<Rural, rustic, pastoral, bucolic>.

"The _rural_ inhabitants of a country." Are the people being spoken of favorably, unfavorably, or neutrally? How would the meaning be affected if they were called _rustic_ inhabitants? Would you ordinarily speak of the _rural_ or the _rustic_ population to distinguish it from the urban? Would you speak of _rural_ or _rustic_ activities? _rural_ or _rustic_ manners? When the two adjectives may be employed, is one of them unflattering? Is a _rustic_ bridge something to be ashamed of? a _rustic_ chair? a _rustic_ gate? What, then, is the degree of reproach that attaches to each of the two adjectives? the degree of commendation? Wherein do _pastoral_ scenes differ from _rural_? _pastoral_ amusements from _rustic_? Can you trace a connection between the _pastor_ of a church and a _pastoral_ life? Do you often hear the word _bucolic_? In what mood is it oftenest uttered? Which of the four adjectives best fits into Goldsmith's dignified lament: "And _ mirth and manners are no more"?

<Silent, reserved, uncommunicative, reticent, taciturn>. (This group may be contrasted with the Talkative group, below.)

We pass through a crowded room and notice that some of its occupants are not adding their voices to the chatter. We resolve to study these unspeaking persons. Some of them merely have nothing to say, or are timid or preoccupied; or it may be they deliberately have set themselves not to talk. These are silent. Some plainly desire not to talk, it may be in general or it may be upon some particular topic; they may (but need not) regard themselves as superior to their associates, or for some other reason let aloofness or coldness creep into their manner. These are reserved. Others withhold information that persons about them are, or would be, interested in. These are uncommunicative. Others maintain their own counsel; they neglect opportunities to reveal their thoughts, plans, and the like. These are reticent. Others are disinclined—and habitually, we perceive—to talking. These are taciturn.

Sentences: The prisoner evaded all questions. He was as as nature itself; he never gave his views upon any subject. He was about the firm's affairs, especially toward persons who seemed inquisitive. We knew there had been a love affair in his life, but he was on the subject. She sat throughout the discussion. If to be is golden, Lucas should have been a billionaire.

<Sing, chant, carol, warble, troll, yodel, croon, hum, chirp, chirrup>.

You hear a "concord of sweet sounds," not instrumental but vocal, and wish to tell me so. You say that some person sings. Then you recall that I am something of an expert in music, and you cast about for the word that shall state specifically the kind of singing that is being done. Does the person sing solemnly in a more or less uniform tone? You tell me that he chants. Does he sing gladly, spontaneously, high-spiritedly, as if his heart were pouring over with joy? You say that he carols. Does he sing with vibratory notes and little runs, as in bird-music? You say that he warbles. Does he sing loudly and freely? You say that he trolls. Does he sing with peculiar modulations from the regular into a falsetto voice? You say that he yodels. Does he sing a simple, perhaps tender, song in a low tone (as a lullaby to an infant)? You say that he croons. Does he sing with his lips closed? You say that he hums. Does he utter the short, perhaps sharp, notes of certain birds and insects? You say that he chirps or chirrups.

Assignment for further discrimination: <trill, pipe, quaver, peep, cheep, twitter>.

Sentences: A cricket in the grass outside the door. He abstractedly gazed out of the window and a few strains of an old song. Listen, they are the Te Deum. "And still dost soar, and soaring ever ." A strange, uncanny blending of false and true notes it is when the Swiss mountaineers are . Negroes, as a race, love to . As she soothes the child to sleep she a "rock-a-bye-baby."

<Suave, bland, unctuous, fulsome, smug>.

Suave implies agreeable persuasiveness or smooth urbanity. Bland suggests a soothing or coaxing kindness of manner, one that is sometimes lacking in sincerity. Unctuous implies excessive smoothness, as though one's manner were oiled. The word carries a decided suggestion of hypocrisy. Fulsome suggests such gross flattery as to be annoying or cloying. Smug suggests an effeminate self-satisfaction, usually not justified by merit or achievement.

Assignment for further discrimination: <complaisant, elegant, trim, dapper, spruce, genteel, urbane, well-bred, gracious, affable, benign>.

Sentences: He thought his answer exceedingly brilliant and settled back into his chair with complacency. " the smile that like a wrinkling wind On glassy water drove his cheek in lines." They were irritated by his praise. Although he disliked them, he greeted them with cordiality. "A bankrupt, a prodigal, ... that used to come so upon the mart; let him look to his bond." as a diplomat.

<Talkative, loquacious, garrulous, fluent, voluble, glib>. (This group may be contrasted with the Silent group, above.)

A little while ago you were in a crowded room and made a study of the persons disposed to silence. But your study was carried on under difficulties, for many of those about you showed a tendency to copious or excessive speech. One woman entered readily into conversation with you and convinced you that her natural disposition was to converse a great deal. She was talkative. From her you escaped to a man who soon proved that he talked too much and could run on with an incessant flow of words, perhaps employing many of them where a few would have sufficed. He was loquacious. The two of you were joined by an old gentleman who forthwith began to talk wordily, tediously, continuously, with needless repetitions and in tiresome detail; you suspected that he had suffered a mental decline from age, and that he might be excessively fond, in season and out of season, of talking about himself and his opinions. He was garrulous. You broke away from these two and fell into the hands of a much more agreeable interlocutor. He talked with a ready, easy command of words, so that his discourse flowed smoothly. He was fluent. He introduced you to a lady whose speech possessed smoothness and ease in too great degree; it fairly rolled along, as a hoop does downhill. The lady was voluble. Into your triangular group broke a newcomer whose speech had in it a flippant, or at least a superficially clever, fluency. He was glib. Leaving these three to fight (or talk) it out as best they might, you grabbed your hat and hurried outside for a fresh whiff of air.

Assignment for further discrimination: <chattering, long-winded, prolix, wordy, verbose>.

_Sentences_: The insurance agent was so _ a talker that I was soothed into sleepiness by his voice. The _ old man could talk forever about the happenings of his boyhood. Through _ descriptions of life in the city the dapper summer boarder entranced the simple country girl. I met a _ fellow on the train, and we had a long conversation. She was so _ that I spent half the afternoon with her and learned nothing.

<Weak, debilitated, feeble, infirm, decrepit, impotent>.

Weak is the general word for that which is deficient in strength. Debilitated is used of physical weakness, in most instances brought on by excesses and abuses. Feeble denotes decided or extreme weakness, which may excite pity or contempt. Infirm is applied to a person whose weakness or feebleness is due to age. Decrepit is used in reference to a person broken down or worn out by infirmities, age, or sickness. Impotent implies such loss or lack of strength or vitality as to render ineffective or helpless.

Assignment for further discrimination: <enervated, languid, frail>.

_Sentences_: "Here I stand, your slave, A poor, _, weak, and despis'd old man." A[n] _ old man shuffled along with the aid of a cane. Though still in his youth, he was _ from intemperance and fast living. A fellow who does that has a[n] _ mind. He staggered about trying to strike his opponent, but rage and his wound rendered him for the time _. The grasp of the old man was so _ that the cup trembled in his hand. "Like rich hangings in a homely house, So was his will in his old _ body." After his long illness he was as _ as a child. He made but a[n] _ attempt to defend himself.

<Wise, learned, erudite, sagacious, sapient, sage, judicious, prudent, provident, discreet>. (Compare the distinction between knowledge and wisdom under Words Often Confused above.)

Wise implies sound and discriminating judgment, resulting from either learning or experience. Learned denotes the past acquisition of much information through study. Erudite means characterized by extensive or profound knowledge. Sagacious implies far-sighted judgment and intuitive discernment, especially in practical matters. Sapient is now of infrequent use except as applied ironically or playfully to one having or professing wisdom. Sage implies deep wisdom that comes from age or experience. Judicious denotes sound judgment or careful discretion in weighing a matter with reference to its merits or its consequences. Prudent conveys a sense of cautious foresight in judging the future and planning for it upon the basis of the circumstances at hand. Provident suggests practical foresight and careful economy in preparing for future needs. Discreet denotes care or painstakingness in doing or saying the right thing at the right time, and the avoidance thereby of errors or unpleasant results.

Sentences: Against the time when his children would be going to college he had been . "Most judge!" The old warrior could not be deceived by any such ruse. "Be ye therefore as as serpents, and harmless as doves." The advice of his elders was wasted on him. The course was , not rash. He was in avoiding all reference to the subject. "Type of the , who soar but never roam, True to the kindred points of heaven and home." Even by those scholars, those specialists, he was deemed . How the young man is! "Where ignorance is bliss, 'Tis folly to be ." Is it to spend money thus lavishly? He considered the matter well and gave a most answer. To spend every cent of one's income is surely not to be .

<Work, labor, toil, drudgery>.

All of us, at times anyhow, get out of as much work as we can. We even use the word work and its synonyms loosely and indolently. Perhaps this is a literary aspect of the labor problem. If, however, we can shake off our sluggishness and exert ourselves in discriminating our terms, we shall use work as a general word for effort, physical or mental, to some purposive end; labor for hard, physical work; toil for wearying or exhaustive work; and drudgery for tedious, monotonous, or distasteful work, especially of a low or menial kind.

Sentences: It required the of thousands of men to complete the tunnel. To be condemned to the galleys meant a life of unending . The man who enjoys his will succeed. Twenty years of incessant had extinguished in him every spark of ambition. He was weary after the of the day. All and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Through the heart-breaking of thousands the pyramids were built to commemorate a few. He was sentenced to hard .



VIII

SYNONYMS IN LARGER GROUPS (2)

You have now seen enough of the method of discriminating synonyms to take more of the responsibility for such work upon yourself. In this chapter, therefore, the plan followed in Exercise A is abandoned and no discriminations are supplied you.

EXERCISE B

For some of the generic words in Exercise A you will find antonyms in Exercise C. Here is a list:

In Exercise A: walk, laugh, busy, hate, masculine, old

In Exercise C: run, cry, idle, love, feminine, young.

Now each of the generic terms in C is followed by a list of its synonyms. But for the six generic terms just given let us see how many synonyms you can find for yourself. Simply study each word in turn, think of all the synonyms for it you can summon, strike out those you consider far-fetched. Then compare your list with the list under the antonym in Exercise A; if possible, improve your list by means of this comparison. Finally, compare your revised list with the list in Exercise C.

In Exercise C are two generic terms that carry the same idea (but not in the same part of speech) as generic terms in Exercise A. They are as follows:

In Exercise A: sing, death

In Exercise C: song, die.

