English Synonyms and Antonyms Part 8

ab.u.t.ting, bordering, contiguous, neighboring, adjoining, close, coterminous, next, attached, conterminous, near, nigh.

beside,

_Adjacent_ farms may not be connected; if _adjoining_, they meet at the boundary-line. _Conterminous_ would imply that their dimensions were exactly equal on the side where they adjoin. _Contiguous_ may be used for either _adjacent_ or _adjoining_. _Ab.u.t.ting_ refers rather to the end of one building or estate than to the neighborhood of another.

Buildings may be _adjacent_ or _adjoining_ that are not _attached_.

_Near_ is a relative word, places being called _near_ upon the railroad which would elsewhere be deemed remote. _Neighboring_ always implies such proximity that the inhabitants may be neighbors. _Next_ views some object as the nearest of several or many; _next_ neighbor implies a neighborhood.

Antonyms:

detached, disconnected, disjoined, distant, remote, separate.

Preposition:

The farm was adjacent _to_ the village.

ADMIRE.

Synonyms:

adore, delight in, extol, respect, venerate, applaud, enjoy, honor, revere, wonder.

approve, esteem, love,

In the old sense of _wonder_, _admire_ is practically obsolete; the word now expresses a delight and approval, in which the element of wonder unconsciously mingles. We _admire_ beauty in nature and art, _delight in_ the innocent happiness of children, _enjoy_ books or society, a walk or a dinner. We _approve_ what is excellent, _applaud_ heroic deeds, _esteem_ the good, _love_ our friends. We _honor_ and _respect_ n.o.ble character wherever found; we _revere_ and _venerate_ it in the aged. We _extol_ the goodness and _adore_ the majesty and power of G.o.d.

Antonyms:

abhor, contemn, detest, execrate, ridicule, abominate, despise, dislike, hate, scorn.

Preposition:

_Admire at_ may still very rarely be found in the old sense of _wonder at_.

ADORN.

Synonyms:

beautify, decorate, garnish, ill.u.s.trate, bedeck, embellish, gild, ornament.

deck,

To _embellish_ is to brighten and enliven by adding something that is not necessarily or very closely connected with that to which it is added; to _ill.u.s.trate_ is to add something so far like in kind as to cast a side-light upon the princ.i.p.al matter. An author _embellishes_ his narrative with fine descriptions, the artist _ill.u.s.trates_ it with beautiful engravings, the binder _gilds_ and _decorates_ the volume.

_Garnish_ is on a lower plane; as, the feast was _garnished_ with flowers. _Deck_ and _bedeck_ are commonly said of apparel; as, a mother _bedecks_ her daughter with silk and jewels. To _adorn_ and to _ornament_ alike signify to add that which makes anything beautiful and attractive, but _ornament_ is more exclusively on the material plane; as, the gateway was _ornamented_ with delicate carving. _Adorn_ is more lofty and spiritual, referring to a beauty which is not material, and can not be put on by ornaments or decorations, but seems in perfect harmony and unity with that to which it adds a grace; if we say, the gateway was _adorned_ with beautiful carving, we imply a unity and loftiness of design such as _ornamented_ can not express. We say of some admirable scholar or statesman, "he touched nothing that he did not _adorn_."

At church, with meek and unaffected grace, His looks _adorned_ the venerable place.

GOLDSMITH _Deserted Village_, l. 178.

Antonyms:

deface, deform, disfigure, mar, spoil.

Preposition:

Adorn his temples _with_ a coronet.

AFFRONT.

Synonyms:

aggravate, exasperate, offend, vex, annoy, insult, provoke, wound.

displease, irritate, tease,

One may be _annoyed_ by the well-meaning awkwardness of a servant, _irritated_ by a tight shoe or a thoughtless remark, _vexed_ at some careless neglect or needless misfortune, _wounded_ by the ingrat.i.tude of child or friend. To _tease_ is to give some slight and perhaps playful annoyance. _Aggravate_ in the sense of _offend_ is colloquial. To _provoke_, literally to call out or challenge, is to begin a contest; one _provokes_ another to violence. To _affront_ is to offer some defiant offense or indignity, as it were, to one's face; it is somewhat less than to _insult_. Compare PIQUE.

Antonyms:

conciliate, content, gratify, honor, please.

AGENT.

Synonyms:

actor, factor, means, operator, promoter.

doer, instrument, mover, performer,

In strict philosophical usage, the prime _mover_ or _doer_ of an act is the _agent_. Thus we speak of man as a voluntary _agent_, a free _agent_. But in common usage, especially in business, an _agent_ is not the prime _actor_, but only an _instrument_ or _factor_, acting under orders or instructions. Compare CAUSE.

Antonyms:

chief, inventor, originator, princ.i.p.al.