After three introductory groups (dealing with thoroughly concrete ideas
and words) the synonyms in this exercise are arranged alphabetically
according to the first word in each group.
Discriminate the words in each group, and fill each blank in the
illustrative sentences with the word that conveys the meaning exactly.
<See, perceive, descry, distinguish, espy, discern, note, notice, watch,
observe, witness, behold, view>.
_Sentences_: The intruder he ____ in the early dawn-light might have
been man or beast; he could not have ____ one from the other. After a long
search I ____ on the map the name of the town. The teacher ____ the
throwing of the paper wad, but thought best not to ____ it. "He that hath
eyes to ____, let him ____." I ____ the encounter. "I hope to ____ my
Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar." "When my eyes turn to
____ for the last time the sun in heaven." I sat by the flower and ____
the bee plunder it. The scrawl on the paper was meaningless, but at length
by close attention he ____ secret writing. "Your young men shall ____
visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." He had ____ human nature
manifesting itself under various conditions.
<Kill, slay, slaughter, massacre, butcher, murder, assassinate, execute,
hang, electrocute, guillotine, lynch, despatch, decimate, crucify>.
_Sentences_: With the jawbone of an ass Samson ____ a thousand of his
enemies. It was his duty as sheriff to ____ the criminal, and the method
decreed by the state was that he should ____ him. Previously the method of
carrying out a sentence of death had been to ____ the criminal. On our
left wing we lost one man in ten: thus our lines were literally ____ On
our right wing, where we advanced to the attack in the open, our men were
simply ____. After the garrison had laid down its arms the Indians ____
men, women, and children. "I would not ____ thy soul." During the French
Revolution many of the nobility were ____. In the country late fall is the
time to ____ hogs. Thinking that his accomplice was no longer of use, he
quietly ____ him. The anarchist who had ____ the governor was taken by a
mob and ____.
<Sleep, slumber, repose, nap, doze, drowze, lethargy, dormancy, coma,
trance, siesta>.
_Sentences_: Since he had not exerted himself beforehand, his state
was one of ____ rather than one of ____. The sultry heat of the day put
him into a ____. "Not poppy, nor mandragora, Nor all the ____ syrops of
the world, Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet ____ Which thou
ow[n]edst yesterday." Light and pleasant be thy ____. "And still she slept
an azure-lidded ____." From the ____ induced by his injury the physicians
were unable to arouse him. "Oh ____! it is a gentle thing, Beloved from
pole to pole!" "The poppied warmth of ____ oppress'd Her soothéd limbs,
and soul fatigued away." In Spanish-speaking South American countries
every one expects to take his ____. He lay down under the tree for a short
____ and had just fallen into a preliminary ____ when the picnic party
arrived. "Macbeth does murder ____, the innocent ____, ____ that knits up
the ravel'd sleave of care."
<Abolish, repeal, rescind, revoke, abrogate, annul, nullify, cancel,
reverse>.
_Sentences_: A declaration of war would of course ____ the treaty.
The legislature has the right to ____ old laws as well as to enact new
ones. Because they left his grounds littered with paper, he ____ their
privilege of holding picnics there. The king ____ the decree that the
conspirators should be exiled. Slavery was ____ by the Emancipation
Proclamation. The emperor ____ many of the ancient rights of the people.
They ____ the mortgage when he paid the money. The violation of these
provisions has ____ the contract. It was an ill day for France when the
Edict of Nantes was ____ by Louis XIV. The Supreme Court ____ the decision
of the lower tribunal. The Mormons have officially ____ polygamy. The
codicil ____ some of the earlier provisions in his will.
<Acquit, exculpate, exonerate, absolve>.
_Sentences_: He ____ himself from all blame. The king ____ them from
their allegiance. The teacher ____ the student who had been suspected of
theft. The father confessor ____ the penitent. The jury ____ the man on
the first ballot.
<Afraid, fearful, frightened, alarmed, scared, aghast, terrified, timid,
timorous.> (This group may be compared with the _Fear group_,
below.)
_Sentences_: One child was too ____ to speak to the strangers; the
other too ____ to do anything but squall. "If Caesar hide himself, shall
they not whisper 'Lo, Caesar is ____'?" Any one might have been ____ by
this noise in a room said to be haunted; and for my part, I stood ____.
<Allay, alleviate, mitigate, assuage, mollify, relieve.>
_Sentences_: The judge ____ the severity of the punishment. They
collected funds to ____ the sufferings of the poor. He could not ____ the
wrath of the angry man. Shall we try to ____ their fears by telling them
the accident may have been less calamitous than they have heard? A mustard
plaster ____ the pain. The grief of the mother was ____ by the presence of
her child. This experience had by no means ____ his temper.
<Allow, permit, suffer, tolerate.>
_Sentences_: Visitors are not ____ to see the king. The over-running
of my yard by the neighbors' chickens is a nuisance I shall not ____. "____
little children to come unto me." The use of bicycles and velocipedes
on the pavement, though not ____ by the city, is good-naturedly ____ by
most of the citizens. She ____ her children to play in the street.
<Ascribe, attribute, impute.>
_Sentences_: I ____ my failure to poor judgment. He ____ sinister
motives for their actions. So many ideal characteristics have been ____ to
Washington that it is difficult to think of him as a man.
<Awkward, clumsy, ungainly, gawky, lanky.>
_Sentences_: An elephant is ____ in its movements. Some ____
countrymen hung around the circus entrance. He was tall and ____; he
seemed to be a mere prop on which clothes were hung. Isn't that man ____
in his carriage? The fingers of the ball-players might as well have been
thumbs, so ____ were they from the cold. Girls throw a ball in a[n] ____
manner.
<Bite, nibble, gnaw, chew, masticate, champ>.
_Sentences_: Fletcher taught people to ____ their food well. The
mouse ____ the cheese, but the trap did not spring. A horse ____ his bits.
