English Synonyms and Antonyms

tale; also, for an idle or malicious report; as, do not tell tales; "where there is no tale-bearer, the strife
ceaseth." Prov. xxvi, 20. An anecdote tells briefly some incident, assumed to be fact. If it passes close limits
of brevity, it ceases to be an anecdote, and becomes a narrative or narration. A traditional or mythical story
of ancient times is a legend. A history is often somewhat poetically called a story; as, the story of the
American civil war. Compare ALLEGORY; FICTION; HISTORY.
Antonyms:
annals, biography, chronicle, history, memoir.
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STUPIDITY.
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Synonyms:
apathy, insensibility, slowness, stupefaction, dulness, obtuseness, sluggishness, stupor.
Stupidity is sometimes loosely used for temporary dulness or partial stupor, but chiefly for innate and chronic
dulness and sluggishness of mental action, obtuseness of apprehension, etc. Apathy may be temporary, and be
dispelled by appeal to the feelings or by the presentation of an adequate motive, but stupidity is inveterate and
commonly incurable. Compare APATHY; IDIOCY; STUPOR.
Antonyms:
acuteness, brilliancy, keenness, sagacity, alertness, cleverness, quickness, sense, animation, intelligence,
readiness, sensibility.
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STUPOR.
Synonyms:
apathy, fainting, stupefaction, syncope, asphyxia, insensibility, swoon, torpor, coma, lethargy, swooning,
unconsciousness.
Stupor is a condition of the body in which the action of the senses and faculties is suspended or greatly
dulled--weakness or loss of sensibility. The apathy of disease is a mental affection, a state of morbid
indifference; lethargy is a morbid tendency to heavy and continued sleep, from which the patient may perhaps
be momentarily aroused. Coma is a deep, abnormal sleep, from which the patient can not be aroused, or is
aroused only with difficulty, a state of profound insensibility, perhaps with full pulse and deep, stertorous
breathing, and is due to brain-oppression. Syncope or swooning is a sudden loss of sensation and of power of
motion, with suspension of pulse and of respiration, and is due to failure of heart-action, as from sudden
nervous shock or intense mental emotion. Insensibility is a general term denoting loss of feeling from any
cause, as from cold, intoxication, or injury. Stupor is especially profound and confirmed insensibility, properly
comatose. Asphyxia is a special form of syncope resulting from partial or total suspension of respiration, as in
strangulation, drowning, or inhalation of noxious gases.
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SUBJECTIVE.
Synonym:
objective.
Subjective and objective are synonyms in but one point of view, being, for the most part, strictly antonyms.
Subjective signifies relating to the subject of mental states, that is, to the person who experiences them;
objective signifies relating to the object of mental states, that is, to something outside the perceiving mind; in
brief phrase it may be said that subjective relates to something within the mind, objective to something
without. A mountain, as a mass of a certain size, contour, color, etc., is an objective fact; the impression our
mind receives, the mental picture it forms of the mountain, is subjective. But this subjective impression may
become itself the object of thought (called "subject-object"), as when we compare our mental picture of the
mountain with our idea of a plain or river. The direct experiences of the soul, as joy, grief, hope, fear, are
purely subjective; the outward causes of these experiences, as prosperity, bereavement, disappointment, are
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objective. That which has independent existence or authority apart from our experience or thought is said to
have objective existence or authority; thus we speak of the objective authority of the moral law. Different
individuals may receive different subjective impressions from the same objective fact, that which to one is a
cause of hope being to another a cause of fear, etc. The style of a writer is called objective when it derives its
materials mainly from or reaches out toward external objects; it is called subjective when it derives its
materials mainly from or constantly tends to revert to the personal experience of the author. Compare
INHERENT.
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SUBSIDY.
Synonyms:
aid, bounty, indemnity, reward, support, allowance, gift, pension, subvention, tribute. bonus, grant, premium,
A subsidy is pecuniary aid directly granted by government to an individual or commercial enterprise, or
money furnished by one nation to another to aid it in carrying on war against a common enemy. A nation
grants a subsidy to an ally, pays a tribute to a conqueror. An indemnity is in the nature of things limited and
temporary, while a tribute might be exacted indefinitely. A nation may also grant a subsidy to its own citizens
as a means of promoting the public welfare; as, a subsidy to a steamship company. The somewhat rare term
subvention is especially applied to a grant of governmental aid to a literary or artistic enterprise.
Governmental aid to a commercial or industrial enterprise other than a transportation company is more
frequently called a bounty than a subsidy; as, the sugar bounty. The word bounty may be applied to almost any
regular or stipulated allowance by a government to a citizen or citizens; as, a bounty for enlisting in the army;
a bounty for killing wolves. A bounty is offered for something to be done; a pension is granted for something
that has been done.
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SUBVERT.
Synonyms:
destroy, overthrow, ruin, supplant, extinguish, overturn, supersede, suppress.
To subvert is to overthrow from or as from the very foundation; utterly destroy; bring to ruin. The word is
now generally figurative, as of moral or political ruin. To supersede implies the putting of something that is
wisely or unwisely preferred in the place of that which is removed; to subvert does not imply substitution. To
supplant is more often personal, signifying to take the place of another, usually by underhanded means; one is
superseded by authority, supplanted by a rival. Compare ABOLISH.
Antonyms:
conserve, keep, perpetuate, preserve, sustain, uphold.
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SUCCEED.
Synonyms:
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achieve, attain, flourish, prevail, prosper, thrive, win.
A person succeeds when he accomplishes what he attempts, or attains a desired object or result; an enterprise
or undertaking succeeds that has a prosperous result. To win implies that some one loses, but one may succeed
where no one fails. A solitary swimmer succeeds in reaching the shore; if we say he wins the shore we
contrast him with himself as a possible loser. Many students may succeed in study; a few win the special
prizes, for which all compete. Compare FOLLOW.
Antonyms:
be defeated, come short, fail, fall short, lose, miss, miscarry.
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SUGGESTION.
Synonyms:
hint, implication, innuendo, insinuation, intimation.
A suggestion (L. sub, under, and gero, bring) brings something before the mind less directly than by formal or
explicit statement, as by a partial statement, an incidental allusion, an illustration, a question, or the like.
Suggestion is often used of an unobtrusive statement of one's views or wishes to another, leaving
consideration and any consequent action entirely to his judgment, and is hence, in many cases, the most
respectful way in which one can convey his views to a superior or a stranger. A suggestion may be given
unintentionally, and even unconsciously, as when we say an author has "a suggestive style." An intimation is a
suggestion in brief utterance, or sometimes by significant act, gesture, or token, of one's meaning or wishes; in
the latter case it is often the act of a superior; as, God in his providence gives us intimations of his will. A hint
is still more limited in expression, and is always covert, but frequently with good intent; as, to give one a hint
of danger or of opportunity. Insinuation and innuendo are used in the bad sense; an insinuation is a covert or