ALLEGE.
Synonyms:
| adduce, | asseverate, | claim, | maintain, | produce, |
| advance, | assign, | declare, | offer, | say, |
| affirm, | aver, | introduce, | plead, | state. |
| assert, | cite, |
To allege is formally to state as true or capable of proof, but
without proving. To adduce, literally to lead to, is to bring the[32]
evidence up to what has been alleged. Adduce is a secondary
word; nothing can be adduced in evidence till something has been
stated or alleged, which the evidence is to sustain. An alleged
fact stands open to question or doubt. To speak of an alleged document,
an alleged will, an alleged crime, is either to question, or
at least very carefully to refrain from admitting, that the document
exists, that the will is genuine, or that the crime has been
committed. Alleged is, however, respectful; to speak of the "so-called"
will or deed, etc., would be to cast discredit upon the document,
and imply that the speaker was ready to brand it as unquestionably
spurious; alleged simply concedes nothing and leaves
the question open. To produce is to bring forward, as, for instance,
papers or persons. Adduce is not used of persons; of them
we say introduce or produce. When an alleged criminal is
brought to trial, the counsel on either side are accustomed to advance
a theory, and adduce the strongest possible evidence in its
support; they will produce documents and witnesses, cite precedents,
assign reasons, introduce suggestions, offer pleas. The accused
will usually assert his innocence. Compare STATE.
ALLEGIANCE.
Synonyms:
| devotion, | fealty, | loyalty, | obedience, | subjection. |
| faithfulness, | homage, |
Allegiance is the obligation of fidelity and obedience that an
individual owes to his government or sovereign, in return for the
protection he receives. The feudal uses of these words have mostly
passed away with the state of society that gave them birth; but
their origin still colors their present meaning. A patriotic American
feels an enthusiastic loyalty to the republic; he takes, on occasion,
an oath of allegiance to the government, but his loyalty will
lead him to do more than mere allegiance could demand; he pays
homage to God alone, as the only king and lord, or to those principles
of right that are spiritually supreme; he acknowledges the
duty of obedience to all rightful authority; he resents the idea of
subjection. Fealty is becoming somewhat rare, except in elevated
or poetic style. We prefer to speak of the faithfulness rather
than the fealty of citizen, wife, or friend.
Antonyms:
| disaffection, | disloyalty, | rebellion, | sedition, | treason. |
Prepositions:
We honor the allegiance of the citizen to the government;
the government has a right to allegiance from the citizen.
[33]
ALLEGORY.
Synonyms:
| fable, | fiction, | illustration, | metaphor, | parable, | simile. |
In modern usage we may say that an allegory is an extended
simile, while a metaphor is an abbreviated simile contained often
in a phrase, perhaps in a word. The simile carries its comparison
on the surface, in the words as, like, or similar expressions;
the metaphor is given directly without any note of comparison.
The allegory, parable, or fable tells its story as if true, leaving
the reader or hearer to discover its fictitious character and
learn its lesson. All these are, in strict definition, fictions; but the
word fiction is now applied almost exclusively to novels or romances.
An allegory is a moral or religious tale, of which the
moral lesson is the substance, and all descriptions and incidents
but accessories, as in "The Pilgrim's Progress." A fable is generally
briefer, representing animals as the speakers and actors, and
commonly conveying some lesson of practical wisdom or shrewdness,
as "The Fables of Æsop." A parable is exclusively moral
or religious, briefer and less adorned than an allegory, with its lesson
more immediately discernible, given, as it were, at a stroke.
Any comparison, analogy, instance, example, tale, anecdote, or
the like which serves to let in light upon a subject may be called
an illustration, this word in its widest use including all the rest.
Compare FICTION; STORY.
Antonyms:
| chronicle, | fact, | history, | narrative, | record. |
ALLEVIATE.
Synonyms:
| abate, | lighten, | reduce, | remove, |
| assuage, | mitigate, | relieve, | soften. |
| lessen, | moderate, |
Etymologically, to alleviate is to lift a burden toward oneself,
and so lighten it for the bearer; to relieve is to lift it back
from the bearer, nearly or quite away; to remove is to take it
away altogether. Alleviate is thus less than relieve; relieve, ordinarily,
less than remove. We alleviate, relieve or remove the
trouble; we relieve, not alleviate, the sufferer. Assuage is, by
derivation, to sweeten; mitigate, to make mild; moderate, to
bring within measure; abate, to beat down, and so make less.
We abate a fever; lessen anxiety; moderate passions or desires;
lighten burdens; mitigate or alleviate pain; reduce inflammation;[34]
soften, assuage, or moderate grief; we lighten or mitigate punishments;
we relieve any suffering of body or mind that admits of
help, comfort, or remedy. Alleviate has been often confused with
allay. Compare ALLAY.
Antonyms:
| aggravate, | embitter, | heighten, | intensify, | make worse. |
| augment, | enhance, | increase, | magnify, |
ALLIANCE.
