English Synonyms and Antonyms

convinced that the earth is round; he may be persuaded to travel round it; but persuasion is so largely
dependent upon conviction that it is commonly held to be the orator's work first to convince in order that he
may persuade. Coax is a slighter word than persuade, seeking the same end by shallower methods, largely by
appeal to personal feeling, with or without success; as, a child coaxes a parent to buy him a toy. One may be
brought over, induced, or prevailed upon by means not properly included in persuasion, as by bribery or
intimidation; he is won over chiefly by personal influence. Compare INFLUENCE.
Antonyms:
deter, discourage, dissuade, hinder, hold back, repel, restrain.
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PERTNESS.
Synonyms:
boldness, forwardness, liveliness, sprightliness. briskness, impertinence, sauciness, flippancy, impudence,
smartness,
Liveliness and sprightliness are pleasant and commendable; smartness is a limited and showy acuteness or
shrewdness, usually with unfavorable suggestion; pertness and sauciness are these qualities overdone, and
regardless of the respect due to superiors. Impertinence and impudence may be gross and stupid; pertness and
sauciness are always vivid and keen. Compare IMPUDENCE.
Antonyms:
bashfulness, demureness, diffidence, humility, modesty, shyness.
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PERVERSE.
Synonyms and Antonyms, by James Champlin Fernald
219

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Synonyms:
contrary, froward, petulant, untoward, factious, intractable, stubborn, wayward, fractious, obstinate,
ungovernable, wilful.
Perverse (L. perversus, turned the wrong way) signifies wilfully wrong or erring, unreasonably set against
right, reason, or authority. The stubborn or obstinate person will not do what another desires or requires; the
perverse person will do anything contrary to what is desired or required of him. The petulant person frets, but
may comply; the perverse individual may be smooth or silent, but is wilfully intractable. Wayward refers to a
perverse disregard of morality and duty; froward is practically obsolete; untoward is rarely heard except in
certain phrases; as, untoward circumstances. Compare OBSTINATE.
Antonyms:
accommodating, complaisant, genial, kind, amenable, compliant, governable, obliging.
* * * * *
PHYSICAL.
Synonyms:
bodily, corporeal, natural, tangible, corporal, material, sensible, visible.
Whatever is composed of or pertains to matter may be termed material; physical (Gr. physis, nature) applies
to material things considered as parts of a system or organic whole; hence, we speak of material substances,
physical forces, physical laws. Bodily, corporal, and corporeal apply primarily to the human body; bodily and
corporal both denote pertaining or relating to the body; corporeal signifies of the nature of or like the body;
corporal is now almost wholly restricted to signify applied to or inflicted upon the body; we speak of bodily
sufferings, bodily presence, corporal punishment, the corporeal frame.
Antonyms:
hyperphysical, intangible, invisible, moral, unreal, immaterial, intellectual, mental, spiritual, unsubstantial.
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PIQUE.
Synonyms:
displeasure, irritation, offense, resentment, umbrage. grudge,
Pique, from the French, signifies primarily a prick or a sting, as of a nettle; the word denotes a sudden feeling
of mingled pain and anger, but slight and usually transient, arising from some neglect or offense, real or
imaginary. Umbrage is a deeper and more persistent displeasure at being overshadowed (L. umbra, a shadow)
or subjected to any treatment that one deems unworthy of him. It may be said, as a general statement, that