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The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

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nosedive or tailspin: Prices on the stock market slumped

 

following announcement of a rise in interest rates. 3 See

 

slouch, 1, above.

slur

n. 1 smear, insult, calumny, aspersion, affront, stigma, stain,

 

blot, spot, (black) mark, discredit, insinuation, innuendo,

 

imputation, slander, libel, slight, Colloq put-down: She

 

resents any slur on her husband's character.

 

--v. 2 mumble, misarticulate, garble, stutter, lisp: Some

 

people nowadays slur their speech so badly that one can hardly

 

understand them. 3 slur over. gloss over, pass over, disregard,

 

give short shrift to, ignore: The eulogies at the memorial

 

service slurred over his faults and focused on his

 

accomplishments.

sly

adj. 1 cunning, artful, crafty, clever, wily, guileful,

 

underhand(ed), deceitful, treacherous, foxy, scheming, plotting,

 

designing, conniving, furtive, shrewd, sneaky, stealthy,

 

insidious, devious, disingenuous, tricky, shifty, sharp, canny,

 

Colloq shady: It was devilishly sly of him to manoeuvre you

 

into paying for his party. 2 impish, elfish, roguish,

 

mischievous, puckish, devilish, scampish, naughty, arch,

 

waggish: Even as he was flirting with Allison he was giving

 

Antonia sly, conspiratorial winks.

 

--n. 3 on the sly. slyly or slily, quietly, surreptitiously,

 

covertly, stealthily, furtively, sneakily, underhandedly,

 

clandestinely, Colloq on the q.t. or Q.T., on the side:

 

Although her parents had forbidden her to see him again, Antonia

 

continued to meet Kevin on the sly.

19.8 small...

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small adj. 1 little, tiny, short, diminutive, petite, mignon(ne), wee, teeny, elfin, Lilliputian, midget, miniature, minute, minuscule, baby, bantam, pocket(-sized), mini; undersized,

immature, young, under age; Colloq pint-sized, US peewee: She was once small enough to fit into a size 7. When I was very small, my father took me to my first cricket match. 2 slight, secondary, insignificant, trivial, inconsequential, lesser,

puny, negligible, minor, trifling, unimportant, paltry,

nugatory: The opinions of other people were not of the smallest importance to him. 3 unimaginative, shallow, unoriginal,

mundane, everyday, limited, unprofound, uninspired, commonplace, matter-of-fact, flat, two-dimensional: With their small minds

they were incapable of fully appreciating the scope of the project. 4 skimpy, niggardly, stingy, uncharitable, ungenerous, scanty, meagre, cheap, petty, parsimonious, grudging, stinting, selfish, miserly, tight, tight-fisted, close-fisted, close;

poor, insignificant, inadequate, insufficient, unsatisfactory, negligible, trifling, humble, small-scale, modest,

unpretentious, Colloq piddling, measly: With all your money, it was very small of you not to contribute more to the scholarship fund. We all thought their cheque was too small. 5 insignificant, limited, negligible, trifling, tiny; little,

minor, diminished, reduced, slight: Only a small number of people came to the opening night. It was small consolation to be told that he had come a good second. 6 feel small. feel embarrassed or ashamed or shamed or humiliated or foolish, feel discomfited or disconcerted or uncomfortable, feel mortified or chagrined, Colloq feel put down: Doreen always managed to make some remark that made Andrew feel small.

small-minded

adj. small, petty, selfish, stingy, grudging, niggardly, ungenerous, mean, narrow-minded, narrow, close-minded, uncharitable, hidebound, rigid, intolerant, unimaginative, short-sighted, near-sighted, myopic: Charging members of staff for local telephone calls seems rather small-minded.

small-time

adj. small, small-scale, unimportant, petty, piddling, minor, insignificant, trifling, trivial: In less than ten years he succeeded in building a small-time used-car business into a national chain.

smart adj. 1 intelligent, clever, bright, brilliant, quick-witted, sharp, acute, astute, capable, adept, apt, quick, ingenious: Emily is one of the smartest children in the class. 2 canny, perspicacious, perceptive, percipient, discerning, knowledgeable, au fait, well-educated, well-read, erudite, learned, well-versed, aware, shrewd, streetwise, Slang hip, tuned in, US savvy: Brendan is smart enough to avoid trouble.

