The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms
.pdfon earth. 2 soil, dirt, loam, sod, clay, turf, ground, mould: Pack the earth firmly around the roots.
earthly adj. 1 terrestrial, terrene, telluric: Extraterrestrial beings might be unable to survive in our earthly atmosphere. 2 worldly, mundane, material, materialistic, physical, non-spiritual, sensual, carnal, fleshly, corporeal, base, natural: He has
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forsaken earthly pleasures in favour of spiritual pursuits. 3 |
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human, temporal, secular, profane, mortal, physical, |
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non-spiritual, material: His earthly remains were committed to |
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the sea. 4 conceivable, imaginable, feasible, possible: What |
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earthly reason could she have had for kissing me? |
earthy |
adj. ribald, bawdy, unrefined, coarse, crude, shameless, |
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wanton, uninhibited, abandoned, vulgar, lusty, rough, dirty, |
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indecent, obscene: She found Henry Miller's books a bit too |
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earthy for her tastes. |
ease |
n. 1 comfort, repose, well-being, relaxation, leisure, rest, |
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contentment, calmness, tranquillity, serenity, peacefulness, |
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peace, peace and quiet: After 50 years of hard work, she felt |
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entitled to a few years of ease. 2 easiness, simplicity, |
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facility, effortlessness, adeptness: He passed the other |
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runners with ease. 3 affluence, wealth, prosperity, luxury, |
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opulence, abundance, plenty: He has always led a life of ease, |
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never having had to work. 4 naturalness, informality, |
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unaffectedness, ingenuousness, casualness, artlessness, |
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insouciance, nonchalance, aplomb; unconcern: I admire the ease |
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with which she converses with complete strangers. |
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--v. 5 comfort, relax, calm, tranquillize, quieten, still, |
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pacify, soothe, disburden: It eased his mind to learn that |
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there was a reserve budget for emergencies. 6 lessen, diminish, |
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abate, mitigate, reduce, decrease, allay, alleviate, assuage, |
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mollify, appease, palliate, quiet, relieve: Her anxiety was |
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considerably eased by the news that John would not need an |
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operation after all. 7 manoeuvre, manipulate, inch, guide, |
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steer, slip: The helmsman eased the ship into dock. 8 |
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facilitate, expedite, simplify, smooth, further, clear, assist, |
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aid, advance, forward, help: Having a wealthy father eased her |
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way in life. |
easily adv. 1 smoothly, effortlessly, readily, simply, handily,
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without a hitch, hands down, without even trying, comfortably, |
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with no or without difficulty, Colloq easy as pie: You can |
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easily tackle the job yourself. 2 by far, beyond or without |
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doubt or question, indisputably, indubitably, undoubtedly, |
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doubtless(ly), unquestionably, clearly, far and away, |
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definitely, definitively, conclusively, certainly, surely, |
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undeniably, obviously, patently: He is easily the best lawyer |
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in the firm. 3 probably, most or very likely, well, almost |
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certainly: We may easily be the first in Hampton to have |
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plaster flamingos on the lawn. |
easy |
adj. 1 simple, effortless, plain, clear, straightforward, hands |
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down, uncomplicated, elementary, foolproof; easy as pie, easy as |
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can be: Feeding goldfish is an easy job that children can |
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undertake for themselves. 2 carefree, easygoing, casual, |
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lenient, undemanding, relaxed, quiet, serene, restful, tranquil, |
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peaceful, untroubled, undisturbed, unoppressive, gentle, mild, |
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calm, comfortable, cosy, unhurried, leisurely: He has a pretty |
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easy life now that he's retired. 3 light, lenient, undemanding, |
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mild, flexible, indulgent, tolerant: You really should be easy |
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on him after what he's been through. 4 tractable, pliant, |
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docile, compliant, submissive, acquiescent, amenable, |
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accommodating, soft, suggestible, credulous, trusting, weak, |
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easygoing: He was an easy victim for confidence tricksters. She |
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has the reputation of being a woman of easy virtue. 5 |
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unstrained, gentle, moderate, unhurried, leisurely, even, |
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steady, undemanding, comfortable, unexacting: They kept up an |
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easy pace of about five miles a hour. 6 affable, friendly, |
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amiable, amicable, agreeable, outgoing, informal, unceremonious, |
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down-to-earth, unreserved, relaxing, natural, relaxed, |
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easygoing: We found them easy to be with. |
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--adv. 7 effortlessly; calmly, unexcitedly, temperately, |
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peacefully, tranquilly, serenely, nonchalantly, casually: Take |
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it easy and don't get so worked up about things. |
easygoing adj. relaxed, casual, mellow, carefree, undemanding, easy, even-tempered, forbearing, lenient, tolerant, permissive, over-tolerant, over-permissive, lax, weak, Colloq wishy-washy, laid-back: He's an easygoing sort of person.
eat |
v. dine, lunch, breakfast, sup, break bread, snack, have a |
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bite; consume, devour, take (in) nourishment, Colloq put or pack |
away, Slang nosh, put or tie on the nosebag or US and Canadian feed-bag: I'm not hungry, thank you: I've already eaten.
eavesdrop v. listen in, tap, overhear, snoop; spy, pry: They were eavesdropping on our conversation, that's how they knew about Martha.
5.2 ebb...
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ebb |
v. 1 recede, flow back, subside, go out, go down; fall back or |
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away, retreat, retrocede, retire: The tide ebbed, leaving the |
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boat stranded. 2 decline, flag, decay, wane, diminish, |
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decrease, drop, slacken, fade (away), drain (away), dwindle, |
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peter out, waste (away), deteriorate: His enthusiasm for |
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exercise is beginning to ebb. |
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--n. 3 low tide, low water, ebb tide, low point: The rocks |
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appear when the sea is at its ebb. 4 decline, decay, decrease, |
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diminution, wane, drop, slackening (off), dwindling, lessening, |
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deterioration, degeneration: She was no longer willing to |
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contend with the ebb and flow of his temper. |
ebullient adj. bubbling, overflowing, effervescent, excited, effusive, exhilarated, elated, buoyant, exuberant, enthusiastic, zestful: The crowd was ebullient at the news from Mafeking.
5.3 eccentric...
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eccentric adj. 1 unconventional, unusual, uncommon, idiosyncratic, anomalous, unorthodox, out of the ordinary, irregular, atypical, incongruous, errant, aberrant, exceptional, individual, singular, unique; abnormal, odd, peculiar, strange, curious, bizarre, outlandish, queer, quaint, quirky, weird, offbeat, Colloq far-out, kinky, cranky: Yes, I would agree that walking a canary is a bit eccentric.
--n. 2 original, individualist, nonconformist, queer fellow, odd fish, Colloq character, card, freak, (nut) case, crank, oddball, weirdo or weirdie, US oner: In today's conformist
society, anyone who isn't a carbon copy of his neighbour is regarded as an eccentric.
eccentricity
n. 1 unconventionality, unusualness, uncommonness, irregularity, nonconformity, individuality, individualism, singularity, uniqueness, strangeness, oddness, bizarreness, distinctiveness, capriciousness, weirdness: Why should someone be criticized for eccentricity? 2 idiosyncrasy, quirk,
peculiarity, mannerism, crotchet, aberration, anomaly, oddity, curiosity, caprice: Eating crackers in bed is only one of her eccentricities.
echo |
n. 1 reverberation, repercussion, repetition, iteration, |
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reiteration: The echo of the church bells could be heard |
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throughout the valley. 2 imitation, copy, replica or |
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replication, duplication, reproduction, simulation, facsimile; |
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reflection, mirror image, repetition: Modern Rome is but a |
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feeble echo of its glorious past. |
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--v. 3 resound, reverberate, ring: The hall echoed with |
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children's laughter. 4 imitate, ape, parrot, mimic, copy, |
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duplicate, reproduce, simulate, repeat, emulate, mirror, |
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reflect: The poems are unoriginal and merely echo the works of |
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others. |
eclipse v. 1 conceal, hide, blot out, obscure, block, veil, shroud, cover, darken: A black cloud eclipsed the moon. 2 overshadow, obscure, surpass, top, outshine: His career was eclipsed by his wife's brilliant successes.
