The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

feather-headed, rattle-brained, rattle-headed, ox-like, boneheaded, addle-pated, addle-headed, addled, Chiefly Brit imbecile, Chiefly US dumb, jerky, thimble-witted, Colloq dopey, Brit dozy: He seemed really stupid in comparison with his precocious younger sister. 2 foolish, silly, frivolous, asinine, hare-brained, crazy, insane, mad, crack-brained, scatterbrained, absurd, inane, idiotic, ridiculous, risible, laughable,

ludicrous, nonsensical, senseless, bootless, irresponsible, irrational, ill-advised, foolhardy, half-baked, Colloq cuckoo, cock-eyed, damn-fool, Chiefly Brit daft, barmy or balmy, US

cockamamie or cockamamy: He came up with one stupid plan after another. 3 insipid, dull, tedious, boring, tiresome, humdrum, prosaic, monotonous, unimaginative, uninspired, uninteresting, vapid, vacuous, Colloq ho-hum: Most sitcoms feature stupid characters doing stupid things.

stupidity n. 1 fatuity, obtuseness, dullness, denseness, lumpishness, doltishness, simplicity, simple-mindedness, imbecility,

his aggressions by jogging and marathon running.

sublime adj. 1 lofty, high, supreme, exalted, elevated, empyrean or empyreal, heavenly, noble, glorious, grand, high-minded; honourable, ennobled, eminent, glorified, beatified, canonized, sanctified, great, good: Her poetry evokes sublime emotions. 2 awesome, overwhelming, inspiring, mind-boggling, overpowering, humbling, awe-inspiring, majestic, splendid, empyrean: The architecture of the cathedral was truly sublime.

subliminal

adj. subconscious, unconscious, suggestive: Advertisers know that subliminal techniques can be very effective in TV commercials.

submerge v. 1 plunge, submerse, immerse, inundate, dip, wash, soak, drench, saturate, wet, douse, Colloq dunk: To cleanse, submerge the garment in a basin of warm water for ten minutes. 2 dive, plunge, go down, descend, sink, sound, plummet: The order to submerge was given as soon as the planes were spotted. 3 flood, immerse, inundate, swamp, bury, engulf, overwhelm, deluge, drown; conceal, hide, camouflage, obscure, cloak, veil, shroud: He was quickly submerged under an enormous pile of correspondence.

submission

n. 1 concession, acquiescence, capitulation, surrender, yielding, deference, giving in, obedience, compliance, resignation, submissiveness, tractability; meekness, docility, passivity, timidity, unassertiveness: After years of oppression their abject submission to a new tyrant was not altogether surprising. 2 submittal, offering, tender, contribution, entry: Submissions for the essay competition should be sent to the address given below.

submissive

adj. 1 yielding, acquiescent, deferential, compliant, obedient, tractable, amenable, agreeable, accommodating, passive, unresisting, pliant, flexible, manageable, unassertive, docile, meek, timid, resigned, uncomplaining: As a child she was very submissive but she rebelled in adolescence. 2 obsequious, abject, subservient, servile, humble, deferential, slavish, ingratiating, truckling, biddable, sycophantic, toadying, Colloq

boot-licking, Taboo slang brown-nosing, Brit arse-kissing, arse-licking, US ass-kissing, ass-licking: She keeps a few submissive lackeys about to do her bidding.

submit v. 1 Often, submit to. surrender (to), yield (to), capitulate (to), give in or up (to), comply (with), agree (to), concede (to), consent (to), accede (to), defer (to), bow or bend (to), succumb (to), truckle (to), knuckle under (to), resign (oneself) (to), be or become resigned (to); respect, accept, Colloq put up

with: Despite the threats, he refused to submit. The government eventually submitted to the union's demands. 2 offer, proffer, tender, enter, propose, present: Many of the suggestions that Alan submitted have been accepted.

subordinate

adj. 1 Often, subordinate to. minor; inferior (to), lower (than), lesser (than), secondary (to), second (to), junior (to), subsidiary (to); next to, below, beneath, under: He had to

accept a subordinate position in the new company. His new job is subordinate to that of purchasing director.

--n. 2 assistant, aide, junior, subaltern, staff member; underling, hireling, inferior, lackey, servant, slave, vassal; Colloq US staffer: She is a subordinate to the editor-in-chief.

--v. 3 make (something) secondary: Too many subordinate community interest to personal greed.

subscribe v. 1 Often, subscribe to. endorse, support, underwrite, advocate, back (up), approve (of), agree (with or to), accept, consent (to), assent (to), countenance, tolerate, condone,

allow, permit, brook: I sympathize with many of their arguments but I cannot subscribe to terrorism. 2 Often, subscribe to. contribute (to), support, give (to), donate (to), pledge,

promise, sign (up) (for), Colloq chip in (to or for): Mrs Donaldson has subscribed thousands to Amnesty International.

subscription

n. 1 payment, remittance, investment; commitment, dues, fee, price, cost: The subscription is now œ100 a year. 2 obligation, pledge, promise, underwriting: If we get enough subscriptions, we shall be able to print the book.

subsequent

adj. 1 succeeding, following, ensuing, next, future, later, successive; resultant, resulting, consequent: Subsequent governments have failed to solve the problem.

