English Synonyms and Antonyms Part 12

_Alleviate_ is thus less than _relieve_; _relieve_, ordinarily, less than _remove_. We _alleviate_, _relieve_ or _remove_ the trouble; we _relieve_, not _alleviate_, the sufferer. _a.s.suage_ is, by derivation, to sweeten; _mitigate_, to make mild; _moderate_, to bring within measure; _abate_, to beat down, and so make less. We _abate_ a fever; _lessen_ anxiety; _moderate_ pa.s.sions or desires; _lighten_ burdens; _mitigate_ or _alleviate_ pain; _reduce_ inflammation; _soften_, _a.s.suage_, or _moderate_ grief; we _lighten_ or _mitigate_ punishments; we _relieve_ any suffering of body or mind that admits of help, comfort, or remedy. _Alleviate_ has been often confused with _allay_. Compare ALLAY.

Antonyms:

aggravate, embitter, heighten, intensify, make worse.

augment, enhance, increase, magnify,

ALLIANCE.

Synonyms:

coalition, confederation, fusion, partners.h.i.+p, compact, federation, league, union.

confederacy,

_Alliance_ is in its most common use a connection formed by treaty between sovereign states as for mutual aid in war. _Partners.h.i.+p_ is a mercantile word; _alliance_ chiefly political or matrimonial.

_Coalition_ is oftenest used of political parties; _fusion_ is now the more common word in this sense. In an _alliance_ between nations there is no surrender of sovereignty, and no _union_ except for a specified time and purpose. _League_ and _alliance_ are used with scarcely perceptible difference of meaning. In a _confederacy_ or _confederation_ there is an attempt to unite separate states in a general government without surrender of sovereignty. _Union_ implies so much concession as to make the separate states substantially one. _Federation_ is mainly a poetic and rhetorical word expressing something of the same thought, as in Tennyson's "_federation_ of the world," _Locksley Hall_, l. 128. The United States is not a _confederacy_ nor an _alliance_; the nation might be called a _federation_, but prefers to be styled a federal _union_.

Antonyms:

antagonism, disunion, enmity, schism, separation, discord, divorce, hostility, secession, war.

Prepositions:

Alliance _with_ a neighboring people; _against_ the common enemy; _for_ offense and defense; alliance _of_, _between_, or _among_ nations.

ALLOT.

Synonyms:

appoint, destine, give, portion out, apportion, distribute, grant, select, a.s.sign, divide, mete out, set apart.

award,

_Allot_, originally to a.s.sign by lot, applies to the giving of a definite thing to a certain person. A portion or extent of time is _allotted_; as, I expect to live out my _allotted_ time. A definite period is _appointed_; as, the audience a.s.sembled at the _appointed_ hour. _Allot_ may also refer to s.p.a.ce; as, to _allot_ a plot of ground for a cemetery; but we now oftener use _select_, _set apart_, or _a.s.sign_. _Allot_ is not now used of persons. _Appoint_ may be used of time, s.p.a.ce, or person; as, the _appointed_ day; the _appointed_ place; an officer was _appointed_ to this station. _Destine_ may also refer to time, place, or person, but it always has reference to what is considerably in the future; a man _appoints_ to meet his friend in five minutes; he _destines_ his son to follow his own profession. _a.s.sign_ is rarely used of time, but rather of places, persons, or things. We _a.s.sign_ a work to be done and _a.s.sign_ a man to do it, who, if he fails, must _a.s.sign_ a reason for not doing it. That which is _allotted_, _appointed_, or _a.s.signed_ is more or less arbitrary; that which is _awarded_ is the due requital of something the receiver has done, and he has right and claim to it; as, the medal was _awarded_ for valor. Compare APPORTION.

Antonyms:

appropriate, deny, resume, seize, confiscate, refuse, retain, withhold.

Prepositions:

Allot _to_ a company _for_ a purpose.

ALLOW.

Synonyms:

admit, consent to, let, sanction, tolerate, concede, grant, permit, suffer, yield.

We _allow_ that which we do not attempt to hinder; we _permit_ that to which we give some express authorization. When this is given verbally it is called permission; when in writing it is commonly called a permit.

There are establishments that any one will be _allowed_ to visit without challenge or hindrance; there are others that no one is _allowed_ to visit without a permit from the manager; there are others to which visitors are _admitted_ at specified times, without a formal permit. We _allow_ a child's innocent intrusion; we _concede_ a right; _grant_ a request; _consent_ to a sale of property; _permit_ an inspection of accounts; _sanction_ a marriage; _tolerate_ the rudeness of a well-meaning servant; _submit_ to a surgical operation; _yield_ to a demand or necessity against our wish or will, or _yield_ something under compulsion; as, the sheriff _yielded_ the keys at the muzzle of a revolver, and _allowed_ the mob to enter. _Suffer_, in the sense of mild concession, is now becoming rare, its place being taken by _allow_, _permit_, or _tolerate_. Compare PERMISSION.

Antonyms:

deny, disapprove, protest, reject, withstand.

disallow, forbid, refuse, resist,

See also synonyms for PROHIBIT.

Prepositions:

To allow _of_ (in best recent usage, simply to _allow_) such an action; allow one _in_ such a course; allow _for_ spending-money.

ALLOY.

Synonyms:

admixture, adulteration, debas.e.m.e.nt, deterioration.

_Alloy_ may be either some admixture of baser with precious metal, as for giving hardness to coin or the like, or it may be a compound or mixture of two or more metals. _Adulteration_, _debas.e.m.e.nt_, and _deterioration_ are always used in the bad sense; _admixture_ is neutral, and may be good or bad; _alloy_ is commonly good in the literal sense. An excess of _alloy_ virtually amounts to _adulteration_; but _adulteration_ is now mostly restricted to articles used for food, drink, medicine, and kindred uses. In the figurative sense, as applied to character, etc., _alloy_ is unfavorable, because there the only standard is perfection.

ALLUDE.

Synonyms:

advert, indicate, intimate, point, signify, hint, insinuate, mention, refer, suggest.

imply,

_Advert_, _mention_, and _refer_ are used of language that more or less distinctly utters a certain thought; the others of language from which it may be inferred. We _allude_ to a matter slightly, perhaps by a word or phrase, as it were in byplay; we _advert_ to it when we turn from our path to treat it; we _refer_ to it by any clear utterance that distinctly turns the mind or attention to it; as, marginal figures _refer_ to a parallel pa.s.sage; we _mention_ a thing by explicit word, as by naming it. The speaker _adverted_ to the recent disturbances and the remissness of certain public officers; tho he _mentioned_ no name, it was easy to see to whom he _alluded_. One may _hint_ at a thing in a friendly way, but what is _insinuated_ is always unfavorable, generally both hostile and cowardly. One may _indicate_ his wishes, _intimate_ his plans, _imply_ his opinion, _signify_ his will, _suggest_ a course of action. Compare SUGGESTION.