Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

appropriately, fittingly, condignly: Shirley's work was at last given the recognition it so richly deserved.

--adj. 2 be or get rid of. banish, exile, eject, expel, dispose of, throw out or away, eliminate, dispense with; refuse, reject, dismiss, shrug off: If she had wanted to be rid of him, she

would have divorced him long ago. I am having a spot of bother trying to get rid of my old car: nobody wants to buy it.

-ridden adj. afflicted or harassed or affected or dominated by, infected or infested with: They were shocked when they first came to this drought-ridden province of Northern Ethiopia. Only foreign aid can salvage the debt-ridden economy of this state.

harry, harass, hector, nag, provoke, heckle, badger, plague, pester, annoy, irritate, Colloq hassle: He has been ridden by obsessive ambition all his life.

--n. 4 drive, journey, trip, excursion, tour, jaunt, outing, expedition, Colloq spin: Let's go for a ride in the country! 5 take for a ride. a delude, swindle, trick, deceive, defraud, humbug, defraud, gull, take in, cheat, bamboozle: Those tricksters with the loaded dice certainly took Charlie for a ride last night! b (kidnap and) murder or kill or execute or do

in, Slang bump off, US (snatch and) rub out or waste: They said that if he identified them, they would take him for a ride.

ridge n. crest, line, strip, top edge, arˆte: The mountain ridge was partly obscured by clouds.

ridicule n. 1 derision, deriding, jeer, jeering, taunt, taunting, mockery, mocking, gibe or jibe, gibing or jibing, raillery, Colloq ribbing, US and Canadian razzing, joshing: Nick was often subjected to ridicule because of his outlandish clothes.

--v. 2 deride, jeer at, taunt, tease, mock, gibe or jibe, guy, chaff, laugh at, caricature, poke fun at, make fun or sport of, lampoon, burlesque, travesty, parody, make a laughing-stock (of), Colloq rib, roast, Brit send up, take the mickey out of, US and Canadian razz, josh: In a democracy, it is an inalienable right of the people to ridicule their leaders and government.

ridiculous

adj. absurd, laughable, preposterous, weird, comical, funny, humorous, ludicrous, farcical, droll, amusing, mirthful, hilarious, side-splitting, risible; silly, inane, nonsensical, foolish, stupid, outlandish, bizarre, grotesque, queer, crazy, insane, zany, wild, Slang far-out: You look absolutely ridiculous in that outfit! Where did she ever get the ridiculous notion that she would marry a prince?

riff-raff n. rabble, hoi polloi, ragtag and bobtail, scum, canaille, masses, dregs (of society), Colloq great unwashed: I am shocked that you continue your membership in a club to which riff-raff like Trevor Barnes belong.

conservative, reactionary, Tory: The right wing of the liberal party is not so very different from the left wing of the conservatives. 7 face, upper, principal, front: Have you laid the tablecloth right side up? 8 utter, complete, perfect, unmitigated, unalloyed, out-and-out, thorough, thoroughgoing, 24-carat or esp. US 24-karat, dyed in the wool, pure, absolute, real, Brit proper: I've been a right idiot not to realize that

he loved only her.

--n. 9 privilege, prerogative, licence, power, claim, title, freedom, liberty: We must allow nothing to interfere with our democratic rights, such as our right to vote. 10 justice, reason, fact, truth, fairness, equity, good, goodness,

integrity, virtue, virtuousness, honesty, honourableness, morality, propriety, rectitude, right-mindedness, high-mindedness, nobility, uprightness: He believes that he has right on his side. 11 right side or hand or fist, Nautical starboard: She stood on his right. She gave him a quick right to the jaw. 12 by rights. properly, fairly, justly, to be just,

to be fair, in fairness, honestly, in all honesty, to be honest: By rights, because I paid for it, the house is mine.

--adv. 13 directly, straight, straightaway, right away or off, in a beeline, as the crow flies, forthwith; unhesitatingly,

immediately, promptly, at once, instantly, without hesitating or hesitation, without delay, quickly, swiftly, speedily, Colloq pronto, straight off: The minute he walked into the room, he went right to the wall-safe. Please come over right now. 14 exactly, precisely, unerringly, accurately; just: She hung the paintings right where they belonged. 15 just, only: I stopped right now - when you walked in. 16 well, satisfactorily, advantageously, profitably, favourably, opportunely: I hope that everything turns out right for you. 17 correctly, accurately, properly, precisely, well, sensibly, fittingly, suitably, aptly: If you can't do it right, why bother doing it

at all!

--v. 18 straighten (up or out), set upright or aright: I

righted all the chairs the children had knocked over. 19 put or set or make right, put or set to rights, correct, straighten

out, redress, amend, make up for, rectify, sort out, repair, fix: She has always felt that her mission in life was to right wrongs. 20 avenge, retaliate for, vindicate, repay, revenge,

settle, Colloq get even for: Langdon swore that he would right the injury done to his father's name.

righteous adj. 1 moral, just, virtuous, upstanding, upright, good, honest, ethical, honourable, fair, reputable, trustworthy: He insists that his father was a righteous man who had been unjustly accused. 2 right, correct, justifiable, justified, appropriate, condign, fitting, apt, self-righteous: Her righteous indignation at being criticized stems from her overweening pride.

