The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

a herbaceous border along the south wall of the garden. 6 implant, establish, root, fix, ingrain, lodge, instil,

insinuate, inject, introduce, impress, imprint: Who planted the idea in your mind that you were a gifted writer? 7 place, put, position, station, assign, situate: Watch-towers are planted at 50-foot intervals around the prison. 8 hide, secrete, conceal: The company has planted detectives in the store to watch out for shoplifters.

The plaque on the house marks it as the birthplace of Thomas Carlyle. 2 badge, brooch, pin, patch, medallion, medal,

insignia or insigne: The plaque shows him to be a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron. 3 prize, honour, award, trophy: At the annual dinner, she was presented with a plaque to mark her many years of service.

malleable, workable, ductile, flexible, soft, pliant, supple, pliable, clayey, waxy: The clay must be worked into the desired form while it is still plastic. 2 impressionable, receptive,

open, persuadable or persuasible, susceptible, tractable,

compliant, responsive, manageable, unformed, inexperienced: One encounters the children at an age when their minds and personalities are still plastic enough to be influenced. 3

artificial, synthetic, imitation, fake, counterfeit, ersatz, paste, bogus, meretricious, sham; cheap, pinchbeck, shoddy;

Colloq phoney or US also phony, crummy, US chintzy: She was wearing a tawdry plastic brooch.

plate n. 1 platter, dish, Archaic trencher, charger: I left the cold mashed potato on my plate. 2 course, serving, portion, dish, platter: I ordered their speciality, a plate of spaghetti. 3 layer, leaf, sheet, pane, panel, lamina, slab: In the condenser, insulation separates the thin metal plates. 4 coating, coat, plating, layer, lamination: The plate on our

cutlery is wearing thin. 5 illustration, picture, print, US

cut: The book contains many beautiful colour plates of flowers.

--v. 6 cover, coat, overlay, face, laminate: All the serving dishes were plated with gold.

plateau n. 1 tableland, upland, highland, mesa: We climbed till we reached a grassy plateau. 2 level, lull, pause, levelling off:

At 39, Julia seemed to have reached a plateau in her career.

platform n. 1 stand, dais, stage, podium, rostrum: After the introduction, the speaker mounted the platform. 2 policy, party line, principle(s), tenet(s), programme, plank: The main elements of our platform will be revealed at the party conference.

platonic adj. non-physical, asexual, non-sexual, celibate, chaste, dispassionate, detached, spiritual, ideal, intellectual: Some say that their relationship has not always been purely platonic.

walked among the guests with platters of hot hors-d'oeuvres.

plausible adj. 1 likely, believable, reasonable, credible, tenable, conceivable, thinkable, probable, imaginable, admissible, sound, sensible, rational, logical, acceptable, trustworthy,

presentable: The police regarded our alibi as plausible. 2 specious, deceptive, meretricious, misleading, deceitful, casuistic, sophistical, Jesuitical, smooth, empty: He was a cunning, plausible sort of fellow.

challenge, vie with, pit oneself against, take on, rival: The stranger played me at snooker, and I lost three games out of three. 4 portray, depict, perform, act or take the role or part

of, act: In the new production of Othello she plays Desdemona. 5 perform (upon or on); put on: Play 'Misty' for me. She plays the piccolo very well. Could you play that Caruso record? 6 operate: I wish they wouldn't play their hi-fi so loud. 7 gamble, bet, wager, stake, place, put: He played his last chip on number 14. 8 play along. a Often, play along with. cooperate, participate, go along (with), do or play one's part,

be a party to: I agreed to play along with her charade. b manipulate, jolly along: She played him along till he bought her a car. 9 play around. a fool around, tease, Colloq monkey

about or around, horse around or about: Stop playing around and get to work. b dally, flirt, be unfaithful; philander,

womanize; Colloq fool around, run around, sleep around, play the field: She found out about his playing around and filed for divorce. 10 play at. pretend, make believe, fake, feign,

simulate, affect: She's merely playing at enjoying skiing to please you. 11 play ball. cooperate, agree, work together, work hand in glove, play along: They want him to smuggle diamonds, but he won't play ball. 12 play by ear. improvise, extemporize, ad lib , Colloq wing it: She can't read music and just plays by ear. With no definite plan of action, I'll just play it by ear.

13 play down. belittle, minimize, diminish, disparage, make light of, deprecate, decry, de-emphasize: He has always played down his role in the affair. 14 play for time. delay, procrastinate, stall (for time), temporize, hesitate, Colloq

drag one's feet: They don't yet have the money to pay, so they are playing for time. 15 play on or upon. use, misuse, abuse, trade on, exploit, take advantage of, impose on: He plays on women's affections then persuades them to give him money. 16 play the game. behave, conduct oneself, deport oneself, act: It makes no difference whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game. 17 play up. a stress, emphasize, underscore, underline, accentuate, call attention to, highlight, spotlight, dramatize, build up: Always try to play up your assets and play down your liabilities. b act up, misbehave, give or cause trouble, malfunction, Colloq go on the blink or US fritz, Brit be wonky: The bloody engine started playing up again, right in the middle of a rainstorm. 18 play up to. curry favour with, flatter, toady to, ingratiate oneself with, butter up, truckle

to, court, Colloq soft-soap, suck up to, boot-lick, US

apple-polish, Taboo slang brown-nose: Ray is always playing up to the teacher, trying to get a better mark. 19 play with. a

toy with, trifle with, treat cavalierly or lightly, make light

of, think nothing of, dally with, amuse oneself with: He's just playing with her till he gets what he's after. b consider,

think about, toy with, not treat seriously: We were playing with the idea of a winter holiday this year. c mess with, fiddle with, toy with, fidget with: Stop playing with your food!

--n. 20 drama, stage play, show, piece, production, entertainment: We have tickets to a different play for every night this week. 21 behaviour, actions, deportment, conduct, demeanour: In the game of life, many have no regard for the rules of fair play. The police suspect foul play. 22 amusement, frivolity, entertainment, recreation, fun, pleasure, sport, merrymaking, revelry, tomfoolery, Colloq horseplay, skylarking, monkey business, Brit monkey tricks or US monkeyshines: The time for play is past, and we must get down to serious business. 23 move, manoeuvre, action: That last play might have won you the game. 24 flexibility, looseness, freedom, leeway, margin, room, space, movement, motion, Colloq give: There's too much play in this gear lever. 25 treatment, coverage, attention:

The newspapers gave Connie's new book a big play.

sportswoman, sportsman, Colloq US jock: Chess players from all over the world came together for the championship. The referee sent three players off. 2 actor or actress, performer,

entertainer, trouper, Thespian: The local drama group is the Allen Arts Players. 3 gambler, better or especially US bettor, gamester, speculator, Brit punter: J.B. is a big player in the commodities market. 4 musician, instrumentalist, performer, virtuoso: Gladys is one of the best tuba players in the band.

playful adj. 1 (high-)spirited, cheerful, frisky, frolicsome, kittenish, sprightly, fun-loving, sportive, coltish, mischievous, puckish, impish, elfish, devilish: The cat didn't mean to scratch you, she was just being playful. 2 joking,

facetious, teasing, roguish, waggish, jesting, humorous, tongue-in-cheek: Cleo's in a playful mood today, isn't she?

playmate n. playfellow, friend, comrade, Colloq pal, chum, US and Canadian buddy: Some of Molly's playmates are asking if she can come out to play.

plaything n. 1 toy, game, knick-knack, pastime: Please pick up your playthings before supper. 2 tool, cat's-paw, dupe, pigeon,

pawn, Colloq US and Canadian fall guy: She had no use for Gerry except as a plaything.

playwright

n. dramatist, dramaturge or dramaturgist, scriptwriter, screenwriter, scenarist: The playwright has deftly caught the way people talk to each other.

pleasant adj. 1 pleasing, pleasurable, nice, enjoyable, satisfying, good, lovely, attractive, inviting, enjoyable, gratifying, delightful, charming, agreeable, suitable, fitting, appropriate; harmonious, euphonious, melodic, mellifluous; delicious, delectable, palatable, savoury, toothsome: Travelling on the Orient Express was a most pleasant experience. The bedroom is decorated in a combination of pleasant colours. He simply doesn't find sunbathing particularly pleasant. That sauce has a

very pleasant taste. 2 friendly, affable, amiable, amicable, gregarious, companionable, sociable, engaging, attractive, winning, open, approachable, outgoing, welcoming, hospitable, agreeable, gracious, charming, congenial, genial, nice, likeable, urbane, cultivated, genteel, polite, courteous, well-mannered, suave, debonair, polished, well-bred, cultured:

Murray always has a pleasant expression on his face. He is quite a pleasant fellow, once you get to know him. 3 fair, sunny, clear, bright, cloudless, balmy, nice, fine: What a pleasant

day for an outing in the country!

please v. 1 delight, gratify, satisfy, suit, humour, content, cheer, gladden, amuse, divert, interest, entertain: I cannot tell you how much it pleases me to see you again. 2 like, prefer, choose, desire, want, see fit, wish, will, elect, opt: She may have her birthday party wherever she pleases.

pleased adj. happy, delighted, glad, gratified, satisfied, contented, thrilled; Colloq tickled pink, pleased as Punch, on cloud nine, in seventh heaven, on top of the world, walking on air, Brit

over the moon, chuffed: His pleased look comes from his having won first prize.

pleasing adj. 1 See pleasant, 1, above. 2 See pleasant, 2, above.

pleasurable

adj. See pleasant, 1, above.

pleasure n. 1 enjoyment, happiness, delight, joy, satisfaction, fulfilment, contentment, gratification; comfort, recreation, amusement, entertainment, diversion: It is a pleasure to meet you at last. Fred derives so much pleasure from tinkering with his model railways. 2 choice, option, desire, wish, preference, fancy, inclination, discretion: Feel free to come and go at your pleasure.

plebeian adj. 1 proletarian, working-class, blue-collar, low-class, lower-class, lowly, low-born, common, mean, humble, inferior, peasant-like, Colloq non-U: What would you expect from someone with such a plebeian background? 2 unrefined, coarse, vulgar, ignoble, lowbrow, unpolished, uncouth, crass, brutish, gauche, provincial, rustic, popular, commonplace, undistinguished: The entertainment caters to the most plebeian tastes.

--n. 3 proletarian, common man or woman, commoner, man or woman in the street, (any or every) Tom, Dick, or Harry, Brit man or

woman on the Clapham omnibus, Colloq pleb, prole: This art exhibition is not going to mean very much to the plebeians.

plebiscite

n. popular vote or ballot, referendum, poll: The plebiscite revealed that the people were in favour of joining the Common Market.

pledge n. 1 promise, oath, vow, word (of honour), covenant, assurance, guaranty, guarantee, warrant, warranty: They have our solemn pledge that we will return within the hour. 2 bail, surety, collateral, security, deposit, earnest (money), pawn, gage,

bond, guaranty, guarantee: They wanted something besides my signature as a pledge for the money. 3 toast, tribute, cheer, health: They drank a pledge to the success of the voyage.

--v. 4 swear, vow, promise, give one's word (of honour), contract, undertake, agree, vouch, vouchsafe: I pledge allegiance to the nation. 5 deposit, pawn, mortgage, Archaic

gage, Colloq US and Canadian hock: He pledged his gold watch to pay for her birthday present. 6 toast, drink (to), drink

(someone's) health: Drink to me only with thine eyes And I will pledge with mine.

plentiful adj. 1 ample, abundant, profuse, copious, lavish, plenteous, bountiful, generous, bounteous: We found a plentiful supply of food in the markets. 2 fertile, fruitful, productive, bumper, luxuriant, thriving, prolific: We thanked the Lord for a plentiful harvest.

plenty n. 1 abundance, more than enough, great deal, mass(es), quantity or quantities, multitude(s), number(s), load(s), mess, scores, Colloq lot(s), mountain(s), heap(s), stack(s), pile(s), load(s), ton(s), ocean(s), oodles, US and Canadian slew(s): There is plenty of food, so it is just as well that plenty of people are coming. There's plenty of time before your bus arrives. 2 plentifulness, fertility, copiousness, abundance, plenteousness, wealth, profusion, lavishness, prodigality, plenitude, bountifulness: It was a land of plenty, a land of milk and honey.

pliable adj. 1 flexible, pliant, elastic, plastic, fictile, malleable, workable, bendable, bendy, ductile, flexuous, supple; lithe, limber: This substance remains pliable only while it is warm. 2 tractable, adaptable, flexible, pliant, compliant, persuadable