Synonyms, Antonyms and Prepositions (part 3)

In general terms, it may be said that freedom is absolute, liberty relative; freedom is the absence of restraint, liberty is primarily the removal or avoidance of restraint; in its broadest sense, it is the state of being exempt from the domination of others or from restricting circumstances. Freedom and liberty are constantly interchanged; the slave is set at liberty, or gains his freedom; but freedom is the nobler word. Independence is said of states or nations, freedom and liberty of individuals; the independence of the United States did not secure liberty or freedom to its slaves. Liberty keeps quite strictly to the thought of being clear of restraint or compulsion; freedom takes a wider range, applying to other oppressive influences; thus, we speak of freedom from annoyance or intrusion. License is, in its limited sense, a permission or privilege granted by adequate authority, a bounded liberty; in the wider sense, license is an ignoring and defiance of all that should restrain, and a reckless doing of all that individual caprice or passion may choose to do—a base and dangerous counterfeit of freedom. Compare ALLOW; PERMISSION.

Antonyms:

captivity, imprisonment, oppression, slavery,

compulsion, necessity, serfdom, superstition,

constraint, obligation, servitude, thraldom.

Light.

Synonyms:

blaze, gleam, glow, shimmer,

flame, gleaming, illumination, shine,

flare, glimmer, incandescence, shining,

flash, glistening, luster, sparkle,

flicker, glistering, scintillation, twinkle,

glare, glitter, sheen, twinkling.

Light, strictly denoting a form of radiant energy, is used as a general term for any luminous effect discernible by the eye, from the faintest phosphorescence to the blaze of the noonday sun. A flame is both hot and luminous; if it contains few solid particles it will yield little light, tho it may afford intense heat, as in the case of a hydrogen-flame. A blaze is an extensive, brilliant flame. A flare is a wavering flame or blaze; a flash is a light that appears and disappears in an instant; as, a flash of lightning; the flash of gunpowder. The glare and glow are steady, the glare painfully bright, the glow subdued; as, the glare of torches; the glow of dying embers. Shine and shining refer to a steady or continuous emission of light; sheen is a faint shining, usually by reflection. Glimmer, glitter, and shimmer denote wavering light. We speak of the glimmer of distant lamps through the mist; of the shimmer of waves in sunlight or moonlight. A gleam is not wavering, but transient or intermittent; a sudden gleam of light came through the half-open door; a glitter is a hard light; as, the glitter of burnished arms. A sparkle is a sudden light, as of sparks thrown out; scintillation is the more exact and scientific term for the actual emission of sparks, also the figurative term for what suggests such emission; as, scintillations of wit or of genius. Twinkle and twinkling are used of the intermittent light of the fixed stars. Glistening is a shining as from a wet surface. Illumination is a wide-spread, brilliant light, as when all the windows of a house or of a street are lighted. The light of incandescence is intense and white like that from metal at a white heat.

Antonyms:

blackness, darkness, dusk, gloominess, shade,

dark, dimness, gloom, obscurity, shadow.

Likely.

Synonyms:

apt, conceivable, liable, probable,

credible, conjectural, presumable, reasonable.

Apt implies a natural fitness or tendency; an impetuous person is apt to speak hastily. Liable refers to a contingency regarded as unfavorable; as, the ship was liable to founder at any moment. Likely refers to a contingent event regarded as very probable, and usually, tho not always, favorable; as, an industrious worker is likely to succeed. Credible signifies readily to be believed; as, a credible narrative; likely in such connection is used ironically to signify the reverse; as, a likely story! A thing is conceivable of which the mind can entertain the possibility; a thing is conjectural which is conjectured as possible or probable without other support than a conjecture, or tentative judgment; a thing is presumable which, from what is antecedently known, may betaken for granted in advance of proof. Reasonable in this connection signifies such as the reason can be satisfied with, independently of external grounds for belief or disbelief; as, that seems a reasonable supposition. Compare APPARENT.

Antonyms:

doubtful, improbable, questionable, unreasonable.

dubious, incredible, unlikely,

Listen.

Synonyms:

attend, hark, harken, hear, heed, list.

Between listen and hear is a difference like that between the words look and see. (Compare synonyms for LOOK.) To hear is simply to become conscious of sound, to listen is to make a conscious effort or endeavor to hear. We may hear without listening, as words suddenly uttered in an adjoining room; or we may listen without hearing, as to a distant speaker. In listening the ear is intent upon the sound; in attending the mind is intent upon the thought, tho listening implies some attention to the meaning or import of the sound. To heed is not only to attend, but to remember and observe. Harken is nearly obsolete.

Antonyms:

be deaf to, ignore, neglect, scorn, slight.

Prepositions:

We listen for what we expect or desire to hear; we listen to what we actually do hear; listen for a step, a signal, a train; listen to the debate.

Literature.

Synonyms:

belles-lettres, literary productions, publications,

books, literary works, writings.

Literature is collective, including in the most general sense all the written or printed productions of the human mind in all lands and ages, or in a more limited sense, referring to all that has been published in some land or age, or in some department of human knowledge; as, the literature of Greece; the literature of the Augustan age; the literature of politics or of art. Literature, used absolutely, denotes what has been called "polite literature" or belles-lettres, i. e., the works collectively that embody taste, feeling, loftiness of thought, and purity and beauty of style, as poetry, history, fiction, and dramatic compositions, including also much of philosophical writing, as the "Republic" of Plato, and oratorical productions, as the orations of Demosthenes. In the broad sense, we can speak of the literature of science; in the narrower sense, we speak of literature and science as distinct departments of knowledge. Literature is also used to signify literary pursuits or occupations; as, to devote one's life to literature. Compare KNOWLEDGE; SCIENCE.

Load, n.

Synonyms:

burden, charge, encumbrance, incubus, pack,

cargo, clog, freight, lading, weight.

A burden (from the Anglo-Saxon byrthen, from the verb beran, bear) is what one has to bear, and the word is used always of that which is borne by a living agent. A load (from the Anglo-Saxon lād, a way, course, carrying, or carriage) is what is laid upon a person, animal, or vehicle for conveyance, or what is customarily so imposed; as, a two-horse load. Weight measures the pressure due to gravity; the same weight that one finds a moderate load when in his full strength becomes a heavy burden in weariness or weakness. A ship's load is called distinctively a cargo, or it may be known as freight or lading. Freight denotes merchandise in or for transportation and is used largely of transportation or of merchandise transported by rail, which is, in commercial language, said to be "shipped." A load to be fastened upon a horse or mule is called a pack, and the animal is known as a pack-horse or pack-mule.

Lock.

Synonyms:

bar, catch, fastening, hook,

bolt, clasp, hasp, latch.

A bar is a piece of wood or metal, usually of considerable size, by which an opening is obstructed, a door held fast, etc. A bar may be movable or permanent; a bolt is a movable rod or pin of metal, sliding in a socket and adapted for securing a door or window. A lock is an arrangement by which an enclosed bolt is shot forward or backward by a key, or other device; the bolt is the essential part of the lock. A latch or catch is an accessible fastening designed to be easily movable, and simply to secure against accidental opening of the door, cover, etc. A hasp is a metallic strap that fits over a staple, calculated to be secured by a padlock; a simple hook that fits into a staple is also called a hasp. A clasp is a fastening that can be sprung into place, to draw and hold the parts of some enclosing object firmly together, as the clasp of a book.

Look.

Synonyms:

behold, discern, inspect, see, view,

contemplate, gaze, regard, stare, watch.

descry, glance, scan, survey,

To see is simply to become conscious of an object of vision; to look is to make a conscious and direct endeavor to see. To behold is to fix the sight and the mind with distinctness and consideration upon something that has come to be clearly before the eyes. We may look without seeing, as in pitch-darkness, and we may see without looking, as in case of a flash of lightning. To gaze is to look intently, long, and steadily upon an object. To glance is to look casually or momentarily. To stare is to look with a fixed intensity such as is the effect of surprise, alarm, or rudeness. To scan is to look at minutely, to note every visible feature. To inspect is to go below the surface, uncover, study item by item. View and survey are comprehensive, survey expressing the greater exactness of measurement or estimate. Watch brings in the element of time and often of wariness; we watch for a movement or change, a signal, the approach of an enemy, etc. Compare APPEAR.

Love.

Synonyms:

affection, charity, friendship, regard,

attachment, devotion, liking, tenderness.

attraction, fondness,

Affection is kindly feeling, deep, tender, and constant, going out to some person or object, being less fervent and ardent than love, whether applied to persons or things. Love is an intense and absorbing emotion, drawing one toward a person or object and causing one to appreciate, delight in, and crave the presence or possession of the person or object loved, and to desire to please and benefit the person, or to advance the cause, truth, or other object of affection; it is the yearning or outgoing of soul toward something that is regarded as excellent, beautiful, or desirable; love may be briefly defined as strong and absorbing affection for and attraction toward a person or object. Love may denote the sublimest and holiest spiritual affection as when we are taught that "God is love." Charity has so far swung aside from this original meaning that probably it never can be recalled (compare BENEVOLENCE). The Revised Version uses love in place of charity in 1 Cor. xiii, and elsewhere. Love is more intense, absorbing, and tender than friendship, more intense, impulsive, and perhaps passionate than affection; we speak of fervent love, but of deep or tender affection, or of close, firm, strong friendship. Love is used specifically for personal affection between the sexes in the highest sense, the love that normally leads to marriage, and subsists throughout all happy wedded life. Love can never properly denote mere animal passion, which is expressed by such words as appetite, desire, lust. One may properly be said to have love for animals, for inanimate objects, or for abstract qualities that enlist the affections, as we speak of love for a horse or a dog, for mountains, woods, ocean, or of love of nature, and love of virtue. Love of articles of food is better expressed by liking, as love, in its full sense, expresses something spiritual and reciprocal, such as can have no place in connection with objects that minister merely to the senses. Compare ATTACHMENT; FRIENDSHIP.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for ANTIPATHY; ENMITY; HATRED.

Prepositions:

Love of country; for humanity; love to God and man.

Make.

Synonyms:

become, constrain, fabricate, manufacture,

bring about, construct, fashion, occasion,

bring into being, create, force, perform,

bring to pass, do, frame, reach,

cause, effect, get, render,

compel, establish, make out, require,

compose, execute, make up, shape.

constitute,

Make is essentially causative; to the idea of cause all its various senses may be traced (compare synonyms for CAUSE). To make is to cause to exist, or to cause to exist in a certain form or in certain relations; the word thus includes the idea of create, as in Gen. i, 31, "And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." Make includes also the idea of compose, constitute; as, the parts make up the whole. Similarly, to cause a voluntary agent to do a certain act is to make him do it, or compel him to do it, compel fixing the attention more on the process, make on the accomplished fact. Compare COMPEL; DO; INFLUENCE; (make better) AMEND; (make haste) QUICKEN; (make known) ANNOUNCE; AVOW; CONFESS; (make prisoner) ARREST; (make up) ADD; (make void) CANCEL.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for ABOLISH; BREAK; DEMOLISH.

Prepositions:

Make of, out of, or from certain materials, into a certain form, for a certain purpose or person; made with hands, by hand; made by a prisoner, with a jack-knife.

Marriage.

Synonyms:

conjugal union, espousals, nuptials, spousals, wedding,

espousal, matrimony, spousal, union, wedlock.

Matrimony denotes the state of those who are united in the relation of husband and wife; marriage denotes primarily the act of so uniting, but is extensively used for the state as well. Wedlock, a word of specific legal use, is the Saxon term for the state or relation denoted by matrimony. Wedding denotes the ceremony, with any attendant festivities, by which two persons are united as husband and wife, nuptials being the more formal and stately term to express the same idea.

Antonyms:

bachelorhood, celibacy, divorce, maidenhood, virginity, widowhood.

Prepositions:

Marriage of or between two persons; of one person to or with another; among the Greeks.

Masculine.

Synonyms:

male, manful, manlike, manly, mannish, virile.

We apply male to the sex, masculine to the qualities, especially to the stronger, hardier, and more imperious qualities that distinguish the male sex; as applied to women, masculine has often the depreciatory sense of unwomanly, rude, or harsh; as, a masculine face or voice, or the like; tho one may say in a commendatory way, she acted with masculine courage or decision. Manlike may mean only having the outward appearance or semblance of a man, or may be closely equivalent to manly. Manly refers to all the qualities and traits worthy of a man; manful, especially to the valor and prowess that become a man; we speak of a manful struggle, manly decision; we say manly gentleness or tenderness; we could not say manful tenderness. Mannish is a depreciatory word referring to the mimicry or parade of some superficial qualities of manhood; as, a mannish boy or woman. Masculine may apply to the distinctive qualities of the male sex at any age; virile applies to the distinctive qualities of mature manhood only, as opposed not only to feminine or womanly but to childish, and is thus an emphatic word for sturdy, intrepid, etc.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for FEMININE.

Massacre.

Synonyms:

butchery, carnage, havoc, slaughter.

A massacre is the indiscriminate killing in numbers of the unresisting or defenseless; butchery is the killing of men rudely and ruthlessly as cattle are killed in the shambles. Havoc may not be so complete as massacre, nor so coldly brutal as butchery, but is more widely spread and furious; it is destruction let loose, and may be applied to organizations, interests, etc., as well as to human life; "as for Saul, he made havoc of the church," Acts viii, 3. Carnage (Latin caro, carnis, flesh) refers to widely scattered or heaped up corpses of the slain; slaughter is similar in meaning, but refers more to the process, as carnage does to the result; these two words only of the group may be used of great destruction of life in open and honorable battle, as when we say the enemy was repulsed with great slaughter, or the carnage was terrible.

Meddlesome.

Synonyms:

impertinent, intrusive, meddling, obtrusive, officious.

The meddlesome person interferes unasked in the affairs of others; the intrusive person thrusts himself uninvited into their company or conversation; the obtrusive person thrusts himself or his opinions conceitedly and undesirably upon their notice; the officious person thrusts his services, unasked and undesired, upon others. Obtrusive is oftener applied to words, qualities, actions, etc., than to persons; intrusive is used chiefly of persons, as is officious, tho we speak of officious attentions, intrusive remarks; meddlesome is used indifferently of persons, or of words, qualities, actions, etc. Compare INQUISITIVE; INTERPOSE.

Antonyms:

modest, reserved, retiring, shy, unassuming, unobtrusive.

Melody.

Synonyms:

harmony, music, symphony, unison.

Harmony is simultaneous; melody is successive; harmony is the pleasing correspondence of two or more notes sounded at once, melody the pleasing succession of a number of notes continuously following one another. A melody may be wholly in one part; harmony must be of two or more parts. Accordant notes of different pitch sounded simultaneously produce harmony; unison is the simultaneous sounding of two or more notes of the same pitch. When the pitch is the same, there may be unison between sounds of very different volume and quality, as a voice and a bell may sound in unison. Tones sounded at the interval of an octave are also said to be in unison, altho this is not literally exact; this usage arises from the fact that bass and tenor voices in attempting to sound the same note as the soprano and alto will in fact sound a note an octave below. Music may denote the simplest melody or the most complex and perfect harmony. A symphony (apart from its technical orchestral sense) is any pleasing consonance of musical sounds, vocal or instrumental, as of many accordant voices or instruments.

Memory.

Synonyms:

recollection, reminiscence, retrospect, retrospection.

remembrance,

Memory is the faculty by which knowledge is retained or recalled; in a more general sense, memory is a retention of knowledge within the grasp of the mind, while remembrance is the having what is known consciously before the mind. Remembrance may be voluntary or involuntary; a thing is brought to remembrance or we call it to remembrance; the same is true of memory. Recollection involves volition, the mind making a distinct effort to recall something, or fixing the attention actively upon it when recalled. Reminiscence is a half-dreamy memory of scenes or events long past; retrospection is a distinct turning of the mind back upon the past, bringing long periods under survey. Retrospection is to reminiscence much what recollection is to remembrance.

Antonyms:

forgetfulness, oblivion, obliviousness, oversight, unconsciousness.

Mercy.

Synonyms:

benevolence, favor, kindness, mildness,

benignity, forbearance, lenience, pardon,

blessing, forgiveness, leniency, pity,

clemency, gentleness, lenity, tenderness.

compassion, grace,

Mercy is the exercise of less severity than one deserves, or in a more extended sense, the granting of kindness or favor beyond what one may rightly claim. Grace is favor, kindness, or blessing shown to the undeserving; forgiveness, mercy, and pardon are exercised toward the ill-deserving. Pardon remits the outward penalty which the offender deserves; forgiveness dismisses resentment or displeasure from the heart of the one offended; mercy seeks the highest possible good of the offender. There may be mercy without pardon, as in the mitigation of sentence, or in all possible alleviation of necessary severity; there may be cases where pardon would not be mercy, since it would encourage to repetition of the offense, from which timely punishment might have saved. Mercy is also used in the wider sense of refraining from harshness or cruelty toward those who are in one's power without fault of their own; as, they besought the robber to have mercy. Clemency is a colder word than mercy, and without its religious associations, signifying mildness and moderation in the use of power where severity would have legal or military, rather than moral sanction; it often denotes a habitual mildness of disposition on the part of the powerful, and is matter rather of good nature or policy than of principle. Leniency or lenity denotes an easy-going avoidance of severity; these words are more general and less magisterial than clemency; we should speak of the leniency of a parent, the clemency of a conqueror. Compare PITY.

Antonyms:

cruelty, implacability, punishment, rigor, sternness,

hardness, justice, revenge, severity, vengeance.

harshness, penalty,

Prepositions:

The mercy of God to or toward sinners; have mercy on or upon one.

Meter.

Synonyms:

euphony, measure, rhythm, verse.

Euphony is agreeable linguistic sound, however produced; meter, measure, and rhythm denote agreeable succession of sounds in the utterance of connected words; euphony may apply to a single word or even a single syllable; the other words apply to lines, sentences, paragraphs, etc.; rhythm and meter may be produced by accent only, as in English, or by accent and quantity combined, as in Greek or Italian; rhythm or measure may apply either to prose or to poetry, or to music, dancing, etc.; meter is more precise than rhythm, applies only to poetry, and denotes a measured rhythm with regular divisions into verses, stanzas, strophes, etc. A verse is strictly a metrical line, but the word is often used as synonymous with stanza. Verse, in the general sense, denotes metrical writing without reference to the thought involved; as, prose and verse. Compare MELODY; POETRY.

Mind.

Synonyms:

brain, instinct, reason, spirit,

consciousness, intellect, sense, thought,

disposition, intelligence, soul, understanding.

Mind, in a general sense, includes all the powers of sentient being apart from the physical factors in bodily faculties and activities; in a limited sense, mind is nearly synonymous with intellect, but includes disposition, or the tendency toward action, as appears in the phrase "to have a mind to work." As the seat of mental activity, brain (colloquially brains) is often used as a synonym for mind, intellect, intelligence. Thought, the act, process, or power of thinking, is often used to denote the thinking faculty, and especially the reason. The instinct of animals is now held by many philosophers to be of the same nature as the intellect of man, but inferior and limited; yet the apparent difference is very great.

An instinct is a propensity prior to experience and independent of instruction.

Paley Natural Philosophy ch. 18.

In this sense we speak of human instincts, thus denoting tendencies independent of reasoning or instruction. The soul includes the intellect, sensibilities, and will; beyond what is expressed by the word mind, the soul denotes especially the moral, the immortal nature; we say of a dead body, the soul (not the mind) has fled. Spirit is used especially in contradistinction from matter; it may in many cases be substituted for soul, but soul has commonly a fuller and more determinate meaning; we can conceive of spirits as having no moral nature; the fairies, elves, and brownies of mythology might be termed spirits, but not souls. In the figurative sense, spirit denotes animation, excitability, perhaps impatience; as, a lad of spirit; he sang with spirit; he replied with spirit. Soul denotes energy and depth of feeling, as when we speak of soulful eyes; or it may denote the very life of anything; as, "the hidden soul of harmony," Milton L'Allegro l. 144. Sense may be an antonym of intellect, as when we speak of the sense of hearing; but sense is used also as denoting clear mental action, good judgment, acumen; as, he is a man of sense, or, he showed good sense; sense, even in its material signification, must be reckoned among the activities of mind, tho dependent on bodily functions; the mind, not the eye, really sees; the mind, not the ear, really hears. Consciousness includes all that a sentient being perceives, knows, thinks, or feels, from whatever source arising and of whatever character, kind, or degree, whether with or without distinct thinking, feeling, or willing; we speak of the consciousness of the brute, of the savage, or of the sage. The intellect is that assemblage of faculties which is concerned with knowledge, as distinguished from emotion and volition. Understanding is the Saxon word of the same general import, but is chiefly used of the reasoning powers; the understanding, which Sir Wm. Hamilton has called "the faculty of relations and comparisons," is distinguished by many philosophers from reason in that "reason is the faculty of the higher cognitions or a priori truth."

Antonyms:

body, brawn, brute force, material substance, matter.

Minute.

Synonyms:

circumstantial, diminutive, little, slender,

comminuted, exact, particular, small,

critical, fine, precise, tiny.

detailed,

That is minute which is of exceedingly limited dimensions, as a grain of dust, or which attends to matters of exceedingly slight amount or apparent importance; as, a minute account; minute observation. That which is broken up into minute particles is said to be comminuted; things may be termed fine which would not be termed comminuted; as, fine sand; fine gravel; but, in using the adverb, we say a substance is finely comminuted, comminuted referring more to the process, fine to the result. An account extended to very minute particulars is circumstantial, detailed, particular; an examination so extended is critical, exact, precise. Compare FINE.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for LARGE.

Misfortune.

Synonyms:

adversity, disappointment, ill fortune, ruin,

affliction, disaster, ill luck, sorrow,

bereavement, distress, misadventure, stroke,

blow, failure, mischance, trial,

calamity, hardship, misery, tribulation,

chastening, harm, mishap, trouble,

chastisement, ill, reverse, visitation.

Misfortune is adverse fortune or any instance thereof, any untoward event, usually of lingering character or consequences, and such as the sufferer is not deemed directly responsible for; as, he had the misfortune to be born blind. Any considerable disappointment, failure, or misfortune, as regards outward circumstances, as loss of fortune, position, and the like, when long continued or attended with enduring consequences, constitutes adversity. For the loss of friends by death we commonly use affliction or bereavement. Calamity and disaster are used of sudden and severe misfortunes, often overwhelming; ill fortune and ill luck, of lighter troubles and failures. We speak of the misery of the poor, the hardships of the soldier. Affliction, chastening, trial, and tribulation have all an especially religious bearing, suggesting some disciplinary purpose of God with beneficent design. Affliction may be keen and bitter, but brief; tribulation is long and wearing. We speak of an affliction, but rarely of a tribulation, since tribulation is viewed as a continuous process, which may endure for years or for a lifetime; but we speak of our daily trials. Compare CATASTROPHE.

Antonyms:

blessing, consolation, gratification, pleasure, success,

boon, good fortune, happiness, prosperity, triumph.

comfort, good luck, joy, relief,

MOB.

Synonyms:

canaille, dregs of the people, masses, rabble,

crowd, lower classes, populace, the vulgar.

The populace are poor and ignorant, but may be law-abiding; a mob is disorderly and lawless, but may be rich and influential. The rabble is despicable, worthless, purposeless; a mob may have effective desperate purpose. A crowd may be drawn by mere curiosity; some strong, pervading excitement is needed to make it a mob. Compare PEOPLE.

Model.

Synonyms:

archetype, facsimile, original, representation,

copy, image, pattern, standard,

design, imitation, prototype, type.

example, mold,

A pattern is always, in modern use, that which is to be copied; a model may be either the thing to be copied or the copy that has been made from it; as, the models in the Patent Office. A pattern is commonly superficial; a model is usually in relief. A pattern must be closely followed in its minutest particulars by a faithful copyist; a model may allow a great degree of freedom. A sculptor may idealize his living model; his workmen must exactly copy in marble or metal the model he has made in clay. Compare EXAMPLE; IDEA; IDEAL.

Modesty.

Synonyms:

backwardness, constraint, reserve, timidity,

bashfulness, coyness, shyness, unobtrusiveness.

coldness, diffidence,

Bashfulness is a shrinking from notice without assignable reason. Coyness is a half encouragement, half avoidance of offered attention, and may be real or affected. Diffidence is self-distrust; modesty, a humble estimate of oneself in comparison with others, or with the demands of some undertaking. Modesty has also the specific meaning of a sensitive shrinking from anything indelicate. Shyness is a tendency to shrink from observation; timidity, a distinct fear of criticism, error, or failure. Reserve is the holding oneself aloof from others, or holding back one's feelings from expression, or one's affairs from communication to others. Reserve may be the retreat of shyness, or, on the other hand, the contemptuous withdrawal of pride and haughtiness. Compare ABASH; PRIDE; TACITURN.

Antonyms:

abandon, boldness, forwardness, impudence, pertness, sociability.

arrogance, conceit, frankness, indiscretion, sauciness,

assumption, confidence, freedom, loquaciousness, self-conceit,

assurance, egotism, haughtiness, loquacity, self-sufficiency,

Money.

Synonyms:

bills, cash, funds, property,

bullion, coin, gold, silver,

capital, currency, notes, specie.

Money is the authorized medium of exchange; coined money is called coin or specie. What are termed in England bank-notes are in the United States commonly called bills; as, a five-dollar bill. The notes of responsible men are readily transferable in commercial circles, but they are not money; as, the stock was sold for $500 in money and the balance in merchantable paper. Cash is specie or money in hand, or paid in hand; as, the cash account; the cash price. In the legal sense, property is not money, and money is not property; for property is that which has inherent value, while money, as such, has but representative value, and may or may not have intrinsic value. Bullion is either gold or silver uncoined, or the coined metal considered without reference to its coinage, but simply as merchandise, when its value as bullion may be very different from its value as money. The word capital is used chiefly of accumulated property or money invested in productive enterprises or available for such investment.

Morose.

Synonyms:

acrimonious, dogged, ill-natured, splenetic,

churlish, gloomy, severe, sulky,

crabbed, gruff, snappish, sullen,

crusty, ill-humored, sour, surly.

