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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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cleft, split, slit, cut, gash, rent, rift, tear, rip, puncture,<br />

hole, perforation: <strong>The</strong> tiniest flaw may reduce the value <strong>of</strong> a<br />

pot to a collector.<br />

--v. 3 damage, harm, spoil, ruin, mark, weaken, disfigure:<br />

Careless workmanship has flawed many <strong>of</strong> the objects they<br />

produced. 4 discredit, stigmatize, damage, hurt, harm; taint,<br />

mar, stain, blot: Her reputation has already been flawed.<br />

flawed adj. damaged, harmed, marred, weakened, tainted, stained,<br />

tarnished, defective, imperfect, unsound, faulty: His flawed<br />

record prevented him from getting work.<br />

flawless adj. 1 perfect, pristine, pure, uncorrupted, chaste, virgin,<br />

intact, whole, clean, immaculate, unsullied, unspoilt, unsoiled,<br />

impeccable, unblemished, faultless, undamaged, unimpaired,<br />

spotless, untarnished: Two flawless artefacts were found in the<br />

tomb. Many envied her flawless reputation. 2 undeniable,<br />

unassailable, unimpeachable, unquestionable, irrefutable,<br />

foolpro<strong>of</strong>, sound, demonstrable: <strong>The</strong> prosecutor's evidence<br />

appears to be flawless.<br />

flecked adj. spotted, dappled, pied, (be)speckled, (be)sprinkled,<br />

dotted, marked, stippled, dusted, specked, spattered, freckled:<br />

His lank brown hair was flecked with grey.<br />

flee v. 1 quit, run away or <strong>of</strong>f, escape, get away, fly, take flight,<br />

bolt, go (away), decamp, abscond, seek safety, avoid, make <strong>of</strong>f,<br />

make an exit, make (good) one's escape, make a (clean) getaway,<br />

beat a (hasty) retreat, take to one's heels, show a clean pair<br />

<strong>of</strong> heels, turn tail, make tracks, make a run for it, cut and<br />

run, vanish, disappear, Brit levant, Colloq take <strong>of</strong>f, scoot,<br />

make oneself scarce, beat it, clear out, fly the coop,<br />

skedaddle, scram, Brit scarper, Australian and New Zealand shoot<br />

through, US and Canadian take a (run-out) powder, skip (town),<br />

cut out, hightail it, Old-fashioned skiddoo; Slang split, Brit<br />

bugger <strong>of</strong>f, do a moonlight flit, do a bunk, US and Canadian<br />

vamoose, lam out, take it on the lam, blow, bail out: He fled<br />

the town and was never seen again. When they saw what they had<br />

done, they fled. She fled to Brazil to avoid the tax<br />

authorities. 2 avoid, evade, shun, escape from, eschew: She<br />

fled the responsibilities <strong>of</strong> caring for her children.

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