English Synonyms and Antonyms — Cabal to Caricature
combination, confederacy, crew, gang, conclave, conspiracy, faction, junto.
A _conspiracy_ is a _combination_ of persons for an evil purpose, or the act of so combining.
_Conspiracy_ is a distinct crime under common, and generally under statutory, law.
A _faction_ is more extensive than a _conspiracy_, less formal in organization, less definite in plan.
_Faction_ and its adjective, _factious_, have always an unfavorable sense.
_Cabal_ commonly denotes a _conspiracy_ of leaders.
A _gang_ is a company of workmen all doing the same work under one leader; the word is used figuratively only of _combinations_ which it is meant to stigmatize as rude and mercenary; _crew_ is used in a closely similar sense.
A
_conclave_ is secret, but of larger numbers, ordinarily, than a _cabal_, and may have honorable use; as, the _conclave_ of cardinals.
* * * * * CALCULATE.
Synonyms: account, consider, enumerate, rate, cast, count, estimate, reckon, compute, deem, number, sum up.
_Number_ is the generic term.
To _count_ is to _number_ one by one.
To _calculate_ is to use more complicated processes, as multiplication, division, etc. , more rapid but not less exact.
_Compute_ allows more of the element of probability, which is still more strongly expressed by _estimate_.
We _compute_ the slain in a great war from the number known to have fallen in certain great battles; _compute_ refers to the present or the past, _estimate_ more frequently to the future; as, to _estimate_ the cost of a proposed building.
To _enumerate_ is to mention item by item; as, to _enumerate_ one's grievances.
To _rate_ is to _estimate_ by comparison, as if the object were one of a series.
We _count_ upon a desired future; we do not _count_ upon the undesired.
As applied to the present, we _reckon_ or _count_ a thing precious or worthless.
Compare ESTEEM.
Prepositions: It is vain to calculate _on_ or _upon_ an uncertain result.
* * * * * CALL, _v.
_ Synonyms: bawl, cry (out), roar, shriek, bellow, ejaculate, scream, vociferate, clamor, exclaim, shout, yell.
To _call_ is to send out the voice in order to attract another's attention, either by word or by inarticulate utterance.
Animals _call_ their mates, or their young; a man _calls_ his dog, his horse, etc. The sense is extended to include summons by bell, or any signal.
To _shout_ is to _call_ or _exclaim_ with the fullest volume of sustained voice; to _scream_ is to utter a shriller cry; to _shriek_ or to _yell_ refers to that which is louder and wilder still.
We _shout_ words; in _screaming_, _shrieking_, or _yelling_ there is often no attempt at articulation.
To _bawl_ is to utter senseless, noisy cries, as of a child in pain or anger.
_Bellow_ and _roar_ are applied to the utterances of animals, and only contemptuously to those of persons.
To _clamor_ is to utter with noisy iteration; it applies also to the confused cries of a multitude.
To _vociferate_ is commonly applied to loud and excited speech where there is little besides the exertion of voice.
In _exclaiming_, the utterance may not be strikingly, tho somewhat, above the ordinary tone and pitch; we may _exclaim_ by mere interjections, or by connected words, but always by some articulate utterance.
To _ejaculate_ is to throw out brief, disconnected, but coherent utterances of joy, regret, and especially of appeal, petition, prayer; the use of such devotional utterances has received the special name of "ejaculatory prayer."
To _cry out_ is to give forth a louder and more excited utterance than in _exclaiming_ or _calling_; one often _exclaims_ with sudden joy as well as sorrow; if he _cries out_, it is oftener in grief or agony.
In the most common colloquial usage, to _cry_ is to express grief or pain by weeping or sobbing.
One may _exclaim_, _cry out_, or _ejaculate_ with no thought of others' presence; when he _calls_, it is to attract another's attention.
Antonyms: be silent, be still, hark, hearken, hush, list, listen.
* * * * * CALM.
Synonyms: collected, imperturbable, sedate, still, composed, peaceful, self-possessed, tranquil, cool, placid, serene, undisturbed, dispassionate, quiet, smooth, unruffled.
That is _calm_ which is free from disturbance or agitation; in the physical sense, free from violent motion or action; in the mental or spiritual realm, free from excited or disturbing emotion or passion.
We speak of a _calm_ sea, a _placid_ lake, a _serene_ sky, a _still_ night, a _quiet_ day, a _quiet_ home.
We speak, also, of "_still_ waters," "_smooth_ sailing," which are different modes of expressing freedom from manifest agitation.
Of mental conditions, one is _calm_ who triumphs over a tendency to excitement; _cool_, if he scarcely feels the tendency.
One may be _calm_ by the very reaction from excitement, or by the oppression of overpowering emotion, as we speak of the calmness of despair.
One is _composed_ who has subdued excited feeling; he is _collected_ when he has every thought, feeling, or perception awake and at command.
_Tranquil_ refers to a present state, _placid_, to a prevailing tendency.
We speak of a _tranquil_ mind, a _placid_ disposition.
The _serene_ spirit dwells as if in the clear upper air, above all storm and shadow.
The star of the unconquered will, He rises in my breast, _Serene_, and resolute, and _still_, And _calm_, and _self-possessed_.
LONGFELLOW _Light of Stars_ st. 7. Antonyms: agitated, excited, frenzied, passionate, ruffled, violent, boisterous, fierce, furious, raging, stormy, wild, disturbed, frantic, heated, roused, turbulent, wrathful.
* * * * * CANCEL.
Synonyms: abolish, discharge, nullify, rescind, abrogate, efface, obliterate, revoke, annul, erase, quash, rub off _or_ out, blot out, expunge, remove, scratch out, cross off _or_ out, make void, repeal, vacate.
_Cancel_, _efface_, _erase_, _expunge_, and _obliterate_ have as their first meaning the removal of written characters or other forms of record.
To _cancel_ is, literally, to make a lattice by cross-lines, exactly our English _cross out_; to _efface_ is to _rub off_, smooth away the face, as of an inscription; to _erase_ is to _scratch out_, commonly for the purpose of writing something else in the same space; to _expunge_, is to punch out with some sharp instrument, so as to show that the words are no longer part of the writing; to _obliterate_ is to cover over or remove, as a letter, as was done by reversing the Roman stylus, and _rubbing out_ with the rounded end what had been written with the point on the waxen tablet.
What has been _canceled_, _erased_, _expunged_, may perhaps still be traced; what is _obliterated_ is gone forever, as if it had never been.
In many establishments, when a debt is _discharged_ by payment, the record is _canceled_.
The figurative use of the words keeps close to the primary sense.
Compare ABOLISH.
Antonyms: approve, enact, establish, perpetuate, reenact, uphold, confirm, enforce, maintain, record, sustain, write.
* * * * * CANDID.
Synonyms: aboveboard, honest, open, truthful, artless, impartial, simple, unbiased, fair, ingenuous, sincere, unprejudiced, frank, innocent, straightforward, unreserved, guileless, naive, transparent, unsophisticated.
A _candid_ statement is meant to be true to the real facts and just to all parties; a _fair_ statement is really so.
_Fair_ is applied to the conduct; _candid_ is not; as, _fair_ treatment, "a _fair_ field, and no favor."
One who is _frank_ has a fearless and unconstrained truthfulness.
_Honest_ and _ingenuous_ unite in expressing contempt for deceit.
On the other hand, _artless_, _guileless_, _naive_, _simple_, and _unsophisticated_ express the goodness which comes from want of the knowledge or thought of evil.
As truth is not always agreeable or timely, _candid_ and _frank_ have often an objectionable sense; "to be _candid_ with you," "to be perfectly _frank_," are regarded as sure preludes to something disagreeable.
_Open_ and _unreserved_ may imply unstudied truthfulness or defiant recklessness; as, _open_ admiration, _open_ robbery.
There may be _transparent_ integrity or _transparent_ fraud.
_Sincere_ applies to the feelings, as being all that one's words would imply.
Antonyms: adroit, cunning, diplomatic, intriguing, sharp, subtle, artful, deceitful, foxy, knowing, shrewd, tricky, crafty, designing, insincere, maneuvering, sly, wily.
Prepositions: Candid _in_ debate; candid _to_ or _toward_ opponents; candid _with_ friend or foe; to be candid _about_ or _in regard to_ the matter.
* * * * * CAPARISON.
Synonyms: accouterments, harness, housings, trappings.
_Harness_ was formerly used of the armor of a knight as well as of a horse; it is now used almost exclusively of the straps and appurtenances worn by a horse when attached to a vehicle; the animal is said to be "kind in _harness_."
The other words apply to the ornamental outfit of a horse, especially under saddle.
We speak also of the _accouterments_ of a soldier.
_Caparison_ is used rarely and somewhat slightingly, and _trappings_ quite contemptuously, for showy human apparel.
Compare ARMS;
DRESS.
* * * * * CAPITAL.
Synonyms: chief city, metropolis, seat of government.
The _metropolis_ is the chief city in the commercial, the _capital_ in the political sense.
The _capital_ of an American State is rarely its _metropolis_.
* * * * * CARE.
Synonyms: anxiety, concern, oversight, trouble, attention, direction, perplexity, vigilance, caution, forethought, precaution, wariness, charge, heed, prudence, watchfulness, circumspection, management, solicitude, worry.
_Care_ concerns what we possess; _anxiety_, often, what we do not;
riches bring many _cares_; poverty brings many _anxieties_.
_Care_ also signifies watchful _attention_, in view of possible harm; as, "This side up with _care_;" "Take _care_ of yourself;" or, as a sharp warning, "Take _care_!"
_Caution_ has a sense of possible harm and risk only to be escaped, if at all, by careful deliberation and observation.
_Care_ inclines to the positive, _caution_ to the negative; _care_ is shown in doing, _caution_ largely in not doing.
_Precaution_ is allied with _care_, _prudence_ with _caution_; a man rides a dangerous horse with _care_; _caution_ will keep him from mounting the horse; _precaution_ looks to the saddle-girths, bit and bridle, and all that may make the rider secure.
_Circumspection_ is watchful observation and calculation, but without the timidity implied in _caution_.
_Concern_ denotes a serious interest, milder than _anxiety_; as, _concern_ for the safety of a ship at sea.
_Heed_ implies _attention_ without disquiet; it is now largely displaced by _attention_ and _care_.
_Solicitude_ involves especially the element of desire, not expressed in _anxiety_, and of hopefulness, not implied in _care_.
A parent feels constant _solicitude_ for his children's welfare, _anxiety_ as to dangers that threaten it, with _care_ to guard against them.
_Watchfulness_ recognizes the possibility of danger, _wariness_ the probability.
A man who is not influenced by _caution_ to keep out of danger may display great _wariness_ in the midst of it.
_Care_ has also the sense of responsibility, with possible control, as expressed in _charge_, _management_, _oversight_; as, these children are under my _care_; send the money to me in _care_ of the firm.
Compare ALARM; ANXIETY; PRUDENCE.
Antonyms: carelessness, inattention, negligence, oversight, remissness, disregard, indifference, omission, recklessness, slight.
heedlessness, neglect, Prepositions: Take care _of_ the house; _for_ the future; _about_ the matter.
* * * * * CAREER.
Synonyms: charge, flight, passage, race, course, line of achievement, public life, rush.
A _career_ was originally the ground for a race, or, especially, for a knight's _charge_ in tournament or battle; whence _career_ was early applied to the _charge_ itself.
If you will use the lance, take ground for your _career_....
The four horsemen met in full _career_.
SCOTT _Quentin Durward_ ch. 14, p. 194. [D.
F.
& CO.
] In its figurative use _career_ signifies some continuous and conspicuous work, usually a life-work, and most frequently one of honorable achievement.
Compare BUSINESS.
* * * * * CARESS.
Synonyms: coddle, embrace, fondle, pamper, court, flatter, kiss, pet.
To _caress_ is less than to _embrace_; more dignified and less familiar than to _fondle_.
A visitor _caresses_ a friend's child; a mother _fondles_ her babe.
_Fondling_ is always by touch; _caressing_ may be also by words, or other tender and pleasing attentions.
Antonyms: See synonyms for AFFRONT.
Prepositions: Caressed _by_ or _with_ the hand; caressed _by_ admirers, _at_ court.
* * * * * CARICATURE.
Synonyms: burlesque, extravaganza, mimicry, take-off, exaggeration, imitation, parody, travesty.
A _caricature_ is a grotesque _exaggeration_ of striking features or peculiarities, generally of a person; a _burlesque_ treats any subject in an absurd or incongruous manner.
A _burlesque_ is written or acted; a _caricature_ is more commonly in sketch or picture.
A _parody_ changes the subject, but keeps the style; a _travesty_ keeps the subject, but changes the style; a _burlesque_ does not hold itself to either subject or style; but is content with a general resemblance to what it may imitate.
A _caricature_, _parody_, or _travesty_ must have an original;
a _burlesque_ may be an independent composition.
An account of a schoolboys' quarrel after the general manner of Homer's Iliad would be a _burlesque_; the real story of the Iliad told in newspaper style would be a _travesty_.
An _extravaganza_ is a fantastic composition, musical, dramatic, or narrative.
_Imitation_ is serious; _mimicry_ is either intentionally or unintentionally comical.
* * * * * CARRY.
Synonyms:
