Roget's Thesaurus Part 84

(beginning) 66.

V. undertake; engage in, embark in; launch into, plunge into; volunteer; apprentice oneself to; engage &c. (promise) 768; contract &c.

769; take upon oneself, take upon one's shoulders; devote oneself to &c.

(determination) 604.

take up, take in hand; tackle; set about, go about; set to, fall to, set to work; launch forth; set up shop; put in hand, put in execution; set forward; break the neck of a business, be in, for; put one's hand to, put one's foot in; betake oneself to, turn one's hand to, go to do; begin &c.

66; broach, inst.i.tute &c. one's (originate) 153; put one's hand to the plow, lay one's hand to the plow, put one's shoulder to the wheel.

have in hand &c. (business) 625; have many irons in the fire &c.

(activity) 682.

Adj. undertaking &c. v.; on the anvil &c. 625.

Int. here goes!

#677. Use. -- N. use; employ, employment; exercise, exercitation[obs3]; application, appliance; adhibition[obs3], disposal; consumption; agency &c. (physical) 170; usufruct; usefulness &c. 644; benefit; recourse, resort, avail.

[Conversion to use] utilization, service, wear.

[Way of using] usage.

V. use,.make use of, employ, put to use; put in action, put in operation, put in practice; set in motion, set to work.

ply, work, wield, handle, manipulate; play, play off; exert, exercise, practice, avail oneself of, profit by, resort to, have recourse to, recur to, take betake oneself to; take up with, take advantage of; lay one's hands on, try.

render useful &c. 644; mold; turn to account, turn to use; convert to use, utilize; work up; call into play, bring into play; put into requisition; call forth, draw forth; press into service, enlist into the service; bring to bear upon, devote, dedicate, consecrate, apply, adhibit[obs3], dispose of; make a handle of, make a cat's-paw of.

fall back upon, make a s.h.i.+ft with; make the most of, make the best of.

use up, swallow up; consume, absorb, expend; tax, task, wear, put to task.

Adj. in use; used &c. v.; well-worn, well-trodden.

useful &c. 644; subservient &c. (instrumental) 631.

#678. Disuse. -- N. forbearance, abstinence; disuse; relinquishment &c. 782; desuetude &c. (want of habit) 614; disusage[obs3].

V. not use; do without, dispense with, let alone, not touch, forbear, abstain, spare, waive, neglect; keep back, reserve. lay up, lay by, lay on the shelf, keep on the shelf, lay up in ordinary; lay up in a napkin; shelve; set aside, put aside, lay aside; disuse, leave off, have done with; supersede; discard &c. (eject) 297; dismiss, give warning.

throw aside &c. (relinquish) 782; make away with &c. (destroy) 162; cast overboard, heave overboard, throw overboard; cast to the dogs, cast to the winds; dismantle &c. (Render useless) 645.

lie unemployed, remain unemployed &c. Adj.

Adj. not used &c. v.; unemployed, unapplied, undisposed of, unspent, unexercised, untouched, untrodden, unessayed[obs3], ungathered[obs3], unculled; uncalled for, not required.

disused &c. v.; done with.

#679. Misuse. -- N. misuse, misusage, misemployment[obs3], misapplication, misappropriation.

abuse, profanation, prost.i.tution, desecration; waste &c. 638.

V. misuse, misemploy, misapply, misappropriate.

desecrate, abuse, profane, prost.i.tute; waste &c. 638; overtask, overtax, overwork; squander &c. 818.

cut blocks with a razor, employ a steam engine to crack a nut; catch at a straw.

Adj. misused &c. v.

Phr. ludere c.u.m sacris[Lat].

<-- p.="" 218="" --=""> -- Section III. VOLUNTARY ACTION

1. Simple voluntary Action --

#680. Action. -- N. action, performance; doing, &c. v.; perpetration; exercise, excitation; movement, operation, evolution, work; labor &c.

(exertion) 686; praxis, execution; procedure &c. (conduct) 692; handicraft; business &c. 625; agency &c. (power at work) 170.

deed, act, overt act, st.i.tch, touch, gest transaction[obs3], job, doings, dealings, proceeding, measure, step, maneuver, bout, pa.s.sage, move, stroke, blow; coup, coup de main, coup d'etat[Fr]; tour de force &c.

