English Synonyms and Antonyms Part 28

Synonyms:

abrupt, brusk, impolite, rough, blunt, coa.r.s.e, inconsiderate, rude, bl.u.s.tering, discourteous, open, uncivil, bold, frank, plain-spoken, unmannerly.

_Bluff_ is a word of good meaning, as are _frank_ and _open_. The _bluff_ man talks and laughs loudly and freely, says and does whatever he pleases with fearless good nature, and with no thought of annoying or giving pain to others. The _blunt_ man says things which he is perfectly aware are disagreeable, either from a defiant indifference to others'

feelings, or from the pleasure of tormenting.

Antonyms:

bland, genial, polished, polite, refined, reserved, urbane.

courteous,

BODY.

Synonyms:

ashes, clay, dust, frame, system, carca.s.s, corpse, form, remains, trunk.

_Body_ denotes the entire physical structure, considered as a whole, of man or animal; _form_ looks upon it as a thing of shape and outline, perhaps of beauty; _frame_ regards it as supported by its bony framework; _system_ views it as an a.s.semblage of many related and harmonious organs. _Body_, _form_, _frame_, and _system_ may be either dead or living; _clay_ and _dust_ are sometimes so used in religious or poetic style, tho ordinarily these words are used only of the dead.

_Corpse_ and _remains_ are used only of the dead. _Corpse_ is the plain technical word for a dead body still retaining its unity; _remains_ may be used after any lapse of time; the latter is also the more refined and less ghastly term; as, friends are invited to view the _remains_.

_Carca.s.s_ applies only to the _body_ of an animal, or of a human being regarded with contempt and loathing. Compare COMPANY.

Antonyms:

intellect, intelligence, mind, soul, spirit.

BOTH.

Synonyms:

twain, two.

_Both_ refers to _two_ objects previously _mentioned_, or had in mind, viewed or acting in connection; as, _both_ men fired at once; "_two_ men fired" might mean any two, out of any number, and without reference to any previous thought or mention. _Twain_ is a nearly obsolete form of _two_. _The two_, or _the twain_, is practically equivalent to _both_; _both_, however, expresses a closer unity. We would say _both_ men rushed against the enemy; the _two_ men flew at each other. Compare EVERY.

Antonyms:

each, either, every, neither, none, no one, not any.

BOUNDARY.

Synonyms:

barrier, confines, limit, margin, border, edge, line, term, bound, enclosure, marches, termination, bourn, frontier, marge, verge.

bourne, landmark,

The _boundary_ was originally the _landmark_, that which marked off one piece of territory from another. The _bound_ is the _limit_, marked or unmarked. Now, however, the difference between the two words has come to be simply one of usage. As regards territory, we speak of the _boundaries_ of a nation or of an estate; the _bounds_ of a college, a ball-ground, etc. _Bounds_ may be used for all within the _limits_, _boundary_ for the limiting line only. _Boundary_ looks to that which is without; _bound_ only to that which is within. Hence we speak of the _bounds_, not the _boundaries_, of a subject, of the universe, etc.; we say the students were forbidden to go beyond the _bounds_. A _barrier_ is something that bars ingress or egress. A _barrier_ may be a _boundary_, as was the Great Wall of China. _Bourn_, or _bourne_, is a poetical expression for _bound_ or _boundary_. A _border_ is a strip of land along the _boundary_. _Edge_ is a sharp terminal line, as where river or ocean meets the land. _Limit_ is now used almost wholly in the figurative sense; as, the _limit_ of discussion, of time, of jurisdiction. _Line_ is a military term; as, within the _lines_, or through the _lines_, of an army. Compare BARRIER; END.

Antonyms:

center, citadel, estate, inside, interior, land, region, territory.

Prepositions:

The boundaries _of_ an estate; the boundary _between_ neighboring territories.

BRAVE.

Synonyms:

adventurous, courageous, fearless, undaunted, bold, daring, gallant, undismayed, chivalric, dauntless, heroic, valiant, chivalrous, doughty, intrepid, venturesome.

The _adventurous_ man goes in quest of danger; the _bold_ man stands out and faces danger or censure; the _brave_ man combines confidence with resolution in presence of danger; the _chivalrous_ man puts himself in peril for others' protection. The _daring_ step out to defy danger; the _dauntless_ will not flinch before anything that may come to them; the _doughty_ will give and take limitless hard knocks. The _adventurous_ find something romantic in dangerous enterprises; the _venturesome_ may be simply heedless, reckless, or ignorant. All great explorers have been _adventurous_; children, fools, and criminals are _venturesome_. The _fearless_ and _intrepid_ possess unshaken nerves in any place of danger. _Courageous_ is more than _brave_, adding a moral element: the _courageous_ man steadily encounters perils to which he may be keenly sensitive, at the call of duty; the _gallant_ are _brave_ in a das.h.i.+ng, showy, and splendid way; the _valiant_ not only dare great dangers, but achieve great results; the _heroic_ are n.o.bly _daring_ and _dauntless_, truly _chivalrous_, sublimely _courageous_. Compare FORt.i.tUDE.

Antonyms:

afraid, cringing, fearful, pusillanimous, timid, cowardly, faint-hearted, frightened, shrinking, timorous.

BREAK.

Synonyms:

bankrupt, crack, destroy, rive, shatter, split, burst, crush, fracture, rupture, s.h.i.+ver, sunder, cas.h.i.+er, demolish, rend, sever, smash, transgress.

To _break_ is to divide sharply, with severance of particles, as by a blow or strain. To _burst_ is to _break_ by pressure from within, as a bombsh.e.l.l, but it is used also for the result of violent force otherwise exerted; as, to _burst_ in a door, where the door yields as if to an explosion. To _crush_ is to _break_ by pressure from without, as an egg-sh.e.l.l. To _crack_ is to _break_ without complete severance of parts; a _cracked_ cup or mirror may still hold together. _Fracture_ has a somewhat similar sense. In a _fractured_ limb, the ends of the _broken_ bone may be separated, tho both portions are still retained within the common muscular tissue. A _shattered_ object is _broken_ suddenly and in numerous directions; as, a vase is _shattered_ by a blow, a building by an earthquake. A _s.h.i.+vered_ gla.s.s is _broken_ into numerous minute, needle-like fragments. To _smash_ is to _break_ thoroughly to pieces with a cras.h.i.+ng sound by some sudden act of violence; a watch once _smashed_ will scarcely be worth repair. To _split_ is to cause wood to crack or part in the way of the grain, and is applied to any other case where a natural tendency to separation is enforced by an external cause; as, to _split_ a convention or a party. To _demolish_ is to beat down, as a mound, building, fortress, etc.; to _destroy_ is to put by any process beyond restoration physically, mentally, or morally; to _destroy_ an army is so to _shatter_ and scatter it that it can not be rallied or rea.s.sembled as a fighting force. Compare REND.

Antonyms:

attach, bind, fasten, join, mend, secure, solder, unite, weld.