Childrens Illustrated Thesaurus

71

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

dying

dubious^1

adjective not entirely honest or

reliable » Rachel didn’t

believe his dubious answer that

his bus had broken down.

crooked, dishonest,

questionable, suspect,

suspicious, unreliable

dubious^2

adjective doubtful about

something » My parents

were dubious about the

number of friends I’d invited

for a sleepover.

doubtful, nervous,

sceptical, suspicious,

unconvinced, undecided,

unsure

dull^1

adjective not interesting

» I found the chess game

dull as Millie took so long

between moves.

boring, drab, humdrum,

monotonous, tedious,

uninteresting

antonym: interesting

dull^2

adjective not bright or clear

» Brown is a dull colour,

unlike bright, cheerful yellow.

drab, gloomy, muted,

sombre, subdued

antonym: bright

dull^3

adjective covered with clouds

» The weather is always dull

and foggy.

cloudy, leaden, murky,

overcast

antonym: bright

dumb^1

adjective unable to speak

» We were all struck dumb

with surprise.

mute, silent, speechless

dumb^2

adjective (informal) slow to

understand » She called him

dumb for not understanding

what the teacher said, and

the teacher scolded her for

being rude.

dim, obtuse (formal), stupid,

thick (informal)

antonym: smart

dump^1

verb to get rid of something

» They dumped the extra sand

back at the quarry.

discharge, dispose of,

get rid of, jettison,

throw away, throw out

dump^2

verb (informal) to put

something down » We

dumped our coats and ran off.

deposit, drop

dupe

verb to trick someone » She

realized he’d duped her when

he pulled a rabbit from her hat.

cheat, con (informal),

deceive, delude, fool,

play a trick on, trick

duty^1

noun something that

you ought to do

» We have a duty to look

after the environment.

obligation, responsibility

duty^2

noun a task associated

with a job » My main duty

as a chauffeur is to drive

people from one place

to another.

assignment, job,

responsibility, role

duty^3

noun tax paid to the

government » There’s no

duty to pay on perfume at

the airport.

excise, levy (formal),

tariff, tax

dying: be dying for

verb to want something very

much » I’m dying for a pizza.

ache for, hunger for,

long for, pine for,

yearn for

They dumped the extra sand

back at the quarry.

drin

k

verb to swallow liquid^

» He drank hot chocolate

from his favourite mug.

gulp

Gulping the water gave him hiccups.

guzzle

Don’t guzzle all the juice!

imbibe

The bride’s father imbibed rather

too much alcohol at the wedding.

quaff

He quaffed huge cups

of water after the race.

sip

She sipped tea

from a china cup.

sup

She supped her soup

straight from the mug.

swig

He swigged the lemonade

straight from the bottle.

057-071_D.indd 71 22/03/17 11:35 am