Synonyms, Antonyms and Prepositions (part 1)

Part I.

Abandon.

Synonyms:

abdicate, desert, leave, resign,

abjure, discontinue, quit, retire from,

cast off, forego, recant, retract,

cease, forsake, relinquish, surrender,

cede, forswear, renounce, vacate,

depart from, give up, repudiate, withdraw from.

Abandon is a word of wide signification, applying to persons or things of any kind; abdicate and resign apply to office, authority, or power; cede to territorial possessions; surrender especially to military force, and more generally to any demand, claim, passion, etc. Quit carries an idea of suddenness or abruptness not necessarily implied in abandon, and may not have the same suggestion of finality. The king abdicates his throne, cedes his territory, deserts his followers, renounces his religion, relinquishes his titles, abandons his designs. A cowardly officer deserts his ship; the helpless passengers abandon it. We quit business, give up property, resign office, abandon a habit or a trust. Relinquish commonly implies reluctance; the fainting hand relinquishes its grasp; the creditor relinquishes his claim. Abandon implies previous association with responsibility for or control of; forsake implies previous association with inclination or attachment, real or assumed; a man may abandon or forsake house or friends; he abandons an enterprise; forsakes God. Abandon is applied to both good and evil action; a thief abandons his designs, a man his principles. Forsake, like abandon, may be used either in the favorable or unfavorable sense; desert is always unfavorable, involving a breach of duty, except when used of mere localities; as, "the Deserted Village." While a monarch abdicates, a president or other elected or appointed officer resigns. It was held that James II. abdicated his throne by deserting it.

Antonyms:

adopt, defend, occupy, seek,

advocate, favor, prosecute, support,

assert, haunt, protect, undertake,

cherish, hold, pursue, uphold,

claim, keep, retain, vindicate.

court, maintain,

Abase.

Synonyms:

bring low, depress, dishonor, lower,

cast down, discredit, humble, reduce,

debase, disgrace, humiliate, sink.

degrade,

Abase refers only to outward conditions. "Exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high." Ezek. xxi, 26. Debase applies to quality or character. The coinage is debased by excess of alloy, the man by vice. Humble in present use refers chiefly to feeling of heart; humiliate to outward conditions; even when one is said to humble himself, he either has or affects to have humility of heart. To disgrace may be to bring or inflict odium upon others, but the word is chiefly and increasingly applied to such moral odium as one by his own acts brings upon himself; the noun disgrace retains more of the passive sense than the verb; he disgraced himself by his conduct; he brought disgrace upon his family. To dishonor a person is to deprive him of honor that should or might be given. To discredit one is to injure his reputation, as for veracity or solvency. A sense of unworthiness humbles; a shameful insult humiliates; imprisonment for crime disgraces. Degrade may refer to either station or character. An officer is degraded by being reduced to the ranks, disgraced by cowardice; vile practises degrade; drunkenness is a degrading vice. Misfortune or injustice may abase the good; nothing but their own ill-doing can debase or disgrace them.

Antonyms:

advance, elevate, honor, raise,

aggrandize, exalt, promote, uplift.

dignify,

Abash.

Synonyms:

bewilder, daunt, embarrass, mortify,

chagrin, discompose, humble, overawe,

confound, disconcert, humiliate, shame.

confuse, dishearten,

Any sense of inferiority abashes, with or without the sense of wrong. The poor are abashed at the splendor of wealth, the ignorant at the learning of the wise. "I might have been abashed by their authority." Gladstone Homeric Synchron., p. 72. [H. '76.] To confuse is to bring into a state of mental bewilderment; to confound is to overwhelm the mental faculties; to daunt is to subject to a certain degree of fear. Embarrass is a strong word, signifying primarily hamper, hinder, impede. A solitary thinker may be confused by some difficulty in a subject, or some mental defect; one is embarrassed in the presence of others, and because of their presence. Confusion is of the intellect, embarrassment of the feelings. A witness may be embarrassed by annoying personalities, so as to become confused in statements. To mortify a person is to bring upon him a painful sense of humiliation, whether because of his own or another's fault or failure. A pupil is confused by a perplexing question, a general confounded by overwhelming defeat. A hostess is discomposed by the tardiness of guests, a speaker disconcerted by a failure of memory. The criminal who is not abashed at detection may be daunted by the officer's weapon. Sudden joy may bewilder, but will not abash. The true worshiper is humbled rather than abashed before God. The parent is mortified by the child's rudeness, the child abashed at the parent's reproof. The embarrassed speaker finds it difficult to proceed. The mob is overawed by the military, the hypocrite shamed by exposure. "A man whom no denial, no scorn could abash." Fielding Amelia bk. iii, ch. 9, p. 300. [B. & S. '71.] Compare CHAGRIN; HINDER.

Antonyms:

animate, cheer, encourage, rally,

buoy, embolden, inspirit, uphold.

Abate.

Synonyms:

decline, ebb, mitigate, reduce,

decrease, lessen, moderate, subside.

diminish, lower,

The storm, the fever, the pain abates. Interest declines. Misfortunes may be mitigated, desires moderated, intense anger abated, population decreased, taxes reduced. We abate a nuisance, terminate a controversy, suppress a rebellion. See ALLEVIATE.

Antonyms:

aggravate, enhance, foment, rage,

amplify, enlarge, increase, raise,

continue, extend, magnify, revive.

develop,

Prepositions:

Abate in fury; abated by law.

Abbreviation.

Synonyms:

abridgment, contraction.

An abbreviation is a shortening by any method; a contraction is a reduction of size by the drawing together of the parts. A contraction of a word is made by omitting certain letters or syllables and bringing together the first and last letters or elements; an abbreviation may be made either by omitting certain portions from the interior or by cutting off a part; a contraction is an abbreviation, but an abbreviation is not necessarily a contraction; rec't for receipt, mdse. for merchandise, and Dr. for debtor are contractions; they are also abbreviations; Am. for American is an abbreviation, but not a contraction. Abbreviation and contraction are used of words and phrases, abridgment of books, paragraphs, sentences, etc. Compare ABRIDGMENT.

Abet.

Synonyms:

advocate, countenance, incite, sanction,

aid, embolden, instigate, support,

assist, encourage, promote, uphold.

Abet and instigate are now used almost without exception in a bad sense; one may incite either to good or evil. One incites or instigates to the doing of something not yet done, or to increased activity or further advance in the doing of it; one abets by giving sympathy, countenance, or substantial aid to the doing of that which is already projected or in process of commission. Abet and instigate apply either to persons or actions, incite to persons only; one incites a person to an action. A clergyman will advocate the claims of justice, aid the poor, encourage the despondent, support the weak, uphold the constituted authorities; but he will not incite to a quarrel, instigate a riot, or abet a crime. The originator of a crime often instigates or incites others to abet him in it, or one may instigate or incite others to a crime in the commission of which he himself takes no active part. Compare HELP.

Antonyms:

baffle, deter, dissuade, hinder,

confound, disapprove, expose, impede,

counteract, disconcert, frustrate, obstruct.

denounce, discourage,

Abhor.

Synonyms:

abominate, dislike, loathe, scorn,

despise, hate, nauseate, shun.

detest,

Abhor is stronger than despise, implying a shuddering recoil, especially a moral recoil. "How many shun evil as inconvenient who do not abhor it as hateful." Trench Serm. in Westm. Abbey xxvi, 297. [M.] Detest expresses indignation, with something of contempt. Loathe implies disgust, physical or moral. We abhor a traitor, despise a coward, detest a liar. We dislike an uncivil person. We abhor cruelty, hate tyranny. We loathe a reptile or a flatterer. We abhor Milton's heroic Satan, but we can not despise him.

Antonyms:

admire, crave, esteem, love,

approve, desire, like, relish.

covet, enjoy,

Abide.

Synonyms:

anticipate, dwell, remain, stop,

await, endure, reside, tarry,

bear, expect, rest, tolerate,

bide, inhabit, sojourn, wait,

confront, live, stay, watch.

continue, lodge,

To abide is to remain continuously without limit of time unless expressed by the context: "to-day I must abide at thy house," Luke xix, 5; "a settled place for thee to abide in forever," 1 Kings viii, 13; "Abide with me! fast falls the eventide," Lyte Hymn. Lodge, sojourn, stay, tarry, and wait always imply a limited time; lodge, to pass the night; sojourn, to remain temporarily; live, dwell, reside, to have a permanent home. Stop, in the sense of stay or sojourn, is colloquial, and not in approved use. Compare ENDURE; REST.

Antonyms:

abandon, forfeit, migrate, reject,

avoid, forfend, move, resist,

depart, journey, proceed, shun.

Prepositions:

Abide in a place, for a time, with a person, by a statement.

Abolish.

Synonyms:

abate, eradicate, prohibit, stamp out,

abrogate, exterminate, remove, subvert,

annihilate, extirpate, repeal, supplant,

annul, nullify, reverse, suppress,

destroy, obliterate, revoke, terminate.

end, overthrow, set aside,

Abolish, to do away with, bring absolutely to an end, especially as something hostile, hindering, or harmful, was formerly used of persons and material objects, a usage now obsolete except in poetry or highly figurative speech. Abolish is now used of institutions, customs, and conditions, especially those wide-spread and long existing; as, to abolish slavery, ignorance, intemperance, poverty. A building that is burned to the ground is said to be destroyed by fire. Annihilate, as a philosophical term, signifies to put absolutely out of existence. As far as our knowledge goes, matter is never annihilated, but only changes its form. Some believe that the wicked will be annihilated. Abolish is not said of laws. There we use repeal, abrogate, nullify, etc.: repeal by the enacting body, nullify by revolutionary proceedings; a later statute abrogates, without formally repealing, any earlier law with which it conflicts. An appellate court may reverse or set aside the decision of an inferior court. Overthrow may be used in either a good or a bad sense; suppress is commonly in a good, subvert always in a bad sense; as, to subvert our liberties; to suppress a rebellion. The law prohibits what may never have existed; it abolishes an existing evil. We abate a nuisance, terminate a controversy. Compare CANCEL; DEMOLISH; EXTERMINATE.

Antonyms:

authorize, establish, reinstate, revive,

cherish, institute, renew, set up,

confirm, introduce, repair, support,

continue, legalize, restore, sustain.

enact, promote,

Abomination.

Synonyms:

abhorrence, curse, hatred, plague,

abuse, detestation, horror, shame,

annoyance, disgust, iniquity, villainy,

aversion, evil, nuisance, wickedness.

crime, execration, offense,

Abomination (from the L. ab omen, a thing of ill omen) was originally applied to anything held in religious or ceremonial aversion or abhorrence; as, "The things which are highly esteemed among men are abomination in the sight of God." Luke xvi, 15. The word is oftener applied to the object of such aversion or abhorrence than to the state of mind that so regards it; in common use abomination signifies something very much disliked or loathed, or that deserves to be. Choice food may be an object of aversion and disgust to a sick person; vile food would be an abomination. A toad is to many an object of disgust; a foul sewer is an abomination. As applied to crimes, abomination is used of such as are especially brutal, shameful, or revolting; theft is an offense; infanticide is an abomination.

Antonyms:

affection, blessing, enjoyment, joy,

appreciation, delight, esteem, satisfaction,

approval, desire, gratification, treat.

benefit,

Abridgment.

Synonyms:

abbreviation, compend, epitome, summary,

abstract, compendium, outline, synopsis.

analysis, digest,

An abridgment gives the most important portions of a work substantially as they stand. An outline or synopsis is a kind of sketch closely following the plan. An abstract or digest is an independent statement of what the book contains. An analysis draws out the chief thoughts or arguments, whether expressed or implied. A summary is the most condensed statement of results or conclusions. An epitome, compend, or compendium is a condensed view of a subject, whether derived from a previous publication or not. We may have an abridgment of a dictionary, but not an analysis, abstract, digest, or summary. We may have an epitome of religion, a compendium of English literature, but not an abridgment. Compare ABBREVIATION.

Absolute.

Synonyms:

arbitrary, compulsory, haughty, peremptory,

arrogant, controlling, imperative, positive,

authoritative, despotic, imperious, supreme,

autocratic, dictatorial, irresponsible, tyrannical,

coercive, dogmatic, lordly, unconditional,

commanding, domineering, overbearing, unequivocal.

compulsive, exacting,

In the strict sense, absolute, free from all limitation or control, and supreme, superior to all, can not properly be said of any being except the divine. Both words are used, however, in a modified sense, of human authorities; absolute then signifying free from limitation by other authority, and supreme exalted over all other; as, an absolute monarch, the supreme court. Absolute, in this use, does not necessarily carry any unfavorable sense, but as absolute power in human hands is always abused, the unfavorable meaning predominates. Autocratic power knows no limits outside the ruler's self; arbitrary power, none outside the ruler's will or judgment, arbitrary carrying the implication of wilfulness and capriciousness. Despotic is commonly applied to a masterful or severe use of power, which is expressed more decidedly by tyrannical. Arbitrary may be used in a good sense; as, the pronunciation of proper names is arbitrary; but the bad sense is the prevailing one; as, an arbitrary proceeding. Irresponsible power is not necessarily bad, but eminently dangerous; an executor or trustee should not be irresponsible; an irresponsible ruler is likely to be tyrannical. A perfect ruler might be irresponsible and not tyrannical. Authoritative is used always in a good sense, implying the right to claim authority; imperative, peremptory, and positive are used ordinarily in the good sense; as, an authoritative definition; an imperative demand; a peremptory command; positive instructions; imperious signifies assuming and determined to command, rigorously requiring obedience. An imperious demand or requirement may have in it nothing offensive; it is simply one that resolutely insists upon compliance, and will not brook refusal; an arrogant demand is offensive by its tone of superiority, an arbitrary demand by its unreasonableness; an imperious disposition is liable to become arbitrary and arrogant. A person of an independent spirit is inclined to resent an imperious manner in any one, especially in one whose superiority is not clearly recognized. Commanding is always used in a good sense; as, a commanding appearance; a commanding eminence. Compare DOGMATIC; INFINITE; PERFECT.

Antonyms:

accountable, constitutional, gentle, lowly, responsible,

complaisant, contingent, humble, meek, submissive,

compliant, docile, lenient, mild, yielding.

conditional, ductile, limited,

Absolve.

Synonyms:

acquit, exculpate, forgive, pardon,

clear, exempt, free, release,

discharge, exonerate, liberate, set free.

To absolve, in the strict sense, is to set free from any bond. One may be absolved from a promise by a breach of faith on the part of one to whom the promise was made. To absolve from sins is formally to remit their condemnation and penalty, regarded as a bond upon the soul. "Almighty God ... pardoneth and absolveth all those who truly repent, and unfeignedly believe his holy Gospel." Book of Common Prayer, Declar. of Absol. To acquit of sin or crime is to free from the accusation of it, pronouncing one guiltless; the innocent are rightfully acquitted; the guilty may be mercifully absolved. Compare PARDON.

Antonyms:

accuse, charge, condemn, impeach, obligate,

bind, compel, convict, inculpate, oblige.

Preposition:

One is absolved from (rarely of) a promise, a sin, etc.

Absorb.

Synonyms:

consume, engross, suck up, take in,

drink in, exhaust, swallow, take up.

drink up, imbibe, swallow up,

A fluid that is absorbed is taken up into the mass of the absorbing body, with which it may or may not permanently combine. Wood expands when it absorbs moisture, iron when it absorbs heat, the substance remaining perhaps otherwise substantially unchanged; quicklime, when it absorbs water, becomes a new substance with different qualities, hydrated or slaked lime. A substance is consumed which is destructively appropriated by some other substance, being, or agency, so that it ceases to exist or to be recognized as existing in its original condition; fuel is consumed in the fire, food in the body; consume is also applied to whatever is removed from the market for individual use; as, silk and woolen goods are consumed. A great talker engrosses the conversation. A credulous person swallows the most preposterous statement. A busy student imbibes or drinks in knowledge; he is absorbed in a subject that takes his whole attention. "I only postponed it because I happened to get absorbed in a book." Kane Grinnell Exped. ch. 43, page 403. [H. '54.]

Antonyms:

cast out, dissipate, emit, put forth, shoot forth,

disgorge, distract, exude, radiate, throw off,

disperse, eject, give up, send out, vomit.

Prepositions:

Plants absorb moisture from the air; the student is absorbed in thought; nutriment may be absorbed into the system through the skin.

Abstinence.

Synonyms:

abstemiousness, frugality, self-denial, sobriety,

continence, moderation, self-restraint, temperance.

fasting, self-control,

Abstinence from food commonly signifies going without; abstemiousness, partaking moderately; abstinence may be for a single occasion, abstemiousness is habitual moderation. Self-denial is giving up what one wishes; abstinence may be refraining from what one does not desire. Fasting is abstinence from food for a limited time, and generally for religious reasons. Sobriety and temperance signify maintaining a quiet, even temper by moderate indulgence in some things, complete abstinence from others. We speak of temperance in eating, but of abstinence from vice. Total abstinence has come to signify the entire abstaining from intoxicating liquors.

Antonyms:

drunkenness, greed, reveling, sensuality,

excess, intemperance, revelry, wantonness.

gluttony, intoxication, self-indulgence,

Preposition:

The negative side of virtue is abstinence from vice.

Abstract, v.

Synonyms:

appropriate, distract, purloin, steal,

detach, divert, remove, take away,

discriminate, eliminate, separate, withdraw.

distinguish,

The central idea of withdrawing makes abstract in common speech a euphemism for appropriate (unlawfully), purloin, steal. In mental processes we discriminate between objects by distinguishing their differences; we separate some one element from all that does not necessarily belong to it, abstract it, and view it alone. We may separate two ideas, and hold both in mind in comparison or contrast; but when we abstract one of them, we drop the other out of thought. The mind is abstracted when it is withdrawn from all other subjects and concentrated upon one, diverted when it is drawn away from what it would or should attend to by some other interest, distracted when the attention is divided among different subjects, so that it can not be given properly to any. The trouble with the distracted person is that he is not abstracted. Compare DISCERN.

Antonyms:

add, complete, fill up, restore, unite.

combine, conjoin, increase, strengthen,

Prepositions:

The purse may be abstracted from the pocket; the substance from the accidents; a book into a compend.

Abstracted.

Synonyms:

absent, heedless, listless, preoccupied,

absent-minded, inattentive, negligent, thoughtless.

absorbed, indifferent, oblivious,

As regards mental action, absorbed, abstracted, and preoccupied refer to the cause, absent or absent-minded to the effect. The man absorbed in one thing will appear absent in others. A preoccupied person may seem listless and thoughtless, but the really listless and thoughtless have not mental energy to be preoccupied. The absent-minded man is oblivious of ordinary matters, because his thoughts are elsewhere. One who is preoccupied is intensely busy in thought; one may be absent-minded either through intense concentration or simply through inattention, with fitful and aimless wandering of thought. Compare ABSTRACT.

Antonyms:

alert, on hand, ready, wide-awake.

attentive, prompt, thoughtful,

Absurd.

Synonyms:

anomalous, ill-considered, ludicrous, ridiculous,

chimerical, ill-judged, mistaken, senseless,

erroneous, inconclusive, monstrous, stupid,

false, incorrect, nonsensical, unreasonable,

foolish, infatuated, paradoxical, wild.

ill-advised, irrational, preposterous,

That is absurd which is contrary to the first principles of reasoning; as, that a part should be greater than the whole is absurd. A paradoxical statement appears at first thought contradictory or absurd, while it may be really true. Anything is irrational when clearly contrary to sound reason, foolish when contrary to practical good sense, silly when petty and contemptible in its folly, erroneous when containing error that vitiates the result, unreasonable when there seems a perverse bias or an intent to go wrong. Monstrous and preposterous refer to what is overwhelmingly absurd; as, "O monstrous! eleven buckram men grown out of two," Shakespeare 1 King Henry IV, act ii, sc. 4. The ridiculous or the nonsensical is worthy only to be laughed at. The lunatic's claim to be a king is ridiculous; the Mother Goose rimes are nonsensical. Compare INCONGRUOUS.

Antonyms:

certain, incontrovertible, rational, substantial,

consistent, indisputable, reasonable, true,

demonstrable, indubitable, sagacious, undeniable,

demonstrated, infallible, sensible, unquestionable,

established, logical, sound, wise.

incontestable,

Abuse.

Synonyms:

aggrieve, impose on or oppress, ruin,

damage, upon, persecute, slander,

defame, injure, pervert, victimize,

defile, malign, prostitute, vilify,

disparage, maltreat, rail at, violate,

harm, misemploy, ravish, vituperate,

ill-treat, misuse, reproach, wrong.

ill-use, molest, revile,

Abuse covers all unreasonable or improper use or treatment by word or act. A tenant does not abuse rented property by "reasonable wear," though that may damage the property and injure its sale; he may abuse it by needless defacement or neglect. It is possible to abuse a man without harming him, as when the criminal vituperates the judge; or to harm a man without abusing him, as when the witness tells the truth about the criminal. Defame, malign, rail at, revile, slander, vilify, and vituperate are used always in a bad sense. One may be justly reproached. To impose on or to victimize one is to injure him by abusing his confidence. To persecute one is to ill-treat him for opinion's sake, commonly for religious belief; to oppress is generally for political or pecuniary motives. "Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy," Deut. xxiv, 14. Misemploy, misuse, and pervert are commonly applied to objects rather than to persons. A dissolute youth misemploys his time, misuses his money and opportunities, harms his associates, perverts his talents, wrongs his parents, ruins himself, abuses every good gift of God.

Antonyms:

applaud, conserve, favor, protect, sustain,

benefit, consider, laud, regard, tend,

care for, eulogize, panegyrize, respect, uphold,

cherish, extol, praise, shield, vindicate.

Accessory.

Synonyms:

abetter or abettor, associate, companion, henchman,

accomplice, attendant, confederate, participator,

ally, coadjutor, follower, partner,

assistant, colleague, helper, retainer.

Colleague is used always in a good sense, associate and coadjutor generally so; ally, assistant, associate, attendant, companion, helper, either in a good or a bad sense; abetter, accessory, accomplice, confederate, almost always in a bad sense. Ally is oftenest used of national and military matters, or of some other connection regarded as great and important; as, allies of despotism. Colleague is applied to civil and ecclesiastical connections; members of Congress from the same State are colleagues, even though they may be bitter opponents politically and personally. An Associate Justice of the Supreme Court is near in rank to the Chief Justice. A surgeon's assistant is a physician or medical student who shares in the treatment and care of patients; a surgeon's attendant is one who rolls bandages and the like. Follower, henchman, retainer are persons especially devoted to a chief, and generally bound to him by necessity, fee, or reward. Partner has come to denote almost exclusively a business connection. In law, an abettor (the general legal spelling) is always present, either actively or constructively, at the commission of the crime; an accessory never. An accomplice is usually a principal; an accessory never. If present, though only to stand outside and keep watch against surprise, one is an abettor, and not an accessory. At common law, an accessory implies a principal, and can not be convicted until after the conviction of the principal; the accomplice or abettor can be convicted as a principal. Accomplice and abettor have nearly the same meaning, but the former is the popular, the latter more distinctively the legal term. Compare APPENDAGE; AUXILIARY.

Antonyms:

adversary, chief, foe, leader, principal,

antagonist, commander, hinderer, opponent, rival.

betrayer, enemy, instigator, opposer,

Prepositions:

An accessory to the crime; before or after the fact; the accessories of a figure in a painting.

Accident.

Synonyms:

adventure, contingency, happening, misfortune,

calamity, disaster, hazard, mishap,

casualty, fortuity, incident, possibility.

chance, hap, misadventure,

An accident is that which happens without any one's direct intention; a chance that which happens without any known cause. If the direct cause of a railroad accident is known, we can not call it a chance. To the theist there is, in strictness, no chance, all things being by divine causation and control; but chance is spoken of where no special cause is manifest: "By chance there came down a certain priest that way," Luke x, 31. We can speak of a game of chance, but not of a game of accident. An incident is viewed as occurring in the regular course of things, but subordinate to the main purpose, or aside from the main design. Fortune is the result of inscrutable controlling forces. Fortune and chance are nearly equivalent, but chance can be used of human effort and endeavor as fortune can not be; we say "he has a chance of success," or "there is one chance in a thousand," where we could not substitute fortune; as personified, Fortune is regarded as having a fitful purpose, Chance as purposeless; we speak of fickle Fortune, blind Chance; "Fortune favors the brave." The slaughter of men is an incident of battle; unexpected defeat, the fortune of war. Since the unintended is often the undesirable, accident tends to signify some calamity or disaster, unless the contrary is expressed, as when we say a fortunate or happy accident. An adventure is that which may turn out ill, a misadventure that which does turn out ill. A slight disturbing accident is a mishap. Compare EVENT; HAZARD.

Antonyms:

appointment, decree, intention, ordainment, preparation,

calculation, fate, law, ordinance, provision,

certainty, foreordination, necessity, plan, purpose.

Prepositions:

The accident of birth; an accident to the machinery.

Acquaintance.

Synonyms:

association, experience, fellowship, intimacy,

companionship, familiarity, friendship, knowledge.

Acquaintance between persons supposes that each knows the other; we may know a public man by his writings or speeches, and by sight, but can not claim acquaintance unless he personally knows us. There may be pleasant acquaintance with little companionship; and conversely, much companionship with little acquaintance, as between busy clerks at adjoining desks. So there may be association in business without intimacy or friendship. Acquaintance admits of many degrees, from a slight or passing to a familiar or intimate acquaintance; but acquaintance unmodified commonly signifies less than familiarity or intimacy. As regards persons, familiarity is becoming restricted to the undesirable sense, as in the proverb, "Familiarity breeds contempt;" hence, in personal relations, the word intimacy, which refers to mutual knowledge of thought and feeling, is now uniformly preferred. Friendship includes acquaintance with some degree of intimacy, and ordinarily companionship, though in a wider sense friendship may exist between those who have never met, but know each other only by word and deed. Acquaintance does not involve friendship, for one may be well acquainted with an enemy. Fellowship involves not merely acquaintance and companionship, but sympathy as well. There may be much friendship without much fellowship, as between those whose homes or pursuits are far apart. There may be pleasant fellowship which does not reach the fulness of friendship. Compare ATTACHMENT; FRIENDSHIP; LOVE. As regards studies, pursuits, etc., acquaintance is less than familiarity, which supposes minute knowledge of particulars, arising often from long experience or association.

