The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

outpouring, spate, inundation, flow, overflow, tide, cascade:

In minutes the brook became a rushing torrent. They assailed us with a torrent of abuse.

torrential

adj. rushing, streaming, copious, profuse, teeming, relentless, violent; fierce, vehement, vociferous, ferocious: The

torrential monsoons inundated the land. I had never heard such a torrential outpouring of oaths.

torrid adj. 1 hot, fiery, sultry, stifling, sweltering, broiling, sizzling, roasting, blazing, burning, baking, cooking, boiling, blistering, blistery, scorching, scorched, parched, parching, arid; humid, steamy, steaming, muggy; tropical: It seemed impossible that any creature could survive in such a torrid climate. 2 fervent, fervid, passionate, intense, ardent, inflamed, impassioned, lustful, amorous, erotic, Colloq sexy, hot: The film was noted for its torrid love scenes.

tortuous adj. 1 twisted, twisting, winding, wandering, serpentine, turning, crooked, sinuous, bent, curled, curling, curved, curvy, curvilinear, flexuous, anfractuous, convoluted, involuted, zigzag, maze-like, mazy, labyrinthine: They followed a tortuous trail through the jungle. 2 roundabout, indirect, devious, intricate, involved, unstraightforward, complicated, ambiguous, ambagious, circuitous, warped, crooked, tricky, misleading, deceptive: We could not help being intrigued by the tortuous Machiavellianism of the scheme.

totalitarian

adj. absolute, absolutist, arbitrary, authoritarian, autocratic, dictatorial, Fascist(ic), undemocratic, illiberal,

monolithic, Nazi, oppressive, despotic, tyrannical: Sooner or later, totalitarian governments get overthrown.

totality n. total, aggregate, sum (total), whole, entirety, beginning and end, alpha and omega, be-all and end-all: The totality of his interests lies in watching soap operas on TV.

touched my hand. 2 bring into contact with, apply, put, set:

He touched a match to the fuse and ran. 3 Sometimes, touch (up) against. be in contact (with), border, adjoin, meet, come up or

be (up) against, push or press or lean (up) against, brush or rub (up) against, come or be together, abut: The ladder is

touching the freshly painted wall. 4 lay a hand or finger on; meddle with, have to do with, interfere with, come near, approach: If you touch me, I'll scream. 5 drink, eat, consume, partake of, take, use, taste, have to do with: He swore that he would never touch alcohol again. 6 affect, impress, influence, disturb, move, stir, arouse, excite, impassion, stimulate, strike, Colloq get to: We were touched by your sympathetic note. 7 rival, match, equal, compare with, come up to, be on a par with, be a match for, be in the same league or class as or with, be on an equal footing with, reach, come or get near or close to, hold a candle to, measure up to or against, Colloq US stack up to or with or against: No other car can touch our new model for speed and safety. 8 Usually, touch on or upon. refer to, have reference to, pertain to, relate to, have a bearing on, regard, mention, allude to, speak or write of, tell of, bring up or in, raise, deal with, cover: I must now touch upon a delicate matter. 9 have access to, access, use, employ, make use of, put to use, avail (oneself) of, take, get, take

advantage of: I do not touch the principal, but try to live off the interest. 10 touch down. land, alight, come to earth: We

touched down for fuel at Gander, Newfoundland. 11 touch off. a detonate, spark (off), set alight, set off, ignite, light, fire,

put a match to: We touched off the gunpowder and blew up the arsenal. b instigate, initiate, begin, start, set in motion,

ignite, set off, trigger, provoke, foment, cause, give rise to: Her offhand remark touched off a family row that lasted for years. 12 touch up. retouch, patch up; beautify, enhance, titivate, renovate, spruce up: She said that the painting had recently been touched up. Mandy is upstairs touching up her make-up.

