Collins Primary Thesaurus - Collins Dictionaries

Copyright

Published by Collins

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

Westerhill Road

Bishopbriggs

Glasgow G64 2QT

Second Edition 2015

© HarperCollins Publishers 2010, 2015

eBook Edition © March 2015 ISBN 978-0-00-758366-9

Version: 2015-01-19

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank those authors and publishers who kindly gave permission for copyright material to be used in the Collins Corpus. We would also like to thank Times Newspapers Ltd for providing valuable data.

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Using this thesaurus

Aa

Bb

Cc

Dd

Ee

Ff

Gg

Hh

Ii

Jj

Kk

Ll

Mm

Nn

Oo

Pp

Qq

Rr

Ss

Tt

Uu

Vv

Ww

Yy

Index

About the Publisher

Using this thesaurus

What does a thesaurus do?

A thesaurus gives you a choice of words you can use in place of an overused word like good or say.

Imagine you are writing a description of a meal you have really enjoyed. You might say that the soup was tasty but you dont want to use the same word to describe the chocolate cake you had for pudding. You can use the thesaurus to find another word that means the same thing. A word that means the same as another word is called a synonym. So you can describe the cake as delicious or mouthwatering or scrumptious.

Using wow words!

This thesaurus is perfect for helping you find wow words to use in your writing. A wow word is one which you dont use all the time in your vocabulary so, when you do use it, it stands out and really brings your writing to life. Its good to use wow words instead of everyday words. For example, instead of saying that the man was happy because his football team had won the cup, you could describe him as being ecstatic or jubilant. If the boy in your story says something quietly, you could use muttered, mumbled, or murmured. Rather than saying the girl is always late for school, try consistently or invariably.

Here are some words that are used a lot in writing. These are just the kind of words that could be replaced by a wow word from your thesaurus:

bad

break

cry

cut

eat

fat

feel

good

happy

hit

laugh

look

move

nice

old

run

say

short

small

thin

walk

How to find a word

If you want to find a different way of saying a word, think of its first letter. Once you know this, there is more than one way to find your word in the thesaurus:

You can use the Index at the back of the ebook which lists the words in alphabetical order. Scroll through the Index until you find the letter your word begins with, then look down the words until you find the one you are looking for. You can then follow the link to the entry in the thesaurus.

You can use the Contents page at the front of the book, which has a link to every letter in the thesaurus. Follow the link to the letter your word begins with, then look through the entries in this letter until you find the word you are looking for. The entries are in alphabetical order.

Once you have found your word in the thesaurus, you can choose the synonym that suits your writing. Read the example sentences to understand how each synonym can be used.

Finding your way around the thesaurus

1. The headword is the word that you want to find a synonym for.

2. If the headword has a number in brackets after it, then the word has different meanings in the thesaurus.

3. The part of speech tells you what type of word the headword is, such as noun, verb, adjective, adverb, or pronoun. If you are looking for a verb, make sure the headword you look at is also a verb.

4. The definition tells you what the headword means so you can be sure you are looking at the correct entry.

5. Each headword has a list of synonyms. Choose the one which is closest in meaning to the word you want to replace.

6. An example sentence is given for every synonym, showing how the word might be used in speech or writing.

7. A usage tip gives extra information about the headword or its synonyms.

8. Some entries have a list of useful words connected to the headword.

Other features of this thesaurus

Some headwords can be spelt in more than one way.

among or amongst PREPOSITION

Some synonyms have a pronunciation to show you how to say the word.

wrath Said roth

The player incurred the wrath of the referee for committing a foul.

Sometimes a label, such as FORMAL, INFORMAL, or OLD-FASHIONED, tells you a little more about how the word is used.

scrumptious INFORMAL

My sister and I reckon that olives are scrumptious.

Some definitions tell you where to find more information at another headword.

home NOUN

Your home is the building or place in which you live.

dwelling

Welcome to my humble dwelling, said Rat.

residence

The ambassadors residence was an impressive villa among palm trees.

See house

The entries for some very overused words are marked clearly. Give yourself word power by using the synonyms!

bad (1) ADJECTIVE

Bad things are harmful or upsetting.

WORD POWER: This word tends to be used a lot. To make your writing more varied, try to use some of the alternative words suggested here instead.

Some entries show words that mean the opposite of the headword. These words are called antonyms.

careful (3) ADJECTIVE

If you are careful in what you say, you think before you speak.

discreet

Jamila was discreet in not mentioning the party, in case Tanya hadnt been invited.

tactful

Shopkeepers have to be tactful, for some customers are easily offended.

ANTONYM: careless

Aa

ability NOUN

If you have ability, you have the intelligence and skill to do things.

competence

Sunita showed competence in most school subjects, particularly science.

gift

Jack had a gift for remembering long and complicated equations.

skill

Brackford United played with enthusiasm but little skill in Saturdays match.

talent

Seamus has a talent for cooking delicious seafood dishes.

ANTONYM: inability

able ADJECTIVE

If you are able to do something, you can do it.

allowed

Im allowed to play for half an hour, but then I have to go home, Ron complained.

available

Rhys said he was available to swim for the team on Saturday.

capable

Mrs Diss said that my twin brother was a capable pupil, but rather lazy.

free

My big sister is free to take me bowling now.

ANTONYM: unable

Other adjectives related to able:

about (1) PREPOSITION

If you talk or write about a particular thing, you say things that are to do with that subject.

concerning

The police interviewed the bank manager concerning the robbery.

regarding

Parents were sent a letter regarding half term.

to do with

Mum had a long phone conversation to do with our holiday plans.

about (2) ADVERB

You say about in front of a number to show it is not exact.

approximately

The theatre held approximately 800 people.

around

Around 50 000 people attended the big game.

in the region of

The bike cost in the region of £100.

more or less

Each jar holds more or less five litres.

roughly

We had to wait for roughly three hours.

about (3) ADVERB

About can mean in different directions.

around

Stop dancing around while Im talking to you, Mum said irritably.

here and there

My sisters clothes were scattered here and there in her room.

hither and thither OLD-FASHIONED

The bee flew hither and thither collecting pollen from the flowers.

about to PREPOSITION

If you are about to do something, you are just going to do it.

on the point of

I was on the point of closing the front door, when the phone rang.

ready to

The pilot was ready to turn back, when he saw the missing boat.

above (1) PREPOSITION

If one thing is above another, it is directly over or higher than it.

on top of

Ali balanced the bag of flour on top of the door, so that it would fall on Craig when he came in.

over

A cloud of smoke hung ominously over the grumbling volcano.

ANTONYM: below

above (2) PREPOSITION

Above can mean greater than something in level or amount.

beyond

The dancers skill was beyond anything we could have imagined.

greater than

The number of visitors to the museum this year is greater than last year.