English Synonyms and Antonyms

<h3><SPAN name="CLEVER" id="CLEVER"></SPAN>CLEVER.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>able,</td><td>capable,</td><td>happy,</td><td>keen,</td><td>sharp,</td></tr> <tr><td>adroit,</td><td>dexterous,</td><td>ingenious,</td><td>knowing,</td><td>skilful,</td></tr> <tr><td>apt,</td><td>expert,</td><td>intellectual,</td><td>quick,</td><td>smart,</td></tr> <tr><td>bright,</td><td>gifted,</td><td>intelligent,</td><td>quick-witted,</td><td>talented.</td></tr> </table> <p><i>Clever</i>, as used in England, especially implies an aptitude for study or learning, and for excellent tho not preeminent mental achievement. The early New England usage as implying simple and weak good nature has largely affected the use of the word throughout the United States, where it has never been much in favor. <i>Smart</i>, indicating dashing ability, is now coming to have a suggestion of unscrupulousness, similar to that of the word <i>sharp</i>, which makes its use a doubtful compliment. The discriminating use of such words as <i>able</i>, <i>gifted</i>, <i>talented</i>, etc., is greatly preferable to an excessive use of the word <i>clever</i>. Compare <span class="smcl"><SPAN href="#ACUMEN">ACUMEN</SPAN></span>; <span class="smcl"><SPAN href="#ASTUTE">ASTUTE</SPAN></span>; <span class="smcl"><SPAN href="#POWER">POWER</SPAN></span>.</p> <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>awkward,</td><td>clumsy,</td><td>foolish,</td><td>ignorant,</td><td>slow,</td><td>thick-headed,</td></tr> <tr><td>bungling,</td><td>dull,</td><td>idiotic,</td><td>senseless,</td><td>stupid,</td><td>witless.</td></tr> </table> <hr /> <h3>COLLISION.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>clash,</td><td>concussion,</td><td>contact,</td><td>impact,</td><td>opposition,</td></tr> <tr><td>clashing,</td><td>conflict,</td><td>encounter,</td><td>meeting,</td><td>shock.</td></tr> </table> <p><i>Collision</i>, the act or fact of striking violently together, is the result of motion or action, and is sudden and momentary; <i>contact</i> may be a condition of rest, and be continuous and permanent; <i>collision</i> is sudden and violent <i>contact</i>. <i>Concussion</i> is often by transmitted force rather than by direct <i>impact</i>; two railway-trains come into <i>collision</i>; an explosion of dynamite shatters neighboring windows by <i>concussion</i>. <i>Impact</i> is the blow given by the striking body; as, the <i>impact</i> of the cannon-shot upon the target. An <i>encounter</i> is always violent, and generally hostile. <i>Meeting</i> is neutral, and may be of the dearest friends or of the bitterest foes; of objects, of persons, or of opinions; of two or of a multitude. <i>Shock</i> is the result of <i>collision</i>. In the figurative use, we speak of <i>clashing</i> of views, <i>collision</i> of persons. <i>Opposition</i> is used chiefly of persons, more rarely of opinions or interests; <i>conflict</i> is used indifferently of all.</p> <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>agreement,</td><td>coincidence,</td><td>concord,</td><td>conformity,</td><td>unison,</td></tr> <tr><td>amity,</td><td>concert,</td><td>concurrence,</td><td>harmony,</td><td>unity.</td></tr> </table> <h4>Prepositions:</h4> <p>Collision <i>of</i> one object <i>with</i> another; <i>of</i> or <i>between</i> opposing objects.</p> <hr /><p><span class="pgn"><SPAN name="Page_110" id="Page_110"></SPAN></span></p> <h3><SPAN name="COMFORTABLE" id="COMFORTABLE"></SPAN>COMFORTABLE.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>agreeable,</td><td>cheery,</td><td>genial,</td><td>snug,</td></tr> <tr><td>at ease,</td><td>commodious,</td><td>pleasant,</td><td>well-off,</td></tr> <tr><td>at rest,</td><td>contented,</td><td>satisfactory,</td><td>well-provided,</td></tr> <tr><td>cheerful,</td><td>convenient,</td><td>satisfied,</td><td>well-to-do.