Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

adj. 1 cultivated, cultured, refined, experienced, worldly, cosmopolitan, polished, elegant, urbane, worldly-wise, knowledgeable, knowing, suave, soign‚(e), blas‚, chichi, slick, Slang hip or hep, cool, with it: The Gordons mix with a pretty sophisticated crowd. 2 advanced, complex, complicated, intricate, elaborate, subtle, refined, multifaceted: The desk-top computers of today are much more sophisticated than most older main-frame systems.

sophistication

n. 1 worldliness, urbanity, culture, refinement, knowledge, knowledgeability, cosmopolitanism, polish, elegance, poise, suavity or suavit‚, savoir faire, savoir vivre, finesse, discrimination, discernment, awareness, taste, tastefulness, style: They want him on the board of directors of the museum because he lends it sophistication. 2 complexity, intricacy, subtlety, refinement: There is a staggering amount of sophistication built into modern integrated circuits.

sorcerer n. sorceress, magus, necromancer, wizard, witch, warlock, enchanter, enchantress, magician, thaumaturgist, shaman, witch-doctor, medicine man: The law demanded death for the sorcerers and for those who dealt with them.

abased, mean, ignominious, dishonourable, despicable, disreputable, shabby, shameful, scurvy, rotten, execrable: He forced his family to do the most sordid things to raise money. 2 avaricious, greedy, grasping, mercenary, piggish, hoggish, selfish, rapacious, money-grubbing, stingy, parsimonious: His

most sordid plan was to pretend he was collecting money for the handicapped. 3 dirty, foul, filthy, squalid, unclean, untidy, mean, slummy, seamy, seedy, wretched, unsanitary, insanitary, offensive, defiled, polluted, fetid, feculent, mucky, maggoty, putrid, fly-blown, slimy: The conditions of some of the homes the social workers visit are indescribably sordid. 4 wretched, miserable, poor, poverty-stricken, down-and-out, impoverished,

ramshackle, hovel-like, tumbledown, dingy, seamy, seedy, slummy, deteriorated, sleazy, back-alley: When he first came to town,

sorrow n. 1 sadness, heartbreak, grief, unhappiness, dolour, misery, woe, anguish, distress, suffering, torment, agony, wretchedness, heartache, desolation, desolateness: How can one deal with the sorrow of the loss of a child? 2 affliction, trouble, trial, tribulation, misfortune, hardship, adversity, bad or hard luck, cares, pressure, strain, travail: It is unbelievable that

anyone could survive a life filled with such sorrow.

--v. 3 grieve, lament, mourn, regret, keen, bemoan, agonize, moan, bewail: She is sorrowing over the loss of her nephew.

sorrowful adj. 1 sad, unhappy, regretful, sorry, depressed, dejected, crestfallen, chap-fallen, gloomy, downcast, blue, dispirited, melancholy, in the doldrums, wretched, woebegone, miserable, heartsick, disheartened, piteous, heavy-hearted, broken-hearted, rueful, woeful, tearful, disconsolate, inconsolable, grief-stricken, Colloq down in the mouth, down in the dumps: The entire family was sorrowful to learn of Carriston's death.

2 distressing, lamentable, doleful, unfortunate, bitter, distressful, troublous, grievous, unlucky, hapless, afflictive:

soulful adj. sincere, deep, profound, moving, emotional, warm, ardent, intense, fervent, expressive: The lovers exchanged soulful

looks.

sound° n. 1 tone; noise; din; cacophony; report: This piano has a tinny sound. We could hear the sound of laughter from below. I heard nothing over the sound of the crowd. Sounds of gunfire echoed in the valley. 2 ring, tone, impression, characteristic, quality, effect, aspect, look: I didn't like the sound of that remark. 3 hearing, range, earshot: Anyone within the sound of his voice could tell that he was angry.

--v. 4 resound, reverberate, echo, resonate: The noises sound very close. 5 seem, appear, look; strike one, give one the impression or feeling or sense (that); resemble, sound or seem or look like: It sounds as if you don't want to come to my party. That sounds like Russian to me. 6 ring, (be) activate(d), (be) set or touch(ed) off, signal: Anyone walking into the room sounds the alarm. The alarm sounds when the beam is broken. 7 Sometimes, sound out. articulate, pronounce, enunciate, utter; voice, vocalize: I was taught to speak clearly, to sound each consonant and vowel. 8 Sometimes, sound out or off. shout (out), cry out, yell (out): Sound out those numbers loud and clear! 9 sound off. vituperate, complain, bluster, grumble,

Slang bitch: Today Mr Morrison was again sounding off about the service in the caf‚.

soundý adj. 1 undamaged, uninjured, whole, unmarred, in good condition or shape, intact, unimpaired, unscathed: When the vase was sold

to you it was sound. 2 healthy, hale (and hearty), fit (as a fiddle), robust, vigorous, blooming, rosy, ruddy: Old Tom is as sound as ever. 3 firm, solid, substantial, strong, sturdy,

tough, rugged, durable, well-built, well-constructed, dependable: A business, like a building, must be built on sound foundations if it is to last. 4 sane, balanced, normal,

rational, wholesome, reasoning, reasonable, clear-headed, lucid, right-minded, responsible, practical, prudent, politic, wise, sensible, logical, common-sense, commonsensical, astute, far-sighted, perceptive, perspicacious, percipient; valid, good, judicious, reliable, useful: As Juvenal said, 'Mens sana in corpore sano,' or 'A sound mind in a sound body'. My old teacher gave me a lot of sound advice. 5 safe, secure, good, conservative, non-speculative, solid, riskless; profitable: Are you sure that utilities are a sound investment now? 6 unbroken, uninterrupted, undisturbed, untroubled, peaceful, deep: I drank the potion and at once fell into a sound sleep.

sound° v. 1 Often, sound out. plumb, probe, test, check (out or into), fathom, inquire or enquire of, question, poll, canvass, investigate, examine, survey: Sound out the membership on their feelings about increasing the dues. 2 dive, plunge, submerge: The great whale sounded, almost taking the tiny boat down with it.

sound4 n. inlet, strait(s), fiord or fjord, bight, (sea) loch, bay,

sparing adj. 1 thrifty, saving, frugal, spare, careful, prudent, parsimonious, economical, penurious, mean; penny-pinching, stingy, niggardly, miserly, close, close-fisted, cheap, Colloq tight, tight-fisted, Brit mingy: As sparing in his praise as he

was in his purse, General Waller rarely complimented his troops. 2 See sparse, 2 below.

spark n. 1 scintilla, flicker, glimmer, glint, sparkle, speck, hint, suggestion, vestige, atom, whit, jot (or tittle), iota: As long as a spark of life remained in his body he fought for freedom and justice.

--v. 2 Often, spark off. set or touch off, ignite, kindle, enkindle, electrify, animate, trigger, energize, galvanize, activate, excite, stimulate, set in motion, bring about, start (up), begin, initiate, inspire, inspirit, provoke, precipitate: Was there any single factor that sparked the Renaissance?

sparkle v. 1 glitter, scintillate, glint, flicker, shine, twinkle,

wink, blink, glimmer, flash, coruscate, blaze, burn, flame: The setting sun sparkled on the sea. Brian's eyes sparkled with an inner fire. 2 effervesce, fizz, bubble: We ordered a jeroboam of sparkling Burgundy.

--n. 3 glitter, scintillation, twinkle, coruscation, dazzle, spark, gleam, brightness, brilliance, radiance: I fear that the sparkle has gone out of her smile. 4 vivacity, liveliness, fire, brightness, wittiness, effervescence, ebullience, excitement, animation, vigour, energy, spirit, cheer, joy, light-heartedness, ‚lan, zeal, gusto, dash, life, gaiety, cheer,

cheerfulness; certain something; Colloq vim, zip, zing, pizazz, oomph: It is easy to see that she gets her sparkle from her mother.

sparse adj. 1 thin (on the ground), few (and far between), meagre, scanty, (widely) dispersed or scattered, spread out, spotty, in short supply, scarce: Tourists are sparse in Scotland in January. Sparse blooms appeared on the rose-bushes this year. 2 little, limited, meagre, scant, sparing, inappreciable, not

much, insignificant: Sparse use was made of the new tennis court because of the rain.

Spartan adj. austere, strict, severe, harsh, hard, stern, rigorous, rigid, ascetic, stringent, controlled, disciplined, self-denying, abstinent, abstemious: He gave up all luxuries and today lives a Spartan life in the forest.

spasm n. 1 convulsion, throe, fit, twitch, paroxysm: Deprived of his medication, Brian might go into spasms. 2 fit, seizure,

convulsion, paroxysm, spell, outburst, burst, eruption: After that, every time he said 'furniture', the crowd went into spasms of laughter.

spasmodic adj. 1 spasmodical, paroxysmal, convulsive, jerky, jerking, sudden, Technical spastic: John was quite uneasy, unaware that Cynthia's spasmodic winking was due to a tic. 2 fitful, irregular, intermittent, arrhythmic, random, interrupted, sporadic, erratic, occasional, periodic, unsustained, discontinuous, pulsating, cyclic(al), broken: Spasmodic peals of thunder shook the house.

bedaub, sprinkle, besprinkle, Brit splodge, US splotch: When she dropped the pan the grease spattered all over my new white flannels.

spawn v. give birth to, yield, bear, bring forth, breed, beget, create, father, sire, produce, generate, engender, give rise to,

bring about, cause: Donald's arrogance over his wealth spawned a great deal of resentment.

speak v. 1 talk, converse, discourse: We were not allowed to speak during lessons. 2 talk to, converse or discourse with, address, say (something or) anything to: She was speaking quietly to the children. That is no way to speak to your elders. 3 talk, communicate in, discourse or converse in, communicate in, utter in, articulate in, use: Can you really speak Chinese? 4

express, utter, say, state, tell, pronounce, enunciate, voice; articulate, make known, communicate, reveal, indicate: He is speaking the truth. 5 symbolize, betoken, signify, communicate, convey, indicate: Her refusal to return your love-letters

speaks volumes. 6 so to speak. as it were, in a manner of speaking, figuratively or metaphorically (speaking): When it comes to employee benefits, the boss is Scrooge himself, so to speak. 7 speak for. a support, uphold, defend, stand up for, plead for, make a plea for, recommend, Colloq stick up for: Be quiet and let Simon speak for himself. b act on or in behalf

of, act for, represent, act as agent for: He is speaking for