frequently_asked_questions_files/Oxford Thesaurus.pdf

plagiarism
n. plagiarizing, plagiary, piracy, pirating, theft, purloining,
stealing, copying, appropriating, appropriation, thievery,
usurpation, infringing, infringement, imitation, Euphemistic
borrowing, Colloq lifting, cribbing: The similarities between
the two books could only be explained by plagiarism.
plague n. 1 scourge, epidemic, pestilence, affliction, pandemic,
calamity, curse, evil, bane, blight, visitation: The
inhabitants turned a plague of locusts to advantage by eating
them. 2 irritation, annoyance, nuisance, pest, vexation, bother,
thorn in one's side or flesh, torment, torture, Colloq pain (in
the neck), headache, aggravation, Slang drag, bitch, hassle,
Taboo slang pain in the Brit arse or US ass: It's a plague
trying to find a place to park the car.
--v. 3 badger, harry, hound, pester, annoy, vex, irritate,
bother, harass, nag, nettle, exasperate, gall, annoy, irk,
torment, torture, anguish, distress, Brit chivvy or chivy or
chevy: I wish the police would stop plaguing me with questions
about Jonathan's whereabouts.
plain adj. 1 flat, smooth, even, featureless, level, plane: I'd
rather have a paper with a plain surface, not an embossed one,
for the bedroom walls. 2 clear, evident, simple, distinct,
crystal clear, lucid, vivid, transparent, apparent, obvious,
patent, self-evident, manifest, distinct, unmistakable or
unmistakeable, unequivocal, unambiguous, understandable,
intelligible, graphic, direct, in black and white: His
intentions regarding my daughter are plain enough. The plain
fact is that she despises him. 3 open, honest, straightforward,
forthright, direct, frank, candid, blunt, outspoken, ingenuous,
sincere, guileless, artless, unreserved: I want to see some
plain talk between the two of us. 4 simple, unadorned,
undecorated, unembellished, basic, austere, stark,
unostentatious, colourless, drab, bare, unvarnished, Spartan:
Don't you find the average business suit a very plain affair? 5
homely, unattractive, ordinary-looking, unlovely, ugly: Who
would believe that such a plain child could become such a
beautiful woman?
--n. 6 prairie, grassland, pasture, meadow-land, veld or veldt,