
grab | grab: v. 1 snatch, lay or catch hold of, fasten upon, grasp, seize; catch, grip, clutch; Colloq latch on to, get one''s hands or fingers on, nab, US snag: The thief grabbed my purse and ran. She grabbed the railing to break her fall. 2 appropriate, expropriate, seize, commandeer, take over, usurp, arrogate: The general grabbed the reins of government in the coup. 3 arrest, capture, catch, Colloq nab, pinch, collar: The police grabbed him as he was leaving the scene of the crime. --n. 4 snatch, clutch; grasp, grip: I made a grab for the rope.
grace | grace: n. 1 elegance, gracefulness, suppleness, finesse, refinement, ease, polish, poise: She rides well, with an unconscious grace. 2 tastefulness, (good) taste, cultivation, suavity or suaveness, culture, savoir faire, discernment, discrimination, (good) manners, politeness, breeding, consideration, decency, etiquette, tact, propriety, decorum, mannerliness: They had the grace to ignore my rough attire. 3 indulgence, forgiveness, mercy, mercifulness, leniency, compassion, clemency, charity, goodwill, goodness: We survived the fire only by the grace of God. The company gives you 30 days'' grace to pay the bill. 4 kindness, favour, kindliness, benevolence, generosity, goodness, graciousness, becomingness, seemliness; excellence, virtue, strength of character, considerateness: At least he had the good grace to admit being wrong. 5 blessing, thanksgiving, prayer, benediction: Grace was said before each meal. --v. 6 adorn, embellish, set off, decorate, ornament, beautify, enhance, garnish: The table was graced by a huge silver candelabrum. 7 dignify, enhance, distinguish, enrich, honour, favour: The dinner-party is graced by your presence.
graceful | graceful: adj. 1 fluid, flowing, supple, lissom or lissome, lithe, facile, smooth, nimble, agile, deft: How graceful a dancer she is! 2 tactful, well-mannered, polite, courteous, mannerly, refined, tasteful, elegant, courtly, urbane, polished, refined, suave: In return for certain concessions, the chief was graceful enough to release the hostages.
gracious | gracious: adj. kind, courteous, polite, well-mannered, kindly, benevolent, beneficent, indulgent, kind-hearted, warm-hearted, cordial, warm, friendly, sociable, good-natured, amiable, affable, benign, accommodating, obliging, agreeable, considerate: It was gracious of you to grant me an audience.
grade | grade: n. 1 degree, position, rank, status, stage, standing, station, gradation, echelon, class, level, category, condition, state, estate, situation, rung: She is a singer of the first grade. 2 rating, mark, score: What grade did you get in physics? 3 class, form, year: My daughter is in the third grade. 4 hill, slope, rise, gradient, acclivity, declivity, incline, decline, ascent, descent, upgrade, downgrade: The car coasted down a gentle grade into the lake. 5 make the grade. pass, measure up, succeed, qualify, Colloq US make it, Slang US and Canadian and NZ hack or cut it: Do you think that Simpson can make the grade? --v. 6 classify, class, order, organize, rank, sort, size, group, categorize, rate: Her job is to grade pearls according to their size. 7 mark, rate, correct, evaluate: My teacher was up late grading our exams.
gradual | gradual: adj. easy, gentle, even, moderate, slow, piecemeal, inchmeal, regular, steady: There is a gradual slope down to the garden wall. The acceleration was gradual. He became aware of a gradual erosion of his authority.
gradually | gradually: adv. slowly, evenly, piecemeal, inchmeal, drop by drop, step by step, bit by bit, little by little, piece by piece, gradatim: The water gradually seeped through the filter. We advanced gradually through the forest.
graduate | graduate: n. 1 bachelor, postgraduate, US alumnus (pl. alumni) or alumna (pl. alumnae): Even university graduates found it difficult to get a job. --v. 2 gradate, mark, calibrate, grade, scale: This thermometer is graduated in increments of one tenth of a degree.
graft� | graft�: n. 1 bud, scion, shoot, splice, implantation or implant, transplant: New varieties were created by the implantation of grafts that have desirable qualities. --v. 2 implant, splice, insert, join: Fruit-bearing stems are grafted onto a sturdy rootstock.
graft� | graft�: n. corruption, jobbery; bribery, extortion, Colloq payola, kickback: After only five years, he retired on the takings from graft.
grain | grain: n. 1 seed, kernel, stone, pip, pit: Grains from each crop are stored ready for sowing. 2 cereal, corn, grist: The grain harvest was sparse this year. 3 particle, bit, fragment, crumb, speck, granule, morsel, mote, molecule, atom, fleck, iota, ounce, scrap, trace, scintilla, hint, suggestion, whit, jot (or tittle), dab, soup�on, taste, Colloq US and Canadian smidgen or smidgin: There''s not a grain of truth in anything that''s been said. 4 texture, pattern, fibre, weave, nap: Use a different kind of saw for cutting across the grain.
grand | grand: adj. 1 large, great, huge, immense, enormous, impressive, imposing, splendid, fine, majestic, stately, lofty, monumental, lavish, magnificent, opulent, luxurious, palatial, sumptuous, Colloq posh: We were led into a grand hall where thousands awaited the emperor. 2 dignified, distinguished, august, respected, eminent, pre-eminent, outstanding, celebrated, illustrious, renowned, notable, legendary, exalted, revered, venerable, immortal: He is regarded as the grand old man of chemistry. 3 flamboyant, overdone, histrionic, ostentatious, pretentious, grandiose, lordly: The abysmal performance was punctuated by the actors'' grand strutting and gesturing. 4 complete, total, sum, comprehensive, (all-)inclusive; bottom-line: The grand total of expenses came to �12,467.22. 5 marvellous, wonderful, outstanding, first-class, first-rate, splendid, excellent, superb, admirable, Colloq great, marvy, smashing, terrific, fantastic, fabulous, fantabulous, super: Isn''t it grand that Freda will be able to go! 6 principal, chief, main, head, leading, foremost, highest: The grand vizier was second only to the caliph.
grandeur | grandeur: n. 1 splendour, magnificence, majesty, sublimity, luxuriousness, pomp: The grandeur of the French court was never to be equalled. 2 nobility, augustness, nobleness, eminence, majesty: The emperor received us with a grandeur befitting his station.
grandiose | grandiose: adj. 1 pretentious, ostentatious, showy, flamboyant, bombastic, histrionic, extravagant, pompous, fustian, high-flown, high-flying, overambitious, overdone, over-dramatic, melodramatic, Ossianic, inflated, affected, florid, flashy, Colloq highfalutin or hifalutin, flash: The council is unimpressed by your grandiose plans to redevelop the area, Mr Wren. 2 imposing, impressive, ambitious, grand, monumental, magnificent, lofty: She has some grandiose ideas for a national symphony orchestra.
grant | grant: v. 1 give, confer, bestow, present, award, offer; supply, furnish, distribute, donate; allocate, assign: She has been granted a sum that will enable her to complete the book. 2 concede, accede (to), cede, give (up), agree (to), consent (to), allow, permit, admit; let: They granted my request for clemency. --n. 3 gift, present, endowment, bequest, subvention, subsidy, award, grant-in-aid, donation, contribution, concession, allowance: He received a government grant to study abroad.
granular | granular: adj. grainy, granulated, particulate, comminuted, gravelly, sandy, gritty: The sauce was somewhat granular and tasted too strongly of nutmeg.
grapevine | grapevine: n. rumour-mill, jungle telegraph, grapevine telegraph; rumour, gossip: According to the grapevine, you two are going to be married.
graphic | graphic: adj. 1 vivid, distinct, well-defined, detailed, explicit, particular, clear, lucid, plain, manifest, crystal clear, unmistakable or unmistakeable, unambiguous, accurate, precise, well-drawn, photographic, descriptive, telling, picturesque, pictorial, realistic, lifelike, true to life, Colloq gory: He described his injuries in graphic detail. 2 written, drawn, diagrammatic, delineated, visible: The magazine won a prize for graphic design.
grapple | grapple: v. 1 grasp, grab, grip, seize, clasp, catch, wrestle; hold, clutch, snatch: They grappled each other at the edge of the Reichenbach Falls. 2 grapple with. come to grips with, cope with, contend with, deal with, struggle with, tackle, face, take on: The government is grappling with the problem of unemployment.
grasp | grasp: v. 1 grip, grab, seize, clasp, clutch, snatch, hold, take or lay or catch hold of, Colloq nab: I grasped the rope and was pulled to safety. 2 understand, comprehend, appreciate, catch (on), get, get the drift or point of, follow, see, realize, apprehend, learn, Colloq make head(s) or tail(s) of, Slang dig: I am trying to grasp the full import of what you are saying. --n. 3 hold, grip, clutches, clasp, embrace, lock: He loosened his grasp on my throat and I could breathe again. 4 possession, control, power, mastery, sovereignty, suzerainty, hold: By then, even the outer islands had fallen within his grasp. 5 understanding, comprehension, apprehension, awareness, perception, sense: He has a poor grasp of the basics of the subject.