Antonyms:

ignorance, ignoring, inexperience, unfamiliarity.

Prepositions:

Acquaintance with a subject; of one person with another; between persons.

Acrimony.

Synonyms:

acerbity, harshness, severity, tartness,

asperity, malignity, sharpness, unkindness,

bitterness, moroseness, sourness, virulence.

causticity,

Acerbity is a sharpness, with a touch of bitterness, which may arise from momentary annoyance or habitual impatience; asperity is keener and more pronounced, denoting distinct irritation or vexation; in speech asperity is often manifested by the tone of voice rather than by the words that are spoken. Acrimony in speech or temper is like a corrosive acid; it springs from settled character or deeply rooted feeling of aversion or unkindness. One might speak with momentary asperity to his child, but not with acrimony, unless estrangement had begun. Malignity is the extreme of settled ill intent; virulence is an envenomed hostility. Virulence of speech is a quality in language that makes the language seem as if exuding poison. Virulence is outspoken; malignity may be covered with smooth and courteous phrase. We say intense virulence, deep malignity. Severity is always painful, and may be terrible, but carries ordinarily the implication, true or false, of justice. Compare ANGER; BITTER; ENMITY.

Antonyms:

amiability, gentleness, kindness, smoothness,

courtesy, good nature, mildness, sweetness.

Act, n.

Synonyms:

accomplishment, execution, movement,

achievement, exercise, operation,

action, exertion, performance,

consummation, exploit, proceeding,

deed, feat, transaction,

doing, motion, work.

effect,

An act is strictly and originally something accomplished by an exercise of power, in which sense it is synonymous with deed or effect. Action is a doing. Act is therefore single, individual, momentary; action a complex of acts, or a process, state, or habit of exerting power. We say a virtuous act, but rather a virtuous course of action. We speak of the action of an acid upon a metal, not of its act. Act is used, also, for the simple exertion of power; as, an act of will. In this sense an act does not necessarily imply an external effect, while an action does. Morally, the act of murder is in the determination to kill; legally, the act is not complete without the striking of the fatal blow. Act and deed are both used for the thing done, but act refers to the power put forth, deed to the result accomplished; as, a voluntary act, a bad deed. In connection with other words act is more usually qualified by the use of another noun, action by an adjective preceding; we may say a kind act, though oftener an act of kindness, but only a kind action, not an action of kindness. As between act and deed, deed is commonly used of great, notable, and impressive acts, as are achievement, exploit, and feat.

Festus: We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths.

Bailey Festus, A Country Town, sc. 7.

A feat exhibits strength, skill, personal power, whether mental or physical, especially the latter; as, a feat of arms, a feat of memory. An exploit is a conspicuous or glorious deed, involving valor or heroism, usually combined with strength, skill, loftiness of thought, and readiness of resource; an achievement is the doing of something great and noteworthy; an exploit is brilliant, but its effect may be transient; an achievement is solid, and its effect enduring. Act and action are both in contrast to all that is merely passive and receptive. The intensest action is easier than passive endurance.

Antonyms:

cessation, immobility, inertia, quiet, suffering,

deliberation, inaction, passion, repose, suspension.

endurance, inactivity, quiescence, rest,

Active.

Synonyms:

agile, energetic, officious, sprightly,

alert, expeditious, prompt, spry,

brisk, industrious, quick, supple,

bustling, lively, ready, vigorous,

busy, mobile, restless, wide awake.

diligent, nimble,

Active refers to both quickness and constancy of action; in the former sense it is allied with agile, alert, brisk, etc.; in the latter, with busy, diligent, industrious. The active love employment, the busy are actually employed, the diligent and the industrious are habitually busy. The restless are active from inability to keep quiet; their activity may be without purpose, or out of all proportion to the purpose contemplated. The officious are undesirably active in the affairs of others. Compare ALERT; ALIVE; MEDDLESOME.

Antonyms:

dull, inactive, lazy, slow,

heavy, indolent, quiescent, sluggish,

idle, inert, quiet, stupid.

Prepositions:

Active in work, in a cause; for an object, as for justice; with persons or instrumentalities; about something, as about other people's business.

Acumen.

Synonyms:

acuteness, insight, perspicacity, sharpness,

cleverness, keenness, sagacity, shrewdness.

discernment, penetration,

Sharpness, acuteness, and insight, however keen, and penetration, however deep, fall short of the meaning of acumen, which implies also ability to use these qualities to advantage. There are persons of keen insight and great penetration to whom these powers are practically useless. Acumen is sharpness to some purpose, and belongs to a mind that is comprehensive as well as keen. Cleverness is a practical aptitude for study or learning. Insight and discernment are applied oftenest to the judgment of character; penetration and perspicacity to other subjects of knowledge. Sagacity is an uncultured skill in using quick perceptions for a desired end, generally in practical affairs; acumen may increase with study, and applies to the most erudite matters. Shrewdness is keenness or sagacity, often with a somewhat evil bias, as ready to take advantage of duller intellects. Perspicacity is the power to see clearly through that which is difficult or involved. We speak of the acuteness of an observer or a reasoner, the insight and discernment of a student, a clergyman, or a merchant, the sagacity of a hound, the keenness of a debater, the shrewdness of a usurer, the penetration, perspicacity, and acumen of a philosopher.

Antonyms:

bluntness, dulness, obtuseness, stupidity.

ADD.

Synonyms:

adjoin, annex, augment, extend, make up,

affix, append, cast up, increase, subjoin,

amplify, attach, enlarge, join on, sum up.

To add is to increase by adjoining or uniting: in distinction from multiply, which is to increase by repeating. To augment a thing is to increase it by any means, but this word is seldom used directly of material objects; we do not augment a house, a farm, a nation, etc. We may enlarge a house, a farm, or an empire, extend influence or dominion, augment riches, power or influence, attach or annex a building to one that it adjoins or papers to the document they refer to, annex a clause or a codicil, affix a seal or a signature, annex a territory, attach a condition to a promise. A speaker may amplify a discourse by a fuller treatment throughout than was originally planned, or he may append or subjoin certain remarks without change of what has gone before. We cast up or sum up an account, though add up and make up are now more usual expressions.

Antonyms:

abstract, diminish, lessen, remove, withdraw.

deduct, dissever, reduce, subtract,

Preposition:

Other items are to be added to the account.

Addicted.

Synonyms:

abandoned, devoted, given over, inclined,

accustomed, disposed, given up, prone,

attached, given, habituated, wedded.

One is addicted to that which he has allowed to gain a strong, habitual, and enduring hold upon action, inclination, or involuntary tendency, as to a habit or indulgence. A man may be accustomed to labor, attached to his profession, devoted to his religion, given to study or to gluttony (in the bad sense, given over, or given up, is a stronger and more hopeless expression, as is abandoned). One inclined to luxury may become habituated to poverty. One is wedded to that which has become a second nature; as, one is wedded to science or to art. Prone is used only in a bad sense, and generally of natural tendencies; as, our hearts are prone to evil. Abandoned tells of the acquired viciousness of one who has given himself up to wickedness. Addicted may be used in a good, but more frequently a bad sense; as, addicted to study; addicted to drink. Devoted is used chiefly in the good sense; as, a mother's devoted affection.

Antonyms:

averse, disinclined, indisposed, unaccustomed.

Preposition:

Addicted to vice.

Address, v.

Synonyms:

cost, approach, hail, speak to,

apostrophize, court, salute, woo.

appeal, greet,

To accost is to speak first, to friend or stranger, generally with a view to opening conversation; greet is not so distinctly limited, since one may return another's greeting; greet and hail may imply but a passing word; greeting may be altogether silent; to hail is to greet in a loud-voiced and commonly hearty and joyous way, as appears in the expression "hail fellow, well met." To salute is to greet with special token of respect, as a soldier his commander. To apostrophize is to solemnly address some person or personified attribute apart from the audience to whom one is speaking; as, a preacher may apostrophize virtue, the saints of old, or even the Deity. To appeal is strictly to call for some form of help or support. Address is slightly more formal than accost or greet, though it may often be interchanged with them. One may address another at considerable length or in writing; he accosts orally and briefly.

Antonyms:

avoid, elude, overlook, pass by,

cut, ignore, pass, shun.

Prepositions:

Address the memorial to the legislature; the president addressed the people in an eloquent speech; he addressed an intruder with indignation.

Address, n.

Synonyms:

adroitness, discretion, manners, readiness,

courtesy, ingenuity, politeness, tact.

dexterity,

Address is that indefinable something which enables a man to gain his object without seeming exertion or contest, and generally with the favor and approval of those with whom he deals. It is a general power to direct to the matter in hand whatever qualities are most needed for it at the moment. It includes adroitness and discretion to know what to do or say and what to avoid; ingenuity to devise; readiness to speak or act; the dexterity that comes of practise; and tact, which is the power of fine touch as applied to human character and feeling. Courtesy and politeness are indispensable elements of good address. Compare SPEECH.

Antonyms:

awkwardness, clumsiness, ill-breeding, stupidity,

boorishness, fatuity, ill manners, unmannerliness,

clownishness, folly, rudeness, unwisdom.

Prepositions:

Address in dealing with opponents; the address of an accomplished intriguer; an address to the audience.

Adequate.

Synonyms:

able, competent, fitted, satisfactory,

adapted, equal, fitting, sufficient,

capable, fit, qualified, suitable.

commensurate,

Adequate, commensurate, and sufficient signify equal to some given occasion or work; as, a sum sufficient to meet expenses; an adequate remedy for the disease. Commensurate is the more precise and learned word, signifying that which exactly measures the matter in question. Adapted, fit, suitable, and qualified refer to the qualities which match or suit the occasion. A clergyman may have strength adequate to the work of a porter; but that would not be a fit or suitable occupation for him. Work is satisfactory if it satisfies those for whom it is done, though it may be very poor work judged by some higher standard. Qualified refers to acquired abilities; competent to both natural and acquired; a qualified teacher may be no longer competent, by reason of ill health. Able and capable suggest general ability and reserved power, able being the higher word of the two. An able man will do something well in any position. A capable man will come up to any ordinary demand. We say an able orator, a capable accountant.

Antonyms:

disqualified, inferior, unequal, unsatisfactory, useless,

inadequate, insufficient, unfit, unsuitable, worthless.

incompetent, poor, unqualified,

Prepositions:

Adequate to the demand; for the purpose.

Adherent.

Synonyms:

aid, ally, disciple, partisan, supporter.

aider, backer, follower,

An adherent is one who is devoted or attached to a person, party, principle, cause, creed, or the like. One may be an aider and supporter of a party or church, while not an adherent to all its doctrines or claims. An ally is more independent still, as he may differ on every point except the specific ground of union. The Allies who overthrew Napoleon were united only against him. Allies are regarded as equals; adherents and disciples are followers. The adherent depends more on his individual judgment, the disciple is more subject to command and instruction; thus we say the disciples rather than the adherents of Christ. Partisan has the narrow and odious sense of adhesion to a party, right or wrong. One may be an adherent or supporter of a party and not a partisan. Backer is a sporting and theatrical word, personal in its application, and not in the best usage. Compare ACCESSORY.

Antonyms:

adversary, betrayer, enemy, opponent, traitor.

antagonist, deserter, hater, renegade,

Prepositions:

Adherents to principle; adherents of Luther.

Adhesive.

Synonyms:

cohesive, gummy, sticky, viscous.

glutinous, sticking, viscid,

Adhesive is the scientific, sticking or sticky the popular word. That which is adhesive tends to join itself to the surface of any other body with which it is placed in contact; cohesive expresses the tendency of particles of the same substance to hold together. Polished plate glass is not adhesive, but such plates packed together are intensely cohesive. An adhesive plaster is in popular language a sticking-plaster. Sticky expresses a more limited, and generally annoying, degree of the same quality. Glutinous, gummy, viscid, and viscous are applied to fluid or semi-fluid substances, as pitch or tar.

Antonyms:

free, inadhesive, loose, separable.

Preposition:

The stiff, wet clay, adhesive to the foot, impeded progress.

Adjacent.

Synonyms:

abutting, bordering, contiguous, neighboring,

adjoining, close, coterminous, next,

attached, conterminous, near, nigh.

beside,

Adjacent farms may not be connected; if adjoining, they meet at the boundary-line. Conterminous would imply that their dimensions were exactly equal on the side where they adjoin. Contiguous may be used for either adjacent or adjoining. Abutting refers rather to the end of one building or estate than to the neighborhood of another. Buildings may be adjacent or adjoining that are not attached. Near is a relative word, places being called near upon the railroad which would elsewhere be deemed remote. Neighboring always implies such proximity that the inhabitants may be neighbors. Next views some object as the nearest of several or many; next neighbor implies a neighborhood.

Antonyms:

detached, disconnected, disjoined, distant, remote, separate.

Preposition:

The farm was adjacent to the village.

Admire.

Synonyms:

adore, delight in, extol, respect, venerate,

applaud, enjoy, honor, revere, wonder.

approve, esteem, love,

In the old sense of wonder, admire is practically obsolete; the word now expresses a delight and approval, in which the element of wonder unconsciously mingles. We admire beauty in nature and art, delight in the innocent happiness of children, enjoy books or society, a walk or a dinner. We approve what is excellent, applaud heroic deeds, esteem the good, love our friends. We honor and respect noble character wherever found; we revere and venerate it in the aged. We extol the goodness and adore the majesty and power of God.

Antonyms:

abhor, contemn, detest, execrate, ridicule,

abominate, despise, dislike, hate, scorn.

Preposition:

Admire at may still very rarely be found in the old sense of wonder at.

Adorn.

Synonyms:

beautify, decorate, garnish, illustrate,

bedeck, embellish, gild, ornament.

deck,

To embellish is to brighten and enliven by adding something that is not necessarily or very closely connected with that to which it is added; to illustrate is to add something so far like in kind as to cast a side-light upon the principal matter. An author embellishes his narrative with fine descriptions, the artist illustrates it with beautiful engravings, the binder gilds and decorates the volume. Garnish is on a lower plane; as, the feast was garnished with flowers. Deck and bedeck are commonly said of apparel; as, a mother bedecks her daughter with silk and jewels. To adorn and to ornament alike signify to add that which makes anything beautiful and attractive, but ornament is more exclusively on the material plane; as, the gateway was ornamented with delicate carving. Adorn is more lofty and spiritual, referring to a beauty which is not material, and can not be put on by ornaments or decorations, but seems in perfect harmony and unity with that to which it adds a grace; if we say, the gateway was adorned with beautiful carving, we imply a unity and loftiness of design such as ornamented can not express. We say of some admirable scholar or statesman, "he touched nothing that he did not adorn."

At church, with meek and unaffected grace,
His looks adorned the venerable place.

Goldsmith Deserted Village, l. 178.

Antonyms:

deface, deform, disfigure, mar, spoil.

Preposition:

Adorn his temples with a coronet.

Affront.

Synonyms:

aggravate, exasperate, offend, vex,

annoy, insult, provoke, wound.

displease, irritate, tease,

One may be annoyed by the well-meaning awkwardness of a servant, irritated by a tight shoe or a thoughtless remark, vexed at some careless neglect or needless misfortune, wounded by the ingratitude of child or friend. To tease is to give some slight and perhaps playful annoyance. Aggravate in the sense of offend is colloquial. To provoke, literally to call out or challenge, is to begin a contest; one provokes another to violence. To affront is to offer some defiant offense or indignity, as it were, to one's face; it is somewhat less than to insult. Compare PIQUE.

Antonyms:

conciliate, content, gratify, honor, please.

Agent.

Synonyms:

actor, factor, means, operator, promoter.

doer, instrument, mover, performer,

In strict philosophical usage, the prime mover or doer of an act is the agent. Thus we speak of man as a voluntary agent, a free agent. But in common usage, especially in business, an agent is not the prime actor, but only an instrument or factor, acting under orders or instructions. Compare CAUSE.

Antonyms:

chief, inventor, originator, principal.

Prepositions:

An agent of the company for selling, etc.

Agree.

Synonyms:

accede, admit, coincide, concur,

accept, approve, combine, consent,

accord, assent, comply, harmonize.

acquiesce,

Agree is the most general term of this group, signifying to have like qualities, proportions, views, or inclinations, so as to be free from jar, conflict, or contradiction in a given relation. To concur is to agree in general; to coincide is to agree in every particular. Whether in application to persons or things, concur tends to expression in action more than coincide; we may either concur or coincide in an opinion, but concur in a decision; views coincide, causes concur. One accepts another's terms, complies with his wishes, admits his statement, approves his plan, conforms to his views of doctrine or duty, accedes or consents to his proposal. Accede expresses the more formal agreement, consent the more complete. To assent is an act of the understanding; to consent, of the will. We may concur or agree with others, either in opinion or decision. One may silently acquiesce in that which does not meet his views, but which he does not care to contest. He admits the charge brought, or the statement made, by another—admit always carrying a suggestion of reluctance. Assent is sometimes used for a mild form of consent, as if agreement in the opinion assured approval of the decision.

Antonyms:

contend, demur, disagree, oppose,

contradict, deny, dispute, protest,

decline, differ, dissent, refuse.

Prepositions:

I agree in opinion with the speaker; to the terms proposed; persons agree on or upon a statement of principles, rules, etc.; we must agree among ourselves.

Agriculture.

Synonyms:

cultivation, gardening, kitchen-gardening,

culture, horticulture, market-gardening,

farming, husbandry, tillage.

floriculture,

Agriculture is the generic term, including at once the science, the art, and the process of supplying human wants by raising the products of the soil, and by the associated industries; farming is the practise of agriculture as a business; there may be theoretical agriculture, but not theoretical farming; we speak of the science of agriculture, the business of farming; scientific agriculture may be wholly in books; scientific farming is practised upon the land; we say an agricultural college rather than a college of farming. Farming refers to the cultivation of considerable portions of land, and the raising of the coarser crops; gardening is the close cultivation of a small area for small fruits, flowers, vegetables, etc., and while it may be done upon a farm is yet a distinct industry. Gardening in general, kitchen-gardening, the cultivation of vegetables, etc., for the household, market-gardening, the raising of the same for sale, floriculture, the culture of flowers, and horticulture, the culture of fruits, flowers, or vegetables, are all departments of agriculture, but not strictly nor ordinarily of farming; farming is itself one department of agriculture. Husbandry is a general word for any form of practical agriculture, but is now chiefly poetical. Tillage refers directly to the work bestowed upon the land, as plowing, manuring, etc.; cultivation refers especially to the processes that bring forward the crop; we speak of the tillage of the soil, the cultivation of corn; we also speak of land as in a state of cultivation, under cultivation, etc. Culture is now applied to the careful development of any product to a state of perfection, especially by care through successive generations; the choice varieties of the strawberry have been produced by wise and patient culture; a good crop in any year is the result of good cultivation.

AIM.

Synonyms:

aspiration, endeavor, intention, tendency.

design, goal, mark,

determination, inclination, object,

end, intent, purpose,

The aim is the direction in which one shoots, or sometimes that which is aimed at. The mark is that at which one shoots; the goal, that toward which one runs. All alike indicate the direction of endeavor. The end is the point at which one expects or hopes to close his labors; the object, that which he would grasp as the reward of his labors. Aspiration, design, endeavor, purpose, referring to the mental acts by which the aim is attained, are often used as interchangeable with aim. Aspiration applies to what are viewed as noble aims; endeavor, design, intention, purpose, indifferently to the best or worst. Aspiration has less of decision than the other terms; one may aspire to an object, and yet lack the fixedness of purpose by which alone it can be attained. Purpose is stronger than intention. Design especially denotes the adaptation of means to an end; endeavor refers to the exertions by which it is to be attained. One whose aims are worthy, whose aspirations are high, whose designs are wise, and whose purposes are steadfast, may hope to reach the goal of his ambition, and will surely win some object worthy of a life's endeavor. Compare AMBITION; DESIGN.

Antonyms:

aimlessness, heedlessness, negligence, purposelessness,

avoidance, neglect, oversight, thoughtlessness.

carelessness,

AIR.

Synonyms:

appearance, demeanor, manner, sort,

bearing, expression, mien, style,

behavior, fashion, port, way.

carriage, look,

Air is that combination of qualities which makes the entire impression we receive in a person's presence; as, we say he has the air of a scholar, or the air of a villain. Appearance refers more to the dress and other externals. We might say of a travel-soiled pedestrian, he has the appearance of a tramp, but the air of a gentleman. Expression and look especially refer to the face. Expression is oftenest applied to that which is habitual; as, he has a pleasant expression of countenance; look may be momentary; as, a look of dismay passed over his face. We may, however, speak of the look or looks as indicating all that we look at; as, he had the look of an adventurer; I did not like his looks. Bearing is rather a lofty word; as, he has a noble bearing; port is practically identical in meaning with bearing, but is more exclusively a literary word. Carriage, too, is generally used in a good sense; as, that lady has a good carriage. Mien is closely synonymous with air, but less often used in a bad sense. We say a rakish air rather than a rakish mien. Mien may be used to express some prevailing feeling; as, "an indignant mien." Demeanor goes beyond appearance, including conduct, behavior; as, a modest demeanor. Manner and style are, in large part at least, acquired. Compare BEHAVIOR.

Airy.

Synonyms:

aerial, ethereal, frolicsome, joyous, lively,

animated, fairylike, gay, light, sprightly.

Aerial and airy both signify of or belonging to the air, but airy also describes that which seems as if made of air; we speak of airy shapes, airy nothings, where we could not well say aerial; ethereal describes its object as belonging to the upper air, the pure ether, and so, often, heavenly. Sprightly, spiritlike, refers to light, free, cheerful activity of mind and body. That which is lively or animated may be agreeable or the reverse; as, an animated discussion; a lively company.

Antonyms:

clumsy, heavy, ponderous, sluggish, wooden.

dull, inert, slow, stony,

Alarm.

Synonyms:

affright, disquietude, fright, solicitude,

apprehension, dread, misgiving, terror,

consternation, fear, panic, timidity.

dismay,

Alarm, according to its derivation all'arme, "to arms," is an arousing to meet and repel danger, and may be quite consistent with true courage. Affright and fright express sudden fear which, for the time at least, overwhelms courage. The sentinel discovers with alarm the sudden approach of the enemy; the unarmed villagers view it with affright. Apprehension, disquietude, dread, misgiving, and solicitude are in anticipation of danger; consternation, dismay, and terror are overwhelming fear, generally in the actual presence of that which is terrible, though these words also may have an anticipative force. Timidity is a quality, habit, or condition, a readiness to be affected with fear. A person of great timidity is constantly liable to needless alarm and even terror. Compare FEAR.

Antonyms:

assurance, calmness, confidence, repose, security.

Prepositions:

Alarm was felt in the camp, among the soldiers, at the news.

Alert.

Synonyms:

active, lively, prepared, vigilant,

brisk, nimble, prompt, watchful,

hustling, on the watch, ready, wide-awake.

Alert, ready, and wide-awake refer to a watchful promptness for action. Ready suggests thoughtful preparation; the wandering Indian is alert, the trained soldier is ready. Ready expresses more life and vigor than prepared. The gun is prepared; the man is ready. Prompt expresses readiness for appointment or demand at the required moment. The good general is ready for emergencies, alert to perceive opportunity or peril, prompt to seize occasion. The sense of brisk, nimble is the secondary and now less common signification of alert. Compare ACTIVE; ALIVE; NIMBLE; VIGILANT.

Antonyms:

drowsy, dull, heavy, inactive, slow, sluggish, stupid.

Alien, a.

Synonyms:

conflicting, distant, inappropriate, strange,

contradictory, foreign, irrelevant, unconnected,

contrary, hostile, opposed, unlike.

contrasted, impertinent, remote,

Foreign refers to difference of birth, alien to difference of allegiance. In their figurative use, that is foreign which is remote, unlike, or unconnected; that is alien which is conflicting, hostile, or opposed. Impertinent and irrelevant matters can not claim consideration in a certain connection; inappropriate matters could not properly be considered. Compare ALIEN, n.; CONTRAST, v.

Antonyms:

akin, apropos, germane, proper,

appropriate, essential, pertinent, relevant.

Prepositions:

Such a purpose was alien to (or from) my thought: to preferable.

Alien, n.

Synonyms:

foreigner, stranger.

A naturalized citizen is not an alien, though a foreigner by birth, and perhaps a stranger in the place where he resides. A person of foreign birth not naturalized is an alien, though he may have been resident in the country a large part of a lifetime, and ceased to be a stranger to its people or institutions. He is an alien in one country if his allegiance is to another. The people of any country still residing in their own land are, strictly speaking, foreigners to the people of all other countries, rather than aliens; but alien and foreigner are often used synonymously.

Antonyms:

citizen, fellow-countryman, native-born inhabitant,

countryman, native, naturalized person.

Prepositions:

Aliens to (more rarely from) our nation and laws; aliens in our land, among our people.

Alike.

Synonyms:

akin, equivalent, kindred, same,

analogous, homogeneous, like, similar,

equal, identical, resembling, uniform.

Alike is a comprehensive word, signifying as applied to two or more objects that some or all qualities of one are the same as those of the other or others; by modifiers alike may be made to express more or less resemblance; as, these houses are somewhat (i. e., partially) alike; or, these houses are exactly (i. e., in all respects) alike. Cotton and wool are alike in this, that they can both be woven into cloth. Substances are homogeneous which are made up of elements of the same kind, or which are the same in structure. Two pieces of iron may be homogeneous in material, while not alike in size or shape. In geometry, two triangles are equal when they can be laid over one another, and fit, line for line and angle for angle; they are equivalent when they simply contain the same amount of space. An identical proposition is one that says the same thing precisely in subject and predicate. Similar refers to close resemblance, which yet leaves room for question or denial of complete likeness or identity. To say "this is the identical man," is to say not merely that he is similar to the one I have in mind, but that he is the very same person. Things are analogous when they are similar in idea, plan, use, or character, tho perhaps quite unlike in appearance; as, the gills of fishes are said to be analogous to the lungs in terrestrial animals.

