Childrens Illustrated Thesaurus

68

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

dispute

dispute^2

verb to question something’s

truth or wisdom

» Tim disputed the claim that

he hadn't even tried to win.

challenge, contest,

contradict, deny,

query, question

antonym: accept

distant^1

adjective far away in space

or time » A distant ship

appeared on the horizon.

far, outlying,

out-of-the-way, remote,

faraway, far-flung, far-off

antonym: close

distant^2

adjective cold and unfriendly

» He is polite but distant.

aloof, detached, reserved,

withdrawn, standoffish,

unapproachable

antonym: friendly

distinguish^1

verb to see the difference

between things » A pet can’t

distinguish right from wrong.

differentiate,

discriminate, tell, tell apart,

tell the difference

distinguish^2

verb to just recognize

something » I heard shouting

but was unable to distinguish

the words.

discern, make out,

pick out, recognize

distract

verb to stop someone from

concentrating » Playing

computer games distracted

John from his homework.

divert, draw away,

sidetrack, turn aside

distress^1

noun great suffering » The

pain from her broken arm was

causing her distress.

heartache, pain, sorrow,

suffering

distress^2

noun the state of needing help

» The ship sent out a signal

that it was in distress.

difficulty, need,

straits, trouble

distress^3

verb to cause someone

unhappiness » It distressed

Gran that the cousins left

without saying goodbye.

bother, disturb, grieve,

pain, sadden, trouble,

upset, worry

distribute^1

verb to hand something out

» The head teacher distributed

the prizes to the winners.

circulate, hand out,

pass around, pass round

distribute^2

verb to spread something

through an area

» Distribute the sprinkles

evenly over the cupcake.

diffuse, disperse,

scatter, spread

distribute^3

verb to divide and share

something » Chores were

evenly distributed among all

family members.

allocate, allot,

dispense (formal), divide,

dole out, share out,

apportion, mete out

disturb^1

verb to intrude on someone’s

peace » She crept past her

sleeping father so as not to

disturb him.

bother, disrupt, intrude on

disturb^2

verb to upset or worry someone

» The scenes on the news

disturbed him.

agitate, distress, shake,

trouble, unsettle, upset,

worry

dive

verb to go head first into water

» Sharon dived into the pool.

jump, leap, submerge

divide^1

verb to split something up

» He divided the tin of food

between the two cats.

cut up, partition, segregate,

separate, split, split up

antonym: join

Distribute the sprinkles evenly

over the cupcake.

A distant ship appeared on

the horizon.

drag

draw

Draw up your sled and join us!

haul

It was a heavy load to haul.

lug

Nobody else wanted to lug

the sled up the hill.

trail

His scarf trailed on the

ground behind him.

tow

His arm ached from

towing his friends.

verb to pull something along the ground

» He dragged the sled across the snow.

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