
road | road: n. 1 way, means, approach, route, procedure, technique, method, passage, street, avenue, course, track, entr�e, access, direction: Our researchers arrived at the identical results via a completely different road. 2 thoroughfare, way, byway, highway, roadway, high road, low road, avenue, boulevard, street, lane, alley(way), Brit motorway, carriageway, US turnpike, expressway, freeway, parkway, throughway or thruway, German Autobahn, Italian autostrada, French autoroute, Colloq US pike: The roads are jammed with traffic on Sunday evenings during the summer.
roam | roam: v. wander, rove, ramble, range, walk, drift, dally, dawdle, cruise, stroll, amble, meander, saunter, stray, prowl, perambulate, travel, voyage, peregrinate, circumambulate, traipse, gallivant, jaunt, Colloq mosey, swan: They spent a year roaming about the continent, staying wherever they pleased.
roar | roar: v. 1 bellow, thunder; howl, bawl, squall, cry, yell, yowl; bay, snarl, growl: A train roared by. The crowd roared appreciation. A lion roared once in the night. 2 laugh, guffaw, howl (with laughter), hoot: They fell about roaring when he told the joke about the egg and the taxi. --n. 3 roaring, bellow, thunder, rumble, boom; howl, bawl, squall, cry, yell, yowl, clamour, outcry; snarl, snarling, growl, growling: The roar of the falls could be heard miles away. There was a roar of indignation at the proposal. The beast''s roar was enough to strike terror into our hearts. 4 guffaw, outburst, howl, hoot: Everything she said was met by a roar of laughter from the gallery.
rob | rob: v. 1 burgle, loot, rifle, ransack, plunder, depredate, raid; hijack; pillage, sack; US burglarize, Colloq hold up, Slang stick up, rip off: They robbed a jeweller''s shop last week. 2 prey upon or on, Colloq hold up, mug, Slang chiefly US stick up, rip off, Chiefly US and New Zealand roll: These hooligans rob old ladies in the street. 3 rob (someone) (of). deprive (of), cheat or swindle (out of), defraud (of), strip (of), fleece (of), bilk (of), victimize, mulct (of), US euchre ((out) of), Colloq rook ((out) of), do or diddle (out of), gyp (out of), Slang Brit nobble (of): I was robbed of my last penny by those confidence men. We were robbed by a taxi driver who offered to change our money. She robbed me of my self-respect.
robber | robber: n. thief, pickpocket, shoplifter, burglar, bandit, housebreaker, sneak-thief, cat burglar, safe-breaker, highwayman, gentleman of the road, brigand, pirate, freebooter, buccaneer, privateer, corsair, Colloq mugger, hold-up man, Slang cracksman, rip-off artist, safe-cracker, safe-blower, Chiefly US stick-up man, US second-story or second-storey man: The police were making every effort to catch the robbers.
robbery | robbery: n. robbing, theft, thievery, thieving, burglary, burgling, pilfering, pilferage, stealing, plundering, plunder, looting, sack, sacking, ransacking, depredation, pillage, pillaging, hijacking, hijack, larceny, breaking and entering, Colloq pinching, hold-up, holding up, mugging, Slang rip-off, ripping-off, Chiefly US stick-up, sticking-up, Brit nicking, US heist: The robbery of the paintings took place in broad daylight. The robbery of the shop was aided by a former employee. The robbery of elderly persons is on the increase.
robe | robe: n. 1 cloak, dress, garment, vestment, habit, frock, cassock, caftan, muu-muu, surplice, bathrobe, dressing-gown, lounging robe, housecoat, kimono, house-dress, peignoir, wrapper, French robe de chambre, costume: A woman wearing a green robe came to the door and asked what I wanted. 2 robes. costume, habit, uniform, garb, attire, vestments, apparel, raiment, livery, clothing, garments, outfit, accoutrements or US also accouterments, regalia, finery, trappings, panoply, gear, paraphernalia, appurtenances, equipage, rig, Archaic vesture: She looked absolutely splendid decked out in the full robes of state. --v. 3 cloak, garb, dress, cover, enrobe, clothe: The dish consists of ladyfingers topped with fresh strawberries robed in chocolate, with whipped cream spread over the top.
robot | robot: n. 1 automaton, mechanical man or monster, android: In the future, much of the drudgery will be taken over by electronic robots. 2 drudge, clod, tool, puppet, cat''s-paw, myrmidon, mechanical man, automaton: The company has a number of robots on its payroll who carry out orders without question.
robust | robust: adj. 1 healthy, fit, sound, hale (and hearty), sturdy, hardy, hearty, strong, stout, tough, able-bodied, strapping, brawny, sinewy, rugged, muscular, powerful, well-knit, athletic, staunch, vigorous; in fine or good fettle, Colloq husky: Kelly was such a robust chap one might have thought he''d live forever. 2 pungent, strong, flavourful, sapid, rich, full-bodied, nutty, fruity: He gave me a glass of an excellent robust tawny port.
rock� | rock�: n. 1 stone; boulder: In the avalanche, the rocks thoroughly destroyed the ski lodge. 2 crag, tor, escarpment, scarp, Brit outcrop, US outcropping: We used to go rock climbing when I had the strength. 3 on the rocks. a on ice: I''d like a whisky on the rocks, thanks. b in (a) shambles, destroyed, in ruins, ruined, finished, broken-down, beyond repair: He lost his job and his marriage went on the rocks. c destitute, poverty-stricken, indigent, penniless, bankrupt: Unable to find another job, he''s been on the rocks for a year, now.
rock� | rock�: v. 1 sway, swing, lull: Her father used to rock her to sleep in his arms. 2 roll, reel, lurch, toss, swing, sway, wobble: The building rocked so during the earthquake that I thought it was going to fall down. 3 astound, astonish, shock, surprise, jar, stagger, amaze, stun, dumbfound or dumfound, daze, stupefy, overwhelm, disconcert, unnerve, Colloq set (someone) back on his or her or their heels, throw, rattle, shake up: I was really rocked by the news that Sue was marrying Craig.
rocket | rocket: v. zoom, take off, sky-rocket, shoot up, climb, rise rapidly, soar, spiral upwards, Colloq go through the roof: The day controls were lifted, prices rocketed, almost doubling overnight.
rocky� | rocky�: adj. 1 stony, pebbly, shingly, boulder-strewn, craggy; bumpy, difficult, hard, uncomfortable, arduous: The beach at Nice might be romantic, but it''s very rocky to lie on. The road to love can be very rocky indeed. 2 stony, adamant, adamantine, firm, unyielding, rocklike, tough, unbending, flinty, firm, solid, steadfast, steady, unfaltering, staunch, unflinching, determined, resolute, unwavering, unchanging, unvarying, invariant, invariable, reliable, dependable, sure, certain: I knew we could depend on Charles''s rocky determination to see the project through. 3 stony, flinty, unfeeling, unsympathetic, unemotional, emotionless, impassive, cold, cool, apathetic, indifferent, uncaring, detached, d�gag�, callous, thick-skinned, tough, hard: Beneath that rocky exterior beats a tender heart.
rocky� | rocky�: adj. unstable, tottering, teetering, unsteady, shaky, rickety, unsure, uncertain, unreliable, weak, flimsy, wobbly, wobbling, vacillating, dubious, doubtful, questionable, Colloq iffy: The project will be very rocky till we are assured proper funding.
rod | rod: n. 1 bar, pole, baton, wand, staff, stick, dowel, cane, shaft: Steel rods are used to reinforce the concrete in modern buildings. 2 cane, birch, switch, scourge, lash; punishment, chastisement, castigation, discipline, chastening, correction: As they say, spare the rod and spoil the child.
rogue | rogue: n. 1 trickster, swindler, cheat, cad, ne''er-do-well, wastrel, good-for-nothing, miscreant, Rather old-fashioned scamp, scoundrel, blackguard, knave, rascal, rapscallion, scapegrace, dastard, cur, churl, wretch, villain, charlatan, mountebank, Brit bounder; Colloq louse, stinker, rat, creep, Brit rotter, blighter, Chiefly US and Canadian son of a gun, Slang bastard, Chiefly US and Canadian son of a bitch, SOB or s.o.b., bum: She met some clever rogue in Capri who conned her out of fifteen thousand lire. --adj. 2 independent, undisciplined, uncontrollable, ungovernable, unmanageable, unpredictable, disobedient, incorrigible, fractious, self-willed, unruly, intractable, unrestrained, wild, lawless, strong-willed, headstrong, refractory, contumacious, recalcitrant, cross-grained, rampageous: Part of the village was destroyed when a rogue elephant ran amok. Perkins quit the company to start up his own rogue concern.
role | role: n. 1 r�le, part, character, impersonation; lines: She had the role of Maria in a recent production of Twelfth Night . 2 function, position, situation, place, post, capacity, job, duty, task, responsibility: Hermione''s role in the company is that of managing director.