Take song and die. First, find all the satisfactory synonyms you can for yourself. Then if possible improve your list by studying the list under the corresponding word in Exercise A. Finally, compare your revised list with the one in Exercise C.

EXERCISE C

After three introductory groups (dealing with thoroughly concrete ideas and words) the synonyms in this exercise are arranged alphabetically according to the first word in each group.

Discriminate the words in each group, and fill each blank in the illustrative sentences with the word that conveys the meaning exactly.

<See, perceive, descry, distinguish, espy, discern, note, notice, watch, observe, witness, behold, view>.

Sentences: The intruder he in the early dawn-light might have been man or beast; he could not have one from the other. After a long search I on the map the name of the town. The teacher the throwing of the paper wad, but thought best not to it. "He that hath eyes to , let him ." I the encounter. "I hope to my Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar." "When my eyes turn to for the last time the sun in heaven." I sat by the flower and the bee plunder it. The scrawl on the paper was meaningless, but at length by close attention he secret writing. "Your young men shall visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." He had human nature manifesting itself under various conditions.

<Kill, slay, slaughter, massacre, butcher, murder, assassinate, execute, hang, electrocute, guillotine, lynch, despatch, decimate, crucify>.

_Sentences_: With the jawbone of an ass Samson _ a thousand of his enemies. It was his duty as sheriff to _ the criminal, and the method decreed by the state was that he should _ him. Previously the method of carrying out a sentence of death had been to _ the criminal. On our left wing we lost one man in ten: thus our lines were literally _ On our right wing, where we advanced to the attack in the open, our men were simply _. After the garrison had laid down its arms the Indians _ men, women, and children. "I would not _ thy soul." During the French Revolution many of the nobility were _. In the country late fall is the time to _ hogs. Thinking that his accomplice was no longer of use, he quietly _ him. The anarchist who had _ the governor was taken by a mob and _.

<Sleep, slumber, repose, nap, doze, drowze, lethargy, dormancy, coma, trance, siesta>.

Sentences: Since he had not exerted himself beforehand, his state was one of rather than one of . The sultry heat of the day put him into a . "Not poppy, nor mandragora, Nor all the syrops of the world, Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet Which thou ow[n]edst yesterday." Light and pleasant be thy . "And still she slept an azure-lidded ." From the induced by his injury the physicians were unable to arouse him. "Oh ! it is a gentle thing, Beloved from pole to pole!" "The poppied warmth of oppress'd Her soothed limbs, and soul fatigued away." In Spanish-speaking South American countries every one expects to take his . He lay down under the tree for a short and had just fallen into a preliminary when the picnic party arrived. "Macheth does murder , the innocent , that knits up the ravel'd sleave of care."

<Abolish, repeal, rescind, revoke, abrogate, annul, nullify, cancel, reverse>.

Sentences: A declaration of war would of course the treaty. The legislature has the right to old laws as well as to enact new ones. Because they left his grounds littered with paper, he their privilege of holding picnics there. The king the decree that the conspirators should be exiled. Slavery was by the Emancipation Proclamation. The emperor many of the ancient rights of the people. They the mortgage when he paid the money. The violation of these provisions has the contract. It was an ill day for France when the Edict of Nantes was by Louis XIV. The Supreme Court the decision of the lower tribunal. The Mormons have officially polygamy. The codicil some of the earlier provisions in his will.

<Acquit, exculpate, exonerate, absolve>.

_Sentences_: He _ himself from all blame. The king _ them from their allegiance. The teacher _ the student who had been suspected of theft. The father confessor _ the penitent. The jury _ the man on the first ballot.

<Afraid, fearful, frightened, alarmed, scared, aghast, terrified, timid, timorous.> (This group may be compared with the Fear group, below.)

_Sentences:_ One child was to _ to speak to the strangers; the other too _ to do anything but squall. "If Caesar hide himself, shall they not whisper 'Lo, Caesar is _'?" Any one might have been _ by this noise in a room said to be haunted; and for my part, I stood _.

<Allay, alleviate, mitigate, assuage, mollify, relieve.>

_Sentences:_ The judge _ the severity of the punishment. They collected funds to _ the sufferings of the poor. He could not _ the wrath of the angry man. Shall we try to _ their fears by telling them the accident may have been less calamitous than they have heard? A mustard plaster _ the pain. The grief of the mother was _ by the presence of her child. This experience had by no means _ his temper.

<Allow, permit, suffer, tolerate.>

Sentences: Visitors are not to see the king. The over-running of yard by the neighbors' chickens is a nuisance I shall not . " little children to come unto me." The use of bicycles and velocipedes on the pavement, though not by the city, is good-naturedly by most of the citizens. She her children to play in the street.

<Ascribe, attribute, impute.>

_Sentences:_ I _ my failure to poor judgment. He _ sinister motives for their actions. So many ideal characteristics have been _ to Washington that it is difficult to think of him as a man.

<Awkward, clumsy, ungainly, gawky, lanky.>

Sentences: An elephant is in its movements. Some countrymen hung around the circus entrance. He was tall and ; he seemed to be a mere prop on which clothes were hung. Isn't that man in his carriage? The fingers of the ball-players might as well have been thumbs, so were they from the cold. Girls throw a ball in a[n] manner.

<Bite, nibble, gnaw, chew, masticate, champ>.

_Sentences_: Fletcher taught people to _ their food well. The mouse _ the cheese, but the trap did not spring. A horse _ his bits. When I _ into the apple, I found that it was sour. The rat _ a hole through the board.

<Break, crack, fracture, sever, rend, burst, smash, shatter, shiver, splinter, sunder, rive, crush, batter, demolish, rupture>. (After discriminating these terms for yourself, see the treatment of break, fracture under above under Parallels.)

_Sentences_: "_ my timbers!" the old salt exclaimed. The anaconda is an immense serpent that wraps itself about its victim and _ it. The child blew the soap bubble wider and wider till it _. "You may _, you may _ the vase if you will." Looking closely at the eggs, she perceived that one of them was _. With a board the thoughtless child _ the anthill. During a violent fit of coughing he _ a blood vessel. The thick cloud was _ and the sunshine streamed through.

<Careful, cautious, wary, circumspect, canny>.

Sentences: A mouse must be lest it be caught in a trap. He had learned to be in advancing his radical opinions. The man was a Scot and therefore . With a movement I opened the door to investigate the strange noise. He was in checking up the accounts. Be extremely in your behavior, for they are watching to criticize you.

<Condescend, deign, vouchsafe>.

Sentences: The king them safe conduct through the country. He would not to touch the money that had been gained dishonestly. His manner irritated them. The master to hear the complaints of the servants.

<Confirm, corroborate, substantiate, verify_.

_Sentences_: He _ the charge with positive proof. The finding of Desdemona's handkerchief _ Othello's belief that she was guilty. The other witnesses _ his testimony. The doctor _ the appointment his assistant had made for him. He _ his results by repeating the experiment a number of times.

<Courage, bravery, resolution, dauntlessness, gallantry, boldness, intrepidity, daring, valor, prowess, fortitude, heroism>. (With this group contrast the Fear group, below.)

_Sentences_: It seemed they must be driven from their works but they held to them with the utmost _. He had the _ to fight an aggressive battle, but not the _ to stand for long days upon the defensive; less still did he have the _ to disregard unjust criticism. The silent _ of the women who bide at home surpasses the _ the warriors who engage in battle. He had the dashing _ of a cavalry officer.

<Cruel, brutal, ferocious, fierce, savage, barbarous, truculent, merciless, unmerciful, pitiless, ruthless, fell>. (With this group contrast the Kind group, below.)

Sentences: "But with the whiff and wind of his sword The unnerved father falls." "Poor naked wretches, wheresoe'er you are, That bide the pelting of this storm." The fellow could cause suffering to a child without the least tinge of remorse. Such conduct is unheard of in civilized communities; it is , it is . "I must be only to be kind."

<Cry, weep, sob, snivel, whimper, blubber, bawl, squall, howl, wail>.

Sentences: " no more, woeful shepherds; no more." The woman covered her face with her hands and , while the children . He a forced regret at the death of his uncle, and asked that the will be read, "Rachel for her children." "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and with them that ." "I could lie down like a tired child And away this life of care Which I have borne and yet must bear." "An infant in the night." "What's Hecuba to him or he to Hecuba That he should for her?" I was disgusted at the sight of that overgrown boy standing in the corner . "You think I'll ; No, I'll not : I have full cause of , but this heart Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws Or ere I'll ."

<Cut, cleave, hack, haggle, notch, slash, gash, split, chop, hew, lop, prune, reap, mow, clip, shear, trim, dock, crop, shave, whittle, slice, slit, score, lance, carve, bisect, dissect, amputate, detruncate, syncopate.>

_Sentences_: "I'll _ around your heart with my razor, And shoot you with my shotgun too." "O Hamlet! thou hast _ my heart in twain." By the pressure of his hands he could _ an apple. With his new hatchet George began _ at the cherry tree. He carelessly _ off a branch or two. The horses were _ the rank grass. An old form of punishment was to _ the nose of the offender. The nobleman ordered the groom to _ the tails of the carriage horses. You should _ your meadows in the summer and _ your grapevines in the late fall or early winter. "Do you," asked the barber, "wish your hair _ or _?" _ to the line. It is painful to see Dodwell trying to _ a turkey. In geometry we learned to _ angles, in biology to _ cats. The bad man in the West _ his gunstock each time he shot a tenderfoot. Betty, will you _ this cucumber? "'Mark's way,' said Mark, and _ him thro' the brain."

<Deadly, mortal, fatal, lethal>.

Sentences: He has a disease. The spirit of Virgil guided Dante through the shades. Cyanide of potassium is a poison. He struck a blow.

<Defeat, subdue, conquer, overcome, vanquish, subjugate, suppress>.

Sentences: Napoleon his enemies in many battles, but he was not able to them. The new governor general the uprising. He was in the election. Caesar many countries and made them swear allegiance to Rome. "Who by force Hath but half his foe." The militia the rioters.

<Deny, contravene, controvert, refute, confute>.

Sentences: He produced evidence to the charge. They could not the facts we presented. It is difficult to those who are spreading these rumors, yet all right-minded people think the rumors false. "I put thee now to thy book-oath; it if thou canst." Either admit or the truth of this allegation. Such a law the first principles of justice.

<Destroy, demolish, raze, annihilate, exterminate, eradicate, extirpate, obliterate.>

Sentences: All the ferocious wild animals are gradually being . As weeds from a field, so is it difficult to all the faults from man's nature. But how shall we the cause of this disease? Fire the bank. The wrecking crew the building. She tried to the terrible scene from her memory. " all that's made To a green thought in a green shade." The cyclone the church. The Spanish Inquisition tried to heresy. " out the written troubles of the brain." The army was not only defeated; it was . "A bold peasantry, their country's pride. When once , can never be supplied."

<Die, expire, perish, decease, succumb.>

_Sentences_: All men are mortal and must _. "As wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked _ at the presence of God." "I still had hopes, my long vexations past, Here to return, and _ at home at last." The late _ Mr. Brown left all his property to his family. "Cowards _ many times before their deaths." "The poor beetle, that we tread upon, In corporal sufferance finds a pang as great As when a giant giant _." "Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not _ from the earth." "Thus on Maeander's flowery margin lies Th' _ swan, and as be sings he dies." Over a thousand people _ in the fire at the theater. "To _, to sleep; to sleep: perchance to dream." He _ to a lingering disease. "Aye, but to _, and go we know not where; To lie in cold obstruction and to rot." "Wind my thread of life up higher, Up, through angels' hands of fire! I aspire while I _."

<Dip, douse, duck, plunge, immerge, immerse, submerge, sink, dive.>

_Sentences_: He _ his head under the hydrant. The Baptists _ at baptism. She _ the cloth into the dye. The sophomores _ the freshmen into the icy water of the lake. Paul Jones could not _ the enemy's ship; he therefore resolved to board it. The wreck lay _ in forty fathoms of water. Uncle Tom _ overboard to rescue the child. When the gun is discharged, the loon does not rise from the water; it _ Lewis became badly strangled when the other boys _ him.

<Disease, sickness, illness, indisposition, ailment, affection, complaint, disorder, distemper, infirmity, malady.> (With this group contrast the healthful group.)

Sentences: He was suffering the of age. Cancer is still in many instances an incurable The of the lady ended as soon as the maid told her the callers had gone away. It was an old of the tonsils, but this time the child's was slight. "To help me through this long , my life."

<Disloyal, false, unfaithful, faithless, traitorous, treasonable, treacherous, perfidious.>

Sentences: The king discovered many schemes among those who pretended to be his loyal supporters. England's enemies have long called her " Albion." They were afraid the Indian guide would betray them by some action. "O you beast! O coward! O dishonest wretch!" He was to his adopted country. "Bloody, bawdy villain! Remorseless, , lecherous, kindless villain! O! vengeance!"

<Do, perform, execute, accomplish, achieve, effect.>

_Sentences_: An officer _ the orders with despatch. He _ a mighty name for himself. "If it were _ when 'tis _ then 'twere well It were _ quickly." Constant efforts will _ miracles. The student _ the problems quickly. The doctor hopes his new treatment will _ a cure. "God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to _." He persevered till he _ his purpose. He always _ more than was expected of him.

<Dress, clothes, clothing, garments, apparel, raiment, habiliments, vestments, attire, garb, habit, costume, uniform.>

Sentences: The spy concealed his identity by wearing the of a monk. The soldiers wore blue . She was an excellent horsewoman, and rode in a fashionable . "No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old ." Millions of men left farms and factories and shops to don the of war. The invitation specified that the men should wear evening . The store specialized in women's wearing . A person should wear warm in winter. The king appeared in his royal . He always wore expensive . The bishop entered in his clerical . "The oft proclaims the man." The theatrical was full of spangles. One's should never be conspicuous.

<Drink, imbibe, sip, sup, swallow, quaff, tipple, tope, guzzle, swig.>

_Sentences_: "She who, as they voyaged, _ With Tristram that spiced magic draught." Plants _ moisture through their roots. "A little learning is a dang'rous thing; _ deep, or taste not the Pierian spring." He _ down the liquor in a couple of huge draughts. On the fan was a picture of Japanese maidens daintily _ tea. "_ to me only with thine eyes." His red nose betrayed the fact that he constantly _.

<Elicit, extract, exact, extort.>

Sentences: They payment to the last cent. The police a confession from the prisoner by intimidating him. This terrible suffering our sympathy. His resolve to begin again after his failure their admiration. "But lend it rather to thine enemy; Who if he break, thou mayst with better face the penalty." They all the information they could by questioning the child.

<Embarrass, disconcert, discompose, discomfit, confuse, confound, agitate, abash, mortify, chagrin, humiliate.>

_Sentences_: The annoying little raids _ the enemy. Such conclusive proof of his lies completely _ him. His sudden proposal _ her. He stood _ in the presence of the king. The traveler was _ by the many turns in the road. She was _ by the delay in having dinner ready. She was _ by her husband's ill manners. The possibility that her daughter might have been in the accident _ her. I was _ at being so cleverly outwitted.

<Excuse, pardon, forgive, condone.>

Sentences: We should even those who do us wrong. "Father, them; for they know not what they do." I trust you will my being late. Ignorance no one before the law. The governor the convict. He thought it better to the offense than to try to punish it.

<Explain, expound, interpret, elucidate.>

Sentences: The minister the doctrine of predestination. The tribesman his chief's words for us. He his meaning by giving clear examples. Joseph was called upon to Pharaoh's dream. Can you the reason for your absence? Various scholars have the passage differently.

<Fat, fleshy, stout, plump, buxom, corpulent, obese, portly, pursy, burly, pudgy, chubby.>

Sentences: "There live not three good men unhanged in England, and one of them is and grows old." A[n] rosy-faced child walking beside a girl just pleasantly came past the garden. The lady was talking with a[n] , ill-conditioned man. "So , blithe, and debonair." "He's and scant of breath." The ruffian was a[n] fellow. They were in varying degrees: one was , one , and one downright .

<Fear, dread, fright, apprehension, affright, alarm, dismay, timidity, consternation, panic, terror, horror, misgiving, anxiety, scare, tremor, trepidation.> (With this group compare the Afraid group, above, and contrast the Courage group, also above.)

_Sentences_: "Like one, that on a lonesome road Doth walk in _ and _." "His scepter shows the force of temporal power, The attribute to awe and majesty, Wherein doth sit the _ and _ of kings." _ changed to _ when we perceived the corpse. Washington felt some _ as to the loyalty of Charles Lee, but was amazed to find his force retreating in _, indeed almost in a[n] _.

<Feminine, female, womanly, womanlike, womanish, effeminate, ladylike.>

Sentences: She possessed every charm. He gave a[n] start of curiosity. The pistil is considered the organ of a flower. It was once not thought for a woman to ride astride a horse. He inherited the throne through the line. Patience is one of the greatest of virtues. The hired girl in her finery minced along with a[n] step. Some people consider it to wear a wrist watch. Her heart was touched at the sight. It is to jump at the sight of a mouse.

<Fight, combat, struggle, scuffle, fray, affray, attack, engagement, assault, onslaught, brawl, melee, tournament, battle, conflict, strife, clash, collision, contest, skirmish, encounter, brush, bout, set-to.>

_Sentences_: "A darkling plain Swept with confused alarms of _ and flight." The _ upon Fort Sumter was the direct cause of the Civil War. The _ between our forces and theirs was brief and trivial; it was only a cavalry _. There is an excellent account of a knightly _ in _Ivanhoe_. We repelled their general _; then ourselves advanced; the _ of our lines with theirs soon resulted in an inextricable _. A chance _ of small forces at Gettysburg brought on a terrible _. There had long been _ between the two factions within the party. Angered by what had begun as a playful _, one of the men challenged the other to _.

<Fleeting, transient, transitory, ephemeral, evanescent.>

Sentences: It is the lot of every one to endure many sorrows in this life. They saw for a short while a[n] comet. The glories of dawn had merged into the sordid realities of daytime. The remark made but a[n] impression upon him. The moments sped away. "Art is long, and time is ." Joy is . Much of the popular literature of the day is in character.

<Frank, candid, open, artless, guileless, ingenuous, unsophisticated, naive.>

Sentences: It was a[n] excuse. It was a pleasure to meet a person so simple and . He was to say that he did not like the arrangement. "Who, mindful of the unhonored dead, Dost in these lines their tale relate." "The Moor is of a free and nature." He gave them his opinion.

<Frustrate, foil, thwart, counteract, circumvent, balk, baffle, outwit.>

_Sentences_: The schemers were themselves _. He was _ by the many contradictory clues. Circumstances _ all his plans to get rich. The parents _ the attempt of the couple to elope. The guard _ the prisoner's attempt to escape. He was _ at every turn. They put forth a statement to _ the influence of their opponents' propaganda. By slipping away during the night, Washington _ the enemy. The politician by his shrewdness _ the attempt to discredit him.

<Glad, happy, cheerful, mirthful, joyful, joyous, blithe, gay, frolicsome, merry, jolly, sportive, jovial, jocular, jocose, jocund.>

_Sentences_: "The milkmaid singeth _." "And all went _ as a marriage bell." "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring _ tidings of good things." A _ Lothario. "So buxom, _, and debonair." As _ as a fawn. He kept smiling, for he was in _ mood. "You are sad Because you are not _; and 'twere as easy For you to laugh and leap, and say you are _, Because you are not sad." He longed for the _ life of a _ English squire.

<Habit, custom, usage, practice, wont.>

_Sentences_: _ makes perfect. The immigrants kept up many of the _ of their native land. "God fulfils himself in many ways, Lest one good _ should corrupt the world." It was his _ to walk among the ruins. An old _ permits a man to kiss a girl who is standing under mistletoe. _ establishes many peculiar idioms in a language. He acquired the _ of smoking. "It is a _. More honor'd in the breach than the observance." De Quincey was a victim of the opium _. "Age cannot wither her, nor _ stale Her infinite variety." "'Tis not his _ to be the hindmost man."

<Harass, annoy, irritate, vex, fret, worry, plague, torment, molest, tease, tantalize.>

_Sentences_: The merchant _ about his financial losses. "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and _ his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more." The children never lost an opportunity to _ the teacher. The other pupils _ him because he was the teacher's favorite. The newcomer was _ by their frequent questions. Don't _ the child by holding the grapes beyond its reach. "He was met even now As mad as the _ sea." Ah, but I am _ by doubts and fears. "The moping owl does to the moon complain Of such as, wand'ring near her secret bower, _ her ancient, solitary reign." The child _ because the rain kept it indoors. When the joke was discovered, they almost _ the life out of him. I was _ at their discovering my predicament. "You may as well forbid the mountain pines To wag their high tops, and to make no noise When they are _ with the gusts of heaven."