3 elegant, chic, fashionable, stylish, modish, … la mode, well-groomed, trim, neat, dapper, spruce, soign‚(e), Colloq snappy, natty: You must admit that both Della and Paul are smart dressers. 4 pert, pointed, saucy, witty, nimble-witted, poignant, trenchant, effective: I wish he would stop making smart remarks when I am trying to explain something. 5 brisk, vigorous, animated, active, energetic, spirited, lively; quick, alert, jaunty, perky, breezy: The enemy launched a smart counter-attack at dawn. He set off down the road at a smart pace. 6 quick, swift, stiff, smarting, stinging, sharp, severe: The mugger gave him a smart blow on the back of the neck.

--v. 7 sting, hurt, pinch, pain, ache, tingle, prickle, burn, throb, stab, pierce: The antiseptic may smart a bit when it is put on the cut. The smoky atmosphere made her eyes smart.

--n. 8 injury, harm, pain, pang, twinge, affliction, suffering, smarting: For years he silently endured the smart of his colleagues' ridicule.

smear v. 1 daub, rub, anoint, spread, cover, coat, wipe, plaster, bedaub; besmirch, dirty, smudge, stain, soil, begrime: The baby smeared ice-cream all over his face. The car windows were smeared with dirt from the road. 2 blacken, besmirch, soil, sully, calumniate, slander, discredit, tarnish, defile, vilify, scandalize, stigmatize, Colloq drag through the mud: Politicians regularly smear their opponents with all sorts of accusations.

--n. 3 smudge, daub, stain, splodge or chiefly US splotch, blot, taint, spot: These outrageous lies constitute a smear on

my good reputation. There was a smear of blood on his collar. 4 slander, scandal, libel, vilification, mud-slinging, defamation, calumny, aspersion, reflection: The article contains several smears on the character of an MP.

smell n. 1 odour, scent, aroma, perfume, fragrance, bouquet, breath, whiff: Don't you love the smell of freshly brewed coffee in the morning? 2 stink, stench, fetor or foetor, fetidness, mephitis, effluvium, Colloq Brit pong: The smell from the rotting garbage was overpowering.

--v. 3 scent, sniff, Colloq get a whiff of: The moment I smelt

that perfume I knew that Nicole had been there. 4 stink, reek, Colloq Brit pong, hum: The milk had gone off and smelled to high heaven.

smelly adj. malodorous, evil-smelling, foul-smelling, foul, mephitic, fetid, putrid, reeky, stinking, noisome, rank, offensive,

miasmic or miasmatic or miasmatical or miasmal, odoriferous,

 

rancid, high, gamy, Slang Brit whiffy: She hid the diamond in a

 

washing basket full of smelly clothes.

smile

v. 1 grin, beam: He smiled and said he was pleased to meet me.

 

--n. 2 grin: Georgina bestowed on me a sweet, wistful smile.

smirk

n. 1 leer, sneer, grin, grimace, simpering smile: Wipe that

 

conceited smirk off your face.

 

--v. 2 sneer, grimace, leer: Instead of saying, 'I told you

 

so', he just stood there smirking.

smitten adj. 1 affected, afflicted, beset, stricken, troubled, distressed, burdened, crushed, plagued, haunted, worried, bothered, vexed: Offers of help for the smitten town came pouring in. 2 captivated, enthralled, struck, bewitched,

enchanted, beguiled, charmed, enraptured, infatuated, enamoured, ensorcelled, swept off one's feet, Colloq bowled over, gaga: Anthea met some rock star and was totally smitten. They were so smitten by the beauty of the island that they returned every

year.

smooth adj. 1 regular, even, flush, flat, level, plane, unruffled, unbroken, unwrinkled, undisturbed, tranquil, peaceful, calm, serene, glassy: A light breeze rose to ripple the smooth surface of Alan's martini. 2 slick, sleek, shiny, glossy, glassy, mirror-like, uniform, polished, burnished; silky, silken, velvety, satiny: Optical mirrors for telescopes must be

as smooth as modern technology can made them. He ran his fingers over the smooth fabric. 3 unobstructed, easy, effortless, free, uncluttered, even, orderly, well-ordered, uneventful, flowing, fluent, unconstrained, uninterrupted: There were no obstacles

in the way of a smooth return to normal operations. The road to ruin is short and smooth. 4 hairless, bald, bare, naked, clean-shaven, smooth-shaven, depilated, glabrous: His smooth

pate shone in the moonlight. 5 soothing, mellow, pleasant, bland, mild, soft: That is a very smooth whisky indeed. 6 suave, slick, slippery, unctuous, silken, silky, glib, urbane, soign‚(e), agreeable, winning, plausible, facile, nonchalant, courtly, eloquent, honey-tongued, smooth-spoken, persuasive, oily, slimy, syrupy, Colloq chiefly Brit smarmy: With his quick

understanding and smooth manner, Edward was a very successful salesman. 7 sweet, dulcet, pear-shaped, mellow, well-modulated, silver-tongued: The smooth tones of his serenade wafted through the evening air. 8 slick, scheming, conniving, crafty, shrewd, cunning, tricky, shifty, sly, foxy, Machiavellian,

sophistic(al), plausible, credible, believable, Colloq cagey: Robinson came up with a very smooth plan to bilk wealthy widows out of their money.

--v. 9 Often, smooth out or away. flatten, even, level, iron, press, mangle, calender: Please smooth the wrinkles out of this shirt so that I can wear it tonight. 10 prepare, lay, pave,

ease, ready, clear, open, prime, lubricate, facilitate: What is your policy for smoothing the way for employees joining the firm? 11 sand, plane, polish, buff, burnish: The wood is smoothed to a glassy finish before being used for the cabinets. 12 Often, smooth over. ameliorate, assuage, allay, calm, gloss over, minimize, mitigate, lessen, soothe, reduce, temper, mollify, smoothen, soften, palliate, appease: An otherwise uncomfortable situation was smoothed over by her quiet words.

smother v. 1 suffocate, stifle, choke, asphyxiate; throttle, strangle, snuff (out), kill: He was accused of trying to smother his wife with a pillow. 2 be suffocated or stifled or asphyxiated, be choked or strangled, be killed: The infant apparently smothered in the blanket. 3 overwhelm, overcome, blanket, inundate, cover, shower; envelop, wrap, enshroud, surround: The children crowded round and smothered her with kisses. The banquet table was smothered in white roses. 4 repress, subdue, suppress, conceal, hide, keep or hold back, cover up, mask, choke back or down, check; stifle, muffle, blanket, blank out: He managed to smother his grief and put on a brave face. Our whispers were smothered by the noise of the hi-fi. 5 extinguish, put out,

snuff out: The foam from the fire extinguisher smothered the blaze in a few moments.

smoulder v. burn; seethe, simmer, chafe, rage, fume, foam, boil, stew,

 

fester, Colloq get hot under the collar, get (all) steamed up,

 

see red, US do a slow burn, get (all) burnt up: The fire

 

continued to smoulder, then flared up again a week later. He

 

has been smouldering ever since his wife confessed she was going

 

out with another man.

smug

adj. self-satisfied, complacent, holier-than-thou,

 

self-important, overconfident, conceited: She is a bit too smug

 

about the security of her job and might get a nasty shock some

 

day soon.

19.9 snack...

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snack n. 1 bite, nibble, morsel, titbit or chiefly US tidbit, refreshment(s), Brit elevenses, Colloq nosh: Have a little snack or you'll be hungry later.

 

--v. 2 bite, nibble, Colloq nosh: He gained all that weight

 

just from snacking between meals.

snag

n. 1 hitch, catch, problem, (stumbling) block, stricture,

 

bottleneck, complication, obstacle, impediment, obstruction,

 

hindrance, difficulty, US hang-up: A snag developed that

 

prevented my keeping my promise to you.

 

--v. 2 catch, tear, rip: He snagged his new jacket on a nail.

snake n. 1 reptile, serpent, ophidian, viper: A specialist in snakes is called a herpetologist. 2 snake in the grass, traitor, turncoat, Judas, quisling, betrayer, double-crosser, informer, rat, US Benedict Arnold, Slang chiefly US and Canadian fink,

ratfink: Eventually they caught the snake who was giving away their plans to the enemy.

--v. 3 slither, glide, creep, crawl, worm: To avoid being seen, he snaked along on his stomach for a few yards. 4 twist, wind, curve, bend, turn, zigzag, worm, wander, loop, crook, meander: The road snakes through the jungle for 50 miles or more.

snap

v. 1 break (off), separate, crack; cleave, split, fracture,

give way, part: The wind snapped off tree branches like matchsticks. The back legs of the chair snapped in two as she sat on it. 2 click; pop; crack: The door snapped shut. 3 Often, snap at. a bite (at), nip, gnash or snatch at: The postman ran down the street, the dog snapping at his heels. b attack, lunge at, lash out (at), snarl at, growl (at), bark

(at), be brusque or short or curt (with), Colloq jump down (someone's) throat, fly off the handle (at): Robin is in a bad mood today, snapping at everyone. 4 Usually, snap up or US also off. grab (up), snatch (up), seize, pluck, pounce on or upon,

make off with, take (away), capture, catch, get, secure: The people who arrived early at the sale had snapped up all the bargains. 5 shoot, snapshot, photograph, click, catch: He always has his camera with him so that he can snap anything interesting. 6 snap one's fingers at. disdain, scorn, flout, dismiss, contemn, disregard, ignore, defy, mock, deride, thumb one's nose at, Brit cock a snook at: He merely snapped his fingers at the dangers when I mentioned them. 7 snap out of it.

recover, come round or around, revive, awaken, wake up, perk up, liven up, cheer up; get a grip or (a) hold on or of oneself,

pull oneself together, (re)gain control of oneself: I was feeling very blue yesterday but managed to snap out of it.

--n. 8 crack, crackle, pop, click: The lid shut with a snap. 9 spell, period, interval, wave: During that cold snap we thought we were in for a terrible winter. 10 catch, spring

catch, (snap-)fastener, fastening, clasp: Do you want snaps or buttons sewn on this shirt? 11 energy, vigour, animation, liveliness, vitality, bounce, alertness, sprightliness, ‚lan, dash, sparkle, verve, Colloq zip, zing, get-up-and-go, pep, pizazz: Granny certainly has a lot of snap left in her. 12

easy job, Slang picnic, US and Canadian breeze: There had been no need for her to worry, for the exam turned out to be a snap.

--adj. 13 abrupt, sudden, precipitate, hurried, hasty, incautious, rash, unpremeditated, unplanned, not well-thought-out, quick, instantaneous, instant: This is too important a matter for a snap decision.

snappish adj. 1 short-tempered, testy, petulant, peevish, irritable, prickly, touchy, irascible, quick to anger, quick-tempered, hot-tempered, waspish, Brit snappy, US on a short string or tether: He fancies that being snappish goes with his 'artistic'

temperament. 2 curt, short, abrupt, brusque, curmudgeonly, cantankerous, sharp, cross, grouchy, gruff, cranky, crusty, crabby, crabbed, acid, tart, acerbic, churlish, dyspeptic, choleric, splenetic, ill-humoured, ill-tempered, temperamental, moody, Brit snappy: Grandad tended to be snappish when he became impatient with our lack of experience.

snappy

adj. 1 quick, sharp, brisk, smart, crisp, lively, rapid,

speedy: If you want to come with us, you'd better make it

snappy. 2 fashionable, chic, sharp, smart, stylish, dapper,

modish, Colloq natty, Brit trendy: Your new friend is a very

snappy dresser, isn't he?

snare

n. 1 trap, net, springe, noose, gin: They had caught only a

pigeon in the snare.

--v. 2 trap, catch, entrap, seize, capture, ensnare: Using a different bait, William snared some partridges.

snarl° v. 1 growl; snap: I admit I found three snarling Dobermans a bit off-putting. The clerk snarled at me when I asked for a form.

--n. 2 growl: With a snarl the dog leapt at his throat.

snarlý v. 1 Often, snarl up. tangle, entangle, complicate, confuse, scramble, muddle, twist, mix or mess up, Colloq ball up, screw up: This situation is so snarled up that we'll never straighten

it out. 2 tangle, entangle, knot, twist, ravel, jam, kink: The rope won't feed through the pulley because it's all snarled.

--n. 3 tangle, entanglement, complexity, snag, problem, difficulty, complication, muddle, mess, predicament, fix, quandary, dilemma, Colloq snarl-up, tight spot, pickle: The situation was full of snarls and problems. 4 jungle, maze, labyrinth, knot: The drain was clogged by a snarl of hair.

snatch v. 1 grab, grasp, seize, clasp, clutch, pluck, take (hold of), catch, lay hold of, wrest, latch on to, capture, snap up, win, get, lay or get one's hands on: The thief snatched her purse and ran away. One must snatch every available opportunity for happiness. 2 Chiefly US kidnap, abduct: They snatched the kid and are holding him for ransom. 3 save, rescue, deliver,

remove: At the very last moment, we were snatched from the jaws of death.

--n. 4 grab, clutch, grasp: He made a snatch for her necklace, but she managed to duck out of the way. 5 scrap, bit, fragment, snippet, segment, morsel, specimen, sample: We were able to hear only brief snatches of their conversation through the closed door.

sneak v. 1 lurk, slink, steal, creep, skulk, cower, lurk, pad, prowl, sidle, Colloq pussyfoot: We caught Francis sneaking about the house last night.

--n. 2 informer, Colloq tattle-tale, Brit grass, Slang stool-pigeon, snitch, Brit and Australian nark, US stoolie, Chiefly US and Canadian fink, ratfink, US shoo-fly: Frank picked up a little money acting as a sneak for the police.

sneaking adj. 1 persistent, lingering, lurking, nagging, worrying, worrisome, niggling, intuitive, deep-rooted, deep-seated, Slang gut: She had a sneaking suspicion that Stephen was a police informer. 2 innate, intuitive, inherent, private, secret,

suppressed, hidden, unexpressed, undeclared, unvoiced, unavowed, unconfessed, unrevealed, unadmitted, undivulged, undisclosed, covert: I have a sneaking sympathy with the underdog.

sneaky adj. underhand(ed), devious, furtive, sly, slippery, disingenuous, deceitful, dishonest, unscrupulous, shifty: He took a sneaky look at his friend's homework before starting his own.

sneer v. 1 smirk, curl one's lip, sniff: Don't sneer - you might be the next to lose your job. 2 scorn, disdain, despise, contemn, turn up one's nose (at), sniff (at), jeer (at), laugh (at),

deride, mock, ridicule; underrate; Colloq sneeze at, Slang knock: They sneered at her ambition to become a serious athlete.

--n. 3 scorn, jeer, disdain, contempt, derision, mockery, ridicule; sneering, jeering: Barry endured his classmates' sneers without a word.

sneeze v. 1 sternutate: I was about to sneeze, so I grabbed a tissue.

2 sneeze at. See sneer, 2, above.

--n. 3 sternutation; sneezing: The sneeze is an involuntary convulsive action.

snicker v. 1 snigger, chuckle, giggle, titter, laugh up one's sleeve, mock, scorn, laugh (at), jeer (at): It was embarrassing when the audience began to snicker at the ineptitude of the juggler.

 

--n. 2 snigger, chuckle, giggle, titter: The villain gave a

 

little snicker when he thought he had her in his clutches.

sniff

n. 1 whiff, breath, odour, scent: I got a sniff of her perfume

 

as she walked by. 2 hint, spirit, feeling, suggestion: There

 

is the sniff of spring in the air.

 

--v. 3 smell, snuffle, snuff: Why is your dog always sniffing

 

at my shoes? 4 sniff (at). See sneer, 2, above.

snip

v. 1 nip, clip, crop, cut, lop, prune, dock: When the blossoms

 

begin to fade, snip them off.

 

--n. 2 cut, slit, gash, slash, incision, nick: We could watch

 

the audience through a small snip in the curtain. 3 bit, scrap,

 

shred, snippet, fragment, cutting, clipping, remnant, morsel:

 

You are welcome to the leftover snips of fabric. 4 snips.

 

scissors, shears, tinsnips: This duct can be cut with the

 

snips.

snipe

v. Usually, snipe at. shoot at, fire at; attack, criticize,

 

deride, find fault with, carp at, pick apart: Newby has been

 

sniping at the organization for years and we simply ignore him.

snivel

v. sniffle, snuffle, blubber, whimper, whine, mewl, pule; cry,

 

Colloq Brit whinge: I'll buy some of your matches, little girl,

 

but only if you stop snivelling.

snobbery n. snobbism, snobbishness, pretentiousness, pretension, hauteur, haughtiness, superciliousness, condescension, loftiness, contemptuousness, presumptuousness, lordliness, disdainfulness, disdain, pompousness, pomposity, affectation, inflatedness, self-importance, conceit, vainness, vanity, narcissism, self-admiration, self-centredness, egotism,

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