VOCABULARY SET 1

luxuriant 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
verb
1 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, and
abstract 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-| adjective
producing 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 adjective
a 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| adjective
strong, 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 noun
ORIGIN 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 adjective
1 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| adjective
ORIGIN 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) .
contempt
noun
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 adjective
a 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 noun
ORIGIN 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 to
contain 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 fine1.
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 his
family. • 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.
sensuous
adjective
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 may1.
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) noun
a 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| noun
ORIGIN 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 adjective
ORIGIN 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
cumulative
adjective
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. DERIVATIVES
gloriously 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, grand, 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 informal
beaut, 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 noun
1 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 specific
stimulus 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.
DERIVATIVES
helmed 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 ware2.
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 well1.]
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.
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 wine1.
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. DERIVATIVES
wellness noun
ORIGIN Old English wel(l), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch wel and German wohl; probably also to the verb will1. 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
adjective
1 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, for
eternity, 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, sempiternally, 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 well1.]
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.
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 wine1.
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. DERIVATIVES
wellness noun
ORIGIN Old English wel(l), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch wel and German wohl; probably also to the verb will1. 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) .
intellect
noun
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) .
opportunity
noun
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 particular
direction: 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, bring
round, 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, reign
over, 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.
adjective
we 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 adjective
1 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 for
growth, 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 to
the 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 the
fishermen, 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 limb1.
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 live1.
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.
turn 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 filling
empty 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, 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.
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.
PHRASES
keep (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 the
wall, 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’) of
Old 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 rhizomorph
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.
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.
DERIVATIVES
roamer 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.
adverb
in 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| noun
1 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)| noun
1 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| adverb
1 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, make
immune, 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.