Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

(mental) breakdown, prostration, Colloq crack-up: He suffered a mental collapse when his family was killed in a car crash.

colleague n. team-mate, fellow-worker, co-worker; associate, comrade, ally, confrŠre, mate, consociate, Chiefly Brit and Australian mate, US buddy: I have asked some of my colleagues from the office to join us for dinner.

collect v. 1 gather (together), get or bring or come or together, amass, accumulate, assemble, compile, pile up, heap up, rack up; convene, congregate, converge, rally, meet: A crowd had collected outside the mayor's home. They were collecting evidence for their case. 2 summon (up), draw (up), muster, gather (up), concentrate: She collected all her courage to ask

for an increase in salary.

collected adj. calm, serene, controlled, cool, sedate, composed, nonchalant, poised, unruffled, unperturbed, at ease, comfortable, tranquil, unexcited; imperturbable; confident: Considering what she's just gone through, Tanya seems quite collected.

collection

n. 1 collecting, gathering, solicitation, garnering, gleaning, accumulation, amassment, aggregation, Colloq Brit whip-round: The collection of donations in this neighbourhood is going well. 2 accumulation, hoard, store, assemblage, omnium gatherum; anthology, chrestomathy: Would you like to come up to see my collection of etchings? They have published some very interesting collections.

collector n. gatherer, accumulator; connoisseur, art-lover: The rent collector is coming tomorrow. We are collectors of paintings by unknown artists.

collide v. 1 crash, strike or dash together: The cars collided at the bridge. 2 collide with. crash into, smash into, run into, bump into, smack into: The car collided with the bus at the crossing.

collision n. smash-up, smash, crash, wreck, pile-up, Colloq Brit prang; US crack-up: There has been a major collision on the Tring road.

colossal adj. 1 huge, vast, enormous, gigantic, giant, mammoth, massive, gargantuan, Cyclopean, Brobdingnagian, immense, monumental, titanic, Herculean, elephantine, jumbo: Mystery surrounds the exact methods used in moving the colossal stones used in the pyramids. 2 spectacular, stupendous, wonderful, awe-inspiring, staggering, extraordinary, incredible, overwhelming,

unbelievable: The old Hollywood extravaganzas were described by press agents as 'colossal'. I think you have made a colossal

mistake in failing to hire Cynthia.

colour n. 1 hue, tint, tincture, shade, tone, cast, tinge, pigmentation; pigment, dye: The colours of the curtains don't match the wall. 2 colours. a flag, ensign, standard, pennant, banner, burgee: The sloop hoisted the British colours. b device, badge, emblem, insigne or pl insignia, symbol(s), identification; identity, appearance, face; loyalties: The investigators found he'd been operating under false colours. She has shown her true colours at last.

--v. 3 tint, dye, stain, paint, crayon, tincture, tinge; pigment: These sections will stand out better if you colour them red. 4 influence, affect, distort, falsify, taint, warp, twist, slant, pervert, bias: Jealousy colours his opinion of his supervisor. 5 blush, redden, flush: After their affair, she visibly coloured whenever they met. 6 falsify, distort,

misrepresent, disguise, mask, conceal: He feigns confusion when he wishes to colour his true feelings.

colourless

adj. 1 pale, pallid, blanched, white; wan, ashen, sallow, waxen, sickly, washed out: You could see from his colourless complexion that he had not been outside for months. 2 dull, drab, uninteresting, vacuous, vapid, lifeless, boring, tedious, spiritless, dry, dry-as-dust, dreary, characterless, insipid, bland, namby-pamby, lacklustre, uninspiring, uninspired: She has led a colourless life. Few people have so colourless a personality as he.

combat n. 1 fight, encounter, engagement, duel, battle, conflict, war, warfare; skirmish: The two men were locked in single combat. 2 struggle, contest, strife, controversy, dispute, quarrel, disagreement, altercation, vendetta, feud: There was endless

combat between father and son. 3 opposition, difference, confrontation: The combat between good and evil can never end. 4 action, fighting, battle, war: He was in combat on three occasions. Have you seen any combat?

--v. 5 fight, (do) battle, war, clash, contend, duel, joust, wrestle, come to blows, spar, grapple (with): The soldiers are combating hand to hand in the trenches. 6 fight, struggle or strive against, contest, oppose, defy, enter the lists against,

withstand: There was broad support for measures to combat crime and pollution.

combination

n. 1 union, conjunction, mixture, mix, grouping, set, array:

They always serve the same combination of foods. 2 association, alliance, coalition, union, federation, confederation, combine, syndication, syndicate, consortium, trust, bloc, cartel, party, society, organization, league, cabal, conspiracy, clique;

claque: When they get together they form an unbeatable combination. 3 mixture, amalgam, compound, compounding, mix, alloy, conglomerate, conglomeration, aggregate, aggregation, amalgamation, blend, emulsion, suspension, colloid, solution, composition, Technical parasynthesis, parathesis; mosaic, patchwork: From a combination of ingredients the witch made a slimy love potion. A combination of every colour of the rainbow covered the walls.

combine v. 1 unite, unify, join, connect, relate, link, conjoin, band, ally, associate, integrate, merge, pool: Combine forces, and

imagine how this state of affairs came about. b Nautical tack, go about: After the marker, come about and hoist the spinnaker. 5 come across. a find, discover, encounter, meet (up or up with), run across or into, happen or chance upon or on, hit or light on or upon, stumble upon or on, Colloq bump into: I came across some information about Charles. b pay (up), settle;

yield, give up, submit: Frank owes me money but refuses to come across. c be communicated or understandable, penetrate, sink

in: I am not sure that my points came across. 6 come along. fare, do, progress, move along: How is William coming along at his new school? 7 come apart. disintegrate, crumble, fall or

fly to pieces, separate, break (apart or up or down): The carburettor came apart in my hands. 8 come at. attack, assault, charge, rush (at), fly at, descend upon or on, Colloq go or make for: She came at me waving her umbrella. 9 come by. a acquire, obtain, get, procure, secure, find, take or get possession of, get or lay hold of, get or lay or put (one's)

hands or US also fingers on; be given: The tax inspector wondered how she came by such valuable property. b win, earn, attain; be awarded: I came by that trophy fair and square. 10 come clean. See clean, 8, above. 11 come down on or upon. pounce on or upon, rebuke, criticize, revile, reprimand, bear down on, blame: Mother really came down on us when she

discovered who had taken the pie. 12 come down with. succumb to, contract, catch, be stricken or afflicted with, acquire: He's

come down with pneumonia. 13 come in. a win, succeed; Colloq finish (in the money): My horse came in. b be, prove, turn out or prove to be: Knowing someone on the council can come in handy. c finish, end up, arrive: Donald came in first in the backstroke. d enter: Don't come in, I'm dressing. 14 come

off. a occur, happen, come to pass, take place , Loosely transpire: I doubt that the performance will ever come off. b emerge, result as: We came off the winners in Saturday's game. 15 come out. a be revealed, become public or known or common knowledge, get about or around, get or leak out, emerge: The story has come out that he tried to bribe the inspector. b be published or issued or produced or distributed, be shown, be in print, premiŠre: The new edition of the dictionary has just

come out. c end, conclude, turn out, terminate, finish: How did the chess match come out? 16 come over. a go over,

communicate, come across, be communicated, succeed, be received: How did my speech come over? b affect, influence, possess: I can't imagine what's come over Louis. c visit, drop or stop by

or in: Quentin and his wife came over for dinner last night.

17 come through. a recover (from), recuperate (from), get well or better: He came through his operation with flying colours. b conclude or end (up) or finish or wind up successfully or satisfactorily, succeed, arrive, not fail or disappoint: I knew he'd come through. 18 come to. a amount to, add up to, total, aggregate: My bill came to more than I had with me. b regain or recover consciousness, awake(n), revive, wake up, come (a)round: When I came to, I was on the floor with a terrific headache. c regard, concern, relate to, be a question of, involve, be relevant to, be involved: When it comes to real ale, Mario is the expert. 19 come up. a arise, surface,

present itself, be brought up, be broached, come about, turn up, rise, Colloq crop up: The question of religion never came up. b grow, thrive, appear: None of my tulips came up this year. c rise, arise: The moon came up just as the sun was setting.

comedian n. humorist, comic, wit, wag, jokesmith; clown, buffoon, funny man, funster, jester, fool, zany, merry andrew: The new

comedian at the variety show is very funny.

hearten, cheer, gladden: It might comfort you to know that Roderick has recovered completely. He comforted her when the pain became unbearable.

--n. 2 consolation, solace, relief, cheer: I derived some comfort from knowing that my attacker had been caught. 3 ease, luxury, security, abundance, plenty, opulence: Cordelia lived out her days in comfort after inheriting a fortune from her

aunt.

comfortable

adj. 1 at ease, easy, tranquil, serene, relaxed, contented, untroubled, undisturbed: After the operation, the nurses did

everything they could to make me comfortable. 2 well off, carefree, insouciant, contented, satisfied; self-satisfied, complacent, smug: They don't have a lot of money, but they're comfortable enough. 3 likeable, easy, congenial, amiable, cordial, warm, pleasant, agreeable, enjoyable, relaxing: Daphne is a very comfortable sort of person to be with. 4 suitable, acceptable, adequate, satisfactory, reasonable: The radio was

on very loud, so I turned down the volume to a more comfortable level.

comic adj. 1 funny, droll, comical, humorous, hilarious, side-splitting, mirthful, jocose, jocular, witty, waggish, clever, facetious, amusing: Barry's comic routines have made him a popular performer for years.

--n. 2 See comedian.

command v. 1 order, direct, bid, enjoin, charge, request, require, demand, instruct; say, prescribe, decree: What the Queen commands must be done. 2 control, dominate, have or maintain or wield authority or control or sway or influence over, hold sway over; lead, rule, govern, have under one's thumb, call the tune; head (up): Whoever commands the sea commands the town. He commanded a battalion during the war. 3 master, draw upon or on, control, summon: The work required all the skill the sculptor could command. 4 attract, earn; exact, compel, demand: Gunga Din's bravery commanded the respect of the entire regiment. 5 dominate, control, overlook, look down on; have, enjoy, possess: The tower commands a view of the entire valley.

--n. 6 order, direction, behest, mandate, charge, bidding, instruction: Your wish is my command. 7 control, authority, power, sovereignty, dominion, regulation, direction, management, government, oversight, leadership, charge, sway, stewardship, jurisdiction: The unit is under the command of the colonel. 8 mastery, control, (thorough) grasp or knowledge: He has a good command of three languages.

commemorate

v. memorialize, remember, celebrate, observe, dedicate, consecrate, solemnize, sanctify, hallow, reverence, revere, honour, venerate, pay tribute or homage to, salute; immortalize: We are here to commemorate deeds of valour and the men who

performed them.

commence v. 1 begin, enter upon, start, initiate, launch, embark on or upon: Tomorrow morning, we commence the ascent of Mont Blanc. 2 begin, start, open: The ceremonies are about to commence. 3 begin, start, initiate, launch, inaugurate, establish: We

commenced operations at this plant last year.

comment n. 1 remark, reference, animadversion, note, annotation, criticism, exposition, explanation, expansion, elucidation, clarification, footnote: The author's comments on his sources appear in the appendix. 2 commentary, opinion, remark, view, observation, reaction: The judge's comments are not for publication.

--v. 3 remark, observe, opine, say: He commented that he knew nothing about the minister's private life. 4 comment on or

about. discuss, talk about, remark on; reveal, expose: She declined to comment on what had happened the previous night.

commerce n. trade, business, mercantilism, marketing, merchandising, traffic, trafficking: All commerce consists in the exchange of commodities of equal value. My husband is in commerce.

commit v. 1 entrust, consign, transfer, assign, delegate, hand over, deliver, give; allot, pledge, allocate: They committed the goods to traders with strong distribution facilities. 2 sentence, send (away), confine, shut up, intern, put away,

imprison, incarcerate: The judge committed her to prison. You can be committed for such behaviour. 3 perpetrate, do, perform, carry out: They committed murder for money. 4 commit oneself. pledge, promise, covenant, agree, assure, swear, give one's

word, vow, vouchsafe, engage, undertake, guarantee, bind oneself: He committed himself to buying the company after seeing the books.

committee n. council, board, cabinet, panel, body, commission: They have set up a committee to oversee park planning.

