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frequently_asked_questions_files/Oxford Thesaurus.pdf

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lean° adj. 1 thin, slim, slender, rangy, spare, wiry, lanky, lank,<br />

skinny, angular, bony, raw-boned, gaunt, gangling, gangly,<br />

spare, meagre, skeletal, scraggy, scrawny, haggard, emaciated,<br />

pinched, wasted, shrunken, macilent: He has the lean leggy<br />

build typical of a runner. 2 unfruitful, unproductive, barren,<br />

infertile, poor, meagre, scanty, bare, arid, sparse,<br />

impoverished: The Kanes tried for years to eke a living from<br />

the lean soil. 3 impoverished, destitute, needy,<br />

poverty-stricken, penurious, indigent, necessitous, hard, bad,<br />

difficult: The Depression was a lean period for most people.<br />

leaný v. 1 rest (against or on or upon), be held up or supported by:<br />

She leant her head on his shoulder. 2 incline, slant, tilt,<br />

bend, tip: Isn't that pole leaning over too much? 3 Often,<br />

lean towards. favour, gravitate towards, tend towards, be<br />

disposed towards, prefer, show a preference for, incline<br />

towards, be or lean on the side of, be biased towards, be<br />

(prejudiced) in favour of: She leans towards conservatism when<br />

it comes to morality. 4 lean on. a rely on, depend on, count<br />

on, believe or trust in, pin one's hopes or faith on or upon:<br />

You can lean on me if you need help. b pressure, bring pressure<br />

to bear on, intimidate, threaten, cow, terrorize, terrify,<br />

scare, frighten, warn, menace, endanger, imperil, Brit<br />

pressurize: Sometimes the gang would lean on a shopkeeper who<br />

refused to pay for 'protection'.<br />

leaning n. bent, inclination, bias, prejudice, favouritism, partiality,<br />

predilection, liking, taste, preference, penchant, sympathy,<br />

tendency, tendentiousness: The judges' leanings in favour of<br />

short-haired dogs are well known.<br />

leap n. 1 spring, bound, jump, vault (into); hurdle, clear, hop<br />

over, skip over, negotiate: He leapt into the saddle. Superman<br />

leaps tall buildings at a single bound. 2 jump, cavort, gambol,<br />

dance, frisk, caper, frolic, romp, prance, curvet: He leapt for<br />

joy at the news that he had won first prize. 3 jump, rush,<br />

hasten, form hastily, accept (prematurely or without question):<br />

The speaker kept leaping from one subject to another. Don't leap<br />

to conclusions about her strange behaviour. 4 leap at. jump at,<br />

accept, be eager for, move quickly, take: I leapt at the chance<br />

to apply for a scholarship.<br />

--n. 5 spring, bound, jump, vault, hurdle, hop, skip: With one

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