Childrens Illustrated Thesaurus

139

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n

o

f

matter^3

verb to be important » It does

not matter what you wear for

the party.

be of consequence, count,

make a difference

mature^1

verb to become fully developed

» Children seem to mature

earlier these days.

come of age, grow up,

reach adulthood

mature^2

adjective fully developed

» He’s very mature for his age.

adult, full-grown,

fully fledged, grown,

grown-up

maximum^1

adjective being the most that

is possible » The maximum

number of books that will fit

on a shelf is 20.

top, utmost

antonym: minimum

maximum^2

noun the most that is possible

» Matt turned the volume of

the radio up to the maximum.

ceiling, height, most,

upper limit, utmost

antonym: minimum

maybe

adverb it is possible that

» Maybe it would have been

quicker to take the bus.

conceivably, it could be,

perhaps, possibly,

perchance

Tall grasses grew in the marsh.

He gathered the materials needed

for repairing the wall.

Matt turned the volume of the radio

up to the maximum.

many^2 : many of

pronoun a large number of

people or things » I’d read

many of my books already so

I went to the library to take

out more.

a lot, a mass, a multitude,

large numbers, lots

(informal), plenty, scores

antonym: few

mark^1

noun a small stain

» I can’t get this mark

off the curtain and it’s

spoiling the pattern.

blot, line, smudge, spot,

stain, streak

mark^2

verb to stain something

» The pen in Marianna’s

pocket leaked and marked

her trousers.

smudge, stain, streak

market

noun a place to buy or sell

things » We bought fresh

fish at the market today.

bazaar, fair

marriage^1

noun the formal union of two

people who live together

» We have a happy

marriage – we’ve been

together for 20 years.

matrimony (formal),

wedlock (formal)

related words:

adjectives conjugal,

connubial, marital, nuptial

marriage^2

noun a union » The dessert

was a perfect marriage of

biscuit and chocolate.

alliance, association,

coupling, link, match,

merger, union

marsh

noun an area of low-lying,

poorly drained land that is

sometimes flooded » Tall

grasses grew in the marsh.

bog, fen, mire, morass,

mudflats, quagmire,

quicksands, saltmarsh,

slough, swamp, wetland

marvellous

adjective wonderful or excellent

» The class had a marvellous

time at the zoo.

brilliant, excellent,

first-rate, magnificent,

remarkable, splendid,

superb, wonderful

antonym: terrible

mass^1

noun a large number or amount

» Marek had masses of

homework to get through.

crowd, heap, load, lump,

mob, pile, throng

mass^2

adjective involving a large

number of people » There

were mass protests about the

school holidays being reduced.

general, popular,

universal, widespread

mass^3

verb to gather in a large group

» The sheep massed in the

middle of the road.

assemble, congregate,

gather, group

master^1

noun a male schoolteacher

» He is a retired maths master.

instructor, teacher, tutor

master^2

verb to learn how to do

something » Eloise found it

easy to master the recorder.

become proficient in,

get the hang of (informal),

grasp, learn

match^1

noun an organized game

» Ken was looking forward

to the football match.

competition, contest, game

match^2

verb to be similar to » The

shoes matched her dress.

agree, correspond, fit,

go with, suit, tally,

accord, harmonize

material^1

noun any type of cloth

» Sara’s skirt was made

of thick material.

cloth, fabric

material^2

noun a solid substance

» He gathered the materials

needed for repairing the wall.

matter, stuff, substance

matter^1

noun something that you have

to deal with » Rachel found

business matters rather dull.

affair, business, issue,

question, situation, subject

matter^2

noun any substance

» The atom is the smallest

particle of matter.

material, stuff, substance

maybe

137-145_M.indd 139 13/01/17 12:24 pm