A B C D E G H I J K L M N O
56
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
crush
crush^1
verb to destroy the shape
of by squeezing
» My little brother loves
to crush the garlic.
crumble, crumple,
mash, squashcrush^2
verb to defeat completely
» His football team was
crushed with a 6–0 defeat.
overcome, put down, quell,
stamp out, vanquishcry^1
verb to have tears coming from
your eyes » The film made
her cry.
bawl, blubber, howl, sob,
weep, whimper, wailcry^2
verb to call out loudly
» “See you soon!” they cried.
call, exclaim, shout, yellcry^3
noun a loud or high shout
» The fans in the stadium gave
a cry of disappointment when
the striker missed the goal.
call, exclamation,
shout, yellcunning^1
adjective clever and deceitful
» The boy had a cunning plan.
artful, crafty, devious, sly,
wily, foxy, Machiavellian
antonym: opencunning^2
noun cleverness and deceit
» The goats showed cunning
in finding food.
deviousness, guilecurb^1
verb to keep something within
limits » Owen must learn to
curb his temper.
check, contain, control,
limit, restrain, suppresscurb^2
noun an attempt to keep
something within limits
» Parents called for stricter
curbs on who could be invited
to the school party.
brake, control, limit,
limitation, restraintcure^1
verb to make well » The
ointment cured the rash.
heal, remedycure^2
noun something that makes an
illness better » The medicine
was a cure.
medicine, remedy,
treatmentcuriosity^1
noun the desire to know
» The man showed curiosity
in his family tree.
inquisitiveness, interestcuriosity^2
noun something unusual
» The museum was full
of relics and curiosities.
freak, marvel, novelty,
oddity, raritycurious^1
adjective wanting to know
» He was curious about
the new neighbours.
inquiring, inquisitive,
interested, nosy (informal)
antonym: incuriouscurious^2
adjective strange and unusual
» The shop was full of
curious trinkets.
bizarre, extraordinary,
odd, peculiar, singular,
strange, unusual
antonym: ordinarycurrent^1
noun a strong continuous
movement of water
» She was almost swept away
by the current of water.
flow, tide, undertowcurrent^2
adjective happening, being
done, or being used now
» His current car goes much
faster than his last one.
contemporary, fashionable,
ongoing, present,
present-day, today’s,
up-to-the-minute
antonym: pastcurve^1
noun a bending line » There
was a curve in the road.
arc, bend, trajectory, turn
related word: adjective sinuouscurve^2
verb to move in a curve
» The road curved sharply
to the left.
arc, arch, bend, swervecustom^1
noun a traditional activity
» The tea-drinking ceremony
is an ancient Chinese custom.
convention, practice,
ritual, traditioncustom^2
noun something a person
always does » It was her
custom to get up at 7 o’clock
every morning.
habit, practice,
routine, wontcustomer
noun someone who buys
something » The shop was
filled with customers.
buyer, client, consumer,
patron, purchaser, shoppercut^1
verb to mark, injure, or remove
part of (something or someone)
with something sharp
» The tailor cut the cloth
with a sharp pair of scissors.
chop, clip, nick, score,
slice, slit, trimcut^2
verb to reduce something
» Dad cut the amount of TV
we watched.
cut back, decrease, lower,
reduce, slash, abridge,
downsize, rationalize
antonym: increasecut^3
noun a mark or injury made
by cutting » Sofia had a cut
on her finger.
gash, incision, slash, slitcut^4
noun a reduction in something
» There was a cut in the
number of books in the library.
cutback, decrease,
lowering, reduction, saving
antonym: increasecute
adjective pretty or attractive
» You were such a cute baby!
appealing, attractive,
charming, dear,
good-looking,
gorgeous, pretty
antonym: uglycynical
adjective always thinking
the worst of people
» Alistair had a cynical
attitude that made him
seem world-weary.
distrustful, scepticalMy little brother loves to crush
the garlic.The museum was full of relics
and curiosities.The tailor cut the cloth with
a sharp pair of scissors.034-056_C.indd 56 13/01/17 2:56 pm