English Synonyms and Antonyms Part 57

accessible, companionable, genial, neighborly, affable, complaisant, hearty, sociable, affectionate, cordial, kind, social, amicable, favorable, kindly, tender, brotherly, fond, loving, well-disposed.

_Friendly_, as said of persons, signifies having the disposition of a friend; as said of acts, it signifies befitting or worthy of a friend.

The adjective _friendly_ does not reach the full significance of the nouns "friend" and "friendship;" one may be _friendly_ to those who are not his friends, and to be in _friendly_ relations often signifies little more than not to be hostile. In its application to persons, _accessible_ is used of public and eminent persons, who might, if disposed, hold themselves at a distance from others. _Companionable_ and _sociable_ refer to manner and behavior, _cordial_ and _genial_ express genuine kindliness of heart. We speak of a _cordial_ greeting, a _favorable_ reception, a _neighborly_ call, a _sociable_ visitor, an _amicable_ settlement, a _kind_ interest, a _friendly_ regard, a _hearty_ welcome. The Saxon _friendly_ is stronger than the Latin _amicable_; the _amicable_ may be merely formal; the _friendly_ is from the heart. _Fond_ is commonly applied to an affection that becomes, or at least appears, excessive. _Affectionate_, _devoted_, and _tender_ are almost always used in a high and good sense; as, an _affectionate_ son; a _devoted_ friend; "the _tender_ mercy of our G.o.d," _Luke_ i, 78.

Compare FRIENDSHIP.

Antonyms:

adverse, belligerent, distant, ill-disposed, unfriendly, alienated, cold, estranged, indifferent, unkind, antagonistic, contentious, frigid, inimical, warlike.

bellicose, disaffected, hostile,

FRIENDSHIP.

Synonyms:

affection, comity, esteem, good will, amity, consideration, favor, love, attachment, devotion, friendliness, regard.

_Friendship_ is a deep, quiet, enduring _affection_, founded upon mutual respect and _esteem_. _Friendship_ is always mutual; there may be unreciprocated _affection_ or _attachment_, unrequited _love_, or even unrecognized and unappreciated _devotion_, but never unreciprocated or unrequited _friendship_; one may have friendly feelings toward an enemy, but while there is hostility or coldness on one side there can not be _friendship_ between the two. _Friendliness_ is a quality of friendly feeling, without the deep and settled _attachment_ implied in the state of _friendship_. _Comity_ is mutual kindly courtesy, with care of each other's right, and _amity_ a friendly feeling and relation, not necessarily implying special _friendliness_; as, the _comity_ of nations, or _amity_ between neighboring countries. _Affection_ may be purely natural; _friendship_ is a growth. _Friendship_ is more intellectual and less emotional than _love_; it is easier to give reasons for _friendship_ than for _love_; _friendship_ is more calm and quiet, _love_ more fervent; _love_ often rises to intensest pa.s.sion; we can not speak of the pa.s.sion of _friendship_. _Friendship_ implies some degree of equality, while _love_ does not; we can speak of man's _love_ toward G.o.d, not of his _friendship_ for G.o.d. (There is more lat.i.tude in the use of the concrete noun _friend_; Abraham was called "the friend of G.o.d;" Christ was called "the friend of sinners.") Compare ACQUAINTANCE; LOVE.

Antonyms:

See synonyms for BATTLE; ENMITY; FEUD; HATRED.

Prepositions:

The friendship _of_ one person _for_ or _toward_ another, or the friendship _between_ them.

FRIGHTEN.

Synonyms:

affright, appal, cow, dismay, scare, alarm, browbeat, daunt, intimidate, terrify.

One is _frightened_ by a cause of fear addressed directly and suddenly to the senses; he is _intimidated_ by an apprehension of contingent consequences dependent on some act of his own to be done or forborne; the means of intimidation may act through the senses, or may appeal only to the intellect or the sensibilities. The sudden rush of an armed madman may _frighten_; the quiet leveling of a highwayman's pistol _intimidates_. A savage beast is _intimidated_ by the keeper's whip.

Employers may _intimidate_ their employees from voting contrary to their will by threat of discharge; a mother may be _intimidated_ through fear for her child. To _browbeat_ or _cow_ is to bring into a state of submissive fear; to _daunt_ is to give pause or check to a violent, threatening, or even a brave spirit. To _scare_ is to cause sudden, unnerving fear; to _terrify_ is to awaken fear that is overwhelming.

Compare ALARM.

FRUGALITY.

Synonyms:

economy, parsimony, saving, sparing, miserliness, providence, scrimping, thrift.

parsimoniousness, prudence,

_Economy_ is a wise and careful administration of the means at one's disposal; _frugality_ is a withholding of expenditure, or _sparing_ of supplies or provision, to a noticeable and often to a painful degree; _parsimony_ is excessive and unreasonable _saving_ for the sake of _saving_. _Frugality_ exalted into a virtue to be practised for its own sake, instead of as a means to an end, becomes the vice of _parsimony_.

_Miserliness_ is the denying oneself and others the ordinary comforts or even necessaries of life, for the mere sake of h.o.a.rding money.

_Prudence_ and _providence_ look far ahead, and sacrifice the present to the future, saving as much as may be necessary for that end. (See PRUDENCE.) _Thrift_ seeks not merely to save, but to earn. _Economy_ manages, _frugality_ saves, _providence_ plans, _thrift_ at once earns and saves, with a view to wholesome and profitable expenditure at a fitting time. See ABSTINENCE.

Antonyms:

abundance, bounty, liberality, opulence, waste, affluence, extravagance, luxury, riches, wealth.

GARRULOUS.

Synonyms:

chattering, loquacious, talkative, verbose.

_Garrulous_ signifies given to constant trivial talking. _Chattering_ signifies uttering rapid, noisy, and unintelligible, or scarcely intelligible, sounds, whether articulate words or such as resemble them; _chattering_ is often used of vocal sounds that may be intelligible by themselves but are ill understood owing to confusion of many voices or other cause. The _talkative_ person has a strong disposition to talk, with or without an abundance of words, or many ideas; the _loquacious_ person has an abundant flow of language and much to say on any subject suggested; either may be lively and for a time entertaining; the _garrulous_ person is tedious, repet.i.tious, petty, and self-absorbed.

_Verbose_ is applied to utterances more formal than conversation, as to writings or public addresses. We speak of a _chattering_ monkey or a _chattering_ idiot, a _talkative_ child, a _talkative_ or _loquacious_ woman, a _garrulous_ old man, a _verbose_ writer. Compare CIRc.u.mLOCUTION.

Antonyms:

laconic, reserved, reticent, silent, speechless, taciturn.

GENDER.

Synonym:

s.e.x.

_s.e.x_ is a distinction among living beings; it is also the characteristic by which most living beings are distinguished from inanimate things, which are of no _s.e.x_; _gender_ is a distinction in language partially corresponding to this distinction in nature; while there are but two _s.e.xes_, there are in some languages, as in English and German, three _genders_. The French language has but two _genders_ and makes the names of all inanimate objects either masculine or feminine; some languages are without the distinction of _gender_, and those that maintain it are often quite arbitrary in its application. We speak of the masculine or feminine _gender_, the male or female _s.e.x_.

GENERAL.

Synonyms: