The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

unbendable, tough, solid, solidified, stiffened, unyielding, brittle: The table napkins were so stiff with starch that I almost cracked one. 2 severe, harsh, punitive, hurtful, punishing, abusive, torturous, distressing, afflictive, painful, overwhelming, unbearable, tormenting, merciless, excruciating, cruel, drastic, US cruel and unusual: The government here has stiff penalties for drug traffickers. 3 strong, potent,

powerful, overpowering, alcoholic: After that kind of an ordeal, you could use a stiff drink, I'm sure. 4 vigorous, energetic, staunch, dogged, tenacious, resolute, resolved, determined, stubborn, obstinate, unyielding, indomitable, relentless: They met with stiff opposition in trying to capture the fort. 5 strong, steady, powerful, fresh, brisk, spanking, gusty, forceful, howling: We had to reduce sail because of a stiff westerly wind. 6 excessive, exorbitant, high, steep, expensive, dear: They are asking a pretty stiff price these days for a bottle of good vintage port. 7 cool, haughty, rigid, wooden, stuffy, aloof, tense, intense, unrelaxed, forced, pompous, stilted, mannered, ceremonious, austere, formal, chilly, cold, unfriendly, standoffish, reserved, snobbish, Colloq snooty, Slang uptight: Vince is warm and friendly, but

inspire, encourage, spur, quicken, fire, fuel, nourish, activate, whip or stir up, goad, galvanize, jolt, inspirit:

What can be done to stimulate students to study history? Their teacher eventually found a way to stimulate their interest. 2 increase, encourage, prompt, provoke, quicken: This drug stimulates the circulation of the blood.

stimulating

adj. exciting, inspirational, inspiring, arousing, stirring, animating, exhilarating, provocative, thought-provoking: I cannot recall having spent a more stimulating evening in the theatre.

sting v. 1 prick, stab, pierce, stick; bite: Bees, wasps, scorpions, etc. sting you, but mosquitoes, spiders, and snakes bite. 2 hurt, wound, pain, injure, distress, nettle, cut to the quick: He was really stung by Maria's callous remarks. 3 See stimulate, 1, above: We were stung into action by the minister's inspiring speech. 4 cheat, overcharge, swindle, fleece, defraud, Slang rob, soak, rip off, take for a ride: You really were stung if you paid that much for such an old piano.

stinker n. wretch, villain, scoundrel, cad, heel, beast, cur, viper, snake in the grass, skunk, swine, polecat, Rather old-fashioned blackguard, rogue, Archaic knave, varlet, dastard, (base) caitiff, Colloq stinkpot, louse, creep, rat, Brit nasty piece of work, sod, Old-fashioned rotter, bounder, blighter, Slang (rotten) bastard, son of a bitch, Brit toerag, bugger, US SOB, bum, stinkeroo or stinkaroo, Taboo slang shit, Brit arse-hole, US ass-hole: They were a lovely couple, but their son was a real stinker.

stinking adj. 1 foul-smelling, smelly, fetid or foetid, mephitic, rank, noisome, malodorous, reeking, putrid, miasmal or miasmatic(al) or miasmic, rancid, gamy, Colloq Brit pongy, whiffy: They were kept in a stinking dungeon with little food for a month. 2 wretched, villainous, beastly, vile, contemptible, low, despicable, mean, nasty, disgusting, rotten, terrible, awful, Old-fashioned dastardly, Colloq lousy, Taboo slang shitty: Taking my clothes while I was swimming was a stinking thing to do. 3 drunken, drunk (as a lord or US also a skunk),

intoxicated, inebriated, (be)sotted, under the influence, over the limit, high, maudlin, tipsy, woozy, Colloq pie-eyed, loaded,

in one's cups, under the weather, three sheets to the wind, Slang sozzled, soused (to the gills), potted, plastered,

smashed, bombed, pissed, boozed, boozy, tanked, stoned, canned, US in the bag: The last time I saw Bob, he was so stinking I

had to pour him onto his train.

stint n. 1 share, quota, allotment, bit, assignment, stretch, shift, term, time, job, chore, task, routine, turn, tour, duty, responsibility, obligation, charge: She had done her stint of washing-up and refused to do any more. 2 control, curb, limit, limitation, restriction, check, restraint, constraint,

condition, qualification, reservation: The committee is free to exercise without stint its power to raise membership fees.

--v. 3 control, curb, limit, restrict: Don't stint yourself, lunch is on the firm. 4 skimp, scrimp, be stingy or cheap or

penurious or parsimonious or sparing or frugal, hold back (on), withhold, economize, pinch (pennies), cut corners, Colloq Brit be mingy: They certainly didn't stint on the food and drink at Andrea's party.

stipend n. pay, salary, payment, remuneration, remittance, recompense, compensation, reward, emolument, earnings, income; grant, subvention, scholarship, subsidy, allowance, allotment,

(financial) support: His stipend barely covers his basic expenses.

stipulate v. specify, demand, require, covenant, set forth, agree (to), provide (for), guarantee, warrant, promise, insist (upon or on); call for: The agreement stipulates that the goods be received prior to payment. The compensation stipulated in the contract has been paid.

stipulation

n. condition, demand, essential, given, requirement, requisite, prerequisite, specification, undertaking, obligation, covenant, clause, proviso, term, agreement, provision, guarantee, warranty, promise: This stipulation calls for payment on delivery in full and in sterling.

together. 2 move, rise, arise, get up, bestir (oneself), be up and about, Colloq get a move on, get moving, get a wiggle on, shake a leg, look or step lively, look alive, stir one's stumps: It is about time you were up and stirring. 3 disturb, trouble, affect, upset, stimulate, activate: The play stirred the conscience of the king. Mention 'diet' to Roberta and you'll stir up a wasp's nest. 4 Often, stir up. motivate, encourage, stimulate, energize, galvanize, electrify, animate, excite, inspire, provoke, move, rouse, arouse, get, prompt, urge, incite, spur, prod, induce, persuade, convince: What will it take to stir the council to take action? The usual rabble-rousers were there, stirring up the crowd. 5 Often, stir up. awaken, rouse, (cause to) recall or call to mind, revive,

resuscitate: Those photographs stir up so many old memories!

--n. 6 bustle, activity, movement, stirring, action, commotion, flurry, confusion, tumult, ado, to-do, fuss, disturbance, excitement, hubbub, Colloq Brit kerfuffle: There was a stir at the door, which was flung wide to allow Kitty to sweep in. The news of her marriage caused quite a stir. 7 prison, jail or Brit also gaol, jail-house, clink, penitentiary, lock-up, Military

Brit glasshouse, US brig, Slang chiefly Brit quod, US big house, pen, slammer, can, calaboose: He claims he's in stir for something he didn't do.

stirring adj. moving, telling, emotional, emotive, emotion-charged, rousing, stimulating, inspiring, gripping, evocative, exciting, thrilling, melodramatic, dramatic, heady, intoxicating, spirited, inspiriting, exhilarating, awe-inspiring: He was treated to the stirring experience of hearing fifty thousand people shouting his name in unison, again and again.

stock n. 1 supply, store, inventory, stockpile, reserve, reservoir, cache, hoard; wares, merchandise, goods, selection, assortment, range, variety, array: One can select something suitable from the stock at the local wine shop. 2 pedigree, bloodline, house, dynasty, (line of) descent, genealogy, extraction, roots, lineage, family, ancestry, parentage, breeding, heritage: Her mother was concerned that she should marry someone of good stock. 3 source, progenitor, creator, father, begetter,

forefather, ancestor, precursor, forerunner, forebear; founder: He might well provide the stock for a new line of kings. 4 livestock, (domestic or farm) animals, cattle, beasts; horses,

cows, oxen, sheep, goats: Don't forget to water the stock before driving to the village. 5 share, ownership, investment, capital, funds; property, assets: He owned ten shares of stock

in the corporation. The company's stock is worth next to nothing today. 6 take stock. weigh (up), estimate, review, appraise,

look at, Colloq size up: We must take stock of the situation and decide what to do.

--adj. 7 routine, stereotyped, banal, clich‚d, commonplace, usual, hackneyed, ordinary, stale, staple, run-of-the-mill, tired, old, everyday, customary, set, standard, traditional,

trite, worn out, Colloq corny: Ask him how he is and you always get his stock reply, 'Fair to meddling'. 8 standard, ordinary, regular, routine, staple: The shop does not carry 'extra tall'

or 'extra short', only stock sizes.

--v. 9 carry, have, have or make available, handle, deal in, market, sell, supply, furnish, provide, offer, trade in, keep:

The shop stocked a wide range of hardware. 10 Often, stock up (on). accumulate, amass, pile up, stockpile, hoard, store (up), cache, lay in, inventory: Everyone stocked up on food in case the village was blocked by snow.

stocky adj. thickset, sturdy, chunky, dumpy, solid, stumpy, burly, beefy, heavy-set, squat, pyknic, mesomorphic: He is stocky and powerfully built.

stodgy adj. stuffy, dull, heavy, ponderous, elephantine, boring, tedious, humdrum, tiresome, turgid, uninteresting, unimaginative, dry-as-dust, jejune, vapid, dreary, flat, colourless, bland, Colloq ho-hum, blah, deadly: The speaker was boring and gave the stodgiest talk I have ever heard.

stoical adj. stoic, impassive, resigned, apathetic, cool, unemotional, emotionless, frigid, imperturbable, calm, dispassionate, indifferent, phlegmatic, long-suffering, stolid, disciplined, self-possessed, (self-)controlled, Colloq unflappable: Bertram remained stoical as the judge read out the sentence of death.

stoicism n. indifference, self-possession, austerity, self-control, fortitude, calmness, calm, coolness, imperturbability, longanimity, forbearance, patience, fatalism, resignation, Colloq unflappability: The people accepted the news of one

stomach n. 1 abdomen, belly, gut, pot-belly, pot, paunch, Colloq corporation, bay window, tummy, bread basket, spare tyre: His huge stomach hung over and concealed his belt. 2 tolerance; taste, appetite, desire, hunger, thirst, craving, need,

inclination, relish, longing, yearning, hankering: I have no stomach for those TV sitcoms featuring precocious four-year-olds.

stopgap n. 1 makeshift, improvisation, substitute: The wire served as a stopgap until they could get the proper part.

--adj. 2 makeshift, temporary, improvised, impromptu, substitute, emergency, provisional, stand-by; jury-rigged: A

broomstick served as a stopgap mast for the dinghy's sail.

pile (up), aggregate, amass, cumulate; hoard; assemble: The corn is stored in huge silos. 2 keep, hold, stow (away), preserve, warehouse, stockpile: Apples should be stored in a cool, dry place.

--n. 3 supply, inventory, collection, accumulation, stock, stockpile, reservoir, cache, fund: We keep a large store of dry foods for an emergency. Grandfather has an endless store of tales about the sea. 4 shop, department store, market, retailer, outlet, cooperative (store), Colloq co-op: You might get a good fridge at a department store. 5 set or lay store by. give credence to, believe (in), have faith or trust in, trust (in),

bank or rely on, depend on or upon, count on, value: I shouldn't set much store by what that old gossip tells you.

storehouse