Childrens Illustrated Thesaurus

165

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n

o

f

possession

polite^2

adjective cultivated or refined

» Certain words are not

acceptable in polite society.

cultured, genteel, refined,

sophisticated, urbane

politeness

noun the quality of being civil

to someone » She listened to

him, but only out of politeness.

civility, courtesy, decency,

etiquette

pollute

verb to contaminate with

something harmful

» Heavy industry pollutes our

rivers with nasty chemicals.

contaminate, infect, poison,

taint, adulterate, befoul,

smirch

pompous

adjective behaving in a way

that is too serious and

self-important » Cecil is a

pompous man with a high

opinion of himself.

arrogant, grandiose,

ostentatious, pretentious,

puffed up, pontifical,

portentous, vainglorious

ponder

verb to think about something

deeply

◀◀ SEE LEFT

poor^1

adjective having little money

» He was poor until he took

a well-paid job.

broke (informal), destitute,

hard up (informal),

impoverished, penniless,

poverty-stricken

antonym: rich

poor^2

adjective of a low quality

or standard » The lead

character was a poor actor.

feeble, inferior, mediocre,

second-rate, shoddy,

unsatisfactory

popular^1

adjective liked or approved of

by a lot of people » These

delicious pastries are popular.

fashionable, favourite,

in demand, in favour,

sought-after, well-liked

antonym: unpopular

popular^2

adjective involving or intended

for ordinary people » The

down-to-earth politician was

hoping to win the popular vote.

common, conventional,

general, universal

portion

noun a part or amount of

something » I have spent a

large portion of my life here.

bit, chunk, helping, part,

piece, segment, serving

pose^1

verb to ask a question » When

I finally posed the question

“Why?” she merely shrugged.

ask, put, submit, propound

pose^2

verb to pretend to be someone

else » Gadi posed as a singer

to gain backstage access.

impersonate, masquerade

as, pass yourself off as,

pretend to be

posh^1

adjective (informal) smart,

fashionable, and expensive

» We stayed in a posh hotel.

classy (informal), elegant,

exclusive, fashionable,

smart, stylish, up-market

posh^2

adjective upper-class

» He sounded very posh

on the phone.

aristocratic, genteel,

upper-class, blue-blooded,

patrician (formal)

antonym: common

position^1

verb to put something

somewhere » Plants were

positioned on either side of

our front door.

arrange, lay out, locate,

place, put

position^2

noun the place where someone

or something is » The ship’s

name and position were

reported to the coastguard.

location, place, point,

whereabouts

positive^1

adjective completely sure about

something » I was positive

I’d been there before.

certain, confident,

convinced, sure

positive^2

adjective providing definite

proof of the truth or identity

of something » We found

positive evidence that the

cupboard raider was a mouse.

clear, clear-cut, conclusive,

concrete, firm,

incontrovertible,

indisputable, unequivocal

positive^3

adjective tending to emphasize

what is good » I’m hoping for

a positive response.

constructive, helpful

antonym: negative

possess^1

verb to have something as

a quality » The athlete

possesses both stamina

and great technique.

be blessed with, be born

with, enjoy, have

possess^2

verb to own something

» He was said to possess

a huge fortune.

control, hold, occupy, own

possession

noun ownership of something

» Carl had possession

of the ball.

control, custody,

ownership, tenure

Heavy industry pollutes our rivers

with nasty chemicals.

When I finally posed the question

“Why?” she merely shrugged.

Plants were positioned on either

side of our front door.

Carl had possession of the ball.

156-174_P.indd 165 13/01/17 10:53 am