Collins English Thesaurus Essential. Collins Dictionaries
scram (informal), fly the coop (U.S. & Canad. informal), skedaddle (informal), take a powder (U.S. & Canad. slang), take it on the lam (U.S. & Canad. slang), do a Skase (Austral. informal)buoy NOUN We released the buoy and drifted back on the tide. = float, guide, signal, marker, beacon ● buoy someone up They are buoyed up by a sense of hope. = encourage, support, boost, cheer, sustain, hearten, cheer up, keep afloat, gee upbuoyancy NOUN 1 Air can be pumped into the diving suit to increase buoyancy. = floatability, lightness, weightlessness 2 a mood of buoyancy and optimism = cheerfulness, bounce (informal), pep, animation, good humour, high spirits, zing (informal), liveliness, spiritedness, cheeriness, sunninessbuoyant ADJECTIVE 1 She was in a buoyant mood. = cheerful, happy, bright, lively, sunny, animated, upbeat (informal), joyful, carefree, bouncy, breezy, genial, jaunty, chirpy (informal), sparky, vivacious, debonair, blithe, full of beans (informal), peppy (informal), light-hearted ◼ OPPOSITE: gloomy 2 a small and buoyant boat = floating, light, floatableburden NOUN 1 Having more responsibility at work felt like a burden to him. = trouble, care, worry, trial, weight, responsibility, stress, strain, anxiety, sorrow, grievance, affliction, onus, albatross, millstone, encumbrance 2 She heaved her burden into the back. = load, weight, cargo, freight, bale, consignment, encumbrance ▸ VERB We decided not to burden him with the news. = weigh down, worry, load, tax, strain, bother, overwhelm, handicap, oppress, inconvenience, overload, saddle with, encumber, trammel, incommode ◼ RELATED WORD: adjective onerousburdensome ADJECTIVE = troublesome, trying, taxing, difficult, heavy, crushing, exacting, oppressive, weighty, onerous, irksomebureau NOUN 1 the foreign employment bureau = agency 2 the paper's Washington bureau = office, department, section, branch, station, unit, division, subdivision 3 A simple writing bureau sat in front of the window. = desk, writing deskbureaucracy NOUN 1 State bureaucracies tend to stifle enterprise and initiative. = government, officials, authorities, administration, ministry, the system, civil service, directorate, officialdom, corridors of power 2 People complain about having to deal with too much bureaucracy. = red tape, regulations, officialdom, officialese, bumbledombureaucrat NOUN = official, minister, officer, administrator, civil servant, public servant, functionary, apparatchik, office-holder, mandarinburglar NOUN = housebreaker, thief, robber, pilferer, filcher, cat burglar, sneak thief, picklockburglary NOUN = breaking and entering, housebreaking, break-in, home invasion (Austral. & N.Z.)burial NOUN = funeral, interment, burying, obsequies, entombment, inhumation, exequies, sepultureburial ground NOUN = graveyard, cemetery, churchyard, necropolis, God's acreburlesque NOUN The book read like a black comic burlesque. = parody, mockery, satire, caricature, send-up (Brit. informal), spoof (informal), travesty, takeoff (informal) ▸ ADJECTIVE a trio of burlesque stereotypes = satirical, comic, mocking, mock, farcical, travestying, ironical, parodic, mock-heroic, caricatural, hudibrasticburly ADJECTIVE = brawny, strong, powerful, big, strapping, hefty, muscular, swole (slang), hench (informal), sturdy, stout, bulky, stocky, hulking, beefy (informal), well-built, thickset ◼ OPPOSITE: scrawnyburn VERB 1 I suddenly realized the blanket was burning. = be on fire, blaze, be ablaze, smoke, flame, glow, flare, flicker, go up in flames 2 He found out he'd won the Lottery, but he'd burnt the ticket. = set on fire, light, ignite, kindle, incinerate, reduce to ashes 3 I burnt the toast. = scorch, toast, sear, char, singe, brand 4 smoke that burns and stings your eyes = sting, hurt, smart, tingle, bite, pain 5 She was burning with a fierce ambition. = be passionate, blaze, be excited, be aroused, be inflamed 6 He was burning with rage. = seethe, fume, be angry, simmer, smoulderburning ADJECTIVE 1 I had a burning ambition to become a