English Synonyms and Antonyms by James Champlin Fernald (best ebook reader for laptop TXT) 📕

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is one of the most common of errors, and one of the most difficult to avoid, while their right use gives to style cohesion, firmness, and compactness, and is an important aid to perspicuity. To the text of the synonyms is appended a set of Questions and Examples to adapt the work for use as a text-book. Aside from the purposes of the class-room, this portion will be found of value to the individual student. Excepting those who have made a thorough study of language most persons will discover with surprise how difficult it is to answer any set of the Questions or to fill the blanks in the Examples without referring to the synonym treatment in Part I., or to a dictionary, and how rarely they can give any intelligent reason for preference even among familiar words. There are few who can study such a work without finding occasion to correct some errors into which they have unconsciously fallen, and without coming to a new delight in the use of language from a fuller knowledge of its resources and a clearer sense

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society out of debt.

He was rejoiced to receive the —— aid at a time when it was most needed.

In a —— panic, many a sound business house goes down for want of power to realize instantly on valuable securities.

FINE (page 172). QUESTIONS.

1. From what is fine derived, and what is its original meaning? 2. How, from this primary meaning does fine become a synonym of excellent and beautiful? 3. How does it come into connection with clarified, clear, pure, refined? 4.[436] How is it connected with dainty, delicate, and exquisite? 5. How does fine come to be a synonym for minute, comminuted? How for filmy, tenuous? for keen, sharp? Give instances of the use of fine in its various senses.

EXAMPLES.

Some people are more —— than wise.

—— feathers do not always make —— birds.

The ——est balances must be kept under glass, because so ——ly adjusted as to be —— to a film of dust or a breath of air.

FIRE (page 173). QUESTIONS.

1. What is the essential fact underlying the visible phenomena which we call fire? 2. What is combustion? 3. How wide is its range of meaning? 4. What is a conflagration?

EXAMPLES.

He's gone, and who knows how he may report
Thy words by adding fuel to the ——?

Lo! as he comes, in Heaven's array,
And scattering wide the —— of day.
FLOCK (page 173). QUESTIONS.

1. What is the most general word of this group? 2. What is a group, and of what class of objects may it be composed? 3. To what class of animals does brood apply? to what class does litter apply? 4. Of what is bevy used? flock? 5. To what is herd limited? 6. Of what is pack used? 7. What is a drove?

EXAMPLES.

What is not good for the —— is not good for the bee.

He heard the bleating of the ——s and the twitter of birds among the trees.

The lowing —— winds slowly o'er the lea.

Excited ——s gathered at the corners discussing the affair.

A —— of brightly clad women and children were enjoying a picnic under the trees.

FLUCTUATE (page 173). QUESTIONS.

1. What is the meaning of fluctuate? 2. In what one characteristic do swerve and veer differ from oscillate, fluctuate, undulate, and waver? 3. What is the difference in mental action between hesitate and waver? between vacillate and waver? 4. Which of the above-mentioned words apply to persons? which to feelings?

EXAMPLES.

Thou almost mak'st me —— in my faith.

The surface of the prairies rolls and —— to the eye.

It is almost universally true that the human mind —— at the moment of committing a crime.

The vessel suddenly —— from her course.

[437]

FLUID (page 174). QUESTIONS.

1. What is a fluid? 2. Into what two sections are fluids divided? 3. What is a liquid? a gas? 4. Are all liquids fluids? 5. Are gases fluids? 6. Are gases ever liquids? 7. What substance is at once a liquid and a fluid at the ordinary temperature and pressure?

EXAMPLES.

Now nature paints her colors, how the bee
Sits on the bloom, extracting —— sweet.

This earth was once a —— haze of light.

FOLLOW (page 174). QUESTIONS.

1. What is it to follow? 2. How does follow compare with chase and pursue? 3. As regards succession in time, what is the difference between follow and ensue? result?

EXAMPLES.

Say, shall my little bark attendant sail,
—— the triumph and partake the gale?

When Youth and Pleasure meet
To —— the glowing Hours with flying feet.

"Then —— me, the Prince,"
I answered; "each be hero in his turn!
Seven and yet one, like shadows in a dream."
FORMIDABLE (page 176). QUESTIONS.

1. What is the meaning of formidable? 2. How does formidable differ from dangerous? terrible? tremendous? Give examples.

EXAMPLES.

All delays are —— in war.

—— as an army with banners.

The great fleet moved slowly toward the forts, a —— array.

FORTIFICATION (page 176). QUESTIONS.

1. How does a fortress specifically differ from a fortification? 2. What is the distinctive meaning of citadel? 3. What is a fort? 4. What is a fastness or stronghold?

EXAMPLES.

For a man's house is his ——.

A mighty —— is our God,
A bulwark never failing;
Our helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing.

Alva built a —— in the heart of Antwerp to overawe the city.

[438]

FORTITUDE (page 176). QUESTIONS.

1. What is fortitude? 2. How does it compare with courage? 3. How do resolution and endurance compare?

EXAMPLES.

Unbounded —— and compassion join'd,
Tempering each other in the victor's mind.

Tell thy story;
If thine, consider'd, prove the thousandth part
Of my ——, thou art a man, and I
Have suffer'd like a girl.

Thou didst smile,
Infused with a —— from heaven,
When I had decked the sea with drops full salt.
FORTUNATE (page 177). QUESTIONS.

1. How does fortunate compare with successful? 2. How are lucky and fortunate discriminated? 3. In what special sense, and with what reference are favored and prospered used?

EXAMPLES.

It is not a —— word this same "impossible;" no good comes of those that have it so often in their mouth.

Ah, —— years! once more who would not be a boy?

I have a mind presages me such thrift
That I should questionless be ——.
FRAUD (page 177). QUESTIONS.

1. What is a fraud? How does it differ from deceit or deception? 2. What is the design of an imposture? 3. What is dishonesty? a cheat? a swindle? How do all these fall short of the meaning of fraud? 4. Of what relations is treachery used? treason?

EXAMPLES.

—— doth never prosper: what's the reason?
Why, if it prosper none dare call it ——.

Whoever has once become notorious by base ——, even if he speaks truth gains no belief.

The first and the worst of all —— is to cheat oneself.

FRIENDLY (page 178). QUESTIONS.

1. What does friendly signify as applied to persons, or as applied to acts? 2. How does the adjective friendly compare in strength with the noun friend?[439] 3. What is the special meaning of accessible? of companionable and sociable? of cordial and genial?

EXAMPLES.

He that hath friends must show himself ——.

A fellow feeling makes one wondrous ——.

FRIENDSHIP (page 179). QUESTIONS.

1. What is friendship? 2. In what one quality does it differ from affection, attachment, devotion, and friendliness? 3. What is the meaning of comity and amity? 4. How does friendship differ from love?

EXAMPLES.

Talk not of wasted ——, —— never was wasted;
If it enrich not the heart of another, its waters returning
Back to their springs, like the rain, shall fill them full of refreshment.

——, peculiar boon of heaven,
The noble mind's delight and pride,
To men and angels only given,
To all the lower world denied.
FRIGHTEN (page 180). QUESTIONS.

1. By what is one frightened? by what intimidated? 2. What is it to browbeat or cow? 3. What is it to scare or terrify?

EXAMPLES.

The child was —— by the stories the nurse told.

The loud, loud winds, that o'er the billows sweep—
Shake the firm nerve, —— the bravest soul!
FRUGALITY (page 180). QUESTIONS.

1. What is economy? 2. What is frugality? 3. What is parsimony? How does it compare with frugality? What is the motive of parsimony? 4. What is miserliness? 5. What is the special characteristic of prudence and providence? of thrift? 6. What is the motive of economy?

EXAMPLES.

There are but two ways of paying debt: increase of industry in raising, increase of —— in laying out.

By close —— the little home was at last paid for and there was a great thanksgiving time.

GARRULOUS (page 181). QUESTIONS.

1. What does garrulous signify? chattering? 2. How do talkative and loquacious[440] differ from garrulous, and from each other? 3. What is the special application of verbose?

EXAMPLES.

To tame a shrew, and charm her —— tongue.

Guard against a feeble fluency, a —— prosiness, a facility of saying nothing.

GENDER (page 181). QUESTIONS.

1. What is sex? 2. To what beings only does sex apply? 3. What is gender? To what does it apply? Do the distinctions of gender correspond to the distinctions of sex? Give examples of languages containing three genders, and of the classification in languages containing but two.

EXAMPLES.

The maternal relation naturally and necessarily divides the work of the ——s giving to woman the indoor life, and to man, the work of the outer world.

While in French every word is either of the masculine or feminine ——, the language sometimes fails for that very reason to indicate the —— of some person referred to.

GENERAL (page 181). QUESTIONS.

1. What does general signify? 2. How does general compare with universal? with common? 3. What illustrations of the differences are given in the text?

EXAMPLES.

—— friendships will admit of division, one may love the beauty of this, the good humor of that person, ... and so on.

A —— feeling of unrest prevailed.

Death comes to all by —— law.

GENEROUS (page 182). QUESTIONS.

1. What is the primary meaning of generous? the common meaning? 2. How does generous differ from liberal? 3. What is the distinctive sense of munificent? 4. What does munificent tell of the motive or spirit of the giver? What does generous tell? 5. How does disinterested compare with generous? 6. What is the distinctive meaning of magnanimous? How does it differ from generous as regards dealing with insults or injuries?

EXAMPLES.

To cunning men
I will be very kind; and ——
To mine own children, in good bringing up.

A —— friendship no cold medium knows,
Burns with one love, with one resentment glows.

The conqueror proved as —— in victory as he was terrible in battle.

[441]

GENIUS (page 183). QUESTIONS.

1. What is genius? 2. What is talent? 3. Which is the higher quality? 4. Which is the more dependent upon training?

EXAMPLES.

The eternal Master found
His single —— well employ'd.

No great —— was ever without some mixture of madness.

GET (page 183). QUESTIONS.

1. What is a person said to get? 2. How is get related to expectation or desire? How is gain related to those words? 3. By what processes does one acquire? Is the thing acquired sought or desired, or not? 4. What does one earn? 5. Does a person always get what he earns or always earn what he gets? 6. What does obtain imply? Is the thing one obtains an object of desire? How does obtain differ from get? 7. What does win imply? How is one said to win a suit at law? What is the correct term in legal phrase? Why? 8. By what special element does procure differ from obtain? 9. What is especially implied in secure?

EXAMPLES.

He —— a living as umbrella mender but a poor living it is.

—— wisdom and with all thy getting, —— understanding.

In the strange city he found that all his learning would not —— him a dinner.

GIFT (page 184). QUESTIONS.

1. What is a gift? Is gift used in the good or the bad sense? Does the legal agree with the popular sense? 2. What synonymous word is always used in the evil

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