The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

backbone, mettle, determination, gameness, resolve, resolution, steadfastness, hardiness, sturdiness, stout-heartedness, stoutness, fortitude, nerve, Colloq guts, spunk, US sand, Slang Brit bottle, US moxie: She certainly showed pluck standing up to the boss like that.

--v. 2 pick, remove, withdraw, draw out, extract: The children plucked flowers in the garden and made posies. 3 snatch, grab, yank, jerk, tear (away): She was plucked from the jaws of death by Tarzan, who happened to be swinging by on a vine. 4 tug (at), pull (at), catch (at), clutch (at); vellicate: An ancient crone plucked at his sleeve as he passed.

plug n. 1 stopper, stopple, bung, cork: If you pull the plug out, the water will run out. 2 chew, twist, quid, wad, pigtail,

cavendish: As they forbade smoking, he would take snuff or chew a plug of tobacco. 3 publicity, mention, promotion, recommendation, puff, blurb, PR; advertisement, Colloq advert, hype: His book was given a plug on yesterday's evening news.

--v. 4 Often, plug up. stop (up), close (up or off), seal (off or up), cork, stopper, bung, block, jam, stuff, clog, obstruct,

dam (up): A piece of soap has plugged the drain. 5 publicize, mention, promote, push, advertise, puff, commend, Colloq boost, beat the drum for: It wasn't right to plug her brother's

company in her article on double glazing. 6 See plod, 2, above.

holds the string taut and exactly vertical.

--adj. 2 vertical, perpendicular, straight up and down: Make sure the jamb is plumb before hanging the door.

--adv. 3 vertically, perpendicularly, straight up and down: The cord doesn't hang plumb because the shelf is in the way. 4 exactly, precisely, dead, right, accurately, Colloq slap, Brit bang, spot: The navigator checked our position and we were plumb on course.

--v. 5 sound, fathom, measure, probe, explore, measure, gauge, delve, penetrate: The bathyscaphe has plumbed the deeps of the Indian Ocean. I plumb the depths of depression thinking of starving people everywhere.

obese, overweight, steatopygous, Brit podgy or US pudgy, Colloq busty, beamy, hippy, beefy, well-upholstered: They went on a diet because they were getting a bit plump.

--v. 2 puff up or out: When you get up, please plump up the pillows on the sofa.

plumpý v. 1 drop, plummet, fall, plunge, dive, sink, collapse, flop:

I was so tired that all I could do was plump down in an armchair and watch TV. 2 deposit, set or put (down), plunk, plop: She plumped down the defective mixer on the counter and asked for a refund. 3 plump for. support, choose, select, back, side with, campaign for: Given the choice, they plumped for a film rather than the circus.

--n. 4 drop, plunk, flop, thump, clunk, clump, thud, bump: He dropped the book on the floor with a plump.

--adv. 5 abruptly, suddenly, directly, unhesitatingly, at once, unexpectedly, surprisingly, without warning, (all) of a sudden, plunk, bang: As I came out of the bank, I ran plump into a policeman.

--adj. 6 direct, unequivocal, unmistakable or unmistakeable, unambiguous, definite, definitive, blunt, simple, plain, forthright, downright, straight, matter-of-fact: He asked her to marry him and she gave him a plump 'no'.

plunder v. 1 pillage, loot, rob, ravage, ransack, rifle, despoil, spoil, vandalize, sack, strip, maraud, devastate, desolate, lay

waste: The attacking army plundered the villages. 2 prey on or upon, pirate, capture, seize: The buccaneers plunder the Spanish treasure ships on the high seas.

--n. 3 pillage, looting, robbery, depredation, rapine, despoliation, spoliation, vandalization, sack, vandalism, vandalizing, sacking: It is said that the plunder of Rome took no more than a fortnight. 4 booty, loot, spoils, prizes, Slang boodle: The police displayed an Aladdin's cave of plunder recovered from the thieves.

plunge v. 1 descend, drop, plummet, dive, pitch, nosedive, fall (headlong): They lost their footing, and both Holmes and Moriarty plunged into the abyss. 2 submerge, sink, immerse; engulf, overwhelm: I plunged my hand in the icy water to retrieve the keys. She plunged herself into her work to try to forget him.

plush adj. luxurious, posh, costly, (de) luxe, palatial, lavish, rich, opulent, sumptuous, regal, elegant, Colloq ritzy, classy, Old-fashioned swank(y): I had no idea that you lived in such plush surroundings.

16.6 pocket...

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pocket n. 1 pouch, sack, bag, receptacle, reticule, satchel: You should always have a clean handkerchief in your pocket. 2 cavity, pit, hollow, crater: We found water that had collected in pockets in the surface of the rock. 3 area, island, camp, centre, cluster, concentration: Leaders encountered pockets of resistance to the new policies among the farmers.

rhymer or rimer, poetaster: A widely published poet, Constance is often invited to give readings.

poetic adj. 1 poetical, lyric(al), metrical, musical, melodic; idyllic, elegiac, georgic, rhapsodic, epic, dithyrambic: She bought a volume of the poetic works of John Keats. 2 artistic, aesthetic, Parnassian, Hippocrenian, melodious: The novel contains some poetic passages of surpassing quality.

poetry n. verse, versification, metrical composition, metrics, rhyme, Archaic poesy: Modern poetry is often rather obscure.

po-faced adj. stern-visaged, austere, dour, disapproving, frowning, grave, saturnine, solemn, sombre, humourless, grim, forbidding, severe, strait-laced, uncompromising, puritanical, prim, prudish, gruff, bluff, curmudgeonly: Despite having a po-faced

approach to his work, William has a keen sense of humour when

off duty.

poignant adj. 1 distressing, upsetting, agonizing, grievous, painful, woeful, melancholy, blue, sad, sorrowful, tragic, disastrous, heart-rending, heart-breaking, excruciating, bitter, pathetic, pitiable, piteous, pitiful, miserable, moving, touching: The biography also covers the poignant early years, spent largely in orphanages and foster homes. 2 keen, acute, intense, incisive, sharp, stinging, pointed, piercing, penetrating, barbed,

cutting, caustic, acid, acerbic, bitter, biting, mordant,

sarcastic, sardonic, severe: The headmaster's poignant remarks about honesty and loyalty really hurt. 3 sincere, earnest, heartfelt, deep, profound, dramatic, deeply felt, stirring, moving, touching, emotional: The reunion of the little boy and his dog was the most poignant moment in the film.

point n. 1 dot, mark, speck; (full) stop, period; decimal point: The writing is smudged, but that looks like a point at the end of

the line. 2 tip, peak, apex, spike, spur, prong, sharp end: Be careful of the point of that knife. 3 spot, place, stage, position; site, station, location, locale: We have reached the point of no return on that subject. I stopped at a few points along the way to admire the view. 4 time, moment, instant, juncture: At that point, we were summoned by the dinner bell. 5 focus, essence, meat, pith, quiddity, substance, heart, nucleus, crux, nub, core, bottom, details, Colloq guts, nitty-gritty: I wish he would stop all the palaver and get to the point. 6 purpose, intent, intention, aim, goal, object, objective, sense: What was the point of bringing that piece of gossip into the discussion? 7 thrust, drift, theme, purport, burden, import, implication, significance, signification, sense,

meaning; application, applicability, relevancy, appropriateness: We found it difficult to see the point of the argument. 8 promontory, projection, headland, cape, peninsula: It may take us a day to sail round the point. 9 brink, verge: We were on the point of leaving when the guest of honour finally arrived. 10 detail, particular, item, element, nicety, aspect, facet, matter, issue, subject, question; specifics: Some of the points in her speech need clarification. 11 pointer, hint, suggestion, piece of advice, tip: The golf pro at the club gave me some good points on improving my swing. 12 thought, idea, consideration; notion, view, plan, tactic; something: That's a point to keep in mind if you buy another sailing-boat. 13 unit,

