The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms
.pdffood shortages persist, the people are sure to rise up and overthrow the present regime. 5 swell, flood, increase, grow; wax: Owing to the heavy rains, the river is rising rapidly. 6 slant or incline or slope (upwards), ascend, climb, go uphill: The path rises steeply just beyond the cwm. 7 fly, take flight, take wing, take to the air, take off, arise, lift, climb, soar, mount: At the roar of the gun, tens of thousands of flamingoes rose from the lakes. 8 advance, improve one's lot or position, progress, get ahead, go or get somewhere, succeed, make something of oneself, be promoted, prosper, thrive, make good, Colloq make it, make the grade, go places: Fielding could well have risen in the company had his attitude been different. 9 start, begin, originate, arise, occur, happen, take place: I cannot explain how so much bad feeling rose between us. 10 increase, be elevated or lifted or boosted, grow, go up, move upwards, climb, escalate, ascend, snowball: When interest rates rise, they contribute to the inflation that raising them was supposed to reduce. 11 arise, be nurtured, be produced, be generated, be created, spring up, be engendered: The feelings
that rose within him were spurred on by sheer hatred of the man. 12 rise to. a arise, come up, meet, be equal to, prove adequate to: If you need a good man, you can count on Michael to rise to the occasion. b come to get, take, swallow, react to, respond
to, succumb to, be tempted by: Sue rose to the bait of a company car and accepted our offer.
--n. 13 ascent, hill, hillock, knoll, eminence, prominence, elevation, upland, highland, (upward) slope or incline, acclivity, US upgrade: As we climbed a slight rise, we saw the mountains gleaming in the distance. 14 increase, increment, gain, addition: In return for only a slight rise in wages, they are being asked to take on much more responsibility. 15 ascent, ascension, elevation, flight, climb, take-off: The balloon's
rise was suddenly halted when the basket caught in a tree. 16 get or Brit also take a rise out of (someone). provoke, stimulate, incite, instigate, foment, goad, encourage, press, push, shake up, waken, awaken, move, motivate, activate, agitate, stir (up), inflame, impassion: We finally got a rise out of Sidney by threatening to charge him for cleaning his room. 17 give rise to. start, engender, generate, begin, commence, produce, bring out, cause, bring about, bring into
being: We never discovered what gave rise to Tom's dislike of dogs.
risk |
n. 1 danger, peril, jeopardy, hazard, chance, gamble: I would |
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take up skydiving, but my mother won't let me because of the |
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risk. |
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--v. 2 endanger, imperil, jeopardize, hazard, chance, gamble: |
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Would you really risk all your money on one roll of the dice? |
risky |
adj. dangerous, perilous, hazardous, chancy, touch-and-go, |
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precarious, Colloq iffy, dicey, dodgy, touchy: Futures trading |
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is a very risky business, as many have discovered to their |
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dismay. |
risqu‚ |
adj. indelicate, unrefined, indecorous, indecent, improper, |
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broad, naughty, spicy, salty, off colour, racy, bawdy, erotic, |
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suggestive, wicked, blue, ribald, daring, salacious, gross, |
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Colloq Brit near the knuckle: Some of those photographs of |
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beauty contest queens are pretty risqu‚. |
rite |
n. ceremony, ritual, ceremonial, observance, formality, custom, |
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practice, routine, procedure, solemnity, solemnization, liturgy: |
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This weekend I have to perform the annual rite of having tea |
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with great-aunt Elizabeth at the Ritz. |
ritual |
adj. 1 ceremonial, ceremonious, sacramental: The celebrants |
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undergo ritual washing before preparing the sacrifice. 2 |
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procedural, formal, conventional, customary, habitual, routine, |
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prescribed, usual, automatic, perfunctory: Each time they meet, |
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Harold and Bill have to go through a ritual handshaking routine |
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- a hangover from their school-days, I think. |
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--n. 3 formality, routine, custom, practice, convention, |
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protocol: If everyone goes through this tea-drinking ritual |
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twice a day, how do you get any work done? 4 See rite, above. |
rival |
n. 1 competitor, opponent, contender, challenger, antagonist, |
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adversary; opposition: This year there are many formidable |
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rivals for the championship. |
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--v. 2 compete with or against, contend with or against, |
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oppose, challenge, contest, struggle with or against, vie with, |
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combat, compare with, equal, measure up to, (be a) match (for): |
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Jan's prowess at tossing the caber rivalled that of anyone else |
snarl, growl: A train roared by. The crowd roared appreciation. A lion roared once in the night. 2 laugh, guffaw, howl (with laughter), hoot: They fell about roaring when he told the joke about the egg and the taxi.
