
chafe | chafe: v. 1 rub, warm (up), heat (up): I took the chill off my hands by chafing them a bit. 2 rub, abrade, fret, gall, irritate, make sore: The skin is very tender where it was chafed. 3 fume, rage, seethe; ruffle, vex, fret, irritate: I chafed in impotent rage and exasperation at the ridiculous regulations. To chafe and vex me is a part of her nature. --n. 4 sore, abrasion, bruise, soreness, irritation: The saddle caused a chafe on the inside of my thigh.
chaff | chaff: n. 1 banter, raillery, ridicule, badinage, joking, teasing, twitting, Colloq kidding, ragging, Chiefly US and Canadian joshing: After the speech, he had to put up with a lot of good-natured chaff from the audience. --v. 2 banter, tease, twit, rail at, Colloq kid, rag, Chiefly US and Canadian josh: When he was in the navy, his family chaffed him for having a girl in every port.
chain | chain: n. 1 string, series, combination; sequence, succession, train, course, set, concatenation: He owns a chain of bookshops. Interruption of the food chain can cause serious ecological consequences. A curious chain of circumstances led me to a small hotel at Torquay in February. 2 restraint, check, trammel, control, confinement, fetter, bond, manacle, shackle, gyve: The family finally threw off the chains of poverty. --v. 3 shackle, secure, fasten, bind, gyve; confine, fetter, restrain, confine, restrict, tie, limit: Prometheus was chained to a rock as punishment for having brought fire to man. Marguerite felt chained after twenty years of marriage.
chair | chair: n. 1 seat, armchair, stool, bench, easy chair, rocking-chair: He offered me a chair so I sat down. 2 throne, bench, position, cathedra, authority; professorship, directorship: Sue has been offered a chair on the board. 3 chairperson, chairman, chairwoman, presiding officer, leader, moderator: The chair ruled on the matter after due consideration. --v. 4 preside, lead, govern, moderate, run, direct, manage, oversee: Katherine will chair the meetings during the absence of the president.
challenge | challenge: v. 1 question, dispute, defy, object to, take exception to, contest, doubt, call into doubt, call into or to question, impugn: I challenge the validity of your accusation. 2 invite, dare, summon, call out, provoke: The duke was challenged to a duel. 3 brave, dare, confront, defy, contest: We could challenge criticism with an easy confidence. --n. 4 question, dispute, doubt: His opinions are open to challenge. 5 invitation, dare, summons, provocation, confrontation, defiance; ultimatum: An older opponent might not have issued such a challenge. 6 problem, demand, stimulation, trial, test: Are you sure that Mr Wilson will be able to meet the challenge of the new position?
chamber | chamber: n. 1 assembly, body, legislature, judicature, house, congress, judiciary, senate, diet; consortium: She is entitled to sit in the Upper Chamber. 2 meeting-hall, reception room, assembly room: The council chamber was packed with people. 3 compartment, niche, nook, cavity: We hid the gold in a small chamber in the cave. 4 room, apartment; bedroom, bedchamber: On the first floor are the magnificent royal chambers.
champion | champion: n. 1 victor, winner, conqueror, title-holder, prizewinner, titleist: She is the women''s singles champion for the fourth year in a row. 2 defender, guardian, protector, hero, supporter, backer, protagonist, advocate: He acquired a reputation as champion of the low-paid. 3 fighter, combatant, hero, warrior, campaigner, veteran: A stouter champion never handled a sword. The boar is often regarded as the champion among beasts. --v. 4 defend, protect, guard; support, back, stand up for, fight for, maintain, sustain, uphold; espouse, forward, promote, advocate: He has always championed the cause of the underdog.
chance | chance: n. 1 fortune, luck, fate: We met, as chance would have it, at the supermarket. Life is but a game of chance for those who cannot control their destiny. 2 opportunity, time, turn; occasion: You have had your chance to return the money, now it is too late. 3 Also, chances. likelihood, probability, prospect, odds, certainty, predictability; conceivability, possibility: Chances are that he''ll be late. The chance of winning the lottery is pretty remote. 4 Also, chances. risk, speculation, gamble: You are taking a chance going out there without a weapon. I''ll take my chances. 5 by chance. a accidentally, unintentionally, inadvertently: By chance the witness saw him talking to the suspect. b perhaps, maybe, possibly, conceivably: Have you by chance a match? --adj. 6 casual, incidental, accidental, unintentional, inadvertent; unplanned, unpremeditated, unexpected, unforeseen; unlooked-for: The affair began with a chance meeting at a pub. --v. 7 happen; occur, come to pass, take place, come about; befall, betide: We chanced to see him jogging in the park. It chanced that a passer-by called the police. 8 risk, hazard; imperil, endanger, jeopardize, stake, bet, wager: Few would chance severe penalties or jail by lying on a tax return. Don''t chance everything you''ve worked for!
change | change: n. 1 substitution, replacement, exchange, interchange, switch: You have five minutes for a change of costume. This sunny weather is certainly a change for the better. 2 variation, difference, switch, variety, novelty: We prefer to live where there is a change of the seasons, not in the tropics. 3 variation, alteration, change-over, mutation, shift, modulation, modification, transformation, metamorphosis, revolution: I can''t believe the change that has come over Betty since the divorce. 4 coin(s), coppers, silver; (hard) cash: I need some change for the coffee machine. --v. 5 exchange, interchange, switch, trade; replace (with), substitute, Colloq swap or swop: I won''t be a minute, I just want to change my shoes. I''d like to change this shirt for a larger size. 6 modify, alter, modulate; mutate, transform, metamorphose: Antoinette has changed since her marriage. I never thought anyone would be able to make her change her mind. 7 fluctuate, shift, vary; vacillate: The temperature often changes very rapidly here. 8 change to or into. turn into, become, transform, mutate, transmute, convert, metamorphose: The alchemists tried to change base metal into gold. Every winter changes into spring - sooner or later.
changeable | changeable: adj. 1 variable, mutable, protean, inconstant, unstable, unsettled, shifting, uncertain, irregular, uneven, unpredictable, labile, capricious, erratic, fickle, unreliable, undependable, mercurial, volatile: The weather has been changeable for the past week. 2 alterable, modifiable, transformable, convertible: Their meeting-places were changeable and known only to them.
changeless | changeless: adj. 1 unchanging, unvaried, eternal, permanent, fixed, stable; unchangeable, immutable, unalterable, inevitable, uniform: We studied photographs of the changeless Martian landscape. The fundamental truths of the Gospel are changeless. 2 abiding, permanent, constant, perpetual, everlasting, steadfast, unvarying, unchanging: Nothing could alter my changeless love for you.
channel | channel: n. 1 watercourse, canal, waterway, ditch, aqueduct, sluice, trench, trough, gutter, moat; river-bed, stream-bed: The engineers dug a channel to drain the swamp. 2 strait, narrows, neck: The English Channel connects the North Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. 3 furrow, groove, flute: The channels cut into this column are not straight. 4 course, means, way, approach, avenue, medium, path, artery, conduit: We have to open a new channel of communication with the terrorists. --v. 5 direct, convey, pass, guide, lead, conduct: Their grievances are being channelled through the information officer.
chant | chant: n. 1 song, psalm, hymn, canticle, plainsong, plainchant, mantra, paean, dirge, monody, descant, carol; singsong: The war chant of the natives, echoing over the water, struck fear into their enemies. --v. 2 sing, intone, descant, carol: The choir chanted the verses of a lugubrious threnody.
chaos | chaos: n. formlessness, disorder, confusion; pandemonium, bedlam, turmoil, tumult; entropy: The universe arose out of chaos. If you want to see chaos, look in any teenager''s bedroom. There was chaos as the bank closed its doors and ceased trading.
chaotic | chaotic: adj. 1 formless, shapeless, incoherent, disordered, disorderly, disorganized, unorganized, unsystematic, unsystematized, unmethodical, haphazard, irregular, helter-skelter, confused, topsy-turvy, jumbled, higgledy-piggledy, Brit shambolic: The present solar system is thought to have condensed from a chaotic mass of nebulous matter. The rules may seem chaotic at first sight. 2 tumultuous, noisy, clamorous, uproarious, wild, riotous, frenzied, hectic, turbulent, unstuck: The press conference became chaotic when the president announced his resignation.
chap | chap: n. fellow, lad, man, boy, Colloq guy, geezer, customer, gink, Brit bloke, Australian cove, US buddy, gazabo or gazebo; Old-fashioned Brit (old) egg, (old) bean, (old) crumpet, (old) boy; Slang US bozo: I went with some of the chaps from the club.
character | character: n. 1 brand, stamp, mark, symbol, monogram, insigne, badge, emblem, sign, seal, label; letter, number, figure, type, sort, arbitrary, peculiar, rune, hieroglyphic or hieroglyph: They used to brand the character of a horse on the forehead of their slaves. We shall need to obtain a set of Cyrillic characters if we are going to print Russian texts. 2 characteristic, quality, distinction, trait, feature, mark; sort, kind, type, nature, description, attribute; idiosyncrasy, peculiarity: He now tried to give the war the character of a crusade. It is the character of some people to be curious. 3 morality, honesty, integrity, respectability, rectitude, honour, courage, goodness: Everyone agrees that she is a person of outstanding character. 4 person, personage, personality, individual: Cobbett had more sagacity and foresight than any other public character of his time. 5 role, part, personality, characterization, dramatis persona: He played the character of Caesar. 6 eccentric, card, Colloq oddball, nut, nutter, loony, bat, weirdo, nutcase, screwball, crackpot, fruit cake, Australian and old-fashioned Brit cove: She was regarded as quite a character because of her many strange habits. 7 role, position, status, capacity: He assumes the character of a Dutch uncle when he speaks to me. 8 in character. fitting, proper, suitable, in keeping, typical, normal, expected, characteristic: It is completely in character for Len to criticize everything he encounters. 9 out of character. untypical, atypical, uncharacteristic, abnormal, unexpected, unfitting: It would be out of character for Janet to refuse help to someone in need.
characteristic | characteristic: adj. 1 typical, representative; emblematic, symbolic, distinctive, idiosyncratic, symptomatic: How characteristic it is of them to refuse to go to the dance! These subjects are characteristic of the early Impressionists. --n. 2 mark, trait, attribute, feature, quality, property, peculiarity, idiosyncrasy, character, earmark: It is a characteristic of bees to swarm.
characterize | characterize: v. delineate, describe, portray, depict, represent, define, brand, label, mark, note, identify: She has consistently characterized him as a buffoon. ''Virago'' is the term that would best characterize Felicity.
charade | charade: n. travesty, absurdity, mockery, farce, parody: He has made a charade of what could have been a serious relationship.
charge | charge: n. 1 load, burden, weight, onus, impediment; care, concern, obligation: She feared that she would become a charge on her children. 2 price, fee, cost: What is the charge for admission? 3 debt, debit, expense, assessment, liability: Any charge against the estate of the deceased will be paid in full. 4 care, custody, protection, guardianship, wardship, supervision, jurisdiction, control, responsibility, safe keeping: We left the children in the charge of Nanny and Nanny in charge of the children. 5 order, mandate, injunction, precept, command, dictate, direction, instruction, demand, exhortation: The judge''s charge to the jury was to ignore the evidence given by the caretaker. 6 accusation, imputation, indictment, allegation: The charge is murder. The police decided to drop the charges against him. 7 attack, onset, action, assault, sally, raid, foray, sortie: At the signal the cavalry began their charge. --v. 8 fill, imbue, load, instil, pervade, permeate, saturate, suffuse: The air was highly charged with a stench from the kitchen. 9 burden, entrust, commission, assign; afflict, tax: He was charged with the supervision of all the military schools. 10 command, order, bid, enjoin, exhort, urge, require, instruct, direct: I charge you not to speak of this matter to anyone. 11 blame, censure, accuse; indict, cite, name; allege, assert: She charged him with being a hypocrite. He has been charged with assault. It is charged that she was present at the commission of the crime. 12 bill, invoice, assess, debit: Please charge these items to my account. Do not charge me for merchandise not shipped. 13 ask, demand, claim, require, expect: How much do they charge for asparagus at the supermarket? 14 attack, assault, storm, assail, do battle (with): Four thousand horsemen stood ready to charge the enemy.
charitable | charitable: adj. 1 generous, liberal, bountiful, munificent, unselfish, open-handed, magnanimous, philanthropic, public-spirited, unsparing, eleemosynary: Despite her income, Irena has always been most charitable when it comes to worthwhile causes. 2 well-disposed, kindly, kind, beneficent, benevolent, well-wishing, lenient, tolerant, forgiving, indulgent, understanding, compassionate, humane, sympathetic, considerate, well-meaning, good: They took a charitable view of the matter and decided not to press charges.
charity | charity: n. 1 generosity, alms-giving, munificence, liberality, open-handedness, magnanimity, beneficence, philanthropy, unselfishness, humanity, humanitarianism, good will: Your charity towards this hospital has been unequalled by any other donor, Sir Keith. 2 leniency, big-heartedness, large-heartedness, benevolence, magnanimity, indulgence, considerateness, consideration, compassion, understanding, sympathy, kind-heartedness: We are all urged to show charity towards those who wrong us. 3 alms, donation, contribution, largesse, Colloq Brit dole, US welfare, relief: I want the opportunity to work, not the government''s charity.
charm | charm: n. 1 amulet, talisman, fetish, rabbit''s foot, good-luck piece: She wears a charm to ward off evil spirits. 2 attractiveness, appeal, fascination, allure, magnetism, desirability, elegance, urbanity, sophistication, sophisticatedness, suavity, grace, refinement, cultivatedness, cultivation, culture, polish; magic, enchantment, spell, sorcery: To Diderot we go not for charm of style but for a store of fertile ideas. To get ahead Colin relies more on his charm than on his ability. 3 charms. beauty, attractiveness, pulchritude, prettiness, handsomeness, appeal, allure, magnetism, pull, draw: For all her charm, I would not trust her one inch. 4 like a charm. successfully, perfectly, miraculously, marvellously, extraordinarily, especially well: His appeal to their egos worked like a charm. --v. 5 influence, control, subdue, bind, put a spell on, bewitch, enchant, seduce, hypnotize, mesmerize, enthral or US enthrall, captivate, delight, fascinate, Literary enrapture: He charmed them with some tale and they gave him their money. 6 overcome, subdue, calm, soothe, allay, assuage, hypnotize, mesmerize: Music is said to have qualities capable of charming savages.
charmed | charmed: adj. 1 bewitched, spellbound, enchanted, magical: Apollonius considered the use of charmed rings essential to quackery. 2 fortified, protected: He must lead a charmed life to have survived all those battles. 3 pleased, delighted, enchanted, happy: I am charmed to meet you at last, Madam President.
charmer | charmer: n. enchanter, enchantress, sorcerer, sorceress, magician; vamp, siren, Circe, Cleopatra, Lorelei, temptress, seductress; seducer, Romeo, Valentino, Don Juan, Lothario, Casanova, lady-killer, ladies'' man; flatterer; smooth talker, Colloq (big-time) operator, con artist or man, Old-fashioned smoothie, wolf: Charlotte has run off with some charmer she met at a party.
chart | chart: n. 1 sea-chart, map: According to the chart, we are fifty miles west of the Lizard. 2 map, table, tabulation, graph, diagram; blueprint: A weather chart appears on page 23. Here is a chart of the highest-yielding unit trusts. She drew up a genealogical chart of the descendants of Queen Victoria. --v. 3 plot, plan, map (out), design: He charted a course of action for the company. Have you charted the shortest route between Gibraltar and Cyprus?
charter | charter: n. 1 document, contract, compact, agreement, covenant: This year we again commemorate the signing of the United Nations charter. 2 permit, permission, licence or US license, authority, franchise, right, privilege, concession: He was given an exclusive charter to export furs in 1679. 3 lease, contract: We have the yacht under charter for the summer. --v. 4 license, authorize, document, commission, approve, certify, franchise, qualify; recognize: He is a chartered accountant, she a chartered surveyor. 5 let, lease, rent, hire, engage, contract: I chartered the sloop for three weeks.
chase | chase: n. 1 hunting, hunt, pursuit: Police dogs entered the chase and the prisoner was finally caught. 2 run after, follow, pursue, track, go (out) after; court, woo: The police were chasing a man down the street. Stop chasing women and settle down. 3 chase away, off, out, etc. rout, put to flight, hound; drive away, off, out, etc.: I chased the cat away from the birdcage.
chaste | chaste: adj. 1 pure, virginal, virgin, celibate, abstinent, continent, virtuous, undefiled, stainless, unstained, unsullied, unblemished, decent, clean, good, wholesome, moral: Only a knight who was wholly chaste would find the Grail. 2 subdued, severe, restrained, unadorned, austere, unembellished, simple, pure, undecorated, clean: In some respects, modern architecture emulates the chaste style of the ancient Egyptians.
chasten | chasten: v. 1 discipline, correct, chastise, punish, castigate: He used every means to chasten the unruly and disobedient. 2 moderate, temper, subdue, curb, restrain, repress, tame, suppress: I am not as sanguine as I was - time and experience have chastened me.
chastise | chastise: v. punish, beat, thrash, belabour or US belabor, spank, whip, flog, scourge, birch, cane; discipline, chasten, correct, censure, berate, scold: Pupils are not being chastised as in the old days.
chastity | chastity: n. purity, continence, virginity, maidenhood, maidenhead, virtue, celibacy, abstinence, abstention, abstemiousness, restraint, self-restraint, forbearance: She was a nun and had taken a vow of chastity.
chat | chat: n. 1 conversation, colloquy, talk, small talk, gossip, palaver, chit-chat, t�te-�-t�te, heart-to-heart, Colloq gab, Chiefly Brit chin-wag, confab, Brit witter, natter, US and Canadian rap, gabfest, bull session: We''d get together for a chat every now and then. --v. 2 converse, gossip, talk, chit-chat, Colloq gab, chew the fat or the rag, jaw, Brit witter, natter; Slang US and Canadian rap, bullshit: We were just chatting when I smelt something burning. 3 Brit chat up. flirt or dally with, persuade, induce, prevail upon, tempt, lure, entice, inveigle, seduce, proposition: Rick chats up every girl he meets.
chatter | chatter: v. 1 prattle, gabble, jabber, prate, patter, gibber, cackle, jibber-jabber, Brit chaffer, Colloq gab, jaw, Brit natter, witter, rabbit on or away, waffle: He just kept chattering on about nothing. 2 clatter, rattle: It was so cold my teeth were chattering. --n. 3 prattle, prate, patter, gossip, cackle, jabbering, chattering: I don''t want to hear any more chatter in the library.
