The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

pretended adj. so-called, alleged, asserted, reputed, professed, ostensible, purported, so-called, imaginary, make-believe, fictitious, fictional, sham, false, fake, feigned, bogus, counterfeit, spurious, Colloq phoney or US also phony, pseudo, pretend: So this is the pretended hero of yesterday's battle!

pretender n. claimant, aspirant, candidate, suitor, rival, seeker: He was the pretender to the Scottish throne.

pretension

n. 1 Often, pretensions. claim(s), pretence(s), aspiration(s), ambitiousness, ambition(s): He is known to have pretensions to the chancellorship. 2 pretext, pretence, pretentiousness, ostentation, pretending, affectation, hypocrisy: Gladys has behaved without pretension and with great sincerity.

pretentious

adj. 1 ostentatious, showy, superficial, pompous, arrogant, bombastic, inflated, high-flown, exaggerated, vainglorious, fastuous, grandiose, grandiloquent, extravagant, magniloquent: The minister's pretentious language is a bit too much to take.

2 snobbish, lofty, haughty, flaunting, Colloq high and mighty, highfalutin or hifalutin, hoity-toity, high-hat, Slang snotty,

Brit toffee-nosed: That new couple next door are so pretentious - they think that nobody is good enough to associate with them!

pretext n. 1 pretence, excuse, camouflage, guise, disguise, cover, veil, cloak, colour: They carried on the surveillance under pretext of working on the sewer. 2 ruse, red herring, cover (story), rationale, pretence, rationalization, explanation: What pretext did the thief use that made you let him in?

pretty adj. 1 comely, attractive, good-looking, nice-looking, appealing, lovely, cute, mignon(ne), graceful, fair, bonny, fetching, charming, winsome, beautiful, pulchritudinous, Colloq easy on the eye(s): A pretty girl is like a melody. That's a

very pretty cottage. 2 tuneful, melodic, melodious, dulcet, musical, lyrical, harmonious, catchy, mellifluous, euphonious: He played a pretty tune on the piano.

--adv. 3 rather, quite, fairly, moderately, reasonably,

tolerably; somewhat; very, extremely, unbelievably, incredibly: The children put on a pretty good performance, I thought. He had

become pretty fat since we last saw him.

prevail v. 1 hold sway, win (out), predominate, succeed, triumph, gain or achieve a victory, prove superior, gain mastery or control:

It is sometimes disappointing to learn that right does not always prevail. 2 predominate, be prevalent or widespread or current, preponderate, dominate, be the order of the day: As usual during Oktoberfest in Bavaria, revelry prevailed. 3 prevail on or upon. persuade, induce, influence, sway, dispose; incline, win over, bring round, convince: We prevailed on the guard to let us through the gate.

prevailing

adj. 1 dominant, predominant, prevalent, main, chief, principal, common(est), usual, customary, universal: The prevailing winds are westerlies. 2 influential, effective, effectual, dominating, affecting, powerful, potent, forceful, ruling, telling, main, principal: The prevailing religion there is Buddhism.

prevalence

n. 1 prevalency, frequency, commonness, currency, universality, ubiquitousness, ubiquity, pervasiveness, omnipresence, extensiveness; predominance, practice, acceptance, popularity: The prevalence of disease among the population is distressing.

2 sway, control, rule, primacy, ascendancy, mastery, predominance: The prevalence of bushido in Japan has diminished little since 1945.

prevalent adj. universal, catholic, common, frequent, prevailing, current, ubiquitous, pervasive, omnipresent, general, usual, customary, commonplace, extensive, widespread, established, ascendant, dominant, predominant, governing, ruling: A desire for change is prevalent throughout the country.

prevent v. anticipate, preclude, obviate, forestall, avert, avoid, prohibit, ban, bar, forbid, interdict, taboo, enjoin, proscribe, foil, frustrate, obstruct, debar, intercept, nip in the bud, abort, thwart, check, block, ward or fend or stave off, baffle, balk or baulk, (put a) stop (to), arrest, (bring to a) halt, hinder, impede, curb, restrain, hamper, inhibit, delay, retard, slow, mitigate, control: Some diseases can be prevented by

inoculation or vaccination. There is nothing to prevent us from

sometime, erstwhile, preceding, Literary quondam, Archaic whilom: A previous owner of the house filled in the fish-pond. 2 prior, former, foregoing, above, preceding, Formal antecedent, anterior, aforementioned, above-mentioned, before-mentioned, aforesaid, above-named: Please see the previous examples in the Foreword. 3 premature, untimely, too soon or early: Isn't putting up Christmas decorations in October being a bit previous? 4 previous to. previously to, before, prior to, preceding, anterior to, antecedent to: Previous to the advent

of motor cars, we had traffic jams of horse-drawn vehicles.

previously

adv. before, once, formerly, earlier, at one time, then, beforehand, heretofore, theretofore, hitherto, thitherto, in the past, in days gone by, in days of old, in days or time past, in the old days, some time ago, a while ago, once upon a time, yesterday, Literary in days of yore, in olden days or times:

The same thing had happened previously when I was in London. Previously, people lived more relaxed lives - or so we like to think.

current price of a London flat is out of my reach. 2 sacrifice, toll, penalty, cost, consequence: Loss of his freedom was too high a price for standing by his principles. 3 reward, bounty, premium, prize, payment, bonus, honorarium, Literary guerdon: The gunfighter had a price of œ1000 on his head. 4 without price. See priceless, 1, below.

--v. 5 value, evaluate, rate, assay, assess, cost (out): How would you price a piece of furniture like this chair?

priceless adj. 1 costly, dear, expensive, high-priced, valuable, invaluable, precious, inestimable, incalculable; irreplaceable, unique: The vaults in the Vatican contain a king's ransom in priceless jewels. 2 hilarious, riotous, (screamingly) funny, side-splitting, hysterical, droll, comical, amusing: The expression on his face when he realized it was a joke was priceless.

pricey adj. pricy, expensive, dear, costly, exorbitant, outrageous, excessive, extortionate, Colloq steep, Brit over the odds: The restaurant where she took him was certainly pricey, but the food was excellent.

prick n. 1 puncture, pinhole, pinprick; hole, perforation: For the blood test, the doctor made a tiny prick in my finger with a needle. 2 sting, pinch, twinge, prickle, tingle, pain: The teacher leapt from her chair the instant she felt the prick of the tack.

--v. 3 puncture, pierce, stab, jab, punch, perforate, riddle; lance: Using a pin, prick tiny holes in the paper to let the steam escape. The doctor pricked a boil on my neck. 4 stab, sting, hurt, prickle, pinch, bite, smart: The hypodermic needle really pricked me when it went in.

prickle n. 1 spine, bristle, barb, thorn, bur, needle, tine, spike, spur, prong: The prickles make the brambles cling to your clothes. 2 pricking, prickliness, itch, itchiness, sting, tingling, tingle: I felt the prickle of the rough wool against my skin.

--v. 3 tingle, sting, itch, smart: Sloane complained that the beard he had to grow for the pirate role made his face prickle.

4 stick, jab, prick: The child's hands had been prickled by the chestnuts.

prickly adj. 1 bristly, thorny, brambly, spiny, barbed, briery, spinous, spiky, Technical setaceous, setose, acanthoid, aciculate, aculeate, muricate, spiculate: Dad's face is all prickly when he hasn't shaved. 2 tingling, stinging, pricking, prickling, itchy, crawly, crawling: The squeak of the chalk on the blackboard gives me a prickly feeling. 3 touchy, irritable, petulant, cantankerous, testy, waspish, bad-tempered, peevish,

fractious, short-tempered, curmudgeonly, Colloq cranky: Moira gets a bit prickly if you ask her why she married Noel. 4 nettlesome, thorny, ticklish, touchy, troublesome, intricate, complicated, complex, knotty, hard, difficult, contentious: The prickly problem of how to pay for the university must still be faced.

pride n. 1 honour, proudness, self-esteem, self-respect, amour propre, dignity: It is gratifying to be able to look with pride on one's children's achievements. 2 conceit, egotism, self-importance, vanity, hubris, arrogance, overconfidence, overweeningness, self-admiration, self-love, self-importance,

smugness, haughtiness, hauteur, snobbery, snobbishness, Colloq uppitiness: Pride goeth before a fall. Her pride stems from an exaggerated notion of her own worth. 3 boast, flower, best, prize, pride and joy, treasure, jewel, gem: Those model railway trains are Eustace's pride and joy.

--v. 4 Usually, pride oneself on. be proud of, take pride in, delight in, revel in, celebrate, glory in: Irena prides herself on having made her own way in life, without anyone's help.

priest n. priestess, clergyman or clergywoman, ecclesiastic, cleric, churchman or churchwoman, reverend, vicar, divine, man or woman of the cloth, man or woman of God, curate, confessor, minister

(of the Gospel), servant of God, father, mother, holy man or woman, preacher, missionary, evangelist, abb‚, abbot or abbess, Colloq padre: The high priest muttered some incantations over the body of the sacrificial victim.

priestly adj. clerical, ecclesiastic, pastoral, hieratic, sacerdotal; ministerial, canonical, missionary: She has taken her priestly vows.

first-rate, first-class, choice, select, superior, pre-eminent, leading, ranking, predominant, unparalleled, matchless, peerless, noteworthy, outstanding, admirable, worthy, exceptional, excellent, extraordinary, exceptional: She is a prime example of the results of a modern education. Arthur is certainly a prime candidate for the position. 3 original, fundamental, basic, elemental, elementary: The prime cause of scurvy is lack of fresh fruit and vegetables.

--n. 4 youth, springtime; best years, heyday, pinnacle, acme, peak, zenith: Some people reach the prime of life at 60.

--v. 5 (make or get) ready, prepare, educate, teach, instruct, coach, train, tutor, drill: Has Sonia been fully primed to take over the chairmanship when Sir William steps down? 6 inform, advise, notify, apprise, brief: Having read your book, I am fully primed on American history.

primitive adj. 1 first, original, aboriginal, earliest, primordial, primal, primeval or Brit also primaeval, pristine, prehistoric; antediluvian, Noachian or Noachic, old, ancient: In its most primitive state, life probably originated from some random

strings of molecules. The most primitive farming tools date from some 10,000 years ago. 2 crude, rude, unrefined, raw, barbaric, uncultured, barbarian, coarse, rough, uncivilized, savage, uncultivated, unsophisticated, uncouth: I cannot tolerate

Nigel's primitive table manners. 3 simple, basic, simplistic, na‹ve, childlike, unsophisticated, uncultivated, unrefined, unpolished, rough, untutored, untaught, untrained, unschooled, undeveloped: Gary collects paintings of the primitive school and has one by Grandma Moses.

primp v. preen, prink, prettify, titivate or tittivate, plume, dress up, groom, Colloq doll up, get (all) dolled up, spruce up, put on one's best bib and tucker, Chiefly Brit tart up, get (all) tarted up, Slang deck out, trick out or up, put on one's glad rags, Brit fig out, US gussy up, get (all) gussied up, dude up: She was primping before the mirror, awaiting the arrival of her beau.

princely adj. 1 lavish, bountiful, generous, liberal, ample, substantial, huge, enormous: They paid a princely sum for their stately home in Surrey. 2 lavish, magnificent, splendid,

luxurious, majestic, royal, regal, sumptuous, superb, Colloq ritzy, swank(y), posh, plush: The hotel laid on princely accommodation for us with rooms overlooking the sea. 3 royal, noble, regal, sovereign, of royal or noble blood or rank: Who would have thought that our humble home would ever shelter a princely guest?

principal adj. 1 chief, primary, prime, paramount, main, first, foremost, ranking, pre-eminent, predominant, dominant, prevailing; leading, starring: The principal reason I'm here is to see you. The principal food of the people is corn. The principal role was sung by Pavarotti. 2 important, prominent, leading, key, cardinal: Cuba is a principal source of sugar.

--n. 3 owner, proprietor, chairman, chairwoman, chairperson, (managing) director, head, president, chief, chief executive officer, CEO, manager or Brit manageress, superintendent, supervisor, Colloq boss, US (head or chief) honcho: We should talk to the principals about buying that company. 4 dean, director, Chiefly Brit headmaster, headmistress, master, rector, (vice-)chancellor: His appointment as principal is for a two-year period. 5 (working) capital, capital funds, resources, investment, backing, (cash) reserve(s), assets; money: She is fortunate to be able to live on the income from her investments, without touching the principal. 6 star, lead, heroine, hero, leading lady or man, leading role, main part; diva, premiŠre danseuse, premier danseur, prima donna, prima ballerina: The principal in the ballet company was a Russian.

principally

adv. chiefly, mainly, first (and foremost), primarily, above all, in the main, mostly, for the most part, largely,

predominantly, on the whole, at bottom, in essence, essentially, basically, fundamentally; especially, particularly: He seems to be interested principally in money, with little regard for anything else.

principle n. 1 truth, given, precept, tenet, fundamental, grounds, law, rule, dictum, canon, doctrine, teaching, dogma, proposition, (basic) assumption, postulate, axiom, maxim, truism, guide, standard, criterion, model: The perpetual-motion machine violates a basic principle of physics. 2 Often, principles. philosophy, code, attitude, (point of) view, viewpoint,

sentiment, belief, credo, creed, idea, notion, ethic, sense of right and wrong: He cynically conducts his life on the principle, 'Do unto others before they do unto you'. I am not sure I can condone his principles. 3 (sense of) honour, uprightness, honesty, morality, morals, probity, integrity, conscience: If you don't think him a man of principle, don't do business with him. 4 in principle. on principle, in theory, theoretically, basically, fundamentally, at bottom, in essence, essentially, ideally: I like your plan in principle, but in practice it cannot be accomplished that way.

principled

adj. moral, righteous, right-minded, virtuous, noble, high-minded, ethical, honourable, proper, correct, right, just, upright, honest, scrupulous: Michael is too highly principled to take bribes.

print v. 1 impress, imprint, stamp, publish, issue, run off, put out; copy; (pull a) proof: We decided to print 500 copies of the book. You may have your name printed on the cover for an additional amount.

--n. 2 reproduction, copy, replica, facsimile; positive, photograph, etching, (steel or wood-)engraving, lithograph, woodcut, linocut, silk screen, rotogravure, Trade Mark Xerox; picture, illustration; Colloq photo, cut, pic (pl. pix): Today,

a good print of a Picasso costs more than an original did fifty years ago. 3 text, printed matter, type, writing; language, wording, (choice of) words, phrasing: You'd be well advised to read the small print before signing the agreement.

prior adj. 1 former, previous, earlier, one-time, ex, erstwhile; old, last, late, latest, Literary quondam, whilom: If you overdraw your account without prior arrangement, you will automatically be charged a higher rate of interest. 2 prior to. before,

previous to, previously to, till, until, preceding: Prior to the earthquake, Valdivia was a river port.

priority n. precedence, precedency, primacy, urgency, immediacy, predominance, pre-eminence, preference, rank, superiority, prerogative, right, seniority, importance, weight, immediacy: The applications for aid will be processed in order of priority.