Collins English Thesaurus Essential. Collins Dictionaries
OPPOSITE: refined 6 social policies which promote the common good = collective, public, community, social, communal ◼ OPPOSITE: personalcommonplace ADJECTIVE The practice was virtually unheard of twenty years ago, but has now become commonplace. = everyday, common, ordinary, widespread, pedestrian, customary, mundane, vanilla (slang), banal, run-of-the-mill, humdrum, dime-a-dozen (informal) ◼ OPPOSITE: rare ▸ NOUN It is a commonplace to say that the poetry of the first world war was greater than that of the second. = cliché, platitude, banality, truismcommon sense NOUN = good sense, sound judgment, level-headedness, practicality, prudence, nous (Brit. slang), soundness, reasonableness, gumption (Brit. informal), horse sense, native intelligence, mother wit, smarts (slang, chiefly U.S.), witcommon-sense ADJECTIVE = sensible, sound, practical, reasonable, realistic, shrewd, down-to-earth, matter-of-fact, sane, astute, judicious, level-headed, hard-headed, grounded ◼ OPPOSITE: foolishcommotion NOUN = disturbance, to-do, riot, disorder, excitement, fuss, turmoil, racket, upheaval, bustle, furore, outcry, uproar, ferment, agitation, ado, rumpus, tumult, hubbub, hurly-burly, brouhaha, hullabaloo, hue and crycommunal ADJECTIVE 1 Communal violence broke out in different parts of the country. = community, neighbourhood 2 The inmates ate in a communal dining room. = public, shared, general, joint, collective, communistic ◼ OPPOSITE: privatecommune NOUN = community, collective, cooperative, kibbutzcommune with VERB 1 He set off from the lodge to commune with nature. = contemplate, ponder, reflect on, muse on, meditate on 2 We were encouraged to commune with grown-ups as equals. = talk to, communicate with, discuss with, confer with, converse with, discourse with, parley with, korero (N.Z.)communicable ADJECTIVE = infectious, catching, contagious, transferable, transmittablecommunicate VERB 1 My natural mother has never communicated with me. = contact, talk, speak, phone, correspond, make contact, be in touch, ring up (informal, chiefly Brit.), be in contact, get in contact, email or e-mail, text, message 2 The result will be communicated to parents. = make known, report, announce, reveal, publish, declare, spread, disclose, pass on, proclaim, transmit, convey, impart, divulge, disseminate ◼ OPPOSITE: keep secret 3 typhus, a disease communicated by body lice = pass on, transfer, spread, transmitcommunication NOUN 1 The problem is a lack of real communication between you. = contact, conversation, correspondence, intercourse (formal), link, relations, connection 2 Treatment involves the communication of information. = passing on, spread, circulation, transmission, disclosure, imparting, dissemination, conveyance 3 The ambassador has brought a communication from the President. = message, news, report, word, information, statement, intelligence, announcement, disclosure, dispatch, email or e-mail, text ▸ PLURAL NOUN Violent rain has caused flooding and cut communications between neighbouring towns. = connections, travel, links, transport, routescommunicative ADJECTIVE = talkative, open, frank, forthcoming, outgoing, informative, candid, expansive, chatty, voluble, loquacious, unreserved ◼ OPPOSITE: reservedcommunion NOUN = affinity, accord, agreement, unity, sympathy, harmony, intercourse (formal), fellowship, communing, closeness, rapport, converse, togetherness, concordCommunion NOUN = Eucharist, Mass, Sacrament, Lord's Suppercommuniqué NOUN = announcement, report, bulletin, dispatch, news flash, official communicationcommunism NOUN (usually cap.) = socialism, Marxism, Stalinism, collectivism, Bolshevism, Marxism-Leninism, state socialism, Maoism, Trotskyism, Eurocommunism, Titoismcommunist NOUN (often cap.) = socialist, Red (informal), Marxist, Bolshevik, collectivistcommunity NOUN 1 He's well liked by the local community. = society, people, public, association, population, residents, commonwealth, general public, populace, body politic, state, company 2 a township on the outskirts of the mining community = district, area, quarter, region, sector, parish, neighbourhood, vicinity, locality, locality, locale, neck of the woods (informal)commute VERB 1 She commutes to London every day. = travel 2 His sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. = reduce, cut, modify, shorten, alleviate, curtail, remit, mitigatecommuter NOUN = daily traveller, passenger, suburbanitecompact1 ADJECTIVE 1 a thick, bare trunk crowned by a compact mass of dark-green leaves = closely packed, firm, solid, thick, dense, compressed, condensed, impenetrable, impermeable, pressed together ◼ OPPOSITE: loose 2 The strength of the series is in its concise, compact short-story quality. = concise, brief, to the point, succinct, terse, laconic, pithy, epigrammatic, pointed ◼ OPPOSITE: lengthy ▸ VERB The soil settles and is compacted by the winter rain. = pack closely, stuff, cram, compress, condense, tamp ◼ OPPOSITE: loosencompact2 NOUN The Pilgrims signed a democratic compact aboard the Mayflower. = agreement, deal (informal), understanding, contract, bond, arrangement, alliance, treaty, bargain, pact, covenant, entente, concordatcompanion NOUN 1 He has been her constant companion for the last six years. = friend, partner, ally, colleague, associate, mate (informal), gossip (archaic), buddy (informal), comrade, accomplice, crony, confederate, plus-one (informal), consort, main man (slang, chiefly U.S.), homeboy (slang, chiefly U.S.), cobber (Austral. & N.Z. old-fashioned, informal) 2 She was employed as companion to a wealthy old woman. = assistant, aide, escort, attendant 3 The book was written as the companion to a trilogy of television documentaries. = complement, match, fellow, mate, twin, counterpartcompanionship NOUN = fellowship, company, friendship, fraternity, rapport, camaraderie, togetherness, comradeship, amity (formal), esprit de corps, convivialitycompany NOUN 1 She worked in an insurance company. = business, firm, association, corporation, partnership, establishment, syndicate, house, concern 2 He was a notable young actor in a company of rising stars. = group, troupe, set, community, league, band, crowd, camp, collection, gathering, circle, crew (informal), assembly, convention, ensemble, throng, coterie, bevy, assemblage, party, body 3 The division consists of two tank companies and one infantry company. = troop, unit, squad, team 4 I would be grateful for your company on the drive back. = companionship, society (old-fashioned), presence, fellowship 5 Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise you had company. = guests, party, visitors, callerscomparable ADJECTIVE 1 They should be paid the same wages for work of comparable value. = equal, equivalent, on a par, tantamount, a match, proportionate, commensurate, as good ◼ OPPOSITE: unequal 2 The scoring systems used in the two studies are not directly comparable. = similar, related, alike, corresponding, akin, analogous, of a piece, cognate, cut from the same clothcomparative ADJECTIVE = relative, qualified, by comparison, approximatecompare VERB Compare the two illustrations in Fig 60. = contrast, balance, weigh, set against, collate, juxtapose ● compare to something Commentators compared his work to that of James Joyce. = liken to, parallel, identify with, equate to, correlate to, mention in the same breath as ● compare with something The flowers here do not compare with those at home. = be as good as, match, approach, equal, compete with, come up to, vie, be on a par with, be the equal of, approximate to, hold a candle to, bear comparison, be in the same class ascomparison NOUN 1 There are no previous statistics for comparison. = contrast, distinction, differentiation, juxtaposition, collation 2 There is no comparison between the picture quality of the two formats. = similarity, analogy, resemblance, correlation, likeness, comparabilitycompartment NOUN 1 We shared our compartment with a group of students. = section, carriage, berth 2 I put the ice cream in the freezer compartment of the fridge. = bay, chamber, booth, locker, niche, cubicle, alcove, pigeonhole, cubbyhole, cell 3 We usually put the mind, the body and the spirit into three separate compartments. = category, area, department, division, section, subdivisioncompass NOUN Within the compass of a book of this size, such a comprehensive survey is not practicable. = range, field, area, reach,