Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

--n. 11 washing, cleaning, cleansing, scrubbing, scrub, scouring, shampoo, shampooing, bath, bathing, shower, sponge bath, tub-bath; laundering; Facetious ablutions; Colloq Brit tub, tubbing: He always likes a good wash and shave before breakfast. 12 wave, wake, surge, backwash: The wash from passing ships almost swamped our skiff. 13 lotion, rinse,

liniment, salve, embrocation, emulsion, preparation; mouthwash, gargle; eyewash, collyrium: Use this wash twice a day till the condition disappears. 14 flow, wave, swell, welling, sweep, sweeping, ebb and flow, surge, surging, undulation, rise and fall: Shellfish in the gap cleanse themselves of impurities in

the constant tidal wash running through there. 15 coat, coating, film, overlay, glaze; plating: There is a microscopic wash of gold over the tin to lend the bracelet a little cachet.

washed out

adj. 1 wan, pale, pallid, colourless, faded, lacklustre, flat; blanched, bleached, etiolated: Gene looks washed out because he never gets out in the sun. She was wearing washed-out jeans and a torn t-shirt. 2 exhausted, spent, tired, tired out, weary,

worn out, fatigued, drained, Colloq dog-tired, bone-tired, done in, all in, fagged out, bushed, Brit knocked up, US knocked out, Slang beat, US and Canadian tuckered out, pooped: After a hard day in the office, I feel completely washed out.

washed up adj. finished, through, failed, done for, played out, over (and done with), Slang kaput, fini: After that last fiasco, he's no

more than a washed-up has-been.

washout n. failure, disaster, d‚bƒcle, (total) loss, fiasco, disappointment, Colloq flop, dud, Brit damp squib, US lead balloon: His attempts to revive the hula-hoop craze were a washout.

waspish adj. irascible, bad-tempered, foul-tempered, temperamental, testy, grouchy, sensitive, volatile, querulous, edgy, petulant, spiteful, peevish, cantankerous, curmudgeonly, cross, crabby, crabbed, crotchety, splenetic, grumpy, captious, cranky, crusty: Elaine is feeling very waspish today - no one can do anything right.

waste v. 1 squander, misuse, throw away, fritter away, misspend, splurge, dissipate, Slang blow: Why I wasted so much time on

him I'll never know. Don't waste your money on such frivolities. 2 Often, waste away. diminish, deteriorate, dwindle, decline, decay, atrophy, wither, shrink, weaken, become debilitated, fade, become enervated or enfeebled, regress, ebb, sink: She is just wasting away, and I am seriously worried that she may not recover. 3 enervate, enfeeble, emaciate, gnaw, destroy, consume, debilitate, exhaust, disable: Arkwright contracted a terrible wasting disease while in the tropics. 4 assassinate, murder,

kill, Slang put away, rub out, US ice: Don't worry, Boss, we'll waste Andy and you won't have no more trouble.

--n. 5 misuse, misapplication, squandering, dissipation, misemployment, abuse, neglect: What a terrible waste of talent to have such a person doing such lowly work! Do not let that genius go to waste. 6 wasting, extravagance, prodigality, wastefulness, squandering, indulgence, lavishness, profligacy, dissoluteness, improvidence, overindulgence: Government waste is one of our biggest problems. 7 refuse, rubbish, garbage, dregs, debris, leavings, scrap, offscourings, sweepings, litter, Archaic orts, US and Canadian trash: Techniques are being developed to process the waste in order to avoid using

landfills, incineration, or dumping at sea. 8 wasteland, desert, wilderness, barrens, wilds, emptiness, vastness: Beyond that system were vast wastes of uninhabited space.

--adj. 9 extra, leftover, unused, superfluous, worthless, useless: The waste food was usually fed to the animals. 10 barren, unproductive, unusable, unsalvageable, useless, unrecyclable, unprofitable, worthless: The waste products of manufacture are a big problem. 11 lay waste. devastate, destroy, demolish, despoil, ruin, wreck, ravage, pillage, sack, plunder, loot, rob, strip, spoil, gut, ransack, wreak havoc (up)on, crush, raze, annihilate, eradicate, extirpate, wipe out: These lands and cities, laid waste by the invaders, have never recovered.

wasteful adj. extravagant, spendthrift, profligate, prodigal, lavish, improvident, unthrifty, uneconomical, overindulgent, open-handed, free-handed, penny wise and pound foolish: It was very wasteful of you to buy me that expensive jewellery.

wastrel n. 1 spendthrift, profligate, waster, prodigal, big spender, squanderer: That wastrel went through his inheritance in a

year. 2 idler, layabout, malingerer, loafer, shirker, good-for-nothing, ne'er-do-well, Chiefly Brit drone, Slang Brit skiver: The workhouse is the place for wastrels like you!

watch v. 1 observe, regard, look at, gaze at or on, take in, contemplate: Daniel loves to watch the bears at the zoo. 2 look after, tend, mind, keep an eye on, watch over, mind, guard, care for, take care of, safeguard, protect, shield, keep safe, supervise, superintend; chaperon, accompany, attend; Colloq babysit (for), sit (with): Could you please watch Suzie while I go shopping? 3 observe, note, notice, make or take note of, see, pay attention (to), attend (to), follow, (take) heed (of), examine, inspect, scrutinize, pore over; eye, peer at; ogle,

make eyes at: Watch the way I bone this fish. Ted enjoys watching the girls going by. 4 Often, watch (out) for. look for, be on the watch or lookout or alert or qui vive (for), guard (against), keep an eye open (for), be watchful (for), note, take note or notice of, be vigilant (for or of), keep (one's) eyes open (for), keep a (sharp) lookout (for), be prepared or ready for, be careful of, anticipate, await, wait (for), look for,

Colloq keep (one's) eyes peeled or skinned (for), keep a weather eye open (for): We were watching for irregularities in the test results. Watch where you're going! Watch out for that last step!

--n. 5 vigil, surveillance, observation, lookout: Our six-hour watch was rewarded by the appearance of a yellow-bellied sapsucker. 6 clock, timepiece, pocket watch, wrist-watch; chronometer: I always set my watch by the GMT time signal on the radio. 7 sentry, sentinel, guard, watchman: The midnight watch just returned from his rounds. 8 on the watch (for). on the alert (for), on the lookout (for), on (one's) guard (for),

on the qui vive (for), alert (for or to), awake (to), observant (of), watchful (of), cautious (of), wary (of), vigilant, circumspect: We remained on the watch for the slightest movement in the bushes.

watchman n. (security) guard, sentinel, sentry, watch, night-watchman, custodian, caretaker; watchdog: After retiring from the police, he worked as a watchman.

water n. 1 H2O; distilled water, tap water, drinking-water, bottled water, spa water, still water, soda (water), effervescent water, mineral water; sea water, salt water; ditch-water, dishwater,

bath-water, US branch water, Facetious Adam's ale, Technical or Latin aqua; Technical heavy water or deuterium oxide or D2O; Brit fizzy water: Pure water is odourless, tasteless, and colourless. 2 not hold water. be illogical or unsound or

invalid, not be sensible, be inconsistent, not make sense, be unbelievable or incredible, be indefensible, be unfeasible or unworkable, not work, not function, not hold up under or bear scrutiny or examination, not ring true, ring false, Colloq not wash: Her account of her whereabouts that day just doesn't hold water. 3 like water. lavishly, extravagantly, freely,

wastefully, profligately, open-handedly, liberally, excessively, copiously, unstintingly, unreservedly: They've been spending money like water since they won the football pools. 4 make water. urinate, pass water, Colloq pee, piss: When a dog makes water, it marks off a territory bounded by its scent. 5 of the first water. of superior or excellent or first or top or A-one

or the finest or the highest or the best quality or grade; first-grade, top-grade: These were not industrial stones but diamonds of the first water.

--v. 6 inundate, flood, drench, saturate, soak, douse, irrigate, hose, wet, shower, splash, spray, sprinkle, moisten, damp, dampen, bedew: If you don't water the garden, the

vegetables will die. 7 Often, water down. dilute, weaken, thin out, adulterate; cut; mollify, modify, soften, tone down, qualify: We no longer go there because they water the drinks. They told the children a watered-down version of what had happened.

water-colour

n. aquarelle: John's water-colours sell as fast as he paints them.

waterfall n. cascade, cataract, fall(s), chute, Niagara, No. Brit force, Scots linn: In front of them, a waterfall tumbled down a rock-face into a deep pool.

watertight

adj. 1 sealed, waterproof: The escape hatch has been made watertight. 2 unassailable, impregnable, solid, airtight, flawless, faultless, incontrovertible; without loopholes: Landry has a watertight alibi for the night of the crime.

watery adj. 1 weak, dilute(d), watered down, tasteless, insipid,

6 aspect, respect, particular, detail, point, sense, feature:

In certain ways, you remind me of Attila the Hun. 7 clearance, pathway, avenue, scope, freedom, opportunity: When you hear a siren, drive to the side and give way. Make way for the Lord High Executioner! 8 condition, situation: She prefers the

prissy 'in a family way' to the straightforward 'pregnant' and the vulgar 'have a bun in the oven'. I saw Luke yesterday and he was really in a bad way. 9 by the way. incidentally, moreover, by the by, parenthetically: By the way, have I told you how beautiful you look tonight? 10 by way of. a via, through, by

means of: We drove from London to Oxford by way of Reading. b (functioning) as, in (the) way of, in the capacity of,

equivalent to, more or less, something like: Richard is by way of being an expert on eccentric behaviour. 11 give way. a collapse, break (down), fail, cave in, fall (down), crumble, crumple, disintegrate, go to pieces: The cable gave way, causing the bridge to collapse. b yield, surrender, retreat, concede, withdraw, accede, make concessions, acquiesce, acknowledge: The trouble is that they both think they are in the right and neither will give way. 12 under way. proceeding, progressing, on the move, moving, advancing, going, begun, started, in progress, operating, functioning, at work, US in

work, Colloq in the works, US in the pipeline: Once under way, it takes the ship three days to make the crossing. Plans are under way to reclaim the slum area for a park.

waylay v. 1 ambush, lie in wait for, await, intercept, pounce upon or on, swoop down on or upon, accost: You'll have to waylay him on his way to lunch if you want to speak to him. 2 attack, mug,

seize, assault, accost, set upon: He was waylaid by a band of thieves and stripped of his belongings.

way-out adj. 1 bizarre, mad, weird, crazy, strange, odd, peculiar, freakish, freaky, eccentric, queer, abnormal, offbeat, outrageous, wild, exotic, esoteric, Colloq kinky, Slang kooky, off-the-wall, far-out, screwy, nutty, US flaky, screwball: The police did not take kindly to the boys' way-out behaviour after the party. 2 avant-garde, advanced, original, innovative, unorthodox, unconventional, experimental, precedent-setting, progressive, exploratory, ground-breaking, Slang far-out: Spencer thinks that the way-out art of the 1960s will have great value one day.

23.2 weak...

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

tired, exhausted: When I last saw Tindell he was so weak he could hardly lift his brandy glass. 3 unassertive, retiring, namby-pamby, spineless, irresolute, impotent, ineffectual, ineffective, incompetent, feckless, inept, wishy-washy, timid, meek, craven, timorous, cowardly, pusillanimous, lily-livered, chicken-hearted, Colloq chicken, yellow: We know which is the weaker partner in that marriage, don't we? 4 feeble, lame, half-baked, poor, miserable, unconvincing, unpersuasive, empty, shallow, flimsy, hollow, pathetic, pitiful, unbelievable,

untenable: Edward made some weak excuse for being late. I found Mona's argument against birth control very weak indeed. 5 weak-minded, dim-witted, dull-witted, slow-witted, foolish, feeble-minded, simple, simple-minded, soft-headed, stupid, dull, moronic, imbecilic, Colloq dumb: They seek out people of weaker intelligence and make fools of them. 6 faint, dim, poor, dull,

pale, faded, indistinct, vague, hazy, imperceptible, indiscernible, unclear, blurred, blurry, muzzy, wavering, faltering, ill-defined, feeble, flickering, subdued: I could hardly see her face in the weak light of the candle. 7 feeble, subdued, low, soft, hushed, muffled, muted, almost inaudible, stifled, indistinct: When the victim finally spoke, his voice was very weak. 8 See watery, 1, above. 9 weak point. See weakness, 3, below.

weaken v. 1 debilitate, enfeeble, enervate, emasculate, mitigate, moderate, dilute, deplete, diminish, lessen, depress, lower, reduce, sap, undermine, exhaust, impoverish: The continuous torture helped to weaken Errol's resolve. 2 fade, dwindle, tire, droop, sag, fail, give way, crumble, flag: My determination weakened when I saw what had happened to the children. 3 give in, relent, acquiesce, give way, yield, accede, consent, agree, assent, soften, bend, ease up, let up, ease off,

relax: If you ask very politely, she might weaken and allow you to go out and play. 4 water (down), dilute, thin (out): Adding

the water so weakened the soup that it tasted like dishwater.

weakling n. milksop, baby, mollycoddle, lightweight, namby-pamby, US and Canadian milquetoast, Colloq sissy or Brit also cissy, loser,

cream puff, jellyfish, pushover, softie or softy, Slang wimp, twerp or twirp, US weak sister, schnook, schlemiel or schlemihl or shlemiel: If you count on a weakling like Geoffrey, nothing will ever get done.

weakness n. 1 feebleness, frailty, fragility, delicacy, delicateness, vulnerability, infirmity, decrepitude: They discovered a weakness in the structure of the bridge, so it had to be closed. 2 incapacity, irresolution, irresoluteness, impotence,

powerlessness, puniness: He is ashamed of his weakness in being unable to stop smoking. 3 weak point, foible, failing, fault, shortcoming, flaw, Achilles' heel, defect, imperfection,

liability: Her one great weakness is her inability to deny her children anything. 4 soft spot, fondness, affection, liking, preference, bent, leaning, inclination, fancy, penchant, predilection, proneness, proclivity, predisposition, partiality, appreciation, appetite, sweet tooth, taste, eye: The two of them share a weakness for good food and wine.

wealth n. 1 affluence, riches, money, opulence, prosperity, property, holdings, capital, assets, wherewithal, cash: Most of their wealth comes from illicit trade in diamonds. 2 profusion, abundance, bounty, plenteousness, bounteousness, copiousness, mine, plenitude, fullness, store, cornucopia, richness: Janet

has a wealth of ideas for situation-comedy plots.

wealthy adj. rich, affluent, well off, prosperous, well-to-do, opulent, comfortable, moneyed, Colloq in the money, on Easy Street,

After years of use, the paint has worn off. 4 Often, wear well. last, endure, survive, hold up, bear up, stand up: I wrote to

the makers telling them the shoes have worn well. 5 drag, pass slowly, creep by or along, go by gradually or tediously: The hours wore on as I waited for the test results. 6 Often, wear out. tire, fatigue, exhaust, debilitate, weary, enervate, drain,

burden: You must be worn out from carrying those heavy books. 7 bore, exasperate, harass, vex, annoy, irritate, tax, strain:

I find it wearing to listen to that music all day long.

--n. 8 wearing, use, utilization; attire, garb, clothing, clothes, apparel, dress, gear: Did you get much wear out of your new hat? Suzanne is modelling a silver lam‚ dress for

evening wear. 9 wear and tear, attrition, deterioration, damage, fraying, chafing, abrasion, erosion, corrosion, friction: As

the engine ages, heavier oil is needed to offset the normal wear.

weary adj. 1 tired, fatigued, exhausted, worn out, drained, spent, Colloq all in, ready to drop, fagged (out), done in, dead (on (one's) feet), frazzled, dead beat, dog-tired, Brit knocked up,

US knocked out, Slang Brit whacked, knackered, US pooped, zonked (out), shot: He is so weary after work that he can scarcely eat

his dinner. 2 boring, irksome, irritating, tedious, vexing, annoying, exasperating, burdensome, wearying, tiring, fatiguing,

draining, taxing, wearisome: We walked many a weary mile before reaching the oasis. 3 bored, impatient, jaded, blas‚, Colloq

fed up, sick and tired, Taboo slang browned off: I wish he would wipe that weary expression off his smug face.

--v. 4 Often, weary of. tire (of), be or become bored (with or by) or impatient (with) or jaded (with or by), Colloq be or become fed up (with) or sick and tired (of): I soon wearied of her nagging. 5 exhaust, enervate, fatigue, tire, debilitate, drain, tax, wear or tire out: The long trek across country had wearied us all.

weather n. 1 (meteorological) condition(s), climate: The weather suddenly changed, and we arrived home cold and wet. 2 under the weather. ailing, ill, sickly, unwell, indisposed, out of sorts,

sick, Colloq poorly, seedy: I didn't go sailing because I was feeling a bit under the weather.

--v. 3 stand, survive, suffer, bear up against, endure, withstand, rise above, ride out, live through, brave: Gemma didn't think she could weather much more sarcasm from the critics.

weave v. 1 loom; braid, plait, entwine, intertwine, interlace, interweave, knit (together): These fabrics were woven by hand. Weave these leather strands together to make a belt. 2 blend, combine, fuse, merge, unite, intermingle, mesh, splice, dovetail, join: The threads of their lives are inextricably woven together. 3 construct, make, contrive, build, create, fabricate, compose, spin, design: Oh, what a tangled web we weave When first we practise to deceive! 4 zigzag, criss-cross,

wend or make (one's) way, dodge, bob and weave, shift: Look at that motor cyclist weaving in and out of the traffic! 5 get weaving. get started, get a move on, hurry (up), start, Colloq shake a leg, Brit get or pull (one's) finger out, Chiefly US get

a wiggle on: If you're going to get to work on time, you'd best get weaving.

wive; Colloq tie the knot, get hitched, get spliced: They were wed on the fourth of July, 1921. That was when Harry wed Annabel. 2 combine, unite, ally, marry, blend, merge, join, mingle, intermingle, commingle, coalesce, mix, intermix, amalgamate, compound, alloy, fuse, homogenize: As a chef, he is extremely fortunate to be able to wed business to pleasure.

confarreation: Our son's wedding was attended by members of the royal family. 2 combining, combination, uniting, union,

joining, juncture, blending, blend, allying, alliance, associating, association, marrying, marriage, merging, merger,