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

lean° adj. 1 thin, slim, slender, rangy, spare, wiry, lanky, lank,
skinny, angular, bony, raw-boned, gaunt, gangling, gangly,
spare, meagre, skeletal, scraggy, scrawny, haggard, emaciated,
pinched, wasted, shrunken, macilent: He has the lean leggy
build typical of a runner. 2 unfruitful, unproductive, barren,
infertile, poor, meagre, scanty, bare, arid, sparse,
impoverished: The Kanes tried for years to eke a living from
the lean soil. 3 impoverished, destitute, needy,
poverty-stricken, penurious, indigent, necessitous, hard, bad,
difficult: The Depression was a lean period for most people.
leaný v. 1 rest (against or on or upon), be held up or supported by:
She leant her head on his shoulder. 2 incline, slant, tilt,
bend, tip: Isn't that pole leaning over too much? 3 Often,
lean towards. favour, gravitate towards, tend towards, be
disposed towards, prefer, show a preference for, incline
towards, be or lean on the side of, be biased towards, be
(prejudiced) in favour of: She leans towards conservatism when
it comes to morality. 4 lean on. a rely on, depend on, count
on, believe or trust in, pin one's hopes or faith on or upon:
You can lean on me if you need help. b pressure, bring pressure
to bear on, intimidate, threaten, cow, terrorize, terrify,
scare, frighten, warn, menace, endanger, imperil, Brit
pressurize: Sometimes the gang would lean on a shopkeeper who
refused to pay for 'protection'.
leaning n. bent, inclination, bias, prejudice, favouritism, partiality,
predilection, liking, taste, preference, penchant, sympathy,
tendency, tendentiousness: The judges' leanings in favour of
short-haired dogs are well known.
leap n. 1 spring, bound, jump, vault (into); hurdle, clear, hop
over, skip over, negotiate: He leapt into the saddle. Superman
leaps tall buildings at a single bound. 2 jump, cavort, gambol,
dance, frisk, caper, frolic, romp, prance, curvet: He leapt for
joy at the news that he had won first prize. 3 jump, rush,
hasten, form hastily, accept (prematurely or without question):
The speaker kept leaping from one subject to another. Don't leap
to conclusions about her strange behaviour. 4 leap at. jump at,
accept, be eager for, move quickly, take: I leapt at the chance
to apply for a scholarship.
--n. 5 spring, bound, jump, vault, hurdle, hop, skip: With one