
quack | quack: n. 1 charlatan, impostor, pretender, fake(r), fraud, Colloq phoney or US also phony: The quack diagnosed Franny as having appendicitis, but it turned out that she was pregnant. --adj. 2 fake, fraudulent, sham, counterfeit, Colloq phoney or US also phony: Are you still going to see that quack doctor - the one who told you to take aspirin to relieve the pain from your ulcer?
quaint | quaint: adj. 1 curious, odd, strange, bizarre, peculiar, unusual, queer, uncommon, singular, unorthodox, eccentric, whimsical, offbeat, fanciful, outlandish, unconventional, fantastic: Her sitting-room was furnished in a quaint mixture of Gothic and Victorian styles. 2 old-fashioned, archaic, antiquated, out-dated, picturesque, antique: A rotund little figure appeared, dressed in the quaint clothing of another era.
quake | quake: v. 1 tremble, shake, quiver, shudder; vibrate, stagger: The children were quaking with fear that their teacher would come back and catch them red-handed. 2 earthquake, tremor, temblor or trembler or tremblor, seismic(al) activity, Rare seism: In a few moments the quake levelled three cities that had stood for thousands of years.
qualification | qualification: n. 1 Often, qualifications. fitness, ability, aptitude, capability, competence or competency, capacity, suitableness, suitability, eligibility, proficiency, skill, knowledge, Colloq know-how: You cannot persuade me that Powell has the qualifications needed to do the job. 2 limitation, restriction, modification, reservation, caveat, condition, stipulation, proviso, prerequisite, requirement: The only qualification for use of the club''s facilities is that one must be a member. My support for the proposal is without qualification.
qualified | qualified: adj. 1 able, suitable, capable, competent, fit, fitted, equipped, prepared, ready, trained, proficient, accomplished, expert, talented, adept, skilful, skilled, experienced, practised, knowledgeable, well-informed: Is Kimble qualified to become foreman? 2 contingent, conditional, restricted, modified, limited, provisional: The chairman has given his qualified approval to the scheme.
qualify | qualify: v. 1 equip, fit (out), ready, prepare, condition, make eligible; certify: His training in the air force qualified him to be a pilot. 2 be eligible, meet the requirements, be fit or suitable or equipped or ready or prepared, make the grade: Sue will qualify as a doctor if she passes just one more exam. 3 temper, mitigate, modify, moderate, modulate, restrict, limit: In light of their later behaviour, I shall have to qualify my recommendation that you accept them as students.
quality | quality: n. 1 property, attribute, characteristic, mark, distinction, je ne sais quoi, trait: Can you describe the qualities needed to be a good musician? 2 grade, calibre, rank, status, importance, value, worth: In the curiosity shop items of high and low quality are mixed together haphazardly. 3 Old-fashioned eminence, prominence, importance, excellence, superiority, distinction, standing, supremacy, dignity, grandeur, nobility, blue blood: Despite her shabby appearance, from her bearing and speech the woman was clearly a person of quality.
qualm | qualm: n. second thought, doubt, uncertainty, misgiving, hesitation, scruple, uneasiness, compunction, reluctance, disinclination, queasiness, apprehension, apprehensiveness, twinge, pang, worry, concern, Colloq funny feeling, sinking feeling: He had some qualms about leaving the town where he had lived for over thirty years.
quandary | quandary: n. dilemma, predicament, difficulty, plight, cleft stick, uncertainty: The management is in a quandary: should it risk overstretching the company by making further capital investment, or should it risk being left behind by its competitors by playing safe?
quantity | quantity: n. amount, extent, volume; sum, number, total; weight, measure: There seemed to be no limit to the quantity of gold in the mine. The person who most accurately guesses the quantity of beans in the jar wins a prize. What quantity of flour should I buy to make enough cakes for fifty people?
quarrel | quarrel: n. 1 dispute, argument, disagreement, debate, controversy, discord, difference (of opinion), contention, misunderstanding; wrangle, tiff, row, squabble, altercation, set-to, scuffle, feud, fight, fray, fracas, brawl, Donnybrook, m�l�e or melee, riot, battle (royal), Colloq dust-up, barney, scrap, US spat: I have no quarrel with my accountant - it''s the tax man that''s the problem. A quarrel broke out over whose turn it was to wash the dishes. --v. 2 argue, disagree, dispute, altercate, have an altercation, differ, wrangle, be at odds or loggerheads, clash, squabble, feud, fight, brawl, battle, Colloq fall out, scrap: When we were children, my sister and I quarrelled all the time, but we still loved each other.
quarrelsome | quarrelsome: adj. testy, petulant, irascible, irritable, disagreeable, fractious, querulous, peevish, cross, choleric, curmudgeonly, contrary, dyspeptic, cranky, grouchy, argumentative, combative, squabbling, disputatious, hostile, antagonistic, dissentious, dissentient, dissident, pugnacious, bellicose, belligerent, contentious: I have to listen to the continual bickering of my quarrelsome neighbours.
quarry� | quarry�: n. prey, game, prize, object: The hunter''s dogs had run their quarry to ground. Wealthy widows were regarded as fair quarry by the swindlers.
quarry� | quarry�: n. 1 mine, pit, excavation: Only one quarry yielded the statuary marble needed by those sculptors. --v. 2 mine, extract, obtain, get: Gault''s ideas were all quarried from the jottings of obscure writers.
quarter | quarter: n. 1 fourth: Statistics showed that a quarter of the population attended church regularly. 2 three-month period, three months, ninety days, thirteen weeks; fifteen minutes; phase (of the moon), quadrature: The first quarter''s rent is now due. We waited a quarter of an hour. The moon is in its third quarter. 3 area, region, part, section, district, zone, division, territory, place, neighbourhood, locality, locale, location, point, spot; direction: The army was called in to patrol the quarter of the city where looting had occurred. It was difficult to tell from which quarter the wind was blowing. 4 mercy, compassion, mercifulness, clemency, leniency, forgiveness, favour, humanity, pity: The hostages expected no quarter from their captors. 5 quarters. living quarters, lodging(s), dwelling-place, dwelling, accommodation(s), rooms, chambers, residence, shelter, habitation, domicile, home, house, abode; Military billet, barracks, cantonment, casern or caserne: We found comfortable quarters in which we remained during our stay in the area. --v. 6 lodge, accommodate, house, board, shelter, put up; Military billet, post, station: The tour guide stayed at the best hotel, while we were quartered in a youth hostel.
quarterly | quarterly: adj. 1 trimonthly, three-monthly: She is editor of a quarterly medical journal. --adv. 2 every three months, every ninety days, every thirteen weeks, four times a year: The landlady insisted on being paid quarterly, in advance.
quash | quash: v. 1 annul, nullify, void, declare or render null and void, invalidate, revoke, vacate, set aside, rescind, cancel, reject, throw out, reverse, overthrow, discharge, overrule: When the real culprit confessed, my conviction was quashed and I was set free. 2 suppress, subdue, quell, put down, squelch, repress, overthrow, crush, overwhelm: The rebellion was quashed by the secret police.
quasi- | quasi-: adv. 1 Sometimes, quasi. as if, as it were, seemingly, apparently, partly, to some extent, to all intents and purposes, more or less, virtually, almost: Her apology seemed only quasi-sincere to me. His function in the proceedings was quasi-judicial. --adj. 2 Often, quasi. so to speak, kind of, sort of; pretended, fake, pseudo, so-called, supposed, artificial, mock, sham, Colloq phoney or US also phony: His quasi excuse does not diminish the horror of what he did.
quaver | quaver: v. 1 tremble, quiver, shake, shiver, vibrate, waver, shudder, fluctuate, oscillate, flutter: His voice quavered with emotion as he described his rescue. --n. 2 trembling, tremble, quiver, quivering, tremor, shaking, vibration, wavering, break, fluctuation, oscillation: Only a slight quaver in her voice betrayed her feeling of panic.
queasy | queasy: adj. 1 uncomfortable, uneasy, nervous, apprehensive, ill at ease, troubled, worried, discomfited; doubtful, hesitant: I had a queasy feeling that I was being watched. The manager was a bit queasy about giving Denis so much responsibility. 2 sick, nauseous, nauseated, ill, bilious, queer, Colloq green around or about the gills, groggy, woozy: Catherine felt very queasy after the ride on the roller coaster.
queen | queen: n. 1 sovereign, monarch, ruler; empress; queen consort; queen mother; queen dowager: She was absolutely thrilled when she was invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace and met the Queen. 2 beauty queen, movie queen, star, prima donna, diva; epitome, model, idol, leading light, cynosure, leader: At the height of her career, she was known as ''the Queen of the Silver Screen''. ''Queen of the Antilles'' was once a nickname of Cuba.
queer | queer: adj. 1 odd, strange, different, peculiar, funny, curious, uncommon, unconventional, unorthodox, atypical, singular, exceptional, anomalous, extraordinary, unusual, weird, bizarre, uncanny, unnatural, freakish, remarkable, offbeat, irregular, unparalleled, incongruous, outlandish, outr�, exotic, eccentric, fey, quaint, absurd, ridiculous, ludicrous, unexampled: How do you explain Basil''s queer behaviour at the office party? Her attire could only be described as queer, given her age and status. 2 questionable, dubious, suspicious, suspect, doubtful, puzzling, mysterious, Colloq fishy, shady: We had a feeling that something queer was going on when the clocks started running backwards. 3 (slightly) ill, queasy, sick, unwell, poorly, faint, uneasy, dizzy, giddy, vertiginous, light-headed: It''s not surprising that you feel queer after drinking all that wine. 4 mad, unbalanced, unhinged, demented, deranged, insane, daft, touched, Colloq dotty, potty, nutty, nuts, loony, batty, cracked: Francis seems to have gone a bit queer - fancies himself a reincarnation of Cicero. --v. 5 ruin, spoil, bungle, botch, muddle, muff, mar, wreck, destroy, Colloq make a hash or mess of, gum up (the works), Slang muck up, screw up, louse up, US ball up, Taboo slang Brit balls up: Grimstone queered the deal by telling the buyer the company was worth half what we were asking.
quell | quell: v. 1 suppress, put down, repress, subdue, quash, overcome, crush, squelch: The army arrived to quell the uprising at the prison. 2 moderate, mollify, soothe, assuage, alleviate, mitigate, allay, quiet, calm; pacify, tranquillize, compose: Any feelings of bitterness were quelled by her comforting words.
quench | quench: v. 1 satisfy, slake, sate, surfeit, satiate, allay, appease: My thirst isn''t quenched by those sweet fizzy drinks. 2 put out, extinguish, douse, smother, snuff out, stifle, kill, destroy, suppress, squelch, repress, overcome, subdue: Even the most totalitarian regime cannot entirely quench the fire of freedom in the hearts of the oppressed.
querulous | querulous: adj. complaining, carping, critical, criticizing, hypercritical, fault-finding, finicky, finical, fussy, over-particular, censorious, petulant, whining, murmuring, grumbling, peevish, testy, touchy, irritable, irritated, annoyed, piqued, in a pique, irascible, fractious, perverse, quarrelsome, ill-natured, ill-humoured, cantankerous, curmudgeonly, crusty, crotchety, fretful, bad-tempered, ill-tempered, waspish, crabby, cross, splenetic, choleric, sour, dyspeptic, grumpy, Colloq grousing, pernickety or US also persnickety, Slang bitching: He objected to almost all the television programmes and sent querulous letters to the broadcasters telling them so.
query | query: n. 1 question, inquiry or enquiry: The information office will answer any query you may have about social security benefits. 2 doubt, uncertainty, scepticism, reservation, problem: She wants to see the manager about some query concerning her bank balance. --v. 3 ask (about), inquire or enquire (about), question; challenge, doubt, dispute: I am writing to query the third item on your latest bill.
quest | quest: n. 1 search, pursuit, exploration, expedition, voyage (of discovery), pilgrimage, mission, crusade; chase, hunt: When a child, he was inspired by the legend of Sir Launcelot''s quest for the Holy Grail. --v. 2 Usually, quest after or for. seek (after or for), search after or for, hunt (for), track down, pursue, stalk: In 1928, joined by his father, he quested for gold along the Orinoco river.
question | question: n. 1 query, inquiry or enquiry: I asked you a simple question, ''Where were you last night?'', and I expect a civil answer. 2 problem, difficulty, confusion, doubt, dubiousness, uncertainty, query, mystery, puzzle: Is there some question about the qualifications of the new employee? 3 matter, issue, point, subject, topic, theme, proposition: Whether you stay is not the question. The question remains, How are you going to earn a living? 4 beyond (all or any) question. beyond (the shadow of) a doubt, without question, without a doubt, indubitably, undoubtedly, doubtlessly, definitely, certainly, assuredly: He is guilty beyond all question. 5 call in or into question. question, doubt, query, challenge, dispute, harbour or entertain or have doubts or suspicions about, suspect, cast doubt or suspicion on: I cannot see why he has called her loyalty into question. 6 in question. a under discussion or consideration: The person in question never worked for this company. b questionable, debatable, at issue, in doubt, doubtful, open to debate: Her honesty was never in question. 7 out of the question. unthinkable, impossible, absurd, ridiculous, preposterous, inconceivable, beyond consideration, insupportable: An increase in salary at this time is out of the question. 8 without question. See 4, above. --v. 9 ask, examine, interrogate, query, interview, sound out, quiz, Colloq pump, grill, Slang give (someone) the third degree: He was questioned for six hours as to his whereabouts. 10 call in or into question, doubt, query, mistrust, distrust, cast doubt upon, dispute, suspect: Investigators have long questioned the relationship between the banks and the drug barons.
questionable | questionable: adj. doubtful, dubious, debatable, moot, disputable, borderline, suspect, suspicious, shady; open to question, in question, in dispute, problematic(al), uncertain, arguable, unsure, unreliable, ambiguous: The evidence shows that the defendant engaged in questionable banking practices while a director of Offshore Ltd. The advantages of quick divorce are questionable.
queue | queue: n. 1 line, row, file, column, string, train, cortege or cort�ge, retinue, procession, succession, chain, concatenation, series, order, cordon, Brit tailback, Colloq Brit crocodile, Military picket: There were dozens of people in the queue in front of me. 2 pigtail, braid, plait; tail, pony-tail: Not long ago, Chinese men wore their hair in a queue. --v. 3 Often, queue up. line up, get in or into or form a line or queue or file, get into or in line, Military fall in: All he remembers about the war is that everyone had to queue up for everything and wait.
quibble | quibble: v. 1 equivocate, split hairs, evade, be evasive, palter, chop logic, bandy words, cavil, pettifog, Colloq nit-pick: While people continued to be kept in slavery, the politicians quibbled over the difference between ''liberty'' and ''freedom''. --n. 2 quibbling, equivocation, hair-splitting, splitting hairs, evasion, paltering, sophistry, Colloq nit-picking: Lawyers often become involved in a quibble over the mot juste and forget their clients. 3 cavil, sophism, subtlety, nicety: It''s a quibble whether you say ''either'' and ''neither'' to rhyme with ''peek'' or ''pike''.
quick | quick: adj. 1 rapid, fast, speedy, swift, fleet; expeditious, express: We made a quick descent to reach the camp before dark. The hand is quicker than the eye. Can you arrange the quick delivery of this parcel to Aylesbury? 2 sudden, precipitate, hasty, brisk, short, abrupt, hurried, perfunctory, summary; immediate, prompt, timely, instantaneous: There is no quick answer to your question about the causes of World War II. Don''t be so quick to criticize others. I had a quick response to my letter complaining about service. 3 agile, lively, nimble, energetic, vigorous, alert, animated, keen, sharp, acute, spry, spirited, vivacious, rapid, swift: In three quick steps she was at my side. Antonia is known for her quick mind. 4 intelligent, bright, brilliant, facile, adept, adroit, dexterous, apt, able, expert, skilful, deft, astute, clever, shrewd, smart, ingenious, perceptive, perspicacious, discerning, far-sighted, responsive; nimble-witted, quick-witted: You can rely on Rob''s quick thinking to come up with a solution to the problem. 5 excitable, touchy, testy, petulant, irascible, irritable, impatient: She said that I have a quick temper because of my red hair.
quicken | quicken: v. 1 accelerate, hasten, speed up: As we neared the house, our pace quickened. 2 expedite, hurry, accelerate, hasten, speed (up): We did everything we could to quicken her departure. 3 stimulate, arouse, kindle, spark, invigorate, excite, animate, vitalize, vivify, galvanize, enliven, awaken, energize, revive, resuscitate, reinvigorate: Olivia''s inspiring lectures quickened the imagination of everyone who heard them.
quickly | quickly: adv. 1 rapidly, swiftly, speedily, fast: Although share prices dropped in the morning, they recovered quickly during afternoon trading. 2 rapidly, swiftly, speedily, fast, with dispatch or despatch, apace, post-haste, at or on the double, with all speed, quick, Colloq US and Canadian lickety-split: Run quickly, and you''ll get there before the shop closes. 3 instantly, promptly, hastily, at once, immediately, straight away, right away, shortly, without delay, (very) soon, hurriedly, quick, Colloq pronto: You''ll have to leave quickly to catch your train.
quick-tempered | quick-tempered: adj. excitable, impulsive, temperamental, hot-tempered, waspish, choleric, splenetic, impatient, short-tempered, touchy, irascible, irritable, snappish, abrupt, short, short-spoken, quarrelsome, testy, volatile, hot-blooded, bad-tempered, ill-tempered, churlish, highly-strung, US high-keyed: Len is very quick-tempered these days and flies into a rage at the slightest provocation.
quick-witted | quick-witted: adj. acute, sharp, clever, smart, nimble-witted, alert, keen, astute, perceptive, perspicacious: Hallam is known for his quick-witted responses to hecklers in the audience.
quiet | quiet: adj. 1 silent, soundless, noiseless, hushed, still: We have to be very quiet so as not to wake the children. 2 still, serene, silent, peaceful, unperturbed, calm, tranquil, placid, pacific, smooth, mild, restful, unagitated: The sea was very quiet as we rowed towards the beach. 3 dormant, quiescent, inactive, retired, withdrawn, unobtrusive: His last days were spent living a quiet life in the Outer Hebrides. 4 still, motionless, unmoving, fixed, stationary, at rest, inactive, composed, temperate, unexcited, calm: There was a knock at the door and everyone suddenly became quiet. --n. 5 silence, stillness, soundlessness, noiselessness, hush, quietness, quietude, ease, rest, calmness, serenity, tranquillity, peace, peace of mind, repose: In the quiet of the cave I could hear my heart beating. --v. 6 See quieten, below.
quieten | quieten: v. Often, quieten down. quiet (down), still, silence, hush, calm, tranquillize, lull: He gradually quietened down the audience, and the curtain rose.
quietly | quietly: adv. 1 silently, soundlessly, noiselessly, inaudibly, in silence, softly: She tiptoed quietly out of the room. 2 in hushed tones, in whispers: In a corner of the room a young couple were quietly conversing. 3 peacefully, calmly, serenely, peaceably, meekly, mildly: When the police explained they only wanted him to help in their inquiries, he went with them quietly. 4 modestly, humbly, demurely, unpretentiously, unostentatiously, unobtrusively, unassumingly, sedately: The applicants sat quietly, waiting to be called in for the interview.
quintessence | quintessence: n. essence, heart, core, quiddity, essentialness, essentiality, pith, marrow, sum and substance, epitome, nonpareil, embodiment, personification, model, prototype, exemplar, ideal, beau id�al, paragon: Hernandez considered the ancient Greek temple the quintessence of classic design.
quip | quip: n. 1 (bon) mot, witticism, sally, jest, ad lib, joke, gibe, barb, aphorism, epigram, apophthegm or apothegm, pun, double entendre, equivoque or equivoke, Colloq gag, one-liner, crack, wisecrack, wheeze, chestnut: In his worst quip he attributed the breakdown of his computer to a slipped diskette. --v. 2 joke, jest, gibe, Colloq wisecrack, US crack wise: As Mae West quipped, ''It''s not the men in my life that count; it''s the life in my men''.
quirk | quirk: n. peculiarity, caprice, vagary, eccentricity, fancy, twist, warp, aberration, idiosyncrasy, oddity, kink, characteristic, crotchet, whim, trick: By some strange quirk of fate, after weeks in an open boat I was cast ashore at Cap d''Antibes.
quit | quit: v. 1 leave, depart from, go (away) from, get away from, decamp, exit, desert, flee, forsake, abandon, Colloq take off, beat it, skip: They think that he will try to quit the country if he is released on bail. 2 resign, give up, relinquish, leave, renounce, retire from, withdraw from: Would you really quit your job to sail around the world? 3 cease, stop, discontinue, leave off, desist from: They would always quit laughing when I walked into the room. --adj. 4 free, clear, discharged, rid of, released (from), exempt (from): When my ex-wife remarried I was quit of the burden of paying alimony.
quite | quite: adv. 1 completely, very, totally, utterly, entirely, from head to toe, from A to Z, fully, wholly, thoroughly, unequivocally, absolutely, perfectly, altogether, unreservedly: Her trouble is that she is quite certain of many things that are simply not the case. The last time I saw him, he was quite drunk. 2 rather, fairly, moderately, somewhat, relatively, to some or a certain extent or degree, noticeably: I thought that the paintings were quite well done. 3 rather: We had quite a good dinner last night. 4 very much, totally, entirely, wholly, altogether; really, actually, truly, definitely, positively, undoubtedly, indubitably, absolutely, unequivocally, certainly, surely, unreservedly, honestly: What you are talking about is quite another matter. Your home-made chutney is quite the best I have ever tasted.
quiver | quiver: v. 1 shake, tremble, vibrate, shiver, quaver; shudder, tremor, oscillate, fluctuate, wobble: He felt his lips quivering as he told her that he was dying. The outcome of the contest quivered in the balance. --n. 2 tremble, quaver, shudder, spasm, shake, tremor, shiver: Pierced by the dart, the tiny bird fell to the earth, gave a little quiver, and lay still.
quixotic | quixotic: adj. idealistic, impractical, impracticable, unrealistic, unrealizable, visionary, romantic, fantastic, chimerical, fanciful, dreamlike, dreamy, nephelococcygeal, starry-eyed, optimistic, rash, absurd, mad, foolhardy, reckless, wild, preposterous, ridiculous: When he was young, he had a quixotic notion that he could improve the world.
quiz | quiz: n. 1 examination, test, Colloq exam: We have a ten-minute quiz every week on our reading assignment. --v. 2 question, interrogate, ask, examine, Colloq grill, pump: The police have quizzed everyone in the neighbourhood about what they might have seen.
quizzical | quizzical: adj. curious, queer, odd, inquiring or enquiring, questioning, puzzled: The interviewer had a quizzical expression, as if he didn''t quite understand his own questions.
quota | quota: n. apportionment, portion, allotment, allocation, allowance, ration, share, part, proportion, percentage, equity, interest, Colloq cut: Each shareholder is allowed a quota of the new shares based on the number now held.
quotation | quotation: n. 1 quote, passage, citation, reference, allusion, extract, excerpt, selection: For many years Frances collected quotations from the speeches of politicians. 2 quote, (bid or asking or offer or market) price, charge, fixed price, rate, cost; value: The quotation for Universal General International stood at 486 pence at the close of the market on Friday.
quote | quote: v. 1 cite, mention, recite, repeat, retell, reproduce, duplicate, call up, bring up, bring in, instance, exemplify, refer to, reference, extract, excerpt: Let me quote to you the relevant passage from Paradise Lost . --n. 2 See quotation, above.
