English Synonyms and Antonyms

<h3><SPAN name="REVENGE" id="REVENGE"></SPAN>REVENGE.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>avenging,</td><td>retaliation,</td><td>retribution,</td><td>vengeance.</td></tr> <tr><td colspan="4">requital,</td></tr> </table> <p><i>Revenge</i> is the act of making return for an injury done to oneself by doing injury to another person. <i>Retaliation</i> and <i>revenge</i> are personal and often bitter. <i>Retaliation</i> may be partial; <i>revenge</i> is meant to be complete, and may be excessive. <i>Vengeance</i>, which once meant an indignant vindication of justice, now signifies the most furious and unsparing <i>revenge</i>. <i>Revenge</i> emphasizes more the personal injury in return for which it is inflicted, <i>vengeance</i> the ill desert of those upon whom it is inflicted. A <i>requital</i> is strictly an even return, such as to quit one of obligation for what has been received, and even if poor or unworthy is given as complete and adequate. <i>Avenging</i> and <i>retribution</i> give a solemn sense of exact justice, <i>avenging</i> being more personal in its infliction, whether by God or man, and <i>retribution</i> the impersonal visitation<span class="pgn"><SPAN name="Page_317" id="Page_317"></SPAN></span> of the doom of righteous law. Compare <span class="smcl"><SPAN href="#AVENGE">AVENGE</SPAN></span>; <span class="smcl"><SPAN href="#HATRED">HATRED</SPAN></span>; <span class="smcl"><SPAN href="#REQUITE">REQUITE</SPAN></span>.</p> <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>compassion,</td><td>forgiveness,</td><td>mercy,</td><td>pardon,</td><td>pity,</td><td>reconciliation.</td></tr> <tr><td>excuse,</td><td colspan="5">grace,</td></tr> </table> <h4>Prepositions:</h4> <p>To take revenge <i>upon</i> the enemy, <i>for</i> the injury.</p> <hr /> <h3><SPAN name="REVOLUTION" id="REVOLUTION"></SPAN>REVOLUTION.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>anarchy,</td><td>insurrection,</td><td>revolt,</td></tr> <tr><td>confusion,</td><td>lawlessness,</td><td>riot,</td></tr> <tr><td>disintegration,</td><td>mutiny,</td><td>sedition,</td></tr> <tr><td>disorder,</td><td rowspan="2">rebellion,</td><td rowspan="2">tumult.</td></tr> <tr><td>insubordination,</td></tr> </table> <p>The essential idea of <i>revolution</i> is a change in the form of government or constitution, or a change of rulers, otherwise than as provided by the laws of succession, election, etc.; while such change is apt to involve armed hostilities, these make no necessary part of the <i>revolution</i>. The <i>revolution</i> by which Dom Pedro was dethroned, and Brazil changed from an empire to a republic, was accomplished without a battle, and almost without a shot. <i>Anarchy</i> refers to the condition of a state when human government is superseded or destroyed by factions or other causes. <i>Lawlessness</i> is a temper of mind or condition of the community which may result in <i>anarchy</i>. <i>Confusion</i>, <i>disorder</i>, <i>riot</i>, and <i>tumult</i> are incidental and temporary outbreaks of <i>lawlessness</i>, but may not be <i>anarchy</i>. <i>Insubordination</i> is individual disobedience. <i>Sedition</i> is the plotting, <i>rebellion</i> the fighting, against the existing government, but always with the purpose of establishing some other government in its place. When <i>rebellion</i> is successful it is called <i>revolution</i>; but there may be <i>revolution</i> without <i>rebellion</i>; as, the English <i>Revolution</i> of 1688. A <i>revolt</i> is an uprising against existing authority without the comprehensive views of change in the form or administration of government that are involved in <i>revolution</i>. <i>Anarchy</i>, when more than temporary <i>disorder</i>, is a proposed <i>disintegration</i> of society, in which it is imagined that social order might exist without government. Slaves make <i>insurrection</i>; soldiers or sailors break out in <i>mutiny</i>; subject provinces rise in <i>revolt</i>. Compare <span class="smcl"><SPAN href="#SOCIALISM">SOCIALISM</SPAN></span>.