Добавил:
Опубликованный материал нарушает ваши авторские права? Сообщите нам.
Вуз: Предмет: Файл:

The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

.pdf
Скачиваний:
789
Добавлен:
10.08.2013
Размер:
3.87 Mб
Скачать

pain. 2 weaken, moderate, soothe, mitigate, assuage, reduce, lessen, diminish, alleviate, cushion, soften, mollify, blunt, dull: He took to drink to deaden the shock of losing his only son.

deadlock n. 1 standstill, impasse, stalemate, stand-off, draw, stoppage, Colloq US Mexican stand-off: Union and management negotiators have reached a deadlock on the pension issue.

--v. 2 bring or come to a standstill or impasse, stall, stop, halt: The Congress is likely to deadlock on the question of expanding national health benefits.

deadly adj. 1 lethal, fatal; dangerous, pernicious, poisonous, noxious, toxic; baleful, harmful, nocuous: This drug is deadly

 

if taken in large doses. 2 mortal, implacable, ruthless,

 

savage: They were deadly enemies long after the war was over.

 

3 murderous, homicidal, bloodthirsty, brutal, vicious,

 

ferocious, barbarous, barbaric, savage, inhuman, cold-blooded,

 

heartless, ruthless, pitiless, merciless: Two deadly killers

 

have escaped from Dartmoor prison. 4 deathly, deathlike, pale,

 

pallid, ghostly, cadaverous, ghastly, wan, white, livid, ashen:

 

He turned a deadly hue, as if he had seen a ghost. 5 boring,

 

excruciating, dull, tiresome, tedious, dreary, humdrum,

 

lacklustre, wearying, wearisome: It was a deadly play put on by

 

deadly actors. 6 exact, precise, accurate, true, unerring,

 

unfailing: Each arrow hit the bull's-eye with deadly accuracy.

deaf

adj. 1 hard of hearing, stone-deaf: Sean is slightly deaf in

 

his left ear. 2 unhearing, unheedful, heedless, insensible,

 

insensitive, impervious, indifferent, oblivious, unresponsive,

 

unmoved, unconcerned, unyielding: The judge was deaf to all

 

appeals for clemency.

deal

v. 1 distribute, dole out, give out, parcel out, mete out,

 

allot, apportion, administer, dispense: Deal thirteen cards to

 

each of the four players. She dealt out her own brand of justice

 

to criminals. 2 buy and sell, handle, stock, do business, trade,

 

traffic: This shop deals only in the most expensive linens. 3

 

behave, act, conduct oneself: Simon has never dealt openly, so

 

you mustn't trust him. 4 deal with. treat, handle, take care

 

of, have to do with, attend to, see to, reckon with, grapple

 

with, act on; practise, administer, engage in: I shall deal

 

with the matter tomorrow.

 

--n. 5 transaction, arrangement, negotiation, agreement,

 

contract, bargain, understanding: The deal to sell the textbook

 

division is off. 6 Often, great deal. (large or great) amount,

 

lot, (large or huge) quantity; extent: There's been a great

 

deal of crime in that neighbourhood.

dealer

n. trader, businessman, businesswoman, merchant, tradesman,

 

retailer, shopkeeper, vendor, merchandiser; wholesaler, jobber,

 

distributor, stockist, supplier; broker, agent, salesman, US

 

storekeeper: He has been a dealer in precious gems for years.

dealings n.pl. business, commerce, exchange, trade, traffic,

 

transactions, negotiations; relations, relationships, affairs:

 

All his business dealings are reviewed by his solicitor.

dear

adj. 1 beloved, loved, adored, darling, precious, cherished,

 

prized, valued, treasured, favoured, favourite, pet, esteemed,

 

admired, venerated, honoured: He was my nearest and dearest

 

friend. 2 expensive, costly, high-priced, highly priced, Colloq

 

pricey: Tomatoes are much too dear at this time of the year.

 

--n. 3 darling, sweetheart, beloved, love, true-love, sweet,

 

honey, precious, pet, favourite, treasure, precious, Colloq

 

sweetie, sweetie-pie, Slang baby: My dear, I hope we'll be

 

together always.

 

--adv. 4 dearly; at great cost or expense, at a high or

 

excessive price: That little error will cost you dear, my

 

friend.

dearly

adv. 1 greatly, very much, indeed, sincerely: I should dearly

 

like to go, but I cannot. 2 affectionately, fondly, lovingly,

 

tenderly: He loves his mother very dearly. 3 expensively,

 

dear, at great cost or expense, at a high or excessive price,

 

punitively: The victory at Thalamos was dearly bought.

dearth

n. scarcity, want, need, lack, deficiency, sparseness or

 

sparsity, scantiness, insufficiency, inadequacy, shortage,

 

paucity, exiguity, poverty, exiguousness; absence: There is a

 

dearth of major roles for black actors.

death n. 1 demise, decease, passing, dying, end: She was overcome with grief at the news of his death. 2 end, termination, cessation, expiration, expiry: Nobody mourned the death of the bill in the lower house. 3 end, finish, termination;

extinction, destruction, extermination, annihilation, eradication, obliteration, eradication, extirpation,

liquidation, ruin, downfall, undoing: The invasion marked the death of the Roman Empire.

deathless adj. eternal, everlasting, immortal, undying, imperishable, permanent, unending, timeless, never-ending: In his opinion, his novel was another example of his deathless prose.

debase v. 1 lower, degrade, devalue, depreciate, depress, demote, deprecate, belittle, diminish, reduce, disparage: Words which denote fine qualities are in time debased. 2 adulterate, contaminate, taint, pollute, corrupt, mar, spoil, impair, vitiate, abase, defile, bastardize; poison: To increase

profits, the manufacturer has debased the traditional formula.

debatable adj. controversial, arguable, questionable, doubtful, dubious, problematic or problematical, disputable, open or subject to dispute or doubt or question, in dispute or doubt or question, moot, polemic or polemical, unsure, uncertain, unsettled, undecided: Whether he is the best person for the job is debatable.

debate n. 1 discussion, argument, dispute, altercation, controversy, wrangle, contention, polemic; argumentation: I refuse to take sides in the debate over social services. 2 deliberation, consideration, (careful) thought, reflection, cogitation, meditation, contemplation: Payment of reparations to the victims of the disaster is a matter for debate.

--v. 3 argue, wrangle, dispute, contest, contend; discuss, moot, question: We debated only the most important issues. 4 deliberate, consider, reflect (on), mull over, ponder (over), weigh, ruminate (over), meditate (on or over), think (over or on), think through: I have often debated in my own mind the question of capital punishment.

debonair adj. 1 suave, soign‚(e), elegant, urbane, refined, dapper, genteel, well-bred, courteous, civil, mannerly, gracious,

 

polite, affable, obliging, pleasant, Colloq smooth: Despite his

 

vicious temper, he was most debonair in company. 2 carefree,

 

insouciant, gay, nonchalant, light-hearted, dashing, charming,

 

cheerful, buoyant, jaunty, sprightly: Being handsome and

 

debonair, he was much sought after by hostesses.

debt

n. 1 obligation; due, indebtedness, liability, responsibility,

 

accountability, encumbrance: He owes a debt of gratitude to his

 

wife for her moral support. The company takes care of all debts

 

promptly. 2 in debt. under obligation, owing, accountable,

 

beholden, indebted, responsible, answerable for, liable,

 

encumbered, in arrears, straitened, in dire straits, in

 

(financial) difficulty or difficulties, in the red, Colloq US

 

and Canadian in hock: I shall always be in debt to you for your

 

help. The London branch is in debt for ten million pounds.

d‚but

n. 1 premiŠre, introduction, initiation, inauguration, launch

 

or launching, coming out: The young soprano's d‚but at La Scala

 

was a triumph.

 

--v. 2 launch, come out, enter, appear: His plan is to d‚but

 

with a zither accompaniment.

decadent adj. 1 declining, decaying, deteriorating, debased, degenerating, falling off, on the wane, withering, degenerative: The decadent literature of the period was a reflection of the decline in moral standards. 2 corrupt, dissolute, immoral, debauched, dissipated, self-indulgent, degenerate: His decadent behaviour brought him to the attention of the police.

decay v. 1 a decline, wane, ebb, dwindle, diminish, decrease: The magnetic field rapidly decays when the power is removed. b decline, waste away, atrophy, weaken, wither, degenerate, deteriorate, disintegrate; crumble: Her great beauty decayed quickly. 2 rot, decompose, moulder, putrefy, spoil; turn, go bad, go off: The flesh has decayed and only a skeleton remains.

--n. 3 decline, weakening, failing, fading, deterioration, decadence, degeneration, wasting, atrophy, dilapidation, disintegration, collapse; downfall: The buildings were in an advanced state of decay. 4 rot, rotting, decomposition, mould, putrefaction, mortification: The decay has weakened the timbers supporting the bridge.

deceit n. 1 deception, deceitfulness, fraud, fraudulence, cheating, trickery, chicanery or chicane, dissimulation, dishonesty, misrepresentation, double-dealing, duplicity, hypocrisy, treachery, underhandedness, guile, craft, slyness, craftiness, cunning, knavery, funny business, Colloq hanky-panky, monkey business: Inside traders on the Stock Exchange profit enormously from deceit. 2 trick, subterfuge, stratagem, ploy, ruse, manoeuvre, artifice, wile, hoax, swindle, double-cross, misrepresentation, pretence, sham, contrivance, shift, confidence trick, subreption, gloze, Brit dialect or colloq US flam; Colloq flimflam; Slang scam, con, con trick, con game: She was sick of all his lies and deceits.

deceitful adj. dishonest, underhand(ed), untrustworthy, misleading, crooked, insincere, false, fraudulent, counterfeit, disingenuous, lying, mendacious, untruthful; wily, crafty, sly, cunning, scheming, guileful, artful, sneaky, double-dealing, two-faced, hypocritical, duplicitous, Colloq phoney or US also phony: It was deceitful of you to pretend you loved her when all you wanted was her money.

deceive v. mislead, delude, impose on or upon, fool, hoax, trick, cheat, swindle, betray, double-cross, lead on, lead up or down the garden path, lead astray, pull the wool over (someone's) eyes, inveigle, cajole, Archaic cozen; Colloq con, bamboozle, take in, take for a ride, two-time, move the goalposts; Slang US take: He deceived even his friends and family into believing he had been a war hero.

decent adj. 1 becoming, suitable, appropriate, proper, seemly, fitting: Despite the life she led, the woman should have a decent burial. 2 seemly, decorous, tasteful, dignified, mannerly, nice, clean, respectable, polite, modest, presentable, acceptable: Hereafter, you will use only decent language when speaking to me! 3 adequate, acceptable, passable, fair, competent, mediocre, middling, fair to middling, moderate, respectable, not bad, ordinary, so so, not outstanding, unimpressive, average, neither here nor there, all right, reasonable, tolerable, satisfactory, good enough, Colloq OK or okay: Sales in the first quarter were decent but hardly outstanding. 4 courteous, proper, right, fair, honest, honourable, friendly, considerate, gracious, nice, thoughtful,

obliging, kind, generous, accommodating: You can count on David to do the decent thing. 5 chaste, pure, virtuous, modest,

well-bred, decorous, well brought up, nice, respectable: Caroline is a decent girl, but no great brain or beauty.

deception n. 1 duplicity, deceit, intrigue, hypocrisy, fraud, cheating, trickery, chicanery or chicane, dissimulation, double-dealing, subterfuge, sophistry, treachery, knavery, tergiversation; see also deceit 1, above: He practised deception even in his family relationships. 2 trick, ruse, artifice, stratagem, subterfuge, manoeuvre, wile, imposture, hoax, sham, pretence; see also deceit 2, above: He tried every deception in the book to separate her from her money.

deceptive adj. 1 misleading, false, illusory, deceiving, unreliable: He has the look of an athlete, but appearances can be deceptive. 2 fraudulent, deceitful, dishonest, untruthful, fake, false,

shifty, fallacious, specious, spurious, bogus, counterfeit, pseudo, sophistical; tricky, dodgy, evasive, elusive, slippery, Colloq phoney or US also phony: The bank is being deceptive about his credit rating.

decide v. 1 determine, settle, resolve, conclude, take or reach or come to a decision or conclusion, make up one's mind, arbitrate, judge, adjudicate, referee, umpire: She decided that you were right. They decided the case in my favour. 2 decide on or upon. fix or fasten or settle on or upon, choose, select, pick (out), elect, opt (for), commit oneself (to): I have decided on a British-made car.

decided adj. 1 definite, pronounced, marked, unmistakable, unambiguous, unequivocal, certain, sure, absolute, obvious, clear, evident, unquestionable, unquestioned, indisputable, undisputed,

undeniable, irrefutable, incontestable, unqualified, unconditional, incontrovertible, solid: The party was a decided success. 2 fixed, firm, resolute, determined, adamant, stony, unhesitating, decisive, definite, unfaltering, assertive, asseverative, unswerving, unwavering: They are decided in their approval of her plan.

decipher v. 1 decode, decrypt; unravel, unscramble, disentangle, translate, work out, explain, solve, Colloq figure out: It was Champollion who deciphered the Rosetta Stone. 2 read,

interpret, make out, Colloq figure out: I can't decipher Theresa's handwriting or what she's trying to say.

decision n. 1 settlement, determination, resolution, settling, resolving, arbitration: The decision is the umpire's responsibility. 2 judgement, conclusion, resolution, verdict, sentence, ruling, finding, decree, settlement, outcome: According to the decision, the victims will receive compensatory damages. 3 determination, firmness, decidedness, resolve, decisiveness, conclusiveness, steadfastness, purpose, purposefulness: She asserted her position with decision.

declaration

n. 1 statement, assertion, attestation, deposition,

asseveration, affirmation, avowal, announcement, proclamation, pronouncement, profession: Henrietta desperately wanted to believe Henry's declaration of love. 2 proclamation, announcement, pronouncement, promulgation, pronunciamento, edict, ukase, manifesto, notice: The colonists issued a declaration of independence.

declare v. 1 assert, say, offer, submit, affirm, state, aver, asseverate, avow, avouch, profess, protest, swear, claim, proclaim; confirm, certify, ratify: I solemnly declare that the

testimony I am to give is true, so help me God. 2 announce, make known, pronounce, decree, rule, proclaim, herald, promulgate, publish, broadcast, trumpet (forth): Robert has declared his intention to make Marianne his wife.

decline v. 1 refuse, turn down, deny, reject, demur, forgo, veto, avoid, abstain from: She declined help with the packages. Roger was offered a professorship at the university but he declined. 2 diminish, lessen, decrease, wane, flag, go down, fall or taper off, subside, ebb, abate, dwindle, shrink, fade, Colloq peter

out, run out of steam, US run out of gas: Demand for hula hoops declined. 3 slope or slant (downwards), descend, drop or fall off, dip, sink: The meadow declines towards the river. 4 deteriorate, degenerate, worsen, fail: My health has declined over the last year. 5 go or drop down, settle, dip, sink, set:

The sun was declining as I went home.

--n. 6 diminution, decrease, lessening, ebb, downturn, fall-off, reduction, abatement, slump, descent: There has been

a steady decline in the value of the pound. 7 degeneration, deterioration, loss, diminution, weakening, debility, weakness, worsening, decay, failing: We noted a decline in the physical condition of those living nearby. 8 declivity, (downward) slope or slant, descent, downgrade, incline: The path led down a steep decline towards the pond.

decompose v. 1 disintegrate, separate, fall or come apart, break up or down, take apart, dissect, anatomize, atomize, resolve, decompound, analyse: By absorption the scientists decomposed the green light into yellow and blue. 2 rot, disintegrate,

decay, moulder, putrefy; spoil, go off or bad, turn sour: The meat will decompose if it is left outside the fridge.

decorate v. 1 embellish, adorn, ornament, garnish, embroider, elaborate, bedeck, deck (out), trim, dress (up), spruce or smarten up, beautify, Literary caparison, Colloq Brit tart up: We decorated the pub for the Christmas holidays. 2 Brit paint, wallpaper, redecorate, furbish, refurbish, renovate, fix up, restore: All

the bedrooms have been decorated.

decoration

n. 1 garnish, trim, trimming, adornment, embellishment, ornament, ornamentation, garnishment: There's a bit too much decoration on the cake. 2 medal, laurel, award, badge, colours, order, ribbon, star, garter: Captain Harder won many decorations in the war.

decorous adj. becoming, dignified, decent, correct, mannerly, seemly, refined, elegant, polite, well-behaved, genteel, demure, polished, gentlemanly, ladylike, seemly: Your behaviour was less than decorous at last night's party.

decorum n. 1 etiquette, proper behaviour, propriety, good form, mannerliness, politeness, dignity, gentility, good manners, respectability, courtliness, deportment: The decorum of the meeting was disturbed by rabble-rousers. 2 correctness, propriety, protocol, punctilio, conformity: Please observe proper decorum when visiting the embassy.

decoy n. 1 bait, lure, trap, attraction, enticement, inducement, stool-pigeon: The hunters set out their decoys and waited for the ducks.

--v. 2 lure, entrap, entice, attract, induce, seduce, bait,

trick, tempt, ensnare, inveigle, allure: He was decoyed into a dark alley and robbed.

decrease v. 1 diminish, reduce, decline, lessen, lower, abate, fall off, shrink, shrivel (up), contract, dwindle, ebb, subside, wane, taper off, de-escalate, slacken, let up, ease (off or up),

curtail, cut (down or back), Colloq run out of steam, US run out of gas: Demand for tickets to rock concerts has decreased over the years. The number of applicants for work is decreasing.

--n. 2 diminution, reduction, decline, lessening, lowering, abatement, falling off, shrinking, shrivelling, contraction, decrement, dwindling, ebb, subsidence, tapering off, wane, de-escalation, slackening, easing (off or up), curtailment, cut, cut-back: There has been no noticeable decrease in the price of houses in the south-east. Have you noticed the decrease in arrests for dangerous driving?

decree n. 1 order, mandate, directive, ordinance, edict, law, statute, regulation, enactment, act, ruling, dictum, dictate, injunction, sanction, manifesto, proclamation, promulgation, determination, decision, judgement, rescript, prescription, pronunciamento, firman, ukase, Rom Cath Ch decretal: The star chamber issued a decree restricting the freedom of the press.

--v. 2 order, command, direct, rule, mandate, ordain, dictate, charge, enjoin, proclaim, pronounce, prescribe, decide, determine, adjudge, Scots law decern: The council has decreed that no spirits can be sold on Sundays.

decrepit adj. 1 feeble, enfeebled, weak, weakened, frail, infirm, wasted, worn out, unfit, debilitated, enervated, disabled, incapacitated, crippled, doddering; out of shape, in bad shape; aged, old, elderly, ancient, superannuated, senescent, senile, Colloq gaga: The old man was so decrepit he was unable to lift the cup to his lips. 2 dilapidated, deteriorated, crumbling, decayed, decaying, withered, wasted, antiquated, tumbledown, broken-down, rickety, unstable, shaky, ramshackle, derelict, creaking, creaky, run-down: The barn was so decrepit we had to tear it down.

decrepitude

n. 1 feebleness, weakness, infirmity, debilitation, enervation, incapacity, old age, superannuation, senescence, senility, caducity, dotage: Her decrepitude was so extreme that she could neither walk nor understand what was said to her. 2 dilapidation, deterioration, decay, ruin: The house is in an advanced state of decrepitude.

dedicate v. 1 devote, consecrate, give (up or over), yield, offer, surrender, commit, pledge, assign: She dedicated her life to helping the poor. 2 consecrate, bless, sanctify, hallow: There stands the temple dedicated to Apollo. 3 inscribe; address, assign: This book has been dedicated to you.

dedication

n. 1 devotion, assignment, pledge, commitment, allegiance, adherence, faithfulness, fidelity, loyalty, devotedness, wholeheartedness, single-mindedness, fixedness, fealty: I admire Rudolph's dedication to duty. 2 inscription, address; message: The dedication reads, 'To my mother and father'. 3 consecration, sanctification, hallowing: The ceremony for the dedication of the youth centre will be held tomorrow.

deduce v. conclude, infer, understand, gather, assume, presume, derive, draw, work out, divine, glean, take it, suppose, surmise, suspect, Slang Brit suss out: From the tone of his letter she deduced that he was going to change his mind.

deduct v. subtract, take away or out or off, take from, remove, withdraw, Colloq knock off: Deduct six from ten and you're left with four.

deduction n. 1 subtraction, diminution, decrease, reduction, withdrawal, removal, abstraction: After deductions for expenses, you'll be left with nothing. 2 conclusion, inference, finding, reasoning, result: After considering the evidence, my deduction is that

the butler didn't do it.

deed

n. 1 act, action; performance: Their deeds did not match their

 

promises. 2 exploit, feat, achievement, accomplishment: We are

 

here to honour her for her many deeds, both on and off the

 

tennis court. 3 title(-deed), document, instrument, indenture,

 

contract, agreement: The bank holds the title-deed until the

Соседние файлы в предмете Английский язык