English Synonyms and Antonyms Part 78

amenable, dutiful, pliable, tractable, complaisant, gentle, pliant, undecided, compliant, irresolute, submissive, wavering, docile, obedient, teachable, yielding.

OBSTRUCT.

Synonyms:

arrest, check, embarra.s.s, interrupt, stay, bar, choke, hinder, oppose, stop.

barricade, clog, impede, r.e.t.a.r.d,

To _obstruct_ is literally to build up against; the road is _obstructed_ by fallen trees; the pa.s.sage of liquid through a tube is _obstructed_ by solid deposits. We may _hinder_ one's advance by following and clinging to him; we _obstruct_ his course by standing in his way or putting a barrier across his path. Anything that makes one's progress slower, whether from within or from without, _impedes_; an obstruction is always from without. To _arrest_ is to cause to stop suddenly; _obstructing_ the way may have the effect of _arresting_ progress. Compare HINDER; IMPEDIMENT.

Antonyms:

accelerate, aid, facilitate, free, open, promote.

advance, clear, forward, further, pave the way for,

OLD.

Synonyms:

aged, decrepit, immemorial, senile, ancient, elderly, olden, time-honored, antiquated, gray, patriarchal, time-worn, antique, h.o.a.ry, remote, venerable.

That is termed _old_ which has existed long, or which existed long ago.

_Ancient_, from the Latin, through the French, is the more stately, _old_, from the Saxon, the more familiar word. Familiarity, on one side, is near to contempt; thus we say, an _old_ coat, an _old_ hat. On the other hand, familiarity is akin to tenderness, and thus _old_ is a word of endearment; as, "the _old_ homestead," the "_old_ oaken bucket."

"Tell me the _old, old_ story!" has been sung feelingly by millions; "tell me that _ancient_ story" would remove it out of all touch of human sympathy. _Olden_ is a statelier form of _old_, and is applied almost exclusively to time, not to places, buildings, persons, etc. As regards periods of time, the familiar are also the near; thus, the _old_ times are not too far away for familiar thought and reference; the _olden_ times are more remote, _ancient_ times still further removed. _Gray_, _h.o.a.ry_, and _moldering_ refer to outward and visible tokens of age.

_Aged_ applies chiefly to long-extended human life. _Decrepit_, _gray_, and _h.o.a.ry_ refer to the effects of age on the body exclusively; _senile_ upon the mind also; as, a _decrepit_ frame, _senile_ garrulousness. One may be _aged_ and neither _decrepit_ nor _senile_.

_Elderly_ is applied to those who have pa.s.sed middle life, but scarcely reached _old_ age. _Remote_ (L. _re_, back or away, and _moveo_, move), primarily refers to s.p.a.ce, but is extended to that which is far off in time; as, at some _remote_ period. _Venerable_ expresses the involuntary reverence that we yield to the majestic and long-enduring, whether in the material world or in human life and character. Compare ANTIQUE; OBSOLETE; PRIMEVAL.

Antonyms:

Compare synonyms for NEW; YOUTHFUL.

OPERATION.

Synonyms:

action, effect, force, performance, result.

agency, execution, influence, procedure,

_Operation_ is _action_ considered with reference to the thing acted upon, and may apply to the _action_ of an intelligent agent or of a material substance or _force_; as, the _operation_ of a medicine.

_Performance_ and _execution_ denote intelligent _action_, considered with reference to the actor or to that which he accomplishes; _performance_ accomplishing the will of the actor, _execution_ often the will of another; we speak of the _performance_ of a duty, the _execution_ of a sentence. Compare ACT.

Antonyms:

failure, ineffectiveness, inutility, powerlessness, uselessness.

inaction, inefficiency,

ORDER.

Synonyms:

command, injunction, mandate, requirement.

direction, instruction, prohibition,

_Instruction_ implies superiority of knowledge, _direction_ of authority on the part of the giver; a teacher gives _instructions_ to his pupils, an employer gives _directions_ to his workmen. _Order_ is still more authoritative than _direction_; soldiers, sailors, and railroad employees have simply to obey the _orders_ of their superiors, without explanation or question; an _order_ in the commercial sense has the authority of the money which the one _ordering_ the goods pays or is to pay. _Command_ is a loftier word, as well as highly authoritative, less frequent in common life; we speak of the _commands_ of G.o.d, or sometimes, by polite hyperbole, ask of a friend, "Have you any _commands_ for me?" A _requirement_ is imperative, but not always formal, nor made by a personal agent; it may be in the nature of things; as, the _requirements_ of the position. _Prohibition_ is wholly negative; it is a _command_ not to do; _injunction_ is now oftenest so used, especially as the _requirement_ by legal authority that certain action be suspended or refrained from, pending final legal decision.

Compare ARRAY; CLa.s.s; LAW; PROHIBIT; SYSTEM.

Antonyms:

allowance, consent, leave, liberty, license, permission, permit.

OSTENTATION.

Synonyms:

boast, flourish, parade, pompousness, vaunt, boasting, pageant, pomp, show, vaunting.

display, pageantry, pomposity,

_Ostentation_ is an ambitious showing forth of whatever is thought adapted to win admiration or praise; _ostentation_ may be without words; as, the _ostentation_ of wealth in fine residences, rich clothing, costly equipage, or the like; when in words, _ostentation_ is rather in manner than in direct statement; as, the _ostentation_ of learning.

_Boasting_ is in direct statement, and is louder and more vulgar than _ostentation_. There may be great _display_ or _show_ with little substance; _ostentation_ suggests something substantial to be shown.

_Pageant_, _pageantry_, _parade_, and _pomp_ refer princ.i.p.ally to affairs of arms or state; as, a royal _pageant_; a military _parade_.

_Pomp_ is some material demonstration of wealth and power, as in grand and stately ceremonial, rich furnishings, processions, etc., considered as worthy of the person or occasion in whose behalf it is manifested; _pomp_ is the n.o.ble side of that which as _ostentation_ is considered as arrogant and vain. _Pageant_ and _pageantry_ are inferior to _pomp_, denoting spectacular _display_ designed to impress the public mind, and since the mult.i.tude is largely ignorant and thoughtless, the words _pageant_ and _pageantry_ have a suggestion of the transient and unsubstantial. _Parade_ (L. _paro_, prepare) is an exhibition as of troops in camp going through the evolutions that are to be used in battle, and suggests a lack of earnestness and direct or immediate occasion or demand; hence, in the more general sense, a _parade_ is an uncalled for exhibition, and so used is a more disparaging word than _ostentation_; _ostentation_ may spring merely from undue self-gratulation, _parade_ implies a desire to impress others with a sense of one's abilities or resources, and is always offensive and somewhat contemptible; as, a _parade_ of wealth or learning. _Pomposity_ and _pompousness_ are the affectation of _pomp_.

Antonyms:

diffidence, quietness, retirement, timidity, modesty, reserve, shrinking, un.o.btrusiveness.