Collins English Thesaurus Essential. Collins Dictionaries
Poor posture can compress the body's organs. = squeeze, crush, squash, constrict, press, crowd, wedge, cram 2 Textbooks compressed six millennia of Egyptian history into a few pages. = condense, contract, concentrate, compact, shorten, summarize, abbreviate, zip (data)compressed ADJECTIVE 1 a biodegradable product made from compressed peat and cellulose = squeezed, concentrated, compact, compacted, consolidated, squashed, flattened, constricted 2 All those three books are compressed into one volume. = reduced, compacted, shortened, abridgedcompression NOUN = squeezing, pressing, crushing, consolidation, condensation, constrictioncomprise VERB 1 The exhibition comprises 50 oils and watercolours. = be composed of, include, contain, consist of, take in, embrace, encompass, comprehend 2 Women comprise the majority of this hospital's medical staff. = make up, form, constitute, compose
| USAGE The use of of after comprise should be avoided: the library comprises (not comprises of) 6,500,000 books and manuscripts. Consist, however, should be followed by of when used in this way: Her crew consisted of children from Devon and Cornwall. |
compromise NOUN Be willing to make compromises between what your friend wants and what you want. = give-and-take, agreement, settlement, accommodation, concession, adjustment, trade-off, middle ground, half measures ◼ OPPOSITE: disagreement ▸ VERB 1 I don't think we can compromise on fundamental principles. = meet halfway, concede, make concessions, give and take, strike a balance, strike a happy medium, go fifty-fifty (informal) ◼ OPPOSITE: disagree 2 He had compromised himself by accepting the money. = undermine, expose, embarrass, weaken, prejudice, endanger, discredit, implicate, jeopardize, dishonour, imperil ◼ OPPOSITE: supportcompulsion NOUN 1 He felt a compulsion to talk about his sporting achievements all the time. = urge, need, obsession, necessity, preoccupation, drive 2 Students learn more when they are in classes out of choice rather than compulsion. = force, pressure, obligation, constraint, urgency, coercion, duress, demandcompulsive ADJECTIVE 1 He is a compulsive liar. = obsessive, confirmed, chronic, persistent, addictive, uncontrollable, incurable, inveterate, incorrigible 2 This really is compulsive reading. = fascinating, gripping, absorbing, compelling, captivating, enthralling, hypnotic, engrossing, spellbinding 3 an almost compulsive desire to play tricks = irresistible, overwhelming, compelling, urgent, besetting, uncontrollable, drivingcompulsory ADJECTIVE = obligatory, forced, required, binding, mandatory, imperative, requisite, de rigueur (French) ◼ OPPOSITE: voluntarycompute VERB = calculate, rate, figure, total, measure, estimate, count, reckon, sum, figure out, add up, tally, enumeratecomrade NOUN = companion, friend, partner, ally, colleague, associate, fellow, mate (informal), pal (informal), buddy (informal), compatriot, crony, confederate, co-worker, main man (slang, chiefly U.S.), blood (Brit. slang), homeboy (slang, chiefly U.S.), cobber (Austral. & N.Z. old-fashioned, informal), compeercomradeship NOUN = fellowship, solidarity, fraternity, brotherhood, sisterhood, companionship, camaraderie, kotahitanga (N.Z.)
con (informal) VERB He claimed that the businessman had conned him out of his life savings. = swindle, trick, cheat, rip off (slang), kid (informal), skin (slang), stiff (slang), mislead, deceive, hoax, defraud, dupe, gull (archaic), rook (slang), humbug, bamboozle (informal), hoodwink, double-cross (informal), diddle (informal), take for a ride (informal), inveigle, do the dirty on (Brit. informal), bilk, sell a pup, pull a fast one on (informal), scam (slang) ▸ NOUN I am afraid you have been the victim of a con. = swindle, trick, fraud, deception, scam (slang), sting (informal), bluff, fastie (Austral. slang)concave ADJECTIVE = hollow, cupped, depressed, scooped, hollowed, excavated, sunken, indented ◼ OPPOSITE: convexconceal VERB 1 The device, concealed in a dustbin, was defused by police. = hide, bury, stash (informal), secrete, cover, screen, disguise, obscure, camouflage ◼ OPPOSITE: reveal 2 Robert could not conceal his relief. = keep secret, hide, disguise, mask, suppress, veil, dissemble, draw a veil over, keep dark, keep under your hat ◼ OPPOSITE: showconcealed ADJECTIVE = hidden, covered, secret, screened, masked, obscured, covert, unseen, tucked away, secreted, under wraps, inconspicuousconcealment NOUN 1 The criminals vainly sought concealment from the searchlight. = cover, hiding, camouflage, hiding place 2 His concealment of his true motives was masterly. = cover-up, disguise, keeping secret ◼ OPPOSITE: disclosureconcede VERB 1 She finally conceded that he was right. = admit, allow, accept, acknowledge, own, grant, confess ◼ OPPOSITE: deny 2 The government has never conceded that territory to the rebels. = give up, yield, hand over, surrender, relinquish, cede ◼ OPPOSITE: conquerconceit NOUN 1 He knew, without conceit, that he was considered a genius. = self-importance, vanity, arrogance, complacency, pride, swagger, narcissism, egotism, self-love, amour-propre, vainglory 2 Critics may complain that the novel's central conceit is rather simplistic. = image, idea, concept, metaphor, imagery, figure of speech, tropeconceited ADJECTIVE = self-important, vain, arrogant, stuck up (informal), cocky, narcissistic, puffed up, egotistical, overweening, immodest, vainglorious, swollen-headed, bigheaded (informal), full of yourself, too big for your boots or breeches ◼ OPPOSITE: modestconceivable ADJECTIVE = imaginable, possible, credible, believable, thinkable ◼ OPPOSITE: inconceivableconceive VERB 1 We now cannot conceive of a world without electricity. = imagine, envisage, comprehend, visualize, think, believe, suppose, fancy, appreciate, grasp, apprehend 2 I began to conceive a plan of attack. = think up, form, produce, create, develop, design, project, purpose, devise, formulate, contrive 3 women who plan to conceive when they are older = become pregnant, get pregnant, become impregnatedconcentrate VERB 1 Try to concentrate on what you're doing. = focus your attention, focus, pay attention, be engrossed, apply yourself ◼ OPPOSITE: pay no attention 2 We should concentrate our efforts on tackling crime in the inner cities. = focus, centre, converge, bring to bear 3 Most poor people are concentrated in this area. = gather, collect, cluster, accumulate, congregate ◼ OPPOSITE: scatterconcentrated ADJECTIVE 1 Sweeten dishes with honey or concentrated apple juice. = condensed, rich, undiluted, reduced, evaporated, thickened, boiled down 2 She makes a concentrated effort to keep her feet on the ground. = intense, hard, deep, intensive, all-out (informal)concentration NOUN 1 His talking kept breaking my concentration. = attention, application, absorption, single-mindedness, intentness ◼ OPPOSITE: inattention 2 This concentration of effort and resources should not be to the exclusion of everything else. = focusing, centring, consolidation, convergence, bringing to bear, intensification, centralization 3 The area has one of the world's greatest concentrations of wildlife. = convergence, collection, mass, cluster, accumulation, aggregation ◼ OPPOSITE: scatteringconcept NOUN = idea, view, image, theory, impression, notion, conception, hypothesis, abstraction, conceptualizationconception NOUN 1 He doesn't have the slightest conception of teamwork. = understanding, idea, picture, impression, perception, clue, appreciation, comprehension, inkling 2 The symphony is admirable in its conception. = idea, plan, design, image, concept, notion 3 Six weeks after conception your baby is the size of your little fingernail. = impregnation, insemination, fertilization, germination 4 It is six years since the project's conception. = origin, beginning, launching, birth, formation, invention, outset, initiation, inceptionconcern NOUN 1 The move follows growing public concern over the spread of the disease. = anxiety, fear, worry, distress, unease, apprehension, misgiving, disquiet 2 His concern was that people would know that he was responsible.