Collins English Thesaurus Essential. Collins Dictionaries
rapid, excessive, rash, reckless, precipitate, headlong, expressbreakthrough NOUN = development, advance, progress, improvement, discovery, find, finding, invention, step forward, leap forwards, turn of events, quantum leapbreak-up NOUN 1 a marital break-up = separation, split, divorce, breakdown, ending, parting, breaking, splitting, wind-up, rift, disintegration, dissolution, termination 2 the break-up of the Soviet Union = dissolution, division, splitting, disintegrationbreakwater NOUN = sea wall, spur, mole, jetty, groynebreast NOUN 1 Happiness flowered in her breast. = heart, feelings, thoughts, soul, being, emotions, core, sentiments, seat of the affections 2 A sports bra provides support for the breasts. = bosom, boob (slang), booby (slang), tit (vulgar, slang) ◼ RELATED WORD: adjective mammarybreath NOUN 1 He took a deep breath and began to climb the stairs. = inhalation, breathing, pant, gasp, gulp, wheeze, exhalation, respiration 2 Not even a breath of wind stirred the pine branches. = gust, sigh, puff, flutter, flurry, whiff, draught, waft, zephyr, slight movement, faint breeze 3 It was left to her to add a breath of common sense. = trace, suggestion, hint, whisper, suspicion, murmur, undertone, intimation 4 He had to stop for breath. = rest, breather (informal) 5 Here is no light, no breath, no warm flesh. = life, energy, existence, vitality, animation, life force, lifeblood, mauri (N.Z.)breathe VERB 1 Always breathe through your nose. = inhale and exhale, pant, gasp, puff, gulp, wheeze, respire, draw in breath 2 He never breathed a word about our conversation. = whisper, say, voice, express, sigh, utter, articulate, murmur 3 It is the readers who breathe life into a newspaper. = instil, inspire, pass on, inject, impart, infuse, imbuebreather NOUN = rest, break, halt, pause, recess, breathing space, breath of airbreathless ADJECTIVE 1 I was a little breathless and my heartbeat was fast. = out of breath, winded, exhausted, panting, gasping, choking, gulping, wheezing, out of whack (informal), short-winded 2 We were breathless with anticipation. = excited, anxious, curious, eager, enthusiastic, impatient, agog, on tenterhooks, in suspensebreathtaking ADJECTIVE = amazing, striking, exciting, brilliant, dramatic, stunning (informal), impressive, thrilling, overwhelming, magnificent, astonishing, sensational, eye-popping (informal), awesome, wondrous (archaic, literary), awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, heart-stirringbreed NOUN 1 rare breeds of cattle = variety, race, stock, type, species, strain, pedigree 2 the new breed of walking holidays = kind, sort, type, variety, brand, stamp ▸ VERB 1 He lived alone, breeding horses and dogs. = rear, tend, keep, raise, maintain, farm, look after, care for, bring up, nurture, nourish 2 Frogs will usually breed in any convenient pond. = reproduce, multiply, propagate, procreate (formal), produce offspring, bear young, bring forth young, generate offspring, beget offspring, develop 3 If they are overlooked, it's bound to breed resentment. = produce, cause, create, occasion (formal), generate, bring about, arouse, originate, give rise to, stir upbreeding NOUN = refinement, style, culture, taste, manners, polish, grace, courtesy, elegance, sophistication, delicacy, cultivation, politeness, civility, gentility, graciousness, urbanity, politessebreeze NOUN a cool summer breeze = light wind, air, whiff, draught, gust, waft, zephyr, breath of wind, current of air, puff of air, capful of wind ▸ VERB Lopez breezed into the room. = sweep, move briskly, pass, trip, sail, hurry, sally, glide, flitbreezy ADJECTIVE 1 his bright and breezy personality = carefree, casual, lively, sparkling, sunny, informal, cheerful, animated, upbeat (informal), buoyant, airy, easy-going, genial, jaunty, chirpy (informal), sparky, sprightly, vivacious, debonair, blithe, free and easy, full of beans (informal), light, light-hearted ◼ OPPOSITE: serious 2 The day was breezy and warm. = windy, fresh, airy, blustery, blowing, gusty, squally, blowy, blusterous ◼ OPPOSITE: calmbrevity NOUN 1 The bonus of this homely soup is the brevity of its cooking time. = shortness, transience, impermanence, ephemerality, briefness, transitoriness 2 The brevity of the letter concerned me. = conciseness, economy, crispness, concision, terseness, succinctness, curtness, pithiness ◼ OPPOSITE: wordinessbrew VERB 1 He brewed a pot of coffee. = boil, make, soak, steep, stew, infuse (tea) 2 I brew my own iced tea. = make, ferment, prepare by fermentation 3 At home a crisis was brewing. = start, develop, gather, foment 4 We'd seen the storm brewing when we were out on the boat. = develop, form, gather, foment ▸ NOUN a mild herbal brew = drink, preparation, mixture, blend, liquor, beverage, infusion, concoction, fermentation, distillation
bribe NOUN He was being investigated for receiving bribes. = inducement, incentive, pay-off (informal), graft (informal), sweetener (slang), kickback, sop, backhander (slang), enticement, hush money (slang), payola (informal), allurement, corrupting gift, reward for treachery ▸ VERB The company bribed the workers to be quiet. = buy off, reward, pay off (informal), lure, corrupt, get at, square, suborn, grease the palm or hand of (slang), influence by gifts, oil the palm of (informal)bribery NOUN = corruption, graft (informal), inducement, buying off, payola (informal), crookedness (informal), palm-greasing (slang), subornationbric-a-brac NOUN = knick-knacks, ornaments, trinkets, baubles, curios, objets d'art (French), gewgaws, bibelots, kickshaws, objects of virtubridal ADJECTIVE = matrimonial, marriage, wedding, marital, bride's, nuptial, conjugal, spousal, connubial (formal), hymenealbride NOUN = wife, newly-wed, marriage partner, spousebridegroom NOUN = husband, groom, newly-wed, marriage partner, spousebridge NOUN 1 He walked over the railway bridge. = arch, span, viaduct, flyover, overpass, fixed link (Canad.) 2 They saw themselves as a bridge to peace. = link, tie, bond, connection ▸ VERB 1 a tree used to bridge the river = span, cross, go over, cross over, traverse, reach across, extend across, arch over 2 She bridged the gap between pop music and opera. = reconcile, unite, resolvebridle NOUN She dismounted and took her horse's bridle. = rein, curb, control, check, restraint, trammels ▸ VERB 1 He bridled at the shortness of her tone. = get angry, draw (yourself) up, bristle, seethe, see red, be infuriated, rear up, be indignant, be maddened, raise your hackles, get your dander up (slang), get your back up 2 I must learn to bridle my tongue. = curb, control, master, govern, moderate, restrain, rein, subdue, repress, constrain, keep in check, check, keep a tight rein on, keep on a stringbrief ADJECTIVE 1 This time their visit is brief. = short, fast, quick, temporary, fleeting, swift, short-lived, little, hasty, momentary, ephemeral, quickie (informal), transitory ◼ OPPOSITE: long 2 Write a very brief description of a typical problem. = concise, short, limited, to the point, crisp, compressed, terse, curt, laconic, succinct, clipped, pithy, thumbnail, monosyllabic ◼ OPPOSITE: long 3 He was brief, rapid, decisive. = curt, short, sharp, blunt, abrupt, brusque ▸ VERB A spokesperson briefed reporters. = inform, prime, prepare, advise, fill in (informal), instruct, clue in (informal), gen up (Brit. informal), put in the picture (informal), give a rundown, keep (someone) posted, give the gen (Brit. informal) ▸ NOUN 1 He gives me my first brief of the situation. = summary, résumé, outline, sketch, abstract, summing-up, digest, epitome, rundown, synopsis, précis, recapitulation, abridgment 2 a lawyer's brief = case, defence, argument, data, contentionbriefing NOUN 1 They're holding a press briefing tomorrow. = conference, meeting, priming 2 The Chancellor gives a twenty-minute briefing to his backbenchers. = instructions, information, priming, directions, instruction, preparation, guidance, preamble, rundownbriefly ADVERB 1 He smiled briefly. = quickly, shortly, precisely, casually, temporarily, abruptly, hastily, briskly, momentarily, hurriedly, curtly,