<Hinder, restrain, obstruct, impede, hamper, retard, check, curb, clog, encumber, forestall, suppress, repress, prevent.>

_Sentences_: Baggage _ the progress of an army. It is the purpose of modern medicine to _ disease. The accumulations of dust and grease _ the machine. "My tears must stop, for every drop _ needle and thread." By acknowledging his fault he hoped to _ criticism. Though before she had been unable to _ her tears, she could now scarcely _ a yawn. A fallen tree _ his further progress. The horse was _ with a heavy burden, and the unsure footing of the trail further _ the ascent. His jealous colleagues _ his plans in every way they could.

<Hole, cavity, excavation, pit, cache, cave, cavern, hollow, depression, perforation, puncture, rent, slit, crack, chink, crevice, cranny, breach, cleft, chasm, fissure, gap, opening, interstice, burrow, crater, eyelet, pore, bore, aperture, orifice, vent, concavity, dent, indentation. >

_Sentences_: The explorers, having eaten all the provisions they had carried with them, hurried back to their _. The battering-ram at last made a[n] _ in the walls. The _ in the log had been caused by the intense heat. He tore off the check along the line of the _. The _ in the earth gradually deepened and narrowed into a[n] _. Pyramus and Thisbe made love to each other through a[n] _ in a wall. "Once more unto the _, dear friends, once more." The _ in the mountain ranges of Virginia influenced strategy during the Civil War. Several _ in the toe of one of his shoes apprised me that he had a sore foot. The supposed _ in the rock turned out to be a[n] _ that led into a dark but spacious _. He suffered a[n] _ of one of his tires near the place where the laborers were making the _. It was a gun of very large _. The _ in the percolator was made by a flatiron aimed at Mr. Wiggins' head.

<Idle, inert, lazy, indolent, sluggish, slothful.>

Sentences: "He also that is in his work is brother to him that is a great waster." "The singer of an empty day." Mighty, forces lie locked up in nature, waiting for man to release them. He was a[n] , good-for-nothing fellow whose whole business in life was to keep out of work. "For Satan finds some mischief still For hands to do." He was too to do his work well. "The yawning drone." His steps were so one would almost think he was not moving. "As as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean." "I talk of dreams, Which are the children of an brain, Begot of nothing but vain fantasy."

<Ignorant, illiterate, uninformed, uneducated, untutored, unlettered, unenlightened.>

Sentences: Without public schools most children would be ; without missionaries many barbarous tribes would remain . Andrew Jackson was that peace had been declared when he fought the battle of New Orleans. Even the wisest men are upon some subjects. "Lo, the poor Indian, whose mind Sees God in clouds or hears Him in the wind!" The mountain whites, though often totally , are nevertheless a shrewd folk. "Their name, their years, spelt by th' muse, The place of fame and elegy supply." The percentage of persons is constantly decreasing in America.

<Incline, tip, lean, cant, slant, slope, tilt, list, careen, dip.>

Sentences: He the bucket of water over. The vessel to the stern and began to sink. The ship to larboard. He the top of the picture away from the wall. The sprinter forward and touched the tips of his fingers against the ground. The gable sharply. The hill gently. The cowboy had his hat fetchingly.

<Journey, voyage, tour, pilgrimage, trip, jaunt, excursion, junket, outing, expedition.>

_Sentences:_ The people protested the expenditure of money for a Congressional _ to investigate the Philippine Islands. Each Sunday there is a[n] _ at half fare between the two cities. He conducted a party on a summer _ through Europe. Last summer I took a[n] _ to the Yellowstone National Park. It was a long _ from Philadelphia to Boston by stage coach. They hurriedly arranged for a[n] _ to the woods. Magellan was the first man to make a[n] _ around the globe. The scientific body organized a[n] _ to explore the polar regions. Thousands of Mohammedans make an annual _ to Mecca.

<Kind, compassionate, merciful, lenient, benignant, benign, clement, benevolent, charitable, gracious, humane, sympathetic.> (With this group compare the Cruel group, above.)

_Sentences:_ The weather was _. She was as _ as a queen. "Thou dost wear The Godhead's most _ grace." Cowper was too _ to tread upon a worm needlessly. A judge in sentencing a convicted man may be as _ as circumstances and the law allow. _ neutrality. "Blessed are the _." "She was so _ and so pitous She wolde wepe if that she sawe a mous Caught in a trappe." "_ hearts are more than coronets."

<Love, affection, attachment, fondness, infatuation, devotion, predilection, liking.>

Sentences: Between the two young people had grown a[n] which now ripened into . "The course of true never did run smooth." The mad of Mark Antony for Cleopatra was the cause of his downfall. She had only a[n] for him, but he an unqualified for her. "Man's is of his life a thing apart; 'Tis woman's whole existence." He shows a marked for the companionship of women. My for the tart was enhanced by my for the girl who baked it. That boy shows a[n] for horses, and a positive for dogs.

<Margin, edge, limit, border, boundary, bound, bourn, brim, rim, brink, verge, skirt, confine.>

_Sentences_: He had reached the _ of endurance. In writing, leave a wide _ on the left side of the page. "Borrowing dulls the _ of husbandry." "The extravagant and erring spirit hies To his _." Within the _ of reason. He stood on the _ of ruin. The rock at the _ of the canon is called the _ rock. I was on the _ of doing a very indiscreet thing. "The undiscover'd country from whose _ No traveler returns." Fill your glasses to the _.

<Matrimonial, conjugal, connubial, nuptial, marital.>

Sentences: "However old a union, it still garners some sweetness." A court of relations. "Contented toil, and hospitable care, And kind tenderness are there." "To the bower I led her, blushing like the morn." She finally decided that he had no intentions. "And hears the unexpressive song In the lest kingdoms meek of joy and love."

<Occupation, employment, calling, pursuit, vocation, avocation, profession, business, trade, craft.>

_Sentences_: He gave his life to literary _. My brother found _ as a tutor in a rich family. Colleges are trying to direct their students into the _ they are best fitted for. Andrew Johnson was a tailor by _. Medicine is a very ancient _. The shoemaker was very skilled at his _. After losing his hand he could no longer engage in his _ as telegrapher. The grocer carries on only a wholesale _. He considered his _ to the ministry a sacred duty. "Sir, 'tis my _ to be plain." Do you find collecting coins a pleasant _?

<Pacify, appease, placate, propitiate, conciliate, mollify>.

Sentences: We our hunger when we reached the inn. In olden times men tried to the offended gods by offering human sacrifices. They the angry man by promising to hear his grievances immediately. The premier thought he could this particular faction by offering its leader a seat in the cabinet. "Chiron his cruel mind With art, and taught his warlike hands to wind The silver strings of his melodious lyre." A friendly word will usually one's enemies.

<Part, piece, portion, section, subdivision, fraction, instalment element, component, constituent, ingredient, share, lot, allotment>.

Sentences: One in his success was his courage. She was studying the of the pie; he the chances of getting another . Is it and alike? "I live not in myself, but I become of that around me." "Act well your ; there all the honor lies." He owned a[n] of land near the city limits; a speculator bought a[n] of this and divided it into city lots. "I am a[n] of all that I have met." The purchaser, having only a[n] of this sum in ready money, offered to pay in .

<Pay, hire, salary, wages, fee, stipend, honorarium>.

_Sentences_: Give the manager his _, the workmen their _. "The laborer is worthy of his _." He received his weekly _ from the parsimonious old man. The _ for enrolment is ten dollars. "This is _ and _, not revenge."

<Polite, civil, obliging, courteous, courtly, urbane, affable, complaisant, gracious>.

Sentences: He was enough, but not definitely . "So that he ne'er ." Though he had never lived in a city, much less in the circle of royalty, his manners were , even . Your desire to please is shown in your greeting. "Damn with faint praise, assent with leer, And without sneering teach the rest to sneer."

<Quarrel, altercation, disagreement, contention, controversy, breach, rupture, dispute, dissension, bickering, wrangle, broil, squabble, row, rumpus, ruction, spat, tiff, fuss, jar, feud.>

_Sentences:_ It was only a little _ between lovers. The _ between the partners was over the right of the senior to make contracts for the firm; it grew into an angry _. It was a long-drawn political _. At the meeting of our committee the chairman and one of the members had a sharp _ over a point of order. A[n] _ in some minor matters led to a[n] _ in their friendship. "Thrice is he armed that hath his _ just" Those chattering, choleric fellows are always engaged in _; last night they on meeting had a[n] _ which brought on a long-drawn _, and when their friends joined in, there was a noisy _. I have seen all sorts of _, from a trivial childish _ to a grim _ of mountaineers.

<Raise, lift, heave, hoist, erect, rear, elevate, exalt, enhance.>

_Sentences:_ Let the Lord be _. "As some tall cliff that _ its awful form." Because of this success his reputation was _. The horse _ when the machine began to _ the huge block of stone by means of a crane. "I will _ up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help." The load was too heavy for him to carry; in fact he just managed to _ it into the wagon.

<Relinquish, waive, renounce, surrender, forego, resign, abdicate.>

_Sentences:_ The defense _ objection to the first of these points. The refugee was willing to _ his right to resist extradition. The teacher _ her position at the end of the year. The king _ when the people rose in revolt. He _ his command of the army. Do you _ your claim in this mine? The bankrupt _ his property to the receiver to help pay his debts.

<Renounce, abjure, forswear, recant, retract, repudiate>.

_Sentences_: He _ the statement. Thereupon Henry Esmond _ his allegiance to the House of Stuart. It is a serious matter for a government to _ its debts. Did the heretic _? Do you _ the devil and all his works? "The wounded gladiator _ all fighting, but soon forgetting his former wounds resumes his arms." He had broken his solemn oath; he was _.

<Reprove, rebuke, reprimand, admonish, chide, upbraid, reproach, scold, rate, berate>.

_Sentences_: "He _ their wanderings but relieved their pain." "Many a time and oft In the Rialto you have _ me About my moneys and my usances." They _ the man who had taken the savings of the poor, and _ him against such schemes thereafter. The general _ his subordinate.

<Robber, bandit, brigand, ladrone, desperado, buccaneer, freebooter, pirate, corsair, raider, burglar, footpad, highwayman, depredator, spoiler, despoiler, forager, pillager, plunderer, marauder, myrmimdon>. (With this group compare the Steal group, below.)

Sentences: Every boy has his period of wanting to be a . Treasure Island is one of the best stories ever written. The lurks in dark passageways and steals upon his victim. The fierce followers of Achilles were called . The men sent out by the army as seemed to the people of the countryside more like . The fearless had soon gathered about him a band of . Robin Hood was no of poor folk. The outcast became a among the mountaineers of northern Italy. Every, boy likes to read of the bold who sailed the Spanish Main. Union plans were often upset by daring Confederate , such as Stuart, Morgan, and Forrest.

<Run, scamper, scurry, scuttle, scud, scour, pace, gallop, trot, lope, sprint, sweep>.

_Sentences_: Swift horsemen _ the country in search of the fugitive. Wherever they came, the inhabitants _ for shelter. "The dish _ away with the spoon." For his horse to _ made difficult riding, to _ made comfortable riding, to _ made exhilarating riding. "He may _ that readeth it." The old sailing-boat _ before the wind. "Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or the thoughts of love, May _ to my revenge." The rats _ across the floor. "He who fights and _ away May live to fight another day."

<Say, utter, pronounce, announce, state, declare, affirm, aver, asseverate, allege, assert, avouch, avow, maintain, claim, depose, predicate, swear, suggest, insinuate, testify>. (With this group compare the Speak and Talk groups, below.)

_Sentences_: It was something I merely _ in passing; I would not _ to it. I could not _ in court, and therefore had to _ before a notary. The scientist _ that a seismograph will infallibly record earthquakes. He solemnly _ that he would not _ exemption from the draft.

<Shine, beam, gleam, glisten, glister, glitter, glare, flare, flash, sparkle, twinkle, dazzle, glimmer, glow, radiate, scintillate, coruscate>.

Sentences: The gorgeous parade the boy. ", , little star." He was witty that night; he fairly At this compliment the old lady . "Now fades the landscape on the sight." A rocket in the darkness. She her elderly wooer a look of defiance; then her eyes softened and with amusement. "All that is not gold." "How far that little candle throws his beams! So a good deed in a naughty world.". The old man into sudden anger.

<Slander, defame, asperse, calumniate, traduce, vilify, malign, libel, backbite>.

Sentences: A newspaper must be careful not to any one. Too many supposedly religious people their fellow believers. I do not your motives. He the character of everybody who chances to possess one.

<Smell, odor, savor, scent, fragrance, aroma, perfume, redolence, tang, stench>.

_Sentences_: The _ of the flowers in the vase mingled with the _ of boiling cabbage in the kitchen. The _ of spring is on the meadows. So keen was the hound's sense of _ that he quickly picked up the _ again. Any smoker likes the _ of a good cigar. The _ of the handkerchief was delicate. Though it was a disagreeable _, I should hardly call it a[n] _. The _ of spices told him that his mother was baking his favorite cake, and he also detected the _ of coffee. The _ of the ocean was in the air. He sniffed the _ of frying bacon.

<Song, ballad, ditty, lullaby, hymn, anthem, dirge, chant, paean, lay, carol, lilt>.

_Sentences_: "They learn in suffering what they teach in _." The mother crooned a[n] _ to her babe. The Highland girl sang a moving old _ worshipers sang a[n] _ of praise. Charles Wesley wrote many _. As I approached the cathedral, I could hear the _ of lark's outside and the _ of the choir within. "Our sweetest _ are those that tell of saddest thought." "A[n] _ for her the doubly dead in that she died so young."

<Speak, discourse, expatiate, descant, comment, argue, persuade, plead, lecture, preach, harangue, rant, roar, spout, thunder, declaim, harp>. (With this group compare the Say group, above, and the Talk group, below.)

Sentences: "His virtues Will like angels trumpet-tongu'd against The deep damnation of his taking-off." "Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest, ... Come I to in Caesar's funeral." "Ay me! what act, That so loud and in the index?" "Hadst thou thy wits and didst revenge, It could not move thus." "Thou canst not of that thou dost not feel." "Nay, if thou'lt mouth, I' as well as thou." While the politician in the senate chamber upon theoretical ills, the agitator outside the mob about actual ones. "For murder, though it have no tongue, will With most miraculous organ."

<Spend, expend, disburse, squander, waste, lavish>.

_Sentences_: Large sums were _ in rebuilding the devastated regions of France. _ your money, but do not _ it. One should not _ more than one earns. The king _ great sums upon his favorites. The political boss _ the money among his henchmen. "The younger son ... _ his substance with riotous living."

<Spot, blotch, speckle, fleck, dapple, smear, smutch, brand, defacement, blemish, stain, discoloration, speck, mark, smudge, flaw, defect, blot>.

Sentences: A in the crystal. The of Cain. A life free from . "Thou turn'st mine eyes into my very soul; And there I see such black and grained As will not leave their tinct." From the standpoint of theatrical effectiveness A in the 'Scutcheon is one of the best of Browning's plays. An eruption of the skin made a yellow on his right hand. Dragging my sleeve across the fresh ink had made a upon the page. The of foam by the roadside proved that his horse had been going fast. The at the end of his fingers told me he was a cigarette-smoker. On the left foreleg of the horse was a slight .

<Stay, tarry, linger, stop, sojourn, remain, abide, live, reside, dwell, lodge.>

_Sentences_: The Israelites _ in Egypt. He _ to chat with us, but could not _ overnight. I _ in a wretched tavern. "I can _, I can _ but a night." "I did love the Moor to _ with him." "He that shall come will come, and will not _." "I will _ in the house of the Lord forever." "If ye _ in me, and my words _ in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." "I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to _ in the tents of wickedness." The guests _ in the cheerful drawing-room.

<Steal, abstract, pilfer, filch, purloin, peculate, swindle, plagiarize, poach>. (With this group, which excludes the idea of violence, compare the Robber group, above.)

Sentences: I am of raid that our son the purse from the gentleman. No one knows how long the cashier has been the funds of the bank. To take our money on such unsound security is to us. He slyly a handkerchief or two. This paragraph is clearly . "Thou shalt not ." Many government employees seem to think that to is their privilege and prerogative. The crown jewels have been , She a number of petty articles. A well-known detective story by Poe is called The Letter. "Who my purse trash.... But he that from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me poor indeed." "A cut-purse of the empire and the rule, That from a shelf the precious diadem , And put it in his pocket!"

<Strike, hit, smite, thump, beat, cuff, buffet, knock, whack, belabor, pommel, pound, cudgel, slap, rap, tap, box.>

Sentences: him into the middle of next week. He and the poor beast unmercifully. "As of some one gently , at my chamber door." "Unto him that thee on the one cheek offer also the other." "Bid them come forth and hear me, Or at their chamber door I'll the drum Till it cry sleep to death." "One whom I will into clamorous whining." " for your altars and your fires!" By means of heavy stones the squaws the corn into meal.

<Sullen, surly, sulky, crabbed, cross, gruff, grum, glum, morose, dour, crusty, cynical, misanthropic, saturnine, splenetic.>

_Sentences_: "Between us and our hame [home], Where sits our _, _ dame, Gathering her brows like gathering storm, Nursing her wrath to keep it warm." A _ old bachelor. A _ Scotchman. He hated all men; he was truly _. He sat _ and silent all day; by nightfall he was truly _.

<Talk, chat, chatter, prate, prattle, babble, gabble, jabber, tattle, twaddle, blab, gossip, palaver, parley, converse, mumble, mutter, stammer, stutter.> (With this group compare the Say and Speak groups, above.)

Sentences: It was a queer assembly, and from it arose a queer medley of sounds: the baby was , the old crone , the gossip , the embarrassed young man , the child the tale-bearer , the hostess with the most distinguished guest, and the trickster with his intended victim. "Blest with each talent and each art to please, And born to write, , and live with ease." "I wonder that you will still be Signor Benedick; nobody marks you."

<Tear, rend, rip, lacerate, mangle.>

_Sentences_: The explosion of the shell _ his flesh. The tailor _ the garment along the seam. I'll _ this paper into bits. Those savages would _ you limb from limb. She _ her dress on a nail. The cogs caught his hand and _ it. How could such reproaches fail to _ my feelings?

<Throw, pitch, hurl, dash, fling, cast, toss, flip, chuck, sling, heave, launch, dart, propel, project.>

_Sentences_: Suddenly he _ the glittering coins away. Goliath learned to his cost that David could _ a stone. The explosion of the gunpowder _ the bullet from the gun. "_ down your cups of Samian wine!" The children amused themselves by _ the ball back and forth. He _ himself dejectedly into a seat. The thief _ a glance beside him. The mischievous boy _ a stone through the window. They _ some of the cargo overboard to lighten the boat. The eager fisherman _ the fly for the trout. The untidy fellow _ the towel in a corner.

<Whip, chastise, castigate, flagellate, scourge, lash, trounce, thrash, flog, maul, drub, switch, spank, bastinado.> (This group limits the field of the Punish group in Exercise A, and extends the list of synonyms.)

_Sentences_: The drunken driver _ the excited horses. The zealot was accustomed to _ himself. The ruler bade that the Christians be _. The teacher _ the small children gently, but he unsparingly _ the big ones. "My father hath _ you with whips, but I will _ you with scorpions." The bully was always _ men smaller than himself till one of them turned on him and _ him thoroughly.

<Wicked, sinful, felonious, illegal, immoral, heinous, flagitious, iniquitous, criminal, vicious, vile.>

_Sentences:_ "I am fled From this _ world, with _ worms to dwell." A[n] _ assault. "The _ prize itself Buys out the law." It was, though not a[n] _ act, a most _ one. "There the _ cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest."

<Young, youthful, boyish, girlish, juvenile, puerile, immature, callow, adolescent.>

Sentences: The plan had all the faults of judgment. Many great authors have written books of fiction. The bird, which was still , was of course unable to fly. "Such sights as poets dream On summer eves by haunted stream." He was in that stage of development when one is neither a boy nor a man. "I was so , I loved him so, I had No mother, God forgot me, and I fell." He made a[n] attempt to impress them with his importance. "Bacchus ever fair, and ever ." A red necktie gave him a more appearance. The self-satisfied air of a[n] youth is often trying to his elders.

EXERCISE D

In this exercise each group of synonyms is followed by quotations from authoritative writers in which the words are discriminatingly employed. Find the meaning of each italicized word in these quotations, and differentiate the word accurately from the others in that group. Substitute for it other words from the group, and observe precisely how the meaning is affected.

(So many of the quotations are from poetry that these will be printed as verse rather than, as in the preceding exercises, in continuous lines like prose.)

<Affront, insult, indignity.>

A moral, sensible, and well-bred man Will not affront me,—and no other can. An old affront will stir the heart Through years of rankling pain.

The way to procure insults is to submit to them. A man meets with no more respect than he exacts.

It is often better not to see an insult than to avenge it.

Even a hare, the weakest of animals, may insult a dead lion.

To a native of rank, arrest was not merely a restraint, but a foul personal indignity.

<Dishonor, disgrace, ignominy, infamy, obloquy, opprobrium>.

His honor rooted in dishonor stood, And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true.

It is hard to say which of the two we ought most to lament,—the unhappy man who sinks under the sense of his dishonor, or him who survives it.

Could he with reason murmur at his case Himself sole author of his own disgrace?

Whatever disgrace we may have deserved, it is almost always in our power to re-establish our character.

When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes I all alone beweep my outcast state.

Their generals have been received with honor after their defeat; yours with ignominy after conquest.

Wilful perpetuations of unworthy actions brand with most indelible characters of infamy the name and memory to posterity.

And when his long public life, so singularly chequered with good and evil, with glory and obloquy, bad at length closed forever, it was to Daylesford that he retired to die.

Great opprobrium has been thrown on her name.

<Fame, honor, renown, glory, distinction, reputation, repute, celebrity, eminence, notoriety>.

Let fame, that all hunt after in their lives, Live register'd upon our brazen tombs.

Men have a solicitude about fame; and the greater share they have of it, the more afraid they are of losing it.

Fame is no plant that grows on mortal soil, . . . . . . . . But lives and spreads aloft by those pure eyes And perfect witness of all-judging Jove; As he pronounces lastly on each deed, Of so much fame in heaven expect thy meed.

When faith is lost, when honor dies, The man is dead.

Act well your part; there all the honor lies.

The Athenians erected a large statue of Aesop, and placed him, though a slave, on a lasting pedestal, to show that the way to honor lies open indifferently to all.

I could not love thee, dear, so much, Loved I not honor more.

That nation is worthless which does not joyfully stake everything on her honor.

By heaven methinks it were an easy leap To pluck bright honor from the pale-fac'd moon.

That merit which gives greatness and renown diffuses its influence to a wide compass, but acts weakly on every single breast.

Speak no more of his renown, Lay your earthly fancies down, And in the vast cathedral leave him, God accept him, Christ receive him.

The young warrior did not fly; but met death as he went forward in his strength. Happy are they who dies in youth, when their renown is heard!

The paths of glory lead but to the grave.

Glory long has made the sages smile; 'tis something, nothing, words, illusion, wind.

Not once or twice in our rough island-story The path of duty was the way to glory.

He was a charming fellow, clever, urbane, free-handed, with all that fortunate quality in his appearance which is known as distinction.

Never get a reputation for a small perfection if you are trying for fame in a loftier area.

One may be better than his reputation or his conduct, but never better than his principles.

I see my reputation is at stake My fame is shrewdly gor'd.

CASSIO. Reputation, reputation, reputation! O! I have lost my reputation. I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial. My reputation, Iago, my reputation! IAGO. As I am an honest man, I thought you had received some bodily wound.

You have a good repute for gentleness and wisdom. Celebrity sells dearly what we think she gives.

Kings climb to eminence Over men's graves.

Notoriety is short-lived; fame is lasting.

<Hatred, hate, animosity, ill-will, enmity, hostility, bitterness, malice, malevolence, malignity, rancor, resentment, dudgeon, grudge, spite>.

The hatred we bear our enemies injures their happiness less than our own.

Hate is like fire; it makes even light rubbish deadly.

He generously forgot all feeling of animosity, and determined to go in person to his succor.

That thereby he may gather The ground of your ill-will, and so remove it.

No place is so propitious to the formation either of close friendships or of deadly enmities as an Indiaman.

There need be no hostility between evolutionist and theologian.

Shall we be thus afflicted in his wreaks, His fits, his frenzy, and his bitterness?

Speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate, Nor set down aught in malice.

Every obstacle which partisan malevolence could create he has had to encounter.

His flight is occasioned rather by the malignity of his countrymen than by the enmity of the Egyptians.

Where the soul sours, and gradual rancor grows, Imbitter'd more from peevish day to day.

Peace in their mouthes, and all rancor and vengeance in their hartes [hearts].

For them the gracious Duncan have I murder'd; Put rancors in the vessel of my peace Only for them.

Her resentment against the king seems not to have abated.

Mrs. W. was in high dudgeon; her heels clattered on the red-tiled floor, and she whisked about the house like a parched pea upon a drum-head.

If I can catch him once upon the hip, I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him.

Men of this character pursue a grudge unceasingly, and never forget or forgive.

And since you ne'er provoked their spite, Depend upon't their judgment's right.

<Marriage, matrimony, wedlock>. (With this group compare the matrimonial group in Exercise C, above.)

Marriages are made in heaven.

Hasty marriage seldom proveth well.

A man finds himself seven years older the day after his marriage.

Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments.

Marriage is the best state for man in general; and every man is a worse man in proportion as he is unfit for the married state.

Matrimony—the high sea for which no compass has yet been invented.

Wedlock's a lane where there is no turning.

What is wedlock forced, but a hell, An age of discord and continual strife?

<Mercy, clemency, lenity, leniency, lenience, forbearance>.

Teach me to feel another's woe, To hide the fault I see; That mercy I to others show, That mercy show to me.

The quality of mercy is not strain'd, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath: it is twice bless'd; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes; * * * * * And earthly power doth then show likest God's When mercy seasons justice.

Clemency is the surest proof of a true monarch.

Lenity will operate with greater force, in some instances, than vigor.

All the fellows tried to persuade the Master to greater leniency, but in vain.

It will be necessary that this acceptance should be followed up by measures of the utmost lenience.

There is however a limit at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue.

<Pity, sympathy, compassion, commiseration, condolence>.

Careless their merits or their faults to scan, His pity gave ere charity began.

For pity melts the mind to love.

For pitee renneth [runneth] soon in gentle herte [heart].

Our sympathy is cold to the relation of distant misery.

Man may dismiss compassion from his heart, but God will never.

It is unworthy a religious man to view an irreligious one either with alarm or aversion; or with any other feeling than regret, and hope, and brotherly commiseration.

Their congratulations and their condolences are equally words of course.

<Poverty, want, need, destitution, indigence, penury>.

Is there for honest poverty That hings [hangs] his head, and a' that?

Not to be able to bear poverty is a shameful thing, but not to know how to chase it away by work is a more shameful thing yet.

Stitch! stitch! stitch! In poverty, hunger, and dirt, And still with a voice of dolorous pitch, Would that its tone could reach the Rich, She sang this "Song of the Shirt!"

Poverty is dishonorable, not in itself, but when it is a proof of laziness, intemperance, luxury, and carelessness; whereas in a person that is temperate, industrious, just and valiant, and who uses all his virtues for the public good, it shows a great and lofty mind.

Want is a bitter and hateful good, Because its virtues are not understood; Yet many things, impossible to thought, Have been by need to full perfection brought.

Hundreds would never have known want if they had not first known waste.

O! reason not the need; our basest beggars Are in the poorest thing superfluous: Allow not nature more than nature needs, Man's life is cheap as beast's.

The Christian inhabitants of Thessaly would be reduced to destitution.

It is the care of a very great part of mankind to conceal their indigence from the rest.

Chill penury repress'd their noble rage, And froze the genial current of the soul.

Chill penury weighs down the heart itself; and though it sometimes be endured with calmness, it is but the calmness of despair.

Where penury is felt the thought is chain'd, And sweet colloquial pleasures are but few.

<Regret, compunction, remorse, contrition, penitence, repentance>.

Regrets over the past should chasten the future.

He acknowledged his disloyalty to the king with expressions of great compunction.

Through no disturbance of my soul, Or strong compunction in me wrought, I supplicate for thy control.

God speaks to our hearts through the voice of remorse.

To err is human; but contrition felt for the crime distinguishes the virtuous from the wicked.

Christian penitence is something more than a thought or an emotion or a tear; it is action.

Repentance must be something more than mere remorse for sins; it comprehends a change of nature befitting heaven.

<Stubborn, obstinate, pertinacious, intractable, refractory, contumacious>.

For fools are stubborn in their way, As coins are harden'd by th' allay; And obstinacy's ne'er so stiff As when 'tis in a wrong belief.

They may also laugh at their pertinacious and incurable obstinacy.

He who is intractable, he whom nothing can persuade, may boast himself invincible.

There is a law in each well-order'd nation To curb those raging appetites that are Most disobedient and refractory.

He then dissolved Parliament, and sent its most refractory members to the Tower.

If he were contumacious, he might be excommunicated, or, in other words, be deprived of all civil rights and imprisoned for life.

EXERCISE E

The following list of synonyms is given for the convenience of those who wish additional material with which to work. This is a selected list and makes no pretense to completeness. It is suggested that you discriminate the words within each of the following groups, and use each word accurately in a sentence of your own making.

Abettor, accessory, accomplice, confederate, conspirator. Acknowledge, admit, confess, own, avow. Active, agile, nimble, brisk, sprightly, spry, bustling. Advise, counsel, admonish, caution, warn. Affecting, moving, touching, pathetic. Agnostic, skeptic, infidel, unbeliever, disbeliever. Amuse, entertain, divert. Announce, proclaim, promulgate, report, advertise, publish, bruit, blazon, trumpet, herald. Antipathy, aversion, repugnance, disgust, loathing. Artifice, ruse, trick, dodge, manoeuver, wile, stratagem, subterfuge, finesse. Ascend, mount, climb, scale. Associate, colleague, partner, helper, collaborator, coadjutor, companion, helpmate, mate, team-mate, comrade, chum, crony, consort, accomplice, confederate. Attach, affix, annex, append, subjoin. Attack, assail, assault, invade, beset, besiege, bombard, cannonade, storm.

Begin, commence, inaugurate, initiate, institute, originate, start, found. Belief, faith, persuasion, conviction, tenet, creed. Belittle, decry, depreciate, disparage. Bind, secure, fetter, shackle, gyve. Bit, jot, mite, particle, grain, atom, speck, mote, whit, iota, tittle, scintilla. Bluff, blunt, outspoken, downright, brusk, curt, crusty. Boast, brag, vaunt, vapor, gasconade. Body, corpse, remains, relics, carcass, cadaver, corpus. Bombastic, sophomoric, turgid, tumid, grandiose, grandiloquent, magniloquent. Boorish, churlish, loutish, clownish, rustic, ill-bred. Booty, plunder, loot, spoil. Brittle, frangible, friable, fragile, crisp. Building, edifice, structure, house.

Call, clamor, roar, scream, shout, shriek, vociferate, yell, halloo, whoop. Calm, still, motionless, tranquil, serene, placid. Care, concern, solicitude, anxiety. Celebrate, commemorate, observe. Charm, amulet, talisman. Charm, enchant, fascinate, captivate, enrapture, bewitch, infatuate, enamor. Cheat, defraud, swindle, dupe. Choke, strangle, suffocate, stifle, throttle. Choose, pick, select, cull, elect. Coax, wheedle, cajole, tweedle, persuade, inveigle. Color, hue, shade, tint, tinge, tincture. Combine, unite, consolidate, merge, amalgamate, weld, incorporate, confederate. Comfort, console, solace. Complain, grumble, growl, murmur, repine, whine, croak. Confirmed, habitual, inveterate, chronic. Connect, join, link, couple, attach, unite. Continual, continuous, unceasing, incessant, endless, uninterrupted, unremitting, constant, perpetual, perennial. Contract, agreement, bargain, compact, covenant, stipulation. Copy, duplicate, counterpart, likeness, reproduction, replica, facsimile. Corrupt, depraved, perverted, vitiated. Costly, expensive, dear. Coterie, clique, cabal, circle, set, faction, party. Critical, judicial, impartial, carping, caviling, captious, censorious. Crooked, awry, askew. Cross, fretful, peevish, petulant, pettish, irritable, irascible, angry. Crowd, throng, horde, host, mass, multitude, press, jam, concourse. Curious, inquisitive, prying, meddlesome.

Dainty, delicate, exquisite, choice, rare. Danger, peril, jeopardy, hazard, risk. Darken, obscure, bedim, obfuscate. Dead, lifeless, inanimate, deceased, defunct, extinct. Decay, decompose, putrefy, rot, spoil. Deceit, deception, double-dealing, duplicity, chicanery, guile, treachery. Deceptive, deceitful, misleading, fallacious, fraudulent. Decorate, adorn, ornament, embellish, deck, bedeck, garnish, bedizen, beautify. Decorous, demure, sedate, sober, staid, prim, proper. Deface, disfigure, mar, mutilate. Defect, fault, imperfection, disfigurement, blemish, flaw. Delay, defer, postpone, procrastinate. Demoralize, deprave, debase, corrupt, vitiate. Deportment, demeanor, bearing, port, mien. Deprive, divest, dispossess, strip, despoil. Despise, contemn, scorn, disdain. Despondency, despair, desperation. Detach, separate, sunder, sever, disconnect, disjoin, disunite. Determined, persistent, dogged. Devout, religious, pious, godly, saintly. Difficulty, hindrance, obstacle, impediment, encumbrance, handicap. Difficulty, predicament, perplexity, plight, quandary, dilemma, strait. Dirty, filthy, foul, nasty, squalid. Discernment, perception, penetration, insight, acumen. Disgraceful, dishonorable, shameful, disreputable, ignominious, opprobrious, scandalous, infamous. Disgusting, sickening, repulsive, revolting, loathsome, repugnant, abhorrent, noisome, fulsome. Dispel, disperse, dissipate, scatter. Dissatisfied, discontented, displeased, malcontent, disgruntled. Divide, distribute, apportion, allot, allocate, partition. Doctrine, dogma, tenet, precept. Dream, reverie, vision, fantasy. Drip, dribble, trickle. Drunk, drunken, intoxicated, inebriated. Dry, arid, parched, desiccated.

Eat, bolt, gulp, gorge, devour. Encroach, infringe, intrench, trench, intrude, invade, trespass. End, conclude, terminate, finish, discontinue, close. Enemy, foe, adversary, opponent, antagonist, rival. Enough, adequate, sufficient. Entice, inveigle, allure, lure, decoy, seduce. Erase, expunge, cancel, efface, obliterate. Error, mistake, blunder, slip. Estimate, value, appreciate. Eternal, everlasting, endless, deathless, imperishable, immortal. Examination, inquiry, inquisition, investigation, inspection, scrutiny, research, review, audit, inquest, autopsy. Example, sample, specimen, instance. Exceed, excel, surpass, transcend, outdo. Expand, dilate, distend, inflate. Expel, banish, exile, proscribe, ostracize. Experiment, trial, test. Explicit, exact, precise, definite.

Faculty, gift, endowment, aptitude, attribute, talent, predilection, bent. Failing, shortcoming, defect, fault, foible, infirmity. Famous, renowned, celebrated, noted, distinguished, eminent, illustrious. Fashion, mode, style, vogue, rage, fad. Fast, rapid, swift, quick, fleet, speedy, hasty, celeritous, expeditious, instantaneous. Fasten, tie, hitch, moor, tether. Fate, destiny, lot, doom. Fawn, truckle, cringe, crouch. Feign, pretend, dissemble, simulate, counterfeit, affect, assume. Fiendish, devilish, diabolical, demoniacal, demonic, satanic. Fertile, fecund, fruitful, prolific. Fit, suitable, appropriate, proper. Flame, blaze, flare, glare, glow. Flat, level, even, plane, smooth, horizontal. Flatter, blandish, beguile, compliment, praise. Flexible, pliable, pliant, supple, limber, lithe, lissom. Flit, flutter, flicker, hover. Flock, herd, bevy, covey, drove, pack, brood, litter, school. Flow, pour, stream, gush, spout. Follow, pursue, chase. Follower, adherent, disciple, partisan, henchman. Fond, loving, doting, devoted, amorous, enamored. Force, strength, power, energy, vigor, might, potency, cogency, efficacy. Force, compulsion, coercion, constraint, restraint. Free, liberate, emancipate, manumit, release, disengage, disentangle, disembarrass, disencumber, extricate. Freshen, refresh, revive, renovate, renew. Friendly, amicable, companionable, hearty, cordial, neighborly, sociable, genial, complaisant, affable. Frighten, affright, alarm, terrify, terrorize, dismay, appal, daunt, scare. Frown, scowl, glower, lower. Frugal, sparing, saving, economical, chary, thrifty, provident, prudent.

Game, play, amusement, pastime, diversion, fun, sport, entertainment. Gather, accumulate, amass, collect, levy, muster, hoard. Ghost, spirit, specter, phantom, apparition, shade, phantasm. Gift, present, donation, grant, gratuity, bequest, boon, bounty, largess, fee, bribe. Grand, magnificent, gorgeous, splendid, superb, sublime. Greet, hail, salute, address, accost. Grief, sorrow, distress, affliction, trouble, tribulation, woe. Grieve, lament, mourn, bemoan, bewail, deplore, rue. Guard, defend, protect, shield, shelter, screen, preserve.

Habitation, abode, dwelling, residence, domicile, home. Harmful, injurious, detrimental, pernicious, deleterious, baneful, noxious. Have, possess, own, hold. Headstrong, wayward, wilful, perverse, froward. Help (noun), aid, assistance, succor. Help (verb), assist, aid, succor, abet, second, support, befriend. Hesitate, falter, vacillate, waver. Hide, conceal, secrete. High, tall, lofty, elevated, towering. Hint, intimate, insinuate. Hopeful, expectant, sanguine, optimistic, confident. Hopeless, despairing, disconsolate, desperate. Holy, sacred, hallowed, sanctified, consecrated, godly, pious, saintly, blessed.

Impolite, discourteous, inurbane, uncivil, rude, disrespectful, pert, saucy, impertinent, impudent, insolent. Importance, consequence, moment. Impostor, pretender, charlatan, masquerader, mountebank, deceiver, humbug, cheat, quack, shyster, empiric. Imprison, incarcerate, immure. Improper, indecent, indecorous, unseemly, unbecoming, indelicate. Impure, tainted, contaminated, polluted, defiled, vitiated. Inborn, innate, inbred, congenital. Incite, instigate, stimulate, impel, arouse, goad, spur, promote. Inclose, surround, encircle, circumscribe, encompass. Increase, grow, enlarge, magnify, amplify, swell, augment. Indecent, indelicate, immodest, shameless, ribald, lewd, lustful, lascivious, libidinous, obscene. Insane, demented, deranged, crazy, mad. Insanity, dementia, derangement, craziness, madness, lunacy, mania, frenzy, hallucination. Insipid, tasteless, flat, vapid. Intention, intent, purpose, plan, design, aim, object, end. Interpose, intervene, intercede, interfere, mediate. Irreligious, ungodly, impious, godless, sacrilegious, blasphemous, profane. Irritate, exasperate, nettle, incense.

Join, connect, unite, couple, combine, link, annex, append.

Kindle, ignite, inflame, rouse.

Lack, want, need, deficiency, dearth, paucity, scarcity, deficit. Lame, crippled, halt, deformed, maimed, disabled. Large, great, big, huge, immense, colossal, gigantic, extensive, vast, massive, unwieldy, bulky. Laughable, comical, comic, farcical, ludicrous, ridiculous, funny, droll. Lead, guide, conduct, escort, convoy. Lengthen, prolong, protract, extend. Lessen, decrease, diminish, reduce, abate, curtail, moderate, mitigate, palliate. Lie (noun), untruth, falsehood, falsity, fiction, fabrication, mendacity, canard, fib, story. Lie (verb), prevaricate, falsify, equivocate, quibble, shuffle, dodge, fence, fib. Likeness, resemblance, similitude, similarity, semblance, analogy. Limp, flaccid, flabby, flimsy. List, roll, catalogue, register, roster, schedule, inventory. Loud, resonant, clarion, stentorian, sonorous. Low, base, abject, servile, slavish, menial. Loyal, faithful, true, constant, staunch, unwavering, steadfast. Lurk, skulk, slink, sneak, prowl.