--prep. 2 subsequent to. after, following, succeeding, in the wake or aftermath of: Further problems arose subsequent to their second term of office.

subsequently

adv. later (on), afterwards or US also afterward: Subsequently, the law was changed to protect witnesses.

subside v. 1 sink (down), drop (down), go down, recede, descend, decline; lower, settle: The waters of the swollen river subsided. The volcano's centre subsided, leaving a caldera. 2 abate, quiet(en) (down), calm (down), moderate, let up, decrease, diminish, lessen, die (down or off or out), pass (away), wear off: His enthusiasm for sky-diving subsided a bit after he broke both legs. When the clamour had subsided, the president rose to speak.

subsidiary

adj. Often, subsidiary to. ancillary (to), secondary (to), auxiliary (to), lesser (than), additional (to), supplementary or supplemental (to), complementary (to), accessory (to), subordinate (to), adjuvant (to): The company offers removal of hazardous waste as a subsidiary service.

subsidize v. fund, finance, support, aid, sponsor, subvene, maintain, underwrite; capitalize, Slang US and Canadian bankroll: Bill and Sue can only afford to live in that big house because her parents subsidize them.

subsidy n. funding, financing, subsidizing, sponsoring, sponsorship, assistance, aid, contribution, support, grant, subvention, maintenance, underwriting, capitalization: Farmers are hoping for increased subsidies.

subsistence

n. 1 existence, living, survival, subsisting, being: You are worried about buying beer when I feel my very subsistence threatened! 2 food, rations, victuals, provision, sustenance,

board, nourishment, nutriment, aliment; maintenance, keep, upkeep: We depend on your salary for our subsistence, so forget about quitting your job.

substance n. 1 material, matter, stuff; fabric, composition, make-up: She couldn't recognize the substance in the bottle. The comet's substance is mainly ice and dirt. 2 essence, pith, heart, core, gist, burden, theme, meat, kernel, nub, crux, sum total, sum and substance, point, gravamen, haecceity, quintessence, quiddity: Explain, in 500 or fewer words, the substance of Hegel's dispute with Kant. 3 meaning, import, significance, purport, signification, point: Our visit to San Francisco gave substance to all we had read about it. 4 reality, corporeality, solidity, actuality, concreteness: You must learn to deal with the substance, not the shadows. 5 means, wealth, property, possessions, riches, resources, affluence, assets: John Culver was a citizen of some substance in this town.

substantial

adj. 1 material, considerable, significant, great, worthwhile, consequential, ample, goodly, respectable, abundant, generous, big, large, sizeable, major, Colloq tidy, healthy: We understand that he made a substantial payment to keep his name out of the papers. 2 strong, solid, well-built, durable, sound, stout, sturdy; big, large, massive, huge, sizeable, impressive, vast; numerous, numberless: A substantial mausoleum was constructed for his family. A substantial crowd had gathered. 3 well-founded, sound, weighty, solid, well-established, telling, good, valid, actual: Many economists produced substantial arguments in favour of another cut in interest rates. 4 wealthy, well-to-do, rich, affluent, prosperous, profitable, successful; landed, propertied: The Trevelyan Ironworks is a substantial business, and Mr Trevelyan is one of our more substantial businessmen.

substantially

adv. in substance, essentially, at bottom, fundamentally, basically, in essence, intrinsically, in reality, at heart, sincerely, truly, actually, in truth, veritably, indeed, in fact, as a matter of fact; largely, to a large extent, in large measure, materially, practically, in the main, for the most part, mostly, virtually, to all intents and purposes; Archaic verily: The article was substantially sound. Do you agree

substantially with the ruling of the court?

substantiate

v. confirm, affirm, corroborate, support, sustain, back up, bear out, authenticate, show (clearly), prove, document, verify, certify, validate: Do not make accusations that cannot be substantiated by evidence.

substitute

v. 1 Sometimes, substitute for. replace, exchange, displace, relieve, supplant; switch; take the place of, stand in for, double for, Colloq sub for, cover for, swap or swop, US and

Canadian pinch-hit for: She substituted the real diamond with a paste replica. I will substitute for you while you are away.

--n. 2 substitution, replacement, alternative, relief, representative, deputy, delegate, stand-in, stand-by,

understudy, surrogate, succedaneum, Brit locum (tenens), US and Canadian alternate: In those days a man could hire a substitute to serve in his place in the militia.

substitution

n. 1 exchange, exchanging, change, changing, replacement, replacing, supplanting, switch, switching, interchange, interchanging, Colloq swap or swop, swapping or swopping: The substitution of certain words distorted the sense. 2 See substitute, 2, above.

substratum

n. substrate, foundation, underlayer, basis, fundament, base, substructure, groundwork: The agreement rests on a substratum of mutual trust and respect.

subterfuge

n. artifice, trick, device, stratagem, manoeuvre, ploy, evasion, deception, dodge, feint, shift, excuse, expedient, contrivance, intrigue: Although he told no lies, he used every subterfuge to avoid telling the truth.

subtle adj. 1 delicate, fine, refined, exquisite, nice, Archaic subtile: I became aware, almost subconsciously, of the subtle odour of jasmine. These subtle shades of green are so peaceful. 2 abstruse, arcane, recondite, remote, deep, profound,