</td></tr> </table> <p>A person is <i>comfortable</i> in mind when <i>contented</i> and measurably <i>satisfied</i>. A little additional brightness makes him <i>cheerful</i>. He is <i>comfortable</i> in body when free from pain, quiet, <i>at ease</i>, <i>at rest</i>. He is <i>comfortable</i> in circumstances, or in <i>comfortable</i> circumstances, when things about him are generally <i>agreeable</i> and <i>satisfactory</i>, usually with the suggestion of sufficient means to secure that result.</p> <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>cheerless,</td><td>discontented,</td><td>distressed,</td><td>forlorn,</td><td>uncomfortable,</td></tr> <tr><td>disagreeable,</td><td>dissatisfied,</td><td>dreary,</td><td>miserable,</td><td>wretched.</td></tr> </table> <hr /> <h3>COMMIT.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>assign,</td><td>confide,</td><td>consign,</td><td>entrust,</td><td>relegate,</td><td>trust.</td></tr> </table> <p><i>Commit</i>, in the sense here considered, is to give in charge, put into care or keeping; to <i>confide</i> or <i>entrust</i> is to <i>commit</i> especially to one's fidelity, <i>confide</i> being used chiefly of mental or spiritual, <i>entrust</i> also of material things; we <i>assign</i> a duty, <i>confide</i> a secret, <i>entrust</i> a treasure; we <i>commit</i> thoughts to writing; <i>commit</i> a paper to the flames, a body to the earth; a prisoner is <i>committed</i> to jail. <i>Consign</i> is a formal word in mercantile use; as, to <i>consign</i> goods to an agent. Religiously, we <i>consign</i> the body to the grave, <i>commit</i> the soul to God. Compare <span class="smcl"><SPAN href="#DO">DO</SPAN></span>.</p> <h4>Prepositions:</h4> <p>Commit <i>to</i> a friend <i>for</i> safe-keeping; in law, commit <i>to</i> prison; <i>for</i> trial; <i>without</i> bail; in default <i>of</i> bail; <i>on</i> suspicion.</p> <hr /> <h3><SPAN name="COMPANY" id="COMPANY"></SPAN>COMPANY.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>assemblage,</td><td>concourse,</td><td>convocation,</td><td>host,</td></tr> <tr><td>assembly,</td><td>conference,</td><td>crowd,</td><td>meeting,</td></tr> <tr><td>collection,</td><td>congregation,</td><td>gathering,</td><td>multitude,</td></tr> <tr><td>conclave,</td><td>convention,</td><td>group,</td><td>throng.</td></tr> </table> <p><i>Company</i>, from the Latin <i>cum</i>, with, and <i>panis</i>, bread, denotes primarily the association of those who eat at a common table, or the persons so associated, table-companions, messmates, friends, and hence is widely extended to include any association of those united permanently or temporarily, for business, pleasure,<span class="pgn"><SPAN name="Page_111" id="Page_111"></SPAN></span> festivity, travel, etc., or by sorrow, misfortune, or wrong; <i>company</i> may denote an indefinite number (ordinarily more than two), but less than a <i>multitude</i>; in the military sense a <i>company</i> is a limited and definite number of men; <i>company</i> implies more unity of feeling and purpose than <i>crowd</i>, and is a less formal and more familiar word than <i>assemblage</i> or <i>assembly</i>. An <i>assemblage</i> may be of persons or of objects; an <i>assembly</i> is always of persons. An <i>assemblage</i> is promiscuous and unorganized; an <i>assembly</i> is organized and united in some common purpose. A <i>conclave</i> is a secret <i>assembly</i>. A <i>convocation</i> is an <i>assembly</i> called by authority for a special purpose; the term <i>convention</i> suggests less dependence upon any superior authority or summons. A <i>group</i> is small in number and distinct in outline, clearly marked off from all else in space or time. <i>Collection</i>, <i>crowd</i>, <i>gathering</i>, <i>group</i>, and <i>multitude</i> have the unorganized and promiscuous character of the <i>assemblage</i>; the other terms come under the general idea of <i>assembly</i>. <i>Congregation</i> is now almost exclusively religious; <i>meeting</i> is often so used, but is less restricted, as we may speak of a <i>meeting</i> of armed men. <i>Gathering</i> refers to a coming together, commonly of numbers, from far and near; as, the <i>gathering</i> of the Scottish clans.