Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

exuberant, lush, abounding, plenteous, abundant, superabundant, dense, fruitful, teeming: The luxuriant orange groves are yielding a bumper crop this year. 3 ornate, elaborate, decorated, fancy, rococo, baroque, flowery, frilly, florid,

overdone, flamboyant, showy, ostentatious, gaudy, garish, Colloq flashy: The elders disapproved of the luxuriant ornamentation

of the churches.

luxuriate v. 1 Often, luxuriate in. wallow in, swim in, bask in, indulge in, delight in, relish, revel in, enjoy oneself, savour,

appreciate, like, love: She luxuriates in her new-found wealth. 2 live in luxury or comfort, be in the lap of luxury, have a good or great or marvellous time, take it easy, enjoy oneself, live the life of Riley, live off the fat of the land, Colloq

have the time of one's life, have a ball, US live high off the hog: Their postcard says that they are luxuriating on Capri for a week.

luxurious adj. 1 opulent, sumptuous, grand, extravagant, lavish, magnificent, splendid, de luxe, fancy; epicurean, gourmet; Colloq swanky, swank, ritzy, plush, posh: We had a luxurious room overlooking the sea and ate the most luxurious meals. 2 self-indulgent, voluptuous, voluptuary, sybaritic, hedonistic, pampered: We lived a truly luxurious life for two years till the money ran out.

luxury n. 1 opulence, splendour, sumptuousness, grandeur, extravagance, magnificence, richness, luxuriousness: I cannot describe the overwhelming luxury of the maharaja's palace. 2 indulgence, self-indulgence, hedonism, sybaritism, voluptuousness: He had been living a life of luxury in Tahiti. 3 security, confidence; gratification, satisfaction, enjoyment, pleasure, delight, comfort: He has the luxury of knowing that his dog will be well looked after. 4 frill, extravagance, extra, indulgence, non-essential, expendable, treat: He showered her with luxuries from the finest shops.

12.6 lying...

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lying n. 1 prevarication, fibbing, mendacity, mendaciousness, falsification, untruthfulness, perjury; dishonesty, deceit,

duplicity: She was accused of lying while under oath.

--adj. 2 untruthful, false, mendacious, hypocritical, dishonest, deceitful, deceptive, duplicitous, treacherous, perfidious: Whoever told you they had found the solution is a lying scoundrel.

lyric adj. 1 melodic, song-like, musical, melodious, lyrical: Lyric drama is no longer fashionable. 2 personal, subjective, individual, idiosyncratic; sentimental, rhapsodic: He expresses his own feelings in the lyric poems. 3 sweet, dulcet, graceful, silvery, lilting, mellifluous, mellow, light: This song sounds best when sung by a lyric tenor.

--n. 4 lyrics. libretto, book, words: Ira Gershwin wrote the lyrics for much of George Gershwin's music.

lyrical adj. 1 See lyric, 1, above. 2 enthusiastic, ecstatic, encomiastic, rapturous, rhapsodic, effusive, impassioned, emotional, ebullient, exuberant, panegyrical: He waxed lyrical whenever he spoke of his children.

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13.1 macabre...

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macabre adj. grim, ghastly, grisly, gory, gruesome, grotesque, ghoulish, fiendish, dread, eerie, fearsome, frightful, frightening, terrifying, terrible, dreadful, dire, morbid; deathly, deadly, deathlike, ghostly, cadaverous: He told a

macabre story of how they survived by resorting to cannibalism. The crypt had a macabre eeriness about it.

machiavellian

adj. deceitful, cunning, shrewd, crafty, wily, foxy, scheming, tricky, perfidious, nefarious, treacherous, sneaky: Mr Williams has concocted a truly machiavellian plan for getting the pensioners to move out.

machination

n. plotting, scheming, intriguing, manoeuvring, designing, manipulating; plot, scheme, intrigue, manoeuvre, design, stratagem, ruse, trick, trickery, artifice, dirty trick(s),

wile, manipulation, ploy, tactic(s), move, gambit: He escaped from the machinations of his enemies. Must you resort to such machinations merely to get them to listen?

machine n. 1 mechanism, device, apparatus, contrivance, appliance, instrument, implement, tool, utensil, gadget, Colloq

contraption, US gismo or gizmo: What kind of machine is used to make a corkscrew? 2 engine, motor, prime mover, vehicle; car, automobile, motor car, US auto: We used to get into the machine and go for Sunday picnics. 3 organization, system, ring, gang, cabal, clique, party, faction: The entire council is run by a political machine.

--v. 4 shape, make, manufacture: In this department we machine the castings to a tolerance of one ten-thousandth of an inch.

machismo n. masculine pride or arrogance, manliness, virility, masculinity, grit, Colloq guts, Slang balls: He is just trying to impress you with his machismo.

unhinged, delirious, out of one's mind or head, psychotic, maniacal, (mentally) unbalanced, mentally ill, of unsound mind, non compos mentis, Chiefly Brit daft, Colloq out of one's head, touched (in the head), screwy, cuckoo, mental, certifiable, having a screw loose, dotty, cracked, mad as a March hare, mad as a hatter, not all there, off-the-wall, stark raving mad,

Chiefly Brit potty, US nutty as a fruit cake; Slang nuts, loony, goofy, loopy, crackers, batty, off one's rocker or trolley, bananas, Brit round the bend or twist, twisted, off one's chump,

barmy or balmy, bonkers, US out to lunch, bughouse, bugs, crazy as a bedbug or a coot, loco, wacky, out of one's tree, meshuga: You're mad if you think I'm going in there with that lion. 2 foolish, silly, childish, immature, puerile, wild, nonsensical,

foolhardy, madcap, heedless, senseless, absurd, imprudent, unwise, indiscreet, rash, ill-advised, ill-considered, reckless, extravagant, irrational, fatuous: I did many mad things when I was a student. Hitching to Inverness is a mad idea. 3 wild, ferocious; rabid: Have they caught that mad dog yet? 4 furious, angry, infuriated, incensed, enraged, irate, fuming, berserk, irritated, provoked, wrathful, exasperated, Literary wroth: Will you get mad if I ask you a question? Please don't be mad with me - I wrecked your car. 5 like mad. madly, feverishly, in a frenzy, frenziedly, desperately, excitedly, violently, wildly, hysterically, furiously; enthusiastically, fervently, ardently; Colloq like crazy: He's been running about like mad trying to find her. 6 mad (about or for). crazy, infatuated, ardent, enthusiastic, eager, avid, zealous, passionate, fervent, fervid, keen, fanatical, wild, Colloq hooked, Brit dotty, Slang nuts: She's absolutely mad about cricket.

madden v. 1 infuriate, anger, enrage, incense, provoke, inflame, excite (someone) to (a) frenzy or rage, make (someone's) blood boil, raise (someone's) hackles, make (someone) see red, get (someone's) back up, drive someone crazy, Literary raise (someone's) ire, Colloq drive (someone) up the wall, Brit drive (someone) round the bend or twist, US tick (someone) off, burn (someone) up, tee (someone) off, bug, drive (someone) up the wall: Their getting away with something like that maddened us all. 2 irk, vex, pique, exasperate, irritate: He has the maddening habit of affecting a lisp. 3 bait, badger, torment, plague, bedevil, US rile, hassle: The dog was maddened into attacking anything that moved.

madly adv. 1 insanely, hysterically, dementedly, wildly, distractedly, frenziedly: The patient keeps screaming madly, day and night. 2 foolishly, stupidly, inanely, ridiculously, ludicrously, idiotically, absurdly, irrationally, senselessly: The king madly spurned the proffered aid and was soundly defeated. 3 furiously, wildly, ferociously, fiercely, energetically, desperately, like mad, vehemently, feverishly,

excitedly, fanatically, violently, impetuously: He dashed about madly trying to get help. 4 excessively, extremely, desperately, intensely, passionately, wildly, ardently, fervently, fervidly, exceedingly: She was madly in love with George.

illness: That form of madness is called schizophrenia. 2 craziness, lunacy, folly, foolishness, nonsense, senselessness, ridiculousness, pointlessness, illogicality, illogic, illogicalness, impracticality, preposterousness, futility: He soon realized the madness of trying to stem the tide of public opinion.

magazine n. 1 periodical, journal, publication: We publish a quarterly magazine about language. 2 arsenal, ammunition or munitions dump, armoury: Saboteurs infiltrated the camp and blew up the magazine.

magic n. 1 witchcraft, sorcery, wizardry, black magic, necromancy, black art, voodoo, obeahism, devilry or deviltry, diabolism, demonolatry, occultism; sortilege, theurgy, white magic; spell: As the magic began to work, he slowly changed into a horrible ghoul. 2 legerdemain, conjuring, prestidigitation, sleight of hand, illusion, hocus-pocus, trickery: He performs tricks of magic, including sawing a woman in half. 3 enchantment, allure, allurement, charm, bewitchment, spell, witchery, witchcraft, wizardry, glamour, fascination, magnetism, ensorcellment: She worked her magic on every man she met.

