Childrens Illustrated Thesaurus

146

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

nag

natural^2

adjective not trying to pretend

» The new babysitter was so

natural with the children.

candid, frank, genuine,

real, unaffected, artless,

ingenuous

antonym: false

natural^3

adjective existing from birth

and not learned » I’m a

terrible dancer – I have no

natural rhythm.

inborn, inherent, innate,

instinctive, intuitive, native,

immanent, indigenous

nature

noun someone’s character

» It’s not in my nature to

sit still for long.

character, make-up,

personality

naughty

adjective tending to behave

badly » The teacher told

Tony off for being naughty.

bad, disobedient, impish,

mischievous, wayward

antonym: well-behaved

navigate

verb to work out the direction

in which a ship, plane, or car

should go » Sam navigated

the plane through the fog.

guide, pilot, steer

near^1

preposition not far from » The

cat curled up near the fire.

adjacent to, alongside,

close to, next to,

not far from

near^2

adjective not far away in

distance » The restaurant

we’re going to is very near.

adjacent, adjoining,

close, nearby

antonym: far

near^3

adjective not far away in time

» Our final exams are near.

approaching, forthcoming,

imminent, looming, near at

hand, nigh, upcoming

nearly

adverb not completely but

almost » The beach was

nearly empty after the storm.

almost, as good as, just

about, practically, virtually

neat

adjective having everything

arranged in a tidy way » Anna

liked to keep her desk neat.

orderly, smart, spruce,

tidy, trim

antonym: untidy

necessary^1

adjective needed so that

something can happen

» Juan made the necessary

arrangements for his holiday.

essential, imperative,

indispensable, required,

vital, de rigueur, requisite

antonym: unnecessary

necessary^2

adjective (formal) certain to

happen or exist » Wrinkles are

a necessary result of getting old.

certain, inevitable,

inexorable, unavoidable

need

verb to require something

or be required to do something

» You need a ticket to enter.

demand, require, want

nag

verb to keep complaining

about something to someone

» My dad nagged me

to keep the bathroom clean.

badger, bother, go on at,

pester

naked^1

adjective not wearing any

clothes » Anna’s most famous

painting was of a naked woman.

bare, nude, stark-naked,

unclothed, undressed

antonym: clothed

naked^2

adjective openly displayed or

shown » His naked ambition

was evident in his hard work.

blatant, evident, manifest,

open, unmistakable, overt,

patent, stark

antonym: secret

name^1

noun a word that identifies

a person or thing

» My name is Joe.

designation, epithet,

nickname, term, title,

appellation, denomination,

sobriquet

related words:

adjective nominal

name^2

noun the opinion people have

about someone » He lied to

protect Janet’s good name.

character, reputation

name^3

verb to give a name to someone

» She named her daughter Kit,

after her grandmother.

baptize, call, christen, dub,

style, term

narrow

adjective having a small

distance from side to side

» We crossed a narrow stream.

fine, slender, slim, thin

antonym: wide

narrow-minded

adjective unwilling to consider

new ideas or other people’s

opinions » My friend is rather

narrow-minded and doesn’t like

exploring new ideas.

biased, bigoted, insular,

opinionated, prejudiced,

parochial, reactionary

antonym: tolerant

nasty

adjective very unpleasant

» The rotten apple left a

nasty taste in my mouth.

disagreeable, disgusting,

foul, horrible, repellent,

unpleasant, vile

antonym: pleasant

natural^1

adjective normal and to be

expected » Her natural

reaction was to laugh at jokes.

common, everyday, normal,

ordinary, typical, usual

antonym: unnatural The cat curled up near the fire.

We crossed a narrow stream.

Anna liked to keep her desk neat.

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