English Synonyms and Antonyms Part 91

We reason _with_ a person _about_ a subject, _for_ or _against_ an opinion; we reason a person _into_ or _out of_ a course of action; or we may reason _down_ an opponent or opposition; one reasons _from_ a cause _to_ an effect.

REASON, _n._

Synonyms:

account, cause, end, motive, principle, aim, consideration, ground, object, purpose.

argument, design,

While the _cause_ of any event, act, or fact, as commonly understood, is the power that makes it to be, the _reason_ of or for it is the explanation given by the human mind; but _reason_ is, in popular language, often used as equivalent to _cause_, especially in the sense of _final cause_. In the statement of any reasoning, the _argument_ may be an entire syllogism, or the premises considered together apart from the conclusion, or in logical strictness the middle term only by which the particular conclusion is connected with the general statement. But when the _reasoning_ is not in strict logical form, the middle term following the conclusion is called the _reason_; thus in the statement "All tyrants deserve death; Caesar was a tyrant; Therefore Caesar deserved death," "Caesar was a tyrant" would in the strictest sense be called the _argument_; but if we say "Caesar deserved death because he was a tyrant," the latter clause would be termed the _reason_. Compare CAUSE; REASON, _v._; MIND; REASONING.

Prepositions:

The reason _of_ a thing that is to be explained; the reason _for_ a thing that is to be done.

REASONING.

Synonyms:

argument, argumentation, debate, ratiocination.

_Argumentation_ and _debate_, in the ordinary use of the words, suppose two parties alleging reasons for and against a proposition; the same idea appears figuratively when we speak of a _debate_ or an _argument_ with oneself, or of a _debate_ between reason and conscience.

_Reasoning_ may be the act of one alone, as it is simply the orderly setting forth of reasons, whether for the instruction of inquirers, the confuting of opponents, or the clear establishment of truth for oneself.

_Reasoning_ may be either deductive or inductive. _Argument_ or _argumentation_ was formerly used of deductive _reasoning_ only. With the rise of the inductive philosophy these words have come to be applied to inductive processes also; but while _reasoning_ may be informal or even (as far as tracing its processes is concerned) unconscious, _argument_ and _argumentation_ strictly imply logical form. _Reasoning_, as denoting a process, is a broader term than _reason_ or _argument_; many _arguments_ or _reasons_ may be included in a single chain of _reasoning_.

REBELLIOUS.

Synonyms:

contumacious, mutinous, uncontrollable, disobedient, refractory, ungovernable, insubordinate, seditious, unmanageable.

intractable,

_Rebellious_ signifies being in a state of rebellion (see REBELLION under REVOLUTION), and is even extended to inanimate things that resist control or adaptation to human use. _Ungovernable_ applies to that which successfully defies authority and power; _unmanageable_ to that which resists the utmost exercise of skill or of skill and power combined; _rebellious_, to that which is defiant of authority, whether successfully or unsuccessfully; _seditious_, to that which partakes of or tends to excite a _rebellious_ spirit, _seditious_ suggesting more of covert plan, scheming, or conspiracy, _rebellious_ more of overt act or open violence. While the _unmanageable_ or _ungovernable_ defies control, the _rebellious_ or _seditious_ may be forced to submission; as, the man has an _ungovernable_ temper; the horses became _unmanageable_; he tamed his _rebellious_ spirit. _Insubordinate_ applies to the disposition to resist and resent control as such; _mutinous_, to open defiance of authority, especially in the army, navy, or merchant marine. A _contumacious_ act or spirit is contemptuous as well as defiant. Compare OBSTINATE; REVOLUTION.

Antonyms:

compliant, docile, manageable, subservient, controllable, dutiful, obedient, tractable, deferential, gentle, submissive, yielding.

Prepositions:

Rebellious _to_ or _against_ lawful authority.

RECORD.

Synonyms:

account, enrolment, instrument, register, archive, entry, inventory, roll, catalogue, enumeration, memorandum, schedule, chronicle, history, memorial, scroll.

doc.u.ment, inscription, muniment,

A _memorial_ is any object, whether a writing, a monument, or other permanent thing that is designed or adapted to keep something in remembrance. _Record_ is a word of wide signification, applying to any writing, mark, or trace that serves as a _memorial_ giving enduring attestation of an event or fact; an extended _account_, _chronicle_, or _history_ is a _record_; so, too, may be a brief _inventory_ or _memorandum_; the _inscription_ on a tombstone is a _record_ of the dead; the striae on a rock-surface are the _record_ of a glacier's pa.s.sage. A _register_ is a formal or official written _record_, especially a series of entries made for preservation or reference; as, a _register_ of births and deaths. _Archives_, in the sense here considered, are _doc.u.ments_ or _records_, often legal _records_, preserved in a public or official depository; the word _archives_ is also applied to the place where such _doc.u.ments_ are regularly deposited and preserved. _Muniments_ (L. _munio_, fortify) are _records_ that enable one to defend his t.i.tle. Compare HISTORY; STORY.

RECOVER.

Synonyms:

be cured _or_ healed, heal, recuperate, restore, be restored, reanimate, regain, resume, cure, recruit, repossess, retrieve.

The transitive use of _recover_ in the sense of _cure_, _heal_, etc., as in _2 Kings_ v, 6, "That thou mayest _recover_ him of his leprosy," is now practically obsolete. The chief transitive use of _recover_ is in the sense to obtain again after losing, _regain_, _repossess_, etc.; as, to _recover_ stolen goods; to _recover_ health. The intransitive sense, _be cured_, _be restored_, etc., is very common; as, to _recover_ from sickness, terror, or misfortune.

Antonyms:

die, fail, grow worse, relapse, sink.

Prepositions:

_From_; rarely _of_; (_Law_) to recover judgment _against_, to recover damages _of_ or _from_ a person.

REFINEMENT.

Synonyms:

civilization, cultivation, culture, elegance, politeness.

_Civilization_ applies to nations, denoting the sum of those civil, social, economic, and political attainments by which a community is removed from barbarism; a people may be civilized while still far from _refinement_ or _culture_, but _civilization_ is susceptible of various degrees and of continued progress. _Refinement_ applies either to nations or individuals, denoting the removal of what is coa.r.s.e and rude, and a corresponding attainment of what is delicate, elegant, and beautiful. _Cultivation_, denoting primarily the process of cultivating the soil or growing crops, then the improved condition of either which is the result, is applied in similar sense to the human mind and character, but in this usage is now largely superseded by the term _culture_, which denotes a high development of the best qualities of man's mental and spiritual nature, with especial reference to the esthetic faculties and to graces of speech and manner, regarded as the expression of a refined nature. _Culture_ in the fullest sense denotes that degree of _refinement_ and development which results from continued _cultivation_ through successive generations; a man's faculties may be brought to a high degree of _cultivation_ in some specialty, while he himself remains uncultured even to the extent of coa.r.s.eness and rudeness. Compare HUMANE; POLITE.