--adj. 4 magical, miraculous: The magic ointment made her young again. 5 necromantic, occult, mystic, shamanistic, theurgical: Using a magic spell, she turned him into a toad. 6 magical, enchanting, entrancing, bewitching, fascinating, hypnotic, mesmerizing, entrancing, spellbinding, charming, magnetic, ensorcelling: The music had a magic effect on them.

magician n. 1 conjuror or conjurer, illusionist, wizard, sorcerer, sorceress, magus, necromancer, enchanter, enchantress, Merlin, Houdini, Circe, witch, warlock; thaumaturge, theurgist: The court magician changed the pebbles into precious stones by a wave of his wand. 2 marvel, miracle-worker, virtuoso, wizard, genius, master, Colloq whiz: Mary Lou Williams is a magician on

the boogie-woogie piano.

magnetic adj. attractive, attracting, engaging, captivating, enthralling, seductive, alluring, entrancing, bewitching, beguiling, arresting, spellbinding, irresistible, charismatic, winning, winsome, inviting: Because of Amy's magnetic personality, men flock about her.

magnetism n. attraction, draw, appeal, allure, magic, lure, attractiveness, charm, pull, seductiveness, irresistibility, drawing power, charisma, duende, likeableness, sex appeal: JFK's personal magnetism won him millions of votes.

magnification

n. enlargement, amplification; build-up, strengthening, enhancement, aggrandizement, raising, elevation, increase, expansion, heightening, glorification, ennoblement: The microdot can be read only at a magnification of 260X. The advertising agency worked on the magnification of the candidate's record of achievement.

magnificent

adj. great, excellent, splendid, superior, superb, marvellous, glorious, grand, fine, impressive, imposing, awe-inspiring, impressive, brilliant, commanding, august, noble, majestic, regal, distinguished, elegant, exalted, sublime, outstanding; sumptuous, resplendent, opulent, rich, luxurious, lavish: She lives in a magnificent country house.

magnify v. 1 enlarge, expand, amplify, inflate, increase, augment, exaggerate, heighten, build up, boost, dramatize, aggravate, worsen, exacerbate; overstate, Colloq blow up, make a mountain out of a molehill: Tiny errors in the beginning are magnified later on. I fear that he has magnified its importance out of all proportion. 2 enlarge, blow up: They had to magnify the photograph to read the registration number of the stolen car.

magnitude n. 1 greatness, size, extent, bigness, immensity, enormousness, dimensions: You cannot imagine the magnitude of the unemployment problem in our area. 2 importance, significance, consequence, note: This is a matter of sufficient magnitude to warrant a board meeting.

maid n. 1 girl, maiden, lass, miss, nymphet, nymph, wench, damsel, mademoiselle, demoiselle, Scots lassie; virgin, virgo intacta:

A lovely young maid was milking the cow. 2 housemaid, maidservant, domestic, chambermaid, lady's maid, Archaic or literary abigail, Brit daily, Archaic colloq Brit tweeny: When she rang, the maid brought in the tea. 3 old maid. spinster, bachelor girl: She never married and now is an old maid.

maiden n. 1 See maid, 1, above.

mainly adv. in the main, chiefly, principally, predominantly, generally, above all, on the whole, in general, mostly, most of all, effectively, essentially, at bottom, first and foremost,

for the most part, largely, by and large, primarily,as a rule, usually, all in all, on balance, for all practical purposes, in

the long run: We are concerned mainly with safety. The tourists are mainly from Italy.

mainstay n. main or chief or principal support, anchor (to windward), sheet anchor, bulwark, buttress, linchpin, main or greatest strength: David remains the mainstay of the sales force.

maintain v. 1 continue, preserve, persevere in, keep going, persist in, keep (up), carry on, retain, perpetuate, prolong, sustain, uphold: Sarah maintained friendly relations with her ex-husband. Try to maintain your composure. 2 look after, take care of, care for, preserve, (keep in) service, keep up, keep in repair; nurture, support: It is expensive to maintain a vintage car. Allison maintains an ancient aunt in Piddlington. 3 hold, state, say, declare, claim, assert, allege, testify, contend,

aver, avow, announce, proclaim, vouchsafe, profess, insist (on), affirm: Despite evidence to the contrary, he maintains that he is innocent. 4 defend, stand by, keep, fight for; take up the

cudgels for, make a case for, advocate, champion, take or make a stand for, plead for, back (up), support, vindicate, justify,

Colloq go to bat for: He maintained his ground in the face of virulent attacks.

maintenance

n. 1 upkeep, care, preservation, conservation, support, sustention, sustentation: I can no longer afford the maintenance of a large country estate. 2 continuation, continuance, perpetuation, prolongation, persistence,

maintaining: His maintenance of an untenable position will lose him votes. 3 upkeep, livelihood, subsistence, support, allowance, living, sustenance, stipend, subvention,

contribution, alimony, keep: How much maintenance does he pay to his ex-wife and children?

