23.0 W

23.1 wad...
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wad n. 1 pad, mass, lump, clod, ball, plug, chunk, hunk, block,
pack: He had a wad of cotton wool in each ear. 2 roll,
pocketful, heap, quantity, load, Colloq US bankroll: Over
coffee James handed him a wad of notes.

waddle v. toddle, shuffle, wobble or wabble, totter, paddle, pad,
waggle, duck-walk, Brit dialect wamble: He waddled down the
road, a shopping-bag on each arm.

wade v. 1 ford, cross, traverse, walk, make one's way: The water is
only knee-deep, and you can wade across. 2 paddle, play,

splash: There is a shallow pool where the little children can
wade. 3 wade in or into. a enter, get in (or into), join (in):
When the fight began, Patrick waded in with arms flailing. b
attack, approach, get or set to work, plunge or dive into: I
have to wade into an enormous pile of mail that accumulated
while I was away. 4 wade through. plough through, work (one's)
way through, hammer or pound away at, plod through, peg away at:
You really have to wade through that entire book to write your
report.


waffle v. 1 Often, waffle on. carry on, jabber (on), prattle (on),
prate, blather (on or away), Colloq run on, Brit witter (on),
natter (on), rabbit on, Slang run off at the mouth: He kept
waffling on about his new computer and, frankly, I wasn't
listening. 2 equivocate, hedge, quibble, shuffle, tergiversate,
hem and haw, prevaricate, Brit beat about the bush, US beat
around the bush, Colloq fudge: I wish he would stop waffling
and say what he means.


--n. 3 talk, palaver, verbiage, prattle, twaddle, blather,
prolixity, wordiness, jabber, jibber-jabber, Colloq hot air:
All I got was a lot of waffle when I asked for the best interest
rate on a loan.


waft v. 1 drift, float, blow, whiff, be borne or carried or
transported: The scent of jasmine wafted towards me on the warm
breeze.

--n. 2 breath, suggestion, puff, whiff, hint: A waft of cool,
fresh air momentarily eased the stench of the dungeon.

wagฐ v. 1 wave, waggle, oscillate, fluctuate, sway, undulate,
flutter, flap, flip, flicker, shake, vibrate, quiver, nod, rock,
dance, wobble, bob, bobble, waver, Rare vellicate: Misty's tail
wagged as I approached the house.

--n. 2 wave, waggle, oscillation, fluctuation, sway,
undulation, flutter, vellication, flap, flip, flicker, shake,
vibration, quiver, nod, wobble, bobble, waver: The dying animal
recognized me and gave a feeble wag of her tail.

wag n. comedian, wit, punster, pundit, joker, jester, comic,
jokester, droll, merry andrew, clown, Colloq card: A wag said

that tailors were like storks - known for their big bills.

wage n. 1 Often, wages. pay, compensation, emolument, remuneration,
payment, fee, salary, stipend, recompense, reward, earnings;
honorarium: The strikers wanted a ten per cent increase in
their hourly wage.

--v. 2 carry on, pursue, conduct, engage in, undertake,
practise, prosecute, proceed with: History shows that wars are
often waged over trifling differences.

wait v. 1 tarry, linger, hold on, stay, bide (one's) time, mark
time, stand by, Colloq cool (one's) heels, stick around, sit
tight, hang on, Brit hang about, US hang around: If you wait
till I've finished this, I'll join you for dinner. 2 be delayed
or postponed or deferred or shelved or put off, US be tabled,
Colloq be put on ice or on the back burner: The quarterly sales
figures can wait - we haven't yet completed those for this
month. 3 wait on or upon. serve, attend (to), minister (to):
Rose made such a fuss that the restaurant staff refused to wait
on her.

--n. 4 delay, pause, stay, hold-up, interval, halt, stop,
stoppage, break, hiatus, lacuna, gap, respite, rest (period),
intermission, discontinuation, recess: There was an extra long
wait between trains because of track repairs further up the
line.

waiter n. waitress, head waiter, maŒtre d'h“tel, host, hostess,
sommelier (des vins), wine steward, stewardess; cup-bearer,
Ganymede, Hebe: Marie asked the waiter to bring her a clean
plate.

waive v. 1 give up, relinquish, renounce, resign, forsake, forgo,
cede, sign away, surrender, abandon, yield, dispense with: I
waived my right to the inheritance in favour of my daughters. 2
set or put aside, except, ignore, disregard, overlook, abandon,
defer, postpone: We are happy to waive the rules in your case,
madam.


waiver n. renunciation, relinquishment, forgoing, ceding, cession,
resignation, surrender, abandonment, setting or putting aside,
deferral, remission, postponement: Her waiver of all rights to

the inheritance was duly recorded.

wakeฐ v. 1 Often, wake up. awaken, awake, rouse, waken, bring around;
stir, bestir (oneself), get up, come to, get going: Wake me
when it is over. She didn't wake up till noon. 2 awake, waken,
awaken, animate, stimulate, enliven, galvanize, fire, quicken,
inspirit, inspire, activate, liven up, vivify, kindle, vitalize,
stir, arouse, get (someone) going, bring to life: When I feel
this tired, it takes a lot to wake me up. Seeing Margo woke a
spark in me I thought had long since died.

--n. 3 vigil, watch, death-watch, funeral: If you have ever
been to an Irish wake, you will know what I mean.


wake n. 1 track, trail, aftermath, path, backwash, wash, bow wave;
trace, spoor, scent: The wake from the passing boats damages
the docks. No matter where he went, they followed in his wake. 2
in the wake of. following (on or upon), after, subsequent to; as
a result or consequence of, on account of, because of, owing to,
by virtue of: In the wake of the law's enactment, scores of
abortions were performed.

wakeful adj. 1 awake, sleepless, waking, unsleeping, restless, restive,
insomniac: The children were wakeful the entire night in
anticipation of a visit from Santa Claus. 2 watchful, (on the)
alert, on the qui vive, sharp, attentive, vigilant, wary,
cautious, observant, heedful, on the lookout: We remained
wakeful, alert to any footstep.


walk v. 1 advance, proceed, move, go, wend, go or make (one's) way
by foot, tread, step, perambulate, stalk, stride, tramp, stroll,
amble, ramble, ambulate, shamble, pad, shuffle, saunter, trudge,
trek, plod, slog, hike, parade, promenade, strut, swagger,
prance, march, goose-step, pace, trip, sidle, tiptoe, sashay,
flounce, stagger, lurch, limp, waddle, stamp, mince, slink,
steal, prowl, skulk, sneak, creep, Colloq go by or ride by
shanks's or shanks' mare or pony, hoof it, foot it, traipse,
pussyfoot, Slang US boogie: Guthrie certainly has a peculiar
way of walking. 2 take, convoy, accompany, escort, go with;
conduct, lead; empty: Let me walk you to the station. I have to
walk the dog twice a day. 3 patrol, trace out, stalk, cover,
haunt, prowl, wander, roam, rove or range about in or on,
frequent: Her mother could not understand why Maizie walked the

streets nightly. 4 walk out. a leave, depart, desert; walk out
on: She just walked out and no one has seen her since. b
strike, go (out) on strike, protest, take industrial action,
Brit down tools: Negotiations reached an impasse, so the
employees walked out.

--n. 5 path, lane, pathway, pavement, footpath, promenade,
esplanade, boardwalk, Brit footway, US sidewalk: We strolled
along the pleasant walks that lead through the park. 6 gait,
step, carriage, bearing, stride: He had great fun imitating
Groucho Marx's slinky walk. 7 constitutional, stroll, amble;
slog, tramp, hike: Lettie likes to take a walk in the park
after dinner. We had a five-day walk through the jungle before
reaching civilization.


wall n. 1 screen, partition, divider, enclosure, separator,
bulkhead, barrier, obstruction, obstacle, impediment, block,
fence: Marcie built round herself a wall of resentment which no
one could penetrate. 2 barricade, fortification, protection,
bulwark, breastwork, embankment, rampart, palisade, stockade:
It was questionable whether the walls would withstand the
cannon-balls. 3 drive up the wall. drive crazy or insane or
mad, madden, exasperate, derange, try, irritate, infuriate,
enrage: The constant caterwauling from the next flat is driving
me up the wall. 4 go to the wall. fail, collapse, be ruined,
face ruin, go bankrupt, lose everything, Colloq go broke, go
under, fold (up), Slang go bust: Unicold went to the wall
because of increased costs and decreased sales.


--v. 5 Often, wall up or off. enclose, partition (off), close
(off), brick up, immure: A bricklayer was hired to wall up the
openings where the windows had been.

wallet n. purse, pocketbook, Brit notecase, US billfold: An anonymous
good Samaritan found my wallet and sent it to me intact, with
all the money in it.

wallow v. 1 roll or loll about or around, welter, writhe, tumble,
splash or plash: He enjoys watching the pigs wallowing in the
mud. 2 Usually, wallow in. luxuriate in, bask in, revel in,
glory in, indulge (oneself) in, give (oneself) up to, succumb
to, take to, appreciate, fancy, enjoy, like, love, savour, Slang
get a kick or a bang or a boot from or out of: Now that Gabriel

is a big rock star, he simply wallows in all the attention he is
getting. 3 stumble, stagger, lurch, flounder, teeter, totter,
falter, pitch: Without its engines, the ship was lifted skyward
by a wave one moment only to wallow in a trough the next.


wan adj. 1 white, sickly, pale, pallid, livid, pasty, ashen,
bloodless, waxen, whey-faced, sallow, colourless, deathly,
ghostly, ghastly, cadaverous: I almost wept at seeing the
child's wan face against the pillow. 2 weary, weak, hollow,
feeble, frail, ineffectual, sorry, pitiful: She offered no more
than a wan smile in response to questions about her family.

wand n. baton, stick, staff, stick: The magician pointed with his
wand and a bottle of gin appeared.


wander v. 1 walk, go, roam, rove, range, stray, ramble, stroll,
saunter, meander, drift, cruise, prowl, Colloq mosey: We
wandered about the village square, chatting and window-shopping.
2 wind, meander, zigzag, turn this way and that: A trout stream
wanders past our house. 3 digress, go off, become
absent-minded, go wool-gathering, lose concentration or focus:
My mind wandered as the speaker droned on. 4 deviate, digress,
turn, divagate, stray, drift, depart, go off at a tangent, lose
(one's) train of thought, lapse: The speaker tended to wander
occasionally.

wane v. 1 decrease, diminish, grow less, lessen, decline, die out,
abate, ebb, subside, fade (away), dim, taper off, peter out,
wind down, weaken: The waning moon cast its pale light on the
dying knight. As his strength waned he could no longer lift his
sword. 2 draw to a close, end, terminate: The day waned into a
gloomy evening.

--n. 3 decrease, diminution, lessening, decline, abatement,
ebb, subsidence, fading, tapering off, petering out, winding
down, weakening, deterioration, degeneration: The 1970s saw the
wane in popularity of large, gas-guzzling cars. 4 on the wane.
on the decrease or decline or ebb, diminishing, decreasing,
declining, abating, subsiding, fading, tapering off, petering
out, winding down, weakening, deteriorating, degenerating: The
economy is recovering, and inflation is on the wane. Since that
latest illness, my energy has been on the wane.

wangle v. scheme, plot, work out, contrive, manoeuvre, engineer,
manage, manipulate, machinate, Colloq fix, fiddle, work, pull
off, finagle, swing: I hear that you were able to wangle an
audience with the pope.


want v. 1 desire, crave, wish (for), long for, pine for, hope (for),
fancy, covet, hanker after, lust after, hunger for or after,
thirst for or after, yearn for, Colloq have a yen for: I want
you near me. Ignore his crying - he just wants some ice-cream.
Maybe he's crying because he wants to go. 2 need, lack, miss,
require, call for, demand, be deficient in, be or stand in want
or in need of, necessitate; be or fall short of: This engine
wants proper maintenance. The bottle wants only a few more drops
to fill it.


--n. 3 need, lack, shortage, deficiency, dearth, scarcity,
scarceness, insufficiency, scantiness, inadequacy, paucity: For
want of good writers, the literary quarterly diminished in size
and finally disappeared. 4 appetite, hunger, thirst, craving,
desire, fancy, wish, longing, yearning, hankering, demand,
necessity, requirement, requisite, prerequisite, Colloq yen:
She gave up trying to satisfy his wants. 5 poverty, need,
indigence, homelessness, destitution, privation, pauperism,
penury, neediness, impecuniousness: The civilized nations are
trying to solve the problems of want, which seem to increase
daily.

wanting adj. 1 deficient, inadequate, not up to par or expectations,
insufficient, leaving much to be desired, unsatisfactory,
unsatisfying, disappointing, second-rate, inferior, poor,
shabby, shoddy, flawed, faulty, imperfect, incomplete,
unfinished, defective, patchy, impaired, damaged, broken,
unsound: These robots were tested at the factory and were found
wanting. 2 absent, missing, lacking, short (of), US and
Canadian shy (of): What good is a banjo wanting its strings?

wanton adj. 1 immoral, dissolute, profligate, dissipated, depraved,
loose, promiscuous, lustful, licentious, lecherous, wild,
libidinous, lewd, lascivious, unchaste: She is a wanton hussy
who is no better than she ought to be. 2 abandoned,
unrestrained, undisciplined, ungoverned, ungovernable,
unmanageable, outrageous, immoderate, intemperate, untempered:
It is not the boy's fault, it is the wanton company he keeps. 3

reckless, rash, uncaring, lavish, extravagant, wilful, heedless,
irresponsible, careless: This situation arises from the
parents' wanton disregard for their children's moral training. 4
wicked, evil, malevolent, malicious, merciless, inhumane,
vicious, cruel, violent, unjustified, unprovoked, uncalled-for,
purposeless, motiveless, unjustifiable, arbitrary, gratuitous:
We were subject to wanton attacks by the hill people.

--n. 5 vamp, strumpet, whore, harlot, loose woman, prostitute,
voluptuary, slut, trollop, Jezebel, Colloq tart, Slang hooker,
working girl, call-girl: Who invited that wanton, with her
tight-fitting, shamelessly low-cut dress?

war n. 1 warfare, combat, conflict, fighting, clash, hostilities,
battle, struggle, engagement, encounter, strife, contention:
The war, in which several millions died, lasted six years. 2 at
war. fighting, battling, in combat, in conflict; in
disagreement, in dispute, in contention, struggling,
antagonistic, at daggers drawn: They are at war because an
ambassador refused to retract some silly insult.

--v. 3 do battle or fight or struggle or (engage in) combat
with or against, make or wage war with or against, take up arms
or strive or campaign or tilt against, cross swords or contend
or joust with: We must continue to war against the forces of
evil.

ward n. 1 district, division, precinct, section, zone, quarter:
Perkin was running for re-election as councillor of the Eastgate
ward. 2 minor, dependant: The child was made a ward of the
court.

