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.

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[339] 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.

SPEECH.

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[340] 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:

SPONTANEOUS.

Synonyms:

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:

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[341] 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:

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.

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[342] 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:

STEEP.

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[343] 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:

STORM.

Synonyms:

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:

STORY.

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[344] called a story; as, the story of the American civil war. Compare ALLEGORY; FICTION; HISTORY.

Antonyms:

STUPIDITY.

Synonyms:

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:

STUPOR.

[345]

SUBJECTIVE.

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:

A subsidy is pecuniary aid directly granted by government to an individual or commercial enterprise, or money furnished by one nation to another to aid it in carrying on war against a common enemy. A nation grants a subsidy to an ally, pays a tribute to a conqueror. An indemnity is in the nature of things limited and temporary, while a tribute might be exacted indefinitely. A[346] nation may also grant a subsidy to its own citizens as a means of promoting the public welfare; as, a subsidy to a steamship company. The somewhat rare term subvention is especially applied to a grant of governmental aid to a literary or artistic enterprise. Governmental aid to a commercial or industrial enterprise other than a transportation company is more frequently called a bounty than a subsidy; as, the sugar bounty. The word bounty may be applied to almost any regular or stipulated allowance by a government to a citizen or citizens; as, a bounty for enlisting in the army; a bounty for killing wolves. A bounty is offered for something to be done; a pension is granted for something that has been done.

SUBVERT.

Synonyms:

To subvert is to overthrow from or as from the very foundation; utterly destroy; bring to ruin. The word is now generally figurative, as of moral or political ruin. To supersede implies the putting of something that is wisely or unwisely preferred in the place of that which is removed; to subvert does not imply substitution. To supplant is more often personal, signifying to take the place of another, usually by underhanded means; one is superseded by authority, supplanted by a rival. Compare ABOLISH.

Antonyms:

SUCCEED.

Synonyms:

A person succeeds when he accomplishes what he attempts, or attains a desired object or result; an enterprise or undertaking succeeds that has a prosperous result. To win implies that some one loses, but one may succeed where no one fails. A solitary swimmer succeeds in reaching the shore; if we say he wins the shore we contrast him with himself as a possible loser. Many students may succeed in study; a few win the special prizes, for which all compete. Compare FOLLOW.

Antonyms:

[347]

SUGGESTION.

The supernatural (super, above) is above or superior to the recognized powers of nature; the preternatural (preter, beyond) is aside from or beyond the recognized results or operations of natural law, often in the sense of inauspicious; as, a preternatural gloom. Miraculous is more emphatic and specific than supernatural, as referring to the direct personal intervention of divine power. Some hold that a miracle, as the raising of the dead, is a direct suspension and even violation of natural laws by the fiat of the Creator, and hence is, in the strictest sense, supernatural; others hold that the miracle is simply the calling forth of a power residing in the laws of nature, but not within their ordinary operation, and dependent on a distinct act of God, so that the miraculous might be termed "extranatural," rather than supernatural. All that is beyond human power is superhuman; as, prophecy[348] gives evidence of superhuman knowledge; the word is sometimes applied to remarkable manifestations of human power, surpassing all that is ordinary.

Antonyms:

SUPPORT.

Support and sustain alike signify to hold up or keep up, to prevent from falling or sinking; but sustain has a special sense of continuous exertion or of great strength continuously exerted, as when we speak of sustained endeavor or a sustained note; a flower is supported by the stem or a temple-roof by arches; the foundations of a great building sustain an enormous pressure; to sustain life implies a greater exigency and need than to support life; to say one is sustained under affliction is to say more both of the severity of the trial and the completeness of the upholding than if we say he is supported. To bear is the most general word, denoting all holding up or keeping up of any object, whether in rest or motion; in the derived senses it refers to something that is a tax upon strength or endurance; as, to bear a strain; to bear pain or grief. To maintain is to keep in a state or condition, especially in an excellent and desirable condition; as, to maintain health or reputation; to maintain one's position; to maintain a cause or proposition is to hold it against opposition or difficulty. To support may be partial, to maintain is complete; maintain is a word of more dignity than support; a man supports his family; a state maintains an army or navy. To prop is always partial, signifying to add support to something that is insecure. Compare ABET; ENDURE; KEEP.

Antonyms:

Prepositions:

The roof is supported by, on, or upon pillars; the family was supported on or upon a pittance, or by charity.

SUPPOSE.

To suppose is temporarily to assume a thing as true, either[349] with the expectation of finding it so or for the purpose of ascertaining what would follow if it were so. To suppose is also to think a thing to be true while aware or conceding that the belief does not rest upon any sure ground, and may not accord with fact; or yet again, to suppose is to imply as true or involved as a necessary inference; as, design supposes the existence of a designer. To conjecture is to put together the nearest available materials for a provisional opinion, always with some expectation of finding the facts to be as conjectured. To imagine is to form a mental image of something as existing, tho its actual existence may be unknown, or even impossible. To think, in this application, is to hold as the result of thought what is admitted not to be matter of exact or certain knowledge; as, I do not know, but I think this to be the fact: a more conclusive statement than would be made by the use of conjecture or suppose. Compare DOUBT; HYPOTHESIS.

Antonyms:

SURRENDER.

Synonyms:

To surrender is to give up upon compulsion, as to an enemy in war, hence to give up to any person, passion, influence, or power. To yield is to give place or give way under pressure, and hence under compulsion. Yield implies more softness or concession than surrender; the most determined men may surrender to overwhelming force; when one yields, his spirit is at least somewhat subdued. A monarch or a state cedes territory perhaps for a consideration; surrenders an army, a navy, or a fortified place to a conqueror; a military commander abandons an untenable position or unavailable stores. We sacrifice something precious through error, friendship, or duty, yield to convincing reasons, a stronger will, winsome persuasion, or superior force. Compare ABANDON.

SYNONYMOUS.

Synonyms:

Synonymous (Gr. syn, together, and onyma, name) strictly signifies being interchangeable names for the same thing, or being one[350] of two or more interchangeable names for the same thing; to say that two words are synonymous is strictly to say they are alike, equivalent, identical, or the same in meaning; but the use of synonymous in this strict sense is somewhat rare, and rather with reference to statements than to words.

In the strictest sense, synonymous words scarcely exist; rarely, if ever, are any two words in any language equivalent or identical in meaning; where a difference in meaning can not easily be shown, a difference in usage commonly exists, so that the words are not interchangeable. By synonymous words (or synonyms) we usually understand words that coincide or nearly coincide in some part of their meaning, and may hence within certain limits be used interchangeably, while outside of those limits they may differ very greatly in meaning and use. It is the office of a work on synonyms to point out these correspondences and differences, that language may have the flexibility that comes from freedom of selection within the common limits, with the perspicuity and precision that result from exact choice of the fittest words to express each shade of meaning outside of the common limits. To consider synonymous words identical is fatal to accuracy; to forget that they are similar, to some extent equivalent, and sometimes interchangeable, is destructive of freedom and variety.

SYSTEM.

Order in this connection denotes the fact or result of proper arrangement according to the due relation or sequence of the matters arranged; as, these papers are in order; in alphabetical order. Method denotes a process, a general or established way of doing or proceeding in anything; rule, an authoritative requirement or an established course of things; system, not merely a law of action or procedure, but a comprehensive plan in which all the parts are related to each other and to the whole; as, a system of theology; a railroad system; the digestive system; manner refers to the external qualities of actions, and to those often as settled and characteristic; we speak of a system of taxation, a method of collecting taxes, the rules by which assessments are made; or we[351] say, as a rule the payments are heaviest at a certain time of year; a just tax may be made odious by the manner of its collection. Regularity applies to the even disposition of objects or uniform recurrence of acts in a series. There may be regularity without order, as in the recurrence of paroxysms of disease or insanity; there may be order without regularity, as in the arrangement of furniture in a room, where the objects are placed at varying distances. Order commonly implies the design of an intelligent agent or the appearance or suggestion of such design; regularity applies to an actual uniform disposition or recurrence with no suggestion of purpose, and as applied to human affairs is less intelligent and more mechanical than order. The most perfect order is often secured with least regularity, as in a fine essay or oration. The same may be said of system. There is a regularity of dividing a treatise into topics, paragraphs, and sentences, that is destructive of true rhetorical system. Compare HABIT; HYPOTHESIS.

Antonyms:

TACITURN.

Dumb, mute, silent and speechless refer to fact or state; taciturn refers to habit and disposition. The talkative person may be stricken dumb with surprise or terror; the obstinate may remain mute; one may be silent through preoccupation of mind or of set purpose; but the taciturn person is averse to the utterance of thought or feeling and to communication with others, either from natural disposition or for the occasion. One who is silent does not speak at all; one who is taciturn speaks when compelled, but in a grudging way that repels further approach. Reserved suggests more of method and intention than taciturn, applying often to some special time or topic; one who is communicative regarding all else may be reserved about his business. Reserved is thus closely equivalent to uncommunicative, but is a somewhat stronger word, often suggesting pride or haughtiness, as when we say one is reserved toward inferiors. Compare PRIDE.

Antonyms:

[352]

TASTEFUL.

Synonyms:

Elegant (L. elegans, select) refers to that assemblage of qualities which makes anything choice to persons of culture and refinement; it refers to the lighter, finer elements of beauty in form or motion, especially denoting that which exhibits faultless taste and perfection of finish. That which is elegant is made so not merely by nature, but by art and culture; a woodland dell may be beautiful or picturesque, but would not ordinarily be termed elegant. Tasteful refers to that in which the element of taste is more prominent, standing, as it were, more by itself, while in elegant it is blended as part of the whole. Tasty is an inferior word, used colloquially in a similar sense. Chaste (primarily pure), denotes in literature and art that which is true to the higher and finer feelings and free from all excess or meretricious ornament. Dainty and delicate refer to the lighter and finer elements of taste and beauty, dainty tending in personal use to an excessive scrupulousness which is more fully expressed by fastidious. Nice and delicate both refer to exact adaptation to some standard; the bar of a balance can be said to be nicely or delicately poised; as regards matters of taste and beauty, delicate is a higher and more discriminating word than nice, and is always used in a favorable sense; a delicate distinction is one worth observing; a nice distinction may be so, or may be overstrained and unduly subtle; fine in such use, is closely similar to delicate and nice, but (tho capable of an unfavorable sense) has commonly a suggestion of positive excellence or admirableness; a fine touch does something; fine perceptions are to some purpose; delicate is capable of the single unfavorable sense of frail or fragile; as, a delicate constitution. Esthetic or esthetical refers to beauty or the appreciation of the beautiful, especially from the philosophic point of view. Exquisite denotes the utmost perfection of the elegant in minute details; we speak of an elegant garment, an exquisite lace. Exquisite is also applied to intense keenness of any feeling; as, exquisite delight; exquisite pain. See BEAUTIFUL; DELICIOUS; FINE.

Antonyms:

[353]

TEACH.

Synonyms:

To teach is simply to communicate knowledge; to instruct (originally, to build in or into, put in order) is to impart knowledge with special method and completeness; instruct has also an authoritative sense nearly equivalent to command. To educate is to draw out or develop harmoniously the mental powers, and, in the fullest sense, the moral powers as well. To train is to direct to a certain result powers already existing. Train is used in preference to educate when the reference is to the inferior animals or to the physical powers of man; as, to train a horse; to train the hand or eye. To discipline is to bring into habitual and complete subjection to authority; discipline is a severe word, and is often used as a euphemism for punish; to be thoroughly effective in war, soldiers must be disciplined as well as trained. To nurture is to furnish the care and sustenance necessary for physical, mental, and moral growth; nurture is a more tender and homelike word than educate. Compare EDUCATION.

TEMERITY.

Synonyms:

Rashness applies to the actual rushing into danger without counting the cost; temerity denotes the needless exposure of oneself to peril which is or might be clearly seen to be such. Rashness is used chiefly of bodily acts, temerity often of mental or social matters; there may be a noble rashness, but temerity is always used in a bad sense. We say it is amazing that one should have had the temerity to make a statement which could be readily proved a falsehood, or to make an unworthy proposal to one sure to resent it; in such use temerity is often closely allied to hardihood, audacity, or presumption. Venturesomeness dallies on the edge of danger and experiments with it; foolhardiness rushes in for want of sense, heedlessness for want of attention, rashness for want of reflection, recklessness from disregard of consequences. Audacity, in the sense here considered, denotes a dashing and somewhat reckless courage, in defiance of conventionalities, or of[354] other men's opinions, or of what would be deemed probable consequences; as, the audacity of a successful financier. Compare EFFRONTERY.

Antonyms:

TERM.

Term in its figurative uses always retains something of its literal sense of a boundary or limit. The articles of a contract or other instrument are simply the portions into which it is divided for convenience; the terms are the essential statements on which its validity depends—as it were, the landmarks of its meaning or power; a condition is a contingent term which may become fixed upon the happening of some contemplated event. In logic a term is one of the essential members of a proposition, the boundary of statement in some one direction. Thus, in general use term is more restricted than word, expression, or phrase; a term is a word that limits meaning to a fixed point of statement or to a special class of subjects, as when we speak of the definition of terms, that is of the key-words in any discussion; or we say, that is a legal or scientific term. Compare BOUNDARY; DICTION.

TERSE.

Synonyms:

Anything short or brief is of relatively small extent. That which is concise (L. con-, with, together, and cædo, cut) is trimmed down, and that which is condensed (L. con-, with, together, and densus, thick) is, as it were, pressed together, so as to include as much as possible within a small space. That which is compendious (L. com-, together, and pendo, weigh) gathers the substance of a matter into a few words, weighty and effective. The succinct (L. succinctus, from sub-, under, and cingo, gird; girded from below) has an alert effectiveness as if girded for action. The summary is compacted to the utmost, often to the point of abruptness; as, we speak of a summary statement or a summary dismissal. That which is terse (L. tersus, from tergo, rub off) has an elegant and finished completeness within the smallest possible compass, as[355] if rubbed or polished down to the utmost. A sententious style is one abounding in sentences that are singly striking or memorable, apart from the context; the word may be used invidiously of that which is pretentiously oracular. A pithy utterance gives the gist of a matter effectively, whether in rude or elegant style.

Antonyms:

TESTIMONY.

Testimony, in legal as well as in common use, signifies the statements of witnesses. Deposition and affidavit denote testimony reduced to writing; the deposition differs from the affidavit in that the latter is voluntary and without cross-examination, while the former is made under interrogatories and subject to cross-examination. Evidence is a broader term, including the testimony of witnesses and all facts of every kind that tend to prove a thing true; we have the testimony of a traveler that a fugitive passed this way; his footprints in the sand are additional evidence of the fact. Compare DEMONSTRATION; OATH.

THEREFORE.

Synonyms:

Therefore, signifying for that (or this) reason, is the most precise and formal word for expressing the direct conclusion of a chain of reasoning; then carries a similar but slighter sense of inference, which it gives incidentally rather than formally; as, "All men are mortal; Cæsar is a man; therefore Cæsar is mortal;" or, "The contract is awarded; then there is no more to be said." Consequently denotes a direct result, but more frequently of a practical than a theoretic kind; as, "Important matters demand my attention; consequently I shall not sail to-day." Consequently is rarely used in the formal conclusions of logic or mathematics, but marks rather the freer and looser style of rhetorical argument. Accordingly denotes correspondence, which may or may not be consequence; it is often used in narration; as, "The soldiers were eager and confident; accordingly they sprang forward at the word of command." Thence is a word of more[356] sweeping inference than therefore, applying not merely to a single set of premises, but often to all that has gone before, including the reasonable inferences that have not been formally stated. Wherefore is the correlative of therefore, and whence of hence or thence, appending the inference or conclusion to the previous statement without a break. Compare synonyms for BECAUSE.

THRONG.

Synonyms:

A crowd is a company of persons filling to excess the space they occupy and pressing inconveniently upon one another; the total number in a crowd may be great or small. Throng is a word of vastness and dignity, always implying that the persons are numerous as well as pressed or pressing closely together; there may be a dense crowd in a small room, but there can not be a throng. Host and multitude both imply vast numbers, but a multitude may be diffused over a great space so as to be nowhere a crowd; host is a military term, and properly denotes an assembly too orderly for crowding. Concourse signifies a spontaneous gathering of many persons moved by a common impulse, and has a suggestion of stateliness not found in the word crowd, while suggesting less massing and pressure than is indicated by the word throng.

TIME.

Synonyms:

Sequence and succession apply to events viewed as following one another; time and duration denote something conceived of as enduring while events take place and acts are done. According to the necessary conditions of human thought, events are contained in time as objects are in space, time existing before the event, measuring it as it passes, and still existing when the event is past. Duration and succession are more general words than time; we can speak of infinite or eternal duration or succession, but time is commonly contrasted with eternity. Time is measured or measurable duration.

[357]

TIP.

Synonyms:

To tilt or tip is to throw out of a horizontal position by raising one side or end or lowering the other; the words are closely similar, but tilt suggests more of fluctuation or instability. Slant and slope are said of things somewhat fixed or permanent in a position out of the horizontal or perpendicular; the roof slants, the hill slopes. Incline is a more formal word for tip, and also for slant or slope. To cant is to set slantingly; in many cases tip and cant might be interchanged, but tip is more temporary, often momentary; one tips a pail so that the water flows over the edge; a mechanic cants a table by making or setting one side higher than the other. A vessel careens in the wind; lists, usually, from shifting of cargo, from water in the hold, etc. Careening is always toward one side or the other; listing may be forward or astern as well. To heel over is the same as to careen, and must be distinguished from "keel over," which is to capsize.

TIRE.

Synonyms:

To tire is to reduce strength in any degree by exertion; one may be tired just enough to make rest pleasant, or even unconsciously tired, becoming aware of the fact only when he ceases the exertion; or, on the other hand, he may be, according to the common phrase, "too tired to stir;" but for this extreme condition the stronger words are commonly used. One who is fatigued suffers from a conscious and painful lack of strength as the result of some overtaxing; an invalid may be fatigued with very slight exertion; when one is wearied, the painful lack of strength is the result of long-continued demand or strain; one is exhausted when the strain has been so severe and continuous as utterly to consume the strength, so that further exertion is for the time impossible. One is fagged by drudgery; he is jaded by incessant repetition of the same act until it becomes increasingly difficult or well-nigh impossible; as, a horse is jaded by a long and unbroken journey.

Antonyms:

[358]

TOOL.

Synonyms:

A tool is something that is both contrived and used for extending the force of an intelligent agent to something that is to be operated upon. Those things by which pacific and industrial operations are performed are alone properly called tools, those designed for warlike purposes being designated weapons. An instrument is anything through which power is applied and a result produced; in general usage, the word is of considerably wider meaning than tool; as, a piano is a musical instrument. Instrument is the word usually applied to tools used in scientific pursuits; as, we speak of a surgeon's or an optician's instruments. An implement is a mechanical agency considered with reference to some specific purpose to which it is adapted; as, an agricultural implement; implements of war. Implement is a less technical and artificial term than tool. The paw of a tiger might be termed a terrible implement, but not a tool. A utensil is that which may be used for some special purpose; the word is especially applied to articles used for domestic or agricultural purposes; as, kitchen utensils; farming utensils. An appliance is that which is or may be applied to the accomplishment of a result, either independently or as subordinate to something more extensive or important; every mechanical tool is an appliance, but not every appliance is a tool; the traces of a harness are appliances for traction, but they are not tools. Mechanism is a word of wide meaning, denoting any combination of mechanical devices for united action. A machine in the most general sense is any mechanical instrument for the conversion of motion; in this sense a lever is a machine; but in more commonly accepted usage a machine is distinguished from a tool by its complexity, and by the combination and coordination of powers and movements for the production of a result. A chisel by itself is a tool; when it is set so as to be operated by a crank and pitman, the entire mechanism is called a machine; as, a mortising-machine. An apparatus may be a machine, but the word is commonly used for a collection of distinct articles to be used in connection or combination for a certain purpose—a mechanical equipment; as, the apparatus of a gymnasium; especially, for a collection of appliances for some scientific purpose; as, a chemical or surgical apparatus; an apparatus may include many tools, instruments, or implements. Implement is for the most part and[359] utensil is altogether restricted to the literal sense; instrument, machine, and tool have figurative use, instrument being used largely in a good, tool always in a bad sense; machine inclines to the unfavorable sense, as implying that human agents are made mechanically subservient to some controlling will; as, an instrument of Providence; the tool of a tyrant; a political machine.