The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

span, sweep, vastness, stretch, reach, breadth, depth, size, dimensions, compass, limits, bounds, boundary or boundaries: As our craft accelerated past the moon, we were awed by the spread of empty space that lay before us. 10 range, extent, scope,

span, difference: There was too much of a spread between the cost and the selling price. 11 feast, banquet, meal, dinner, repast, barbecue; table; Colloq feed: I have never seen a spread like the one laid on for the returning champions. 12 butter, margarine, jam, jelly, preserve, conserve, confiture, paste, US old-fashioned oleo: What kind of spread do you like on your toast? 13 ranch, landholding, holding, property, place, plantation, farm, homestead, place: His spread in Texas

eventually amounted to 10,000 acres. 14 bedspread, counterpane, coverlet, bed-cover, cover, quilt, eiderdown, duvet, afghan, US comforter, US and Canadian throw: Leave the spread off the bed, Carlotta, as I want to take a nap.

spree n. frolic, romp, lark, outing, escapade, revel, wild party, fling, debauch, orgy, bacchanalia; drinking-bout, carousal, Colloq bender, binge, jag: Bruce has gone off on another of his sprees.

sprightly adj. lively, chipper, spry, vivacious, cheerful, gay, brisk, animated, sportive, active, alert, nimble, agile, energetic, jaunty, perky, playful, spirited: She is quite sprightly for a grandmother of 78.

spring v. 1 leap, bound, jump, hop, vault, dart, fly, bounce: He

sprang to his feet when she came into the room. When Tom came to the stream, he sprang over it. The leprechaun sprang out from behind a tree. 2 arise, appear, grow, come up, rise, come into

being or existence, be born, emerge, sprout, shoot up, burst forth: Where the dragon's teeth were sown, an entire army sprang up. 3 Often, spring up or from. originate, begin, start,

evolve; proceed from, stem from, descend from, derive from, come from, develop from: He learned how the practice of scratching

the head in perplexity had sprung up. I wondered where the term horse latitudes sprang from. 4 start or begin or experience or cause to occur or appear or happen suddenly or unexpectedly, broach, pop, introduce or divulge or reveal or disclose suddenly or unexpectedly: The canoe sprang a leak and started to sink. He likes to spring trick questions at candidates in an

interview. 5 spring for. pay for, treat (someone) to, assume the

expense(s) of: If you go to a place I choose, I'll spring for dinner.

--n. 6 leap, bound, jump, hop, vault, bounce, skip: In one spring the cat cleared the garden wall and was off. 7 bounciness, bounce, resiliency, resilience, springiness, buoyancy, elasticity, sprightliness, airiness, flexibility: Despite her age, there's still a lot of spring in her step. 8 source, fount, fountain-head, well-spring, well, origin,

beginning, root: From what secret spring does his understanding arise? 9 springtime, Eastertide, Maytime: At 35, James is

still in the spring of life.

--adj. 10 vernal: We exulted in the spring sunshine.

well-groomed, elegant, Colloq natty: Peter Thornton turned up for dinner looking as spruce as can be.

recklessly, hastily, brashly, incautiously, unexpectedly, suddenly: On the spur of the moment, we decided to fly to Cap d'Antibes for the weekend.

--v. 4 goad, prod, urge, egg on, impel, incite, prompt, press, push, pressure or Brit pressurize, stimulate, drive, provoke, induce, encourage, motivate, excite, animate: The sales force are spurred on by the huge bonuses the company offers.

spurious adj. false, counterfeit, sham, fake, fraudulent, bogus, mock, imitation, simulated, unauthentic, ungenuine, forged, feigned, pretended, deceitful, meretricious, contrived, factitious, artificial, ersatz, synthetic, Colloq pseudo, phoney or US also phony: His brother was jailed for peddling spurious Egyptian burial artefacts to archaeologists.

spied him getting into a yellow convertible.

spying n. espionage, undercover work, secret service; detection, intelligence, surveillance: Virtually every government engages in spying.

19.12 squad...