</p> <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>dispersion,</td><td>loneliness,</td><td>privacy,</td><td>retirement,</td><td>seclusion,</td><td>solitude.</td></tr> </table> <hr /> <h3><SPAN name="COMPEL" id="COMPEL"></SPAN>COMPEL.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>coerce,</td><td>drive,</td><td>make,</td><td rowspan="2">oblige.</td></tr> <tr><td>constrain,</td><td>force,</td><td>necessitate,</td></tr> </table> <p>To <i>compel</i> one to an act is to secure its performance by the use of irresistible physical or moral force. <i>Force</i> implies primarily an actual physical process, absolutely subduing all resistance. <i>Coerce</i> implies the actual or potential use of so much force as may be necessary to secure the surrender of the will; the American secessionists contended that the Federal government had no right to <i>coerce</i> a State. <i>Constrain</i> implies the yielding of judgment and will, and in some cases of inclination or affection, to an overmastering power; as, "the love of Christ <i>constraineth</i> us," <i>2 Cor.</i> v, 14. Compare <span class="smcl"><SPAN href="#DRIVE">DRIVE</SPAN></span>; <span class="smcl"><SPAN href="#INFLUENCE">INFLUENCE</SPAN></span>.</p> <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <p>See synonyms for <span class="smcl"><SPAN href="#HINDER">HINDER</SPAN></span>.</p> <h4>Prepositions:</h4> <p>The soldiers were compelled <i>to</i> desertion: preferably with the infinitive, compelled <i>to</i> desert.</p> <hr /><p><span class="pgn"><SPAN name="Page_112" id="Page_112"></SPAN></span></p> <h3>COMPLAIN.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>croak,</td><td>growl,</td><td>grunt,</td><td>remonstrate,</td></tr> <tr><td>find fault,</td><td>grumble,</td><td>murmur,</td><td>repine.</td></tr> </table> <p>To <i>complain</i> is to give utterance to dissatisfaction or objection, express a sense of wrong or ill treatment. One <i>complains</i> of a real or assumed grievance; he may <i>murmur</i> through mere peevishness or ill temper; he <i>repines</i>, with vain distress, at the irrevocable or the inevitable. <i>Complaining</i> is by speech or writing; <i>murmuring</i> is commonly said of half-repressed utterance; <i>repining</i> of the mental act alone. One may <i>complain</i> of an offense to the offender or to others; he <i>remonstrates</i> with the offender only. <i>Complain</i> has a formal and legal meaning, which the other words have not, signifying to make a formal accusation, present a specific charge; the same is true of the noun <i>complaint</i>.</p> <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>applaud,</td><td>approve,</td><td>commend,</td><td>eulogize,</td><td>laud,</td><td>praise.</td></tr> </table> <h4>Prepositions:</h4> <p>Complain <i>of</i> a thing <i>to</i> a person; <i>of</i> one person <i>to</i> another, <i>of</i> or <i>against</i> a person <i>for</i> an act; <i>to</i> an officer; <i>before</i> the court; <i>about</i> a thing.</p> <hr /> <h3><SPAN name="COMPLEX" id="COMPLEX"></SPAN>COMPLEX.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>abstruse,</td><td>confused,</td><td>intricate,</td><td>mixed,</td></tr> <tr><td>complicated,</td><td>conglomerate,</td><td>involved,</td><td>multiform,</td></tr> <tr><td>composite,</td><td>entangled,</td><td>manifold,</td><td>obscure,</td></tr> <tr><td>compound,</td><td>heterogeneous,</td><td>mingled,</td><td>tangled.</td></tr> </table> <p>That is <i>complex</i> which is made up of several connected parts. That is <i>compound</i> in which the parts are not merely connected, but fused, or otherwise combined into a single substance. In a <i>composite</i> object the different parts have less of unity than in that which is <i>complex</i> or <i>compound</i>, but maintain their distinct individuality. In a <i>heterogeneous</i> body unlike parts or particles are intermingled, often without apparent order or plan. <i>Conglomerate</i> (literally, globed together) is said of a <i>confused</i> mingling of masses or lumps of various substances. The New England pudding-stone is a <i>conglomerate</i> rock. In a <i>complex</i> object the arrangement and relation of parts may be perfectly clear; in a <i>complicated</i> mechanism the parts are so numerous, or so combined, that the mind can not readily grasp their mutual relations; in an <i>intricate</i> arrangement the parts are so intertwined that it is difficult to follow their windings; things are <i>involved</i> which are rolled<span class="pgn"><SPAN name="Page_113" id="Page_113"></SPAN></span> together so as not to be easily separated, either in thought or in fact; things which are <i>tangled</i> or <i>entangled</i> mutually hold and draw upon each other. The conception of a material object is usually <i>complex</i>, involving form, color, size, and other elements; a clock is a <i>complicated</i> mechanism; the Gordian knot was <i>intricate</i>; the twining serpents of the Laocoon are <i>involved</i>. We speak of an <i>abstruse</i> statement, a <i>complex</i> conception, a <i>confused</i> heap, a <i>heterogeneous</i> mass, a <i>tangled</i> skein, an <i>intricate</i> problem; of <i>composite</i> architecture, an <i>involved</i> sentence; of the <i>complicated</i> or <i>intricate</i> accounts of a great business, the <i>entangled</i> accounts of an incompetent or dishonest bookkeeper.</p> <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>clear,</td><td>homogeneous,</td><td>plain,</td><td>uncombined,</td><td>uniform,</td></tr> <tr><td>direct,</td><td>obvious,</td><td>simple,</td><td>uncompounded,</td><td>unraveled.</td></tr> </table> <hr /> <h3><SPAN name="CONDEMN" id="CONDEMN"></SPAN>CONDEMN.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>blame,</td><td>convict,</td><td>doom,</td><td>reprove,</td></tr> <tr><td>censure,</td><td>denounce,</td><td>reprobate,</td><td>sentence.</td></tr> </table> <p>To <i>condemn</i> is to pass judicial sentence or render judgment or decision against. We may <i>censure</i> silently; we <i>condemn</i> ordinarily by open and formal utterance. <i>Condemn</i> is more final than <i>blame</i> or <i>censure</i>; a <i>condemned</i> criminal has had his trial; a <i>condemned</i> building can not stand; a <i>condemned</i> ship can not sail. A person is <i>convicted</i> when his guilt is made clearly manifest to others; in somewhat archaic use, a person is said to be <i>convicted</i> when guilt is brought clearly home to his own conscience (<i>convict</i> in this sense being allied with <i>convince</i>, which see under <span class="smcl"><SPAN href="#PERSUADE">PERSUADE</SPAN></span>); in legal usage one is said to be <i>convicted</i> only by the verdict of a jury. In stating the penalty of an offense, the legal word <i>sentence</i> is now more common than <i>condemn</i>; as, he was <i>sentenced</i> to imprisonment; but it is good usage to say, he was <i>condemned</i> to imprisonment. To <i>denounce</i> is to make public or official declaration against, especially in a violent and threatening manner.</p> <div class="bq1"><p>From the pulpits in the northern States Burr was <i>denounced</i> as an assassin.</p> <p class="tdr"><span class="smc">Coffin</span> <i>Building the Nation</i> ch. 10, p. 137. [<span class="smcl">H.</span> '83.]</p> </div> <p>To <i>doom</i> is to <i>condemn</i> solemnly and consign to evil or destruction or to predetermine to an evil destiny; an inferior race in presence of a superior is <i>doomed</i> to subjugation or extinction. Compare <span class="smcl"><SPAN href="#ARRAIGN">ARRAIGN</SPAN></span>; <span class="smcl"><SPAN href="#REPROVE">REPROVE</SPAN></span>.<span class="pgn"><SPAN name="Page_114" id="Page_114"></SPAN></span></p> <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>absolve,</td><td>applaud,</td><td>exonerate,</td><td>pardon,</td></tr> <tr><td>acquit,</td><td>approve,</td><td>justify,</td><td>praise.</td></tr> </table> <h4>Prepositions:</h4> <p>The bandit was condemned <i>to</i> death <i>for</i> his crime.</p> <hr /> <h3><SPAN name="CONFESS" id="CONFESS"></SPAN>CONFESS.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>accept,</td><td>allow,</td><td>concede,</td><td>grant,</td></tr> <tr><td>acknowledge,</td><td>avow,</td><td>disclose,</td><td>own,</td></tr> <tr><td>admit,</td><td>certify,</td><td>endorse,</td><td>recognize.</td></tr> </table> <p>We <i>accept</i> another's statement; <i>admit</i> any point made against us; <i>acknowledge</i> what we have said or done, good or bad; <i>avow</i> our individual beliefs or feelings; <i>certify</i> to facts within our knowledge; <i>confess</i> our own faults; <i>endorse</i> a friend's note or statement; <i>grant</i> a request; <i>own</i> our faults or obligations; <i>recognize</i> lawful authority; <i>concede</i> a claim. <i>Confess</i> has a high and sacred use in the religious sense; as, to <i>confess</i> Christ before men. It may have also a playful sense (often with <i>to</i>); as, one <i>confesses to</i> a weakness for confectionery. The chief present use of the word, however, is in the sense of making known to others one's own wrong-doing; in this sense <i>confess</i> is stronger than <i>acknowledge</i> or <i>admit</i>, and more specific than <i>own</i>; a person <i>admits</i> a mistake; <i>acknowledges</i> a fault; <i>confesses</i> sin or crime. Compare <span class="smcl"><SPAN href="#APOLOGY">APOLOGY</SPAN></span>; <span class="smcl"><SPAN href="#AVOW">AVOW</SPAN></span>.</p> <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>cloak,</td><td>deny,</td><td>disown,</td><td>hide,</td><td>screen,</td></tr> <tr><td>conceal,</td><td>disavow,</td><td>dissemble,</td><td>mask,</td><td>secrete,</td></tr> <tr><td>cover,</td><td>disguise,</td><td>dissimulate,</td><td>repudiate,</td><td>veil.</td></tr> </table> <hr /> <h3>CONFIRM.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>assure,</td><td>fix,</td><td>sanction,</td><td>substantiate,</td></tr> <tr><td>corroborate,</td><td>prove,</td><td>settle,</td><td>sustain,</td></tr> <tr><td>establish,</td><td>ratify,</td><td>strengthen,</td><td>uphold.</td></tr> </table> <p><i>Confirm</i> (L. <i>con</i>, together, and <i>firmus</i>, firm) is to add firmness or give stability to. Both <i>confirm</i> and <i>corroborate</i> presuppose something already existing to which the confirmation or corroboration is added. Testimony is <i>corroborated</i> by concurrent testimony or by circumstances; <i>confirmed</i> by <i>established</i> facts. That which is thoroughly <i>proved</i> is said to be <i>established</i>; so is that which is official and has adequate power behind it; as, the <i>established</i> government; the <i>established</i> church. The continents are <i>fixed</i>. A treaty is <i>ratified</i>; an appointment <i>confirmed</i>. An act is <i>sanctioned</i> by any person or authority that passes upon it<span class="pgn"><SPAN name="Page_115" id="Page_115"></SPAN></span> approvingly. A statement is <i>substantiated</i>; a report <i>confirmed</i>; a controversy <i>settled</i>; the decision of a lower court <i>sustained</i> by a higher. Just government should be <i>upheld</i>. The beneficent results of Christianity <i>confirm</i> our faith in it as a divine revelation.</p> <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>abrogate,</td><td>cancel,</td><td>overthrow,</td><td>shatter,</td><td>upset,</td></tr> <tr><td>annul,</td><td>destroy,</td><td>shake,</td><td>unsettle,</td><td>weaken.</td></tr> </table> <h4>Prepositions:</h4> <p>Confirm a statement <i>by</i> testimony; confirm a person <i>in</i> a belief.</p> <hr /> <h3>CONGRATULATE.</h3> <h4>Synonym:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>felicitate.</td></tr> </table> <p>To <i>felicitate</i> is to pronounce one happy or wish one joy; to <i>congratulate</i> is to express hearty sympathy in his joys or hopes. <i>Felicitate</i> is cold and formal. We say one <i>felicitates</i> himself; tho to <i>congratulate</i> oneself, which is less natural, is becoming prevalent.</p> <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>condole with,</td><td>console.</td></tr> </table> <h4>Prepositions:</h4> <p>Congratulate one <i>on</i> or <i>upon</i> his success.</p> <hr /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />