
sick | sick: adj. 1 Chiefly Brit nauseated, queasy, sick to one''s stomach, squeamish, qualmish; seasick, carsick, airsick, Colloq green around the gills: Patrick felt a bit sick after the rough ferry crossing. 2 ill, unwell, unhealthy, sickly, indisposed, infirm, ailing, diseased, afflicted, Colloq under the weather, on the sick-list, poorly, laid up, not (feeling) up to snuff: If you feel sick, you''d best see a doctor. I''ve been sick for a week. 3 affected, troubled, stricken, heartsick, wretched, miserable, burdened, weighed down: I was sick with worry to learn of the problems you have been having with your business. 4 mad, crazy, insane, deranged, disturbed, neurotic, unbalanced, psychoneurotic, psychotic, Colloq mental, US off ((one''s) rocker or trolley): Anyone who could have committed such a crime must be sick. 5 peculiar, unconventional, strange, weird, odd, bizarre, grotesque, macabre, shocking, ghoulish, morbid, gruesome, stomach-turning, sadistic, masochistic, sado-masochistic, Colloq kinky, bent, far-out, US off: In 30 years as a policeman, I''ve seen some sick things, but this is the end. 6 sickened, shocked, put out, upset, appalled, disgusted, revolted, repulsed, offended, repelled, nauseated; annoyed, chagrined, irritated: She was sick at what she saw in the army field hospital. The way you do things sometimes makes me sick. 7 Sometimes, sick of. (sick and) tired, bored, weary, Colloq fed up with: Don''t you get sick of telling them the same thing so many times?
sicken | sicken: v. 1 fall ill, take sick, contract, be stricken by, come down with or catch something or a bug, fail, weaken: After he seemed to be recovering so well, he suddenly sickened and died. 2 make ill or sick, afflict, affect, disgust, nauseate, turn one''s stomach, upset, appal, shock, repel, revolt, repulse, offend, make one''s gorge rise; put out: The scene in the abattoir sickened me.
sickly | sickly: adj. 1 See sick, 2, above. 2 ailing, feeble, delicate, wan, weak, pallid, pale, drawn, peaked, peaky, peakish: Jennie looks sickly and must build up her resistance. 3 mushy, mawkish, maudlin, cloying, insipid, weak, watery: The sickly sentimentality of the episode about the boy and his lost puppy was unbearable.
side | side: n. 1 Sometimes, sides. flank(s), edge(s), verge, margin(s), rim, brim, brink, border(s); bank; boundary or boundaries, perimeter, periphery, limit(s): This side of the road is in West Sussex, the other in East Sussex. The sides of the swimming-pool are tiled. 2 surface, face, plane; facet: The smallest possible number of sides of a pyramid is four. 3 faction, interest, party, part, sect, camp, (point of) view, viewpoint, aspect, opinion, standpoint, stand, cause, angle, position, attitude, school, philosophy: Which side do you support in the controversy? 4 team; string, squad; American football and Association Football or Soccer and Cricket eleven, Australian Rules football eighteen, Baseball nine, Basketball five, Gaelic football and Rugby Union fifteen, Rugby League thirteen: Whichever side Craig is on seems likely to win. The local side is now coming out onto the field. 5 affectation, pretension, haughtiness, arrogance, insolence, pretentiousness, airs: Chauncy puts on a bit too much side for my taste. 6 side by side. together, jointly, cheek by jowl: These paintings should not have been hung side by side. 7 take sides. show preference, be partial, show favouritism: A judge must avoid taking sides. --adj. 8 secondary, incidental, subordinate, tangential, subsidiary, indirect, ancillary, marginal, lesser, minor, unimportant, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant: The main point is that he refuses to cooperate, and his reasons are entirely a side issue. 9 auxiliary, secondary: We live in a quiet side-road just off the High Street. --v. 10 side with. take sides with, show preference for, be partial to, show favouritism to or for, support, favour, prefer, go in or along with, join ((up) with), ally with, be or become allied with, Colloq US throw in with, team up with: You can be sure that Kenneth will always side with the favourite candidate.
sidelong | sidelong: adj. oblique, indirect, sideways, covert, surreptitious: He marched straight ahead, without so much as a sidelong glance in her direction.
