Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms
.pdffollowing, pursuing, chasing, US in back of: Here come the hounds at the back of the fox. You were at my back in the queue a minute ago. 6 behind the back of or behind someone's back. surreptitiously, secretly, clandestinely, privately, furtively, sneakily, slyly; treacherously, traitorously, perfidiously, deceitfully, insidiously: Graham is always telling tales about you behind your back. 7 break the back of. a overcome, master: Now that he's broken the back of that problem he can get on with his work. b US crush, ruin, bankrupt, destroy, defeat, vanquish, Colloq break: The government has tried on many occasions to break the back of the Mafia operation. 8 on (someone's) back.
US weighing (down) on or upon (someone), burdening (someone), lodged with (someone), resting with (someone): The responsibility for the decision is on your back. 9 turn one's
back on or upon. abandon, forsake, ignore, disregard, repudiate, reject, cast off, disown, deny: He turned his back on her when she needed him most. 10 with one's back to or against the wall. hard pressed, struggling (against odds), without hope, with little or no hope, helpless, in dire straits, in (serious)
trouble: After the stock-market crash, some brokers found themselves with their backs to the wall.
--adj. 11 rear; service, servants': Both back tyres are flat. Please use the back staircase from now on. 12 US and Australian and New Zealand outlying, remote, isolated, distant; undeveloped, primitive, raw, rough, uncivilized: They raised three boys in the back country, and all of them became doctors. 13 in arrears, overdue, past due, late; behindhand: The tax inspector has advised me that I owe thousands in back taxes.
--adv. 14 to or toward(s) the rear, rearward(s), backward(s); away: We beat back the enemy in severe hand-to-hand fighting. I accepted his offer at once, lest he should draw back. Get back from the edge! 15 in return or repayment or requital or retaliation; again: I'll pay you back when I have the money.
She gave him back as good as he had given. 16 ago, in time(s) past: Two generations back, his was the finest house in the town. 17 behind, behindhand, in arrears, overdue: We are a week back in the rent. 18 go back on. renege, fail; deny, disavow, break, repudiate: He has gone back on his promise to send the payment on the first of every month.
backbone n. 1 spine, spinal column: He's much better since the surgery
on his backbone. 2 mainstay, chief or main support, buttress, pillar: Sheila has been the backbone of the society, but she has now moved away. 3 resoluteness, sturdiness, firmness, determination, strength (of character), mettle, purposefulness, resolution, courage, fortitude, resolve, will, will-power, strength, stability, stamina, staying power, grit: Has she the backbone to run the company alone?
backer n. 1 supporter, advocate, promoter, sponsor, patron: She has always been an enthusiastic backer of adult education. 2 investor, benefactor or benefactress, supporter, underwriter, Colloq angel: The play's backers have made huge profits. 3 bettor, Brit punter: His backers are offering odds of 10 to 1.
background
n. 1 history, experience, qualifications, credentials, grounding, training; breeding, upbringing, family; curriculum vitae, Colloq CV: His background suits him admirably for the post of ambassador. 2 distance, offing, horizon, obscurity: I like the way the coastline disappears into the background towards the edge of the painting. 3 in the background.
inconspicuous, unnoticed, unobtrusive, behind the scenes, out of the limelight or spotlight, unseen, out of the public eye, backstage: Edward prefers to remain in the background, letting his dealer bid at the auctions.
backing n. 1 support, help, aid, assistance, succour; approval, endorsement, patronage, approval, sponsorship: He knows that he can rely on the backing of his local party. 2 investment,
money, funds, funding, subsidy, grant; sponsorship: How can you launch the company without backing?
backlash n. reaction, repercussion, recoil, counteraction, rebound, kickback, backfire; boomerang: There was a strong backlash in the USA against giving minorities preferred instead of equal job opportunities.
backward adj. 1 bashful, shy, reticent, diffident, retiring, coy, timid, unwilling, loath, chary, reluctant, averse: She took him to be a bit backward when he didn't respond to her smile. 2 slow, dim-witted, dull, stupid, slow-witted, dumb, feeble-minded,
Colloq Brit gormless, dim: Some of the more backward students will need extra help. 3 slow, late, behindhand, retarded:
Millie seemed a bit backward in learning to walk. 4 rearward; to the rear, behind; to the past: She gave him a backward glance. He went on through life with never a backward look. 5 retrograde, retrogressive, reverse, regressive: The ancients
were unable to account for the apparently backward motion of the planets.
--adv. 6 backwards: Walk backward to the door with your hands up.
backwards adv. 1 rearwards or rearward, in reverse, regressively, retrogressively, backward; withershins or widdershins, Brit anticlockwise, US counter-clockwise: The general, who refused to acknowledge defeat, explained that his troops were 'advancing backwards'. Do the clocks run backwards in Australia, Daddy? 2 in reverse; back to front: She can even ride sitting backwards on a galloping horse. I think you're wearing your pullover backwards.
bad |
adj. 1 poor, wretched, inferior, defective, awful, worthless, |
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miserable, egregious, execrable, substandard, unsatisfactory, |
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disappointing, inadequate, non-standard, Colloq lousy, rotten, |
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crummy, Slang Brit grotty, naff: Sometimes they would send him |
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a letter, but he was a bad correspondent. We went to see a |
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rather bad play the other night. 2 corrupt, polluted, vitiated, |
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debased, base, vile, foul, rotten, miasmic, noxious, mephitic, |
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unhealthy, poisonous, injurious, dangerous, harmful, hurtful, |
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pernicious, deleterious, ruinous: It wasn't healthy to be so |
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near the bad air of the sewer. 3 evil, ill, immoral, wicked, |
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vicious, vile, sinful, depraved, awful, villainous, corrupt, |
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amoral, criminal, wrong, unspeakable: The man was thoroughly |
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bad and deserved everything he got. 4 unpleasant, offensive, |
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disagreeable, inclement, severe, awful, unfavourable, adverse, |
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inclement, unpleasant, Colloq lousy, rotten: Surely you're not |
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going sailing in this bad weather?! 5 unfavourable, unlucky, |
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unpropitious, unfortunate, inauspicious, troubled, grim, |
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distressing, discouraging, unpleasant: Agreeing to do that job |
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might yet turn out to have been a bad decision. 6 off, tainted, |
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spoilt or spoiled, mouldy, stale, rotten, decayed, putrefied, |
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putrid, contaminated: The fridge isn't working and all the food |
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has gone bad. She ate a bad egg and felt ill the next day. 7 |
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irascible, ill-tempered, grouchy, irritable, nasty, peevish, |
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cross, crotchety, crabby, cranky, curmudgeonly: Don't go near |
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the boss - he's been in a bad mood all day. 8 sorry, regretful, |
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apologetic, contrite, rueful, sad, conscience-stricken, |
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remorseful, upset: She felt bad about having invited me. 9 |
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sad, depressed, unhappy, dejected, downhearted, disconsolate, |
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melancholy; inconsolable: I feel bad about you losing your |
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purse. 10 naughty, ill-behaved, misbehaving, disobedient, |
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unruly, wild; mischievous: Ronnie isn't a bad boy, he's just |
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bored. 11 distressing, severe, grave, serious, terrible, awful, |
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painful: He was laid up with a bad case of the mumps. |
badly |
adv. 1 poorly, defectively, insufficiently, inadequately, |
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unsatisfactorily, carelessly, ineptly, shoddily, inadequately, |
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deficiently: We lived in a badly furnished flat in the East |
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End. 2 unfortunately, unluckily, unsuccessfully, unfavourably, |
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poorly: These are an improvement on the former rules, which |
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worked badly. 3 incorrectly, faultily, defectively, poorly, |
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improperly, inaccurately, erroneously, unacceptably; ineptly, |
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inartistically, amateurishly, awfully: He speaks English badly. |
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He sings badly. 4 immorally, wickedly, viciously, |
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mischievously, naughtily, shamefully, improperly, villainously: |
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The school has had its share of badly behaved pupils. 5 |
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dangerously, severely, gravely, critically, grievously, |
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seriously: Her father was badly wounded in the war. 6 |
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unkindly, cruelly, harshly, severely, wretchedly, dreadfully, |
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improperly, atrociously, horribly, unspeakably: The prisoners |
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were treated so badly that few survived. 7 unfavourably, |
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damagingly, critically: Even her friends spoke badly of her. 8 |
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very much, greatly, seriously: Peter is badly in need of extra |
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money. 9 distressfully, emotionally, hard: He took the news |
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badly. |
bag |
n. 1 sack, shopping bag, reticule, string bag, Chiefly Brit |
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carrier bag, Scots or dialect poke, pocket: They have helpers |
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at the supermarket who will carry your bags to your car for you. |
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2 baggage, luggage, valise, satchel, grip, suitcase, overnight |
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bag, carry-on luggage or bag, Gladstone bag, carpet-bag, |
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portmanteau, toilet kit or case, sponge bag; briefcase, attach‚ |
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case, dispatchor despatch-case: Boarding in London I flew to |
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Buenos Aires while my bag went to Seoul. 3 purse, handbag, |
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evening bag, wallet, Highland dress sporran: She reached into |
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her bag and felt the gun that the Commander had given her. 4 |
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crone, hag, beast, ogress, gorgon, nightmare, witch, harridan, |
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Archaic beldam, Slang old bat, dog, monster, US two-bagger: |
Derek has been romancing some old bag for her money. 5 occupation, hobby, avocation, business, vocation, department, concern, affair, Colloq lookout, worry, Slang thing: Peter's bag at the moment is learning to play the violin.
--v. 6 catch, trap, ensnare, snare, entrap, capture, land;
kill, shoot: We bagged six pheasants and two partridges this morning.
balance v. 1 weigh, estimate, ponder, consider, deliberate, assess, compare, evaluate: We need to balance the advantages and the disadvantages. 2 steady, poise; equalize, stabilize, level, match, even out or up: The see-saw will balance better if both of you get on the other end. 3 compensate (for), make up for, counterbalance, offset, match, equal; counterpoise: The column
of mercury in the barometer balances the atmospheric pressure on the surface of the bowl. The total of expenses seems to balance the total of income.
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--n. 4 scale(s), steelyard: According to the balance, the |
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package weighs two pounds. 5 control, command, authority, |
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weight, preponderance: Britain held the balance of power during |
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those decades. 6 equilibrium, stability, steadiness, footing; |
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equiponderance; equality, harmony: The acrobat almost lost his |
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balance on the high wire. It is important to maintain a balance |
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between presentation and content. 7 remainder, residue, rest; |
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excess, surplus, difference: You take these and I'll follow |
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with the balance. My bank balance is down to zero. |
ban |
v. 1 prohibit, forbid, outlaw, proscribe, interdict, bar, |
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disallow, debar: They have banned smoking in all public places. |
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--n. 2 prohibition, taboo, proscription, interdiction, |
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interdict; embargo, boycott: They have put a ban on the sale of |
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alcoholic beverages. The ban against importing firearms is |
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strictly enforced. |
banal adj. trite, hackneyed, stereotyped, clich‚d, stereotypical, commonplace, old hat, stock, common, everyday, ordinary, pedestrian, humdrum, tired, unoriginal, unimaginative, platitudinous; trivial, petty, jejune, Slang corny: The book was blasted as banal and boring. The plot of boy-meets-girl, though banal, still brings in the audiences.
band° n. 1 strip, ribbon, belt, bandeau, fillet, tie; stripe, line, border: He wears a cloth band round his head to keep the sweat out of his eyes. There is a decorative band at the top of each page.
--v. 2 line, stripe, border: The column is banded at intervals with bas-reliefs depicting scenes from the emperor's life. 3 tie, keep, bind: Only those papers that are banded together should be sent off.
bandý n. 1 company, troop, platoon, corps, group, body, gang, horde, party, pack, bunch: They were set upon by a band of robbers in the forest. 2 group, ensemble, combination, orchestra, Colloq combo: A jazz band plays at the Civic Centre every Tuesday evening.
--v. 3 band together. unite, confederate, gather or join or league together, team up, affiliate, merge, federate: We must band together if we expect to accomplish anything.
banish v. 1 exile, expatriate, deport, extradite, transport, eject, oust, expel, rusticate, drive out or away, dismiss, excommunicate, outlaw, ostracize: After ten years in prison,
the thief was released and banished from the kingdom. 2 drive or drive out or away, expel, cast out, dismiss, reject: He tried
to banish suspicion from his mind.
banner n. 1 standard, flag, pennant, ensign, burgee, gonfalon, pennon, streamer, banderole; symbol: The flag of the United States is called the star-spangled banner. He is seeking election under
the banner of the Tories.
--adj. 2 leading, foremost, momentous, memorable, notable, important, noteworthy: The firm had a banner year, with profits up 25 per cent.
banquet n. 1 feast, sumptuous repast or meal, ceremonial dinner, lavish dinner: At the end of the banquet, the guest of honour rose to make a few remarks.
--v. 2 feast, indulge, wine and dine, regale, carouse: The winners of the trophy banqueted night after night on champagne
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and caviare. |
banter |
n. raillery, badinage, persiflage, pleasantry, jesting, joking, |
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repartee; chaffing, teasing, chaff; Colloq kidding, ribbing: |
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Despite the good-natured banter between them, Ray knew that |
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Stephen really detested him. |
bar |
n. 1 rod, shaft, pole, stick, stake: A heavy iron bar is used |
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to tamp the dynamite into place in the hole. 2 strip, stripe, |
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band, belt; streak, line: The company trade mark is a narrow |
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red bar around the barrel of every ball-point pen. 3 barrier, |
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obstacle, obstruction, barricade, hindrance, block, deterrent, |
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impediment; ban, embargo: A steel bar was across the entrance. |
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Her pride proved a bar to her success. There is a bar against |
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importing spirits. 4 sandbar, shallow, shoal, bank, sandbank: |
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Because the keel is too deep, the sloop will be unable to cross |
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the bar till high tide. 5 tribunal, court, courtroom, lawcourt, |
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bench: The former mayor was found guilty of corruption at the |
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bar of public opinion. 6 bar-room, saloon, public house, caf‚, |
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lounge, cocktail lounge, tavern, taproom, canteen, Brit local, |
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wine bar; Colloq pub; Slang boozer, gin-mill: I was at the bar |
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on my third beer when she walked in. 7 counter: We had a quick |
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lunch at the sandwich bar. |
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--v. 8 fasten, close up, secure, shut up; lock, lock up, |
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padlock: We tried to get in through the window, but they had |
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barred it. 9 block, obstruct, stop, stay, hinder, keep (out), |
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shut out, exclude, prevent, forbid, prohibit, set aside; |
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forestall, impede, hamper, retard, balk, barricade; ban, |
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embargo: After his behaviour, he was barred from the club for a |
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year. A huge man in an ill-fitting dinner-jacket barred my way. |
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The regulations bar the import of firearms. |
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--prep. 10 except (for), excepting, excluding, barring, outside |
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(of), save for, aside from, but: It's all over now bar the |
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shouting. |
barbarian n. 1 savage, brute: The barbarians wore animal skins. 2 boor, lowbrow, lout, oaf, clod, churl, philistine, ignoramus, yahoo; hooligan, vandal, ruffian, tough, Slang Brit yob, yobbo,
skinhead: Those barbarians ought to be denied admittance to the games.
--adj. 3 uncivilized, uncultivated, uncultured, philistine, savage; barbarous, barbaric, coarse, vulgar, uncouth, rude; boorish, loutish, oafish, crude, rough, insensitive, churlish, uncivil: One sees a great deal of barbarian behaviour every day.
barbarity n. cruelty, inhumanity, ruthlessness, savagery, brutishness, barbarousness, heartlessness, viciousness, cold-bloodedness, bloodthirstiness: The barbarity of this mass murderer cannot be overstated.
bare |
adj. 1 unclothed, naked, nude, stark naked, unclad, exposed, |
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uncovered, hatless, unshod, undressed , Brit starkers; Colloq in |
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the altogether, in one's birthday suit, in the buff; Slang US |
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bare-ass: He stood completely bare in the middle of the room. |
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2 unconcealed, undisguised, open, revealed, literal, bald, |
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manifest, out-and-out, overt, uncovered, straightforward, |
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direct, unvarnished, unembellished, cold, hard, plain, |
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unadorned, basic, simple: The bare facts point to him as the |
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culprit. 3 unfurnished, undecorated, vacant, stripped, empty: |
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The landlord entered and found a bare flat - the tenants had |
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done a moonlight flit. 4 denuded, stripped, leafless, |
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defoliated, shorn, barren; bared: After the storm the trees |
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were entirely bare of foliage. The hurricane began blowing in |
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earnest, and the little ketch was driving forward under bare |
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poles. 5 plain, mere, simple, minimal, essential, absolute, |
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basic; meagre, scant, scanty: For years we scraped by with only |
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the bare necessities of life. |
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--v. 6 expose, lay bare, uncover, reveal, open; undress, |
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unveil: The torrential rain had washed away the soil, baring |
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the clay and rock beneath. He tore off his shirt, baring his |
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hairy chest. 7 disclose, reveal, lay bare, uncover, divulge, |
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unfold, tell, expose, unmask, bring to light: Because of the |
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way he had treated her, she decided to bare his secrets to the |
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police. Benson bares his soul in his book. 8 strip, divest, |
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denude; defoliate: The autumn winds bared all the trees in the |
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arboretum. |
barefaced adj. 1 unconcealed, open, undisguised, blatant, manifest, unmitigated, outright, downright, out-and-out, sheer, unalloyed, undiluted: His proposal is a barefaced attempt to gain control of the committee. 2 audacious, impudent, shameless, insolent,
impertinent, immodest, bold, arrant, unabashed, forward, brazen, brassy, saucy, pert, unblushing, Colloq cheeky: She said that
he was a barefaced liar and that she would have nothing more to do with him.
