Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

risk

n. 1 danger, peril, jeopardy, hazard, chance, gamble: I would

take up skydiving, but my mother won't let me because of the

risk.

--v. 2 endanger, imperil, jeopardize, hazard, chance, gamble:

Would you really risk all your money on one roll of the dice?

risky

adj. dangerous, perilous, hazardous, chancy, touch-and-go,

precarious, Colloq iffy, dicey, dodgy, touchy: Futures trading

is a very risky business, as many have discovered to their

dismay.

risqu‚

adj. indelicate, unrefined, indecorous, indecent, improper,

broad, naughty, spicy, salty, off colour, racy, bawdy, erotic,

suggestive, wicked, blue, ribald, daring, salacious, gross,

Colloq Brit near the knuckle: Some of those photographs of

beauty contest queens are pretty risqu‚.

rite

n. ceremony, ritual, ceremonial, observance, formality, custom,

practice, routine, procedure, solemnity, solemnization, liturgy:

This weekend I have to perform the annual rite of having tea

with great-aunt Elizabeth at the Ritz.

ritual

adj. 1 ceremonial, ceremonious, sacramental: The celebrants

undergo ritual washing before preparing the sacrifice. 2

procedural, formal, conventional, customary, habitual, routine,

prescribed, usual, automatic, perfunctory: Each time they meet,

Harold and Bill have to go through a ritual handshaking routine

- a hangover from their school-days, I think.

--n. 3 formality, routine, custom, practice, convention,

protocol: If everyone goes through this tea-drinking ritual

twice a day, how do you get any work done? 4 See rite, above.

rival

n. 1 competitor, opponent, contender, challenger, antagonist,

adversary; opposition: This year there are many formidable

rivals for the championship.

--v. 2 compete with or against, contend with or against,

oppose, challenge, contest, struggle with or against, vie with,

combat, compare with, equal, measure up to, (be a) match (for):

Jan's prowess at tossing the caber rivalled that of anyone else

rob

v. 1 burgle, loot, rifle, ransack, plunder, depredate, raid;

hijack; pillage, sack; US burglarize, Colloq hold up, Slang

stick up, rip off: They robbed a jeweller's shop last week. 2

prey upon or on, Colloq hold up, mug, Slang chiefly US stick up,

rip off, Chiefly US and New Zealand roll: These hooligans rob

old ladies in the street. 3 rob (someone) (of). deprive (of),

cheat or swindle (out of), defraud (of), strip (of), fleece

(of), bilk (of), victimize, mulct (of), US euchre ((out) of),

Colloq rook ((out) of), do or diddle (out of), gyp (out of),

Slang Brit nobble (of): I was robbed of my last penny by those

confidence men. We were robbed by a taxi driver who offered to

change our money. She robbed me of my self-respect.

robber

n. thief, pickpocket, shoplifter, burglar, bandit,

housebreaker, sneak-thief, cat burglar, safe-breaker,

highwayman, gentleman of the road, brigand, pirate, freebooter,

buccaneer, privateer, corsair, Colloq mugger, hold-up man, Slang

cracksman, rip-off artist, safe-cracker, safe-blower, Chiefly US

stick-up man, US second-story or second-storey man: The police

were making every effort to catch the robbers.

robbery

n. robbing, theft, thievery, thieving, burglary, burgling,

robe

n. 1 cloak, dress, garment, vestment, habit, frock, cassock,

caftan, muu-muu, surplice, bathrobe, dressing-gown, lounging

robe, housecoat, kimono, house-dress, peignoir, wrapper, French

robe de chambre, costume: A woman wearing a green robe came to

the door and asked what I wanted. 2 robes. costume, habit,

uniform, garb, attire, vestments, apparel, raiment, livery,

clothing, garments, outfit, accoutrements or US also

accouterments, regalia, finery, trappings, panoply, gear,

paraphernalia, appurtenances, equipage, rig, Archaic vesture:

She looked absolutely splendid decked out in the full robes of

state.

