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

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--n. 3 bombast, bravado, boasting, bragging, bluster, show,<br />

puffery; deception, blind; Literary rodomontade, gasconade;<br />

Colloq hot air: Roger's ranting is all bluff - he's really very<br />

timid.<br />

bluffý adj. 1 blustering, gruff, rough, abrupt, blunt, curt, short,<br />

crude: Fred's bluff manner puts many people <strong>of</strong>f. 2 frank,<br />

open, hearty, straightforward, plain, plain-spoken, outspoken,<br />

affable, approachable, good-natured, friendly: That comment is<br />

typical <strong>of</strong> his bluff honesty.<br />

--n. 3 cliff, escarpment, precipice, scarp, headland,<br />

promontory, palisades: As you sail down the lower Hudson river,<br />

the tall bluffs form a natural wall along the western bank.<br />

blunder v. 1 stumble, flounder: I had somehow blundered into a meeting<br />

<strong>of</strong> the local crime syndicate. She blundered upon the truth when<br />

she saw them together.<br />

--n. 2 mistake, error, gaffe, faux pas, slip, slip-up, howler,<br />

Colloq boo-boo, screw-up, fluff, boner, US go<strong>of</strong>, go<strong>of</strong>-up: I<br />

made a stupid blunder in telling him about the plans.<br />

blunt adj. 1 dull, worn: This knife is too blunt to cut bread. 2<br />

abrupt, curt, rough-spoken, plain-spoken, short, direct, candid,<br />

frank, unceremonious, undiplomatic, inconsiderate, thoughtless,<br />

brusque, outspoken, bluff, brash, indelicate, rude, uncivil,<br />

ungracious, discourteous, impolite; straightforward, straight,<br />

uncomplicated, uncompromising: Ralph may be blunt, but at least<br />

you know exactly where you stand with him.<br />

--v. 3 dull, take the edge <strong>of</strong>f: You've blunted the scissors<br />

cutting that cardboard. 4 s<strong>of</strong>ten, mitigate, mollify, soothe;<br />

efface, dim, obscure, blur, weaken: Mother's love is an<br />

absorbing delight, blunting all other sensibilities.<br />

blur n. 1 indistinctness, dimness, haziness, cloudiness, fogginess:<br />

We were unable to pick out the star from the blur <strong>of</strong> the Galaxy.<br />

2 fog, haze, Brit fuzz: Without my spectacles, everything is a<br />

blur.<br />

--v. 3 dim, befog, obscure, bedim; efface: My vision was

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