Collins English Thesaurus Essential. Collins Dictionaries
teem, be thickBriton NOUN = Brit (informal), limey (U.S. & Canad. slang), Britisher, pommy or pom (Austral. & N.Z. slang), Anglo-Saxonbrittle ADJECTIVE 1 Pine is brittle and breaks easily. = fragile, delicate, crisp, crumbling, frail, crumbly, breakable, shivery, friable, frangible, shatterable ◼ OPPOSITE: tough 2 a brittle man = tense, nervous, edgy, stiff, wired (slang), irritable, curtbroach VERB 1 Eventually I broached the subject of her early life. = bring up, approach, introduce, mention, speak of, talk of, open up, hint at, touch on, raise the subject of 2 Our host will now show you how to broach a barrel of maple syrup. = open, crack, pierce, puncture, uncorkbroad ADJECTIVE 1 His shoulders were broad and his waist narrow. = wide, large, ample, generous, expansive 2 a broad expanse of lawn = large, huge, comfortable, vast, extensive, ample, spacious, expansive, roomy, voluminous, capacious, uncrowded, commodious, beamy (of a ship), sizable or sizeable ◼ OPPOSITE: narrow 3 A broad range of issues was discussed. = full, general, comprehensive, complete, wide, global, catholic, sweeping, extensive, wide-ranging, umbrella, thorough, unlimited, inclusive, far-reaching, exhaustive, all-inclusive, all-embracing, overarching, encyclopedic 4 a film with broad appeal = universal, general, common, wide, sweeping, worldwide, widespread, wide-ranging, far-reaching 5 a broad outline of the Society's development = general, loose, vague, approximate, indefinite, ill-defined, inexact, nonspecific, unspecific, undetailed 6 I was robbed in broad daylight. = clear, open, full, plain 7 Use wit rather than broad humour. = vulgar, blue, dirty, gross, crude, rude, naughty, coarse, indecent, improper, suggestive, risqué, boorish, uncouth, unrefined, ribald, indelicate, near the knuckle (informal), indecorous, unmannerlybroadcast NOUN a broadcast on the national radio = transmission, show, programme, telecast, podcast, webcast, vodcast, mobcast ▸ VERB 1 CNN also broadcasts programmes in Europe. = transmit, show, send, air, radio, cable, beam, send out, relay, televise, disseminate, put on the air, stream (videos), podcast, open-line (Canad.) 2 Don't broadcast your business outside the family. = make public, report, announce, publish, spread, advertise, proclaim, circulate, disseminate, promulgate, shout from the rooftops (informal)broaden VERB = expand, increase, develop, spread, extend, stretch, open up, swell, supplement, widen, enlarge, augment ◼ OPPOSITE: restrictbroadly ADVERB 1 He broadly got what he wanted out of his meeting. = in general, largely, generally, mainly, widely, mostly, on the whole, predominantly, in the main, for the most part 2 Charles grinned broadly. = widely, greatly, hugely, vastly, extensively, expansively 3 This gives children a more broadly based education. = generally, commonly, widely, universally, popularly ◼ OPPOSITE: narrowlybroadside NOUN = attack, criticism, censure, swipe, denunciation, diatribe, philippicbrochure NOUN = booklet, advertisement, leaflet, hand-out, circular, pamphlet, folder, mailshot, handbillbroekies PLURAL NOUN = underpants, pants (Brit.), briefs, drawers, knickers, panties, boxer shorts, Y-fronts (trademark), underdaks (Austral. slang)broke ADJECTIVE = penniless, short, ruined, bust (informal), bankrupt, impoverished, in the red, cleaned out (slang), insolvent, down and out, skint (Brit. slang), strapped for cash (informal), dirt-poor (informal), flat broke (informal), penurious, on your uppers, stony-broke (Brit. slang), in queer street (informal), without two pennies to rub together (informal), without a penny to your name ◼ OPPOSITE: richbroken ADJECTIVE 1 nights of broken sleep = interrupted, disturbed, incomplete, erratic, disconnected, intermittent, fragmentary, spasmodic, discontinuous 2 Eric could only respond in broken English. = imperfect, halting, hesitating, stammering, disjointed 3 Damp air came through the broken window. = smashed, destroyed, burst, shattered, fragmented, fractured, demolished, severed, ruptured, rent, separated, shivered 4 a broken guitar and a rusty snare drum = defective, not working, ruined, imperfect, out of order, not functioning, on the blink (slang), on its last legs, kaput (informal) 5 History is made up of broken promises. = violated, forgotten, ignored, disregarded, not kept, infringed, retracted, disobeyed, dishonoured, transgressed, traduced 6 He looked a broken man. = defeated, beaten, crushed, humbled, tamed, subdued, oppressed, overpowered, vanquished, demoralized, browbeatenbroken-down ADJECTIVE = not in working order, old, worn out, out of order, dilapidated, not functioning, out of commission, on the blink (slang), inoperative, kaput (informal), in disrepair, on the fritz (U.S. slang)brokenhearted ADJECTIVE = heartbroken, devastated, disappointed, despairing, miserable, choked, desolate, mournful, prostrated, grief-stricken, sorrowful, wretched, disconsolate, inconsolable, crestfallen, down in the dumps (informal), heart-sickbroker NOUN = dealer, marketer, agent, trader, supplier, merchant, entrepreneur, negotiator, chandler, mediator, intermediary, wholesaler, middleman, factor (Scot.), purveyor, tradesperson, go-between, merchandiserbronze ADJECTIVE = yellowish-brown, reddish-brown, copper, tan, rust, chestnut, brownish, copper-coloured, reddish-tan, metallic brownbrood NOUN 1 The last brood of the pair was hatched. = offspring, young, issue, breed, infants, clutch, hatch, litter, chicks, progeny 2 Her parents took their rambunctious brood to the country most weekends. = children, family, offspring, progeny, nearest and dearest, flesh and blood, ainga (N.Z.) ▸ VERB He constantly broods about his family. = think, obsess, muse, ponder, fret, meditate, agonize, mull over, mope, ruminate, eat your heart out, dwell upon, repinebrook1 NOUN He threw the hatchet in the brook. = stream, burn (Scot. & Northern English), rivulet, gill (dialect), beck, watercourse, rill, streamlet, runnel (literary)brook2 VERB The army will brook no weakening of its power. = tolerate, stand, allow, suffer, accept, bear, stomach, endure, swallow, hack (slang), abide, put up with (informal), withstand, countenance, support, thole (dialect)brother NOUN 1 Have you got any brothers and sisters? = male sibling 2 their freedom-loving brothers = comrade, partner, colleague, associate, mate (informal), pal (informal), companion, cock (Brit. informal), chum (informal), fellow member, confrère, compeer 3 priests and religious brothers = monk, cleric, friar, monastic, religious, regular ◼ RELATED WORD: adjective fraternalbrotherhood NOUN 1 He believed in the brotherhood of all peoples. = fellowship, kinship, companionship, comradeship, friendliness, camaraderie, brotherliness 2 a secret international brotherhood = association, order, union, community, society, league, alliance, clan, guild, fraternity (U.S. & Canad.), clique, coteriebrotherly ADJECTIVE = fraternal, friendly, neighbourly, sympathetic, affectionate, benevolent, kind, amicable, altruistic, philanthropicbrow NOUN 1 She wrinkled her brow inquisitively. = forehead, temple 2 He climbed to the brow of the hill. = top, summit, peak, edge, tip, crown, verge, brink, rim, crest, brimbrown ADJECTIVE 1 her deep brown eyes = brunette, dark, bay, coffee, chocolate, brick, toasted, ginger, rust, chestnut, hazel, dun, auburn, tawny, umber, donkey brown, fuscous 2 rows of bodies slowly going brown in the sun = tanned, browned, bronze, bronzed, tan, dusky, sunburnt ▸ VERB He browned the chicken in a frying pan. = fry, cook, grill, sear, sautébrowse VERB 1 There are plenty of biographies for him to browse. = skim, scan, glance at, survey, look through, look round, dip into, leaf through, peruse, flip through, examine cursorily 2 three red deer stags browsing 50 yards from my lodge = graze, eat, feed, crop, pasture, nibblebruise NOUN How did you get that bruise on your cheek? = discoloration, mark, injury, trauma (Pathology), blemish, black mark, contusion (formal), black-and-blue mark ▸ VERB 1 I had only bruised my knee. = hurt, injure, mark, blacken 2 Be sure to store them carefully or they'll get bruised. = damage, mark, mar, blemish, discolour 3 My ego is easily bruised. = injure, hurt, pain, wound, slight, insult, sting, offend, grieve, displease, rile, piquebruiser NOUN = tough,