roll | roll: v. 1 rotate, cycle, turn (over (and over)), wheel, trundle; revolve, go (a)round, orbit, tumble, somersault or somerset or summersault or summerset: Th landlord rolled another barrel beer into the pub. The children loved rolling about in the ride at the fun fair. 2 pass, go, flow, slip, flit, glide, slide, move (on); expire, elapse, disappear, vanish, evaporate: The time certainly rolls by quickly when you''re having fun. 3 move, drive, bowl, be carried or conveyed, cruise, sail, coast, ride, float, fly: We rolled down the road, singing and laughing. 4 undulate, billow, rise and fall: The countryside rolled away before us as far as the eye could see. 5 roar, echo, re-echo, rumble, reverberate, resound, sound, boom, peal, resonate, thunder: The roar of the explosion rolled over us as we ran for cover. 6 rob, steal from: They got their money by rolling drunks. 7 Often, roll out. flatten, level (off or out), smooth (out), even (out), grade: After cutting, the lawn ought to be rolled. 8 Usually, roll over. turn (over), rotate, spin: Roll onto your stomach so I can examine your back. 9 Usually, roll up. furl, coil, curl, wind (up), wrap (up); enwrap, swathe, enfold, envelop, shroud, enshroud: Every night he takes down the banner and carefully rolls it. Cleopatra was rolled up in a rug to be smuggled past the guards. 10 roll in. a arrive, come in, pour in, flow in, turn up, show up: The contributions really started to roll in after the appeal. b luxuriate in, revel in, wallow in, savour, bask in, delight in, take pleasure in, indulge in, rejoice in, relish: Basil has been rolling in unaccustomed wealth since his aunt died. 11 roll out. unroll, unfurl, spread (out), unfold, uncoil, uncurl, unwind, open (out): Roll out the bolt of cloth so that we can measure it. --n. 12 reel, spool, cylinder, scroll; tube: The message was written on a long roll of paper. 13 list, rota, register, record, directory, listing, roster, slate, docket, catalogue, inventory, muster, index, census, annal(s), schedule, chronicle(s), Sports line-up: With great ceremony, the clerk read the roll. 14 rolling, billowing, waving, wave action, wave, billow, swell, undulation, pitching, rocking, tossing: With each roll of the boat, I felt more seasick. 15 peal, rumble, reverberation, boom, echo, thunder, roar: A roll of thunder drowned out her shouts. 16 rotation, spin, toss, whirl, twirl: I decided to bet everything on one last roll of the dice. 17 bun; scone, croissant; Brit bread-roll, bap, split: Waiter, would you please bring some more rolls? 18 bankroll, money, wad, bundle: He took out a roll of notes and peeled off five twenties.
roller | roller: n. 1 drum, cylinder, barrel, calender; tube; windlass; rolling-pin; mangle, wringer: Make certain that the roller is clean. 2 billow, wave, comber, breaker, swell: After the storm, the heavy rollers continued to pound the sea wall.
romance | romance: n. 1 (love) affair, amour, affair of the heart, affaire (de coeur or d''amour), liaison, relationship, dalliance, intrigue: Wasn''t Rick the one from Canada with whom Diana had a romance? 2 (true) love: You are lucky if you find romance even once in your lifetime. 3 novel, narrative, fiction, story, mystery, thriller, horror story, ghost story, science fiction, fantasy, Western, melodrama, gothic or Gothic or Gothick novel or tale, (fairy) tale, love story, idyll, epic, legend: It is probably accurate to say that the romance is the most popular form of fiction. 4 sentiment, nostalgia, mystery, intrigue, fantasy, imagination, imaginativeness, adventure, excitement, fascination, exoticism, glamour, colour, colourfulness: It was the romance of Morocco that entranced me. 5 tall tale or story, fantasy, fabrication, fairy tale, exaggeration, prevarication, concoction, flight of fancy, fib, (white) lie, prevarication, balderdash, fiction, nonsense, imagination: That episode with the girl on the train that David told you about was all romance. --v. 6 make love to; woo, court: Steve has been romancing Maria ever since they met. 7 pander to, flatter, curry favour with, toady (up) to, Colloq butter up, soft-soap, Taboo slang brown-nose: The new restaurant is romancing neighbourhood office executives, and luring them in for business lunches.
romantic | romantic: adj. 1 imaginary, imagined, fictitious, fictional, ideal, idealized, fancied, fabulous, made-up, dreamed-up, dreamt-up, fantasized, fanciful, fairy-tale, mythical, idyllic, Utopian, illusory: Vivian isn''t a real person - she''s just Howard''s romantic notion of the girl he wants to marry. 2 impractical, visionary, fictitious, unpractical, unrealistic, ideal, abstract, quixotic, chimerical, absurd, extravagant, wild, crackpot, mad: She had romantic notions of how she would be running her own international business by the time she was thirty. 3 nostalgic, sentimental, emotional, sweet, tender, picturesque, exotic, glamorous; mawkish, maudlin, saccharine, Colloq soppy, sugary, mushy, sloppy: I can think of a lot more romantic places than a hamburger bar to eat on our anniversary. Fred hates it when I get too romantic. 4 amorous, affectionate, aroused, impassioned, passionate, libidinous, lustful, over-friendly, Colloq lovey-dovey; fresh: After a drink or two Mike starts getting romantic - if you know what I mean. --n. 5 romanticist, dreamer, Don Quixote, visionary, idealist, sentimentalist: I''ve never lost my taste for soft lights and sweet music - I suppose I''m just a romantic at heart.
room | room: n. 1 space, area, scope, extent, allowance, latitude, elbow-room, range, leeway, margin: There is room for one more inside. 2 chamber, apartment, compartment, office, cell, cubicle: For years Pablo occupied a small room on the top floor. 3 rooms. quarters, lodgings, accommodation, flat, dwelling: We had rooms in an old house downtown. --v. 4 live, lodge, dwell, abide, reside, stay: Did you really room with the daughter of a prime minister?
roomy | roomy: adj. spacious, capacious, commodious, large, sizeable, big, ample: For what appears to be a small car, it has a surprisingly roomy interior.
root� | root�: n. 1 base, basis, foundation, source, seat, cause, fountain-head, origin, fount, well-spring: Love of money is the root of all evil. 2 rootstock, rootstalk, tap root, rootlet; tuber; Technical radix, radicle, radicel, rhizome, rhizomorph: When transplanting seedlings, special care should be taken not to damage the roots. 3 root and branch. radically, completely, utterly, entirely, wholly, totally: The Romans sought to destroy Carthage root and branch. 4 roots. origins, heritage, family, lineage, house, antecedents, forefathers, foremothers, descent, genealogy, family tree, forebears, ancestors, predecessors, stock, pedigree; birthplace, motherland, fatherland, native land or country or soil, cradle: Carlotta spent years tracing her roots to ancient Rome. The roots of civilization first appeared in Mesopotamia. 5 take root. become set or established or settled, germinate, sprout, grow, develop, thrive, burgeon, flourish, spread: Good work habits should take root at an early age; then they will last a lifetime. --v. 6 plant, set, establish, found, fix, settle, embed or imbed; entrench, anchor: The cuttings failed to grow because they were not properly rooted. Hilary''s fear of heights is rooted in a childhood fall from a tree. 7 root out. a Sometimes, root up. uproot, eradicate, eliminate, destroy, extirpate, exterminate: Any subversives in the organization must be rooted out. b find, uncover, discover, dig up or out, unearth, turn up, bring to light: The survey of accounts is aimed at rooting out customers who are slow in paying.
root� | root�: v. rootle, forage, dig, pry, nose, poke, ferret, burrow, rummage, delve, search, ransack: Harvey has been rooting about in the garage looking for his tennis racket.
root� | root�: v. Usually, root for. cheer (for), applaud (for); boost, support, encourage, urge on: I''m rooting for our side to win.
rooted | rooted: adj. firm, established, set, fixed, fast, settled, deep-rooted, deep-seated, entrenched, ingrained or engrained, (firmly) embedded or imbedded, implanted, instilled; chronic, inbred, inherent, intrinsic, essential, fundamental, basic, radical: Have you any rooted objections to the principle of living with someone of the opposite sex without being married?
rope | rope: n. 1 line, cord, cable, hawser; strand, string: This rope is too light for mooring the boat. She wore a rope of baroque pearls. 2 the ropes. the routine, the procedure, one''s way around, the ins and outs; the truth, the (real) situation; Colloq what''s what, the score, Brit the gen: It didn''t take her long to learn the ropes. --v. 3 tie, bind, lash, hitch, fasten, secure; tether, attach: Rope these two crates together. The horses were roped to the post. 4 rope in. attract, draw (in), tempt, entice, lure, persuade: They are going to use a lottery to rope the customers in to supporting our cause.
ropy | ropy: adj. 1 ropey, viscous, stringy, viscid, glutinous, mucilaginous, gluey, gummy, thready, fibrous, filamentous: The plastic resin emerging from the vat looks somewhat ropy, like mozzarella cheese. 2 questionable, inadequate, inferior, deficient, indifferent, mediocre, substandard, unsatisfactory, poor, sketchy: Greenwood''s plan for increasing profit margins looks pretty ropy to me. 3 sickly, ill, unwell, hung-over, below par, out of sorts, Colloq under the weather, poorly, rough, not up to snuff, off one''s feed: I was feeling pretty ropy on Saturday morning after that do at your place on Friday.
rostrum | rostrum: n. platform, stage, dais, podium, stand; pulpit; lectern, reading-stand: As the crowd hooted and booed, the speaker descended from the rostrum.
rosy | rosy: adj. 1 pink, rose-coloured, red, roseate, reddish, pinkish, cherry, cerise, ruddy, flushed, glowing, blushing, ruby, rubicund, florid; rose-red: During the skiing holiday, they all developed healthy rosy complexions. 2 optimistic, promising, favourable, auspicious, hopeful, encouraging, sunny, bright: Caldwell has a rosy future ahead of him.
rot | rot: v. 1 decay, decompose, fester, spoil, go bad or off, be tainted, be ruined, mould, moulder, putrefy; corrode, rust, disintegrate, deteriorate, crumble or go or fall to pieces: When the power went off, all the food in the freezer rotted. The piers holding up the far end of the bridge have all rotted away. 2 waste away, wither away, languish, die, moulder, decline, deteriorate, degenerate, decay, atrophy: Despite repeated appeals for clemency, he''s been rotting away in jail all these years. --n. 3 decay, decomposition, mould, putrefaction, putrescence, blight, corrosion, corruption, disintegration, deterioration: Once the rot has set in, the job of revitalization can be overwhelming. 4 (stuff and) nonsense, balderdash, rubbish, bunkum, tommy-rot, twaddle, drivel, hogwash, eyewash, trash, Colloq claptrap, bunk, boloney or boloney, bosh, malarkey, moonshine, poppycock, tosh, Slang crap, bull, codswallop, Brit (a load of (old)) cobblers, Taboo balls, bullshit: He knows nothing whatsoever about linguistics and is just talking a lot of rot.
rotate | rotate: v. 1 turn, revolve, go round, spin, gyrate, pirouette, whirl, twirl, wheel, pivot, reel: As the gear rotates, its teeth mesh with those of the other gear, causing it to turn in the opposite direction. 2 change, exchange, alternate, interchange, switch, trade places; take turns, Colloq swap or swop: Rotate the positions of the tyres for more even wear. We rotate the chores in our family.
rote | rote: n. 1 routine, ritual: He acquired a rote knowledge of the words, without knowing what they mean. 2 by rote. a by heart, from memory: He can recite the entire Prologue of Canterbury Tales by rote. b unthinkingly, automatically, mechanically: She learned the French dialogue by rote but doesn''t understand a word of it.
rotten | rotten: adj. 1 rotted, decayed, decomposed, decomposing, putrid, putrescent, putrescing, mouldy, mouldering, spoilt or spoiled, mildewed, rancid, fetid or foetid, stale, rank, foul, feculent, tainted, contaminated, festered, festering, corrupt, bad, off, turned, overripe, soured, sour: One rotten apple in the barrel can spoil the rest. The stench of rotten meat filled the room. 2 rotted, rusted, corroded, deteriorating, disintegrating, crumbling, crumbly, falling to pieces, friable: He stepped on a spot where the wood was rotten and his foot went right through the stair. 3 immoral, corrupt, dishonest, deceitful, venal, shameless, degenerate, villainous, iniquitous, evil, wicked, vile, debased, base, perverted, depraved, unscrupulous, unprincipled, amoral, warped, Slang bent: These drug dealers are rotten at the core. 4 heinous, evil, vile, base, miserable, despicable, wretched, awful, terrible, horrible, horrific, nasty, contemptible, filthy, mean, low, Colloq lousy, stinking, low-down, dirty-rotten: Pairing me off with Vera at the dance was a rotten trick. 5 ill, unwell, sick, nauseated, awful; hung-over, Colloq lousy, ropy or ropey, rough: I feel really rotten - maybe it was those mushrooms I ate last night.
rotund | rotund: adj. 1 round(ed), circular, orbicular, globular, spherical: His rotund, cherubic little face simply invited a pinch of the cheek. 2 full, full-toned, deep, resonant, reverberant, reverberating, sonorous, rich, round, mellow; pear-shaped: They thrilled to hear the rotund notes issuing from Caruso''s lips as he sang ''Vesti la Giubba''. 3 chubby, podgy or chiefly US pudgy, (pleasingly) plump, portly, tubby, heavy, fleshy, corpulent, stout, fat, obese, overweight, Colloq roly-poly: Jack''s rotund figure was easily recognizable waddling up the street.
rou� | rou�: n. playboy, womanizer, ladies'' man, rake, lecher, Lothario, Don Juan, Romeo, Casanova, charmer, flirt, libertine, debauchee, Old-fashioned masher, gay dog, Colloq wolf, lady-killer, dirty old man, Taboo slang gash-hound: Alistair was quite a rou� in his youth but has settled down since turning 50.
rough | rough: adj. 1 uneven, irregular, coarse, jagged, rugged, bumpy, lumpy, broken: The next mile or so we slogged over some very rough terrain. 2 agitated, turbulent, choppy, stormy, storm-tossed, tempestuous, roiled: We negotiated a very rough patch of water before sailing into the calm, sheltered bay. 3 brusque, bluff, curt, short, abrupt, unpleasant, churlish, discourteous, impolite, rough-spoken, ungracious, surly, disrespectful, rude, uncouth, loutish, unrefined, uncivil, uncivilized, uncultured, vulgar, unladylike, ungentlemanly, coarse, ill-mannered, ill-bred, inconsiderate: Ian can be a bit rough, I know, but underneath he is a true and loyal friend. 4 tough, rough-and-tumble, roughneck, rowdy: There are some very rough characters frequenting that pub. 5 harsh, violent, unfeeling, unjust, severe, cruel, tough, hard, brutal, extreme; ungentle: They were subjected to very rough treatment when being questioned by the police. 6 dirty, obscene, smutty, pornographic, vulgar, crude, raw, rude: After midnight they watch the rough shows beamed by satellite from Italy. 7 hard, tough, Spartan, difficult, arduous, laborious, rugged, unpleasant: It was pretty rough going with almost no money and all those expenses. 8 harsh, grating, cacophonous, discordant, jarring, strident, raucous, rasping, unmusical, inharmonious, gruff, husky: In acknowledgement he made a rough, growling noise. 9 unfinished, incomplete, uncompleted, imperfect, rudimentary, crude, rude, formless, unformed, raw, rough-and-ready, rough-hewn, roughcast, undeveloped, unshaped, unworked, unwrought, unprocessed, unrefined; uncut, unpolished; shapeless, unshaped, undressed: I only saw the sculpture in its rough state and cannot say how it looked when finished. The stones are rough, as they were when taken from the ground. 10 general, approximate, inexact, cursory, quick, hasty, sketchy, vague, hazy; foggy, Colloq ballpark: Can''t you give me even a rough idea of how much you want for the house? 11 unfair, unjust, bad, tough; unlucky, unfortunate: We went through a spell of rough luck last year. This is a rough time for everyone. 12 See rotten, 5, above. --n. 13 rowdy, tough, hooligan, ruffian, thug, brawler, yahoo, Slang roughneck, Australian larrikin, US mug: Phil will get into trouble if he continues to associate with those roughs at the Lantern. 14 sketch, (rough) draft, mock-up, outline: Let me see roughs of the presentation before the meeting with the client. --v. 15 rough out or in. sketch, draft, mock-up, outline, mark out, trace, block out: Our escape plan was roughed out by Captain Gallagher. 16 rough up. beat (up), thrash, attack, batter, assault, pummel or pommel, lay on, knock about, belabour, lambaste, Colloq wallop: Some of the boys roughed him up a bit when they learned that he was an informer. --adv. 17 violently, savagely, brutally, brutishly: You''d best not mention Cassie or Henry might cut up rough.
rough-house | rough-house: n. 1 boisterousness, rowdiness, rowdyism, violence, brawling, disorderliness, disorderly conduct, ruffianism: The police were called in to quell the rough-house that broke out at the dance. --v. 2 brawl: If you want to rough-house, do it outside!
roughly | roughly: adv. 1 approximately, around; about, nearly: The British Museum is roughly in the same direction as Euston. It cost roughly two weeks'' wages. Roughly two years later I saw her again. 2 harshly, unkindly, severely, sternly, unsympathetically, brutally, violently, savagely, inhumanly, mercilessly, unmercifully, ruthlessly, pitilessly, cruelly, heartlessly: The police were accused of dealing too roughly with those suspected of harming a fellow officer. 3 clumsily, rudely, crudely, awkwardly, primitively, inexpertly, amateurishly, maladroitly, heavy-handedly, ineptly, inefficiently, unskilfully, inartistically: This roughly hewn block of local granite is what the council paid a fortune for as ''sculpture''.