The sullen and sulky are discontented and resentful in regard to that against which they are too proud to protest, or consider all protest vain; sullen denotes more of pride, sulky more of resentful obstinacy. The morose are bitterly dissatisfied with the world in general, and disposed to vent their ill nature upon others. The sullen and sulky are for the most part silent; the morose growl out bitter speeches. A surly person is in a state of latent anger, resenting approach as intrusion, and ready to take offense at anything; thus we speak of a surly dog. Sullen and sulky moods may be transitory; one who is morose or surly is commonly so by disposition or habit.

Antonyms:

amiable, complaisant, gentle, kind, pleasant,

benignant, friendly, good-natured, loving, sympathetic,

bland, genial, indulgent, mild, tender.

Motion.

Synonyms:

act, change, movement, process, transition.

action, move, passage, transit,

Motion is change of place or position in space; transition is a passing from one point or position in space to another. Motion may be either abstract or concrete, more frequently the former; movement is always concrete, that is, considered in connection with the thing that moves or is moved; thus, we speak of the movements of the planets, but of the laws of planetary motion; of military movements, but of perpetual motion. Move is used chiefly of contests or competition, as in chess or politics; as, it is your move; a shrewd move of the opposition. Action is a more comprehensive word than motion. We now rarely speak of mental or spiritual motions, but rather of mental or spiritual acts or processes, or of the laws of mental action, but a formal proposal of action in a deliberative assembly is termed a motion. Compare ACT.

Antonyms:

immobility, quiescence, quiet, repose, rest, stillness.

Mourn.

Synonyms:

bemoan, deplore, lament, regret, rue, sorrow.

bewail, grieve,

To mourn is to feel or express sadness or distress because of some loss, affliction, or misfortune; mourning is thought of as prolonged, grief or regret may be transient. One may grieve or mourn, regret, rue, or sorrow without a sound; he bemoans with suppressed and often inarticulate sounds of grief; he bewails with passionate utterance, whether of inarticulate cries or of spoken words. He laments in plaintive or pathetic words, as the prophet Jeremiah in his "Lamentations." One deplores with settled sorrow which may or may not find relief in words. One is made to rue an act by some misfortune resulting, or by some penalty or vengeance inflicted because of it. One regrets a slight misfortune or a hasty word; he sorrows over the death of a friend.

Antonyms:

be joyful, exult, joy, make merry, rejoice, triumph.

Mutual.

Synonyms:

common, correlative, interchangeable, joint, reciprocal.

That is common to which two or more persons have the same or equal claims, or in which they have equal interest or participation; in the strictest sense, that is mutual (Latin mutare, to change) which is freely interchanged; that is reciprocal in respect to which one act or movement is met by a corresponding act or movement in return; we speak of our common country, mutual affection, reciprocal obligations, the reciprocal action of cause and effect, where the effect becomes in turn a cause. Many good writers hold it incorrect to say "a mutual friend," and insist that "a common friend" would be more accurate; but "common friend" is practically never used, because of the disagreeable suggestion that attaches to common, of ordinary or inferior. "Mutual friend" has high literary authority (of Burke, Scott, Dickens, and others), and a considerable usage of good society in its favor, the expression being quite naturally derived from the thoroughly correct phrase mutual friendship.

Antonyms:

detached, distinct, separate, severed, unconnected, unrequited,

disconnected, disunited, separated, sundered, unreciprocated, unshared.

dissociated,

Mysterious.

Synonyms:

abstruse, inexplicable, recondite,

cabalistic, inscrutable, secret,

dark, mystic, transcendental,

enigmatical, mystical, unfathomable,

hidden, obscure, unfathomed,

incomprehensible, occult, unknown.

That is mysterious in the true sense which is beyond human comprehension, as the decrees of God or the origin of life. That is mystic or mystical which has associated with it some hidden or recondite meaning, especially of a religious kind; as, the mystic Babylon of the Apocalypse. That is dark which we can not personally see through, especially if sadly perplexing; as, a dark providence. That is secret which is intentionally hidden. Compare DARK.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for CLEAR.

Name.

Synonyms:

agnomen, denomination, prenomen, surname,

appellation, designation, style, title.

cognomen, epithet,

Name in the most general sense, signifying the word by which a person or thing is called or known, includes all other words of this group; in this sense every noun is a name; in the more limited sense a name is personal, an appellation is descriptive, a title is official. In the phrase William the Conqueror, King of England, William is the man's name, which belongs to him personally, independently of any rank or achievement; Conqueror is the appellation which he won by his acquisition of England; King is the title denoting his royal rank. An epithet (Gr. epitheton, something added, from epi, on, and tithemi, put) is something placed upon a person or thing; the epithet does not strictly belong to an object like a name, but is given to mark some assumed characteristic, good or bad; an epithet is always an adjective, or a word or phrase used as an adjective, and is properly used to emphasize a characteristic but not to add information, as in the phrase "the sounding sea;" the idea that an epithet is always opprobrious, and that any word used opprobriously is an epithet is a popular error. Designation may be used much in the sense of appellation, but is more distinctive or specific in meaning; a designation properly so called rests upon some inherent quality, while an appellation may be fanciful. Among the Romans the prenomen was the individual part of a man's name, the "nomen" designated the gens to which he belonged, the cognomen showed his family and was borne by all patricians, and the agnomen was added to refer to his achievements or character. When scientists name an animal or a plant, they give it a binary or binomial technical name comprising a generic and a specific appellation. In modern use, a personal name, as John or Mary, is given in infancy, and is often called the given name or Christian name, or simply the first name (rarely the prenomen); the cognomen or surname is the family name which belongs to one by right of birth or marriage. Style is the legal designation by which a person or house is known in official or business relations; as, the name and style of Baring Brothers. The term denomination is applied to a separate religious organization, without the opprobrious meaning attaching to the word "sect;" also, to designate any class of like objects collectively, especially money or notes of a certain value; as, the sum was in notes of the denomination of one thousand dollars. Compare TERM.

Native.

Synonyms:

indigenous, innate, natal, natural, original.

Native denotes that which belongs to one by birth; natal that which pertains to the event of birth; natural denotes that which rests upon inherent qualities of character or being. We speak of one's native country, or of his natal day; of natural ability, native genius. Compare INHERENT; PRIMEVAL; RADICAL.

Antonyms:

acquired, alien, artificial, assumed, foreign, unnatural.

Nautical.

Synonyms:

marine, maritime, naval, ocean, oceanic.

Marine (L. mare, sea) signifies belonging to the ocean, maritime, a secondary derivative from the same root, bordering on or connected with the ocean; as, marine products; marine animals; maritime nations; maritime laws. Nautical (Gr. nautes, a sailor) denotes primarily anything connected with sailors, and hence with ships or navigation; naval (L. navis, Gr. naus, a ship) refers to the armed force of a nation on the sea, and, by extension, to similar forces on lakes and rivers; as, a naval force; a nautical almanac. Ocean, used adjectively, is applied to that which belongs to or is part of the ocean; oceanic may be used in the same sense, but is especially applied to that which borders on (or upon) or is connected with, or which is similar to or suggestive of an ocean; we speak of ocean currents, oceanic islands, or, perhaps, of an oceanic intellect.

Neat.

Synonyms:

clean, dapper, nice, prim, tidy,

cleanly, natty, orderly, spruce, trim.

That which is clean is simply free from soil or defilement of any kind. Things are orderly when in due relation to other things; a room or desk is orderly when every article is in place; a person is orderly who habitually keeps things so. Tidy denotes that which conforms to propriety in general; an unlaced shoe may be perfectly clean, but is not tidy. Neat refers to that which is clean and tidy with nothing superfluous, conspicuous, or showy, as when we speak of plain but neat attire; the same idea of freedom from the superfluous appears in the phrases "a neat speech," "a neat turn," "a neat reply," etc. A clean cut has no ragged edges; a neat stroke just does what is intended. Nice is stronger than neat, implying value and beauty; a cheap, coarse dress may be perfectly neat, but would not be termed nice. Spruce is applied to the show and affectation of neatness with a touch of smartness, and is always a term of mild contempt; as, a spruce serving man. Trim denotes a certain shapely and elegant firmness, often with suppleness and grace; as, a trim suit; a trim figure. Prim applies to a precise, formal, affected nicety. Dapper is spruce with the suggestion of smallness and slightness; natty, a diminutive of neat, suggests minute elegance, with a tendency toward the exquisite; as, a dapper little fellow in a natty business suit.

Antonyms:

dirty, negligent, slouchy, uncared for,

disorderly, rough, slovenly, unkempt,

dowdy, rude, soiled, untidy.

Necessary.

Synonyms:

essential, infallible, required, unavoidable,

indispensable, needed, requisite, undeniable.

inevitable, needful,

That is necessary which must exist, occur, or be true; which in the nature of things can not be otherwise. That which is essential belongs to the essence of a thing, so that the thing can not exist in its completeness without it; that which is indispensable may be only an adjunct, but it is one that can not be spared; vigorous health is essential to an arctic explorer; warm clothing is indispensable. That which is requisite (or required) is so in the judgment of the person requiring it, but may not be so absolutely; thus, the requisite is more a matter of personal feeling than the indispensable. Inevitable (L. in, not, and evito, shun) is primarily the exact equivalent of the Saxon unavoidable; both words are applied to things which some at least would escape or prevent, while that which is necessary may meet with no objection; food is necessary, death is inevitable; a necessary conclusion satisfies a thinker; an inevitable conclusion silences opposition. An infallible proof is one that necessarily leads the mind to a sound conclusion. Needed and needful are more concrete than necessary, and respect an end to be attained; we speak of a necessary inference; necessary food is what one can not live without, while needful food is that without which he can not enjoy comfort, health, and strength.

Antonyms:

casual, needless, optional, useless,

contingent, non-essential, unnecessary, worthless.

Prepositions:

Necessary to a sequence or a total; for or to a result or a person; unity is necessary to (to constitute) completeness; decision is necessary for command, or for a commander.

Necessity.

Synonyms:

compulsion, fatality, requisite,

destiny, fate, sine qua non,

emergency, indispensability, unavoidableness,

essential, indispensableness, urgency,

exigency, need, want.

extremity, requirement,

Necessity is the quality of being necessary, or the quality of that which can not but be, become, or be true, or be accepted as true. Need and want always imply a lack; necessity may be used in this sense, but in the higher philosophical sense necessity simply denotes the exclusion of any alternative either in thought or fact; righteousness is a necessity (not a need) of the divine nature. Need suggests the possibility of supplying the deficiency which want expresses; to speak of a person's want of decision merely points out a weakness in his character; to say that he has need of decision implies that he can exercise or attain it. As applied to a deficiency, necessity is more imperative than need; a weary person is in need of rest; when rest becomes a necessity he has no choice but to stop work. An essential is something, as a quality, or element, that belongs to the essence of something else so as to be inseparable from it in its normal condition, or in any complete idea or statement of it. Compare NECESSARY; PREDESTINATION.

Antonyms:

choice, doubt, dubiousness, freedom, possibility,

contingency, doubtfulness, fortuity, option, uncertainty.

Prepositions:

The necessity of surrender; a necessity for action; this is a necessity to me.

Neglect.

Synonyms:

carelessness, heedlessness, negligence, scorn,

default, inadvertence, omission, slackness,

disregard, inattention, oversight, slight,

disrespect, indifference, remissness, thoughtlessness.

failure, neglectfulness,

Neglect (L. nec, not, and lego, gather) is the failing to take such care, show such attention, pay such courtesy, etc., as may be rightfully or reasonably expected. Negligence, which is the same in origin, may be used in almost the same sense, but with a slighter force, as when Whittier speaks of "the negligence which friendship loves;" but negligence is often used to denote the quality or trait of character of which the act is a manifestation, or to denote the habit of neglecting that which ought to be done. Neglect is transitive, negligence is intransitive; we speak of neglect of his books, friends, or duties, in which cases we could not use negligence; negligence in dress implies want of care as to its arrangement, tidiness, etc.; neglect of one's garments would imply leaving them exposed to defacement or injury, as by dust, moths, etc. Neglect has a passive sense which negligence has not; the child was suffering from neglect, i. e., from being neglected by others; the child was suffering from negligence would imply that he himself was neglectful. The distinction sometimes made that neglect denotes the act, and negligence the habit, is but partially true; one may be guilty of habitual neglect of duty; the wife may suffer from her husband's constant neglect, while the negligence which causes a railroad accident may be that of a moment, and on the part of one ordinarily careful and attentive; in such cases the law provides punishment for criminal negligence.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for CARE.

Prepositions:

Neglect of duty, of the child by the parent; there was neglect on the part of the teacher.

NEW.

Synonyms:

fresh, modern, new-made, upstart,

juvenile, new-fangled, novel, young,

late, new-fashioned, recent, youthful.

That which is new has lately come into existence, possession, or use; a new house is just built, or in a more general sense is one that has just come into the possession of the present owner or occupant. Modern denotes that which has begun to exist in the present age, and is still existing; recent denotes that which has come into existence within a comparatively brief period, and may or may not be existing still. Modern history pertains to any period since the middle ages; modern literature, modern architecture, etc., are not strikingly remote from the styles and types prevalent to-day. That which is late is somewhat removed from the present, but not far enough to be called old. That which is recent is not quite so sharply distinguished from the past as that which is new; recent publications range over a longer time than new books. That which is novel is either absolutely or relatively unprecedented in kind; a novel contrivance is one that has never before been known; a novel experience is one that has never before occurred to the same person; that which is new may be of a familiar or even of an ancient sort, as a new copy of an old book. Young and youthful are applied to that which has life; that which is young is possessed of a comparatively new existence as a living thing, possessing actual youth; that which is youthful manifests the attributes of youth. (Compare YOUTHFUL.) Fresh applies to that which has the characteristics of newness or youth, while capable of deterioration by lapse of time; that which is unworn, unspoiled, or unfaded; as, a fresh countenance, fresh eggs, fresh flowers. New is opposed to old, modern to ancient, recent to remote, young to old, aged, etc.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for OLD.

Nimble.

Synonyms:

active, alert, bustling, prompt, speedy, spry,

agile, brisk, lively, quick, sprightly, swift.

Nimble refers to lightness, freedom, and quickness of motion within a somewhat narrow range, with readiness to turn suddenly to any point; swift applies commonly to more sustained motion over greater distances; a pickpocket is nimble-fingered, a dancer nimble-footed; an arrow, a race-horse, or an ocean steamer is swift; Shakespeare's "nimble lightnings" is said of the visual appearance in sudden zigzag flash across the sky. Figuratively, we speak of nimble wit, swift intelligence, swift destruction. Alert, which is strictly a synonym for ready, comes sometimes near the meaning of nimble or quick, from the fact that the ready, wide-awake person is likely to be lively, quick, speedy. Compare ACTIVE; ALERT.

Antonyms:

clumsy, dilatory, dull, heavy, inactive, inert, slow, sluggish, unready.

Normal.

Synonyms:

common, natural, ordinary, regular, typical, usual.

That which is natural is according to nature; that which is normal is according to the standard or rule which is observed or claimed to prevail in nature; a deformity may be natural, symmetry is normal; the normal color of the crow is black, while the normal color of the sparrow is gray, but one is as natural as the other. Typical refers to such an assemblage of qualities as makes the specimen, genus, etc., a type of some more comprehensive group, while normal is more commonly applied to the parts of a single object; the specimen was typical; color, size, and other characteristics, normal. The regular is etymologically that which is according to rule, hence that which is steady and constant, as opposed to that which is fitful and changeable; the normal action of the heart is regular. That which is common is shared by a great number of persons or things; disease is common, a normal state of health is rare. Compare GENERAL; USUAL.

Antonyms:

abnormal, irregular, peculiar, singular, unprecedented,

exceptional, monstrous, rare, uncommon, unusual.

Notwithstanding, conj.

Synonyms:

altho(ugh), howbeit, nevertheless, tho(ugh),

but, however, still, yet.

However simply waives discussion, and (like the archaic howbeit) says "be that as it may, this is true;" nevertheless concedes the truth of what precedes, but claims that what follows is none the less true; notwithstanding marshals the two statements face to face, admits the one and its seeming contradiction to the other, while insisting that it can not, after all, withstand the other; as, notwithstanding the force of the enemy is superior, we shall conquer. Yet and still are weaker than notwithstanding, while stronger than but. Tho and altho make as little as possible of the concession, dropping it, as it were, incidentally; as, "tho we are guilty, thou art good;" to say "we are guilty, but thou art good," would make the concession of guilt more emphatic. Compare BUT; YET.

Notwithstanding, prep.

Synonyms:

despite, in spite of.

Notwithstanding simply states that circumstances shall not be or have not been allowed to withstand; despite and in spite of refer primarily to personal and perhaps spiteful opposition; as, he failed notwithstanding his good intentions; or, he persevered in spite of the most bitter hostility. When despite and in spite of are applied to inanimate things, it is with something of personification; "in spite of the storm" is said as if the storm had a hostile purpose to oppose the undertaking.

Oath.

Synonyms:

adjuration, curse, profane swearing,

affidavit, cursing, profanity,

anathema, denunciation, reprobation,

ban, execration, swearing,

blaspheming, imprecation, sworn statement.

blasphemy, malediction, vow.

In the highest sense, as in a court of justice, "an oath is a reverent appeal to God in corroboration of what one says," Abbott Law Dict.; an affidavit is a sworn statement made in writing in the presence of a competent officer; an adjuration is a solemn appeal to a person in the name of God to speak the truth. An oath is made to man in the name of God; a vow, to God without the intervention, often without the knowledge, of man. In the lower sense, an oath may be mere blasphemy or profane swearing. Anathema, curse, execration, and imprecation are modes of invoking vengeance or retribution from a superhuman power upon the person against whom they are uttered. Anathema is a solemn ecclesiastical condemnation of a person or of a proposition. Curse may be just and authoritative; as, the curse of God; or, it may be wanton and powerless: "so the curse causeless shall not come," Prov. xxvi, 2. Execration expresses most of personal bitterness and hatred; imprecation refers especially to the coming of the desired evil upon the person against whom it is uttered. Malediction is a general wish of evil, a less usual but very expressive word. Compare TESTIMONY.

Antonyms:

benediction, benison, blessing.

Obscure.

Synonyms:

abstruse, darksome, dusky, involved,

ambiguous, deep, enigmatical, muddy,

cloudy, dense, hidden, mysterious,

complex, difficult, incomprehensible, profound,

complicated, dim, indistinct, turbid,

dark, doubtful, intricate, unintelligible.

That is obscure which the eye or the mind can not clearly discern or see through, whether because of its own want of transparency, its depth or intricacy, or because of mere defect of light. That which is complicated is likely to be obscure, but that may be obscure which is not at all complicated and scarcely complex, as a muddy pool. In that which is abstruse (L. abs, from, and trudo, push) as if removed from the usual course of thought or out of the way of apprehension or discovery, the thought is remote, hidden; in that which is obscure there may be nothing to hide; it is hard to see to the bottom of the profound, because of its depth, but the most shallow turbidness is obscure. Compare COMPLEX; DARK; DIFFICULT; MYSTERIOUS.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for CLEAR.

Obsolete.

Synonyms:

ancient, archaic, obsolescent, out of date,

antiquated, disused, old, rare.

Some of the oldest or most ancient words are not obsolete, as father, mother, etc. A word is obsolete which has quite gone out of reputable use; a word is archaic which is falling out of reputable use, or, on the other hand, having been obsolete, is taken up tentatively by writers or speakers of influence, so that it may perhaps regain its position as a living word; a word is rare if there are few present instances of its reputable use. Compare OLD.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for NEW.

Obstinate.

Synonyms:

contumacious, headstrong, mulish, resolute,

decided, heady, obdurate, resolved,

determined, immovable, opinionated, stubborn,

dogged, indomitable, persistent, unconquerable,

firm, inflexible, pertinacious, unflinching,

fixed, intractable, refractory, unyielding.

The headstrong person is not to be stopped in his own course of action, while the obstinate and stubborn is not to be driven to another's way. The headstrong act; the obstinate and stubborn may simply refuse to stir. The most amiable person may be obstinate on some one point; the stubborn person is for the most part habitually so; we speak of obstinate determination, stubborn resistance. Stubborn is the term most frequently applied to the lower animals and inanimate things. Refractory implies more activity of resistance; the stubborn horse balks; the refractory animal plunges, rears, and kicks; metals that resist ordinary processes of reduction are termed refractory. One is obdurate who adheres to his purpose in spite of appeals that would move any tender-hearted or right-minded person. Contumacious refers to a proud and insolent defiance of authority, as of the summons of a court. Pertinacious demand is contrasted with obstinate refusal. The unyielding conduct which we approve we call decided, firm, inflexible, resolute; that which we condemn we are apt to term headstrong, obstinate, stubborn. Compare PERVERSE.

Antonyms:

amenable, dutiful, pliable, tractable,

complaisant, gentle, pliant, undecided,

compliant, irresolute, submissive, wavering,

docile, obedient, teachable, yielding.

Obstruct.

Synonyms:

arrest, check, embarrass, interrupt, stay,

bar, choke, hinder, oppose, stop.

barricade, clog, impede, retard,

To obstruct is literally to build up against; the road is obstructed by fallen trees; the passage of liquid through a tube is obstructed by solid deposits. We may hinder one's advance by following and clinging to him; we obstruct his course by standing in his way or putting a barrier across his path. Anything that makes one's progress slower, whether from within or from without, impedes; an obstruction is always from without. To arrest is to cause to stop suddenly; obstructing the way may have the effect of arresting progress. Compare HINDER; IMPEDIMENT.

Antonyms:

accelerate, aid, facilitate, free, open, promote.

advance, clear, forward, further, pave the way for,

OLD.

Synonyms:

aged, decrepit, immemorial, senile,

ancient, elderly, olden, time-honored,

antiquated, gray, patriarchal, time-worn,

antique, hoary, remote, venerable.

That is termed old which has existed long, or which existed long ago. Ancient, from the Latin, through the French, is the more stately, old, from the Saxon, the more familiar word. Familiarity, on one side, is near to contempt; thus we say, an old coat, an old hat. On the other hand, familiarity is akin to tenderness, and thus old is a word of endearment; as, "the old homestead," the "old oaken bucket." "Tell me the old, old story!" has been sung feelingly by millions; "tell me that ancient story" would remove it out of all touch of human sympathy. Olden is a statelier form of old, and is applied almost exclusively to time, not to places, buildings, persons, etc. As regards periods of time, the familiar are also the near; thus, the old times are not too far away for familiar thought and reference; the olden times are more remote, ancient times still further removed. Gray, hoary, and moldering refer to outward and visible tokens of age. Aged applies chiefly to long-extended human life. Decrepit, gray, and hoary refer to the effects of age on the body exclusively; senile upon the mind also; as, a decrepit frame, senile garrulousness. One may be aged and neither decrepit nor senile. Elderly is applied to those who have passed middle life, but scarcely reached old age. Remote (L. re, back or away, and moveo, move), primarily refers to space, but is extended to that which is far off in time; as, at some remote period. Venerable expresses the involuntary reverence that we yield to the majestic and long-enduring, whether in the material world or in human life and character. Compare ANTIQUE; OBSOLETE; PRIMEVAL.

Antonyms:

Compare synonyms for NEW; YOUTHFUL.

Operation.

Synonyms:

action, effect, force, performance, result.

agency, execution, influence, procedure,

Operation is action considered with reference to the thing acted upon, and may apply to the action of an intelligent agent or of a material substance or force; as, the operation of a medicine. Performance and execution denote intelligent action, considered with reference to the actor or to that which he accomplishes; performance accomplishing the will of the actor, execution often the will of another; we speak of the performance of a duty, the execution of a sentence. Compare ACT.

Antonyms:

failure, ineffectiveness, inutility, powerlessness, uselessness.

inaction, inefficiency,

Order.

Synonyms:

command, injunction, mandate, requirement.

direction, instruction, prohibition,

Instruction implies superiority of knowledge, direction of authority on the part of the giver; a teacher gives instructions to his pupils, an employer gives directions to his workmen. Order is still more authoritative than direction; soldiers, sailors, and railroad employees have simply to obey the orders of their superiors, without explanation or question; an order in the commercial sense has the authority of the money which the one ordering the goods pays or is to pay. Command is a loftier word, as well as highly authoritative, less frequent in common life; we speak of the commands of God, or sometimes, by polite hyperbole, ask of a friend, "Have you any commands for me?" A requirement is imperative, but not always formal, nor made by a personal agent; it may be in the nature of things; as, the requirements of the position. Prohibition is wholly negative; it is a command not to do; injunction is now oftenest so used, especially as the requirement by legal authority that certain action be suspended or refrained from, pending final legal decision. Compare ARRAY; CLASS; LAW; PROHIBIT; SYSTEM.

Antonyms:

allowance, consent, leave, liberty, license, permission, permit.

Ostentation.

Synonyms:

boast, flourish, parade, pompousness, vaunt,

boasting, pageant, pomp, show, vaunting.

display, pageantry, pomposity,

Ostentation is an ambitious showing forth of whatever is thought adapted to win admiration or praise; ostentation may be without words; as, the ostentation of wealth in fine residences, rich clothing, costly equipage, or the like; when in words, ostentation is rather in manner than in direct statement; as, the ostentation of learning. Boasting is in direct statement, and is louder and more vulgar than ostentation. There may be great display or show with little substance; ostentation suggests something substantial to be shown. Pageant, pageantry, parade, and pomp refer principally to affairs of arms or state; as, a royal pageant; a military parade. Pomp is some material demonstration of wealth and power, as in grand and stately ceremonial, rich furnishings, processions, etc., considered as worthy of the person or occasion in whose behalf it is manifested; pomp is the noble side of that which as ostentation is considered as arrogant and vain. Pageant and pageantry are inferior to pomp, denoting spectacular display designed to impress the public mind, and since the multitude is largely ignorant and thoughtless, the words pageant and pageantry have a suggestion of the transient and unsubstantial. Parade (L. paro, prepare) is an exhibition as of troops in camp going through the evolutions that are to be used in battle, and suggests a lack of earnestness and direct or immediate occasion or demand; hence, in the more general sense, a parade is an uncalled for exhibition, and so used is a more disparaging word than ostentation; ostentation may spring merely from undue self-gratulation, parade implies a desire to impress others with a sense of one's abilities or resources, and is always offensive and somewhat contemptible; as, a parade of wealth or learning. Pomposity and pompousness are the affectation of pomp.

