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

joyride, ride, tour, excursion, outing, jaunt: On Sunday
afternoons we sometimes went for a spin in the car.
spine n. 1 backbone, spinal column, vertebrae: He can't stand up
straight - he has curvature of the spine. 2 thorn, needle,
barb, spike, spur, prong, quill, ray, barbel, bristle, prickle,
Technical barbule, spicule or spiculum or spicula: The surface
of the sea urchin is covered with needle-like spines.
spineless adj. 1 Technical invertebrate: There are more species of
spineless creatures than those with internal backbones. 2 weak,
feeble, flabby, irresolute, weak-willed, indecisive,
ineffectual, ineffective, impotent, powerless: After her reign,
any king would appear spineless. 3 cowardly, dastardly,
pusillanimous, timorous, lily-livered, white-livered, craven,
fearful, timid, spiritless, squeamish, Colloq yellow,
chicken-hearted, chicken, yellow-bellied, wimpish: She said you
were spineless because you refused to go into the lions' cage.
spiral n. 1 helix, coil, corkscrew, screw, scroll; whorl, volute,
turn, curl: In earlier Greek motifs, the spiral is commoner
than the rectangular fret.
--adj. 2 helical, coiled, screw, corkscrew, cochlear or
cochleate; scrolled, volute(d), whorled: A spiral staircase is
attractive and space-saving, but hard to use.
spire n. 1 column, tower, belfry; steeple, flŠche: The spire of the
church was repeatedly struck by lightning that night. 2 top,
pinnacle, apex, peak, summit, acme, tip, crest, crown, vertex:
We climbed till we stood on the highest spire above the valley.
spirit n. 1 anima, breath, life, vitality, vital spirit, pneuma, soul,
consciousness, psyche, self, heart, essence: Though past
eighty, Mr Wilkins has a great deal of spirit. Even though she
is gone, Annabel's spirit is still with us. 2 character,
temperament, temper, persona, disposition, mind, will,
will-power, attitude, bent, inclination, energy, ardour, desire,
impetus, drive, urge, eagerness, zest, zeal, zealousness, fire,
passion(s), enthusiasm, motivation, mettle, resolution, resolve,
intention, enterprise: We have always admired the spirit of the
early pioneers. Bill has shown a lot of the right spirit. 3
zest, pungency, piquancy, warmth, fire, animation, life,