Collins English Thesaurus Essential. Collins Dictionaries
thug, gorilla (informal), hard man, rowdy, tough guy, hoodlum (informal), bully boy, ruffian, roughneck (slang)brunt NOUN = full force, force, pressure, violence, shock, stress, impact, strain, burden, thrustbrush1 NOUN 1 Scrub lightly with a brush, then rinse. = broom, sweeper, besom 2 It is his third brush with the law in less than a year. = conflict, fight, clash, set-to (informal), scrap (informal), confrontation, skirmish, tussle, fracas, spot of bother (informal), slight engagement 3 A brush with illness encouraged her to live a healthier lifestyle. = encounter, meeting, confrontation, rendezvous ▸ VERB 1 Have you brushed your teeth? = clean, wash, polish, buff 2 I felt her hair brushing the back of my shoulder. = touch, come into contact with, sweep, kiss, stroke, glance, flick, scrape, graze, caress ● brush someone off She just brushed me off. = ignore, cut (informal), reject, dismiss, slight, blank (slang), put down, snub, disregard, scorn, disdain, spurn, rebuff, repudiate, disown, cold-shoulder, kiss off (slang, chiefly U.S. & Canad.), send to Coventry ● brush something aside He brushed aside my views on politics. = dismiss, ignore, discount, override, disregard, sweep aside, have no time for, kiss off (slang, chiefly U.S. & Canad.) ● brush something up or brush up on something I had hoped to brush up my Spanish. = revise, study, go over, cram, polish up, read up on, relearn, bone up on (informal), refresh your memorybrush2 NOUN a meadow of low brush and grass = shrubs, bushes, scrub, underwood, undergrowth, thicket, copse, brushwoodbrusque ADJECTIVE = curt, short, sharp, blunt, tart, abrupt, hasty, terse, surly, gruff, impolite, monosyllabic, discourteous, unmannerly ◼ OPPOSITE: politebrutal ADJECTIVE 1 He was the victim of a very brutal attack. = cruel, harsh, savage, grim, vicious, ruthless, ferocious, callous, sadistic, heartless, atrocious, inhuman, merciless, cold-blooded, inhumane, brutish, bloodthirsty, remorseless, barbarous, pitiless, uncivilized, hard-hearted ◼ OPPOSITE: kind 2 She spoke with a brutal honesty. = harsh, tough, severe, rough, rude, indifferent, insensitive, callous, merciless, unconcerned, uncaring, gruff, bearish, tactless, unfeeling, impolite, uncivil, unmannerly ◼ OPPOSITE: sensitivebrutality NOUN = cruelty, atrocity, ferocity, savagery, ruthlessness, barbarism, inhumanity, barbarity, viciousness, brutishness, bloodthirstiness, savagenessbrutally ADVERB = cruelly, fiercely, savagely, ruthlessly, viciously, mercilessly, ferociously, remorselessly, in cold blood, callously, murderously, pitilessly, heartlessly, inhumanly, barbarously, brutishly, barbarically, hardheartedlybrute NOUN 1 an unpleasant brute = savage, devil, monster, beast, barbarian, fiend, swine, ogre, ghoul, sadist 2 a big brute of a dog = beast, animal, creature, wild animal ▸ ADJECTIVE He used brute force to take control. = physical, bodily, mindless, instinctive, senseless, unthinkingbrutish ADJECTIVE = coarse, stupid, gross, cruel, savage, crude, vulgar, barbarian, crass, boorish, uncouth, loutish, subhuman, swinishbubble NOUN a bubble of gas trapped under the surface = air ball, drop, bead, blister, blob, droplet, globule, vesicle ▸ VERB 1 Heat the seasoned stock until it is bubbling. = boil, seethe 2 The fermenting tea bubbled over the top. = foam, fizz, froth, churn, agitate, percolate, effervesce 3 He looked at the stream bubbling through the trees nearby. = gurgle, splash, murmur, trickle, ripple, babble, trill, burble, lap, purl, plashbubbly ADJECTIVE 1 someone bubbly who likes to laugh = lively, happy, excited, animated, merry, bouncy, elated, sparky, alive and kicking, full of beans (informal) 2 a nice hot bubbly bath = frothy, sparkling, fizzy, effervescent, carbonated, foamy, sudsy, latherybuccaneer NOUN = pirate, privateer, corsair, freebooter, sea-roverbuckle NOUN He wore a belt with a large brass buckle. = fastener, catch, clip, clasp, hasp ▸ VERB 1 A man came out buckling his belt. = fasten, close, secure, hook, clasp 2 A freak wave had buckled the deck. = distort, bend, warp, crumple, contort 3 My right leg buckled under me. = collapse, bend, twist, fold, give way, subside, cave in, crumple ● buckle down I just buckled down and got on with playing. = apply yourself, set to, fall to, pitch in, get busy, get cracking (informal), exert yourself, put your shoulder to the wheelbud NOUN The first buds appeared on the trees. = shoot, branch, sprout, twig, sprig, offshoot, scion ▸ VERB The leaves were budding on the trees now. = develop, grow, shoot, sprout, burgeon, burst forth, pullulatebudding ADJECTIVE = developing, beginning, growing, promising, potential, burgeoning, fledgling, embryonicbuddy NOUN = friend, mate (informal), pal, companion, comrade, chum (informal), crony, blood or blud (Brit. slang), main man (slang, chiefly U.S.), homeboy (slang, chiefly U.S.), cobber (Austral. & N.Z. old-fashioned, informal), E hoa (N.Z.)budge VERB 1 Both sides say they will not budge. = yield, change, bend, concede, surrender, comply, give way, capitulate 2 The Prime Minister was not to be budged by the verbal assault. = persuade, influence, convince, sway 3 The snake still refused to budge. = move, roll, slide, stir, give way, change position 4 I pulled and pulled but I couldn't budge it. = dislodge, move, push, roll, remove, transfer, shift, slide, stir, propelbudget NOUN A designer would be beyond their budget. = allowance, means, funds, income, finances, resources, allocation ▸ VERB I'm learning how to budget my finances. = plan, estimate, allocate, cost, ration, apportion, cost outbuff1 ADJECTIVE a buff envelope = fawn, cream, tan, beige, yellowish, ecru, straw-coloured, sand-coloured, yellowish-brown, biscuit-coloured, camel-coloured, oatmeal-coloured ▸ VERB He was already buffing the car's hubs. = polish, clean, smooth, brush, shine, rub, wax, brighten, burnish ● in the buff My character had to appear in the buff for some scenes. = naked, bare, nude, in the raw (informal), unclothed, in the altogether (informal), buck naked (slang), unclad, in your birthday suit (informal), scuddy (slang), without a stitch on (informal), with bare skin, in the bare scud (Scot. slang)buff2 NOUN She is a real film buff. = expert, fan, addict, enthusiast, freak (informal), admirer, whizz (informal), devotee, connoisseur, fiend (informal), grandmaster, hotshot (informal), aficionado, wonk (informal), maven (U.S.), fundi (S. African)buffer NOUN = safeguard, screen, shield, cushion, intermediary, bulwarkbuffet1 NOUN 1 A cold buffet had been laid out in the dining room. = smorgasbord, counter, cold table 2 We sat in the station buffet sipping tea. = snack bar, café, cafeteria, brasserie, salad bar, refreshment counterbuffet2 VERB Their plane had been severely buffeted by storms. = knock, push, bang, rap, slap, bump, smack, shove, thump, cuff, jolt, wallop (informal), boxbuffoon NOUN = clown, fool, comic, comedian, wag, joker, jester, dag (N.Z. informal), harlequin, droll, silly billy (informal), joculator or (fem.) joculatrixbug NOUN 1 I think I've got a bit of a stomach bug. = illness, disease, complaint, virus, infection, disorder, sickness, ailment, malaise, affliction, malady, lurgy (informal) 2 There is a bug in the software. = fault, failing, virus, error, defect, flaw, blemish, imperfection, glitch, gremlin, malware 3 I've definitely been bitten by the gardening bug. = mania, passion, rage, obsession, craze, fad, thing (informal) ▸ VERB 1 He heard they were planning to bug his office. = tap, eavesdrop, listen in on, wiretap 2 I only did it to bug my parents. = annoy, bother, disturb, needle (informal), plague, irritate, harass, hassle (informal), aggravate (informal), badger, gall, nettle, pester, vex, irk, get under your skin (informal), get on your nerves (informal), nark (Brit. & Austral. & N.Z. slang), get up your nose (informal), be on your back (slang), get in your hair (informal), get on your wick (Brit. slang), hack you off (informal)build VERB 1 Developers are now proposing to build a hotel on the site. = construct, make, raise, put up, assemble, erect, fabricate, form ◼ OPPOSITE: demolish 2 I wanted to build a relationship with my team. = establish, start, begin, found, base, set up, institute, constitute, initiate, originate, formulate, inaugurate ◼ OPPOSITE: finish 3