English Synonyms and Antonyms

Unity is oneness, the state of being one, especially of that which never has been divided or of that which can
not be conceived of as resolved into parts; as, the unity of God or the unity of the human soul. Union is a
bringing together of things that have been distinct, so that they combine or coalesce to form a new whole, or
the state or condition of things thus brought together; in a union the separate individuality of the things united
is never lost sight of; we speak of the union of the parts of a fractured bone or of the union of hearts in
marriage. But unity can be said of that which is manifestly or even conspicuously made up of parts, when a
single purpose or ideal is so subserved by all that their possible separateness is lost sight of; as, we speak of
the unity of the human body, or of the unity of the church. Compare ALLIANCE; ASSOCIATION;
ATTACHMENT; HARMONY; MARRIAGE.
Antonyms:
analysis, disconnection, disunion, divorce, separation, contrariety, disjunction, division, schism, severance.
decomposition, dissociation,
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USUAL.
Synonyms:
accustomed, everyday, general, ordinary, public, common, familiar, habitual, prevailing, regular, customary,
frequent, normal, prevalent, wonted.
Usual (L. usus, use, habit, wont) signifies such as regularly or often recurs in the ordinary course of events, or
Synonyms and Antonyms, by James Champlin Fernald
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is habitually repeated in the life of the same person. Ordinary (L. ordo, order) signifies according to an
established order, hence of everyday occurrence. In strictness, common and general apply to the greater
number of individuals in a class; but both words are in good use as applying to the greater number of instances
in a series, so that it is possible to speak of one person's common practise or general custom, tho ordinary or
usual would in such case be preferable. Compare GENERAL; NORMAL.
Antonyms:
exceptional, infrequent, rare, strange, unparalleled, extraordinary, out-of-the-way, singular, uncommon,
unusual.
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UTILITY.
Synonyms:
advantage, expediency, serviceableness, avail, profit, use, benefit, service, usefulness.
Utility (L. utilis, useful) signifies primarily the quality of being useful, but is somewhat more abstract and
philosophical than usefulness or use, and is often employed to denote adaptation to produce a valuable result,
while usefulness denotes the actual production of such result. We contrast beauty and utility. We say of an
invention, its utility is questionable, or, on the other hand, its usefulness has been proved by ample trial, or I
have found it of use; still, utility and usefulness are frequently interchanged. Expediency (L. ex, out, and pes,
foot; literally, the getting the foot out) refers primarily to escape from or avoidance of some difficulty or
trouble; either expediency or utility may be used to signify profit or advantage considered apart from right as
the ground of moral obligation, or of actions that have a moral character, expediency denoting immediate
advantage on a contracted view, and especially with reference to avoiding danger, difficulty, or loss, while
utility may be so broadened as to cover all existence through all time, as in the utilitarian theory of morals.
Policy is often used in a kindred sense, more positive than expediency but narrower than utility, as in the
proverb, "Honesty is the best policy." Compare PROFIT.
Antonyms:
disadvantage, futility, inadequacy, inutility, uselessness, folly, impolicy, inexpediency, unprofitableness,
worthlessness.
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VACANT.
Synonyms:
blank, leisure, unfilled, untenanted, void, empty, unemployed, unoccupied, vacuous, waste.
That is empty which contains nothing; that is vacant which is without that which has filled or might be
expected to fill it; vacant has extensive reference to rights or possibilities of occupancy. A vacant room may
not be empty, and an empty house may not be vacant. Vacant, as derived from the Latin, is applied to things of
some dignity; empty, from the Saxon, is preferred in speaking of slight, common, or homely matters, tho it
may be applied with special force to the highest; we speak of empty space, a vacant lot, an empty dish, an