Dictionary of the month: Oxford Learner's Thesaurus

Dictionary of the month: Oxford Learner's Thesaurus

A dictionary of synonyms and opposites that helps learners of English distinguish between similar words and use them correctly.

No two words are exactly the same. The Oxford Learner's Thesaurus groups words with similar meanings and explains the differences between them. It helps students find the right words so they can say exactly what they mean when both speaking and writing. 

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The Oxford Learner's Thesaurus enables students to understand the differences between similar words in written and spoken English. 

How? Well, each entry has a group of 3-10 near synonyms. Each synonym in the group is clearly explained in terms of meaning, grammar, and register plus an example sentence showing how it is used. 

There are even notes which highlight and explain synonyms that are particularly close in meaning or easily confused, to help students make the right choice. 

For example, it will help students understand the differences between familiar words such as easy and simple while learning words they may not know such as effortless, painless, and plain sailing. 

All in all the Oxford Learner's Thesaurus helps students find the right words so they can say exactly what they mean and makes their writing worth reading because they have a richer vocabulary to draw on.

НАПРИМЕР, СТАТЬЯ SUCCEED

Из словаря Oxford Learner's Thesaurus
succeed

succeed verb 



succeed • make it • make your/a mark • achieve • arrive • make a name for yourself • conquer • get on 

These words all mean to be or become successful, especially in your career or in a particular area of activity. 

PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS 

>> to succeed/make it/make your mark/make a name for yourself/get on in sth 

>> to succeed/make it/make your mark/arrive/make a name for yourself as sth 

>> to make your mark/make a name for yourself by doing sth 



succeed [ I ] 

to be successful in your career, earning money, power and/or respect 

You will have to work hard if you are to succeed. • She doesn't have the ruthlessness to succeed in business. 

The engineering career structure worked against women succeeding. • He had hoped to succeed as a violinist. • They are being given the confidence and motivation to succeed academically. • We are looking for individuals with a determination to succeed. 

OPP fail => fail 2 

See also succeed => achieve , success => success 



make it idiom made , made ( rather informal ) 

to be successful in your career 

You can make it if you believe in yourself. • He never really made it as an actor. 

You have to be something special if you're going to make it in this profession. 



make your mark , make a mark idiom made , made ( rather informal ) 

to become famous and successful in a particular area 

She has already made her mark on the music industry. 

She quickly made her mark as a film director. • This was perhaps his final chance to make his mark in politics. • He was a young lawyer, keen to make his mark by taking on the local crime boss. 



achieve [ I ] 

to be successful in a particular area, especially in your studies 

Their background gives them little chance of achieving at school. 

These students need to achieve academically in order to enter the labour market. 

See also achieve => achieve 



arrive [ I ] ( usually used in the phrase sb has/had arrived ) ( informal ) 

to become successful in a particular area 

He knew he had arrived when he was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. 

The lad has arrived as a Premiership goalkeeper. 



make a name for yourself idiom made , made ( rather informal ) 

to become famous and gain a reputation 

She's made quite a name for herself. 

He ran away to sea at fifteen and made a name for himself as a fist fighter. • The environmental group had already made a name for itself by chasing whalers on the high seas. • He quickly made a name for himself with his performances at the local theatre. 

See also name => reputation 



conquer [ T ] ( rather informal ) 

to become very popular or successful in a particular place 

The band is now setting out to conquer the world . • This is a British film which could conquer the US market . 



get on phrasal verb getting , got , got ( BrE , rather informal ) 

to be successful in your career 

Parents are always anxious for their children to get on. • I don't know how he's going to get on in life . 



NOTE make it or get on? Make it often suggests that there is there is one critical moment or achievement in sb's career, at which point you can tell whether they have been successful or not; it also suggests that success depends on talent and self-belief. Get on suggests a more gradual process of becoming successful through hard work.