Set 3

luxuriant |lʌgˈʒʊ%rɪ%nt, lʌgˈzjʊ%-, lʌkˈsjʊ%-|

adjective

(of vegetation) rich and profuse in growth; lush. forests of dark,

luxuriant foliage.

• (of hair) thick and healthy. she tossed her luxuriant dark hair.

DERIVATIVES

luxuriance noun,

luxuriantly adverb

ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin luxuriant- ‘growing

rankly’, from the verb luxuriare, from luxuria ‘luxury,

rankness’.

luxuriant

adjective

luxuriant green vegetation: lush, rich, abundant, superabundant,

profuse, exuberant, prolific, teeming, flourishing, fecund,

thriving, vigorous, riotous; dense, thick, rank, rampant,

overgrown; verdant, green; informal jungly. ANTONYMS

barren, meagre, sparse.

EASILY CONFUSED WORDS

luxuriant or luxurious?See luxurious.

These notes clear up confusion between similar-looking

pairs.

lush 1 |lʌʃ|

adjective

1 (of vegetation, especially grass) growing luxuriantly: lush

greenery and cultivated fields.

• very rich and providing great sensory pleasure: lush

orchestrations.

2 Brit. informal sexually attractive.

• very good: I had some really lush pressies.

lush

adjective

1 the hills are covered in lush vegetation: luxuriant, rich, abundant,

superabundant, profuse, exuberant, riotous, prolific, teeming,

flourishing, thriving, vigorous; dense, thick, rank, rampant,

overgrown, jungle-like; verdant, green; informal jungly.

ANTONYMS barren, meagre.2 a lush ripe peach: succulent, luscious, juicy, fleshy, pulpy, soft,

tender, ripe, fresh. ANTONYMS shrivelled.

3 a lush apartment in the best residential section: luxurious, luxury,

deluxe, sumptuous, grand, palatial, opulent, lavish, elaborate,

extravagant, fancy; informal plush, ritzy, classy, posh, swanky;

Brit. informal swish; N. Amer. informal swank. ANTONYMS

austere.

abundant |#ˈbʌnd(#)nt|

adjective

existing or available in large quantities; plentiful: there was

abundant evidence to support the theory.

• (abundant in) having plenty of: the riverbanks were abundant in

beautiful wild plants.

ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin abundant-

‘abounding’, from the verb abundare (see abound) .

abundant

adjective

there is abundant rainfall during the summer: plentiful, copious,

ample, profuse, rich, lavish, liberal, generous, bountiful, large,

huge, great, bumper, overflowing, superabundant, infinite,inexhaustible, opulent, prolific, teeming; in plenty, in

abundance; informal a gogo, galore; S. African informal lank;

literary bounteous, plenteous. ANTONYMS scarce, sparse.

PHRASES

be abundant abound, be plentiful, be numerous, exist in

abundance, proliferate,

be thick on the ground; informal grow on trees; Brit. informal

be two/ten a penny.

overabundant |#ʊv(#)r#ˈbʌnd(#)nt|

adjective

excessive in quantity: overabundant microbial growth.

DERIVATIVES

overabundance noun,

overabundantly adverb

exuberant |ɪgˈz(j)uːb(#)r(#)nt, ɛg-|

adjective

full of energy, excitement, and cheerfulness: a noisy bunch of

exuberant youngsters.• characterized by a vigorously imaginative artistic style:

exuberant, over-the-top sculptures.

• literary growing luxuriantly or profusely: exuberant foliage.

DERIVATIVES

exuberantly adverb

ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘overflowing,

abounding’): from French exubérant, from Latin exuberant-

‘being abundantly fruitful’, from the verb exuberare (based

on uber ‘fertile’).

exuberant

adjective

1 exuberant groups of guests were dancing on the terrace: ebullient,

buoyant, cheerful, sunny, breezy, jaunty, light-hearted, in high

spirits, high-spirited, exhilarated, excited, elated, exultant,

euphoric, joyful, cheery, merry, jubilant, sparkling, effervescent,

vivacious, enthusiastic, irrepressible, energetic, animated, full of

life, lively, vigorous, zestful; informal bubbly, bouncy, peppy,

zingy, upbeat, chipper, chirpy, smiley, sparky, full of beans; N.

Amer. informal peart; dated gay; literary gladsome, blithe,

blithesome; archaic as merry as a grig, of good cheer.

ANTONYMS gloomy.2 an exuberant coating of mosses: luxuriant, lush, rich, abundant,

abounding, superabundant, profuse, copious, plentiful, riotous,

prolific, teeming, flourishing, thriving, vigorous; dense, thick,

rank, rampant, overgrown, jungle-like; verdant, green; informal

jungly. ANTONYMS meagre, stunted.

3 she flung her arms wide apart in exuberant welcome: effusive, lavish,

extravagant, fulsome, expansive, gushing, gushy, demonstrative,

exaggerated, dramatic, theatrical, actorly, unreserved,

unrestrained, unlimited, wholehearted, generous; excessive,

superfluous, prodigal; informal over the top, OTT.

ANTONYMS restrained.

prolific |pr#ˈlɪfɪk|

adjective

1 (of a plant, animal, or person) producing much fruit or

foliage or many offspring: in captivity tigers are prolific breeders.

• (of an artist, author, or composer) producing many works: he

was a prolific composer of operas.

• (of a sports player) high-scoring: a prolific goalscorer.

2 present in large numbers or quantities; plentiful: mahogany was

once prolific in the tropical forests.• characterized by plentiful wildlife or produce: the prolific rivers

around Galway.

DERIVATIVES

prolificacy noun,

prolifically adverb,

prolificness noun

ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from medieval Latin prolificus,

from Latin proles ‘offspring’ (see proliferous) .

prolific

adjective

1 the plant bears a prolific crop of large, firm tomatoes: plentiful,

abundant, bountiful, profuse, copious, luxuriant, rich, lush,

proliferative; fertile, fruitful, fecund; rife, rank; literary

plenteous, bounteous; rare proliferous.

2 he was enormously prolific, writing 263 solo cantatas and arias:

productive, creative, inventive, fertile.

flourishing |ˈflʌrɪʃɪŋ|

adjective

developing rapidly and successfully; thriving: a flourishing career.flourish |ˈflʌrɪʃ|

verb

1 [ no obj. ] (of a living organism) grow or develop in a healthy

or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly

congenial environment: wild plants flourish on the banks of the lake.

• develop rapidly and successfully: the organization has continued to

flourish.

• [ with adverbial ] be working or at the height of one's career

during a specified period: the caricaturist and wit who flourished in

the early years of this century.

2 [ with obj. ] wave (something) about to attract attention:

‘Happy New Year!’ he yelled, flourishing a bottle of whisky.

noun

1 a bold or extravagant gesture or action, made especially to

attract attention: with a flourish, she ushered them inside.

• an elaborate rhetorical or literary expression.

• an ornamental flowing curve in handwriting or scrollwork:

letters with an emphatic flourish beneath them.

2 an impressive and successful act or period: United produced a

late second-half flourish.

3 Music a fanfare played by brass instruments: a flourish of

trumpets.• an ornate musical passage.

• an extemporized addition played especially at the beginning

or end of a composition.

DERIVATIVES

flourisher noun

ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French floriss-,

lengthened stem of florir, based on Latin florere, from flos,

flor- ‘a flower’. The noun senses ‘ornamental curve’ and

‘florid expression’ come from an obsolete sense of the verb,

‘adorn’ (originally with flowers).

flourishing

adjective

a flourishing economy: thriving, prosperous, prospering, booming,

burgeoning, successful, strong, vigorous, buoyant; productive,

profitable, fruitful, lucrative; growing, developing, progressing,

improving, expanding, mushrooming, snowballing, ballooning;

informal going strong. ANTONYMS moribund.

flourish

verb1 rainforests flourish because of the heat and the rain: grow, thrive,

prosper, grow/do well, develop, burgeon, increase, multiply,

proliferate; spring up, shoot up, bloom, blossom, bear fruit,

burst forth, run riot; put on a spurt, boom, mushroom.

ANTONYMS die; wither.

2 the arts flourished in this period: thrive, prosper, bloom, be in good

shape, be in good health, be well, be strong, be vigorous, be in

its heyday; progress, make progress, advance, make headway,

develop, improve, become better, mature; evolve, make strides,

move forward (in leaps and bounds), move ahead, get ahead,

expand; informal be in the pink, go places, go great guns, get

somewhere. ANTONYMS decline.

3 he flourished the sword at them in a mocking salute: brandish, wave,

shake, wield, raise, hold aloft; swing, twirl, wag, swish, flap;

display, exhibit, flaunt, vaunt, parade, show off.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD

flourish, thrive, prosper

All three words denote a healthy or successful state.

■ Flourish and thrive both mean ‘grow healthily’ or ‘be

successful, active, or widespread’, and are used

especially of plants, but also of people (either physically

or emotionally), animals, businesses, activities, andabstract things such as ideas and movements (only

algae will thrive in such an environment | Macedonian

religious and cultural life continued to flourish under the

Byzantines). Both are often found in their adjectival

forms, flourishing and thriving, which predominantly

have a financial sense (he joined his father's thriving

business).

■ Thrive is also used with on in a sense tending towards

‘enjoy’ (the kind of plants that thrive on heat and dust |

he is the kind of person who thrives on arguments).

■ Prosper is used of people and groups of people and

refers mainly to material or financial success (the

company has grown and prospered). Although the

adjective prosperous is an everyday word, to prosper

can have a slightly archaic ring.

These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between

closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.

fecund |ˈfɛk(#)nd, ˈfiːk-|

adjectiveproducing or capable of producing an abundance of offspring

or new growth; highly fertile: a lush and fecund garden.

• producing many new ideas: her fecund imagination.

• technical capable of bearing children.

DERIVATIVES

fecundity |fɪˈkʌndɪti| noun

ORIGIN late Middle English: from French fécond or Latin

fecundus .

fecund

adjective

a lush and fecund garden. See fertile (sense 1).

fertile

adjective

1 the soil is moist and fertile: fecund, fruitful, productive, high-

yielding, prolific, proliferating, propagative, generative; rich,

lush; rare fructuous. ANTONYMS infertile.

2 even couples who are fertile may adopt a child: able to conceive, able

to have children, fecund, potent, generative, reproductive.

ANTONYMS barren.3 he has a particularly fertile brain: imaginative, inventive,

innovative, innovational, creative, visionary, original, ingenious,

resourceful, constructive; productive, prolific. ANTONYMS

unimaginative.

thriving |ˈθrʌɪvɪŋ|

adjective

prosperous and growing; flourishing: the thriving business George

has built up.

thrive |θrʌɪv|

verb (thrives, thriving, pastthrove |θr#ʊv| or thrived; past

participlethriven |ˈθrɪv(#)n| or thrived) [ no obj. ]

(of a child, animal, or plant) grow or develop well or

vigorously: the new baby thrived.

• prosper; flourish: education groups thrive on organization.

ORIGIN Middle English (originally in the sense ‘grow,

increase’): from Old Norse thrífask, reflexive of thrífa

‘grasp, get hold of’. Compare with thrift.

thriving

adjectivea thriving business: flourishing, prosperous, prospering, growing,

developing, burgeoning, blooming, healthy, successful,

advancing, progressing; luxuriant, lush, prolific; booming,

profitable, expanding; informal going strong. ANTONYMS

moribund, dying, unhealthy.

thrive

verb

there are several foliage plants that thrive in a window box: flourish,

prosper, grow vigorously, develop well, burgeon, bloom,

blossom, do well, advance, make strides, succeed; shoot up;

boom, profit, expand, go well, grow rich. ANTONYMS

decline, wither, fail, stagnate, die.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD

thrive, flourish, prosper

See flourish.

These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between

closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.

vigorous |ˈvɪg(#)r#s|

adjectivestrong, healthy, and full of energy: a tall, vigorous, and muscular

man.

• characterized by or involving physical strength, effort, or

energy: vigorous aerobic exercise.

• (of language) forceful: a vigorous denial.

DERIVATIVES

vigorousness noun

ORIGIN Middle English: via Old French from medieval Latin

vigorosus, from Latin vigor (see vigour) .

vigorous

adjective

1 the child was strong and vigorous: robust, healthy, in good health,

hale and hearty, strong, strong as an ox/horse/lion, sturdy, fine,

fit, in good condition, in tip-top condition, in good shape, in

good trim, in good kilter; hardy, tough, athletic, strapping,

able-bodied; bouncing, thriving, flourishing, blooming;

energetic, lively, active, spry, sprightly, perky, playful, jaunty,

vivacious, animated, spirited, high-spirited, dynamic, vibrant,

full of life, vital, sparkling, effervescent, zestful, buoyant,

tireless, indefatigable; informal go-getting, zippy, peppy,

bouncy, upbeat, full of vim, full of beans, raring to go, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, in the pink, fit as a fiddle; N. English

informal wick; N. Amer. informal chipper. ANTONYMS frail,

weak.

2 a vigorous defence of government policy: strenuous, powerful,

potent, forceful, forcible, spirited, mettlesome, determined,

resolute, aggressive, eager, keen, active, enthusiastic, zealous,

ardent, fervent, vehement, intense, intensive, passionate, fiery,

wild, unrestrained, uncontrolled, unbridled; tough, blunt, hard-

hitting, pulling no punches; informal all-out, punchy, in-your-

face. ANTONYMS weak, feeble.

riotous |ˈrʌɪ#t#s|

adjective

marked by or involving public disorder: a riotous crowd.

• characterized by wild and uncontrolled behaviour: a riotous

party.

• having a vivid, varied appearance: a riotous display of bright red,

green, and yellow vegetables.

• hilariously funny: a riotous account of the making of the movie.

DERIVATIVES

riotously adverb,

riotousness nounORIGIN Middle English (in the sense ‘troublesome’): from

Old French, from riote (see riot) .

riotous

adjective

1 the match was abandoned after a demonstration in the National Stadium

turned riotous: unruly, rowdy, disorderly, disruptive, out of

control, rioting, uncontrollable, ungovernable, unmanageable,

unbiddable, insubordinate, undisciplined, turbulent,

uproarious, tumultuous; violent, wild, ugly, brawling, lawless,

anarchic. ANTONYMS law-abiding, peaceable, calm.

2 a riotous party: boisterous, lively, loud, noisy, rip-roaring,

unrestrained, uninhibited, roisterous, uproarious, unruly,

rollicking; abandoned, orgiastic, debauched, depraved; Brit.

informal rumbustious; N. Amer. informal rambunctious;

archaic robustious. ANTONYMS restrained, quiet.

barren |ˈbar(#)n|

adjective

1 (of land) too poor to produce much or any vegetation. the

plains of Kyrenia were barren. the barren, burnt-up countryside.• (of a tree or plant) not producing fruit or seed. the barren fig

tree.

• archaic (of a woman) infertile.

• (of a female animal) not pregnant or unable to become so.

2 showing no results or achievements; unproductive: he scored

yesterday to end his barren spell.

3 (of a place or building) bleak and lifeless. the sports hall turned

out to be a rather barren concrete building. the flat feels too tidy, almost

barren.

• empty of meaning or value. your life will be barren.

• (barren of) devoid of: the room was barren of furniture.

noun (usu. barrens) chiefly N. Amer.

a barren tract or tracts of land: the Newfoundland barrens.

DERIVATIVES

barrenly adverb,

barrenness |ˈbar(#)nnɪs| noun

ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French barhaine, of

unknown origin.

barren

adjective1 barren land: unproductive, infertile, unfruitful, sterile, arid,

desert, waste, desolate, uncultivatable; impoverished.

ANTONYMS fertile, productive.

2 archaic a barren woman: infertile, sterile, childless; technical

infecund. ANTONYMS fertile.

3 a barren exchange of courtesies: pointless, futile, worthless,

profitless, valueless, unrewarding, purposeless, useless, vain,

aimless; uninteresting, boring, dull, drab, dry, arid, flat, lifeless,

uninspiring, unstimulating, stale, prosaic, hollow, empty,

vacuous, vapid. ANTONYMS stimulating, fruitful.

meagre 1 |ˈmiːg#| (USmeager)

adjective

(of something provided or available) lacking in quantity or

quality: they were forced to supplement their meagre earnings.

• (of a person, animal, or part of the body) lean; thin. a tall,

meagre, but erect man.

DERIVATIVES

meagrely adverb

ORIGIN Middle English (in the sense ‘lean’): from Old French

maigre, from Latin macer .

meagre 2 |ˈmiːg#|nounBrit.

another term for kabeljou.

ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from French, noun use of maigre

‘lean, thin’.

meagre

adjective

1 they were forced to supplement their meagre earnings: inadequate,

scanty, scant, paltry, limited, restricted, modest, insufficient,

sparse, spare, deficient, negligible, insubstantial, skimpy, short,

little, lean, small, slight, slender, poor, miserable, pitiful, puny,

miserly, niggardly, beggarly; informal measly, stingy, pathetic,

piddling; rare exiguous. ANTONYMS abundant.

2 a tall, meagre man: thin, thin as a rake, lean, skinny, spare,

scrawny, scraggy, gangling, gangly, spindly, stringy, lanky, reedy,

bony, raw-boned, gaunt, underweight, emaciated, skeletal,

starved, underfed, undernourished, attenuated, wraithlike,

cadaverous, wasted, anorexic. ANTONYMS fat.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD

meagre, sparse, scanty

All these words are used when there is less of something

than there could or should be.■ Meagre is generally used of necessities such as food,

money, or something else which is provided or available

for people. It suggests that there is not enough (these

men were unable to save out of their meagre earnings) or

that what there is is of poor quality (prisoners queue for

their meagre rations of thin soup).

■ Sparse means ‘thinly dispersed’—that is, small or few

in relation to the area covered or the space to be filled (a

sparse and scattered population) and therefore, by

extension, ‘in short supply’ (it was a sparse audience |

for the first half of the nineteenth century the evidence is

sparse).

■ Scanty refers particularly to the smallness of the thing

that is inadequate (there are only scanty remains of any

of the great palaces) and is often used of skimpy or

revealing clothing (the ridiculously scanty nightdress

threatened to fall off her shoulders altogether).

These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between

closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.

sparse |spɑːs|adjective

thinly dispersed or scattered: areas of sparse population.

• scanty; in short supply: information on earnings is sparse.

DERIVATIVES

sparsely adverb,

sparseness noun,

sparsity noun

ORIGIN early 18th cent. (used to describe writing in the sense

‘widely spaced’): from Latin sparsus, past participle of

spargere ‘scatter’.

sparse

adjective

areas of sparse population: scanty, scant, scattered, thinly

distributed, scarce, infrequent, sporadic, few and far between;

meagre, paltry, skimpy, limited, in short supply, at a premium,

hard to come by; slight, thin. ANTONYMS abundant,

plentiful; thick.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD

sparse, scanty, meagre

See meagre.These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between

closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.

verdant |ˈv#ːd(#)nt|

adjective

(of countryside) green with grass or other rich vegetation:

verdant valleys.

• of the bright green colour of lush grass. a deep, verdant green. a

serving of hideously verdant mushy peas.

DERIVATIVES

verdancy noun,

verdantly adverb

verdant

adjective

the verdant forests of southern Vermont: green, leafy, grassy, grass-

covered; lush, rich, flourishing, thriving, teeming, prolific,

rampant, overgrown, dense, thick, jungle-like; informal jungly;

rare verdurous, viridescent, virid, graminaceous, gramineous.onus |ˈ#ʊn#s|

noun (the onus)

something that is one's duty or responsibility: the onus is on

you to show that you have suffered loss.

ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Latin, literally ‘load or

burden’.

onus

noun

the onus is on the plaintiff to obtain the police report: burden,

responsibility, liability, obligation, duty, weight, load, charge,

mantle, encumbrance; cross to bear, millstone round one's

neck, albatross.

derision |dɪˈrɪʒ(#)n|

noun [ mass noun ]

contemptuous ridicule or mockery: my stories were greeted with

derision and disbelief.

PHRASES

hold (or have) in derision archaic regard with mockery.

DERIVATIVES

derisible |dɪˈrɪzɪb(#)l| adjectiveORIGIN late Middle English: via Old French from late Latin

derisio(n-), from deridere ‘scoff at’.

derision

noun

my stories were greeted with disbelief and derision: mockery, ridicule,

jeering, jeers, sneers, scoffing, jibing, taunts; disdain,

disparagement, denigration, disrespect, pooh-poohing;

sneering, scorn, scornfulness, taunting, insults; contempt,

vilification, obloquy; lampooning, satire; ragging, teasing,

chaffing, raillery; archaic contumely. ANTONYMS respect,

praise.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD

derision, mockery, ridicule

See mockery.

These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between

closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.

contempt |k#nˈtɛm(p)t|

noun [ mass noun ]the feeling that a person or a thing is worthless or deserving

scorn: Pam stared at the girl with total contempt | he wouldn't answer a

woman he held in such contempt.

• disregard for something that should be considered: this action

displays an arrogant contempt for the wishes of the majority.

• (also contempt of court)the offence of being disobedient to

or disrespectful of a court of law and its officers. [ count

noun ] : when he was found to have lied to the House this was a

contempt.

PHRASES

beneath contempt utterly worthless or despicable. tawdry

trash that is beneath contempt.

hold someone in contempt judge someone to have

committed the offence of contempt of court. the advocate was

held in contempt for subpoenaing the judge.

hold someone/thing in contempt consider someone or

something to be unworthy of respect or attention: the speed limit

is held in contempt by many drivers.

ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin contemptus, from

contemnere (see contemn) .

contemptnoun

1 she was showing little but contempt for him: scorn, disdain,

disrespect, deprecation, disparagement, denigration,

opprobrium, odium, obloquy, scornfulness; derision, mockery,

ridicule; disgust, loathing, detestation, abhorrence, hatred;

archaic contumely. ANTONYMS respect.

2 he is guilty of contempt of court: disrespect, disregard, slighting,

neglect; Law contumacy. ANTONYMS respect.

cantankerous |kanˈtaŋk(#)r#s|

adjective

bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative: he can be a

cantankerous old fossil at times.

DERIVATIVES

cantankerously adverb,

cantankerousness noun

ORIGIN mid 18th cent.: of unknown origin; perhaps a blend

of Anglo-Irish cant‘auction’ and rancorous (see rancour) .

cantankerous

adjectivea cantankerous old man: bad-tempered, irascible, irritable, grumpy,

grouchy, crotchety, tetchy, testy, crusty, curmudgeonly, ill-

tempered, ill-natured, ill-humoured, peevish, cross, as cross as

two sticks, fractious, disagreeable, pettish, crabbed, crabby,

waspish, prickly, peppery, touchy, scratchy, splenetic, shrewish,

short-tempered, hot-tempered, quick-tempered, dyspeptic,

choleric, bilious, liverish, cross-grained; argumentative,

quarrelsome, uncooperative, contrary, perverse, difficult,

awkward; informal snappish, snappy, chippy, on a short fuse,

short-fused; Brit. informal shirty, stroppy, narky, ratty, eggy, like

a bear with a sore head; N. Amer. informal cranky, ornery,

peckish, soreheaded; Austral./NZ informal snaky; informal,

dated waxy, miffy. ANTONYMS good-natured, affable.

trite |trʌɪt|

adjective

(of a remark or idea) lacking originality or freshness; dull on

account of overuse: this point may now seem obvious and trite.

DERIVATIVES

tritely adverb,

triteness nounORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin tritus, past participle of

terere ‘to rub’.

trite

adjective

the observation struck me as both trite and irrelevant: hackneyed, banal,

clichéd, platitudinous, vapid, commonplace, ordinary,

common, stock, conventional, stereotyped, predictable; stale,

overused, overworked, overdone, worn out, time-worn, tired,

threadbare, hoary, hack, unimaginative, unoriginal, derivative,

uninspired, dull, pedestrian, run-of-the-mill, routine,

humdrum; informal old hat, corny, played out; N. Amer.

informal cornball, dime-store; rare truistic, bromidic.

ANTONYMS original, fresh, imaginative.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD

trite, hackneyed, stale

All these words suggest a lack of originality, generally

springing from laziness on the part of a speaker or

writer.

■ A trite remark is intrinsically banal or shallow (trite stuff

about decadence in Tinseltown). While it is not likely tocontain anything that someone could disagree with, it is

an easy option, which may cause offence in contexts

where one should have made a greater effort (trite

answers for grieving people).

■ A hackneyed theme or idea has been overused, often

because it is an easy trigger for emotion (hackneyed

dramatic devices | the hackneyed image of the poor

benighted savage). There is a sense that a hackneyed

phrase, idea, or image is used mindlessly, even to the

point of dishonesty: it may well still have some

emotional impact, but this may not be justified by the

context in which it is used.

■ Stale expressions and ideas were once telling or valid

but have been repeated so often that they have lost their

force (the jokes are a bit stale).

These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between

closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.

cut up

adjective [ predic. ]1 (of soft ground) rutted and uneven after the passage of heavy

vehicles or animals.

2 informal (of a person) very distressed: she was pretty cut up about

them leaving.

noun(cut-up)

1 a film or sound recording made by cutting and editing

material from pre-existing recordings. the band use old movie and

televangelist cut ups and rap-influenced vocals.

2 N. Amer. informal a person who is fond of making jokes or

playing the fool. she insists she was ‘never a class cut-up’, but her sister

was always pretty funny.

cut |kʌt|

verb (cutting; past and past participlecut) [ with obj. ]

1 make an opening, incision, or wound in (something) with a

sharp-edged tool or object: he cut his big toe on a sharp stone | when

fruit is cut open, it goes brown.

• make a deliberate incision in (one's flesh), as a symptom of

psychological or emotional distress: I started cutting myself when I

was about 14 and continued for four years | [ no obj. ] : I just started

high school and I have a lot of self-confidence issues and as a result I

started cutting.2 remove (something) from something larger by using a sharp

implement: I cut his photograph out of the paper | some prisoners

had their right hands cut off.

• castrate (an animal, especially a horse).

• (cut something out) make something by cutting: I cut out

some squares of paper.

• (cut something out) remove, exclude, or stop eating or

doing something undesirable: start today by cutting out fatty foods.

• (cut something out) N. Amer.separate an animal from the

main herd. after the target animal is spotted, the pilot swoops down,

cutting it out of the herd.

3 divide into pieces with a knife or other sharp implement: cut

the beef into thin slices | he cut his food up into teeny pieces.

• make divisions in (something): land that has been cut up by

streams into forested areas.

• separate (something) into two; sever: they cut the rope before he

choked.

• (cut something down) cause something to fall by cutting it

through at the base. some 24 hectares of trees were cut down.

• (cut someone down) (of a weapon, bullet, or disease) kill or

injure someone: Barker had been cut down by a sniper's bullet.4 make or form (something) by using a sharp tool to remove

material: workmen cut a hole in the pipe.

• make or design (a garment) in a particular way: (as adj., with

submodifiercut) : an impeccably cut suit.

• make (a path, tunnel, or other route) by excavation, digging,

or chopping: plans to cut a road through a rainforest | [ no obj. ] :

investigators called for a machete to cut through the bush.

• make (a sound recording). quadraphonic LPs had to be cut at a

lower volume level than conventional records.

5 trim or reduce the length of (grass, hair, etc.) by using a sharp

implement: Ted was cutting the lawn | cut back all the year's growth

to about four leaves.

6 reduce the amount or quantity of: buyers will bargain hard to cut

the cost of the house they want | I should cut down my sugar intake

| [ no obj. ] : they've cut back on costs | we're looking to cut

down on the use of chemicals.

• abridge (a text, film, or performance) by removing material:

he had to cut unnecessary additions made to the opening scene.

• Computing delete (part of a text or other display) so as to

insert a copy of it elsewhere. See also cut and paste below.• end or interrupt the provision of (a supply): we resolved to cut oil

supplies to territories controlled by the rebels | if the pump develops a

fault, the electrical supply is immediately cut off.

• switch off (an engine or a light). Niall brought the car to a halt and

cut the engine.

• N. Amer.absent oneself from (something one should

normally attend, especially school): Rodney was cutting class.

7 informal ignore or refuse to recognize (someone): they cut her in

public.

8 (of a line) cross or intersect (another line). mark the point where

the line cuts the vertical axis.

• [ no obj. ] (cut across) pass or traverse, especially so as to

shorten one's route: the following aircraft cut across to join him.

• [ no obj. ] (cut across) have an effect regardless of (divisions

or boundaries between groups): subcultures which cut across national

and political boundaries.

• [ no obj. ] (cut along) informal, dated leave or move

hurriedly. you can cut along now.

9 [ no obj., often in imperative ] stop filming or recording. ‘Cut’

shouted a voice, followed by ‘Could we do it again, please?’.

• [ with adverbial ] move to another shot in a film: cut to a

dentist's surgery.• [ with obj. ] make (a film) into a coherent whole by removing

parts or placing them in a different order. I like to watch the rushes

at home before I start cutting the film.

10 [ no obj. ] divide a pack of playing cards by lifting a portion

from the top, either to reveal a card at random or to place the

top portion under the bottom portion. let's cut for dealer.

11 strike or kick (a ball) with an abrupt, typically downward

motion: Cook cut the ball back to him.

• Golf slice (the ball).

• Cricket hit (the ball) to the off side with the bat held almost

horizontally; play such a stroke against (the bowler).

• [ no obj. ] Cricket (of the ball) turn sharply on pitching.

12 mix (an illegal drug) with another substance: speed cut with

rat poison.

13 (cut it) N. Amer. informal come up to expectations; meet

requirements: this CD player doesn't quite cut it.[shortened form of

the idiom cut the mustard.]

noun

1 an act of cutting, in particular:

• [ in sing. ] a haircut: his hair was in need of a cut.

• a stroke or blow given by a sharp-edged implement or by a

whip or cane: he could skin an animal with a single cut of the knife.• a wounding remark or act. his unkindest cut at Elizabeth was to

call her heartless.

• [ often with modifier ] a reduction in amount or size: she took a

20% pay cut | a cut in interest rates.

• Brit.a power cut. fortunately the cut happened at night and power was

quickly restored.

• an act of cutting part of a book, play, etc.: they would not publish

the book unless the author was willing to make cuts.

• an immediate transition from one scene to another in a film.

instead of hard cuts, we used dissolves to give it a very dreamy character.

• Golf the halfway point of a golf tournament, where half of

the players are eliminated.

• Tennis & Cricket a stroke made with an abrupt, typically

horizontal or downward action. Kellett was denied a century by

edging a cut to wicketkeeper Burns.

2 a result of cutting something, in particular:

• a long, narrow incision in the skin made by something sharp:

blood ran from a cut on his jaw.

• a long, narrow opening or incision made in a surface or piece

of material: make a single cut along the top of each potato.

• a piece of meat cut from a carcass: a good lean cut of beef.• [ in sing. ] informal a share of the profits from something: the

directors are demanding their cut.

• a recording of a piece of music: a cut from his forthcoming album.

• a version of a film after editing. the final cut.

• a passage cut or dug out, as a railway cutting or a new

channel made for a river or other waterway. the cut connected with

the Harborough arm of the canal.

3 [ in sing. ] the way or style in which something, especially a

garment or someone's hair, is cut: the elegant cut of his dinner

jacket.

PHRASES

be cut out for (or to be) [ usu. with negative ] informal have

exactly the right qualities for a particular role or job: I'm just not

cut out to be a policeman.

a cut above informal noticeably superior to: she's a cut above the

rest.

cut and dried [ often with negative ] (of a situation)

completely settled: the championship is not as cut and dried as everyone

thinks.[early 18th cent.: originally used to distinguish the herbs

of herbalists' shops from growing herbs.]

cut and paste Computing move (text) by cutting it from one

part of the text and inserting it in another.cut and run informal make a speedy departure from a

difficult situation rather than deal with it. he laughed off

suggestions he is ready to cut and run from struggling United.[originally

a nautical phrase, meaning ‘cut the anchor cable because of

some emergency and make sail immediately’.]

cut and thrust a lively and competitive atmosphere or

environment: the cut and thrust of political debate. • a situation or

sphere of activity regarded as carried out under adversarial

conditions: the ruthless cut and thrust of the business world.[originally

a phrase in fencing.]

cut both ways (of a point or statement) serve both sides of an

argument. such a tax is often claimed to encourage saving but the

argument can cut both ways. • (of an action or process) have both

good and bad effects: the triumphs of civilization cut both ways.

cut the corner take the shortest course by going across and

not around a corner.

cut corners do something perfunctorily so as to save time or

money. there is always a temptation to cut corners when time is short.

cut the crap [ often in imperative ] vulgar slang get to the

point; state the real situation.

cut a dash Brit.be stylish or impressive in one's dress or

behaviour. the foreign secretary wanted to cut a dash in Brussels.cut someone dead completely ignore someone. where he used

to cut them dead, he now helps them on with their coats.

cut a deal N. Amer. informal come to an arrangement,

especially in business; make a deal. he had gone to the board of

directors with his new robot design and cut a deal.

cut someone down to size informal deflate someone's

exaggerated sense of self-worth.

cut something down to size reduce the size or power of

something, for example an organization, which is regarded as

having become too large or powerful. the government clearly plans

to cut councils down to size.

cut a —— figure present oneself or appear in a particular

way: David has cut a dashing figure on the international social scene.

cut from the same cloth of the same nature; similar. don't

assume all women are cut from the same cloth.

cut in line N. Amer.jump the queue.

cut it fine see fine 1 .

cut it out [ usu. in imperative ] informal used to ask someone

to stop doing or saying something that is annoying or offensive.

I'm sick of that joke; cut it out, can't you?

cut loose distance or free oneself from a person, group, or

system: he was a young teenager, already cutting loose from hisfamily. • begin to act without restraint: when Mannion cut loose the

home side collapsed to 127 all out.

cut someone/thing loose (or free)free someone or

something from something which holds or restricts them: he'd

cut loose the horses.

cut one's losses abandon an enterprise or course of action

that is clearly going to be unprofitable or unsuccessful before

one suffers more loss or harm. an inner voice was urging her to cut

her losses and go back to England.

cut the mustard informal come up to expectations; reach the

required standard: I didn't cut the mustard as a hockey player.

cut no ice informal have no influence or effect: your holier-than-

thou attitude cuts no ice with me.

cut someone off (or down) in their prime bring

someone's life or career to an abrupt end while they are at the

peak of their abilities. she was too young to die: she had been cut off in

her prime.

cut someone/thing short interrupt someone or something;

bring an abrupt or premature end to something said or done:

Peter cut him short rudely.cut someone to pieces kill or severely injure someone. I was

nearly cut to pieces by shrapnel. • totally defeat someone. we were cut

to pieces by Rovers.

cut a (or the) rug N. Amer. informal dance, especially in an

energetic or accomplished way. a place where a fella and a gal can

cut a rug.

cut one's teeth acquire initial practice or experience of a

particular sphere of activity: the brothers cut their professional teeth at

Lusardi's before starting their own restaurant.

cut a tooth (of a baby) have a tooth appear through the gum.

a feast to celebrate a son cutting his first tooth.

cut to the chase N. Amer. informal come to the point: cut to

the chase—what is it you want us to do?[ cut in the sense ‘move to

another part of the film’, expressing the notion of ignoring any

preliminaries.]

cut up rough Brit. informal behave in an aggressive,

quarrelsome, or awkward way. he can cut up rough and turn a bit

nasty if he's got a mind to.

cut up well archaic bequeath a large fortune. the old banker died

and cut up prodigiously well.

cut your coat according to your cloth proverb undertake

only what you have the money or ability to do and no more.have one's work cut out see work.

make the cut [ usu. with negative ] Golf equal or better a

required score, thus avoiding elimination from the last two

rounds of a four-round tournament. she shot rounds of 86 and 86

and failed to make the cut.

miss the cut Golf fail to equal or better a required score, thus

being eliminated from the last two rounds of a four-round

tournament. bad driving made him miss the cut by nine strokes.

PHRASAL VERBS

cut in 1 interrupt someone while they are speaking: ‘It's urgent,’

Raoul cut in. 2 pull in too closely in front of another vehicle after

having overtaken it: she cut in on a station wagon, forcing the driver

to brake. 3 (of a motor or other mechanical device) begin

operating, especially when triggered automatically by an

electrical signal. emergency generators cut in. 4 dated interrupt a

dancing couple to take over from one partner. Saturday night she

goes to an informal dance where men are rare and any girl may cut in.

cut someone in informal include someone in a deal and give

them a share of the profits. he didn't mind my having a racket, he

was just narked that I hadn't cut him in.

cut into interrupt the course of: Victoria's words cut into her

thoughts.cut someone off 1 interrupt someone while they are

speaking. he cut her off and went on to another subject. • interrupt

someone during a telephone call by breaking the connection. I

listened to pre-recorded messages for twenty-three minutes before being cut

off. 2 prevent someone from receiving or being provided with

something, especially power or water. consumers may be cut off for

non-payment. 3 reject someone as one's heir; disinherit someone:

Gabrielle's family cut her off without a penny. 4 prevent

someone from having access to somewhere or someone; isolate

someone from something they previously had connections

with: the couple were cut off by a fast-moving tide.

cut something off block the usual means of access to a

place: the caves were cut off from the outside world by a landslide.

cut out 1 (of a motor or engine) suddenly stop operating. both

the lifeboat's engines cut out at times as they hit the seabed. 2 N. Amer.

informal (of a person) leave quickly, especially so as to avoid a

boring or awkward situation. she was working her way toward the

door and when no one was watching, she cut out.

cut someone out exclude someone: his mother cut him out of her

will.

cut up 1 N. Amer. informal behave in a mischievous or unruly

manner: kids cutting up in a classroom. 2 informal (of a horse race)have a particular selection of runners: the race has cut up badly

with no other opposition from England.

cut someone up 1 informal (of a driver) overtake someone

and pull in too closely in front of them. he was threatened with a

baseball bat after cutting up another driver. 2 N. Amer. informal

criticize someone severely: my kids cut him up about his appetite all

the time.

ORIGIN Middle English (probably existing, although not

recorded, in Old English); probably of Germanic origin and

related to Norwegian kutte and Icelandic kuta ‘cut with a

small knife’, kuti ‘small blunt knife’.

cut up

adjective

informal he's pretty cut up about it: upset, distressed, miserable,

unhappy, sad, troubled, dismayed, saddened, grieved, hurt,

devastated, traumatized; informal in a state, in a bad way.

ANTONYMS unaffected, phlegmatic.

crave |kreɪv|

verb [ with obj. ]

feel a powerful desire for (something): if only she had shown her

daughter the love she craved | [ no obj. ] : Will craved for family life.• archaic ask for: I must crave your indulgence.

DERIVATIVES

craver noun

ORIGIN Old English crafian (in the sense ‘demand, claim as a

right’), of Germanic origin; related to Swedish kräva,Danish

kræve ‘demand’. The current sense dates from late Middle

English.

crave

verb

he craved professional recognition: long for, yearn for, hunger for,

thirst for, dream of, aspire to, set one's heart on, have as one's

aim, have as one's goal, seek, be bent on; desire, want, hope for,

hanker after, wish for; sigh for, pant for, pine for; lust after,

covet; informal have a yen for, itch for, be dying for; archaic be

athirst for, be desirous of; rare desiderate, suspire for.

word for word 1 reporters took down the speeches word for word:

verbatim, line for line, letter for letter, to the letter; exactly,

precisely, faithfully; rare literatim. 2 a word-for-word translation:

verbatim, literal, exact, direct, precise, accurate, faithful, strict,undeviating; unadulterated, unabridged, unvarnished,

unembellished. ANTONYMS loose.

word |w#ːd|

noun

1 a single distinct meaningful element of speech or writing,

used with others (or sometimes alone) to form a sentence and

typically shown with a space on either side when written or

printed. I don't like the word ‘unofficial’. why so many words for so few

ideas?

• a single distinct conceptual unit of language, comprising

inflected and variant forms.

• (usu. words) something spoken or written; a remark or

statement: his grandfather's words had been meant kindly | a word of

warning.

• [ with negative ] (a word) even the smallest amount of

something spoken or written: don't believe a word of it.

• (words) angry talk: her father would have had words with her

about that.

• [ mass noun ] speech as distinct from action: he conforms in

word and deed to the values of a society that he rejects.2 a command, password, or signal: someone gave me the word

to start playing.

• [ mass noun ] communication; news: I was afraid to leave

Edinburgh in case there was word from the War Office.

3 (one's word) one's account of the truth, especially when it

differs from that of another person: in court it would have been his

word against mine.

• a promise or assurance: everything will be taken care of—you have

my word.

4 (words) the text or spoken part of a play, opera, or other

performed piece; a script: he had to learn his words.

5 a basic unit of data in a computer, typically 16 or 32 bits

long.

verb

[ with obj. ] express (something spoken or written) in particular

words: he words his request in a particularly ironic way | (as adj., with

submodifierworded) : a strongly worded letter of protest.

exclamationchiefly black English

used to express agreement or affirmation. Word, that's a good

record, man.

PHRASES

at a word as soon as requested: ready to leave again at a word.be as good as one's word do what one has promised to do.

Philip was as good as his word about turning Richard into an actor.

have a word speak briefly to someone: I'll just have a word

with him.

have a word in someone's ear Brit.speak to someone

privately or discreetly, especially to give them a warning. back in

those days the referee would have a quiet word in your ear and warn you

not to do it again.

in other words expressed in a different way; that is to say. The

new cat treat has a 90-plus palatability level. In other words, cats like it.

in so many words [ often with negative ] precisely in the way

mentioned: I haven't told him in so many words, but he'd understand.

in a word briefly. Are there any real reasons to worry? In a word,

plenty.

keep one's word do what one has promised. you know that I

always keep my word.

a man/woman of his/her word a person who keeps their

promises. she was a woman of her word.

(on/upon) my word an exclamation of surprise or emphasis:

my word, you were here quickly!

of few words taciturn: he's a man of few words.put something into words express something in speech or

writing: he felt a vague disappointment which he couldn't put into words.

put words into someone's mouth inaccurately report what

someone has said. • prompt someone to say something that

they may not otherwise have said.

take someone at their word interpret a person's words

literally, especially by believing them or doing as they suggest. I

take him at his word, for I cannot go to see for myself.

take the words out of someone's mouth say what

someone else was about to say.

take someone's word (for it)believe what someone says or

writes without checking for oneself. I'm afraid you'll just have to

take our word for it.

too —— for words informal extremely ——: going around by

the road was too tedious for words.

waste words 1 talk in vain. I take it that all my well-chosen words

have been entirely wasted. 2 talk or write at length. he wastes no

words, though details are terribly important to him.

the Word (of God) 1 the Bible, or a part of it. 2 Jesus Christ

(see Logos) .word for word in exactly the same or, when translated,

exactly equivalent words. Benjamin copied the verse down, word for

word.

word gets (or goes) around news or rumours spread: word

got around that he was on the verge of retirement.

word of honour a solemn promise: I'll be good to you always, I

give you my word of honour.

word of mouth spoken communication as a means of

transmitting information. slander is a defamatory statement made by

word of mouth. [ as modifier ] : word-of-mouth praise.

the word on the street informal a rumour or piece of

information currently being circulated. the word on the street is that

there will be a major announcement soon.

words fail me used to express one's disbelief or dismay.

a word to the wise a hint or brief explanation given, that

being all that is required. typical restraints range from regulations to

the occasional word to the wise.

PHRASAL VERBS

word up [ as imperative ] black English listen: word up, my

brother, you got me high as a kite.

DERIVATIVES

wordage noun,wordless adjective,

wordlessly adverb,

wordlessness noun

ORIGIN Old English, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch

woord and German Wort, from an Indo-European root

shared by Latin verbum ‘word’.

sensuous |ˈsɛnsjʊ#s, ˈsɛnʃʊ#s|

adjective

1 relating to or affecting the senses rather than the intellect: the

work showed a deliberate disregard of the more sensuous and immediately

appealing aspects of painting.

2 attractive or gratifying physically, especially sexually: her voice

was rather deep but very sensuous.

DERIVATIVES

sensuously adverb,

sensuousness noun

ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Latin sensus ‘sense’ + -ous.

usage: On the use of the words sensuous and sensual, see

usage at sensual.

sensuousadjective

1 big, richly coloured, sensuous canvases | his sensuous love of music:

aesthetically pleasing, aesthetic, pleasurable, gratifying, rich,

sumptuous, luxurious; affective; sensory, sensorial.

2 her full, sensuous lips: sexually attractive, sexy, seductive,

voluptuous, luscious, lush.

EASILY CONFUSED WORDS

sensuous or sensual?

See sensual.

These notes clear up confusion between similar-looking

pairs.

one word substitution

iconoclast |ʌɪˈkɒn#klast|

noun

1 a person who attacks or criticizes cherished beliefs or

institutions.

2 a destroyer of images used in religious worship, in particular:• historical a supporter of the 8th- and 9th-century movement

in the Byzantine Church which sought to abolish the

veneration of icons and other religious images.

• historical a Puritan of the 16th or 17th century.

ORIGIN mid 17th cent. (in sense 2): via medieval Latin from

ecclesiastical Greek eikonoklastēs, from eikōn ‘likeness’ +

klan ‘to break’.

cannibal |ˈkanɪb(#)l|

noun

a person who eats the flesh of other human beings: [ as

modifier ] : cannibal tribes.

• an animal that feeds on flesh of its own species.

DERIVATIVES

cannibalism noun,

cannibalistic |-b#ˈlɪstɪk| adjective,

cannibalistically |-b#ˈlɪstɪk(#)li| adverb

ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Spanish Canibales (plural),

variant (recorded by Columbus) of Caribes, the name of a

West Indian people reputed to eat humans (see Carib) .

dismay |dɪsˈmeɪ|noun [ mass noun ]

concern and distress caused by something unexpected: to his

dismay, she left him.

verb [ with obj. ]

cause (someone) to feel concern and distress: they were dismayed

by the U-turn in policy | (as adj.dismaying) : to most experts, such

findings have been somewhat dismaying.

DERIVATIVES

dismayingly adverb

ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French, based on Latin

dis- (expressing negation) + the Germanic base of may 1 .

appal |#ˈpɔːl| (USappall)

verb (appals, appalling, appalled) [ with obj. ] (usu. be

appalled)

greatly dismay or horrify: bankers are appalled at the economic

incompetence of some ministers | (as adj.appalled) : Alison looked at

me, appalled.

ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French apalir ‘grow

pale’, from a- (from Latin ad ‘to, at’) + palir ‘to pale’. The

original sense was ‘grow pale’, later ‘make pale’, hence

‘horrify’(late Middle English).stupendous |stjuːˈpɛnd#s|

adjective

extremely impressive: the most stupendous views.

DERIVATIVES

stupendously adverb [ as submodifier ] : a stupendously talented

player,

stupendousness noun

ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin stupendus ‘to be

wondered at’ (gerundive of stupere) + -ous.

ineffable |ɪnˈɛf#b(#)l|

adjective

too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words: the

ineffable mysteries of the soul.

• not to be uttered: the ineffable Hebrew name that gentiles write as

Jehovah.

DERIVATIVES

ineffability |-ˈbɪlɪti| noun,

ineffably adverb

ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin

ineffabilis, from in- ‘not’ + effabilis (see effable) .miraculous |mɪˈrakjʊl#s|

adjective

of the nature of a miracle or having the power to work

miracles: a miraculous cure.

• remarkable and bringing very welcome consequences: I felt

amazed and grateful for our miraculous escape.

DERIVATIVES

miraculously adverb,

miraculousness noun

ORIGIN late Middle English: from French miraculeux or

medieval Latin miraculosus, from Latin miraculum (see

miracle) .

stupa |ˈstuːp#|

noun

a dome-shaped building erected as a Buddhist shrine.

ORIGIN from Sanskrit stūpa .

impostor |ɪmˈpɒst#| (also imposter)

nouna person who pretends to be someone else in order to deceive

others, especially for fraudulent gain. the charity has warned anyone

approached by the impostor to contact police immediately.

ORIGIN late 16th cent. (in early use spelled imposture, and

sometimes confused with imposture in meaning): from

French imposteur, from late Latin impostor, contraction of

impositor, from Latin imponere (see impose) .

Philistine |ˈfɪlɪstʌɪn|

noun

1 a member of a non-Semitic people of ancient southern

Palestine, who came into conflict with the Israelites during the

12th and 11th centuries bc .

The Philistines, from whom the country of Palestine took its

name, were one of the Sea Peoples who, according to the

Bible, came from Crete and settled the southern coastal plain

of Canaan in the 12th century bc .

2 (philistine)a person who is hostile or indifferent to culture

and the arts: [ as modifier ] : a philistine government.

DERIVATIVES

philistinism |-stɪnɪz(#)m| nounORIGIN from French Philistin, via late Latin from Greek

Philistinos, from Hebrew pĕlištī. Sense 2 arose as a result of

a confrontation between town and gown in Jena, Germany, in

the late 17th cent.; a sermon on the conflict quoted: ‘the

Philistines are upon you’ (Judges 16), which led to an

association between the townspeople and those hostile to

culture.

interrupt |ɪnt#ˈrʌpt|

verb [ with obj. ]

1 stop the continuous progress of (an activity or process): the

buzzer interrupted his thoughts.

• stop (someone speaking) by saying or doing something: ‘Of

course ...’ Shepherd began, but his son interrupted him.

2 break the continuity of (a line or surface): the coastal plain is

interrupted by chains of large lagoons.

• obstruct (something, especially a view).

DERIVATIVES

interruptible adjective,

interruptive adjectiveORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin interrupt- ‘broken,

interrupted’, from the verb interrumpere, from inter-

‘between’ + rumpere ‘to break’.

interrupt

verb

1 she opened her mouth to interrupt | I'm sorry to interrupt your chat: cut

in (on), break in (on), barge in (on), intrude (on), interfere

(with), intervene (in); heckle, put one's oar in, have one's say;

Brit. put one's pennyworth in; N. Amer. put one's two cents in;

informal butt in (on), chime in (on), horn in (on), muscle in (on);

Brit. informal chip in (on).

2 the band had to interrupt their US tour: suspend, adjourn,

discontinue, break off, hold up, delay, lay aside, leave off,

postpone, put off, put back, defer, shelve; stop, put a stop to,

halt, bring to a halt, bring to a standstill, cease, end, bring to an

end, bring to a close, cancel, sever, dissolve, terminate; informal

take a breather from, put on ice, put on a back burner, put in

cold storage.

3 the coastal plain is interrupted by large lagoons: break up, break,

punctuate, intersperse; pepper, strew, dot, scatter.4 their view is to be interrupted by a new housing estate: obstruct,

impede, block, interfere with, cut off, get in the way of, limit,

restrict.

interrogate |ɪnˈtɛr#geɪt|

verb [ with obj. ]

1 ask questions of (someone) closely, aggressively, or formally:

he was interrogated by MI6.

2 obtain data from (a computer file, database, storage device,

or terminal). an interactive system enables users to interrogate the

database.

• (of an electronic device) transmit a signal to (another device,

especially one on a vehicle) to obtain information about

identity, condition, etc. a ground-based transmitter sends a signal to

interrogate an instrument on the aircraft.

DERIVATIVES

interrogator noun

ORIGIN late 15th cent.: from Latin interrogat-

‘questioned’, from the verb interrogare, from inter-

‘between’ + rogare ‘ask’.interrogate

verb

the police wished to interrogate her: question, put questions to, cross-

question, cross-examine, quiz, probe, catechize, sound out;

interview, examine, debrief; informal pump, grill, give someone

the third degree, put someone through the third degree, put

the screws on, put someone through the wringer, worm

something out of someone.

interment |ɪnˈt#ːm(#)nt|

noun [ mass noun ]

the burial of a corpse in a grave or tomb, typically with funeral

rites: the day of interment | [ count noun ] : interments took place in

the churchyard.

interment

noun

his body was taken for interment: burial, burying, committal,

entombment, inhumation; a funeral; funeral rites, obsequies;

rare sepulture, exequies. ANTONYMS exhumation.

genealogy |dʒiːnɪˈal#dʒi, dʒɛn-|noun (pl.genealogies)

a line of descent traced continuously from an ancestor. the

genealogies of the kings of Mercia.

• [ mass noun ] the study and tracing of lines of descent.

• a plant's or animal's line of evolutionary development from

earlier forms.

DERIVATIVES

genealogist noun,

genealogize (also genealogise)verb

ORIGIN Middle English: via Old French and late Latin from

Greek genealogia, from genea ‘race, generation’ + -logia

(see -logy) .

genealogy

noun

a lengthy genealogy of the kings of France: pedigree, ancestry,

descent, lineage, line, line of descent, family tree, extraction,

derivation, origin, heritage, parentage, paternity, birth, family,

dynasty, house, race, strain, stock, breed, blood, bloodline,

history, background, roots; rare stirps, filiation, stemma.

epistemology |ɪˌpɪstɪˈmɒl#dʒi, ɛ-|noun [ mass noun ] Philosophy

the theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods,

validity, and scope, and the distinction between justified belief

and opinion.

DERIVATIVES

epistemological |-m#ˈlɒdʒɪk(#)l| adjective,

epistemologically |-m#ˈlɒdʒɪk(#)li| adverb,

epistemologist noun

ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: from Greek epistēmē ‘knowledge’,

from epistasthai ‘know, know how to do’.

ethnology |ɛθˈnɒl#dʒi|

noun [ mass noun ]

the study of the characteristics of different peoples and the

differences and relationships between them.

DERIVATIVES

ethnologic |-n#ˈlɒdʒɪk| adjective,

ethnological |-n#ˈlɒdʒɪk(#)l| adjective,

ethnologically adverb,

ethnologist noun

sociology |s#ʊsɪˈɒl#dʒi, s#ʊʃɪ-|noun [ mass noun ]

the study of the development, structure, and functioning of

human society.

• the study of social problems.

DERIVATIVES

sociological |-#ˈlɒdʒɪk(#)l| adjective,

sociologically |-#ˈlɒdʒɪk(#)li| adverb,

sociologist noun

ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: from French sociologie (see socio-,-

logy) .

collaborate |k#ˈlab#reɪt|

verb [ no obj. ]

1 work jointly on an activity or project: he collaborated with

him on numerous hotel projects.

2 cooperate traitorously with an enemy: during the last war they

collaborated with the Nazis.

ORIGIN late 19th cent.: from Latin collaborat- ‘worked

with’, from the verb collaborare, from col- ‘together’ +

laborare ‘to work’.

circuitous |s#ːˈkjuːɪt#s|adjective

(of a route or journey) longer than the most direct way: the

canal followed a circuitous route | figurative : a circuitous line of

reasoning.

DERIVATIVES

circuitously adverb,

circuitousness noun

ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from medieval Latin circuitosus,

from circuitus ‘a way around’ (see circuit) .

superiority |suːˌpɪ#rɪˈɒrɪti, sjuː-|

noun [ mass noun ]

1 the state of being superior: an attempt to establish superiority

over others | the allies have achieved air superiority.

2 a supercilious manner or attitude: he attacked the media's smug

superiority.

correctly spell

sovereignty |ˈsɒvrɪnti|

noun (pl.sovereignties) [ mass noun ]

supreme power or authority: the sovereignty of Parliament.• the authority of a state to govern itself or another state:

national sovereignty.

• [ count noun ] a self-governing state.

ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French sovereinete,

from soverain (see sovereign) .

serenity |sɪˈrɛnɪti|

noun (pl.serenities) [ mass noun ]

the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled: an oasis of

serenity amidst the bustling city.

ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French serenite, from

Latin serenitas, from serenus ‘clear, fair’ (see serene) .

cumulative |ˈkjuːmjʊl#tɪv|

adjective

increasing or increased in quantity, degree, or force by

successive additions: the cumulative effect of two years of drought.

DERIVATIVES

cumulatively adverb,

cumulativeness noun

cumulativeadjective

increasing, accumulative, accumulating, growing, progressive,

accruing, snowballing, mounting; collective, aggregate,

amassed; Brit. knock-on.

commemorative |k#ˈmɛm(#)r#tɪv|

adjective

acting as a memorial of an event or person.

noun

an object such as a stamp or coin made to mark an event or

honour a person.

commemorative

adjective

veterans of the battle will attend commemorative services: memorial,

remembrance, celebratory, celebrative; in remembrance of ...,

in memory of ..., in honour of ....

accumulative |#ˈkjuːmjʊl#tɪv|

adjective

gathering or growing by gradual increases: the accumulative effects

of pollution.accommodate |#ˈkɒm#deɪt|

verb [ with obj. ]

1 (of a building or other area) provide lodging or sufficient

space for: the cottages accommodate up to six people.

2 fit in with the wishes or needs of: any language must accommodate

new concepts.

• [ no obj. ] (accommodate to) adapt to: making users

accommodate to the realities of today's marketplace.

DERIVATIVES

accommodative adjective

ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin accommodat- ‘made

fitting’, from the verb accommodare, from ad- ‘to’ +

commodus ‘fitting’.

accommodate

verb

1 backpacking tourists can be accommodated in dormitories: lodge,

house, put up, billet, quarter, board, take in, provide shelter for,

shelter, give a bed to, give someone a roof over their head,

provide a roof over someone's head, harbour, make room for,give accommodation to, provide with accommodation, provide

accommodation for.

2 the cottages accommodate up to six people: hold, take, fit, seat, have

room for.

3 the company altered the launch date in order to accommodate a major

customer: help, fit in with, allow for, assist, aid, lend a hand to,

oblige, serve, do someone a service, meet the needs/wants of,

do someone a good turn, favour, do someone a favour, cater

for, indulge, pander to, humour, gratify, satisfy. ANTONYMS

hinder.

4 she was desperately trying to accommodate herself to her new

position: adjust, adapt, attune, accustom, get (someone)

accustomed, get (someone) used, habituate, acclimatize,

assimilate, acculturate; familiarize someone/oneself with, find

one's way around, come to terms with, come to accept, learn to

live with; integrate, domesticate; find one's feet, get one's

bearings, become naturalized, become seasoned; N. Amer.

acclimate.

5 the bank would be glad to accommodate you with a loan: provide,

supply, furnish, serve, grant. ANTONYMS deny, refuse.

benediction |ˌbɛnɪˈdɪkʃ(#)n|noun [ mass noun ]

the utterance of a blessing, especially at the end of a religious

service. he said the benediction.

• (Benediction) (in the Roman Catholic Church) a service in

which the congregation is blessed with the sacrament. she went

with Maureen to Benediction.

• [ count noun ] a prayer asking for divine blessing.

• the state of being blessed. he eventually wins benediction.

ORIGIN late Middle English: via Old French from Latin

benedictio(n-), from benedicere ‘wish well, bless’, from

bene ‘well’ + dicere ‘say’.

benediction

noun

1 the preacher asked him to come up and give the benediction: blessing,

prayer, invocation, dedication; grace, thanksgiving, thanks;

archaic orison.

2 those who receive the sacrament may be filled with heavenly benediction:

blessedness, beatitude, bliss, grace, favour.

beneficent |bɪˈnɛfɪs(#)nt|

adjective(of a person) generous or doing good. a beneficent landowner.

• resulting in good: a beneficent democracy.

DERIVATIVES

beneficence noun,

beneficently adverb

ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from Latin beneficent- (stem of

beneficentior, comparative of beneficus ‘favourable,

generous’), from bene facere ‘do good (to)’.

beneficent

adjective

he sees himself as their beneficent saviour: benevolent, charitable,

altruistic, humane, humanitarian, neighbourly, public-spirited,

philanthropic; generous, magnanimous, munificent, unselfish,

ungrudging, unstinting, open-handed, free-handed, free,

liberal, lavish, bountiful, benign, indulgent, kind; literary

bounteous; rare benignant. ANTONYMS unkind, mean.

benevolence |bɪˈnɛv(#)l(#)ns, bɪˈnɛv#l(#)ns, bɪˈnɛv#l#ns|

noun [ mass noun ]

the quality of being well meaning; kindness.benevolence

noun

the hospital depended on the benevolence of local businessmen: kindness,

kind-heartedness, big-heartedness, goodness, goodwill,

benignity, compassion, consideration, thoughtfulness, decency,

public-spiritedness, social conscience, charity, charitableness,

altruism, humanity, humanitarianism, philanthropism;

generosity, magnanimity, magnanimousness, munificence,

unselfishness, open-handedness, free-handedness, largesse,

lavishness, liberality, beneficence, indulgence; historical

almsgiving; literary bounty, bounteousness. ANTONYMS

spite; miserliness.

words from passage

glorious |ˈglɔːrɪ#s|

adjective

1 having, worthy of, or bringing fame or admiration: the most

glorious victory of all time.

2 having a striking beauty or splendour: a glorious autumn day.

• informal very enjoyable: glorious platters of succulent crabs.

DERIVATIVESgloriously adverb,

gloriousness noun

ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French glorieus, from

Latin gloriosus, from gloria ‘glory’.

glorious

adjective

1 a glorious victory: illustrious, celebrated, famous, famed,

renowned, acclaimed, distinguished, honoured, eminent,

excellent, outstanding, great, magnificent, splendid, impressive,

noble, supreme, sublime, triumphant; immortal, unforgettable.

ANTONYMS undistinguished.

2 glorious views of the Cotswolds: wonderful, marvellous,

magnificent, superb, sublime, spectacular, lovely, excellent, fine,

delightful, enjoyable, pleasurable; informal super, great,

smashing, amazing, stunning, fantastic, terrific, tremendous,

incredible, sensational, stellar, heavenly, divine, gorgeous,

dreamy, g rand, fabulous, fab, fabby, fantabulous,

supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, awesome, magic, ace, out of

this world; Brit. informal brilliant, brill, bosting; N. Amer.

informal peachy, dandy, jim-dandy, neat; Austral./NZ informalbeaut, bonzer; Brit. informal, dated capital, champion, wizard,

corking, ripping, spiffing, top-hole, topping, beezer; N. Amer.

informal, dated swell, keen; literary wondrous, beauteous;

archaic goodly; rare frabjous, splendacious, splendiferous,

splendorous. ANTONYMS horrid, miserable.

change |tʃeɪn(d)ʒ|

verb

1 make or become different: [ with obj. ] : a proposal to change the

law | [ no obj. ] : a Virginia creeper just beginning to change from

green to gold.

• [ no obj., with complement ] alter in terms of: the ferns began to

change shape.

• [ no obj. ] (of traffic lights) move from one colour of signal to

another. they stopped at the corner, waiting for the lights to change.

• [ no obj. ] (of the moon) arrive at a fresh phase; become new.

he is going to be worse for the next two or three days because the moon has

changed.2 [ with obj. ] take or use another instead of: she decided to change

her name.

• move from one to another: she was a typist who changed jobs

incessantly.

• [ no obj. ] move to a different train, bus, etc.: we had to change

at Rugby.

• give up or get rid of (something) in exchange for something

else: we changed the flagstones for quarry tiles.

• remove (something dirty or faulty) and replace it with another

of the same kind: he scarcely knew how to change a plug.

• put a clean nappy on (a baby or young child). I changed her on

top of the table until she got too big.

• [ no obj. ] engage a different gear in a motor vehicle: he

changed into second.

• exchange (a sum of money) for the same sum in a different

currency or denomination. he popped into a bank to change a ten-

pound note into one-pound coins.

• [ no obj. ] put different clothes on: he changed for dinner.

noun

1 an act or process through which something becomes

different: the change from a nomadic to an agricultural society |

[ mass noun ] : activities related to environmental change.• the substitution of one thing for another: we need a change of

government.

• an alteration or modification: a change came over Eddie's face.

• a new or refreshingly different experience: couscous makes an

interesting change from rice.

• [ in sing. ] a clean garment or garments as a replacement for

something one is wearing: a change of socks.

• (the change or the change of life) informal the

menopause.

• the moon's arrival at a fresh phase, typically at the new moon.

2 [ mass noun ] coins as opposed to banknotes: a handful of loose

change.

• money given in exchange for the same sum in larger units. I'd

go to the bank and get change.

• money returned to someone as the balance of the sum paid

for something. I watched him check and pocket his change.

3 (usu. changes) an order in which a peal of bells can be rung.

4 (Change or 'Change) historical a place where merchants

met to do business.

PHRASES

change address move house or business premises. people are

likely to change address in the course of a year.change colour blanch or flush. she saw that he had changed colour

and she now experienced some of his embarrassment.

change hands (of a business or building) pass to a different

owner. the Black Lion pub has changed hands recently. • (of money or

a marketable commodity) pass to another person in the course

of a business transaction. so far, no money has changed hands.

a change is as good as a rest proverb a change of work or

occupation can be as restorative or refreshing as a period of

relaxation.

change one's mind adopt a different opinion or plan. he

turned to go and then seemed to change his mind.

a change of air a different climate, typically as a means of

improving one's health.

a change of heart a move to a different opinion or attitude.

you can have your money back if you have a change of heart.

change places exchange places or roles: under the bishop's plan,

he and I were to change places.

change sides begin to support a different side in a war or

dispute: one of his supporters changed sides.

change step alter one's step so that the opposite leg is the one

that marks time when marching.change the subject begin talking of something different, to

avoid embarrassment or distress.

change one's tune express a very different opinion or behave

in a very different way. he'd soon change his tune if he thought she'd

lost interest.

for a change contrary to how things usually happen or in

order to introduce variety: it's nice to be pampered for a change.

get no change out of Brit. informal fail to get information or

a desired reaction from. I doubt if you'll get much change out of

Koogan.

ring the changes vary the ways of expressing or doing

something.[with allusion to bell-ringing and the different orders

in which a peal of bells may be rung.]

PHRASAL VERBS

change down Brit.engage a lower gear in a vehicle or on a

bicycle. it is important to change down in plenty of time to avoid having

to brake sharply.

change over 1 move from one system or situation to another:

arable farmers have to change over to dairy farming. 2 swap roles

or duties. we were allowed to split the night duty between us, changing

over at 2 a.m.change up Brit.engage a higher gear in a vehicle or on a

bicycle. what you notice with a diesel is the need to change up slightly

earlier than in a petrol car.

DERIVATIVES

changeful adjective

ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French change (noun),

changer (verb), from late Latin cambiare, from Latin

cambire ‘barter’, probably of Celtic origin.

change

verb

1 this could change the face of Britain | things have changed since my

day: alter, make different, become different, undergo a change,

make alterations to, adjust, make adjustments to, adapt, turn,

amend, improve, modify, convert, revise, recast, reform,

reshape, refashion, redesign, restyle, revamp, rework, remake,

remodel, remould, redo, reconstruct, reorganize, reorder,

refine, reorient, reorientate, vary, transform, transfigure,

transmute, metamorphose, undergo a sea change, evolve;

customize, tailor; informal tweak; technical permute.

ANTONYMS preserve; stay the same.2 he'd changed his job: swap, exchange, interchange, substitute,

switch, commute, convert, replace, rotate, alternate, transpose;

trade, barter; archaic truck. ANTONYMS keep.

noun

1 there has been a change of plan: alteration, modification,

variation, conversion, revision, amendment, adjustment,

adaptation; remodelling, reshaping, remoulding, redoing,

reconstruction, rebuilding, recasting, reorganization,

rearrangement, reordering, reshuffling, restyling, rejigging,

reworking, renewal, renewing, revamping, renovation,

remaking; metamorphosis, transformation, transfiguration,

translation, evolution, mutation, sea change; humorous

transmogrification.

2 we need a change of government: swap, exchange, interchange,

substitution, switch, commutation, conversion, replacement,

rotation, alternation, transposition; trade, barter, bartering;

archaic truck.

3 sorry about the note—I've no change: coins, loose change, small

change, cash, petty cash, coinage, coin, coin of the realm, hard

cash, silver, copper, coppers, gold; formal specie.

PHRASES

have a change of heart See heart.WORD LINKS

meta- related prefix, as in metamorphosis

-tropic related suffix, as in phototropic, psychotropic

Word Links sections supply words that are related to the

headword but do not normally appear in a thesaurus

because they are not actual synonyms.

glory |ˈglɔːri|

noun (pl.glories) [ mass noun ]

1 high renown or honour won by notable achievements: to fight

and die for the glory of one's nation.

2 magnificence or great beauty: the train has been restored to all its

former glory.

• [ count noun ] (often glories) a thing that is beautiful,

impressive, or worthy of praise: the glories of Paris.

• the splendour and bliss of heaven: images of Christ in glory.

3 praise, worship, and thanksgiving offered to God.

4 [ count noun ] a luminous ring or halo, especially as depicted

around the head of Christ or a saint.

verb [ no obj. ] (glory in)

take great pride or pleasure in: they gloried in their independence.• exult in unpleasantly or boastfully: readers tended to defend their

paper or even to glory in its bias.

PHRASES

glory be! expressing enthusiastic piety. • informal used as an

exclamation of surprise or delight.

to glory to death or destruction. an uproar over a preacher, since

gone to glory. the boat was blown to glory.

in one's glory informal in a state of extreme joy or

exaltation. he was in his glory and brimming with optimism.

ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French glorie, from Latin

gloria .

glory

noun

1 a sport that has won him glory abroad: renown, fame, prestige,

honour, distinction, kudos, eminence, pre-eminence, acclaim,

acclamation, celebrity, praise, accolades, laurels, recognition,

note, notability, credit, repute, reputation, name, illustriousness,

lustre; informal bouquets; rare laudation. ANTONYMS

shame; obscurity.2 glory be to God in the highest: praise, worship, glorification,

adoration, veneration, honour, reverence, exaltation,

extolment, homage, tribute, thanksgiving, thanks, blessing; rare

laudation, magnification.

3 a late 17th century house restored to its former glory: magnificence,

splendour, resplendence, grandeur, majesty, greatness,

impressiveness, gloriousness, nobility, pomp, stateliness,

sumptuousness, opulence, beauty, elegance, brilliance,

gorgeousness, splendidness. ANTONYMS lowliness, modesty.

4 the glories of Vermont: wonder, beauty, delight, wonderful thing,

glorious thing, marvel, phenomenon; sight, spectacle.

verb

individuals who gloried in their independence: take great pleasure

in, exult in, rejoice in, delight in, revel in; relish, savour, greatly

enjoy; take great pride in, preen oneself on, congratulate

oneself on, be proud of; boast about, crow about, gloat about;

informal get a kick out of, get a thrill out of; archaic plume

oneself on, pique oneself on. ANTONYMS feel ashamed of.

response

noun1 there was laughter at his response to the question: answer, reply,

acknowledgement, rejoinder, retort, return, riposte, sally,

counter; informal comeback. ANTONYMS question.

2 the Chancellor's move drew an angry response from opposition MPs:

reaction, reply, reciprocation, retaliation; feedback; informal

comeback.

response |rɪˈspɒns|

noun

1 a verbal or written answer: there was laughter at his response to the

question | [ mass noun ] : we received 400 applications in response

to one job ad.

• an answer to a question in a test, questionnaire, etc. table 3.1

shows the mean number of correct responses given by each age group.

• (usu. responses) a part of a religious liturgy said or sung by

a congregation in answer to a minister or cantor.

2 a reaction to something: an extended, jazzy piano solo drew the

biggest response from the crowd | [ mass noun ] : an Honours

degree course in Japanese has been established in response to an

increasing demand.

• Psychology & Physiology an excitation of a nerve impulse

caused by a change or event; a physical reaction to a specificstimulus or situation. we unwittingly induce Pavlovian-type responses

in dogs by establishing a rigid routine for feeding. there is considerable

species variation in the stomach's response to alcohol.

• the way in which a mechanical or electrical device responds

to a stimulus or stimuli. the throttle response from the 1870 cc engine is

almost petrol sharp.

• Bridge a bid made in answer to one's partner's preceding bid.

ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French respons or Latin

responsum ‘something offered in return’, neuter past

participle of respondere (see respond) .

introduction |ˌɪntr#ˈdʌkʃ(#)n|

noun

1 [ mass noun ] the action of introducing something: issues

arising from the introduction of new technology | the introduction of

muskrats into central Europe.

• [ count noun ] a thing newly brought into use or introduced

to a place for the first time: despite the new introductions, many of the

older species remain firm favourites.

2 a formal presentation of one person to another, in which

each is told the other's name: he returned to his desk, leaving Michael

to make the introductions | [ mass noun ] : a letter of introduction.3 a thing preliminary to something else, especially an

explanatory section at the beginning of a book, report, or

speech. your talk will need an introduction which states clearly what you

are talking about and why.

• a preliminary section in a piece of music, often thematically

different from the main section. his Fifth Symphony opens with an

introduction featuring a solo tuba.

• a book or course of study intended to introduce a subject to a

person: a good general introduction to the subject is A Social History of

England.

• [ in sing. ] a person's first experience of a subject or thing:

my introduction to drama was through an amateur dramatic society.

ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin introductio(n-),

from the verb introducere (see introduce) .

introduction

noun

1 the introduction of democratic reforms: institution, establishment,

initiation, launch, inauguration, foundation, instigation; start,

commencement, inception; development, origination,

pioneering. ANTONYMS abolition.2 he wished for an introduction to the king: presentation, formal

presentation; meeting, audience, interview, encounter.

3 he wrote an introduction to the catalogue: foreword, preface,

preamble, prologue, prelude, front matter, lead-in; opening,

beginning, start, opening statement; informal intro, prelims,

curtain-raiser; formal prolegomenon, proem, exordium,

prolusion. ANTONYMS afterword, appendix.

4 the handbook will include an introduction to the history of the

period: basic explanation of, brief account of, description of; the

basics, the rudiments, the fundamentals, the groundwork.

5 he had hoped for a gentle introduction to the life of the school:

initiation, induction, baptism, inauguration, debut.

complexity |k#mˈplɛks#ti|

noun (pl.complexities) [ mass noun ]

the state or quality of being intricate or complicated: an issue of

great complexity.

• [ count noun ] (usu. complexities) a factor involved in a

complicated process or situation: the complexities of family life.

complicated |ˈkɒmplɪkeɪtɪd|adjective

1 consisting of many interconnecting parts or elements;

intricate: a complicated stereo system.

• involving many different and confusing aspects: a long and

complicated saga.

2 Medicine involving complications: complicated appendicitis.

DERIVATIVES

complicatedly adverb,

complicatedness noun

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’.complicated

adjective

the complicated election rules: complex, intricate, involved,

convoluted, tangled, elaborate, impenetrable, knotty, tricky,

thorny, serpentine, labyrinthine, tortuous, cumbersome,

Byzantine, Daedalian, Gordian; confused, confusing,

bewildering, baffling, puzzling, perplexing, difficult to

understand, above one's head; informal fiddly; rare involute,

involuted. ANTONYMS easy, simple, straightforward.

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; archaic perplex, embarrass; rare ravel. ANTONYMS

simplify.

complexity

noun

the complexities of family life | an issue of great complexity:

complication, problem, difficulty, twist, turn, convolution,entanglement; intricacy, complicatedness, involvement,

convolutedness. ANTONYMS simplicity.

helm 1 |hɛlm|

noun (the helm)

a tiller or wheel for steering a ship or boat. she stayed at the helm,

alert for tankers. the second mate took the helm.

• a position of leadership: the chairman is to step down after four

years at the helm.

• Nautical a helmsman. he is a competent helm.

verb [ with obj. ]

steer (a boat or ship). he helmed a sailing vessel.

• manage (an organization): the magazine he helmed in the late

eighties.

• chiefly N. Amer.direct (a film).

DERIVATIVES

helmer noun(chiefly N. Amer.)

ORIGIN Old English helma; probably related to helve.

helm 2 |hɛlm|

noun archaic

a helmet.

DERIVATIVEShelmed adjective

ORIGIN Old English, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch

helm and German Helm, also to helmet, from an Indo-

European root meaning ‘to cover or hide’.

helm

noun

the second mate took the helm: tiller, wheel; steering gear, rudder.

PHRASES

at the helm they are family-run empires whose founders remain at the

helm: in charge, in command, in control, responsible, at the top,

in authority, in the seat of authority, at the wheel, in the driving

seat, in the saddle; managing, running, administering,

directing, supervising, overseeing, controlling, commanding,

leading, heading up; informal holding the reins, running the

show, pulling the strings, calling the shots.

aware |#ˈwɛː|

adjective [ predic. ]

having knowledge or perception of a situation or fact: most

people are aware of the dangers of sunbathing | [ with clause ] : he

was aware that a problem existed.• [ with adv. or in combination ] concerned and well informed

about a particular situation or development: everyone needs to

become more environmentally aware.

ORIGIN Old English gewær, of West Germanic origin; related

to German gewahr, also to ware 2 .

aware

adjective

1 most people are aware of the dangers of sunbathing: conscious of,

acquainted with, informed of/about, apprised of, cognizant of,

mindful of, sensible of, familiar with, conversant with, no

stranger to, alive to, awake to, alert to, sensitive to; privy to;

informal wise to, well up on, up to speed on, plugged into, in

the know about, hip to; archaic ware of; rare seized of,

recognizant of, regardful of. ANTONYMS unaware, ignorant,

oblivious.

2 everyone needs to become more environmentally aware: well informed,

knowledgeable, up to date, enlightened; Frenchau fait, au

courant; informal clued up, genned up; Brit. informal

switched-on; black English down. ANTONYMS ignorant.

better 1 |ˈbɛt#|adjective

1 more desirable, satisfactory, or effective: we're hoping for better

weather tomorrow | the new facilities were far better | I'm better at

doing sums than Alice.[comparative of the adjective good.]

• more appropriate, advantageous, or well advised: there couldn't

be a better time to take up this job | it might be better to borrow the money.

2 [ predic. or as complement ] partly or fully recovered from

illness, injury, or mental stress: his leg was getting better.

[comparative of the adjective well 1 .]

adverb

more excellently or effectively: Jonathon could do better if he tried |

sound travels better in water than in air | instruments are generally better

made these days.

• to a greater degree; more (used in connection with success or

with desirable actions or conditions): I liked it better when we lived

in the country | well-fed people are better able to fight off infection.

• more suitably, appropriately, or usefully: the money could be better

spent on more urgent cases.

noun

1 [ mass noun ] the better one; that which is better: the Natural

History Museum book is by far the better of the two | you've a right to

expect better than that | a change for the better.2 (one's betters) chiefly dated or humorous one's superiors

in social class or ability: educating the young to respect their elders

and betters.

verb [ with obj. ]

improve on or surpass (an existing or previous level or

achievement): his account can hardly be bettered | bettering his previous

time by ten minutes.

• make (something) better; improve: his ideas for bettering the lot of

the millhands.

• (better oneself) achieve a higher social position or status: the

residents are mostly Londoners who have bettered themselves.

• overcome or defeat (someone): she had almost bettered him at

archery.

PHRASES

the —— the better used to emphasize the importance or

desirability of the thing specified: the sooner we're off the better.

better the devil you know than the devil you don't

know proverb it's wiser to deal with an undesirable but

familiar situation than to risk a change that might lead to an

even worse situation. any other man might be as unpleasant to live

with—better the devil you know.better off in a more desirable or advantageous position,

especially in financial terms: the proposals would make her about

£400 a year better off.

the better part of almost all of; most of: it is the better part of a

mile.

better safe than sorry proverb it's wiser to be cautious and

careful than to be hasty or rash and so do something you may

later regret.

better than N. Amer.more than: he'd lived there for better than

twenty years.

the better to —— so as to —— better: he leaned closer the better

to hear her.

for better or (for) worse whether the outcome is good or

bad. ours, for better or for worse, is the century of youth.

get the better of gain an advantage over or defeat (someone)

by superior strength or ability: no one has ever got the better of her

yet. • (of a feeling or urge) be too strong to conceal or resist:

curiosity got the better of her.

go one better narrowly surpass a previous effort or

achievement: I want to go one better this time and score. • narrowly

outdo (another person). he went one better than Black by reaching the

final.had better do something would find it wiser to do

something; ought to do something: you had better be careful.

have the better of be more successful in (a contest): Attlee had

the better of these exchanges.

no (or little) better than just (or almost) the same as

(something bad); merely: viceroys who were often no better than

bandits.

no better than one should (or ought to) be regarded as

sexually promiscuous or of doubtful moral character.

ORIGIN Old English betera (adjective), of Germanic origin;

related to Dutch beter and German besser, also to best.

usage: In the verb phrase had better do something the

word had acts like an auxiliary verb, and in informal spoken

contexts it is often dropped, as in you better not come tonight. In

writing, the had may be contracted to 'd but should not be

dropped altogether.

better 2 |ˈbɛt#|

noun

variant spelling of bettor.

bettor |ˈbɛt#| (also better)

nounchiefly USa person who bets, especially on a regular basis. she described

herself as a moderate bettor.

good |gʊd|

adjective (better, best)

1 to be desired or approved of: it's good that he's back to his old self

| a good quality of life | [ as exclamation ] : Good! The more people

the better!

• pleasing and welcome: we've had some good news | it's good to see

you again.

• showing approval: the play had good reviews.

2 having the required qualities; of a high standard: a good

restaurant | his marks are just not good enough.

• skilled at doing or dealing with a specified thing: I'm good at

crosswords | he was good with children.

• healthy, strong, or well: she's not feeling too good.

• useful, advantageous, or beneficial in effect: too much sun is not

good for you.

• appropriate to a particular purpose: this is a good month for

planting seeds.

• (of language) with correct grammar and pronunciation: she

speaks good English.• strictly adhering to or fulfilling all the principles of a

particular religion or cause: a good Catholic girl.

3 possessing or displaying moral virtue: her father was a good man.

• showing kindness: it was good of you to come.

• obedient to rules or conventions: accustom the child to being

rewarded for good behaviour.

• used to address or refer to people in a courteous, patronizing,

or ironic way: a man very like your good self, in fact | the good lady of

the house.

• commanding respect: he was concerned with establishing and

maintaining his good name.

• belonging or relating to a high social class: he comes from a good

family.

4 giving pleasure; enjoyable or satisfying: the streets fill up with

people looking for a good time.

• pleasant to look at; attractive: you're looking pretty good.

• (of clothes) smart and suitable for formal wear: he went upstairs

to change out of his good suit.

5 [ attrib. ] thorough: now is the time to have a really good clear-up |

have a good look around.

• used to emphasize that a number is at least as great as one

claims: they're a good twenty years younger.• used to emphasize a following adjective or adverb: we had a

good long hug | it'll be good and dark by then.

• fairly large in number, amount, or size: the match attracted a good

crowd | there's a good chance that we may be able to help.

6 (usu. good for) valid: the ticket is good for travel from May to

September.

• likely to provide: she's always good for a laugh.

• sufficient to pay for: his money was good for a bottle of whisky.

7 used in conjunction with the name of God or a related

expression as an exclamation of extreme surprise or anger: good

heavens!

noun

1 [ mass noun ] that which is morally right; righteousness: a

mysterious balance of good and evil.

2 [ mass noun ] benefit or advantage to someone or something:

he is too clever for his own good.

3 (goods) merchandise or possessions: imports of luxury goods |

stolen goods.

• Brit.things to be transported, as distinct from passengers: a

means of transporting passengers as well as goods | [ as modifier ] : a

goods train.

• (the goods) informal the genuine article.adverb informal

well: my mother could never cook this good | I'm feeling pretty good, all

things considered.

PHRASES

all to the good to be welcomed without qualification.

as good as —— very nearly ——: the editor as good as told him he

was lucky to get £50 a week. • used of a result which will

inevitably follow: if we pass on the information, he's as good as dead.

be any (or no or much) good have some (or none or a lot of)

merit: tell me whether that picture is any good. • be of some (or none

or a lot of) help in dealing with a situation: it's no good arguing

with him.

be so good as (or be good enough) to do something used

to make a polite request: would you be so good as to answer me.

be —— to the good have a specified net profit or advantage:

I came out £7 to the good.

come up with (or deliver) the goods informal do what is

expected or required of one.

do good 1 act virtuously, especially by helping others. 2 make

a helpful contribution to a situation: could the discussion do any

good?do someone good be beneficial to someone, especially to

their health: the walk will do you good.

for good (and all)forever; definitively: the experience almost

frightened me away for good.

get (or have) the goods on informal obtain (or possess)

information about (someone) which may be used to their

detriment.

(as) good as gold (of a child) extremely well behaved.

(as) good as new in a very good condition or state; close to

the original state again after damage, injury, or illness.

the Good Book the Bible.

good for (or on) you (or him, her, etc.)! used as an

exclamation of praise or approval: ‘I'm having driving lessons and

taking my test next month.’ ‘Good for you!’.

good money money that could usefully be spent elsewhere;

hard-earned money: I paid good money for that computer.

the Good Shepherd Jesus.[with biblical allusion to John

10:1–16.]

good wine needs no bush see wine 1 .

a good word words in recommendation or defence of a

person: I hoped you might put in a good word for me with your

friends.in good time 1 with no risk of being late: I arrived in good time.

2 (also all in good time) in due course but without haste: ‘I

want to see him.’ ‘You will. All in good time.’.

make good be successful: a college friend who made good in

Hollywood.

make something good 1 compensate for loss, damage, or

expense: if I scratched the table I'd make good the damage. • repair or

restore after damage: make good the wall where you have buried the

cable. 2 fulfil a promise or claim: I challenged him to make good his

boast.

take something in good part not be offended by

something: he took her abruptness in good part.

up to no good doing something wrong.

ORIGIN Old English gōd, of Germanic origin; related to

Dutch goed and German gut .

well 1 |wɛl|

adverb (better, best)

1 in a good or satisfactory way: the whole team played well.

• in a way that is appropriate to the facts or circumstances: you

did well to come and tell me | [ as submodifier, in combination ] : a

well-timed exit.• so as to have a fortunate outcome: his campaign was not going

well.

• in a kind way: the animals will remain loyal to humans if treated

well.

• with praise or approval: people spoke well of him | the film was

quite well reviewed at the time.

• with equanimity: she took it very well, all things considered.

• profitably; advantageously: she would marry well or not at all.

• in a condition of prosperity or comfort: they lived well and were

generous with their money.

• archaic luckily; opportunely: hail fellow, well met.

2 in a thorough manner: add the mustard and lemon juice and mix

well.

• to a great extent or degree (often used for emphasis): the visit

had been planned well in advance | [ as submodifier, in

combination ] : a well-loved colleague | a well-deserved reputation.

• intimately; closely: he knew my father very well.

• [ as submodifier ] Brit. informal very; extremely: he was well

out of order.

• [ with submodifier ] used as an intensifier: I should jolly well

hope so.3 [ with modal ] very probably; in all likelihood: being short of

breath may well be the first sign of asthma.

• without difficulty: she could well afford to pay for the reception herself.

• with good reason: ‘What are we doing here?’ ‘You may well ask.’.

adjective (better, best) [ predic. ]

1 in good health; free or recovered from illness: I don't feel very

well | it would be some time before Sarah was completely well |

[ attrib. ] informal : I am not a well man.

• in a satisfactory state or position: I do hope all is well with you and

your family.

2 sensible; advisable: it would be well to know just what this suggestion

entails.

exclamation

used to express a range of emotions including surprise, anger,

resignation, or relief: Well, really! The manners of some people!

• used when pausing to consider one's next words, to mark the

resumption or end of a conversation, etc.: well, I suppose I could

fit you in at 3.45 | well, cheers, Tom—I must fly.

• used to indicate that one is waiting for an answer or

explanation from someone: Well? You promised to tell me all about

it.

PHRASESas well 1 in addition; too: the museum provides hours of fun and a

few surprises as well. 2 (also just as well)with equal reason or an

equally good result: I may as well have a look. • sensible,

appropriate, or desirable: it would be as well to let him go.

as well as and in addition; and also: a shop that sold books as well

as newspapers.

as well he (or she etc.) might (or may)used to convey the

speaker's opinion that a reaction is appropriate or unsurprising:

she sounded rather chipper, as well she might, given her bright prospects.

be well away Brit. informal having made considerable or easy

progress: if we got Terry to do that, we'd be well away.

be well in with informal have a good relationship with

(someone in a position of influence or authority): you're well in

with O'Brien aren't you.

be well out of Brit. informal be fortunate to be no longer

involved in (a situation).

very well see very.

(all) well and good used to express acceptance of a first

statement before introducing a contradictory or confirming

second statement: that's all well and good, but why didn't he phone her

to say so?

well and truly completely: Leith was well and truly rattled.well enough to a reasonable degree: he liked Isobel well enough,

but wouldn't want to make a close friend of her.

well worth certainly worth: Salzburg is well worth a visit.

DERIVATIVES

wellness noun

ORIGIN Old English wel(l), of Germanic origin; related to

Dutch wel and German wohl; probably also to the verb will 1 .

Vowel lengthening in Middle English gave rise to the current

Scots form weel.

usage: The adverb well is often used in combination with past

participles to form adjectival compounds: well adjusted,

well intentioned, well known, and so on. As far as

hyphenation is concerned, the general stylistic principle is that

if the adjectival compound is placed attributively (i.e. it comes

before the noun), it should be hyphenated ( a well-

intentioned remark) but that if it is placed predicatively (i.e.

standing alone after the verb), it should not be hyphenated ( her

remarks were well intentioned). In this dictionary the

unhyphenated form is generally the only one given, although

the hyphenated form may be seen in illustrative examples.better

adjective

1 the better player | better facilities: superior, finer, of higher quality,

greater, in a different class, one step ahead; more acceptable,

preferable, recommended; informal a cut above, streets ahead,

head and shoulders above, ahead of the pack/field.

ANTONYMS worse, inferior.

2 there couldn't be a better time to take up this job: more advantageous,

more suitable, more fitting, more appropriate, more useful,

more valuable, more desirable. ANTONYMS worse.

3 is Emma any better today? healthier, fitter, stronger, less ill; well,

cured, healed, recovered; convalescent, recovering, on the road

to recovery, making progress, progressing, improving; informal

on the mend, looking up. ANTONYMS worse.

adverb

1 I played better today: to a higher standard, in a superior/finer

way.

2 you may find alternatives that suit you better: more, to a greater

degree.

3 the money could be better spent on more urgent cases: more wisely,

more sensibly, more suitably, more fittingly, more

advantageously.verb

1 a record bettered by only one other non-league side: surpass, improve

on, beat, exceed, excel, top, cap, trump, eclipse, outstrip, outdo,

outmatch, go one better than; informal best.

2 musicians will be advised on how to better their work: improve, make

better, ameliorate, raise, advance, further, lift, upgrade,

enhance; reform, rectify; rare meliorate. ANTONYMS

worsen.

noun

PHRASES

get the better of I was going to disagree but impulse got the better of

me | he usually gets the better of the bigger and stronger animals: defeat,

beat, best, conquer, trounce, thrash, rout, vanquish, overcome,

overwhelm, overpower, destroy, drub, triumph over, prevail

over, gain a victory over, win over/against, worst, subdue,

quash, crush; informal lick, slaughter, murder, kill, clobber,

hammer, whip, paste, crucify, demolish, wipe the floor with,

make mincemeat of, take to the cleaners, walk (all) over, run

rings around; Brit. informal stuff, marmalize; N. Amer.

informal shellac, skunk.

good

adjective1 there is always a market for a good product: fine, of high quality, of

a high standard, quality, superior; satisfactory, acceptable,

adequate, in order, up to scratch, up to the mark, up to

standard, up to par, competent, not bad, all right; excellent,

superb, outstanding, magnificent, of the highest quality, of the

highest standard, exceptional, marvellous, wonderful, first-rate,

first-class, superlative, splendid, admirable, worthy, sterling;

informal super, great, OK, hunky-dory, A1, ace, terrific,

tremendous, smashing, fantastic, fab,

supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, top-notch, tip-top, class,

awesome, magic, wicked; Brit. informal brilliant, brill, bosting;

Austral. informal beaut, bonzer; Brit. informal, dated spiffing,

ripping, cracking, topping, top-hole, wizard, capital, champion;

N. Amer. informal, dated swell. ANTONYMS bad.

2 he is basically a good person: virtuous, righteous, moral, morally

correct, ethical, upright, upstanding, high-minded, right-

minded, right-thinking, principled, exemplary, clean, law-

abiding, lawful, irreproachable, blameless, guiltless,

unimpeachable, just, honest, honourable, unbribable,

incorruptible, anti-corruption; scrupulous, reputable, decent,

respectable, noble, lofty, elevated, worthy, trustworthy,

meritorious, praiseworthy, commendable, admirable, laudable;pure, pure as the driven snow, whiter than white, sinless, saintly,

saintlike, godly, angelic; informal squeaky clean. ANTONYMS

wicked.

3 the children are good with most of their teachers: well behaved,

obedient, dutiful, well mannered, well brought up, polite, civil,

courteous, respectful, deferential, manageable, compliant,

acquiescent, tractable, malleable. ANTONYMS naughty.

4 it was a good thing to do: right, correct, proper, decorous,

seemly; appropriate, fitting, apt, suitable; convenient,

expedient, favourable, auspicious, propitious, opportune,

felicitous, timely, well judged, well timed; archaic meet,

seasonable.

5 she's a good driver | that was good work: capable, able, proficient,

adept, adroit, accomplished, seasoned, skilful, skilled, gifted,

talented, masterly, virtuoso, expert, knowledgeable, qualified,

trained; informal great, mean, wicked, deadly, nifty, crack,

super, ace, wizard, magic; N. Amer. informal crackerjack;

vulgar slang shit-hot.

6 he's been a good friend to me: reliable, dependable, trustworthy,

true, tried and true, faithful, devoted, steady, steadfast, staunch,

unswerving, unwavering, constant, loyal, trusty, dutiful,

dedicated, committed, unfailing.7 the dogs look in good condition: healthy, fine, sound, tip-top, hale,

hale and hearty, hearty, lusty, fit, robust, sturdy, strong,

vigorous. ANTONYMS poor; ill; diseased.

8 that was a good party: enjoyable, pleasant, agreeable, pleasing,

pleasurable, delightful, great, nice, lovely, amusing, diverting,

jolly, merry, lively, festive, cheerful, convivial, congenial,

sociable; informal super, fantastic, fabulous, fab, terrific,

glorious, grand, magic, out of this world, cool; Brit. informal

brilliant, brill, smashing; N. Amer. informal peachy, neat,

ducky; Austral./NZ informal beaut, bonzer; Brit. informal,

dated capital, wizard, corking, spiffing, ripping, top-hole,

topping, champion, beezer; N. Amer. informal, dated swell;

rare frabjous. ANTONYMS terrible.

9 it was good of you to come: kind, kindly, kind-hearted, good-

hearted, friendly, obliging, generous, charitable, magnanimous,

gracious, sympathetic, benevolent, benign, altruistic, unselfish,

selfless. ANTONYMS unkind.

10 tomorrow would be a good time to call: convenient, suitable,

appropriate, fitting, fit, suited, agreeable; opportune, timely,

well timed, favourable, advantageous, expedient, felicitous,propitious, auspicious, happy, providential; archaic

commodious, seasonable. ANTONYMS inconvenient.

11 milk is good for you: wholesome, health-giving, healthful,

healthy, nourishing, nutritious, nutritional, strengthening,

beneficial, salubrious, salutary. ANTONYMS bad.

12 are these eggs still good? edible, safe to eat, fit to eat, fit to be

eaten, fit for human consumption; fresh, wholesome,

consumable, comestible. ANTONYMS bad.

13 the restaurant provided good food: delicious, mouth-watering,

appetizing, tasty, flavoursome, flavourful, delectable,

toothsome, inviting, enjoyable, palatable; succulent, luscious,

rich, sweet; savoury, piquant; informal scrumptious, delish,

scrummy, yummy, yum-yum; Brit. informal moreish; N. Amer.

informal finger-licking, nummy; literary ambrosial; rare

ambrosian, nectareous, nectarean, flavorous, sapid.

ANTONYMS bad.

14 give me one good reason why I should go: valid, genuine,

authentic, legitimate, sound, bona fide; convincing, persuasive,

forceful, striking, telling, potent, powerful, strong, cogent,

compelling; trenchant, weighty, important, meaningful,

influential. ANTONYMS bad.15 we had to wait a good hour: whole, full, entire, complete, solid,

not less than, at least.

16 a good number of them lost their lives: considerable, sizeable,

substantial, appreciable, significant; goodly, tolerable, fair,

reasonable, tidy, hefty; ample, plentiful, abundant,

superabundant, great, large, lavish, profuse, generous; marked,

noticeable; informal not to be sneezed at, OK; literary

plenteous. ANTONYMS small.

17 this is something you would only tell a good friend: close, intimate,

dear, bosom; close-knit, inseparable, attached, loving, devoted,

faithful, constant; special, best, fast, firm, valued, treasured,

cherished. ANTONYMS distant.

18 don't you go getting your good clothes grubby: best, finest, newest,

nice, nicest, smart, smartest, special, party, Sunday, formal;

informal dressy. ANTONYMS casual; scruffy.

19 good weather: fine, fair, dry; bright, clear, sunny, sunshiny,

cloudless, unclouded, without a cloud in the sky; calm,

windless, tranquil; warm, mild, balmy, summery, clement;

agreeable, pleasant, nice, benign.

PHRASES

in good part luckily the police took the joke in good part : good-

naturedly, good-humouredly, without offence, amicably,favourably, with forbearance, patiently, tolerantly, indulgently,

cheerfully, well; not be offended by, not take offence at, not be

upset by, not be bothered by, not disapprove of, not resent, not

mind, take kindly to.

make good the working-class boy who made good: succeed, achieve

success, be successful, be a success, do well, get ahead, reach

the top, become famous, achieve recognition, distinguish

oneself, set the world on fire; prosper, flourish, thrive, advance;

Brit. set the Thames on fire; informal make it, make the grade,

cut it, crack it, make a name for oneself, make one's mark, get

somewhere, arrive, do all right for oneself, bring home the

bacon, find a place in the sun. ANTONYMS fail.

make something good 1 he promised to make good any damage:

repair, mend, fix, patch up, put right, set right, put to rights, see

to; restore, remedy, rectify, put back into its original condition,

make as good as new; rebuild, reconstruct, remodel, refit,

refurbish, recondition; N. English fettle. 2 they made good their

escape: effect, conduct, perform, implement, execute, carry out,

perpetrate; achieve, accomplish, succeed in, realize, attain,

manage, engineer, bring about, bring off, carry off, carry

through; rare effectuate. 3 they hope he will make good his promise of

payment: fulfil, carry out, carry through, implement, execute,effect, discharge, perform, honour, redeem; keep, observe,

abide by, comply with, obey, respect, conform to, stick to, act in

accordance with, act according to, have regard to, heed, follow,

pay attention to, defer to, take notice of, be bound by, keep

faith with, live up to, stand by, adhere to.

noun

1 complex issues of good and evil: virtue, righteousness,

virtuousness, goodness, morality, ethicalness, uprightness,

upstandingness, integrity, principle, dignity, rectitude, rightness;

honesty, truth, truthfulness, honour, incorruptibility, probity,

propriety, worthiness, worth, merit; irreproachableness,

blamelessness, purity, pureness, lack of corruption, justice,

justness, fairness. ANTONYMS wickedness.

2 don't worry, it's all for your good: benefit, advantage, profit, gain,

interest, welfare, well-being, enjoyment, satisfaction, comfort,

ease, convenience; help, aid, assistance, use, usefulness, avail,

service, behalf. ANTONYMS disadvantage.

PHRASES

for good those bad old days are gone for good: forever, permanently,

for always, for good and all, perpetually, eternally, (for)

evermore, for ever and ever, for all (future) time, until/to the

end of time, world without end, endlessly, timelessly, foreternity, in perpetuity, everlastingly, enduringly, never to return;

Scottish aye; N. Amer. forevermore; informal for keeps, until

hell freezes over, until doomsday, until the cows come home;

archaic for aye; rare immortally, deathlessly, imperishably,

abidingly, sempiter nally, perdurably. ANTONYMS

temporarily.

exclamation

good, that's settled: fine, very well, all right, right, right then, right

you are, yes, agreed; informal okay, OK, oke, okey-dokey, okey-

doke, wilco, roger; Brit. informal righto, righty-ho; Indian

informal acha.

well 1

adverb

1 I am sure you will behave well: satisfactorily, in a satisfactory

manner/way, nicely, correctly, rightly, properly, fittingly,

suitably, aptly, appropriately. ANTONYMS badly.

2 they get on well together: harmoniously, agreeably, pleasantly,

nicely, happily, politely, amicably, amiably, affably, genially,

peaceably; informal famously. ANTONYMS badly.

3 he plays the piano well: skilfully, with skill, ably, competently,

proficiently, adeptly, adroitly, deftly, dexterously, effectively,expertly, with expertise, admirably, excellently, consummately,

professionally. ANTONYMS poorly.

4 treating employees well makes good business sense: decently, fairly,

civilly, politely, genially, kindly, in a kind/kindly way,

generously, hospitably; respectably, honestly. ANTONYMS

harshly.

5 mix the ingredients well: thoroughly, completely, efficiently,

rigorously, effectively, conscientiously, industriously, carefully.

6 I know her quite well: intimately, thoroughly, fully, deeply,

profoundly, personally.

7 the company has obviously studied the car market well: carefully,

closely, attentively, rigorously, in depth, exhaustively, from top

to bottom, minutely, in detail, meticulously, scrupulously,

assiduously, conscientiously, painstakingly, methodically,

completely, comprehensively, fully, to the fullest extent,

intensively, extensively. ANTONYMS casually, negligently.

8 they all speak well of him: admiringly, highly, approvingly,

favourably, appreciatively, warmly, enthusiastically, glowingly,

with admiration, with praise, with approbation. ANTONYMS

scornfully.9 she hopes to make enough money to live well: comfortably, in

comfort, in (the lap of) luxury, in ease, splendidly, prosperously,

without hardship.

10 you may well be right: quite possibly, conceivably, quite likely,

probably; undoubtedly, certainly, unquestionably; justifiably,

reasonably.

11 he is well over forty: considerably, very much, greatly, to a

great/marked extent/degree, a great deal, markedly, decidedly,

substantially, easily, comfortably, materially, significantly,

signally; informal seriously. ANTONYMS barely, little.

12 she could well afford it: easily, comfortably, readily, with ease,

without difficulty, effortlessly. ANTONYMS barely.

PHRASES

as well ducks eat waterweed and tadpoles as well: too, also, in

addition, additionally, into the bargain, besides, furthermore,

moreover, to boot.

as well as we sell books as well as newspapers: together with, in

addition to, along with, besides, plus, and, coupled with, with,

over and above, on top of, over and beyond, not to mention, to

say nothing of, let alone.

well up on I thought I was pretty well up on my internet jargon but I'm

stumped on that one: well versed in, well informed about,conversant with, knowledgeable about, informed about,

abreast of, apprised of, up to date on, au courant with; familiar

with, acquainted with, au fait with, at home with, no stranger

to; experienced in, proficient in, practised in, skilled in;

informal up to speed on, clued up on, genned up on, plugged

into; formal cognizant of; dated perfect in. ANTONYMS

ignorant of; unfamiliar with.

adjective

1 it would be some time before she was completely well: healthy, in good

health, all right, fine, fit, fighting fit, as fit as a fiddle, as fit as a

flea, robust, strong, vigorous, blooming, thriving, bursting with

health, in rude health, hale, hale and hearty, hearty, in good

shape, in excellent shape, in good condition, in tip-top

condition, in good trim, in fine fettle, sound, sound in body and

limb; informal in the pink, up to snuff. ANTONYMS poorly.

2 all is not well in further education: satisfactory, all right, fine, in

order, as it should be, acceptable; informal OK, fine and

dandy, hunky-dory; N. Amer. & Austral./NZ informal jake;

Brit. informal, dated tickety-boo. ANTONYMS unsatisfactory.

3 it would be well to know just what this suggestion entails: advisable,

sensible, prudent, politic, commonsensical, wise, canny,

judicious, shrewd, expedient, provident, recommended,advantageous, beneficial, profitable, gainful, desirable; a good

idea. ANTONYMS inadvisable.

well 2

noun

1 borehole, spring, waterhole, bore, shaft.

2 it is not a priest's function to be a bottomless well of uncritical

forgiveness: source, supply, wellspring, fount, fountainhead,

reservoir, mine, fund, bank, repository, storehouse, treasury.

verb

tears were beginning to well from her eyes: flow, stream, run, rush,

gush, course, roll, cascade, flood, surge, rise, spurt, spout,

squirt, jet; ooze, seep, trickle; burst, issue, discharge; spill,

overflow, brim over; rare disembogue.

better 1 |ˈbɛt#|

adjective

1 more desirable, satisfactory, or effective: we're hoping for better

weather tomorrow | the new facilities were far better | I'm better at

doing sums than Alice.[comparative of the adjective good.]

• more appropriate, advantageous, or well advised: there couldn't

be a better time to take up this job | it might be better to borrow the money.2 [ predic. or as complement ] partly or fully recovered from

illness, injury, or mental stress: his leg was getting better.

[comparative of the adjective well 1 .]

adverb

more excellently or effectively: Jonathon could do better if he tried |

sound travels better in water than in air | instruments are generally better

made these days.

• to a greater degree; more (used in connection with success or

with desirable actions or conditions): I liked it better when we lived

in the country | well-fed people are better able to fight off infection.

• more suitably, appropriately, or usefully: the money could be better

spent on more urgent cases.

noun

1 [ mass noun ] the better one; that which is better: the Natural

History Museum book is by far the better of the two | you've a right to

expect better than that | a change for the better.

2 (one's betters) chiefly dated or humorous one's superiors

in social class or ability: educating the young to respect their elders

and betters.

verb [ with obj. ]improve on or surpass (an existing or previous level or

achievement): his account can hardly be bettered | bettering his previous

time by ten minutes.

• make (something) better; improve: his ideas for bettering the lot of

the millhands.

• (better oneself) achieve a higher social position or status: the

residents are mostly Londoners who have bettered themselves.

• overcome or defeat (someone): she had almost bettered him at

archery.

PHRASES

the —— the better used to emphasize the importance or

desirability of the thing specified: the sooner we're off the better.

better the devil you know than the devil you don't

know proverb it's wiser to deal with an undesirable but

familiar situation than to risk a change that might lead to an

even worse situation. any other man might be as unpleasant to live

with—better the devil you know.

better off in a more desirable or advantageous position,

especially in financial terms: the proposals would make her about

£400 a year better off.

the better part of almost all of; most of: it is the better part of a

mile.better safe than sorry proverb it's wiser to be cautious and

careful than to be hasty or rash and so do something you may

later regret.

better than N. Amer.more than: he'd lived there for better than

twenty years.

the better to —— so as to —— better: he leaned closer the better

to hear her.

for better or (for) worse whether the outcome is good or

bad. ours, for better or for worse, is the century of youth.

get the better of gain an advantage over or defeat (someone)

by superior strength or ability: no one has ever got the better of her

yet. • (of a feeling or urge) be too strong to conceal or resist:

curiosity got the better of her.

go one better narrowly surpass a previous effort or

achievement: I want to go one better this time and score. • narrowly

outdo (another person). he went one better than Black by reaching the

final.

had better do something would find it wiser to do

something; ought to do something: you had better be careful.

have the better of be more successful in (a contest): Attlee had

the better of these exchanges.no (or little) better than just (or almost) the same as

(something bad); merely: viceroys who were often no better than

bandits.

no better than one should (or ought to) be regarded as

sexually promiscuous or of doubtful moral character.

ORIGIN Old English betera (adjective), of Germanic origin;

related to Dutch beter and German besser, also to best.

usage: In the verb phrase had better do something the

word had acts like an auxiliary verb, and in informal spoken

contexts it is often dropped, as in you better not come tonight. In

writing, the had may be contracted to 'd but should not be

dropped altogether.

better 2 |ˈbɛt#|

noun

variant spelling of bettor.

bettor |ˈbɛt#| (also better)

nounchiefly US

a person who bets, especially on a regular basis. she described

herself as a moderate bettor.

good |gʊd|

adjective (better, best)1 to be desired or approved of: it's good that he's back to his old self

| a good quality of life | [ as exclamation ] : Good! The more people

the better!

• pleasing and welcome: we've had some good news | it's good to see

you again.

• showing approval: the play had good reviews.

2 having the required qualities; of a high standard: a good

restaurant | his marks are just not good enough.

• skilled at doing or dealing with a specified thing: I'm good at

crosswords | he was good with children.

• healthy, strong, or well: she's not feeling too good.

• useful, advantageous, or beneficial in effect: too much sun is not

good for you.

• appropriate to a particular purpose: this is a good month for

planting seeds.

• (of language) with correct grammar and pronunciation: she

speaks good English.

• strictly adhering to or fulfilling all the principles of a

particular religion or cause: a good Catholic girl.

3 possessing or displaying moral virtue: her father was a good man.

• showing kindness: it was good of you to come.• obedient to rules or conventions: accustom the child to being

rewarded for good behaviour.

• used to address or refer to people in a courteous, patronizing,

or ironic way: a man very like your good self, in fact | the good lady of

the house.

• commanding respect: he was concerned with establishing and

maintaining his good name.

• belonging or relating to a high social class: he comes from a good

family.

4 giving pleasure; enjoyable or satisfying: the streets fill up with

people looking for a good time.

• pleasant to look at; attractive: you're looking pretty good.

• (of clothes) smart and suitable for formal wear: he went upstairs

to change out of his good suit.

5 [ attrib. ] thorough: now is the time to have a really good clear-up |

have a good look around.

• used to emphasize that a number is at least as great as one

claims: they're a good twenty years younger.

• used to emphasize a following adjective or adverb: we had a

good long hug | it'll be good and dark by then.

• fairly large in number, amount, or size: the match attracted a good

crowd | there's a good chance that we may be able to help.6 (usu. good for) valid: the ticket is good for travel from May to

September.

• likely to provide: she's always good for a laugh.

• sufficient to pay for: his money was good for a bottle of whisky.

7 used in conjunction with the name of God or a related

expression as an exclamation of extreme surprise or anger: good

heavens!

noun

1 [ mass noun ] that which is morally right; righteousness: a

mysterious balance of good and evil.

2 [ mass noun ] benefit or advantage to someone or something:

he is too clever for his own good.

3 (goods) merchandise or possessions: imports of luxury goods |

stolen goods.

• Brit.things to be transported, as distinct from passengers: a

means of transporting passengers as well as goods | [ as modifier ] : a

goods train.

• (the goods) informal the genuine article.

adverb informal

well: my mother could never cook this good | I'm feeling pretty good, all

things considered.

PHRASESall to the good to be welcomed without qualification.

as good as —— very nearly ——: the editor as good as told him he

was lucky to get £50 a week. • used of a result which will

inevitably follow: if we pass on the information, he's as good as dead.

be any (or no or much) good have some (or none or a lot of)

merit: tell me whether that picture is any good. • be of some (or none

or a lot of) help in dealing with a situation: it's no good arguing

with him.

be so good as (or be good enough) to do something used

to make a polite request: would you be so good as to answer me.

be —— to the good have a specified net profit or advantage:

I came out £7 to the good.

come up with (or deliver) the goods informal do what is

expected or required of one.

do good 1 act virtuously, especially by helping others. 2 make

a helpful contribution to a situation: could the discussion do any

good?

do someone good be beneficial to someone, especially to

their health: the walk will do you good.

for good (and all)forever; definitively: the experience almost

frightened me away for good.get (or have) the goods on informal obtain (or possess)

information about (someone) which may be used to their

detriment.

(as) good as gold (of a child) extremely well behaved.

(as) good as new in a very good condition or state; close to

the original state again after damage, injury, or illness.

the Good Book the Bible.

good for (or on) you (or him, her, etc.)! used as an

exclamation of praise or approval: ‘I'm having driving lessons and

taking my test next month.’ ‘Good for you!’.

good money money that could usefully be spent elsewhere;

hard-earned money: I paid good money for that computer.

the Good Shepherd Jesus.[with biblical allusion to John

10:1–16.]

good wine needs no bush see wine 1 .

a good word words in recommendation or defence of a

person: I hoped you might put in a good word for me with your

friends.

in good time 1 with no risk of being late: I arrived in good time.

2 (also all in good time) in due course but without haste: ‘I

want to see him.’ ‘You will. All in good time.’.make good be successful: a college friend who made good in

Hollywood.

make something good 1 compensate for loss, damage, or

expense: if I scratched the table I'd make good the damage. • repair or

restore after damage: make good the wall where you have buried the

cable. 2 fulfil a promise or claim: I challenged him to make good his

boast.

take something in good part not be offended by

something: he took her abruptness in good part.

up to no good doing something wrong.

ORIGIN Old English gōd, of Germanic origin; related to

Dutch goed and German gut .

well 1 |wɛl|

adverb (better, best)

1 in a good or satisfactory way: the whole team played well.

• in a way that is appropriate to the facts or circumstances: you

did well to come and tell me | [ as submodifier, in combination ] : a

well-timed exit.

• so as to have a fortunate outcome: his campaign was not going

well.

• in a kind way: the animals will remain loyal to humans if treated

well.• with praise or approval: people spoke well of him | the film was

quite well reviewed at the time.

• with equanimity: she took it very well, all things considered.

• profitably; advantageously: she would marry well or not at all.

• in a condition of prosperity or comfort: they lived well and were

generous with their money.

• archaic luckily; opportunely: hail fellow, well met.

2 in a thorough manner: add the mustard and lemon juice and mix

well.

• to a great extent or degree (often used for emphasis): the visit

had been planned well in advance | [ as submodifier, in

combination ] : a well-loved colleague | a well-deserved reputation.

• intimately; closely: he knew my father very well.

• [ as submodifier ] Brit. informal very; extremely: he was well

out of order.

• [ with submodifier ] used as an intensifier: I should jolly well

hope so.

3 [ with modal ] very probably; in all likelihood: being short of

breath may well be the first sign of asthma.

• without difficulty: she could well afford to pay for the reception herself.

• with good reason: ‘What are we doing here?’ ‘You may well ask.’.

adjective (better, best) [ predic. ]1 in good health; free or recovered from illness: I don't feel very

well | it would be some time before Sarah was completely well |

[ attrib. ] informal : I am not a well man.

• in a satisfactory state or position: I do hope all is well with you and

your family.

2 sensible; advisable: it would be well to know just what this suggestion

entails.

exclamation

used to express a range of emotions including surprise, anger,

resignation, or relief: Well, really! The manners of some people!

• used when pausing to consider one's next words, to mark the

resumption or end of a conversation, etc.: well, I suppose I could

fit you in at 3.45 | well, cheers, Tom—I must fly.

• used to indicate that one is waiting for an answer or

explanation from someone: Well? You promised to tell me all about

it.

PHRASES

as well 1 in addition; too: the museum provides hours of fun and a

few surprises as well. 2 (also just as well)with equal reason or an

equally good result: I may as well have a look. • sensible,

appropriate, or desirable: it would be as well to let him go.as well as and in addition; and also: a shop that sold books as well

as newspapers.

as well he (or she etc.) might (or may)used to convey the

speaker's opinion that a reaction is appropriate or unsurprising:

she sounded rather chipper, as well she might, given her bright prospects.

be well away Brit. informal having made considerable or easy

progress: if we got Terry to do that, we'd be well away.

be well in with informal have a good relationship with

(someone in a position of influence or authority): you're well in

with O'Brien aren't you.

be well out of Brit. informal be fortunate to be no longer

involved in (a situation).

very well see very.

(all) well and good used to express acceptance of a first

statement before introducing a contradictory or confirming

second statement: that's all well and good, but why didn't he phone her

to say so?

well and truly completely: Leith was well and truly rattled.

well enough to a reasonable degree: he liked Isobel well enough,

but wouldn't want to make a close friend of her.

well worth certainly worth: Salzburg is well worth a visit.

DERIVATIVESwellness noun

ORIGIN Old English wel(l), of Germanic origin; related to

Dutch wel and German wohl; probably also to the verb will 1 .

Vowel lengthening in Middle English gave rise to the current

Scots form weel.

usage: The adverb well is often used in combination with past

participles to form adjectival compounds: well adjusted,

well intentioned, well known, and so on. As far as

hyphenation is concerned, the general stylistic principle is that

if the adjectival compound is placed attributively (i.e. it comes

before the noun), it should be hyphenated ( a well-

intentioned remark) but that if it is placed predicatively (i.e.

standing alone after the verb), it should not be hyphenated ( her

remarks were well intentioned). In this dictionary the

unhyphenated form is generally the only one given, although

the hyphenated form may be seen in illustrative examples.

remains |rɪˈmeɪnz|

pluralnoun

the parts left over after other parts have been removed, used, or

destroyed: the remains of a sandwich lunch were on the table.

• historical or archaeological relics: Roman remains.• a person's body after death. he left instructions regarding the

disposal of his remains.

ORIGIN late Middle English (occasionally treated as singular):

from Old French remain, from remaindre, from an informal

form of Latin remanere (see remain) .

remain |rɪˈmeɪn|

verb [ no obj. ]

1 continue to exist, especially after other similar people or

things have ceased to do so: a cloister is all that remains of the

monastery.

• stay in the place that one has been occupying: her husband

remained at the flat in Regent's Park.

• [ with complement ] continue to possess a particular quality

or fulfil a particular role: he had remained alert the whole time.

2 be left over or outstanding after others or other parts have

been completed, used, or dealt with: a more intractable problem

remains.

PHRASES

remain to be seen used to express the notion that something

is not yet known: she has broken her leg, but it remains to be seen how

badly.ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French remain-,

stressed stem of remanoir, from Latin remanere, from re-

(expressing intensive force) + manere ‘to stay’.

remains

pluralnoun

1 she downed the remains of her drink in one go: remainder, residue,

remaining part/number/quantity, part/number/quantity (that

is) left over, rest, remnant, remnants; leftovers, leavings, scraps,

debris, detritus; technical residuum.

2 Pula's Roman remains include the public baths and a triumphal arch:

antiquities, relics; inheritance, heritage; Latinreliquiae.

3 Saint Ubaldo's remains are housed in the basilica: corpse, dead

body, body, cadaver, carcass; body parts, bones, skeleton.

remain

verb

1 unless that is sorted out, the problem will remain: continue to exist,

endure, last, abide, go on, carry on, persist, hang in the air, stay

around/round, stand, be extant, hold out, prevail, survive, live

on. ANTONYMS cease to exist.

2 he would have to remain in hospital for around a month: stay, stay

behind, stay put, wait, wait around, linger, be left, hold on,hang on, rest, stop; informal hang around/round; Brit.

informal hang about; formal sojourn; archaic bide, tarry.

ANTONYMS go, depart, leave.

3 union leaders remain sceptical: continue to be, stay, keep, persist in

being, carry on being, go on being.

4 I think we should leave them alone for the few minutes that remain: be

left, be left over, be still available, be unused; have not yet

passed, have not yet expired.

intellect |ˈɪnt#lɛkt|

noun [ mass noun ]

the faculty of reasoning and understanding objectively,

especially with regard to abstract matters: he was a man of action

rather than of intellect.

• [ count noun ] a person's mental powers: her keen intellect.

• [ count noun ] a clever person: sapping our country of some of its

brightest intellects.

ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin intellectus

‘understanding’, from intellegere ‘understand’ (see

intelligent) .

intellectnoun

1 it's a film that appeals more to the intellect than to the gut: mind,

brain, brains, head, intelligence, reason, understanding,

comprehension, thought, brainpower, sense, judgement,

wisdom, wits; informal nous, grey matter, brainbox, brain cells,

upper storey; Brit. informal loaf; N. Amer. informal smarts; S.

African informal kop. ANTONYMS emotion.

2 one of the most sophisticated intellects of the century: thinker,

intellectual, bluestocking, academic, scholar, sage; mind, brain.

obligation |ɒblɪˈgeɪʃ(#)n|

noun

an act or course of action to which a person is morally or

legally bound; a duty or commitment: [ with infinitive ] : I have

an obligation to look after her.

• [ mass noun ] the condition of being morally or legally bound

to do something: they are under no obligation to stick to the

scheme.

• a debt of gratitude for a service or favour: she didn't want to be

under an obligation to him.

• Law a binding agreement committing a person to a payment

or other action.PHRASES

day of obligation (in the Roman Catholic Church) a day on

which all are required to attend Mass.

DERIVATIVES

obligational adjective

ORIGIN Middle English (in the sense ‘formal promise’): via

Old French from Latin obligatio(n-), from the verb obligare

(see oblige) .

obligation

noun

1 I have an obligation to look after her | he seemed able to fulfil his

professional obligations: duty, commitment, responsibility, moral

imperative; function, task, job, chore, assignment, commission,

business, burden, charge, onus, liability, accountability,

requirement, debt, engagement; dated office; archaic devoir;

literary trust.

2 she took him in solely out of a sense of obligation: duty, compulsion,

indebtedness, duress, necessity, pressure, constraint.

3 the company's export obligations: contract, agreement, deed,

covenant, bond, treaty, deal, pact, compact, understanding,

transaction.PHRASES

under an obligation she didn't want to be under an obligation

to him: owing someone a favour, obliged, beholden, in

someone's debt, indebted, obligated, owing someone a debt of

gratitude, duty-bound, honour-bound, grateful, owing

someone thanks.

opportunity |ɒp#ˈtjuːnɪti|

noun (pl.opportunities)

a time or set of circumstances that makes it possible to do

something: increased opportunities for export | the night drive gave

us the opportunity of spotting rhinos.

• a chance for employment or promotion: career opportunities in

our New York headquarters.

PHRASES

opportunity knocks a chance of success occurs. with the right

support, opportunity knocks.

ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French opportunite,

from Latin opportunitas, from opportunus (see

opportune) .

opportunitynoun

staff will have the opportunity to discuss the matter | it's an opportunity

you shouldn't miss: chance, lucky chance, good time, golden

opportunity, time, occasion, moment, favourable time/

occasion/moment, right set of circumstances, appropriate

time/occasion/moment, suitable time/occasion/moment,

opportune time/occasion/moment, opening, option, window

(of opportunity), slot, turn, go, (clear) run, field day; possibility,

scope, freedom, latitude, room to manoeuvre, elbow room; N.

Amer. & Austral./NZ show; Canadian a kick at the can/cat;

informal shot, break, look-in.

lead 1 |liːd|

verb (past and past participleled |lɛd| ) [ with obj. ]

1 cause (a person or animal) to go with one by holding them by

the hand, a halter, a rope, etc. while moving forward: she emerged

leading a bay horse.

• [ with obj. and adverbial of direction ] show (someone or

something) the way to a destination by going in front of or

beside them: she stood up and led her friend to the door.

2 [ no obj., with adverbial of direction ] (usu. lead to) be a

route or means of access to a particular place or in a particulardirection: the door led to a better-lit corridor | a farm track led off to

the left.

• [ with obj. ] be a reason or motive for (someone): nothing that I

have read about the case leads me to the conclusion that anything untoward

happened | [ with obj. and infinitive ] : a fascination for art led him

to start a collection of paintings.

• [ no obj. ] culminate or result in (a particular event or

consequence): closing the plant will lead to 300 job losses | fashioning

a policy appropriate to the situation entails understanding the forces that

led up to it.

3 be in charge or command of: a military delegation was led by the

Chief of Staff.

• organize and direct: the conference included sessions led by people

with personal knowledge of the area.

• be the principal player of (a group of musicians): since the

forties he has led his own big bands.

• set (a process) in motion: they are waiting for an expansion of world

trade to lead a recovery.

• [ no obj. ] (lead (off) with) begin a report or text with a

particular item: the radio news led with the murder.

• [ no obj. ] (lead with) Boxing make an attack with (a

particular punch or fist): Adam led with a left.• (in card games) play (the first card) in a trick or round of play.

he led the ace and another heart. [ no obj. ] : it's your turn to lead.

4 [ no obj. ] have the advantage over competitors in a race or

game: [ with complement ] : he followed up with a break of 105 to

lead 3-0 | [ with obj. ] : the Wantage jockey was leading the field.

• [ with obj. ] be superior to (competitors or colleagues): there

will be specific areas or skills in which other nations lead the world.

5 have or experience (a particular way of life): she's led a

completely sheltered life.

noun

1 the initiative in an action; an example for others to follow:

Britain is now taking the lead in environmental policies.

• a clue to be followed in the resolution of a problem: detectives

investigating the murder are chasing new leads.

• (in card games) an act or right of playing first in a trick or

round of play: it's your lead.

• the card played first in a trick or round. the ♦8 was an inspired

lead.

2 (the lead) a position of advantage in a contest; first place: the

team burst into life and took the lead | they were beaten 5-3 after

twice being in the lead.• an amount by which a competitor is ahead of the others: the

team held a slender one-goal lead.

3 the chief part in a play or film: she had the lead in a new film |

[ as modifier ] : the lead role.

• the person playing the chief part: he still looked like a romantic

lead.

• [ usu. as modifier ] the chief performer or instrument of a

specified type: a lead guitarist.

• [ often as modifier ] the item of news given the greatest

prominence in a newspaper or magazine: the lead story.

4 Brit.a strap or cord for restraining and guiding a dog or other

domestic animal. the dog is our constant walking companion and is

always kept on a lead.

5 Brit.a wire that conveys electric current from a source to an

appliance, or that connects two points of a circuit together.

6 the distance advanced by a screw in one turn.

7 an artificial watercourse leading to a mill.

• a channel of water in an ice field.

PHRASES

lead someone astray cause someone to act or think foolishly

or wrongly. many people are led astray by strong feelings.lead someone by the nose informal control someone totally,

especially by deceiving them. the government has been led by the nose

by the timber trade so that it suppressed the report.

lead from the front take an active role in what one is urging

and directing others to do. in his two appearances as captain, he led

from the front.

lead someone up (or down) the garden path informal

give someone misleading clues or signals. in a crime novel, the

reader has to be led up the garden path.

lead with one's chin informal (of a boxer) leave one's chin

unprotected. • behave or speak incautiously. she led with the chin

and got her own way most of the time.

PHRASAL VERBS

lead off Baseball bat first in a game or inning. Tony plays

shortstop and leads off. • (of a base runner) be in a position to run

from a base while standing off the base.

lead someone on mislead or deceive someone, especially into

believing that one is in love with or attracted to them: she flirted

with him and led him on.

lead up to immediately precede: the weeks leading up to the

elections.ORIGIN Old English lǣdan, of Germanic origin; related to

Dutch leiden and German leiten, also to load and lode.

lead 2 |lɛd|

noun

1 [ mass noun ] a soft, heavy, ductile bluish-grey metal, the

chemical element of atomic number 82. It has been used in

roofing, plumbing, ammunition, storage batteries, radiation

shields, etc., and its compounds have been used in crystal glass,

as an anti-knock agent in petrol, and (formerly) in paints.

(Symbol: Pb)

• used figuratively as a symbol of something heavy: Joe's feet felt

like lumps of lead.

2 an item or implement made of lead, in particular:

• (leads) Brit.sheets or strips of lead covering a roof.

• Brit.a piece of lead-covered roof.

• (leads) lead frames holding the glass of a lattice or stained-

glass window.

• Nautical a lump of lead suspended on a line to determine the

depth of water.

3 [ mass noun ] graphite used as the part of a pencil that

makes a mark. scrawls done with a bit of pencil lead.4 Printing a blank space between lines of print.[originally with

reference to the metal strip used to create this space.]

PHRASES

get the lead out N. Amer. informal move or work more

quickly.

go down (or N. Amer.over) like a lead balloon informal

(of a speech, proposal, or joke) be poorly received. the idea would

go down like a lead balloon.

lead in one's pencil informal vigour or energy, especially

sexual energy in a man. Hot Springs water will put lead in your

pencil!

ORIGIN Old English lēad, of West Germanic origin; related to

Dutch lood ‘lead’ and German Lot ‘plummet, solder’.

lead 1 |(rhymes with ‘feed’)|

verb

1 Michelle let them lead her into the porch: guide, conduct, show,

show someone the way, lead the way, usher, escort, steer, pilot,

marshal, shepherd; accompany, see, take, help, assist.

ANTONYMS follow.

2 we are led to believe that lack of finance is to blame: cause, induce,

prompt, move, persuade, sway, influence, prevail on, bringround, make willing, motivate, drive, condition, determine,

make, impel, give, force; incline, dispose, predispose, bias.

3 they feared that the Marshall Plan would lead to Germany's

industrial revival: result in, cause, bring on, bring about, call

forth, give rise to, be the cause of, make happen, create,

produce, occasion, effect, engender, generate, contribute to, be

conducive to, add to, be instrumental in, have a hand in, have

a part in, help, promote, advance; precipitate, hasten,

accelerate, quicken, push forward, prompt, expedite, further,

speed up; provoke, stir up, spark off, trigger (off), set off, touch

off, arouse, rouse, excite, foment, instigate; cost, involve,

necessitate, invite, risk, elicit, entail; rare effectuate, conduce to.

4 he intended to lead a march to the city centre: be at the head of, be at

the front of, head, spearhead. ANTONYMS follow.

5 the Prime Minister led a coalition of republican radicals: be the

leader of, be the head of, preside over, hold sway over, head;

command, direct, govern, rule, be in charge of, be in command

of, be in control of, have control of, have charge of, regulate,

supervise, superintend, oversee, chair, run, mastermind,

orchestrate, control, conduct, guide, be at the helm of, take the

chair of; administer, organize, manage; dominate, master, reignover, domineer, be in power over; informal head up, run the

show, call the shots. ANTONYMS serve in.

6 he fired in breaks of 52 and 65 to lead 8–54: be ahead, be

winning, be in front, be out in front, be in the lead, be first,

come first. ANTONYMS be losing, lose.

7 the champion steeplechaser was leading the field as usual: be at the

front of, be first in, be ahead of, head; outdistance, outrun,

outstrip, outpace, leave behind, get (further) ahead of, draw

away from, shake off; outdo, excel, exceed, surpass, outclass,

transcend, top, trump, cap, beat, better; widen the gap;

informal leave standing, walk away from, run rings around;

archaic outrival, outvie. ANTONYMS follow, trail.

8 right now, all I want is to lead a normal life: experience, have, live,

pass, spend, undergo.

9 a path through the park leads to the beach: open on to, give on to,

connect with/to, provide a route to, communicate with.

PHRASES

lead something off they watched his dramatic announcement lead

off the Nine O'Clock News: begin, start, start off, open, get going;

informal kick off; formal commence. ANTONYMS end,

conclude.lead someone on he knew she was leading him on: deceive,

mislead, delude, hoodwink, dupe, trick, take in, fool, pull the

wool over someone's eyes, gull; ensnare, entrap, entice, allure,

lure, beguile, inveigle, tempt, tantalize, tease, flirt with, seduce;

informal string along, lead up the garden path, take for a ride,

put one over on.

lead the way 1 he led the way to the kitchen: guide, conduct, show

the way. 2 Britain has often led the way in aerospace technology: take

the first step, initiate things, break (new) ground, blaze a trail,

lay the foundation, lay the first stone, set in motion, prepare

the way, set the ball rolling, take the initiative, make the first

move, make a start; develop, introduce, start, begin, launch,

instigate, institute, originate. ANTONYMS follow.

lead up to she wondered if he was leading up to suggesting that they go

together: prepare the way for, pave the way for, open the way for,

lay the groundwork for, set the scene for; work round/up to,

make overtures about, make advances about, hint at, approach

the subject of, introduce the subject of; suggest, hint, imply.

noun

1 I found myself in the lead early in the back straight: leading

position, leading place, first place, advance position, van,vanguard; ahead, in front, winning, leading the field, to the

fore; informal up front. ANTONYMS last, losing.

2 they took the lead in the personal computer market: first position, head

place, forefront, primacy, dominance, superiority, precedence,

ascendancy; pre-eminence, supremacy, advantage, edge, upper

hand, whip hand; head start. ANTONYMS last position.

3 Newcastle built up a 3-0 half-time lead: winning margin, margin,

gap, interval.

4 sixth-formers are supposed to give a lead to younger pupils: example,

model, pattern, exemplar, paradigm, standard of excellence;

role model.

5 she is going to be playing the lead in Glen's movie: leading role, star/

starring role, star part, title role, principal part; star, principal

character, male lead, female lead, leading man, leading lady,

hero, heroine, protagonist. ANTONYMS bit part, extra.

6 a Labrador on a lead: leash, tether, rein, cord, rope, chain, line.

7 detectives were following up a new lead in their hunt for the killers: clue,

pointer, guide, hint, tip, tip-off, suggestion, indication,

indicator, sign, signal, intimation, inkling; (leads) evidence,

information.

adjectivewe lost the lead position due to a combination of circumstances: leading,

first, top, foremost, front, head; chief, principal, main, most

important, premier, paramount, prime, primary. ANTONYMS

last.

lead 2 |(rhymes with ‘bed’)|

noun

he was removing the lead from the man's chest: bullet, pellet, ball, slug;

shot, buckshot, ammunition.

WORD LINKS

plumbic, plumbous relating to lead

plumb- related prefix, as in plumbate

Word Links sections supply words that are related to the

headword but do not normally appear in a thesaurus

because they are not actual synonyms.

variety |v#ˈrʌɪ#ti|

noun (pl.varieties)

1 [ mass noun ] the quality or state of being different or

diverse; the absence of uniformity or monotony: it's the variety

that makes my job so enjoyable.• (a variety of) a number or range of things of the same

general class that are distinct in character or quality: the centre

offers a variety of leisure activities.

• [ count noun ] a thing which differs in some way from others

of the same general class or sort; a type: fifty varieties of fresh and

frozen pasta.

• a form of television or theatre entertainment consisting of a

series of different types of act, such as singing, dancing, and

comedy: [ as modifier ] : a variety show.

2 Biology a taxonomic category that ranks below subspecies

(where present) or species, its members differing from others of

the same subspecies or species in minor but permanent or

heritable characteristics. Varieties are more often recognized in

botany, in which they are designated in the style Apium

graveolens (var. dulce).

• a cultivated form of a plant. See cultivar.

PHRASES

variety is the spice of life proverb new and exciting

experiences make life more interesting.

ORIGIN late 15th cent.: from French variété or Latin

varietas, from varius (see various) .variety

noun

1 his mother introduced more variety into his diet: diversity, variation,

diversification, multifariousness, heterogeneity, variegation,

many-sidedness, change, difference. ANTONYMS uniformity.

2 there was a variety of wildfowl: assortment, miscellany, range,

array, collection, selection, line-up, mixture, medley, mixed bag,

mix, diversity, multiplicity, motley, motley collection, pot-

pourri; rare omnium gatherum.

3 fifty varieties of fresh and frozen pasta: sort, kind, type, class,

category, classification, style, description, status, quality, nature,

manner, design, shape, form, pattern, group, set, bracket,

genre, species, rank, genus, family, order, breed, race, strain,

generation, vintage, make, model, brand, stamp, ilk, kidney,

cast, grain, mould; N. Amer. stripe.

responsibility |rɪˌspɒnsɪˈbɪlɪti|

noun (pl.responsibilities) [ mass noun ]

1 the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of

having control over someone: women bear children and take

responsibility for childcare.2 the state or fact of being accountable or to blame for

something: the group has claimed responsibility for a string of murders.

• [ in sing. ] (responsibility to/towards) a moral obligation

to behave correctly towards or in respect of: individuals have a

responsibility to control their behaviour.

3 the opportunity or ability to act independently and take

decisions without authorization: we expect individuals to take on

more responsibility.

• [ count noun ] (often responsibilities) a thing which one is

required to do as part of a job, role, or legal obligation: he will

take over the responsibilities of Overseas Director.

PHRASES

on one's own responsibility without authorization. he

postponed, on his own responsibility, a proposal for a broadcast by the

Archbishop of Canterbury.

responsibility

noun

1 it was his responsibility to find witnesses: duty, task, function, job,

role, place, charge, business, onus, burden, liability,

accountability, answerability, province; Brit. informal pigeon.2 the organization denied responsibility for the bomb attack at the airport:

blame, fault, guilt, culpability, blameworthiness, liability.

3 teenagers may not be showing enough sense of responsibility to be safely

granted privileges: trustworthiness, level-headedness, rationality,

sanity, reason, reasonableness, sense, common sense, stability,

maturity, adultness, reliability, dependability, competence.

4 we train those staff who show an aptitude for managerial responsibility:

authority, control, power, leadership, management, influence;

duty.

moral |ˈmɒr(#)l|

adjective

1 concerned with the principles of right and wrong behaviour:

the moral dimensions of medical intervention | a moral judgement.

• concerned with or derived from the code of behaviour that is

considered right or acceptable in a particular society: they have a

moral obligation to pay the money back.

• [ attrib. ] examining the nature of ethics and the foundations

of good and bad character and conduct: moral philosophers.2 holding or manifesting high principles for proper conduct: he

prides himself on being a highly moral and ethical person. he is a caring,

moral man.

noun

1 a lesson that can be derived from a story or experience: the

moral of this story was that one must see the beauty in what one has.

2 (morals) standards of behaviour; principles of right and

wrong: the corruption of public morals | they believe addicts have no

morals and cannot be trusted.

DERIVATIVES

morally adverb theories which assert that all inequality is morally

wrong his morally bankrupt lifestyle the task of education was to

reinvigorate citizenship in order that pupils might act morally

ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin moralis, from mos,

mor- ‘custom’, (plural) mores ‘morals’. As a noun the word

was first used to translate Latin Moralia, the title of St

Gregory the Great's moral exposition of the Book of Job, and

was subsequently applied to the works of various classical

writers.

moral

adjective1 moral issues: ethical; social, behavioural; to do with right and

wrong.

2 a very moral man: virtuous, good, righteous, upright,

upstanding, high-minded, right-minded, principled, proper,

honourable, honest, just, noble, incorruptible, scrupulous,

respectable, decent, irreproachable, truthful, law-abiding,

clean-living, chaste, pure, blameless, sinless. ANTONYMS

immoral, bad, dishonourable.

3 moral support: psychological, emotional, mental.

noun

1 the moral of the story: lesson, message, meaning, significance,

signification, import, point, precept, teaching.

2 (morals) he has no morals and cannot be trusted: moral code, code

of ethics, moral standards, moral values, principles, principles

of right and wrong, rules of conduct, standards/principles of

behaviour, standards, morality, sense of morality, scruples,

ideals.

life |lʌɪf|

noun (pl.lives |lʌɪvz| )

1 [ mass noun ] the condition that distinguishes animals and

plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity forgrowth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change

preceding death: the origins of life | cats require visual experience

during the first few weeks of life.

• living things and their activity: lower forms of life | the ice-cream

vendors were the only signs of life | the valley is teeming with bird life.

2 the existence of an individual human being or animal: a

disaster that claimed the lives of 266 people | [ mass noun ] : she didn't

want to die; she loved life.

• [ with adj. or noun modifier ] a particular type or aspect of

human existence: his father decided to start a new life in California |

[ mass noun ] : a teacher will help you settle into school life | revelations

about his private life.

• a biography: a life of Shelley.

• (in Christianity and some other religious traditions) either of

the two states of a person's existence separated by death: he

departed this life on 28 March 1912.

• (in Hinduism and some other religious traditions) any of a

number of successive existences in which a soul is held to be

reincarnated. a spiritual pilgrimage into her past lives.

• a chance to live after narrowly escaping death (with reference

to the nine lives traditionally attributed to cats). we were called tothe hospital, but the old rogue had nine lives and seemed to be negotiating

for another two.

• (in various games) one of a specified number of chances each

player has before being put out.

3 (usu. one's life) the period between the birth and death of a

living thing, especially a human being: she has lived all her life in

the country | they became friends for life.

• the period during which something inanimate or abstract

continues to exist, function, or be valid: underlay helps to prolong

the life of a carpet.

• [ mass noun ] informal a sentence of imprisonment for life.

4 vitality, vigour, or energy: she was beautiful and full of life.

5 [ mass noun ] (in art) the depiction of a subject from a real

model, rather than from an artist's imagination: the pose and

clothing were sketched from life. See also still life.

PHRASES

come (or bring someone) to life regain or cause to regain

consciousness. all this was of great interest to her, as if she were coming

to life after a long sleep. • (with reference to a fictional character or

inanimate object) cause or seem to be alive or real: he brings the

character of MacDonald to life with power and precision. • make or

become active, lively, or interesting: soon, with the return of thefishermen, the village comes to life again | bring any room to life with these

coordinating cushions.

do anything for a quiet life make any concession to avoid

being disturbed.

for dear (or one's) life as if or in order to escape death: I

clung on to the tree for dear life | Sue ran for her life.

for the life of me [ with modal and negative ] informal

however hard I try; even if my life depended on it: I can't for the

life of me understand what you see in her.

frighten the life out of terrify. what do you mean by frightening

the life out of me?

get a life [ often in imperative ] informal start living a fuller

existence: if he's a waster then get yourself out of there and get a life.

give one's life for die for. he's devoted to the royal family and would

give his life for them.

(as) large as life informal used to emphasize that a person is

conspicuously present: he was standing nearby, large as life.

larger than life (of a person) attracting special attention

because of unusual and flamboyant appearance or behaviour.

he was a larger-than-life character on and off the pitch.

life and limb see limb 1 .the life and soul of the party (USthe life of the party)a

vivacious and sociable person. William was infinitely preferable

when he was being the life and soul of the party.

life in the fast lane see fast lane.

one's life's work the work (especially that of an academic or

artistic nature) accomplished in or pursued throughout

someone's lifetime. a major exhibition of his life's work.

lose one's life be killed: he lost his life in a car accident.

a matter of life and death a matter of vital importance. she

would not go out on the Sabbath unless it was a matter of life and death.

not on your life informal said to emphasize one's refusal to

comply with a request: ‘I want to see Clare alone.’ ‘Not on your life,’

said Buzz.

save someone's (or one's own) life prevent someone's (or

one's own) death. the driver of the train managed to save his life by

leaping out of the cab. • informal provide much-needed relief

from boredom or a difficult situation. Rosalind kissed her. ‘Oh you

darling! You've saved my life! I've been so miserable’.

see life gain a wide experience of the world. playwrights are too

busy writing plays to see life.

take one's life in one's hands risk being killed. with more cars

around than ever, you take your life in your hands just crossing the road.take someone's (or one's own) life kill someone (or

oneself).

that's life an expression of one's acceptance of a situation,

however difficult: we'll miss each other, but still, that's life.

this is the life an expression of contentment with one's

present circumstances: Ice cubes clinked in crystal glasses. ‘This is the

life,’ she said.

to the life exactly like the original: there he was, Nathan to the life,

sitting at a table.

to save one's life [ with modal and negative ] even if one's

life were to depend on it: she couldn't stop crying now to save her life.

ORIGIN Old English līf, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch

lijf,German Leib ‘body’, also to live 1 .

life

noun

1 only a mother can appreciate the joy of giving life to a child: existence,

being, living, animation, aliveness, animateness; entity,

sentience, creation, survival, viability; rare esse. ANTONYMS

death, non-existence.2 armaments that threaten to eliminate life on the planet: living things,

living beings, living creatures, the living; human/animal/plant

life, fauna, flora, ecosystems, creatures, wildlife; human beings,

humanity, humankind, mankind, man, human activity; literary

flesh.

3 inshore fishing isn't an easy life: way of life, way of living, manner

of living, lifestyle, situation, position, state, station, condition,

set of circumstances, fate, lot; sphere, field, line, career,

business.

4 I hadn't talked to my father for the last nine months of his life:

lifetime, life span, days, duration of life, allotted span, course of

life, time on earth, existence, one's time, one's career,

threescore years and ten, this mortal coil; informal one's born

days.

5 the Parliament Bill introduced a limit of five years for the life of any

Parliament: duration, active life, lifetime, existence, functioning

period, period of effectiveness, period of usefulness, validity,

efficacy.

6 he is happy and full of life in his new job: vivacity, animation,

liveliness, vitality, verve, high spirits, sparkle, exuberance, zest,

buoyancy, effervescence, enthusiasm, energy, vigour,

dynamism, go, elan, gusto, brio, bounce, spirit, spiritedness,activity, fire, panache, colour, dash, drive, push; business,

bustle, hustle and bustle, movement, stir; informal oomph,

pizzazz, pep, zing, zip, vim, get-up-and-go.

7 his mother would be the life of the party: moving spirit, moving

force, animating spirit, vital spirit, spirit, vital spark, life force,

lifeblood, essence, core, heart, soul, strength, quintessence,

substance; Frenchélan vital.

8 more than 1,500 lives were lost in the accident: person, human

being, individual, mortal, soul, creature.

9 I was reading a life of Chopin: biography, autobiography, life

story, life history, memoir, history, profile; diary, journal,

confessions; record, chronicle, account, report, portrayal,

depiction, portrait; informal biog, bio.

10 I'll miss you, but there it is, that's life: the way of the world, the

world, the way things go, the way of it, the human condition,

the times we live in, the usual state of affairs, the school of

hard knocks; fate, destiny, providence, kismet, karma, fortune,

luck, chance; N. Amer. informal the way the cookie crumbles.

PHRASES

come to life 1 he could hear the familiar sounds of a barracks coming

to life: become active, become lively, come alive, wake up,

awaken, waken, show signs of life, arouse, rouse, stir, emerge.ANTONYMS be dormant, be quiescent. 2 it was as though the

carved angel by the lectern had suddenly come to life: become animate,

come alive, become a living creature; revive, resurrect.

for dear life she was holding on for dear life: desperately, with all

one's might, with might and main, urgently, with urgency,

vigorously, with as much vigour as possible, for all one is worth,

as fast/hard as possible, like the devil.

give one's life 1 he's devoted to his queen and would give his life for

her: die, lay down one's life, sacrifice oneself; die to save, offer

one's life, surrender one's life. 2 he gave his life to the company and

could have expected some support from them: dedicate oneself, devote

oneself, give oneself, commit oneself, pledge oneself, surrender

oneself.

WORD LINKS

bio- related prefix, as in biosphere

animate having life

vital essential for life

Word Links sections supply words that are related to the

headword but do not normally appear in a thesaurus

because they are not actual synonyms.advantage |#dˈvɑːntɪdʒ|

noun

a condition or circumstance that puts one in a favourable or

superior position: companies with a computerized database are at an

advantage | she had an advantage over her mother's generation.

• [ mass noun ] the opportunity to gain something; benefit or

profit: you could learn something to your advantage | he saw some

advantage in the proposal.

• a favourable or desirable feature: the village's proximity to the town

is an advantage.

• Tennis a score marking a point interim between deuce and

winning the game. ‘Advantage, Federer.’.

verb [ with obj. ]

put in a favourable or superior position.

PHRASES

have the advantage of dated be in a stronger position than.

take advantage of 1 exploit for one's own benefit: people tend

to take advantage of a placid nature. • dated (of a man) seduce (a

woman). he used his position to take advantage of women. 2 make

good use of the opportunities offered by: take full advantage of the

facilities available.to advantage in a way which displays or makes good use of

the best aspects of something: her shoes showed off her legs to

advantage | plan your space to its best advantage.

tur n something to advantage (or to one's

advantage)handle or respond to something in such a way as

to benefit from it. they dominated the first half of the game but failed to

turn it to advantage.

ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French avantage, from

avant ‘in front’, from late Latin abante (see advance) .

advantage

noun

1 the advantages of belonging to a union: benefit, value, reward,

merit, good point, strong point, asset, plus, bonus, boon,

blessing, virtue, privilege, perk, fringe benefit, additional

benefit, added extra; attraction, desirability, beauty, usefulness,

helpfulness, convenience, advantageousness, expedience,

expediency, profit, profitability, advisability; formal perquisite.

ANTONYMS disadvantage, drawback, handicap.

2 they appeared to be gaining the advantage over their opponents: upper

hand, edge, lead, head, whip hand, trump card; superiority,

dominance, ascendancy, supremacy, primacy, precedence,power, mastery, control, sway, authority; N. Amer. informal the

catbird seat; Austral./NZ informal the box seat.

3 they exploit natural resources to their own advantage | there is no

advantage to be gained from delaying the process: benefit, profit, gain,

good, interest, welfare, well-being, enjoyment, satisfaction,

comfort, ease, convenience; help, aid, assistance, use, utility,

service, purpose, effect, object, reason, worth; informal

mileage, percentage. ANTONYMS detriment.

PHRASES

take advantage of 1 you are trying to take advantage of my staff

and my friends: exploit, abuse, impose on, prey on, play on,

misuse, ill-treat, bleed, suck dry, squeeze, wring, enslave, treat

unfairly, withhold rights from; manipulate, cheat, swindle,

fleece, victimize, live off the backs of; informal walk (all) over,

take for a ride, put one over on, cash in on, rip off. 2 we

encourage farmers to take advantage of this free service: make use of,

utilize, put to use, use, use to good advantage, turn/put to good

use, make the most of, capitalize on, benefit from, turn to

account, draw on; profit from/by, make capital out of; informal

cash in on, milk.

busy |ˈbɪzi|adjective (busier, busiest)

1 having a great deal to do: he had been too busy to enjoy himself.

• occupied with or concentrating on a particular activity or

object of attention: the team members are busy raising money.

• (of a time or place) full of activity: the busy city streets | I've had a

busy day.

• chiefly N. Amer.(of a telephone line) engaged.

2 excessively detailed or decorated: the lavish set designs are a little

too busy.

verb (busies, busying, busied) (busy oneself)

keep oneself occupied: she busied herself with her new home.

noun(also bizzy) (pl.busies or bizzies) Brit. informal

a police officer. I was picked up by the busies for possession.

PHRASES

get busy 1 begin work or tasks that need to be done: this

meeting is dismissed—let's get busy, people. 2 informal have sexual

intercourse.

DERIVATIVES

busyness |ˈbɪzɪnɪs| noun

ORIGIN Old English bisgian (verb), bisig (noun); related to

Dutch bezig, of unknown origin.busy

adjective

1 he's always busy with some useful job | the team members are busy

raising money: occupied (in), engaged in, involved in, employed

in, working at, labouring at, toiling at, slaving at, hard at work

(on), wrapped up (in/with); rushed off one's feet (with), hard-

pressed; at work (on), on the job, absorbed in, engrossed in,

immersed in, preoccupied with; active (in), lively, industrious,

bustling, energetic, tireless; informal busy as a bee, on the go,

hard at it; Brit. informal on the hop; (be busy) have one's

hands full. ANTONYMS idle.

2 Mr Jenkins is busy at the moment: unavailable, otherwise

engaged; engaged, occupied, in a meeting, working, at work,

on duty, on active service, in harness; informal tied up; (be

busy) have a prior/previous engagement. ANTONYMS free.

3 I've had a busy day: strenuous, hectic, energetic, active, lively,

exacting, tiring, full, eventful. ANTONYMS quiet.

4 the town centre was unusually busy: crowded, bustling, swarming,

teeming, astir, buzzing, hectic, full, thronged, thronging, lively,

vibrant; informal buzzy.

5 the frame should be fairly plain, to balance the rather busy design:

excessively ornate, over-ornate, over-elaborate, over-embellished, overdecorated, overblown, overripe, overwrought,

exaggerated, overdone, florid, fussy, cluttered, contrived,

overworked, over-detailed, strained, laboured, baroque, rococo.

ANTONYMS quiet, restrained.

verb

a single clerk busied himself with paperwork: occupy, involve, engage,

concern, employ, absorb, engross, immerse, preoccupy;

interest, entertain, distract, divert, amuse, beguile.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD

busy, occupied, engaged, active

Each of these words has several meanings, but those

applied to people have subtle distinctions.

■ Saying that someone is busy means that they have a

great deal to do (if I'm busy, my husband does the

cooking) or are occupied with a specified activity

(Bernard was busy with flying lessons). Either way, they

are likely to have no time for further calls on their

attention (I'm too busy to write letters).

■ Someone who is occupied has something to do which

takes up a good deal of their time or attention. There is a

suggestion that this activity is a welcome means of fillingempty time, but not unduly onerous (the children were

fully occupied with games and competitions). In spite of

this use of fully, neither occupied nor engaged is often

qualified as to degree—someone is either occupied/

engaged or they are not, whereas people are frequently

described as very, extremely, really or too busy/active.

Both occupied and busy can be followed by with and

the relevant activity, as in the examples given.

■ Engaged emphasizes the fact that someone has no

time or attention left for any new activities or demands;

in this sense it is somewhat formal (you'll have to wait to

see her, she's engaged at present). Occupied and

engaged (in this sense) always follow the verb to be,

rather than being used before a noun.

■ To say that someone is active is to say that they are

doing a great deal (she has been active in local politics

since 1985). The context or area in which they are active

is often expressed by an adverb, such as sexually,

physically, or politically.

These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between

closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.nowadays |ˈnaʊ#deɪz|

adverb

at the present time, in contrast with the past: the sort of clothes

worn by almost all young people nowadays | nowadays, many people

condemn hunting.

nowadays

adverb

nowadays all graduates are computer literate. See today (sense 2 of

the adverb).

meagre 1 |ˈmiːg#| (USmeager)

adjective

(of something provided or available) lacking in quantity or

quality: they were forced to supplement their meagre earnings.

• (of a person, animal, or part of the body) lean; thin. a tall,

meagre, but erect man.

DERIVATIVES

meagrely adverb

ORIGIN Middle English (in the sense ‘lean’): from Old French

maigre, from Latin macer .meagre 2 |ˈmiːg#|

nounBrit.

another term for kabeljou.

ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from French, noun use of maigre

‘lean, thin’.

meagre

adjective

1 they were forced to supplement their meagre earnings: inadequate,

scanty, scant, paltry, limited, restricted, modest, insufficient,

sparse, spare, deficient, negligible, insubstantial, skimpy, short,

little, lean, small, slight, slender, poor, miserable, pitiful, puny,

miserly, niggardly, beggarly; informal measly, stingy, pathetic,

piddling; rare exiguous. ANTONYMS abundant.

2 a tall, meagre man: thin, thin as a rake, lean, skinny, spare,

scrawny, scraggy, gangling, gangly, spindly, stringy, lanky, reedy,

bony, raw-boned, gaunt, underweight, emaciated, skeletal,

starved, underfed, undernourished, attenuated, wraithlike,

cadaverous, wasted, anorexic. ANTONYMS fat.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD

meagre, sparse, scantyAll these words are used when there is less of something

than there could or should be.

■ Meagre is generally used of necessities such as food,

money, or something else which is provided or available

for people. It suggests that there is not enough (these

men were unable to save out of their meagre earnings) or

that what there is is of poor quality (prisoners queue for

their meagre rations of thin soup).

■ Sparse means ‘thinly dispersed’—that is, small or few

in relation to the area covered or the space to be filled (a

sparse and scattered population) and therefore, by

extension, ‘in short supply’ (it was a sparse audience |

for the first half of the nineteenth century the evidence is

sparse).

■ Scanty refers particularly to the smallness of the thing

that is inadequate (there are only scanty remains of any

of the great palaces) and is often used of skimpy or

revealing clothing (the ridiculously scanty nightdress

threatened to fall off her shoulders altogether).

These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between

closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.selfish |ˈsɛlfɪʃ|

adjective

(of a person, action, or motive) lacking consideration for other

people; concerned chiefly with one's own personal profit or

pleasure: I joined them for selfish reasons.

DERIVATIVES

selfishly adverb

selfish

adjective

he is just selfish by nature: egocentric, egotistic, egotistical,

egomaniacal, self-centred, self-regarding, self-absorbed, self-

obsessed, self-seeking, self-serving, wrapped up in oneself,

inward-looking, introverted, self-loving; inconsiderate,

thoughtless, unthinking, uncaring, heedless, unmindful,

regardless, insensitive, tactless, uncharitable, unkind; mean,

miserly, grasping, greedy, mercenary, money-grubbing,

acquisitive, opportunistic, out for what one can get; informal

looking after number one, on the make. ANTONYMS

unselfish, selfless, altruistic, considerate, generous.temper |ˈtɛmp#|

noun

1 [ in sing. ] a person's state of mind seen in terms of their

being angry or calm: he rushed out in a very bad temper.

• a tendency to become angry easily: I know my temper gets the

better of me at times.

• an angry state of mind: Drew had walked out in a temper |

[ mass noun ] : I only said it in a fit of temper.

2 [ mass noun ] the degree of hardness and elasticity in steel or

other metal. the blade rapidly heats up and the metal loses its temper.

verb [ with obj. ]

1 improve the hardness and elasticity of (steel or other metal)

by reheating and then cooling it. the way a smith would temper a

sword. (as adj. tempered) : tempered steel pins.

• improve the consistency or resiliency of (a substance) by

heating it or adding particular substances to it. hardboard

tempered with oil or resin is more durable.

2 act as a neutralizing or counterbalancing force to

(something): their idealism is tempered with realism.

3 tune (a piano or other instrument) so as to adjust the note

intervals correctly.

PHRASESkeep (or lose) one's temper retain (or fail to retain)

composure when angry. it took all her patience to keep her temper.

out of temper in an irritable mood. on waking each day she had

been out of temper.

DERIVATIVES

temperer noun

ORIGIN Old English temprian‘bring something into the

required condition by mixing it with something else’, from

Latin temperare ‘mingle, restrain’. Sense development was

probably influenced by Old French temprer ‘to temper,

moderate’. The noun originally denoted a proportionate

mixture of elements or qualities, also the combination of the

four bodily humours, believed in medieval times to be the basis

of temperament, hence sense 1 of the noun(late Middle

English). Compare with temperament.

temper

noun

1 Drew had walked out in a temper: fit of rage, rage, fury, fit of

bad/ill temper, bad temper, tantrum, passion, paroxysm; fit of

pique, bad mood, mood, pet, sulk; informal grump, huff, snit;

Brit. informal strop, paddy; Brit. informal, dated bate, wax,skid; N. Amer. informal blowout, hissy fit; archaic

paddywhack, miff.

2 an uncharacteristic display of temper: anger, fury, rage, annoyance,

vexation, crossness, irascibility, irritation, irritability, ill humour,

ill temper, dyspepsia, spleen, pique, petulance, peevishness,

pettishness, testiness, tetchiness, snappishness, crabbiness,

resentment, surliness, churlishness; air rage; Brit. informal

stroppiness; literary ire, choler. ANTONYMS good humour.

3 she struggled to keep her temper: composure, equanimity, self-

control, self-possession, sangfroid, coolness, calm, calmness,

tranquillity, good humour; informal cool.

4 he was of a placid temper: temperament, disposition, nature,

character, personality, make-up, constitution, mind, spirit,

stamp, mettle, mould; mood, frame of mind, cast of mind,

habit of mind, attitude; archaic humour, grain.

PHRASES

lose one's temper suddenly, Maria lost her temper: become very

angry, fly into a rage, explode, blow up, erupt, lose control, go

berserk, breathe fire, begin to rant and rave, flare up, boil over;

informal go mad, go crazy, go wild, go bananas, have a fit, see

red, fly off the handle, blow one's top, blow a fuse, blow a

gasket, do one's nut, hit the roof, go through the roof, go up thewall, go off the deep end, lose one's cool, go ape, flip, flip one's

lid, lose one's rag, lose it, freak out, be fit to be tied, be foaming

at the mouth, burst a blood vessel, get one's dander up, go non-

linear; Brit. informal go spare, go crackers, throw a wobbly, get

one's knickers in a twist; N. Amer. informal flip one's wig;

Austral./NZ informal go crook; vulgar slang go apeshit.

verb

1 the steel is tempered by heat treatment: harden, strengthen,

toughen, fortify; technical anneal.

2 their idealism is tempered with realism: moderate, modify,

modulate; tone down, mitigate, palliate, alleviate, allay, assuage,

lessen, reduce, weaken, lighten, soften, cushion; qualify.

mere 1 |mɪ#|

adjective [ attrib. ]

used to emphasize how small or insignificant someone or

something is: questions that cannot be answered by mere mortals | the

city is a mere 20 minutes from some stunning countryside.

• used to emphasize that the fact of something being present in

a situation is enough to influence that situation: his stomach

rebelled at the mere thought of food.ORIGIN late Middle English (in the senses ‘pure’ and ‘sheer,

downright’): from Latin merus ‘undiluted’.

mere 2 |mɪ#|

nounBrit., chiefly literary

a lake or pond. the stream widens into a mere where hundreds of geese

gather. [ in place names ] : Hornsea Mere.

ORIGIN Old English, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch

meer ‘lake’ and German Meer ‘sea’, from an Indo-European

root shared by Russian more and Latin mare .

mere 3 |ˈmɛri|

noun

a Maori war club, especially one made of greenstone.

ORIGIN Maori.

mere

adjective

1 it costs a mere £29.95: trifling, meagre, bare, trivial, paltry,

basic, scant, scanty, skimpy, minimal, slender; no more than,

just, only.

2 I was a mere boy at the time: no more than, nothing more than,

no better than, no more important than, just, only, merely;

unimportant, insignificant, inconsequential.perform |p#ˈfɔːm|

verb [ with obj. ]

1 carry out, accomplish, or fulfil (an action, task, or function): I

have my duties to perform.

• [ no obj., usu. with adverbial ] work, function, or do

something well or to a specified standard: the car performs well at

low speeds | our £120 million investment in the company is not

performing at present.

• [ no obj. ] informal have successful or satisfactory sexual

intercourse with someone. when I go to bed with any other woman I

am quite unable to perform.

2 present (a form of entertainment) to an audience: the play has

already been performed in Britain.

• [ no obj. ] entertain an audience, typically by acting, singing,

or dancing on stage: the band will be performing live in Hyde Park.

DERIVATIVES

performability |-ˈbɪlɪti| noun,

performable adjective

ORIGIN Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French

parfourmer, alteration (by association with forme ‘form’) ofOld French parfournir, from par ‘through, to completion’

+ fournir ‘furnish, provide’.

perform

verb

1 I have my duties to perform | your agent cannot perform miracles for

you: carry out, do, execute, discharge, bring about, bring off,

accomplish, achieve, fulfil, complete, conduct, effect, dispatch,

work, implement; informal pull off; archaic acquit oneself of;

rare effectuate. ANTONYMS neglect, omit.

2 the car performs well at low speeds: function, work, operate, run,

go, respond, behave, act, acquit oneself/itself.

3 the play has already been performed in Britain: stage, put on,

present, mount, enact, act, represent, do, produce.

4 the band will be performing live in Hyde Park: appear, play, be on

stage.

strength |strɛŋθ, strɛŋkθ|

noun [ mass noun ]

1 the quality or state of being physically strong: cycling can help

you build up your strength.• the influence or power possessed by a person, organization,

or country: the political and military strength of European governments.

• the degree of intensity of a feeling or belief: street protests

demonstrated the strength of feeling against the president.

• the extent to which an argument or case is sound or

convincing: the strength of the argument for property taxation.

• the potency, intensity, or speed of a force or natural agency:

the wind had markedly increased in strength.

• Bridge the potential of a hand to win tricks, arising from the

number and type of high cards it contains.

2 the capacity of an object or substance to withstand great

force or pressure: they were taking no chances with the strength of the

retaining wall.

• the emotional or mental qualities necessary in dealing with

difficult or distressing situations: many people find strength in religion

| it takes strength of character to admit one needs help.

3 the potency or degree of concentration of a drug, chemical,

or drink: it's double the strength of your average beer | [ count

noun ] : the solution comes in two strengths.

4 [ count noun ] a good or beneficial quality or attribute of a

person or thing: the strengths and weaknesses of their sales and

marketing operation | his strength was his obsessive single-mindedness.• literary a person or thing perceived as a source of mental or

emotional support: he was my closest friend, my strength and shield.

5 the number of people comprising a group, typically a team

or army: the peacetime strength of the army was 415,000.

• a number of people required to make such a group complete:

we are now more than 100 officers below strength | some units will

be maintained at full strength while others will rely on reserves | [ in

combination ] : an under-strength side.

PHRASES

from strength from a secure or advantageous position: it

makes sense to negotiate from strength.

give me strength! used as an expression of exasperation or

annoyance.

go from strength to strength develop or progress with

increasing success. his party has gone from strength to strength since he

became leader.

in strength in large numbers: security forces were out in strength.

on the strength of on the basis or with the justification of: I

joined the bank on the strength of an MA in English.

the strength of chiefly Austral./NZthe point or meaning of;

the truth about: you've about got the strength of it, Mick.tower (or pillar) of strength a person who can be relied

upon to give a great deal of support and comfort to others. Liz

had been an absolute tower of strength over Laura's sudden departure.

DERIVATIVES

strengthless adjective

ORIGIN Old English strengthu, from the Germanic base of

strong.

strength

noun

1 a man of enormous physical strength: power, brawn, brawniness,

muscle, muscularity, burliness, sturdiness, robustness,

toughness, hardiness, lustiness; vigour, energy, force, might,

forcefulness, mightiness; informal beef; Brit. informal welly;

literary thew, thewiness. ANTONYMS weakness, puniness,

frailty.

2 Oliver began to regain his strength: health, fitness, healthiness,

vigour; stamina. ANTONYMS infirmity.

3 she'd always prided herself on her inner strength: fortitude, resilience,

backbone, spirit, strength of character, toughness of spirit,

firmness, steadfastness, strong-mindedness, stoicism; courage,

bravery, pluck, pluckiness, courageousness, braveness; Brit.Dunkirk spirit; informal guts, grit, spunk. ANTONYMS

vulnerability.

4 they were taking no chances with the strength of the retaining wall:

robustness, sturdiness, firmness, toughness, soundness, solidity,

solidness, durability, stability; impregnability, resistance.

ANTONYMS weakness.

5 the political and military strength of European governments: power,

influence, dominance, ascendancy, supremacy; leverage;

informal clout, beef; literary puissance. ANTONYMS

weakness, impotence.

6 street protests demonstrated the strength of feeling against the president:

intensity, vehemence, force, forcefulness, depth, ardour, fervour,

violence; degree, level; rare fervency, ardency. ANTONYMS

half-heartedness.

7 the strength of the argument for property taxation: cogency,

forcefulness, force, weight, power, potency, persuasiveness,

effectiveness, efficacy, soundness, validity. ANTONYMS

weakness, ineffectiveness.

8 what do you regard as your strengths? strong point, advantage,

asset, forte, strong suit, long suit, aptitude, talent, gift, skill;

virtue; speciality, specialty; Frenchmétier. ANTONYMS failing,

fault, flaw; limitation.9 literary he was my closest friend, my strength and shield: support,

tower/pillar of strength, rock, mainstay, anchor.

10 the peacetime strength of the army was 415,000: size, extent,

magnitude, largeness, greatness; complement.

PHRASES

on the strength of she got into Princeton on the strength of her

essays: because of, by virtue of, on account of, on the basis of,

based on, on the grounds of.

root 1 |ruːt|

noun

1 the part of a plant which attaches it to the ground or to a

support, typically underground, conveying water and

nourishment to the rest of the plant via numerous branches

and fibres. cacti have deep and spreading roots. a tree root. [ as

modifier ] : root growth.

• the persistent underground part of a plant, especially when

fleshy and enlarged and used as a vegetable, e.g. a turnip or

carrot. you should never wash roots before storing.• any plant grown for its root. roots like beet and carrot cannot be

transplanted.

• the embedded part of a bodily organ or structure such as a

hair, tooth, or nail: her hair was fairer at the roots.

• the part of a thing attaching it to a greater or more

fundamental whole; the end or base. a little lever near the root of

the barrel. they disappeared from sight behind the root of the crag.

2 the basic cause, source, or origin of something: money is the

root of all evil | jealousy was at the root of it | [ as modifier ] : the root

cause of the problem.

• (roots) family, ethnic, or cultural origins: it's always nice to

return to my roots.

• (as modifierroots) denoting or relating to something from a

particular ethnic or cultural origin, especially a non-Western

one: roots music.

• (in biblical use) a scion; a descendant: the root of David.

• Linguistics a morpheme, not necessarily surviving as a word

in itself, from which words have been made by the addition of

prefixes or suffixes or by other modification. many European

words stem from this linguistic root. [ as modifier ] : the root form of the

word.• (also root note)Music the fundamental note of a chord. in the

sequence the roots of the chords drop by fifths.

3 Mathematics a number or quantity that when multiplied by

itself, typically a specified number of times, gives a specified

number or quantity.

• short for square root.

• a value of an unknown quantity satisfying a given equation.

the roots of the equation differ by an integer.

4 Austral./NZ & Irish vulgar slang an act of sexual

intercourse.

• [ with adj. ] a sexual partner of a specified ability.

verb [ with obj. ]

1 cause (a plant or cutting) to grow roots: root your own cuttings

from stock plants.

• [ no obj. ] (of a plant or cutting) establish roots: large trees had

rooted in the canal bank.

2 establish deeply and firmly: vegetarianism is rooted in Indian

culture.

• (be rooted in) have as an origin or cause: the Latin verb is

rooted in an Indo-European word.3 [ with obj. and adverbial ] (often as adj.rooted) cause

(someone) to stand immobile through fear or amazement: she

found herself rooted to the spot in disbelief.

4 [ with obj. ] Austral./NZ & Irish vulgar slang have sexual

intercourse with.

• exhaust (someone) or frustrate their efforts. (as adj. rooted) :

grab a pew—you must be rooted.

PHRASES

at root basically; fundamentally: it is a moral question at root.

put down roots (of a plant) begin to draw nourishment from

the soil through its roots. • (of a person) begin to have a settled

life in a particular place. I think it's time I put down some roots. they

have married, put down roots.

root and branch used to express the thorough or radical

nature of a process or operation: root-and-branch reform of personal

taxation.

strike at the root (or roots) of affect in a vital area with

potentially destructive results: the proposals struck at the roots of

community life.

take root (of a plant) begin to grow and draw nourishment

from the soil through its roots. • become fixed or established:

the idea had taken root in my mind.PHRASAL VERBS

root something out (also root something up)dig or pull up

a plant by the roots. they are rooting up hawthorn bushes. they make a

mess, root up plants and flowers. • find and get rid of someone or

something pernicious or dangerous: a campaign to root out

corruption.

DERIVATIVES

rootedness noun,

rootlet noun,

root-like adjective,

rooty adjective (rootier, rootiest)

ORIGIN late Old English rōt, from Old Norse rót; related to

Latin radix, also to wort.

root 2 |ruːt|

verb

[ no obj., with adverbial ] (of an animal) turn up the ground

with its snout in search of food: stray dogs rooting around for bones

and scraps.

• search unsystematically through an untidy mass or area;

rummage: she was rooting through a pile of papers.

• [ with obj. ] (root something out) find or extract something

by rummaging: he managed to root out the cleaning kit.noun [ in sing. ]

an act of rooting: I had a root through the open drawers.

PHRASAL VERBS

root for informal support or hope for the success of (a person

or group entering a contest or undertaking a challenge): the

whole of this club is rooting for him.

root someone on N. Amer. informal cheer or spur someone

on: his mother rooted him on enthusiastically from ringside.

ORIGIN Old English wrōtan, of Germanic origin; related to

Old English wrōt‘snout’, German Rüssel ‘snout’, and perhaps

ultimately to Latin rodere ‘gnaw’.

root

noun

1 the fungus attacks a plant's roots: radicle, rhizome, rootstock,

tuber, tap root, rootlet; rare radicel.

2 the root of the problem: source, origin, starting point, seed, germ,

beginnings, genesis; cause, reason; base, basis, foundation,

bottom, seat, fundamental; core, nucleus, heart, kernel, nub,

essence; Latinfons et origo; literary fountainhead, wellspring,

fount; rare radix.3 (roots) he has rejected his roots: origins, beginnings, family,

ancestors, predecessors; heritage; birthplace, native land,

motherland, fatherland, homeland, native country, native soil.

PHRASES

put down roots they married and put down roots in Britain: settle,

become established, establish oneself, make one's home, set up

home.

root and branch 1 the whole ghastly superstructure should be brought

down and got rid of, root and branch: completely, entirely, wholly,

totally, utterly, thoroughly; radically. 2 the party wanted a root-and-

branch reform of the electoral system: complete, total, entire, utter,

thorough; radical.

take root 1 leave the plants to take root over the next couple of weeks:

begin to germinate, begin to sprout, establish, strike, take. 2

environmentalism had taken root as a political movement in Europe:

become established, establish itself, become fixed, take hold;

develop, thrive, flourish.

verb

1 give the shoot a gentle tug to see if it has rooted: take root, grow

roots, become established, establish, strike, take.

2 June is a good month to begin rooting cuttings: plant, bed out, sow.3 he rooted around in the cupboard and brought out a packet of biscuits:

rummage, hunt, search, rifle, delve, forage, dig, nose, poke;

Brit. informal rootle.

PHRASES

root for informal the clamour of baseball fans rooting for their team:

cheer, applaud, cheer on, support, encourage, urge on, shout

for.

root something out 1 the hedge was rooted out: uproot, tear

something up by the roots, pull something up, grub something

out; rare deracinate. ANTONYMS plant. 2 his main purpose was

to root out corruption in the judiciary: eradicate, get rid of, eliminate,

weed out, remove, destroy, put an end to, do away with, wipe

out, stamp out, extirpate, abolish, extinguish. ANTONYMS

establish. 3 are you hoping to root out some dark secret from Joseph's

past? unearth, dig up, dig out, turn up, bring to light, uncover,

discover, dredge up, ferret out, hunt out, nose out, expose.

WORD LINKS

radical relating to roots

rhizo- related prefix, as in rhizomorphWord Links sections supply words that are related to the

headword but do not normally appear in a thesaurus

because they are not actual synonyms.

abstain |#bˈsteɪn|

verb [ no obj. ]

1 restrain oneself from doing or enjoying something: she intends

to abstain from sex before marriage.

• refrain from drinking alcohol: most pregnant women abstain or

drink very little.

2 formally decline to vote either for or against a proposal or

motion: forty-one voted with the Opposition, and some sixty more

abstained.

DERIVATIVES

abstainer noun

ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French abstenir,

from Latin abstinere, from ab- ‘from’ + tenere ‘hold’.

abstain

verb

1 during Lent, Benjamin abstained from wine: refrain, desist,

hold back, forbear, keep; renounce, avoid, shun, eschew,abandon, abjure, forgo, go without, do without; refuse, decline;

give up, have done with; informal cut out, kick, quit, jack in,

pack in. ANTONYMS indulge in.

2 our advice is about sensible drinking, not about abstaining: be teetotal,

be a teetotaller, take the pledge; deny oneself; informal be on

the wagon. ANTONYMS drink.

3 262 voted against, 38 abstained: not vote, decline/refuse to vote;

informal sit on the fence. ANTONYMS vote.

altogether |ɔːlt#ˈgɛð#, ɒl-|

adverb

completely; totally: I stopped seeing her altogether | [ as

submodifier ] : I'm not altogether sure that I'd trust him.

• including everything or everyone; in total: he had married several

times and had forty-six children altogether.

• [ sentence adverb ] taking everything into consideration; on

the whole: altogether it was a great evening.

PHRASES

in the altogether informal without any clothes on; naked.

she's agreed to pose in the altogether.

ORIGIN Old English (see all,together) .usage: Note that altogether and all together do not mean

the same thing. Altogether means ‘in total’, as in there are six

bedrooms altogether, whereas all together means ‘all in one

place’ or ‘all at once’, as in it was good to have a group of friends all

together; they came in all together.

altogether

adverb

1 he wasn't altogether happy: completely, totally, entirely, absolutely,

wholly, fully, thoroughly, utterly, quite, one hundred per cent,

downright, unqualifiedly, in all respects, unconditionally,

perfectly, unrestrictedly, consummately, undisputedly,

unmitigatedly, wholeheartedly; {lock, stock, and barrel}, in

toto; at all, very, terribly. ANTONYMS partially.

2 we have five offices altogether: in all, all told, in toto, taken

together, in sum, counting them all.

3 altogether it was a great evening: on the whole, overall, all in all,

all things considered, taking everything into consideration/

account, on balance, on average, for the most part, mostly,

mainly, in the main, in general, generally, generally speaking,

largely, by and large, to a large extent, to a great degree.

ANTONYMS relatively.roam |r#ʊm|

verb [ no obj., with adverbial of direction ]

move about or travel aimlessly or unsystematically, especially

over a wide area: tigers once roamed over most of Asia | (as

adj.roaming) : roaming elephants.

• [ with obj. ] travel unsystematically over, through, or about (a

place): gangs of youths roamed the streets unopposed.

• (of a person's eyes or hands) pass lightly over something

without stopping: her eyes roamed over the chattering women | [ with

obj. ] : he let his eyes roam her face.

• [ no obj. ] (of a person's mind or thoughts) drift along without

dwelling on anything in particular: he let his mind roam as he

walked.

• (often as noun roaming) use a mobile phone on another

operator's network, typically while abroad: packages in which you

pay a slightly higher fee when roaming on other networks. every day

consumers face hidden costs on roaming and text messages. Orange now

allows Pay As You Go mobile phone customers to roam in the US.

noun [ in sing. ]

an aimless walk.

DERIVATIVESroamer noun

ORIGIN Middle English: of unknown origin.

roam

verb

a tramp who had roamed the country for nine years: wander, rove,

ramble, meander, drift, maunder; walk, traipse; prowl; range,

travel, tramp, traverse, trek through; Scottish & Irish stravaig;

Irish streel; informal knock about/around, cruise, mosey, tootle;

Brit. informal pootle, swan; rare perambulate, peregrinate,

circumambulate, vagabond.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD

roam, wander, rove, range, stray

See wander.

These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between

closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.often |ˈɒf(#)n, ˈɒft(#)n|

adverb (oftener, oftenest)

frequently; many times: he often goes for long walks by himself | how

often do you have your hair cut?

• in many instances: vocabulary often reflects social standing.

PHRASES

as often as not quite frequently or commonly: I had two homes

really, because as often as not I was down at her house.

more often than not usually: food is scarce and more often than not

they go hungry.

ORIGIN Middle English: extended form of oft, probably

influenced by selden ‘seldom’. Early examples appear to be

northern English; the word became general in the 16th cent.

often

adverb

he often asked after you: frequently, many times, many a time, on

many/numerous occasions, a lot, in many cases/instances,

repeatedly, again and again, time and again, time and time

again, time after time, over and over, over and over again, {day

in, day out}, {week in, week out}, all the time, regularly,recurrently, continually, usually, habitually, commonly,

generally, ordinarily, as often as not; N. Amer. oftentimes;

informal lots; literary oft, oft-times. ANTONYMS seldom,

rarely, never.

jargon 1 |ˈdʒɑːg(#)n|

noun [ mass noun ]

special words or expressions used by a profession or group that

are difficult for others to understand: legal jargon.

• archaic a form of language regarded as barbarous, debased,

or hybrid.

DERIVATIVES

jargonistic |-ˈnɪstɪk| adjective

ORIGIN late Middle English (originally in the sense

‘twittering, chattering’, later ‘gibberish’): from Old French

jargoun, of unknown origin. The main sense dates from the

mid 17th cent.

jargon

noun

the instructions are written in electrician's jargon: specialized language,

technical language, slang, cant, idiom, argot, patter, patois,vernacular; computerese, legalese, bureaucratese, journalese,

psychobabble; unintelligible language, obscure language,

gobbledegook, gibberish, double Dutch; informal lingo, -speak,

-ese, mumbo jumbo, geekspeak.

special

adjective

1 they always make a special effort at Christmas | she's a very special

person: exceptional, particular, extra special, unusual, marked,

singular, uncommon, notable, noteworthy, remarkable,

outstanding, unique. ANTONYMS ordinary.

2 we want to preserve our town's special character: distinctive, distinct,

individual, particular, specific, certain, peculiar, definite,

express, precise. ANTONYMS general.

3 a special occasion: momentous, significant, memorable, of

moment, signal, important, historic, festive, gala, red-letter.

4 this is a special tool used for recutting washer seats on taps: specific,

particular, purpose-built, tailor-made, custom-built.special |ˈspɛʃ(#)l|

adjective

1 better, greater, or otherwise different from what is usual: they

always made a special effort at Christmas.

• exceptionally good or pleasant: she's a very special person.

• (of a subject) studied in particular depth. I wanted to take the

Crusades as my special subject.

2 belonging specifically to a particular person or place: we want

to preserve our town's special character.

• designed or organized for a particular person, purpose, or

occasion: we will return by special coaches.

• used to denote education for children with particular needs,

especially those with learning difficulties.

3 Mathematics denoting a group consisting of matrices of

unit determinant.

noun

a thing, such as a product or broadcast, that is designed or

organized for a particular occasion or purpose: television's election

night specials.

• a dish not on the regular menu at a restaurant but served on a

particular day. customers queue for such specials as vegetable lasagne.• a person assigned to a special duty; a special constable or

special correspondent. he was one of a detachment of two white

policemen and two native specials.

• informal a product or service offered at a temporarily

reduced price. Mrs Hill was a careful shopper, choosing house brands

and in-store specials.

DERIVATIVES

specialness noun

ORIGIN Middle English: shortening of Old French especial

‘especial’ or Latin specialis, from species ‘appearance’ (see

species) .

necessary |ˈnɛs#s(#)ri|

adjective

1 needed to be done, achieved, or present; essential: they granted

the necessary planning permission | it's not necessary for you to be

here.

2 determined, existing, or happening by natural laws or

predestination; inevitable: a necessary consequence.

• Philosophy (of a concept, statement, etc.) inevitably resulting

from the nature of things, so that the contrary is impossible.

• Philosophy (of an agent) having no independent volition.noun (usu. necessaries)

the basic requirements of life, such as food and warmth. not

merely luxuries, but also the common necessaries. poor people complaining

for want of the necessaries of life.

• (the necessary) informal the action or item needed: see when

they need a tactful word of advice and do the necessary.

• (the necessary) Brit. informal the money needed. a bag

containing my wallet: the money, the necessary.

PHRASES

a necessary evil something that is undesirable but must be

accepted. for many, paying taxes is at best a necessary evil.

ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin necessarius, from

necesse ‘be needful’.

necessary

adjective

1 planning permission is necessary | I don't want to go unless it's

absolutely necessary: obligatory, requisite, required, compulsory,

mandatory, imperative, demanded, needed, called for, needful;

essential, indispensable, vital, of the essence, incumbent;Frenchde rigueur. ANTONYMS unnecessary, non-essential,

dispensable.

2 their fate was a necessary consequence of progress: inevitable,

unavoidable, certain, sure, inescapable, inexorable, ineluctable,

fated, destined, predetermined, predestined, preordained.

ANTONYMS possible.

noun

(the necessary) informal could you lend me the necessary? money,

cash, the wherewithal, funds, finances, capital, means,

resources; informal dough, bread, loot, the ready, the readies;

Brit. informal dosh. See also money.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD

necessary, requisite, essential, indispensable

■ Something that is necessary must be accepted or

done, whether we like it or not. The word denotes

something without which a condition cannot be fulfilled,

often something that is needed for a particular purpose,

rather than generally (carrying out the necessary repairs |

a general election was necessary). Necessary is the only

one of these words that can be used in the phrase if

necessary (do a dummy run if necessary).■ Requisite has a very similar meaning to necessary, but

it is more formal and often refers to something required

by regulations rather than an inherent need (each event

must be staffed by the requisite number of officials).

Unlike the other three words here, requisite is almost

always used before its noun.

■ Essential is the strongest way to say that something is

necessary (it is essential to keep up-to-date records).

Some uses merge with the older meaning of

‘fundamental to the nature of something’ (fibre is an

essential ingredient of our diet): see inherent. Of these

four words, it is normal to use only essential or

necessary with the anticipatory subject it in a

construction such as it is essential to read a daily

newspaper.

■ Indispensable is typically used of someone or

something that is already present, and implies

contemplation of having to do without them (you've

been absolutely indispensable to me | electricity is an

indispensable source of energy which we take for

granted in our everyday lives).These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between

closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.

particular |p#ˈtɪkjʊl#|

adjective

1 [ attrib. ] used to single out an individual member of a

specified group or class: the action seems to discriminate against a

particular group of companies.

• Logic denoting a proposition in which something is asserted

of some but not all of a class. Contrasted with universal.

2 [ attrib. ] especially great or intense: when handling or checking

cash the cashier should exercise particular care.

3 insisting that something should be correct or suitable in every

detail; fastidious: she is very particular about cleanliness.

noun

1 a detail: he is wrong in every particular.

• (particulars) detailed information about someone or

something: a clerk took the woman's particulars.

2 Philosophy an individual item, as contrasted with a universal

quality. universals can be simultaneously exemplified by different

particulars in different places.PHRASES

in particular especially (used to show that a statement applies

to one person or thing more than any other): he socialized with the

other young people, one boy in particular.

ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French particuler,

from Latin particularis ‘concerning a small part’, from

particula ‘small part’.

particular

adjective

1 the action seems to discriminate against a particular group of companies:

specific, certain, distinct, separate, isolated; single, individual,

peculiar, discrete, definite, express, precise. ANTONYMS

general.

2 an issue of particular importance: special, extra special, especial,

exceptional, unusual, marked, singular, uncommon, notable,

noteworthy, remarkable, outstanding, unique; formal peculiar.

ANTONYMS ordinary.

3 he was particular about what he ate: fussy, fastidious, meticulous,

punctilious, discriminating, selective, painstaking, exacting,

demanding, critical, over-particular, over-fastidious, finicky,

faddish, finical, dainty; informal pernickety, choosy, picky; Brit.informal faddy; archaic nice. ANTONYMS careless, easy-

going, laid-back.

4 he gave a long and particular account of his journey: detailed, blow-

by-blow, itemized, item-by-item, thorough, minute, exact,

explicit, precise, faithful, close, circumstantial, painstaking,

meticulous, punctilious, particularized.

noun

the two contracts will be the same in every particular: detail, item,

point, fine point, specific, specification, element, aspect,

respect, regard, particularity, fact, feature, circumstance, thing.

PHRASES

in particular 1 she wasn't talking about anyone in particular:

specific, special. 2 beer drinkers in particular were hit by prices rising

faster than inflation: particularly, specifically, to be specific,

especially, specially.

besides |bɪˈsʌɪdz|

preposition

in addition to; apart from: I have no other family besides my parents |

besides being a player, he was my friend.

adverbin addition; as well: I'm capable of doing the work, and a lot more

besides.

• [ sentence adverb ] used to introduce an additional idea or

explanation: I had no time to warn you. Besides, I wasn't sure.

besides

preposition

who did you ask besides Mary? apart from, other than, aside from,

but for, save for, not counting, excluding, not including, except,

with the exception of, excepting, bar, barring, leaving aside,

beyond; in addition to, as well as, over and above, above and

beyond; N. Amer. informal outside of; archaic forbye.

adverb

1 I'm capable of doing the work and a lot more besides: as well, too, in

addition, also, into the bargain, on top of that, to boot; archaic

therewithal.

2 besides, it's nothing to do with you: furthermore, moreover,

further; anyway, anyhow, in any case, be that as it may;

informal what's more; N. Amer. informal anyways.

process 1 |ˈpr#ʊsɛs|

noun1 a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a

particular end: military operations could jeopardize the peace process.

• a natural series of changes: the ageing process.

• a systematic series of mechanized or chemical operations that

are performed in order to produce something: the manufacturing

process is relatively simple.

• Computing an instance of a program being executed in a

multitasking operating system, typically running in an

environment that protects it from other processes.

• [ as modifier ] Printing relating to or denoting printing using

ink in three colours (cyan, magenta, and yellow) and black to

produce a complete range of colour: process inks.

2 Law a summons or writ requiring a person to appear in

court.

3 Biology & Anatomy a natural appendage or outgrowth on or

in an organism, such as a protuberance on a bone.

verb [ with obj. ]

perform a series of mechanical or chemical operations on

(something) in order to change or preserve it: the salmon is quickly

processed after harvest to preserve the flavour.

• deal with (someone or something) using an official procedure:

the immigration authorities who processed him.• Computing operate on (data) by means of a program.

PHRASES

be in the process of doing something be continuing with

an action already started: I was in the process of buying a house.

in the process as an unintended part of a course of action:

she would make him pay for this, even if she killed herself in the process.

in process of time as time goes on. daughters and sons may find

themselves, in process of time, caring for their elderly parents.

DERIVATIVES

processable adjective

ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French proces, from

Latin processus ‘progression, course’, from the verb

procedere (see proceed). Current senses of the verb date

from the late 19th cent.

process 2 |pr#ˈsɛs|

verb [ no obj., with adverbial of direction ]

walk or march in procession: they processed down the aisle.

ORIGIN early 19th cent.: back-formation from procession.

process |(stress on the first syllable)|

noun1 faxing a seventy page document is an expensive process: procedure,

operation, action, activity, exercise, affair, business, job, task,

undertaking, proceeding.

2 the development of a new canning process: method, procedure,

system, technique, means, practice, way, approach.

3 they may find themselves, in the process of time, caring for their elderly

parents: course, advance, progress, progression, unfolding,

evolution.

4 Law the person on whom the process is to be served: summons, writ,

subpoena; N. Amer. citation.

PHRASES

in the process of the company is in the process of moving into new

premises in Palo Alto: in the course of, in the middle of, in the

midst of.

verb

I'll make sure that your application is processed quickly: deal with,

attend to, see to, sort out, handle, take care of, action, organize,

manage.

properly |ˈprɒp(#)li|

adverb1 correctly or satisfactorily: ensuring the work is carried out properly |

a properly drafted agreement.

• appropriately for the circumstances; suitably or respectably:

I'm trying to get my mother to behave properly.

2 [ sentence adverb ] in the strict sense; exactly: algebra is,

properly speaking, the analysis of equations.

3 [ usu. as submodifier ] informal, chiefly Brit.thoroughly;

completely: on the first day she felt properly well, Millie sat out on the

front steps.

proper

adjective

1 Dan hadn't had a proper job for over ten years: real, genuine, actual,

true, bona fide; informal kosher.

2 they didn't apply through the proper channels: right, correct,

accepted, orthodox, conventional, established, official, formal,

regular, acceptable; appropriate, suitable, fitting, apt, due;

Frenchde règle; archaic meet. ANTONYMS inappropriate,

wrong.

3 her parents' view of what was proper for a well-bred girl | Sally-Anne

was very prim and proper: respectable, decorous, seemly, decent,

refined, ladylike, gentlemanly, genteel; formal, conventional,correct, orthodox, polite, punctilious, sedate, modest, demure,

virtuous; becoming, befitting, fit, done; Frenchcomme il faut.

ANTONYMS improper, unconventional.

4 Brit. informal you've made a proper fool of yourself: complete,

absolute, real, perfect, total, thorough, thoroughgoing, utter,

out-and-out, positive, unmitigated, consummate; Brit. informal

right; Austral./NZ informal fair; archaic arrant.

5 the formalities proper to her age and position: belonging, relating,

pertaining, related, relevant, unique, peculiar; associated with.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD

proper, fitting, suitable, appropriate

See appropriate.

These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between

closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.

secure |sɪˈkjʊ#, sɪˈkjɔː|

adjective

1 fixed or fastened so as not to give way, become loose, or be

lost: check to ensure that all nuts and bolts are secure.• (of a place of detention) having provisions against the escape

of inmates: a secure unit for young offenders.

2 certain to remain safe and unthreatened: his position as party

leader was less than secure | a more competitive economy will lead to an

increase in secure employment.

• protected against attack or other criminal activity: no airport is

totally secure.

• feeling confident and free from fear or anxiety: everyone needs to

have a home and to feel secure and wanted.

• (secure of) dated feeling no doubts about attaining: she

remained poised and complacent, secure of admiration.

verb [ with obj. ]

1 fix or attach (something) firmly so that it cannot be moved or

lost: pins secure the handle to the main body.

• make (a door or container) hard to open; fasten or lock: doors

are likely to be well secured at night.

• Surgery compress (a blood vessel) to prevent bleeding.

2 succeed in obtaining (something), especially with difficulty: the

division secured a major contract.

• seek to guarantee repayment of (a loan) by having a right to

take possession of an asset in the event of non-payment: a loan

secured on your home.3 protect against threats; make safe: the government is concerned to

secure the economy against too much foreign ownership.

PHRASES

secure arms Military hold a rifle with the muzzle downward

and the lock in the armpit to guard it from rain.

DERIVATIVES

securable adjective,

securely adverb,

securement noun,

secureness noun

ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘feeling no

apprehension’): from Latin securus, from se- ‘without’ +

cura ‘care’.

secure

adjective

1 check to ensure that all nuts and bolts are secure: tight, firm, taut,

fixed, secured, done up; closed, shut, locked, sealed.

ANTONYMS loose, unlocked.

2 make sure that the ladder you are working on is secure: stable, fixed,

secured, fast, safe, steady, immovable, unshakeable,

dependable; anchored, moored, jammed, rooted, braced,cemented, riveted, nailed, tied; strong, sturdy, solid, sound.

ANTONYMS precarious, rocky.

3 jars kept secure in a pantry may survive for several generations | children

need an environment in which they can feel secure: protected from

harm/danger, free from danger, sheltered, shielded, guarded,

unharmed, undamaged, safe and sound, safe, out of harm's

way, in a safe place, in safe hands, invulnerable, immune,

impregnable, unassailable; at ease, unworried, reassured,

relaxed, happy, comfortable, confident. ANTONYMS

vulnerable, threatened, unsettled.

4 few young people face a secure future: certain, assured, reliable,

dependable, settled, fixed, established, solid, sound.

ANTONYMS uncertain, insecure.

verb

1 pins secure the handle to the main body: fix, attach, fasten, affix,

link, hitch, join, connect, couple, bond, append, annex, stick,

pin, tack, nail, staple, clip.

2 the doors had not been properly secured: fasten, close, shut, lock,

bolt, chain, seal, board up.

3 Athens was seeking to secure herself from a lightning invasion from the

west: protect, make safe, make sound, make invulnerable, makeimmune, make impregnable, fortify, strengthen, shelter, shield,

guard.

4 he killed the engine, then leapt out to secure the boat: tie up, moor,

make fast, lash, hitch, berth; anchor.

5 a written constitution would secure the rights of the individual: assure,

ensure, insure, guarantee, warrant, protect, indemnify, confirm,

establish.

6 the company has already secured two million pounds' worth of business:

obtain, acquire, gain, get, find, come by, pick up, procure, get

possession of; buy, purchase; informal get hold of, land, get

one's hands on, lay one's hands on, get one's mitts on.

ANTONYMS lose, let slip.

WORD TOOLKIT

secure

See protected.

Word Toolkits illustrate the difference between close

synonyms by means of words typically used with them.

devotee |ˌdɛv#(ʊ)ˈtiː|

noun

a person who is very interested in and enthusiastic about

someone or something: a devotee of Lewis Carroll.• a strong believer in a particular religion or god: devotees of

Krishna.

devotee

noun

1 a devotee of rock music: enthusiast, fan, fanatic, addict, lover,

aficionado, admirer; informal buff, freak, nut, fiend, maniac, a

great one for; N. Amer. informal geek, jock; S. African

informal fundi.

2 devotees thronged the temple: follower, adherent, supporter,

upholder, defender, advocate, champion, disciple, votary,

partisan, member, friend, stalwart, fanatic, zealot; believer,

worshipper, attender; informal hanger-on, groupie; N. Amer.

informal booster, cohort, rooter; rare janissary, sectary.

cognizance |ˈkɒ(g)nɪz(#)ns| (also cognisance |-z(#)ns| )

noun

1 [ mass noun ] formal knowledge or awareness: the Renaissance

cognizance of Greece was limited.

• Law the action of taking judicial notice.2 Heraldry a distinctive emblem or badge formerly worn by

retainers of a noble house.

PHRASES

take cognizance of formal attend to; take account of. the new

structure attempted to take cognizance of individual regions' needs.

ORIGIN Middle English conisance, from Old French

conoisance, based on Latin cognoscere ‘get to know’. The

spelling with g, influenced by Latin, arose in the 15th cent. and

gradually affected the pronunciation.

cognizance

noun

formal he brought the affair to the cognizance of the court: awareness,

notice, knowledge, consciousness, apprehension, perception,

realization, recognition, appreciation.