Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

n. 1 Often, circumstances. situation, condition(s), state (of affairs); status, station, resources, income, finances: In the circumstances, all leave is cancelled. Each person will be helped according to the individual circumstance. 2 event, incident, episode, occurrence, affair, happening, occasion: Any unforeseen circumstance could set off a shooting war.

circumstantial

adj. 1 indirect, presumptive, evidential or evidentiary, interpretive, deduced, presumed, presumptive, presumable, implicative, implied, inferred, inferential: Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a gun in the suspect's house. 2 accidental, incidental, hearsay, indirect, unimportant, adventitious, provisional, secondary, unessential, non-essential, fortuitous, chance, extraneous: Such circumstantial trivia have no bearing on the case. 3 detailed, particular, precise, explicit, specific: We cannot believe that he invented so circumstantial a narrative.

citizen n. 1 voter; native; householder, resident, inhabitant, denizen,

civility n. courtesy, politeness, respect, comity, urbanity, amiability, consideration, courteousness, cordiality, propriety, tact, diplomacy, politesse, protocol: Despite his rude behaviour at her dinner-party, she treats him with great civility.

feud of long standing between the two clans, which culminated in the massacre of Glencoe. 2 fraternity, brotherhood, party, set, clique, coterie, circle, crowd, group, fellowship, society,

faction, family, tribe; band, ring, gang: He regards social scientists as a clan quite separate from other scientists.

clap v. 1 applaud; cheer, acclaim: Everyone clapped when the boxer climbed into the ring. 2 slap, strike, pat: He clapped me on

the shoulder in the friendliest way. 3 put, place, slap, fling, toss, cast , Colloq stick: He had no sooner set foot in the town when he was clapped in jail. 4 impose, lay, apply: The magistrate clapped a severe fine on me for speeding.

--n. 5 crack, slap, report, crash, bang, snap: There was a loud clap of thunder, making the house shake.

2 clear, purify, clean: The trout should be lightly basted with clarified butter.

clarity n. 1 clearness, transparency, limpidity, pellucidity: The clarity of the sea in the tropics is owing to a lack of plankton. 2 lucidity, definition, definiteness, distinctness; comprehensibility, understandability, intelligibility, unambiguousness: One cannot argue with the clarity of her explanation of Hegelianism.

clash n. 1 crash, clang, clank, clangour: The concerto ends with a clash of cymbals. 2 collision, smash, (hostile) encounter, conflict, engagement, fight, battle, disagreement, difference, argument, dispute, altercation, quarrel, squabble: He has witnessed many a clash between the prime minister and parliament.

--v. 3 conflict, fight, battle, disagree, differ, argue,

dispute, quarrel, squabble, feud, wrangle, cross swords: My brother and I always clash on the question of who should pay our father's hospital bills. 4 conflict, disharmonize, jar, be at

odds or out of keeping: The pink of the blouse and the fuchsia

clean adj. 1 pure, undefiled, unsullied, unmixed, unadulterated, uncontaminated, unpolluted, uninfected, unspoiled or unspoilt, sanitary, disinfected; antiseptic, decontaminated, purified, sterile: The laboratory reports that our well water is absolutely clean. You must use a clean bandage. 2 unsoiled, untainted, unstained; unsullied; cleansed, cleanly, (freshly)

laundered or washed, scrubbed; spotless, immaculate: She puts on clean underwear every day in case she's involved in an accident. 3 clean-cut, neat, simple, definite, uncomplicated, smooth, even, straight, trim, tidy: The edges of the fracture are clean and will mend quickly. 4 innocent, blameless, inoffensive, respectable; decent, chaste, pure, honourable, good, undefiled, virtuous, moral: The suspect was completely clean - he was out of town at the time of the robbery. 5

non-radioactive: They say they've produced a clean bomb, but I don't believe it. 6 unarmed, weaponless: Frisk that suspect

and make sure he's clean.

--adv. 7 completely, entirely, thoroughly, fully, totally, wholly, altogether, quite, utterly, absolutely: Geoff's clean out of his mind if he believes that. With one blow he cut the

orange clean through. 8 come clean. confess, acknowledge, make a clean breast, admit, make a revelation, reveal, Colloq own up, spill the beans; US dialect fess up; Slang sing: In the end he

saw that he was trapped and decided to come clean.