tally, score: She made her point and went on to win the match. 14 attribute, characteristic, feature, aspect, trait, quality,

side, property: I suppose he has his good points, too. 15 beside the point. irrelevant, inapt, inappropriate, malapropos, incidental, immaterial, unimportant, pointless, inconsequential: The fact that she's my sister is beside the point. 16 in point

of. in reference to, regarding, as regards, in the matter of, concerning, with respect to: In point of date, the two events coincide perfectly. 17 make a point of or US also make (it) a point to. make an effort (to), put or place emphasis on, go out of one's way (to); emphasize, single out, stress: He made a point of apologizing to the hostess for his behaviour. She made a special point of forgiving him. 18 to the point. relevant, pertinent, appropriate, fitting, apropos, germane, apt, applicable, apposite: The speech was short and to the point.

--v. 19 Often, point to. indicate, call or direct attention to: Desir‚e pointed to the building and asked what it was. 20 direct, level, aim, train: I awoke to find her pointing a gun at my head. 21 point out. a designate, call or direct attention to, show, exhibit, indicate, identify: The taxi driver pointed out all the sights as we drove along. b say,

bring up, mention, allude to, bring up, emphasize, stress, point up, single out; allude to, call attention to, remind: I'd like

to point out that you have rarely won at bridge. She pointed out the fallacy in his argument. 22 point up. emphasize, stress, accentuate, underline, underscore, accent, spotlight: Such errors point up the need to double-check everything.

point-blank

adj. 1 direct, straight, blunt, flat, straightforward, abrupt, categorical, explicit, uncompromising, unmitigated, unalloyed, downright, outright, to the point, straight from the shoulder, (open and) above-board, unreserved: I asked her out to dinner and got a point-blank refusal. 2 close, short, nearby: He was shot at point-blank range.

--adv. 3 directly, straight (away), right away, bluntly, flat, flatly, abruptly, categorically, unqualifiedly, explicitly, uncompromisingly, unmitigatedly, outright,, unreservedly, plainly, frankly, openly, candidly: He turned her down point-blank when she offered him the job. 4 directly, straight: He fired point-blank at the target.

pointed adj. 1 needle-shaped, sharp, acute, barbed, peaked, spiked, spiky, Technical acuminate, cuspidate, aciform, acicular, aciculiform, aculeous, apiculate, spiculate, serrate(d), acuminate, mucroniform, mucronulate, mucronate(d), muricate, hebetate: The child was poking holes in the sand with a pointed stick. 2 incisive, piercing, cutting, sharp, pungent, keen, penetrating, telling, trenchant, biting, unmistakable or unmistakeable: The critic made a few pointed remarks about the actors' reading of the lines.

pointer n. 1 indicator, rod, stick; index, sign, arrow, Typography fist: The pointer is used to call attention to something important. 2 tip, advice, hint, suggestion, recommendation, piece of advice: McLeod gave me a few pointers on how to improve the restaurant service.

pointless adj. purposeless, aimless, worthless, ineffective, meaningless, ineffectual, futile, unproductive, fruitless, bootless, useless,

vain, senseless, absurd, silly, stupid, inane, asinine, fatuous, preposterous, nonsensical, ridiculous, empty, hollow: After her paper, someone rose and wasted half an hour making pointless remarks.

point of view

n. 1 viewpoint, perspective, approach, position, angle, slant, orientation, outlook, stance, standpoint, vantage point: From his point of view, I can see why Fred thinks the research is a waste of time. 2 opinion, view, belief, (way of) thinking, principle, doctrine: Shouldn't everyone be entitled to express a point of view?

poise n. 1 balance, equilibrium, equipoise, equiponderance, parity, par: The chariots of the gods in even poise, obeying the rein, glide rapidly. 2 composure, control, self-possession, aplomb, assurance, dignity, equanimity, sang-froid, cool-headedness, imperturbability, presence of mind, coolness, staidness, reserve, sedateness, calmness, serenity, tranquillity, Colloq cool: Jane's poise is remarkable, despite the heckling by the audience.

--v. 3 balance, be balanced, hover, hang, float; make or be or get ready, prepare: The boulder was poised on the edge of the

cliff.

poised adj. 1 composed, controlled, self-possessed, unflappable, (self-)confident, (self-)assured, dignified, cool-headed, imperturbable, unruffled, cool, staid, reserved, sedate, calm, serene, tranquil, Colloq together: For a lad of eleven, Richard is quite poised. 2 ready, standing by, waiting, prepared: Our commando unit is poised to attack at your signal. 3 teetering, hovering, tottering, wavering, suspended, trembling, wobbling, balanced: In the present business climate, the company is poised on the brink of bankruptcy.

poison n. 1 toxin, venom, bane; miasma, mephitis: The chemical plant was found to be releasing poisons into the atmosphere. He kills rats using poison. 2 virus, bane, cancer, canker, corrupt or

evil influence, pestilence, plague, blight: The drug barons continue to spread their poison throughout the world.

--v. 3 defile, adulterate, infect, taint, pollute; contaminate, debase, pervert, vitiate, subvert, warp, envenom: Chemicals from the nearby plant have poisoned the drinking-water. Why have you poisoned the child's mind against eating spinach? 4 murder, kill, do away with, destroy, dispatch or despatch: Lucrezia Borgia poisoned her enemies in ingenious ways.

poisonous adj. 1 lethal, deadly, fatal, mortal, toxic, septic, virulent, noxious or rare nocuous, venomous, malignant, pernicious, miasmic, mephitic: Poisonous effluents were leaked into the rivers by the chemical plant. 2 malicious, malevolent, malignant, corruptive, vicious, baleful, evil, foul, diabolic(al), defamatory, libellous, slanderous, dangerous,

deleterious,: They have been spreading poisonous gossip about him again.

police officer

n. officer, policeman, policewoman, constable, Brit police constable, PC, WPC, Chiefly US peace officer, patrolman, patrolwoman, Colloq cop, gendarme, Brit bobby; Slang copper, fuzz, flatfoot, Brit rozzer, Old Bill, Offensive and derogatory pig, Historical peeler, US bull, fuzz ball: The police officers then asked if I wouldn't mind helping with their inquiries.

policy n. approach, procedure, (game) plan, design, scheme, programme, method, system, management, conduct, behaviour, strategy, tactic(s), principle(s), protocol, regulation, rule, custom,

way, practice, ways and means, action: What policy should we follow regarding interest rates?

polish v. 1 shine, brighten, burnish, buff, furbish, wax, clean, smooth, rub, gloss: He polished up the handles so carefully That now he is the ruler of the Queen's navy. 2 Often, polish up. refine, improve, perfect, finish, cultivate, ameliorate, enhance; correct, emend: If you polish up the article we might consider it for publication. 3 polish off. a conclude, end, terminate, finish: Ned polished off his homework in less than an hour. b kill, slay, murder, dispatch or despatch, destroy, dispose of, do away with, liquidate, eliminate, Slang bump off, rub out, do in, take for a ride: Three platoons were polished off quickly. c dispose of, put away, eat, consume, wolf (down):

In a few minutes, MacGregor had polished off the entire meal. 4 polish up. study, review, learn, Archaic con, Colloq bone up (on), Slang Brit swot up (on): If you're going to M laga, you'd better polish up your Spanish.

--n. 5 gloss, shine, lustre, sheen, glaze, smoothness, brilliance, sparkle, gleam, glow, brightness, radiance: You cannot imagine what a fine polish she put on that old table. 6 wax, oil: The new polish really put a shine on the desk.

polished adj. 1 accomplished, adept, proficient, expert, fine, outstanding, skilful, gifted, masterful, masterly, virtuoso, excellent, superior, superb, superlative; flawless, faultless, perfect, impeccable: Edna is quite a polished cellist. She gave a polished performance. 2 refined, elegant, cultivated, graceful, debonair, sophisticated, urbane, soign‚(e), courtly, genteel, cultured, civilized, well-bred, well-mannered, polite: