Collins English Thesaurus Essential. Collins Dictionaries
NOUN = fanatic, racist, extremist, sectarian, maniac, fiend (informal), zealot, persecutor, dogmatistbigoted ADJECTIVE = intolerant, twisted, prejudiced, biased, warped, sectarian, dogmatic, opinionated, narrow-minded, obstinate, illiberal ◼ OPPOSITE: tolerantbigotry NOUN = intolerance, discrimination, racism, prejudice, bias, ignorance, injustice, sexism, unfairness, fanaticism, sectarianism, racialism, dogmatism, faith hate, provincialism, narrow-mindedness, mindlessness, pig-ignorance (slang) ◼ OPPOSITE: tolerancebigwig NOUN = important person, somebody, celebrity, heavyweight (informal), notable, big name, mogul, big gun (informal), dignitary, celeb (informal), big shot (informal), personage, nob (slang), big cheese (old-fashioned, slang), big noise (informal), big hitter (informal), heavy hitter (informal), panjandrum, notability, V.I.P. ◼ OPPOSITE: nonentitybile NOUN = bitterness, anger, hostility, resentment, animosity, venom, irritability, spleen, acrimony, pique, nastiness, rancour, virulence, asperity, ill humour, irascibility, peevishness, churlishnessbill1 NOUN 1 They couldn't afford to pay the bills. = charges, rate, costs, score, account, damage (informal), statement, reckoning, expense, tally, invoice, note of charge 2 The bill was opposed by a large majority. = act of parliament, measure, proposal, piece of legislation, projected law 3 He is topping the bill at a dusk-to-dawn party. = list, listing, programme, card, schedule, agenda, catalogue, inventory, roster, syllabus 4 A sign forbids the posting of bills. = advertisement, notice, poster, leaflet, bulletin, circular, handout, placard, handbill, playbill ▸ VERB 1 Are you going to bill me for this? = charge, debit, invoice, send a statement to, send an invoice to 2 They bill it as Britain's most exciting museum. = advertise, post, announce, push (informal), declare, promote, plug (informal), proclaim, tout, flaunt, publicize, crack up (informal), give advance notice ofbill2 NOUN Its legs and feet are grey, its bill brownish-yellow. = beak, nib, neb (archaic, dialect), mandiblebillet VERB The soldiers were billeted in private homes. = quarter, post, station, locate, install, accommodate, berth, garrison ▸ NOUN We hid the radio in Hut 10, which was our billet. = quarters, accommodation, lodging, barracksbillow VERB the billowing sails = surge, roll, expand, swell, balloon, belly, bulge, dilate, puff up, bloat ▸ NOUN billows of almost solid black smoke = surge, wave, flow, rush, flood, cloud, gush, deluge, upsurge, outpouring, uprushbind VERB 1 The treaty binds them to respect their neighbour's independence. = oblige, make, force, require, engage, compel, prescribe, constrain, necessitate, impel, obligate 2 Bind the ends of the card together with thread. = tie, unite, join, stick, secure, attach, wrap, rope, knot, strap, lash, glue, tie up, hitch, paste, fasten, truss, make fast ◼ OPPOSITE: untie 3 All are bound by the same strict etiquette. = restrict, limit, handicap, confine, detain, restrain, hamper, inhibit, hinder, impede, hem in, keep within bounds or limits 4 These compounds bind with genetic material in the liver. = fuse, join, stick, bond, cement, adhere 5 Her mother bound the wound with a rag soaked in iodine. = bandage, cover, dress, wrap, swathe, encase ▸ NOUN It is expensive to buy and a bind to carry home. = nuisance, inconvenience, hassle (informal), drag (informal), spot (informal), difficulty, bore, dilemma, pest, hot water (informal), uphill (S. African), predicament, annoyance, quandary, pain in the neck (informal), pain in the backside (informal), pain in the butt (informal)binding ADJECTIVE = compulsory, necessary, mandatory, imperative, obligatory, conclusive, irrevocable, unalterable, indissoluble ◼ OPPOSITE: optionalbinge NOUN (informal) = bout, session (informal), spell, fling, feast, stint, spree, orgy, bender (informal), jag (slang), beano (Brit. slang), blind (slang)biography NOUN = life story, life, record, account, profile, memoir, CV, life history, curriculum vitaebird NOUN = feathered friend, fowl, songbird ◼ RELATED WORDS: adjective avian; name of male cock; name of female hen; name of young chick, fledgeling or fledgling, nestling; noun flock, flight; name of home nestbird of prey NOUN ◼ RELATED WORD: adjective raptorialbirth NOUN 1 She weighed 5lb 7oz at birth. = childbirth, delivery, nativity, parturition ◼ OPPOSITE: death 2 the birth of popular democracy = beginning, start, rise, source, origin, emergence, outset, genesis, initiation, inauguration, inception, commencement, fountainhead 3 people of humble birth = ancestry, line, race, stock, blood, background, breeding, strain, descent, pedigree, extraction, lineage, forebears, parentage, genealogy, derivation ◼ RELATED WORD: adjective natalbisect VERB = cut in two, cross, separate, split, halve, cut across, intersect, cut in half, split down the middle, divide in two, bifurcatebit1 NOUN 1 a bit of cake = slice, segment, fragment, crumb, mouthful, small piece, morsel 2 crumpled bits of paper = piece, scrap, small piece 3 All it required was a bit of work. = jot, whit, tittle, iota 4 The best bit was the car chase. = part, moment, period 5 Let's wait a bit. = little while, time, second, minute, moment, spell, instant, tick (Brit. informal), jiffy (informal)bit2 NOUN The horse can be controlled by a snaffle bit and reins. = curb, check, brake, restraint, snafflebitchy ADJECTIVE = spiteful, mean, nasty, cruel, vicious, malicious, barbed, vindictive, malevolent, venomous, snide, rancorous, catty (informal), backbiting, shrewish, ill-natured, vixenish, snarky (informal) ◼ OPPOSITE: nicebite VERB 1 Llamas won't bite or kick. = nip, cut, tear, wound, grip, snap, crush, rend (literary), pierce, champ, pinch, chew, crunch, clamp, nibble, gnaw, masticate 2 nylon biting into the flesh = eat, burn, smart, sting, erode, tingle, eat away, corrode, wear away ▸ NOUN 1 a bite to eat = snack, food, piece, taste, refreshment, mouthful, morsel, titbit, light meal 2 The boy had suffered a snake bite but he made a quick recovery. = wound, sting, pinch, nip, prick 3 The novel seems to lack bite and tension. = edge, interest, force, punch (informal), sting, zest, sharpness, keenness, pungency, incisiveness, acuteness 4 I'd have preferred a bit more bite and not so much sugar. = kick (informal), edge, punch (informal), spice, relish, zest, tang, sharpness, piquancy, pungency, spicinessbiting ADJECTIVE 1 a raw, biting northerly wind = piercing, cutting, cold, sharp, freezing, frozen, bitter, raw, chill, harsh, penetrating, arctic (informal), nipping, icy, blighting, chilly, wintry, gelid, cold as ice 2 This was the most biting criticism made against her. = sarcastic, cutting, sharp, severe, stinging, withering, scathing, acrimonious, incisive, virulent, caustic, vitriolic, trenchant, mordant, mordaciousbitter ADJECTIVE 1 the scene of bitter fighting = grievous, hard, severe, distressing, fierce, harsh, cruel, savage, ruthless, dire, relentless, poignant, ferocious, galling, unrelenting, merciless, remorseless, gut-wrenching, vexatious, hard-hearted ◼ OPPOSITE: pleasant 2 He is said to be very bitter about the way he was sacked. = resentful, hurt, wounded, angry, offended, sour, put out, sore, choked, crabbed, acrimonious, aggrieved, sullen, miffed (informal), embittered, begrudging, peeved (informal), piqued, rancorous ◼ OPPOSITE: happy 3 a night in the bitter cold = freezing, biting, severe, intense, raw, fierce, chill, stinging, penetrating, arctic (informal), icy, polar, Siberian, glacial, wintry ◼ OPPOSITE: mild 4 The leaves taste rather bitter. = sour, biting, sharp, acid, harsh, unpleasant, tart, astringent, acrid, unsweetened, vinegary, acidulated, acerb ◼ OPPOSITE: sweetbitterly ADVERB 1 They bitterly resented their loss of power. = resentfully, sourly, sorely, tartly, grudgingly, sullenly, testily, acrimoniously, caustically, mordantly, irascibly 2 It's been bitterly cold here in Moscow. = intensely, freezing, severely, fiercely, icy, bitinglybitterness NOUN 1 I still feel bitterness and anger. = resentment, hurt, anger, hostility, indignation, animosity, venom, acrimony, pique, rancour, ill feeling, bad blood, ill will, umbrage, vexation, asperity 2 the bitterness of the grapefruit = sourness, acidity, sharpness, tartness, acerbity, vinegarinessbizarre ADJECTIVE = strange, odd, unusual, extraordinary, fantastic,