English Synonyms and Antonyms

Innocent, in the full sense, signifies not tainted with sin; not having done wrong or violated legal or moral
precept or duty; as, an innocent babe. Innocent is a negative word, expressing less than righteous, upright, or
virtuous, which imply knowledge of good and evil, with free choice of the good. A little child or a lamb is
innocent; a tried and faithful man is righteous, upright, virtuous. Immaculate, pure, and sinless may be used
either of one who has never known the possibility of evil or of one who has perfectly and triumphantly
resisted it. Innocent is used of inanimate substances in the sense of harmless; as, an innocent remedy, that is,
one not dangerous, even if not helpful. Innocent, in a specific case, signifies free from the guilt of a particular
act, even tho the total character may be very evil; as, the thief was found to be innocent of the murder. See
CANDID; PURE.
Antonyms:
Compare synonyms for CRIMINAL.
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INQUISITIVE.
Synonyms:
curious, meddlesome, peeping, scrutinizing, inquiring, meddling, prying, searching. intrusive,
An inquisitive person is one who is bent on finding out all that can be found out by inquiry, especially of little
and personal matters, and hence is generally meddlesome and prying. Inquisitive may be used in a good sense,
tho in such connection inquiring is to be preferred; as, an inquiring mind. As applied to a state of mind,
curious denotes a keen and rather pleasurable desire to know fully something to which one's attention has
been called, but without the active tendency that inquisitive implies; a well-bred person may be curious to
know, but will not be inquisitive in trying to ascertain, what is of interest in the affairs of another.
Antonyms:
apathetic, heedless, indifferent, unconcerned, uninterested. careless, inattentive,
Prepositions:
Inquisitive about, concerning, in regard to, regarding trifles.
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INSANITY.
Synonyms and Antonyms, by James Champlin Fernald
181

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Synonyms:
aberration, delirium, frenzy, madness, alienation, dementia, hallucination, mania, craziness, derangement,
lunacy, monomania.
Of these terms insanity is the most exact and comprehensive, including in its widest sense all morbid
conditions of mind due to diseased action of the brain or nervous system, but in its more frequent restricted
use applied to those forms in which the mental disorder is persistent, as distinguished from those in which it is
temporary or transient. Craziness is a vague popular term for any sort of disordered mental action, or for
conduct suggesting it. Lunacy originally denoted intermittent insanity, supposed to be dependent on the
changes of the moon (L. luna): the term is now applied in general and legal use to any form of mental
unsoundness except idiocy. Madness is the old popular term, now less common, for insanity in its widest
sense, but with suggestion of excitement, akin to mania. In the derived sense, lunacy denotes what is insanely
foolish, madness what is insanely desperate. Derangement is a common euphemism for insanity. Delirium is
always temporary, and is specifically the insanity of disease, as in acute fevers. Dementia is a general
weakening of the mental powers: the word is specifically applied to senile insanity, dotage. Aberration is
eccentricity of mental action due to an abnormal state of the perceptive faculties, and is manifested by error in
perceptions and rambling thought. Hallucination is the apparent perception of that which does not exist or is
not present to the senses, as the seeing of specters or of reptiles in delirium tremens. Monomania is mental