
fabric | fabric: n. 1 cloth, textile, material, stuff: The chair is upholstered in traditional floral fabric. 2 construction, constitution, core, heart, foundation, structure, framework, organization, configuration, make-up: Extensive strikes threatened the very fabric of our society.
fabricate | fabricate: v. 1 erect, build, construct, frame, raise, put or set up, assemble, fashion, form, make, manufacture, produce: The basic structure was fabricated of steel. 2 invent, create, originate, make up, manufacture, concoct, think up, imagine, hatch, devise, design: Numerous lies, fabricated by politicians, were already in circulation. 3 forge, falsify, counterfeit, fake, feign, manufacture; trump up, Colloq cook up, Brit cook: He admitted to having fabricated the data in his application.
fabrication | fabrication: n. 1 construction, assembly, assemblage, making, fashioning, production, manufacture, putting together, building, erection, formation, formulation, structuring, constructing, organization, forming, framing, architecture: The fabrication of thousands of parts took only a month. 2 invention, creation, origination, make-up, manufacture, hatching, concoction, contrivance, design: Only Vanessa could have been responsible for the fabrication of such a diabolical plot. 3 falsehood, lie, fib, prevarication, story, tale, untruth, fiction, yarn, fable; falsification, forgery, fake, sham, Colloq cock-and-bull story, Brit fairy story, fairy tale: His war record is a complete fabrication.
fabulous | fabulous: adj. 1 fabled, mythic(al), celebrated, legendary, storied, fictitious, fictional, unreal, fanciful, imaginary, story-book, fairy-tale: Greek mythology tells us of a fabulous winged horse called Pegasus. 2 fantastic, marvellous, incredible, unbelievable, inconceivable, wonderful, astounding, astonishing, amazing, wondrous, extraordinary, miraculous, phenomenal: Houses in London were selling at fabulous prices. 3 superb, marvellous, terrific, great, wonderful, Colloq great, super, smashing, thumping, whopping, thundering, rattling, howling, US neat, keen, Slang fab, hot, far-out, cool, Old-fashioned fantabulous, in the groove, groovy, ace, Brit magic, US and Canadian copacetic: I saw an absolutely fabulous new film the other night.
face | face: n. 1 visage, countenance, physiognomy, features, lineaments, Slang mug, mush, kisser, pan, puss, Brit phiz, phizog, dial, clock: I don''t like the expression on your face. 2 look, appearance, aspect, expression, mien: He has the face of someone who is very proud of himself. Modern farming has changed the face of the countryside. 3 mask, veneer, fa�ade, front, camouflage, pretence, disguise, (false) impression, semblance, masquerade: She puts on a bold face, but we know she was deeply hurt by your remarks. 4 dignity, image, self-respect, standing, reputation, repute, name, honour, status: You might lose face if you admit you were wrong. 5 boldness, daring, audacity, effrontery, impudence, impertinence, presumption, brashness, Colloq gall, brass, nerve, cheek, guts, gutsiness, Brit brass neck, Slang US balls: Who would have the face to name such a hotel ''The Palace''? 6 surface, exterior, front, outside, cover, facing, fa�ade, skin: The building will have a face of white marble. 7 right side, obverse, front; dial: The card landed face up. The face of the clock is enamelled. 8 face to face. confronting, facing, opposite, en face, vis-�-vis, t�te-�-t�te, � deux, eye to eye, head to head, Colloq eyeball to eyeball: We met face to face for the first time in the courtroom. 9 in the face of. in defiance of, notwithstanding, despite, in spite of, confronting, in opposition to: Some experts attacked the report for flying in the face of received wisdom. 10 make a face. grimace, change one''s expression, murgeon: When I said I would be there, she made a face. 11 on the face of it. to all or outward appearances, seemingly, apparently, superficially, evidently: On the face of it, I assumed that he was guilty. 12 show one''s face. put in or make an appearance, appear, arrive, be seen, turn up, Colloq show up: I suppose I ought to show my face at the office party. 13 to one''s face. directly, brazenly, eye to eye, face to face, candidly, openly, frankly: I told him to his face that he was a liar. --v. 14 confront, brave, meet (with), encounter, experience, deal or cope with, come or go up against; appear before: In the jungle we faced grave danger from man-eating tigers. She faces her first audience tonight. 15 give (out) or front on or onto, front towards, overlook, look out on or over; be opposite: Our rooms face the lake. Facing page 22 is a map of the area. 16 coat, surface, cover, clad, dress, sheathe, overlay, finish; veneer: The collar is faced with velvet. 17 face down. confront, intimidate, cow, subdue, overawe, browbeat: I''ll not be faced down by that impudent clerk. 18 face up to. a admit, accept, acknowledge, allow, confess: We must all face up to our own shortcomings. b confront, deal or cope with, come or go up against, brave, come to terms with; brazen through or out, bite (on) the bullet, grasp the nettle: You wouldn''t be able to face up to your wife if you''d forgotten her birthday.
facilitate | facilitate: v. ease, expedite, smooth, further, promote, advance; assist, aid, help: It would facilitate transport if you would bring your own car.
facility | facility: n. 1 ease, smoothness, fluency, effortlessness, readiness, easiness, skill, skilfulness, deftness, dexterity, adroitness, ability, aptitude, expertise, expertness, proficiency, mastery, masterfulness, masterliness, efficiency; quickness, alacrity, celerity, swiftness, speed: They praised her new-found facility with the Italian language. 2 Often, facilities. a plant, system, building(s), structure, complex: The company is building a new facility in France. b convenience(s), privy, equipment, lavatory, toilet, powder-room, Nautical head, Brit water-closet, WC, loo, US and Canadian rest room, men''s room, ladies'' room, Colloq the Gents, the Ladies(''), Slang Brit bog, karzy, US and Canadian john: An American asked where he could find the facilities.
facing | facing: n. fa�ade, front, cladding, surface, overlay, skin; coating: The houses all have a colourful stucco facing.
facsimile | facsimile: n. copy, reproduction, print, carbon (copy), replica, duplicate, photocopy, fax, Trade Mark Xerox (copy), Photostat, Colloq US dupe: Send a facsimile of the report to each field office.
fact | fact: n. 1 reality, actuality, truth, certainty: The fact of the matter is that she didn''t do it. Is there a basis in fact for your allegations? 2 accomplishment, fait accompli; occurrence, event, happening, incident, episode, experience, act, deed: Supersonic travel has been a fact for many years. 3 Often, facts. data, information, particular(s), detail(s), point(s), item(s), factor(s), Colloq low-down, (inside) info, the score, Brit the gen, US and Canadian the poop: If I am going to defend you, I need all the facts of the case. 4 in fact. indeed, to be sure, as a matter of (actual) fact, in truth, truly, truthfully, actually, really, in reality, in point of fact, factually: He didn''t come; in fact, he had gone abroad the week before.
