English Synonyms and Antonyms Part 78

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

OBSTRUCT.

Synonyms:

arrest, check, embarra.s.s, interrupt, stay, bar, choke, hinder, oppose, stop.

barricade, clog, impede, r.e.t.a.r.d,

To _obstruct_ is literally to build up against; the road is _obstructed_ by fallen trees; the pa.s.sage 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, h.o.a.ry, 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_, _h.o.a.ry_, and _moldering_ refer to outward and visible tokens of age.

_Aged_ applies chiefly to long-extended human life. _Decrepit_, _gray_, and _h.o.a.ry_ 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 pa.s.sed middle life, but scarcely reached _old_ age. _Remote_ (L. _re_, back or away, and _moveo_, move), primarily refers to s.p.a.ce, 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_ accomplis.h.i.+ng 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 G.o.d, 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; CLa.s.s; 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 princ.i.p.ally 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 furnis.h.i.+ngs, processions, etc., considered as worthy of the person or occasion in whose behalf it is manifested; _pomp_ is the n.o.ble 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 mult.i.tude 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, un.o.btrusiveness.