English Synonyms and Antonyms Part 72

See synonyms for ABOLISH; BREAK; DEMOLISH.

Prepositions:

Make _of_, _out of_, or _from_ certain materials, _into_ a certain form, _for_ a certain purpose or person; made _with_ hands, _by_ hand; made _by_ a prisoner, _with_ a jack-knife.

MARRIAGE.

Synonyms:

conjugal union, espousals, nuptials, spousals, wedding, espousal, matrimony, spousal, union, wedlock.

_Matrimony_ denotes the state of those who are united in the relation of husband and wife; _marriage_ denotes primarily the act of so uniting, but is extensively used for the state as well. _Wedlock_, a word of specific legal use, is the Saxon term for the state or relation denoted by _matrimony_. _Wedding_ denotes the ceremony, with any attendant festivities, by which two persons are united as husband and wife, _nuptials_ being the more formal and stately term to express the same idea.

Antonyms:

bachelorhood, celibacy, divorce, maidenhood, virginity, widowhood.

Prepositions:

Marriage _of_ or _between_ two persons; _of_ one person _to_ or _with_ another; _among_ the Greeks.

MASCULINE.

Synonyms:

male, manful, manlike, manly, mannish, virile.

We apply _male_ to the s.e.x, _masculine_ to the qualities, especially to the stronger, hardier, and more imperious qualities that distinguish the _male_ s.e.x; as applied to women, _masculine_ has often the depreciatory sense of unwomanly, rude, or harsh; as, a _masculine_ face or voice, or the like; tho one may say in a commendatory way, she acted with _masculine_ courage or decision. _Manlike_ may mean only having the outward appearance or semblance of a man, or may be closely equivalent to _manly_. _Manly_ refers to all the qualities and traits worthy of a man; _manful_, especially to the valor and prowess that become a man; we speak of a _manful_ struggle, _manly_ decision; we say _manly_ gentleness or tenderness; we could not say _manful_ tenderness.

_Mannish_ is a depreciatory word referring to the mimicry or parade of some superficial qualities of manhood; as, a _mannish_ boy or woman.

_Masculine_ may apply to the distinctive qualities of the _male_ s.e.x at any age; _virile_ applies to the distinctive qualities of mature manhood only, as opposed not only to _feminine_ or _womanly_ but to _childish_, and is thus an emphatic word for _st.u.r.dy_, _intrepid_, etc.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for FEMININE.

Ma.s.sACRE.

Synonyms:

butchery, carnage, havoc, slaughter.

A _ma.s.sacre_ is the indiscriminate killing in numbers of the unresisting or defenseless; _butchery_ is the killing of men rudely and ruthlessly as cattle are killed in the shambles. _Havoc_ may not be so complete as _ma.s.sacre_, nor so coldly brutal as _butchery_, but is more widely spread and furious; it is destruction let loose, and may be applied to organizations, interests, etc., as well as to human life; "as for Saul, he made _havoc_ of the church," _Acts_ viii, 3. _Carnage_ (Latin _caro, carnis_, flesh) refers to widely scattered or heaped up corpses of the slain; _slaughter_ is similar in meaning, but refers more to the process, as _carnage_ does to the result; these two words only of the group may be used of great destruction of life in open and honorable battle, as when we say the enemy was repulsed with great _slaughter_, or the _carnage_ was terrible.

MEDDLESOME.

Synonyms:

impertinent, intrusive, meddling, obtrusive, officious.

The _meddlesome_ person interferes unasked in the affairs of others; the _intrusive_ person thrusts himself uninvited into their company or conversation; the _obtrusive_ person thrusts himself or his opinions conceitedly and undesirably upon their notice; the _officious_ person thrusts his services, unasked and undesired, upon others. _Obtrusive_ is oftener applied to words, qualities, actions, etc., than to persons; _intrusive_ is used chiefly of persons, as is _officious_, tho we speak of _officious_ attentions, _intrusive_ remarks; _meddlesome_ is used indifferently of persons, or of words, qualities, actions, etc. Compare INQUISITIVE; INTERPOSE.

Antonyms:

modest, reserved, retiring, shy, una.s.suming, un.o.btrusive.

MELODY.

Synonyms:

harmony, music, symphony, unison.

_Harmony_ is simultaneous; _melody_ is successive; _harmony_ is the pleasing correspondence of two or more notes sounded at once, _melody_ the pleasing succession of a number of notes continuously following one another. A _melody_ may be wholly in one part; _harmony_ must be of two or more parts. Accordant notes of different pitch sounded simultaneously produce _harmony_; _unison_ is the simultaneous sounding of two or more notes of the same pitch. When the pitch is the same, there may be _unison_ between sounds of very different volume and quality, as a voice and a bell may sound in _unison_. Tones sounded at the interval of an octave are also said to be in _unison_, altho this is not literally exact; this usage arises from the fact that ba.s.s and tenor voices in attempting to sound the same note as the soprano and alto will in fact sound a note an octave below. _Music_ may denote the simplest _melody_ or the most complex and perfect _harmony_. A _symphony_ (apart from its technical orchestral sense) is any pleasing consonance of musical sounds, vocal or instrumental, as of many accordant voices or instruments.

MEMORY.

Synonyms:

recollection, reminiscence, retrospect, retrospection.

remembrance,

_Memory_ is the faculty by which knowledge is retained or recalled; in a more general sense, _memory_ is a retention of knowledge within the grasp of the mind, while _remembrance_ is the having what is known consciously before the mind. _Remembrance_ may be voluntary or involuntary; a thing is brought to _remembrance_ or we call it to _remembrance_; the same is true of _memory_. _Recollection_ involves volition, the mind making a distinct effort to recall something, or fixing the attention actively upon it when recalled. _Reminiscence_ is a half-dreamy _memory_ of scenes or events long past; _retrospection_ is a distinct turning of the mind back upon the past, bringing long periods under survey. _Retrospection_ is to _reminiscence_ much what _recollection_ is to _remembrance_.

Antonyms: