Collins Dictionaries - Collins Junior Illustrated Thesaurus

full

The teacher wanted a full report of the science experiment.

whole

Amy recited the whole poem without a single mistake.

complete (2) VERB

If you complete something, you finish it.

conclude

The head teacher concluded his lecture with a warning about litter.

do

Have you done your homework?

end

Simon ended his talk by asking if there were any questions.

finish

Charles couldn’t think how to finish his story.

conversation NOUN

If you have a conversation with someone, you talk to each other.

chat

My mum likes to have a chat with friends over a cup of coffee.

discussion

There was a long discussion about which class Sheena should be put in.

gossip

The opening of the new school provided plenty of gossip.

talk

“I think we should have a talk about this,” said his teacher.

cook VERB

When you cook food, you prepare it for eating by heating it.

WAYS OF COOKING:

bake

barbecue

boil

fry

grill

microwave

poach

roast

steam

stew

stir-fry

toast

copy (1) NOUN

A copy is something made to look like something else.

fake

The police say that painting is a fake.

forgery

He thought the man gave him a twenty-pound note, but it was a forgery.

imitation

Those jewels are only imitations. They’re made of glass.

photocopy

“Can you give me a photocopy of that page?” asked Domenica.

print

It’s not an original painting. It’s a print.

replica

Manuel bought a plastic replica of the Eiffel Tower.

copy (2) VERB

If you copy what someone does, you do the same thing.

follow

“You must follow my movements exactly,” said the dance teacher.

imitate

She can imitate her mum’s voice.

impersonate

Frank is really good at impersonating famous people.

mimic

Ben can mimic the sounds animals make.

mirror

We carefully mirrored the movements of the karate teacher.

trace

Kim carefully traced the outline of the country into her book.

correct ADJECTIVE

Something that is correct is true and has no mistakes.

accurate

Make sure that your measurements are accurate, or the pieces will not fit together.

exact

It’s no good guessing the amount of flour you need, it must be exact.

precise

“It’s very important that the details you give are precise,” said the policeman.

right

In the test, all his answers were right.

true

“Your report may be exciting,” said her teacher, “but is it true?”

cosy ADJECTIVE

A house or room that is cosy is comfortable and warm and not too big.

comfortable

It was a comfortable room with lots of deep armchairs and thick rugs.

snug

We love our house because it’s so snug.

warm

The fire sent out a warm, welcoming glow.

count VERB

If you count a number of things, you find out how many there are.

add up

She added up her pocket money to see if there was enough to go to the cinema.

calculate

Patrick calculated the number of hours he had spent doing his homework.

tally

The whole class stayed to tally the votes for the football captain.

work out

Work out how much you’ve got, and how much more you need to buy this bike.

cover VERB

If you cover something, you put something else over it to protect or hide it.

cloak

Mist cloaked the mountain top, making it too dangerous to climb.

conceal

The boy concealed his work with his hand.

hide

During winter a blanket of snow hid the lawn and flowerbeds.

mask

Edmund masked his feeling of dismay with a smile.

crack NOUN

A crack is a line or gap on something that shows it is damaged.

crevice

Many spiders lurked in crevices in the old stone wall.

gap

They had to watch the game through a gap in the fence.

split

One of the pieces of wood had a large split at the end.

crash NOUN

A crash is a sudden loud noise like something breaking.

clash

Fabian brought the cymbals together with a clash.

clatter

The metal tray dropped to the ground with a clatter.

smash

There was a smash as the stereo hit the floor.

crime NOUN

A crime is something that is against the law of a country.

KINDS OF CRIMES:

arson

burglary

graffiti

hijacking

joyriding

mugging

murder

piracy

robbery

shoplifting

smuggling

stealing

terrorism

theft

vandalism

criminal NOUN

A criminal is someone who has done something that is against the law.

KINDS OF CRIMINALS:

arsonist

burglar

graffitist

hijacker

joyrider

mugger

murderer

pirate

robber

shoplifter

smuggler

terrorist

thief

vandal

crooked ADJECTIVE

Something that is crooked is bent or twisted.

bent

Shadha complained she couldn’t get any juice through the bent straw, so the waiter got her another.

twisting

A twisting path led through the woods to the cottage.

warped

The wood was so warped they couldn’t use it for anything but firewood.

cross ADJECTIVE

Someone who is cross is angry about something.

angry

Adrian was so angry he could hardly speak to her.

annoyed

Grandpa was annoyed when he found slugs had eaten his lettuces.

grumpy

Steven felt grumpy about not being well enough to go out.

irritable

Flies pestered the pony and made him very irritable.

cruel ADJECTIVE

Someone who is cruel hurts people or animals without caring.

brutal

The police said it was a brutal murder.

cold-hearted

The kidnapper was cold-hearted and ignored their pleas.

heartless

A heartless burglar smashed my grandma’s favourite vase.

vicious

The burglar aimed a vicious kick at the guard dog.

ANTONYM: kind

crush VERB

To crush something is to destroy its shape by squeezing it.

flatten

They flattened the soft drink cans before recycling them.

screw up

Tibbles screwed up Mum’s jacket when she slept on it.

squash

I dropped the shopping bag and squashed the tomatoes.

cry (1) VERB

To cry means to call out loudly.

call

He called, “Anybody there?”

shout

“I can’t hear you,” she shouted.

shriek

“Oh no!” shrieked Libby. “My new jeans have shrunk.”

yell

Debbie had to yell above the din in the school playground.

cry (2) VERB

When you cry, tears come from your eyes and trickle down your face.

grizzle

The baby grizzles when he’s hungry.

howl

My sister howled when her gerbil died.

snivel

“It’s no good snivelling,” said the ugly sisters. “You’re not going to the ball.”