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susceptibility is the degree to which it can be magnetized by a given magnetic force or the amount of
magnetism it will hold. So a person of great sensitiveness is quickly and keenly affected by any external
influence, as by music, pathos, or ridicule, while a person of great susceptibility is not only touched, but
moved to his inmost soul.
Antonyms:
coldness, hardness, insensibility, numbness, unconsciousness. deadness,
Prepositions:
The sensibility of the organism to atmospheric changes.
* * * * *
SEVERE.
Synonyms and Antonyms, by James Champlin Fernald
263
Synonyms:
austere, inflexible, rigorous, uncompromising, hard, morose, stern, unmitigated, harsh, relentless, stiff,
unrelenting, inexorable, rigid, strict, unyielding.
That is severe which is devoid of all softness, mildness, tenderness, indulgence or levity, or (in literature and
art) devoid of unnecessary ornament, amplification, or embellishment of any kind; as, a severe style; as said of
anything painful, severe signifies such as heavily taxes endurance or resisting power; as, a severe pain, fever,
or winter. Rigid signifies primarily stiff, resisting any effort to change its shape; a corpse is said to be rigid in
death; hence, in metaphorical sense, a rigid person or character is one that resists all efforts to change the will
or course of conduct; a rigid rule or statement is one that admits of no deviation. Rigorous is nearly akin to
rigid, but is a stronger word, having reference to action or active qualities, as rigid does to state or character; a
rigid rule may be rigorously enforced. Strict (L. stringo, bind) signifies bound or stretched tight, tense,
strenuously exact. Stern unites harshness and authority with strictness or severity; stern, as said even of
inanimate objects, suggests something authoritative or forbidding. Austere signifies severely simple or
temperate, strict in self-restraint or discipline, and similarly unrelenting toward others. We speak of austere
morality, rigid rules, rigorous discipline, stern commands, severe punishment, harsh speech or a harsh voice,
hard requirements, strict injunctions, and strict obedience. Strict discipline holds one exactly and
unflinchingly to the rule; rigorous discipline punishes severely any infraction of it. The austere character is
seldom lovely, but it is always strong and may be grand, commanding, and estimable.
Antonyms:
affable, easy, gentle, lenient, pliable, sweet, tractable, bland, genial, indulgent, mild, soft, tender, yielding.
* * * * *
SHAKE.
Synonyms:
agitate, jar, quake, shiver, totter, brandish, joggle, quaver, shudder, tremble, flap, jolt, quiver, sway, vibrate,
fluctuate, jounce, reel, swing, wave, flutter, oscillate, rock, thrill, waver.
A thing is shaken which is subjected to short and abruptly checked movements, as forward and backward, up
and down, from side to side, etc. A tree is "shaken with a mighty wind;" a man slowly shakes his head. A
thing rocks that is sustained from below; it swings if suspended from above, as a pendulum, or pivoted at the
side, as a crane or a bridge-draw; to oscillate is to swing with a smooth and regular returning motion; a
vibrating motion may be tremulous or jarring. The pendulum of a clock may be said to swing, vibrate, or
oscillate; a steel bridge vibrates under the passage of a heavy train; the term vibrate is also applied to
molecular movements. Jolting is a lifting from and letting down suddenly upon an unyielding surface; as, a
carriage jolts over a rough road. A jarring motion is abruptly and very rapidly repeated through an
exceedingly limited space; the jolting of the carriage jars the windows. Rattling refers directly to the sound
produced by shaking. To joggle is to shake slightly; as, a passing touch joggles the desk on which one is
writing. A thing trembles that shakes perceptibly and with an appearance of uncertainty and instability, as a
person under the influence of fear; a thing shivers when all its particles are stirred with a slight but pervading
tremulous motion, as a human body under the influence of cold; shuddering is a more pronounced movement
of a similar kind, in human beings often the effect of emotional or moral recoil; hence, the word is applied by
extension to such feelings even when they have no such outward manifestation; as, one says, "I shudder at the
thought." To quiver is to have slight and often spasmodic contractile motions, as the flesh under the surgeon's
knife. Thrill is applied to a pervasive movement felt rather than seen; as, the nerves thrill with delight; quiver
is similarly used, but suggests somewhat more of outward manifestation. To agitate in its literal use is nearly
Synonyms and Antonyms, by James Champlin Fernald
264
the same as to shake, tho we speak of the sea as agitated when we could not say it is shaken; the Latin agitate
is preferred in scientific or technical use to the Saxon shake, and especially as applied to the action of
mechanical contrivances; in the metaphorical use agitate is more transitory and superficial, shake more
fundamental and enduring; a person's feelings are agitated by distressing news; his courage, his faith, his
credit, or his testimony is shaken. Sway applies to the movement of a body suspended from above or not
firmly sustained from below, and the motion of which is less pronounced than swinging, smoother than
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