Antonyms:

diffidence, quietness, retirement, timidity,

modesty, reserve, shrinking, unobtrusiveness.

Ought.

Synonym:

should.

One ought to do that which he is under moral obligation or in duty bound to do. Ought is the stronger word, holding most closely to the sense of moral obligation, or sometimes of imperative logical necessity; should may have the sense of moral obligation or may apply merely to propriety or expediency, as in the proverb, "The liar should have a good memory," i. e., he will need it. Ought is sometimes used of abstractions or inanimate things as indicating what the mind deems to be imperative or logically necessary in view of all the conditions; as, these goods ought to go into that space; these arguments ought to convince him; should in such connections would be correct, but less emphatic. Compare DUTY.

Oversight.

Synonyms:

care, control, management, surveillance,

charge, direction, superintendence, watch,

command, inspection, supervision, watchfulness.

A person may look over a matter in order to survey it carefully in its entirety, or he may look over it with no attention to the thing itself because his gaze and thought are concentrated on something beyond; oversight has thus two contrasted senses, in the latter sense denoting inadvertent error or omission, and in the former denoting watchful supervision, commonly implying constant personal presence; superintendence requires only so much of presence or communication as to know that the superintendent's wishes are carried out; the superintendent of a railroad will personally oversee very few of its operations; the railroad company has supreme direction of all its affairs without superintendence or oversight. Control is used chiefly with reference to restraint or the power of restraint; a good horseman has a restless horse under perfect control; there is no high character without self-control. Surveillance is an invidious term signifying watching with something of suspicion. Compare CARE; NEGLECT.

Pain.

Synonyms:

ache, distress, suffering, torture,

agony, pang, throe, twinge,

anguish, paroxysm, torment, wo(e).

Pain is the most general term of this group, including all the others; pain is a disturbing sensation from which nature revolts, resulting from some injurious external interference (as from a wound, a bruise, a harsh word, etc.), or from some lack of what one needs, craves, or cherishes (as, the pain of hunger or bereavement), or from some abnormal action of bodily or mental functions (as, the pains of disease, envy, or discontent). Suffering is one of the severer forms of pain. The prick of a needle causes pain, but we should scarcely speak of it as suffering. Distress is too strong a word for little hurts, too feeble for the intensest suffering, but commonly applied to some continuous or prolonged trouble or need; as, the distress of a shipwrecked crew, or of a destitute family. Ache is lingering pain, more or less severe; pang, a pain short, sharp, intense, and perhaps repeated. We speak of the pangs of hunger or of remorse. Throe is a violent and thrilling pain. Paroxysm applies to an alternately recurring and receding pain, which comes as it were in waves; the paroxysm is the rising of the wave. Torment and torture are intense and terrible sufferings. Agony and anguish express the utmost pain or suffering of body or mind. Agony of body is that with which the system struggles; anguish that by which it is crushed.

Antonyms:

comfort, delight, ease, enjoyment, peace, rapture, relief, solace.

Palliate.

Synonyms:

apologize for, conceal, extenuate, hide, screen,

cloak, cover, gloss over, mitigate, veil.

Cloak, from the French, and palliate, from the Latin, are the same in original signification, but have diverged in meaning; a cloak may be used to hide completely the person or some object carried about the person, or it may but partly veil the figure, making the outlines less distinct; cloak is used in the former, palliate, in the latter sense; to cloak a sin is to attempt to hide it from discovery; to palliate it is to attempt to hide some part of its blameworthiness. "When we palliate our own or others' faults we do not seek to cloke them altogether, but only to extenuate the guilt of them in part." Trench Study of Words lect. vi, p. 266. Either to palliate or to extenuate is to admit the fault; but to extenuate is rather to apologize for the offender, while to palliate is to disguise the fault; hence, we speak of extenuating but not of palliating circumstances, since circumstances can not change the inherent wrong of an act, tho they may lessen the blameworthiness of him who does it; palliating a bad thing by giving it a mild name does not make it less evil. In reference to diseases, to palliate is really to diminish their violence, or partly to relieve the sufferer. Compare ALLEVIATE; HIDE.

Pardon, v.

Synonyms:

absolve, condone, forgive, pass by, remit.

acquit, excuse, overlook, pass over,

To pardon is to let pass, as a fault or sin, without resentment, blame, or punishment. Forgive has reference to feelings, pardon to consequences; hence, the executive may pardon, but has nothing to do officially with forgiving. Personal injury may be forgiven by the person wronged; thus, God at once forgives and pardons; the pardoned sinner is exempt from punishment; the forgiven sinner is restored to the divine favor. To pardon is the act of a superior, implying the right to punish; to forgive is the privilege of the humblest person who has been wronged or offended. In law, to remit the whole penalty is equivalent to pardoning the offender; but a part of a penalty may be remitted and the remainder inflicted, as where the penalty includes both fine and imprisonment. To condone is to put aside a recognized offense by some act which restores the offender to forfeited right or privilege, and is the act of a private individual, without legal formalities. To excuse is to overlook some slight offense, error, or breach of etiquette; pardon is often used by courtesy in nearly the same sense. A person may speak of excusing or forgiving himself, but not of pardoning himself. Compare ABSOLVE; PARDON, n.

Antonyms:

castigate, chastise, convict, doom, recompense, sentence,

chasten, condemn, correct, punish, scourge, visit.

Pardon, n.

Synonyms:

absolution, amnesty, forgiveness, oblivion,

acquittal, forbearance, mercy, remission.

Acquittal is a release from a charge, after trial, as not guilty. Pardon is a removal of penalty from one who has been adjudged guilty. Acquittal is by the decision of a court, commonly of a jury; pardon is the act of the executive. An innocent man may demand acquittal, and need not plead for pardon. Pardon supposes an offense; yet, as our laws stand, to grant a pardon is sometimes the only way to release one who has been wrongly convicted. Oblivion, from the Latin, signifies overlooking and virtually forgetting an offense, so that the offender stands before the law in all respects as if it had never been committed. Amnesty brings the same idea through the Greek. Pardon affects individuals; amnesty and oblivion are said of great numbers. Pardon is oftenest applied to the ordinary administration of law; amnesty, to national and military affairs. An amnesty is issued after war, insurrection, or rebellion; it is often granted by "an act of oblivion," and includes a full pardon of all offenders who come within its provisions. Absolution is a religious word (compare synonyms for ABSOLVE). Remission is a discharge from penalty; as, the remission of a fine.

Antonyms:

penalty, punishment, retaliation, retribution, vengeance.

Prepositions:

A pardon to or for the offenders; for all offenses; the pardon of offenders or offenses.

Part, v.

Synonyms:

Compare synonyms for PART, n.

Prepositions:

Part into shares; part in the middle; part one from another; part among the claimants; part between contestants (archaic); in general, to part from is to relinquish companionship; to part with is to relinquish possession; we part from a person or from something thought of with some sense of companionship; a traveler parts from his friends; he maybe said also to part from his native shore; a man parts with an estate, a horse, a copyright; part with may be applied to a person thought of in any sense as a possession; an employer parts with a clerk or servant; but part with is sometimes used by good writers as meaning simply to separate from.

Part, n.

Synonyms:

atom, fraction, member, section,

component, fragment, particle, segment,

constituent, ingredient, piece, share,

division, instalment, portion, subdivision.

element,

Part, a substance, quantity, or amount that is the result of the division of something greater, is the general word, including all the others of this group. A fragment is the result of breaking, rending, or disruption of some kind, while a piece may be smoothly or evenly separated and have a certain completeness in itself. A piece is often taken for a sample; a fragment scarcely would be. Division and fraction are always regarded as in connection with the total; divisions may be equal or unequal; a fraction is one of several equal parts into which the whole is supposed to be divided. A portion is a part viewed with reference to some one who is to receive it or some special purpose to which it is to be applied; in a restaurant one portion (i. e., the amount designed for one person) is sometimes, by special order, served to two; a share is a part to which one has or may acquire a right in connection with others; an instalment is one of a series of proportionate payments that are to be continued till the entire claim is discharged; a particle is an exceedingly small part. A component, constituent, ingredient, or element is a part of some compound or mixture; an element is necessary to the existence, as a component or constituent is necessary to the completeness of that which it helps to compose; an ingredient may be foreign or accidental. A subdivision is a division of a division. We speak of a segment of a circle. Compare PARTICLE; PORTION.

Particle.

Synonyms:

atom, grain, mite, scrap, whit.

corpuscle, iota, molecule, shred,

element, jot, scintilla, tittle,

A particle is a very small part of any material substance; as, a particle of sand or of dust; it is a general term, not accurately determinate in meaning. Atom (Gr. a- privative, not, and temno, cut) etymologically signifies that which can not be cut or divided, and is the smallest conceivable particle of matter, regarded as absolutely homogeneous and as having but one set of properties; atoms are the ultimate particles of matter. A molecule is made up of atoms, and is regarded as separable into its constituent parts; as used by physicists, a molecule is the smallest conceivable part which retains all the characteristics of the substance; thus, a molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen. Element in chemistry denotes, without reference to quantity, a substance regarded as simple, i. e., one incapable of being resolved by any known process into simpler substances; the element gold may be represented by an ingot or by a particle of gold-dust. In popular language, an element is any essential constituent; the ancients believed that the universe was made up of the four elements, earth, air, fire, and water; a storm is spoken of as a manifestation of the fury of the elements. We speak of corpuscles of blood. Compare PART.

Antonyms:

aggregate, entirety, mass, quantity, sum, sum total, total, whole.

Patience.

Synonyms:

calmness, forbearance, long-suffering, sufferance.

composure, fortitude, resignation,

endurance, leniency, submission,

Patience is the quality or habit of mind shown in bearing passively and uncomplainingly any pain, evil, or hardship that may fall to one's lot. Endurance hardens itself against suffering, and may be merely stubborn; fortitude is endurance animated by courage; endurance may by modifiers be made to have a passive force, as when we speak of "passive endurance;" patience is not so hard as endurance nor so self-effacing as submission. Submission is ordinarily and resignation always applied to matters of great moment, while patience may apply to slight worries and annoyances. As regards our relations to our fellow men, forbearance is abstaining from retaliation or revenge; patience is keeping kindliness of heart under vexatious conduct; long-suffering is continued patience. Patience may also have an active force denoting uncomplaining steadiness in doing, as in tilling the soil. Compare INDUSTRY.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for ANGER.

Prepositions:

Patience in or amid sufferings; patience with (rarely toward) opposers or offenders; patience under afflictions; (rarely) patience of heat or cold, etc.

PAY, n.

Synonyms:

allowance, hire, recompense, salary,

compensation, honorarium, remuneration, stipend,

earnings, payment, requital, wages.

fee,

An allowance is a stipulated amount furnished at regular intervals as a matter of discretion or gratuity, as of food to besieged soldiers, or of money to a child or ward. Compensation is a comprehensive word signifying a return for a service done. Remuneration is applied to matters of great amount or importance. Recompense is a still wider and loftier word, with less suggestion of calculation and market value; there are services for which affection and gratitude are the sole and sufficient recompense; earnings, fees, hire, pay, salary, and wages are forms of compensation and may be included in compensation, remuneration, or recompense. Pay is commercial and strictly signifies an exact pecuniary equivalent for a thing or service, except when the contrary is expressly stated, as when we speak of "high pay" or "poor pay." Wages denotes what a worker receives. Earnings is often used as exactly equivalent to wages, but may be used with reference to the real value of work done or service rendered, and even applied to inanimate things; as, the earnings of capital. Hire is distinctly mercenary or menial, but as a noun has gone out of popular use, tho the verb to hire is common. Salary is for literary or professional work, wages for handicraft or other comparatively inferior service; a salary is regarded as more permanent than wages; an editor receives a salary, a compositor receives wages. Stipend has become exclusively a literary word. A fee is given for a single service or privilege, and is sometimes in the nature of a gratuity. Compare REQUITE.

People.

Synonyms:

commonwealth, nation, race, state, tribe.

community, population,

A community is in general terms the aggregate of persons inhabiting any territory in common and viewed as having common interests; a commonwealth is such a body of persons having a common government, especially a republican government; as, the commonwealth of Massachusetts. A community may be very small; a commonwealth is ordinarily of considerable extent. A people is the aggregate of any public community, either in distinction from their rulers or as including them; a race is a division of mankind in the line of origin and ancestry; the people of the United States includes members of almost every race. The use of people as signifying persons collectively, as in the statement "The hall was full of people," has been severely criticized, but is old and accepted English, and may fitly be classed as idiomatic, and often better than persons, by reason of its collectivism. As Dean Alford suggests, it would make a strange transformation of the old hymn "All people that on earth do dwell" to sing "All persons that on earth do dwell." A state is an organized political community considered in its corporate capacity as "a body politic and corporate;" as, a legislative act is the act of the state; every citizen is entitled to the protection of the state. A nation is an organized political community considered with reference to the persons composing it as having certain definite boundaries, a definite number of citizens, etc. The members of a people are referred to as persons or individuals; the individual members of a state or nation are called citizens or subjects. The population of a country is simply the aggregate of persons residing within its borders, without reference to race, organization, or allegiance; unnaturalized residents form part of the population, but not of the nation, possessing none of the rights and being subject to none of the duties of citizens. In American usage State signifies one commonwealth of the federal union known as the United States. Tribe is now almost wholly applied to rude peoples with very imperfect political organization; as, the Indian tribes; nomadic tribes. Compare MOB.

Perceive.

Synonyms:

apprehend, comprehend, conceive, understand.

We perceive what is presented through the senses. We apprehend what is presented to the mind, whether through the senses or by any other means. Yet perceive is used in the figurative sense of seeing through to a conclusion, in a way for which usage would not allow us to substitute apprehend; as, "Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet," John iv, 19. That which we apprehend we catch, as with the hand; that which we conceive we are able to analyze and recompose in our mind; that which we comprehend, we, as it were, grasp around, take together, seize, embrace wholly within the mind. Many things may be apprehended which can not be comprehended; a child can apprehend the distinction between right and wrong, yet the philosopher can not comprehend it in its fulness. We can apprehend the will of God as revealed in conscience or the Scriptures; we can conceive of certain attributes of Deity, as his truth and justice; but no finite intelligence can comprehend the Divine Nature, in its majesty, power, and perfection. Compare ANTICIPATE; ARREST; CATCH; KNOWLEDGE.

Antonyms:

fail of, ignore, lose, misapprehend, misconceive, miss, overlook.

Perfect.

Synonyms:

absolute, consummate, holy, spotless,

accurate, correct, ideal, stainless,

blameless, entire, immaculate, unblemished,

complete, faultless, sinless, undefiled.

completed, finished,

That is perfect to which nothing can be added, and from which nothing can be taken without impairing its excellence, marring its symmetry, or detracting from its worth; in this fullest sense God alone is perfect, but in a limited sense anything may be perfect in its kind; as a perfect flower; a copy of a document is perfect when it is accurate in every particular; a vase may be called perfect when entire and unblemished, even tho not artistically faultless; the best judges never pronounce a work of art perfect, because they see always ideal possibilities not yet attained; even the ideal is not perfect, by reason of the imperfection of the human mind; a human character faultlessly holy would be morally perfect tho finite. That which is absolute is free from admixture (as absolute alcohol) and in the highest and fullest sense free from imperfection or limitation; as, absolute holiness and love are attributes of God alone. In philosophical language, absolute signifies free from all necessary, or even from all possible relations, not dependent or limited, unrelated and unconditioned; truth immediately known, as intuitive truth, is absolute; God, as self-existent and free from all limitation or dependence, is called the absolute Being, or simply the Absolute. Compare INNOCENT; INFINITE; RADICAL.

Antonyms:

bad, defective, imperfect, meager, scant,

blemished, deficient, incomplete, perverted, short,

corrupt, deformed, inferior, poor, spoiled,

corrupted, fallible, insufficient, ruined, worthless.

defaced, faulty, marred,

Permanent.

Synonyms:

abiding, enduring, lasting, steadfast,

changeless, fixed, perpetual, unchangeable,

constant, immutable, persistent, unchanging.

durable, invariable, stable,

Durable (L. durus, hard) is said almost wholly of material substances that resist wear; lasting is said of either material or immaterial things. Permanent is a word of wider meaning; a thing is permanent which is not liable to change; as, a permanent color; buildings upon a farm are called permanent improvements. Enduring is a higher word, applied to that which resists both time and change; as, enduring fame.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for TRANSIENT.

Permission.

Synonyms:

allowance, authorization, leave, license,

authority, consent, liberty, permit.

Authority unites the right and power of control; age, wisdom, and character give authority to their possessor; a book of learned research has authority, and is even called an authority. Permission justifies another in acting without interference or censure, and usually implies some degree of approval. Authority gives a certain right of control over all that may be affected by the action. There may be a failure to object, which constitutes an implied permission, tho this is more properly expressed by allowance; we allow what we do not oppose, permit what we expressly authorize. The noun permit implies a formal written permission. License is a formal permission granted by competent authority to an individual to do some act or pursue some business which would be or is made to be unlawful without such permission; as, a license to preach, to solemnize marriages, or to sell intoxicating liquors. A license is permission granted rather than authority conferred; the sheriff has authority (not permission nor license) to make an arrest. Consent is permission by the concurrence of wills in two or more persons, a mutual approval or acceptance of something proposed. Compare ALLOW.

Antonyms:

denial, objection, prevention, refusal, resistance.

hindrance, opposition, prohibition,

Pernicious.

Synonyms:

bad, evil, mischievous, pestilential,

baneful, foul, noisome, poisonous,

deadly, harmful, noxious, ruinous,

deleterious, hurtful, perverting, unhealthful,

destructive, injurious, pestiferous, unwholesome.

detrimental, insalubrious,

Pernicious (L. per, through, and neco, kill) signifies having the power of destroying or injuring, tending to hurt or kill. Pernicious is stronger than injurious; that which is injurious is capable of doing harm; that which is pernicious is likely to be destructive. Noxious (L. noceo, hurt) is a stronger word than noisome, as referring to that which is injurious or destructive. Noisome now always denotes that which is extremely disagreeable or disgusting, especially to the sense of smell; as, the noisome stench proclaimed the presence of noxious gases.

Antonyms:

advantageous, favorable, helpful, profitable, serviceable,

beneficent, good, invigorating, rejuvenating, useful,

beneficial, healthful, life-giving, salutary, wholesome.

Perplexity.

Synonyms:

amazement, bewilderment, distraction, doubt,

astonishment, confusion, disturbance, embarrassment.

Perplexity (L. per, through, and plecto, plait) is the drawing or turning of the thoughts or faculties by turns in different directions or toward contrasted or contradictory conclusions; confusion (L. confusus, from confundo, pour together) is a state in which the mental faculties are, as it were, thrown into chaos, so that the clear and distinct action of the different powers, as of perception, memory, reason, and will is lost; bewilderment is akin to confusion, but is less overwhelming, and more readily recovered from; perplexity, accordingly, has not the unsettling of the faculties implied in confusion, nor the overwhelming of the faculties implied in amazement or astonishment; it is not the magnitude of the things to be known, but the want of full and definite knowledge, that causes perplexity. The dividing of a woodland path may cause the traveler the greatest perplexity, which may become bewilderment when he has tried one path after another and lost his bearings completely. With an excitable person bewilderment may deepen into confusion that will make him unable to think clearly or even to see or hear distinctly. Amazement results from the sudden and unimagined occurrence of great good or evil or the sudden awakening of the mind to unthought-of truth. Astonishment often produces bewilderment, which the word was formerly understood to imply. Compare AMAZEMENT; ANXIETY; DOUBT.

Persuade.

Synonyms:

allure, dispose, incline, move,

bring over, entice, induce, prevail on or upon,

coax, impel, influence, urge,

convince, incite, lead, win over.

Of these words convince alone has no direct reference to moving the will, denoting an effect upon the understanding only; one may be convinced of his duty without doing it, or he may be convinced of truth that has no manifest connection with duty or action, as of a mathematical proposition. To persuade is to bring the will of another to a desired decision by some influence exerted upon it short of compulsion; one may be convinced that the earth is round; he may be persuaded to travel round it; but persuasion is so largely dependent upon conviction that it is commonly held to be the orator's work first to convince in order that he may persuade. Coax is a slighter word than persuade, seeking the same end by shallower methods, largely by appeal to personal feeling, with or without success; as, a child coaxes a parent to buy him a toy. One may be brought over, induced, or prevailed upon by means not properly included in persuasion, as by bribery or intimidation; he is won over chiefly by personal influence. Compare INFLUENCE.

Antonyms:

deter, discourage, dissuade, hinder, hold back, repel, restrain.

Pertness.

Synonyms:

boldness, forwardness, liveliness, sprightliness.

briskness, impertinence, sauciness,

flippancy, impudence, smartness,

Liveliness and sprightliness are pleasant and commendable; smartness is a limited and showy acuteness or shrewdness, usually with unfavorable suggestion; pertness and sauciness are these qualities overdone, and regardless of the respect due to superiors. Impertinence and impudence may be gross and stupid; pertness and sauciness are always vivid and keen. Compare IMPUDENCE.

Antonyms:

bashfulness, demureness, diffidence, humility, modesty, shyness.

Perverse.

Synonyms:

contrary, froward, petulant, untoward,

factious, intractable, stubborn, wayward,

fractious, obstinate, ungovernable, wilful.

Perverse (L. perversus, turned the wrong way) signifies wilfully wrong or erring, unreasonably set against right, reason, or authority. The stubborn or obstinate person will not do what another desires or requires; the perverse person will do anything contrary to what is desired or required of him. The petulant person frets, but may comply; the perverse individual may be smooth or silent, but is wilfully intractable. Wayward refers to a perverse disregard of morality and duty; froward is practically obsolete; untoward is rarely heard except in certain phrases; as, untoward circumstances. Compare OBSTINATE.

Antonyms:

accommodating, complaisant, genial, kind,

amenable, compliant, governable, obliging.

Physical.

Synonyms:

bodily, corporeal, natural, tangible,

corporal, material, sensible, visible.

Whatever is composed of or pertains to matter may be termed material; physical (Gr. physis, nature) applies to material things considered as parts of a system or organic whole; hence, we speak of material substances, physical forces, physical laws. Bodily, corporal, and corporeal apply primarily to the human body; bodily and corporal both denote pertaining or relating to the body; corporeal signifies of the nature of or like the body; corporal is now almost wholly restricted to signify applied to or inflicted upon the body; we speak of bodily sufferings, bodily presence, corporal punishment, the corporeal frame.

Antonyms:

hyperphysical, intangible, invisible, moral, unreal,

immaterial, intellectual, mental, spiritual, unsubstantial.

Pique.

Synonyms:

displeasure, irritation, offense, resentment, umbrage.

grudge,

Pique, from the French, signifies primarily a prick or a sting, as of a nettle; the word denotes a sudden feeling of mingled pain and anger, but slight and usually transient, arising from some neglect or offense, real or imaginary. Umbrage is a deeper and more persistent displeasure at being overshadowed (L. umbra, a shadow) or subjected to any treatment that one deems unworthy of him. It may be said, as a general statement, that pique arises from wounded vanity or sensitiveness, umbrage from wounded pride or sometimes from suspicion. Resentment rests on more solid grounds, and is deep and persistent. Compare ANGER.

Antonyms:

approval, contentment, delight, gratification, pleasure, satisfaction.

complacency,

Pitiful.

Synonyms:

abject, lamentable, paltry, sorrowful,

base, miserable, pathetic, touching,

contemptible, mournful, piteous, woful,

despicable, moving, pitiable, wretched.

Pitiful originally signified full of pity; as, "the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy," James v, 11; but this usage is now archaic, and the meaning in question is appropriated by such words as merciful and compassionate. Pitiful and pitiable now refer to what may be deserving of pity, pitiful being used chiefly for that which is merely an object of thought, pitiable for that which is brought directly before the senses; as, a pitiful story; a pitiable object; a pitiable condition. Since pity, however, always implies weakness or inferiority in that which is pitied, pitiful and pitiable are often used, by an easy transition, for what might awaken pity, but does awaken contempt; as, a pitiful excuse; he presented a pitiable appearance. Piteous is now rarely used in its earlier sense of feeling pity, but in its derived sense applies to what really excites the emotion; as, a piteous cry. Compare HUMANE; MERCY; PITY.

Antonyms:

august, dignified, grand, lofty, sublime,

beneficent, exalted, great, mighty, superb,

commanding, glorious, helpful, noble, superior.

Pity.

Synonyms:

commiseration, condolence, sympathy, tenderness.

compassion, mercy,

Pity is a feeling of grief or pain aroused by the weakness, misfortunes, or distresses of others, joined with a desire to help or relieve. Sympathy (feeling or suffering with) implies some degree of equality, kindred, or union; pity is for what is weak or unfortunate, and so far, at least, inferior to ourselves; hence, pity is often resented where sympathy would be welcome. We have sympathy with one in joy or grief, in pleasure or pain, pity only for those in suffering or need; we may have sympathy with the struggles of a giant or the triumphs of a conqueror; we are moved with pity for the captive or the slave. Pity may be only in the mind, but mercy does something for those who are its objects. Compassion, like pity, is exercised only with respect to the suffering or unfortunate, but combines with the tenderness of pity the dignity of sympathy and the active quality of mercy. Commiseration is as tender as compassion, but more remote and hopeless; we have commiseration for sufferers whom we can not reach or can not relieve. Condolence is the expression of sympathy. Compare MERCY.

Antonyms:

barbarity, ferocity, harshness, pitilessness, severity,

brutality, hard-heartedness, inhumanity, rigor, sternness,

cruelty, hardness, mercilessness, ruthlessness, truculence.

Prepositions:

Pity on or upon that which we help or spare; pity for that which we merely contemplate; "have pity upon me, O ye my friends," Job xix, 21; "pity for a horse o'erdriven," Tennyson In Memoriam lxii, st. 1.

Plant.

Synonyms:

seed, seed down, set, set out, sow.

We set or set out slips, cuttings, young trees, etc., tho we may also be said to plant them; we plant corn, potatoes, etc., which we put in definite places, as in hills, with some care; we sow wheat or other small grains and seeds which are scattered in the process. Tho by modern agricultural machinery the smaller grains are almost as precisely planted as corn, the old word for broadcast scattering is retained. Land is seeded or seeded down to grass.

Antonyms:

eradicate, extirpate, root up, uproot, weed out.

Plead.

Synonyms:

advocate, ask, beseech, implore, solicit,

argue, beg, entreat, press, urge.

To plead for one is to employ argument or persuasion, or both in his behalf, usually with earnestness or importunity; similarly one may be said to plead for himself or for a cause, etc., or with direct object, to plead a case; in legal usage, pleading is argumentative, but in popular usage, pleading always implies some appeal to the feelings. One argues a case solely on rational grounds and supposably with fair consideration of both sides; he advocates one side for the purpose of carrying it, and under the influence of motives that may range all the way from cold self-interest to the highest and noblest impulses; he pleads a cause, or pleads for a person with still more intense feeling. Beseech, entreat, and implore imply impassioned earnestness, with direct and tender appeal to personal considerations. Press and urge imply more determined or perhaps authoritative insistence. Solicit is a weak word denoting merely an attempt to secure one's consent or cooperation, sometimes by sordid or corrupt motives.

Prepositions:

Plead with the tyrant for the captive; plead against the oppression or the oppressor; plead to the indictment; at the bar; before the court; in open court.

Pleasant.

Synonyms:

agreeable, good-natured, kindly, pleasing,

attractive, kind, obliging, pleasurable.

That is pleasing from which pleasure is received, or may readily be received, without reference to any action or intent in that which confers it; as, a pleasing picture; a pleasing landscape. Whatever has active qualities adapted to give pleasure is pleasant; as, a pleasant breeze; a pleasant (not a pleasing) day. As applied to persons, pleasant always refers to a disposition ready and desirous to please; one is pleasant, or in a pleasant mood, when inclined to make happy those with whom he is dealing, to show kindness and do any reasonable favor. In this sense pleasant is nearly akin to kind, but kind refers to act or intent, while pleasant stops with the disposition; many persons are no longer in a pleasant mood if asked to do a troublesome kindness. Pleasant keeps always something of the sense of actually giving pleasure, and thus surpasses the meaning of good-natured; there are good-natured people who by reason of rudeness and ill-breeding are not pleasant companions. A pleasing face has good features, complexion, expression, etc.; a pleasant face indicates a kind heart and an obliging disposition, as well as kindly feelings in actual exercise; we can say of one usually good-natured, "on that occasion he did not meet me with a pleasant face." Pleasant, in the sense of gay, merry, jocose (the sense still retained in pleasantry), is now rare, and would not be understood outside of literary circles. Compare AMIABLE; COMFORTABLE; DELIGHTFUL.

Antonyms:

arrogant, displeasing, glum, ill-humored, repelling,

austere, dreary, grim, ill-natured, repulsive,

crabbed, forbidding, harsh, offensive, unkind,

disagreeable, gloomy, hateful, repellent, unpleasant.

Prepositions:

Pleasant to, with, or toward persons, about a matter.

Plentiful.

Synonyms:

abounding, bountiful, generous, plenteous,

abundant, complete, large, profuse,

adequate, copious, lavish, replete,

affluent, enough, liberal, rich,

ample, exuberant, luxuriant, sufficient,

bounteous, full, overflowing, teeming.

Enough is relative, denoting a supply equal to a given demand. A temperature of 70° Fahrenheit is enough for a living-room; of 212° enough to boil water; neither is enough to melt iron. Sufficient, from the Latin, is an equivalent of the Saxon enough, with no perceptible difference of meaning, but only of usage, enough being the more blunt, homely, and forcible word, while sufficient is in many cases the more elegant or polite. Sufficient usually precedes its noun; enough usually and preferably follows. That is ample which gives a safe, but not a large, margin beyond a given demand; that is abundant, affluent, bountiful, liberal, plentiful, which is largely in excess of manifest need. Plentiful is used of supplies, as of food, water, etc.; as, "a plentiful rain," Ps. lxviii, 9. We may also say a copious rain; but copious can be applied to thought, language, etc., where plentiful can not well be used. Affluent and liberal both apply to riches, resources; liberal, with especial reference to giving or expending. (Compare synonyms for ADEQUATE.) Affluent, referring especially to riches, may be used of thought, feeling, etc. Neither affluent, copious, nor plentiful can be used of time or space; a field is sometimes called plentiful, not with reference to its extent, but to its productiveness. Complete expresses not excess or overplus, and yet not mere sufficiency, but harmony, proportion, fitness to a design, or ideal. Ample and abundant may be applied to any subject. We have time enough, means that we can reach our destination without haste, but also without delay; if we have ample time, we may move leisurely, and note what is by the way; if we have abundant time, we may pause to converse with a friend, to view the scenery, or to rest when weary. Lavish and profuse imply a decided excess, oftenest in the ill sense. We rejoice in abundant resources, and honor generous hospitality; lavish or profuse expenditure suggests extravagance and wastefulness. Luxuriant is used especially of that which is abundant in growth; as, a luxuriant crop.

Antonyms:

deficient, inadequate, narrow, scanty, small,

drained, insufficient, niggardly, scarce, sparing,

exhausted, mean, poor, scrimped, stingy,

impoverished, miserly, scant, short, straitened.

Preposition:

Plentiful in resources.

Poetry.

Synonyms:

meter, numbers, poesy, song,

metrical composition, poem, rime, verse.

Poetry is that form of literature that embodies beautiful thought, feeling, or action in melodious, rhythmical, and (usually) metrical language, in imaginative and artistic constructions. Poetry in a very wide sense may be anything that pleasingly addresses the imagination; as, the poetry of motion. In ordinary usage, poetry is both imaginative and metrical. There may be poetry without rime, but hardly without meter, or what in some languages takes its place, as the Hebrew parallelism; but poetry involves, besides the artistic form, the exercise of the fancy or imagination in a way always beautiful, often lofty or even sublime. Failing this, there may be verse, rime, and meter, but not poetry. There is much in literature that is beautiful and sublime in thought and artistic in construction, which is yet not poetry, because quite devoid of the element of song, whereby poetry differs from the most lofty, beautiful, or impassioned prose. Compare METER.

Antonyms:

prosaic speech, prosaic writing, prose.

Polite.

Synonyms:

accomplished, courtly, genteel, urbane,

civil, cultivated, gracious, well-behaved,

complaisant, cultured, obliging, well-bred,

courteous, elegant, polished, well-mannered.

A civil person observes such propriety of speech and manner as to avoid being rude; one who is polite (literally polished) observes more than the necessary proprieties, conforming to all that is graceful, becoming, and thoughtful in the intercourse of refined society. A man may be civil with no consideration for others, simply because self-respect forbids him to be rude; but one who is polite has at least some care for the opinions of others, and if polite in the highest and truest sense, which is coming to be the prevailing one, he cares for the comfort and happiness of others in the smallest matters. Civil is a colder and more distant word than polite; courteous is fuller and richer, dealing often with greater matters, and is used only in the good sense. Courtly suggests that which befits a royal court, and is used of external grace and stateliness without reference to the prompting feeling; as, the courtly manners of the ambassador. Genteel refers to an external elegance, which may be showy and superficial, and the word is thus inferior to polite or courteous. Urbane refers to a politeness that is genial and successful in giving others a sense of ease and cheer. Polished refers to external elegancies of speech and manner without reference to spirit or purpose; as, a polished gentleman or a polished scoundrel; cultured refers to a real and high development of mind and soul, of which the external manifestation is the smallest part. Complaisant denotes a disposition to please or favor beyond what politeness would necessarily require.

Antonyms:

awkward, clownish, ill-mannered, insulting, uncouth,

bluff, coarse, impertinent, raw, unmannerly,

blunt, discourteous, impolite, rude, unpolished,

boorish, ill-behaved, impudent, rustic, untaught,

brusk, ill-bred, insolent, uncivil, untutored.

Polity.

Synonyms:

constitution, policy, form or system of government.

Polity is the permanent system of government of a state, a church, or a society; policy is the method of management with reference to the attainment of certain ends; the national polity of the United States is republican; each administration has a policy of its own. Policy is often used as equivalent to expediency; as, many think honesty to be good policy. Polity used in ecclesiastical use serves a valuable purpose in distinguishing that which relates to administration and government from that which relates to faith and doctrine; two churches identical in faith may differ in polity, or those agreeing in polity may differ in faith. Compare LAW.

Portion.

Synonyms:

lot, parcel, part, proportion, share.

When any whole is divided into parts, any part that is allotted to some person, thing, subject or purpose is called a portion, tho the division may be by no fixed rule or relation; a father may divide his estate by will among his children so as to make their several portions great or small, according to his arbitrary and unreasonable caprice. When we speak of a part as a proportion, we think of the whole as divided according to some rule or scale, so that the different parts bear a contemplated and intended relation or ratio to one another; thus, the portion allotted to a child by will may not be a fair proportion of the estate. Proportion is often used where part or portion would be more appropriate. Compare PART.

Poverty.

Synonyms:

beggary, distress, mendicancy, pauperism, privation,

destitution, indigence, need, penury, want.

Poverty denotes strictly lack of property or adequate means of support, but in common use is a relative term denoting any condition below that of easy, comfortable living; privation denotes a condition of painful lack of what is useful or desirable, tho not to the extent of absolute distress; indigence is lack of ordinary means of subsistence; destitution is lack of the comforts, and in part even of the necessaries of life; penury is especially cramping poverty, possibly not so sharp as destitution, but continuous, while that may be temporary; pauperism is such destitution as throws one upon organized public charity for support; beggary and mendicancy denote poverty that appeals for indiscriminate private charity.

Power.

Synonyms:

ability, competency, expertness, readiness,

aptitude, dexterity, faculty, skill,

capability, efficacy, force, strength,

capacity, efficiency, might, susceptibility,

cleverness, energy, qualification, talent.

cogency,

Power is the most general term of this group, including every quality, property, or faculty by which any change, effect, or result is, or may be, produced; as, the power of the legislature to enact laws, or of the executive to enforce them; the power of an acid to corrode a metal; the power of a polished surface to reflect light. Ability is nearly coextensive with power, but does not reach the positiveness and vigor that may be included in the meaning of power, ability often implying latent, as distinguished from active power; we speak of an exertion of power, but not of an exertion of ability. Power and ability include capacity, which is power to receive; but ability is often distinguished from capacity, as power that may be manifested in doing, as capacity is in receiving; one may have great capacity for acquiring knowledge, and yet not possess ability to teach. Efficiency is active power to effect a definite result, the power that actually does, as distinguished from that which may do. Competency is equal to the occasion, readiness prompt for the occasion. Faculty is an inherent quality of mind or body; talent, some special mental ability. Dexterity and skill are readiness and facility in action, having a special end; talent is innate, dexterity and skill are largely acquired. Our abilities include our natural capacity, faculties, and talents, with all the dexterity, skill, and readiness that can be acquired. Efficacy is the power to produce an intended effect as shown in the production of it; as, the efficacy of a drug. Efficiency is effectual agency, competent power; efficiency is applied in mechanics as denoting the ratio of the effect produced to the power expended in producing it; but this word is chiefly used of intelligent agents as denoting the quality that brings all one's power to bear promptly and to the best purpose on the thing to be done. Compare ADDRESS; DEXTERITY; SKILFUL.

Antonyms:

awkwardness, helplessness, inability, incompetence, stupidity,

dulness, imbecility, inaptitude, inefficiency, unskilfulness,

feebleness, impotence, incapacity, maladroitness, weakness.

Praise.

Synonyms:

acclaim, approbation, compliment, laudation,

acclamation, approval, encomium, panegyric,

adulation, cheering, eulogy, plaudit,

applause, cheers, flattery, sycophancy.

Praise is the hearty approval of an individual, or of a number or multitude considered individually, and is expressed by spoken or written words; applause, the spontaneous outburst of many at once. Applause is expressed in any way, by stamping of feet, clapping of hands, waving of handkerchiefs, etc., as well as by the voice; acclamation is the spontaneous and hearty approval of many at once, and strictly by the voice alone. Thus one is chosen moderator by acclamation when he receives a unanimous viva voce vote; we could not say he was nominated by applause. Acclaim is the more poetic term for acclamation, commonly understood in a loftier sense; as, a nation's acclaim. Plaudit is a shout of applause, and is commonly used in the plural; as, the plaudits of a throng. Applause is also used in the general sense of praise. Approbation is a milder and more qualified word than praise; while praise is always uttered, approbation may be silent. "Approbation speaks of the thing or action.... Praise is always personal." A. W. and J. C. Hare Guesses at Truth first series, p. 549. [Macm. '66.] Acceptance refers to an object or action; approbation may refer to character or natural traits. Approval always supposes a testing or careful examination, and frequently implies official sanction; approbation may be upon a general view. The industry and intelligence of a clerk win his employer's approbation; his decision in a special instance receives his approval. Praise is always understood as genuine and sincere, unless the contrary is expressly stated; compliment is a light form of praise that may or may not be sincere; flattery is insincere and ordinarily fulsome praise.

Antonyms:

abuse, condemnation, disapproval, obloquy, scorn,

animadversion, contempt, disparagement, reproach, slander,

blame, denunciation, hissing, reproof, vilification,

censure, disapprobation, ignominy, repudiation, vituperation.

Pray.

Synonyms:

ask, bid, entreat, invoke, request,

beg, call upon, implore, petition, supplicate.

beseech, conjure, importune, plead,

To pray, in the religious sense, is devoutly to address the Supreme Being with reverent petition for divine grace or any favor or blessing, and in the fullest sense with thanksgiving and praise for the divine goodness and mercy; the once common use of the word to express any earnest request, as "I pray you to come in," is now rare, unless in writings molded on older literature, or in certain phrases, as "Pray sit down;" even in these "please" is more common; "I beg you" is also frequently used, as expressing a polite humility of request. Beseech and entreat express great earnestness of petition; implore and supplicate denote the utmost fervency and intensity, supplicate implying also humility. Compare ASK; PLEAD.

Precarious.

Synonyms:

doubtful, hazardous, risky, unsettled,

dubious, insecure, unassured, unstable,

equivocal, perilous, uncertain, unsteady.

Uncertain is applied to things that human knowledge can not certainly determine or that human power can not certainly control; precarious originally meant dependent on the will of another, and now, by extension of meaning, dependent on chance or hazard, with manifest unfavorable possibility verging toward probability; as, one holds office by a precarious tenure, or land by a precarious title; the strong man's hold on life is uncertain, the invalid's is precarious.

Antonyms:

actual, firm, infallible, stable, sure, undoubted,

assured, immutable, real, steady, undeniable, unquestionable.

certain, incontestable, settled, strong,

Precedent.

Synonyms:

antecedent, case, instance, pattern,

authority, example, obiter dictum, warrant.

A precedent is an authoritative case, example, or instance. The communism of the early Christians in Jerusalem is a wonderful example or instance of Christian liberality, but not a precedent for the universal church through all time. Cases decided by irregular or unauthorized tribunals are not precedents for the regular administration of law. An obiter dictum is an opinion outside of the case in hand, which can not be quoted as an authoritative precedent. Compare CAUSE; EXAMPLE.

Predestination.

Synonyms:

fate, foreknowledge, foreordination, necessity.

Predestination is a previous determination or decision, which, in the divine action, reaches on from eternity. Fate is heathen, an irresistible, irrational power determining all events with no manifest connection with reason or righteousness; necessity is philosophical, a blind something in the nature of things binding the slightest action or motion in the chain of inevitable, eternal sequence; foreordination and predestination are Christian, denoting the rational and righteous order or decree of the supreme and all-wise God. Foreknowledge is simply God's antecedent knowledge of all events, which some hold to be entirely separable from his foreordination, while others hold foreordination to be inseparably involved in foreknowledge.

Antonyms:

accident, choice, freedom, independence,

chance, free agency, free will, uncertainty.

Prepositions:

Predestination of believers to eternal life.

Prejudice.

Synonyms:

bias, preconception, presumption,

partiality, prepossession, unfairness.

A presumption (literally, a taking beforehand) is a partial decision formed in advance of argument or evidence, usually grounded on some general principle, and always held subject to revision upon fuller information. A prejudice or prepossession is grounded often on feeling, fancy, associations, etc. A prejudice against foreigners is very common in retired communities. There is always a presumption in favor of what exists, so that the burden of proof is upon one who advocates a change. A prepossession is always favorable, a prejudice always unfavorable, unless the contrary is expressly stated. Compare INJURY.

Antonyms:

certainty, conviction, evidence, reason,

conclusion, demonstration, proof, reasoning.

Prepositions:

Against; rarely, in favor of, in one's favor.

Pretense.

Synonyms:

affectation, disguise, pretext, simulation,

air, dissimulation, ruse, subterfuge,

assumption, excuse, seeming, trick,

cloak, mask, semblance, wile.

color, pretension, show,

A pretense, in the unfavorable, which is also the usual sense, is something advanced or displayed for the purpose of concealing the reality. A person makes a pretense of something for the credit or advantage to be gained by it; he makes what is allowed or approved a pretext for doing what would be opposed or condemned; a tricky schoolboy makes a pretense of doing an errand which he does not do, or he makes the actual doing of an errand a pretext for playing truant. A ruse is something (especially something slight or petty) employed to blind or deceive so as to mask an ulterior design, and enable a person to gain some end that he would not be allowed to approach directly. A pretension is a claim that is or may be contested; the word is now commonly used in an unfavorable sense. Compare ARTIFICE; HYPOCRISY.

Antonyms:

actuality, fact, guilelessness, ingenuousness, reality, sincerity,

candor, frankness, honesty, openness, simplicity, truth.

Prevent.

Synonyms:

anticipate, forestall, obviate, preclude.

The original sense of prevent, to come before, act in advance of, which is now practically obsolete, was still in good use when the authorized version of the Bible was made, as appears in such passages as, "When Peter was come into the house, Jesus prevented him" (i. e., addressed him first), Matt. xvii, 25; "Thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness" (i. e., by sending the blessings before the desire is formulated or expressed), Ps. xxi, 3. Anticipate is now the only single word usable in this sense; to forestall is to take or act in advance in one's own behalf and to the prejudice of another or others, as in the phrase "to forestall the market." But to anticipate is very frequently used in the favorable sense; as, his thoughtful kindness anticipated my wish (i. e., met the wish before it was expressed): or we say, "I was about to accost him when he anticipated me" (by speaking first); or one anticipates a payment (by making it before the time); in neither of these cases could we use forestall or prevent. To obviate (literally, to stop the way of or remove from the way), is to prevent by interception, so that something that would naturally withstand or disturb may be kept from doing so; to preclude, (literally, to close or shut in advance) is to prevent by anticipation or by logical necessity; walls and bars precluded the possibility of escape; a supposition is precluded; a necessity or difficulty is obviated. Prevent, which at first had only the anticipatory meaning, has come to apply to the stopping of an action at any stage, the completion or conclusion only being thought of as negatived by anticipation; the enemy passed the outworks and were barely prevented from capturing the fortress. Compare HINDER; PROHIBIT.

Preposition:

He was prevented by illness from joining the expedition.

Previous.

Synonyms:

antecedent, foregoing, front, preceding,

anterior, former, introductory, preliminary,

earlier, forward, precedent, prior.

Antecedent may denote simple priority in time, implying no direct connection between that which goes before and that which follows; as, the striking of one clock may be always antecedent to the striking of another with no causal connection between them. Antecedent and previous may refer to that which goes or happens at any distance in advance, preceding is limited to that which is immediately or next before; an antecedent event may have happened at any time before; the preceding transaction is the one completed just before the one with which it is compared; a previous statement or chapter may be in any part of the book that has gone before; the preceding statement or chapter comes next before without an interval. Previous often signifies first by right; as, a previous engagement. Foregoing is used only of that which is spoken or written; as, the foregoing statements. Anterior, while it can be used of time, is coming to be employed chiefly with reference to place; as the anterior lobes of the brain. Prior bears exclusive reference to time, and commonly where that which is first in time is first also in right; as, a prior demand. Former is used of time, or of position in written or printed matter, not of space in general. We can say former times, a former chapter, etc., but not the former part of a garden; we should say the front part of the garden, the forward car of a train. Former has a close relation, or sharp contrast, with something following; the former always implies the latter, even when not fully expressed, as in Acts i, 1, and Eccles. vii, 10.

Antonyms:

after, consequent, hind, hindmost, latter, subsequent,

concluding, following, hinder, later, posterior, succeeding.

Preposition:

Such was the state of things previous to the revolution. [Previous to is often used adverbially, in constructions where previously to would be more strictly correct; as, these arrangements were made previous to my departure.]

Price.

Synonyms:

charge, cost, expenditure, expense, outlay, value, worth.

The cost of a thing is all that has been expended upon it, whether in discovery, production, refinement, decoration, transportation, or otherwise, to bring it to its present condition in the hands of its present possessor; the price of a thing is what the seller asks for it. In regular business, as a rule, the seller's price on his wares must be more than their cost to him; when goods are sold, the price the buyer has paid becomes their cost to himself. In exceptional cases, when goods are sold at cost, the seller's price is made the same as the cost of the goods to him, the cost to the seller and the cost to the buyer becoming then identical. Price always implies that an article is for sale; what a man will not sell he declines to put a price on; hence the significance of the taunting proverb that "every man has his price." Value is the estimated equivalent for an article, whether the article is for sale or not; the market value is what it would bring if exposed for sale in the open market; the intrinsic value is the inherent utility of the article considered by itself alone; the market value of an old and rare volume may be very great, while its intrinsic value may be practically nothing. Value has always more reference to others' estimation (literally, what the thing will avail with others) than worth, which regards the thing in and by itself; thus, intrinsic value is a weaker expression than intrinsic worth. Charge has especial reference to services, expense to minor outlays; as, the charges of a lawyer or physician; traveling expenses; household expenses.

Pride.

Synonyms:

arrogance, ostentation, self-exaltation,

assumption, presumption, self-respect,

conceit, reserve, superciliousness,

disdain, self-complacency, vainglory,

haughtiness, self-conceit, vanity.

insolence, self-esteem,

Haughtiness thinks highly of itself and poorly of others. Arrogance claims much for itself and concedes little to others. Pride is an absorbing sense of one's own greatness; haughtiness feels one's own superiority to others; disdain sees contemptuously the inferiority of others to oneself. Presumption claims place or privilege above one's right; pride deems nothing too high. Insolence is open and rude expression of contempt and hostility, generally from an inferior to a superior, as from a servant to a master or mistress. In the presence of superiors overweening pride manifests itself in presumption or insolence; in the presence of inferiors, or those supposed to be inferior, pride manifests itself by arrogance, disdain, haughtiness, superciliousness, or in either case often by cold reserve. (See RESERVE under MODESTY.) Pride is too self-satisfied to care for praise; vanity intensely craves admiration and applause. Superciliousness, as if by the uplifted eyebrow, as its etymology suggests (L. supercilium, eyebrow, from super, over and cilium, eyelid), silently manifests mingled haughtiness and disdain. Assumption quietly takes for granted superiority and privilege which others would be slow to concede. Conceit and vanity are associated with weakness, pride with strength. Conceit may be founded upon nothing; pride is founded upon something that one is, or has, or has done; vanity, too, is commonly founded on something real, tho far slighter than would afford foundation for pride. Vanity is eager for admiration and praise, is elated if they are rendered, and pained if they are withheld, and seeks them; pride could never solicit admiration or praise. Conceit is somewhat stronger than self-conceit. Self-conceit is ridiculous; conceit is offensive. Self-respect is a thoroughly worthy feeling; self-esteem is a more generous estimate of one's own character and abilities than the rest of the world are ready to allow. Vainglory is more pompous and boastful than vanity. Compare EGOTISM; OSTENTATION.

Antonyms:

humility, lowliness, meekness, modesty, self-abasement, self-distrust.

Primeval.

Synonyms:

aboriginal, indigenous, patriarchal, primitive,

ancient, native, primal, primordial,

autochthonic, old, primary, pristine,

immemorial, original, prime, uncreated.

Aboriginal (L. ab, from, origo, origin) signifies pertaining to the aborigines or earliest known inhabitants of a country in the widest sense, including not merely human beings but inferior animals and plants as well. Autochthonic (Gr. autos, self, and chthōn, earth) signifies sprung from the earth, especially from the soil of one's native land. Primeval (L. primum, first, and ævum, age), signifies strictly belonging to the first ages, earliest in time, but often only the earliest of which man knows or conceives, immemorial. Aboriginal, autochthonic, and primeval combine the meanings of ancient and original; aboriginal inhabitants, autochthonic races, primeval forests. Prime and primary may signify either first in time, or more frequently first in importance; primary has also the sense of elementary or preparatory; we speak of a prime minister, a primary school. Primal is chiefly poetic, in the sense of prime; as, the primal curse. Primordial is first in an order of succession or development; as, a primordial leaf. Primitive frequently signifies having the original characteristics of that which it represents, as well as standing first in time; as, the primitive church. Primitive also very frequently signifies having the original or early characteristics without remoteness in time. Primeval simplicity is the simplicity of the earliest ages; primitive simplicity may be found in retired villages now. Pristine is an elegant word, used almost exclusively in a good sense of that which is original and perhaps ancient; as, pristine purity, innocence, vigor. That which is both an original and natural product of a soil or country is said to be indigenous; that which is actually produced there is said to be native, though it may be of foreign extraction; humming-birds are indigenous to America; canaries may be native, but are not indigenous. Immemorial refers solely to time, independently of quality, denoting, in legal phrase, "that whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary;" as, an immemorial custom; an immemorial abuse. Compare OLD.

