Collins Dictionaries - Collins Junior Illustrated Thesaurus

evident

It was evident she didn’t like me.

obvious

It was obvious from the first sentence that this was a sad book.

plain

“I’ll make my idea plain, in words of one syllable,” his brother said.

simple

The instructions were really simple and easy to follow.

clear (2) ADJECTIVE

On a clear day there are no clouds in the sky.

bright

On a bright day there are strong shadows on the ground.

cloudless

After the storm the sun shone brightly in the cloudless sky.

fine

“If the weather’s fine we’ll go to the beach tomorrow,” said Dad.

sunny

It was sunny one minute and raining heavily the next.

clear (3) ADJECTIVE

If a space is clear, there is nothing in it or it is free from things you don’t want.

bare

The room was bare when we got it ready for decorating.

empty

For once, the car park was empty and Mum could park close to the shops.

clever ADJECTIVE

Someone who is clever can learn and understand things easily.

brainy

Matt is really brainy. He gets top marks for everything.

bright

The baby’s very bright. She’s saying lots of words already.

crafty

A crafty old fox sneaked into the kitchen and stole the sausages.

cunning

She disguised her scar with a cunning use of make-up.

gifted

Kamal is a gifted writer.

intelligent

Our cat’s quite intelligent. It understands ten words.

inventive

Matt was really inventive when it came to making up excuses.

sharp

That old man is still as sharp as ever.

skilful

Finches are skilful at getting the shells off sunflower seeds.

talented

He was a talented musician who could play any instrument well.

climb VERB

When you climb something, you move upwards.

ascend

The lift ascended so rapidly it took their breath away.

clamber

They clambered up the steep hill, clutching at bushes.

shin up

They shinned up the tree and looked at the view.

clothes PLURAL NOUN

Clothes are the things people wear, such as shirts, trousers and dresses.

clothing

You’ll need warm clothing if you want to watch the fireworks.

costume

The actors in the film wore wonderful bright costumes.

dress

We were asked to wear informal dress to the dance.

garments

The charity shop is always glad of garments we no longer need.

gear

Sebastian had to have all the right gear for skateboarding.

outfit

Mum said her new outfit would be perfect for the wedding.

wardrobe

A famous designer planned the wardrobe for the musical.

wear

The shop sold everything you could want in the way of outdoor wear.

cold ADJECTIVE

If the weather is cold, the temperature outside is low.

WORDS THAT DESCRIBE THE COLD:

arctic

biting

bitter

chilly

cool

freezing

frosty

frozen

icy

raw

wintry

collect VERB

If you collect a number of things, you bring them together.

assemble

They assembled lots of food for the midnight feast.

gather

We went out to gather blackberries from a field near our house.

hoard

David hoarded empty glass bottles for his display.

raise

The school is trying to raise money for Children in Need.

save

We have been asked to save used stamps for a school project.

collection NOUN

A collection is a group of things brought together over a period of time.

assortment

The bathroom shelf is full of an assortment of shampoo bottles.

heap

Now and again, Dad adds another book to the heap.

mass

Dan worked his way through a mass of clothes to find his jeans.

pile

There was a pile of smelly old trainers in the corner.

set

“One more card and I’ll have a complete set,” said Raymond.

colour NOUN

The colour of something is the way it looks in daylight.

shade

The walls were painted in different shades.

tint

The autumn leaves were taking on a warm red tint.

DIFFERENT COLOURS:

black

blue

navy

sky blue

turquoise

brown

chocolate

coffee

fawn

green

bottle-green

lime

orange

tan

pink

rose

purple

lavender

lilac

mauve

red

crimson

scarlet

vermilion

white

cream

ivory

yellow

amber

gold

come VERB

To come to a place is to move there or arrive there.

appear

We all giggled when the magician’s rabbit appeared on stage.

approach

The guard dog growled loudly when the stranger approached.

arrive

The train arrived, and Grandma got out.

draw near

As they drew near to the castle, the great door opened.

show up

Most of the acts were good, but the conjuror didn’t show up.

turn up

“Don’t worry about us. We’ll turn up later,” said Ted.

visit

The Mayor is going to visit this afternoon.

ANTONYM: go

comfortable (1) ADJECTIVE

Something comfortable makes you feel relaxed and snug.

cosy

My room’s warm and cosy in winter, even when it’s freezing outside.

snug

Jamil felt snug tucked up in bed.

soft

Charlotte snuggled into the soft pillow and fell asleep straight away.

comfortable (2) ADJECTIVE

If you are comfortable, you feel at ease.

contented

The cat looked contented stretching out beside the fire.

happy

He was happy in his new room.

relaxed

Rebecca felt relaxed in the company of her friends.

ANTONYM: uncomfortable

common ADJECTIVE

If something is common, you often see it or it often happens.

average

It’s average behaviour for a boy of his age.

everyday

Children feeding ducks on the pond is an everyday sight in this park.

standard

Power steering is standard in many cars that are made today.

usual

It is quite usual to see dogs and cats getting on well together.

competition NOUN

A competition is an event to see who is best at doing something.

championship

Our school is taking part in the junior swimming championship.

contest

There was a fierce contest between the red and blue teams.

game

Supporters cheered when their team won the game.

race

Attilio was by far the fastest runner and easily won the race.

tournament

My brother is through to the finals of the table-tennis tournament.

complete (1) ADJECTIVE

If something is complete, there is nothing missing.

entire

I’ve got the entire set of famous people in my album.