The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

Under her guidance, James has become a polished gentleman.

scheming, clever, wily, foxy, tricky, artful, Macchiavellian, evasive, shifty, Colloq cagey: Daniel is politic enough to know how to manoeuvre situations to his benefit. 2 tactful, diplomatic, discreet, prudent, judicious, wise, sage, sagacious, sensible, intelligent, percipient, discriminating, far-sighted, expedient, perceptive: It was politic of the winner to share

the prize with those who had helped him most.

political adj. 1 governmental, civic, civil, public, state, national, federal; administrative, bureaucratic: The movement began as an attempt to gain political freedom. 2 partisan, factious,

factional: A coalition government was formed by the major political parties.

politician

n. legislator, lawmaker, statesman, stateswoman; minister, Brit Member of Parliament, MP, US public or civil servant, administrator, official, bureaucrat, office-bearer, senator, congressman, congresswoman, representative, assembly-man, assembly-woman, selectman; Colloq US derogatory politico, (political) boss or hack, machine politician, ward-heeler, wirepuller: Some politicians have given a bad name to the art of politics.

politics n. 1 public affairs, political science, civics, civil affairs, government, statecraft, diplomacy, statesmanship: Hume viewed politics as people united in society and dependent on each

other. 2 manoeuvring, manipulation, wirepulling, machination: Office politics are such that they wouldn't dare dismiss that department head.

--v. 3 sample, survey, question, canvass, ballot, ask, interview; count, enumerate, tally, register, record: We polled teenagers to determine their reaction to a youth centre; those in favour polled 73 per cent. 4 receive, get, win, register, tally: Cavendish polled more than 60 per cent of the votes cast.

pollute v. 1 contaminate, adulterate, befoul, foul, soil, spoil, taint, stain, dirty, sully, blight, poison: These factories must be prevented from continuing to pollute the atmosphere. 2 corrupt, desecrate, profane, defile, violate: The altar was polluted because it had been touched by a non-believer.

pollution n. contamination, adulteration, corruption, polluting, fouling, befouling, soiling, spoiling, tainting, staining, dirtying,

sullying, blighting, poisoning, vitiation: Laws were passed to prosecute those responsible for the pollution of the environment.

pomp n. glory, grandeur, magnificence, splendour, show, extravaganza, pageantry, ceremony, spectacle, brilliance, ceremoniousness: The Chinese court's pomp and display of wealth had never before been seen by a westerner.

pompous adj. 1 vain, vainglorious, proud, arrogant, pretentious, ostentatious, showy, grandiose, haughty, overbearing, conceited, egotistical, self-important, boastful, braggart, inflated,

snobbish, magisterial, imperious, pontifical, affected, exhibitionist, Colloq uppity, highfalutin or hifalutin, hoity-toity, high-hat, Slang snooty, snotty: Don't you despise the pompous way Marshall struts about in that ridiculous uniform? 2 bombastic, flowery, grandiloquent, pedantic, stuffy, fustian, orotund, ornate, embroidered, flatulent, windy, turgid, inflated, high-flown, euphuistic: He's always making

long-winded, pompous speeches because he loves the sound of his own voice.

ponder v. consider, muse (over or on), brood (over or upon or on), mull over, deliberate (over), meditate (upon or on), think (over or on or about), weigh, ruminate (over), chew over, cogitate, excogitate, reflect (on or over), contemplate: I shall need a while to ponder the answer to that question. Give me a little

more time to ponder.

ponderous adj. 1 weighty, unwieldy, heavy, massive, huge, big, large, awkward, clumsy, cumbersome or cumbrous: A ponderous juggernaut bore down on us, completely out of control. 2 dull, tedious,

laboured, laborious, tiresome, turgid, boring, dreary, pedestrian, stilted, windy, inflated, long-winded, wordy,

verbose, prolix, elephantine, pompous, grandiloquent, overdone: Many students faced with textbooks written in ponderous prose become disenchanted with learning.

slipshod, below or under par, Colloq rotten, lousy: They did a poor job repairing my car. Her latest recital was pretty poor. 5 insignificant, slight, paltry, inconsequential, mean, modest, trivial, trifling: They made only a poor attempt to correct the problem. 6 unfortunate, unlucky, pathetic, luckless, pitiful, pitiable, ill-fated, miserable, wretched, ill-starred, star-crossed, jinxed, hapless: The poor chap lost his entire family in the disaster. 7 bad, ill: Aunt Theresa has been in poor health lately.

poorly adv. 1 badly, inadequately, unsatisfactorily, incompetently, inexpertly, improperly, crudely, unprofessionally, amateurishly: The decorators you recommended have done their work very poorly indeed.

populace n. people, masses, commonalty, (general) public, commoners, multitude, hoi polloi, crowd, throng, rabble, peasantry, proletariat, common folk, rank and file, working class, bourgeoisie, mob, Derogatory great unwashed, riff-raff, rabble, canaille, ragtag and bobtail: Some MPs act on behalf of their own constituencies rather than the populace at large.

popular adj. 1 favourite, favoured, in favour, accepted, well-received, approved, (well-)liked, fashionable, in fashion, stylish, in

vogue, celebrated, renowned, acclaimed, famous, in demand, sought-after, all the rage, Colloq trendy, in, hot: You would become a millionaire overnight if you could accurately predict

adj. obscene, lewd, offensive, indecent, prurient, smutty, taboo, blue, dirty, salacious, licentious, nasty, X-rated, Colloq porno, US raunchy: Some prudes consider anything concerning sex to be pornographic.

pornography

n. obscenity, smut, filth, dirt, erotica, Colloq porn: The council voted to forbid the sale of pornography within the town precincts.

were bound east for the port of Cardiff.

portable adj. transportable, manageable, carriable, handy, light, lightweight, compact, pocket, pocket-sized, little, small, US carry-on, vest-pocket, shirt-pocket: He needs a van just to transport his portable television, portable radio, portable hi-fi, portable typewriter, portable computer, and portable calculator.

portentous

adj. 1 ominous, threatening, momentous, sinister, fateful, alarming, menacing, foreboding, ill-omened, inauspicious, unfavourable, ill-starred, ill-fated, star-crossed, lowering or louring, gloomy, unpromising, unpropitious: Precisely at midnight they appeared with the most portentous news. 2 extraordinary, amazing, astonishing, astounding, prodigious, awesome, awe-inspiring, remarkable, marvellous, phenomenal, fabulous, fantastic, mind-boggling, wondrous, miraculous: The coronation of a British monarch is truly a portentous event.

janitor, superintendent, Colloq US super: When we are away, the porter keeps our mail for us. 2 door-keeper, watchman, doorman, gatekeeper, concierge, US tiler: He went to my club, but the

porter would not let him in.

piece, hunk, chunk, lump, wedge, slice, sliver, fraction, fragment, bit, morsel, scrap: A portion of the masonry fell into the street in the earthquake. 2 share, part, allotment,

quota, ration, apportionment, allowance, allocation, assignment, percentage, measure, division, quantity: The size of an investor's portion depends on the amount invested. 3 helping, serving; ration, plate, platter: He complained that the

portions in nouvelle cuisine are too small.

--v. 4 Often, portion out. apportion, share out, allocate, ration, allot, partition, assign, consign, dole out, deal (out), parcel out, distribute, administer, dispense, disperse, divide, split up, carve up, cut up, break up, section, Colloq divvy up: The conquered territories were then portioned out among the victors.

portrait n. picture, likeness, image,sketch, rendering, vignette; representation, description, profile, thumbnail sketch, portrayal, picturization, depiction; account, story, characterization, study, record, file, dossier: We have the culprit's portrait in our rogues' gallery. We need a more accurate portrait of the kidnapper.

portray v. 1 represent, picture, show, depict, paint, render,

imitate, mimic; attitudinize, posture, put on airs, Colloq show off: She posed as an art expert from Switzerland. She thinks him a rou‚, but he's only posing. 3 set, put, ask, submit, broach, posit, advance, present, predicate, postulate: The

interviewer posed some questions that were quite embarrassing.

--n. 4 position, attitude, posture, stance: Her profile is not shown to best advantage in that pose. 5 affectation, act, pretence, attitudinizing, affectedness, display, fa‡ade, show, ostentation: His interest in art is just a pose to impress her.

rich, royal, regal, luxury, grand, fashionable, Colloq swank(y), classy, ritzy, Slang snazzy: You ought to see what a posh office my son has!

posit v. postulate, hypothesize, propound, put or set forth, put forward, advance, propose, pose, offer, submit, predicate: If we posit a downturn in prices next year, how does that affect our profit forecasts?

position n. 1 posture, attitude, stance, pose; disposition, arrangement, disposal: Once in a while, he would change his position so that he faced the sun. With the pieces in this position the chess game is a draw. 2 site, placement, situation, whereabouts, placing, emplacement, location: Those bearings put his present position about 20 miles west of C diz. 3 viewpoint, point of view, outlook, attitude, angle, slant, stance, stand, opinion, inclination, leaning, bent, sentiment, feeling, way of thinking: My solicitor is pessimistic about my position in this case. 4 status, condition, state, circumstances, situation: Our

financial position vis-…-vis investment in gilt bonds has changed. 5 class, caste, place, rank, standing, station, status, importance: They insist on knowing the social position of the girl's family. 6 job, occupation, situation, post, office, function, appointment, capacity, place, role, Colloq billet, berth, Australian possie or possy My mother's position as

managing director had nothing to do with my getting a promotion.

7 hypothesis, thesis, principle, contention, assertion, predication, belief, proposition, postulate: His position is based on the implications of the third law of thermodynamics.

--v. 8 put, place, situate, site, set, fix, settle, dispose,

arrange: The pointer is again positioned at zero. Position your forces along this ridge and stay on full alert. 9 place, locate, establish, determine, fix, localize: The scientists positioned the seismic activity as being along the San Andreas fault.

positive adj. 1 sure, certain, definite, unequivocal, categorical, absolute, unqualified, unambiguous, unmistakable or unmistakeable, clear-cut, clear, explicit, express, decisive, indisputable, indubitable, unquestionable, unquestioned, incontestable, uncontested, undeniable, reliable, persuasive, convincing, irrefutable: The police have positive evidence that the men are innocent of any crime. Spending this evening with you has been a positive delight. 2 definitive, emphatic, decided, forceful, firm, peremptory, definite: He gave a positive denial when asked if he had agreed to let the hostages

go. She made a positive commitment to meet me here at noon. 3 sure, certain, confident, convinced, satisfied: Are you

positive that the last train is at midnight? 4 beneficial, favourable, complimentary, productive, useful: I heard many positive things about the way she handled herself at the interview. 5 overconfident, dogmatic, doctrinaire, pontifical, opinionated, pigheaded, stubborn, obstinate, obdurate, arbitrary, overweening, arrogant, assertive, dictatorial, despotic, imperious, Rare thetic(al): His problem is that he is quite positive about things that simply are not so. 6 practical, realistic, utilitarian, productive, functional, pragmatic(al), realistic, matter-of-fact, Colloq hard-nosed: They have taken a

positive approach to studying the economics of small businesses. 7 encouraging, supportive, constructive, reassuring, enthusiastic, favourable, affirmative, yes, confirming: Our

plan to buy out the company has received a positive reaction from our bankers. Asked if they would buy our product, businessmen gave a positive response. 8 auspicious, promising, propitious, encouraging; optimistic, favourable, cheerful, confident; Colloq bullish, upbeat: In the long run, the picture for home-owners looks positive. It pays to maintain a positive outlook and not get depressed. 9 complete, utter, total,

perfect, out-and-out, consummate, unmitigated, thorough,

thoroughgoing; egregious, glaring, stark, sheer, outright, unqualified, unequivocal: You were a positive idiot not to let me know you needed help. All attempts at reconciliation ended in positive disaster.

positively

adv. definitely, absolutely, unquestionably, certainly, (most) assuredly, undeniably, undoubtedly, surely, to be sure, emphatically, unmistakably or unmistakeably, unqualifiedly, categorically, indisputably, beyond or without (a shadow of) a doubt, indubitably, beyond question: The wine list at Le MaŒtre's is positively the best in the area.

possess v. 1 be possessed or in possession of, have, own, enjoy, be blessed or endowed with: In the 19th century, the family possessed great wealth. 2 have, be born or gifted or endowed with, contain, embody, embrace, include: He possesses a talent to amuse people. Man does not possess as keen a sense of smell as many animals. 3 dominate, control, govern, consume, take control of, preoccupy, obsess; charm, captivate, enchant, cast a spell over, bewitch, enthral: What possessed her to think that

I could help? He behaves as if he is possessed by the devil. 4 be possessed with or of. have, be held or influenced or dominated by, be imbued or inspired or permeated or affected

with: She became possessed with the notion that she could sing. Fiona believes herself the only person possessed of reason. 5 possess oneself of. acquire, achieve, get, come by, gain, come into, win, obtain, procure, secure, take, seize, take or gain possession of: Kevin has possessed himself of the only comfortable bed in the place.

possessed adj. obsessed, driven, controlled, dominated, ridden, bedevilled, consumed, haunted, pressed, maddened, crazed, demented, frenzied, Colloq eaten up: He behaved like a man possessed.

possession

n. 1 ownership, title, proprietorship, control, hold, tenure, keeping, care, custody, guardianship, protection: The paintings are now in my possession. 2 holding, territory, province, dominion, colony, protectorate: How long will the Falkland Islands remain a possession of the Crown? 3 possessions. belongings, property, effects, chattels, assets, worldly goods,