rightful adj. 1 legal, lawful, legitimate, licit, de jure, correct, proper, bona fide, valid, true, authorized, right: If the deed is in his name, then he is the rightful owner. 2 just, fair, equitable, right: Emily has supported rightful causes all her life.

rigid adj. 1 stiff, unbending, unbendable, firm, hard, strong: Are those brackets rigid enough to support such a heavy shelf? 2 inflexible, inelastic, unyielding, undeviating, unalterable, set, firm, hard, adamant, hard-line, unbending, adamantine, steely, iron, strong, uncompromising, rigorous, unrelenting, intransigent, stringent, severe, strict, rigorous, stern, harsh, austere: Frank is known to favour rigid discipline in the

classroom. 3 rigorous, exact, precise, unwavering, unqualified, unswerving, undeviating, demanding, strict, hard and fast, literal, nice, close, thorough, scrupulous, careful, conscientious, painstaking, meticulous, punctilious, exacting, strait-laced: Rigid observance of the regulations produced the desired results. Pinwell's rigid parsimony met little favour from his family. 4 obstinate, stubborn, pigheaded, inflexible, immovable, adamant, adamantine, fixed, set, obdurate, wilful, headstrong, dogged, persevering, determined, resolute, steadfast, resolved, tenacious, relentless, unrelenting, uncompromising, unadaptable, mulish, close-minded: Candida remained rigid in her opposition to birth control.

rigmarole n. rigamarole, motions, complication(s), formalities, red tape, bureaucracy, punctilio, ceremoniousness, ceremony, ritual, procedure, mess, mumbo-jumbo, gobbledegook or gobbledygook, bunkum or buncombe, bother, balderdash, rubbish, nonsense, foolishness, Colloq hassle, bunk, Slang crap, US meshugaas or mishegaas: Why must one go through such a rigmarole just to get

of business, Colloq gas, US panic, laugh-riot: Benny's closing routine with the model is an absolute riot.

--v. 3 mount the barricades, take to the streets, rebel, revolt, create or cause a disturbance, brawl, fight, (go on the

or US also a) rampage, run riot, storm: The prisoners rioted to protest against the crowded conditions.

riotous adj. 1 tumultuous, unrestrained, wild, noisy, uncontrolled,

filching, pilferage, theft, robbery, larceny; shoplifting, Colloq pinching, Brit nicking, Slang lifting, swiping, US boosting: The rip-off of books from the library is a disgrace. 2 swindle, confidence trick, swindling, cheating, cheat, fraud,

deception, defrauding, defalcation; embezzlement, Colloq con (job or trick): A husband-and-wife team are being sought for executing a rip-off of thousands from the Outland Bank using a forged letter of credit. 3 overcharging, exploitation, Colloq highway or chiefly Brit daylight robbery: It's a rip-off to charge two pounds for something that costs only three pence to make.

undulation, US riffle, riffling: There wasn't even the slightest breath of air to cause a ripple on the mirror-like surface of the lake. 2 (slight) disturbance, upset, perturbation, agitation, flurry, flutter, suggestion, hint,

soup‡on: The divorce occasioned only a ripple of dissent in the royal family.

food shortages persist, the people are sure to rise up and overthrow the present regime. 5 swell, flood, increase, grow; wax: Owing to the heavy rains, the river is rising rapidly. 6 slant or incline or slope (upwards), ascend, climb, go uphill: The path rises steeply just beyond the cwm. 7 fly, take flight, take wing, take to the air, take off, arise, lift, climb, soar, mount: At the roar of the gun, tens of thousands of flamingoes rose from the lakes. 8 advance, improve one's lot or position, progress, get ahead, go or get somewhere, succeed, make something of oneself, be promoted, prosper, thrive, make good, Colloq make it, make the grade, go places: Fielding could well have risen in the company had his attitude been different. 9 start, begin, originate, arise, occur, happen, take place: I cannot explain how so much bad feeling rose between us. 10 increase, be elevated or lifted or boosted, grow, go up, move upwards, climb, escalate, ascend, snowball: When interest rates rise, they contribute to the inflation that raising them was supposed to reduce. 11 arise, be nurtured, be produced, be generated, be created, spring up, be engendered: The feelings

that rose within him were spurred on by sheer hatred of the man. 12 rise to. a arise, come up, meet, be equal to, prove adequate to: If you need a good man, you can count on Michael to rise to the occasion. b come to get, take, swallow, react to, respond

to, succumb to, be tempted by: Sue rose to the bait of a company car and accepted our offer.

--n. 13 ascent, hill, hillock, knoll, eminence, prominence, elevation, upland, highland, (upward) slope or incline, acclivity, US upgrade: As we climbed a slight rise, we saw the mountains gleaming in the distance. 14 increase, increment, gain, addition: In return for only a slight rise in wages, they are being asked to take on much more responsibility. 15 ascent, ascension, elevation, flight, climb, take-off: The balloon's

rise was suddenly halted when the basket caught in a tree. 16 get or Brit also take a rise out of (someone). provoke, stimulate, incite, instigate, foment, goad, encourage, press, push, shake up, waken, awaken, move, motivate, activate, agitate, stir (up), inflame, impassion: We finally got a rise out of Sidney by threatening to charge him for cleaning his room. 17 give rise to. start, engender, generate, begin, commence, produce, bring out, cause, bring about, bring into

being: We never discovered what gave rise to Tom's dislike of dogs.