: slight, faint, vague, minimal,
half-hearted, paltry, meagre, superficial, nominal, token, feeble,
indifferent, imperceptible. ANTONYMS strong.
4 mild weather: warm, balmy, equable, temperate, gentle, soft,
moderate, favourable, clement. ANTONYMS severe, cold.
5 a mild curry: bland, insipid, flavourless, tasteless, savourless,;
thin, watery, watered down. ANTONYMS spicy.

express 1 |ɪkˈsprɛs, ɛk-|
verb [ with obj. ]
1 convey (a thought or feeling) in words or by gestures and
conduct: he expressed complete satisfaction.
• (express oneself) say what one thinks or means: with a
diplomatic smile, she expressed herself more subtly.
DERIVATIVES
expresser noun,
expressible adjective

express 2 |ɪkˈsprɛs, ɛk-|
adjective
operating at high speed, in particular:
• (of a train or other form of public transport) making few
intermediate stops and reaching its destination quickly: an
express train bound for Innsbruck | an express bus service. an express
elevator.
• denoting a service in which letters or packages are delivered
by a special service to ensure speed or security: an express letter.
an express airmail service.
adverb
by express train or delivery service: I got my wife to send my gloves
express to the hotel.
noun
1 (also express train)a train that stops at few stations and
travels quickly. we embarked for the south of France on an overnight
express.
2 a special delivery service: the books arrived by express.
3 an express rifle.
verb [ with obj. ]
send by express messenger or delivery: I expressed my clothes to my
destination.
ORIGIN early 18th cent. (as a verb): extension of express 3 ;
sense 1 of the noun from express train, so named because it
served a particular destination without intermediate stops,
reflecting an earlier sense of express‘done or made for a special
purpose’, later interpreted in the sense ‘rapid’. Senses relating
to express delivery date from the institution of this postal service
in 1891.

express 1
verb
1 community leaders expressed anger over the result of the referendum:
communicate, convey, indicate, show, demonstrate, reveal,
intimate, manifest, make manifest, exhibit, evidence, put
across/over, get across/over; articulate, put into words, utter,
voice, give voice to, give expression to, enunciate, pronounce,
verbalize, word, phrase, render, frame, couch; state, assert,
proclaim, profess, air, make public, give vent to, vent; say, tell,
speak, mouth, point out; denote, illustrate, symbolize, signify,
embody; rare evince, asseverate.
2 the grapes are trodden until all the juice is expressed: squeeze out,
press out, wring out, force out, extract, expel.
PHRASES
express oneself he had difficulty expressing himself: communicate
one's thoughts/opinions/views, put thoughts into words, speak
one's mind, say one's piece, say what's on one's mind.
express 2
adjective
an express bus: rapid, swift, fast, quick, speedy, high-speed, brisk,
flying, prompt, expeditious; non-stop, direct, uninterrupted,
undeviating, unswerving; informal nippy. ANTONYMS slow;
indirect.
noun
we travelled on an overnight express: express train, fast train, direct
train.

enjoy |ɪnˈdʒɔɪ, ɛn-|
verb [ with obj. ]
1 take delight or pleasure in (an activity or occasion): I enjoy
watching good films.
• (enjoy oneself) have a pleasant time: I could never enjoy myself,
knowing you were in your room alone.
• [ no obj., in imperative ] informal, chiefly N. Amer.used to
urge someone to take pleasure in what is being offered or is
about to happen: Bake until the filling starts to bubble and the crust
turns golden brown. Enjoy!
2 possess and benefit from: the security forces enjoy legal immunity
from prosecution.
DERIVATIVES
enjoyer noun
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French enjoier ‘give
joy to’ or enjoïr ‘enjoy’, both based on Latin gaudere
‘rejoice’.
enjoy
verb
1 he enjoys playing the piano: like, love, be fond of, be entertained
by, be amused by, be pleased by, find/take pleasure in, be keen
on, delight in, appreciate, rejoice in, relish, revel in, adore, lap
up, savour, luxuriate in, bask in, wallow in, glory in; informal
fancy, get a kick out of, get a thrill out of, get a buzz out of, go a
bundle on. ANTONYMS dislike; hate.
2 they enjoyed considerable legal protection: benefit from, have the
benefit of, reap the benefits of, have the advantage, have the
use of, have available, avail oneself of, be blessed with, be
favoured with, be endowed with, be born with, be possessed of;
have, possess, own, boast; archaic participate of.
ANTONYMS lack.
PHRASES
enjoy oneself she travels purely to enjoy herself: have fun, have a
good time, enjoy life, be happy, live, live life to the full, have the
time of one's life; party, make merry, celebrate, revel, roister;
informal have a ball, have a whale of a time, groove, make
whoopee, whoop it up, let one's hair down. ANTONYMS
be miserable.

allow |əәˈlaʊ|
verb [ with obj. ]
1 let (someone) have or do something: [ with obj. and
infinitive ] : the dissident was allowed to leave the country | [ with two
objs ] : she was allowed a higher profile.
• [ with obj. and adverbial of direction ] let (someone) enter a
place or go in a particular direction: the river was patrolled and few
people were allowed across.
• declare or decide that (an event or activity) is legal or
acceptable: political advertising on television is not allowed.
2 give the necessary time or opportunity for: they agreed to a
ceasefire to allow talks with the government | [ with obj. and
infinitive ] : he stopped to allow his eyes to adjust.
• [ no obj. ] (allow for) make provision or provide scope for:
the house was demolished to allow for road widening.
• [ no obj. ] (allow for) take (something) into consideration
when making plans or calculations: income rose by 11 per cent
allowing for inflation.

3 [ reporting verb ] admit the truth of; concede: [ with
clause ] : he allowed that the penalty appeared too harsh for the crime |
[ with direct speech ] : ‘Could happen,’ she allowed indifferently.

PHRASES
allow me said when making a polite request or offering help:
please allow me to introduce myself | 'Here, allow me,' came a woman's
voice from behind him.
DERIVATIVES
allowedly adverb [ sentence adverb ] : English is allowedly one of
the most complete of the European languages

ORIGIN Middle English (originally in the senses ‘commend,
sanction’ and ‘assign as a right’): from Old French alouer,
from Latin allaudare ‘to praise’, reinforced by medieval
Latin allocare ‘to place’ (see allocate) .

allow
verb
1 the police allowed him to go home: permit, let, authorize, give
someone permission to, give authorization to, give leave to,
sanction, grant, grant someone the right, license, empower,
enable, entitle, qualify; consent to, assent to, give one's
consent/assent to, give one's blessing to, give someone/
something the nod, acquiesce in, agree to, accede to, approve
of, tolerate, countenance, suffer, brook, admit of; legalize,
legitimatize, legitimate; informal give the go-ahead to, give the
thumbs up to, OK, give the OK to, give the green light to, say
the word. ANTONYMS prevent, forbid.
2 allow an hour or so for driving: set aside, allocate, allot, earmark,
designate, spare, devote, give, afford, apportion, assign.
3 the house was demolished to allow for road widening: provide for,
plan for, make plans for, get ready for, cater for, take into
consideration, take into account, make provision for, make
preparations for, prepare for, accommodate, make allowances
for, make concessions for, arrange for; bargain for, reckon with.
ANTONYMS discount.
4 she allowed that all people had their funny little ways: admit,
acknowledge, recognize, agree, accept, concede, grant, own,
confess, accede. ANTONYMS deny.

share 1 |ʃɛː|
noun
1 a part or portion of a larger amount which is divided among
a number of people, or to which a number of people
contribute: under the proposals, investors would pay a greater share of
the annual fees required | we gave them all the chance to have a share in
the profits.
• each of the notional parts into which property held by joint
owners is divided: Jake had a share in a large, seagoing vessel.
• [ in sing. ] a person's part in or contribution to something: she
can't take a share in childcare — she's a nervous wreck.
2 one of the equal parts into which a company's capital is
divided, entitling the holder to a proportion of the profits: he's
selling his shares in BT.
verb [ with obj. ]
have a portion of (something) with another or others: he
shared the pie with her | all members of the band equally share the
band's profits.
• [ with obj. and adverbial ] give a portion of (something) to
another or others: they shared out the peanuts.
• use, occupy, or enjoy (something) jointly with another or
others: they once shared a flat in Chelsea | [ no obj. ] : there weren't
enough plates so we had to share | (as adj.shared) : a shared bottle of
wine.
• possess (a view or quality) in common with others: other
countries don't share our reluctance to eat goat meat.
DERIVATIVES
shareable (also sharable)adjective,
sharer noun
ORIGIN Old English scearu‘division, part into which
something may be divided’, of Germanic origin; related to
Dutch schare and German Schar ‘troop, multitude’, also to
shear. The verb dates from the late 16th cent.
share
noun
her share of the profits from the original television show: portion, part,
division, bit, quota, allowance, ration, allocation, allotment, lot,
measure, due; percentage, commission; dividend; stake,
interest, equity; helping, serving; informal cut, whack, slice,
piece/slice of the cake, piece of the action;
verb
1 we were a real eighties couple—we shared the bills and the shopping:
split, divide, go halves in/with; informal go fifty-fifty in.
2 they shared out the peanuts: apportion, portion out, divide up,
allocate, ration out, give out, distribute, dispense, hand out,
dish out, deal out, dole out, parcel out, measure out; carve up;
3 a tutorial is an opportunity for a student to share in the learning
process: participate in, take part in, play a part in, have a role in,
be involved in, contribute to, have a hand in, have something
to do with, partake in; have a share in, have a percentage of,
have a stake in. ANTONYMS be excluded from.
concede |kəәnˈsiːd|
verb
1 [ reporting verb ] admit or agree that something is true after
first denying or resisting it: [ with clause ] : I had to concede that
I'd overreacted | [ with direct speech ] : ‘All right then,’ she conceded.
• [ with obj. ] admit (defeat) in a match or contest: reluctantly,
Ellen conceded defeat.
• [ with obj. ] admit defeat in (a match or contest): they conceded
the match to their opponents.
2 [ with obj. ] surrender or yield (a possession, right, or
privilege): in 475 the emperor conceded the Auvergne to Euric.
• grant (a right, privilege, or demand): their rights to redress of
grievances were conceded once more.
• (in sport) fail to prevent an opponent scoring (a goal or point):
they have conceded only one goal in seven matches.
• allow (a lead or advantage) to slip: he took an early lead which he
never conceded.
DERIVATIVES
conceder noun
ORIGIN late 15th cent.: from French concéder or Latin
concedere, from con- ‘completely’ + cedere ‘yield’.
concede |kəәnˈsiːd|
verb
1 [ reporting verb ] admit or agree that something is true after
first denying or resisting it: [ with clause ] : I had to concede that
I'd overreacted | [ with direct speech ] : ‘All right then,’ she conceded.
• [ with obj. ] admit (defeat) in a match or contest: reluctantly,
Ellen conceded defeat.
• [ with obj. ] admit defeat in (a match or contest): they conceded
the match to their opponents.
2 [ with obj. ] surrender or yield (a possession, right, or
privilege): in 475 the emperor conceded the Auvergne to Euric.
• grant (a right, privilege, or demand): their rights to redress of
grievances were conceded once more.
• (in sport) fail to prevent an opponent scoring (a goal or point):
they have conceded only one goal in seven matches.
• allow (a lead or advantage) to slip: he took an early lead which he
never conceded.
DERIVATIVES
conceder noun
ORIGIN late 15th cent.: from French concéder or Latin
concedere, from con- ‘completely’ + cedere ‘yield’.
concede
verb
1 I had to concede that I'd overreacted: admit, acknowledge, accept,
allow, grant, recognize, own, confess; agree; informal take on
board. ANTONYMS deny.
2 in 475, the emperor conceded the Auvergne to Euric: surrender, yield,
give up, relinquish, cede, hand over, turn over, part with,
deliver up; forfeit, sacrifice. ANTONYMS retain, gain.
PHRASES
concede defeat capitulate, give in, surrender, yield, give up
the struggle, cave in, submit, raise/show the white flag, lay
down one's arms; back down, climb down;

save 1 |seɪv|
verb [ with obj. ]
1 keep safe or rescue (someone or something) from harm or
danger: they brought him in to help save the club from bankruptcy.
• prevent (someone) from dying: the doctors did everything they could
to save him.
• (in Christian use) preserve (a person's soul) from damnation.
church ladies approach me trying to save my soul.
• keep (someone) in health (used in exclamations and formulaic
expressions): God save the Queen.
2 keep and store up (something, especially money) for future
use: she had never been able to save much from her salary | [ no obj. ] :
you can save up for retirement in a number of ways.
• avoid the need to use up or spend (money, time, or other
resources): save £20 on a new camcorder | [ with two objs ] : an
efficient dishwasher would save them one year and three months at the sink.
• preserve (something) by not expending or using it: save your
strength till later.
3 Computing keep (data) by moving a copy to a storage
location: save the instructions to a new file.
4 avoid, lessen, or guard against: this approach saves wear and tear
on the books | [ with two objs ] : the statement was made to save the
government some embarrassment.
5 prevent an opponent from scoring (a goal or point) in a game
or from winning (the game): the powerful German saved three match
points.

noun
1 chiefly Soccer an act of preventing an opponent's scoring:
the keeper made a great save.
• Baseball an instance of preserving a winning position gained
by another pitcher.
2 Computing an act of saving data to a storage location.
PHRASES
save the day (or situation)find or provide a solution to a
difficulty or disaster.

DERIVATIVES
savable (also saveable)adjective
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French sauver, from late
Latin salvare, from Latin salvus ‘safe’. The noun dates from
the late 19th cent.

save
verb
1 the captain was saved by his crew when a windscreen blew out during
the flight: rescue, come to someone's rescue, save someone's life,
come to someone's aid; set free, free, liberate, deliver, extricate,
snatch; bail out;
ANTONYMS endanger.
2 the fifteenth century farmhouse has been saved from demolition:
preserve, keep safe, keep, protect, safeguard, guard, conserve;
salvage, retrieve, reclaim, rescue.
3 we've saved enough for a deposit on a house | start saving newspapers to
use for wrapping china: put aside, set aside, lay aside, put by, put to
one side, lay by, keep, retain, reserve, keep in reserve, conserve,
stockpile, store, hoard, save for a rainy day, keep for future use,
put in a safe place; collect, amass; ANTONYMS
waste, fritter away, use up.
4 I suppose I'll have to start saving: economize, be (more)
economical, make economies, scrimp, scrimp and scrape; be
thrifty, be frugal, tighten one's belt, cut back, make cutbacks,
budget, retrench, husband one's resources, cut costs, cut
expenditure, draw in one's horns, watch one's pennies;
ANTONYMS spend, be extravagant.
5 if I'd known this a few days ago, it would have saved a lot of trouble:
prevent, obviate, forestall, spare; stop; avoid, avert; make
unnecessary, rule out. ANTONYMS cause.
preposition & conjunction
!!
no one needed to know save herself | the kitchen was empty save for Boris:
except (for), apart from, but (for), other than, besides, aside
from, with the exception of, bar, barring, excluding, omitting,
leaving out, saving; informal outside of.

support
verb
1 the roof was supported by massive stone pillars: hold up, bear, carry,
prop up, keep up, bolster up, brace, shore up, underpin,
buttress, reinforce.
2 he was struggling to support his family: provide for, provide
sustenance for, maintain, sustain, keep, take care of, look after.
3 Martha lovingly supported him to the end: give moral support to,
give strength to, be a source of strength to, comfort, bring
comfort to, sustain, encourage, buoy up, hearten, fortify,
console, solace, give sympathy to, reassure, succour, soothe;
informal buck up. ANTONYMS neglect, abandon.
4 there seems to be evidence to support both of these arguments:
substantiate, back up, give force to, give weight to, bear out,
corroborate, confirm, attest to, verify, prove, validate,
authenticate, endorse, ratify, document. ANTONYMS
contradict, undermine.
5 all the money we receive will be used to support charitable projects in
Africa: help, aid, assist; contribute to, give a donation to, give
money to, back, underwrite, subsidize, fund, finance, succour;