--n. 3 concealment, covering, hiding, blocking, blockage, occultation, obscuring, obscuration, darkening, shading, dimming: Though good may suffer an eclipse, it can never be extinguished. 4 decline, downturn, slump; recession: After the scandal, her career went into eclipse.
economic adj. 1 financial, fiscal, pecuniary, monetary, budgetary; commercial, mercantile, trade: The economic indicators for July affected the markets. 2 profitable, cost-effective, money-making, remunerative, productive; solvent: Increased demand for our products has made the company economic.
economical
adj. 1 cost-effective, money-saving, thrifty, unwasteful; cheap, inexpensive, reasonable; economic: This car is very economical to run. 2 provident, thrifty, sparing, economizing, prudent, conservative, frugal; parsimonious, penurious, stingy, cheap, miserly, niggardly, tight, close-fisted, tight-fisted,
mean, penny-pinching, scrimping: Aunt Gertrude was always a very economical housekeeper.
economize v. save, cut back, husband, retrench; tighten one's belt, cut corners or costs, scrimp, skimp, pinch pennies: Without the extra income, we'll have to economize on something.
economy n. 1 thrift, husbandry, thriftiness, conservation, conservatism, saving, restraint, control, frugality: We'll have to exercise economy to get through the winter. 2 brevity, briefness, succinctness, terseness, conciseness, concision, compactness, restraint, curtness: He manages to get his ideas across with an admirable economy of language.
ecstasy n. 1 delight, joy, rapture, bliss, transport, nympholepsy or nympholepsia, happiness, gladness, elation, pleasure, enjoyment, gratification; heaven on earth: The prospect of being with her again filled me with ecstasy. 2 exaltation, frenzy, thrill,
elation, paroxysm, excitement: The ecstasy of space flight is impossible to describe.
ecstatic adj. exhilarated, thrilled, exultant, blissful, euphoric, rapturous, enraptured, nympholeptic, enchanted, transported, rhapsodic, excited, elated, delighted, joyful, gleeful, overjoyed, happy, glad, beside oneself, delirious, orgasmic,
Colloq on cloud nine, Brit over the moon, in the seventh heaven, cock-a-hoop, US in seventh heaven, flying: Our team had won an Olympic gold medal, and we were truly ecstatic.
5.4 eddy...
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eddy |
n. 1 swirl, whirl, vortex, gurgitation; whirlpool, maelstrom, |
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Charybdis; dust devil, whirlwind, twister, tornado, cyclone, |
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typhoon, hurricane; waterspout: These treacherous eddies are |
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caused by tidal changes. |
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--v. 2 swirl, whirl, turn, spin: The wind eddied round us, |
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driving the dinghy this way and that. |
edge |
n. 1 brink, verge, border, side, rim, lip, brim; fringe, |
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margin, boundary, bound, limit, bourn, perimeter, periphery: I |
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was hanging on to the very edge of the cliff. The edge of the |
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handkerchief was trimmed with lace. 2 acuteness, sharpness, |
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keenness: That hunting knife has quite an edge. 3 harshness, |
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sharpness, acrimony, pungency, force, urgency, effectiveness, |
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incisiveness, causticity, virulence, vehemence: There was an |
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edge to her voice when she told me not to bother her. 4 |
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advantage, head start, superiority, lead, upper hand: You're |
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holding the gun, so I guess you have the edge on me. 5 on edge. |
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on tenterhooks, nervous, touchy, sensitive, prickly, itchy, |
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tense, irascible, crabbed, irritable, peevish, apprehensive, |
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with one's heart in one's mouth, edgy, anxious, ill at ease, |
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restive, restless, fidgety, Colloq uptight, like a cat on a hot |
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tin roof: She was on edge waiting for the exam results. |
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--v. 6 inch, move, sidle, crawl, creep, steal, worm, work |
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(one's way): The burglar was edging along the wall, 30 storeys |
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above the street. |
edible adj. eatable, esculent, palatable, good or fit (to eat), wholesome, Rare comestible: After the sell-by date, fresh food is no longer considered edible.
