English Synonyms and Antonyms Part 49

ENDURE.

Synonyms:

abide, bear, brook, submit to, sustain, afford, bear up under, permit, suffer, tolerate, allow, bear with, put up with, support, undergo.

_Bear_ is the most general of these words; it is metaphorically to hold up or keep up a burden of care, pain, grief, annoyance, or the like, without sinking, lamenting, or repining. _Allow_ and _permit_ involve large concession of the will; _put up with_ and _tolerate_ imply decided aversion and reluctant withholding of opposition or interference; whispering is _allowed_ by the school-teacher who does not forbid nor censure it; one _puts up with_ the presence of a disagreeable visitor; a state _tolerates_ a religion which it would be glad to suppress. To _endure_ is to _bear with_ strain and resistance, but with conscious power; _endure_ conveys a fuller suggestion of contest and conquest than _bear_. One may choose to _endure_ the pain of a surgical operation rather than take anesthetics; he _permits_ the thing to come which he must brace himself to _endure_ when it comes. To _afford_ is to be equal to a pecuniary demand, _i. e._, to be able to _bear_ it. To _brook_ is quietly to _put up with_ provocation or insult. _Abide_ combines the senses of await and _endure_; as, I will _abide_ the result. Compare ABIDE; SUPPORT.

Antonyms:

break, despair, fail, fall, give out, sink, surrender, break down, droop, faint, falter, give up, succ.u.mb, yield.

ENEMY.

Synonyms:

adversary, antagonist, compet.i.tor, foe, opponent, rival.

An _enemy_ in private life is one who is moved by hostile feeling with active disposition to injure; but in military language all who fight on the opposite side are called _enemies_ or collectively "the _enemy_,"

where no personal animosity may be implied; _foe_, which is rather a poetical and literary word, implies intensely hostile spirit and purpose. An _antagonist_ is one who opposes and is opposed actively and with intensity of effort; an _opponent_, one in whom the att.i.tude of resistance is the more prominent; a _compet.i.tor_, one who seeks the same object for which another is striving; _antagonists_ in wrestling, _compet.i.tors_ in business, _opponents_ in debate may contend with no personal ill will; _rivals_ in love, ambition, etc., rarely avoid inimical feeling. _Adversary_ was formerly much used in the general sense of _antagonist_ or _opponent_, but is now less common, and largely restricted to the hostile sense; an _adversary_ is ordinarily one who not only opposes another in fact, but does so with hostile spirit, or perhaps out of pure malignity; as, the great _Adversary_. Compare synonyms for AMBITION.

Antonyms:

abettor, accessory, accomplice, ally, friend, helper, supporter.

Prepositions:

He was the enemy _of_ my friend _in_ the contest.

ENMITY.

Synonyms:

acrimony, bitterness, ill will, malignity, animosity, hatred, malevolence, rancor, antagonism, hostility, malice, spite.

_Enmity_ is the state of being an enemy or the feeling and disposition characterizing an enemy (compare ENEMY). _Animosity_ denotes a feeling more active and vehement, but often less enduring and determined, than _enmity_. _Enmity_ distinctly recognizes its object as an enemy, to be met or dealt with accordingly. _Hostility_ is _enmity_ in action; the term _hostilities_ between nations denotes actual armed collision.

_Bitterness_ is a resentful feeling arising from a belief that one has been wronged; _acrimony_ is a kindred feeling, but deeper and more persistent, and may arise from the crossing of one's wishes or plans by another, where no injustice or wrong is felt. _Antagonism_, as between two competing authors or merchants, does not necessarily imply _enmity_, but ordinarily suggests a shade, at least, of hostile feeling. _Malice_ is a disposition or intent to injure others, for the gratification of some evil pa.s.sion; _malignity_ is intense and violent _enmity_, _hatred_, or _malice_. Compare synonyms for ACRIMONY; ANGER; HATRED.

Antonyms:

agreement, amity, friendship, kindliness, regard, alliance, concord, harmony, kindness, sympathy.

ENTERTAIN.

Synonyms:

amuse, cheer, disport, enliven, interest, please, beguile, delight, divert, gratify, occupy, recreate.

To _entertain_, in the sense here considered, is to engage and pleasantly occupy the attention; to _amuse_ is to occupy the attention in an especially bright and cheerful way, often with that which excites merriment or laughter; as, he _entertained_ us with an _amusing_ story.

To _divert_ is to turn from serious thoughts or laborious pursuits to something that lightly and agreeably occupies the mind; one may be _entertained_ or _amused_ who has nothing serious or laborious from which to be _diverted_. To _recreate_, literally to re-create, is to engage mind or body in some pleasing activity that restores strength and energy for serious work. To _beguile_ is, as it were, to cheat into cheer and comfort by something that insensibly draws thought or feeling away from pain or disquiet. We _beguile_ a weary hour, _cheer_ the despondent, _divert_ the preoccupied, _enliven_ a dull evening or company, _gratify_ our friends' wishes, _entertain_, _interest_, _please_ a listening audience, _occupy_ idle time, _disport_ ourselves when merry, _recreate_ when worn with toil; we _amuse_ ourselves or others with whatever pleasantly pa.s.ses the time without special exertion, each according to his taste.

Antonyms:

annoy, bore, busy, disquiet, distract, disturb, tire, weary.

ENTERTAINMENT.

Synonyms:

amus.e.m.e.nt, diversion, fun, pleasure, cheer, enjoyment, merriment, recreation, delight, frolic, pastime, sport.

_Entertainment_ and _recreation_ imply thought and mental occupation, tho in an agreeable, refreshing way; they are therefore words of a high order. _Entertainment_, apart from its special senses of a public performance or a social party, and predominantly even there, is used of somewhat mirthful mental delight; _recreation_ may, and usually does, combine the mental with the physical. _Amus.e.m.e.nt_ and _pastime_ are nearly equivalent, the latter probably the lighter word; many slight things may be _pastimes_ which we should hardly dignify by the name of _amus.e.m.e.nts_. _Sports_ are almost wholly on the physical plane, tho involving a certain grade of mental action; fox-hunting, horse-racing, and baseball are _sports_. Certain _sports_ may afford _entertainment_ or _recreation_ to certain persons, according to their individual tastes; but _entertainment_ and _recreation_ are capable of a meaning so high as never to be approached by any meaning of _sport_. _Cheer_ may be very quiet, as the _cheer_ of a bright fire to an aged traveler; _merriment_ is with liveliness and laughter; _fun_ and _frolic_ are apt to be boisterous. _Amus.e.m.e.nt_ is a form of _enjoyment_, but _enjoyment_ may be too keen to be called _amus.e.m.e.nt_. Compare synonyms for ENTERTAIN.

Antonyms:

ennui, fatigue, labor, la.s.situde, toil, weariness, work.

ENTHUSIASM.

Synonyms:

ardor, excitement, frenzy, transport, devotion, extravagance, inspiration, vehemence, eagerness, fanaticism, intensity, warmth, earnestness, fervency, pa.s.sion, zeal.

ecstasy, fervor, rapture,

The old meaning of _enthusiasm_ implies a pseudo-_inspiration_, an almost frantic _extravagance_ in behalf of something supposed to be an expression of the divine will. This sense remains as the controlling one in the kindred noun _enthusiast_. _Enthusiasm_ has now chiefly the meaning of an earnest and commendable _devotion_, an intense and eager interest. Against the hindrances of the world, nothing great and good can be carried without a certain _fervor_, _intensity_, and _vehemence_; these joined with faith, courage, and hopefulness make _enthusiasm_.

_Zeal_ is burning _earnestness_, always tending to vigorous action with all the _devotion_ of _enthusiasm_, tho often without its hopefulness.

Compare EAGER.