The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

strive, struggle, make an effort, try (one's) hand at, Colloq have a stab or go or whack (at), take a shot or crack (at): He tried to help me with my homework. 2 test, try out, prove, evaluate, examine, inspect, check out, sample, appraise, assay, look over, analyse, scrutinize, assess, judge: I'll try your

way of solving the problem. You won't know if it works till you try it. 3 test, prove, strain, tax: You are trying my patience with your silly questions. 4 hear, sit on, adjudicate, judge, adjudge: There are three more cases to try this month.

--n. 5 attempt, endeavour, essay, undertaking, venture, struggle, effort, turn, Colloq go, stab, whack, fling, shot, crack: You have three tries to pin the tail on the donkey.

trying adj. irritating, exasperating, frustrating, annoying, irksome, infuriating, maddening, bothersome, tiresome, vexing, troublesome, worrying, worrisome, distressing, disquieting, upsetting, dispiriting, taxing, demanding, tough, stressful, difficult, tiring, fatiguing: This must be a trying time for you, caring for eight small children.

20.7 tug...

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tuition n. education, teaching, tutelage, training, schooling, instruction, guidance, preparation: The course fees cover tuition and accommodation.

tumble v. 1 fall (down), pitch, turn end over end or head over heels, roll, drop: Giggling hysterically, we tumbled in a heap on the lawn. 2 drop, toss, dump, jumble: The waiter tumbled several spoonfuls of berries on to my plate. 3 tumble to. understand, apprehend, perceive, comprehend, see the light, Colloq get the signal or message, catch on, Brit twig to, Slang get wise, wise up, dig: I finally tumbled to what she was trying to tell me.

--n. 4 fall, slip, stumble, Colloq header, spill: Joshua took a bad tumble on the stairs yesterday.

tumbledown

adj. ramshackle, dilapidated, ruined, in ruins, decrepit, rickety, shaky, falling apart or to pieces, disintegrating, tottering, broken-down, crumbling, gone to rack and ruin: He lived for years in a tumbledown shanty near the railway.

disquiet, insurrection, agitation, bedlam, chaos, brouhaha, fracas, hubbub, stir, pandemonium, hullabaloo, furore or US furor, brawl, Donnybrook, affray, row, mˆl‚e or melee, turbulence, ferment, ado, turmoil, confusion, rampage, frenzy, rage, excitement, rumpus, Colloq US ruckus: The tumult caused by the football hooligans spread through the city.

tumultuous

adj. clamorous, noisy, boisterous, disorderly, turbulent, violent, uproarious, chaotic, frenzied, furious, excited, agitated, hectic, riotous, rowdy, unruly, unrestrained, fierce, savage, wild, hysterical, frantic, rumbustious, boisterous, obstreperous, tempestuous, stormy: The heroes received a tumultuous welcome on their return.

blind to, turn one's back on, turn a deaf ear to: Sally is able to tune out anything she doesn't like to hear.

burrow, hole; Channel Tunnel, Colloq Chunnel: The cat got out through this tunnel.

any way we can turn this situation to our advantage? 7 Sometimes, turn aside or away. block, avert, thwart, prevent, balk or baulk, parry, deflect, fend off, check: He deftly turned aside the thrust of the dagger. 8 form, make up, fashion, formulate, construct, cast, create, coin, concoct, express: Donald certainly knows how to turn a felicitous

phrase. 9 direct, aim, point: He turned the gun on himself and pulled the trigger. 10 twist, sprain, wrench: I have turned my ankle and cannot walk. 11 twist, wind, snake, curve, bend, arc, coil, loop, meander, zigzag: The road turned this way and that, following the river bank. 12 turn against. defy, mutiny, rebel, revolt, rise (up) against: The captain had not expected the

first mate to turn against him, too. 13 turn back. a reverse, repulse, repel, rebuff, drive back, beat back: At last we turned back the enemy's advance. b go back, retrace (one's) steps, return: We must turn back before it is too late. 14

turn down. a refuse, reject, rebuff, decline, deny: My request for help was turned down. b decrease or diminish or lessen or lower or soften the sound of: Turn down the radio, I'm on the phone. 15 turn in. a go to bed or sleep, retire, withdraw,

