
kick | kick: v. 1 boot, punt: The basic aim in soccer is to kick the ball into the back of the net. 2 recoil, backlash, rebound: The shotgun kicked when I fired it. --n. 3 punt, drop-kick: His kick sent the ball down the field. 4 recoil, backlash, rebound: That gun has quite a kick!
kickback | kickback: n. rebate, refund, share, compensation, commission, percentage, reward; bribe, pay-off, Colloq chiefly US payola, US plugola: We get a kickback on every computer sold. Some disc jockeys were accepting kickbacks for playing particular records.
kidnap | kidnap: v. abduct, capture, seize, carry off, Slang snatch: He was kidnapped by guerrillas and held prisoner for over two years.
kill | kill: v. 1 execute, slay, murder, assassinate, do away with, put to death, cause the death of, liquidate, dispatch or despatch, take (someone''s) life, finish (off), put an end to, write ''finis'' to, silence, kill off, administer the coup de gr�ce, eliminate, put (someone) out of (his or her) misery, exterminate, extinguish, obliterate, eradicate, destroy, annihilate, massacre, slaughter, decimate, butcher, (of animals) put down, put to sleep, Slang do in, bump or knock off, hit, polish off, snuff (out), take for a ride, US waste, rub out, ice, fit with concrete overshoes or a wooden kimono: He was the third police officer to be killed this year. 2 destroy, ruin, devastate, ravage, wreak or work havoc (up)on, kill off: The entire orange crop was killed by the sudden frost. 3 muffle, neutralize, deaden, damp, silence, nullify, dull, absorb, smother, stifle, suppress, still: This padding should kill the noise of the motor. 4 exhaust, tire (out), fatigue, weary, Colloq fag (out): Pushing that mower all day nearly killed me. 5 hurt, pain, torment, torture: These shoes are killing me. 6 quash, suppress, defeat, veto, cancel: The tobacco interests campaigned to kill the bill to ban smoking in public places. 7 consume, use up, spend, while away, occupy, fill, pass, idle: While waiting, I killed time doing a crossword puzzle. --n. 8 game, prey; quarry: The lioness allowed her cubs to eat part of the kill. 9 death, killing, end, finish, deathblow, coup de gr�ce; termination, denouement or d�nouement, conclusion: She wants to be in at the kill.
killer | killer: n. 1 murderer, assassin, slayer, cutthroat, butcher, exterminator, Bluebeard, (Jack the) ripper, Slang US torpedo, hit man, triggerman, gunsel, hooligan, gunfighter, iceman, hatchet man: What are the statistics on the number of killers who are not caught? 2 Slang old-fashioned bee''s knees, US humdinger, doozy, killer-diller (from Manila), lallapalooza or lollapalooza, lulu, daisy, dilly: The new show at the Odeon is a killer.
killing | killing: n. 1 murder, carnage, butchery, execution, slaughter, bloodshed, death, massacre, genocide, liquidation, mass murder or destruction, decimation, extermination, blood bath, manslaughter; slaying, homicide, fatality: The killing of dissidents must stop. There has been another killing in the park. 2 coup, bonanza, success, windfall, stroke of luck, gain, profit, Colloq Brit bomb: They''ve made a killing on the Stock Exchange. --adj. 3 devastating, ruinous, destructive, punishing, exhausting, debilitating, fatiguing, tiring, enervating, difficult, arduous: How can you keep up the killing pace of having two jobs?
killjoy | killjoy: n. spoilsport, damper, dampener, grouch, grump, malcontent, pessimist, cynic, prophet of doom, Cassandra, Colloq wet blanket, sourpuss, US party pooper, gloomy Gus, picklepuss: Go to the dance and stop being such a killjoy!
kin | kin: n. 1 family, relative(s), relation(s), kindred, kinsfolk or US and Canadian kinfolk, kinsman, kinswoman, stock, clan, blood-relation(s), blood-relative(s): We might have the same name, but he''s no kin of mine. Grandmother says that too many people are thoughtless of their kin these days. --adj. 2 related, akin (to), kindred, consanguineous, consanguine, cognate, agnate: One often forgets that all men are kin.
kind� | kind�: adj. friendly, kindly, nice, congenial, affable, approachable, amiable, obliging, accommodating, amicable, well-disposed, courteous, good, good-natured, benevolent, well-meaning, well-wishing, thoughtful, well-intentioned, generous, big-hearted, humanitarian, charitable, philanthropic, gentle, understanding, sympathetic, considerate, lenient, tolerant, indulgent, compassionate, kind-hearted, gracious, warm, warm-hearted, cordial, tender-hearted, affectionate: It was kind of you to stop and help us. I never thought of him as a kind man.
kind� | kind�: n. 1 sort, type, variety, style, genre, species, class, breed; brand, make: What kind of tree is the cypress? Do we always have to have the same kind of breakfast cereal? 2 nature, character, manner, description, sort, persuasion, stripe, feather, kidney: What kind of person is she? Today''s students are of a totally different kind.
kindle | kindle: v. ignite, light, set alight, set fire to, set afire, inflame, fire, foment, incite, instigate, provoke, prompt, prick, goad, spur, whip up, stir (up), work up, excite, agitate, shake up, jolt, arouse, rouse, (a)waken, inspire, inspirit, stimulate, animate, enliven, energize, innervate, galvanize: Kindling a fire in the rain is not easy. The wholesale pillaging kindled a feeling of deep resentment among the native population.
kindly adj. 1 see kind. | kindly adj. 1 See kind.: --adv. 2 cordially, graciously, obligingly, amiably, amicably, politely, genially, courteously, thoughtfully, considerately, hospitably, agreeably, pleasantly: He very kindly invited me in for a cup of tea. 3 please, be so kind as to, be good enough to: Would you kindly pass the salt?
kindness | kindness: n. 1 friendliness, kind-heartedness, warm-heartedness, graciousness, goodness, good-naturedness, good-heartedness, good will, benevolence, benignity, humaneness, humanity, decency, tenderness, gentleness, kindliness, charity, charitableness, generosity, philanthropy, beneficence, compassion, sympathy, understanding, thoughtfulness, consideration, cordiality, hospitality, warmth, geniality, indulgence, tolerance, patience: We shall always appreciate the kindness shown to us by our hosts during our visit. 2 favour, good deed or turn, service, act of kindness; generosity, assistance, aid: She did me a great kindness in introducing me to you. How can I repay your kindness?
kindred | kindred: adj. 1 close, associated, united, allied, analogous, like, similar, matching, parallel, common, related; akin: Because we both like sports, Samantha''s interests are kindred to mine. 2 related, consanguineous, consanguine, cognate, agnate: Linguists regard the Romance languages as kindred tongues. --n. 3 See kin, 1.
king | king: n. prince, crowned head, majesty, sovereign, monarch, ruler, regent, Colloq Brit royal: In former times, the king had power of life and death over his subjects.
kingdom | kingdom: n. 1 realm, empire, sovereignty, principality, monarchy: He sought a suitable wife throughout the kingdom. 2 field, area, domain, province, sphere (of influence), territory, bailiwick, Colloq turf: The operating theatre is the surgeon''s kingdom.
kink | kink: n. 1 twist, crimp, tangle, knot, wrinkle, curl, coil, curlicue, crinkle: Those kinks wouldn''t occur if you had coiled the rope properly. 2 pang, twinge, stab, spasm, cramp, stitch, tweak, crick: I have a kink in my neck from constantly looking down. 3 difficulty, complication, flaw, hitch, snag, defect, imperfection, distortion, deformity: There were several kinks that had to be ironed out before the plan was presented to the board. 4 crotchet, quirk, whim, caprice, fancy, vagary, eccentricity, idiosyncrasy: He would win more support if he rid himself of certain kinks in his thinking.
kinky | kinky: adj. 1 outlandish, peculiar, odd, queer, quirky, bizarre, crotchety, eccentric, strange, idiosyncratic, different, offbeat, unorthodox, capricious, irregular, erratic, unconventional, unique, freakish, weird, fantastic, whimsical: This school is not interested in kinky notions of education. 2 perverted, unnatural, deviant, degenerate, warped, abnormal, depraved: There is a rumour that they engage in kinky sex. 3 crisp, frizzy, frizzed, frizzled, curly, crimped, wiry; knotted, tangled, twisted: He has kinky red hair.
kinship | kinship: n. 1 consanguinity, (blood) relationship, (family) ties, (common) descent, lineage, flesh and blood: At that time, several of the royal houses of Europe were connected by kinship. 2 connection, correspondence, parallelism, relationship, similarity, association, agreement, alliance; affinity: There is a clear kinship among the Germanic languages. She felt a kinship with other adopted children.
kiss | kiss: v. 1 osculate, peck, Colloq smack, smooch, neck, Old-fashioned spoon, canoodle: I kissed her on the cheek. A young couple were kissing on the park bench. 2 touch, brush, graze: The cue-ball barely kissed the black, toppling it into the pocket. 3 kiss goodbye. bid adieu, say farewell to, give up, relinquish, abandon, forsake, desert, renounce, repudiate, forget (about), dismiss, disregard, ignore: With those marks, you can kiss goodbye to any thought of winning a scholarship. --n. 4 osculation, peck, Colloq smack, smooch, US and Canadian buss, Slang Brit smacker: He ran over and gave me a big hug and a kiss.
kit | kit: n. apparatus, gear, equipment, paraphernalia, appurtenances, rig, accoutrements or US also accouterments, tackle, trappings, supplies, furnishings; instruments, tools, utensils, implements: Did you bring your tennis kit? The model aeroplanes were built from kits. The plumber left his tool kit behind.
kitchen | kitchen: n. kitchenette, cookhouse; scullery, pantry, larder; Nautical galley, Brit caboose: He was in the kitchen getting dinner ready.
kittenish | kittenish: adj. coy, seductive, flirtatious, coquettish, sportive, playful: Barbara tends to get a bit kittenish when she''s with men.
kitty | kitty: n. pot, pool, collection: Has he contributed anything to the kitty?