sidestep | sidestep: v. avoid, dodge, circumvent, skirt, evade, shun, steer clear of, Colloq duck: The minister neatly sidestepped all questions about her retirement.
sidetrack | sidetrack: v. divert, deflect, draw off or away, distract, turn aside; shunt: Where was I? I got sidetracked by your comment about being overweight.
sidewalk | sidewalk: n. walk, Chiefly Brit pavement, footpath, footway: You may play on the sidewalk, but don''t you dare step into the street.
sideways | sideways: adv. obliquely, laterally, edgeways, edge on, sidelong, crabwise, indirectly, US and Canadian edgewise: The dresser will go through the door if you turn it sideways.
sidle | sidle: v. edge: She sidled towards the door, opened it, and was gone.
siege | siege: n. 1 blockade, encirclement, beleaguerment, besiegement: The siege of Troy lasted ten years. --v. 2 lay siege to, besiege, blockade, beleaguer, cordon off, encircle, box or pen or shut in, bottle up: They sieged the city and the inhabitants surrendered when they ran out of food and water.
sift | sift: v. 1 strain, sieve, riddle, filter, screen, bolt; winnow, separate, weed out, sort out, select, choose, pick: It is not easy to sift out the promising manuscripts. 2 examine, analyse, study, probe, screen, scrutinize, investigate: The police are sifting the evidence of the witnesses.
sigh | sigh: v. 1 breathe, sough; suspire: Troilus sighed forth his soul to the tent where sleeping Cressid lay. 2 sigh for. bemoan, lament or mourn or grieve or weep for, bewail; yearn or pine for: Now and then, all of us sigh for the good old days. --n. 3 murmur, exhalation, sound; suspiration: I gave a sigh of relief as the train left the station.
sight | sight: n. 1 eyesight, vision, eyes: His sight was completely restored by the operation. 2 field of view or of vision, range of vision, ken, perception, view, eyeshot, gaze: We turned a corner, and at last the welcoming lights of the pub came into sight. 3 spectacle, scene, show; rarity, marvel, wonder, phenomenon; pageant: I shall never forget the sight of Biffy Harbottle, stark naked, standing on that table in the officers'' club. We went to Rome to see the sights. 4 mess, disaster, eyesore, monstrosity, Colloq fright, atrocity: The flat looked a sight after the boys finally moved out. 5 catch sight of. spot, notice, descry, spy, espy, glance at, (catch a) glimpse (of), (get a) look or peep or peek at, Colloq take a gander at, get a look-see at, Slang get a load of, US glom, pipe: We caught sight of a sinister-looking person slipping behind a pillar. 6 out of sight. a remote, distant, far-away, unseeable, imperceptible, invisible: She soon walked out of sight down the road. The mortar emplacement is out of sight, over the hill. b unusual, rare, extraordinary, outrageous, imaginative, awe-inspiring, incredible, shocking, unreal, moving, jolting, Colloq neat, cool, Brit brilliant, brill: The gig last night was out of sight, man. --v. 7 look, view, (take) aim, peer, peek, peep, draw a bead: Sight along this stick and you''ll see a cluster of stars called the Pleiades. 8 spot, see, catch sight of, mark, observe, behold, view, distinguish, discern, identify, note, notice, remark, glimpse, descry, espy, spy: A group of bird-watchers have sighted a golden eagle recently in the Grampians.
sightseer | sightseer: n. tourist, traveller, globe-trotter, Colloq rubberneck(er), Brit tripper, day-tripper: As usual, the streets of Oxford were crowded with sightseers and tourists.
