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The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

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news from the front was scanty. We received only scanty support from the Arts Council. 2 skimpy, short, small, sparse, minimal, meagre, in short supply, Colloq chiefly Brit thin on the ground: Investor interest in the new share offering seemed to be scanty.

scapegoat n. victim, front, dupe, gull, cat's-paw, whipping-boy, Brit man of straw, Aunt Sally, US straw man, Colloq fall guy, Slang sucker: We have to find a scapegoat to take the punishment for us.

scar

n. 1 blemish, mark, damage, disfigurement, wound, injury,

 

scratch, mar, cut, burn, brand, cicatrix: Fortunately, the cut

 

is shallow and shouldn't leave a scar.

 

--v. 2 blemish, mark, damage, disfigure, wound, injure,

 

scratch, mar, cut, burn, brand; dent: The blow scarred him for

 

life.

scarce adj. scanty, scant, insufficient, inadequate, deficient, wanting, lacking, rare, unusual, at a premium, in short supply, meagre, few and far between, seldom met with, hard to come by, Chiefly Brit thin on the ground: Good editors are very scarce.

scarcely adv. 1 hardly, barely, (only) just, not quite: He had scarcely uttered the magic words when the rock split open. 2 (probably or certainly or surely or definitely) not, in no way, not at

all, not in the least, by no means, on no account, under no circumstances, nowise, Colloq US noway: I scarcely need remind you that you are getting married tomorrow.

scarcity n. lack, want, need, paucity, dearth, insufficiency, shortage, inadequacy, inadequateness: The teaching of foreign languages is not improved by the scarcity of qualified teachers.

scare v. 1 frighten, alarm, startle, shock, dismay, daunt, appal, give (someone) a shock or a fright, terrify, terrorize, threaten, menace, cow, intimidate, horrify, US and Canadian spook, Colloq scare the pants off, scare the life or the living daylights or the hell out of, scare out of one's wits, make one's hair stand on end, make one's flesh creep or crawl, give

one goose bumps or goose-pimples, US scare the bejesus out of, Taboo slang scare or frighten the shit out of, scare shitless,

US scare shitty: A sudden noise scared me, and I ran out of the

cave as fast as I could. 2 scare up. scrape together or up, find, gather, collect, raise, dig up, get, come by, scrounge (up): I can't scare up that much money in one day!

--n. 3 fright, shock, surprise, start: I had a terrible scare when I saw what I thought was blood.

scared

adj. frightened, alarmed, afraid, appalled, shocked, terrified,

horrified, startled: Don't be scared, I won't hurt you.

scary

adj. frightening, eerie, terrifying, frightful, hair-raising,

unnerving, blood-curdling, horrifying, spine-chilling, intimidating, daunting; horrendous, horrid, horrible, creepy, crawly, Colloq spooky: Aren't you afraid to watch scary movies on TV when you're home alone?

scathing adj. searing, withering, damaging, harmful, severe, harsh, stern, nasty, biting, acrid, acrimonious, mordant, incisive, cutting, sharp, keen, virulent, vitriolic, acid, scorching, burning, fierce, savage, ferocious: She was totally unprepared for the critics' scathing attack on her book.

scatter v. 1 spread, diffuse, shower, litter, sprinkle, strew, circulate, distribute, disseminate, sow, broadcast: As the

seeds of dissent were scattered far and wide, we became aware of a ground swell of hatred for the regime. 2 disperse, separate, dissipate, dispel, disband, break up, go off: My notes were scattered all over the floor. Immediately after dividing up the loot, the gang scattered to the four winds.

scatterbrained

n. hare-brained, rattle-headed, rattle-brained, frivolous, flibbertigibbet, giddy, dazed, flighty, wool-gathering, Colloq dippy, dizzy, dopey or dopy, slap-happy: It irritates me to think that our lives might depend on such a scatterbrained fool.

scattering

n. smattering, sprinkling, trifle, bit, suggestion, soup‡on, hint: It is true, there was a scattering of rebellious sentiment in the town.

scenario n. 1 (master or ground or floor) plan, (grand) scheme, plot, schema, design, outline, layout, framework, structure; sequence

