Part 1 — SYNONYMS, ANTONYMS AND PREPOSITIONS. (continued 6)

NECESSITY.

Synonyms:

compulsion,fatality,requisite,

destiny,fate,sine qua non,

emergency,indispensability,unavoidableness,

essential,indispensableness,urgency,

exigency,need,want.

extremity,requirement,

Necessity is the quality of being necessary, or the quality of that which can not but be, become, or be true, or be accepted as true. Need and want always imply a lack; necessity may be used[251] in this sense, but in the higher philosophical sense necessity simply denotes the exclusion of any alternative either in thought or fact; righteousness is a necessity (not a need) of the divine nature. Need suggests the possibility of supplying the deficiency which want expresses; to speak of a person's want of decision merely points out a weakness in his character; to say that he has need of decision implies that he can exercise or attain it. As applied to a deficiency, necessity is more imperative than need; a weary person is in need of rest; when rest becomes a necessity he has no choice but to stop work. An essential is something, as a quality, or element, that belongs to the essence of something else so as to be inseparable from it in its normal condition, or in any complete idea or statement of it. Compare NECESSARY; PREDESTINATION.

Antonyms:

choice,doubt,dubiousness,freedom,possibility,

contingency,doubtfulness,fortuity,option,uncertainty.

Prepositions:

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

NEGLECT.

Synonyms:

carelessness,heedlessness,negligence,scorn,

default,inadvertence,omission,slackness,

disregard,inattention,oversight,slight,

disrespect,indifference,remissness,thoughtlessness.

failure,neglectfulness,

Neglect (L. nec, not, and lego, gather) is the failing to take such care, show such attention, pay such courtesy, etc., as may be rightfully or reasonably expected. Negligence, which is the same in origin, may be used in almost the same sense, but with a slighter force, as when Whittier speaks of "the negligence which friendship loves;" but negligence is often used to denote the quality or trait of character of which the act is a manifestation, or to denote the habit of neglecting that which ought to be done. Neglect is transitive, negligence is intransitive; we speak of neglect of his books, friends, or duties, in which cases we could not use negligence; negligence in dress implies want of care as to its arrangement, tidiness, etc.; neglect of one's garments would imply leaving them exposed to defacement or injury, as by dust, moths, etc. Neglect has a passive sense which negligence has not; the child was suffering from neglect, i. e., from being neglected by others; the child was suffering from negligence would imply that he himself[252] was neglectful. The distinction sometimes made that neglect denotes the act, and negligence the habit, is but partially true; one may be guilty of habitual neglect of duty; the wife may suffer from her husband's constant neglect, while the negligence which causes a railroad accident may be that of a moment, and on the part of one ordinarily careful and attentive; in such cases the law provides punishment for criminal negligence.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for CARE.

Prepositions:

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

NEW.

Synonyms:

fresh,modern,new-made,upstart,

juvenile,new-fangled,novel,young,

late,new-fashioned,recent,youthful.

That which is new has lately come into existence, possession, or use; a new house is just built, or in a more general sense is one that has just come into the possession of the present owner or occupant. Modern denotes that which has begun to exist in the present age, and is still existing; recent denotes that which has come into existence within a comparatively brief period, and may or may not be existing still. Modern history pertains to any period since the middle ages; modern literature, modern architecture, etc., are not strikingly remote from the styles and types prevalent to-day. That which is late is somewhat removed from the present, but not far enough to be called old. That which is recent is not quite so sharply distinguished from the past as that which is new; recent publications range over a longer time than new books. That which is novel is either absolutely or relatively unprecedented in kind; a novel contrivance is one that has never before been known; a novel experience is one that has never before occurred to the same person; that which is new may be of a familiar or even of an ancient sort, as a new copy of an old book. Young and youthful are applied to that which has life; that which is young is possessed of a comparatively new existence as a living thing, possessing actual youth; that which is youthful manifests the attributes of youth. (Compare YOUTHFUL.) Fresh applies to that which has the characteristics of newness or youth, while capable of deterioration by lapse of time; that which[253] is unworn, unspoiled, or unfaded; as, a fresh countenance, fresh eggs, fresh flowers. New is opposed to old, modern to ancient, recent to remote, young to old, aged, etc.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for OLD.

NIMBLE.

Synonyms:

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

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

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

Antonyms:

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

NORMAL.

Synonyms:

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

That which is natural is according to nature; that which is normal is according to the standard or rule which is observed or claimed to prevail in nature; a deformity may be natural, symmetry is normal; the normal color of the crow is black, while the normal color of the sparrow is gray, but one is as natural as the other. Typical refers to such an assemblage of qualities as makes the specimen, genus, etc., a type of some more comprehensive group, while normal is more commonly applied to the parts of a single object; the specimen was typical; color, size, and other characteristics, normal. The regular is etymologically that which is according to rule, hence that which is steady and constant, as opposed to that which is fitful and changeable; the normal action of the heart is regular. That which is common is shared by a[254] great number of persons or things; disease is common, a normal state of health is rare. Compare GENERAL; USUAL.

Antonyms:

abnormal,irregular,peculiar,singular,unprecedented,

exceptional,monstrous,rare,uncommon,unusual.

NOTWITHSTANDING, conj.

Synonyms:

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

but,however,still,yet.

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

NOTWITHSTANDING, prep.

Synonyms:

despite,in spite of.

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

OATH.

Synonyms:

adjuration,curse,profane swearing,

affidavit,cursing,profanity,

anathema,denunciation,reprobation,

ban,execration,swearing,

blaspheming,imprecation,sworn statement.

blasphemy,malediction,vow.

In the highest sense, as in a court of justice, "an oath is a reverent[255] appeal to God in corroboration of what one says," Abbott Law Dict.; an affidavit is a sworn statement made in writing in the presence of a competent officer; an adjuration is a solemn appeal to a person in the name of God to speak the truth. An oath is made to man in the name of God; a vow, to God without the intervention, often without the knowledge, of man. In the lower sense, an oath may be mere blasphemy or profane swearing. Anathema, curse, execration, and imprecation are modes of invoking vengeance or retribution from a superhuman power upon the person against whom they are uttered. Anathema is a solemn ecclesiastical condemnation of a person or of a proposition. Curse may be just and authoritative; as, the curse of God; or, it may be wanton and powerless: "so the curse causeless shall not come," Prov. xxvi, 2. Execration expresses most of personal bitterness and hatred; imprecation refers especially to the coming of the desired evil upon the person against whom it is uttered. Malediction is a general wish of evil, a less usual but very expressive word. Compare TESTIMONY.

Antonyms:

benediction,benison,blessing.

OBSCURE.

Synonyms:

abstruse,darksome,dusky,involved,

ambiguous,deep,enigmatical,muddy,

cloudy,dense,hidden,mysterious,

complex,difficult,incomprehensible,profound,

complicated,dim,indistinct,turbid,

dark,doubtful,intricate,unintelligible.

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

Antonyms:

See synonyms for CLEAR.

[256]

OBSOLETE.

Synonyms:

ancient,archaic,obsolescent,out of date,

antiquated,disused,old,rare.

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

Antonyms:

See synonyms for NEW.

OBSTINATE.

Synonyms:

contumacious,headstrong,mulish,resolute,

decided,heady,obdurate,resolved,

determined,immovable,opinionated,stubborn,

dogged,indomitable,persistent,unconquerable,

firm,inflexible,pertinacious,unflinching,

fixed,intractable,refractory,unyielding.

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

Antonyms:

amenable,dutiful,pliable,tractable,

complaisant,gentle,pliant,undecided,

compliant,irresolute,submissive,wavering,

docile,obedient,teachable,yielding.

[257]

OBSTRUCT.

Synonyms:

arrest,check,embarrass,interrupt,stay,

bar,choke,hinder,oppose,stop.

barricade,clog,impede,retard,

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

Antonyms:

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

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

OLD.

Synonyms:

aged,decrepit,immemorial,senile,

ancient,elderly,olden,time-honored,

antiquated,gray,patriarchal,time-worn,

antique,hoary,remote,venerable.

That is termed old which has existed long, or which existed long ago. Ancient, from the Latin, through the French, is the more stately, old, from the Saxon, the more familiar word. Familiarity, on one side, is near to contempt; thus we say, an old coat, an old hat. On the other hand, familiarity is akin to tenderness, and thus old is a word of endearment; as, "the old homestead," the "old oaken bucket." "Tell me the old, old story!" has been sung feelingly by millions; "tell me that ancient story" would remove it out of all touch of human sympathy. Olden is a statelier form of old, and is applied almost exclusively to time, not to places, buildings, persons, etc. As regards periods of time, the familiar are also the near; thus, the old times are not too far away for familiar thought and reference; the olden times are more remote, ancient times still further removed. Gray, hoary, and moldering refer to outward and visible tokens of age. Aged applies chiefly to long-extended human life. Decrepit, gray, and hoary refer to the effects of age on the body exclusively; senile upon the mind also; as, a decrepit frame, senile garrulousness. One may be aged and neither decrepit nor senile. Elderly is applied to those who have passed middle life, but scarcely reached[258] old age. Remote (L. re, back or away, and moveo, move), primarily refers to space, but is extended to that which is far off in time; as, at some remote period. Venerable expresses the involuntary reverence that we yield to the majestic and long-enduring, whether in the material world or in human life and character. Compare ANTIQUE; OBSOLETE; PRIMEVAL.

Antonyms:

Compare synonyms for NEW; YOUTHFUL.

OPERATION.

Synonyms:

action,effect,force,performance,result.

agency,execution,influence,procedure,

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

Antonyms:

failure,ineffectiveness,inutility,powerlessness,uselessness.

inaction,inefficiency,

ORDER.

Synonyms:

command,injunction,mandate,requirement.

direction,instruction,prohibition,

Instruction implies superiority of knowledge, direction of authority on the part of the giver; a teacher gives instructions to his pupils, an employer gives directions to his workmen. Order is still more authoritative than direction; soldiers, sailors, and railroad employees have simply to obey the orders of their superiors, without explanation or question; an order in the commercial sense has the authority of the money which the one ordering the goods pays or is to pay. Command is a loftier word, as well as highly authoritative, less frequent in common life; we speak of the commands of God, or sometimes, by polite hyperbole, ask of a friend, "Have you any commands for me?" A requirement is imperative, but not always formal, nor made by a personal agent; it may be in the nature of things; as, the requirements of the position.[259] Prohibition is wholly negative; it is a command not to do; injunction is now oftenest so used, especially as the requirement by legal authority that certain action be suspended or refrained from, pending final legal decision. Compare ARRAY; CLASS; LAW; PROHIBIT; SYSTEM.

Antonyms:

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

OSTENTATION.

Synonyms:

boast,flourish,parade,pompousness,vaunt,

boasting,pageant,pomp,show,vaunting.

display,pageantry,pomposity,

Ostentation is an ambitious showing forth of whatever is thought adapted to win admiration or praise; ostentation may be without words; as, the ostentation of wealth in fine residences, rich clothing, costly equipage, or the like; when in words, ostentation is rather in manner than in direct statement; as, the ostentation of learning. Boasting is in direct statement, and is louder and more vulgar than ostentation. There may be great display or show with little substance; ostentation suggests something substantial to be shown. Pageant, pageantry, parade, and pomp refer principally to affairs of arms or state; as, a royal pageant; a military parade. Pomp is some material demonstration of wealth and power, as in grand and stately ceremonial, rich furnishings, processions, etc., considered as worthy of the person or occasion in whose behalf it is manifested; pomp is the noble side of that which as ostentation is considered as arrogant and vain. Pageant and pageantry are inferior to pomp, denoting spectacular display designed to impress the public mind, and since the multitude is largely ignorant and thoughtless, the words pageant and pageantry have a suggestion of the transient and unsubstantial. Parade (L. paro, prepare) is an exhibition as of troops in camp going through the evolutions that are to be used in battle, and suggests a lack of earnestness and direct or immediate occasion or demand; hence, in the more general sense, a parade is an uncalled for exhibition, and so used is a more disparaging word than ostentation; ostentation may spring merely from undue self-gratulation, parade implies a desire to impress others with a sense of one's abilities or resources, and is always offensive and[260] somewhat contemptible; as, a parade of wealth or learning. Pomposity and pompousness are the affectation of pomp.

Antonyms:

diffidence,quietness,retirement,timidity,

modesty,reserve,shrinking,unobtrusiveness.

OUGHT.

Synonym:

should.

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

OVERSIGHT.

Synonyms:

care,control,management,surveillance,

charge,direction,superintendence,watch,

command,inspection,supervision,watchfulness.

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

[261]

PAIN.

Synonyms:

ache,distress,suffering,torture,

agony,pang,throe,twinge,

anguish,paroxysm,torment,wo(e).

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

Antonyms:

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

PALLIATE.

Synonyms:

apologize for,conceal,extenuate,hide,screen,

cloak,cover,gloss over,mitigate,veil.

Cloak, from the French, and palliate, from the Latin, are the same in original signification, but have diverged in meaning; a cloak may be used to hide completely the person or some object carried about the person, or it may but partly veil the figure, making the outlines less distinct; cloak is used in the former, palliate, in the latter sense; to cloak a sin is to attempt to hide it from discovery; to palliate it is to attempt to hide some part of its blameworthiness. "When we palliate our own or others' faults we do not seek to cloke them altogether, but only to extenuate the guilt of them in part." Trench Study of Words lect. vi, p.[262] 266. Either to palliate or to extenuate is to admit the fault; but to extenuate is rather to apologize for the offender, while to palliate is to disguise the fault; hence, we speak of extenuating but not of palliating circumstances, since circumstances can not change the inherent wrong of an act, tho they may lessen the blameworthiness of him who does it; palliating a bad thing by giving it a mild name does not make it less evil. In reference to diseases, to palliate is really to diminish their violence, or partly to relieve the sufferer. Compare ALLEVIATE; HIDE.

PARDON, v.

Synonyms:

absolve,condone,forgive,pass by,remit.

acquit,excuse,overlook,pass over,

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

Antonyms:

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

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

PARDON, n.

Synonyms:

absolution,amnesty,forgiveness,oblivion,

acquittal,forbearance,mercy,remission.

Acquittal is a release from a charge, after trial, as not guilty.[263] Pardon is a removal of penalty from one who has been adjudged guilty. Acquittal is by the decision of a court, commonly of a jury; pardon is the act of the executive. An innocent man may demand acquittal, and need not plead for pardon. Pardon supposes an offense; yet, as our laws stand, to grant a pardon is sometimes the only way to release one who has been wrongly convicted. Oblivion, from the Latin, signifies overlooking and virtually forgetting an offense, so that the offender stands before the law in all respects as if it had never been committed. Amnesty brings the same idea through the Greek. Pardon affects individuals; amnesty and oblivion are said of great numbers. Pardon is oftenest applied to the ordinary administration of law; amnesty, to national and military affairs. An amnesty is issued after war, insurrection, or rebellion; it is often granted by "an act of oblivion," and includes a full pardon of all offenders who come within its provisions. Absolution is a religious word (compare synonyms for ABSOLVE). Remission is a discharge from penalty; as, the remission of a fine.

Antonyms:

penalty,punishment,retaliation,retribution,vengeance.

Prepositions:

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

PART, v.

Synonyms:

Compare synonyms for PART, n.

Prepositions:

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

[264]

PART, n.

Synonyms:

atom,fraction,member,section,

component,fragment,particle,segment,

constituent,ingredient,piece,share,

division,instalment,portion,subdivision.

element,

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

PARTICLE.

Synonyms:

atom,grain,mite,scrap,whit.

corpuscle,iota,molecule,shred,

element,jot,scintilla,tittle,

A particle is a very small part of any material substance; as, a particle of sand or of dust; it is a general term, not accurately determinate in meaning. Atom (Gr. a- privative, not, and temno, cut) etymologically signifies that which can not be cut or divided, and is the smallest conceivable particle of matter, regarded as absolutely homogeneous and as having but one set of properties; atoms are the ultimate particles of matter. A molecule[265] is made up of atoms, and is regarded as separable into its constituent parts; as used by physicists, a molecule is the smallest conceivable part which retains all the characteristics of the substance; thus, a molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen. Element in chemistry denotes, without reference to quantity, a substance regarded as simple, i. e., one incapable of being resolved by any known process into simpler substances; the element gold may be represented by an ingot or by a particle of gold-dust. In popular language, an element is any essential constituent; the ancients believed that the universe was made up of the four elements, earth, air, fire, and water; a storm is spoken of as a manifestation of the fury of the elements. We speak of corpuscles of blood. Compare PART.

Antonyms:

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

PATIENCE.

Synonyms:

calmness,forbearance,long-suffering,sufferance.

composure,fortitude,resignation,

endurance,leniency,submission,

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

Antonyms:

See synonyms for ANGER.

Prepositions:

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

[266]

PAY, n.

Synonyms:

allowance,hire,recompense,salary,

compensation,honorarium,remuneration,stipend,

earnings,payment,requital,wages.

fee,

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

PEOPLE.

Synonyms:

commonwealth,nation,race,state,tribe.

community,population,

A community is in general terms the aggregate of persons inhabiting any territory in common and viewed as having common interests; a commonwealth is such a body of persons having a common government, especially a republican government; as, the commonwealth of Massachusetts. A community may be very small; a commonwealth is ordinarily of considerable extent. A people is the aggregate of any public community, either in distinction[267] from their rulers or as including them; a race is a division of mankind in the line of origin and ancestry; the people of the United States includes members of almost every race. The use of people as signifying persons collectively, as in the statement "The hall was full of people," has been severely criticized, but is old and accepted English, and may fitly be classed as idiomatic, and often better than persons, by reason of its collectivism. As Dean Alford suggests, it would make a strange transformation of the old hymn "All people that on earth do dwell" to sing "All persons that on earth do dwell." A state is an organized political community considered in its corporate capacity as "a body politic and corporate;" as, a legislative act is the act of the state; every citizen is entitled to the protection of the state. A nation is an organized political community considered with reference to the persons composing it as having certain definite boundaries, a definite number of citizens, etc. The members of a people are referred to as persons or individuals; the individual members of a state or nation are called citizens or subjects. The population of a country is simply the aggregate of persons residing within its borders, without reference to race, organization, or allegiance; unnaturalized residents form part of the population, but not of the nation, possessing none of the rights and being subject to none of the duties of citizens. In American usage State signifies one commonwealth of the federal union known as the United States. Tribe is now almost wholly applied to rude peoples with very imperfect political organization; as, the Indian tribes; nomadic tribes. Compare MOB.

PERCEIVE.

Synonyms:

apprehend,comprehend,conceive,understand.

We perceive what is presented through the senses. We apprehend what is presented to the mind, whether through the senses or by any other means. Yet perceive is used in the figurative sense of seeing through to a conclusion, in a way for which usage would not allow us to substitute apprehend; as, "Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet," John iv, 19. That which we apprehend we catch, as with the hand; that which we conceive we are able to analyze and recompose in our mind; that which we comprehend, we, as it were, grasp around, take together, seize, embrace wholly within the mind. Many things may be apprehended[268] which can not be comprehended; a child can apprehend the distinction between right and wrong, yet the philosopher can not comprehend it in its fulness. We can apprehend the will of God as revealed in conscience or the Scriptures; we can conceive of certain attributes of Deity, as his truth and justice; but no finite intelligence can comprehend the Divine Nature, in its majesty, power, and perfection. Compare ANTICIPATE; ARREST; CATCH; KNOWLEDGE.

Antonyms:

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

PERFECT.

Synonyms:

absolute,consummate,holy,spotless,

accurate,correct,ideal,stainless,

blameless,entire,immaculate,unblemished,

complete,faultless,sinless,undefiled.

completed,finished,

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

Antonyms:

bad,defective,imperfect,meager,scant,

blemished,deficient,incomplete,perverted,short,

corrupt,deformed,inferior,poor,spoiled,

corrupted,fallible,insufficient,ruined,worthless.

defaced,faulty,marred,

[269]

PERMANENT.

Synonyms:

abiding,enduring,lasting,steadfast,

changeless,fixed,perpetual,unchangeable,

constant,immutable,persistent,unchanging.

durable,invariable,stable,

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

Antonyms:

See synonyms for TRANSIENT.

PERMISSION.

Synonyms:

allowance,authorization,leave,license,

authority,consent,liberty,permit.

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

Antonyms:

denial,objection,prevention,refusal,resistance.

hindrance,opposition,prohibition,

[270]

PERNICIOUS.

Synonyms:

bad,evil,mischievous,pestilential,

baneful,foul,noisome,poisonous,

deadly,harmful,noxious,ruinous,

deleterious,hurtful,perverting,unhealthful,

destructive,injurious,pestiferous,unwholesome.

detrimental,insalubrious,

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

Antonyms:

advantageous,favorable,helpful,profitable,serviceable,

beneficent,good,invigorating,rejuvenating,useful,

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

PERPLEXITY.

Synonyms:

amazement,bewilderment,distraction,doubt,

astonishment,confusion,disturbance,embarrassment.

Perplexity (L. per, through, and plecto, plait) is the drawing or turning of the thoughts or faculties by turns in different directions or toward contrasted or contradictory conclusions; confusion (L. confusus, from confundo, pour together) is a state in which the mental faculties are, as it were, thrown into chaos, so that the clear and distinct action of the different powers, as of perception, memory, reason, and will is lost; bewilderment is akin to confusion, but is less overwhelming, and more readily recovered from; perplexity, accordingly, has not the unsettling of the faculties implied in confusion, nor the overwhelming of the faculties implied in amazement or astonishment; it is not the magnitude of the things to be known, but the want of full and definite knowledge, that causes perplexity. The dividing of a woodland path may cause the traveler the greatest perplexity, which may become bewilderment when he has tried one path after another and lost his bearings completely. With an excitable person bewilderment may deepen into confusion that will make him unable to think clearly or even to see or hear distinctly. Amazement results from the sudden and unimagined occurrence of great good or evil or[271] the sudden awakening of the mind to unthought-of truth. Astonishment often produces bewilderment, which the word was formerly understood to imply. Compare AMAZEMENT; ANXIETY; DOUBT.

PERSUADE.

Synonyms:

allure,dispose,incline,move,

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

coax,impel,influence,urge,

convince,incite,lead,win over.

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

Antonyms:

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

PERTNESS.

Synonyms:

boldness,forwardness,liveliness,sprightliness.

briskness,impertinence,sauciness,

flippancy,impudence,smartness,

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

Antonyms:

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

[272]

PERVERSE.

Synonyms:

contrary,froward,petulant,untoward,

factious,intractable,stubborn,wayward,

fractious,obstinate,ungovernable,wilful.

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

Antonyms:

accommodating,complaisant,genial,kind,

amenable,compliant,governable,obliging.

PHYSICAL.

Synonyms:

bodily,corporeal,natural,tangible,

corporal,material,sensible,visible.

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

Antonyms:

hyperphysical,intangible,invisible,moral,unreal,

immaterial,intellectual,mental,spiritual,unsubstantial.

PIQUE.

Synonyms:

displeasure,irritation,offense,resentment,umbrage.

grudge,

Pique, from the French, signifies primarily a prick or a sting, as of a nettle; the word denotes a sudden feeling of mingled pain and anger, but slight and usually transient, arising from some neglect or offense, real or imaginary. Umbrage is a deeper and more[273] persistent displeasure at being overshadowed (L. umbra, a shadow) or subjected to any treatment that one deems unworthy of him. It may be said, as a general statement, that pique arises from wounded vanity or sensitiveness, umbrage from wounded pride or sometimes from suspicion. Resentment rests on more solid grounds, and is deep and persistent. Compare ANGER.

Antonyms:

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

complacency,

PITIFUL.

Synonyms:

abject,lamentable,paltry,sorrowful,

base,miserable,pathetic,touching,

contemptible,mournful,piteous,woful,

despicable,moving,pitiable,wretched.

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

Antonyms:

august,dignified,grand,lofty,sublime,

beneficent,exalted,great,mighty,superb,

commanding,glorious,helpful,noble,superior.

PITY.

Synonyms:

commiseration,condolence,sympathy,tenderness.

compassion,mercy,

Pity is a feeling of grief or pain aroused by the weakness, misfortunes, or distresses of others, joined with a desire to help or relieve. Sympathy (feeling or suffering with) implies some degree of equality, kindred, or union; pity is for what is weak or unfortunate, and so far, at least, inferior to ourselves; hence, pity is[274] often resented where sympathy would be welcome. We have sympathy with one in joy or grief, in pleasure or pain, pity only for those in suffering or need; we may have sympathy with the struggles of a giant or the triumphs of a conqueror; we are moved with pity for the captive or the slave. Pity may be only in the mind, but mercy does something for those who are its objects. Compassion, like pity, is exercised only with respect to the suffering or unfortunate, but combines with the tenderness of pity the dignity of sympathy and the active quality of mercy. Commiseration is as tender as compassion, but more remote and hopeless; we have commiseration for sufferers whom we can not reach or can not relieve. Condolence is the expression of sympathy. Compare MERCY.

Antonyms:

barbarity,ferocity,harshness,pitilessness,severity,

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

cruelty,hardness,mercilessness,ruthlessness,truculence.

Prepositions:

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

PLANT.

Synonyms:

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

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

Antonyms:

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

PLEAD.

Synonyms:

advocate,ask,beseech,implore,solicit,

argue,beg,entreat,press,urge.

To plead for one is to employ argument or persuasion, or both in his behalf, usually with earnestness or importunity; similarly[275] one may be said to plead for himself or for a cause, etc., or with direct object, to plead a case; in legal usage, pleading is argumentative, but in popular usage, pleading always implies some appeal to the feelings. One argues a case solely on rational grounds and supposably with fair consideration of both sides; he advocates one side for the purpose of carrying it, and under the influence of motives that may range all the way from cold self-interest to the highest and noblest impulses; he pleads a cause, or pleads for a person with still more intense feeling. Beseech, entreat, and implore imply impassioned earnestness, with direct and tender appeal to personal considerations. Press and urge imply more determined or perhaps authoritative insistence. Solicit is a weak word denoting merely an attempt to secure one's consent or cooperation, sometimes by sordid or corrupt motives.

Prepositions:

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

PLEASANT.

Synonyms:

agreeable,good-natured,kindly,pleasing,

attractive,kind,obliging,pleasurable.

That is pleasing from which pleasure is received, or may readily be received, without reference to any action or intent in that which confers it; as, a pleasing picture; a pleasing landscape. Whatever has active qualities adapted to give pleasure is pleasant; as, a pleasant breeze; a pleasant (not a pleasing) day. As applied to persons, pleasant always refers to a disposition ready and desirous to please; one is pleasant, or in a pleasant mood, when inclined to make happy those with whom he is dealing, to show kindness and do any reasonable favor. In this sense pleasant is nearly akin to kind, but kind refers to act or intent, while pleasant stops with the disposition; many persons are no longer in a pleasant mood if asked to do a troublesome kindness. Pleasant keeps always something of the sense of actually giving pleasure, and thus surpasses the meaning of good-natured; there are good-natured people who by reason of rudeness and ill-breeding are not pleasant companions. A pleasing face has good features, complexion, expression, etc.; a pleasant face indicates a kind heart and an obliging disposition, as well as kindly feelings in actual exercise; we can say of one usually good-natured, "on[276] that occasion he did not meet me with a pleasant face." Pleasant, in the sense of gay, merry, jocose (the sense still retained in pleasantry), is now rare, and would not be understood outside of literary circles. Compare AMIABLE; COMFORTABLE; DELIGHTFUL.

Antonyms:

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

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

crabbed,forbidding,harsh,offensive,unkind,

disagreeable,gloomy,hateful,repellent,unpleasant.

Prepositions:

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

PLENTIFUL.

Synonyms:

abounding,bountiful,generous,plenteous,

abundant,complete,large,profuse,

adequate,copious,lavish,replete,

affluent,enough,liberal,rich,

ample,exuberant,luxuriant,sufficient,

bounteous,full,overflowing,teeming.

Enough is relative, denoting a supply equal to a given demand. A temperature of 70° Fahrenheit is enough for a living-room; of 212° enough to boil water; neither is enough to melt iron. Sufficient, from the Latin, is an equivalent of the Saxon enough, with no perceptible difference of meaning, but only of usage, enough being the more blunt, homely, and forcible word, while sufficient is in many cases the more elegant or polite. Sufficient usually precedes its noun; enough usually and preferably follows. That is ample which gives a safe, but not a large, margin beyond a given demand; that is abundant, affluent, bountiful, liberal, plentiful, which is largely in excess of manifest need. Plentiful is used of supplies, as of food, water, etc.; as, "a plentiful rain," Ps. lxviii, 9. We may also say a copious rain; but copious can be applied to thought, language, etc., where plentiful can not well be used. Affluent and liberal both apply to riches, resources; liberal, with especial reference to giving or expending. (Compare synonyms for ADEQUATE.) Affluent, referring especially to riches, may be used of thought, feeling, etc. Neither affluent, copious, nor plentiful can be used of time or space; a field is sometimes called plentiful, not with reference to its extent, but to its productiveness. Complete expresses not excess or overplus, and yet not mere sufficiency, but harmony, proportion, fitness to a design, or ideal. Ample and abundant may be applied to any subject. We have time enough, means that we can reach our destination without haste, but also without delay; if we have ample time, we may move leisurely, and note[277] what is by the way; if we have abundant time, we may pause to converse with a friend, to view the scenery, or to rest when weary. Lavish and profuse imply a decided excess, oftenest in the ill sense. We rejoice in abundant resources, and honor generous hospitality; lavish or profuse expenditure suggests extravagance and wastefulness. Luxuriant is used especially of that which is abundant in growth; as, a luxuriant crop.

Antonyms:

deficient,inadequate,narrow,scanty,small,

drained,insufficient,niggardly,scarce,sparing,

exhausted,mean,poor,scrimped,stingy,

impoverished,miserly,scant,short,straitened.

Preposition:

Plentiful in resources.

POETRY.

Synonyms:

meter,numbers,poesy,song,

metrical composition,poem,rime,verse.

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

Antonyms:

prosaic speech,prosaic writing,prose.

POLITE.

Synonyms:

accomplished,courtly,genteel,urbane,

civil,cultivated,gracious,well-behaved,

complaisant,cultured,obliging,well-bred,

courteous,elegant,polished,well-mannered.

A civil person observes such propriety of speech and manner as[278] to avoid being rude; one who is polite (literally polished) observes more than the necessary proprieties, conforming to all that is graceful, becoming, and thoughtful in the intercourse of refined society. A man may be civil with no consideration for others, simply because self-respect forbids him to be rude; but one who is polite has at least some care for the opinions of others, and if polite in the highest and truest sense, which is coming to be the prevailing one, he cares for the comfort and happiness of others in the smallest matters. Civil is a colder and more distant word than polite; courteous is fuller and richer, dealing often with greater matters, and is used only in the good sense. Courtly suggests that which befits a royal court, and is used of external grace and stateliness without reference to the prompting feeling; as, the courtly manners of the ambassador. Genteel refers to an external elegance, which may be showy and superficial, and the word is thus inferior to polite or courteous. Urbane refers to a politeness that is genial and successful in giving others a sense of ease and cheer. Polished refers to external elegancies of speech and manner without reference to spirit or purpose; as, a polished gentleman or a polished scoundrel; cultured refers to a real and high development of mind and soul, of which the external manifestation is the smallest part. Complaisant denotes a disposition to please or favor beyond what politeness would necessarily require.

Antonyms:

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

bluff,coarse,impertinent,raw,unmannerly,

blunt,discourteous,impolite,rude,unpolished,

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

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

POLITY.

Synonyms:

constitution,policy,form or system of government.

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

[279]

PORTION.

Synonyms:

lot,parcel,part,proportion,share.

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

POVERTY.

Synonyms:

beggary,distress,mendicancy,pauperism,privation,

destitution,indigence,need,penury,want.

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

POWER.

Synonyms:

ability,competency,expertness,readiness,

aptitude,dexterity,faculty,skill,

capability,efficacy,force,strength,

capacity,efficiency,might,susceptibility,

cleverness,energy,qualification,talent.

cogency,

Power is the most general term of this group, including every quality, property, or faculty by which any change, effect, or result is, or may be, produced; as, the power of the legislature to enact laws, or of the executive to enforce them; the power of an acid to[280] corrode a metal; the power of a polished surface to reflect light. Ability is nearly coextensive with power, but does not reach the positiveness and vigor that may be included in the meaning of power, ability often implying latent, as distinguished from active power; we speak of an exertion of power, but not of an exertion of ability. Power and ability include capacity, which is power to receive; but ability is often distinguished from capacity, as power that may be manifested in doing, as capacity is in receiving; one may have great capacity for acquiring knowledge, and yet not possess ability to teach. Efficiency is active power to effect a definite result, the power that actually does, as distinguished from that which may do. Competency is equal to the occasion, readiness prompt for the occasion. Faculty is an inherent quality of mind or body; talent, some special mental ability. Dexterity and skill are readiness and facility in action, having a special end; talent is innate, dexterity and skill are largely acquired. Our abilities include our natural capacity, faculties, and talents, with all the dexterity, skill, and readiness that can be acquired. Efficacy is the power to produce an intended effect as shown in the production of it; as, the efficacy of a drug. Efficiency is effectual agency, competent power; efficiency is applied in mechanics as denoting the ratio of the effect produced to the power expended in producing it; but this word is chiefly used of intelligent agents as denoting the quality that brings all one's power to bear promptly and to the best purpose on the thing to be done. Compare ADDRESS; DEXTERITY; SKILFUL.

Antonyms:

awkwardness,helplessness,inability,incompetence,stupidity,

dulness,imbecility,inaptitude,inefficiency,unskilfulness,

feebleness,impotence,incapacity,maladroitness,weakness.

PRAISE.

Synonyms:

acclaim,approbation,compliment,laudation,

acclamation,approval,encomium,panegyric,

adulation,cheering,eulogy,plaudit,

applause,cheers,flattery,sycophancy.

Praise is the hearty approval of an individual, or of a number or multitude considered individually, and is expressed by spoken or written words; applause, the spontaneous outburst of many at once. Applause is expressed in any way, by stamping of feet, clapping of hands, waving of handkerchiefs, etc., as well as by the voice; acclamation is the spontaneous and hearty approval[281] of many at once, and strictly by the voice alone. Thus one is chosen moderator by acclamation when he receives a unanimous viva voce vote; we could not say he was nominated by applause. Acclaim is the more poetic term for acclamation, commonly understood in a loftier sense; as, a nation's acclaim. Plaudit is a shout of applause, and is commonly used in the plural; as, the plaudits of a throng. Applause is also used in the general sense of praise. Approbation is a milder and more qualified word than praise; while praise is always uttered, approbation may be silent. "Approbation speaks of the thing or action.... Praise is always personal." A. W. and J. C. Hare Guesses at Truth first series, p. 549. [Macm. '66.] Acceptance refers to an object or action; approbation may refer to character or natural traits. Approval always supposes a testing or careful examination, and frequently implies official sanction; approbation may be upon a general view. The industry and intelligence of a clerk win his employer's approbation; his decision in a special instance receives his approval. Praise is always understood as genuine and sincere, unless the contrary is expressly stated; compliment is a light form of praise that may or may not be sincere; flattery is insincere and ordinarily fulsome praise.

Antonyms:

abuse,condemnation,disapproval,obloquy,scorn,

animadversion,contempt,disparagement,reproach,slander,

blame,denunciation,hissing,reproof,vilification,

censure,disapprobation,ignominy,repudiation,vituperation.

PRAY.

Synonyms:

ask,bid,entreat,invoke,request,

beg,call upon,implore,petition,supplicate.

beseech,conjure,importune,plead,

To pray, in the religious sense, is devoutly to address the Supreme Being with reverent petition for divine grace or any favor or blessing, and in the fullest sense with thanksgiving and praise for the divine goodness and mercy; the once common use of the word to express any earnest request, as "I pray you to come in," is now rare, unless in writings molded on older literature, or in certain phrases, as "Pray sit down;" even in these "please" is more common; "I beg you" is also frequently used, as expressing a polite humility of request. Beseech and entreat express great earnestness of petition; implore and supplicate denote the utmost[282] fervency and intensity, supplicate implying also humility. Compare ASK; PLEAD.

PRECARIOUS.

Synonyms:

doubtful,hazardous,risky,unsettled,

dubious,insecure,unassured,unstable,

equivocal,perilous,uncertain,unsteady.

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

Antonyms:

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

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

certain,incontestable,settled,strong,

PRECEDENT.

Synonyms:

antecedent,case,instance,pattern,

authority,example,obiter dictum,warrant.

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

PREDESTINATION.

Synonyms:

fate,foreknowledge,foreordination,necessity.

Predestination is a previous determination or decision, which, in the divine action, reaches on from eternity. Fate is heathen, an irresistible, irrational power determining all events with no manifest connection with reason or righteousness; necessity is philosophical, a blind something in the nature of things binding the slightest action or motion in the chain of inevitable, eternal sequence; foreordination and predestination are Christian, denoting the rational and righteous order or decree of the supreme[283] and all-wise God. Foreknowledge is simply God's antecedent knowledge of all events, which some hold to be entirely separable from his foreordination, while others hold foreordination to be inseparably involved in foreknowledge.

Antonyms:

accident,choice,freedom,independence,

chance,free agency,free will,uncertainty.

Prepositions:

Predestination of believers to eternal life.

PREJUDICE.

Synonyms:

bias,preconception,presumption,

partiality,prepossession,unfairness.

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

Antonyms:

certainty,conviction,evidence,reason,

conclusion,demonstration,proof,reasoning.

Prepositions:

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

PRETENSE.

Synonyms:

affectation,disguise,pretext,simulation,

air,dissimulation,ruse,subterfuge,

assumption,excuse,seeming,trick,

cloak,mask,semblance,wile.

color,pretension,show,

A pretense, in the unfavorable, which is also the usual sense, is something advanced or displayed for the purpose of concealing the reality. A person makes a pretense of something for the credit or advantage to be gained by it; he makes what is allowed or approved a pretext for doing what would be opposed or condemned; a tricky schoolboy makes a pretense of doing an errand which he does not do, or he makes the actual doing of an errand a pretext for playing truant. A ruse is something (especially something[284] slight or petty) employed to blind or deceive so as to mask an ulterior design, and enable a person to gain some end that he would not be allowed to approach directly. A pretension is a claim that is or may be contested; the word is now commonly used in an unfavorable sense. Compare ARTIFICE; HYPOCRISY.

Antonyms:

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

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

PREVENT.

Synonyms:

anticipate,forestall,obviate,preclude.

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

Preposition:

He was prevented by illness from joining the expedition.

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PREVIOUS.

Synonyms:

antecedent,foregoing,front,preceding,

anterior,former,introductory,preliminary,

earlier,forward,precedent,prior.

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

Antonyms:

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

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

Preposition:

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

PRICE.

Synonyms:

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

The cost of a thing is all that has been expended upon it,[286] whether in discovery, production, refinement, decoration, transportation, or otherwise, to bring it to its present condition in the hands of its present possessor; the price of a thing is what the seller asks for it. In regular business, as a rule, the seller's price on his wares must be more than their cost to him; when goods are sold, the price the buyer has paid becomes their cost to himself. In exceptional cases, when goods are sold at cost, the seller's price is made the same as the cost of the goods to him, the cost to the seller and the cost to the buyer becoming then identical. Price always implies that an article is for sale; what a man will not sell he declines to put a price on; hence the significance of the taunting proverb that "every man has his price." Value is the estimated equivalent for an article, whether the article is for sale or not; the market value is what it would bring if exposed for sale in the open market; the intrinsic value is the inherent utility of the article considered by itself alone; the market value of an old and rare volume may be very great, while its intrinsic value may be practically nothing. Value has always more reference to others' estimation (literally, what the thing will avail with others) than worth, which regards the thing in and by itself; thus, intrinsic value is a weaker expression than intrinsic worth. Charge has especial reference to services, expense to minor outlays; as, the charges of a lawyer or physician; traveling expenses; household expenses.

PRIDE.

Synonyms:

arrogance,ostentation,self-exaltation,

assumption,presumption,self-respect,

conceit,reserve,superciliousness,

disdain,self-complacency,vainglory,

haughtiness,self-conceit,vanity.

insolence,self-esteem,

Haughtiness thinks highly of itself and poorly of others. Arrogance claims much for itself and concedes little to others. Pride is an absorbing sense of one's own greatness; haughtiness feels one's own superiority to others; disdain sees contemptuously the inferiority of others to oneself. Presumption claims place or privilege above one's right; pride deems nothing too high. Insolence is open and rude expression of contempt and hostility, generally from an inferior to a superior, as from a servant to a master or mistress. In the presence of superiors overweening pride manifests itself in presumption or insolence; in the presence of[287] inferiors, or those supposed to be inferior, pride manifests itself by arrogance, disdain, haughtiness, superciliousness, or in either case often by cold reserve. (See RESERVE under MODESTY.) Pride is too self-satisfied to care for praise; vanity intensely craves admiration and applause. Superciliousness, as if by the uplifted eyebrow, as its etymology suggests (L. supercilium, eyebrow, from super, over and cilium, eyelid), silently manifests mingled haughtiness and disdain. Assumption quietly takes for granted superiority and privilege which others would be slow to concede. Conceit and vanity are associated with weakness, pride with strength. Conceit may be founded upon nothing; pride is founded upon something that one is, or has, or has done; vanity, too, is commonly founded on something real, tho far slighter than would afford foundation for pride. Vanity is eager for admiration and praise, is elated if they are rendered, and pained if they are withheld, and seeks them; pride could never solicit admiration or praise. Conceit is somewhat stronger than self-conceit. Self-conceit is ridiculous; conceit is offensive. Self-respect is a thoroughly worthy feeling; self-esteem is a more generous estimate of one's own character and abilities than the rest of the world are ready to allow. Vainglory is more pompous and boastful than vanity. Compare EGOTISM; OSTENTATION.

Antonyms:

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

PRIMEVAL.

Synonyms:

aboriginal,indigenous,patriarchal,primitive,

ancient,native,primal,primordial,

autochthonic,old,primary,pristine,

immemorial,original,prime,uncreated.

Aboriginal (L. ab, from, origo, origin) signifies pertaining to the aborigines or earliest known inhabitants of a country in the widest sense, including not merely human beings but inferior animals and plants as well. Autochthonic (Gr. autos, self, and chthōn, earth) signifies sprung from the earth, especially from the soil of one's native land. Primeval (L. primum, first, and ævum, age), signifies strictly belonging to the first ages, earliest in time, but often only the earliest of which man knows or conceives, immemorial. Aboriginal, autochthonic, and primeval combine the meanings of ancient and original; aboriginal inhabitants, autochthonic races,[288] primeval forests. Prime and primary may signify either first in time, or more frequently first in importance; primary has also the sense of elementary or preparatory; we speak of a prime minister, a primary school. Primal is chiefly poetic, in the sense of prime; as, the primal curse. Primordial is first in an order of succession or development; as, a primordial leaf. Primitive frequently signifies having the original characteristics of that which it represents, as well as standing first in time; as, the primitive church. Primitive also very frequently signifies having the original or early characteristics without remoteness in time. Primeval simplicity is the simplicity of the earliest ages; primitive simplicity may be found in retired villages now. Pristine is an elegant word, used almost exclusively in a good sense of that which is original and perhaps ancient; as, pristine purity, innocence, vigor. That which is both an original and natural product of a soil or country is said to be indigenous; that which is actually produced there is said to be native, though it may be of foreign extraction; humming-birds are indigenous to America; canaries may be native, but are not indigenous. Immemorial refers solely to time, independently of quality, denoting, in legal phrase, "that whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary;" as, an immemorial custom; an immemorial abuse. Compare OLD.

Antonyms:

adventitious,foreign,late,new,recent.

exotic,fresh,modern,novel,

Compare synonyms for NEW.

PROFIT.

Synonyms:

advantage,expediency,proceeds,service,

avail,gain,receipts,usefulness,

benefit,good,return,utility,

emolument,improvement,returns,value.

The returns or receipts include all that is received from an outlay or investment; the profit is the excess (if any) of the receipts over the outlay; hence, in government, morals, etc., the profit is what is really good, helpful, useful, valuable. Utility is chiefly used in the sense of some immediate or personal and generally some material good. Advantage is that which gives one a vantage-ground, either for coping with competitors or with difficulties, needs, or demands; as to have the advantage of a good education; it is frequently used of what one has beyond[289] another or secures at the expense of another; as, to have the advantage of another in an argument, or to take advantage of another in a bargain. Gain is what one secures beyond what he previously possessed. Benefit is anything that does one good. Emolument is profit, return, or value accruing through official position. Expediency has respect to profit or advantage, real or supposed, considered apart from or perhaps in opposition to right, in actions having a moral character. Compare UTILITY.

Antonyms:

damage,detriment,harm,injury,ruin,

destruction,disadvantage,hurt,loss,waste.

Prepositions:

The profit of labor; on capital; in business.

PROGRESS.

Synonyms:

advance,development,improvement,proficiency,

advancement,growth,increase,progression.

attainment,

Progress (L. pro, forward, gradior, go) is a moving onward or forward, whether in space or in the mental or moral realm, and may be either mechanical, individual, or social. Attainment, development, and proficiency are more absolute than the other words of the group, denoting some point of advantage or of comparative perfection reached by forward or onward movement; we speak of attainments in virtue or scholarship, proficiency in music or languages, the development of new powers or organs; proficiency includes the idea of skill. Advance may denote either a forward movement or the point gained by forward movement, but always relatively with reference to the point from which the movement started; as, this is a great advance. Advance admits the possibility of retreat; progress (L. progredi, to walk forward) is steady and constant forward movement, admitting of pause, but not of retreat; advance suggests more clearly a point to be reached, while progress lays the emphasis upon the forward movement; we may speak of slow or rapid progress, but more naturally of swift advance. Progress is more frequently used of abstractions; as, the progress of ideas; progression fixes the attention chiefly upon the act of moving forward. In a thing good in itself all advance or progress is improvement; there is a growing tendency to restrict the words to this favorable sense, using increase indifferently of good or evil; one may say without limitation, "I am an advocate of progress."[290]

Antonyms:

check,delay,falling off,retrogression,stop,

decline,falling back,relapse,stay,stoppage.

Prepositions:

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

PROHIBIT.

Synonyms:

debar,forbid,inhibit,preclude,

disallow,hinder,interdict,prevent.

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

Antonyms:

allow,empower,let,require,

authorize,enjoin,license,sanction,

command,give consent,order,suffer,

consent to,give leave,permit,tolerate,

direct,give permission,put up with,warrant.

Prepositions:

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

[291]

PROMOTE.

Synonyms:

advance,encourage,forward,prefer,raise,

aid,exalt,foster,push,urge forward,

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

elevate,foment,help,

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

Antonyms:

See synonyms for ABASE; ALLAY.

PROPITIATION.

Synonyms:

atonement,expiation,reconciliation,satisfaction.

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

Antonyms:

alienation,curse,penalty,reprobation,vengeance,

chastisement,estrangement,punishment,retribution,wrath.

condemnation,offense,

PROPITIOUS.

Synonyms:

auspicious,benignant,favorable,gracious,kindly,

benign,clement,friendly,kind,merciful.

That which is auspicious is of favorable omen; that which is propitious is of favoring influence or tendency; as, an auspicious[292] morning; a propitious breeze. Propitious applies to persons, implying kind disposition and favorable inclinations, especially toward the suppliant; auspicious is not used of persons.

Antonyms:

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

antagonistic,hostile,inauspicious,unfavorable,unpropitious.

Preposition:

May heaven be propitious to the enterprise.

PROPOSAL.

Synonyms:

bid,offer,overture,proposition.

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

Antonyms:

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

PROPOSE.

Synonym:

purpose.

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

[293]

PROTRACT.

Synonyms:

continue,delay,elongate,lengthen,procrastinate,

defer,draw out,extend,postpone,prolong.

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

Antonyms:

abbreviate,conclude,curtail,hurry,reduce,

abridge,contract,hasten,limit,shorten.

Prepositions:

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

PROVERB.

Synonyms:

adage,axiom,maxim,saw,

aphorism,byword,motto,saying,

apothegm,dictum,precept,truism.

The proverb or adage gives homely truth in condensed, practical form, the adage often pictorial. "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick" is a proverb; "The cat loves fish, but dares not wet her feet," is an adage. Both the proverb and the adage, but especially the latter, are thought of as ancient and widely known. An aphorism partakes of the character of a definition; it is a summary statement of what the author sees and believes to be true. An apothegm is a terse statement of what is plain or easily proved. The aphorism is philosophical, the apothegm practical.[294] A dictum is a statement of some person or school, on whom it depends for authority; as, a dictum of Aristotle. A saying is impersonal, current among the common people, deriving its authority from its manifest truth or good sense; as, it is an old saying, "the more haste, the worse speed." A saw is a saying that is old, but somewhat worn and tiresome. Precept is a command to duty; motto or maxim is a brief statement of cherished truth, the maxim being more uniformly and directly practical; "God is love" may be a motto, "Fear God and fear naught," a maxim. The precepts of the Sermon on the Mount will furnish the Christian with invaluable maxims or mottoes. A byword is a phrase or saying used reproachfully or contemptuously.

PROWESS.

Synonyms:

bravery,gallantry,intrepidity,

courage,heroism,valor.

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

Antonyms:

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

PRUDENCE.

Synonyms:

care,discretion,judgment,

carefulness,forecast,judiciousness,

caution,foresight,providence,

circumspection,forethought,wisdom.

consideration,frugality,

Prudence may be briefly defined as good judgment and foresight,[295] inclining to caution and frugality in practical affairs. Care may respect only the present; prudence and providence look far ahead and sacrifice the present to the future, prudence watching, saving, guarding, providence planning, doing, preparing, and perhaps expending largely to meet the future demand. Frugality is in many cases one form of prudence. In a besieged city prudence will reduce the rations, providence will strain every nerve to introduce supplies and to raise the siege. Foresight merely sees the future, and may even lead to the recklessness and desperation to which prudence and providence are so strongly opposed. Forethought is thinking in accordance with wise views of the future, and is nearly equivalent to providence, but it is a more popular and less comprehensive term; we speak of man's forethought, God's providence. Compare CARE; FRUGALITY; WISDOM.

Antonyms:

folly,improvidence,indiscretion,rashness,thoughtlessness,

heedlessness,imprudence,prodigality,recklessness,wastefulness.

PURCHASE.

Synonyms:

acquire,barter for,get,procure,secure.

bargain for,buy,obtain,

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

Antonyms:

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

Prepositions:

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

[296]

PURE.

Synonyms:

absolute,guiltless,simple,unmixed,

chaste,holy,spotless,unpolluted,

classic,immaculate,stainless,unspotted,

classical,incorrupt,true,unstained,

clean,innocent,unadulterated,unsullied,

clear,mere,unblemished,untainted,

continent,perfect,uncorrupted,untarnished,

genuine,real,undefiled,upright,

guileless,sheer,unmingled,virtuous.

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

Antonyms:

adulterated,foul,indecent,obscene,tainted,

defiled,gross,indelicate,polluted,tarnished,

dirty,immodest,lewd,stained,unchaste,

filthy,impure,mixed,sullied,unclean.

PUT.

Synonyms:

deposit,lay,place,set.

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

[297]

QUEER.

Synonyms:

anomalous,erratic,odd,strange,

bizarre,extraordinary,peculiar,uncommon,

comical,fantastic,preposterous,unique,

crotchety,funny,quaint,unmatched,

curious,grotesque,ridiculous,unusual,

droll,laughable,singular,whimsical.

eccentric,ludicrous,

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

Antonyms:

common,familiar,normal,regular,

customary,natural,ordinary,usual.

QUICKEN.

Synonyms:

accelerate,drive on,hasten,promote,

advance,expedite,hurry,speed,

despatch,facilitate,make haste,urge,

drive,further,press forward,urge on.

To quicken, in the sense here considered, is to increase speed,[298] move or cause to move more rapidly, as through more space or with, a greater number of motions in the same time. To accelerate is to increase the speed of action or of motion. A motion whose speed increases upon itself is said to be accelerated, as the motion of a falling body, which becomes swifter with every second of time. To accelerate any work is to hasten it toward a finish, commonly by quickening all its operations in orderly unity toward the result. To despatch is to do and be done with, to get a thing off one's hands. To despatch an enemy is to kill him outright and quickly; to despatch a messenger is to send him in haste; to despatch a business is to bring it quickly to an end. Despatch is commonly used of single items. To promote a cause is in any way to bring it forward, advance it in power, prominence, etc. To speed is really to secure swiftness; to hasten is to attempt it, whether successfully or unsuccessfully. Hurry always indicates something of confusion. The hurried man forgets dignity, appearance, comfort, courtesy, everything but speed; he may forget something vital to the matter in hand; yet, because reckless haste may attain the great object of speed, hurry has come to be the colloquial and popular word for acting quickly. To facilitate is to quicken by making easy; to expedite is to quicken by removing hindrances. A good general will improve roads to facilitate the movements of troops, hasten supplies and perfect discipline to promote the general efficiency of the force, despatch details of business, expedite all preparations, in order to accelerate the advance and victory of his army.

Antonyms:

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

QUOTE.

Synonyms:

cite,extract,plagiarize,repeat.

excerpt,paraphrase,recite,

To quote is to give an author's words, either exactly, as in direct quotation, or in substance, as in indirect quotation; to cite is, etymologically, to call up a passage, as a witness is summoned. In citing a passage its exact location by chapter, page, or otherwise, must be given, so that it can be promptly called into evidence; in quoting, the location may or may not be given, but the words or substance of the passage must be given. In citing, neither the author's words nor his thought may be given, but simply the reference to the location where they may be found. To quote, in the[299] proper sense, is to give credit to the author whose words are employed. To paraphrase is to state an author's thought more freely than in indirect quotation, keeping the substance of thought and the order of statement, but changing the language, and commonly interweaving more or less explanatory matter as if part of the original writing. One may paraphrase a work with worthy motive for homiletic, devotional, or other purposes (as in the metrical versions of the Psalms), or he may plagiarize atrociously in the form of paraphrase, appropriating all that is valuable in another's thought, with the hope of escaping detection by change of phrase. To plagiarize is to quote without credit, appropriating another's words or thought as one's own. To recite or repeat is usually to quote orally, tho recite is applied in legal phrase to a particular statement of facts which is not a quotation; a kindred use obtains in ordinary speech; as, to recite one's misfortunes.

RACY.

Synonyms:

flavorous,lively,pungent,spicy,

forcible,piquant,rich,spirited.

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

Antonyms:

cold,flat,insipid,stale,tasteless,

dull,flavorless,prosy,stupid,vapid.

RADICAL.

Synonyms:

complete,ingrained,perfect,

constitutional,innate,positive,

entire,native,primitive,

essential,natural,thorough,

extreme,organic,thoroughgoing,

fundamental,original,total.

The widely divergent senses in which the word radical is used,[300] by which it can be at some time interchanged with any word in the above list, are all formed upon the one primary sense of having to do with or proceeding from the root (L. radix); a radical difference is one that springs from the root, and is thus constitutional, essential, fundamental, organic, original; a radical change is one that does not stop at the surface, but reaches down to the very root, and is entire, thorough, total; since the majority find superficial treatment of any matter the easiest and most comfortable, radical measures, which strike at the root of evil or need, are apt to be looked upon as extreme.

Antonyms:

conservative,incomplete,palliative,slight,tentative,

inadequate,moderate,partial,superficial,trial.

RARE.

Synonyms:

curious,odd,scarce,unique,

extraordinary,peculiar,singular,unparalleled,

incomparable,precious,strange,unprecedented,

infrequent,remarkable,uncommon,unusual.

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