#
proof; conclusiveness &c. adj.; apodeixis[obs3], apodixis[obs3],
probation,
comprobation|.
logic of facts &c. (evidence) 467; experimentum crucis &c. (test)
463[Lat]; argument &c. 476; rigorous establishment, absolute
establishment.
conviction, cogency, (persuasion) 484.
V. demonstrate, prove, establish; make good; show, evince,
manifest
&c. (be evidence of) 467; confirm, corroborate, substantiate, verify
&c.
467 settle the question, reduce to demonstration, set the question at
rest.
make out, make out a case; prove one's point, have the best of the
argument; draw a conclusion &c. (judge) 480.
follow, follow of course, follow as a matter of course, follow
necessarily; stand to reason; hold good, hold water.
convince, persuade (belief) 484.
Adj. demonstrating &c. v., demonstrative, demonstrable; probative,
unanswerable, conclusive; apodictic[obs3], apodeictic[obs3],
apodeictical[obs3]; irresistible, irrefutable, irrefragable; necessary.
categorical, decisive, crucial.
demonstrated &c. v.; proven; unconfuted[obs3], unanswered,
unrefuted[obs3]; evident &c. 474.
deducible, consequential, consectary[obs3], inferential,
following.
[demonstrated to one's satisfaction] convincing, cogent,
persuasive
(believable) 484.
Adv. of course, in consequence, consequently, as a matter of
course;
necessarily, of necessity.
Phr. probatum est[Lat]; there is nothing more to be said; quod est
demonstrandum[Lat], Q.E.D.; it must follow; exitus acta probat[Lat].
#479. Confutation.—N. {ant 478} confutation, refutation; answer,
complete answer; disproof, conviction, redargution[obs3], invalidation;
exposure, exposition; clincher; retort; reductio ad absurdum; knock
down argument, tu quoque argument[Lat]; sockdolager * [obs3][U. S.].
correction &c. 527a; dissuasion &c. 616. V. confute, refute, disprove;
parry, negative, controvert, rebut, confound, disconfirm,
redargue[obs3], expose, show the fallacy of, defeat; demolish, break
&c. (destroy) 162; overthrow, overturn scatter to the winds, explode,
invalidate; silence; put to silence, reduce to silence; clinch an
argument, clinch a question; give one a setdown[obs3], stop the mouth,
shut up; have, have on the hip. not leave a leg to stand on, cut the
ground from under one's feet. be confuted &c.; fail; expose one's weak
point, show one's weak point. counter evidence &c. 468. Adj. confuting,
confuted, &c. v.; capable of refutation; refutable, confutable[obs3],
defeasible. contravene (counter evidence) 468. condemned on one's own
showing,condemned out of one's own mouth. Phr. the argument falls to
the ground, cadit quaestio[Lat], it does not hold water, "suo sibi
gladio hunc jugulo" [Terence]; his argument was demolished by new
evidence.
SECTION V. RESULTS OF REASONING
#480. Judgment. [Conclusion.]—N. result, conclusion, upshot;
deduction, inference, ergotism[Med]; illation; corollary, porism[obs3];
moral. estimation, valuation, appreciation, judication[obs3];
dijudication[obs3], adjudication; arbitrament, arbitrement[obs3],
arbitration; assessment, ponderation[obs3]; valorization. award,
estimate; review, criticism, critique, notice, report. decision,
determination, judgment, finding, verdict, sentence, decree; findings
of fact; findings of law; res judicata[Lat]. plebiscite, voice, casting
vote; vote &c. (choice) 609; opinion &c. (belief) 484; good judgment
&c. (wisdom) 498. judge, umpire; arbiter, arbitrator; asessor, referee.
censor, reviewer, critic; connoisseur; commentator &c. 524; inspector,
inspecting officer. twenty-twenty hindsight[judgment after the fact];
armchair general, monday morning quarterback. V. judge, conclude; come
to a conclusion, draw a conclusion, arrive at a conclusion; ascertain,
determine, make up one's mind. deduce, derive, gather, collect, draw an
inference, make a deduction, weet|, ween[obs3]. form an estimate,
estimate, appreciate, value, count, assess, rate, rank, account;
regard, consider, think of; look upon &c. (believe) 484; review; size
up *. settle; pass an opinion, give an opinion; decide, try, pronounce,
rule; pass judgment, pass sentence; sentence, doom; find; give
judgment, deliver judgment; adjudge, adjudicate; arbitrate, award,
report; bring in a verdict; make absolute, set a question at rest;
confirm &c. (assent) 488. comment, criticize, kibitz; pass under review
&c. (examine) 457; investigate &c. (inquire) 461. hold the scales, sit
in judgment; try judgment, hear a cause. Adj. judging &c. v.; judicious
&c. (wise) 498; determinate, conclusive. Adv. on the whole, all things
considered. Phr. "a Daniel come to judgment" [Merchant of Venice]; "and
stand a critic, hated yet caress'd" [Byron]; "it is much easier to be
critical than to be correct" [Disraeli]; la critique est aisee et l'art
est difficile[Fr]; "nothing if not critical" [Othello]; "O most lame
and impotent conclusion" [Othello].
#480a. [Result of search or inquiry.] Discovery.—N. discovery,
detection, disenchantment; ascertainment[obs3], disclosure, find,
revelation. trover &c.(recovery) 775[Law]. V. discover, find,
determine, evolve, learn &c. 539; fix upon; pick up; find out, trace
out, make out, hunt out, fish out, worm out, ferret out, root out;
fathom; bring out, draw out; educe, elicit, bring to light; dig out,
grub up, fish up; unearth, disinter. solve, resolve, elucidate;
unriddle, unravel, unlock, crack, crack open; pick up, open the lock;
find a clue, find clew a to, find the key to the riddle; interpret &c.
522; disclose &c. 529. trace, get at; hit it, have it; lay one's
finger, lay one's hands upon; spot; get at the truth, arrive at the
truth &c. 494; put the saddle on the right horse, hit the right nail on
the head. be near the truth, be warm, get warmer, burn; smoke, scent,
sniff, catch a whiff of, smell a rat. open the eyes to; see through,
see daylight, see in its true colors, see the cloven foot; detect;
catch, catch tripping. pitch upon, fall upon, light upon, hit upon,
stumble upon, pop upon; come across, come onto; meet with, meet up
with, fall in with. recognize, realize; verify, make certain of,
identify. Int. eureka! aha[obs3]! I've got it!
#481. Misjudgment.—N. misjudgment, obliquity of judgment;
miscalculation, miscomputation, misconception &c. (error) 495; hasty
conclusion. [causes of misjudgment. 1] prejudgment,
prejudication[obs3], prejudice; foregone conclusion; prenotion[obs3],
prevention, preconception, predilection, prepossession,
preapprehension[obs3], presumption, assumption, presentiment; fixed
idea, preconceived idea; ide fixe; mentis gratissimus error[Lat];
fool's paradise. [causes of misjudgment.2] esprit de corps, party
spirit, partisanship, clannishness, prestige. [causes of misjudgment.
3] bias, bigotry, warp, twist; hobby, fad, quirk, crotchet, partiality,
infatuation, blind side, mote in the eye. [causes of misjudgment. 4]
one-sided views, one-track mind, partial views, narrow views, confined
views, superficial views, one-sided ideas, partial ideas, narrow
ideas, confined ideas, superficial ideas, one-sided conceptions,
partial conceptions, narrow conceptions, confined conceptions,
superficial conceptions, one-sided notions, partial notions, narrow
notions, confined notions, superficial notions; narrow mind; bigotry
&c. (obstinacy) 606; odium theologicum[Lat]; pedantry; hypercriticism.
doctrinaire &c. (positive) 474. [causes of misjudgment. 5]
overestimation &c. 482; underestimation &c. 483. [causes of
misjudgment. 6] ignorance &c. 491. erroneous assumptions, erroneous
data, mistaken assumptions, incorrect assumptions (error) 495. V.
misjudge, misestimate, misthink[obs3], misconjecture[obs3], misconceive
&c. (error) 495; fly in the face of facts; miscalculate, misreckon,
miscompute. overestimate &c. 482; underestimate &c. 483. prejudge,
forejudge; presuppose, presume, prejudicate[obs3]; dogmatize; have a
bias &c. n.; have only one idea; jurare in verba magistri[Lat], run
away with the notion; jump to a conclusion, rush to a conclusion, leap
to a conclusion, judge hastily, shoot from the hip, jump to
conclusions; look only at one side of the shield; view with jaundiced
eye, view through distorting spectacles; not see beyond one's nose;
dare pondus fumo[Lat]; get the wrong sow by the ear &c. (blunder) 699.
give a bias, give a twist; bias, warp, twist; prejudice, prepossess.
Adj. misjudging &c. v.; ill-judging, wrong-headed; prejudiced &c. v.;
jaundiced; shortsighted, purblind; partial, one-sided, superficial.
narrow-minded, narrow-souled[obs3]; mean-spirited; confined, illiberal,
intolerant, besotted, infatuated, fanatical, entete[Fr], positive,
dogmatic, conceited; opinative, opiniative[obs3]; opinioned,
opinionate, opinionative, opinionated; self-opinioned, wedded to an
opinion, opinitre; bigoted &c. (obstinate) 606; crotchety, fussy,
impracticable; unreasonable, stupid &c. 499; credulous &c 486; warped.
misjudged &c. v. Adv. ex parte[Lat]. Phr. nothing like leather; the
wish the father to the thought; wishful thinking; unshakable
conviction; "my mind is made up - don't bother me with the facts".
#482. Overestimation.—N. overestimation &c. v.; exaggeration &c.
549; vanity &c. 880; optimism, pessimism, pessimist. much cry and
little wool, much ado about nothing; storm in a teacup, tempest in a
teacup; fine talking. V. overestimate, overrate, overvalue, overprize,
overweigh, overreckon[obs3], overstrain, overpraise; eulogize; estimate
too highly, attach too much importance to, make mountains of molehills,
catch at straws; strain, magnify; exaggerate &c. 549; set too high a
value upon; think much of, make much of, think too much of, make too
much of; outreckon[obs3]; panegyrize[obs3]. extol, extol to the skies;
make the most of, make the best of, make the worst of; make two bites
of a cherry. have too high an opinion of oneself &c. (vanity) 880. Adj.
overestimated &c. v.; oversensitive &c. (sensibility) 822. Phr. all his
geese are swans; parturiunt montes[Lat].
#483. Underestimation.—N. underestimation; depreciation &c.
(detraction) 934; pessimism, pessimist; undervaluing &c. v.; modesty
&c. 881. V. underrate, underestimate, undervalue, underreckon[obs3];
depreciate; disparage &c. (detract) 934; not do justice to; misprize,
disprize; ridicule &c. 856; slight &c. (despise) 930; neglect &c. 460;
slur over. make light of, make little of, make nothing of, make no
account of; belittle; minimize, think nothing of; set no store by, set
at naught; shake off as dewdrops from the lion's mane. Adj.
depreciating, depreciated &c. v.; unvalued, unprized[obs3].
#484. Belief.—N. belief; credence; credit; assurance; faith, trust,
troth, confidence, presumption, sanguine expectation &c. (hope) 858;
dependence on, reliance on. persuasion, conviction, convincement[obs3],
plerophory[obs3], self- conviction; certainty &c. 474; opinion, mind,
view; conception, thinking; impression &c. (idea) 453; surmise &c. 514;
conclusion &c. (judgment) 480. tenet, dogma, principle, way of
thinking; popular belief &c. (assent) 488. firm belief, implicit
belief, settled belief, fixed rooted deep-rooted belief, staunch
belief, unshaken belief, steadfast belief, inveterate belief, calm
belief, sober belief, dispassionate belief, impartial belief,
well-founded belief, firm opinion, implicit opinion, settled opinion,
fixed rooted deep-rooted opinion, staunch opinion, unshaken opinion,
steadfast opinion, inveterate opinion, calm opinion, sober opinion,
dispassionate opinion, impartial opinion, well-founded opinion &c.;
uberrima fides[Lat][obs3]. system of opinions, school, doctrine,
articles, canons; article of faith, declaration of faith, profession of
faith; tenets, credenda[obs3], creed; thirty-nine articles &c.
(orthodoxy) 983a; catechism; assent &c. 488; propaganda &c. (teaching)
537. credibility &c. (probability) 472. V. believe, credit; give faith
to, give credit to, credence to; see, realize; assume, receive; set
down for, take for; have it, take it; consider, esteem, presume. count
upon, depend upon, calculate upon, pin one's faith upon, reckon upon,
lean upon, build upon, rely upon, rest upon; lay one's account for;
make sure of. make oneself easy about, on that score; take on trust,
take on credit; take for granted, take for gospel; allow some weight
to, attach some weight to. know, know for certain; have know, make no
doubt; doubt not; be, rest assured &c. adj.; persuade oneself, assure
oneself, satisfy oneself; make up one's mind. give one credit for;
confide in, believe in, put one's trust in; place in, repose in,
implicit confidence in; take one's word for, at one's word; place
reliance on, rely upon, swear by, regard to. think, hold; take, take
it; opine, be of opinion, conceive, trow[obs3], ween[obs3], fancy,
apprehend; have it, hold a belief, possess, entertain a belief, adopt a
belief, imbibe a belief, embrace a belief, get hold of a belief,
hazard, foster, nurture a belief, cherish a belief, have an opinion,
hold an opinion, possess, entertain an opinion, adopt an opinion,
imbibe an opinion, embrace an opinion, get hold of an opinion, hazard
an opinion, foster an opinion, nurture an opinion, cherish an opinion
&c. n. view as, consider as, take as, hold as, conceive as, regard as,
esteem as, deem as, look upon as, account as, set down as; surmise &c.
514. get it into one's head, take it into one's head; come round to an
opinion; swallow &c. (credulity) 486. cause to be believed &c. v.;
satisfy, persuade, have the ear of, gain the confidence of, assure;
convince, convict|!, convert; wean, bring round; bring over, win over;
indoctrinate &c. (teach) 537; cram down the throat; produce conviction,
carry conviction; bring home to, drive home to. go down, find credence,
pass current; be received &c. v., be current &c. adj.; possess, take
hold of, take possession of the mind. Adj. believing &c. v.; certain,
sure, assured, positive, cocksure, satisfied, confident, unhesitating,
convinced, secure. under the impression; impressed with, imbued with,
penetrated with. confiding, suspectless[obs3]; unsuspecting,
unsuspicious; void of suspicion; credulous &c. 486; wedded to. believed
&c. v.; accredited, putative; unsuspected. worthy of, deserving of,
commanding belief; credible, reliable, trustworthy, to be depended on;
satisfactory; probably &c. 472; fiducial[obs3], fiduciary; persuasive,
impressive. relating to belief, doctrinal. Adv. in the opinion of, in
the eyes of; me judice[Lat]; meseems[obs3], methinks; to the best of
one's belief; I dare say, I doubt not, I have no doubt, I am sure; sure
enough &c. (certainty) 474; depend upon, rely upon it; be assured, rest
assured; I'll warrant you &c. (affirmation) 535. Phr. experto crede
[Lat][Vergil]; fata viam invenient [Lat]; Justitiae soror incorrupta
Fides[Lat]; "live to explain thy doctrine by thy life" [Prior]; "stands
not within the prospect of belief" [Macbeth]; tarde quae credita
laedunt credimus [Lat][Ovid]; vide et crede [Lat].
