The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

how to differentiate one species from another. 2 modify, specialize, change, alter, transform, transmute, convert, adapt, adjust: All organisms possess the power to differentiate special organs to meet special needs.

difficult adj. 1 hard, arduous, toilsome, strenuous, tough, laborious, burdensome, onerous, demanding: He found it difficult to work the longer hours. The first birth is sometimes difficult. 2 puzzling, perplexing, baffling, enigmatic(al), profound, abstruse, obscure, recondite, complex; thorny, intricate, sensitive, knotty, problematic(al), ticklish, scabrous: Some of the questions in the exam were very difficult. The analyst raised a lot of difficult issues which I had to confront. 3 intractable, recalcitrant, obstructive, stubborn, unmanageable, obstinate, contrary, unaccommodating, refractory, unyielding,

uncompromising; naughty, ill-behaved; Colloq Brit bloody-minded: Tessa has three difficult teenagers in the house these days. 4 troubled, troubling, tough, burdensome, onerous, demanding, trying, hard, grim, dark, unfavourable, straitening: We have

been through some difficult times together. 5 fussy, particular, demanding, finicky, finical, fastidious, critical, troublesome, difficile, awkward, Colloq nit-picking: I'll go wherever you like; I don't want to be difficult about it. Sharon can be a very difficult person to be with.

difficulty

n. 1 strain, hardship, arduousness, laboriousness, formidableness, tribulation, painfulness: Despite much difficulty she succeeded. 2 hardship, obstacle, problem, distress, pitfall, dilemma, predicament, problem, snag, hindrance; Gordian knot: He has encountered difficulties during his career. 3 Often, difficulties. embarrassment, plight, predicament, mess, strait(s), trouble, scrape, Colloq hot water, jam, pickle, fix; hot potato: She always seems to be in

financial difficulties.

diffuse adj. 1 spread (out or about or around), scattered, dispersed, widespread; sparse, meagre, thin (on the ground): A few diffuse clouds could be seen on the horizon. 2 wordy, verbose, prolix, long-winded, loquacious, discursive, digressive, rambling, circumlocutory, meandering, roundabout, circuitous, periphrastic, ambagious, diffusive, pleonastic: The style of

the book is very diffuse, being extravagantly uneconomic of

grave, distinguished, honourable, distingu‚, elegant, august, sedate, reserved; regal, courtly, lordly, lofty, exalted, grand: Despite the abuse, he maintained a dignified demeanour.

dignify v. distinguish, ennoble, elevate, raise, exalt, glorify, upraise, lift, uplift, enhance, improve, better, upgrade: The critic wrote that he wouldn't deign to dignify the book by calling it a novel.

dignitary n. personage, official, notable, worthy, magnate, power, higher-up; celebrity, lion, luminary, star, superstar, Colloq VIP, bigwig, big shot, big wheel, big name, big gun, hotshot, hot stuff, big noise, big White Chief, big Chief, big Daddy, Brit Lord or Lady Muck, high-muck-a-muck, Slang big cheese,

Chiefly US Mr Big, biggie, fat cat: Anyone with a lot of money is treated today as a dignitary.

dignity n. 1 nobility, majesty, gravity, gravitas, solemnity, courtliness, distinction, stateliness, formality, grandeur, eminence; hauteur, loftiness: She entered and walked with dignity to the throne. 2 worth, worthiness, nobility, nobleness, excellence, honour, honourableness, respectability, respectableness, standing, importance, greatness, glory, station, status, rank, level, position: The real dignity of a man lies not in what he has but in what he is. 3 self-respect, self-regard, amour propre, self-confidence, self-esteem, pride, self-importance: It was beneath her dignity to speak directly to a footman.

digression

n. 1 aside, departure, deviation, detour, obiter dictum, parenthesis, apostrophe, excursus: His numerous digressions made it difficult to focus on the main points of the speech. 2 digressing, deviating, divergence, going off at a tangent, rambling, meandering, straying, wandering, deviation: Digression from the main theme of his speech only diluted his argument.

dilapidated

adj. ruined, broken-down, in ruins, gone to rack and ruin, wrecked, destroyed, falling apart, decrepit, derelict, battered,

tumbledown, run-down, ramshackle, crumbling, decayed, decaying, rickety, shaky, shabby, Brit raddled: We shall have to fix up

that dilapidated barn if we expect to use it.

dilemma n. predicament, quandary, double bind, catch-22, impasse, deadlock, stalemate; plight, difficulty, trouble; stymie, snooker; Colloq bind, box, fix, jam, spot, pickle, squeeze: He was faced with the dilemma of killing the injured animal or allowing it to die in agony.

dilettante

n. dabbler, trifler, aesthete, amateur: You know art like a curator; I am a mere dilettante.