When I ____ into the apple, I found that it was sour. The rat ____ a hole
through the board.
<Break, crack, fracture, sever, rend, burst, smash, shatter, shiver,
splinter, sunder, rive, crush, batter, demolish, rupture>. (After
discriminating these terms for yourself, see the treatment of _break,
fracture_ under <Break, fracture> above under Parallels.)
_Sentences_: "____ my timbers!" the old salt exclaimed. The anaconda
is an immense serpent that wraps itself about its victim and ____ it.
The child blew the soap bubble wider and wider till it ____. "You
may ____, you may ____ the vase if you will." Looking closely at the eggs,
she perceived that one of them was ____. With a board the thoughtless
child ____ the anthill. During a violent fit of coughing he ____ a blood
vessel. The thick cloud was ____ and the sunshine streamed through.
<Careful, cautious, wary, circumspect, canny>.
_Sentences_: A mouse must be ____ lest it be caught in a trap. He had
learned to be ____ in advancing his radical opinions. The man was a Scot
and therefore ____. With a ____ movement I opened the door to investigate
the strange noise. He was ____ in checking up the accounts. Be extremely
____ in your behavior, for they are watching to criticize you.
<Condescend, deign, vouchsafe>.
_Sentences_: The king ____ them safe conduct through the country. He
would not ____ to touch the money that had been gained dishonestly. His
____ manner irritated them. The master ____ to hear the complaints of the
servants.
<Confirm, corroborate, substantiate, verify_.
_Sentences_: He ____ the charge with positive proof. The finding of
Desdemona's handkerchief ____ Othello's belief that she was guilty. The
other witnesses ____ his testimony. The doctor ____ the appointment his
assistant had made for him. He ____ his results by repeating the
experiment a number of times.
<Courage, bravery, resolution, dauntlessness, gallantry, boldness,
intrepidity, daring, valor, prowess, fortitude, heroism>. (With this
group contrast the _Fear_ group, below.)
_Sentences_: It seemed they must be driven from their works but they
held to them with the utmost ____. He had the ____ to fight an aggressive
battle, but not the ____ to stand for long days upon the defensive; less
still did he have the ____ to disregard unjust criticism. The silent ____
of the women who bide at home surpasses the ____ the warriors who engage
in battle. He had the dashing ____ of a cavalry officer.
<Cruel, brutal, ferocious, fierce, savage, barbarous, truculent,
merciless, unmerciful, pitiless, ruthless, fell>. (With this group
contrast the _Kind_ group, below.)
_Sentences_: "But with the whiff and wind of his ____ sword
The unnerved father falls." "Poor naked wretches, wheresoe'er you are,
That bide the pelting of this ____ storm." The ____ fellow could cause
suffering to a child without the least tinge of remorse. Such conduct is
unheard of in civilized communities; it is ____, it is ____. "I must be
____ only to be kind."
<Cry, weep, sob, snivel, whimper, blubber, bawl, squall, howl, wail>.
_Sentences_: "____ no more, woeful shepherds; ____ no more."
The woman covered her face with her hands and ____, while the children
____. He ____ a forced regret at the death of his uncle, and asked that
the will be read, "Rachel ____ for her children." "Rejoice with them that
do rejoice, and ____ with them that ____." "I could lie down like a tired
child And ____ away this life of care Which I have borne and yet must
bear." "An infant ____ in the night." "What's Hecuba to him or he
to Hecuba That he should ____ for her?" I was disgusted at the sight of
that overgrown boy standing in the corner ____. "You think I'll ____; No,
I'll not ____: I have full cause of ____, but this heart Shall break into
a hundred thousand flaws Or ere I'll ____."
<Cut, cleave, hack, haggle, notch, slash, gash, split, chop, hew, lop,
prune, reap, mow, clip, shear, trim, dock, crop, shave, whittle, slice,
slit, score, lance, carve, bisect, dissect, amputate, detruncate,
syncopate.>
_Sentences_: "I'll ____ around your heart with my razor, And shoot
you with my shotgun too." "O Hamlet! thou hast ____ my heart in twain." By
the pressure of his hands he could ____ an apple. With his new hatchet
George began ____ at the cherry tree. He carelessly ____ off a branch or
two. The horses were ____ the rank grass. An old form of punishment was to
____ the nose of the offender. The nobleman ordered the groom to ____ the
tails of the carriage horses. You should ____ your meadows in the summer
and ____ your grapevines in the late fall or early winter. "Do you," asked
the barber, "wish your hair ____ or ____?" ____ to the line. It is painful
to see Dodwell trying to ____ a turkey. In geometry we learned to ____
angles, in biology to ____ cats. The bad man in the West ____ his gunstock
each time he shot a tenderfoot. Betty, will you ____ this cucumber?
"'Mark's way,' said Mark, and ____ him thro' the brain."
<Deadly, mortal, fatal, lethal>.
_Sentences_: He has a ____ disease. The spirit of Virgil guided Dante
through the ____ shades. Cyanide of potassium is a ____ poison. He struck
a ____ blow.
<Defeat, subdue, conquer, overcome, vanquish, subjugate, suppress>.
_Sentences_: Napoleon ____ his enemies in many battles, but he was
not able to ____ them. The new governor general ____ the uprising. He was
____ in the election. Caesar ____ many countries and made them swear
allegiance to Rome. "Who ____ by force Hath ____ but half his foe." The
militia ____ the rioters.
<Deny, contravene, controvert, refute, confute>.
_Sentences_: He produced evidence to ____ the charge. They could not
____ the facts we presented. It is difficult to ____ those who are
spreading these rumors, yet all right-minded people think the rumors
false. "I put thee now to thy book-oath; ____ it if thou canst." Either
admit or ____ the truth of this allegation. Such a law ____ the first
principles of justice.
<Destroy, demolish, raze, annihilate, exterminate, eradicate, extirpate,
obliterate.>
_Sentences_: All the ferocious wild animals are gradually being
____. As weeds from a field, so is it difficult to ____ all the faults
from man's nature. But how shall we ____ the cause of this disease? Fire
____ the bank. The wrecking crew ____ the building. She tried to ____ the
terrible scene from her memory. "____ all that's made To a green thought
in a green shade." The cyclone ____ the church. The Spanish Inquisition
tried to ____ heresy. "____ out the written troubles of the brain."
The army was not only defeated; it was ____. "A bold peasantry, their
country's pride, When once ____, can never be supplied."
<Die, expire, perish, decease, succumb.>
_Sentences_: All men are mortal and must ____. "As wax melteth before
the fire, so let the wicked ____ at the presence of God." "I still had
hopes, my long vexations past, Here to return, and ____ at home at last."
The late ____ Mr. Brown left all his property to his family. "Cowards ____
many times before their deaths." "The poor beetle, that we tread upon, In
corporal sufferance finds a pang as great As when a giant giant ____."
"Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not ____
from the earth." "Thus on Maeander's flowery margin lies Th' ____ swan,
and as he sings he dies." Over a thousand people ____ in the fire at the
theater. "To ____, to sleep; to sleep: perchance to dream." He ____ to a
lingering disease. "Aye, but to ____, and go we know not where; To lie in
cold obstruction and to rot." "Wind my thread of life up higher, Up,
through angels' hands of fire! I aspire while I ____."
<Dip, douse, duck, plunge, immerge, immerse, submerge, sink, dive.>
_Sentences_: He ____ his head under the hydrant. The Baptists ____ at
baptism. She ____ the cloth into the dye. The sophomores ____ the freshmen
into the icy water of the lake. Paul Jones could not ____ the enemy's
ship; he therefore resolved to board it. The wreck lay ____ in forty
fathoms of water. Uncle Tom ____ overboard to rescue the child. When the
gun is discharged, the loon does not rise from the water; it ____. Lewis
became badly strangled when the other boys ____ him.
<Disease, sickness, illness, indisposition, ailment, affection,
complaint, disorder, distemper, infirmity, malady.> (With this group
contrast the _healthful_ group.)
_Sentences_: He was suffering the ____ of age. Cancer is still in
many instances an incurable ____ The ____ of the lady ended as soon as the
maid told her the callers had gone away. It was an old ____ of the
tonsils, but this time the child's ____ was slight. "To help me through
this long ____, my life."
<Disloyal, false, unfaithful, faithless, traitorous, treasonable,
treacherous, perfidious.>
_Sentences_: The king discovered many ____ schemes among those who
pretended to be his loyal supporters. England's enemies have long called
her "____ Albion." They were afraid the Indian guide would betray them by
some ____ action. "O you beast! O ____ coward! O dishonest wretch!" He was
____ to his adopted country. "Bloody, bawdy villain! Remorseless, ____,
lecherous, kindless villain! O! vengeance!"
<Do, perform, execute, accomplish, achieve, effect.>
_Sentences_: An officer ____ the orders with despatch. He ____ a
mighty name for himself. "If it were ____ when 'tis ____ then 'twere well
It were ____ quickly." Constant efforts will ____ miracles. The student
____ the problems quickly. The doctor hopes his new treatment will ____ a
cure. "God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to ____." He persevered
till he ____ his purpose. He always ____ more than was expected of him.
<Dress, clothes, clothing, garments, apparel, raiment, habiliments,
vestments, attire, garb, habit, costume, uniform.>
_Sentences_: The spy concealed his identity by wearing the ____ of a
monk. The soldiers wore blue ____. She was an excellent horsewoman, and
rode in a fashionable ____. "No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an
old ____." Millions of men left farms and factories and shops to don the
____ of war. The invitation specified that the men should wear evening
____. The store specialized in women's wearing ____. A person should wear
warm ____ in winter. The king appeared in his royal ____. He always wore
expensive ____. The bishop entered in his clerical ____. "The ____ oft
proclaims the man." The theatrical ____ was full of spangles. One's ____
should never be conspicuous.
<Drink, imbibe, sip, sup, swallow, quaff, tipple, tope, guzzle,
swig.>
_Sentences_: "She who, as they voyaged, ____ With Tristram that
spiced magic draught." Plants ____ moisture through their roots. "A little
learning is a dang'rous thing; ____ deep, or taste not the Pierian
spring." He ____ down the liquor in a couple of huge draughts. On the fan
was a picture of Japanese maidens daintily ____ tea. "____ to me only with
thine eyes." His red nose betrayed the fact that he constantly ____.
<Elicit, extract, exact, extort.>
_Sentences_: They ____ payment to the last cent. The police ____ a
confession from the prisoner by intimidating him. This terrible suffering
____ our sympathy. His resolve to begin again after his failure ____ their
admiration. "But lend it rather to thine enemy; Who if he break, thou
mayst with better face ____ the penalty." They ____ all the information
they could by questioning the child.
<Embarrass, disconcert, discompose, discomfit, confuse, confound,
agitate, abash, mortify, chagrin, humiliate.>
_Sentences_: The annoying little raids ____ the enemy. Such
conclusive proof of his lies completely ____ him. His sudden proposal ____
her. He stood ____ in the presence of the king. The traveler was ____ by
the many turns in the road. She was ____ by the delay in having dinner
ready. She was ____ by her husband's ill manners. The possibility that her
daughter might have been in the accident ____ her. I was ____ at being so
cleverly outwitted.
<Excuse, pardon, forgive, condone.>
_Sentences_: We should ____ even those who do us wrong. "Father, ____
them; for they know not what they do." I trust you will ____ my being
late. Ignorance ____ no one before the law. The governor ____ the convict.
He thought it better to ____ the offense than to try to punish it.
<Explain, expound, interpret, elucidate.>
_Sentences_: The minister ____ the doctrine of predestination.