--n. 3 roaring, bellow, thunder, rumble, boom; howl, bawl, squall, cry, yell, yowl, clamour, outcry; snarl, snarling, growl, growling: The roar of the falls could be heard miles away. There was a roar of indignation at the proposal. The beast's roar was enough to strike terror into our hearts. 4
guffaw, outburst, howl, hoot: Everything she said was met by a roar of laughter from the gallery.
rob |
v. 1 burgle, loot, rifle, ransack, plunder, depredate, raid; |
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hijack; pillage, sack; US burglarize, Colloq hold up, Slang |
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stick up, rip off: They robbed a jeweller's shop last week. 2 |
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prey upon or on, Colloq hold up, mug, Slang chiefly US stick up, |
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rip off, Chiefly US and New Zealand roll: These hooligans rob |
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old ladies in the street. 3 rob (someone) (of). deprive (of), |
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cheat or swindle (out of), defraud (of), strip (of), fleece |
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(of), bilk (of), victimize, mulct (of), US euchre ((out) of), |
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Colloq rook ((out) of), do or diddle (out of), gyp (out of), |
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Slang Brit nobble (of): I was robbed of my last penny by those |
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confidence men. We were robbed by a taxi driver who offered to |
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change our money. She robbed me of my self-respect. |
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robber |
n. thief, pickpocket, shoplifter, burglar, bandit, |
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housebreaker, sneak-thief, cat burglar, safe-breaker, |
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highwayman, gentleman of the road, brigand, pirate, freebooter, |
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buccaneer, privateer, corsair, Colloq mugger, hold-up man, Slang |
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cracksman, rip-off artist, safe-cracker, safe-blower, Chiefly US |
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stick-up man, US second-story or second-storey man: The police |
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were making every effort to catch the robbers. |
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robbery |
n. robbing, theft, thievery, thieving, burglary, burgling, |
pilfering, pilferage, stealing, plundering, plunder, looting, sack, sacking, ransacking, depredation, pillage, pillaging, hijacking, hijack, larceny, breaking and entering, Colloq pinching, hold-up, holding up, mugging, Slang rip-off, ripping-off, Chiefly US stick-up, sticking-up, Brit nicking, US heist: The robbery of the paintings took place in broad daylight. The robbery of the shop was aided by a former employee. The robbery of elderly persons is on the increase.
robe |
n. 1 cloak, dress, garment, vestment, habit, frock, cassock, |
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caftan, muu-muu, surplice, bathrobe, dressing-gown, lounging |
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robe, housecoat, kimono, house-dress, peignoir, wrapper, French |
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robe de chambre, costume: A woman wearing a green robe came to |
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the door and asked what I wanted. 2 robes. costume, habit, |
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uniform, garb, attire, vestments, apparel, raiment, livery, |
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clothing, garments, outfit, accoutrements or US also |
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accouterments, regalia, finery, trappings, panoply, gear, |
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paraphernalia, appurtenances, equipage, rig, Archaic vesture: |
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She looked absolutely splendid decked out in the full robes of |
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state. |
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--v. 3 cloak, garb, dress, cover, enrobe, clothe: The dish |
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consists of ladyfingers topped with fresh strawberries robed in |
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chocolate, with whipped cream spread over the top. |
robot |
n. 1 automaton, mechanical man or monster, android: In the |
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future, much of the drudgery will be taken over by electronic |
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robots. 2 drudge, clod, tool, puppet, cat's-paw, myrmidon, |
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mechanical man, automaton: The company has a number of robots |
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on its payroll who carry out orders without question. |
robust |
adj. 1 healthy, fit, sound, hale (and hearty), sturdy, hardy, |
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hearty, strong, stout, tough, able-bodied, strapping, brawny, |
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sinewy, rugged, muscular, powerful, well-knit, athletic, |
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staunch, vigorous; in fine or good fettle, Colloq husky: Kelly |
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was such a robust chap one might have thought he'd live forever. |