#485. Unbelief. Doubt.—N. unbelief, disbelief, misbelief; discredit,
miscreance[obs3]; infidelity &c. (irreligion) 989[obs3]; dissent &c.
489; change of opinion &c. 484; retraction &c. 607. doubt &c.
(uncertainty) 475; skepticism, scepticism, misgiving, demure; distrust,
mistrust, cynicism; misdoubt[obs3], suspicion, jealousy, scruple,
qualm; onus probandi[Lat]. incredibility, incredibleness; incredulity.
[person who doubts] doubter, skeptic, cynic.; unbeliever &c. 487. V.
disbelieve, discredit; not believe &c. 484; misbelieve[obs3]; refuse to
admit &c. (dissent) 489; refuse to believe &c. (incredulity) 487.
doubt; be doubtful &c. (uncertain) 475; doubt the truth of; be
skeptical as to &c. adj.; diffide|; distrust, mistrust; suspect, smoke,
scent, smell a rat; have doubts, harbor doubts, entertain doubts,
suspicions; have one's doubts. demure, stick at, pause, hesitate,
scruple; stop to consider, waver. hang in suspense, hang in doubt.
throw doubt upon, raise a question; bring in, call in question;
question, challenge, dispute; deny &c. 536; cavil; cause a doubt, raise
a doubt, start a doubt, suggest a doubt, awake a doubt, make suspicion;
ergotize[obs3]. startle, stagger; shake one's faith, shake one's
belief, stagger one's faith, stagger one's belief. Adj. unbelieving;
skeptical, sceptical. [transitive] incredulous as to, skeptical as to;
distrustful as to, shy as to, suspicious of; doubting &c. v. doubtful
&c. (uncertain) 475; disputable; unworthy of, undeserving of belief &c.
484; questionable; suspect, suspicious; open to suspicion, open to
doubt; staggering, hard to believe, incredible, unbelievable, not to be
believed, inconceivable; impossible &c. 471. fallible &c. (uncertain)
475; undemonstrable; controvertible &c. (untrue) 495. Adv. cum grano
salis[Latin: with a grain of salt]; with grains of allowance. Phr.
fronti nulla fides[Lat]; nimium ne crede colori [Lat][Vergil]; "timeo
Danaos et dona ferentes" [Latin: I fear the Greeks even when bearing
gifts][Vergil], beware of Greeks bearing gifts; credat Judaeus Apella
[Lat][Horace]; let those believe who may; ad tristem partem stenua est
suspicio [Lat][Syrus].
#486. Credulity.—N. credulity, credulousness &c. adj.;
cullibility|, gullibility; gross credulity, infatuation; self delusion,
self deception; superstition; one's blind side; bigotry &c. (obstinacy)
606; hyperorthodoxy &c. 984[obs3]; misjudgment &c. 481. credulous
person &c (dupe) 547. V. be credulous &c. adj.; jurare in verba
magistri[Lat]; follow implicitly; swallow, gulp down; take on trust;
take for granted, take for gospel; run away with a notion, run away
with an idea; jump to a conclusion, rush to a conclusion; think the
moon is made of green cheese; take for granted, grasp the shadow for
the substance; catch at straws, grasp at straws. impose upon &c.
(deceive) 545. Adj. credulous, gullible; easily deceived &c. 545;
simple, green, soft, childish, silly, stupid; easily convinced;
over-credulous, over confident, over trustful; infatuated,
superstitious; confiding &c. (believing) 484. Phr. the wish the father
to the thought; credo quia impossibile [Lat][Tertullian]; all is not
gold that glitters; no es oro todo lo que reluce[Sp]; omne ignotum pro
magnifico[Lat].
#487. Incredulity.—N. incredulousness[obs3], incredulity;
#
skepticism, pyrrhonism|!; want of faith &c. (irreligion) 989[obs3].
suspiciousness &c. adj.; scrupulosity; suspicion &c. (unbelief)
485.
mistrust, cynicism.
unbeliever, skeptic, cynic; misbeliever.1, pyrrhonist; heretic &c.
(heterodox) 984.
V. be incredulous &c. adj.; distrust &c. (disbelieve) 485; refuse
to
believe; shut one's eyes to, shut one's ears to; turn a deaf ear to;
hold
aloof, ignore, nullis jurare in verba magistri[Lat].
Adj. incredulous, skeptical, unbelieving, inconvincible[obs3];
hard of
belief, shy of belief, disposed to doubt, indisposed to believe;
suspicious, scrupulous, distrustful, cynical.
1The word miscreant, which originally meant simply misbeliever, has now
quite another meaning (949). See Trench, On the Study of Words, p. 71.
#488. Assent.—N. assent, assentment[obs3]; acquiescence, admission;
nod; accord, concord, concordance; agreement &c. 23; affirmance,
affirmation; recognition, acknowledgment, avowal; confession of faith.
unanimity, common consent, consensus, acclamation, chorus, vox populi;
popular belief, current belief, current opinion; public opinion;
concurrence &c. (of causes) 178; cooperation &c. (voluntary) 709.
ratification, confirmation, corroboration, approval, acceptance, visa;
indorsement &c. (record) 551[obs3]. consent &c. (compliance) 762.
pressure to conform, herd instinct, peer pressure. V. assent; give
assent, yield assent, nod assent; acquiesce; agree &c. 23; receive,
accept, accede, accord, concur, lend oneself to, consent, coincide,
reciprocate, go with; be at one with &c. adj.; go along with, chime in
with, strike in with, close in with; echo, enter into one's views,
agree in opinion; vote, give one's voice for; recognize; subscribe to,
conform to, defer to; say yes to, say ditto, amen to, say aye to.
acknowledge, own, admit, allow, avow, confess; concede &c. (yield) 762;
come round to; abide by; permit &c. 760. arrive at an understanding,
come to an understanding, come to terms, come to an agreement. confirm,
affirm; ratify, approve, indorse, countersign; corroborate &c. 467. go
with the stream, swim with the stream, go with the flow, blow with the
wind; be in fashion, join in the chorus, join the crowd, be one of the
guys, be part of the group, go with the crowd, don't make waves; be in
every mouth. Adj. assenting &c. v; of one accord, of one mind; of the
same mind, at one with, agreed, acquiescent, content; willing &c. 602.
uncontradicted, unchallenged, unquestioned, uncontroverted. carried,
agreed, nem[abbr]. con. &c. adv[abbr: nemine contradicente].;
unanimous; agreed on all hands, carried by acclamation. affirmative &c.
535. Adv. yes, yea, ay, aye, true; good; well; very well, very true;
well and good; granted; even so, just so; to be sure, "thou hast said",
you said it, you said a mouthful; truly, exactly, precisely, that's
just it, indeed, certainly, you bet, certes[Lat], ex concesso[Lat]; of
course, unquestionably, assuredly, no doubt, doubtless; naturally,
natch. be it so; so be it, so let it be; amen; willingly &c. 602.
affirmatively, in the affirmative. OK, all right, might as well, why
not? with one consent, with one voice, with one accord; unanimously,
una voce, by common consent, in chorus, to a man; nem[abbr]. con.[abbr:
nemine contradicente], nemine dissentiente[Lat]; without a dissentient
voice; as one man, one and all, on all hands. Phr. avec plaisir[Fr];
chi tace accousente[It][obs3]; "the public mind is the creation of the
Master-Writers" [Disraeli]; you bet your sweet ass it is; what are we
waiting for? whenever you're ready; anytime you're ready.
#489. Dissent.—N. dissent; discordance &c. (disagreement) 24;
#
difference diversity of opinion.
nonconformity &c. (heterodoxy) 984; protestantism, recusancy,
schism;
disaffection; secession &c. 624; recantation &c. 607.
dissension &c (discord) 713; discontent &c. 832; cavilling.
protest; contradiction &c (denial) 536; noncompliance &c
(rejection)
764.
dissentient, dissenter; non-juror, non-content, nonconformist;
sectary, separatist, recusant, schismatic, protestant, heretic.
refusal &c. 764.
V. dissent, demur; call in question &c. (doubt) 485; differ in
opinion, disagree; say no &c. 536; refuse assent, refuse to admit;
cavil,
protest, raise one's voice against, repudiate; contradict &c. (deny)
536.
have no notion of, differ toto caelo[Lat]; revolt at, revolt from
the
idea.
shake the head, shrug the shoulders; look askance, look
askant[obs3].
secede; recant &c. 607.
Adj. dissenting &c. v; negative &c. 536; dissident, dissentient;
unconsenting &c. (refusing) 764; non-content, nonjuring[obs3];
protestant,
recusant; unconvinced, unconverted.
unavowed, unacknowledged; out of the question.
discontented &c. 832; unwilling &c. 603; extorted.
sectarian, denominational, schismatic; heterodox; intolerant.
Adv. no &c. 536; at variance, at issue with; under protest.
Int. God forbid! not for the world; I'll be hanged if; never tell
me;
your humble servant, pardon me.
Phr. many men many minds; quot homines tot sententiae
[Lat][Terence];
tant s'en faut[Fr]; il s'en faut bien[Fr];no way; by no means; count me
out.
#490. Knowledge.—N. knowledge; cognizance, cognition, cognoscence|;
acquaintance, experience, ken, privity[obs3], insight, familiarity;
comprehension, apprehension; recognition; appreciation &c. (judgment)
480; intuition; conscience, consciousness; perception, precognition;
acroamatics|!. light, enlightenment; glimpse, inkling; glimmer,
glimmering; dawn; scent, suspicion; impression &c. (idea) 453;
discovery &c. 480a. system of knowledge, body of knowledge; science,
philosophy, pansophy[obs3]; acroama|!; theory, aetiology[obs3],
etiology; circle of the sciences; pandect[obs3], doctrine, body of
doctrine; cyclopedia, encyclopedia; school &c. (system of opinions)
484. tree of knowledge; republic of letters &c. (language) 560.
erudition, learning, lore, scholarship, reading, letters; literature;
book madness; book learning, bookishness; bibliomania[obs3],
bibliolatry[obs3]; information, general information; store of knowledge
&c.; education &c. (teaching) 537; culture, menticulture[obs3],
attainments; acquirements, acquisitions; accomplishments; proficiency;
practical knowledge &c. (skill) 698; liberal education; dilettantism;
rudiments &c (beginning) 66. deep knowledge, profound knowledge, solid
knowledge, accurate knowledge, acroatic knowledge[obs3], acroamatic
knowledge[obs3], vast knowledge, extensive knowledge, encyclopedic
knowledge, encyclopedic learning; omniscience, pantology[obs3]. march
of intellect; progress of science, advance of science, advance of
learning; schoolmaster abroad. [person who knows much] scholar &c. 492.
V. know, ken, scan, wot[obs3]; wot aware[obs3], be aware &c. adj.- of;
ween[obs3], weet[obs3], trow[obs3], have, possess. conceive; apprehend,
comprehend; take, realize, understand, savvy* [U.S.], appreciate;
fathom, make out; recognize, discern, perceive, see, get a sight-of,
experience. know full well; have some knowledge of, possess some
knowledge of; be au courant &c. adj.; have in one's head, have at one'
fingers ends; know by heart, know by rote; be master of; connaitre le
dessous des cartes[Fr], know what's what &c. 698. see one's way;
discover &c. 480a. come to one's knowledge &c. (information) 527. Adj.
knowing &c. v.; cognitive; acroamatic[obs3]. aware of, cognizant of,
conscious of; acquainted with, made acquainted with; privy to, no
stranger to; au -fait, au courant; in the secret; up to, alive to;
behind the scenes, behind the curtain; let into; apprized of, informed
of; undeceived. proficient with, versed with, read with, forward with,
strong with, at home in; conversant with, familiar with. erudite,
instructed, leaned, lettered, educated; well conned, well informed,
well read, well grounded, well educated; enlightened, shrewd, savant,
blue, bookish, scholastic, solid, profound, deep-read, book- learned;
accomplished &c (skillful) 698; omniscient; self-taught. known &c. v.;
ascertained, well-known, recognized, received, notorious, noted;
proverbial; familiar, familiar as household words, familiar to every
schoolboy; hackneyed, trite, trivial, commonplace. cognoscible[obs3],
cognizable. Adv. to one's knowledge, to the best of one's knowledge.
Phr. one's eyes being opened &c. (disclosure) 529; ompredre tout c'est
tout pardonner[French: to know all is to pardon all]; empta dolore
docet experientia[Lat]; γνῶθι σεαυτόν[Grk]; "half our knowledge we must
snatch not take" [Pope]; Jahre lehren mehr als Bucher[German: years
teach more than books]; "knowledge comes but wisdom lingers"[Tennyson];
"knowledge is power" [Bacon]; les affaires font les hommes [Fr]; nec
scire fas est omnia [Lat][Horace]; "the amassed thought and experience
of innumerable minds" [Emerson]; was ich nicht weiss macht mich nicht
heiss[Ger].
#491. Ignorance.—N. ignorance, nescience, tabula rasa[Lat], crass
ignorance, ignorance crasse[Fr]; unfamiliarity, unacquaintance[obs3];
unconsciousness &c. adj.; darkness, blindness; incomprehension,
inexperience, simplicity. unknown quantities, x, y, z. sealed book,
terra incognita, virgin soil, unexplored ground; dark ages. [Imperfect
knowledge] smattering, sciolism[obs3], glimmering, dilettantism;
bewilderment &c. (uncertainty) 475; incapacity. [Affectation of
knowledge] pedantry; charlatanry, charlatism[obs3]; Philister[obs3],
Philistine. V. be ignorant &c. adj.; not know &c. 490; know not, know
not what, know nothing of; have no idea, have no notion, have no
conception; not have the remotest idea; not know chalk from cheese.
ignore, be blind to; keep in ignorance &c. (conceal) 528. see through a
glass darkly; have a film over the eyes, have a glimmering &c. n.;
wonder whether; not know what to make of &c. (unintelligibility) 519;
not pretend to take upon, not take upon one self to say. Adj. ignorant;
nescient; unknowing, unaware, unacquainted, unapprised,
unapprized[obs3], unwitting, unweeting|, unconscious; witless,
weetless[obs3]; a stranger to; unconversant[obs3]. uninformed,
uncultivated, unversed, uninstructed, untaught, uninitiated, untutored,
unschooled, misguided, unenlightened; Philistine; behind the age.
shallow, superficial, green, rude, empty, half-learned, illiterate;
unread, uninformed, uneducated, unlearned, unlettered, unbookish;
empty- headed, dizzy, wooly-headed; pedantic; in the dark; benighted,
belated; blinded, blindfolded; hoodwinked; misinformed; au bout de son
latin, at the end of his tether, at fault; at sea &c. (uncertain) 475;
caught tripping. unknown, unapprehended, unexplained, unascertained,
uninvestigated[obs3], unexplored, unheard of, not perceived; concealed
&c. 528; novel. Adv. ignorantly &c. adj.; unawares; for anything, for
aught one knows; not that one knows. Int. God knows, Heaven knows, the
Lord knows, who knows, nobody knows. Phr. "ignorance never settles a
question" [Disraeli]; quantum animis erroris inest[Lat]! [Ovid]; "small
Latin and less Greek" [B. Jonson]; "that unlettered small-knowing soul"
[Love's Labor's Lost]; "there is no darkness but ignorance" [Twelfth
NIght].