The tribesman ____ his chief's words for us. He ____ his meaning by giving
clear examples. Joseph was called upon to ____ Pharaoh's dream. Can you
____ the reason for your absence? Various scholars have ____ the passage
differently.
<Fat, fleshy, stout, plump, buxom, corpulent, obese, portly, pursy,
burly, pudgy, chubby.>
_Sentences_: "There live not three good men unhanged in England, and
one of them is ____ and grows old." A[n] ____ rosy-faced child walking
beside a girl just pleasantly ____ came past the garden. The ____ lady was
talking with a[n] ____, ill-conditioned man. "So ____, blithe, and
debonair." "He's ____ and scant of breath." The ruffian was a[n] ____
fellow. They were ____ in varying degrees: one was ____, one ____, and one
downright ____.
<Fear, dread, fright, apprehension, affright, alarm, dismay, timidity,
consternation, panic, terror, horror, misgiving, anxiety, scare, tremor,
trepidation.> (With this group compare the _Afraid_ group, above,
and contrast the _Courage_ group, also above.)
_Sentences_: "Like one, that on a lonesome road Doth walk in ____ and
____." "His scepter shows the force of temporal power, The attribute to
awe and majesty, Wherein doth sit the ____ and ____ of kings." ____
changed to ____ when we perceived the corpse. Washington felt some ____ as
to the loyalty of Charles Lee, but was amazed to find his force retreating
in ____, indeed almost in a[n] ____.
<Feminine, female, womanly, womanlike, womanish, effeminate,
ladylike.>
_Sentences_: She possessed every ____ charm. He gave a[n] ____ start
of curiosity. The pistil is considered the ____ organ of a flower. It was
once not thought ____ for a woman to ride astride a horse. He inherited
the throne through the ____ line. Patience is one of the greatest of ____
virtues. The hired girl in her finery minced along with a[n] ____ step.
Some people consider it ____ to wear a wrist watch. Her ____ heart was
touched at the sight. It is ____ to jump at the sight of a mouse.
<Fight, combat, struggle, scuffle, fray, affray, attack, engagement,
assault, onslaught, brawl, melee, tournament, battle, conflict, strife,
clash, collision, contest, skirmish, encounter, brush, bout, set-to.>
_Sentences_: "A darkling plain Swept with confused alarms of ____ and
flight." The ____ upon Fort Sumter was the direct cause of the Civil War.
The ____ between our forces and theirs was brief and trivial; it was only
a cavalry ____. There is an excellent account of a knightly ____ in
_Ivanhoe_. We repelled their general ____; then ourselves advanced;
the ____ of our lines with theirs soon resulted in an inextricable ____.
A chance ____ of small forces at Gettysburg brought on a terrible ____.
There had long been ____ between the two factions within the party.
Angered by what had begun as a playful ____, one of the men challenged the
other to ____.
<Fleeting, transient, transitory, ephemeral, evanescent.>
_Sentences_: It is the lot of every one to endure many sorrows in
this ____ life. They saw for a short while a[n] ____ comet. The ____
glories of dawn had merged into the sordid realities of daytime. The
remark made but a[n] ____ impression upon him. The ____ moments sped away.
"Art is long, and time is ____." Joy is ____. Much of the popular
literature of the day is ____ in character.
<Frank, candid, open, artless, guileless, ingenuous, unsophisticated,
naive.>
_Sentences_: It was a[n] ____ excuse. It was a pleasure to meet a
person so simple and ____. He was ____ to say that he did not like the
arrangement. "Who, mindful of the unhonored dead, Dost in these lines
their ____ tale relate." "The Moor is of a free and ____ nature." He gave
them his ____ opinion.
<Frustrate, foil, thwart, counteract, circumvent, balk, baffle,
outwit.>
_Sentences_: The schemers were themselves ____. He was ____ by the
many contradictory clues. Circumstances ____ all his plans to get rich.
The parents ____ the attempt of the couple to elope. The guard ____ the
prisoner's attempt to escape. He was ____ at every turn. They put forth a
statement to ____ the influence of their opponents' propaganda. By
slipping away during the night, Washington ____ the enemy. The politician
by his shrewdness ____ the attempt to discredit him.
<Glad, happy, cheerful, mirthful, joyful, joyous, blithe, gay,
frolicsome, merry, jolly, sportive, jovial, jocular, jocose, jocund.>
_Sentences_: "The milkmaid singeth ____." "And all went ____ as a
marriage bell." "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel
of peace, and bring ____ tidings of good things." A ____ Lothario. "So
buxom, ____, and debonair." As ____ as a fawn. He kept smiling, for he was
in ____ mood. "You are sad Because you are not ____; and 'twere as easy
For you to laugh and leap, and say you are ____, Because you are not sad."
He longed for the ____ life of a ____ English squire.
<Habit, custom, usage, practice, wont.>
_Sentences_: ____ makes perfect. The immigrants kept up many of the
____ of their native land. "God fulfils himself in many ways, Lest one
good ____ should corrupt the world." It was his ____ to walk among the
ruins. An old ____ permits a man to kiss a girl who is standing under
mistletoe. ____ establishes many peculiar idioms in a language. He
acquired the ____ of smoking. "It is a ____ more honor'd in the breach
than the observance." De Quincey was a victim of the opium ____. "Age
cannot wither her, nor ____ stale Her infinite variety." "'Tis not his
____ to be the hindmost man."
<Harass, annoy, irritate, vex, fret, worry, plague, torment, molest,
tease, tantalize.>
_Sentences_: The merchant ____ about his financial losses. "Life's
but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and ____ his hour upon
the stage, And then is heard no more." The children never lost an
opportunity to ____ the teacher. The other pupils ____ him because he was
the teacher's favorite. The newcomer was ____ by their frequent questions.
Don't ____ the child by holding the grapes beyond its reach. "He was met
even now As mad as the ____ sea." Ah, but I am ____ by doubts and fears.
"The moping owl does to the moon complain Of such as, wand'ring near her
secret bower, ____ her ancient, solitary reign." The child ____ because
the rain kept it indoors. When the joke was discovered, they almost ____
the life out of him. I was ____ at their discovering my predicament. "You
may as well forbid the mountain pines To wag their high tops, and to make
no noise When they are ____ with the gusts of heaven."
<Hinder, restrain, obstruct, impede, hamper, retard, check, curb, clog,
encumber, forestall, suppress, repress, prevent.>
_Sentences_: Baggage ____ the progress of an army. It is the purpose
of modern medicine to ____ disease. The accumulations of dust and grease
____ the machine. "My tears must stop, for every drop ____ needle and
thread." By acknowledging his fault he hoped to ____ criticism. Though
before she had been unable to ____ her tears, she could now scarcely ____
a yawn. A fallen tree ____ his further progress. The horse was ____ with a
heavy burden, and the unsure footing of the trail further ____ the
ascent. His jealous colleagues ____ his plans in every way they could.
<Hole, cavity, excavation, pit, cache, cave, cavern, hollow, depression,
perforation, puncture, rent, slit, crack, chink, crevice, cranny, breach,
cleft, chasm, fissure, gap, opening, interstice, burrow, crater, eyelet,
pore, bore, aperture, orifice, vent, concavity, dent, indentation. >
_Sentences_: The explorers, having eaten all the provisions they had
carried with them, hurried back to their ____. The battering-ram at last
made a[n] ____ in the walls. The ____ in the log had been caused by the
intense heat. He tore off the check along the line of the ____. The ____
in the earth gradually deepened and narrowed into a[n] ____. Pyramus and
Thisbe made love to each other through a[n] ____ in a wall. "Once more
unto the ____, dear friends, once more." The ____ in the mountain ranges
of Virginia influenced strategy during the Civil War. Several ____ in the
toe of one of his shoes apprised me that he had a sore foot. The supposed
____ in the rock turned out to be a[n] ____ that led into a dark but
spacious ____. He suffered a[n] ____ of one of his tires near the place
where the laborers were making the ____. It was a gun of very large ____.
The ____ in the percolator was made by a flatiron aimed at Mr. Wiggins'
head.
<Idle, inert, lazy, indolent, sluggish, slothful.>
_Sentences_: "He also that is ____ in his work is brother to him
that is a great waster." "The ____ singer of an empty day." Mighty, ____
forces lie locked up in nature, waiting for man to release them. He was
a[n] ____, good-for-nothing fellow whose whole business in life was to
keep out of work. "For Satan finds some mischief still For ____ hands to
do." He was too ____ to do his work well. "The ____ yawning drone." His
steps were so ____ one would almost think he was not moving. "As ____ as a
painted ship Upon a painted ocean." "I talk of dreams, Which are the
children of an ____ brain, Begot of nothing but vain fantasy."
<Ignorant, illiterate, uninformed, uneducated, untutored, unlettered,
unenlightened.>
_Sentences_: Without public schools most children would be ____;
without missionaries many barbarous tribes would remain ____. Andrew
Jackson was ____ that peace had been declared when he fought the battle of
New Orleans. Even the wisest men are ____ upon some subjects. "Lo, the
poor Indian, whose ____ mind Sees God in clouds or hears Him in the wind!"
The mountain whites, though often totally ____, are nevertheless a shrewd
folk. "Their name, their years, spelt by th' ____ muse, The place of fame
and elegy supply." The percentage of ____ persons is constantly decreasing
in America.
<Incline, tip, lean, cant, slant, slope, tilt, list, careen, dip.>
_Sentences_: He ____ the bucket of water over. The vessel ____ to the
stern and began to sink. The ship ____ to larboard. He ____ the top of the
picture away from the wall. The sprinter ____ forward and touched the tips
of his fingers against the ground. The gable ____ sharply. The hill ____
gently. The cowboy had ____ his hat fetchingly.
<Journey, voyage, tour, pilgrimage, trip, jaunt, excursion, junket,
outing, expedition.>
_Sentences_: The people protested the expenditure of money for a
Congressional ____ to investigate the Philippine Islands. Each Sunday
there is a[n] ____ at half fare between the two cities. He conducted a
party on a summer ____ through Europe. Last summer I took a[n] ____ to the
Yellowstone National Park. It was a long ____ from Philadelphia to Boston
by stage coach. They hurriedly arranged for a[n] ____ to the woods.
Magellan was the first man to make a[n] ____ around the globe. The
scientific body organized a[n] ____ to explore the polar regions.
Thousands of Mohammedans make an annual ____ to Mecca.
<Kind, compassionate, merciful, lenient, benignant, benign, clement,
benevolent, charitable, gracious, humane, sympathetic.> (With this
group compare the _Cruel_ group, above.)
_Sentences_: The weather was ____. She was as ____ as a queen. "Thou
dost wear The Godhead's most ____ grace." Cowper was too ____ to tread
upon a worm needlessly. A judge in sentencing a convicted man may be as
____ as circumstances and the law allow. ____ neutrality. "Blessed are the
____." "She was so ____ and so pitous She wolde wepe if that she sawe a
mous Caught in a trappe." "____ hearts are more than coronets."
<Love, affection, attachment, fondness, infatuation, devotion,
predilection, liking.>
_Sentences_: Between the two young people had grown a[n] ____ which
now ripened into ____. "The course of true ____ never did run smooth." The
mad ____ of Mark Antony for Cleopatra was the cause of his downfall. She
had only a[n] ____ for him, but he an unqualified ____ for her. "Man's
____ is of his life a thing apart; 'Tis woman's whole existence." He shows
a marked ____ for the companionship of women. My ____ for the tart was
enhanced by my ____ for the girl who baked it. That boy shows a[n] ____
for horses, and a positive ____ for dogs.
<Margin, edge, limit, border, boundary, bound, bourn, brim, rim, brink,
verge, skirt, confine.>
_Sentences_: He had reached the ____ of endurance. In writing, leave
a wide ____ on the left side of the page. "Borrowing dulls the ____ of
husbandry." "The extravagant and erring spirit hies To his ____." Within
the ____ of reason. He stood on the ____ of ruin. The rock at the ____ of
the cañon is called the ____ rock. I was on the ____ of doing a very
indiscreet thing. "The undiscover'd country from whose ____ No traveler
returns." Fill your glasses to the ____.
<Matrimonial, conjugal, connubial, nuptial, marital.>
_Sentences_: "However old a ____ union, it still garners some
sweetness." A court of ____ relations. "Contented toil, and hospitable
care, And kind ____ tenderness are there." "To the ____ bower I led her,
blushing like the morn." She finally decided that he had no ____
intentions. "And hears the unexpressive ____ song In the blest kingdoms
meek of joy and love."
<Occupation, employment, calling, pursuit, vocation, avocation,
profession, business, trade, craft.>
_Sentences_: He gave his life to literary ____. My brother found ____
as a tutor in a rich family. Colleges are trying to direct their students
into the ____ they are best fitted for. Andrew Johnson was a tailor by
____. Medicine is a very ancient ____. The shoemaker was very skilled at
his ____. After losing his hand he could no longer engage in his ____ as
telegrapher. The grocer carries on only a wholesale ____. He considered
his ____ to the ministry a sacred duty. "Sir, 'tis my ____ to be plain."
Do you find collecting coins a pleasant ____?
<Pacify, appease, placate, propitiate, conciliate, mollify>.
_Sentences_: We ____ our hunger when we reached the inn. In olden
times men tried to ____ the offended gods by offering human sacrifices.
They ____ the angry man by promising to hear his grievances immediately.
The premier thought he could ____ this particular faction by offering its
leader a seat in the cabinet. "Chiron ____ his cruel mind With art, and
taught his warlike hands to wind The silver strings of his melodious
lyre." A friendly word will usually ____ one's enemies.
<Part, piece, portion, section, subdivision, fraction, instalment
element, component, constituent, ingredient, share, lot, allotment>.
_Sentences_: One ____ in his success was his courage. She was
studying the ____ of the pie; he the chances of getting another ____. Is
it ____ and ____ alike? "I live not in myself, but I become ____ of that
around me." "Act well your ____; there all the honor lies." He owned a[n]
____ of land near the city limits; a speculator bought a[n] ____ of this
and divided it into city lots. "I am a[n] ____ of all that I have met."
The purchaser, having only a[n] ____ of this sum in ready money, offered
to pay in ____.
<Pay, hire, salary, wages, fee, stipend, honorarium>.
_Sentences_: Give the manager his ____, the workmen their ____. "The
laborer is worthy of his ____." He received his weekly ____ from the
parsimonious old man. The ____ for enrolment is ten dollars. "This is ____
and ____, not revenge."
<Polite, civil, obliging, courteous, courtly, urbane, affable,
complaisant, gracious>.
_Sentences_: He was ____ enough, but not definitely ____. "So ____
that he ne'er ____." Though he had never lived in a city, much less in the
circle of royalty, his manners were ____, even ____. Your desire to please
is shown in your ____ greeting. "Damn with faint praise, assent with ____
leer, And without sneering teach the rest to sneer."
<Quarrel, altercation, disagreement, contention, controversy, breach,
rupture, dispute, dissension, bickering, wrangle, broil, squabble, row,
rumpus, ruction, spat, tiff, fuss, jar, feud.>
_Sentences_: It was only a little ____ between lovers. The ____
between the partners was over the right of the senior to make contracts
for the firm; it grew into an angry ____. It was a long-drawn political
____. At the meeting of our committee the chairman and one of the members
had a sharp ____ over a point of order. A[n] ____ in some minor matters
led to a[n] ____ in their friendship. "Thrice is he armed that hath his
____ just." Those chattering, choleric fellows are always engaged in ____;
last night they on meeting had a[n] ____ which brought on a long-drawn
____, and when their friends joined in, there was a noisy ____. I have
seen all sorts of ____, from a trivial childish ____ to a grim ____ of
mountaineers.
<Raise, lift, heave, hoist, erect, rear, elevate, exalt, enhance.>
_Sentences_: Let the Lord be ____. "As some tall cliff that ____ its
awful form." Because of this success his reputation was ____. The horse
____ when the machine began to ____ the huge block of stone by means of a
crane. "I will ____ up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my
help." The load was too heavy for him to carry; in fact he just managed to
____ it into the wagon.
<Relinquish, waive, renounce, surrender, forego, resign, abdicate.>
_Sentences_: The defense ____ objection to the first of these points.
The refugee was willing to ____ his right to resist extradition. The
teacher ____ her position at the end of the year. The king ____ when the
people rose in revolt. He ____ his command of the army. Do you ____ your
claim in this mine? The bankrupt ____ his property to the receiver to help
pay his debts.
<Renounce, abjure, forswear, recant, retract, repudiate>.
_Sentences_: He ____ the statement. Thereupon Henry Esmond ____ his
allegiance to the House of Stuart. It is a serious matter for a government
to ____ its debts. Did the heretic ____? Do you ____ the devil and all his
works? "The wounded gladiator ____ all fighting, but soon forgetting his
former wounds resumes his arms." He had broken his solemn oath; he was
____.
<Reprove, rebuke, reprimand, admonish, chide, upbraid, reproach, scold,
rate, berate>.
_Sentences_: "He ____ their wanderings but relieved their pain."
"Many a time and oft In the Rialto you have ____ me About my moneys and my
usances." They ____ the man who had taken the savings of the poor, and
____ him against such schemes thereafter. The general ____ his
subordinate.
<Robber, bandit, brigand, ladrone, desperado, buccaneer, freebooter,
pirate, corsair, raider, burglar, footpad, highwayman, depredator,
spoiler, despoiler, forager, pillager, plunderer, marauder, myrmidon>.