faction | faction: n. 1 group, cabal, bloc, cadre, camp, splinter group, circle, camarilla, clique, set, coterie, lobby, pressure group, junta or junto, ring, gang, Brit ginger group, Colloq crowd: There is a small faction plotting to assassinate the finance minister. 2 dissension, intrigue, strife, sedition, disharmony, discord, disagreement, quarrelling, contention, controversy, infighting, rupture, split, rift, schism, clash: Faction within the party has no regard for national interests.
factious | factious: adj. contentious, disputatious, litigious, refractory, divisive, conflicting, discordant, argumentative, at odds, at loggerheads, quarrelsome, seditious, mutinous, rebellious: A factious Congress spells trouble for the President.
factitious | factitious: adj. fake(d), bogus, false, mock, falsified, artificial, insincere, unreal, synthetic, fabricated, engineered, manufactured, spurious, counterfeit, sham, simulated, imitation, unauthentic, set or got up, rigged, Colloq phoney or US also phony: We are all victims of factitious desires by which luxuries have become necessities.
factor | factor: n. 1 constituent, ingredient, element, part, particular, piece, component; circumstance, consideration, aspect, fact, influence, determinant, cause: Which factors contributed to the decline of Mayan civilization? 2 agent, representative, proxy, middleman, intermediary, deputy, go-between: Our company has a factor handling all our exports. 3 banker, financier, backer, moneylender, lender: The factors lent us money to buy the stock needed to fill the orders.
factory | factory: n. works, mill, plant: She has a job at the piano factory.
factual | factual: adj. 1 actual, real, true, authentic, verifiable, realistic, true to life, genuine, valid, bona fide: The report is a forgery, but the letters are factual. 2 accurate, correct, true, correct, faithful, precise, unbiased, undistorted, unvarnished, unexaggerated, objective, unprejudiced, straightforward: This is a factual account of the Battle of Marathon.
faculty | faculty: n. 1 ability, capacity, skill, aptitude, potential, talent, flair, knack, gift, genius; dexterity, adroitness, cleverness, capability: She has a faculty for making people feel at home. 2 school, department, discipline: Her graduate studies were in the Faculty of Philosophy. 3 staff, personnel, members, Brit dons: Each member of the faculty has a doctorate. 4 power, authorization, dispensation, sanction, licence, prerogative, privilege, right, permission, liberty: The government has the faculty to judge treasonable acts.
fad | fad: n. craze, mania, rage, fashion, trend, fancy, vogue: Do you remember the hula-hoop fad?
fade | fade: v. 1 (grow) dim or pale, grow faint, cloud (over), dull; bleach, whiten, etiolate, wash out, blanch or blench, discolour: The scene faded in the distance. Look how the sun has faded the curtains! 2 droop, wither, decline, die out or away, perish, ebb, flag, wane, wilt, waste away, sag, diminish, dwindle, languish, deteriorate, decay, shrivel, peter out or away: As he aged, his lust for life faded.
fag | fag: v. 1 Often, fag out. exhaust, weary, tire (out), fatigue, wear out, jade, Colloq Brit knacker, US poop: I am completely fagged out from studying all night. --n. 2 Brit bore, nuisance, drag, chore, pain: It''s a bit of a fag having to fetch water from the garden. 3 servant, menial, flunkey, drudge, lackey, underling: The seniors used to have fags to clean their shoes. 4 See homosexual, 1, below. 5 cigarette, smoke, Colloq butt, cig(gy), weed, coffin-nail, cancer stick, Old-fashioned gasper: Got a fag?
fail | fail: v. 1 not succeed, be unsuccessful, miss, miscarry, misfire, fall short (of), fall flat, fall through, falter, be (found) lacking or wanting, be defective, be deficient, be or prove inadequate, come to grief or naught or nothing, go wrong, abort, meet with disaster, founder, run aground, Colloq flop, fizzle (out), go up in smoke, flunk: Guy Fawkes''s plot failed utterly. Gloria failed her history examination. 2 let down, disappoint, forsake, desert, abandon, neglect, ignore, slight: I was really counting on Mary, but she failed me. 3 decline, peter out, dwindle, diminish, wane, deteriorate, weaken, decay, fade or die (out or away), disappear, flag, ebb, sink, languish, give out; gutter, go out: His health is failing. The light failed, leaving us in darkness. 4 go bankrupt, go out of business, go under, go into receivership, become insolvent, close up shop, close up or down, cease operation(s), Brit go to the wall, US file for Chapter Eleven, Colloq fold (up), go bust or broke, US drown in red ink: According to the statistics, hundreds of businesses fail every week.
failing | failing: n. 1 weakness, shortcoming, foible, flaw, fault, defect, weak spot, blind spot, blemish, imperfection: Bigotry and prejudice are her most serious failings. --prep. 2 lacking, wanting, in default of, without, sans, in the absence of: Failing a favourable decision, we shall lodge an appeal.
failure | failure: n. 1 failing, default, non-performance, remissness; neglect, omission, dereliction, deficiency: His failure to do his duty resulted in a court martial. 2 breakdown, collapse, discontinuance, miscarriage, loss; decline, decay, deterioration: Power disruptions are caused by the failure of the national grid. 3 loser, non-starter, incompetent, also-ran, nonentity, Colloq flop, fizzle, damp squib, dud, lemon, washout, dead duck, US lead balloon: He was an utter failure as a violinist. 4 bankruptcy, ruin, insolvency, downfall, crash, Colloq folding: Bank failures increased owing to bad loans and other poor investments.
faint | faint: adj. 1 dim, dull, pale, faded, indistinct, vague, hazy, imperceptible, indiscernible, unclear, blurred, blurry, muzzy, wavering, faltering, ill-defined, weak, feeble, flickering, subdued; low, soft, slight, hushed, muffled, muted, inaudible, stifled: A faint light burned in the corridor. I heard a faint noise. 2 dizzy, light-headed, unsteady, vertiginous, giddy, Colloq woozy: I felt faint after climbing the stairs. --v. 3 black out, pass out, lose consciousness, swoon, drop, collapse, Colloq keel over: She fainted when they told her the news. --n. 4 loss of consciousness, blackout, unconsciousness, collapse, swoon, Medicine syncope: He dropped in a dead faint.
faint-hearted | faint-hearted: adj. 1 cowardly, timorous, afraid, frightened, scared, faint, lily-livered, white-livered, pusillanimous; timid, shy, diffident; Colloq yellow(-bellied), chicken-hearted, chicken-livered, chicken: He''s too faint-hearted to ask her to marry him. 2 irresolute, weak, ineffectual, feeble, puny, feckless: She made only a faint-hearted attempt at reconciliation.
fair� | fair�: adj. 1 impartial, even-handed, disinterested, equitable, just, unprejudiced, unbiased, objective, Colloq square: Judge Leaver is known for his fair decisions. We are counting on your sense of fair play. 2 honest, above-board, honourable, lawful, trustworthy, legitimate, proper, upright, straightforward: He won the trophy in a fair fight. 3 light, blond(e), fair-haired, flaxen-haired, tow-headed, tow-haired; light-complexioned, peaches and cream, rosy; unblemished, clear, spotless, immaculate: She has fair hair and fair skin. 4 satisfactory, adequate, respectable, pretty good, tolerable, passable, all right, average, decent, middling, reasonable, comme ci, comme �a, not bad; mediocre, indifferent, Colloq so so, OK or okay: The performance was fair but not outstanding. 5 favourable, clear, sunny, fine, dry, bright, cloudless, pleasant, halcyon, benign: Fair weather is promised for tomorrow''s picnic. 6 unobstructed, open, clear, free: Every spectator has a fair view of the football field. 7 attractive, good-looking, handsome, comely, pretty, beautiful, pulchritudinous, lovely, beauteous: Faint heart never won fair lady. 8 civil, courteous, polite, gracious, agreeable: She was not deceived by his fair words.
fair� | fair�: n. f�te, festival, kermis or kirmess, exhibition, exposition, show; market, bazaar, mart, US exhibit: Ashby will judge the sheep at the annual fair.
fairly | fairly: adv. 1 quite, rather, pretty, somewhat, tolerably, adequately, sufficiently, passably, moderately, Colloq sort of, kind of: I thought that the singing was fairly good. 2 equitably, impartially, justly, properly, honestly, objectively: Please make certain that everyone is treated fairly. 3 absolutely, totally, utterly, completely, positively, really, actually, veritably, virtually: The crowd fairly cheered themselves hoarse.
fairyland | fairyland: n. dreamland, wonderland, never-never land, happy valley, paradise, cloud-land, enchanted forest, cloud-cuckoo-land, Nephelococcygia, Shangri-La: Zuleika''s thoughts are always off somewhere in fairyland.
faith | faith: n. 1 belief, credence, confidence, conviction, trust, certainty, certitude, assurance, assuredness, sureness, reliance, dependence: His faith in God is unassailable. I have great faith in her ability. 2 belief, religion, creed, persuasion, dogma, teaching, doctrine, denomination, sect: To which faith do you belong? She is of the Jewish faith. 3 duty, allegiance, obligation, promise, faithfulness, loyalty, fidelity, devotion, consecration, dedication, fealty, obedience: Don''t break faith with your electorate by supporting the bill.
faithful | faithful: adj. 1 true, loyal, devoted, steadfast, dedicated, attached, unswerving, firm, staunch, unwavering, constant: He has always remained faithful to his wife. 2 close, exact, accurate, true, correct, precise, perfect, valid; literal: Jowett''s is a faithful translation from the Greek. 3 conscientious, dutiful, scrupulous, careful, meticulous, thorough, punctilious, finicky or finical, detailed, fastidious, rigorous, rigid, severe, particular: He received a gold watch for fifty years of faithful attendance to his duties. 4 reliable, dependable, trusted, trustworthy, trusty, honest, true, truthful, righteous, right, moral, virtuous, upright, veracious: He has remained my faithful friend for many years.
faithless | faithless: adj. 1 sceptical, doubting, unbelieving, disbelieving, agnostic, atheistic, freethinking: Faithless wretches are called Doubting Thomases. 2 unfaithful, disloyal, treacherous, traitorous, perfidious, shifting, shifty, fickle, inconstant, untrustworthy, unreliable, false, hypocritical, insincere, dishonest, false, crooked, unscrupulous, conscienceless, recreant: With faithless friends like her, who needs enemies?
fake | fake: v. 1 falsify, doctor, alter, modify, counterfeit, fabricate, manufacture, forge: He faked the evidence in order to implicate his own sister. 2 pretend, make a pretence of, dissemble, feign, sham, make believe, simulate, affect: She faked a headache to avoid gym classes. --n. 3 hoax, counterfeit, sham, forgery, imitation, Colloq phoney or US also phony: The experts agree that the painting is a fake. 4 faker, impostor, charlatan, fraud, hoaxer, mountebank, cheat, humbug, quack, pretender, Colloq phoney or US also phony: He isn''t a doctor - he''s a fake! --adj. 5 false, counterfeit, forged, sham, fraudulent, imitation, pinchbeck, bogus, spurious, factitious, Colloq phoney or US also phony: He escaped the country using a fake passport.
fall | fall: v. 1 descend, sink, subside, settle, drop or come (down), plummet, plunge, dive, (take a) nosedive; cascade: The bucket fell to the bottom of the well. A meteorite fell on my house. The water falls 100 metres over the cliff at this point. 2 tumble, trip, stumble, slump, collapse, keel over, topple, crumple: Mother fell in the kitchen and hurt her knee. 3 diminish, (become) lower, sink, decline, fall or drop off, drop, decrease, dwindle, subside, come or go down: The price of oil fell today to a new low. 4 slope, fall away, decline: Beyond the spinney, the meadow falls towards the river. 5 succumb, surrender, yield, give up or in, capitulate, be defeated or conquered, be captured, be taken (captive or prisoner), be overthrown, come or go to ruin, be destroyed, be lost: The castle fell after a year''s siege. 6 die, perish, drop dead, be slain or killed: His grandfather fell at the Battle of the Marne. 7 fall apart. disintegrate, crumble, collapse, fall or come or go to pieces, break up, be destroyed; break apart, fragment, shatter: I knew she would fall apart on the witness stand. The gadget fell apart as soon as we used it. 8 fall back. retreat, retire, withdraw, draw back; recede: As the enemy advanced, we fell back. 9 fall back on or upon. have recourse to, rely or depend on or upon, return to, count on or upon, resort to, call on or upon, make use of, use, employ: All the ready ammunition was gone and we had to fall back on our reserves. 10 fall behind. drop back, trail, lag; be in arrears: If you fall behind, I''ll wait for you. We fell behind in our mortgage payments. 11 fall down. a collapse, drop: She hit me so hard that I fell down. b fail, be (found) wanting or lacking, be unsuccessful, be or prove inadequate or disappointing: He had to be replaced because he fell down on the job. 12 fall flat. collapse, fail, Colloq flop, US bomb (out), lay an egg, go over like a lead balloon: A hit in London might fall flat in New York. 13 fall for. a fall in love with, be infatuated with: Some people will fall for anyone who tells them the right time. b be fooled or duped or taken in or deceived by, accept, swallow, succumb to, Slang be a sucker for, US and Canadian be a patsy for: Did Beaseley really fall for that old confidence trick? 14 fall in. cave in, collapse, sink inwards: The walls were about to fall in on us. 15 fall in with. join, associate with, become associated or allied with, befriend; cooperate with, go along with, concur with, support, accept: He fell in with a gang of thieves and spent the next few years avoiding the police. She agreed to fall in with my plan. 16 fall off. diminish, decrease, decline, deteriorate: Business falls off immediately after Christmas. 17 fall on or upon. attack, assault, assail, set upon: Three muggers fell on me and stole my wallet. 18 fall out. disagree, differ, quarrel, clash, squabble, wrangle, dispute, fight: We fell out over politics. 19 fall short. prove or (turn out to) be inadequate or insufficient or deficient or lacking or wanting or disappointing, miss, fail, disappoint: The results of the sales campaign fell short of expectations. 20 fall through. fail, come to nothing or naught, miscarry, die, Colloq fizzle (out), flop: The deal to buy the company fell through. 21 fall to. start, begin, commence, set or go about, get under way, undertake, tackle, take on; get moving, attack, Colloq get the show on the road, get cracking, US get a wiggle on, move it: The washing-up had to be done so I fell to. --n. 22 drop, descent, dive, nosedive, plunge, tumble, dropping, falling: How could he have survived a fall from such a height? 23 Chiefly US and Canadian autumn: They turn the clocks back one hour in the fall. 24 decline, decay, collapse, downfall, failure, destruction, ruin, failure, deterioration, eclipse: Have you read Poe''s classic Fall of the House of Usher ? 25 Usually, falls. cascade, cataract, waterfall; rapids: How many falls are there along the Limpopo River? 26 depreciation, sinking, diminution, decrease, decline, lapse, downturn, down-swing, drop, drop-off, lowering, abatement, slump, collapse: On the Stock Exchange today, investors experienced sharp falls in share prices. 27 slope, declivity, descent, decline, drop, downhill, Chiefly US and Canadian downgrade: Note the smooth rise and fall of the land. 28 surrender, capitulation, submission, taking, seizure, capture, overthrow, defeat, conquest, downfall: The fall of Khartoum in 1898 marked the re-establishment of British rule in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.
fallacy | fallacy: n. misconception, miscalculation, misjudgement, mistake, error, non sequitur, solecism, delusion; paralogism; sophism: It is a fallacy to think that you could ever learn to play the violin as well as Susannah.
false | false: adj. 1 untrue, unfactual, untruthful, wrong, amiss, mistaken, erroneous, incorrect, inaccurate, inexact, imprecise, faulty, flawed, invalid, unsound, unreal, imaginary, fictitious, spurious: The explorers gave a completely false picture of the local inhabitants. 2 untrue, untruthful, lying, misleading, fallacious, fabricated, made-up, concocted, mendacious, untrustworthy, fraudulent, meretricious, deceptive, deceitful, treacherous, Colloq phoney or US also phony: The testimony of this witness is completely false. 3 counterfeit, imitation, simulated, sham, forged, fraudulent, fake, artificial, synthetic, manufactured, unnatural, spurious, bogus, ersatz, factitious, mock, pseudo, Colloq phoney or US also phony: Your false teeth look almost real. 4 sham, feigned, affected, insincere, faked, manufactured, counterfeit(ed): Don''t shed any false tears over me when I''m gone. 5 illogical, fallacious, unsound, invalid, flawed, faulty: That conclusion could come only from false reasoning.
falsehood | falsehood: n. lie, fib, prevarication, untruth, fabrication, misstatement, fiction, (fairy) tale, story, distortion, Colloq cock-and-bull story, Slang Brit load of codswallop: That was a complete falsehood about the goings-on in the attic, wasn''t it?
falsify | falsify: v. fake, alter, distort, misstate, misrepresent, twist, Colloq fudge, trump up, Brit cook: The tax inspector found that the accounts had been falsified.
falsity | falsity: n. untruthfulness, mendacity, mendaciousness, fraudulence, deceptiveness, deceit, deceitfulness, dishonesty, spuriousness, speciousness, casuistry, hypocrisy, insincerity, falseness: The prosecution was unable to prove the falsity of her statement.
fame | fame: n. renown, repute, reputation, celebrity, illustriousness, superiority, pre-eminence, stardom, prominence, eminence, glory, name, notoriety, acclaim: Randolph''s fame has spread far and wide.
familiar | familiar: adj. 1 well-known, common, commonplace, everyday, ordinary, current: That''s a familiar melody. 2 frequent, usual, customary, habitual, routine, traditional: He strolled along his familiar route through the trees. 3 friendly, affable, close, intimate, sociable, social, free, free and easy, relaxed; over-friendly, overfree, overfamiliar, bold, forward, insolent, impudent, presumptuous, presuming, disrespectful, unreserved, unrestrained; informal, casual, cordial, unceremonious; Colloq chummy, Slang US and Canadian buddy-buddy, palsy-walsy: She began to get entirely too familiar. 4 familiar with. aware or conscious or cognizant of, knowledgeable about or of or in, conversant or acquainted with, no stranger to, on speaking terms with, up on or in, (well-)versed in, informed of or about, privy to, in the know about, au courant, au fait: Are you familiar with the latest theories in particle physics?
familiarity | familiarity: n. 1 knowledge, acquaintance(ship), grasp, understanding, comprehension, cognizance, awareness, conversance, experience: I have no familiarity at all with particle physics. 2 friendliness, affability, sociability, neighbourliness, fellowship, intimacy, intimateness, closeness, openness, naturalness, ease, informality, unceremoniousness: He prided himself on his familiarity with celebrities. 3 boldness, presumptuousness, overfamiliarity, presumption, impudence, insolence, impertinence, impropriety: He put his arm round her waist with offensive familiarity.
familiarize | familiarize: v. Usually, familiarize with. accustom (to), make familiar or acquaint (with), initiate (in), inform (about or on), enlighten (about or as to), teach (about), educate or instruct or tutor (in): I am trying to familiarize myself with the music of John Cage.
family | family: n. 1 (kith and) kin, kinsmen, kindred, kinsfolk or US and Canadian kinfolk, next of kin, relatives, relations, household, people, one''s own flesh and blood, one''s nearest and dearest, m�nage, Colloq folks: We usually spend the holidays with my family. 2 children, offspring, progeny, issue, brood, Colloq kids: Large families were much more common in the 19th century. 3 ancestors, forebears, forefathers, progenitors; ancestry, parentage, descent, extraction, derivation, lineage, pedigree, genealogy, family tree, house, line, bloodline, dynasty; blood, stock, strain: He came from an old family of German bankers. 4 group, set, division, subdivision, classification, type, kind, class, genre, order, species, genus: English belongs to the Indo-European family of languages.
