
atmosphere | atmosphere: n. 1 air, heaven(s), sky, aerosphere: It is gravity that prevents the earth''s atmosphere from drifting off into outer space. 2 air, ambience or ambiance, environment, climate, mood, feeling, feel, spirit, tone: There''s such a friendly atmosphere in the bar of the Golden Cockerel. The atmosphere became very chilly when she told him she was marrying someone else.
atone | atone: v. expiate, make amends, pay, repay, answer, compensate; redress, remedy, propitiate, redeem: Nothing can atone for her betrayal of him to the enemy. He has atoned for his sins many times over.
atonement | atonement: n. amends, propitiation, reparation, repayment, compensation, payment, restitution, recompense, expiation, penance, satisfaction: He sent her flowers in atonement, together with a note apologizing profusely for his actions.
atrocious | atrocious: adj. 1 cruel, wicked, iniquitous, villainous, fiendish, execrable, appalling, abominable, monstrous, inhuman, savage, barbaric, brutal, barbarous, heinous, dreadful, flagrant, flagitious, gruesome, grisly, ruthless, ghastly, unspeakable, horrifying, horrible, awful, infamous, infernal, satanic, hellish: They will never forget the atrocious crimes that took place during the war. 2 awful, terrible, bad, rotten, horrid, appalling, frightful, horrendous, Colloq lousy: That''s the most atrocious book it has ever been my misfortune to review. Priscilla has atrocious taste.
atrocity | atrocity: n. 1 enormity, wickedness, flagitiousness, iniquity, infamy, cruelty, heinousness, horror, evil, inhumanity, barbarity, savagery: The atrocity of the ''Final Solution'' was a well-kept secret during the war. 2 evil, outrage, crime, villainy, offence: She could not listen when the prosecutor read a list of the atrocities perpetrated at the camp.
attach | attach: v. 1 fasten, join, connect, secure, fix, affix; tack or hook or tie or stick on, pin, rivet, cement, glue, bond, solder, weld, braze; unite; Nautical bend: The tag is still attached to your dress. Attach this to the wall. How do I attach the sail to the spar? 2 connect, associate, assign, affiliate, enlist, join, add, subjoin, Brit second: Her brother-in-law has been attached to my regiment. 3 endear, attract: I won''t say that we were in love, but I was very closely attached to her. 4 fix, affix, pin, apply, ascribe, assign, attribute, put, place: Why do you attach so much importance to what Dora says? 5 adhere, cleave, stick: Many legends have attached themselves to Charlemagne. 6 seize, lay hold of, confiscate, appropriate: If he cannot meet the mortgage payments the bank will attach his house.
attached | attached: adj. 1 connected, joined, Brit seconded: She has been attached to the Foreign Office for many years. 2 united, fastened, fixed: The knob attached to the outside of the door might come off. 3 Often, attached to. devoted (to), partial (to), fond (of), devoted (to): I feel closely attached to her. I became attached to the painting and did not wish to sell it. 4 spoken for, married, unavailable, engaged, betrothed: I would have asked Suzanne out, but I gather she''s attached.
attachment | attachment: n. 1 fastening; connection, tie, link, bond: The attachment of this fitting is too flimsy. William cannot understand how an attachment could have been formed between his wife and his brother. 2 attaching, fastening, linking, joining, affixing, fixing, connection: The mode of attachment to the wall is not immediately apparent. 3 affection, regard, fidelity, faithfulness, devotion, regard, liking, fondness, affinity, friendliness, loyalty, admiration, tenderness, partiality, friendship, love: We still feel a deep attachment, despite the divorce. 4 adjunct, addition, accessory, device, appliance, extra, accoutrement or US also accouterment, appendage, part; ornament, decoration; Colloq gadget: With this attachment, the film is advanced automatically. Attachments are available at extra cost.
attack | attack: v. 1 assail, assault, fall or set or pounce upon; charge, rush, raid, strike (at), storm; engage (in battle), fight; Colloq mug, jump: They were attacked on their way home by a gang of boys. Helicopter gunships were sent out to attack the bunker. 2 criticize, censure, berate; abuse, revile, inveigh against, denounce, condemn, malign, denigrate, decry, disparage, deprecate, vilify: His article attacked the minister for his views on housing. 3 begin, start; approach, undertake: We attacked the meal with gusto. 4 affect, seize; infect: Rheumatism attacks young and old alike. 5 waste, devour, destroy, eat; erode, corrode, decompose, dissolve: Termites have attacked the beams of the house. Watch how the acid attacks the areas on the plate that have not been protected. --n. 6 assault, onset, offensive, onslaught, incursion, raid, strike, inroad, invasion: The enemy responded to our attack with a smokescreen. After capturing the pawn, Karpov launched an attack on the queen. 7 criticism, censure; abuse, denunciation, revilement, denigration, decrial, disparagement, deprecation, vilification: The quarterly''s attack is totally uncalled for. 8 seizure, spell, spasm, paroxysm; fit, bout: Preston has had another attack of gout. How do you stop an attack of hiccups? 9 destruction, wasting; erosion, corrosion: Noting the attack on the planks by shipworm, the surveyor declared the vessel unseaworthy. Aluminium will not withstand the attack of the salt air in this area.
attempt | attempt: v. 1 try, essay, undertake, take on, venture; endeavour, strive, Colloq have or take a crack at, try on, have a go or shot at: It is too stormy to attempt the crossing tonight. Is she going to attempt to dive off the cliff tomorrow? --n. 2 endeavour, try, essay; effort, undertaking, bid, Colloq crack, go, shot: The weather cleared sufficiently for another attempt at the summit. He made a feeble attempt to wave. 3 attack, assault: An abortive attempt was made on the life of the vice-president tonight.
attend | attend: v. 1 be present (at), go to, be at, appear (at), put in an appearance (at), turn up (at), haunt, frequent; sit in (on), US and Canadian audit: Are you attending the concert? She attends Miss Fiennes''s elocution class. 2 turn to, pay attention to, serve, tend to, take care of, deal with, handle, heed, fulfil: I shall attend to your request as soon as possible, Madam. 3 Also, attend to. watch over, wait on or upon, care for, take care of, minister to, occupy oneself with, look after, look out for, devote oneself to: Mrs Atterbury attends the patients in the cancer ward on weekdays. The clergyman has his own flock to attend to. 4 escort, accompany, conduct, convoy, squire, usher, wait upon, follow; chaperon or chaperone: The actress arrived, attended by her entourage of toadies. 5 be associated with, accompany, result in or from, give rise to: A departure in the midst of the battle would be attended by great peril, Milord.
attendance | attendance: n. 1 presence, appearance, being: Your attendance at chapel is required. 2 audience, crowd, assembly, assemblage, gathering, turnout, gate, house: The attendance at the f�te was greater than we expected. 3 in attendance. waiting upon, attending, serving: The king always has at least four people in attendance.
attendant | attendant: adj. 1 waiting upon, accompanying, following; resultant, resulting, related, consequent, concomitant, depending, accessory: The circumstances attendant on your acceptance of the post are immaterial. --n. 2 escort, servant, menial, helper, usher or usherette, chaperon or chaperone; aide, subordinate, underling, assistant; follower, Derogatory lackey, flunkey, slave; Colloq US cohort: He dismissed his attendants and entered the church alone.
attention | attention: n. 1 heed, regard, notice; concentration: Please give your attention to the teacher. Pay attention! Don''t let your attention wander. 2 publicity, notice, distinction, acclaim, prominence, r�clame, notoriety; limelight: She seems to have been getting a lot of attention lately.
attentive | attentive: adj. 1 heedful, observant, awake, alert, intent, watchful, concentrating, assiduous; mindful, considerate: James is very attentive in class. You really must be more attentive to the needs of others. 2 polite, courteous, courtly, gallant, gracious, accommodating, considerate, thoughtful, solicitous, civil, respectful, deferential: He is always very attentive to the ladies.
attest | attest: v. bear witness (to), bear out, swear (to), vow, testify, certify, vouchsafe, declare, assert, asseverate, aver, affirm, confirm, verify, substantiate, vouch for, Law depose, depose and say, depone: I attest to the fact that they left the restaurant together. The merits of ch�teau-bottled Bordeaux are attested by most epicures.
attitude | attitude: n. 1 posture, position, disposition, stance, bearing, carriage, aspect, demeanour: The attitude of the figures in the sculpture was one of supplication. 2 posture, position, disposition, opinion, feeling, view, point of view, viewpoint, approach, leaning, thought, inclination, bent, tendency, orientation: What is your attitude towards the situation in South Africa?
attract | attract: v. draw, invite; entice, lure, allure, appeal to, charm, captivate, fascinate, Colloq pull: Our attention was attracted by a slight noise in the cupboard. Melissa attracts men the way flowers attract bees.
attraction | attraction: n. 1 draw, appeal; magnetism; gravitation, Colloq pull: David confided to Joan that he felt a strong attraction to her. There is an attraction between the north and south poles of these magnets. 2 draw, lure, enticement, attractant, inducement; show, entertainment, presentation, performance , Colloq come-on, crowd-puller, crowd-pleaser: The presence of the movie stars has been a powerful attraction. The producer has planned to repeat the attraction every evening.
attractive | attractive: adj. attracting, drawing, pulling, captivating, taking, fetching, appealing, luring, inviting, enticing, seductive, inviting, engaging, charming, interesting, pleasing, winning, alluring, good-looking, pretty, handsome: The person I''d like to meet needn''t be beautiful or stunning - attractive will do nicely.
attribute | attribute: n. 1 quality, character, characteristic, property, feature, trait, virtue: It is surprising how soon historical personages become invested with romantic attributes. --v. 2 ascribe, impute, assign, put down to, trace to, charge, credit: The shrivelled arm of Richard the Third was attributed to witchcraft. To what do you attribute your interest in birds?
attribution | attribution: n. assignment, ascription, credit: The curator disagreed with the expert''s attribution of the painting to Canaletto.