sign | sign: n. 1 token, symbol, indication, mark, signal, indicator; notice: I interpreted the shouts of the crowd as a sign that I had won the race. 2 movement, gesture, motion, signal, cue, gesticulation: She made a sign motioning me to come over. 3 trace, indication, evidence, mark, clue, hint, suggestion, vestige: She waited for an hour but there was no sign of him. 4 device, mark, symbol, representation, emblem, trade mark, badge, brand, stamp, seal, ideogram, ideograph, lexigram, phonogram, grapheme, hieroglyph, cartouche, rebus, logo(type), colophon, ensign, standard, banner, flag; monogram, initials, cipher or cypher: Sir Roger fought under the sign of a rampant lion. 5 signboard, advertisement, placard, poster, US broadside; shingle, notice, announcement: You can''t miss the huge supermarket sign at the corner. 6 omen, augury, warning, forewarning, foreboding, portent, indication, writing on the wall, prophecy, prognostication, foreshadowing: We took the rumbling as a sign of an imminent earthquake. --v. 7 autograph, put one''s signature on or to, inscribe, countersign, endorse, witness, put or set one''s hand to, mark; sign on the dotted line; Colloq US put one''s John Hancock on or to: I have already signed the petition, have you? The painting is valueless unless signed by the artist. 8 sign away. forgo, relinquish, give up, abandon, abandon or quit claim to, waive, release, surrender, dispose of, sacrifice, get rid of: With one stroke of the pen, he signed away most of his fortune. 9 sign off. close down, discontinue (broadcasting, writing a letter, etc.): It is midnight, time for us to sign off till tomorrow. 10 sign on or up. a enrol, enlist, sign up (for), register, volunteer, join (up), contract: I signed on to be a bodyguard, not a nursemaid. b enrol, enlist, hire, employ, put under contract, retain, engage, take on, Colloq take on board, bring aboard: We signed up three new engineers this week. 11 sign over. assign, consign, transfer, make over, deliver, give, donate, present, dispose of, turn over: Aunt June was persuaded to sign over the ownership of the business to her nephews.
signal | signal: n. 1 See sign, 1, above. 2 incitement, stimulus, spur, impetus, goad, prick: The waving of the flag will be the signal to advance. --adj. 3 remarkable, conspicuous, striking, extraordinary, unusual, unique, singular, special, noteworthy, notable, exceptional, significant, important, outstanding, momentous, consequential, weighty: The British forces won a signal victory at Khartoum that day. Winning the competition is a signal accomplishment. --v. 4 motion, indicate, gesture, gesticulate, communicate, announce, notify; whistle, wink, blink, nod, beckon, wave, sign: When your turn comes, a clerk will signal you to approach the counter. Peter raised his hand as a request to leave the room and the teacher signalled his assent.
significance | significance: n. 1 meaning, sense, signification, denotation, message, idea, point, import, purport, implication, portent, content, pith, essence; gist, drift, vein, impression, connotation: The significance of words like God and love is different for almost everyone who uses them. 2 importance, weight, weightiness, consequence, moment, relevance, value: The significance of the agreement lay not in its wording but in the fact that it was drawn up at all.
significant | significant: adj. 1 important, weighty, momentous, consequential, critical, substantial, substantive, noteworthy, notable, valuable, valued, meritorious, outstanding, impressive, historic, relevant, signal: Appleton made significant contributions to knowledge about the ionosphere. 2 meaningful, eloquent, pithy, expressive, pregnant, suggestive, informative: It is significant that they prefer the term Britain to England, Scotland, and Wales .
signify | signify: v. 1 sign, signal, indicate, communicate, make known, convey, symbolize, betoken, represent, express, announce, declare, denote, say, mean, specify; connote, intimate, suggest, reveal, disclose, impart: She signified her agreement by a nod. What does the phrase ''pursuit of happiness'' signify to you? 2 matter, count, be significant or important or consequential, be of significance or of importance or of consequence, carry weight, impress, stand out, deserve or merit consideration: It signifies little that they were found innocent of a crime we all believe they committed.
silence | silence: n. 1 quiet, quietness, stillness, soundlessness, noiselessness, calm, calmness, hush, quietude, tranquillity, peace, peacefulness, serenity: The silence was so complete that I could hear my heart beating. 2 speechlessness, muteness, dumbness, reticence, taciturnity, uncommunicativeness: Do not construe his silence as agreement. --v. 3 quiet, mute, hush, still, shush, calm, tranquillize, soothe, Chiefly Brit quieten: The audience was silenced by the start of the overture. 4 mitigate, temper, mollify, take the sting out of, propitiate, pacify, blunt, suppress, repress, restrain, subdue, draw the fangs or teeth of, inhibit, put down, damp, mute, squelch, quash, emasculate, muzzle, muffle, shut off, gag, stifle, smother, deaden (the effect of): Only a full account of what lay behind these events will silence criticism in the media.
silent | silent: adj. 1 quiet, still, soundless, noiseless, tranquil, hushed, shushed, mute; calm, serene, placid, peaceful, pacific, unagitated, unruffled, untroubled, undisturbed, Literary stilly: After the children left the house fell silent. Not a mouse stirred in the silent city. 2 uncommunicative, mute, close-mouthed, taciturn, reticent, reserved, mum, tight-lipped, secretive: Millie told me a great deal about her children but was silent on the subject of her own activities. 3 unspeaking, unspoken, mute, unexpressed, tacit, understood, implicit, implied, unstated, unsaid: There is a silent agreement among the islanders not to reveal where the whisky is hidden. 4 inactive, non-participating, passive, quiescent, Brit sleeping: Although John runs the company, he has several silent partners. 5 unpronounced, unuttered, not sounded, Technical aphonic: The g in sign is silent, like the k in know and the l in could .
silently | silently: adv. quietly, soundlessly, noiselessly, with catlike tread, as quietly as a mouse, stealthily; wordlessly, speechlessly, mutely: They fold their tents like the Arabs, And silently steal away. He stood by silently, allowing his brother to do all the talking.
silhouette | silhouette: n. outline, profile, contour, form, figure, shape, shadow, configuration, periphery, perimeter: I could see the silhouette of a person on the window-blind.
silky | silky: adj. silken, silklike, delicate, sleek, soft, smooth, satiny, shiny, glossy, lustrous, Technical sericeous: Her long, silky black hair hung below her shoulders.
silly | silly: adj. 1 senseless, nonsensical, absurd, ridiculous, ludicrous, laughable, risible, asinine, inane, preposterous, idiotic, childish, puerile, foolish, foolhardy, irresponsible, unreasonable, illogical, irrational, pointless, fatuous, stupid, unwise, imbecilic, crazy, mad, insane: It would be silly to pay for it if you can get it for nothing. 2 stunned, stupefied, daze, giddy, dizzy, muzzy, benumbed: Culley said something rude and the girl knocked him silly with a karate chop. --n. 3 fool, nincompoop, idiot, dunce, ninny, halfwit, simpleton, numskull or numbskull, dim-wit, booby, dolt, jackass, twit, dolt, blockhead, bonehead, nitwit, ignoramus, clod, US thimble-wit, Colloq dope, dummy, knuckle-head, goose, drip, silly billy, Brit clot, Slang US and Canadian jerk, nerd: Warren is such a silly to spend so much money on a girl who cares nothing for him.
silt | silt: n. 1 deposit, sediment, alluvium, ooze, sludge: The irrigation pumps get clogged up with silt. --v. 2 Usually, silt up or over. become clogged or choked or obstructed or dammed or congested: The channel silts up and has to be dredged yearly so that the boats can pass through.
silver | silver: n. 1 silverware, sterling, (silver) plate; cutlery, US flatware; hollowware: Guests are coming so I''ll have to polish the silver. 2 white, greyish, whitish-grey, greyish-white, grey: When your hair has turned to silver, I will love you just the same. --adj. 3 silvery, shiny, shining, polished, burnished, lustrous, pearly, nacreous, bright, gleaming, Literary or heraldry argent; white: The moon''s silver crescent hung low in the sky. Her hair is more silver than grey. 4 silvery, silver-toned, silver-tongued, sweet, pretty, euphonious, melodious, mellifluous, mellifluent, dulcet, musical: The silver tones of the muezzin echoed in the streets, calling the faithful to prayer.
similar | similar: adj. 1 like, almost identical, comparable, equivalent, nearly the same; alike: That brooch is similar to the one I bought for my mother. The two may be similar, but they are not the same. 2 be similar to. resemble, be like, correspond to, compare favourably with: This letter is very similar to the one I received yesterday.
simmer | simmer: v. 1 seethe, stew, cook, boil, bubble: A huge cauldron of soup simmered on the fire. 2 chafe, seethe, stew, steam, smoulder, fume, rage, burn, Colloq US do a slow burn: Father is still simmering because you scratched his car. 3 simmer down. calm or cool down, cool off, calm oneself, become quiet, control oneself, get control of or over oneself, Chiefly Brit quieten down, Slang cool it: Yesterday he was in a towering rage, but he has simmered down a bit today.
simple | simple: adj. 1 uncomplicated, plain, uninvolved, unsophisticated, understandable, intelligible, (easily) understood, comprehensible, clear, lucid, straightforward, easy, elementary, basic: At the age of four, Jan was able to do simple mathematical calculations. 2 plain, unadorned, undecorated, unembellished, basic, fundamental, elementary, elemental, mere, unostentatious, unassuming, unpretentious, modest, classic, uncluttered, stark, clean, severe, austere, Spartan, homely; unvarnished, naked, honest: Thea was stunning in a simple black dress with a colourful scarf and gold jewellery. The simple truth is that he came home from work to find the house broken into and his wife gone. 3 sincere, frank, candid, open, unaffected, uncomplicated, unpretentious, straightforward, above-board, simple-hearted, uncontrived, direct, upright, square, forthright, four-square, righteous, honest, na�ve, guileless, artless, undesigning, childlike, ingenuous, unsophisticated, innocent, green: The colonel was a simple man who was respected because he always said just what he meant. A simple heart may be its own best guide. 4 unsophisticated, na�ve, slow, slow-witted, stupid, thick, thickheaded, simple-minded, feeble-minded, oafish, bovine, dense, obtuse, dull, dull-witted, witless, halfwitted, brainless, backward, imbecilic or chiefly Brit imbecile, cretinous, Colloq dumb, moronic: That chap Dawson is far too simple to understand what you are asking him. 5 lowly, humble, inferior, mean, base, subservient, common, subordinate: The lord of the manor regarded his tenants as simple folk, a breed apart from himself and his family.
simplicity | simplicity: n. 1 uncomplicatedness; understandability, comprehensibility, lucidity, straightforwardness, clarity, intelligibility, decipherability: Consider the simplicity of some life forms in contrast to the complexity of others. The simplicity of the Bible can be deceptive. 2 plainness, cleanness, clarity, severity, starkness, austereness, asceticism, restraint, bareness, purity: She prefers the simplicity of classical or very modern design to baroque and rococo clutter. 3 sincerity, openness, artlessness, candour, guilelessness, frankness, unsophisticatedness, ingenuousness, straightforwardness, forthrightness, unaffectedness, unpretentiousness, modesty, na�vety; plainness, directness, inelegance, rusticity, pastoralism: Many have been charmed by the simplicity of the local folk art. 4 stupidity, slow-wittedness, thickheadedness, simple-mindedness, feeble-mindedness, oafishness, cloddishness, obtuseness, dullness, dull-wittedness, witlessness, halfwittedness, imbecility, brainlessness: The simplicity of some of those yokels is incredible.
simplify | simplify: v. clarify, clear up, make easy, paraphrase, explain, explicate, disentangle, untangle, unravel, streamline: Simplify your request and we shall be able to do what you ask.
simply | simply: adv. 1 merely, barely, purely, only, solely, just, entirely, fully, totally, wholly, altogether, absolutely, really: Is it true that they met regularly simply to discuss politics? 2 totally, completely, altogether, entirely, just, plainly, obviously, really, unreservedly, unqualifiedly: If you believe that, you''re simply too stupid for words! 3 na�vely, artlessly, guilelessly, openly, innocently, ingenuously, unaffectedly, unpretentiously, plainly, naturally: He asked her very simply what she did as a ''working girl''. 4 plainly, modestly, starkly, severely, sparely, sparsely, austerely, ascetically: His home is simply furnished, without paintings or any other decoration. 5 distinctly, unambiguously, plainly, obviously, unmistakably or unmistakeably: The instructions must be written simply so that they are understandable to anyone.
simultaneous | simultaneous: adj. coincident, coinciding, concurrent, contemporaneous, synchronous; contemporary: The simultaneous appearance of two books on such an obscure subject was very unusual.
sin | sin: n. 1 trespass, transgression, offence, wrong, impiety, misdeed, profanation, desecration, iniquity, evil, devilry, sacrilege, crime, infraction, misdeed, dereliction, infringement, violation, misdemeanour, fault, foible, peccadillo: How many sins have been committed in the name of righteousness! It''s a sin to tell a lie. The seven deadly sins are anger, covetousness, envy, gluttony, lust, pride, and sloth. 2 wickedness, sinfulness, vice, corruption, ungodliness, badness, evil, wrongfulness, iniquity, iniquitousness, immorality, depravity, impiety, irreverence, impiousness, sacrilege: His brother Edmund was conceived in sin, and sin ruled his entire life. --v. 3 transgress, offend, fall (from grace), lapse, go wrong, stray, go astray, err, Biblical or archaic trespass: Strictly speaking, we can sin only against God.
sincere | sincere: adj. honest, truthful, true, veracious, genuine, heartfelt, true-hearted, undissembling, unfeigned, open, (open and) above-board, straightforward, direct, frank, candid, guileless, artless, Colloq upfront, on the level, on the up and up: I took her criticism as a sincere desire to see improvement in my work. You have always been sincere in your emotional involvements.
sincerely | sincerely: adv. truly, honestly, really, wholeheartedly, candidly, frankly, unequivocally, seriously, earnestly, genuinely, deeply, fervently: When they say they love each other, they mean it sincerely.
sincerity | sincerity: n. honesty, truthfulness, straightforwardness, openness, forthrightness, frankness, candour, candidness, seriousness, genuineness, uprightness: Everyone appreciates sincerity in dealings with others.
sinew | sinew: n. 1 ligament, tendon; muscle, thew: After the climb, I ached in every sinew. 2 Usually, sinews. strength, force, power, energy, brawn, vigour, might, stamina, vitality: The sinews of his argument were considerably weakened by her disarming candour.
sinewy | sinewy: adj. strong, powerful, muscular, mighty, stout, wiry, robust, tough; strapping, brawny, burly: She looked so tiny and fragile cradled in his huge sinewy arms.
sinful | sinful: adj. corrupt, evil, wicked, bad, wrong, wrongful, iniquitous, vile, base, profane, immoral, profligate, depraved, criminal, sacrilegious, ungodly, unholy, demonic, irreligious, impious, irreverent: Anything that you like as much as you like chocolate must be sinful. They would never condone such sinful behaviour in our church.
sing | sing: v. 1 chant, intone, carol, vocalize, trill, croon, pipe, chirp, warble; chorus; yodel: It was a wonderful spring day and Barbara felt like singing. Can you sing On the Road to Mandalay ? 2 whistle, pipe, peep: I have just bought a singing kettle. 3 tell, tattle, name names, Slang rat, snitch, squeal, blow the whistle, peach, spill the beans: They found out that Johnny had been singing to the cops about the bank job.
singe | singe: v. char, blacken, sear, scorch, burn: Unfortunately, I singed the tail of my shirt while ironing it.
singer | singer: n. vocalist, soloist, songster, crooner, chanteuse, nightingale, minstrel, troubadour, balladeer, caroller, chorister, choirboy, choir girl, choir member, chorus-boy, chorus girl, chorus-member, Colloq songbird, canary, thrush: She used to be a professional singer.
single | single: adj. 1 unmarried, unwed, unattached, free; celibate: She remained single till she was twenty-two. 2 singular, individual, distinct, solitary; one, only, sole, lone, unique, isolated: There wasn''t a single person there who could think for himself. A single shot rang out. 3 separate, distinct, individual, solitary: Every single hair is rooted in its follicle. --v. 4 single out. select, choose, pick, separate, take or put or set aside or apart, distinguish, cull, segregate, fix or fasten on: Why was she singled out for special treatment?
single-handed | single-handed: adj. 1 solo, lone, solitary, independent, unaided, unassisted: Chichester was the first winner of the single-handed transatlantic sailing race. --adv. 2 single-handedly, by oneself, alone, solo, on one''s own, independently: He sailed round the world single-handed.
single-minded | single-minded: adj. dedicated, devoted, resolute, steadfast, persevering, firm, determined, dogged, unswerving, unwavering, tireless, purposeful: Single-minded perseverance saw him through the completion of the work in eight years.
