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

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

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on earth. 2 soil, dirt, loam, sod, clay, turf, ground, mould:<br />

Pack the earth firmly around the roots.<br />

earthly adj. 1 terrestrial, terrene, telluric: Extraterrestrial beings<br />

might be unable to survive in our earthly atmosphere. 2 worldly,<br />

mundane, material, materialistic, physical, non-spiritual,<br />

sensual, carnal, fleshly, corporeal, base, natural: He has<br />

forsaken earthly pleasures in favour <strong>of</strong> spiritual pursuits. 3<br />

human, temporal, secular, pr<strong>of</strong>ane, mortal, physical,<br />

non-spiritual, material: His earthly remains were committed to<br />

the sea. 4 conceivable, imaginable, feasible, possible: What<br />

earthly reason could she have had for kissing me?<br />

earthy adj. ribald, bawdy, unrefined, coarse, crude, shameless,<br />

wanton, uninhibited, abandoned, vulgar, lusty, rough, dirty,<br />

indecent, obscene: She found Henry Miller's books a bit too<br />

earthy for her tastes.<br />

ease n. 1 comfort, repose, well-being, relaxation, leisure, rest,<br />

contentment, calmness, tranquillity, serenity, peacefulness,<br />

peace, peace and quiet: After 50 years <strong>of</strong> hard work, she felt<br />

entitled to a few years <strong>of</strong> ease. 2 easiness, simplicity,<br />

facility, effortlessness, adeptness: He passed the other<br />

runners with ease. 3 affluence, wealth, prosperity, luxury,<br />

opulence, abundance, plenty: He has always led a life <strong>of</strong> ease,<br />

never having had to work. 4 naturalness, informality,<br />

unaffectedness, ingenuousness, casualness, artlessness,<br />

insouciance, nonchalance, aplomb; unconcern: I admire the ease<br />

with which she converses with complete strangers.<br />

--v. 5 comfort, relax, calm, tranquillize, quieten, still,<br />

pacify, soothe, disburden: It eased his mind to learn that<br />

there was a reserve budget for emergencies. 6 lessen, diminish,<br />

abate, mitigate, reduce, decrease, allay, alleviate, assuage,<br />

mollify, appease, palliate, quiet, relieve: Her anxiety was<br />

considerably eased by the news that John would not need an<br />

operation after all. 7 manoeuvre, manipulate, inch, guide,<br />

steer, slip: <strong>The</strong> helmsman eased the ship into dock. 8<br />

facilitate, expedite, simplify, smooth, further, clear, assist,<br />

aid, advance, forward, help: Having a wealthy father eased her<br />

way in life.<br />

easily adv. 1 smoothly, effortlessly, readily, simply, handily,

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