</p> <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>authority,</td><td>domination,</td><td>government,</td><td>obedience,</td><td>sovereignty,</td></tr> <tr><td>command,</td><td>dominion,</td><td>law,</td><td>order,</td><td>submission,</td></tr> <tr><td>control,</td><td>empire,</td><td>loyalty,</td><td>rule,</td><td>supremacy.</td></tr> </table> <hr /><p><span class="pgn"><SPAN name="Page_318" id="Page_318"></SPAN></span></p> <h3>REVOLVE.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>roll,</td><td>rotate,</td><td>turn.</td></tr> </table> <p>Any round body <i>rolls</i> which continuously touches with successive portions of its surface successive portions of another surface; a wagon-wheel <i>rolls</i> along the ground. To <i>rotate</i> is said of a body that has a circular motion about its own center or axis; to <i>revolve</i> is said of a body that moves in a curving path, as a circle or an ellipse, about a center outside of itself, so as to return periodically to the same relative position that it held at some previous time. A <i>revolving</i> body may also either <i>rotate</i> or <i>roll</i> at the same time; the earth <i>revolves</i> around the sun, and <i>rotates</i> on its own axis; in popular usage, the earth is often said to <i>revolve</i> about its own axis, or to have a daily "revolution," but <i>rotate</i> and "rotation" are the more accurate terms. A cylinder over which an endless belt is drawn is said to <i>roll</i> as regards the belt, tho it <i>rotates</i> as regards its own axis. Any object that is in contact with or connected with a <i>rolling</i> body is often said to <i>roll</i>; as, the car <i>rolls</i> smoothly along the track. Objects whose motion approximates or suggests a rotary motion along a supporting surface are also said to <i>roll</i>; as, ocean waves <i>roll</i> in upon the shore, or the ship <i>rolls</i> in the trough of the sea. <i>Turn</i> is a conversational and popular word often used vaguely for <i>rotate</i> or <i>revolve</i>, or for any motion about a fixed point, especially for a motion less than a complete "rotation" or "revolution;" a man <i>turns</i> his head or <i>turns</i> on his heel; the gate <i>turns</i> on its hinges.</p> <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>bind,</td><td>chafe,</td><td>grind,</td><td>slide,</td><td>slip,</td><td>stand,</td><td>stick.</td></tr> </table> <hr /> <h3>RIDDLE, <span class="nbi">n.</span></h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>conundrum,</td><td>enigma,</td><td>paradox,</td><td>problem,</td><td>puzzle.</td></tr> </table> <p><i>Conundrum</i>, a word of unknown origin, signifies some question or statement in which some hidden and fanciful resemblance is involved, the answer often depending upon a pun; an <i>enigma</i> is a dark saying; a <i>paradox</i> is a true statement that at first appears absurd or contradictory; a <i>problem</i> is something thrown out for solution; <i>puzzle</i> (from <i>oppose</i>) referred originally to the intricate arguments by which disputants opposed each other in the old philosophic schools. The <i>riddle</i> is an ambiguous or paradoxical statement with a hidden meaning to be guessed by the mental acuteness of the one to whom it is proposed; the <i>riddle</i> is<span class="pgn"><SPAN name="Page_319" id="Page_319"></SPAN></span> not so petty as the <i>conundrum</i>, and may require much acuteness for its answer; a <i>problem</i> may require simply study and scholarship, as a <i>problem</i> in mathematics; a <i>puzzle</i> may be in something other than verbal statement, as a dissected map or any perplexing mechanical contrivance. Both <i>enigma</i> and <i>puzzle</i> may be applied to any matter difficult of answer or solution, <i>enigma</i> conveying an idea of greater dignity, <i>puzzle</i> applying to something more commonplace and mechanical; there are many dark <i>enigmas</i> in human life and in the course of providence; the location of a missing object is often a <i>puzzle</i>.</p> <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>answer,</td><td>axiom,</td><td>explanation,</td><td>proposition,</td><td>solution.</td></tr> </table> <hr /> <h3>RIGHT, <span class="nbi">n.</span></h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>claim,</td><td>franchise,</td><td>liberty,</td><td>prerogative,</td></tr> <tr><td>exemption,</td><td>immunity,</td><td>license,</td><td>privilege.</td></tr> </table> <p>A <i>right</i> is that which one may properly demand upon considerations of justice, morality, equity, or of natural or positive law. A <i>right</i> may be either general or special, natural or artificial. "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" are the natural and inalienable <i>rights</i> of all men; <i>rights</i> of property, inheritance, etc., are individual and special, and often artificial, as the <i>right</i> of inheritance by primogeniture. A <i>privilege</i> is always special, exceptional, and artificial; it is something not enjoyed by all, or only to be enjoyed on certain special conditions, a peculiar benefit, favor, advantage, etc. A <i>privilege</i> may be of doing or avoiding; in the latter case it is an <i>exemption</i> or <i>immunity</i>; as, a <i>privilege</i> of hunting or fishing; <i>exemption</i> from military service; <i>immunity</i> from arrest. A <i>franchise</i> is a specific <i>right</i> or <i>privilege</i> granted by the government or established as such by governmental authority; as, the elective <i>franchise</i>; a railroad <i>franchise</i>. A <i>prerogative</i> is an official <i>right</i> or <i>privilege</i>, especially one inherent in the royal or sovereign power; in a wider sense it is an exclusive and peculiar <i>privilege</i> which one possesses by reason of being what he is; as, reason is the <i>prerogative</i> of man; kings and nobles have often claimed <i>prerogatives</i> and <i>privileges</i> opposed to the inherent <i>rights</i> of the people. Compare <span class="smcl"><SPAN href="#DUTY">DUTY</SPAN></span>; <span class="smcl"><SPAN href="#JUSTICE">JUSTICE</SPAN></span>.</p> <hr /> <h3>RISE.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>arise,</td><td>ascend,</td><td>emanate,</td><td>flow,</td><td>issue,</td><td>proceed,</td><td>spring.</td></tr> </table> <p>To <i>rise</i> is to move up or upward whether slowly or quickly,<span class="pgn"><SPAN name="Page_320" id="Page_320"></SPAN></span> whether through the least or greatest distance; the waves <i>rise</i>; the mists <i>rise</i>; the river <i>rises</i> after heavy rains; as said of persons, to <i>rise</i> is to come to an erect position after kneeling, sitting, reclining, or lying down; as, to <i>rise</i> from a sick-bed; my friend <i>rose</i> as I entered; the guests <i>rose</i> to depart; so a deliberative assembly or a committee is said to <i>rise</i> when it breaks up a session; a sun or star <i>rises</i> when to our apprehension it comes above the horizon and begins to go up the sky. To <i>ascend</i> is to go far upward, and is often used in a stately sense; as, Christ <i>ascended</i> to heaven. The shorter form <i>rise</i> is now generally preferred to the longer form <i>arise</i>, except in poetic or elevated style. The sun <i>rises</i> or <i>arises</i>; the river <i>springs</i> at a bound from the foot of the glacier and <i>flows</i> through the lands to the ocean. Smoke <i>issues</i> from a chimney and <i>ascends</i> toward the sky. Light and heat <i>emanate</i> from the sun.</p> <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>decline,</td><td>descend,</td><td>drop,</td><td>fall,</td><td>go down,</td><td>set,</td><td>settle,</td><td>sink.</td></tr> </table> <h4>Prepositions:</h4> <p>Rise <i>from</i> slumber; rise <i>to</i> duty; rise <i>at</i> the summons; we rose <i>with</i> the lark.</p> <hr /> <h3>ROBBER.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>bandit,</td><td>depredator,</td><td>freebooter,</td><td>pirate,</td></tr> <tr><td>brigand,</td><td>despoiler,</td><td>highwayman,</td><td>plunderer,</td></tr> <tr><td>buccaneer,</td><td>footpad,</td><td>marauder,</td><td>raider,</td></tr> <tr><td>burglar,</td><td>forager,</td><td>pillager,</td><td>thief.