The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

well-fixed: A year ago Montmorency was a rich man, but that was

before Blue Thursday on the Stock Exchange. 2 Sometimes, rich

in. abundant (in), overflowing (with), fertile (in), fecund

(in), productive (of), copious (in), abounding in, well supplied

(with), well stocked (with), rife (with), replete (with),

profuse (in or with): The rich prairie land was soon yielding

abundant harvests. The surrounding mountains were rich in

minerals of all kinds. 3 valuable, precious, invaluable,

priceless: For centuries the islanders have enjoyed the rich

bounty of the seas. The thieves who broke into the vaults got a

rich haul. 4 costly, expensive, dear, valuable, invaluable,

precious, priceless, lavish, sumptuous, lush, luxurious,

palatial, elaborate, splendid, exquisite, superb, elegant: The

caravans returned laden with rich treasures of the Orient -

silks, jewels, spices, rare woods, and other luxuries. 5

intense, dark, deep, warm, vibrant, strong, lustrous: At the

rajah's court the rich colours of the carpets and hangings

dazzle the eye. 6 fat, fattening, heavy, creamy, succulent,

savoury, mouth-watering, luscious, sapid, delicious: When Vicky

complained that her sweet was too rich, Arthur ate hers, too. 7

mellow, mellifluous, resonant, sonorous, full: Edgar's rich

basso filled the cavernous amphitheatre. 8 aromatic, ambrosial,

savoury, fragrant, redolent, pungent, strong: The house was

filled with the rich odour of freshly made coffee. 9

productive, plentiful, abundant, ample, bountiful, prolific,

fruitful, fertile, fecund, copious, profitable, potent: The

letters proved a rich source of intimate details about their

private life. 10 laughable, funny, hilarious, comic(al),

humorous, amusing, Colloq side-splitting: He had many rich

anecdotes to relate about the practical jokes they used to play

on one another. 11 ridiculous, preposterous, outlandish,

ludicrous, absurd, nonsensical: One particularly rich episode

involved a chimpanzee.

riches

n.pl. wealth, affluence, opulence, plenty, prosperity,

abundance, fortune, means, resources; lucre, pelf: It was

rumoured that the family had acquired its apparently endless

riches in the slave trade, in the 18th century.

richly

adv. 1 sumptuously, lavishly, luxuriously, splendidly,

elaborately, exquisitely, elegantly, superbly: The flat was

richly appointed with Chinese antiques, thick oriental carpets,

and silk hangings. 2 well, thoroughly, amply, fully,

rickety

adj. wobbly, unsteady, broken-down, decrepit, shaky, tottering,

teetering, ramshackle, flimsy, frail, precarious, dilapidated,

in disrepair, tumbledown, unsecure: Don't put such a heavy lamp

on that rickety table!

rid

v. 1 rid of. deliver from, relieve of, free from or of, rescue,

save: What can we do to rid ourselves of that appalling smell?

riddle°

n. conundrum, puzzle, enigma, poser, question, mystery,

problem, brain-teaser or Brit brain-twister: The cracker

contained a whistle, paper hat, and the inevitable riddle.

riddleý

v. 1 perforate, pepper, puncture, pierce, honeycomb: The back

of the bookcase was riddled with tiny worm-holes. 2 penetrate,

infest, infect, pervade, permeate, fill, spread: An

investigation revealed that the entire department was riddled

with corruption.

--n. 3 sieve, colander or cullender, strainer, grating, screen,

sifter, filter: He shovelled the dirt through the riddle to

sift out the larger stones.

ride

v. 1 sit on or in, travel or journey or go or proceed on or in,

be borne or carried or conveyed (on or in), take; propel or

control or drive (a horse or a bicycle or a motor cycle): They

ride the bus to work each day. The film began with a witch

riding a broomstick. Do you know how to ride a motor bike? 2

float, lie: The yacht is riding at anchor off Portsmouth. 3

tyrannize, terrorize, intimidate, dominate, oppress; bully, rag,

rifle

v. 1 rob, loot, ransack, plunder, despoil, burgle, pillage, US

burglarize: We caught the man who had rifled the till. 2

search, ransack, go through, rummage through: She rifled

through the files till the will was found.

rift

n. 1 separation, break, split, schism, cleft, gulf, gap;

disagreement, conflict, disruption, difference, breach,

break-up, division, distance, alienation: The continued

bitterness served only to intensify the rift between them. 2

tear, rent, opening, hole, crack, chink, crevice, cleavage,

fracture, flaw, fault: Water was pouring through an

ever-widening rift in the dam.

rig

v. 1 Often, rig out or up. fit (out or up), equip, set up,

outfit, supply, provision, accoutre or US also accouter,

caparison, set up, Chiefly Brit kit out: Good Sports was the

shop that rigged us out completely for our Himalayan climbing

expedition. 2 falsify, manipulate, doctor, juggle, fix, tamper

with, fake, Colloq fiddle (with), cook: The accountants rigged

the books to make the company appear profitable enough to merit

a bank loan.

--n. 3 equipment, equipage, gear, tackle, apparatus, outfit,

kit, accoutrements or US also accouterments, paraphernalia,

appurtenances, Colloq things, stuff: It cost a fortune to

transport his diving rig by plane.

right

adj. 1 just, moral, good, proper, correct, legal, lawful,

licit, honest, upright, righteous, virtuous, ethical, fair,

true, honourable, right-minded, principled, open, above-board:

There is no doubt in my mind that Simon can be relied on to do

the right thing. 2 correct, fitting, suitable, proper, accurate,

exact, precise, perfect; factual, truthful, veracious, valid,

sound, Colloq Brit bang on, spot on: Have you bought the right

kind of nail to go into plaster? Jennie had nine right answers

out of ten. How many of yours are right? 3 propitious,

convenient, strategic, advantageous, beneficial, favourable,

auspicious, preferred, preferable, promising: It is critical

for the mixture to reach the boiling point at exactly the right

time. 4 sound, sane, normal, rational, lucid, healthy: Is she

right in the head, letting him drive in his condition? 5

right-hand, dextral, dexter, Nautical starboard: In the United

Kingdom, drivers sit on the right side. 6 rightist, right-wing,

a driving licence?

rigour

n. 1 Usually, rigours. severity, harshness, hardship,

inhospitableness, bleakness, inclemency or inclementness,

bitterness, cold: I am not sure that my grandmother can endure

the rigours of another Scottish winter. 2 strictness, rigidity,

precision, preciseness, punctilio, literalness, exactness,

meticulousness, stringency, inflexibility, rigorism, harshness,

severity, hardship, asperity, austerity, sternness: If you work

with radioactive materials, safety regulations must be observed

with rigour. The rigour of monastic life has toughened him over

the years.

rim

n. edge, brim, lip, border, periphery, perimeter: To make a

margarita, you first coat the rim of a cocktail glass with

coarse salt.

rind

n. peel, skin, husk: Cut the thin outer part of the rind of a

lemon into thin strips and soak them in brandy.

ring°

n. 1 loop, hoop, band, circle, ringlet, circlet, annulus,

grommet, eyelet, quoit, noose, cincture, belt, girdle, cestus or

cestos, border, halo, aureole, nimbus, corona, cuff, collar,

necklace, neckband, bandeau, fillet, bracelet, armlet, torque or

torc, crown, coronet, tiara, diadem, (laurel-)wreath, garland,

Mechanics gland, bearing, US and Canadian bushing or Brit also

bush, washer, O-ring, Nautical thimble, Architecture and

heraldry annulet, Literary roundlet, Anatomy cingulum: The

rings brought up from the wreck of the ancient Greek trading

vessel are worth a great deal. 2 rink, enclosure, arena, circus,

bullring, Spanish plaza de toros, boxing ring: I would no

sooner get into the ring with him than with a bull! 3 circle,

organization, gang, band, pack, cell, team, crew, confederacy,

confederation, combination, cartel, mob, bloc, coterie, set,

clan, clique, fraternity, brotherhood, sorority, sisterhood,

guild, (secret) society, junta or junto, cabal, faction, group,

league, alliance, federation, coalition, union, affiliation,

camorra, camarilla, Bund: She was running an international ring

of jewel thieves who worked only in the most exclusive resorts.

--v. 4 encircle, surround, bind, gird, girt, circle; loop,

compass, envelop, encompass, embrace: The swimming-pool is

ringed with dense shrubbery. After the vase is fired, I intend

to ring the base with a gold band.

ringý

v. 1 peal, chime, toll, knell, tintinnabulate, ding-dong, gong,

sound, resonate, resound, echo, re-echo, reverberate; clang,

jangle; tinkle, clink, jingle, ding-a-ling, ring-a-ding-ding,

Archaic or dialect knoll: The bells rang out their joyous

announcement of peace on earth. 2 telephone, ring up, phone,

call, give (someone) a ring, Colloq (give (someone) a) buzz,

give (someone) a tinkle, get (someone) on the blower or horn, US

(give (someone) a) jingle: I'll ring you when I am next in

town.

