Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms
.pdftranquil: I like staying here for the homely atmosphere. 3 ugly, plain, uncomely, unattractive, unlovely, ill-favoured:
Peggy-Jo's rather homely face is redeemed by her good-humoured nature.
homesick adj. nostalgic, longing, pining, lonely, lonesome; wistful, reminiscent: I was homesick for the smell and taste of a good haggis.
homespun adj. rustic, plain, simple, unrefined, unpolished, unsophisticated, down-to-earth, coarse, rough, rude, crude, inelegant, amateur, amateurish, non-professional, unprofessional; handmade: The furniture is not of museum quality, but it has a homespun quality.
homicidal adj. murderous, lethal, deadly, death-dealing, mortal, blood-thirsty, sanguinary, ferocious, maniacal, berserk, amok or amuck, mad, insane: The doctors say he is homicidal and should be institutionalized.
homogeneous
adj. uniform, consistent, unvarying, identical, constant; similar, comparable, alike, akin: The rock is ground up to make homogeneous powder.
homosexual
n. 1 gay, homophile; lesbian, tribade, sapphist; All the following are offensive and derogatory pervert, invert, Slang queer, fairy, pansy, nancy, nance, queen, drag queen, homo; butch, (bull) dyke; Brit poof, poofter, ginger (beer), US fruit, auntie, fag, faggot: We suspected that he was a closet homosexual.
--adj. 2 (of either sex) gay, homoerotic, homophile; (of a female) lesbian, tribadic, sapphic; (of a male) effeminate; All the following are offensive and derogatory perverted, inverted, Colloq chiefly Brit bent, Slang queer, camp, campy, faggy, kinky, Chiefly US fruity, limp-wristed, faggy, swish, swishy: We never knew of her homosexual tendencies.
honest adj. 1 trustworthy, truthful, veracious, trusty, honourable, creditable, decent, law-abiding, uncorrupted, uncorrupt, incorruptible, ethical, moral, virtuous, principled, upright,
high-minded, dependable, reliable, reputable, on the up and up: How often does one meet an honest person in politics? 2 above-board, straight, square, square-dealing, fair, just, on
the up and up, straightforward, proper, genuine, bona fide, real, authentic, Colloq on the level, US square-shooting: I write because I cannot earn an honest living. Would Felix give me an honest deal on a used car? 3 candid, frank, open, plain, straightforward, forthright, direct, sincere, ingenuous, explicit, uninhibited, unreserved, unrestrained, unconstrained,
above-board, plain-spoken, unambiguous, unequivocal, Colloq upfront: To be completely honest, I cannot stand the sight of you. 4 fair, just, equitable, legitimate, valid, rightful,
sound, proper: He gets an honest day's pay for an honest day's work.
honestly adv. 1 truthfully, honourably, creditably, decently, ethically, morally, uprightly, dependably, reliably, in good faith, justly, fairly, equitably, even-handedly, disinterestedly, objectively, impartially: In general, the police deal honestly with
suspects. 2 candidly, frankly, openly, straightforwardly, forthrightly, sincerely, truly, ingenuously, unreservedly, above-board, unambiguously, unequivocally, plainly, simply, straight (out), to one's face, in plain words or English, bluntly: I tell you honestly that I have never heard of the man.
honesty n. 1 trustworthiness, uprightness, rectitude, probity, integrity, virtue, virtuousness, honour: As he will deal with large amounts of money, his honesty cannot be in question. 2 truthfulness, veracity, candour, openness, frankness, forthrightness, directness, straightforwardness, outspokenness, sincerity, guilelessness, ingenuousness, bluntness: You might not like what he says, but you have to admire his honesty. 3 fairness, equity, equitableness, even-handedness, objectivity, impartiality, disinterestedness, justness, justice: We rely on the honesty of judges in meting out punishment to convicted felons.
honorarium
n. (token) fee, compensation, recompense, pay, payment, remuneration, emolument: Would you be willing to accept an honorarium in lieu of your usual fee?
honorary adj. nominal, titular, in name or title only, ex officio: She has several honorary doctoral degrees, which is not bad for someone who never went to university.
honour n. 1 integrity, honesty, fairness, justness, probity, uprightness, decency, goodness, righteousness, rectitude, justice, morality, principles, virtuousness, virtue: Doing the right thing is a matter of honour. 2 respect, esteem, reverence, veneration, approbation, deference, admiration,
homage, regard, accolade, praise, kudos, fame, glory, celebrity, distinction, prestige, illustriousness: Great honour accompanies the award of a Nobel prize. 3 privilege, distinction, pleasure, joy, delight; credit, blessing: I have
the honour to introduce tonight's speaker. It has been an honour to serve under you, Admiral. 4 virginity, chastity, virtue, purity, innocence: How did she manage to preserve her honour when fighting with the partisans?
--v. 5 respect, esteem, revere, venerate, adulate, adore, worship, approve, prize, value, defer to, admire, pay homage to: Albert Schweitzer was much honoured in the latter part of his life. 6 praise, laud, glorify, celebrate, eulogize, salute,
hail, acclaim, ennoble, dignify, exalt: We have come together to honour those who have died for their country. 7 keep, maintain, carry out, live up to, discharge, fulfil, observe, meet: She has done her best to honour her obligations. 8 pay, redeem, accept, clear, cash: The bank refused to honour his cheque because of 'insufficient funds'.
honourable
adj. 1 upright, upstanding, trustworthy, trusty, honest, just, fair, moral, principled, uncorrupt, uncorrupted, incorruptible,
high-minded, noble, virtuous: Mark Antony referred to Caesar as an honourable man. 2 right, correct, proper, fitting,
appropriate, virtuous, ethical, worthy, respectable, reputable, decent, square: I think you can count on Cedric to do the honourable thing. 3 fair (and square), impartial, equitable, just, honest, unbiased, unprejudiced, non-prejudicial, even-handed, straight, disinterested, guileless, ingenuous, artless, open, sincere, above-board, on the up and up, undeceiving, undeceitful, Colloq upfront, on the level: Eleanor is too honourable to accept payment for work she did not do. 4 distinguished, prestigious, eminent, notable, noteworthy, noted,
illustrious, famous, famed, honoured, exalted, respected, celebrated, renowned, acclaimed, well-thought-of: Ian enjoys an honourable reputation as a publisher.
hoodlum n. gangster, thug, racketeer, mobster, desperado, terrorist, ruffian, tough, rowdy, knave, Colloq hooligan, baddy, crook, US plug-ugly, Slang goon, Brit yob, yobbo, US mug, bad actor, roughneck, hood, gunsel, hit man, torpedo, French apache, Australian larrikin: He has a few hoodlums on the payroll who do the dirty work.
hoodwink v. fool, trick, deceive, delude, dupe, gull, hoax, defraud, mislead, humbug, outwit, Colloq bamboozle, pull the wool over (someone's) eyes, pull a fast one on, lead (someone) up or down the garden path, put one over on (someone), throw dust in (someone's) eyes, take (someone) for a ride, string (someone) along, Slang rook, con, suck in, US sucker in, snow: They are trying to hoodwink the voters into believing that the recession is over.
hook |
n. 1 hanger, peg, holder; fastener, catch, clasp, clip, pin: |
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Hang your hat on that hook. I'm using a safety pin because the |
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hook on my dress is gone. 2 snare, trap; fish-hook: What can we |
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use as a hook to catch the fish? 3 by hook or by crook. somehow |
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(or other), someway, come what may, by fair means or foul, (by) |
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one way or another: I have to get out of this place by hook or |
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by crook. 4 hook, line, and sinker. completely, entirely, all |
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the way, through and through, thoroughly, entirely, totally, |
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utterly, wholly: She actually fell for that old routine hook, |
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line, and sinker. 5 off the hook. (set) free, (in the) clear, |
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out of it; out of trouble, acquitted, exonerated, cleared, let |
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off, vindicated, off: After paying them the extortion money, he |
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still wasn't off the hook. |
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--v. 6 catch, trap, entrap, snare, ensnare; grab, capture, |
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collar, nab, seize; Chiefly US and Canadian snag, Colloq pinch: |
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The petty crooks have been caught but we now want to hook the |
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big fish himself. 7 steal, pilfer, filch, palm, shoplift, rob, |
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Slang snitch, rip off, Euphemistic liberate, remove, borrow, |
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appropriate, Brit nick, Chiefly Brit pinch: They used to hook |
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sweets from Woolies'. |
hop |
v. 1 jump, leap, bound, spring, vault; skip, caper, gambol, |
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dance: Here comes Peter Cottontail, Hopping down the bunny |
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trail. 2 take a (short) trip or voyage, travel, come, go, |
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proceed; fly: Those yuppies think nothing of hopping over to |
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Paris just for dinner. |
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--n. 3 jump, leap, bound, spring, vault; skip, caper, dance: |
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In a few hops the bird was off the branch and onto my finger. 4 |
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(short) trip or flight or journey or voyage: The Bahamas are |
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just a hop from Miami. |
hope |
n. 1 desire, wish, expectation, yearning, hankering, craving, |
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longing, fancy; ambition, (day)dream: It was always my hope |
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that you would go to university. 2 prospect, promise, |
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expectation, expectancy, confidence, anticipation, assumption, |
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security, faith, conviction, belief, trust: We had given up |
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hope of being rescued. |
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--v. 3 aspire, count or rely on or upon, anticipate, |
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contemplate, foresee, look forward to, expect, await, wait: |
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After all these years, he is still hoping to meet the girl of |
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his dreams. 4 trust; wish, want, desire; Dialect expect: I hope |
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my ship will come in soon. I hope to see the last of her |
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tomorrow. |
hopeful adj. 1 expectant, anticipating, optimistic, sanguine, confident, assured: We are hopeful of victory in the forthcoming election. 2 promising, bright, rosy, reassuring, heartening, encouraging, auspicious, propitious, inspiriting: Today was a disaster, but tomorrow looks more hopeful.
hopefully adv. 1 expectantly, optimistically, sanguinely, confidently: Jocelyn set off hopefully for the party. 2 with (any) luck, if things go well, all being well, it is hoped, expectedly: Hopefully, we shall arrive in time to catch the train.
hopeless adj. 1 desperate, beyond hope or saving, irreparable, beyond repair, irremediable, lost, gone, irretrievable; incurable, terminal, deadly, fatal, lethal: As their ship drifted into the intergalactic void, they saw that their situation was hopeless. They told me that her condition was hopeless. 2 bad, poor, incompetent, inferior, inadequate, inept, unqualified, unfit, unskilful, deficient: You might make a good surgeon, but as a
judge of human nature you're hopeless. 3 despairing, despondent,
forlorn, woebegone, disconsolate, inconsolable, depressed, dejected, melancholy, downcast, gloomy, miserable, discouraged, wretched, lugubrious, funereal, sorrowful, sad, unhappy:
Utterly hopeless after his script was rejected by Hollywood, he moped in his room. 4 futile, vain, bootless, unavailing, impossible, impracticable, unworkable, pointless, worthless, useless: It would be hopeless to try to send out a lifeboat in this storm.
horizon n. view, purview, range, scope, vista, compass, perspective, prospect, ken, field of vision, limit(s): This is something
that lies beyond the horizon of present-day knowledge.
horizontal
adj. level, flat, plane; prone, supine: Make sure that the plank is horizontal before fastening it down. They say that dancing is merely a vertical expression of a horizontal desire.
horrible adj. 1 awful, horrendous, horrid, horrifying, horrific, terrible, terrifying, dreadful, abominable, abhorrent, appalling, frightening, frightful, ghastly, grim, grisly, ghoulish, gruesome, loathsome, hideous, repulsive, revolting, disgusting, sickening, nauseating, nauseous, harrowing,
blood-curdling, macabre, unspeakable, shocking: The horrible sight of her father's mangled body haunted her for the rest of her days. 2 awful, nasty, unpleasant, disagreeable, horrid, terrible, dreadful, obnoxious, offensive, atrocious, monstrous, contemptible, detestable, despicable, Colloq Brit beastly: The food was perfectly horrible at our hotel. Take that horrible little dog away.
horrify v. 1 terrify, frighten, scare, alarm, intimidate, panic, scare or frighten to death, petrify, Colloq scare or frighten the living daylights out of, scare stiff, make (someone's) hair stand on end, make (someone's or the) blood run cold, curl (someone's) hair, scare the pants off: I was horrified to see the attack dogs racing towards me. 2 shock, startle, upset, put off, outrage, dismay, appal, distress, discountenance, disconcert: I was horrified to hear that you weren't coming to my party.
horror n. 1 fear and loathing, repugnance, terror, dread, hatred, revulsion, detestation, abhorrence, distaste, dislike; aversion,
antipathy, hostility, animosity, animus, rancour; odium, execration: She has a horror of bats. 2 fear, dismay, distress, dread, fright, alarm, upset, perturbation, panic, terror, fear and trembling, trepidation, anxiety, angst, apprehension, uneasiness, queasiness, nervousness, awe: The doctor helped me overcome my horror of flying.
hors-d'oeuvre
n. appetizer, ap‚ritif, antipasto, smorgasbord or sm”rg†sbord, relish; Chiefly Brit starter; Archaic warner: A Sauvignon was served with the hors-d'oeuvre, which was gravadlax.
hospitable
adj. 1 welcoming, gracious, courteous, genial, friendly, agreeable, amicable, cordial, warm, congenial, sociable, generous: It was most hospitable of you to invite me. 2 open-minded, receptive, amenable, approachable, tolerant: The director is always hospitable to suggestions for improving sales.
hospital n. medical centre, health centre, infirmary, clinic, polyclinic, dispensary, sickbay; asylum, sanatorium, nursing home, convalescent home or facility, US sanitarium: With that wound, you ought to be in a hospital.
hospitality
n. graciousness, courtesy, courteousness, friendliness, amicability, cordiality, warmth, congeniality, sociability, generosity: I am grateful for the hospitality you showed my sister during her visit.
host° n. 1 hostess, innkeeper, hotelier, hotel-keeper, hotelman, landlord or landlady, manager or manageress, proprietor or proprietress, Brit publican: As host, it is my responsibility to greet the guests. 2 entertainer, master or mistress of
ceremonies, emcee, MC, announcer, Brit presenter, compŠre, US tummler: For twenty years he has been the host of popular TV quiz shows.
--v. 3 entertain, act or play the host or hostess, have: She hosts a dinner-party for close friends every Wednesday.
hostý n. army, swarm, crowd, horde, multitude, throng, mob, pack,
herd, troop, legion, body, assembly, assemblage, drove: The rock group turned up with a host of followers, their so-called groupies.
hostage |
n. pledge, security, surety, pawn, captive, prisoner, gage: |
The terrorists threatened that if their demands were not met |
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they would kill the hostages. |
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hostile |
adj. 1 opposed, antagonistic, contrary, against, anti, adverse; |
averse, loath: The government is hostile to curbs on business. 2 unfriendly, inimical, unsympathetic, cold, inhospitable; unfavourable: Why do many social workers seem hostile to the people they are supposed to help? The polar regions are very hostile environments to man. 3 warring, belligerent, bellicose,
warlike, combative, militant, aggressive: The UN units function as a buffer between the hostile forces.
hostility n. 1 antagonism, opposition, enmity, animosity, antipathy, animus, ill will, malevolence, malice, aversion, unfriendliness: Do you still harbour the feelings of hostility towards them that you had during the war? The petty quarrels broke out into open hostility. 2 hostilities. war, warfare, fighting, combat,
action, state of war, bloodshed: Hostilities ceased when the factions agreed to parley.
hot |
adj. 1 fiery, white-hot, red-hot, piping hot, burning, |
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blistering, scorching, roasting, frying, sizzling, searing, |
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boiling, scalding, steaming, simmering, torrid, sweltering, |
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sultry, heated: The hot, molten steel is cast into ingots here. |
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During the day it is hot, but it cools down at night. 2 spicy, |
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peppery, sharp, piquant, pungent, biting, acrid: She likes very |
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hot food, with plenty of chilli. 3 intense, fervent, zealous, |
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ardent, enthusiastic, passionate, fervid, vehement, excited, |
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animated; impetuous, fiery, fierce, inflamed, sharp, violent: |
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He had some hot words with the foreman who had dismissed him. 4 |
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eager, keen, avid, anxious, burning; intense, fervent, zealous, |
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ardent, enthusiastic, passionate, fervid, vehement, excited, |
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animated, earnest, Slang US gung-ho: Desmond set out in hot |
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pursuit of the thief. 5 recent, fresh, new, latest, brand-new: |
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The hottest gossip is that she is marrying for the seventh time. |
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6 popular, sought-after, commercial, saleable, marketable: The |
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publisher believes Zenobia's Memoirs to be the hot property of |
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the year. 7 lustful, lecherous, libidinous, lubricous or |
lubricious, sensual, concupiscent, prurient, licentious, oversexed, sex-crazed, sex-mad, Archaic lickerish, horn-mad, Slang horny, Chiefly Brit randy, US hard up: They were really hot, not having been with anyone of the opposite sex for months. 8 intense, vivid, striking, bright, brilliant, dazzling, loud:
That hot pink lipstick looks good with your suntan. 9 electrified, live, charged, powered: The hot wire connects to the other terminal - I think. 10 dangerous, precarious, risky, sensitive, delicate, unstable, touchy, unpredictable: The situation is getting a bit too hot to handle.