call it a day, Slang hit the sack or the hay: I usually turn in by eleven o'clock. b hand in or over, turn over, deliver, give in, submit, offer, proffer, tender, give back, return, surrender, yield: Please turn in your visitors' badges before

you leave. c turn over, deliver (up), inform on, betray, Colloq squeal on, rat on, finger, tell on: For enough money, he'd turn in his own mother. 16 turn into. a turn to, become, change into or to, metamorphose into or to: Right before her, the prince turned into a frog again. b go or come into, drive into, pull into, walk into: They lost sight of the suspect when he turned into a side-street. 17 turn off. a stop, switch off, deactivate, discontinue; extinguish: First turn off the water, then the light. b disillusion, depress, cool (off), disenchant, disaffect, alienate, repel, repulse, bore, offend, put off, displease, sicken, nauseate, disgust: People who don't brush their teeth turn me off. c deviate, diverge: When you come to the fork, turn off to the right. 18 turn on. a start (up),

switch on, energize, activate, set in motion, cause to function or operate: Turn on the light. b depend on or upon, be contingent on, hinge on or upon, be subject to: The success of the venture turns on our ability to capitalize it. c excite,

thrill, arouse, stimulate, titillate, work up, impassion: He was really turned on by the girl in the bar. 19 turn on or

upon. a concern, revolve about, relate to: The discussion turned on his ability to write music. b be hostile to, attack, assail, set upon, Colloq tear into: Oliver is so unpopular that his own dog turned on him and bit him. 20 turn out. a make, form, shape, construct, build, fabricate, put together, assemble, manufacture, produce, put out, bring out: The plant

turns out a thousand cars a week. b develop, evolve, eventuate, happen, result, prove, occur, end up, arise: As it turned out,

he lost anyway. It turns out that he knows my sister. c eject, evict, throw out, expel, oust, dismiss, terminate, cashier, Colloq fire, sack, kick out, axe, Brit turf out: When they found I wasn't a member, they turned me out. d dress, fit out, equip, rig out, accoutre or US also accouter: She was well turned out in a beautiful ball gown. e come, arrive, appear, attend, assemble, meet, Colloq show (up), surface: 55,000 turned out for the rock concert. 21 turn over. a consider, muse or ruminate over or about, revolve, ponder (over): I needed a while to turn over the job offer in my mind. b

reverse, invert, turn upside down: Turn over the clock and read the inscription on the bottom. c overturn, upset, knock over: In my haste, I turned over the punch bowl. d sell, merchandise: A shop in that location ought to turn over a million a year. e rotate, revolve, spin, kick over: The engine turns over, but it won't start. 22 turn tail. run away, flee, bolt, scoot, show a clean pair of heels, cut and run, take to (one's) heels, beat a hasty retreat, Colloq take off, beat it, scram, skedaddle: He turned tail when I shouted for help. 23 turn to. a appeal to, apply to, resort to: She turned to me for help. b advert to, refer to, pick or take up, have recourse to: Please turn to

your exercise books now. c get to work, pitch in, buckle or knuckle down: The neighbours turned to in helping clean up the mess after the storm. d turn into, change to, convert into, become: Lot's wife was turned to salt. 24 turn turtle.

capsize, overturn, keel over, upset, up-end, Colloq go bottoms up: The overloaded barge turned turtle and sank in the river. 25 turn up. a surface, appear, arrive, Colloq show (up), show one's face: Guess who turned up at our wedding? b come up, arise, Colloq crop up, pop up: Something will turn up soon for you. c uncover, discover, find, unearth, come across, hit upon, dig up, expose, disclose, reveal, bring to light: We turned up a formerly unknown fact about the shipwreck. d increase or raise or amplify or intensify the sound of: Turn up the TV - I can't hear what they're saying.

--n. 26 revolution, rotation, cycle, spin, whirl, circuit, round, roll, twirl; pirouette: He gave the top another turn, just to make sure it was on securely. 27 curve, bend, turning, corner, sinuosity, dog-leg, hairpin bend or curve, irregularity,

meander, twist, zigzag, Colloq toing and froing: There are many dangerous turns on that road. 28 loop, coil, spiral, twist:

Take two turns of this rope round your waist, then knot it. 29 deviation, turning, detour, shift, change of direction or course: A turn to the right is not permitted at this corner.

30 opportunity, chance, say, round, spell, time, watch, shift, stint, tour (of duty), move, trick, Colloq whack, crack, shot,

go: You have had your turn, now let someone else go. 31 drive, spin, ride; airing, constitutional, ramble, saunter, stroll,

walk, promenade, amble: Let's take a short turn round the park. 32 trend, direction, drift: The conversation took a new turn.

33 change, alteration, switch: The doctor says that Valerie has taken a turn for the better. 34 Usually, bad turn. disservice, harm, injury, wrong: If you do someone a bad turn, what can you expect? 35 Usually, good turn. favour, (good) deed, act (of kindness), courtesy, boon, mercy: One good turn deserves another. 36 shock, fright, surprise, start, scare: You really

gave me a turn, jumping out like that! 37 form, style, manner, mode: Each turn of phrase in her writing seems original and refreshing. 38 disposition, inclination, bent, bias, leaning, tendency: Alistair is of a rather dour turn of mind tonight.

39 at every turn. everywhere, constantly, always, all the time: In Scotland, we met with kindness and hospitality at every turn. 40 by turns. alternately, reciprocally, in rotation,

successively, in succession: The book is fascinating and frustrating by turns. 41 in turn. sequentially, one after the other, in succession, successively, in (proper) order: Each patient will be treated in turn. 42 out of turn. a out of sequence, out of order: I don't want you answering questions out of proper turn, Jonathan. b imprudently, indiscreetly, improperly, disobediently, inappropriately: I apologize if I am speaking out of turn on this issue. 43 take turns. alternate, vary, rotate, exchange: Let's take turns looking through the telescope.

turn-about

n. reciprocity, exchange: Turn-about is fair play.

turncoat n. renegade, traitor, betrayer, deserter, fifth-columnist, double agent, apostate, tergiversator, defector, backslider, Vicar of Bray, US Benedict Arnold, Colloq snake in the grass: Labour members who voted with the Tories on the issue were branded turncoats.

turn-off n. 1 exit, side-road, feeder (road), auxiliary (road), ramp, Brit slip-road, US (exit or entrance) ramp: Our shop is at the first turn-off after the traffic light. 2 damper, killjoy,

Colloq wet blanket, Slang US freeze-out: It was a real turn-off to discover that his hobby was model railways.

turnout n. 1 assemblage, muster, attendance, audience, crowd, gate, throng, gathering: The turnout for the first day of the sale

was enormous. 2 output, production, out-turn, volume; gross national product, GNP, gross domestic product, GDP: Turnout has improved since the settlement of the labour dispute. 3 gear,

outfit, clothing, apparel, apparatus, equipment, trappings, fittings, equipage: Have you seen Charlie in his mountain-climbing turnout?

turnover n. gross (revenue), (total) business, volume: Although turnover increased by ten per cent, profits were down by two per cent.

tutor n. 1 teacher, instructor, educator, coach, mentor, guru: Bernard engaged a tutor to coach him through the examinations.

--v. 2 teach, instruct, coach, educate, school, train, indoctrinate, drill, enlighten, advise, direct, guide, prepare, ground: Twitchell needs someone to tutor him in the fine art of going out with girls.

20.8 tweak...

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tweak v. 1 pinch, nip, twitch, squeeze, jerk, grip: I do wish that adults would refrain from tweaking my nose, though it is pretty cute.

--n. 2 pinch, nip, twitch, squeeze, jerk, grip: He gave her nose an affectionate little tweak.

twilight n. 1 dusk, sunset, gloaming, sundown, half-light, crepuscule or crepuscle: We enjoyed dinner at twilight on the terrace overlooking the sea. 2 decline, wane, waning, ebb, downturn, down-swing, slump, decay, weakening, declination, diminution: Even at the twilight of his career, Jonas enjoyed the respect of

his colleagues. 3 Twilight of the Gods. G”tterd„mmerung, Ragnar”k or Ragnarok: The world ends at the Twilight of the Gods, only to be born anew.