</td></tr> </table> <p>A <i>robber</i> seeks to obtain the property of others by force or intimidation; a <i>thief</i> by stealth and secrecy. In early English <i>thief</i> was freely used in both senses, as in Shakespeare and the Authorized Version of the English Bible, which has "two <i>thieves</i>" (<i>Matt.</i> xxvii, 38), where the Revised Version more correctly substitutes "two <i>robbers</i>."</p> <hr /> <h3>ROYAL.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>august,</td><td>kingly,</td><td>majestic,</td><td>princely,</td></tr> <tr><td>kinglike,</td><td>magnificent,</td><td>munificent,</td><td>regal.</td></tr> </table> <p><i>Royal</i> denotes that which actually belongs or pertains to a monarch; the <i>royal</i> residence is that which the king occupies, <i>royal</i> raiment that which the king wears. <i>Regal</i> denotes that which in outward state is appropriate for a king; a subject may assume <i>regal</i> magnificence in residence, dress, and equipage. <i>Kingly</i> denotes that which is worthy of a king in personal qualities,<span class="pgn"><SPAN name="Page_321" id="Page_321"></SPAN></span> especially of character and conduct; as, a <i>kingly</i> bearing; a <i>kingly</i> resolve. <i>Princely</i> is especially used of treasure, expenditure, gifts, etc., as <i>princely</i> munificence, a <i>princely</i> fortune, where <i>regal</i> could not so well be used and <i>royal</i> would change the sense. The distinctions between these words are not absolute, but the tendency of the best usage is as here suggested.</p> <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>beggarly,</td><td>contemptible,</td><td>mean,</td><td>poor,</td><td>servile,</td><td>slavish,</td><td>vile.</td></tr> </table> <hr /> <h3>RUSTIC.</h3> <h4>Synonyms:</h4> <table class="tbs" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>agricultural,</td><td>coarse,</td><td>pastoral,</td><td>uncouth,</td></tr> <tr><td>artless,</td><td>countrified,</td><td>plain,</td><td>unpolished,</td></tr> <tr><td>awkward,</td><td>country,</td><td>rude,</td><td>unsophisticated,</td></tr> <tr><td>boorish,</td><td>hoidenish,</td><td>rural,</td><td>untaught,</td></tr> <tr><td>bucolic,</td><td>inelegant,</td><td>sylvan,</td><td>verdant.</td></tr> <tr><td>clownish,</td><td colspan="3">outlandish,</td></tr> </table> <p><i>Rural</i> and <i>rustic</i> are alike derived from the Latin <i>rus</i>, country, and may be alike defined as pertaining to, characteristic of, or dwelling in the country; but in usage <i>rural</i> refers especially to scenes or objects in the country, considered as the work of nature; <i>rustic</i> refers to their effect upon man or to their condition as affected by human agency; as, a <i>rural</i> scene; a <i>rustic</i> party; a <i>rustic</i> lass. We speak, however, of the <i>rural</i> population, <i>rural</i> simplicity, etc. <i>Rural</i> has always a favorable sense; <i>rustic</i> frequently an unfavorable one, as denoting a lack of culture and refinement; thus, <i>rustic</i> politeness expresses that which is well-meant, but awkward; similar ideas are suggested by a <i>rustic</i> feast, <i>rustic</i> garb, etc. <i>Rustic</i> is, however, often used of a studied simplicity, an artistic rudeness, which is pleasing and perhaps beautiful; as, a <i>rustic</i> cottage; a <i>rustic</i> chair. <i>Pastoral</i> refers to the care of flocks, and to the shepherd's life with the pleasing associations suggested by the old poetic ideal of that life; as, <i>pastoral</i> poetry. <i>Bucolic</i> is kindred to <i>pastoral</i>, but is a less elevated term, and sometimes slightly contemptuous.</p> <h4>Antonyms:</h4> <table class="tba" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td>accomplished,</td><td>cultured,</td><td>polished,</td><td>refined,</td><td>urbane,</td></tr> <tr><td>city-like,</td><td>elegant,</td><td>polite,</td><td>urban,</td><td>well-bred.</td></tr> </table> <hr /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />