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English Synonyms and Antonyms

<h3>NAME.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>agnomen,</td><td>denomination,</td><td>prenomen,</td><td>surname,</td></tr> <tr><td>appellation,</td><td>designation,</td><td>style,</td><td>title.</td></tr> <tr><td>cognomen,</td><td colspan="3">epithet,</td></tr> </table> Name in the most general sense, signifying the word by which a person or thing is called or known, includes all other words of this group; in this sense every noun is a name; in the more limited sense a name is personal, an appellation is descriptive, a title is official. In the phrase William the Conqueror, King of England, William is the man's name, which belongs to him personally, independently of any rank or achievement; Conqueror is the appellation which he won by his acquisition of England; King is the title denoting his royal rank. An epithet (Gr. epitheton, something added, from epi, on, and tithemi, put) is something placed upon a person or thing; the epithet does not strictly belong to an object like a name, but is given to mark some assumed characteristic, good or bad; an epithet is always an adjective, or a word or phrase used as an adjective, and is properly used to emphasize a characteristic but not to add information, as in the phrase "the sounding sea;" the idea that an epithet is always opprobrious, and that any word used opprobriously is an epithet is a popular error. Designation may be used much in the sense of appellation, but is more distinctive or specific in meaning; a designation properly so called rests upon some inherent quality, while an appellation may be fanciful. Among the Romans the prenomen was the individual part of a man's name, the "nomen" designated the gens to which he belonged, the cognomen showed his family and was borne by all patricians, and the agnomen was added to refer to his achievements or character. When scientists name an animal or a plant, they give it a binary or binomial technical name comprising a generic and a specific appellation. In modern use, a personal name, as John or Mary, is given in infancy, and is often called the given name or Christian name, or simply the first name (rarely the prenomen); the cognomen or surname is the family name which belongs to one by right of birth or marriage. Style is the legal designation by which a person or house is known in official or business relations; as, the name and style of Baring Brothers. The term denomination is applied to a separate religious organization, without the opprobrious meaning attaching to the word "sect;" also, to designate any class of like objects collectively, especially money or notes of a certain value; as, the sum was in notes of the denomination of one thousand dollars. Compare TERM. <hr /> <h3>NATIVE.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>indigenous,</td><td>innate,</td><td>natal,</td><td>natural,</td><td>original.</td></tr> </table> Native denotes that which belongs to one by birth; natal that which pertains to the event of birth; natural denotes that which rests upon inherent qualities of character or being. We speak of one's native country, or of his natal day; of natural ability, native genius. Compare INHERENT; PRIMEVAL; RADICAL. <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>acquired,</td><td>alien,</td><td>artificial,</td><td>assumed,</td><td>foreign,</td><td>unnatural.</td></tr> </table> <hr /> <h3>NAUTICAL.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>marine,</td><td>maritime,</td><td>naval,</td><td>ocean,</td><td>oceanic.</td></tr> </table> Marine (L. mare, sea) signifies belonging to the ocean, maritime, a secondary derivative from the same root, bordering on or connected with the ocean; as, marine products; marine animals; maritime nations; maritime laws. Nautical (Gr. nautes, a sailor) denotes primarily anything connected with sailors, and hence with ships or navigation; naval (L. navis, Gr. naus, a ship) refers to the armed force of a nation on the sea, and, by extension, to similar forces on lakes and rivers; as, a naval force; a nautical almanac. Ocean, used adjectively, is applied to that which belongs to or is part of the ocean; oceanic may be used in the same sense, but is especially applied to that which borders on (or upon) or is connected with, or which is similar to or suggestive of an ocean; we speak of ocean currents, oceanic islands, or, perhaps, of an oceanic intellect. <hr /> <h3>NEAT.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>clean,</td><td>dapper,</td><td>nice,</td><td>prim,</td><td>tidy,</td></tr> <tr><td>cleanly,</td><td>natty,</td><td>orderly,</td><td>spruce,</td><td>trim.</td></tr> </table> That which is clean is simply free from soil or defilement of any kind. Things are orderly when in due relation to other things; a room or desk is orderly when every article is in place; a person is orderly who habitually keeps things so. Tidy denotes that which conforms to propriety in general; an unlaced shoe may be perfectly clean, but is not tidy. Neat refers to that which is clean and tidy with nothing superfluous, conspicuous, or showy, as when we speak of plain but neat attire; the same idea of freedom from the superfluous appears in the phrases "a neat speech," "a neat turn," "a neat reply," etc. A clean cut has no ragged edges; a neat stroke just does what is intended. Nice is stronger than neat, implying value and beauty; a cheap, coarse dress may be perfectly neat, but would not be termed nice. Spruce is applied to the show and affectation of neatness with a touch of smartness, and is always a term of mild contempt; as, a spruce serving man. Trim denotes a certain shapely and elegant firmness, often with suppleness and grace; as, a trim suit; a trim figure. Prim applies to a precise, formal, affected nicety. Dapper is spruce with the suggestion of smallness and slightness; natty, a diminutive of neat, suggests minute elegance, with a tendency toward the exquisite; as, a dapper little fellow in a natty business suit. <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>dirty,</td><td>negligent,</td><td>slouchy,</td><td>uncared for,</td></tr> <tr><td>disorderly,</td><td>rough,</td><td>slovenly,</td><td>unkempt,</td></tr> <tr><td>dowdy,</td><td>rude,</td><td>soiled,</td><td>untidy.</td></tr> </table> <hr /> <h3>NECESSARY.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>essential,</td><td>infallible,</td><td>required,</td><td>unavoidable,</td></tr> <tr><td>indispensable,</td><td>needed,</td><td>requisite,</td><td>undeniable.</td></tr> <tr><td>inevitable,</td><td colspan="3">needful,</td></tr> </table> That is necessary which must exist, occur, or be true; which in the nature of things can not be otherwise. That which is essential belongs to the essence of a thing, so that the thing can not exist in its completeness without it; that which is indispensable may be only an adjunct, but it is one that can not be spared; vigorous health is essential to an arctic explorer; warm clothing is indispensable. That which is requisite (or required) is so in the judgment of the person requiring it, but may not be so absolutely; thus, the requisite is more a matter of personal feeling than the indispensable. Inevitable (L. in, not, and evito, shun) is primarily the exact equivalent of the Saxon unavoidable; both words are applied to things which some at least would escape or prevent, while that which is necessary may meet with no objection; food is necessary, death is inevitable; a necessary conclusion satisfies a thinker; an inevitable conclusion silences opposition. An infallible proof is one that necessarily leads the mind to a sound conclusion. Needed and needful are more concrete than necessary, and respect an end to be attained; we speak of a necessary inference; necessary food is what one can not live without, while needful food is that without which he can not enjoy comfort, health, and strength. <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>casual,</td><td>needless,</td><td>optional,</td><td>useless,</td></tr> <tr><td>contingent,</td><td>non-essential,</td><td>unnecessary,</td><td>worthless.</td></tr> </table> <h4>Prepositions:</h4> Necessary to a sequence or a total; for or to a result or a person; unity is necessary to (to constitute) completeness; decision is necessary for command, or for a commander. <hr /> <h3>NECESSITY.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>compulsion,</td><td>fatality,</td><td>requisite,</td></tr> <tr><td>destiny,</td><td>fate,</td><td>sine qua non,</td></tr> <tr><td>emergency,</td><td>indispensability,</td><td>unavoidableness,</td></tr> <tr><td>essential,</td><td>indispensableness,</td><td>urgency,</td></tr> <tr><td>exigency,</td><td>need,</td><td>want.</td></tr> <tr><td>extremity,</td><td colspan="2">requirement,</td></tr> </table> Necessity is the quality of being necessary, or the quality of that which can not but be, become, or be true, or be accepted as true. Need and want always imply a lack; necessity may be used in this sense, but in the higher philosophical sense necessity simply denotes the exclusion of any alternative either in thought or fact; righteousness is a necessity (not a need) of the divine nature. Need suggests the possibility of supplying the deficiency which want expresses; to speak of a person's want of decision merely points out a weakness in his character; to say that he has need of decision implies that he can exercise or attain it. As applied to a deficiency, necessity is more imperative than need; a weary person is in need of rest; when rest becomes a necessity he has no choice but to stop work. An essential is something, as a quality, or element, that belongs to the essence of something else so as to be inseparable from it in its normal condition, or in any complete idea or statement of it. Compare NECESSARY; PREDESTINATION. <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>choice,</td><td>doubt,</td><td>dubiousness,</td><td>freedom,</td><td>possibility,</td></tr> <tr><td>contingency,</td><td>doubtfulness,</td><td>fortuity,</td><td>option,</td><td>uncertainty.</td></tr> </table> <h4>Prepositions:</h4> The necessity of surrender; a necessity for action; this is a necessity to me. <hr /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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