Antonyms:

adventitious, foreign, late, new, recent.

exotic, fresh, modern, novel,

Compare synonyms for NEW.

Profit.

Synonyms:

advantage, expediency, proceeds, service,

avail, gain, receipts, usefulness,

benefit, good, return, utility,

emolument, improvement, returns, value.

The returns or receipts include all that is received from an outlay or investment; the profit is the excess (if any) of the receipts over the outlay; hence, in government, morals, etc., the profit is what is really good, helpful, useful, valuable. Utility is chiefly used in the sense of some immediate or personal and generally some material good. Advantage is that which gives one a vantage-ground, either for coping with competitors or with difficulties, needs, or demands; as to have the advantage of a good education; it is frequently used of what one has beyond another or secures at the expense of another; as, to have the advantage of another in an argument, or to take advantage of another in a bargain. Gain is what one secures beyond what he previously possessed. Benefit is anything that does one good. Emolument is profit, return, or value accruing through official position. Expediency has respect to profit or advantage, real or supposed, considered apart from or perhaps in opposition to right, in actions having a moral character. Compare UTILITY.

Antonyms:

damage, detriment, harm, injury, ruin,

destruction, disadvantage, hurt, loss, waste.

Prepositions:

The profit of labor; on capital; in business.

Progress.

Synonyms:

advance, development, improvement, proficiency,

advancement, growth, increase, progression.

attainment,

Progress (L. pro, forward, gradior, go) is a moving onward or forward, whether in space or in the mental or moral realm, and may be either mechanical, individual, or social. Attainment, development, and proficiency are more absolute than the other words of the group, denoting some point of advantage or of comparative perfection reached by forward or onward movement; we speak of attainments in virtue or scholarship, proficiency in music or languages, the development of new powers or organs; proficiency includes the idea of skill. Advance may denote either a forward movement or the point gained by forward movement, but always relatively with reference to the point from which the movement started; as, this is a great advance. Advance admits the possibility of retreat; progress (L. progredi, to walk forward) is steady and constant forward movement, admitting of pause, but not of retreat; advance suggests more clearly a point to be reached, while progress lays the emphasis upon the forward movement; we may speak of slow or rapid progress, but more naturally of swift advance. Progress is more frequently used of abstractions; as, the progress of ideas; progression fixes the attention chiefly upon the act of moving forward. In a thing good in itself all advance or progress is improvement; there is a growing tendency to restrict the words to this favorable sense, using increase indifferently of good or evil; one may say without limitation, "I am an advocate of progress."

Antonyms:

check, delay, falling off, retrogression, stop,

decline, falling back, relapse, stay, stoppage.

Prepositions:

The progress of truth; progress in virtue; toward perfection; from a lower to a higher state.

Prohibit.

Synonyms:

debar, forbid, inhibit, preclude,

disallow, hinder, interdict, prevent.

To prohibit is to give some formal command against, and especially to make some authoritative legal enactment against. Debar is said of persons, disallow of acts; one is debarred from anything when shut off, as by some irresistible authority or necessity; one is prohibited from an act in express terms; he may be debarred by silent necessity. An act is disallowed by the authority that might have allowed it; the word is especially applied to acts which are done before they are pronounced upon; thus, a government may disallow the act of its commander in the field or its admiral on the high seas. Inhibit and interdict are chiefly known by their ecclesiastical use. As between forbid and prohibit, forbid is less formal and more personal, prohibit more official and judicial, with the implication of readiness to use such force as may be needed to give effect to the enactment; a parent forbids a child to take part in some game or to associate with certain companions; the slave-trade is now prohibited by the leading nations of the world. Many things are prohibited by law which can not be wholly prevented, as gambling and prostitution; on the other hand, things may be prevented which are not prohibited, as the services of religion, the payment of debts, or military conquest. That which is precluded need not be prohibited. Compare ABOLISH; HINDER; PREVENT.

Antonyms:

allow, empower, let, require,

authorize, enjoin, license, sanction,

command, give consent, order, suffer,

consent to, give leave, permit, tolerate,

direct, give permission, put up with, warrant.

Prepositions:

An act is prohibited by law; a person is prohibited by law from doing a certain act. Prohibit was formerly construed, as forbid still is, with the infinitive, but the construction with from and the verbal noun has now entirely superseded the older usage.

Promote.

Synonyms:

advance, encourage, forward, prefer, raise,

aid, exalt, foster, push, urge forward,

assist, excite, further, push on, urge on.

elevate, foment, help,

To promote (L. pro, forward, and moveo, move) is to cause to move forward toward some desired end or to raise to some higher position, rank, or dignity. We promote a person by advancing, elevating, or exalting him to a higher position or dignity. A person promotes a scheme or an enterprise which others have projected or begun, and which he encourages, forwards, furthers, pushes, or urges on, especially when he acts as the agent of the prime movers and supporters of the enterprise. One who excites a quarrel originates it; to promote a quarrel is strictly to foment and urge it on, the one who promotes keeping himself in the background. Compare ABET; QUICKEN.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for ABASE; ALLAY.

Propitiation.

Synonyms:

atonement, expiation, reconciliation, satisfaction.

Atonement (at-one-ment), originally denoting reconciliation, or the bringing into agreement of those who have been estranged, is now chiefly used, as in theology, in the sense of some offering, sacrifice, or suffering sufficient to win forgiveness or make up for an offense; especially and distinctively of the sacrificial work of Christ in his humiliation, suffering and death. Expiation is the enduring of the full penalty of a wrong or crime. Propitiation is an offering, action, or sacrifice that makes the governing power propitious toward the offender. Satisfaction in this connection denotes the rendering a full legal equivalent for the wrong done. Propitiation appeases the lawgiver; satisfaction meets the requirements of the law.

Antonyms:

alienation, curse, penalty, reprobation, vengeance,

chastisement, estrangement, punishment, retribution, wrath.

condemnation, offense,

Propitious.

Synonyms:

auspicious, benignant, favorable, gracious, kindly,

benign, clement, friendly, kind, merciful.

That which is auspicious is of favorable omen; that which is propitious is of favoring influence or tendency; as, an auspicious morning; a propitious breeze. Propitious applies to persons, implying kind disposition and favorable inclinations, especially toward the suppliant; auspicious is not used of persons.

Antonyms:

adverse, forbidding, ill-disposed, repellent, unfriendly,

antagonistic, hostile, inauspicious, unfavorable, unpropitious.

Preposition:

May heaven be propitious to the enterprise.

Proposal.

Synonyms:

bid, offer, overture, proposition.

An offer or proposal puts something before one for acceptance or rejection, proposal being the more formal word; a proposition sets forth truth (or what is claimed to be truth) in formal statement. The proposition is for consideration, the proposal for action; as, a proposition in geometry, a proposal of marriage; but proposition is often used nearly in the sense of proposal when it concerns a matter for deliberation; as, a proposition for the surrender of a fort. A bid is commercial and often verbal; as, a bid at an auction; proposal is used in nearly the same sense, but is more formal. An overture opens negotiation or conference, and the word is especially used of some movement toward reconciliation; as, overtures of peace.

Antonyms:

acceptance, denial, disapproval, refusal, rejection, repulse.

Propose.

Synonym:

purpose.

In its most frequent use, propose differs from purpose in that what we purpose lies in our own mind, as a decisive act of will, a determination; what we propose is offered or stated to others. In this use of the word, what we propose is open to deliberation, as what we purpose is not. In another use of the word, one proposes something to or by himself which may or may not be stated to others. In this latter sense propose is nearly identical with purpose, and the two words have often been used interchangeably. But in the majority of cases what we purpose is more general, what we propose more formal and definite; I purpose to do right; I propose to do this specific thing because it is right. In the historic sentence, "I propose to move immediately on your works," purpose would not have the same sharp directness.

Protract.

Synonyms:

continue, delay, elongate, lengthen, procrastinate,

defer, draw out, extend, postpone, prolong.

To protract is to cause to occupy a longer time than is usual, expected, or desirable. We defer a negotiation which we are slow to enter upon; we protract a negotiation which we are slow to conclude; delay may be used of any stage in the proceedings; we may delay a person as well as an action, but defer and protract are not used of persons. Elongate is not used of actions or abstractions, but only of material objects or extension in space; protract is very rarely used of concrete objects or extension in space; we elongate a line, protract a discussion. Protract has usually an unfavorable sense, implying that the matter referred to is already unduly long, or would be so if longer continued; continue is neutral, applying equally to the desirable or the undesirable. Postpone implies a definite intention to resume, as defer also does, though less decidedly; both are often used with some definite limitation of time; as, to postpone till, until, or to a certain day or hour. One may defer, delay, or postpone a matter intelligently and for good reason; he procrastinates through indolence and irresolution. Compare HINDER.

Antonyms:

abbreviate, conclude, curtail, hurry, reduce,

abridge, contract, hasten, limit, shorten.

Prepositions:

To protract a speech by verbosity, through an unreasonable time, to, till, or until a late hour.

Proverb.

Synonyms:

adage, axiom, maxim, saw,

aphorism, byword, motto, saying,

apothegm, dictum, precept, truism.

The proverb or adage gives homely truth in condensed, practical form, the adage often pictorial. "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick" is a proverb; "The cat loves fish, but dares not wet her feet," is an adage. Both the proverb and the adage, but especially the latter, are thought of as ancient and widely known. An aphorism partakes of the character of a definition; it is a summary statement of what the author sees and believes to be true. An apothegm is a terse statement of what is plain or easily proved. The aphorism is philosophical, the apothegm practical. A dictum is a statement of some person or school, on whom it depends for authority; as, a dictum of Aristotle. A saying is impersonal, current among the common people, deriving its authority from its manifest truth or good sense; as, it is an old saying, "the more haste, the worse speed." A saw is a saying that is old, but somewhat worn and tiresome. Precept is a command to duty; motto or maxim is a brief statement of cherished truth, the maxim being more uniformly and directly practical; "God is love" may be a motto, "Fear God and fear naught," a maxim. The precepts of the Sermon on the Mount will furnish the Christian with invaluable maxims or mottoes. A byword is a phrase or saying used reproachfully or contemptuously.

Prowess.

Synonyms:

bravery, gallantry, intrepidity,

courage, heroism, valor.

Bravery, courage, heroism, and intrepidity may be silent, spiritual, or passive; they may be exhibited by a martyr at the stake. Prowess and valor imply both daring and doing; we do not speak of the prowess of a martyr, a child, or a passive sufferer. Valor meets odds or perils with courageous action, doing its utmost to conquer at any risk or cost; prowess has power adapted to the need; dauntless valor is often vain against superior prowess. Courage is a nobler word than bravery, involving more of the deep, spiritual, and enduring elements of character; such an appreciation of peril as would extinguish bravery may only intensify courage, which is resistant and self-conquering; courage applies to matters in regard to which valor and prowess can have no place, as submission to a surgical operation, or the facing of censure or detraction for conscience' sake. Compare BRAVE; FORTITUDE.

Antonyms:

cowardice, cowardliness, effeminacy, fear, pusillanimity, timidity.

Prudence.

Synonyms:

care, discretion, judgment,

carefulness, forecast, judiciousness,

caution, foresight, providence,

circumspection, forethought, wisdom.

consideration, frugality,

Prudence may be briefly defined as good judgment and foresight, inclining to caution and frugality in practical affairs. Care may respect only the present; prudence and providence look far ahead and sacrifice the present to the future, prudence watching, saving, guarding, providence planning, doing, preparing, and perhaps expending largely to meet the future demand. Frugality is in many cases one form of prudence. In a besieged city prudence will reduce the rations, providence will strain every nerve to introduce supplies and to raise the siege. Foresight merely sees the future, and may even lead to the recklessness and desperation to which prudence and providence are so strongly opposed. Forethought is thinking in accordance with wise views of the future, and is nearly equivalent to providence, but it is a more popular and less comprehensive term; we speak of man's forethought, God's providence. Compare CARE; FRUGALITY; WISDOM.

Antonyms:

folly, improvidence, indiscretion, rashness, thoughtlessness,

heedlessness, imprudence, prodigality, recklessness, wastefulness.

Purchase.

Synonyms:

acquire, barter for, get, procure, secure.

bargain for, buy, obtain,

Buy and purchase are close synonyms, signifying to obtain or secure as one's own by paying or promising to pay a price; in numerous cases the two words are freely interchangeable, but with the difference usually found between words of Saxon and those of French or Latin origin. The Saxon buy is used for all the homely and petty concerns of common life, the French purchase is often restricted to transactions of more dignity; yet the Saxon word buy is commonly more emphatic, and in the higher ranges of thought appeals more strongly to the feelings. One may either buy or purchase fame, favor, honor, pleasure, etc., but when our feelings are stirred we speak of victory or freedom as dearly bought. "Buy the truth, and sell it not" (Prov. xxiii, 23) would be greatly weakened by the rendering "Purchase the truth, and do not dispose of it." Compare BUSINESS; GET; PRICE; SALE.

Antonyms:

barter, dispose of, exchange, put to sale, sell.

Prepositions:

Purchase at a price; at a public sale; of or from a person; for cash; with money; on time.

Pure.

Synonyms:

absolute, guiltless, simple, unmixed,

chaste, holy, spotless, unpolluted,

classic, immaculate, stainless, unspotted,

classical, incorrupt, true, unstained,

clean, innocent, unadulterated, unsullied,

clear, mere, unblemished, untainted,

continent, perfect, uncorrupted, untarnished,

genuine, real, undefiled, upright,

guileless, sheer, unmingled, virtuous.

That is pure which is free from mixture or contact with anything that weakens, impairs, or pollutes. Material substances are called pure in the strict sense when free from foreign admixture of any kind; as, pure oxygen; the word is often used to signify free from any defiling or objectionable admixture (the original sense); we speak of water as pure when it is bright, clear, and refreshing, tho it may contain mineral salts in solution; in the medical and chemical sense, only distilled water (aqua pura) is pure. In moral and religious use pure is a strong word, denoting positive excellence of a high order; one is innocent who knows nothing of evil, and has experienced no touch of temptation; one is pure who, with knowledge of evil and exposure to temptation, keeps heart and soul unstained. Virtuous refers primarily to right action; pure to right feeling and motives; as, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God," Matt. v, 8. Compare FINE; INNOCENT.

Antonyms:

adulterated, foul, indecent, obscene, tainted,

defiled, gross, indelicate, polluted, tarnished,

dirty, immodest, lewd, stained, unchaste,

filthy, impure, mixed, sullied, unclean.

PUT.

Synonyms:

deposit, lay, place, set.

Put is the most general term for bringing an object to some point or within some space, however exactly or loosely; we may put a horse in a pasture, or put a bullet in a rifle or into an enemy. Place denotes more careful movement and more exact location; as, to place a crown on one's head, or a garrison in a city. To lay is to place in a horizontal position; to set is to place in an upright position; we lay a cloth, and set a dish upon a table. To deposit is to put in a place of security for future use; as, to deposit money in a bank; the original sense, to lay down or let down (quietly), is also common; as, the stream deposits sediment.

Queer.

Synonyms:

anomalous, erratic, odd, strange,

bizarre, extraordinary, peculiar, uncommon,

comical, fantastic, preposterous, unique,

crotchety, funny, quaint, unmatched,

curious, grotesque, ridiculous, unusual,

droll, laughable, singular, whimsical.

eccentric, ludicrous,

Odd is unmated, as an odd shoe, and so uneven, as an odd number. Singular is alone of its kind; as, the singular number. What is singular is odd, but what is odd may not be singular; as, a drawerful of odd gloves. A strange thing is something hitherto unknown in fact or in cause. A singular coincidence is one the happening of which is unusual; a strange coincidence is one the cause of which is hard to explain. That which is peculiar belongs especially to a person as his own; as, Israel was called Jehovah's "peculiar people," i. e., especially chosen and cherished by him; in its ordinary use there is the implication that the thing peculiar to one is not common to the majority nor quite approved by them, though it may be shared by many; as, the Shakers are peculiar. Eccentric is off or aside from the center, and so off or aside from the ordinary and what is considered the normal course; as, genius is commonly eccentric. Eccentric is a higher and more respectful word than odd or queer. Erratic signifies wandering, a stronger and more censorious term than eccentric. Queer is transverse or oblique, aside from the common in a way that is comical or perhaps slightly ridiculous. Quaint denotes that which is pleasingly odd and fanciful, often with something of the antique; as, the quaint architecture of medieval towns. That which is funny is calculated to provoke laughter; that which is droll is more quietly amusing. That which is grotesque in the material sense is irregular or misshapen in form or outline or ill-proportioned so as to be somewhat ridiculous; the French bizarre is practically equivalent to grotesque.

Antonyms:

common, familiar, normal, regular,

customary, natural, ordinary, usual.

Quicken.

Synonyms:

accelerate, drive on, hasten, promote,

advance, expedite, hurry, speed,

despatch, facilitate, make haste, urge,

drive, further, press forward, urge on.

To quicken, in the sense here considered, is to increase speed, move or cause to move more rapidly, as through more space or with, a greater number of motions in the same time. To accelerate is to increase the speed of action or of motion. A motion whose speed increases upon itself is said to be accelerated, as the motion of a falling body, which becomes swifter with every second of time. To accelerate any work is to hasten it toward a finish, commonly by quickening all its operations in orderly unity toward the result. To despatch is to do and be done with, to get a thing off one's hands. To despatch an enemy is to kill him outright and quickly; to despatch a messenger is to send him in haste; to despatch a business is to bring it quickly to an end. Despatch is commonly used of single items. To promote a cause is in any way to bring it forward, advance it in power, prominence, etc. To speed is really to secure swiftness; to hasten is to attempt it, whether successfully or unsuccessfully. Hurry always indicates something of confusion. The hurried man forgets dignity, appearance, comfort, courtesy, everything but speed; he may forget something vital to the matter in hand; yet, because reckless haste may attain the great object of speed, hurry has come to be the colloquial and popular word for acting quickly. To facilitate is to quicken by making easy; to expedite is to quicken by removing hindrances. A good general will improve roads to facilitate the movements of troops, hasten supplies and perfect discipline to promote the general efficiency of the force, despatch details of business, expedite all preparations, in order to accelerate the advance and victory of his army.

Antonyms:

check, clog, delay, drag, hinder, impede, obstruct, retard.

Quote.

Synonyms:

cite, extract, plagiarize, repeat.

excerpt, paraphrase, recite,

To quote is to give an author's words, either exactly, as in direct quotation, or in substance, as in indirect quotation; to cite is, etymologically, to call up a passage, as a witness is summoned. In citing a passage its exact location by chapter, page, or otherwise, must be given, so that it can be promptly called into evidence; in quoting, the location may or may not be given, but the words or substance of the passage must be given. In citing, neither the author's words nor his thought may be given, but simply the reference to the location where they may be found. To quote, in the proper sense, is to give credit to the author whose words are employed. To paraphrase is to state an author's thought more freely than in indirect quotation, keeping the substance of thought and the order of statement, but changing the language, and commonly interweaving more or less explanatory matter as if part of the original writing. One may paraphrase a work with worthy motive for homiletic, devotional, or other purposes (as in the metrical versions of the Psalms), or he may plagiarize atrociously in the form of paraphrase, appropriating all that is valuable in another's thought, with the hope of escaping detection by change of phrase. To plagiarize is to quote without credit, appropriating another's words or thought as one's own. To recite or repeat is usually to quote orally, tho recite is applied in legal phrase to a particular statement of facts which is not a quotation; a kindred use obtains in ordinary speech; as, to recite one's misfortunes.

Racy.

Synonyms:

flavorous, lively, pungent, spicy,

forcible, piquant, rich, spirited.

Racy applies in the first instance to the pleasing flavor characteristic of certain wines, often attributed to the soil from which they come. Pungent denotes something sharply irritating to the organs of taste or smell, as pepper, vinegar, ammonia; piquant denotes a quality similar in kind to pungent but less in degree, stimulating and agreeable; pungent spices may be deftly compounded into a piquant sauce. As applied to literary products, racy refers to that which has a striking, vigorous, pleasing originality; spicy to that which is stimulating to the mental taste, as spice is to the physical; piquant and pungent in their figurative use keep very close to their literal sense.

Antonyms:

cold, flat, insipid, stale, tasteless,

dull, flavorless, prosy, stupid, vapid.

Radical.

Synonyms:

complete, ingrained, perfect,

constitutional, innate, positive,

entire, native, primitive,

essential, natural, thorough,

extreme, organic, thoroughgoing,

fundamental, original, total.

The widely divergent senses in which the word radical is used, by which it can be at some time interchanged with any word in the above list, are all formed upon the one primary sense of having to do with or proceeding from the root (L. radix); a radical difference is one that springs from the root, and is thus constitutional, essential, fundamental, organic, original; a radical change is one that does not stop at the surface, but reaches down to the very root, and is entire, thorough, total; since the majority find superficial treatment of any matter the easiest and most comfortable, radical measures, which strike at the root of evil or need, are apt to be looked upon as extreme.

Antonyms:

conservative, incomplete, palliative, slight, tentative,

inadequate, moderate, partial, superficial, trial.

Rare.

Synonyms:

curious, odd, scarce, unique,

extraordinary, peculiar, singular, unparalleled,

incomparable, precious, strange, unprecedented,

infrequent, remarkable, uncommon, unusual.

Unique is alone of its kind; rare is infrequent of its kind; great poems are rare; "Paradise Lost" is unique. To say of a thing that it is rare is simply to affirm that it is now seldom found, whether previously common or not; as, a rare old book; a rare word; to call a thing scarce implies that it was at some time more plenty, as when we say food or money is scarce. A particular fruit or coin may be rare; scarce applies to demand and use, and almost always to concrete things; to speak of virtue, genius, or heroism as scarce would be somewhat ludicrous. Rare has the added sense of precious, which is sometimes, but not necessarily, blended with that above given; as, a rare gem. Extraordinary, signifying greatly beyond the ordinary, is a neutral word, capable of a high and good sense or of an invidious, opprobrious, or contemptuous signification; as, extraordinary genius; extraordinary wickedness; an extraordinary assumption of power; extraordinary antics; an extraordinary statement is incredible without overwhelming proof.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for GENERAL; NORMAL; USUAL.

Reach.

Synonyms:

arrive, attain, come to, enter, gain, get to, land.

To reach, in the sense here considered, is to come to by motion or progress. Attain is now oftenest used of abstract relations; as, to attain success. When applied to concrete matters, it commonly signifies the overcoming of hindrance and difficulty; as, the storm-beaten ship at length attained the harbor. Come is the general word for moving to or toward the place where the speaker or writer is or supposes himself to be. To reach is to come to from a distance that is actually or relatively considerable; to stretch the journey, so to speak, across the distance, as, in its original meaning, one reaches an object by stretching out the hand. To gain is to reach or attain something eagerly sought; the wearied swimmer reaches or gains the shore. One comes in from his garden; he reaches home from a journey. To arrive is to come to a destination, to reach a point intended or proposed. The European steamer arrives in port, or reaches the harbor; the dismantled wreck drifts ashore, or comes to land. Compare ATTAIN.

Antonyms:

depart, embark, go, go away, leave, set out, set sail, start, weigh anchor.

Real.

Synonyms:

actual, demonstrable, genuine, true,

authentic, developed, positive, unquestionable,

certain, essential, substantial, veritable.

Real (L. res, a thing) signifies having existence, not merely in thought, but in fact, or being in fact according to appearance or claim; denoting the thing as distinguished from the name, or the existent as opposed to the non-existent. Actual has respect to a thing accomplished by doing, real to a thing as existing by whatever means or from whatever cause, positive to that which is fixed or established, developed to that which has reached completion by a natural process of unfolding. Actual is in opposition to the supposed, conceived, or reported, and furnishes the proof of its existence in itself; real is opposed to feigned or imaginary, and is capable of demonstration; positive, to the uncertain or doubtful; developed, to that which is undeveloped or incomplete. The developed is susceptible of proof; the positive precludes the necessity for proof. The present condition of a thing is its actual condition; ills are real that have a substantial reason; proofs are positive when they give the mind certainty; a plant is developed when it has reached its completed stage. Real estate is land, together with trees, water, minerals, or other natural accompaniments, and any permanent structures that man has built upon it. Compare AUTHENTIC.

Antonyms:

conceived, feigned, illusory, supposed, unreal,

fabulous, fictitious, imaginary, supposititious, untrue,

fanciful, hypothetical, reported, theoretical, visionary.

Reason, v.

Synonyms:

argue, debate, discuss, establish, question,

contend, demonstrate, dispute, prove, wrangle.

controvert,

To reason is to examine by means of the reason, to prove by reasoning, or to influence or seek to influence others by reasoning or reasons. Persons may contend either from mere ill will or self-interest, or from the highest motives; "That ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints," Jude 3. To argue (L. arguo, show) is to make a matter clear by reasoning; to discuss (L. dis, apart, and quatio, shake) is, etymologically, to shake it apart for examination and analysis. Demonstrate strictly applies to mathematical or exact reasoning; prove may be used in the same sense, but is often applied to reasoning upon matters of fact by what is called probable evidence, which can give only moral and not absolute or mathematical certainty. To demonstrate is to force the mind to a conclusion by irresistible reasoning; to prove is rather to establish a fact by evidence; as, to prove one innocent or guilty. That which has been either demonstrated or proved so as to secure general acceptance is said to be established. Reason is a neutral word, not, like argue, debate, discuss, etc., naturally or necessarily implying contest. We reason about a matter by bringing up all that reason can give us on any side. A dispute may be personal, fractious, and petty; a debate is formal and orderly; if otherwise, it becomes a mere wrangle.

Prepositions:

We reason with a person about a subject, for or against an opinion; we reason a person into or out of a course of action; or we may reason down an opponent or opposition; one reasons from a cause to an effect.

Reason, n.

Synonyms:

account, cause, end, motive, principle,

aim, consideration, ground, object, purpose.

argument, design,

While the cause of any event, act, or fact, as commonly understood, is the power that makes it to be, the reason of or for it is the explanation given by the human mind; but reason is, in popular language, often used as equivalent to cause, especially in the sense of final cause. In the statement of any reasoning, the argument may be an entire syllogism, or the premises considered together apart from the conclusion, or in logical strictness the middle term only by which the particular conclusion is connected with the general statement. But when the reasoning is not in strict logical form, the middle term following the conclusion is called the reason; thus in the statement "All tyrants deserve death; Cæsar was a tyrant; Therefore Cæsar deserved death," "Cæsar was a tyrant" would in the strictest sense be called the argument; but if we say "Cæsar deserved death because he was a tyrant," the latter clause would be termed the reason. Compare CAUSE; REASON, v.; MIND; REASONING.

Prepositions:

The reason of a thing that is to be explained; the reason for a thing that is to be done.

Reasoning.

Synonyms:

argument, argumentation, debate, ratiocination.

Argumentation and debate, in the ordinary use of the words, suppose two parties alleging reasons for and against a proposition; the same idea appears figuratively when we speak of a debate or an argument with oneself, or of a debate between reason and conscience. Reasoning may be the act of one alone, as it is simply the orderly setting forth of reasons, whether for the instruction of inquirers, the confuting of opponents, or the clear establishment of truth for oneself. Reasoning may be either deductive or inductive. Argument or argumentation was formerly used of deductive reasoning only. With the rise of the inductive philosophy these words have come to be applied to inductive processes also; but while reasoning may be informal or even (as far as tracing its processes is concerned) unconscious, argument and argumentation strictly imply logical form. Reasoning, as denoting a process, is a broader term than reason or argument; many arguments or reasons may be included in a single chain of reasoning.

Rebellious.

Synonyms:

contumacious, mutinous, uncontrollable,

disobedient, refractory, ungovernable,

insubordinate, seditious, unmanageable.

intractable,

Rebellious signifies being in a state of rebellion (see REBELLION under REVOLUTION), and is even extended to inanimate things that resist control or adaptation to human use. Ungovernable applies to that which successfully defies authority and power; unmanageable to that which resists the utmost exercise of skill or of skill and power combined; rebellious, to that which is defiant of authority, whether successfully or unsuccessfully; seditious, to that which partakes of or tends to excite a rebellious spirit, seditious suggesting more of covert plan, scheming, or conspiracy, rebellious more of overt act or open violence. While the unmanageable or ungovernable defies control, the rebellious or seditious may be forced to submission; as, the man has an ungovernable temper; the horses became unmanageable; he tamed his rebellious spirit. Insubordinate applies to the disposition to resist and resent control as such; mutinous, to open defiance of authority, especially in the army, navy, or merchant marine. A contumacious act or spirit is contemptuous as well as defiant. Compare OBSTINATE; REVOLUTION.

Antonyms:

compliant, docile, manageable, subservient,

controllable, dutiful, obedient, tractable,

deferential, gentle, submissive, yielding.

Prepositions:

Rebellious to or against lawful authority.

Record.

Synonyms:

account, enrolment, instrument, register,

archive, entry, inventory, roll,

catalogue, enumeration, memorandum, schedule,

chronicle, history, memorial, scroll.

document, inscription, muniment,

A memorial is any object, whether a writing, a monument, or other permanent thing that is designed or adapted to keep something in remembrance. Record is a word of wide signification, applying to any writing, mark, or trace that serves as a memorial giving enduring attestation of an event or fact; an extended account, chronicle, or history is a record; so, too, may be a brief inventory or memorandum; the inscription on a tombstone is a record of the dead; the striæ on a rock-surface are the record of a glacier's passage. A register is a formal or official written record, especially a series of entries made for preservation or reference; as, a register of births and deaths. Archives, in the sense here considered, are documents or records, often legal records, preserved in a public or official depository; the word archives is also applied to the place where such documents are regularly deposited and preserved. Muniments (L. munio, fortify) are records that enable one to defend his title. Compare HISTORY; STORY.

Recover.

Synonyms:

be cured or healed, heal, recuperate, restore,

be restored, reanimate, regain, resume,

cure, recruit, repossess, retrieve.

The transitive use of recover in the sense of cure, heal, etc., as in 2 Kings v, 6, "That thou mayest recover him of his leprosy," is now practically obsolete. The chief transitive use of recover is in the sense to obtain again after losing, regain, repossess, etc.; as, to recover stolen goods; to recover health. The intransitive sense, be cured, be restored, etc., is very common; as, to recover from sickness, terror, or misfortune.

Antonyms:

die, fail, grow worse, relapse, sink.

Prepositions:

From; rarely of; (Law) to recover judgment against, to recover damages of or from a person.

Refinement.

Synonyms:

civilization, cultivation, culture, elegance, politeness.

Civilization applies to nations, denoting the sum of those civil, social, economic, and political attainments by which a community is removed from barbarism; a people may be civilized while still far from refinement or culture, but civilization is susceptible of various degrees and of continued progress. Refinement applies either to nations or individuals, denoting the removal of what is coarse and rude, and a corresponding attainment of what is delicate, elegant, and beautiful. Cultivation, denoting primarily the process of cultivating the soil or growing crops, then the improved condition of either which is the result, is applied in similar sense to the human mind and character, but in this usage is now largely superseded by the term culture, which denotes a high development of the best qualities of man's mental and spiritual nature, with especial reference to the esthetic faculties and to graces of speech and manner, regarded as the expression of a refined nature. Culture in the fullest sense denotes that degree of refinement and development which results from continued cultivation through successive generations; a man's faculties may be brought to a high degree of cultivation in some specialty, while he himself remains uncultured even to the extent of coarseness and rudeness. Compare HUMANE; POLITE.

Antonyms:

barbarism, brutality, coarseness, rudeness, savagery,

boorishness, clownishness, grossness, rusticity, vulgarity.

Refute.

Synonyms:

confound, confute, disprove, overthrow, repel.

To refute and to confute are to answer so as to admit of no reply. To refute a statement is to demonstrate its falsity by argument or countervailing proof; confute is substantially the same in meaning, tho differing in usage. Refute applies either to arguments and opinions or to accusations; confute is not applied to accusations and charges, but to arguments or opinions. Refute is not now applied to persons, but confute is in good use in this application; a person is confuted when his arguments are refuted.

Reliable.

Synonyms:

trustworthy, trusty.

The word reliable has been sharply challenged, but seems to have established its place in the language. The objection to its use on the ground that the suffix -able can not properly be added to an intransitive verb is answered by the citation of such words as "available," "conversable," "laughable," and the like, while, in the matter of usage, reliable has the authority of Coleridge, Martineau, Mill, Irving, Newman, Gladstone, and others of the foremost of recent English writers. The objection to the application of reliable to persons is not sustained by the use of the verb "rely," which is applied to persons in the authorized version of the Scriptures, in the writings of Shakespeare and Bacon, and in the usage of good speakers and writers. Trusty and trustworthy refer to inherent qualities of a high order, trustworthy being especially applied to persons, and denoting moral integrity and truthfulness; we speak of a trusty sword, a trusty servant; we say the man is thoroughly trustworthy. Reliable is inferior in meaning, denoting merely the possession of such qualities as are needed for safe reliance; as, a reliable pledge; reliable information. A man is said to be reliable with reference not only to moral qualities, but to judgment, knowledge, skill, habit, or perhaps pecuniary ability; a thoroughly trustworthy person might not be reliable as a witness on account of unconscious sympathy, or as a security by reason of insufficient means. A reliable messenger is one who may be depended on to do his errand correctly and promptly; a trusty or trustworthy messenger is one who may be admitted to knowledge of the views and purposes of those who employ him, and who will be faithful beyond the mere letter of his commission. We can speak of a railroad-train as reliable when it can be depended on to arrive on time; but to speak of a reliable friend would be cold, and to speak of a warrior girding on his reliable sword would be ludicrous.

Religion.

Synonyms:

devotion, godliness, morality, piety, theology,

faith, holiness, pietism, righteousness, worship.

Piety is primarily filial duty, as of children to parents, and hence, in its highest sense, a loving obedience and service to God as the Heavenly Father; pietism often denotes a mystical, sometimes an affected piety; religion is the reverent acknowledgment both in heart and in act of a divine being. Religion, in the fullest and highest sense, includes all the other words of this group. Worship may be external and formal, or it may be the adoring reverence of the human spirit for the divine, seeking outward expression. Devotion, which in its fullest sense is self-consecration, is often used to denote an act of worship, especially prayer or adoration; as, he is engaged in his devotions. Morality is the system and practise of duty as required by the moral law, consisting chiefly in outward acts, and thus may be observed without spiritual rectitude of heart; morality is of necessity included in all true religion, which involves both outward act and spiritual service. Godliness (primarily godlikeness) is a character and spirit like that of God. Holiness is the highest, sinless perfection of any spirit, whether divine or human, tho often used for purity or for consecration. Theology is the science of religion, or the study and scientific statement of all that the human mind can know of God. Faith, strictly the belief and trust which the soul exercises toward God, is often used as a comprehensive word for a whole system of religion considered as the object of faith; as, the Christian faith; the Mohammedan faith.

Antonyms:

atheism, godlessness, irreligion, sacrilege, ungodliness,

blasphemy, impiety, profanity, unbelief, wickedness.

Reluctant.

Synonyms:

averse, disinclined, loath, slow,

backward, indisposed, opposed, unwilling.

Reluctant (L. re, back, and lucto, strive, struggle) signifies struggling against what one is urged or impelled to do, or is actually doing; averse (L. a, from, and verto, turn) signifies turned away as with dislike or repugnance; loath (AS. lath, evil, hateful) signifies having a repugnance, disgust, or loathing for, tho the adjective loath is not so strong as the verb loathe. A dunce is always averse to study; a good student is disinclined to it when a fine morning tempts him out; he is indisposed to it in some hour of weariness. A man may be slow or backward in entering upon that to which he is by no means averse. A man is loath to believe evil of his friend, reluctant to speak of it, absolutely unwilling to use it to his injury. A legislator may be opposed to a certain measure, while not averse to what it aims to accomplish. Compare ANTIPATHY.

Antonyms:

desirous, disposed, eager, favorable, inclined, willing.

Remark.

Synonyms:

annotation, comment, note, observation, utterance.

A remark is a saying or brief statement, oral or written, commonly made without much premeditation; a comment is an explanatory or critical remark, as upon some passage in a literary work or some act or speech in common life. A note is something to call attention, hence a brief written statement; in correspondence, a note is briefer than a letter. A note upon some passage in a book is briefer and less elaborate than a comment. Annotations are especially brief notes, commonly marginal, and closely following the text. Comments, observations, or remarks may be oral or written, comments being oftenest written, and remarks oftenest oral. An observation is properly the result of fixed attention and reflection; a remark may be the suggestion of the instant. Remarks are more informal than a speech.

Rend.

Synonyms:

break, cleave, mangle, rive, sever, sunder,

burst, lacerate, rip, rupture, slit, tear.

Rend and tear are applied to the separating of textile substances into parts by force violently applied (rend also to frangible substances), tear being the milder, rend the stronger word. Rive is a wood-workers' word for parting wood in the way of the grain without a clean cut. To lacerate is to tear roughly the flesh or animal tissue, as by the teeth of a wild beast; a lacerated wound is distinguished from a wound made by a clean cut or incision. Mangle is a stronger word than lacerate; lacerate is more superficial, mangle more complete. To burst or rupture is to tear or rend by force from within, burst denoting the greater violence; as, to burst a gun; to rupture a blood-vessel; a steam-boiler may be ruptured when its substance is made to divide by internal pressure without explosion. To rip, as usually applied to garments or other articles made by sewing or stitching, is to divide along the line of a seam by cutting or breaking the stitches; the other senses bear some resemblance or analogy to this; as, to rip open a wound. Compare BREAK.

Antonyms:

heal, join, mend, reunite, secure, sew, solder, stitch, unite, weld.

Renounce.

Synonyms:

abandon, disavow, disown, recant, repudiate,

abjure, discard, forswear, refuse, retract,

deny, disclaim, recall, reject, revoke.

Abjure, discard, forswear, recall, recant, renounce, retract, and revoke, like abandon, imply some previous connection. Renounce (L. re, back, and nuntio, bear a message) is to declare against and give up formally and definitively; as, to renounce the pomps and vanities of the world. Recant (L. re, back, and canto, sing) is to take back or deny formally and publicly, as a belief that one has held or professed. Retract (L. re, back, and traho, draw) is to take back something that one has said as not true or as what one is not ready to maintain; as, to retract a charge or accusation; one recants what was especially his own, he retracts what was directed against another. Repudiate (L. re, back, or away, and pudeo, feel shame) is primarily to renounce as shameful, hence to divorce, as a wife; thus in general to put away with emphatic and determined repulsion; as, to repudiate a debt. To deny is to affirm to be not true or not binding; as, to deny a statement or a relationship; or to refuse to grant as something requested; as, his mother could not deny him what he desired. To discard is to cast away as useless or worthless; thus, one discards a worn garment; a coquette discards a lover. Revoke (L. re, back, and voco, call), etymologically the exact equivalent of the English recall, is to take back something given or granted; as, to revoke a command, a will, or a grant; recall may be used in the exact sense of revoke, but is often applied to persons, as revoke is not; we recall a messenger and revoke the order with which he was charged. Abjure (L. ab, away, and juro, swear) is etymologically the exact equivalent of the Saxon forswear, signifying to put away formally and under oath, as an error, heresy, or evil practise, or a condemned and detested person. A man abjures his religion, recants his belief, abjures or renounces his allegiance, repudiates another's claim, renounces his own, retracts a false statement. A person may deny, disavow, disclaim, disown what has been truly or falsely imputed to him or supposed to be his. He may deny his signature, disavow the act of his agent, disown his child; he may repudiate a just claim or a base suggestion. A native of the United States can not abjure or renounce allegiance to the Queen of England, but will promptly deny or repudiate it. Compare ABANDON.

Antonyms:

acknowledge, assert, cherish, defend, maintain, proclaim, uphold,

advocate, avow, claim, hold, own, retain, vindicate.

Repentance.

Synonyms:

compunction, contriteness, regret, self-condemnation,

contrition, penitence, remorse, sorrow.

Regret is sorrow for any painful or annoying matter. One is moved with penitence for wrong-doing. To speak of regret for a fault of our own marks it as slighter than one regarding which we should express penitence. Repentance is sorrow for sin with self-condemnation, and complete turning from the sin. Penitence is transient, and may involve no change of character or conduct. There may be sorrow without repentance, as for consequences only, but not repentance without sorrow. Compunction is a momentary sting of conscience, in view either of a past or of a contemplated act. Contrition is a subduing sorrow for sin, as against the divine holiness and love. Remorse is, as its derivation indicates, a biting or gnawing back of guilt upon the heart, with no turning of heart from the sin, and no suggestion of divine forgiveness.

Antonyms:

approval, content, obduracy, self-complacency,

comfort, hardness, obstinacy, self-congratulation,

complacency, impenitence, self-approval, stubbornness.

Prepositions:

Repentance of or in heart, or from the heart; repentance for sins; before or toward God; unto life.

Report.

Synonyms:

account, narrative, rehearsal, rumor, story,

description, recital, relation, statement, tale.

narration, record,

Account carries the idea of a commercial summary. A statement is definite, confined to essentials and properly to matters within the personal knowledge of the one who states them; as, an ante-mortem statement. A narrative is a somewhat extended and embellished account of events in order of time, ordinarily with a view to please or entertain. A description gives especial scope to the pictorial element. A report (L. re, back, and porto, bring), as its etymology implies, is something brought back, as by one sent to obtain information, and may be concise and formal or highly descriptive and dramatic. Compare ALLEGORY; HISTORY; RECORD.

Reproof.

Synonyms:

admonition, chiding, disapproval, reprimand,

animadversion, comment, objurgation, reproach,

blame, condemnation, rebuke, reproval,

censure, criticism, reflection, upbraiding.

check, denunciation, reprehension,

Blame, censure, and disapproval may either be felt or uttered; comment, criticism, rebuke, reflection, reprehension, and reproof are always expressed. The same is true of admonition and animadversion. Comment and criticism may be favorable as well as censorious; they imply no superiority or authority on the part of him who utters them; nor do reflection or reprehension, which are simply turning the mind back upon what is disapproved. Reprehension is supposed to be calm and just, and with good intent; it is therefore a serious matter, however mild, and is capable of great force, as expressed in the phrase severe reprehension. Reflection is often from mere ill feeling, and is likely to be more personal and less impartial than reprehension; we often speak of unkind or unjust reflections. Rebuke, literally a stopping of the mouth, is administered to a forward or hasty person; reproof is administered to one intentionally or deliberately wrong; both words imply authority in the reprover, and direct expression of disapproval to the face of the person rebuked or reproved. Reprimand is official censure formally administered by a superior to one under his command. Animadversion is censure of a high, authoritative, and somewhat formal kind. Rebuke may be given at the outset, or in the midst of an action; animadversion, reflection, reprehension, reproof, always follow the act; admonition is anticipatory, and meant to be preventive. Check is allied to rebuke, and given before or during action; chiding is nearer to reproof, but with more of personal bitterness and less of authority. Compare CONDEMN; REPROVE.

Antonyms:

applause, approval, encomium, eulogy, panegyric, praise.

approbation, commendation,

Reprove.

Synonyms:

admonish, condemn, reprimand,

blame, expostulate with, reproach,

censure, find fault with, take to task,

chasten, rebuke, upbraid,

check, remonstrate with, warn.

chide, reprehend,

To censure is to pronounce an adverse judgment that may or may not be expressed to the person censured; to reprove is to censure authoritatively, openly, and directly to the face of the person reproved; to rebuke is to reprove with sharpness, and often with abruptness, usually in the midst of some action or course of action deemed censurable; to reprimand is to reprove officially; to blame is a familiar word signifying to pass censure upon, make answerable, as for a fault; blame and censure apply either to persons or acts; reprove and rebuke are applied chiefly, and reprimand exclusively to persons. To reproach is to censure openly and vehemently, and with intense personal feeling as of grief or anger; as, to reproach one for ingratitude; reproach knows no distinction of rank or character; a subject may reproach a king or a criminal judge. To expostulate or remonstrate with is to mingle reasoning and appeal with censure in the hope of winning one from his evil way, expostulate being the gentler, remonstrate the severer word. Admonish is the mildest of reproving words, and may even be used of giving a caution or warning where no wrong is implied, or of simply reminding of duty which might be forgotten. Censure, rebuke, and reprove apply to wrong that has been done; warn and admonish refer to anticipated error or fault. When one is admonished because of wrong already done, the view is still future, that he may not repeat or continue in the wrong. Compare CONDEMN; REPROOF.

Antonyms:

abet, approve, countenance, impel, instigate,

applaud, cheer, encourage, incite, urge on.

Requite.

Synonyms:

avenge, punish, remunerate, revenge,

compensate, quit, repay, reward,

pay, reciprocate, retaliate, satisfy,

pay off, recompense, return, settle with.

To repay or to retaliate, to punish or to reward, may be to make some return very inadequate to the benefit or injury received, or the right or wrong done; but to requite (according to its etymology) is to make so full and adequate a return as to quit oneself of all obligation of favor or hostility, of punishment or reward. Requite is often used in the more general sense of recompense or repay, but always with the suggestion, at least, of the original idea of full equivalent; when one speaks of requiting kindness with ingratitude, the expression gains force from the comparison of the actual with the proper and appropriate return. Compare PAY.

Antonyms:

absolve, excuse, forgive, overlook, pass over,

acquit, forget, neglect, pardon, slight.

Preposition:

To requite injury with injury is human, but not Christian.

Rest.

Synonyms:

calm, pause, quietness, slumber,

calmness, peace, quietude, stay,

cessation, peacefulness, recreation, stillness,

ease, quiescence, repose, stop,

intermission, quiet, sleep, tranquillity.

Ease denotes freedom from cause of disturbance, whether external or internal. Quiet denotes freedom from agitation, or especially from annoying sounds. Rest is a cessation of activity especially of wearying or painful activity. Recreation is some pleasing activity of certain organs or faculties that affords rest to other parts of our nature that have become weary. Repose is a laying down, primarily of the body, and figuratively a similar freedom from toil or strain of mind. Repose is more complete than rest; a pause is a momentary cessation of activity; a black-smith finds a temporary rest while the iron is heating, but he does not yield to repose; in a pause of battle a soldier rests on his arms; after the battle the victor reposes on his laurels. Sleep is the perfection of repose, the most complete rest; slumber is a light and ordinarily pleasant form of sleep. In the figurative sense, rest of mind, soul, conscience, is not mere cessation of activity, but a pleasing, tranquil relief from all painful and wearying activity; repose is even more deep, tranquil, and complete.

Antonyms:

agitation, disturbance, movement, stir, tumult,

commotion, excitement, restlessness, strain, unrest,

disquiet, motion, rush, toil, work.

Restive.

Synonyms:

balky, impatient, rebellious, restless,

fidgety, intractable, recalcitrant, skittish,

fractious, mulish, refractory, stubborn,

fretful, mutinous, resentful, unruly,

frisky, obstinate, restiff, vicious.

Balky, mulish, obstinate, and stubborn are synonyms of restive only in an infrequent if not obsolete use; the supposed sense of "tending to rest," "standing stubbornly still," is scarcely supported by any examples, and those cited to support that meaning often fail to do so. The disposition to offer active resistance to control by any means whatever is what is commonly indicated by restive in the best English speech and literature. Dryden speaks of "the pampered colt" as "restiff to the rein;" but the rein is not used to propel a horse forward, but to hold him in, and it is against this that he is "restiff." A horse may be made restless by flies or by martial music, but with no refractoriness; the restive animal impatiently resists or struggles to break from control, as by bolting, flinging his rider, or otherwise. With this the metaphorical use of the word agrees, which is always in the sense of such terms as impatient, intractable, rebellious, and the like; a people restive under despotism are not disposed to "rest" under it, but to resist it and fling it off.

Antonyms:

docile, manageable, passive, quiet, tractable,

gentle, obedient, peaceable, submissive, yielding.

Restrain.

Synonyms:

abridge, constrain, hold in, keep under,

bridle, curb, keep, repress,

check, hinder, keep back, restrict,

circumscribe, hold, keep down, suppress,

confine, hold back, keep in, withhold.

To restrain is to hold back from acting, proceeding, or advancing, either by physical or moral force. Constrain is positive; restrain is negative; one is constrained to an action; he is restrained from an action. Constrain refers almost exclusively to moral force, restrain frequently to physical force, as when we speak of putting one under restraint. To restrain an action is to hold it partially or wholly in check, so that it is under pressure even while it acts; to restrict an action is to fix a limit or boundary which it may not pass, but within which it is free. To repress, literally to press back, is to hold in check, and perhaps only temporarily, that which is still very active; it is a feebler word than restrain; to suppress is finally and effectually to put down; suppress is a much stronger word than restrain; as, to suppress a rebellion. Compare ARREST; BIND; KEEP.

Antonyms:

aid, arouse, encourage, free, incite, release,

animate, emancipate, excite, impel, let loose, set free.

Retirement.

Synonyms:

loneliness, privacy, seclusion, solitude.

In retirement one withdraws from association he has had with others; we speak of the retirement of a public man to private life, tho he may still be much in company. In seclusion one shuts himself away from the society of all except intimate friends or attendants; in solitude no other person is present. While seclusion is ordinarily voluntary, solitude may be enforced; we speak of the solitude rather than the seclusion of a prisoner. As "private" denotes what concerns ourselves individually, privacy denotes freedom from the presence or observation of those not concerned or whom we desire not to have concerned in our affairs; privacy is more commonly temporary than seclusion; we speak of a moment's privacy. There may be loneliness without solitude, as amid an unsympathizing crowd, and solitude without loneliness, as when one is glad to be alone.

Antonyms:

association, companionship, company, converse, fellowship, society.

Revelation.

Synonyms:

apocalypse, disclosure, manifestation.

Revelation (L. re, back, and velum, veil), literally an unveiling, is the act or process of making known what was before secret or hidden, or what may still be future. Apocalypse (Gr. apo, from, and kalypto, cover), literally an uncovering, comes into English as the name of the closing book of the Bible. The Apocalypse unveils the future, as if to the very gaze of the seer; the whole gospel is a disclosure of the mercy of God; the character of Christ is a manifestation of the divine holiness and love; all Scripture is a revelation of the divine will. Or we might say that nature is a manifestation of the divine character and will, of which Scripture is the fuller and more express revelation.

Antonyms:

cloud, concealment, mystery, shrouding,

cloudiness, hiding, obscuration, veiling.

Revenge.

Synonyms:

avenging, retaliation, retribution, vengeance.

requital,

Revenge is the act of making return for an injury done to oneself by doing injury to another person. Retaliation and revenge are personal and often bitter. Retaliation may be partial; revenge is meant to be complete, and may be excessive. Vengeance, which once meant an indignant vindication of justice, now signifies the most furious and unsparing revenge. Revenge emphasizes more the personal injury in return for which it is inflicted, vengeance the ill desert of those upon whom it is inflicted. A requital is strictly an even return, such as to quit one of obligation for what has been received, and even if poor or unworthy is given as complete and adequate. Avenging and retribution give a solemn sense of exact justice, avenging being more personal in its infliction, whether by God or man, and retribution the impersonal visitation of the doom of righteous law. Compare AVENGE; HATRED; REQUITE.

Antonyms:

compassion, forgiveness, mercy, pardon, pity, reconciliation.

excuse, grace,

Prepositions:

To take revenge upon the enemy, for the injury.

Revolution.

Synonyms:

anarchy, insurrection, revolt,

confusion, lawlessness, riot,

disintegration, mutiny, sedition,

disorder, rebellion, tumult.

insubordination,

The essential idea of revolution is a change in the form of government or constitution, or a change of rulers, otherwise than as provided by the laws of succession, election, etc.; while such change is apt to involve armed hostilities, these make no necessary part of the revolution. The revolution by which Dom Pedro was dethroned, and Brazil changed from an empire to a republic, was accomplished without a battle, and almost without a shot. Anarchy refers to the condition of a state when human government is superseded or destroyed by factions or other causes. Lawlessness is a temper of mind or condition of the community which may result in anarchy. Confusion, disorder, riot, and tumult are incidental and temporary outbreaks of lawlessness, but may not be anarchy. Insubordination is individual disobedience. Sedition is the plotting, rebellion the fighting, against the existing government, but always with the purpose of establishing some other government in its place. When rebellion is successful it is called revolution; but there may be revolution without rebellion; as, the English Revolution of 1688. A revolt is an uprising against existing authority without the comprehensive views of change in the form or administration of government that are involved in revolution. Anarchy, when more than temporary disorder, is a proposed disintegration of society, in which it is imagined that social order might exist without government. Slaves make insurrection; soldiers or sailors break out in mutiny; subject provinces rise in revolt. Compare SOCIALISM.

Antonyms:

authority, domination, government, obedience, sovereignty,

command, dominion, law, order, submission,

control, empire, loyalty, rule, supremacy.

Revolve.

Synonyms:

roll, rotate, turn.

Any round body rolls which continuously touches with successive portions of its surface successive portions of another surface; a wagon-wheel rolls along the ground. To rotate is said of a body that has a circular motion about its own center or axis; to revolve is said of a body that moves in a curving path, as a circle or an ellipse, about a center outside of itself, so as to return periodically to the same relative position that it held at some previous time. A revolving body may also either rotate or roll at the same time; the earth revolves around the sun, and rotates on its own axis; in popular usage, the earth is often said to revolve about its own axis, or to have a daily "revolution," but rotate and "rotation" are the more accurate terms. A cylinder over which an endless belt is drawn is said to roll as regards the belt, tho it rotates as regards its own axis. Any object that is in contact with or connected with a rolling body is often said to roll; as, the car rolls smoothly along the track. Objects whose motion approximates or suggests a rotary motion along a supporting surface are also said to roll; as, ocean waves roll in upon the shore, or the ship rolls in the trough of the sea. Turn is a conversational and popular word often used vaguely for rotate or revolve, or for any motion about a fixed point, especially for a motion less than a complete "rotation" or "revolution;" a man turns his head or turns on his heel; the gate turns on its hinges.

Antonyms:

bind, chafe, grind, slide, slip, stand, stick.

Riddle, n.

Synonyms:

conundrum, enigma, paradox, problem, puzzle.

Conundrum, a word of unknown origin, signifies some question or statement in which some hidden and fanciful resemblance is involved, the answer often depending upon a pun; an enigma is a dark saying; a paradox is a true statement that at first appears absurd or contradictory; a problem is something thrown out for solution; puzzle (from oppose) referred originally to the intricate arguments by which disputants opposed each other in the old philosophic schools. The riddle is an ambiguous or paradoxical statement with a hidden meaning to be guessed by the mental acuteness of the one to whom it is proposed; the riddle is not so petty as the conundrum, and may require much acuteness for its answer; a problem may require simply study and scholarship, as a problem in mathematics; a puzzle may be in something other than verbal statement, as a dissected map or any perplexing mechanical contrivance. Both enigma and puzzle may be applied to any matter difficult of answer or solution, enigma conveying an idea of greater dignity, puzzle applying to something more commonplace and mechanical; there are many dark enigmas in human life and in the course of providence; the location of a missing object is often a puzzle.

Antonyms:

answer, axiom, explanation, proposition, solution.

Right, n.

Synonyms:

claim, franchise, liberty, prerogative,

exemption, immunity, license, privilege.

A right is that which one may properly demand upon considerations of justice, morality, equity, or of natural or positive law. A right may be either general or special, natural or artificial. "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" are the natural and inalienable rights of all men; rights of property, inheritance, etc., are individual and special, and often artificial, as the right of inheritance by primogeniture. A privilege is always special, exceptional, and artificial; it is something not enjoyed by all, or only to be enjoyed on certain special conditions, a peculiar benefit, favor, advantage, etc. A privilege may be of doing or avoiding; in the latter case it is an exemption or immunity; as, a privilege of hunting or fishing; exemption from military service; immunity from arrest. A franchise is a specific right or privilege granted by the government or established as such by governmental authority; as, the elective franchise; a railroad franchise. A prerogative is an official right or privilege, especially one inherent in the royal or sovereign power; in a wider sense it is an exclusive and peculiar privilege which one possesses by reason of being what he is; as, reason is the prerogative of man; kings and nobles have often claimed prerogatives and privileges opposed to the inherent rights of the people. Compare DUTY; JUSTICE.

Rise.

Synonyms:

arise, ascend, emanate, flow, issue, proceed, spring.

To rise is to move up or upward whether slowly or quickly, whether through the least or greatest distance; the waves rise; the mists rise; the river rises after heavy rains; as said of persons, to rise is to come to an erect position after kneeling, sitting, reclining, or lying down; as, to rise from a sick-bed; my friend rose as I entered; the guests rose to depart; so a deliberative assembly or a committee is said to rise when it breaks up a session; a sun or star rises when to our apprehension it comes above the horizon and begins to go up the sky. To ascend is to go far upward, and is often used in a stately sense; as, Christ ascended to heaven. The shorter form rise is now generally preferred to the longer form arise, except in poetic or elevated style. The sun rises or arises; the river springs at a bound from the foot of the glacier and flows through the lands to the ocean. Smoke issues from a chimney and ascends toward the sky. Light and heat emanate from the sun.

Antonyms:

decline, descend, drop, fall, go down, set, settle, sink.

Prepositions:

Rise from slumber; rise to duty; rise at the summons; we rose with the lark.

Robber.

Synonyms:

bandit, depredator, freebooter, pirate,

brigand, despoiler, highwayman, plunderer,

buccaneer, footpad, marauder, raider,

burglar, forager, pillager, thief.

A robber seeks to obtain the property of others by force or intimidation; a thief by stealth and secrecy. In early English thief was freely used in both senses, as in Shakespeare and the Authorized Version of the English Bible, which has "two thieves" (Matt. xxvii, 38), where the Revised Version more correctly substitutes "two robbers."

Royal.

Synonyms:

august, kingly, majestic, princely,

kinglike, magnificent, munificent, regal.

Royal denotes that which actually belongs or pertains to a monarch; the royal residence is that which the king occupies, royal raiment that which the king wears. Regal denotes that which in outward state is appropriate for a king; a subject may assume regal magnificence in residence, dress, and equipage. Kingly denotes that which is worthy of a king in personal qualities, especially of character and conduct; as, a kingly bearing; a kingly resolve. Princely is especially used of treasure, expenditure, gifts, etc., as princely munificence, a princely fortune, where regal could not so well be used and royal would change the sense. The distinctions between these words are not absolute, but the tendency of the best usage is as here suggested.

Antonyms:

beggarly, contemptible, mean, poor, servile, slavish, vile.

Rustic.

Synonyms:

agricultural, coarse, pastoral, uncouth,

artless, countrified, plain, unpolished,

awkward, country, rude, unsophisticated,

boorish, hoidenish, rural, untaught,

bucolic, inelegant, sylvan, verdant.

clownish, outlandish,

Rural and rustic are alike derived from the Latin rus, country, and may be alike defined as pertaining to, characteristic of, or dwelling in the country; but in usage rural refers especially to scenes or objects in the country, considered as the work of nature; rustic refers to their effect upon man or to their condition as affected by human agency; as, a rural scene; a rustic party; a rustic lass. We speak, however, of the rural population, rural simplicity, etc. Rural has always a favorable sense; rustic frequently an unfavorable one, as denoting a lack of culture and refinement; thus, rustic politeness expresses that which is well-meant, but awkward; similar ideas are suggested by a rustic feast, rustic garb, etc. Rustic is, however, often used of a studied simplicity, an artistic rudeness, which is pleasing and perhaps beautiful; as, a rustic cottage; a rustic chair. Pastoral refers to the care of flocks, and to the shepherd's life with the pleasing associations suggested by the old poetic ideal of that life; as, pastoral poetry. Bucolic is kindred to pastoral, but is a less elevated term, and sometimes slightly contemptuous.

Antonyms:

accomplished, cultured, polished, refined, urbane,

city-like, elegant, polite, urban, well-bred.

Sacrament.

Synonyms:

ceremony, eucharist, observance, rite, solemnity.

communion, Lord's Supper, ordinance, service,

Any religious act, especially a public act, viewed as a means of serving God is called a service; the word commonly includes the entire series of exercises of a single occasion of public worship. A religious service ordained as an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace is called a sacrament. Ceremony is a form expressing reverence, or at least respect; we may speak of religious ceremonies, the ceremonies of polite society, the ceremonies of a coronation, an inauguration, etc. An observance has more than a formal obligation, reaching or approaching a religious sacredness; a stated religious observance, viewed as established by authority, is called an ordinance; viewed as an established custom, it is a rite. The terms sacrament and ordinance, in the religious sense, are often used interchangeably; the ordinance derives its sacredness from the authority that ordained it, while the sacrament possesses a sacredness due to something in itself, even when viewed simply as a representation or memorial. The Lord's Supper is the Scriptural name for the observance commemorating the death of Christ; the word communion is once applied to it (1 Cor. x, 16), but not as a distinctive name; at an early period, however, the name communion was so applied, as denoting the communing of Christians with their Lord, or with one another. The term eucharist describes the Lord's Supper as a thanksgiving service; it is also called by preeminence the sacrament, as the ratifying of a solemn vow of consecration to Christ.

Sagacious.

Synonyms:

able, intelligent, perspicacious, sensible,

acute, keen, quick of scent, sharp,

apt, keen-sighted, quick-scented, sharp-witted,

clear-sighted, keen-witted, rational, shrewd,

discerning, judicious, sage, wise.

Sagacious refers to a power of tracing the hidden or recondite by slight indications, as by instinct or intuition; it is not now applied to mere keenness of sense-perception. We do not call a hound sagacious in following a clear trail; but if he loses the scent, as at the edge of a stream, and circles around till he strikes it again, his conduct is said to be sagacious. In human affairs sagacious refers to a power of ready, far-reaching, and accurate inference from observed facts perhaps in themselves very slight, that seems like a special sense; or to a similar readiness to foresee the results of any action, especially upon human motives or conduct—a kind of prophetic common sense. Sagacious is a broader and nobler word than shrewd, and not capable of the invidious sense which the latter word often bears; on the other hand, sagacious is less lofty and comprehensive than wise in its full sense, and more limited to matters of direct practical moment. Compare ASTUTE; WISDOM.

Antonyms:

absurd, foolish, ignorant, obtuse, silly, sottish, undiscerning,

dull, futile, irrational, senseless, simple, stupid, unintelligent.

Sale.

Synonyms:

bargain, barter, change, deal, exchange, trade.

A bargain is strictly an agreement or contract to buy and sell, tho the word is often used to denote the entire transaction and also as a designation for the thing sold or purchased. Change and exchange are words of wider signification, applying only incidentally to the transfer of property or value; a change secures something different in any way or by any means; an exchange secures something as an equivalent or return, tho not necessarily as payment for what is given. Barter is the exchange of one commodity for another, the word being used generally with reference to portable commodities. Trade in the broad sense may apply to vast businesses (as the book-trade), but as denoting a single transaction is used chiefly in regard to things of moderate value, when it becomes nearly synonymous with barter. Sale is commonly, and with increasing strictness, limited to the transfer of property for money, or for something estimated at a money value or considered as equivalent to so much money in hand or to be paid. A deal in the political sense is a bargain, substitution, or transfer for the benefit of certain persons or parties against all others; as, the nomination was the result of a deal; in business it may have a similar meaning, but it frequently signifies simply a sale or exchange, a dealing; as, a heavy deal in stocks.

Sample.

Synonyms:

case, exemplification, instance,

example, illustration, specimen.

A sample is a portion taken at random out of a quantity supposed to be homogeneous, so that the qualities found in the sample may reasonably be expected to be found in the whole; as, a sample of sugar; a sample of cloth. A specimen is one unit of a series, or a fragment of a mass, all of which is supposed to possess the same essential qualities; as, a specimen of coinage, or of architecture, or a specimen of quartz. No other unit or portion may be exactly like the specimen, while all the rest is supposed to be exactly like the sample. An instance is a sample or specimen of action. Compare EXAMPLE.

Antonyms:

abnormality, aggregate, exception, monstrosity, total, whole.

Satisfy.

Synonyms:

cloy, fill, sate, suffice,

content, glut, satiate, surfeit.

To satisfy is to furnish just enough to meet physical, mental, or spiritual desire. To sate or satiate is to gratify desire so fully as for a time to extinguish it. To cloy or surfeit is to gratify to the point of revulsion or disgust. Glut is a strong but somewhat coarse word applied to the utmost satisfaction of vehement appetites and passions; as, to glut a vengeful spirit with slaughter; we speak of glutting the market with a supply so excessive as to extinguish the demand. Much less than is needed to satisfy may suffice a frugal or abstemious person; less than a sufficiency may content one of a patient and submissive spirit. Compare PAY; REQUITE.

Antonyms:

check, disappoint, restrain, starve, straiten,

deny, refuse, restrict, stint, tantalize.

Prepositions:

Satisfy with food, with gifts, etc.; satisfy one (in the sense of make satisfaction) for labors and sacrifices; satisfy oneself by or upon inquiry.

Scholar.

Synonyms:

disciple, learner, pupil, savant, student.

The primary sense of a scholar is one who is being schooled; thence the word passes to denote one who is apt in school work, and finally one who is thoroughly schooled, master of what the schools can teach, an erudite, accomplished person: when used without qualification, the word is generally understood in this latter sense; as, he is manifestly a scholar. Pupil signifies one under the close personal supervision or instruction of a teacher or tutor. Those under instruction in schools below the academic grade are technically and officially termed pupils. The word pupil is uniformly so used in the Reports of the Commissioner of Education of the United States, but popular American usage prefers scholar in the original sense; as, teachers and scholars enjoyed a holiday. Those under instruction in Sunday-schools are uniformly designated as Sunday-school scholars. Student is applied to those in the higher grades or courses of study, as the academic, collegiate, scientific, etc. Student suggests less proficiency than scholar in the highest sense, the student being one who is learning, the scholar one who has learned. On the other hand, student suggests less of personal supervision than pupil; thus, the college student often becomes the private pupil of some instructor in special studies. For disciple, etc., compare synonyms for ADHERENT.

Antonyms:

dunce, fool, idiot, idler, ignoramus, illiterate person.

Science.

Synonyms:

art, knowledge.

Knowledge of a single fact, not known as related to any other, or of many facts not known as having any mutual relations or as comprehended under any general law, does not reach the meaning of science; science is knowledge reduced to law and embodied in system. The knowledge of various countries gathered by an observant traveler may be a heterogeneous medley of facts, which gain real value only when coordinated and arranged by the man of science. Art always relates to something to be done, science to something to be known. Not only must art be discriminated from science, but art in the industrial or mechanical sense must be distinguished from art in the esthetic sense; the former aims chiefly at utility, the latter at beauty. The mechanic arts are the province of the artisan, the esthetic or fine arts are the province of the artist; all the industrial arts, as of weaving or printing, arithmetic or navigation, are governed by exact rules. Art in the highest esthetic sense, while it makes use of rules, transcends all rule; no rules can be given for the production of a painting like Raffael's "Transfiguration," a statue like the Apollo Belvedere, or a poem like the Iliad. Science does not, like the mechanic arts, make production its direct aim, yet its possible productive application in the arts is a constant stimulus to scientific investigation; the science, as in the case of chemistry or electricity, is urged on to higher development by the demands of the art, while the art is perfected by the advance of the science. Creative art seeking beauty for its own sake is closely akin to pure science seeking knowledge for its own sake. Compare KNOWLEDGE; LITERATURE.

Security.

Synonyms:

bail, earnest, gage, pledge, surety.

The first four words agree in denoting something given or deposited as an assurance of something to be given, paid, or done. An earnest is of the same kind as that to be given, a portion of it delivered in advance, as when part of the purchase-money is paid, according to the common expression, "to bind the bargain." A pledge or security may be wholly different in kind from that to be given or paid, and may greatly exceed it in value. Security may be of real or personal property—anything of sufficient value to make the creditor secure; a pledge is always of personal property or chattels. Every pawnshop contains unredeemed pledges; land, merchandise, bonds, etc., are frequently offered and accepted as security. A person may become security or surety for another's payment of a debt, appearance in court, etc.; in the latter case, he is said to become bail for that person; the person accused gives bail for himself. Gage survives only as a literary word, chiefly in certain phrases; as, "the gage of battle."

Prepositions:

Security for the payment of a debt; security to the state, for the prisoner, in the sum of a thousand dollars.

Self-Abnegation.

Synonyms:

self-control, self-devotion, self-renunciation,

self-denial, self-immolation, self-sacrifice.

Self-control is holding oneself within due limits in pleasures and duties, as in all things else; self-denial, the giving up of pleasures for the sake of duty. Self-renunciation surrenders conscious rights and claims; self-abnegation forgets that there is anything to surrender. There have been devotees who practised very little self-denial with very much self-renunciation. A mother will care for a sick child with complete self-abnegation, but without a thought of self-denial. Self-devotion is heart-consecration of self to a person or cause with readiness for any needed sacrifice. Self-sacrifice is the strongest and completest term of all, and contemplates the gift of self as actually made. We speak of the self-sacrifice of Christ, where any other of the above terms would be feeble or inappropriate.

Antonyms:

self-gratification, self-indulgence, selfishness, self-seeking, self-will.

Send.

Synonyms:

cast, despatch, emit, impel, propel,

dart, discharge, fling, lance, sling,

delegate, dismiss, forward, launch, throw,

depute, drive, hurl, project, transmit.

To send is to cause to go or pass from one place to another, and always in fact or thought away from the agent or agency that controls the act. Send in its most common use involves personal agency without personal presence; according to the adage, "If you want your business done, go; if not, send;" one sends a letter or a bullet, a messenger or a message. In all the derived uses this same idea controls; if one sends a ball into his own heart, the action is away from the directing hand, and he is viewed as the passive recipient of his own act; it is with an approach to personification that we speak of the bow sending the arrow, or the gun the shot. To despatch is to send hastily or very promptly, ordinarily with a destination in view; to dismiss is to send away from oneself without reference to a destination; as, to dismiss a clerk, an application, or an annoying subject. To discharge is to send away so as to relieve a person or thing of a load; we discharge a gun or discharge the contents; as applied to persons, discharge is a harsher term than dismiss. To emit is to send forth from within, with no reference to a destination; as, the sun emits light and heat. Transmit, from the Latin, is a dignified term, often less vigorous than the Saxon send, but preferable at times in literary or scientific use; as, to transmit the crown, or the feud, from generation to generation; to transmit a charge of electricity. Transmit fixes the attention more on the intervening agency, as send does upon the points of departure and destination.

Antonyms:

bring, convey, give, hold, receive,

carry, get, hand, keep, retain.

Prepositions:

To send from the hand to or toward (rarely at) a mark; send to a friend by a messenger or by mail; send a person into banishment; send a shell among the enemy.

Sensation.

Synonyms:

emotion, feeling, perception, sense.

Sensation is the mind's consciousness due to a bodily affection, as of heat or cold; perception is the cognition of some external object which is the cause or occasion of the sensation; the sensation of heat may be connected with the perception of a fire. While sensations are connected with the body, emotions, as joy, grief, etc., are wholly of the mind. "As the most of them [the sensations] are positively agreeable or the opposite, they are nearly akin to those emotions, as hope or terror, or those passions, as anger and envy, which are acknowledged by all to belong exclusively to the spirit, and to involve no relation whatever to matter or the bodily organism. Such feelings are not infrequently styled sensations, though improperly." Porter Human Intellect § 112, p. 128. [S. '90.] Feeling is a general term popularly denoting what is felt, whether through the body or by the mind alone, and includes both sensation and emotion. A sense is an organ or faculty of sensation or of perception.

Sensibility.

Synonyms:

feeling, impressibility, sensitiveness, susceptibility.

Sensibility in the philosophical sense, denotes the capacity of emotion or feeling, as distinguished from the intellect and the will. (Compare synonyms for SENSATION.) In popular use sensibility denotes sometimes capacity of feeling of any kind; as, sensibility to heat or cold; sometimes, a peculiar readiness to be the subject of feeling, especially of the higher feelings; as, the sensibility of the artist or the poet; a person of great or fine sensibility. Sensitiveness denotes an especial delicacy of sensibility, ready to be excited by the slightest cause, as displayed, for instance, in the "sensitive-plant." Susceptibility is rather a capacity to take up, receive, and, as it were, to contain feeling, so that a person of great susceptibility is capable of being not only readily but deeply moved; sensitiveness is more superficial, susceptibility more pervading. Thus, in physics, the sensitiveness of a magnetic needle is the ease with which it may be deflected, as by another magnet; its susceptibility is the degree to which it can be magnetized by a given magnetic force or the amount of magnetism it will hold. So a person of great sensitiveness is quickly and keenly affected by any external influence, as by music, pathos, or ridicule, while a person of great susceptibility is not only touched, but moved to his inmost soul.

Antonyms:

coldness, deadness, hardness, insensibility, numbness, unconsciousness.

Prepositions:

The sensibility of the organism to atmospheric changes.

Severe.

Synonyms:

austere, inflexible, rigorous, uncompromising,

hard, morose, stern, unmitigated,

harsh, relentless, stiff, unrelenting,

inexorable, rigid, strict, unyielding.

That is severe which is devoid of all softness, mildness, tenderness, indulgence or levity, or (in literature and art) devoid of unnecessary ornament, amplification, or embellishment of any kind; as, a severe style; as said of anything painful, severe signifies such as heavily taxes endurance or resisting power; as, a severe pain, fever, or winter. Rigid signifies primarily stiff, resisting any effort to change its shape; a corpse is said to be rigid in death; hence, in metaphorical sense, a rigid person or character is one that resists all efforts to change the will or course of conduct; a rigid rule or statement is one that admits of no deviation. Rigorous is nearly akin to rigid, but is a stronger word, having reference to action or active qualities, as rigid does to state or character; a rigid rule may be rigorously enforced. Strict (L. stringo, bind) signifies bound or stretched tight, tense, strenuously exact. Stern unites harshness and authority with strictness or severity; stern, as said even of inanimate objects, suggests something authoritative or forbidding. Austere signifies severely simple or temperate, strict in self-restraint or discipline, and similarly unrelenting toward others. We speak of austere morality, rigid rules, rigorous discipline, stern commands, severe punishment, harsh speech or a harsh voice, hard requirements, strict injunctions, and strict obedience. Strict discipline holds one exactly and unflinchingly to the rule; rigorous discipline punishes severely any infraction of it. The austere character is seldom lovely, but it is always strong and may be grand, commanding, and estimable.

Antonyms:

affable, easy, gentle, lenient, pliable, sweet, tractable,

bland, genial, indulgent, mild, soft, tender, yielding.

Shake.

Synonyms:

agitate, jar, quake, shiver, totter,

brandish, joggle, quaver, shudder, tremble,

flap, jolt, quiver, sway, vibrate,

fluctuate, jounce, reel, swing, wave,

flutter, oscillate, rock, thrill, waver.

A thing is shaken which is subjected to short and abruptly checked movements, as forward and backward, up and down, from side to side, etc. A tree is "shaken with a mighty wind;" a man slowly shakes his head. A thing rocks that is sustained from below; it swings if suspended from above, as a pendulum, or pivoted at the side, as a crane or a bridge-draw; to oscillate is to swing with a smooth and regular returning motion; a vibrating motion may be tremulous or jarring. The pendulum of a clock may be said to swing, vibrate, or oscillate; a steel bridge vibrates under the passage of a heavy train; the term vibrate is also applied to molecular movements. Jolting is a lifting from and letting down suddenly upon an unyielding surface; as, a carriage jolts over a rough road. A jarring motion is abruptly and very rapidly repeated through an exceedingly limited space; the jolting of the carriage jars the windows. Rattling refers directly to the sound produced by shaking. To joggle is to shake slightly; as, a passing touch joggles the desk on which one is writing. A thing trembles that shakes perceptibly and with an appearance of uncertainty and instability, as a person under the influence of fear; a thing shivers when all its particles are stirred with a slight but pervading tremulous motion, as a human body under the influence of cold; shuddering is a more pronounced movement of a similar kind, in human beings often the effect of emotional or moral recoil; hence, the word is applied by extension to such feelings even when they have no such outward manifestation; as, one says, "I shudder at the thought." To quiver is to have slight and often spasmodic contractile motions, as the flesh under the surgeon's knife. Thrill is applied to a pervasive movement felt rather than seen; as, the nerves thrill with delight; quiver is similarly used, but suggests somewhat more of outward manifestation. To agitate in its literal use is nearly the same as to shake, tho we speak of the sea as agitated when we could not say it is shaken; the Latin agitate is preferred in scientific or technical use to the Saxon shake, and especially as applied to the action of mechanical contrivances; in the metaphorical use agitate is more transitory and superficial, shake more fundamental and enduring; a person's feelings are agitated by distressing news; his courage, his faith, his credit, or his testimony is shaken. Sway applies to the movement of a body suspended from above or not firmly sustained from below, and the motion of which is less pronounced than swinging, smoother than vibrating, and not necessarily constant as oscillating; as, the swaying of a reed in the wind. Sway used transitively especially applies to motions of grace or dignity; brandish denotes a threatening or hostile motion; a monarch sways the scepter; the ruffian brandishes a club. To reel or totter always implies liability to fall; reeling is more violent than swaying, tottering more irregular; a drunken man reels; we speak of the tottering step of age or infancy. An extended mass which seems to lack solidity or cohesion is said to quake; as, a quaking bog. Quaver is applied almost exclusively to tremulous sounds of the human voice. Flap, flutter, and fluctuate refer to wave-like movements, flap generally to such as produce a sharp sound; a cock flaps his wings; flutter applies to a less pronounced and more irregular motion; a captive bird or a feeble pulse flutters. Compare FLUCTUATE.

Shelter.

Synonyms:

cover, guard, protect, shield,

defend, harbor, screen, ward.

Anything is covered over which something is completely extended; a vessel is covered with a lid; the head is covered with a hat. That which covers may also defend or protect; thus, troops interposed between some portion of their own army and the enemy are often called a covering party. To shelter is to cover so as to protect from injury or annoyance; as, the roof shelters from the storm; woods shelter from the heat. To defend (L. defendere, to strike away) implies the actual, protect (L. protegere, to cover before) implies the possible use of force or resisting power; guard implies sustained vigilance with readiness for conflict; we defend a person or thing against actual attack; we guard or protect against possible assault or injury. A powerful person may protect one who is weak by simply declaring himself his friend; he defends him by some form of active championship. An inanimate object may protect, as a garment from cold; defend is used but rarely, and by somewhat violent metaphor, in such connection. Protect is more complete than guard or defend; an object may be faithfully guarded or bravely defended in vain, but that which is protected is secure. To shield is to interpose something over or before that which is assailed, so as to save from harm, and has a comparatively passive sense; one may guard another by standing armed at his side, defend him by fighting for him, or shield him from a missile or a blow by interposing his own person. Harbor is generally used in an unfavorable sense; confederates or sympathizers harbor a criminal; a person harbors evil thoughts or designs. See CHERISH. Compare synonyms for HIDE; DEFENSE.

Antonyms:

betray, cast out, expel, expose, give up, refuse, reject, surrender.

Prepositions:

Shelter under a roof from the storm; in the fortress, behind or within the walls, from attack.

Sign.

Synonyms:

emblem, mark, presage, symbol, token,

indication, note, prognostic, symptom, type.

manifestation, omen, signal,

A sign (L. signum) is any distinctive mark by which a thing may be recognized or its presence known, and may be intentional or accidental, natural or artificial, suggestive, descriptive, or wholly arbitrary; thus, a blush may be a sign of shame; the footprint of an animal is a sign that it has passed; the sign of a business house now usually declares what is done or kept within, but formerly might be an object having no connection with the business, as "the sign of the trout;" the letters of the alphabet are signs of certain sounds. While a sign may be involuntary, and even unconscious, a signal is always voluntary, and is usually concerted; a ship may show signs of distress to the casual observer, but signals of distress are a distinct appeal for aid. A symptom is a vital phenomenon resulting from a diseased condition; in medical language a sign is an indication of any physical condition, whether morbid or healthy; thus, a hot skin and rapid pulse are symptoms of pneumonia; dulness of some portion of the lungs under percussion is one of the physical signs. Compare AUGUR; CHARACTERISTIC; EMBLEM.

SIN.

Synonyms:

crime, fault, misdeed, vice,

criminality, guilt, offense, viciousness,

delinquency, ill-doing, transgression, wickedness,

depravity, immorality, ungodliness, wrong,

evil, iniquity, unrighteousness, wrong-doing.

Sin is any lack of holiness, any defect of moral purity and truth, whether in heart or life, whether of commission or omission. "All unrighteousness is sin," 1 John v, 17. Transgression, as its etymology indicates, is the stepping over a specific enactment, whether of God or man, ordinarily by overt act, but in the broadest sense, in volition or desire. Sin may be either act or state; transgression is always an act, mental or physical. Crime is often used for a flagrant violation of right, but in the technical sense denotes specific violation of human law. Guilt is desert of and exposure to punishment because of sin. Depravity denotes not any action, but a perverted moral condition from which any act of sin may proceed. Sin in the generic sense, as denoting a state of heart, is synonymous with depravity; in the specific sense, as in the expression a sin, the term may be synonymous with transgression, crime, offense, misdeed, etc., or may denote some moral activity that could not be characterized by terms so positive. Immorality denotes outward violation of the moral law. Sin is thus the broadest word, and immorality next in scope; all crimes, properly so called, and all immoralities, are sins; but there may be sin, as ingratitude, which is neither crime, transgression, nor immorality; and there may be immorality which is not crime, as falsehood. Compare CRIMINAL.

Antonyms:

blamelessness, goodness, integrity, rectitude, sinlessness,

excellence, holiness, morality, right, uprightness,

godliness, innocence, purity, righteousness, virtue.

Compare synonyms for VIRTUE.

Sing.

Synonyms:

carol, chant, chirp, chirrup, hum, warble.

To sing is primarily and ordinarily to utter a succession of articulate musical sounds with the human voice. The word has come to include any succession of musical sounds; we say the bird or the rivulet sings; we speak of "the singing quality" of an instrument, and by still wider extension of meaning we say the teakettle or the cricket sings. To chant is to sing in solemn and somewhat uniform cadence; chant is ordinarily applied to non-metrical religious compositions. To carol is to sing joyously, and to warble (kindred with whirl) is to sing with trills or quavers, usually also with the idea of joy. Carol and warble are especially applied to the singing of birds. To chirp is to utter a brief musical sound, perhaps often repeated in the same key, as by certain small birds, insects, etc. To chirrup is to utter a somewhat similar sound; the word is often used of a brief, sharp sound uttered as a signal to animate or rouse a horse or other animal. To hum is to utter murmuring sounds with somewhat monotonous musical cadence, usually with closed lips; we speak also of the hum of machinery, etc.

Skeptic.

Synonyms:

agnostic, deist, doubter, infidel, unbeliever.

atheist, disbeliever, freethinker,

The skeptic doubts divine revelation; the disbeliever and the unbeliever reject it, the disbeliever with more of intellectual dissent, the unbeliever (in the common acceptation) with indifference or with opposition of heart as well as of intellect. Infidel is an opprobrious term that might once almost have been said to be geographical in its range. The Crusaders called all Mohammedans infidels, and were so called by them in return; the word is commonly applied to any decided opponent of an accepted religion. The atheist denies that there is a God; the deist admits the existence of God, but denies that the Christian Scriptures are a revelation from him; the agnostic denies either that we do know or that we can know whether there is a God.

Antonyms:

believer, Christian.

Sketch.

Synonyms:

brief, draft, outline, plan,

design, drawing, picture, skeleton.

A sketch is a rough, suggestive presentation of anything, whether graphic or literary, commonly intended to be preliminary to a more complete or extended treatment. An outline gives only the bounding or determining lines of a figure or a scene; a sketch may give not only lines, but shading and color, but is hasty and incomplete. The lines of a sketch are seldom so full and continuous as those of an outline, being, like the shading or color, little more than indications or suggestions according to which a finished picture may be made; the artist's first representation of a sunset, the hues of which change so rapidly, must of necessity be a sketch. Draft and plan apply especially to mechanical drawing, of which outline, sketch, and drawing are also used; a plan is strictly a view from above, as of a building or machine, giving the lines of a horizontal section, originally at the level of the ground, now in a wider sense at any height; as, a plan of the cellar; a plan of the attic. A mechanical drawing is always understood to be in full detail; a draft is an incomplete or unfinished drawing; a design is such a preliminary sketch as indicates the object to be accomplished or the result to be attained, and is understood to be original. One may make a drawing of any well-known mechanism, or a drawing from another man's design; but if he says, "The design is mine," he claims it as his own invention or composition. In written composition an outline gives simply the main divisions, and in the case of a sermon is often called a skeleton; a somewhat fuller suggestion of illustration, treatment, and style is given in a sketch. A lawyer's brief is a succinct statement of the main facts involved in a case, and of the main heads of his argument on points of law, with reference to authorities cited; the brief has none of the vagueness of a sketch, being sufficiently exact and complete to form, on occasion, the basis for the decision of the court without oral argument, when the case is said to be "submitted on brief." Compare DESIGN.

Skilful.

Synonyms:

accomplished, apt, dexterous, happy, proficient,

adept, clever, expert, ingenious, skilled,

adroit, deft, handy, practised, trained.

Skilful signifies possessing and using readily practical knowledge and ability, having alert and well-trained faculties with reference to a given work. One is adept in that for which he has a natural gift improved by practise; he is expert in that of which training, experience, and study have given him a thorough mastery; he is dexterous in that which he can do effectively, with or without training, especially in work of the hand or bodily activities. In the case of the noun, "an expert" denotes one who is "experienced" in the fullest sense, a master of his branch of knowledge. A skilled workman is one who has thoroughly learned his trade, though he may be naturally quite dull; a skilful workman has some natural brightness, ability, and power of adaptation, in addition to his acquired knowledge and dexterity. Compare CLEVER; DEXTERITY; POWER.

Antonyms:

awkward, clumsy, inexpert, shiftless, unskilled, untrained.

bungling, helpless, maladroit, unhandy, untaught,

Prepositions:

Skilful at or in a work, with a pen or tool of any kind.

Slander.

Synonyms:

asperse, decry, disparage, revile,

backbite, defame, libel, traduce,

calumniate, depreciate, malign, vilify.

To slander a person is to utter a false and injurious report concerning him; to defame is specifically and directly to attack one's reputation; to defame by spoken words is to slander, by written words, to libel. To asperse is, as it were, to bespatter with injurious charges; to malign is to circulate studied and malicious attacks upon character; to traduce is to exhibit one's real or assumed traits in an odious light; to revile or vilify is to attack with vile abuse. To disparage is to represent one's admitted good traits or acts as less praiseworthy than they would naturally be thought to be, as for instance, by ascribing a man's benevolence to a desire for popularity or display. To libel or slander is to make an assault upon character and repute that comes within the scope of law; the slander is uttered, the libel written, printed, or pictured. To backbite is to speak something secretly to one's injury; to calumniate is to invent as well as utter the injurious charge. One may "abuse," "assail," or vilify another to his face; he asperses, calumniates, slanders, or traduces him behind his back.

Antonyms:

defend, eulogize, extol, laud, praise, vindicate.

Slang.

Synonyms:

cant, colloquialism, vulgarism, vulgarity.

A colloquialism is an expression not coarse or low, and perhaps not incorrect, but below the literary grade; educated persons are apt to allow themselves some colloquialisms in familiar conversation, which they would avoid in writing or public speaking. Slang, in the primary sense, denotes expressions that are either coarse and rude in themselves or chiefly current among the coarser and ruder part of the community; there are also many expressions current in special senses in certain communities that may be characterized as slang; as, college slang; club slang; racing slang. In the evolution of language many words originally slang are adopted by good writers and speakers, and ultimately take their place as accepted English. A vulgarism is an expression decidedly incorrect, and the use of which is a mark of ignorance or low breeding. Cant, as used in this connection, denotes the barbarous jargon used as a secret language by thieves, tramps, etc. Compare DICTION; LANGUAGE.

Slow.

Synonyms:

dawdling, dilatory, gradual, lingering, slack,

delaying, drowsy, inactive, moderate, sluggish,

deliberate, dull, inert, procrastinating, tardy.

Slow signifies moving through a relatively short distance, or with a relatively small number of motions in a given time; slow also applies to that which is a relatively long while in beginning or accomplishing something; a watch or a clock is said to be slow when its indications are behind those of the standard time. Tardy is applied to that which is behind the proper or desired time, especially in doing a work or arriving at a place. Deliberate and dilatory are used of persons, tho the latter may be used also of things, as of a stream; a person is deliberate who takes a noticeably long time to consider and decide before acting or who acts or speaks as if he were deliberating at every point; a person is dilatory who lays aside, or puts off as long as possible, necessary or required action; both words may be applied either to undertaking or to doing. Gradual (L. gradus, a step) signifies advancing by steps, and refers to slow but regular and sure progression. Slack refers to action that seems to indicate a lack of tension, as of muscle or of will, sluggish to action that seems as if reluctant to advance.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for NIMBLE.

Sneer.

Synonyms:

fling, gibe, jeer, mock, scoff, taunt.

A sneer may be simply a contemptuous facial contortion, or it may be some brief satirical utterance that throws a contemptuous side-light on what it attacks without attempting to prove or disprove; a depreciatory implication may be given in a sneer such as could only be answered by elaborate argument or proof, which would seem to give the attack undue importance:

Who can refute a sneer?

Paley Moral Philosophy bk. v, ch. ix.

A fling is careless and commonly pettish; a taunt is intentionally insulting and provoking; the sneer is supercilious; the taunt is defiant. The jeer and gibe are uttered; the gibe is bitter, and often sly or covert; the jeer is rude and open. A scoff may be in act or word, and is commonly directed against that which claims honor, reverence, or worship. Compare BANTER.

Preposition:

Only an essentially vicious mind is capable of a sneer at virtue.

Socialism.

Synonyms:

collectivism, communism, fabianism.

Socialism, as defined by its advocates, is a theory of civil polity that aims to secure the reconstruction of society, increase of wealth, and a more equal distribution of the products of labor through the public collective ownership of land and capital (as distinguished from property), and the public collective management of all industries. Its aim is extended industrial cooperation; socialism is a purely economic term, applying to landownership and productive capital. Many socialists call themselves collectivists, and their system collectivism. Communism would divide all things, including the profits of individual labor, among members of the community; many of its advocates would abolish marriage and the family relation. Anarchism is properly an antonym of socialism, as it would destroy, by violence if necessary, all existing government and social order, leaving the future to determine what, if anything, should be raised upon their ruins.

Sound.

Synonyms:

noise, note, tone.

Sound is the sensation produced through the organs of hearing or the physical cause of this sensation. Sound is the most comprehensive word of this group, applying to anything that is audible. Tone is sound considered as having some musical quality or as expressive of some feeling; noise is sound considered without reference to musical quality or as distinctly unmusical or discordant. Thus, in the most general sense noise and sound scarcely differ, and we say almost indifferently, "I heard a sound," or "I heard a noise." We speak of a fine, musical, or pleasing sound, but never thus of a noise. In music, tone may denote either a musical sound or the interval between two such sounds, but in the most careful usage the latter is now distinguished as the "interval," leaving tone to stand only for the sound. Note in music strictly denotes the character representing a sound, but in loose popular usage it denotes the sound also, and becomes practically equivalent to tone. Aside from its musical use, tone is chiefly applied to that quality of the human voice by which feeling is expressed; as, he spoke in a cheery tone; the word is similarly applied to the voices of birds and other animals, and sometimes to inanimate objects. As used of a musical instrument, tone denotes the general quality of its sounds collectively considered.

Speak.

Synonyms:

announce, converse, discourse, say,

articulate, declaim, enunciate, talk,

chat, declare, express, tell,

chatter, deliver, pronounce, utter.

To utter is to give forth as an audible sound, articulate or not. To talk is to utter a succession of connected words, ordinarily with the expectation of being listened to. To speak is to give articulate utterance even to a single word; the officer speaks the word of command, but does not talk it. To speak is also to utter words with the ordinary intonation, as distinguished from singing. To chat is ordinarily to utter in a familiar, conversational way; to chatter is to talk in an empty, ceaseless way like a magpie.

Prepositions:

Speak to (address) a person; speak with a person (converse with him); speak of or about a thing (make it the subject of remark); speak on or upon a subject; in parliamentary language, speak to the question.

Speech.

Synonyms:

address, dissertation, oration, speaking,

discourse, harangue, oratory, talk,

disquisition, language, sermon, utterance.

Speech is the general word for utterance of thought in language. A speech may be the delivering of one's sentiments in the simplest way; an oration is an elaborate and prepared speech; a harangue is a vehement appeal to passion, or a speech that has something disputatious and combative in it. A discourse is a set speech on a definite subject, intended to convey instruction. Compare CONVERSATION; DICTION; LANGUAGE.

Antonyms:

hush, silence, speechlessness, stillness, taciturnity.

Spontaneous.

Synonyms:

automatic, impulsive, involuntary, voluntary,

free, instinctive, unbidden, willing.

That is spontaneous which is freely done, with no external compulsion and, in human actions, without special premeditation or distinct determination of the will; that is voluntary which is freely done with distinct act of will; that is involuntary which is independent of the will, and perhaps in opposition to it; a willing act is not only in accordance with will, but with desire. Thus voluntary and involuntary, which are antonyms of each other, are both partial synonyms of spontaneous. We speak of spontaneous generation, spontaneous combustion, spontaneous sympathy, an involuntary start, an unbidden tear, voluntary agreement, willing submission. A babe's smile in answer to that of its mother is spontaneous; the smile of a pouting child wheedled into good humor is involuntary. In physiology the action of the heart and lungs is called involuntary; the growth of the hair and nails is spontaneous; the action of swallowing is voluntary up to a certain point, beyond which it becomes involuntary or automatic. In the fullest sense of that which is not only without the will but distinctly in opposition to it, or compulsory, involuntary becomes an antonym, not only of voluntary but of spontaneous; as, involuntary servitude. A spontaneous outburst of applause is of necessity an act of volition, but so completely dependent on sympathetic impulse that it would seem frigid to call it voluntary, while to call it involuntary would imply some previous purpose or inclination not to applaud.

SPY.

Synonyms:

detective, emissary, scout.

The scout and the spy are both employed to obtain information of the numbers, movements, etc., of an enemy. The scout lurks on the outskirts of the hostile army with such concealment as the case admits of, but without disguise; a spy enters in disguise within the enemy's lines. A scout, if captured, has the rights of a prisoner of war; a spy is held to have forfeited all rights, and is liable, in case of capture, to capital punishment. An emissary is rather political than military; sent rather to secretly influence opponents than to bring information concerning them; so far as he does the latter, he is not only an emissary, but a spy.

Stain.

Synonyms:

blot, discolor, dishonor, soil, sully, tinge,

color, disgrace, dye, spot, tarnish, tint.

To color is to impart a color desired or undesired, temporary or permanent, or, in the intransitive use, to assume a color in any way; as, he colored with shame and vexation. To dye is to impart a color intentionally and with a view to permanence, and especially so as to pervade the substance or fiber of that to which it is applied. To stain is primarily to discolor, to impart a color undesired and perhaps unintended, and which may or may not be permanent. Thus, a character "dyed in the wool" is one that has received some early, permanent, and pervading influence; a character stained with crime or guilt is debased and perverted. Stain is, however, used of giving an intended and perhaps pleasing color to wood, glass, etc., by an application of coloring-matter which enters the substance a little below the surface, in distinction from painting, in which coloring-matter is spread upon the surface; dyeing is generally said of wool, yarn, cloth, or similar materials which are dipped into the coloring liquid. Figuratively, a standard or a garment may be dyed with blood in honorable warfare; an assassin's weapon is stained with the blood of his victim. To tinge is to color slightly, and may also be used of giving a slight flavor, or a slight admixture of one ingredient or quality with another that is more pronounced.

State.

Synonyms:

affirm, aver, declare, predicate, set forth,

allege, avouch, depose, pronounce, specify,

assert, avow, express, propound, swear,

asseverate, certify, inform, protest, tell,

assure, claim, maintain, say, testify.

To state (L. sto, stand) is to set forth explicitly, formally, or particularly in speech or writing. Assert (L. ad, to, and sero, bind) is strongly personal, signifying to state boldly and positively what the one making the statement has not attempted and may not attempt to prove. Affirm has less of egotism than assert (as seen in the word self-assertion), coming nearer to aver. It has more solemnity than declare, and more composure and dignity than asseverate, which is to assert excitedly. In legal usage, affirm has a general agreement with depose and testify; it differs from swear in not invoking the name of God. To assure is to state with such authority and confidence as the speaker feels ought to make the hearer sure. Certify is more formal, and applies rather to written documents or legal processes. Assure, certify, inform, apply to the person; affirm, etc., to the thing. Assert is combative; assure is conciliatory. I assert my right to cross the river; I assure my friend it is perfectly safe. To aver is to state positively what is within one's own knowledge or matter of deep conviction. One may assert himself, or assert his right to what he is willing to contend for; or he may assert in discussion what he is ready to maintain by argument or evidence. To assert without proof is always to lay oneself open to the suspicion of having no proof to offer, and seems to arrogate too much to one's personal authority, and hence in such cases both the verb assert and its noun assertion have an unfavorable sense; we say a mere assertion, a bare assertion, his unsupported assertion; he asserted his innocence has less force than he affirmed or maintained his innocence. Affirm, state, and tell have not the controversial sense of assert, but are simply declarative. To vindicate is to defend successfully what is assailed. Almost every criminal will assert his innocence; the honest man will seldom lack means to vindicate his integrity.

Antonyms:

contradict, controvert, disprove, gainsay, refute, retract,

contravene, deny, dispute, oppose, repudiate, waive.

Steep.

Synonyms:

abrupt, high, precipitous, sharp, sheer.

High is used of simple elevation; steep is said only of an incline where the vertical measurement is sufficiently great in proportion to the horizontal to make it difficult of ascent. Steep is relative; an ascent of 100 feet to the mile on a railway is a steep grade; a rise of 500 feet to the mile makes a steep wagon-road; a roof is steep when it makes with the horizontal line an angle of more than 45°. A high mountain may be climbed by a winding road nowhere steep, while a little hill may be accessible only by a steep path. A sharp ascent or descent is one that makes a sudden, decided angle with the plane from which it starts; a sheer ascent or descent is perpendicular, or nearly so; precipitous applies to that which is of the nature of a precipice, and is used especially of a descent; abrupt is as if broken sharply off, and applies to either acclivity or declivity. Compare HIGH.

Antonyms:

easy, flat, gentle, gradual, horizontal, level, low, slight.

Storm.

Synonyms:

agitation, disturbance, tempest.

A storm is properly a disturbance of the atmosphere, with or without rain, snow, hail, or thunder and lightning. Thus we have rain-storm, snow-storm, etc., and by extension, magnetic storm. A tempest is a storm of extreme violence, always attended with some precipitation, as of rain, from the atmosphere. In the moral and figurative use, storm and tempest are not closely discriminated, except that tempest commonly implies greater intensity. We speak of agitation of feeling, disturbance of mind, a storm of passion, a tempest of rage.

Antonyms:

calm, fair weather, hush, peace, serenity, stillness, tranquillity.

Story.

Synonyms:

account, legend, narrative, recital, relation,

anecdote, myth, novel, record, tale.

incident, narration,

A story is the telling of some series of connected incidents or events, whether real or fictitious, in prose or verse, orally or in writing; or the series of incidents or events thus related may be termed a story. In children's talk, a story is a common euphemism for a falsehood. Tale is nearly synonymous with story, but is somewhat archaic; it is used for an imaginative, legendary, or fictitious recital, especially if of ancient date; as, a fairy tale; also, for an idle or malicious report; as, do not tell tales; "where there is no tale-bearer, the strife ceaseth." Prov. xxvi, 20. An anecdote tells briefly some incident, assumed to be fact. If it passes close limits of brevity, it ceases to be an anecdote, and becomes a narrative or narration. A traditional or mythical story of ancient times is a legend. A history is often somewhat poetically called a story; as, the story of the American civil war. Compare ALLEGORY; FICTION; HISTORY.

Antonyms:

annals, biography, chronicle, history, memoir.

Stupidity.

Synonyms:

apathy, insensibility, slowness, stupefaction,

dulness, obtuseness, sluggishness, stupor.

Stupidity is sometimes loosely used for temporary dulness or partial stupor, but chiefly for innate and chronic dulness and sluggishness of mental action, obtuseness of apprehension, etc. Apathy may be temporary, and be dispelled by appeal to the feelings or by the presentation of an adequate motive, but stupidity is inveterate and commonly incurable. Compare APATHY; IDIOCY; STUPOR.

Antonyms:

acuteness, brilliancy, keenness, sagacity,

alertness, cleverness, quickness, sense,

animation, intelligence, readiness, sensibility.

Stupor.

Synonyms:

apathy, fainting, stupefaction, syncope,

asphyxia, insensibility, swoon, torpor,

coma, lethargy, swooning, unconsciousness.

Stupor is a condition of the body in which the action of the senses and faculties is suspended or greatly dulled—weakness or loss of sensibility. The apathy of disease is a mental affection, a state of morbid indifference; lethargy is a morbid tendency to heavy and continued sleep, from which the patient may perhaps be momentarily aroused. Coma is a deep, abnormal sleep, from which the patient can not be aroused, or is aroused only with difficulty, a state of profound insensibility, perhaps with full pulse and deep, stertorous breathing, and is due to brain-oppression. Syncope or swooning is a sudden loss of sensation and of power of motion, with suspension of pulse and of respiration, and is due to failure of heart-action, as from sudden nervous shock or intense mental emotion. Insensibility is a general term denoting loss of feeling from any cause, as from cold, intoxication, or injury. Stupor is especially profound and confirmed insensibility, properly comatose. Asphyxia is a special form of syncope resulting from partial or total suspension of respiration, as in strangulation, drowning, or inhalation of noxious gases.

Subjective.

Synonym:

objective.

Subjective and objective are synonyms in but one point of view, being, for the most part, strictly antonyms. Subjective signifies relating to the subject of mental states, that is, to the person who experiences them; objective signifies relating to the object of mental states, that is, to something outside the perceiving mind; in brief phrase it may be said that subjective relates to something within the mind, objective to something without. A mountain, as a mass of a certain size, contour, color, etc., is an objective fact; the impression our mind receives, the mental picture it forms of the mountain, is subjective. But this subjective impression may become itself the object of thought (called "subject-object"), as when we compare our mental picture of the mountain with our idea of a plain or river. The direct experiences of the soul, as joy, grief, hope, fear, are purely subjective; the outward causes of these experiences, as prosperity, bereavement, disappointment, are objective. That which has independent existence or authority apart from our experience or thought is said to have objective existence or authority; thus we speak of the objective authority of the moral law. Different individuals may receive different subjective impressions from the same objective fact, that which to one is a cause of hope being to another a cause of fear, etc. The style of a writer is called objective when it derives its materials mainly from or reaches out toward external objects; it is called subjective when it derives its materials mainly from or constantly tends to revert to the personal experience of the author. Compare INHERENT.

Subsidy.

Synonyms:

aid, bounty, indemnity, reward, support,

allowance, gift, pension, subvention, tribute.

bonus, grant, premium,