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English Synonyms and Antonyms

<h3>PEOPLE.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>commonwealth,</td><td>nation,</td><td rowspan="2">race,</td><td rowspan="2">state,</td><td rowspan="2">tribe.</td></tr> <tr><td>community,</td><td>population,</td></tr> </table> A community is in general terms the aggregate of persons inhabiting any territory in common and viewed as having common interests; a commonwealth is such a body of persons having a common government, especially a republican government; as, the commonwealth of Massachusetts. A community may be very small; a commonwealth is ordinarily of considerable extent. A people is the aggregate of any public community, either in distinction from their rulers or as including them; a race is a division of mankind in the line of origin and ancestry; the people of the United States includes members of almost every race. The use of people as signifying persons collectively, as in the statement "The hall was full of people," has been severely criticized, but is old and accepted English, and may fitly be classed as idiomatic, and often better than persons, by reason of its collectivism. As Dean Alford suggests, it would make a strange transformation of the old hymn "All people that on earth do dwell" to sing "All persons that on earth do dwell." A state is an organized political community considered in its corporate capacity as "a body politic and corporate;" as, a legislative act is the act of the state; every citizen is entitled to the protection of the state. A nation is an organized political community considered with reference to the persons composing it as having certain definite boundaries, a definite number of citizens, etc. The members of a people are referred to as persons or individuals; the individual members of a state or nation are called citizens or subjects. The population of a country is simply the aggregate of persons residing within its borders, without reference to race, organization, or allegiance; unnaturalized residents form part of the population, but not of the nation, possessing none of the rights and being subject to none of the duties of citizens. In American usage State signifies one commonwealth of the federal union known as the United States. Tribe is now almost wholly applied to rude peoples with very imperfect political organization; as, the Indian tribes; nomadic tribes. Compare MOB. <hr /> <h3>PERCEIVE.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>apprehend,</td><td>comprehend,</td><td>conceive,</td><td>understand.</td></tr> </table> We perceive what is presented through the senses. We apprehend what is presented to the mind, whether through the senses or by any other means. Yet perceive is used in the figurative sense of seeing through to a conclusion, in a way for which usage would not allow us to substitute apprehend; as, "Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet," John iv, 19. That which we apprehend we catch, as with the hand; that which we conceive we are able to analyze and recompose in our mind; that which we comprehend, we, as it were, grasp around, take together, seize, embrace wholly within the mind. Many things may be apprehended which can not be comprehended; a child can apprehend the distinction between right and wrong, yet the philosopher can not comprehend it in its fulness. We can apprehend the will of God as revealed in conscience or the Scriptures; we can conceive of certain attributes of Deity, as his truth and justice; but no finite intelligence can comprehend the Divine Nature, in its majesty, power, and perfection. Compare ANTICIPATE; ARREST; CATCH; KNOWLEDGE. <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>fail of,</td><td>ignore,</td><td>lose,</td><td>misapprehend,</td><td>misconceive,</td><td>miss,</td><td>overlook.</td></tr> </table> <hr /> <h3>PERFECT.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>absolute,</td><td>consummate,</td><td>holy,</td><td>spotless,</td></tr> <tr><td>accurate,</td><td>correct,</td><td>ideal,</td><td>stainless,</td></tr> <tr><td>blameless,</td><td>entire,</td><td>immaculate,</td><td>unblemished,</td></tr> <tr><td>complete,</td><td>faultless,</td><td>sinless,</td><td>undefiled.</td></tr> <tr><td>completed,</td><td colspan="3">finished,</td></tr> </table> That is perfect to which nothing can be added, and from which nothing can be taken without impairing its excellence, marring its symmetry, or detracting from its worth; in this fullest sense God alone is perfect, but in a limited sense anything may be perfect in its kind; as a perfect flower; a copy of a document is perfect when it is accurate in every particular; a vase may be called perfect when entire and unblemished, even tho not artistically faultless; the best judges never pronounce a work of art perfect, because they see always ideal possibilities not yet attained; even the ideal is not perfect, by reason of the imperfection of the human mind; a human character faultlessly holy would be morally perfect tho finite. That which is absolute is free from admixture (as absolute alcohol) and in the highest and fullest sense free from imperfection or limitation; as, absolute holiness and love are attributes of God alone. In philosophical language, absolute signifies free from all necessary, or even from all possible relations, not dependent or limited, unrelated and unconditioned; truth immediately known, as intuitive truth, is absolute; God, as self-existent and free from all limitation or dependence, is called the absolute Being, or simply the Absolute. Compare INNOCENT; INFINITE; RADICAL. <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>bad,</td><td>defective,</td><td>imperfect,</td><td>meager,</td><td>scant,</td></tr> <tr><td>blemished,</td><td>deficient,</td><td>incomplete,</td><td>perverted,</td><td>short,</td></tr> <tr><td>corrupt,</td><td>deformed,</td><td>inferior,</td><td>poor,</td><td>spoiled,</td></tr> <tr><td>corrupted,</td><td>fallible,</td><td>insufficient,</td><td>ruined,</td><td>worthless.</td></tr> <tr><td>defaced,</td><td>faulty,</td><td colspan="3">marred,</td></tr> </table> <hr /> <h3>PERMANENT.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>abiding,</td><td>enduring,</td><td>lasting,</td><td>steadfast,</td></tr> <tr><td>changeless,</td><td>fixed,</td><td>perpetual,</td><td>unchangeable,</td></tr> <tr><td>constant,</td><td>immutable,</td><td>persistent,</td><td>unchanging.</td></tr> <tr><td>durable,</td><td>invariable,</td><td colspan="2">stable,</td></tr> </table> Durable (L. durus, hard) is said almost wholly of material substances that resist wear; lasting is said of either material or immaterial things. Permanent is a word of wider meaning; a thing is permanent which is not liable to change; as, a permanent color; buildings upon a farm are called permanent improvements. Enduring is a higher word, applied to that which resists both time and change; as, enduring fame. <h4>Antonyms:</h4> See synonyms for TRANSIENT. <hr /> <h3>PERMISSION.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>allowance,</td><td>authorization,</td><td>leave,</td><td>license,</td></tr> <tr><td>authority,</td><td>consent,</td><td>liberty,</td><td>permit.</td></tr> </table> Authority unites the right and power of control; age, wisdom, and character give authority to their possessor; a book of learned research has authority, and is even called an authority. Permission justifies another in acting without interference or censure, and usually implies some degree of approval. Authority gives a certain right of control over all that may be affected by the action. There may be a failure to object, which constitutes an implied permission, tho this is more properly expressed by allowance; we allow what we do not oppose, permit what we expressly authorize. The noun permit implies a formal written permission. License is a formal permission granted by competent authority to an individual to do some act or pursue some business which would be or is made to be unlawful without such permission; as, a license to preach, to solemnize marriages, or to sell intoxicating liquors. A license is permission granted rather than authority conferred; the sheriff has authority (not permission nor license) to make an arrest. Consent is permission by the concurrence of wills in two or more persons, a mutual approval or acceptance of something proposed. Compare ALLOW. <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>denial,</td><td>objection,</td><td>prevention,</td><td rowspan="2">refusal,</td><td rowspan="2">resistance.</td></tr> <tr><td>hindrance,</td><td>opposition,</td><td>prohibition,</td></tr> </table> <hr /> <h3>PERNICIOUS.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>bad,</td><td>evil,</td><td>mischievous,</td><td>pestilential,</td></tr> <tr><td>baneful,</td><td>foul,</td><td>noisome,</td><td>poisonous,</td></tr> <tr><td>deadly,</td><td>harmful,</td><td>noxious,</td><td>ruinous,</td></tr> <tr><td>deleterious,</td><td>hurtful,</td><td>perverting,</td><td>unhealthful,</td></tr> <tr><td>destructive,</td><td>injurious,</td><td rowspan="2">pestiferous,</td><td rowspan="2">unwholesome.</td></tr> <tr><td>detrimental,</td><td>insalubrious,</td></tr> </table> Pernicious (L. per, through, and neco, kill) signifies having the power of destroying or injuring, tending to hurt or kill. Pernicious is stronger than injurious; that which is injurious is capable of doing harm; that which is pernicious is likely to be destructive. Noxious (L. noceo, hurt) is a stronger word than noisome, as referring to that which is injurious or destructive. Noisome now always denotes that which is extremely disagreeable or disgusting, especially to the sense of smell; as, the noisome stench proclaimed the presence of noxious gases. <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>advantageous,</td><td>favorable,</td><td>helpful,</td><td>profitable,</td><td>serviceable,</td></tr> <tr><td>beneficent,</td><td>good,</td><td>invigorating,</td><td>rejuvenating,</td><td>useful,</td></tr> <tr><td>beneficial,</td><td>healthful,</td><td>life-giving,</td><td>salutary,</td><td>wholesome.</td></tr> </table> <hr /> <h3>PERPLEXITY.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>amazement,</td><td>bewilderment,</td><td>distraction,</td><td>doubt,</td></tr> <tr><td>astonishment,</td><td>confusion,</td><td>disturbance,</td><td>embarrassment.