famine | famine: n. starvation; shortage, dearth, scarcity, deficiency, paucity, exiguity, barrenness, lack: In days of abundance, no one should die of famine.
famished | famished: adj. starving, starved, voracious, ravenous, ravening, craving, hungry: The survivors were famished after a fortnight in the lifeboat.
famous | famous: adj. renowned, celebrated, popular, famed, well-known, noted, eminent, pre-eminent, conspicuous, prominent, illustrious, notable, acclaimed, venerable, legendary, distinguished, praiseworthy, honoured, lionized: A famous architect has been invited to address the convention.
famously | famously: adv. excellently, (very) well, superbly, marvellously, splendidly, capitally, spectacularly, superlatively: The prince and I get on famously.
fan | fan: n. admirer, enthusiast, adherent, devotee, aficionado, follower, supporter, lover, zealot, Colloq buff, fiend, hound, bug, addict, nut, US booster, Slang junkie, freak, groupie: Avid fans of Ascot United, we go to all the matches.
fanatic | fanatic: n. maniac, extremist, zealot, Colloq fiend, nut, Slang freak: Religious fanatics killed ''heathens'' or ''infidels'' by the thousand.
fanatical | fanatical: adj. fanatic, extreme, distracted, maniacal, mad, rabid, zealous, frenzied, feverish, burning, frantic, frenetic, obsessive, fervent, compulsive, monomaniacal, fervid, perfervid, passionate, enthusiastic, agog, immoderate, excessive: The entire family are fanatical in their fundamentalism.
fanaticism | fanaticism: n. 1 devotion, dedication, devotedness; infatuation, enthusiasm, fervour, zeal, obsessiveness, franticness, frenzy, hysteria: Her fanaticism for rock musicians is getting a bit out of hand. 2 monomania, single-mindedness, mania, madness, extremism, intolerance, bigotry, bias, partiality, prejudice, narrow-mindedness, close-mindedness: Some religious sects are characterized by virulent fanaticism.
fancied | fancied: adj. imaginary, unreal, fanciful, imagined, illusory, make-believe, mythical, fairy-tale: They support their king in the pursuit of his fancied rights.
fanciful | fanciful: adj. 1 whimsical, capricious, impulsive, inconstant, fickle, changeable, variable: Those graffiti are products of a fanciful mind. 2 extravagant, chimerical, fantastic, fabulous, mythical, fairy-tale, imaginative, fancied, make-believe, unreal, illusory, imagined, visionary, imaginary: Some of the more fanciful ideas of science fiction have become realities. 3 curious, odd, peculiar, bizarre, unusual, original: The chalice was decorated with fanciful curlicues.
fancy | fancy: adj. 1 ornate, decorative, decorated, ornamental, ornamented, elaborate, embellished, embroidered, fanciful, extravagant, rococo, baroque, gingerbread, Byzantine, complicated, intricate, complex: The modern trend has been away from fancy architecture. 2 illusory, capricious, fanciful, extravagant, fantastic, far-fetched, delusive, whimsical, visionary, unrealistic, grandiose: He has some fancy ideas about building an undersea city. 3 de luxe, luxury, luxurious, choice, select, prime, special, elegant, superior, quality, high-class; posh: They stock only fancy fruits and vegetables. She has a fancy suite at the Cardigan Hotel. 4 high, exorbitant, inflated, outrageous: One has to pay very fancy prices for haute couture. --n. 5 imagination, creation, conception, inventiveness, creativeness, creativity: These chimeras are entirely a product of his fancy. 6 imagination, fantasy, hallucination, delusion, illusion, unreality, make-believe, dream, day-dream, pipedream, mirage, phantasm, phantom, figment (of the imagination), impression: Our plans for the future must be based on fact, not fancy. 7 liking, inclination, fondness, taste, penchant, attraction, preference, partiality, predilection, yearning, craving, hankering, wish, desire, longing: Miss Crow''s fancy for younger men often causes her some embarrassment. 8 idea, whim, caprice, whimsy, urge, impulse, notion, vagary, quirk, crotchet, peculiarity: His fancy today is that he invented electricity. --v. 9 imagine, conceive, picture, visualize, envisage, think or make up, conjure up, US envision, Colloq dream up: He fancies himself on a big yacht in the Mediterranean. 10 think, imagine, understand, believe, suspect, guess, conjecture, presume, surmise, assume, take it, suppose, infer, reckon: From his costume I fancy he must be Superman. Fancy Kim winning the Nobel prize! 11 like, be attracted to, take (a liking) to, desire, want, crave, long or pine for, have a yen or craving for, have an eye for, wish for, hunger for, favour, prefer, lust after: Terry has always fancied tall women. I wouldn''t fancy being 40 feet up a swaying ladder like that.
fanfare | fanfare: n. 1 flourish, fanfaron, fanfaronade, (trumpet-)blast or blare: Following a loud fanfare, the toreador strutted into the ring. 2 hullabaloo, hubbub, brouhaha, commotion, stir, ado, show, fuss, Colloq to-do, ballyhoo: Despite the enormous fanfare, the film was a failure.
fantasize | fantasize: v. dream, imagine, day-dream, muse, mull (over), build castles in the air or in Spain, speculate, envisage, star-gaze; hallucinate, US envision: She often fantasized about the kind of man she would marry.
fantastic | fantastic: adj. 1 fanciful, strange, weird, peculiar, odd, eccentric, queer, bizarre, quaint, outlandish, exotic, extravagant, grotesque, nightmarish, alien, remarkable: She wore the most fantastic costume to the fancy-dress ball. 2 imaginary, illusory, illusive, unreal, visionary, fanciful, unrealistic, imagined, irrational: His books are inhabited by fantastic creatures. 3 unbelievable, incredible, preposterous, extraordinary, implausible, absurd, unlikely: At 85, he made the fantastic decision to enter the marathon. 4 marvellous, spectacular, splendid, wonderful, tremendous, overwhelming, Colloq great, fabulous, terrific: The Picasso exhibition is simply fantastic.
fantasy | fantasy: n. 1 imagination, fancy, creativity, inventiveness, creativity, originality: We encourage the children to give free rein to their fantasy. 2 vision, hallucination, illusion, mirage, delusion, chimera, dream, day-dream, (flight of) fancy, pipedream: Her fantasy is to become prime minister. 3 make-believe, invention, cabrication, fiction, masquerade, fable, concoction, pretence: His story about being an orphan is pure fantasy.
far | far: adv. 1 afar, far-away or -off, a good or great or long way or distance off or away: We caught sight of a sail far to the south. 2 (very) much, considerably, decidedly, incomparably: She is a far better swimmer than George. 3 by far. (very) much, considerably, decidedly, incomparably, (im)measurably, by a long shot, far and away, clearly, plainly, obviously, doubtless(ly), indubitably, undoubtedly, definitely, beyond (the shadow of a) doubt, without a doubt, Colloq Brit by a long chalk: She''s a better swimmer than George by far. He is by far the wealthiest person I know. 4 far and wide. everywhere, near and far or far and near, extensively, widely, high and low; here, there, and everywhere: We searched far and wide to find these specimens. 5 far gone. a beyond or past help, advanced, deteriorated, worn out, dilapidated, near the end: That shirt is too far gone to send to the laundry. My house is so far gone it''s beyond repair. b drunk, besotted, Slang loaded, pissed, paralytic, paralysed: He''s too far gone to walk. 6 go far. a progress, advance, succeed, go places, get ahead, rise (in the world), make a name for oneself, become successful, set the world on fire, Brit set the Thames on fire, US cut a swath: He is a very bright youngster and I''m sure he will go far in whatever profession he chooses. b help, aid, contribute, play a part: The new law will go far towards inhibiting child abuse. 7 go too far. go overboard or over the top, not know when to stop, go to extremes; exceed, overdo, overstep, transcend, go beyond: Ambition is one thing, but he went too far when he tried to get his boss''s job. 8 so far. a thus far, (up) to or till or until now or the present or this point, to date, to this point in time: So far, we have been able to keep up with the mortgage payments. b to a certain extent or limit or point: She said she would go just so far and no further. --adj. 9 (more) remote or distant, far-away, far-off; extreme, further, farther, farthest: She claimed the ability to see into the far future. He kicked the ball to the far end of the field.
far-away | far-away: adj. 1 faraway, distant, remote, far-off, outlying, far-flung: People came from far-away places as news of the miracle spread. 2 faraway, dreamy, detached, absent, absent-minded, abstracted: When you have that far-away expression, I know you don''t hear a word I say.
farcical | farcical: adj. ludicrous, laughable, risible, funny, nonsensical, ridiculous, silly, preposterous, absurd, foolish; comical, humorous, droll, amusing: His farcical attempts at surfing fully dressed had us in hysterics.
fare | fare: n. 1 passenger, traveller: The taxi-driver deposited his fare at the hotel. 2 charge, price, cost: What is the fare from Oxford to London? 3 food, diet, victuals, meals, viands, eatables, provisions: Prison fare consisted of bread and water. --v. 4 do, make one''s way, manage, get on or along, make out, survive: The children didn''t fare very well on their own.
farewell | farewell: n. 1 adieu, goodbye: We said our farewells and left. 2 departure, leave-taking, cong�, parting, Colloq send-off: I want to avoid a tearful farewell. --interjection. 3 Adieu!, Goodbye!, So long!, Godspeed!, Adios!, Hasta luego!, Hasta la vista!, Auf Wiedersehen!, Ciao!, Sayonara!, Aloha!, Vaya con Dios!, Colloq Brit God bless!, Old-fashioned Toodle-oo!, Pip! Pip!, Ta-ta!, US old-fashioned See you later (alligator)!, Don''t take any wooden nickels!: I said farewell and we went our separate ways.
far-fetched | far-fetched: adj. strained, stretched, improbable, implausible, unlikely, doubtful, dubious, questionable, forced, unconvincing, unrealistic, fantastic, preposterous, hard to believe, unbelievable, incredible, Colloq hard to swallow, fishy: They told some far-fetched tale about being robbed by a gang of midgets.
farm | farm: n. 1 farmstead, farmhouse, grange, homestead, holding; land, farmland, acreage, arable; Brit steading, smallholding, allotment, Scots farm-toun, croft: My grandfather owns a farm in Yorkshire. 2 buy the farm. die, be killed: A MIG caught Johnson and he bought the farm. --v. 3 cultivate, work the land, till the soil: His family has been farming this land for centuries. 4 farm out. contract, subcontract, lease, delegate, let (out): They cut staff and now farm out much of the work.
farmer | farmer: n. husbandman, agriculturist, agronomist, yeoman, Brit smallholder, US dialect granger: The farmers here were hard hit by the drought.
farming | farming: n. agriculture, agronomy, husbandry, agribusiness, cultivation: Less than 8,000 years ago man turned from hunting and gathering to farming.
far-sighted | far-sighted: adj. 1 far-seeing, foresighted, prescient, provident, prudent, shrewd, perceptive, discerning, insightful, wise, sagacious, acute, sharp, astute, sensible, imaginative: The committee drew up a far-sighted plan for the redevelopment of the town centre. 2 long-sighted, hyperopic or hypermetropic, presbyopic: I''m far-sighted, so I wear glasses only for reading.
fascinate | fascinate: v. bewitch, enchant, cast a spell on or over, ensorcell, spellbind, hold spellbound, put or have under a spell, charm, captivate, intrigue, beguile, hypnotize, mesmerize, transfix, entrance, engross, enthral, enrapture, absorb, allure, attract: Desmond is utterly fascinated by Elizabeth.
fascination | fascination: n. enchantment, sorcery, magic, attractiveness, attraction, draw, pull, (animal) magnetism, charm, allure, captivation, influence, witchcraft, entrancement: Blondes always held a strange fascination for him.
fashion | fashion: n. 1 style, mode, vogue, trend, look, taste: That year there was a fashion for stiletto heels. 2 the fad, mania, the craze, the rage, the latest (thing), dernier cri, Colloq Brit the go: He remembers when upswept hair-dos were the fashion. 3 manner, mode, way, approach, attitude: I''ll always be true to you, darling, in my fashion. 4 in fashion. See fashionable, below. --v. 5 make, model, style, shape, form, frame, mould, create, construct, forge, work, manufacture: She fashions the most beautiful vases out of shapeless lumps of clay.
fashionable | fashionable: adj. in fashion, chic, � la mode, modish, stylish, smart, in vogue, up to the minute, up to date, Colloq trendy, in, with it, Colloq Brit all the go: The couturiers insist that black will be fashionable this year.
fast� | fast�: adj. 1 quick, swift, fleet, speedy, brisk; brief, hurried, hasty, high-speed, accelerated, expeditious, rapid, express: She is very fast on her feet. We need a fast turn-round on this job. 2 loose, profligate, wild, extravagant, dissipated, intemperate, irresponsible, sybaritic, self-indulgent, dissolute, unrestrained, indecorous, rakish, licentious, promiscuous, immoral, wanton, lecherous, lustful: They led quite a fast life till their divorce. 3 firm, fastened, secure(d), fixed, tied, bound, connected, attached: The boat was fast to the pier. 4 firm, fixed, settled, stable, solid, immovable, unshakable or unshakeable, tight: The sword was fast in the stone. 5 firm, stable, steadfast, staunch, unwavering, constant, lasting, close, loyal, devoted, faithful, lasting, permanent: We maintained a fast friendship over the years. --adv. 6 quickly, swiftly, rapidly, speedily, briskly, presto, hastily, hurriedly, with all speed or haste, expeditiously, apace, post-haste, like a flash, in the blink of an eye, in a wink, before you can say ''Jack Robinson'', in no time (at all), Colloq like a bat out of hell, like a shot, p.d.q. (=''pretty damned quick''), Brit like the clappers (of hell), US and Canadian quick like a bunny or rabbit, lickety-split: Don''t talk so fast. He ran out of there very fast. I''ll be back very fast. 7 firmly, fixedly, immovably, solidly, unshakeably or unshakably, tightly, securely, soundly: The rope held fast. He is fast asleep. 8 closely, close to, immediately, near, (close) on, right: Fast on the heels of the fugitive came the police. 9 loosely, wildly, recklessly, intemperately, irresponsibly, fecklessly, extravagantly, intemperately, sybaritically, self-indulgently, dissolutely, unrestrainedly, indecorously, rakishly, licentiously, promiscuously, immorally, wantonly, lecherously, lustfully: He''s been living fast since inheriting that fortune.
fast� | fast�: v. 1 abstain, go hungry, deny oneself, diet, starve (oneself): Do you fast during Lent? --n. 2 abstention, abstinence, fasting, self-denial, diet; hunger strike: She went on a two-week fast.
fasten | fasten: v. 1 attach, tie, bind, bond, stick, affix, anchor, fix, lock, hook (up), secure, join, connect, link, fuse, cement, clamp: Fasten your seat belts. The mussels fasten themselves by their byssi to underwater piles. 2 fix, rivet, focus, concentrate, direct, aim, point: He fastened his gaze on Kitty. She fastened her attention on the ceiling.
fastening | fastening: n. fastener, catch, clasp, latch, lock, tie, bond: Can you see what kind of fastening is holding the cover?
fastidious | fastidious: adj. squeamish, delicate, over-nice, fussy, meticulous, finicky, finical, pernickety or US also persnickety, particular, difficult, critical, hypercritical, supercritical, over-precise, punctilious, Colloq nit-picking, picky: The Prioress was too fastidious to allow a morsel drop from her lip.
fat | fat: adj. 1 obese, stout, overweight, heavy, plump, rotund, corpulent, portly, well-fed, chubby, podgy or chiefly US pudgy, roly-poly, tubby, bulky, fleshy, paunchy, pot-bellied, overfed, flabby, elephantine, Colloq broad in the beam, beamy, beefy, Slang US five-by-five: A fat man squeezed in beside me. 2 oily, oleaginous, unctuous, greasy, fatty, pinguid, sebaceous, adipose: His complexion is bad because he eats too much fat food. 3 rich, wealthy, prosperous, affluent, well-to-do, well off, Colloq well-heeled, loaded: They grew fat on their profits from the black market. 4 profitable, lucrative, fruitful, remunerative, Slang cushy: He has a fat job as a purchasing agent for the government. --n. 5 obesity, corpulence, stoutness, overweight, heaviness, plumpness, rotundity, portliness, chubbiness, podginess or chiefly US pudginess, tubbiness, fleshiness, paunchiness, flabbiness: He leans a little towards fat because of lack of exercise. 6 riches, wealth, prosperity, fertility, yield, abundance, plenty, plenteousness: He''s living off the fat of the land.
fatal | fatal: adj. 1 fateful, deadly, murderous, lethal, mortal, toxic, terminal, final; baneful, poisonous: She drank the fatal potion without a word. Who dealt the fatal blow? 2 destructive, fateful, ruinous, calamitous, dreadful, disastrous, devastating, cataclysmic, catastrophic, harmful, mischievous, damaging: Discovery by the police would prove fatal to our plan. 3 fateful, fated, destined, predestined, decreed, ordained, foreordained, preordained, predetermined, inevitable, unavoidable, necessary, essential, inescapable, ineluctable: The events fell into their fatal sequence.
fatality | fatality: n. 1 catastrophe, disaster, calamity, cataclysm: The eruption of Vesuvius was a relatively recent fatality. 2 death, casualty: Traffic fatalities are on the increase.
fate | fate: n. 1 fortune, lot, luck, chance, life, destiny, God''s will, providence, doom, karma, kismet, toss or throw of the dice, Colloq US and Canadian the breaks, the way the cookie crumbles, the way the ball bounces: Fate has brought us together. Our meeting this way was just fate. 2 doom, destruction, downfall, undoing, ruin, disaster, collapse, death, nemesis, end, finish: The defenders of Masada met their fate bravely. 3 end, outcome, future, destination, disposition: There was no trace of the fate of the explorers. What is to be the fate of this obsolete equipment?
fated | fated: adj. 1 destined, predestined, predetermined, decreed, doomed, fateful, ordained, foreordained, preordained, decided: The fated day of my trial arrived. 2 sure, certain, doomed, damned, cursed: Was I fated to spend the rest of my life in this fetid dungeon? 3 fatal, fateful, unavoidable, inescapable, inevitable, ineluctable: Their fated punishment was to bail out the sea using sieves.
fateful | fateful: adj. 1 significant, momentous, ominous, major, consequential, important, critical, crucial, decisive, weighty, portentous, earth-shaking, pivotal: The minister is faced with having to make a fateful decision. 2 deadly, lethal, fatal, destructive, ruinous, disastrous, catastrophic, cataclysmic: Failure to preserve the environment could have fateful consequences.
father | father: n. 1 sire, paterfamilias, Colloq dad, daddy, pa, papa, pop, old man, old boy, Brit governor, pater: His father is a chemist. 2 forebear, ancestor, forefather, progenitor, primogenitor: The father of the dynasty fought at Hastings. 3 creator, founder, originator, inventor, author, architect, framer, initiator: He regards Lavoisier as the father of modern chemistry. 4 priest, confessor, cur�, abb�, minister, pastor, shepherd, parson, clergyman, chaplain, Colloq padre, Military slang sky pilot: We should see the Father about the funeral service. --v. 5 sire, beget, get, engender, procreate, generate: He had fathered more than forty children in his harem. 6 originate, establish, found, invent, author, frame, initiate, institute, create: Galileo fathered modern astronomy by inventing the telescope.
fatherland | fatherland: n. motherland, native land, mother country, homeland, (old) country, birthplace: They return to their fatherland for an annual visit.
fatherly | fatherly: adj. paternal, kindly, kind, warm, friendly, affectionate, protective, amiable, benevolent, well-meaning, benign, caring, sympathetic, indulgent, understanding; parental: My nephew used to come to me for fatherly advice.
fathom | fathom: v. probe, sound, plumb, penetrate, search (out), investigate, measure, gauge, determine, ascertain, work out, get to the bottom of, delve into, understand, grasp, divine: I never quite fathomed the purpose of this device.
fatigue | fatigue: n. 1 weariness, tiredness, weakness, exhaustion, lassitude, listlessness, lethargy, languor, sluggishness, enervation: She kept on tending the wounded till fatigue finally overcame her. --v. 2 weary, tire, weaken, exhaust, drain, enervate, Colloq fag (out): My morning''s work had fatigued me.
fatigued | fatigued: adj. weary, wearied, tired, overtired, dead tired, weak, weakened, exhausted, listless, lethargic, languorous, sluggish, enervated, strained, wasted, Colloq whacked (out), knocked out, dead, beat, dead-beat, all in, Brit knackered, jiggered, buggered, US and Canadian pooped, bushed: The firemen were fatigued after being on duty round the clock.
fatness | fatness: n. obesity, stoutness, corpulence, embonpoint, portliness, plumpness, chubbiness, rotundity, podginess or chiefly US pudginess: His fatness is owing to a glandular condition, not overeating.
fault | fault: n. 1 imperfection, flaw, defect, blemish, deficiency, shortcoming, failing, weakness; frailty, foible, peccadillo: The fault lies in this circuit. Using filthy language is only one of his faults. 2 mistake, error, blunder, lapse, failure, offence, oversight, slip(-up), indiscretion, gaffe, gaucherie, faux pas, Slang boner, howler, goof, boo-boo, Brit boob: People should be responsible for their faults. There are many faults in this manuscript. 3 responsibility, liability, culpability; blame, accountability, answerability: It wasn''t my fault that the tree fell down. The fault lies with you, James. 4 sin, transgression, trespass, misdeed, offence, misdemeanour, vice, indiscretion, misconduct, misbehaviour: He will confess his faults to anyone who will listen. 5 at fault. to blame, blameable, blameworthy, in the wrong, responsible, answerable, accountable, liable, culpable, guilty: You were at fault for failing to report the crime. 6 find fault. criticize, censure, take exception (to), carp (at), cavil (at), pick at, pick on, pick apart, pick holes in, niggle, fuss, Colloq nit-pick, knock: She constantly finds fault with everything I do. 7 to a fault. excessively, extremely, to an extreme, in the extreme, unreasonably, exceedingly, unduly, disproportionately, immoderately, irrationally, US overly: She is modest to a fault. --v. 8 find fault with, censure, blame, criticize, call to account, impugn, call into question, hold (someone) responsible or accountable or to blame, lay at (someone''s) door, accuse: You cannot be faulted for not knowing the fuel tank was empty.
fault-finding | fault-finding: n. 1 criticism, censure, carping, cavilling, captiousness, hypercriticism, quibbling, fussiness, hair-splitting, pettifogging, Colloq nit-picking, pickiness: Why continue to put up with the foreman''s fault-finding? --adj. 2 critical, censorious, carping, cavilling, captious, hypercritical, fussy, hair-splitting, pettifogging, niggling, contentious, querulous, quibbling, Colloq nit-picking, picky: She could no longer abide his fault-finding attitude.
faultless | faultless: adj. perfect, flawless, immaculate, ideal, exemplary, correct, accurate, foolproof, irreproachable, unimpeachable, Colloq Brit bang on, spot on: Their performance was faultless.
faulty | faulty: adj. defective, unsound, imperfect, flawed, impaired, out of order, malfunctioning, broken, bad; damaged; Slang on the blink, Chiefly US on the fritz: The carburettor is faulty.
favour | favour: n. 1 good will, approval, support, approbation: Father looked with favour on my marriage to Leslie. 2 courtesy, good or kind deed, good turn, kindness, gesture, beau geste; service: As a favour, I''ll walk your dog while you''re away. 3 favouritism, partiality, prejudice, bias, preference, patronage: They show favour in repeatedly giving the contract to the same company. 4 grace, esteem, consideration, view, regard, opinion, account, (good or bad) books; disposition, taste, predisposition: How does Rochester stand in the favour of the king? 5 in favour (of). for, pro, on the side of, in support (of), at the back of, backing, behind, on or US and Canadian in behalf (of), in back of: Please vote in favour of the resolution. Are you in favour or against? --v. 6 approve, prefer, like, have a liking or preference for, be partial to, advocate, espouse, back, endorse, support, champion, recommend, incline to or towards, side with, take the side or part of, go for, opt for, fancy, select, choose, elect, single out, sponsor, adopt, go in for: Which candidate do you favour? 7 pamper, coddle, baby, protect, indulge, be partial to: Notice how Billie favours his left leg when walking? 8 advance, forward, promote, facilitate, expedite, help, benefit, assist, aid, encourage, accommodate, smile upon: The warm, moist climate favours the growth of mould. 9 resemble, look like, take after: Little Jimmy favours his father, I think.
favourable | favourable: adj. 1 advantageous, promising, auspicious, fair, beneficial, suitable, fitting, appropriate, encouraging, facilitative, helpful, helping, supportive, supporting, convenient, useful, opportune, propitious, accommodating, accommodative; facultative: A favourable breeze sent our craft towards Cyprus. 2 good, promising, positive, encouraging, reassuring, affirmative, well-disposed, sympathetic; commendatory, laudatory, enthusiastic, eager, ardent, zealous: They concluded a very favourable deal to supply the army with boots. My latest book received favourable reviews.
favourably | favourably: adv. 1 graciously, indulgently, sympathetically, genially, positively, agreeably, enthusiastically, with favour: They reacted favourably to my suggestion. 2 advantageously, affirmatively, positively, in favourable terms: Your application has been considered favourably.
favoured | favoured: adj. 1 preferred, chosen, choice, selected, popular, favourite, pet: The favoured explanation is that he is the boss''s son. 2 advantaged, privileged, blessed, prosperous, wealthy, rich, affluent, well off: She is one of the favoured few who can afford to travel.
favourite | favourite: n. 1 choice, pick, preference, preferred, esteemed, darling, pet, ideal, apple of (someone''s) eye, Colloq Brit blue-eyed boy or girl, flavour of the month, US white-haired or white-headed boy or girl, fair-haired boy or girl: Raising interest rates doesn''t exactly make the chancellor everyone''s favourite. --adj. 2 beloved, chosen, picked, selected, preferred, best-liked, most-liked, favoured, choice, pet, ideal: Which is your favourite flavour?
favouritism | favouritism: n. partiality, bias, predisposition, prepossession, prejudice, bent, partisanship, nepotism, preferment; preference, leaning, inclination, proclivity: He openly admits to favouritism in selecting employees.