edification
n. enlightenment, improvement, uplifting, enlightening, guidance, education, information, tuition, teaching, schooling, instruction: The exhibition is designed for both edification and enjoyment.
edit |
v. 1 redact, copy-edit, rewrite, rephrase, modify, alter, |
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adapt, change, revise, correct, emend, style, restyle, polish, |
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touch up: His job is to edit the stories into idiomatic |
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English. 2 Often, edit out. blue-pencil, cut (out), delete, |
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censor, erase, bleep, blip; bowdlerize, expurgate, clean up: |
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They edited out all his slanderous asides before broadcasting |
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the interview. 3 cut, condense, compress, shorten, crop, reduce: |
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The story has to be edited so that it fits on one page. 4 |
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prepare, compile, assemble, select, arrange, organize, order, |
reorganize, reorder: Margoliouth edited the collected letters of Andrew Marvell.
edition |
n. number, issue, printing, print run; copy; version: The |
first Monday edition carried the news of the break-in, and a |
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later edition reported the detention of a suspect. |
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editor |
n. rewrite man or woman, rewriter, copy editor, redactor, |
reviser; writer, columnist, journalist, editorial writer, Brit leader-writer; editor-in-chief, managing editor, senior editor; compiler, collector: The editor sent the reporter out to check the facts of the story.
editorial n. Brit leader, leading article; op-ed article, think-piece, opinion piece, position statement; essay, article, column: Did you see the editorial about the Middle East situation in today's paper?
educate v. teach, train, instruct, edify, tutor, school, inform, enlighten, indoctrinate, inculcate, coach, drill, prepare, ready, rear, bring up, cultivate, develop, civilize: It is the responsibility of the state to educate the people.
educated adj. 1 cultivated, cultured, erudite, well-read, lettered, literary, scholarly, learned; (well-)informed, knowledgeable, enlightened: There is no real evidence that educated people enjoy greater job satisfaction than those who leave school at 16. I haven't got the answer, but I could make an educated guess. 2 refined, polished, cultivated, civilized; discerning, critical, sensitive: She has an educated palate and really knows her wines.
education n. 1 teaching, schooling, training, instruction, tuition, tutelage, edification, tutoring, cultivation, upbringing, indoctrination, drilling: His education was in the hands of monks until he was twelve. 2 learning, lore, knowledge, information, erudition: Education is gained from the experience of others. 3 lesson, course (of study): The inhabitants gave
her an education in how to survive in the wilderness.
educational
adj. 1 academic, scholastic, pedagogical, instructional: This is one of the best educational centres in the world. 2
informative, instructive, enlightening, edifying, eye-opening, revelatory, educative: A year spent abroad is always educational.
5.5 eerie =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
eerie adj. frightening, weird, strange, uncanny, ghostly, spectral, dreadful, unearthly, frightful Poetic or Scots eldritch, Scots mysterious, Colloq scary, creepy, spooky: I had the eeriest feeling I was being watched.
5.6 effect...
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effect n. 1 result, consequence, outcome, conclusion, upshot, aftermath, impact: The effects of the storm could be seen everywhere. 2 effectiveness, efficacy, force, power, capacity, potency, influence, impression, impact, Colloq clout, punch: His threats had no effect. 3 significance, meaning, signification, purport, sense, essence, drift, implication, import, tenor, purpose, intent, intention, object, objective: She said 'Get lost', or words to that effect. 4 impact, impression, form, sensation: He didn't mean that, he just said it for effect. 5 in effect. effectively, virtually, for (all) practical purposes, so to speak, more or less; actually, in (point of) fact, really, essentially, basically, at bottom, in truth, truly, to all intents and purposes, at the end of the
day, any way you look at it: She always spoke of him as her adopted son and this, in effect, was what he was. 6 take effect. become operative or operational, come into force, begin or start to work or function or operate: The regulation doesn't take effect till next week.
--v. 7 bring about, cause, make happen or take place, effectuate, achieve, accomplish, secure, obtain, make, execute, carry out, produce, create: The opposition was unable to effect any change in the law.
effective adj. 1 effectual, efficacious, productive; capable, useful, serviceable, competent, operative, able, functional, efficient:
The effective life of the battery is six months. 2 impressive, remarkable, noticeable, conspicuous, outstanding, striking, powerful, compelling, moving, telling, effectual: The stage setting was very effective. 3 operative, operational, in operation, functioning, real, actual, essential, basic, true:
The monthly interest may seem low, but the effective annual rate is much higher.
effects n.pl. belongings, (personal) property, gear, possessions, stuff, things, paraphernalia, chattels, goods, Colloq junk, crap, Brit clobber, Taboo slang US shit: His personal effects were left scattered around the house.
effectual adj. 1 effective, efficacious, efficient, functional, productive, useful, telling, influential, powerful, forcible, forceful; capable, adequate: What is the most effectual way of stopping a take-over of the company? 2 effective, in force, legal, lawful, binding, sound, valid: You must register the agreement for it to be effectual.
effectuate
v. bring about, effect, carry out, implement, accomplish, do, execute, realize, achieve; cause, make happen: It is unclear just how she will effectuate her escape.
effeminate
adj. unmanly, womanish, womanly, sissy, weak, campy; gay, homosexual; Slang Brit bent, poncey, US limp-wristed, faggy, faggoty: He's too effeminate to play the part of Othello.
effervescent
n. 1 bubbling, fizzy, carbonated, sparkling, fizzing, gassy; foaming, foamy, frothing, frothy, bubbly: I prefer effervescent mineral water to still. 2 bubbling, bubbly, high-spirited, vivacious, ebullient, lively, exuberant, buoyant, animated, lively, exhilarated, excited, enthusiastic, irrepressible:
Jeanette's effervescent personality endeared her to everyone who met her.
efficacious
adj. effective, effectual, productive, competent, successful, efficient, useful, serviceable; capable: He was not very efficacious in getting the council to change their policy.
efficiency
n. 1 effectiveness, efficacy, competence, capability, adeptness, proficiency, expertness, expertise, know-how, experience, skill, skilfulness, dexterity, adroitness: The efficiency of the staff has been greatly improved. 2 productivity, effectiveness, efficaciousness: How does the efficiency of a diesel compare with that of other engines?
efficient adj. unwasteful, economic, thrifty; effective, efficacious, effectual, competent, productive, proficient, operative: The technique for producing electrical power from tidal action has not yet proved efficient.
effort n. 1 exertion, striving, struggle, strain, labour, pains, energy, toil, application, trouble, travail, work, Colloq elbow-grease: He's gone to a lot of effort to please her. Getting the place cleaned up took a great deal of effort. 2 attempt, endeavour, essay, try, venture, Colloq stab, crack: Her efforts to be pleasant met with a stony response. 3 achievement, accomplishment, creation, feat, deed, attainment, exploit: Last year's fund-raising fair was a superb effort.
effortless
adj. easy (as pie or as A, B, C, or as 1, 2, 3), simple,
painless, smooth, trouble-free, uncomplicated: She admired the apparently effortless grace of the dancer.
effrontery
n. impertinence, impudence, audacity, nerve, presumption, presumptuousness, brazenness, boldness, insolence, temerity, brashness, rashness, arrogance, front, indiscretion, Archaic frowardness, Colloq gall, brass, nerve, cheek, lip, mouth, Slang Brit side: He had the effrontery to call her 'Queenie'!
effusive adj. demonstrative, gushing, (over)enthusiastic, unrestrained, unchecked, unreserved, expansive, emotional, exuberant, rhapsodic, ebullient, lavish, voluble, profuse; fulsome: Her aunt greeted her with an effusive outpouring of affection.
5.7 egoistic...
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