</td></tr> </table> Perplexity (L. per, through, and plecto, plait) is the drawing or turning of the thoughts or faculties by turns in different directions or toward contrasted or contradictory conclusions; confusion (L. confusus, from confundo, pour together) is a state in which the mental faculties are, as it were, thrown into chaos, so that the clear and distinct action of the different powers, as of perception, memory, reason, and will is lost; bewilderment is akin to confusion, but is less overwhelming, and more readily recovered from; perplexity, accordingly, has not the unsettling of the faculties implied in confusion, nor the overwhelming of the faculties implied in amazement or astonishment; it is not the magnitude of the things to be known, but the want of full and definite knowledge, that causes perplexity. The dividing of a woodland path may cause the traveler the greatest perplexity, which may become bewilderment when he has tried one path after another and lost his bearings completely. With an excitable person bewilderment may deepen into confusion that will make him unable to think clearly or even to see or hear distinctly. Amazement results from the sudden and unimagined occurrence of great good or evil or the sudden awakening of the mind to unthought-of truth. Astonishment often produces bewilderment, which the word was formerly understood to imply. Compare AMAZEMENT; ANXIETY; DOUBT. <hr /> <h3>PERSUADE.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>allure,</td><td>dispose,</td><td>incline,</td><td>move,</td></tr> <tr><td>bring over,</td><td>entice,</td><td>induce,</td><td>prevail on or upon,</td></tr> <tr><td>coax,</td><td>impel,</td><td>influence,</td><td>urge,</td></tr> <tr><td>convince,</td><td>incite,</td><td>lead,</td><td>win over.</td></tr> </table> Of these words convince alone has no direct reference to moving the will, denoting an effect upon the understanding only; one may be convinced of his duty without doing it, or he may be convinced of truth that has no manifest connection with duty or action, as of a mathematical proposition. To persuade is to bring the will of another to a desired decision by some influence exerted upon it short of compulsion; one may be convinced that the earth is round; he may be persuaded to travel round it; but persuasion is so largely dependent upon conviction that it is commonly held to be the orator's work first to convince in order that he may persuade. Coax is a slighter word than persuade, seeking the same end by shallower methods, largely by appeal to personal feeling, with or without success; as, a child coaxes a parent to buy him a toy. One may be brought over, induced, or prevailed upon by means not properly included in persuasion, as by bribery or intimidation; he is won over chiefly by personal influence. Compare INFLUENCE. <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>deter,</td><td>discourage,</td><td>dissuade,</td><td>hinder,</td><td>hold back,</td><td>repel,</td><td>restrain.</td></tr> </table> <hr /> <h3>PERTNESS.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>boldness,</td><td>forwardness,</td><td>liveliness,</td><td rowspan="3">sprightliness.</td></tr> <tr><td>briskness,</td><td>impertinence,</td><td>sauciness,</td></tr> <tr><td>flippancy,</td><td>impudence,</td><td>smartness,</td></tr> </table> Liveliness and sprightliness are pleasant and commendable; smartness is a limited and showy acuteness or shrewdness, usually with unfavorable suggestion; pertness and sauciness are these qualities overdone, and regardless of the respect due to superiors. Impertinence and impudence may be gross and stupid; pertness and sauciness are always vivid and keen. Compare IMPUDENCE. <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>bashfulness,</td><td>demureness,</td><td>diffidence,</td><td>humility,</td><td>modesty,</td><td>shyness.</td></tr> </table> <hr /> <h3>PERVERSE.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>contrary,</td><td>froward,</td><td>petulant,</td><td>untoward,</td></tr> <tr><td>factious,</td><td>intractable,</td><td>stubborn,</td><td>wayward,</td></tr> <tr><td>fractious,</td><td>obstinate,</td><td>ungovernable,</td><td>wilful.</td></tr> </table> Perverse (L. perversus, turned the wrong way) signifies wilfully wrong or erring, unreasonably set against right, reason, or authority. The stubborn or obstinate person will not do what another desires or requires; the perverse person will do anything contrary to what is desired or required of him. The petulant person frets, but may comply; the perverse individual may be smooth or silent, but is wilfully intractable. Wayward refers to a perverse disregard of morality and duty; froward is practically obsolete; untoward is rarely heard except in certain phrases; as, untoward circumstances. Compare OBSTINATE. <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>accommodating,</td><td>complaisant,</td><td>genial,</td><td>kind,</td></tr> <tr><td>amenable,</td><td>compliant,</td><td>governable,</td><td>obliging.</td></tr> </table> <hr /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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