Childrens Illustrated Thesaurus

247

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

Watch out for the lamp post! The guard was wearing a f

blue uniform.

weaken

verb to make or become

less strong » Dad’s difficulty

in keeping a straight face

weakened his authority.

diminish, fail, flag, lessen,

reduce, sap, undermine,

wane, debilitate, enervate,

mitigate

antonym: strengthen

weakness^1

noun a lack of physical or

moral strength » His main

weakness is his bad temper.

defect, flaw, fragility, frailty,

imperfection, vulnerability,

Achilles’ heel, debility,

infirmity

antonym: strength

weakness^2

noun a great liking for

something » Jess has

a weakness for chocolate.

fondness, liking, passion,

penchant, partiality,

predilection

antonym: dislike

wealth^1

noun a large amount of money

» Mr Brown used his wealth

to build several new schools.

affluence, fortune, means,

money, prosperity, riches,

substance

wealth^2

noun a lot of something

» She found a wealth of

information about the artist.

abundance, bounty, plenty,

store, copiousness,

cornucopia, plenitude,

profusion

antonym: shortage

wealthy

adjective having plenty of

money » Isabella came from

a very wealthy background.

affluent, comfortable,

opulent, prosperous,

rich, well-to-do

antonym: poor

wear^1

verb to be dressed in

something » The guard was

wearing a blue uniform.

be clothed in, be dressed

in, don, have on, put on,

sport (informal)

wear^2

verb to become worse in

condition with use or age

» The walls of the old building

were worn in places.

corrode, erode, fray, rub,

wash away, abrade,

deteriorate

wear^3

noun the type of use which

causes something to be

damaged » The old tyres

showed signs of wear.

corrosion, deterioration,

erosion, use, abrasion,

attrition

wear out

verb to make someone tired

» The past few days have

really worn me out.

exhaust, tire, weary

watch out

verb to be careful or alert

for something » Watch out

for the lamp post!

be alert, be watchful, keep

your eyes open, look out

waterfall

noun a place where a river falls

over a steep cliff » The noise

of the waterfall was deafening.

cascade, cataract, chute,

fall, linn (Scotland)

wave^1

verb to move or flap to and fro

» The supporters waved

their scarves in the air.

brandish, flap, flourish,

flutter, shake, oscillate,

undulate

wave^2

noun a ridge of water on

the surface of the sea

» The surfer paddled

frantically to catch the wave.

breaker, ripple, swell

wave^3

noun an increase in a type of

activity » He felt a sudden

wave of panic at the thought of

the exam the next day that he

had not prepared for.

flood, movement, rush,

surge, trend, upsurge

way^1

noun a manner of doing

something » Freezing is an

excellent way to preserve food.

approach, manner, means,

method, procedure,

technique

way^2

noun the customs or behaviour

of a person or group » I’ll

never get used to these

strange foreign ways.

conduct, custom, manner,

practice, style,

idiosyncrasy, wont

way^3

noun a route taken to a

particular place » I can’t

remember the way.

channel, course, lane,

path, road, route

weak^1

adjective lacking in strength

» Carol felt weak after

her illness.

delicate, faint, feeble,

frail, puny, sickly, wasted,

debilitated, decrepit,

enervated, infirm

antonym: strong

weak^2

adjective likely to break or fail

» The loft had a weak floor,

so we had to tread carefully.

deficient, faulty, inadequate

weak^3

adjective easily influenced by

other people » He is a weak

man who can’t say no to those

around him.

powerless, spineless,

indecisive, irresolute

antonym: resolute

Carol felt weak after her illness.

The walls of the old building

were worn in places.

wear out

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