common adj. 1 ordinary, everyday, commonplace, prosaic, usual, familiar, customary, prevalent, frequent, run-of-the-mill, general, normal, standard, conventional, regular, routine, stock, average, proverbial; plain, simple, garden-variety,

common or garden, workaday, undistinguished, unexceptional: Intermarriage is a common occurrence among the members of the sect. We planted a common variety of carrot. 2 mutual, reciprocal, joint, shared: Our common heritage must be protected. 3 low-class, ordinary, plain, simple, plebeian, bourgeois, proletarian, run-of-the-mill, vulgar, unrefined:

Kings avoid dealing with the common people. 4 inferior, low-grade, mean, cheap, base: He was smoking a cigar of the commonest type. 5 public, general, community, communal, collective, non-private, universal; well-known: The contents of the library are the common property of everyone. Their romance is common knowledge in the village. 6 trite, stale, hackneyed, worn out, banal, tired, overused, stereotyped, clich‚d, stereotypical: The term 'yuppie' has become too common to have much impact any longer.

communicate

v. 1 make known, impart, confer, transmit, transfer, hand on or down, share, pass on or along, send on, spread; tell, divulge, disclose, reveal, announce, transmit, promulgate, proffer, tender, offer, convey, deliver, present, give, yield, supply: Moral qualities are sometimes thought to be communicated by descent. I communicated to them the information that I had about the missiles. 2 Also, communicate with. be in communication (with), converse (with), talk (with), chat (with); correspond (with); associate (with), be in contact or touch (with), reach: Donald and I haven't communicated in years. Instead of communicating with him by telephone, she did so via personal notices in the newspaper. 3 get or put across, make understandable; get through to, reach, be of one mind, be in tune, relate, be in or en rapport, make oneself understood ,

Slang be or vibrate on the same frequency or wavelength: He has difficulty in communicating his ideas to his students. We might talk, but are we communicating?

compact adj. 1 packed, compacted, closely-knit, condensed, concentrated, consolidated, compressed; dense, solid, firm, thick: The sesame seeds are mixed with honey and pressed into a compact block. 2 tight, small, snug, little: The table folds up into a compact unit for storage. 3 condensed, terse, laconic, close, pithy, succinct, concise, brief, compendious, laconic, epigrammatic, aphoristic: The information is given in a compact form with many abbreviations and symbols.

companion n. 1 fellow, associate, comrade, colleague, confrŠre, Colloq chiefly Brit and Australian mate, US and Canadian buddy: For ten years they had been constant companions. 2 vade-mecum, manual, handbook, guide, reference book, enchiridion: They publish a pocket companion listing the month's events. 3

escort, chaperon(e), attendant, (in Spain, Portugal) duenna: Aunt Dinah is too old to be alone, so we have engaged a companion for her.

companionship

n. fellowship, camaraderie, comradeship, company, society, amity, friendship, fraternity: I often enjoy the companionship of an older person.

company n. 1 companionship, society, fellowship; attendance, presence; associates, friends, companions, comrades: It was a stormy

night, and I was only too glad to have his company. A man is known by the company he keeps. 2 assemblage, party, band, group, retinue, entourage, suite, train, coterie, ensemble, troop,

followers, following, flock; circle, assembly, gathering, convention, body, crowd, throng, Theatre troupe, cast, players, actors, performers: The king arrived with his company at the gate of the city. The speaker addressed the assembled company. The company leaves today for a month on the road. 3 guest(s); visitor(s), caller(s): Are you having company for dinner tonight? 4 firm, business, house, concern, institution, establishment, enterprise; proprietorship, partnership, corporation, Brit public limited company, plc, Australian and

New Zealand and South African private limited company, Pty: The company was founded in 1867.

compare v. 1 liken, associate, make (an) analogy (with), refer, analogize: How can you compare your collection to mine? 2 compare with. resemble, be or look like, be on a par with, be in a class or the same class with, correspond, match, parallel, approach, approximate, bear or merit comparison (with); rival,

compete with or against, be a match for: Your paintings compare well with Picasso's. The new recordings don't begin to compare with the old ones. 3 contrast, measure against, weigh,

juxtapose, set side by side, relate, correlate: We need to compare the results of the two surveys.