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

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watery adj. 1 weak, dilute(d), watered down, tasteless, insipid,<br />

flavourless, bland, flat, dull, thin, runny, pallid, anaemic,<br />

Colloq wishy-washy: He asked me in, then gave me some watery<br />

tea to drink. 2 weeping, teary, tearful, running, weepy,<br />

lachrymose, rheumy: <strong>The</strong> child looked up at him with watery eyes<br />

and then collapsed, sobbing. 3 wet, swampy, boggy, marshy,<br />

aqueous, squelchy; soggy, moist, damp, humid; Colloq squushy or<br />

squooshy: It took days to make our way across that watery plain<br />

to the high ground.<br />

wave n. 1 swell, undulation, billow, sea, heave, roller, whitecap,<br />

white horse; ripple, wavelet, breaker, comber: A huge wave<br />

tossed me up on the beach. 2 surge, swell, welling up, ground<br />

swell, movement, flood, upsurge, uprising, current, tide: <strong>The</strong><br />

period is marked by a wave <strong>of</strong> materialism and greed that swamped<br />

all morality and integrity. 3 signal, sign, gesticulation,<br />

gesture: Was his wave intended for you or for me?<br />

--v. 4 undulate, billow, move to and fro, flap, flutter,<br />

quiver, flip-flop, swing, sway, ripple, oscillate, zigzag,<br />

fluctuate, shake; wag, whiffle, wigwag, wiggle, waggle,<br />

brandish: <strong>The</strong> streamer waved slowly in the quickening breeze.<br />

Stop waving that knife at me! 5 signal, sign, indicate, signify;<br />

gesture, gesticulate: Hazel waved goodbye from the train.<br />

way n. 1 manner, method, mode, fashion, means, system, course (<strong>of</strong><br />

action), procedure, approach, scheme, technique, practice, modus<br />

operandi, Colloq MO (= 'modus operandi'): That's no way to talk<br />

to your mother! We have ways <strong>of</strong> making you talk. Is that any way<br />

to treat a lady?! It's the wrong way to deal with the problem. 2<br />

manner, spirit, feeling, sense, character, approach,<br />

personality, temperament, disposition, modus vivendi (=<br />

'lifestyle'), nature, technique, style, conduct, habit,<br />

behaviour pattern, custom: He has such a pleasant way about<br />

him. Lucinda certainly has a way with children and dogs. You<br />

city people may not approve <strong>of</strong> our down-to-earth country ways. 3<br />

path, road, street, avenue, course, route, trail, direction:<br />

Show me the way to go home. <strong>The</strong> way to the village lies through<br />

dark woods. 4 distance; route, trail, course, road: You've come<br />

a long way since we last met. 5 progress, passage, advance,<br />

headway; speed, velocity, motion, (forward) movement: We made<br />

our way to the front <strong>of</strong> the crowd. Who has the right <strong>of</strong> way at<br />

the crossing? <strong>The</strong> tide was too strong for us to get any way on.

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