Synonyms:
| coalition, | confederation, | fusion, | partnership, |
| compact, | federation, | league, | union. |
| confederacy, |
Alliance is in its most common use a connection formed by
treaty between sovereign states as for mutual aid in war. Partnership
is a mercantile word; alliance chiefly political or matrimonial.
Coalition is oftenest used of political parties; fusion
is now the more common word in this sense. In an alliance
between nations there is no surrender of sovereignty, and no
union except for a specified time and purpose. League and alliance
are used with scarcely perceptible difference of meaning. In
a confederacy or confederation there is an attempt to unite separate
states in a general government without surrender of sovereignty.
Union implies so much concession as to make the separate
states substantially one. Federation is mainly a poetic and rhetorical
word expressing something of the same thought, as in Tennyson's
"federation of the world," Locksley Hall, l. 128. The United
States is not a confederacy nor an alliance; the nation might be
called a federation, but prefers to be styled a federal union.
Antonyms:
| antagonism, | disunion, | enmity, | schism, | separation, |
| discord, | divorce, | hostility, | secession, | war. |
Prepositions:
Alliance with a neighboring people; against the common
enemy; for offense and defense; alliance of, between, or among
nations.
ALLOT.
Synonyms:
| appoint, | destine, | give, | portion out, |
| apportion, | distribute, | grant, | select, |
| assign, | divide, | mete out, | set apart. |
| award, |
Allot, originally to assign by lot, applies to the giving of a definite
thing to a certain person. A portion or extent of time is allotted;[35]
as, I expect to live out my allotted time. A definite period
is appointed; as, the audience assembled at the appointed hour.
Allot may also refer to space; as, to allot a plot of ground for a
cemetery; but we now oftener use select, set apart, or assign. Allot
is not now used of persons. Appoint may be used of time, space,
or person; as, the appointed day; the appointed place; an officer
was appointed to this station. Destine may also refer to time,
place, or person, but it always has reference to what is considerably
in the future; a man appoints to meet his friend in five minutes;
he destines his son to follow his own profession. Assign is
rarely used of time, but rather of places, persons, or things. We
assign a work to be done and assign a man to do it, who, if he
fails, must assign a reason for not doing it. That which is allotted,
appointed, or assigned is more or less arbitrary; that which is
awarded is the due requital of something the receiver has done,
and he has right and claim to it; as, the medal was awarded for
valor. Compare APPORTION.
Antonyms:
| appropriate, | deny, | resume, | seize, |
| confiscate, | refuse, | retain, | withhold. |
Prepositions:
Allot to a company for a purpose.
ALLOW.
Synonyms:
| admit, | consent to, | let, | sanction, | tolerate, |
| concede, | grant, | permit, | suffer, | yield. |
We allow that which we do not attempt to hinder; we permit
that to which we give some express authorization. When this is
given verbally it is called permission; when in writing it is commonly
called a permit. There are establishments that any one
will be allowed to visit without challenge or hindrance; there are
others that no one is allowed to visit without a permit from the
manager; there are others to which visitors are admitted at specified
times, without a formal permit. We allow a child's innocent
intrusion; we concede a right; grant a request; consent to a sale of
property; permit an inspection of accounts; sanction a marriage;
tolerate the rudeness of a well-meaning servant; submit to a surgical
operation; yield to a demand or necessity against our wish or
will, or yield something under compulsion; as, the sheriff yielded
the keys at the muzzle of a revolver, and allowed the mob to enter.
Suffer, in the sense of mild concession, is now becoming rare, its[36]
place being taken by allow, permit, or tolerate. Compare PERMISSION.
Antonyms:
| deny, | disapprove, | protest, | reject, | withstand. |
| disallow, | forbid, | refuse, | resist, |
See also synonyms for PROHIBIT.
Prepositions:
To allow of (in best recent usage, simply to allow) such an action;
allow one in such a course; allow for spending-money.
ALLOY.
Synonyms:
| admixture, | adulteration, | debasement, | deterioration. |
Alloy may be either some admixture of baser with precious
metal, as for giving hardness to coin or the like, or it may be a
compound or mixture of two or more metals. Adulteration,
debasement, and deterioration are always used in the bad sense;
admixture is neutral, and may be good or bad; alloy is commonly
good in the literal sense. An excess of alloy virtually
amounts to adulteration; but adulteration is now mostly restricted
to articles used for food, drink, medicine, and kindred uses. In
the figurative sense, as applied to character, etc., alloy is unfavorable,
because there the only standard is perfection.
ALLUDE.
Synonyms:
| advert, | indicate, | intimate, | point, | signify, |
| hint, | insinuate, | mention, | refer, | suggest. |
| imply, |
Advert, mention, and refer are used of language that more or
less distinctly utters a certain thought; the others of language
from which it may be inferred. We allude to a matter slightly,
perhaps by a word or phrase, as it were in byplay; we advert to
it when we turn from our path to treat it; we refer to it by any
clear utterance that distinctly turns the mind or attention to it;
as, marginal figures refer to a parallel passage; we mention a
thing by explicit word, as by naming it. The speaker adverted to
the recent disturbances and the remissness of certain public officers;
tho he mentioned no name, it was easy to see to whom
he alluded. One may hint at a thing in a friendly way, but what
is insinuated is always unfavorable, generally both hostile and
cowardly. One may indicate his wishes, intimate his plans, imply[37]
his opinion, signify his will, suggest a course of action. Compare
SUGGESTION.
