English Synonyms and Antonyms — Carry to Change, n.

bear, convey, move, sustain, transmit, bring, lift, remove, take, transport.

A person may _bear_ a load either when in motion or at rest; he _carries_ it only when in motion.

The stooping Atlas _bears_ the world on his shoulders; swiftly moving Time _carries_ the hour-glass and scythe; a person may be said either to _bear_ or to _carry_ a scar, since it is upon him whether in motion or at rest.

If an object is to be _moved_ from the place we occupy, we say _carry_; if to the place we occupy, we say _bring_.

A messenger _carries_ a letter to a correspondent, and _brings_ an answer.

_Take_ is often used in this sense in place of _carry_; as, _take_ that letter to the office.

_Carry_ often signifies to _transport_ by personal strength, without reference to the direction; as, that is more than he can _carry_; yet, even so, it would not be admissible to say _carry_ it to me, or _carry_ it here; in such case we must say _bring_.

To _lift_ is simply to raise from the ground, tho but for an instant, with no reference to holding or moving;

one may be able to _lift_ what he could not _carry_.

The figurative uses of _carry_ are very numerous; as, to _carry_ an election, _carry_ the country, _carry_ (in the sense of _capture_) a fort, _carry_ an audience, _carry_ a stock of goods, etc. Compare CONVEY; KEEP; SUPPORT.

Antonyms: drop, fall under, give up, let go, shake off, throw down, throw off.

Prepositions: To carry coals _to_ Newcastle; carry nothing _from_, or _out of_, this house; he carried these qualities _into_ all he did; carry _across_ the street, _over_ the bridge, _through_ the woods, _around_ or _round_ the corner; _beyond_ the river; the cable was carried _under_ the sea.

* * * * * CATASTROPHE.

Synonyms: calamity, denouement, mischance, mishap, cataclysm, disaster, misfortune, sequel.

A _cataclysm_ or _catastrophe_ is some great convulsion or momentous event that may or may not be a cause of misery to man.

In _calamity_, or _disaster_, the thought of human suffering is always present.

It has been held by many geologists that numerous _catastrophes_ or _cataclysms_ antedated the existence of man.

In literature, the final event of a drama is the _catastrophe_, or _denouement_.

_Misfortune_ ordinarily suggests less of suddenness and violence than _calamity_ or _disaster_, and is especially applied to that which is lingering or enduring in its effects.

In history, the end of every great war or the fall of a nation is a _catastrophe_, tho it may not be a _calamity_.

Yet such an event, if not a _calamity_ to the race, will always involve much individual _disaster_ and _misfortune_.

Pestilence is a _calamity_; a defeat in battle, a shipwreck, or a failure in business is a _disaster_;

sickness or loss of property is a _misfortune_; failure to meet a friend is a _mischance_; the breaking of a teacup is a _mishap_.

Antonyms: benefit, boon, favor, pleasure, prosperity, blessing, comfort, help, privilege, success.

Preposition: The catastrophe _of_ a play; _of_ a siege; rarely, _to_ a person, etc. * * * * * CATCH.

Synonyms: apprehend, comprehend, grasp, overtake, snatch, capture, discover, grip, secure, take, clasp, ensnare, gripe, seize, take hold of.

clutch, entrap, lay hold of (on, upon), To _catch_ is to come up with or take possession of something departing, fugitive, or illusive.

We _catch_ a runaway horse, a flying ball, a mouse in a trap.

We _clutch_ with a swift, tenacious movement of the fingers; we _grasp_ with a firm but moderate closure of the whole hand;

we _grip_ or _gripe_ with the strongest muscular closure of the whole hand possible to exert.

We _clasp_ in the arms.

We _snatch_ with a quick, sudden, and usually a surprising motion.

In the figurative sense, _catch_ is used of any act that brings a person or thing into our power or possession; as, to _catch_ a criminal in the act; to _catch_ an idea, in the sense of _apprehend_ or _comprehend_.

Compare ARREST.

Antonyms: fail of, give up, lose, release, throw aside, fall short of, let go, miss, restore, throw away.

Prepositions: To catch _at_ a straw; to catch a fugitive _by_ the collar; to catch a ball _with_ the left hand; he caught the disease _from_ the patient; the thief was caught _in_ the act; the bird _in_ the snare.

* * * * * CAUSE.

Synonyms: actor, causality, designer, occasion, precedent, agent, causation, former, origin, reason, antecedent, condition, fountain, originator, source, author, creator, motive, power, spring.

The efficient _cause_, that which makes anything to be or be done, is the common meaning of the word, as in the saying "There is no effect without a _cause_."

Every man instinctively recognizes himself acting through will as the _cause_ of his own actions.

The _Creator_ is the Great First _Cause_ of all things.

A _condition_ is something that necessarily precedes a result, but does not produce it.

An _antecedent_ simply precedes a result, with or without any agency in producing it;

as, Monday is the invariable _antecedent_ of Tuesday, but not the _cause_ of it.

The direct antonym of _cause_ is _effect_, while that of _antecedent_ is _consequent_.

An _occasion_ is some event which brings a _cause_ into action at a particular moment; gravitation and heat are the _causes_ of an avalanche; the steep incline of the mountain-side is a necessary _condition_, and the shout of the traveler may be the _occasion_ of its fall.

_Causality_ is the doctrine or principle of causes, _causation_ the action or working of causes.

Compare DESIGN;

REASON.

Antonyms: consequence, development, end, fruit, outcome, product, creation, effect, event, issue, outgrowth, result.

Prepositions: The cause _of_ the disaster; cause _for_ interference.

* * * * * CEASE.

Synonyms: abstain, desist, give over, quit, bring to an end, discontinue, intermit, refrain, come to an end, end, leave off, stop, conclude, finish, pause, terminate.

Strains of music may gradually or suddenly _cease_.

A man _quits_ work on the instant; he may _discontinue_ a practise gradually; he _quits_ suddenly and completely; he _stops_ short in what he may or may not resume; he _pauses_ in what he will probably resume.

What _intermits_ or is _intermitted_ returns again, as a fever that _intermits_.

Compare ABANDON; DIE; END; REST.

Antonyms: begin, inaugurate, originate, set going, set on foot, commence, initiate, set about, set in operation, start.

enter upon, institute, Preposition: Cease _from_ anger.

* * * * * CELEBRATE.

Synonyms: commemorate, keep, observe, solemnize.

To _celebrate_ any event or occasion is to make some demonstration of respect or rejoicing because of or in memory of it, or to perform such public rites or ceremonies as it properly demands.

We _celebrate_ the birth, _commemorate_ the death of one beloved or honored.

We _celebrate_ a national anniversary with music and song, with firing of guns and ringing of bells; we _commemorate_ by any solemn and thoughtful service, or by a monument or other enduring memorial.

We _keep_ the Sabbath, _solemnize_ a marriage, _observe_ an anniversary; we _celebrate_ or _observe_ the Lord's Supper in which believers _commemorate_ the sufferings and death of Christ.

Antonyms: contemn, dishonor, forget, neglect, profane, despise, disregard, ignore, overlook, violate.

Prepositions: We celebrate the day _with_ appropriate ceremonies; the victory was celebrated _by_ the people, _with_ rejoicing.

* * * * * CENTER.

Synonyms: middle, midst.

We speak of the _center_ of a circle, the _middle_ of a room, the _middle_ of the street, the _midst_ of a forest.

The _center_ is equally distant from every point of the circumference of a circle, or from the opposite boundaries on each axis of a parallelogram, etc. ; the _middle_ is more general and less definite.

The _center_ is a point; the _middle_ may be a line or a space.

We say _at_ the _center_; _in_ the _middle_.

_Midst_ commonly implies a group or multitude of surrounding objects.

Compare synonyms for AMID.

Antonyms: bound, boundary, circumference, perimeter, rim.

* * * * * CHAGRIN.

Synonyms: confusion, discomposure, humiliation, shame, disappointment, dismay, mortification, vexation.

_Chagrin_ unites _disappointment_ with some degree of _humiliation_.

A

rainy day may bring _disappointment_; needless failure in some enterprise brings _chagrin_.

_Shame_ involves the consciousness of fault, guilt, or impropriety; _chagrin_ of failure of judgment, or harm to reputation.

A consciousness that one has displayed his own ignorance will cause him _mortification_, however worthy his intent; if there was a design to deceive, the exposure will cover him with _shame_.

Antonyms: delight, exultation, glory, rejoicing, triumph.

Prepositions: He felt deep chagrin _at_ (_because of_, _on account of_) failure.

* * * * * CHANGE, _v.

_ Synonyms: alter, exchange, shift, transmute, commute, metamorphose, substitute, turn, convert, modify, transfigure, vary, diversify, qualify, transform, veer.

To _change_ is distinctively to make a thing other than it has been, in some respect at least; to _exchange_ to put or take something else in its place; to _alter_ is ordinarily to _change_ partially, to make different in one or more particulars.

To _exchange_ is often to transfer ownership; as, to _exchange_ city for country property.

_Change_ is often used in the sense of _exchange_; as, to _change_ horses.

To _transmute_ is to _change_ the qualities while the substance remains the same; as, to _transmute_ the baser metals into gold.

To _transform_ is to _change_ form or appearance, with or without deeper and more essential change; it is less absolute than _transmute_, tho sometimes used for that word, and is often used in a spiritual sense as _transmute_ could not be; "Be ye _transformed_ by the renewing of your mind," _Rom.

_ xii, 2. _Transfigure_ is, as in its Scriptural use, to change in an exalted and glorious spiritual way; "Jesus ...

was _transfigured_ before them, and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light," _Matt.

_ xvii, 1, 2. To _metamorphose_ is to make some remarkable change, ordinarily in external qualities, but often in structure, use, or chemical constitution, as of a caterpillar into a butterfly, of the stamens of a plant into petals, or of the crystalline structure of rocks, hence called "metamorphic rocks," as when a limestone is _metamorphosed_ into a marble.

To _vary_ is to _change_ from time to time, often capriciously.

To _commute_ is to put something easier, lighter, milder, or in some way more favorable in place of that which is _commuted_; as, to _commute_ capital punishment to imprisonment for life; to _commute_ daily fares on a railway to a monthly payment.

To _convert_ (L. _con_, with, and _verto_, turn) is to primarily _turn_ about, and signifies to _change_ in form, character, use, etc. , through a wide range of relations; iron is _converted_ into steel, joy into grief, a sinner into a saint.

To _turn_ is a popular word for _change_ in any sense short of the meaning of _exchange_, being often equivalent to _alter_, _convert_, _transform_, _transmute_, etc. We _modify_ or _qualify_ a statement which might seem too strong; we _modify_ it by some limitation, _qualify_ it by some addition.

Antonyms: abide, continue, hold, persist, retain, bide, endure, keep, remain, stay.

Prepositions: To change a home toilet _for_ a street dress; to change _from_ a caterpillar _to_ or _into_ a butterfly; to change clothes _with_ a beggar.

* * * * * CHANGE, _n.

_ Synonyms: alteration, mutation, renewing, transmutation, conversion, novelty, revolution, variation, diversity, regeneration, transformation, variety, innovation, renewal, transition, vicissitude.

A _change_ is a passing from one state or form to another, any act or process by which a thing becomes unlike what it was before, or the unlikeness so produced; we say a _change_ was taking place, or the _change_ that had taken place was manifest.

_Mutation_ is a more formal word for _change_, often suggesting repeated or continual _change_; as, the _mutations_ of fortune.

_Novelty_ is a _change_ to what is new, or the newness of that to which a change is made; as, he was perpetually desirous of _novelty_.

_Revolution_ is specifically and most commonly a _change_ of government.

_Variation_ is a partial _change_ in form, qualities, etc. , but especially in position or action; as, the _variation_ of the magnetic needle or of the pulse.

_Variety_ is a succession of _changes_ or an intermixture of different things, and is always thought of as agreeable.

_Vicissitude_ is sharp, sudden, or violent _change_, always thought of as surprising and often as disturbing or distressing; as, the _vicissitudes_ of politics.

_Transition_ is _change_ by passing from one place or state to another, especially in a natural, regular, or orderly way; as, the _transition_ from spring to summer, or from youth to manhood.

An _innovation_ is a _change_ that breaks in upon an established order or custom; as, an _innovation_ in religion or politics.

For the distinctions between the other words compare the synonyms for CHANGE, _v.

_ In the religious sense _regeneration_ is the vital _renewing_ of the soul by the power of the divine Spirit; _conversion_ is the conscious and manifest _change_ from evil to good, or from a lower to a higher spiritual state; as, in _Luke_ xxii, 32, "when thou art _converted_, strengthen thy brethren."

In popular use _conversion_ is the most common word to express the idea of _regeneration_.

Antonyms: constancy, fixedness, invariability, steadiness, continuance, fixity, permanence, unchangeableness, firmness, identity, persistence, uniformity.

Prepositions: We have made a change _for_ the better; the change _from_ winter to spring; the change _of_ a liquid _to_ or _into_ a gas; a change _in_ quality; a change _by_ absorption or oxidation.

* * * * * CHARACTER.