English Synonyms and Antonyms

produce. When an alleged criminal is brought to trial, the counsel on either side are accustomed to advance a
theory, and adduce the strongest possible evidence in its support; they will produce documents and witnesses,
cite precedents, assign reasons, introduce suggestions, offer pleas. The accused will usually assert his
innocence. Compare STATE.
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ALLEGIANCE.
Synonyms:
devotion, fealty, loyalty, obedience, subjection. faithfulness, homage,
Allegiance is the obligation of fidelity and obedience that an individual owes to his government or sovereign,
in return for the protection he receives. The feudal uses of these words have mostly passed away with the state
of society that gave them birth; but their origin still colors their present meaning. A patriotic American feels
an enthusiastic loyalty to the republic; he takes, on occasion, an oath of allegiance to the government, but his
loyalty will lead him to do more than mere allegiance could demand; he pays homage to God alone, as the
only king and lord, or to those principles of right that are spiritually supreme; he acknowledges the duty of
obedience to all rightful authority; he resents the idea of subjection. Fealty is becoming somewhat rare, except
in elevated or poetic style. We prefer to speak of the faithfulness rather than the fealty of citizen, wife, or
friend.
Antonyms:
disaffection, disloyalty, rebellion, sedition, treason.
Prepositions:
We honor the allegiance of the citizen to the government; the government has a right to allegiance from the
citizen.
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ALLEGORY.
Synonyms:
fable, fiction, illustration, metaphor, parable, simile.
In modern usage we may say that an allegory is an extended simile, while a metaphor is an abbreviated simile
contained often in a phrase, perhaps in a word. The simile carries its comparison on the surface, in the words
as, like, or similar expressions; the metaphor is given directly without any note of comparison. The allegory,
Synonyms and Antonyms, by James Champlin Fernald
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parable, or fable tells its story as if true, leaving the reader or hearer to discover its fictitious character and
learn its lesson. All these are, in strict definition, fictions; but the word fiction is now applied almost
exclusively to novels or romances. An allegory is a moral or religious tale, of which the moral lesson is the
substance, and all descriptions and incidents but accessories, as in "The Pilgrim's Progress." A fable is
generally briefer, representing animals as the speakers and actors, and commonly conveying some lesson of
practical wisdom or shrewdness, as "The Fables of Æsop." A parable is exclusively moral or religious, briefer
and less adorned than an allegory, with its lesson more immediately discernible, given, as it were, at a stroke.
Any comparison, analogy, instance, example, tale, anecdote, or the like which serves to let in light upon a
subject may be called an illustration, this word in its widest use including all the rest. Compare FICTION;
STORY.
Antonyms:
chronicle, fact, history, narrative, record.
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ALLEVIATE.
Synonyms:
abate, lighten, reduce, remove, assuage, mitigate, relieve, soften. lessen, moderate,
Etymologically, to alleviate is to lift a burden toward oneself, and so lighten it for the bearer; to relieve is to
lift it back from the bearer, nearly or quite away; to remove is to take it away altogether. Alleviate is thus less
than relieve; relieve, ordinarily, less than remove. We alleviate, relieve or remove the trouble; we relieve, not