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quadrilateral, four-sided, cubic, cubed, six-sided, boxy: She bought a work of art consisting of three square pieces of red plastic on a mauve ground. He keeps trying to put square pegs into round holes. 2 equal, on a par, even, on equal terms, settled, balanced: With this payment, our accounts are now all square. 3 even, true, exact, straight, accurate, precise,

correct: Make sure that the corners are perfectly square. 4 honourable, upright, honest, straightforward, fair (and square), decent, ethical, open, (open and) above-board, right, (right and) proper, clean, just, equitable, Colloq on the level, on the up and up: I have never had anything but square dealings with Fred Latham. 5 healthful, healthy, nutritious, substantial, solid, full, generous, satisfying, filling, unstinting: You

could always count on three square meals a day when staying at Auntie Maisie's. 6 na‹ve, innocent; bourgeois, conservative, conventional, unsophisticated, provincial, old-fashioned, conformist, strait-laced, unimaginative, predictable, Colloq antediluvian, uptight, out of it, not with it, not in the know,

not hip or hep, unhip, stuffy, behind the times, straight, US L-7: We were at the age when anyone over 25 was considered square.

--n. 7 rectilinear figure, rectangle; cube, block: He took a square of wood and quickly carved it into the shape of a duck. 8 plaza, piazza, place, park, (village) green, market-place,

market (square), agora, quadrangle: We like to sit on the benches in the square outside my house and chat with the neighbours. 9 bourgeois, conservative, conformist,

traditionalist, (old) fogy or fogey, die-hard; outsider; Colloq stuffed shirt, fuddy-duddy, US longhair, L-7, Slang US nerd, dweeb: My parents did not understand me - they were real old squares.

--v. 10 stiffen, throw back, straighten (up), tense: I squared my shoulders and prepared for the worst. 11 Usually, square with. meet, match (with), conform to or with, obey, correspond to or with, tally with, accord with, agree with, reconcile with or to: These activities do not square with the plans set out by the directors. 12 adapt, adjust, change, modify, harmonize, accommodate, arrange, comply with, fit: Ronald was unable to square his beliefs with what they were teaching him at the seminary. 13 settle, arrange, come to terms, patch up, clear up, satisfy, fix: Don't worry about the customs officials - I'll square it with them later on.

squawk v. 1 cackle, screech, shriek, yell, yowl, whoop, hoot, scream, call, cry: The parrot kept squawking 'Where is the treasure? Where is the treasure?' 2 complain, grumble, whine, grouse, protest, object, (make a) fuss, yap, yowl, Slang bellyache,

bitch, kick, beef, gripe, kick up a fuss: Oh, stop squawking and get on with your work!

--n. 3 complaint, grouse, grumble, protest, Colloq kick, beef, gripe: If you have a squawk, take it up with the sergeant.

squeamish adj. 1 dainty, delicate, prudish, punctilious, demanding, critical, exacting, difficult, fussy, scrupulous, fastidious, meticulous, painstaking, finicky or finical, Colloq persnickety or pernickety, fuddy-duddy: The museum directors were too squeamish to put on an exhibition of nudes. 2 nauseous, qualmish, easily disgusted or revolted or nauseated: Sam was too squeamish to watch open-heart surgery on the TV.

squeeze v. 1 press, compress, compact, crush, squash, wring, pinch, nip, grip, tweak: Each morning Anne squeezes an orange to make fresh juice for Edgar. Everyone knows that squeezing the nose between the thumb and forefinger means that something smells. 2 extract, wrest, exact, extort, milk, wrench, pry (out), tear,

Colloq bleed: It is doubtful that they will be able to squeeze a contribution out of old Scrooge. 3 milk, Colloq shake down, bleed, lean on, put the screws to, put the squeeze on, twist

(someone's) arm, US put the arm on: You'll have to squeeze Fletcher if you want to get paid. 4 ram, jam, pack, stuff, cram, crowd, force, press, wedge: We were squeezed into the train so tightly that I could hardly breathe. 5 clasp, clench, embrace, hug, hold, enfold, fold, clutch, Archaic clip: She

squeezed him close as they bade goodbye. 6 squeeze through or by. get through or by, pass, (barely) succeed, Colloq squeak through or by, (barely) make it: He managed to squeeze through the exam with a pass mark, but it was touch-and-go.

--n. 7 clasp, embrace, hug, clutch, Colloq clinch: She gave me a little squeeze to signal her affection. 8 pressure: I was beginning to feel the squeeze between inflation and high interest rates. 9 crush, jam, crowd, squash, press: There was such a squeeze of people at the sale that I couldn't get in. 10 girlfriend, mistress, sweetheart, Colloq sweetie, Slang moll,

broad, Archaic doxy: Willie showed up with his current squeeze. 11 put the squeeze on. press, bring pressure to bear on, urge, influence, Brit pressurize, US pressure: The bank was beginning to put the squeeze on me to repay my overdraft.

squelch v. 1 suppress, subdue, put down, quell, quash, defeat, overcome, outdo, humiliate, Colloq shoot or slap down, take down a peg (or two), take the wind out of (someone's) sails, settle (someone's) hash: The slightest sign of disapproval from No‰l was enough to squelch the most arrogant toady.

--n. 2 riposte, retort, comeback, quip, sally, gibe or jibe,

barb, Colloq wisecrack, put-down: One of the best squelches was when Oscar Wilde said, referring to a bon mot, 'I wish I'd said that', to which Whistler said, 'You will, Oscar. You will.'

squire v. 1 escort, accompany, conduct, go with, take; convoy: Who will squire my sisters to the prince's ball?

--n. 2 esquire, gentleman, landowner, landholder, landed proprietor: The old squire held his head high among the county aristocracy.

squirm v. wriggle, writhe, twist, flounder, shift, fidget, be (very) uncomfortable, agonize, Colloq sweat: The boy squirmed under the stern gaze of the headmaster.

19.13 stab...

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stability n. 1 steadiness, solidity, firmness, soundness, sturdiness, strength: These flimsy structures are not known for their stability. 2 steadfastness, constancy, dependability, reliability, tenacity, resolve, resoluteness, perseverance, determination, persistence, durability, lasting quality, solidity, permanence: The stability of the government was in doubt as the crisis continued.

stable adj. 1 steady, solid, firm, sound, sturdy, strong, durable, well-founded, fast, sure, established, deep-rooted, stout: The building is designed to remain stable even in a severe earthquake. 2 lasting, enduring, long-lasting, long-standing, secure, steadfast, steady, strong, unchanging, unchanged, unchangeable, unalterable, fixed, invariable, unwavering, immutable, permanent: A stable relationship has existed between our countries for generations. The relationship you and I enjoy has remained stable all our lives. 3 sane, (well-)balanced, responsible, reasonable, sensible, competent, accountable: He

seemed a nice, stable young man, and nobody would have guessed that he had a drugs habit.

composed, quiet, restrained, solemn, serious, serious-minded, grave, sober-sided: One expects a judge to be rather staid in his behaviour.

stain n. 1 blot, mark, spot, discoloration, blotch, smutch, smirch, speck, Brit splodge or US also splotch: There's a stain on your tie. 2 mark, blot (on the escutcheon), stigma, blemish, Brit

blot on one's copybook, Colloq US black eye: His cowardice in battle was a permanent stain on his reputation. 3 dye, colour, colouring, tint, tinge, pigment: An indigo stain was used to bring up certain features in microscopy.

--v. 4 blot, mark, spot, discolour, blotch, speckle, dye, spatter, splatter, tinge, smudge, smutch, splash: The tablecloth was stained red from the spilt wine. 5 spoil, defile, ruin, smirch, besmirch, taint, tarnish, stigmatize, shame, disgrace, sully, contaminate, soil, corrupt: Her reign

was stained with the blood of the thousands she had tortured and executed.

stake° n. 1 stick, post, spike, picket, paling, pale, pole, pike, stave; palisade, pole, upright, pillar, column: They tied the goat to a stake and hid, waiting for the tiger to catch the scent. 2 pull up stakes. move (house), resettle, move on, migrate, emigrate, leave, depart: It was time to pull up stakes and find a new camp-site.

--v. 3 tether, tie (up), secure, fasten, picket, lash, leash, hitch, chain: The ponies were staked out in the pasture. 4 Usually, stake out. (a fence (in or off), confine, pen, enclose, close in or off, hem in, shut in, impound, enclose, cage, wall

in: We hired a man to stake out a large enough area to keep the horses. b mark off or out, define, delimit, outline, demarcate, delineate, circumscribe: The pioneers had already staked out the land they planned to cultivate.

stakeý n. 1 bet, wager, ante, risk, hazard: If you want to make the game interesting, you'll have to raise the stakes. 2 investment, interest, share, involvement, concern: Myra has a considerable stake in the outcome of the shareholders' meeting. 3 at stake. at hazard, hazarded, at risk, risked, on the table, in jeopardy, jeopardized, concerned, involved: Don't take the matter lightly, as Tom's reputation is at stake.