Childrens Illustrated Thesaurus

161

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n

o

f

pink

pest^2

noun an annoying person

» My friend’s little brother

is a pest.

bane, bore, nuisance,

pain (informal),

pain in the neck (informal)

pester

verb to bother someone

continually » Our father gets

annoyed when we pester him

for sweets.

annoy, badger, bother,

bug (informal), drive

someone up the wall (slang),

get on someone’s nerves

(informal), bedevil, chivvy

petty^1

adjective small and

unimportant

» The competition organizers

have to abide by endless rules

and petty regulations.

insignificant,

measly (informal), trifling,

trivial, unimportant

petty^2

adjective selfish and

small-minded » I think that

attitude is a bit petty.

cheap, mean, small-minded

phone^1

noun a device that allows you

to speak to someone in another

place » Will you please

answer the phone?

blower (Britain; informal),

cellphone, mobile,

mobile phone, smartphone,

telephone

phone^2

verb to contact a person

by phone » Phone me when

you get home.

call, contact, ring,

telephone

phoney

adjective (informal) false

and intended to deceive

» We found out later that his

account of events was phoney.

bogus, counterfeit, fake,

false, forged, sham,

feigned, spurious

antonym: genuine

pick^1

verb to choose something

» Mum picked the biggest,

juiciest oranges that she

could find.

choose, decide upon,

hand-pick, opt for, select,

settle on

pick^2

verb to remove a flower or fruit

with your fingers » Gareth

helps his mother pick apples.

gather, harvest, pluck

pick^3

noun the best » Only the pick

of the school’s athletes are

chosen to go to the national

championships.

best, elite, flower, pride

pick on

verb to criticize someone

unfairly or treat them unkindly

» The teacher always picks on

me to answer the question.

bait, tease, torment

picture^1

noun a drawing, painting,

or photograph

◀◀ SEE LEFT

picture^2

verb to imagine something

clearly » Sam pictured her

with long black hair.

conceive of, imagine,

see, visualize, envision,

see in the mind’s eye

piece^1

noun a portion or part of

something » He helped

himself to the biggest piece

of cake.

bit, chunk, fragment, part,

portion, slice

piece^2

noun something that has been

written, created, or composed

» Our music teacher

composed this piece

for the school choir.

article, composition,

creation, study, work

piece together

verb to assemble things

or parts to make something

complete » Archaeologists

painstakingly pieced together

the fragments of bone.

assemble, join, mend,

patch together, repair,

restore

pierce

verb to make a hole in

something with a sharp

instrument » She pierced

the potatoes with a fork so they

wouldn’t explode in the oven.

bore, drill, lance, penetrate,

puncture

pig

noun a farm animal kept for

meat » The pigs wallowed

gleefully in the thick mud.

hog, piggy (informal),

porker, swine

related words:

adjective porcine; male boar;

female sow; young piglet;

collective noun litter;

habitation sty

pile^1

noun a quantity of things lying

one on top of another » Piles

of books covered the floor.

heap, hoard, mound,

mountain, stack

pile^2

noun the raised fibres of a soft

surface » My feet sank into

the carpet’s luxurious pile.

down, fur, nap

pile^3

verb to put things one on top

of another » He piled his

plate with sandwiches.

heap, hoard, stack

pink

noun or adjective

» Shades of pink:

coral, flesh, fuchsia,

oyster pink, rose, salmon,

shell pink, shocking pink

Mum picked the biggest, juiciest

oranges that she could find.

He piled his plate

with sandwiches.

He helped himself to the biggest

piece of cake.

My friend's little brother is a pest.

156-174_P.indd 161 13/01/17 10:53 am