swimming
1410
swim•ming /'swɪm-
swɪm-/ n [U] skill in fight-
swims; Swim-
club | wr
'swim
and watches.
is famous for its
swordsmen
NEAR
ast participle of SWEAR
and with no possibility of changing:
es.
BrE || grind AmE — n infml derog someone
rd at their studies, especially when trying
ination results, and seems to have no other
in.
swot²
|| cram AmE — [I] infml to study hard
swot sthge up phr v [T] BrE infml to work hard in order to
learn (a subject one is studying), usually before an examina-
tion: She's swotting up her French irregular verbs.
SWP /es dʌbəlju: 'pi:/ abbrev. for Socialist Workers
Party a British political party that is very LEFT-WING. It is
known for producing a newspaper called Socialist Worker,
which is sold by its members on the street, and for always
being involved in political DEMONSTRATIONS (=when a big
crowd of people publicly protest about something).
swum /swʌm/ past participle of SWIM
swung/swʌŋ/past tense & participle of SWING
Sy-al, Mee-ra /'saɪəl, 'miːərə/ (1963-) a British actress and
writer whose family originally came from India. Her novels
include Anita and Me. She also appeared in the popular UK
television comedy programmes Goodness Gracious Me and
The Kumars at No 42. Her comedy typically makes fun of
Asian people who are living in the UK, but in a kind rather
than unkind way.
syb-a-rite /'sɪbəraɪt/ n fml or lit a person who lives a life of
pleasure in extremely comfortable surroundings
syb-a-rit-ic /ˌsɪbə'rɪtɪk/ adj fml or lit of or like a sybarite: She
found happiness, and a sybaritic new life in the sun.
syc-a-more /'sɪkəmɔːr/ n 1 a European tree with fairly
large five-pointed leaves and seeds that float to the ground
on wing-like parts 2 an American PLANE TREE
syc.o.phant/'sɪkəfænt/ n fml derog a person who FLATTERS
(=praises insincerely) those in positions of power in order to
gain personal advantage: The President surrounded himself
with sycophants. → -ic /ˌsɪkə'fæntɪk/ adj: 'Of course, you're
absolutely right,' he said with a sycophantic smile.
Syd-en-ham's chore-a/ˌsɪdənæm kɔː'riːəl-kə-/➤see
SAINT VITUS'S DANCE
Sydney Opera House
Syd-ney /'sɪdni/ the largest city in Australia, which is the
capital of the state of New South Wales and an important
financial, industrial, and educational centre. It is known
especially for the Sydney Harbour Bridge and for the Sydney
Opera House, an unusual modern building that is greatly
admired. The Olympic Games were held in Sydney in 2000.
→ see picture at AUSTRALIA
syl-lab-ic /sɪ'læbɪk/ adj tech having or forming one or more
syllables: 'N' is a syllabic consonant in 'button'.
syl-la-ble /'sɪləbəl/ n a word or part of a word which
contains a vowel sound or a consonant acting as a vowel:
There are two syllables in 'window': 'win-' and '-dow'.
syl·la·bub, sil- /'sɪləbʌb/ n [C;U] a dish made of sweetened
cream or milk mixed with wine and usually egg whites
syl-la-bus /'sɪləbəs/ n pl. -buses or bi /baɪ/ an arrangement
of subjects for study over a period of time, especially a
course of studies leading to an examination: I see 'Hamlet' is
on this year's syllabus for the English literature exam. ➤
compare CURRICULUM
syl-lo-gis-m /'sɪlədɪzəm/ n tech (in LOGIC) a reasoned argu-
ment in which there are two statements which must lead to a
third statement (as in 'all men will one day die; Socrates is a
man; therefore one day Socrates will die') —gistic
/ˌsɪlə'dɪstɪk/adj
sylph /sɪlf/ n 1 a graceful SLENDER woman or girl 2 accord-
ing to old stories, a spirit of the air ➔ compare NYMPH
sylph-like /'sɪlf-lɑːrk/ adj especially lit or humor (of a woman or
her body) attractively thin and graceful: her sylphlike figure
syl-van, sil- /'sɪlvən/ adj [A] lit or poet of or in woods and the
country: a sylvan glade
sym-bi-o-sis /ˌsɪmbaɪˈoʊsɪs, -bi-/ n [U] fml or tech the condi-
tion of two different living things which depend on each
other for certain advantages, often with one living on the
other's body: This bird lives in symbiosis with cattle; it picks
insects from their skin to eat. —otic /-ˈɑtɪk◂/ ||-ˈɑːtɪk/adj: a
symbiotic relationship
symbols
washable
hand wash     dry cleaning
do not wash
in water
cool iron
do not iron
sym-bol /'sɪmbəl/ n 1 [(of)] something which represents or
suggests something else, such as an idea or quality: In the
picture the tree is the symbol of life and the snake the symbol
of evil. | The flag of the occupying army was regarded by the
people as a symbol of oppression. | The dove is a symbol of
peace. ➔ compare EMBLEM 2 [(for)] á letter, sign, or figure
which expresses a sound, operation, number, chemical sub-
stance etc: 'H₂O' is the symbol for water. | According to the
symbol on the label, this sweater should be washed by hand.
We use phonetic symbols as a guide to pronunciation in this
dictionary.
sym•bol•ic /ˌsɪmˈbɑlɪk || -ˈbɑːr-/ also sym-bol-i-cal /-ɪkəl/ adj
[(of)] of, being, or using a symbol: a symbolic painting | The
snake is symbolic of evil. —ally /kli/ adv
sym-bol-is-m /'sɪmbəlɪzəm/ n [U] the use of symbols,
especially in literature, painting, films etc: a novel full of
religious symbolism
sym-bol-ize also -ise BrE /'sɪmbəlaɪz/ v [T] 1 to be a symbol
of: A wedding ring symbolizes the union of husband and
wife. 2 to represent by one or more symbols —ization
/ˌsɪmbələˈzeɪʃən || -bəlǝ-/ n [U]
sym•met•ri•cal
/sɪ'metrkəl/
/sɪ'metrɪk/ adj having both sides exactly alike: The human
face is more or less symmetrical. ➔ opposite ASYMMETRIC
—ly /kli/ adv
also sym•met•rica
sym-me-try /'sɪmɪtri/ n [U] 1 exact likeness in size, shape
form etc, between the opposite sides of something ➔ oppo-
site ASYMMETRICAL 2 an effect of pleasing balance: We
admired the symmetry of the building's design/of the paint-
ing.
sym-pa-thet•ic /ˌsɪmpəˈθetɪk/ adj 1 feeling or showing
sympathy: She was very sympathetic when my mother
died. 2 [F(to, towards)] showing (a willingness to give) agree-
ment or approval: They were quite sympathetic to our
proposals. | They promised to give our suggestions a sympa-
thetic hearing. 3 pleasant; similar to what one likes or wants
CONGENIAL: a sympathetic atmosphere at the party - ally
/kli/ adv
sympathetic 'magic n. [U] magic in which an action
performed in one place is thought to cause or influence a
similar event in another place