English Synonyms and Antonyms Part 30

Synonyms:

account, consider, enumerate, rate, cast, count, estimate, reckon, compute, deem, number, sum up.

_Number_ is the generic term. To _count_ is to _number_ one by one. To _calculate_ is to use more complicated processes, as multiplication, division, etc., more rapid but not less exact. _Compute_ allows more of the element of probability, which is still more strongly expressed by _estimate_. We _compute_ the slain in a great war from the number known to have fallen in certain great battles; _compute_ refers to the present or the past, _estimate_ more frequently to the future; as, to _estimate_ the cost of a proposed building. To _enumerate_ is to mention item by item; as, to _enumerate_ one's grievances. To _rate_ is to _estimate_ by comparison, as if the object were one of a series. We _count_ upon a desired future; we do not _count_ upon the undesired. As applied to the present, we _reckon_ or _count_ a thing precious or worthless. Compare ESTEEM.

Prepositions:

It is vain to calculate _on_ or _upon_ an uncertain result.

CALL, _v._

Synonyms:

bawl, cry (out), roar, shriek, bellow, e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.e, scream, vociferate, clamor, exclaim, shout, yell.

To _call_ is to send out the voice in order to attract another's attention, either by word or by inarticulate utterance. Animals _call_ their mates, or their young; a man _calls_ his dog, his horse, etc. The sense is extended to include summons by bell, or any signal. To _shout_ is to _call_ or _exclaim_ with the fullest volume of sustained voice; to _scream_ is to utter a shriller cry; to _shriek_ or to _yell_ refers to that which is louder and wilder still. We _shout_ words; in _screaming_, _shrieking_, or _yelling_ there is often no attempt at articulation. To _bawl_ is to utter senseless, noisy cries, as of a child in pain or anger. _Bellow_ and _roar_ are applied to the utterances of animals, and only contemptuously to those of persons. To _clamor_ is to utter with noisy iteration; it applies also to the confused cries of a mult.i.tude.

To _vociferate_ is commonly applied to loud and excited speech where there is little besides the exertion of voice. In _exclaiming_, the utterance may not be strikingly, tho somewhat, above the ordinary tone and pitch; we may _exclaim_ by mere interjections, or by connected words, but always by some articulate utterance. To _e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.e_ is to throw out brief, disconnected, but coherent utterances of joy, regret, and especially of appeal, pet.i.tion, prayer; the use of such devotional utterances has received the special name of "ejaculatory prayer." To _cry out_ is to give forth a louder and more excited utterance than in _exclaiming_ or _calling_; one often _exclaims_ with sudden joy as well as sorrow; if he _cries out_, it is oftener in grief or agony. In the most common colloquial usage, to _cry_ is to express grief or pain by weeping or sobbing. One may _exclaim_, _cry out_, or _e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.e_ with no thought of others' presence; when he _calls_, it is to attract another's attention.

Antonyms:

be silent, be still, hark, hearken, hush, list, listen.

CALM.

Synonyms:

collected, imperturbable, sedate, still, composed, peaceful, self-possessed, tranquil, cool, placid, serene, undisturbed, dispa.s.sionate, quiet, smooth, unruffled.

That is _calm_ which is free from disturbance or agitation; in the physical sense, free from violent motion or action; in the mental or spiritual realm, free from excited or disturbing emotion or pa.s.sion. We speak of a _calm_ sea, a _placid_ lake, a _serene_ sky, a _still_ night, a _quiet_ day, a _quiet_ home. We speak, also, of "_still_ waters,"

"_smooth_ sailing," which are different modes of expressing freedom from manifest agitation. Of mental conditions, one is _calm_ who triumphs over a tendency to excitement; _cool_, if he scarcely feels the tendency. One may be _calm_ by the very reaction from excitement, or by the oppression of overpowering emotion, as we speak of the calmness of despair. One is _composed_ who has subdued excited feeling; he is _collected_ when he has every thought, feeling, or perception awake and at command. _Tranquil_ refers to a present state, _placid_, to a prevailing tendency. We speak of a _tranquil_ mind, a _placid_ disposition. The _serene_ spirit dwells as if in the clear upper air, above all storm and shadow.

The star of the unconquered will, He rises in my breast, _Serene_, and resolute, and _still_, And _calm_, and _self-possessed_.

LONGFELLOW _Light of Stars_ st. 7.

Antonyms:

agitated, excited, frenzied, pa.s.sionate, ruffled, violent, boisterous, fierce, furious, raging, stormy, wild, disturbed, frantic, heated, roused, turbulent, wrathful.

CANCEL.

Synonyms:

abolish, discharge, nullify, rescind, abrogate, efface, obliterate, revoke, annul, erase, quash, rub off _or_ out, blot out, expunge, remove, scratch out, cross off _or_ out, make void, repeal, vacate.

_Cancel_, _efface_, _erase_, _expunge_, and _obliterate_ have as their first meaning the removal of written characters or other forms of record. To _cancel_ is, literally, to make a lattice by cross-lines, exactly our English _cross out_; to _efface_ is to _rub off_, smooth away the face, as of an inscription; to _erase_ is to _scratch out_, commonly for the purpose of writing something else in the same s.p.a.ce; to _expunge_, is to punch out with some sharp instrument, so as to show that the words are no longer part of the writing; to _obliterate_ is to cover over or remove, as a letter, as was done by reversing the Roman stylus, and _rubbing out_ with the rounded end what had been written with the point on the waxen tablet. What has been _canceled_, _erased_, _expunged_, may perhaps still be traced; what is _obliterated_ is gone forever, as if it had never been. In many establishments, when a debt is _discharged_ by payment, the record is _canceled_. The figurative use of the words keeps close to the primary sense. Compare ABOLISH.

Antonyms:

approve, enact, establish, perpetuate, reenact, uphold, confirm, enforce, maintain, record, sustain, write.

CANDID.

Synonyms:

aboveboard, honest, open, truthful, artless, impartial, simple, unbiased, fair, ingenuous, sincere, unprejudiced, frank, innocent, straightforward, unreserved, guileless, naive, transparent, unsophisticated.

A _candid_ statement is meant to be true to the real facts and just to all parties; a _fair_ statement is really so. _Fair_ is applied to the conduct; _candid_ is not; as, _fair_ treatment, "a _fair_ field, and no favor." One who is _frank_ has a fearless and unconstrained truthfulness. _Honest_ and _ingenuous_ unite in expressing contempt for deceit. On the other hand, _artless_, _guileless_, _naive_, _simple_, and _unsophisticated_ express the goodness which comes from want of the knowledge or thought of evil. As truth is not always agreeable or timely, _candid_ and _frank_ have often an objectionable sense; "to be _candid_ with you," "to be perfectly _frank_," are regarded as sure preludes to something disagreeable. _Open_ and _unreserved_ may imply unstudied truthfulness or defiant recklessness; as, _open_ admiration, _open_ robbery. There may be _transparent_ integrity or _transparent_ fraud. _Sincere_ applies to the feelings, as being all that one's words would imply.

Antonyms:

adroit, cunning, diplomatic, intriguing, sharp, subtle, artful, deceitful, foxy, knowing, shrewd, tricky, crafty, designing, insincere, maneuvering, sly, wily.

Prepositions:

Candid _in_ debate; candid _to_ or _toward_ opponents; candid _with_ friend or foe; to be candid _about_ or _in regard to_ the matter.

CAPARISON.

Synonyms:

accouterments, harness, housings, trappings.

_Harness_ was formerly used of the armor of a knight as well as of a horse; it is now used almost exclusively of the straps and appurtenances worn by a horse when attached to a vehicle; the animal is said to be "kind in _harness_." The other words apply to the ornamental outfit of a horse, especially under saddle. We speak also of the _accouterments_ of a soldier. _Caparison_ is used rarely and somewhat slightingly, and _trappings_ quite contemptuously, for showy human apparel. Compare ARMS; DRESS.

CAPITAL.