The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

mockery n. 1 ridicule, derision, disdain, taunting, disparagement, abuse, scorn, contempt, contumely, decrial: John was expelled for his mockery of the headmaster. 2 semblance, imitation, impersonation; caricature, parody, burlesque, travesty, lampoon, satire, pasquinade, farce; miscarriage; Colloq spoof, take-off, Brit send-up: That wasn't a trial, it was a mockery of justice.

3 disappointment, joke, laugh, absurdity: It is a mockery to speak of that wretched sadist and humanity in the same breath.

mode° n. 1 way, manner, method, approach, form, course, fashion, procedure, technique, system, wise, modus operandi, methodology, standard operating procedure, SOP: What mode of teaching foreign languages do you use? 2 status, condition, state, configuration, set-up: The computer is now in printing mode.

working model, miniature, dummy, image, likeness, facsimile, copy: This is a model of the house he is planning. 2 original, mould, archetype, prototype, pattern, paragon, ideal, exemplar, example, standard: When the wax model is finished, we cast it

in bronze using the cire perdue process. Their government was established after the Roman model. 3 ideal, paragon, exemplar, epitome, beau id‚al, cream, crŠme de la crŠme, ne plus ultra, nonpareil, nonsuch or nonesuch: He is the very model of what a father should be. 4 subject, sitter, poser: Dali's wife served

as his model for many paintings. 5 mannequin; dummy: She is tall and thin enough to be a fashion model. May I see the hat that is on that model in the window? 6 design, kind, type,

style, version; variety, sort, form, fashion, configuration; brand, mark: I'm intending to trade my car in for a newer model.

--v. 7 fashion, mould, shape, form, sculpt, carve (out), make, fabricate, produce: She modelled these figures out of fine clay. 8 pose in, display, show (off), wear, Colloq sport: She makes a fortune modelling swimwear. 9 model after or on. imitate, copy, pattern on or after, emulate, follow: Architects often used to model public buildings after the temples on the Acropolis.

--adj. 10 copy, imitation, facsimile, representative, miniature: He enjoys building model aeroplanes. 11 ideal, exemplary, perfect, archetypal, unequalled, consummate, inimitable: Oliver has been a model student.

moderate adj. 1 temperate, calm, reasonable, cool, judicious, rational, balanced, unexcessive, modest, sober, sensible, commonsensical, controlled, deliberate, steady: In view of the conflicting interests expressed, the council has adopted a moderate policy regarding parking. 2 centre, middle-of-the-road, non-radical, non-reactionary: Bella's political outlook is said by some to

be moderate. 3 fair, middling, average, ordinary, medium, middle, modest, mediocre, unexceptional, Colloq fair to middling: They have a good range of clothing, all sold at very moderate prices.

--n. 4 middle-of-the-roader, non-radical, non-reactionary, centrist: Where do the moderates stand on the issue of constitutional reform?

--v. 5 abate, calm, mollify, soothe, ease, relax, alleviate, mitigate, soften, dull, blunt, cushion, relieve, reduce, lessen, remit, slacken, diminish, decrease, defuse, temper, Colloq let

up (on): He would get along better if he moderated the violence of his reactions and learned to relax. 6 mediate, arbitrate, referee, judge, chair, supervise, preside (over), coordinate,

run, regulate, manage, direct: Professor Gill will moderate the panel discussion.

moderately

adv. somewhat, rather, quite, fairly, pretty, comparatively, slightly, passably, more or less; to some extent, within reason, to a certain extent, to a degree, to some degree, in some measure, in moderation, within limits; temperately; Colloq sort of, kind of: Clifford is moderately well off. It was a moderately hot day.

moderator n. mediator, arbiter, arbitrator, judge, referee, umpire; Chiefly US chair, chairperson, chairman, chairwoman, chairlady, presiding officer, president, coordinator, (discussion) leader; anchorman, anchorwoman; master of ceremonies, toastmaster, Brit compŠre, Colloq emcee, MC: Lady Felicia was chosen as the moderator of next year's panel.

modern adj. up to date, current, contemporary, today's, new, fresh, novel, brand-new, up to the minute, present-day, latest, new-fashioned, newfangled; … la mode, modish, in vogue, fashionable, in fashion, stylish, in style, chic, Chiefly Brit flavour of the month, Slang trendy, in, with it, mod, hip, hot: Elaine has little patience with modern electronic gadgets.

modernize v. renovate, streamline, redo, redecorate, refurbish, refurnish, update, do over, rejuvenate, refresh, revamp, redesign, remodel, refashion, remake: We installed air conditioning when we modernized our offices.

modest adj. 1 unassuming, unpresuming, humble, unpretentious, unobtrusive, reserved, retiring, diffident, shy, bashful, demure, coy, shame-faced, self-effacing, self-conscious, reticent, reluctant, timid, meek, timorous, Rare verecund:

