English Synonyms and Antonyms Part 106

footstep, memorial, sign,

A _memorial_ is that which is intended or fitted to bring to remembrance something that has pa.s.sed away; it may be vast and stately. On the other hand, a slight _token_ of regard may be a cherished _memorial_ of a friend; either a concrete object or an observance may be a _memorial_. A _vestige_ is always slight compared with that whose existence it recalls; as, scattered mounds containing implements, weapons, etc., are _vestiges_ of a former civilization. A _vestige_ is always a part of that which has pa.s.sed away; a _trace_ may be merely the _mark_ made by something that has been present or pa.s.sed by, and that is still existing, or some slight evidence of its presence or of the effect it has produced; as, _traces_ of game were observed by the hunter. Compare CHARACTERISTIC.

TRANSACT.

Synonyms:

accomplish, carry on, do, perform, act, conduct, negotiate, treat.

There are many acts that one may _do_, _accomplish_, or _perform_ unaided; what he _transacts_ is by means of or in a.s.sociation with others; one may _do_ a duty, _perform_ a vow, _accomplish_ a task, but he _transacts_ business, since that always involves the agency of others. To _negotiate_ and to _treat_ are likewise collective acts, but both these words lay stress upon deliberation with adjustment of mutual claims and interests; _transact_, while it may depend upon previous deliberation, states execution only. Notes, bills of exchange, loans, and treaties are said to be _negotiated_, the word so used covering not merely the preliminary consideration, but the final settlement.

_Negotiate_ has more reference to execution than _treat_; nations may _treat_ of peace without result, but when a treaty is _negotiated_, peace is secured; the citizens of the two nations are then free to _transact_ business with one another. Compare DO.

TRANSACTION.

Synonyms:

act, action, affair, business, deed, doing, proceeding.

One's _acts_ or _deeds_ may be exclusively his own; his _transactions_ involve the agency or partic.i.p.ation of others. A _transaction_ is something completed; a _proceeding_ is or is viewed as something in progress; but since _transaction_ is often used to include the steps leading to the conclusion, while _proceedings_ may result in _action_, the dividing line between the two words becomes sometimes quite faint, tho _transaction_ often emphasizes the fact of something done, or brought to a conclusion. Both _transactions_ and _proceedings_ are used of the records of a deliberative body, especially when published; strictly used, the two are distinguished; as, the Philosophical _Transactions_ of the Royal Society of London give in full the papers read; the _Proceedings_ of the American Philological a.s.sociation give in full the _business_ done, with mere abstracts of or extracts from the papers read. Compare ACT; BUSINESS.

TRANSCENDENTAL.

Synonyms:

a priori, intuitive, original, primordial, transcendent.

_Intuitive_ truths are those which are in the mind independently of all experience, not being derived from experience nor limited by it, as that the whole is greater than a part, or that things which are equal to the same thing are equal to one another. All _intuitive_ truths or beliefs are _transcendental_. But _transcendental_ is a wider term than _intuitive_, including all within the limits of thought that is not derived from experience, as the ideas of s.p.a.ce and time. "Being is _transcendental_.... As being can not be included under any genus, but transcends them all, so the properties or affections of being have also been called _transcendental_." K.-F. _Vocab. Philos._ p. 530.

"_Transcendent_ he [Kant] employed to denote what is wholly beyond experience, being neither given as an a posteriori nor _a priori_ element of cognition--what therefore transcends every category of thought." K.-F. _Vocab. Philos._ p. 531. _Transcendental_ has been applied in the language of the Emersonian school to the soul's supposed _intuitive_ knowledge of things divine and human, so far as they are capable of being known to man. Compare MYSTERIOUS.

TRANSIENT.

Synonyms:

brief, fleeting, fugitive, short, ephemeral, flitting, momentary, temporary, evanescent, flying, pa.s.sing, transitory.

_Transient_ and _transitory_ are both derived from the same original source (L. _trans_, over, and _eo_, go), denoting that which quickly pa.s.ses or is pa.s.sing away, but there is between them a fine shade of difference. A thing is _transient_ which in fact is not lasting; a thing is _transitory_ which by its very nature must soon pa.s.s away; a thing is _temporary_ (L. _tempus_, time) which is intended to last or be made use of but a little while; as, a _transient_ joy; this _transitory_ life; a _temporary_ chairman. _Ephemeral_ (Gr. _epi_, on, and _hemera_, day) literally lasting but for a day, often marks more strongly than _transient_ exceeding brevity of duration; it agrees with _transitory_ in denoting that its object is destined to pa.s.s away, but is stronger, as denoting not only its certain but its speedy extinction; thus that which is _ephemeral_ is looked upon as at once slight and perishable, and the word carries often a suggestion of contempt; man's life is _transitory_, a b.u.t.terfly's existence is _ephemeral_; with no solid qualities or worthy achievements a pretender may sometimes gain an _ephemeral_ popularity. That which is _fleeting_ is viewed as in the act of pa.s.sing swiftly by, and that which is _fugitive_ (L. _fugio_, flee) as eluding attempts to detain it; that which is _evanescent_ (L.

_evanesco_, from _e_, out, and _va.n.u.s_, empty, vain) as in the act of vanishing even while we gaze, as the hues of the sunset.

Antonyms:

abiding, eternal, immortal, lasting, perpetual, undying, enduring, everlasting, imperishable, permanent, persistent, unfading.

UNION.

Synonyms:

coalition, conjunction, juncture, unification, combination, junction, oneness, unity.

_Unity_ is _oneness_, the state of being one, especially of that which never has been divided or of that which can not be conceived of as resolved into parts; as, the _unity_ of G.o.d or the _unity_ of the human soul. _Union_ is a bringing together of things that have been distinct, so that they combine or coalesce to form a new whole, or the state or condition of things thus brought together; in a _union_ the separate individuality of the things united is never lost sight of; we speak of the _union_ of the parts of a fractured bone or of the _union_ of hearts in marriage. But _unity_ can be said of that which is manifestly or even conspicuously made up of parts, when a single purpose or ideal is so subserved by all that their possible separateness is lost sight of; as, we speak of the _unity_ of the human body, or of the _unity_ of the church. Compare ALLIANCE; a.s.sOCIATION; ATTACHMENT; HARMONY; MARRIAGE.

Antonyms:

a.n.a.lysis, disconnection, disunion, divorce, separation, contrariety, disjunction, division, schism, severance.

decomposition, dissociation,

USUAL.

Synonyms:

accustomed, everyday, general, ordinary, public, common, familiar, habitual, prevailing, regular, customary, frequent, normal, prevalent, wonted.

_Usual_ (L. _usus_, use, habit, wont) signifies such as regularly or often recurs in the ordinary course of events, or is habitually repeated in the life of the same person. _Ordinary_ (L. _ordo_, order) signifies according to an established order, hence of _everyday_ occurrence. In strictness, _common_ and _general_ apply to the greater number of individuals in a cla.s.s; but both words are in good use as applying to the greater number of instances in a series, so that it is possible to speak of one person's _common_ practise or _general_ custom, tho _ordinary_ or _usual_ would in such case be preferable. Compare GENERAL; NORMAL.

Antonyms:

exceptional, infrequent, rare, strange, unparalleled, extraordinary, out-of-the-way, singular, uncommon, unusual.

UTILITY.

Synonyms:

advantage, expediency, serviceableness, avail, profit, use, benefit, service, usefulness.

_Utility_ (L. _utilis_, useful) signifies primarily the quality of being useful, but is somewhat more abstract and philosophical than _usefulness_ or _use_, and is often employed to denote adaptation to produce a valuable result, while _usefulness_ denotes the actual production of such result. We contrast beauty and _utility_. We say of an invention, its _utility_ is questionable, or, on the other hand, its _usefulness_ has been proved by ample trial, or I have found it of _use_; still, _utility_ and _usefulness_ are frequently interchanged.

_Expediency_ (L. _ex_, out, and _pes_, foot; literally, the getting the foot out) refers primarily to escape from or avoidance of some difficulty or trouble; either _expediency_ or _utility_ may be used to signify _profit_ or _advantage_ considered apart from right as the ground of moral obligation, or of actions that have a moral character, _expediency_ denoting immediate _advantage_ on a contracted view, and especially with reference to avoiding danger, difficulty, or loss, while _utility_ may be so broadened as to cover all existence through all time, as in the utilitarian theory of morals. _Policy_ is often used in a kindred sense, more positive than _expediency_ but narrower than _utility_, as in the proverb, "Honesty is the best _policy_." Compare PROFIT.