This page gathers the 5,691 dictionary entries of which at least one sense is labelled “Figuratively” by Wiktionary. The definition shown is that sense; each word leads to its full entry. Page 8 of 57: from “burnish” to “cat scratch”.
- burnish verb To make (someone or something) appear positive and highly respected.
- burnished adj Blazing, bright.
- bury verb To kill or murder.
- bush league noun A low-ranking or inferior level among groups, professions, organizations, etc.
- bushel noun A large indefinite quantity.
- butcher noun A brutal or indiscriminate killer.
- butchering noun Botching; a botched job.
- butt up verb To be in sharp contrast with; to confront.
- buttoned-up adj Conservative.
- buttress verb To support something or someone by supplying evidence.
- buyer beware phrase Exhortation for the listener to exercise caution.
- buzz verb To fly at high speed and at a very low altitude over (an area), as to make a surprise pass.
- buzz off verb To leave (especially busily), take off, go away.
- by committee adv With any of the results cynically attributed to committee projects, e.g. unnecessary complexity, inconsistency, logical flaws, lack of a…
- by return of post prep_phrase Replying immediately or as soon as possible.
- by the dozen adv In large numbers.
- byground noun A secondary ground or cause.
- byzantine adj Overly complex or intricate, especially of bureaucracy.
- cabinet noun A source of valuable things; a storehouse.
- cachet noun A special characteristic or quality; prestige, especially via association.
- cage verb To restrict someone's movement or creativity.
- cake noun Synonym of pie, the whole of a wealth or resource, to be divided into parts.
- cake-cutting noun A theoretical framework for the fair division of resources which studies algorithms and rules that ensure multiple parties receive a fair…
- calcified adj Made unchanging or inflexible.
- calcify verb To make or become rigid or inflexible; to ossify.
- calcine verb To purify or refine (something).
- calcined adj Purified, refined.
- calends noun The first day of something; a beginning.
- caliber noun Relative size, importance, magnitude.
- call bird noun Anything desirable used to lure somebody.
- call for verb To request, demand.
- call to arms noun An appeal to undertake a particular course of action or to support a specific cause; a call to action.
- calling card noun An attribute, symptom, object, or behavior which is distinctly characteristic of someone or something.
- callous adj Emotionally hardened; unfeeling and indifferent to the suffering/feelings of others.
- callow adj Lacking life experience; immature, inexperienced, naive; also, of or relating to something immature or inexperienced.
- calvary noun A strenuous experience.
- calve verb To shed a large piece.
- can-kicking noun The act or habit of avoiding or postponing a decision or action.
- cancer noun Something damaging that spreads throughout something else.
- cancerous adj Growing or spreading rapidly to the point of harm.
- candidate noun A person who is thought likely or worthy to gain a position or privilege.
- candied adj Pleasing, flattering.
- candify verb To make sweet or saccharine at the expense of serious meaning.
- cankered adj Corrupted; morally corrupt.
- cankerworm noun A corrupting or destructive force.
- cannibalism noun An act in which one thing consumes or takes over another of the same kind.
- cannon noun The arm of a player who can throw well.
- cannonade noun A loud noise like a cannonade; a booming.
- cannonball noun Something that moves fast, especially a fast train.
- canonize verb To regard as a saint; to glorify, to exalt to the highest honour.
- canoodle verb To cajole or persuade (someone).
- canvas noun A basis for creative work.
- canvass verb To thoroughly examine or investigate (something) physically or by discussion; to debate, to gather opinion, to scrutinize.
- cap verb To conclude; to make something even more wonderful at the end.
- capacious adj Capable, able.
- CAPCOM noun A company or work whose quality, style, aesthetic, gameplay, etc. are similar to those associated with the Japanese video game company…
- caper noun A crime, especially an elaborate heist, or a narrative about such a crime.
- capillation noun A sympathetic tendency to move towards something
- capstone noun A crowning achievement, culmination or finishing touch.
- capsule noun in a brief, condensed or compact form
- capsulize verb To make into a concise form; to encapsulate.
- captivate adj Made captive; taken prisoner; captured, subdued.
- captive noun One charmed or subdued by beauty, excellence, or affection; one who is captivated.
- capture verb To take hold of.
- Capulet noun A member or citizen of the family, party, or country of the wife in a Romeo and Juliet couple and/or one of a pair of feuding groups, the…
- car crash noun A mess or disaster, especially one that attracts a lot of attention.
- car park noun A road with serious traffic congestion preventing the movement of vehicles.
- carapace noun That which protects.
- carbonado verb To make a carbonado of; to score and broil.
- card noun An attraction or inducement.
- cardboard noun Something flat or insubstantial.
- cardboard cut-out noun A character in a movie, book, or other work who is depicted as inauthentic, generic, or one-dimensional.
- cargo cult noun Any of several philosophies, practices or pseudosciences that are not rooted in experiment, often characterized by an unreflected and…
- carnage noun Any great loss by a team; a game in which one team wins overwhelmingly.
- carnival noun A gaudily chaotic situation.
- carpet noun Any surface or cover resembling a carpet or fulfilling its function.
- carrion noun Corrupt or horrid matter.
- carrot noun Any motivational tool; an incentive to do something.
- carry over verb To transfer.
- cartography noun An illustrative discussion of a topic.
- carve verb To take or make, as by cutting; to provide.
- carve out verb To create (a reputation, chance, role, rank, career, victory) by hard work, or as if by cutting.
- cascade noun A stream or sequence of a thing or things occurring as if falling like a cascade.
- case-hardened adj Hardened by experience.
- casebook adj Having the typical characteristics of some class of phenomenon; a textbook example.
- cash in verb To profit from something; to take advantage of an opportunity in order to profit, especially financially; to capitalize on.
- cash machine noun Any person or thing alleged to be an easy source of cash.
- cast a shadow verb To dampen future events.
- cast anchor verb To take up a position.
- cast iron adj Durable; tough; resilient.
- cast over verb To spread a sense of doom about a subject
- cast-iron stomach noun An exceptionally strong and resilient digestive system capable of consuming almost almost any type of food or drink without becoming ill or…
- castle verb To protect or separate in a similar way.
- castlebuilder noun Someone who builds castles in the air; someone who has overly visionary aspirations.
- castlebuilding noun Daydreaming.
- castrate verb To take something from; to render imperfect or ineffectual.
- castration noun Any act that removes power from a person (particularly a man) or entity.
- cat noun An angry or spiteful person, especially a woman.
- cat in the pan noun A reversal of a position.
- cat scratch noun A shallow self-harm cut or scar that reaches the epidermis.