Collins Dictionaries - Collins Junior Illustrated Thesaurus

greasy

“I hate washing up greasy dishes,” complained Simon.

grimy

Driving in the open-top car was great fun, but it made their faces pretty grimy.

grubby

He scrubbed at his knees with a grubby old tissue.

messy

Cleaning out the hamster is a messy job.

muddy

He came in from football with muddy shorts and boots.

polluted

The city air is polluted with vehicle fumes.

stained

Their clothes and mouths were stained with blackberry juice.

untidy

Litter blew around the park and made it look untidy.

discover VERB

When you discover something, you find it or find out about it.

find

My brother has found a good way to train the new puppy.

uncover

Mehmet lifted some papers and uncovered a book he’d thought was lost.

unearth

Kylie was digging a hole in the garden and unearthed an old pot.

ANTONYM: hide

disguise VERB

If you disguise something, you change it so that people do not recognize it.

camouflage

The army camouflages tanks to hide them from aircraft.

conceal

She tried to conceal the spot on her chin.

cover

He covered his hair with a black wig.

dress up

Murray dressed up as his father for the party.

mask

Dark sunglasses masked the expression in his eyes.

disturb (1) VERB

If you disturb someone, you interrupt them or spoil their peace and quiet.

bother

Don’t bother me now, I’m busy.

hassle INFORMAL

“Quit hassling me, will you?” yelled my older sister.

interrupt

We’re not allowed to interrupt Dad when he’s working.

pester

Thomas pestered his brother in the library.

trouble

I don’t want to trouble her now. She’s watching her favourite programme.

disturb (2) VERB

If something disturbs you, it upsets or worries you.

alarm

I don’t want to alarm you, but I think we should leave.

distress

The violence in the film distressed him.

frighten

The mouse was frightened when the cat sat by the cage.

upset

The noise upset the baby.

worry

Don’t tell Grandma about the problem. It’ll only worry her.

do (1) VERB

If you do something, you get on and finish it.

arrange

Dad is going to arrange everything.

carry out

The mechanic said he would carry out the repairs while we waited.

complete

“We should complete the work before the end of the week,” said the builder.

cope with

Rachel’s not sure she can cope with the decorations on her own.

finish

“You’ll have to finish your homework before you go swimming,” said Mum.

learn

What are you learning at the moment?

perform

Watch the clown perform his amazing juggling act.

do (2) VERB

If you say that something will do, you mean it is good enough.

be enough

I wonder if half a page about my holidays will be enough?

be sufficient

I really hope this food will be sufficient for six people.

be suitable

Mum wanted to know if jeans would be suitable for the parents’ evening.

work

They thought string might work as they didn’t have any tape.

drag VERB

If you drag a heavy object, you pull it along the ground.

draw

The horse plodded on, drawing the heavy cart behind it.

haul

Fishermen hauled in their nets and found they had a large catch.

pull

Indigo pulled her friend from the river and rang for an ambulance.

tow

The farmer used a tractor to tow anything heavy around the farm.

tug

The boys tugged the sack of grain across the barn floor.

draw (1) VERB

When you draw, you use something like a pencil or crayon to make a picture or a pattern.

doodle

Holly doodled in her notebook as she listened to the teacher.

paint

I wanted to paint some pictures while I was on holiday.

sketch

The artist sat by the lake sketching the view.

trace

For homework we had to trace the outline of a map and fill in the rivers.

draw (2) NOUN

A draw is the result in a game or competition in which nobody wins.

dead heat

The result of the 100 metres sprint was a dead heat.

tie

Floella had hoped to win the competition, but there was a tie for first place.

draw (3) VERB

If something draws you, it is so interesting that you move towards it.

attract

A skydiving display attracted large crowds to the event.

bring in

We are hoping the advertising will bring in plenty of people.

entice

We were enticed into the shop by the display of cakes in the window.

lure

The witch lured the children into her house with promises of sweets.

pull in

The new programme has pulled in a lot of young viewers.

dreadful ADJECTIVE

Something that is dreadful is very bad or unpleasant.

alarming

Our test results were pretty alarming.

awful

I was off school with an awful cold.

dire

The teacher issued dire warnings about the standard of our homework.

frightening

The force of the thunder storm was frightening.

frightful

After the Halloween party the house was in a frightful mess.

ghastly

A ghastly wail echoed round the castle.

horrible

The jumper I got for my birthday was a horrible yellow colour.

dream NOUN

A dream is something you want very much.

ambition

It’s Michael’s ambition to be a pilot.

daydream

My favourite daydream is being interviewed on TV about my book.

fantasy

Chelsea has this fantasy about being a famous model.

➔ vision

drink VERB

When you drink, you take liquid into your mouth and swallow it.

gulp

Boris was so thirsty he gulped down all his lemonade.

guzzle

“Don’t guzzle like that. Drink it slowly,” said Granny.

lap

Tigger lapped up the milk Simon put down for him.

sip

Julia sipped the hot tea carefully.

slurp

Augustus greedily slurped the chocolate milk shake.

swallow

She swallowed the medicine without tasting it.

swig

They swigged cola from the bottle.

DIFFERENT THINGS TO DRINK:

cold drinks

cola

fizz

fruit juice

lemonade

milk

milk shake

smoothie

squash

soya milk

water

hot drinks

cocoa

coffee

hot chocolate

hot milk

malted milk

tea

drive VERB

To drive means to make something or somebody go.

control

Sharon controlled her car skilfully on the sandy beach.

force

The cruel baron forced the villagers from their cottages.

push

People at the front of the crowd were pushed forward.

send

Tom sent the ball over the fence.

steer

Rashid steered the go-kart into the side of the track.

urge