Collins English Thesaurus Essential. Collins Dictionaries
A fresh tragedy was narrowly averted yesterday. = ward off, avoid, prevent, frustrate, fend off, preclude, stave off, forestall, deflect 2 He kept his eyes averted. = turn away, turn, turn asideaviation NOUN = flying, flight, aeronautics, powered flightaviator NOUN = pilot, flyer (old-fashioned), airman, airwoman, aeronautavid ADJECTIVE 1 an avid collector of art = enthusiastic, keen, devoted, intense, eager, passionate, ardent, fanatical, fervent, zealous, keen as mustard ◼ OPPOSITE: indifferent 2 He was avid for wealth. = insatiable, hungry, greedy, thirsty, grasping, voracious, acquisitive, ravenous, rapacious, avaricious, covetous, athirstavoid VERB 1 She had to take emergency action to avoid a disaster. = prevent, stop, frustrate, hamper, foil, inhibit, head off, avert, thwart, intercept, hinder, obstruct, impede, ward off, stave off, forestall, defend against 2 He managed to avoid giving them an idea of what he was up to. = refrain from, bypass, dodge, eschew, escape, duck (out of) (informal), fight shy of, shirk from 3 He had ample time to swerve and avoid the hedgehog. = keep away from, dodge, shun, evade, steer clear of, sidestep, circumvent (formal), bypass, slip through the net, body-swerve, give a wide berth toavoidable ADJECTIVE 1 The tragedy was entirely avoidable. = preventable, stoppable, avertible or avertable ◼ OPPOSITE: unpreventable 2 Lack of exercise is an avoidable cause of stress. = escapable, evadable ◼ OPPOSITE: inevitableavoidance NOUN 1 tax avoidance = refraining, dodging, shirking, eschewal 2 Improve your health by stress avoidance. = prevention, safeguard, precaution, anticipation, thwarting, elimination, deterrence, forestalling, prophylaxis, preclusion, obviationavow VERB = state, maintain, declare, allege, recognize, swear, assert, proclaim, affirm, profess, aver, asseverateavowed ADJECTIVE = declared, open, admitted, acknowledged, confessed, sworn, professed, self-proclaimedawait VERB 1 Little was said as we awaited the arrival of the chairman. = wait for, expect, look for, look forward to, anticipate, stay for 2 A nasty surprise awaited them. = be in store for, wait for, be ready for, lie in wait for, be in readiness forawake VERB 1 I awoke to the sound of the wind in the trees. = wake up, come to, wake, stir, awaken, rouse 2 He had awoken interest in the sport again. = alert, excite, stimulate, provoke, revive, arouse, activate, awaken, fan, animate, stir up, incite, kick-start (informal), enliven, kindle, breathe life into, call forth, vivify 3 The aim was to awaken an interest in foreign cultures. = stimulate, excite, provoke, activate, alert, animate, fan, stir up, incite, kick-start (informal), enliven, kindle, breathe life into, call forth, vivify ▸ ADJECTIVE 1 I don't stay awake at night worrying about that. = not sleeping, sleepless, wide-awake, aware, waking, conscious, aroused, awakened, restless, restive, wakeful, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ◼ OPPOSITE: asleep 2 They are awake to the challenge of stemming the exodus. = alert, aware, on the lookout, alive, attentive, on the alert, observant, watchful, on guard, on your toes, heedful, vigilantaward VERB 1 She was awarded the prize for both films. = present with, give, grant, gift, distribute, render, assign, decree, hand out, confer, endow, bestow, allot, apportion, adjudge 2 The contract has been awarded to a British shipyard. = grant, give, render, assign, decree, accord, confer, adjudge ▸ NOUN 1 this year's annual pay award = grant, subsidy, scholarship, hand-out, endowment, stipend 2 She presented a bravery award to the schoolgirl. = prize, gift, trophy, decoration, grant, bonsela (S. African), koha (N.Z.) 3 worker's compensation awards = settlement, payment, compensationaware ADJECTIVE They are politically very aware. = informed, enlightened, knowledgeable, learned, expert, versed, up to date, in the picture, in the know (informal), erudite, well-read, au fait (French), in the loop, well-briefed, au courant (French), clued-up (informal) ◼ OPPOSITE: ignorant ● aware of They are well aware of the dangers. = knowing about, familiar with, conscious of, wise to (slang), alert to, mindful of, acquainted with, alive to, awake to, privy to, hip to (slang), appreciative of, attentive to, conversant with, apprised of, cognizant of, sensible ofawareness NOUN ● awareness of = knowledge of, understanding of, appreciation of, recognition of, attention to, perception of, consciousness of, acquaintance with, enlightenment with, sensibility to, realization of, familiarity with, mindfulness of, cognizance of, sentience ofaway ADJECTIVE She was away on a business trip. = absent, out, gone, elsewhere, abroad, not there, not here, not present, on vacation, not at home ▸ ADVERB 1 She drove away before he could speak again. = off, elsewhere, abroad, hence, from here 2 I put my journal away and prepared for bed. = aside, out of the way, to one side 3 They live thirty miles away from town. = at a distance, far, apart, remote, isolated 4 He would work away on his computer well into the night. = continuously, repeatedly, relentlessly, incessantly, interminably, unremittingly, uninterruptedlyawe NOUN She gazed in awe at the great stones. = wonder, fear, respect, reverence, horror, terror, dread, admiration, amazement, astonishment, veneration ◼ OPPOSITE: contempt ▸ VERB I am still awed by his courage. = impress, amaze, stun, frighten, terrify, cow, astonish, horrify, intimidate, dauntawed ADJECTIVE = impressed, shocked, amazed, afraid, stunned, frightened, terrified, cowed, astonished, horrified, intimidated, fearful, daunted, dumbfounded, wonder-struckawe-inspiring ADJECTIVE = impressive, striking, wonderful, amazing, stunning (informal), magnificent, astonishing, intimidating, awesome, daunting, breathtaking, eye-popping (informal), fearsome, wondrous (archaic, literary), jaw-dropping ◼ OPPOSITE: unimpressiveawesome ADJECTIVE = awe-inspiring, striking, shocking, imposing, terrible, amazing, stunning (informal), wonderful, alarming, impressive, frightening, awful (obsolete), overwhelming, terrifying, magnificent, astonishing, horrible, dreadful, formidable, horrifying, intimidating, fearful (informal), daunting, breathtaking, majestic, solemn, fearsome, wondrous (archaic, literary), redoubtable, jaw-dropping, stupefyingawestruck or awe-stricken ADJECTIVE = impressed, shocked, amazed, stunned, afraid, frightened, terrified, cowed, astonished, horrified, intimidated, fearful, awed, daunted, awe-inspired, dumbfounded, struck dumb, wonder-struckawful ADJECTIVE 1 an awful smell of paint = disgusting, terrible, tremendous, offensive, gross, nasty, foul, horrible, dreadful, unpleasant, revolting, stinking (informal), sickening, hideous, vulgar, vile, distasteful, horrid (informal), frightful, nauseating, odious, repugnant, loathsome, abominable, nauseous, detestable, godawful (slang), hellacious (U.S. slang), festy (Austral. slang), yucko (Austral. slang) 2 Even if the weather's awful there's still lots to do. = bad, poor, terrible (informal), appalling, foul, rubbish (slang), dreadful, unpleasant, dire, horrendous, ghastly, from hell (informal), atrocious, deplorable, abysmal, frightful, hellacious (U.S. slang) ◼ OPPOSITE: wonderful 3 The destruction was massive; it was awful. = shocking, serious, alarming, distressing, dreadful, horrifying, horrific, hideous, harrowing, gruesome 4 I looked awful and felt quite sleepy. = unwell, poorly (informal), ill, terrible, sick, ugly, crook (Austral. & N.Z. informal), unhealthy, unsightly, queasy, out of sorts (informal), off-colour, under the weather (informal), green about the gillsawfully ADVERB 1 That caramel looks awfully good. = very, extremely, terribly, exceptionally, quite, very much, seriously (informal), greatly, immensely, exceedingly, excessively, dreadfully 2 I played awfully, and there are no excuses. = badly, woefully, dreadfully, inadequately, disgracefully, wretchedly, unforgivably, shoddily, reprehensibly, disreputablyawhile ADVERB = for a while, briefly, for a moment, for a short time, for a little while
| USAGE Awhile, written as a single word, is an adverb meaning 'for a period of time'. It can only be used with a verb, for example: he stood awhile in thought. It is quite commonly written by mistake instead of the noun a while, meaning 'a period of time', so take care not to confuse the two parts of speech: I thought about that for a while (not awhile). |