journalist. = intense, passionate, earnest, eager, frantic, frenzied, ardent, fervent, impassioned, zealous, vehement, all-consuming, fervid ◼ OPPOSITE: mild 2 a burning question = crucial (informal), important, pressing, significant, essential, vital, critical, acute, compelling, urgentburnish VERB = polish, shine, buff, brighten, rub up, furbish (formal) ◼ OPPOSITE: scuffburrow NOUN a rabbit's burrow = hole, shelter, tunnel, den, lair, retreat ▸ VERB 1 The larvae burrow into cracks in the floor. = dig, tunnel, excavate 2 He burrowed into the pile of charts. = delve, search, dig, probe, ferret, rummage, forage, fossick (Austral. & N.Z.)burst VERB 1 The driver lost control when a tyre burst. = explode, blow up, break, split, crack, shatter, fragment, shiver (archaic, literary), disintegrate, puncture, rupture, rend asunder 2 Water burst through the dam and flooded their villages. = rush, run, break, break out, erupt, spout, gush forth 3 Burglars burst into his home while he was eating breakfast. = barge, charge, rush, shove ▸ NOUN 1 short bursts of activity = rush, surge, fit, outbreak, outburst, spate, gush, torrent, eruption, spurt, outpouring 2 a burst of fireworks = explosion, crack, blast, blasting, bang, dischargebury VERB 1 soldiers who helped to bury the dead = inter, lay to rest, entomb, sepulchre, consign to the grave, inearth, inhume, inurn ◼ OPPOSITE: dig up 2 She buried it under some leaves. = hide, cover, conceal, stash (informal), secrete, cache, stow away ◼ OPPOSITE: uncover 3 She buried her face in the pillows. = sink, embed, immerse, enfold 4 It is time to bury our past misunderstandings. = forget, draw a veil over, think no more of, put in the past, not give another thought to 5 His reaction was to withdraw, to bury himself in work. = engross, involve, occupy, interest, busy, engage, absorb, preoccupy, immersebush NOUN Trees and bushes grow down to the water's edge. = shrub, plant, hedge, thicket, shrubbery ● the bush He caught sunstroke while travelling in the bush. = the wilds, brush, scrub, woodland, backwoods, back country (U.S.), scrubland, backlands (U.S.)bushy ADJECTIVE = thick, bristling, spreading, rough, stiff, fuzzy, fluffy, unruly, shaggy, wiry, luxuriant, bristlybusily ADVERB = actively, briskly, intently, earnestly, strenuously, speedily, purposefully, diligently, energetically, assiduously, industriouslybusiness NOUN 1 young people seeking a career in business = trade, selling, trading, industry, manufacturing, commerce, dealings, merchandising 2 The company was a family business. = establishment, company, firm, concern, organization, corporation, venture, enterprise 3 May I ask what business you are in? = profession, work, calling, job, line, trade, career, function, employment, craft, occupation, pursuit, vocation, métier 4 Parenting can be a stressful business. = matter, issue, subject, point, problem, question, responsibility, task, duty, function, topic, assignment 5 How much I earn is my own business. = concern, affairbusinesslike ADJECTIVE = efficient, professional, practical, regular, correct, organized, routine, thorough, systematic, orderly, matter-of-fact, methodical, well-ordered, workaday ◼ OPPOSITE: inefficientbusinessman or businesswoman or businessperson NOUN = executive, director, manager, merchant, capitalist, administrator, entrepreneur, tycoon, industrialist, financier, tradesperson, homme or femme d'affaires (French)bust1 NOUN Her bust measurement is 38. = bosom, breasts, chest, frontbust2 (informal) VERB 1 They will have to bust the door to get him out. = break, smash, split, burst, shatter, fracture, rupture, break into fragments 2 They were busted for possession of cannabis. = arrest, catch, lift (slang), raid, cop (slang), nail (informal), collar (informal), nab (informal), feel your collar (slang) ▸ NOUN He was imprisoned after a drug bust. = arrest, capture, raid, cop (slang) ● go bust Hundreds of restaurants went bust last year. = go bankrupt, fail, break, be ruined, become insolventbustle VERB My parents bustled around the kitchen. = hurry, tear, rush, dash, scramble, fuss, flutter,