barely |
adv. scarcely, only, just, not quite, hardly, only just, no |
more than: I barely had my coat off when she said she'd |
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forgotten to shop for dinner. |
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bargain |
n. 1 agreement, contract, understanding, arrangement, covenant, |
pact, compact, settlement, transaction, deal: We made a bargain - I would provide the materials and he would do the work. 2 good deal, Colloq give-away, US steal: If you paid only œ100 for
this painting, you got a real bargain.
--v. 3 negotiate, trade, haggle, barter, dicker, chaffer: We bargained far into the night, and finally came to an agreement after eight hours of discussion. 4 bargain for. expect, count on, anticipate, foresee, take into account, allow for, be
prepared for: Even though the storm had been predicted, it was windier than we had bargained for.
barren adj. 1 sterile, childless, infertile: We won't have any calf from this barren cow. 2 unproductive, sterile, bare, infertile; fruitless, dry, unfruitful, unprofitable, poor: The land was exceedingly stony and barren. The fifteenth century was the most barren period in the history of English literature.
barrier n. 1 bar, fence, railing, wall; ditch, ha-ha: A barrier was erected at each end of the street. This barrier will keep the dingoes from killing the sheep. 2 obstacle, bar, obstruction, block, impediment, hindrance: Neither race, nor creed, nor colour shall be a barrier to success. 3 boundary, boundary-line, limit, frontier: No mountain barrier lay between France and Flanders.
barring |
prep. excluding, exclusive of, bar, omitting, leaving out, |
excepting, except (for), save for, aside from, besides, but: |
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Barring another stock market crash, your money is safe. Nobody |
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else, barring the author, knew the truth of the matter. |
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base° |
n. 1 bottom, foot, support, stand, pedestal: The base of the |
statue cracked and the whole thing fell down. Have you been
able to find a teak base for the new lamp? 2 groundwork, background, fundamental principle, principle, foundation, underpinning; infrastructure, basis: Henry's charter was at once welcomed as a base for the needed reforms. 3 root, theme, radical, stem, core: In the word interdigitation the base is -digit- . 4 home, station, camp, starting-point, point of departure, post, centre: Using the Sherpa village as a base of operations, we set up smaller camps as we began to climb the mountain.
--v. 5 establish, found, secure, build, ground, anchor, fix, hinge, form; derive, draw: We are basing all our hopes on his ability to do a deal. 6 establish, headquarter, post, station, position, place: The company is based in Guernsey.
baseý adj. 1 low, undignified, cowardly, selfish, mean, despicable, contemptible, filthy, evil: He must have had some base motive in revealing to her what Martha had said. 2 degraded, degrading, menial, inferior, mean, unworthy, lowly, low, grovelling, servile, slavish, subservient, downtrodden, abject, miserable, wretched, sordid, undignified, ignoble, dishonourable, disreputable, vile, scurrilous, wicked, Colloq infra dig:
Foolish sinners will submit to the basest servitude, and be attendants of swine. 3 mean, cheap, sorry, common, poor, shabby, shoddy: He cast off his base attire, revealing a splendid suit
of armour like burnished gold. 4 sordid, offensive, lewd, lascivious, obscene, profane, rude, ribald, unseemly, vulgar, coarse, rude, dirty, indecent, evil-minded, filthy, pornographic: The entertainment in that theatre caters to the basest appetites. 5 poor, shoddy, cheap, fake, pinchbeck, inferior, counterfeit, fraudulent, debased, forged, spurious, worthless, bad: Her jewels look valuable but are, in fact, made of base materials. 6 wicked, evil, wretched, corrupt, shameful, currish, loathsome, scurvy, insufferable, villainous: They were labelled as base infidels and treated with contempt and cruelty.
bashful adj. 1 shy, retiring, embarrassed, meek, abashed, shamefaced, sheepish, timid, diffident, self-effacing, unconfident; ill at
ease, uneasy, uncomfortable, nervous, self-conscious, awkward, confused, Colloq in a tizzy, US and Canadian discombobulated: Henry is so bashful in the presence of women that he blushes merely talking to them. 2 modest, coy, unassuming, unostentatious, demure, reserved, restrained, Rare verecund: