English Synonyms and Antonyms - James Champlin Fernald (christmas read aloud TXT) 📗

time, and generally for religious reasons. Sobriety and temperance signify maintaining a quiet, even temper by moderate indulgence in some things, complete abstinence from others. We speak of temperance in eating, but of abstinence from vice. Total abstinence has come to signify the entire abstaining from intoxicating liquors. Antonyms: drunkenness, greed, reveling, sensuality, excess, intemperance, revelry, wantonness. gluttony, intoxication, self-indulgence, Preposition:

The negative side of virtue is abstinence from vice.

ABSTRACT, v. Synonyms: appropriate, distract, purloin, steal, detach, divert, remove, take away, discriminate, eliminate, separate, withdraw. distinguish,

The central idea of withdrawing makes abstract in common speech a euphemism for appropriate (unlawfully), purloin, steal. In mental processes we discriminate between objects by distinguishing their differences; we separate some one element from all that does not necessarily belong to it, abstract it, and view it alone. We may separate two ideas, and hold both in mind in[11] comparison or contrast; but when we abstract one of them, we drop the other out of thought. The mind is abstracted when it is withdrawn from all other subjects and concentrated upon one, diverted when it is drawn away from what it would or should attend to by some other interest, distracted when the attention is divided among different subjects, so that it can not be given properly to any. The trouble with the distracted person is that he is not abstracted. Compare DISCERN.

Antonyms: add, complete, fill up, restore, unite. combine, conjoin, increase, strengthen, Prepositions:

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

ABSTRACTED. Synonyms: absent, heedless, listless, preoccupied, absent-minded, inattentive, negligent, thoughtless. absorbed, indifferent, oblivious,

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

Antonyms: alert, on hand, ready, wide-awake. attentive, prompt, thoughtful, ABSURD. Synonyms: anomalous, ill-considered, ludicrous, ridiculous, chimerical, ill-judged, mistaken, senseless, erroneous, inconclusive, monstrous, stupid, false, incorrect, nonsensical, unreasonable, foolish, infatuated, paradoxical, wild. ill-advised, irrational, preposterous,

That is absurd which is contrary to the first principles of reasoning; as, that a part should be greater than the whole is absurd. A paradoxical statement appears at first thought contradictory or absurd, while it may be really true. Anything is irrational[12] when clearly contrary to sound reason, foolish when contrary to practical good sense, silly when petty and contemptible in its folly, erroneous when containing error that vitiates the result, unreasonable when there seems a perverse bias or an intent to go wrong. Monstrous and preposterous refer to what is overwhelmingly absurd; as, "O monstrous! eleven buckram men grown out of two," Shakespeare 1 King Henry IV, act ii, sc. 4. The ridiculous or the nonsensical is worthy only to be laughed at. The lunatic's claim to be a king is ridiculous; the Mother Goose rimes are nonsensical. Compare INCONGRUOUS.

Antonyms: certain, incontrovertible, rational, substantial, consistent, indisputable, reasonable, true, demonstrable, indubitable, sagacious, undeniable, demonstrated, infallible, sensible, unquestionable, established, logical, sound, wise. incontestable, ABUSE. Synonyms: aggrieve, impose on or oppress, ruin, damage, upon, persecute, slander, defame, injure, pervert, victimize, defile, malign, prostitute, vilify, disparage, maltreat, rail at, violate, harm, misemploy, ravish, vituperate, ill-treat, misuse, reproach, wrong. ill-use, molest, revile,

Abuse covers all unreasonable or improper use or treatment by word or act. A tenant does not abuse rented property by "reasonable wear," though that may damage the property and injure its sale; he may abuse it by needless defacement or neglect. It is possible to abuse a man without harming him, as when the criminal vituperates the judge; or to harm a man without abusing him, as when the witness tells the truth about the criminal. Defame, malign, rail at, revile, slander, vilify, and vituperate are used always in a bad sense. One may be justly reproached. To impose on or to victimize one is to injure him by abusing his confidence. To persecute one is to ill-treat him for opinion's sake, commonly for religious belief; to oppress is generally for political or pecuniary motives. "Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy," Deut. xxiv, 14. Misemploy, misuse, and pervert are commonly applied to objects rather than to persons. A dissolute youth misemploys his time, misuses his money[13] and opportunities, harms his associates, perverts his talents, wrongs his parents, ruins himself, abuses every good gift of God.

Antonyms: applaud, conserve, favor, protect, sustain, benefit, consider, laud, regard, tend, care for, eulogize, panegyrize, respect, uphold, cherish, extol, praise, shield, vindicate. ACCESSORY. Synonyms: abetter or abettor, associate, companion, henchman, accomplice, attendant, confederate, participator, ally, coadjutor, follower, partner, assistant, colleague, helper, retainer.

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

Antonyms: adversary, chief, foe, leader, principal, antagonist, commander, hinderer, opponent, rival. betrayer, enemy, instigator, opposer,

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Prepositions:

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

ACCIDENT. Synonyms: adventure, contingency, happening, misfortune, calamity, disaster, hazard, mishap, casualty, fortuity, incident, possibility. chance, hap, misadventure,

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

Antonyms: appointment, decree, intention, ordainment, preparation, calculation, fate, law, ordinance, provision, certainty, foreordination, necessity, plan, purpose. Prepositions:

The accident of birth; an accident to the machinery.

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ACQUAINTANCE. Synonyms: association, experience, fellowship, intimacy, companionship, familiarity, friendship, knowledge.

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

Antonyms: ignorance, ignoring, inexperience, unfamiliarity. Prepositions:

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

ACRIMONY. Synonyms: acerbity, harshness, severity, tartness, asperity, malignity, sharpness, unkindness, bitterness, moroseness, sourness, virulence. causticity,

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

Antonyms: amiability, gentleness, kindness, smoothness, courtesy, good nature, mildness, sweetness. ACT, n. Synonyms: accomplishment, execution, movement, achievement, exercise, operation, action, exertion, performance, consummation, exploit, proceeding, deed, feat, transaction, doing, motion, work. effect,

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