Caroline is quite modest about her accomplishments. 2 humble, simple, plain, ordinary, unpretentious, homely, lowly, unexceptional, unostentatious; inconspicuous, unobtrusive: They live in a modest little cottage. 3 moderate, limited,

understated, unimportunate, unexaggerated, reasonable, sensible, constrained, restricted, restrained: The workers' demands seem

modest enough.

redo, remake, remould, reshape, reconstruct, reform, revamp, refashion, remodel, rework, reword, reorient, reorganize: They are modifying the car to increase its performance. He should modify his views on censorship. 2 reduce, decrease, diminish, lessen, moderate, temper, soften, lower, abate, tone down, modulate; qualify, limit, restrict: The severity of the winter

is modified by our proximity to the sea. We shall have to modify our demands.

modulate v. adjust, regulate, set, tune, balance, temper, moderate, modify; lower, tune or tone or turn down, soften: Modulate the volume to suit the size of the auditorium. Please modulate your voice - everyone can hear you!

mogul n. magnate, tycoon, baron, mandarin, Colloq big shot, big gun, big cheese, Pooh Bah, bigwig, big wheel, big (White) Chief, big Daddy, hotshot, VIP, big noise, nabob, Slang US Mr Big: In the old days, he was one of the moguls in Hollywood.

moist adj. 1 damp, wettish, dampish, dewy, dank, humid, clammy, muggy, steamy, misty, foggy: During the monsoon everything becomes so moist that your clothes never seem to dry. 2 damp, wet, rainy, drizzly, soggy, moisture-laden: The moist climate keeps Ireland green. 3 tearful, teary, misty, lachrymose:

Every eye in the theatre was moist at the end of that scene.

molest v. 1 annoy, irritate, vex, disturb, pester, badger, needle, provoke, nettle, tease, harass, harry, worry, hector, irk, bother, gall, chafe, roil, torment, plague, beleaguer: For

weeks people on the beach have been molested by green flies. 2 accost, meddle with, interfere with, annoy, abuse, bother, attack, ill-treat, maltreat, manhandle; paw: The police are looking for a man who has been molesting girls in the park.

moment n. 1 instant, second, minute, half a second, two seconds, flash, twinkling, blink or wink of an eye, twinkling of an eye, trice, Colloq jiffy, shake, two shakes (of a lamb's tail), before you can say 'Jack Robinson', Brit mo, half a mo, tick:

I'll be with you in a moment, Madam. 2 instant, time, second, minute, hour, point (in time), juncture, stage: At that very moment, the phone rang. 3 importance, weight, consequence, significance, import, gravity, seriousness, prominence, concern, note, interest, consideration: What you decide to do is of no great moment.

momentary adj. fleeting, temporary, ephemeral, evanescent, impermanent, fugitive, passing, transitory, brief, short-lived, quick, short,

hasty: The medicine afforded only momentary relief from the pain.

momentous adj. important, weighty, consequential, significant, grave, serious, decisive, crucial, critical, vital, pivotal,

portentous, charged, laden, fraught, of concern: The Augustan Age was a momentous period in Latin literature.

momentum n. energy, force, drive, strength, impetus, power, inertia, impulse, thrust, push: The car's momentum carried it over the cliff. Her encouragement has given me the momentum needed to carry on.

monarch n. 1 ruler, sovereign, potentate, crowned head; queen, king, empress, emperor, tsar or czar: Mary was the monarch of Scotland from 1542 to 1567. 2 ruler, sovereign, chief, lord, master, owner, Colloq boss: He is monarch of all he surveys.

monarchy n. 1 kingdom, empire, domain, dominion, principality; state, nation, country: According to Gibbon, a hereditary monarchy presents the fairest scope for ridicule. 2 monocracy, autocracy, absolutism, royalism, monarchism, sovereignty, totalitarianism, authoritarianism; despotism, tyranny: Those who are discontented with monarchy call it tyranny.

monastery n. abbey, cloister, priory, friary, charterhouse, hospice, Buddhism vihara, Hinduism ashram, Tibetan Buddhism lamasery: In later life he retired to a monastery to contemplate the world.

monetary adj. pecuniary, cash, money, fiscal, financial, capital; numismatic, Technical nummular, nummary: Monetary shortages result from the government's tightening its hold on the economy by raising interest rates.

money n. 1 currency, legal tender, medium of exchange, specie, (hard) cash, ready money, banknotes, paper money, Brit notes, US bills, coin(s), change, small change, Derogatory (filthy) lucre, pelf, Colloq shekels, Brit lolly, readies, US folding money, cold

(hard) cash, US and Canadian and Australian shin-plasters; Slang loot, dough, bread, spondulicks or spondulix, boodle, readies or the ready, moolah, Brit rhino, US (long) green, greenbacks, mazuma, wampum, simoleons, bucks, scratch, gelt, kale, cabbage, lettuce, spinach: He makes daily rounds to collect the money from the launderettes he owns. 2 resources, wealth, fortune, funds, capital, wherewithal, affluence, means, (liquid) assets, riches; Slang bundle: All the family money is invested in long-term bonds. 3 gain, profit, net, Colloq take, percentage, Slang rake-off: How much money does the shop take in at the end of the day? 4 in the money. rich, wealthy, affluent, moneyed or monied, well off, well-to-do, prosperous, Colloq flush, in

clover, in or on Easy Street, Slang loaded, well-heeled, rolling in it or in money or in dough, filthy rich, stinking rich, fat: They have been in the money since their uncle died.

custodian; Brit invigilator, prefect, Rare prepositor or praepostor; US proctor: The government has appointed a committee to monitor oil prices. 2 (television) screen, cathode-ray tube screen, CRT, display, Chiefly Brit visual display unit, VDU: Do you prefer an amber, green, or black-and-white monitor?

--v. 3 watch, oversee, observe, check (out or up on), audit, supervise, superintend, scan, examine, study, follow, keep an eye on, survey, keep track of, track, trace, record, Brit vet: Before a drug is approved, it must be monitored through thousands of tests.

monk n. brother, religious, coenobite, monastic, Loosely friar: He was accepted into the Benedictine order, also called the black monks.

monkey n. 1 simian, ape, primate, Colloq monk: The monkeys' antics forever delight the children. 2 fool, ass, laughing-stock,

butt, victim, target, (fair) game, Colloq goat, Slang sucker:

The teacher should not have made a monkey out of Hubert in front of his classmates. 3 imp, devil, mischief-maker, rascal, scamp, rapscallion: She's a real little monkey: you wouldn't believe

what she got up to this morning.

--v. 4 mimic, mime, imitate, impersonate, copy, ape, duplicate:

He monkeys everything you do. 5 Usually, monkey around or about (with). fool around (with), play (with), fiddle (about or

around) with, meddle (with or in), interfere (with or in), mess (about or around) (with), tinker (with), tamper (with), Colloq

US screw around (with): Stop monkeying around with that switch or the light will fuse. Colin is always monkeying around in

class.

monograph n. treatise, dissertation, disquisition, essay, paper: Entwhistle's monograph is the definitive work on Hawthorne.

monolithic

adj. massive, huge, enormous, monumental, imposing, colossal, gigantic, giant; featureless, uniform, undifferentiated, characterless; rigid, impenetrable, invulnerable, unbending, inflexible, solid, stolid, intractable, immovable: These monolithic international conglomerates, assembled with the aid of junk bonds, staffed by yuppies, and controlling markets worth hundreds of billions, resemble the monolithic glass towers that house them.

monopolize

v. corner (the market in), control, dominate, own, Slang hog:

Till recently, one company monopolized the telephone business in the US.

monotonous

adj. boring, tedious, dull, tiresome, humdrum, sleep-inducing, soporific, wearisome, wearying, tiring, monotonic, repetitious, prosaic, banal, dry, dry-as-dust, uninteresting, dreary,

colourless, unexciting, run-of-the-mill, ordinary, commonplace, routine, uneventful, everyday, mechanical, banausic, Colloq ho-hum: Working in an assembly line became monotonous, so I took a job in advertising.

monster n. 1 beast, fiend, ogre, giant, dragon, brute, demon, troll, bogeyman: Why are so many children's fairy tales populated by monsters? 2 monstrosity, (living) abortion, mutant, mutation, freak, deformity, lusus naturae, eyesore, horror, miscreation, missing link: Monsters of every description were the main features of circus sideshows for centuries.

--adj. 3 See monstrous, 3, below.

monstrosity

n. 1 See monster, 2, above. 2 monstrousness, heinousness, horribleness, horridness, hideousness, awfulness, nightmarishness, dreadfulness, frightfulness, horror, hellishness, ghoulishness, fiendishness, barbarity: The

monstrosity of the concentration camps was not widely known till after the war.