--v. 3 ward off. fend off, repel, avert, avoid, block, thwart,
keep away or off or at bay or at arm's length, check, repulse,
chase away or off, forestall: This brandy should help ward off
the night chill.

wardrobe n. 1 (collection or stock of) clothing or clothes or attire or
apparel: At the time, my entire wardrobe consisted of a pair of
jeans, a shirt, and a dinner suit. 2 clothes-press, closet,
clothes-cupboard: In her wardrobe they found more than three
thousand pairs of shoes.

warehouse n. storehouse, store, storeroom, depository, stockroom, depot,
go-down: The books are kept in a warehouse and shipped to
customers as needed.


wares n.pl. merchandise, goods, commodities, manufactures, produce,
stock-(in-trade), supplies, lines: A blind man peddled his
wares on this corner for twenty years.

warlike adj. combative, belligerent, bellicose, aggressive, pugnacious,
hostile, bloodthirsty; hawkish, militaristic, jingoistic,
warmongering: Violation of the border was a warlike act that
must be punished. There are warlike factions in every
government.


warm adj. 1 heated, tepid, lukewarm, cosy, comfortable, not
uncomfortable, balmy: We chose a beautiful warm day for our
picnic. 2 passionate, impassioned, excited, animated, fervent,
fervid, spirited, lively, ardent, zealous, keen, eager,
emotional, heated, intense, irritated, annoyed, vexed, angry,
irate, furious, testy, short-tempered, touchy, quick-tempered,
irascible, irritable, stormy, turbulent, vigorous, violent,
Colloq worked up, hot under the collar, steamed up: Charles
occasionally became a bit warm on the subject of architecture.
The debate grew warm as we joined in. 3 amiable, friendly,
cordial, affable, pleasant, genial, cheerful, kindly,
hospitable, hearty; affectionate, tender, mellow, loving,
amorous: After a warm greeting from our host, we went in to
meet the other guests. Her generous gifts to charity revealed
that she really has a warm heart. 4 ardent, enthusiastic,
earnest, eager, sincere: Our ideas for the new campaign met
with warm approval from the client. 5 uncomfortable, awkward,
unpleasant, strained, tense: The people in this town tend to
make things a bit warm for strangers. 6 Often, getting warm.
close or near to making a discovery, about to make a discovery:
From her look as I approached the cabinet, I knew I was getting
warm.

--v. 7 heat (up), warm up or over: I warmed myself by the
fire. 8 Often, warm to. become less antagonistic or hostile to
or toward(s), become enthusiastic or supportive of, become
excited or animated about or over, be attracted to or toward(s),
like, feel affection for: Martin never did warm to my idea of
using the village notice-board for his message. 9 stir, move,

please, delight, make (one or someone) feel good: It warmed me
to know that she had at last found someone to love.

warm-blooded
adj. 1 Technical homoeothermic or homoeothermal or
homoiothermic or homoiothermal or homeothermic or homeothermal:
Birds and mammals are warm-blooded, reptiles and fish are
cold-blooded. 2 passionate, ardent, fervid, hot-blooded,
impetuous, Colloq randy: He tried to excuse his behaviour
towards her by saying that he was just a normal, warm-blooded
man.

warmly adv. 1 affectionately, tenderly, fondly, lovingly: Linda
kissed him warmly to thank him for the gift. 2 cordially,
amiably, amicably, solicitously, warm-heartedly: We were
greeted warmly by the manager on our arrival and shown to our
rooms. 3 earnestly, eagerly, fervently, enthusiastically, well,
kindly: The directors are warmly disposed to your plan for
reorganization. 4 vigorously, intensely, fiercely, intensively,
intently, energetically, doggedly, persistently, zealously,
fervently, fervidly, hotly, ardently, enthusiastically: We
learned that she was being warmly pursued by Interpol. 5
heatedly, vehemently, vociferously, forcefully, energetically,
vigorously, feverishly, frantically, furiously, angrily,
violently: The sending of a peace-keeping force was being
warmly debated in the UN.

warmth n. 1 heat: We basked in the welcome warmth of the sun. 2
cordiality, heartiness, friendliness, geniality, amiableness,
kindliness, tenderness, affability, love: Mother thrives on the
warmth of a family environment and should not be put in a
nursing home. 3 ardour, effusiveness, enthusiasm, zeal,
excitedness, fervour, vehemence, vigour, ebullience, passion: I
was taken aback by the warmth of the stranger's greeting. The
resolution was debated with considerable warmth. 4 irritation,
annoyance, pique: The warmth of his reaction to the accusation
is understandable.

warn v. 1 caution, admonish, advise, notify, apprise, inform, give
(fair) warning, alert, give (prior) notice, put (someone) on
notice or on guard or on the alert, make (someone) aware (of),
forewarn, tip off, Rare premonish: The entire population has
been warned about the imminent hurricane. 2 advise, counsel,

caution: You did warn me against investing in llama farms.

warning n. 1 caution, admonition, advice, counsel, caveat, word (to the
wise), tip, notification, notice, threat; lesson, example:
Cyril never took seriously his doctor's warning about his
cholesterol level. Let that be a warning to you not to drink and
drive. 2 omen, sign, signal, indication, augury, foretoken,
portent, foreshadowing, forewarning, prophecy: Sailors take
that kind of sky and a falling barometer as warning of a
hurricane.

warp v. 1 twist, contort, distort, deform, bend out of shape,
wrench, pervert, misshape: Using steam, the timber was warped
to fit the hull. You certainly have a warped idea of what Yvette
does for a living.

--n. 2 twist, contortion, distortion, bias, deformity,
deformation, bend, wrench, perversion, kink, idiosyncrasy,
quirk, deviation: There is too much of a warp in this veneer to
repair it. Harry has to overcome a serious warp in his attitude
towards food.

warrant n. 1 authorization, sanction, reason, justification, approval,
validation, licence, right, certification, entitlement, grounds,
cause, rationale, basis, assurance, carte blanche, guarantee,
pledge, security, charter, warranty: We demand to know what
warrant may exist for such an action. 2 writ, order, affidavit,
paper, document, credential, permit, entitlement, licence,
permit, summons, subpoena, mandate, decree, fiat, edict, ukase:
Do not let them search the premises without a warrant. A warrant
has been issued for her arrest.

--v. 3 guarantee, promise, assure, ensure or insure, answer
for, be answerable for, certify, vouch for, underwrite, back up,
uphold, stand by or behind: All these products are warranted by
the manufacturer for one year. 4 authorize, sanction, justify,
explain, approve, verify, validate, permit, allow, provide or
offer grounds or justification or cause or reason for, call for,
necessitate, entitle, empower, excuse, license: What is it that
warrants such accusations of malfeasance?

warranty n. guarantee, assurance, promise, commitment, covenant,
undertaking, agreement, pledge, bond: There is a maker's

warranty that repairs of any defects will be made at no cost to
the buyer.

wary adj. cautious, careful, on (one's) guard, circumspect, prudent,
apprehensive, chary, watchful, vigilant, on the qui vive,
heedful, observant, on (one's) toes, Colloq cagey, Slang leery
(of): Phoebe is wary of going out with someone she doesn't
know.


wash v. 1 wash up, clean (up), cleanse, bathe, shower, douche,
douse, scrub (up), shampoo, soap up, lather, launder, scour,
soak, rinse, flush, wet, drench, deterge, sponge (off),
Facetious perform (one's) ablutions, Archaic absterge, Formal or
literary lave, Brit bath: Please wash the dishes when you have
finished eating. I must wash before I do anything else. 2
Sometimes, wash away or out or off. remove, move, transport,
carry, bear, convey, deliver, deposit, drive, sweep: The silt,
with the gold dust, is washed downstream. In this process, the
impurities are washed away. 3 splash, spatter, splatter, plash,
dash, beat, pound, thrash, break, toss, surge, undulate, rush,
run, lap, ripple, roll, flow: We stood watching the sea washing
against the breakwater. 4 Usually, wash away or off. erode,
wear off or away, remove, delete, erase, expunge, destroy,
eradicate, obliterate, extinguish, blot out, wipe out: After
5000 years, the action of the waves had washed away all traces
of the Vengorian civilization. 5 Often, wash away or out. erode,
cut or dig or wear or eat or dredge (away or out), excavate,
channel: The river eventually washed out a new course, fifteen
miles to the west. 6 decontaminate, purify, sift, filter,
depurate: The wastes are thoroughly washed in these tanks
before being discharged into the ocean. 7 overlay, film, coat,
paint, glaze; plate: What do you think of colour they washed
the wall? 8 hold up, stand up, stand the test of time, carry
weight, bear scrutiny, prove true, make sense, be believable or
credible, Colloq hold water: I'm afraid that Helen's
explanation of her whereabouts at the time of the murder simply
won't wash. 9 wash down. swallow: Here, wash the pill down with
this. 10 wash (one's) hands of. stay or keep away from, disown,
repudiate, turn (one's) back on, have nothing more or further to
do with, get rid of, rid (oneself) of, desert, abandon, leave:
After Neil took the money, Violet washed her hands of him and
his problems.

--n. 11 washing, cleaning, cleansing, scrubbing, scrub,
scouring, shampoo, shampooing, bath, bathing, shower, sponge
bath, tub-bath; laundering; Facetious ablutions; Colloq Brit
tub, tubbing: He always likes a good wash and shave before
breakfast. 12 wave, wake, surge, backwash: The wash from
passing ships almost swamped our skiff. 13 lotion, rinse,
liniment, salve, embrocation, emulsion, preparation; mouthwash,
gargle; eyewash, collyrium: Use this wash twice a day till the
condition disappears. 14 flow, wave, swell, welling, sweep,
sweeping, ebb and flow, surge, surging, undulation, rise and
fall: Shellfish in the gap cleanse themselves of impurities in
the constant tidal wash running through there. 15 coat, coating,
film, overlay, glaze; plating: There is a microscopic wash of
gold over the tin to lend the bracelet a little cachet.


washed out
adj. 1 wan, pale, pallid, colourless, faded, lacklustre, flat;
blanched, bleached, etiolated: Gene looks washed out because he
never gets out in the sun. She was wearing washed-out jeans and
a torn t-shirt. 2 exhausted, spent, tired, tired out, weary,
worn out, fatigued, drained, Colloq dog-tired, bone-tired, done
in, all in, fagged out, bushed, Brit knocked up, US knocked out,
Slang beat, US and Canadian tuckered out, pooped: After a hard
day in the office, I feel completely washed out.


washed up adj. finished, through, failed, done for, played out, over (and
done with), Slang kaput, fini: After that last fiasco, he's no
more than a washed-up has-been.


washout n. failure, disaster, d‚bƒcle, (total) loss, fiasco,
disappointment, Colloq flop, dud, Brit damp squib, US lead
balloon: His attempts to revive the hula-hoop craze were a
washout.


waspish adj. irascible, bad-tempered, foul-tempered, temperamental,
testy, grouchy, sensitive, volatile, querulous, edgy, petulant,
spiteful, peevish, cantankerous, curmudgeonly, cross, crabby,
crabbed, crotchety, splenetic, grumpy, captious, cranky, crusty:
Elaine is feeling very waspish today - no one can do anything
right.

waste v. 1 squander, misuse, throw away, fritter away, misspend,
splurge, dissipate, Slang blow: Why I wasted so much time on

him I'll never know. Don't waste your money on such frivolities.
2 Often, waste away. diminish, deteriorate, dwindle, decline,
decay, atrophy, wither, shrink, weaken, become debilitated,
fade, become enervated or enfeebled, regress, ebb, sink: She is
just wasting away, and I am seriously worried that she may not
recover. 3 enervate, enfeeble, emaciate, gnaw, destroy, consume,
debilitate, exhaust, disable: Arkwright contracted a terrible
wasting disease while in the tropics. 4 assassinate, murder,
kill, Slang put away, rub out, US ice: Don't worry, Boss, we'll
waste Andy and you won't have no more trouble.

--n. 5 misuse, misapplication, squandering, dissipation,
misemployment, abuse, neglect: What a terrible waste of talent
to have such a person doing such lowly work! Do not let that
genius go to waste. 6 wasting, extravagance, prodigality,
wastefulness, squandering, indulgence, lavishness, profligacy,
dissoluteness, improvidence, overindulgence: Government waste
is one of our biggest problems. 7 refuse, rubbish, garbage,
dregs, debris, leavings, scrap, offscourings, sweepings, litter,
Archaic orts, US and Canadian trash: Techniques are being
developed to process the waste in order to avoid using
landfills, incineration, or dumping at sea. 8 wasteland, desert,
wilderness, barrens, wilds, emptiness, vastness: Beyond that
system were vast wastes of uninhabited space.


--adj. 9 extra, leftover, unused, superfluous, worthless,
useless: The waste food was usually fed to the animals. 10
barren, unproductive, unusable, unsalvageable, useless,
unrecyclable, unprofitable, worthless: The waste products of
manufacture are a big problem. 11 lay waste. devastate,
destroy, demolish, despoil, ruin, wreck, ravage, pillage, sack,
plunder, loot, rob, strip, spoil, gut, ransack, wreak havoc
(up)on, crush, raze, annihilate, eradicate, extirpate, wipe out:
These lands and cities, laid waste by the invaders, have never
recovered.

wasteful adj. extravagant, spendthrift, profligate, prodigal, lavish,
improvident, unthrifty, uneconomical, overindulgent,
open-handed, free-handed, penny wise and pound foolish: It was
very wasteful of you to buy me that expensive jewellery.

wastrel n. 1 spendthrift, profligate, waster, prodigal, big spender,
squanderer: That wastrel went through his inheritance in a

year. 2 idler, layabout, malingerer, loafer, shirker,
good-for-nothing, ne'er-do-well, Chiefly Brit drone, Slang Brit
skiver: The workhouse is the place for wastrels like you!


watch v. 1 observe, regard, look at, gaze at or on, take in,
contemplate: Daniel loves to watch the bears at the zoo. 2
look after, tend, mind, keep an eye on, watch over, mind, guard,
care for, take care of, safeguard, protect, shield, keep safe,
supervise, superintend; chaperon, accompany, attend; Colloq
babysit (for), sit (with): Could you please watch Suzie while I
go shopping? 3 observe, note, notice, make or take note of,
see, pay attention (to), attend (to), follow, (take) heed (of),
examine, inspect, scrutinize, pore over; eye, peer at; ogle,
make eyes at: Watch the way I bone this fish. Ted enjoys
watching the girls going by. 4 Often, watch (out) for. look for,
be on the watch or lookout or alert or qui vive (for), guard
(against), keep an eye open (for), be watchful (for), note, take
note or notice of, be vigilant (for or of), keep (one's) eyes
open (for), keep a (sharp) lookout (for), be prepared or ready
for, be careful of, anticipate, await, wait (for), look for,
Colloq keep (one's) eyes peeled or skinned (for), keep a weather
eye open (for): We were watching for irregularities in the test
results. Watch where you're going! Watch out for that last step!


--n. 5 vigil, surveillance, observation, lookout: Our six-hour
watch was rewarded by the appearance of a yellow-bellied
sapsucker. 6 clock, timepiece, pocket watch, wrist-watch;
chronometer: I always set my watch by the GMT time signal on
the radio. 7 sentry, sentinel, guard, watchman: The midnight
watch just returned from his rounds. 8 on the watch (for). on
the alert (for), on the lookout (for), on (one's) guard (for),
on the qui vive (for), alert (for or to), awake (to), observant
(of), watchful (of), cautious (of), wary (of), vigilant,
circumspect: We remained on the watch for the slightest
movement in the bushes.

watchman n. (security) guard, sentinel, sentry, watch, night-watchman,
custodian, caretaker; watchdog: After retiring from the police,
he worked as a watchman.


water n. 1 H2O; distilled water, tap water, drinking-water, bottled
water, spa water, still water, soda (water), effervescent water,
mineral water; sea water, salt water; ditch-water, dishwater,

bath-water, US branch water, Facetious Adam's ale, Technical or
Latin aqua; Technical heavy water or deuterium oxide or D2O;
Brit fizzy water: Pure water is odourless, tasteless, and
colourless. 2 not hold water. be illogical or unsound or
invalid, not be sensible, be inconsistent, not make sense, be
unbelievable or incredible, be indefensible, be unfeasible or
unworkable, not work, not function, not hold up under or bear
scrutiny or examination, not ring true, ring false, Colloq not
wash: Her account of her whereabouts that day just doesn't hold
water. 3 like water. lavishly, extravagantly, freely,
wastefully, profligately, open-handedly, liberally, excessively,
copiously, unstintingly, unreservedly: They've been spending
money like water since they won the football pools. 4 make
water. urinate, pass water, Colloq pee, piss: When a dog makes
water, it marks off a territory bounded by its scent. 5 of the
first water. of superior or excellent or first or top or A-one
or the finest or the highest or the best quality or grade;
first-grade, top-grade: These were not industrial stones but
diamonds of the first water.


--v. 6 inundate, flood, drench, saturate, soak, douse,
irrigate, hose, wet, shower, splash, spray, sprinkle, moisten,
damp, dampen, bedew: If you don't water the garden, the
vegetables will die. 7 Often, water down. dilute, weaken, thin
out, adulterate; cut; mollify, modify, soften, tone down,
qualify: We no longer go there because they water the drinks.
They told the children a watered-down version of what had
happened.


water-colour
n. aquarelle: John's water-colours sell as fast as he paints
them.

waterfall n. cascade, cataract, fall(s), chute, Niagara, No. Brit force,
Scots linn: In front of them, a waterfall tumbled down a
rock-face into a deep pool.

watertight
adj. 1 sealed, waterproof: The escape hatch has been made
watertight. 2 unassailable, impregnable, solid, airtight,
flawless, faultless, incontrovertible; without loopholes:
Landry has a watertight alibi for the night of the crime.

watery adj. 1 weak, dilute(d), watered down, tasteless, insipid,
flavourless, bland, flat, dull, thin, runny, pallid, anaemic,
Colloq wishy-washy: He asked me in, then gave me some watery
tea to drink. 2 weeping, teary, tearful, running, weepy,
lachrymose, rheumy: The child looked up at him with watery eyes
and then collapsed, sobbing. 3 wet, swampy, boggy, marshy,
aqueous, squelchy; soggy, moist, damp, humid; Colloq squushy or
squooshy: It took days to make our way across that watery plain
to the high ground.


wave n. 1 swell, undulation, billow, sea, heave, roller, whitecap,
white horse; ripple, wavelet, breaker, comber: A huge wave
tossed me up on the beach. 2 surge, swell, welling up, ground
swell, movement, flood, upsurge, uprising, current, tide: The
period is marked by a wave of materialism and greed that swamped
all morality and integrity. 3 signal, sign, gesticulation,
gesture: Was his wave intended for you or for me?

--v. 4 undulate, billow, move to and fro, flap, flutter,
quiver, flip-flop, swing, sway, ripple, oscillate, zigzag,
fluctuate, shake; wag, whiffle, wigwag, wiggle, waggle,
brandish: The streamer waved slowly in the quickening breeze.
Stop waving that knife at me! 5 signal, sign, indicate, signify;
gesture, gesticulate: Hazel waved goodbye from the train.


way n. 1 manner, method, mode, fashion, means, system, course (of
action), procedure, approach, scheme, technique, practice, modus
operandi, Colloq MO (= 'modus operandi'): That's no way to talk
to your mother! We have ways of making you talk. Is that any way
to treat a lady?! It's the wrong way to deal with the problem. 2
manner, spirit, feeling, sense, character, approach,
personality, temperament, disposition, modus vivendi (=
'lifestyle'), nature, technique, style, conduct, habit,
behaviour pattern, custom: He has such a pleasant way about
him. Lucinda certainly has a way with children and dogs. You
city people may not approve of our down-to-earth country ways. 3
path, road, street, avenue, course, route, trail, direction:
Show me the way to go home. The way to the village lies through
dark woods. 4 distance; route, trail, course, road: You've come
a long way since we last met. 5 progress, passage, advance,
headway; speed, velocity, motion, (forward) movement: We made
our way to the front of the crowd. Who has the right of way at
the crossing? The tide was too strong for us to get any way on.

6 aspect, respect, particular, detail, point, sense, feature:
In certain ways, you remind me of Attila the Hun. 7 clearance,
pathway, avenue, scope, freedom, opportunity: When you hear a
siren, drive to the side and give way. Make way for the Lord
High Executioner! 8 condition, situation: She prefers the
prissy 'in a family way' to the straightforward 'pregnant' and
the vulgar 'have a bun in the oven'. I saw Luke yesterday and he
was really in a bad way. 9 by the way. incidentally, moreover,
by the by, parenthetically: By the way, have I told you how
beautiful you look tonight? 10 by way of. a via, through, by
means of: We drove from London to Oxford by way of Reading. b
(functioning) as, in (the) way of, in the capacity of,
equivalent to, more or less, something like: Richard is by way
of being an expert on eccentric behaviour. 11 give way. a
collapse, break (down), fail, cave in, fall (down), crumble,
crumple, disintegrate, go to pieces: The cable gave way,
causing the bridge to collapse. b yield, surrender, retreat,
concede, withdraw, accede, make concessions, acquiesce,
acknowledge: The trouble is that they both think they are in
the right and neither will give way. 12 under way. proceeding,
progressing, on the move, moving, advancing, going, begun,
started, in progress, operating, functioning, at work, US in
work, Colloq in the works, US in the pipeline: Once under way,
it takes the ship three days to make the crossing. Plans are
under way to reclaim the slum area for a park.

waylay v. 1 ambush, lie in wait for, await, intercept, pounce upon or
on, swoop down on or upon, accost: You'll have to waylay him on
his way to lunch if you want to speak to him. 2 attack, mug,
seize, assault, accost, set upon: He was waylaid by a band of
thieves and stripped of his belongings.

way-out adj. 1 bizarre, mad, weird, crazy, strange, odd, peculiar,
freakish, freaky, eccentric, queer, abnormal, offbeat,
outrageous, wild, exotic, esoteric, Colloq kinky, Slang kooky,
off-the-wall, far-out, screwy, nutty, US flaky, screwball: The
police did not take kindly to the boys' way-out behaviour after
the party. 2 avant-garde, advanced, original, innovative,
unorthodox, unconventional, experimental, precedent-setting,
progressive, exploratory, ground-breaking, Slang far-out:
Spencer thinks that the way-out art of the 1960s will have great
value one day.

23.2 weak...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-



weak adj. 1 feeble, frail, fragile, unsubstantial, flimsy,
breakable, frangible, delicate, rickety, unsteady, unsound,
decrepit, shaky, infirm: That chair is too weak for you to
stand on. 2 frail, infirm, debilitated, enervated, delicate,
sickly, anaemic, wasted, decrepit, puny, effete, worn out,
tired, exhausted: When I last saw Tindell he was so weak he
could hardly lift his brandy glass. 3 unassertive, retiring,
namby-pamby, spineless, irresolute, impotent, ineffectual,
ineffective, incompetent, feckless, inept, wishy-washy, timid,
meek, craven, timorous, cowardly, pusillanimous, lily-livered,
chicken-hearted, Colloq chicken, yellow: We know which is the
weaker partner in that marriage, don't we? 4 feeble, lame,
half-baked, poor, miserable, unconvincing, unpersuasive, empty,
shallow, flimsy, hollow, pathetic, pitiful, unbelievable,
untenable: Edward made some weak excuse for being late. I found
Mona's argument against birth control very weak indeed. 5
weak-minded, dim-witted, dull-witted, slow-witted, foolish,
feeble-minded, simple, simple-minded, soft-headed, stupid, dull,
moronic, imbecilic, Colloq dumb: They seek out people of weaker
intelligence and make fools of them. 6 faint, dim, poor, dull,
pale, faded, indistinct, vague, hazy, imperceptible,
indiscernible, unclear, blurred, blurry, muzzy, wavering,
faltering, ill-defined, feeble, flickering, subdued: I could
hardly see her face in the weak light of the candle. 7 feeble,
subdued, low, soft, hushed, muffled, muted, almost inaudible,
stifled, indistinct: When the victim finally spoke, his voice
was very weak. 8 See watery, 1, above. 9 weak point. See
weakness, 3, below.

weaken v. 1 debilitate, enfeeble, enervate, emasculate, mitigate,
moderate, dilute, deplete, diminish, lessen, depress, lower,
reduce, sap, undermine, exhaust, impoverish: The continuous
torture helped to weaken Errol's resolve. 2 fade, dwindle,
tire, droop, sag, fail, give way, crumble, flag: My
determination weakened when I saw what had happened to the
children. 3 give in, relent, acquiesce, give way, yield, accede,
consent, agree, assent, soften, bend, ease up, let up, ease off,
relax: If you ask very politely, she might weaken and allow you
to go out and play. 4 water (down), dilute, thin (out): Adding

the water so weakened the soup that it tasted like dishwater.

weakling n. milksop, baby, mollycoddle, lightweight, namby-pamby, US and
Canadian milquetoast, Colloq sissy or Brit also cissy, loser,
cream puff, jellyfish, pushover, softie or softy, Slang wimp,
twerp or twirp, US weak sister, schnook, schlemiel or schlemihl
or shlemiel: If you count on a weakling like Geoffrey, nothing
will ever get done.


weakness n. 1 feebleness, frailty, fragility, delicacy, delicateness,
vulnerability, infirmity, decrepitude: They discovered a
weakness in the structure of the bridge, so it had to be closed.
2 incapacity, irresolution, irresoluteness, impotence,
powerlessness, puniness: He is ashamed of his weakness in being
unable to stop smoking. 3 weak point, foible, failing, fault,
shortcoming, flaw, Achilles' heel, defect, imperfection,
liability: Her one great weakness is her inability to deny her
children anything. 4 soft spot, fondness, affection, liking,
preference, bent, leaning, inclination, fancy, penchant,
predilection, proneness, proclivity, predisposition, partiality,
appreciation, appetite, sweet tooth, taste, eye: The two of
them share a weakness for good food and wine.

wealth n. 1 affluence, riches, money, opulence, prosperity, property,
holdings, capital, assets, wherewithal, cash: Most of their
wealth comes from illicit trade in diamonds. 2 profusion,
abundance, bounty, plenteousness, bounteousness, copiousness,
mine, plenitude, fullness, store, cornucopia, richness: Janet
has a wealth of ideas for situation-comedy plots.


wealthy adj. rich, affluent, well off, prosperous, well-to-do, opulent,
comfortable, moneyed, Colloq in the money, on Easy Street,
flush, well-heeled, in clover, Slang loaded, stinking (rich),
filthy rich, quids in, rolling in it: Bill has a wealthy aunt
who sends him a little something now and then.

wear v. 1 be dressed or clothed in, dress in, put on, don, be in,
step or get into or in, have on, sport: I shall wear my new
suit tonight. 2 display, show, exhibit, have, adopt, assume: I
wondered why she wore such a curious expression. 3 Often, wear
down or away or off. damage, impair, harm, fray, erode, abrade,
corrode, rub (off): The water has worn down the rocks till they
are round and shiny. The inscription on the stone is worn away.

After years of use, the paint has worn off. 4 Often, wear well.
last, endure, survive, hold up, bear up, stand up: I wrote to
the makers telling them the shoes have worn well. 5 drag, pass
slowly, creep by or along, go by gradually or tediously: The
hours wore on as I waited for the test results. 6 Often, wear
out. tire, fatigue, exhaust, debilitate, weary, enervate, drain,
burden: You must be worn out from carrying those heavy books.
7 bore, exasperate, harass, vex, annoy, irritate, tax, strain:
I find it wearing to listen to that music all day long.


--n. 8 wearing, use, utilization; attire, garb, clothing,
clothes, apparel, dress, gear: Did you get much wear out of
your new hat? Suzanne is modelling a silver lam‚ dress for
evening wear. 9 wear and tear, attrition, deterioration, damage,
fraying, chafing, abrasion, erosion, corrosion, friction: As
the engine ages, heavier oil is needed to offset the normal
wear.

weary adj. 1 tired, fatigued, exhausted, worn out, drained, spent,
Colloq all in, ready to drop, fagged (out), done in, dead (on
(one's) feet), frazzled, dead beat, dog-tired, Brit knocked up,
US knocked out, Slang Brit whacked, knackered, US pooped, zonked
(out), shot: He is so weary after work that he can scarcely eat
his dinner. 2 boring, irksome, irritating, tedious, vexing,
annoying, exasperating, burdensome, wearying, tiring, fatiguing,
draining, taxing, wearisome: We walked many a weary mile before
reaching the oasis. 3 bored, impatient, jaded, blas‚, Colloq
fed up, sick and tired, Taboo slang browned off: I wish he
would wipe that weary expression off his smug face.


--v. 4 Often, weary of. tire (of), be or become bored (with or
by) or impatient (with) or jaded (with or by), Colloq be or
become fed up (with) or sick and tired (of): I soon wearied of
her nagging. 5 exhaust, enervate, fatigue, tire, debilitate,
drain, tax, wear or tire out: The long trek across country had
wearied us all.

weather n. 1 (meteorological) condition(s), climate: The weather
suddenly changed, and we arrived home cold and wet. 2 under the
weather. ailing, ill, sickly, unwell, indisposed, out of sorts,
sick, Colloq poorly, seedy: I didn't go sailing because I was
feeling a bit under the weather.

--v. 3 stand, survive, suffer, bear up against, endure,
withstand, rise above, ride out, live through, brave: Gemma
didn't think she could weather much more sarcasm from the
critics.


weave v. 1 loom; braid, plait, entwine, intertwine, interlace,
interweave, knit (together): These fabrics were woven by hand.
Weave these leather strands together to make a belt. 2 blend,
combine, fuse, merge, unite, intermingle, mesh, splice,
dovetail, join: The threads of their lives are inextricably
woven together. 3 construct, make, contrive, build, create,
fabricate, compose, spin, design: Oh, what a tangled web we
weave When first we practise to deceive! 4 zigzag, criss-cross,
wend or make (one's) way, dodge, bob and weave, shift: Look at
that motor cyclist weaving in and out of the traffic! 5 get
weaving. get started, get a move on, hurry (up), start, Colloq
shake a leg, Brit get or pull (one's) finger out, Chiefly US get
a wiggle on: If you're going to get to work on time, you'd best
get weaving.


web n. spider's web, cobweb; net, network, entanglement, snare,
trap: Don't you just hate getting those webs in your hair? She
became entangled in a web of deception.


wed v. 1 marry, espouse, get married, become husband and wife, say
or take (one's) (marriage) vows, join or unite in holy wedlock
or matrimony; lead down the aisle, lead to the altar, Archaic
wive; Colloq tie the knot, get hitched, get spliced: They were
wed on the fourth of July, 1921. That was when Harry wed
Annabel. 2 combine, unite, ally, marry, blend, merge, join,
mingle, intermingle, commingle, coalesce, mix, intermix,
amalgamate, compound, alloy, fuse, homogenize: As a chef, he is
extremely fortunate to be able to wed business to pleasure.


wedded adj. Usually, wedded to. intimately or obstinately attached or
connected (to), enamoured (of): He has always been wedded to
the notion of living alone on an island.

wedding n. 1 marriage (ceremony), wedding ceremony, nuptials;
confarreation: Our son's wedding was attended by members of the
royal family. 2 combining, combination, uniting, union,
joining, juncture, blending, blend, allying, alliance,
associating, association, marrying, marriage, merging, merger,

mingling, intermingling, commingling, coalescing, coalescence,
mixing, mixture, intermixing, amalgamating, amalgamation,
compounding, compound, alloying, alloy, fusing, fusion,
homogenizing, homogenization: Through her wedding of vision to
observation she has produced some truly remarkable paintings.

wedge n. 1 block, chock: A shoe with a wedge heel is called a
'wedgie'. We forced wedges into the cracks in the stone to split
it. 2 separation, separator, division, partition, split,
fissure, cleavage: That woman tried to drive a wedge between me
and my husband.

--v. 3 ram, jam, stuff, cram, crowd, force, squeeze, pack,
thrust: You couldn't have wedged another person into the back
seat of that Mini with a shoehorn.

wee adj. 1 tiny, small, diminutive, little, minuscule, midget,
minute, miniature, Lilliputian, microscopic, Colloq itty-bitty,
itsy-bitsy, teeny(-weeny), teensy(-weensy): Johnny caught his
wee little finger in the door. 2 unimportant, insignificant,
trivial, little, puny: It was only a wee thing, of no interest
to anyone but me.

weep v. 1 cry, shed tears, bawl, blubber, keen, sob, lament, mourn,
bemoan, bewail, moan, grieve, whine, whimper, mewl, pule,
snivel, Colloq blub, boohoo, Brit and Australian whinge: A
small child, sitting by herself, was weeping bitterly. 2 ooze,
seep, exude, drip: The wound had started weeping and needed
bandaging.


weigh v. 1 Sometimes, weigh in at or out at. Colloq tip the scales
at: The sailboard weighed in at 250 pounds. I weigh more than I
should. 2 consider, ponder, contemplate, think on or over or
about, mull over, turn over in the or (one's) mind, ruminate
over, chew over, reflect on or upon, brood over, pore over,
study, examine: After weighing the qualifications of the
candidates, we voted for you. Weigh your words carefully before
responding. 3 judge, estimate, assess, evaluate, value,
determine: It is not easy to weigh each person's contribution
to the effort. 4 Usually, weigh on or upon. lie heavy on,
burden, depress, prey on, oppress, disturb, perturb, upset:
Loneliness weighs heavily on Dave's widow. 5 matter, count,
have (an) effect or influence, carry weight, be of value or

account, Colloq cut any ice: Certain factors - like the sizes
of the bribes - are likely to weigh heavily with the judges of
this particular beauty contest. 6 weigh down. burden,
overburden, load, overload, encumber, tax, overtax, strain,
trouble, worry, depress, oppress: He's been weighed down by
financial worries since losing his job.

weight n. 1 heaviness, avoirdupois, mass, tonnage, Dialect heft: They
sell peaches by weight but melons are individually priced. The
weight of these books must be enormous. 2 burden, load,
millstone, onus, pressure, strain, albatross, cross: He has to
support the weight of the entire family's expenses. 3
influence, authority, power, substance, force, moment,
importance, consequence, impact, persuasiveness, value, worth,
Colloq clout: Clyde brought down his full weight in favour of
the liberal candidate. Clyde's opinion carries little weight
with me. He must stop throwing his weight around. 4 mass,
majority, preponderance or preponderancy, bulk, superiority:
The weight of the voters is in favour of reducing taxes. The
weight of the evidence is against us.

--v. 5 load, charge, ballast: The policemen's truncheons are
weighted with lead. 6 arrange, manipulate, bias, incline,
slant, Colloq rig: The statistics are weighted so as to make
the advertiser's product look superior.

weighty adj. 1 heavy, ponderous, massive, huge, bulky, substantial,
ample, large, mammoth, colossal, immense, enormous, gigantic,
prodigious; corpulent, fat, obese, adipose, Colloq hefty: I
found myself face to face with a rather weighty gentleman who
was blocking the doorway. 2 important, consequential,
significant, momentous, grave, crucial, portentous,
thought-provoking, provocative: These are weighty matters and
should be handled with circumspection. 3 influential,
convincing, persuasive, impressive, telling, powerful, potent,
leading; forceful: Weighty arguments have been put forward in
support of these proposals.

weird adj. strange, odd, peculiar, bizarre, unnatural, eerie, queer,
grotesque, freakish, outlandish, uncanny, unearthly,
other-worldly, supernatural, preternatural, Literary eldritch,
Colloq spooky, freaky, kinky, Slang far-out, way-out: There was
something decidedly weird about the creature at the door.


weirdo n. eccentric, madman, madwoman, lunatic, psychotic, Colloq
crazy, weirdie, nutcase, oddball, queer fish, crank, Slang
freak, loony, psycho, Brit nutter, US screwball, nut, kook: Why
belong to a club whose members are weirdos who refuse to talk to
one another?

welcome v. 1 greet, hail, meet, receive, accept, offer hospitality
(to): Everywhere she went she was welcomed with open arms.


--adj. 2 accepted, acceptable, well-received, desirable,
agreeable, gratifying, appreciated: Norma is always a welcome
guest at my house. Ice cream was a welcome relief from the
perennial plum duff. 3 freely permitted or allowed, invited,
entitled, suffered: At that hotel, guests are welcome to dine
when they please.

--n. 4 reception, greeting, salutation: We gave the ambassador
a warm welcome.


weld v. 1 unite, combine, merge, fuse, connect, link, join; solder,
braze, cement, bond: We felt welded together in a brotherhood
that would last forever. The brace must be welded all the way
along the edge.


--n. 2 seam, joint, juncture, commissure: The weld must be
filed down smooth.

welfare n. benefit, good, advantage, well-being, prosperity, (good)
fortune, profit, interest, (good) health, happiness, felicity:
It is up to the parents to look after their children's welfare.

wellฐ adv. 1 satisfactorily, sufficiently, adequately, agreeably,
nicely, (well) enough, Colloq OK or okay: Alan is doing well
these days. 2 successfully, famously, marvellously,
wonderfully, fabulously, incredibly, splendidly, admirably,
spectacularly, excellently, superbly: Barbara and David really
get along well together. 3 articulately, understandably,
expressively, correctly, accurately, properly, proficiently,
effectively, artistically, poetically; grammatically: Henry
will make a good announcer because he speaks well. 4
comfortably, luxuriously, prosperously, extravagantly, showily,
pretentiously, ostentatiously, sumptuously, grandly, opulently:

How can Rita live so well with no visible income? Living well is
the best revenge. 5 graciously, kindly, highly, favourably,
glowingly, approvingly, warmly, genially, cordially, amiably,
kind-heartedly, warm-heartedly, affectionately, lovingly:
Rudolph has always spoken well of you, Aileen. 6 skilfully,
expertly, adeptly, proficiently, ably: Does Anne play well
enough to compete professionally? Paul sings well. 7 far, by a
long way, immeasurably, (very) much; far and away, definitely,
positively, obviously, clearly, plainly, manifestly, evidently,
unquestionably, decidedly, beyond (the shadow of a) doubt,
Colloq by a long chalk: Keep well away from the fuel tank
before lighting that cigarette. She is well beyond the beginner
stage. This painting is well worth what you paid. 8
good-naturedly, equably, coolly, serenely, calmly, soberly,
unexcitedly, sedately: Burt took the bad news about his car
very well. 9 likely, probably, in all probability, doubtlessly,
without doubt, not unexpectedly, indeed: He might well say he
needs no help. 10 easily, without difficulty: Though he gave
her the money, he could not well spare it. 11 completely,
entirely, wholly: Before she could well finish her sentence, he
was out of the house. 12 thoroughly (cooked), (cooked) through
and through, completely (cooked): He likes his roast beef well
done. 13 intimately, closely, familiarly, personally;
thoroughly, profoundly, soundly, fully: Do you know Boris well?
I learnt my lesson well. 14 fairly, justly, suitably, properly,
adequately, reasonably, fully, generously, amply: James is well
paid for his work. 15 happily, mercifully, fortunately,
luckily: After the divorce, both said they were well rid of
each other.


--adj. 16 healthy, fit, hale, robust, vigorous, hearty, in fine
or good fettle, Colloq in good shape: Wendy felt really well
after her holiday. 17 satisfactory, pleasing, agreeable, good,
right, all right, fine, proper, OK or okay: When he phoned the
office, they told him all was well.

well n. 1 well-spring, spring, fountain, well-head, fountain-head,
fount, source, reservoir: The well provided a constant supply
of cool clear water.


--v. 2 Often, well up or out or forth. flow, spring, surge,
rise, stream, trickle, brim over, swell, start; gush, spurt,
jet, spout; ooze, seep, leak: Tears welled up in the child's

eyes when she saw the broken doll.

well-advised
adj. prudent, wise, sensible, intelligent, smart: You would be
well-advised to avoid Chichicastenango at this time of year.

well-balanced
adj. 1 rational, sane, sensible, rational, reasonable,
level-headed, sober, sound, well-adjusted, cool(-headed), Slang
together: Ray is as well-balanced as people seem to be these
days. 2 even, symmetric(al), harmonious, well-proportioned,
orderly, well-ordered, well-disposed: Note the well-balanced
arrangement of the windows in this Palladian fa‡ade.


well-bred adj. well brought up, well-mannered, polite, decorous,
mannerly, refined, courteous, cultivated, polished, cultured,
gentlemanly, ladylike, elegant, suave, urbane, sophisticated,
gracious, courtly, genteel, gallant, chivalrous: Jane prefers
bikers to the well-bred gentlemen her mother selects for her.


well-established
adj. long-standing, traditional, set, venerable, well-known,
accepted, well-founded: He works for a well-established firm of
solicitors. It's a well-established fact that the English
discuss the weather a lot.

well-fed adj. plump, chunky, thickset, chubby, rounded, rotund, portly,
stout, fleshy, overweight, adipose, fat, obese, gross, Brit
podgy or US pudgy: On the westward crossing we were seated with
a well-fed Austrian couple.

well-groomed
adj. neat, dapper, fastidious, tidy, trim, smart, clean-cut,
spruce, natty, well-dressed, Colloq nifty, Slang US and Canadian
spiffy: Well-groomed gentleman sought as escort to attractive
widow. Hourly rate. Driving licence essential.

well-informed
adj. knowledgeable, learned, well-read, well-versed,
well-educated, literate, educated, Colloq in the know, wise, US
vibrating on the right frequency, Slang hip or hep: With access
to all the media, what excuse have you for not being
well-informed?


well-known
adj. 1 known, familiar, (well-)established, acknowledged,
customary, everyday: Plain salt is a well-known remover of wine
stains. 2 famous, noted, notable, celebrated, renowned,
illustrious, famed, prominent, eminent, pre-eminent: The
scandal linked a former Cabinet Minister with several well-known
City names.


well off adj. comfortable, wealthy, rich, affluent, prosperous,
well-to-do, Colloq well-heeled, US well-fixed: They are well
off and live in a charming house on the edge of the Cotswolds.

well-thought-of
adj. admired, highly regarded, respected, reputable, venerated,
esteemed, revered, looked-up-to, valued: Timothy is a
well-thought-of member of the community.

well-timed
adj. timely, seasonable, opportune, auspicious, favourable,
advantageous, beneficial: Tax incentives gave a well-timed
boost to the economy.

welsher n. non-payer, cheat, cheater, swindler, Slang dead-beat, US
welcher: That welsher never paid the money he lost to me at
poker.

welt n. 1 bead, ridge, seam, edge, wale, stripe: The cushion has a
welt of contrasting colour binding it. 2 bruise, contusion,
bump, lump, scar, weal or wale or wheal: The boy's back was
covered with red welts where he had been birched.

welter n. 1 mass, mess, jumble, tangle, confusion, mishmash, muddle,
clutter, Brit hotchpotch or US also hodgepodge: Her assignment
was to sort out a welter of discarded clothing for the poor. My
mind was assailed by a welter of disorganized images.

--v. 2 be sunk or involved in, flounder, be bogged down in, be
entangled or ensnarled in: Till I found a new secretary, I
would have to continue weltering in a sea of correspondence and
unfiled papers.

wet adj. 1 moist, moistened, damp, dampened, soaked, soaking,

sopping, wringing, dripping, sodden, soppy, saturated, drenched:
During the rainy season, the ground is far too wet for planting.
2 rainy, raining, teeming, pouring, drizzling, showery: We have
had a very wet spring this year. 3 feeble, weak, irresolute,
effet, namby-pamby, foolish, ineffectual, ineffective,
spineless, timorous, cowardly: She considered some of her
colleagues too wet to take the tough action needed.

--n. 4 moisture, water, wetness, dampness, damp, humidity,
liquid: The wet stood out on his forehead. 5 rain, wetness,
mist, dew, fog, damp, humidity: Come in out of the wet, and
warm yourself by the fire. 6 milksop, softie or softy,
lightweight, Colloq drip, loser, Brit weed, Slang wimp, US weak
sister: Why is he such a wet about standing up for his rights?


23.3 wheedle...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-



wheedle v. coax, cajole, inveigle, charm, beguile, persuade, talk;
butter up; Colloq con, sweet-talk: Irena always managed to
wheedle someone into taking her dancing.

wheel n. 1 disc, ring, annulus, circle, hoop: It seems odd that no
culture in the western hemisphere ever invented the wheel.

--v. 2 spin, turn, veer, swivel, pivot, swing, whirl: Medusa
wheeled to face him and he promptly turned to stone.


whereabouts
n.pl. or sg. 1 location, position, place, site, situation,
locale, neighbourhood, vicinity: Her present whereabouts are
unknown to me. The culprit concealed his whereabouts from the
police.


--adv. 2 where, in or at or to what place, whither:
Whereabouts are you going to spend your holiday? Whereabouts are
you going?


whet v. 1 sharpen, hone, grind, file, put an edge on, strop: He
whetted the knife on an oiled stone till it was razor-sharp. 2
pique, sharpen, awaken, arouse, stimulate, kindle, fire,
increase, excite, enhance: The cruise on Bill's yacht whetted

my appetite to own a small sailing-boat.

whimsical adj. 1 quaint, fey, fanciful, odd, curious, unusual,
chimeric(al), queer, singular, peculiar, funny, fantastic(al),
pixyish, playful, puckish, absurd, preposterous, Colloq offbeat:
When Andrew's whimsical drawings caught on they were bought by
greetings card makers. 2 capricious, erratic, eccentric,
wavering, flighty, unsettled, fickle, mercurial, wavering,
fluctuating, unpredictable, inconsistent, volatile, unsteady:
The buses in our village run on what could best be termed a
whimsical timetable.

whip v. 1 beat, thrash, lash, flog, horsewhip, scourge, switch,
cane, birch, flagellate, leather, spank, strap; castigate,
chastise, punish, discipline; Slang tan, US wale: They learnt
right from wrong because father whipped them when they were
wrong. 2 trounce, defeat, beat, conquer, overwhelm, rout,
overcome, overpower, thwart, check, best, worst, drub, stop,
outdo, Colloq lick, wipe the floor with, batter, Slang
pulverize, clobber, destroy, ruin, murder, slaughter, kill,
squash, smash, US cream: Karpilova whipped O'Meara 6-0, 6-2 at
today's match. 3 run, scamper, scoot, race, scurry, scramble,
hurry, flit, rush, dash, dart, Colloq zip, zoom, skedaddle: I
whipped round the corner and dived behind a tree to hide. 4
beat, whisk, fluff up: Whip the egg-whites till they are stiff.
5 Nautical seize, bind, wind, fasten, tie: The end of the line
is whipped to prevent its unravelling. 6 whip out. yank out,
jerk out, pull (out), whisk out, present, exhibit, flash,
produce: He suddenly whipped out a gun and started shooting. 7
whip up. a stir up, agitate, arouse, rouse, work up, excite,
incite: The rabble-rousers whipped the crowd into a frenzy. b
improvise, put together or assemble or prepare quickly or
hurriedly, Colloq knock together, knock up, US slap together:
Tina whipped up a snack while we were waiting for Ken to arrive.


--n. 8 scourge, knout, lash, cat-o'-nine-tails, rawhide, quirt,
horsewhip, bull-whip, cane, birch, switch, thong, (riding-)crop,
Colloq cat: We dreaded it when Dr Hazen eyed the whip hung
behind the classroom door.


whipping n. 1 beating, thrashing, lashing, flogging, horsewhipping,
scourging, switching, caning, birching, flagellation, spanking:
Once he had had a whipping, the boy would not misbehave again.

2 Nautical seizing, binding, tying, winding, fastening: The
whipping will prevent the end of the line from unravelling.

whirlpool n. maelstrom, vortex, eddy, whirl, swirl, Heraldry gurges: As
we watched in horror, the canoe was drawn down into the
whirlpool and disappeared.

whirlwind n. 1 waterspout, dust devil, cyclone, typhoon, anticyclone,
hurricane, extra-tropical cyclone, tropical cyclone,
Nontechnical tornado, Nautical white squall, Australian
willy-willy, Colloq US whirly: A whole row of houses was
destroyed in the whirlwind.

--adj. 2 speedy, quick, swift, sudden, precipitous, lightning,
headlong, hasty, rash, impetuous: It was one of those whirlwind
romances that last till the wind dies down.

whisk v. 1 rush, dart, sweep, brush: Agatha whisked about the room,
aimlessly moving small objects about on tables and shelves. 2
speed, rush, carry, whip, hasten, hustle, hurry: The taxi came
and whisked Fran off to the airport. 3 See whip, 4, above.

--n. 4 sweep, wave, brush, flick: With a whisk of his hand he
dismissed the servants. 5 brush, fly-whisk: The chief flicked
his whisk to signal that the audience was ended. 6 beater,
whip: It is quicker to whip cream with a whisk.

whisky n. whiskey, alcohol, spirits, John Barleycorn, usquebaugh,
Scotch, home-brew, mother's ruin (= 'gin'), Scots barley-bree,
Brit Scotch, US rye, bourbon, white lightning, white mule,
moonshine, Colloq booze, hooch, rot-gut, US corn, fire-water,
Slang US Sneaky Pete, smoke: Peter is a welcome guest who
always remembers to bring a bottle of whisky.


whisper v. 1 breathe, murmur, mutter, mumble, hiss, speak or say softly
or under (one's) breath, sigh, susurrate: He whispered sweet
nothings in her ear. 2 gossip, bruit about, noise abroad,
murmur, insinuate, hint, rumour, disclose, divulge, reveal,
breathe a word: We have all heard Corin whispering of your
wife's infidelities.

--n. 3 murmur, undertone, hushed tone(s): Why do you always
speak in whispers when talking about Nesta? 4 hint, suggestion,

soup‡on, suspicion: There was never the slightest whisper of
gossip about Eleanor.

white adj. 1 snow-white, snowy, chalk-white, chalky, ivory, creamy,
milky, milk-white, oyster-white, off-white; silver, hoary: Many
buildings in the tropics are painted white. Do you believe that
a person's hair can turn white overnight? 2 pale, pallid, pasty,
wan, whey-faced, ashen, bloodless, drained, whitish, waxen,
ghastly, ghostly, anaemic, dead white, deathly white,
cadaverous, corpse-like: Her black dress contrasted starkly
with her white complexion. 3 innocent, pure, unsullied,
stainless, unblemished, spotless, immaculate, virginal,
virtuous, undefiled, chaste: She came to you with white hands,
which you have sought to dirty with your vicious accusations. 4
Caucasian, Caucasoid, light-skinned, fair-skinned,
pale-complexioned: The American Indian was - and still is -
treated very unfairly by the White man.

whitewash v. gloss over, cover up, sugar-coat, hide, camouflage, conceal,
qualify, minimize, extenuate, diminish, play down, downplay,
make light of, rationalize, excuse: We are being accused of
whitewashing the dishonest actions of the previous
administration.


whittle v. 1 pare (down or away), shave, trim, cut, carve, hew, shape:
Remember when Grandpapa used to whittle those tiny figures of
elves when we were children? 2 Usually, whittle away at or down.
pare, shave, cut, trim, reduce, diminish, erode, eat away at:
If he keeps whittling away at his trust fund, he might have to
get a job.

whole adj. 1 entire, complete, uncut, full, intact, unbroken, total:
I can't believe she ate the whole chicken. Were you here the
whole time? 2 in one piece, intact, unharmed, undamaged,
unscathed, unimpaired, unhurt, uninjured: How could anyone
emerge whole from that smash-up? 3 well, healthy, sound, fit,
strong: The surgeons have made him whole again.

--n. 4 everything, aggregate, (sum) total, totality, lot,
entirety; ensemble; Colloq whole kit and caboodle: I look at
the whole and don't bother about petty details. 5 on the whole.
largely, mostly, usually, more often than not, for the most
part, in general, generally, by and large, with few exceptions,

all things considered, all in all, as a rule, chiefly, mainly,
in the main, predominantly: On the whole, our clients collect
only originals, not copies or prints.


wholehearted
adj. devoted, dedicated, committed, earnest, sincere,
unqualified, unmitigated, unreserved, complete, entire,
unstinting, real, true, genuine, hearty, heartfelt, serious,
enthusiastic, zealous, warm, fervent, ardent, spirited, eager,
energetic: Once I agree to help, you can rely on my
wholehearted support.

wholesome adj. 1 healthful, healthy, health-giving, nutritious,
nourishing, beneficial, tonic, salutary, salubrious,
strengthening, bracing, stimulating: Everyone should regularly
engage in wholesome exercise. 2 moral, ethical, righteous,
upright, honourable, decent, principled, proper, fit, meet: I
am not sure that the child is being brought up in a wholesome
atmosphere.


wholly adv. 1 altogether, entirely, absolutely, quite, totally,
thoroughly, completely, in toto, fully, in all respects, in
every way, all in all, utterly, unqualifiedly, every inch, 100%;
lock, stock, and barrel; root and branch; backwards and
forwards; from the ground up; Colloq bag and baggage; hook,
line, and sinker; to the nth degree; (the) whole hog, US up one
side and down the other: We are wholly on your side in this
matter. The company has been wholly reorganized. 2 only,
exclusively, solely, unexceptionally, categorically,
unequivocally, unambiguously, explicitly: The success or
failure of the plan depends wholly on you.

whoop n. 1 shout, shriek, yell, roar, bellow, hoot, (battle or war)
cry, war-whoop, outcry, scream, screech, squeal, yelp, yowl,
howl, bark; cheer, hurrah, huzzah; Colloq holler: At his whoop
of joy we knew he had passed the exam.

--v. 2 shout, shriek, yell, roar, bellow, hoot, cry (out),
scream, screech, squeal, yelp, yowl, howl, bark; cheer, hurrah,
huzzah; Colloq holler: He heard the tribesmen whooping as they
descended on the fort.

whopping adj. 1 huge, great, enormous, colossal, gigantic, immense,

tremendous, prodigious, monstrous, thumping, mammoth, massive,
Brobdingnagian: With that whopping Great Dane of yours in the
kitchen there's no room to move about. 2 flagrant, outrageous,
extravagant, terrible, awful: Jones tells such whopping lies I
don't know when to believe him.

23.4 wicked...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-



wicked adj. 1 evil, bad, immoral, amoral, unprincipled, sinful,
impious, irreligious, blasphemous, profane, sacrilegious,
ungodly, godless, diabolic(al), satanic, Mephistophelian,
demonic, demoniac(al), hellish, infernal, accursed, damnable,
fiendish, ghoulish: How wicked must one be to murder one's own
child? She has done many wicked things, but this was the worst.
2 depraved, dissolute, villainous, black-hearted, iniquitous,
horrible, horrid, hideous, heinous, beastly, base, low, vile,
debased, degenerate, perverse, perverted, corrupt, foul,
offensive, abominable, disgraceful, shameful, dreadful, awful,
gross, gruesome, grim, appalling, grisly, loathsome, lawless,
unrepentant, unregenerate, incorrigible, criminal, felonious,
rascally, knavish, terrible, egregious, execrable: The Deluge
was regarded as divine vengeance on a wicked world. He was a
wicked man, in league with the devil himself. 3 dirty,
pornographic, filthy, erotic, obscene, lewd, offensive,
indecent, prurient, smutty, rude, taboo, blue, coarse, bawdy,
vulgar, salacious, licentious, nasty, X-rated, Colloq US
raunchy: The townspeople took the wicked books and burnt them
all. 4 vicious, beastly, savage, nasty, bad, violent, mean,
cruel: Graham has a wicked temper. The boys were subjected to
the most wicked treatment. 5 naughty, mischievous, impish, sly,
devilish, rascally, roguish, scampish, puckish; vexatious,
exasperating, annoying, irritating, irksome, trying, galling,
bothersome: What trouble have those wicked children got
themselves into now? It is wicked of you to make pig noises
every time I mention Bertha. 6 foul, offensive, pernicious,
baleful, mephitic, disgusting, revolting, sickening, repulsive,
repellent, nauseous, repugnant, rotten, pestilential, noxious:
That liniment the doctor prescribed has a wicked odour. 7
expert, ingenious, superior, superb, superlative, outstanding,
masterful, masterly, skilful, deft, adept: That chap Gough
plays a wicked game of tennis.


wide adj. 1 spacious, roomy, ample, extensive, broad: The road is
wide enough for two cars to pass. If the book is set in wider
type, it will have more pages. 2 broad, extensive,
comprehensive, encyclopedic or encyclopaedic, inclusive,
far-reaching, wide-ranging, widespread: He has wide interests,
from music to archaeology to sport. 3 extreme, considerable,
substantial, sizeable, major, big, large; widespread: There
have been wide fluctuations in market prices. 4 wide of the
mark. off the mark, astray, deviant, deviating, off (the)
target, not on target, inappropriate: Forecasts from analysts
were based on erroneous assumptions and proved to be very wide
of the mark.


--adv. 5 astray, afield, wide of the mark, off the mark, off
(the) target, to one side: He took careless aim and the shot
went wide. 6 all the way, as much as possible, fully,
completely, to the utmost: The dentist said, 'Open wide'. When
I heard the drill, I was suddenly wide awake.


widely adv. 1 extensively, thoroughly, universally, everywhere,
generally, by many: In the days when it was widely believed
that the earth was flat, perhaps it was. 2 to a large or a great
extent, greatly, largely, very much, extremely, considerably,
substantially: Opinions differ widely regarding the origin of
the universe.

widen v. distend, dilate, spread, stretch, enlarge, increase, expand;
extend, broaden, supplement, add to, augment: It will be
necessary to widen the opening to allow insertion of the device.
We are planning to widen the news coverage we provide our
readers.

width n. 1 breadth, wideness, compass, broadness, span; diameter,
calibre, bore; measure; Nautical beam: What is the standard
width of railway track in this country? The width of the
cannon-ball is three inches. 2 reach, scope, range, breadth,
extent, extensiveness: There is an impressive width of choice
at the restaurant.


wield v. 1 flourish, swing, brandish, wave, handle, use, employ: He
wields that machete as if he means business. 2 exercise, have,
employ, exert, use, utilize: Since Juan is the one who wields

the power, he is the one to deal with.

wife n. mate, helpmeet, helpmate, spouse, bride, partner, Colloq
better half, little woman, the missis or missus, old lady or
woman, ball and chain, Slang trouble and strife: Doesn't your
wife mind your going out every night?

wild adj. 1 undomesticated, untamed, unbroken, savage, feral: The
only four-legged animals inhabiting the island were wild pigs.
2 uncultivated, uninhabited, waste, desert, desolate, virgin,
unpopulated, empty, trackless, barren, lifeless; deserted: The
cottage overlooks an expanse of wild moorland. 3 savage,
uncivilized, barbarous, primitive, rude, uncultured,
uncultivated, brutish, barbaric, fierce, ferocious: Some early
explorers studied the wild people they encountered in far-off
lands. 4 uncontrolled, unrestricted, unrestrained, untrammelled,
unbridled, unfettered, unshackled, free, unchecked, lively,
impetuous, unconventional, undisciplined, disobedient,
insubordinate, self-willed, wayward, mutinous, rowdy(ish),
boisterous, unruly, tumultuous, turbulent, tempestuous,
uproarious; uncontrollable, unmanageable, ungovernable,
intractable, unrestrainable: Peter led quite a wild youth. We
cannot cope with their wild behaviour after they have had too
much to drink. 5 mad, maniac(al), crazed, crazy, irrational,
distracted, frenzied, frantic, distraught, hysterical, raving,
raging, unhinged, demented, delirious; berserk; run amok or
amuck: William had a wild look about him. Nellie has been
driven wild by the pressures of business. 6 exciting, excited,
vehement, passionate, romantic, turbulent, chaotic, tempestuous,
reckless, madcap: At the time, Ernest was having a wild love
affair with Charles's widow. 7 absurd, irrational, unreasonable,
extravagant, fantastic, imprudent, foolish, foolhardy,
impractical, impracticable, unpractical, unworkable, ridiculous,
reckless, silly, giddy, flighty, madcap, outrageous,
preposterous, bizarre, strange, odd, peculiar, Colloq offbeat:
He lost thousands on some wild scheme for reducing shipping
costs by filling bubble packing with helium. 8 tousled,
wind-blown, unkempt, dishevelled, untidy, disordered,
disorderly, messed-up, Colloq mussed-up: Her hair was in wild
disarray. 9 enthusiastic, avid, eager, agog, Colloq crazy, mad,
daft, dotty, Brit potty, Slang nutty, nuts: I'm just wild about
Harry, And Harry's wild about me.

--n. 10 Usually, wilds. wasteland, wilderness, desert,
vastness, emptiness, Colloq sticks, middle of nowhere, back of
beyond: His idea of adventure was to trek through the wilds of
Hyde Park.


wile n. Often, wiles. trick, stratagem, ruse, artifice, subterfuge,
dodge, trap, snare, manoeuvre, ploy, contrivance, move, gambit,
plot, scheme, machination, Colloq (little) game: You won't get
far trying to work your wiles on me, young lady.


wilful adj. 1 intentional, deliberate, voluntary, conscious, intended,
purposeful, premeditated, US willful: The jury decided that
such a wilful act of vandalism must be punished. She is accused
of wilful neglect of her children. 2 stubborn, headstrong,
pigheaded, obstinate, mulish, inflexible, adamant, obdurate,
intransigent, unyielding, self-willed, ungovernable,
recalcitrant, unruly, immovable, intractable, dogged,
determined, refractory, uncompromising, wayward, perverse,
contrary: Jim is far too wilful, and tends to have a tantrum if
he fails to get his own way.

will n. 1 desire, wish, longing, liking, inclination, disposition,
drive, purposefulness, purpose, intent, intention, resolve,
commitment, resolution, determination; will-power: Where
there's a will there's a way. Some believe that taking
medication is against God's will. Marguerite seems to have lost
the will to live. 2 choice, wishes, desire, inclination: He was
forced to submit against his will. 3 (last will and) testament,
last wishes: In accordance with his will, Josiah was buried at
sea. 4 at will. as or when (one) pleases or wishes or thinks
fit(ting), at (one's) desire or whim or pleasure or discretion:
If he brings his own car, then he can leave at will.

--v. 5 want, desire, wish, choose, see fit, make, compel,
force, command, order, ordain, require: When she willed him to
appear, there was a flash of lightning and he was there. 6
leave, bequeath, devise, hand down or on, pass on, transfer;
settle upon or on: My great-uncle Philip willed me his
collection of 19th-century theatre memorabilia.


willing adj. agreeable, acquiescent, compliant, amenable, consenting,
assenting, passive, complaisant, docile, ready, well-disposed,
happy, content, pleased, delighted, enthusiastic, avid, eager,

zealous, Colloq game: Albert might not have thought up the
pranks, but he was a willing accomplice.

willingly adv. readily, happily, contentedly, gladly, cheerfully,
amenably, agreeably, freely, passively, docilely, of (one's) own
accord or free will, on (one's) own, ungrudgingly, by choice,
voluntarily, unhesitatingly, nothing loath, eagerly,
enthusiastically, zealously, avidly, Colloq at the drop of a
hat: We did not coerce him in any way - he went along quite
willingly. You can rely on Hubert to give willingly and
generously to support any good cause.

willowy adj. 1 lissom or lissome, pliant, lithe, flexible, supple,
limber, loose-limbed: Everyone enjoys watching the willowy
athletes training for the Olympics. 2 slim, slender, graceful,
sylphlike, svelte, thin, long-limbed, clean-limbed: How does
Jeanne keep her willowy figure without dieting?

willy-nilly
adv. 1 whether one likes it or not, inevitably, necessarily, of
necessity, perforce, whether or no, like it or not, nolens
volens, bon gr‚, mal gr‚: Having borrowed the money, you must,
willy-nilly, repay it.


--adj. 2 necessary, unavoidable, inevitable, involuntary: He
joked about a willy-nilly choice, meaning one offering no
alternatives.

wilt v. 1 sag, droop, wither, shrink, shrivel (up or away),
diminish: My house-plants wilted because they weren't watered.
2 sag, droop, bow, weaken, sink, wane, wither, lose courage or
nerve, flag, dwindle, languish: The lad wilted under the stern
glare of the headmaster.


wily adj. shrewd, cunning, crafty, sly, artful, guileful, clever,
foxy, vulpine, disingenuous, shifty, scheming, plotting,
calculating, designing, sharp, canny, deceitful, deceiving,
deceptive, treacherous, perfidious, false, double-dealing,
dishonest, underhand(ed), tricky, smooth, slick, slippery, oily,
unctuous, Scots and No. Eng. pawky, Colloq cagey, crooked,
two-timing, Slang chiefly Brit fly: Rats are wily and cunning,
and have to be taken seriously.

win v. 1 come (in or out) first, carry the day, conquer, overcome;
carry off (the palm), finish first (in), achieve first place
(in), triumph (in), be victorious (in), be the victor (in), gain
a victory (in), prevail (in), succeed (in), take first prize
(in), Colloq bring home the bacon: Which team is more likely to
win today? We seem to have won the battle but not the war. 2
gain, carry off or away, attain, acquire, get, obtain, secure,
procure, receive, collect, net, bag, earn, realize, pick up,
glean: Look at all those trophies Gillian has won playing golf!
3 win over. influence, sway, incline, persuade, charm, prevail
upon, convert, induce, bring round or around, convince: Don't
think that Gilbert can be won over without a strong argument.

--n. 4 victory, conquest, triumph, success: So far this season
we have recorded six wins and one loss for the Surrey Scouts.

windฐ n. 1 breeze, zephyr, puff, gust, breath, draught, light air,
current (of air): A gentle wind wafted our little boat across
the bay. 2 puffery, bombast, rodomontade, bluster, boasting,
braggadocio, vain speech, blather, (idle or empty) talk,
fustian, nonsense, twaddle, humbug, babble, gibberish, Colloq
gab, hot air, claptrap, hogwash, rot, hooey, boloney, Slang Brit
(load of (old)) cobblers: I went there for advice and all I got
was a lot of wind. 3 gas, flatulence, windiness, flatus,
borborygmus (= 'stomach rumbling (as from gas)'), heartburn,
Taboo slang fart (= 'anal release of gas'): I have to take a
pill to relieve this wind. 4 before the wind. Nautical
downwind, off the wind: We were racing before the wind with
every scrap of sail flying. 5 break wind. Taboo slang fart:
It is considered rude to break wind. 6 get or have wind of.
hear of, learn of, come to know, pick up, be made or become
aware of, gather, understand, hear on the grapevine, Colloq hear
tell of: We got wind of the company's plans to close this
plant. 7 get or have the wind up. take fright, become
frightened or afraid or apprehensive: When I heard a window
being raised I got the wind up. 8 in the wind. around, about,
rumoured, in the air, detectable, discernible, discoverable,
imminent, impending, approaching, close (at hand), about to
happen or take place or occur, afoot, in the offing, near, on
the way, Colloq Brit on the cards, US in the cards: We knew
that a change was in the wind, but never expected the chairman
to resign. 9 off the wind. See 5, above. 10 on the or a wind.
Nautical upwind, windward, to the wind, into (the teeth or the

eye of) the wind; near the wind Because 'Syrena' was a sloop,
she could sail closer on the wind than the schooner. 11 put the
wind up. scare, frighten, alarm: The leakage at the nuclear
plant really put the wind up everyone living in the area. 12
sail close or near to the wind. take risks, throw caution to the
winds, play with fire, skate on thin ice, take (one's) life in
(one's) hands, Colloq stick (one's) neck out, Slang go for
broke: One nude scene is highly salacious, and we think the
director is sailing very close to the wind by including it. 13
take the wind out of (someone's) sails. deflate (someone),
disconcert (someone), destroy (someone's) advantage, ruin
(someone's) superiority or supremacy or ascendancy: It rather
took the wind out of her sails when he announced that he was
leaving anyway.


wind v. 1 turn, bend, twist, snake, worm, twine, zigzag, slew,
swerve, loop, coil, curve, meander, ramble, veer: The river
winds along the valley floor. 2 reel, roll, spiral, turn,
twist, curl, coil, wrap, twine, wreathe; crank (up), wind up:
The streamers are wound around the columns for decoration. 3
wind down. a taper off, slow down, diminish, reduce, close out,
slacken or slack off (on), ease (up on), decrease, cut back or
down (on); wind up: They were going to wind down their
sportswear department, but then business suddenly perked up. b
relax, become calm or tranquil, calm down, cool off or down,
regain (one's) equilibrium, ease up or off, Colloq unwind, let
(one's) hair down, take it easy: It takes me a couple of days
to wind down from the hectic activity in the office. 4 wind up.
a terminate, conclude, come or bring to an end or a close or a
conclusion, end (up), close down or up, finish (up), wrap up;
liquidate, settle: After calmly winding up his affairs, Evan
sailed off in his boat and was never seen again. b end up,
finish (up), become ultimately: I understand that Sally wound
up as a bar girl in Tampico. c excite, innervate, energize,
stimulate, invigorate, stir up: After getting us all wound up
about that weekend party in Paris, she called the whole thing
off. d agitate, fluster, disconcert, ruffle: Don't let such
trifles get you so wound up. e See 3 (a), above.


windfall n. bonanza, godsend, stroke of (good) fortune, serendipitous
find, boon, piece of (good) luck, jackpot, (lucky) strike: The
sale of the house provided a windfall that saved them from
imminent bankruptcy.


windy adj. 1 blustery, blowing, blowy, breezy, gusting, gusty, wild,
squally, tempestuous; windswept: It is quite windy today. I
waited at that windy corner for you and you never showed up! 2
talkative, long-winded, garrulous, wordy, verbose, prolix,
loquacious, rambling, voluble, fluent, effusive, glib, turgid,
bombastic, pompous, longiloquent: Potter does tend to be windy
at times.


winner n. victor, champion, prizewinner, title-holder, conqueror,
conquering hero, Colloq champ: The winner will receive a new
car.

winning adj. 1 engaging, attractive, alluring, captivating, endearing,
prepossessing, winsome, bewitching, fetching, taking,
enchanting, pleasing, delightful, charming, amiable, friendly,
pleasant, sweet: Maggie's winning ways are a tremendous asset
to making friends. 2 triumphant, conquering, victorious,
successful: The winning team is invited to dine at the Red
Lion.

wintry adj. 1 hiemal, brumal, hibernal; icy, snowy, freezing, frozen,
frosty, cold, frigid, bitter (cold), chilly, chilling, piercing,
cutting, glacial, Siberian, arctic, hyperborean: It was cold
and the sky was clear and wintry with premonitions of frost. 2
cold, frigid, chilly, cool, chilling, glacial: She got a very
wintry reception from Dan's parents, who disliked the idea of
their living together. 3 forbidding, bleak, dismal, cheerless,
dreary, harsh, unfriendly, ugly, menacing, ominous, threatening,
dark: His comment about her age evoked only a wintry look from
Margot.

wipe v. 1 Sometimes, wipe off or out or up. rub, clean (off or out
or up), cleanse; dry (off or out or up), dust (off), mop (up),
swab, sponge (off or up): For God's sake, wipe your nose!
Please wipe the crumbs off the table when you've finished
eating. Stop crying and wipe up the spilt milk. 2 Often, wipe
off. remove, erase, take off or away, get rid of: Wipe that
grin off your face, stranger. 3 wipe out. kill (off),
annihilate, massacre, destroy, finish (off), dispose of,
eradicate, obliterate, exterminate, do away with, stamp out, get
rid of, remove, wipe off the face of the earth: Scientists have
succeeded in wiping out smallpox.


wiry adj. muscular, sinewy, lean, lank, thin and strong, tough and
flexible: He was a stocky and wiry little man, rather like a
short-legged terrier.


wisdom n. 1 sagacity, sageness, judgement, discernment, reason,
prudence, judiciousness, (common) sense, insight, penetration,
sapience, understanding, rationality, clear-sightedness,
clear-headedness, perspicacity, perspicuity, percipience,
perception, perceptiveness, intelligence, acuteness, acumen,
astuteness, sharpness, shrewdness, long-headedness: At least
she had the wisdom not to shoot the intruder. Allen's wisdom
stems from long experience in such matters. 2 knowledge,
learning, erudition, lore, scholarship, enlightenment: The
wisdom of the ages is locked away in these books.

wise adj. 1 sage, sagacious, judicious, reasonable, commonsensical,
prudent, sensible, insightful, sapient, understanding, rational,
sound, clear-sighted, clear-headed, discerning, perspicacious,
perspicuous, percipient, perceptive, intelligent, acute, astute,
sharp, shrewd, crafty, clever, bright, quick-witted, smart,
brilliant, long-headed, Colloq brainy: Among the wisest of men
were Solomon, Confucius, Buddha, and, perhaps, Aristotle. 2
knowledgeable, learned, enlightened, informed, erudite;
(well-)educated, knowing, well-read, well-versed, lettered,
scholarly: We saw to it that they escaped, and the police were
none the wiser. Wise heads prevailed at the college on what
constituted worthwhile research. 3 well-advised, advisable,
judicious, sensible, expedient, reasonable, strategic, tactful,
tactical, prudent, politic, discreet, diplomatic,
well-thought-out, well-considered, proper, fitting, appropriate,
meet: Do you think it wise to punish the child so severely? 4
put wise (to). inform or advise or warn (of or about): If you
must know how he found out, it was Myrna who put him wise. Did
she also put him wise to where the money is hidden? 5 wise to.
aware or knowledgeable or informed of or about, sensitive to, on
to or onto, Colloq in the know about: You are wrong if you
think she isn't wise to your little tricks. Get wise to what's
going on, Man.


--v. 6 wise up (to). become informed or aware (of or about),
wake up (to), Colloq get wise (to) or in the know (about): If
Cooley doesn't wise up, he'll be in deep trouble. Was it you who

wised Meg up to the fact that Tom no longer cares?

wisecrack n. 1 joke, quip, rejoinder, witticism, pun, barb, jest, gibe or
jibe, Colloq gag; dig: Everything is a potential subject for a
wisecrack.

--v. 2 joke, quip, pun, gibe or jibe: Get serious and stop
wisecracking for a change.


wise guy n. wiseacre, smart alec or aleck, Archaic witling, Colloq
know-all or know-it-all, Brit Clever Dick or cleverdick, Slang
smarty-pants, smarty, Brit smart-arse, US smart-ass,
wisenheimer: There's always some wise guy waiting to make a
clever remark.


wish v. 1 desire, want; yearn, crave, long, hope, hanker, have a
mind, (have a) fancy, choose, care: I wish you'd go now. If you
had Aladdin's lamp, what would you wish for? 2 require, request,
demand, order, specify: Did you wish lemon or milk in your tea?
3 foist or force or thrust or impose upon, Colloq fob off on or
upon, palm off on: The job of treasurer was wished on me when
Jock left.

--n. 4 desire, request, whim, want, craving, longing,
hankering: Your every wish is my command. 5 desire, longing,
craving, need, yearning, hankering, passion, keenness, thirst,
appetite, hunger, whim, urge, liking, fondness, fancy,
preference, predisposition, disposition, inclination, Colloq
yen, Slang itch: She expressed a wish for nightingale tongues,
truffles, and champagne.

wishy-washy
adj. 1 neither here nor there, undecided, indecisive,
irresolute, half-hearted, shilly-shallying, tergiversating,
vacillating, uncertain, of or having mixed feelings, of two
minds: Make up your mind and stop being so wishy-washy about
everything! 2 feeble, weak, watery, watered down, thin, vapid,
flat, bland, runny, diluted, tasteless, insipid, flavourless,
stale: Isabel served me some wishy-washy tea and sent me on my
way.

wisp n. shred, scrap, strand, thread, snippet, tuft, lock: The
laboratory matched the wisp of hair found in the victim's hand

with the hair of the suspect.

wistful adj. 1 melancholy, mournful, sad, morose, sorrowful,
disconsolate, heartsick, forlorn, woeful, woebegone, desirous,
longing, yearning: She gave a last, wistful look at the
aeroplane as it rose into the clouds. 2 thoughtful,
contemplative, pensive, absent-minded, detached, absorbed, in a
brown study, preoccupied, meditating, meditative, reflective,
ruminating, ruminative, dreamy, dreaming, day-dreaming, musing:
Some might have misinterpreted his wistful gaze at her
photograph.

wit n. 1 intelligence, brains, mind, (common) sense, judgement,
understanding, discernment, wisdom, sagacity, insight,
astuteness, cleverness, Slang savvy: He hasn't the wit to know
when he's being insulted. 2 humour, drollery, levity, joking,
repartee, raillery, facetiousness, waggishness, badinage,
repartee, jocularity, wordplay, paronomasia; amusement,
entertainment: Some say that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.
3 comedian, comedienne, humorist, comic, wag, joker, farceur,
farceuse, punster, madcap, zany; parodist, satirist,
caricaturist; Colloq pundit, card, character: In the face of
such a devastating remark, even the club wit was struck dumb.


witch n. 1 sorceress, enchantress, magician, sibyl, pythoness;
warlock: The witches prophesied that Macbeth would be king. 2
hag, fury, battleaxe, crone, gorgon, Medusa, ogress, Xanthippe,
shrew, virago, harridan, fishwife, termagant, Archaic beldam or
beldame, Offensive old bag, bitch: How could you stand living
with the old witch for so many years?

withdraw v. 1 draw back, retract, pull back, recoil, shrink back: He
would suddenly withdraw into his cocoon whenever she said the
name, 'Elsie'. 2 retract, recall, take back, cancel, rescind,
recant, disavow, disclaim, abjure, void, annul, go back on, back
down (on): If she doesn't withdraw that remark, I shall sue her
for slander. 3 pull out, extract, remove, Technical retrude:
Afterwards, she withdrew the knife, washed it, and replaced it
in the rack. The dentist withdrew the bad tooth. 4 retire,
retreat, go, repair: After dinner, we withdrew to the
drawing-room for brandy and cigars. 5 leave, depart, go, make
(oneself) scarce, absent (oneself), retire: We waited till the
servants withdrew before exchanging news about Cora.


withdrawn adj. 1 reserved, detached, distant, standoffish, aloof, shy,
diffident, bashful, timid, timorous, introverted, taciturn,
reticent, silent, quiet, retiring, shrinking: Why is Henry
acting so withdrawn tonight? 2 remote, distant, isolated,
solitary, hidden, secluded, private, out-of-the-way, reclusive:
Sarah and Ben have led a withdrawn existence since the children
married and moved away.


withering adj. destructive, devastating, death-dealing, murderous,
deadly: The enemy laid down a withering barrage of machine-gun
fire.

withhold v. 1 hold or keep back, retain, reserve, restrain, control,
repress, check, hide, conceal: He could withhold his anger no
longer. 2 hold or keep back, deduct, retain, reserve: The
company is required to withhold a percentage of wages and
salaries for taxes.


withstand v. resist, oppose, stand (up to), face, defy, confront, combat,
grapple with, fight (against), cope with, hold out against,
weather, suffer, survive, tolerate, take, bear, last through,
endure, brave, Colloq Brit stick: Can Brian withstand the
pressure of his new job? Our small force withstood the attack
for days.

witness n. 1 observer, onlooker, spectator, viewer, eyewitness,
bystander, watcher, Rare earwitness: Were you a witness to what
took place here? 2 deponent, testifier, corroborating witness,
corroborator: The defence will call its witnesses today. 3
bear witness (to or of). testify (to), attest (to), be or give
or provide or furnish or constitute evidence or proof or
testimony (of or to), verify, confirm, corroborate, show, prove:
The bent poker bears witness to the violence of the attack.