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2 pungent, strong, flavourful, sapid, rich, full-bodied, nutty, |
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fruity: He gave me a glass of an excellent robust tawny port. |
rock° |
n. 1 stone; boulder: In the avalanche, the rocks thoroughly |
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destroyed the ski lodge. 2 crag, tor, escarpment, scarp, Brit |
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outcrop, US outcropping: We used to go rock climbing when I had |
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the strength. 3 on the rocks. a on ice: I'd like a whisky on |
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the rocks, thanks. b in (a) shambles, destroyed, in ruins, |
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ruined, finished, broken-down, beyond repair: He lost his job |
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and his marriage went on the rocks. c destitute, |
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poverty-stricken, indigent, penniless, bankrupt: Unable to find |
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another job, he's been on the rocks for a year, now. |
rocký |
v. 1 sway, swing, lull: Her father used to rock her to sleep |
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in his arms. 2 roll, reel, lurch, toss, swing, sway, wobble: |
The building rocked so during the earthquake that I thought it was going to fall down. 3 astound, astonish, shock, surprise,
jar, stagger, amaze, stun, dumbfound or dumfound, daze, stupefy, overwhelm, disconcert, unnerve, Colloq set (someone) back on his or her or their heels, throw, rattle, shake up: I was really
rocked by the news that Sue was marrying Craig.
rocket |
v. zoom, take off, sky-rocket, shoot up, climb, rise rapidly, |
soar, spiral upwards, Colloq go through the roof: The day |
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controls were lifted, prices rocketed, almost doubling |
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overnight. |
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rocky° |
adj. 1 stony, pebbly, shingly, boulder-strewn, craggy; bumpy, |
difficult, hard, uncomfortable, arduous: The beach at Nice might be romantic, but it's very rocky to lie on. The road to love can be very rocky indeed. 2 stony, adamant, adamantine, firm, unyielding, rocklike, tough, unbending, flinty, firm, solid, steadfast, steady, unfaltering, staunch, unflinching, determined, resolute, unwavering, unchanging, unvarying, invariant, invariable, reliable, dependable, sure, certain: I
knew we could depend on Charles's rocky determination to see the project through. 3 stony, flinty, unfeeling, unsympathetic, unemotional, emotionless, impassive, cold, cool, apathetic, indifferent, uncaring, detached, d‚gag‚, callous, thick-skinned, tough, hard: Beneath that rocky exterior beats a tender heart.
rockyý adj. unstable, tottering, teetering, unsteady, shaky, rickety,
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unsure, uncertain, unreliable, weak, flimsy, wobbly, wobbling, |
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vacillating, dubious, doubtful, questionable, Colloq iffy: The |
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project will be very rocky till we are assured proper funding. |
rod |
n. 1 bar, pole, baton, wand, staff, stick, dowel, cane, shaft: |
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Steel rods are used to reinforce the concrete in modern |
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buildings. 2 cane, birch, switch, scourge, lash; punishment, |
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chastisement, castigation, discipline, chastening, correction: |
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As they say, spare the rod and spoil the child. |
rogue |
n. 1 trickster, swindler, cheat, cad, ne'er-do-well, wastrel, |
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good-for-nothing, miscreant, Rather old-fashioned scamp, |
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scoundrel, blackguard, knave, rascal, rapscallion, scapegrace, |
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dastard, cur, churl, wretch, villain, charlatan, mountebank, |
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Brit bounder; Colloq louse, stinker, rat, creep, Brit rotter, |
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blighter, Chiefly US and Canadian son of a gun, Slang bastard, |
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Chiefly US and Canadian son of a bitch, SOB or s.o.b., bum: She |
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met some clever rogue in Capri who conned her out of fifteen |
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thousand lire. |
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--adj. 2 independent, undisciplined, uncontrollable, |
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ungovernable, unmanageable, unpredictable, disobedient, |
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incorrigible, fractious, self-willed, unruly, intractable, |
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unrestrained, wild, lawless, strong-willed, headstrong, |
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refractory, contumacious, recalcitrant, cross-grained, |
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rampageous: Part of the village was destroyed when a rogue |
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elephant ran amok. Perkins quit the company to start up his own |
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rogue concern. |
