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10 matching synonym questions
Etymology: [heow (Anglo-Saxon), "form, appearance"]
color; a modification of color
The brilliant hues of the sunset became less vivid as night approached.
Synonyms: tint (a slight touching with color), tinge (a stain of color), shade (a degree of color)
NOTE: The word hue meaning "outcry" [huer (Old French), "to shout"] is now used only in the expression "hue and cry." Historically, the expression was used to describe an outcry against a felon. All who heard the cry were obliged to join in the pursuit. Today, a "hue and cry" is a popular clamor raised against an unpopular person or event.
The hue and cry that greeted the announcement of an increase in taxes led the council to withdraw the proposal.
Etymology: [chimaira (Greek), "shegoat." In Greek mythology the chimaira was a fabulous she-monster, with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail. It symbolized the destructive aspect of nature.]
merely imaginary, fantastic, marked by a foolish fancy, wildly visionary, preposterously unreal; given to preposterous or fantastic schemes
Although Tom was usually a serious scholar, he occasionally thought up chimerical projects for the improvement of mankind that could not possibly materialize.
Synonyms: quixotic, fabulous, utopian, impractical
Antonyms: concrete, practical, prosaic, matter-of-fact
NOTE: Observe the distinction between the meaning of chimerical and that of two of its synonyms:
utopian — visionary in its assumption of an ideal so perfect that it is beyond mortal realization. In 1515 Sir Thomas More wrote a book entitled Utopia. The title is derived from the Greek: ou, "not" + topos, "a place" — in other words, "no such place." The book described an island whose inhabitants enjoyed perfection in an ideal commonwealth. Their laws, politics, morals, and institutions were faultless. The Utopians had no money, no lawyers, no selfish tyrants. . . . Today we refer to a plan as utopian if it proposes a perfect society or an impractical scheme for social reform.
quixotic — extravagantly devoted to idealistic but very impractical schemes. The word is derived from Don Quixote, the chivalrous, idealistic, but impractical hero of the novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes.
Etymology: [boukolos (Greek), "a cowherd"]
of, or pertaining to, shepherds or herdsmen; of, or pertaining to, country life
Theocritus, a poet of ancient Greece, has been called the father of bucolic poetry as a branch of Greek literature.
Synonyms: pastoral, rustic, rural
Antonyms: urban, metropolitan
NOTE: Used as a noun, bucolic means "a poem about country life"; humorously it means "farmer." Webster's Collegiate Dictionary clarifies the distinctions in the use of rural, rustic, pastoral, and bucolic: "Rural refers to the country itself, esp. in its pleasant aspects; rustic implies a contrast with the refinements of the city, and often connotes a lack of polish. That is pastoral which has to do with the life of shepherds or (esp.) with conventional rural life. Bucolic is a literary synonym of rustic."
Etymology: [romen (Middle English), "to roam"]
(a) to wander about
Having a free afternoon on my hands, I rambled the streets of Buenos Aires.
(b) to write or speak disconnectedly or chatter
The speaker rambled on for nearly an hour and still failed to make her point.
(c) to grow or spread at random
The neglected vines rambled all over the walls of the abandoned house.
Synonyms: stroll, roam, straggle, meander
Antonyms: stride (to take regular, measured steps), prowl (to move about stealthily or softly in search of prey), march (to walk in a measured, ordered way), pace (to walk continuously, as from impatience or fretting)
Spanish: pasear - (a person) divagar - (in speech)
Etymology: [ek (Greek), "out" + kalein, "to call"]
a clergyman; pertaining to the church or the clergy
Ecclesiastic ceremonies and processions are everyday scenes on the streets in Spain.
Synonyms: clerical; clergy
Antonyms: secular, civil
NOTE: Ekklesia referred to a political assembly of the citizens in the ancient Greek city states. Taken over into Latin as ecclesia, the word was used to designate an assembly of Christians; hence, a congregation or church. From this word is derived the French word église, "church," and the Italian word chiesa, "church."
Etymology: [vitiare, vitiatus (Latin), "injure," from vitium, "a fault"]
to render ineffective or destroy the validity of an object
"The fraud perpetrated by your partner," said my attorney, "has vitiated the contract entered upon by your firm."
Synonyms: invalidate, negate, nullify
Antonyms: vitalize, energize, vivify, validate
Etymology: [From a variant of the English word metal, used figuratively to allude to the temper of the steel in a sword.]
high-spirited; full of ardor or courage
To survive in the pioneer days of our country, even youngsters had to be mettlesome.
Phrase: on one's mettle (incited to the use of one's best efforts)
Synonyms: fiery, impassioned, spirited, intrepid
Antonyms: craven, phlegmatic, apathetic, lackadaisical, pusillanimous
Etymology: [prae (Latin), "before" + capere (Latin), "to take"]
a practical rule of conduct or action
The precepts we learn in childhood often prove to be invaluable guides later in life.
Synonyms: maxim, moral, truism, adage
NOTE: In law, a precept is a written order issued by a court.
Etymology: [per (Latin), "through" + fides, "faith"]
treacherous
The soldier was court-martialed for his perfidious conduct in battle.
Synonyms: disloyal, faithless, deceitful
Antonyms: faithful, loyal
Etymology: [aversus (Latin), "turned aside"; from a, "away" + vertere, "to turn"]
unwilling; disinclined
"The average schoolboy," Peter wrote in his composition, "is as averse to learning as a kitten is to a bath."
Synonyms: reluctant, loath, indisposed
Antonyms: willing, inclined, disposed, favorable