The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary Of Synonyms

radiance: When he was asked what had happened to the money, a flush rose to his cheek. 5 flood, deluge, drenching, soaking, overflow, inundation, rush, gush, surge, stream, flow: The

flush of water washed away all the debris. 6 thrill, excitement, passion, quickening, arousal, stir, stirring, animation, elation, euphoria, delight, encouragement, thrill, tingle: In the first flush of success, they were overwhelmed with orders. He felt a flush come over him when he won the race.

flushý adj. 1 (on the same) plane or level (with), even, smooth, flat, square, true, continuous; adjacent, next to: See that the tabletop is flush with the countertop. The mirror should be flush against the wall. 2 full, overflowing, replete, abundant: Turn off the water when it is flush with the top of the basin.

3 solvent, well supplied, comfortable; well-to-do, well off, well-found, wealthy, rich, prosperous, affluent, moneyed, Colloq well-heeled, on Easy Street, in the money, US in the chips; Slang loaded, rolling (in money or it): He's flush enough to

take us all out to dinner.

--adv. 4 even(ly), square(ly), levelly, plumb, directly: Cut this branch off flush.

fluster v. 1 agitate, stir (up), discompose, discomfit, discomfort, disconcert, shake (up), upset, disquiet, discommode, bother, put out or off, disturb, perturb, flurry, flutter, make nervous,

throw off, distract, confuse, baffle, confound, puzzle, perplex, befuddle, bewilder, daze, dazzle, Colloq rattle, throw, discombobulate, hassle, faze: Don't be flustered by her rude manner.

--n. 2 agitation, upset, discomfort, disquiet, bother, disturbance, commotion, perturbation, dither, flurry, flutter, nervousness, distraction, confusion, bafflement, befuddlement, perplexity, bewilderment: All this fluster came about through the absence of a coherent plan.

flutter v. 1 flap, flop, fluctuate, vacillate, wave, waver, oscillate: The paper streamers fluttered in the breeze. 2 flit, flicker, flitter, hover, dance; fuss: We shall never get done if you keep fluttering about. 3 tremble, shake, quiver, dither, jump, vibrate, twitch: She is fluttering with anticipation waiting

hurl, fling, heave, pitch, lob, sling, chuck, shoot, fire (off), let rip, discharge, launch, propel, let go or off: They let fly a volley of arrows. b let go with, let (someone) have it, lash out, vent one's spleen, lose one's temper, burst out or forth, burst into, Colloq pull no punches, tear into: That was the last straw, and she really let fly at him.

--n. 9 Often, Brit flies. flap, fly front, Brit zip, US zipper: He was embarrassed to find his flies were open. 10 fly in the ointment. hitch, snag, impediment, obstacle, obstruction, problem, difficulty, drawback, detraction, rub, hindrance,

bugbear, bogey, bugaboo, Offensive nigger in the woodpile: The one fly in the ointment is that my mother won't give me permission to go.

fly-by-night

adj. 1 temporary, short-lived, transitory, fugitive, ephemeral, transient, fleeting, passing, brief, impermanent, here today, gone tomorrow: That fly-by-night operation was in business for less than a month. 2 unreliable, untrustworthy, disreputable, irresponsible, dubious, questionable; shifty, dishonest, sharp, crooked, Colloq shady, Brit cowboy: Guarantees on double glazing are worthless if installed by some fly-by-night company.

6.5 foam...

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envelope. 2 enclose, envelop, enfold, wrap, enwrap, clasp, clip, embrace, hug, gather: He folded her in his arms. 3 give way, collapse, fail, close (up or down), shut down, go out of business, go bankrupt, Colloq go under, go broke, go bust, Brit

go to the wall: The company folded and ten employees were made redundant.

--n. 4 crease, wrinkle, crinkle, pucker, pleat, gather, crimp, overlap, lap: The folds will remain crisp if you use starch when ironing.

behind, bring up the rear, Colloq string or tag along: You go on ahead and I'll follow shortly. Please see the comments that follow. 2 adhere to, cleave to, support, believe in, accept,

adopt, conform to, comply with, obey, be guided by, be modelled after or on, observe, heed, mind, go along with, reflect,

mirror, echo, imitate, copy, mimic, ape: This newspaper follows strict party policy. 3 attend, accompany, escort, go (along) with; serve: Mary's little lamb followed her everywhere. 4 chase, pursue, dog, hunt (down), stalk, run down, track, trail, tail, trace, shadow: The detective swore to follow him to the ends of the earth. 5 succeed, supersede, step into the shoes

of, take the place of, replace, supplant: Who followed Henry VIII on the throne? 6 practise, pursue, engage in, carry on, occupy oneself with, apply or dedicate or devote oneself to, cultivate: After the war he followed a career as a teacher. 7 result from, ensue, issue, flow, arise, develop: The conclusion follows logically from the premise. 8 understand, fathom, comprehend, get, grasp, see, catch, appreciate, take in, keep up with, Colloq dig: Were you able to follow everything in that

lecture? 9 watch, be a fan or aficionado of, pursue, take an interest in, keep up with, keep abreast of, cheer or root for, admire: He follows international yacht racing. 10 follow through (on). persist or persevere, continue, perform, conclude, realize, consummate, pursue, carry out, see through, make good, discharge, adhere to, keep: I only hope she follows this through and delivers the goods. 11 follow up (on). a pursue, go after, track, investigate, pursue, check (out), check up

(on), inquire, make inquiries, look into: MacGregor is very good at following up on the most obscure references. b pursue, prosecute, reinforce, consolidate, support, buttress, augment, bolster, ensure: The Romans followed up their success with an attack on Olbia.

follower n. 1 disciple, adherent, student, pupil, apprentice, prot‚g‚(e): They were followers of Buddha. 2 attendant,

henchman, servant, retainer, bodyguard, myrmidon: Louie walked in with two of his followers. 3 supporter, devotee, fan, aficionado, promoter, enthusiast, booster, advocate, proponent, US rooter, Colloq groupie: She is a faithful follower of The

Dirty Knees, a rock group.

follow-through

n. perseverance, diligence, persistence, steadfastness, endurance, stamina, indefatigableness, sedulousness, sedulity, pursuance, tenacity, resolve, determination, Colloq US stick-to-it-iveness: One needs imagination for new ideas but follow-through to make them succeed.

follow-up n. reinforcement, support, backup, bolstering; consolidation: The failure of the sales campaign was attributed to lack of follow-up.

folly n. 1 foolishness, nonsense, absurdity, daftness, silliness, preposterousness, absurdness, senselessness, fatuousness, fatuity, rashness, stupidity, asininity, inanity, nonsensicalness, idiocy, imbecility, irrationality, lunacy, insanity, madness, craziness, eccentricity, weak-mindedness, feeble-mindedness, simple-mindedness, muddle-headedness, thickheadedness, stolidity, stolidness, obtuseness, brainlessness, Colloq dumbness, dopiness, nuttiness, US and

Canadian kookiness: They saw the folly of fighting against such enormous odds. It would be folly to leave in this storm. 2

absurdity, mistake, blunder, error, faux pas, gaffe, Colloq goof, fluff: What follies have been committed in the name of honour!

foment v. rouse, stir or whip up, awaken, waken, provoke, incite, instigate, initiate, prompt, start, motivate, inspire, work up, inflame, fan the flames (of), kindle, galvanize, rally, excite,

of. partial to, (having a) liking (for), soft on or about, affectionate towards, attached to, having a fancy or taste for, fancying, predisposed or inclined to or towards; addicted to, Colloq hooked on: She is inordinately fond of chocolate.

andrew, farceur, joker, jokester, droll, Punch, Punchinello, pierrot, harlequin: In Shakespeare's plays, the fool is often the wisest character. 3 butt, dupe, gull, victim, cat's-paw,

Colloq chump, greenhorn, (easy) mark, US fall guy; Slang pigeon, sucker, stooge, Brit mug: His co-workers liked to make a fool out of him.

--v. 4 trick, deceive, take in, swindle, defraud, hoax, cheat, fleece, cozen, hoodwink, bluff, dupe, gull, humbug, delude, mislead, make a fool of; pull the wool over (someone's) eyes, have (someone) on, pull (someone's) leg, tease, twit, Archaic chouse; Colloq kid, con, snow, do a snow job on, bamboozle, put one or something over on, pull something or a fast one on, Brit twist, Chiefly US and Canadian josh; Slang pluck, Brit nobble: When he said the diamond was fake, he certainly fooled me. I think she was fooling when she said she'd inherited millions. 5 joke, jest, banter, tease, twit, feign, fake, pretend, make

believe, Colloq kid: She insists that she is not fooling but dead serious. 6 fool with or around or about (with). play (around or about) (with), toy or trifle (with), mess or fiddle

(around or about) (with), monkey (around or about) with, meddle (with), tamper with, fribble (with): Please stop fooling with

the dials on the radio. 7 fool around or about. a play or mess around or about, gambol, frolic, romp, cavort: Stop fooling around and get serious. b waste or fritter away or squander or kill time, fribble, loiter, dawdle, idle, Brit potter (about),

lark or muck about or around, US putter around or about, Colloq footle: She's always fooling around instead of getting on with her work.

foolhardy adj. rash, imprudent, impetuous, reckless, brash, venturesome, bold, cheeky, daring, audacious, temerarious, adventurous, daredevil, incautious, hotheaded, careless, heedless, devil-may-care, hasty, thoughtless, unthinking, irresponsible, wild, madcap, Colloq US and Canadian nervy, Slang gutsy: It is foolhardy to go scuba diving without a companion.

foolish adj. 1 senseless, incautious, imprudent, impolitic, indiscreet, unwise, injudicious, ill-considered, ill-advised, misguided, short-sighted, impetuous, headlong, rash, brash, reckless, hasty, heedless, unwary, foolhardy, thoughtless, mindless: Standing under a tree in a thunderstorm is foolish. 2 nonsensical, stupid, asinine, inane, silly, fatuous, fatuitous,

dim-witted, scatterbrained, hare-brained, crazy, mad, insane, demented, irrational, erratic, unstable, crack-brained, feather-brained, bird-brained, simple-minded, light-headed, muddle-headed, numskulled or numbskulled, addle-pated, rattle-brained, bemused, confused, feeble-minded, moronic, idiotic, imbecilic, halfwitted, dull-witted, slow-witted, witless, brainless, empty-headed, blockheaded, boneheaded,

thickheaded, obtuse, stolid, Colloq dumb, balmy or Brit barmy, loony, nuts, nutty, batty, dopey or dopy, soft (in the head), dim, thick, dippy, dotty, dizzy, Brit potty, daft, Slang cuckoo,

goofy, screwy, wacky: Tracy was foolish to believe him when he said he loved her. 3 preposterous, ridiculous, absurd,

irrational, illogical, unreasonable, ludicrous, wild: They have some foolish idea about building a hotel in Antarctica.

foolproof adj. safe, certain, sure, trustworthy, dependable, reliable, infallible, unfailing, guaranteed, warranted, Colloq sure-fire: She claims to have a foolproof way of preventing unwanted pregnancies.

footing n. 1 foundation, basis, base, ground(s): The events put our entire relationship on a new footing. 2 standing, status,

level, condition, position, terms, state, rank: The two departments are on an equal footing as far as funding is concerned. 3 foothold, toe-hold; balance, stability: She lost her footing on the icy pavement and down she went.

footstep n. 1 step, footfall, tread: I recognized her footstep. 2 Usually, footsteps. footprint(s), track, trail, trace, spoor, footmark(s); tradition, example, way of life: He followed in his master's footsteps.

treatment of, as a remedy for, against; for the purpose or object of: This medication is for skin infections only. It's

for your own good. 5 for the sake of, Brit on or US and Canadian also in behalf of, in the interest of: Would you really do that

for me? 6 in the direction of, to, towards, into: Head for the hills! 7 to save, in the interest or benefit of, for the sake

or benefit of, conducive to; because of, on account of, by reason of: Every summer, they went to Carlsbad for their health. She hated him for what he represented. 8 to go to, destined for: I am leaving for Tierra del Fuego tomorrow. 9 suitable or suited for, fit or fitted or fitting for,

appropriate for, proper for: I am not sure that this colour is for you. Is it right for me to speak out now? 10 for the duration of; over (the extent of), during, in the course of, throughout, through: She stayed for a week. 11 despite, in spite of, notwithstanding, allowing for: For all his complaining, he seemed satisfied. 12 as for. regarding, in regard to, as regards, respecting, concerning, as far as (something or someone) is concerned: As for Betty, let her do as she likes.

--conj. 13 because, since, as, inasmuch as, seeing that, owing or due to the fact that: I was unable to see him, for he was out of the office.

forbid v. prohibit, ban, hinder, stop, exclude, debar, preclude, prevent; outlaw, interdict, disallow, proscribe, taboo; veto: I was forbidden from entering. They forbid smoking in the classrooms.

forbidding

adj. 1 repellent, repulsive, offensive, odious, abhorrent: In

his long cloak and mask, he presented a forbidding appearance. 2 hostile, unfriendly, stern, harsh, menacing, threatening, ominous, dangerous, bad, nasty, ugly, unpleasant: The coast here is rocky and forbidding. The old crone gave him a forbidding look and we cringed.

force n. 1 power, might, energy, strength, potency, vigour, intensity, violence, impact; dynamism, pressure: The force of the blow knocked me down. 2 coercion, pressure, constraint, duress, compulsion, arm-twisting: When persuasion failed, the guards resorted to force. 3 troops, soldiers, army: NATO