--v. 11 hot up. intensify, build up, heighten, increase, worsen, warm up, heat up: The environment is hotting up as a political issue.
hot air n. blather or blether, bunkum, verbiage, talk, wind, pretentiousness, pomposity, bombast, grandiloquence, magniloquence, flatulence, gasconade, rodomontade, Colloq claptrap, bosh, gas, guff: Management's promises of pay increases were nothing but hot air.
hotbed n. breeding ground, fertile source: Slums are a hotbed of crime.
hotchpotch
n. miscellany, mixture, gallimaufry, jumble, farrago, m‚lange, mishmash, mess, tangle, medley, hash, conglomeration, agglomeration, olio, olla podrida, pot-pourri, rag-bag, welter,
US and Canadian hodgepodge, Colloq omnium gatherum, mixed bag: That hotchpotch of junk is scarcely what I should call an
'antiques collection'.
hotel n. hostelry, inn, lodging, caravanserai; motel, motor hotel,
bed and breakfast or B & B, guest-house, pension, Australian and New Zealand pub, US tourist house: We are staying at a small hotel just outside of town.
hotheaded adj. impetuous, headlong, hot-tempered, quick-tempered, volatile, rash, hasty, wild, foolhardy, reckless, precipitate, thoughtless, heedless, madcap, daredevil, devil-may-care: He is too hotheaded to succeed in the diplomatic corps.
hothouse n. 1 hotbed, greenhouse, glasshouse, conservatory: These
tomatoes were grown during the winter in our hothouse.
--adj. 2 dainty, delicate, sensitive, fragile, frail, pampered, overprotected, sheltered, shielded, spoiled, coddled, babied: She was glad to exchange the hothouse atmosphere of the university for the real world.
hotly adv. intensively, energetically, doggedly, persistently, zealously, fervently, fervidly, ardently, warmly,
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enthusiastically: Hotly pursued by the police, I managed to |
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hide in a culvert. |
hound |
v. bully, browbeat, persecute, nag, harass, annoy, pester, |
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harry, badger: Although he was found innocent, his neighbours |
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hounded him so much that he had to leave town. |
house |
n. 1 residence, dwelling, dwelling-place, home, abode, |
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household, homestead, domicile, lodging(s), quarters, building, |
edifice: We are playing bridge at my house next Saturday. 2 family, line, lineage, dynasty, clan, ancestry, strain, race, blood, descendants, forebears: She is a member of the royal house of Sweden. 3 legislature, legislative body, congress, parliament, assembly, council, diet: Both houses of the legislature passed the bill. 4 establishment, firm, concern,
company, business, organization, enterprise, undertaking, Colloq outfit: He has gone from one publishing house to another with his manuscript. 5 auditorium, theatre, concert-hall: The house is sold out. 6 house of ill repute or ill fame or prostitution, brothel, whore-house, bagnio, bordello, Archaic bawdy-house, Colloq sporting house, crib, Slang US cat-house: She used to run a house in Lambeth. 7 on the house. free, gratis, for nothing, as a gift: Drinks will be on the house tonight to celebrate the tenth anniversary of our opening.
--v. 8 shelter, accommodate, domicile, lodge, quarter, put up, take in, board, billet, harbour: We have housed as many as ten people at a time in the cottage. 9 contain, accommodate, quarter: This building houses our computer operations.
housing n. 1 homes, houses, lodging(s), quarters, accommodation, habitation, dwelling; shelter, protection: The Council is trying to provide housing for the elderly. 2 case, casing,
cover, covering, enclosure, container, box, shield: We keep the