Beware of entrance to a ——.
1. What is a fiction in the most common modern meaning of the word? 2. How does a fiction differ from a novel? from a fable? from a myth? 3. How does a myth differ from a legend? 4. How do falsehood and fabrication differ from the words above mentioned? 5. Is fabrication or falsehood the more odious term? Which term is really the stronger? 6. What is a story? Is it good or bad, true or false? With what words of the group does it agree?
A —— strange is told of thee.
I believe the whole account from beginning to end to be a pure ——.
A thing sustained by such substantial evidence could not be a mere —— of the imagination.
1. What does fierce signify? 2. To what does ferocious refer? How do the two words differ? 3. What does savage signify?
The —— savages massacred the survivors to the last man.
1. To what does monetary directly refer? 2. How does pecuniary agree with and differ from monetary? 3. To what does financial especially apply? 4. In what connection is fiscal most commonly used?
The —— year closes with the society out of debt.
He was rejoiced to receive the —— aid at a time when it was most needed.
In a —— panic, many a sound business house goes down for want of power to realize instantly on valuable securities.
1. From what is fine derived, and what is its original meaning? 2. How, from this primary meaning does fine become a synonym of excellent and beautiful? 3. How does it come into connection with clarified, clear, pure, refined? 4.[436] How is it connected with dainty, delicate, and exquisite? 5. How does fine come to be a synonym for minute, comminuted? How for filmy, tenuous? for keen, sharp? Give instances of the use of fine in its various senses.
Some people are more —— than wise.
—— feathers do not always make —— birds.
The ——est balances must be kept under glass, because so ——ly adjusted as to be —— to a film of dust or a breath of air.
1. What is the essential fact underlying the visible phenomena which we call fire? 2. What is combustion? 3. How wide is its range of meaning? 4. What is a conflagration?
1. What is the most general word of this group? 2. What is a group, and of what class of objects may it be composed? 3. To what class of animals does brood apply? to what class does litter apply? 4. Of what is bevy used? flock? 5. To what is herd limited? 6. Of what is pack used? 7. What is a drove?
What is not good for the —— is not good for the bee.
He heard the bleating of the ——s and the twitter of birds among the trees.
The lowing —— winds slowly o'er the lea.
Excited ——s gathered at the corners discussing the affair.
A —— of brightly clad women and children were enjoying a picnic under the trees.
1. What is the meaning of fluctuate? 2. In what one characteristic do swerve and veer differ from oscillate, fluctuate, undulate, and waver? 3. What is the difference in mental action between hesitate and waver? between vacillate and waver? 4. Which of the above-mentioned words apply to persons? which to feelings?
Thou almost mak'st me —— in my faith.
The surface of the prairies rolls and —— to the eye.
It is almost universally true that the human mind —— at the moment of committing a crime.
The vessel suddenly —— from her course.
1. What is a fluid? 2. Into what two sections are fluids divided? 3. What is a liquid? a gas? 4. Are all liquids fluids? 5. Are gases fluids? 6. Are gases ever liquids? 7. What substance is at once a liquid and a fluid at the ordinary temperature and pressure?
This earth was once a —— haze of light.
1. What is it to follow? 2. How does follow compare with chase and pursue? 3. As regards succession in time, what is the difference between follow and ensue? result?
1. What is the meaning of formidable? 2. How does formidable differ from dangerous? terrible? tremendous? Give examples.
All delays are —— in war.
—— as an army with banners.
The great fleet moved slowly toward the forts, a —— array.
1. How does a fortress specifically differ from a fortification? 2. What is the distinctive meaning of citadel? 3. What is a fort? 4. What is a fastness or stronghold?
For a man's house is his ——.
Alva built a —— in the heart of Antwerp to overawe the city.
1. What is fortitude? 2. How does it compare with courage? 3. How do resolution and endurance compare?
1. How does fortunate compare with successful? 2. How are lucky and fortunate discriminated? 3. In what special sense, and with what reference are favored and prospered used?
It is not a —— word this same "impossible;" no good comes of those that have it so often in their mouth.
Ah, —— years! once more who would not be a boy?
1. What is a fraud? How does it differ from deceit or deception? 2. What is the design of an imposture? 3. What is dishonesty? a cheat? a swindle? How do all these fall short of the meaning of fraud? 4. Of what relations is treachery used? treason?
Whoever has once become notorious by base ——, even if he speaks truth gains no belief.
The first and the worst of all —— is to cheat oneself.
1. What does friendly signify as applied to persons, or as applied to acts? 2. How does the adjective friendly compare in strength with the noun friend?[439] 3. What is the special meaning of accessible? of companionable and sociable? of cordial and genial?
He that hath friends must show himself ——.
A fellow feeling makes one wondrous ——.
1. What is friendship? 2. In what one quality does it differ from affection, attachment, devotion, and friendliness? 3. What is the meaning of comity and amity? 4. How does friendship differ from love?
1. By what is one frightened? by what intimidated? 2. What is it to browbeat or cow? 3. What is it to scare or terrify?
The child was —— by the stories the nurse told.
1. What is economy? 2. What is frugality? 3. What is parsimony? How does it compare with frugality? What is the motive of parsimony? 4. What is miserliness? 5. What is the special characteristic of prudence and providence? of thrift? 6. What is the motive of economy?
There are but two ways of paying debt: increase of industry in raising, increase of —— in laying out.
By close —— the little home was at last paid for and there was a great thanksgiving time.
1. What does garrulous signify? chattering? 2. How do talkative and loquacious[440] differ from garrulous, and from each other? 3. What is the special application of verbose?
Guard against a feeble fluency, a —— prosiness, a facility of saying nothing.
1. What is sex? 2. To what beings only does sex apply? 3. What is gender? To what does it apply? Do the distinctions of gender correspond to the distinctions of sex? Give examples of languages containing three genders, and of the classification in languages containing but two.
The maternal relation naturally and necessarily divides the work of the ——s giving to woman the indoor life, and to man, the work of the outer world.
While in French every word is either of the masculine or feminine ——, the language sometimes fails for that very reason to indicate the —— of some person referred to.
1. What does general signify? 2. How does general compare with universal? with common? 3. What illustrations of the differences are given in the text?
—— friendships will admit of division, one may love the beauty of this, the good humor of that person, ... and so on.
A —— feeling of unrest prevailed.
Death comes to all by —— law.
1. What is the primary meaning of generous? the common meaning? 2. How does generous differ from liberal? 3. What is the distinctive sense of munificent? 4. What does munificent tell of the motive or spirit of the giver? What does generous tell? 5. How does disinterested compare with generous? 6. What is the distinctive meaning of magnanimous? How does it differ from generous as regards dealing with insults or injuries?
The conqueror proved as —— in victory as he was terrible in battle.
1. What is genius? 2. What is talent? 3. Which is the higher quality? 4. Which is the more dependent upon training?
No great —— was ever without some mixture of madness.
1. What is a person said to get? 2. How is get related to expectation or desire? How is gain related to those words? 3. By what processes does one acquire? Is the thing acquired sought or desired, or not? 4. What does one earn? 5. Does a person always get what he earns or always earn what he gets? 6. What does obtain imply? Is the thing one obtains an object of desire? How does obtain differ from get? 7. What does win imply? How is one said to win a suit at law? What is the correct term in legal phrase? Why? 8. By what special element does procure differ from obtain? 9. What is especially implied in secure?
He —— a living as umbrella mender but a poor living it is.
—— wisdom and with all thy getting, —— understanding.
In the strange city he found that all his learning would not —— him a dinner.
1. What is a gift? Is gift used in the good or the bad sense? Does the legal agree with the popular sense? 2. What synonymous word is always used in the evil sense? 3. What is a benefaction? a donation? What difference of usage is recognized between the two words? 4. What is a gratuity, and to whom given? 5. What is the sense and use of largess? 6. What is a present, and to whom given? 7. What is the special sense of boon? 8. What is a grant, and by whom made?
"——, ——, noble knights," cried the heralds.
The courts of justice had fallen so low that it was practically impossible to win a cause without a ——.
1. What is the primary meaning of give? the secondary meaning? 2. Can we give what is undesired? 3. Can we give what we are paid for? 4. How is give[442] always understood when there is no limitation in the context? 5. Is it correct to say "He gave it to me for nothing"? 6. What is to grant? 7. What is implied when we speak of granting a favor? 8. What is to confer? 9. What is especially implied in impart? in bestow?
My God shall —— all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
—— to every man that asketh of thee, and from him that would borrow of thee, turn not thou away.
The court promptly —— the injunction.
The king —— upon him the honor of knighthood.
One of the pleasantest things in life is to —— instruction to those who really desire to learn.
1. What does the word govern imply? How does it differ from control? 2. How do command and control differ? 3. How do rule and govern differ? 4. What is the special significance of sway? of mold? 5. What is it to manage? 6. What is the present meaning of reign? How does it compare with rule?
He that —— his spirit is greater than he that taketh a city.
Daniel Webster well described the character of "Old Hickory" in the sentence, "I do not say that General Jackson did not mean to —— his country well, but I do say that General Jackson meant to —— his country."
1. What does graceful denote? How is it especially distinguished from beautiful?
How —— upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings that publisheth peace.
A —— myrtle rear'd its head.
1. What is grief? 2. How does grief compare with sorrow? with sadness? with melancholy? 3. What two chief senses has affliction? 4. What is implied in mourning, in its most common acceptation?
We glory in —— also.
For our light —— which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
What private —— they have, alas! I know not, that made them do it.
1. What is custom? routine? Which is the more mechanical? 2. What element does habit add to custom and routine? 3. Should we preferably use custom or habit of a society? of an individual? 4. What is fashion? rule? system? 5. What are use and usage, and how do they differ from each other? 6. What is practise? 7. What is the distinctive meaning of wont?
Every —— is preserved and increased by correspondent actions, as the —— of walking by walking, of running by running.