monstrous adj. 1 awful, horrible, horrid, horrific, horrendous, horrifying, hideous, ugly, nightmarish, dreadful, heinous, grisly, gruesome, disgusting, nauseous, nauseating, repulsive, repellent, revolting, frightful, grotesque, hellish, ghoulish, freakish, fiendish, barbaric, barbarous, savage, inhuman, merciless, ruthless, brutal, brutish, beastly: How could anyone treat another human being with such monstrous cruelty! 2 outrageous, shocking, scandalous, atrocious, appalling, wicked, villainous, evil, vile, insensitive, cruel, base, debased, shameful, shameless, infamous, disgraceful, nefarious, egregious, foul, vicious, flagitious, loathsome, depraved: It

is monstrous to suggest that money could compensate for the loss of a child. It was a monstrous trick to make him think he had failed the exam when he'd got the top mark. 3 gigantic, giant, huge, vast, enormous, colossal, monster, gargantuan, jumbo, immense, tremendous, titanic, prodigious, massive, towering, elephantine, mammoth: They are planning to build a monstrous shopping mall in the town centre.

monument n. 1 marker, cairn, memorial, tablet, shrine, commemoration; sepulchre, gravestone, tombstone, headstone, tomb, mausoleum,

cenotaph: Many monuments have been established in memory of those who died in the war. 2 testimony, testimonial, testament, token, witness, record, evidence, example, exemplar: The book will survive as a lasting monument to her scholarship.

monumental

adj. 1 staggering, awe-inspiring, outstanding, prominent, stupendous, vast, awesome, epoch-making, historic, history-making, memorable, lasting, permanent, unforgettable, significant, notable, noteworthy, impressive, marvellous, prodigious, wonderful, wondrous, spectacular, magnificent, grand, striking, glorious, enduring, classic: This work is a monumental contribution to linguistic theory. 2 massive, huge, gigantic, enormous, prodigious, colossal, immense, vast, tremendous: These monumental stones, each as big as a house, were dragged from a quarry hundreds of miles away. 3

commemorative, memorial: A monumental obelisk will be raised to mark the battle. 4 egregious, catastrophic, calamitous, huge, enormous, awful, abject, terrible, unforgivable, unbelievable, monstrous, Colloq whopping: Announcing our plans in advance could prove to be a monumental blunder.

mood n. 1 humour, attitude, inclination, disposition, nature, temper, frame of mind, spirit, atmosphere, sense, feeling: The mood of the people is rebellious. She's in a bad mood. 2 in the mood. ready, willing, eager, keen, (well-)disposed, inclined, sympathetic, minded: I'm not in the mood for a film tonight, but I am in the mood to go dancing.

moody adj. 1 sullen, melancholy, blue, sad, unhappy, dejected, depressed, crestfallen, downcast, despondent, chap-fallen, in

the doldrums, downhearted, gloomy, glum, moping, mopy, mopish, sulky, sulking, morose, brooding, broody, heavy-hearted, dour, cheerless, dismal, desolate, disconsolate, lugubrious,

disheartened, saturnine, Colloq down in the mouth, (down) in the dumps, out of sorts, US off (one's) feed: He's been moody the past few days, and I don't know how to cheer him up. 2 testy, crotchety, short-tempered, abrupt, short, curt, impatient,

crabby, crusty, huffy, huffish, crabbed, cantankerous, curmudgeonly, ill-humoured, ill-tempered, cranky, petulant, waspish, temperamental, snappish, snappy, irritable, peevish, cranky, touchy, piqued; in a (fit of) pique, in high dudgeon: If I were you, I shouldn't ask her for a favour today as she's

very moody. 3 fickle, volatile, capricious, mercurial, unstable, fitful, flighty, unsteady, changeable, erratic, uneven, inconstant, undependable, unreliable, unpredictable: Being artists, they are moody, and there's no telling if they will want to be interviewed today.

moonshine n. 1 moonlight, moonbeams: Her hair reflected silver in the moonshine. 2 (stuff and) nonsense, rubbish, taradiddle, humbug, drivel, twaddle, balderdash, blather or blether, Colloq hot air, claptrap, pack of lies, con, bosh, gas, eyewash, hogwash, bunk, guff, piffle, hokum, rot, malarkey, bilge (water), tripe, (the

old) song and dance, line, Brit tommy-rot, US apple-sauce, razzmatazz, jive, Slang crap, bull, hooey, Brit tosh, US garbage, BS, Taboo slang horseshit, bullshit: He fed her a load

of moonshine about owning a big yacht. 3 poteen, Colloq chiefly US and Canadian hooch or hootch, white lightning, white mule, home-brew, bootleg: Government agents raided a still that produced 100 gallons of moonshine a day.

moor° n. heath, moorland, wasteland, No. Eng. and Scots fell: The police pursued the escaped prisoner across the moor, but they lost him.

moorý v. secure, tie up, make fast, dock, berth, (drop) anchor; fix:

moral adj. 1 ethical; right, good, pure, honest, proper, upright, honourable, decent, moralistic, respectable, high-minded, virtuous, upstanding, righteous, principled, scrupulous, incorruptible, noble, just: She is one of the most moral people I have ever met. 2 ethical, moralizing, moralistic: Questions