cheap | cheap: adj. 1 inexpensive, low-priced, bargain-priced, low-cost, sale-priced, cut-price, reasonable; economy, budget(-priced): He was chewing on a cheap cigar. Everything used to be a lot cheaper when I was younger. 2 economical; reduced: Eggs are cheaper by the dozen. 3 shoddy, base, shabby, tawdry, sleazy, tatty, seedy; inferior, low-grade, poor, second-rate, trashy, worthless, Brit twopenny or tuppenny; Colloq tacky, Brit tinpot, Slang US two-bit, lousy, chintzy: Those cheap pictures ruin the look of the place. 4 stingy, miserly, penurious, niggardly, penny-pinching, cheese-paring, frugal, tight, tight-fisted, Scrooge-like, skinflinty: That cheap brother of yours wouldn''t give even a penny to a beggar. --adv. 5 inexpensively, cheaply, for a song, Brit for twopence or tuppence: You can buy those cheap from any street vendor. 6 cheaply, easily, reasonably, for a song, Brit for twopence or tuppence: She has sold cheap that which she holds most dear. --n. 7 on the cheap. inexpensively, reasonably, cheaply, at or below cost, for a song, Brit for twopence or tuppence; Slang for peanuts: We buy these watches on the cheap and sell them to tourists.
cheat | cheat: n. 1 swindler, deceiver, impostor, fraud, faker, fake, swindler, trickster, confidence man, con man, operator, charlatan, mountebank, rogue, shark, Colloq phoney or US also phony, US snake-oil artist: It is amazing how many cheats are out there waiting to take advantage of you. --v. 2 swindle, deceive, bilk, trick, con, take, fleece, defraud, euchre, hoax, hoodwink, Colloq con, take in, rook, flimflam, finagle, diddle, fiddle, move the goalposts, bamboozle, take for a ride; Slang rip off: His own solicitor cheated him out of his inheritance. If you paid ten pounds for that painting, you were cheated.
check | check: v. 1 stop, arrest, stay, halt, obstruct, block, limit; retard, slow, brake, curb, hinder, hamper, impede, thwart: They are trying to check the spread of the disease in West Africa. 2 restrain, control, repress, stay, inhibit, contain, curb, restrict: The animal population is checked only by availability of food. 3 authenticate, verify, confirm, substantiate, validate, corroborate, check into, check out, check up on: Please check his story to make sure he''s not lying. 4 enquire about or after or into, check into, check (up) on, examine, investigate, inspect, make sure of, verify, monitor, test, study, scrutinize: You''d best check the temperature in the kiln. 5 correspond, coincide, agree, jibe, tally, conform, check out, fit, mesh; compare: His alibi doesn''t check with the witness''s statement. 6 check in. arrive, report: We check in for work at 0800. 7 check in or into. register, sign in or on, enrol, log in: We checked into the hotel. 8 check into. investigate, check out, check up on, verify, check: The detective checked into the backgrounds of all applicants. 9 check off. tick (off), mark, check: Check off the names in red. 10 check out. a depart, leave; go: He checked out of the hotel and took a taxi to the airport. b investigate, research, explore, enquire into, look into or at or over, scrutinize, examine, inspect, probe, survey, check up on, check, check into, check over: You had best check out her references before hiring her. c pass, pass muster or scrutiny, meet approval, be verified, check: According to our records, his story checks out. d Slang cash in one''s checks or chips, kick the bucket, croak: Sam checked out last week - heart attack, I think. 11 check over or out. review, verify, authenticate, check: Please check over my figures before I submit them to the accountant. 12 check up (on). a investigate, do research, probe, explore, check: I don''t know her name, but I''ll check up and let you know. b determine, discover, find out, look into, check: I want you to check up on where they eat lunch. --n. 13 stop, stopping, cease, surcease, hesitation, cessation, stoppage, interruption, break, pause, balk or baulk, discontinuity, discontinuation, discontinuance, suspension: The visitors continued to arrive without check, far into the night. 14 restraint, repression, inhibition, limitation, curb, restriction, control, constraint, hindrance, obstruction, impediment, damper: He keeps a good check on the foreman. This tax will serve as a check against free trade. 15 control, test, inspection, examination, scrutiny, verification, substantiation, authentication, confirmation, validation, corroboration: We do a thorough check on the quality of every product. 16 US tick, mark, dash, X: Place a check in the box alongside your choice. 17 token, receipt, counterfoil, stub; voucher, chit, certificate: Don''t lose your baggage check. 18 chip, counter: Let''s cash in our checks and go home. 19 Chiefly US bill, tab, charge(s): In the U.S.A., people generally add 15 per cent to the check for a tip.
cheeky | cheeky: adj. impudent, impertinent, insolent, audacious, disrespectful, rude, uncivil, forward, brazen, pert, saucy: That cheeky little brat told me to get lost!
cheer | cheer: n. 1 disposition, frame of mind, spirit: They were of good cheer, considering their predicament. 2 cheerfulness, gladness, mirth, joy, gaiety, blitheness, happiness, buoyancy, light-heartedness, merrymaking: There wasn''t much cheer at the pub when we learnt of what had befallen poor Grover. 3 comfort, solace, encouragement, consolation: She brought in a little breath of cheer from the outside world. 4 shout, cry, hurrah, rah, huzzah, hurray or hooray: Three cheers for Penelope! --v. 5 comfort, console, solace, encourage, inspirit, warm, Colloq buck up: Your friendly note cheered me considerably. 6 gladden, enliven, cheer up, hearten, buoy up, brighten, elate, brighten, uplift, lift up: Let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth. 7 applaud, shout, hurrah, clap, yell; Colloq Brit and Australian and New Zealand barrack for: The crowd cheered for five minutes when Mr Flews stood to speak.
cheerful | cheerful: adj. 1 joyous, glad, gladsome, blithesome, blithe, happy, cheery, of good cheer, joyful, jolly, exuberant, jubilant, gleeful, gay, light-hearted, merry: I am pleased to see that Agatha is so cheerful. Why do you cry at weddings, which are supposed to be such cheerful occasions? 2 cheering, gladdening, animating, bright, enlivening, cheery, gay, buoyant, invigorating: She has redecorated the bedroom in more cheerful colours.
chequered | chequered: adj. 1 chequer-board, checked; patchwork; plaid, tartan: You cannot use a chequered tablecloth for a formal dinner. 2 variegated, diversified, alternating, variable, good and bad, varying, fluctuating, up and down; uncertain: David Williams had a rather chequered career in the army.
cherish | cherish: v. 1 treasure, hold or keep dear, prize: I know that she cherishes every moment you were together. 2 foster, tend, cultivate, preserve, sustain, nurture, nourish, nurse, cosset: For their sweetness gillyflowers are cherished in gardens. We cherish little Edward and probably spoil him a bit too much.
chest | chest: n. 1 box, coffer, trunk, strongbox, caddy, casket, case: It took four men to carry the chest outside, where we could open it. Martha kept her jewels in a small chest on the dresser. 2 breast; thorax: The wrestler was pounding his chest and shouting ''I am the greatest!''
chew | chew: v. 1 masticate, grind, munch; bite, gnaw: Make sure to chew each mouthful thoroughly. The puppy chewed up my slipper. 2 chew the fat or rag. gossip, palaver, chat, converse, talk, Slang US and Canadian bullshit: We sat round the fire and chewed the fat all evening. 3 chew out. scold, rebuke, reprimand: The sergeant chewed out the recruit because his boots were dirty. 4 chew over. think about or on or over, consider, review, ponder, ruminate on, meditate on or over: I''ll chew over your proposal and let you know.
chic | chic: adj. 1 stylish, fashionable, � la mode, modish, smart, tasteful, elegant; sophisticated; Colloq trendy: Susanna was always a chic dresser. --n. 2 style, fashion, good taste, tastefulness, elegance, stylishness, modishness: There is an air of chic about him that repels many men but attracts many women.
chicanery | chicanery: n. trickery, sophistry, deception, quibbling, sharp practice, cheating, deviousness, duplicity, pettifoggery, double-dealing, artifice, skulduggery: They lost the case because of the chicanery of their lawyers.
chief | chief: n. 1 head, leader, principal, superior, supervisor, superintendent, manager, overseer, captain, master, ringleader, chieftain, Dialect himself, Colloq boss, bossman, Brit governor, gov., supremo, US man, kingpin, (head or chief) honcho, number one, numero uno, headman, big White Chief, big Chief, Great White Father, big Daddy, super; Slang big cheese, Brit gaffer, Chiefly US Mr Big: You''d best ask the chief for permission to fly to Rome. --adj. 2 head, leading, ranking, superior, supreme, foremost, premier, first, greatest, outstanding: Terry is your chief competition for the singles trophy. 3 principal, most important, essential, key, paramount, (first and) foremost, primary, prime, main: The chief reason I came was to see you. Here is a list of the chief crimes committed in the area last year.
chiefly | chiefly: adv. mainly, in particular, especially, particularly, above all, most of all, pre-eminently, principally, primarily, mostly, predominantly, largely, by and large, on the whole, in the main, generally, in general, usually, as a rule: Inflation affected chiefly the price of food. The Anatomy of Melancholy consists chiefly of quotations.
child | child: n. 1 offspring, descendant, son or daughter, little one, youngster, Formal progeny, issue, Colloq kid, nipper, Slang Brit sprog: How many children do you have? 2 foetus, newborn, neonate, infant, baby, babe, toddler, boy or girl, lad or lass, stripling, youngster, youth, juvenile, adolescent, teenager, young man or woman, young gentleman or lady, Chiefly Scots laddie or lassie: No children were born in the village for five years. These miscreants are mere children, who should not be punished as adults.
childhood | childhood: n. infancy, babyhood, boyhood or girlhood, youth, puberty, minority, adolescence, teens: During her childhood the family moved to Kent. She spent most of her childhood dreaming about travelling to the moon.
childish | childish: adj. childlike, juvenile, puerile, infantile, babyish; immature, inexperienced, na�ve, undeveloped, underdeveloped, retarded; silly, US sophomoric: They thought his reaction to their criticism was childish and petulant.
childlike | childlike: adj. youthful, young, innocent, trustful, ingenuous, unsophisticated, na�ve, trusting, credulous, open, undissembling, unassuming, guileless, artless: There is a childlike simplicity to some primitive paintings.
chill | chill: n. 1 coldness, cold, coolness, sharpness, nip: We put on our jackets to ward off the chill of the evening. 2 cold, flu, influenza, (la or the) grippe, ague, Technical coryza, Colloq (the) sniffles, sneezles and wheezles: Take off those wet clothes before you catch a chill. 3 coolness, iciness, frigidity, aloofness; unfriendliness, hostility: Mrs Marlow felt the chill in the stare of her husband''s ex-wife. --adj. 4 cold, cool, numbing, chilling, chilly, raw, penetrating, icy, frigid, wintry, frosty, arctic, polar, glacial: A chill easterly wind made me shiver. 5 shivering, chilled (through), numb, numbed, numbing, benumbed: She kissed me with a lip more chill than stone. 6 cold, cold-blooded, aloof, indifferent, insensitive, unemotional, unsympathetic; chilly: The prison commandant viewed the corpses with chill detachment. --v. 7 cool, freeze, refrigerate, ice: The fruit tastes better if it has been chilled. 8 dampen, dispirit, depress, deject, dishearten, distress: The news of mother''s illness chilled us all.
chilly | chilly: adj. 1 cool, coldish, cold, frigid, nippy, frosty, icy, crisp, chill: The weather has been quite chilly for May. 2 chill, unenthusiastic, unresponsive, unreceptive, frosty, unwelcoming, crisp, cool, cold, unfriendly, hostile; distant, aloof: The suggestion that the charity fair be held in her garden met with a chilly response from Lady Griffiths.
chime | chime: n. 1 bell, set of bells, carillon, ring, peal: Our church has a full chime of eight bells. 2 ringing, peal, chiming, tolling, tintinnabulation, clanging, ding-dong, striking; tinkle, jingle, jangle: We could hear the chimes of Big Ben from our hotel room. --v. 3 ring, peal, toll, sound, tintinnabulate, clang, strike: The clock chimed on the hour. 4 mark, denote, indicate, announce: The carillon chimed the hour at noon. 5 chime in. a join in, blend, harmonize: When singing this round, chime in at the third bar. b interrupt, intercede, intrude, interfere, break in, Colloq chip in; Slang butt in: I was about to speak when he chimed in with some silly remark.
chink | chink: n. fissure, rift, crack, crevice, gap, opening, cleft, slit, aperture, cranny: We could see daylight through a chink in the fence.
chip | chip: n. 1 fragment, piece, shard or sherd, splinter, flake, sliver, scrap, morsel, bit: A chip of slate rattled down off the roof. 2 counter, marker, token; plaque, US check: He put his chip on number 14. --v. 3 chisel, whittle, hew: He chipped away at the stone till it fitted perfectly into the hole. 4 chip in. a contribute; participate: All the neighbours chipped in to pay for the street decorations. b interrupt, break in, intrude, interfere, intercede, interpose, Colloq chime in: Clive chipped in with his usual silly comment.
chirp | chirp: v. 1 tweet, peep, twitter, chirrup, warble, trill, cheep, chitter, chirr, pipe: I was awakened by the birds, chirping away in the forest. --n. 2 tweet, peep, twitter, chirrup, warble, trill, cheep, chitter, chirr: The canary gave two chirps and jumped onto its perch.
chisel | chisel: v. 1 carve, cut, pare, groove, shape, engrave, grave: He was chiselling the figure of an eagle out of the board. 2 cheat, defraud, swindle, bilk, trick, fool, dupe, gull, Colloq bamboozle: The gamblers chiselled him out of a week''s wages.
chivalrous | chivalrous: adj. courtly, gracious, courteous, polite, gallant, noble, knightly, gentlemanly, considerate, kind, charitable, magnanimous: It was quite chivalrous of you to drive me home.
chivalry | chivalry: n. knight-errantry; honour, bravery, courage, courtesy, politeness, courtliness, gallantry, nobility, virtuousness, righteousness, justness, fairness, impartiality, equitableness: All the noble sentiments blended together constitute chivalry.
choice | choice: n. 1 selection, election, preference, choosing, pick, acceptance: I don''t care for his choice of language. 2 option, realm of possibilities; alternative, voice, determination: She was given no choice in selecting her husband. 3 pick, �lite, flower, best, select, cream, cr�me de la cr�me: The king''s guard is made up from the choice of the kingdom. --adj. 4 select, exquisite, special, superior, prime, high-quality, excellent, pre-eminent, best, prize, first-rate, exceptional, preferred, desirable, ideal, rare, Colloq Brit plummy: She has the choicest wines in her cellar. 5 selected, select, hand-picked, well-chosen, fit, appropriate, fitting: The eulogy was disposed of in a few choice words.
choke | choke: v. 1 suffocate, asphyxiate, smother, stifle, strangle, throttle, garrotte or garrote or garotte, burke: He choked his elderly victims, then stole their money. 2 stop, fill (up), block (up), obstruct, congest, clog, dam (up), constrict: The channel is completely choked with weeds. 3 Also, choke off. smother, suppress, stifle, prohibit, frustrate, deny, obviate, cut off, stop, put a stop to; dissuade, discourage: His policies choked off any chance for innovation. 4 choke back or down. suppress, repress, stifle, restrain: He choked back the tears when he saw the gravestone.
choose | choose: v. select, elect, pick (out), determine, judge; decide, prefer, opt, settle upon or on: She had the right to choose the course that seemed the best to her. Given the options, I chose to stay.
choosy | choosy: adj. selective, discriminating, discerning, fastidious, finicky or finical, particular, fussy, demanding, exacting, difficult, hard to please , Colloq picky: If you weren''t so choosy, you wouldn''t have to pay so much.
chop | chop: v. 1 Also, chop away or down or off. cut, hack, hew, lop, crop, cleave, sever: Chop away that underbrush. I tried to chop off the end. Don''t chop down that tree! 2 Also, chop up. mince; dice, cube; hash: Chop up the parsley very fine before adding it to the sauce. --n. 3 cut, blow, stroke: With a quick chop of the axe, the branch was severed.
christen | christen: v. 1 baptize, anoint: They are going to christen the baby next week. 2 name, call, dub: The child was christened Madelaine. The highest peak in Wales is christened Snowdon.
chronic | chronic: adj. 1 long-lasting, long-standing, lingering, inveterate, persistent, continuing, lasting, long-lived: The doctor said that the condition, for which there is no cure, is chronic. 2 inveterate, persistent, dyed in the wool, confirmed, habitual, hardened: Abby is a chronic liar.
chronicle | chronicle: n. 1 record, history, diary, chronology, account, narrative, description, report, register, annal(s), archive: She has written a chronicle of the events leading up to the War of Jenkins'' Ear. --v. 2 record, register, list, enter, archive, document, describe; tell, recount, narrate, report, relate, retail: In the Iliad Homer chronicled the legends of the Trojan War.
chronology | chronology: n. account, record, calendar, almanac, journal, log; sequence: Describe the chronology of events preceding your discovery of the body.
chubby | chubby: adj. podgy or US pudgy; stumpy, stubby, chunky, tubby, plump, dumpy, thickset, heavy-set, heavy, ample, overweight: She was a bit chubby when a teenager but became a professional model when she was 21.
chuckle | chuckle: v. 1 laugh, chortle, crow, snigger, giggle, titter: Robin always chuckled when the subject of embezzlement came up. --n. 2 chuckling, laugh, chortle, crowing, giggle; laughter, snigger, sniggering: It was hard to resist a chuckle when we saw the looks on their faces.
chum | chum: n. 1 friend, comrade, companion; confidant(e), familiar; fellow, colleague, Colloq pal, sidekick, Chiefly Brit and Australian and New Zealand mate, Chiefly US and Canadian buddy: I invited a chum of mine for the weekend. --v. 2 Often, chum around. associate, Colloq pal (around): Yes, we used to chum around together in the army. 3 chum up with. ally (oneself) with, be friendly with, go with, associate with, Colloq pal (up or about or around) with, US team up with: Lionel chummed up with Ashley to go swimming.
chummy | chummy: adj. friendly, sociable, intimate, close, thick, Colloq pally, US palsy-walsy, buddy-buddy: You were very chummy with Peter once, weren''t you?
chute | chute: n. 1 waterfall, rapid: The canoe skimmed down the chute with lightning speed. 2 slide, shaft, channel, ramp, runway, trough, incline: The parcels come down this chute and you have to sort them by postcode.