--v. 3 cloak, garb, dress, cover, enrobe, clothe: The dish

consists of ladyfingers topped with fresh strawberries robed in

chocolate, with whipped cream spread over the top.

robot

n. 1 automaton, mechanical man or monster, android: In the

future, much of the drudgery will be taken over by electronic

robots. 2 drudge, clod, tool, puppet, cat's-paw, myrmidon,

mechanical man, automaton: The company has a number of robots

on its payroll who carry out orders without question.

robust

adj. 1 healthy, fit, sound, hale (and hearty), sturdy, hardy,

hearty, strong, stout, tough, able-bodied, strapping, brawny,

sinewy, rugged, muscular, powerful, well-knit, athletic,

staunch, vigorous; in fine or good fettle, Colloq husky: Kelly

was such a robust chap one might have thought he'd live forever.

2 pungent, strong, flavourful, sapid, rich, full-bodied, nutty,

fruity: He gave me a glass of an excellent robust tawny port.

rock°

n. 1 stone; boulder: In the avalanche, the rocks thoroughly

destroyed the ski lodge. 2 crag, tor, escarpment, scarp, Brit

outcrop, US outcropping: We used to go rock climbing when I had

the strength. 3 on the rocks. a on ice: I'd like a whisky on

the rocks, thanks. b in (a) shambles, destroyed, in ruins,

ruined, finished, broken-down, beyond repair: He lost his job

and his marriage went on the rocks. c destitute,

poverty-stricken, indigent, penniless, bankrupt: Unable to find

another job, he's been on the rocks for a year, now.

rocký

v. 1 sway, swing, lull: Her father used to rock her to sleep

in his arms. 2 roll, reel, lurch, toss, swing, sway, wobble:

rocket

v. zoom, take off, sky-rocket, shoot up, climb, rise rapidly,

soar, spiral upwards, Colloq go through the roof: The day

controls were lifted, prices rocketed, almost doubling

overnight.

rocky°

adj. 1 stony, pebbly, shingly, boulder-strewn, craggy; bumpy,

unsure, uncertain, unreliable, weak, flimsy, wobbly, wobbling,

vacillating, dubious, doubtful, questionable, Colloq iffy: The

project will be very rocky till we are assured proper funding.

rod

n. 1 bar, pole, baton, wand, staff, stick, dowel, cane, shaft:

Steel rods are used to reinforce the concrete in modern

buildings. 2 cane, birch, switch, scourge, lash; punishment,

chastisement, castigation, discipline, chastening, correction:

As they say, spare the rod and spoil the child.

rogue

n. 1 trickster, swindler, cheat, cad, ne'er-do-well, wastrel,

good-for-nothing, miscreant, Rather old-fashioned scamp,

scoundrel, blackguard, knave, rascal, rapscallion, scapegrace,

dastard, cur, churl, wretch, villain, charlatan, mountebank,

Brit bounder; Colloq louse, stinker, rat, creep, Brit rotter,

blighter, Chiefly US and Canadian son of a gun, Slang bastard,

Chiefly US and Canadian son of a bitch, SOB or s.o.b., bum: She

met some clever rogue in Capri who conned her out of fifteen

thousand lire.

--adj. 2 independent, undisciplined, uncontrollable,

ungovernable, unmanageable, unpredictable, disobedient,

incorrigible, fractious, self-willed, unruly, intractable,

unrestrained, wild, lawless, strong-willed, headstrong,

refractory, contumacious, recalcitrant, cross-grained,

rampageous: Part of the village was destroyed when a rogue

elephant ran amok. Perkins quit the company to start up his own

rogue concern.

role

n. 1 r“le, part, character, impersonation; lines: She had the

role of Maria in a recent production of Twelfth Night . 2

function, position, situation, place, post, capacity, job, duty,

task, responsibility: Hermione's role in the company is that of

managing director.