grasping | grasping: adj. greedy, avaricious, acquisitive, rapacious, mean, miserly, stingy, penurious, parsimonious, niggardly, tight, tight-fisted, penny-pinching, close-fisted, mercenary: If the company weren''t so grasping, they''d have less difficulty hiring staff.
grass | grass: v. 1 inform, betray, give away, Slang peach, squeal, snitch, squeak, tattle, rat on, sell out, Brit blow the gaff, nark: He received a shorter sentence for grassing on his accomplices. --n. 2 traitor, informer, Slang stool-pigeon, stoolie, squealer, snitch, squeaker, rat, Brit nark: A grass is treated roughly by fellow inmates.
grate | grate: v. 1 shred, rasp, scrape, rub, triturate: Peel six raw potatoes and grate them fine. 2 scrape, rasp, rub, grind, scratch, screech, stridulate: The cricket grates its legs against its wing covers to produce the ''singing'' sound. 3 Often, grate on or upon. annoy, vex, irk, irritate, pester, set one''s teeth on edge, jar, fret, chafe, rub (someone) (up) the wrong way, go against the grain, Colloq get on one''s nerves: Her voice just grates on me.
grateful | grateful: adj. thankful, appreciative: I am grateful for any help I can get.
gratification | gratification: n. satisfaction, fulfilment, enjoyment, pleasure, delight, compensation, recompense, reward, return, requital: She does it only for the gratification she gets from making the children happier.
gratify | gratify: v. please, satisfy, fulfil, delight, compensate, recompense, reward, requite, cheer, gladden, favour: Albert would be gratified to see the good coming from his charitable bequests.
grating | grating: adj. 1 jarring, strident, raucous, harsh, discordant, dissonant, unharmonious, offensive, irritating, irksome, annoying, vexatious, galling: I find the noise of chalk squeaking on the blackboard very grating. 2 grinding, gritty, squeaky, jangling, screeching, creaking, shrill, piercing, squawking, croaking, rasping: The grating noise you hear is my fridge motor. --n. 3 grate, grid, reticle or reticule, grille, lattice, trellis, screen, network, reticulation: When a beam of light is directed through the fine grating, odd patterns are formed.
gratitude | gratitude: n. thankfulness, appreciation, gratefulness; thanks, return, compensation, thanksgiving: Here is a box of chocolates in gratitude for looking after my cat.
gratuitous | gratuitous: adj. 1 gratis, free, complimentary, spontaneous: The earth is a machine which has, till now, yielded gratuitous service. 2 unasked for, unrequested, unsought for, wanton, unprovoked, unsolicited, unlooked-for, uncalled-for, unwelcome, unjustified, unwarranted, baseless, groundless, needless, unfounded, ungrounded, unjustifiable, irrational: He seems to derive some twisted pleasure from spreading gratuitous lies about me.
grave� | grave�: n. crypt, sepulchre, tomb, vault, mausoleum, last or final resting-place, eternal rest: She began to sob as the coffin was slowly lowered into the grave.
grave� | grave�: adj. 1 serious, sombre, solemn, earnest, unsmiling, staid, sedate, sober, dour, gloomy, grim, grim-faced, grim-visaged, Brit po-faced: The doctor, looking very grave, said that he had done all he could. 2 serious, critical, vital, dangerous, matter of life and death, crucial, urgent, weighty, important, pressing, pivotal, perilous: Fenwick is in intensive care in a grave condition.
graveyard | graveyard: n. burial-ground, churchyard, cemetery, God''s acre, necropolis, potter''s field, W US Boot Hill, Rare Golgotha, Slang bone-yard: Uncle Valentine is buried in the graveyard on the hill.
gravity | gravity: n. 1 gravitation; attraction: After middle age, the body obeys the laws of gravity but not of mutual attraction. 2 seriousness, acuteness, immediacy, importance, significance, weight, magnitude, severity, urgency, exigency, momentousness, weightiness: When I saw mother''s expression I realized the gravity of the situation. 3 solemnity, dignity, sombreness, staidness, sedateness, sobriety, gravitas, soberness, reserve; gloominess, grimness: The ceremony was conducted with suitable gravity.
greasy | greasy: adj. 1 oily, sebaceous, fatty, fat, buttery, lardy, soapy, oleaginous, pinguid, butyraceous, saponaceous, waxy: Before curing, the hide is greasy with natural oils. 2 unctuous, oily, slippery, slithery, smooth, glib, fawning, slick, toadying, sycophantic, Slang Brit smarmy: Edna is so greasy, always trying to manoeuvre you into doing something for her.
great | great: adj. 1 big, large, huge, immense, enormous, gigantic, giant, grand, extensive, prodigious, colossal, massive, vast, tremendous; spacious, capacious, mammoth, gargantuan, monstrous, titanic, Cyclopean, Brobdingnagian: Europe was covered by a great forest. A great castle loomed before me. 2 large, huge, immense, enormous, gigantic, prodigious, vast, tremendous, abundant, countless: Plague killed a great number of people. 3 extreme, considerable, marked, pronounced, inordinate, extraordinary, significant; excess, excessive: I have something of great importance to tell you. Your news created great confusion. 4 critical, important, crucial, momentous, significant, serious, weighty, consequential: Those were great days for the history of England. 5 important, prominent, major, eminent, celebrated, distinguished, famous, famed, renowned, notable, noteworthy, illustrious, outstanding, well-known, weighty, influential, Rare eximious: What of the great universities, like Oxford and Cambridge? Our mayor thinks of himself as a great man. 6 talented, gifted, excellent, outstanding, exceptional, major, superlative, superior, leading, best, incomparable, matchless, peerless, skilful, artistic, brilliant, first-rate, remarkable, top, accomplished: Flaubert was one of the greatest writers of his age. Tamara is a good dancer, but not a great dancer. 7 lofty, elevated, exalted, noble, high-minded, grand: Great thoughts come from great minds. 8 talented, skilled, skilful, adroit, clever, adept, able, proficient, expert: Daphne is really great at playing bridge. 9 keen, zealous, eager, active, enthusiastic, devoted, ardent, passionate: Frank is a great stamp collector. 10 close, devoted, dedicated, fast, faithful, true, loyal, intimate, loving: Graham and Pembroke quickly became great friends. 11 terrible, bad, awful, unforgivable, horrendous, heinous, grievous, horrific, horrible, terrific, huge, colossal, enormous, gigantic, significant, cardinal, egregious, basic, profound, flagrant, glaring, arrant, consummate, out-and-out: Inviting her at the same time as her ex-husband was a great mistake. 12 spectacular, marvellous, outstanding, excellent, superb, grand, wonderful, fine Colloq fantastic, terrific, stupendous, marvy, smashing, fantabulous, Old-fashioned Brit tickety-boo: He says that we missed a truly great show.
greed | greed: n. 1 greediness, avarice, avariciousness, covetousness, acquisitiveness, cupidity, avidity, craving, yearning: Greed accounts for most of man''s dishonesty. 2 meanness, stinginess, miserliness, selfishness, niggardliness, penuriousness, parsimony, close-fistedness, penny-pinching, tight-fistedness: From a life of greed he had accumulated enormous wealth. 3 gluttony, voraciousness, edacity, esurience, voracity, overeating, gormandizing, ravenousness, insatiableness: Obesity owes more to greed than to glandular disorder.
greedy | greedy: adj. 1 ravenous, voracious, gluttonous, piggish, hoggish, swinish, cormorant, edacious, esurient, insatiable, unquenchable: I''d love another slice, but I mustn''t be greedy. 2 avaricious, acquisitive, covetous, grasping, craving; materialistic, money-hungry: If some people were less greedy, there would be plenty for everyone. 3 stingy, miserly, mean, selfish, niggardly, parsimonious, penurious, penny-pinching, mercenary, close-fisted, tight-fisted, close, Colloq near, tight, Brit mingy: He''s so greedy that he asks beggars for receipts.
green | green: adj. 1 verdant, grassy, fresh, leafy; rural, country-like: Plans call for a green belt to be created around every major city. 2 immature, unripe, unripened; na�ve, callow, untested, untrained, unversed, inexperienced, new, raw, unseasoned, unsophisticated, gullible, amateur, unskilled, unskilful, amateurish, non-professional, inexpert, Colloq wet behind the ears: This banana is still too green to eat. Isn''t Piers a bit green to be given so much responsibility? 3 environmental, conservationist: The green activists appear to be gaining influence in governmental circles. --n. 4 lawn, sward, common, grassland: Let us meet on the village green at noon. 5 environmentalist, conservationist, preservationist: The greens are opposed to draining the marshes.
greenhorn | greenhorn: n. newcomer, beginner, novice, tiro or tyro, neophyte, novice, initiate, learner, tenderfoot, Colloq rookie: They send all the greenhorns off to fetch a bucket of steam and a can of striped paint.
greet | greet: v. 1 welcome, receive, usher in, meet: We were greeted warmly by the family. 2 hail, accost, address, salute: People greeted him in the street with a wave and a smile.
greeting | greeting: n. 1 salutation, hail, hello, welcome, reception: She had a smile and a greeting for every passer-by. 2 greetings card, card, message, note: The Queen sent me a greeting on my 100th birthday. 3 greetings. regards, respects, best or good wishes, devoirs, compliments: I sent you greetings from Barbados, where I took my holiday.
grey | grey: adj. 1 ashen, leaden, colourless, pale, pallid, wan, livid, pearly, griseous, smoky, sooty, bloodless: The cadaver''s skin was a dead, whitish grey. 2 gloomy, dismal, dull, depressing, glum, dreary, sombre, drab, cheerless, dark, murky, foggy, misty, cloudy, overcast, sunless: As if to mould her temperament, Kathleen was born on a grey December day in 1791. 3 aged, elderly, hoary, old, venerable, ancient: A stooped, grey crone inched along, muttering to herself. 4 mature, wise, experienced: Seventy years have spread their grey experience over his hoary head.
grief | grief: n. 1 anguish, suffering, agony, misery, wretchedness, pain, hurt, sadness, sorrow, dejection, depression, despondency, melancholy, unhappiness, woe, torment, desolation, heartbreak, remorse, regret, ruth, heartache: Nothing equalled the grief I felt at the death of my dog, Whiffler. 2 distress, trouble, difficulty, tribulation, trial, burden, load, onus, ordeal, travail, affliction, worry, bitterness, curse; adversity, misfortune, evil days, bad or ill fortune or luck, calamity, disaster, catastrophe, trauma: The death of her only child was a lasting grief to Millie. 3 come to grief. fail, go to rack and ruin, meet with disaster, miscarry, fall or come apart, Colloq come unstuck: Our plans for retirement came to grief when my husband went bankrupt.
grievance | grievance: adj. 1 wrong, ill, injustice, disservice, unfairness, injury, damage, harm, outrage, affront, indignity, hardship, calamity: I had to listen to details of every grievance she had ever suffered. 2 complaint, objection, charge, plaint, allegation, grudge, Colloq gripe, bone to pick, Brit crow to pluck, Slang beef: Please register all your grievances at the office next door.
grieve | grieve: v. 1 mourn, bemoan, lament, regret, rue, deplore, bewail, mope, eat one''s heart out: Sylvia is still grieving over the loss of her husband. 2 weep, cry, mourn, moan, keen, suffer, sorrow; shed tears, complain: Go in and try to comfort the grieving widow.
grievous | grievous: adj. 1 severe, heavy, painful, grave, serious, distressing, harmful; damaging, hurtful, acute, wounding: The church buildings suffered grievous damage from the storm. He was charged with causing grievous bodily harm. 2 egregious, awful, flagrant, terrible, outrageous, heinous, dreadful, atrocious, monstrous, appalling, shocking, deplorable, calamitous, lamentable, intolerable, shameful, unbearable: Missing that catch was a grievous error.
grim | grim: adj. 1 stern, severe, unrelenting, resolute, uncompromising, unyielding, inflexible, adamant, stony, iron, unbending, firm, intractable, unflinching, unmoving, unmoved, implacable, inexorable, determined, steadfast, (dead) set, fixed, decided, obstinate, headstrong, stubborn, obdurate, dogged, unwavering: By controlling the purse strings, she kept a grim hold over the family. 2 forbidding, formidable, harsh, ferocious, fierce, cruel, savage, merciless, heartless, ruthless, pitiless, vicious, brutal, brutish, feral, inhuman, fiendish, violent, bloodthirsty, murderous, homicidal, fell: A grim pack of howling wolves loped after our sledge. 3 dire, dreadful, ghastly, awful, frightful, frightening, sinister, hideous, horrid, horrific, horrible, horrendous, terrible, terrifying, terrific, harrowing, dread, alarming, appalling, grotesque, gruesome, eerie, macabre, flagitious, heinous, evil, wicked, iniquitous, atrocious, monstrous: Before me appeared the ghostly apparition of the Grim Reaper.
grime | grime: n. dirt, filth, soot, mud, muck, slime, scum: The lad began to rub the grime from the old oil lamp.
grind | grind: v. 1 pound, powder, pulverize, abrade, crush, granulate, mill, grate, rasp, crumble, kibble, mash, triturate, bray, comminute: The rock was soon ground to a fine powder. 2 sharpen, whet; file, smooth, polish: He is grinding the edge to be razor sharp. 3 gnash, grit, grate: He grinds his teeth when he''s angry. 4 Also, grind away. labour, toil, slave (away); study, lucubrate, burn the midnight oil, Colloq cram, Brit swot: George has been grinding away at the same job all his life. Languages came easily, but he had to grind away at the sciences. 5 grind down. wear down or away, crush, oppress, subdue, suppress, tyrannize, persecute, maltreat, ill-treat, harry, harass, hound, hector, plague, badger: Dictators first grind down all opposition, then destroy it. 6 grind out. produce, generate, crank out, churn out, turn out: For 20 years he has been grinding out the daily gossip column. --n. 7 toil, labour, drudgery, travail, exertion, task, chore: Working at the checkout counter hour after hour is a terrible grind.
grip | grip: n. 1 hold, grasp, clutch, handgrip, clasp, hand-clasp: Losing his grip on the rope, he plummeted into the abyss. 2 control, command, hold, mastery; authority, influence, power, rule, domination, sovereignty, tenure, dominion, suzerainty, custody: Peter is losing his grip on reality. The dictator kept a tight grip on the people right up to his death. 3 grasp, understanding, apprehension, comprehension, sense, sensitivity, feel, feeling, awareness, perception, view, Slang US handle: Skerry is having trouble getting a grip on what you plan to do. 4 handgrip, valise, (travelling or overnight) bag, case, satchel, suitcase, Brit holdall, US and Canadian carry-all: I got off the plane in New York, but my grip went on to Detroit. 5 come or get to grips with. tackle, confront, approach, handle, meet (head on), undertake, grapple or contend with, cope or deal with, face: We must come to grips with the problem of Cassandra. --v. 6 grasp, clutch, clasp, hold, seize: He gripped the handle of the revolver more tightly. 7 engross, engage, hold, fascinate, enthral, entrance, absorb, mesmerize, hypnotize, spellbind, rivet: Just at the gripping climax, the reel broke and the film stopped.
gripe | gripe: v. 1 complain, moan, grumble, whimper, whine, bleat, nag, cavil, carp, grouse, Colloq beef, Brit whinge, Slang bitch, bellyache: It''s natural to gripe about the food in the army. --n. 2 complaint, grievance, objection, protest; complaining, moaning, grumbling, whimpering, whining, nagging, cavilling, carping, grousing, Colloq beef, Brit whinging Slang bitching, bellyaching: I don''t want to hear any more gripes about the food! 3 Usually, gripes. cramp, twinge, pang, pain, ache, colic, distress, Colloq bellyache: The gripes became so painful that he was sure he had appendicitis.
grisly | grisly: adj. gruesome, gory, abhorrent, abominable, awful, appalling, hideous, shocking, nasty, dreadful, repulsive, repellent, repugnant, disgusting, sickening, nauseating, horrific, horrid, horrendous, horrifying, terrible, terrifying, terrific: A grisly scene greeted the soldiers who liberated the concentration camp.
grit | grit: n. courage, courageousness, valour, bravery, fortitude, resolution, resoluteness, resolve, toughness, mettle, pluck, spirit, backbone, nerve, gameness, intrepidity or intrepidness, dauntlessness, tenacity, determination, firmness, hardiness, hardihood, staunchness, stalwartness, doughtiness, fearlessness, Colloq guts, gutsiness, spunk, spunkiness, starch, Brit bottle, US and Canadian chutzpah, moxie, stick-to-it-iveness: Mountain-climbing requires more grit than you might think.
gritty | gritty: adj. 1 sandy, gravelly, granular, grainy, rough, abrasive, rasping, arenose: The texture of the mud-pack felt somewhat gritty on her face. 2 courageous, valorous, brave, resolute, tough, mettlesome, plucky, spirited, game, intrepid, dauntless, tenacious, determined, persistent, firm, hardy, staunch, stalwart, doughty, fearless, Colloq gutsy, spunky: The band of gritty frontiersman was led by Sheriff Boswell.
groan | groan: v. 1 moan, sigh, murmur, wail, whimper, whine: Unattended patients were lying there, groaning in agony. 2 complain, grumble, grouse, object, protest, Colloq gripe, beef, yammer, Brit whinge, Slang bitch: Now that he''s rich, he''s groaning about taxes. --n. 3 moan, sigh, murmur, wail, whimper, whine: I thought I heard a groan coming from the attic. 4 complaint, grumble, grousing, muttering, Colloq gripe, griping, beef, yammering, Slang bitching: His announcement that the whole class would be punished was met by groans.
groggy | groggy: adj. unsteady, shaky, wobbly, weak-kneed, weak, staggering, stupefied, dazed, stunned, reeling, punch-drunk, numb, numbed, benumbed, faint, in a trance or stupor, muddled, addled, confused, bewildered, confounded, puzzled, baffled, befuddled, Colloq dopey, punchy, woozy, Brit muzzy: I was still groggy from the blow on the head.
groom | groom: n. 1 stable-boy, stableman, Brit stable-lad, Archaic ostler or hostler, equerry: The groom unsaddled the horses and began to curry them. 2 bridegroom: Let''s drink to the bride and groom! --v. 3 spruce up, dress, tidy or neaten up, smarten up, titivate or tittivate, preen, primp, refresh: Every time she passes a mirror Vivian stops to groom herself. 4 fit, train, prepare, coach, tutor, brief, drill, prime, (get or make) ready, adapt, shape: McCusker is being groomed for a directorship.
groove | groove: n. slot, cut, channel, furrow, gouge, trough; flute, scratch, striation or stria, rifling, rifle, Architecture glyph, Technical sulcus: The door slides in these grooves at the sides.
grope | grope: v. feel, fumble, fish, probe: I groped for the switch in the dark.
gross | gross: adj. 1 fat, obese, corpulent, overweight, big, large, bulky, great, heavy, ponderous, massive, cumbersome, unwieldy: The gross detective eased his bulk onto a tiny chair. 2 total, aggregate, entire, pre-tax, (all-)inclusive, overall, whole: The gross profit was up by 15 per cent this year. 3 coarse, vulgar, crude, unsophisticated, uncultured, uncultivated, earthy, crass, indelicate, indecent, inappropriate, unseemly, improper, unrefined, bawdy, ribald, Rabelaisian, raw, rude, offensive, obscene, lewd, dirty, smutty, pornographic, filthy: That was too gross a story for mixed company. 4 outrageous, flagrant, obvious, plain, glaring, shameful, blatant, monstrous, heinous, manifest, evident: Her conviction was a gross miscarriage of justice. 5 disgusting, repulsive, repellent, revolting, nauseating: His table manners are truly gross. --v. 6 earn, bring or take in, make: We grossed over a million but netted only 50,000 after expenses. --n. 7 (overall) total, take, intake, takings, receipts, gate: As I said, the gross was over a million.
grotesque | grotesque: adj. 1 distorted, bizarre, freakish, twisted, misshapen, malformed, deformed, gruesome, gnarled: Victor Hugo created the character of Quasimodo, the grotesque bell-ringer of Notre Dame. 2 absurd, incongruous, weird, odd, fantastic, strange, queer, peculiar, curious, outlandish, offbeat, abnormal, aberrant, anomalous, ludicrous, ridiculous, preposterous: The idea of marrying Leonard is too grotesque for even Gladys to contemplate.
ground | ground: n. 1 earth, soil, turf, sod, dirt, loam, clay; land, terrain: There is a great hole in the ground behind my house. 2 territory, area, range, scope, compass: We covered the ground quite thoroughly at our meeting. 3 Often, grounds. basis, foundation, base, reason, footing, justification, rationale, argument, cause, motive, excuse: What are her grounds for suing for divorce? 4 grounds. sediment, dregs, lees, deposit, settlings, Brit grouts: Filter out the grounds before drinking the coffee. --v. 5 base, establish, organize, found; settle, set: The school''s philosophy is grounded on the principles of Maria Montessori. 6 instruct, teach, train, coach, tutor, inform, prepare, initiate: The purpose of the course is to ground students in basic mathematics.
groundless | groundless: adj. baseless, without foundation, unsound, unfounded, unsupported, unjustified, unjustifiable, unwarranted, uncalled-for, gratuitous, unreasoned, unreasonable, speculative, suppositional, hypothetical, tenuous, flimsy, illusory, imaginary, chimerical: Assumptions that the boy is guilty are entirely groundless.
groundwork | groundwork: n. basis, spadework, preparation(s), base, foundation, underpinning(s), cornerstone: The report provided the groundwork for the research.
group | group: n. 1 assembly, assemblage, gathering, congregation, company, number, alliance, union, association, organization, league, society, coterie, clique, set, band, circle, club, party, body, faction, crowd, team, corps, guild, troupe, unit, troop, platoon, squad, gang: A group of revolutionaries meets nightly in a basement in Krakowskaya Street. 2 batch, aggregation, set, grouping, collection, assemblage, bunch, accumulation, conglomeration, agglomeration, assortment, series; pile, heap, bundle: The entire group of abstract paintings was auctioned at double their estimated value. --v. 3 classify, class, sort, bracket, organize, order, rank, assort, categorize, catalogue: Books are grouped according to subject. 4 collect, assemble, arrange, place, dispose, gather, organize, bring or put together, set apart: Group oversized books together on the lowest shelves.
grovelling | grovelling: adj. obsequious, fawning, toadying, toad-eating, sycophantish, subservient, slavish, servile, submissive, kowtowing, cringing, cowering, truckling, snivelling, scraping, tugging the forelock, abject, crawling, base, low, mean, sordid, Colloq boot-licking, US apple-polishing; Slang brown-nosing, Brit arse-kissing, arse-licking, US ass-kissing, ass-licking: The grovelling coward threw himself to the ground, begging forgiveness.
grow | grow: v. 1 flourish, develop, increase, become larger or greater, enlarge, wax, swell, expand, broaden, thicken, spread, lengthen, multiply, burgeon or bourgeon, thrive, luxuriate, prosper, mature, ripen, bloom, flower, blossom, fructify, bear or yield fruit: The seeds he had planted grew abundantly. The population continues to grow. 2 develop, evolve, arise, issue, stem, spring (up), originate: A great friendship grew out of their association. 3 plant, cultivate, breed, nurture, raise, propagate, produce; sow: Cathcart grows sorghum where he used to grow alfalfa. 4 become, get: I am growing fonder of you every day, Abbie. 5 grow on. get or become accepted by, come or begin to be liked by, to gain or increase in interest or attraction to, become more pleasing to: I didn''t like her at first, but she grows on you. 6 grow up. mature, reach or attain maturity or adulthood, come of age, reach one''s majority: Those who grew up in the Great Depression knew real poverty.
growth | growth: n. 1 development, evolution, evolvement, cultivation, nurturing, increase, expansion, broadening, extension, enlargement, spread, proliferation, flowering: The growth of education was a slow and painful process. 2 vegetation, crop: The area is covered with a dense growth of timber. 3 advance, advancement, success, improvement, expansion, rise, progress: The growth of the economy has slowed down in the last quarter. 4 wen, excrescence, wart, lump, tumour, swelling, intumescence: He developed an ugly growth on his nose.
grudge | grudge: n. 1 bitterness, resentment, rancour, ill will, hard feelings, spite, grievance, pique, dislike, aversion, antipathy, animus, animosity, enmity, venom, malice, malevolence, hatred: He had harboured a grudge against her ever since she was promoted. --v. 2 begrudge, resent, envy, mind, covet: She grudges other people their simple pleasures.
gruesome | gruesome: adj. ghastly, repugnant, horrible, horrid, horrific, horrendous, grisly, hideous, revolting, repellent, repulsive, loathsome, grim, grotesque, macabre, abominable, frightful, frightening, fearsome, shocking, terrible, awful: She told a tale too gruesome to repeat here.
gruff | gruff: adj. 1 surly, crusty, grumpy, curmudgeonly, cantankerous, sour, peevish, churlish, rude, uncivil, bearish, testy, querulous, irritable, cross, petulant, crabbed, irascible, sullen, sulky, bluff, abrupt, curt, blunt, brusque, short, short-tempered, ill-humoured, ill-natured, bad-tempered, stinging, cutting, biting, acerb, acrimonious, acid, caustic, Colloq grouchy, crotchety: It is difficult to work for someone as gruff as he is. 2 throaty, deep, rough, guttural, rasping, low, husky, hoarse, harsh(-sounding): Instantly I recognized father''s gruff voice on the telephone.
