
fear | fear: n. 1 dread, terror, fright, panic, horror, alarm, trepidation, apprehension, fearfulness, apprehensiveness, dismay, consternation, hesitation, qualms, diffidence, timidity, cravenness, cowardice, second thoughts: His fear of going into the jungle alone is understandable. 2 awe, respect, reverence, veneration: That''ll put the fear of God into him! 3 horror, spectre, nightmare, bogey or bogy, phobia, bugbear, b�te noire, misgiving(s), foreboding(s): When they came to break the news, her worst fears were realized. 4 solicitude, anxiety, angst, foreboding(s), distress, misgiving(s), concern, apprehension, worry, uneasiness, unease: Fear for her safety is shared by all of us. --v. 5 be afraid or scared or fearful or frightened (of), dread, quail or tremble or quake at, shudder at, shrink from, quiver: What man cannot understand he often fears. 6 revere, respect, venerate, be or stand in awe of: If you fear the Lord as I do, you won''t take his name in vain. 7 expect, anticipate, imagine, suspect, foresee: I fear we are too late for dinner.
fearful | fearful: adj. 1 afraid, scared, frightened, terrified, alarmed, panic-stricken, terror-stricken: Of all disasters, I am most fearful of fire. 2 hesitant, timid, timorous, shy, diffident, unwilling, intimidated, jumpy, nervous, edgy, panicky, anxious, apprehensive, cowardly, pusillanimous, Colloq yellow, jittery: Why is she so fearful of meeting her prospective in-laws? 3 awful, dire, dreadful, frightful, frightening, terrifying, terrible, appalling, ghastly, atrocious, horrible, horrifying, horrendous, horrific, hideous, gruesome, grisly, grim, baleful, monstrous, unspeakable, loathsome, heinous, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, disgusting, nauseating, nauseous: The fearful monster blocked our only way out.
fearfully | fearfully: adv. 1 hesitantly, timidly, timorously, shyly, diffidently, unwillingly, nervously, edgily, anxiously, apprehensively: Fearfully, she approached the altar. 2 very, awfully, terribly, extremely, exceedingly, frightfully, tremendously: It was fearfully considerate of you to come.
fearless | fearless: adj. brave, bold, intrepid, valorous, dauntless, courageous, valiant, plucky, daring, audacious, heroic, venturesome, gallant, chivalrous: These fearless commandos cared nothing for their personal safety.
fearsome | fearsome: adj. dreadful, awesome, appalling, formidable, daunting, frightening, frightful, awe-inspiring, menacing, terrible, terrifying, intimidating: Last week''s typhoon was the most fearsome storm of the century.
feasibility | feasibility: n. practicability, workability, applicability, viability, practicality: The feasibility of the scheme has yet to be assessed.
feasible | feasible: adj. practicable, workable, doable, applicable, viable, practical, possible, realizable, achievable, attainable, sensible, usable, realistic: The world needs a feasible method for disposing of nuclear waste.
feast | feast: n. 1 banquet, (lavish) dinner, (sumptuous) repast, (Lucullan or Epicurean) treat, Colloq spread, Brit beanfeast; Slang blow-out, Brit beano: Dinner at Patrick''s is no mere meal - it is a feast. 2 observance, celebration, rite, ritual, solemnization, commemoration, memorialization, anniversary, birthday, jubilee, feast-day, festival, f�te, holy day, holiday, red-letter day, occasion, event, gala: Church calendars list both movable and immovable feasts. 3 treat, delight, pleasure, gratification: Seeing you again was a feast for the eyes. --v. 4 dine, wine (and dine), fare well or sumptuously, (over)indulge, gorge (oneself), gormandize, eat one''s fill: We feasted on roast turkey with all the trimmings. 5 entertain, feed, wine and dine, treat, regale: Visitors to Arthur''s court were feasted with the finest viands available. 6 delight, gratify, please, cheer, gladden: Ali Baba feasted his eyes on the vast treasure in the cave.
feat | feat: n. exploit, deed, act, attainment, achievement, accomplishment, tour de force: Persuading your wife to let you go fishing was quite a feat.
feature | feature: n. 1 characteristic, attribute, trait, mark, hallmark, earmark, property, character, quality, aspect, facet, peculiarity, quirk, idiosyncrasy: What are the identifying features of traditional Chinese architecture? 2 (main) attraction, draw, special attraction, high point or spot, best or memorable part; main film; US and Canadian drawing card; column, piece, article, item: The feature of the show was the appearance of Gracie Fields. He writes the gardening feature for a Sunday newspaper. 3 features. face, visage, physiognomy, countenance, looks, Slang mug, kisser, chips and plaice: Her features twisted into a frown. --v. 4 present, promote, publicize, advertise, highlight, spotlight, put into the limelight, star, stress, emphasize, call attention to, play up, puff up, Colloq headline, hype: He was featured in many films. 5 be, act, perform, take or have a role or part, participate, be involved or drawn in: Novels feature prominently in our publishing programme.
federation | federation: n. combination, confederacy, confederation, amalgamation, coalition, league, alliance, union, association, Bund, society: The central government consists of a federation of states.
fee | fee: n. 1 charge, price, cost, fare, bill, tariff, toll, Colloq damage(s): The membership fee is �25. 2 pay, payment, emolument, compensation, recompense, honorarium, remuneration, rate, wage(s), stipend, salary: What is your fee per hour for proofreading?
feeble | feeble: adj. 1 weak, infirm, frail, puny, slight, feckless; debilitated, enervated, decrepit, enfeebled, exhausted, weakened; effete, delicate, fragile, powerless, impotent, impuissant, languid, spiritless, sickly, ailing, unsound, faint, dizzy; Colloq woozy, Brit wonky: The survivors were suffering from exposure and too feeble to walk. 2 flimsy, weak, ineffectual, ineffective, namby-pamby, half-baked, lame, unconvincing, shoddy, thin, insubstantial, poor, unsatisfactory, insufficient, inadequate, unavailing, meagre, paltry, insignificant, Colloq wishy-washy, Brit wet: She gave her usual feeble excuse for being late. 3 weak, obscure, dim, imperceptible, faint, distant, indistinct, unclear: He could see little in the feeble light from the one candle. We heard a feeble cry from under the rubble.
feeble-minded | feeble-minded: adj. stupid, dull(-witted), witless, moronic, idiotic, imbecilic, simple, slow (on the uptake), slow-witted, weak-minded, dim-witted, addle-pated, halfwitted, deficient, subnormal, mentally defective, retarded, attocerebral, Brit ESN (=''educationally subnormal''), Colloq dumb, thick, soft in the head, boneheaded, empty-headed, vacant, Brit gormless, US exceptional: Why do you spend so much time with that feeble-minded twit?
feed | feed: v. 1 provision, cater or provide (for), victual, purvey, provender, supply, maintain, nurture, nourish, board, support, sustain, wine and dine: Is there enough to feed everyone? 2 eat, devour, graze, pasture: Cattle feed most of the day. 3 feed on or upon. subsist or survive or depend or thrive on or upon, be nourished or gratified or supported by: Swindlers feed on others'' gullibility. --n. 4 fodder, forage, pasturage, silage, food, provender: What kind of feed are you giving the sheep?
feel | feel: v. 1 touch, see, note, sense, perceive, experience, determine; handle, manipulate, finger: Feel how rough the skin is at this spot. 2 stroke, caress, pet, fondle: I like to feel a bare carpet with my toes. 3 sense, be conscious of, perceive, be aware or sensible of, experience: I could feel the heat of the fire across the room. 4 sense, believe, think, perceive, judge, consider, deem, know, discern, intuit, Colloq get or have the impression, have a hunch, guess, have a (funny) feeling, feel in one''s bones: I feel I have outstayed my welcome. 5 undergo, sense, suffer, bear, endure, withstand, stand, abide, brook, tolerate, go through: Let the other team feel the agony of defeat for a change. 6 seem, appear, strike one, give the impression, have a or the feeling: It felt as if a great weight has been lifted from me. It feels like old times. That feels silky. 7 seem to be, be, regard or characterize oneself as, take oneself to be: I feel certain that we''ve met before. I felt a perfect fool. 8 feel for. sympathize or empathize with, commiserate with, bleed for, be sorry for, pity, have compassion for: She feels for all mothers whose sons have died. 9 feel like. incline or lean to or towards, prefer, fancy, want, desire, crave: I feel like a cup of hot tea. --n. 10 texture, surface, sensation, touch, finish: This wood has the feel of satin. 11 feeling, air, atmosphere, climate, ambience, sense, note, tone, quality: It''s so cosy here - it has the feel of home.
feeler | feeler: n. 1 antenna, tentacle, palp, sensor: Those moths have long, feathery feelers. 2 overture, hint, suggestion, foretaste, probe, tester, sensor: The questionnaire is a feeler put out to test public opinion.
feeling | feeling: n. 1 (sense of) touch, sensitivity, sense, perception, sensation, sensibility: I had no feeling in my left side. 2 intuition, idea, notion, inkling, suspicion, belief, hunch, theory, sense; premonition, hint, presentiment, sense of foreboding, sensation, impression, opinion, view; instinct, consciousness, awareness: I have a feeling you''re fooling. Do you ever have the feeling of being watched? 3 regard, sympathy, empathy, identification, compassion, tenderness, appreciation, concern, understanding, sensitivity, sensibility: He has a genuine feeling for animals. 4 ardour, warmth, passion, fervency, fervour, ardency, intensity, heat, sentiment, emotion, vehemence: She said she loved me with so much feeling that I thought she meant it. 5 feelings. emotions, sensitivity, sympathies, sensibilities, susceptibilities: She hurt my feelings. 6 feel, mood, atmosphere, climate, sense, air, ambience or ambiance: There is a feeling of impending doom about this place. --adj. 7 sentient, sensitive, tender, tender-hearted, compassionate, sympathetic: Their behaviour did the soldiers honour as feeling men.
feint | feint: n. distraction, mock attack, bluff, dodge, manoeuvre, false move, pretence, ruse, ploy, subterfuge, deception, tactic, stratagem, gambit, artifice: The attack on the flanks is merely a feint - the main thrust will be at the centre.
fell | fell: v. cut or knock or strike down, floor, prostrate, level, hew (down), flatten, demolish, mow (down); kill: He felled his opponent with one blow. All the trees in this area must be felled.
fellow | fellow: n. 1 man, boy, person, individual, gentleman, one, Colloq guy, chap, customer, kid, Brit bloke, Slang geezer, gink, US old-fashioned gazabo: There was a fellow here asking for you today. 2 colleague, associate, comrade, companion, ally, peer, compeer: He is going to meet some of his fellows at the club. 3 mate, match, counterpart, partner, complement, concomitant, accessory: I lost one glove last week and now have lost its fellow. 4 boyfriend, man, sweetheart, love, young man; lover, paramour, Formal suitor, Old-fashioned beau, Archaic swain, Slang guy: Bailey has been Sue''s fellow for years. --adj. 5 associate(d), affiliate(d), allied, auxiliary, related: Ladies, not accorded membership in the men''s club, belonged to a fellow organization. She shared her sandwiches with a fellow passenger.
fellowship | fellowship: n. 1 companionship, camaraderie, comradeship, amity, brotherhood, fraternization, togetherness, association, friendship, amity, companionability, sociability, intimacy: I have always enjoyed the fellowship of my university colleagues. 2 society, club, association, alliance, guild, league, union, sisterhood, sorority, brotherhood, fraternity, congregation, circle, community, order, organization, consortium, partnership; lodge, clan, company, coterie, set, clique, coalition, bloc, cartel, trust: They belong to the worldwide fellowship of artists. 3 friendliness, clubbiness, sociability, intimacy, amicability, affability, kindliness, cordiality, familiarity, affinity, belonging, congeniality, warmth, hospitality: Being a club member gives him a feeling of fellowship.
felon | felon: n. criminal, outlaw, lawbreaker, offender, culprit, miscreant, malefactor, wrongdoer: Only if convicted of a certain class of crime is a person technically a felon.
feminine | feminine: adj. 1 female, womanlike, womanly, ladylike, submissive, deferential, amenable, gentle, docile, tender, soft, delicate: She is much more feminine than her sister. 2 effeminate, womanish, unmanly, unmasculine, sissy or Brit cissy, sissified or Brit cissified, effete, affected: Barry''s manner and behaviour seem to become more feminine every day.
fence | fence: n. 1 barrier, enclosure, barricade, confine, wall, rampart; railing(s), palisade: Maurice had a fence put up round his house. 2 on the fence. undecided, indecisive, vacillating, uncommitted, uncertain, irresolute; impartial, neutral, non-partisan, unbiased, unprejudiced, unaligned, non-aligned, independent: She is on the fence with regard to the issue of capital punishment. --v. 3 enclose, encircle, surround, circumscribe, bound, coop, restrict, hedge, confine, fortify, protect, separate: The pasture is fenced both to keep the sheep in and the wolves out. Fence off this area for a garden. 4 parry, avoid, fend off, sidestep, dodge, evade, hedge, stonewall, equivocate, palter, tergiversate, vacillate, shilly-shally, quibble, cavil, beat about the bush, qualify, prevaricate, Colloq Brit waffle: Awkward questions were adroitly fenced by the chairman. Give a straight answer and stop fencing.
fend | fend: v. 1 fend for oneself. get or scrape along (on one''s own), make out, get by, make do, shift for oneself, take care of or provide for or support oneself: Mother didn''t believe I could fend for myself. 2 fend off. discourage, parry, keep or hold at bay, resist, repel, stave or ward or fight off, deflect, turn aside, avert, divert: We fended off our attackers for three days.
ferment | ferment: v. 1 boil, effervesce, seethe, bubble, foam, froth, brew; rise, raise, work, leaven: A rebellion is fermenting in the northern counties. Adding yeast causes the bread to ferment. 2 excite, stir up, incite, instigate, agitate, foment, inflame, rouse, provoke: He helped to ferment a riot.
ferocious | ferocious: adj. fierce, savage, cruel, vicious, feral, fell, brutal, bestial, merciless, ruthless, pitiless, inhuman, barbaric, barbarous, violent, destructive, murderous, bloodthirsty, sanguinary, predatory, fiendish, diabolical, devilish, hellish, monstrous: Cerberus, a ferocious beast with three heads, guards the gates of hell.
fertile | fertile: adj. fruitful, prolific, fecund, productive, bounteous, profuse, abundant, copious, fructuous, plenteous, generative, teeming, rich, luxuriant: The land was fertile enough to grow anything. This book is a fertile source of ideas.
fertilize | fertilize: v. 1 impregnate, inseminate, pollinate, fecundate, fructify: The flower should be fertilized by pollen from a different stock. 2 manure, mulch, feed, nourish, enrich, dress, compost: The earth can be fertilized at any time.
fervent | fervent: adj. 1 fervid, fiery, burning, glowing, hot, intense, passionate, impassioned, ardent, hotheaded, inflamed, fanatic(al), excited, frantic, frenzied: Only the most fervent acolytes were ordained as ministers of the faith. 2 eager, earnest, enthusiastic, zealous, animated, intense, heartfelt, emotional: It is my fervent desire to see you happy. 3 ecstatic, transported, rapturous, rapt, enrapt, enraptured, captivated: The fervent crowds cheered wildly when Caesar arrived.
fervour | fervour: n. fervency, ardour, warmth, passion, vehemence, glow, intensity, zeal, eagerness, earnestness, enthusiasm, animation, gusto, ebullience, spirit, verve: She went about her studies with a fervour we had not seen before.
fester | fester: v. 1 ulcerate, suppurate, run, ooze, putrefy, putresce, necrose, mortify, rot, decay, decompose: His entire body was covered with festering sores. 2 rankle, smoulder, gall, chafe, inflame: Bitterness over the way he had been treated festered inside him for years.
festival | festival: n. 1 holiday, holy day, f�te, feast, commemoration, anniversary: He wanted to be with his family for the Christmas festival. 2 celebration, f�te, festivities, carnival, entertainment, red-letter day, gala day, anniversary, birthday: The town organizes a festival every autumn.
festivity | festivity: n. 1 rejoicing, gaiety, mirth, jubilation, conviviality, joyfulness, merriment, revelry, merrymaking, glee, jollity, jollification, felicity, Colloq Brit mafficking: There were laughter and festivity in the air. 2 festivities. celebration(s), festival, party, fun and games, entertainment, amusement, hilarity, boisterousness, frivolity: Come along and join the festivities at our house tonight.
fetch | fetch: v. 1 get, go after or for, bring (back), retrieve, deliver, obtain, carry or convey (back): Would you please fetch my slippers? 2 summon, bring or draw forth, call, elicit: The doorbell fetched me from my bath. 3 sell for, bring (in), go for, yield, earn, make, cost, realize: These days a house near London fetches a high price. --n. 4 reach, stretch, range, span, extent: It is quite a long fetch across the bay.
fetching | fetching: adj. attractive, alluring, taking, winsome, winning, cute, enchanting, charming, captivating, intriguing: Fingal''s sister is a fetching young lass.
fetish | fetish: n. 1 charm, amulet, talisman, totem, Rare periapt: Round his neck he wore the dreaded fetish of the fish god. 2 obsession, compulsion, fixation, mania, id�e fixe: It''s a fetish of hers to kiss only under the mistletoe.
feud | feud: n. 1 dispute, conflict, vendetta, hostility, strife, enmity, animosity, hatred, antagonism, rivalry, ill will, bad blood, hard feelings, contention, discord, grudge, dissension, disagreement, argument, quarrel, bickering, squabble, falling out, estrangement: A silly feud broke out over whose turn it was to bring the Christmas goose. --v. 2 dispute, quarrel, bicker, disagree, conflict, row, fight, fall out, clash, be at odds, be at daggers drawn: The Hatfields and McCoys feuded for decades.
feverish | feverish: adj. inflamed, flushed, burning, fiery, hot, ardent, fervent, hot-blooded, passionate, frenzied, frantic, excited, frenetic, zealous; Pathology febrile, pyretic, pyrexic: I was looking forward to our rendezvous with feverish excitement.
few | few: adj. 1 hardly or scarcely any, not many, insufficient; infrequent, occasional: Few people came to my party. He is a man of few words. --n. 2 handful, some, scattering: I invited a lot of people, but only a few came. --pron. 3 (only) one or two, not many: Many apply but few are chosen.
