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The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms INTRO ...

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double any <strong>of</strong>fer we have already had for the painting. 6<br />

proposal, presentation, pr<strong>of</strong>fer, proposition: <strong>The</strong> company said<br />

they could entertain no <strong>of</strong>fers past the deadline. My <strong>of</strong>fer to<br />

lend the money was contingent on being repaid.<br />

<strong>of</strong>fering n. sacrifice, oblation, contribution, donation, gift, present:<br />

<strong>The</strong>y made <strong>of</strong>ferings to the gods in order to propitiate them.<br />

<strong>of</strong>fhand adj. 1 <strong>of</strong>fhanded, casual, informal, nonchalant, cool, distant,<br />

alo<strong>of</strong>, easygoing, blas‚, unceremonious, relaxed, easy, smooth,<br />

unconcerned, insouciant, light-hearted, uninterested,<br />

superficial, cursory, cavalier, careless: His <strong>of</strong>fhand reaction<br />

shows that he doesn't care as much about her as we thought. 2<br />

curt, brusque, abrupt, perfunctory, ungracious, glib, smooth:<br />

When asked when he expected to pay, he gave an <strong>of</strong>fhand reply. 3<br />

extempore, impromptu, unpremeditated, unstudied, extemporaneous,<br />

informal, <strong>of</strong>f the cuff, ad lib: She rose to make some <strong>of</strong>fhand<br />

comments about the accomplishments <strong>of</strong> the guest <strong>of</strong> honour.<br />

--adv. 4 extempore, impromptu, extemporaneously, informally,<br />

<strong>of</strong>f the cuff, ad lib, on the spur <strong>of</strong> the moment, at the drop <strong>of</strong><br />

a hat: That was a pretty good speech considering it was made<br />

<strong>of</strong>fhand. 5 casually, informally, incidentally, by the way,<br />

<strong>of</strong>fhandedly, by the by, parenthetically, in passing, en passant,<br />

cursorily, superficially: Offhand, I'd say that the two <strong>of</strong> them<br />

deserve each other.<br />

<strong>of</strong>fice n. 1 business, organization, department, firm, house,<br />

establishment, company, corporation: Whenever I'm travelling, I<br />

always try to phone the <strong>of</strong>fice once a day. 2 commission,<br />

department, branch; section, division: He was with the overseas<br />

<strong>of</strong>fice for years. 3 workplace, <strong>of</strong>fices; room, area: Our new<br />

<strong>of</strong>fice is completely air-conditioned. My <strong>of</strong>fice is next to the<br />

board room. 4 duty, obligation, responsibility, charge,<br />

commission, service, employment, occupation, position, post,<br />

appointment, assignment, chore, task, job, place, berth, work,<br />

role, function, purpose, part, bit, Colloq thing, Slang shtick:<br />

He was appointed to the <strong>of</strong>fice <strong>of</strong> Minister <strong>of</strong> Health. In her<br />

<strong>of</strong>fice as Minister <strong>of</strong> Finance, she wields great power. 5<br />

<strong>of</strong>fices. indulgence, intermediation, auspices, support,<br />

advocacy, aegis, help, aid, intercession, mediation, patronage,<br />

favour, backing, backup: She appealed to the police chief's<br />

good <strong>of</strong>fices to allow her to visit her son.

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