211
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
spirit^2
noun a ghost or supernatural
being » In the film, a spirit
haunted the house.
apparition, ghost, phantom,
spectre, spritespirit^3
noun liveliness and energy
» The young dog had so
much spirit.
animation, energy,
enthusiasm, fire, force,
vigour, zest, brio, mettlespite^1 : in spite of
preposition even though
something is the case
» In spite of the power cut,
Fi did her homework on time.
despite, even though,
notwithstanding,
regardless of, thoughspite^2
noun a desire to hurt someone
» Liam swatted the fly out
of spite.
ill will, malevolence, malice,
spitefulness, venom,
malignity, rancourspiteful
adjective saying or doing nasty
things to hurt people » It
was spiteful to snigger.
catty (informal), cruel,
malevolent, malicious,
nasty, snide, venomous,
vindictivesplendid^1
adjective very good indeed
» I’ve had a splendid time.
cracking (Britain, Australia,
and New Zealand; informal),
excellent, fantastic
(informal), fine, glorious,
great (informal), marvellous,
superb, wonderfulsplendid^2
adjective beautiful and
impressive » The Taj Mahal
looks splendid.
gorgeous, grand, imposing,
impressive, magnificent,
superbsplit^1
verb to divide into two or more
parts » The team decided to
split the prize money equally
among all its members.
diverge, fork, part,
separate, bifurcate,
cleave, disunitesplit^2
verb to have a crack or tear
» Oh dear, my trousers have
split and there’s a gaping hole.
burst, come apart, crack,
rip, slit, tearsplit^3
noun a crack or tear in
something » I can see through
the split in the curtain.
crack, fissure, rip, tearsplit^4
noun a division between two
things » There’s a split
between those who want to go
outdoors and those who want
to stay in and draw.
breach, breakup,
divergence, division,
rift, schismspoil^1
verb to damage or destroy
something » She tried to keep
the party a secret so as not
to spoil the surprise.
damage, destroy, harm,
impair, mar, mess up,
ruin, wreckspoil^2
verb to give someone
everything they want
» Grandpa spoils us with more
sweets than we can eat.
cosset, indulge, pamper,
coddle, mollycoddle,
overindulgespoilsport
noun a person who spoils other
people’s fun » I felt like
a spoilsport for not joining in
the game.
downer, drag, killjoy,
misery (Britain; informal),
sourpuss (US; slang)spooky
adjective eerie and frightening
» The old ruin was spooky.
creepy (informal), eerie,
frightening, ghostly,
haunted, scary,
supernatural, uncannyspot^1
noun a small round mark on
something » Dalmatians have
a white coat with black spots.
blemish, blot, blotch, mark,
smudge, speckspot^2
noun a location or place
» It was the perfect spot
for a picnic.
location, place, point,
position, scene, sitespot^3
verb to see or notice
something » Belinda spotted
an owl in the tree.
catch sight of, detect,
discern, observe, see,
sight, descry, espyspread^1
verb to open out or extend
over an area » He spread
the picnic blanket on the grass
for everyone to sit on.
extend, fan out, open,
sprawl, unfold, unfurl,
unrollspread^2
verb to put a thin layer on
a surface » Melissa spread
icing on the cake.
apply, coat, cover, overlay,
plaster, smear, smotherspread^3
verb to reach or affect more
people gradually » Excitement
is spreading through the school
as the holidays draw near.
circulate, grow, expand,
increase, proliferate, travelspread^4
noun the extent or growth of
something » The spread
of interest in the zoo brought
new visitors each week.
diffusion, expansion,
extent, growth, increase,
progression, proliferation,
upsurgesquabble^1
verb to quarrel about
something trivial
» My brother and sister
squabble about who gets to sit
in the front seat of the car.
argue, bicker, fall out, feud,
fight, quarrel, row, wranglesquabble
Dalmatians have a white coat
with black spots.Melissa spread icing on the cake.The young dog had so much spirit.The Taj Mahal looks splendid.194-223_S.indd 211 02/02/17 12:25 pm