Make, create, frame, fashion, mold, shape, form, forge, fabricate, invent, construct, manufacture, concoct. Manifest, plain, obvious, clear, apparent, patent, evident, perceptible, noticeable, open, overt, palpable, tangible, indubitable, unmistakable. Many, various, numerous, divers, manifold, multitudinous, myriad, countless, innumerable. Meaning, significance, signification, import, purport. Meet, encounter, collide, confront, converge. Meeting, assembly, assemblage, congregation, convention, conference, concourse, gathering, mustering. Melt, thaw, fuse, dissolve, liquefy. Memory, remembrance, recollection, reminiscence, retrospection. Misrepresent, misinterpret, falsify, distort, warp. Mix, compound, amalgamate, weld, combine, blend, concoct. Model, pattern, prototype, criterion, standard, exemplar, paragon, archetype, ideal. Motive, incentive, inducement, desire, purpose. Move, actuate, impel, prompt, incite.

Near, nigh, close, neighboring, adjacent, contiguous. Neat, tidy, orderly, spruce, trim, prim. Needful, necessary, requisite, essential, indispensable. Negligence, neglect, inattention, inattentiveness, inadvertence, remissness, oversight. New, novel, fresh, recent, modern, late, innovative, unprecedented. Nice, fastidious, dainty, finical, squeamish. Noisy, clamorous, boisterous, hilarious, turbulent, riotous, obstreperous, uproarious, vociferous, blatant, brawling. Noticeable, prominent, conspicuous, salient, signal.

Order (noun), command, mandate, behest, injunction, decree. Order (verb), command, enjoin, direct, instruct. Oversight, supervision, direction, superintendence, surveillance.

Pale, pallid, wan, colorless, blanched, ghastly, ashen, cadaverous. Patience, forbearance, resignation, longsuffering. Penetrate, pierce, perforate. Place, office, post, position, situation, appointment. Plan, design, project, scheme, plot. Playful, mischievous, roguish, prankish, sportive, arch. Plentiful, plenteous, abundant, bounteous, copious, profuse, exuberant, luxuriant. Plunder, rifle, loot, sack, pillage, devastate, despoil. Pretty, beautiful, comely, handsome, fair. Profitable, remunerative, lucrative, gainful. Prompt, punctual, ready, expeditious. Pull, draw, drag, haul, tug, tow. Push, shove, thrust. Puzzle, perplex, mystify, bewilder.

Queer, odd, curious, quaint, ridiculous, singular, unique, bizarre, fantastic, grotesque.

Rash, incautious, reckless, foolhardy, adventurous, venturous, venturesome. Rebellion, insurrection, revolt, mutiny, riot, revolution, sedition. Recover, regain, retrieve, recoup, rally, recuperate. Reflect, deliberate, ponder, muse, meditate, ruminate. Relate, recount, recite, narrate, tell. Replace, supersede, supplant, succeed. Repulsive, unsightly, loathsome, hideous, grewsome. Requital, retaliation, reprisal, revenge, vengeance, retribution. Responsible, answerable, accountable, amenable, liable. Reveal, disclose, divulge, manifest, show, betray. Reverence, veneration, awe, adoration, worship. Ridicule, deride, mock, taunt, flout, twit, tease. Ripe, mature, mellow. Rise, arise, mount, ascend. Rogue, knave, rascal, miscreant, scamp, sharper, villain. Round, circular, rotund, spherical, globular, orbicular. Rub, polish, burnish, furbish, scour.

Sad, grave, sober, moody, doleful, downcast, dreary, woeful, somber, unhappy, woebegone, mournful, depressed, despondent, gloomy, melancholy, heavy-spirited, sorrowful, dismal, dejected, disconsolate, miserable, lugubrious. Satiate, sate, surfeit, cloy, glut, gorge. Scoff, jeer, gibe, fleer, sneer, mock, taunt. Secret, covert, surreptitious, furtive, clandestine, underhand, stealthy. Seep, ooze, infiltrate, percolate, transude, exude. Sell, barter, vend, trade. Shape, form, figure, outline, conformation, configuration, contour, profile. Share, partake, participate, divide. Sharp, keen, acute, cutting, trenchant, incisive. Shore, coast, littoral, beach, strand, bank. Shorten, abridge, abbreviate, curtail, truncate, syncopate. Show (noun), display, ostentation, parade, pomp, splurge. Show, exhibit, display, expose, manifest, evince. Shrink, flinch, wince, blench, quail. Shun, avoid, eschew. Shy, bashful, diffident, modest, coy, timid, shrinking. Sign, omen, auspice, portent, prognostic, augury, foretoken, adumbration, presage, indication. Simple, innocent, artless, unsophisticated, naive. Skilful, skilled, expert, adept, apt, proficient, adroit, dexterous, deft, clever, ingenious. Skin, hide, pelt, fell. Sleepy, drowsy, slumberous, somnolent, sluggish, torpid, dull, lethargic. Slovenly, slatternly, dowdy, frowsy, blowzy. Sly, crafty, cunning, subtle, wily, artful, politic, designing. Smile, smirk, grin. Solitary, lonely, lone, lonesome, desolate, deserted, uninhabited. Sour, acid, tart, acrid, acidulous, acetose, acerbitous, astringent. Speech, discourse, oration, address, sermon, declamation, dissertation, exhortation, disquisition, harangue, diatribe, tirade, screed, philippic, invective, rhapsody, plea. Spruce, natty, dapper, smart, chic. Stale, musty, frowzy, mildewed, fetid, rancid, rank. Steep, precipitous, abrupt. Stingy, close, miserly, niggardly, parsimonious, penurious, sordid, Storm, tempest, whirlwind, hurricane, tornado, cyclone, typhoon Straight, perpendicular, vertical, plumb, erect, upright. Strange, singular, peculiar, odd, queer, quaint, outlandish. Strong, stout, robust, sturdy, stalwart, powerful. Stupid, dull, obtuse, stolid, doltish, sluggish, brainless, bovine. Succeed, prosper, thrive, flourish, triumph. Succession, sequence, series. Supernatural, preternatural, superhuman, miraculous. Suppose, surmise, conjecture, presume, imagine, fancy, guess, think, believe. Surprise, astonish, amaze, astound. Swearing, cursing, profanity, blasphemy, execration, imprecation.

Teach, instruct, educate, train, discipline, drill, inculcate, instil, indoctrinate. Thoughtful, contemplative, meditative, reflective, pensive, wistful. Tire, weary, fatigue, exhaust, jade, fag. Tool, implement, instrument, utensil. Trifle, dally, dawdle, potter. Try, endeavor, essay, attempt. Trust, confidence, reliance, assurance, faith. Turn, revolve, rotate, spin, whirl, gyrate.

Ugly, homely, uncomely, hideous. Unwilling, reluctant, disinclined, loath, averse.

Watchful, vigilant, alert. Wave (noun), billow, breaker, swell, ripple, undulation. Wave (verb), brandish, flourish, flaunt, wigwag. Weariness, languor, lassitude, enervation, exhaustion. Wearisome, tiresome, irksome, tedious, humdrum. Wet (adjective), humid, moist, damp, dank, sodden, soggy. Wet (verb), moisten, dampen, soak, imbrue, saturate, drench Whim, caprice, vagary, fancy, freak, whimsey, crotchet. Wind, breeze, gust, blast, flaw, gale, squall, flurry. Wind, coil, twist, twine, wreathe. Winding, tortuous, serpentine, sinuous, meandering. Wonderful, marvelous, phenomenal, miraculous. Workman, laborer, artisan, artificer, mechanic, craftsman. Write, inscribe, scribble, scrawl, scratch.

Yearn, long, hanker, pine, crave.

EXERCISE F

Write three synonyms for each of the following words. Discriminate the three, and embody each of them in a sentence.

Accomplish Conduct (noun) Humble Scream Agree Conspicuous Indifferent Shrewd Anger Cringe Misfortune Shudder Attempt Difficult Obey Skill Big Disconnect Object (noun) Soft Brute Erratic Object (verb) Splash Business Flash Obligation Success Careless Fragrant Occupied Sweet Climb Gain Oppose Trick Collect Generous Persist Wash Commanding Grim Revise Worship Compel Groan Room

EXERCISE G

Supply eight or ten intervening words between each of the following pairs. Arrange the intervening words in an ascending scale.

Dark, bright Wet, dry Savage, civilized Beautiful, ugly Friend, enemy Hope, despair Wise, foolish Love, hate Enormous, minute Admirable, abominable Curse, bless Pride, humility



IX

MANY-SIDED WORDS

In Chapter VII you made a study of printed distinctions between synonyms. In Chapter VIII you were given lists of synonyms and made the distinctions yourself. Near the close of Chapter VIII you were given words and discovered for yourself what their synonyms are. This third stage might seem to reveal to you the full joys and benefits of your researches in this subject. Certainly to find a new word for an old one is an exhilarating sort of mental travel. And to find a new word which expresses exactly what an old one expressed but approximately is a real acquisition in living. But you are not yet a perfectly trained hunter of synonyms. Some miscellaneous tasks remain; they will involve hard work and call your utmost powers into play.

Of these tasks the most important is connected with the hint already given that many words, especially if they be generic words, have two or more entirely different meanings. Let us first establish this fact, and afterwards see what bearing it has on our study of synonyms.

My friend says, "I hope you will have a good day." Does he mean an enjoyable one in general? a profitable or lucrative one, in case I have business in hand? a successful one, if I am selling stocks or buying a house? Possibly he means a sunshiny day if I intend to play golf, a snowy day if I plan to go hunting, a rainy day if my crops are drying up. The ideas here are varied, even contradictory, enough; yet good may be used of every one of them. Good is in truth so general a term that we must know the attendant circumstances if we are to attach to it a signification even approximately accurate. This does not at all imply that good is a term we may brand as useless. It implies merely that when our meaning is specific we must set good aside (unless circumstances make its sense unmistakable) in favor of a specific word.

Things is another very general term. In "Let us wash up the things" it likely means dishes or clothes. In "Hang your things in the closet" it likely means clothes. In "Put the things in the tool-box" it likely means tools. In "Put the things in the sewing-basket" it likely means thread, needles, and scissors. In "The trenches are swarming with these things" it likely means cooties. A more accurate word is usually desirable. Yet we may see the value of the generality in the saying "A place for everything, and everything in its place."

Good and things are not alone in having multitudinous meanings. There are in the language numerous many-sided words. These words should be studied carefully. True, they are not always employed in ambiguous ways. For example, right in the sense of correct is seldom likely to be mistaken for right in the sense of not-left, but a reader or hearer may frequently mistake it for right in the sense of just or of honorable. In the use of such words, therefore, we cannot become too discriminating.