#492. Scholar.—N. scholar, connoisseur, savant, pundit,
schoolman[obs3], professor, graduate, wrangler; academician,
academist[obs3]; master of arts, doctor, licentitate, gownsman;
philosopher, master of math; scientist, clerk; sophist,
sophister[obs3]; linguist; glossolinguist, philologist;
philologer[obs3]; lexicographer, glossographer; grammarian;
litterateur[Fr], literati, dilettanti, illuminati, cogniscenti[It];
fellow, Hebraist, lexicologist, mullah, munshi[obs3], Sanskritish;
sinologist, sinologue[obs3]; Mezzofanti[obs3], admirable Crichton,
Mecaenas. bookworm, helluo librorum[Lat]; bibliophile,
bibliomaniac[obs3]; bluestocking, bas-bleu[Fr]; bigwig, learned Theban,
don; Artium Baccalaureus[Lat][obs3], Artium Magister[Lat]. learned
man, literary man; homo multarum literarum[Lat]; man of learning, man
of letters, man of education, man of genius. antiquarian, antiquary;
archaeologist. sage &c. (wise man) 500. pedant, doctrinaire; pedagogue,
Dr. Pangloss; pantologist[obs3], criminologist. schoolboy &c. (learner)
541. Adj. learned &c. 490; brought up at the feet of Gamaliel. Phr. "he
was a scholar and a ripe and good one" [Henry VIII]; "the manifold
linguist" [All's Well That Ends Well].
#493. Ignoramus.—N. ignoramus, dunce; wooden spoon; no scholar.
#
[insulting terms for ignorant person: see also imbecility 499,
folly
501] moron, imbecile, idiot; fool, jerk, nincompoop, asshole [vulgar].
[person with superficial knowledge] dilettante, sciolist[obs3],
smatterer, dabbler, half scholar; charlatan; wiseacre.
greenhorn, amateur &c (dupe) 547; novice, tyro &c (learner) 541;
numskull.
lubber &c (bungler) 701; fool &c. 501; pedant &c 492.
Adj. bookless[obs3], shallow; ignorant &c. 491.
Phr. "a wit with dunces and a dunce with wits" [Pope].
#494. [Object of knowledge.] Truth.—N. fact, reality &c.
(existence) 1; plain fact, plain matter of fact; nature &c. (principle)
5; truth, verity; gospel, gospel truth, God's honest truth; orthodoxy
&c. 983a; authenticity; veracity &c. 543; correctness,
correctitude[obs3]. accuracy, exactitude; exactness, preciseness &c.
adj.; precision, delicacy; rigor, mathematical precision, punctuality;
clockwork precision &c. (regularity) 80; conformity to rule; nicety.
orthology[obs3]; ipsissima verba[Lat]; realism. plain truth, honest
truth, sober truth, naked truth, unalloyed truth, unqualified truth,
stern truth, exact truth, intrinsic truth; nuda veritas[Lat]; the very
thing; not an -illusion &c 495; real Simon Pure; unvarnished tale,
unvarnished truth; the truth the whole truth and nothing but the
truth; just the thing. V. be true &c. adj., be the case; sand the test;
have the true ring; hold good, hold true, hold water. render true,
prove true &c. adj.; substantiate &c. (evidence) 467. get at the truth
&c. (discover) 480a. Adj. real, actual &c. (existing) 1; veritable,
true; right, correct; certain &c. 474; substantially true,
categorically true, definitively true &c; true to the letter, true as
gospel; unimpeachable; veracious &c. 543; unreconfuted[obs3],
unconfuted[obs3]; unideal[obs3], unimagined; realistic. exact,
accurate, definite, precise, well-defined, just, just so, so; strict,
severe; close &c. (similar) 17; literal; rigid, rigorous; scrupulous
&c. (conscientious) 939; religiously exact, punctual, mathematical,
scientific; faithful, constant, unerring; curious, particular, nice,
delicate, fine; clean-cut, clear-cut. verified, empirically true,
experimentally verified, substantiated, proven (demonstrated) 478.
rigorously true, unquestionably true. true by definition. genuine,
authentic, legitimate; orthodox &c. 983a; official, ex officio. pure,
natural, sound, sterling; unsophisticated, unadulterated, unvarnished,
unalloyed, uncolored; in its true colors; pukka[obs3]. well-grounded,
well founded; solid, substantial, tangible, valid; undistorted,
undisguised; unaffected, unexaggerated, unromantic, unflattering. Adv.
truly &c. adj.; verily, indeed, really, in reality; with truth &c.
(veracity) 543; certainly &c. (certain) 474; actually &c. (existence)
1; in effect &c (intrinsically) 5. exactly &c. adj.; ad amussim[Lat];
verbatim, verbatim et literatim [Lat]; word for word, literally,
literatim[Lat], totidem vervis[Lat], sic, to the letter, chapter and
verse, ipsissimis verbis[Lat]; ad unguem[Lat]; to an inch; to a nicety,
to a hair, to a tittle, to a turn, to a T; au pied de la lettre [Fr];
neither more nor less; in every respect, in all respects; sous tous les
rapports[Fr]; at any rate, at all events; strictly speaking. Phr. the
truth is, the fact is; rem acu tetigisti[obs3][Lat]; en suivant la
verite [Fr]; ex facto jus oritur [Lat]; la verita e figlia del empo
[It]; locos y ninos dicen la verdad [Spanish: crazy people and children
tell the truth]; nihil est veritatis luce dulcius [Lat][Cicero];
veritas nunquam perit [Lat][Seneca]; veritatem dies aperit
[Lat][Seneca]; "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth";
"just the facts, ma'am, just the facts." [Dragnet].
#495. Error.—N. error, fallacy; misconception, misapprehension,
misstanding[obs3], misunderstanding; inexactness &c. adj.; laxity;
misconstruction &c. (misinterpretation) 523; miscomputation &c.
(misjudgment) 481; non sequitur &c. 477; mis-statement, mis-report;
mumpsimus[obs3]. mistake; miss, fault, blunder, quiproquo, cross
purposes, oversight, misprint, erratum, corrigendum, slip, blot, flaw,
loose thread; trip, stumble &c. (failure) 732; botchery &c. (want of
skill) 699[obs3]; slip of the tongue, slip of the lip, Freudian slip;
slip of the pen; lapsus linguae[Lat], clerical error; bull &c.
(absurdity) 497; haplography[obs3]. illusion, delusion; snare; false
impression, false idea; bubble; self- decit, self-deception; mists of
error. heresy &c. (heterodoxy) 984; hallucination &c. (insanity) 503;
false light &c. (fallacy of vision) 443; dream &c. (fancy) 515; fable
&c. (untruth) 546; bias &c. (misjudgment) 481; misleading &c. v. V. be
erroneous &c. adj. cause error; mislead, misguide; lead astray, lead
into error; beguile, misinform &c. (misteach) 538[obs3]; delude; give a
false impression, give a false idea; falsify, misstate; deceive &c.
545; lie &c. 544. err; be -in error &c. adj., be mistaken &c. v.; be
deceived &c. (duped) 547; mistake, receive a false impression, deceive
oneself; fall into error, lie under error, labor under an error &c. n.;
be in the wrong, blunder; misapprehend, misconceive, misunderstand,
misreckon, miscount, miscalculate &c. (misjudge) 481. play at cross
purposes, be at cross purposes &c. (misinterpret) 523. trip, stumble;
lose oneself &c. (uncertainty) 475; go astray; fail &c. 732; be in the
wrong box; take the wrong sow by the ear &c. (mismanage) 699; put the
saddle on the wrong horse; reckon without one's host; take the shadow
for the substance &c (credulity) 486; dream &c (imagine) 515. Adj.
erroneous, untrue, false, devoid of truth, fallacious, apocryphal,
unreal, ungrounded, groundless; unsubstantial &c. 4; heretical &c.
(heterodox) 984; unsound; illogical &c. 477. inexact, unexact
inaccurate[obs3], incorrect; indefinite &c. (uncertain) 475. illusive,
illusory; delusive; mock, ideal &c (imaginary) 515; spurious &c. 545;
deceitful &c. 544; perverted. controvertible, unsustainable;
unauthenticated, untrustworthy. exploded, refuted; discarded. in error,
under an error &c. n.; mistaken &c. v.; tripping &c. v.; out, out in
one's reckoning; aberrant; beside the mark, wide of the mark, wide of
the truth, way off, far off; astray &c (at fault) 475; on a false
scent, on the wrong scent; in the wrong box, outside the ballpark; at
cross purposes, all in the wrong; all out. Adv. more or less. Phr.
errare est humanum[Lat]; mentis gratissimus error [Lat][Horace]; "on
the dubious waves of error tost" [Cowper]; "to err is human, to forgive
divine" [Pope]; "you lie—under a mistake" [Shelley].
#496. Maxim.—N. maxim, aphorism; apothegm, apophthegm[obs3];
#
dictum, saying, adage, saw, proverb; sentence, mot[Fr], motto, word,
byword, moral, phylactery, protasis[obs3].
axiom, theorem, scholium[obs3], truism, postulate.
first principles, a priori fact, assumption (supposition) 514.
reflection &c (idea) 453; conclusion &c (judgment) 480; golden
rule
&c. (precept) 697; principle, principia[Lat]; profession of faith &c.
(belief) 484; settled principle, accepted principle, formula.
accepted fact.
received truth, wise maxim, sage maxim, received maxim, admitted
maxim, recognized maxim &c; true saying, common saying, hackneyed
saying,
trite saying, commonplace saying &c.
Adj. aphoristic, proverbial, phylacteric[obs3]; axiomatic, gnomic.
Adv. as the saying goes, as the saying is, as they say.
#497. Absurdity.—N. absurdity, absurdness &c. adj.; imbecility &c.
499; alogy|, nonsense, utter nonsense; paradox, inconsistency;
stultiloquy[obs3], stultiloquence[obs3]; nugacity[obs3]. blunder,
muddle, bull; Irishism|!, Hibernicism|!; slipslop[obs3]; anticlimax,
bathos; sophism &c. 477. farce, galimathias[obs3], amphigouri[obs3],
rhapsody; farrago &c (disorder) 59; betise[Fr]; extravagance, romance;
sciamachy[obs3]. sell, pun, verbal quibble, macaronic[obs3]. jargon,
fustian, twaddle, gibberish &c (no meaning) 517; exaggeration &c 549;
moonshine, stuff; mare's nest, quibble, self-delusion. vagary,
tomfoolery, poppycock, mummery, monkey trick, boutade[Fr], escapade. V.
play the fool &c. 499; talk nonsense, parler a tort et a travess[Fr];
battre la campagne[Fr][obs3]; ἀνεμώλια βάζειν be -absurd &c. adj. Adj.
absurd, nonsensical, preposterous, egregious, senseless, inconsistent,
ridiculous, extravagant, quibbling; self-annulling, self-
contradictory; macaronic[obs3], punning. foolish &c. 499; sophistical
&c. 477; unmeaning &c. 517; without rhyme or reason; fantastic. Int.
fiddlededee! pish! pho[obs3]! "in the name of the Prophet—figs!"
[Horace Smith]. Phr. credat Judaeus Apella [Lat][Horace]; tell it to
the marines.
_Faculties_
#498. Intelligence. Wisdom.—N. intelligence, capacity,
comprehension, understanding; cuteness, sabe * [obs3][U.S.], savvy *
[U.S.]; intellect &c. 450; nous[Fr], parts, sagacity, mother wit, wit,
esprit, gumption, quick parts, grasp of intellect; acuteness &c adj.;
acumen, subtlety, penetration, perspicacy[obs3], perspicacity;
discernment, due sense of, good judgment; discrimination &c 465;
cunning &c. 702; refinement &c (taste) 850. head, brains, headpiece,
upper story, long head; eagle eye, eagle- glance; eye of a lynx, eye of
a hawk. wisdom, sapience, sense; good sense, common sense, horse sense
[U.S.], plain sense; rationality, reason; reasonableness &c. adj;
judgment; solidity, depth, profundity, caliber; enlarged views; reach
of thought, compass of thought; enlargement of mind. genius,
inspiration, geist[Ger], fire of genius, heaven-born genius, soul;
talent &c. (aptitude) 698. [Wisdom in action] prudence &c. 864;
vigilance &c. 459; tact &c 698; foresight &c 510; sobriety,
self-possession, aplomb, ballast. a bright thought, not a bad idea.
Solomon-like wisdom. V. be -intelligent &c. adj.; have all one's wits
about one; understand &c. (intelligible) 518; catch an idea, take in an
idea; take a joke, take a hint. see through, see at a glance, see with
half an eye, see far into, see through a millstone; penetrate; discern
&c (descry) 441; foresee &c 510. discriminate &c. 465; know what's what
&c. 698; listen to reason. Adj. intelligent[Applied to persons], quick
of apprehension, keen, acute, alive, brainy, awake, bright, quick,
sharp; quick witted, keen witted, clear witted, sharp- eyed, sharp
sighted, sharp witted; wide-awake; canny, shrewd, astute; clear-headed;
farsighted &c 510; discerning, perspicacious, penetrating, piercing;
argute[obs3]; quick-witted, nimble- witted, needle-witted; sharp as a
needle, sharp as a tack; alive to &c (cognizant) 490; clever &c. (apt)
698; arch &c (cunning) 702; pas si bete[Fr]; acute &c 682. wise, sage,
sapient, sagacious, reasonable, rational, sound, in one's right mind,
sensible, abnormis sapiens[Lat], judicious, strong-minded.
unprejudiced, unbiased, unbigoted[obs3], unprepossessed[obs3];
undazzled[obs3], unperplexed[obs3]; unwarped judgment[obs3], impartial,
equitable, fair. cool; cool-headed, long-headed, hardheaded,
strong-headed; long- sighted, calculating, thoughtful, reflecting;
solid, deep, profound. oracular; heaven-directed, heaven-born. prudent
&c (cautious) 864; sober, stand, solid; considerate, politic, wise in
one's generation; watchful &c. 459; provident &c (prepared) 673; in
advance of one' age; wise as a serpent, wise as Solomon, wise as Solon.
[Applied to actions] wise, sensible, reasonable, judicious; well-
thought-out, well-planned, well-judged, well-advised; prudent, politic;
expedient &c. 646. Phr. aut regem aut fatuum nasci oportet[Lat]; "but
with the morning cool reflection came" [Scott]; flosculi
sententiarum[Lat]; les affaires font les hommes[Fr]; mas vale saber que
haber[Sp]; mas vale ser necio que profiadol nemo solus sapit
[Lat][Plautus]; nosce te[Lat]; γνῶθι σεαυτόν[Grk]; nullum magnum
ingenium sine mixtura dementiae fuit [Lat][Seneca, from Aristotle];
sapere aude [Lat][Horace]; victrix fortunae sapientia [Lat][Juvenal].
#499. Imbecility. Folly—N. want of -intelligence &c. 498, want of -
intellect &c. 450; shadowness[obs3], silliness, foolishness &c. adj.;
imbecility, incapacity, vacancy of mind, poverty of intellect, weakness
of intellect, clouded perception, poor head, apartments to let;
stupidity, stolidity; hebetude[obs3], dull understanding, meanest
capacity, shortsightedness; incompetence &c (unskillfulness) 699. one's
weak side, not one's strong point; bias &c 481; infatuation &c.
(insanity) 503. simplicity, puerility, babyhood; dotage, anility[obs3],
second childishness, fatuity; idiocy, idiotism[obs3]; driveling. folly,
frivolity, irrationality, trifling, ineptitude, nugacity[obs3],
inconsistency, lip wisdom, conceit; sophistry &c. 477; giddiness &c
(inattention) 458; eccentricity &c. 503; extravagance &c (absurdity)
497; rashness &c. 863. act of folly &c. 699. b. be - imbecile &c adj.;
have no -brains, have no sense &c. 498. trifle, drivel, radoter[obs3],
dote; ramble &c (madness) 503; play the fool, play the monkey, monkey
around, fool around; take leave of one's senses (insanity) 503; not see
an inch beyond one's nose; stultify oneself &c. 699; talk nonsense &c.
497. Adj. unintelligent[Applied to persons], unintellectual,
unreasoning; mindless, witless, reasoningless[obs3], brainless;
halfbaked; having no head &c. 498; not -bright &c. 498;
inapprehensible[obs3]. weak headed, addle headed, puzzle headed,
blunder headed, muddle headed, muddy headed, pig headed, beetle headed,
buffle headed[obs3], chuckle headed, mutton headed, maggoty headed,
grossheaded[obs3]; beef headed, fat witted, fat-headed. weak-minded,
feeble-minded; dull minded, shallow minded, lack-brained;
rattle-brained, rattle headed; half witted, lean witted, short witted,
dull witted, blunt-witted, shallow-pated[obs3], clod-pated[obs3],
addle- pated[obs3]; dim-sighted, short-sighted; thick-skulled; weak in
the upper story. shallow, borne, weak, wanting, soft, sappy, spoony;
dull, dull as a beetle; stupid, heavy, insulse[obs3], obtuse, blunt,
stolid, doltish; asinine; inapt &c. 699; prosaic &c. 843;
hebetudinous[obs3]. childish, child-like; infantine[obs3], infantile,
babyish, babish[obs3]; puerile, anile; simple &c. (credulous) 486;
old-womanish. fatuous, idiotic, imbecile, driveling; blatant, babbling;
vacant; sottish; bewildered &c.475. blockish[obs3], unteachable
Boeotian, Boeotic; bovine; ungifted, undiscerning[obs3], unenlightened,
unwise, unphilosophical[obs3]; apish; simious[obs3]. foolish, silly,
senseless, irrational, insensate, nonsensical, inept; maudlin.
narrow-minded &c. 481; bigoted &c. (obstinate) 606; giddy &c.
(thoughtless) 458; rash &c. 863; eccentric &c. (crazed) 503. [Applied
to actions] foolish, unwise, injudicious, improper, unreasonable,
without reason, ridiculous, absurd, idiotic, silly, stupid, asinine;
ill-imagined, ill-advised, ill-judged, ill-devised; mal entendu[Fr];
inconsistent, irrational, unphilosophical[obs3]; extravagant &c
(nonsensical) 497; sleeveless, idle; pointless, useless &c. 645;
inexpedient &c. 647; frivolous &c. (trivial) 643. Phr. Davus sum non
[Lat][Oedipus]; "a fool's bolt is soon shot" clitellae bovi sunt
impositae [obs3][Henry V.][Lat][Cicero]; "fools rush in where angels
fear to tread" [Pope]; il n' a ni bouche ni eperon [Fr]; "the bookful
blockhead, ignorantly read" [Pope]; "to varnish nonsense with the
charms of sound" [Churchill].
#500. Sage—N. sage, wise man; genius; master mind, master spirit of
#
the age; longhead[obs3], thinker; intellectual, longhair.
authority, oracle, luminary, shining light, esprit fort, magnus
Apollo[Lat][obs3], Solon, Solomon, Nestor, Magi, "second Daniel."
man of learning &c. 492; expert &c. 700; wizard &c. 994.
[Ironically] wiseacre, bigwig, know-it-all; poor man's Einstein.
Adj. venerable, reverenced, emeritus.
Phr. barba tenus sapientes[Lat].
#501. Fool.—N. fool, idiot, tomfool, wiseacre, simpleton,
witling[obs3], dizzard[obs3], donkey, ass; ninny, ninnyhammer[obs3];
chowderhead[obs3], chucklehead[obs3]; dolt, booby, Tom Noddy,
looby[obs3], hoddy-doddy[obs3], noddy, nonny, noodle, nizy[obs3], owl;
goose, goosecap[obs3]; imbecile; gaby[obs3]; radoteur[obs3],
nincompoop, badaud[obs3], zany; trifler, babbler; pretty fellow;
natural, niais[obs3]. child, baby, infant, innocent, milksop, sop. oaf,
lout, loon, lown[obs3], dullard, doodle, calf, colt, buzzard, block,
put, stick, stock, numps[obs3], tony. bull head, dunderhead,
addlehead[obs3], blockhead, dullhead[obs3], loggerhead, jolthead[obs3],
jolterhead[obs3], beetlehead[obs3], beetlebrain, grosshead[obs3],
muttonhead, noodlehead, giddyhead[obs3]; numbskull, thickskull[obs3];
lackbrain[obs3], shallowbrain[obs3]; dimwit, halfwit, lackwit[obs3];
dunderpate[obs3]; lunkhead sawney[obs3][U.S.], gowk[obs3]; clod,
clod-hopper; clod-poll, clot- poll, clot-pate; bull calf; gawk,
Gothamite, lummox, rube [U.S.]; men of Boeotia, wise men of Gotham. un
sot a triple etage[Fr], sot; jobbernowl[obs3], changeling, mooncalf,
gobemouche[obs3]. dotard, driveler; old fogey, old woman, crock; crone,
grandmother; cotquean[obs3], henhussy[obs3]. incompetent (insanity)
503. greenhorn &c (dupe) 547; dunce &c (ignoramus) 493; lubber &c
(bungler) 701; madman &c 504. one who will not set the Thames on fire;
one who did not invent gunpowder, qui n'a pas invente' la poudre [Fr];
no conjuror. Phr. fortuna favet fatuis[Lat]; les fous font les festinas
et les sages les mangent [Fr]; nomina stultorum parietibus harrent
[Lat]; stultorum plena sunt omnia [Lat][Cicero].
#502. Sanity.—N. sanity; soundness &c. adj.; rationality, sobriety,
#
lucidity, lucid interval; senses, sober senses, right mind, sound mind,
mens sana[Lat].
V. be sane &c. adj.; retain one's senses, retain one's reason.
become sane &c. adj.; come to one's senses, sober down.
render sane &c. adj; bring to one's senses, sober.
Adj. sane, rational, reasonable, compos mentis, of sound mind;
sound,
sound-minded; lucid.
self-possessed; sober, sober-minded.
in one's sober senses, in one's right mind; in possession of one's
faculties.
Adv. sanely &c.adj.
#503. Insanity.—N. disordered reason, disordered intellect;
diseased mind, unsound mind, abnormal mind; derangement, unsoundness;
psychosis; neurosis; cognitive disorder; affective disorder[obs3].
insanity, lunacy; madness &c. adj.; mania, rabies, furor, mental
alienation, aberration; paranoia, schizophrenia; dementation[obs3],
dementia, demency[obs3]; phrenitis[obs3], phrensy[obs3], frenzy,
raving, incoherence, wandering, delirium, calenture of the brain[obs3];
delusion, hallucination; lycanthropy[obs3]; brain storm|!. vertigo,
dizziness, swimming; sunstroke, coup de soleil[Fr], siriasis[obs3].
fanaticism, infatuation, craze; oddity, eccentricity, twist, monomania
(caprice) 608; kleptodipsomania[obs3]; hypochondriasis &c. (low
spirits) 837[Med]; melancholia, depression, clinical depression, severe
depression; hysteria; amentia[obs3]. screw loose, tile loose, slate
loose; bee in one's bonnet, rats in the upper story. dotage &c.
(imbecility) 499. V. be insane &c. adj. become insane &c. adj; lose
one's senses, lose one's reason, lose one's faculties, lose one's wits;
go mad, run mad, lose one's marbles [coll.], go crazy, go bonkers
[coll.], flip one's wig [coll.], flip one's lid[coll.], flip
out[coll.], flip one's bush [coll.]. rave, dote, ramble, wander; drivel
&c. (be imbecile) 499; have a screw loose &c. n., have a devil; avoir
le diable au corps[Fr]; lose one's head &c. (be uncertain) 475. render
mad, drive mad &c adj.; madden, dementate[obs3], addle the wits, addle
the brain, derange the head, infatuate, befool[obs3]; turn the brain,
turn one's head; drive one nuts [coll.]. Adj. insane, mad, lunatic,
loony[coll.]; crazy, crazed, aliene[obs3], non compos mentis; not
right, cracked, touched; bereft of reason; all possessed, unhinged,
unsettled in one's mind; insensate, reasonless, beside oneself,
demented, daft; phrenzied[obs3], frenzied, frenetic; possessed,
possessed with a devil; deranged, maddened, moonstruck;
shatterpated[obs3]; mad-brained, scatter brained, shatter brained,
crackbrained; touched, tetched [dialect]; off one's head. [behavior
suggesting insanity] maniacal; delirious, lightheaded, incoherent,
rambling, doting, wandering; frantic, raving, stark staring mad, stark
raving mad, wild-eyed, berserk; delusional, hallucinatory. [behavior
somewhat resembling insanity] corybantic[obs3], dithyrambic; rabid,
giddy, vertiginous, wild; haggard, mazed; flighty; distracted,
distraught; depressed; agitated, hyped up; bewildered &c. (uncertain)
475. mad as a March hare, mad as a hatter; of unsound mind &c. n.;
touched in one's head, wrong in one's head, not right in one's head,
not in one's right mind, not right in one's wits, upper story; out of
one's mind, out of one's wits, out of one's skull [coll.], far gone,
out of one's senses, out of one's wits; not in one's right mind.
fanatical, infatuated, odd, eccentric; hypped[obs3], hyppish[obs3];
spaced out [coll.]. imbecile, silly, &c. 499. Adv. like one possessed.
Phr. the mind having lost its balance; the reason under a cloud; tet
exaltee[French], tet montee[French]; ira furor brevis est[Latin]; omnes
stultos insanire [Latin][Horace].
#504. Madman.—N. madman, lunatic, maniac, bedlamite[obs3],
candidate for Bedlam, raver[obs3], madcap, crazy; energumen[obs3];
automaniac[obs3], monomaniac, dipsomaniac, kleptomaniac; hypochondriac
&c. (low spirits); crank, Tom o'Bedlam. dreamer &c. 515; rhapsodist,
seer, highflier[obs3], enthusiast, fanatic, fanatico[Sp];
exalte[French]; knight errant, Don Quixote. idiot &c. 501.
SECTION VI. EXTENSION OF THOUGHT
_1. To the Past_
#505. Memory.—N. memory, remembrance; retention, retentiveness;
tenacity; veteris vestigia flammae[Lat]; tablets of the memory;
readiness. reminiscence, recognition, recollection,
rememoration[obs3]; recurrence, flashback; retrospect, retrospection.
afterthought, post script, PS. suggestion &c. (information) 527;
prompting &c. v.; hint, reminder; remembrancer[obs3], flapper; memorial
&c. (record) 551; commemoration &c. (celebration) 883. [written
reminder] note, memo, memorandum; things to be remembered, token of
remembrance, memento, souvenir, keepsake, relic, memorabilia. art of
memory, artificial memory; memoria technica[Lat]; mnemonics,
mnemotechnics[obs3]; phrenotypics[obs3]; Mnemosyne. prompt-book; crib
sheet, cheat sheet. retentive memory, tenacious memory, photographic
memory, green memory|!, trustworthy memory, capacious memory, faithful
memory, correct memory, exact memory, ready memory, prompt memory,
accurate recollection; perfect memory, total recall. celebrity, fame,
renown, reputation &c. (repute) 873. V. remember, mind; retain the
memory of, retain the remembrance of; keep in view. recognize,
recollect, bethink oneself, recall, call up, retrace; look back, trace
back, trace backwards; think back, look back upon; review; call upon,
recall upon, bring to mind, bring to remembrance; carry one's thoughts
back; rake up the past. have in the thoughts, hold in the thoughts,
bear in the thoughts, carry in the thoughts, keep in the thoughts,
retain in the thoughts, have in the memory, hold in the memory, bear in
the memory, carry in the memory, keep in the memory, retain in the
memory, have in the mind, hold in the mind, bear in the mind, carry in
the mind, keep in the mind, retain in the mind, hold in remembrance; be
in one's thoughts, live in one's thoughts, remain in one's thoughts,
dwell in one's thoughts, haunt one's thoughts, impress one's thoughts,
be in one's mind, live in one's mind, remain in one's mind, dwell in
one's mind, haunt one's mind, impress one's mind, dwell in one's
memory. sink in the mind; run in the head; not be able to get out of
one's head; be deeply impressed with; rankle &c. (revenge) 919. recur
to the mind; flash on the mind, flash across the memory. [cause to
remember] remind; suggest &c. (inform ) 527; prompt; put in mind, keep
in mind, bring to mind; fan the embers; call up, summon up, rip up;
renew; infandum renovare dolorem [Lat]; jog the memory, flap the
memory, refresh the memory, rub up the memory, awaken the memory; pull
by the sleeve; bring back to the memory, put in remembrance,
memorialize. task the memory, tax the memory. get at one's fingers'
ends, have at one's fingers', learn at one's fingers', know one's
lesson, say one's lesson, repeat by heart, repeat by rote; say one's
lesson; repeat, repeat as a parrot; have at one's fingers' ends.
[transitive] commit to memory, memorize; con over, con; fix in the
memory, rivet in the memory, imprint in the memory, impress in the
memory, stamp in the memory, grave in the memory, engrave in the
memory, store in the memory, treasure up in the memory, bottle up in
the memory, embalm in the memory, enshrine in the memory; load the
memory with, store the memory with, stuff the memory with, burden the
memory with. redeem from oblivion; keep the memory alive, keep the
wound green, pour salt in the wound, reopen old wounds'; tangere
ulcus[obs3][Lat]; keep up the memory of; commemorate &c. (celebrate)
883. make a note of, jot a note, pen a memorandum &c. (record) 551.
Adj. remembering, remembered &c. v.; mindful, reminiscential[obs3];
retained in the memory &c. v.; pent up in one's memory; fresh; green,
green in remembrance; unforgotten, present to the mind; within one's
memory &c. n.; indelible; uppermost in one's thoughts; memorable &c.
(important) 642. Adv. by heart, by rote; without book, memoriter[obs3].
in memory of; in memoriam; memoria in aeterna[Lat]; suggestive. Phr.
manet alta mente repostum [Lat][Vergil]; forsan et haec olim meminisse
juvabit [Lat][Vergil]; absens haeres non erit [Lat]; beatae memoriae
[Lat]; "briefly thyself remember" [Lear]; mendacem memorem esse oportet
[Lat][Quintilian]; "memory the warder of the brain" [Macbeth]; parsque
est meminisse doloris [Lat][Ovid]; "to live in hearts we leave behind
is not to die" [Campbell]; vox audita peril littera scripta manet
[Lat]; out of sight, out of mind.
#506. Oblivion.—N. oblivion, obliviousness, lethe; forgetfulness &c.
adj.; amnesia; obliteration &c. 552 of, insensibility &c. 823 to the
past. short memory, treacherous memory, poor memory, loose memory,
slippery memory, failing memory; decay of memory, failure of memory,
lapse of memory; waters of Lethe, waters of oblivion. amnesty, general
pardon. [deliberate or unconscious forgetting] repressed memory. V.
forget; be forgetful &c. adj.; fall into oblivion, sink into oblivion;
have a short memory &c. n., have no head. forget one's own name, have
on the tip of one's tongue, come in one ear and go out the other. slip
memory, escape memory, fade from memory, die away from the memory;
lose, lose sight of. fail to recall, not be able to recall. [cause
oneself to forget: transitive] unlearn; efface &c. 552, discharge from
the memory; consign to oblivion, consign to the tomb of the Capulets;
think no more of &c. (turn the attention from) 458; cast behind one's
back, wean one's thoughts from; let bygones be bygones &c.(forgive)
918. Adj. forgotten &c. v.; unremembered, past recollection, bygone,
out of mind; buried in oblivion, sunk in oblivion; clean forgotten;
gone out of one's head, gone out of one's recollection. forgetful,
oblivious, mindless, Lethean; insensible &c. 823 to the past; heedless.
Phr. non mi ricordo[It]; the memory failing, the memory deserting one,
being at (or in) fault.
_2. To the Future_
#507. Expectation.—N. expectation, expectance, expectancy;
anticipation, reckoning, calculation; foresight &c. 510. contemplation,
prospection[obs3], lookout; prospect, perspective, horizon, vista;
destiny &c. 152. suspense, waiting, abeyance; curiosity &c. 455;
anxious expectation, ardent expectation, eager expectation, breathless
expectation, sanguine expectation; torment of Tantalus. hope &c. 858;
trust &c. (belief) 484; auspices &c. (prediction) 511; assurance,
confidence, presumption, reliance. V. expect; look for, look out for,
look forward to; hope for; anticipate; have in prospect, have in
contemplation; keep in view; contemplate, promise oneself; not wonder
&c. 870 at, not wonder if. wait for, tarry for, lie in wait for, watch
for, bargain for; keep a good lookout for, keep a sharp lookout for;
await; stand at "attention," abide, bide one's time, watch. foresee &c.
510; prepare for &c. 673; forestall &c. (be early) 132; count upon &c.
(believe in) 484; think likely &c. (probability) 472. lead one to
expect &c. (predict) 511; have in store for &c. (destiny) 152. prick up
one's ears, hold one's breath. Adj. expectant; expecting &c. v.; in
expectation &c. n.; on the watch &c. (vigilant) 459; open-eyed,
open-mouthed, in wide-eyed anticipation; agape, gaping, all agog; on
tenterhooks, on tiptoe, on the tiptoe of expectation; aux aguets[obs3];
ready; curious &c. 455; looking forward to. expected &c. v.; long
expected, foreseen; in prospect &c. n.; prospective; in one's eye, in
one's view, in the horizon, on the horizon, just over the horizon, just
around the corner, around the corner; impending &c. (destiny) 152. Adv.
on the watch &c. adj.; with breathless expectation &c. n.; with bated
breath, with rapt anticipation; arrectis auribus[Lat]. Phr. we shall
see; nous verrons[Fr]; "expectation whirls me round" [Troilus and
Cressida]; the light at the end of the tunnel.
#508. Inexpectation.—N. inexpectation[obs3], non-expectation; false
expectation &c. (disappointment) 509; miscalculation &c. 481. surprise,
sudden burst, thunderclap, blow, shock, start; bolt out of the blue;
wonder &c. 870; eye opener. unpleasant surprise, pleasant surprise. V.
not expect &c. 507; be taken by surprise; start; miscalculate &c. 481;
not bargain for; come upon, fall upon. be unexpected &c. adj.; come
unawares &c. adv.; turn up, pop, drop from the clouds; come upon one,
burst upon one, flash upon one, bounce upon one, steal upon one, creep
upon one; come like a thunder clap, burst like a thunderclap, thunder
bolt; take by surprise, catch by surprise, catch unawares, catch
napping; yach [obs3][S. Africa]. pounce upon, spring a mine upon.
surprise, startle, take aback, electrify, stun, stagger, take away
one's breath, throw off one's guard; astonish, dumbfound &c. (strike
with wonder) 870. Adj. nonexpectant[obs3]; surprised &c. v.; unwarned,
unaware; off one's guard; inattentive 458. unexpected, unanticipated,
unpredicted[obs3], unlooked for, unforeseen, unhoped for; dropped from
the clouds; beyond expectation, contrary to expectation, against
expectation, against all expectation; out of one's reckoning; unheard
of &c. (exceptional) 83; startling, surprising; sudden &c.
(instantaneous) 113. unpredictable, unforeseeable (unknowable) 519.
Adv. abruptly, unexpectedly, surprisingly; plump, pop, a
l'improviste[Fr], unawares; without notice, without warning, without a
"by your leave"; like a thief in the night, like a thunderbolt; in an
unguarded moment; suddenly &c. (instantaneously) 113. Int.
heydey[obs3]! &c. (wonder) 870. Phr. little did one think, little did
one expect; nobody would ever suppose, nobody would ever think, nobody
would ever expect; who would have thought? it beats the Dutch|!.
#509. [Failure of expectation.] Disappointment.—N. disappointment;
blighted hope, balk; blow; anticlimax; slip 'twixt cup and lip;
nonfulfillment of one's hopes; sad disappointment, bitter
disappointment; trick of fortune; afterclap; false expectation, vain
expectation; miscalculation &c. 481; fool's paradise; much cry and
little wool. V. be disappointed; look blank, look blue; look aghast,
stand aghast &c. (wonder) 870; find to one's cost; laugh on the wrong
side of one's mouth; find one a false prophet. not realize one's hope,
not realize one's expectation. [cause to be disappointed] disappoint;
frustrate, discomfit, crush, defeat (failure) 732; crush one's hope,
dash one's hope, balk one's hope, disappoint one's hope, blight one's
hope, falsify one's hope, defeat one's hope, discourage; balk, jilt,
bilk; play one false, play a trick; dash the cup from the lips,
tantalize; dumfound, dumbfound, dumbfounder, dumfounder (astonish) 870.
Adj. disappointed &c. v.; disconcerted, aghast; disgruntled; out of
one's reckoning. Phr. the mountain labored and brought forth a mouse;
parturiunt montes[Lat]; nascitur ridiculus mus [Lat][Horace]; diis
aliter visum[Lat][obs3], the bubble burst; one's countenance falling.
#510. Foresight.—N. foresight, prospicience[obs3], prevision, long-
sightedness; anticipation; providence &c. (preparation) 673.
forethought, forecast; predeliberation[obs3], presurmise[obs3];
foregone conclusion &c. (prejudgment) 481; prudence &c. (caution) 864.
foreknowledge; prognosis; precognition, prescience, prenotion[obs3],
presentiment; second sight; sagacity &c. (intelligence) 498;
antepast[obs3], prelibation[obs3], prophasis[obs3]. prospect &c.
(expectation) 507; foretaste; prospectus &c. (plan) 626. V. foresee;
look forwards to, look ahead, look beyond; scent from afar; look into
the future, pry into the future, peer into the future. see one's way;
see how the land lies, get the lay of the land, see how the wind blows,
test the waters, see how the cat jumps. anticipate; expect &c. 507; be
beforehand &c. (early) 132; predict &c. 511; foreknow, forejudge,
forecast; presurmise[obs3]; have an eye to the future, have an eye to
the main chance; respicere finem[Lat]; keep a sharp lookout &c.
(vigilance) 459; forewarn &c. 668. Adj. foreseeing &c. v.; prescient;
farseeing, farsighted; sagacious &c. (intelligent) 498;
weatherwise[obs3]; provident &c. (prepared) 673; prospective &c. 507.
Adv. against the time when. Phr. cernit omnia Deus vindex[Lat]; mihi
cura futuri[Lat]; run it up the flagpole and see who salutes.
#511. Prediction.—N. prediction, announcement; program, programme
&c. (plan) 626[Brit]; premonition &c. (warning) 668; prognosis,
prophecy, vaticination, mantology[obs3], prognostication,
premonstration|; augury, auguration|; ariolation|, hariolation|;
foreboding, aboding[obs3]; bodement[obs3], abodement[obs3]; omniation|,
omniousness[obs3]; auspices, forecast; omen &c. 512; horoscope,
nativity; sooth[obs3], soothsaying; fortune telling, crystal gazing;
divination; necromancy &c. 992. [Divination by the stars]
astrology[obs3], horoscopy[obs3], judicial astrology1[obs3]. [obs3]
adytum[Place of prediction]. prefiguration[obs3], prefigurement;
prototype, type. [person who predicts] oracle &c. 513. V. predict,
prognosticate, prophesy, vaticinate, divine, foretell, soothsay,
augurate[obs3], tell fortunes; cast a horoscope, cast a nativity;
advise; forewarn &c. 668. presage, augur, bode; abode, forebode;
foretoken, betoken; prefigure, preshow[obs3]; portend; foreshow[obs3],
foreshadow; shadow forth, typify, pretypify[obs3], ominate[obs3],
signify, point to. usher in, herald, premise, announce; lower. hold out
expectation, raise expectation, excite expectation, excite hope; bid
fair, promise, lead one to expect; be the precursor &c 64. [predict by
mathematical or statistical means from past experience] extrapolate,
project. Adj. predicting &cv.; predictive, prophetic; fatidic[obs3],
fatidical[obs3]; vaticinal, oracular, fatiloquent[obs3], haruspical,
Sibylline; weatherwise[obs3]. ominous, portentous, augurous[obs3],
augurial, augural; auspicial[obs3], auspicious; prescious[obs3],
monitory, extispicious[obs3], premonitory, significant of, pregnant
with, bit with the fate of. Phr. "coming events cast their shadows
before" [Campbell]; dicamus bona verba[Lat]; "there buds the promise of
celestial worth" [Young].
[1] The following terms, expressive of different forms of divination,
have been collected from various sources, and are here given as a
curious illustration of bygone superstitions:—
Divination by oracles, Theomancy[obs3]; by the Bible, Bibliomancy;
by ghosts, Psychomancy[obs3]; by crystal gazing,
Crystallomancy[obs3]; by shadows or manes, Sciomancy; by
appearances in the air, Aeromancy[obs3], Chaomancy[obs3]; by the
stars at birth, Genethliacs; by meteors, Meteoromancy[obs3]; by
winds, Austromancy[obs3]; by sacrificial appearances, Aruspicy (or
Haruspicy)[obs3], Hieromancy[obs3], Hieroscopy[obs3]; by the
entrails of animals sacrificed, Extispicy[obs3], Hieromancy[obs3];
by the entrails of a human sacrifice, Anthropomancy[obs3]; by the
entrails of fishes, Ichthyomancy[obs3]; by sacrificial fire,
Pyromancy[obs3]; by red-hot iron, Sideromancy[obs3]; by smoke from
the altar, Capnomancy[obs3]; by mice, Myomancy[obs3]; by birds,
Orniscopy[obs3], Ornithomancy[obs3]; by a cock picking up grains,
Alectryomancy (or Alectromancy)[obs3]; by fishes, Ophiomancy[obs3];
by herbs, Botanomancy[obs3]; by water, Hydromancy[obs3]; by
fountains, Pegomancy[obs3]; by a wand, Rhabdomancy; by dough of
cakes, Crithomancy[obs3]; by meal, Aleuromancy[obs3],
Alphitomancy[obs3]; by salt, Halomancy[obs3]; by dice,
Cleromancy[obs3]; by arrows, Belomancy[obs3]; by a balanced
hatchet, Axinomancy[obs3]; by a balanced sieve, Coscinomancy[obs3];
by a suspended ring, Dactyliomancy[obs3]; by dots made at random on
paper, Geomancy[obs3]; by precious stones, Lithomancy[obs3]; by
pebbles, Pessomancy[obs3]; by pebbles drawn from a heap,
Psephomancy[obs3]; by mirrors, Catoptromancy[obs3]; by writings in
ashes, Tephramancy[obs3]; by dreams, Oneiromancy[obs3]; by the
hand, Palmistry, Chiromancy; by nails reflecting the sun's rays,
Onychomancy[obs3]; by finger rings, Dactylomancy[obs3]; by numbers,
Arithmancy[obs3]; by drawing lots, Sortilege[obs3]; by passages in
books, Stichomancy[obs3]; by the letters forming the name of the
person, Onomancy[obs3], Nomancy; by the features,
Anthroposcopy[obs3]; by the mode of laughing, Geloscopy[obs3]; by
ventriloquism, Gastromancy[obs3]; by walking in a circle,
Gyromancy[obs3]; by dropping melted wax into water,
Ceromancy[obs3]; by currents, Bletonism; by the color and
peculiarities of wine, Œnomancy[obs3].
#512. Omen.—N. omen, portent, presage, prognostic, augury, auspice;
#
sign &c. (indication) 550; harbinger &c. (precursor) 64; yule candle|!.
bird of ill omen; signs of the times; gathering clouds; warning
&c.
668.
prefigurement &c. 511.
Adj. ill-boding.
Phr. auspicium melioris aevi[Lat][obs3].
#513. Oracle.—N. oracle; prophet, prophesier, seer, soothsayer,
augur, fortune teller, crystal gazer[obs3], witch, geomancer[obs3],
aruspex[obs3]; aruspice[obs3], haruspice[obs3]; haruspex; astrologer,
star gazer[obs3]; Sibyl; Python, Pythoness[obs3]; Pythia; Pythian
oracle, Delphian oracle; Monitor, Sphinx, Tiresias, Cassandra[obs3],
Sibylline leaves; Zadkiel, Old Moore; sorcerer &c. 994; interpreter &c.
524. [person who predicts by non-mystical (natural) means] predictor,
prognosticator, forecaster; weather forecaster, weatherman. Phr. a
prophet is without honor in his own country; "you don't need a
weatherman to know which way the wind blows" [Bob Dylan].
SECTION VII. CREATIVE THOUGHT
#514. Supposition.—N. supposition, assumption, assumed position,
postulation, condition, presupposition, hypothesis, blue sky
hypothesis, postulate, postulatum[Lat], theory; thesis, theorem; data;
proposition, position; proposal &c. (plan) 626; presumption &c.
(belief) 484; divination. conjecture; guess, guesswork, speculation;
rough guess, shot, shot in the dark [coll.]; conjecturality[obs3];
surmise, suspicion, sneaking suspicion; estimate, approximation
(nearness) 197. inkling, suggestion, hint, intimation, notion,
impression; bare supposition, vague supposition, loose supposition,
loose suggestion. association of ideas, (analogy) 514a; metonym[Gram],
metonymy[Gram], simile (metaphor) 521. conceit, idea, thought; original
idea, invention (imagination) 515. V. suppose, conjecture, surmise,
suspect, guess, divine; theorize; presume, presurmise[obs3],
presuppose; assume, fancy, wis[obs3], take it; give a guess, speculate,
believe, dare say, take it into one's head, take for granted; imagine
&c. 515. put forth; propound, propose; start, put a case, submit, move,
make a motion; hazard out, throw out a suggestion, put forward a
suggestion, put forward conjecture. allude to, suggest, hint, put it
into one's head. suggest itself &c. (thought) 451; run in the head &c.
(memory) 505; marvel if, wonder if, wonder whether. Adj. supposing &c.
v.; given, mooted, postulatory[obs3]; assumed &c. v.; supposititious,
suppositive[obs3], suppositious; gratuitous, speculative, conjectural,
hypothetical, theoretical, academic, supposable, presumptive, putative;
suppositional. suggestive, allusive. Adv. if, if so be; an; on the
supposition &c. n.;ex hypothesi[Lat]; in the case, in the event of;
quasi, as if, provided; perhaps &c. (by possibility) 470; for aught one
knows.
#514a. Analogy—N. analogy, association, association of ideas.
#
metaphor &c. 521.
analogical thinking; free association; train of thought.
Adj. analogical.
#515. Imagination.—N. imagination; originality; invention; fancy;
inspiration; verve. warm imagination, heated imagination, excited
imagination, sanguine imagination, ardent imagination, fiery
imagination, boiling imagination, wild imagination, bold imagination,
daring imagination, playful imagination, lively imagination, fertile
imagination, fancy. "mind's eye"; "such stuff as dreams are made of"
[Tempest]. ideality, idealism; romanticism, utopianism,
castle-building. dreaming; phrensy[obs3], frenzy; ecstasy,
extasy[obs3]; calenture &c. (delirium) 503[obs3]; reverie, trance; day
dream, golden dream; somnambulism. conception, Vorstellung[Ger],
excogitation[obs3], "a fine frenzy"; cloudland[obs3], dreamland; flight
of fancy, fumes of fancy; "thick coming fancies" [Macbeth]; creation of
the brain, coinage of the brain; imagery. conceit, maggot, figment,
myth, dream, vision, shadow, chimera; phantasm, phantasy; fantasy,
fancy; whim, whimsey[obs3], whimsy; vagary, rhapsody, romance,
gest[obs3], geste[obs3], extravaganza; air drawn dagger, bugbear,
nightmare. flying Dutchman, great sea serpent, man in the moon, castle
in the air, pipe dream, pie-in-the-sky, chateau en Espagne[Fr]; Utopia,
Atlantis[obs3], happy valley, millennium, fairyland; land of Prester
John, kingdom of Micomicon; work of fiction &c. (novel) 594; Arabian
nights[obs3]; le pot au lait[Fr]; dream of Alnashar &c. (hope)
858[obs3]. illusion &c. (error) 495; phantom &c. (fallacy of vision)
443; Fata Morgana &c. (ignis fatuus) 423[Lat]; vapor &c. (cloud) 353;
stretch of the imagination &c. (exaggeration) 549; mythogenesis[obs3].
idealist, romanticist, visionary; mopus[obs3]; romancer, dreamer;
somnambulist; rhapsodist &c. (fanatic) 504; castle-buildier, fanciful
projector. V. imagine, fancy, conceive; idealize, realize; dream, dream
of, dream up; "give to airy nothing a local habitation and a name"
[Midsummer Night's Dream]. create, originate, devise, invent, coin,
fabricate; improvise, strike out something new. set one's wits to work;
strain one's invention, crack one's invention; rack one's brains,
ransack one's brains, cudgel one's brains; excogitate[obs3];
brainstorm. give play, give the reins, give a loose to the imagination,
give fancy; indulge in reverie. visualize, envision, conjure up a
vision; fancy oneself, represent oneself, picture, picture-oneself,
figure to oneself; vorstellen[Ger]. float in the mind; suggest itself
&c. (thought) 451. Adj. imagined &c. v.; ben trovato[It]; air drawn,
airbuilt[obs3]. imagining &cv. v, imaginative; original, inventive,
creative, fertile. romantic, high flown, flighty, extravagant, fanatic,
enthusiastic, unrealistic, Utopian, Quixotic. ideal, unreal; in the
clouds, in nubibus[Lat]; unsubsantial[obs3] &c. 4; illusory &c.
(fallacious) 495. fabulous, legendary; mythical, mythic, mythological;
chimerical; imaginary, visionary; notional; fancy, fanciful, fantastic,
fantastical[obs3]; whimsical; fairy, fairy-like; gestic[obs3]. Phr. "a
change came o'er the spirit of my dream" [Byron]; aegri somnia
vana[Lat][obs3]; dolphinum appingit sylvis in fluctibus aprum
[obs3][Latin][Horace]; "fancy light from fancy caught" [Tennyson];
"imagination rules the world" [Napoleon]; l'imagination gallope[Fr], le
jugement ne va que le pas[French]; musaeo contingens cuncta lepore
[Latin][Lucretius]; tous songes sont mensonges[French]; Wahrheil und
Dichtung[German].
DIVISION (II) COMMUNICATION OF IDEAS
SECTION I. NATURE OF IDEAS COMMUNICATED
#516. [Idea to be conveyed.] Meaning. [Thing signified.]—N.
meaning; signification, significance; sense, expression; import,
purport; force; drift, tenor, spirit, bearing, coloring; scope.
[important part of the meaning] substance; gist, essence, marrow,
spirit &c. 5. matter; subject, subject matter; argument, text, sum and
substance. general meaning, broad meaning, substantial meaning,
colloquial meaning, literal meaning, plain meaning, simple meaning,
natural meaning, unstrained meaning, true &c. (exact) 494 meaning,
honest &c. 543 meaning, prima facie &c. (manifest) 525 meaning[Lat];
letter of the law. literally; after acceptation. synonym; implication,
allusion &c. (latency) 526; suggestion &c. (information) 527; figure
of speech &c. 521; acceptation &c. (interpretation) 522. V. mean,
signify, express; import, purport; convey, imply, breathe, indicate,
bespeak, bear a sense; tell of, speak of; touch on; point to, allude
to; drive at; involve &c. (latency) 526; declare &c. (affirm) 535.
understand by &c. (interpret) 522. Adj. meaning &c. v.; expressive,
suggestive, allusive; significant, significative[obs3],
significatory[obs3]; pithy; full of meaning, pregnant with meaning.
declaratory &c. 535; intelligible &c. 518; literal; synonymous;
tantamount &c. (equivalent) 27; implied &c. (latent) 526; explicit &c.
525. Adv. to that effect; that is to say &c. (being interpreted) 522.
#517. [Absence of meaning.] Unmeaningness.—N. meaninglessness,
unmeaningness &c. adj[obs3].; scrabble. empty sound, dead letter, vox
et praeterea nihil[Lat]; "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and
fury, signifying nothing"; "sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal."
nonsense, utter nonsense, gibberish; jargon, jabber, mere words,
hocus-pocus, fustian, rant, bombast, balderdash, palaver, flummery,
verbiage, babble, baverdage, baragouin[obs3], platitude,
niaiserie[obs3]; inanity; flap-doodle; rigmarole, rodomontade; truism;
nugae canorae[Lat]; twaddle, twattle, fudge, trash, garbage, humbug;
poppy-cock [U.S.]; stuff, stuff and nonsense; bosh, rubbish, moonshine,
wish-wash, fiddle-faddle; absurdity &c. 497; vagueness &c.
(unintelligibility) 519. [routine or reflexive statements without
substantive thought, esp. legal] boilerplate. V. mean nothing; be
unmeaning &c. adj.; twaddle, quibble, scrabble. Adj. unmeaning;
meaningless, senseless; nonsensical; void of sense &c. 516.
inexpressive, unexpressive; vacant; not significant &c. 516;
insignificant. trashy, washy, trumpery, trivial, fiddle-faddle,
twaddling, quibbling. unmeant, not expressed; tacit &c. (latent) 526.
inexpressible, undefinable, incommunicable.
#518. Intelligibility.—N. intelligibility; clearness, explicitness
&c. adj.; lucidity, comprehensibility, perspicuity; legibility, plain
speaking &c. (manifestation) 525; precision &c. 494; θωνᾶντα
συνετοῖσι[Grk]; a word to the wise.
V. be intelligible &c. adj.; speak for itself, speak volumes; tell
its
own tale, lie on the surface.
render intelligible &c. adj.; popularize, simplify, clear up;
elucidate &c. (explain) 522.
understand, comprehend, take, take in; catch, grasp, follow,
collect,
master, make out; see with half an eye, see daylight, see one's way;
enter
into the ideas of; come to an understanding.
Adj. intelligible; clear, clear as day, clear as noonday; lucid;
perspicuous, transpicuous[obs3]; luminous, transparent.
easily understood, easy to understand, for the million,
intelligible
to the meanest capacity, popularized.
plain, distinct, explicit; positive; definite &c. (precise) 494.
graphic; expressive &c. (meaning) 516; illustrative &c.
(explanatory)
522.
unambiguous, unequivocal, unmistakable &c. (manifest) 525;
unconfused;
legible, recognizable; obvious &c. 525.
Adv. in plain terms, in plain words, in plain English.
Phr. he that runs may read &c. (manifest) 525.
#519. Unintelligibility.—N. unintelligibility; incomprehensibility,
imperspicuity[obs3]; inconceivableness, vagueness &c. adj.; obscurity;
ambiguity &c. 520; doubtful meaning; uncertainty &c. 475; perplexity
&c. (confusion) 59; spinosity[obs3]; obscurum per obscurius[Lat];
mystification &c. (concealment) 528; latency &c. 526;
transcendentalism. paradox, oxymoron; riddle, enigma, puzzle &c.
(secret) 533; diagnus vindice nodus[Lat]; sealed book;
steganography[obs3], freemasonry. pons asinorum[Lat], asses' bridge;
high Dutch, Greek, Hebrew; jargon &c. (unmeaning) 517. V. be
unintelligible &c. adj.; require explanation &c. 522; have a doubtful
meaning, pass comprehension. render unintelligible &c. adj.; conceal &c
528; darken &c. 421; confuse &c. (derange) 61; perplex &c. (bewilder)
475. not understand &c. 518; lose, lose the clue; miss; not know what
to make of, be able to make nothing of, give it up; not be able to
account for, not be able to make either head or tail of; be at sea &c.
(uncertain) 475; wonder &c. 870; see through a glass darkly &c.
(ignorance) 491. not understand one another; play at cross purposes &c.
(misinterpret) 523. Adj. unintelligible, unaccountable, undecipherable,
undiscoverable, unknowable, unfathomable; incognizable[obs3],
inexplicable, inscrutable; inapprehensible[obs3], incomprehensible;
insolvable[obs3], insoluble; impenetrable. illegible, as Greek to one,
unexplained, paradoxical; enigmatic, enigmatical, puzzling (secret)
533; indecipherable. obscure, dark, muddy, clear as mud, seen through a
mist, dim, nebulous, shrouded in mystery; opaque, dense; undiscernible
&c. (invisible) 447[obs3]; misty &c. (opaque) 426; hidden &c 528;
latent &c 526. indefinite, garbled &c (indistinct) 447; perplexed &c.
(confused) 59; undetermined, vague, loose, ambiguous; mysterious;
mystic, mystical; acroamatic[obs3], acroamatical[obs3]; metempirical;
transcendental; occult, recondite, abstruse, crabbed. inconceivable,
inconceptible[obs3]; searchless[obs3]; above comprehension, beyond
comprehension, past comprehension; beyond one's depth; unconceived.
inexpressible, undefinable, incommunicable. unpredictable,
unforeseeable. Phr. it's Greek to me.
#520. [Having a double sense] Equivocalness.—N. equivocalness &c
adj.; double meaning &c. 516; ambiguity, double entente, double
entendre[Fr], pun, paragram[obs3], calembour[obs3], quibble,
equivoque[Fr], anagram; conundrum &c (riddle) 533; play on words, word
play &c. (wit) 842; homonym, homonymy[Gram]; amphiboly[obs3],
amphibology[obs3]; ambilogy[obs3], ambiloquy|. Sphinx, Delphic oracle.
equivocation &c. (duplicity) 544; white lie, mental reservation &c.
(concealment) 528; paltering. V. be -equivocal &c. adj.; have two
meanings &c. 516; equivocate &c. (alter) 544. Adj. equivocal,
ambiguous, amphibolous[obs3], homonymous[obs3]; double-tongued &c.
(lying) 544; enigmatical, indeterminate. Phr. on the one hand, on the
other hand.
#521. Metaphor.—N. figure of speech; facon de parler [French], way
#
of speaking, colloquialism.
phrase &c. 566; figure, trope, metaphor, enallage[obs3],
catachresis[obs3]; metonymy[Gram], synecdoche[Semant]; autonomasia|!,
irony, figurativeness &c. adj.; image, imagery; metalepsis[obs3], type,
anagoge[obs3], simile, personification, prosopopoeia[obs3], allegory,
apologue[obs3], parable, fable; allusion, adumbration; application.
exaggeration, hyperbole &c. 549.
association, association of ideas (analogy) 514a
V. employ -metaphor &c. n.; personify, allegorize, adumbrate,
shadow
forth, apply, allude to.
Adj. metaphorical, figurative, catachrestical[obs3], typical,
tralatitious[obs3], parabolic, allegorical, allusive, anagogical[obs3];
ironical; colloquial; tropical.
Adv. so to speak, so to say, so to express oneself; as it were.
Phr. mutato nomine de te fabula narratur [Lat][Horace].
#522. Interpretation.—N. interpretation, definition; explanation,
explication; solution, answer; rationale; plain interpretation, simple
interpretation, strict interpretation; meaning &c. 516. translation;
rendering, rendition; redition[obs3]; literal translation, free
translation; key; secret; clew &c. (indication) 550; clavis[obs3],
crib, pony, trot [U.S.]. exegesis; expounding, exposition;
hermeneutics; comment, commentary; inference &c. (deduction) 480;
illustration, exemplification; gloss, annotation, scholium[obs3], note;
elucidation, dilucidation|; eclaircissement[Fr], mot d'enigme[Fr].
[methods of interpreting - list] symptomatology[Med], semiology,
semeiology[obs3], semiotics; metoposcopy[obs3], physiognomy;
paleography &c. (philology) 560; oneirology acception[obs3],
acceptation, acceptance; light, reading, lection, construction,
version. equivalent, equivalent meaning &c. 516; synonym; paraphrase,
metaphrase[obs3]; convertible terms, apposition; dictionary &c. 562;
polyglot. V. interpret, explain, define, construe, translate, render;
do into, turn into; transfuse the sense of. find out &c. 480a the
meaning &c. 516 of; read; spell out, make out; decipher, unravel,
disentangle; find the key of, enucleate, resolve, solve; read between
the lines. account for; find the cause, tell the cause &c. 153 of;
throw light upon, shed light upon, shed new light upon, shed fresh
light upon; clear up, clarify, elucidate. illustrate, exemplify;
unfold, expound, comment upon, annotate; popularize &c. (render
intelligible) 518. take in a particular sense, understand in a
particular sense, receive in a particular sense, accept in a particular
sense; understand by, put a construction on, be given to understand.
Adj. explanatory, expository; explicative, explicatory;
exegetical[obs3]; construable. polyglot; literal; paraphrastic,
metaphrastic[obs3]; consignificative[obs3], synonymous; equivalent &c.
27. Adv. in explanation &c. n.; that is to say, id est, videlicet, to
wit, namely, in other words. literally, strictly speaking; in plain, in
plainer terms, in plainer words, in plainer English; more simply.
#523. Misinterpretation.—N. misinterpretation, misapprehension,
misunderstanding, misacceptation|, misconstruction, misapplication;
catachresis[obs3]; eisegesis[obs3]; cross-reading, cross-purposes;
mistake &c. 495. misrepresentation, perversion, exaggeration &c. 549;
false coloring, false construction; abuse of terms; parody, travesty;
falsification &c. (lying) 544. V. misinterpret, misapprehend,
misunderstand, misconceive, misspell, mistranslate, misconstrue,
misapply; mistake &c. 495. misrepresent, pervert; explain wrongly,
misstate; garble &c. (falsify) 544; distort, detort|; travesty, play
upon words; stretch the sense, strain the sense, stretch the meaning,
strain the meaning, wrest the sense, wrest the meaning; explain away;
put a bad construction on, put a false construction on; give a false
coloring. be at cross purposes, play at cross purposes. Adj.
misinterpreted &c. v.; untranslated, untranslatable.
#524. Interpreter.—N. interpreter; expositor, expounder, exponent,
#
explainer; demonstrator.
scholiast, commentator, annotator; metaphrast[obs3],
paraphrast[obs3];
glossarist[obs3], prolocutor.
spokesman, speaker, mouthpiece.
dragoman, courier, valet de place, cicerone, showman;
oneirocritic[obs3]; (Edipus; oracle &c. 513)
SECTION II. MODES OF COMMUNICATION
#525. Manifestation.—N. {ant. 526} manifestation; plainness &c.
adj.; plain speaking; expression; showing &c. v.; exposition,
demonstration; exhibition, production; display, show; showing off;
premonstration|. exhibit[Thing shown]. indication &c. (calling
attention to) 457. publicity &c. 531; disclosure &c. 529; openness &c.
(honesty) 543, (artlessness) 703; panchement. evidence &c. 467. V. make
manifest, render manifest &c. adj.; bring forth, bring forward, bring
to the front, bring into view; give notice; express; represent, set
forth, exhibit; show, show up; expose; produce; hold up to view, expose
to view; set before one, place before one, lay before one, one's eyes;
tell to one's face; trot out, put through one's paces, bring to light,
display, demonstrate, unroll; lay open; draw out, bring out; bring out
in strong relief; call into notice, bring into notice; hold up the
mirror; wear one's heart upon his sleeve; show one's face, show one's
colors; manifest oneself; speak out; make no mystery, make no secret
of; unfurl the flag; proclaim &c. (publish) 531. indicate &c. (direct
attention to) 457; disclose &c. 529; elicit &c. 480a. be manifest &c.
adj.; appear &c. (be visible) 446; transpire &c. (be disclosed) 529;
speak for itself, stand to reason; stare one in the face, rear its
head; give token, give sign, give indication of; tell its own tale &c.
(intelligible) 518. Adj. manifest, apparent; salient, striking,
demonstrative, prominent, in the foreground, notable, pronounced.
flagrant; notorious &c. (public) 531; arrant; stark staring; unshaded,
glaring. defined, definite. distinct, conspicuous &c. (visible) 446;
obvious, evident, unmistakable, indubitable, not to be mistaken,
palpable, self-evident, autoptical[obs3]; intelligible &c. 518. plain,
clear, clear as day, clear as daylight, clear as noonday; plain as a
pike staff, plain as the sun at noon-day, plain as the nose on one's
face, plain as the way to parish church. explicit, overt, patent,
express; ostensible; open, open as day; naked, bare, literal,
downright, undisguised, exoteric. unreserved, frank, plain-spoken &c.
(artless) 703; candid (veracious) 543; barefaced. manifested &c. v.;
disclosed &c. 529; capable of being shown, producible;
inconcealable[obs3], unconcealable; no secret. Adv. manifestly, openly
&c. adj.; before one's eyes, under one's nose, to one's face, face to
face, above board, cartes sur table, on the stage, in open court, in
the open streets; in market overt; in the face of day, face of heaven;
in broad daylight, in open daylight; without reserve; at first blush,
prima facie[Lat], on the face of; in set terms. Phr. cela saute aux
yeux[French]; he that runs may read; you can see it with half an eye;
it needs no ghost to tell us [Hamlet]; the meaning lies on the surface;
cela va sans dire[Fr]; res ipsa loquitur[Lat]; "clothing the palpable
and familiar" [Coleridge]; fari quae sentiat[Lat]; volto sciolto i
pensieri stretti [It]; "you don't need a weatherman to know which way
the wind blows" [Bob Dylan].
#526. Latency. Implication.—N. {ant. 525} latency,
inexpression[obs3]; hidden meaning, occult meaning; occultness,
mystery, cabala[obs3], anagoge[obs3]; silence &c (taciturnity) 585;
concealment &c. 528; more than meets the eye, more than meets the ear;
Delphic oracle; le dessous des cartes[Fr], undercurrent. implication,
logical implication; logical consequence; entailment. allusion,
insinuation; innuendo &c. 527; adumbration; "something rotten in the
state of Denmark" [Hamlet]. snake in the grass &c. (pitfall) 667;
secret &c. 533. darkness, invisibility, imperceptibility. V. be latent
&c. adj.; lurk, smolder, underlie, make no sign; escape observation,
escape detection, escape recognition; lie hid &c. 528. laugh in one's
sleeve; keep back &c. (conceal) 528. involve, imply, understand, allude
to, infer, leave an inference; entail; whisper &c. (conceal) 528.
[understand the implication] read between the lines. Adj. latent;
lurking &c.v.; secret &c. 528; occult; implied &c. v.; dormant;
abeyant. unapparent, unknown, unseen &c. 441; in the background;
invisible &c. 447; indiscoverable[obs3], dark; impenetrable &c.
(unintelligible) 519; unspied[obs3], unsuspected. unsaid, unwritten,
unpublished, unbreathed[obs3], untalked of[obs3], untold &c. 527,
unsung, unexposed, unproclaimed[obs3], undisclosed &c. 529,
unexpressed; not expressed, tacit. undeveloped, solved, unexplained,
untraced[obs3], undiscovered &c. 480a, untracked, unexplored,
uninvented[obs3]. indirect, crooked, inferential; by inference, by
implication; implicit; constructive; allusive, covert, muffled;
steganographic[obs3]; understood, underhand, underground;
delitescent[obs3], concealed &c. 528. Adv. by a side wind; sub
silentio[Lat]; in the background; behind the scenes, behind one's back;
on the tip of one's tongue; secretly &c. 528; between the lines. Phr.
"thereby hangs a tale" [As You Like It]; tacitum vivit sub pectore
vulnus [Lat][Vergil]; where there's smoke, there's fire.
#527. Information.—N. information, enlightenment, acquaintance,
knowledge &c. 490; publicity &c. 531; data &c. 467. communication,
intimation; notice, notification; enunciation, annunciation;
announcement; communiqu; representation, round robin, presentment.
case, estimate, specification, report, advice, monition; news &c. 532;
return &c. (record) 551; account &c. (description) 594; statement &c.
(affirmation) 535. mention; acquainting &c. v; instruction &c.
(teaching) 537; outpouring; intercommunication, communicativeness.
informant, authority, teller, intelligencer[obs3], reporter, exponent,
mouthpiece; informer, eavesdropper, delator, detective; sleuth;
mouchard[obs3], spy, newsmonger; messenger &c. 534; amicus curiae[Lat].
valet de place, cicerone, pilot, guide; guidebook, handbook; vade
mecum[Latin]; manual; map, plan, chart, gazetteer; itinerary &c.
(journey) 266. hint, suggestion, innuendo, inkling, whisper, passing
word, word in the ear, subaudition[obs3], cue, byplay; gesture &c.
(indication) 550; gentle hint, broad hint; verbum sapienti [Latin: a
word to the wise]; insinuation &c. (latency) 526. information theory.
[units of information] bit, byte, word, doubleword[Comp], quad word,
paragraph, segment. [information storage media] magnetic media, paper
medium, optical media; random access memory, RAM; read-only memory,
ROM; write once read mostly memory, WORM. V. tell; inform, inform of;
acquaint, acquaint with; impart, impart to; make acquaintance with,
apprise, advise, enlighten, awaken; transmit. let fall, mention,
express, intimate, represent, communicate, make known; publish &c. 531;
notify, signify, specify, convey the knowledge of. let one know, have
one to know; give one to understand; give notice; set before, lay
before, put before; point out, put into one's head; put one in
possession of; instruct &c. (teach) 537; direct the attention to &c.
457. announce, annunciate; report, report progress; bringword[obs3],
send word, leave word, write word; telegraph, telephone; wire; retail,
render an account; give an account &c. (describe) 594; state &c
(affirm) 535. [disclose inadvertently or reluctantly] let slip, blurt
out, spill the beans, unburden oneself of, let off one's chest;
disclose &c. 529. show cause; explain &c. (interpret) 522. hint; given
an inkling of; give a hint, drop a hint, throw out a hint; insinuate;
allude to, make allusion to; glance at; tip the wink &c. (indicate)
550; suggest, prompt, give the cue, breathe; whisper, whisper in the
ear. give a bit of one's mind; tell one plainly, tell once for all;
speak volumes. undeceive[obs3], unbeguile[obs3]; set right, correct,
open the eyes of, disabuse, disillusion one of. be informed of &c.;
know &c 490; learn &c. 539; get scent of, get wind of, gather from;
awaken to, open one's eyes to; become alive, become awake to; hear,
overhear, understand. come to one's ears, come to one's knowledge;
reach one's ears. Adj. informed &c. v.; communique; reported &c. v.;
published &c. 531. expressive &c. 516; explicit &c. (open) 525, (clear)
518; plain spoken &c, (artless) 703. nuncupative, nuncupatory|;
declaratory, expository; enunciative[obs3]; communicative,
communicatory[obs3]. Adv. from information received. Phr. a little bird
told me; I heard it through the grapevine.
#527a. Correction. [Correct an error of information; distinguish from
#
correcting a flaw or misbehavior]—N. correction.
disillusionment &c. 616.
V. correct, set right, set straight, put straight;
undeceive[obs3];
enlighten.
show one one's error; point out an error, point out a fallacy;
pick
out an error, pick out the fallacy; open one's eyes.
pick apart an argument, confutation &c. 479; reasoning &c. 476.
Adj. corrective.
Phr. I stand corrected.
#528. Concealment.—N. concealment; hiding &c. v.; occultation,
mystification. seal of secrecy; screen &c. 530; disguise &c. 530;
masquerade; masked battery; hiding place &c. 530; cryptography,
steganography[obs3]; freemasonry. stealth, stealthiness, sneakiness;
obreption|; slyness &c. (cunning) 702. latitancy[obs3],
latitation[obs3]; seclusion &c. 893; privacy, secrecy,
secretness[obs3]; incognita. reticence; reserve; mental reserve,
reservation; arriere pensee[Fr], suppression, evasion, white lie,
misprision; silence &c. (taciturnity) 585; suppression of truth &c.
544; underhand dealing; closeness, secretiveness &c. adj.; mystery.
latency &c. 526; snake in the grass; secret &c. 533; stowaway. V.
conceal, hide, secrete, put out of sight; lock up, seal up, bottle up.
encrypt, encode, cipher. cover, screen, cloak, veil, shroud; cover up
one's tracks; screen from sight, screen from observation; drawing the
veil; draw the curtain, close the curtain; curtain, shade, eclipse,
throw a view over; becloud, bemask; mask, disguise; ensconce, muffle,
smother; befog; whisper. keep from; keep back, keep to oneself; keep
snug, keep close, keep secret, keep dark; bury; sink, suppress; keep
from, keep from out of view, keep from out of sight; keep in the shade,
throw into the shade, throw into background; stifle, hush up, smother,
withhold, reserve; fence with a question; ignore &c. 460. keep a
secret, keep one's own counsel; hold one's tongue &c. (silence) 585;
make no sign, not let it go further; not breathe a word, not breathe a
syllable about; not let the right hand know what the left is doing;
hide one's light under a bushel, bury one's talent in a napkin. keep in
the dark, leave in the dark, keep in the ignorance; blind, blind the
eyes; blindfold, hoodwink, mystify; puzzle &c. (render uncertain) 475;
bamboozle &c. (deceive) 545. be concealed &c. v.; suffer an eclipse;
retire from sight, couch; hide oneself; lie hid, lie in perdu[Fr], lie
in close; lie in ambush (ambush) 530; seclude oneself &c. 893; lurk,
sneak, skulk, slink, prowl; steal into, steal out of, steal by, steal
along; play at bopeep[obs3], play at hide and seek; hide in holes and
corners; still hunt. Adj. concealed &c. v.; hidden; secret, recondite,
mystic, cabalistic, occult, dark; cryptic, cryptical[obs3]; private,
privy, in petto, auricular, clandestine, close, inviolate; tortuous.
behind a screen &c. 530; undercover, under an eclipse; in ambush, in
hiding, in disguise; in a cloud, in a fog, in a mist, in a haze, in a
dark corner; in the shade, in the dark; clouded, wrapped in clouds,
wrapt in clouds[obs3]; invisible &c.447; buried, underground,
perdu[Fr]; secluded &c. 893. undisclosed &c. 529, untold &c. 527;
covert &c. (latent) 526; untraceable; mysterious &c. (unintelligible)
519. irrevealable[obs3], inviolable; confidential; esoteric; not to be
spoken of; unmentionable. obreptitious[obs3], furtive, stealthy,
feline; skulking &c. v.; surreptitious, underhand, hole and corner; sly
&c. (cunning). 702; secretive, evasive; reserved, reticent,
uncommunicative, buttoned up; close, close as wax; taciturn &c. 585.
Adv. secretly &c. adj.; in secret, in private, in one's sleeve, in
holes and corners; in the dark &c. adj. januis clausis[Lat], with
closed doors, a huis clos[Fr]; hugger mugger, a la derobee[Fr]; under
the cloak of, under the rose, under the table; sub rosa[Lat], en
tapinois[Fr], in the background, aside, on the sly, with bated breath,
sotto voce[Lat], in a whisper, without beat of drum, a la
sourdine[obs3]. behind the veil; beyond mortal ken, beyond the grave,
beyond the veil; hid from mortal vision; into the eternal secret, into
the realms supersensible[obs3], into the supreme mystery. in
confidence, in strict confidence, in strictest confidence;
confidentially &c. adj.; between ourselves, between you and me; between
you and me and the bedpost; entre nous[Fr], inter nos, under the seal
of secrecy; a couvert[Fr]. underhand, by stealth, like a thief in the
night; stealthily &c. adj.; behind the scenes, behind the curtain,
behind one's back, behind a screen &c. 530; incognito; in camera. Phr.
it must go no further, it will go no further; don't tell a soul;"tell
it not in Gath,"nobody the wiser; alitur vitium vivitque
tegendo[Lat][obs3]; "let it be tenable in your silence still"[Hamlet].
[confidential disclosure to news reporters] background information,
deep background information, deep background; background session,
backgrounder; not for attribution
#529. Disclosure—N. disclosure; retection|; unveiling &c.v.;
deterration[obs3], revealment, revelation; exposition, exposure;
expose; whole truth; telltale &c (news) 532. acknowledgment, avowal;
confession, confessional; shrift. bursting of a bubble; denouement.