(With this group compare the _Steal_ group, below.)
_Sentences_: Every boy has his period of wanting to be a ____.
_Treasure Island_ is one of the best ____ stories ever written.
The ____ lurks in dark passageways and steals upon his victim. The fierce
followers of Achilles were called ____. The men sent out by the army as
____ seemed to the people of the countryside more like ____. The fearless
____ had soon gathered about him a band of ____. Robin Hood was no ____ of
poor folk. The outcast became a ____ among the mountaineers of northern
Italy. Every, boy likes to read of the bold ____ who sailed the Spanish
Main. Union plans were often upset by daring Confederate ____, such as
Stuart, Morgan, and Forrest.
<Run, scamper, scurry, scuttle, scud, scour, pace, gallop, trot, lope,
sprint, sweep>.
_Sentences_: Swift horsemen ____ the country in search of the
fugitive. Wherever they came, the inhabitants ____ for shelter. "The dish
____ away with the spoon." For his horse to ____ made difficult riding, to
____ made comfortable riding, to ____ made exhilarating riding. "He may
____ that readeth it." The old sailing-boat ____ before the wind. "Haste
me to know't, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or the thoughts of
love, May ____ to my revenge." The rats ____ across the floor. "He who
fights and ____ away May live to fight another day."
<Say, utter, pronounce, announce, state, declare, affirm, aver,
asseverate, allege, assert, avouch, avow, maintain, claim, depose,
predicate, swear, suggest, insinuate, testify>. (With this group
compare the _Speak_ and _Talk_ groups, below.)
_Sentences_: It was something I merely ____ in passing; I would not
____ to it. I could not ____ in court, and therefore had to ____ before a
notary. The scientist ____ that a seismograph will infallibly record
earthquakes. He solemnly ____ that he would not ____ exemption from the
draft.
<Shine, beam, gleam, glisten, glister, glitter, glare, flare, flash,
sparkle, twinkle, dazzle, glimmer, glow, radiate, scintillate,
coruscate>.
_Sentences_: The gorgeous parade ____ the boy. "____, ____, little
star." He was witty that night; he fairly ____. At this compliment the old
lady ____. "Now fades the ____ landscape on the sight." A rocket ____ in
the darkness. She ____ her elderly wooer a look of defiance; then her eyes
softened and ____ with amusement. "All that ____ is not gold." "How far
that little candle throws his beams! So ____ a good deed in a naughty
world." The old man ____ into sudden anger.
<Slander, defame, asperse, calumniate, traduce, vilify, malign, libel,
backbite>.
_Sentences_: A newspaper must be careful not to ____ any one. Too
many supposedly religious people ____ their fellow believers. I do not
____ your motives. He ____ the character of everybody who chances to
possess one.
<Smell, odor, savor, scent, fragrance, aroma, perfume, redolence, tang,
stench>.
_Sentences_: The ____ of the flowers in the vase mingled with the
____ of boiling cabbage in the kitchen. The ____ of spring is on the
meadows. So keen was the hound's sense of ____ that he quickly picked up
the ____ again. Any smoker likes the ____ of a good cigar. The ____ of
the handkerchief was delicate. Though it was a disagreeable ____, I should
hardly call it a[n] ____. The ____ of spices told him that his mother was
baking his favorite cake, and he also detected the ____ of coffee. The
____ of the ocean was in the air. He sniffed the ____ of frying bacon.
<Song, ballad, ditty, lullaby, hymn, anthem, dirge, chant, paean, lay,
carol, lilt>.
_Sentences_: "They learn in suffering what they teach in ____."
The mother crooned a[n] ____ to her babe. The Highland girl sang a moving
old ____. The worshipers sang a[n] ____ of praise. Charles Wesley wrote many
____. As I approached the cathedral, I could hear the ____ of larks
outside and the ____ of the choir within. "Our sweetest ____ are those
that tell of saddest thought." "A[n] ____ for her the doubly dead in that
she died so young."
<Speak, discourse, expatiate, descant, comment, argue, persuade, plead,
lecture, preach, harangue, rant, roar, spout, thunder, declaim, harp>.
(With this group compare the _Say_ group, above, and the _Talk_
group, below.)
_Sentences_: "His virtues Will ____ like angels trumpet-tongu'd
against The deep damnation of his taking-off." "Here, under leave of
Brutus and the rest, ... Come I to ____ in Caesar's funeral." "Ay me! what
act, That ____ so loud and ____ in the index?" "Hadst thou thy wits and
didst ____ revenge, It could not move thus." "Thou canst not ____ of that
thou dost not feel." "Nay, if thou'lt mouth, I'll ____ as well as thou."
While the politician ____ in the senate chamber upon theoretical ills, the
agitator outside ____ the mob about actual ones. "For murder, though it
have no tongue, will ____ With most miraculous organ."
<Spend, expend, disburse, squander, waste, lavish>.
_Sentences_: Large sums were ____ in rebuilding the devastated
regions of France. ____ your money, but do not ____ it. One should not
____ more than one earns. The king ____ great sums upon his favorites. The
political boss ____ the money among his henchmen. "The younger son ...
____ his substance with riotous living."
<Spot, blotch, speckle, fleck, dapple, smear, smutch, brand, defacement,
blemish, stain, discoloration, speck, mark, smudge, flaw, defect,
blot>.
_Sentences_: A ____ in the crystal. The ____ of Cain. A life free
from ____. "Thou turn'st mine eyes into my very soul; And there I see such
black and grained ____ As will not leave their tinct." From the standpoint
of theatrical effectiveness _A ____ in the 'Scutcheon_ is one of the
best of Browning's plays. An eruption of the skin made a yellow ____ on
his right hand. Dragging my sleeve across the fresh ink had made a ____
upon the page. The ____ of foam by the roadside proved that his horse had
been going fast. The ____ at the end of his fingers told me he was a
cigarette-smoker. On the left foreleg of the horse was a slight ____.
<Stay, tarry, linger, stop, sojourn, remain, abide, live, reside, dwell,
lodge.>
_Sentences_: The Israelites ____ in Egypt. He ____ to chat with us,
but could not ____ overnight. I ____ in a wretched tavern. "I can ____, I
can ____ but a night." "I did love the Moor to ____ with him." "He that
shall come will come, and will not ____." "I will ____ in the house of the
Lord forever." "If ye ____ in me, and my words ____ in you, ye shall ask
what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." "I would rather be a
doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to ____ in the tents of
wickedness." The guests ____ in the cheerful drawing-room.
<Steal, abstract, pilfer, filch, purloin, peculate, swindle, plagiarize,
poach>. (With this group, which excludes the idea of violence, compare
the _Robber_ group, above.)
_Sentences_: I am afraid that our son ____ the purse from the
gentleman. No one knows how long the cashier has been ____ the funds of
the bank. To take our money on such unsound security is to ____ us. He
slyly ____ a handkerchief or two. This paragraph is clearly ____. "Thou
shalt not ____." Many government employees seem to think that to ____ is
their privilege and prerogative. The crown jewels have been ____. She ____
a number of petty articles. A well-known detective story by Poe is called
_The ____ Letter._ "Who ____ my purse ____ trash.... But he that ____
from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me
poor indeed." "A cut-purse of the empire and the rule, That from a shelf
the precious diadem ____, And put it in his pocket!"
<Strike, hit, smite, thump, beat, cuff, buffet, knock, whack, belabor,
pommel, pound, cudgel, slap, rap, tap, box.>
_Sentences_: ____ him into the middle of next week. He ____ and ____
the poor beast unmercifully. "As of some one gently ____, ____ at my
chamber door." "Unto him that ____ thee on the one cheek offer also the
other." "Bid them come forth and hear me, Or at their chamber door I'll
____ the drum Till it cry sleep to death." "One whom I will ____ into
clamorous whining." "____ for your altars and your fires!" By means of
heavy stones the squaws ____ the corn into meal.
<Sullen, surly, sulky, crabbed, cross, gruff, grum, glum, morose, dour,
crusty, cynical, misanthropic, saturnine, splenetic.>
_Sentences_: "Between us and our hame [home], Where sits our ____,
____ dame, Gathering her brows like gathering storm, Nursing her wrath to
keep it warm." A ____ old bachelor. A ____ Scotchman. He hated all men; he
was truly ____. He sat ____ and silent all day; by nightfall he was truly
____.
<Talk, chat, chatter, prate, prattle, babble, gabble, jabber, tattle,
twaddle, blab, gossip, palaver, parley, converse, mumble, mutter, stammer,
stutter.> (With this group compare the _Say_ and _Speak_
groups, above.)
_Sentences_: It was a queer assembly, and from it arose a queer
medley of sounds: the baby was ____, the old crone ____, the gossip ____,
the embarrassed young man ____, the child ____ the tale-bearer ____, the
hostess ____ with the most distinguished guest, and the trickster ____
with his intended victim. "Blest with each talent and each art to please,
And born to write, ____, and live with ease." "I wonder that you will
still be ____, Signor Benedick; nobody marks you."
<Tear, rend, rip, lacerate, mangle.>
_Sentences_: The explosion of the shell ____ his flesh. The tailor
____ the garment along the seam. I'll ____ this paper into bits. Those
savages would ____ you limb from limb. She ____ her dress on a nail. The
cogs caught his hand and ____ it. How could such reproaches fail to ____
my feelings?
<Throw, pitch, hurl, dash, fling, cast, toss, flip, chuck, sling, heave,
launch, dart, propel, project.>
_Sentences_: Suddenly he ____ the glittering coins away. Goliath
learned to his cost that David could ____ a stone. The explosion of the
gunpowder ____ the bullet from the gun. "____ down your cups of Samian
wine!" The children amused themselves by ____ the ball back and forth. He
____ himself dejectedly into a seat. The thief ____ a glance beside him.
The mischievous boy ____ a stone through the window. They ____ some of the
cargo overboard to lighten the boat. The eager fisherman ____ the fly for
the trout. The untidy fellow ____ the towel in a corner.
<Whip, chastise, castigate, flagellate, scourge, lash, trounce, thrash,
flog, maul, drub, switch, spank, bastinado.> (This group limits the
field of the _Punish_ group in Exercise A, and extends the list of
synonyms.)
_Sentences_: The drunken driver ____ the excited horses. The zealot
was accustomed to ____ himself. The ruler bade that the Christians be
____. The teacher ____ the small children gently, but he unsparingly ____
the big ones. "My father hath ____ you with whips, but I will ____ you
with scorpions." The bully was always ____ men smaller than himself till
one of them turned on him and ____ him thoroughly.
<Wicked, sinful, felonious, illegal, immoral, heinous, flagitious,
iniquitous, criminal, vicious, vile.>
_Sentences_: "I am fled From this ____ world, with ____ worms to
dwell." A[n] ____ assault. "The ____ prize itself Buys out the law." It
was, though not a[n] ____ act, a most ____ one. "There the ____ cease from
troubling; and there the weary be at rest."
<Young, youthful, boyish, girlish, juvenile, puerile, immature, callow,
adolescent.>
_Sentences_: The plan had all the faults of ____ judgment. Many great
authors have written books of ____ fiction. The bird, which was still
____, was of course unable to fly. "Such sights as ____ poets dream On
summer eves by haunted stream." He was in that ____ stage of development
when one is neither a boy nor a man. "I was so ____, I loved him so, I had
No mother, God forgot me, and I fell." He made a[n] ____ attempt to
impress them with his importance. "Bacchus ever fair, and ever ____."
A red necktie gave him a more ____ appearance. The self-satisfied air of
a[n] ____ youth is often trying to his elders.