English Synonyms and Antonyms

Amid or amidst denotes surrounded by; among or amongst denotes mingled with. Between (archaic or poetic,
betwixt) is said of two persons or objects, or of two groups of persons or objects. "Let there be no strife, I pray
thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen," Gen. xiii, 9; the reference being to
two bodies of herdmen. Amid denotes mere position; among, some active relation, as of companionship,
hostility, etc. Lowell's "Among my Books" regards the books as companions; amid my books would suggest
packing, storing, or some other incidental circumstance. We say among friends, or among enemies, amidst the
woods, amid the shadows. In the midst of may have merely the local meaning; as, I found myself in the midst
of a crowd; or it may express even closer association than among; as, "I found myself in the midst of friends"
suggests their pressing up on every side, oneself the central object; so, "where two or three are met together in
my name, there am I in the midst of them," Matt. xviii, 20; in which case it would be feebler to say "among
them," impossible to say "amid them," not so well to say "amidst them."
Antonyms:
afar from, away from, beyond, far from, outside, without.
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AMPLIFY.
Synonyms:
augment, dilate, expand, extend, unfold, develop, enlarge, expatiate, increase, widen.
Synonyms and Antonyms, by James Champlin Fernald
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Amplify is now rarely used in the sense of increase, to add material substance, bulk, volume, or the like; it is
now almost wholly applied to discourse or writing, signifying to make fuller in statement, whether with or
without adding matter of importance, as by stating fully what was before only implied, or by adding
illustrations to make the meaning more readily apprehended, etc. The chief difficulty of very young writers is
to amplify, to get beyond the bare curt statement by developing, expanding, unfolding the thought. The chief
difficulty of those who have more material and experience is to condense sufficiently. So, in the early days of
our literature amplify was used in the favorable sense; but at present this word and most kindred words are
coming to share the derogatory meaning that has long attached to expatiate. We may develop a thought,
expand an illustration, extend a discussion, expatiate on a hobby, dilate on something joyous or sad, enlarge a
volume, unfold a scheme, widen the range of treatment.
Antonyms:
abbreviate, amputate, condense, cut down, reduce, summarize, abridge, "boil down," curtail, epitomize,
retrench, sum up.
Prepositions:
To amplify on or upon the subject is needless. Amplify this matter by illustrations.
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ANALOGY.
Synonyms:
affinity, likeness, relation, similarity, coincidence, parity, resemblance, simile, comparison, proportion,
semblance, similitude.
Analogy is specifically a resemblance of relations; a resemblance that may be reasoned from, so that from the
likeness in certain respects we may infer that other and perhaps deeper relations exist. Affinity is a mutual
attraction with or without seeming likeness; as, the affinity of iron for oxygen. Coincidence is complete
agreement in some one or more respects; there may be a coincidence in time of most dissimilar events. Parity
of reasoning is said of an argument equally conclusive on subjects not strictly analogous. Similitude is a
rhetorical comparison of one thing to another with which it has some points in common. Resemblance and