(display) 882; feat, exploit; achievement &c. (completion) 729; handiwork, workmans.h.i.+p; manufacture; stroke of policy &c. (plan) 626.

actor &c. (doer) 690.

V. do, perform, execute; achieve &c. (complete) 729; transact, enact; commit, perpetrate, inflict; exercise, prosecute, carry on, work, practice, play.

employ oneself, ply one's task; officiate, have in hand &c. (business) 625; labor &c. 686; be at work; pursue a course; shape one's course &c.

(conduct) 692.

act, operate; take action, take steps; strike a blow, lift a finger, stretch forth one's hand; take in hand &c. (undertake) 676; put oneself in motion; put in practice; carry into execution &c. (complete) 729; act upon.

be an actor &c. 690; take a part in, act a part in, play a part in, perform a part in; partic.i.p.ate in; have a hand in, have a finger in the pie; have to do with; be a party to, be a partic.i.p.ator in; bear a hand, lend a hand; pull an oar, run in a race; mix oneself up with &c. (meddle) 682.

be in action; come into operation &c. (power at work) 170.

Adj. doing &c. v.; acting; in action; in harness; on duty; in operation &c. 170.

Adv. in the act, in the midst of, in the thick of; red-handed, in flagrante delicto[Lat]; while one's hand is in.

Phr. "action is eloquence" [Coriola.n.u.s]; actions speak louder than words; actum aiunt ne agas [obs3][Lat][Terence]; "awake, arise, or be forever fall'n" [Paradise Lost]; dii pia facta vident [Lat][Ovid]; faire sans dire[Fr]; fare fac[It]; fronte capillata post est occasio calva[Lat]; "our deeds are sometimes better than our thoughts" [Bailey]; "the great end of life is not knowledge but action" [Huxley]; "thought is the soul of act" [R. Browning]; vivre-ce nest pas respirer c'est agir[Fr][obs3]; "we live in deeds not years" [Bailey].

#681. Inaction. -- N. inaction, pa.s.siveness, abstinence from action; noninterference, nonintervention; Fabian policy, conservative policy; neglect &c. 460.

inactivity &c. 683; rest &c. (repose) 687; quiescence &c. 265; want of occupation, inoccupation[obs3]; idle hours, time hanging on one's hands, dolce far niente[It]; sinecure, featherbed, featherbedding, cushy job, no- show job; soft snap, soft thing.

V. not do, not act, not attempt; be inactive &c. 683; abstain from doing, do nothing, hold, spare; not stir, not move, not lift a finger, not lift a foot, not lift a peg; fold one's arms, fold one's hands; leave alone, let alone; let be, let pa.s.s, let things take their course, let it have its way, let well alone, let well enough alone; quieta non movere[Lat]; stare super antiquas vias[Lat][obs3]; rest and be thankful, live and let live; lie rest upon one's oars; laisser aller[Fr], faire[Fr]; stand aloof; refrain &c. (avoid) 623 keep oneself from doing; remit one's efforts, relax one's efforts; desist &c. (relinquish) 624; stop &c. (cease) 142; pause &c. (be quiet) 265.

wait, lie in wait, bide one's time, take time, tide it over.

cool one's heels, kick one's heels; while away the time, while away tedious hours; pa.s.s the time, fill up the time, beguile the time; talk against time; let the gra.s.s grow under one's feet; waste time &c.

(inactive) 683.

lie by, lie on the shelf, lie in ordinary, lie idle, lie to, lie fallow; keep quiet, slug; have nothing to do, whistle for want of thought.

undo, do away with; take down, take to pieces; destroy &c. 162.

Adj. not doing &c. v.; not done &c. v.; undone; pa.s.sive; unoccupied, unemployed; out of employ, out of work; fallow; desaeuvre[Fr].

Adv. re infecta[Lat], at a stand, les bras croisis[Fr], with folded arms; with the hands in the pockets, with the hands behind one's back; pour pa.s.ser le temps[Fr].

Int. so let it be! stop! &c. 142; hands off!

Phr. cunctando rest.i.tuit rem "If it ain't broke don't fix it"

[Lat][Bert Lance]; stare decisis [Latin: (Law) let the decision stand].

<-- p.="" 219="" --="">

#682. Activity. -- N. activity; briskness, liveliness &c. adj.; animation, life, vivacity, spirit, dash, energy; snap, vim.

nimbleness, agility; smartness, quickness &c. adj.; velocity, &c. 274; alacrity, prompt.i.tude; despatch, dispatch; expedition; haste &c. 684; punctuality &c. (early) 132.

eagerness, zeal, ardor, perfervidum aingenium[Lat][obs3], empress.e.m.e.nt[Fr], earnestness, intentness; abandon; vigor &c. (physical energy) 171; devotion &c. (resolution) 604; exertion &c. 686.

industry, a.s.siduity; a.s.siduousness &c. adj.; sedulity; laboriousness; drudgery &c. (labor) 686; painstaking, diligence; perseverance &c. 604a; indefatigation ; habits of business.

vigilance &c. 459; wakefulness; sleeplessness, restlessness; insomnia; pervigilium[obs3], insomnium[obs3]; racketing.

movement, bustle, stir, fuss, ado, bother, pottering, fidget, fidgetiness; flurry &c. (haste) 684.

officiousness; dabbling, meddling; interference, interposition, intermeddling; tampering with, intrigue.

press of business, no sinecure, plenty to do, many irons in the fire, great doings, busy hum of men, battle of life, thick of the action.

housewife, busy bee; new brooms; sharp fellow, sharp blade; devotee, enthusiast, zealot, meddler, intermeddler, intriguer, busybody, pickthank[obs3]; hummer, hustler, live man [U.S.], rustler * [U. S.].

V. be active &c. adj.; busy oneself in; stir, stir about, stir one's stumps; bestir oneself, rouse oneself; speed, hasten, peg away, lay about one, bustle, fuss; raise up, kick up a dust; push; make a push, make a fuss, make a stir; go ahead, push forward; fight one's way, elbow one's way; make progress &c. 282; toll &c. (labor) 686; plod, persist &c.

(persevere) 604a; keep up the ball, keep the pot boiling.

look sharp; have all one's eyes about one &c. (vigilance) 459; rise, arouse oneself, hustle, get up early, be about, keep moving, steal a march, kill two birds with one stone; seize the opportunity &c. 134 lose no time, not lose a moment, make the most of one's time, not suffer the gra.s.s to grow under one's feet, improve the s.h.i.+ning hour, make short work of; dash off; make haste &c. 684; do one's best take pains &c. (exert oneself) 686; do wonders, work wonders.

have many irons in the fire, have one's hands full, have much on one's hands; have other things to do, have other fish to fry; be busy; not have a moment to spare, not have a moment that one can call one's own.

have one's fling, run the round of; go all lengths, stick at nothing, run riot.

outdo; overdo, overact, overlay, overshoot the mark; make a toil of a pleasure.

have a hand in &c. (act in) 680; take an active part, put in one's oar, have a finger in the pie, mix oneself up with, trouble, one's head about, intrigue; agitate.

tamper with, meddle, moil; intermeddle, interfere, interpose; obtrude; poke one's nose in, thrust one's nose in.

Adj. active, brisk, brisk as a lark, brisk as a bee; lively, animated, vivacious; alive, alive and kicking; frisky, spirited, stirring.

nimble, nimble as a squirrel; agile; light-footed, nimble-footed; featly[obs3], tripping.

quick, prompt, yare[obs3], instant, ready, alert, spry, sharp, smart; fast &c. (swift) 274; quick as a lamplighter, expeditious; awake, broad awake; go-ahead, live wide-awake &c. (intelligent) 498[U.S.].

forward, eager, strenuous, zealous, enterprising, in earnest; resolute &c. 604.

industrious, a.s.siduous, diligent, sedulous, notable, painstaking; intent &c. (attention) 457; indefatigable &c. (persevering) 604a; unwearied; unsleeping[obs3], never tired; plodding, hard-working &c. 686; businesslike, workaday.

bustling; restless, restless as a hyena; fussy, fidgety, pottering; busy, busy as hen with one chicken.

working, at work, on duty, in harness; up in arms; on one's legs, at call; up and doing, up and stirring.