Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

muggy adj. humid, damp, sticky, sultry, oppressive, clammy, steamy,

mumble v. murmur, mutter, say inarticulately, utter indistinctly, swallow one's words: He mumbled the name of the person who had shot him, but she didn't catch it.

mumbo-jumbo

n. 1 gibberish, nonsense, rubbish, gobbledegook or

gobbledygook, drivel, humbug, bunkum, double-talk, rigmarole or rigamarole, jabberwocky, blather or blether, poppycock, Colloq eyewash, rot, tommy-rot, hogwash, bilge, bosh, bull, malarkey, claptrap, piffle, US hooey, moonshine, bunk Slang bull, crap,

Brit tosh, Taboo slang bullshit: Before he would give me the cheque, the lawyer made me sign something full of legal mumbo-jumbo. 2 spell, incantation, chant, formula, charm, abracadabra, hocus-pocus, rite, ritual, conjuration, magic: She had to sit through all the mumbo-jumbo of her husband's investiture.

munch v. chew, crunch, masticate, champ, chomp, scrunch: He just sat there munching peanuts.

municipal adj. civic, civil, metropolitan, urban, city, town, village, borough, parish, Brit council: Voting takes place in the municipal elections next week.

municipality

n. city, metropolis, town, village, borough, district,

township; suburb, exurb: The recreational facilities offered by the municipality are in need of refurbishing.

murder n. 1 homicide, manslaughter, regicide, patricide, matricide, parricide, fratricide, sororicide, uxoricide, infanticide;

killing, slaying, assassination: In many countries, murder is a crime punishable by death. 2 slaughter, butchery, genocide, massacre, liquidation, decimation, extermination, eradication, wiping out, murdering, slaying, killing, bloodshed, carnage: Their wanton murder of thousands of prisoners of war has been proven.

--v. 3 kill, slay, assassinate, put to death, end the life of,

put away or down, put out of one's misery, wipe out, destroy, butcher, massacre, liquidate, exterminate, eradicate, annihilate, extinguish, slaughter, lay low, Slang eliminate, bump off, knock off, do in, polish off, blow away, US rub out, waste, ice, take for a ride, fit with a concrete overcoat or

with concrete overshoes, snuff (out): The drug dealers were murdered, one by one, by a rival gang. 4 spoil, ruin, mar, destroy, wreck, kill, mangle, butcher, mutilate: She murdered the song by singing it far too fast.

murderer n. murderess, killer, slayer, assassin, homicide, cutthroat, liquidator, executioner, butcher, Slang hit man: The police have arrested someone they are certain is the murderer.

murderous adj. 1 fatal, lethal, deadly, deathly, mortal, destructive, devastating, sanguinary, bloody, brutal, savage, bloodthirsty, barbarous, fell, cruel, inhuman: The tolling of the bell signalled that the murderous deed had been done. 2 killing, strenuous, stressful, difficult, arduous, exhausting, hellish, harrowing, rigorous, intolerable, unbearable: You cannot keep up such a murderous pace, without any rest, and remain healthy.

murky adj. dark, gloomy, threatening, dim, clouded, cloudy, overcast, grey, dismal, dreary, bleak, sombre, grim, funereal, shady, shadowy: I could barely make out her face in the murky corner

of the chapel.

murmur n. 1 undercurrent, undertone, background noise or sound, rumble, rumbling, mumble, mumbling, drone, droning, buzz, buzzing, murmuration, murmuring, hum, humming, whispering, Formal susurration or susurrus: They spoke in low voices, barely audible above the murmur of the mourning doves. 2 muttering, complaining, complaint, grumble, grumbling, Colloq

grousing, grouse: We have heard not any murmurs since everyone had an increase in salary.

--v. 3 mumble, mutter, whisper: He murmured into her ear something about being pleased to see her. 4 complain, grumble, mutter, moan, lament, wail, Colloq grouse: Employees will always find something to murmur about.

muscular adj. sinewy, brawny, burly, powerful, powerfully built, strapping, rugged, husky, robust, athletic, sturdy,

well-muscled, broad-shouldered: We all envied Nick's muscular physique.

mutilate v. 1 maim, disfigure, mangle, cripple, lame, butcher, disable; dismember, amputate, hack off, cut off, lop off, tear off, rip

off: Formerly, the hands of thieves were mutilated as an example to others. 2 spoil, mar, ruin, damage, deface, vandalize, destroy: As the book had been mutilated, he had to buy the library a replacement.

mutinous adj. 1 rebellious, revolutionary, subversive, seditious, insurgent, insurrectionary: The mutinous crew was finally subdued and clapped in irons. 2 recalcitrant, refractory, contumacious, obstinate, defiant, insubordinate, disobedient,

unruly, unmanageable, ungovernable, uncontrollable: Whenever we told Clare to work harder at school she became mutinous.

mutiny n. 1 revolt, rebellion, revolution, subversion, subversiveness, insurgency, insurgence, insurrection, uprising: The crew are threatening a mutiny.

--v. 2 rebel, rise up (against), strike, revolt; disobey,

subvert, agitate (against): The crew of the Bounty mutinied and set Captain Bligh adrift.

mutter v. 1 mumble, murmur, grunt: He was muttering something to himself that I didn't catch. 2 grumble, complain, Colloq

grouch, grouse, Brit chunter: She has been muttering about cuts

in the postal service ever since I can remember.

mutual adj. 1 reciprocal, reciprocated, requited, interactive, complementary: I love her and I hope that the feeling is mutual. 2 common, communal, joint, shared: Gerald is our mutual friend.

13.6 mysterious...

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

mysterious

adj. 1 puzzling, enigmatic, baffling, insoluble, unsolvable, bewildering, confounding, confusing, perplexing, mystifying, weird, bizarre, strange, uncanny, curious: A mysterious force makes the saucer rise off the ground and fly at incredible speeds. 2 cryptic, arcane, secret, inscrutable, covert, hidden, furtive, unclear, dark, concealed, occult, inexplicable, incomprehensible, mystic(al), unknown, unfathomable, mystical, recondite, abstruse: It is mysterious how the agency accomplishes its ends.

mystery n. 1 puzzle, enigma, conundrum, riddle, question: How he escaped from the locked room is a mystery. 2 obscurity, secrecy, indefiniteness, vagueness, nebulousness, ambiguity, ambiguousness, inscrutability, inscrutableness: The identity of the beautiful lady in the green dress is shrouded in mystery. 3 detective story or novel, murder (story), Colloq whodunit: Joel, who once fancied himself an intellectual, now reads nothing but mysteries.

mystical adj. 1 allegorical, symbolic(al), mystic, cabbalistic, arcane, unrevealed, secret, occult, supernatural, esoteric, other-worldly, preternatural, cryptic, concealed, hidden, clandestine, private, veiled, ineffable, mysterious: A mystical spirit dwells in the raven that sits on his shoulder. 2 See mysterious, 2, above.

mystify v. fool, hoax, humbug, confuse, confound, mix up, bewilder, stump, puzzle, baffle, Colloq bamboozle, stump, flummox, Slang beat: We were totally mystified by the unfamiliar symbols on the wall.

mystique n. mystery, magic, charisma, aura, inscrutability, supernaturalism, preternaturalism, strangeness: She has a certain mystique about her.

mythical adj. 1 mythic, mythological, fabled, legendary, traditional, folkloric, storied, romantic, fairy-tale, story-book;

allegorical, symbolic, parabolic(al): Campbell has demonstrated astounding similarities amongst the mythical tales of unrelated cultures. 2 mythic, fanciful, imaginary, fictitious,

make-believe, made-up, chimerical, untrue: When she was about seven, my daughter had a mythical friend named Theodosia.

mythology n. (body of ..) myths, folklore, tradition, lore, stories, mythos: After only one generation, an extraordinary mythology has been created about Marilyn Monroe.

14.0 N =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

14.1 nab...

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

together by several nails. 2 fingernail, toenail, claw, talon: The detective found some fibres under the victim's nails. 3 bite one's nails. worry, agonize, fret, lose sleep (over), chafe, suffer, Colloq stew (over or about): Carl is biting his nails over the result of his cholesterol test. 4 hard or tough as nails. a tough, vigorous, hardy: After years of mountain-climbing, Ren‚ is as hard as nails. b cold,

unsentimental, unsympathetic, unfeeling: The boss, as hard as nails, doesn't care what you sacrifice to get the job done. 5

hit the nail on the head. be accurate, be correct, be precise, be right, put (one's) finger on it: When you said they were fools, you really hit the nail on the head. 6 on the nail.

immediately, at once, straight or right away, promptly, without delay, on the spot, Colloq US on the barrel-head: He has always paid his bills right on the nail.

--v. 7 attach, secure, join, pin, tack, clinch or clench; fasten, fix, focus, rivet, glue: The door to the mysterious room was nailed shut. His eyes were nailed to the pressure gauge. 8 See nab, above. 9 hit, strike; punch; shoot: She nailed him with a left hook and he sank like a stone. 10 nail

down. settle, secure, resolve, complete, conclude, make final; finalize: Let's celebrate: I nailed down the order for 10,000 air-conditioning units.

na‹ve adj. naive or na‹f, ingenuous, innocent, credulous, childlike, born yesterday, unaffected, unsophisticated, inexperienced, green, unworldly, unsuspecting, unenlightened, unsuspicious,

trusting, trustful, gullible, artless, guileless, simple,

simplistic, simple-minded, unpretentious, unpretending, candid, natural: Is Chatterley na‹ve enough to believe that the gamekeeper's meetings with his wife were to discuss fox-hunting?

na‹vety n. naivety, na‹vet‚ or na‹vet‚, ingenuousness, innocence, credulity, credulousness, inexperience, (blind) trust,

denominate, pinpoint, specify: She has been named 'Woman of the Year'. I asked her to name our wedding day. She refuses to name her attacker. 6 name names. identify, specify, mention, cite:

In exchange for a lighter sentence, the witness agreed to name names.

nameless adj. 1 unnamed, innominate, unidentified, anonymous, pseudonymous, incognito, unknown, unheard-of, unsung: How much we owe the nameless inventor of the wheel! 2 inexpressible, indefinable, unidentifiable, unspecified, unspecifiable: A

nameless dread seized him as he entered the cave. 3 ineffable, unutterable, unspeakable, unmentionable, abominable, horrible, indescribable, repulsive: Paganism allowed man to sink beneath a flood of nameless sensualities.

off (to sleep), get some shut-eye, snooze, zizz, US catch or log a few zees (Z's): I nap every afternoon.

narcotic adj. 1 soporific, stuporific, hypnotic, sedative, somnolent, sleep-inducing, opiate, dulling, numbing, anaesthetic, stupefacient, stupefying, stupefactive, tranquillizing, Lethean: Most narcotic drugs may be sold only with a doctor's prescription.

--n. 2 drug, soporific, stuporific, hypnotic, sedative, opiate, anaesthetic, stupefacient, tranquillizer: Many doctors are reluctant to prescribe narcotics.