The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

Colloq comeback: Faced with criticism of the novel, the author's retort was a four-letter word.

--v. 2 fling or hurl back, rejoin, answer back, riposte, rebut, counter, come back with, return, respond, answer, reply, retaliate: 'And don't expect a Christmas present from me, either!', she retorted vehemently.

retouch v. touch up, correct, restore, repair, recondition, refresh, brush up, adjust, improve, finish, put the finishing touches on: Only an expert restorer could have retouched the damaged painting so skilfully.

retract v. 1 withdraw, pull or draw back: The instant he felt the heat, he retracted his hand. 2 take back, withdraw, rescind, revoke, repeal, deny, disavow, recant, renounce, abjure, cancel, forswear, repudiate, disclaim, disown, reverse: If they refuse to retract their statement, I shall sue them for libel.

retreat n. 1 retirement, withdrawal, pulling or falling or drawing back, giving ground, evacuation, flight: The regiment's retreat in the face of overwhelming odds is complete. 2 retirement, seclusion, withdrawal, isolation, solitude, rustication: Since her retreat from public life, she has devoted herself to painting. 3 sanctuary, sanctum (sanctorum), refuge, shelter, den, haven, asylum, resort, hideaway, hide-out: Antonia

insisted on having her own retreat where she could occasionally escape from the children.

--v. 4 withdraw, decamp, run (away), turn tail, depart, give or lose ground, pull or fall or draw back, retire, evacuate, flee, take flight: We must retreat to the shelter of the hills, where

we can regroup. 5 ebb, draw or move back, recede: The waves, constantly advancing and retreating across the pebbly strand, lulled me to sleep.

retribution

n. vengeance, revenge, reprisal, retaliation, requital, redress, quid pro quo, satisfaction, punishment, justice, just deserts, recompense, compensation: It is a moral question

whether society's treatment of malefactors should be an act of retribution or the setting of an example to others.

retrieve v. 1 bring or get (back), fetch, come back with: Simon trained his dog to retrieve his slippers. 2 recover, save, rescue, take back, recoup, regain, reclaim: I tried using a fishing line to retrieve my hat from the lake. 3 make up, make amends for, recover, cover, redeem, repay, pay for, return, get back,

regain, be repaid or reimbursed for: Will we be able to retrieve our losses when we sell the business?

retrospect

n. hindsight, reconsideration, review, remembering, afterthought, recollection, looking back: In retrospect, I am not sure we did the right thing.

return v. 1 come or go back, revert, turn back: She is returning to her old habits. I shall return to this subject later if I have time. 2 come back, reappear, resurface, crop up again, turn or show up again, put in an appearance again; recur, reoccur,

Colloq pop up again: Will he return before March? The symptoms returned. 3 replace, put back, restore, give back, bring or

carry back: The missing books have mysteriously been returned. 4 exchange, bring back or carry back: You may return any merchandise, for any reason, for refund or exchange, within ten days of its purchase. 5 yield, earn, gain, profit, benefit:

Where else can you find a secure investment that returns more than 15 per cent? 6 deliver, render, give, offer, turn in, proffer, report: The jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty.

--n. 7 recurrence, reappearance, repetition, renewal, recrudescence, resurfacing, re-emergence: There was a return of the symptoms when I stopped taking the medicine. 8 replacement, replacing, restoration, restoring, restitution: We shall see to

the return of the stolen items to their rightful places. 9 Sometimes, returns. yield, earnings, profit, gain, benefit, income, revenue, proceeds, interest, takings, results: The return on my investment was almost 100 per cent! 10 arrival, advent, coming, home-coming: A small crowd had gathered to await his return. 11 reciprocity, reciprocation, repayment,

recompense, reimbursement, compensation, payment, reparation, indemnity, indemnification, consideration, amends, redress, requital: If I give you my bike, what will I get in return?

