22.03.2013 Views

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

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

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

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Marital and financial problems are the staples <strong>of</strong> soap operas.<br />

star n. 1 celestial or heavenly body; evening star, morning star,<br />

falling star, shooting star, comet; nova, supernova: It was a<br />

beautiful clear night and the sky was full <strong>of</strong> stars. 2<br />

celebrity, personage, dignitary, VIP, name, somebody, luminary,<br />

leading light, leading man or woman or lady, lead, principal,<br />

diva, prima donna, hero, heroine, idol, superstar, Technical<br />

slang top banana, headliner, Colloq big shot, (big) draw, celeb,<br />

big name: Clancy knows many <strong>of</strong> the big stars personally.<br />

--adj. 3 principal, major, leading, important, celebrated,<br />

famous, famed, prominent, eminent, pre-eminent, distinguished,<br />

brilliant, illustrious, unequalled, peerless, matchless,<br />

incomparable, unrivalled, inimitable, unmatched, unparalleled,<br />

top, foremost: A new local rock band was the star attraction at<br />

the Hippodrome.<br />

--v. 4 feature or be featured; play or act or take the lead or<br />

the leading part or role: He began his career starring in<br />

spaghetti westerns.<br />

stare v. 1 gaze, gape, goggle, gawk, watch, Colloq rubberneck, Slang<br />

Brit gawp: <strong>The</strong> people were powerless to do anything but stare<br />

as the molten lava engulfed the city.<br />

--n. 2 fixed or blank look; goggle, gaze: <strong>The</strong> teacher fixed<br />

her with a stare and she blushed with guilt.<br />

stark adv. 1 completely, utterly, unqualifiedly, wholly, absolutely,<br />

entirely, totally, fully, altogether, plainly, obviously,<br />

clearly, certifiably: Is that an elephant on the beach, or am I<br />

going stark staring mad? <strong>The</strong> children were running around stark<br />

naked.<br />

--adj. 2 plain, simple, Spartan, severe, unembellished,<br />

unadorned, cold, bare, harsh, hard, grim, bald, blunt: <strong>The</strong> room<br />

looks less stark with curtains. Just give me the stark facts<br />

without all the elaboration. 3 harsh, severe, bleak, austere,<br />

barren, desolate, dreary, grey, depressing, ravaged, empty,<br />

vacant, Literary drear, Colloq US spooky: As day dawned, I<br />

looked out over the stark landscape <strong>of</strong> the nuclear winter. 4<br />

sheer, complete, utter, absolute, perfect, pure, thorough,

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!