6 he obtained 773 votes as an independent candidate supported by a
residents' association: back, champion, give help to, help, assist,
aid, be on the side of, side with, favour, prefer, abet, aid and
abet, encourage; vote for, ally oneself with, stand behind, fall in
with, stand up for, defend, take someone's part, take up the
cudgels for; sponsor, vouch for, second, promote, endorse,
sanction, approve of, give one's blessing to, smile on; informal
stick up for, throw one's weight behind. ANTONYMS oppose.
7 a bold initiative to support human rights around the world: advocate,
promote, further, champion, back, be on the side of, espouse,
espouse the cause of, be in favour of, recommend, defend,
subscribe to.
8 at work during the day I could support the grief: endure, bear, put up
with, tolerate, stand, abide, suffer, stomach, brook, sustain,
shoulder, weather.
noun
1 one of the bridge supports had developed a six inch crack: pillar, post,
prop, underprop, underpinning, base, substructure, foundation;
brace, buttress, abutment, bolster, upright, stay, stand, trestle,
crutch, plinth.
2 he can't be forced to pay support for a wife abroad: maintenance,
keep, sustenance, subsistence; food and accommodation.
3 I was lucky to have my family's support during this difficult time:
moral support, friendship, strengthening, strength,
encouragement, buoying up, heartening, fortification,
consolation, solace, succour, relief, easement;
4 he was a great support when her father died: comfort, help,
assistance, tower of strength, prop, backbone, mainstay.
5 we will provide support for essential community services:
contributions, backing, donations, money, subsidy, funding,
funds, finance, capital.
6 many stars openly voiced their support for one candidate or another:
backing, help, assistance, aid, votes, endorsement, sanction,
approval, blessing, patronage.
7 there has been a surge in support for decentralization: advocacy,
backing, promotion, championship, espousal, defence,
recommendation, recommending, argument for, arguing for.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD
support, help, aid, assist

support |səәˈpɔːt|
verb [ with obj. ]
1 bear all or part of the weight of; hold up: the dome was
supported by a hundred white columns.
2 give assistance to, especially financially: the government gives
£2,500 million a year to support the voluntary sector.
• provide with a home and the necessities of life: my main concern
was to support my family.
• give approval, comfort, or encouragement to: the proposal was
supported by many delegates.
• be actively interested in and concerned for the success of (a
particular sports team). fans should always support their team fully, no
matter what.
• (as adj.supporting) (of an actor or role) of secondary
importance to the leading roles in a play or film. the production's
greatest successes are in the main supporting roles.
• (of a pop or rock group or performer) function as a secondary
act to (another) at a concert.
3 suggest the truth of; corroborate: the studies support our findings.
4 produce enough food and water for; be capable of
sustaining: the land had lost its capacity to support life.
5 endure; tolerate: at work during the day I could support the grief.
6 (of a computer or operating system) allow the use or
operation of (a program, language, or device): the new versions do
not support the graphical user interface standard.
noun
1 a thing that bears the weight of something or keeps it
upright: the best support for a camera is a tripod.
• [ mass noun ] the action of supporting something or someone
or the state of being supported: she clutched the sideboard for
support.
2 [ mass noun ] material assistance: the bank provided unstinting
financial support | air operations in support of British forces.
• approval, encouragement, or comfort: the paper printed many
letters in support of the government | she's been through a bad time and
needs our support.
3 [ mass noun ] evidence that serves to corroborate something:
the study provides support for both theories.

DERIVATIVES
supportability noun,
supportable adjective
supportless adjective
ORIGIN Middle English (originally in the sense ‘tolerate’):
from Old French supporter, from Latin supportare, from
sub- ‘from below’ + portare ‘carry’.
keep away (or keep someone away)stay away (or make
someone stay away): keep away from the edge of the cliff.

keep |kiːp|
verb (past and past participlekept |kɛpt| ) [ with obj. ]
1 have or retain possession of: my father would keep the best for
himself | she had trouble keeping her balance.
• retain or reserve for future use: return one copy to me, keeping the
other for your files.
• put or store in a regular place: the stand where her umbrella was
kept.
2 continue or cause to continue in a specified condition,
position, course, etc.: [ no obj., with complement ] : I kept quiet
while Emily talked on | keep left along the wall | [ with obj. and
complement ] : she might be kept alive artificially by machinery.
• [ no obj., with present participle ] continue doing or do
repeatedly: he keeps going on about the murder.
3 provide for the sustenance of (someone): he had to keep his large
family in the manner he had chosen.
• provide (someone) with a regular supply of a commodity: the
money should keep him in cigarettes for a week.
4 honour or fulfil (a commitment or undertaking): I'll keep my
promise, naturally.
• observe (a religious occasion) in the prescribed manner: today's
consumers do not keep the Sabbath.
5 make written entries in (a diary) on a regular basis. the master
kept a weekly journal.
• write down as (a record): keep a note of each item.
noun
1 [ mass noun ] food, clothes, and other essentials for living: the
Society are paying for your keep.
• the cost of the essentials for living.
2 [ mass noun ] archaic charge; control: if from shepherd's keep a
lamb strayed far.
3 the strongest or central tower of a castle, acting as a final
refuge.
PHRASES
you can't keep a good man (or woman) down informal a
competent person will always recover well from setbacks.
for keeps informal permanently; indefinitely. they'll have to give
us the trophy for keeps if we win it again.
keep one's feet manage not to fall. on the planked railway
crossing she stumbled, but kept her feet.
keep goal chiefly Soccer act as a goalkeeper.
keep going make an effort to live normally in spite of
difficulty. she had to keep going for the sake of her boys.
keep to oneself avoid contact with others. they kept to themselves
and were a source of mystery and speculation.
keep something to oneself refuse to disclose or share
something. he was determined to keep the information to himself.
keep up with the Joneses see Joneses.
PHRASAL VERBS
keep at (or keep someone at)persist (or force someone to
persist) with: it was the best part of a day's work but I kept at it.

keep away (or keep someone away)stay away (or make
someone stay away): keep away from the edge of the cliff.
keep back (or keep someone/thing back)remain (or cause
someone or something to remain) at a distance: he had kept back
from the river when he could.
keep someone back
• decline to disclose something. she might be
willing to give me the details she had kept back from Ann.
keep down stay hidden by crouching or lying down. Keep
down! There's someone coming.
keep someone down
1 make a pupil repeat a year at school
because of poor marks. is a child who fails a year test to be kept
down?
2 cause someone to remain in a state of oppression or
subjection. one day, it would be impossible that fine people like Philip
would be kept down.
keep something down 1 cause something to remain at a low
level: the population of aphids is normally kept down by other animals. 2
retain food or drink in one's stomach without vomiting. all I
could keep down was water.
keep from (or keep someone from)avoid (or cause
someone to avoid) doing something: Dinah bit her lips to keep from
screaming.
keep something from 
1 cause something to remain a secret
from (someone). now you know what your mother tried to keep from
you.
2 cause something to stay out of: she could not keep the dismay
from her voice.
keep in with remain on good terms with (someone). he was
simply trying to keep in with his friends.
keep someone in confine someone indoors or in a particular
place: he should be kept in overnight for observation.
keep on continue to do something: he kept on moving.
keep on about speak about (something) repeatedly. they kept on
about negotiating an end to the war.
keep out (or keep someone/thing out)remain (or cause
someone or something to remain) outside. cover with cheesecloth to
keep out flies.

DERIVATIVES
keepable adjective
ORIGIN late Old English cēpan‘seize, take in’, also ‘care for,
attend to’, of unknown origin.
bring |brɪŋ|
verb (past and past participlebrought |brɔːt| ) [ with obj. ]
1 take or go with (someone or something) to a place: she brought
Luke home from hospital
• (bring someone in) involve (someone) in a particular
activity: he has brought in a consultancy company.
2 cause (someone or something) to be in a particular state or
condition: an economic policy that would have brought the country to
bankruptcy | I'll give you an aspirin to bring down your temperature.

bring
verb
1 he brought over a tray with coffee on it: carry, fetch, bear, take;
convey, transport; transfer, move, come carrying; lug, haul,
shift. ANTONYMS take, accept.
2 Philip brought his young bride to his mansion: conduct, escort,
guide, lead, usher, show, show someone the way, lead the way,
pilot, accompany; shepherd, herd, drive, convoy; see, help,
assist. ANTONYMS follow.
3 that evening the wind changed, and brought rain: cause, make
happen, bring about/on, give rise to, create, produce, result in,
wreak, effect, engender, occasion, generate, lead to, precipitate,
kindle, trigger (off), spark (off), touch off, stir up, whip up,
promote, contribute to;
4 the police contemplated bringing charges of riot: put forward, prefer,
propose, present, submit, lay, initiate, introduce, institute, moot.
ANTONYMS drop.
5 this job brings him a regular salary: earn, make, bring in, fetch,
yield, net, gross; command, attract, realize, secure, return,
produce.
PHRASES
bring something about
1 the war brought about a large increase in
government debt: cause, create, produce, give rise to; achieve,
result in, lead to, effect, provoke, call forth, occasion, bring to
pass; generate, originate, engender, precipitate, wreak, kindle;
rare effectuate.
2 he brought the ship about: turn, turn round/
around, reverse, reverse the direction of, change the direction
of.
bring something back 
1 the smell brought back memories of when
she had been younger: remind one of, put one in mind of, bring/
call to mind, cause one to recall, make one think of, take one
back to, awaken (one's) memories of; conjure up, suggest,
evoke, summon up, call up.
2 the conference renewed its policy to
bring back capital punishment: reintroduce, re-establish, reinstall,
reinstate, reinstitute, relaunch, revive, resuscitate, resurrect,
breathe new life into. ANTONYMS abolish.
bring someone down 
1 he was brought down by a clumsy
challenge: foul, trip, knock over.
2 she was in such a good mood that I
couldn't bear to bring her down: depress, sadden, make sad/
unhappy, upset, cast down, get down, make desolate, deject,
dispirit, dishearten, discourage, weigh down, dampen the
spirits of, oppress. ANTONYMS cheer up.
bring something down 
1 an attempt to bring down the price of
compact discs: decrease, reduce, lower, cut, drop, diminish, cause
to fall; informal slash, knock down. ANTONYMS increase.
2 the unrest brought down the government: overthrow, depose, oust,
unseat, overturn, topple, cause to fall, pull down, lay low.
bring something forward we intend to bring forward proposals for
new Sunday trading legislation: propose, suggest, advance, raise,
put forward, table, offer, present, move, submit, prefer, lodge,
adduce, come up with; propound, proffer, posit. ANTONYMS
withdraw.
bring someone in it was nice of him to bring me in on it: involve,
include, count in, take in. ANTONYMS exclude.
bring something in
1 he brought in a private member's bill:
introduce, launch, inaugurate, initiate, put in place, institute,
usher in; propose, suggest, submit, present, move, moot, file,
lodge.
 2 the event brings in an estimated one million pounds each year.

bring something off they knew he could bring off brilliant business
coups: achieve, accomplish, bring about, succeed in, pull off,
carry off, carry through, manage, carry out; execute, realize,
perform, discharge, complete, finish, consummate, conclude,
attain, engineer; rare effectuate. ANTONYMS fail in/at.
bring something on his fatal illness was brought on by severe shock:
cause, be the cause of, make happen, bring about, give rise to,
begin, create, produce, originate, occasion, effect, engender,
spawn, lead to, result in, precipitate, provoke, trigger (off), spark
(off), touch off, stir up, whip up, induce, foster; literary
enkindle; rare effectuate.
bring something out 1 they were bringing out a new magazine
called ‘Teens Today’: launch, establish, begin, start, found, set up,
open, get going, get under way, initiate, instigate, institute,
inaugurate, market; publish, print, issue, produce; informal
churn out, kick off. 2 the shawl brings out the colour of your eyes:
accentuate, call attention to, make evident, highlight,
emphasize, give prominence to, underline, accent, foreground,
throw into relief. ANTONYMS cover up, play down.

bring someone round
1 she administered artificial respiration and
brought him round: wake up, return to consciousness, rouse,
arouse, bring to. ANTONYMS knock out.
2 we would have
brought him round when he got to know the situation a bit better:
persuade, convince, talk round, win over, sway, influence, coax,
entice.

bring something up later that evening he casually brought the
subject up: mention, allude to, touch on, raise, broach, introduce;
voice, suggest, propose, submit, advance, moot, put forward,
bring forward, pose, present, table, propound, air, ventilate.

PHRASES
foam at the mouth informal be very angry.
foam |fəәʊm|
noun [ mass noun ]
a mass of small bubbles formed on or in liquid, typically by
agitation or fermentation: a beer with a thick head of foam.
• a mass of small bubbles formed from saliva or sweat.
• a liquid preparation containing many small bubbles: shaving
foam.
• a lightweight form of rubber or plastic made by solidifying
liquid foam: [ as modifier ] : foam rubber.

PHRASES
foam at the mouth informal be very angry.
DERIVATIVES
foamless adjective

ORIGIN Old English fām (noun), fǣman (verb), of West
Germanic origin; related to Old High German feim (noun),
feimen (verb).
foam
noun
the white foam on the huge breaking waves: froth, spume, surf,
spindrift, spray; fizz, effervescence, bubbles, head; lather, suds.
verb
the water churned and foamed: froth, froth up, cream, bubble, fizz,
effervesce, spume, lather, ferment, rise, boil, seethe, simmer.
shy 1 |ʃʌɪ|
adjective (shyer, shyest)
1 nervous or timid in the company of other people: I was pretty
shy at school | a shy smile.
• (shy of/about) slow or reluctant to do (something): the wealthy
have become less shy of displaying their privilege.
• [ in combination ] having a dislike of or aversion to a
specified thing: they were a little camera-shy.
• (of a wild mammal or bird) reluctant to remain in sight of
humans. otters are very shy animals.


noun
a sudden startled movement, especially of a frightened horse.
DERIVATIVES
shyer noun,
shyly adverb

shy 2 |ʃʌɪ| dated
verb (shies, shying, shied) [ with obj. ]
fling or throw (something) at a target: he tore the spectacles off and
shied them at her.
noun (pl.shies)
an act of flinging or throwing something at a target.

shy 1
adjective
as a teenager I was painfully shy: bashful, diffident, timid, sheepish,
reserved, reticent, introverted, retiring, self-effacing, shrinking,
withdrawn, timorous, mousy, fearful, apprehensive, nervous,
hesitant, reluctant, doubting, insecure, wary, suspicious, chary,
unconfident, inhibited, constrained, repressed, self-conscious,
embarrassed, coy, demure, abashed, modest, humble, meek.
ANTONYMS bold, brash, confident.
verb

CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD
shy, bashful, diffident, timid
■ A shy person lacks confidence and is uncertain how to
behave or what to say in the presence of other people
(the British are supposed to be a staid, shy, retiring lot | I
was inordinately shy of girls). Shy is also used of people
who try to avoid someone or something about which
they feel uneasy (people can be very shy about giving
compliments | small investors remained shy of the stock
market).
■ Bashful denotes a nervous reluctance to draw
attention to oneself (many men are bashful about
discussing their feelings out in the open). The word can
have a faintly old-fashioned or humorous tinge to it.
■ Diffident describes someone who is so modest or
hesitant that they have difficulty in putting themselves
forward (‘Aren't you Sergei Rozanov?’ she enquired in a
soft, diffident voice | he was very diffident about working
with classical actors).
■ Timid means ‘lacking normal confidence or courage’.
It stems from fear, resulting in excessive nervousness in
the presence of others (I was too timid to ask for what I
wanted | she gave him a timid smile). It can also imply an
unwillingness to take risks; thus a timid action is often
inadequate, half-hearted, or piecemeal

These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between
closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.


soon |suːn|
adverb
1 in or after a short time: everyone will soon know the truth | he'll be
home soon | they arrived soon after 7.30.
• early: how soon can you get here? | it's a pity you have to leave so soon
| I wish you'd told me sooner | it was too soon to know.
2 used to indicate one's preference in a particular matter: I'd
just as soon Tim did it | I'd sooner stay where I am.
PHRASES
no sooner —— than used to convey that the second event
mentioned happens immediately after the first: she had no sooner
spoken than the telephone rang.

DERIVATIVES
soonish adverb
ORIGIN Old English sōna‘immediately’, of West Germanic
origin.
usage: In standard English the phrase no sooner is followed
by than, as in we had no sooner arrived than we had to leave.
This is because sooner is a comparative, and comparatives are
followed by than ( earlier than; better than, and so on). It is
incorrect to follow no sooner with when rather than than, as
in we had no sooner arrived when we had to leave.
soon
adverb
1 she'll be there soon: in a short time, shortly, presently, in the near
future, before long, in a little while, in a minute, in a moment,
in an instant, in a twinkling, in the twinkling of an eye, before
you know it, any minute (now), any day (now), any time (now),
by and by; informal pronto, in (less than) no time, in no time (at
all), in a jiffy, in two shakes, in two shakes of a lamb's tail,
before you can say Jack Robinson; Brit. informal sharpish, in a
tick, in two ticks; dated directly; archaic or informal anon;
2 how soon can you get here? early, quickly, promptly, speedily,
punctually; by when.
about |əәˈbaʊt|
preposition
1 on the subject of; concerning: I was thinking about you | a book
about ancient Greece | it's all about having fun.
• so as to affect: there's nothing we can do about it.


about
preposition
1 a book about ancient Greece: regarding, concerning, with
reference to, referring to, with regard to, with respect to,
respecting, relating to, on, touching on, dealing with, relevant
to, with relevance to, connected with, in connection with, on
the subject of, in the matter of, apropos, re; Scottish anent.
2 two hundred people were milling about the room: around, round,
throughout, over, through, all over, in all parts of, on every side
of, encircling, surrounding; here and there, everywhere.
3 they aren't seen about here very often: near, nearby, close to, not far
(away) from, a short distance from, in the vicinity of, in the
neighbourhood of, within reach of, adjacent to, beside, around,
a stone's throw away from; informal within spitting distance of,
{a hop, skip, and a jump away from}.
4 while I am about it, I had better apologize for what happened:
occupied with, concerned with, busy with, taken up with,
employed in, involved in, absorbed in, in the process of, in the
course of, in the midst of, in the throes of; conducting,
pursuing, following, practising.
PHRASES
about to I was about to climb into bed when the bell rang: going to,
ready to, all set to, preparing to, intending to, soon to; on the
point of, on the verge of, on the brink of, within an ace of.
adverb
1 there were babies crawling about in the grass: around, here and
there, to and fro, back and forth, from place to place, hither
and thither, in every direction, in all directions, abroad.
2 although I hadn't seen him for two years, I knew he was about
somewhere: near, nearby, around, about the place, hereabouts,
not far off/away, close by, in the vicinity, in the neighbourhood,
at hand, within reach, on the doorstep, (just) around the
corner.
3 we think the explosion has caused about £15,000 worth of damage:
approximately, roughly, around, round about, in the
neighbourhood/region of, in the area of, of the order of,
something like; or so, or thereabouts, there or thereabouts,
more or less, give or take a few, not far off; Brit. getting on for;
Latincirca; informal as near as dammit; N. Amer. informal in
the ballpark of. ANTONYMS exactly, precisely.
4 he gave orders to turn about: in the opposite direction, in the
reverse direction, around, backwards, to face the other way.
5 there was a lot of flu about: around, in circulation, in existence,
current, going on, prevailing, prevalent, widespread, pervasive,
endemic, happening, in the air, abroad.

grant |grɑːnt|
verb [ usu. with two objs ]
1 agree to give or allow (something requested) to: they were
granted a meeting | her request was granted.
• give (a right, power, property, etc.) formally or legally to: they
will grant you asylum.
2 agree or admit to (someone) that (something) is true: he hasn't
made much progress, I'll grant you that.
noun
a sum of money given by a government or other organization
for a particular purpose: a research grant.

PHRASES
take for granted 
1 fail to properly appreciate (someone or
something), especially as a result of overfamiliarity: the comforts
that people take for granted.
2 (take something for granted)
assume that something is true without questioning it: George had
taken it for granted that they'd get married.
DERIVATIVES
grantable adjective,
granter noun

grant
verb
1 he granted them leave of absence: allow, accord, permit, afford,
concede, vouchsafe. ANTONYMS refuse.
2 the programme granted them £20 million: bestow on, confer on,
give, impart to, present with; award to, present to, donate to,
contribute to, provide with, endow with, hand out to; furnish
with, supply with; allocate to, allot to, assign to.
3 I grant that the difference is not absolute: admit, accept, concede,
yield, cede, allow, appreciate, recognize, acknowledge, confess;
agree, concur, go along with. ANTONYMS deny.
PHRASES
take something for granted they took it for granted that we knew
what we were doing: assume, presume, suppose, take it, take as
read, take it as given, presuppose, conjecture, surmise,
conclude, come to the conclusion, deduce, infer, draw the
inference, reckon, reason, guess, imagine, think, fancy, suspect,
expect, accept, believe, be of the opinion, understand, be given
to understand, gather, glean;
noun
he has received a grant for equipment from the council: endowment,
subvention, award, donation, bursary, contribution, allowance,
subsidy, handout, allocation, allotment, gift, present;
scholarship, sponsorship; stipend; formal benefaction.

give |gɪv|
verb (pastgave |geɪv| ; past participlegiven |ˈgɪv(əә)n| )
1 [ with two objs ] freely transfer the possession of (something)
to (someone): she gave him presents and clothes | the cheque given to
the jeweller proved worthless | [ with obj. ] : he gave the papers back.
• [ with obj. ] hand over (an amount) in payment; pay: how
much did you give for that?
• [ with obj. ] used hyperbolically to express how greatly one
wants to have or do something: I'd give anything for a cup of tea.
• [ with obj. ] commit or entrust: a baby given into their care by
the accident of her birth.

2 [ with two objs ] cause or allow (someone or something) to
have or experience (something); provide with: you gave me such a
fright | [ with obj. ] : this leaflet gives our opening times.
• provide (love or other emotional support) to: his parents gave
him the encouragement he needed | (as adj.giving) : he was very giving
and supportive.
• allow (someone) to have (a specified amount of time) for an
activity or undertaking: give me a second to bring the car around |

3 [ with obj. ] carry out or perform (a specified action): I gave a
bow | [ with two objs ] : he gave the counter a polish.
• produce (a sound): he gave a gasp.

4 [ with obj. ] yield as a product or result: milk is sometimes added
to give a richer cheese.
• (give something off/out/forth) emit odour, vapour, or
similar substances: some solvents give off toxic fumes.
5 [ with obj. ] concede (something) as valid or deserved in
respect of (someone): give him his due.
• allot (a score) to: I gave it five out of ten.
6 [ with obj. ] state or put forward (information or argument):
he did not give his name.
• pledge or offer as a guarantee: [ with two objs ] : I give you my
word.
• [ with two objs, usu. with negative ] say to (someone) as an
excuse or inappropriate answer: don't give me any of your backchat.
• deliver (a judgement) authoritatively: I gave my verdict.
7 [ no obj. ] alter in shape under pressure rather than resist or
break: that chair doesn't give.
• yield or give way to pressure: the heavy door didn't give until the
fifth push | figurative : when two people who don't get on are thrust
together, something's got to give.

noun [ mass noun ]
capacity to bend or alter in shape under pressure: plastic pots
that have enough give to accommodate the vigorous roots.
• ability to adapt; flexibility: there is no give at all in the British
position.
PHRASES
give oneself airs act pretentiously or snobbishly.
give and take mutual concessions and compromises. there has
to be give and take on both sides.
give as good as one gets respond with equal force when
attacked. her male colleagues do tease her, but she says, ‘I just give as
good as I get’.
give the game (or show) away inadvertently reveal
something secret. to make sure he didn't give the game away I gave him
a swift kick in the shin under the table.
give it to someone informal scold or punish someone. I'm
gonna give it to you like my daddy gave it to me!
give me —— I prefer or admire ——: give me the mainland any
day
give me a break informal used to express exasperation,
protest, or disbelief. give me a break—I just deliver the stuff.
give someone one Brit. vulgar slang (of a man) have sexual
intercourse with a woman.
give or take —— informal to within a specified amount: three
hundred and fifty years ago, give or take a few. • apart from: it's a
process that runs fairly smoothly, give or take the occasional glitch.
give rise to cause to happen: decisions which give rise to arguments.
give someone to understand (or believe or know)inform
someone in a rather indirect way: I was given to understand that I
had been invited.
give up the ghost see ghost.
give someone what for informal, chiefly Brit.punish or scold
someone severely. wait till your father hears you were in trouble—he'll
give you what for.
I give you —— used to present a speaker or entertainer or
when making a toast: for your entertainment this evening I give you ...
Mister Albert DeNero!
what gives? informal what's the news?; what's happening?
(often used as a friendly greeting).
PHRASAL VERBS
give someone away
1 reveal the true identity of someone:
his strangely shaped feet gave him away. • reveal information which
incriminates someone. I won't give you away.
2 hand over a bride
ceremonially to her bridegroom as part of a wedding
ceremony.
give something away
1 reveal something secret. he gave away
naval secrets.
2 (in sport) concede a goal or advantage to the
opposition, especially through careless play. the goal we gave away
was a bit sloppy.

give in cease fighting or arguing; admit defeat: he reluctantly
gave in to the pressure.

give on to (or into)Brit.(of a window, door, corridor, etc.)
overlook or lead into: a plate glass window gave on to the roof.
give out 1 be completely used up: their allowances soon gave out. •
stop functioning: he curses and swears till his voice gives out. 2
Irishspeak in an angry way: the woman began giving out to poor
Paddy.
give something out distribute or broadcast something: I've
been giving out leaflets.
!!
give over [ often in imperative ] Brit. informal stop doing
something. ‘Give over, will you!’ she shouted. • used to express
vehement disagreement: I suggested her salary might be £100,000.
‘Give over!’.
give up cease making an effort; admit defeat. he wasn't the kind
of man to give up easily.

give
verb
1 he had given them nearly two thousand pounds: present with, provide
with, supply with, furnish with, gift with; hand, let someone
have; offer, proffer; award, grant, bestow, accord, confer;
donate, contribute, put up; hand over, turn over, make over,
leave, will, bequeath, pledge, vouchsafe; lend, slip; informal
fork out, shell out, lay out, cough up; ANTONYMS receive,
accept, take; withhold.
2 can I give him a message? convey, pass on, impart, communicate,
transmit, transfer; send, deliver, relay, purvey; tell.
3 a baby given into their care: entrust, commit, put into someone's
hands, consign, assign, render; formal commend.
4 he gave his life for his country: sacrifice, give up, relinquish;
devote, dedicate, set aside.
5 he decided to give her time to think things over: allow, permit, let
have, grant, accord; offer.
6 this leaflet gives our opening times: show, display, set out, set forth,
indicate, detail, give details of, list.
7 the animals became docile and gave no further trouble: cause, be a
source of, make, create, occasion.
8 some salamis are wrapped in garlic which gives additional flavour:
produce, yield, afford, result in; impart, lend.
9 he gave a drinks party to celebrate: organize, arrange, lay on,
provide, be responsible for; throw, host, hold, have.

PHRASES
give someone/something away 1 his face gave little away:
reveal, disclose, divulge, let slip, leak, let out; give the game
away. 2 Luke would never forgive her if she gave him away: betray,
inform on; English Law turn Queen's/King's evidence;
informal split on, blow the whistle on, rat on, peach on, stitch
up, do the dirty on, sell down the river, squeal on, squeak on;


give in in the end, he was forced to give in: capitulate, admit/
concede defeat, give up, surrender, yield, submit, climb down,
back down, give way, defer, acquiesce, relent, succumb,
comply; informal throw in the towel/sponge. ANTONYMS
hold out.

give something off/out a small fire burned, giving off more smoke
than heat: emit, produce, send out, send forth, pour out, throw
out; discharge, release, exude, exhale, vent; rare exsufflate.
give out
1 his strength was giving out: run out, be used up, be
consumed, be exhausted, be depleted, come to an end, fail,
flag; dry up.
2 he gave out that he would hold a meeting: announce,
declare, state, make known, notify, give notice, communicate,
broadcast, report, publish; disclose, reveal, divulge, let it be
known.
give something out thousands of leaflets were given out:
distribute, issue, hand out, pass round, dole out, dispense; mete
out; allocate, allot, apportion, assign, share out, parcel out;
disseminate; informal dish out. ANTONYMS collect.
give rise to usually this principle would not give rise to any problems:
produce, bring about, cause, occasion, generate, engender, lead
to, result in, effect, induce, initiate, start, set off; contribute to,
make for, be conducive to, foster, promote; provoke, precipitate,
breed, spark off, trigger; literary beget.
give up he isn't the kind of man to give up easily: admit defeat,
concede defeat, stop trying, call it a day, give in, surrender,
capitulate, be beaten; despair, lose heart, abandon hope, give
up hope;
give something up I'm determined to give up smoking | she gave up
her job: stop, cease, discontinue, desist from, swear off, forbear
from, abstain from, cut out, renounce, forswear, forgo,
abandon, have done with; resign from, stand down from;
informal quit, kick, leave off, knock off, pack in, lay off, jack in,
chuck, ditch. ANTONYMS take up; continue.
noun
informal the jacket has a major drawback—there isn't enough give under
the arms: elasticity, flexibility, stretch; slack, play.

broke |brəәʊk| past (and archaic past participle) of break 1
adjective [ predic. ] informal
having completely run out of money: he went broke owing two
million pounds.
PHRASES
go for broke informal risk everything in an all-out effort. I
decided to go for broke and turn professional and see how I got on.
if it ain't broke, don't fix it informal if something is
reasonably successful or effective, there is no need to change or
replace it.
break 1 |breɪk|
verb (pastbroke |brəәʊk| ; past participlebroken |ˈbrəәʊkəәn| )
1 separate into pieces as a result of a blow, shock, or strain:
[ no obj. ] : the rope broke with a loud snap | [ with obj. ] : windows
in the street were broken by the blast.
• sustain an injury involving the fracture of a bone or bones in
a part of the body: [ with obj. ] : she had broken her leg in two places
| [ no obj. ] : what if his leg had broken?
• [ with obj. ] cause a cut or graze in (the skin): the bite had
scarcely broken the skin.
!!
• make or become inoperative: [ no obj. ] : the machine has broken
and they can't fix it until next week | [ with obj. ] : he's broken the
video.
• [ no obj. ] (of the amniotic fluid surrounding a fetus) be
discharged when the sac is ruptured in the first stages of
labour: she realized her waters had broken.
• [ with obj. ] informal open (a safe) forcibly.
• [ with obj. ] use (a banknote) to pay for something and
receive change out of the transaction: she had to break a tenner.
• [ no obj. ] (of two boxers or wrestlers) come out of a clinch,
especially at the referee's command. I was acting as referee and
telling them to break.
• [ no obj. ] make the first stroke at the beginning of a game of
billiards, pool, or snooker.
• [ with obj. ] unfurl (a flag or sail).
• [ with obj. ] succeed in deciphering (a code). ciphers are easily
broken by the new wonder machines.
• [ with obj. ] disprove (an alibi).
2 [ with obj. ] interrupt (a continuity, sequence, or course): the
new government broke the pattern of growth | his concentration was
broken by a sound.
!!
• put an end to (a silence) by speaking or making contact. it was
some time before he broke the silence.
• chiefly Brit.make a pause in (a journey). we will break our journey
in Venice.
• [ no obj. ] stop proceedings in order to have a pause or
vacation: at mid-morning they broke for coffee.
• lessen the impact of (a fall). she put out an arm to break her fall.
• disconnect or interrupt (an electric circuit). a multimeter able to
measure current without having to break the circuit under test.
• stop oneself being subject to (a habit): try to break the habit of
adding salt at the table.
• surpass (a record): the film broke box office records in the US.
3 [ with obj. ] fail to observe (a law, regulation, or agreement):
the council says it will prosecute traders who break the law | a legally
binding contract which can only be broken by mutual consent.
• fail to continue with (a self-imposed discipline): diets started
without preparation are broken all the time.
4 [ with obj. ] crush the emotional strength, spirit, or resistance
of: the idea was to better the prisoners, not to break them.
• [ no obj. ] (of a person's emotional strength or control) give
way: her self-control finally broke.
!!
• destroy the power of (a movement or organization). strategies
used to break the union.
• destroy the effectiveness of (a strike), typically by moving in
other people to replace the striking workers. a government threat to
use the army to break the strike.
5 [ no obj. ] undergo a change or enter a new state, in
particular:
• (of the weather) change suddenly, especially after a fine spell:
the weather broke and thunder rumbled through a leaden sky.
• (of a storm) begin violently. when all were aboard, the storm broke.
• (of dawn or a day) begin as the sun rises: dawn was just breaking.
• (of clouds) move apart and begin to disperse. on the seventh of
September the clouds broke for the first time.
• (of waves) curl over and dissolve into foam: the Caribbean sea
was breaking gently on the shore.
• (of a person's voice) falter and change tone, due to emotion:
her voice broke as she relived the experience.
• (of a boy's voice) change in tone and register at puberty. after
his voice broke, he left the choir.
• Phonetics (of a vowel) develop into a diphthong, under the
influence of an adjacent sound.
• (of prices on the stock exchange) fall sharply.
!!
6 [ no obj. ] (of news or a scandal) suddenly become public:
since the news broke I've received thousands of wonderful letters.
• [ with obj. ] (break something to) make bad news known
to (someone). he was trying to break the terrible news gently to his
father.
7 [ no obj., with adverbial ] (chiefly of an attacking player or
team, or of a military force) make a rush or dash in a
particular direction: Mitchell won possession and broke quickly,
allowing Hughes to score.
• (of a bowled cricket ball) change direction on bouncing, due
to spin.
• Sport (of the ball) rebound unpredictably: the ball broke to Craig
but his shot rebounded from the post.
noun
1 an interruption of continuity or uniformity: the magazine has
been published without a break since 1950.
• an act of separating oneself from a pre-existing state of
affairs: a break with the past.
• a change in the weather. a week or so may pass without a break in
the weather.
• [ with modifier ] a change of line, paragraph, or page: dotted
lines on the screen show page breaks.
!!
• a change of tone in a person's voice due to emotion. there was
a break in her voice now.
• an interruption in an electric circuit.
• (also break of serve or service break)Tennis the winning
of a game against an opponent's serve.
2 a pause in work or during an activity or event: I need a break
from mental activity | those returning to work after a career break | a
coffee break.
• Brit.an interval during the school day: the bell went for break.
• a short holiday: a weekend break in the Cotswolds.
• a short solo or instrumental passage in jazz or popular music.
• (breaks)dance music featuring breakbeats.
3 a gap or opening: the track bends left through a break in the hedge |
he stopped to wait for a break in the traffic.
4 an instance of breaking something, or the point where
something is broken: he was stretchered off with a break to the leg.
5 a rush or dash in a particular direction, especially by an
attacking player or team: Norwich scored on a rare break with 11
minutes left.
• informal an escape, typically from prison.
• Cricket a change in the direction of a bowled ball on
bouncing.
!!
6 informal an opportunity or chance, especially one leading to
professional success: his big break came when a critic gave him a rave
review.
7 Snooker & Billiards a consecutive series of successful shots,
scoring a specified number of points: a break of 83 put him in
front for the first time.
• a player's turn to make the opening shot of a game. whose
break is it?
8 a bud or shoot sprouting from a stem.
PHRASES
break one's back put great effort into achieving something.
as soon as we finished I'd break my back to get home to her.
break the back of accomplish the main or hardest part of (a
task): we've broken the back of the problem. • overwhelm or defeat: I
thought we really had broken the back of inflation.
break the bank see bank 2 .
break bread see bread.
break camp see camp 1 .
break even reach a point in a business venture when the
profits are equal to the costs. the firm will break even at the operating
level this year.
break someone's heart see heart.
!!
break the ice see ice.
break in two break into two parts. the slate fell from my hand and
broke in two on the hard floor.
break a leg! theatrical slang good luck!
break the mould see mould 1 .
break of day dawn.
break something open open something forcibly. thieves used a
stolen car to break open the store's front door.
break rank see rank 1 .
break (someone's) serve (or service)win a game in a
tennis match against an opponent's service. he broke serve twice in
the third set.
break ship Nautical fail to rejoin one's ship after absence on
leave.
break step see step.
break wind release gas from the anus.
a clean break a complete separation from a situation or
relationship: Dan decided it was best to make a clean break with
the past.
give someone a break [ usu. in imperative ] informal stop
putting pressure on someone about something. give the poor guy a
break. • (give me a break) used to express contemptuous
!!
disagreement or disbelief about what has been said: He's seven
times as quick and he's only 20 years old—give me a break!
make a break for make a sudden dash in the direction of,
especially in a bid to escape: he made a break for the door.
that's (or them's) the breaks N. Amer. informal that's the
way things turn out (used to express resigned acceptance of a
situation).
PHRASAL VERBS
break away escape from someone's hold. Anna attempted to
break away, but he held her tight. • escape from the control of a
person, group, or practice: an attempt to break away from the
elitism that has dominated the book trade. • (of a competitor in a race)
move into the lead. he broke away and opened up a 40-second lead.
break down 1 (of a machine or motor vehicle) suddenly cease
to function: his van broke down. • (of a relationship, agreement,
or process) cease to continue; collapse: pay negotiations with
management broke down. • lose control of one's emotions when in
a state of distress: the old woman broke down in tears. • (of a
person's health or emotional control) fail or collapse. his health
broke down under the strain of overwork. Janet's normal self-control and
impassiveness had broken down utterly. 2 undergo chemical
!!
decomposition: waste products which break down into low-level
toxic materials.
break something down 1 demolish a door or other barrier:
they had to get the police to break the door down | figurative : class
barriers can be broken down by educational reform. 2 separate
something into a number of parts: each tutorial is broken down into
more manageable units. • analyse information: bar graphs show how
the information can be broken down. • convert a substance into
simpler compounds by chemical action: almost every natural
substance can be broken down by bacteria.
break forth burst out suddenly; emerge. having to control the
chaos that might break forth.
break free another way of saying break away.
break in 1 force entry to a building. would-be thieves had smashed
the door lock in an attempt to break in. 2 [ with direct speech ]
interject: ‘I don't want to interfere,’ Mrs Hendry broke in | the doctor's
voice broke in on her thoughts.
break someone in 1 familiarize someone with a new job or
situation: there was no time to break in a new foreign minister. 2
(break a horse in) accustom a horse to a saddle and bridle,
and to being ridden. I break in my dad's horses.
!!
break something in wear something, typically a pair of new
shoes, until it becomes supple and comfortable.
break into 1 enter or open (a place, vehicle, or container)
forcibly, especially for the purposes of theft: two raiders broke into
his home | a friend of mine had his car broken into. • succeed in
winning a share of (a market or a position in a profession):
foreign companies have largely failed to break into the domestic-equity
business. • interrupt (a conversation). Phil broke into the discussion. 2
suddenly or unexpectedly burst forth into (laughter or song). he
broke into a fit of choking laughter. • (of a person's face or mouth)
relax into (a smile): John's face broke into a grin. 3 change one's
pace to (a faster one): Greg broke into a sprint.
break off 1 become severed: the fuselage had broken off just behind
the pilot's seat. 2 abruptly stop talking: she broke off, stifling a sob.
break something off 1 remove something from a larger unit
or whole: Tucker broke off a piece of bread. 2 abruptly end or
discontinue something: Britain threatened to break off diplomatic
relations.
break out 1 (of war, fighting, or similarly undesirable things)
start suddenly: forest fires have broken out across Indonesia. • (of a
physical discomfort) suddenly manifest itself: prickles of sweat had
!!
broken out along her backbone. 2 escape: a prisoner broke out of his
cell.
break out in be suddenly affected by an unpleasant sensation
or condition: she had broken out in a rash.
break something out informal open and start using
something: it was time to break out the champagne.
break through make or force a way through (a barrier):
demonstrators attempted to break through the police lines | the sun might
break through in a few spots. • achieve success in a particular area:
so many talented players are struggling to break through.
break up disintegrate or disperse: the grey clouds had begun to
break up. • (of a gathering or collective) disband; end. after about
an hour, the meeting broke up. • chiefly Brit.end the school term: we
broke up for the summer. • (of a couple in a relationship) part
company. I was heartbroken when we broke up. • (of a radio or
telephone signal) be interrupted by interference. • chiefly N.
Amer.start laughing uncontrollably: the whole cast broke up. •
chiefly N. Amer.become emotionally upset.
break someone up chiefly N. Amer.cause someone to
become extremely upset. seeing the children again nearly broke her up.
break something up cause something to separate into
several pieces, parts, or sections: break up the chocolate and place it
!!
in a bowl | he intends to break the company up into strategic business
units. • cut something up for scrap metal: she was towed to Bo'Ness
and broken up. • disperse or put an end to a gathering: police broke
up a demonstration in the capital. • cause a relationship to dissolve:
I'm not going to let you break up my marriage. • bring a social event or
meeting to an end by being the first person to leave: Richard was
sorry to break up the party.
break with quarrel or cease relations with (someone): he had
broken with his family long before. • act in a way that is not in
accordance with (a custom or tradition). institutions which are
dynamically prepared to break with tradition.
ORIGIN Old English brecan (verb), of Germanic origin;
related to Dutch breken and German brechen, from an Indo-
European root shared by Latin frangere ‘to break’.
adviser |əәdˈvʌɪzəә| (also advisor)
noun
a person who gives advice in a particular field: the military
adviser to the President.
usage: The spellings adviser and advisor are both correct.
Adviser is more common, but advisor is also widely used,
!!
especially in North America. Adviser may be seen as less
formal, while advisor often suggests an official position.
adviser
noun
he is the president's personal adviser: counsellor, mentor, guide,
consultant, consultee, confidant, confidante, guide, right hand
man, right hand woman, aide, helper; instructor, coach,
trainer, teacher, tutor, guru; Italianconsigliere; informal main
man; N. Amer. informal Dutch uncle.
volunteer |ˌvɒləәnˈtɪəә|
noun
1 a person who freely offers to take part in an enterprise or
undertake a task. a call for volunteers to act as foster-parents.
• a person who freely enrols for military service rather than
being conscripted, especially a member of a force formed by
voluntary enrolment and distinct from the regular army.
• a plant that has not been deliberately planted.
2 a person who works for an organization without being paid.
the railway is operated solely by volunteers.
!!
• Law a person to whom a voluntary conveyance or disposition
is made.
verb
1 [ no obj. ] freely offer to do something: 140 employees
volunteered for redundancy | [ with infinitive ] : I rashly volunteered to
be a contestant.
• [ with obj. ] offer (help) freely: he volunteered his services as a driver
for the convoy.
• [ reporting verb ] say or suggest something without being
asked: [ with obj. ] : it never paid to volunteer information | [ with
direct speech ] : ‘Her name's Louise,’ Christina volunteered.
• [ with obj. ] commit (someone) to a particular undertaking,
typically without consulting them: he was volunteered for parachute
training by friends.
2 [ no obj. ] work for an organization without being paid. (as
noun volunteering) : volunteering is an easy way to get involved in
practical conservation.
ORIGIN late 16th cent. (as a noun, with military reference):
from French volontaire ‘voluntary’. The change in the
ending was due to association with -eer.
volunteer
!!
verb
1 I volunteered my services as a school governor: offer, tender, proffer,
present, put forward, put up, venture. ANTONYMS refuse,
withdraw.
2 he volunteered as an ambulance driver on the Italian front: offer one's
services, present oneself, step forward, come forward, make
oneself available. ANTONYMS be conscripted.
noun
during the investigation, each volunteer was studied three times: subject,
participant, case, client, patient; informal guinea pig.
advocate
noun |ˈadvəәkəәt|
1 a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular
cause or policy: he was an untiring advocate of economic reform.
2 a person who puts a case on someone else's behalf: care
managers can become advocates for their clients.
• a professional pleader in a court of justice. solicitors may act as
advocates in Crown Courts.
• Scottish and South African term for barrister.
verb |ˈadvəәkeɪt| [ with obj. ]
!!
publicly recommend or support: voters supported candidates who
advocated an Assembly.
DERIVATIVES
advocateship noun,
advocation noun
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French avocat, from
Latin advocatus, past participle (used as a noun) of advocare
‘call (to one's aid)’, from ad- ‘to’ + vocare ‘to call’.
advocate
noun
1 she was a powerful advocate of children's rights: champion,
upholder, supporter, backer, promoter, proponent, exponent,
protector, patron; spokesman for, spokeswoman for,
spokesperson for, speaker for, campaigner for, fighter for, battler
for, crusader for; missionary, reformer, pioneer, pleader,
propagandist, apostle, apologist; N. Amer. booster; informal
plugger. ANTONYMS critic.
2 Scottish Law he studied law and became an advocate at twenty-one:
barrister, lawyer, counsel, counsellor, professional pleader, legal
practitioner; N. Amer. attorney; N. Amer. & Irish counsellor-
at-law; informal brief.
!!
verb
heart disease specialists advocate a diet low in cholesterol: recommend,
prescribe, commend, advise, favour, approve of, support, back,
uphold, subscribe to, champion, campaign on behalf of, stand
up for, speak for, argue for, plead for, press for, lobby for, urge,
promote, espouse, endorse, sanction, vouch for; informal plug,
push. ANTONYMS reject.
assistance |əәˈsɪst(əә)ns|
noun [ mass noun ]
the action of helping someone by sharing work: the work was
completed with the assistance of carpenters.
• the provision of money, resources, or information to help
someone: schemes offering financial assistance to employers | she
will be glad to give advice and assistance.
PHRASES
be of assistance be of practical use or help: the guide will be
of assistance to development groups.
come to someone's assistance act to help someone. the
speaker was hoping for someone to come to his assistance.
!!
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French, or from
medieval Latin assistentia, from Latin assistere (see assist) .
assistance
noun
they said that they could manage and did not need assistance: help, aid,
abettance, support, backing, succour, encouragement,
reinforcement, relief, intervention, cooperation, collaboration;
a helping hand, a hand, a good turn, a favour, a kindness;
ministrations, offices, services; informal a break, a leg up; rare
easement. ANTONYMS hindrance.
proficient |prəәˈfɪʃ(əә)nt|
adjective
competent or skilled in doing or using something: I was
proficient at my job | she felt reasonably proficient in Italian.
DERIVATIVES
proficiently adverb
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from Latin proficient- ‘advancing’,
from the verb proficere, from pro- ‘on behalf of’ + facere
‘do, make’.
!!
proficient
adjective
a proficient horsewoman: skilled, skilful, expert, accomplished,
experienced, practised, trained, seasoned, well versed, adept,
adroit, deft, dexterous, able, capable, competent, professional,
effective, apt, handy, talented, gifted, masterly, consummate,
master; good, great, excellent, brilliant; informal crack, ace,
mean, wicked; Brit. informal wizard; N. Amer. informal
crackerjack; vulgar slang shit-hot; archaic or humorous
compleat. ANTONYMS inept, inexpert, incompetent.
expert |ˈɛkspəәːt|
noun
a person who is very knowledgeable about or skilful in a
particular area: an expert in health care | a financial expert.
adjective
having or involving a great deal of knowledge or skill in a
particular area: he had received expert academic advice | I have a friend
who is very expert at the language.
DERIVATIVES
expertly adverb,
expertness noun
!!
ORIGIN Middle English (as an adjective): from French, from
Latin expertus, past participle of experiri ‘try’. The noun
use dates from the early 19th cent. Compare with experience
and experiment.
expert
noun
he is an expert in kendo: specialist, authority, pundit, oracle; adept,
maestro, virtuoso, master, past master, professional, genius,
wizard; connoisseur, aficionado, one of the cognoscenti,
cognoscente, doyen, savant; informal ace, buff, pro, whizz,
hotshot, old hand, alpha geek; Brit. informal dab hand; N.
Amer. informal maven, crackerjack; rare proficient.
ANTONYMS inexpert, amateur.
adjective
an expert chess player: skilful, skilled, adept, accomplished,
talented, fine; master, masterly, brilliant, virtuoso, bravura,
magnificent, marvellous, wonderful, outstanding, great,
exceptional, superlative, formidable, excellent, dazzling, first-
class, first-rate, elite, superb; proficient, good, able, apt,
capable, competent, clever; experienced, practised, qualified,
knowledgeable, well versed; specialist, professional; deft,
!!
dexterous, adroit; Frenchau fait; informal wizard, ace, stellar,
class, crack, top-notch, out of this world, mean, A1, demon,
genius; vulgar slang shit hot. ANTONYMS inexpert,
incompetent.
inwards |ˈɪnwəәdz| (also inward)
adverb
towards the inside: the door began to swing inwards.
• into or towards the mind, spirit, or soul: people must look
inwards to gain insight into their own stress.
inwards
adverb
light spilled inwards from the porch: inside, towards the inside, into
the interior, inward, within.
forward |ˈfɔːwəәd|
adverb(also forwards)
!!
1 in the direction that one is facing or travelling; towards the
front: he started up the engine and the car moved forward | Rory leaned
forward over the table.
• in or towards the bow or nose of a ship or aircraft.
• in the normal order or sequence: the number was the same
backwards as forwards.
2 onward so as to make progress: the signing of the treaty is a big
step forward.
3 towards the future: looking forward, earnings are expected to hit
£7.2 billion.
• to an earlier time: the special issue has been moved forward to
November.
adjective
1 directed or facing towards the front or the direction that one
is facing or travelling: forward flight | the pilot's forward view.
• positioned near the enemy lines: troops moved to the forward areas.
• situated in or towards the bow or nose of a ship or aircraft. the
forward cargo doors. [ predic. ] : the crew's cabin is forward.
• Electronics (of a voltage applied to a semiconductor
junction) in the direction which allows significant current to
flow.
2 [ attrib. ] relating to the future: forward planning.
!!
3 progressing towards a successful conclusion: the decision is a
forward step.
• further advanced than expected or required: an alarmingly
forward yet painfully vulnerable child.
4 (of a person) bold or overfamiliar in manner. I am not usually a
forward sort of person.
noun
1 an attacking player in football, hockey, or other sports.
2 (forwards) agreements to trade specified assets, typically
currency, at a specified price at a certain future date. Compare
with future ( sense 2 of the noun).
verb [ with obj. ]
1 send (a letter or email) on to a further destination: my emails
were forwarded to a friend | I recently received an email forwarded from a
friend | (as adj.forwarding) : a forwarding address.
• dispatch or send (a document or goods): apply by forwarding a
CV.
2 help to advance (something); promote: the scientists are
forwarding the development of biotechnology.
PHRASES
forward of in front of: the units are located forward of the flight deck
control and display panels.
!!
take something forward take responsibility for dealing with
a task or developing a project: he's designed a potentially successful
product and we're doing all we can to help him take it forward.
DERIVATIVES
forwardly adverb
ORIGIN Old English forweard (in the sense ‘towards the
future’, as in from this day forward), variant of forthweard (see
forth,-ward) .
forwards
adverb
See forward. ANTONYMS backwards.
forward
adverb
1 the traffic moved slowly forward: ahead, forwards, onwards,
onward, on, further.
2 police asked witnesses to come forward: towards the front,
frontwards, out, forth, into view, into the open, into public
notice, into prominence.
3 from that day forward: onward, onwards, on, forth, forwards; for
ever, into eternity; until now.
adjective
!!
1 in a forward direction: moving forwards, moving ahead, onward,
advancing, progressing, progressive. ANTONYMS backward.
2 the fortress served as the Austrian army's forward base against the
Russians: front, advance, foremost, head, leading, frontal.
ANTONYMS rear.
3 forward planning: future, forward-looking, for the future,
prospective.
4 the girls seemed very forward to a middle-class boy like him: bold,
brazen, brazen-faced, barefaced, brash, shameless, immodest,
audacious, daring, presumptuous, presuming, assuming,
familiar, overfamiliar; irreverent, over-assertive, overconfident,
overweening, aggressive, thrusting, pert, impudent,
impertinent, cheeky, insolent, unabashed; informal brass-
necked, cocky, fresh. ANTONYMS shy.
5 I never saw the trees so forward as they are this year: advanced, well
advanced, early, premature; precocious. ANTONYMS late.
verb
1 my mother forwarded me your letter the day she received it: send on,
post on, redirect, readdress, pass on.
2 the goods were forwarded by sea: send, dispatch, transmit, carry,
convey, deliver, remit, post, mail, ship, freight.
!!
3 my five months in England were used to forward my plans: advance,
further, hasten, hurry along, expedite, accelerate, speed up,
step up, aid, assist, help, foster, encourage, contribute to,
promote, favour, support, back, give backing to, facilitate.
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.
towards |təәˈwɔːdz, 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 which it 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) .
onward |ˈɒnwəәd|
adverb
(Brit. also onwards)in a continuing forward direction; ahead:
she stumbled onward.
!!
• forward in time: the period from 1969 onward.
• so as to make progress or become more successful: the business
moved onward and upward.
adjective
(of a journey) continuing or moving forward: informing passengers
where to change for their onward journey | figurative : the onward march
of history.
excerpt
noun |ˈɛksəәːpt|
a short extract from a film, broadcast, or piece of music or
writing. she read out excerpts from an article in the Times.
verb |ɪkˈsəәːpt, ɛk-| [ with obj. ]
take (a short extract) from a text: the notes are excerpted from his
forthcoming biography.
• take an excerpt or excerpts from (a text): a book excerpted in this
week's Time magazine.
DERIVATIVES
excerptible |-ˈsəәːptɪb(əә)l| adjective,
excerption |-ˈsəәːpʃ(əә)n| noun
!!
ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (as a verb): from Latin excerpt-
‘plucked out’, from the verb excerpere, from ex- ‘out of’ +
carpere ‘to pluck’.
excerpt
noun
he read an excerpt from his book: extract, part, section, piece,
portion, fragment, snippet, clip, bit, selection, reading; citation,
quotation, quote, line, paragraph, passage, scene, verse, stanza,
canto; N. Amer. cite; rare pericope.
preface |ˈprɛfəәs|
noun
an introduction to a book, typically stating its subject, scope, or
aims.
• a preliminary explanation. it was an abrupt question, made without
even the preface of a greeting.
• Christian Church the introduction to the central part of the
Eucharist, historically forming the first part of the canon or
prayer of consecration. In the Western Church it comes
between the Sursum Corda and the Sanctus and varies with
the season.
!!
verb [ with obj. ]
provide (a book) with a preface: the book is prefaced by a quotation
from William Faulkner.
• (preface something with/by) introduce or begin (a speech
or event) with or by doing something: it is important to preface the
debate with a general comment.
ORIGIN late Middle English: via Old French from medieval
Latin praefatia, alteration of Latin praefatio(n-)‘words
spoken beforehand’, from the verb praefari, from prae
‘before’ + fari ‘speak’.
preface
noun
Sartre's famous preface to de Beauvoir's first novel: introduction,
foreword, preamble, prologue, prelude, preliminary/prefatory/
opening remarks; front matter, forward matter; informal
prelims, intro; rare proem, exordium, prolegomenon,
prolusion, prodrome.
verb
the catalogue is prefaced by a memoir of the artist: precede, introduce,
prefix, begin, open, start, launch, lead up to, lead into; rare
prologue, premise.
!!
footnote |ˈfʊtnəәʊt|
noun
an additional piece of information printed at the bottom of a
page.
• a thing that is additional or less important: this incident seemed
destined to become a mere footnote in history.
verb [ with obj. ]
add a footnote or footnotes to (a piece of writing).
footnote
noun
the journal has discreet and informative footnotes: note, marginal note,
annotation, comment, gloss; aside, incidental remark,
digression, parenthesis; (footnotes) notation, marginalia,
commentary; rare scholium.
eccentric |ɪkˈsɛntrɪk, ɛk-|
!!
adjective
1 (of a person or their behaviour) unconventional and slightly
strange: he noted her eccentric appearance.
2 technical not placed centrally or not having its axis or other
part placed centrally: a servo driving an eccentric cam.
• (of a circle) not centred on the same point as another.
• (of an orbit) not circular.
noun
1 a person of unconventional and slightly strange views or
behaviour: he's seen as a local eccentric.
2 a disc or wheel mounted eccentrically on a revolving shaft in
order to transform rotation into backward-and-forward
motion, e.g. a cam in an internal-combustion engine.
DERIVATIVES
eccentrically adverb
ORIGIN late Middle English (as a noun denoting a circle or
orbit not having the earth precisely at its centre): via late Latin
from Greek ekkentros, from ek ‘out of’ + kentron ‘centre’.
eccentric
adjective
!!
they were worried by his eccentric behaviour: unconventional,
uncommon, abnormal, irregular, aberrant, anomalous, odd,
queer, strange, peculiar, weird, bizarre, off-centre, outlandish,
freakish, extraordinary; idiosyncratic, quirky, singular,
nonconformist, capricious, whimsical; Frenchoutré, avant
garde; informal way out, far out, offbeat, dotty, nutty, screwy,
freaky, oddball, wacky, cranky, off the wall, madcap, zany; Brit.
informal rum; N. Amer. informal kooky, wacko, bizarro, in left
field. ANTONYMS ordinary; conventional.
noun
like all princes he was something of an eccentric: oddity, odd fellow,
unorthodox person, character, individualist, individual, free
spirit, misfit; informal oddball, queer fish, weirdo, weirdie,
freak, nut, nutter, nutcase, case, head case, crank, crackpot,
loony, loon; Brit. informal one-off, odd bod; N. Amer. informal
wacko, wack, screwball, kook; Austral./NZ informal dingbat.
WORD TOOLKIT
eccentric quirky bizarre
millionaire
inventor
loner
recluse comedy
humour
mannerism
charm twist
coincidence
ritual
antics
!!
aristocrat
genius
uncle
spinster
lyric
sensibility
melody
styling
spectacle
juxtaposition
incident
behaviour
Word Toolkits illustrate the difference between close
synonyms by means of words typically used with them.
egotism |ˈɛgəәtɪz(əә)m, ˈiː-|
noun [ mass noun ]
the fact of being excessively conceited or absorbed in oneself:
in his arrogance and egotism, he underestimated Gill.
ORIGIN early 18th cent.: from French égoïste, from Latin
ego ‘I’.
usage: On the difference between egotism and egoism, see
usage at egoism.
egotism, egoism
noun
in his arrogance and egotism, he underestimated Gill: self-centredness,
egocentricity, egomania, self-interest, selfishness, self-seeking,
!!
self-serving, self-regard, self-absorption, self-obsession, self-love,
narcissism, self-admiration, self-adulation, vanity, conceit,
conceitedness, self-conceit, pride, self-esteem, self-importance;
boastfulness, boasting, bragging, blowing one's own trumpet;
Frenchamour propre; informal looking after number one; rare
braggadocio. ANTONYMS altruism; modesty.
attack |əәˈtak|
verb [ with obj. ]
1 take aggressive military action against (a place or enemy
forces) with weapons or armed force: in February the Germans
attacked Verdun | [ no obj. ] : the terrorists did not attack again until
March.
• act against (someone or something) aggressively in an attempt
to injure or kill: a doctor was attacked by two youths.
• (of a disease, chemical, or insect) act harmfully on: HIV is
thought to attack certain cells in the brain.
2 criticize or oppose fiercely and publicly: he attacked the
government's defence policy.
3 begin to deal with (a problem or task) in a determined and
vigorous way: a plan of action to attack unemployment.
!!
4 [ no obj. ] (in sport) make a forceful attempt to score a goal
or point or otherwise gain an advantage against an opposing
team or player: Crystal Palace attacked swiftly down the left | (as
adj.attacking) : Leeds showed some good attacking play.
• [ with obj. ] Chess move into or be in a position to capture
(an opponent's piece or pawn). the white queen attacks the black rook.
noun
1 an aggressive and violent act against a person or place: he was
killed in an attack on a checkpoint | three classrooms were gutted in the
arson attack | the north-western suburbs came under attack in the
latest fighting.
• [ mass noun ] destructive action by a disease, chemical, or
insect: the tissue is open to attack by fungus.
• a determined attempt to tackle a problem or task: an attack
on inflation.
• [ mass noun ] forceful and decisive style in performing music
or another art: the sheer attack of Hendrix's playing.
2 an instance of fierce public criticism or opposition: he launched
a stinging attack on the Prime Minister.
3 a sudden short bout of an illness or stress: an attack of nausea |
an asthma attack.
!!
4 (in sport) an aggressive attempt to score a goal or point or
otherwise gain an advantage. a Cardiff attack broke down inside
Llanelli's 22. [ mass noun ] : United hardly did a thing in attack.
• Brit.the players in a team who are in the position of trying to
score a goal or win points: Baxter was recalled to the attack.
• Chess a threat to capture an opponent's piece or pawn. the
move opens up an attack from the black bishop against White's knight.
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from French attaque (noun),
attaquer (verb), from Italian attacco ‘an attack’, attaccare
‘join battle’, based on an element of Germanic origin (see
attach) .
attack
verb
1 Christopher had been brutally attacked: assault, beat, beat up,
batter, thrash, pound, pummel, assail, set upon, fall upon, set
about, strike at, let fly at, tear into, lash out at; ambush, mug,
pounce on; informal jump, paste, do over, work over, knock
about/around, rough up, lay into, lace into, sail into, pitch into,
get stuck into, beat the living daylights out of, let someone have
it; Brit. informal have a go at, duff someone up; N. Amer.
informal beat up on, light into.
!!
2 by eight o'clock the French had still not attacked: begin an assault,
charge, pounce, strike, begin hostilities, ambush; bombard,
shell, blitz, strafe, fire on/at; rush, storm. ANTONYMS
defend.
3 the clergy have consistently attacked government policies: criticize,
censure, condemn, castigate, chastise, lambaste, pillory, savage,
find fault with, fulminate against, abuse; berate, reprove,
rebuke, reprimand, admonish, remonstrate with, reproach,
take to task, haul over the coals, impugn, harangue, blame,
revile, vilify, give someone a bad press; informal knock, slam,
take to pieces, pull apart, crucify, bash, hammer, lay into, tear
into, sail into, roast, give someone a roasting, cane, blast, bawl
out, dress down, rap over the knuckles, have a go at, give
someone hell; Brit. informal carpet, slate, slag off, rubbish,
monster, rollick, give someone a rollicking, give someone a
rocket, tear someone off a strip, tear a strip off someone; N.
Amer. informal chew out, ream out, pummel, cut up; Austral./
NZ informal bag; Brit. vulgar slang bollock, give someone a
bollocking; dated rate; archaic slash; rare excoriate, objurgate,
reprehend. ANTONYMS praise.
4 they have started to attack the problem of threatened species: attend to,
address, see to, deal with, grapple with, confront, direct one's
!!
attention to, focus on, concentrate on, apply oneself to; buckle
down to, get to work on, go to work on, set to work on, set
about, get started on, undertake, embark on; informal get stuck
into, get cracking on, get weaving on, have a crack at, have a
go at, have a shot at, have a stab at.
5 the virus attacks the liver, heart, and lungs: affect, have an effect on,
strike, strike at, take hold of, infect; damage, injure.
ANTONYMS protect.
noun
1 they were killed in an attack on their home: assault, onslaught,
offensive, strike, blitz, raid, sortie, sally, storming, charge, rush,
drive, push, thrust, invasion, incursion, inroad; act of
aggression; historical razzia; archaic onset.
2 she wrote a ferociously hostile attack on him: criticism, censure,
rebuke, admonition, admonishment, reprimand, reproval;
condemnation, denunciation, revilement; invective, vilification;
tirade, diatribe, rant, polemic, broadside, harangue, verbal
onslaught, stricture; informal knocking, telling-off, dressing-
down, rap over the knuckles, earful, roasting, rollicking, caning;
Brit. informal rocket, wigging, slating, ticking-off, carpeting,
bashing, blast; Brit. vulgar slang bollocking; dated rating; rare
philippic. ANTONYMS commendation, defence.
!!
3 she had suffered an acute asthmatic attack: fit, seizure, spasm,
convulsion, paroxysm, outburst, flare-up; bout, spell, dose; rare
access.
volley |ˈvɒli|
noun (pl.volleys)
1 a number of bullets, arrows, or other projectiles discharged at
one time: the infantry let off a couple of volleys.
• a series of utterances directed at someone in quick succession:
he unleashed a volley of angry questions.
2 (in sport, especially tennis or soccer) a strike or kick of the
ball made before it touches the ground. a forehand volley.
verb (volleys, volleying, volleyed) [ with obj. ]
1 (in sport, especially tennis or soccer) strike or kick (the ball)
before it touches the ground: she volleyed the ball home | [ no
obj. ] : he took his chance well, volleying into the top corner from 25
yards.
2 utter or discharge in quick succession: the dog was volleying joyful
barks.
DERIVATIVES
volleyer noun
!!
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from French volée, based on Latin
volare ‘to fly’.
volley
noun
he fired off a volley of shots from his semi-automatic rifle: barrage,
cannonade, battery, blast, bombardment, broadside, salvo,
fusillade; storm, hail, shower, cascade, rain, stream, deluge,
torrent, avalanche, blitz; wall/curtain/barrier of fire.
salvo |ˈsalvəәʊ|
noun (pl.salvos or salvoes)
a simultaneous discharge of artillery or other guns in a battle. a
deafening salvo of shots rang out. another salvo crashed nearer to the
German positions.
• a number of weapons released from one or more aircraft in
quick succession.
• a sudden, vigorous, or aggressive act or series of acts: the
pardons provoked a salvo of accusations.
!!
ORIGIN late 16th cent. (earlier as salve): from French
salve,Italian salva ‘salutation’.
Salvo |ˈsalvəәʊ|
noun (pl.Salvos) Austral. informal
a member of the Salvation Army.
ORIGIN late 19th cent.: abbreviation of salvation.
fusillade |ˌfjuːzɪˈleɪd, -ˈlɑːd|
noun
a series of shots fired or missiles thrown all at the same time or
in quick succession: marchers had to dodge a fusillade of missiles.
verb [ with obj. ] archaic
fire a fusillade at (a place or person). the Mahdi's adherents
fusilladed his palace at Khartoum.
ORIGIN early 19th cent.: from French, from fusiller ‘to
shoot’, from fusil (see fusil 1 ) .
fusillade
noun
!!
a fusillade of missiles: salvo, volley, barrage, bombardment,
cannonade, battery, burst, blast, hail, shower, rain, stream,
broadside, blitz, discharge.
acronym |ˈakrəәnɪm|
noun
an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words
and pronounced as a word (e.g. ASCII, NASA). Compare with
initialism.
ORIGIN 1940s: from Greek akron ‘end, tip’ + -onym.
palindrome |ˈpalɪndrəәʊm|
noun
a word, phrase, or sequence that reads the same backwards as
forwards, e.g. madam or nurses run.
DERIVATIVES
palindromic |-ˈdrɒmɪk| adjective,
palindromist noun
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from Greek palindromos
‘running back again’, from palin ‘again’ + drom- (from
dramein ‘to run’).
!!
acrostic |əәˈkrɒstɪk|
noun
a poem, word puzzle, or other composition in which certain
letters in each line form a word or words.
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from French acrostiche, from Greek
akrostikhis, from akron ‘end’ + stikhos ‘row, line of
verse’. The change in the ending was due to association with -
ic.
homophone |ˈhɒməәfəәʊn, ˈhəәʊm-|
noun
each of two or more words having the same pronunciation but
different meanings, origins, or spelling (e.g. new and knew) .
• each of a set of symbols denoting the same sound or group
of sounds.
criterion |krʌɪˈtɪəәrɪəәn|
noun (pl.criteria |-rɪəә| )
a principle or standard by which something may be judged or
decided: they award a green label to products that meet certain
environmental criteria.
!!
DERIVATIVES
criterial adjective
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from Greek kritērion ‘means of
judging’, from kritēs (see critic) .
usage: Strictly speaking, the singular form (following the
original Greek) is criterion and the plural form is criteria. It
is a common mistake to use criteria as if it were a singular, as
in a further criteria needs to be considered.
criterion
noun
academic ability is not the sole criterion for allocating funds: basis, point
of reference, standard, norm, yardstick, benchmark,
touchstone, test, formula, measure, gauge, scale, barometer,
indicator, litmus test; specification, guide, guideline, guiding
principle, principle, rule, law, canon, convention.
epitome |ɪˈpɪtəәmi, ɛ-|
noun
1 (the epitome of) a person or thing that is a perfect example
of a particular quality or type: she looked the epitome of elegance and
good taste.
!!
2 a summary of a written work; an abstract.
• archaic a thing representing something else in miniature.
DERIVATIVES
epitomic adjective,
epitomist noun
ORIGIN early 16th cent.: via Latin from Greek epitomē,
from epitemnein ‘abridge’, from epi ‘in addition’ +
temnein ‘to cut’.
epitome
noun
1 he was the epitome of conservative respectability: personification,
embodiment, incarnation, paragon; essence, quintessence,
archetype, paradigm, typification, type; exemplar, definitive
example, prototype; representation, model, soul, example,
byword, classic example/case; acme, ultimate, zenith, height;
rare avatar.
2 an epitome of a larger work: summary, abstract, synopsis, precis,
résumé, outline, digest, recapitulation, summation,
compendium, potted version; abridgement, abbreviation,
condensation; N. Amer. wrap-up; archaic argument, summa;
rare conspectus. ANTONYMS complete version, full text.
!!
adviser |əәdˈvʌɪzəә| (also advisor)
noun
a person who gives advice in a particular field: the military
adviser to the President.
usage: The spellings adviser and advisor are both correct.
Adviser is more common, but advisor is also widely used,
especially in North America. Adviser may be seen as less
formal, while advisor often suggests an official position.
adviser
noun
he is the president's personal adviser: counsellor, mentor, guide,
consultant, consultee, confidant, confidante, guide, right hand
man, right hand woman, aide, helper; instructor, coach,
trainer, teacher, tutor, guru; Italianconsigliere; informal main
man; N. Amer. informal Dutch uncle.
volunteer |ˌvɒləәnˈtɪəә|
noun
1 a person who freely offers to take part in an enterprise or
undertake a task. a call for volunteers to act as foster-parents.
!!
• a person who freely enrols for military service rather than
being conscripted, especially a member of a force formed by
voluntary enrolment and distinct from the regular army.
• a plant that has not been deliberately planted.
2 a person who works for an organization without being paid.
the railway is operated solely by volunteers.
• Law a person to whom a voluntary conveyance or disposition
is made.
verb
1 [ no obj. ] freely offer to do something: 140 employees
volunteered for redundancy | [ with infinitive ] : I rashly volunteered to
be a contestant.
• [ with obj. ] offer (help) freely: he volunteered his services as a driver
for the convoy.
• [ reporting verb ] say or suggest something without being
asked: [ with obj. ] : it never paid to volunteer information | [ with
direct speech ] : ‘Her name's Louise,’ Christina volunteered.
• [ with obj. ] commit (someone) to a particular undertaking,
typically without consulting them: he was volunteered for parachute
training by friends.
!!
2 [ no obj. ] work for an organization without being paid. (as
noun volunteering) : volunteering is an easy way to get involved in
practical conservation.
ORIGIN late 16th cent. (as a noun, with military reference):
from French volontaire ‘voluntary’. The change in the
ending was due to association with -eer.
volunteer
verb
1 I volunteered my services as a school governor: offer, tender, proffer,
present, put forward, put up, venture. ANTONYMS refuse,
withdraw.
2 he volunteered as an ambulance driver on the Italian front: offer one's
services, present oneself, step forward, come forward, make
oneself available. ANTONYMS be conscripted.
noun
during the investigation, each volunteer was studied three times: subject,
participant, case, client, patient; informal guinea pig.
advocate
!!
noun |ˈadvəәkəәt|
1 a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular
cause or policy: he was an untiring advocate of economic reform.
2 a person who puts a case on someone else's behalf: care
managers can become advocates for their clients.
• a professional pleader in a court of justice. solicitors may act as
advocates in Crown Courts.
• Scottish and South African term for barrister.
verb |ˈadvəәkeɪt| [ with obj. ]
publicly recommend or support: voters supported candidates who
advocated an Assembly.
DERIVATIVES
advocateship noun,
advocation noun
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French avocat, from
Latin advocatus, past participle (used as a noun) of advocare
‘call (to one's aid)’, from ad- ‘to’ + vocare ‘to call’.
advocate
noun
1 she was a powerful advocate of children's rights: champion,
upholder, supporter, backer, promoter, proponent, exponent,
!!
protector, patron; spokesman for, spokeswoman for,
spokesperson for, speaker for, campaigner for, fighter for, battler
for, crusader for; missionary, reformer, pioneer, pleader,
propagandist, apostle, apologist; N. Amer. booster; informal
plugger. ANTONYMS critic.
2 Scottish Law he studied law and became an advocate at twenty-one:
barrister, lawyer, counsel, counsellor, professional pleader, legal
practitioner; N. Amer. attorney; N. Amer. & Irish counsellor-
at-law; informal brief.
verb
heart disease specialists advocate a diet low in cholesterol: recommend,
prescribe, commend, advise, favour, approve of, support, back,
uphold, subscribe to, champion, campaign on behalf of, stand
up for, speak for, argue for, plead for, press for, lobby for, urge,
promote, espouse, endorse, sanction, vouch for; informal plug,
push. ANTONYMS reject.
assistance |əәˈsɪst(əә)ns|
noun [ mass noun ]
the action of helping someone by sharing work: the work was
completed with the assistance of carpenters.
!!
• the provision of money, resources, or information to help
someone: schemes offering financial assistance to employers | she
will be glad to give advice and assistance.
PHRASES
be of assistance be of practical use or help: the guide will be
of assistance to development groups.
come to someone's assistance act to help someone. the
speaker was hoping for someone to come to his assistance.
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French, or from
medieval Latin assistentia, from Latin assistere (see assist) .
assistance
noun
they said that they could manage and did not need assistance: help, aid,
abettance, support, backing, succour, encouragement,
reinforcement, relief, intervention, cooperation, collaboration;
a helping hand, a hand, a good turn, a favour, a kindness;
ministrations, offices, services; informal a break, a leg up; rare
easement. ANTONYMS hindrance.
herbivore |ˈhəәːbɪvɔː|
noun
!!
an animal that feeds on plants. [ as modifier ] : predatory
carnivores and their herbivore prey.
DERIVATIVES
herbivorous |-ˈbɪv(əә)rəәs| adjective
ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: from Latin herba ‘herb’ + -vore (see
-vorous) .
carnivore |ˈkɑːnɪvɔː|
noun
an animal that feeds on other animals.
• Zoology a mammal of the order Carnivora.
• informal a person who is not a vegetarian.
ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: from French, from Latin carnivorus
(see carnivorous) .
barbarian |bɑːˈbɛːrɪəәn|
noun
(in ancient times) a member of a people not belonging to one
of the great civilizations (Greek, Roman, Christian). the city was
besieged by the barbarians.
• an uncultured or brutish person. you arrogant barbarian!
adjective
!!
relating to ancient barbarians: barbarian invasions.
• uncultured; brutish.
DERIVATIVES
barbarianism noun
ORIGIN Middle English (as an adjective used in a derogatory
way to denote a person with different speech and customs):
from Old French barbarien, from barbare, or from Latin
barbarus (see barbarous) .
barbarian
noun
the city was besieged by barbarians: savage, brute, beast, wild man/
woman, troglodyte; ruffian, lout, thug, vandal, hoodlum,
hooligan, rowdy; boor, oaf, ignoramus, philistine, vulgarian,
yahoo; informal clod, clodhopper, roughneck; Brit. informal
yobbo, yob, lager lout, oik; Austral./NZ informal hoon.
adjective
the barbarian hordes: savage, uncivilized, barbaric, barbarous,
primitive, heathen, wild, brutish, Neanderthal; thuggish,
loutish, uncouth, coarse, rough, boorish, oafish, vulgar, gross,
philistine, uneducated, uncultured, uncultivated, benighted,
!!
unsophisticated, unrefined, unpolished, ill-bred, ill-mannered;
informal yobbish; archaic rude. ANTONYMS civilized.
vegetarian |vɛdʒɪˈtɛːrɪəәn|
noun
a person who does not eat meat or fish, and sometimes other
animal products, especially for moral, religious, or health
reasons.
adjective
relating to vegetarians or vegetarianism: a vegetarian restaurant.
DERIVATIVES
vegetarianism noun
ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: formed irregularly from vegetable
+ -arian.
possession |pəәˈzɛʃ(əә)n|
noun
1 [ mass noun ] the state of having, owning, or controlling
something: she had taken possession of the sofa | the book came
into my possession | he remains in full possession of his
sanity.
!!
• Law visible power or control over something, as distinct from
lawful ownership; holding or occupancy as distinct from
ownership: the landlord wishes to gain possession of the
accommodation.
• informal the state of possessing an illegal drug: they're charged
with possession.
• (in soccer, rugby, and other ball games) temporary control of
the ball by a player or team: the ball hit a defender and Brown's
quick reaction put him in possession.
2 (usu. possessions) something that is owned or possessed: I
had no money or possessions | that photograph was Bert's most precious
possession.
• a territory or country controlled or governed by another:
France's former colonial possessions.
3 [ mass noun ] the state of being controlled by a demon or
spirit: they said prayers to protect the people inside the hall from demonic
possession.
• the state of being completely dominated by an idea or
emotion: fear took possession of my soul.
DERIVATIVES
possessionless adjective
!!
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French, from Latin
possessio(n-), from the verb possidere (see possess) .
possession
noun
1 the estate came into the possession of the Heslerton family: ownership,
proprietorship, control, hands, keeping, care, custody, charge,
hold, title, guardianship.
2 an attempt to drive the tenant out of her possession of the premises:
occupancy, tenure, occupation, holding, tenancy.
3 that photograph was Bert's most precious possession: asset, thing,
article, item owned, chattel.
4 (possessions) he loaded Francesca and all her possessions into his
car: belongings, things, property, worldly goods, goods, personal
effects, effects, stuff, assets, accoutrements, paraphernalia,
impedimenta, bits and pieces, luggage, baggage, bags and
baggage, chattels, movables, valuables; Law goods and chattels;
informal gear, junk, dunnage, traps; Brit. informal clobber; S.
African informal trek; vulgar slang shit, crap.
5 France's former colonial possessions: colony, dependency, territory,
holding, dominion, protectorate.
PHRASES
!!
take possession of seize, appropriate, impound, expropriate,
sequestrate, sequester, confiscate; take, get, acquire, obtain,
secure, procure, possess oneself of, get hold of, get one's hands
on, help oneself to; occupy, conquer, capture, commandeer,
requisition; Law distrain, attach, disseize; Scottish Law poind;
informal get one's mitts on.
immaculate |ɪˈmakjʊləәt|
adjective
1 perfectly clean, neat, or tidy: an immaculate white suit.
• free from flaws or mistakes; perfect: an immaculate safety record.
• Theology (in the Roman Catholic Church) free from sin.
2 Botany & Zoology uniformly coloured without spots or
other marks.
DERIVATIVES
immaculacy noun,
immaculately adverb,
immaculateness noun
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘free from moral
stain’): from Latin immaculatus, from in- ‘not’ +
maculatus ‘stained’ (from macula ‘spot’).
!!
humanity |hjʊˈmanɪti|
noun (pl.humanities) [ mass noun ]
1 human beings collectively: appalling crimes against humanity.
• the state of being human: our differences matter but our common
humanity matters more.
2 the quality of being humane; benevolence: he praised them for
their standards of humanity and care.
3 (humanities) learning concerned with human culture,
especially literature, history, art, music, and philosophy.
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French humanite, from
Latin humanitas, from humanus (see human) .
wonderful |ˈwʌndəәfʊl, -f(əә)l|
adjective
inspiring delight, pleasure, or admiration; extremely good;
marvellous: they all think she's wonderful | the climate was wonderful
all the year round.
DERIVATIVES
wonderfully adverb [ as submodifier ] : the bed was wonderfully
comfortable,
wonderfulness noun
ORIGIN late Old English wunderfull (see wonder,-ful) .
!!
wonderful
adjective
I've had a wonderful evening: marvellous, magnificent, superb,
glorious, sublime, lovely, delightful, first-class, first-rate;
informal super, great, smashing, amazing, fantastic, terrific,
tremendous, sensational, incredible, heavenly, gorgeous,
dreamy, grand, fabulous, fab, fabby, fantabulous,
supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, awesome, magic, ace, cool,
mean, bad, wicked, mega, crucial, mind-blowing, far out, A1,
sound, out of this world, marvy, spanking; Brit. informal
brilliant, brill; N. Amer. informal peachy, dandy, jim-dandy,
neat, badass, boss, radical, rad, boffo, bully, bitching,
bodacious; Austral./NZ informal beaut, bonzer; S. African
informal kif, lank; black English dope, def, phat; informal,
dated groovy, divine; Brit. informal, dated capital, champion,
wizard, corking, cracking, ripping, spiffing, top-hole, topping,
beezer; N. Amer. informal, dated swell, keen; literary
wondrous; archaic goodly. ANTONYMS awful, dreadful.
progress
!!
noun |ˈprəәʊgrɛs| [ mass noun ]
1 forward or onward movement towards a destination: the
darkness did not stop my progress | they failed to make any progress
up the estuary.
• [ count noun ] archaic a state journey or official tour,
especially by royalty.
2 development towards an improved or more advanced
condition: we are making progress towards equal rights.
verb |prəәˈgrɛs| [ no obj. ]
1 move forward or onward in space or time: as the century
progressed the quality of telescopes improved.
• [ with obj. ] (usu. as adj.progressed) Astrology calculate the
position of (a planet) or of all the planets and coordinates of (a
chart) according to the technique of progression.
2 develop towards an improved or more advanced condition:
work on the pond is progressing.
• [ with obj. ] cause (a task or undertaking) to make progress: I
cannot predict how quickly we can progress the matter.
PHRASES
in progress in the course of being done or carried out: a
meeting was in progress.
!!
ORIGIN late Middle English (as a noun): from Latin
progressus ‘an advance’, from the verb progredi, from pro-
‘forward’ + gradi ‘to walk’. The verb became obsolete in
British English use at the end of the 17th cent. and was
readopted from American English in the early 19th cent.
progress
noun |(stress on the first syllable)|
1 ceaseless rain made further progress impossible: forward movement,
onward movement, progression, advance, advancement,
headway, passage; going.
2 the progress of medical science | little progress was reported during the
peace talks: development, advance, advancement, headway,
step(s) forward, progression, improvement, betterment, growth;
breakthrough.
PHRASES
in progress a game of cricket was in progress: under way, going
on, ongoing, happening, occurring, taking place, proceeding,
being done, being performed, continuing, in operation;
awaiting completion, not finished, not completed, on the
stocks; N. Amer. in the works.
verb |(stress on the second syllable)|
!!
1 they progressed slowly back along the grass: go, make one's way,
move, move forward, go forward, proceed, continue, advance,
go on, make progress, make headway, press on, gain ground,
push forward, go/forge ahead, work one's way. ANTONYMS
return.
2 the practice has a strong commercial base and has progressed steadily:
develop, make progress, advance, make headway, take steps
forward, make strides, get better, come on, come along, move
on, get on, gain ground, shape up, improve, thrive, prosper,
blossom, flourish; grow, expand, increase, mature, evolve;
informal be getting there. ANTONYMS regress, deteriorate.
so far 1 nobody had taken any notice of me so far: until now, up till/
to now, up to this point, as yet, thus far, hitherto, up to the
present, until/till the present, to date, by this time; rare
heretofore, thitherto. 2 his liberalism only extends so far: to a certain
extent, to a limited extent, up to a point, to a degree, to some
extent, within reason, within limits.
far
adverb
!!
1 not far from the palace a fine garden was built: a long way, a great
distance, a good way, afar. ANTONYMS near.
2 the liveliness of the production far outweighs any flaws: much, very
much, considerably, markedly, immeasurably, decidedly, greatly,
significantly, substantially, appreciably, noticeably, materially,
signally; to a great extent/degree, by much, by a great amount,
by a great deal, by a long way, by far, by a mile, easily.
ANTONYMS slightly.
PHRASES
by far this would be by far the best solution: by a great amount, by a
good deal, by a long way/chalk/shot, by a mile, far and away;
undoubtedly, doubtlessly, without doubt, without question,
decidedly, markedly, positively, absolutely, easily, immeasurably;
significantly, substantially, appreciably, noticeably, materially,
beyond the shadow of a doubt, much; informal as sure as eggs
is eggs.
far and away they were far and away the most powerful union. See
by far.
far and near guests had travelled from far and near to be there. See
everywhere.
far and wide he was known far and wide. See everywhere.
!!
far from staff were far from happy with the outcome: not, not at all,
nowhere near, a long way from, the opposite of.
go far she was a girl who would go far: be successful, succeed,
prosper, flourish, thrive, get on, get on in the world, make
good, make one's way in the world, make headway/progress,
gain advancement, climb the ladder of success, rise in the
world, set the world on fire; Brit. set the Thames on fire;
informal make a name for oneself, make one's mark, go places,
make it, make the grade, cut it, get somewhere, do all right for
oneself, arrive, find a place in the sun, be someone.
ANTONYMS fail.
go too far they locked him up because he went too far: go over the
top, go to extremes, go overboard, not know when to stop.
so far 1 nobody had taken any notice of me so far: until now, up till/
to now, up to this point, as yet, thus far, hitherto, up to the
present, until/till the present, to date, by this time; rare
heretofore, thitherto. 2 his liberalism only extends so far: to a certain
extent, to a limited extent, up to a point, to a degree, to some
extent, within reason, within limits.
adjective
1 he'd travelled to far places in the war: distant, faraway, far off;
remote, out of the way, far flung, far removed, outlying,
!!
obscure, isolated, cut-off, inaccessible, off the beaten track, in
the back of beyond, godforsaken. ANTONYMS near;
neighbouring.
2 a building on the far side of the campus: further, more distant;
opposite. ANTONYMS near.
take-off
noun
1 an instance of becoming airborne: a perfect take-off | [ mass
noun ] : the plane accelerated down the runway for take-off.
2 informal an act of mimicking someone or something: the film
is a take-off of Star Wars.
take |teɪk|
verb (pasttook |tʊk| ; past participletaken |ˈteɪk(əә)n| ) [ with
obj. ]
1 lay hold of (something) with one's hands; reach for and hold:
he leaned forward to take her hand.
• capture or gain possession of by force or military means:
twenty of their ships were sunk or taken | the French took Ghent.
• (in bridge, whist, and similar card games) win (a trick). West
leads a club enabling his partner to take three tricks in the suit.
!!
• Chess capture (an opposing piece or pawn). Black takes the rook
with his bishop.
• Cricket dismiss a batsman from (his wicket). he took seven
wickets in the second innings.
• dispossess someone of (something); steal or illicitly remove:
someone must have sneaked in here and taken it.
• occupy (a place or position): we found that all the seats were taken.
• rent (a house). they decided to take a small house in the country.
• agree to buy (an item): I'll take the one on the end.
• (be taken) humorous (of a person) already be married or in
an emotional relationship.
• [ in imperative ] use or have ready to use: take half the marzipan
and roll out.
• [ usu. in imperative ] use as an instance or example in
support of an argument: let's take Napoleon, for instance.
• Brit.regularly buy or subscribe to (a particular newspaper or
periodical).
• ascertain by measurement or observation: the nurse takes my
blood pressure.
• write down: he was taking notes.
• make (a photograph) with a camera. he stopped to take a snap.
!!
• (especially of illness) suddenly strike or afflict (someone):
mum's been taken bad.
• have sexual intercourse with.
2 [ with obj. and adverbial of direction ] remove (someone or
something) from a particular place: he took an envelope from his
inside pocket | the police took him away.
• subtract: take two from ten | add the numbers together and take
away five.
3 [ with obj. and usu. with adverbial ] carry or bring with one;
convey: he took along a portfolio of his drawings | the drive takes you
through some wonderful scenery | [ with two objs ] : I took him a letter.
• accompany or guide (someone) to a specified place: I'll take
you to your room.
• bring into a specified state: the invasion took Europe to the brink of
war.
• use as a route or a means of transport: take the A43 towards
Bicester | we took the night train to Scotland.
4 accept or receive (someone or something): she was advised to
take any job offered | they don't take children.
• understand or accept as valid: I take your point.
• acquire or assume (a position, state, or form): teaching methods
will take various forms | he took office in September.
!!
• receive (a specified amount of money) as payment or
earnings: on its first day of trading the shop took 1.6 million roubles.
• achieve or attain (a victory or result): John Martin took the men's
title.
• act on (an opportunity): he took his chance to get out while the house
was quiet.
• experience or be affected by: the lad took a savage beating.
• [ with obj. and adverbial ] react to or regard (news or an
event) in a specified way: she took the news well | everything you say,
he takes it the wrong way.
• [ with obj. and adverbial ] deal with (a physical obstacle or
course) in a specified way: he takes the corners with no concern for his
own safety.
• regard or view in a specified way: he somehow took it as a
personal insult | [ with obj. and infinitive ] : I fell over what I took to
be a heavy branch.
• (be taken by/with) be attracted or charmed by: Billie was
very taken with him.
• submit to, tolerate, or endure: they refused to take it any more |
some people found her hard to take.
• (take it) [ with clause ] assume: I take it that someone is coming to
meet you.
!!
5 consume as food, drink, medicine, or drugs: take an aspirin and
lie down.
6 make, undertake, or perform (an action or task): Lucy took a
deep breath | the key decisions are still to be taken.
• conduct (a ceremony or gathering).
• be taught or examined in (a subject): some degrees require a
student to take a secondary subject.
• Brit.obtain (an academic degree) after fulfilling the required
conditions: she took a degree in business studies.
7 require or use up (a specified amount of time): the jury took an
hour and a half to find McPherson guilty | [ with two objs ] : it takes
me about a quarter of an hour to walk to work.
• (of a task or situation) need or call for (a particular person or
thing): it will take an electronics expert to dismantle it.
• hold; accommodate: an exclusive island hideaway that takes just
twenty guests.
• wear or require (a particular size of garment or type of
complementary article): he only takes size 5 boots.
8 [ no obj. ] (of a plant or seed) take root or begin to grow;
germinate: the fuchsia cuttings had taken and were looking good.
• (of an added substance) become successfully established. these
type of grafts take much better than other xenografts.
!!
9 Grammar have or require as part of the appropriate
construction: verbs which take both the infinitive and the finite clause as
their object.
noun
1 a scene or sequence of sound or vision photographed or
recorded continuously at one time: he completed a particularly
difficult scene in two takes.
• a particular version of or approach to something: his own
whimsical take on life.
2 an amount of something gained or acquired from one source
or in one session: the take from commodity taxation.
• chiefly USthe money received at a cinema or theatre for seats.
3 Printing an amount of copy set up at one time or by one
compositor.
PHRASES
be on the take informal take bribes. he may be county sheriff, but
he's on the take.
be taken ill become ill suddenly.
have what it takes informal have the necessary qualities for
success. for those who have what it takes, early responsibility will bring
job satisfaction.
!!
take advantage of (or take advice etc.) see advantage,
advice, etc.
take something as read see read.
take a chair (or seat)sit down.
take five informal, chiefly N. Amer.have a short break. there
was a newsreel crew taking five at a little café nearby.
take a lot of (or some) —— be difficult to do or effect in the
specified way: he might take some convincing.
take someone in hand undertake to control or reform
someone.
take something in hand start doing or dealing with a task.
take ill (USsick) informal become ill, especially suddenly.
take something ill archaic resent something done or said.
there was no point in calling her attention to the implications of her
statement, she would only take it ill.
take it from me I can assure you: take it from me, kid—I've been
there, done it, seen it all.
take it on one (or oneself) to do something decide to do
something without asking for permission or advice. she had taken
it on herself to rearrange all the furniture in the sitting room.
take it or leave it [ usu. in imperative ] said to express that
the offer one has made is not negotiable and that one is
!!
indifferent to another's reaction to it: that's the deal—take it or
leave it.
take it out of 1 exhaust the strength of (someone): parties and
tours can take it out of you, especially if you are over 65. 2 Brit.take
reprisals against.
take someone out of themselves make a person forget
their worries.
take that! exclaimed when hitting someone or taking decisive
action against them. You lowlifes! Take that! And that! And that!
take one's time not hurry. take your time if you're planning a big
job.
PHRASAL VERBS
take after resemble (a parent or ancestor): the rest of us take after
our mother.
take against Brit.begin to dislike (someone), often for no
strong or obvious reason: from the moment he arrived, they took
against this talented loudmouth.
take something apart dismantle something. • (take
someone/thing apart) informal attack, criticize, or defeat
someone or something in a vigorous or forceful way. she was
relishing the sight of me being verbally taken apart.
!!
take something away Brit.buy food at a cafe or restaurant
for eating elsewhere: he ordered a lamb madras to take away.
take away from detract from: that shouldn't take away from the
achievement of the French.
take someone back strongly remind someone of a past time:
if ‘Disco Inferno’ doesn't take you back, the bell-bottom pants will.
take something back 1 retract a statement: I take back nothing
of what I said. 2 return unsatisfactory goods to a shop. • (of a
shop) accept such goods. 3 Printing transfer text to the previous
line.
take something down 1 write down spoken words: I took
down the address. 2 dismantle and remove a structure: the old
Norman church was taken down in 1819.
take from another way of saying take away from.
take someone in 1 accommodate someone as a lodger or
because they are homeless or in difficulties. the convent took in
single Catholic ladies fallen on hard times. 2 cheat, fool, or deceive
someone: she tried to pass this off as an amusing story, but nobody was
taken in.
take something in 1 undertake work at home. 2 make a
garment tighter by altering its seams. • Sailing furl a sail. 3
include or encompass something: the sweep of his arm took in most
!!
of Main Street. • fully understand or absorb something heard or
seen: she took in the scene at a glance. 4 visit or attend a place or
event in a casual way or on the way to another: he'd maybe take
in a movie, or just relax.
take off 1 (of an aircraft or bird) become airborne. • (of an
enterprise) become successful or popular: the newly launched
electronic newspaper has really taken off. 2 (also take oneself
off)depart hastily: the officer took off after his men.
take someone off informal mimic someone humorously.
take something off 1 remove clothing from one's or
another's body: she took off her cardigan. 2 deduct part of an
amount. 3 choose to have a period away from work: I took the
next day off.
take on Brit. informal become very upset, especially
needlessly: don't take on so—no need to upset yourself.
take someone on 1 engage an employee. 2 be willing or
ready to meet an adversary or opponent: a group of villagers has
taken on the planners.
take something on 1 undertake a task or responsibility,
especially a difficult one: whoever takes on the trout farm will have
their work cut out. 2 acquire a particular meaning or quality: the
subject has taken on a new significance in the past year.
!!
take someone out 1 escort someone to a social event or
place of entertainment: I took her out to dinner the following night. 2
Bridge respond to a bid or double by one's partner by bidding
a different suit. most players would take their partners out into 4♥ on
these hands.
take someone/thing out informal kill, destroy, or disable
someone or something.
take something out 1 obtain an official document or service:
you can take out a loan for a specific purchase. • get a licence or
summons issued. 2 chiefly US another way of saying take
something away.
take something out on relieve frustration or anger by
attacking or mistreating (a person or thing not responsible for
such feelings).
take something over 1 (also take over)assume control of
something: British troops had taken over the German trenches. • (of a
company) buy out another. his new company took over his old one. •
become responsible for a task in succession to another: he will
take over as chief executive in April. 2 Printing transfer text to the
next line.
take to 1 begin or fall into the habit of: he took to hiding some
secret supplies in his desk. 2 form a liking for: Mrs Brady never took to
!!
Moran. • develop an ability for (something), especially quickly or
easily: I took to pole-vaulting right away. 3 go to (a place) to escape
danger or an enemy: they took to the hills.
take someone up adopt someone as a protégé.
take something up 1 become interested or engaged in a
pursuit: she took up tennis at the age of 11. • begin to hold or fulfil a
position or post: he left to take up an appointment as a missionary. •
accept an offer or challenge. 2 occupy time, space, or attention:
I don't want to take up any more of your time. 3 pursue a matter later
or further: he'll have to take it up with the bishop. • (also take
up) resume speaking after an interruption: I took up where I had
left off. 4 shorten a garment by turning up the hem.
take someone up on 1 challenge or question a speaker on (a
particular point): the interviewer did not take him up on his quotation.
2 accept (an offer or challenge) from someone: I'd like to take you
up on that offer.
take up with begin to associate with (someone), especially in a
way disapproved of by the speaker: he's taken up with a divorced
woman, I understand.
DERIVATIVES
takable (also takeable)adjective
!!
ORIGIN late Old English tacan‘get (especially by force),
capture’, from Old Norse taka ‘grasp, lay hold of’, of
unknown ultimate origin.
take-off
noun
1 a chartered plane crashed soon after take-off: departure, lift-off,
launch, blast-off, taking off; leaving, going; ascent, climbing,
mounting, flight, flying, soaring. ANTONYMS landing,
touchdown.
2 a take-off of a television talent show: parody, pastiche, mockery,
caricature, travesty, satire, lampoon, mimicry, imitation,
impersonation, impression, aping; informal send-up, spoof.
take
verb
1 Anna smiled as she took his hand: lay hold of, take hold of, get
hold of, get into one's hands; grasp, grip, clasp, clutch, grab.
ANTONYMS give.
2 he took an envelope from his inside pocket: remove, pull, draw,
withdraw, extract, fish; confiscate, take possession of.
ANTONYMS give.
!!
3 the following passage is taken from my book ‘Managing Stress’:
extract, quote, cite, excerpt, derive, abstract, reproduce, copy,
cull, choose.
4 she took a little wine with her dinner: drink, imbibe; consume,
swallow, eat, ingest.
5 many thousands of prisoners were taken: capture, seize, catch, take
captive, arrest, apprehend, take into custody; carry off, abduct,
