English Synonyms and Antonyms Part 81

PERFECT.

Synonyms:

absolute, consummate, holy, spotless, accurate, correct, ideal, stainless, blameless, entire, immaculate, unblemished, complete, faultless, sinless, undefiled.

completed, finished,

That is _perfect_ to which nothing can be added, and from which nothing can be taken without impairing its excellence, marring its symmetry, or detracting from its worth; in this fullest sense G.o.d alone is _perfect_, but in a limited sense anything may be _perfect_ in its kind; as a _perfect_ flower; a copy of a doc.u.ment is _perfect_ when it is _accurate_ in every particular; a vase may be called _perfect_ when _entire_ and _unblemished_, even tho not artistically _faultless_; the best judges never p.r.o.nounce a work of art _perfect_, because they see always _ideal_ possibilities not yet attained; even the _ideal_ is not _perfect_, by reason of the imperfection of the human mind; a human character faultlessly _holy_ would be morally _perfect_ tho finite. That which is _absolute_ is free from admixture (as _absolute_ alcohol) and in the highest and fullest sense free from imperfection or limitation; as, _absolute_ holiness and love are attributes of G.o.d alone. In philosophical language, _absolute_ signifies free from all necessary, or even from all possible relations, not dependent or limited, unrelated and unconditioned; truth immediately known, as intuitive truth, is _absolute_; G.o.d, as self-existent and free from all limitation or dependence, is called the _absolute_ Being, or simply the _Absolute_.

Compare INNOCENT; INFINITE; RADICAL.

Antonyms:

bad, defective, imperfect, meager, scant, blemished, deficient, incomplete, perverted, short, corrupt, deformed, inferior, poor, spoiled, corrupted, fallible, insufficient, ruined, worthless.

defaced, faulty, marred,

PERMANENT.

Synonyms:

abiding, enduring, lasting, steadfast, changeless, fixed, perpetual, unchangeable, constant, immutable, persistent, unchanging.

durable, invariable, stable,

_Durable_ (L. _durus_, hard) is said almost wholly of material substances that resist wear; _lasting_ is said of either material or immaterial things. _Permanent_ is a word of wider meaning; a thing is _permanent_ which is not liable to change; as, a _permanent_ color; buildings upon a farm are called _permanent_ improvements. _Enduring_ is a higher word, applied to that which resists both time and change; as, _enduring_ fame.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for TRANSIENT.

PERMISSION.

Synonyms:

allowance, authorization, leave, license, authority, consent, liberty, permit.

_Authority_ unites the right and power of control; age, wisdom, and character give _authority_ to their possessor; a book of learned research has _authority_, and is even called an _authority_.

_Permission_ justifies another in acting without interference or censure, and usually implies some degree of approval. _Authority_ gives a certain right of control over all that may be affected by the action.

There may be a failure to object, which const.i.tutes an implied _permission_, tho this is more properly expressed by _allowance_; we _allow_ what we do not oppose, _permit_ what we expressly authorize. The noun _permit_ implies a formal written _permission_. _License_ is a formal _permission_ granted by competent _authority_ to an individual to do some act or pursue some business which would be or is made to be unlawful without such _permission_; as, a _license_ to preach, to solemnize marriages, or to sell intoxicating liquors. A _license_ is _permission_ granted rather than _authority_ conferred; the sheriff has _authority_ (not _permission_ nor _license_) to make an arrest.

_Consent_ is _permission_ by the concurrence of wills in two or more persons, a mutual approval or acceptance of something proposed. Compare ALLOW.

Antonyms:

denial, objection, prevention, refusal, resistance.

hindrance, opposition, prohibition,

PERNICIOUS.

Synonyms:

bad, evil, mischievous, pestilential, baneful, foul, noisome, poisonous, deadly, harmful, noxious, ruinous, deleterious, hurtful, perverting, unhealthful, destructive, injurious, pestiferous, unwholesome.

detrimental, insalubrious,

_Pernicious_ (L. _per_, through, and _neco_, kill) signifies having the power of destroying or injuring, tending to hurt or kill. _Pernicious_ is stronger than _injurious_; that which is _injurious_ is capable of doing harm; that which is _pernicious_ is likely to be _destructive_.

_Noxious_ (L. _noceo_, hurt) is a stronger word than _noisome_, as referring to that which is _injurious_ or _destructive_. _Noisome_ now always denotes that which is extremely disagreeable or disgusting, especially to the sense of smell; as, the _noisome_ stench proclaimed the presence of _noxious_ gases.

Antonyms:

advantageous, favorable, helpful, profitable, serviceable, beneficent, good, invigorating, rejuvenating, useful, beneficial, healthful, life-giving, salutary, wholesome.

PERPLEXITY.

Synonyms:

amazement, bewilderment, distraction, doubt, astonishment, confusion, disturbance, embarra.s.sment.

_Perplexity_ (L. _per_, through, and _plecto_, plait) is the drawing or turning of the thoughts or faculties by turns in different directions or toward contrasted or contradictory conclusions; _confusion_ (L.

_confusus_, from _confundo_, pour together) is a state in which the mental faculties are, as it were, thrown into chaos, so that the clear and distinct action of the different powers, as of perception, memory, reason, and will is lost; _bewilderment_ is akin to _confusion_, but is less overwhelming, and more readily recovered from; _perplexity_, accordingly, has not the unsettling of the faculties implied in _confusion_, nor the overwhelming of the faculties implied in _amazement_ or _astonishment_; it is not the magnitude of the things to be known, but the want of full and definite knowledge, that causes _perplexity_. The dividing of a woodland path may cause the traveler the greatest _perplexity_, which may become _bewilderment_ when he has tried one path after another and lost his bearings completely. With an excitable person _bewilderment_ may deepen into _confusion_ that will make him unable to think clearly or even to see or hear distinctly.

_Amazement_ results from the sudden and unimagined occurrence of great good or evil or the sudden awakening of the mind to unthought-of truth.

_Astonishment_ often produces _bewilderment_, which the word was formerly understood to imply. Compare AMAZEMENT; ANXIETY; DOUBT.

PERSUADE.

Synonyms:

allure, dispose, incline, move, bring over, entice, induce, prevail on _or_ upon, coax, impel, influence, urge, convince, incite, lead, win over.

Of these words _convince_ alone has no direct reference to moving the will, denoting an effect upon the understanding only; one may be _convinced_ of his duty without doing it, or he may be _convinced_ of truth that has no manifest connection with duty or action, as of a mathematical proposition. To _persuade_ is to bring the will of another to a desired decision by some influence exerted upon it short of compulsion; one may be _convinced_ that the earth is round; he may be _persuaded_ to travel round it; but persuasion is so largely dependent upon conviction that it is commonly held to be the orator's work first to _convince_ in order that he may _persuade_. _Coax_ is a slighter word than _persuade_, seeking the same end by shallower methods, largely by appeal to personal feeling, with or without success; as, a child _coaxes_ a parent to buy him a toy. One may be _brought over_, _induced_, or _prevailed upon_ by means not properly included in persuasion, as by bribery or intimidation; he is _won over_ chiefly by personal influence. Compare INFLUENCE.