The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

--v. 3 stand, survive, suffer, bear up against, endure, withstand, rise above, ride out, live through, brave: Gemma didn't think she could weather much more sarcasm from the critics.

weave v. 1 loom; braid, plait, entwine, intertwine, interlace, interweave, knit (together): These fabrics were woven by hand. Weave these leather strands together to make a belt. 2 blend, combine, fuse, merge, unite, intermingle, mesh, splice, dovetail, join: The threads of their lives are inextricably woven together. 3 construct, make, contrive, build, create, fabricate, compose, spin, design: Oh, what a tangled web we weave When first we practise to deceive! 4 zigzag, criss-cross,

wend or make (one's) way, dodge, bob and weave, shift: Look at that motor cyclist weaving in and out of the traffic! 5 get weaving. get started, get a move on, hurry (up), start, Colloq shake a leg, Brit get or pull (one's) finger out, Chiefly US get

a wiggle on: If you're going to get to work on time, you'd best get weaving.

wive; Colloq tie the knot, get hitched, get spliced: They were wed on the fourth of July, 1921. That was when Harry wed Annabel. 2 combine, unite, ally, marry, blend, merge, join, mingle, intermingle, commingle, coalesce, mix, intermix, amalgamate, compound, alloy, fuse, homogenize: As a chef, he is extremely fortunate to be able to wed business to pleasure.

confarreation: Our son's wedding was attended by members of the royal family. 2 combining, combination, uniting, union,

joining, juncture, blending, blend, allying, alliance, associating, association, marrying, marriage, merging, merger,

mingling, intermingling, commingling, coalescing, coalescence, mixing, mixture, intermixing, amalgamating, amalgamation, compounding, compound, alloying, alloy, fusing, fusion, homogenizing, homogenization: Through her wedding of vision to observation she has produced some truly remarkable paintings.

wedge n. 1 block, chock: A shoe with a wedge heel is called a

account, Colloq cut any ice: Certain factors - like the sizes of the bribes - are likely to weigh heavily with the judges of this particular beauty contest. 6 weigh down. burden, overburden, load, overload, encumber, tax, overtax, strain, trouble, worry, depress, oppress: He's been weighed down by financial worries since losing his job.

weight n. 1 heaviness, avoirdupois, mass, tonnage, Dialect heft: They sell peaches by weight but melons are individually priced. The weight of these books must be enormous. 2 burden, load, millstone, onus, pressure, strain, albatross, cross: He has to support the weight of the entire family's expenses. 3

influence, authority, power, substance, force, moment, importance, consequence, impact, persuasiveness, value, worth, Colloq clout: Clyde brought down his full weight in favour of the liberal candidate. Clyde's opinion carries little weight

with me. He must stop throwing his weight around. 4 mass, majority, preponderance or preponderancy, bulk, superiority: The weight of the voters is in favour of reducing taxes. The weight of the evidence is against us.

--v. 5 load, charge, ballast: The policemen's truncheons are weighted with lead. 6 arrange, manipulate, bias, incline, slant, Colloq rig: The statistics are weighted so as to make the advertiser's product look superior.

weighty adj. 1 heavy, ponderous, massive, huge, bulky, substantial, ample, large, mammoth, colossal, immense, enormous, gigantic, prodigious; corpulent, fat, obese, adipose, Colloq hefty: I found myself face to face with a rather weighty gentleman who was blocking the doorway. 2 important, consequential, significant, momentous, grave, crucial, portentous, thought-provoking, provocative: These are weighty matters and should be handled with circumspection. 3 influential, convincing, persuasive, impressive, telling, powerful, potent, leading; forceful: Weighty arguments have been put forward in support of these proposals.

weird adj. strange, odd, peculiar, bizarre, unnatural, eerie, queer, grotesque, freakish, outlandish, uncanny, unearthly, other-worldly, supernatural, preternatural, Literary eldritch, Colloq spooky, freaky, kinky, Slang far-out, way-out: There was something decidedly weird about the creature at the door.

(to): Everywhere she went she was welcomed with open arms.

--adj. 2 accepted, acceptable, well-received, desirable, agreeable, gratifying, appreciated: Norma is always a welcome guest at my house. Ice cream was a welcome relief from the perennial plum duff. 3 freely permitted or allowed, invited, entitled, suffered: At that hotel, guests are welcome to dine when they please.

--n. 4 reception, greeting, salutation: We gave the ambassador a warm welcome.

that would last forever. The brace must be welded all the way along the edge.

--n. 2 seam, joint, juncture, commissure: The weld must be filed down smooth.

nicely, (well) enough, Colloq OK or okay: Alan is doing well these days. 2 successfully, famously, marvellously, wonderfully, fabulously, incredibly, splendidly, admirably, spectacularly, excellently, superbly: Barbara and David really get along well together. 3 articulately, understandably, expressively, correctly, accurately, properly, proficiently, effectively, artistically, poetically; grammatically: Henry will make a good announcer because he speaks well. 4

comfortably, luxuriously, prosperously, extravagantly, showily, pretentiously, ostentatiously, sumptuously, grandly, opulently:

How can Rita live so well with no visible income? Living well is the best revenge. 5 graciously, kindly, highly, favourably, glowingly, approvingly, warmly, genially, cordially, amiably, kind-heartedly, warm-heartedly, affectionately, lovingly: Rudolph has always spoken well of you, Aileen. 6 skilfully, expertly, adeptly, proficiently, ably: Does Anne play well enough to compete professionally? Paul sings well. 7 far, by a long way, immeasurably, (very) much; far and away, definitely, positively, obviously, clearly, plainly, manifestly, evidently, unquestionably, decidedly, beyond (the shadow of a) doubt, Colloq by a long chalk: Keep well away from the fuel tank before lighting that cigarette. She is well beyond the beginner stage. This painting is well worth what you paid. 8 good-naturedly, equably, coolly, serenely, calmly, soberly, unexcitedly, sedately: Burt took the bad news about his car very well. 9 likely, probably, in all probability, doubtlessly, without doubt, not unexpectedly, indeed: He might well say he needs no help. 10 easily, without difficulty: Though he gave her the money, he could not well spare it. 11 completely, entirely, wholly: Before she could well finish her sentence, he was out of the house. 12 thoroughly (cooked), (cooked) through and through, completely (cooked): He likes his roast beef well done. 13 intimately, closely, familiarly, personally;

thoroughly, profoundly, soundly, fully: Do you know Boris well? I learnt my lesson well. 14 fairly, justly, suitably, properly, adequately, reasonably, fully, generously, amply: James is well paid for his work. 15 happily, mercifully, fortunately,

luckily: After the divorce, both said they were well rid of each other.

--adj. 16 healthy, fit, hale, robust, vigorous, hearty, in fine or good fettle, Colloq in good shape: Wendy felt really well after her holiday. 17 satisfactory, pleasing, agreeable, good,

right, all right, fine, proper, OK or okay: When he phoned the office, they told him all was well.

wellý n. 1 well-spring, spring, fountain, well-head, fountain-head, fount, source, reservoir: The well provided a constant supply of cool clear water.

--v. 2 Often, well up or out or forth. flow, spring, surge, rise, stream, trickle, brim over, swell, start; gush, spurt, jet, spout; ooze, seep, leak: Tears welled up in the child's

eyes when she saw the broken doll.

well-advised

adj. prudent, wise, sensible, intelligent, smart: You would be well-advised to avoid Chichicastenango at this time of year.

well-balanced

adj. 1 rational, sane, sensible, rational, reasonable, level-headed, sober, sound, well-adjusted, cool(-headed), Slang together: Ray is as well-balanced as people seem to be these days. 2 even, symmetric(al), harmonious, well-proportioned, orderly, well-ordered, well-disposed: Note the well-balanced arrangement of the windows in this Palladian fa‡ade.

well-bred adj. well brought up, well-mannered, polite, decorous, mannerly, refined, courteous, cultivated, polished, cultured, gentlemanly, ladylike, elegant, suave, urbane, sophisticated, gracious, courtly, genteel, gallant, chivalrous: Jane prefers bikers to the well-bred gentlemen her mother selects for her.

well-established

adj. long-standing, traditional, set, venerable, well-known, accepted, well-founded: He works for a well-established firm of solicitors. It's a well-established fact that the English

discuss the weather a lot.

well-fed adj. plump, chunky, thickset, chubby, rounded, rotund, portly, stout, fleshy, overweight, adipose, fat, obese, gross, Brit

podgy or US pudgy: On the westward crossing we were seated with a well-fed Austrian couple.

well-groomed

adj. neat, dapper, fastidious, tidy, trim, smart, clean-cut,

spruce, natty, well-dressed, Colloq nifty, Slang US and Canadian spiffy: Well-groomed gentleman sought as escort to attractive widow. Hourly rate. Driving licence essential.

well-informed

adj. knowledgeable, learned, well-read, well-versed, well-educated, literate, educated, Colloq in the know, wise, US vibrating on the right frequency, Slang hip or hep: With access to all the media, what excuse have you for not being well-informed?

sopping, wringing, dripping, sodden, soppy, saturated, drenched: During the rainy season, the ground is far too wet for planting.

2 rainy, raining, teeming, pouring, drizzling, showery: We have had a very wet spring this year. 3 feeble, weak, irresolute, effet, namby-pamby, foolish, ineffectual, ineffective,

spineless, timorous, cowardly: She considered some of her colleagues too wet to take the tough action needed.

--n. 4 moisture, water, wetness, dampness, damp, humidity, liquid: The wet stood out on his forehead. 5 rain, wetness, mist, dew, fog, damp, humidity: Come in out of the wet, and warm yourself by the fire. 6 milksop, softie or softy, lightweight, Colloq drip, loser, Brit weed, Slang wimp, US weak sister: Why is he such a wet about standing up for his rights?

23.3 wheedle...

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culture in the western hemisphere ever invented the wheel.

--v. 2 spin, turn, veer, swivel, pivot, swing, whirl: Medusa wheeled to face him and he promptly turned to stone.

whereabouts

n.pl. or sg. 1 location, position, place, site, situation,

locale, neighbourhood, vicinity: Her present whereabouts are unknown to me. The culprit concealed his whereabouts from the police.

my appetite to own a small sailing-boat.

whimsical adj. 1 quaint, fey, fanciful, odd, curious, unusual, chimeric(al), queer, singular, peculiar, funny, fantastic(al), pixyish, playful, puckish, absurd, preposterous, Colloq offbeat:

When Andrew's whimsical drawings caught on they were bought by greetings card makers. 2 capricious, erratic, eccentric,

wavering, flighty, unsettled, fickle, mercurial, wavering, fluctuating, unpredictable, inconsistent, volatile, unsteady: The buses in our village run on what could best be termed a whimsical timetable.

whipping n. 1 beating, thrashing, lashing, flogging, horsewhipping, scourging, switching, caning, birching, flagellation, spanking: Once he had had a whipping, the boy would not misbehave again.

2 Nautical seizing, binding, tying, winding, fastening: The whipping will prevent the end of the line from unravelling.

whirlpool n. maelstrom, vortex, eddy, whirl, swirl, Heraldry gurges: As we watched in horror, the canoe was drawn down into the whirlpool and disappeared.

whirlwind n. 1 waterspout, dust devil, cyclone, typhoon, anticyclone, hurricane, extra-tropical cyclone, tropical cyclone, Nontechnical tornado, Nautical white squall, Australian willy-willy, Colloq US whirly: A whole row of houses was destroyed in the whirlwind.

--adj. 2 speedy, quick, swift, sudden, precipitous, lightning, headlong, hasty, rash, impetuous: It was one of those whirlwind romances that last till the wind dies down.

whisk v. 1 rush, dart, sweep, brush: Agatha whisked about the room, aimlessly moving small objects about on tables and shelves. 2 speed, rush, carry, whip, hasten, hustle, hurry: The taxi came and whisked Fran off to the airport. 3 See whip, 4, above.

--n. 4 sweep, wave, brush, flick: With a whisk of his hand he dismissed the servants. 5 brush, fly-whisk: The chief flicked his whisk to signal that the audience was ended. 6 beater, whip: It is quicker to whip cream with a whisk.

whisky n. whiskey, alcohol, spirits, John Barleycorn, usquebaugh, Scotch, home-brew, mother's ruin (= 'gin'), Scots barley-bree, Brit Scotch, US rye, bourbon, white lightning, white mule, moonshine, Colloq booze, hooch, rot-gut, US corn, fire-water, Slang US Sneaky Pete, smoke: Peter is a welcome guest who always remembers to bring a bottle of whisky.

whisper v. 1 breathe, murmur, mutter, mumble, hiss, speak or say softly or under (one's) breath, sigh, susurrate: He whispered sweet nothings in her ear. 2 gossip, bruit about, noise abroad,

murmur, insinuate, hint, rumour, disclose, divulge, reveal, breathe a word: We have all heard Corin whispering of your wife's infidelities.

--n. 3 murmur, undertone, hushed tone(s): Why do you always speak in whispers when talking about Nesta? 4 hint, suggestion,