English Synonyms and Antonyms Part 100

Synonyms:

cant, colloquialism, vulgarism, vulgarity.

A _colloquialism_ is an expression not coa.r.s.e or low, and perhaps not incorrect, but below the literary grade; educated persons are apt to allow themselves some _colloquialisms_ in familiar conversation, which they would avoid in writing or public speaking. _Slang_, in the primary sense, denotes expressions that are either coa.r.s.e and rude in themselves or chiefly current among the coa.r.s.er and ruder part of the community; there are also many expressions current in special senses in certain communities that may be characterized as _slang_; as, college _slang_; club _slang_; racing _slang_. In the evolution of language many words originally _slang_ are adopted by good writers and speakers, and ultimately take their place as accepted English. A _vulgarism_ is an expression decidedly incorrect, and the use of which is a mark of ignorance or low breeding. _Cant_, as used in this connection, denotes the barbarous jargon used as a secret language by thieves, tramps, etc.

Compare DICTION; LANGUAGE.

SLOW.

Synonyms:

dawdling, dilatory, gradual, lingering, slack, delaying, drowsy, inactive, moderate, sluggish, deliberate, dull, inert, procrastinating, tardy.

_Slow_ signifies moving through a relatively short distance, or with a relatively small number of motions in a given time; _slow_ also applies to that which is a relatively long while in beginning or accomplis.h.i.+ng something; a watch or a clock is said to be _slow_ when its indications are behind those of the standard time. _Tardy_ is applied to that which is behind the proper or desired time, especially in doing a work or arriving at a place. _Deliberate_ and _dilatory_ are used of persons, tho the latter may be used also of things, as of a stream; a person is _deliberate_ who takes a noticeably long time to consider and decide before acting or who acts or speaks as if he were deliberating at every point; a person is _dilatory_ who lays aside, or puts off as long as possible, necessary or required action; both words may be applied either to undertaking or to doing. _Gradual_ (L. _gradus_, a step) signifies advancing by steps, and refers to _slow_ but regular and sure progression. _Slack_ refers to action that seems to indicate a lack of tension, as of muscle or of will, _sluggish_ to action that seems as if reluctant to advance.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for NIMBLE.

SNEER.

Synonyms:

fling, gibe, jeer, mock, scoff, taunt.

A _sneer_ may be simply a contemptuous facial contortion, or it may be some brief satirical utterance that throws a contemptuous side-light on what it attacks without attempting to prove or disprove; a depreciatory implication may be given in a _sneer_ such as could only be answered by elaborate argument or proof, which would seem to give the attack undue importance:

Who can refute a _sneer_?

PALEY _Moral Philosophy_ bk. v, ch. ix.

A _fling_ is careless and commonly pettish; a _taunt_ is intentionally insulting and provoking; the _sneer_ is supercilious; the _taunt_ is defiant. The _jeer_ and _gibe_ are uttered; the _gibe_ is bitter, and often sly or covert; the _jeer_ is rude and open. A _scoff_ may be in act or word, and is commonly directed against that which claims honor, reverence, or wors.h.i.+p. Compare BANTER.

Preposition:

Only an essentially vicious mind is capable of a sneer _at_ virtue.

SOCIALISM.

Synonyms:

collectivism, communism, fabianism.

_Socialism_, as defined by its advocates, is a theory of civil polity that aims to secure the reconstruction of society, increase of wealth, and a more equal distribution of the products of labor through the public collective owners.h.i.+p of land and capital (as distinguished from property), and the public collective management of all industries. Its aim is extended industrial cooperation; _socialism_ is a purely economic term, applying to landowners.h.i.+p and productive capital. Many socialists call themselves _collectivists_, and their system _collectivism_.

_Communism_ would divide all things, including the profits of individual labor, among members of the community; many of its advocates would abolish marriage and the family relation. _Anarchism_ is properly an antonym of _socialism_, as it would destroy, by violence if necessary, all existing government and social order, leaving the future to determine what, if anything, should be raised upon their ruins.

SOUND.

Synonyms:

noise, note, tone.

_Sound_ is the sensation produced through the organs of hearing or the physical cause of this sensation. _Sound_ is the most comprehensive word of this group, applying to anything that is audible. _Tone_ is _sound_ considered as having some musical quality or as expressive of some feeling; _noise_ is _sound_ considered without reference to musical quality or as distinctly unmusical or discordant. Thus, in the most general sense _noise_ and _sound_ scarcely differ, and we say almost indifferently, "I heard a _sound_," or "I heard a _noise_." We speak of a fine, musical, or pleasing _sound_, but never thus of a _noise_. In music, _tone_ may denote either a musical _sound_ or the interval between two such _sounds_, but in the most careful usage the latter is now distinguished as the "interval," leaving _tone_ to stand only for the _sound_. _Note_ in music strictly denotes the character representing a _sound_, but in loose popular usage it denotes the _sound_ also, and becomes practically equivalent to _tone_. Aside from its musical use, _tone_ is chiefly applied to that quality of the human voice by which feeling is expressed; as, he spoke in a cheery _tone_; the word is similarly applied to the voices of birds and other animals, and sometimes to inanimate objects. As used of a musical instrument, _tone_ denotes the general quality of its sounds collectively considered.

SPEAK.

Synonyms:

announce, converse, discourse, say, articulate, declaim, enunciate, talk, chat, declare, express, tell, chatter, deliver, p.r.o.nounce, utter.

To _utter_ is to give forth as an audible sound, articulate or not. To _talk_ is to _utter_ a succession of connected words, ordinarily with the expectation of being listened to. To _speak_ is to give articulate utterance even to a single word; the officer _speaks_ the word of command, but does not _talk_ it. To _speak_ is also to _utter_ words with the ordinary intonation, as distinguished from singing. To _chat_ is ordinarily to _utter_ in a familiar, conversational way; to _chatter_ is to _talk_ in an empty, ceaseless way like a magpie.

Prepositions:

Speak _to_ (address) a person; speak _with_ a person (converse with him); speak _of_ or _about_ a thing (make it the subject of remark); speak _on_ or _upon_ a subject; in parliamentary language, speak _to_ the question.

SPEECH.

Synonyms:

address, dissertation, oration, speaking, discourse, harangue, oratory, talk, disquisition, language, sermon, utterance.

_Speech_ is the general word for _utterance_ of thought in _language_. A _speech_ may be the delivering of one's sentiments in the simplest way; an _oration_ is an elaborate and prepared _speech_; a _harangue_ is a vehement appeal to pa.s.sion, or a _speech_ that has something disputatious and combative in it. A _discourse_ is a set _speech_ on a definite subject, intended to convey instruction. Compare CONVERSATION; DICTION; LANGUAGE.

Antonyms:

hush, silence, speechlessness, stillness, taciturnity.