drift

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. pile, heap, deposit; movement, deviation; tendency, meaning.See assemblage, motion, direction. — v. i. proceed aimlessly; pile up.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [A tendency in movement]

Syn. bent, tenor, trend, tendency, end, effort, inclination, course, impulse, impetus, propulsion, aim, scope, tone, goal, push, bias, set, gravity, leaning, progress, conduct, propensity, disposition, bearing, proneness, line, tack, set, spirit; see also direction 1 , route 1 .

Ant. indifference*, aimlessness, inertia.

2. [The measure or character of movement]

Syn. deviation, wash, aberration, motion, leeway, flux, flow, current, stream, diversion, digression, swerving, sweep, warp, departure; see also flow .

3. [General meaning]

Syn. tenor, purport, intention, object; see meaning .

4. [Something blown]

Syn. bank, mass, pile, snowdrift; see heap .

5. [A tunnel following a vein of ore]

Syn. adit, underground passage, subway; see tunnel .

See Synonym Study at tendency . v.

Syn. float, ride, sail, cruise, coast, waft, wander aimlessly, wander at random, move with the current, gravitate, tend, be carried along, go with the tide, be caught in the current, wanderer, roam, rove, stray, go with the flow*, bum around*; see also flow 1 , roam .

Ant. steer*, push, pull.

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

1. heap pile, mound, hill, mass, deposit, bank, dune, accumulation.

2. flow current, course, movement, bearing, direction, trend.

3. meaning gist, intention, purport, tenor, essence, sense.

II

v.

1. heap pile up, mound, mass, deposit, bank, accumulate.

2. wander float, waft, meander, stray, rove, ramble, be borne along by the current/tide/wind.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I verb 1. To move along with or be carried away by the action of water: float, wash. See MOVE. 2. To pass smoothly, quietly, and undisturbed on or as if on a slippery surface: coast, slide. See MOVE. 3. To move about at random, especially over a wide area: gad, gallivant, meander, peregrinate, ramble, range, roam, rove, stray, traipse, wander. See MOVE. 4. To put into a disordered pile: bank1, heap, hill, lump1, mound, pile (up), stack. See ORDER. II noun 1. A group of things gathered haphazardly: agglomeration, bank1, cumulus, heap, hill, mass, mess, mound, mountain, pile, shock2, stack, tumble. See ORDER. 2. Something suggestive of running water: current, flood, flow, flux, rush, spate, stream, surge, tide. See MOVE. 3. The general sense or significance, as of an action or statement: amount, burden2, import, purport, substance, tenor. Idioms: sum and substance, sum total. See MEANING. 4. The thread or current of thought uniting or occurring in all the elements of a text or discourse: aim, burden2, intent, meaning, purport, substance, tendency, tenor, thrust. See MEANING.