Childrens Illustrated Thesaurus

91

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n

o

f

fold

flood^3

verb to overflow with water

» The river flooded its banks.

deluge, drown, overflow,

submerge, swamp

flourish^1

verb to develop or function

successfully or healthily

» The strawberries were

flourishing in the garden.

bloom, boom, come on,

do well, prosper, succeed,

thrive

antonym: fail

flourish^2

verb to wave or display

something » The conductor

flourished his baton wildly,

lost in the music.

brandish (literary), display,

hold aloft, wave

flourish^3

noun a bold sweeping or

waving movement » Linda

gave a flourish as she tried

on the coat.

flick, sweep, wave

flow^1

verb to move or happen

in a continuous stream

» The waterfall flowed

down the steep drop.

circulate, glide, roll,

run, slide

flow^2

noun a continuous movement

of something » The flow of

busy traffic prevented him

from crossing the road.

current, drift, flood,

stream, tide

fluent

adjective expressing yourself

easily and without hesitation

» The girl was fluent in

three languages.

articulate, easy, effortless,

flowing, ready

antonym: hesitant

fly^1

verb to move through the air

» The child chased the birds,

and they flew high out of reach.

flit, flutter, sail, soar

fly^2

verb to move very quickly

» Debbie flew down the stairs;

she was terribly late.

dart, dash, hurry, race,

rush, speed, tear

foam^1

verb to swell and form bubbles

» The soap foamed as I

washed my hands.

bubble, fizz, froth

foam^2

noun a mass of tiny bubbles

» There was a lot of foam

on top of my hot chocolate.

bubbles, froth, head, lather

focus^1

verb to concentrate your vision

on something » The optician

told Ron to focus on the red

dot on the screen.

aim, concentrate, direct, fix

focus^2

noun the centre of attention

» The celebrity guest was the

main focus of the gala dinner.

centre, focal point,

hub, target

foil^1

verb to prevent something from

happening » “Foiled again!”

the baddie exclaimed as the

sheriff arrested him.

check, counter, defeat,

frustrate, thwart,

circumvent, nullify

foil^2

noun a contrast to something

» Luke is very serious and

made the perfect foil for the

comedian’s jokes.

antithesis, background,

complement, contrast

fold^1

verb to bend something

» To make an origami boat,

fold the paper as shown.

bend, crease, crumple,

tuck, turn under

Linda gave a flourish as she tried

on the coat.

To make an origami boat,

fold the paper as shown.

The soap foamed as

I washed my hands.

The waterfall flowed down the

steep drop.

bob

swim

glide

sail

waft

wash

antonym:

sink

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