English Synonyms and Antonyms Part 92

Antonyms:

barbarism, brutality, coa.r.s.eness, rudeness, savagery, boorishness, clownishness, grossness, rusticity, vulgarity.

REFUTE.

Synonyms:

confound, confute, disprove, overthrow, repel.

To _refute_ and to _confute_ are to answer so as to admit of no reply.

To _refute_ a statement is to demonstrate its falsity by argument or countervailing proof; _confute_ is substantially the same in meaning, tho differing in usage. _Refute_ applies either to arguments and opinions or to accusations; _confute_ is not applied to accusations and charges, but to arguments or opinions. _Refute_ is not now applied to persons, but _confute_ is in good use in this application; a person is _confuted_ when his arguments are _refuted_.

RELIABLE.

Synonyms:

trustworthy, trusty.

The word _reliable_ has been sharply challenged, but seems to have established its place in the language. The objection to its use on the ground that the suffix _-able_ can not properly be added to an intransitive verb is answered by the citation of such words as "available," "conversable," "laughable," and the like, while, in the matter of usage, _reliable_ has the authority of Coleridge, Martineau, Mill, Irving, Newman, Gladstone, and others of the foremost of recent English writers. The objection to the application of _reliable_ to persons is not sustained by the use of the verb "rely," which is applied to persons in the authorized version of the Scriptures, in the writings of Shakespeare and Bacon, and in the usage of good speakers and writers.

_Trusty_ and _trustworthy_ refer to inherent qualities of a high order, _trustworthy_ being especially applied to persons, and denoting moral integrity and truthfulness; we speak of a _trusty_ sword, a _trusty_ servant; we say the man is thoroughly _trustworthy_. _Reliable_ is inferior in meaning, denoting merely the possession of such qualities as are needed for safe reliance; as, a _reliable_ pledge; _reliable_ information. A man is said to be _reliable_ with reference not only to moral qualities, but to judgment, knowledge, skill, habit, or perhaps pecuniary ability; a thoroughly _trustworthy_ person might not be _reliable_ as a witness on account of unconscious sympathy, or as a security by reason of insufficient means. A _reliable_ messenger is one who may be depended on to do his errand correctly and promptly; a _trusty_ or _trustworthy_ messenger is one who may be admitted to knowledge of the views and purposes of those who employ him, and who will be faithful beyond the mere letter of his commission. We can speak of a railroad-train as _reliable_ when it can be depended on to arrive on time; but to speak of a _reliable_ friend would be cold, and to speak of a warrior girding on his _reliable_ sword would be ludicrous.

RELIGION.

Synonyms:

devotion, G.o.dliness, morality, piety, theology, faith, holiness, pietism, righteousness, wors.h.i.+p.

_Piety_ is primarily filial duty, as of children to parents, and hence, in its highest sense, a loving obedience and service to G.o.d as the Heavenly Father; _pietism_ often denotes a mystical, sometimes an affected _piety_; _religion_ is the reverent acknowledgment both in heart and in act of a divine being. _Religion_, in the fullest and highest sense, includes all the other words of this group. _Wors.h.i.+p_ may be external and formal, or it may be the adoring reverence of the human spirit for the divine, seeking outward expression. _Devotion_, which in its fullest sense is self-consecration, is often used to denote an act of _wors.h.i.+p_, especially prayer or adoration; as, he is engaged in his _devotions_. _Morality_ is the system and practise of duty as required by the moral law, consisting chiefly in outward acts, and thus may be observed without spiritual rect.i.tude of heart; _morality_ is of necessity included in all true _religion_, which involves both outward act and spiritual service. _G.o.dliness_ (primarily G.o.dlikeness) is a character and spirit like that of G.o.d. _Holiness_ is the highest, sinless perfection of any spirit, whether divine or human, tho often used for purity or for consecration. _Theology_ is the science of _religion_, or the study and scientific statement of all that the human mind can know of G.o.d. _Faith_, strictly the belief and trust which the soul exercises toward G.o.d, is often used as a comprehensive word for a whole system of _religion_ considered as the object of _faith_; as, the Christian _faith_; the Mohammedan _faith_.

Antonyms:

atheism, G.o.dlessness, irreligion, sacrilege, unG.o.dliness, blasphemy, impiety, profanity, unbelief, wickedness.

RELUCTANT.

Synonyms:

averse, disinclined, loath, slow, backward, indisposed, opposed, unwilling.

_Reluctant_ (L. _re_, back, and _lucto_, strive, struggle) signifies struggling against what one is urged or impelled to do, or is actually doing; _averse_ (L. _a_, from, and _verto_, turn) signifies turned away as with dislike or repugnance; _loath_ (AS. _lath_, evil, hateful) signifies having a repugnance, disgust, or loathing for, tho the adjective _loath_ is not so strong as the verb _loathe_. A dunce is always _averse_ to study; a good student is _disinclined_ to it when a fine morning tempts him out; he is _indisposed_ to it in some hour of weariness. A man may be _slow_ or _backward_ in entering upon that to which he is by no means _averse_. A man is _loath_ to believe evil of his friend, _reluctant_ to speak of it, absolutely _unwilling_ to use it to his injury. A legislator may be _opposed_ to a certain measure, while not _averse_ to what it aims to accomplish. Compare ANTIPATHY.

Antonyms:

desirous, disposed, eager, favorable, inclined, willing.

REMARK.

Synonyms:

annotation, comment, note, observation, utterance.

A _remark_ is a saying or brief statement, oral or written, commonly made without much premeditation; a _comment_ is an explanatory or critical _remark_, as upon some pa.s.sage in a literary work or some act or speech in common life. A _note_ is something to call attention, hence a brief written statement; in correspondence, a _note_ is briefer than a letter. A _note_ upon some pa.s.sage in a book is briefer and less elaborate than a _comment_. _Annotations_ are especially brief _notes_, commonly marginal, and closely following the text. _Comments_, _observations_, or _remarks_ may be oral or written, _comments_ being oftenest written, and _remarks_ oftenest oral. An _observation_ is properly the result of fixed attention and reflection; a _remark_ may be the suggestion of the instant. _Remarks_ are more informal than a speech.

REND.

Synonyms:

break, cleave, mangle, rive, sever, sunder, burst, lacerate, rip, rupture, slit, tear.

_Rend_ and _tear_ are applied to the separating of textile substances into parts by force violently applied (_rend_ also to frangible substances), _tear_ being the milder, _rend_ the stronger word. _Rive_ is a wood-workers' word for parting wood in the way of the grain without a clean cut. To _lacerate_ is to _tear_ roughly the flesh or animal tissue, as by the teeth of a wild beast; a _lacerated_ wound is distinguished from a wound made by a clean cut or incision. _Mangle_ is a stronger word than _lacerate_; _lacerate_ is more superficial, _mangle_ more complete. To _burst_ or _rupture_ is to _tear_ or _rend_ by force from within, _burst_ denoting the greater violence; as, to _burst_ a gun; to _rupture_ a blood-vessel; a steam-boiler may be _ruptured_ when its substance is made to divide by internal pressure without explosion. To _rip_, as usually applied to garments or other articles made by sewing or st.i.tching, is to divide along the line of a seam by cutting or breaking the st.i.tches; the other senses bear some resemblance or a.n.a.logy to this; as, to _rip_ open a wound. Compare BREAK.

Antonyms:

heal, mend, reunite, secure, sew, solder, st.i.tch, unite, weld.

join,

RENOUNCE.

Synonyms:

abandon, disavow, disown, recant, repudiate, abjure, discard, forswear, refuse, retract, deny, disclaim, recall, reject, revoke.

_Abjure_, _discard_, _forswear_, _recall_, _recant_, _renounce_, _retract_, and _revoke_, like _abandon_, imply some previous connection.

_Renounce_ (L. _re_, back, and _nuntio_, bear a message) is to declare against and give up formally and definitively; as, to _renounce_ the pomps and vanities of the world. _Recant_ (L. _re_, back, and _canto_, sing) is to take back or _deny_ formally and publicly, as a belief that one has held or professed. _Retract_ (L. _re_, back, and _traho_, draw) is to take back something that one has said as not true or as what one is not ready to maintain; as, to _retract_ a charge or accusation; one _recants_ what was especially his own, he _retracts_ what was directed against another. _Repudiate_ (L. _re_, back, or away, and _pudeo_, feel shame) is primarily to _renounce_ as shameful, hence to divorce, as a wife; thus in general to put away with emphatic and determined repulsion; as, to _repudiate_ a debt. To _deny_ is to affirm to be not true or not binding; as, to _deny_ a statement or a relations.h.i.+p; or to refuse to grant as something requested; as, his mother could not _deny_ him what he desired. To _discard_ is to cast away as useless or worthless; thus, one _discards_ a worn garment; a coquette _discards_ a lover. _Revoke_ (L. _re_, back, and _voco_, call), etymologically the exact equivalent of the English _recall_, is to take back something given or granted; as, to _revoke_ a command, a will, or a grant; _recall_ may be used in the exact sense of _revoke_, but is often applied to persons, as _revoke_ is not; we _recall_ a messenger and _revoke_ the order with which he was charged. _Abjure_ (L. _ab_, away, and _juro_, swear) is etymologically the exact equivalent of the Saxon _forswear_, signifying to put away formally and under oath, as an error, heresy, or evil practise, or a condemned and detested person. A man _abjures_ his religion, _recants_ his belief, _abjures_ or _renounces_ his allegiance, _repudiates_ another's claim, _renounces_ his own, _retracts_ a false statement. A person may _deny_, _disavow_, _disclaim_, _disown_ what has been truly or falsely imputed to him or supposed to be his. He may _deny_ his signature, _disavow_ the act of his agent, _disown_ his child; he may _repudiate_ a just claim or a base suggestion. A native of the United States can not _abjure_ or _renounce_ allegiance to the Queen of England, but will promptly _deny_ or _repudiate_ it. Compare ABANDON.