 

of events, routine: According to this scenario, the bank will

 

provide the financing and we shall organize the take-over. 2

 

(plot) summary, pr‚cis, r‚sum‚, synopsis; (working or shooting)

 

script, screenplay: The scenario for the film was a joint

 

venture between the director and the author of the book on which

 

it was based.

scene

n. 1 location, site, place, area, locale, spot, locality,

 

whereabouts, sphere, milieu, backdrop, background: The scenes

 

of my youth are always in my mind. 2 action, episode, part,

 

chapter, section, segment; (stage) setting, mise en scŠne;

 

scenery: The next scene takes place in Venice. Is the Venice

 

scene ready? 3 commotion, upset, exhibition, display, row,

 

brouhaha, disturbance, furore or US furor, tantrum, argument,

 

altercation, uncomfortable or disagreeable situation, episode,

 

incident: She made an unpleasant scene in the restaurant when

 

he refused to sit next to her. 4 view, scenery, sight,

 

landscape, seascape, panorama, vista, picture, view, prospect:

 

The scene from the terrace was completely tranquil. 5 behind

 

the scenes. secretly, privately, clandestinely, confidentially,

 

surreptitiously, on the q.t. or Q.T.: Sigrid operated behind

 

the scenes and her identity was never revealed to MI5. 6 make or

 

do the scene. socialize, appear, get around or about, go out,

 

participate: We used to make the scene in the Village back in

 

the forties, but no more.

scenic

adj. picturesque, panoramic, pretty, beautiful, grand, awesome,

 

awe-inspiring, impressive, striking, spectacular, breathtaking:

 

The train passes through some incredibly scenic routes in

 

Switzerland.

scent

n. 1 fragrance, aroma, perfume, redolence, smell, odour,

 

bouquet, whiff, trace: The room was filled with the scent of

 

wild flowers. 2 trail, spoor, track: In drag hunting, the

 

scent is laid down by a sack dragged along the ground.

 

--v. 3 perceive, detect, find out, determine, discern,

 

distinguish, recognize, sense, smell, sniff (out), get wind of,

 

learn or hear about: Scenting possible trouble, he decided he

 

had better take along my revolver. 4 perfume: She had left

 

behind her handkerchief, scented with Chanel No. 19.

sceptic n. doubter, questioner, doubting Thomas, disbeliever,

nullifidian, agnostic, scoffer, cynic: You'll always find some sceptics who don't believe that a woman could be a good prime minister.

sceptical adj. doubting, dubious, doubtful, questioning, disbelieving, incredulous, agnostic, scoffing, cynical, mistrustful, distrustful: We were sceptical at first whether anything would come of it, but then things began to happen.

scepticism

n. doubt, dubiety, dubiousness, doubtfulness, disbelief, incredulity, incredulousness, agnosticism, cynicism, mistrust, distrust, mistrustfulness, distrustfulness: At first, the

entire matter was greeted with some scepticism; but then the Berlin Wall came tumbling down.

schedule n. 1 programme, timetable, plan, calendar, agenda, outline, list, listing, record, register: I'd like a complete schedule

of your work for the next month on my desk tomorrow.

--v. 2 programme, organize, plan, outline, list, record, register, arrange, book, time, slate, appoint, assign, allot, dedicate, earmark: Schedule the next meeting for the 15th of the month. Alistair is scheduled to speak tomorrow.

schematic adj. 1 diagrammatic(al), representational, graphic, charted: We have the schematic drawings showing the placement of the equipment.

--n. 2 diagram, blueprint, layout, (floor or game) plan, scheme, design, representation, graph, (flow or PERT) chart: Give copies of the schematics to the electricians so that they can plan where to put the wiring.

scheme n. 1 plan, plot, design, programme, system, course (of action), schema, outline, exposition, projection, draft, method,

technique, approach, game plan, scenario: In my scheme, compensation would be dependent on productivity, merit, and length of service. 2 pattern, arrangement, layout, design, diagram, blueprint, chart, map, drawing, schematic, disposition, order, organization, schema: This alternative scheme shows the executive offices on the second floor. 3 plot, plan, ploy, manoeuvre, strategy, stratagem, tactic, machination, subterfuge,

trick, device, dodge, wile, ruse, intrigue, Colloq racket, game, move: Ashton's scheme was to lure the security guards into the outer room, then lock them in.

--v. 4 plan, plot, devise, contrive, intrigue, organize, formulate, hatch, conspire, machinate, manoeuvre, connive, concoct, Colloq cook up: Clifton had been scheming to get his revenge on them ever since the Manchester episode.

scheming adj. conniving, plotting, nefarious, treacherous, crafty, cunning, artful, sly, wily, devious, Machiavellian, intriguing, slick, calculating, tricky, foxy, slippery, underhanded, duplicitous, deceitful: Wait till I lay my hands on the scheming little thief!

schism n. split, rift, break, breach, division, rupture, separation, disunion: The schism was caused by a group of left-wing idealists.

schismatic

adj. schismatical, separatist, breakaway, divisive, dissident, heretical: The schismatic movement in art was marked by one faction's abandonment of realism.

scholar n. 1 academic, professor, teacher, pedagogue, authority, expert, pundit, savant, bookman, book-woman, man or woman of letters, intellectual, highbrow, bookworm, Colloq egghead, brain, US longhair: Professor Read is one of the most respected linguistics scholars in the world. 2 student, pupil, schoolboy, schoolgirl, undergraduate: Cosgrove was a failure as a scholar, preferring football to physics.

scholarly adj. learned, erudite, lettered, scholastic, profound, deep, intellectual, academic, highbrow(ed), ivory-tower(ed), Colloq egghead, brainy, US longhair, long-haired: Her scholarly achievements are not limited to scholarly articles for learned journals.

scholarship

n. 1 learning, erudition, knowledge, lore, education, schooling, training, preparation, Colloq know-how: Elsa Cairn brings to her appointment as headmistress considerable scholarship and experience. 2 grant, endowment, award,

fellowship, Brit exhibition, Chiefly Scots and New Zealand bursarship, bursary: Without the scholarship, I should never have been able to continue my education.

school n. 1 (educational) institution, kindergarten, nursery school, primary or grammar or secondary or high school, institute, college, university, seminary; Alma Mater; boarding-school, day-school; public school, private school, Brit State school; lyc‚e; Lyceum, Brit first or middle school, US junior high school: His mother was very upset when he hinted that he might quit school. 2 set, coterie, circle, clique, group,

denomination, faction, sect, followers, devotees, adherents, votaries, disciples; style, kind, form, manner, fashion: Burne-Jones belonged to the Pre-Raphaelite School of painters. 3 philosophy, principles, creed, set of beliefs, way of life, persuasion, credo, dogma, teaching, view, opinion, faction, approach: Regarding the creation of the universe, do you support the big-bang school or the steady-state school?

--v. 4 teach, educate, drill, inculcate, instil, indoctrinate, instruct, tutor, train, discipline, coach, prepare, prime,

equip, ready; mould, shape, form; school in, imbue with, infuse with: Young ladies were schooled in all the social graces.

school-book

n. text(book), primer, grammar (-book), reader, manual, handbook, exercise book, notebook, copybook, Rare enchiridion, Old-fashioned hornbook, abecedarium: All I did was ask if I could carry her school-books!

schooling n. education, teaching, instruction, tutelage, tuition, guidance, training, preparation, indoctrination, edification, enlightenment; learning, study, research: How many years of schooling are needed to become a doctor?

schoolteacher

n. teacher, professor, instructor, tutor, pedagogue,

schoolmaster, schoolmistress, Scots dominie, Colloq school-ma'm: It is not often realized what a profound influence

schoolteachers have on one's entire life.

science n. 1 (body of) knowledge or information, (body of) laws or principles, discipline, study, branch, field, area, subject,

realm, sphere: Many new sciences have sprung up even in the past fifty years. DNA research falls properly into the science of microbiologic genetics. 2 skill, art, technique, expertise,

proficiency, method, system: He made a science of brewing tea.

scientific

adj. (well-)organized, (well-)regulated, (well-)controlled, (well-)ordered, orderly, systematic, methodical, precise, meticulous, thorough, painstaking, detailed: A scientific approach to the problem would start with a complete analysis of present conditions.

scintillating

 

adj. 1 sparkling, coruscating, flashing, dazzling, gleaming,

 

glittering, twinkling, shimmering, glistening, shining,

 

lustrous, radiant, effulgent, brilliant, Literary nitid: Madame

 

Irena appeared wearing a scintillating silver lam‚ gown. 2

 

exciting, engaging, lively, effervescent, fascinating,

 

entrancing, stimulating, invigorating, dynamic, vivacious: I

 

cannot remember when I last found myself in such scintillating

 

company.

scoff°

v. Often, scoff at. deride, belittle, dismiss, disparage, mock,

 

make light of, sneer (at), poke fun (at), ridicule, spoof,

 

lampoon, jeer (at), chaff, tease, twit, rib, kid, Brit rag:

 

It's easy for you to scoff at Clare's tantrums - you don't have

 

to live with her. Don't scoff: your turn might come next.

scoffý

v. 1 devour, put away, gorge oneself on, wolf (down), bolt,

 

stuff (oneself with), gobble (up or down), guzzle, gulp (down),

 

Brit gollop: The two of them scoffed every crumb they could

 

find.

 

--n. 2 food, victuals, rations, edibles, provisions, Colloq

 

grub, eats, chow, Slang Brit prog: In no time at all, they had

 

cleared out every last bit of scoff in the larder.

scold

v. 1 reprimand, chide, reprove, upbraid, criticize, censure,

 

find fault (with), rebuke, reproach, lecture, berate, rate,

 

castigate, take (someone) to task, find fault with, rap

 

(someone's) knuckles, slap (someone's) wrist, Colloq bawl out,

 

dress down, give (someone) hell, give (someone) what for, jump

 

on (someone), jump down (someone's) throat, call (someone) to

account, bring (someone) to book, let (someone) have it with both barrels, give (someone) a piece of (one's) mind, give (someone) a tongue-lashing or a talking-to, give (someone) a hard time, rake or haul (someone) over the coals, tell (someone) off, tick (someone) off, skin (someone) alive, call or have (someone) on the carpet, light or rip or tear or lace or sail

into (someone), US chew out, jump all over (someone), Brit carpet: When their mother scolded them, they began to cry.

--n. 2 nag, shrew, termagant, virago, fishwife, beldam, harridan, hell-cat, fury, amazon, tigress, Xanthippe, Colloq battleaxe: In the old days, they used to take scolds, tie them in a chair at the end of a pole, and dunk them in a pond till they cooled off.

scoop n. 1 ladle, dipper, bailer, spoon: Use the scoop to skim the fat off the soup. 2 exclusive: Fergus's story on the

minister's illegal business dealings was a real scoop for the paper. 3 (latest) news, (inside) story, revelation, truth,

Colloq latest, low-down, info, dope, Brit gen, US poop: What's the scoop on that man seen coming out of her bedroom?

--v. 4 Often, scoop up. bail, dip, ladle, spoon: They scooped up some sand and spread it on the ice for traction. 5 scoop out. gouge out, excavate, spoon out, hollow out, dig, cut: Scoop out some melon balls for the fruit salad. 6 scoop up. pick up, gather (up), sweep up or together, take up or in: He scooped up the money and ran out of the bank.

scope n. 1 range, reach, field, area, extent, compass, expanse, breadth, sphere, orbit, span: The scope of her interests includes both the sciences and the arts. 2 leeway, space, room, elbow-room, freedom, opportunity, capacity, stretch, latitude, spread: Have you allowed enough scope for growth?

scorch v. sear, blacken, burn, roast, singe, char: Though scorched in the fire, the papers were saved intact.

scorching adj. 1 hot, torrid, searing, parching, shrivelling, tropical, hellish, sizzling, broiling, boiling, sweltering: Scorching

heat waves are dangerous for the very young and the elderly. 2 critical, caustic, scathing, mordant, vituperative, excoriating, harsh, acrimonious, bitter: The shadow minister for finance

issued a scorching condemnation of the government's tax policies.

score n. 1 record, account, reckoning, register, tally, amount, number, count, sum, total; mark, grade: What was your best golf score? Chester got a score of 80 in the French test. 2 nick, groove, scratch, line, mark, stroke, notch, cut, Archery nock: Every time he won, he made a score on his walking-stick. 3 twenty: And the days of our lives shall be three score years

and ten. 4 Often, scores. dozens, hundreds, (tens or hundreds of) thousands, millions, number(s), drove(s), horde(s), host(s), multitude(s), herd(s), legion(s), lot(s), mass(es), myriad(s), shoal(s), pack(s), covey(s), bevy or bevies, swarm(s), flock(s), army or armies, crowd(s), throng(s): Passengers by the score angrily protested against the airline's policy of overbooking flights. Scores of animals were fleeing before the forest fire.

5 music, accompaniment, Technical full or short or vocal score: Boito might have written the libretto, but the score was by Verdi. 6 situation, story, news, status (quo), condition, word, Colloq latest, scoop, US poop: What's the score on your applications to medical school? 7 dupe, gull, victim, greenhorn, Colloq fall guy, chump, goat, sitting duck, Slang sucker, patsy, mark, Brit mug: That fellow in the Hawaiian shirt looks a likely score for our little scam. 8 ground(s),

basis, account, reason, rationale, provocation, cause: On what score can you justify eliminating him from the competition? 9 settle or pay off or even a score or the score or old scores.

get revenge, retaliate, get even, avenge, repay, get an eye for an eye, give tit for tat, give measure for measure, pay

(someone) back in his or her own coin, give (someone) a taste or a dose of his or her or their own medicine, Colloq get one's own back: He tried to find out where MacTavish moved had moved to as he had an old score to settle with him.

--v. 10 mark, line, incise, scratch, nick, notch, cut, groove, graduate; scrape, deface, mar, gouge, slash: The dipstick is scored at intervals to indicate how much oil is in the crankcase. 11 gain or make a point or points, record, tally, account for: George scored a hat trick in the game against Hotspurs. 12 count (for), reckon for or as: The ace scores either 1 or 11 in vingt-et-un. 13 succeed, be successful,

triumph, win, make an impression, have an impact, Colloq make a hit: Your plan really scored with the boss. 14 succeed in

seducing, Slang make out, get laid: Did you score with Ava last night?

scorn n. 1 contumely, contempt, contemptuousness, disdain, deprecation; rejection, dismissal: He treated their demands with the utmost scorn. 2 mockery, derision, derisiveness, sneering, ridicule, scoffing, jeering, taunting: The crowd's scorn was directed at the politicians who failed to deliver what they had promised.

--v. 3 reject, rebuff, disown, disavow, disregard, ignore,

shun, snub, flout, contemn, treat with or hold in contempt, have no use for, disdain, spurn, despise, turn up one's nose at, curl one's lip at, look down on or upon, look down one's nose at, thumb one's nose at, Colloq pooh-pooh, put down, Brit cock a snook at: His parents offered to finance his education, but he scorned their help. 4 mock (at), deride, sneer at, ridicule,

scoff at, jeer at, taunt, poke fun at, make fun of, laugh at: People scorned him because he said the earth was round.

scornful adj. contumelious, contemptuous, disdainful, deprecative, disparaging, derisory, derisive, snide, supercilious, mocking, sneering, scoffing, haughty, overweening, high-handed, superior, Colloq snooty, Slang snotty: The people were scornful of his attempt to reassure them, and continued to demand action.

scoundrel n. villain, rogue, wretch, good-for-nothing, scapegrace, blackguard, rascal, scamp, cur, Old-fashioned bounder, cad, knave, Colloq heel, Slang louse, Brit rotter: Politicians tend to treat their opponents as liars and scoundrels.

scour

v. 1 scrub, clean, cleanse, wash, rub, abrade, polish, burnish,

buff, shine: The pots were scoured until they shone. 2 scrape

(about or around), rake, comb, turn upside down, search,

ransack: I scoured the shops looking in vain for the coffee

filters you wanted.

scourge

n. 1 curse, misfortune, bane, evil, affliction, plague,

adversity, torment, misery, woe: He questions whether AIDS should be considered the scourge of the 20th century. Was it Attila who proved himself the scourge of Rome? 2 whip, lash, cat-o'-nine-tails, knout, quirt, horsewhip, bull-whip: They saw fit to punish themselves with scourges.

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