frequently_asked_questions_files/Oxford Thesaurus.pdf

--n. 6 human (being), man, woman, person, soul, individual,
creature, earthling: The novel depicts a lifestyle far removed
from that of ordinary mortals. We mortals have nothing to fear
from intergalactic aliens.
mortify v. 1 humiliate, shame, humble, embarrass, abash, chagrin,
rebuff, crush, discomfit, deflate, bring down, degrade,
downgrade, reduce, chasten, subdue, suppress, make someone eat
humble pie, teach someone his or her place, Colloq put down:
She was mortified to learn that she had been disqualified. 2
punish, castigate, discipline, control, subdue, subjugate:
Repentance was considered insufficient penance, so the
flagellants mortified the flesh with scourges. 3 gangrene,
fester, necrose, putrefy, rot, decompose, decay, putresce:
After a fortnight, the flesh mortifies and falls away.
mother n. 1 dam, materfamilias, (female) parent, Old-fashioned or
formal or jocular mater, Formal progenitrix; matriarch, Colloq
ma, old lady, old woman, Brit mummy, mum, US mom, mommy, mama,
mamma, maw, mammy, mam: He runs crying to his mother whenever
anyone teases him. 2 source, origin, genesis: Necessity is the
mother of invention. 3 nourisher, nurturer, nurse: Poverty was
the mother of anarchy.
--adj. 4 native, natural, innate: She has the mother wit to
know better.
--v. 5 nurture, nourish, nurse, care for, look after, protect,
shelter, watch over, take care of: She mothered me when I
needed her, and I won't desert her now. 6 pamper, baby, coddle,
spoil, indulge, fuss over, overprotect: You mother the child
too much.
motif n. theme, idea, topic, subject, concept, leitmotif; pattern,
figure, refrain, device, ornament, decoration, element,
convention: The painter repeats the motif throughout his
pictures in much the same way that a composer repeats a bar of
music.
motion n. 1 movement, moving, change, shift, shifting, action, going,
travelling, travel, progress, passage, transit; activity,
commotion, stir, agitation, turmoil, turbulence: One could
barely sense the slow motion of the train. The leaves of the