lay hold of; trap, snare. ANTONYMS free, liberate.
6 these thieving toerags have taken my car: steal, remove, appropriate,
misappropriate, make off with, pilfer, purloin, abstract,
dispossess someone of; informal filch, pinch, swipe, nick,
snaffle, walk off with; rare peculate. ANTONYMS give.
7 take the bottom number from the total: subtract, deduct, remove,
take away/off; discount; informal knock off, minus.
ANTONYMS add.
8 all the seats had been taken: occupy, use, utilize, fill, hold; reserve,
engage; informal bag.
9 I have just taken a room in a nearby house: rent, lease, hire, charter;
reserve, book, make a reservation for, arrange for, engage.
10 I decided to take the job: accept, take up, take on, undertake.
ANTONYMS refuse.
!!
11 I'd take childbirth today over what my grandmother had to go through:
pick, choose, select, decide on, settle on, fix on, single out;
prefer, favour, opt for, plump for, vote for, elect. ANTONYMS
refuse, turn down.
12 take, for instance, the English word ‘one’: consider, ponder,
contemplate, think about, weigh up, give thought to, mull over,
deliberate over, examine, study, cogitate about, chew over,
meditate over, ruminate over.
13 he takes ‘The Observer’: subscribe to, pay a subscription to, buy
regularly, read regularly, read every day/week/month.
14 a nurse took his temperature: ascertain, determine, establish,
measure, find out, discover; calculate, compute, count,
quantify, evaluate, rate, assess, appraise, gauge.
15 she started to take notes: write, note (down), make a note of, set
down, jot (down), scribble, scrawl, take down, record, register,
document, minute, put in writing, commit to paper.
16 I took it back to London with me: bring, carry, bear, transport,
convey, move, transfer, shift, haul, drag, lug, cart, ferry;
informal tote.
17 she let the priest take her home: escort, accompany, help, assist,
show, lead, show someone the way, lead the way, conduct,
guide, see, usher, steer, pilot, shepherd, convey.
!!
18 he took the North London line to Acton: travel on, travel by,
journey on, go via; use, make use of, utilize.
19 the station takes its name from the nearby lake: derive, get, obtain,
come by, acquire, pick up, be given.
20 she took the prize for best individual speaker: receive, obtain, gain,
get, acquire, collect, accept, be given, be presented with, be
awarded, have conferred on one; secure, procure, come by,
win, earn, pick up, walk away/off with, carry off; informal
land, bag, net, scoop, cop.
21 she feared that I might take the chance to postpone the ceremony: act
on, take advantage of, capitalize on, use, exploit, make the
most of, leap at, jump on, pounce on, seize (on), grasp, grab,
snatch, accept, put to advantage, profit from, turn to account,
cash in on. ANTONYMS miss, ignore.
22 he took great pleasure in creating his own individual style: derive,
draw, acquire, obtain, get, gain, extract, procure; experience,
undergo, feel, encounter, know, come into contact with, face.
23 Elizabeth took the news of my sacking badly: receive, respond to,
react to, meet, greet; deal with, cope with.
24 do you take me for a fool? regard as, consider to be, view as,
look on as, see as, believe to be, think of as, reckon to be,
imagine to be, deem to be, hold to be, judge to be.
!!
25 I take it that you are George Tenison: assume, presume, suppose,
imagine, expect, believe, reckon, think, be of the opinion,
gather, dare say, trust, surmise, deduce, guess, conjecture, fancy,
suspect; take for granted, take as read.
26 I take your point: understand, grasp, get, comprehend,
apprehend, see, follow, take in; accept, appreciate, accept/
acknowledge/admit the validity of, recognize, sympathize with,
agree with.
27 Shirley was rather taken with this idea: captivate, enchant,
charm, delight, attract, win over, fascinate, bewitch, beguile,
enthral, entrance, lure, infatuate, seduce, dazzle, hypnotize,
mesmerize; please, amuse, divert, entertain, gladden, satisfy,
gratify; informal tickle someone pink, tickle someone's fancy.
28 I can't take much more of this business: endure, bear, suffer,
tolerate, stand, put up with, stomach, brook, abide, carry,
submit to, accept, permit, allow, admit, countenance, support,
shoulder; Scottish thole.
29 applicants may be asked to take a test: perform, execute, effect,
discharge, carry out, accomplish, fulfil, complete, conduct,
implement, do, make, have; rare effectuate.
30 I went on to take English, History, and French: study, learn, be
taught, have lessons in; read up on, work at, apply oneself to,
!!
acquire a knowledge of, gain an understanding of, grasp,
master; take up, pursue; Brit. read; informal do.
31 the journey should take a little over six hours: last, continue for, go
on for, carry on for, keep on for, run on for, endure for; require,
call for, need, necessitate, entail, involve.
32 it would take an expert marksman with a high-powered rifle to hit him:
require, need, necessitate, demand, call for, entail, involve.
33 I take size 3 in shoes: wear, habitually wear, use; require, need,
be fitted by, fit.
34 we tried to bring the children up to think this way, but somehow it did
not take: be effective, have/take effect, take hold, take root, be
efficacious, be productive, be in force, be in operation, be
efficient, be effectual, be useful; work, operate, succeed,
function.
PHRASES
take after Jenny takes after her mother: resemble, look like, be like,
be similar to, bear a resemblance to, have the look of; remind
one of, put one in mind of, make one think of, cause one to
remember, recall, conjure up, suggest, evoke, call up; informal
favour, be a chip off the old block, be the spitting image of.
take a chair/seat take a seat, I'll be with you in a second: sit down,
sit, seat oneself, settle (oneself), install oneself, plant oneself,
!!
ensconce oneself, plump oneself down, plop oneself down;
flump, perch; informal take a pew, plonk oneself down.
take against Bernard soon took against the idea: take a dislike to,
feel hostile towards, view with disfavour, look askance on,
become unfriendly towards.
take something apart we took the machines apart several times:
dismantle, pull/take to pieces, pull/take to bits, pull apart,
disassemble, break up; tear down, demolish, destroy, pulverize,
wreck, smash, shatter. ANTONYMS put together, assemble.
take someone/something apart informal she was relishing the
sight of me being taken apart by the director: criticize, attack, censure,
condemn, denigrate, find fault with, pillory, maul, lambaste,
flay, savage; informal knock, slam, pan, bash, crucify, hammer,
lay into, roast, skewer. ANTONYMS lavish praise on.
take someone back 1 a dream which took me back to my first
year in Vienna: evoke, awaken/evoke one's memories of, remind
one of, put one in mind of, conjure up, summon up, call up;
echo, suggest, smack of. 2 if she apologizes I will take her back: be
reconciled to, forgive, pardon, excuse, exonerate, absolve;
accept back, welcome, receive; let bygones be bygones, forgive
and forget, bury the hatchet.
!!
take something back 1 I take back every word I said: retract,
withdraw, renounce, disclaim, disown, unsay, disavow, recant,
abjure, repudiate, override; back-pedal. ANTONYMS stand
by. 2 I must take the keys back to the steward: return, carry back,
bring back, fetch back, give back, hand back, send back,
restore, remit. ANTONYMS keep, hang on to. 3 I'd damaged the
box so the shop wouldn't take it back: accept back, give a refund for,
exchange, trade, swap. 4 the Romans took back the city in the
following year: regain, repossess, reclaim, retrieve, recover,
recoup, restore, get back; recapture, reconquer. ANTONYMS
give away, cede.
take someone by surprise executives were taken by surprise when
sales dropped off late last year: take aback, surprise, shock, stun,
stagger, astound, astonish, startle; dumbfound, daze, nonplus,
stop someone in their tracks, stupefy, take someone's breath
away; shake (up), jolt, throw, unnerve, disconcert, disturb,
disquiet, unsettle, discompose, bewilder; informal flabbergast,
knock for six, knock sideways, knock out, floor, strike dumb.
take someone down a peg or two See peg.
take something down 1 the policeman took down her particulars:
write down, note down, make a note of, jot down, set down,
mark down, record, put on record, commit to paper, put in
!!
black and white, register, draft, document, minute, pen. 2 we
took down the lighting rig at the end of the shoot: remove, dismantle,
disassemble, unfasten, separate, take apart, take to pieces, take
out, disconnect; demolish, tear down, level, raze.
ANTONYMS leave in place. 3 they insisted he take down the flag:
pull down, let down, haul down, move down, lower, drop, let
fall, let sink. ANTONYMS pull up, haul up.
take someone in 1 Mrs Smith took in paying guests:
accommodate, board, house, feed, put up, take care of, admit,
let in, receive, welcome, take, billet, harbour. ANTONYMS
turn someone away. 2 you were taken in by an elaborate trick:
deceive, delude, hoodwink, mislead, trick, dupe, fool, cheat,
defraud, swindle, outwit, gull, humbug, bluff, hoax, bamboozle;
informal con, bilk, pull the wool over someone's eyes, put one
over on; archaic cozen.
take something in 1 at first she could hardly take in the news:
comprehend, understand, grasp, follow, absorb, soak in,
assimilate, make out; informal get. 2 this route takes in some of the
most dramatic cliffs in Britain: include, encompass, embrace,
contain, comprise, cover, incorporate, embody, comprehend,
subsume, envelop; digest, assimilate; admit, hold.
!!
take someone in hand someone has to take him in hand: control,
have authority over, be in charge of, direct, preside over, lead,
dominate, master; reform, improve, correct, change, make
better, rehabilitate.
take something in hand the time has come to take matters in hand:
deal with, apply oneself to, address oneself to, get to grips
with, get stuck into, busy oneself with, set one's hand to,
grapple with, take on, attend to, see to, sort out, take care of,
pursue, handle, manage; start on, embark on; formal
commence.
take it out of I'd had no idea how much hauling one of those things
around would take it out of you: exhaust, drain, enervate, tire,
fatigue, wear out, weary, debilitate, jade; informal fag out,
whack, bush, knacker, poop.
take off 1 I walked up to the horse, but he took off at a great speed:
run away, run off, flee, abscond, take flight, decamp, disappear,
leave, go, depart, make off, bolt, make a run/break for it, take
to one's heels, beat a hasty retreat, make a quick exit, make
one's getaway, escape, head for the hills; informal split, beat it,
clear off, clear out, skedaddle, vamoose, hightail it, light out.
ANTONYMS stay put. 2 the plane took off: become airborne,
leave the ground, take to the air, take wing; be launched, lift
!!
off, blast off. ANTONYMS land, touch down. 3 the idea really
took off: succeed, do well, become popular, catch on, progress,
prosper, flourish, thrive, boom, turn out well, work (out).
ANTONYMS fail, flop.
take someone off he takes off the Prime Minister very well:
mimic, impersonate, imitate, ape, parody, mock, caricature,
satirize, burlesque, lampoon, ridicule; informal spoof, do, send
up.
take oneself off I took myself off to the office: withdraw, retire,
take one's leave, make one's departure, leave, exit, depart, go
away, pull out, quit, make oneself scarce; informal clear off,
clear out. ANTONYMS stay put.
take something off 1 they'd put a tinned steak and kidney pudding
in the oven and forgotten to take its lid off: detach, remove, pull off;
cut off, clip off, hack off, chop off, prune off, nip off; extract,
sever, separate. ANTONYMS leave on. 2 she took off her clothes
and folded them carefully: remove, doff, divest oneself of, shed,
strip off, pull off, peel off, climb out of, slip out of, shrug off,
throw off, cast off, fling off, fling aside, discard. ANTONYMS
put on. 3 it might help to take a pound or two off the price: deduct,
subtract, take away, remove.
!!
take on Brit. informal don't take on so! get upset, make a fuss,
break down, get excited, go too far, lose one's sense of
proportion, overreact; informal lose one's cool, get in a tizzy.
ANTONYMS keep calm.
take someone on 1 they could find no major challenger to take him
on: compete against, oppose, challenge, confront, face, fight,
pit/match oneself against, vie with, contend with/against,
battle with/against, struggle against, take up cudgels against,
stand up to, go head to head against. 2 the Home Office took on
extra staff: engage, hire, employ, enrol, enlist, sign up, take into
employment, put on the payroll; informal take on board.
ANTONYMS fire, dismiss.
take something on 1 he took on additional responsibility:
undertake, accept, take on oneself, tackle, turn one's hand to,
adopt, assume, shoulder, embrace, acquire, carry, bear,
support; informal have a go at. 2 in this polarized society, even the
narrowest psychological study took on political meaning: acquire,
assume, come to have, come by. ANTONYMS abandon, give
up.
take someone out the very first night he took her out, Frank proposed
to her: go out with, escort, partner, accompany, go with;
!!
romance, court, woo, go courting with; informal date, see, go
steady with.
take someone/something out informal they were taken out by
a sniper: kill, murder, assassinate, put to death, do away with,
put an end to, get rid of, dispatch, execute, finish off, eliminate,
exterminate, terminate; destroy, obliterate, annihilate; informal
do in, bump off, rub out, wipe out, hit, mow down, top; literary
slay.
take something out that tooth will need to be taken out: extract,
remove, pull (out), yank out, tug out, pluck out, prise out,
separate, detach, draw; Brit. informal hoick out. ANTONYMS
put in.
take something over she took over the editorship in 1989: assume
control of, take control of, gain control of, take charge of, take
command of, assume responsibility for; assume, acquire, gain,
appropriate, be elevated to.
take one's time he took his time going through the papers: go slowly,
not hurry, be leisurely, proceed in a leisurely fashion, dally,
dawdle, delay, linger, go at a snail's pace, drag one's feet, waste
time, while away time, kill time; informal dilly-dally; archaic or
literary tarry. ANTONYMS hurry, rush.
!!
take to 1 after being mugged a few months back, he had taken to
carrying his money in different parts of his clothing: make a habit of,
resort to, turn to, have recourse to, begin, start; formal
commence. ANTONYMS stop. 2 Ruth took to Mrs Taylor the
moment she opened the door: develop a liking for, like, get on with,
become friendly with; informal take a shine to. ANTONYMS
dislike. 3 the dog has really taken to hurdles racing: become good at,
develop an ability/aptitude for, be suitable for; develop a liking
for, like, enjoy, become interested in.
take something up 1 we took up our bags and left: pick up, grab,
scoop up, gather up, snatch up, swoop up; carry; lift up, raise,
uplift, heft, heave, elevate. ANTONYMS put down, drop. 2 in
the thirties he took up abstract painting: become involved in, become
interested in, engage in, participate in, take part in, practise,
follow; begin, start; formal commence. ANTONYMS give up,
drop. 3 she found that the meetings took up all her time: consume, fill,
absorb, use, use up, occupy; cover, extend over; waste,
squander, go through. 4 her cousin took up the story: resume,
recommence, restart, begin again, carry on, continue, carry on
with, pick up, return to. 5 he had decided to take up their offer of
employment: accept, say yes to, agree to, accede to, adopt, get,
!!
gain. ANTONYMS refuse. 6 you'll need to take the skirt up an inch
or two: shorten, make shorter, turn up; raise, lift, make higher.
take up with she took up with a middle-aged art historian: become
friendly with, become friends with, go around with, go along
with, fall in with, join up with, string along with, get involved
with, start seeing; informal knock about/around with, hang
around/out with; Brit. informal hang about with.
noun
1 the whalers' commercial take: catch, haul, bag, yield, net.
2 he is determined to increase the state's tax take: revenue, income,
gain, profit, money received, payments received; takings,
proceeds, returns, receipts, profits, winnings, pickings, earnings,
spoils; Sport gate money, purse; Brit. informal bunce.
3 you need someone with a clapperboard at the start of each take: scene,
sequence, filmed sequence, clip, part, segment.
4 her wry and knowing take on sex and gender issues: view of,
reading of, version of, interpretation of, understanding of,
account of, explanation of, analysis of, approach to.
revolution |rɛvəәˈluːʃ(əә)n|
noun
!!
1 a forcible overthrow of a government or social order, in
favour of a new system. the country has had a socialist revolution.
• (often the Revolution)(in Marxism) the class struggle which
is expected to lead to political change and the triumph of
communism. when I grew up it was the Marxism that was very strong,
it was like the revolution was coming next week.
• a dramatic and wide-reaching change in conditions, attitudes,
or operation: marketing underwent a revolution.
2 an instance of revolving: one revolution a second.
• [ mass noun ] the movement of an object in a circular or
elliptical course around another or about an axis or centre:
revolution about the axis of rotation.
• a single orbit of one object around another or about an axis
or centre. near the solar equator the sun takes about 26 days to complete
one revolution.
DERIVATIVES
revolutionism noun,
revolutionist noun
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French, or from late
Latin revolutio(n-), from revolvere ‘roll back’ (see
revolve) .
!!
node |nəәʊd|
noun technical
1 a point in a network or diagram at which lines or pathways
intersect or branch. the intersections of two or more such arteries would
clearly become major nodes of traffic and urban activity.
• a piece of equipment, such as a computer or peripheral,
attached to a network. the company's internal worldwide area network
now has some 22,000 nodes. every node on the Internet.
• Mathematics a point at which a curve intersects itself.
• Astronomy either of the two points at which a planet's orbit
intersects the plane of the ecliptic or the celestial equator.
2 Botany the part of a plant stem from which one or more
leaves emerge, often forming a slight swelling. the stem is cut
midway between nodes.
3 Anatomy a lymph node or other structure consisting of a
small mass of differentiated tissue. infection in these nodes may lead
to backache.
4 Physics & Mathematics a point at which the amplitude of
vibration in a standing wave system is zero.
• a point at which a harmonic function has the value zero,
especially a point of zero electron density in an orbital.
• a point of zero current or voltage.
!!
DERIVATIVES
nodal adjective
ORIGIN late Middle English (denoting a knotty swelling or a
protuberance): from Latin nodus ‘knot’.
!