Collins Primary Thesaurus. Collins Dictionaries

NOUN

      A company is a business that sells goods or provides a service.

      business

      My father runs an electrical business.

      corporation

      Mrs Fletcher’s tiny company belongs to a huge global corporation.

      firm

      Mum’s firm is paying for her to go on a management course.

      competition NOUN

      A competition is an event in which people take part to find out who is the best at something.

      championship

      Wimbledon is a famous tennis championship.

      contest

      The two villages faced each other in a tug-of-war contest.

      event

      The Olympic Games is the world’s leading sporting event.

      tournament

      Our school entered two teams in the Under-11 netball tournament.

      complain VERB

      If you complain, you say that you are not happy about something.

      bleat

      Sam kept bleating that he had lost his pen.

      fuss

      The customer was fussing over a minute mark on the desk.

      grouse

      “It’s no good grousing now. You had your chance and didn’t take it,” said Gran.

      grumble

      Mum always grumbles about the dreadful state of my room.

      moan

      All my big sister ever does is moan!

      whinge

      The millionaire rock star was always whingeing about how unfair life is.

      complete (1) ADJECTIVE

      If something is complete, none of it is missing.

      entire

      At the end, the entire cast took a bow.

      full

      “Pay me the full amount now,” the greedy landlord insisted.

      whole

      “I swear to tell the whole truth,” the witness declared to the court.

      complete (2) ADJECTIVE

      Complete can mean to the greatest degree possible.

      absolute

      “You’re talking absolute rubbish,” the major replied to the private.

      sheer

      The winning jockey leapt off his horse in sheer joy.

      thorough

      The disobedient little girl made a thorough nuisance of herself.

      utter

      Chander felt an utter fool dressed as a clown.

      complete (3) VERB

      If you complete something, you finish it.

      conclude

      Professor Boffin concluded his talk and then asked if there were any questions.

      end

      The crowd was in tears as he ended his speech.

      finalize

      The airline staff finalized arrangements for the plane to take off.

      finish

      When Gran had finished her tea she turned on the radio.

      round off

      We rounded off our day out with a delicious meal in a steakhouse.

      wrap up INFORMAL

      “OK, darlings, we’ll wrap it up for today,” the film director announced.

      ANTONYM: begin

      completely ADVERB

      Completely can mean totally, absolutely and utterly.

      absolutely

      By the end of the sponsored swim, Kalil was absolutely exhausted.

      entirely

      “I entirely agree with you,” put in Kaylee.

      fully

      The new manager said he was fully committed to the club and the team.

      totally

      Fire totally destroyed the pier buildings.

      utterly

      You could see by the expression on her face that Isha was utterly fed up.

      complicated ADJECTIVE

      Something that is complicated has so many parts or aspects that it is difficult to understand or deal with.

      complex

      It was a complex engine, which my brother struggled to understand.

      elaborate

      Blofeld had spent years on an elaborate plan for world domination.

      intricate

      Clock mechanisms are too intricate for you or me to tamper with.

      ANTONYMS: simple or straightforward

      computer NOUN

      A computer is an electronic machine that can store and deal with large amounts of information.

      Some types of computer:

      desktop

      iPad™

      laptop

      Mac™

      notebook

      PC (personal computer)

      tablet

      concentrate VERB

      If you concentrate on something, you give it all your attention.

      apply yourself to

      Previously lazy, Watkins now applied himself to his work and did well in the exam.

      be engrossed in

      My sister was so engrossed in some telly programme, she failed to see me sneaking up.

      focus on

      “Today, we are going to focus on fractions,” Mrs Abrahams said, to a chorus of groans.

      pay attention to

      “Pay attention to what I’m saying, Jamie,” said Dani. “It’s important.”

      condition NOUN

      The condition of someone or something is the state they are in.

      fitness

      Army doctors examine the fitness of soldiers each year.

      order

      The television was in good working order when we sold it.

      shape

      My grandad is in pretty good shape for a man of 75 – he still goes for a run every morning.

      state

      “Just look at the state of your trousers!” my stepmum sighed.

      confess VERB

      If you confess to something, you admit that you did it.

      admit

      After questioning, the suspect admitted she had stolen the bag.

      come clean INFORMAL