majestic adj. 1 regal, dignified, grand, imperial, royal, noble, lordly, lofty, elevated, exalted, glorious, magnificent, monumental, impressive, striking, imposing, awesome, splendid, marvellous,

kingly, queenly, princely: With majestic ceremony, the procession entered the cathedral. 2 pompous, supercilious, disdainful, superior, arrogant, haughty, magisterial, imperious, grandiose, affected: She dismissed him with a majestic wave of her hand.

major adj. 1 larger, greater, bigger, main, chief, important: Henderson grabbed the major portion of the credit. 2 vital, important, critical, crucial, principal, foremost, paramount, primary, prime, main, big, biggest, pre-eminent, notable, noteworthy, significant, outstanding, dominant, dominating; serious, grave, worst: The major problem in commercial kitchens is sanitation.

majority n. 1 bulk, preponderance, mass, more than half, the better or best part, the greater part or number, lion's share: The

majority of shares were bought by existing shareholders. 2 adulthood, maturity, seniority, womanhood, manhood: They reach their majority in 1997.

make v. 1 build, assemble, construct, erect, put together, set up, fashion, form, mould, shape, frame, create, originate, fabricate, manufacture, produce, put out, forge, contrive,

devise: She makes her own dresses. They make TV sets here. The Colossus of Rhodes was said to be made of bronze. 2 cause, compel, force, impel, coerce, provoke, urge, exhort, press, pressure, require, command, order, induce, persuade, prevail upon, insist upon, oblige, Brit pressurize: The devil made me

do it. 3 bring about, occasion, cause, give rise to: The new regulation is going to make trouble for you. 4 make out or up, draw (up), create, write, sign, frame: I made a new will leaving everything to my children. 5 produce, cause, create, generate: The engine made a funny noise, then died. 6 enact, pass, frame, establish, institute: He thinks that laws were made to be broken. 7 earn, return, reap, garner, take in, get, procure, gather, clear, realize, gross, net, pocket, get,

acquire, obtain, receive; win, gain, Slang US pull down: Has her invention made money? He makes a good living out of his shop. He made œ25 playing poker. 8 amount to, constitute, represent, add up to, total, come to: He knows how many beans make five. Three and two do not make four. One singer does not make an opera. 9 change, turn, alter, modify, transform,

convert; transmute, mutate, metamorphose: He made her into a

star. The alchemists tried to make base metal into gold. 10 become, be, change or turn or grow into, perform as: I think Quentin will make a brilliant surgeon one day. 11 serve as or for, be suitable for, be, prove to be, turn out to be, turn

into, become: This cut of meat will not make a good roast. 12 fetch, realize, earn, return: The locket made œ1000 at the auction. 13 score, earn, secure: The West Indies made 654 in their first innings. 14 reach, arrive at, attain, get (to),

win, achieve, accomplish; come in, Brit be placed, US place: Fran might make first place in the marathon. 15 prepare, arrange, rearrange, tidy (up), neaten (up): You have made your bed, now you will have to lie on it. 16 record, arrange, fix, decide (on or upon), agree (to): I made an appointment to see the doctor. 17 prepare, fix, cook: I made what you like for dinner. 18 deliver, present: Janet made a good speech. 19 traverse, cover, do, travel, navigate: We cannot make more than 100 miles a day over this terrain. 20 do, go, travel or move

at, move: His old banger could hardly make 40 m.p.h. 21 judge, think, calculate, estimate, reckon, gauge, suppose: What do you make of Sidney's new book? 22 establish, set up, organize: We made our headquarters in the farmhouse. 23 appoint, name, select, choose, elect, vote (in as), designate, authorize, commission, delegate, depute, deputize, assign, sanction, approve, affirm, certify, confirm: They made him their leader. 24 seduce, make it with: Kenneth tried to make Sharon last night. 25 make as if or as though. pretend, feign, act as if or

as though, affect, make a show or pretence of, give the impression of: He made as if to strike me. 26 make away. run off or away, flee, fly, make off, abscond, take to one's heels, decamp, beat a (hasty) retreat, Colloq run for it, make a run for it, beat it, clear out, cut and run, skedaddle, take off,

cut out, skip (town), make tracks, US fly the coop, Slang scram, vamoose, US hightail it, take a (run-out) powder: Taking the jewels, he made away as fast as he could run. 27 make away with. steal, rob, filch, pilfer, purloin, walk away or off with, Colloq borrow, liberate, boost, Slang pinch, hook, swipe, rip off, lift, US boost: That boy has made away with my cherry tarts! 28 make believe. pretend, fancy, play-act, dream, fantasize, imagine, act as if: We used to make believe we were grown-ups. 29 make do. get by or along, cope, scrape by or along, manage, muddle through, survive, Colloq make out: We have to make do on the pittance Randolph gets from the university. 30 make for. a head for or towards, aim for, steer