round | round: adj. 1 circular; disc-shaped, discoid, disc-like: I prefer a round table to a square one. She made a round motion to demonstrate the shape. 2 ring-shaped, annular, hoop-shaped, hoop-like: The track is oval, not round. 3 spherical, ball-shaped, ball-like, globular, spheroid, spheroidal, globe-shaped, globelike, globate, orb-shaped, orb-like, orbicular: You will never convince me that the earth is round - I know what I see. 4 curved, curvilinear, rounded, arched: The round chisel is used to cut these grooves. 5 exact, precise, complete, entire, full: That makes a round hundred times you have asked me the same question. 6 approximate, rough, rounded (off or up or down), whole: In round numbers, that makes 40 per cent For and 60 per cent Against. 7 rounded, mellow, full, vibrant, reverberant, reverberating, sonorous, rich, mellifluous, orotund, pear-shaped: Couldn''t you listen forever to those beautiful round tones sung by Fischer-Dieskau? 8 plain, honest, straightforward, direct, unvarnished, unembellished, unelaborated, outspoken, candid, truthful, frank, open, blunt, Colloq upfront: They delivered what they had to say in round, assertive statements. 9 Chiefly Brit return: We made the round trip to Bristol in less than three hours. --n. 10 circle, disc; ring, hoop, annulus; ball, sphere, globe, orb, bead: The moulding has a repeated pattern of a round alternating with three vertical grooves. 11 cycle, series, sequence, succession, bout, spell: The current round of talks on the economy is expected to last for three days. There was the usual round of parties on New Year''s Eve. 12 Often, rounds. beat, route, routine, circuit, course, tour, turn, ambit: The milkman still makes his daily rounds in England. 13 heat, stage, level, turn: After each round in the tournament, the losers are eliminated, reducing the competitors by half. 14 spell, period, run, spate, bout, outburst, burst, volley: Each new acrobat who added to the human pyramid got a round of applause. 15 bullet, cartridge, charge, shell, (single) shot: Each man was given only ten rounds of ammunition. --v. 16 turn, go (a)round: The car rounded the corner on two wheels. 17 orbit, circumnavigate, go (a)round, circle, encircle: He rounded the earth in the fastest recorded time. 18 round off or out. complete, close, end, bring to an end or completion or a close, finish: Tim suggested we round off the evening with a rubber of bridge. 19 round up. gather, assemble, muster, draw or pull or get together, collect, herd, marshal, US and Canadian (of cattle or horses) corral, wrangle: The police are rounding up witnesses who might have seen the shooting. More than 10,000 head of cattle have been rounded up for the drive. --prep. 20 about, around, encircling, enclosing; orbiting: The fence round the site ought to keep out the curious. The new bypass round town ought to reduce local traffic. 21 here and there in, about, around, throughout, all over, everywhere in: Dad used to smoke and kept dozens of ash trays round the house. 22 about, around, nearby, in the neighbourhood or vicinity or (general) area of: Whenever I want to see you alone, there are always people round you. Just look round you if you don''t believe me. --adv. 23 around, about, in a circle or ring, on all sides: Gather round and I''ll tell you a story. Pass the hat round for Harry''s farewell party. 24 from beginning to end, from start to finish, through: He now lives in France the year round. 25 in perimeter or periphery, around: The indoor track is exactly one fifth of a mile round. 26 about, around, in the neighbourhood or vicinity or (general) area: There isn''t a soul for miles round. 27 around, in a circle or circuit, in or by a circular or circuitous route or path, circuitously: This road goes round to the other side of the lake.
roundabout | roundabout: adj. 1 circuitous, circular, indirect, long: We had plenty of time so we came the more scenic, roundabout way. 2 devious, circuitous, evasive, indirect, oblique: If you wanted to borrow some money, asking me for tax advice was quite a roundabout way of asking. --n. 3 merry-go-round, carousel or carrousel, Old-fashioned or dialect whirligig: The children weren''t the only ones who enjoyed themselves on the roundabout. 4 Brit mini-roundabout, US and Canadian rotary, traffic circle: When you come to the roundabout, turn right and keep going till you come to a traffic light.
round-up | round-up: n. 1 gathering, assembly, rally, collection, herding, US and Canadian (of cattle or horses) corralling, wrangling: The round-up of suspects by the police was focused on the Bournemouth area. 2 summary, synopsis, digest, outline, recapitulation, review, survey, Colloq recap: And now, with a round-up of the news, here is Moira Lawley.
rouse | rouse: v. 1 arouse, call, waken, awaken, wake (up), get up, arise: I was roused from a deep slumber by a dog''s barking. 2 stir (up), arouse, bestir, stimulate, inspirit, animate, invigorate, electrify, excite, provoke, prompt, goad, prod, galvanize, incite, whet, move, work up, fire up: Bruce''s unquenchable enthusiasm roused many to become involved in the campaign.
rousing | rousing: adj. stimulating, inspiriting, animating, enlivening, energizing, inspiring, invigorating, vitalizing, electrifying; fervent, vigorous, energetic, enthusiastic, spirited, brisk, lively, animated, Colloq peppy: The huge crowd gave the team a rousing cheer as they jogged out onto the field.
rout | rout: n. 1 defeat, trouncing, ruin, overthrow, subjugation, vanquishment, d�b�cle, conquest, thrashing, drubbing, beating; dispersal, retreat, collapse; Colloq licking, hiding, US and Canadian shellacking: Owing to the government''s overwhelming forces, there was a complete rout of the rebels. --v. 2 defeat, win (out) over, trounce, ruin, overthrow, bring down, subjugate, subdue, suppress, vanquish, conquer, overwhelm, overpower, put to rout or flight, worst, best, trample, overrun, thrash, trim, whip, drub, beat, crush, batter, smash, shatter, cut to pieces or ribbons or shreds, destroy, devastate, wipe out, eliminate, put down, seal the doom or the fate of, eradicate, obliterate, Colloq lick, wipe the floor with, polish off, knock off, Hyperbolic sports jargon pulverize, make mincemeat of, ride roughshod over, demolish, mangle, ravage, mutilate, flatten, squash, topple, lay waste, wreak havoc (up)on, ravage, massacre, murder, exterminate, annihilate, liquidate, smother, stifle, do away with, Slang clobber, do in, US skunk, Chiefly US and Canadian cream: Queens Park Rangers routed Manchester United 6-0.
route | route: n. 1 way, itinerary, course, direction, path, road, avenue: If you have the time, take the scenic route. John''s route to the chairmanship is strewn with his colleagues'' corpses. --v. 2 direct, convey, carry: Goods destined for Cleveland will be routed through Northampton.
routine | routine: n. 1 custom, habit, procedure, practice, method, schedule, plan, programme, formula, pattern, way, usage, wont, Colloq chiefly Brit drill: Chalmers has always been a stickler for routine. What''s the routine here when you want to order a new chair? 2 act, piece, bit, performance, number, part, Colloq thing, shtick: The fat lady doesn''t sing till after Joe Miller finishes his routine. --adj. 3 customary, habitual, usual, rote, accustomed,familiar, conventional, regular, ordinary, everyday; programmed, assigned, designated, scheduled: Her routine responsibilities include proofreading. 4 boring, tedious, tiresome, unimaginative, uninteresting; hackneyed, trite, stereotypic(al), clich�d, run-of-the-mill, ordinary; unvaried, unvarying, unchanging, monotonous, uneventful, rote, automatic, mechanical, perfunctory: He has a routine job on the assembly line.
rover | rover: n. wanderer, bird of passage, itinerant, traveller, rolling stone, nomad, gypsy, wayfarer, gadabout, sojourner, tourist; drifter, tramp, vagabond, vagrant, US hobo, bum: He''s a born rover and will never settle down.
row� | row�: n. line, rank, tier, bank, string, series, file: A row of trees serves as a wind-break along one side of the farm.
row� | row�: n. 1 altercation, argument, dispute, quarrel, disagreement, squabble, spat, tiff, conflict, fracas, Colloq shouting match, scrap, falling-out, Brit slanging-match: We had a silly row about where we should spend the Christmas holidays. 2 commotion, disturbance, clamour, hubbub, racket, din, rumpus, tumult, uproar, brouhaha, fuss, stir, turmoil, hullabaloo; bedlam, pandemonium, chaos; US foofaraw, Colloq ruckus: There was a tremendous row over the increase in membership fees. --v. 3 dispute, quarrel, argue, disagree, wrangle, cross swords, have words, bicker, tiff, Colloq scrap, fall out: They are constantly rowing over something, usually some insignificant detail.
rowdy | rowdy: adj. 1 boisterous, uproarious, disorderly, noisy, loud, obstreperous, unruly: It only takes a couple of rowdy youths to start trouble at a match. --n. 2 ruffian, tough, hooligan, yahoo, brawler, lout, Brit lager lout, skinhead, Chiefly US and Canadian hoodlum, hood, Slang Brit bovver boy: The police arrested three of the rowdies involved in last night''s fight.
rowdyism | rowdyism: n. rowdiness, ruffianism, hooliganism, rough-house, barbarism, troublemaking, brawling, unruliness, boisterousness, Slang Brit bovver: Have you any suggestions about what to do to curb rowdyism at football matches?
royal | royal: adj. 1 queenly, kingly, queenlike, kinglike, regal, imperial, sovereign, princely, majestic: The Royal Family usually spend their summer holidays at Balmoral. The establishment proudly boasts royal patronage. 2 grand, splendid, stately, impressive, august, imposing, superior, superb, magnificent, majestic: She arrived at the ball in a royal coach drawn by six white horses. --n. 3 king, queen, prince, princess, duke, earl, duchess, viscount, viscountess, baron, baroness, noble, nobleman, noblewoman, peer: Her greatest ambition is to meet a royal in the flesh. 4 royals. royalty, nobility, nobles, peerage: He writes the daily column reporting on the activities of the royals.
royalty | royalty: n. 1 queenship, kingship, royal house or line or family, sovereignty: Royalty does have its privileges, doesn''t it? 2 percentage, commission, share, payment, compensation: He receives a royalty every time his song is played or sung commercially, anywhere in the world. 3 nobility, nobles, peerage, Colloq Brit royals: It is ironic that Americans are more impressed than the British with royalty.