Antonyms:

different, dissimilar, distinct, heterogeneous, unlike.

Prepositions:

The specimens are alike in kind; they are all alike to me.

Alive.

Synonyms:

active, breathing, live, quick,

alert, brisk, lively, subsisting,

animate, existent, living, vivacious.

animated, existing,

Alive applies to all degrees of life, from that which shows one to be barely existing or existent as a living thing, as when we say he is just alive, to that which implies the very utmost of vitality and power, as in the words "he is all alive," "thoroughly alive." So the word quick, which began by signifying "having life," is now mostly applied to energy of life as shown in swiftness of action. Breathing is capable of like contrast. We say of a dying man, he is still breathing; or we speak of a breathing statue, or "breathing and sounding, beauteous battle," Tennyson Princess can. v, l. 155, where it means having, or seeming to have, full and vigorous breath, abundant life. Compare ACTIVE; ALERT; NIMBLE.

Antonyms:

dead, defunct, dull, lifeless,

deceased, dispirited, inanimate, spiritless.

Prepositions:

Alive in every nerve; alive to every noble impulse; alive with fervor, hope, resolve; alive through all his being.

Allay.

Synonyms:

alleviate, compose, quiet, still,

appease, mollify, soothe, tranquilize.

calm, pacify,

Allay and alleviate are closely kindred in signification, and have been often interchanged in usage. But, in strictness, to allay is to lay to rest, quiet or soothe that which is excited; to alleviate, on the other hand, is to lighten a burden. We allay suffering by using means to soothe and tranquilize the sufferer; we alleviate suffering by doing something toward removal of the cause, so that there is less to suffer; where the trouble is wholly or chiefly in the excitement, to allay the excitement is virtually to remove the trouble; as, to allay rage or panic; we alleviate poverty, but do not allay it. Pacify, directly from the Latin, and appease, from the Latin through the French, signify to bring to peace; to mollify is to soften; to calm, quiet, or tranquilize is to make still; compose, to place together, unite, adjust to a calm and settled condition; to soothe (originally to assent to, humor) is to bring to pleased quietude. We allay excitement, appease a tumult, calm agitation, compose our feelings or countenance, pacify the quarrelsome, quiet the boisterous or clamorous, soothe grief or distress. Compare ALLEVIATE.

Antonyms:

agitate, excite, kindle, rouse, stir up.

arouse, fan, provoke, stir,

Allege.

Synonyms:

adduce, asseverate, claim, maintain, produce,

advance, assign, declare, offer, say,

affirm, aver, introduce, plead, state.

assert, cite,

To allege is formally to state as true or capable of proof, but without proving. To adduce, literally to lead to, is to bring the evidence up to what has been alleged. Adduce is a secondary word; nothing can be adduced in evidence till something has been stated or alleged, which the evidence is to sustain. An alleged fact stands open to question or doubt. To speak of an alleged document, an alleged will, an alleged crime, is either to question, or at least very carefully to refrain from admitting, that the document exists, that the will is genuine, or that the crime has been committed. Alleged is, however, respectful; to speak of the "so-called" will or deed, etc., would be to cast discredit upon the document, and imply that the speaker was ready to brand it as unquestionably spurious; alleged simply concedes nothing and leaves the question open. To produce is to bring forward, as, for instance, papers or persons. Adduce is not used of persons; of them we say introduce or produce. When an alleged criminal is brought to trial, the counsel on either side are accustomed to advance a theory, and adduce the strongest possible evidence in its support; they will produce documents and witnesses, cite precedents, assign reasons, introduce suggestions, offer pleas. The accused will usually assert his innocence. Compare STATE.

Allegiance.

Synonyms:

devotion, fealty, loyalty, obedience, subjection.

faithfulness, homage,

Allegiance is the obligation of fidelity and obedience that an individual owes to his government or sovereign, in return for the protection he receives. The feudal uses of these words have mostly passed away with the state of society that gave them birth; but their origin still colors their present meaning. A patriotic American feels an enthusiastic loyalty to the republic; he takes, on occasion, an oath of allegiance to the government, but his loyalty will lead him to do more than mere allegiance could demand; he pays homage to God alone, as the only king and lord, or to those principles of right that are spiritually supreme; he acknowledges the duty of obedience to all rightful authority; he resents the idea of subjection. Fealty is becoming somewhat rare, except in elevated or poetic style. We prefer to speak of the faithfulness rather than the fealty of citizen, wife, or friend.

Antonyms:

disaffection, disloyalty, rebellion, sedition, treason.

Prepositions:

We honor the allegiance of the citizen to the government; the government has a right to allegiance from the citizen.

Allegory.

Synonyms:

fable, fiction, illustration, metaphor, parable, simile.

In modern usage we may say that an allegory is an extended simile, while a metaphor is an abbreviated simile contained often in a phrase, perhaps in a word. The simile carries its comparison on the surface, in the words as, like, or similar expressions; the metaphor is given directly without any note of comparison. The allegory, parable, or fable tells its story as if true, leaving the reader or hearer to discover its fictitious character and learn its lesson. All these are, in strict definition, fictions; but the word fiction is now applied almost exclusively to novels or romances. An allegory is a moral or religious tale, of which the moral lesson is the substance, and all descriptions and incidents but accessories, as in "The Pilgrim's Progress." A fable is generally briefer, representing animals as the speakers and actors, and commonly conveying some lesson of practical wisdom or shrewdness, as "The Fables of Æsop." A parable is exclusively moral or religious, briefer and less adorned than an allegory, with its lesson more immediately discernible, given, as it were, at a stroke. Any comparison, analogy, instance, example, tale, anecdote, or the like which serves to let in light upon a subject may be called an illustration, this word in its widest use including all the rest. Compare FICTION; STORY.

Antonyms:

chronicle, fact, history, narrative, record.

Alleviate.

Synonyms:

abate, lighten, reduce, remove,

assuage, mitigate, relieve, soften.

lessen, moderate,

Etymologically, to alleviate is to lift a burden toward oneself, and so lighten it for the bearer; to relieve is to lift it back from the bearer, nearly or quite away; to remove is to take it away altogether. Alleviate is thus less than relieve; relieve, ordinarily, less than remove. We alleviate, relieve or remove the trouble; we relieve, not alleviate, the sufferer. Assuage is, by derivation, to sweeten; mitigate, to make mild; moderate, to bring within measure; abate, to beat down, and so make less. We abate a fever; lessen anxiety; moderate passions or desires; lighten burdens; mitigate or alleviate pain; reduce inflammation; soften, assuage, or moderate grief; we lighten or mitigate punishments; we relieve any suffering of body or mind that admits of help, comfort, or remedy. Alleviate has been often confused with allay. Compare ALLAY.

Antonyms:

aggravate, embitter, heighten, intensify, make worse.

augment, enhance, increase, magnify,

Alliance.

Synonyms:

coalition, confederation, fusion, partnership,

compact, federation, league, union.

confederacy,

Alliance is in its most common use a connection formed by treaty between sovereign states as for mutual aid in war. Partnership is a mercantile word; alliance chiefly political or matrimonial. Coalition is oftenest used of political parties; fusion is now the more common word in this sense. In an alliance between nations there is no surrender of sovereignty, and no union except for a specified time and purpose. League and alliance are used with scarcely perceptible difference of meaning. In a confederacy or confederation there is an attempt to unite separate states in a general government without surrender of sovereignty. Union implies so much concession as to make the separate states substantially one. Federation is mainly a poetic and rhetorical word expressing something of the same thought, as in Tennyson's "federation of the world," Locksley Hall, l. 128. The United States is not a confederacy nor an alliance; the nation might be called a federation, but prefers to be styled a federal union.

Antonyms:

antagonism, disunion, enmity, schism, separation,

discord, divorce, hostility, secession, war.

Prepositions:

Alliance with a neighboring people; against the common enemy; for offense and defense; alliance of, between, or among nations.

Allot.

Synonyms:

appoint, destine, give, portion out,

apportion, distribute, grant, select,

assign, divide, mete out, set apart.

award,

Allot, originally to assign by lot, applies to the giving of a definite thing to a certain person. A portion or extent of time is allotted; as, I expect to live out my allotted time. A definite period is appointed; as, the audience assembled at the appointed hour. Allot may also refer to space; as, to allot a plot of ground for a cemetery; but we now oftener use select, set apart, or assign. Allot is not now used of persons. Appoint may be used of time, space, or person; as, the appointed day; the appointed place; an officer was appointed to this station. Destine may also refer to time, place, or person, but it always has reference to what is considerably in the future; a man appoints to meet his friend in five minutes; he destines his son to follow his own profession. Assign is rarely used of time, but rather of places, persons, or things. We assign a work to be done and assign a man to do it, who, if he fails, must assign a reason for not doing it. That which is allotted, appointed, or assigned is more or less arbitrary; that which is awarded is the due requital of something the receiver has done, and he has right and claim to it; as, the medal was awarded for valor. Compare APPORTION.

Antonyms:

appropriate, deny, resume, seize,

confiscate, refuse, retain, withhold.

Prepositions:

Allot to a company for a purpose.

Allow.

Synonyms:

admit, consent to, let, sanction, tolerate,

concede, grant, permit, suffer, yield.

We allow that which we do not attempt to hinder; we permit that to which we give some express authorization. When this is given verbally it is called permission; when in writing it is commonly called a permit. There are establishments that any one will be allowed to visit without challenge or hindrance; there are others that no one is allowed to visit without a permit from the manager; there are others to which visitors are admitted at specified times, without a formal permit. We allow a child's innocent intrusion; we concede a right; grant a request; consent to a sale of property; permit an inspection of accounts; sanction a marriage; tolerate the rudeness of a well-meaning servant; submit to a surgical operation; yield to a demand or necessity against our wish or will, or yield something under compulsion; as, the sheriff yielded the keys at the muzzle of a revolver, and allowed the mob to enter. Suffer, in the sense of mild concession, is now becoming rare, its place being taken by allow, permit, or tolerate. Compare PERMISSION.

Antonyms:

deny, disapprove, protest, reject, withstand.

disallow, forbid, refuse, resist,

See also synonyms for PROHIBIT.

Prepositions:

To allow of (in best recent usage, simply to allow) such an action; allow one in such a course; allow for spending-money.

Alloy.

Synonyms:

admixture, adulteration, debasement, deterioration.

Alloy may be either some admixture of baser with precious metal, as for giving hardness to coin or the like, or it may be a compound or mixture of two or more metals. Adulteration, debasement, and deterioration are always used in the bad sense; admixture is neutral, and may be good or bad; alloy is commonly good in the literal sense. An excess of alloy virtually amounts to adulteration; but adulteration is now mostly restricted to articles used for food, drink, medicine, and kindred uses. In the figurative sense, as applied to character, etc., alloy is unfavorable, because there the only standard is perfection.

Allude.

Synonyms:

advert, indicate, intimate, point, signify,

hint, insinuate, mention, refer, suggest.

imply,

Advert, mention, and refer are used of language that more or less distinctly utters a certain thought; the others of language from which it may be inferred. We allude to a matter slightly, perhaps by a word or phrase, as it were in byplay; we advert to it when we turn from our path to treat it; we refer to it by any clear utterance that distinctly turns the mind or attention to it; as, marginal figures refer to a parallel passage; we mention a thing by explicit word, as by naming it. The speaker adverted to the recent disturbances and the remissness of certain public officers; tho he mentioned no name, it was easy to see to whom he alluded. One may hint at a thing in a friendly way, but what is insinuated is always unfavorable, generally both hostile and cowardly. One may indicate his wishes, intimate his plans, imply his opinion, signify his will, suggest a course of action. Compare SUGGESTION.

Preposition:

The passage evidently alludes to the Jewish Passover.

Allure.

Synonyms:

attract, captivate, decoy, entice, lure, tempt,

cajole, coax, draw, inveigle, seduce, win.

To allure is to draw as with a lure by some charm or some prospect of pleasure or advantage. We may attract others to a certain thing without intent; as, the good unconsciously attract others to virtue. We may allure either to that which is evil or to that which is good and noble, by purpose and endeavor, as in the familiar line, "Allured to brighter worlds, and led the way," Goldsmith Deserted Village, l. 170. Lure is rather more akin to the physical nature. It is the word we would use of drawing on an animal. Coax expresses the attraction of the person, not of the thing. A man may be coaxed to that which is by no means alluring. Cajole and decoy carry the idea of deceiving and ensnaring. To inveigle is to lead one blindly in. To tempt is to endeavor to lead one wrong; to seduce is to succeed in winning one from good to ill. Win may be used in either a bad or a good sense, in which latter it surpasses the highest sense of allure, because it succeeds in that which allure attempts; as, "He that winneth souls is wise," Prov. xi, 30.

Antonyms:

chill, damp, deter, dissuade, drive away, repel, warn.

Prepositions:

Allure to a course; allure by hopes; allure from evil to good.

Also.

Synonyms:

as well, in addition, likewise, too,

as well as, in like manner, similarly, withal.

besides,

While some distinctions between these words and phrases will appear to the careful student, yet in practise the choice between them is largely to secure euphony and avoid repetition. The words fall into two groups; as well as, besides, in addition, too, withal, simply add a fact or thought; also (all so), in like manner, likewise, similarly, affirm that what is added is like that to which it is added. As well follows the word or phrase to which it is joined. We can say the singers as well as the players, or the players, and the singers as well.

Antonyms:

but, nevertheless, on the contrary, yet.

in spite of, notwithstanding, on the other hand,

Alternative.

Synonyms:

choice, election, option, pick, preference, resource.

A choice may be among many things; an alternative is in the strictest sense a choice between two things; oftener it is one of two things between which a choice is to be made, and either of which is the alternative of the other; as, the alternative of surrender is death; or the two things between which there is a choice may be called the alternatives; both Mill and Gladstone are quoted as extending the meaning of alternative to include several particulars, Gladstone even speaking of "the fourth and last of these alternatives." Option is the right or privilege of choosing; choice may be either the right to choose, the act of choosing, or the thing chosen. A person of ability and readiness will commonly have many resources. Pick, from the Saxon, and election, from the Latin, picture the objects before one, with freedom and power to choose which he will; as, there were twelve horses, among which I could take my pick. A choice, pick, election, or preference is that which suits one best; an alternative is that to which one is restricted; a resource, that to which one is glad to betake oneself.

Antonyms:

compulsion, necessity.

Amass.

Synonyms:

accumulate, collect, heap up, hoard up, store up.

aggregate, gather, hoard, pile up,

To amass is to bring together materials that make a mass, a great bulk or quantity. With some occasional exceptions, accumulate is applied to the more gradual, amass to the more rapid gathering of money or materials, amass referring to the general result or bulk, accumulate to the particular process or rate of gain. We say interest is accumulated (or accumulates) rather than is amassed; he accumulated a fortune in the course of years; he rapidly amassed a fortune by shrewd speculations. Goods or money for immediate distribution are said to be collected rather than amassed. They may be stored up for a longer or shorter time; but to hoard is always with a view of permanent retention, generally selfish. Aggregate is now most commonly used of numbers and amounts; as, the expenses will aggregate a round million.

Antonyms:

disperse, divide, portion, spend, waste.

dissipate, parcel, scatter, squander,

Prepositions:

Amass for oneself; for a purpose; from a distance; with great labor; by industry.

Amateur.

Synonyms:

connoisseur, critic, dilettante, novice, tyro.

Etymologically, the amateur is one who loves, the connoisseur one who knows. In usage, the term amateur is applied to one who pursues any study or art simply from the love of it; the word carries a natural implication of superficialness, tho marked excellence is at times attained by amateurs. A connoisseur is supposed to be so thoroughly informed regarding any art or work as to be able to criticize or select intelligently and authoritatively; there are many incompetent critics, but there can not, in the true sense, be an incompetent connoisseur. The amateur practises to some extent that in regard to which he may not be well informed; the connoisseur is well informed in regard to that which he may not practise at all. A novice or tyro may be a professional; an amateur never is; the amateur may be skilled and experienced as the novice or tyro never is. Dilettante, which had originally the sense of amateur, has to some extent come to denote one who is superficial, pretentious, and affected, whether in theory or practise.

Preposition:

An amateur in art.

Amazement.

Synonyms:

admiration, awe, confusion, surprise,

astonishment, bewilderment, perplexity, wonder.

Amazement and astonishment both express the momentary overwhelming of the mind by that which is beyond expectation. Astonishment especially affects the emotions, amazement the intellect. Awe is the yielding of the mind to something supremely grand in character or formidable in power, and ranges from apprehension or dread to reverent worship. Admiration includes delight and regard. Surprise lies midway between astonishment and amazement, and usually respects matters of lighter consequence or such as are less startling in character. Amazement may be either pleasing or painful, as when induced by the grandeur of the mountains, or by the fury of the storm. We can say pleased surprise, but scarcely pleased astonishment. Amazement has in it something of confusion or bewilderment; but confusion and bewilderment may occur without amazement, as when a multitude of details require instant attention. Astonishment may be without bewilderment or confusion. Wonder is often pleasing, and may be continuous in view of that which surpasses our comprehension; as, the magnitude, order, and beauty of the heavens fill us with increasing wonder. Compare PERPLEXITY.

Antonyms:

anticipation, composure, expectation, preparation, steadiness,

calmness, coolness, indifference, self-possession, stoicism.

Preposition:

I was filled with amazement at such reckless daring.

Ambition.

Synonyms:

aspiration, competition, emulation, opposition, rivalry.

Aspiration is the desire for excellence, pure and simple. Ambition, literally a going around to solicit votes, has primary reference to the award or approval of others, and is the eager desire of power, fame, or something deemed great and eminent, and viewed as a worthy prize. The prizes of aspiration are virtue, nobility, skill, or other high qualities. The prizes of ambition are advancement, fame, honor, and the like. There is a noble and wise or an ignoble, selfish, and harmful ambition. Emulation is not so much to win any excellence or success for itself as to equal or surpass other persons. There is such a thing as a noble emulation, when those we would equal or surpass are noble, and the means we would use worthy. But, at the highest, emulation is inferior as a motive to aspiration, which seeks the high quality or character for its own sake, not with reference to another. Competition is the striving for something that is sought by another at the same time. Emulation regards the abstract, competition the concrete; rivalry is the same in essential meaning with competition, but differs in the nature of the objects contested for, which, in the case of rivalry, are usually of the nobler sort and less subject to direct gaging, measurement, and rule. We speak of competition in business, emulation in scholarship, rivalry in love, politics, etc.; emulation of excellence, success, achievement; competition for a prize; rivalry between persons or nations. Competition may be friendly, rivalry is commonly hostile. Opposition is becoming a frequent substitute for competition in business language; it implies that the competitor is an opponent and hinderer.

Antonyms:

carelessness, contentment, humility, indifference, satisfaction.

Amend.

Synonyms:

advance, correct, meliorate, rectify,

ameliorate, emend, mend, reform,

better, improve, mitigate, repair.

cleanse, make better, purify,

To amend is to change for the better by removing faults, errors, or defects, and always refers to that which at some point falls short of a standard of excellence. Advance, better, and improve may refer either to what is quite imperfect or to what has reached a high degree of excellence; we advance the kingdom of God, improve the minds of our children, better the morals of the people. But for matters below the point of ordinary approval we seldom use these words; we do not speak of bettering a wretched alley, or improving a foul sewer. There we use cleanse, purify, or similar words. We correct evils, reform abuses, rectify incidental conditions of evil or error; we ameliorate poverty and misery, which we can not wholly remove. We mend a tool, repair a building, correct proof; we amend character or conduct that is faulty, or a statement or law that is defective. A text, writing, or statement is amended by the author or by some adequate authority; it is often emended by conjecture. A motion is amended by the mover or by the assembly; a constitution is amended by the people; an ancient text is emended by a critic who believes that what seems to him the better reading is what the author wrote. Compare ALLEVIATE.

Antonyms:

aggravate, debase, harm, mar, tarnish,

blemish, depress, impair, spoil, vitiate.

corrupt, deteriorate, injure,

Amiable.

Synonyms:

agreeable, engaging, lovable, pleasing,

attractive, gentle, lovely, sweet,

benignant, good-natured, loving, winning,

harming, kind, pleasant, winsome.

Amiable combines the senses of lovable or lovely and loving; the amiable character has ready affection and kindliness for others, with the qualities that are adapted to win their love; amiable is a higher and stronger word than good-natured or agreeable. Lovely is often applied to externals; as, a lovely face. Amiable denotes a disposition desirous to cheer, please, and make happy. A selfish man of the world may have the art to be agreeable; a handsome, brilliant, and witty person may be charming or even attractive, while by no means amiable. The engaging, winning, and winsome add to amiability something of beauty, accomplishments, and grace. The benignant are calmly kind, as from a height and a distance. Kind, good-natured people may be coarse and rude, and so fail to be agreeable or pleasing; the really amiable are likely to avoid such faults by their earnest desire to please. The good-natured have an easy disposition to get along comfortably with every one in all circumstances. A sweet disposition is very sure to be amiable, the loving heart bringing out all that is lovable and lovely in character.

Antonyms:

acrimonious, crusty, hateful, ill-tempered, surly,

churlish, disagreeable, ill-conditioned, morose, unamiable,

crabbed, dogged, ill-humored, sour, unlovely,

cruel, gruff, ill-natured, sullen,

Amid.

Synonyms:

amidst, amongst, betwixt, mingled with,

among, between, in the midst of, surrounded by.

Amid or amidst denotes surrounded by; among or amongst denotes mingled with. Between (archaic or poetic, betwixt) is said of two persons or objects, or of two groups of persons or objects. "Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen," Gen. xiii, 9; the reference being to two bodies of herdmen. Amid denotes mere position; among, some active relation, as of companionship, hostility, etc. Lowell's "Among my Books" regards the books as companions; amid my books would suggest packing, storing, or some other incidental circumstance. We say among friends, or among enemies, amidst the woods, amid the shadows. In the midst of may have merely the local meaning; as, I found myself in the midst of a crowd; or it may express even closer association than among; as, "I found myself in the midst of friends" suggests their pressing up on every side, oneself the central object; so, "where two or three are met together in my name, there am I in the midst of them," Matt. xviii, 20; in which case it would be feebler to say "among them," impossible to say "amid them," not so well to say "amidst them."

Antonyms:

afar from, away from, beyond, far from, outside, without.

Amplify.

Synonyms:

augment, dilate, expand, extend, unfold,

develop, enlarge, expatiate, increase, widen.

Amplify is now rarely used in the sense of increase, to add material substance, bulk, volume, or the like; it is now almost wholly applied to discourse or writing, signifying to make fuller in statement, whether with or without adding matter of importance, as by stating fully what was before only implied, or by adding illustrations to make the meaning more readily apprehended, etc. The chief difficulty of very young writers is to amplify, to get beyond the bare curt statement by developing, expanding, unfolding the thought. The chief difficulty of those who have more material and experience is to condense sufficiently. So, in the early days of our literature amplify was used in the favorable sense; but at present this word and most kindred words are coming to share the derogatory meaning that has long attached to expatiate. We may develop a thought, expand an illustration, extend a discussion, expatiate on a hobby, dilate on something joyous or sad, enlarge a volume, unfold a scheme, widen the range of treatment.

Antonyms:

abbreviate, amputate, condense, cut down, reduce, summarize,

abridge, "boil down," curtail, epitomize, retrench, sum up.

Prepositions:

To amplify on or upon the subject is needless. Amplify this matter by illustrations.

Analogy.

Synonyms:

affinity, likeness, relation, similarity,

coincidence, parity, resemblance, simile,

comparison, proportion, semblance, similitude.

Analogy is specifically a resemblance of relations; a resemblance that may be reasoned from, so that from the likeness in certain respects we may infer that other and perhaps deeper relations exist. Affinity is a mutual attraction with or without seeming likeness; as, the affinity of iron for oxygen. Coincidence is complete agreement in some one or more respects; there may be a coincidence in time of most dissimilar events. Parity of reasoning is said of an argument equally conclusive on subjects not strictly analogous. Similitude is a rhetorical comparison of one thing to another with which it has some points in common. Resemblance and similarity are external or superficial, and may involve no deeper relation; as, the resemblance of a cloud to a distant mountain. Compare ALLEGORY.

Antonyms:

disagreement, disproportion, dissimilarity, incongruity, unlikeness.

Prepositions:

The analogy between (or of) nature and revelation; the analogy of sound to light; a family has some analogy with (or to) a state.

Anger.

Synonyms:

animosity, fury, offense, rage,

choler, impatience, passion, resentment,

displeasure, indignation, peevishness, temper,

exasperation, ire, pettishness, vexation,

fretfulness, irritation, petulance, wrath.

Displeasure is the mildest and most general word. Choler and ire, now rare except in poetic or highly rhetorical language, denote a still, and the latter a persistent, anger. Temper used alone in the sense of anger is colloquial, tho we may correctly say a hot temper, a fiery temper, etc. Passion, tho a word of far wider application, may, in the singular, be employed to denote anger; "did put me in a towering passion," Shakespeare Hamlet act v, sc. 2. Anger is violent and vindictive emotion, which is sharp, sudden, and, like all violent passions, necessarily brief. Resentment (a feeling back or feeling over again) is persistent, the bitter brooding over injuries. Exasperation, a roughening, is a hot, superficial intensity of anger, demanding instant expression. Rage drives one beyond the bounds of prudence or discretion; fury is stronger yet, and sweeps one away into uncontrollable violence. Anger is personal and usually selfish, aroused by real or supposed wrong to oneself, and directed specifically and intensely against the person who is viewed as blameworthy. Indignation is impersonal and unselfish displeasure at unworthy acts (L. indigna), i. e., at wrong as wrong. Pure indignation is not followed by regret, and needs no repentance; it is also more self-controlled than anger. Anger is commonly a sin; indignation is often a duty. Wrath is deep and perhaps vengeful displeasure, as when the people of Nazareth were "filled with wrath" at the plain words of Jesus (Luke iv, 28); it may, however, simply express the culmination of righteous indignation without malice in a pure being; as, the wrath of God. Impatience, fretfulness, irritation, peevishness, pettishness, petulance, and vexation express the slighter forms of anger. Irritation, petulance, and vexation are temporary and for immediate cause. Fretfulness, pettishness, and peevishness are chronic states finding in any petty matter an occasion for their exercise. Compare ACRIMONY; ENMITY; HATRED.

Antonyms:

amiability, gentleness, long-suffering, patience, peacefulness,

charity, leniency, love, peace, self-control,

forbearance, lenity, mildness, peaceableness, self-restraint.

Prepositions:

Anger at the insult prompted the reply. Anger toward the offender exaggerates the offense.

Animal.

Synonyms:

beast, fauna, living organism, sentient being.

brute, living creature,

An animal is a sentient being, distinct from inanimate matter and from vegetable life on the one side and from mental and spiritual existence on the other. Thus man is properly classified as an animal. But because the animal life is the lowest and rudest part of his being and that which he shares with inferior creatures, to call any individual man an animal is to imply that the animal nature has undue supremacy, and so is deep condemnation or utter insult. The brute is the animal viewed as dull to all finer feeling; the beast is looked upon as a being of appetites. To call a man a brute is to imply that he is unfeeling and cruel; to call him a beast is to indicate that he is vilely sensual. We speak of the cruel father as a brute to his children; of the drunkard as making a beast of himself. So firmly are these figurative senses established that we now incline to avoid applying brute or beast to any creature, as a horse or dog, for which we have any affection; we prefer in such cases the word animal. Creature is a word of wide signification, including all the things that God has created, whether inanimate objects, plants, animals, angels, or men. The animals of a region are collectively called its fauna.

Antonyms:

angel, man, mind, soul, substance (material),

inanimate object, matter, mineral, spirit, vegetable.

Announce.

Synonyms:

advertise, give notice (of), proclaim, reveal,

circulate, give out, promulgate, say,

communicate, herald, propound, spread abroad,

declare, make known, publish, state,

enunciate, notify, report, tell.

To announce is to give intelligence of in some formal or public way. We may announce that which has occurred or that which is to occur, tho the word is chiefly used in the anticipative sense; we announce a book when it is in press, a guest when he arrives. We advertise our business, communicate our intentions, enunciate our views; we notify an individual, give notice to the public. Declare has often an authoritative force; to declare war is to cause war to be, where before there may have been only hostilities; we say declare war, proclaim peace. We propound a question or an argument, promulgate the views of a sect or party, or the decision of a court, etc. We report an interview, reveal a secret, herald the coming of some distinguished person or great event. Publish, in popular usage, is becoming closely restricted to the sense of issuing through the press; we announce a book that is to be published.

Antonyms:

bury, cover (up), hush, keep secret, suppress,

conceal, hide, keep back, secrete, withhold.

Prepositions:

The event was announced to the family by telegraph.

Answer.

Synonyms:

rejoinder, repartee, reply, response, retort.

A verbal answer is a return of words to something that seems to call for them, and is made to a charge as well as to a question; an answer may be even made to an unspoken implication or manifestation; see Luke v, 22. In a wider sense, anything said or done in return for some word, action, or suggestion of another may be called an answer. The blow of an enraged man, the whinny of a horse, the howling of the wind, the movement of a bolt in a lock, an echo, etc., may each be an answer to some word or movement. A reply is an unfolding, and ordinarily implies thought and intelligence. A rejoinder is strictly an answer to a reply, tho often used in the general sense of answer, but always with the implication of something more or less controversial or opposed, tho lacking the conclusiveness implied in answer; an answer, in the full sense, to a charge, an argument, or an objection is adequate, and finally refutes and disposes of it; a reply or rejoinder may be quite inadequate, so that one may say, "This reply is not an answer;" "I am ready with an answer" means far more than "I am ready with a reply." A response is accordant or harmonious, designed or adapted to carry on the thought of the words that called it forth, as the responses in a liturgical service, or to meet the wish of him who seeks it; as, the appeal for aid met a prompt and hearty response. Repartee is a prompt, witty, and commonly good-natured answer to some argument or attack; a retort may also be witty, but is severe and may be even savage in its intensity.

Prepositions:

An answer in writing, or by word of mouth, to the question.

Anticipate.

Synonyms:

apprehend, forecast, hope,

expect, foretaste, look forward to.

To anticipate may be either to take before in fact or to take before in thought; in the former sense it is allied with prevent; in the latter, with the synonyms above given. This is coming to be the prevalent and favorite use. We expect that which we have good reason to believe will happen; as, a boy expects to grow to manhood. We hope for that which we much desire and somewhat expect. We apprehend what we both expect and fear. Anticipate is commonly used now, like foretaste, of that which we expect both with confidence and pleasure. In this use it is a stronger word than hope, where often "the wish is father to the thought." I hope for a visit from my friend, tho I have no word from him; I expect it when he writes that he is coming; and as the time draws near I anticipate it with pleasure. Compare ABIDE; PREVENT.

Antonyms:

despair of, distrust, doubt, dread, fear, recall, recollect, remember.

Anticipation.

Synonyms:

antepast, expectation, foresight, hope,

apprehension, foreboding, foretaste, presentiment,

expectancy, forecast, forethought, prevision.

Expectation may be either of good or evil; presentiment almost always, apprehension and foreboding always, of evil; anticipation and antepast, commonly of good. Thus, we speak of the pleasures of anticipation. A foretaste may be of good or evil, and is more than imaginary; it is a part actually received in advance. Foresight and forethought prevent future evil and secure future good by timely looking forward, and acting upon what is foreseen. Compare ANTICIPATE.

Antonyms:

astonishment, despair, dread, fear, surprise,

consummation, doubt, enjoyment, realization, wonder.

Antipathy.

Synonyms:

abhorrence, disgust, hatred, repugnance,

antagonism, dislike, hostility, repulsion,

aversion, distaste, opposition, uncongeniality.

detestation,

Antipathy, repugnance, and uncongeniality are instinctive; other forms of dislike may be acquired or cherished for cause. Uncongeniality is negative, a want of touch or sympathy. An antipathy to a person or thing is an instinctive recoil from connection or association with that person or thing, and may be physical or mental, or both. Antagonism may result from the necessity of circumstances; opposition may spring from conflicting views or interests; abhorrence and detestation may be the result of religious and moral training; distaste and disgust may be acquired; aversion is a deep and permanent dislike. A natural antipathy may give rise to opposition which may result in hatred and hostility. Compare ACRIMONY; ANGER; ENMITY; HATRED.

Antonyms:

affinity, attraction, fellow-feeling, kindliness, sympathy.

agreement, congeniality, harmony, regard,

Prepositions:

Antipathy to (less frequently for or against) a person or thing; antipathy between or betwixt two persons or things.

Antique.

Synonyms:

ancient, old-fashioned, quaint, superannuated.

antiquated,

Antique refers to an ancient, antiquated to a discarded style. Antique is that which is either ancient in fact or ancient in style. The reference is to the style rather than to the age. We can speak of the antique architecture of a church just built. The difference between antiquated and antique is not in the age, for a Puritan style may be scorned as antiquated, while a Roman or Renaissance style may be prized as antique. The antiquated is not so much out of date as out of vogue. Old-fashioned may be used approvingly or contemptuously. In the latter case it becomes a synonym for antiquated; in the good sense it approaches the meaning of antique, but indicates less duration. We call a wide New England fireplace old-fashioned; a coin of the Cæsars, antique. Quaint combines the idea of age with a pleasing oddity; as, a quaint gambrel-roofed house. Antiquated is sometimes used of persons in a sense akin to superannuated. The antiquated person is out of style and out of sympathy with the present generation by reason of age; the superannuated person is incapacitated for present activities by reason of age. Compare OLD.

Antonyms:

fashionable, fresh, modern, modish, new, recent, stylish.

Anxiety.

Synonyms:

anguish, disquiet, foreboding, perplexity,

apprehension, disturbance, fretfulness, solicitude,

care, dread, fretting, trouble,

concern, fear, misgiving, worry.

Anxiety is, according to its derivation, a choking disquiet, akin to anguish; anxiety is mental; anguish may be mental or physical; anguish is in regard to the known, anxiety in regard to the unknown; anguish is because of what has happened, anxiety because of what may happen. Anxiety refers to some future event, always suggesting hopeful possibility, and thus differing from apprehension, fear, dread, foreboding, terror, all of which may be quite despairing. In matters within our reach, anxiety always stirs the question whether something can not be done, and is thus a valuable spur to doing; in this respect it is allied to care. Foreboding, dread, etc., commonly incapacitate for all helpful thought or endeavor. Worry is a more petty, restless, and manifest anxiety; anxiety may be quiet and silent; worry is communicated to all around. Solicitude is a milder anxiety. Fretting or fretfulness is a weak complaining without thought of accomplishing or changing anything, but merely as a relief to one's own disquiet. Perplexity often involves anxiety, but may be quite free from it. A student may be perplexed regarding a translation, yet, if he has time enough, not at all anxious regarding it.

Antonyms:

apathy, calmness, confidence, light-heartedness, satisfaction,

assurance, carelessness, ease, nonchalance, tranquillity.

Prepositions:

Anxiety for a friend's return; anxiety about, in regard to, or concerning the future.

Apathy.

Synonyms:

calmness, indifference, quietness, stoicism,

composure, insensibility, quietude, tranquillity,

immobility, lethargy, sluggishness, unconcern,

impassibility, phlegm, stillness, unfeelingness.

Apathy, according to its Greek derivation, is a simple absence of feeling or emotion. There are persons to whom a certain degree of apathy is natural, an innate sluggishness of the emotional nature. In the apathy of despair, a person gives up, without resistance or sensibility, to what he has fiercely struggled to avoid. While apathy is want of feeling, calmness is feeling without agitation. Calmness is the result of strength, courage, or trust; apathy is the result of dulness or weakness. Composure is freedom from agitation or disturbance, resulting ordinarily from force of will, or from perfect confidence in one's own resources. Impassibility is a philosophical term applied to the Deity, as infinitely exalted above all stir of passion or emotion. Unfeelingness, the Saxon word that should be the exact equivalent of apathy, really means more, a lack of the feeling one ought to have, a censurable hardness of heart. Indifference and insensibility designate the absence of feeling toward certain persons or things; apathy, entire absence of feeling. Indifference is a want of interest; insensibility is a want of feeling; unconcern has reference to consequences. We speak of insensibility of heart, immobility of countenance. Stoicism is an intentional suppression of feeling and deadening of sensibilities, while apathy is involuntary. Compare CALM; REST; STUPOR.

Antonyms:

agitation, disturbance, feeling, sensibility, sympathy,

alarm, eagerness, frenzy, sensitiveness, turbulence,

anxiety, emotion, fury, storm, vehemence,

care, excitement, passion, susceptibility, violence.

distress,

Prepositions:

The apathy of monastic life; apathy toward good.

Apiece.

Synonyms:

distributively, each, individually, separately, severally.

There is no discernible difference in sense between so much apiece and so much each; the former is the more common and popular, the latter the more elegant expression. Distributively is generally used of numbers and abstract relations. Individually emphasizes the independence of the individuals; separately and severally still more emphatically hold them apart. The signers of a note may become jointly and severally responsible, that is, each liable for the entire amount, as if he had signed it alone. Witnesses are often brought separately into court, in order that no one may be influenced by the testimony of another. If a company of laborers demand a dollar apiece, that is a demand that each shall receive that sum; if they individually demand a dollar, each individual makes the demand.

Antonyms:

accumulatively, confusedly, indiscriminately, together, unitedly.

collectively, en masse, synthetically,

Apology.

Synonyms:

acknowledgment, defense, excuse, plea,

confession, exculpation, justification, vindication.

All these words express one's answer to a charge of wrong or error that is or might be made. Apology has undergone a remarkable change from its old sense of a valiant defense—as in Justin Martyr's Apologies for the Christian faith—to its present meaning of humble confession and concession. He who offers an apology admits himself, at least technically and seemingly, in the wrong. An apology is for what one has done or left undone; an excuse may be for what one proposes to do or leave undone as well; as, one sends beforehand his excuse for not accepting an invitation; if he should fail either to be present or to excuse himself, an apology would be in order. An excuse for a fault is an attempt at partial justification; as, one alleges haste as an excuse for carelessness. Confession is a full acknowledgment of wrong, generally of a grave wrong, with or without apology or excuse. Plea ranges in sense from a prayer for favor or pardon to an attempt at full vindication. Defense, exculpation, justification, and vindication are more properly antonyms than synonyms of apology in its modern sense, and should be so given, but for their connection with its historic usage. Compare CONFESS; DEFENSE.

Antonyms:

accusation, charge, condemnation, injury, offense,

censure, complaint, imputation, insult, wrong.

Prepositions:

An apology to the guest for the oversight would be fitting.

Apparent.

Synonyms:

likely, presumable, probable, seeming.

The apparent is that which appears; the word has two contrasted senses, either of that which is manifest, visible, certain, or of that which merely seems to be and may be very different from what is; as, the apparent motion of the sun around the earth. Apparent kindness casts a doubt on the reality of the kindness; apparent neglect implies that more care and pains may have been bestowed than we are aware of. Presumable implies that a thing may be reasonably supposed beforehand without any full knowledge of the facts. Probable implies that we know facts enough to make us moderately confident of it. Seeming expresses great doubt of the reality; seeming innocence comes very near in meaning to probable guilt. Apparent indicates less assurance than probable, and more than seeming. A man's probable intent we believe will prove to be his real intent; his seeming intent we believe to be a sham; his apparent intent may be the true one, tho we have not yet evidence on which to pronounce with certainty or even with confidence. Likely is a word with a wide range of usage, but always implying the belief that the thing is, or will be, true; it is often used with the infinitive, as the other words of this list can not be; as, it is likely to happen. Compare EVIDENT.

Antonyms:

doubtful, dubious, improbable, unimaginable, unlikely.

Prepositions:

(When apparent is used in the sense of evident): His guilt is apparent in every act to all observers.

Appear.

Synonyms:

have the appearance or semblance, look, seem.

Appear and look refer to what manifests itself to the senses; to a semblance or probability presented directly to the mind. Seem applies to what is manifest to the mind on reflection. It suddenly appears to me that there is smoke in the distance; as I watch, it looks like a fire; from my knowledge of the locality and observation of particulars, it seems to me a farmhouse must be burning.

Antonyms:

be, be certain, real, or true, be the fact, exist.

Prepositions:

Appear at the front; among the first; on or upon the surface; to the eye; in evidence, in print; from reports; near the harbor; before the public; in appropriate dress; with the insignia of his rank; above the clouds; below the surface; under the lee; over the sea; through the mist; appear for, in behalf of, or against one in court.

Appendage.

Synonyms:

accessory, addition, appurtenance, concomitant,

accompaniment, adjunct, attachment, extension,

addendum, appendix, auxiliary, supplement.

An adjunct (something joined to) constitutes no real part of the thing or system to which it is joined, tho perhaps a valuable addition; an appendage is commonly a real, tho not an essential or necessary part of that with which it is connected; an appurtenance belongs subordinately to something by which it is employed, especially as an instrument to accomplish some purpose. A horse's tail is at once an ornamental appendage and a useful appurtenance; we could not call it an adjunct, tho we might use that word of his iron shoes. An attachment in machinery is some mechanism that can be brought into optional connection with the principal movement; a hemmer is a valuable attachment of a sewing-machine. An extension, as of a railroad or of a franchise, carries out further something already existing. We add an appendix to a book, to contain names, dates, lists, etc., which would encumber the text; we add a supplement to supply omissions, as, for instance, to bring it up to date. An appendix may be called an addendum; but addendum may be used of a brief note, which would not be dignified by the name of appendix; such notes are often grouped as addenda. An addition might be matter interwoven in the body of the work, an index, plates, editorial notes, etc., which might be valuable additions, but not within the meaning of appendix or supplement. Compare ACCESSORY; AUXILIARY.

Antonyms:

main body, original, total, whole.

Prepositions:

That which is thought of as added we call an appendage to; that which is looked upon as an integral part is called an appendage of.

Appetite.

Synonyms:

appetency, impulse, lust, propensity,

craving, inclination, passion, relish,

desire, liking, proclivity, thirst,

disposition, longing, proneness, zest.

Appetite is used only of the demands of the physical system, unless otherwise expressly stated, as when we say an appetite for knowledge; passion includes all excitable impulses of our nature, as anger, fear, love, hatred, etc. Appetite is thus more animal than passion; and when we speak of passions and appetites as conjoined or contrasted, we think of the appetites as wholly physical and of the passions as, in part at least, mental or spiritual. We say an appetite for food, a passion for fame. Compare DESIRE.

Antonyms:

antipathy, detestation, dislike, distaste, indifference, repugnance,

aversion, disgust, disrelish, hatred, loathing, repulsion.

Compare ANTIPATHY.

Preposition:

He had an insatiable appetite for the marvellous.

Apportion.

Synonyms:

allot, appropriate, deal, distribute, grant,

appoint, assign, dispense, divide, share.

To allot or assign may be to make an arbitrary division; the same is true of distribute or divide. That which is apportioned is given by some fixed rule, which is meant to be uniform and fair; as, representatives are apportioned among the States according to population. To dispense is to give out freely; as, the sun dispenses light and heat. A thing is appropriated to or for a specific purpose (to which it thus becomes proper, in the original sense of being its own); money appropriated by Congress for one purpose can not be expended for any other. One may apportion what he only holds in trust; he shares what is his own. Compare ALLOT.

Antonyms:

cling to, consolidate, gather together, receive,

collect, divide arbitrarily, keep together, retain.

Prepositions:

Apportion to each a fair amount; apportion the property among the heirs, between two claimants; apportion according to numbers, etc.

Approximation.

Synonyms:

approach, likeness, neighborhood, resemblance,

contiguity, nearness, propinquity, similarity.

In mathematics, approximation is not guesswork, not looseness, and not error. The process of approximation is as exact and correct at every point as that by which an absolute result is secured; the result only fails of exactness because of some inherent difficulty in the problem. The attempt to "square the circle" gives only an approximate result, because of the impossibility of expressing the circumference in terms of the radius. But the limits of error on either side are known, and the approximation has practical value. Outside of mathematics, the correct use of approximation (and the kindred words approximate and approximately) is to express as near an approach to accuracy and certainty as the conditions of human thought or action in any given case make possible. Resemblance and similarity may be but superficial and apparent; approximation is real. Approach is a relative term, indicating that one has come nearer than before, tho the distance may yet be considerable; an approximation brings one really near. Nearness, neighborhood, and propinquity are commonly used of place; approximation, of mathematical calculations and abstract reasoning; we speak of approach to the shore, nearness to the town, approximation to the truth.

Antonyms:

difference, distance, error, remoteness, unlikeness, variation.

Prepositions:

The approximation of the vegetable to the animal type.

Arms.

Synonyms:

accouterments, armor, harness, mail, weapons.

Arms are implements of attack; armor is a defensive covering. The knight put on his armor; he grasped his arms. With the disuse of defensive armor the word has practically gone out of military use, but it is still employed in the navy, where the distinction is clearly preserved; any vessel provided with cannon is an armed vessel; an armored ship is an ironclad. Anything that can be wielded in fight may become a weapon, as a pitchfork or a paving-stone; arms are especially made and designed for conflict.

Army.

Synonyms:

armament, forces, military, soldiers,

array, host, multitude, soldiery,

force, legions, phalanx, troops.

An army is an organized body of men armed for war, ordinarily considerable in numbers, always independent in organization so far as not to be a constituent part of any other command. Organization, unity, and independence, rather than numbers are the essentials of an army. We speak of the invading army of Cortes or Pizarro, tho either body was contemptible in numbers from a modern military standpoint. We may have a little army, a large army, or a vast army. Host is used for any vast and orderly assemblage; as, the stars are called the heavenly host. Multitude expresses number without order or organization; a multitude of armed men is not an army, but a mob. Legion (from the Latin) and phalanx (from the Greek) are applied by a kind of poetic license to modern forces; the plural legions is preferred to the singular. Military is a general word for land-forces; the military may include all the armed soldiery of a nation, or the term may be applied to any small detached company, as at a fort, in distinction from civilians. Any organized body of men by whom the law or will of a people is executed is a force; the word is a usual term for the police of any locality.

Arraign.

Synonyms:

accuse, charge, impeach, prosecute,

censure, cite, indict, summon.

Arraign is an official word; a person accused of crime is arraigned when he is formally called into court, the indictment read to him, and the demand made of him to plead guilty or not guilty; in more extended use, to arraign is to call in question for fault in any formal, public, or official way. One may charge another with any fault, great or trifling, privately or publicly, formally or informally. Accuse is stronger than charge, suggesting more of the formal and criminal; a person may charge a friend with unkindness or neglect; he may accuse a tramp of stealing. Censure carries the idea of fault, but not of crime; it may be private and individual, or public and official. A judge, a president, or other officer of high rank may be impeached before the appropriate tribunal for high crimes; the veracity of a witness may be impeached by damaging evidence. A person of the highest character may be summoned as defendant in a civil suit; or he may be cited to answer as administrator, etc. Indict and arraign apply strictly to criminal proceedings, and only an alleged criminal is indicted or arraigned. One is indicted by the grand jury, and arraigned before the appropriate court.

Antonyms:

acquit, discharge, exonerate, overlook, release,

condone, excuse, forgive, pardon, set free.

Prepositions:

Arraign at the bar, before the tribunal, of or for a crime; on or upon an indictment.

Array.

Synonyms:

army, collection, line of battle, parade,

arrangement, disposition, order, show,

battle array, exhibition, order of battle, sight.

The phrase battle array or array of battle is archaic and poetic; we now say in line or order of battle. The parade is for exhibition and oversight, and partial rehearsal of military manual and maneuvers. Array refers to a continuous arrangement of men, so that all may be seen or reviewed at once. This is practically impossible with the vast armies of our day. We say rather the disposition of troops, which expresses their location so as to sustain and support, though unable to see or readily communicate with each other. Compare DRESS.

Arrest.

Synonyms:

apprehend, detain, restrain, stop,

capture, hold, secure, take into custody,

catch, make prisoner, seize, take prisoner.

The legal term arrest carries always the implication of a legal offense; this is true even of arresting for debt. But one may be detained by process of law when no offense is alleged against him, as in the case of a witness who is held in a house of detention till a case comes to trial. One may be restrained of his liberty without arrest, as in an insane asylum; an individual or corporation may be restrained by injunction from selling certain property. In case of an arrest, an officer may secure his prisoner by fetters, by a locked door, or other means effectually to prevent escape. Capture is commonly used of seizure by armed force; as, to capture a ship, a fort, etc. Compare HINDER; OBSTRUCT.

Antonyms:

discharge, dismiss, free, liberate, release, set free.

Prepositions:

Arrested for crime, on suspicion, by the sheriff; on, upon, or by virtue of a warrant; on final process; in execution.

Artifice.

Synonyms:

art, craft, finesse, invention, stratagem,

blind, cunning, fraud, machination, subterfuge,

cheat, device, guile, maneuver, trick,

contrivance, dodge, imposture, ruse, wile.

A contrivance or device may be either good or bad. A cheat is a mean advantage in a bargain; a fraud, any form of covert robbery or injury. Imposture is a deceitful contrivance for securing charity, credit, or consideration. A stratagem or maneuver may be of the good against the bad, as it were a skilful movement of war. A wile is usually but not necessarily evil.

E'en children followed with endearing wile.

Goldsmith Deserted Village, l. 184.

A trick is often low, injurious, and malicious; we say a mean trick; the word is sometimes used playfully with less than its full meaning. A ruse or a blind may be quite innocent and harmless. An artifice is a carefully and delicately prepared contrivance for doing indirectly what one could not well do directly. A device is something studied out for promoting an end, as in a mechanism; the word is used of indirect action, often, but not necessarily directed to an evil, selfish, or injurious end. Finesse is especially subtle contrivance, delicate artifice, whether for good or evil. Compare FRAUD.

Antonyms:

artlessness, fairness, guilelessness, ingenuousness, openness, sincerity,

candor, frankness, honesty, innocence, simplicity, truth.

Artist.

Synonyms:

artificer, artisan, mechanic, operative, workman.

Artist, artificer and artisan are all from the root of art, but artist holds to the esthetic sense, while artificer and artisan follow the mechanical or industrial sense of the word (see ART under SCIENCE). Artist thus comes only into accidental association with the other words of this group, not being a synonym of any one of them and having practically no synonym of its own. The work of the artist is creative; that of the artisan mechanical. The man who paints a beautiful picture is an artist; the man who makes pin-heads all day is an artisan. The artificer is between the two, putting more thought, intelligence, and taste into his work than the artisan, but less of the idealizing, creative power than the artist. The sculptor, shaping his model in clay, is artificer, as well as artist; patient artisans, working simply by rule and scale, chisel and polish the stone. The man who constructs anything by mere routine and rule is a mechanic. The man whose work involves thought, skill, and constructive power is an artificer. The hod-carrier is a laborer; the bricklayer is a mechanic; the master mason is an artificer. Those who operate machinery nearly self-acting are operatives.

ASK.

Synonyms:

beg, crave, entreat, petition, request, solicit,

beseech, demand, implore, pray, require, supplicate.