singly | singly: adv. one at a time, separately, individually, one by one, successively, one after the other, seriatim: Taken singly, the facts are not hard to assimilate.
singular | singular: adj. 1 unusual, different, atypical, eccentric, extraordinary, remarkable, special, uncommon, strange, odd, peculiar, bizarre, outlandish, curious, queer, outr�, offbeat, Slang far-out: Ideas that yesterday were considered singular have today become quite commonplace. 2 outstanding, prominent, eminent, pre-eminent, noteworthy, significant, important, conspicuous, particular, notable, signal, exceptional, superior: Stempel made a singular contribution to the development of microscopy. 3 lone, isolated, single, separate, uncommon, rare, unique, distinct, one of a kind: Some medieval philosophers denied the existence of general realities, and claimed that all things that exist were particular and singular.
singularity | singularity: n. 1 individuality, distinctiveness, uniqueness, idiosyncrasy: Personality demonstrates its singularity even in handwriting. 2 eccentricity, peculiarity, strangeness, oddness, queerness, outlandishness, uncommonness: The singularity of the marriage ceremony among these tribes was often remarked on by anthropologists. 3 Technical black hole: The ultimate collapse of the star results, theoretically, in a singularity.
sinister | sinister: adj. 1 fateful, inauspicious, unfavourable, foreboding, threatening, menacing, minacious, minatory or minatorial, portentous, ominous, unpropitious, disastrous, dark, gloomy: There was a sinister meaning in the look he gave her. 2 evil, bad, corrupt, base, malevolent, malignant, malign, harmful, pernicious, treacherous, nefarious, wicked, diabolic(al), baleful, villainous, insidious, sneaky, furtive, underhand(ed): The poor girl fell under the sinister influence of a real-life Svengali.
sink | sink: v. 1 founder, submerge, go down, go under, plunge, descend, be engulfed: The ship was struck below the water-line and sank in minutes. 2 subside, cave in, collapse, subside, settle, drop, fall in, go down, slip away: The earth suddenly sank beneath our feet. 3 descend, go down, drop, fall, move down or downward(s), go down to or on: The parachute slowly sank to the ground. When he saw the statue move, he sank to his knees, terrified. 4 decline, weaken, worsen, degenerate, subside, deteriorate, flag, fail, diminish, die, expire; languish; Colloq go downhill: Grandfather, sinking fast, summoned the family to his bedside. 5 disappear, vanish, fade away, evaporate; set, go down, descend, drop: After a meteoric rise, many rock stars sink into oblivion. As the sun sank slowly in the west, we returned to our hotel to reminisce about our day at the pyramids. 6 settle, precipitate, descend, drop: After a few minutes, the sand sinks to the bottom. 7 bore, put down, drill, dig, excavate, drive: A special shaft will be sunk just for ventilating the mine. 8 submerge, immerse, plunge: He sank his hand deep into the mud and came up with a small box. 9 stoop, bend, get, go, lower or humble oneself: I never dreamt that he would sink so low as to beg in the streets. 10 invest, venture, risk, put: He sank his life''s savings into his son''s business, only to see it go bankrupt. 11 sink in. be understood, penetrate, register, make an impression on, get through to: How many times do I have to tell you in order for it to sink in? --n. 12 basin, wash-basin, wash-bowl, lavabo; Church font, stoup, piscina: The kitchen has a large double sink. 13 cesspool, cesspit, pit, hell-hole, den of iniquity, sink-hole, Colloq dive: We found him playing piano in some sink frequented by the worst element of society.
sinking | sinking: adj. 1 queasy, nervous, uneasy, tense, apprehensive, unquiet, fretful, shaky, jittery, jumpy, anxious: Just thinking about the way they treat hostages gave me a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. 2 depressed, dejected, miserable, dolorous, doleful, mournful, forlorn, woeful, desolate, despairing, stricken, heavy-laden: I had a sudden sinking feeling when she announced that she had something important to tell me.
sinner | sinner: n. transgressor, wrongdoer, miscreant, offender, evil-doer, malefactor, reprobate, Biblical or archaic trespasser: Few people nowadays believe that sinners are punished in hell for all eternity.
sip | sip: v. 1 taste, sample, sup: She was sitting on a bar stool, sipping a cocktail. --n. 2 taste, sample, soup�on, drop, bit, swallow, mouthful, spoonful, thimbleful, nip, dram, Colloq swig: She took a sip, savoured it, then turned to me with a smile.
siren | siren: n. 1 whistle, warble, wailer, horn, foghorn; signal, alarm, warning, alert, tocsin: The air raid siren sounded and everyone ran for shelter. 2 temptress, seductress, enchantress, charmer, sorceress, femme fatale, Circe, Lorelei, Colloq vamp, US mantrap: Have you seen the latest siren to whom John has fallen prey?
sissy | sissy: n. milksop, mama''s boy, mummy''s boy, namby-pamby, weakling, baby, cry-baby, mollycoddle, US milquetoast, Colloq softie or softy, Brit wet: The boy you remember from school as a sissy is now a football star.
sit | sit: v. 1 be seated, settle, sit down, take a seat, rest, Colloq take the weight or a load off one''s feet: Come in and sit with me for a while. If you sit on that chair it will break. 2 hold a session, be in session, assemble, meet, convene; gather, get together: The Supreme Court of the United States will be sitting next week. 3 Often, sit on. have or hold or occupy a seat (on), participate (in), be a member (of): Kathy sits on the board of directors. 4 remain, stay, lie, rest; relax, mark time, abide, dwell: Let the dough sit a while to rise. Anita sat in Vienna awaiting her instructions. 5 seat, contain, hold, accommodate, have seats or seating for, have room or space or capacity for seating: The auditorium sits only 600. 6 sit in. a Often, sit in on. play, join (in), participate (in), take part (in); observe, watch: Mind if I sit in on your poker game? We invited Mary Lou to sit in during our discussion. b substitute, fill in, stand in, double, Colloq cover, sub, US pinch-hit: Mary Lou often sat in for our pianist if he had another gig. 7 sit out. wait out, outwait, outstay, outlast, outlive, last through, live through: Will sat out endless dances. He sat out the whole evening merely waiting to walk home with Lily. 8 sit tight. wait, hang back, hold back, be patient, bide (one''s) time, play a waiting game, take no action, delay, temporize, Colloq hold (one''s) horses: Just sit tight till you hear from them - don''t jump the gun. 9 sit up. awaken, pay attention, notice, become alert or interested or concerned: Jennie''s performance in the hurdles made many track coaches sit up. 10 sit (with). Often, sit well or right (with). agree with, be agreeable to; seem, appear, look: The way Ashton handled the matter did not sit well with the directors.
site | site: n. 1 location, place, plot, plat, spot, locale, area, milieu, neighbourhood, locality, purlieus, placement, position; situation, orientation: A site near that of ancient Pergamum has been acquired for the building. The site alongside the river has much to recommend it. --v. 2 locate, position, place, put, situate, install or instal: The building has been sited to take maximum advantage of the sun.
situate | situate: v. place in a position or situation or location, place, position, locate, set, spot, put, install or instal: Harwood is very well situated to learn what the high command is planning. The greenhouse should be situated on the south side of the house.
situation | situation: n. 1 place, position, location, spot, site, locale, setting: The situation of the monastery, high on the mountain, makes it almost inaccessible. 2 state (of affairs), condition, circumstances, case, status (quo), lay of the land, picture; plight, predicament; Colloq ball game; kettle of fish: The present situation calls for careful planning. The chancellor''s policies have done little to improve the economic situation. 3 position, place, job, employment, post, Colloq berth: Jenkins likes his new situation as Lord Fortescue''s valet.
size | size: n. 1 magnitude, largeness, bigness, bulk, extent, scope, range, dimensions, proportions, measurement(s), expanse, area, square footage, volume, mass, weight; hugeness, immensity, greatness, vastness, enormousness: How do astronomers determine the distance and size of stellar objects? A shape of extraordinary size suddenly loomed up in the darkness. --v. 2 dimension, measure: The furnishings are sized in proportion to these miniature room displays. 3 size up. assess, judge, evaluate, measure, take the measure of, appraise, assay, make an estimate of, estimate, value, gauge, rate: She looked him up and down, sizing him up as a prospective husband.