roll

v. 1 rotate, cycle, turn (over (and over)), wheel, trundle;

revolve, go (a)round, orbit, tumble, somersault or somerset or

summersault or summerset: Th landlord rolled another barrel

beer into the pub. The children loved rolling about in the ride

at the fun fair. 2 pass, go, flow, slip, flit, glide, slide,

move (on); expire, elapse, disappear, vanish, evaporate: The

time certainly rolls by quickly when you're having fun. 3 move,

drive, bowl, be carried or conveyed, cruise, sail, coast, ride,

float, fly: We rolled down the road, singing and laughing. 4

undulate, billow, rise and fall: The countryside rolled away

before us as far as the eye could see. 5 roar, echo, re-echo,

rumble, reverberate, resound, sound, boom, peal, resonate,

thunder: The roar of the explosion rolled over us as we ran for

cover. 6 rob, steal from: They got their money by rolling

drunks. 7 Often, roll out. flatten, level (off or out), smooth

(out), even (out), grade: After cutting, the lawn ought to be

rolled. 8 Usually, roll over. turn (over), rotate, spin: Roll

onto your stomach so I can examine your back. 9 Usually, roll

up. furl, coil, curl, wind (up), wrap (up); enwrap, swathe,

enfold, envelop, shroud, enshroud: Every night he takes down

the banner and carefully rolls it. Cleopatra was rolled up in a

rug to be smuggled past the guards. 10 roll in. a arrive, come

in, pour in, flow in, turn up, show up: The contributions

really started to roll in after the appeal. b luxuriate in,

rootý

v. rootle, forage, dig, pry, nose, poke, ferret, burrow,

rummage, delve, search, ransack: Harvey has been rooting about

in the garage looking for his tennis racket.

root°

v. Usually, root for. cheer (for), applaud (for); boost,

support, encourage, urge on: I'm rooting for our side to win.

rooted

adj. firm, established, set, fixed, fast, settled, deep-rooted,

rope

n. 1 line, cord, cable, hawser; strand, string: This rope is

too light for mooring the boat. She wore a rope of baroque

pearls. 2 the ropes. the routine, the procedure, one's way

around, the ins and outs; the truth, the (real) situation;

Colloq what's what, the score, Brit the gen: It didn't take her

long to learn the ropes.

--v. 3 tie, bind, lash, hitch, fasten, secure; tether, attach:

Rope these two crates together. The horses were roped to the

post. 4 rope in. attract, draw (in), tempt, entice, lure,

persuade: They are going to use a lottery to rope the customers

in to supporting our cause.

ropy

adj. 1 ropey, viscous, stringy, viscid, glutinous,

mucilaginous, gluey, gummy, thready, fibrous, filamentous: The

plastic resin emerging from the vat looks somewhat ropy, like

mozzarella cheese. 2 questionable, inadequate, inferior,

deficient, indifferent, mediocre, substandard, unsatisfactory,

poor, sketchy: Greenwood's plan for increasing profit margins

looks pretty ropy to me. 3 sickly, ill, unwell, hung-over, below

par, out of sorts, Colloq under the weather, poorly, rough, not

up to snuff, off one's feed: I was feeling pretty ropy on

Saturday morning after that do at your place on Friday.

rostrum

n. platform, stage, dais, podium, stand; pulpit; lectern,

reading-stand: As the crowd hooted and booed, the speaker

descended from the rostrum.

rosy

adj. 1 pink, rose-coloured, red, roseate, reddish, pinkish,

cherry, cerise, ruddy, flushed, glowing, blushing, ruby,

rubicund, florid; rose-red: During the skiing holiday, they all

developed healthy rosy complexions. 2 optimistic, promising,

favourable, auspicious, hopeful, encouraging, sunny, bright:

Caldwell has a rosy future ahead of him.

rot

1 decay, decompose, fester, spoil, go bad or off, be

tainted, be ruined, mould, moulder, putrefy; corrode, rust,

disintegrate, deteriorate, crumble or go or fall to pieces:

When the power went off, all the food in the freezer rotted. The