English Synonyms and Antonyms — Oath to Oversight

adjuration, curse, profane swearing, affidavit, cursing, profanity, anathema, denunciation, reprobation, ban, execration, swearing, blaspheming, imprecation, sworn statement.

blasphemy, malediction, vow.

In the highest sense, as in a court of justice, "an _oath_ is a reverent appeal to God in corroboration of what one says," ABBOTT _Law Dict.

_; an _affidavit_ is a _sworn statement_ made in writing in the presence of a competent officer; an _adjuration_ is a solemn appeal to a person in the name of God to speak the truth.

An _oath_ is made to man in the name of God; a _vow_, to God without the intervention, often without the knowledge, of man.

In the lower sense, an _oath_ may be mere _blasphemy_ or _profane swearing_.

_Anathema_, _curse_, _execration_, and _imprecation_ are modes of invoking vengeance or retribution from a superhuman power upon the person against whom they are uttered.

_Anathema_ is a solemn ecclesiastical condemnation of a person or of a proposition.

_Curse_ may be just and authoritative; as, the _curse_ of God; or, it may be wanton and powerless: "so the _curse_ causeless shall not come," _Prov.

_ xxvi, 2. _Execration_ expresses most of personal bitterness and hatred; _imprecation_ refers especially to the coming of the desired evil upon the person against whom it is uttered.

_Malediction_ is a general wish of evil, a less usual but very expressive word.

Compare TESTIMONY.

Antonyms: benediction, benison, blessing.

* * * * * OBSCURE.

Synonyms: abstruse, darksome, dusky, involved, ambiguous, deep, enigmatical, muddy, cloudy, dense, hidden, mysterious, complex, difficult, incomprehensible, profound, complicated, dim, indistinct, turbid, dark, doubtful, intricate, unintelligible.

That is _obscure_ which the eye or the mind can not clearly discern or see through, whether because of its own want of transparency, its depth or intricacy, or because of mere defect of light.

That which is _complicated_ is likely to be _obscure_, but that may be _obscure_ which is not at all _complicated_ and scarcely _complex_, as a _muddy_ pool.

In that which is _abstruse_ (L. _abs_, from, and _trudo_, push) as if removed from the usual course of thought or out of the way of apprehension or discovery, the thought is remote, _hidden_; in that which is _obscure_ there may be nothing to hide; it is hard to see to the bottom of the _profound_, because of its depth, but the most shallow turbidness is _obscure_.

Compare COMPLEX; DARK; DIFFICULT; MYSTERIOUS.

Antonyms: See synonyms for CLEAR.

* * * * * OBSOLETE.

Synonyms: ancient, archaic, obsolescent, out of date, antiquated, disused, old, rare.

Some of the _oldest_ or most _ancient_ words are not _obsolete_, as father, mother, etc. A word is _obsolete_ which has quite gone out of reputable use; a word is _archaic_ which is falling out of reputable use, or, on the other hand, having been _obsolete_, is taken up tentatively by writers or speakers of influence, so that it may perhaps regain its position as a living word; a word is _rare_ if there are few present instances of its reputable use.

Compare OLD.

Antonyms: See synonyms for NEW.

* * * * * OBSTINATE.

Synonyms: contumacious, headstrong, mulish, resolute, decided, heady, obdurate, resolved, determined, immovable, opinionated, stubborn, dogged, indomitable, persistent, unconquerable, firm, inflexible, pertinacious, unflinching, fixed, intractable, refractory, unyielding.

The _headstrong_ person is not to be stopped in his own course of action, while the _obstinate_ and _stubborn_ is not to be driven to another's way.

The _headstrong_ act; the _obstinate_ and _stubborn_ may simply refuse to stir.

The most amiable person may be _obstinate_ on some one point; the _stubborn_ person is for the most part habitually so; we speak of _obstinate_ determination, _stubborn_ resistance.

_Stubborn_ is the term most frequently applied to the lower animals and inanimate things.

_Refractory_ implies more activity of resistance; the _stubborn_ horse balks; the _refractory_ animal plunges, rears, and kicks; metals that resist ordinary processes of reduction are termed _refractory_.

One is _obdurate_ who adheres to his purpose in spite of appeals that would move any tender-hearted or right-minded person.

_Contumacious_ refers to a proud and insolent defiance of authority, as of the summons of a court.

_Pertinacious_ demand is contrasted with _obstinate_ refusal.

The _unyielding_ conduct which we approve we call _decided_, _firm_, _inflexible_, _resolute_; that which we condemn we are apt to term _headstrong_, _obstinate_, _stubborn_.

Compare PERVERSE.

Antonyms: amenable, dutiful, pliable, tractable, complaisant, gentle, pliant, undecided, compliant, irresolute, submissive, wavering, docile, obedient, teachable, yielding.

* * * * * OBSTRUCT.

Synonyms: arrest, check, embarrass, interrupt, stay, bar, choke, hinder, oppose, stop.

barricade, clog, impede, retard, To _obstruct_ is literally to build up against; the road is _obstructed_ by fallen trees; the passage of liquid through a tube is _obstructed_ by solid deposits.

We may _hinder_ one's advance by following and clinging to him; we _obstruct_ his course by standing in his way or putting a barrier across his path.

Anything that makes one's progress slower, whether from within or from without, _impedes_; an obstruction is always from without.

To _arrest_ is to cause to stop suddenly; _obstructing_ the way may have the effect of _arresting_ progress.

Compare HINDER;

IMPEDIMENT.

Antonyms: accelerate, aid, facilitate, free, open, promote.

advance, clear, forward, further, pave the way for, * * * * * OLD.

Synonyms: aged, decrepit, immemorial, senile, ancient, elderly, olden, time-honored, antiquated, gray, patriarchal, time-worn, antique, hoary, remote, venerable.

That is termed _old_ which has existed long, or which existed long ago.

_Ancient_, from the Latin, through the French, is the more stately, _old_, from the Saxon, the more familiar word.

Familiarity, on one side, is near to contempt; thus we say, an _old_ coat, an _old_ hat.

On the other hand, familiarity is akin to tenderness, and thus _old_ is a word of endearment; as, "the _old_ homestead," the "_old_ oaken bucket."

"Tell me the _old, old_ story!"

has been sung feelingly by millions;

"tell me that _ancient_ story" would remove it out of all touch of human sympathy.

_Olden_ is a statelier form of _old_, and is applied almost exclusively to time, not to places, buildings, persons, etc. As regards periods of time, the familiar are also the near; thus, the _old_ times are not too far away for familiar thought and reference; the _olden_ times are more remote, _ancient_ times still further removed.

_Gray_, _hoary_, and _moldering_ refer to outward and visible tokens of age.

_Aged_ applies chiefly to long-extended human life.

_Decrepit_, _gray_, and _hoary_ refer to the effects of age on the body exclusively;

_senile_ upon the mind also; as, a _decrepit_ frame, _senile_ garrulousness.

One may be _aged_ and neither _decrepit_ nor _senile_.

_Elderly_ is applied to those who have passed middle life, but scarcely reached _old_ age.

_Remote_ (L. _re_, back or away, and _moveo_, move), primarily refers to space, but is extended to that which is far off in time; as, at some _remote_ period.

_Venerable_ expresses the involuntary reverence that we yield to the majestic and long-enduring, whether in the material world or in human life and character.

Compare ANTIQUE;

OBSOLETE; PRIMEVAL.

Antonyms: Compare synonyms for NEW; YOUTHFUL.

* * * * * OPERATION.

Synonyms: action, effect, force, performance, result.

agency, execution, influence, procedure, _Operation_ is _action_ considered with reference to the thing acted upon, and may apply to the _action_ of an intelligent agent or of a material substance or _force_; as, the _operation_ of a medicine.

_Performance_ and _execution_ denote intelligent _action_, considered with reference to the actor or to that which he accomplishes;

_performance_ accomplishing the will of the actor, _execution_ often the will of another; we speak of the _performance_ of a duty, the _execution_ of a sentence.

Compare ACT.

Antonyms: failure, ineffectiveness, inutility, powerlessness, uselessness.

inaction, inefficiency, * * * * * ORDER.

Synonyms: command, injunction, mandate, requirement.

direction, instruction, prohibition, _Instruction_ implies superiority of knowledge, _direction_ of authority on the part of the giver; a teacher gives _instructions_ to his pupils, an employer gives _directions_ to his workmen.

_Order_ is still more authoritative than _direction_; soldiers, sailors, and railroad employees have simply to obey the _orders_ of their superiors, without explanation or question; an _order_ in the commercial sense has the authority of the money which the one _ordering_ the goods pays or is to pay.

_Command_ is a loftier word, as well as highly authoritative, less frequent in common life; we speak of the _commands_ of God, or sometimes, by polite hyperbole, ask of a friend, "Have you any _commands_ for me?"

A _requirement_ is imperative, but not always formal, nor made by a personal agent; it may be in the nature of things;

as, the _requirements_ of the position.

_Prohibition_ is wholly negative; it is a _command_ not to do; _injunction_ is now oftenest so used, especially as the _requirement_ by legal authority that certain action be suspended or refrained from, pending final legal decision.

Compare ARRAY; CLASS; LAW; PROHIBIT; SYSTEM.

Antonyms: allowance, consent, leave, liberty, license, permission, permit.

* * * * * OSTENTATION.

Synonyms: boast, flourish, parade, pompousness, vaunt, boasting, pageant, pomp, show, vaunting.

display, pageantry, pomposity, _Ostentation_ is an ambitious showing forth of whatever is thought adapted to win admiration or praise; _ostentation_ may be without words;

as, the _ostentation_ of wealth in fine residences, rich clothing, costly equipage, or the like; when in words, _ostentation_ is rather in manner than in direct statement; as, the _ostentation_ of learning.

_Boasting_ is in direct statement, and is louder and more vulgar than _ostentation_.

There may be great _display_ or _show_ with little substance; _ostentation_ suggests something substantial to be shown.

_Pageant_, _pageantry_, _parade_, and _pomp_ refer principally to affairs of arms or state; as, a royal _pageant_; a military _parade_.

_Pomp_ is some material demonstration of wealth and power, as in grand and stately ceremonial, rich furnishings, processions, etc. , considered as worthy of the person or occasion in whose behalf it is manifested;

_pomp_ is the noble side of that which as _ostentation_ is considered as arrogant and vain.

_Pageant_ and _pageantry_ are inferior to _pomp_, denoting spectacular _display_ designed to impress the public mind, and since the multitude is largely ignorant and thoughtless, the words _pageant_ and _pageantry_ have a suggestion of the transient and unsubstantial.

_Parade_ (L. _paro_, prepare) is an exhibition as of troops in camp going through the evolutions that are to be used in battle, and suggests a lack of earnestness and direct or immediate occasion or demand; hence, in the more general sense, a _parade_ is an uncalled for exhibition, and so used is a more disparaging word than _ostentation_; _ostentation_ may spring merely from undue self-gratulation, _parade_ implies a desire to impress others with a sense of one's abilities or resources, and is always offensive and somewhat contemptible; as, a _parade_ of wealth or learning.

_Pomposity_ and _pompousness_ are the affectation of _pomp_.

Antonyms: diffidence, quietness, retirement, timidity, modesty, reserve, shrinking, unobtrusiveness.

* * * * * OUGHT.

Synonym: should.

One _ought_ to do that which he is under moral obligation or in duty bound to do.

_Ought_ is the stronger word, holding most closely to the sense of moral obligation, or sometimes of imperative logical necessity;

_should_ may have the sense of moral obligation or may apply merely to propriety or expediency, as in the proverb, "The liar _should_ have a good memory," _i.

e. _, he will need it.

_Ought_ is sometimes used of abstractions or inanimate things as indicating what the mind deems to be imperative or logically necessary in view of all the conditions; as, these goods _ought_ to go into that space; these arguments _ought_ to convince him; _should_ in such connections would be correct, but less emphatic.

Compare DUTY.

* * * * * OVERSIGHT.

Synonyms: care, control, management, surveillance, charge, direction, superintendence, watch, command, inspection, supervision, watchfulness.

A person may look over a matter in order to survey it carefully in its entirety, or he may look over it with no attention to the thing itself because his gaze and thought are concentrated on something beyond;

_oversight_ has thus two contrasted senses, in the latter sense denoting inadvertent error or omission, and in the former denoting watchful _supervision_, commonly implying constant personal presence;

_superintendence_ requires only so much of presence or communication as to know that the superintendent's wishes are carried out; the superintendent of a railroad will personally oversee very few of its operations; the railroad company has supreme _direction_ of all its affairs without _superintendence_ or _oversight_.

_Control_ is used chiefly with reference to restraint or the power of restraint; a good horseman has a restless horse under perfect _control_; there is no high character without self-_control_.

_Surveillance_ is an invidious term signifying watching with something of suspicion.

Compare CARE; NEGLECT.

* * * * * PAIN.