One asks what he feels that he may fairly claim and reasonably expect; "if a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father," Luke xi, 11; he begs for that to which he advances no claim but pity. Demand is a determined and often an arrogant word; one may rightfully demand what is his own or his due, when it is withheld or denied; or he may wrongfully demand that to which he has no claim but power. Require is less arrogant and obtrusive than demand, but is exceedingly strenuous; as, the court requires the attendance of witnesses. Entreat implies a special earnestness of asking, and beseech, a still added and more humble intensity; beseech was formerly often used as a polite intensive for beg or pray; as, I beseech you to tell me. To implore is to ask with weeping and lamentation; to supplicate is to ask, as it were, on bended knees. Crave and request are somewhat formal terms; crave has almost disappeared from conversation; request would seem distant between parent and child. Pray is now used chiefly of address to the Supreme Being; petition is used of written request to persons in authority; as, to petition the legislature to pass an act, or the governor to pardon an offender.

Antonyms:

claim, command, deny, enforce, exact, extort, insist, refuse, reject.

Prepositions:

Ask a person for a thing; ask a thing of or from a person; ask after or about one's health, welfare, friends, etc.

Associate.

Synonyms:

accomplice, coadjutor, comrade, fellow, mate,

ally, colleague, confederate, friend, partner,

chum, companion, consort, helpmate, peer.

An associate as used officially implies a chief, leader, or principal, to whom the associate is not fully equal in rank. Associate is popularly used of mere friendly relations, but oftener implies some work, enterprise, or pursuit in which the associated persons unite. We rarely speak of associates in crime or wrong, using confederates or accomplices instead. Companion gives itself with equal readiness to the good or evil sense, as also does comrade. One may be a companion in travel who would not readily become an associate at home. A lady advertises for a companion; she would not advertise for an associate. Peer implies equality rather than companionship; as, a jury of his peers. Comrade expresses more fellowship and good feeling than companion. Fellow has almost gone out of use in this connection, except in an inferior or patronizing sense. Consort is a word of equality and dignity, as applied especially to the marriage relation. Compare ACCESSORY; ACQUAINTANCE; FRIENDSHIP.

Antonyms:

antagonist, enemy, foe, hinderer, opponent, opposer, rival, stranger.

Prepositions:

These were the associates of the leader in the enterprise.

Association.

Synonyms:

alliance, confederacy, familiarity, lodge,

club, confederation, federation, participation,

community, conjunction, fellowship, partnership,

companionship, connection, fraternity, society,

company, corporation, friendship, union.

We speak of an alliance of nations, a club of pleasure-seekers, a community of Shakers, a company of soldiers or of friends, a confederacy, confederation, federation, or union of separate states under one general government, a partnership or company of business men, a conjunction of planets. The whole body of Freemasons constitute a fraternity; one of their local organizations is called a lodge. A corporation or company is formed for purposes of business; an association or society (tho also incorporated) is for learning, literature, benevolence, religion, etc. Compare ASSOCIATE; ACQUAINTANCE; FRIENDSHIP.

Antonyms:

disintegration, independence, isolation, separation, solitude.

Prepositions:

An association of scholars for the advancement of knowledge; association with the good is ennobling.

Assume.

Synonyms:

accept, arrogate, postulate, put on,

affect, claim, presume, take,

appropriate, feign, pretend, usurp.

The distinctive idea of assume is to take by one's own independent volition, whether well or ill, rightfully or wrongfully. One may accept an obligation or assume an authority that properly belongs to him, or he may assume an obligation or indebtedness that could not be required of him. He may assume authority or office that is his right; if he assumes what does not belong to him, he is said to arrogate or usurp it. A man may usurp the substance of power in the most unpretending way; what he arrogates to himself he assumes with a haughty and overbearing manner. One assumes the robes or insignia of office by putting them on, with or without right. If he takes to himself the credit and appearance of qualities he does not possess, he is said to affect or feign, or to pretend to, the character he thus assumes. What a debater postulates he openly states and takes for granted without proof; what he assumes he may take for granted without mention. A favorite trick of the sophist is quietly to assume as true what would at once be challenged if expressly stated. What a man claims he asserts his right to take; what he assumes he takes.

Assurance.

Synonyms:

arrogance, boldness, impudence, self-confidence,

assertion, confidence, presumption, self-reliance,

assumption, effrontery, self-assertion, trust.

Assurance may have the good sense of a high, sustained confidence and trust; as, the saint's assurance of heaven. Confidence is founded upon reasons; assurance is largely a matter of feeling. In the bad sense, assurance is a vicious courage, with belief of one's ability to outwit or defy others; the hardened criminal is remarkable for habitual assurance. For the calm conviction of one's own rectitude and ability, self-confidence is a better word than assurance; self-reliance expresses confidence in one's own resources, independently of others' aid. In the bad sense assurance is less gross than impudence, which is (according to its etymology) a shameless boldness. Assurance is in act or manner; impudence may be in speech. Effrontery is impudence defiantly displayed. Compare FAITH; PRIDE.

Antonyms:

bashfulness, consternation, distrust, hesitancy, shyness,

confusion, dismay, doubt, misgiving, timidity.

Astute.

Synonyms:

acute, discerning, penetrating, sharp,

clear-sighted, discriminating, penetrative, shrewd,

crafty, keen, perspicacious, subtile,

cunning, knowing, sagacious, subtle.

Acute, from the Latin, suggests the sharpness of the needle's point; keen, from the Saxon, the sharpness of the cutting edge. Astute, from the Latin, with the original sense of cunning has come to have a meaning that combines the sense of acute or keen with that of sagacious. The astute mind adds to acuteness and keenness an element of cunning or finesse. The astute debater leads his opponents into a snare by getting them to make admissions, or urge arguments, of which he sees a result that they do not perceive. The acute, keen intellect may take no special advantage of these qualities; the astute mind has always a point to make for itself, and seldom fails to make it. A knowing look, air, etc., in general indicates practical knowledge with a touch of shrewdness, and perhaps of cunning; in regard to some special matter, it indicates the possession of reserved knowledge which the person could impart if he chose. Knowing has often a slightly invidious sense. We speak of a knowing rascal, meaning cunning or shrewd within a narrow range, but of a knowing horse or dog, in the sense of sagacious, implying that he knows more than could be expected of such an animal. A knowing child has more knowledge than would be looked for at his years, perhaps more than is quite desirable, while to speak of a child as intelligent is altogether complimentary.

Antonyms:

blind, idiotic, shallow, stolid, undiscerning,

dull, imbecile, short-sighted, stupid, unintelligent.

Attachment.

Synonyms:

adherence, devotion, friendship, regard,

adhesion, esteem, inclination, tenderness,

affection, estimation, love, union.

An attachment is a feeling that binds a person by ties of heart to another person or thing; we speak of a man's adherence to his purpose, his adhesion to his party, or to anything to which he clings tenaciously, tho with no special tenderness; of his attachment to his church, to the old homestead, or to any persons or objects that he may hold dear. Affection expresses more warmth of feeling; we should not speak of a mother's attachment to her babe, but of her affection or of her devotion. Inclination expresses simply a tendency, which may be good or bad, yielded to or overcome; as, an inclination to study; an inclination to drink. Regard is more distant than affection or attachment, but closer and warmer than esteem; we speak of high esteem, kind regard. Compare ACQUAINTANCE; APPENDAGE; FRIENDSHIP; LOVE; UNION.

Antonyms:

alienation, aversion, distance, estrangement, repugnance,

animosity, coolness, divorce, indifference, separation,

antipathy, dislike, enmity, opposition, severance.

Prepositions:

Attachment of a true man to his friends; attachment to a leader for his nobility of character; the attachments between two persons or things; attachment by muscular fibers, or by a rope, etc.

Attack, v.

Synonyms:

assail, beset, combat, invade,

assault, besiege, encounter, set upon,

beleaguer, charge, fall upon, storm.

To attack is to begin hostilities of any kind. A general invades a country by marching in troops; he attacks a city by drawing up an army against it; he assaults it by hurling his troops directly upon its defenses. Assail and assault, tho of the same original etymology, have diverged in meaning, so that assault alone retains the meaning of direct personal violence. One may assail another with reproaches; he assaults him with a blow, a brandished weapon, etc. Armies or squadrons charge; combat and encounter may be said of individual contests. To beset is to set around, or, so to speak, to stud one's path, with menaces, attacks, or persuasions. To besiege and beleaguer are the acts of armies. To encounter is to meet face to face, and may be said either of the attacking or of the resisting force or person, or of both.

Antonyms:

aid, cover, protect, shelter, support, uphold,

befriend, defend, resist, shield, sustain, withstand.

Prepositions:

We were attacked by the enemy with cannon and musketry.

Attack, n.

Synonyms:

aggression, incursion, invasion, onslaught,

assault, infringement, onset, trespass.

encroachment, intrusion,

An attack may be by word; an aggression is always by deed. An assault may be upon the person, an aggression is upon rights, possessions, etc. An invasion of a nation's territories is an act of aggression; an intrusion upon a neighboring estate is a trespass. Onslaught signifies intensely violent assault, as by an army or a desperado, tho it is sometimes used of violent speech.

Antonyms:

defense, repulsion, resistance, retreat, submission, surrender.

Prepositions:

The enemy made an attack upon (or on) our works.

Attain.

Synonyms:

accomplish, arrive at, gain, master, reach,

achieve, compass, get, obtain, secure,

acquire, earn, grasp, procure, win.

A person may obtain a situation by the intercession of friends, he procures a dinner by paying for it. Attain is a lofty word, pointing to some high or desirable result; a man attains the mountain summit, he attains honor or learning as the result of strenuous and earnest labor. Even that usage of attain which has been thought to refer to mere progress of time carries the thought of a result desired; as, to attain to old age; the man desires to live to a good old age; we should not speak of his attaining his dotage. One may attain an object that will prove not worth his labor, but what he achieves is in itself great and splendid; as, the Greeks at Marathon achieved a glorious victory. Compare DO; GET; REACH.

Antonyms:

abandon, fail, forfeit, give up, let go, lose, miss.

Attitude.

Synonyms:

pose, position, posture.

Position as applied to the arrangement or situation of the human body or limbs may denote that which is conscious or unconscious, of the living or the dead; but we do not speak of the attitude, pose, or posture of a corpse; unless, in some rare case, we might say the body was found in a sitting posture, where the posture is thought of as assumed in life, or as, at first glance, suggesting life. A posture is assumed without any special reference to expression of feeling; as, an erect posture, a reclining posture; attitude is the position appropriate to the expression of some feeling; the attitude may be unconsciously taken through the strength of the feeling; as, an attitude of defiance; or it may be consciously assumed in the attempt to express the feeling; as, he assumed an attitude of humility. A pose is a position studied for artistic effect, or considered with reference to such effect; the unconscious posture of a spectator or listener may be an admirable pose from an artist's standpoint.

Attribute, v.

Synonyms:

ascribe, associate, connect, impute, refer.

assign, charge,

We may attribute to a person either that which belongs to him or that which we merely suppose to be his. We attribute to God infinite power. We may attribute a wrong intent to an innocent person. We may attribute a result, rightly or wrongly, to a certain cause; in such case, however, attribute carries always a concession of uncertainty or possible error. Where we are quite sure, we simply refer a matter to the cause or class to which it belongs or ascribe to one what is surely his, etc. Many diseases formerly attributed to witchcraft are now referred to the action of micro-organisms. We may attribute a matter in silent thought; we ascribe anything openly in speech or writing; King Saul said of the singing women, "They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands." We associate things which may have no necessary or causal relation; as, we may associate the striking of a clock with the serving of dinner, tho the two are not necessarily connected. We charge a person with what we deem blameworthy. We may impute good or evil, but more commonly evil.

Antonyms:

deny, disconnect, dissociate, separate, sever, sunder.

Prepositions:

It is uncharitable to attribute evil motives to (archaic unto) others.

Attribute, n.

Synonyms:

property, quality.

A quality (L. qualis, such)—the "suchness" of anything, according to the German idiom—denotes what a thing really is in some one respect; an attribute is what we conceive a thing to be in some one respect; thus, while attribute may, quality must, express something of the real nature of that to which it is ascribed; we speak of the attributes of God, the qualities of matter. "Originally 'the attributes of God' was preferred, probably, because men assumed no knowledge of the actual qualities of the Deity, but only of those more or less fitly attributed to him." J. A. H. Murray. [M.] Holiness is an attribute of God; the attributes of many heathen deities have been only the qualities of wicked men joined to superhuman power. A property (L. proprius, one's own) is what belongs especially to one thing as its own peculiar possession, in distinction from all other things; when we speak of the qualities or the properties of matter, quality is the more general, property the more limited term. A quality is inherent; a property may be transient; physicists now, however, prefer to term those qualities manifested by all bodies (such as impenetrability, extension, etc.), general properties of matter, while those peculiar to certain substances or to certain states of those substances (as fluidity, malleability, etc.) are termed specific properties; in this wider use of the word property, it becomes strictly synonymous with quality. Compare CHARACTERISTIC; EMBLEM.

Antonyms:

being, essence, nature, substance.

Augur.

Synonyms:

betoken, divine, foretell, predict, prognosticate,

bode, forebode, portend, presage, prophesy.

"Persons or things augur; persons only forebode or presage; things only betoken or portend." Crabb English Synonymes. We augur well for a voyage from past good fortune and a good start; we presage success from the stanchness of the ship and the skill of the captain. We forebode misfortune either from circumstances that betoken failure, or from gloomy fancies for which we could not give a reason. Dissipation among the officers and mutiny among the crew portend disaster. Divine has reference to the ancient soothsayers' arts (as in Gen. xliv, 5, 15), and refers rather to reading hearts than to reading the future. We say I could not divine his motive, or his intention.

Antonyms:

assure, demonstrate, establish, make sure, settle,

calculate, determine, insure, prove, warrant.

Prepositions:

I augur from all circumstances a prosperous result; I augur ill of the enterprise; "augurs ill to the rights of the people," Thomas Jefferson Writings vol. ii, p. 506. [T. & M. '53.] I augur well, or this augurs well, for your cause.

Authentic.

Synonyms:

accepted, certain, original, sure,

accredited, current, real, true,

authoritative, genuine, received, trustworthy,

authorized, legitimate, reliable, veritable.

That is authentic which is true to the facts; that is genuine which is true to its own claims; as, authentic history; genuine money.

A 'genuine' work is one written by the author whose name it bears; an 'authentic' work is one which relates truthfully the matters of which it treats. For example, the apocryphal Gospel of St. Thomas is neither 'genuine' nor 'authentic.' It is not 'genuine,' for St. Thomas did not write it; it is not 'authentic,' for its contents are mainly fables and lies.

Trench On the Study of Words lect. vi, p. 189. [W. J. W.]

Authentic is, however, used by reputable writers as synonymous with genuine, tho usually where genuineness carries a certain authority. We speak of accepted conclusions, certain evidence, current money, genuine letters, a legitimate conclusion or legitimate authority, original manuscripts, real value, received interpretation, sure proof, a true statement, a trustworthy witness, a veritable discovery.

Antonyms:

apocryphal, counterfeit, exploded, false, spurious,

baseless, disputed, fabulous, fictitious, unauthorized.

Auxiliary.

Synonyms:

accessory, ally, coadjutor, helper, promoter,

aid, assistant, confederate, mercenary, subordinate.

An auxiliary is a person or thing that helps in a subordinate capacity. Allies unite as equals; auxiliaries are, at least technically, inferiors or subordinates. Yet the auxiliary is more than a mere assistant. The word is oftenest found in the plural, and in the military sense; auxiliaries are troops of one nation uniting with the armies, and acting under the orders, of another. Mercenaries serve only for pay; auxiliaries often for reasons of state, policy, or patriotism as well. Compare ACCESSORY; APPENDAGE.

Antonyms:

antagonist, hinderer, opponent, opposer.

Prepositions:

The auxiliaries of the Romans; an auxiliary in a good cause; an auxiliary to learning.

Avaricious.

Synonyms:

close, greedy, niggardly, penurious, sordid,

covetous, miserly, parsimonious, rapacious, stingy.

Avaricious and covetous refer especially to acquisition, miserly, niggardly, parsimonious, and penurious to expenditure. The avaricious man has an eager craving for money, and ordinarily desires both to get and to keep, the covetous man to get something away from its possessor; tho one may be made avaricious by the pressure of great expenditures. Miserly and niggardly persons seek to gain by mean and petty savings; the miserly by stinting themselves, the niggardly by stinting others. Parsimonious and penurious may apply to one's outlay either for himself or for others; in the latter use, they are somewhat less harsh and reproachful terms than niggardly. The close man holds like a vise all that he gets. Near and nigh are provincial words of similar import. The rapacious have the robber instinct, and put it in practise in some form, as far as they dare. The avaricious and rapacious are ready to reach out for gain; the parsimonious, miserly, and niggardly prefer the safer and less adventurous way of avoiding expenditure. Greedy and stingy are used not only of money, but often of other things, as food, etc. The greedy child wishes to enjoy everything himself; the stingy child, to keep others from getting it.

Antonyms:

bountiful, free, generous, liberal, munificent, prodigal, wasteful.

Preposition:

The monarch was avaricious of power.

Avenge.

Synonyms:

punish, retaliate, revenge, vindicate, visit.

Avenge and revenge, once close synonyms, are now far apart in meaning. To avenge is to visit some offense with punishment, in order to vindicate the righteous, or to uphold and illustrate the right by the suffering or destruction of the wicked. "And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian," Acts vii, 24. To revenge is to inflict harm or suffering upon another through personal anger and resentment at something done to ourselves. Avenge is unselfish; revenge is selfish. Revenge, according to present usage, could not be said of God. To retaliate may be necessary for self-defense, without the idea of revenge. Compare REVENGE.

Prepositions:

Avenge on or upon (rarely, avenge oneself of) a wrong-doer.

Avow.

Synonyms:

knowledge, aver, confess, own, profess, testify,

admit, avouch, declare, proclaim, protest, witness.

Acknowledge, admit, and declare refer either to oneself or to others; all the other words refer only to one's own knowledge or action. To avow is to declare boldly and openly, commonly as something one is ready to justify, maintain, or defend. A man acknowledges another's claim or his own promise; he admits an opponent's advantage or his own error; he declares either what he has seen or experienced or what he has received from another; he avers what he is sure of from his own knowledge or consciousness; he gives his assurance as the voucher for what he avouches; he avows openly a belief or intention that he has silently held. Avow and avouch take a direct object; aver is followed by a conjunction: a man avows his faith, avouches a deed, avers that he was present. Avow has usually a good sense; what a person avows he at least does not treat as blameworthy, criminal, or shameful; if he did, he would be said to confess it; yet there is always the suggestion that some will be ready to challenge or censure what one avows; as, the clergyman avowed his dissent from the doctrine of his church. Own applies to all things, good or bad, great or small, which one takes as his own. Compare CONFESS; STATE.

Antonyms:

contradict, deny, disavow, disclaim, disown, ignore, repudiate.

Awful.

Synonyms:

alarming, direful, frightful, majestic, solemn,

appalling, dread, grand, noble, stately,

august, dreadful, horrible, portentous, terrible,

dire, fearful, imposing, shocking, terrific.

Awful should not be used of things which are merely disagreeable or annoying, nor of all that are alarming and terrible, but only of such as bring a solemn awe upon the soul, as in the presence of a superior power; as, the awful hush before the battle. That which is awful arouses an oppressive, that which is august an admiring reverence; we speak of the august presence of a mighty monarch, the awful presence of death. We speak of an exalted station, a grand mountain, an imposing presence, a majestic cathedral, a noble mien, a solemn litany, a stately march, an august assembly, the awful scene of the Judgment Day.

Antonyms:

base, contemptible, inferior, paltry,

beggarly, despicable, lowly, undignified,

commonplace, humble, mean, vulgar.

Awkward.

Synonyms:

boorish, clumsy, rough, unhandy,

bungling, gawky, uncouth, unskilful.

clownish, maladroit, ungainly,

Awkward, from awk (kindred with off, from the Norwegian), is off-ward, turned the wrong way; it was anciently used of a back-handed or left-handed blow in battle, of squinting eyes, etc. Clumsy, on the other hand (from clumse, also through the Norwegian), signifies benumbed, stiffened with cold; this is the original meaning of clumsy fingers, clumsy limbs. Thus, awkward primarily refers to action, clumsy to condition. A tool, a vehicle, or the human frame may be clumsy in shape or build, awkward in motion. The clumsy man is almost of necessity awkward, but the awkward man may not be naturally clumsy. The finest untrained colt is awkward in harness; a horse that is clumsy in build can never be trained out of awkwardness. An awkward statement has an uncomfortable, and perhaps recoiling force; a statement that contains ill-assorted and incongruous material in ill-chosen language is clumsy. We speak of an awkward predicament, an awkward scrape. An awkward excuse commonly reflects on the one who offers it. We say the admitted facts have an awkward appearance. In none of these cases could clumsy be used. Clumsy is, however, applied to movements that seem as unsuitable as those of benumbed and stiffened limbs. A dancing bear is both clumsy and awkward.

Antonyms:

adroit, clever, dexterous, handy, skilful.

Prepositions:

The raw recruit is awkward in action; at the business.

Axiom.

Synonym:

truism.

Both the axiom and the truism are instantly seen to be true, and need no proof; but in an axiom there is progress of thought, while the truism simply says the same thing over again, or says what is too manifest to need saying. The axiom that "things which are equal to the same thing are equal to one another" unfolds in the latter part of the sentence the truth implied in the first part, which might have been overlooked if not stated. In the truism that "a man can do all he is capable of," the former and the latter part of the sentence are simply identical, and the mind is left just where it started. Hence the axiom is valuable and useful, while the truism is weak and flat, unless the form of statement makes it striking or racy, as "all fools are out of their wits." Compare PROVERB.

Antonyms:

absurdity, contradiction, demonstration, nonsense, paradox, sophism.

Babble.

Synonyms:

blab, cackle, gabble, murmur, prattle,

blurt, chat, gossip, palaver, tattle,

blurt out, chatter, jabber, prate, twaddle.

Most of these words are onomatopoetic. The cackle of a hen, the gabble of a goose, the chatter of a magpie, the babble of a running stream, as applied to human speech, indicate a rapid succession of what are to the listener meaningless sounds. Blab and blurt (commonly blurt out) refer to the letting out of what the lips can no longer keep in; blab, of a secret; blurt out, of passionate feeling. To chat is to talk in an easy, pleasant way, not without sense, but without special purpose. Chatting is the practise of adults, prattling that of children. To prate is to talk idly, presumptuously, or foolishly, but not necessarily incoherently. To jabber is to utter a rapid succession of unintelligible sounds, generally more noisy than chattering. To gossip is to talk of petty personal matters, as for pastime or mischief. To twaddle is to talk feeble nonsense. To murmur is to utter suppressed or even inarticulate sounds, suggesting the notes of a dove, or the sound of a running stream, and is used figuratively of the half suppressed utterances of affection or pity, or of complaint, resentment, etc. Compare SPEAK.

Prepositions:

Babies babble for the moon; the crowd babbles of a hero; the sick man babbles of home.

Banish.

Synonyms:

ban, dismiss, evict, expatriate, ostracize,

discharge, drive out, exile, expel, oust.

dislodge, eject,

Banish, primarily to put under ban, to compel by authority to leave a place or country, perhaps with restriction to some other place or country. From a country, a person may be banished, exiled, or expatriated; banished from any country where he may happen to be, but expatriated or exiled only from his own. One may expatriate or exile himself; he is banished by others. Banish is a word of wide import; one may banish disturbing thoughts; care may banish sleep. To expel is to drive out with violence or rudeness, and so often with disgrace.

Prepositions:

Cataline was banished from Rome; John the Apostle was banished to Patmos.

Bank.

Synonyms:

beach, bound, brink, edge, margin, shore,

border, brim, coast, marge, rim, strand.

Bank is a general term for the land along the edge of a water course; it may also denote a raised portion of the bed of a river, lake, or ocean; as, the Banks of Newfoundland. A beach is a strip or expanse of incoherent wave-worn sand, which is often pebbly or full of boulders; we speak of the beach of a lake or ocean; a beach is sometimes found in the bend of a river. Strand is a more poetic term for a wave-washed shore, especially as a place for landing or embarking; as, the keel grates on the strand. The whole line of a country or continent that borders the sea is a coast. Shore is any land, whether cliff, or sand, or marsh, bordering water. We do not speak of the coast of a river, nor of the banks of the ocean, tho there may be banks by or under the sea. Edge is the line where land and water meet; as, the water's edge. Brink is the place from which one may fall; as, the river's brink; the brink of a precipice; the brink of ruin.

Banter.

Synonyms:

badinage, derision, jeering, raillery, sarcasm,

chaff, irony, mockery, ridicule, satire.

Banter is the touching upon some fault, weakness, or fancied secret of another in a way half to pique and half to please; badinage is delicate, refined banter. Raillery has more sharpness, but is usually good-humored and well meant. Irony, the saying one thing that the reverse may be understood, may be either mild or bitter. All the other words have a hostile intent. Ridicule makes a person or thing the subject of contemptuous merriment; derision seeks to make the object derided seem utterly despicable—to laugh it to scorn. Chaff is the coarse witticism of the streets, perhaps merry, oftener malicious; jeering is loud, rude ridicule, as of a hostile crowd or mob. Mockery is more studied, and may include mimicry and personal violence, as well as scornful speech. A satire is a formal composition; a sarcasm may be an impromptu sentence. The satire shows up follies to keep people from them; the sarcasm hits them because they are foolish, without inquiring whether it will do good or harm; the satire is plainly uttered; the sarcasm is covert.

Barbarous.

Synonyms:

atrocious, brutal, merciless, uncivilized,

barbarian, cruel, rude, uncouth,

barbaric, inhuman, savage, untamed.

Whatever is not civilized is barbarian; barbaric indicates rude magnificence, uncultured richness; as, barbaric splendor, a barbaric melody. Barbarous refers to the worst side of barbarian life, and to revolting acts, especially of cruelty, such as a civilized man would not be expected to do; as, a barbarous deed. We may, however, say barbarous nations, barbarous tribes, without implying anything more than want of civilization and culture. Savage is more distinctly bloodthirsty than barbarous. In this sense we speak of a savage beast and of barbarous usage.