role |
n. 1 r“le, part, character, impersonation; lines: She had the |
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role of Maria in a recent production of Twelfth Night . 2 |
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function, position, situation, place, post, capacity, job, duty, |
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task, responsibility: Hermione's role in the company is that of |
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managing director. |
roll |
v. 1 rotate, cycle, turn (over (and over)), wheel, trundle; |
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revolve, go (a)round, orbit, tumble, somersault or somerset or |
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summersault or summerset: Th landlord rolled another barrel |
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beer into the pub. The children loved rolling about in the ride |
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at the fun fair. 2 pass, go, flow, slip, flit, glide, slide, |
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move (on); expire, elapse, disappear, vanish, evaporate: The |
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time certainly rolls by quickly when you're having fun. 3 move, |
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drive, bowl, be carried or conveyed, cruise, sail, coast, ride, |
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float, fly: We rolled down the road, singing and laughing. 4 |
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undulate, billow, rise and fall: The countryside rolled away |
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before us as far as the eye could see. 5 roar, echo, re-echo, |
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rumble, reverberate, resound, sound, boom, peal, resonate, |
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thunder: The roar of the explosion rolled over us as we ran for |
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cover. 6 rob, steal from: They got their money by rolling |
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drunks. 7 Often, roll out. flatten, level (off or out), smooth |
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(out), even (out), grade: After cutting, the lawn ought to be |
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rolled. 8 Usually, roll over. turn (over), rotate, spin: Roll |
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onto your stomach so I can examine your back. 9 Usually, roll |
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up. furl, coil, curl, wind (up), wrap (up); enwrap, swathe, |
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enfold, envelop, shroud, enshroud: Every night he takes down |
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the banner and carefully rolls it. Cleopatra was rolled up in a |
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rug to be smuggled past the guards. 10 roll in. a arrive, come |
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in, pour in, flow in, turn up, show up: The contributions |
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really started to roll in after the appeal. b luxuriate in, |
revel in, wallow in, savour, bask in, delight in, take pleasure in, indulge in, rejoice in, relish: Basil has been rolling in unaccustomed wealth since his aunt died. 11 roll out. unroll, unfurl, spread (out), unfold, uncoil, uncurl, unwind, open (out): Roll out the bolt of cloth so that we can measure it.
--n. 12 reel, spool, cylinder, scroll; tube: The message was written on a long roll of paper. 13 list, rota, register, record, directory, listing, roster, slate, docket, catalogue, inventory, muster, index, census, annal(s), schedule, chronicle(s), Sports line-up: With great ceremony, the clerk read the roll. 14 rolling, billowing, waving, wave action, wave, billow, swell, undulation, pitching, rocking, tossing: With each roll of the boat, I felt more seasick. 15 peal, rumble, reverberation, boom, echo, thunder, roar: A roll of
thunder drowned out her shouts. 16 rotation, spin, toss, whirl, twirl: I decided to bet everything on one last roll of the
dice. 17 bun; scone, croissant; Brit bread-roll, bap, split: Waiter, would you please bring some more rolls? 18 bankroll, money, wad, bundle: He took out a roll of notes and peeled off five twenties.
roller n. 1 drum, cylinder, barrel, calender; tube; windlass; rolling-pin; mangle, wringer: Make certain that the roller is clean. 2 billow, wave, comber, breaker, swell: After the storm, the heavy rollers continued to pound the sea wall.
romance n. 1 (love) affair, amour, affair of the heart, affaire (de coeur or d'amour), liaison, relationship, dalliance, intrigue:
Wasn't Rick the one from Canada with whom Diana had a romance? 2 (true) love: You are lucky if you find romance even once in
your lifetime. 3 novel, narrative, fiction, story, mystery, thriller, horror story, ghost story, science fiction, fantasy, Western, melodrama, gothic or Gothic or Gothick novel or tale, (fairy) tale, love story, idyll, epic, legend: It is probably accurate to say that the romance is the most popular form of fiction. 4 sentiment, nostalgia, mystery, intrigue, fantasy, imagination, imaginativeness, adventure, excitement, fascination, exoticism, glamour, colour, colourfulness: It was the romance of Morocco that entranced me. 5 tall tale or story, fantasy, fabrication, fairy tale, exaggeration, prevarication, concoction, flight of fancy, fib, (white) lie, prevarication, balderdash, fiction, nonsense, imagination: That episode with
the girl on the train that David told you about was all romance.
--v. 6 make love to; woo, court: Steve has been romancing Maria ever since they met. 7 pander to, flatter, curry favour with, toady (up) to, Colloq butter up, soft-soap, Taboo slang brown-nose: The new restaurant is romancing neighbourhood office executives, and luring them in for business lunches.
romantic adj. 1 imaginary, imagined, fictitious, fictional, ideal, idealized, fancied, fabulous, made-up, dreamed-up, dreamt-up, fantasized, fanciful, fairy-tale, mythical, idyllic, Utopian, illusory: Vivian isn't a real person - she's just Howard's romantic notion of the girl he wants to marry. 2 impractical, visionary, fictitious, unpractical, unrealistic, ideal,
abstract, quixotic, chimerical, absurd, extravagant, wild, crackpot, mad: She had romantic notions of how she would be running her own international business by the time she was thirty. 3 nostalgic, sentimental, emotional, sweet, tender, picturesque, exotic, glamorous; mawkish, maudlin, saccharine, Colloq soppy, sugary, mushy, sloppy: I can think of a lot more romantic places than a hamburger bar to eat on our anniversary. Fred hates it when I get too romantic. 4 amorous, affectionate, aroused, impassioned, passionate, libidinous, lustful, over-friendly, Colloq lovey-dovey; fresh: After a drink or two Mike starts getting romantic - if you know what I mean.
--n. 5 romanticist, dreamer, Don Quixote, visionary, idealist, sentimentalist: I've never lost my taste for soft lights and sweet music - I suppose I'm just a romantic at heart.
room n. 1 space, area, scope, extent, allowance, latitude, elbow-room, range, leeway, margin: There is room for one more inside. 2 chamber, apartment, compartment, office, cell, cubicle: For years Pablo occupied a small room on the top floor. 3 rooms. quarters, lodgings, accommodation, flat, dwelling: We had rooms in an old house downtown.
--v. 4 live, lodge, dwell, abide, reside, stay: Did you really room with the daughter of a prime minister?
roomy adj. spacious, capacious, commodious, large, sizeable, big, ample: For what appears to be a small car, it has a surprisingly roomy interior.
root° n. 1 base, basis, foundation, source, seat, cause, fountain-head, origin, fount, well-spring: Love of money is the root of all evil. 2 rootstock, rootstalk, tap root, rootlet;
tuber; Technical radix, radicle, radicel, rhizome, rhizomorph: When transplanting seedlings, special care should be taken not to damage the roots. 3 root and branch. radically, completely, utterly, entirely, wholly, totally: The Romans sought to destroy Carthage root and branch. 4 roots. origins, heritage, family, lineage, house, antecedents, forefathers, foremothers, descent, genealogy, family tree, forebears, ancestors, predecessors, stock, pedigree; birthplace, motherland, fatherland, native land or country or soil, cradle: Carlotta spent years tracing her roots to ancient Rome. The roots of civilization first appeared in Mesopotamia. 5 take root. become set or established or settled, germinate, sprout, grow, develop,
thrive, burgeon, flourish, spread: Good work habits should take root at an early age; then they will last a lifetime.
--v. 6 plant, set, establish, found, fix, settle, embed or imbed; entrench, anchor: The cuttings failed to grow because they were not properly rooted. Hilary's fear of heights is rooted in a childhood fall from a tree. 7 root out. a Sometimes, root up. uproot, eradicate, eliminate, destroy, extirpate, exterminate: Any subversives in the organization must be rooted out. b find, uncover, discover, dig up or out, unearth, turn up, bring to light: The survey of accounts is aimed at rooting out customers who are slow in paying.
rootý |
v. rootle, forage, dig, pry, nose, poke, ferret, burrow, |
rummage, delve, search, ransack: Harvey has been rooting about |
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in the garage looking for his tennis racket. |
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root° |
v. Usually, root for. cheer (for), applaud (for); boost, |
support, encourage, urge on: I'm rooting for our side to win. |
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rooted |
adj. firm, established, set, fixed, fast, settled, deep-rooted, |
deep-seated, entrenched, ingrained or engrained, (firmly) embedded or imbedded, implanted, instilled; chronic, inbred, inherent, intrinsic, essential, fundamental, basic, radical: Have you any rooted objections to the principle of living with someone of the opposite sex without being married?