frequently_asked_questions_files/Oxford Thesaurus.pdf

to the supermarket, land abutting the supermarket, land bordering
the supermarket, and land next to the supermarket.
As this is intended as a synonym book and not a work on English
collocations, the treatment of idiomaticity cannot be taken
further.
c. There are other reasons why direct substitutability is not always
possible within a single semantic concept. The following extract
demonstrates this:
possess v.... 3 dominate, control, govern, consume, take
control of, preoccupy, obsess; charm, captivate, enchant,
cast a spell on or over, bewitch, enthral: What possessed
her to think that I could help? He behaves as if he is
possessed by the devil.
Here, two aspects of the same sense have been divided by a
semicolon, with the synonyms preceding the semicolon illustrated
by the first contextual example and those following it by the
second. While it may be argued that in this instance the synonyms
following the semicolon, with their illustrative sentence, might
better have been listed in a separately numbered set, the close
semantic association of the two groups would thereby have been
lost.
d. Sometimes, where the sub-sense is familiar enough not to require
its own example yet needs to be set off from the other synonyms
because of a subtle or aspectual semantic distinction, a semicolon
is inserted among the synonyms and only one example is provided:
practice n.... 2 exercise, discipline, drill, practising,
repetition, rehearsal, training, preparation, workout,
warm-up; application, study: She needs more practice on
the beginner`s slope before going down the main piste.
the idiomatic usage of this sense of 'study' and 'application' is
sufficiently familiar not to require separate example.
On the other hand, a second example is needed for the next sense
of practice:
...3 pursuit, exercise, work, profession, career,