[person who discloses a secret] tattletale, snitch, fink, stool pigeon,
canary. V. disclose, discover, dismask|; draw the veil, draw aside the
veil, lift the veil, raise the veil, lift up the veil, remove the veil,
tear aside the veil, tear the curtain; unmask, unveil, unfold, uncover,
unseal, unkennel; take off the seal, break the seal; lay open, lay
bare; expose; open, open up; bare, bring to light. divulge, reveal,
break; squeal, tattle, sing, rat, snitch [all coll.]; let into the
secret; reveal the secrets of the prison house; tell &c (inform) 527;
breathe, utter, blab, peach; let out, let fall, let drop, let slip,
spill the beans, let the cat out of the bag; betray; tell tales, come
out of school; come out with; give vent, give utterance to; open the
lips, blurt out, vent, whisper about; speak out &c (make manifest) 525;
make public &c 531; unriddle &c (find out) 480a; split. acknowledge,
allow, concede, grant, admit, own, own up to, confess, avow, throw off
all disguise, turn inside out, make a clean breast; show one's hand,
show one's cards; unburden one's mind, disburden one's mind, disburden
one's conscience, disburden one's heart; open one's mind, lay bare
one's mind, tell a piece of one's mind[Fr]; unbosom oneself, own to the
soft impeachment; say the truth, speak the truth; turn King's (or
Queen's) evidence; acknowledge the corn* [U.S.]. raise the mask, drop
the mask, lift the mask, remove the mask, throw off the mask; expose;
lay open; undeceive[obs3], unbeguile[obs3]; disabuse, set right,
correct, open the eyes of; dsillusionner. be disclosed &c.; transpire,
come to light; come in sight &c. (be visible) 446; become known, escape
the lips; come out, ooze out, creep out, leak out, peep out, crop-out;
show its face, show its colors; discover &c. itself; break through the
clouds, flash on the mind. Adj. disclosed &c.v.; open, public &c. 525.
Int.out with it! Phr. the murder is out; a light breaks in upon one;
the scales fall from one's eyes; the eyes are opened.
#530. Ambush [Means of concealment].—N. camouflage; mimicry; hiding
#
place; secret place, secret drawer; recess, hold, holes and corners;
closet, crypt, adytum[obs3], abditory[obs3], oubliette.
ambush, ambuscade; stalking horse; lurking hole, lurking place;
secret
path, back stairs; retreat &c. (refuge) 666.
screen, cover, shade, blinker; veil, curtain, blind, cloak, cloud.
mask, visor, vizor[obs3], disguise, masquerade dress, domino.
pitfall &c. (source of danger) 667; trap &c. (snare) 545.
V. blend in, blend into the background.
lie in ambush &c (hide oneself) 528; lie in wait for, lurk; set a
trap
for &c (deceive) 545; ambuscade, ambush.
[transitive] camouflage.
Adj. camouflaged, hidden, concealed.
Adv. aux aguets[obs3].
#531. Publication.—N. publication; public announcement &c 527;
promulgation, propagation, proclamation, pronunziamento [Italian];
circulation, indiction[obs3], edition; hue and cry. publicity,
notoriety, currency, flagrancy, cry, bruit, hype; vox populi; report &c
(news) 532. the Press, public press, newspaper, journal, gazette,
daily; telegraphy; publisher &c v.; imprint. circular, circular letter;
manifesto, advertisement, ad., placard, bill, affiche[obs3], broadside,
poster; notice &c. 527. V. publish; make public, make known &c
(information) 527; speak of, talk of; broach, utter; put forward;
circulate, propagate, promulgate; spread, spread abroad; rumor,
diffuse, disseminate, evulugate; put forth, give forth, send forth;
emit, edit, get out; issue; bring before the public, lay before the
public, drag before the public; give out, give to the world; put about,
bandy about, hawk about, buzz about, whisper about, bruit about, blaze
about; drag into the open day; voice. proclaim, herald, blazon; blaze
abroad, noise abroad; sound a trumpet; trumpet forth, thunder forth;
give tongue; announce with beat of drum, announce with flourish of
trumpets; proclaim from the housetops, proclaim at Charing Cross.
advertise, placard; post, post up afficher[obs3], publish in the
Gazette, send round the crier. raise a cry, raise a hue and cry, raise
a report; set news afloat. be published &c; be public, become public &c
adj.; come out; go about, fly about, buzz about, blow about; get about,
get abroad, get afloat, get wind; find vent; see the light; go forth,
take air, acquire currency, pass current; go the rounds, go the round
of the newspapers, go through the length and breadth of the land; virum
volitare per ora[Lat]; pass from mouth to mouth; spread; run like
wildfire, spread like wildfire. Adj. published &c.v.; current &c.
(news) 532; in circulation, public; notorious; flagrant, arrant; open
&c 525; trumpet-tongued; encyclical, encyclic[obs3],
promulgatory[obs3]; exoteric. Adv. publicly &c. adj.; in open court,
with open doors. Int. Oyez! O yes! notice! Phr. notice is hereby given;
this is to give, these are to give notice; nomina stultorum parietibus
haerent[Lat]; semel emissum volat irrevocabile verbum[Lat]..
#532. News.—N. news; information &c 527; piece of news[Fr], budget
of news, budget of information; intelligence, tidings. word, advice,
aviso[Sp], message; dispatch, despatch; telegram, cable,
marconigram[obs3], wire, communication, errand, embassy. report, rumor,
hearsay, on dit[Fr], flying rumor, news stirring, cry, buzz, bruit,
fame; talk, oui dire[Fr], scandal, eavesdropping; town tattle, table
talk; tittle tattle; canard, topic of the day, idea afloat. bulletin,
fresh news, stirring news; glad tidings; flash, news just in;
on-the-spot coverage; live coverage. old story, old news, stale news,
stale story; chestnut*. narrator &c (describe) 594; newsmonger,
scandalmonger; talebearer, telltale, gossip, tattler. [study of news
reporting] journalism. [methods of conveying news] media, news media,
the press, the information industry; newspaper, magazine, tract,
journal, gazette, publication &c. 531; radio, television, ticker
(electronic information transmission). [organizations producing news
reports] United Press International, UPI; Associated Press, AP; The Dow
Jones News Service, DJ; The New York Times News Service, NYT[abbr];
Reuters [England]; TASS [Soviet Union]; The Nikkei [Japan]. [person
reporting news as a profession] newscaster, newsman, newswoman,
reporter, journalist, correspondent, foreign correspondent, special
correspondent, war correspondent, news team, news department;
anchorman, anchorwoman[obs3]; sportscaster; weatherman. [officials
providing news for an organization] press secretary, public relations
department, public relations man. V. transpire &c (be disclosed) 529;
rumor &c (publish) 531. Adj. many-tongued; rumored; publicly rumored,
currently rumored, currently reported; rife, current, floating, afloat,
going about, in circulation, in every one's mouth, all over the town.
in progress; live; on the spot; in person. Adv. as the story goes, as
the story runs; as they say, it is said; by telegraph, by wireless.
Phr. "airy tongues that syllable men's names" [Milton]; what's up?;
what's the latest?; what's new?; what's the latest poop?.
#533. Secret.—N. secret; dead secret, profound secret;
#
arcanum[obs3], mystery; latency &c 526; Asian mystery[obs3]; sealed
book,
secrets of the prison house; le desous des cartes [Fr].
enigma, riddle, puzzle, nut to crack, conundrum, charade, rebus,
logogriph[obs3]; monogram, anagram; Sphinx; crux criticorum[Lat].
maze, labyrinth, Hyrcynian wood; intricacy, meander.
problem &c (question) 461; paradox &c (difficulty) 704;
unintelligibility &c. 519; terra incognita &c. (ignorance) 491.
Adj. secret &c. (concealed) 528; involved &c, 248; labyrinthine,
labyrinthian[obs3], mazy.
confidential; top secret.
#534. Messenger.—N. messenger, envoy, emissary, legate; nuncio,
internuncio[obs3]; ambassador &c (diplomatist) 758. marshal, flag
bearer, herald, crier, trumpeter, bellman[obs3], pursuivant[obs3],
parlementaire[Fr], apparitor[obs3]. courier, runner; dak[obs3],
estafette[obs3]; Mercury, Iris, Ariel[obs3]. commissionaire[Fr]; errand
boy, chore boy; newsboy. mail, overnight mail, express mail, next-day
delivery; post, post office; letter bag; delivery service; United
Parcel Service, UPS; Federal Express, Fedex. telegraph, telephone;
cable, wire (electronic information transmission); carrier pigeon.
[person reporting news: see news &c. 532] reporter, gentleman of the
press, representative of the press; penny-a-liner; special
correspondent, own correspondent; spy, scout; informer &c. 527.
#535. Affirmation.—N. affirmance, affirmation; statement,
allegation, assertion, predication, declaration, word, averment;
confirmation. asseveration, adjuration, swearing, oath, affidavit;
deposition &c (record) 551; avouchment; assurance; protest,
protestation; profession; acknowledgment &c. (assent) 488; legal
pledge, pronouncement; solemn averment, solemn avowal, solemn
declaration. remark, observation; position &c. (proposition) 514,
saying, dictum, sentence, ipse dixit[Lat]. emphasis; weight; dogmatism
&c. (certainty) 474; dogmatics &c 887. V. assert; make an assertion &c
n.; have one's say; say, affirm, predicate, declare, state; protest,
profess. put forth, put forward; advance, allege, propose, propound,
enunciate, broach, set forth, hold out, maintain, contend, pronounce,
pretend. depose, depone, aver, avow, avouch, asseverate, swear; make
oath, take one's oath; make an affidavit, swear an affidavit, put in an
affidavit; take one's Bible oath, kiss the book, vow, vitam impendere
vero[Lat]; swear till one is black in the face, swear till one is blue
in the face, swear till all's blue; be sworn, call Heaven to witness;
vouch, warrant, certify, assure, swear by bell book and candle. swear
by &c (believe) 484; insist upon, take one's stand upon; emphasize, lay
stress on; assert roundly, assert positively; lay down, lay down the
law; raise one's voice, dogmatize, have the last word; rap out; repeat;
reassert, reaffirm. announce &c (information) 527; acknowledge &c
(assent) 488; attest &c (evidence) 467; adjure &c (put to one's oath)
768. Adj. asserting &c.v.; declaratory, predicatory[obs3],
pronunciative[obs3], affirmative, soi-disant[Fr]; positive; certain &c
474; express, explicit &c (patent) 525; absolute, emphatic, flat,
broad, round, pointed, marked, distinct, decided, confident, trenchant,
dogmatic, definitive, formal, solemn, categorical, peremptory;
unretracted[obs3]; predicable. Adv. affirmatively &c adj.; in the
affirmative. with emphasis, ex-cathedra, without fear of contradiction.
as God is my witness, I must say, indeed, i' faith, let me tell you,
why, give me leave to say, marry, you may be sure, I'd have you to
know; upon my word, upon my honor; by my troth, egad, I assure you; by
jingo, by Jove, by George, &c.; troth, seriously, sadly; in sadness, in
sober sadness, in truth, in earnest; of a truth, truly, perdy[obs3], in
all conscience, upon oath; be assured &c (belief) 484; yes &c (assent)
488; I'll warrant, I'll warrant you, I'll engage, I'll answer for it,
I'll be bound, I'll venture to say, I'll take my oath; in fact,
forsooth, joking apart; so help me God; not to mince the matter. Phr.
quoth he; dixi[Lat].
#536. Negation.—N. negation, abnegation; denial; disavowal,
disclaimer; abjuration; contradiction, contravention;
recusation[obs3][Law], protest; recusancy &c (dissent) 489; flat
contradiction, emphatic contradiction, emphatic denial, dementi[Lat].
qualification &c 469; repudiation &c 610; retraction &c 607;
confutation &c 479; refusal &c 764; prohibition &c 761. V. deny;
contradict, contravene; controvert, give denial to, gainsay, negative,
shake the head. disown, disaffirm, disclaim, disavow; recant &c 607;
revoke &c (abrogate) 756. dispute; impugn, traverse, rebut, join issue
upon; bring in question, call in question &c. (doubt) 485; give (one)
the lie in his throat. deny flatly, deny peremptorily, deny
emphatically, deny absolutely, deny wholly, deny entirely; give the lie
to, belie. repudiate &c 610; set aside, ignore &c 460; rebut &c.
(confute) 479; qualify &c 469; refuse &c 764. recuse[Law]. Adj. denying
&c.v.; denied &c.v.; contradictory; negative, negatory; recusant &c
(dissenting) 489; at issue upon. Adv. no, nay, not, nowise; not a bit,
not a whit, not a jot; not at all, nohow, not in the least, not so;
negative, negatory; no way [coll.]; no such thing; nothing of the kind,
nothing of the sort; quite the contrary, tout au contraire[Fr], far
from it; tant s'en faut[Fr]; on no account, in no respect; by no, by no
manner of means; negatively. [negative with respect to time] never,
never in a million years; at no time. Phr. there never was a greater
mistake; I know better; non haec in faedera[Lat]; a thousand times no.
#537. Teaching.—N. teaching &c.v.; instruction; edification;
education; tuition; tutorage, tutelage; direction, guidance;
opsimathy[obs3]. qualification, preparation; training, schooling &c.
v.; discipline; excitation. drill, practice; book exercise. persuasion,
proselytism, propagandism[obs3], propaganda; indoctrination,
inculcation, inoculation; advise &c. 695. explanation &c
(interpretation) 522; lesson, lecture, sermon; apologue[obs3], parable;
discourse, prolection[obs3], preachment; chalk talk; Chautauqua [U.S.].
exercise, task; curriculum; course, course of study; grammar, three
R's, initiation, A.B.C. &c (beginning) 66. elementary education,
primary education, secondary education, technical education, college
education, collegiate education, military education, university
education, liberal education, classical education, religious education,
denominational education, moral education, secular education;
propaedeutics[obs3], moral tuition. gymnastics, calisthenics; physical
drill, physical education; sloyd[obs3]. [methods of teaching] phonics;
rote, rote memorization, brute memory; cooperative learning; Montessori
method, ungraded classes. [measuring degree of learning of pupils]
test, examination, exam; final exam, mid-term exam grade[result of
measurement of learning], score, marks; A,B,C,D,E,F; gentleman's C;
pass, fail, incomplete. homework; take-home lesson; exercise for the
student; theme, project. V. teach, instruct, educate, edify, school,
tutor; cram, prime, coach; enlighten &c (inform) 527. inculcate,
indoctrinate, inoculate, infuse, instill, infix, ingraft[obs3],
infiltrate; imbue, impregnate, implant; graft, sow the seeds of,
disseminate. given an idea of; put up to, put in the way of; set right.
sharpen the wits, enlarge the mind; give new ideas, open the eyes,
bring forward, "teach the young idea how to shoot" [Thomson]; improve
&c. 658. expound &c (interpret) 522; lecture; read a lesson, give a
lesson, give a lecture, give a sermon, give a discourse; incept[obs3];
hold forth, preach; sermonize, moralize; point a moral. train,
discipline; bring up, bring up to; form, ground, prepare, qualify;
drill, exercise, practice, habituate, familiarize with, nurture,
drynurse[obs3], breed, rear, take in hand; break, break in; tame;
preinstruct[obs3]; initiate; inure &c (habituate) 613. put to nurse,
send to school. direct, guide; direct attention to &c. (attention) 457;
impress upon the mind, impress upon the memory; beat into, beat into
the head; convince &c (belief) 484. [instructional materials] book,
workbook, exercise book. [unnecessary teaching] preach to the wise,
teach one's grandmother to suck eggs, teach granny to suck eggs; preach
to the converted. Adj. teaching &c.v; taught &c.v.; educational;
scholastic, academic, doctrinal; disciplinal[obs3]; instructive,
instructional, didactic; propaedeutic[obs3], propaedeutical[obs3]. Phr.
the schoolmaster abroad; a bovi majori disscit arare minor[Lat]; adeo
in teneris consuecere multum est [Lat][Vergil]; docendo discimus[Lat];
quaenocent docent[Lat]; qui docet discit[Latin]; "sermons in stones and
good in everything" [As You Like It].