Childrens Illustrated Thesaurus

59

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

deformed

decline^2

verb to refuse politely to

accept or do something

» He declined their invitation

as he didn't want to go out.

abstain, excuse yourself,

refuse, turn down

antonym: accept

decline^3

noun a gradual weakening

or decrease » There was

a decline in the number of

bees visiting the hive this year.

decrease, downturn,

drop, fall, recession,

shrinkage, slump

antonym: increase

decorate^1

verb to make more attractive

» She decorated her room

with posters and pictures.

adorn, deck, ornament,

beautify, bedeck,

embellish, festoon

decorate^2

verb to put paint or wallpaper

on » They decided to decorate

the house and paint her

bedroom walls yellow.

do up (informal),

renovate

decrease^1

verb to become or make less

» The dentist said we should

decrease the amount of sugar

we eat.

cut down, decline,

diminish, drop, dwindle,

lessen, lower, reduce,

shrink, abate, curtail,

subside, wane

antonym: increase

decrease^2

noun a lessening in the amount

of something » The sudden

decrease in sales was a shock.

decline, drop, lessening,

reduction, abatement,

curtailment, cutback,

diminution

antonym: increase

deep^1

adjective having a long way

to the bottom » The rabbit

dug a deep hole.

bottomless, yawning

antonym: shallow

deep^2

adjective great or intense

» Joe had a deep love of sport

and played in many teams.

extreme, grave, great,

intense, profound, serious

deep^3

adjective low in sound

» The man had a deep voice

and sang bass in choir.

bass, low, resonant,

sonorous

antonym: high

defeat^1

verb to win a victory over

someone » I defeated last

year’s arm-wrestling champion.

beat, conquer, crush, rout,

trounce, vanquish (formal)

defeat^2

noun a failure to win

» His basketball team suffered

a crushing defeat.

conquest, debacle (formal),

rout, trouncing

antonym: victory

defect

noun a fault or flaw

» A software defect made

the phone unusable.

deficiency, failing, fault,

flaw, imperfection,

shortcoming, weakness

defence^1

noun action to protect

something » Many

plant-eating dinosaurs had

spikes and weapons on their

tails as a form of defence.

cover, protection,

resistance, safeguard,

security

defence^2

noun an argument in support

of something » Jason's only

defence for taking the

chocolate without asking

was that he was hungry.

argument, excuse,

explanation,

justification, plea

defend^1

verb to protect from harm

» The cat defended her kittens

from the dog next door.

cover, guard, protect,

safeguard, shelter, shield

defend^2

verb to argue in support of

» I defended his silence,

explaining he was shy not rude.

endorse, justify,

stick up for (informal),

support, uphold

defender

noun a person who argues

in support of something

» The man was a committed

defender of human rights.

advocate, champion,

supporter

deficiency

noun a lack of something

» The disease scurvy is

caused by a deficiency

of vitamin C.

deficit, deprivation,

inadequacy, lack,

want (formal)

antonym: abundance

deficient

adjective lacking in something

» The bald, muddy lawn was

deficient in grass.

inadequate, lacking, poor,

short, wanting

definite^1

adjective unlikely to be

changed » Dad set a

definite limit to my

holiday money.

assured, certain, decided,

fixed, guaranteed, settled

definite^2

adjective certainly true

» Hot cocoa was a definite

help in getting to sleep.

clear, positive,

black-and-white, clear-cut,

cut-and-dried

deformed

adjective abnormally shaped

» The deformed carrot looked

as if it had two legs.

disfigured, distorted

She decorated her room with

posters and pictures.

The sudden decrease in sales

was a shock.

The rabbit dug a deep hole.

The deformed carrot looked as if

it had two legs.

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