--n. 3 ringing, peal, pealing, chime, chiming, toll, tolling,

tintinnabulation, knell, sounding, resonating, echo, echoing,

re-echo, re-echoing, reverberation, reverberating; clang,

clanging, jangle, jangling; tinkle, tinkling, clink, clinking,

jingle, jingling, ding-a-ling, ring-a-ding-ding, Archaic or

dialect knoll: I couldn't hear the ring at the door because the

water was running. 4 (telephone or phone) call, Colloq buzz,

tinkle, US jingle: Don't forget to give your mother a ring on

Sunday.

rinse

v. 1 wash (out or off), wash up, clean, cleanse, bathe, drench,

flood, flush, irrigate, Chiefly Brit swill (out), Literary lave:

Use plenty of fresh water to rinse all the soap out of the

clothes. 2 tint, dye, touch up, highlight: The hairdresser

rinsed a little blue into Martine's greying hair.

--n. 3 rinsing, wash, washing, bath, bathing, cleaning,

cleansing, ablution, drenching, flood, flushing, irrigation,

Medicine lavage, Literary laving: The softening agent should be

added in the final rinse. 4 tint, dye: I had no idea that she

used a rinse - I thought her hair was naturally reddish.

riot

n. 1 rioting, riotous behaviour, disturbance, uproar, tumult,

turmoil, (civil) disorder, lawlessness, hubbub, rumpus,

turbulence, fracas, fray, affray, mˆl‚e or melee, pandemonium,

Donnybrook, brawl, row, unrest, commotion, bother, imbroglio,

outburst, anarchy, disruption, violence, strife, Colloq ruckus,

ruction, to-do, do, Brit bovver, punch-up: The government is

unable to quell the food riots, which have become more frequent

and more violent. 2 funny person or woman or man, comedian or

comedienne, hilarious event or bit or shtick or thing or piece

uncontrollable, unmanageable, chaotic, disorderly, disordered,

lawless, turbulent, violent, brawling, obstreperous: The

headmaster warned that he would not tolerate such riotous

behaviour. 2 rowdy, boisterous, unruly, uproarious, rollicking,

roisterous, wild, rumbustious, unrestrained, uninhibited,

Archaic robustious, Colloq rambunctious, no-holds-barred:

Bernard's retirement party was certainly a riotous affair.

rip

v. 1 tear (apart or asunder), rend, be torn or rent, split, cut

(apart): I ripped my trousers on that nail. The paper ripped

because you yanked it out of my hand. 2 rip off. a steal,

purloin, rob, snatch, pilfer, filch, take, shoplift, Colloq

pinch, Brit nick, Slang lift, swipe, US boost, promote: They

broke into my car and ripped off my tape deck. b cheat,

swindle, trick, fleece, bilk, dupe, deceive; defraud, embezzle,

Colloq con, bamboozle, Slang skin, gyp, rook: A smooth couple

got œ100 by using the old 'stuffed wallet' trick to rip me off.

--n. 3 tear, rent, split, gash, slash; rift, cleft, rupture:

The vandals tore a foot-long rip in the top of my new

convertible.

ripe

adj. 1 mature, matured, seasoned, (fully) grown,

(well-)ripened, developed, mellow, ready, fit, US (fully) aged,

well-aged: The grapes are ripe for picking. 2 prepared, ready,

fit, appropriate, experienced, veteran, seasoned, sage, wise,

sophisticated, mature, informed, qualified, dependable,

reliable: Henry is ripe in judgement and understanding. 3 ripe

for. a timely, opportune, propitious, favourable, auspicious,

ideal, right, suitable, apt, proper, suitably advanced: Is the

time yet ripe for another revival of Heartbreak House ? b

ready, eager, enthusiastic, prepared, fit, ready, in readiness:

The mob is ripe for revolt.

ripen

v. develop, mature, age, season, maturate, bring or come to

maturity; perfect: The peaches need another day to ripen.

rip-off

n. 1 stealing, purloining, robbing, pilfering, taking,

--v. 3 ruffle, purl, undulate, wave; splash, wash, US riffle:

I sat musing, watching the water ripple over the stones in the

brook.

rise

v. 1 get up, arise, stand (up), get to one's feet, Brit be

upstanding: All rise when the judge enters the court. 2 get

up, arise, awaken, waken, wake up, start or begin the day,

Nautical or colloq hit the deck, Colloq turn out: We usually

rise at about six o'clock. 3 ascend, be elevated, arise, climb,

lift, go up, mount: The smoke slowly, almost furtively, rose

from the camp-fire into the still night air. The morning star

can be seen tomorrow rising in the sky just before dawn. Some of

those skyscrapers rise to a height of 110 storeys. 4 Often, rise

(up) (against). rebel, revolt, mutiny, kick over the traces,

take up arms, mount the barricades, take to the streets: If the