frequently_asked_questions_files/Oxford Thesaurus.pdf

ankest literature. 4 offensive, loathsome, disgusting, gross,
foul, foul-smelling, smelly, rancid, noisome, stinking, reeky,
reeking, mephitic, miasmic or miasmal or miasmatic(al), fetid or
foetid, noxious, rotten, putrid, musty, stale, disagreeable,
strong, pungent: The rank stench from the open sewers pervades
the air in those pockets of poverty.
rank and file
n. (general) membership, members, majority: The union's rank
and file must now vote on whether to accept management's pay
offer.
rankle v. gall, fester, irk, vex, plague, chafe, grate, nettle,
torment, pain, hurt, provoke, anger, exasperate, get (to),
upset: Although she had forgiven him, the insult still rankled.
ransack v. 1 search, examine, go through or over (with a fine-tooth(ed)
comb), comb, rake or rummage through, scour, explore,
scrutinize, turn inside out: I ransacked the second-hand
bookshops for a copy but had no success. 2 rob, plunder,
pillage, sack, despoil, loot, strip; burgle, US and Canadian
burglarize: The thieves who ransacked the shop apparently
missed the most valuable jewel.
ransom n. 1 redemption, rescue, deliverance; release, liberation: The
envoy was held to ransom by a fanatical band of zealots. 2
payment, payout, pay-off, price: The police refuse to reveal
the amount of the ransom given to the kidnappers.
--v. 3 redeem, rescue, release, deliver: The boy was ransomed
for œ10,000.
rant v. 1 declaim, hold forth, expound, expatiate, orate, perorate,
pontificate, trumpet, preach, harangue, lecture, deliver
(oneself of) a tirade or diatribe or speech, speak: The
minister ranted pompously about his accomplishments. 2
vociferate, bluster, rave, rant and rave, bellow, rage: The
master kept ranting on about his newspaper having been creased.
--n. 3 tirade, philippic, bluster, flatulence, rhetoric,
bombast, pomposity, turgidity, gasconade, rodomontade,
theatrics, histrionics, act: As he carried on his rant, the
theatre gradually emptied till he was alone.