Preposition:
The passage evidently alludes to the Jewish Passover.
ALLURE.
Synonyms:
| attract, | captivate, | decoy, | entice, | lure, | tempt, |
| cajole, | coax, | draw, | inveigle, | seduce, | win. |
To allure is to draw as with a lure by some charm or some
prospect of pleasure or advantage. We may attract others to a
certain thing without intent; as, the good unconsciously attract
others to virtue. We may allure either to that which is evil or
to that which is good and noble, by purpose and endeavor, as in
the familiar line, "Allured to brighter worlds, and led the way,"
Goldsmith Deserted Village, l. 170. Lure is rather more akin to
the physical nature. It is the word we would use of drawing on
an animal. Coax expresses the attraction of the person, not of
the thing. A man may be coaxed to that which is by no means
alluring. Cajole and decoy carry the idea of deceiving and ensnaring.
To inveigle is to lead one blindly in. To tempt is to endeavor
to lead one wrong; to seduce is to succeed in winning one from
good to ill. Win may be used in either a bad or a good sense, in
which latter it surpasses the highest sense of allure, because it
succeeds in that which allure attempts; as, "He that winneth
souls is wise," Prov. xi, 30.
Antonyms:
| chill, | damp, | deter, | dissuade, | drive away, | repel, | warn. |
Prepositions:
Allure to a course; allure by hopes; allure from evil to good.
ALSO.
Synonyms:
| as well, | in addition, | likewise, | too, |
| as well as, | in like manner, | similarly, | withal. |
| besides, |
While some distinctions between these words and phrases will
appear to the careful student, yet in practise the choice between
them is largely to secure euphony and avoid repetition. The
words fall into two groups; as well as, besides, in addition, too,
withal, simply add a fact or thought; also (all so), in like manner,
likewise, similarly, affirm that what is added is like that to which
it is added. As well follows the word or phrase to which it is[38]
joined. We can say the singers as well as the players, or the
players, and the singers as well.
Antonyms:
| but, | nevertheless, | on the contrary, | yet. |
| in spite of, | notwithstanding, | on the other hand, |
ALTERNATIVE.
Synonyms:
| choice, | election, | option, | pick, | preference, | resource. |
A choice may be among many things; an alternative is in the
strictest sense a choice between two things; oftener it is one of two
things between which a choice is to be made, and either of which
is the alternative of the other; as, the alternative of surrender is
death; or the two things between which there is a choice may be
called the alternatives; both Mill and Gladstone are quoted as extending
the meaning of alternative to include several particulars,
Gladstone even speaking of "the fourth and last of these alternatives."
Option is the right or privilege of choosing; choice may
be either the right to choose, the act of choosing, or the thing
chosen. A person of ability and readiness will commonly have
many resources. Pick, from the Saxon, and election, from the
Latin, picture the objects before one, with freedom and power to
choose which he will; as, there were twelve horses, among which
I could take my pick. A choice, pick, election, or preference is
that which suits one best; an alternative is that to which one is
restricted; a resource, that to which one is glad to betake oneself.
Antonyms:
AMASS.
Synonyms:
| accumulate, | collect, | heap up, | hoard up, | store up. |
| aggregate, | gather, | hoard, | pile up, |
To amass is to bring together materials that make a mass, a
great bulk or quantity. With some occasional exceptions, accumulate
is applied to the more gradual, amass to the more rapid
gathering of money or materials, amass referring to the general
result or bulk, accumulate to the particular process or rate of gain.
We say interest is accumulated (or accumulates) rather than is
amassed; he accumulated a fortune in the course of years; he
rapidly amassed a fortune by shrewd speculations. Goods or
money for immediate distribution are said to be collected rather[39]
than amassed. They may be stored up for a longer or shorter
time; but to hoard is always with a view of permanent retention,
generally selfish. Aggregate is now most commonly used of
numbers and amounts; as, the expenses will aggregate a round
million.
Antonyms:
| disperse, | divide, | portion, | spend, | waste. |
| dissipate, | parcel, | scatter, | squander, |
Prepositions:
Amass for oneself; for a purpose; from a distance; with great
labor; by industry.
AMATEUR.
Synonyms:
| connoisseur, | critic, | dilettante, | novice, | tyro. |
Etymologically, the amateur is one who loves, the connoisseur
one who knows. In usage, the term amateur is applied to one
who pursues any study or art simply from the love of it; the word
carries a natural implication of superficialness, tho marked
excellence is at times attained by amateurs. A connoisseur is
supposed to be so thoroughly informed regarding any art or work
as to be able to criticize or select intelligently and authoritatively;
there are many incompetent critics, but there can not, in the true
sense, be an incompetent connoisseur. The amateur practises to
some extent that in regard to which he may not be well informed;
the connoisseur is well informed in regard to that which he may
not practise at all. A novice or tyro may be a professional; an
amateur never is; the amateur may be skilled and experienced as
the novice or tyro never is. Dilettante, which had originally the
sense of amateur, has to some extent come to denote one who is
superficial, pretentious, and affected, whether in theory or practise.
Preposition:
An amateur in art.
AMAZEMENT.
Synonyms:
| admiration, | awe, | confusion, | surprise, |
| astonishment, | bewilderment, | perplexity, | wonder. |
Amazement and astonishment both express the momentary
overwhelming of the mind by that which is beyond expectation.
Astonishment especially affects the emotions, amazement the intellect.
Awe is the yielding of the mind to something supremely[40]
grand in character or formidable in power, and ranges from apprehension
or dread to reverent worship. Admiration includes
delight and regard. Surprise lies midway between astonishment
and amazement, and usually respects matters of lighter consequence
or such as are less startling in character. Amazement
may be either pleasing or painful, as when induced by the grandeur
of the mountains, or by the fury of the storm. We can say
pleased surprise, but scarcely pleased astonishment. Amazement
has in it something of confusion or bewilderment; but confusion
and bewilderment may occur without amazement, as when a multitude
of details require instant attention. Astonishment may be
without bewilderment or confusion. Wonder is often pleasing,
and may be continuous in view of that which surpasses our comprehension;
as, the magnitude, order, and beauty of the heavens
fill us with increasing wonder. Compare PERPLEXITY.
Antonyms:
| anticipation, | composure, | expectation, | preparation, | steadiness, |
| calmness, | coolness, | indifference, | self-possession, | stoicism. |
Preposition:
I was filled with amazement at such reckless daring.
AMBITION.
Synonyms:
| aspiration, | competition, | emulation, | opposition, | rivalry. |
Aspiration is the desire for excellence, pure and simple. Ambition,
literally a going around to solicit votes, has primary reference
to the award or approval of others, and is the eager desire of
power, fame, or something deemed great and eminent, and viewed
as a worthy prize. The prizes of aspiration are virtue, nobility,
skill, or other high qualities. The prizes of ambition are advancement,
fame, honor, and the like. There is a noble and wise or an
ignoble, selfish, and harmful ambition. Emulation is not so
much to win any excellence or success for itself as to equal or
surpass other persons. There is such a thing as a noble emulation,
when those we would equal or surpass are noble, and the means
we would use worthy. But, at the highest, emulation is inferior
as a motive to aspiration, which seeks the high quality or character
for its own sake, not with reference to another. Competition
is the striving for something that is sought by another at the
same time. Emulation regards the abstract, competition the concrete;
rivalry is the same in essential meaning with competition,
but differs in the nature of the objects contested for, which, in[41]
the case of rivalry, are usually of the nobler sort and less subject
to direct gaging, measurement, and rule. We speak of competition
in business, emulation in scholarship, rivalry in love, politics,
etc.; emulation of excellence, success, achievement; competition
for a prize; rivalry between persons or nations. Competition
may be friendly, rivalry is commonly hostile. Opposition is becoming
a frequent substitute for competition in business language;
it implies that the competitor is an opponent and hinderer.
Antonyms:
| carelessness, | contentment, | humility, | indifference, | satisfaction. |
AMEND.
Synonyms:
| advance, | correct, | meliorate, | rectify, |
| ameliorate, | emend, | mend, | reform, |
| better, | improve, | mitigate, | repair. |
| cleanse, | make better, | purify, |
To amend is to change for the better by removing faults, errors,
or defects, and always refers to that which at some point falls
short of a standard of excellence. Advance, better, and improve
may refer either to what is quite imperfect or to what has reached
a high degree of excellence; we advance the kingdom of God, improve
the minds of our children, better the morals of the people.
But for matters below the point of ordinary approval we seldom
use these words; we do not speak of bettering a wretched alley,
or improving a foul sewer. There we use cleanse, purify, or similar
words. We correct evils, reform abuses, rectify incidental
conditions of evil or error; we ameliorate poverty and misery,
which we can not wholly remove. We mend a tool, repair a building,
correct proof; we amend character or conduct that is faulty,
or a statement or law that is defective. A text, writing, or statement
is amended by the author or by some adequate authority; it
is often emended by conjecture. A motion is amended by the
mover or by the assembly; a constitution is amended by the people;
an ancient text is emended by a critic who believes that what
seems to him the better reading is what the author wrote. Compare
ALLEVIATE.
Antonyms:
| aggravate, | debase, | harm, | mar, | tarnish, |
| blemish, | depress, | impair, | spoil, | vitiate. |
| corrupt, | deteriorate, | injure, |
[42]
AMIABLE.
Synonyms:
| agreeable, | engaging, | lovable, | pleasing, |
| attractive, | gentle, | lovely, | sweet, |
| benignant, | good-natured, | loving, | winning, |
| harming, | kind, | pleasant, | winsome. |
Amiable combines the senses of lovable or lovely and loving; the
amiable character has ready affection and kindliness for others,
with the qualities that are adapted to win their love; amiable is a
higher and stronger word than good-natured or agreeable. Lovely
is often applied to externals; as, a lovely face. Amiable denotes a
disposition desirous to cheer, please, and make happy. A selfish
man of the world may have the art to be agreeable; a handsome,
brilliant, and witty person may be charming or even attractive,
while by no means amiable. The engaging, winning, and winsome
add to amiability something of beauty, accomplishments,
and grace. The benignant are calmly kind, as from a height
and a distance. Kind, good-natured people may be coarse and
rude, and so fail to be agreeable or pleasing; the really amiable
are likely to avoid such faults by their earnest desire to please.
The good-natured have an easy disposition to get along comfortably
with every one in all circumstances. A sweet disposition is
very sure to be amiable, the loving heart bringing out all that is
lovable and lovely in character.
Antonyms:
| acrimonious, | crusty, | hateful, | ill-tempered, | surly, |
| churlish, | disagreeable, | ill-conditioned, | morose, | unamiable, |
| crabbed, | dogged, | ill-humored, | sour, | unlovely, |
| cruel, | gruff, | ill-natured, | sullen, |
AMID.
Synonyms:
| amidst, | amongst, | betwixt, | mingled with, |
| among, | between, | in the midst of, | surrounded by. |
Amid or amidst denotes surrounded by; among or amongst
denotes mingled with. Between (archaic or poetic, betwixt) is said
of two persons or objects, or of two groups of persons or objects.
"Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and
between my herdmen and thy herdmen," Gen. xiii, 9; the reference
being to two bodies of herdmen. Amid denotes mere
position; among, some active relation, as of companionship, hostility,
etc. Lowell's "Among my Books" regards the books as
companions; amid my books would suggest packing, storing, or
some other incidental circumstance. We say among friends, or
among enemies, amidst the woods, amid the shadows. In the[43]
midst of may have merely the local meaning; as, I found myself
in the midst of a crowd; or it may express even closer association
than among; as, "I found myself in the midst of friends" suggests
their pressing up on every side, oneself the central object; so,
"where two or three are met together in my name, there am I in
the midst of them," Matt. xviii, 20; in which case it would be
feebler to say "among them," impossible to say "amid them,"
not so well to say "amidst them."
Antonyms:
| afar from, | away from, | beyond, | far from, | outside, | without. |
AMPLIFY.
Synonyms:
| augment, | dilate, | expand, | extend, | unfold, |
| develop, | enlarge, | expatiate, | increase, | widen. |
Amplify is now rarely used in the sense of increase, to add
material substance, bulk, volume, or the like; it is now almost
wholly applied to discourse or writing, signifying to make fuller
in statement, whether with or without adding matter of importance,
as by stating fully what was before only implied, or by adding
illustrations to make the meaning more readily apprehended,
etc. The chief difficulty of very young writers is to amplify, to
get beyond the bare curt statement by developing, expanding, unfolding
the thought. The chief difficulty of those who have more
material and experience is to condense sufficiently. So, in the
early days of our literature amplify was used in the favorable
sense; but at present this word and most kindred words are coming
to share the derogatory meaning that has long attached to
expatiate. We may develop a thought, expand an illustration,
extend a discussion, expatiate on a hobby, dilate on something
joyous or sad, enlarge a volume, unfold a scheme, widen the range
of treatment.
Antonyms:
| abbreviate, | amputate, | condense, | cut down, | reduce, | summarize, |
| abridge, | "boil down," | curtail, | epitomize, | retrench, | sum up. |
Prepositions:
To amplify on or upon the subject is needless. Amplify this
matter by illustrations.
ANALOGY.
Synonyms:
| affinity, | likeness, | relation, | similarity, |
| coincidence, | parity, | resemblance, | simile, |
| comparison, | proportion, | semblance, | similitude. |
Analogy is specifically a resemblance of relations; a resemblance[44]
that may be reasoned from, so that from the likeness in
certain respects we may infer that other and perhaps deeper relations
exist. Affinity is a mutual attraction with or without seeming
likeness; as, the affinity of iron for oxygen. Coincidence is complete
agreement in some one or more respects; there may be a
coincidence in time of most dissimilar events. Parity of reasoning
is said of an argument equally conclusive on subjects not
strictly analogous. Similitude is a rhetorical comparison of one
thing to another with which it has some points in common.
Resemblance and similarity are external or superficial, and may
involve no deeper relation; as, the resemblance of a cloud to a
distant mountain. Compare ALLEGORY.
Antonyms:
| disagreement, | disproportion, | dissimilarity, | incongruity, | unlikeness. |
Prepositions:
The analogy between (or of) nature and revelation; the analogy
of sound to light; a family has some analogy with (or to) a
state.
ANGER.
Synonyms:
| animosity, | fury, | offense, | rage, |
| choler, | impatience, | passion, | resentment, |
| displeasure, | indignation, | peevishness, | temper, |
| exasperation, | ire, | pettishness, | vexation, |
| fretfulness, | irritation, | petulance, | wrath. |
Displeasure is the mildest and most general word. Choler and
ire, now rare except in poetic or highly rhetorical language, denote
a still, and the latter a persistent, anger. Temper used alone in
the sense of anger is colloquial, tho we may correctly say a
hot temper, a fiery temper, etc. Passion, tho a word of far
wider application, may, in the singular, be employed to denote
anger; "did put me in a towering passion," Shakespeare Hamlet
act v, sc. 2. Anger is violent and vindictive emotion, which is
sharp, sudden, and, like all violent passions, necessarily brief.
Resentment (a feeling back or feeling over again) is persistent, the
bitter brooding over injuries. Exasperation, a roughening, is a
hot, superficial intensity of anger, demanding instant expression.
Rage drives one beyond the bounds of prudence or discretion; fury
is stronger yet, and sweeps one away into uncontrollable violence.
Anger is personal and usually selfish, aroused by real or supposed
wrong to oneself, and directed specifically and intensely against
the person who is viewed as blameworthy. Indignation is impersonal
and unselfish displeasure at unworthy acts (L. indigna), i. e.,[45]
at wrong as wrong. Pure indignation is not followed by regret,
and needs no repentance; it is also more self-controlled than
anger. Anger is commonly a sin; indignation is often a duty.
Wrath is deep and perhaps vengeful displeasure, as when the people
of Nazareth were "filled with wrath" at the plain words of
Jesus (Luke iv, 28); it may, however, simply express the culmination
of righteous indignation without malice in a pure being; as,
the wrath of God. Impatience, fretfulness, irritation, peevishness,
pettishness, petulance, and vexation express the slighter
forms of anger. Irritation, petulance, and vexation are temporary
and for immediate cause. Fretfulness, pettishness, and peevishness
are chronic states finding in any petty matter an occasion
for their exercise. Compare ACRIMONY; ENMITY; HATRED.
Antonyms:
| amiability, | gentleness, | long-suffering, | patience, | peacefulness, |
| charity, | leniency, | love, | peace, | self-control, |
| forbearance, | lenity, | mildness, | peaceableness, | self-restraint. |
Prepositions:
Anger at the insult prompted the reply. Anger toward the
offender exaggerates the offense.
ANIMAL.
Synonyms:
| beast, | fauna, | living organism, | sentient being. |
| brute, | living creature, |
An animal is a sentient being, distinct from inanimate matter
and from vegetable life on the one side and from mental and spiritual
existence on the other. Thus man is properly classified as an
animal. But because the animal life is the lowest and rudest part
of his being and that which he shares with inferior creatures, to
call any individual man an animal is to imply that the animal
nature has undue supremacy, and so is deep condemnation or utter
insult. The brute is the animal viewed as dull to all finer feeling;
the beast is looked upon as a being of appetites. To call
a man a brute is to imply that he is unfeeling and cruel; to call
him a beast is to indicate that he is vilely sensual. We speak of
the cruel father as a brute to his children; of the drunkard as
making a beast of himself. So firmly are these figurative senses
established that we now incline to avoid applying brute or beast
to any creature, as a horse or dog, for which we have any affection;
we prefer in such cases the word animal. Creature is a
word of wide signification, including all the things that God[46]
has created, whether inanimate objects, plants, animals, angels,
or men. The animals of a region are collectively called its fauna.
Antonyms:
| angel, | man, | mind, | soul, | substance (material), |
| inanimate object, | matter, | mineral, | spirit, | vegetable. |
ANNOUNCE.
Synonyms:
| advertise, | give notice (of), | proclaim, | reveal, |
| circulate, | give out, | promulgate, | say, |
| communicate, | herald, | propound, | spread abroad, |
| declare, | make known, | publish, | state, |
| enunciate, | notify, | report, | tell. |
To announce is to give intelligence of in some formal or public
way. We may announce that which has occurred or that which
is to occur, tho the word is chiefly used in the anticipative sense;
we announce a book when it is in press, a guest when he arrives.
We advertise our business, communicate our intentions, enunciate
our views; we notify an individual, give notice to the public. Declare
has often an authoritative force; to declare war is to cause
war to be, where before there may have been only hostilities; we
say declare war, proclaim peace. We propound a question or an
argument, promulgate the views of a sect or party, or the decision
of a court, etc. We report an interview, reveal a secret, herald
the coming of some distinguished person or great event. Publish,
in popular usage, is becoming closely restricted to the sense of
issuing through the press; we announce a book that is to be
published.
Antonyms:
| bury, | cover (up), | hush, | keep secret, | suppress, |
| conceal, | hide, | keep back, | secrete, | withhold. |
Prepositions:
The event was announced to the family by telegraph.
ANSWER.
Synonyms:
| rejoinder, | repartee, | reply, | response, | retort. |
A verbal answer is a return of words to something that seems
to call for them, and is made to a charge as well as to a question;
an answer may be even made to an unspoken implication or manifestation;
see Luke v, 22. In a wider sense, anything said or
done in return for some word, action, or suggestion of another
may be called an answer. The blow of an enraged man, the
whinny of a horse, the howling of the wind, the movement of a
bolt in a lock, an echo, etc., may each be an answer to some word[47]
or movement. A reply is an unfolding, and ordinarily implies
thought and intelligence. A rejoinder is strictly an answer to a
reply, tho often used in the general sense of answer, but always
with the implication of something more or less controversial or
opposed, tho lacking the conclusiveness implied in answer;
an answer, in the full sense, to a charge, an argument, or an
objection is adequate, and finally refutes and disposes of it; a reply
or rejoinder may be quite inadequate, so that one may say, "This
reply is not an answer;" "I am ready with an answer" means
far more than "I am ready with a reply." A response is accordant
or harmonious, designed or adapted to carry on the thought
of the words that called it forth, as the responses in a liturgical
service, or to meet the wish of him who seeks it; as, the appeal
for aid met a prompt and hearty response. Repartee is a prompt,
witty, and commonly good-natured answer to some argument or
attack; a retort may also be witty, but is severe and may be even
savage in its intensity.
Prepositions:
An answer in writing, or by word of mouth, to the question.
ANTICIPATE.
Synonyms:
| apprehend, | forecast, | hope, |
| expect, | foretaste, | look forward to. |
To anticipate may be either to take before in fact or to take
before in thought; in the former sense it is allied with prevent; in
the latter, with the synonyms above given. This is coming to be
the prevalent and favorite use. We expect that which we have
good reason to believe will happen; as, a boy expects to grow to
manhood. We hope for that which we much desire and somewhat
expect. We apprehend what we both expect and fear. Anticipate
is commonly used now, like foretaste, of that which we
expect both with confidence and pleasure. In this use it is a
stronger word than hope, where often "the wish is father to the
thought." I hope for a visit from my friend, tho I have no
word from him; I expect it when he writes that he is coming;
and as the time draws near I anticipate it with pleasure. Compare
ABIDE; PREVENT.
Antonyms:
| despair of, | distrust, | doubt, | dread, | fear, | recall, | recollect, | remember. |
[48]
ANTICIPATION.
Synonyms:
| antepast, | expectation, | foresight, | hope, |
| apprehension, | foreboding, | foretaste, | presentiment, |
| expectancy, | forecast, | forethought, | prevision. |
Expectation may be either of good or evil; presentiment almost
always, apprehension and foreboding always, of evil; anticipation
and antepast, commonly of good. Thus, we speak of the
pleasures of anticipation. A foretaste may be of good or evil,
and is more than imaginary; it is a part actually received in advance.
Foresight and forethought prevent future evil and secure
future good by timely looking forward, and acting upon what is
foreseen. Compare ANTICIPATE.
Antonyms:
| astonishment, | despair, | dread, | fear, | surprise, |
| consummation, | doubt, | enjoyment, | realization, | wonder. |
ANTIPATHY.
Synonyms:
| abhorrence, | disgust, | hatred, | repugnance, |
| antagonism, | dislike, | hostility, | repulsion, |
| aversion, | distaste, | opposition, | uncongeniality. |
| detestation, |
Antipathy, repugnance, and uncongeniality are instinctive;
other forms of dislike may be acquired or cherished for cause.
Uncongeniality is negative, a want of touch or sympathy. An antipathy
to a person or thing is an instinctive recoil from connection
or association with that person or thing, and may be physical
or mental, or both. Antagonism may result from the necessity of
circumstances; opposition may spring from conflicting views or
interests; abhorrence and detestation may be the result of religious
and moral training; distaste and disgust may be acquired; aversion
is a deep and permanent dislike. A natural antipathy may
give rise to opposition which may result in hatred and hostility.
Compare ACRIMONY; ANGER; ENMITY; HATRED.
Antonyms:
| affinity, | attraction, | fellow-feeling, | kindliness, | sympathy. |
| agreement, | congeniality, | harmony, | regard, |
Prepositions:
Antipathy to (less frequently for or against) a person or thing;
antipathy between or betwixt two persons or things.
ANTIQUE.
Synonyms:
| ancient, | old-fashioned, | quaint, | superannuated. |
| antiquated, |
Antique refers to an ancient, antiquated to a discarded style.[49]
Antique is that which is either ancient in fact or ancient in style.
The reference is to the style rather than to the age. We can speak
of the antique architecture of a church just built. The difference
between antiquated and antique is not in the age, for a Puritan
style may be scorned as antiquated, while a Roman or Renaissance
style may be prized as antique. The antiquated is not so
much out of date as out of vogue. Old-fashioned may be used
approvingly or contemptuously. In the latter case it becomes a
synonym for antiquated; in the good sense it approaches the
meaning of antique, but indicates less duration. We call a wide
New England fireplace old-fashioned; a coin of the Cæsars, antique.
Quaint combines the idea of age with a pleasing oddity; as,
a quaint gambrel-roofed house. Antiquated is sometimes used
of persons in a sense akin to superannuated. The antiquated person
is out of style and out of sympathy with the present generation
by reason of age; the superannuated person is incapacitated
for present activities by reason of age. Compare OLD.
Antonyms:
| fashionable, | fresh, | modern, | modish, | new, | recent, | stylish. |
ANXIETY.
Synonyms:
| anguish, | disquiet, | foreboding, | perplexity, |
| apprehension, | disturbance, | fretfulness, | solicitude, |
| care, | dread, | fretting, | trouble, |
| concern, | fear, | misgiving, | worry. |
Anxiety is, according to its derivation, a choking disquiet, akin
to anguish; anxiety is mental; anguish may be mental or physical;
anguish is in regard to the known, anxiety in regard to the
unknown; anguish is because of what has happened, anxiety because
of what may happen. Anxiety refers to some future event,
always suggesting hopeful possibility, and thus differing from
apprehension, fear, dread, foreboding, terror, all of which may
be quite despairing. In matters within our reach, anxiety always
stirs the question whether something can not be done, and is thus
a valuable spur to doing; in this respect it is allied to care. Foreboding,
dread, etc., commonly incapacitate for all helpful thought
or endeavor. Worry is a more petty, restless, and manifest
anxiety; anxiety may be quiet and silent; worry is communicated
to all around. Solicitude is a milder anxiety. Fretting or fretfulness
is a weak complaining without thought of accomplishing or
changing anything, but merely as a relief to one's own disquiet.
Perplexity often involves anxiety, but may be quite free from it.[50]
A student may be perplexed regarding a translation, yet, if he
has time enough, not at all anxious regarding it.
Antonyms:
| apathy, | calmness, | confidence, | light-heartedness, | satisfaction, |
| assurance, | carelessness, | ease, | nonchalance, | tranquillity. |
Prepositions:
Anxiety for a friend's return; anxiety about, in regard to, or
concerning the future.
APATHY.
Synonyms:
| calmness, | indifference, | quietness, | stoicism, |
| composure, | insensibility, | quietude, | tranquillity, |
| immobility, | lethargy, | sluggishness, | unconcern, |
| impassibility, | phlegm, | stillness, | unfeelingness. |
Apathy, according to its Greek derivation, is a simple absence
of feeling or emotion. There are persons to whom a certain
degree of apathy is natural, an innate sluggishness of the emotional
nature. In the apathy of despair, a person gives up, without
resistance or sensibility, to what he has fiercely struggled to avoid.
While apathy is want of feeling, calmness is feeling without agitation.
Calmness is the result of strength, courage, or trust; apathy
is the result of dulness or weakness. Composure is freedom from
agitation or disturbance, resulting ordinarily from force of will,
or from perfect confidence in one's own resources. Impassibility
is a philosophical term applied to the Deity, as infinitely exalted
above all stir of passion or emotion. Unfeelingness, the Saxon word
that should be the exact equivalent of apathy, really means more,
a lack of the feeling one ought to have, a censurable hardness of
heart. Indifference and insensibility designate the absence of feeling
toward certain persons or things; apathy, entire absence of feeling.
Indifference is a want of interest; insensibility is a want of
feeling; unconcern has reference to consequences. We speak of
insensibility of heart, immobility of countenance. Stoicism is an
intentional suppression of feeling and deadening of sensibilities,
while apathy is involuntary. Compare CALM; REST; STUPOR.
Antonyms:
| agitation, | disturbance, | feeling, | sensibility, | sympathy, |
| alarm, | eagerness, | frenzy, | sensitiveness, | turbulence, |
| anxiety, | emotion, | fury, | storm, | vehemence, |
| care, | excitement, | passion, | susceptibility, | violence. |
| distress, |
Prepositions:
The apathy of monastic life; apathy toward good.
[51]
APIECE.
Synonyms:
| distributively, | each, | individually, | separately, | severally. |
There is no discernible difference in sense between so much
apiece and so much each; the former is the more common and
popular, the latter the more elegant expression. Distributively
is generally used of numbers and abstract relations. Individually
emphasizes the independence of the individuals; separately and
severally still more emphatically hold them apart. The signers of
a note may become jointly and severally responsible, that is, each
liable for the entire amount, as if he had signed it alone. Witnesses
are often brought separately into court, in order that no
one may be influenced by the testimony of another. If a company
of laborers demand a dollar apiece, that is a demand that
each shall receive that sum; if they individually demand a dollar,
each individual makes the demand.
Antonyms:
| accumulatively, | confusedly, | indiscriminately, | together, | unitedly. |
| collectively, | en masse, | synthetically, |