--v. 9 cleanse, wash, lave, (take a) shower, sponge, mop, scrub, scour, sweep, dust, vacuum, polish, launder, dry-clean, Brit hoover; tidy, neaten, do up, straighten up or out,

unclutter; Brit bath; US and Canadian bathe: When we cleaned the urn, we could read the inscription. I have told Richard a thousand times to clean his room. 10 clean out. a exhaust, deplete: The gambler cleaned her out of every penny she had in the world. b empty, leave bare, clear out, evacuate: We must clean out the larder before it can be painted. 11 clean up. a clean, cleanse, wash, (take a) shower, Brit bath; US take a

bath, bathe, wash up: Clean up, please, dinner is almost ready. It took us a week to clean up the stables. b purge, purify, disinfect, depollute, decontaminate, clear, sanitize: The council has led the way towards cleaning up the wetlands of chemical waste.

clear day, you can see the lighthouse several miles away. 2 transparent, limpid, crystalline; translucent, uncloudy, unclouded, pellucid: The water was clear enough to see the bottom. 3 bright, lustrous, shining, shiny, sparkling, Formal nitid: We painted the bathroom a lovely clear blue. 4 bright, fresh, unblemished, unscarred: She has a lovely clear complexion. 5 distinct, sharp, well-defined, definite; legible, readable; acute, vivid: The notes were written in a large clear hand. 6 understandable, intelligible, perspicuous, lucid, comprehensible, apprehensible, discernible, plain, obvious, unambiguous, unequivocal, explicit, definite, unmistakable, indisputable, undisputed, unquestionable, incontrovertible: He has made himself very clear on that point. 7 distinct, unclouded, unconfused, explicit, plain, definite, clear-cut, palpable: I have a clear recollection of her words. 8 evident, plain, obvious, patent, manifest, apparent: It became clear

that someone was trying to compromise her. 9 perceptive, acute, sensitive, perspicacious, discerning, keen: It was only his

clear vision of the situation that saved us all. 10 certain, sure, convinced, confident, positive, determined, definite, assured: I am not clear that the subject was a good one. 11 pure, unwavering, well-defined, distinct, clarion, bell-like: We heard father's clear voice calling from below. 12 pure, guileless, unsophisticated, innocent, blameless, faultless; not

guilty: I still cannot look her in the eye with a clear conscience. 13 unencumbered, free, net: In our first year we made a clear profit of 25 per cent. 14 unlimited, unqualified, unquestioned, unquestionable, absolute, complete, entire; pure, sheer, perfect: You must allow three clear days for the ascent. 15 disengaged, disentangled, unentangled, free, freed, rid, quit, loose, unencumbered, released: When the line is clear of any obstruction, hoist sail and let's be off. 16 open,

unencumbered, free, unblocked, unobstructed, unimpeded, direct: There is a clear view of the park from here.

--adv. 17 brightly, effulgently, radiantly, luminously, lambently: The stars were shining clear in the night sky. 18 distinctly, clearly, starkly, perceptibly, discernibly, understandably, prominently: When you see the reef, sing out loud and clear. 19 completely, utterly, entirely, cleanly, clean, wholly, totally: The thief got clear away in the confusion.

--v. 20 clarify, cleanse, clean, purify: The chemical soon cleared the water of all sediment. 21 exonerate, absolve, acquit; excuse, forgive: He has been cleared of all charges and released. 22 Also, clear up. explain, elucidate, explicate, clarify, make plain or clear, disambiguate: We should be able to clear up the mystery by this evening. 23 Also, clear up. become fair or cloudless or sunny: I hope the weather clears in time for the game. 24 open (up), free; unblock, unclog, unstop;

disencumber, dislodge: We were able to clear a path through the jungle. He cleared his throat and began to speak. 25 empty: Clear the land of trees before farming it. 26 Also, clear away

or out. remove, eliminate, take; cut away or down: Clear those branches from the paths. 27 disburden, unburden, purge, free, rid: He has cleared his conscience of any responsibility in the matter. 28 leap or jump over, vault: She cleared the fence easily. 29 Also, clear up. settle, discharge, pay, square, defray, satisfy: The company has cleared all its debts. 30 clear off or out. leave, depart, decamp, go or run off, get out, withdraw, Slang beat it, scram, Taboo Brit sod off, Chiefly Australian shoot through, US and Canadian take a (run-out) powder: I told them to clear off and stop bothering me. 31 clear up. a eliminate, remove, settle; clarify: I hope we can clear up any misunderstanding between us. b tidy (up), neaten (up), put or set in order, clear: I'll clear up after dinner.

--n. 32 in the clear. innocent, not guilty; exonerated,

forgiven, absolved; unburdened, disburdened, unencumbered, free: The other chap confessed, leaving me in the clear.

clearance n. 1 space, gap, hole, interval, separation, room, margin, leeway, allowance: You must allow a clearance of 2 millimetres. 2 approval, endorsement, authorization, consent; licence, leave, permission: He cannot get security clearance with his prison record.

clearly adv. 1 distinctly; starkly, plainly: With spectacles, I can see everything more clearly. 2 evidently, apparently, manifestly, obviously, certainly, definitely, positively, unequivocally, unquestionably, incontestably, without doubt, undoubtedly, indubitably, demonstrably, absolutely, utterly: His statement is clearly untrue. 3 audibly, distinctly, understandably: I wish she would speak more clearly.

cleave v. split, divide, cut, cut or chop or hew in two or asunder, bisect, halve, separate, slit, rive: With a mighty blow the log was cleaved cleanly in two.

clergyman n. 1 ecclesiastic, churchman, cleric, reverend, divine, man of the cloth, holy man, priest, minister, chaplain, father, rabbi, pastor, parson, rector, vicar, dean, canon, presbyter,

prebendary or prebend, deacon, sexton, sacristan, guru, ayatollah, imam: In his black frock coat he looked like a clergyman. 2 monk, friar, brother, monastic, religious: A clergyman was responsible for his religious education. 3 preacher, gospeller, evangelist, revivalist, missionary, sermonizer: She was moved by the clergyman's sermon.

clerical adj. 1 ecclesiastical, churchly, pastoral, sacerdotal, priestly, hieratic, rabbinical, ministerial, monastic, apostolic, prelatic, papal, pontifical, episcopal, canonical:

He was wearing his clerical vestments. 2 white-collar, office, professional, secretarial, stenographic, accounting, bookkeeping: He runs the shop and his wife has the clerical responsibilities.

clever adj. 1 skilled, talented, skilful, adroit, dexterous, gifted, agile, quick-witted, intelligent, perceptive, discerning, sharp,

clientele n. clients, patrons, customers; custom, business, trade, patronage, following: What sort of clientele do you expect to attract?

cliff n. precipice, bluff, escarpment, scarp, crag, rock-face,

cuesta, scar or Scots scaur: The commandos are trained to scale a 100-foot cliff.

climate n. 1 weather, Literary clime: We are retiring to the Maldives because we like a sunny climate. 2 atmosphere, ambience or ambiance, air; feeling, mood, aura, milieu, feel: In the

present climate of opinion, we'd best delay introducing the bill.

climax n. 1 culmination, height, acme, apex, summit, zenith, apogee, peak, high point, maximum, supreme moment: The war reached its climax at the battle of Arbela. 2 turning-point, crisis,

crossroads: The climax of the play occurs in the third act. 3 orgasm: She told her psychiatrist that she had never reached a climax with her husband.

--v. 4 culminate, peak, crest, come to a head: The week's events climaxed with the presentation of the gold medal.

climb v. 1 Also, climb up. mount, ascend, go up, scale, shin (up), clamber up, US shinny (up): In one of the games we had to climb

a greased pole. Two Japanese teams have climbed Mount Everest. 2 creep, trail, twine; grow: The ivy has climbed all over the

garden wall. 3 rise, arise, ascend, go up, mount; advance: Watch the smoke climb into the sky. 4 climb along. creep, edge, clamber, crawl, inch: The cat burglar climbed along the ledge till he reached the window. 5 climb down. a descend, go down: We shall need a rope to climb down from here. b Usually, climb down from. retreat (from), withdraw (from), back away (from), give up, abandon, renounce: He has climbed down from his earlier position regarding women in the priesthood.

--n. 6 grade, incline, route, pitch; ascent; descent: It was a steep climb to Camp Four.

clinch v. 1 secure, settle, confirm, determine, conclude, dispose of, complete, wind up, finalize Colloq sew up: He clinched the argument by resigning.

--n. 2 close quarters, hug, clasp, embrace; cuddle: The boxers went into a clinch to regain their breath.

clincher n. finishing touch, pay-off, punch-line, coup de grƒce, final or crowning blow: The point about saving costs proved to be a clincher, and we were given the go-ahead.