Montaigne is wrong in declaring that —— ought to be followed simply because it is ——, and not because it is reasonable or just.
Lord Brougham says "The longer I live the more careful I am to entrust everything that I really care to do to the beneficent power of ——."
—— makes perfect.
Without —— little that is valuable is ever learned or done.
1. What does happen signify? 2. How does it differ from chance? 3. What is the distinctive meaning of betide? 4. How do both befall and betide differ from happen in grammatical construction? 5. What is the meaning of supervene? 6. Is transpire correctly used in the sense of happen? When may an event be properly said to transpire?
Whatever —— at all —— as it should.
Thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bear grain, it may —— of wheat, or of some other grain.
Ill —— the graceless renegade!
It —— that a secret treaty had been previously concluded between the powers.
If mischief —— him, thou shalt bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
1. What is gratification? satisfaction? 2. What is happiness? 3. How does happiness differ from comfort? 4. How does comfort differ from enjoyment? 5. How does pleasure compare with comfort and enjoyment? with happiness? 6. What do gratification and satisfaction express? How do they compare with each other? 7. How does happiness compare with gratification, satisfaction, comfort, and pleasure? with delight and joy? 8. What is delight? ecstasy? rapture? 9. What is triumph? blessedness? bliss?
Sweet is —— after pain.
Virtue alone is —— below.
Hope elevates and —— brightens his crest.
The storm raged without, but within the house all was brightness and ——.
There is no —— so sweet and abiding as that of doing good.
This is the very —— of love.
1. What is the original meaning of happy? With what words is it allied in this sense? 2. In what way is happy a synonym of blessed? 3. What is the meaning of happy in its most frequent present use?
—— are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.
To what —— accident is it that we owe so unexpected a visit.
A —— heart maketh a —— countenance.
1. What is harmony? 2. How does harmony compare with agreement? 3. How do concord and accord compare with harmony and with each other? 4. What is conformity? congruity? 5. What is consistency? 6. What is unanimity? 7. How do consent and concurrence compare?
We have made a covenant with death and with hell are we at ——.
Tyrants have made desperate efforts to secure outward —— in religious observances without —— of religious belief.
That action and counteraction which, in the natural and in the political world, from the reciprocal struggle of discordant powers draws out the —— of the universe.
The speaker was, by general ——, allowed to proceed.
1. What is the original meaning of harvest? its later meaning? 2. How does harvest compare with crop? 3. What is produce? How does it differ from product? 4. What is the meaning of proceeds? yield? return? 5. Is harvest capable of figurative use, and in what sense? 6. What is the special meaning of harvest-home? harvest-tide? harvest-time?
Just tickle the earth with a hoe, and she laughs with an abundant ——.
And the ripe —— of the new-mown hay gives it a sweet and wholesome odor.
1. What is repugnance? aversion? 2. How does hatred compare with aversion as[445] applied to persons? as applied to things? 3. What is malice? malignity? 4. What is spite? 5. What are grudge, resentment, and revenge, and how do they compare with one another?
Heaven has no —— like love to —— turned.
The slight put upon him filled him with deep ——.
In all cases of wilful injury to person or property, the law presumes ——.
I felt from our first meeting an instinctive —— for the man, which on acquaintance deepened into a settled ——.
1. To what is have applied? How widely inclusive a word is it? 2. What does possess signify? 3. What is to hold? to occupy? 4. How does be in possession compare with possess? 5. How does own compare with possess or with be in possession? 6. What is the difference between the statement that a man has reason, and the statement that he is in possession of his reason?
Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I —— is thine.
I earnestly entreat you, for your own sakes, to —— yourselves of solid reasons.
He occupies the house, but does not —— it.
1. What is the meaning of hazard? 2. How does hazard compare with danger? 3. How do risk and venture compare with chance and hazard, and with each other? 4. How do accident and casualty differ? 5. What is a contingency?
We must take the current when it serves or lose our ——.
I have set my life upon a cast, and I will stand the —— of the die.
There is no —— in doing known duty.
Do you think it necessary to provide for every —— before taking the first step?
1. What is the meaning of healthy? of healthful? Are the words properly interchangeable? 2. What are the chief synonyms of healthy? of healthful? 3. In what sense is salubrious used, and to what is it applied? 4. To what realm does salutary belong?
In books, or work, or —— play let my first years be passed.
Blessed is the —— nature; it is the coherent, sweetly cooperative, not the self-distracting one.
1. Is help or aid the stronger term? 2. Which is used in excitement or emergency? 3. Does help include aid or does aid include help? 4. Which implies the seconding of another's exertions? Do we aid or help the helpless? 5. How do cooperate and assist differ? 6. To what do encourage and uphold refer? succor and support?
He does not prevent a crime when he can —— it.
Know then whatever cheerful and serene —— the mind —— the body too.
1. What is a heretic? a schismatic? 2. In what does a heretic differ from his church or religious body? a schismatic? 3. How do a heretic and a schismatic often differ in action? 4. How are the terms dissenter and non-conformist usually applied?