Antonyms:

civilized, cultured, elegant, humane, polite, tender,

courtly, delicate, graceful, nice, refined, urbane.

Barrier.

Synonyms:

bar, bulwark, obstruction, rampart,

barricade, hindrance, parapet, restraint,

breastwork, obstacle, prohibition, restriction.

A bar is something that is or may be firmly fixed, ordinarily with intent to prevent entrance or egress; as, the bars of a prison cell; the bars of a wood-lot. A barrier obstructs, but is not necessarily impassable. Barrier is used of objects more extensive than those to which bar is ordinarily applied. A mountain range may be a barrier to exploration; but a mass of sand across the entrance to a harbor is called a bar. Discovered falsehood is a bar to confidence. Barricade has become practically a technical name for an improvised street fortification, and, unless in some way modified, is usually so understood. A parapet is a low or breast-high wall, as about the edge of a roof, terrace, etc., especially, in military use, such a wall for the protection of troops; a rampart is the embankment surrounding a fort, on which the parapet is raised; the word rampart is often used as including the parapet. Bulwark is a general word for any defensive wall or rampart; its only technical use at present is in nautical language, where it signifies the raised side of a ship above the upper deck, topped by the rail. Compare BOUNDARY; IMPEDIMENT.

Antonyms:

admittance, opening, road, transit,

entrance, passage, thoroughfare, way.

Prepositions:

A barrier to progress, against invasion; a barrier between nations.

Battle.

Synonyms:

action, combat, encounter, passage of arms,

affair, conflict, engagement, skirmish,

bout, contest, fight, strife.

Conflict is a general word which describes opponents, whether individuals or hosts, as dashed together. One continuous conflict between entire armies is a battle. Another battle may be fought upon the same field after a considerable interval; or a new battle may follow immediately, the armies meeting upon a new field. An action is brief and partial; a battle may last for days. Engagement is a somewhat formal expression for battle; as, it was the commander's purpose to avoid a general engagement. A protracted war, including many battles, may be a stubborn contest. Combat, originally a hostile encounter between individuals, is now used also for extensive engagements. A skirmish is between small detachments or scattered troops. An encounter may be either purposed or accidental, between individuals or armed forces. Fight is a word of less dignity than battle; we should not ordinarily speak of Waterloo as a fight, unless where the word is used in the sense of fighting; as, I was in the thick of the fight.

Antonyms:

armistice, concord, peace, suspension of hostilities, truce.

Prepositions:

A battle of giants; battle between armies; a battle for life, against invaders; a battle to the death; the battle of (more rarely at) Marathon.

Beat.

Synonyms:

bastinado, chastise, overcome, spank, thrash,

batter, conquer, pommel, strike, vanquish,

belabor, cudgel, pound, surpass, whip,

bruise, defeat, scourge, switch, worst.

castigate, flog, smite,

Strike is the word for a single blow; to beat is to strike repeatedly, as a bird beats the air with its wings. Others of the above words describe the manner of beating, as bastinado, to beat on the soles of the feet; belabor, to inflict a comprehensive and exhaustive beating; cudgel, to beat with a stick; thrash, as wheat was beaten out with the old hand-flail; to pound (akin to L. pondus, a weight) is to beat with a heavy, and pommel with a blunt, instrument. To batter and to bruise refer to the results of beating; that is battered which is broken or defaced by repeated blows on the surface (compare synonyms for SHATTER); that is bruised which has suffered even one severe contusion. The metaphorical sense of beat, however, so far preponderates that one may be very badly bruised and battered, and yet not be said to be beaten, unless he has got the worst of the beating. To beat a combatant is to disable or dishearten him for further fighting. Hence beat becomes the synonym for every word which implies getting the advantage of another. Compare CONQUER.

Antonyms:

fail, fall, get the worst of, go down, go under, surrender.

Almost all antonyms in this class are passive, and can be formed indefinitely from the conquering words by the use of the auxiliary be; as, be beaten, be defeated, be conquered, etc.

Prepositions:

Beat with a stick over the head; beat by a trick; out of town; beat to the ground; into submission.

Beautiful.

Synonyms:

attractive, charming, exquisite, handsome,

beauteous, comely, fair, lovely,

bewitching, delightful, fine, picturesque,

bonny, elegant, graceful, pretty.

The definition of beauty, "perfection of form," is a good key to the meaning of beautiful, if we understand "form" in its widest sense. There must also be harmony and unity, and in human beings spiritual loveliness, to constitute an object or a person really beautiful. Thus, we speak of a beautiful landscape, a beautiful poem. But beautiful implies also, in concrete objects, softness of outline and delicacy of mold; it is opposed to all that is hard and rugged, hence we say a beautiful woman, but not a beautiful man. Beautiful has the further limit of not transcending our powers of appreciation. Pretty expresses in a far less degree that which is pleasing to a refined taste in objects comparatively small, slight, and dainty; as, a pretty bonnet; a pretty girl. That is handsome which is not only superficially pleasing, but well and harmoniously proportioned, with usually the added idea that it is made so by art, breeding, or training; as, a handsome horse; a handsome house. Handsome is a term far inferior to beautiful; we may even say a handsome villain. Fair denotes what is bright, smooth, clear, and without blemish; as, a fair face. The word applies wholly to what is superficial; we can say "fair, yet false." In a specific sense, fair has the sense of blond, as opposed to dark or brunette. One who possesses vivacity, wit, good nature, or other pleasing qualities may be attractive without beauty. Comely denotes an aspect that is smooth, genial, and wholesome, with a certain fulness of contour and pleasing symmetry, tho falling short of the beautiful; as, a comely matron. That is picturesque which would make a striking picture.

Antonyms:

awkward, frightful, grotesque, repulsive, uncouth,

clumsy, ghastly, hideous, shocking, ungainly,

deformed, grim, horrid, ugly, unlovely,

disgusting, grisly, odious, unattractive, unpleasant.

Prepositions:

Beautiful to the eye; beautiful in appearance, in spirit; "beautiful for situation," Ps. xlviii, 2; beautiful of aspect, of its kind.

Because.

Synonyms:

as, for, inasmuch as, since.

Because, literally by-cause, is the most direct and complete word for giving the reason of a thing. Since, originally denoting succession in time, signifies a succession in a chain of reasoning, a natural inference or result. As indicates something like, coordinate, parallel. Since is weaker than because; as is weaker than since; either may introduce the reason before the main statement; thus, since or as you are going, I will accompany you. Often the weaker word is the more courteous, implying less constraint; for example, as you request it, I will come, rather than I will come because you request it. Inasmuch as is a formal and qualified expression, implying by just so much, and no more; thus, inasmuch as the debtor has no property, I abandon the claim. For is a loose connective, giving often mere suggestion or indication rather than reason or cause; as, it is morning, for (not because) the birds are singing.

Antonyms:

altho, however, nevertheless, notwithstanding, yet.

Compare synonyms for BUT; NOTWITHSTANDING.

Becoming.

Synonyms:

befitting, congruous, fit, meet, seemly,

beseeming, decent, fitting, neat, suitable,

comely, decorous, graceful, proper, worthy.

That is becoming in dress which suits the complexion, figure, and other qualities of the wearer, so as to produce on the whole a pleasing effect. That is decent which does not offend modesty or propriety. That is suitable which is adapted to the age, station, situation, and other circumstances of the wearer; coarse, heavy boots are suitable for farm-work; a juvenile style of dress is not suitable for an old lady. In conduct much the same rules apply. The dignity and gravity of a patriarch would not be becoming to a child; at a funeral lively, cheery sociability would not be decorous, while noisy hilarity would not be decent; sumptuous display would not be suitable for a poor person. Fit is a compendious term for whatever fits the person, time, place, occasion, etc.; as, a fit person; a fit abode; a fit place. Fitting, or befitting, is somewhat more elegant, implying a nicer adaptation. Meet, a somewhat archaic word, expresses a moral fitness; as, meet for heaven. Compare BEAUTIFUL.

Antonyms:

awkward, ill-fitting, indecent, unbecoming, unseemly,

ill-becoming, improper, indecorous, unfit, unsuitable.

Prepositions:

The dress was becoming to the wearer. Such conduct was becoming in him.

Beginning.

Synonyms:

arising, inauguration, origin, source,

commencement, inception, outset, spring,

fount, initiation, rise, start.

fountain, opening,

The Latin commencement is more formal than the Saxon beginning, as the verb commence, is more formal than begin. Commencement is for the most part restricted to some form of action, while beginning has no restriction, but may be applied to action, state, material, extent, enumeration, or to whatever else may be conceived of as having a first part, point, degree, etc. The letter A is at the beginning (not the commencement) of every alphabet. If we were to speak of the commencement of the Pacific Railroad, we should be understood to refer to the enterprise and its initiatory act; if we were to refer to the roadway we should say "Here is the beginning of the Pacific Railroad." In the great majority of cases begin and beginning are preferable to commence and commencement as the simple, idiomatic English words, always accurate and expressive. "In the beginning was the word," John i, 1. An origin is the point from which something starts or sets out, often involving, and always suggesting causal connection; as, the origin of evil; the origin of a nation, a government, or a family. A source is that which furnishes a first and continuous supply, that which flows forth freely or may be readily recurred to; as, the source of a river; a source of knowledge; a source of inspiration; fertile land is a source (not an origin) of wealth. A rise is thought of as in an action; we say that a lake is the source of a certain river, or that the river takes its rise from the lake. Motley wrote of "The Rise of the Dutch Republic." Fount, fountain, and spring, in their figurative senses, keep close to their literal meaning. Compare CAUSE.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for END.

Behavior.

Synonyms:

action, breeding, conduct, deportment, manner,

bearing, carriage, demeanor, life, manners.

Behavior is our action in the presence of others; conduct includes also that which is known only to ourselves and our Maker. Carriage expresses simply the manner of holding the body, especially in sitting or walking, as when it is said of a lady "she has a fine carriage." Bearing refers to the bodily expression of feeling or disposition; as, a haughty bearing; a noble bearing. Demeanor is the bodily expression, not only of feelings, but of moral states; as, a devout demeanor. Breeding, unless with some adverse limitation, denotes that manner and conduct which result from good birth and training. Deportment is behavior as related to a set of rules; as, the pupil's deportment was faultless. A person's manner may be that of a moment, or toward a single person; his manners are his habitual style of behavior toward or before others, especially in matters of etiquette and politeness; as, good manners are always pleasing.

Prepositions:

The behavior of the pastor to or toward his people, on or upon the streets, before the multitude, or in the church, with the godly, or with the worldly, was alike faultless.

Bend.

Synonyms:

bias, curve, diverge, mold, submit, twist,

bow, deflect, incline, persuade, turn, warp,

crook, deviate, influence, stoop, twine, yield.

In some cases a thing is spoken of as bent where the parts make an angle; but oftener to bend is understood to be to draw to or through a curve; as, to bend a bow. To submit or yield is to bend the mind humbly to another's wishes. To incline or influence is to bend another's wishes toward our own; to persuade is to draw them quite over. To warp is to bend silently through the whole fiber, as a board in the sun. To crook is to bend irregularly, as a crooked stick. Deflect, deviate, and diverge are said of any turning away; deviate commonly of a slight and gradual movement, diverge of a more sharp and decided one. To bias is to cut across the texture, or incline to one side; in figurative use always with an unfavorable import. Mold is a stronger work than bend; we may bend by a superior force that which still resists the constraint; as, a bent bow; we mold something plastic entirely to some desired form.

Benevolence.

Synonyms:

almsgiving, charity, kind-heartedness, munificence,

beneficence, generosity, kindliness, philanthropy,

benignity, good-will, kindness, sympathy,

bounty, humanity, liberality, unselfishness.

According to the etymology and original usage, beneficence is the doing well, benevolence the wishing or willing well to others; but benevolence has come to include beneficence, and to displace it. We should not now speak of benevolence which did not help, unless where there was no power to help; even then we should rather say good-will or sympathy. Charity, which originally meant the purest love for God and man (as in 1 Cor. xiii), is now almost universally applied to some form of almsgiving, and is much more limited in meaning than benevolence. Benignity suggests some occult power of blessing, such as was formerly ascribed to the stars; we may say a good man has an air of benignity. Kindness and tenderness are personal; benevolence and charity are general. Kindness extends to all sentient beings, whether men or animals, in prosperity or in distress. Tenderness especially goes out toward the young, feeble, and needy, or even to the dead. Humanity is so much kindness and tenderness toward man or beast as it would be inhuman not to have; we say of some act of care or kindness, "common humanity requires it." Generosity is self-forgetful kindness in disposition or action; it includes much besides giving; as, the generosity of forgiveness. Bounty applies to ample giving, which on a larger scale is expressed by munificence. Liberality indicates broad, genial kindly views, whether manifested in gifts or otherwise. We speak of the bounty of a generous host, the liberality or munificence of the founder of a college, or of the liberality of a theologian toward the holders of conflicting beliefs. Philanthropy applies to wide schemes for human welfare, often, but not always, involving large expenditures in charity or benevolence. Compare MERCY.

Antonyms:

barbarity, greediness, ill-will, malignity, self-seeking,

brutality, harshness, inhumanity, niggardliness, stinginess,

churlishness, illiberality, malevolence, selfishness, unkindness.

Prepositions:

Benevolence of, on the part of, or from the wealthy, to or toward the poor.

Bind.

Synonyms:

compel, fetter, oblige, restrict, shackle,

engage, fix, restrain, secure, tie.

fasten,

Binding is primarily by something flexible, as a cord or bandage drawn closely around an object or group of objects, as when we bind up a wounded limb. We bind a sheaf of wheat with a cord; we tie the cord in a knot; we fasten by any means that will make things hold together, as a board by nails, or a door by a lock. The verbs tie and fasten are scarcely used in the figurative sense, tho, using the noun, we speak of the ties of affection. Bind has an extensive figurative use. One is bound by conscience or honor; he is obliged by some imperious necessity; engaged by his own promise; compelled by physical force or its moral equivalent.

Antonyms:

free, loose, set free, unbind, unfasten, unloose, untie.

Prepositions:

Bind to a pillar; unto an altar; to a service; bind one with chains or in chains; one is bound by a contract; a splint is bound upon a limb; the arms may be bound to the sides or behind the back; bind a wreath about, around, or round the head; twigs are bound in or into fagots; for military purposes, they are bound at both ends and in the middle; one is bound by a contract, or bound under a penalty to fulfil a contract.

Bitter.

Synonyms:

acerb, acidulous, caustic, pungent, stinging,

acetous, acrid, cutting, savage, tart,

acid, acrimonious, harsh, sharp, vinegarish,

acidulated, biting, irate, sour, virulent.

Acid, sour, and bitter agree in being contrasted with sweet, but the two former are sharply distinguished from the latter. Acid or sour is the taste of vinegar or lemon-juice; bitter that of quassia, quinine, or strychnine. Acrid is nearly allied to bitter. Pungent suggests the effect of pepper or snuff on the organs of taste or smell; as, a pungent odor. Caustic indicates the corroding effect of some strong chemical, as nitrate of silver. In a figurative sense, as applied to language or character, these words are very closely allied. We say a sour face, sharp words, bitter complaints, caustic wit, cutting irony, biting sarcasm, a stinging taunt, harsh judgment, a tart reply. Harsh carries the idea of intentional and severe unkindness, bitter of a severity that arises from real or supposed ill treatment. The bitter speech springs from the sore heart. Tart and sharp utterances may not proceed from an intention to wound, but merely from a wit recklessly keen; cutting, stinging, and biting speech indicates more or less of hostile intent, the latter being the more deeply malicious. The caustic utterance is meant to burn, perhaps wholesomely, as in the satire of Juvenal or Cervantes. Compare MOROSE.

Antonyms:

dulcet, honeyed, luscious, nectared, saccharine, sweet.

Bleach, v.

Synonyms:

blanch, make white, whiten, whitewash.

To whiten is to make white in general, but commonly it means to overspread with white coloring-matter. Bleach and blanch both signify to whiten by depriving of color, the former permanently, as linen; the latter either permanently (as, to blanch celery) or temporarily (as, to blanch the cheek with fear). To whitewash is to whiten superficially, especially by false approval.

Antonyms:

blacken, color, darken, dye, soil, stain.

Blemish.

Synonyms:

blot, defacement, disgrace, injury, spot,

blur, defect, dishonor, reproach, stain,

brand, deformity, fault, smirch, stigma,

crack, dent, flaw, soil, taint,

daub, disfigurement, imperfection, speck, tarnish.

Whatever mars the beauty or completeness of an object is a blemish, whether original, as squinting eyes, or the result of accident or disease, etc., as the pits of smallpox. A blemish is superficial; a flaw or taint is in structure or substance. In the moral sense, we speak of a blot or stain upon reputation; a flaw or taint in character. A defect is the want or lack of something; fault, primarily a failing, is something that fails of an apparent intent or disappoints a natural expectation; thus a sudden dislocation or displacement of geological strata is called a fault. Figuratively, a blemish comes from one's own ill-doing; a brand or stigma is inflicted by others; as, the brand of infamy.

Blow.

Synonyms:

box, concussion, disaster, misfortune, stripe,

buffet, cuff, knock, rap, stroke,

calamity, cut, lash, shock, thump.

A blow is a sudden impact, as of a fist or a club; a stroke is a sweeping movement; as, the stroke of a sword, of an oar, of the arm in swimming. A shock is the sudden encounter with some heavy body; as, colliding railway-trains meet with a shock; the shock of battle. A slap is given with the open hand, a lash with a whip, thong, or the like; we speak also of the cut of a whip. A buffet or cuff is given only with the hand; a blow either with hand or weapon. A cuff is a somewhat sidelong blow, generally with the open hand; as, a cuff or box on the ear. A stripe is the effect or mark of a stroke. In the metaphorical sense, blow is used for sudden, stunning, staggering calamity or sorrow; stroke for sweeping disaster, and also for sweeping achievement and success. We say a stroke of paralysis, or a stroke of genius. We speak of the buffets of adverse fortune. Shock is used of that which is at once sudden, violent, and prostrating; we speak of a shock of electricity, the shock of an amputation, a shock of surprise. Compare BEAT.

Bluff.

Synonyms:

abrupt, brusk, impolite, rough,

blunt, coarse, inconsiderate, rude,

blustering, discourteous, open, uncivil,

bold, frank, plain-spoken, unmannerly.

Bluff is a word of good meaning, as are frank and open. The bluff man talks and laughs loudly and freely, says and does whatever he pleases with fearless good nature, and with no thought of annoying or giving pain to others. The blunt man says things which he is perfectly aware are disagreeable, either from a defiant indifference to others' feelings, or from the pleasure of tormenting.

Antonyms:

bland, courteous, genial, polished, polite, refined, reserved, urbane.

Body.

Synonyms:

ashes, clay, dust, frame, system,

carcass, corpse, form, remains, trunk.

Body denotes the entire physical structure, considered as a whole, of man or animal; form looks upon it as a thing of shape and outline, perhaps of beauty; frame regards it as supported by its bony framework; system views it as an assemblage of many related and harmonious organs. Body, form, frame, and system may be either dead or living; clay and dust are sometimes so used in religious or poetic style, tho ordinarily these words are used only of the dead. Corpse and remains are used only of the dead. Corpse is the plain technical word for a dead body still retaining its unity; remains may be used after any lapse of time; the latter is also the more refined and less ghastly term; as, friends are invited to view the remains. Carcass applies only to the body of an animal, or of a human being regarded with contempt and loathing. Compare COMPANY.

Antonyms:

intellect, intelligence, mind, soul, spirit.

Both.

Synonyms:

twain, two.

Both refers to two objects previously mentioned, or had in mind, viewed or acting in connection; as, both men fired at once; "two men fired" might mean any two, out of any number, and without reference to any previous thought or mention. Twain is a nearly obsolete form of two. The two, or the twain, is practically equivalent to both; both, however, expresses a closer unity. We would say both men rushed against the enemy; the two men flew at each other. Compare EVERY.

Antonyms:

each, either, every, neither, none, no one, not any.

Boundary.

Synonyms:

barrier, confines, limit, margin,

border, edge, line, term,

bound, enclosure, marches, termination,

bourn, frontier, marge, verge.

bourne, landmark,

The boundary was originally the landmark, that which marked off one piece of territory from another. The bound is the limit, marked or unmarked. Now, however, the difference between the two words has come to be simply one of usage. As regards territory, we speak of the boundaries of a nation or of an estate; the bounds of a college, a ball-ground, etc. Bounds may be used for all within the limits, boundary for the limiting line only. Boundary looks to that which is without; bound only to that which is within. Hence we speak of the bounds, not the boundaries, of a subject, of the universe, etc.; we say the students were forbidden to go beyond the bounds. A barrier is something that bars ingress or egress. A barrier may be a boundary, as was the Great Wall of China. Bourn, or bourne, is a poetical expression for bound or boundary. A border is a strip of land along the boundary. Edge is a sharp terminal line, as where river or ocean meets the land. Limit is now used almost wholly in the figurative sense; as, the limit of discussion, of time, of jurisdiction. Line is a military term; as, within the lines, or through the lines, of an army. Compare BARRIER; END.

Antonyms:

center, citadel, estate, inside, interior, land, region, territory.

Prepositions:

The boundaries of an estate; the boundary between neighboring territories.

Brave.

Synonyms:

adventurous, courageous, fearless, undaunted,

bold, daring, gallant, undismayed,

chivalric, dauntless, heroic, valiant,

chivalrous, doughty, intrepid, venturesome.

The adventurous man goes in quest of danger; the bold man stands out and faces danger or censure; the brave man combines confidence with resolution in presence of danger; the chivalrous man puts himself in peril for others' protection. The daring step out to defy danger; the dauntless will not flinch before anything that may come to them; the doughty will give and take limitless hard knocks. The adventurous find something romantic in dangerous enterprises; the venturesome may be simply heedless, reckless, or ignorant. All great explorers have been adventurous; children, fools, and criminals are venturesome. The fearless and intrepid possess unshaken nerves in any place of danger. Courageous is more than brave, adding a moral element: the courageous man steadily encounters perils to which he may be keenly sensitive, at the call of duty; the gallant are brave in a dashing, showy, and splendid way; the valiant not only dare great dangers, but achieve great results; the heroic are nobly daring and dauntless, truly chivalrous, sublimely courageous. Compare FORTITUDE.

Antonyms:

afraid, cringing, fearful, pusillanimous, timid,

cowardly, faint-hearted, frightened, shrinking, timorous.

Break.

Synonyms:

bankrupt, crack, destroy, rive, shatter, split,

burst, crush, fracture, rupture, shiver, sunder,

cashier, demolish, rend, sever, smash, transgress.

To break is to divide sharply, with severance of particles, as by a blow or strain. To burst is to break by pressure from within, as a bombshell, but it is used also for the result of violent force otherwise exerted; as, to burst in a door, where the door yields as if to an explosion. To crush is to break by pressure from without, as an egg-shell. To crack is to break without complete severance of parts; a cracked cup or mirror may still hold together. Fracture has a somewhat similar sense. In a fractured limb, the ends of the broken bone may be separated, tho both portions are still retained within the common muscular tissue. A shattered object is broken suddenly and in numerous directions; as, a vase is shattered by a blow, a building by an earthquake. A shivered glass is broken into numerous minute, needle-like fragments. To smash is to break thoroughly to pieces with a crashing sound by some sudden act of violence; a watch once smashed will scarcely be worth repair. To split is to cause wood to crack or part in the way of the grain, and is applied to any other case where a natural tendency to separation is enforced by an external cause; as, to split a convention or a party. To demolish is to beat down, as a mound, building, fortress, etc.; to destroy is to put by any process beyond restoration physically, mentally, or morally; to destroy an army is so to shatter and scatter it that it can not be rallied or reassembled as a fighting force. Compare REND.

Antonyms:

attach, bind, fasten, join, mend, secure, solder, unite, weld.

Prepositions:

Break to pieces, or in pieces, into several pieces (when the object is thought of as divided rather than shattered); break with a friend; from or away from a suppliant; break into a house; out of prison; break across one's knee; break through a hedge; break in upon one's retirement; break over the rules; break on or upon the shore, against the rocks.

Brutish.

Synonyms:

animal, brutal, ignorant, sensual, swinish,

base, brute, imbruted, sottish, unintellectual,

beastly, carnal, insensible, stolid, unspiritual,

bestial, coarse, lascivious, stupid, vile.

A brutish man simply follows his animal instincts, without special inclination to do harm; the brutal have always a spirit of malice and cruelty. Brute has no special character, except as indicating what a brute might possess; much the same is true of animal, except that animal leans more to the side of sensuality, brute to that of force, as appears in the familiar phrase "brute force." Hunger is an animal appetite; a brute impulse suddenly prompts one to strike a blow in anger. Bestial, in modern usage, implies an intensified and degrading animalism. Any supremacy of the animal or brute instincts over the intellectual and spiritual in man is base and vile. Beastly refers largely to the outward and visible consequences of excess; as, beastly drunkenness. Compare ANIMAL.

Antonyms:

elevated, exalted, great, intellectual, noble,

enlightened, grand, humane, intelligent, refined.

Burn.

Synonyms:

blaze, char, flame, incinerate, set fire to,

brand, consume, flash, kindle, set on fire,

cauterize, cremate, ignite, scorch, singe.

To burn is to subject to the action of fire, or of intense heat so as to effect either partial change or complete combustion; as, to burn wood in the fire; to burn one's hand on a hot stove; the sun burns the face. One brands with a hot iron, but cauterizes with some corrosive substance, as silver nitrate. Cremate is now used specifically for consuming a dead body by intense heat. To incinerate is to reduce to ashes; the sense differs little from that of cremate, but it is in less popular use. To kindle is to set on fire, as if with a candle; ignite is the more learned and scientific word for the same thing, extending even to the heating of metals to a state of incandescence without burning. To scorch and to singe are superficial, and to char usually so. Both kindle and burn have an extensive figurative use; as, to kindle strife; to burn with wrath, love, devotion, curiosity. Compare LIGHT.

Antonyms:

cool, extinguish, put out, smother, stifle, subdue.

Prepositions:

To burn in the fire, burn with fire; burn to the ground, burn to ashes; burn through the skin, or the roof; burn into the soil, etc.

Business.

Synonyms:

affair, commerce, handicraft, trading,

art, concern, job, traffic,

avocation, craft, occupation, transaction,

barter, duty, profession, vocation,

calling, employment, trade, work.

A business is what one follows regularly; an occupation is what he happens at any time to be engaged in; trout-fishing may be one's occupation for a time, as a relief from business; business is ordinarily for profit, while the occupation may be a matter of learning, philanthropy, or religion. A profession implies scholarship; as, the learned professions. Pursuit is an occupation which one follows with ardor. An avocation is what calls one away from other work; a vocation or calling, that to which one is called by some special fitness or sense of duty; thus, we speak of the gospel ministry as a vocation or calling, rather than a business. Trade or trading is, in general, the exchanging of one thing for another; in the special sense, a trade is an occupation involving manual training and skilled labor; as, the ancient Jews held that every boy should learn a trade. A transaction is a single action, whether in business, diplomacy, or otherwise; affair has a similar, but lighter meaning; as, this little affair; an important transaction. The plural affairs has a distinctive meaning, including all activities where men deal with one another on any considerable scale; as, a man of affairs. A job is a piece of work viewed as a single undertaking, and ordinarily paid for as such. Trade and commerce may be used as equivalents, but trade is capable of a more limited application; we speak of the trade of a village, the commerce of a nation. Barter is the direct exchange of commodities; business, trade, and commerce are chiefly transacted by means of money, bills of exchange, etc. Business, occupation, etc., may be what one does independently; employment may be in the service of another. Work is any application of energy to secure a result, or the result thus secured; thus, we speak of the work of God. Art in the industrial sense is a system of rules and accepted methods for the accomplishment of some practical result; as, the art of printing; collectively, the arts. A craft is some occupation requiring technical skill or manual dexterity, or the persons, collectively, engaged in its exercise; as, the weaver's craft.

Prepositions:

The business of a druggist; in business with his father; doing business for his father; have you business with me? business in New York; business about, concerning, or in regard to certain property.

BUT.

Synonyms:

and, however, notwithstanding, that,

barely, just, only, tho,

besides, merely, provided, unless,

except, moreover, save, yet.

further, nevertheless, still,

But ranges from the faintest contrast to absolute negation; as, I am willing to go, but (on the other hand) content to stay; he is not an honest man, but (on the contrary) a villain. The contrast may be with a silent thought; as, but let us go (it being understood that we might stay longer). In restrictive use, except and excepting are slightly more emphatic than but; we say, no injury but a scratch; or, no injury except some painful bruises. Such expressions as "words are but breath" (nothing but) may be referred to the restrictive use by ellipsis. So may the use of but in the sense of unless; as, "it never rains but it pours." To the same head must be referred the conditional use; as, "you may go, but with your father's consent" (i. e., "provided you have," "except that you must have," etc.). "Doubt but" is now less used than the more logical "doubt that." But never becomes a full synonym for and; and adds something like, but adds something different; "brave and tender" implies that tenderness is natural to the brave; "brave but tender" implies that bravery and tenderness are rarely combined. For the concessive use, compare NOTWITHSTANDING.

BY.

Synonyms:

by dint of, by means of, through, with.

By refers to the agent; through, to the means, cause, or condition; with, to the instrument. By commonly refers to persons; with, to things; through may refer to either. The road having become impassable through long disuse, a way was opened by pioneers with axes. By may, however, be applied to any object which is viewed as partaking of action and agency; as, the metal was corroded by the acid; skill is gained by practise. We speak of communicating with a person by letter. Through implies a more distant connection than by or with, and more intervening elements. Material objects are perceived by the mind through the senses.

Cabal.

Synonyms:

combination, confederacy, crew, gang,

conclave, conspiracy, faction, junto.

A conspiracy is a combination of persons for an evil purpose, or the act of so combining. Conspiracy is a distinct crime under common, and generally under statutory, law. A faction is more extensive than a conspiracy, less formal in organization, less definite in plan. Faction and its adjective, factious, have always an unfavorable sense. Cabal commonly denotes a conspiracy of leaders. A gang is a company of workmen all doing the same work under one leader; the word is used figuratively only of combinations which it is meant to stigmatize as rude and mercenary; crew is used in a closely similar sense. A conclave is secret, but of larger numbers, ordinarily, than a cabal, and may have honorable use; as, the conclave of cardinals.

Calculate.

Synonyms:

account, consider, enumerate, rate,

cast, count, estimate, reckon,

compute, deem, number, sum up.

Number is the generic term. To count is to number one by one. To calculate is to use more complicated processes, as multiplication, division, etc., more rapid but not less exact. Compute allows more of the element of probability, which is still more strongly expressed by estimate. We compute the slain in a great war from the number known to have fallen in certain great battles; compute refers to the present or the past, estimate more frequently to the future; as, to estimate the cost of a proposed building. To enumerate is to mention item by item; as, to enumerate one's grievances. To rate is to estimate by comparison, as if the object were one of a series. We count upon a desired future; we do not count upon the undesired. As applied to the present, we reckon or count a thing precious or worthless. Compare ESTEEM.

Prepositions:

It is vain to calculate on or upon an uncertain result.

Call, v.

Synonyms:

bawl, cry (out), roar, shriek,

bellow, ejaculate, scream, vociferate,

clamor, exclaim, shout, yell.

To call is to send out the voice in order to attract another's attention, either by word or by inarticulate utterance. Animals call their mates, or their young; a man calls his dog, his horse, etc. The sense is extended to include summons by bell, or any signal. To shout is to call or exclaim with the fullest volume of sustained voice; to scream is to utter a shriller cry; to shriek or to yell refers to that which is louder and wilder still. We shout words; in screaming, shrieking, or yelling there is often no attempt at articulation. To bawl is to utter senseless, noisy cries, as of a child in pain or anger. Bellow and roar are applied to the utterances of animals, and only contemptuously to those of persons. To clamor is to utter with noisy iteration; it applies also to the confused cries of a multitude. To vociferate is commonly applied to loud and excited speech where there is little besides the exertion of voice. In exclaiming, the utterance may not be strikingly, tho somewhat, above the ordinary tone and pitch; we may exclaim by mere interjections, or by connected words, but always by some articulate utterance. To ejaculate is to throw out brief, disconnected, but coherent utterances of joy, regret, and especially of appeal, petition, prayer; the use of such devotional utterances has received the special name of "ejaculatory prayer." To cry out is to give forth a louder and more excited utterance than in exclaiming or calling; one often exclaims with sudden joy as well as sorrow; if he cries out, it is oftener in grief or agony. In the most common colloquial usage, to cry is to express grief or pain by weeping or sobbing. One may exclaim, cry out, or ejaculate with no thought of others' presence; when he calls, it is to attract another's attention.

Antonyms:

be silent, be still, hark, hearken, hush, list, listen.

Calm.

Synonyms:

collected, imperturbable, sedate, still,

composed, peaceful, self-possessed, tranquil,

cool, placid, serene, undisturbed,

dispassionate, quiet, smooth, unruffled.

That is calm which is free from disturbance or agitation; in the physical sense, free from violent motion or action; in the mental or spiritual realm, free from excited or disturbing emotion or passion. We speak of a calm sea, a placid lake, a serene sky, a still night, a quiet day, a quiet home. We speak, also, of "still waters," "smooth sailing," which are different modes of expressing freedom from manifest agitation. Of mental conditions, one is calm who triumphs over a tendency to excitement; cool, if he scarcely feels the tendency. One may be calm by the very reaction from excitement, or by the oppression of overpowering emotion, as we speak of the calmness of despair. One is composed who has subdued excited feeling; he is collected when he has every thought, feeling, or perception awake and at command. Tranquil refers to a present state, placid, to a prevailing tendency. We speak of a tranquil mind, a placid disposition. The serene spirit dwells as if in the clear upper air, above all storm and shadow.

The star of the unconquered will,
He rises in my breast,
Serene, and resolute, and still,
And calm, and self-possessed.

Longfellow Light of Stars st. 7.

Antonyms:

agitated, excited, frenzied, passionate, ruffled, violent,

boisterous, fierce, furious, raging, stormy, wild,

disturbed, frantic, heated, roused, turbulent, wrathful.

Cancel.

Synonyms:

abolish, discharge, nullify, rescind,

abrogate, efface, obliterate, revoke,

annul, erase, quash, rub off or out,

blot out, expunge, remove, scratch out,

cross off or out, make void, repeal, vacate.

Cancel, efface, erase, expunge, and obliterate have as their first meaning the removal of written characters or other forms of record. To cancel is, literally, to make a lattice by cross-lines, exactly our English cross out; to efface is to rub off, smooth away the face, as of an inscription; to erase is to scratch out, commonly for the purpose of writing something else in the same space; to expunge, is to punch out with some sharp instrument, so as to show that the words are no longer part of the writing; to obliterate is to cover over or remove, as a letter, as was done by reversing the Roman stylus, and rubbing out with the rounded end what had been written with the point on the waxen tablet. What has been canceled, erased, expunged, may perhaps still be traced; what is obliterated is gone forever, as if it had never been. In many establishments, when a debt is discharged by payment, the record is canceled. The figurative use of the words keeps close to the primary sense. Compare ABOLISH.

Antonyms:

approve, enact, establish, perpetuate, reenact, uphold,

confirm, enforce, maintain, record, sustain, write.

Candid.

Synonyms:

aboveboard, honest, open, truthful,

artless, impartial, simple, unbiased,

fair, ingenuous, sincere, unprejudiced,

frank, innocent, straightforward, unreserved,

guileless, naive, transparent, unsophisticated.

A candid statement is meant to be true to the real facts and just to all parties; a fair statement is really so. Fair is applied to the conduct; candid is not; as, fair treatment, "a fair field, and no favor." One who is frank has a fearless and unconstrained truthfulness. Honest and ingenuous unite in expressing contempt for deceit. On the other hand, artless, guileless, naive, simple, and unsophisticated express the goodness which comes from want of the knowledge or thought of evil. As truth is not always agreeable or timely, candid and frank have often an objectionable sense; "to be candid with you," "to be perfectly frank," are regarded as sure preludes to something disagreeable. Open and unreserved may imply unstudied truthfulness or defiant recklessness; as, open admiration, open robbery. There may be transparent integrity or transparent fraud. Sincere applies to the feelings, as being all that one's words would imply.

Antonyms:

adroit, cunning, diplomatic, intriguing, sharp, subtle,

artful, deceitful, foxy, knowing, shrewd, tricky,

crafty, designing, insincere, maneuvering, sly, wily.

Prepositions:

Candid in debate; candid to or toward opponents; candid with friend or foe; to be candid about or in regard to the matter.

Caparison.

Synonyms:

accouterments, harness, housings, trappings.

Harness was formerly used of the armor of a knight as well as of a horse; it is now used almost exclusively of the straps and appurtenances worn by a horse when attached to a vehicle; the animal is said to be "kind in harness." The other words apply to the ornamental outfit of a horse, especially under saddle. We speak also of the accouterments of a soldier. Caparison is used rarely and somewhat slightingly, and trappings quite contemptuously, for showy human apparel. Compare ARMS; DRESS.

Capital.

Synonyms:

chief city, metropolis, seat of government.

The metropolis is the chief city in the commercial, the capital in the political sense. The capital of an American State is rarely its metropolis.

Care.

Synonyms:

anxiety, concern, oversight, trouble,

attention, direction, perplexity, vigilance,

caution, forethought, precaution, wariness,

charge, heed, prudence, watchfulness,

circumspection, management, solicitude, worry.

Care concerns what we possess; anxiety, often, what we do not; riches bring many cares; poverty brings many anxieties. Care also signifies watchful attention, in view of possible harm; as, "This side up with care;" "Take care of yourself;" or, as a sharp warning, "Take care!" Caution has a sense of possible harm and risk only to be escaped, if at all, by careful deliberation and observation. Care inclines to the positive, caution to the negative; care is shown in doing, caution largely in not doing. Precaution is allied with care, prudence with caution; a man rides a dangerous horse with care; caution will keep him from mounting the horse; precaution looks to the saddle-girths, bit and bridle, and all that may make the rider secure. Circumspection is watchful observation and calculation, but without the timidity implied in caution. Concern denotes a serious interest, milder than anxiety; as, concern for the safety of a ship at sea. Heed implies attention without disquiet; it is now largely displaced by attention and care. Solicitude involves especially the element of desire, not expressed in anxiety, and of hopefulness, not implied in care. A parent feels constant solicitude for his children's welfare, anxiety as to dangers that threaten it, with care to guard against them. Watchfulness recognizes the possibility of danger, wariness the probability. A man who is not influenced by caution to keep out of danger may display great wariness in the midst of it. Care has also the sense of responsibility, with possible control, as expressed in charge, management, oversight; as, these children are under my care; send the money to me in care of the firm. Compare ALARM; ANXIETY; PRUDENCE.

Antonyms:

carelessness, heedlessness, indifference, negligence, oversight, remissness,

disregard, inattention, neglect, omission, recklessness, slight.

Prepositions:

Take care of the house; for the future; about the matter.

Career.

Synonyms:

charge, flight, passage, race,

course, line of achievement, public life, rush.

A career was originally the ground for a race, or, especially, for a knight's charge in tournament or battle; whence career was early applied to the charge itself.

If you will use the lance, take ground for your career.... The four horsemen met in full career.

Scott Quentin Durward ch. 14, p. 194. [D. F. & CO.]

In its figurative use career signifies some continuous and conspicuous work, usually a life-work, and most frequently one of honorable achievement. Compare BUSINESS.

Caress.

Synonyms:

coddle, embrace, fondle, pamper,

court, flatter, kiss, pet.

To caress is less than to embrace; more dignified and less familiar than to fondle. A visitor caresses a friend's child; a mother fondles her babe. Fondling is always by touch; caressing may be also by words, or other tender and pleasing attentions.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for AFFRONT.

Prepositions:

Caressed by or with the hand; caressed by admirers, at court.

Caricature.

Synonyms:

burlesque, extravaganza, mimicry, take-off,

exaggeration, imitation, parody, travesty.

A caricature is a grotesque exaggeration of striking features or peculiarities, generally of a person; a burlesque treats any subject in an absurd or incongruous manner. A burlesque is written or acted; a caricature is more commonly in sketch or picture. A parody changes the subject, but keeps the style; a travesty keeps the subject, but changes the style; a burlesque does not hold itself to either subject or style; but is content with a general resemblance to what it may imitate. A caricature, parody, or travesty must have an original; a burlesque may be an independent composition. An account of a schoolboys' quarrel after the general manner of Homer's Iliad would be a burlesque; the real story of the Iliad told in newspaper style would be a travesty. An extravaganza is a fantastic composition, musical, dramatic, or narrative. Imitation is serious; mimicry is either intentionally or unintentionally comical.

Carry.

Synonyms:

bear, convey, move, sustain, transmit,

bring, lift, remove, take, transport.

A person may bear a load either when in motion or at rest; he carries it only when in motion. The stooping Atlas bears the world on his shoulders; swiftly moving Time carries the hour-glass and scythe; a person may be said either to bear or to carry a scar, since it is upon him whether in motion or at rest. If an object is to be moved from the place we occupy, we say carry; if to the place we occupy, we say bring. A messenger carries a letter to a correspondent, and brings an answer. Take is often used in this sense in place of carry; as, take that letter to the office. Carry often signifies to transport by personal strength, without reference to the direction; as, that is more than he can carry; yet, even so, it would not be admissible to say carry it to me, or carry it here; in such case we must say bring. To lift is simply to raise from the ground, tho but for an instant, with no reference to holding or moving; one may be able to lift what he could not carry. The figurative uses of carry are very numerous; as, to carry an election, carry the country, carry (in the sense of capture) a fort, carry an audience, carry a stock of goods, etc. Compare CONVEY; KEEP; SUPPORT.

Antonyms:

drop, fall under, give up, let go, shake off, throw down, throw off.

Prepositions:

To carry coals to Newcastle; carry nothing from, or out of, this house; he carried these qualities into all he did; carry across the street, over the bridge, through the woods, around or round the corner; beyond the river; the cable was carried under the sea.

Catastrophe.

Synonyms:

calamity, denouement, mischance, mishap,

cataclysm, disaster, misfortune, sequel.

A cataclysm or catastrophe is some great convulsion or momentous event that may or may not be a cause of misery to man. In calamity, or disaster, the thought of human suffering is always present. It has been held by many geologists that numerous catastrophes or cataclysms antedated the existence of man. In literature, the final event of a drama is the catastrophe, or denouement. Misfortune ordinarily suggests less of suddenness and violence than calamity or disaster, and is especially applied to that which is lingering or enduring in its effects. In history, the end of every great war or the fall of a nation is a catastrophe, tho it may not be a calamity. Yet such an event, if not a calamity to the race, will always involve much individual disaster and misfortune. Pestilence is a calamity; a defeat in battle, a shipwreck, or a failure in business is a disaster; sickness or loss of property is a misfortune; failure to meet a friend is a mischance; the breaking of a teacup is a mishap.

Antonyms:

benefit, boon, favor, pleasure, prosperity,

blessing, comfort, help, privilege, success.

Preposition:

The catastrophe of a play; of a siege; rarely, to a person, etc.

Catch.

Synonyms:

apprehend, comprehend, grasp, overtake, snatch,

capture, discover, grip, secure, take,

clasp, ensnare, gripe, seize, take hold of.

clutch, entrap, lay hold of (on, upon),

To catch is to come up with or take possession of something departing, fugitive, or illusive. We catch a runaway horse, a flying ball, a mouse in a trap. We clutch with a swift, tenacious movement of the fingers; we grasp with a firm but moderate closure of the whole hand; we grip or gripe with the strongest muscular closure of the whole hand possible to exert. We clasp in the arms. We snatch with a quick, sudden, and usually a surprising motion. In the figurative sense, catch is used of any act that brings a person or thing into our power or possession; as, to catch a criminal in the act; to catch an idea, in the sense of apprehend or comprehend. Compare ARREST.

Antonyms:

fail of, give up, lose, release, throw aside,

fall short of, let go, miss, restore, throw away.

Prepositions:

To catch at a straw; to catch a fugitive by the collar; to catch a ball with the left hand; he caught the disease from the patient; the thief was caught in the act; the bird in the snare.

Cause.

Synonyms:

actor, causality, designer, occasion, precedent,

agent, causation, former, origin, reason,

antecedent, condition, fountain, originator, source,

author, creator, motive, power, spring.

The efficient cause, that which makes anything to be or be done, is the common meaning of the word, as in the saying "There is no effect without a cause." Every man instinctively recognizes himself acting through will as the cause of his own actions. The Creator is the Great First Cause of all things. A condition is something that necessarily precedes a result, but does not produce it. An antecedent simply precedes a result, with or without any agency in producing it; as, Monday is the invariable antecedent of Tuesday, but not the cause of it. The direct antonym of cause is effect, while that of antecedent is consequent. An occasion is some event which brings a cause into action at a particular moment; gravitation and heat are the causes of an avalanche; the steep incline of the mountain-side is a necessary condition, and the shout of the traveler may be the occasion of its fall. Causality is the doctrine or principle of causes, causation the action or working of causes. Compare DESIGN; REASON.

Antonyms:

consequence, development, end, fruit, outcome, product,

creation, effect, event, issue, outgrowth, result.

Prepositions:

The cause of the disaster; cause for interference.

Cease.

Synonyms:

abstain, desist, give over, quit,

bring to an end, discontinue, intermit, refrain,

come to an end, end, leave off, stop,

conclude, finish, pause, terminate.

Strains of music may gradually or suddenly cease. A man quits work on the instant; he may discontinue a practise gradually; he quits suddenly and completely; he stops short in what he may or may not resume; he pauses in what he will probably resume. What intermits or is intermitted returns again, as a fever that intermits. Compare ABANDON; DIE; END; REST.

Antonyms:

begin, enter upon, initiate, originate, set going, set on foot,

commence, inaugurate, institute, set about, set in operation, start.

Preposition:

Cease from anger.

Celebrate.

Synonyms:

commemorate, keep, observe, solemnize.

To celebrate any event or occasion is to make some demonstration of respect or rejoicing because of or in memory of it, or to perform such public rites or ceremonies as it properly demands. We celebrate the birth, commemorate the death of one beloved or honored. We celebrate a national anniversary with music and song, with firing of guns and ringing of bells; we commemorate by any solemn and thoughtful service, or by a monument or other enduring memorial. We keep the Sabbath, solemnize a marriage, observe an anniversary; we celebrate or observe the Lord's Supper in which believers commemorate the sufferings and death of Christ.

Antonyms:

contemn, dishonor, forget, neglect, profane,

despise, disregard, ignore, overlook, violate.

Prepositions:

We celebrate the day with appropriate ceremonies; the victory was celebrated by the people, with rejoicing.

Center.

Synonyms:

middle, midst.

We speak of the center of a circle, the middle of a room, the middle of the street, the midst of a forest. The center is equally distant from every point of the circumference of a circle, or from the opposite boundaries on each axis of a parallelogram, etc.; the middle is more general and less definite. The center is a point; the middle may be a line or a space. We say at the center; in the middle. Midst commonly implies a group or multitude of surrounding objects. Compare synonyms for AMID.

Antonyms:

bound, boundary, circumference, perimeter, rim.

Chagrin.

Synonyms:

confusion, discomposure, humiliation, shame,

disappointment, dismay, mortification, vexation.

Chagrin unites disappointment with some degree of humiliation. A rainy day may bring disappointment; needless failure in some enterprise brings chagrin. Shame involves the consciousness of fault, guilt, or impropriety; chagrin of failure of judgment, or harm to reputation. A consciousness that one has displayed his own ignorance will cause him mortification, however worthy his intent; if there was a design to deceive, the exposure will cover him with shame.

Antonyms:

delight, exultation, glory, rejoicing, triumph.

Prepositions:

He felt deep chagrin at (because of, on account of) failure.

Change, v.

Synonyms:

alter, exchange, shift, transmute,

commute, metamorphose, substitute, turn,

convert, modify, transfigure, vary,

diversify, qualify, transform, veer.

To change is distinctively to make a thing other than it has been, in some respect at least; to exchange to put or take something else in its place; to alter is ordinarily to change partially, to make different in one or more particulars. To exchange is often to transfer ownership; as, to exchange city for country property. Change is often used in the sense of exchange; as, to change horses. To transmute is to change the qualities while the substance remains the same; as, to transmute the baser metals into gold. To transform is to change form or appearance, with or without deeper and more essential change; it is less absolute than transmute, tho sometimes used for that word, and is often used in a spiritual sense as transmute could not be; "Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind," Rom. xii, 2. Transfigure is, as in its Scriptural use, to change in an exalted and glorious spiritual way; "Jesus ... was transfigured before them, and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light," Matt. xvii, 1, 2. To metamorphose is to make some remarkable change, ordinarily in external qualities, but often in structure, use, or chemical constitution, as of a caterpillar into a butterfly, of the stamens of a plant into petals, or of the crystalline structure of rocks, hence called "metamorphic rocks," as when a limestone is metamorphosed into a marble. To vary is to change from time to time, often capriciously. To commute is to put something easier, lighter, milder, or in some way more favorable in place of that which is commuted; as, to commute capital punishment to imprisonment for life; to commute daily fares on a railway to a monthly payment. To convert (L. con, with, and verto, turn) is to primarily turn about, and signifies to change in form, character, use, etc., through a wide range of relations; iron is converted into steel, joy into grief, a sinner into a saint. To turn is a popular word for change in any sense short of the meaning of exchange, being often equivalent to alter, convert, transform, transmute, etc. We modify or qualify a statement which might seem too strong; we modify it by some limitation, qualify it by some addition.

Antonyms:

abide, continue, hold, persist, retain,

bide, endure, keep, remain, stay.

Prepositions:

To change a home toilet for a street dress; to change from a caterpillar to or into a butterfly; to change clothes with a beggar.

Change, n.

Synonyms:

alteration, mutation, renewing, transmutation,

conversion, novelty, revolution, variation,

diversity, regeneration, transformation, variety,

innovation, renewal, transition, vicissitude.

A change is a passing from one state or form to another, any act or process by which a thing becomes unlike what it was before, or the unlikeness so produced; we say a change was taking place, or the change that had taken place was manifest. Mutation is a more formal word for change, often suggesting repeated or continual change; as, the mutations of fortune. Novelty is a change to what is new, or the newness of that to which a change is made; as, he was perpetually desirous of novelty. Revolution is specifically and most commonly a change of government. Variation is a partial change in form, qualities, etc., but especially in position or action; as, the variation of the magnetic needle or of the pulse. Variety is a succession of changes or an intermixture of different things, and is always thought of as agreeable. Vicissitude is sharp, sudden, or violent change, always thought of as surprising and often as disturbing or distressing; as, the vicissitudes of politics. Transition is change by passing from one place or state to another, especially in a natural, regular, or orderly way; as, the transition from spring to summer, or from youth to manhood. An innovation is a change that breaks in upon an established order or custom; as, an innovation in religion or politics. For the distinctions between the other words compare the synonyms for CHANGE, v. In the religious sense regeneration is the vital renewing of the soul by the power of the divine Spirit; conversion is the conscious and manifest change from evil to good, or from a lower to a higher spiritual state; as, in Luke xxii, 32, "when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." In popular use conversion is the most common word to express the idea of regeneration.

Antonyms:

constancy, fixedness, invariability, steadiness,

continuance, fixity, permanence, unchangeableness,

firmness, identity, persistence, uniformity.

Prepositions:

We have made a change for the better; the change from winter to spring; the change of a liquid to or into a gas; a change in quality; a change by absorption or oxidation.

Character.

Synonyms:

constitution, genius, personality, reputation, temper,

disposition, nature, record, spirit, temperament.

Character is what one is; reputation, what he is thought to be; his record is the total of his known action or inaction. As a rule, a man's record will substantially express his character; his reputation may be higher or lower than his character or record will justify. Repute is a somewhat formal word, with the same general sense as reputation. One's nature includes all his original endowments or propensities; character includes both natural and acquired traits. We speak of one's physical constitution as strong or weak, etc., and figuratively, always with the adjective, of his mental or moral constitution. Compare CHARACTERISTIC.

Prepositions:

The witness has a character for veracity; his character is above suspicion; the character of the applicant.

Characteristic.

Synonyms:

attribute, feature, peculiarity, sign, trace,

character, indication, property, singularity, trait.

distinction, mark, quality,

A characteristic belongs to the nature or character of the person, thing, or class, and serves to identify an object; as, a copper-colored skin, high cheek-bones, and straight, black hair are characteristics of the American Indian. A sign is manifest to an observer; a mark or a characteristic may be more difficult to discover; an insensible person may show signs of life, while sometimes only close examination will disclose marks of violence. Pallor is ordinarily a mark of fear; but in some brave natures it is simply a characteristic of intense earnestness. Mark is sometimes used in a good, but often in a bad sense; we speak of the characteristic of a gentleman, the mark of a villain. Compare ATTRIBUTE; CHARACTER.

Charming.

Synonyms:

bewitching, delightful, enrapturing, fascinating,

captivating, enchanting, entrancing, winning.

That is charming or bewitching which is adapted to win others as by a magic spell. Enchanting, enrapturing, entrancing represent the influence as not only supernatural, but irresistible and delightful. That which is fascinating may win without delighting, drawing by some unseen power, as a serpent its prey; we can speak of horrible fascination. Charming applies only to what is external to oneself; delightful may apply to personal experiences or emotions as well; we speak of a charming manner, a charming dress, but of delightful anticipations. Compare AMIABLE; BEAUTIFUL.

Chasten.

Synonyms:

afflict, chastise, discipline, punish, refine, subdue,

castigate, correct, humble, purify, soften, try.

Castigate and chastise refer strictly to corporal punishment, tho both are somewhat archaic; correct and punish are often used as euphemisms in preference to either. Punish is distinctly retributive in sense; chastise, partly retributive, and partly corrective; chasten, wholly corrective. Chasten is used exclusively in the spiritual sense, and chiefly of the visitation of God.

Prepositions:

"We are chastened of the Lord," 1 Cor. xi, 32; "they ... chastened us after their own pleasure, but He for our profit," Heb. xii, 10; "chasten in thy hot displeasure," Ps. iv, 7; chasten with pain; by trials and sorrows.

Cherish.

Synonyms:

cheer, encourage, harbor, nurse, shelter,

cling to, entertain, hold dear, nurture, treasure,

comfort, foster, nourish, protect, value.

To cherish is both to hold dear and to treat as dear. Mere unexpressed esteem would not be cherishing. In the marriage vow, "to love, honor, and cherish," the word cherish implies all that each can do by love and tenderness for the welfare and happiness of the other, as by support, protection, care in sickness, comfort in sorrow, sympathy, and help of every kind. To nurse is to tend the helpless or feeble, as infants, or the sick or wounded. To nourish is strictly to sustain and build up by food; to nurture includes careful mental and spiritual training, with something of love and tenderness; to foster is simply to maintain and care for, to bring up; a foster-child will be nourished, but may not be as tenderly nurtured or as lovingly cherished as if one's own. In the figurative sense, the opinion one cherishes he holds, not with mere cold conviction, but with loving devotion.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for ABANDON; CHASTEN.

Choose.

Synonyms:

cull, elect, pick, pick out, prefer, select.

Prefer indicates a state of desire and approval; choose, an act of will. Prudence or generosity may lead one to choose what he does not prefer. Select implies a careful consideration of the reasons for preference and choice. Among objects so nearly alike that we have no reason to prefer any one to another we may simply choose the nearest, but we could not be said to select it. Aside from theology, elect is popularly confined to the political sense; as, a free people elect their own rulers. Cull, from the Latin colligere, commonly means to collect, as well as to select. In a garden we cull the choicest flowers.

Antonyms:

cast away, decline, dismiss, refuse, repudiate,

cast out, disclaim, leave, reject, throw aside.

Prepositions:

Choose from or from among the number; choose out of the army; choose between (or betwixt) two; among many; choose for the purpose.

Circumlocution.

Synonyms:

diffuseness, prolixity, surplusage, verbiage,

periphrasis, redundance, tautology, verbosity,

pleonasm, redundancy, tediousness, wordiness.

Circumlocution and periphrasis are roundabout ways of expressing thought; circumlocution is the more common, periphrasis the more technical word. Constant circumlocution produces an affected and heavy style; occasionally, skilful periphrasis conduces both to beauty and to simplicity. Etymologically, diffuseness is a scattering, both of words and thought; redundancy is an overflow. Prolixity goes into endless petty details, without selection or perspective. Pleonasm is the expression of an idea already plainly implied; tautology is the restatement in other words of an idea already stated, or a useless repetition of a word or words. Pleonasm may add emphasis; tautology is always a fault. "I saw it with my eyes" is a pleonasm; "all the members agreed unanimously" is tautology. Verbiage is the use of mere words without thought. Verbosity and wordiness denote an excess of words in proportion to the thought. Tediousness is the sure result of any of these faults of style.

Antonyms:

brevity, compression, condensation, plainness, succinctness,

compactness, conciseness, directness, shortness, terseness.

Circumstance.

Synonyms:

accompaniment, fact, item, point,

concomitant, feature, occurrence, position,

detail, incident, particular, situation.

event,

A circumstance (L. circum, around, and sto, stand), is something existing or occurring in connection with or relation to some other fact or event, modifying or throwing light upon the principal matter without affecting its essential character; an accompaniment is something that unites with the principal matter, tho not necessary to it; as, the piano accompaniment to a song; a concomitant goes with a thing in natural connection, but in a subordinate capacity, or perhaps in contrast; as, cheerfulness is a concomitant of virtue. A circumstance is not strictly, nor usually, an occasion, condition, effect, or result. (See these words under CAUSE.) Nor is the circumstance properly an incident. (See under ACCIDENT.) We say, "My decision will depend upon circumstances"—not "upon incidents." That a man wore a blue necktie would not probably be the cause, occasion, condition, or concomitant of his committing murder; but it might be a very important circumstance in identifying him as the murderer. All the circumstances make up the situation. A certain disease is the cause of a man's death; his suffering is an incident; that he is in his own home, that he has good medical attendance, careful nursing, etc., are consolatory circumstances. With the same idea of subordination, we often say, "This is not a circumstance to that." So a person is said to be in easy circumstances. Compare EVENT.

Prepositions:

"Mere situation is expressed by 'in the circumstances'; action affected is performed 'under the circumstances.'" [M.]

Class.

Synonyms:

association, circle, clique, company, grade, rank,

caste, clan, club, coterie, order, set.

A class is a number or body of persons or objects having common pursuits, purposes, attributes, or characteristics. A caste is hereditary; a class may be independent of lineage or descent; membership in a caste is supposed to be for life; membership in a class may be very transient; a religious and ceremonial sacredness attaches to the caste, as not to the class. The rich and the poor form separate classes; yet individuals are constantly passing from each to the other; the classes in a college remain the same, but their membership changes every year. We speak of rank among hereditary nobility or military officers; of various orders of the priesthood; by accommodation, we may refer in a general way to the higher ranks, the lower orders of any society. Grade implies some regular scale of valuation, and some inherent qualities for which a person or thing is placed higher or lower in the scale; as, the coarser and finer grades of wool; a man of an inferior grade. A coterie is a small company of persons of similar tastes, who meet frequently in an informal way, rather for social enjoyment than for any serious purpose. Clique has always an unfavorable meaning. A clique is always fractional, implying some greater gathering of which it is a part; the association breaks up into cliques. Persons unite in a coterie through simple liking for one another; they withdraw into a clique largely through aversion to outsiders. A set, while exclusive, is more extensive than a clique, and chiefly of persons who are united by common social station, etc. Circle is similar in meaning to set, but of wider application; we speak of scientific and religious as well as of social circles.

Prepositions:

A class of merchants; the senior class at (sometimes of) Harvard; the classes in college.

Cleanse.

Synonyms:

brush, dust, purify, scour, sponge, wash,

clean, lave, rinse, scrub, sweep, wipe.

disinfect, mop,

To clean is to make clean by removing dirt, impurities, or soil of any kind. Cleanse implies a worse condition to start from, and more to do, than clean. Hercules cleansed the Augean stables. Cleanse is especially applied to purifying processes where liquid is used, as in the flushing of a street, etc. We brush clothing if dusty, sponge it, or sponge it off, if soiled; or sponge off a spot. Furniture, books, etc., are dusted; floors are mopped or scrubbed; metallic utensils are scoured; a room is swept; soiled garments are washed; foul air or water is purified. Cleanse and purify are used extensively in a moral sense; wash in that sense is archaic. Compare AMEND.

Antonyms:

befoul, besmirch, contaminate, debase, deprave, soil, stain, taint,

besmear, bespatter, corrupt, defile, pollute, spoil, sully, vitiate.

Prepositions:

Cleanse of or from physical or moral defilement; cleanse with an instrument; by an agent; the room was cleansed by the attendants with soap and water.

Clear.

Synonyms:

apparent, intelligible, pellucid, transparent,

diaphanous, limpid, perspicuous, unadorned,

distinct, lucid, plain, unambiguous,

evident, manifest, straightforward, unequivocal,

explicit, obvious, translucent, unmistakable.

Clear (L. clarus, bright, brilliant) primarily refers to that which shines, and impresses the mind through the eye with a sense of luster or splendor. A substance is said to be clear that offers no impediment to vision—is not dim, dark, or obscure. Transparent refers to the medium through which a substance is seen, clear to the substance itself, without reference to anything to be seen through it; we speak of a stream as clear when we think of the water itself; we speak of it as transparent with reference to the ease with which we see the pebbles at the bottom. Clear is also said of that which comes to the senses without dimness, dulness, obstruction, or obscurity, so that there is no uncertainty as to its exact form, character, or meaning, with something of the brightness or brilliancy implied in the primary meaning of the word clear; as, the outlines of the ship were clear against the sky; a clear view; a clear note; "clear as a bell;" a clear, frosty air; a clear sky; a clear statement; hence, the word is used for that which is free from any kind of obstruction; as, a clear field. Lucid and pellucid refer to a shining clearness, as of crystal. A transparent body allows the forms and colors of objects beyond to be seen through it; a translucent body allows light to pass through, but may not permit forms and colors to be distinguished; plate glass is transparent, ground glass is translucent. Limpid refers to a liquid clearness, or that which suggests it; as, limpid streams. That which is distinct is well defined, especially in outline, each part or object standing or seeming apart from any other, not confused, indefinite, or blurred; distinct enunciation enables the hearer to catch every word or vocal sound without perplexity or confusion; a distinct statement is free from indefiniteness or ambiguity; a distinct apprehension of a thought leaves the mind in no doubt or uncertainty regarding it. That is plain, in the sense here considered, which is, as it were, level to the thought, so that one goes straight on without difficulty or hindrance; as, plain language; a plain statement; a clear explanation. Perspicuous is often equivalent to plain, but plain never wholly loses the meaning of unadorned, so that we can say the style is perspicuous tho highly ornate, when we could not call it at once ornate and plain. Compare EVIDENT.

Antonyms:

ambiguous, dim, foggy, mysterious, opaque, unintelligible,

cloudy, dubious, indistinct, obscure, turbid, vague.

Prepositions:

Clear to the mind; clear in argument; clear of or from annoyances.

Clever.

Synonyms:

able, capable, happy, keen, sharp,

adroit, dexterous, ingenious, knowing, skilful,

apt, expert, intellectual, quick, smart,

bright, gifted, intelligent, quick-witted, talented.

Clever, as used in England, especially implies an aptitude for study or learning, and for excellent tho not preeminent mental achievement. The early New England usage as implying simple and weak good nature has largely affected the use of the word throughout the United States, where it has never been much in favor. Smart, indicating dashing ability, is now coming to have a suggestion of unscrupulousness, similar to that of the word sharp, which makes its use a doubtful compliment. The discriminating use of such words as able, gifted, talented, etc., is greatly preferable to an excessive use of the word clever. Compare ACUMEN; ASTUTE; POWER.

Antonyms:

awkward, clumsy, foolish, ignorant, slow, thick-headed,

bungling, dull, idiotic, senseless, stupid, witless.

Collision.

Synonyms:

clash, concussion, contact, impact, opposition,

clashing, conflict, encounter, meeting, shock.

Collision, the act or fact of striking violently together, is the result of motion or action, and is sudden and momentary; contact may be a condition of rest, and be continuous and permanent; collision is sudden and violent contact. Concussion is often by transmitted force rather than by direct impact; two railway-trains come into collision; an explosion of dynamite shatters neighboring windows by concussion. Impact is the blow given by the striking body; as, the impact of the cannon-shot upon the target. An encounter is always violent, and generally hostile. Meeting is neutral, and may be of the dearest friends or of the bitterest foes; of objects, of persons, or of opinions; of two or of a multitude. Shock is the result of collision. In the figurative use, we speak of clashing of views, collision of persons. Opposition is used chiefly of persons, more rarely of opinions or interests; conflict is used indifferently of all.

Antonyms:

agreement, coincidence, concord, conformity, unison,

amity, concert, concurrence, harmony, unity.

Prepositions:

Collision of one object with another; of or between opposing objects.

Comfortable.

Synonyms:

agreeable, cheery, genial, snug,

at ease, commodious, pleasant, well-off,

at rest, contented, satisfactory, well-provided,

cheerful, convenient, satisfied, well-to-do.

A person is comfortable in mind when contented and measurably satisfied. A little additional brightness makes him cheerful. He is comfortable in body when free from pain, quiet, at ease, at rest. He is comfortable in circumstances, or in comfortable circumstances, when things about him are generally agreeable and satisfactory, usually with the suggestion of sufficient means to secure that result.

Antonyms:

cheerless, discontented, distressed, forlorn, uncomfortable,

disagreeable, dissatisfied, dreary, miserable, wretched.

Commit.

Synonyms:

assign, confide, consign, entrust, relegate, trust.

Commit, in the sense here considered, is to give in charge, put into care or keeping; to confide or entrust is to commit especially to one's fidelity, confide being used chiefly of mental or spiritual, entrust also of material things; we assign a duty, confide a secret, entrust a treasure; we commit thoughts to writing; commit a paper to the flames, a body to the earth; a prisoner is committed to jail. Consign is a formal word in mercantile use; as, to consign goods to an agent. Religiously, we consign the body to the grave, commit the soul to God. Compare DO.

Prepositions:

Commit to a friend for safe-keeping; in law, commit to prison; for trial; without bail; in default of bail; on suspicion.

Company.

Synonyms:

assemblage, concourse, convocation, host,

assembly, conference, crowd, meeting,

collection, congregation, gathering, multitude,

conclave, convention, group, throng.

Company, from the Latin cum, with, and panis, bread, denotes primarily the association of those who eat at a common table, or the persons so associated, table-companions, messmates, friends, and hence is widely extended to include any association of those united permanently or temporarily, for business, pleasure, festivity, travel, etc., or by sorrow, misfortune, or wrong; company may denote an indefinite number (ordinarily more than two), but less than a multitude; in the military sense a company is a limited and definite number of men; company implies more unity of feeling and purpose than crowd, and is a less formal and more familiar word than assemblage or assembly. An assemblage may be of persons or of objects; an assembly is always of persons. An assemblage is promiscuous and unorganized; an assembly is organized and united in some common purpose. A conclave is a secret assembly. A convocation is an assembly called by authority for a special purpose; the term convention suggests less dependence upon any superior authority or summons. A group is small in number and distinct in outline, clearly marked off from all else in space or time. Collection, crowd, gathering, group, and multitude have the unorganized and promiscuous character of the assemblage; the other terms come under the general idea of assembly. Congregation is now almost exclusively religious; meeting is often so used, but is less restricted, as we may speak of a meeting of armed men. Gathering refers to a coming together, commonly of numbers, from far and near; as, the gathering of the Scottish clans.

Antonyms:

dispersion, loneliness, privacy, retirement, seclusion, solitude.

Compel.

Synonyms:

coerce, drive, make, oblige.

constrain, force, necessitate,

To compel one to an act is to secure its performance by the use of irresistible physical or moral force. Force implies primarily an actual physical process, absolutely subduing all resistance. Coerce implies the actual or potential use of so much force as may be necessary to secure the surrender of the will; the American secessionists contended that the Federal government had no right to coerce a State. Constrain implies the yielding of judgment and will, and in some cases of inclination or affection, to an overmastering power; as, "the love of Christ constraineth us," 2 Cor. v, 14. Compare DRIVE; INFLUENCE.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for HINDER.

Prepositions:

The soldiers were compelled to desertion: preferably with the infinitive, compelled to desert.

Complain.

Synonyms:

croak, growl, grunt, remonstrate,

find fault, grumble, murmur, repine.

To complain is to give utterance to dissatisfaction or objection, express a sense of wrong or ill treatment. One complains of a real or assumed grievance; he may murmur through mere peevishness or ill temper; he repines, with vain distress, at the irrevocable or the inevitable. Complaining is by speech or writing; murmuring is commonly said of half-repressed utterance; repining of the mental act alone. One may complain of an offense to the offender or to others; he remonstrates with the offender only. Complain has a formal and legal meaning, which the other words have not, signifying to make a formal accusation, present a specific charge; the same is true of the noun complaint.

Antonyms:

applaud, approve, commend, eulogize, laud, praise.

Prepositions:

Complain of a thing to a person; of one person to another, of or against a person for an act; to an officer; before the court; about a thing.

Complex.

Synonyms:

abstruse, confused, intricate, mixed,

complicated, conglomerate, involved, multiform,

composite, entangled, manifold, obscure,

compound, heterogeneous, mingled, tangled.

That is complex which is made up of several connected parts. That is compound in which the parts are not merely connected, but fused, or otherwise combined into a single substance. In a composite object the different parts have less of unity than in that which is complex or compound, but maintain their distinct individuality. In a heterogeneous body unlike parts or particles are intermingled, often without apparent order or plan. Conglomerate (literally, globed together) is said of a confused mingling of masses or lumps of various substances. The New England pudding-stone is a conglomerate rock. In a complex object the arrangement and relation of parts may be perfectly clear; in a complicated mechanism the parts are so numerous, or so combined, that the mind can not readily grasp their mutual relations; in an intricate arrangement the parts are so intertwined that it is difficult to follow their windings; things are involved which are rolled together so as not to be easily separated, either in thought or in fact; things which are tangled or entangled mutually hold and draw upon each other. The conception of a material object is usually complex, involving form, color, size, and other elements; a clock is a complicated mechanism; the Gordian knot was intricate; the twining serpents of the Laocoon are involved. We speak of an abstruse statement, a complex conception, a confused heap, a heterogeneous mass, a tangled skein, an intricate problem; of composite architecture, an involved sentence; of the complicated or intricate accounts of a great business, the entangled accounts of an incompetent or dishonest bookkeeper.

Antonyms:

clear, homogeneous, plain, uncombined, uniform,

direct, obvious, simple, uncompounded, unraveled.

Condemn.

Synonyms:

blame, convict, doom, reprove,

censure, denounce, reprobate, sentence.

To condemn is to pass judicial sentence or render judgment or decision against. We may censure silently; we condemn ordinarily by open and formal utterance. Condemn is more final than blame or censure; a condemned criminal has had his trial; a condemned building can not stand; a condemned ship can not sail. A person is convicted when his guilt is made clearly manifest to others; in somewhat archaic use, a person is said to be convicted when guilt is brought clearly home to his own conscience (convict in this sense being allied with convince, which see under PERSUADE); in legal usage one is said to be convicted only by the verdict of a jury. In stating the penalty of an offense, the legal word sentence is now more common than condemn; as, he was sentenced to imprisonment; but it is good usage to say, he was condemned to imprisonment. To denounce is to make public or official declaration against, especially in a violent and threatening manner.

From the pulpits in the northern States Burr was denounced as an assassin.

Coffin Building the Nation ch. 10, p. 137. [H. '83.]

To doom is to condemn solemnly and consign to evil or destruction or to predetermine to an evil destiny; an inferior race in presence of a superior is doomed to subjugation or extinction. Compare ARRAIGN; REPROVE.

Antonyms:

absolve, applaud, exonerate, pardon,

acquit, approve, justify, praise.

Prepositions:

The bandit was condemned to death for his crime.

Confess.

Synonyms:

accept, allow, concede, grant,

acknowledge, avow, disclose, own,

admit, certify, endorse, recognize.

We accept another's statement; admit any point made against us; acknowledge what we have said or done, good or bad; avow our individual beliefs or feelings; certify to facts within our knowledge; confess our own faults; endorse a friend's note or statement; grant a request; own our faults or obligations; recognize lawful authority; concede a claim. Confess has a high and sacred use in the religious sense; as, to confess Christ before men. It may have also a playful sense (often with to); as, one confesses to a weakness for confectionery. The chief present use of the word, however, is in the sense of making known to others one's own wrong-doing; in this sense confess is stronger than acknowledge or admit, and more specific than own; a person admits a mistake; acknowledges a fault; confesses sin or crime. Compare APOLOGY; AVOW.

Antonyms:

cloak, deny, disown, hide, screen,

conceal, disavow, dissemble, mask, secrete,

cover, disguise, dissimulate, repudiate, veil.

Confirm.

Synonyms:

assure, fix, sanction, substantiate,

corroborate, prove, settle, sustain,

establish, ratify, strengthen, uphold.

Confirm (L. con, together, and firmus, firm) is to add firmness or give stability to. Both confirm and corroborate presuppose something already existing to which the confirmation or corroboration is added. Testimony is corroborated by concurrent testimony or by circumstances; confirmed by established facts. That which is thoroughly proved is said to be established; so is that which is official and has adequate power behind it; as, the established government; the established church. The continents are fixed. A treaty is ratified; an appointment confirmed. An act is sanctioned by any person or authority that passes upon it approvingly. A statement is substantiated; a report confirmed; a controversy settled; the decision of a lower court sustained by a higher. Just government should be upheld. The beneficent results of Christianity confirm our faith in it as a divine revelation.

Antonyms:

abrogate, cancel, overthrow, shatter, upset,

annul, destroy, shake, unsettle, weaken.

Prepositions:

Confirm a statement by testimony; confirm a person in a belief.

Congratulate.

Synonym:

felicitate.

To felicitate is to pronounce one happy or wish one joy; to congratulate is to express hearty sympathy in his joys or hopes. Felicitate is cold and formal. We say one felicitates himself; tho to congratulate oneself, which is less natural, is becoming prevalent.

Antonyms:

condole with, console.

Prepositions:

Congratulate one on or upon his success.

Conquer.

Synonyms:

beat, humble, overthrow, subject,

checkmate, master, prevail over, subjugate,

crush, overcome, put down, surmount,

defeat, overmaster, reduce, vanquish,

discomfit, overmatch, rout, win,

down, overpower, subdue, worst.

To defeat an enemy is to gain an advantage for the time; to vanquish is to win a signal victory; to conquer is to overcome so effectually that the victory is regarded as final. Conquer, in many cases, carries the idea of possession; as, to conquer respect, affection, peace, etc. A country is conquered when its armies are defeated and its territory is occupied by the enemy; it may be subjected to indemnity or to various disabilities; it is subjugated when it is held helplessly and continuously under military control; it is subdued when all resistance has died out. An army is defeated when forcibly driven back; it is routed when it is converted into a mob of fugitives. Compare BEAT.

Antonyms:

capitulate, fail, fly, lose, retire, submit, surrender,

cede, fall, forfeit, resign, retreat, succumb, yield.

Conscious.

Synonyms:

advised, assured, certain, cognizant, sensible,

apprised, aware, certified, informed, sure.

One is aware of that which exists without him; he is conscious of the inner workings of his own mind. Sensible may be used in the exact sense of conscious, or it may partake of both the senses mentioned above. One may be sensible of his own or another's error; he is conscious only of his own. A person may feel assured or sure of something false or non-existent; what he is aware of, still more what he is conscious of, must be fact. Sensible has often a reference to the emotions where conscious might apply only to the intellect; to say a culprit is sensible of his degradation is more forcible than to say he is conscious of it.

Antonyms:

cold, dead, deaf, ignorant, insensible, unaware, unconscious.

Preposition:

On the stormy sea, man is conscious of the limitation of human power.

Consequence.

Synonyms:

consequent, end, issue, outgrowth, sequel,

effect, event, outcome, result, upshot.

Effect is the strongest of these words; it is that which is directly produced by the action of an efficient cause; we say, "Every effect must have an adequate cause" (compare CAUSE). In regard to human actions, effect commonly relates to intention; as, the shot took effect, i. e., the effect intended. A consequence is that which follows an act naturally, but less directly than the effect. The motion of the piston is the effect, and the agitation of the water under the paddle-wheels a consequence of the expansion of steam in the cylinder. The result is, literally, the rebound of an act, depending on many elements; the issue is that which flows forth directly; we say the issue of a battle, the result of a campaign. A consequent commonly is that which follows simply in order of time, or by logical inference. The end is the actual outcome without determination of its relation to what has gone before; it is ordinarily viewed as either the necessary, natural, or logical outcome, any effect, consequence, or result being termed an end; as, the end of such a course must be ruin. The event (L. e, out, and venio, come) is primarily exactly the same in meaning as outcome; but in use it is more nearly equivalent to upshot signifying the sum and substance of all effects, consequences, and results of a course of action. Compare ACCIDENT; CAUSE; CIRCUMSTANCE; END; EVENT.

Console.

Synonyms:

comfort, condole with, encourage, sympathize with.