English Synonyms and Antonyms Part 98

_Sensation_ is the mind's consciousness due to a bodily affection, as of heat or cold; _perception_ is the cognition of some external object which is the cause or occasion of the _sensation_; the _sensation_ of heat may be connected with the _perception_ of a fire. While _sensations_ are connected with the body, _emotions_, as joy, grief, etc., are wholly of the mind. "As the most of them [the _sensations_]

are positively agreeable or the opposite, they are nearly akin to those _emotions_, as hope or terror, or those pa.s.sions, as anger and envy, which are acknowledged by all to belong exclusively to the spirit, and to involve no relation whatever to matter or the bodily organism. Such _feelings_ are not infrequently styled _sensations_, though improperly."

PORTER _Human Intellect_ -- 112, p. 128. [S. '90.] _Feeling_ is a general term popularly denoting what is felt, whether through the body or by the mind alone, and includes both _sensation_ and _emotion_. A _sense_ is an organ or faculty of _sensation_ or of _perception_.

SENSIBILITY.

Synonyms:

feeling, impressibility, sensitiveness, susceptibility.

_Sensibility_ in the philosophical sense, denotes the capacity of emotion or feeling, as distinguished from the intellect and the will.

(Compare synonyms for SENSATION.) In popular use _sensibility_ denotes sometimes capacity of feeling of any kind; as, _sensibility_ to heat or cold; sometimes, a peculiar readiness to be the subject of feeling, especially of the higher feelings; as, the _sensibility_ of the artist or the poet; a person of great or fine _sensibility_. _Sensitiveness_ denotes an especial delicacy of _sensibility_, ready to be excited by the slightest cause, as displayed, for instance, in the "sensitive-plant." _Susceptibility_ is rather a capacity to take up, receive, and, as it were, to contain feeling, so that a person of great _susceptibility_ is capable of being not only readily but deeply moved; _sensitiveness_ is more superficial, _susceptibility_ more pervading.

Thus, in physics, the _sensitiveness_ of a magnetic needle is the ease with which it may be deflected, as by another magnet; its _susceptibility_ is the degree to which it can be magnetized by a given magnetic force or the amount of magnetism it will hold. So a person of great _sensitiveness_ is quickly and keenly affected by any external influence, as by music, pathos, or ridicule, while a person of great _susceptibility_ is not only touched, but moved to his inmost soul.

Antonyms:

coldness, hardness, insensibility, numbness, unconsciousness.

deadness,

Prepositions:

The sensibility _of_ the organism _to_ atmospheric changes.

SEVERE.

Synonyms:

austere, inflexible, rigorous, uncompromising, hard, morose, stern, unmitigated, harsh, relentless, stiff, unrelenting, inexorable, rigid, strict, unyielding.

That is _severe_ which is devoid of all softness, mildness, tenderness, indulgence or levity, or (in literature and art) devoid of unnecessary ornament, amplification, or embellishment of any kind; as, a _severe_ style; as said of anything painful, _severe_ signifies such as heavily taxes endurance or resisting power; as, a _severe_ pain, fever, or winter. _Rigid_ signifies primarily _stiff_, resisting any effort to change its shape; a corpse is said to be _rigid_ in death; hence, in metaphorical sense, a _rigid_ person or character is one that resists all efforts to change the will or course of conduct; a _rigid_ rule or statement is one that admits of no deviation. _Rigorous_ is nearly akin to _rigid_, but is a stronger word, having reference to action or active qualities, as _rigid_ does to state or character; a _rigid_ rule may be _rigorously_ enforced. _Strict_ (L. _stringo_, bind) signifies bound or stretched tight, tense, strenuously exact. _Stern_ unites harshness and authority with strictness or severity; _stern_, as said even of inanimate objects, suggests something authoritative or forbidding.

_Austere_ signifies severely simple or temperate, _strict_ in self-restraint or discipline, and similarly _unrelenting_ toward others.

We speak of _austere_ morality, _rigid_ rules, _rigorous_ discipline, _stern_ commands, _severe_ punishment, _harsh_ speech or a _harsh_ voice, _hard_ requirements, _strict_ injunctions, and _strict_ obedience. _Strict_ discipline holds one exactly and unflinchingly to the rule; _rigorous_ discipline punishes severely any infraction of it.

The _austere_ character is seldom lovely, but it is always strong and may be grand, commanding, and estimable.

Antonyms:

affable, easy, gentle, lenient, pliable, sweet, tractable, bland, genial, indulgent, mild, soft, tender, yielding.

SHAKE.

Synonyms:

agitate, jar, quake, s.h.i.+ver, totter, brandish, joggle, quaver, shudder, tremble, flap, jolt, quiver, sway, vibrate, fluctuate, jounce, reel, swing, wave, flutter, oscillate, rock, thrill, waver.

A thing is _shaken_ which is subjected to short and abruptly checked movements, as forward and backward, up and down, from side to side, etc.

A tree is "_shaken_ with a mighty wind;" a man slowly _shakes_ his head.

A thing _rocks_ that is sustained from below; it _swings_ if suspended from above, as a pendulum, or pivoted at the side, as a crane or a bridge-draw; to _oscillate_ is to _swing_ with a smooth and regular returning motion; a _vibrating_ motion may be tremulous or _jarring_.

The pendulum of a clock may be said to _swing_, _vibrate_, or _oscillate_; a steel bridge _vibrates_ under the pa.s.sage of a heavy train; the term _vibrate_ is also applied to molecular movements.

_Jolting_ is a lifting from and letting down suddenly upon an unyielding surface; as, a carriage _jolts_ over a rough road. A _jarring_ motion is abruptly and very rapidly repeated through an exceedingly limited s.p.a.ce; the _jolting_ of the carriage _jars_ the windows. _Rattling_ refers directly to the sound produced by _shaking_. To _joggle_ is to _shake_ slightly; as, a pa.s.sing touch _joggles_ the desk on which one is writing. A thing _trembles_ that _shakes_ perceptibly and with an appearance of uncertainty and instability, as a person under the influence of fear; a thing _s.h.i.+vers_ when all its particles are stirred with a slight but pervading tremulous motion, as a human body under the influence of cold; _shuddering_ is a more p.r.o.nounced movement of a similar kind, in human beings often the effect of emotional or moral recoil; hence, the word is applied by extension to such feelings even when they have no such outward manifestation; as, one says, "I _shudder_ at the thought." To _quiver_ is to have slight and often spasmodic contractile motions, as the flesh under the surgeon's knife. _Thrill_ is applied to a pervasive movement felt rather than seen; as, the nerves _thrill_ with delight; _quiver_ is similarly used, but suggests somewhat more of outward manifestation. To _agitate_ in its literal use is nearly the same as to _shake_, tho we speak of the sea as _agitated_ when we could not say it is _shaken_; the Latin _agitate_ is preferred in scientific or technical use to the Saxon _shake_, and especially as applied to the action of mechanical contrivances; in the metaphorical use _agitate_ is more transitory and superficial, _shake_ more fundamental and enduring; a person's feelings are _agitated_ by distressing news; his courage, his faith, his credit, or his testimony is _shaken_. _Sway_ applies to the movement of a body suspended from above or not firmly sustained from below, and the motion of which is less p.r.o.nounced than _swinging_, smoother than _vibrating_, and not necessarily constant as _oscillating_; as, the _swaying_ of a reed in the wind. _Sway_ used transitively especially applies to motions of grace or dignity; _brandish_ denotes a threatening or hostile motion; a monarch _sways_ the scepter; the ruffian _brandishes_ a club. To _reel_ or _totter_ always implies liability to fall; _reeling_ is more violent than _swaying_, _tottering_ more irregular; a drunken man _reels_; we speak of the _tottering_ step of age or infancy. An extended ma.s.s which seems to lack solidity or cohesion is said to _quake_; as, a _quaking_ bog. _Quaver_ is applied almost exclusively to tremulous sounds of the human voice. _Flap_, _flutter_, and _fluctuate_ refer to wave-like movements, _flap_ generally to such as produce a sharp sound; a c.o.c.k _flaps_ his wings; _flutter_ applies to a less p.r.o.nounced and more irregular motion; a captive bird or a feeble pulse _flutters_. Compare FLUCTUATE.

SHELTER.

Synonyms:

cover, guard, protect, s.h.i.+eld, defend, harbor, screen, ward.

Anything is _covered_ over which something is completely extended; a vessel is _covered_ with a lid; the head is _covered_ with a hat. That which _covers_ may also _defend_ or _protect_; thus, troops interposed between some portion of their own army and the enemy are often called a _covering_ party. To _shelter_ is to _cover_ so as to _protect_ from injury or annoyance; as, the roof _shelters_ from the storm; woods _shelter_ from the heat. To _defend_ (L. _defendere_, to strike away) implies the actual, _protect_ (L. _protegere_, to cover before) implies the possible use of force or resisting power; _guard_ implies sustained vigilance with readiness for conflict; we _defend_ a person or thing against actual attack; we _guard_ or _protect_ against possible a.s.sault or injury. A powerful person may _protect_ one who is weak by simply declaring himself his friend; he _defends_ him by some form of active champions.h.i.+p. An inanimate object may _protect_, as a garment from cold; _defend_ is used but rarely, and by somewhat violent metaphor, in such connection. _Protect_ is more complete than _guard_ or _defend_; an object may be faithfully _guarded_ or bravely _defended_ in vain, but that which is _protected_ is secure. To _s.h.i.+eld_ is to interpose something over or before that which is a.s.sailed, so as to save from harm, and has a comparatively pa.s.sive sense; one may _guard_ another by standing armed at his side, _defend_ him by fighting for him, or _s.h.i.+eld_ him from a missile or a blow by interposing his own person.

_Harbor_ is generally used in an unfavorable sense; confederates or sympathizers _harbor_ a criminal; a person _harbors_ evil thoughts or designs. See CHERISH. Compare synonyms for HIDE; DEFENSE.

Antonyms:

betray, expel, expose, give up, refuse, reject, surrender.

cast out,

Prepositions:

Shelter _under_ a roof _from_ the storm; _in_ the fortress, _behind_ or _within_ the walls, _from_ attack.

SIGN.

Synonyms:

emblem, mark, presage, symbol, token, indication, note, prognostic, symptom, type.

manifestation, omen, signal,

A _sign_ (L. _signum_) is any distinctive _mark_ by which a thing may be recognized or its presence known, and may be intentional or accidental, natural or artificial, suggestive, descriptive, or wholly arbitrary; thus, a blush may be a _sign_ of shame; the footprint of an animal is a _sign_ that it has pa.s.sed; the _sign_ of a business house now usually declares what is done or kept within, but formerly might be an object having no connection with the business, as "the _sign_ of the trout;"

the letters of the alphabet are _signs_ of certain sounds. While a _sign_ may be involuntary, and even unconscious, a _signal_ is always voluntary, and is usually concerted; a s.h.i.+p may show _signs_ of distress to the casual observer, but _signals_ of distress are a distinct appeal for aid. A _symptom_ is a vital phenomenon resulting from a diseased condition; in medical language a _sign_ is an _indication_ of any physical condition, whether morbid or healthy; thus, a hot skin and rapid pulse are _symptoms_ of pneumonia; dulness of some portion of the lungs under percussion is one of the physical _signs_. Compare AUGUR; CHARACTERISTIC; EMBLEM.