revamp v. overhaul, redo, recondition, renovate, repair, fix, do up, refit, refurbish, restore, rehabilitate, US fix up: To bring it

into line with the 21st century, the constitution may need to be revamped completely.

reveal v. expose, display, divulge, disclose, show; make known, let on, let out, let it be known, let slip, communicate, give vent

to, air, ventilate, leak (out): The increasing light of dawn revealed a no-man's-land of utter devastation. The book is said to reveal everything you would prefer not to know about factory-farming.

revel v. 1 Usually, revel in. (take) delight (in), take pleasure (in), rejoice (in), luxuriate (in), bask (in), wallow(in), lap up, crow (about or over), glory (in), savour, relish: Gavin revelled in the news that his ex-wife was remarrying and he

would no longer have to pay her alimony. 2 make merry, carouse, celebrate, cut loose, go on a spree, Colloq live it up, whoop it

up, make whoopee, whoop it up, paint the town red, party, Brit push the boat out, Slang Brit have a rave or rave-up: The night after exams finish, the students traditionally revel till dawn.

--n. 3 spree, party, merrymaking, debauch, carouse, festival, fˆte, carousal, celebration, gala, ball, romp, fling, carnival, jamboree, bacchanal, saturnalia: Everyone joined in the revels on New Year's Eve, and had a good time.

revelation

n. news, information, proclamation, publication, bulletin, communiqu‚, announcement, pronouncement, declaration, statement, leak; admission, confession; discovery, unveiling, uncovering, exposure, disclosure, expos‚: We were shocked at the revelation that they had been married all these years. Scientists'

revelations about the depletion of the ozone layer are causing widespread concern.

revelry n. merrymaking, fun, revelling, carousal, carousing, gaiety, festivity, jollity, mirth, celebration, ball, high jinks or

hijinks, spree, Colloq partying, Slang Brit rave or rave-up: The revelry went on into the wee hours of the morning.

revenge n. 1 vengeance, retaliation, reprisal, retribution, vindictiveness, spitefulness, repayment, satisfaction: They think he set fire to the place in revenge for having been dismissed.

--v. 2 avenge, get even for, take revenge for, make reprisal for, exact retribution or payment or repayment for: She was seeking ways to revenge the murder of her brother. 3 revenge oneself (on). settle a score or an old score (with), pay (someone) back in his or her own coin, give a Roland for an Oliver, give tit for tat, take an eye for an eye (and a tooth

for a tooth), punish, Colloq get, get even (with), give (someone) his or her or their comeuppance, give (someone) a taste of his or her or their own medicine: He found ways to revenge himself on them for all that they had done to him.

enshrine, sanctify, beatify, glorify, esteem, admire, respect, honour: He was revered as the founding father of British psychology.

reverence n. 1 honour, respect, esteem, admiration, glorification, beatification, sanctification, idolization, worship, veneration, adulation, adoration, homage, fealty, obeisance, deference, awe: Their totalitarian discipline was able to succeed because of the people's reverence for authority.

--v. 2 See revere, above.

reverie n. day-dream, fantasy, brown study, wool-gathering, absent-mindedness; meditation, thought: I shouldn't disturb Kevin - he's deep in a reverie.

reversal n. 1 reverse, turn-about, turn-round, U-turn, change, volte-face, (complete) switch, Brit about-turn, US about-face: This represents a reversal of former policy, doesn't it? 2 See reverse, 8, below. 3 annulment, nullification, nulling, cancellation, revocation, repeal, rescission: The present case is an appeal against the reversal of an earlier judgement.

reverse adj. 1 opposite, contrary, inverse, converse; inverted, upside down, mirror, reversed, backward: Now try turning the wheel in

the reverse direction. What appears on the retina is a reverse image, which the brain inverts.

--v. 2 invert, overturn, turn upside down, turn topsy-turvy, turn over, up-end; exchange, change, interchange, transpose:

Using your finger to keep the mercury from running out, reverse the tube in the dish of mercury. Perhaps the car will start if

you reverse the leads to the battery. 3 overturn, overthrow, upset, set aside, quash, override, annul, nullify, vacate, abandon, revoke, negate, veto, declare null and void, disaffirm, invalidate, cancel, repeal, rescind, overrule, countermand, undo: The superior tribunal reversed the decision of the lower-court judge. 4 alter, change, modify; renounce, recant, take back: Reverse the polarity of the wiring. I reversed my opinion after hearing her sing. 5 back up, move or go backwards or US also backward, backtrack, Nautical make sternway: You will be in the right spot if you reverse a yard or two.

--n. 6 opposite, contrary, converse, antithesis: Whatever she tells you, I suggest you do the reverse. 7 back, rear, wrong side, verso, underside; flip side, B-side; tail side: Read what it says on the reverse. 8 set-back, disappointment, misfortune, reversal, mishap, misadventure, trouble, problem, difficulty, vicissitude, adversity, defeat; disaster, catastrophe, d‚bacle,

rout, Colloq washout: We suffered a temporary reverse or two in business, but we're all right now. United suffered a humiliating reverse against Wanderers in the cup last week.

revert v. return, come or go back, take or pick up again, lapse, backslide, regress, relapse, retreat: He reverted to his old beliefs about male superiority.

review v. 1 survey, examine, regard, look at, study, con, consider, weigh, inspect, look over, scrutinize: Would you be good enough to review the work of the new employees? She is coming to review the troops this weekend. 2 re-examine, reconsider, go over again, look at or over again, reassess: Billings reviewed once more all the bad things he had done in his lifetime. 3 criticize, critique, assess, judge, evaluate, give one's opinion

of, comment on or upon, discuss: Who reviewed your latest book?

--n. 4 criticism, critique, review article, assessment,

judgement, evaluation, commentary, study, comment, notice: The

play received rave reviews from almost all the critics. 5 survey, examination, study, consideration, inspection, scrutiny, analysis; reviewing, reading: After a detailed review of the circumstances, we have decided to let you off easy this time, Finnegan. 6 re-examination, reconsideration, rehashing or

rehash, post-mortem, reassessment, rethinking, rethink: Why do you always insist on a review of all the bidding on every hand, whenever we play bridge? 7 periodical, journal, magazine: Have you read Stonehouse's article in the latest Birmingham Review? 8 parade, procession, array, cavalcade, march past, fly-past or chiefly US flyover: A great naval review was held at Spithead.

revise v. 1 edit, emend, improve, correct, rectify, modify, revamp, redact, rework, overhaul, update; rewrite: A revised edition of the dictionary has been published every ten years. 2 alter, change, amend: Since hearing him sing, I have been forced to revise my taste in music.

revision n. editing, revising, emendation, improvement, correction, rectification, modification, revamping, reappraisal, re-examination, reinterpretation, reassessment, redaction, reworking, overhaul, overhauling, updating, update; rewrite, edition, version, rendition: Her revision of the text is based on a newly discovered manuscript. The fourth revision will be available next April.

revival n. 1 resurrection, resuscitation, renewal, restoration, revitalization, resurfacing, return, returning: How much more often we see the revival of out-moded fashions than the introduction of new ideas! 2 rebirth, renaissance or renascence, resurgence, awakening, quickening, reanimation: Do you regard the current trend towards fundamentalism as a genuine revival of religion? 3 recovery, improvement, increase, upsurge, upturn, boost, upswing, advance, advancement, progress, rise, escalation, Colloq pick-up, comeback: This week saw a revival in the metals market.

revive v. 1 (re)awaken, wake (up), come or bring (a)round, waken, resuscitate; recover, (re)gain consciousness: Dashing cold water in his face revived him at once. I revived to find her leaning over me. 2 reawaken, stir up again, renew, resume, reopen, refresh: You can blame Andy for reviving the feud between our families. 3 bring back, reactivate, renew,

resurrect, re-establish, resume, reopen, revitalize, breathe

life into, reinvigorate, rejuvenate: Perhaps we ought to revive the practice of putting hooligans, vandals, and delinquents into stocks in the market square.

revoke v. cancel, deny, invalidate, annul, declare null and void, void, nullify, negate, repudiate, renounce, rescind, repeal, recall, recant, quash, veto, set aside, abrogate, abolish, withdraw, take back, retract: He warned that if they refused to comply with local authority rulings he had the power to revoke their licence.

revolt n. 1 rebellion, revolution, uprising, mutiny, insurrection, coup d'‚tat, putsch, take-over: The council ordered the secret police to suppress the revolt.

--v. 2 rebel, rise up, mutiny; protest, dissent: After years

of oppression, the people revolted and deposed their leaders. 3 repel, offend, disgust, shock, horrify, repulse, nauseate, sicken: I was revolted by the poverty and sickness I saw in that country.

revolting adj. disgusting, sickening, nauseating, nauseous, stomach-turning, stomach-churning, vomit-provoking, sick-making, foul, loathsome, abhorrent, horrid, horrible, nasty, vile,

obnoxious, repulsive, appalling, abominable, repellent, offensive, objectionable, off-putting, beastly, gross, rotten, rancid, inedible, disagreeable, unpleasant, Slang icky, yucky: Rick served up some revolting mess for dinner and then took offence when we didn't eat it.

revolution

n. 1 mutiny, revolt, rebellion, coup (d'‚tat), uprising, insurgency, insurrection, putsch, take-over, overthrow: If the government fails to ensure that the people have food, there will be a revolution. 2 upheaval, cataclysm, transformation, (drastic or radical or major) change, sea change, metamorphosis: Recent successes of capitalism have sparked a revolution in the political philosophies of communist nations. 3 rotation, turn, orbit, circuit, spin, lap, round, cycle, circle, gyration;

wheel, whirl, pirouette: At each revolution of the gear (A ) , the ratchet (B ) moves one notch. The rapid revolutions of the ice-skater dissolved her into a blur of colour.

revolutionary

adj. 1 mutinous, rebellious, insurgent, insurrectionist, insurrectionary, radical, rebel, seditious, subversive: They had dreamed for years of the revolutionary overthrow of the government. 2 novel, innovative, creative, new, different, original, avant-garde: The firm hopes that its revolutionary new product will make a clean sweep in the market-place.

--n. 3 rebel, mutineer, insurgent, insurrectionist, insurrectionary, revolutionist, sansculotte or sansculottist, anarchist, radical, extremist, terrorist: In his younger days

at university, Charles fancied himself a revolutionary, without quite knowing what he might rebel against.

revolve v. 1 spin, turn, pivot, rotate, gyrate, whirl, twirl, reel, wheel, go (a)round, circle, cycle, orbit; swivel: As the earth revolves on its axis, the moon revolves round the earth. 2 turn, depend, pivot, rely: His decision to buy a new car revolves on his finances. 3 turn over (in one's mind), ponder, weigh, consider, meditate upon or on, think about, reflect upon or on, ruminate over or on, chew over, contemplate: I have been revolving in my mind your most attractive proposal, but I regret I must turn it down.

revolver n. pistol, gun, side-arm, firearm, Chiefly US and Canadian handgun, Colloq US six-gun, six-shooter, Slang US rod, gat, roscoe, piece, Saturday-night special, shooting-iron: How do you explain the fact that your fingerprints were found on the revolver with which she was shot?

revulsion n. loathing, detestation, disgust, repugnance, abomination, abhorrence, aversion, hatred, antipathy, odium, execration: I cannot describe the revulsion I felt at seeing those elephants slaughtered for their ivory.

reward n. 1 award, favour, recompense, compensation, return, payment, pay, requital: For your good deeds you will have to seek your reward in heaven; dishonesty is recompensed here on earth. 2 prize, award, tribute, honour, Literary guerdon: The Victoria

Cross was instituted as a reward for military valour in 1856. 3 retribution, punishment, just deserts, Colloq comeuppance: Hanging was the reward of treason.

--v. 4 recompense, compensate, pay, repay, remunerate, redress, requite, make (something or it) worth someone's while: Only if they reward him will Fuller give information leading to the capture of the thief.

rewarding adj. satisfying, gratifying, worthwhile, enriching, enriched, fruitful, worthwhile; profitable, advantageous, productive, gainful: Laurence says that his most rewarding experience has been seeing his children again.

reword v. paraphrase, rephrase, put into different words, put another way, express differently, revise, recast, rewrite: Perhaps if

you reworded your request in politer terms it might get more sympathetic consideration.

18.3 rhapsodic...

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rhapsodic adj. rhapsodical, ecstatic, enthusiastic, elated, overjoyed, effusive, rapturous, thrilled, blissful, transported, orgasmic, intoxicated, euphoric, walking on air, delighted, intoxicated, happy as a sandboy, happy as a pig in clover, (sitting) on top of the world, Brit in the seventh heaven, US in seventh heaven,

happy as a cow in clover, Taboo slang US happy as a pig in shit: What kind of society have we that is scornful of intellect and rhapsodic about celebrities?

rhetoric n. 1 eloquence, expressiveness, elocution, way with words, Colloq gift of the gab: His rhetoric, though it defied

analysis, exactly reflected the emotions of the Labour movement. 2 bombast, bluster, fustian, rodomontade, grandiloquence, magniloquence, oratory, windiness, high-flown poppycock, wordiness, sesquipedality, verbosity, prolixity,

long-windedness, turgidity, flatulence, gasconade, Colloq hot air, puffery: Her threats are mere rhetoric and I refuse to take notice of them.

rhetorical

adj. 1 stylistic, linguistic, poetic, expressive, oratorical: Zeugma, hysteron proteron, and anacoluthon are all terms for rhetorical devices. 2 artificial, contrived, for effect,

unanswerable, not literal: The question, 'Why don't you drop dead', was purely rhetorical. 3 pretentious, bombastic, flamboyant, extravagant, florid, fustian, high-flown, inflated, grandiose, euphuistic, turgid, grandiloquent, magniloquent, long-winded, windy, orotund, wordy, prolix, sesquipedalian, Colloq highfalutin or hifalutin: The rhetorical style of Crampton's parliamentary speeches appear to be doing the party more harm than good.

rhyme n. 1 rime, poem, poetry, verse, versification, metrical composition, song: The art of rhyme may well be coincident with the earliest stages of language. 2 rhyme or reason. (common) sense, logic, intelligence, meaning, wisdom, rationality, rationale, soundness, organization, structure: There appears to

be no rhyme or reason behind the bombing of the library.

rhythm n. tempo, beat, cadence or cadency, throb, throbbing, accent, accentuation, time, timing, stress or rhythmic(al) pattern, measure, metre, pulse, lilt, Music downbeat, thesis, upbeat, arsis: The song is in samba rhythm.

rhythmic adj. rhythmical, measured, cadenced, throbbing, pulsing, pulsating, regular, steady, beating: The rhythmic sound of the waves soon sent me to sleep.

18.4 ribaldry...

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ribaldry n. vulgarity, immodesty, indelicacy, indecency, coarseness, bawdiness, earthiness, wantonness, raciness, naughtiness, shamelessness, lustfulness, rakishness, rascality, dissoluteness, lubricity, lasciviousness, looseness, scurrility

or scurrilousness, lewdness, salaciousness, licentiousness, grossness, offensiveness, rankness, rudeness, smuttiness, smut, dirt, filth, foulness, obscenity: The ribaldry of some of Chaucer's tales makes them not altogether suitable for schoolchildren.