diligent adj. persevering, persistent, industrious, assiduous, sedulous, intent, steady, steadfast, focused, concentrated, earnest, attentive, conscientious, hard-working, indefatigable, tireless, constant, painstaking, careful, thorough, scrupulous, meticulous, punctilious: Only through diligent application was she able to get through law school.

diminish v. 1 decrease, decline, abate, lessen, reduce, lower, shrink, curtail, contract, lop, crop, dock, clip, prune, cut, truncate,

cut down, abbreviate, shorten, abridge, compress, condense, pare (down), scale down, boil down: As the height increases, the

pressure diminishes. The need for police patrols was diminished when we hired security guards. 2 belittle, disparage, degrade, downgrade, discredit, detract (from), vitiate, debase,

deprecate, demean, derogate, depreciate, vilipend, devalue, cheapen, put down, dismiss, humiliate, demean, reject: His abuse by the authorities did not diminish him in her eyes. 3 wane, fade, dwindle, ebb, die out or away, peter out, recede, subside; slacken, let up, wind down, slow (down), ease (off), Colloq run out of steam: Soaking in the hot water, I felt the tensions of mind and body gradually diminishing. The campaign finally diminished to a negligible effort.

diminutive

adj. small, tiny, little, miniature, petite, minute, minuscule, mini, compact, undersized, pocket, pocket-sized, pygmy, elfin, Lilliputian, midget, wee, microscopic; micro, infinitesimal; US vest-pocket, vest-pocket-sized, Colloq teeny, teeny-weeny or teensy-weensy: The bride and groom appeared with their diminutive page-boys and bridesmaids behind them.

or into. dabble in, play at; skim, scan: I haven't had time to read it, but I dipped into it here and there.

--n. 4 swim, plunge; immersion; Brit bathe: We are going for a dip in the pool before dinner. 5 lowering, sinking, depression, drop, slump, decline: This dip in the price of oil means nothing.

diplomacy n. 1 tact, tactfulness, adroitness, discretion: She was able to get rid of that rude boor with her customary diplomacy. 2 statecraft, statesmanship, negotiation; intrigue, Machiavellianism, machination, manoeuvring or maneuvering: Cardinal Richelieu is considered the founder of modern diplomacy.

diplomatic

adj. tactful, discreet, prudent, wise, sensitive, politic, courteous, polite, discerning, perceptive, perspicacious, thoughtful: How diplomatic it was of you to have invited Frances's husband!

direct v. 1 manage, handle, run, administer, govern, regulate, control, operate, superintend, supervise, command, head up, rule; Colloq call the shots: She directs the company with an iron hand. 2 guide, lead, conduct, pilot, steer, show or point (the way), be at the helm; advise, counsel, instruct, mastermind; usher, escort: He has directed the company for 40

years, through good times and bad. Can you direct me to the post office? 3 rule, command, order, require, bid, tell, instruct, charge, dictate, enjoin; appoint, ordain: He directed that the attack be launched at dawn. 4 aim, focus, level, point, train; turn: That bullet was directed at my heart. Direct your

attention to the front of the room. 5 send, address, post, mail: Please direct the letter to my home.

--adj. 6 straight, unswerving, shortest, undeviating, through: We turned off the direct road to take in the view. 7 uninterrupted, unreflected, unrefracted, without interference, unobstructed: She cannot remain in direct sunlight for very long. 8 unbroken, lineal: He claims to be a direct descendant of Oliver Cromwell's. 9 straightforward, unmitigated, outright, matter-of-fact, categorical, plain, clear, unambiguous, unmistakable, to the point, without or with no beating about the

bush, unqualified, unequivocal, point-blank, explicit, express: I expect a direct answer to my direct question. Have you direct evidence of his guilt? That was a gross insult and a direct lie!

10 straightforward, frank, candid, outspoken, plain-spoken, honest, blunt, open, uninhibited, unreserved, forthright, honest, sincere, unequivocal; undiplomatic, tactless: She is very direct in commenting about people she dislikes.

direction n. 1 directing, aiming, pointing, guiding, guidance, conducting, conduct, instructing, instruction, managing, management, administering, administration, governing, government, supervising, supervision, operating, operation, running, leadership, directorship, directorate, control, captaincy, handling, manipulation, regulation, rule, charge: The Freedom Party's direction of the country has led to many reforms. 2 Often, directions. instruction(s), information; bearing, road, way, route, avenue, course: To assemble the appliance, follow the directions printed in the leaflet. Can you give me directions to the nearest filling-station?

directly adv. 1 straight, in a beeline, unswervingly, undeviatingly, as the crow flies: This road should take me directly to the beach. 2 immediately, at once, straight away, right away, quickly, promptly, without delay, speedily, instantly, Colloq US and Canadian momentarily: She called and I went directly. 3 soon, later (on), anon, presently, in a (little) while, shortly: The doctor will be here directly. 4 exactly, precisely, just; completely, entirely: My garage is directly opposite. The cricket pitch is directly at the centre of the park.

--conj. 5 as soon as, when: The police arrested him directly he entered the building.

director n. 1 executive, administrator, official, principal; chairman, president, vice-president; governor; head, chief, boss, manager, superintendent, supervisor, overseer, foreman, headman, Colloq kingpin, number one, numero uno, Mr Big, the man; Slang top dog, top banana, Brit gaffer, US big cheese, head or chief honcho:

The sale of the company was announced at the meeting of the board of directors. 2 guide, leader; steersman, helmsman, pilot, skipper, commander, commandant, captain; cicerone; maestro, concert-master, conductor; impresario: We were lucky to have a director who really knew what he was doing.

disability

n. 1 handicap, impairment, defect, infirmity, disablement:

James is unable to play tennis owing to his disability. 2 inability, incapacity, unfitness, impotence, powerlessness, helplessness: The teacher helped her to overcome her disability.

disabled adj. incapacitated, crippled, lame; damaged, ruined, impaired, harmed, non-functioning, inoperative, Slang Brit scuppered: Disabled ex-servicemen ought to receive compensation. No parts could be found for the disabled machines.

disadvantage

n. 1 deprivation, set-back, drawback, liability, handicap, defect, flaw, shortcoming, weakness, weak spot, fault: Being colour-blind has not been a disadvantage in his kind of work. 2 detriment, harm, loss, injury, damage; prejudice, disservice: Failure to send in a tax return will be to your distinct disadvantage.

disagree v. 1 differ, dissent, diverge: She disagrees with most of my ideas. I said the painting was by Hockney, but he disagreed. 2 conflict, dispute, quarrel, argue, contend, contest, bicker,

fight, fall out, squabble, wrangle, debate: Those who agree on major principles often disagree about trifles, and vice versa.

disagreeable

adj. 1 unpleasant, unpleasing, offensive, distasteful, repugnant, obnoxious, repellent, repulsive, objectionable, revolting, odious: He found the heat and humidity in the tropics most disagreeable. 2 offensive, noxious, unsavoury, unpalatable, nauseating, nauseous, nasty, sickening, disgusting, revolting, repellent, abominable, objectionable: A disagreeable odour arose from the beggar on the doorstep. 3 bad-tempered, ill-tempered, disobliging, uncooperative, unfriendly, uncivil, abrupt, blunt, curt, brusque, short, uncourtly, impolite, bad-mannered, ill-mannered, discourteous, rude, ill-tempered, bad-tempered, testy, grouchy, splenetic, cross, ill-humoured, peevish, morose, sulky, sullen: Brian became quite disagreeable, and I did not see him again.

disagreement

n. 1 difference, discrepancy, discord, discordance, discordancy, dissimilarity, disaccord, diversity, incongruity, nonconformity, incompatibility: Can you resolve the

disagreement between the results of these experiments? 2 dissent, opposition, conflict, contradiction, difference, disparity: The problem arises from a basic disagreement in their principles. 3 quarrel, strife, argument, dispute, velitation, altercation, controversy, contention, dissension, debate, clash, Colloq US rhubarb: Their mother had to settle the disagreement between the brothers.

disappear v. 1 vanish, evaporate, vaporize, fade (away or out), evanesce, Poetic evanish: After granting my wish, the genie disappeared, laughing diabolically. 2 die (out or off), become extinct,

cease (to exist), perish (without a trace): The dinosaurs,

though enormously successful as a species, suddenly disappeared from the earth.

disappoint

v. 1 let down, fail, dissatisfy: Miss Sheila disappointed her public by refusing to sing. 2 mislead, deceive, disenchant, Colloq stand up: She disappointed me by saying she would be there and then not arriving. 3 undo, frustrate, foil, thwart, balk, defeat: How can I answer you truthfully without disappointing your expectations?

disappointed

adj. 1 frustrated, unsatisfied, dissatisfied, disillusioned, disenchanted, discouraged, downhearted, disheartened, downcast, saddened, unhappy, dejected, discontented, let down: There will be a lot of disappointed children at Christmas this year. 2

foiled, thwarted, balked, defeated, undone, failed, let down: Though she campaigned energetically, Theodora was among the disappointed candidates.

disappointing

adj. discouraging, dissatisfying, unsatisfactory, unsatisfying, disconcerting; poor, second-rate, sorry, inadequate, insufficient, inferior, pathetic, sad: The former champion turned in a disappointing performance yesterday evening.

disappointment

n. 1 frustration, non-fulfilment,unfulfilment, unsatisfaction, dissatisfaction, set-back, failure, let-down, defeat, blow, fiasco, calamity, disaster, fizzle, Brit damp squib, Colloq

wash-out: Recently he has had one disappointment after another.