--n. 13 feeling, feel, texture: She wants nothing but the touch of silk next to her body. 14 pat, tap, blow, hit, stroke, brush, caress: She hated him so much that she cringed at the touch of his hand. 15 dash, hint, intimation, suggestion, soup‡on, bit, intimation, pinch, jot, spot, trace, tinge, taste, suspicion, smattering, colouring, smack, speck, drop, whiff, odour, scent, smell: Cynthia has a touch of hypocrisy about her. The salad dressing could use a touch more garlic. 16 ability, deftness, expertise, dexterity, adroitness, facility, skill, skilfulness, knack, capability, genius, talent, gift,

flair: Richard has a master's touch in everything he does. 17 response, feel, responsiveness, feeling, movement, operation,

performance level: This piano action has an excellent touch. 18 signature, trade mark, characteristic, influence, approach, style, manner, technique, execution, method: I thought I recognized your touch in the furniture selection. A woman's touch might have helped.

touching adj. moving, stirring, emotional, tender, poignant, pathetic, soul-stirring, heart-rending, heart-breaking, sad, pitiful, distressing, distressful: The most touching scene is the one where the boy meets his father for the first time.

touchstone

n. standard, yardstick, criterion, reference, benchmark, test, norm, measure: His craftsmanship is the touchstone by which the others are judged.

touchy adj. 1 (over-)sensitive, supersensitive, hypersensitive, highly-strung, tense, thin-skinned, crabby, crabbed, testy, irascible, irritable, tetchy, temperamental, grouchy, peevish, querulous, petulant, pettish, splenetic, captious, bad-tempered, short-tempered, hot-tempered, quick-tempered, crusty, cross, curmudgeonly, cantankerous, choleric, dyspeptic, waspish, bearish, snarling, snappish, argumentative, disputatious, contentious, US high-strung, cranky: She is very touchy on the subject of her family. He's always touchy in the morning. 2 critical, touch-and-go, sensitive, ticklish, risky, precarious, hazardous, chancy, unsure, uncertain, close, hairbreadth, dangerous, hair-raising, frightening, terrifying, nerve-racking or nerve-wracking, Jocular parlous, Colloq hairy: There was a touchy moment when the fuel leaked into the astronauts' cabin.

tough adj. 1 hard, firm, durable, long-lasting, wear-resistant, substantial, strong, stout, rugged, sturdy, sound, well-built: Only one kind of material is tough enough to endure such conditions for so long. 2 stiff, hard, leathery, inflexible, chewy, fibrous, cartilaginous, sinewy, ropy, wiry, stringy: That steak was as tough as shoe-leather. 3 strong, stalwart, brawny, burly, muscular, powerful, virile, manly, sturdy, doughty, intrepid, stout, rough, vigorous, strapping, athletic: Two tough-looking characters moved towards us, so we left. 4 difficult, demanding, exacting, hard, troublesome; laborious, taxing, strenuous: We deal with tough complaints every day. It's a tough job. 5 baffling, thorny, puzzling, perplexing,

tourist n. traveller, voyager, visitor, sightseer, Colloq rubberneck(er), out-of-towner, Brit tripper, day-tripper, holiday-maker: During the summer, this place is inundated with tourists.

tournament

n. tourney, competition, contest, match, meeting, event, meet: The tennis tournament was delayed by rain.

tousle v. dishevel, disorder, ruffle, disarrange, tangle (up), mess (up), rumple, disarray, US muss (up): Her hair was all tousled by the wind.

--v. 3 Often, tower over or above. loom, soar, rise, ascend, rear: These ugly high-rise buildings tower over everything, blocking out the sun.

towering adj. 1 lofty, tall, high, soaring, outstanding, elevated, sky-scraping, sky-high, great, impressive, imposing, huge, gigantic, supreme, superior, paramount, extraordinary, unmatched, unequally, unrivalled, unparalleled, unsurpassed:

The towering American economy dominated the world for decades after World War II. 2 violent, fiery, burning, passionate, excessive, vehement, intense, consuming, mighty, overwhelming, unrestrained, immoderate, inordinate, intemperate, extreme, colossal, enormous: Every time she mentioned Valentino, he went into a towering rage.

20.6 trace...

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trace n. 1 hint, intimation, sign, token, suggestion, touch, vestige, indication, mark, record, evidence, clue: There wasn't any trace of the intruders. 2 bit, spot, speck, jot, drop, dash, suspicion, remnant, tinge, soup‡on, iota, whiff, suggestion, trifle: The traces of mud on the suspect's shoes proved he had been there. 3 Often, traces. track(s), trail, spoor,

footprint(s), print(s), footmark(s): They were following the traces of a buffalo.

--v. 4 dog, pursue, follow (in the footsteps of), stalk, track (down), shadow, trail, Colloq tail: We traced him to a seedy hotel in Caracas. 5 investigate, discover, ascertain, detect, determine, find, seek, search for, hunt down or up, unearth, track: Have you traced her whereabouts? I am able to trace my ancestry back to the time of the First Crusade. 6 delineate, outline, copy, draw, map, chart, mark (out), record, reproduce, sketch: We traced Marco Polo's route to China and back.

track n. 1 line, rail(s), way, railway, US railroad: New track was laid between London and Manchester. 2 path, trail, route, footpath, course, road, street, alley: A rough track leads over

Sty Head Pass. Are you sure you're on the right track? 3 spoor, trail, footprint(s), print(s), trace(s), footmark(s), scent,

slot, wake: The last time I saw him he was following the track of a yeti. 4 keep track of. trace, track, keep an eye on,

follow, pursue, monitor, supervise, oversee, keep up with or on, watch, keep a record of or on, record: Using an electronic tag, we were able to keep track of the animal's movements. 5 lose track of. lose, misplace, mislay, lose sight of, forget: She

lost track of some important papers. I lost track of what I was saying.

--v. 6 follow, dog, pursue, trace, stalk, shadow, trail, hunt down, chase, Colloq tail: She was tracked to Istanbul, where they lost her. 7 See 4, above. 8 track down. find, seek out, ferret out, hunt down, trace, catch, apprehend, capture, smell or sniff out, run to earth or ground, Colloq run down: We finally tracked him down at his mother's house in Putney.

trackless adj. empty, pathless, untrodden, unexplored, uncharted, virgin, untrod: We found ourselves in the trackless wilderness of

central Australia.

tractable adj. 1 docile, amenable, tame, manageable, biddable, persuadable or persuasible, compliant, easygoing, willing, submissive, obedient, governable, yielding: It was a pleasure to teach a student who was so tractable. 2 manageable, handleable, workable, adaptable, malleable, pliable, plastic, ductile, fictile: The new materials are quite tractable and can be drawn or moulded with ease.

traction n. grip, gripping power, drag, purchase, friction, adhesion: Unable to get any traction on the ice, the car skidded off the road.

trade n. 1 commerce, business, traffic, exchange, barter, dealing(s), buying and selling, merchandising, marketing, mercantilism, truck: Have we any trade in shoes with South Korea? We are establishing trade with Eastern Europe? 2 calling, occupation, pursuit, work, business, employment, line (of work), m‚tier, job, vocation, craft, career, profession: Just what trade are

you engaged in? 3 swap or swop, exchange, interchange, barter: Was exchanging your microwave cooker for a hi-fi set a good trade? 4 customers, clientele, custom, patrons, following, patronage, shoppers: Her shop caters chiefly to the holiday trade.

--v. 5 transact or do business, buy, sell, deal, traffic, merchandise, have dealings: There are laws against Sunday trading in some areas. 6 exchange, swap or swop, interchange, switch, barter; return: Having traded his car for the boat, Sam has no way of reaching the marina.

trader n. dealer, merchant, businessman, broker, merchandiser, distributor, seller, salesman, saleswoman, salesperson, vendor, buyer, purchaser, retailer, wholesaler: All sorts of traders

can be found in the covered market.

tradesman n. 1 merchant, dealer, shopkeeper, retailer, vendor, seller: A tradesman had been ringing at the door for several minutes. 2 artisan, craftsman, journeyman, handicraftsman: He is a tradesman, a skilled cabinet-maker by profession.

tradition n. custom, practice, habit, usage, convention, ritual, rite, unwritten law, institution, form, praxis, lore: Exchanging gifts on Christmas Eve has long been a tradition in our family.

traditional

adj. customary, usual, routine, habitual, standard, household, stock, time-honoured, established, well-known, conventional, ritual, unwritten, accustomed, historic, old, ancestral:

Mazetta mocha tarts were the traditional birthday cakes at home when I was a child.

traffic n. 1 movement, conveyance, shipping, transport, freight, Chiefly US transportation: Traffic across the border has resumed. 2 See trade, 1, above: Drug traffic has increased