Childrens Illustrated Thesaurus

173

a b c d e g h i j k l m p q r s t u v w x y z

n

o

f

pure

provide

verb to make something

available to someone

» We’ll provide refreshments

after the game.

contribute, equip, furnish,

outfit, supply

provoke^1

verb to try to make someone

angry » I didn’t want to do

anything to provoke the bulldog.

anger, annoy, enrage, goad,

insult, irritate, tease

provoke^2

verb to cause an unpleasant

reaction » His sister’s

teasing finally provoked the

little boy to hit her.

cause, evoke, produce,

prompt, rouse, set off,

spark off

pry

verb to try to find out about

someone else’s private

business » Our neighbour is

always prying into our business.

interfere, intrude,

poke your nose in (informal),

poke your nose into

(informal), snoop (informal)

public^1

noun people in general

» Members of the public were

picked at random to appear on

the TV show.

masses, nation, people,

populace, society

public^2

adjective relating to people

in general » There was a

lot of public support for the

new sports centre.

civic, general, popular,

universal

public^3

adjective provided for everyone

to use or open to anyone

» Public swimming pools

can be very busy.

communal, community,

open to the public,

universal

antonym: private

publicity

noun information or

advertisements about an item

or event » The actor gave

several interviews as part of

the publicity campaign for his

new film.

advertising, plug (informal),

promotion

publicize

verb to advertise something

or make it widely known

» The author appeared on TV

to publicize her book.

advertise, plug (informal),

promote

publish

verb to make a piece of writing

available for reading

» We publish a range of titles.

bring out, print, put out

puff

verb to breathe loudly and

quickly with your mouth open

» He had been running so

hard that he was puffing.

breathe heavily, gasp,

pant, wheeze

pull^1

verb to draw an object towards

you » We saw the sights of

the city from an open carriage

pulled by two white horses.

drag, draw, haul, tow,

tug, yank

antonym: push

pull^2

noun the attraction or influence

of something » The pull of

the bakery was too strong, 

and she went in and bought

fresh bread.

attraction, lure, magnetism

punctual

adjective arriving or leaving at

the correct time » Our first

flight was punctual, so we

easily caught our connection.

in good time, on time,

prompt

punish

verb to make someone suffer a

penalty for some misbehaviour

» I was punished for

insolence, though I didn’t

mean to sound rude.

discipline, penalize,

rap knuckles, sentence,

throw the book at

punishment

noun a penalty for a crime or

offence » The punishment

must always fit the crime.

penalty, retribution,

chastening, chastisement,

just deserts or just desserts

puny

adjective very small and weak

» The newborn kittens were

puny and helpless.

feeble, frail, sickly,

skinny, weak

pupil

noun a student taught at

a school » Our school has

500 pupils.

scholar (South Africa),

schoolboy, schoolchild,

schoolgirl, student

pure^1

adjective clean and free

from harmful substances

» The water from the spring

is pure enough to drink.

clean, germ-free,

pasteurized, spotless,

sterilized, unadulterated,

unblemished,

uncontaminated,

unpolluted, untainted

antonym: impure

pure^2

adjective complete and total

» Anita won the prize through

pure luck.

absolute, complete,

outright, sheer,

unmitigated, utter

He had been running so hard

that he was puffing.

The water from the spring is pure

enough to drink.

Our neighbour is always prying

into our business.

Public swimming pools can be

very busy.

156-174_P.indd 173 22/03/17 11:36 am