--v. 4 see, observe, watch, look on or at, view, behold, mark,
note, notice, take in, Colloq spot, catch: I did witness the
way they looked at each other. 5 countersign, sign, certify,
endorse, substantiate, document, certificate: Would you mind
witnessing our signatures, Miss Cabot? 6 See 3, above.

witticism n. pun, quip, play on words, bon mot, jest, joke, epigram,
clever remark, sally, Archaic or literary conceit, Colloq gag,

one-liner: Clive is just as likely to utter a witticism as say
something excruciatingly banal.

witty adj. ingenious, subtle, clever, humorous, sarcastic, sardonic,
piquant, humorous, comic(al), farcical, ludicrous, facetious,
amusing, jocular, waggish, droll, funny: Corbett, not ready
with his usual witty riposte, shouted an obscenity at the bus
driver.


wizened adj. wrinkled, shrunken, shrivelled (up), withered, gnarled,
dried up, wilted, faded, wasted: The wizened old crone is his
grandmother.

23.5 woe...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-



woe n. trouble, hardship, adversity, misery, anguish, tribulation,
calamity, trial, wretchedness, grief, unhappiness, desolation,
dolour, melancholy, gloom, depression, sadness,
disconsolateness, misfortune, affliction, sorrow, distress: How
much more woe could beset one small family?

woebegone adj. troubled, miserable, anguished, wretched, grief-stricken,
unhappy, desolate, doleful, dolorous, melancholy, melancholic,
gloomy, mournful, sorrowful, depressed, dejected, sad, glum,
crestfallen, chap-fallen, lugubrious, downcast, disconsolate,
unfortunate, star-crossed, afflicted, distressed, woeful,
forlorn, downhearted, broken-hearted, heartbroken, disheartened,
Slang US bummed out: Timmy has been so woebegone since his
puppy was stolen!

woman n. 1 female, lady; girl: Elvira was the first woman to be
elected to the board. 2 wife, spouse, bride, lady-love,
sweetheart, lady, girl, girlfriend, mistress, concubine, mate,
helpmeet, helpmate, partner, Colloq sweetie, better half, little
woman, the missis or missus, old lady or woman, ball and chain,
Slang trouble and strife: In this scene, Porgy tells Bess that
she is his woman, now and forever. 3 lass, maid, maiden, miss,
lassie, Slang gal, dame, bird, skirt, chick, bit of fluff,
broad, piece (of work), number, baggage, moll, popsy: The
soldiers went into town to try to find some women for an
evening's entertainment. 4 domestic, housekeeper, maid, cleaning

woman or lady, maidservant, chambermaid, handmaiden, abigail,
lady-in-waiting, Brit charwoman, Colloq Brit char, daily: They
have a woman who comes in every other day.


wonder n. 1 marvel, prodigy, phenomenon, spectacle, rarity, sight,
curiosity, miracle, Slang knockout, stunner, mind-blower,
mind-boggler, trip: Surely, the wheel must rank high among the
wonders of technology. And still he gazed, and still the wonder
grew, / That one small head could carry all he knew. 2 awe,
astonishment, admiration, amazement, wonderment, surprise,
stupefaction, fascination: Facsimile transmission, which used
to excite so much wonder, is now used in offices all over the
world.


--v. 3 ponder, muse, meditate, think, theorize, conjecture,
puzzle, query, question, inquire, be inquisitive, be curious,
ask oneself, speculate, cudgel (one's) brains: I wondered if I
would be invited to the dance. Have you ever wondered what makes
the world go round? 4 marvel (at), goggle, gawk, gape, stare, be
awed, be thunderstruck, be amazed, be astonished: We wondered
at the death-defying skills of the trapeze artistes. 5 wonder
about. question or doubt the sanity or reason or reasonableness
of: I wondered about Tammy after that streaking episode.


wooded adj. sylvan, forested, bosky, tree-covered, woody, timbered:
We rested and had our lunch in the coolness of a wooded glen.

wooden adj. 1 wood, woody, ligneous, xyloid: The wooden cabinet for
the kitchen is almost finished. 2 stiff, rigid, artificial,
clumsy, stilted, unnatural, awkward, ungainly, spiritless,
unanimated, dead, lifeless, dry, passionless, unimpassioned,
impassive, vacant, empty, colourless, expressionless, deadpan:
The understudy gave a wooden performance as Uncle Vanya. 3
unintelligent, block-headed, stupid, dull, insensitive,
slow-witted, dull-witted, obtuse, oafish, doltish, tiny-minded,
dim-witted, dunderpated, Colloq thick, wooden-headed,
knuckle-headed: Clancy has some pretty wooden ideas about how
to run a business.


woolly adj. 1 fleecy, woollen, wool-bearing, laniferous, lanate or
lanose, lanuginose or lanuginous, downy, fuzzy, shaggy,
flocculent or floccose, flocky: He was wearing a woolly hat.
After two days one test tube contained a woolly precipitate. 2

hazy, fuzzy, unclear, obscure(d), foggy, indistinct, confused,
vague, cloudy, clouded, nebulous, ill-defined: My recollection
of the event is a bit woolly after all these years.


word n. 1 (little) talk, (brief) conversation, chat, discussion,
consultation, dialogue, huddle, parley, tˆte-…-tˆte, chit-chat,
confabulation, conference, interview, Colloq powwow, confab:
Could I have a word with you before you leave for the day? 2
news, intelligence, information, facts, data, report, story,
tidings, account, communiqu‚, bulletin, dispatch or despatch,
advice, message, Colloq low-down, Slang info, dope, Brit gen, US
poop: Have you had any word about the situation in the Middle
East? 3 name, term, designation, locution, appellation,
expression, phrase: What is the word for 'write' in Greek? 4
promise, pledge, vow, oath, (solemn) word of honour,
undertaking, assurance, warrant, guarantee or guaranty,
warranty: You have my word that I won't mention this to anyone.
5 utterance, expression, declaration, statement: Let me give
you a word of warning, my friend. 6 suggestion, hint,
scintilla, bit: I promise that I won't breathe a word of this
to anyone. 7 command, order, signal, direction, instruction,
Colloq US high sign: I shall not press the red button till you
give the word. 8 in a word. succinctly, briefly, in brief, in a
few words, concisely, in short, in summary, in sum, not to mince
words, to make a long story short, when all is said and done, in
the final analysis, not to beat about the bush, Colloq in a
nutshell: His bedside manner was, in a word, menacing. 9
words. a quarrel, dispute, argument, unpleasantness: Paul and
Kitty had words and are not on speaking terms. b lyrics, book,
libretto, text: Did Irving Berlin write the words as well as
the music to his songs?

--v. 10 put (forth), say, couch, express, phrase, utter, state,
term, style, set forth: Had you worded your complaint in
politer language, you might have spared yourself a punch in the
eye.

wording n. phraseology, language, phrasing, choice of words, word
choice: From the confused wording of this note I cannot tell
whether you are coming to my party or not.

wordy adj. verbose, prolix, rambling, long-winded; pleonastic,
redundant, garrulous, windy, talkative, loquacious: This

contract is too wordy and could be cut to two pages. Try to make
your replies less wordy.

work n. 1 labour, toil, effort, drudgery, travail, exertion,
industry: Few people make it to the top and stay there without
hard work. 2 employment, business, occupation, vocation,
calling, profession, trade, line, m‚tier, career, livelihood,
job, post, position, situation: Does your work as a test pilot
interfere much with your home life? 3 task, function, duty,
assignment, charge, responsibility, chore, commission,
undertaking, stint: When you are finished with that work, clean
out the cellar. 4 feat, achievement, creation, accomplishment,
opus, handiwork, oeuvre, production, composition, piece,
master-work, masterpiece, chef-d'oeuvre, magnum opus, output:
Some of Edwin's recent works have won prizes. 5 in work. in
production, under way, being done, in the works, being planned,
in the planning stage(s): The budget has been approved and the
project is already in work. 6 out of work. unemployed, idle,
jobless, at liberty, between engagements, available, free, Brit
redundant, Colloq Brit on the dole, US on or collecting
unemployment: How long have you been out of work?

--v. 7 labour, toil, exert oneself, sweat, moil, slave (away),
peg away, slog (away): His father worked in the mines from the
age of nine till he died of black-lung disease at forty. 8 till,
plough, farm, cultivate: Would he have been healthier and
longer-lived had he worked the land? 9 have a job, hold (down) a
post or position, earn a living, be employed: His wife works as
a designer in a Parisian fashion house. 10 control, manage,
manipulate, manoeuvre, wield, handle, operate, use, make use of,
utilize, exploit, deal with, bring into play: Are you sure you
know how to work all those dials and buttons? 11 function,
operate, run, go, develop, turn out, Colloq pan out: Are you
sure that the plan is working to your advantage? 12 function,
operate, run, go: The drill works better if you turn on the
power. 13 knead, mould, form, fashion, shape; mix, stir,
incorporate: Work the clay into long, narrow strips. Try to
work the colour in with your fingers.. 14 manoeuvre, manipulate,
guide: See if you can work him over into a corner where you can
grab him. 15 operate, use, employ, put to (good or effective)
use, wield, manipulate, ply, apply, exploit: Tanya must have
worked her magic on Eustace to make him that docile. 16 bring
about, effect, accomplish, carry out or off, make, produce,

achieve, engender, beget, create, do, put through, execute,
fulfil, effectuate, implement, realize: I doubt that the new
sports centre will work many changes in the area. 17 work in.
find time or space for, include, insert, introduce, fit in,
squeeze in, accommodate: I'll try and work in your comments
when I write up my report. 18 work on. wheedle, coax,
importune, press, Brit pressurize, US pressure; influence,
persuade, act on, prevail upon, induce, dispose, urge: Keep
working on him to try to change his mind. 19 work out. a
exercise, do callisthenics, do aerobics, warm up, do setting-up
exercises, do (one's) daily dozen, jog, lift weights, train,
drill: I try to work out for an hour every day. b Often, work
out at or to. equal, total (up to), result in, amount to, come
to: Let's see - that works out at one car for every 4.7 people.
c clear up, resolve, solve, Slang Brit and New Zealand suss out:
Thaddeus is old enough to work out his own problems. Can they
work out their differences? d evolve, develop, succeed, prosper,
come out all right, prove satisfactory, go well, be effective,
Colloq pan out: How can you be so sure that everything will
work out? e formulate, work up, contrive, draw up, detail,
plan, develop, devise, put together, elaborate, expand, enlarge
(on): The captain worked out a way for them to escape. 20 work
up. a excite, make excited, agitate, inflame, enkindle, arouse,
rouse, stir, move, animate, incite, spur, Colloq fire (up), get
(someone) (all) steamed or hopped or het up: Those
fire-and-brimstone preachers used to get the people all worked
up. b prepare, (make or get) ready, whip into shape, develop,
come up with, write up, put together, produce, turn out: Can
you work up that proposal in time for Monday's meeting? c
advance, ascend, rise, move up or ahead or on: In no time at
all, Greg worked his way up from assembler to foreman. d See 19
(e), above.

worker n. labourer, working man or woman, workman, hand, employee,
artisan, craftsman, tradesman, white-collar worker, blue-collar
worker, proletarian, breadwinner, wage-earner: It seems
unlikely that the workers would strike for longer hours and less
pay.


workmanship
n. handicraft, craft, craftsmanship, artistry, art, technique,
handiwork, skill, skilfulness, mastery, US artisanship: One
cannot help but admire the workmanship in those marquetry

tabletops.

works n.pl. 1 plant, factory, workshop, shop, mill: We were taken on
a tour of the works to see how the marble is carved. 2
mechanism, machinery, workings, (moving or working) parts;
clockwork, Colloq innards, insides, Slang guts: We once had a
clock with all the works exposed. 3 the works. a everything,
the lot, Colloq the whole kit and caboodle, the whole shooting
match, everything but the kitchen sink, Chiefly US and Canadian
the whole shebang: We ordered two hamburgers with the works. b
a thrashing, a beating, a drubbing, a battering, a flogging, a
lambasting: When he refused to tell them where the money was
hidden, they gave him the works.


world n. 1 earth, planet, sphere, globe, Terra; universe, cosmos,
existence, creation, life: Do you believe the world is round?
Buckland lives in his own, private world. 2 humanity, mankind,
people, the human race, society, the public, men, humankind,
everybody, everyone, the world at large: We know what he thinks
of the world, but what does the world think of him? 3 area,
sphere, domain, community, clique, crowd, circle, fraternity,
faction, set, coterie: What value does the art world place on
Longchamps' paintings? 4 period, time, age, era, epoch,
time(s): They have produced an excellent series of programmes
on the ancient world. 5 bring into the world. a deliver, have,
give birth to, beget, Rare or dialect birth: Grandmother
brought sixteen children into the world. b deliver, midwife:
The town family doctor brought hundreds of children into the
world in his long career. 6 for all the world. precisely,
exactly, in all respects, in every respect, in every way, just:
He behaved for all the world like a man possessed by the devil.
7 on top of the world. ecstatic, delighted, elated, happy,
exultant, overjoyed, rapturous, Brit in the seventh heaven, US
in seventh heaven, Colloq on cloud nine, Brit over the moon:
George has been on top of the world ever since Prudence agreed
to marry him. 8 out of this world. marvellous, wonderful,
exceptional, unbelievable, incredible, excellent, superb, Colloq
great, smashing, fantastic, fabulous, Slang out of sight,
far-out, Brit magic, US to the max: The place we stayed at
Ibiza was out of this world!

worldly adv. 1 mundane, earthly, terrestrial, temporal, physical,
carnal, fleshly, corporeal, human; lay, non-spiritual,

non-religious, civic, secular, profane: Theo indulged in
worldly pleasures in the fleshpots of the continent. Veronica
put aside worldly things and took the veil. 2 urbane, suave,
sophisticated, cosmopolitan, worldly-wise, Slang with it, hip,
cool: Behind that worldly manner is the heart of a peasant.

worn adj. 1 shabby, threadbare, tatty, tattered, ragged, frayed:
Burt wears an old, worn tweed jacket when he's around the house.
2 haggard, drawn: He looked anxiously at his mother's thin,
worn face. 3 worn out. tired, fatigued, exhausted, frazzled,
spent, jaded, played out, haggard, drawn, the worse for wear,
Colloq dog-tired, all in, done in, Slang dead (on one's feet),
beat, US pooped: I was completely worn out from climbing those
stairs.


worried adj. fearful, apprehensive, anxious, distressed, nervous,
uneasy, anguished, disquieted, agonized, agonizing, distraught,
on edge, on tenterhooks, ill at ease, troubled, fretful,
agitated, perturbed, upset, suffering: The two worried mothers
waited at the police station for news of their children.

worry v. 1 be anxious, be fearful, be concerned, fret, agonize, be
distressed, be vexed, Colloq stew, bite or chew (one's) nails,
go or get grey, get grey hair, Slang sweat blood, US sweat
bullets: I worry about you when you stay out so late. 2 annoy,
irk, pester, nettle, harry, harass, tease, bother, tantalize,
torment, plague, hector, badger, nettle, gall, peeve, Colloq
hassle: The police have been worrying me the way a dog worries
a bone.


--n. 3 concern, care, responsibility; problem, bother, trouble,
affliction, irritation, annoyance, vexation: I cannot see why
that is your worry. I am sorry to hear about your financial
worries. 4 anguish, anxiety, uneasiness, unease, nervousness,
distress, apprehension, disquiet, perturbation, agitation,
upset, misgiving: Your association with that crowd has caused
your mother and me a great deal of worry.

worsen v. 1 increase, exacerbate, heighten, intensify, aggravate: The
recent rains have worsened the drainage problem. 2 weaken,
deteriorate, decline, degenerate, decay, slip, sink, slide,
fail, disintegrate, take a turn for the worse, get worse, go
from bad to worse, Colloq go downhill: Her condition continues

to worsen.

worship v. 1 venerate, revere, reverence, extol, honour, exalt, praise,
admire, adore, adulate, glorify, deify, idolize, be devoted to,
pay homage to, bow down before, kneel before, put on a pedestal:
When he arrived, he found the people worshipping huge stone
idols.

--n. 2 veneration, reverence, adoration, devotion, homage,
honour, respect, esteem, exaltation, praise, admiration,
adulation, glorification, deification, idolatry: A healthy
respect for security should not be confused with the worship of
money.


worth n. quality, merit, value, advantage, benefit, good, importance,
significance, usefulness: You have underestimated Roberta's
worth to the community.

worthless adj. 1 valueless, unimportant, insignificant, inessential or
unessential, dispensable, disposable, paltry: His contribution
to the work of the committee proved utterly worthless. 2
pointless, bootless, silly, inane, vain, unavailing, useless,
futile, fruitless, unproductive, unprofitable: It is worthless
to try to salvage that wreck. 3 cheap, valueless, tawdry, poor,
trashy, rubbishy, shabby, wretched, Colloq tinny, crappy,
cheesy, Slang chintzy: The deceased's handbag contained only a
few items of worthless jewellery.

worthwhile
adj. 1 profitable, justifiable, productive, gainful, rewarding,
fruitful, cost-effective, remunerative: Would it be worthwhile
to buy up that land as a long-term investment? 2 useful,
valuable, good, helpful, beneficial, worthy, beneficent,
desirable, exemplary, matchless, honourable, upright, sterling,
irreproachable: Brian Smith is one of the most worthwhile
people I met at university.

worthy adj. 1 worthwhile, deserving, meriting, meritorious,
praiseworthy, good, estimable, qualified, creditable: He is a
worthy recipient of the honour. 2 See worthwhile, 2, above.

--n. 3 dignitary, personage, notable, eminence, luminary: The
dinner was attended by all the local worthies.


wound n. 1 damage, hurt, injury, trauma, traumatism; laceration,
puncture, cut, gash, slash, lesion, bruise, contusion: We
dressed and bandaged the wounds of the victims. 2 slight,
damage, injury, harm, blow, distress, mortification, torment,
torture, anguish, pain, insult: Hugh takes the slightest
criticism as a deep wound to his self-esteem.

--v. 3 damage, harm, injure, hurt, traumatize; cut, slash,
gash, lacerate, slit, stab, shoot, Colloq wing: He was wounded
in the leg in the war. 4 slight, distress, damage, mortify,
insult, hurt, pain, grieve, offend, aggrieve, wrong: I was
terribly wounded by the things she said about me.


23.6 wrap...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-



wrap v. 1 Sometimes, wrap up. swathe, swaddle, bind, cover, enwrap,
envelop, wind, enshroud, shroud, enfold, fold, muffle, enclose,
sheathe, encase; pack, package, do up, gift-wrap: Wrap up well
- it's cold outside. I've just finished wrapping some Christmas
presents. 2 wrapped up in. immersed in, submerged in, buried in,
absorbed in, engrossed in, bound up in, involved in, occupied
with or by or in, engaged in, dedicated to, devoted to: While
Irma is completely wrapped up in her grandchildren, Henry is
wrapped up in his books. 3 wrap up. a complete, conclude,
finish, end, bring to a close, terminate, wind up, settle, tidy
up: We'll be able to wrap things up in an hour and go home. b
Wrap up! Be silent!, Be quiet!, Stop talking!, Hold your
tongue!, Slang Shut up!, Shut your face!, Shut your trap!, Shut
your mouth!, Brit Put a sock in it!: He would have kept on
wittering away if she hadn't told him to wrap up.


--n. 4 stole, shawl, mantle, poncho, serape, cloak, cape:
Sonia adjusted her evening wrap before going out to dinner.

wrapper n. 1 housecoat, robe, dressing-gown, bathrobe, kimono,
negligee, lounging robe, peignoir, US house-dress: Peggy threw
on a wrapper and went to answer the door. 2 envelope, package,
packing, wrapping, covering, jacket, case, casing, container:
Throw the wrapper in the dustbin.

wreak v. inflict, exercise, exert, carry out, bring (to bear), visit,
effect, work, unleash, execute, impose, force, vent, let go:
The tribesmen wreaked vengeance on the hill people for
destroying their farms.


wreck v. 1 destroy, ruin, devastate, demolish, smash, shatter, spoil,
dash (to pieces), reduce to nothing, turn into scrap,
annihilate: He drove my motor-bike into a tree and wrecked it.
2 sink, scuttle, run aground, founder, capsize: The ship was
wrecked on a reef near Rarotonga.

--n. 3 hulk, shipwreck, ruins: The wreck finally rusted away
to nothing. 4 mess, disaster, ruin; havoc: That man made a
wreck of her life. 5 destruction, loss, sinking, devastation,
foundering, grounding, capsize, capsizing, disabling,
disablement, wrecking; demolition, demolishing, levelling,
tearing down, razing, pulling down, obliteration: The wreck of
the Titanic was a major news event in 1912. The wreck of the old
tower block is scheduled for next month.


wreckage n. debris, fragments, remains, rubble, ruin(s): The wreckage
of the building is being searched for survivors.

wrench v. 1 yank, twist, jerk, force, pull, tug, tear, wring, rip,
wrest: The gun was wrenched from my grasp, breaking my finger.
2 strain, sprain, twist, overstrain: After she wrenched her
ankle on the ladder, Mary couldn't walk for a week. 3 extract,
wrest, wring, force, pry, draw: The only way they could wrench
the information from Michael was by torturing him.


--n. 4 yank, twist, jerk, pull, tug, rip: One wrench at the
doorknob and it came off in my hand. 5 pang, pain, agony,
torture, blow, ache, throe, anguish, sadness, grief, heartbreak:
The severest wrench at my heartstrings came when we had to part.
6 Brit spanner, shifting spanner, adjustable spanner, US monkey
wrench: We need metric wrenches to work on your car.

wrestle v. battle, fight, struggle, tussle, strive: After thirty years
Garth wrestled his way to the top in the company.


wretch n. 1 scoundrel, blackguard, worm, villain, cur, beast, dog,
swine, rogue, good-for-nothing, knave, varlet, scallywag or
scalawag, rascal, rapscallion, Archaic caitiff, whoreson, Colloq

rat, stinker, louse, creep, Slang bastard, Brit rotter, bounder,
blighter, US bum: That wretch not only stole my wife but asked
me for money to support her! 2 unfortunate, poor fellow or chap,
miserable creature, poor devil, pilgarlic, Slang poor bastard or
son of a bitch, Brit poor bugger or sod, US sad sack: The poor
wretch cannot keep a job and lives off others' charity.

wretched adj. 1 miserable, awful, terrible, atrocious, deplorable,
Colloq lousy, rotten: We had the most wretched weather
throughout our holiday. 2 unhappy, sad, miserable, woebegone,
woeful, dismal, downhearted, heartbroken, broken-hearted,
heartsick, dejected, depressed, melancholic, melancholy,
mournful, disconsolate, inconsolable, doleful, cheerless,
crestfallen, joyless, desolate: If you want to see a wretched
human being, look at a boy whose dog is lost. 3 pitiable,
pathetic, sorry, pitiful, hapless, hopeless, unfortunate,
miserable: The poor in these tropical paradises are some of the
most wretched people on earth. 4 vile, shameful, scurvy,
underhand(ed), treacherous, contemptible, despicable, base, low,
mean, paltry, mean-spirited, detestable: It was hard to see how
the people could support such a wretched little demagogue.

wriggle v. 1 wiggle, wobble, shake, tremble, quiver, jiggle, waggle,
writhe, twist, fidget: She managed to wriggle free of the ropes
and run away. The dog was wriggling with excitement at seeing
its master. 2 twist, squirm, snake, worm, writhe, slither,
crawl: He wriggled through the narrow opening into the
strongroom.


--n. 3 wiggle, zigzag, wavy line, Colloq squiggle, squiggly
line: The page had no writing on it, only a lot of wriggles. 4
wriggling, writhing, squirm, squirming, wiggle, wiggling,
shaking, trembling, quiver, quivering, shimmying, waggle,
waggling, twisting, twist: Don't confuse that rhythmic wriggle
of the hips with dancing.

wrinkleฐ n. 1 crease, fold, line, furrow, crinkle, crow's-foot,
corrugation, pucker, ridge: She hasn't a wrinkle on her face -
but then she's only nine.


--v. 2 crease, fold, line, furrow, crinkle, corrugate, pucker,
gather, ruck, crimp, screw up, rumple, crumple: I love the way
you wrinkle your nose when you're perplexed.


wrinkle n. dodge, gimmick, device, ploy, ruse, scheme, trick, idea,
plan, plot, stunt, way, approach, technique, method, Slang
chiefly Brit wheeze: Leave it to Edmund to come up with a new
wrinkle for fleecing pensioners.

write v. 1 pen, scribble, get off, dash off; indite, inscribe, make
out: I was writing you a note when you phoned. She wrote out a
cheque for œ1000. 2 correspond (with), send a letter or a note
or a postcard or US also a postal card, communicate (with): You
don't write home often enough. Write and let me know when you
get a job. 3 compose, create, make up, author: We saw the house
in which Elgar wrote the 'Enigma' Variations. 4 write down. a
register, list, catalogue, note, make a note or notation,
record, transcribe, set or jot or take down, note, put in
writing, put in black and white: The teacher was known for
Irish bulls like, 'All absent students must write down their
names'. b derogate, decry, disparage, put down, minimize, make
little of, play down, detract, belittle: Cumberland's
contributions have been written down by his critics. 5 write
off. delete, cancel, disregard, ignore, forgive, forget (about),
annul, eradicate, erase: The bad debts have been written off.

writer n. author, novelist, litt‚rateur, essayist, man of letters,
scribe, scribbler, wordsmith, freelancer, penny-a-liner, hack,
Grub Streeter, journalist, newsman, reporter, correspondent,
member of the fourth estate, (gossip) columnist, stringer, Brit
paragraphist, US paragrapher, Colloq pen-pusher, pencil-pusher,
sob sister, Brit journo: These days all those who know how to
write call themselves writers.

writing n. 1 handwriting, longhand, penmanship, script, calligraphy or
chirography, scribble: I sometimes have trouble reading your
writing. 2 Sometimes, writings. (literary) work(s),
composition, theme, book, article, critique, criticism, review,
editorial, column, expos‚, essay, poetry, poem, novel,
non-fiction, fiction, document, letter, correspondence,
publication, Chiefly Brit journalism leading article or leader,
Chiefly US journalism op-ed article: Her writing has been
widely published. Poe's writings are collected in this book. 3
literature, belles-lettres, letters: I don't agree that British
writing has declined since 1900.

wrong adj. 1 improper, unjust, unfair, injudicious, unethical,
terrible, foul, awful, bad, immoral, sinful, evil, iniquitous,
villainous, wicked, vile, diabolic(al), infernal, fiendish,
corrupt, dishonest, reprehensible, abominable, dreadful,
dishonourable, blameworthy, naughty, shameful, disgraceful,
opprobrious, criminal, felonious, illegal, illicit, unlawful,
illegitimate, Colloq crooked: They believe that all war is
wrong. It was wrong of you to come here while my husband was
away. 2 mistaken, in error, erroneous, incorrect, inaccurate,
imprecise, inexact, fallacious, askew, false, wide of the mark;
strange, odd, peculiar, curious; Colloq off target or US also
off the target, Brit off beam, US off the beam: The answers to
these four questions were all wrong. You certainly have some
wrong ideas about me. 3 incorrect, improper, unsuitable: They
must have given us the wrong baby at the hospital. 4
inappropriate, inapt, improper, indecorous, unseemly, unfitting,
unacceptable, undesirable, incongruous, unbecoming, out of
place, ill-considered, wrong-headed, imprudent, misguided,
inexpedient, impolitic, infelicitous, Colloq out of line: You
saw nothing wrong in inviting girls to stay with you in your
rooms? Your mother thinks she's the wrong girl for you. 5 out of
order, not working, faulty, awry, amiss, the matter, defective,
imperfect, unsound, flawed, deficient: Considering the noise my
car makes, there must be something wrong. 6 opposite, reverse,
incorrect, improper: That is the wrong direction to the post
office.

--adv. 7 awry, imperfectly, incorrectly, improperly,
inappropriately, amiss, badly, wrongly, Scots and No. Eng. and
literary agley, Colloq out of sync: You've wired up the video
all wrong. 8 go wrong. a go astray, falter, fail, lapse, err,
fall from grace, go to the bad, deteriorate, go downhill,
backslide, regress, retrogress, recidivate: Her father was
convinced that she would go wrong if she went into the theatre.
b fail, malfunction, break down, miscarry, backfire, fall
through, Colloq flop, come to grief, go kaput, Brit go phut:
The entire plan went wrong when Clara started screaming.

--v. 9 abuse, mistreat, injure, misuse, maltreat, ill-use,
ill-treat, discredit, asperse, calumniate, malign, dishonour,
impose upon, take advantage of, harm, damage, oppress: He
believes he was wronged by his commanding officer.

wry adj. 1 distorted, contorted, twisted, lopsided, deformed,
crooked, aslant, one-sided, askew, bent, tilted, off-centre: He
is afflicted by a rheumatic disorder, which gives his neck a wry
appearance. 2 dry, droll, witty, sardonic, sarcastic,
ironic(al), amusing; perverse, fey; Scots pawky: Bill has a wry
sense of humour that does not appeal to everyone.