English Synonyms and Antonyms Part 96

Synonyms:

august, kingly, majestic, princely, kinglike, magnificent, munificent, regal.

_Royal_ denotes that which actually belongs or pertains to a monarch; the _royal_ residence is that which the king occupies, _royal_ raiment that which the king wears. _Regal_ denotes that which in outward state is appropriate for a king; a subject may a.s.sume _regal_ magnificence in residence, dress, and equipage. _Kingly_ denotes that which is worthy of a king in personal qualities, especially of character and conduct; as, a _kingly_ bearing; a _kingly_ resolve. _Princely_ is especially used of treasure, expenditure, gifts, etc., as _princely_ munificence, a _princely_ fortune, where _regal_ could not so well be used and _royal_ would change the sense. The distinctions between these words are not absolute, but the tendency of the best usage is as here suggested.

Antonyms:

beggarly, contemptible, mean, poor, servile, slavish, vile.

RUSTIC.

Synonyms:

agricultural, coa.r.s.e, pastoral, uncouth, artless, countrified, plain, unpolished, awkward, country, rude, unsophisticated, boorish, hoidenish, rural, untaught, bucolic, inelegant, sylvan, verdant.

clownish, outlandish,

_Rural_ and _rustic_ are alike derived from the Latin _rus_, country, and may be alike defined as pertaining to, characteristic of, or dwelling in the country; but in usage _rural_ refers especially to scenes or objects in the country, considered as the work of nature; _rustic_ refers to their effect upon man or to their condition as affected by human agency; as, a _rural_ scene; a _rustic_ party; a _rustic_ la.s.s. We speak, however, of the _rural_ population, _rural_ simplicity, etc. _Rural_ has always a favorable sense; _rustic_ frequently an unfavorable one, as denoting a lack of culture and refinement; thus, _rustic_ politeness expresses that which is well-meant, but awkward; similar ideas are suggested by a _rustic_ feast, _rustic_ garb, etc. _Rustic_ is, however, often used of a studied simplicity, an artistic rudeness, which is pleasing and perhaps beautiful; as, a _rustic_ cottage; a _rustic_ chair. _Pastoral_ refers to the care of flocks, and to the shepherd's life with the pleasing a.s.sociations suggested by the old poetic ideal of that life; as, _pastoral_ poetry. _Bucolic_ is kindred to _pastoral_, but is a less elevated term, and sometimes slightly contemptuous.

Antonyms:

accomplished, cultured, polished, refined, urbane, city-like, elegant, polite, urban, well-bred.

SACRAMENT.

Synonyms:

ceremony, eucharist, observance, rite, solemnity.

communion, Lord's Supper, ordinance, service,

Any religious act, especially a public act, viewed as a means of serving G.o.d is called a _service_; the word commonly includes the entire series of exercises of a single occasion of public wors.h.i.+p. A religious _service_ ordained as an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace is called a _sacrament_. _Ceremony_ is a form expressing reverence, or at least respect; we may speak of religious _ceremonies_, the _ceremonies_ of polite society, the _ceremonies_ of a coronation, an inauguration, etc. An _observance_ has more than a formal obligation, reaching or approaching a religious sacredness; a stated religious _observance_, viewed as established by authority, is called an _ordinance_; viewed as an established custom, it is a _rite_. The terms _sacrament_ and _ordinance_, in the religious sense, are often used interchangeably; the _ordinance_ derives its sacredness from the authority that ordained it, while the _sacrament_ possesses a sacredness due to something in itself, even when viewed simply as a representation or memorial. The Lord's Supper is the Scriptural name for the _observance_ commemorating the death of Christ; the word _communion_ is once applied to it (_1 Cor._ x, 16), but not as a distinctive name; at an early period, however, the name _communion_ was so applied, as denoting the communing of Christians with their Lord, or with one another. The term _eucharist_ describes the Lord's Supper as a thanksgiving _service_; it is also called by preeminence _the sacrament_, as the ratifying of a solemn vow of consecration to Christ.

SAGACIOUS.

Synonyms:

able, intelligent, perspicacious, sensible, acute, keen, quick of scent, sharp, apt, keen-sighted, quick-scented, sharp-witted, clear-sighted, keen-witted, rational, shrewd, discerning, judicious, sage, wise.

_Sagacious_ refers to a power of tracing the hidden or recondite by slight indications, as by instinct or intuition; it is not now applied to mere keenness of sense-perception. We do not call a hound _sagacious_ in following a clear trail; but if he loses the scent, as at the edge of a stream, and circles around till he strikes it again, his conduct is said to be _sagacious_. In human affairs _sagacious_ refers to a power of ready, far-reaching, and accurate inference from observed facts perhaps in themselves very slight, that seems like a special sense; or to a similar readiness to foresee the results of any action, especially upon human motives or conduct--a kind of prophetic common sense.

_Sagacious_ is a broader and n.o.bler word than _shrewd_, and not capable of the invidious sense which the latter word often bears; on the other hand, _sagacious_ is less lofty and comprehensive than _wise_ in its full sense, and more limited to matters of direct practical moment.

Compare ASTUTE; WISDOM.

Antonyms:

absurd, futile, obtuse, silly, sottish, undiscerning, dull, ignorant, senseless, simple, stupid, unintelligent.

foolish, irrational,

SALE.

Synonyms:

bargain, barter, change, deal, exchange, trade.

A _bargain_ is strictly an agreement or contract to buy and sell, tho the word is often used to denote the entire transaction and also as a designation for the thing sold or purchased. _Change_ and _exchange_ are words of wider signification, applying only incidentally to the transfer of property or value; a _change_ secures something different in any way or by any means; an _exchange_ secures something as an equivalent or return, tho not necessarily as payment for what is given. _Barter_ is the _exchange_ of one commodity for another, the word being used generally with reference to portable commodities. _Trade_ in the broad sense may apply to vast businesses (as the book-_trade_), but as denoting a single transaction is used chiefly in regard to things of moderate value, when it becomes nearly synonymous with _barter_. _Sale_ is commonly, and with increasing strictness, limited to the transfer of property for money, or for something estimated at a money value or considered as equivalent to so much money in hand or to be paid. A _deal_ in the political sense is a _bargain_, subst.i.tution, or transfer for the benefit of certain persons or parties against all others; as, the nomination was the result of a _deal_; in business it may have a similar meaning, but it frequently signifies simply a _sale_ or _exchange_, a dealing; as, a heavy _deal_ in stocks.

SAMPLE.

Synonyms:

case, exemplification, instance, example, ill.u.s.tration, specimen.

A _sample_ is a portion taken at random out of a quant.i.ty supposed to be h.o.m.ogeneous, so that the qualities found in the _sample_ may reasonably be expected to be found in the whole; as, a _sample_ of sugar; a _sample_ of cloth. A _specimen_ is one unit of a series, or a fragment of a ma.s.s, all of which is supposed to possess the same essential qualities; as, a _specimen_ of coinage, or of architecture, or a _specimen_ of quartz. No other unit or portion may be exactly like the _specimen_, while all the rest is supposed to be exactly like the _sample_. An _instance_ is a _sample_ or _specimen_ of action. Compare EXAMPLE.

Antonyms:

abnormality, aggregate, exception, monstrosity, total, whole.

SATISFY.

Synonyms:

cloy, fill, sate, suffice, content, glut, satiate, surfeit.

To _satisfy_ is to furnish just enough to meet physical, mental, or spiritual desire. To _sate_ or _satiate_ is to gratify desire so fully as for a time to extinguish it. To _cloy_ or _surfeit_ is to gratify to the point of revulsion or disgust. _Glut_ is a strong but somewhat coa.r.s.e word applied to the utmost satisfaction of vehement appet.i.tes and pa.s.sions; as, to _glut_ a vengeful spirit with slaughter; we speak of _glutting_ the market with a supply so excessive as to extinguish the demand. Much less than is needed to _satisfy_ may _suffice_ a frugal or abstemious person; less than a sufficiency may _content_ one of a patient and submissive spirit. Compare PAY; REQUITE.

Antonyms: