ETHAN FROME Webster’s Thesaurus Edition for PSAT®, SAT®, GRE®, LSAT®, GMAT®, and AP® English Test Preparation
Edith Wharton
PSAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT is a registered trademark of the College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE, AP and Advanced Placement are registered trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council which is neither affiliated with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT is a registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council which neither sponsors nor endorses this product. All rights reserved.
Ethan Frome Webster’s Thesaurus Edition for PSAT®, SAT®, GRE®, LSAT®, GMAT®, and AP® English Test Preparation
Edith Wharton
PSAT® is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT® is a registered trademark of the College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE®, AP® and Advanced Placement® are registered trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council which is neither affiliated with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT® is a registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council which neither sponsors nor endorses this product. All rights reserved.
ICON CLASSICS Published by ICON Group International, Inc. 7404 Trade Street San Diego, CA 92121 USA www.icongrouponline.com Ethan Frome: Webster’s Thesaurus Edition for PSAT®, SAT®, GRE®, LSAT®, GMAT®, and AP® English Test Preparation This edition published by ICON Classics in 2005 Printed in the United States of America. Copyright ©2005 by ICON Group International, Inc. Edited by Philip M. Parker, Ph.D. (INSEAD); Copyright ©2005, all rights reserved. All rights reserved. This book is protected by copyright. No part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. Copying our publications in whole or in part, for whatever reason, is a violation of copyright laws and can lead to penalties and fines. Should you want to copy tables, graphs, or other materials, please contact us to request permission (E-mail:
[email protected]). ICON Group often grants permission for very limited reproduction of our publications for internal use, press releases, and academic research. Such reproduction requires confirmed permission from ICON Group International, Inc. PSAT® is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT® is a registered trademark of the College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE®, AP® and Advanced Placement® are registered trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council which is neither affiliated with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT® is a registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council which neither sponsors nor endorses this product. All rights reserved. ISBN 0-497-01037-2
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Contents PREFACE FROM THE EDITOR .......................................................................................... 1 PREFACE.......................................................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER I ..................................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER II .................................................................................................................... 23 CHAPTER III ................................................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER IV ................................................................................................................... 39 CHAPTER V .................................................................................................................... 51 CHAPTER VI ................................................................................................................... 57 CHAPTER VII .................................................................................................................. 63 CHAPTER VIII ................................................................................................................. 77 CHAPTER IX ................................................................................................................... 87 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 105 GLOSSARY ................................................................................................................... 111
Edith Wharton
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PREFACE FROM THE EDITOR Designed for school districts, educators, and students seeking to maximize performance on standardized tests, Webster’s paperbacks take advantage of the fact that classics are frequently assigned readings in English courses. By using a running thesaurus at the bottom of each page, this edition of Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton was edited for students who are actively building their vocabularies in anticipation of taking PSAT®, SAT®, AP® (Advanced Placement®), GRE®, 1 LSAT®, GMAT® or similar examinations. Webster’s edition of this classic is organized to expose the reader to a maximum number of synonyms and antonyms for difficult and often ambiguous English words that are encountered in other works of literature, conversation, or academic examinations. Extremely rare or idiosyncratic words and expressions are given lower priority in the notes compared to words which are “difficult, and often encountered” in examinations. Rather than supply a single synonym, many are provided for a variety of meanings, allowing readers to better grasp the ambiguity of the English language, and avoid using the notes as a pure crutch. Having the reader decipher a word’s meaning within context serves to improve vocabulary retention and understanding. Each page covers words not already highlighted on previous pages. If a difficult word is not noted on a page, chances are that it has been highlighted on a previous page. A more complete thesaurus is supplied at the end of the book; Synonyms and antonyms are extracted from Webster’s Online Dictionary. Definitions of remaining terms as well as translations can be found at www.websters-onlinedictionary.org. Please send suggestions to
[email protected] The Editor Webster’s Online Dictionary www.websters-online-dictionary.org
PSAT® is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT® is a registered trademark of the College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE®, AP® and Advanced Placement® are registered trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council which is neither affiliated with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT® is a registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council which neither sponsors nor endorses this product. All rights reserved. 1
Edith Wharton
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PREFACE
I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story.% If you know Starkfield, Massachusetts, you know the post-office. If you know the post-office you must have seen Ethan Frome drive up to it, drop the reins on his hollow-backed bay and drag himself across the brick pavement to the white colonnade: and you must have asked who he was. It was there that, several years ago, I saw him for the first time; and the sight pulled me up sharp. Even then he was the most striking figure in Starkfield, though he was but the ruin of a man. It was not so much his great height that marked him, for the “natives” were easily singled out by their lank longitude from the stockier foreign breed: it was the careless powerful look he had, in spite of a lameness checking each step like the jerk of a chain. There was something bleak and unapproachable in his face, and he was so stiffened and grizzled that I took him for an old man and was surprised to hear that he was not more than fifty-two. I had this from Harmon Gow, who had driven the stage from Bettsbridge to Starkfield in pre-trolley days and knew the chronicle of all the families on his line. “He’s looked that way ever since he had his smash-up; and that’s twenty-four years ago come next February,” Harmon threw out between reminiscent pauses.
Thesaurus chronicle: (n, v) register, list, log, report; (n) account, story, annals, history, narrative, roll; (v) date. colonnade: (n) arcade, circus, construction, structure, stoa, portico, column, crescent, mall, peristyle, piazza. families: (n) family. grizzled: (adj) grey, gray, old, brunet, grisled, grayish, brunette. jerk: (n, v) jump, yank, shake, twitch, jar, tug, bump, heave, pull; (v) fling,
flip. ANTONYM: (v) ease. malevolence, rancour, venom, rancor, lameness: (n) limp, claudication, maliciousness, ill will, animosity; (n, v) pique. ANTONYMS: (v) please; (n) gameness, gimpiness, feebleness, halt, limping, crippleness, disability benevolence, goodwill, love, of walking. affection, harmony. lank: (adj) gaunt, angular, emaciated, unapproachable: (adj) aloof, distant, meager, thin, skinny, spindly, spare, remote, interminable, unreachable, scrawny; (adj, v) lean, barren. immeasurable, incalculable, longitude: (n) line of longitude, inexhaustible, illimitable, meridian, span, great circle, date line, innumerable, out of reach. ANTONYMS: (adj) accessible, dateline, place. spite: (n) malice, grudge, hatred, friendly, easy, affable.
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Ethan Frome
The “smash-up” it was—I gathered from the same informant—which, besides drawing the red gash across Ethan Frome’s forehead, had so shortened and warped his right side that it cost him a visible effort to take the few steps from his buggy to the post-office window. He used to drive in from his farm every day at about noon, and as that was my own hour for fetching my mail I often passed him in the porch or stood beside him while we waited on the motions of the distributing hand behind the grating. I noticed that, though he came so punctually, he seldom received anything but a copy of the Bettsbridge Eagle, which he put without a glance into his sagging pocket. At intervals, however, the post-master would hand him an envelope addressed to Mrs. Zenobia—or Mrs. Zeena-Frome, and usually bearing conspicuously in the upper left-hand corner the address of some manufacturer of patent medicine and the name of his specific. These documents my neighbour would also pocket without a glance, as if too much used to them to wonder at their number and variety, and would then turn away with a silent nod to the post-master.% Every one in Starkfield knew him and gave him a greeting tempered to his own grave mien; but his taciturnity was respected and it was only on rare occasions that one of the older men of the place detained him for a word. When this happened he would listen quietly, his blue eyes on the speaker’s face, and answer in so low a tone that his words never reached me; then he would climb stiffly into his buggy, gather up the reins in his left hand and drive slowly away in the direction of his farm. “It was a pretty bad smash-up?” I questioned Harmon, looking after Frome’s retreating figure, and thinking how gallantly his lean brown head, with its shock of light hair, must have sat on his strong shoulders before they were bent out of shape. “Wust kind,” my informant assented. “More’n enough to kill most men. But the Fromes are tough. Ethan’ll likely touch a hundred.” “Good God!” I exclaimed. At the moment Ethan Frome, after climbing to his seat, had leaned over to assure himself of the security of a wooden box—also with a druggist’s label on it—which he had placed in the back of the buggy, and I
Thesaurus gallantly: (adv) courageously, intrepidly, chivalrously, splendidly, valiantly, heroically, fearlessly, finely, doughtily, pluckily, courteously. ANTONYMS: (adv) unchivalrously, poorly, timidly. grating: (adj) hoarse, strident, harsh, discordant, gravelly, raspy, gruff, raucous; (n, v) lattice; (n) grate, grid. ANTONYMS: (adj) pleasing, soothing, smooth, harmonious. mien: (n, v) deportment, carriage,
bearing, demeanor; (n) look, countenance, appearance, guise, manner, aspect, air. noticed: (adj) noted. punctually: (adv) precisely, exactly, duly, accurately, correctly, on time, regularly, timely, punctiliously, strictly, sharp. sagging: (adj) drooping, flabby, slack, baggy, hanging, limp, flagging, lifeless, floppy; (n) sag, dropping. ANTONYMS: (adj) taut, firm,
upright, tight. taciturnity: (n) reserve, silence, uncommunicativeness, military reserve, modesty, secrecy, oblivion, substitute, pauciloquy, quietness, muteness. warped: (adj, n) twisted; (adj) deformed, crooked, perverted, misshapen, kinky, curved, distorted, wry, partisan, superficial. ANTONYMS: (adj) wholesome, impartial.
Edith Wharton
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saw his face as it probably looked when he thought himself alone. “That man touch a hundred? He looks as if he was dead and in hell now!”% Harmon drew a slab of tobacco from his pocket, cut off a wedge and pressed it into the leather pouch of his cheek. “Guess he’s been in Starkfield too many winters. Most of the smart ones get away.” “Why didn’t he?” “Somebody had to stay and care for the folks. There warn’t ever anybody but Ethan. Fust his father—then his mother—then his wife.” “And then the smash-up?” Harmon chuckled sardonically. “That’s so. He had to stay then.” “I see. And since then they’ve had to care for him?” Harmon thoughtfully passed his tobacco to the other cheek. “Oh, as to that: I guess it’s always Ethan done the caring.” Though Harmon Gow developed the tale as far as his mental and moral reach permitted there were perceptible gaps between his facts, and I had the sense that the deeper meaning of the story was in the gaps. But one phrase stuck in my memory and served as the nucleus about which I grouped my subsequent inferences: “Guess he’s been in Starkfield too many winters.” Before my own time there was up I had learned to know what that meant. Yet I had come in the degenerate day of trolley, bicycle and rural delivery, when communication was easy between the scattered mountain villages, and the bigger towns in the valleys, such as Bettsbridge and Shadd’s Falls, had libraries, theatres and Y. M. C. A. halls to which the youth of the hills could descend for recreation. But when winter shut down on Starkfield and the village lay under a sheet of snow perpetually renewed from the pale skies, I began to see what life there—or rather its negation—must have been in Ethan Frome’s young manhood. I had been sent up by my employers on a job connected with the big powerhouse at Corbury Junction, and a long-drawn carpenters’ strike had so delayed
Thesaurus degenerate: (adj) corrupt, debauched, depraved, dissolute; (v) decay, degrade, relapse, decline, drop, rot; (adj, n) profligate. ANTONYMS: (adj) upright, honorable, moral, healthy, virtuous, regenerate; (v) develop, flourish, recuperate, uplift, upgrade. manhood: (n) majority, maturity, valor, resolution, personality, humanity, integrity, bravery; (adj) manliness, ripe age, maturity full age. perceptible: (adj) conspicuous,
appreciable, evident, discernible, obvious, visible, palpable, apparent, detectable, manifest, observable. ANTONYMS: (adj) intangible, unclear, inaudible, inconspicuous, obscure, undetectable, invisible. perpetually: (adv) eternally, everlastingly, always, incessantly, continually, endlessly, permanently, unceasingly, ceaselessly, ever; (adj, adv) forever. ANTONYMS: (adv) erratically, sporadically.
pouch: (n, v) bag; (n) pocket, poke, mailbag, sac, pod, purse, sack, bladder; (v) bulk, bulge. sardonically: (adv) satirically, cynically, bitingly, ironically, derisively, mockingly, mordantly, contemptuously, scathingly, scornfully, cuttingly. wedge: (v) compress, jam, pack, ram, stuff, lodge; (n) chock, shim, slice, cuneus; (n, v) stick. ANTONYMS: (v) dislodge, remove; (n) whole.
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Ethan Frome
the %work that I found myself anchored at Starkfield—the nearest habitable spot—for the best part of the winter. I chafed at first, and then, under the hypnotising effect of routine, gradually began to find a grim satisfaction in the life. During the early part of my stay I had been struck by the contrast between the vitality of the climate and the deadness of the community. Day by day, after the December snows were over, a blazing blue sky poured down torrents of light and air on the white landscape, which gave them back in an intenser glitter. One would have supposed that such an atmosphere must quicken the emotions as well as the blood; but it seemed to produce no change except that of retarding still more the sluggish pulse of Starkfield. When I had been there a little longer, and had seen this phase of crystal clearness followed by long stretches of sunless cold; when the storms of February had pitched their white tents about the. devoted village and the wild cavalry of March winds had charged down to their support; I began to understand why Starkfield emerged from its six months’ siege like a starved garrison capitulating without quarter. Twenty years earlier the means of resistance must have been far fewer, and the enemy in command of almost all the lines of access between the beleaguered villages; and, considering these things, I felt the sinister force of Harmon’s phrase: “Most of the smart ones get away.” But if that were the case, how could any combination of obstacles have hindered the flight of a man like Ethan Frome? During my stay at Starkfield I lodged with a middle-aged widow colloquially known as Mrs. Ned Hale. Mrs. Hale’s father had been the village lawyer of the previous generation, and “lawyer Varnum’s house,” where my landlady still lived with her mother, was the most considerable mansion in the village. It stood at one end of the main street, its classic portico and small-paned windows looking down a flagged path between Norway spruces to the slim white steeple of the Congregational church. It was clear that the Varnum fortunes were at the ebb, but the two women did what they could to preserve a decent dignity; and Mrs. Hale, in particular, had a certain wan refinement not out of keeping with her pale old-fashioned house.
Thesaurus chafed: (adj) uncomfortable, sore, familiarly, idiomatically, at home, painful, galled, angry; (v) fretted, vernacularly. deadness: (n) inanimateness, inertia, agitated. clearness: (n) clarity, brightness, coldness, numbness, lifelessness, distinctness, perspicuity, lucidity, inelasticity, indifference, dullness, explicitness, sharpness, simplicity, tedium, marble, stock and stone. habitable: (adj) livable, liveable. purity, limpidity, intelligibility. ANTONYMS: (n) ambiguity, opacity, quicken: (v) accelerate, hasten, hurry, dirtiness, vagueness, unclearness, dispatch, animate, expedite, advance, enliven, precipitate; (n, v) forward, obscureness, indistinctness, clutter, speed. ANTONYMS: (v) decelerate, haziness, mustiness. colloquially: (adv) conversationally, delay.
retarding: (n) delay, let, hindrance, impediment, obstacle; (adj) ritardando. steeple: (adj, n) spire, tower; (n) campanile, minaret, turret, dome; (adj) pyramid, column, obelisk, monument, pillar. sunless: (adj) cloudy, dark, cheerless, clouded, lightless, gloomy, tenebrous, mentally disordered, blurred. torrents: (n) white water, rapids.
Edith Wharton
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In the “best parlour,” with its black horse-hair and mahogany weakly illuminated by a gurgling Carcel lamp, I listened every evening to another and more delicately shaded version of the Starkfield chronicle. It was not that Mrs. Ned Hale felt, or affected, any social superiority to the people about her; it was only that the accident of a finer sensibility and a little more education had put just enough distance between herself and her neighbours to enable her to judge them with detachment. She was not unwilling to exercise this faculty, and I had great hopes of getting from her the missing facts of Ethan Frome’s story, or rather such a key to his character as should co-ordinate the facts I knew. Her mind was a store-house of innocuous anecdote and any question about her acquaintances brought forth a volume of detail; but on the subject of Ethan Frome I found her unexpectedly reticent. There was no hint of disapproval in her reserve; I merely felt in her an insurmountable reluctance to speak of him or his affairs, a low “Yes, I knew them both... it was awful...” seeming to be the utmost concession that her distress could make to my curiosity.% So marked was the change in her manner, such depths of sad initiation did it imply, that, with some doubts as to my delicacy, I put the case anew to my village oracle, Harmon Gow; but got for my pains only an uncomprehending grunt. “Ruth Varnum was always as nervous as a rat; and, come to think of it, she was the first one to see ‘em after they was picked up. It happened right below lawyer Varnum’s, down at the bend of the Corbury road, just round about the time that Ruth got engaged to Ned Hale. The young folks was all friends, and I guess she just can’t bear to talk about it. She’s had troubles enough of her own.” All the dwellers in Starkfield, as in more notable communities, had had troubles enough of their own to make them comparatively indifferent to those of their neighbours; and though all conceded that Ethan Frome’s had been beyond the common measure, no one gave me an explanation of the look in his face which, as I persisted in thinking, neither poverty nor physical suffering could have put there. Nevertheless, I might have contented myself with the story pieced together from these hints had it not been for the provocation of Mrs.
Thesaurus anecdote: (n) tale, account, yarn, safe, innoxious, guiltless, bland, narrative, story, fable, relation, ana, unoffending, unobnoxious, fiction, trait, gossip. unobjectionable, pleasant, not anew: (adv) again, newly, lately, unpleasant. ANTONYMS: (adj) recently, over again, once more, once offensive, harmful, malicious, again, new; (adj) only yesterday, the unpleasant. insurmountable: (adj) insuperable, other day, just now. grunt: (v) growl, croak, mutter, unsurmountable, impassable, complain, murmur, moan, clamor, impossible, unconquerable, mumble; (n, v) cry; (n) groan, unbeatable, indomitable, cottonwick. impregnable, overwhelming, innocuous: (adj) innocent, inoffensive, invincible, unruly. ANTONYMS:
(adj) vulnerable, easy, manageable. reticent: (adj, v) reserved, close; (adj) restrained, quiet, distant, modest, uncommunicative, shy, taciturn, retiring, bashful. ANTONYMS: (adj) expansive, chatty, helpful, outgoing, uninhibited, forthcoming, extrovert, careless, affable, arrogant, open. uncomprehending: (adj) vacuous, expressionless, undiscerning, inane, empty, obtuse. ANTONYMS: (adj) knowing, animated.
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Ethan Frome
Hale’s silence, and—a little later—for the accident of personal contact with the man.% On my arrival at Starkfield, Denis Eady, the rich Irish grocer, who was the proprietor of Starkfield’s nearest approach to a livery stable, had entered into an agreement to send me over daily to Corbury Flats, where I had to pick up my train for the Junction. But about the middle of the winter Eady’s horses fell ill of a local epidemic. The illness spread to the other Starkfield stables and for a day or two I was put to it to find a means of transport. Then Harmon Gow suggested that Ethan Frome’s bay was still on his legs and that his owner might be glad to drive me over. I stared at the suggestion. “Ethan Frome? But I’ve never even spoken to him. Why on earth should he put himself out for me?” Harmon’s answer surprised me still more. “I don’t know as he would; but I know he wouldn’t be sorry to earn a dollar.” I had been told that Frome was poor, and that the saw-mill and the arid acres of his farm yielded scarcely enough to keep his household through the winter; but I had not supposed him to be in such want as Harmon’s words implied, and I expressed my wonder. “Well, matters ain’t gone any too well with him,” Harmon said. “When a man’s been setting round like a hulk for twenty years or more, seeing things that want doing, it eats inter him, and he loses his grit. That Frome farm was always ‘bout as bare’s a milkpan when the cat’s been round; and you know what one of them old water-mills is wuth nowadays. When Ethan could sweat over ‘em both from sunup to dark he kinder choked a living out of ‘em; but his folks ate up most everything, even then, and I don’t see how he makes out now. Fust his father got a kick, out haying, and went soft in the brain, and gave away money like Bible texts afore he died. Then his mother got queer and dragged along for years as weak as a baby; and his wife Zeena, she’s always been the greatest hand at doctoring in the county. Sickness and trouble: that’s what Ethan’s had his plate full up with, ever since the very first helping.”
Thesaurus afore: (adv) ahead, along, before, forwards, formerly, beforehand, previously; (adj) erewhile, aforehand, theretofore, preceding. doctoring: (n) doping, corruption. eats: (n) grub, chuck, food, meat, meal, diet, nurture, eat, dinner, board, feed. grocer: (v) purveyor, feeder, batman, caterer, commissary, restaurateur, victualer, quartermaster; (n) merchandiser, grocery store, merchant.
haying: (n) harvest home, harvesting, making of hay, haying time. hulk: (n) giant, colossus, wreck, carcass, heavyweight, monster; (adj) hull, bole, skeleton greater part, principal part, main part. inter: (v) inhume, entomb, lay to rest, sepulchre, tomb, inurn, repose, lay, intomb, among, embed deeply. ANTONYM: (adj) intra. livery: (adj) liverish, bilious; (n) clothing, accouterment, uniform,
complexion, legal transfer, color, hue, dye, bailment. queer: (adj) fantastic, odd, eccentric, funny, curious, gay, peculiar, strange, quaint, fishy, outlandish. ANTONYMS: (adj) conventional, normal, well. sunup: (n) dawn, daybreak, break of day, first light, dayspring, daylight, foreday, morning, good morning, forenoon, crack of dawn. ANTONYM: (n) sunset.
Edith Wharton
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The next morning, when I looked out, I saw the hollow-backed bay between the Varnum spruces, and Ethan Frome, throwing back his worn bearskin, made room for me in the sleigh at his side. After that, for a week, he drove me over every morning to Corbury Flats, and on my return in the afternoon met me again and carried me back through the icy night to Starkfield. The distance each way was barely three miles, but the old bay’s pace was slow, and even with firm snow under the runners we were nearly an hour on the way. Ethan Frome drove in silence, the reins loosely held in his left hand, his brown seamed profile, under the helmet-like peak of the cap, relieved against the banks of snow like the bronze image of a hero. He never turned his face to mine, or answered, except in monosyllables, the questions I put, or such slight pleasantries as I ventured. He seemed a part of the mute melancholy landscape, an incarnation of its frozen woe, with all that was warm and sentient in him fast bound below the surface; but there was nothing unfriendly in his silence. I simply felt that he lived in a depth of moral isolation too remote for casual access, and I had the sense that his loneliness was not merely the result of his personal plight, tragic as I guessed that to be, but had in it, as Harmon Gow had hinted, the profound accumulated cold of many Starkfield winters.% Only once or twice was the distance between us bridged for a moment; and the glimpses thus gained confirmed my desire to know more. Once I happened to speak of an engineering job I had been on the previous year in Florida, and of the contrast between the winter landscape about us and that in which I had found myself the year before; and to my surprise Frome said suddenly: “Yes: I was down there once, and for a good while afterward I could call up the sight of it in winter. But now it’s all snowed under.” He said no more, and I had to guess the rest from the inflection of his voice and his sharp relapse into silence. Another day, on getting into my train at the Flats, I missed a volume of popular science—I think it was on some recent discoveries in bio-chemistry— which I had carried with me to read on the way. I thought no more about it till I got into the sleigh again that evening, and saw the book in Frome’s hand.
Thesaurus afterward: (adv, conj) then, after that; (adv) thereafter, afterwards, later, subsequently, later on, next, soon; (adj) following; (n) future. ANTONYMS: (adv) now, previously, before. bearskin: (n) lid, pelt, hat, fur, chapeau, kepi, forage cap, busby, shako. hinted: (adj) veiled, roundabout, not explicit, implicit, coded, oblique. inflection: (n) accent, inflexion,
flection, modulation, flexion, toboggan, bobsleigh, pung, dog intonation, declension, bending, sleigh, dogsled, sledgehammer, conjugation, accentuation, emphasis. maul, jumper. runners: (n) runner. snowed: (adj) drugged, fooled. seamed: (adj) unsmooth, rough. unfriendly: (adj) inimical, distant, sentient: (adj) sensitive, animate, adverse, antagonistic, unkind, cold, inhospitable, icy; (adj, adv) chilly; (adj, aware, responsive, susceptible, perceptive, aesthetic, sensible, tender, v) unfavorable; (adv) hostilely. ANTONYMS: (adj) friendly, impressionable, alive. ANTONYMS: (adj) inanimate, insentient, welcoming, warm, amiable, unconscious, dead. approachable, sociable, hospitable, sleigh: (n, v) sled; (n) sledge, kindly, nice, outgoing, pleasant.
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Ethan Frome
“I found it after you were gone,” he said.% I put the volume into my pocket and we dropped back into our usual silence; but as we began to crawl up the long hill from Corbury Flats to the Starkfield ridge I became aware in the dusk that he had turned his face to mine. “There are things in that book that I didn’t know the first word about,” he said. I wondered less at his words than at the queer note of resentment in his voice. He was evidently surprised and slightly aggrieved at his own ignorance. “Does that sort of thing interest you?” I asked. “It used to.” “There are one or two rather new things in the book: there have been some big strides lately in that particular line of research.” I waited a moment for an answer that did not come; then I said: “If you’d like to look the book through I’d be glad to leave it with you.” He hesitated, and I had the impression that he felt himself about to yield to a stealing tide of inertia; then, “Thank you—I’ll take it,” he answered shortly. I hoped that this incident might set up some more direct communication between us. Frome was so simple and straightforward that I was sure his curiosity about the book was based on a genuine interest in its subject. Such tastes and acquirements in a man of his condition made the contrast more poignant between his outer situation and his inner needs, and I hoped that the chance of giving expression to the latter might at least unseal his lips. But something in his past history, or in his present way of living, had apparently driven him too deeply into himself for any casual impulse to draw him back to his kind. At our next meeting he made no allusion to the book, and our intercourse seemed fated to remain as negative and one-sided as if there had been no break in his reserve. Frome had been driving me over to the Flats for about a week when one morning I looked out of my window into a thick snow-fall. The height of the white waves massed against the garden-fence and along the wall of the church
Thesaurus aggrieved: (adj) injured, offended, one-sided: (adj) unfair, unilateral, certain, predestined, damned, hurt, persecuted, harmed, pained, unavoidable, predestinate, cursed, unjust, unequal, uneven, prejudiced, resentful, indignant, bitter, angry, intended, forthcoming, sure. colored, doctrinaire, dogmatic, affronted. ANTONYMS: (adj) inertia: (n) idleness, lethargy, inaction, intolerant, jaundiced. poignant: (adj, v) acrid, biting, harsh, assisted, comforted, happy, pleased, passivity, laziness, inertness, unaffected. indolence, apathy, lassitude, languor, painful, penetrating, brisk; (adj) allusion: (n) innuendo, reference, cue, inactiveness. ANTONYMS: (n) acute, cutting, moving, affecting; (adj, n) piquant. ANTONYMS: (adj) suggestion, mention, intimation, energy, activity, activeness. massed: (adj) assembled, collected, pointer, insinuation, implication, unemotional, cheerful, emotionless. unseal: (v) uncover, unfold, unmask, indication, clue. congregate, amassed, accumulated, based: (adj) founded. concentrated, accrued, collective, open up, unkennel, unveil. fated: (adj) inevitable, destined, ANTONYMS: (n, v) seal. equanimous, crowded, dense.
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showed that the storm must have been going on all night, and that the drifts were likely to be heavy in the open. I thought it probable that my train would be delayed; but I had to be at the power-house for an hour or two that afternoon, and I decided, if Frome turned up, to push through to the Flats and wait there till my train came in. I don’t know why I put it in the conditional, however, for I never doubted that Frome would appear. He was not the kind of man to be turned from his business by any commotion of the elements; and at the appointed hour his sleigh glided up through the snow like a stage-apparition behind thickening veils of gauze.% I was getting to know him too well to express either wonder or gratitude at his keeping his appointment; but I exclaimed in surprise as I saw him turn his horse in a direction opposite to that of the Corbury road. “The railroad’s blocked by a freight-train that got stuck in a drift below the Flats,” he explained, as we jogged off into the stinging whiteness. “But look here—where are you taking me, then?” “Straight to the Junction, by the shortest way,” he answered, pointing up School House Hill with his whip. “To the Junction—in this storm? Why, it’s a good ten miles!” “The bay’ll do it if you give him time. You said you had some business there this afternoon. I’ll see you get there.” He said it so quietly that I could only answer: “You’re doing me the biggest kind of a favour.” “That’s all right,” he rejoined. Abreast of the schoolhouse the road forked, and we dipped down a lane to the left, between hemlock boughs bent inward to their trunks by the weight of the snow. I had often walked that way on Sundays, and knew that the solitary roof showing through bare branches near the bottom of the hill was that of Frome’s saw-mill. It looked exanimate enough, with its idle wheel looming above the black stream dashed with yellow-white spume, and its cluster of sheds sagging under their white load. Frome did not even turn his head as we drove
Thesaurus doubted: (adj) distrusted, suspected. exanimate: (adj) dead, deceased, inanimate, exanimation, defunct, extinct, spiritless, soulless, late. forked: (adj) bifurcate, divided, branching, bifurcated, furcated, biramous, double, forked road, furcate, tined, forky. hemlock: (n) hemlock spruce, poison hemlock, California fern, Nebraska fern, conium maculatum, eastern hemlock, wood, nightshade,
henbane, Tsuga, poison parsley. schoolhouse: (n) conservatoire, conservatory, school building, chargehouse, day school, edifice, school day, building. shortest: (adj) direct, brusk, brusque, choleric, curt, directer, hotheaded, least, irascible, lowest, most direct. spume: (n, v) froth, foam, bubble, suds; (n) head, scum, barm, spray, bubbles, surf; (v) effervesce. stinging: (adj) cutting, bitter, piquant,
prickling; (adj, v) caustic, acrid, piercing, poignant, biting, pungent, keen. ANTONYMS: (adj) stingless, gentle. thickening: (n) thickener, inspissation, growth, lymph node, pommel, indiscerptibility, node, bodying up, lymph gland, knob, indivisibility. whiteness: (n) paleness, ivory, chalk, pearl, bone, bleach, alabaster, frostiness, hoariness, pallor, innocence. ANTONYM: (n) black.
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Ethan Frome
by, and still in silence we began to mount the next slope. About a mile farther, on a road I had never travelled, we came to an orchard of starved apple-trees writhing over a hillside among outcroppings of slate that nuzzled up through the snow like animals pushing out their noses to breathe. Beyond the orchard lay a field or two, their boundaries lost under drifts; and above the fields, huddled against the white immensities of land and sky, one of those lonely New England farm-houses that make the landscape lonelier.% “That’s my place,” said Frome, with a sideway jerk of his lame elbow; and in the distress and oppression of the scene I did not know what to answer. The snow had ceased, and a flash of watery sunlight exposed the house on the slope above us in all its plaintive ugliness. The black wraith of a deciduous creeper flapped from the porch, and the thin wooden walls, under their worn coat of paint, seemed to shiver in the wind that had risen with the ceasing of the snow. “The house was bigger in my father’s time: I had to take down the ‘L,’ a while back,” Frome continued, checking with a twitch of the left rein the bay’s evident intention of turning in through the broken-down gate. I saw then that the unusually forlorn and stunted look of the house was partly due to the loss of what is known in New England as the “L”: that long deep-roofed adjunct usually built at right angles to the main house, and connecting it, by way of storerooms and tool-house, with the wood-shed and cow-barn. Whether because of its symbolic sense, the image it presents of a life linked with the soil, and enclosing in itself the chief sources of warmth and nourishment, or whether merely because of the consolatory thought that it enables the dwellers in that harsh climate to get to their morning’s work without facing the weather, it is certain that the “L” rather than the house itself seems to be the centre, the actual hearth-stone of the New England farm. Perhaps this connection of ideas, which had often occurred to me in my rambles about Starkfield, caused me to hear a wistful note in Frome’s words, and to see in the diminished dwelling the image of his own shrunken body. “We’re kinder side-tracked here now,” he added, “but there was considerable passing before the railroad was carried through to the Flats.” He roused the
Thesaurus broken-down: (adj) decrepit, tired, tacky, squalid, ramshackle, shoddy, rickety, run-down, dingy, sleazy. ceasing: (n) stopping, subsidence. consolatory: (adj) consoling, soothing, cheering. creeper: (n) crawler, creeping plant, vine, tracheophyte, oscine, climber, toady, lackey, reptile, sycophant, runner. deciduous: (adj) transient, short-lived; (v) labent, undermined.
huddled: (adj) crouched, crouching, obliquely, crabwise. stunted: (adj) scrubby, little, scrawny, hunkered down, hunkered. plaintive: (adj) pathetic, piteous, diminutive, puny, short, spare, weak, underdeveloped, dwarfish; (v) lugubrious, doleful, sad, wistful, sorrowful, woeful, elegiac, dolorous, strangulated. ANTONYM: (adj) tall. wraith: (n) shade, specter, phantom, lamentable. shrunken: (adj) wizened, shrivelled, spook, apparition, spectre, spirit, shrunk, withered, contracted, wizen, vision, shadow, comb, fetch. writhing: (adj, n) twisting; (adj) narrow, dried, thin, lean, sear. ANTONYMS: (adj) plump, bloated. wriggly, squirming, wiggling, sideway: (adv) sidewise, sideways, wiggly, twisty, tortuous, snaky, winding, sinuous; (n) twist. lateral, side, laterally, sidewards,
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lagging bay with another twitch; then, as if the mere sight of the house had let me too deeply into his confidence for any farther pretence of reserve, he went on slowly: “I’ve always set down the worst of mother’s trouble to that. When she got the rheumatism so bad she couldn’t move around she used to sit up there and watch the road by the hour; and one year, when they was six months mending the Bettsbridge pike after the floods, and Harmon Gow had to bring his stage round this way, she picked up so that she used to get down to the gate most days to see him. But after the trains begun running nobody ever come by here to speak of, and mother never could get it through her head what had happened, and it preyed on her right along till she died.” As we turned into the Corbury road the snow began to fall again, cutting off our last glimpse of the house; and Frome’s silence fell with it, letting down between us the old veil of reticence. This time the wind did not cease with the return of the snow. Instead, it sprang up to a gale which now and then, from a tattered sky, flung pale sweeps of sunlight over a landscape chaotically tossed. But the bay was as good as Frome’s word, and we pushed on to the Junction through the wild white scene.% In the afternoon the storm held off, and the clearness in the west seemed to my inexperienced eye the pledge of a fair evening. I finished my business as quickly as possible, and we set out for Starkfield with a good chance of getting there for supper. But at sunset the clouds gathered again, bringing an earlier night, and the snow began to fall straight and steadily from a sky without wind, in a soft universal diffusion more confusing than the gusts and eddies of the morning. It seemed to be a part of the thickening darkness, to be the winter night itself descending on us layer by layer. The small ray of Frome’s lantern was soon lost in this smothering medium, in which even his sense of direction, and the bay’s homing instinct, finally ceased to serve us. Two or three times some ghostly landmark sprang up to warn us that we were astray, and then was sucked back into the mist; and when we finally regained our road the old horse began to show signs of exhaustion. I felt myself to blame for having accepted Frome’s offer, and after a short discussion I
Thesaurus astray: (adj, adv) adrift, off course; (adj) lagging: (n) insulation, cover, skin, lost, wrong, disoriented, awry; (adv) sheathing, casing; (adj) lazy, slack, amiss, widely, far, afield, aside. tardy, remiss, late, behindhand. ANTONYM: (adj) accurate. reticence: (n) reserve, reservation, chaotically: (adv) disorderedly, uncommunicativeness, taciturnity, disorderly, messily, untidily, wildly, silence, reticency, restraint, secrecy, turbulently, excitedly, feverishly, reservedness, muteness, humility. ANTONYMS: (n) chattiness, honesty, randomly, indiscriminately, irregularly. ANTONYMS: (adv) nerve, boldness, openness, arrogance, neatly, systematically. brashness. eddies: (n) turbulence. rheumatism: (n) arthritis, atrophic homing: (adj) orienting. arthritis, juvenile rheumatoid
arthritis; (v) lumbago, podagra, otalgia, neuralgia, earache, cephalalgia, odontalgia, sciatica. smothering: (adj) choking, suffocative, suffocating, tight, sultry, breathless; (adv) smotheringly; (v) suffocate. sweeps: (n) sweep period. tattered: (adj) shabby, ragged, scruffy, dilapidated, threadbare, frayed, seedy, worn out, torn, shattered; (adj, v) bedraggled. ANTONYMS: (adj) elegant, smart, new.
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Ethan Frome
persuaded him to let me get out of the sleigh and walk along through the snow at the bay’s side. In this way we struggled on for another mile or two, and at last reached a point where Frome, peering into what seemed to me formless night, said: “That’s my gate down yonder.” The last stretch had been the hardest part of the way. The bitter cold and the heavy going had nearly knocked the wind out of me, and I could feel the horse’s side ticking like a clock under my hand.% “Look here, Frome,” I began, “there’s no earthly use in your going any farther—” but he interrupted me: “Nor you neither. There’s been about enough of this for anybody.” I understood that he was offering me a night’s shelter at the farm, and without answering I turned into the gate at his side, and followed him to the barn, where I helped him to unharness and bed down the tired horse. When this was done he unhooked the lantern from the sleigh, stepped out again into the night, and called to me over his shoulder: “This way.” Far off above us a square of light trembled through the screen of snow. Staggering along in Frome’s wake I floundered toward it, and in the darkness almost fell into one of the deep drifts against the front of the house. Frome scrambled up the slippery steps of the porch, digging a way through the snow with his heavily booted foot. Then he lifted his lantern, found the latch, and led the way into the house. I went after him into a low unlit passage, at the back of which a ladder-like staircase rose into obscurity. On our right a line of light marked the door of the room which had sent its ray across the night; and behind the door I heard a woman’s voice droning querulously. Frome stamped on the worn oil-cloth to shake the snow from his boots, and set down his lantern on a kitchen chair which was the only piece of furniture in the hall. Then he opened the door. “Come in,” he said; and as he spoke the droning voice grew still... It was that night that I found the clue to Ethan Frome, and began to put together this vision of his story.
Thesaurus booted: (adj) shod, shoder. tube, lighting fitting, bedside light, miscellaneous, knotted, jumbled. droning: (adj) buzzing, humming, ticking: (n) tick, cloth, fabric, ticken; street light, street lamp, oil lamp, (adj) living. abuzz, booming, monotonous, noisy; lime light, lanthorn. (n) bourdon, dawdler, drone pipe, latch: (v) bar, fasten, grab; (n, v) bolt; unharness: (v) unbind, unbar, (adj, n, v) lock; (n) hasp, clasp, door idleness, monotone. ANTONYM: unchain, outspan, unbolt, unclose, (adj) varied. latch, hook; (adj) link, yoke. unhand, unclog, uncork, unhitch, formless: (adj) shapeless, unformed, querulously: (adv) peevishly, fretfully, untackle. unlit: (adj) lightless, unlighted, indistinct, unstructured, unbodied, discontentedly, testily, whiningly, nebulous, vague, indistinguishable, grumpily, dissatisfiedly, petulantly, unilluminated, unkindled, obscure, soft, fuzzy, rude. ANTONYMS: (adj) quarrelsomely, cantankerously, gloomy, dull, completely dark, tenebrous. ANTONYMS: (adj) bright, organized, clear, distinct. crossly. lantern: (n) beacon, light, dormer, scrambled: (adj) twisted, snarled, lighted.
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CHAPTER I
The village lay under two feet of snow, with drifts at the windy corners. In a sky of iron the points of the Dipper hung like icicles and Orion flashed his cold fires. The moon had set, but the night was so transparent that the white housefronts between the elms looked gray against the snow, clumps of bushes made black stains on it, and the basement windows of the church sent shafts of yellow light far across the endless undulations.% Young Ethan Frome walked at a quick pace along the deserted street, past the bank and Michael Eady’s new brick store and Lawyer Varnum’s house with the two black Norway spruces at the gate. Opposite the Varnum gate, where the road fell away toward the Corbury valley, the church reared its slim white steeple and narrow peristyle. As the young man walked toward it the upper windows drew a black arcade along the side wall of the building, but from the lower openings, on the side where the ground sloped steeply down to the Corbury road, the light shot its long bars, illuminating many fresh furrows in the track leading to the basement door, and showing, under an adjoining shed, a line of sleighs with heavily blanketed horses. The night was perfectly still, and the air so dry and pure that it gave little sensation of cold. The effect produced on Frome was rather of a complete absence of atmosphere, as though nothing less tenuous than ether intervened
Thesaurus arcade: (n) colonnade, arch, portico, piazza, arc, construction, bow, horseshoe, crane neck, vault, loop. ether: (adj) air, elastic fluid, anaesthetic agent, steam, flatus, fume, reek, vapor; (n) divinyl ether, firmament, vinyl ether. illuminating: (adj) illuminate, informative, edifying, illuminatingly, instructive, descriptive, brilliant, light, elucidate, illustrative, lighten. ANTONYMS: (adj) hidden,
unilluminating, secretive. peristyle: (n) arcade, colonnade, crescent, mall, column, cloister, piazza, polygon, square. sloped: (adj) slanting, oblique, sloping, inclined, aslope, diagonal, aslant, leaned, leant, colored, biased. steeply: (adv) abruptly, precipitously, suddenly, perpendicularly, sheerly, extortionately, loftily, highly, excessively, exorbitantly, harshly. tenuous: (adj) rare, fine, slight, slender,
subtle, flimsy, subtile, slim, insubstantial, ethereal, faint. ANTONYMS: (adj) substantial, stable, incontrovertible, healthy, precise, proven, considerable. windy: (adj) gusty, verbose, blowy, flatulent, wordy, breezy, tempestuous, empty, airy, prolix, bombastic. ANTONYMS: (adj) calm, still, straight, uncommunicative, unresponsive, airless, pleasant, direct.
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Ethan Frome
between the white earth under his feet and the metallic dome overhead. “It’s like being in an exhausted receiver,” he thought. Four or five years earlier he had taken a year’s course at a technological college at Worcester, and dabbled in the laboratory with a friendly professor of physics; and the images supplied by that experience still cropped up, at unexpected moments, through the totally different associations of thought in which he had since been living. His father’s death, and the misfortunes following it, had put a premature end to Ethan’s studies; but though they had not gone far enough to be of much practical use they had fed his fancy and made him aware of huge cloudy meanings behind the daily face of things.% As he strode along through the snow the sense of such meanings glowed in his brain and mingled with the bodily flush produced by his sharp tramp. At the end of the village he paused before the darkened front of the church. He stood there a moment, breathing quickly, and looking up and down the street, in which not another figure moved. The pitch of the Corbury road, below lawyer Varnum’s spruces, was the favourite coasting-ground of Starkfield, and on clear evenings the church corner rang till late with the shouts of the coasters; but tonight not a sled darkened the whiteness of the long declivity. The hush of midnight lay on the village, and all its waking life was gathered behind the church windows, from which strains of dance-music flowed with the broad bands of yellow light. The young man, skirting the side of the building, went down the slope toward the basement door. To keep out of range of the revealing rays from within he made a circuit through the untrodden snow and gradually approached the farther angle of the basement wall. Thence, still hugging the shadow, he edged his way cautiously forward to the nearest window, holding back his straight spare body and craning his neck till he got a glimpse of the room. Seen thus, from the pure and frosty darkness in which he stood, it seemed to be seething in a mist of heat. The metal reflectors of the gas-jets sent crude waves of light against the whitewashed walls, and the iron flanks of the stove at the end of the hall looked as though they were heaving with volcanic fires. The floor
Thesaurus cropped: (adj) close. dabbled: (adj) bespattered, besplashed, covered, covered patchily, spattered, splashed, splattered, splashy; (v) soggy. declivity: (n) decline, fall, downhill, downgrade, incline, dip, slope; (n, v) gradient; (v) acclivity, ascent, bank. heaving: (v) tremor, twitter; (adj) swelling, full, full up, jammed; (n) murmur, forcing out, groan, grumble, mutter. ANTONYM: (adj) deserted.
mingled: (adj) miscellaneous, complex, indiscriminate, heterogeneous, medley, confused, eclectic, motley, different; (v) blended, blent. misfortunes: (n) misfortune. seething: (v) ebullient; (adj) irate, raging, enraged, spitting mad, beside yourself, teed off, packed; (n) ebullition, tumult, digestion. shouts: (n) cries. skirting: (n) skirt, edging, fringe, list, frill, frame, flounce; (adj) border,
flanking, parietal, marginal. sled: (n) sledge, luge, toboggan, bobsleigh, pung, maul, jumper, dogsled, dog sleigh. untrodden: (adj) pathless, trackless, untracked, unhandseled, untried; (v) unapplied, untouched, unspent, unexercised, unemployed, undisposed of. whitewashed: (adj) overpowered, overcome, crushed, conquered, beaten, routed, painted.
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was thronged with girls and young men. Down the side wall facing the window stood a row of kitchen chairs from which the older women had just risen. By this time the music had stopped, and the musicians—a fiddler, and the young lady who played the harmonium on Sundays—were hastily refreshing themselves at one corner of the supper-table which aligned its devastated pie-dishes and icecream saucers on the platform at the end of the hall. The guests were preparing to leave, and the tide had already set toward the passage where coats and wraps were hung, when a young man with a sprightly foot and a shock of black hair shot into the middle of the floor and clapped his hands. The signal took instant effect. The musicians hurried to their instruments, the dancers—some already half-muffled for departure—fell into line down each side of the room, the older spectators slipped back to their chairs, and the lively young man, after diving about here and there in the throng, drew forth a girl who had already wound a cherry-coloured “fascinator” about her head, and, leading her up to the end of the floor, whirled her down its length to the bounding tune of a Virginia reel.% Frome’s heart was beating fast. He had been straining for a glimpse of the dark head under the cherry-coloured scarf and it vexed him that another eye should have been quicker than his. The leader of the reel, who looked as if he had Irish blood in his veins, danced well, and his partner caught his fire. As she passed down the line, her light figure swinging from hand to hand in circles of increasing swiftness, the scarf flew off her head and stood out behind her shoulders, and Frome, at each turn, caught sight of her laughing panting lips, the cloud of dark hair about her forehead, and the dark eyes which seemed the only fixed points in a maze of flying lines. The dancers were going faster and faster, and the musicians, to keep up with them, belaboured their instruments like jockeys lashing their mounts on the home-stretch; yet it seemed to the young man at the window that the reel would never end. Now and then he turned his eyes from the girl’s face to that of her partner, which, in the exhilaration of the dance, had taken on a look of almost impudent ownership. Denis Eady was the son of Michael Eady, the ambitious Irish grocer, whose suppleness and effrontery had given Starkfield its first
Thesaurus effrontery: (n) audacity, brass, electric organ, harmoniphon. impudent: (adj, n) bold, daring; (adj) presumption, face, boldness, insolence, nerve, impertinence, disrespectful, audacious, impertinent, impudence, rudeness, assurance. brassy, barefaced, brazen, insolent, ANTONYMS: (n) timidity, deference, brash, cheeky. ANTONYMS: (adj) courtesy. polite, cowardly. fiddler: (n) Fiddler's money, lashing: (n) beating, drubbing, trumpeter, fifer, instrumentalist, flagellation, trouncing, whipping, musician, player, piper, violin player, fastening, tanning, lacing, castigation, twiddler, tinkerer, drummer. chastisement, thrashing. harmonium: (n) organ, electronic sprightly: (adj) spirited, cheerful, alive, organ, reed organ, Hammond organ, blithe, agile, airy, keen; (adj, v)
nimble, active; (adj, n) brisk; (adj, adv) jolly. ANTONYMS: (adj) inactive, slow, clumsy, sluggish. swiftness: (n) speed, haste, rapidity, celerity, acceleration, quickness, promptness, pace, velocity, agility, dispatch. ANTONYM: (n) clumsiness. thronged: (adj) throng, busy, populous, brisk, teeming, swarming, sprightly, sensitive, replete, overflowing; (n) persistent.
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Ethan Frome
notion of “smart” business methods, and whose new brick store testified to the success of the attempt. His son seemed likely to follow in his steps, and was meanwhile applying the same arts to the conquest of the Starkfield maidenhood. Hitherto Ethan Frome had been content to think him a mean fellow; but now he positively invited a horse-whipping. It was strange that the girl did not seem aware of it: that she could lift her rapt face to her dancer’s, and drop her hands into his, without appearing to feel the offence of his look and touch.% Frome was in the habit of walking into Starkfield to fetch home his wife’s cousin, Mattie Silver, on the rare evenings when some chance of amusement drew her to the village. It was his wife who had suggested, when the girl came to live with them, that such opportunities should be put in her way. Mattie Silver came from Stamford, and when she entered the Fromes’ household to act as her cousin Zeena’s aid it was thought best, as she came without pay, not to let her feel too sharp a contrast between the life she had left and the isolation of a Starkfield farm. But for this—as Frome sardonically reflected—it would hardly have occurred to Zeena to take any thought for the girl’s amusement. When his wife first proposed that they should give Mattie an occasional evening out he had inwardly demurred at having to do the extra two miles to the village and back after his hard day on the farm; but not long afterward he had reached the point of wishing that Starkfield might give all its nights to revelry. Mattie Silver had lived under his roof for a year, and from early morning till they met at supper he had frequent chances of seeing her; but no moments in her company were comparable to those when, her arm in his, and her light step flying to keep time with his long stride, they walked back through the night to the farm. He had taken to the girl from the first day, when he had driven over to the Flats to meet her, and she had smiled and waved to him from the train, crying out, “You must be Ethan!” as she jumped down with her bundles, while he reflected, looking over her slight person: “She don’t look much on housework, but she ain’t a fretter, anyhow.” But it was not only that the coming to his house of a bit of hopeful young life was like the lighting of a fire on a cold
Thesaurus chances: (n) probability, odds, opportunities, possibility, state, circumstances. flying: (adj) fast, quick, rapid, swift, moving, flaring, aflare; (n) fly, flight, aviation, ballooning. housework: (n) housekeeping, chore, work. invited: (adj) welcomer, wanted, cherished. inwardly: (adv) inside, interiorly, innerly, within, secretly, intrinsically,
intimately, privately, spiritually, incomingly; (adj) inwards. ANTONYM: (adv) openly. maidenhood: (n) maidenhead, chastity, virginity, maidhood, celibacy, purity, childhood, maidenship, freshness, virginhood. mattie: (n) herring, Atlantic herring. nights: (adj) nightly; (n) night. rapt: (adj) engrossed, intent, ecstatic, preoccupied, spellbound, captive, enthralled, attentive, fixed,
enwrapped; (v) engrossed in. ANTONYMS: (adj) detached, inattentive, uninterested, bored. reflected: (adj) reflecting, reverberant, reflectent. revelry: (adj, n) revels; (n) debauchery, festivity, orgy, merriment, revel, carnival, mirth, gaiety, carousal, jollification. stride: (n, v) pace, tread, walk, stalk, rate, toddle, stump; (n) footstep, gait, progress; (v) march.
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hearth. The girl was more than the bright serviceable creature he had thought her. She had an eye to see and an ear to hear: he could show her things and tell her things, and taste the bliss of feeling that all he imparted left long reverberations and echoes he could wake at will.% It was during their night walks back to the farm that he felt most intensely the sweetness of this communion. He had always been more sensitive than the people about him to the appeal of natural beauty. His unfinished studies had given form to this sensibility and even in his unhappiest moments field and sky spoke to him with a deep and powerful persuasion. But hitherto the emotion had remained in him as a silent ache, veiling with sadness the beauty that evoked it. He did not even know whether any one else in the world felt as he did, or whether he was the sole victim of this mournful privilege. Then he learned that one other spirit had trembled with the same touch of wonder: that at his side, living under his roof and eating his bread, was a creature to whom he could say: “That’s Orion down yonder; the big fellow to the right is Aldebaran, and the bunch of little ones—like bees swarming—they’re the Pleiades...” or whom he could hold entranced before a ledge of granite thrusting up through the fern while he unrolled the huge panorama of the ice age, and the long dim stretches of succeeding time. The fact that admiration for his learning mingled with Mattie’s wonder at what he taught was not the least part of his pleasure. And there were other sensations, less definable but more exquisite, which drew them together with a shock of silent joy: the cold red of sunset behind winter hills, the flight of cloud-flocks over slopes of golden stubble, or the intensely blue shadows of hemlocks on sunlit snow. When she said to him once: “It looks just as if it was painted!” it seemed to Ethan that the art of definition could go no farther, and that words had at last been found to utter his secret soul.... As he stood in the darkness outside the church these memories came back with the poignancy of vanished things. Watching Mattie whirl down the floor from hand to hand he wondered how he could ever have thought that his dull talk interested her. To him, who was never gay but in her presence, her gaiety seemed plain proof of indifference. The face she lifted to her dancers was the
Thesaurus definable: (adj) finite. (adj) impractical, unusable, pensive, gloomy, lugubrious, entranced: (adj) delighted, captivated, lamentable; (adj, n) plaintive. unserviceable, useless, flimsy, ANTONYMS: (adj) joyful, happy, fascinated, enthralled, enchanted, worthless. sunlit: (adj) bright, light, sunstruck, ecstatic, beguiled, enslaved, gripped; emotionless. (adv) on cloud nine; (v) overjoyed. poignancy: (n) pathos, acuity, lighter. ANTONYM: (adj) dark. gaiety: (n) fun, cheerfulness, veiling: (n) gauze, cheesecloth, acerbity, poignance, mordacity, exhilaration, mirth, glee, merriment, acuteness, acrimony, sorrow, gossamer, netting, mesh, gauze hilarity, happiness, joy, joviality, sorrowfulness, quality, keenness. bandage, net. jollity. ANTONYMS: (n) seriousness, serviceable: (adj) practical, helpful, yonder: (adv) beyond, further, farther, misery, sadness. handy, profitable, beneficial, abroad, thither, further away, at that mournful: (adj) sad, miserable, effective, useful, convenient, efficient, place; (adj) distant, yond, furious, melancholy, funereal, dolorous, dark, operative, practicable. ANTONYMS: fierce.
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same which, when she saw him, always looked like a window that has caught the sunset. He even noticed two or three gestures which, in his fatuity, he had thought she kept for him: a way of throwing her head back when she was amused, as if to taste her laugh before she let it out, and a trick of sinking her lids slowly when anything charmed or moved her.% The sight made him unhappy, and his unhappiness roused his latent fears. His wife had never shown any jealousy of Mattie, but of late she had grumbled increasingly over the house-work and found oblique ways of attracting attention to the girl’s inefficiency. Zeena had always been what Starkfield called “sickly,” and Frome had to admit that, if she were as ailing as she believed, she needed the help of a stronger arm than the one which lay so lightly in his during the night walks to the farm. Mattie had no natural turn for housekeeping, and her training had done nothing to remedy the defect. She was quick to learn, but forgetful and dreamy, and not disposed to take the matter seriously. Ethan had an idea that if she were to marry a man she was fond of the dormant instinct would wake, and her pies and biscuits become the pride of the county; but domesticity in the abstract did not interest her. At first she was so awkward that he could not help laughing at her; but she laughed with him and that made them better friends. He did his best to supplement her unskilled efforts, getting up earlier than usual to light the kitchen fire, carrying in the wood overnight, and neglecting the mill for the farm that he might help her about the house during the day. He even crept down on Saturday nights to scrub the kitchen floor after the women had gone to bed; and Zeena, one day, had surprised him at the churn and had turned away silently, with one of her queer looks. Of late there had been other signs of her disfavour, as intangible but more disquieting. One cold winter morning, as he dressed in the dark, his candle flickering in the draught of the ill-fitting window, he had heard her speak from the bed behind him. “The doctor don’t want I should be left without anybody to do for me,” she said in her flat whine.
Thesaurus ailing: (adj) sickly, poorly, ill, unwell, disquieting: (adj) alarming, worrying, bad, indisposed, unhealthy, invalid, distressing, troublesome, disturbing, morbid, weak; (n) illness. shocking, uncomfortable, ANTONYMS: (adj) well, healthy, fit, discompose, restless, unsettling, uneasy. ANTONYMS: (adj) robust, vigorous. churn: (v) seethe, agitate, toss, bubble, reassuring, soothing, settling, eddy, whirl, roil, shake, stir, buffet; pacifying, calming, comforting. (n) butter churn. domesticity: (n) comfortableness, disfavour: (n) disapproval, dislike, coarseness, cosiness, homeliness, displeasure, reprobation; (v) activity, coziness. disadvantage, hinder; (adj) fatuity: (n) absurdity, silliness, handicapped. fatuousness, folly, idiocy, nonsense,
asininity, crassitude, inanity; (adj, n) dotage; (adj) anility. forgetful: (adj) oblivious, inattentive, negligent, lax, absent-minded, casual, unmindful, neglectful, heedless, unaware; (adj, v) remiss. ANTONYMS: (adj) mindful, watchful, alert, remembering, retentive. ill-fitting: (adj) baggy. lids: (n) lid. neglecting: (n) neglect, disregard.
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He had supposed her to be asleep, and the sound of her voice had startled him, though she was given to abrupt explosions of speech after long intervals of secretive silence.% He turned and looked at her where she lay indistinctly outlined under the dark calico quilt, her high-boned face taking a grayish tinge from the whiteness of the pillow. “Nobody to do for you?” he repeated. “If you say you can’t afford a hired girl when Mattie goes.” Frome turned away again, and taking up his razor stooped to catch the reflection of his stretched cheek in the blotched looking-glass above the washstand. “Why on earth should Mattie go?” “Well, when she gets married, I mean,” his wife’s drawl came from behind him. “Oh, she’d never leave us as long as you needed her,” he returned, scraping hard at his chin. “I wouldn’t ever have it said that I stood in the way of a poor girl like Mattie marrying a smart fellow like Denis Eady,” Zeena answered in a tone of plaintive self-effacement. Ethan, glaring at his face in the glass, threw his head back to draw the razor from ear to chin. His hand was steady, but the attitude was an excuse for not making an immediate reply. “And the doctor don’t want I should be left without anybody,” Zeena continued. “He wanted I should speak to you about a girl he’s heard about, that might come—” Ethan laid down the razor and straightened himself with a laugh. “Denis Eady! If that’s all, I guess there’s no such hurry to look round for a girl.” “Well, I’d like to talk to you about it,” said Zeena obstinately.
Thesaurus blotched: (adj) splotched, maculate. calico: (n) cambric, fabric, cashmere, chintz, cloth; (adj) motley, varicoloured, pied, assorted. drawl: (adv) creep, loiter, linger, saunter; (adj) dawdle, slouch, hang back, droil; (v) mouth, pronounce, enounce. ANTONYMS: (v) contract, shorten, abridge. grayish: (adj) gray, greyish, grizzly, dull, dirty, grey, discolored, grimy, grizzled, achromatic, shadowy.
ANTONYM: (adj) bright. indistinctly: (adv) vaguely, dimly, hazily, mistily, inarticulately, shadowily, obscurely, unclearly, fuzzily, confusedly, ambiguously. ANTONYMS: (adv) precisely, audibly, coherently, distinctly. obstinately: (adv) obdurately, mulishly, persistently, perversely, doggedly, refractorily, unyieldingly, willfully, pigheadedly, waywardly, firmly. ANTONYM: (adv) helpfully.
quilt: (n) blanket, comforter, duvet, bedding, cover, bedspread, counterpane, quilting, eiderdown, sheet; (adj, v) embroider. scraping: (n) scrape, scratching, scratch, rub, sizing, rament, incision, mark, prick; (v) rubbing; (adj) grating. tinge: (n, v) color, hue, tint, dye, stain, touch, tincture; (n) shade, cast, undertone; (adj, n, v) dash. ANTONYMS: (v) whiten, pale; (n) white, information, pallor.
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He was getting into his clothes in fumbling haste. “All right. But I haven’t got the time now; I’m late as it is,” he returned, holding his old silver turnipwatch to the candle.% Zeena, apparently accepting this as final, lay watching him in silence while he pulled his suspenders over his shoulders and jerked his arms into his coat; but as he went toward the door she said, suddenly and incisively: “I guess you’re always late, now you shave every morning.” That thrust had frightened him more than any vague insinuations about Denis Eady. It was a fact that since Mattie Silver’s coming he had taken to shaving every day; but his wife always seemed to be asleep when he left her side in the winter darkness, and he had stupidly assumed that she would not notice any change in his appearance. Once or twice in the past he had been faintly disquieted by Zenobia’s way of letting things happen without seeming to remark them, and then, weeks afterward, in a casual phrase, revealing that she had all along taken her notes and drawn her inferences. Of late, however, there had been no room in his thoughts for such vague apprehensions. Zeena herself, from an oppressive reality, had faded into an insubstantial shade. All his life was lived in the sight and sound of Mattie Silver, and he could no longer conceive of its being otherwise. But now, as he stood outside the church, and saw Mattie spinning down the floor with Denis Eady, a throng of disregarded hints and menaces wove their cloud about his brain....
Thesaurus disquieted: (adj) disturbed, worried, cuttingly, keenly. ANTONYM: (adv) augment, expand, lengthen. shaving: (adj, n) paring, sliver, shiver; disordered, uneasy, unsettled, imprecisely. insubstantial: (adj) frail, fragile, thin, (n, v) shave; (n) cut, splinter, rasher, confused, anxious, agitated, distracted, broken, distressed. unreal, slight, weak, light, imaginary, grazing, slice; (adj) clipping, driblet. fumbling: (adj) clumsy, fumble, incorporeal, illusory; (adj, v) stupidly: (adv) dully, thickly, obtusely, butterfingered, awkward, bumbling, unsubstantial. ANTONYMS: (adj) senselessly, fatuously, slowly, bunglesome, clunky, cumbersome, heavy, sturdy, concrete, substantial, insanely, unwisely, doltishly, crassly, densely. ANTONYMS: (adv) incompetent, left-handed, unskilled. palpable, real, constant, sound, incisively: (adv) shrewdly, robust, serious, strong. shrewdly, brightly, sensibly, wisely, shave: (v) scrape, reduce, pare, cut, penetratingly, acutely, trenchantly, sensitively, prudently, carefully. brush, chip, whittle, crop; (adj, v) clip, suspenders: (n) brace, pair, bitstock, intensely, perceptively, shear, lop. ANTONYMS: (v) perspicaciously, bitingly, severely, harness, couple.
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CHAPTER II
As the dancers poured out of the hall Frome, drawing back behind the projecting storm-door, watched the segregation of the grotesquely muffled groups, in which a moving lantern ray now and then lit up a face flushed with food and dancing. The villagers, being afoot, were the first to climb the slope to the main street, while the country neighbours packed themselves more slowly into the sleighs under the shed.% “Ain’t you riding, Mattie?” a woman’s voice called back from the throng about the shed, and Ethan’s heart gave a jump. From where he stood he could not see the persons coming out of the hall till they had advanced a few steps beyond the wooden sides of the storm-door; but through its cracks he heard a clear voice answer: “Mercy no! Not on such a night.” She was there, then, close to him, only a thin board between. In another moment she would step forth into the night, and his eyes, accustomed to the obscurity, would discern her as clearly as though she stood in daylight. A wave of shyness pulled him back into the dark angle of the wall, and he stood there in silence instead of making his presence known to her. It had been one of the wonders of their intercourse that from the first, she, the quicker, finer, more expressive, instead of crushing him by the contrast, had given him something of
Thesaurus afoot: (n) afloat, prevalent; (v) on foot, ANTONYMS: (adj) clear, distinct, shyness: (n) diffidence, modesty, on the tapis, agoing; (adv) walking, audible, slight. bashfulness, humility, shame, abroach; (adj) underway, itinerant, obscurity: (n) gloom, darkness, shade, timidity, coyness, pudency, current. dimness, obscureness, night, timorousness, backwardness, grotesquely: (adv) monstrously, timidness. ANTONYMS: (n) oblivion, haze, ambiguity, shadow, cloudiness. ANTONYMS: (n) clarity, sociability, brashness, confidence, ludicrously, unnaturally, anticly, funnily, hideously, ridiculously, fame, light, simplicity, prominence, urbanity, arrogance. throng: (n, v) swarm, herd, mob, flock, bizarrely, fantasticly, fantastically, celebrity, brightness. projecting: (adj) projected, protruding, press; (n) multitude, host, horde, drolly. muffled: (adj) hushed, muted, hollow, jutting, protrusive, pendent; (adj, v) mass, assembly, concourse. inarticulate, faint, soft, subdued, low, overhanging, jutting over, salient; (v) ANTONYMS: (n) trickle, few; (v) quiet; (v) allusive, covert. beetling, protuberant, convex. disperse.
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her own ease and freedom; but now he felt as heavy and loutish as in his student days, when he had tried to “jolly” the Worcester girls at a picnic.% He hung back, and she came out alone and paused within a few yards of him. She was almost the last to leave the hall, and she stood looking uncertainly about her as if wondering why he did not show himself. Then a man’s figure approached, coming so close to her that under their formless wrappings they seemed merged in one dim outline. “Gentleman friend gone back on you? Say, Matt, that’s tough! No, I wouldn’t be mean enough to tell the other girls. I ain’t as low-down as that.” (How Frome hated his cheap banter!) “But look a here, ain’t it lucky I got the old man’s cutter down there waiting for us?” Frome heard the girl’s voice, gaily incredulous: “What on earth’s your father’s cutter doin’ down there?” “Why, waiting for me to take a ride. I got the roan colt too. I kinder knew I’d want to take a ride to-night,” Eady, in his triumph, tried to put a sentimental note into his bragging voice. The girl seemed to waver, and Frome saw her twirl the end of her scarf irresolutely about her fingers. Not for the world would he have made a sign to her, though it seemed to him that his life hung on her next gesture. “Hold on a minute while I unhitch the colt,” Denis called to her, springing toward the shed. She stood perfectly still, looking after him, in an attitude of tranquil expectancy torturing to the hidden watcher. Frome noticed that she no longer turned her head from side to side, as though peering through the night for another figure. She let Denis Eady lead out the horse, climb into the cutter and fling back the bearskin to make room for her at his side; then, with a swift motion of flight, she turned about and darted up the slope toward the front of the church. “Good-bye! Hope you’ll have a lovely ride!” she called back to him over her shoulder.
Thesaurus bragging: (n) brag, swagger, bluff, bluster, conceit, arrogance; (adj) arrogant, boastful, big, overweening, braggy. ANTONYMS: (adj) modest; (n) timidity. good-bye: (n) bye, farewell, goodbye, goodby, vale, adios, cheerio. irresolutely: (adv) waveringly, undecidedly, indecisively, hesitantly, uncertainly, hesitatingly, weakly, infirmly, spinelessly, unsteadily, unsettledly. ANTONYMS: (adv)
thoroughbred, leather, courser; (adj) decisively, firmly. loutish: (adj) coarse, churlish, crude, dingy, pearly, drab, dun, livid, oafish, rough, rude, uncouth, somber. torturing: (n) torture, excruciation, graceless, brutish, clownish, rustic. ANTONYMS: (adj) civilized, polite, crucifixion, torment, agony, anguish, dismemberment; (adj) harrowing, refined, genteel. low-down: (adj) contemptible, shabby, agonizing, torturesome, agonising. twirl: (n, v) twist, turn, roll, coil, whirl, sordid, squalid, wretched, ugly, lurid, paltry, unjust, wicked; (n) curl, wheel, swirl; (v) twiddle, pivot; (n) rotation. direction. peering: (adj) nosy, prying, snoopy. unhitch: (v) unyoke, unharness, roan: (n) horse, Galloway, loosen, unfasten, detach, unyoked.
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Denis laughed, and gave the horse a cut that brought him quickly abreast of her retreating figure.% “Come along! Get in quick! It’s as slippery as thunder on this turn,” he cried, leaning over to reach out a hand to her. She laughed back at him: “Good-night! I’m not getting in.” By this time they had passed beyond Frome’s earshot and he could only follow the shadowy pantomime of their silhouettes as they continued to move along the crest of the slope above him. He saw Eady, after a moment, jump from the cutter and go toward the girl with the reins over one arm. The other he tried to slip through hers; but she eluded him nimbly, and Frome’s heart, which had swung out over a black void, trembled back to safety. A moment later he heard the jingle of departing sleigh bells and discerned a figure advancing alone toward the empty expanse of snow before the church. In the black shade of the Varnum spruces he caught up with her and she turned with a quick “Oh!” “Think I’d forgotten you, Matt?” he asked with sheepish glee. She answered seriously: “I thought maybe you couldn’t come back for me.” “Couldn’t? What on earth could stop me?” “I knew Zeena wasn’t feeling any too good to-day.” “Oh, she’s in bed long ago.” He paused, a question struggling in him. “Then you meant to walk home all alone?” “Oh, I ain’t afraid!” she laughed. They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars. He brought his question out. “If you thought I hadn’t come, why didn’t you ride back with Denis Eady?” “Why, where were you? How did you know? I never saw you!” Her wonder and his laughter ran together like spring rills in a thaw. Ethan had the sense of having done something arch and ingenious. To prolong the
Thesaurus earshot: (n) earreach, audience, radiance; (adj) glittering, glimmery, retreating: (n) flight; (adj) moving auditory modality, stone's throw, crepusculous, sciolism. back. audition, auditory sense, range; (n, v) hers: (pron) she, his; (adj) own. sheepish: (adj) coy, diffident, jingle: (n, v) ring, chime, ding, clank; sound. shamefaced, bashful, shy, guilty, glee: (n) delight, cheerfulness, mirth, (v) clang, clink, tinkle, rattle, sound, embarrassed, nervous, skittish, faintpeal; (n) chink. ANTONYM: (n) fun, gaiety, hilarity, joy, rejoicing, hearted, pusillanimous. ANTONYMS: (adj) unabashed, frolic, jubilation, happiness. silence. ANTONYMS: (n) sadness, gloom, nimbly: (adv) adroitly, alertly, lightly, proud. sorrow, despondency, displeasure, energetically, cleverly, hastily, deftly, thaw: (v) fuse, dissolve, warm, rapidly, readily; (adj) dexterously; misery, boredom. unfreeze, soften, liquefy, defrost, run, glimmering: (n) inkling, ghost, (adj, adv) neatly. ANTONYMS: (adv) liquify; (n) melting, thawing. ANTONYMS: (v) cool, chill, congeal. luminosity, light, hint, apparition, lethargically, heavily, awkwardly.
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effect he groped for a dazzling phrase, and brought out, in a growl of rapture: “Come along.” He slipped an arm through hers, as Eady had done, and fancied it was faintly pressed against her side. but neither of them moved. It was so dark under the spruces that he could barely see the shape of her head beside his shoulder. He longed to stoop his cheek and rub it against her scarf. He would have liked to stand there with her all night in the blackness. She moved forward a step or two and then paused again above the dip of the Corbury road. Its icy slope, scored by innumerable runners, looked like a mirror scratched by travellers at an inn.% “There was a whole lot of them coasting before the moon set,” she said. “Would you like to come in and coast with them some night?” he asked. “Oh, would you, Ethan? It would be lovely!” “We’ll come to-morrow if there’s a moon.” She lingered, pressing closer to his side. “Ned Hale and Ruth Varnum came just as near running into the big elm at the bottom. We were all sure they were killed.” Her shiver ran down his arm. “Wouldn’t it have been too awful? They’re so happy!” “Oh, Ned ain’t much at steering. I guess I can take you down all right!” he said disdainfully. He was aware that he was “talking big,” like Denis Eady; but his reaction of joy had unsteadied him, and the inflection with which she had said of the engaged couple “They’re so happy!” made the words sound as if she had been thinking of herself and him. “The elm is dangerous, though. It ought to be cut down,” she insisted. “Would you be afraid of it, with me?” “I told you I ain’t the kind to be afraid” she tossed back, almost indifferently; and suddenly she began to walk on with a rapid step. These alterations of mood were the despair and joy of Ethan Frome. The motions of her mind were as incalculable as the flit of a bird in the branches.
Thesaurus coasting: (adj) drugged; (v) to slide. innumerable, numberless, boundless, ANTONYMS: (adv) passionately, disdainfully: (adv) contemptuously, inestimable, immense, infinite, obsessively, carefully, eagerly, superciliously, haughtily, proudly, myriad, numerous, invaluable, energetically, warmly, anxiously, unpredictable. ANTONYMS: (adj) cavalierly, derogatorily, enthusiastically, sympathetically. rapture: (n) joy, bliss, delight, contumeliously, sneeringly, calculable, negligible, limited, arrogantly, insultingly, worthless, tiny, slight, finite, few, happiness, exaltation, elation, condescendingly. ANTONYMS: (adv) definite, small, minor. exultation, enchantment; (adj, n) indifferently: (adv) carelessly, coldly, enthusiasm; (n, v) transport; (adj, n, v) humbly, hopefully. flit: (n, v) dart; (v) flicker, fly, fleet, passion. ANTONYMS: (n) nonchalantly, listlessly, flutter, zip, flash, speed, flitter, run; unconcernedly, uninterestedly, indifference, boredom, misery, (adj) stir. neutrally, middlingly, casually, gloom, agony, hell, despair. incalculable: (adj) countless, scored: (adj) corroded. unbiasedly, disinterestedly.
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The fact that he had no right to show his feelings, and thus provoke the expression of hers, made him attach a fantastic importance to every change in her look and tone. Now he thought she understood him, and feared; now he was sure she did not, and despaired. To-night the pressure of accumulated misgivings sent the scale drooping toward despair, and her indifference was the more chilling after the flush of joy into which she had plunged him by dismissing Denis Eady. He mounted School House Hill at her side and walked on in silence till they reached the lane leading to the saw-mill; then the need of some definite assurance grew too strong for him.% “You’d have found me right off if you hadn’t gone back to have that last reel with Denis,” he brought out awkwardly. He could not pronounce the name without a stiffening of the muscles of his throat. “Why, Ethan, how could I tell you were there?” “I suppose what folks say is true,” he jerked out at her, instead of answering. She stopped short, and he felt, in the darkness, that her face was lifted quickly to his. “Why, what do folks say?” “It’s natural enough you should be leaving us” he floundered on, following his thought. “Is that what they say?” she mocked back at him; then, with a sudden drop of her sweet treble: “You mean that Zeena—ain’t suited with me any more?” she faltered. Their arms had slipped apart and they stood motionless, each seeking to distinguish the other’s face. “I know I ain’t anything like as smart as I ought to be,” she went on, while he vainly struggled for expression. “There’s lots of things a hired girl could do that come awkward to me still—and I haven’t got much strength in my arms. But if she’d only tell me I’d try. You know she hardly ever says anything, and sometimes I can see she ain’t suited, and yet I don’t know why.” She turned on him with a sudden flash of indignation. “You’d ought to tell me, Ethan Frome— you’d ought to! Unless you want me to go too—”
Thesaurus chilling: (adj) icy, bloodcurdling, stiffening: (n) stiffness, rigidification, misgiving, apprehension, fear, wintry, macabre, ghastly, cold, scary, suspicion, doubts, concern, reinforcement, process, rigidifying, apathetic; (n) cooling, freezing, consternation, disbelief, foreboding. procedure. refrigeration. ANTONYM: (adj) ANTONYM: (n) equanimity. treble: (adj) threefold, ternary, triplex, muscles: (n) sinew, strength. reassuring. thribble, double, dual, high, voce di dismissing: (v) dismiss; (n) acquittal, pronounce: (v) articulate, declare, testa, shrill; (adj, v) triple; (v) sing. denial, dimission. affirm, say, assert, express, vocalize, vainly: (adv) uselessly, futilely, drooping: (adj) flabby, pendulous, proclaim; (n, v) allege; (adj, v) deliver, fruitlessly, conceitedly, in vain, utter. ANTONYM: (v) mumble. limp, flaccid, cernuous, flagging, worthlessly, abortively, bootlessly, languid, floppy, lax, tired; (n) droop. reel: (n, v) coil, roll; (v) waver, rock, arrogantly, unproductively; (adj, adv) ANTONYMS: (adj) taut, firm. stagger, totter, spin, teeter, falter; (n) foolishly. ANTONYMS: (adv) misgivings: (n) anxiety, doubt, bobbin, spool. fruitfully, successfully, effectively.
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Unless he wanted her to go too! The cry was balm to his raw wound. The iron heavens seemed to melt and rain down sweetness. Again he struggled for the all-expressive word, and again, his arm in hers, found only a deep “Come along.” They walked on in silence through the blackness of the hemlock-shaded lane, where Ethan’s sawmill gloomed through the night, and out again into the comparative clearness of the fields. On the farther side of the hemlock belt the open country rolled away before them grey and lonely under the stars. Sometimes their way led them under the shade of an overhanging bank or through the thin obscurity of a clump of leafless trees. Here and there a farmhouse stood far back among the fields, mute and cold as a grave-stone. The night was so still that they heard the frozen snow crackle under their feet. The crash of a loaded branch falling far off in the woods reverberated like a musketshot, and once a fox barked, and Mattie shrank closer to Ethan, and quickened her steps.% At length they sighted the group of larches at Ethan’s gate, and as they drew near it the sense that the walk was over brought back his words. “Then you don’t want to leave us, Matt?” He had to stoop his head to catch her stifled whisper: “Where’d I go, if I did?” The answer sent a pang through him but the tone suffused him with joy. He forgot what else he had meant to say and pressed her against him so closely that he seemed to feel her warmth in his veins. “You ain’t crying are you, Matt?” “No, of course I’m not,” she quavered. They turned in at the gate and passed under the shaded knoll where, enclosed in a low fence, the Frome grave-stones slanted at crazy angles through the snow. Ethan looked at them curiously. For years that quiet company had mocked his restlessness, his desire for change and freedom. “We never got away—how should you?” seemed to be written on every headstone; and
Thesaurus balm: (n) salve, unguent, incense, hummock, mount, bank, kopje, barrow, hammock; (v) knap; (adj) perfume, aroma, unction, liniment, mole. ANTONYM: (n) hollow. balsam, arnica, lotion, fragrance. ANTONYMS: (n) irritant, nuisance. larches: (n) Larix, genus Larix. crackle: (v) crunch, crepitate, rustle, leafless: (adj) bald, bare, aphyllous, leaveless, hairless. ANTONYM: (adj) sputter, snap, vary, resound, sizzle, crinkle; (n) crepitation, crackling. leafy. headstone: (n) tombstone, monument, overhanging: (adj, v) projecting; (v) beetling; (adj) covering, imminent, quoin, keystone, coign, coigne, cornerstone, stone, memorial, impending, pendent, obumbrant, building block, cemetery. hanging over, overspreading, knoll: (n) hill, hillock, mound, depending, hanging.
reverberated: (adj) rebounding, repellent, driven back. sawmill: (n) saw, mill, manufactory, factory, sawing machine, manufacturing plant, power saw. slanted: (adj) slanting, diagonal, lopsided, tilted, sloped, sloping, oblique, skewed, aslant, askew, aslope. ANTONYMS: (adj) straight, balanced, impartial, level, upright. suffused: (adj) distributed, covered, full.
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whenever he went in or out of his gate he thought with a shiver: “I shall just go on living here till I join them.” But now all desire for change had vanished, and the sight of the little enclosure gave him a warm sense of continuance and stability.% “I guess we’ll never let you go, Matt,” he whispered, as though even the dead, lovers once, must conspire with him to keep her; and brushing by the graves, he thought: “We’ll always go on living here together, and some day she’ll lie there beside me.” He let the vision possess him as they climbed the hill to the house. He was never so happy with her as when he abandoned himself to these dreams. Halfway up the slope Mattie stumbled against some unseen obstruction and clutched his sleeve to steady herself. The wave of warmth that went through him was like the prolongation of his vision. For the first time he stole his arm about her, and she did not resist. They walked on as if they were floating on a summer stream. Zeena always went to bed as soon as she had had her supper, and the shutterless windows of the house were dark. A dead cucumber-vine dangled from the porch like the crape streamer tied to the door for a death, and the thought flashed through Ethan’s brain: “If it was there for Zeena—” Then he had a distinct sight of his wife lying in their bedroom asleep, her mouth slightly open, her false teeth in a tumbler by the bed... They walked around to the back of the house, between the rigid gooseberry bushes. It was Zeena’s habit, when they came back late from the village, to leave the key of the kitchen door under the mat. Ethan stood before the door, his head heavy with dreams, his arm still about Mattie. “Matt—” he began, not knowing what he meant to say. She slipped out of his hold without speaking, and he stooped down and felt for the key. “It’s not there!” he said, straightening himself with a start. They strained their eyes at each other through the icy darkness. Such a thing had never happened before.
Thesaurus conspire: (v) concur, complot, connive, plot, plan, cabal, contribute, collaborate, conspiring, intrigue, confederate. continuance: (n) duration, abidance, existence, endurance, protraction, adjournment, resumption, prolongation, time, standing, perseverance. ANTONYMS: (n) discontinuation, destruction. crape: (n, v) curl; (n) French pancake, hotcake, flapcake, flapjack,
griddlecake, pancake, battercake; (adj, v) crimp; (adj) deep mourning, weeds. gooseberry: (n) fish story, Ribes grossularia, shrub, bush, gooseberry bush, feaberry. prolongation: (n, v) protraction; (n) continuance, extension, elongation, production, lengthening, perpetuation, length, maintenance, lengthiness, duration. stooped: (adj) hunched, stoop,
stooping, crooked, bended, not straight, inclined, not erect, arched, asymmetrical, droopy. straightening: (n) tapping, straightening of a water course. streamer: (n) banner, standard, ensign, pennant, pennon, emblem, pennoncelle, pennoncel, colors, sign, ribbon. tumbler: (n) acrobat, beaker, turner, mime, roller, buffoon, tumbler switch, cup, bowl, flute; (v) glass.
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“Maybe she’s forgotten it,” Mattie said in a tremulous whisper; but both of them knew that it was not like Zeena to forget.% “It might have fallen off into the snow,” Mattie continued, after a pause during which they had stood intently listening. “It must have been pushed off, then,” he rejoined in the same tone. Another wild thought tore through him. What if tramps had been there—what if... Again he listened, fancying he heard a distant sound in the house; then he felt in his pocket for a match, and kneeling down, passed its light slowly over the rough edges of snow about the doorstep. He was still kneeling when his eyes, on a level with the lower panel of the door, caught a faint ray beneath it. Who could be stirring in that silent house? He heard a step on the stairs, and again for an instant the thought of tramps tore through him. Then the door opened and he saw his wife. Against the dark background of the kitchen she stood up tall and angular, one hand drawing a quilted counterpane to her flat breast, while the other held a lamp. The light, on a level with her chin, drew out of the darkness her puckered throat and the projecting wrist of the hand that clutched the quilt, and deepened fantastically the hollows and prominences of her high-boned face under its ring of crimping-pins. To Ethan, still in the rosy haze of his hour with Mattie, the sight came with the intense precision of the last dream before waking. He felt as if he had never before known what his wife looked like. She drew aside without speaking, and Mattie and Ethan passed into the kitchen, which had the deadly chill of a vault after the dry cold of the night. “Guess you forgot about us, Zeena,” Ethan joked, stamping the snow from his boots. “No. I just felt so mean I couldn’t sleep.” Mattie came forward, unwinding her wraps, the colour of the cherry scarf in her fresh lips and cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Zeena! Isn’t there anything I can do?”
Thesaurus counterpane: (n) bedspread, coverlet, bedcover, blanket, spread, bed covering, bed cover, tarpaulin, drugget, rug, sheet. deepened: (adj) concentrated, gathered. fancying: (n) daydream, fantasy. fantastically: (adv) wonderfully, fabulously, tremendously, marvelously, extraordinarily, strangely, queerly, magnificently, grotesquely, whimsically, peculiarly.
ANTONYMS: (adv) plausibly, abysmally. kneeling: (n) homage, kowtow, kneelingly, prostration, genuflexion, genuflection, curtsy, courtesy, obeisance. puckered: (adj) corrugated, wrinkly, unsmooth, rough, inflated, furrowed, cockled, bullate, creased. quilted: (adj) thick. stamping: (n) impression, blocking, coin, postage, stamping of rail.
tore: (v) tare; (n) moulding, molding. tremulous: (adj) shaky, trembling, shaking, fearful, apprehensive, quavering, fidgety, shivering; (n) nervous, diffident, coy. ANTONYMS: (adj) stable, confident, steady. unwinding: (adj) moving. vault: (n, v) leap, bound, spring, jump, arch, hop, hurdle; (n) grave, tomb, cellar, crypt. wraps: (n) concealment, veil of secrecy, cover.
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“No; there’s nothing.” Zeena turned away from her. “You might ‘a’ shook off that snow outside,” she said to her husband.% She walked out of the kitchen ahead of them and pausing in the hall raised the lamp at arm’s-length, as if to light them up the stairs. Ethan paused also, affecting to fumble for the peg on which he hung his coat and cap. The doors of the two bedrooms faced each other across the narrow upper landing, and to-night it was peculiarly repugnant to him that Mattie should see him follow Zeena. “I guess I won’t come up yet awhile,” he said, turning as if to go back to the kitchen. Zeena stopped short and looked at him. “For the land’s sake—what you going to do down here?” “I’ve got the mill accounts to go over.” She continued to stare at him, the flame of the unshaded lamp bringing out with microscopic cruelty the fretful lines of her face. “At this time o’ night? You’ll ketch your death. The fire’s out long ago.” Without answering he moved away toward the kitchen. As he did so his glance crossed Mattie’s and he fancied that a fugitive warning gleamed through her lashes. The next moment they sank to her flushed cheeks and she began to mount the stairs ahead of Zeena. “That’s so. It is powerful cold down here,” Ethan assented; and with lowered head he went up in his wife’s wake, and followed her across the threshold of their room.
Thesaurus answering: (adj) respondent, responsive, according, agreeing, responsory; (n) respondency. fretful: (adj, v) querulous; (adj) restless, anxious, testy, sullen, irritable, impatient, uneasy, petulant, fidgety, crabbed. ANTONYM: (adj) carefree. fugitive: (adj) ephemeral, fleeting, momentary, elusive, caducous; (n) escapee, absconder, deserter, emigrant, criminal; (v) fugacious. fumble: (n, v) muff; (v) botch, grope,
feel, flounder, finger, paw, bobble, touch; (adj, v) blunder; (adj) boggle. ketch: (n) clipper, corvette, cutter, foist, lugger, smack, yawl, boat, sloop, hoy. microscopic: (adj) minute, little, atomic, tiny, small, diminutive, subatomic, microscopical, teeny, corpuscular, negligible. ANTONYMS: (adj) gigantic, huge, macroscopic, immeasurable. peculiarly: (adj, adv) particularly,
curiously, unusually, uncommonly, singularly; (adv) especially, oddly, strangely, specifically, weirdly, specially. ANTONYMS: (adv) typically, ordinarily, slightly. repugnant: (adj) abominable, abhorrent, odious, hateful, loathsome, ugly, adverse, obscene, offensive; (adj, v) repulsive; (adj, n) contradictory. ANTONYMS: (adj) attractive, agreeable, desirable, lovable, nice, delightful.
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CHAPTER III
There was some hauling to be done at the lower end of the wood-lot, and Ethan was out early the next day.% The winter morning was as clear as crystal. The sunrise burned red in a pure sky, the shadows on the rim of the wood-lot were darkly blue, and beyond the white and scintillating fields patches of far-off forest hung like smoke. It was in the early morning stillness, when his muscles were swinging to their familiar task and his lungs expanding with long draughts of mountain air, that Ethan did his clearest thinking. He and Zeena had not exchanged a word after the door of their room had closed on them. She had measured out some drops from a medicine-bottle on a chair by the bed and, after swallowing them, and wrapping her head in a piece of yellow flannel, had lain down with her face turned away. Ethan undressed hurriedly and blew out the light so that he should not see her when he took his place at her side. As he lay there he could hear Mattie moving about in her room, and her candle, sending its small ray across the landing, drew a scarcely perceptible line of light under his door. He kept his eyes fixed on the light till it vanished. Then the room grew perfectly black, and not a sound was audible but Zeena’s asthmatic breathing. Ethan felt confusedly that there were many things he ought to think about, but through his tingling veins and tired brain only one sensation throbbed: the warmth of Mattie’s
Thesaurus asthmatic: (adj) wheezing, asthma, breathless. confusedly: (adv) obscurely, disorderedly, perplexedly, cloudily, dazedly, befuddledly, muddily, bemusedly, dizzily, bewilderedly, puzzledly. draughts: (n) solitaire, go bang, backgammon, misere chess, chess, dominos, board game. far-off: (adj) distant, far, faraway, outlying, extreme, inaccessible, last,
long, obscure, unknown, wide. dayspring, twilight, dawning, break flannel: (n) washcloth, cloth, face of day, crack of dawn. ANTONYMS: (n) sunset, sundown, nightfall. cloth, pants, trousers, flannelette, white, tweed, gabardine; (v) blanket, tingling: (n) tingle, itch, thrill, pins fur. and needles, tickle, somesthesia, scintillating: (adj) sparkling, bright, somatic sensation; (adj) stinging, tickling, tickly; (v) turn. bubbling, effervescent, fulgid, undressed: (adj) naked, unclad, glinting, glistering, glittery, scintillant, aglitter, brilliant. unclothed, bare, raw, stripped, ANTONYM: (adj) matte. unattired, unappareled, crude, rough, sunrise: (n) dawn, sunup, daybreak, disrobed. ANTONYMS: (adj) daylight, aurora, first light, covered, decent.
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shoulder against his. Why had he not kissed her when he held her there? A few hours earlier he would not have asked himself the question. Even a few minutes earlier, when they had stood alone outside the house, he would not have dared to think of kissing her. But since he had seen her lips in the lamplight he felt that they were his.% Now, in the bright morning air, her face was still before him. It was part of the sun’s red and of the pure glitter on the snow. How the girl had changed since she had come to Starkfield! He remembered what a colourless slip of a thing she had looked the day he had met her at the station. And all the first winter, how she had shivered with cold when the northerly gales shook the thin clapboards and the snow beat like hail against the loose-hung windows! He had been afraid that she would hate the hard life, the cold and loneliness; but not a sign of discontent escaped her. Zeena took the view that Mattie was bound to make the best of Starkfield since she hadn’t any other place to go to; but this did not strike Ethan as conclusive. Zeena, at any rate, did not apply the principle in her own case. He felt all the more sorry for the girl because misfortune had, in a sense, indentured her to them. Mattie Silver was the daughter of a cousin of Zenobia Frome’s, who had inflamed his clan with mingled sentiments of envy and admiration by descending from the hills to Connecticut, where he had married a Stamford girl and succeeded to her father’s thriving “drug” business. Unhappily Orin Silver, a man of far-reaching aims, had died too soon to prove that the end justifies the means. His accounts revealed merely what the means had been; and these were such that it was fortunate for his wife and daughter that his books were examined only after his impressive funeral. His wife died of the disclosure, and Mattie, at twenty, was left alone to make her way on the fifty dollars obtained from the sale of her piano. For this purpose her equipment, though varied, was inadequate. She could trim a hat, make molasses candy, recite “Curfew shall not ring to-night,” and play “The Lost Chord” and a pot-pourri from “Carmen.” When she tried to extend the field of her activities in the direction of stenography and book-keeping her health broke down, and six
Thesaurus book-keeping: (n) accountancy, molasses: (n) syrup, honey, sirup, bookkeeping. cure, manna, melasses, molosses, colourless: (adj) colorless, drab, pale, theriaca, sugar. northerly: (adj, adv, n) north; (adj, n) neutral, wan, pallid, ashen, clear, northern; (adv) northwards, white, washy, bloodless. ANTONYM: (adj) colorful. northward, in the north, indentured: (adj) apprenticed, articled, septentrionally, to the north, bandaged, binding, destined, unfree, northernly; (adj) boreal. recite: (v) relate, enumerate, describe, indented. inflamed: (adj) impassioned, excited, narrate, recount, repeat, say, angry, hot, flaming, ablaze, irritated, rehearse, detail, lecture; (n, v) passionate, painful, burning; (n) red. declaim.
sentiments: (n) breast. stenography: (n) tachygraphy, brachygraphy, handwriting, shorthand writing; (v) cryptography. unhappily: (adv) wretchedly, unluckily, disconsolately, badly, woefully, forlornly, sorrowfully, unfortunately, dismally, dejectedly, despondently. ANTONYMS: (adv) cheerfully, contentedly, luckily, willingly, enthusiastically, fortunately.
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months on her feet behind the counter of a department store did not tend to restore it. Her nearest relations had been induced to place their savings in her father’s hands, and though, after his death, they ungrudgingly acquitted themselves of the Christian duty of returning good for evil by giving his daughter all the advice at their disposal, they could hardly be expected to supplement it by material aid. But when Zenobia’s doctor recommended her looking about for some one to help her with the house-work the clan instantly saw the chance of exacting a compensation from Mattie. Zenobia, though doubtful of the girl’s efficiency, was tempted by the freedom to find fault without much risk of losing her; and so Mattie came to Starkfield.% Zenobia’s fault-finding was of the silent kind, but not the less penetrating for that. During the first months Ethan alternately burned with the desire to see Mattie defy her and trembled with fear of the result. Then the situation grew less strained. The pure air, and the long summer hours in the open, gave back life and elasticity to Mattie, and Zeena, with more leisure to devote to her complex ailments, grew less watchful of the girl’s omissions; so that Ethan, struggling on under the burden of his barren farm and failing saw-mill, could at least imagine that peace reigned in his house. There was really, even now, no tangible evidence to the contrary; but since the previous night a vague dread had hung on his sky-line. It was formed of Zeena’s obstinate silence, of Mattie’s sudden look of warning, of the memory of just such fleeting imperceptible signs as those which told him, on certain stainless mornings, that before night there would be rain. His dread was so strong that, man-like, he sought to postpone certainty. The hauling was not over till mid-day, and as the lumber was to be delivered to Andrew Hale, the Starkfield builder, it was really easier for Ethan to send Jotham Powell, the hired man, back to the farm on foot, and drive the load down to the village himself. He had scrambled up on the logs, and was sitting astride of them, close over his shaggy grays, when, coming between him and their streaming necks, he had a vision of the warning look that Mattie had given him the night before.
Thesaurus fault-finding: (adj) querulous, picky, peevish, derogatory, censorious, captious, petulant; (n) complaint. hauling: (n) pull, haulage, shipping, transportation, cartage, drag, carrying, haul, towing, vehicle, trucking. imperceptible: (adj) invisible, intangible, insensible, faint, evanescent, inaudible, negligible, indiscernible, unseen, unnoticeable, gentle. ANTONYMS: (adj) obvious,
ANTONYMS: (adj) flexible, overwhelming, clear, visible, perceptible, heavy, noticeable, amenable, irresolute, cooperative, definite, considerable, conspicuous, easygoing, docile, biddable, strong. agreeable, accommodating, lumber: (n) timber, wood; (adj, n) malleable, gentle. jumble, rubbish; (v) log, trail; (adv, v) shaggy: (adj) bushy, hirsute, hairy, plod; (adj) junk, litter, huddle, bearded, shagged, pilous, brushy, unkempt, hispid; (adj, n) ragged; (n) disarray. obstinate: (adj) obdurate, inflexible, rugged. ANTONYMS: (adj) sleek, intractable, determined, inveterate, tidy. ungrudgingly: (adv) unsparingly. disobedient, willful, stubborn, ANTONYM: (adv) grudgingly. contrary, wayward, dogged.
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“If there’s going to be any trouble I want to be there,” was his vague reflection, as he threw to Jotham the unexpected order to unhitch the team and lead them back to the barn.% It was a slow trudge home through the heavy fields, and when the two men entered the kitchen Mattie was lifting the coffee from the stove and Zeena was already at the table. Her husband stopped short at sight of her. Instead of her usual calico wrapper and knitted shawl she wore her best dress of brown merino, and above her thin strands of hair, which still preserved the tight undulations of the crimping-pins, rose a hard perpendicular bonnet, as to which Ethan’s clearest notion was that he had to pay five dollars for it at the Bettsbridge Emporium. On the floor beside her stood his old valise and a bandbox wrapped in newspapers. “Why, where are you going, Zeena?” he exclaimed. “I’ve got my shooting pains so bad that I’m going over to Bettsbridge to spend the night with Aunt Martha Pierce and see that new doctor,” she answered in a matter-of-fact tone, as if she had said she was going into the storeroom to take a look at the preserves, or up to the attic to go over the blankets. In spite of her sedentary habits such abrupt decisions were not without precedent in Zeena’s history. Twice or thrice before she had suddenly packed Ethan’s valise and started off to Bettsbridge, or even Springfield, to seek the advice of some new doctor, and her husband had grown to dread these expeditions because of their cost. Zeena always came back laden with expensive remedies, and her last visit to Springfield had been commemorated by her paying twenty dollars for an electric battery of which she had never been able to learn the use. But for the moment his sense of relief was so great as to preclude all other feelings. He had now no doubt that Zeena had spoken the truth in saying, the night before, that she had sat up because she felt “too mean” to sleep: her abrupt resolve to seek medical advice showed that, as usual, she was wholly absorbed in her health.
Thesaurus bandbox: (adj) dapper, spruce. preserves: (n) conserve, jam, bonnet: (n) cap, protection, chapeau, chowchow, conserves, jelly, tile, wimple, beret, lid, cowling, marmalade, canned food, confiture, castor, poke bonnet, sunbonnet. European federation of importers of merino: (n) merino sheep, domestic dried fruit, preserved food, apple sheep. butter. perpendicular: (adj) upright, vertical, sedentary: (adj) lazy, sluggish, motionless, stationary, domestic; (v) steep, plumb, straight, right, sheer, orthogonal, normal, precipitous, true. untraveled. ANTONYM: (adj) mobile. ANTONYMS: (adj) horizontal, shawl: (n) wrap, mantle, cape, muffler, parallel, inclined, oblique, prone, scarf, pall, mantlet Mantua, wrapper, gentle. kerchief, headscarf, stole.
thrice: (adv) three times, thirdly. trudge: (n, v) tramp, trek, hike, slog, ramble, march, walk, wander; (v) trail, pad, shack. valise: (n) portmanteau, trunk, bag, suitcase, baggage, overnighter, luggage, overnight case, overnight bag. wrapper: (n) cover, wrap, cloak, peignoir, housecoat, neglige, envelope, wrapping, covering, dust cover, mantle.
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As if expecting a protest, she continued plaintively; “If you’re too busy with the hauling I presume you can let Jotham Powell drive me over with the sorrel in time to ketch the train at the Flats.” Her husband hardly heard what she was saying. During the winter months there was no stage between Starkfield and Bettsbridge, and the trains which stopped at Corbury Flats were slow and infrequent. A rapid calculation showed Ethan that Zeena could not be back at the farm before the following evening....% “If I’d supposed you’d ‘a’ made any objection to Jotham Powell’s driving me over—” she began again, as though his silence had implied refusal. On the brink of departure she was always seized with a flux of words. “All I know is,” she continued, “I can’t go on the way I am much longer. The pains are clear away down to my ankles now, or I’d ‘a’ walked in to Starkfield on my own feet, sooner’n put you out, and asked Michael Eady to let me ride over on his wagon to the Flats, when he sends to meet the train that brings his groceries. I’d ‘a’ had two hours to wait in the station, but I’d sooner ‘a’ done it, even with this cold, than to have you say—” “Of course Jotham’ll drive you over,” Ethan roused himself to answer. He became suddenly conscious that he was looking at Mattie while Zeena talked to him, and with an effort he turned his eyes to his wife. She sat opposite the window, and the pale light reflected from the banks of snow made her face look more than usually drawn and bloodless, sharpened the three parallel creases between ear and cheek, and drew querulous lines from her thin nose to the corners of her mouth. Though she was but seven years her husband’s senior, and he was only twenty-eight, she was already an old woman. Ethan tried to say something befitting the occasion, but there was only one thought in his mind: the fact that, for the first time since Mattie had come to live with them, Zeena was to be away for a night. He wondered if the girl were thinking of it too.... He knew that Zeena must be wondering why he did not offer to drive her to the Flats and let Jotham Powell take the lumber to Starkfield, and at first he could
Thesaurus befitting: (adj) apt, becoming, suitable, afflux, lapse. ANTONYM: (n) apropos, decent, condign, fitting, fit; stability. (adj, v) proper; (n) feat; (v) meet. groceries: (n) foodstuff, provisions, ANTONYMS: (adj) improper, chow, victuals, grocery, unbecoming, unfitting, unsuitable. compensation, earnings, essential, bloodless: (adj) white, livid, dead, fare, fundamental, heart. plaintively: (adv) piteously, pale, pasty, wan, exsanguine, blanched, anaemic, ghastly, watery. sorrowfully, mournfully, pitifully, ANTONYMS: (adj) robust, sanguine, ruefully, grievously, lugubriously, rosy, bloody, florid, caring, lively. pathetically, woefully, lamentingly, flux: (v) dissolve, thaw, course, fuse, wistfully. melt; (n) tide, current, flood, torrent, querulous: (adj) petulant, irritable,
fretful, discontented, tetchy, complaining, fractious, touchy, cross, grumpy, grouchy. roused: (adj) excited, awake, susceptible, emotional, elated, interested. sharpened: (adj) acute, pointed, acuate, sharper, better, sensual. sorrel: (n) russet buff, shamrock, carroty, goatsfoot, oxalis, murrey, common sorrel, brown, pier, red sorrel, reddish brown.
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not think of a pretext for not doing so; then he said: “I’d take you over myself, only I’ve got to collect the cash for the lumber.” As soon as the words were spoken he regretted them, not only because they were untrue—there being no prospect of his receiving cash payment from Hale— but also because he knew from experience the imprudence of letting Zeena think he was in funds on the eve of one of her therapeutic excursions. At the moment, however, his one desire was to avoid the long drive with her behind the ancient sorrel who never went out of a walk.% Zeena made no reply: she did not seem to hear what he had said. She had already pushed her plate aside, and was measuring out a draught from a large bottle at her elbow. “It ain’t done me a speck of good, but I guess I might as well use it up,” she remarked; adding, as she pushed the empty bottle toward Mattie: “If you can get the taste out it’ll do for pickles.”
Thesaurus draught: (n, v) draft, sketch, design, grain, mote, dot. ANTONYM: (n) lot. discretion, forethought, wariness, potation, plan; (n) dose, air current, therapeutic: (adj) remedial, curative, wisdom. wind, gulp, outline; (v) blueprint. measuring: (n) measure, mensuration, healing, medicinal, therapeutical, elbow: (n, v) poke, nudge, jolt; (n) scaling, surveying, hydrometry, sanative, alterative, analeptic, cubitus, elbow joint, angle, actinometry, gravimetry, beneficial, healthful, restorative. articulation; (v) jostle, push, shove, ANTONYMS: (adj) damaging, densitometry, calorimetry, crowd. bathymetry, audiometry. harmful. imprudence: (n) carelessness, pretext: (n) pretense, pretension, color, toward: (prep) to, towards, indiscretion, folly, improvidence, pretence, mask, plea, guise, sham, approaching, headed for, just before, appearance; (n, v) excuse, cloak. of, in the direction of; (adv, prep) on; hastiness, flippancy, recklessness, injudiciousness, rashness, haste; (adj, speck: (adj, n) point, atom, particle; (n) (adv) about, around, by. n) temerity. ANTONYMS: (n) ANTONYMS: (prep) from, away. blot, flaw, smudge, blotch, blemish,
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CHAPTER IV
As soon as his wife had driven off Ethan took his coat and cap from the peg. Mattie was washing up the dishes, humming one of the dance tunes of the night before. He said “So long, Matt,” and she answered gaily “So long, Ethan”; and that was all.% It was warm and bright in the kitchen. The sun slanted through the south window on the girl’s moving figure, on the cat dozing in a chair, and on the geraniums brought in from the door-way, where Ethan had planted them in the summer to “make a garden” for Mattie. He would have liked to linger on, watching her tidy up and then settle down to her sewing; but he wanted still more to get the hauling done and be back at the farm before night. All the way down to the village he continued to think of his return to Mattie. The kitchen was a poor place, not “spruce” and shining as his mother had kept it in his boyhood; but it was surprising what a homelike look the mere fact of Zeena’s absence gave it. And he pictured what it would be like that evening, when he and Mattie were there after supper. For the first time they would be alone together indoors, and they would sit there, one on each side of the stove, like a married couple, he in his stocking feet and smoking his pipe, she laughing and talking in that funny way she had, which was always as new to him as if he had never heard her before.
Thesaurus boyhood: (n) babyhood, adolescence, youth, youthhood, infancy, girlhood, age, boyism, puberty. ANTONYM: (n) adulthood. dozing: (adj) drowsy, dozy, nodding, napping, asleep, sleepy, tired. gaily: (adv, v) happily; (adv) gladly, jovially, joyfully, cheerfully, mirthfully, joyously, gleefully, sunnily, blithely, lively. ANTONYMS: (adv) sadly, anxiously, dully, despondently.
heard: (n) hearing. depart, lead. homelike: (adj) domestic, cosy, planted: (adj) ingrained, established, comfortable, homy, easeful, snug, set, concealed. sewing: (n) embroidery, sew, cozy, homey, comfy, homebody. humming: (adj) droning, zippy, needlecraft, stitch, stitching, reeking, bustling, grunting, stinking; fancywork, mend, gather, patch, (n) buzzing, vocalizing, sound, gathering, binding. stocking: (n) hosiery, boothose, trunk murmur, growling. linger: (v) loiter, delay, dally, hover, hose, supplying, stocking level, stay, hesitate, hang around, tights, silk stocking, nylons, nylon procrastinate, dawdle, tarry, saunter. stocking, rayon stocking; (adj) ANTONYMS: (v) hurry, end, rush, stockinged.
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The sweetness of the picture, and the relief of knowing that his fears of “trouble” with Zeena were unfounded, sent up his spirits with a rush, and he, who was usually so silent, whistled and sang aloud as he drove through the snowy fields. There was in him a slumbering spark of sociability which the long Starkfield winters had not yet extinguished. By nature grave and inarticulate, he admired recklessness and gaiety in others and was warmed to the marrow by friendly human intercourse. At Worcester, though he had the name of keeping to himself and not being much of a hand at a good time, he had secretly gloried in being clapped on the back and hailed as “Old Ethe” or “Old Stiff”; and the cessation of such familiarities had increased the chill of his return to Starkfield.% There the silence had deepened about him year by year. Left alone, after his father’s accident, to carry the burden of farm and mill, he had had no time for convivial loiterings in the village; and when his mother fell ill the loneliness of the house grew more oppressive than that of the fields. His mother had been a talker in her day, but after her “trouble” the sound of her voice was seldom heard, though she had not lost the power of speech. Sometimes, in the long winter evenings, when in desperation her son asked her why she didn’t “say something,” she would lift a finger and answer: “Because I’m listening”; and on stormy nights, when the loud wind was about the house, she would complain, if he spoke to her: “They’re talking so out there that I can’t hear you.” It was only when she drew toward her last illness, and his cousin Zenobia Pierce came over from the next valley to help him nurse her, that human speech was heard again in the house. After the mortal silence of his long imprisonment Zeena’s volubility was music in his ears. He felt that he might have “gone like his mother” if the sound of a new voice had not come to steady him. Zeena seemed to understand his case at a glance. She laughed at him for not knowing the simplest sick-bed duties and told him to “go right along out” and leave her to see to things. The mere fact of obeying her orders, of feeling free to go about his business again and talk with other men, restored his shaken balance and magnified his sense of what he owed her. Her efficiency shamed and dazzled him. She seemed to possess by instinct all the household wisdom that his long
Thesaurus convivial: (adj) companionable, ANTONYMS: (adj) articulate, happy, friendly, frolicsome, genial, eloquent, fluent, distinct, talkative. social, sociable, pleasant, hospitable, shamed: (adj) dishonored, ashamed, gregarious, jovial. ANTONYMS: (adj) hangdog, guilty, discredited, solemn, taciturn, sober, serious, grim, abashed, sheepish, embarrassed, dull, unfriendly, antisocial, shamefaced, bullied, cowed. slumbering: (adj) dormant, asleep, unwelcoming, frosty, shy. gloried: (adj) honorable. latent. ANTONYM: (adj) awake. inarticulate: (adj) unintelligible, silent, sociability: (n) conviviality, joviality, vague, muffled, incoherent, mute, affability, openness, extroversion, incomprehensible, unarticulate, comradery, ambiversion, speechless, guttural, fuzzy. camaraderie, civility, amicability;
(adj) sociality. ANTONYMS: (n) unfriendliness, hostility, unsociability, reserve, rudeness. talker: (n) speaker, conversationalist, orator, chatterbox, babbler, raver, stammerer, chatterer, speechmaker, caller, mutterer. volubility: (adj, n) fluency; (n) eloquence, articulateness, gab, gift of gab, smoothness, communicativeness, readiness; (adj) flippancy.
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apprenticeship had not instilled in him. When the end came it was she who had to tell him to hitch up and go for the undertaker, and she thought it “funny” that he had not settled beforehand who was to have his mother’s clothes and the sewing-machine. After the funeral, when he saw her preparing to go away, he was seized with an unreasoning dread of being left alone on the farm; and before he knew what he was doing he had asked her to stay there with him. He had often thought since that it would not have happened if his mother had died in spring instead of winter...% When they married it was agreed that, as soon as he could straighten out the difficulties resulting from Mrs. Frome’s long illness, they would sell the farm and saw-mill and try their luck in a large town. Ethan’s love of nature did not take the form of a taste for agriculture. He had always wanted to be an engineer, and to live in towns, where there were lectures and big libraries and “fellows doing things.” A slight engineering job in Florida, put in his way during his period of study at Worcester, increased his faith in his ability as well as his eagerness to see the world; and he felt sure that, with a “smart” wife like Zeena, it would not be long before he had made himself a place in it. Zeena’s native village was slightly larger and nearer to the railway than Starkfield, and she had let her husband see from the first that life on an isolated farm was not what she had expected when she married. But purchasers were slow in coming, and while he waited for them Ethan learned the impossibility of transplanting her. She chose to look down on Starkfield, but she could not have lived in a place which looked down on her. Even Bettsbridge or Shadd’s Falls would not have been sufficiently aware of her, and in the greater cities which attracted Ethan she would have suffered a complete loss of identity. And within a year of their marriage she developed the “sickliness” which had since made her notable even in a community rich in pathological instances. When she came to take care of his mother she had seemed to Ethan like the very genius of health, but he soon saw that her skill as a nurse had been acquired by the absorbed observation of her own symptoms.
Thesaurus apprenticeship: (n) situation, position, hitch: (v) fasten, attach; (n, v) catch, limp, hobble, arrest; (n) hindrance, spot, berth, post, office, instruction, education, training, prenticeship, drawback, barrier, difficulty, check. ANTONYMS: (n) advantage, ease, apprenticehood. eagerness: (n, v) desire, aspiration; (n) help; (v) detach, undo. pathological: (adj) morbid, diseased, enthusiasm, avidity, cupidity, readiness, passion, keenness, sick, neurotic, ghoulish. straighten: (v) tidy, unbend, neaten, ambition, fervor, avidness. ANTONYMS: (n) indifference, square away, extend, dress, adjust, unwillingness, aloofness, disinterest, stretch, unwind, right, straight. ANTONYMS: (v) bend, sink, lethargy, listlessness, patience, gloom, reluctance. withdraw, align, stoop, distort,
confuse, complicate, tilt. transplanting: (n) transplantation, transplant, movement, graft, organ transplant, planting, colonization. undertaker: (n) funeral director, mortuary, embalmer, entrepreneur, contractor, skilled worker, funeral undertaker, mute, trained worker. unreasoning: (adj) irrational, unintelligent, unintellectual, thoughtless, unreasonable, partisan, vacuous, unthinking, unreasoned.
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Then she too fell silent. Perhaps it was the inevitable effect of life on the farm, or perhaps, as she sometimes said, it was because Ethan “never listened.” The charge was not wholly unfounded. When she spoke it was only to complain, and to complain of things not in his power to remedy; and to check a tendency to impatient retort he had first formed the habit of not answering her, and finally of thinking of other things while she talked. Of late, however, since he had reasons for observing her more closely, her silence had begun to trouble him. He recalled his mother’s growing taciturnity, and wondered if Zeena were also turning “queer.” Women did, he knew. Zeena, who had at her fingers’ ends the pathological chart of the whole region, had cited many cases of the kind while she was nursing his mother; and he himself knew of certain lonely farm-houses in the neighbourhood where stricken creatures pined, and of others where sudden tragedy had come of their presence. At times, looking at Zeena’s shut face, he felt the chill of such forebodings. At other times her silence seemed deliberately assumed to conceal far-reaching intentions, mysterious conclusions drawn from suspicions and resentments impossible to guess. That supposition was even more disturbing than the other; and it was the one which had come to him the night before, when he had seen her standing in the kitchen door.% Now her departure for Bettsbridge had once more eased his mind, and all his thoughts were on the prospect of his evening with Mattie. Only one thing weighed on him, and that was his having told Zeena that he was to receive cash for the lumber. He foresaw so clearly the consequences of this imprudence that with considerable reluctance he decided to ask Andrew Hale for a small advance on his load. When Ethan drove into Hale’s yard the builder was just getting out of his sleigh. “Hello, Ethe!” he said. “This comes handy.” Andrew Hale was a ruddy man with a big gray moustache and a stubbly double-chin unconstrained by a collar; but his scrupulously clean shirt was always fastened by a small diamond stud. This display of opulence was misleading, for though he did a fairly good business it was known that his
Thesaurus foresaw: (v) foresee. painstakingly, strictly, meticulously, assumption, hypothesis, opulence: (n) fortune, wealth, luxury, religiously, thoroughly, nicely, presumption, premise, speculation, exuberance, comfort, luxuriousness, exactly, fastidiously, particularly, surmise, guess, supposal, thought, prosperity, wealthiness, plenty; (adj, accurately. ANTONYM: (adv) imagination. ANTONYMS: (n) fact, n) riches, affluence. ANTONYMS: (n) negligently. knowledge, proof, reality, practice. stubbly: (adj) bestubbled, stubby, unconstrained: (adj) free, familiar, poverty, paucity, shabbiness, austerity. bristly, thick, bearded, wiry, coarse, independent, at liberty, informal, ruddy: (adj) cherry, rubicund, rosy, hairy, unshaven. unobstructed, unbound, stud: (n, v) knob, boss, button; (v) dot, unrestrained, voluntary, unconfined; flushed, florid, sanguine, reddish, glowing, blooming, crimson; (adj, nail, sprinkle, constellate; (n) rivet, (adj, v) easy. ANTONYMS: (adj) adv) blushing. scantling, peg, stallion. constrained, limited, inhibited, scrupulously: (adv) carefully, supposition: (n, v) conjecture; (n) imprisoned, conventional.
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easygoing habits and the demands of his large family frequently kept him what Starkfield called “behind.” He was an old friend of Ethan’s family, and his house one of the few to which Zeena occasionally went, drawn there by the fact that Mrs. Hale, in her youth, had done more “doctoring” than any other woman in Starkfield, and was still a recognised authority on symptoms and treatment.% Hale went up to the grays and patted their sweating flanks. “Well, sir,” he said, “you keep them two as if they was pets.” Ethan set about unloading the logs and when he had finished his job he pushed open the glazed door of the shed which the builder used as his office. Hale sat with his feet up on the stove, his back propped against a battered desk strewn with papers: the place, like the man, was warm, genial and untidy. “Sit right down and thaw out,” he greeted Ethan. The latter did not know how to begin, but at length he managed to bring out his request for an advance of fifty dollars. The blood rushed to his thin skin under the sting of Hale’s astonishment. It was the builder’s custom to pay at the end of three months, and there was no precedent between the two men for a cash settlement. Ethan felt that if he had pleaded an urgent need Hale might have made shift to pay him; but pride, and an instinctive prudence, kept him from resorting to this argument. After his father’s death it had taken time to get his head above water, and he did not want Andrew Hale, or any one else in Starkfield, to think he was going under again. Besides, he hated lying; if he wanted the money he wanted it, and it was nobody’s business to ask why. He therefore made his demand with the awkwardness of a proud man who will not admit to himself that he is stooping; and he was not much surprised at Hale’s refusal. The builder refused genially, as he did everything else: he treated the matter as something in the nature of a practical joke, and wanted to know if Ethan meditated buying a grand piano or adding a “cupolo” to his house; offering, in the latter case, to give his services free of cost.
Thesaurus awkwardness: (n) embarrassment, serene, insouciant, gentle, stiffness, unwieldiness, unconcerned, composed. ANTONYMS: (adj) grumpy, severe, inconvenience, gawkiness, inelegance, troublesomeness, harsh, energetic, hurried, rushed, ineptitude, ineptness, gaucherie; (adj, uptight, stubborn, intense, hyped, n) delicacy. ANTONYMS: (n) huffy. genially: (adv) cordially, graciously, gracefulness, grace, comfort, coordination, pride, urbanity, ease, jovially, warmly, amiably, benignly, assurance, liveliness, confidence, brightly, heartily, pleasantly, cooperation. cheerfully, affably. ANTONYMS: easygoing: (adj) careless, leisurely, (adv) frostily, nastily, spitefully. hale: (adj) healthy, whole, sturdy, placid, carefree, genial, optimistic,
strong, sane, rugged, robust; (v) drag; (adj, n) well, hearty, sound. ANTONYM: (adj) unwell. propped: (adj) fulcrate. stooping: (adj) hunched, crooked, asymmetrical, not erect, not straight, corrupt; (n) patronage. unloading: (v) unload, dismiss, clear, annul, acquittal, evacuation, absolve, acquittance, emission, explosion; (n) delivery. ANTONYMS: (n) loading, dispatch.
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Ethan’s arts were soon exhausted, and after an embarrassed pause he wished Hale good day and opened the door of the office. As he passed out the builder suddenly called after him: “See here—you ain’t in a tight place, are you?” “Not a bit,” Ethan’s pride retorted before his reason had time to intervene.% “Well, that’s good! Because I am, a shade. Fact is, I was going to ask you to give me a little extra time on that payment. Business is pretty slack, to begin with, and then I’m fixing up a little house for Ned and Ruth when they’re married. I’m glad to do it for ‘em, but it costs.” His look appealed to Ethan for sympathy. “The young people like things nice. You know how it is yourself: it’s not so long ago since you fixed up your own place for Zeena.” Ethan left the grays in Hale’s stable and went about some other business in the village. As he walked away the builder’s last phrase lingered in his ears, and he reflected grimly that his seven years with Zeena seemed to Starkfield “not so long.” The afternoon was drawing to an end, and here and there a lighted pane spangled the cold gray dusk and made the snow look whiter. The bitter weather had driven every one indoors and Ethan had the long rural street to himself. Suddenly he heard the brisk play of sleigh-bells and a cutter passed him, drawn by a free-going horse. Ethan recognised Michael Eady’s roan colt, and young Denis Eady, in a handsome new fur cap, leaned forward and waved a greeting. “Hello, Ethe!” he shouted and spun on. The cutter was going in the direction of the Frome farm, and Ethan’s heart contracted as he listened to the dwindling bells. What more likely than that Denis Eady had heard of Zeena’s departure for Bettsbridge, and was profiting by the opportunity to spend an hour with Mattie? Ethan was ashamed of the storm of jealousy in his breast. It seemed unworthy of the girl that his thoughts of her should be so violent. He walked on to the church corner and entered the shade of the Varnum spruces, where he had stood with her the night before. As he passed into their
Thesaurus colt: (n) novice, filly, foal, calf, horse, beginner, kitten, pup, fledgling, freshman, greenhorn. dwindling: (adj) decreasing, declining, abating, diminishing, waning; (n) lessening, narrowing, dwindlement, shrinking; (v) dwindle; (adv) diminishingly. ANTONYMS: (n) growth; (adj) burgeoning, high. lighted: (adj) illuminated, lit, light, ablaze, bright, ignited, burn, burning, ignite, kindled, lighten.
pane: (n) window pane, paneling, pane of glass, panelling, windowpane, window-pane, board, square, sheet of glass, leaf, box. shouted: (adj) screamed, loud. slack: (adj, v) loose, lax, remiss, slow, dull; (adj) indolent, negligent, idle, flaccid, limp, baggy. ANTONYMS: (adj) strict, taut, thorough, brisk, diligent, attentive, upright, prompt, meticulous; (v) tighten; (n) tautness. spangled: (adj) sequined, jeweled,
bejewelled, jewelled, bejeweled, beady, beaded, bespangled, buttonlike, spangly, twinkling. ANTONYM: (adj) dull. spun: (adj) spined; (v) rotate, revolve. unworthy: (adj) undeserving, base, disgraceful, ignoble, low, contemptible, despicable, ugly, unmerited, unseemly, shameful. ANTONYMS: (adj) deserving, valuable, honorable, estimable, reputable.
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gloom he saw an indistinct outline just ahead of him. At his approach it melted for an instant into two separate shapes and then conjoined again, and he heard a kiss, and a half-laughing “Oh!” provoked by the discovery of his presence. Again the outline hastily disunited and the Varnum gate slammed on one half while the other hurried on ahead of him. Ethan smiled at the discomfiture he had caused. What did it matter to Ned Hale and Ruth Varnum if they were caught kissing each other? Everybody in Starkfield knew they were engaged. It pleased Ethan to have surprised a pair of lovers on the spot where he and Mattie had stood with such a thirst for each other in their hearts; but he felt a pang at the thought that these two need not hide their happiness.% He fetched the grays from Hale’s stable and started on his long climb back to the farm. The cold was less sharp than earlier in the day and a thick fleecy sky threatened snow for the morrow. Here and there a star pricked through, showing behind it a deep well of blue. In an hour or two the moon would push over the ridge behind the farm, burn a gold-edged rent in the clouds, and then be swallowed by them. A mournful peace hung on the fields, as though they felt the relaxing grasp of the cold and stretched themselves in their long winter sleep. Ethan’s ears were alert for the jingle of sleigh-bells, but not a sound broke the silence of the lonely road. As he drew near the farm he saw, through the thin screen of larches at the gate, a light twinkling in the house above him. “She’s up in her room,” he said to himself, “fixing herself up for supper”; and he remembered Zeena’s sarcastic stare when Mattie, on the evening of her arrival, had come down to supper with smoothed hair and a ribbon at her neck. He passed by the graves on the knoll and turned his head to glance at one of the older headstones, which had interested him deeply as a boy because it bore his name. SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF ETHAN FROME AND ENDURANCE HIS WIFE, WHO DWELLED TOGETHER IN PEACE FOR FIFTY YEARS.
Thesaurus conjoined: (adj) concomitant, conjunct, associated, concurrent, united, inseparable, coincident, attending, associate, accompanying, adjunct. discomfiture: (n) embarrassment, confusion, perturbation, discomfort, discomfit, disconcertion, discomposure, humiliation, consternation; (adj) rebuff, rout. ANTONYMS: (n) contentment, honor. disunited: (adj) divided, split,
disjointed, confused, abrupt, unmade, separate; (v) apart, torn, broken, blighted. fleecy: (adj) fluffy, hairy, brushed, soft, woolly, silky, napped. indistinct: (adj) indefinite, inarticulate, faint, dull, fuzzy, indeterminate, hazy, neutral; (adj, n) confused, cloudy, dark. ANTONYMS: (adj) clear, slight, separate, certain, precise, audible, strong, definite. morrow: (n) morning, future, mean
solar day, day. pang: (n) pain, torture, ache, agony, twinge, affliction, sting, stab, distress, ailment, cramp. thirst: (n, v) hunger, lust, wish; (n) longing, yen, craving, hankering, dryness, appetite; (v) starve, crave. ANTONYM: (n) dislike. twinkling: (n) moment, jiffy, minute, second, flash, trice, twinkle, wink, split second, breath; (adj) sparkling. ANTONYM: (adj) dull.
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He used to think that fifty years sounded like a long time to live together, but now it seemed to him that they might pass in a flash. Then, with a sudden dart of irony, he wondered if, when their turn came, the same epitaph would be written over him and Zeena.% He opened the barn-door and craned his head into the obscurity, half-fearing to discover Denis Eady’s roan colt in the stall beside the sorrel. But the old horse was there alone, mumbling his crib with toothless jaws, and Ethan whistled cheerfully while he bedded down the grays and shook an extra measure of oats into their mangers. His was not a tuneful throat—but harsh melodies burst from it as he locked the barn and sprang up the hill to the house. He reached the kitchen-porch and turned the door-handle; but the door did not yield to his touch. Startled at finding it locked he rattled the handle violently; then he reflected that Mattie was alone and that it was natural she should barricade herself at nightfall. He stood in the darkness expecting to hear her step. It did not come, and after vainly straining his ears he called out in a voice that shook with joy: “Hello, Matt!” Silence answered; but in a minute or two he caught a sound on the stairs and saw a line of light about the door-frame, as he had seen it the night before. So strange was the precision with which the incidents of the previous evening were repeating themselves that he half expected, when he heard the key turn, to see his wife before him on the threshold; but the door opened, and Mattie faced him. She stood just as Zeena had stood, a lifted lamp in her hand, against the black background of the kitchen. She held the light at the same level, and it drew out with the same distinctness her slim young throat and the brown wrist no bigger than a child’s. Then, striking upward, it threw a lustrous fleck on her lips, edged her eyes with velvet shade, and laid a milky whiteness above the black curve of her brows.
Thesaurus barricade: (n, v) barrier, blockade, barricado; (v) block, obstruct, hinder, dam; (n) obstruction, fence, rampart, hurdle. ANTONYMS: (n) opening; (v) open, expose, assist. crib: (n) pony, cot, bed, trough, cradle, cribbing; (v) pilfer, steal, bag, lift, purloin. distinctness: (n) clearness, sharpness, definition, otherness, perspicuity, discreteness, articulate sound, separation, uncloudedness,
dissimilarity; (adj) conspicuousness. mumbling: (n) gumming, diction, ANTONYM: (n) indistinctness. enunciation, chewing, mussitation, epitaph: (n) memorial, lettering, mastication; (adj) inarticulate, inscription, commemoration, incoherent. toothless: (adj) powerless, epitaphic, legend. fleck: (n, v) dot, speckle, blot, mark; immobilized, edentulous, dull. (n) speck, stigma, dapple, splotch, ANTONYM: (adj) effective. flake, bit; (v) tarnish. tuneful: (adj) musical, melodious, lustrous: (adj, v) bright, splendent; harmonious, melodic, sweet, tunable, (adj) glossy, brilliant, lucid, shiny, euphonious, dulcet, sonorous; (n) lyric, lyrical. ANTONYMS: (adj) shining, light, luminous, sleek, radiant. ANTONYM: (adj) unhealthy. tuneless, harsh.
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She wore her usual dress of darkish stuff, and there was no bow at her neck; but through her hair she had run a streak of crimson ribbon. This tribute to the unusual transformed and glorified her. She seemed to Ethan taller, fuller, more womanly in shape and motion. She stood aside, smiling silently, while he entered, and then moved away from him with something soft and flowing in her gait. She set the lamp on the table, and he saw that it was carefully laid for supper, with fresh doughnuts, stewed blueberries and his favourite pickles in a dish of gay red glass. A bright fire glowed in the stove and the cat lay stretched before it, watching the table with a drowsy eye.% Ethan was suffocated with the sense of well-being. He went out into the passage to hang up his coat and pull off his wet boots. When he came back Mattie had set the teapot on the table and the cat was rubbing itself persuasively against her ankles. “Why, Puss! I nearly tripped over you,” she cried, the laughter sparkling through her lashes. Again Ethan felt a sudden twinge of jealousy. Could it be his coming that gave her such a kindled face? “Well, Matt, any visitors?” he threw off, stooping down carelessly to examine the fastening of the stove. She nodded and laughed “Yes, one,” and he felt a blackness settling on his brows. “Who was that?” he questioned, raising himself up to slant a glance at her beneath his scowl. Her eyes danced with malice. “Why, Jotham Powell. He came in after he got back, and asked for a drop of coffee before he went down home.” The blackness lifted and light flooded Ethan’s brain. “That all? Well, I hope you made out to let him have it.” And after a pause he felt it right to add: “I suppose he got Zeena over to the Flats all right?” “Oh, yes; in plenty of time.”
Thesaurus blueberries: (n) genus Vaccinium. darkish: (adj) dim, swarthy, dusky, dingy, darksome, obscure, shadowy, lackluster, fuscous, dull. ANTONYM: (adj) bright. fastening: (n) clasp, clip, buckle, attachment, lock, catch, link, bonding; (n, v) bond; (v) tie, bind. gait: (n, v) pace, step, tread, footstep, rate, stride, action; (n) walk, carriage, movement, velocity. glorified: (adj) celebrated, holy,
overvalued, puffed up, overrated, intoxicated, done, drunk, huffy, overestimated, hyped, haloed, inebriated, baked, tight. suffocated: (adj) suffocate; (v) canonised, blessed, authorized. kindled: (adj) enkindled, lighted, lit, asphyxied. twinge: (n, v) pinch, sting; (n) pang, burning. persuasively: (adv) compellingly, pain, stab, hurt, throb, qualm; (v) nip, potently, strongly, forcefully, prick, prickle. womanly: (adj, v) effeminate; (adj) powerfully, eloquently, effectively, soundly, cogently, movingly, slickly. ladylike, womanish, female, ANTONYMS: (adv) ineffectively, womanlike, wifely, weak, maidenly, matronly; (v) soft, feminate. hesitantly, weakly. stewed: (adj) poached, tipsy, ANTONYM: (adj) unwomanly.
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The name threw a chill between them, and they stood a moment looking sideways at each other before Mattie said with a shy laugh. “I guess it’s about time for supper.” They drew their seats up to the table, and the cat, unbidden, jumped between them into Zeena’s empty chair. “Oh, Puss!” said Mattie, and they laughed again.% Ethan, a moment earlier, had felt himself on the brink of eloquence; but the mention of Zeena had paralysed him. Mattie seemed to feel the contagion of his embarrassment, and sat with downcast lids, sipping her tea, while he feigned an insatiable appetite for dough-nuts and sweet pickles. At last, after casting about for an effective opening, he took a long gulp of tea, cleared his throat, and said: “Looks as if there’d be more snow.” She feigned great interest. “Is that so? Do you suppose it’ll interfere with Zeena’s getting back?” She flushed red as the question escaped her, and hastily set down the cup she was lifting. Ethan reached over for another helping of pickles. “You never can tell, this time of year, it drifts so bad on the Flats.” The name had benumbed him again, and once more he felt as if Zeena were in the room between them. “Oh, Puss, you’re too greedy!” Mattie cried. The cat, unnoticed, had crept up on muffled paws from Zeena’s seat to the table, and was stealthily elongating its body in the direction of the milk-jug, which stood between Ethan and Mattie. The two leaned forward at the same moment and their hands met on the handle of the jug. Mattie’s hand was underneath, and Ethan kept his clasped on it a moment longer than was necessary. The cat, profiting by this unusual demonstration, tried to effect an unnoticed retreat, and in doing so backed into the pickle-dish, which fell to the floor with a crash. Mattie, in an instant, had sprung from her chair and was down on her knees by the fragments. “Oh, Ethan, Ethan—it’s all to pieces! What will Zeena say?”
Thesaurus benumbed: (adj) torpid, asleep, stiff, insensible, dull, dead, numbed, hardened, drugged, uninterested, cold. contagion: (n) plague, contagious disease, taint, transmission, contamination, disease, conduction, pest, corruption, pollution, grippe. downcast: (adj) depressed, dejected, dispirited, blue, desolate, disconsolate, gloomy, low, sad, downhearted, discouraged.
ANTONYMS: (adj) cheerful, sincere, genuine, natural, vivacious, cheery, elated, joyous, up, wholehearted, heartfelt, real. paralysed: (adj) palsied, paralyzed. positive. eloquence: (n) style, fluency, oratory, stealthily: (adv) furtively, sneakily, rhetoric, articulateness, expression, surreptitiously, covertly, volubility, persuasiveness, articulacy, clandestinely, underhandly, facundity, way with words. underhandedly, in secret, privately, ANTONYM: (n) inarticulateness. sneakingly; (adj, adv) noiselessly. feigned: (adj) false, affected, assumed, ANTONYM: (adv) brazenly. dummy, unnatural, fictitious; (adj, v) unbidden: (adj) unbid, uninvited, sham, counterfeit, spurious, mock, spontaneous, voluntary, willing, pretended. ANTONYMS: (adj) unwanted.
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But this time his courage was up. “Well, she’ll have to say it to the cat, any way!” he rejoined with a laugh, kneeling down at Mattie’s side to scrape up the swimming pickles.% She lifted stricken eyes to him. “Yes, but, you see, she never meant it should be used, not even when there was company; and I had to get up on the stepladder to reach it down from the top shelf of the china-closet, where she keeps it with all her best things, and of course she’ll want to know why I did it—” The case was so serious that it called forth all of Ethan’s latent resolution. “She needn’t know anything about it if you keep quiet. I’ll get another just like it to-morrow. Where did it come from? I’ll go to Shadd’s Falls for it if I have to!” “Oh, you’ll never get another even there! It was a wedding present—don’t you remember? It came all the way from Philadelphia, from Zeena’s aunt that married the minister. That’s why she wouldn’t ever use it. Oh, Ethan, Ethan, what in the world shall I do?” She began to cry, and he felt as if every one of her tears were pouring over him like burning lead. “Don’t, Matt, don’t—oh, don’t!” he implored her. She struggled to her feet, and he rose and followed her helplessly while she spread out the pieces of glass on the kitchen dresser. It seemed to him as if the shattered fragments of their evening lay there. “Here, give them to me,” he said in a voice of sudden authority. She drew aside, instinctively obeying his tone. “Oh, Ethan, what are you going to do?” Without replying he gathered the pieces of glass into his broad palm and walked out of the kitchen to the passage. There he lit a candle-end, opened the china-closet, and, reaching his long arm up to the highest shelf, laid the pieces together with such accuracy of touch that a close inspection convinced him of the impossibility of detecting from below that the dish was broken. If he glued it together the next morning months might elapse before his wife noticed what had happened, and meanwhile he might after all be able to match the dish at Shadd’s
Thesaurus detecting: (n) spotting, investigation, attentive. catching, detective work, sleuthing, helplessly: (adv) weakly, powerlessly, police investigation, hearing; (adj) lostly, destitutely, shiftlessly, observant. defenselessly, unprotectedly, dresser: (n) cabinet, chest of drawers, ineffectively, wretchedly, bureau, commode, chest, sideboard, incompetently, disabledly. ANTONYM: (adv) powerfully. chiffonier, toilet table, assistant, impossibility: (n) impossibleness, dressing table, table. elapse: (v) go by, lapse, proceed, flow, option, nonexistence, absurdity, roll, expire, pass by, slip by, fly, die, inability, impracticability, alternative, depart. choice, contradiction, contradiction in glued: (adj) watchful, affixed, terms, doubtfulness. ANTONYMS:
(n) possibility, probability. lifted: (adj) raised, elevated, lift, lofty, upraised, steep. obeying: (adv) under. replying: (adj) respondent, responsive. scrape: (n, v) scratch, graze, score, mark; (v) rub, pare, rake, grate, chafe, abrade; (n) abrasion. stricken: (adj) smitten, struck, beaten, laid low, affected, hurt, low, impaired, dotty; (v) heavy laden, victimized.
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Falls or Bettsbridge. Having satisfied himself that there was no risk of immediate discovery he went back to the kitchen with a lighter step, and found Mattie disconsolately removing the last scraps of pickle from the floor.% “It’s all right, Matt. Come back and finish supper,” he commanded her. Completely reassured, she shone on him through tear-hung lashes, and his soul swelled with pride as he saw how his tone subdued her. She did not even ask what he had done. Except when he was steering a big log down the mountain to his mill he had never known such a thrilling sense of mastery.
Thesaurus commanded: (adj) lawful. disconsolately: (adv) unhappily, gloomily, sadly, dismally, dolefully, melancholy, forlornly, dispiritedly, downcastly, glumly, downheartedly. ANTONYM: (adv) contentedly. mastery: (n) dominance, dominion, command, domination, ascendancy, ascendency, control, authority, mastership, supremacy, ascendance. pickle: (n) mess, jam, hole, brine, lot, quandary; (v) cure, preserve, souse;
(adj, v) salt; (n, v) pot. reassured: (adj) hopeful, reinsured, secure, confident. removing: (adj) departing. scraps: (n) garbage, odds and ends, scrap, bits, food waste, leftover, trash, waste, oddments, leftovers, residue. subdued: (adj) quiet, muffled, dull, restrained, muted, tame, faint, repressed, low, meek; (adj, v) resigned. ANTONYMS: (adj) enthusiastic, lively, uninhibited,
unsubdued, rebellious, noisy, bright, elaborate, frivolous, upbeat. swelled: (adj) big, inflated, bloated, swollen, adult, boastful, bighearted, bad, fully grown, crowing, elder. thrilling: (adj, n) electric; (adj) exciting, sensational, exhilarating, electrifying, emotional, rousing, gripping, stimulating; (adj, v) impressive; (n, v) swelling. ANTONYMS: (adj) boring, depressing, discouraging, upsetting, uninspiring.
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CHAPTER V
They finished supper, and while Mattie cleared the table Ethan went to look at the cows and then took a last turn about the house. The earth lay dark under a muffled sky and the air was so still that now and then he heard a lump of snow come thumping down from a tree far off on the edge of the wood-lot.% When he returned to the kitchen Mattie had pushed up his chair to the stove and seated herself near the lamp with a bit of sewing. The scene was just as he had dreamed of it that morning. He sat down, drew his pipe from his pocket and stretched his feet to the glow. His hard day’s work in the keen air made him feel at once lazy and light of mood, and he had a confused sense of being in another world, where all was warmth and harmony and time could bring no change. The only drawback to his complete well-being was the fact that he could not see Mattie from where he sat; but he was too indolent to move and after a moment he said: “Come over here and sit by the stove.” Zeena’s empty rocking-chair stood facing him. Mattie rose obediently, and seated herself in it. As her young brown head detached itself against the patchwork cushion that habitually framed his wife’s gaunt countenance, Ethan had a momentary shock. It was almost as if the other face, the face of the superseded woman, had obliterated that of the intruder. After a moment Mattie seemed to be affected by the same sense of constraint. She changed her position, leaning
Thesaurus drawback: (n) catch, hitch, snag, shortcoming, defect, detriment, failing, inconvenience, disability, hurdle, encumbrance. ANTONYMS: (n) benefit, bonus, edge, strength. habitually: (adv) usually, ordinarily, normally, generally, regularly, frequently, commonly, routinely, wontedly, conventionally, commonplacely. ANTONYMS: (adv) unusually, seldom, erratically, exceptionally, occasionally.
indolent: (adj) idle, lazy, slothful, compliantly, meekly, acquiescently, sluggish, careless, slow, dull, torpid, respectfully, tamely, subserviently, inert, drowsy, listless. ANTONYMS: passively, loyally, devotedly. (adj) active, industrious, vigorous, ANTONYMS: (adv) defiantly, diligent. assertively, wildly. momentary: (adj) brief, fugitive, obliterated: (adj) obliterate, destroyed, lost, forgotten, invisible; (v) erased, transient, short, instantaneous, ephemeral, passing, momentaneous, effaced. temporary, impermanent, temporal. thumping: (adj) spanking, whacking, ANTONYMS: (adj) lasting, lengthy, roaring, thudding, lubberly, walloping, lumpish, gaunt; (n) thud, long. obediently: (adv) dutifully, yieldingly, thump, clump.
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forward to bend her head above her work, so that he saw only the foreshortened tip of her nose and the streak of red in her hair; then she slipped to her feet, saying “I can’t see to sew,” and went back to her chair by the lamp.% Ethan made a pretext of getting up to replenish the stove, and when he returned to his seat he pushed it sideways that he might get a view of her profile and of the lamplight falling on her hands. The cat, who had been a puzzled observer of these unusual movements, jumped up into Zeena’s chair, rolled itself into a ball, and lay watching them with narrowed eyes. Deep quiet sank on the room. The clock ticked above the dresser, a piece of charred wood fell now and then in the stove, and the faint sharp scent of the geraniums mingled with the odour of Ethan’s smoke, which began to throw a blue haze about the lamp and to hang its greyish cobwebs in the shadowy corners of the room. All constraint had vanished between the two, and they began to talk easily and simply. They spoke of every-day things, of the prospect of snow, of the next church sociable, of the loves and quarrels of Starkfield. The commonplace nature of what they said produced in Ethan an illusion of long-established intimacy which no outburst of emotion could have given, and he set his imagination adrift on the fiction that they had always spent their evenings thus and would always go on doing so... “This is the night we were to have gone coasting. Matt,” he said at length, with the rich sense, as he spoke, that they could go on any other night they chose, since they had all time before them. She smiled back at him. “I guess you forgot!” “No, I didn’t forget; but it’s as dark as Egypt outdoors. We might go tomorrow if there’s a moon.” She laughed with pleasure, her head tilted back, the lamplight sparkling on her lips and teeth. “That would be lovely, Ethan!” He kept his eyes fixed on her, marvelling at the way her face changed with each turn of their talk, like a wheat-field under a summer breeze. It was
Thesaurus adrift: (adj, adv) directionless; (adv) afloat, wrong; (adj, v) astray; (adj) disoriented, isolated, undirected, rudderless, planless, insular, in Twain. ANTONYMS: (adv) anchored, determined, purposeful, stable, moored. began: (v) Gan. charred: (adj) scorched, well done, overcooked, baked, overdone. corners: (adj) cornered. greyish: (adj) grayish, gray, hoar,
grizzly, livid, dull, achromatic. fill up, make good, refresh, furnish, haze: (n) fog, cloud, confusion, vapor, supply, fill again; (adj) load, charge. blur, daze, film, cloudiness, turbidity; ANTONYM: (v) deplete. (n, v) mist; (v) dim. ANTONYMS: (n) sociable: (adj) outgoing, affable, clarity, brightness. amicable, genial, congenial, cordial, long-established: (adj) traditional, companionable, amiable, gracious, agreeable; (adj, n) social. confirmed. outdoors: (adv) out of doors, alfresco, ANTONYMS: (adj) unfriendly, out, without; (n) open air, open, reserved, lonely, introvert, nature, clear, country; (adj) outdoor. discourteous, frosty, hostile, ANTONYM: (adv) inside. inhospitable, disagreeable, shy, replenish: (adj, v) fill; (v) refill, recruit, inaccessible.
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intoxicating to find such magic in his clumsy words, and he longed to try new ways of using it.% “Would you be scared to go down the Corbury road with me on a night like this?” he asked. Her cheeks burned redder. “I ain’t any more scared than you are!” “Well, I’d be scared, then; I wouldn’t do it. That’s an ugly corner down by the big elm. If a fellow didn’t keep his eyes open he’d go plumb into it.” He luxuriated in the sense of protection and authority which his words conveyed. To prolong and intensify the feeling he added: “I guess we’re well enough here.” She let her lids sink slowly, in the way he loved. “Yes, we’re well enough here,” she sighed. Her tone was so sweet that he took the pipe from his mouth and drew his chair up to the table. Leaning forward, he touched the farther end of the strip of brown stuff that she was hemming. “Say, Matt,” he began with a smile, “what do you think I saw under the Varnum spruces, coming along home just now? I saw a friend of yours getting kissed.” The words had been on his tongue all the evening, but now that he had spoken them they struck him as inexpressibly vulgar and out of place. Mattie blushed to the roots of her hair and pulled her needle rapidly twice or thrice through her work, insensibly drawing the end of it away from him. “I suppose it was Ruth and Ned,” she said in a low voice, as though he had suddenly touched on something grave. Ethan had imagined that his allusion might open the way to the accepted pleasantries, and these perhaps in turn to a harmless caress, if only a mere touch on her hand. But now he felt as if her blush had set a flaming guard about her. He supposed it was his natural awkwardness that made him feel so. He knew that most young men made nothing at all of giving a pretty girl a kiss, and he remembered that the night before, when he had put his arm about Mattie, she had not resisted. But that had been out-of-doors, under the open irresponsible night. Now, in the warm lamplit room, with all its ancient implications of
Thesaurus caress: (v) stroke, fondle, tickle, pat, pet, kiss, nuzzle, cuddle, coddle; (n, v) touch; (n) endearment. ANTONYM: (n) hit. flaming: (adj, n) burning, ardent, glowing, passionate; (adj) blazing, ablaze, aflame, hot; (n) enthusiastic, flame, fire. ANTONYMS: (adj) extinguished, placid, gentle, quiet. hemming: (n) seaming, needlework, tapestry, stitching, embroidery, needlepoint.
inexpressibly: (adv) unspeakably, indescribably, beyond words. insensibly: (adv) imperceptibly, apathetically, numbly, motionlessly, inertly. intensify: (v) increase, aggravate, escalate, heighten, accelerate, augment, build up, deepen, raise, compound, exacerbate. ANTONYMS: (v) moderate, decrease, reduce, satisfy, lessen, improve, abate, diminish, weaken, alleviate.
intoxicating: (adj) intoxicant, strong, alcoholic, effective, exciting, impetuous, inebriant, inebrious, powerful, provocative, forcible. ANTONYMS: (adj) soft, weak. out-of-doors: (n) outdoors, outside; (adj) airy; (adv) without. plumb: (adj) vertical, upright, erect, sound; (adj, v) fathom; (v) measure; (adv) clean, plum, vertically, completely; (n) weight. ANTONYM: (adj) horizontal.
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conformity and order, she seemed infinitely farther away from him and more unapproachable.% To ease his constraint he said: “I suppose they’ll be setting a date before long.” “Yes. I shouldn’t wonder if they got married some time along in the summer.” She pronounced the word married as if her voice caressed it. It seemed a rustling covert leading to enchanted glades. A pang shot through Ethan, and he said, twisting away from her in his chair: “It’ll be your turn next, I wouldn’t wonder.” She laughed a little uncertainly. “Why do you keep on saying that?” He echoed her laugh. “I guess I do it to get used to the idea.” He drew up to the table again and she sewed on in silence, with dropped lashes, while he sat in fascinated contemplation of the way in which her hands went up and down above the strip of stuff, just as he had seen a pair of birds make short perpendicular flights over a nest they were building. At length, without turning her head or lifting her lids, she said in a low tone: “It’s not because you think Zeena’s got anything against me, is it?” His former dread started up full-armed at the suggestion. “Why, what do you mean?” he stammered. She raised distressed eyes to his, her work dropping on the table between them. “I don’t know. I thought last night she seemed to have.” “I’d like to know what,” he growled. “Nobody can tell with Zeena.” It was the first time they had ever spoken so openly of her attitude toward Mattie, and the repetition of the name seemed to carry it to the farther corners of the room and send it back to them in long repercussions of sound. Mattie waited, as if to give the echo time to drop, and then went on: “She hasn’t said anything to you?” He shook his head. “No, not a word.”
Thesaurus contemplation: (n) consideration, reflection, thought, attention, cogitation, musing, introspection, speculation, animus, deliberation; (n, v) study. covert: (adj) clandestine, hidden, concealed, secret, underground, undercover; (n) cover, blind, refuge, concealment, covering. ANTONYMS: (adj) open, aboveboard, unconcealed, public, blatant. drew: (n) move, John Drew.
enchanted: (adj) bewitched, delighted, sinuous, crooked, zigzag, meandering; (n) distortion, turn, spin, charmed, fascinated, rapt, spellbound, blissful, happy, torsion, overrefinement. enamored, possessed; (v) entranced. uncertainly: (adv) dubiously, ANTONYMS: (adj) disenchanted, doubtfully, unsurely, unsettledly, unhappy. falteringly, unsteadily, waveringly, rustling: (n) rustle, whispering, irresolutely, undecidedly, whisper, larceny; (adj) murmurous, undeterminedly, unfixedly. ANTONYMS: (adv) firmly, susurrous, active, soughing. sewed: (adj) stitched, sewn, sew, determinedly, decisively, steadily, sewen, seamed. indisputably, boldly, certainly, twisting: (adj) tortuous, winding, admirably.
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She tossed the hair back from her forehead with a laugh. “I guess I’m just nervous, then. I’m not going to think about it any more.” “Oh, no—don’t let’s think about it, Matt!” The sudden heat of his tone made her colour mount again, not with a rush, but gradually, delicately, like the reflection of a thought stealing slowly across her heart. She sat silent, her hands clasped on her work, and it seemed to him that a warm current flowed toward him along the strip of stuff that still lay unrolled between them. Cautiously he slid his hand palm-downward along the table till his finger-tips touched the end of the stuff. A faint vibration of her lashes seemed to show that she was aware of his gesture, and that it had sent a counter-current back to her; and she let her hands lie motionless on the other end of the strip.% As they sat thus he heard a sound behind him and turned his head. The cat had jumped from Zeena’s chair to dart at a mouse in the wainscot, and as a result of the sudden movement the empty chair had set up a spectral rocking. “She’ll be rocking in it herself this time to-morrow,” Ethan thought. “I’ve been in a dream, and this is the only evening we’ll ever have together.” The return to reality was as painful as the return to consciousness after taking an anaesthetic. His body and brain ached with indescribable weariness, and he could think of nothing to say or to do that should arrest the mad flight of the moments. His alteration of mood seemed to have communicated itself to Mattie. She looked up at him languidly, as though her lids were weighted with sleep and it cost her an effort to raise them. Her glance fell on his hand, which now completely covered the end of her work and grasped it as if it were a part of herself. He saw a scarcely perceptible tremor cross her face, and without knowing what he did he stooped his head and kissed the bit of stuff in his hold. As his lips rested on it he felt it glide slowly from beneath them, and saw that Mattie had risen and was silently rolling up her work. She fastened it with a pin, and then, finding her thimble and scissors, put them with the roll of stuff into
Thesaurus fastened: (adj) tied, fast, buttoned, termless. ANTONYMS: (adj) closed, tight, secure, pinned, binding, explainable, conceivable, concrete. empight, steady, firm. ANTONYMS: languidly: (adv) languorously, (adj) unfastened, unbuttoned. listlessly, wearily, lethargically, glide: (adj, n, v) slide; (n, v) coast, slip; slowly, dreamily, limply, weakly, (v) float, run, fly, flow, drift, lapse, torpidly, indolently, impassively. slink, skid. ANTONYMS: (v) lurch, ANTONYMS: (adv) dynamically, hurtle, flounder, sink. vigorously. indescribable: (adj) indefinable, spectral: (adj) ghostly, phantasmal, ineffable, unutterable, vague, beyond apparitional, unearthly, ghostlike, expression, nameless, inexpressible, supernatural, ghastly, shadowy, nondescript, terrible, intangible, insubstantial, eerie, cadaverous.
thimble: (n) tablespoon, spoon, spatula, shovel, ladle, dipper, stirrer, cinder pot, containerful; (v) gauntlet, bulletproof vest. wainscot: (n) wainscoting, panel, plinth, wall, panelling, parietes, skirting board, wainscotting, lining, paneling. weariness: (n) exhaustion, tiredness, lassitude, languor, asthenopia, defatigation, grogginess, listlessness, boredom, ennui, prostration.
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the box covered with fancy paper which he had once brought to her from Bettsbridge.% He stood up also, looking vaguely about the room. The clock above the dresser struck eleven. “Is the fire all right?” she asked in a low voice. He opened the door of the stove and poked aimlessly at the embers. When he raised himself again he saw that she was dragging toward the stove the old soap-box lined with carpet in which the cat made its bed. Then she recrossed the floor and lifted two of the geranium pots in her arms, moving them away from the cold window. He followed her and brought the other geraniums, the hyacinth bulbs in a cracked custard bowl and the German ivy trained over an old croquet hoop. When these nightly duties were performed there was nothing left to do but to bring in the tin candlestick from the passage, light the candle and blow out the lamp. Ethan put the candlestick in Mattie’s hand and she went out of the kitchen ahead of him, the light that she carried before her making her dark hair look like a drift of mist on the moon. “Good night, Matt,” he said as she put her foot on the first step of the stairs. She turned and looked at him a moment. “Good night, Ethan,” she answered, and went up. When the door of her room had closed on her he remembered that he had not even touched her hand.
Thesaurus aimlessly: (adv) indiscriminately, pointlessly, without aim, randomly, haphazardly, driftingly, blindly, erratically, objectlessly, desultorily, vagrantly. candlestick: (n) candelabra, sconce, chandelier, candle holder, girandole, candleholder, holder, electrolier, gaselier, girandola, luster. croquet: (n) golf, polo, pallone, tipcat. custard: (n) cream, creme brulee, creme caramel, creme anglais,
caramel custard, dowset. hyacinth, carbuncle, common embers: (v) cinder, ash, scoriae; (n) hyacinth, hyacine. mist: (n, v) cloud; (v) blur, cover, fire, ashes. geranium: (adj) asphodel, buttercup, obscure, befog, drizzle, bedim; (n) haze, vapor, brume; (adj) misty. anemone, ranunculus, rhododendron, windflower, day lily; nightly: (adv) every night, by night; (n) (n) rose geranium, storksbill, herb, night; (adj) nocturnal. ANTONYM: (adj) daily. fish geranium. hoop: (n) circle, band, ring, loop, stove: (n) cooker, hearth, heater, annulus, round, sphere, wheel, furnace, fireplace, kiln, oven, cooking circlet, halo; (v) encircle. stove, cookstove, kitchen stove, hyacinth: (n) zircon, amethyst, cape kitchen range.
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CHAPTER VI
The next morning at breakfast Jotham Powell was between them, and Ethan tried to hide his joy under an air of exaggerated indifference, lounging back in his chair to throw scraps to the cat, growling at the weather, and not so much as offering to help Mattie when she rose to clear away the dishes.% He did not know why he was so irrationally happy, for nothing was changed in his life or hers. He had not even touched the tip of her fingers or looked her full in the eyes. But their evening together had given him a vision of what life at her side might be, and he was glad now that he had done nothing to trouble the sweetness of the picture. He had a fancy that she knew what had restrained him... There was a last load of lumber to be hauled to the village, and Jotham Powell—who did not work regularly for Ethan in winter—had “come round” to help with the job. But a wet snow, melting to sleet, had fallen in the night and turned the roads to glass. There was more wet in the air and it seemed likely to both men that the weather would “milden” toward afternoon and make the going safer. Ethan therefore proposed to his assistant that they should load the sledge at the wood-lot, as they had done on the previous morning, and put off the “teaming” to Starkfield till later in the day. This plan had the advantage of
Thesaurus growling: (adj) grunting, doggish, dissolution, warming, thaw, bobsleigh, sledge hammer, pung, dog liquefaction, fusion range; (adj) sleigh, dogsled, bottom, jumper; (n, churlish, brutal, guttural, hoarse, husky, peevish; (n) scowling, liquescent, pathetic; (adj, n) v) sledgehammer. sleet: (n, v) rain; (n) hail, snift, glowering. dissolving. irrationally: (adv) illogically, restrained: (adj) reserved, quiet, downfall, glaze, metabolic residue, moment; (v) come down. preposterously, senselessly, silly, modest, temperate, discreet, limited, sweetness: (n) sugariness, sweet, nonsensically, unwisely, stupidly, reasonable, subdued, unemotional, reticent, guarded. ANTONYMS: (adj) redolence, pleasantness, fragrance, absurdly, imprudently, unreasonably, insanely. unrestrained, open, flashy, immoral, aroma, charm, perfume, amenity, ANTONYMS: (adv) lucidly, sensibly, ostentatious, wild, loud, theatrical, niceness, kindness. ANTONYMS: (n) logically, reasonably, wisely, fairly. outgoing, extravagant, emotional. sourness, sharpness, unpleasantness, melting: (n) thawing, fusion, melt, sledge: (n) toboggan, sleigh, maul, harshness, tastelessness, unkindness.
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enabling him to send Jotham to the Flats after dinner to meet Zenobia, while he himself took the lumber down to the village.% He told Jotham to go out and harness up the greys, and for a moment he and Mattie had the kitchen to themselves. She had plunged the breakfast dishes into a tin dish-pan and was bending above it with her slim arms bared to the elbow, the steam from the hot water beading her forehead and tightening her rough hair into little brown rings like the tendrils on the traveller’s joy. Ethan stood looking at her, his heart in his throat. He wanted to say: “We shall never be alone again like this.” Instead, he reached down his tobacco-pouch from a shelf of the dresser, put it into his pocket and said: “I guess I can make out to be home for dinner.” She answered “All right, Ethan,” and he heard her singing over the dishes as he went. As soon as the sledge was loaded he meant to send Jotham back to the farm and hurry on foot into the village to buy the glue for the pickle-dish. With ordinary luck he should have had time to carry out this plan; but everything went wrong from the start. On the way over to the wood-lot one of the greys slipped on a glare of ice and cut his knee; and when they got him up again Jotham had to go back to the barn for a strip of rag to bind the cut. Then, when the loading finally began, a sleety rain was coming down once more, and the tree trunks were so slippery that it took twice as long as usual to lift them and get them in place on the sledge. It was what Jotham called a sour morning for work, and the horses, shivering and stamping under their wet blankets, seemed to like it as little as the men. It was long past the dinner-hour when the job was done, and Ethan had to give up going to the village because he wanted to lead the injured horse home and wash the cut himself. He thought that by starting out again with the lumber as soon as he had finished his dinner he might get back to the farm with the glue before Jotham and the old sorrel had had time to fetch Zenobia from the Flats; but he knew the chance was a slight one. It turned on the state of the roads and on the possible lateness of the Bettsbridge train. He remembered afterward, with a grim flash of
Thesaurus bared: (adj) naked, unclothed, punctuality, earliness. loading: (n) cargo, load, burden, exposed. beading: (n) bead, astragal, consignment, lading, charging, filler, ornamentation, ornament, freightage, encumbrance, shipment, decoration, moulding, anklebone, burthen. astragalus, bead and quirk, molding, rings: (n) ornaments, necklaces, jewels, beadwork. costume jewelry, charms, bracelets. lateness: (n) slowness, delay, shivering: (adj) quivering, shaking, sluggishness, timing, dilatoriness, trembling, shaky, quaking, tremulous, shuddering, chilled; (n) late, slothfulness, earliness, late chill, cold, shiver. ANTONYM: (adj) maturity, tarriance, posteriority. ANTONYMS: (n) promptness, composed.
sleety: (adj) clouded, cold, dirty, dirty water, filthy, foul, frozen, groveling, gusty, nasty, base. tightening: (n) clamping, thinning, tapering, alteration, modification, narrowing, reduction, adjustment. ANTONYM: (n) expansion. trunks: (n) short pants, pants, luggage, Jockey shorts, Jamaica shorts, Bermuda shorts, bathing trunks, bathing suit, costume, drawers, swimming trunks.
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self-derision, what importance he had attached to the weighing of these probabilities...% As soon as dinner was over he set out again for the wood-lot, not daring to linger till Jotham Powell left. The hired man was still drying his wet feet at the stove, and Ethan could only give Mattie a quick look as he said beneath his breath: “I’ll be back early.” He fancied that she nodded her comprehension; and with that scant solace he had to trudge off through the rain. He had driven his load half-way to the village when Jotham Powell overtook him, urging the reluctant sorrel toward the Flats. “I’ll have to hurry up to do it,” Ethan mused, as the sleigh dropped down ahead of him over the dip of the school-house hill. He worked like ten at the unloading, and when it was over hastened on to Michael Eady’s for the glue. Eady and his assistant were both “down street,” and young Denis, who seldom deigned to take their place, was lounging by the stove with a knot of the golden youth of Starkfield. They hailed Ethan with ironic compliment and offers of conviviality; but no one knew where to find the glue. Ethan, consumed with the longing for a last moment alone with Mattie, hung about impatiently while Denis made an ineffectual search in the obscurer corners of the store. “Looks as if we were all sold out. But if you’ll wait around till the old man comes along maybe he can put his hand on it.” “I’m obliged to you, but I’ll try if I can get it down at Mrs. Homan’s,” Ethan answered, burning to be gone. Denis’s commercial instinct compelled him to aver on oath that what Eady’s store could not produce would never be found at the widow Homan’s; but Ethan, heedless of this boast, had already climbed to the sledge and was driving on to the rival establishment. Here, after considerable search, and sympathetic questions as to what he wanted it for, and whether ordinary flour paste wouldn’t do as well if she couldn’t find it, the widow Homan finally hunted down her
Thesaurus aver: (v) assert, attest, allege, assure, asseverate, avow, declare, claim, swear, hold, state. ANTONYMS: (v) deny, refute. conviviality: (n) merrymaking, joviality, geniality, hospitality, festivity, jollification, sociability, revelry, celebration, friendliness, mirth. ANTONYMS: (n) hostility, shyness, unfriendliness. hastened: (adj) careless. heedless: (adj) careless, reckless,
inattentive, neglectful, negligent, effective, useful, viable, competent, thoughtless, rash, regardless, invulnerable, helpful, decisive. unwary, indifferent; (adj, v) wanton. overtook: (v) overtake. ANTONYMS: (adj) heedful, attentive, scant: (adj) insufficient, scanty, mindful, conscientious, prudent, skimpy, poor, few, inadequate, narrow, little; (adj, v) meager, bare; careful, cautious. hung: (n) hanging; (v) Heng; (adj) (v) skimp. ANTONYMS: (adj) fatigued, puzzled, decorated. plentiful, extensive. ineffectual: (adj) ineffective, futile, solace: (n) consolation, relief, balm, solacement; (v) console, allay, relieve, useless, feeble, abortive, powerless, recreate; (n, v) ease, cheer, support. idle, weak, unable, void, vain. ANTONYMS: (adj) strong, effectual, ANTONYMS: (n) distress, grief.
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solitary bottle of glue to its hiding-place in a medley of cough-lozenges and corset-laces.% “I hope Zeena ain’t broken anything she sets store by,” she called after him as he turned the greys toward home. The fitful bursts of sleet had changed into a steady rain and the horses had heavy work even without a load behind them. Once or twice, hearing sleighbells, Ethan turned his head, fancying that Zeena and Jotham might overtake him; but the old sorrel was not in sight, and he set his face against the rain and urged on his ponderous pair. The barn was empty when the horses turned into it and, after giving them the most perfunctory ministrations they had ever received from him, he strode up to the house and pushed open the kitchen door. Mattie was there alone, as he had pictured her. She was bending over a pan on the stove; but at the sound of his step she turned with a start and sprang to him. “See, here, Matt, I’ve got some stuff to mend the dish with! Let me get at it quick,” he cried, waving the bottle in one hand while he put her lightly aside; but she did not seem to hear him. “Oh, Ethan—Zeena’s come,” she said in a whisper, clutching his sleeve. They stood and stared at each other, pale as culprits. “But the sorrel’s not in the barn!” Ethan stammered. “Jotham Powell brought some goods over from the Flats for his wife, and he drove right on home with them,” she explained. He gazed blankly about the kitchen, which looked cold and squalid in the rainy winter twilight. “How is she?” he asked, dropping his voice to Mattie’s whisper. She looked away from him uncertainly. “I don’t know. She went right up to her room.” “She didn’t say anything?”
Thesaurus clutching: (n) locking. fitful: (adj) erratic, fickle, changeable, spasmodic, uncertain, intermittent, irregular, variable, sporadic, desultory, flickering. ANTONYMS: (adj) regular, unbroken. medley: (n) mixture, miscellany, jumble, melange, potpourri, hotchpotch, concoction, admixture, hash; (adj) imbroglio, chaos. overtake: (v) catch, attain, catch up with, exceed, overpower, overcome,
go by, gain, devastate, outstrip, beat. manageable. perfunctory: (adj) cursory, casual, rainy: (adj) moist, pluvial, damp, automatic, passing, superficial, pluvious, stormy, juicy, dirty, soppy, raining, drizzly; (adj, v) showery. offhand, mechanical, indifferent, ANTONYM: (adj) pleasant. hurried, sketchy, formal. ANTONYMS: (adj) careful, squalid: (adj) sordid, nasty, foul, thoughtful. seedy, filthy, grimy, abject, dingy, ponderous: (adj) heavy, grave, grubby, seamy, sleazy. ANTONYMS: (adj) clean, reputable, smart, onerous, burdensome, massive, unwieldy, bulky, stodgy, hard, respectable, fresh, comfortable, tedious, dull. ANTONYMS: (adj) wholesome, habitable. went: (v) walked, proceeded. elegant, graceful, lively, brisk,
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“No.” Ethan let out his doubts in a low whistle and thrust the bottle back into his pocket. “Don’t fret; I’ll come down and mend it in the night,” he said. He pulled on his wet coat again and went back to the barn to feed the greys.% While he was there Jotham Powell drove up with the sleigh, and when the horses had been attended to Ethan said to him: “You might as well come back up for a bite.” He was not sorry to assure himself of Jotham’s neutralising presence at the supper table, for Zeena was always “nervous” after a journey. But the hired man, though seldom loth to accept a meal not included in his wages, opened his stiff jaws to answer slowly: “I’m obliged to you, but I guess I’ll go along back.” Ethan looked at him in surprise. “Better come up and dry off. Looks as if there’d be something hot for supper.” Jotham’s facial muscles were unmoved by this appeal and, his vocabulary being limited, he merely repeated: “I guess I’ll go along back.” To Ethan there was something vaguely ominous in this stolid rejection of free food and warmth, and he wondered what had happened on the drive to nerve Jotham to such stoicism. Perhaps Zeena had failed to see the new doctor or had not liked his counsels: Ethan knew that in such cases the first person she met was likely to be held responsible for her grievance. When he re-entered the kitchen the lamp lit up the same scene of shining comfort as on the previous evening. The table had been as carefully laid, a clear fire glowed in the stove, the cat dozed in its warmth, and Mattie came forward carrying a plate of doughnuts. She and Ethan looked at each other in silence; then she said, as she had said the night before: “I guess it’s about time for supper.”
Thesaurus facial: (adj) forward, surface, praise. heavy, doltish, bovine, insulse, subcranial; (n) cranial nerve, facial loth: (adj) disinclined, averse, expressionless, shallow, petty, apathetic. ANTONYMS: (adj) nerve, nervus facialis, seventh cranial reluctant, unwilling, indisposed, nerve, facial tissue. antipathetical, antipathetic, not emotional, imaginative, exciting. fret: (n, v) gall, irritate, trouble, worry; content, shy of, repugnant; (v) averse unmoved: (adj) apathetic, unaffected, (v) agitate, chafe, rub, fray, upset, from. indifferent, unconcerned, annoy; (n) anxiety. stoicism: (n) indifference, unimpressed, uninspired, grievance: (n) injustice, wrong, unemotionality, apathy, dispassionate, imperturbable, calm, grudge, affliction, protest, objection, emotionlessness, impassivity, selfundisturbed, fixed. ANTONYMS: control, phlegm, sluggishness; (adj, n) (adj) affected, compliant, uptight, disaffection, discontentment, dissatisfaction; (adj) annoyance; (adj, philosophy, equanimity; (adj) suttee. concerned, enthusiastic, tolerant, n) distress. ANTONYMS: (n) justice, stolid: (adj) impassive, obtuse, stupid, sensitive.
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CHAPTER VII
Ethan went out into the passage to hang up his wet garments. He listened for Zeena’s step and, not hearing it, called her name up the stairs. She did not answer, and after a moment’s hesitation he went up and opened her door. The room was almost dark, but in the obscurity he saw her sitting by the window, bolt upright, and knew by the rigidity of the outline projected against the pane that she had not taken off her travelling dress.% “Well, Zeena,” he ventured from the threshold. She did not move, and he continued: “Supper’s about ready. Ain’t you coming?” She replied: “I don’t feel as if I could touch a morsel.” It was the consecrated formula, and he expected it to be followed, as usual, by her rising and going down to supper. But she remained seated, and he could think of nothing more felicitous than: “I presume you’re tired after the long ride.” Turning her head at this, she answered solemnly: “I’m a great deal sicker than you think.” Her words fell on his ear with a strange shock of wonder. He had often heard her pronounce them before—what if at last they were true?
Thesaurus called: (adj) named, titled, chosen, inopportune, unfitting, unhappy. severity, inelasticity. ANTONYMS: known as; (v) nempt, ycleped. garments: (n) attire, clothing, dress, (n) malleability, pliability, softness, consecrated: (adj) consecrate, blessed, apparel, raiment, outfit, costume, limpness, looseness, relaxation, sanctified, hallowed, holy, dedicated, garb, array, gear, anything worthless. cooperation, weakness. divine, devoted, adopted; (adj, prep) presume: (v) dare, consider, believe, seated: (adj) sat, sedentary. set apart; (prep) dedicate. sicker: (adj) syker. think, infer, guess, expect, esteem, ANTONYM: (adj) secular. solemnly: (adv) earnestly, gravely, conclude, suppose, conjecture. felicitous: (adj) apt, suitable, ANTONYMS: (v) appreciate, despair, majestically, stately, sternly, staidly, appropriate, proper, applicable, speculate. thoughtfully, soberly, formally, rigidity: (n) firmness, inflexibility, fortunate, apposite, clever, cute, ceremoniously, importantly. lucky; (adj, n) happy. ANTONYMS: ANTONYMS: (adv) cheerfully, rigor, hardness, stiffness, rigour, (adj) inappropriate, infelicitous, inflexibleness, tension, rigidness, flippantly.
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He advanced a step or two into the dim room. “I hope that’s not so, Zeena,” he said.% She continued to gaze at him through the twilight with a mien of wan authority, as of one consciously singled out for a great fate. “I’ve got complications,” she said. Ethan knew the word for one of exceptional import. Almost everybody in the neighbourhood had “troubles,” frankly localized and specified; but only the chosen had “complications.” To have them was in itself a distinction, though it was also, in most cases, a death-warrant. People struggled on for years with “troubles,” but they almost always succumbed to “complications.” Ethan’s heart was jerking to and fro between two extremities of feeling, but for the moment compassion prevailed. His wife looked so hard and lonely, sitting there in the darkness with such thoughts. “Is that what the new doctor told you?” he asked, instinctively lowering his voice. “Yes. He says any regular doctor would want me to have an operation.” Ethan was aware that, in regard to the important question of surgical intervention, the female opinion of the neighbourhood was divided, some glorying in the prestige conferred by operations while others shunned them as indelicate. Ethan, from motives of economy, had always been glad that Zeena was of the latter faction. In the agitation caused by the gravity of her announcement he sought a consolatory short cut. “What do you know about this doctor anyway? Nobody ever told you that before.” He saw his blunder before she could take it up: she wanted sympathy, not consolation. “I didn’t need to have anybody tell me I was losing ground every day. Everybody but you could see it. And everybody in Bettsbridge knows about Dr. Buck. He has his office in Worcester, and comes over once a fortnight to Shadd’s Falls and Bettsbridge for consultations. Eliza Spears was wasting away with
Thesaurus agitation: (n) disturbance, excitement, tumult, stirring, convulsion, stir, commotion, emotion, unrest, shake, turmoil. ANTONYMS: (n) serenity, calm, equanimity, rest, peace, deterrent. blunder: (n, v) mistake, stumble, slip, botch; (adj, n) fault; (n) error, gaffe, trip; (v) fail, fumble; (adj, n, v) miss. ANTONYMS: (v) succeed, correct, accomplish, achieve; (n) achievement. buck: (n) dollar, stag, beau, boar,
greenback, exquisite, fop, clam, hart; (v) charge; (n, v) buck jump. ANTONYMS: (v) conform, surrender; (n) female, girl. conferred: (adj) given, presented. indelicate: (adj) indecent, immodest, crude, gross, improper, coarse, crass, bawdy, unbecoming, broad, scurrilous. ANTONYMS: (adj) decorous, tasteful, sensitive, discreet, decent, correct. jerking: (adj) arrhythmic,
arrhythmical, jerky, unsteady; (n) movement, jolt, dork, jar. knew: (adj) known; (v) recognize, wist. localized: (adj) local, locate, thick, sectional. shunned: (adj) undesirable, friendless, abandoned. twilight: (n) nightfall, night, sunset, gloaming, evening, sundown, eventide, fall, decline, evenfall; (adj) aurora. ANTONYMS: (n) daybreak, sunrise.
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kidney trouble before she went to him, and now she’s up and around, and singing in the choir.” “Well, I’m glad of that. You must do just what he tells you,” Ethan answered sympathetically.% She was still looking at him. “I mean to,” she said. He was struck by a new note in her voice. It was neither whining nor reproachful, but drily resolute. “What does he want you should do?” he asked, with a mounting vision of fresh expenses. “He wants I should have a hired girl. He says I oughtn’t to have to do a single thing around the house.” “A hired girl?” Ethan stood transfixed. “Yes. And Aunt Martha found me one right off. Everybody said I was lucky to get a girl to come away out here, and I agreed to give her a dollar extry to make sure. She’ll be over to-morrow afternoon.” Wrath and dismay contended in Ethan. He had foreseen an immediate demand for money, but not a permanent drain on his scant resources. He no longer believed what Zeena had told him of the supposed seriousness of her state: he saw in her expedition to Bettsbridge only a plot hatched between herself and her Pierce relations to foist on him the cost of a servant; and for the moment wrath predominated. “If you meant to engage a girl you ought to have told me before you started,” he said. “How could I tell you before I started? How did I know what Dr. Buck would say?” “Oh, Dr. Buck—” Ethan’s incredulity escaped in a short laugh. “Did Dr. Buck tell you how I was to pay her wages?” Her voice rose furiously with his. “No, he didn’t. For I’d ‘a’ been ashamed to tell him that you grudged me the money to get back my health, when I lost it nursing your own mother!”
Thesaurus contended: (adj) controversial. foist: (n) cutter, corvette, clipper, yawl, hoy, ketch, lugger, smack; (v) inclose, introduce, inflict. hatched: (adj) crosshatched, born, ruled. incredulity: (n) doubt, unbelief, skepticism, incredulousness, distrust, wonder, surprise, suspicion, suspiciousness, mistrust, scepticism. ANTONYMS: (n) faith, understanding, belief.
reproachful: (adj, v) condemnatory, disparaging, vituperative; (adj) admonitory, opprobrious, disgraceful, shameful, reproving, objurgatory, contumelious; (v) denunciatory. resolute: (adj, n) constant, firm, fixed, steady; (adj, v) determined; (adj) inflexible, brave, adamant, dogged, unbending, courageous. ANTONYMS: (adj) weak, uncertain, uncommitted, timid, fickle, feeble,
indecisive, flexible, flippant, hesitant, undecided. transfixed: (adj) fascinated, hypnotized, mesmerised, mesmerized, hypnotised, stranded; (v) engrossed in, wrapped in, absorbed, rapt; (adv) aground. wants: (n) need, necessities. whining: (adj) whimpering, whiny, sniveling pitiful, Snively, tearful, whiney, singing, peevish; (v) fretful, lamenting; (n) sniveling.
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“You lost your health nursing mother?” “Yes; and my folks all told me at the time you couldn’t do no less than marry me after—” “Zeena!” Through the obscurity which hid their faces their thoughts seemed to dart at each other like serpents shooting venom. Ethan was seized with horror of the scene and shame at his own share in it. It was as senseless and savage as a physical fight between two enemies in the darkness.% He turned to the shelf above the chimney, groped for matches and lit the one candle in the room. At first its weak flame made no impression on the shadows; then Zeena’s face stood grimly out against the uncurtained pane, which had turned from grey to black. It was the first scene of open anger between the couple in their sad seven years together, and Ethan felt as if he had lost an irretrievable advantage in descending to the level of recrimination. But the practical problem was there and had to be dealt with. “You know I haven’t got the money to pay for a girl, Zeena. You’ll have to send her back: I can’t do it.” “The doctor says it’ll be my death if I go on slaving the way I’ve had to. He doesn’t understand how I’ve stood it as long as I have.” “Slaving!—” He checked himself again, “You sha’n’t lift a hand, if he says so. I’ll do everything round the house myself—” She broke in: “You’re neglecting the farm enough already,” and this being true, he found no answer, and left her time to add ironically: “Better send me over to the almshouse and done with it... I guess there’s been Fromes there afore now.” The taunt burned into him, but he let it pass. “I haven’t got the money. That settles it.”
Thesaurus almshouse: (n) townhouse, workhouse. dart: (n, v) dash, run, flit; (v) bound, flash, shoot, rush, race, gallop; (adj, n) arrow, rocket. ANTONYMS: (v) plod, trudge, slog, linger, dawdle, dally, delay, amble; (n) tonic. irretrievable: (adj) irrecoverable, irremediable, irreversible, remediless, irreclaimable, irrevocable, unrecoverable, incurable, irredeemable, desperate; (v)
indefeasible. ANTONYMS: (adj) worthwhile. taunt: (n, v) ridicule, gibe, flout, insult, superficial, flexible, impermanent, mock, deride, sneer, twit, quip; (n) temporary. recrimination: (n) accusation, scoff; (v) bait. ANTONYMS: (n, v) incrimination, accrimination, accusal, respect, compliment; (v) applaud, blame. comfort. senseless: (adj) foolish, mindless, uncurtained: (adj) curtainless. ANTONYM: (adj) curtained. preposterous, pointless, irrational, venom: (n) poison, malice, bane, spite, absurd, stupid, insensible, idiotic, fatuous, purposeless. ANTONYMS: rancor, malevolence, maliciousness, (adj) meaningful, wise, conscious, malignity, hate, bitterness; (adj, n) gall. ANTONYM: (n) affection. provoked, prudent, useful,
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There was a moment’s pause in the struggle, as though the combatants were testing their weapons. Then Zeena said in a level voice: “I thought you were to get fifty dollars from Andrew Hale for that lumber.” “Andrew Hale never pays under three months.” He had hardly spoken when he remembered the excuse he had made for not accompanying his wife to the station the day before; and the blood rose to his frowning brows.% “Why, you told me yesterday you’d fixed it up with him to pay cash down. You said that was why you couldn’t drive me over to the Flats.” Ethan had no suppleness in deceiving. He had never before been convicted of a lie, and all the resources of evasion failed him. “I guess that was a misunderstanding,” he stammered. “You ain’t got the money?” “No.” “And you ain’t going to get it?” “No.” “Well, I couldn’t know that when I engaged the girl, could I?” “No.” He paused to control his voice. “But you know it now. I’m sorry, but it can’t be helped. You’re a poor man’s wife, Zeena; but I’ll do the best I can for you.” For a while she sat motionless, as if reflecting, her arms stretched along the arms of her chair, her eyes fixed on vacancy. “Oh, I guess we’ll make out,” she said mildly. The change in her tone reassured him. “Of course we will! There’s a whole lot more I can do for you, and Mattie—” Zeena, while he spoke, seemed to be following out some elaborate mental calculation. She emerged from it to say: “There’ll be Mattie’s board less, any how—”
Thesaurus accompanying: (adj) concomitant, (n) escape, quibble, dodge, excuse, (adj) mobile, active, alive, flowing. suppleness: (n) pliability, pliancy, concurrent, related, acceding, elusion, casuistry, circumvention. ANTONYMS: (n) facing, incidental, accessory, subservient, litheness, flexibility, elasticity, auxiliary, collateral, minor, confrontation, confronting, meeting. pliantness, lissomeness, spring, frowning: (adj) dismal, dark, gloomy, supplementary. plasticity, consistency, agility. deceiving: (adj) deceptive, deceitful, lowering, scowling, frowny, clouded; ANTONYM: (n) inflexibility. vacancy: (n) emptiness, blank, cheating, fallacious, dishonest, lying, (adv) frowningly; (n) austere, treacherous, imposing, delusive, boisterous, coarse. opening, void, incogitancy, post, motionless: (adj) inactive, inert, blankness, inanity, absence; (adj, n) sanctimonious, mistaken. ANTONYM: (adj) correct. vacuity; (adj) depletion. immobile, stationary, fixed, evasion: (n, v) equivocation, ANTONYMS: (n) fill, tenancy, unmoving, quiescent, dead, torpid; avoidance, subterfuge, prevarication; (adj, adv) calm, at rest. ANTONYMS: overflow.
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Ethan, supposing the discussion to be over, had turned to go down to supper. He stopped short, not grasping what he heard. “Mattie’s board less—?” he began.% Zeena laughed. It was on odd unfamiliar sound—he did not remember ever having heard her laugh before. “You didn’t suppose I was going to keep two girls, did you? No wonder you were scared at the expense!” He still had but a confused sense of what she was saying. From the beginning of the discussion he had instinctively avoided the mention of Mattie’s name, fearing he hardly knew what: criticism, complaints, or vague allusions to the imminent probability of her marrying. But the thought of a definite rupture had never come to him, and even now could not lodge itself in his mind. “I don’t know what you mean,” he said. “Mattie Silver’s not a hired girl. She’s your relation.” “She’s a pauper that’s hung onto us all after her father’d done his best to ruin us. I’ve kep’ her here a whole year: it’s somebody else’s turn now.” As the shrill words shot out Ethan heard a tap on the door, which he had drawn shut when he turned back from the threshold. “Ethan—Zeena!” Mattie’s voice sounded gaily from the landing, “do you know what time it is? Supper’s been ready half an hour.” Inside the room there was a moment’s silence; then Zeena called out from her seat: “I’m not coming down to supper.” “Oh, I’m sorry! Aren’t you well? Sha’n’t I bring you up a bite of something?” Ethan roused himself with an effort and opened the door. “Go along down, Matt. Zeena’s just a little tired. I’m coming.” He heard her “All right!” and her quick step on the stairs; then he shut the door and turned back into the room. His wife’s attitude was unchanged, her face inexorable, and he was seized with the despairing sense of his helplessness. “You ain’t going to do it, Zeena?” “Do what?” she emitted between flattened lips.
Thesaurus despairing: (adj) hopeless, desperate, impotency, impotence, inability, despondent, forlorn, desolate, impuissance, incapability, incapacity, dejected, pessimistic, sad, defencelessness, failing. ANTONYMS: (n) resistance, capacity, brokenhearted, miserable, inconsolable. ANTONYMS: (adj) strength. inexorable: (adj) adamant, hopeful, optimistic, rosy, happy, confident, cheerful. unrelenting, stern, cruel, relentless, flattened: (adj) planate, packed down, austere, adamantine, inflexible, remorseless, stiff; (adj, v) inevitable. trodden, unconscious, depressed, ANTONYM: (adj) gentle. compressed. helplessness: (n) powerlessness, marrying: (adj) married. pauper: (n) poor man, mumper, bum, defenselessness, dependence,
poor person, starveling; (adj) poor, indigent, penniless; (v) bust, fold. rupture: (n, v) fracture, crack, tear, split, burst; (n) rift, rent, hernia, interruption, breach, breakage. ANTONYMS: (n) repair, unity; (n, v) mend. shrill: (adj) piercing, penetrating, strident, keen, shrewd; (v) shriek, screech, scream, yell; (adj, v) high, sharp. ANTONYMS: (adj) low, quiet, resonant.
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“Send Mattie away—like this?” “I never bargained to take her for life!” He continued with rising vehemence: “You can’t put her out of the house like a thief—a poor girl without friends or money. She’s done her best for you and she’s got no place to go to. You may forget she’s your kin but everybody else’ll remember it. If you do a thing like that what do you suppose folks’ll say of you?” Zeena waited a moment, as if giving him time to feel the full force of the contrast between his own excitement and her composure. Then she replied in the same smooth voice: “I know well enough what they say of my having kep’ her here as long as I have.” Ethan’s hand dropped from the door-knob, which he had held clenched since he had drawn the door shut on Mattie. His wife’s retort was like a knife-cut across the sinews and he felt suddenly weak and powerless. He had meant to humble himself, to argue that Mattie’s keep didn’t cost much, after all, that he could make out to buy a stove and fix up a place in the attic for the hired girl— but Zeena’s words revealed the peril of such pleadings.% “You mean to tell her she’s got to go—at once?” he faltered out, in terror of letting his wife complete her sentence. As if trying to make him see reason she replied impartially: “The girl will be over from Bettsbridge to-morrow, and I presume she’s got to have somewheres to sleep.” Ethan looked at her with loathing. She was no longer the listless creature who had lived at his side in a state of sullen self-absorption, but a mysterious alien presence, an evil energy secreted from the long years of silent brooding. It was the sense of his helplessness that sharpened his antipathy. There had never been anything in her that one could appeal to; but as long as he could ignore and command he had remained indifferent. Now she had mastered him and he abhorred her. Mattie was her relation, not his: there were no means by which he could compel her to keep the girl under her roof. All the long misery of his baffled past, of his youth of failure, hardship and vain effort, rose up in his soul
Thesaurus abhorred: (adj) disgusted, unpopular. antipathy: (n) animosity, aversion, abomination, abhorrence, dislike, hatred, distaste, enmity, odium, repugnance, repulsion. ANTONYMS: (n) love, attraction, liking, like, leaning, regard, appeal, appreciation, admiration, affection, friendliness. clenched: (adj) tight, clinched. impartially: (adv) justly, dispassionately, neutrally, evenly, disinterestedly, objectively,
unbiasedly, unprejudicedly, antipathy, execration. ANTONYMS: (n) love, adoration, liking, delight, indifferently, evenhandedly, rightly. ANTONYM: (adv) unfairly. goodwill. listless: (adj) indifferent, dull, secreted: (adj) hidden, unseen, out of indolent, careless, languid, inert, sight. self-absorption: (n) introspection. inattentive, dispirited, slow, vehemence: (n) force, violence, fury, uninterested, spiritless. ANTONYMS: (adj) lively, animated, passion, eagerness, strength, energetic, strong, spirited. impetuosity, enthusiasm, fierceness, loathing: (n, v) abomination, aversion, heat, fervor. ANTONYMS: (n) dislike, distaste; (n) hate, hatred, indifference, meekness, serenity. abhorrence, detestation, nausea,
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in bitterness and seemed to take shape before him in the woman who at every turn had barred his way. She had taken everything else from him; and now she meant to take the one thing that made up for all the others. For a moment such a flame of hate rose in him that it ran down his arm and clenched his fist against her. He took a wild step forward and then stopped.% “You’re—you’re not coming down?” he said in a bewildered voice. “No. I guess I’ll lay down on the bed a little while,” she answered mildly; and he turned and walked out of the room. In the kitchen Mattie was sitting by the stove, the cat curled up on her knees. She sprang to her feet as Ethan entered and carried the covered dish of meat-pie to the table. “I hope Zeena isn’t sick?” she asked. “No.” She shone at him across the table. “Well, sit right down then. You must be starving.” She uncovered the pie and pushed it over to him. So they were to have one more evening together, her happy eyes seemed to say! He helped himself mechanically and began to eat; then disgust took him by the throat and he laid down his fork. Mattie’s tender gaze was on him and she marked the gesture. “Why, Ethan, what’s the matter? Don’t it taste right?” “Yes—it’s first-rate. Only I—” He pushed his plate away, rose from his chair, and walked around the table to her side. She started up with frightened eyes. “Ethan, there’s something wrong! I knew there was!” She seemed to melt against him in her terror, and he caught her in his arms, held her fast there, felt her lashes beat his cheek like netted butterflies. “What is it—what is it?” she stammered; but he had found her lips at last and was drinking unconsciousness of everything but the joy they gave him. She lingered a moment, caught in the same strong current; then she slipped from him and drew back a step or two, pale and troubled. Her look smote him
Thesaurus barred: (adj) prohibited, forbidden, first-rate: (adj) excellent, stunning, webbed, webby, lacelike. smote: (v) smite. barricaded, barry, banned, illicit, capital, posh, tiptop, dandy, ace, streaked; (v) striated, areolar, veined; superior, classic, fine, clinking. unconsciousness: (n) blackout, (n) Bart. ANTONYMS: (adj) mechanically: (adv) mechanistically, insensibility, grogginess, loss of admissible, legitimate, eligible, open. instinctively, routinely, involuntarily, consciousness, coma, trance, bewildered: (adj) bemused, confused, industrially, unconsciously, stupefaction, faint, unawareness, confounded, perplexed, befuddled, automaticly, intuitively, impulsively, ignorance, torpor. ANTONYM: (n) puzzled, dumbfounded, taken aback, technically, technologically. awareness. addled, disoriented; (adj, v) lost. ANTONYMS: (adv) manually, uncovered: (adj) naked, open, bare, ANTONYMS: (adj) unimpressed, consciously. nude, unclothed, bald, unreserved, netted: (adj) reticulated, reticular, lacy, unprotected, evident, frank, manifest. clear, oriented, precise, ANTONYMS: (adj) indoor, concealed. understanding, alert. reticulate, netty, meshy, weblike,
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with compunction, and he cried out, as if he saw her drowning in a dream: “You can’t go, Matt! I’ll never let you!” “Go—go?” she stammered. “Must I go?” The words went on sounding between them as though a torch of warning flew from hand to hand through a black landscape.% Ethan was overcome with shame at his lack of self-control in flinging the news at her so brutally. His head reeled and he had to support himself against the table. All the while he felt as if he were still kissing her, and yet dying of thirst for her lips. “Ethan, what has happened? Is Zeena mad with me?” Her cry steadied him, though it deepened his wrath and pity. “No, no,” he assured her, “it’s not that. But this new doctor has scared her about herself. You know she believes all they say the first time she sees them. And this one’s told her she won’t get well unless she lays up and don’t do a thing about the house— not for months—” He paused, his eyes wandering from her miserably. She stood silent a moment, drooping before him like a broken branch. She was so small and weaklooking that it wrung his heart; but suddenly she lifted her head and looked straight at him. “And she wants somebody handier in my place? Is that it?” “That’s what she says to-night.” “If she says it to-night she’ll say it to-morrow.” Both bowed to the inexorable truth: they knew that Zeena never changed her mind, and that in her case a resolve once taken was equivalent to an act performed. There was a long silence between them; then Mattie said in a low voice: “Don’t be too sorry, Ethan.” “Oh, God—oh, God,” he groaned. The glow of passion he had felt for her had melted to an aching tenderness. He saw her quick lids beating back the tears, and longed to take her in his arms and soothe her.
Thesaurus aching: (adj) sore, achy, hurt, uncomfortable, tender, hurtful, agonizing; (n) ache, pain, hurting; (v) griped. brutally: (adv) fiercely, ferociously, cruelly, savagely, viciously, pitilessly, mercilessly, barbarically, rudely, inhumanly, ruthlessly. ANTONYMS: (adv) humanely, kindly, nicely, peacefully, attentively, mercifully, tamely. compunction: (n) repentance, remorse,
ANTONYMS: (adv) happily, contrition, qualm, penance, regret, compassion, rue, scruple, sorrow, hopefully, brightly, affluently, guilt. ANTONYMS: (n) hardness, enthusiastically, fortunately, indifference, meanness, profusely, contentedly. soothe: (n, v) comfort, allay, console, remorselessness. drowning: (n) masking, demersion. solace; (v) alleviate, palliate, ease, flinging: (n) casting, cast. calm, mitigate; (adj, v) appease; (adj, miserably: (adv) pathetically, n, v) assuage. ANTONYMS: (v) upset, patheticly, pitiably, unhappily, irritate, aggravate, annoy, intensify, sorrowfully, pessimistically, worry, enrage, scare, provoke, incite, tragically; (adj, adv) piteously, disturb. grievously, woefully; (adj) miserable.
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“You’re letting your supper get cold,” she admonished him with a pale gleam of gaiety.% “Oh, Matt—Matt—where’ll you go to?” Her lids sank and a tremor crossed her face. He saw that for the first time the thought of the future came to her distinctly. “I might get something to do over at Stamford,” she faltered, as if knowing that he knew she had no hope. He dropped back into his seat and hid his face in his hands. Despair seized him at the thought of her setting out alone to renew the weary quest for work. In the only place where she was known she was surrounded by indifference or animosity; and what chance had she, inexperienced and untrained, among the million bread-seekers of the cities? There came back to him miserable tales he had heard at Worcester, and the faces of girls whose lives had begun as hopefully as Mattie’s.... It was not possible to think of such things without a revolt of his whole being. He sprang up suddenly. “You can’t go, Matt! I won’t let you! She’s always had her way, but I mean to have mine now—” Mattie lifted her hand with a quick gesture, and he heard his wife’s step behind him. Zeena came into the room with her dragging down-at-the-heel step, and quietly took her accustomed seat between them. “I felt a little mite better, and Dr. Buck says I ought to eat all I can to keep my strength up, even if I ain’t got any appetite,” she said in her flat whine, reaching across Mattie for the teapot. Her “good” dress had been replaced by the black calico and brown knitted shawl which formed her daily wear, and with them she had put on her usual face and manner. She poured out her tea, added a great deal of milk to it, helped herself largely to pie and pickles, and made the familiar gesture of adjusting her false teeth before she began to eat. The cat rubbed itself ingratiatingly against her, and she said “Good Pussy,” stooped to stroke it and gave it a scrap of meat from her plate.
Thesaurus adjusting: (v) adjust; (n) adjusting operation. admonished: (adj) reprimanded, reproved, chastened. animosity: (n) hatred, enmity, anger, malice, rancor, resentment, venom, bad blood, antagonism, spite, abhorrence. ANTONYMS: (n) companionship, affection, love, friendship, harmony, goodwill, cooperation. ingratiatingly: (adv) obsequiously,
fawningly, unctuously, winningly, sycophantically. mite: (n, v) bit; (n) atom, jot, hint, pinch, crumb, acarus, dole, grain, acarid, iota. tremor: (n, v) shiver, quake, shudder, shake; (n) agitation, vibration, earthquake, convulsion; (adj, v) flutter; (adj, n) trepidation; (v) tremble. untrained: (adj) unskilled, uneducated, inexperienced, green,
raw, inexpert, new, unseasoned, unhabituated, untaught; (v) undisciplined. ANTONYMS: (adj) trained, expert, professional, prepared, accomplished, experienced, mature, educated, competent. whine: (n, v) groan, cry, whimper, grumble, sigh, wail, squeal, screech; (v) complain, howl; (n) complaint. ANTONYMS: (n) happiness; (v) praise, compliment.
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Ethan sat speechless, not pretending to eat, but Mattie nibbled valiantly at her food and asked Zeena one or two questions about her visit to Bettsbridge. Zeena answered in her every-day tone and, warming to the theme, regaled them with several vivid descriptions of intestinal disturbances among her friends and relatives. She looked straight at Mattie as she spoke, a faint smile deepening the vertical lines between her nose and chin.% When supper was over she rose from her seat and pressed her hand to the flat surface over the region of her heart. “That pie of yours always sets a mite heavy, Matt,” she said, not ill-naturedly. She seldom abbreviated the girl’s name, and when she did so it was always a sign of affability. “I’ve a good mind to go and hunt up those stomach powders I got last year over in Springfield,” she continued. “I ain’t tried them for quite a while, and maybe they’ll help the heartburn.” Mattie lifted her eyes. “Can’t I get them for you, Zeena?” she ventured. “No. They’re in a place you don’t know about,” Zeena answered darkly, with one of her secret looks. She went out of the kitchen and Mattie, rising, began to clear the dishes from the table. As she passed Ethan’s chair their eyes met and clung together desolately. The warm still kitchen looked as peaceful as the night before. The cat had sprung to Zeena’s rocking-chair, and the heat of the fire was beginning to draw out the faint sharp scent of the geraniums. Ethan dragged himself wearily to his feet. “I’ll go out and take a look around,” he said, going toward the passage to get his lantern. As he reached the door he met Zeena coming back into the room, her lips twitching with anger, a flush of excitement on her sallow face. The shawl had slipped from her shoulders and was dragging at her down-trodden heels, and in her hands she carried the fragments of the red glass pickle-dish. “I’d like to know who done this,” she said, looking sternly from Ethan to Mattie.
Thesaurus abbreviated: (adj) short, abridged, abbreviate, condensed, truncated, brief, compendious, cut, truncate, concise, reduced. affability: (n) geniality, courtesy, cordiality, amiability, affableness, politeness, friendliness, amenity, sociability, kindness, amiableness. ANTONYMS: (n) unfriendliness, frostiness, incivility, remoteness, reserve, rudeness. deepening: (n) amplification,
aggravation. sickly, wan, ashen, fair, white, tawny, descriptions: (n) images. sandy; (n) osier. ANTONYMS: (adj) desolately: (adv) wastely, gloomily, dark, glowing. forlornly, bleakly, sadly, wretchedly, twitching: (n) tic, fibrillation, cramp, lonesomely, unhappily, lonely, fasciculation, spasm, contraction, dismally, gauntly. ANTONYMS: vellication, spasmodic tic. (adv) hopefully, cheerfully. valiantly: (adv) bravely, valorously, disturbances: (n) turbulence, strife, gallantly, intrepidly, heroically, conflict. boldly, audaciously, fearlessly, ill-naturedly: (adv) cantankerously, doughtily, pluckily, heroicly. ANTONYMS: (adv) execrably, nastily, malevolently, maliciously. sallow: (adj) pasty, pallid, bloodless, nervously, timidly, fearfully.
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There was no answer, and she continued in a trembling voice: “I went to get those powders I’d put away in father’s old spectacle-case, top of the china-closet, where I keep the things I set store by, so’s folks shan’t meddle with them—” Her voice broke, and two small tears hung on her lashless lids and ran slowly down her cheeks. “It takes the stepladder to get at the top shelf, and I put Aunt Philura Maple’s pickle-dish up there o’ purpose when we was married, and it’s never been down since, ‘cept for the spring cleaning, and then I always lifted it with my own hands, so’s ‘t shouldn’t get broke.” She laid the fragments reverently on the table. “I want to know who done this,” she quavered.% At the challenge Ethan turned back into the room and faced her. “I can tell you, then. The cat done it.” “The cat?” “That’s what I said.” She looked at him hard, and then turned her eyes to Mattie, who was carrying the dish-pan to the table. “I’d like to know how the cat got into my china-closet”‘ she said. “Chasin’ mice, I guess,” Ethan rejoined. “There was a mouse round the kitchen all last evening.” Zeena continued to look from one to the other; then she emitted her small strange laugh. “I knew the cat was a smart cat,” she said in a high voice, “but I didn’t know he was smart enough to pick up the pieces of my pickle-dish and lay ‘em edge to edge on the very shelf he knocked ‘em off of.” Mattie suddenly drew her arms out of the steaming water. “It wasn’t Ethan’s fault, Zeena! The cat did break the dish; but I got it down from the china-closet, and I’m the one to blame for its getting broken.” Zeena stood beside the ruin of her treasure, stiffening into a stony image of resentment, “You got down my pickle-dish—what for?” A bright flush flew to Mattie’s cheeks. “I wanted to make the supper-table pretty,” she said.
Thesaurus flush: (adj, n, v) blush, glow; (adj) flat, interference; (adj) moil. ANTONYM: affluent, rich; (adj, v) even, smooth, (v) disregard. level; (n) bloom; (n, v) color; (v) reverently: (adv) reverentially, piously, redden. ANTONYMS: (n) pallor; (v) religiously, devoutly, deferentially, blanch, blench; (adj) empty, low, worshipfully, solemnly, godly, poor. courteously, politely, obsequiously. folks: (n) people, folk, tribe, relations, ANTONYM: (adv) irreverently. household, house, relatives, relative, shelf: (n) ledge, rack, bank, flat, kindred, lineage, kin. projection, bookshelf, shelves, board, meddle: (v) intervene, interfere, frame, shallows; (adj, n) shallow. steaming: (adj) hot, sweltering, intrude, monkey, interpose, fiddle, pry, dabble, interlope; (n) roasting, baking, hot under the collar,
hazy, scorching; (adv) piping; (n) fumigation. stepladder: (n) steps, step ladder. stony: (adj) rocky, hard, rough, callous, cold, pitiless, flinty, unfeeling, obdurate, bleak, icy. ANTONYMS: (adj) smooth, kind. trembling: (adj, n) shaking; (adj, n, v) tremor; (adj) shaky, quaking, shivering, flutter; (n) palpitation, quiver, vibration, shiver, quake. ANTONYMS: (adj) stable, steady.
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“You wanted to make the supper-table pretty; and you waited till my back was turned, and took the thing I set most store by of anything I’ve got, and wouldn’t never use it, not even when the minister come to dinner, or Aunt Martha Pierce come over from Bettsbridge—” Zeena paused with a gasp, as if terrified by her own evocation of the sacrilege. “You’re a bad girl, Mattie Silver, and I always known it. It’s the way your father begun, and I was warned of it when I took you, and I tried to keep my things where you couldn’t get at ‘em— and now you’ve took from me the one I cared for most of all—” She broke off in a short spasm of sobs that passed and left her more than ever like a shape of stone.% “If I’d ‘a’ listened to folks, you’d ‘a’ gone before now, and this wouldn’t ‘a’ happened,” she said; and gathering up the bits of broken glass she went out of the room as if she carried a dead body...
Thesaurus begun: (adj) present. congregation, assemblage, crowd, bits: (n) odds and ends, scraps, debris. compilation, meeting, crew, gather, carried: (adj) conveyed, imported. throng. ANTONYMS: (n) evocation: (n) elicitation, imagery, dismantling, scattering. passed: (adj) accepted, approved, imagination, imaging, input, stimulant, stimulation, stimulus, legal, gone. sacrilege: (n) profanity, profanation, evoke, induction, conjury. gasp: (n, v) pant; (v) puff, blow, violation, curse, defilement, breathe, sigh, heave, wheeze, breathe sacrilegiousness, impiety, vulgarity; heavily, gag; (n) inhalation, breath. (adj, n) blasphemy, desecration; (v) gathering: (n) collection, violate. ANTONYMS: (n) piety, accumulation, concourse, respectfulness, reverence,
consecration. spasm: (n) fit, outburst, cramp, attack, twitch, paroxysm, convulsion, pain, pang, start, tic. terrified: (adj) afraid, frightened, fearful, panicky, panicked, aghast, timid, timorous, apprehensive, startled, alarmed. ANTONYMS: (adj) fearless, brave. till: (conj, prep) until, unto; (v) plow, hoe, farm, dig; (adj) up to; (n) tiller, drawer; (adv) so far; (prep) to.
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CHAPTER VIII
When Ethan was called back to the farm by his father’s illness his mother gave him, for his own use, a small room behind the untenanted “best parlour.” Here he had nailed up shelves for his books, built himself a box-sofa out of boards and a mattress, laid out his papers on a kitchen-table, hung on the rough plaster wall an engraving of Abraham Lincoln and a calendar with “Thoughts from the Poets,” and tried, with these meagre properties, to produce some likeness to the study of a “minister” who had been kind to him and lent him books when he was at Worcester. He still took refuge there in summer, but when Mattie came to live at the farm he had to give her his stove, and consequently the room was uninhabitable for several months of the year.% To this retreat he descended as soon as the house was quiet, and Zeena’s steady breathing from the bed had assured him that there was to be no sequel to the scene in the kitchen. After Zeena’s departure he and Mattie had stood speechless, neither seeking to approach the other. Then the girl had returned to her task of clearing up the kitchen for the night and he had taken his lantern and gone on his usual round outside the house. The kitchen was empty when he came back to it; but his tobacco-pouch and pipe had been laid on the table, and under them was a scrap of paper torn from the back of a seedsman’s catalogue, on which three words were written: “Don’t trouble, Ethan.”
Thesaurus descended: (v) extraught. engraving: (n) print, sculpture, plate, picture, carving, copperplate, aquatint, printmaking, engravement, cutting, chasing. likeness: (n) resemblance, copy, effigy, image, affinity, similarity, correspondence, facsimile; (adj, n) figure, form, semblance. ANTONYMS: (n) difference, diversity, dissimilarity, unlikeness, contrast.
meagre: (adj) exiguous, paltry, prelude. speechless: (adj) silent, mute, dumb, necessitous, miserable, marginal, meagerly, gaunt, emaciated, dumbfounded, voiceless, quiet, inadequate, deficient, beggarly. tongueless, tacit, noiseless, mum, ANTONYM: (adj) ample. wordless. ANTONYMS: (adj) nailed: (adj) fixed, tight, stationary, loquacious, eloquent, talkative. uninhabitable: (adj) uninhabited, stable, secure, decided, firm, immobile. undwellable, unfit for habitation, sequel: (n) sequence, result, issue, unfit to live in. ANTONYM: (adj) aftermath, continuation, continuance, inhabitable. untenanted: (adj) vacant, uninhabited. outcome, consequence, ending, upshot, outgrowth. ANTONYM: (n) ANTONYM: (adj) occupied.
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Going into his cold dark “study” he placed the lantern on the table and, stooping to its light, read the message again and again. It was the first time that Mattie had ever written to him, and the possession of the paper gave him a strange new sense of her nearness; yet it deepened his anguish by reminding him that henceforth they would have no other way of communicating with each other. For the life of her smile, the warmth of her voice, only cold paper and dead words! Confused motions of rebellion stormed in him. He was too young, too strong, too full of the sap of living, to submit so easily to the destruction of his hopes. Must he wear out all his years at the side of a bitter querulous woman? Other possibilities had been in him, possibilities sacrificed, one by one, to Zeena’s narrow-mindedness and ignorance. And what good had come of it? She was a hundred times bitterer and more discontented than when he had married her: the one pleasure left her was to inflict pain on him. All the healthy instincts of self-defence rose up in him against such waste...% He bundled himself into his old coon-skin coat and lay down on the box-sofa to think. Under his cheek he felt a hard object with strange protuberances. It was a cushion which Zeena had made for him when they were engaged—the only piece of needlework he had ever seen her do. He flung it across the floor and propped his head against the wall... He knew a case of a man over the mountain—a young fellow of about his own age—who had escaped from just such a life of misery by going West with the girl he cared for. His wife had divorced him, and he had married the girl and prospered. Ethan had seen the couple the summer before at Shadd’s Falls, where they had come to visit relatives. They had a little girl with fair curls, who wore a gold locket and was dressed like a princess. The deserted wife had not done badly either. Her husband had given her the farm and she had managed to sell it, and with that and the alimony she had started a lunch-room at Bettsbridge and bloomed into activity and importance. Ethan was fired by the thought. Why should he not leave with Mattie the next day, instead of letting her go alone? He would hide his valise under the seat of the sleigh, and Zeena would suspect
Thesaurus alimony: (n) support, subsistence, maintenance, allowance, pittance, living, livelihood, aliment, keep, upkeep, sustentation. bundled: (adj) wrapped. curls: (n) hair, tresses, ringlets. discontented: (adj, v) querulous, complaining; (adj) disaffected, disgruntled, malcontent, unsatisfied, dissatisfied, displeased, miserable, put out, ungratified. ANTONYMS: (adj) pleased, satisfied, happy,
content. henceforth: (adv) hence, in future, after this; (adj) following. inflict: (v) impose, cause, wreak, force, enforce, deal, deliver, administer, foist, put, obtrude. locket: (n) jewelry, medallion, pendant, case, ornament, bracelet, anklet, adornment, accessory, carcanet. narrow-mindedness: (n) bigotry, prejudice, bias.
nearness: (n) closeness, contiguity, vicinity, familiarity, adjacency, proximity, propinquity, presence, immediacy, neighborhood, nearby. ANTONYMS: (n) distance, farness, remoteness. needlework: (n) stitchery, sewing, needlecraft, stitching, knitwork, crochet, crocheting, knit, knitting, fancywork, creation. possibilities: (n) potential, field. self-defence: (n) self-defense.
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nothing till she went upstairs for her afternoon nap and found a letter on the bed...% His impulses were still near the surface, and he sprang up, re-lit the lantern, and sat down at the table. He rummaged in the drawer for a sheet of paper, found one, and began to write. “Zeena, I’ve done all I could for you, and I don’t see as it’s been any use. I don’t blame you, nor I don’t blame myself. Maybe both of us will do better separate. I’m going to try my luck West, and you can sell the farm and mill, and keep the money—” His pen paused on the word, which brought home to him the relentless conditions of his lot. If he gave the farm and mill to Zeena what would be left him to start his own life with? Once in the West he was sure of picking up work—he would not have feared to try his chance alone. But with Mattie depending on him the case was different. And what of Zeena’s fate? Farm and mill were mortgaged to the limit of their value, and even if she found a purchaser—in itself an unlikely chance—it was doubtful if she could clear a thousand dollars on the sale. Meanwhile, how could she keep the farm going? It was only by incessant labour and personal supervision that Ethan drew a meagre living from his land, and his wife, even if she were in better health than she imagined, could never carry such a burden alone. Well, she could go back to her people, then, and see what they would do for her. It was the fate she was forcing on Mattie—why not let her try it herself? By the time she had discovered his whereabouts, and brought suit for divorce, he would probably—wherever he was—be earning enough to pay her a sufficient alimony. And the alternative was to let Mattie go forth alone, with far less hope of ultimate provision... He had scattered the contents of the table-drawer in his search for a sheet of paper, and as he took up his pen his eye fell on an old copy of the Bettsbridge Eagle. The advertising sheet was folded uppermost, and he read the seductive words: “Trips to the West: Reduced Rates.”
Thesaurus depending: (adv) dependingly; (v) depend; (adj) suspensory, pendent, subject to, pendulous. dollars: (n) bread. drawer: (n) draftsman, drawers, till, designer, box car, cartoonist, commode, engraver, chest, case, locker. earning: (n) proceeds; (v) get. incessant: (adj) endless, continual, everlasting, eternal, constant, continuous, perpetual, unremitting,
interminable, persistent; (adj, v) irresistible, persuasive, charming, frequent. ANTONYMS: (adj) fascinating; (adj, v) seducing. ANTONYM: (adj) repulsive. intermittent, occasional, sporadic, uppermost: (adj) top, upmost, upper, broken, finite. relentless: (adj) implacable, cruel, highest, chief, maximum, supreme, greatest, major, outermost; (n) main. inflexible, stern, pitiless, harsh, merciless, grim, obdurate, persistent, ANTONYMS: (adj) bottom, lowest, unrelenting. ANTONYMS: (adj) trivial, lower. gentle, lenient, merciful, finite, soft, whereabouts: (adv, n) whereabout; (n) sporadic, feeble. place, site, position, seat, location, seductive: (adj) enticing, tempting, venue, station, address, situation, alluring, inviting, desirable, sexy, actions.
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He drew the lantern nearer and eagerly scanned the fares; then the paper fell from his hand and he pushed aside his unfinished letter. A moment ago he had wondered what he and Mattie were to live on when they reached the West; now he saw that he had not even the money to take her there. Borrowing was out of the question: six months before he had given his only security to raise funds for necessary repairs to the mill, and he knew that without security no one at Starkfield would lend him ten dollars. The inexorable facts closed in on him like prison-warders handcuffing a convict. There was no way out—none. He was a prisoner for life, and now his one ray of light was to be extinguished.% He crept back heavily to the sofa, stretching himself out with limbs so leaden that he felt as if they would never move again. Tears rose in his throat and slowly burned their way to his lids. As he lay there, the window-pane that faced him, growing gradually lighter, inlaid upon the darkness a square of moon-suffused sky. A crooked tree-branch crossed it, a branch of the apple-tree under which, on summer evenings, he had sometimes found Mattie sitting when he came up from the mill. Slowly the rim of the rainy vapours caught fire and burnt away, and a pure moon swung into the blue. Ethan, rising on his elbow, watched the landscape whiten and shape itself under the sculpture of the moon. This was the night on which he was to have taken Mattie coasting, and there hung the lamp to light them! He looked out at the slopes bathed in lustre, the silver-edged darkness of the woods, the spectral purple of the hills against the sky, and it seemed as though all the beauty of the night had been poured out to mock his wretchedness... He fell asleep, and when he woke the chill of the winter dawn was in the room. He felt cold and stiff and hungry, and ashamed of being hungry. He rubbed his eyes and went to the window. A red sun stood over the grey rim of the fields, behind trees that looked black and brittle. He said to himself: “This is Matt’s last day,” and tried to think what the place would be without her. As he stood there he heard a step behind him and she entered. “Oh, Ethan—were you here all night?”
Thesaurus bathed: (adj) sweaty. ANTONYM: (adj) bright. absolve, clear. brittle: (adj) crumbly, breakable, crisp, crooked: (adj) bent, corrupt, dishonest, lustre: (n) brilliance, gloss, brilliancy, curved, unfair, deformed; (adj, n, v) fragile, short, crispy, brickle, grandeur, splendour, effulgence, awry; (adj, v) irregular, askew, wry, sensitive, insubstantial, shivery, splendor, shininess, shine, sheen, brash. ANTONYMS: (adj) solid, indirect. ANTONYMS: (adj) straight, brightness. strong, resilient, durable, relaxed, honest, principled, even, aboveboard, vapours: (n) vapors, megrims, blue sturdy, unbreakable, soft. lawful, level, moral, flat, aligned, devils, blues. convict: (adj, n) felon; (n) captive, con, honorable. whiten: (adj, v) blanch; (v) white, pale, inlaid: (adj) decorated. criminal, jailbird, inmate, prisoner, whitewash, turn white, blench, malefactor, offender; (v) convince, leaden: (adj) heavy, gray, sluggish, decolorize, blanco, dealbate, discolor; sentence. ANTONYMS: (n) innocent; grey, inert, torpid, grave, languid, (adj) bleached. ANTONYMS: (v) (v) liberate, release, free, exonerate, drab, burdensome, livid. dirty, darken.
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She looked so small and pinched, in her poor dress, with the red scarf wound about her, and the cold light turning her paleness sallow, that Ethan stood before her without speaking.% “You must be frozen,” she went on, fixing lustreless eyes on him. He drew a step nearer. “How did you know I was here?” “Because I heard you go down stairs again after I went to bed, and I listened all night, and you didn’t come up.” All his tenderness rushed to his lips. He looked at her and said: “I’ll come right along and make up the kitchen fire.” They went back to the kitchen, and he fetched the coal and kindlings and cleared out the stove for her, while she brought in the milk and the cold remains of the meat-pie. When warmth began to radiate from the stove, and the first ray of sunlight lay on the kitchen floor, Ethan’s dark thoughts melted in the mellower air. The sight of Mattie going about her work as he had seen her on so many mornings made it seem impossible that she should ever cease to be a part of the scene. He said to himself that he had doubtless exaggerated the significance of Zeena’s threats, and that she too, with the return of daylight, would come to a saner mood. He went up to Mattie as she bent above the stove, and laid his hand on her arm. “I don’t want you should trouble either,” he said, looking down into her eyes with a smile. She flushed up warmly and whispered back: “No, Ethan, I ain’t going to trouble.” “I guess things’ll straighten out,” he added. There was no answer but a quick throb of her lids, and he went on: “She ain’t said anything this morning?” “No. I haven’t seen her yet.” “Don’t you take any notice when you do.”
Thesaurus fixing: (n) fixation, fix, adjustment, repair, mending, altering, emasculation, castration, furniture, fastener, fitting. lustreless: (adj) dull, lackluster, lacklustre, dim, mat, matt, duller, flat. melted: (adj) molten, fluid, liquified, dissolved, liquefied, baked, fluent, touched, limpid, sorry, flowing. paleness: (adj, n) pallor; (n) pallidness, wanness, whiteness, achromasia, blondness, lividity, luridness,
lividness, fairness, pale. ANTONYM: stole, necktie, cravat, kerchief, (n) strength. mantilla, shawl, wrap, tie, stock. pinched: (adj) haggard, drawn, tenderness: (n) fondness, soreness, love, affection, sympathy; (adj, n) emaciated, cadaverous, narrow, penurious, thin, penniless, adenoidal; clemency, mildness, compassion, (adj, n) necessitous; (n) distressed. gentleness, softness, delicacy. ANTONYM: (adj) relaxed. ANTONYMS: (n) pleasure, dryness, radiate: (v) gleam, beam, glow, glitter, hatred, strength, detachment. throb: (n, v) quiver, ache, pulse, shine, diverge, glisten, emit, shed, emanate, flash. ANTONYM: (v) pound, thrill, tingle; (v) pulsate, palpitate, flutter, shudder; (n) absorb. scarf: (n) neckerchief, handkerchief, pulsation.
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With this injunction he left her and went out to the cow-barn. He saw Jotham Powell walking up the hill through the morning mist, and the familiar sight added to his growing conviction of security.% As the two men were clearing out the stalls Jotham rested on his pitch-fork to say: “Dan’l Byrne’s goin’ over to the Flats to-day noon, an’ he c’d take Mattie’s trunk along, and make it easier ridin’ when I take her over in the sleigh.” Ethan looked at him blankly, and he continued: “Mis’ Frome said the new girl’d be at the Flats at five, and I was to take Mattie then, so’s ‘t she could ketch the six o’clock train for Stamford.” Ethan felt the blood drumming in his temples. He had to wait a moment before he could find voice to say: “Oh, it ain’t so sure about Mattie’s going—” “That so?” said Jotham indifferently; and they went on with their work. When they returned to the kitchen the two women were already at breakfast. Zeena had an air of unusual alertness and activity. She drank two cups of coffee and fed the cat with the scraps left in the pie-dish; then she rose from her seat and, walking over to the window, snipped two or three yellow leaves from the geraniums. “Aunt Martha’s ain’t got a faded leaf on ‘em; but they pine away when they ain’t cared for,” she said reflectively. Then she turned to Jotham and asked: “What time’d you say Dan’l Byrne’d be along?” The hired man threw a hesitating glance at Ethan. “Round about noon,” he said. Zeena turned to Mattie. “That trunk of yours is too heavy for the sleigh, and Dan’l Byrne’ll be round to take it over to the Flats,” she said. “I’m much obliged to you, Zeena,” said Mattie. “I’d like to go over things with you first,” Zeena continued in an unperturbed voice. “I know there’s a huckabuck towel missing; and I can’t take out what you done with that match-safe ‘t used to stand behind the stuffed owl in the parlour.”
Thesaurus alertness: (n) watchfulness, agility, brightly. longingly, reflexively. drumming: (n) roll, drums, sound, stalls: (n) auditorium, auditory, horse alacrity, nimbleness, liveliness, jealousy, wariness, attention, thump, pulse, barrelling, percussion, barn, boxes, pit, stables, seating, quickness, intelligence, buzzing, stress, tapping, throb. seats, seating room, seating area, consciousness. ANTONYMS: (n) hesitating: (adj) indecisive, irresolute, parquet. temples: (n) brow. dream, drowsiness, inattentiveness, undecided, doubtful, hesitate, unperturbed: (adj, v) unruffled; (adj) slowness, unconsciousness. reluctant, faltering, unwilling, blankly: (adj, adv) inanely, vacuously, hesitancy, backward, hesitatingly. calm, tranquil, placid, cool, expressionlessly; (adv) emptily, reflectively: (adv) contemplatively, unconcerned, composed, unflustered, hollowly, voidly, cleanly, meditatively, wistfully, thoughtfully, untroubled, easy; (v) undisturbed. ANTONYMS: (adj) agitated, anxious, impassively, stupidly, whitely, speculatively, ruminatively, inexpressively. ANTONYM: (adv) studiously, regretfully, sadly, perturbed.
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She went out, followed by Mattie, and when the men were alone Jotham said to his employer: “I guess I better let Dan’l come round, then.” Ethan finished his usual morning tasks about the house and barn; then he said to Jotham: “I’m going down to Starkfield. Tell them not to wait dinner.” The passion of rebellion had broken out in him again. That which had seemed incredible in the sober light of day had really come to pass, and he was to assist as a helpless spectator at Mattie’s banishment. His manhood was humbled by the part he was compelled to play and by the thought of what Mattie must think of him. Confused impulses struggled in him as he strode along to the village. He had made up his mind to do something, but he did not know what it would be.% The early mist had vanished and the fields lay like a silver shield under the sun. It was one of the days when the glitter of winter shines through a pale haze of spring. Every yard of the road was alive with Mattie’s presence, and there was hardly a branch against the sky or a tangle of brambles on the bank in which some bright shred of memory was not caught. Once, in the stillness, the call of a bird in a mountain ash was so like her laughter that his heart tightened and then grew large; and all these things made him see that something must be done at once. Suddenly it occurred to him that Andrew Hale, who was a kind-hearted man, might be induced to reconsider his refusal and advance a small sum on the lumber if he were told that Zeena’s ill-health made it necessary to hire a servant. Hale, after all, knew enough of Ethan’s situation to make it possible for the latter to renew his appeal without too much loss of pride; and, moreover, how much did pride count in the ebullition of passions in his breast? The more he considered his plan the more hopeful it seemed. If he could get Mrs. Hale’s ear he felt certain of success, and with fifty dollars in his pocket nothing could keep him from Mattie... His first object was to reach Starkfield before Hale had started for his work; he knew the carpenter had a job down the Corbury road and was likely to leave
Thesaurus banishment: (n) expulsion, ostracism, glisten, glimmer, glow, sparkle, reassess, consider again, go over, flicker, shimmer; (v) glance; (n) ouster, proscription, relegation, retrace, return, redeliberate, reckon; radiance. ANTONYM: (n) dullness. (n) criticism, critique. ejection, deportation, dismissal, expatriation; (adj, n) exclusion; (adj) humbled: (adj) humble, humiliated, shred: (n) rag, piece, scintilla, iota, bit, strip, remnant, sliver; (adj, n) scrap; excommunication. crushed, depressed, dispirited, carpenter: (n) woodman, woodsman, (v) rip, tear. abased, broken in, abject, ashamed; woodworker, Joseph; (v) build. (n) humbler; (v) apart. tangle: (v) entangle, embroil, enmesh, ebullition: (n) boiling, ferment, choler, kind-hearted: (adj) good-natured, embrangle, ruffle, mat; (n) maze, bile, dander; (adj, n) effervescence; (v) good, kindly, clement, benevolent, confusion; (n, v) jumble, muddle, seethe, coction; (adj) seething, stir, humane, kindhearted, philanthropic, knot. ANTONYMS: (n) order, line, peace; (v) unravel, undo, untangle, splutter. sympathetic, tolerant, warm. glitter: (n, v) flash, beam, shine, reconsider: (v) revise, consider, straighten.
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his house early. Ethan’s long strides grew more rapid with the accelerated beat of his thoughts, and as he reached the foot of School House Hill he caught sight of Hale’s sleigh in the distance. He hurried forward to meet it, but as it drew nearer he saw that it was driven by the carpenter’s youngest boy and that the figure at his side, looking like a large upright cocoon in spectacles, was that of Mrs. Hale. Ethan signed to them to stop, and Mrs. Hale leaned forward, her pink wrinkles twinkling with benevolence.% “Mr. Hale? Why, yes, you’ll find him down home now. He ain’t going to his work this forenoon. He woke up with a touch o’ lumbago, and I just made him put on one of old Dr. Kidder’s plasters and set right up into the fire.” Beaming maternally on Ethan, she bent over to add: “I on’y just heard from Mr. Hale ‘bout Zeena’s going over to Bettsbridge to see that new doctor. I’m real sorry she’s feeling so bad again! I hope he thinks he can do something for her. I don’t know anybody round here’s had more sickness than Zeena. I always tell Mr. Hale I don’t know what she’d ‘a’ done if she hadn’t ‘a’ had you to look after her; and I used to say the same thing ‘bout your mother. You’ve had an awful mean time, Ethan Frome.” She gave him a last nod of sympathy while her son chirped to the horse; and Ethan, as she drove off, stood in the middle of the road and stared after the retreating sleigh. It was a long time since any one had spoken to him as kindly as Mrs. Hale. Most people were either indifferent to his troubles, or disposed to think it natural that a young fellow of his age should have carried without repining the burden of three crippled lives. But Mrs. Hale had said, “You’ve had an awful mean time, Ethan Frome,” and he felt less alone with his misery. If the Hales were sorry for him they would surely respond to his appeal... He started down the road toward their house, but at the end of a few yards he pulled up sharply, the blood in his face. For the first time, in the light of the words he had just heard, he saw what he was about to do. He was planning to take advantage of the Hales’ sympathy to obtain money from them on false
Thesaurus accelerated: (adj) quick, rapid, speedy, intensive, faster, speeded up, sudden, express. cocoon: (v) envelop, wrap, enwrap, enclose, insulate, enfold; (n) Aurelia, caterpillar, orphan, staddle, nympha. ANTONYMS: (v) hurt, injure, expose. crippled: (adj) deformed, game, exhausted, broken, decrepit, crooked, halt, impotent; (n) limping; (v) drooping, flagging. ANTONYMS: (adj) healthy, functioning, fit.
disposed: (adj) prone, apt, ready, subject, prepared, liable, game, inclined, fain, likely, minded. ANTONYMS: (adj) ailing, indisposed, unlikely, disinclined, reluctant, impervious. forenoon: (n) morning, morn, am, period, daybreak, break of the day, morning time, first light, dayspring, a, cockcrow. lumbago: (n, v) sciatica; (v) gout, cephalalgia, earache, rheumatism,
podagra, otalgia, neuralgia, odontalgia; (n) pain in your back, bad back. maternally: (adv) parentally, paternally, protectively, motherly. repining: (n) regret, plaintive, lamenting, mourning, grief, mournful; (v) taking on; (adj) regretful. troubles: (n) dilemma, evils, harms, ills. wrinkles: (n) crow's feet.
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pretences. That was a plain statement of the cloudy purpose which had driven him in headlong to Starkfield. With the sudden perception of the point to which his madness had carried him, the madness fell and he saw his life before him as it was. He was a poor man, the husband of a sickly woman, whom his desertion would leave alone and destitute; and even if he had had the heart to desert her he could have done so only by deceiving two kindly people who had pitied him.% He turned and walked slowly back to the farm.
Thesaurus cloudy: (adj) dull, gloomy, nebulous, murky, dark, turbid, foggy, muddy, misty, sunless, vaporous. ANTONYMS: (adj) clear, bright, sunny, cloudless. desertion: (n) abandonment, defection, apostasy, dereliction, withdrawal, secession, rejection, decampment, exposure, leaving, disappearance. ANTONYMS: (n) appearance, attention, preservation. destitute: (adj) impoverished, needy,
ANTONYMS: (adj) cautiously, bankrupt, broke, poor, helpless, impecunious, penniless, necessitous; considered; (adv) carefully. (adj, v) forlorn, devoid. ANTONYMS: madness: (n) frenzy, insanity, lunacy, (adj) wealthy, privileged, prosperous, idiocy, folly, delirium, insaneness; (adj, n) furor, rage, desperation, solvent. farm: (n) farming, grange, dairy, croft, furore. ANTONYMS: (n) sense, farmstead, estate; (v) raise, cultivate, calmness, order. sickly: (adj, adv) poorly; (n) invalid; hire, plant, produce. headlong: (adj, adv) headfirst; (adv) (adj) sick, ailing, pale, sallow, directly, hastily, precipitately; (adj) indisposed, morbid, diseased; (adj, n, rash, hurried, desperate, precipitous, v) infirm; (adj, v) faint. ANTONYMS: (adj) healthy, bitter, robust. impetuous, sudden, precipitate.
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CHAPTER IX
At the kitchen door Daniel Byrne sat in his sleigh behind a big-boned grey who pawed the snow and swung his long head restlessly from side to side.% Ethan went into the kitchen and found his wife by the stove. Her head was wrapped in her shawl, and she was reading a book called “Kidney Troubles and Their Cure” on which he had had to pay extra postage only a few days before. Zeena did not move or look up when he entered, and after a moment he asked: “Where’s Mattie?” Without lifting her eyes from the page she replied: “I presume she’s getting down her trunk.” The blood rushed to his face. “Getting down her trunk—alone?” “Jotham Powell’s down in the wood-lot, and Dan’l Byrne says he darsn’t leave that horse,” she returned. Her husband, without stopping to hear the end of the phrase, had left the kitchen and sprung up the stairs. The door of Mattie’s room was shut, and he wavered a moment on the landing. “Matt,” he said in a low voice; but there was no answer, and he put his hand on the door-knob. He had never been in her room except once, in the early summer, when he had gone there to plaster up a leak in the eaves, but he remembered exactly how
Thesaurus eaves: (n) arch, balcony, cupola, dome, invigorating, thrilling. penthouse, eave, overhang, attic, loft, plaster: (n) mortar, paste, gum, glue, bandage, cataplasm; (v) daub, paint; projection, roof space. eyes: (n) sight, eye, vision, view, baby (n, v) cement, stucco, poultice. ANTONYM: (v) uncover. blues, guard, propensity, eyen. leak: (n) crevice, disclosure, breach, postage: (n) postage stamp, token, hole, chink; (v) leak out, dribble, seal, cast, postage expense, value or reveal, disclose, trickle; (n, v) release. prepayment, mold, item, franking, ANTONYM: (v) flood. pestle, impression. lifting: (n) rising, hoisting, plagiarism, restlessly: (adv) fidgetily, restyling, copying, jacking; (adj) apprehensively, agitatedly, fretfully, elating, enlivening, exciting, unquietly, sleeplessly, nervously,
restively, edgily, anxiously, disturbedly. ANTONYMS: (adv) peacefully, unconcernedly. stopping: (n) stoppage, cessation, shutdown, padding, fillet, suspension, stay, discontinuance, abeyance, interruption; (adv) haltingly. wrapped: (prep) covered; (adj) clothed, draped, rapt, intent, absorbed, engrossed, mantled, packed, immersed; (adj, prep) cloaked.
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everything had looked: the red-and-white quilt on her narrow bed, the pretty pin-cushion on the chest of drawers, and over it the enlarged photograph of her mother, in an oxydized frame, with a bunch of dyed grasses at the back. Now these and all other tokens of her presence had vanished and the room looked as bare and comfortless as when Zeena had shown her into it on the day of her arrival. In the middle of the floor stood her trunk, and on the trunk she sat in her Sunday dress, her back turned to the door and her face in her hands. She had not heard Ethan’s call because she was sobbing and she did not hear his step till he stood close behind her and laid his hands on her shoulders.% “Matt—oh, don’t—oh, Matt!” She started up, lifting her wet face to his. “Ethan—I thought I wasn’t ever going to see you again!” He took her in his arms, pressing her close, and with a trembling hand smoothed away the hair from her forehead. “Not see me again? What do you mean?” She sobbed out: “Jotham said you told him we wasn’t to wait dinner for you, and I thought—” “You thought I meant to cut it?” he finished for her grimly. She clung to him without answering, and he laid his lips on her hair, which was soft yet springy, like certain mosses on warm slopes, and had the faint woody fragrance of fresh sawdust in the sun. Through the door they heard Zeena’s voice calling out from below: “Dan’l Byrne says you better hurry up if you want him to take that trunk.” They drew apart with stricken faces. Words of resistance rushed to Ethan’s lips and died there. Mattie found her handkerchief and dried her eyes; then,— bending down, she took hold of a handle of the trunk. Ethan put her aside. “You let go, Matt,” he ordered her.
Thesaurus comfortless: (adj) dreary, desolate, stench. bleak, uncomfortable, inconsolable, grimly: (adv) severely, harshly, gloomy, lonely; (adj, v) disconsolate, morosely, fiercely, drearily, sourly, forlorn; (v) joyless, sick at heart. gloomily, dreadfully, hardly, dyed: (adj) colored, tinted, coloured, horridly, sullenly. ANTONYMS: bleached, stained, painted, artificially (adv) brightly, pleasantly, warmly. smoothed: (adj) round, smoothened, coloured, biased, artificial, unreal, curved. ANTONYM: (adj) sharp. colorful. fragrance: (n, v) aroma, perfume, sobbing: (adj) crying, weeping, weepy, scent, smell; (n) bouquet, odor, tearful; (n) lamentation, shortness of essence, odour, redolence, sweetness; breath, shit, prick, motherfucker, tear, (adj) fragrant. ANTONYMS: (n) stink, lament.
springy: (adj) flexible, elastic, resilient, bouncy, yielding, whippy, pliable, spongy, lively, live, supple. ANTONYM: (adj) unyielding. tokens: (n) decorations, discriminating marks, indications, indicia, insignia, signs, appearances, badges. took: (adj) taken; (v) receive. woody: (adj) arboreous, ligneous, wooden, forested, woodsy, arboraceous, arboreal, harder, hard, lignified, nemorous.
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She answered: “It takes two to coax it round the corner”; and submitting to this argument he grasped the other handle, and together they manoeuvred the heavy trunk out to the landing.% “Now let go,” he repeated; then he shouldered the trunk and carried it down the stairs and across the passage to the kitchen. Zeena, who had gone back to her seat by the stove, did not lift her head from her book as he passed. Mattie followed him out of the door and helped him to lift the trunk into the back of the sleigh. When it was in place they stood side by side on the door-step, watching Daniel Byrne plunge off behind his fidgety horse. It seemed to Ethan that his heart was bound with cords which an unseen hand was tightening with every tick of the clock. Twice he opened his lips to speak to Mattie and found no breath. At length, as she turned to re-enter the house, he laid a detaining hand on her. “I’m going to drive you over, Matt,” he whispered. She murmured back: “I think Zeena wants I should go with Jotham.” “I’m going to drive you over,” he repeated; and she went into the kitchen without answering. At dinner Ethan could not eat. If he lifted his eyes they rested on Zeena’s pinched face, and the corners of her straight lips seemed to quiver away into a smile. She ate well, declaring that the mild weather made her feel better, and pressed a second helping of beans on Jotham Powell, whose wants she generally ignored. Mattie, when the meal was over, went about her usual task of clearing the table and washing up the dishes. Zeena, after feeding the cat, had returned to her rocking-chair by the stove, and Jotham Powell, who always lingered last, reluctantly pushed back his chair and moved toward the door. On the threshold he turned back to say to Ethan: “What time’ll I come round for Mattie?”
Thesaurus beans: (adj) unimportant; (n) money. apprehensive. ANTONYMS: (adj) coax: (n, v) wheedle, allure, entice, relaxed, calm. charm, tempt, seduce; (v) cajole, plunge: (n, v) drop, dive, fall, jump; (v) beguile, blarney, blandish; (n) coaxial douse, duck, submerge, crash, dunk, cable. ANTONYMS: (v) bully, plummet; (adj, v) immerse. ANTONYMS: (n, v) rise; (v) hesitate; compel, allow, dissuade. cords: (n) trousers, bands, line, strings, (n) improvement. quiver: (adj, n, v) shudder, shiver, corduroys, raised bands. declaring: (adj) affirming, predicant. tremble, shake; (v) flicker, flutter, fidgety: (adj, n) nervous; (adj) unquiet, vibrate; (n, v) palpitate, quaver; (n) fretful, fussy, anxious, hasty, jittery, vibration, tremor. jumpy, mercurial, restive; (n) re-enter: (v) return, come back.
rested: (adj) comfortable. submitting: (n) submission, delegation; (v) submit; (adj) ductile. tick: (n, v) beat, mark, check; (n) score, credit, moment, second, minute, ticking; (v) tally, click. unseen: (adj, v) unknown; (adj) invisible, concealed, hidden, unobserved, secret, veiled, latent; (v) unheeded, unperceived; (n) spiritual world. ANTONYMS: (adj) seen, visible, open, famous, noticeable.
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Ethan was standing near the window, mechanically filling his pipe while he watched Mattie move to and fro. He answered: “You needn’t come round; I’m going to drive her over myself.” He saw the rise of the colour in Mattie’s averted cheek, and the quick lifting of Zeena’s head.% “I want you should stay here this afternoon, Ethan,” his wife said. “Jotham can drive Mattie over.” Mattie flung an imploring glance at him, but he repeated curtly: “I’m going to drive her over myself.” Zeena continued in the same even tone: “I wanted you should stay and fix up that stove in Mattie’s room afore the girl gets here. It ain’t been drawing right for nigh on a month now.” Ethan’s voice rose indignantly. “If it was good enough for Mattie I guess it’s good enough for a hired girl.” “That girl that’s coming told me she was used to a house where they had a furnace,” Zeena persisted with the same monotonous mildness. “She’d better ha’ stayed there then,” he flung back at her; and turning to Mattie he added in a hard voice: “You be ready by three, Matt; I’ve got business at Corbury.” Jotham Powell had started for the barn, and Ethan strode down after him aflame with anger. The pulses in his temples throbbed and a fog was in his eyes. He went about his task without knowing what force directed him, or whose hands and feet were fulfilling its orders. It was not till he led out the sorrel and backed him between the shafts of the sleigh that he once more became conscious of what he was doing. As he passed the bridle over the horse’s head, and wound the traces around the shafts, he remembered the day when he had made the same preparations in order to drive over and meet his wife’s cousin at the Flats. It was little more than a year ago, on just such a soft afternoon, with a “feel” of spring in the air. The sorrel, turning the same big ringed eye on him, nuzzled the
Thesaurus aflame: (adj) ablaze, burning, excited, effectual; (n) execution, enforcement. ANTONYM: (adj) frustrating. afire, passionate, fiery, on fire, imploring: (adj) appealing, begging, flaming, alight, reddened, red. ANTONYM: (adj) pale. suppliant, pleading, entreating, curtly: (adv) abruptly, brusquely, piteous, importunate, entreating urgently; (v) supplicate, plead; (n) briefly, tersely, rudely, gruffly, snappishly, sharply, succinctly, prayer. offhandly, laconically. ANTONYMS: indignantly: (adv) irately, angrily, (adv) kindly, pleasantly, politely, wrathfully, enragedly, sorely, verbosely, civilly. acrimoniously, cynically, sulkily, fulfilling: (adj) satisfying, satisfactory, hotly, exasperatedly, furiously. mildness: (adj, n) gentleness, kindness, pleasing, uplifting, pleasurable,
benignity, compassion, goodness; (n) lenity, mercy, meekness, leniency, lenience, tenderness. ANTONYMS: (n) roughness, pungency. nigh: (adj, adv, prep) near; (adj, adv) close, nearly, almost, nearby, most, all but, about, adjacent; (prep) by; (adj) approximate. ringed: (adj) annulated, circinate, encircled, annulate, circular, annulose, rounded, round, wreathed, married, engaged.
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palm of his hand in the same way; and one by one all the days between rose up and stood before him...% He flung the bearskin into the sleigh, climbed to the seat, and drove up to the house. When he entered the kitchen it was empty, but Mattie’s bag and shawl lay ready by the door. He went to the foot of the stairs and listened. No sound reached him from above, but presently he thought he heard some one moving about in his deserted study, and pushing open the door he saw Mattie, in her hat and jacket, standing with her back to him near the table. She started at his approach and turning quickly, said: “Is it time?” “What are you doing here, Matt?” he asked her. She looked at him timidly. “I was just taking a look round—that’s all,” she answered, with a wavering smile. They went back into the kitchen without speaking, and Ethan picked up her bag and shawl. “Where’s Zeena?” he asked. “She went upstairs right after dinner. She said she had those shooting pains again, and didn’t want to be disturbed.” “Didn’t she say good-bye to you?” “No. That was all she said.” Ethan, looking slowly about the kitchen, said to himself with a shudder that in a few hours he would be returning to it alone. Then the sense of unreality overcame him once more, and he could not bring himself to believe that Mattie stood there for the last time before him. “Come on,” he said almost gaily, opening the door and putting her bag into the sleigh. He sprang to his seat and bent over to tuck the rug about her as she slipped into the place at his side. “Now then, go ‘long,” he said, with a shake of the reins that sent the sorrel placidly jogging down the hill.
Thesaurus jogging: (n) run, fast motion, joggling, (v) flutter. pointlessness, uselessness, futility, started: (adv) happening, in progress, impulse tachometer, exercising, emptiness, nonexistence, hollowness. ongoing; (v) stert, leaped. ANTONYMS: (n) reality, value, exercise, inching. placidly: (adv) coolly, calmly, timidly: (adv) fearfully, timorously, existence. wavering: (adj, v) vacillating; (n) tranquilly, peacefully, stilly, quietly, cautiously, shyly, diffidently, composedly, silently, meekly, anxiously, nervously, shily, gingerly, fluctuation, hesitation, vacillation; (adj) irresolute, indecisive, impassively, collectedly. modestly, apprehensively. ANTONYMS: (adv) agitatedly, ANTONYMS: (adv) confidently, undecided, hesitant, uncertain, boisterously. bravely, daringly, brashly, fearlessly, variable, changeable. ANTONYMS: shudder: (adj, n, v) shake, quake, (adj) decided, constant, resolute, decisively, brazenly. tremble; (n, v) quiver, twitch, thrill; unreality: (n) irreality, cloud, stable, decisive; (n) resolution, (n) quivering, shivering, chill, frisson; falseness, imagination, immateriality, stability.
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“We got lots of time for a good ride, Matt!” he cried, seeking her hand beneath the fur and pressing it in his. His face tingled and he felt dizzy, as if he had stopped in at the Starkfield saloon on a zero day for a drink.% At the gate, instead of making for Starkfield, he turned the sorrel to the right, up the Bettsbridge road. Mattie sat silent, giving no sign of surprise; but after a moment she said: “Are you going round by Shadow Pond?” He laughed and answered: “I knew you’d know!” She drew closer under the bearskin, so that, looking sideways around his coat-sleeve, he could just catch the tip of her nose and a blown brown wave of hair. They drove slowly up the road between fields glistening under the pale sun, and then bent to the right down a lane edged with spruce and larch. Ahead of them, a long way off, a range of hills stained by mottlings of black forest flowed away in round white curves against the sky. The lane passed into a pinewood with boles reddening in the afternoon sun and delicate blue shadows on the snow. As they entered it the breeze fell and a warm stillness seemed to drop from the branches with the dropping needles. Here the snow was so pure that the tiny tracks of wood-animals had left on it intricate lace-like patterns, and the bluish cones caught in its surface stood out like ornaments of bronze. Ethan drove on in silence till they reached a part of the wood where the pines were more widely spaced, then he drew up and helped Mattie to get out of the sleigh. They passed between the aromatic trunks, the snow breaking crisply under their feet, till they came to a small sheet of water with steep wooded sides. Across its frozen surface, from the farther bank, a single hill rising against the western sun threw the long conical shadow which gave the lake its name. It was a shy secret spot, full of the same dumb melancholy that Ethan felt in his heart. He looked up and down the little pebbly beach till his eye lit on a fallen treetrunk half submerged in snow. “There’s where we sat at the picnic,” he reminded her. The entertainment of which he spoke was one of the few that they had taken part in together: a “church picnic” which, on a long afternoon of the preceding
Thesaurus bluish: (adj) blueish, blasphemous, powder blue, coloured, colorful, colored, chromatic, bluey, aristocratic, aristocratical. branches: (n) branch, brushwood. conical: (adj) pyramidal, tapering, copped, conelike, coniform, taper, cone, tapered, coppled, pointed. crisply: (adv) sharply, curtly, brittlely, snappily, tersely, firmly, crustily, crispily, freshly, frizzily, frostily. glistening: (adj) shining, glossy, shiny,
glisten, brilliant, beaming, sleek, lustrous, sparkling, reflecting light, gleaming. ANTONYM: (adj) dull. larch: (n) wood, larches, tamarack, black larch, coniferous tree, larch tree. pebbly: (adj) shingly, rocky, rough, grating, flinty, beachy, stony, gravel. reddening: (n) flush, rubescence; (v) redden. spaced: (adj) space, detached, separate, isolated, drugged, distributed,
disjointed, dislocated. spruce: (adj) dapper, neat, natty, jaunty, trim, rakish, stylish, dashing, snappy; (adj, v) tidy; (adj, n) bright. ANTONYMS: (adj) untidy, messy, unkempt. submerged: (adj) sunken, immersed, submersed, underwater, subaquatic, submarine, covered, inundated, flooded, semiaquatic; (pron) drowned. tracks: (n) network.
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summer, had filled the retired place with merry-making. Mattie had begged him to go with her but he had refused. Then, toward sunset, coming down from the mountain where he had been felling timber, he had been caught by some strayed revellers and drawn into the group by the lake, where Mattie, encircled by facetious youths, and bright as a blackberry under her spreading hat, was brewing coffee over a gipsy fire. He remembered the shyness he had felt at approaching her in his uncouth clothes, and then the lighting up of her face, and the way she had broken through the group to come to him with a cup in her hand. They had sat for a few minutes on the fallen log by the pond, and she had missed her gold locket, and set the young men searching for it; and it was Ethan who had spied it in the moss.... That was all; but all their intercourse had been made up of just such inarticulate flashes, when they seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if they had surprised a butterfly in the winter woods...% “It was right there I found your locket,” he said, pushing his foot into a dense tuft of blueberry bushes. “I never saw anybody with such sharp eyes!” she answered. She sat down on the tree-trunk in the sun and he sat down beside her. “You were as pretty as a picture in that pink hat,” he said. She laughed with pleasure. “Oh, I guess it was the hat!” she rejoined. They had never before avowed their inclination so openly, and Ethan, for a moment, had the illusion that he was a free man, wooing the girl he meant to marry. He looked at her hair and longed to touch it again, and to tell her that it smelt of the woods; but he had never learned to say such things. Suddenly she rose to her feet and said: “We mustn’t stay here any longer.” He continued to gaze at her vaguely, only half-roused from his dream. “There’s plenty of time,” he answered. They stood looking at each other as if the eyes of each were straining to absorb and hold fast the other’s image. There were things he had to say to her before they parted, but he could not say them in that place of summer memories,
Thesaurus avowed: (adj) acknowledged, attested, ostensible, sworn, stated, confirmed, declared, pretended, known, authenticated, apparent. blackberry: (v) bloater, bouilli, bouillon, breadfruit, chop suey, blancmange; (n) drupelet, mulberry, bramble, black haw, blackberry bush. blueberry: (n) whortleberry, huckleberry, swamp-blueberry, blaeberry, whinberry, deerberry, blueberry bush, blueberries.
encircled: (adj) enclosed, bounded, circinate, circular, decorated, delimited, ringed, wreathed, bordered, annulated, annular. facetious: (adj) humorous, comical, frivolous, funny, comic, whimsical, laughable, jocose, jocular; (adj, n) witty; (n) amusing. ANTONYMS: (adj) grave, lugubrious, sober, somber, formal. felling: (n) harvesting. tuft: (n) wisp, crest, cluster, truss,
knot, fagot, tassel, strand, thicket, curl; (adj, n) feather. uncouth: (adj) rough, rude, barbarous, vulgar, crude, awkward, clumsy, gross, unrefined, ungainly, common. ANTONYMS: (adj) refined, couth, polite, sophisticated, pleasant, proper, genteel. wooing: (n) courting, suit, bundling, suit of clothes, the soft impeachment, entreaty, prayer, cause, causa, case; (adj) amatory.
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and he turned and followed her in silence to the sleigh. As they drove away the sun sank behind the hill and the pine-boles turned from red to grey.% By a devious track between the fields they wound back to the Starkfield road. Under the open sky the light was still clear, with a reflection of cold red on the eastern hills. The clumps of trees in the snow seemed to draw together in ruffled lumps, like birds with their heads under their wings; and the sky, as it paled, rose higher, leaving the earth more alone. As they turned into the Starkfield road Ethan said: “Matt, what do you mean to do?” She did not answer at once, but at length she said: “I’ll try to get a place in a store.” “You know you can’t do it. The bad air and the standing all day nearly killed you before.” “I’m a lot stronger than I was before I came to Starkfield.” “And now you’re going to throw away all the good it’s done you!” There seemed to be no answer to this, and again they drove on for a while without speaking. With every yard of the way some spot where they had stood, and laughed together or been silent, clutched at Ethan and dragged him back. “Isn’t there any of your father’s folks could help you?” “There isn’t any of ‘em I’d ask.” He lowered his voice to say: “You know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you if I could.” “I know there isn’t.” “But I can’t—” She was silent, but he felt a slight tremor in the shoulder against his. “Oh, Matt,” he broke out, “if I could ha’ gone with you now I’d ha’ done it—” She turned to him, pulling a scrap of paper from her breast. “Ethan—I found this,” she stammered. Even in the failing light he saw it was the letter to his wife
Thesaurus breast: (n) boob, udder, tit, titty, chest, knocker, mammilla, bust, pap, heart; (n, v) front. clutched: (adj) tense, worried, anxious, neurotic. devious: (adj) shifty, circuitous, indirect, roundabout, fraudulent, insincere, crafty, oblique, sly, untrustworthy, errant. ANTONYMS: (adj) open, straight, aboveboard, straightforward, trustworthy, direct, candid, principled, unbent, unbowed,
truthful. disconcerted, decorated, tousled, dragged: (adj) depressed, dejected, tangled, turbulent. scrap: (n, v) fight, brawl, clash, quarrel, upset, unhappy, spent, dispirited, somber, melancholy, gloomy, joyless, junk; (adj, n) remnant, fragment; (n) low. end, remainder, bit, piece. lowered: (adj) lower, reduced, cheap, ANTONYMS: (v) keep, restore, bated, humbled. ANTONYM: (adj) preserve, adopt, insert; (n) chunk, lot. wound: (n, v) bruise, cut, harm, pain, raised. lumps: (n) repulse, deserts, due, grit, damage, scratch, stab, sting; (n) injury; (v) offend, injure. punishment. ruffled: (adj) rippled, frilly, frilled, ANTONYMS: (v) heal, appease, aid, upset, disordered, excited, cure, repair.
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that he had begun the night before and forgotten to destroy. Through his astonishment there ran a fierce thrill of joy. “Matt—” he cried; “if I could ha’ done it, would you?” “Oh, Ethan, Ethan—what’s the use?” With a sudden movement she tore the letter in shreds and sent them fluttering off into the snow.% “Tell me, Matt! Tell me!” he adjured her. She was silent for a moment; then she said, in such a low tone that he had to stoop his head to hear her: “I used to think of it sometimes, summer nights, when the moon was so bright I couldn’t sleep.” His heart reeled with the sweetness of it. “As long ago as that?” She answered, as if the date had long been fixed for her: “The first time was at Shadow Pond.” “Was that why you gave me my coffee before the others?” “I don’t know. Did I? I was dreadfully put out when you wouldn’t go to the picnic with me; and then, when I saw you coming down the road, I thought maybe you’d gone home that way o’ purpose; and that made me glad.” They were silent again. They had reached the point where the road dipped to the hollow by Ethan’s mill and as they descended the darkness descended with them, dropping down like a black veil from the heavy hemlock boughs. “I’m tied hand and foot, Matt. There isn’t a thing I can do,” he began again. “You must write to me sometimes, Ethan.” “Oh, what good’ll writing do? I want to put my hand out and touch you. I want to do for you and care for you. I want to be there when you’re sick and when you’re lonesome.” “You mustn’t think but what I’ll do all right.” “You won’t need me, you mean? I suppose you’ll marry!” “Oh, Ethan!” she cried.
Thesaurus dipped: (adj) immersed, unfit, swaybacked, lordotic, curved in, swayback. dreadfully: (adj, adv) frightfully, shockingly; (adv) fearfully, appallingly, hideously, horrendously, horribly, atrociously, ghastly, tremendously, horridly. ANTONYMS: (adv) pleasantly, wonderfully, happily, hardly, superbly, well. fluttering: (adj) flying, palpitating,
flittering, flaring, aflare, waving; (n) shiver; (v) excite, exhilarate, exalt, flutter, flapping, flicker, flitting; (adv) stir; (n) shake, excitement, chill. ANTONYMS: (v) dishearten, flutteringly. picnic: (n) junket, outing, pushover, discourage, disappoint, displease; (n) snap, cinch, duck soup, jaunt, depression, calm, boredom, agony, sorrow; (n, v) bore. expedition, feast, piece of cake, veil: (n, v) cover, hide, disguise, mask, coportion. stoop: (v) crouch, bend, deign, cloud, shroud, camouflage; (v) cloak, conceal; (n) curtain, blind. condescend, descend, squat, couch, cringe, lean, lower oneself; (n) porch. ANTONYMS: (v) disclose, unveil, ANTONYM: (v) straighten. expose. thrill: (n, v) delight, shudder, quiver,
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“I don’t know how it is you make me feel, Matt. I’d a’most rather have you dead than that!” “Oh, I wish I was, I wish I was!” she sobbed.% The sound of her weeping shook him out of his dark anger, and he felt ashamed. “Don’t let’s talk that way,” he whispered. “Why shouldn’t we, when it’s true? I’ve been wishing it every minute of the day.” “Matt! You be quiet! Don’t you say it.” “There’s never anybody been good to me but you.” “Don’t say that either, when I can’t lift a hand for you!” “Yes; but it’s true just the same.” They had reached the top of School House Hill and Starkfield lay below them in the twilight. A cutter, mounting the road from the village, passed them by in a joyous flutter of bells, and they straightened themselves and looked ahead with rigid faces. Along the main street lights had begun to shine from the house-fronts and stray figures were turning in here and there at the gates. Ethan, with a touch of his whip, roused the sorrel to a languid trot. As they drew near the end of the village the cries of children reached them, and they saw a knot of boys, with sleds behind them, scattering across the open space before the church. “I guess this’ll be their last coast for a day or two,” Ethan said, looking up at the mild sky. Mattie was silent, and he added: “We were to have gone down last night.” Still she did not speak and, prompted by an obscure desire to help himself and her through their miserable last hour, he went on discursively: “Ain’t it funny we haven’t been down together but just that once last winter?” She answered: “It wasn’t often I got down to the village.”
Thesaurus cutter: (n) carver, knife, clipper, cutting tool, pinnace, cutting off table, foist, yawl, diner; (adj) billhook, cleaver. discursively: (adv) excursively, indirectly, tangentially, desultorily, diffusely, digressively, discoursively, rovingly, obliquely, expansively, round the houses. ANTONYM: (adv) directly. flutter: (adj, n, v) bustle, flurry; (n, v) beat, palpitate, flap, wave, waver,
quiver; (v) flit, flitter; (n) excitement. dispersion, distribution, scatter, gates: (n) bill Gates. dissemination, sprinkle, sprinkling, joyous: (adj) happy, gleeful, elated, strewing; (adj, n) spreading; (adj) jolly, glad, gay, jovial, merry, festive, distributive. cheerful, jocund. ANTONYMS: (adj) trot: (n, v) run; (n) crib, canter, pony, gait, ride, lope; (v) gallop, general, despairing, joyless, miserable. languid: (adj) lazy, dull, indolent, frequent, household. weeping: (adj) tearful, lachrymose, feeble, lethargic, lackadaisical, dolourous, dolorous; (n, v) lament, sluggish, faint, torpid, inert, apathetic. ANTONYMS: (adj) active, lamentation; (v) wailing; (n) sobbing, tears, cry; (adj, n) howling. lively, exciting, vigorous. scattering: (n) diffusion, dissipation, ANTONYM: (n) celebration.
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“That’s so,” he said.% They had reached the crest of the Corbury road, and between the indistinct white glimmer of the church and the black curtain of the Varnum spruces the slope stretched away below them without a sled on its length. Some erratic impulse prompted Ethan to say: “How’d you like me to take you down now?” She forced a laugh. “Why, there isn’t time!” “There’s all the time we want. Come along!” His one desire now was to postpone the moment of turning the sorrel toward the Flats. “But the girl,” she faltered. “The girl’ll be waiting at the station.” “Well, let her wait. You’d have to if she didn’t. Come!” The note of authority in his voice seemed to subdue her, and when he had jumped from the sleigh she let him help her out, saying only, with a vague feint of reluctance: “But there isn’t a sled round anywheres.” “Yes, there is! Right over there under the spruces.” He threw the bearskin over the sorrel, who stood passively by the roadside, hanging a meditative head. Then he caught Mattie’s hand and drew her after him toward the sled. She seated herself obediently and he took his place behind her, so close that her hair brushed his face. “All right, Matt?” he called out, as if the width of the road had been between them. She turned her head to say: “It’s dreadfully dark. Are you sure you can see?” He laughed contemptuously: “I could go down this coast with my eyes tied!” and she laughed with him, as if she liked his audacity. Nevertheless he sat still a moment, straining his eyes down the long hill, for it was the most confusing hour of the evening, the hour when the last clearness from the upper sky is merged with the rising night in a blur that disguises landmarks and falsifies distances. “Now!” he cried. The sled started with a bound, and they flew on through the dusk, gathering smoothness and speed as they went, with the hollow night opening out below them and the air singing by like an organ. Mattie sat perfectly still, but as they
Thesaurus audacity: (n) nerve, audaciousness, effrontery, arrogance, temerity, cheek, impertinence, insolence, courage; (n, v) impudence; (adj, n) presumption. ANTONYMS: (n) cowardice, propriety, decorum, circumspection, courtesy, fear, respect, spinelessness, reticence. contemptuously: (adv) scornfully, sneeringly, insultingly, disparagingly, superciliously, derisively, condescendingly,
disrespectfully, haughtily, slickness, sleekness, evenness, polish, contumeliously, sardonically. glossiness, softness, silkiness, grace; ANTONYM: (adv) approvingly. (adj, n) elegance, delicacy. feint: (n) wile, pretence, simulation, ANTONYMS: (n) resistance, affectation, sham, guise, ruse, deceit, unevenness, hesitation, dampness, bluff, cheat, pretense. awkwardness, harshness, hesitancy. meditative: (adj, v) thoughtful, subdue: (adj, n, v) conquer; (v) pensive; (adj) wistful, reflective, overpower, crush, defeat, quell, quash, suppress, restrain; (n, v) broody, museful, ruminative, musing, brooding; (v) philosophical, reduce; (adj, v) repress; (adv, v) control. ANTONYMS: (v) incite, sedate. smoothness: (n) slipperiness, enliven, resist, submit.
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reached the bend at the foot of the hill, where the big elm thrust out a deadly elbow, he fancied that she shrank a little closer.% “Don’t be scared, Matt!” he cried exultantly, as they spun safely past it and flew down the second slope; and when they reached the level ground beyond, and the speed of the sled began to slacken, he heard her give a little laugh of glee. They sprang off and started to walk back up the hill. Ethan dragged the sled with one hand and passed the other through Mattie’s arm. “Were you scared I’d run you into the elm?” he asked with a boyish laugh. “I told you I was never scared with you,” she answered. The strange exaltation of his mood had brought on one of his rare fits of boastfulness. “It is a tricky place, though. The least swerve, and we’d never ha’ come up again. But I can measure distances to a hair’s-breadth—always could.” She murmured: “I always say you’ve got the surest eye...” Deep silence had fallen with the starless dusk, and they leaned on each other without speaking; but at every step of their climb Ethan said to himself: “It’s the last time we’ll ever walk together.” They mounted slowly to the top of the hill. When they were abreast of the church he stooped his head to her to ask: “Are you tired?” and she answered, breathing quickly: “It was splendid!” With a pressure of his arm he guided her toward the Norway spruces. “I guess this sled must be Ned Hale’s. Anyhow I’ll leave it where I found it.” He drew the sled up to the Varnum gate and rested it against the fence. As he raised himself he suddenly felt Mattie close to him among the shadows. “Is this where Ned and Ruth kissed each other?” she whispered breathlessly, and flung her arms about him. Her lips, groping for his, swept over his face, and he held her fast in a rapture of surprise. “Good-bye—good-bye,” she stammered, and kissed him again. “Oh, Matt, I can’t let you go!” broke from him in the same old cry.
Thesaurus boastfulness: (n) conceit, braggardism, boast, arrogance, egoism, glory. ANTONYM: (n) timidity. boyish: (adj) young, puerile, adolescent, youthful, babyish, childish, girlish, kittenish, boylike, callow, immature. ANTONYM: (adj) mature. exaltation: (n) elation, ecstasy, apotheosis, worship, praise, rapture, deification, grandeur, adoration; (n,
v) sublimation; (v) laud. probing, tentative, uncertain, unsure, ANTONYMS: (n) abasement, hesitant, exploratory. shrank: (v) minify. belittlement, debasement, slacken: (adj, n, v) loosen; (v) abate, degradation, humiliation, sorrow, derogation, disparagement. remit, retard, loose, douse, lessen, exultantly: (adv) exultingly, slow, slack up; (adj, v) slack; (n, v) triumphantly, gleefully, victoriously, ease. ANTONYMS: (v) tense, elatedly, delightedly, joyfully, increase. swerve: (n, v) curve; (v) depart, stray, proudly, rejoicingly, triumphally; (adv, v) happily. turn, wander, deflect, sheer, veer, groping: (adj) fumbling, gropingly, diverge, shift, slew. ANTONYMS: (v) investigative, incertain, blind, straighten, converge.
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She freed herself from his hold and he heard her sobbing. “Oh, I can’t go either!” she wailed.% “Matt! What’ll we do? What’ll we do?” They clung to each other’s hands like children, and her body shook with desperate sobs. Through the stillness they heard the church clock striking five. “Oh, Ethan, it’s time!” she cried. He drew her back to him. “Time for what? You don’t suppose I’m going to leave you now?” “If I missed my train where’d I go?” “Where are you going if you catch it?” She stood silent, her hands lying cold and relaxed in his. “What’s the good of either of us going anywheres without the other one now?” he said. She remained motionless, as if she had not heard him. Then she snatched her hands from his, threw her arms about his neck, and pressed a sudden drenched cheek against his face. “Ethan! Ethan! I want you to take me down again!” “Down where?” “The coast. Right off,” she panted. “So ‘t we’ll never come up any more.” “Matt! What on earth do you mean?” She put her lips close against his ear to say: “Right into the big elm. You said you could. So ‘t we’d never have to leave each other any more.” “Why, what are you talking of? You’re crazy!” “I’m not crazy; but I will be if I leave you.” “Oh, Matt, Matt—” he groaned. She tightened her fierce hold about his neck. Her face lay close to his face.
Thesaurus drenched: (adj) saturated, soaked, soaking, damp, soppy, wet through, sodden, sopping, wringing wet, soaked to the skin, dripping wet. fierce: (adj) bitter, acute, cruel, ferocious, brutal, grim, nasty, intense, ardent; (adj, v) savage, furious. ANTONYMS: (adj) gentle, mild, calm, quiet, tame, docile, weak, peaceful, pleasant. freed: (adj) disentangled, emancipated, disengaged, liberated, extricated,
freer, unchained, untied, loosened, haggard, reserved. snatched: (adj) hasty, speedy, brief, disillusioned, not tied up. pressed: (adj) compact, urgent, hurried, quick, rapid, short, sudden, swift. ANTONYM: (adj) slow. printed, pressing, press, stamped, stillness: (n) hush, calmness, pushed, impelled, incited, bound, driven. immobility, serenity, silence, relaxed: (adj) loose, slack, composed, quietness, peacefulness; (adj, n) calm, calm, comfortable, easy, cool, at ease, quiet, peace, still. ANTONYMS: (n) informal, easygoing, happy. bustle, movement, uproar, motion, ANTONYMS: (adj) nervous, turbulence, turmoil, vigor, uncomfortable, stiff, anxious, formal, disturbance, chaos, agitation. tightened: (adj) secure, securer, firm. prim, strict, prudish, restless,
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“Ethan, where’ll I go if I leave you? I don’t know how to get along alone. You said so yourself just now. Nobody but you was ever good to me. And there’ll be that strange girl in the house... and she’ll sleep in my bed, where I used to lay nights and listen to hear you come up the stairs...” The words were like fragments torn from his heart. With them came the hated vision of the house he was going back to—of the stairs he would have to go up every night, of the woman who would wait for him there. And the sweetness of Mattie’s avowal, the wild wonder of knowing at last that all that had happened to him had happened to her too, made the other vision more abhorrent, the other life more intolerable to return to...% Her pleadings still came to him between short sobs, but he no longer heard what she was saying. Her hat had slipped back and he was stroking her hair. He wanted to get the feeling of it into his hand, so that it would sleep there like a seed in winter. Once he found her mouth again, and they seemed to be by the pond together in the burning August sun. But his cheek touched hers, and it was cold and full of weeping, and he saw the road to the Flats under the night and heard the whistle of the train up the line. The spruces swathed them in blackness and silence. They might have been in their coffins underground. He said to himself: “Perhaps it’ll feel like this...” and then again: “After this I sha’n’t feel anything...” Suddenly he heard the old sorrel whinny across the road, and thought: “He’s wondering why he doesn’t get his supper...” “Come!” Mattie whispered, tugging at his hand. Her sombre violence constrained him: she seemed the embodied instrument of fate. He pulled the sled out, blinking like a night-bird as he passed from the shade of the spruces into the transparent dusk of the open. The slope below them was deserted. All Starkfield was at supper, and not a figure crossed the open space before the church. The sky, swollen with the clouds that announce a thaw, hung as low as before a summer storm. He strained his eyes through the dimness, and they seemed less keen, less capable than usual.
Thesaurus abhorrent: (adj, v) hateful, odious, execrable; (adj) offensive, detestable, repugnant, horrible, revolting, unpleasant, obnoxious, loathsome. ANTONYMS: (adj) delightful, lovable, desirable, inoffensive, nice. avowal: (n) declaration, assertion, affirmation, admission, statement, recognition, acknowledgement, announcement, confession, testimony; (n, v) profession. blackness: (n) black, darkness, sable,
gloom, nigritude, night, inkiness, strength, clarity. embodied: (adj) incarnate, corporate, dark, murk, murkiness, obscurity. blinking: (adj) flickering, bally, corporeal, corporal, bodied, blooming; (adj, n) winking; (n) personified, incorporated, combined, shimmer, blink, wink, twinkling, tangible, associated, in person. nictation, blink of an eye, nictitation. stroking: (v) caress, strike, blow; (n) came: (v) arrive, come. cam stroke, feeling, effleurage, dimness: (n) darkness, gloom, diagonal, CVA, commendation, shadow, haze, faintness, obscurity, glide, slash. whinny: (n, v) nicker, whicker; (v) dusk, dark, cloudiness, duskiness, gloominess. ANTONYMS: (n) light, whinner, hinny, emit, wigher, let brightness, intelligence, clearness, loose, utter, jeer, let out.
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He took his seat on the sled and Mattie instantly placed herself in front of him. Her hat had fallen into the snow and his lips were in her hair. He stretched out his legs, drove his heels into the road to keep the sled from slipping forward, and bent her head back between his hands. Then suddenly he sprang up again.% “Get up,” he ordered her. It was the tone she always heeded, but she cowered down in her seat, repeating vehemently: “No, no, no!” “Get up!” “Why?” “I want to sit in front.” “No, no! How can you steer in front?” “I don’t have to. We’ll follow the track.” They spoke in smothered whispers, as though the night were listening. “Get up! Get up!” he urged her; but she kept on repeating: “Why do you want to sit in front?” “Because I—because I want to feel you holding me,” he stammered, and dragged her to her feet. The answer seemed to satisfy her, or else she yielded to the power of his voice. He bent down, feeling in the obscurity for the glassy slide worn by preceding coasters, and placed the runners carefully between its edges. She waited while he seated himself with crossed legs in the front of the sled; then she crouched quickly down at his back and clasped her arms about him. Her breath in his neck set him shuddering again, and he almost sprang from his seat. But in a flash he remembered the alternative. She was right: this was better than parting. He leaned back and drew her mouth to his... Just as they started he heard the sorrel’s whinny again, and the familiar wistful call, and all the confused images it brought with it, went with him down the first reach of the road. Half-way down there was a sudden drop, then a rise, and after that another long delirious descent. As they took wing for this it
Thesaurus crouched: (v) subjacent, squat; (adj) crutched, hunkered down, hunkered, low, huddled. delirious: (adj) crazy, wild, frantic, wandering, demented, excited, insane, mad, frenetic, doting, drunk. ANTONYMS: (adj) unexcited, rational, composed, relaxed, reasonable, balanced, lucid, collected, clearheaded, calm, dejected. glassy: (adj, v) glossy; (adj) clear, glazed, smooth, flat, crystalline, dead,
dull, hyaline, transparent; (v) violently, zealously, strongly, glabrous. ANTONYMS: (adj) alert, fervently, passionately, ferociously, bumpy, dull, expressive, murky, fervidly, keenly, intensely, furiously. ANTONYMS: (adv) feebly, gently, rough. shuddering: (adj, n) quivering, impassively. shaking; (adv) shudderingly; (n) cold wistful: (adj, v) reflective, meditative, sweat, tremor; (adj) rough, shaky, thoughtful; (adj) contemplative, sad, jumpy, quaking, shivery, bumpy. melancholy, longing, plaintive, ANTONYM: (adj) smooth. wishful, yearning; (v) anxious. smothered: (adj) strangled, stifled, ANTONYMS: (adj) alert, satisfied, smothers, pent-up, covered. shallow. vehemently: (adj, adv) ardently; (adv) yielded: (v) yold, yolden.
102
Ethan Frome
seemed to him that they were flying indeed, flying far up into the cloudy night, with Starkfield immeasurably below them, falling away like a speck in space... Then the big elm shot up ahead, lying in wait for them at the bend of the road, and he said between his teeth: “We can fetch it; I know we can fetch it—” As they flew toward the tree Mattie pressed her arms tighter, and her blood seemed to be in his veins. Once or twice the sled swerved a little under them. He slanted his body to keep it headed for the elm, repeating to himself again and again: “I know we can fetch it”; and little phrases she had spoken ran through his head and danced before him on the air. The big tree loomed bigger and closer, and as they bore down on it he thought: “It’s waiting for us: it seems to know.” But suddenly his wife’s face, with twisted monstrous lineaments, thrust itself between him and his goal, and he made an instinctive movement to brush it aside. The sled swerved in response, but he righted it again, kept it straight, and drove down on the black projecting mass. There was a last instant when the air shot past him like millions of fiery wires; and then the elm...% The sky was still thick, but looking straight up he saw a single star, and tried vaguely to reckon whether it were Sirius, or—or—The effort tired him too much, and he closed his heavy lids and thought that he would sleep... The stillness was so profound that he heard a little animal twittering somewhere near by under the snow. It made a small frightened cheep like a field mouse, and he wondered languidly if it were hurt. Then he understood that it must be in pain: pain so excruciating that he seemed, mysteriously, to feel it shooting through his own body. He tried in vain to roll over in the direction of the sound, and stretched his left arm out across the snow. And now it was as though he felt rather than heard the twittering; it seemed to be under his palm, which rested on something soft and springy. The thought of the animal’s suffering was intolerable to him and he struggled to raise himself, and could not because a rock, or some huge mass, seemed to be lying on him. But he continued to finger about cautiously with his left hand, thinking he might get hold of the little creature and help it; and all at once he knew that the soft thing he had touched was Mattie’s hair and that his hand was on her face.
Thesaurus cheep: (v) chirp, twitter, whistle, (adj) exceedingly, extremely, strangely, obscurely, secretly, tweet, chirrup, warble, emit, trill; (n, exquisitely, acutely, ultra, intensely. uncannily, mystically, darkly, v) chip, peek, sing. ANTONYM: (adv) slightly. puzzlingly, weirdly, abstrusely, excruciating: (adj) agonizing, lineaments: (v) exposition, tract, occultly. ANTONYM: (adv) normally. length, expanse, area, extent; (n) face. palm: (n) medal, decoration, prize, harrowing, painful, sharp, monstrous: (adj) huge, atrocious, intolerable, acute, violent, palm tree, victory, thenar, laurel insupportable, intense, torturing; (v) heinous, monster, immense, gigantic, wreath; (v) filch, cabbage, rob; (adj) cutting. ANTONYMS: (adj) bearable, grievous, ugly, flagitious, dreadful; totipalmate. painless, pleasant, pleasing, soothing, (adj, v) grotesque. ANTONYMS: (adj) twittering: (n) chirping, peeping, wonderful, dull. tiny, minute, beautiful, good, small, tweeting. immeasurably: (adv) boundlessly, wires: (n) chains, rigging, ropes, lovely, attractive. endlessly, immensely, greatly, much; mysteriously: (adv) enigmatically, dealings.
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He dragged himself to his knees, the monstrous load on him moving with him as he moved, and his hand went over and over her face, and he felt that the twittering came from her lips...% He got his face down close to hers, with his ear to her mouth, and in the darkness he saw her eyes open and heard her say his name. “Oh, Matt, I thought we’d fetched it,” he moaned; and far off, up the hill, he heard the sorrel whinny, and thought: “I ought to be getting him his feed...”
Thesaurus darkness: (n) dark, shade, shadow, blindness, gloom, blackness, duskiness, murk, cloud, blackout, dimness. ANTONYMS: (n) brightness, lightness, glow, comprehension, knowledge, day, clearness. hill: (n, v) gradient, bank, ascent, acclivity, rise; (n) mound, elevation, embankment, hillock, knoll, mountain. ANTONYMS: (n) valley, hollow.
knees: (n) knee. pitiful, poignant, touching; (n) load: (adj, n, v) charge, fill; (n) cargo, movement, motive, transport. freight, weight, consignment; (n, v) ANTONYMS: (adj) motionless, stack, heap, pack, pile; (v) encumber. depressing, stationary, unemotional, ANTONYMS: (v) unpack, remove, fixed, unmoving, everyday, eject, relieve, empty, alleviate; (n) immobile, nonmoving, ridiculous, lightness. boring. mouth: (n) lip, lips, aperture, edge, ought: (n, v) need; (v) had better, entrance, snout, entry; (n, v) grimace; should, have, possessed, owned, (v) articulate, pronounce, speak. owed, behoove; (n) aught, zero, duty. moving: (adj) affecting, exciting, emotional, impressive, mobile,
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CONCLUSION
The querulous drone ceased as I entered Frome’s kitchen, and of the two women sitting there I could not tell which had been the speaker.% One of them, on my appearing, raised her tall bony figure from her seat, not as if to welcome me—for she threw me no more than a brief glance of surprise— but simply to set about preparing the meal which Frome’s absence had delayed. A slatternly calico wrapper hung from her shoulders and the wisps of her thin grey hair were drawn away from a high forehead and fastened at the back by a broken comb. She had pale opaque eyes which revealed nothing and reflected nothing, and her narrow lips were of the same sallow colour as her face. The other woman was much smaller and slighter. She sat huddled in an armchair near the stove, and when I came in she turned her head quickly toward me, without the least corresponding movement of her body. Her hair was as grey as her companion’s, her face as bloodless and shrivelled, but amber-tinted, with swarthy shadows sharpening the nose and hollowing the temples. Under her shapeless dress her body kept its limp immobility, and her dark eyes had the bright witch-like stare that disease of the spine sometimes gives. Even for that part of the country the kitchen was a poor-looking place. With the exception of the dark-eyed woman’s chair, which looked like a soiled relic of luxury bought at a country auction, the furniture was of the roughest kind. Three
Thesaurus ceased: (adj) finished. misshapen, unformed, unstructured, untidy, dirty, blowsy, sordid, loose, drone: (n, v) hum, murmur; (v) whine, nebulous, inchoate, unshapely, dowdy, squalid; (adv) dowdily, idler, purr; (n) dawdler, droning, indistinct, uncrystallized, embryonic, drably. laggard, sluggard, roll; (adv, n) vague. ANTONYMS: (adj) distinct, slighter: (adj) smaller, less. soiled: (adj) grubby, dirty, nasty, bourdon. defined, tailored. immobility: (adj, n) fixity; (n) sharpening: (n) grinding, training, grimy, unclean, filthy, muddy, black, fixedness, stillness, stationariness, filing, dressing, acumination, mucky, polluted, foul. ANTONYMS: aggravation; (adj) abrasive. (adj) pure, immaculate. motionlessness, immovability, immovableness; (adj) vitality, shrivelled: (adj) shriveled, withered, swarthy: (adj) dusky, black, swart, stiffness, stabiliment, solidity. wizened, shrunken, sere, sear, thin, sable, somber, dun, tawny, coloured, ANTONYMS: (n) bustle, movement. colored, atramentous; (n) brunette. lean, dry, shrunk, dryer. shapeless: (adj) amorphous, slatternly: (adj) blowzy, sluttish, ANTONYMS: (adj) fair, light.
106
Ethan Frome
coarse china plates and a broken-nosed milk-jug had been set on a greasy table scored with knife-cuts, and a couple of straw-bottomed chairs and a kitchen dresser of unpainted pine stood meagrely against the plaster walls. “My, it’s cold here! The fire must be ‘most out,” Frome said, glancing about him apologetically as he followed me in.% The tall woman, who had moved away from us toward the dresser, took no notice; but the other, from her cushioned niche, answered complainingly, in a high thin voice. “It’s on’y just been made up this very minute. Zeena fell asleep and slep’ ever so long, and I thought I’d be frozen stiff before I could wake her up and get her to ‘tend to it.” I knew then that it was she who had been speaking when we entered. Her companion, who was just coming back to the table with the remains of a cold mince-pie in a battered pie-dish, set down her unappetising burden without appearing to hear the accusation brought against her. Frome stood hesitatingly before her as she advanced; then he looked at me and said: “This is my wife, Mis’ Frome.” After another interval he added, turning toward the figure in the arm-chair: “And this is Miss Mattie Silver...” ....................... Mrs. Hale, tender soul, had pictured me as lost in the Flats and buried under a snow-drift; and so lively was her satisfaction on seeing me safely restored to her the next morning that I felt my peril had caused me to advance several degrees in her favour. Great was her amazement, and that of old Mrs. Varnum, on learning that Ethan Frome’s old horse had carried me to and from Corbury Junction through the worst blizzard of the winter; greater still their surprise when they heard that his master had taken me in for the night.
Thesaurus apologetically: (adv) contritely, penitently, regretfully, repentantly, ruefully, sorrily, ashamedly, compunctiously. blizzard: (n) tempest, storm, snowfall, gale, norther, vendaval, khamsin, foehn, Chinook, wuther, squall. chairs: (n) seats. complainingly: (adv) querulously, petulantly, grumpily, grouchily, peevishly, crabbily, crossly, tetchily, cantankerously, crankily,
complaining. ANTONYM: (adv) calmly. cushioned: (adj) spongy, cushiony. glancing: (adj) passing. greasy: (adj) fatty, dirty, oily, tallowy, slick, sebaceous, unclean, unctuous, slippery, adipose, oleaginous. ANTONYM: (adj) lean. hesitatingly: (adv) indecisively, irresolutely, hesitating, waveringly, doubtfully, undecidedly, vacillatingly, falteringly.
ANTONYM: (adv) unhesitatingly. meagrely: (adv) poorly, barrenly, leanly, sparingly, slenderly, meager, exiguously, exiguous, meagre. peril: (n, v) hazard, risk, endanger, menace, adventure; (n) danger, jeopardy, chance; (v) imperil, expose, compromise. ANTONYM: (n) security. unappetising: (adj) tasteless. ANTONYM: (adj) appetizing. unpainted: (adj) undyed.
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Beneath their wondering exclamations I felt a secret curiosity to know what impressions I had received from my night in the Frome household, and divined that the best way of breaking down their reserve was to let them try to penetrate mine. I therefore confined myself to saying, in a matter-of-fact tone, that I had been received with great kindness, and that Frome had made a bed for me in a room on the ground-floor which seemed in happier days to have been fitted up as a kind of writing-room or study.% “Well,” Mrs. Hale mused, “in such a storm I suppose he felt he couldn’t do less than take you in—but I guess it went hard with Ethan. I don’t believe but what you’re the only stranger has set foot in that house for over twenty years. He’s that proud he don’t even like his oldest friends to go there; and I don’t know as any do, any more, except myself and the doctor...” “You still go there, Mrs. Hale?” I ventured. “I used to go a good deal after the accident, when I was first married; but after awhile I got to think it made ‘em feel worse to see us. And then one thing and another came, and my own troubles... But I generally make out to drive over there round about New Year’s, and once in the summer. Only I always try to pick a day when Ethan’s off somewheres. It’s bad enough to see the two women sitting there—but his face, when he looks round that bare place, just kills me... You see, I can look back and call it up in his mother’s day, before their troubles.” Old Mrs. Varnum, by this time, had gone up to bed, and her daughter and I were sitting alone, after supper, in the austere seclusion of the horse-hair parlour. Mrs. Hale glanced at me tentatively, as though trying to see how much footing my conjectures gave her; and I guessed that if she had kept silence till now it was because she had been waiting, through all the years, for some one who should see what she alone had seen. I waited to let her trust in me gather strength before I said: “Yes, it’s pretty bad, seeing all three of them there together.” She drew her mild brows into a frown of pain. “It was just awful from the beginning. I was here in the house when they were carried up—they laid Mattie
Thesaurus austere: (adj) ascetic, stern, severe, seclusion: (n) retreat, segregation, pedestal, situation, relation, root. ANTONYM: (n) top. harsh, plain, rigorous, rigid, retirement, isolation, secrecy, impressions: (n) impersonation, abstemious, stark, astringent, stiff. concealment, insulation, separation, ANTONYMS: (adj) ornate, luxurious, imitation. hermitage; (adj, n) solitude, matter-of-fact: (adj) prosaic, practical, loneliness. ANTONYMS: (n) frivolous, hedonistic, extravagant, lush, elaborate, spending, sunny, dry, commonplace, common, normal, company, closeness, inclusion. warm, indulgent. ordinary, regular, pragmatic, trivial, tentatively: (adv) provisionally, awhile: (adj) in transitu, en passant; realistic. diffidently, hesitantly, cautiously, (adv) briefly. parlour: (n) living room, parlor, sitting uncertainly, indecisively, brows: (n) brow. room, front room, livingroom, room experimentally, undecidedly, timidly, footing: (n) foothold, base, bottom, to meet guests, parlours, parlors, trially, falteringly. ANTONYMS: (adv) boldly, decisively. foundation, status, rank, foot, salon, reception room, room.
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Silver in the room you’re in. She and I were great friends, and she was to have been my bridesmaid in the spring... When she came to I went up to her and stayed all night. They gave her things to quiet her, and she didn’t know much till to’rd morning, and then all of a sudden she woke up just like herself, and looked straight at me out of her big eyes, and said... Oh, I don’t know why I’m telling you all this,” Mrs. Hale broke off, crying.% She took off her spectacles, wiped the moisture from them, and put them on again with an unsteady hand. “It got about the next day,” she went on, “that Zeena Frome had sent Mattie off in a hurry because she had a hired girl coming, and the folks here could never rightly tell what she and Ethan were doing that night coasting, when they’d ought to have been on their way to the Flats to ketch the train... I never knew myself what Zeena thought—I don’t to this day. Nobody knows Zeena’s thoughts. Anyhow, when she heard o’ the accident she came right in and stayed with Ethan over to the minister’s, where they’d carried him. And as soon as the doctors said that Mattie could be moved, Zeena sent for her and took her back to the farm.” “And there she’s been ever since?” Mrs. Hale answered simply: “There was nowhere else for her to go;” and my heart tightened at the thought of the hard compulsions of the poor. “Yes, there she’s been,” Mrs. Hale continued, “and Zeena’s done for her, and done for Ethan, as good as she could. It was a miracle, considering how sick she was—but she seemed to be raised right up just when the call came to her. Not as she’s ever given up doctoring, and she’s had sick spells right along; but she’s had the strength given her to care for those two for over twenty years, and before the accident came she thought she couldn’t even care for herself.” Mrs. Hale paused a moment, and I remained silent, plunged in the vision of what her words evoked. “It’s horrible for them all,” I murmured. “Yes: it’s pretty bad. And they ain’t any of ‘em easy people either. Mattie was, before the accident; I never knew a sweeter nature. But she’s suffered too much—that’s what I always say when folks tell me how she’s soured. And
Thesaurus anyhow: (adv) somehow, at any rate, astonishment, amazement. in any case, whatever, in any event, moisture: (n) damp, dampness, wet, regardless, however, though, besides, humid, moist, moistness, vapor, nonetheless, one way or another. moisture content, moisten, dank, bridesmaid: (v) bridesman; (n) dampen. nowhere: (n) obscurity, limbo; (adv) woman, adult female, flower girl. hired: (adj) leased, chartered, not anywhere, nowhither, without, mercenary, hackneyed, hack; (v) not anywhither; (adj) tiresome, vapid, contented, compensated, paid. uninteresting, tasteless, prosaic. miracle: (adj, n) wonder, prodigy; (n) soured: (adj) rancid, sore, phenomenon, mystery, wonderwork, disenchanted. ANTONYM: (adj) surprise, sensation, event, theurgy, unsoured.
spectacles: (n) glasses, specs, spectacle, eyeglass, goggles, lorgnette, monocle, bifocals, dark glasses, optical instrument, shades. suffered: (adj) permitted, permissive. unsteady: (adj) insecure, changeable, dizzy, unbalanced, rickety, unsettled, shaky, unsound, precarious, uneven; (adj, n) uncertain. ANTONYMS: (adj) steady, stable, alert, firm, secure, constant. woke: (v) arouse.
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Zeena, she was always cranky. Not but what she bears with Mattie wonderful— I’ve seen that myself. But sometimes the two of them get going at each other, and then Ethan’s face’d break your heart... When I see that, I think it’s him that suffers most... anyhow it ain’t Zeena, because she ain’t got the time... It’s a pity, though,” Mrs. Hale ended, sighing, “that they’re all shut up there’n that one kitchen. In the summertime, on pleasant days, they move Mattie into the parlour, or out in the door-yard, and that makes it easier... but winters there’s the fires to be thought of; and there ain’t a dime to spare up at the Fromes.’“ Mrs. Hale drew a deep breath, as though her memory were eased of its long burden, and she had no more to say; but suddenly an impulse of complete avowal seized her.% She took off her spectacles again, leaned toward me across the bead-work table-cover, and went on with lowered voice: “There was one day, about a week after the accident, when they all thought Mattie couldn’t live. Well, I say it’s a pity she did. I said it right out to our minister once, and he was shocked at me. Only he wasn’t with me that morning when she first came to... And I say, if she’d ha’ died, Ethan might ha’ lived; and the way they are now, I don’t see’s there’s much difference between the Fromes up at the farm and the Fromes down in the graveyard; ‘cept that down there they’re all quiet, and the women have got to hold their tongues.”
Thesaurus bears: (n) fissiped, badgers, Carnivora, graveyard: (n) burial ground, order Carnivora. churchyard, necropolis, burying cranky: (adj) peevish, cantankerous, ground, burial site, site, burial place, irascible, petulant, crabby, crank, radioactive cemetery, memorial park, irritable, crotchety, tetchy, fretful, morgue. cross. ANTONYMS: (adj) sweet, impulse: (n) pulse, urge, impulsion, pleasant, happy, patient, easygoing. force, motive, whim, drive, goad, dime: (n) ten cents, priced, V nickel, motivation, momentum, incentive. ANTONYMS: (n) aversion, buffalo nickel, dime bag, dibs, coin, cent, checks, nickel. disincentive, disinclination. eased: (adj) relieved, mitigated, leaned: (v) erudite, lettered; (adj) cloaked, palliate, disguised. tilted, inclined, educated.
seized: (adj) confiscate, appropriated, condemned, apprehended, grasped, taken, held, seised, detained, obtained, arraught. shocked: (adj) dismayed, aghast, amazed, surprised, stunned, distressed, afraid, speechless, appalled, bewildered, dumbfounded. ANTONYMS: (adj) delighted, indifferent, unaffected. summertime: (n) summer, season. women: (n) sex, gentle sex.
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GLOSSARY abandoned: (adj) immoral, profligate, deserted, stranded, empty, shameless, wicked, lonely, depraved, corrupt, licentious. ANTONYMS: (adj) inhabited, orderly, overcrowded, used, pure, virtuous, upright, seemly, reserved, principled, moral abbreviated: (adj) short, abridged, abbreviate, condensed, truncated, brief, compendious, cut, truncate, concise, reduced abhorred: (adj) disgusted, unpopular abhorrent: (adj, v) hateful, odious, execrable; (adj) offensive, detestable, repugnant, horrible, revolting, unpleasant, obnoxious, loathsome. ANTONYMS: (adj) delightful, lovable, desirable, inoffensive, nice ability: (n) hand, power, faculty, dexterity, aptitude, capacity, expertise, flair, genius; (adj, n) cleverness; (adj, n, v) talent. ANTONYMS: (n) inability, injury, incompetence, ineptitude, paralysis, limitation, weakness, stupidity, ineptness, ignorance, impotence able: (adj) dexterous, competent, clever, ingenious, accomplished, gifted, effective, fit, expert; (adj, n) talented, efficient. ANTONYMS: (adj) incapable, incompetent, weak, untrained, inept, delicate, feeble, infirm, clumsy, ineffective, ineffectual above: (adv, prep) beyond, aloft, on, in excess of; (adv) up, supra, on top; (adj) preceding, former; (adj, prep) past; (prep) surpassing. ANTONYMS: (prep) beneath, under, deficient, underneath; (adj) inferior, following abreast: (adv) opposite, acquainted, off, au fait, alongside, on one side, abeam; (adj) near, aligned, knowledgeable; (prep) against. ANTONYMS: (adv) uninformed,
lost, unaware abrupt: (adj) sudden, brusque, sharp, precipitous, steep, instantaneous, unexpected, swift, instant, hasty; (n) bold. ANTONYMS: (adj) gentle, gradual, rambling, gracious, courteous, polite, anticipated, kind, calm, protracted, deliberate absence: (n) absenteeism, deficiency, lack, default, dearth, want, nonattendance, scarcity, paucity, shortage, privation. ANTONYMS: (n) attendance, existence, fulfillment, inclusion, occurrence, abundance, glut, confirmation, supply, excess absorb: (v) drink, consume, imbibe, engross, swallow, assimilate, engage, take in, occupy, suck, merge. ANTONYMS: (v) emit, repel, exude, confuse, discharge, disperse, dissipate, distract, divert, spew, sidetrack absorbed: (adj) rapt, intent, immersed, fixed, deep, engaged, preoccupied, pensive, fascinated, enthralled, held. ANTONYMS: (adj) bored, disinterested, distracted, restless, unfocused, uninterested, indifferent, shallow, superficial, detached abstract: (adj) theoretical; (n) abridgement, epitome, summary, abridgment, precis; (v) abridge, filch, purloin; (n, v) digest, extract. ANTONYMS: (adj) concrete, real, literal, material, physical, specific, objective; (v) expand, lengthen, strengthen, insert accelerated: (adj) quick, rapid, speedy, intensive, faster, speeded up, sudden, express accept: (v) acknowledge, take, admit, recognize, yield, abide, accede, acquiesce, adopt, believe, assume. ANTONYMS: (v) refuse, reject, deny, snub, renounce, oppose, resist,
disbelieve, dispute, repudiate, quibble accepted: (adj) standard, acceptable, orthodox, acknowledged, assumed, established, understood, received, approved, current, proper. ANTONYMS: (adj) concealed, unusual, unorthodox, unconventional, refused, questionable, irregular, rejected, unknown, innovative, incorrect accepting: (adj) tolerant, sympathetic, thoughtful, understanding, willing to help, yielding, lenient, acceptant, obliging, soft, permissive. ANTONYMS: (adj) resistant, uncooperative, unforgiving, severe, unsympathetic access: (n, v) approach; (n) admission, entry, entree, admittance, gate, entranceway, entryway, opening, outburst; (v) enter. ANTONYMS: (n) exit, outlet, egress, exclusion; (v) seal accident: (n) casualty, crash, coincidence, fortune, smash, incident, hazard, hap, luck, event, fortuity. ANTONYMS: (n) certainty, design, intention, intent, calculation accompanying: (adj) concomitant, concurrent, related, acceding, incidental, accessory, subservient, auxiliary, collateral, minor, supplementary accounts: (n) financial statement accumulated: (adj) amassed, assembled, collected, accumulate, aggregate, gathered, hoarded, store, concentrated, massed, increased accuracy: (n) precision, fidelity, exactness, exactitude, reliability, correctness, closeness, care, veracity, meticulousness, faithfulness. ANTONYMS: (n) vagueness, imprecision, slackness, unreliability, dishonesty, incorrectness accusation: (n) complaint, charge,
112 accusal, blame, allegation, condemnation, insinuation, denunciation, indictment, inculpation, impeachment. ANTONYMS: (n) exoneration, argument, compliment accustomed: (adj, n) habitual; (adj) familiar, normal, wonted, usual, natural, everyday, ordinary, habituated, common, traditional. ANTONYMS: (adj) unusual, green, unseasoned, unconventional, untrained, abnormal, uncharacteristic, exceptional ache: (n, v) hunger, pain, hurt, yen; (n) twinge, thirst; (v) long, yearn, itch, smart, pine. ANTONYMS: (v) help, assist; (n) comfort, ease, health, relief, joy aching: (adj) sore, achy, hurt, uncomfortable, tender, hurtful, agonizing; (n) ache, pain, hurting; (v) griped acquaintances: (n) associates acquired: (adj) acquisitive, acquisite, extrinsic, noninheritable, derivative acquitted: (adj) not guilty, guiltless; (v) acquit, absolved acres: (n) land, acres and perches, roods and perches, landed estate, leasehold, homestead, glebe, manor, freehold, fief, feoff across: (adv) crossways, crosswise, sideways, traverse, diagonally; (adj) crossed; (prep) cross, athwart, above, thwart; (adv, prep) overthwart. ANTONYMS: (adv) along, lengthways; (adj) uncrossed activities: (n) work, travels, performance, movements, deeds, actions activity: (n) liveliness, play, exercise, activeness, job, occupation, agility, work, enterprise, agency, vigor. ANTONYMS: (n) inaction, inactiveness, stillness, inertia, lifelessness, sloth, work actual: (adj, n) true; (adj) absolute, genuine, factual, authentic, precise, literal, tangible, indisputable, existent; (adj, adv) de facto. ANTONYMS: (adj) hypothetical, false, supposed, nominal, potential, unreal, theoretical, seeming, fictitious, pretended, past added: (adj) additional, further, extra, more, supplementary, accessorial, adscititious, supplemental, ancillary, other, new. ANTONYM: (adj) subtracted adding: (n) addition, calculation, reckoning
Ethan Frome address: (n, v) lecture, accost, discourse; (n) abode, residence, speech, skill, allocution, sermon; (v) greet, speak. ANTONYMS: (v) ignore, avoid, evade, overlook, pass, shun, slight, cut, disregard; (n) tactlessness adjoining: (adj) contiguous, neighbor, near, abutting, touching, conterminous, neighboring, immediate, next, vicinal; (adj, v) close. ANTONYMS: (adj) separate, divided, detached, apart, far adjunct: (n) addendum, addition, appendage, extra, attachment, adjutant, increment, coadjutor; (adj, n) assistant; (adj) auxiliary, appurtenant. ANTONYMS: (n) lessening, detriment adjusting: (v) adjust; (n) adjusting operation admiration: (n) esteem, adoration, appreciation, reverence, estimation, amazement, liking, awe, compliment; (adj, n) regard; (v) laud. ANTONYMS: (n) disdain, criticism, disapproval, contempt, abhorrence, loathing, disgust, despising, dishonor, disparagement, detestation admired: (adj) respected, admirable, estimable, favorite, pet, beloved, honored, August, loved, accepted, popular. ANTONYM: (adj) disreputable admit: (n, v) allow; (adj, v) acknowledge; (v) concede, accede, grant, affirm, confess, include, permit, take, welcome. ANTONYMS: (v) reject, exclude, bar, dispute, gainsay, withhold, refuse, oust, hide, eject, dismiss admonished: (adj) reprimanded, reproved, chastened adrift: (adj, adv) directionless; (adv) afloat, wrong; (adj, v) astray; (adj) disoriented, isolated, undirected, rudderless, planless, insular, in Twain. ANTONYMS: (adv) anchored, determined, purposeful, stable, moored advance: (v) accelerate, proceed, encourage, lend; (adv, v) further; (adj, v) promote; (n, v) rise, approach, raise, offer; (n) improvement. ANTONYMS: (v) recede, demote, regress, delay, retard, prevent, reverse; (n) deterioration, recession; (n, v) decrease, downgrade advanced: (adj) progressive, senior, higher, precocious, modern, new,
late, superior, ripe, cultured, developed. ANTONYMS: (adj) inferior, fundamental, slow, traditional, simple, obsolete, neurotic, behind, after, backwards, incomplete advancing: (adj) progressive, moving forward, increasing, moving, processive, thriving, ongoing, aggressive; (n) advancement, progression, proceeding advantage: (n) privilege, behalf, profit, good, preponderance, account, lead, virtue, expediency, perk; (n, v) boot. ANTONYMS: (n, v) disadvantage; (n) drawback, difficulty, detriment, hindrance, minus, restriction, obstacle, loss, inferiority, inconvenience advertising: (n) advert, advertisement, advertizing, propaganda, handbill, promotion, advertizement, publicity, commercial, hard sell, public relations advice: (n) warning, counsel, caution, report, exhortation, council, tidings, counselling, notice, intelligence, instruction. ANTONYMS: (n) misrepresentation, deceit, deception, lie, falsehood, betrayal, warning affability: (n) geniality, courtesy, cordiality, amiability, affableness, politeness, friendliness, amenity, sociability, kindness, amiableness. ANTONYMS: (n) unfriendliness, frostiness, incivility, remoteness, reserve, rudeness affairs: (n) dealings, concern, circumstances, transaction, occupation, duty, matters, matter, personal business, gear, finances affected: (adj) unnatural, pretentious, stilted, pompous, pedantic, studied, feigned, pretended, factitious, exaggerated, strained. ANTONYMS: (adj) unchanged, natural, genuine, calm, modest, unswayed, untouched, untroubled, unmoved; (adv) modestly affecting: (adj) poignant, emotional, moving, stirring, pathetic, emotive, piteous, pitiful, heartbreaking, mournful; (adj, v) sad. ANTONYMS: (adj) emotionless, unemotional afford: (v) offer, yield, provide, give, supply, get, furnish, impart, deliver, originate, sustain. ANTONYM: (v) withhold aflame: (adj) ablaze, burning, excited, afire, passionate, fiery, on fire,
Edith Wharton flaming, alight, reddened, red. ANTONYM: (adj) pale afoot: (n) afloat, prevalent; (v) on foot, on the tapis, agoing; (adv) walking, abroach; (adj) underway, itinerant, current afore: (adv) ahead, along, before, forwards, formerly, beforehand, previously; (adj) erewhile, aforehand, theretofore, preceding afraid: (adj) fearful, timid, shy, apprehensive, anxious, worried, scared, frightened, nervous, terrified; (adj, adv) cowardly. ANTONYMS: (adj) brave, venturesome, calm, confident, cool, courageous, eager, unafraid, valiant, bold, carefree afternoon: (n) Pm, farewell, greeting, P, salutation, in the afternoon, daytime, noon, postmeridian, midday, daylight. ANTONYMS: (n) morning, nighttime afterward: (adv, conj) then, after that; (adv) thereafter, afterwards, later, subsequently, later on, next, soon; (adj) following; (n) future. ANTONYMS: (adv) now, previously, before again: (adv) more, then, repeatedly, anew, encore, furthermore, yet, also, often, once again, once more against: (adj, adv) counter; (prep) toward, versus, from; (pref) by; (v) oppose; (adv, prep) on; (n) opposition; (adj) unwilling, repugnant; (adv) athwart. ANTONYMS: (prep) for; (adj) eager aggrieved: (adj) injured, offended, hurt, persecuted, harmed, pained, resentful, indignant, bitter, angry, affronted. ANTONYMS: (adj) assisted, comforted, happy, pleased, unaffected agitation: (n) disturbance, excitement, tumult, stirring, convulsion, stir, commotion, emotion, unrest, shake, turmoil. ANTONYMS: (n) serenity, calm, equanimity, rest, peace, deterrent agreed: (adj) unanimous, approved, set, united, in agreement, accepted, agreeable; (adv, int) all right; (int) okay; (v) content; (adv) no question. ANTONYMS: (adj) changing, individual agreement: (n) accord, contract, coincidence, accordance, accommodation, arrangement, acceptance, settlement, unison, appointment; (n, v) acquiescence. ANTONYMS: (n) discord,
argument, conflict, rejection, dispute, resistance, disarray, refutation, dissension, difference, divergence agriculture: (n) Department of Agriculture, agricultural, agribusiness, farm, husbandry, agriculture department, tillage, agronomy, geoponics, cultivation, rural economy. ANTONYM: (n) industry ahead: (adv) in advance, formerly, beforehand, previously, along, onward, beyond, in the van; (adj) front; (adj, adv) forward; (v) precede. ANTONYMS: (adj, adv) late; (adv) subsequently, following, back, before, after, ago, backward, losing, later; (adj) behindhand ailing: (adj) sickly, poorly, ill, unwell, bad, indisposed, unhealthy, invalid, morbid, weak; (n) illness. ANTONYMS: (adj) well, healthy, fit, robust, vigorous aimlessly: (adv) indiscriminately, pointlessly, without aim, randomly, haphazardly, driftingly, blindly, erratically, objectlessly, desultorily, vagrantly alert: (adj) active, agile, quick, lively, intelligent, aware, vigilant, clever, animated, ready; (adj, v) awake. ANTONYMS: (adj) drowsy, absentminded, dazed, tired, sleepy, unconscious, slow, asleep, unobservant, forgetful, dim alertness: (n) watchfulness, agility, alacrity, nimbleness, liveliness, jealousy, wariness, attention, quickness, intelligence, consciousness. ANTONYMS: (n) dream, drowsiness, inattentiveness, slowness, unconsciousness alien: (n) foreigner, outsider; (adj) strange, extrinsic, remote, exotic, extraneous, unfamiliar; (n, v) alienate; (adj, n) unknown; (v) estrange. ANTONYMS: (adj) familiar, akin, ordinary; (adj, n) native; (n) citizen, local aligned: (v) with alligned with; (adj) allied, joined, alined, combined, horizontal, united, amalgamated. ANTONYM: (adj) unaligned alimony: (n) support, subsistence, maintenance, allowance, pittance, living, livelihood, aliment, keep, upkeep, sustentation alive: (adj) live, vivacious, living, sensible, delicate, snappy, animated, lively, spry, responsive; (n) life. ANTONYMS: (adj) deceased,
113 inanimate, unanimated, dispirited, dull, inactive, lethargic, lifeless, listless, nonfunctioning, sluggish allusion: (n) innuendo, reference, cue, suggestion, mention, intimation, pointer, insinuation, implication, indication, clue almost: (adj, adv, prep) about; (adj, adv) nearly, all but, near, nigh; (adv, prep) just about, approximately; (adv) just, mostly, virtually, most. ANTONYMS: (adv) surely, exactly, definitely, certainly almshouse: (n) townhouse, workhouse alone: (adj) forlorn, individual, lonely, lonesome; (adj, adv) only, apart; (adv) solely, entirely, exclusively, separately, individually. ANTONYMS: (adj) overshadowed, ordinary, mobbed, equaled, crowded, accompanied, common, grouped, surpassed; (adv) jointly; (n) foe along: (adv) ahead, alongside, forwards, forth, throughout, lengthwise, onward, before; (prep) beside, from; (n) at. ANTONYMS: (adv) across, separate, apart, far aloud: (adv) loud, out loud, strong, out, audibly, hard, forte. ANTONYMS: (adv) softly, inaudibly, quietly already: (adv) beforehand, previously, before, formerly, even now, just now, at present, once, heretofore, yet, in advance alteration: (n) adjustment, change, revision, shift, changeover, conversion, modification, variation, reversal, metamorphosis, amendment. ANTONYMS: (n) fixity, preservation alternately: (adv) alternatively, by turns, in turn, secondarily, reciprocally, mutually, off-and-on, rather, anthemwise, secondly; (adj, adv) on and off alternative: (adj) alternate, alternating, other; (adj, n) variant; (n) choice, preference, substitute, selection, possibility, variation, election. ANTONYMS: (n) necessity, obligation, restraint; (adj) conformist, conventional, mainstream, ordinary always: (adv) continuously, whenever, permanently, ever, usually, eternally, unceasingly; (adj) perpetual, still, eternal; (adj, adv) without exception. ANTONYMS: (adv) erratically, intermittently,
114 temporarily amazement: (n) admiration, wonder, surprise, consternation, stupefaction, stupor, wonderment, feeling, alarm, jolt; (v) amaze. ANTONYMS: (n) preparation, indifference, expectation, coolness, cool, composure, calmness, contempt, belief ambitious: (adj) eager, difficult, energetic, competitive, desirous, grandiose, enterprising, pushy, challenging; (adj, v) aspiring, vaulting. ANTONYMS: (adj) fulfilled, undemanding, unambitious, slothful, simple, satisfied, lazy, humble, facile, easy, content among: (prep) between, amidst, mid, in, amongst, in the middle of, inter, in the midst of, with, within, middle. ANTONYM: (prep) outside amused: (adj) amusing, smiling, tickled pink, pleased, diverted amusement: (n) pleasure, recreation, entertainment, distraction, diversion, sport, pastime, laughter, enjoyment, joy, hobby. ANTONYMS: (n) sadness, boredom, work, tedium, business, despondency, discomfort, displeasure anaesthetic: (n) anesthetic, anaesthesia, anesthesia, narcosis, opiate, anesthetic agent; (v) general anaesthetic, tranquilizer, sleeping pill, sedative, relaxant anchored: (adj) fixed, immobile, stationary, secure, stable, firm; (v) rock solid, moored, on a rock, tethered ancient: (adj) old, obsolete, antiquated, former, past, archaic, antique, primitive, bygone, hoary; (adj, n) elder. ANTONYMS: (adj) contemporary, young, recent, fresh, new, present, youthful, current andrew: (n) St andrew, Saint andrew, saint Andrew the apostle anecdote: (n) tale, account, yarn, narrative, story, fable, relation, ana, fiction, trait, gossip anew: (adv) again, newly, lately, recently, over again, once more, once again, new; (adj) only yesterday, the other day, just now anger: (n) fury, rage, displeasure, resentment, indignation; (v) incense, offend, irritate, exasperate; (adj) angry; (n, v) wrath. ANTONYMS: (v) placate, pacify, tickle; (n) pleasure, composure, glee, affection,
Ethan Frome serenity, goodwill, forbearance; (n, v) calm angle: (n, v) hook, incline, tilt; (v) lean; (n) view, viewpoint, aspect, position, point of view, pitch, perspective anguish: (n, v) pain, ache; (n) torment, agony, torture, distress, misery, suffering, despair, grief, sorrow. ANTONYMS: (n) pleasure, happiness, calm, euphoria, joyfulness, ecstasy, content, peace, hopefulness angular: (adj) bony, skinny, spare, lean, gaunt, angulate, angled, Unit of angular velocity, Angular advance of an eccentric , scrawny, gangling. ANTONYMS: (adj) beefy, weighted, thick, straight, plump, fleshy, flat, fat animal: (adj, n) brute; (n) beast, organism, living thing, being, fauna; (adj, adv) fleshly; (adj) bodily, carnal, corporeal, physical. ANTONYMS: (adj) refined, mineral, genteel, mental, rational, intellectual, vegetable, delicate, factual, spiritual; (n) plant animals: (n) beast, nature, natural world, flora and fauna, stock, animal kingdom animosity: (n) hatred, enmity, anger, malice, rancor, resentment, venom, bad blood, antagonism, spite, abhorrence. ANTONYMS: (n) companionship, affection, love, friendship, harmony, goodwill, cooperation announce: (v) advertise, declare, enunciate, proclaim, return, promulgate, publicize, publish, tell, communicate, foretell. ANTONYMS: (v) withhold, conceal, repress, request announcement: (n) annunciation, advertisement, declaration, release, statement, communication, report, proclamation, promulgation, pronouncement, intimation. ANTONYM: (n) request another: (adj) second, more, alternative, additional, new, further, fresh, extra; (adj, v) other; (adj, pron) some other; (n) the other. ANTONYMS: (n, pron) same answer: (n, v) respond, retort; (v) counter, serve, resolve, acknowledge, correspond; (n) solution, defence, return, reaction. ANTONYMS: (n, v) question; (v) ask, differ, fail, ignore; (n) request, problem, invitation, poison
answering: (adj) respondent, responsive, according, agreeing, responsory; (n) respondency antipathy: (n) animosity, aversion, abomination, abhorrence, dislike, hatred, distaste, enmity, odium, repugnance, repulsion. ANTONYMS: (n) love, attraction, liking, like, leaning, regard, appeal, appreciation, admiration, affection, friendliness anybody: (adv) any, each; (n, pron) any person, a person; (n) everyone, somebody, nobody, everybody, someone; (pron) whoever anyhow: (adv) somehow, at any rate, in any case, whatever, in any event, regardless, however, though, besides, nonetheless, one way or another anything: (adv) any, somewhat; (n) thing, aught, everything, something, any part; (adj) whatsoever; (pron) suchlike anyway: (adv) somehow, however, regardless, though, besides, at any rate, in any case, in any event, all the same, although, nonetheless apart: (adj, adv) aloof; (adv) aside, asunder, especially; (adj) alone, distant, detached, isolated, only; (adj, v) separate; (v) segregate. ANTONYMS: (adv) adjoining, near, surrounded; (adj) connected, nearby apologetically: (adv) contritely, penitently, regretfully, repentantly, ruefully, sorrily, ashamedly, compunctiously apparently: (adv) manifestly, evidently, patently, obviously, clearly, plainly, supposedly, conspicuously, overtly, outwardly, allegedly. ANTONYMS: (adv) unclearly, actually, doubtfully, questionably, uncertainly, underneath, unlikely, truly, equivocally, imperceptibly appeal: (n, v) request, demand; (n) plea, address, attraction, prayer, recourse, complaint, application; (v) sue, interest. ANTONYMS: (v) repel, disclaim, repulse, deny, refuse, disgust, revoke; (n) unpleasantness, repulsion, refusal, rejection appear: (v) occur, seem, sound, come out, turn up, show, emerge, break, arrive, feel, arise. ANTONYMS: (v) vanish, hide, stop, sink, recede, go, depart appearance: (n) look, face, shape, show, apparition, advent, form, image, surface, impression; (adj, n)
Edith Wharton semblance. ANTONYMS: (n) departure, vanishing appearing: (adj) seeming, beseen, emergent, accomplished; (n) coming into court; (prep) liking; (adj, adv) prima facie appetite: (n, v) desire; (n) appetence, appetency, relish, inclination, stomach, taste, thirst, passion, liking, gusto. ANTONYMS: (n) dislike, repulsion, revulsion, apathy, distaste apply: (v) devote, dedicate, utilize, ask, use, resort, exercise, consume, lay, appeal; (n, v) give. ANTONYMS: (v) remove, separate, neglect, dissociate, defy, exempt, conserve applying: (adj) applicatory, applicative appointed: (adj) specified, prescribed, destined, ordained, fit, set, fitted, commissioned, nominated, designated; (v) appoint appointment: (n) assignment, date, post, designation, rendezvous, engagement, appointments, fitting, berth, blind date, conference. ANTONYM: (n) dismissal apprenticeship: (n) situation, position, spot, berth, post, office, instruction, education, training, prenticeship, apprenticehood approach: (n) access, entry, means, advent, coming, entrance, arrival; (n, v) advance; (v) accost, address; (adv, v) near. ANTONYMS: (n) departure, withdrawal, leaving, distancing; (v) end, withdraw, finish, distance, depart, conclude, close approaching: (adj) future, forthcoming, impending, imminent, oncoming, near; (adj, n) coming; (n, v) approach; (adv) nearly, almost; (prep) toward arcade: (n) colonnade, arch, portico, piazza, arc, construction, bow, horseshoe, crane neck, vault, loop arch: (n, v) curve, bow, bend; (n) dome, curvature, acute; (adj) wily, shrewd, sly; (v) vault; (adj, n, v) round. ANTONYMS: (adj) smallest, petty, modest, minor, frank, least, lesser, inferior, forthright, guileless, humble argue: (v) contend, quarrel, oppose, altercate, debate, declare, contest, discuss, convince; (n, v) reason, question. ANTONYMS: (v) deny, harmonize, assent, concur, abstain, comply, dissuade argument: (n) proof, debate, matter,
controversy, hassle, independent variable, contention, difference, justification, discussion, fight. ANTONYMS: (n) harmony, concord, accord, consensus, accusation, defense arid: (adj, v) dry, dull, monotonous, uninteresting; (adj) barren, tedious, parched, fruitless, sterile, unproductive, boring. ANTONYMS: (adj) verdant, fertile, humid, interesting, colorful, damp, lively, moist, spirited, animated, exciting arms: (n) armament, coat of arms, weaponry, ammunition, shield, ordnance, order, munition, hardware, blazon; (adj) armed aromatic: (adj) spicy, scented, sweet, savory, balmy, redolent, odorous, perfumed, pungent, tasty, piquant. ANTONYMS: (adj) smelly, odorless, stinky, acrid, mild, sweet, insipid around: (adv) approximately, almost, roughly, just about, some; (adv, prep) round, encompassing; (adj) near; (n) vicinity; (prep) all round, encircling arrest: (n, v) halt, check, catch, capture, hold, collar; (n) apprehension, custody; (v) apprehend, retard, inhibit. ANTONYMS: (n, v) discharge; (v) liberate, promote, forward, encourage, activate, advance, prompt, help; (n) freeing, liberation arrival: (n) advent, accession, entrance, incoming, newcomer, return, attainment, coming, comer, entry, reaching. ANTONYMS: (n) exit, leaving, disappearance, conclusion arts: (n) humanities, liberal arts, craft, fine arts, philosophy, chronology, classicism, classicistic, historical, history, humanistic discipline ashamed: (adj) hangdog, guilty, embarrassed, sheepish, remorseful, regretful, bashful, disconcerted, contrite, chagrined; (v) dashed. ANTONYMS: (adj) proud, arrogant, unremorseful, unashamed, pleased, blatant, bold, happy, unabashed, unrepentant aside: (adv) apart, away, beside, alongside, in reserve, off, abreast; (adj, adv) by; (n) digression, divagation, parenthesis. ANTONYMS: (adv) erectly, uprightly, vertically asleep: (adj) sleeping, deceased, sleepy, dormant, numb, dead, sound asleep, snoozing, slumbering,
115 napping, gone. ANTONYMS: (adj) up, attentive, alert, conscious assist: (n, v) aid, help, support; (v) abet, serve, contribute, boost, relieve, encourage, to help, facilitate. ANTONYMS: (n, v) impede, oppose; (v) thwart, disrupt, hamper, hurt, stop, worsen, shun; (n) hindrance, counteract assistant: (n, v) assist, aid, assistance; (adj, n) subordinate; (n) acolyte, accomplice, colleague, auxiliary, helper, adjutant; (adj) ancillary. ANTONYM: (adj) chief associations: (n) association, relations, connections, relationships, dealings, relatives assumed: (adj) sham, affected, fictitious, fake, feigned, counterfeit, pretended, reputed, artificial, hypothetical, spurious. ANTONYMS: (adj) true, authentic, explicit, known, real, natural assurance: (n) confidence, guarantee, belief, pledge, security, promise, sureness, poise, conviction, nerve, warrant. ANTONYMS: (n) doubt, uncertainty, mistrust, lie, fiction, awkwardness, timidity, clumsiness assure: (n, v) certify, warrant, vouch; (v) secure, persuade, satisfy, reassure, affirm, promise, ascertain; (adj, v) ensure. ANTONYMS: (v) alarm, disclaim, deny, disbelieve, undermine assured: (adj, v) certain, sure; (adj) confident, guaranteed, positive, definite, assertive, confirmed, convinced, reliable, safe. ANTONYMS: (adj) uncertain, doubtful, unsure, troubled, timid, questionable, hesitant, confused, halting, unlikely asthmatic: (adj) wheezing, asthma, breathless astonishment: (n) admiration, wonder, wonderment, surprise, marvel, stupefaction, confusion, consternation, awe, alarm, startle. ANTONYMS: (n) calmness, belief, contempt astray: (adj, adv) adrift, off course; (adj) lost, wrong, disoriented, awry; (adv) amiss, widely, far, afield, aside. ANTONYM: (adj) accurate atmosphere: (n) ambience, ambiance, mood, aura, feel, environment, feeling, background, quality, medium, setting attach: (v) append, adhere, add, affix, bind, link, associate, assign, nail, apply, annex. ANTONYMS: (v)
116 undo, separate, unfasten, disconnect, free, deflect, dissociate, loosen, quit, take, unscrew attached: (adj) affectionate, committed, affiliated, associated, devoted, fond, loving, loyal, near, added; (n) attachment. ANTONYMS: (adj) separate, unmarried, unattached, vagile, free, distant attempt: (n, v) endeavor, offer, struggle, assay, essay, attack; (n) effort, trial; (v) undertake, chance, aim. ANTONYMS: (n) success, fulfillment, achievement, accomplishment; (v) succeed, fulfill, achieve, accomplish, perform attended: (adj) attent, fraught, tended to attention: (n) mind, heed, notice, alertness, care, advertency, aid, consideration, ear, attentiveness, precision. ANTONYMS: (n) neglect, negligence, thoughtlessness, abandonment, abstraction, discourtesy, disregard, oversight, indifference, insensibility, carelessness attic: (adj) chaste, pure, elegant, classical, correct, artistic; (n) cockloft, loft, clerestory, house top, upper story attitude: (n) aspect, posture, behavior, mind, notion, approach, air, bearing, disposition, point of view, outlook attracted: (adj) paying attention, concerned, enamored, enthusiastic, interested, involved, amatory attracting: (adj) alluring, tempting, attractive, tractive, winning, taking, prepossessing, allicient, seductive; (n) drawing; (v) attrahent auction: (n, v) sale; (v) auctioneer, auction off, sell; (n) bidding, auction sale, auction bridge, cant, portsale, Dutch auction, angle audacity: (n) nerve, audaciousness, effrontery, arrogance, temerity, cheek, impertinence, insolence, courage; (n, v) impudence; (adj, n) presumption. ANTONYMS: (n) cowardice, propriety, decorum, circumspection, courtesy, fear, respect, spinelessness, reticence audible: (adj) plain, hearable, distinct, detectable, sounding, sharp, sonic, definite, discernible, perceptible, sensory. ANTONYMS: (adj) inaudible, unintelligible, undetectable, silent, faint august: (adj, v) grand, stately, lordly,
Ethan Frome dignified, proud, great; (adj) majestic, royal, regal, superb; (n) Aug. ANTONYMS: (adj) humble, undignified, pedestrian, lowly, ignoble, modest, disreputable aunt: (n) uncle, auntie, aunty, father's younger brother's wife, father's older brother's wife, mother's sister, kinswoman, nephew, niece, paternal aunt, maternal uncle's wife austere: (adj) ascetic, stern, severe, harsh, plain, rigorous, rigid, abstemious, stark, astringent, stiff. ANTONYMS: (adj) ornate, luxurious, frivolous, hedonistic, extravagant, lush, elaborate, spending, sunny, warm, indulgent authority: (n) ascendancy, sanction, warrant, administration, authorization, professional, judge, hold, domination, dominance; (adj, n) rule. ANTONYMS: (n) novice, neophyte, weakness, apprentice, servility, servitude, refusal, powerlessness, insecurity, inferiority, indecisiveness aver: (v) assert, attest, allege, assure, asseverate, avow, declare, claim, swear, hold, state. ANTONYMS: (v) deny, refute avoid: (v) shun, parry, avert, escape, evade, ward off, duck, circumvent, prevent, ignore; (adj, v) eschew. ANTONYMS: (v) associate, tackle, face, validate, participate, invite, seek, embrace, court, permit, encourage avoided: (adj) unpopular avowal: (n) declaration, assertion, affirmation, admission, statement, recognition, acknowledgement, announcement, confession, testimony; (n, v) profession avowed: (adj) acknowledged, attested, ostensible, sworn, stated, confirmed, declared, pretended, known, authenticated, apparent aware: (adj) awake, attentive, conscious, realize, vigilant, perceive, mindful, heedful, alive, sentient, sensible. ANTONYMS: (adj) unconscious, insensitive, ignorant, unfamiliar, unwitting, incognizant, unmindful, unconcerned, unprepared, oblivious, indifferent away: (adj, adv) abroad, absent; (adj, adv, int) out; (adj) distant; (adv) aside, aloof, afar, way, by, forth; (adv, int) off. ANTONYMS: (adj) adjacent, neighboring, nearby, near, close; (adv) intermittently, haltingly, discontinuously, in
awful: (adj) fearful, dreadful, terrible, abominable, appalling, nasty, abhorrent, atrocious, bad, horrible, lousy. ANTONYMS: (adj) excellent, wonderful, marvelous, great, lovely, nice, pleasant, beautiful, pleasing, good, minor awhile: (adj) in transitu, en passant; (adv) briefly awkward: (adj) inconvenient, clumsy, embarrassing, uncomfortable, ungainly, untoward, crude, inept, sticky, left-handed, heavy. ANTONYMS: (adj) graceful, easy, adroit, manageable, straightforward, simple, dexterous, rotund, convenient, helpful, skillful awkwardly: (adv) gawkily, ineptly, ungracefully, embarrassingly, maladroitly, stiffly, gracelessly, inopportunely, bunglingly, inelegantly, unwieldily. ANTONYMS: (adv) gracefully, elegantly, usefully, urbanely, contentedly, coherently, calmly, conveniently, agilely, expertly, amenably awkwardness: (n) embarrassment, stiffness, unwieldiness, inconvenience, gawkiness, inelegance, troublesomeness, ineptitude, ineptness, gaucherie; (adj, n) delicacy. ANTONYMS: (n) gracefulness, grace, comfort, coordination, pride, urbanity, ease, assurance, liveliness, confidence, cooperation baby: (n) babe, child, darling; (v) pamper, indulge, coddle, mollycoddle, spoil; (adj, n) miniature, young; (adj) small. ANTONYMS: (v) ignore, neglect; (adj) large, mature, big; (n) parent, adolescent, adult, grownup backed: (adj) upheld, support, backed up, coated, lined background: (n) groundwork, backdrop, education, basis, context, scene, environment, backcloth, panorama, ground, situation. ANTONYM: (n) future badly: (adv) poorly, severely, awfully, wrongly, seriously, naughtily, wickedly, hardly, corruptly, injuriously; (adj, adv) gravely. ANTONYMS: (adv) skillfully, obediently, perfectly, giftedly, flawlessly, satisfactorily, admirably, superbly, shamelessly, excellently, pleasingly baffled: (adj) bewildered, puzzled, perplexed, confounded, at sea,
Edith Wharton frustrated, befuddled, beaten, bemused, preoccupied, helpless. ANTONYM: (adj) clear balance: (n, v) counterbalance, adjust, poise, settle; (v) offset, compensate, contrast; (n) symmetry, Libra, remainder, excess. ANTONYMS: (v) unbalance, neglect, surmise, suppose, guess; (n) asymmetry, inequality, instability, irrationality, nervousness, bias ball: (adj, n) globe; (n) bulb, shell, bead, party, orb, bullet, lump, pellet, football, dance. ANTONYM: (v) square balm: (n) salve, unguent, incense, perfume, aroma, unction, liniment, balsam, arnica, lotion, fragrance. ANTONYMS: (n) irritant, nuisance bandbox: (adj) dapper, spruce bands: (n) cords, stripes banishment: (n) expulsion, ostracism, ouster, proscription, relegation, ejection, deportation, dismissal, expatriation; (adj, n) exclusion; (adj) excommunication bank: (n) dam, coast, limit, stack; (n, v) store, slope, gradient, embankment, heap, hill; (v) deposit. ANTONYMS: (v) withdraw, spend, align, disburse, distrust, plumb, straighten; (n) hollow banks: (n) thumb index, sir Joseph Banks, sidewalls, bank shares, bank balance bare: (adj) naked, austere, bald, stark, bleak, exposed, desolate, plain; (adj, v) empty, vacant; (v) show. ANTONYMS: (adj) cultivated, ornate, concealed, elaborate, adorned, decorated, dressed, clothed, embellished; (v) cover, conceal bared: (adj) naked, unclothed, exposed barely: (adv) merely, just, nakedly, scantily, simply, nudely, baldly, purely, narrowly; (adj, adv) scarcely, only. ANTONYMS: (adj) enough, amply, sufficiently, abundantly; (adv) much, thoroughly, well, easily, obviously, clearly, strongly barn: (n) outhouse, shed, cowshed, cowhouse, stable, bawn, grange, byre, godown, granary, storehouse barred: (adj) prohibited, forbidden, barricaded, barry, banned, illicit, streaked; (v) striated, areolar, veined; (n) Bart. ANTONYMS: (adj) admissible, legitimate, eligible, open barren: (adj, n) sterile; (adj) infertile, deserted, arid, void, dry, stark,
meagre, fruitless, abortive; (n) waste. ANTONYMS: (adj) productive, lush, fruitful, developing, growing, profitable, rewarding, rich, sheltered, humid, populous barricade: (n, v) barrier, blockade, barricado; (v) block, obstruct, hinder, dam; (n) obstruction, fence, rampart, hurdle. ANTONYMS: (n) opening; (v) open, expose, assist bars: (n) grinding media, gymnastics, parallel bars based: (adj) founded basement: (n) base, vault, cellarage, offices, story, storey, kitchen, pantry, scullery, footing; (adj, n) bottom bathed: (adj) sweaty battered: (adj) worn, damaged, hurt, maltreated, tattered, ragged, shabby, injured; (v) seedy, pulled down, shattered battery: (n) troop, cell, barrage, army, suite, company, artillery, assault and battery, barrage fire, primary cell, squad beach: (n) shore, coast, bank, foreshore, brink, waterside, strand, coastline, shoreline, seashore, plage. ANTONYM: (n) sea beading: (n) bead, astragal, ornamentation, ornament, decoration, moulding, anklebone, astragalus, bead and quirk, molding, beadwork beaming: (adj) bright, radiant, glowing, glad, beamy, cheerful, refulgent, sunny, luminous, resplendent, incandescent. ANTONYMS: (adj) gloomy, dark, dusky, frowning, sad, sullen, tenebrous beans: (adj) unimportant; (n) money bear: (v) accept, take, stand, acquit, abide, allow, wear, comport, tolerate, convey, teem. ANTONYMS: (v) release, avoid, destroy, dodge, take, eradicate, evade, kill, refuse, erase; (n) bull bearing: (n, v) demeanor; (n) manner, direction, deportment, conduct, attitude, aspect, approach, appearance, respect, air. ANTONYMS: (n) insignificance, irrelevance; (adj) nonbearing bears: (n) fissiped, badgers, Carnivora, order Carnivora bearskin: (n) lid, pelt, hat, fur, chapeau, kepi, forage cap, busby, shako beat: (n, v) pulse, throb, tick, flap,
117 knock; (v) batter, whip, trounce, pulsate, bat; (n) round. ANTONYMS: (v) protect, help, divide, cede, aid, separate, surrender; (adj) invigorated, energized; (n) caress, pat beating: (n) reverse, defeat, whipping, thrashing, battery, flogging, pounding, pulsation, pulse, rout; (adj) pulsing. ANTONYMS: (n) victory, win beauty: (n) attractiveness, beaut, charm, pulchritude, loveliness, exquisiteness, grace, grandeur, looker, good looks; (adj) beautiful. ANTONYMS: (n) hag, plainness, shortcoming, flaw, witch, dog, disadvantage, detraction, repulsiveness, eyesore, awkwardness become: (v) grow, suit, be, match, come about, arise, get, sit, to become, fall; (adj) becoming. ANTONYMS: (v) halt, stay, lower, stop, reduce, clash bedded: (adj) lay, laminal, laminar, layered, foliate, foliated. ANTONYMS: (adj) unstratified, bedless bedroom: (n) bedchamber, dormitory, sleeping room, apartment, assembly, berth, boudoir, master bedroom; (adj) sexy bees: (n) Apoidea, superfamily Apoidea befitting: (adj) apt, becoming, suitable, apropos, decent, condign, fitting, fit; (adj, v) proper; (n) feat; (v) meet. ANTONYMS: (adj) improper, unbecoming, unfitting, unsuitable before: (adv) ahead, ago, in front, previously, already, forth; (adv, prep) fore, afore; (adj) preceding, prior; (adj, adv) earlier. ANTONYMS: (adv, prep) later, behind, afterward, after; (adv) subsequently, ahead; (adj) subsequent beforehand: (adv) previously, ahead, in advance, in anticipation, first; (adj, adv) early, aforehand; (adj) advance, already, afore; (n) prior. ANTONYMS: (adv) afterwards, afterward, later, late, subsequently began: (v) Gan begin: (v) commence, arise, initiate, become, enter, rise, originate, undertake, create, dawn, set out. ANTONYMS: (v) end, stop, cease, terminate, die, delay, complete, conclude
118 beginning: (n) commencement, derivation, birth, start, opening, origin, begin, onset, debut, kickoff; (adj) original. ANTONYMS: (n) finish, finale, conclusion, demise, ending, culmination, closing, departure, expiration, termination, middle begun: (adj) present behind: (adj, n) back, rear; (adj, adv) backward, late; (adv) backwards, later, aback, beyond; (n) backside, can; (prep) abaft. ANTONYMS: (adj, adv) early; (adv) fore; (adj) prompt beleaguered: (adj) overwhelmed, drawn, under attack, under duress, secluded, snowed under, targeted, on the spot, inundated, hurried, haggard believe: (n) belief, believing; (v) assume, conceive, consider, reckon, guess, accredit, to believe, understand; (n, v) trust. ANTONYMS: (v) distrust, doubt, question, suspect, reject, discredit, deny, despair believed: (adj) whispered, alleged, thought, held bells: (n) addition, approval, matrimony, marriage, approbation, wedding below: (adv, prep) under, underneath; (adj) low; (adj, adv) after; (adv) down, infra, downstairs, at a lower place, downwards, down below; (prep) less than. ANTONYMS: (adv, prep) over; (prep) more; (adv) upstairs belt: (n, v) band, hit, whack, wallop; (n) area, strap, strip, zone, fascia, baldric; (v) beat bend: (n, v) bow, turn, arch, arc, crook, twist, elbow; (adj, n, v) curve; (v) stoop, crouch; (adj, v) flex. ANTONYMS: (n, v) square; (v) align, unbend, leave bending: (n) bow, bend, deflection, deflexion, refraction, flexure, crook; (adj) flexible, supple, winding, pliant. ANTONYM: (adj) stiff beneath: (adv, prep) below, under; (adj) low, inferior; (adv) downward, infra, at a lower place; (prep) lower than, less than, unworthy of, unbefitting. ANTONYMS: (adv, prep) over; (adv) higher benevolence: (n) beneficence, affection, favor, mercy, compassion, favour, kindness, benefaction, pity, kindliness, generosity. ANTONYMS: (n) malevolence, meanness, cruelty, misanthropy,
Ethan Frome wickedness, nastiness, malice bent: (adj) curved, arched, deformed, crooked; (n) propensity, inclination, fancy, leaning, flair, gift, curvature. ANTONYMS: (n) weakness, inability, aversion; (adj) undetermined, undecided, uncurved, uncaring, rigid, unbent benumbed: (adj) torpid, asleep, stiff, insensible, dull, dead, numbed, hardened, drugged, uninterested, cold beside: (adv) on, abreast, aside, closely, nearly; (prep) about; (adv, prep) besides; (adj) adjacent; (n) while, at; (adj, prep) near besides: (adv) as well, moreover, too, furthermore, again, as well as, anyway, additionally; (prep) apart from, beside; (adj, adv) more best: (adj, n) supreme, most, elite; (adj) superior, great, leading, choice, superlative; (v) beat, outdo; (adj, n, v) top. ANTONYMS: (adj, n) worst; (v) lose, surrender; (adj) minimum, lowest, least, inferior, incorrect, fewest; (n) loser; (adv) insincerely better: (adj, v) improve, mend; (adj, adv, v) best; (v) recover, ameliorate, emend, reform, advance, enhance, surpass; (n) bettor. ANTONYMS: (adj, adv) worse; (adj, n) inferior; (v) worsen, deteriorate; (adj) lesser, lower, tinier, ill, unhealthy, smaller, sicker bewildered: (adj) bemused, confused, confounded, perplexed, befuddled, puzzled, dumbfounded, taken aback, addled, disoriented; (adj, v) lost. ANTONYMS: (adj) unimpressed, clear, oriented, precise, understanding, alert beyond: (adj, prep) across; (adv, prep) above, without, besides, over; (adj, adv) further; (adv) away, by, more, farther, abroad. ANTONYMS: (prep) below; (adv) close, inside bible: (n) scripture, scriptures, book, Holy Scripture, word of God, good book, bibliography, bibliotheca, Holy Bible, handbook, word bicycle: (n, v) bike, wheel, motorcycle; (n) machine, velocipede, mountain bike, push bike; (v) cycle, pedal, backpedal, drive bigger: (adj) greater, larger, better, major, largest, biggest, big, large, great, vast, wide. ANTONYM: (adj) lesser biggest: (adj) utmost, largest, bigger, greatest, major, most, best, superlative, top, big, main
bind: (adj, v) attach, fix, fasten, affix; (n) band; (v) bandage, lace, fetter, bundle, truss, combine. ANTONYMS: (v) untie, unbind, free, unfasten, unravel, permit, loosen, loose, let; (n, v) release; (n) pleasure bird: (n) wench, poultry, fowl, girl, birdie, hen, chick, Bronx cheer, shuttlecock, archaeornis, archeopteryx birds: (n) aves, class Aves, Craniata, flora and fauna, natural world, nature, subphylum Craniata, Subphylum Vertebrata, Vertebrata, amphibians biscuits: (n) biscuit, cracker; (adj) crackers bite: (n, v) nip, cut, taste, hurt, pain; (v) pinch, chew, erode, gnaw, eat; (n) morsel. ANTONYMS: (n) lot, whole, mildness bits: (n) odds and ends, scraps, debris bitter: (adj, v) acrimonious, acrid; (adj) sharp, acid, malicious, caustic, virulent, sour, resentful, keen, acerbic. ANTONYMS: (adj) mild, charitable, hot, sugary, kind, wonderful, warm, pleasant, nice, agreeable, gentle bitterness: (n) acerbity, animosity, gall, malice, resentment, enmity, acridity, acidity, bitter, rancor, sharpness. ANTONYMS: (n) joy, happiness, harmony, kindness, blandness, friendliness, goodwill, idealism, affection black: (adj) sable, dark, ebony, colored, bleak, dirty, evil, nigger, darkie, unclean; (adj, n) blackamoor. ANTONYMS: (v) whiten; (adj) spotless, snowy, saintly, pale, optimistic, merry, light, angelic, ivory, bright blackberry: (v) bloater, bouilli, bouillon, breadfruit, chop suey, blancmange; (n) drupelet, mulberry, bramble, black haw, blackberry bush blackness: (n) black, darkness, sable, gloom, nigritude, night, inkiness, dark, murk, murkiness, obscurity blame: (v) arraign, chide; (n, v) reprimand, censure, attack, charge, reproach, rap, rebuke, fault; (n) onus. ANTONYMS: (n, v) praise; (v) absolve, exonerate, commend, clear, acquit; (n) vindication, exoneration, honor, absolution, glory blankly: (adj, adv) inanely, vacuously, expressionlessly; (adv) emptily, hollowly, voidly, cleanly,
Edith Wharton impassively, stupidly, whitely, inexpressively. ANTONYM: (adv) brightly blazing: (adj) flaming, afire, burning, ardent, aflame, glaring, bright, blatant, alight, passionate; (n) blaze. ANTONYMS: (adj) freezing, quiet bleak: (adj) austere, bare, barren, cold, dreary, murky, black, desolate, raw, bald, bitter. ANTONYMS: (adj) mild, lush, sunny, hopeful, encouraging, cheery, bright, sheltered, soulful, cozy, populated blinking: (adj) flickering, bally, blooming; (adj, n) winking; (n) shimmer, blink, wink, twinkling, nictation, blink of an eye, nictitation bliss: (n) happiness, joy, ecstasy, pleasure, paradise, blessedness, felicity, elation, beatitude, heaven, blessing. ANTONYMS: (n) misery, sorrow, agony, grief, anguish, sadness, suffering, gloom, hell, dissatisfaction blizzard: (n) tempest, storm, snowfall, gale, norther, vendaval, khamsin, foehn, Chinook, wuther, squall blocked: (adj) jammed, impeded, clogged, locked, stopped, hindered, block, obstruct, obstructed, choke, barren. ANTONYMS: (adj) free, fertile, open blood: (n) birth, gore, nature, origin, kindred, lineage, descent, family, beau, pedigree; (adj) juice bloodless: (adj) white, livid, dead, pale, pasty, wan, exsanguine, blanched, anaemic, ghastly, watery. ANTONYMS: (adj) robust, sanguine, rosy, bloody, florid, caring, lively blotched: (adj) splotched, maculate blow: (n) beat, knock, shock, wallop, gust, jolt; (adj, n, v) gasp, puff; (n, v) blast, slap; (v) squander. ANTONYMS: (n, v) calm; (v) save, conserve, store, stillness, inhale, come, arrive; (n) luck, comfort, caress blown: (adj) puffy, panting, swollen, winded, inflated, moving, high, haughty lofty, late; (v) puffing and blowing; (n) blowen blue: (adj) depressed, down, gloomy, low, spicy, livid, naughty, sapphire, sad, downhearted, downcast. ANTONYMS: (adj) clean, happy, joyous, refined, moral, decent, upbeat, joyful, gay, cheerful, cheery blueberries: (n) genus Vaccinium blueberry: (n) whortleberry,
huckleberry, swamp-blueberry, blaeberry, whinberry, deerberry, blueberry bush, blueberries bluish: (adj) blueish, blasphemous, powder blue, coloured, colorful, colored, chromatic, bluey, aristocratic, aristocratical blunder: (n, v) mistake, stumble, slip, botch; (adj, n) fault; (n) error, gaffe, trip; (v) fail, fumble; (adj, n, v) miss. ANTONYMS: (v) succeed, correct, accomplish, achieve; (n) achievement blur: (n, v) blemish, smudge, slur; (v) taint, smear, cloud, obscure, blear, dim; (adj, v) daub; (adj, n) stain. ANTONYMS: (v) sharpen, accentuate, uncloud, purify, focus, define, cleanse, clean blush: (n, v) glow, color; (v) redden, crimson; (n) red, bloom, rosiness, ruddiness, redness; (adj) bashful; (adv) blushingly. ANTONYMS: (v) blanch, pale, blench; (n) paleness board: (v) get on, lodge; (n) panel, bench, meal, office, sign, court, plank, embark; (n, v) table. ANTONYMS: (v) disembark, dislodge, leave, evict, detrain, deplane, dismount boards: (n) timber, arena, table, stage, fence, floor boast: (v) bluster, brag, blow, crow, gasconade, show off, rodomontade, exult; (n, v) vaunt, pride; (n) arrogance. ANTONYMS: (n) deprecation; (v) downplay, lack boastfulness: (n) conceit, braggardism, boast, arrogance, egoism, glory. ANTONYM: (n) timidity bodily: (adj) material, corporeal, corporal, animal, carnal, somatic, real, personal, sensual; (adv) altogether, fleshly. ANTONYMS: (adj) mental, spiritual, soulful, intellectual; (adv) mentally body: (n) cadaver, corpse, organization, cluster, set, carcass, figure, consistency, aggregate, association; (adj, n) mass. ANTONYMS: (n) handful, mind, minority, soul, few bolt: (v) bar, gobble, abscond, fasten; (n) arrow; (adj, n) pin; (n, v) dash, lock, latch, escape; (adv) bang. ANTONYMS: (v) nibble, unbolt, loosen, amble, snack, wait, open, unfasten, stroll, saunter, unscrew bonnet: (n) cap, protection, chapeau, tile, wimple, beret, lid, cowling, castor, poke bonnet, sunbonnet
119 bony: (adj) osseous, gaunt, lean, thin, emaciated, scrawny, skinny, angular, lanky, meager, boney. ANTONYMS: (adj) plump, boneless, fat, stout book: (v) order, reserve, inscribe, apply, write; (n) account book, pamphlet, journal, volume; (n, v) list, record. ANTONYMS: (v) free, exonerate book-keeping: (n) accountancy, bookkeeping books: (n) notebook, account, ledger, literature, accountancy booted: (adj) shod, shoder boots: (n) Bootes, bell boy, bootblack, counterjumper, boy, shoeblack, footwear bore: (v) dig, tire, pierce, tap, annoy, perforate; (n, v) bother, plague; (n) auger, well, gimlet. ANTONYMS: (v) fascinate, excite, hypnotize, engage, entertain, stimulate; (n) charmer, exciter, excitement, pleasure borrowing: (n) lending, loan, lend, pledging, borrow, business borrowing, misappropriation, pawn, installment plan, acceptance, appropriation bottle: (n) container, jug, flask, cruet, vial, pot, phial, jar, decanter, carboy; (n, v) can bottom: (n) basis, backside, bed, behind, foot, footing, back, foundation, posterior, floor; (n, v) ground. ANTONYMS: (n) pinnacle, summit, peak, roof, apex, ceiling, middle; (adj) highest bought: (n) crook, hook bound: (n, v) leap, jump, border, bounce, limit, edge, vault, recoil; (n) boundary, barrier, compass. ANTONYMS: (v) allow, amble, crawl, limp, permit; (adj) permitted, released, unbound, allowed, unlikely boundaries: (n) border, limits, frontiers, confines, borders, area, grounds, limitations, outbounds bounding: (n) jumping, confinement; (v) confine, salient; (adj) terminal, moving, subsultory bout: (n, v) round; (n) attack, spell, turn, competition, fight, battle, fighting, effort, game, fit bowed: (adj) arched, curved, inclined, crooked, arciform, arching, arced, bandy, arcuate, twisted, bended. ANTONYMS: (adj) straight, concave, plucked bowl: (n) basin, plate, hollow,
120 stadium, container, arena, depression, porringer; (v) hurl, toss, troll boyhood: (n) babyhood, adolescence, youth, youthhood, infancy, girlhood, age, boyism, puberty. ANTONYM: (n) adulthood boyish: (adj) young, puerile, adolescent, youthful, babyish, childish, girlish, kittenish, boylike, callow, immature. ANTONYM: (adj) mature bragging: (n) brag, swagger, bluff, bluster, conceit, arrogance; (adj) arrogant, boastful, big, overweening, braggy. ANTONYMS: (adj) modest; (n) timidity brain: (n) mastermind, genius, head, mind, reason, wit, psyche, noddle, intelligence, nous, brains. ANTONYMS: (n) emotion, moron, body, dummy, imbecile, idiot, physicality branch: (n, v) fork; (n) wing, jump, affiliate, ramus, member, stem, limb, agency, stick, subdivision. ANTONYMS: (n) composite, trunk; (v) converge, merge branches: (n) branch, brushwood bread: (n) livelihood, bun, maintenance, cash, currency, loot, dough, pelf, food, sustenance, kale break: (n, v) crack, fracture, breach, burst, rupture, stop, pause; (n) interruption, respite, suspension; (v) infringe. ANTONYMS: (v) obey, honor, lose, make, observe, resume, stay, strengthen; (n, v) mend; (n) continuation, misfortune breakfast: (n) repast, banquet, dejeuner, mealtime, feast, meal; (v) sup, take tea, eat, have a meal, dine breaking: (n) breakage, breach, violation, infringement, contravention, smash, rift, scutching, shift, intermission; (v) deaden breast: (n) boob, udder, tit, titty, chest, knocker, mammilla, bust, pap, heart; (n, v) front breath: (n) wind, air, inspiration, puff, soul, aspiration, respite, airflow; (v) breathe, respire; (adj, n) whisper breathe: (n, v) respire, subsist, imply; (n) breath, bespeak; (adj, n, v) live; (v) exhale, exist, emit, rest, be. ANTONYMS: (v) suffocate, hide, choke, asphyxiate, drain, die, inhale breathing: (adj) animate, live, living, respiratory, alive, above ground; (v) breathe, respire; (n) respiration,
Ethan Frome instant, moment. ANTONYMS: (adj) inanimate, breathless, dead breathlessly: (adv) pantingly, eagerly, windedly, deadly, inanimately, breathtakingly, impatiently, animatedly, hungrily, chokingly, pulselessly breed: (n) variety, race, kind, ancestry, sort, order, species; (v) engender, multiply, beget, bear. ANTONYMS: (v) destroy, eradicate, ignore, kill, neglect, quell breeze: (n) breath, air, gust, gale, flurry, zephyr, rumor, wind, blow, bise; (v) move brewing: (v) preparing, forthcoming, culinary art, brooding; (n) production; (adj) impending, destined, imminent brick: (n) adobe, block, rough diamond, ugly duckling, lump, unit, red; (adj) trump, concrete; (v) pot, terra cotta bridesmaid: (v) bridesman; (n) woman, adult female, flower girl bridle: (n, v) curb, check, control, snaffle, rein, leash; (n) arrest, reins, brake; (v) inhibit, contain. ANTONYMS: (v) unbridle, unharness, release brief: (adj) concise, transient, little, abridge, short-lived, abrupt; (adj, n) abstract, summary; (n) epitome, report; (v) notify. ANTONYMS: (adj) permanent, lengthy, rambling, wordy, prolonged, extended, lasting, civil; (adv) civilly; (v) secrete, hide bright: (adj) alive, vivid, intelligent, apt, shining, brilliant, lustrous, luminous, light, beaming, shiny. ANTONYMS: (adj) cloudy, stupid, gloomy, dim, unintelligent, dreary, dark, overcast, shadowy, thick, leaden bring: (v) convey, get, take, bear, carry, put, conduct, return, reduce, set, bring in. ANTONYMS: (v) drop, free, leave, lose, remove, avoid bringing: (n) delivery, consignment, serving, service, passage, post brink: (n, v) edge; (n) border, hem, threshold, boundary, brim, shore, periphery, lip, margin, limit. ANTONYMS: (n) middle, interior, end brisk: (adj) bracing, agile, alive, bright, lively, acute, alert, energetic, sprightly; (adj, v) quick, smart. ANTONYMS: (adj) soporific, sluggish, hesitant, tedious, temperate, inactive, civil, torpid,
slack, serious, lethargic brittle: (adj) crumbly, breakable, crisp, fragile, short, crispy, brickle, sensitive, insubstantial, shivery, brash. ANTONYMS: (adj) solid, strong, resilient, durable, relaxed, sturdy, unbreakable, soft broad: (adj) wide, sweeping, comprehensive, vast, general, extensive, large, ample, free, big; (n) female. ANTONYMS: (adj) specific, thin, restricted, polite, minor, limited, exclusive, dogmatic, decent, cultured, confined broke: (adj) bankrupt, poor, insolvent, impecunious, penniless, impoverished, skint, bust, destitute, strapped, ruined. ANTONYMS: (adj) solvent, wealthy, affluent broken: (adj) torn, tame, damaged, intermittent, uneven, imperfect, rugged, rough, out of order; (adj, v) busted, ruined. ANTONYMS: (adj) unbroken, intact, wild, whole, working, uplifted, uninterrupted, triumphant, running, indomitable, incessant broken-down: (adj) decrepit, tired, tacky, squalid, ramshackle, shoddy, rickety, run-down, dingy, sleazy bronze: (adj, n, v) tan; (n) brown, brass, sculpture, statuette; (v) terra cotta, discolour, discolor, marble, plate; (adj) bronzed brooding: (adj) pondering, thoughtful, contemplative, hatching, meditative, pensive, wistful; (v) brewing, batching; (n) chick management, parturition. ANTONYMS: (adj) shallow, cheerful brown: (adj, n) brunette; (adj) tanned, swarthy, dark; (v) sear, cook, fry; (n) tan, coffee, brownness, mahogany brows: (n) brow brush: (n, v) broom, touch, kiss; (v) sweep, polish, graze, clean; (n) brushwood, conflict, copse, encounter brushed: (adj) napped, fleecy brushing: (n) brush, slashing, hairdressing, rub, striking, combing; (adj) ripping. ANTONYM: (n) set brutally: (adv) fiercely, ferociously, cruelly, savagely, viciously, pitilessly, mercilessly, barbarically, rudely, inhumanly, ruthlessly. ANTONYMS: (adv) humanely, kindly, nicely, peacefully, attentively, mercifully, tamely buck: (n) dollar, stag, beau, boar, greenback, exquisite, fop, clam, hart;
Edith Wharton (v) charge; (n, v) buck jump. ANTONYMS: (v) conform, surrender; (n) female, girl buggy: (adj) nutty, kooky, loony, loopy, balmy; (n) cart, pushchair, trap, truck, pram, random builder: (n) architect, constructor, founder, artificer, contractor, bricklayer, creator, developer, maker, manufacturer, Wright building: (n) architecture, establishment, construction, fabrication, house, fabric, dwelling, assembly, structure, erection; (n, v) pile built: (v) establish, create; (adj) made, shapely, robust, curvaceous, reinforced, improved, heavy, buxom, assembled bunch: (n, v) crowd, clump, pack, bundle, group, huddle; (n) batch, lot, band, troop, gang. ANTONYMS: (v) spread, separate, scatter; (n) individual bundled: (adj) wrapped burden: (n, v) bother, weight, pack, burthen, trouble, clog, strain; (n) anxiety, bale, responsibility; (v) afflict. ANTONYMS: (v) relieve, lighten, free, disburden, alleviate, relax; (n, v) help; (n) tranquility, relaxation, peace, pleasure buried: (adj) hidden, covert, interred, underground, inhumed, profound, covered, ulterior; (v) perdu, imbed, embed. ANTONYMS: (adj) explicit, overt burn: (adj, v) glow; (n, v) bite, fire, sunburn; (v) sting, scorch, incinerate, blaze, flare, ignite, cremate. ANTONYMS: (v) smother, give, subdue, help, quench, repay, stifle, extinguish, wet burned: (adj) baked, scorched, tempered, sore, hurt, heated, hardened, destroyed, bleak, parched, adust burning: (adj) blazing, ablaze, boiling, afire, flaming, hot; (n) combustion, firing; (adj, n) passionate, zealous, glowing. ANTONYMS: (adj) cold, trivial, cool, out, painless, quenched, soothing, unimportant, apathetic, insignificant, unconcerned burnt: (adj) adust, heated, baked, torrid, sunburnt, seared, scorched, well done, tempered, overdone, combust. ANTONYMS: (adj) underdone, unburned, wet burst: (adj, n, v) crack; (adj, v) split, blow up, explode, splinter, detonate;
(n, v) rupture, blast; (adj, n) flash; (v) break out, belch. ANTONYMS: (v) attach, join, connect, fasten, trickle bushes: (n) underbrush, thicket, undergrowth, minor league business: (n) subject, matter, event, vocation, job, profession, affair, work, corporation, occupation; (adj, n) trade. ANTONYMS: (adj) charitable, private; (n) pleasure, avocation, fun, entertainment, hobby busy: (adj) brisk, engaged, assiduous, occupied, agile, meddlesome, industrious, crowded, officious, live; (v) occupy. ANTONYMS: (adj) free, inactive, dodging, available, deserted, lazy, quiet, still, unengaged, avoiding, empty butterflies: (adj) anxious, apprehensive, frightened; (n) trepidation, nervousness, anxiety butterfly: (adj, n) peacock; (n) lepidopteron, lepidopteran, tortoise shell, girl, pierid, iris; (v) flirt, dally, kiss, bray buying: (n) purchasing, buy, purchase, business, shopping, import, export, transaction, ownership, patronage, sale calculation: (n) account, analysis, estimate, forecast, computation, deliberation, arithmetic, assessment, projection; (adj, n) discretion; (v) estimation. ANTONYM: (n) ingenuousness calendar: (n) agenda, the calendar, schedule, diary, journal, timetable, program, Calendar year, system, organization; (n, v) list calico: (n) cambric, fabric, cashmere, chintz, cloth; (adj) motley, varicoloured, pied, assorted call: (n, v) appeal, shout, bellow, name, yell, howl, request, appoint; (v) bid, summon; (n) call option. ANTONYMS: (v) whisper, mutter, cancel, listen, stop, suppose, murmur; (n) dismissal, give, grant, silence called: (adj) named, titled, chosen, known as; (v) nempt, ycleped calling: (n) business, occupation, call, avocation, job, trade, career, employment, walk, pursuit; (n, v) profession. ANTONYMS: (n) entertainment, hobby came: (v) arrive, come candle: (n) candela, light, taper, bougie, CD, candlepower, lamp, wax light, Standard candle; (v) examine, illuminate
121 candlestick: (n) candelabra, sconce, chandelier, candle holder, girandole, candleholder, holder, electrolier, gaselier, girandola, luster candy: (n) bonbon, sweet, toffee, taffy, sugarplum, sugar candy, praline, lozenge, confection, lollipop; (adj, n) cake capable: (adj) competent, adequate, apt, adept, accomplished, fit, gifted, qualified, proficient, trained; (adj, n) efficient. ANTONYMS: (adj) incapable, inept, unable, helpless, lacking, bad, unimaginative, unqualified, untrained care: (adj, n, v) anxiety; (n, v) attention, charge, worry; (n) caution, bother, concern, apprehension, aid, custody; (v) attend. ANTONYMS: (n) carelessness, recklessness, thoughtlessness, rashness, negligence, vagueness, unconcern; (n, v) disregard, dislike; (v) loathe, abhor carefully: (adv) scrupulously, thoroughly, deliberately, charily, warily, watchfully, prudently, painstakingly, guardedly, thriftily, meticulously. ANTONYMS: (adv) hastily, recklessly, rashly, inaccurately, unhelpfully, incautiously, indifferently, thoughtlessly, abstractedly, clumsily, unwisely careless: (adj) forgetful, inattentive, insouciant, haphazard, cursory, reckless, lax, unwary, sloppy; (adj, adv) thoughtless; (adj, v) heedless. ANTONYMS: (adj) cautious, prudent, meticulous, thoughtful, diligent, attentive, thorough, wary, guarded, methodical, strict carelessly: (adv) incautiously, hastily, recklessly, heedlessly, casually, sloppily, imprudently, inconsiderately, rashly, negligently, unwarily. ANTONYMS: (adv) thoroughly, diligently, carefully, warily, laboriously, thoughtfully, attentively, daintily, methodically, discreetly, economically caress: (v) stroke, fondle, tickle, pat, pet, kiss, nuzzle, cuddle, coddle; (n, v) touch; (n) endearment. ANTONYM: (n) hit caring: (adj) tender, affectionate, loving, fond, compassionate, concerned, sympathetic, kind, solicitous, considerate, obliging. ANTONYMS: (adj) uncaring, unfeeling, callous, flippant, unkind, inhumane, hardhearted, unhelpful,
122 thoughtless, rough, paternal carpenter: (n) woodman, woodsman, woodworker, Joseph; (v) build carpet: (v) cover, drape, rebuke, encase, row, chew out; (n) rug, carpeting, tapis, runner, covering carried: (adj) conveyed, imported carry: (v) convey, bring, take, conduct, acquit, behave, accept, transport, comport, hold, pack. ANTONYMS: (v) withhold, lose, censor, fail, hold, conceal carrying: (n) transport, conveyance, carriage, transportation, haulage, hauling, shipping; (adj) bearing, gerent; (v) convey, bring case: (n) example, box, bin, cover, jacket, shell, bag, affair, briefcase, business; (adj, n) eccentric cases: (n) brass tacks, baggage, luggage, caseload, suitcases cash: (v) cash in, encash; (n) capital, change, funds, hard cash, money, bread, wealth, coin, coins. ANTONYMS: (n) credit; (v) charge casting: (n) cast, hurl, pouring, molding, teeming, block, Malleable castings, fling, to throw something a long distance, flinging, pelt casual: (adj) adventitious, careless, chance, occasional, nonchalant, irregular, easy, cursory, coincidental, passing, random. ANTONYMS: (adj) deliberate, formal, thorough, careful, rushed, premeditated, predetermined, planned, serious, permanent, intense catalogue: (n, v) list, schedule, register; (n) bill, roll, inventory, prospectus, table, menu; (v) sort, range catch: (n, v) capture, hook, haul, hitch, trick, grab, snatch; (v) get, apprehend, intercept; (n) pawl. ANTONYMS: (n, v) release; (v) misunderstand, unhitch, mistake, Miss, misinterpret, free, give, lose; (n) advantage, boon caught: (adj) fixed, guilty, accomplished, wedged, trapped, interested, exposed, defenseless, culpable; (v) seize, get. ANTONYM: (adj) loose cautiously: (adv) guardedly, prudently, warily, circumspectly, charily, discreetly, vigilantly, timidly, attentively, watchfully, sparingly. ANTONYMS: (adv) openly, irresponsibly, imprudently, bravely, recklessly, incautiously, thoughtlessly, wastefully, tactlessly,
Ethan Frome rashly, liberally cavalry: (n) cavalier, voltigeur, uhlan, hussar, troops, soldiery, mounted rifles, light horse, horse artillery, dragoon, horse cavalry cease: (n, v) end, finish, stop; (v) quit, terminate, break, break off, close, conclude, discontinue, abstain. ANTONYMS: (v) begin, start, commence, persist, stay ceased: (adj) finished ceasing: (n) stopping, subsidence centre: (n) core, middle, navel, midpoint, heart, waist, hub, centering; (v) concentrate, focus, centralize certain: (adj) definite, sure, assured, absolute, reliable, indisputable, dependable, unquestionable, undeniable, unavoidable, unequivocal. ANTONYMS: (adj) unsure, doubtful, questionable, hesitant, debatable, erratic, faulty, indistinct, vague, doubting, undecided certainty: (n) assurance, sureness, certain, trust, confidence, fact, reliability, surety, security, reality, certitude. ANTONYMS: (n) doubt, unpredictability, indecisiveness, skepticism, unknown, idealism, vagueness, fantasy, feeling, hesitation, insecurity cessation: (n) pause, abatement, close, stop, respite, suspension, surcease, standstill, rest, termination; (n, v) death. ANTONYMS: (n) beginning, continuation, commencement, persistence chafed: (adj) uncomfortable, sore, painful, galled, angry; (v) fretted, agitated chain: (n) network, rope, cable, band, catena, range; (adj, n, v) tether; (v) bind, fetter; (adj, v) tie; (n, v) handcuff. ANTONYMS: (v) emancipate, liberate, unchain, detach chair: (n, v) chairman; (n) bench, president, chairperson, throne, couch, armchair, electric chair, chairwoman; (v) moderate, lead chairs: (n) seats challenge: (n, v) defy, dare, brave; (n) defiance, protest, contest; (v) dispute, ask, provoke, impeach, demur. ANTONYMS: (v) obey, answer, avoid, prove, accept, bolster, stifle, correspond; (n) yield, pushover, acquiesce chance: (n, v) hazard, adventure, risk,
venture, bet; (n) fortune, probability, opportunity; (adj) accidental; (adj, n) contingency; (v) befall. ANTONYMS: (adj) intentional, deliberate, designed, arranged, planned, foreseeable; (n, v) plan; (n) predictability, misfortune, certainty; (v) protect chances: (n) probability, odds, opportunities, possibility, state, circumstances change: (n, v) shift, barter, twist, cash; (v) alter, alternate, adapt, convert; (n) alteration, modification, variation. ANTONYMS: (v) leave, maintain, idle, hold, establish, standardize; (n) stability, bills, constancy, preservation, uniformity changed: (adj) transformed, varied, switched, change, transform, converted, distorted, affected, changeling, disguised, inverse. ANTONYM: (adj) unchanged chaotically: (adv) disorderedly, disorderly, messily, untidily, wildly, turbulently, excitedly, feverishly, randomly, indiscriminately, irregularly. ANTONYMS: (adv) neatly, systematically chapter: (n) volume, branch, department, part, convocation, section, stage, head, article, caput, installment character: (n) type, part, note, role, brand, spirit, disposition; (adj, n) nature, kind, eccentric, constitution. ANTONYMS: (n) deceit, dishonor, corruption, body charge: (n, v) blame, care, burden, commission, command, attack, bill, load, tax; (n) accusation; (v) bid. ANTONYMS: (v) request, discharge, plead, beg, compensate, aid, credit, calm; (n, v) retreat, absolve, unload charged: (adj) laden, loaded, replete, aerated, tense, strained, full, filled, emotional, abounding, deferred charmed: (adj) enchanted, delighted, fascinated, spellbound, entranced, captive, beguiled, infatuated, absorbed, enamored, captive hours charred: (adj) scorched, well done, overcooked, baked, overdone chart: (n, v) plan, map, sketch, plot, graph, design; (n) table, graphic, drawing, diagram; (v) draw cheap: (adj) tacky, low, stingy, base, flashy, worthless, sleazy, shabby, niggardly, mean, economical. ANTONYMS: (adj) expensive, costly, tasteful, generous, luxurious, quality, noble, inflated, precious,
Edith Wharton dear, steep check: (n, v) control, bridle, arrest, curb, stop, limit, block, halt, bar; (v) agree, restrain. ANTONYMS: (v) help, hurry, allow, disagree, disregard, encourage, expedite, ignore, overlook; (n) furthering, spur checked: (adj) checkered, chequered, check, plaid, examine, temperate, tartan, silent, safe, pent-up, numbered checking: (n) examination, verification, audit, inspection, scrutiny, going-over, arrest, interference, supervision, collation, approval of plans cheek: (n) audacity, nerve, brass, boldness, impertinence, face, lip, mouth, gall, insolence, impudence. ANTONYMS: (n) respect, cowardice, timidity, humbleness, meekness, reticence, seriousness; (v) praise cheeks: (n) Gemini, twins, couple, posterior, pair, deuce, two, duet cheep: (v) chirp, twitter, whistle, tweet, chirrup, warble, emit, trill; (n, v) chip, peek, sing cheerfully: (adj, adv) gladly; (adv, v) happily; (adv) merrily, readily, brightly, jovially, cheerily, genially, chirpily, lively, blithely. ANTONYMS: (adv) bleakly, dismally, grimly, sullenly, unhappily, somberly, sadly, grudgingly, gloomily, dourly, forlornly cherry: (adj, n) cerise, red; (n) cherry tree, capulin, virgin; (adj) ruddy, crimson, ruby, scarlet, rubicund, blooming chest: (n) bosom, ark, bust, box, chest of drawers, case, hutch, bureau, caisson, casket, dresser chief: (adj, n) principal, head, cardinal, capital, arch, essential, paramount; (n) administrator, boss, executive, leader. ANTONYMS: (adj) associate, secondary, junior, smallest, inessential, unimportant, least, trivial; (n) subordinate, underling, inferior children: (n) child, offspring, descendant, family, seed, boy, babies, descendants, birth, relatives, people chill: (adj, v) cool; (adj, n) cold; (adj) bleak, icy, chilly, frosty, depressing; (v) freeze, dispirit, damp; (n) coolness. ANTONYMS: (adj, v) warm; (n) warmth, warmness; (v)
encourage, hearten, inspirit, thaw; (adj) hot, gregarious, friendly, sociable chilling: (adj) icy, bloodcurdling, wintry, macabre, ghastly, cold, scary, apathetic; (n) cooling, freezing, refrigeration. ANTONYM: (adj) reassuring chimney: (n) fireplace, smokestack, shaft, flue, hearth, vent, lamp chimney, chimneys, nostril, throat, weasand chin: (n) jaw, Kuki, jawbone, lineament, rap, jowl; (v) elevate, speak, chin up, confer, bring up china: (v) porcelain, ceramics, crockery, pottery, ceramic ware; (n) mainland China, chinaware, magnetism, Korea, earthenware, Communist China choir: (n) quire, chancel, choral society, choral group, crypt, Golgotha, nave, transept, vestry, chorister, ensemble choked: (adj) clogged, smothered, congested, annoyed, high-strung, strained, neurotic, tense, angry, anxious, insecure chord: (n) harmony, bowstring, catgut, arpeggio, ligament, sinew, tendon; (v) harmonize, harmonise, accord; (adj) subtense chose: (v) choose, opt, decide; (n) thing chosen: (adj, n) elect; (adj) preferred, select, favored, named; (adj, v) designate, desired, designated; (n) deary, ducky, dearie. ANTONYMS: (adj) ignored, involuntary christian: (adj) Catholic, scriptural, pietist, monotheistic, divine, evangelical, Christianly, moral, theist; (n) Christianity, devotee chronicle: (n, v) register, list, log, report; (n) account, story, annals, history, narrative, roll; (v) date church: (n) cathedral, abbey, chapel, meetinghouse, denomination, minster, place of worship, kirk, Fane, Christian church, Christianity churn: (v) seethe, agitate, toss, bubble, eddy, whirl, roil, shake, stir, buffet; (n) butter churn circuit: (n, v) circle, tour, trip, journey, excursion; (n) beat, area, round, district, perimeter, cycle clan: (n) tribe, stock, race, lineage, breed, kin, kindred, house, household, genus, company classic: (adj) classical, ancient, typical, exemplary, ideal, archetypal, representative, chaste; (adj, n)
123 model; (n) classics, masterpiece. ANTONYMS: (adj) uncharacteristic, new, unconventional, worst, poor, irregular, inferior, abnormal, radical, minor, tentative clean: (adj, adv) fair; (v) cleanse, brush, bathe, disinfect; (adj) antiseptic, blank, pure, chaste, unblemished; (n, v) wash. ANTONYMS: (adj) filthy, unclean, muddy, unhygienic, tainted, unwholesome, syrupy, full; (v) soil, contaminate, pollute cleaning: (n) purge, purification, clearing, purging, scrub, cleanup, purgation, sweeping, ablution, thin, separation clear: (adj) clean, certain, distinct; (adj, v) acquit, absolute, free, net, absolve, empty; (adj, n) open; (v) exculpate. ANTONYMS: (adj) opaque, cloudy, incomprehensible, uncertain, dark, hazy, vague, fuzzy, obscure, confused, puzzling cleared: (adj) absolved, clean, empty, exculpated, bleak, innocent, exempt, vindicated, exonerated, guiltless, let off. ANTONYMS: (adj) full, uncleared, guilty clearing: (n) clarification, clearance, purgation, purging, purge, clearmelting, correction, tract, improvement, release, freeing clearly: (adv) distinctly, apparently, evidently, openly, decidedly, explicitly, definitely, certainly, absolutely, obviously, plainly. ANTONYMS: (adv) vaguely, indistinctly, unclearly, blurrily, imperceptibly, obscurely, softly, doubtfully, imperfectly, unconvincingly, unintelligibly clearness: (n) clarity, brightness, distinctness, perspicuity, lucidity, explicitness, sharpness, simplicity, purity, limpidity, intelligibility. ANTONYMS: (n) ambiguity, opacity, dirtiness, vagueness, unclearness, obscureness, indistinctness, clutter, haziness, mustiness clenched: (adj) tight, clinched climate: (n) atmosphere, clime, ambience, latitude, mood, milieu, weather, environment, zone, conditions, isobar climb: (v) ascend, arise, scale, escalate, go up, scramble; (n, v) clamber, mount, increase; (n) ascent, jump. ANTONYMS: (n, v) drop; (n) descent; (v) wane, dismount, plummet
124 climbing: (n) climb, ascension, mounting, mountain climbing, mountaineering, rock climbing, acclivity; (v) ascending, uprise, arise; (adj) scandent clock: (n) chronometer, horologe, alarm, alarm clock, clepsydra, ticker, cuckoo clock, clock radio; (n, v) time, stopwatch; (v) measure close: (n, v) end, stop, finish; (adj, adv, prep) nearby; (adj, adv) adjacent, tight; (adj, v) compact, approximate; (adj) accurate; (adv, prep) by; (n) conclusion. ANTONYMS: (adj, v) open; (n, v) start; (adj) distant, airy, loose, fresh, far, inaccurate, unfamiliar; (v) begin, unlock closed: (v) close, tight; (adj) blind, finished, blocked, shut, congested, enclosed, folded, fastened, not open. ANTONYMS: (adj) beginning, running, started, starting, welcoming, continuing closely: (adv) nearly, narrowly, intimately, strictly, exactly, thickly, firmly, securely, confidentially, solidly, familiarly. ANTONYMS: (adv) loosely, thoughtlessly, heedlessly, carelessly, approximately, inconveniently, sparsely, casually, lightly, inaccurately closer: (adv) nearer, closest, more rapidly; (adj) close, approximate, near, dear, good, nigh; (n) finisher, finale clothes: (n) apparel, clothing, dress, garb, wardrobe, vestment, garment, cloth, thing, gown, wear cloud: (n, v) mist, blur; (v) becloud, obscure, eclipse, blacken, taint, befog, overshadow; (adj, n) swarm; (n) haze. ANTONYMS: (v) clear, refine, accentuate, illuminate, explain, clarify, unveil clouds: (n) exhaust, fumes, gas, smoke, vapors cloudy: (adj) dull, gloomy, nebulous, murky, dark, turbid, foggy, muddy, misty, sunless, vaporous. ANTONYMS: (adj) clear, bright, sunny, cloudless clue: (n, v) tip; (n) cue, hint, sign, suggestion, signal, guide, token, indication, key, vestige. ANTONYM: (v) hide clump: (n, v) cluster, bundle; (n) lump, group, clot, knot, tuft, chunk, clod, ball; (v) plod clumsy: (adj) bumbling, bungling, cumbersome, unwieldy, rude, inept,
Ethan Frome inapt, maladroit, gawky, unskilled, wooden. ANTONYMS: (adj) graceful, dexterous, clever, skillful, deft, adroit, elegant, coordinated, expert, athletic, agile cluster: (n, v) clump, bundle, huddle, group, crowd; (n) batch, agglomeration, gang, collection, tuft; (v) collect. ANTONYMS: (v) dissemble, scatter; (n) individual clutched: (adj) tense, worried, anxious, neurotic clutching: (n) locking coal: (n) ember, bituminous coal, carbon, lignite, anthracite, wallsend, culm, oil, petroleum, firewood; (adj) black coarse: (adj) vulgar, boorish, rough, brutal, crude, gross, common, earthy, blunt, bawdy; (adj, v) harsh. ANTONYMS: (adj) sophisticated, refined, smooth, polite, soft, civil, cultured, delicate, fine, genteel, gentlemanly coast: (n) shore, bank, seaside, beach, seashore, waterside, brink; (n, v) slide, glide; (adj) coastal; (v) drift. ANTONYMS: (v) bump, lurch, struggle; (n) inland, Midlands coasting: (adj) drugged; (v) to slide coat: (v) cloak, blanket; (n, v) sheath, plaster; (n) coating, fur, film, crust, jacket, layer, bark. ANTONYMS: (v) reveal, expose coax: (n, v) wheedle, allure, entice, charm, tempt, seduce; (v) cajole, beguile, blarney, blandish; (n) coaxial cable. ANTONYMS: (v) bully, compel, allow, dissuade cocoon: (v) envelop, wrap, enwrap, enclose, insulate, enfold; (n) Aurelia, caterpillar, orphan, staddle, nympha. ANTONYMS: (v) hurt, injure, expose coffee: (n) Java, cafe, coffee tree, coffee bean, cocoa, burnt umber, chicory, espresso, tea; (adj, n) brown, chocolate cold: (n) chilliness, chill; (adj) chilly, frigid, distant, indifferent, aloof, callous, icy, apathetic, impassive. ANTONYMS: (adj) warm, friendly, hot, prepared, burning, affectionate, loving, soporific, fervid; (n) heat, warmth collar: (n, v) arrest, catch, capture, pinch; (n) choker, ruff, lapel; (v) apprehend, nail, grab, clutch. ANTONYMS: (v) free, release collect: (v) gather, amass, accumulate, pick, aggregate, congregate, acquire, harvest, accrue,
pick up, cull. ANTONYMS: (v) distribute, scatter, spread, lose, give, divide, dispense, disband, compensate, need, dispatch college: (adj, n) school; (n) academy, Alma mater, association, institute, society, institution, university, academe; (adj) collegiate, academic colloquially: (adv) conversationally, familiarly, idiomatically, at home, vernacularly colonnade: (n) arcade, circus, construction, structure, stoa, portico, column, crescent, mall, peristyle, piazza colour: (n) coloration, coloring, colors, semblance, vividness, pretext, pretence, colouring, guise; (v) redden, discolor. ANTONYMS: (n) colorlessness; (v) discolor colourless: (adj) colorless, drab, pale, neutral, wan, pallid, ashen, clear, white, washy, bloodless. ANTONYM: (adj) colorful colt: (n) novice, filly, foal, calf, horse, beginner, kitten, pup, fledgling, freshman, greenhorn comb: (v) brush, ransack, search, dress, eliminate, groom; (adj) weed; (n) crest, combing, caruncle, currycomb combination: (n) union, blend, coalition, merger, association, league, amalgam, mix, mixture, junction; (adj, n) complex. ANTONYMS: (n) separation, division, dissolution, rejection; (adj) simple comfort: (n, v) ease, allay, support, aid, alleviate; (n) consolation, relief, amenity, assistance; (adj, n, v) assuage; (v) cheer. ANTONYMS: (n) discomfort, aggravation, agony; (v) alarm, annoy, frighten, afflict, aggravate, bother, burden, disappoint comfortless: (adj) dreary, desolate, bleak, uncomfortable, inconsolable, gloomy, lonely; (adj, v) disconsolate, forlorn; (v) joyless, sick at heart coming: (n) advent, approach, appearance, arrival, return; (adj, n) approaching; (adj) forthcoming, imminent, future, impending; (adj, v) instant. ANTONYMS: (n) departure, exit, leaving, departing; (adj) distant, retreating, past command: (n, v) order, charge, call, control, decree; (n) instruction, bidding, direction, behest; (v) direct, commission. ANTONYMS: (v) obey, follow, contradict, countermand,
Edith Wharton revoke, recall, oppose; (n) beg, plead, plea commanded: (adj) lawful commercial: (adj) mercantile, business, merchant, mercenary, profitable, economic, industrial; (n) ad, publicity, announcement, advertising. ANTONYMS: (adj) noncommercial, private, personal common: (adj) coarse, mutual, vulgar, mean, mediocre, ignoble, plebeian, base; (adj, n) cheap, habitual; (adj, n, v) usual. ANTONYMS: (adj) uncommon, rare, unusual, characteristic, specific, unique, extraordinary, exclusive, aristocratic, infrequent, refined commonplace: (adj, v) trite, hackneyed; (adj) banal, ordinary, humdrum, common, average, plain, mundane, dull; (n) platitude. ANTONYMS: (adj) extraordinary, unusual, exceptional, infrequent, rare, romantic, uncommon, weird; (n) deepness, profundity, profoundness commotion: (n) tumult, ado, disturbance, turmoil, stir, din, flurry, fuss, bedlam, tempest; (n, v) agitation. ANTONYMS: (n) peace, order, calm, serenity, calmness, stillness, quiet, tranquility, inactivity communicating: (n) communication, intercommunication, suasion, expression, transmission, examination, intercourse, dramaturgy; (v) communicate; (adj) communicant, dramaturgic communication: (n) announcement, word, report, commerce, letter, tidings, communicating, notice, intercourse, news, liaison communion: (n) communication, denomination, intercourse, alliance, Eucharist, faction, sacrament, traffic, sharing, fellowship, Holy Communion. ANTONYMS: (n) hostility, disunity, distance, disagreement, alienation, contention community: (adj) communal, neighborhood; (n) association, nation, agreement, people, commune, commonwealth, fraternity, world, brotherhood. ANTONYMS: (n) disagreement, dissimilarity, isolation; (adj) individual, national companion: (adj, n) associate; (n) colleague, buddy, mate, peer, chum, partner, fellow, comrade, assistant, brother. ANTONYMS: (n) foe, stranger, adversary
company: (adj, n) society, business; (n) band, association, collection, cohort, brigade, troop, club, partnership; (v) accompany. ANTONYMS: (n) isolation, enmity, host, hostess, absence comparable: (adj) analogous, corresponding, alike, commensurate, similar, same, equal, equivalent, parallel, akin; (v) allusive. ANTONYMS: (adj) dissimilar, incomparable, unworthy, unlike, unequal, unalike comparative: (adj) qualified, proportionate, illustrative, approximate, near. ANTONYMS: (adj) absolute, unlike, far, unequal comparatively: (adv) rather, somewhat, reasonably, quite, approximately, some, pretty, fairly, to some extent, to a certain extent, moderately. ANTONYM: (adv) absolutely compassion: (adj, n) clemency, kindness; (n) mercy, charity, sympathy, commiseration, remorse, tenderness, forgiveness, feeling, grace. ANTONYMS: (n) indifference, disregard, unconcern, severity, nastiness, harshness, incomprehension, malevolence, coldness, roughness, inhumanity compel: (v) force, coerce, pressure, necessitate, enforce, command, oblige, require, make, obligate, press. ANTONYMS: (v) impede, deter, check, block, request, prevent compelled: (adj) forced, obligate, enforced, constrained, responsible, answerable, unwilling, destined compensation: (n) recompense, indemnification, reward, allowance, price, return, reimbursement, remuneration, reparation; (n, v) wage; (v) restitution. ANTONYMS: (n) loss, penalty complain: (v) bemoan, protest, whine, squawk, bewail, beef, grudge, accuse, carp, plain, complaint. ANTONYMS: (v) praise, applaud, cheer, recommend, rejoice, laud, approve, agree, accept complainingly: (adv) querulously, petulantly, grumpily, grouchily, peevishly, crabbily, crossly, tetchily, cantankerously, crankily, complaining. ANTONYM: (adv) calmly complete: (adj, v) perfect, consummate; (adj, n) absolute, stark; (v) achieve, finish, accomplish, execute; (adj, n, v) close; (adj) whole,
125 full. ANTONYMS: (adj) unfinished, partial, abridged, sketchy, shortened, lacking, qualified, narrow, missing; (v) neglect, start completely: (adv) thoroughly, perfectly, fully, totally, altogether, consummately, roundly, purely, absolutely, unreservedly; (adv, pref) all. ANTONYMS: (adv) partly, partially, hardly, slightly, incompletely, superficially, somewhat, halfheartedly, barely complex: (adj) complicate, abstruse, difficult, elaborate, involute, intricate, knotty, tricky, abstract, multifarious; (n) obsession. ANTONYMS: (adj) basic, straightforward, clear, plain, direct, easy, evident, mainstream, obvious, apparent; (n) component compliment: (n, v) praise, honor; (v) laud, flattery, applaud, greet, adulation, congratulate, belaud; (n) eulogy, tribute. ANTONYMS: (n) criticism, reproach, disparagement; (n, v) slander, libel; (v) criticize, denounce, disparage, denigrate, complain, belittle composure: (n) calmness, serenity, poise, calm, equanimity, temper, aplomb, tranquillity, peace, temperament, disposition. ANTONYMS: (n) panic, discomposure, anger, nervousness, perturbation, anxiety, agitation, turbulence, awkwardness comprehension: (n) knowledge, inclusion, conception, understanding, intelligence, grasp, wit, capacity, familiarity, discernment, uptake. ANTONYMS: (n) incomprehension, ignorance compunction: (n) repentance, remorse, contrition, qualm, penance, regret, compassion, rue, scruple, sorrow, guilt. ANTONYMS: (n) hardness, indifference, meanness, remorselessness conceal: (v) hide, disguise, bury, screen, cloak, smother, shield, suppress, mask, obscure; (n, v) veil. ANTONYMS: (v) reveal, show, expose, divulge, clarify, uncover, disclose, tell, admit, spotlight, flaunt conceded: (adj) approved, accepted, agreed conceive: (v) think, imagine, comprehend, design, apprehend, realize, discover, cogitate, appreciate, invent, catch. ANTONYMS: (v) destroy, doubt, misunderstand, question, ruin
126 concession: (n) compliance, compromise, discount, agreement, license, yielding, conceding, charter, acceptance; (n, v) grant, allowance. ANTONYMS: (n) fighting, disputation, difference, protest, refusal, denial conclusion: (n) end, close, result, termination, sequel, completion, cessation, dissolution, finish, finale; (n, v) closing. ANTONYMS: (n) beginning, opening, preface, inauguration, foreword, launch, commencement, head conclusions: (n) data conclusive: (adj) decisive, undeniable, definitive, certain, definite, crucial, indisputable, ultimate; (adj, prep) cogent; (adj, v) unanswerable, determinate. ANTONYMS: (adj) indecisive, uncertain, dubious, unconfirmed, indefinite, questionable, iffy, opening, unconvincing, provisional condition: (n) position, status, provision, standing, clause, circumstances, term, predicament, rank; (n, v) aspect; (v) provide. ANTONYMS: (v) disqualify; (n) option conditional: (adj) contingent, dependent, hypothetical, guarded, provisional, provisory, subject, given, fenced, tentative, hedged in. ANTONYMS: (adj) unrestricted, concrete, permanent conditions: (n) climate, environment, situation, circumstances, setting, surroundings, terms, provisions, ambiance, background, bound conferred: (adj) given, presented confidence: (n) assurance, certainty, certitude, belief, faith, hope, nerve, credit, conviction, reliance, expectation. ANTONYMS: (n) insecurity, doubt, nervousness, anxiety, diffidence, distrust, fear, timidity, hopelessness, aimlessness, embarrassment confined: (adj) limited, cramped, imprisoned, bounded, enclosed, restricted, narrow, constrained, strict; (adj, v) close, invalided. ANTONYMS: (adj) liberated, invasive, roomy, unconfined, unlimited, open, spacious, general confirmed: (adj) inveterate, assured, habitual, constant, settled, definite, established, affirmed, fixed, ingrained, corroborated. ANTONYMS: (adj) unproven, unconfirmed, undecided,
Ethan Frome uncommitted, questionable, infrequent, dubious, mild, unfaithful conformity: (n) agreement, compliance, concord, conformance, accordance, coincidence, concordance, observance, conformation, conformism, keeping. ANTONYMS: (n) nonconformity, disagreement, incongruity, uniqueness, rebellion, nonconformance, looseness, difference, noncompliance, infidelity, divergence confused: (adj) abashed, baffled, befuddled, bemused, dizzy, chaotic, confounded, deranged, incoherent, disjointed, indistinct. ANTONYMS: (adj) enlightened, orderly, alert, clearheaded, organized, oriented, precise, systematic, ordered, unimpressed, methodical confusedly: (adv) obscurely, disorderedly, perplexedly, cloudily, dazedly, befuddledly, muddily, bemusedly, dizzily, bewilderedly, puzzledly confusing: (adj) bewildering, baffling, perplexing, difficult, puzzling, embarrassing, misleading, ambiguous, uncertain, obscure, disturbing. ANTONYMS: (adj) enlightening, simple, soothing, truthful conical: (adj) pyramidal, tapering, copped, conelike, coniform, taper, cone, tapered, coppled, pointed conjoined: (adj) concomitant, conjunct, associated, concurrent, united, inseparable, coincident, attending, associate, accompanying, adjunct connected: (adj, v) related; (adj) attached, allied, affiliated, coherent, linked, committed, conjoint, combined, relevant, consecutive. ANTONYMS: (adj) unrelated, separate, unimportant, disjoined, unaffiliated, disconnected, unattached, irrelevant connecticut: (n) computed axial tomography, computed tomography, computerized axial tomography, Connecticut river, Constitution state, cat, Nutmeg State connecting: (n) concatenation, assembly, attachment, connection, connexion, joining, coupling, junction, fastening, articulation; (adj) connected connection: (n) communication, concatenation, attachment, joint, bearing, affiliation, association, knot,
conjunction, alliance, link. ANTONYMS: (n) breach, enemy, dissociation, disjunction, unconnectedness, foe, detachment, rival, interruption, clash, difference conquest: (n) defeat, triumph, conquering, achievement, reduction, coup, rout, overthrow, subjection, mastery, success. ANTONYMS: (n) failure, defeat, loss, victory conscious: (adj) alive, premeditated, mindful, deliberate, cognizant, calculated, intended, discerning, self-conscious, studied, voluntary. ANTONYMS: (adj) unaware, ignorant, unintentional, dead, accidental, inanimate, spontaneous, subconscious, unplanned, inadvertent, oblivious consciously: (adv) deliberately, intentionally, purposely, premeditatedly, sentiently, wittingly, studiedly, awarely, on purpose, willfully, purposefully. ANTONYMS: (adv) accidentally, unconsciously, unintentionally consciousness: (n) feeling, sense, conscience, cognizance, mind, notion, knowledge, sensibility, feel, Consciousness of kind, self. ANTONYMS: (n) ignorance, oblivion, certainty, numbness consecrated: (adj) consecrate, blessed, sanctified, hallowed, holy, dedicated, divine, devoted, adopted; (adj, prep) set apart; (prep) dedicate. ANTONYM: (adj) secular consequences: (n) result, cost, impact, penalty consequently: (adv) therefore, subsequently, as a result, then, sequentially, followingly, so, naturally, in consequence, hence; (conj) ergo considerable: (adj, v) important, influential; (adj) large, ample, substantial, significant, sizable, great, momentous, consequential, meaningful. ANTONYMS: (adj) insignificant, faint, trivial, slight, paltry, imperceptible, unnoticeable, little, inconsiderable, unimportant, subtle considered: (adj) reasoned, premeditated, intentional, willful, sensible, sound, advised, studied, planned, calculated, regarded. ANTONYMS: (adj) sudden, impetuous, ingenuous, thoughtless, swift, spontaneous, disregarded, unconsidered, unplanned, unstudied, casual
Edith Wharton considering: (conj, prep) because, bearing in mind; (conj) as, since; (adv) whereas, enough; (v) consider; (n) consideration, thought, deliberation; (prep) in view of consolation: (n) comfort, relief, balm, succor, ease, cheer, solacement, encouragement, sympathy, alleviation, express sympathy. ANTONYMS: (n) grief, sorrow, distress, discouragement, aggravation consolatory: (adj) consoling, soothing, cheering conspicuously: (adv) prominently, eminently, remarkably, obviously, clearly, outstandingly, evidently, manifestly, plainly, strikingly; (adj, adv) noticeably. ANTONYMS: (adv) imperceptibly, unnoticeably, vaguely conspire: (v) concur, complot, connive, plot, plan, cabal, contribute, collaborate, conspiring, intrigue, confederate constrained: (adj) forced, bound, stiff, strained, awkward, compelled, limited, affected, stilted, rigid, unnatural. ANTONYMS: (adj) unrestricted, liberated, natural, open constraint: (n) compulsion, force, restraint, confinement, obligation, restriction, duress, enforcement, pressure, limitation; (adj, n) reserve. ANTONYMS: (n) freedom, boldness, liberation, option, openness, persuasion consumed: (adj) exhausted, finished, used up, worn, depleted, obsessed, possessed, lost, tired, immersed, gone contact: (n) connection, collision, link, communication, tangency, impact; (v) meet, call, reach, adjoin, communicate. ANTONYMS: (v) avoid, evade; (n) distance, stranger contagion: (n) plague, contagious disease, taint, transmission, contamination, disease, conduction, pest, corruption, pollution, grippe contemplation: (n) consideration, reflection, thought, attention, cogitation, musing, introspection, speculation, animus, deliberation; (n, v) study contemptuously: (adv) scornfully, sneeringly, insultingly, disparagingly, superciliously, derisively, condescendingly, disrespectfully, haughtily, contumeliously, sardonically. ANTONYM: (adv) approvingly
contended: (adj) controversial content: (n) meaning, matter, capacity, contents, subject; (n, v) contentment; (v) appease, please, satisfy, suffice; (adj) happy. ANTONYMS: (n, v) discontent; (adj) tormented, unhappy, dissatisfied, rebellious, discontented, troubled; (adj, v) upset; (n) unhappiness, sadness; (v) trouble contented: (adj) content, happy, comfortable, quiet, cheerful, smug, complacent, satisfied, easy, proud, delighted. ANTONYMS: (adj) discontented, unhappy, depressed, unsatisfied, sad, anxious contents: (n) substance, content, matter, inside, subject matter, list, volume, synopsis, conspectus, cargo, catalogue continuance: (n) duration, abidance, existence, endurance, protraction, adjournment, resumption, prolongation, time, standing, perseverance. ANTONYMS: (n) discontinuation, destruction continued: (adj) extended, continual, constant, unremitting, serial, sequential, unbroken, persistent, nonstop, lasting, incessant. ANTONYM: (adj) discontinued contracted: (adj) insular, contract, constricted, tight, bound, close, narrow-minded, confined, brief; (v) shrunk; (adj, v) selfish. ANTONYM: (adj) expanded contrary: (adj, n) contradictory, reverse; (adj) adverse, conflicting, unfavorable, perverse, cross, disobedient, alien, different, obstinate. ANTONYMS: (adj) similar, harmonious, helpful, obliging, compatible, complaisant, concordant, parallel, agreeable, cooperative, favorable contrast: (n) distinction, comparison, antithesis, difference, variation, opposite, collation; (adj, v) differ; (v) conflict, oppose, collate. ANTONYMS: (n) sameness, likeness, alikeness; (v) accord, agree, compare, distance, conform control: (n, v) command, curb, check, bridle, handle, sway, hold, influence, conduct; (adj, n) authority; (n) care. ANTONYMS: (n) weakness, unrestraint, expression, excess; (v) share, intensify, rush, risk, resign, relinquish, forsake conveyed: (v) borne, sent convict: (adj, n) felon; (n) captive, con, criminal, jailbird, inmate,
127 prisoner, malefactor, offender; (v) convince, sentence. ANTONYMS: (n) innocent; (v) liberate, release, free, exonerate, absolve, clear convicted: (adj) condemned, guilty, doomed, manifest, confiscated, confiscate, appropriated, apparent, censured; (v) convict conviction: (n) belief, confidence, certainty, condemnation, persuasion, faith, trust, certitude, firmness, doctrine, determination. ANTONYMS: (n) acquittal, doubt, release, absolution, disbelief, justification, insecurity, distrust convinced: (adj, v) sure, positive, confident, firm; (v) cocksure, persuaded, satisfied, assured, bold; (adj) clear, definite. ANTONYMS: (adj) doubtful, unconvinced, uncertain, cynical convivial: (adj) companionable, happy, friendly, frolicsome, genial, social, sociable, pleasant, hospitable, gregarious, jovial. ANTONYMS: (adj) solemn, taciturn, sober, serious, grim, dull, unfriendly, antisocial, unwelcoming, frosty, shy conviviality: (n) merrymaking, joviality, geniality, hospitality, festivity, jollification, sociability, revelry, celebration, friendliness, mirth. ANTONYMS: (n) hostility, shyness, unfriendliness co-ordinate: (v) harmonize, equalize copy: (n, v) counterfeit, duplicate, pattern, trace; (v) imitate, ape, follow; (adj, n, v) model; (n) imitation, transcription, reproduction. ANTONYMS: (v) create, originate; (n) master cords: (n) trousers, bands, line, strings, corduroys, raised bands corner: (n) bend, angle, nook, dilemma, recess, hole, coign, predicament, niche; (n, v) turn; (adj) angular. ANTONYMS: (v) free; (n) solution corners: (adj) cornered corresponding: (adj, v) same; (adj) similar, equal, comparable, commensurate, consonant, like, analogous, equivalent, matching, alike. ANTONYMS: (adj) dissimilar, unlike, against, counter, differing, mismatched, opposite, unbalanced, uneven, disproportionate cost: (n, v) price; (n) charge, amount, expense, toll, expenditure, payment, disbursement, worth, damage, fee costs: (n) expenses, expense, expenditure, fee, upkeep, damages,
128 spending, outlay, cut, financing, disbursement count: (v) compute, weigh, consider, estimate, matter; (n, v) calculate, tally, number, total; (n) calculation, computation. ANTONYMS: (v) guess, except, estimate, disregard, dismiss, abandon, ignore, subtract countenance: (n) aspect, expression, brow, complexion; (n, v) face, sanction, support, favor; (v) allow, tolerate, uphold. ANTONYMS: (v) reject, oppose, discourage, disapprove, prohibit counter: (adj, n) converse; (n, v) reply; (n) bench, reverse, numerator; (v) contradict, resist, react, retort, respond; (adj) antagonistic. ANTONYMS: (v) yield, surrender; (adv) similarly, same, equally; (adj) corroborating, corresponding, consistent, concurring, analogous, agreeing counterpane: (n) bedspread, coverlet, bedcover, blanket, spread, bed covering, bed cover, tarpaulin, drugget, rug, sheet country: (n) nation, home, land, place, area, territory, commonwealth, soil, kingdom, realm; (adj) rustic. ANTONYMS: (adj) urban, metropolitan; (adj, n) city; (n) metropolis county: (n) canton, state, area, country, shire, commune, arrondissement, district, mofussil, precinct, realm couple: (v) connect, associate, combine, attach, copulate, join, tie, mate; (adj, n) brace; (n, v) yoke; (n) duo. ANTONYMS: (v) separate, unhook, detach, disconnect, divide, unbuckle, undo; (n) individual, single courage: (n) audacity, fortitude, boldness, nerve, spirit, backbone, valor, heroism, gallantry, mettle, chivalry. ANTONYMS: (n) cowardice, faintheartedness, weakness, wimpiness, yellowness course: (n, v) stream, flow; (n) bearing, route, career, track, path, road, channel; (adj, n) current; (v) chase. ANTONYM: (v) trickle cousin: (n) nephew, cousins, friend, cousinship, relation, akin, relative, full cousin, companion covered: (adj) veiled, concealed, covert, coated, secret, wrapped, thick, obscured, masked, shrouded; (adj, prep) cloaked. ANTONYMS: (adj) bare, uncovered, open, plain,
Ethan Frome exposed, outdoor, empty covert: (adj) clandestine, hidden, concealed, secret, underground, undercover; (n) cover, blind, refuge, concealment, covering. ANTONYMS: (adj) open, aboveboard, unconcealed, public, blatant cows: (n) cattle, cow, bull, ox, oxen, Bos Taurus, bullock, beef, Cowes, steer, milker cracked: (adj) nutty, batty, crazy, chapped, balmy, wacky, dotty, crackled, deranged, loony, crackers. ANTONYMS: (adj) resonant, sane crackle: (v) crunch, crepitate, rustle, sputter, snap, vary, resound, sizzle, crinkle; (n) crepitation, crackling cranky: (adj) peevish, cantankerous, irascible, petulant, crabby, crank, irritable, crotchety, tetchy, fretful, cross. ANTONYMS: (adj) sweet, pleasant, happy, patient, easygoing crape: (n, v) curl; (n) French pancake, hotcake, flapcake, flapjack, griddlecake, pancake, battercake; (adj, v) crimp; (adj) deep mourning, weeds crash: (n) collision; (n, v) clash, collapse, bang, clank, dash, clang, fall, crack, clatter; (v) break. ANTONYMS: (n) silence; (v) raise, repair, skyrocket, increase, fix, restore, mend, work, thrive crawl: (adv, v) grovel, lag; (n, v) clamber, climb; (v) sneak, fawn, cringe, teem, swarm, scramble, inch. ANTONYMS: (v) fly, rush, hurry, hasten, dart, dash, lead, soothe, speed crazy: (adj) wild, mad, brainsick, absurd, eccentric, silly, wacky, cracked, crazed, demented; (adj, n) madcap. ANTONYMS: (adj) sensible, sane, rational, indifferent, stable, reasonable, realistic, balanced, levelheaded, cool, calm creature: (n) being, brute, animal, tool, individual, person, body, entity, human, puppet, somebody creeper: (n) crawler, creeping plant, vine, tracheophyte, oscine, climber, toady, lackey, reptile, sycophant, runner crest: (n, v) crown, top, peak, climax; (n) summit, brow, cockscomb, acme, pinnacle, zenith; (v) cap. ANTONYMS: (n) base, bottom, nadir, trough crib: (n) pony, cot, bed, trough, cradle, cribbing; (v) pilfer, steal, bag, lift, purloin
crimson: (adj, n) carmine, ruby, scarlet, maroon; (v) blush, flush, redden; (adj) bloody, ruddy, cherry; (n) deep red crippled: (adj) deformed, game, exhausted, broken, decrepit, crooked, halt, impotent; (n) limping; (v) drooping, flagging. ANTONYMS: (adj) healthy, functioning, fit crisply: (adv) sharply, curtly, brittlely, snappily, tersely, firmly, crustily, crispily, freshly, frizzily, frostily criticism: (n) critique, commentary, blame, review, attack, comment, censure, animadversion, denunciation, disapproval, rebuke. ANTONYMS: (n) praise, approval, compliment, admiration, commendation, support, credit, defense, raves, acclaim crooked: (adj) bent, corrupt, dishonest, curved, unfair, deformed; (adj, n, v) awry; (adj, v) irregular, askew, wry, indirect. ANTONYMS: (adj) straight, honest, principled, even, aboveboard, lawful, level, moral, flat, aligned, honorable cropped: (adj) close croquet: (n) golf, polo, pallone, tipcat cross: (adj) crabby, angry, grumpy, grouchy, cantankerous; (v) intersect, cover, thwart, baffle; (adj, v) traverse; (n) crisscross. ANTONYMS: (adj) calm, cheerful, happy; (v) uncross, assist, separate, remain, help, stay, unmix, aid crossed: (adj) crossbred, mixed, hybrid, interbred, decussated, intercrossed; (v) matted, disconcerted dashed, unhinged, frustrated crouched: (v) subjacent, squat; (adj) crutched, hunkered down, hunkered, low, huddled crude: (adj, v) raw; (adj) clumsy, rough, rude, barbarous, uncouth, primitive, vulgar, immature, barbarian, impolite. ANTONYMS: (adj) sophisticated, tasteful, cultured, permanent, polished, finished, formal, civilized, fine, clean, decent cruelty: (n) brutality, cruelness, oppression, barbarity, ferociousness, tyranny, violence, atrocity, ferocity, mercilessness, harshness. ANTONYMS: (n) compassion, gentleness, friendliness, humanity, benevolence, sensitivity, liberty, decency
Edith Wharton crushing: (adj) overpowering, overwhelming, destructive; (n) grinding, quelling, stifling, suppression, flattening, pressure; (v) shatter; (adv) crushingly. ANTONYMS: (adj) mild, wonderful crying: (adj, v) exigent, instant, pressing, urgent; (adj) insistent, clamant, imperative, blatant; (n) weeping; (v) weep; (adj, n) sniveling crystal: (adj) clear, bright, translucent, pebble, crag, stone; (n) watch glass, quartz, gem, vitrite; (adj, n) rock. ANTONYMS: (adj) foggy, murky cups: (n) plates, dishes, dishware, tableware cure: (n, v) correct, medicine, help; (n) antidote, salve, therapy, treatment; (v) treat, pickle, preserve, restore. ANTONYMS: (n) poison; (v) injure, hurt, harm, wound, damage, exacerbate curfew: (n) rescript, deadline, decree, dusk, edict, eleventh hour, fiat, order, signaling, signal, twilight curiosity: (n) curiousness, rarity, interest, curio, oddity, prying, nosiness, peculiarity, novelty, marvel; (adj, n) prodigy. ANTONYMS: (n) emotionlessness, indifference, disinterest curiously: (adv) inquisitively, peculiarly, unusually, strangely, nosily, pryingly, queerly, funnily, weirdly; (adj, adv) singularly, particularly. ANTONYMS: (adv) ordinarily, typically curled: (adj) coiled, curling, having curls, round, braided, twisted, bowed, wreathy, Crull, curled up, tressed curls: (n) hair, tresses, ringlets current: (n) flow, electric current, run; (adj) contemporary, instant, fashionable, common, rife, prevalent, present; (n, prep) course. ANTONYMS: (adj) past, obsolete, previous, old, dated, antiquated, historical, bygone, noncurrent, antique curtain: (n, v) cover; (n) barrier, drapery, blind, screen, mantle, mask, shade, pall, shroud; (v) hide curtly: (adv) abruptly, brusquely, briefly, tersely, rudely, gruffly, snappishly, sharply, succinctly, offhandly, laconically. ANTONYMS: (adv) kindly, pleasantly, politely, verbosely, civilly curve: (n, v) crook, bow, turn, curl, arc, hook, kink, round; (n)
curvature; (v) arch, wind. ANTONYMS: (v) untwisting, straighten cushion: (n, v) pad, buffer; (v) insulate, soften, protect, bolster, mollify; (n) shock absorber, mat, pincushion; (adj, n) wadding. ANTONYMS: (v) harm, hurt, injure, exacerbate, expose cushioned: (adj) spongy, cushiony custard: (n) cream, creme brulee, creme caramel, creme anglais, caramel custard, dowset custom: (n) habit, convention, usage, practice, consuetude, fashion, method, mores; (n, v) use, accustom; (adj) bespoke. ANTONYMS: (n) fad, innovation, phenomenon, rage, rarity cutter: (n) carver, knife, clipper, cutting tool, pinnace, cutting off table, foist, yawl, diner; (adj) billhook, cleaver cutting: (adj) biting, keen, caustic, bitter, acrimonious, incisive, raw; (adj, n) acute; (n) cut, slip; (adj, v) satirical. ANTONYMS: (adj) blunt, complimentary, flattering, kind, pleasant, hot, consoling; (n) extension, freedom, expansion, addition dabbled: (adj) bespattered, besplashed, covered, covered patchily, spattered, splashed, splattered, splashy; (v) soggy daily: (adj, n) journal; (adj, adv) every day; (adj, v) diurnal; (adj) everyday, regular; (n) tabloid, gazette, paper, dailies; (adv) each day, day by day. ANTONYMS: (adj) nightly, intermittent, sporadic dance: (v) caper, bop, to dance, cavort, play, skip, to show courage, step; (n, v) hop, jump, shake dancing: (n) choreography, Terpsichore, saltation, break dancing, ceremonial dance, galloping, hoofing, Pavan; (adj) morrice; (adv) adance; (v) saltant dangerous: (adj, n) critical; (adj) severe, serious, grave, adventurous, unhealthy, precarious, hazardous, perilous, threatening, chancy. ANTONYMS: (adj) stable, secure, protected, unhazardous, slight, weak, harmless, friendly, favorable, calm, pleasant daring: (adj, n) bold, courageous, adventurous; (adj) audacious, venturesome, intrepid; (n) bravery, audacity, boldness, courage, adventurousness. ANTONYMS: (n)
129 cowardice, timidity; (adj) timid, cautious, dull, afraid, chicken, fearful, unadventurous, wimpy dark: (adj) dismal, black, cheerless, obscure, dim, mysterious, murky, gloomy; (n) evening, night, shadow. ANTONYMS: (adj) bright, sunny, fair, sunlit, clear, pallid, pale, cheerful, white, versed; (n) day darkened: (adj) darkens, obscured, old, obfuscate, murky, cloudy, opaque, overcast darkish: (adj) dim, swarthy, dusky, dingy, darksome, obscure, shadowy, lackluster, fuscous, dull. ANTONYM: (adj) bright darkly: (adv) murkily, dimly, obscurely, duskily, somberly, shadily, mistily, secretly, dismally, heavily, overcastly. ANTONYM: (adv) openly darkness: (n) dark, shade, shadow, blindness, gloom, blackness, duskiness, murk, cloud, blackout, dimness. ANTONYMS: (n) brightness, lightness, glow, comprehension, knowledge, day, clearness dart: (n, v) dash, run, flit; (v) bound, flash, shoot, rush, race, gallop; (adj, n) arrow, rocket. ANTONYMS: (v) plod, trudge, slog, linger, dawdle, dally, delay, amble; (n) tonic dashed: (v) ashamed, cut up, sunk; (adj) broken, done for, dejected, discouraged, dotted date: (n) appointment, engagement, period, meeting, epoch, assignation, dating, day of the month; (n, v) escort; (v) register, determine daughter: (n) child, son, maiden, young woman, daughterly, lass, unmarried woman, damsel, miss, missy, virgin dawn: (adj, n) break of day, daybreak; (n) beginning, commencement, cockcrow, onset, morning, prime, aurora; (v) break, begin. ANTONYMS: (n) twilight, sunset, nightfall, close, departure, demise, conclusion, ending; (n, v) end, finish; (v) set daylight: (n) dawn, daybreak, light, morning, sunrise, clearance, sunup, daytime, broad daylight, first light, afternoon. ANTONYMS: (n) night, sunset, dusk, dark, sundown, twilight, darkness, nightfall days: (n) period, life, time, age, existence, generation, years, being, era, living, lifetime dazzled: (adj) confused, dazzle,
130 bewildered, blind, blinder, fascinated, unsighted dazzling: (adj) brilliant, blinding, splendid, glaring, vivid, stunning, dazzlingly, striking, sparkling, fulgent, resplendent. ANTONYMS: (adj) dim, ugly, uninspired, unremarkable, unexceptional, gradual, abysmal, humdrum, dark dead: (adj) lifeless, defunct, cold, inanimate, idle, gone, fallen, numb, deceased, vapid; (adv) right. ANTONYMS: (adj, n) living; (adj) alive, animate, live, spirited, responsive, working, partial, operative; (adv) partly, partially deadly: (adj, adv) deathly; (adj) baneful, lethal, fatal, destructive, mortal, pernicious, virulent, toxic; (adv) lifelessly, lethally. ANTONYMS: (adj) interesting, uplifting, readable, mild, healthy, healthful, benign, innocuous, exciting deadness: (n) inanimateness, inertia, coldness, numbness, lifelessness, inelasticity, indifference, dullness, tedium, marble, stock and stone deal: (v) administer, allot, conduct, truck, distribute, apportion; (n, v) buy, trade, contract; (n) agreement, arrangement. ANTONYMS: (n) purchase; (v) misdirect, receive, neglect, mishandle, mismanage, take, ignore, hold, gather, disregard death: (n) expiration, end, close, exit, fate, mortality, departure, cessation, decease, dissolution; (adj) quietus. ANTONYMS: (n) existence, delivery, living, nascency, being, survival, life, beginning deceiving: (adj) deceptive, deceitful, cheating, fallacious, dishonest, lying, treacherous, imposing, delusive, sanctimonious, mistaken. ANTONYM: (adj) correct december: (n) celestial latitude decent: (adj) adequate, appropriate, becoming, decorous, sufficient, honest, acceptable, modest, seemly, comely; (adj, adv) right. ANTONYMS: (adj) immoral, inappropriate, disreputable, indecent, unsuitable, inadequate, filthy, undressed, unkind, smutty, selfish decided: (adj, v) decisive, absolute, unmistakable, distinct, clear, positive, unequivocal, emphatic; (adj) determined, resolute, conclusive. ANTONYMS: (adj) uncertain, hesitant, unsure,
Ethan Frome questionable, indefinite, postponing, doubtful, unresolved, vague, flippant, indecisive deciduous: (adj) transient, shortlived; (v) labent, undermined declaring: (adj) affirming, predicant declivity: (n) decline, fall, downhill, downgrade, incline, dip, slope; (n, v) gradient; (v) acclivity, ascent, bank deep: (adj) thick, profound, strong, rich, broad, sound, absorbed, wide, abstruse, dark; (adj, v) intense. ANTONYMS: (adj) superficial, high, weak, soft, light, open, frivolous, lightweight, narrow, straightforward, simple deepened: (adj) concentrated, gathered deepening: (n) amplification, aggravation deeply: (adv) strongly, heavily, intensely, deep, thickly, highly, soundly, greatly, gravely, extremely, richly. ANTONYMS: (adv) slightly, mildly, unemotionally, fitfully, moderately, thinly, hardly, barely, lightly defect: (adj, n) blemish, imperfection, infirmity; (n) flaw, blot, shortcoming, weakness, deficiency, scar, failing, dearth. ANTONYMS: (n) strength, merit, faultlessness, excellence, capability, enhancement, perfection; (v) uphold, remain, join, embrace definable: (adj) finite definite: (adj) certain, clear, distinct, concrete, plain, conclusive, specific, precise, categorical, decisive; (adj, v) absolute. ANTONYMS: (adj) imprecise, unclear, vague, undefined, doubtful, indeterminate, qualified, evasive, indefinite, indescribable, dubious definition: (n) explanation, account, interpretation, limitation, Abundant definition , definiteness, settlement, resolution, definement, rendering, translation. ANTONYMS: (n) blurriness, fuzziness, haziness defy: (n, v) dare; (v) brave, resist, ignore, confront, revolt, oppose, withstand, disobey, contradict; (n) defiance. ANTONYMS: (v) obey, acquiesce, surrender, yield, comply, accept degenerate: (adj) corrupt, debauched, depraved, dissolute; (v) decay, degrade, relapse, decline, drop, rot; (adj, n) profligate. ANTONYMS: (adj) upright, honorable, moral, healthy, virtuous, regenerate; (v)
develop, flourish, recuperate, uplift, upgrade degrees: (n) degree, temperature, compass rose, cardinal points delayed: (adj) belated, tardy, protracted, deferred, slow, retarded, held up, backward, back, prolonged; (adv) behind. ANTONYMS: (adj) early, expedited, prompt deliberately: (adv) consciously, intentionally, designedly, knowingly, carefully, on purpose, purposely, willfully, slowly, premeditatedly, purposefully. ANTONYMS: (adv) accidentally, involuntarily, furtively, arbitrarily, automatically, naively, secretly, unconsciously, unwittingly, innocently, covertly delicacy: (adj, n) weakness, fragility, tidbit; (n) finesse, daintiness, delicate, elegance, sensitivity, luxury, treat, airiness. ANTONYMS: (n) sturdiness, toughness, durability, frankness, inelegance, ruggedness, vulgarity, tactlessness, insensitivity, inaccuracy, clumsiness delicate: (adj) accurate, tender, dainty, refined, breakable, fragile, beautiful, brittle, soft, nice, frail. ANTONYMS: (adj) inelegant, robust, heavy, sturdy, tough, careless, inaccurate, rough, well, substantial, unscrupulous delicately: (adv) exquisitely, softly, tenderly, gracefully, subtlely, sensitively, daintily, precisely, elegantly, ticklishly, weakly. ANTONYMS: (adv) inelegantly, tactlessly, thickly, imprecisely, clumsily, ungracefully, unsubtly, heavily, carelessly, roughly, severely delirious: (adj) crazy, wild, frantic, wandering, demented, excited, insane, mad, frenetic, doting, drunk. ANTONYMS: (adj) unexcited, rational, composed, relaxed, reasonable, balanced, lucid, collected, clearheaded, calm, dejected delivery: (n, v) birth, address; (n) consignment, discharge, rescue, surrender, distribution, elocution, issue, communication, deliverance. ANTONYMS: (n) dispatch, collection, holding, keeping, capture demand: (v) ask, require, ask for, beg; (n, v) need, request, command, appeal, requisition, sale; (n) requirement. ANTONYMS: (v) grant, offer, obviate, give, eliminate, cede, beg, present, request; (n)
Edith Wharton response, plea demands: (n) strain, weight, stress, anxiety demonstration: (n) parade, presentation, argument, display, manifestation, exhibition, evidence, show, demo, testimony; (n, v) exposition. ANTONYM: (n) concealment dense: (adj, v) compact, close; (adj) thick, crowded, deep, heavy, stupid, impenetrable, solid, crass, dim. ANTONYMS: (adj) insightful, bright, loose, sparse, simple, readable, clever, intelligent, sharp, thin, alert departing: (adj, v) parting; (adj, n) leaving, going away; (adj) outgoing, outbound, outward, passing, decedent, valedictory, retiring; (v) depart. ANTONYM: (n) arrival department: (n) compartment, area, class, agency, section, faculty, realm, arm, part, office, line departure: (n, v) decease, demise; (n) exit, leave, deviation, divergence, depart, parting, aberration, passing, takeoff. ANTONYMS: (n) appearance, conformity, greeting, ingress, influx, homecoming, regularity, entrance, birth, coming, advance depending: (adv) dependingly; (v) depend; (adj) suspensory, pendent, subject to, pendulous depth: (n) abyss, profoundness, profundity, chasm, intensity, abstruseness, wisdom, extent, strength, width; (adj) profound. ANTONYMS: (n) height, superficiality, weakness, tallness, shallowness, narrowness, thinness, flippancy depths: (n) bottom, abyss, depth, lowest point, low point, depression, bowels, rock bottom, slump, midst, nadir. ANTONYM: (n) peak descend: (v) settle, condescend, down, drop, deign, subside, go down, dismount, derive, get off, come down. ANTONYMS: (v) ascend, climb, float, scale, increase, level, mount descended: (v) extraught descending: (v) descend; (adj) downhill, down, descendent, decreasing, dropping, falling, sloping, degressive, occasive; (adv) downward. ANTONYM: (adj) upward descent: (adj, n) ancestry; (n) decline, birth, fall, declivity, declination,
declension, drop, pedigree, blood, derivation. ANTONYMS: (n) improvement, rise, hike, upgrade, elevation, boost, ascension, gradient descriptions: (n) images desert: (adj, n, v) waste; (v) escape, forsake, relinquish, ditch, defect, leave; (adj, v) desolate; (adj, n) worth, merit; (adj) barren. ANTONYMS: (v) stay, support, remain, inhabit, assist, aid, help, keep; (adj) cultivated, productive, fertile deserted: (adj) desert, solitary, empty, lonely, isolated, forsaken, lonesome, desolate, bleak, vacant; (adj, v) forlorn. ANTONYMS: (adj) occupied, packed, crowded, mobbed, populated, populous, overcrowded desertion: (n) abandonment, defection, apostasy, dereliction, withdrawal, secession, rejection, decampment, exposure, leaving, disappearance. ANTONYMS: (n) appearance, attention, preservation desire: (n) ambition, aspiration, craving, dream; (adv, n, v) will; (n, v) fancy, wish, aim; (v) want, aspire, seek. ANTONYMS: (n, v) dislike, hate; (n) aversion, reality, revulsion, apathy; (v) spurn, abhor, answer, command, insist desk: (n) bench, box, coffer, table, secretary, bureau, writing desk, escritoire, caisson, caddy, case desolately: (adv) wastely, gloomily, forlornly, bleakly, sadly, wretchedly, lonesomely, unhappily, lonely, dismally, gauntly. ANTONYMS: (adv) hopefully, cheerfully despair: (n) disappointment, desolation, dejection, melancholy, gloom, desperation, depression, dismay, discouragement, pessimism, sorrow. ANTONYMS: (n) happiness, hopefulness, expectation, joy, cheer, cheerfulness, resilience, elation, joyfulness despairing: (adj) hopeless, desperate, despondent, forlorn, desolate, dejected, pessimistic, sad, brokenhearted, miserable, inconsolable. ANTONYMS: (adj) hopeful, optimistic, rosy, happy, confident, cheerful desperate: (adj) despairing, dire, critical, abject, dangerous, in despair, grave, awful, despondent, drastic; (adj, v) forlorn. ANTONYMS: (adj) hopeful,
131 optimistic, rational, promising, minor, cautious, casual, careful, trivial, secure, satisfied desperation: (adj, n) despair, fury, rage; (n) recklessness, foolhardiness, desperateness, burst, confusion, trouble, misery; (adj) raving. ANTONYMS: (n) optimism, confidence, hopefulness, hope, happiness, caution, prudence, calmness destitute: (adj) impoverished, needy, bankrupt, broke, poor, helpless, impecunious, penniless, necessitous; (adj, v) forlorn, devoid. ANTONYMS: (adj) wealthy, privileged, prosperous, solvent destroy: (v) demolish, blight, despoil, subvert, dismantle, devour, wreck, devastate; (adj, v) desolate, abolish; (n, v) murder. ANTONYMS: (v) preserve, create, make, construct, protect, repair, restore, uphold, sustain, submit, revive destruction: (n, v) defeat; (n) death, ruin, collapse, demolition, devastation, downfall, abolition, damage, desolation, end. ANTONYMS: (n) preservation, protection, creation, reparation, formation, conservation, restoration, building, help, making, order detached: (adj) separate, cool, aloof, distinct, impartial, neutral, dispassionate, objective, unconnected, remote, unconcerned. ANTONYMS: (adj) involved, warm, engrossed, partial, connected, biased, linked, united, impassioned, interested, personal detachment: (n) division, dissociation, indifference, corps, rupture, contingent, disjunction, aloofness, seclusion, rift; (n, v) party. ANTONYMS: (n) involvement, attachment, interest, bias, bond, friendliness, union, affection, approachability, connection, warmth detail: (v) describe, enumerate, relate, appoint, itemize, recite, cast, assign; (n) point, feature, item. ANTONYMS: (v) keep, withhold, generalize, guess, approximate; (n) total, sum, emptiness, aggregate detained: (adj) seized, locked up, jailed, intransitive, tardy, inside, caged, captive, behind bars; (n) in prison, under arrest detecting: (n) spotting, investigation, catching, detective work, sleuthing, police investigation, hearing; (adj)
132 observant devastated: (adj) destroyed, desolated, ruined, ravaged, wasted, bare, blasted, superfluous, shattered, wrecked, waste developed: (adj) mature, grown, advanced, sophisticated, ripe, grow, distinguished, established, educated, improved, full. ANTONYMS: (adj) unripe, undeveloped, coarse, incomplete devious: (adj) shifty, circuitous, indirect, roundabout, fraudulent, insincere, crafty, oblique, sly, untrustworthy, errant. ANTONYMS: (adj) open, straight, aboveboard, straightforward, trustworthy, direct, candid, principled, unbent, unbowed, truthful devote: (n, v) apply, destine, give, assign, vow; (v) consecrate, dedicate, commit, appropriate, allot; (n) devotion. ANTONYMS: (v) withhold, refuse devoted: (adj, v) addicted, ardent, fond; (adj) affectionate, constant, loyal, pious, faithful, reliable, zealous; (adj, prep) consecrated. ANTONYMS: (adj) disloyal, indifferent, unfaithful, neglectful, uncaring, unenthusiastic, unattached, lukewarm, inconstant, halfhearted, disobedient diamond: (n) lozenge, infield, square, rhombus, rectangle, ball field, carbonado, baseball diamond; (adj) brilliant, jewel, bijou difference: (n) conflict, disagreement, controversy, contention, distinction, discrepancy, dissimilarity, divergence, quarrel, discord; (n, v) change. ANTONYMS: (n) sameness, resemblance, correspondence, agreement, concurrence, understanding, parity, normality, likeness, accord, consistency different: (adj) dissimilar, various, assorted, unusual, alien, miscellaneous, new, fresh, discrete, diverse; (v) differ. ANTONYMS: (adj) identical, corresponding, equal, like, typical, same, conventional, familiar, unified, uniform, Standard difficulties: (n) hardships, problems, trouble, difficulty, troubles, necessity, privation, bother, lack diffusion: (n) dispersion, prevalence, distribution, spread, dispersal, proliferation, permeation, spreading, dissipation, expansion, propagation. ANTONYMS: (n)
Ethan Frome concentration, conciseness digging: (n) excavation, excavating, digs, dug, excavate, take, locality, mining, barb, creating by removal, attack reception dignity: (n) degree, prestige, glory, decorum, face, distinction, honor, majesty, eminence, solemnity; (adj, n) decency. ANTONYMS: (n) lowliness, indecency, impropriety, simplicity, cheerfulness, austerity dime: (n) ten cents, priced, V nickel, buffalo nickel, dime bag, dibs, coin, cent, checks, nickel diminished: (adj) abated, weakened, lessened, atrophied, belittled, attenuate, reduced, lower, attenuated, cut, short dimness: (n) darkness, gloom, shadow, haze, faintness, obscurity, dusk, dark, cloudiness, duskiness, gloominess. ANTONYMS: (n) light, brightness, intelligence, clearness, strength, clarity dinner: (n) banquet, lunch, dinner party, meal, party, beanfeast, spread; (v) tiffin, dejeuner, bever; (adj) dinnerly dipped: (adj) immersed, unfit, swaybacked, lordotic, curved in, swayback dipper: (n) shovel, spoon, Big Dipper, scoop, butterball, bufflehead, Little Dipper, plough, duck, oscine, thimble direct: (v) aim, address, charge, dictate, head; (n, v) channel, command, control; (adj, adv) straight; (adj, v) level; (adj) immediate. ANTONYMS: (adj) roundabout, circuitous, oblique, sideways, unplanned, devious, dishonest; (v) request, follow, divert, get directed: (adj) oriented, manageable, destined, concentrating, intent, formal, absorbed, prescript, focussed; (v) instruct; (adv) under direction: (n, v) conduct, charge, management; (n) bearing, guidance, command, course, instruction, rule, control, address disapproval: (n) condemnation, disapprobation, censure, blame, criticism, dislike, disfavor, dissent, objection, dispraise, denunciation. ANTONYMS: (n) blessing, commendation, favor, respect, pleasure, acceptance, praise, admiration, enthusiasm discern: (v) differentiate, see, comprehend, detect, distinguish,
make out, perceive, find, note; (n, v) descry; (adj, v) recognize. ANTONYMS: (v) Miss, neglect, disregard, observe, overlook disclosure: (n) discovery, exposure, declaration, confession, announcement, betrayal, display, divulgence, leak, manifestation, publication. ANTONYMS: (n) denial, hiding discomfiture: (n) embarrassment, confusion, perturbation, discomfort, discomfit, disconcertion, discomposure, humiliation, consternation; (adj) rebuff, rout. ANTONYMS: (n) contentment, honor disconsolately: (adv) unhappily, gloomily, sadly, dismally, dolefully, melancholy, forlornly, dispiritedly, downcastly, glumly, downheartedly. ANTONYM: (adv) contentedly discontent: (n) disapproval, discontentment, disaffection, displeasure, disappointment, discontentedness, unrest; (adj) melancholy, dissatisfied, disgruntled, discontented. ANTONYMS: (n) contentment, pleasure, accord, happiness; (v) content; (adj, n) happy; (adj) contented discontented: (adj, v) querulous, complaining; (adj) disaffected, disgruntled, malcontent, unsatisfied, dissatisfied, displeased, miserable, put out, ungratified. ANTONYMS: (adj) pleased, satisfied, happy, content discover: (v) discern, disclose, ascertain, find, perceive, catch, expose, hear, determine, sense, detect. ANTONYMS: (v) overlook, ignore, disregard, confuse, conceal, lose discovered: (adj) revealed, disclosed, exposed, naked, detected, determined, observed, open, unconcealed, bare. ANTONYM: (adj) concealed discovery: (n) detection, disclosure, breakthrough, finding, revelation, catching, revealing, invention, find, development, exploration discursively: (adv) excursively, indirectly, tangentially, desultorily, diffusely, digressively, discoursively, rovingly, obliquely, expansively, round the houses. ANTONYM: (adv) directly discussion: (n) argument, conference,
Edith Wharton discourse, debate, conversation, controversy, consultation, dialogue, talk, deliberation, consideration. ANTONYMS: (n) quiet, silence disdainfully: (adv) contemptuously, superciliously, haughtily, proudly, cavalierly, derogatorily, contumeliously, sneeringly, arrogantly, insultingly, condescendingly. ANTONYMS: (adv) humbly, hopefully disease: (n, v) ailment; (n) illness, sickness, condition, complaint, affection, ill, disorder, affliction, bug; (adj, n) infirmity. ANTONYM: (n) health disfavour: (n) disapproval, dislike, displeasure, reprobation; (v) disadvantage, hinder; (adj) handicapped disgust: (n) antipathy, aversion, abhorrence, abomination, detestation, dislike, repugnance; (n, v) shock, distaste; (v) nauseate, displease. ANTONYMS: (n, v) delight; (n) love, attraction, liking, adoration; (v) attract, allure, charm, entice, please dish: (n) basin, disk, plate, meal, platter, food, saucer, beauty, meat, repast; (n, v) hollow dishes: (n) food, meal, crockery, dinner service, dishware, menu, plates dismay: (adj, n, v) appall; (v) depress, dishearten, discourage, horrify; (n) consternation, discouragement; (n, v) daunt, affright; (adj, n) terror, dread. ANTONYMS: (n, v) delight; (v) stimulate, assure, ensure, encourage, elate; (n) spirit, satisfaction, mettle, resolution, assurance dismissing: (v) dismiss; (n) acquittal, denial, dimission display: (n, v) exhibit, parade, array, scene; (v) disclose, produce, expose, flaunt; (n) presentation, appearance, screen. ANTONYMS: (v) conceal, hide, cover, mask, disguise, camouflage, fold, absorb; (n) hiding, understatement, modesty disposal: (n) administration, organization, distribution, sale, classification, alienation, giving, order, direction, adjustment, dispensation. ANTONYMS: (n) cumulation, collection, acquisition, acquirement, accumulation disposed: (adj) prone, apt, ready, subject, prepared, liable, game, inclined, fain, likely, minded.
ANTONYMS: (adj) ailing, indisposed, unlikely, disinclined, reluctant, impervious disquieted: (adj) disturbed, worried, disordered, uneasy, unsettled, confused, anxious, agitated, distracted, broken, distressed disquieting: (adj) alarming, worrying, distressing, troublesome, disturbing, shocking, uncomfortable, discompose, restless, unsettling, uneasy. ANTONYMS: (adj) reassuring, soothing, settling, pacifying, calming, comforting disregarded: (adj) unnoticed, neglected, unseen, written off, wretchless, unvalued, unheeded, overlooked, lost, irrecoverable; (v) unregarded distance: (n, v) remove; (n) space, way, gap, aloofness, interval, altitude, measure, mileage; (adj, n) length; (v) dissociate. ANTONYMS: (v) associate, attach, involve; (n) proximity, nearness, intimacy, closeness, warmth, bias, lovingness distant: (adj) remote, aloof, chill, detached, far, reserved, cool, long, icy, removed; (adv) afar. ANTONYMS: (adj) close, neighboring, adjacent, friendly, near, nearby, warm, pending, intimate, involved, alert distinct: (adj) different, discrete, articulate, distinctive, palpable, definite, apparent, dissimilar, tangible; (adj, prep) separate; (adj, v) marked. ANTONYMS: (adj) indistinct, similar, unclear, vague, shapeless, inaudible, connected, general, resembling, associated, amorphous distinction: (n) discrimination, contrast, difference, rank, dissimilarity, demarcation, prestige, celebrity, reputation, consequence, variation. ANTONYMS: (n) mediocrity, resemblance, likeness, indistinction, insult, disgrace, commonness, obscurity distinctly: (adv) clearly, particularly, evidently, expressly, obviously, markedly, definitely, precisely, manifestly, separately, decidedly. ANTONYMS: (adv) inaudibly, faintly, vaguely, silently, imperceptibly, poorly distinctness: (n) clearness, sharpness, definition, otherness, perspicuity, discreteness, articulate sound, separation, uncloudedness, dissimilarity; (adj) conspicuousness.
133 ANTONYM: (n) indistinctness distinguish: (v) discriminate, perceive, know, describe, make out, discover, descry, behold, identify, recognize, separate. ANTONYMS: (v) mistake, confound, ignore, Miss, unite, demean distress: (n, v) pain, torment, trouble, concern, torture, upset, worry; (n) anguish, agony; (adj, n) difficulty, grief. ANTONYMS: (n, v) comfort; (v) please, soothe, relieve; (n) peace, encouragement, straightforwardness, solace, relieving, relief, prosperity distressed: (adj) worried, distraught, anxious, sad, disturbed, downcast, hurt, distracted, wretched, shocked, troubled. ANTONYMS: (adj) composed, content, euphoric, happy, comforted, glad, joyful, collected, unconcerned, unaffected disturbances: (n) turbulence, strife, conflict disturbed: (adj, v) concerned; (adj) anxious, disquieted, upset, confused, worried, restless, disordered, unsettled, distressed, turbulent. ANTONYMS: (adj) rational, relaxed, calm, sane, unaffected, unbroken, peaceful, stable, carefree, unconcerned, untroubled disturbing: (adj) disquieting, alarming, disconcerting, worrying, bothersome, worrisome, upsetting, unsettling, troubling, troublesome, distressful. ANTONYMS: (adj) soothing, comforting, pleasing, pleasant disunited: (adj) divided, split, disjointed, confused, abrupt, unmade, separate; (v) apart, torn, broken, blighted divided: (adj) cleft, detached, distributed, forked, shared, separated, separate, disjointed, branched, pronged, disunited diving: (n) immersion, dives, belly whopper, skin diving, belly flopper, belly whop, diving event, gainer; (adv) headlong, headfirst; (v) submerge divorce: (v) detach, disunite, separate, break up, divide, isolate, disjoin, disjoint; (n) separation, divorcement; (n, v) rupture. ANTONYMS: (n) wedding, union; (v) unite, associate, espouse, join, marry divorced: (adj) unmarried, single, separate; (adv) apart. ANTONYM:
134 (adj) together dizzy: (adj) giddy, silly, faint, frivolous, light, vertiginous, brainsick, featherbrained, flighty, muzzy; (v) daze. ANTONYMS: (adj) alert, balanced, intelligent, poised, rational, steady, sober, serious doctor: (v) cure, mend, repair, remedy, attend, adulterate, fix, heal; (n) doc, Dr; (adj) doctorly. ANTONYMS: (v) purify, clean, distill, harm, hurt, injure, wound doctoring: (n) doping, corruption documents: (n) papers, file, archive, documentation, dossier, id, travel document, credentials, proof, proceedings, permit doing: (n) act, do, deed, making, performance, execution, perpetration, acting; (v) to make, to do; (adj) current. ANTONYM: (n) failure dollar: (n) greenback, note, coin, cartwheel, clam, bill, dollars, silver dollar, sterling coin, symbol, currency dollars: (n) bread dome: (n) arch, roof, cover, noggin, bean, covered stadium, arena, hood, eaves; (adj) column, campanile domesticity: (n) comfortableness, coarseness, cosiness, homeliness, activity, coziness done: (adj, adv) finished, ended; (adj) complete, completed, over, made, gone, accomplished, concluded, through, cooked. ANTONYMS: (adj) unsettled, disapproved, incomplete, rare, raw, rejected, uncooked, undone, unfulfilled, unsanctioned door: (n) threshold, mouth, entrance, doorway, entry, opening, access, entryway, way out, portal, hatch. ANTONYM: (n) entrance doorstep: (n) threshold, sill, brink, door, curbside dormant: (adj) inactive, torpid, inert, smoldering, suspended, inoperative, potential, sluggish, quiescent, latent, quiet. ANTONYMS: (adj) overt, extinct, dynamic, alive, awake doubt: (n, v) suspicion, question, query, dispute; (n) disbelief, misgiving, incertitude, apprehension, uncertainty; (adj, n) skepticism; (v) suspect. ANTONYMS: (n) certainty, confidence, conclusiveness, belief, certitude, faith, approval; (v) accept, believe, consider, swallow doubted: (adj) distrusted, suspected doubtful: (adj) dubious, debatable,
Ethan Frome distrustful, questionable, queer, suspicious, tentative, disputable, diffident, unsettled, unsure. ANTONYMS: (adj) trusting, convinced, reliable, confident, persuaded, provable, sure, hopeful, promising, likely, indubitable doubtless: (adv) assuredly, undoubtedly, probably, unquestionably, clearly, without doubt, presumably; (adj) sure; (adv, v) questionless; (adj, adv) no doubt, to be sure. ANTONYMS: (adj) improbably, uncertain, unlikely, questionable doubts: (adj) doubting downcast: (adj) depressed, dejected, dispirited, blue, desolate, disconsolate, gloomy, low, sad, downhearted, discouraged. ANTONYMS: (adj) cheerful, vivacious, cheery, elated, joyous, up, positive dozing: (adj) drowsy, dozy, nodding, napping, asleep, sleepy, tired drag: (v) attract, draw, lug, cart, heave, tow; (n, v) pull, puff; (adv, v) trail; (n) bother; (adj) dragging. ANTONYMS: (n) pleasure; (v) hasten, hurry, shove, speed, rush, propel, fly dragged: (adj) depressed, dejected, upset, unhappy, spent, dispirited, somber, melancholy, gloomy, joyless, low dragging: (n) pulled wire, stemming, haulage; (adj) slow, sickly, slack, unfit, sluggish, tardy, tedious; (v) involve. ANTONYMS: (adj) energetic, energizing, exciting, prompt, short drain: (v) deplete, bleed, leak, consume; (adj, v) waste, exhaust, spill; (n) culvert, dike; (adj) cloaca, dissipate. ANTONYMS: (v) fill, replenish, renew, supply, replace, refresh, increase, conserve, enrich, invigorate; (n) ridge drank: (v) absorb draught: (n, v) draft, sketch, design, potation, plan; (n) dose, air current, wind, gulp, outline; (v) blueprint draughts: (n) solitaire, go bang, backgammon, misere chess, chess, dominos, board game draw: (n, v) drag, pull, delineate, tie, design, puff; (v) depict, describe, derive, bring; (n) attraction. ANTONYMS: (v) repel, deposit, shove, shorten, thrust, cut, curtail, contract, alienate; (n) repulsion, win drawback: (n) catch, hitch, snag,
shortcoming, defect, detriment, failing, inconvenience, disability, hurdle, encumbrance. ANTONYMS: (n) benefit, bonus, edge, strength drawer: (n) draftsman, drawers, till, designer, box car, cartoonist, commode, engraver, chest, case, locker drawers: (n) knickers, pants, tights, shorts, bloomers, briefs, underwear, breeches, underpants, underdrawers, trousers drawing: (n) draft, delineation, picture, plan, cartoon, depiction, draught, draw, draftsmanship, painting, image drawl: (adv) creep, loiter, linger, saunter; (adj) dawdle, slouch, hang back, droil; (v) mouth, pronounce, enounce. ANTONYMS: (v) contract, shorten, abridge drawn: (adj) careworn, worn, drew, pinched, gaunt, taut, tired, cadaverous, thin, tense, withdraw. ANTONYMS: (adj) rested, robust, refreshed, hale, fresh, vigorous, carefree dread: (n, v) apprehension, fear, panic; (n) anxiety, awe, consternation, alarm, trepidation, dismay, foreboding, terror. ANTONYMS: (adj) pleasing, welcomed, pleasant; (v) welcome, want; (n) reassurance, fearlessness, confidence, security, ease, calm dreadfully: (adj, adv) frightfully, shockingly; (adv) fearfully, appallingly, hideously, horrendously, horribly, atrociously, ghastly, tremendously, horridly. ANTONYMS: (adv) pleasantly, wonderfully, happily, hardly, superbly, well dream: (n) aspiration, ambition, reverie, desire, fantasy, figment, nightmare; (n, v) vision, sleep; (v) muse, imagine. ANTONYMS: (n) alertness, nightmare dreamy: (adj) faraway, romantic, impractical, somnolent, visionary, sleepy, pensive, moony, idealistic, drowsy; (v) balmy. ANTONYMS: (adj) cynical, vigorous, pragmatic, practical, awake, alert, ordinary, prosaic drenched: (adj) saturated, soaked, soaking, damp, soppy, wet through, sodden, sopping, wringing wet, soaked to the skin, dripping wet dress: (n, v) attire, costume, clothe, apparel, clothing, array, trim, garb, rig, cover; (n) dressing.
Edith Wharton ANTONYMS: (n, v) undress; (v) uncover, disrobe, rumple, strip, wrinkle dressed: (adj) attired, clad, garbed, appareled, spruced up, spiffed up, covered, polished, garmented; (v) clothed, habited dresser: (n) cabinet, chest of drawers, bureau, commode, chest, sideboard, chiffonier, toilet table, assistant, dressing table, table drew: (n) move, John Drew dried: (adj) arid, desiccated, dehydrated, shriveled, shrunken, drained, torrid, parched, withered; (n) drier, dryer drift: (adj, n) stream; (n) current, course, tendency, tone, intent; (adj, n, v) flow; (n, v) aim, blow; (v) ramble, float. ANTONYMS: (v) guide, struggle, set, sink, aim, repel drily: (adv) parchedly, thirstily, waterlessly, monotonously, stalely, driedly, sharply, sardonically, tediously, hardly, plainly drink: (n, v) beverage, draught, swallow; (n) alcohol, brew, potion, intoxicant; (v) booze, carouse, bib, swig. ANTONYMS: (v) regurgitate, sip, abstain drinking: (n) consumption, ingestion, intake, potation, drunkenness, crapulence, boozing, drinkable, uptake, intemperateness, booze drive: (n, v) ride, push, force, crusade, urge, thrust, campaign, cause; (v) compel, chase, actuate. ANTONYMS: (n) apathy, inertia, lethargy, walk, indifference; (v) discourage, repress, stop, prevent, inhibit, dissuade driven: (v) drive, impel, operate, propel; (adj) impelled, compulsive, motivated, involuntary, dynamic, successful; (n) drove driving: (adj) energetic, impulsive, enterprising, pushing, vigorous; (n) drive, travel, drove, direction, motoring, push. ANTONYMS: (adj) lethargic, weak, light drone: (n, v) hum, murmur; (v) whine, idler, purr; (n) dawdler, droning, laggard, sluggard, roll; (adv, n) bourdon droning: (adj) buzzing, humming, abuzz, booming, monotonous, noisy; (n) bourdon, dawdler, drone pipe, idleness, monotone. ANTONYM: (adj) varied drooping: (adj) flabby, pendulous, limp, flaccid, cernuous, flagging, languid, floppy, lax, tired; (n) droop.
ANTONYMS: (adj) taut, firm drop: (n, v) decline, dribble, deposit, decrease, jump, ebb; (adj, n, v) collapse; (v) droop, sink, cast, drip. ANTONYMS: (n, v) increase; (v) lift, pour, sharpen, raise, recuperate; (n) growth, mass, lot, upswing, elevation dropped: (adj) dropping, fallen, decreased, drop, fall, degraded, dead, born, abandoned dropping: (adj) dropped, down, fatigued, plunging, plummeting, dipping; (n) sagging, reducing, sinking, dropping of the launcher stages, dispatching drops: (n) tear drove: (adj, n) flock, swarm, shoal; (n) horde, crowd, covey, mob, throng, multitude; (adj) bevy, driven drowning: (n) masking, demersion drowsy: (adj, n) sleepy; (adj) lazy, comatose, somnolent, slow, lethargic, sluggish, dull, indolent, soporific, listless. ANTONYMS: (adj) energetic, awake, lively, vigorous, vivacious, refreshed drug: (n) cure, anesthetic, medication, remedy, medicament, prescription; (v) dose, anesthetize, medicate, narcotize, potion drumming: (n) roll, drums, sound, thump, pulse, barrelling, percussion, buzzing, stress, tapping, throb drying: (n) curing, desiccation, seasoning, dryness, ventilation, drying up, aeration, airing; (adj) desiccative, siccative, parching dull: (adj) dreary, dense, sluggish, dismal, slack, torpid; (adj, v) blunt, stupid; (v) deaden, dampen; (adj, n) cold. ANTONYMS: (adj) lively, sharp, stimulating, exciting, lustrous, interesting, exhilarating, varied, glossy, glittery, luminous dumb: (adj) mute, speechless, dense, dim, silent, dull, slow, stupid, inarticulate, foolish, obtuse. ANTONYMS: (adj) bright, communicative, intelligent, loquacious, sharp, smart, speaking, brilliant, talkative during: (prep) within, on, by, of, for, pending, inside; (adv) whilst, while; (adj) throughout; (n) at. ANTONYM: (prep) out dusk: (n) nightfall, twilight, darkness, gloaming, sunset, gloom, night, shade, shadow, sundown; (adj) dusky. ANTONYMS: (n) dawn, light, daybreak, morning, afternoon duties: (n) service, occupation, place,
135 work, vocation, charge, diversion, activities, avocation, registration fee duty: (n) function, commitment, obligation, chore, assignment, office, dues, job, responsibility, must; (n, v) charge. ANTONYMS: (n) disobedience, option dwelling: (n) domicile, home, residence, house, place, accommodation, address, building, lodge, habitation; (adj, n) dwell dwindling: (adj) decreasing, declining, abating, diminishing, waning; (n) lessening, narrowing, dwindlement, shrinking; (v) dwindle; (adv) diminishingly. ANTONYMS: (n) growth; (adj) burgeoning, high dyed: (adj) colored, tinted, coloured, bleached, stained, painted, artificially coloured, biased, artificial, unreal, colorful dying: (n) death, demise, decease, mortality; (adj) vanishing, moribund, last, final, ultimate, failing, ebbing. ANTONYMS: (adj) thriving, well, opening, aborning, developing, flourishing, growing, reviving, rejuvenating; (n) birth each: (adv) apiece, either, individually; (adj) every, various, singular; (adj, det) any; (n) anyone, an, anybody, everyone eagerly: (adv) zealously, readily, keenly, fervently, avidly, greedily, enthusiastically, intently, earnestly, impatiently, actively. ANTONYMS: (adv) apathetically, nonchalantly, grudgingly, patiently, halfheartedly, reluctantly, unenthusiastically eagerness: (n, v) desire, aspiration; (n) enthusiasm, avidity, cupidity, readiness, passion, keenness, ambition, fervor, avidness. ANTONYMS: (n) indifference, unwillingness, aloofness, disinterest, lethargy, listlessness, patience, gloom, reluctance eagle: (n) bird of Jove, colors, double eagle, oriflamme, oriflamb, raptor, labarum, emblem, flag, dibs, streamer earlier: (adj) past, former, previous, advance, preceding; (adj, adv) antecedent; (adv) formerly, beforehand, ahead, anterior, before now. ANTONYMS: (adj, adv) later; (adj) subsequent, present, following; (adv) subsequently, afterward early: (adv) betimes, soon; (adj) initial, primitive, young, prompt, first, quick; (n) beginning, morning,
136 prior. ANTONYMS: (adj, adv) late, later; (adj) delayed, slow, tardy, conclusive, latter, middle; (adv) belatedly, tardily, expectedly earn: (v) acquire, deserve, get, attain, win, bring in, bring, achieve, bear, merit, yield. ANTONYMS: (v) spend, cost, scatter earning: (n) proceeds; (v) get ears: (n) antenna earshot: (n) earreach, audience, auditory modality, stone's throw, audition, auditory sense, range; (n, v) sound earth: (n) world, dust, ground, land, lair, dry land, terra firma, clay, creation, ball, country earthly: (adj, n) terrestrial; (adj) carnal, worldly, conceivable, human, geotic, secular, terrene, temporal, telluric, sublunary. ANTONYMS: (adj) spiritual, divine, ethereal, immortal, impossible, improbable, inconceivable, celestial ease: (v) alleviate, assuage, relieve, allay; (n) convenience, rest, leisure, relief, satisfaction; (adj, v) facilitate; (n, v) relax. ANTONYMS: (n) discomfort, formality, awkwardness, worry, toil, problem, pain, maladroitness; (v) aggravate, worsen, impede eased: (adj) relieved, mitigated, cloaked, palliate, disguised easily: (adv) lightly, smoothly, facilely, fluently, readily, plainly, comfortably, uncomplicatedly, calmly, slowly, conveniently. ANTONYMS: (adv) hardly, unquestionably, laboriously, difficultly, barely, arduously, affectedly, inconveniently, seriously, formally eastern: (adj) easterly, orient, orientals, oriental, eastward, eastern countries, ortive, bright, Levant. ANTONYM: (adj) western easy: (adj) convenient, gentle, familiar, graceful, at ease, light, lenient, clear, contented, cozy; (adj, adv) soft. ANTONYMS: (adj) arduous, laborious, demanding, hard, strenuous, particular, burdensome, tough, uneasy, awkward, testing easygoing: (adj) careless, leisurely, placid, carefree, genial, optimistic, serene, insouciant, gentle, unconcerned, composed. ANTONYMS: (adj) grumpy, severe, harsh, energetic, hurried, rushed, uptight, stubborn, intense, hyped,
Ethan Frome huffy eating: (n) ingestion, intake, feeding, browsing, banqueting, food, lunching, supping, pica, repletion; (v) eat eats: (n) grub, chuck, food, meat, meal, diet, nurture, eat, dinner, board, feed eaves: (n) arch, balcony, cupola, dome, penthouse, eave, overhang, attic, loft, projection, roof space ebullition: (n) boiling, ferment, choler, bile, dander; (adj, n) effervescence; (v) seethe, coction; (adj) seething, stir, splutter echo: (n, v) answer, repeat, resound, rebound, reply; (v) reproduce, reverberate, imitate; (n) repercussion, reaction, replication economy: (adj) economic, economical; (n) saving, thrift, parsimony, conservation, curtailment, business, economics, providence, thriftiness. ANTONYMS: (n) extravagance, generosity, spending, squandering, wastefulness, lavishness; (adj) luxury eddies: (n) turbulence edge: (n, v) bound, verge, hem, skirt, line; (n) boundary, margin, brink, blade, extremity, limit. ANTONYMS: (n) center, disadvantage, obstacle, handicap, mainstream, end; (v) interior, dull, blunt, speed edged: (adj) cutting, sharp, bordered, pointed, bounded, keen, penetrating, sharper, stinging, unkind, bleak edges: (n) boundaries education: (n) discipline, instruction, teaching, cultivation, breeding, school, culture, nurture, knowledge, background, learning. ANTONYM: (n) illiteracy effect: (n, prep) consequence; (v) accomplish, achieve, bring about, create, complete, cause, do; (n) product, sequel; (n, v) result. ANTONYMS: (n) reason, cause; (v) impede, fail effective: (adj, n) competent, capable, able, effectual; (adj) practical, strong, operative, efficacious, actual, fruitful, positive. ANTONYMS: (adj) useless, weak, inoperative, ineffectual, pathetic, unproductive, powerless, inadequate, futile, clumsy, actual efficiency: (n) capability, ability, effect, capacity, competence,
competency, economy, adequacy, aptitude; (adj, n) efficacy; (n, v) agency. ANTONYMS: (n) incompetence, largeness, ineffectiveness, inadequacy, messiness, tardiness, awkwardness effort: (n) exertion, trouble, application, trial, try, endeavor, struggle, drive, diligence, bid, great effort. ANTONYMS: (n) inaction, lackadaisicalness, laziness, negligence, lethargy efforts: (n) pains effrontery: (n) audacity, brass, presumption, face, boldness, insolence, nerve, impertinence, impudence, rudeness, assurance. ANTONYMS: (n) timidity, deference, courtesy egypt: (n) Arab Republic of Egypt, Egyptian empire, United Arab Republic either: (adj) whatever; (adv) too, also, neither, besides, likewise; (n) or; (det) any; (conj) other elaborate: (v) develop, specify, amplify, work out, expand, expound, detail; (adj) careful, complicated, complex, involved. ANTONYMS: (adj) plain, simple, modest, common, stark, straightforward, uncomplicated, uninvolved; (v) simplify, condense, contract elapse: (v) go by, lapse, proceed, flow, roll, expire, pass by, slip by, fly, die, depart elasticity: (n) spring, tone, buoyancy, suppleness, springiness, flexibility, resiliency, resilience, pliability, tonicity; (adj) elastic force. ANTONYMS: (n) stiffness, inflexibility, rigidity elbow: (n, v) poke, nudge, jolt; (n) cubitus, elbow joint, angle, articulation; (v) jostle, push, shove, crowd electric: (n) electricity; (adj) exciting, electrical, galvanic, emotional, hasty, stimulating, restless; (v) eagle winged, telegraphic; (adj, v) mercurial. ANTONYMS: (adj) boring, uncharged, unexciting elements: (n) rudiments, grammar, outlines, fundamentals, basics, weather, ABC, atmospheric condition, contents, principia eleven: (adj, n) xi; (n) eight, squad, football team, team eloquence: (n) style, fluency, oratory, rhetoric, articulateness, expression, volubility, persuasiveness,
Edith Wharton articulacy, facundity, way with words. ANTONYM: (n) inarticulateness else: (adv) besides, yet, to boot, in addition, moreover; (pron) another; (n) or; (adj) different, other, further, additional embarrassed: (adj) awkward, abashed, uncomfortable, disconcerted, bashful, sheepish, shy, shamefaced, mortified, discomfited, chagrined. ANTONYMS: (adj) relaxed, unabashed, natural, talkative embarrassment: (n) abashment, difficulty, quandary, discomfiture, humiliation, bewilderment, mortification, uneasiness, shame; (n, v) distress; (adj, n) dilemma. ANTONYMS: (n) confidence, honor, pride, shortage embers: (v) cinder, ash, scoriae; (n) fire, ashes embodied: (adj) incarnate, corporate, corporeal, corporal, bodied, personified, incorporated, combined, tangible, associated, in person emotion: (n) love, feeling, passion, heart, commotion, mood, pathos, excitement, sensibility; (n, v) sensation; (v) impression. ANTONYMS: (n) detachment, coldness, unfeelingness, calmness emotions: (n) reputation, emotion, feeling, temperament, personality, character, disposition, breast, bosom employer: (n) master, owner, user, chief, consumer, hirer, mistress, employers, lord, principal, slave driver. ANTONYMS: (n) personnel, worker employers: (n) management emporium: (n) department store, market, store, establishment, bazaar, staple, warehouse, outlet, mart, dime store, chief item empty: (adj, v) clear, discharge, destitute, void; (adj) hollow, bare, blank, barren, abandoned; (v) deplete, pour. ANTONYMS: (adj) crowded, meaningful, packed, occupied, inhabited, swarming, brimming, laden, filled, cultivated; (v) fill enable: (v) entitle, capacitate, qualify, authorize, license, accredit, permit, let, endow, commission; (adj) able. ANTONYMS: (v) debilitate, disable, hinder, halt, forbid, prevent, stop, block, disallow, debar enchanted: (adj) bewitched,
delighted, charmed, fascinated, rapt, spellbound, blissful, happy, enamored, possessed; (v) entranced. ANTONYMS: (adj) disenchanted, unhappy encircled: (adj) enclosed, bounded, circinate, circular, decorated, delimited, ringed, wreathed, bordered, annulated, annular enclosed: (adj) surrounded, bounded, covered, limited, encircled, enveloped, besieged, closed, controlled; (v) contain; (adv) herewith. ANTONYMS: (adj) exposed, open, pervasive, outdoor enclosing: (n) enclose, inclosure, boxing, encasement, introduction, insertion, intromission, surrounding, incasement, grip, envelopment enclosure: (n) appendage, annex, cage, appendix, addendum, barrier, enclosing, pen, yard, hedge, addition ended: (adj) concluded, finished, over, done, completed, closed, through, terminated, consummate, all over; (adj, v) past endless: (adj) constant, perpetual, interminable, continuous, ceaseless, eternal, uninterrupted, everlasting, incessant, vast, unrelenting. ANTONYMS: (adj) temporary, restricted, limited, intermittent, ending, finishing, sporadic, mortal, inconstant, few, slight ends: (n) tops, crook, band, bend, bind, limits, clippings, curve, trimmings, boundaries endurance: (adj, n) sufferance; (n) stamina, tolerance, courage, permanence, continuance, energy, fortitude, tenacity, duration, toughness. ANTONYMS: (n) weakness, inconsistency, impatience, frailty, discontinuation, discontinuance, death enemy: (n) antagonist, opponent, foe, opposition, competitor, enmity, assailant, foeman, hostile, besieger; (adj, n) rival. ANTONYMS: (n) ally, friend, supporter, benefactor, defender, fan energy: (adj, n) animation, dash, life, spirit; (n) force, drive, effort, determination, might, vitality, vigor. ANTONYMS: (n) exhaustion, apathy, tiredness, weakness, sluggishness, idleness, impotence, feebleness, powerlessness, inertia, listlessness engage: (v) contract, book, employ,
137 retain, absorb, charter, draw, rent; (n, v) attract, enlist, betroth. ANTONYMS: (v) disengage, release, evade, bore, can, discharge, disconnect, dismiss, eject, terminate, escape engaged: (adj) occupied, betrothed, employed, affianced, engrossed, reserved, absorbed, working, pledged, involved, committed. ANTONYMS: (adj) free, unengaged, unemployed, uncommitted, unattached, single, detached, idle engineer: (v) conduct, organize, direct, contrive, plan, construct, finagle; (n) architect, engine driver, technologist; (n, v) mastermind engineering: (n) mechanism, applied science, engine room, biotechnology, bioengineering, mechanical engineering, technics, technique, electrical engineering, EE; (adj, n) manufacturing england: (n) Britain, British, UK, United Kingdom, Albion, British Empire engraving: (n) print, sculpture, plate, picture, carving, copperplate, aquatint, printmaking, engravement, cutting, chasing enlarged: (adj) inflated, magnified, extended, expanded, puffy, increased, augmented, amplified, distended, wide, swollen. ANTONYM: (adj) atrophied enough: (adj) ample, adequate, competent, decent; (n) adequacy, sufficiency, fill; (adv) rather, amply, adequately; (adv, n) plenty. ANTONYMS: (adj) insufficient, deficient, wanting, scant; (adv) insufficiently, inadequately; (n) insufficiency, deficiency, inadequacy, shortage entertainment: (n) distraction, diversion, enjoyment, show, pleasure, recreation, fun, reception, pastime; (adj, n) party; (n, v) regalement. ANTONYMS: (n) job, boredom, discomfort entranced: (adj) delighted, captivated, fascinated, enthralled, enchanted, ecstatic, beguiled, enslaved, gripped; (adv) on cloud nine; (v) overjoyed envelope: (n, v) covering, cloak, blanket; (n) casing, container, pack, case, coating, jacket, integument, vesicle envy: (v) begrudge, want; (n) enviousness, desire, heartburning, resentment, envies, heartburn,
138 jealousy, hatred; (adj) jealous. ANTONYM: (n) generosity epidemic: (adj) infectious, catching, rife, prevailing; (n) plague, pestilence, outbreak, disease, infection, eruption, pest. ANTONYMS: (adj) contained, confined, limited, local epitaph: (n) memorial, lettering, inscription, commemoration, epitaphic, legend equipment: (n) apparatus, facility, outfit, appliance, equipage, gear, utensil, furnishings, apparel, accoutrements; (n, v) furniture equivalent: (n) counterpart, match; (adj) comparable, analogous, even, alike, matching, same, identical, like; (n, v) consideration. ANTONYMS: (adj, n) dissimilar; (adj) unlike, differing, diverse, incompatible, unequal erratic: (adj) capricious, irregular, eccentric, freakish, broken, desultory, planetary, unstable, temperamental, quaint; (adj, v) stray. ANTONYMS: (adj) consistent, constant, dependable, predictable, regular, certain, steady, unchanging, reliable, common, stable escaped: (adj) at large, at liberty, loose, on the loose, runaway, easy, wild; (n) freer; (v) escaping establishment: (n) company, constitution, institution, organization, enactment, settlement, creation, formation, concern, building, foundation. ANTONYMS: (n) elimination, destruction, culmination ether: (adj) air, elastic fluid, anaesthetic agent, steam, flatus, fume, reek, vapor; (n) divinyl ether, firmament, vinyl ether evasion: (n, v) equivocation, avoidance, subterfuge, prevarication; (n) escape, quibble, dodge, excuse, elusion, casuistry, circumvention. ANTONYMS: (n) facing, confrontation, confronting, meeting evening: (n) even, dusk, dark, eve, twilight, sunset, eventide, nightfall, sundown, night, period. ANTONYMS: (n) daybreak, sunrise, sunup, morning ever: (adj, adv) always, continually; (adj) constantly, still, forever; (adv) never, e'er, before, once, perpetually; (n) Evers. ANTONYM: (adv) erratically every: (adj) each, total, whole, any,
Ethan Frome thorough; (n) everybody, everyone, everything; (adv) apiece, either; (pron) every one everybody: (adv) each, any; (n, pron) anyone, anybody; (n) every person, world, everything, horde, throng; (pron) any person, someone. ANTONYMS: (n, pron) nobody everything: (pron) anything, something, whatever thing, no matter which; (n) whole, everyone, all things, everybody, entirety, universe, thing evidence: (n) proof, confirmation, data, testimony, sign, attestation, demonstration; (v) demonstrate, certify, attest; (n, v) mark. ANTONYMS: (v) disprove, confute; (n) conviction evident: (adj) obvious, distinct, discernible, clear, manifest, conspicuous, patent, plain, noticeable, open, certain. ANTONYMS: (adj) unnoticed, obscure, concealed, hidden, inconspicuous, uncertain, unknown, imperceptible, disputable, ambiguous, undetectable evidently: (adv) clearly, patently, plainly, obviously, manifestly, openly, certainly, overtly, markedly, conspicuously, palpably. ANTONYMS: (adv) doubtfully, imperceptibly, obscurely, questionably, actually, ambiguously, inconspicuously evil: (adj) bad, criminal, corrupt, wicked, destructive, depraved; (adj, n) ill, detriment; (n) adversity, disaster, depravity. ANTONYMS: (n) goodness, righteousness, morality; (adj) kindhearted, righteous, benign, moral, pure, upright, virtuous, sinless evocation: (n) elicitation, imagery, imagination, imaging, input, stimulant, stimulation, stimulus, evoke, induction, conjury exacting: (adj) fastidious, austere, strict, trying, stern, difficult, hard, finicky, nice; (adj, v) exigent; (adj, n) exact. ANTONYMS: (adj) lenient, relaxed, tolerant, unexacting, unfastidious, basic, careless, relaxing exactly: (adv) correctly, punctually, rightly, accurately, strictly, perfectly, definitely, directly, truly, right, absolutely. ANTONYMS: (adv) inaccurately, randomly, figuratively, wrongly, vaguely, roughly, inexactly, indirectly, imprecisely,
around; (adv, prep) about exaggerated: (adj) extravagant, theatrical, immoderate, inflated, overdone, hyperbolic, magnified, pretentious, overstated, excessive; (adj, v) hypertrophied. ANTONYMS: (adj) restrained, unembellished, minimized exaltation: (n) elation, ecstasy, apotheosis, worship, praise, rapture, deification, grandeur, adoration; (n, v) sublimation; (v) laud. ANTONYMS: (n) abasement, belittlement, debasement, degradation, humiliation, sorrow, derogation, disparagement examine: (v) assay, audit, overhaul, try, consider, control, check, search, survey, ask, ascertain. ANTONYMS: (v) reply, skim, glance examined: (adj) qualified, studied, considered exanimate: (adj) dead, deceased, inanimate, exanimation, defunct, extinct, spiritless, soulless, late except: (adj, conj, prep) save; (v) exclude, demur, omit, elide; (adv, conj, prep) but; (adv, prep) besides; (prep) excepting, excluding, aside from; (conj, n) without. ANTONYMS: (prep) including; (v) receive, admit exception: (n) objection, exemption, anomaly, immunity, privilege, repudiation, release, condition, salvo, animadversion; (adj, n) peculiarity. ANTONYM: (n) liability exceptional: (adj) abnormal, excellent, particular, prodigious, extraordinary, uncommon, singular, unusual, outstanding, unique, superior. ANTONYMS: (adj) common, ordinary, average, normal, usual, poor, abysmal, inferior, unexceptional, regular, everyday exchanged: (adj) counterchanged, bartered, substituted excitement: (n) commotion, emotion, animation, agitation, disturbance, elation, enthusiasm, eagerness, taking, excitation, tumult. ANTONYMS: (n) dullness, boredom, tediousness, desolation, apathy, bore, dormancy, indifference, somnolence, despondency, lifelessness excruciating: (adj) agonizing, harrowing, painful, sharp, intolerable, acute, violent, insupportable, intense, torturing; (v) cutting. ANTONYMS: (adj) bearable, painless, pleasant,
Edith Wharton pleasing, soothing, wonderful, dull excuse: (n, v) pardon, palliate; (v) absolve, exculpate, condone, acquit, justify, forgive; (n) alibi, pretext, evasion. ANTONYMS: (v) blame, accuse, chide, discipline, include, reprimand, castigate; (n) accusation exercise: (n, v) employ, practice, use, discipline; (v) apply, train, exert; (n) employment, application, play, movement. ANTONYMS: (n) avoid, idleness, inactiveness, inactivity, work; (v) ignore, neglect, overlook, perform, conserve exhausted: (adj) fatigued, tired, spent, dry, empty, depleted, jaded, enervated, faint; (adj, v) gone, weak. ANTONYMS: (adj) fresh, refreshed, strong, restored, vigorous, unexhausted, replenished, remaining, energized, invigorated, restocked exhaustion: (n) consumption, enervation, tiredness, lassitude, attrition, weakening, weariness, inanition, weakness; (adj, n) collapse; (adj) prostration. ANTONYMS: (n) vitality, pep, restoration, vim exhilaration: (n) excitement, cheerfulness, delight, happiness, animation, glee, joyfulness, joyousness, rapture, joy; (adj, n) hilarity. ANTONYMS: (n) boredom, despair, sadness expanding: (adj) growing, expansive, getting higher, getting bigger, intumescent, intensifying, cultural, going up, mounting; (n) addition, bulging expanse: (n) breadth, expansion, space, region, compass, extent, orbit, latitude, acreage, dilation, length. ANTONYM: (n) closeness expectancy: (n) anticipation, expectation, suspense, hope, reversion, prospect, trust, wait, probability, prediction, waiting. ANTONYMS: (n) despair, discouragement expected: (adj) likely, expect, predictable, prospective, anticipated, usual, conventional, intended, due, assumed, hoped-for. ANTONYMS: (adj) unusual, surprising, unconventional, unexpected, unlikely, exceptional expecting: (adj) pregnant, confident, with child, heavy, hopeful; (n) family way expedition: (n) dispatch, travel, celerity, speed, haste, readiness,
quest, tour; (n, v) campaign, journey, crusade. ANTONYMS: (n) delay, procrastination, slowing expenses: (n) expenditure, expense, charge, costs, fee, spending, disbursement, overheads, payment, outlay, upkeep expensive: (adj) sumptuous, dear, luxurious, lovely, extravagant, valuable, lavish, darling, beloved, overpriced, high-priced. ANTONYMS: (adj) cheap, reasonable, inexpensive, worthless, economical, plain, shabby experience: (v) endure, suffer, examine, meet, live, know, receive; (adj, v) see; (n) event, episode, happening. ANTONYMS: (n) inexperience, greenness, naivete, inability, ignorance explanation: (n) annotation, commentary, definition, description, exposition, solution, justification, interpretation, gloss, excuse, key. ANTONYMS: (n) mystery, cloudiness, confusion, problem exposed: (adj) open, defenseless, uncovered, unprotected, nude, subject, obvious, naked, bald; (adj, v) vulnerable, liable. ANTONYMS: (adj) covered, hidden, safe, guarded, armed, secluded, sheltered, sheathed, enclosed, safeguarded, protected express: (adj) explicit, direct, definite, distinct, especial; (n, v) declare; (v) demonstrate, convey, articulate, display, mean. ANTONYMS: (v) suppress, hide, retain; (adj) vague, slow, unexpressed, roundabout, unsaid, uncertain, indirect; (n) local expressed: (adj) express, spoken, phrased, explicit, voiced, expresssed, verbal, verbalized, verbalised, unequivocal, graphic expression: (n) phrase, voice, aspect, appearance, demonstration, declaration, manifestation, articulation, express, face, style. ANTONYMS: (n) hint, suggestion, smile, insinuation, concealment, misconstruction expressive: (adj) significant, meaningful, descriptive, mobile, revelatory, indicative, articulate, graphic, emphatic, suggestive, vivid. ANTONYMS: (adj) unemotional, undemonstrative, nondescript, cold, expressionless, empty, emotionless, inarticulate, innocent, impassive, reserved exquisite: (adj) beautiful, delicate,
139 excellent, dainty, gorgeous, admirable, acute, heavenly, choice, wonderful; (adj, v) delightful. ANTONYMS: (adj) dull, inferior, ugly, subdued, rough, poor, coarse, mild, imperfect, horrible, flawed extend: (v) enlarge, broaden, widen, dilate, amplify, augment, go, continue, spread, draw out; (adj, v) stretch. ANTONYMS: (v) withdraw, shorten, narrow, shrink, limit, contract, curtail, hold, reduce, abridge, keep extinguished: (adj) extinct, out, dead, quenched, allayed, destroyed; (n) defunctness, complete annihilation, experimental extinction, extermination, extinction extra: (adj) additional, odd, extraordinary; (adj, adv) over, more; (adj, n) excess, supernumerary; (n) accessory; (adj, adv, n) plus; (adv) especially; (v) additive. ANTONYMS: (adj) basic, less, enough, main, sufficient, lacking; (n) lack, shortfall, normal; (adv) barely, scarcely exultantly: (adv) exultingly, triumphantly, gleefully, victoriously, elatedly, delightedly, joyfully, proudly, rejoicingly, triumphally; (adv, v) happily eyes: (n) sight, eye, vision, view, baby blues, guard, propensity, eyen face: (adj, n, v) front; (v) confront, audacity; (n, v) look, aspect, top; (n) side, expression, countenance, exterior, facade. ANTONYMS: (n, v) back; (n) timidity, nobody, underside, shyness, rear; (v) evade, elude, hide, withdraw, submit facetious: (adj) humorous, comical, frivolous, funny, comic, whimsical, laughable, jocose, jocular; (adj, n) witty; (n) amusing. ANTONYMS: (adj) grave, lugubrious, sober, somber, formal facial: (adj) forward, surface, subcranial; (n) cranial nerve, facial nerve, nervus facialis, seventh cranial nerve, facial tissue facing: (n) revetment, face, coating, lining, veneer, cladding, front, covering; (prep) against, before; (adj) fronting fact: (n) event, detail, truth, particular, reality, point, thing, occurrence, experience, actuality; (n, v) deed. ANTONYMS: (n) guesswork, fallacy, conjecture, report, falsehood, fiction, concept, fabrication, fantasy, illusion, lie
140 faction: (n) crew, cabal, group, band, set, party, division, junto, dissension, clan; (n, v) feud. ANTONYMS: (n) whole, agreement, entirety, peace, unity facts: (n) reality, details, proof, grounds, premises, praecognita, truth, testimony, particulars, physical constraints, reasonableness faculty: (adj, n) capacity, cleverness; (n) aptitude, capability, bent, power, staff, facility; (adj, n, v) talent; (n, v) endowment, gift. ANTONYMS: (n) students, pupils, ineptness, incompetence, incapacity faded: (adj) pale, bleached, dull, exhausted, faint, washy, withered, colorless, discoloured, attenuate; (adj, v) dilapidated. ANTONYMS: (adj) vivid, Colored, colorful, fresh, vigorous, strong, bright failed: (adj) unsuccessful, failing, abortive, bankrupt, fruitless, futile, declining, deteriorating, ineffective, insolvent failing: (adj, n) deficiency, blemish, imperfection; (n) fault, shortcoming, failure, weakness, flaw, inadequacy, foible; (adj) declining. ANTONYMS: (adj) thriving, flourishing, well, strong, growing, healthy; (n) strength, virtue, specialty, capability, passing failure: (n) bankruptcy, breakdown, loser, downfall, disappointment, disaster, defeat, debacle; (n, v) deficiency, decline, loss. ANTONYMS: (n) achievement, hit, winner, victory, capability, achiever, attainment, growth, triumph, Victor, champion faint: (adj, n, v) swoon; (adj) dim, feeble, dizzy, indistinct, vague, soft, dull; (adj, v) weak; (v) languish, pass out. ANTONYMS: (adj) distinct, clear, obvious, loud, considerable, pungent, invigorated, hearty, energetic, defined; (v) revive faintly: (adv) dimly, vaguely, indistinctly, lightly, weakly, hazily, slightly, softly, shadowily, infirmly, palely. ANTONYMS: (adv) clearly, intensely, distinctly, overpoweringly, harshly, considerably, powerfully, strongly, brightly, obviously, audibly fair: (adj) clear, beautiful, sweet, reasonable, dispassionate, average, fine, impartial; (adj, v) bright; (adj, adv) clean; (n) blonde. ANTONYMS: (adj) biased, unjust, exceptional, dark, partial,
Ethan Frome mismatched, unwarranted, foul, imbalanced, prejudiced, poor fairly: (adj, adv) justly; (adv) moderately, honestly, completely, purely, impartially, somewhat, righteously, lightly, rightly, squarely. ANTONYMS: (adv) unjustly, extremely, subjectively, very, dishonestly, unreasonably, completely, entirely, unlawfully, excessively, wholly faith: (n) confidence, belief, conviction, trust, credence, credit, creed, assurance, cult, expectation, dependence. ANTONYMS: (n) disbelief, distrust, dubiosity, skepticism, despair, uncertainty, doubt, independence fall: (n, v) decline, dip, rain, decrease, plunge, dive; (n) downfall, descent, autumn; (v) descend, sink. ANTONYMS: (n, v) increase, win, climb, triumph; (n) ascent, improvement, rising; (v) ascend, advance, conquer, elevate fallen: (adj) drop, decline, prostrate, flat, destroyed, down, lapsed, alight, degenerate, lose, get. ANTONYMS: (adj) esteemed, honorable, honored, lauded, prestigious falling: (n) descent, fall, downfall, degradation, depreciation; (adj) descending, decreasing, declining, tumbling, ebb, down. ANTONYMS: (adj) standing, increasing, burgeoning falls: (n) cataract, waterfall, chute, angel, torrent, Victoria, twin, force, body of water, Guaira, Niagara false: (adj, n) bastard; (adj, adv) counterfeit, deceitful; (adj) untrue, dishonest, erroneous, sham, assumed, artificial, fictitious, deceptive. ANTONYMS: (adj) real, genuine, faithful, factual, correct, natural, truthful, honest, valid, just, loyal familiar: (adj) conversant, everyday, usual, ordinary, commonplace; (adj, n) customary, common, intimate, habitual, accustomed; (n) companion. ANTONYMS: (adj) unfamiliar, strange, foreign, unaccustomed, new, unknown, ignorant, formal, shy, rare, distant families: (n) family family: (adj, n) household, descent, home; (n) name, genus, house, people, breed, brood, kin, lineage fancied: (adj) unreal, chimerical, fictional, fanciful, fictitious, fabricated, preferred, assumed,
illusory, imagined, ideal fancy: (n, v) desire, fantasy, caprice, dream, wish, daydream; (v) imagine, consider; (adj, v) conceive; (n) conception, conceit. ANTONYMS: (n) reality, certainty, actuality, conviction; (adj) unadorned, common; (v) hate, demonstrate, detest, disapprove, test fancying: (n) daydream, fantasy fantastic: (adj) bizarre, extraordinary, antic, marvelous, fantastical, grotesque, wonderful, extravagant, terrific, strange, illusory. ANTONYMS: (adj) awful, ordinary, real, unpleasant, tiny, plausible, normal, lousy, little, Lilliputian, poor fantastically: (adv) wonderfully, fabulously, tremendously, marvelously, extraordinarily, strangely, queerly, magnificently, grotesquely, whimsically, peculiarly. ANTONYMS: (adv) plausibly, abysmally farm: (n) farming, grange, dairy, croft, farmstead, estate; (v) raise, cultivate, hire, plant, produce farmhouse: (n) toft, farmstead, hacienda, house, cottage, manor, grange, homestead, building, accommodation, bungalow far-off: (adj) distant, far, faraway, outlying, extreme, inaccessible, last, long, obscure, unknown, wide far-reaching: (adj) comprehensive, far-flung, broad, widespread, wide, extensive, extended, expansive, momentous, serious, vast farther: (adj, adv, prep) beyond; (adj) additional, more, distant; (adv) furthermore, besides, abroad, in addition, too; (adj, prep) outside; (pron) another. ANTONYMS: (prep) within; (adv) nearer, closer fascinated: (adj) captivated, absorbed, gripped, engrossed, interested, attentive, preoccupied, entranced, attracted, enchanted, enthralled. ANTONYMS: (adj) indifferent, disinterested, disenchanted, detached fast: (adj, v) firm; (adj) dissolute, instant, agile, staunch, quick, hurried, fixed, rapid; (adv) soon, hard. ANTONYMS: (adv) slowly, loosely, sluggishly; (n) binge; (adj) sluggish, loose, unattached, plodding; (adj, adv) leisurely; (v) gorge, eat fastened: (adj) tied, fast, buttoned, closed, tight, secure, pinned,
Edith Wharton binding, empight, steady, firm. ANTONYMS: (adj) unfastened, unbuttoned fastening: (n) clasp, clip, buckle, attachment, lock, catch, link, bonding; (n, v) bond; (v) tie, bind faster: (adv) sooner, fleet, swift, quick, express, earlier fate: (n, v) doom; (n) chance, luck, fatality, fortune, kismet, allotment, portion, lot; (v) destine, designate. ANTONYMS: (n) will, design, choice, accident, chance fated: (adj) inevitable, destined, certain, predestined, damned, unavoidable, predestinate, cursed, intended, forthcoming, sure father: (n) dad, begetter, creator, abba, patriarch, beginner, founder, padre; (n, v) sire; (v) engender, generate. ANTONYMS: (n) disciple, follower fatuity: (n) absurdity, silliness, fatuousness, folly, idiocy, nonsense, asininity, crassitude, inanity; (adj, n) dotage; (adj) anility fault: (adj, n, v) deficiency; (n) error, blot, delinquency, flaw, break, blunder; (adj, n) failing, blemish; (n, v) blame, crime. ANTONYMS: (n) strength, virtue, capability, innocence, perfection, credit, ease; (v) praise, absolve fault-finding: (adj) querulous, picky, peevish, derogatory, censorious, captious, petulant; (n) complaint favour: (n) relief, goodness, assistance, office, favoritism, benignity; (v) choose, prefer, privilege, facilitate, approve favourite: (n) ducky, darling, pet, deary, dearie, lover, minion, Engle; (adj) popular, favored, preferred fear: (n) awe, dismay, alarm, fright, consternation, care, anguish; (n, v) apprehension, doubt, concern, reverence. ANTONYMS: (n) fearlessness, reassurance, confidence, courage, valor, calm, boldness, security, equanimity, peace; (v) brave fears: (n) worries, uncertainties, doubts, qualms, misgivings feed: (v) eat, dine, browse, encourage, board, diet, nourish, fatten; (n, v) nurture, provender; (n) aliment. ANTONYMS: (v) thwart, crave, desire, sap feeding: (n) alimentation, eating, nourishment, grazing, dining, browsing, feed supply, banqueting, supplying, ingestion, intake
feel: (v) experience, finger, handle, consider, find; (n, v) sense, sound; (n) feeling, texture, atmosphere, air. ANTONYMS: (v) observe, doubt, question, mistrust, ignore, disregard, disbelieve, challenge feeling: (n) affection, feel, emotion, sensitivity, mood, hunch, opinion, belief, impression, atmosphere; (adj, n) sentiment. ANTONYMS: (n) indifference, overtone, insensibility, certainty, insensitivity, hatred, trust; (adj) unfeeling feelings: (n) emotions, opinion, bosom, emotion, thought, reputation, honor, feeling, sentiments, thoughts, manner feet: (v) legs, pegs, pins, trotters; (n) foots, ft, fete, meter, rescue feigned: (adj) false, affected, assumed, dummy, unnatural, fictitious; (adj, v) sham, counterfeit, spurious, mock, pretended. ANTONYMS: (adj) sincere, genuine, natural, wholehearted, heartfelt, real feint: (n) wile, pretence, simulation, affectation, sham, guise, ruse, deceit, bluff, cheat, pretense felicitous: (adj) apt, suitable, appropriate, proper, applicable, fortunate, apposite, clever, cute, lucky; (adj, n) happy. ANTONYMS: (adj) inappropriate, infelicitous, inopportune, unfitting, unhappy fell: (v) cut, chop, bring down, drop, cut down; (adj) barbarous, cruel; (adj, v) prostrate, floor, knock down; (n) skin. ANTONYMS: (v) construct, erect, raise, build felling: (n) harvesting fellow: (adj, n) comrade, associate; (n) boy, equal, brother, peer, chap, colleague, compeer, buddy; (adj, n, v) concomitant. ANTONYMS: (n) female, woman, girl, foe, enemy, antagonist, competitor fellows: (n) fellow, membership, faculty felt: (v) mat, tangle, snarl, braid, entangle, lace, perceive; (adj) sensed, perceived, conscious, sensible female: (n) woman, girl, she, wife, hen, spouse, squaw; (adj) feminine, distaff, pistillate, not male. ANTONYMS: (adj) masculine, manly, androgynous, manlike; (n) man, boy fence: (n, v) hedge, wall, bar; (n) barrier, hurdle, pale, boundary; (v) quibble, enclose, parry, contend. ANTONYMS: (v) challenge, face, confront
141 fern: (n) maidenhair, davallia, christella, pteridophyte, fan fern, bristle fern, button fern, buckler fern, cliff brake, beech fern, canker brake fetch: (v) carry, bring, bring in, convey, draw, elicit, deliver, catch, get, attract; (adj, n) feint fetching: (adj) attractive, engaging, tempting, winning, fetch, charming, catching, catchy, taking, fetchingly, fascinating. ANTONYMS: (adj) unattractive, repulsive, ugly fewer: (n) not as much as, negative amount, deficiency, defect, lesser amount fiction: (n) falsehood, fable, invention, story, lie, fantasy, romance, falsity, figment, novel, sham. ANTONYMS: (adj) factual; (n) fact fiddler: (n) Fiddler's money, trumpeter, fifer, instrumentalist, musician, player, piper, violin player, twiddler, tinkerer, drummer fidgety: (adj, n) nervous; (adj) unquiet, fretful, fussy, anxious, hasty, jittery, jumpy, mercurial, restive; (n) apprehensive. ANTONYMS: (adj) relaxed, calm field: (n) area, battlefield, ground, place, domain, discipline, range, realm, battleground, section, compass fields: (n) field, domains, plain, notification fields, rotation, alternation of crops, grounds fierce: (adj) bitter, acute, cruel, ferocious, brutal, grim, nasty, intense, ardent; (adj, v) savage, furious. ANTONYMS: (adj) gentle, mild, calm, quiet, tame, docile, weak, peaceful, pleasant fiery: (adj, n) burning, passionate, glowing; (adj) fervent, ablaze, hot, fervid, impassioned, peppery; (adj, v) fierce, violent. ANTONYMS: (adj) calm, passionless, dispassionate, indifferent, placid, gentle, cool; (adv) easygoing fifty: (adj, n) l; (n) half a hundred, fifty dollar bill, cubic decimeter, cubic decimetre fight: (n, v) battle, dispute, contest, quarrel, engagement, feud, squabble, argue, struggle, clash; (adj, n, v) brawl. ANTONYMS: (n, v) withdrawal, retreat; (n) fear, surrender, agreement; (v) compromise, favor, submit figure: (n, v) form, design, cast, estimate, shape, image; (v) count,
142 cipher; (adj, n) appearance; (n) character, cost. ANTONYM: (v) estimate figures: (n) statistics, numbers, information, facts, poll filled: (adj) replete, packed, fraught, teeming, laden, abundant, congested, charged, stuffed; (adj, adv) crowded; (n) fuller. ANTONYMS: (adj) lacking, clear filling: (n) filler, weft, contents, loading, plug, packing, pad, replenishment, padding, impletion, stuffing. ANTONYMS: (adj) light, insufficient final: (adj) conclusive, definite, extreme, latter, decisive, definitive, ultimate, last, irrevocable, decided, net. ANTONYMS: (adj) opening, preliminary, initial, inconclusive, foremost, introductory, beginning, fore, impermanent, flexible, provisional finally: (adv) lastly, ultimately, at last, at long last, definitely, terminally, decisively, latestly, at length; (adv, v) definitively; (adj) final. ANTONYMS: (adv) initially, partially, soon, unconvincingly find: (v) catch, detect, encounter, come across, feel, attain, ascertain; (n) detection, disclosure, search, discovery. ANTONYMS: (v) misplace, search, fail; (n) loss finding: (n) detection, judgment, determination, discovery, verdict, ruling, breakthrough, resolution, doom, decree, find finer: (adj) superior, advanced, bigger, higher, more, greater finger: (v) feel, handle, touch, thumb, indicate, point; (n) digit, dactyl, forefinger, pointer; (n, v) hand. ANTONYM: (v) clear finish: (n, v) close, complete, consummate; (v) achieve, execute, discontinue, cease, accomplish, determine; (n) conclusion, death. ANTONYMS: (n) beginning, opening, inception, middle, creation; (v) begin, continue, sustain, save, renew, conserve finished: (adj, adv) ended, completed; (adj) complete, consummate, absolute, accomplished, ruined, spent, ripe, polished; (adj, v) done. ANTONYMS: (adj) incomplete, remaining, rough, leftover, uncultured fire: (v) eject, dismiss, kindle, ignite; (n, v) discharge, blaze, flame,
Ethan Frome explode; (n) ardor, conflagration, fervor. ANTONYMS: (v) hire, defuse, deflate, employ, dampen, detain; (n) laziness fired: (adj) discharged, unemployed, passionate, interested, heated, enthusiastic, ablaze, zealous firm: (adj, adv) hard; (adj, v) stable, compact, determined, close, resolute; (adj) fixed, steadfast, solid, strong; (adj, n) steady. ANTONYMS: (adj) irresolute, weak, soft, hesitant, limp, liquid, soggy, lenient, indefinite, loose, inconstant first-rate: (adj) excellent, stunning, capital, posh, tiptop, dandy, ace, superior, classic, fine, clinking fist: (n, v) hand; (n) duke, clenched fist, feist, manus, grip, index; (v) finger, paw, neif, neaf fitful: (adj) erratic, fickle, changeable, spasmodic, uncertain, intermittent, irregular, variable, sporadic, desultory, flickering. ANTONYMS: (adj) regular, unbroken fits: (v) epilepsy, bustle, racket, fuss, hubbub, megrims, rout, subsultus, staggers fitted: (adj) capable, efficient, competent, able, finished, qualified, trained, primed, outfitted, initiated; (adj, v) convenient five: (n) fives, quintuplet, quint, Phoebe, basketball team, fin, squad, ace, digit; (adj, n) v; (adj) quinary fixed: (adj, v) determined, durable; (adj, adv, v) stable; (adj) definite, intent, fast, determinate, certain, set; (adj, adv, n) steady; (adj, n, v) constant. ANTONYMS: (adj) flexible, separate, adaptable, adjustable, changeable, movable, variable, compliant, temporary, removable, portable fixing: (n) fixation, fix, adjustment, repair, mending, altering, emasculation, castration, furniture, fastener, fitting flame: (adj, n) fire, sweetheart; (adj, v) burn, glow; (n, v) flash; (n) ardour, burning, fervor, enthusiasm, combustion, sheen flaming: (adj, n) burning, ardent, glowing, passionate; (adj) blazing, ablaze, aflame, hot; (n) enthusiastic, flame, fire. ANTONYMS: (adj) extinguished, placid, gentle, quiet flannel: (n) washcloth, cloth, face cloth, pants, trousers, flannelette, white, tweed, gabardine; (v) blanket, fur flash: (n, v) flicker, blaze, shimmer,
glitter, gleam, glimmer, blink, flame; (adj, n, v) twinkle; (n) instant; (v) coruscate. ANTONYMS: (adj) tasteful; (n) age; (v) dawdle flat: (n) apartment; (adj) even, bland, insipid, level, tasteless, dreary, boring; (adj, n) plain, plane; (adj, v) uninteresting. ANTONYMS: (adj) bumpy, emotional, hilly, variable, sharp, negative, natural, lively, contrasty, choppy; (adv) indirectly flats: (n) apartment building, scene, stage setting, desert flattened: (adj) planate, packed down, trodden, unconscious, depressed, compressed fleck: (n, v) dot, speckle, blot, mark; (n) speck, stigma, dapple, splotch, flake, bit; (v) tarnish fleecy: (adj) fluffy, hairy, brushed, soft, woolly, silky, napped fleeting: (adj) brief, momentary, ephemeral, passing, transient, short, fugitive, evanescent, transitory, temporal, short-lived. ANTONYMS: (adj) permanent, lasting, enduring, unforgettable, thorough, lengthy, long, slow flickering: (adj) sparkling, aflicker, desultory, capricious, glistening, shimmering, glittering; (n) twinkling, flicker, fluttering; (adv) flickeringly flight: (adj, n) herd, flying, bevy, drove; (n) escape, run, exodus, evasion, elopement, departure; (n, v) avolation fling: (n, v) toss, throw, pitch, slam, hurl; (v) chuck, shoot, dash, rush, discard; (n) crack. ANTONYM: (v) collect flinging: (n) casting, cast flit: (n, v) dart; (v) flicker, fly, fleet, flutter, zip, flash, speed, flitter, run; (adj) stir floating: (adv) afloat; (adj, v) buoyant; (adj, adv) aimless; (adj) current, loose, moving, fluid, in circulation, going about, flying, light flooded: (adj) swamped, inundated, engulfed, afloat, submerged, waterlogged, soaked, busy, weak, teeming, swarming. ANTONYMS: (adj) idle, clear floor: (n, v) level; (n) layer, earth, base, bottom, soil, platform; (v) stun, dump, deck; (adj, v) prostrate. ANTONYMS: (v) clarify; (n) ceiling florida: (n) FL, Sunshine State; (adj) southeastern flour: (adj) meal, bran, spore, sporule, paddy, rice; (n) farina, foodstuff,
Edith Wharton wheat flour, flower, semolina flowing: (adj) fluent, running, graceful, smooth, fluid, soft, liquid; (n) current, flux, flow; (adj, v) loose. ANTONYMS: (adj) secure, ugly, still, stilted, jerky, harsh, halting flush: (adj, n, v) blush, glow; (adj) flat, affluent, rich; (adj, v) even, smooth, level; (n) bloom; (n, v) color; (v) redden. ANTONYMS: (n) pallor; (v) blanch, blench; (adj) empty, low, poor flushed: (adj, n) red, sanguine; (adj) feverish, glowing, aroused, aflame, burning, exultant, exulting; (n) flush, elated. ANTONYM: (adj) cool flutter: (adj, n, v) bustle, flurry; (n, v) beat, palpitate, flap, wave, waver, quiver; (v) flit, flitter; (n) excitement fluttering: (adj) flying, palpitating, flittering, flaring, aflare, waving; (n) flutter, flapping, flicker, flitting; (adv) flutteringly flux: (v) dissolve, thaw, course, fuse, melt; (n) tide, current, flood, torrent, afflux, lapse. ANTONYM: (n) stability flying: (adj) fast, quick, rapid, swift, moving, flaring, aflare; (n) fly, flight, aviation, ballooning foist: (n) cutter, corvette, clipper, yawl, hoy, ketch, lugger, smack; (v) inclose, introduce, inflict folded: (adj) plaited, pleated, doubled, artful, braided, corrugated, doubled over, fluted folks: (n) people, folk, tribe, relations, household, house, relatives, relative, kindred, lineage, kin follow: (v) chase, adopt, adhere, succeed, accompany, abide by, comprehend, ensue, track; (adj, v) catch, grasp. ANTONYMS: (v) guide, lead, head, disobey, deny, ignore, misunderstand, predate, exceed, defy, break following: (adj) consequent, ensuing, subsequent, consecutive, succeeding; (adj, v) consequential; (n) entourage, pursuit, followers; (adv) under, after. ANTONYMS: (adj) leading, previous, alternate, earlier; (n) nonbelievers fond: (adj) affectionate, caring, devoted, tender, loving, amorous, delicate, adoring, doting, ardent, attached. ANTONYMS: (adj) aversion, cold, rough food: (n, v) fare; (n) edible, board, nourishment, diet, sustenance, aliment, dish, foodstuff, meat, nurture
foot: (n) base, feet, foundation, footing, pes, paw, basis, leg, measure; (v) hoof, pay. ANTONYMS: (v) owe; (n) head footing: (n) foothold, base, bottom, foundation, status, rank, foot, pedestal, situation, relation, root. ANTONYM: (n) top force: (n, v) drive, squeeze, pressure, thrust; (n) energy, strength, agency; (v) coerce, push, press, compel. ANTONYMS: (n) persuasion, ineffectiveness, inertia, apathy, moderation; (v) request, wheedle, pull, push, restrain, prevent forced: (adj) compelled, bound, constrained, artificial, involuntary, unnatural, forcible, farfetched, strained, obligatory, labored. ANTONYMS: (adj) unprovoked, spontaneous, voluntary, natural, genuine, willing, optional forcing: (adj) pressing, constraining, penetrating, compulsatory; (n) push forehead: (n) brow, front, foreland, lineament, mut, phiz, physiognomy, visage, eyebrow, skull; (adv) foremost foreign: (adj) extraneous, extrinsic, alien, exterior, external, exotic, strange, oversea, adventitious, unfamiliar, stranger. ANTONYMS: (adj) familiar, domestic, internal, relevant, national, natural forenoon: (n) morning, morn, am, period, daybreak, break of the day, morning time, first light, dayspring, a, cockcrow foresaw: (v) foresee foreseen: (v) foresee, long expected; (adj) envisioned, foretold, contingent, concourse, coming, casual, adventitious, accidental, predictable forest: (v) afforest, reforest; (n) woodland, jungle, wood, timberland, woods, grove, greenwood, bush, coppice forget: (v) leave, miss, blank out, bury, to forget, overlook, neglect, ignore, fail, unlearn, abandon. ANTONYMS: (v) mind, attend forgetful: (adj) oblivious, inattentive, negligent, lax, absent-minded, casual, unmindful, neglectful, heedless, unaware; (adj, v) remiss. ANTONYMS: (adj) mindful, watchful, alert, remembering, retentive forgotten: (adj) lost, disregarded, elapsed, past, abandoned, gone, Gone With the Wind, irrecoverable,
143 lapsed, disoriented, no more. ANTONYM: (adj) remembered fork: (n) crotch, bifurcation, turn, branching; (n, v) branch, bend; (v) diverge, split, branch off, separate, divide. ANTONYM: (v) converge forked: (adj) bifurcate, divided, branching, bifurcated, furcated, biramous, double, forked road, furcate, tined, forky forlorn: (adj) hopeless, desolate, despairing, unhappy, miserable, deserted, disconsolate, downcast, cheerless, wretched, abject. ANTONYMS: (adj) happy, hopeful, fine form: (n, v) make, fashion, design, build, arrange, shape; (adj, n) figure; (v) establish, constitute, do; (n) ceremony. ANTONYMS: (v) deform, destroy formed: (adj) shaped, settled, defined, characterized, conceived, affected, fashioned, established, constructed, definite, firm former: (adj) previous, antecedent, anterior, bygone, earlier, prior, foregoing, original, deceased, past; (adv) formerly. ANTONYMS: (adj) future, last, next, current, following, present, subsequent, later; (n) latter formless: (adj) shapeless, unformed, indistinct, unstructured, unbodied, nebulous, vague, indistinguishable, soft, fuzzy, rude. ANTONYMS: (adj) organized, clear, distinct formula: (n) form, law, expression, method, formality, convention, rule, principle, canon, fashion, figure forth: (adv) away, along, onward, ahead, before, on, off, on the high road, on the road, on the way, under way fortnight: (n) two weeks, period, amount of time fortunate: (adj) favorable, lucky, auspicious, advantageous, favored, happy, prosperous, fortuitous, well, successful; (adj, n) blessed. ANTONYMS: (adj) unlucky, disadvantaged, disastrous, unfavorable, underprivileged, inauspicious, unenviable, unsatisfactory fortunes: (n) adventures, fortune, personal narrative, life, journal forward: (adj, prep) bold; (adj, adv) onward; (adj) audacious; (adj, n, v) promote; (v) expedite, dispatch; (adv) fore, along, ahead; (adv, n, v) further; (adj, adv, n) early. ANTONYMS: (adj, adv) backward;
144 (adj) posterior, timid, reverse, abashed, late, formal; (adv) behind, rearward, back, aft found: (v) erect, build, base, form, construct, constitute, appoint, institute, set up, create, ground. ANTONYMS: (v) abolish, disband; (adj) lost four: (n) quaternary, foursome, tetrad, quaternion, quadruplet, square, quarter, quad, air, age of man; (adj, n) IV fragments: (n) chips, rubble, wreckage, atoms, finders, dust, flinders, remains, Smither, smithereens, trash fragrance: (n, v) aroma, perfume, scent, smell; (n) bouquet, odor, essence, odour, redolence, sweetness; (adj) fragrant. ANTONYMS: (n) stink, stench frame: (n, v) construct, design, fabricate, make, fashion, border, build, forge; (v) draft, erect, contrive framed: (adj) counterfeit, prepared, orderly, methodical, spurious. ANTONYM: (adj) unframed frankly: (adv) openly, sincerely, bluntly, honestly, truthfully, directly, unreservedly, straightforwardly, ingenuously, plainly; (adj, adv) freely. ANTONYMS: (adv) hesitantly, indirectly, guardedly, untruthfully, deceitfully, ambiguously, politely free: (adj, v) exempt, liberate, discharge; (adj, adv, v) loose; (v) excuse, extricate, relieve, disentangle, ease; (adj, n) frank; (adj) liberal. ANTONYMS: (adj) restricted, imprisoned, repressive, secure, strict, stuck, confined, tangled, compelled, dependent; (v) confine freed: (adj) disentangled, emancipated, disengaged, liberated, extricated, freer, unchained, untied, loosened, disillusioned, not tied up freedom: (adj, n) franchise, immunity; (n) deliverance, autonomy, release, discharge, emancipation, escape, liberty, right; (adj) frankness. ANTONYMS: (n) imprisonment, restriction, captivity, suppression, dependence, restraint, capture, chance, conformity, inclusion frequent: (adj, v) customary, usual, ordinary, incessant; (adj) everyday, many, familiar, continual, habitual; (v) patronize, haunt. ANTONYMS: (adj) infrequent, occasional,
Ethan Frome intermittent, spasmodic, unusual, few; (v) shun, boycott, avoid frequently: (adv) usually, repeatedly, continually, generally, regularly, habitually, ordinarily, commonly, often, incessantly, constantly. ANTONYMS: (adv) infrequently, unusually, seldom, intermittently, occasionally, spasmodically fresh: (adj) clean, bracing, novel, bright, recent, original, airy, bold, pure, green; (adj, v) brisk. ANTONYMS: (adj) stale, decayed, hot, tired, worn, rotten, off, musty, muggy, humid, exhausted fret: (n, v) gall, irritate, trouble, worry; (v) agitate, chafe, rub, fray, upset, annoy; (n) anxiety fretful: (adj, v) querulous; (adj) restless, anxious, testy, sullen, irritable, impatient, uneasy, petulant, fidgety, crabbed. ANTONYM: (adj) carefree friend: (adj, n) associate, comrade, companion, fellow, ally; (n) acquaintance, colleague, boyfriend, crony, brother, mate. ANTONYMS: (n) foe, stranger, rival, nemesis, adversary, antagonist friendly: (adj, n) favorable; (adj) amiable, affectionate, decent, goodnatured, kind, convivial, companionable, benevolent, amicable; (adj, adv) comradely. ANTONYMS: (adj) unfriendly, distant, disagreeable, aggressive, aloof, formal, frosty, belligerent, curt, reserved, impersonal friends: (n) circle, associates, connections, links, support group, acquaintances frightened: (adj) fearful, timid, startled, terrified, scared, alarmed, anxious, apprehensive, horrified, intimidated, restless. ANTONYMS: (adj) unimpressed, confident, brave, fearless, reassured front: (v) confront, look; (n) countenance, forefront, appearance, facade, forehead, frontage; (adj, n) head; (n, v) disguise; (adj) fore. ANTONYMS: (adj, n, v) back; (adj, n) end; (adj) posterior; (v) follow frosty: (adj, v) icy, glacial; (adj) frigid, freezing, wintry, arctic, chill, frozen, chilly, bleak, cool. ANTONYMS: (adj) friendly, pleasant, hot, torrid, tropical, balmy, approachable frown: (adj, v) lower; (adj, n) scowl; (n, v) pout, grimace, glower, glare; (adj) black looks, gloam, glout; (v) sulk, gnash. ANTONYM: (v)
approve frowning: (adj) dismal, dark, gloomy, lowering, scowling, frowny, clouded; (adv) frowningly; (n) austere, boisterous, coarse frozen: (adj) cold, frosty, frigid, wintry, glacial, arctic, icy, freezing, stiff, congealed, iced. ANTONYMS: (adj) moving, hot, warm, boiling, fluid, liquid, melted, unfrozen, thawed, tropical, soft fugitive: (adj) ephemeral, fleeting, momentary, elusive, caducous; (n) escapee, absconder, deserter, emigrant, criminal; (v) fugacious fulfilling: (adj) satisfying, satisfactory, pleasing, uplifting, pleasurable, effectual; (n) execution, enforcement. ANTONYM: (adj) frustrating full: (adj, n) complete, absolute, entire; (adj) abundant, flush, broad, extensive, ample, total, enough; (adj, adv, n) crowded. ANTONYMS: (adj) lacking, starving, hungry, sketchy, incomplete, thin, deserted, partial, restricted, weak; (v) wane fuller: (adj) rotund; (n) roller; (v) tucker fumble: (n, v) muff; (v) botch, grope, feel, flounder, finger, paw, bobble, touch; (adj, v) blunder; (adj) boggle fumbling: (adj) clumsy, fumble, butterfingered, awkward, bumbling, bunglesome, clunky, cumbersome, incompetent, left-handed, unskilled funds: (n) capital, money, assets, means, treasury, cash, exchequer, bankroll, purse, funding, treasure funeral: (n) entombment, interment, sepulture, funeral rite, wake, pyre, observance, funeral sermon, funeral pile; (adj) sepulchral; (v) bury funny: (adj) amusing, strange, peculiar, facetious, droll, eccentric, fishy, diverting, queer, suspicious, unusual. ANTONYMS: (adj) serious, grave, obvious, tragic, ordinary, normal, easy, dull furiously: (adv) irately, angrily, fiercely, wildly, violently, ragingly, wrathfully, infuriatedly, rabidly, impetuously, frantically. ANTONYM: (adv) sluggishly furniture: (n) fitment, equipment, appliance, fixture, appointments, furnishings, goods, dresser, article of furniture, cabinet; (v) stuff future: (adj) unborn, prospective, coming, intended, to come, potential, impending, approaching; (n) hereafter, fate, time to come.
Edith Wharton ANTONYMS: (adj) distant, earlier, near, nearby gaiety: (n) fun, cheerfulness, exhilaration, mirth, glee, merriment, hilarity, happiness, joy, joviality, jollity. ANTONYMS: (n) seriousness, misery, sadness gaily: (adv, v) happily; (adv) gladly, jovially, joyfully, cheerfully, mirthfully, joyously, gleefully, sunnily, blithely, lively. ANTONYMS: (adv) sadly, anxiously, dully, despondently gained: (adj) extrinsic gait: (n, v) pace, step, tread, footstep, rate, stride, action; (n) walk, carriage, movement, velocity gale: (n) blast, blow, tempest, storm, squall, hurricane, gust, wind, thunderstorm, blizzard, fresh gale. ANTONYM: (n) breeze gallantly: (adv) courageously, intrepidly, chivalrously, splendidly, valiantly, heroically, fearlessly, finely, doughtily, pluckily, courteously. ANTONYMS: (adv) unchivalrously, poorly, timidly garden: (v) farm, cultivate, tend; (n) field, bed, plantation, orchard, grove, grounds, park; (adj) gardenly garments: (n) attire, clothing, dress, apparel, raiment, outfit, costume, garb, array, gear, anything worthless garrison: (n) fortification, fortress, stronghold, troops, presidio, defense, base, citadel, soldiery; (n, v) defend; (v) send gash: (n, v) slash, scratch, tear, wound, slit, break, rip, slice, crack, score; (n) fissure gasp: (n, v) pant; (v) puff, blow, breathe, sigh, heave, wheeze, breathe heavily, gag; (n) inhalation, breath gate: (n) door, mouth, entry, doorway, port, exit, goal, barrier, approach, inlet, threshold gates: (n) bill Gates gather: (n, v) fold, tuck; (v) convene, garner, congregate, compile, assemble, accumulate, collect, meet, flock. ANTONYMS: (v) disperse, scatter, spread, distribute, disband, decrease, part, smooth gathered: (adj) deepened, congregated, accumulated, amassed, assembled, concentrated, equanimous, congregate, collective gathering: (n) collection, accumulation, concourse, congregation, assemblage, crowd,
compilation, meeting, crew, gather, throng. ANTONYMS: (n) dismantling, scattering gaunt: (adj) lean, thin, cadaverous, desolate, bleak, dreary, meager, bony, angular, lanky, sullen. ANTONYMS: (adj) fresh, rounded, obese gauze: (n) film, curtain, blind, bandage, mask, mantle, muslin, screen, gauze bandage, shutter, daze gave: (v) deliver, allow, allot, provide, furnish, impart, administer; (n) gives gaze: (n, v) stare, regard, look, behold; (v) gape, see, contemplate, face, pry, view, glance. ANTONYMS: (v) glance, peek generally: (adj, adv) usually; (adv) commonly, broadly, regularly, ordinarily, altogether, approximately, generically, normally, comprehensively, popularly. ANTONYMS: (adv) rarely, specifically, locally, occasionally, particularly, unusually generation: (n) creation, epoch, era, tribe, offspring, formation, contemporaries, time, period, day; (n, v) genesis genial: (adj) cheerful, bright, affable, cordial, amiable, nice, friendly, convivial, warm, agreeable, suave. ANTONYMS: (adj) disagreeable, hostile, mean, discourteous, frosty, gloomy, reserved, unapproachable, abominable genially: (adv) cordially, graciously, jovially, warmly, amiably, benignly, brightly, heartily, pleasantly, cheerfully, affably. ANTONYMS: (adv) frostily, nastily, spitefully genius: (adj, n) capacity, ability, endowment, faculty, gift, cleverness; (n) flair, brain, prodigy, bent, aptitude. ANTONYM: (n) amateur gentleman: (n) gent, Mr, male, patrician, sir, adult male, esquire, sahib, gentlemen; (adj) gentilhomme, gentlemanly genuine: (adj, n) authentic, true, faithful; (adj) unsophisticated, sincere, candid, hearty, factual, artless, very, real. ANTONYMS: (adj) insincere, bogus, fake, affected, artificial, dishonest, pretend, false, hypocritical, replica, counterfeit geranium: (adj) asphodel, buttercup, anemone, ranunculus, rhododendron, windflower, day lily; (n) rose geranium, storksbill, herb, fish geranium
145 german: (n) German language, Jerry, Teuton, Hun, Yiddish, High German; (adj) Teutonic, Germanic; (adj, n) Alman gesture: (n, v) sign, signal, motion; (n) beck, gesticulation, indication, movement; (v) gesticulate, beckon, wave, bless gets: (n) getting getting: (n) acquiring, reception, acquisition, attainment, contracting, appropriation, taking, reaching; (prep) receiving; (v) acquire, receive. ANTONYM: (n) rejection ghostly: (adj) uncanny, eerie, weird, spiritual, spectral, ghostlike, supernatural, macabre, phantasmal; (adj, adv) ghastly; (adv) spectrally. ANTONYMS: (adj) tangible, natural gipsy: (n) Gypsy, Romany, bohemian, warping end, tzigane, vagrant, Rommany girl: (n) damsel, gal, lady, young woman, maid, lass, fille, wench, daughter, bride, virgin. ANTONYMS: (n) son, boy give: (v) extend, commit, donate, endow, contribute, dispense, deliver, convey, grant; (adj, v) bestow, accord. ANTONYMS: (v) withdraw, take, withhold, retain, receive, keep, get, hide, conceal, starve, withstand given: (adj) apt, disposed, prone, specified, liable, inclined, granted, fixed, conditional; (n) assumption, particular. ANTONYMS: (adj) taken, unwilling gives: (n) give, offer, provide, grant, accord giving: (n) endowment, donation, presentation, bestowal, disposal; (adj) liberal, generous, charitable, bighearted, big, humanitarian. ANTONYMS: (adj) nasty, tightfisted, malevolent, mean, stiff, stingy glad: (adj) jubilant, cheerful, gay, blithe, delighted, festive, content, delightful, genial, bright, willing. ANTONYMS: (adj) unhappy, apologetic, dismayed, unwilling, disappointed, sorry glance: (n, v) look, peek, flash, peep; (n) gaze, glimpse, coup d'oeil, gander; (v) bounce, glint, ricochet. ANTONYMS: (n, v) study; (n) examination, perusal; (v) stick, stare glancing: (adj) passing glare: (n) glance, brilliance, radiance, brightness; (n, v) glower, flash, shine, scowl, beam, frown; (v) flame.
146 ANTONYMS: (n) dullness, dimness glaring: (adj) conspicuous, bright, blatant, egregious, obvious, plain, flaming, garish, crying, gross, glary. ANTONYMS: (adj) soft, inconspicuous, dull, minor glass: (n) bottle, drink, goblet, cup, drinking glass, spectacles, glasses, field glass, bowl; (v) glaze; (adj, n) ice glassy: (adj, v) glossy; (adj) clear, glazed, smooth, flat, crystalline, dead, dull, hyaline, transparent; (v) glabrous. ANTONYMS: (adj) alert, bumpy, dull, expressive, murky, rough glazed: (adj) glossy, glassed, glazen, vitreous, vitrified, icy, lustrous, shiny, empty, slippery, glasslike. ANTONYMS: (adj) unglazed, alert, dull gleam: (n, v) glance, beam, blaze, shine, glimmer, glow, flash, flicker, sparkle, glitter; (v) twinkle glee: (n) delight, cheerfulness, mirth, fun, gaiety, hilarity, joy, rejoicing, frolic, jubilation, happiness. ANTONYMS: (n) sadness, gloom, sorrow, despondency, displeasure, misery, boredom glide: (adj, n, v) slide; (n, v) coast, slip; (v) float, run, fly, flow, drift, lapse, slink, skid. ANTONYMS: (v) lurch, hurtle, flounder, sink glimmer: (adj, n, v) flicker, twinkle; (n, v) gleam, shimmer, flash, sparkle, beam, glow, shine; (v) blink; (n) gleaming glimmering: (n) inkling, ghost, luminosity, light, hint, apparition, radiance; (adj) glittering, glimmery, crepusculous, sciolism glimpse: (n, v) look, peek; (v) blink, see, notice, spy, spot, espy; (n) coup d'oeil, view, peep. ANTONYMS: (n) scrutiny, observation, perusal; (v) scrutinize, survey, Miss, study glistening: (adj) shining, glossy, shiny, glisten, brilliant, beaming, sleek, lustrous, sparkling, reflecting light, gleaming. ANTONYM: (adj) dull glitter: (n, v) flash, beam, shine, glisten, glimmer, glow, sparkle, flicker, shimmer; (v) glance; (n) radiance. ANTONYM: (n) dullness gloom: (n) desolation, dark, darkness, blackness, depression, dimness, dusk, dreariness, despair, dejection; (n, v) cloud. ANTONYMS: (n) brightness, happiness, cheerfulness, glee, ecstasy, joy, optimism, cheer
Ethan Frome gloried: (adj) honorable glorified: (adj) celebrated, holy, overvalued, puffed up, overrated, overestimated, hyped, haloed, canonised, blessed, authorized glow: (n, v) flush, gleam, shine, glimmer, glare, color, sparkle, beam; (v) burn, flare, kindle. ANTONYMS: (n) wanness, darkness, paleness; (v) pale, struggle glue: (n) adhesive, gum; (v) adhere, fasten, fix, affix, bond, attach, stick, to stick; (n, v) plaster glued: (adj) watchful, affixed, attentive goal: (n) destination, butt, purpose, design, end, basket, objective, intention, object, target, ambition. ANTONYM: (n) extension going: (n) exit, leaving, parting, expiration, disappearance, action; (v) go, course, to go; (adj) working, running. ANTONYMS: (n) arrival, Reunion gold: (n) Au, money, riches, wealth, bullion, treasure, yellow, amber; (adj) aureate, gilt, golden golden: (adj) aureate, fortunate, gilded, auspicious, gold, gilt, lucky, advantageous, fair, favorable, favored. ANTONYM: (adj) inauspicious gone: (adj, prep) past; (adj) deceased, bygone, departed, desperate, lost, late; (adj, v) exhausted, extinct; (adj, adv) absent, away. ANTONYMS: (adj) present, remaining, found, alive good-bye: (n) bye, farewell, goodbye, goodby, vale, adios, cheerio goods: (n) cargo, belongings, commodity, merchandise, product, estate, chattels, property, wealth, produce; (n, v) stuff gooseberry: (n) fish story, Ribes grossularia, shrub, bush, gooseberry bush, feaberry gradually: (adv) bit by bit, slowly, inchmeal, progressively, unhurriedly, moderately, gently, little by little, increasingly, step by step; (adj, adv) piecemeal. ANTONYMS: (adv) abruptly, midstream, quickly, rapidly, conspicuously, obviously grand: (adj, n) glorious, excellent; (adj, n, v) noble; (adj) gorgeous, August, superb, important, majestic, exalted; (adj, v) great, dignified. ANTONYMS: (adj) unimpressive, humble, modest, unimportant, poor, base, inferior, limited, incomplete,
restricted, small granite: (n) firmness, pluton, steadiness, batholite, limestone, stonework, batholith; (adj) flint, crystal, fossil, crag grasp: (adj, n, v) catch; (n, v) clutch, clasp, hold, clinch; (v) comprehend, embrace, grapple, apprehend, conceive, cling. ANTONYMS: (n, v) Miss; (v) overlook, lose, give; (n) ignorance grasping: (adj) avaricious, covetous, acquisitive, greedy, avid, voracious, rapacious, grabby, mercenary, stingy; (n) seizing. ANTONYMS: (adj) generous, altruistic grating: (adj) hoarse, strident, harsh, discordant, gravelly, raspy, gruff, raucous; (n, v) lattice; (n) grate, grid. ANTONYMS: (adj) pleasing, soothing, smooth, harmonious gratitude: (n) appreciation, thanks, thank, acknowledgement, acknowledgment, appreciativeness, feeling, appreciate, grateful, thanksgiving, kindness. ANTONYMS: (n) ingratitude, ungratefulness grave: (adj) solemn, serious, critical, earnest, dangerous, sedate, sad, grand; (adj, v) severe, acute; (v) engrave. ANTONYMS: (adj) frivolous, funny, cheerful, carefree, slight, nonchalant, trivial, stable, minor, insignificant, favorable graves: (n) Robert Graves, Robert Ranke Graves graveyard: (n) burial ground, churchyard, necropolis, burying ground, burial site, site, burial place, radioactive cemetery, memorial park, morgue gravity: (n) solemnity, earnestness, gravitation, graveness, gravitational attraction, weight, seriousness, significance, severity, sedateness; (n, v) poise. ANTONYMS: (n) insignificance, lightheartedness, triviality, cheerfulness, levity gray: (adj) dull, dim, bleak, gloomy, pale, grizzled, hoary, leaden, old, overcast; (n) grizzle. ANTONYMS: (adj) sunny, cheerful, clear, youthful grayish: (adj) gray, greyish, grizzly, dull, dirty, grey, discolored, grimy, grizzled, achromatic, shadowy. ANTONYM: (adj) bright greasy: (adj) fatty, dirty, oily, tallowy, slick, sebaceous, unclean, unctuous, slippery, adipose, oleaginous. ANTONYM: (adj) lean great: (adj) eminent, gigantic, big,
Edith Wharton distinguished, large, extensive, extreme, grand, chief, ample, massive. ANTONYMS: (adj) awful, insignificant, tiny, mild, poor, minor, useless, ordinary, slight, weak, unknown greater: (adj) larger, more, major, higher, superior, most, great, bigger, increased, considerable, not inconsiderable. ANTONYMS: (adj) inferior, smaller, small, lower greatest: (adj) top, superlative, biggest, utmost, largest, extreme, first; (adj, n) maximum, most; (adj, v) paramount, supreme. ANTONYMS: (adj) inferior, secondary greeting: (n) welcome, salutation, address, greet, compliments, acknowledgment, accost, hello, hullo, nod; (v) salute. ANTONYM: (n) goodbye grew: (v) become, develop; (adj) grown grey: (adj) ashen, dim, dull, cloudy, bleak, dismal, drab, gloomy, greyish, leaden; (n) grayness greyish: (adj) grayish, gray, hoar, grizzly, livid, dull, achromatic grievance: (n) injustice, wrong, grudge, affliction, protest, objection, disaffection, discontentment, dissatisfaction; (adj) annoyance; (adj, n) distress. ANTONYMS: (n) justice, praise grim: (adj) austere, glum, cheerless, dour, ghastly, dreary, forbidding, dark, dire, hard, dismal. ANTONYMS: (adj) cheerful, bright, funny, kindly, hospitable, pleasant, promising, simple, wonderful grimly: (adv) severely, harshly, morosely, fiercely, drearily, sourly, gloomily, dreadfully, hardly, horridly, sullenly. ANTONYMS: (adv) brightly, pleasantly, warmly grit: (n) backbone, bravery, gravel, guts, stamina, sand, pluck, fortitude, prowess, dust, gumption. ANTONYMS: (n) cowardice, timidity, frailty, weakness; (v) relax grizzled: (adj) grey, gray, old, brunet, grisled, grayish, brunette grocer: (v) purveyor, feeder, batman, caterer, commissary, restaurateur, victualer, quartermaster; (n) merchandiser, grocery store, merchant groceries: (n) foodstuff, provisions, chow, victuals, grocery, compensation, earnings, essential, fare, fundamental, heart
groping: (adj) fumbling, gropingly, investigative, incertain, blind, probing, tentative, uncertain, unsure, hesitant, exploratory grotesquely: (adv) monstrously, ludicrously, unnaturally, anticly, funnily, hideously, ridiculously, bizarrely, fantasticly, fantastically, drolly ground: (n, v) base, land, floor; (v) found, establish; (adj, n, v) bottom; (n) earth, reason, field, soil, dirt. ANTONYMS: (n) sea, figure; (v) launch, top group: (n) gang, collection, brigade, crowd, company; (n, v) flock, class, rank, sort, cluster, assemblage. ANTONYMS: (adj, n) individual; (n) trickle; (v) disperse, dismiss, lump grouped: (adj) sorted, classified, collective, gather growing: (n) development, growth; (adj, adv) increasing; (adj) flourishing, thriving, blossoming, expanding, swelling, progressive; (adj, n) developing; (v) grow. ANTONYMS: (adj) dwindling, decreasing, downward; (n) nondevelopment growl: (adj, n, v) snarl; (n, v) roar, bark, howl, yap, moan, thunder; (v) gnarl, mutter, complain, croak growling: (adj) grunting, doggish, churlish, brutal, guttural, hoarse, husky, peevish; (n) scowling, glowering grown: (adj) mature, big, growed, grown-up, developed, ripe, grownup, fully grown, full-grown, growth, become. ANTONYM: (adj) unripe grunt: (v) growl, croak, mutter, complain, murmur, moan, clamor, mumble; (n, v) cry; (n) groan, cottonwick guard: (n) defense, protection, escort, bulwark, watchman, custody, fender; (n, v) care, shield, cover; (adj, n, v) ward. ANTONYMS: (v) endanger, expose, neglect, reveal; (n) attacker guess: (n, v) surmise, estimate, forecast; (v) suppose, deem, reckon, divine, believe, foretell; (n) assumption, supposition guessed: (adj) rude, inscrutable guests: (n) guest, visitors guided: (adj) conducted, directed, led gulp: (v) gobble, devour, bolt, gorge, sip, quaff, swallow, down; (n, v) swig, gasp; (n) draft. ANTONYMS: (v) nibble, regurgitate, exhale
147 habit: (n) clothing, practice, dress, garb, attire, convention, character, ritual, addiction, clothes; (n, v) use. ANTONYM: (n) innovation habitable: (adj) livable, liveable habits: (n) behavior, decorum, pratique habitually: (adv) usually, ordinarily, normally, generally, regularly, frequently, commonly, routinely, wontedly, conventionally, commonplacely. ANTONYMS: (adv) unusually, seldom, erratically, exceptionally, occasionally hail: (v) address, cry, acclaim, applaud, summon, accost, fall, cheer, salute; (n, v) call; (n) greeting. ANTONYMS: (v) ignore, criticize hair: (n) coat, coma, haircloth, pile, locks, filament, fleece, fur, hairbreadth, down, forelock hale: (adj) healthy, whole, sturdy, strong, sane, rugged, robust; (v) drag; (adj, n) well, hearty, sound. ANTONYM: (adj) unwell half: (adj) moiety, part, short, defective; (n) semi, mediety, halve, division, piece, first half; (adv) partly. ANTONYMS: (adj, n) all; (adj) fully, complete hall: (n) mansion, vestibule, lobby, foyer, auditorium, court, entrance hall, anteroom, concourse; (n, v) corridor, passage hand: (v) give, pass, commit, bestow, afford, communicate, consign; (n) deal, worker, aid, applause. ANTONYMS: (n) boss, foot; (v) take handkerchief: (n) hankie, kerchief, bandanna, cravat, hanky, wipe, bandana, collar, shawl; (n, v) napkin; (v) sudary handle: (n, v) conduct, administer; (v) feel, wield, deal, treat, touch, control, manipulate, direct; (n) clutch. ANTONYMS: (n) blade, head; (v) mishandle, bungle, conceal, crumble, avoid hands: (n) custody, keeping, personnel, safekeeping, hold, shift, workforce, men, manpower, guardianship, full complement handsome: (adj) fair, beautiful, fine, generous, charming, comely, attractive, bountiful, considerable, bonny, prepossessing. ANTONYMS: (adj) ugly, unattractive, meager, ungenerous, measly, plain handy: (adj) convenient, adroit, apt, expert, clever, deft, dexterous, good, accessible; (adj, n) available; (adj, n, v) ready. ANTONYMS: (adj)
148 clumsy, fixed, inept, unwieldy, inconvenient, faraway, far, difficult, distant, cumbersome, worthless hang: (adj, n, v) suspend; (v) dangle, depend, drape, float, fall, hover, append, string up; (n, v) delay; (adj) hung hanging: (n) execution, curtain, arras, wall hanging; (adj) suspended, pendent, pendant, pendulous, hung, pending; (n, v) suspension happen: (n, v) betide; (v) arise, befall, develop, go, come, fall, chance, come about, occur, get. ANTONYM: (v) disappear happiness: (n) delight, merriment, ecstasy, welfare, gladness, luck, cheerfulness, blessedness, bliss, felicity, contentment. ANTONYMS: (n) sadness, despair, grief, misery, dissatisfaction, seriousness, dullness, discontent, dejection, gloominess, displeasure happy: (adj) felicitous, contented, gay, buoyant, content, gleeful, gratified, pleasant, glad, carefree; (adj, n) auspicious. ANTONYMS: (adj) sad, depressed, dejected, sorrowful, miserable, unlucky, sorry, reluctant, irritable, unfortunately, gloomy hard: (adj, n) austere, rough; (adj, v) grave, severe, acute; (adj) bad, difficult, strong, callous, cruel, tough. ANTONYMS: (adj) easy, kind, soggy, tender, merciful, yielding, simple; (adv) lightly, gently, lackadaisically; (adj, adv) flexible hardly: (adj, adv) barely, scarcely; (adv) severely, harshly, roughly, badly, toughly, laboriously, arduously, cruelly, heavily. ANTONYMS: (adv) extremely, fully, well, easily hardship: (n) adversity, calamity, affliction, trouble, difficulty, disaster, deprivation, asperity, destitution; (n, v) grievance, burden. ANTONYMS: (n) privilege, ease, prosperity, wealth, luxury, advantage, opportunity harmless: (adj) safe, benign, inoffensive, hurtless, innocent, innoxious, intact, simple; (n) silly; (adj, n) foolish; (v) weaponless. ANTONYMS: (adj) lethal, damaging, destructive, poisonous, toxic, serious, offensive, malicious, hurtful, noxious, unpleasant harmonium: (n) organ, electronic organ, reed organ, Hammond
Ethan Frome organ, electric organ, harmoniphon harmony: (n) accord, consonance, agreement, correspondence, accordance, congruity, consistency, amity; (n, v) concord, peace; (v) concert. ANTONYMS: (n) discord, disagreement, argument, conflict, bitterness, harshness, incongruity, uproar, hostility, misery, upheaval harness: (adj, n) strap, tether; (n, v) yoke, rein, couple, check; (adj, v) hitch; (v) wear, equip, limit, use. ANTONYM: (v) undo harsh: (adj, v) sharp, bitter; (adj, n) grating, coarse, austere, discordant; (adj) grim, cruel, crude, unkind, stern. ANTONYMS: (adj) gentle, soft, harmonious, pleasant, lenient, kind, melodious, sweet, mild, lush, friendly haste: (n, v) hurry, dash, dispatch, rush; (n) celerity, expedition, rapidity, speed, bustle, hastiness, quickness. ANTONYMS: (n) delay, patience, forethought, caution hastened: (adj) careless hastily: (adv) hurriedly, rapidly, quickly, rashly, promptly, suddenly, thoughtlessly, impetuously, swiftly, imprudently, speedily. ANTONYMS: (adv) carefully, unhurriedly, industriously, sensibly, prudently, late, calmly, thoroughly, patiently, gradually, cautiously hatched: (adj) crosshatched, born, ruled hate: (v) abhor, detest, loathe, abominate; (n) enmity, abhorrence, detestation, hatred, animosity, antipathy, aversion. ANTONYMS: (n, v) like; (v) adore, cherish, admire; (n) attraction, liking, delight, adoration hated: (adj) despised, disliked, not liked, reviled, scorned, unloved, unpopular. ANTONYM: (adj) precious hauling: (n) pull, haulage, shipping, transportation, cartage, drag, carrying, haul, towing, vehicle, trucking having: (n) estate, possession, acceptance, enjoyment haying: (n) harvest home, harvesting, making of hay, haying time haze: (n) fog, cloud, confusion, vapor, blur, daze, film, cloudiness, turbidity; (n, v) mist; (v) dim. ANTONYMS: (n) clarity, brightness head: (n) captain, boss, froth, foam, crown, chieftain; (n, v) point, lead; (adj, n, v) front; (v) capital, direct.
ANTONYMS: (adj, n) subordinate; (n) end, beginning, foot, mouth, rear, tail, body, underling, base; (adj) minor headed: (n) maturer; (adj) oriented. ANTONYM: (adj) unheaded headlong: (adj, adv) headfirst; (adv) directly, hastily, precipitately; (adj) rash, hurried, desperate, precipitous, impetuous, sudden, precipitate. ANTONYMS: (adj) cautiously, considered; (adv) carefully heads: (n) conspectus, contents, prospectus, syllabus, synopsis, public, textbook, people, outlines, head stick headstone: (n) tombstone, monument, quoin, keystone, coign, coigne, cornerstone, stone, memorial, building block, cemetery health: (n) condition, fitness, welfare, pledge, strength, form, hygiene, sanitation, salubrity, shape; (adj) sanitary healthy: (adj) healthful, wholesome, salubrious, hale, good, fit, beneficial, whole, well, sound, hearty. ANTONYMS: (adj) unwell, harmful, unfit, soporific, dependent, fattening, infected, unwholesome, weak, ill, underfed hear: (int, v) attend; (v) find out, discover, understand, apprehend, hark, learn, try, examine, listen; (adj) heard heard: (n) hearing hearing: (n) audition, ear, auditory sense, trial, consultation, reach, auscultation, inquiry; (n, v) earshot, sound; (adj, n) audience heart: (adj, n) core, gist, marrow; (n) spirit, center, essence, basis, kernel, crux, breast, hub. ANTONYMS: (n) body, surface heartburn: (n) jealousy, pyrosis, indigestion; (adj) hay fever, piles, hernia, herpes, hemorrhoids, itch, lockjaw, rupture hearth: (n) fire, oven, fireside, stove, chimney, focus, furnace, dwelling, kiln, home, abode hearts: (n) Black Maria, spades heat: (adj, n) fever, excitement, passion; (v) bake, burn; (n) warmth, fervor, summer, estrus; (n, v) fire; (adj) flush. ANTONYMS: (n) cold, chill, coldness, anestrus, apathy, coolness, dryness, indifference heavens: (n) firmament, heaven, sky, welkin, sphere, atmosphere, celestial sphere, space, skies, area, vault of
Edith Wharton heaven heavily: (adv) seriously, weightily, severely, ponderously, hard, firmly, thickly, grievously, sadly, strongly, compactly. ANTONYMS: (adv) gently, nimbly, briskly, sparsely, thinly, slightly heaving: (v) tremor, twitter; (adj) swelling, full, full up, jammed; (n) murmur, forcing out, groan, grumble, mutter. ANTONYM: (adj) deserted heavy: (adj, n) dull; (adj) deep, fat, dense, grave, dark, full, gross, thick, bulky; (adj, adv) hard. ANTONYMS: (adj) slim, easy, thin, slight, skinny, puny, gentle, insubstantial, animated, nimble, entertaining heedless: (adj) careless, reckless, inattentive, neglectful, negligent, thoughtless, rash, regardless, unwary, indifferent; (adj, v) wanton. ANTONYMS: (adj) heedful, attentive, mindful, conscientious, prudent, careful, cautious height: (n) apex, crest, altitude, pinnacle, peak, top, culmination, level, zenith, summit, climax. ANTONYMS: (n) shortness, nadir, depth, trough, deepness, base, dip held: (adj) absorbed, confined, kept, apprehended, seized, supposed, reputed, tenable, thought, trapped; (v) detain hell: (n) blaze, Hades, underworld, perdition, inferno, pandemonium, netherworld, Abaddon, Gehenna, purgatory, trial. ANTONYM: (n) paradise hello: (n) greeting, howdy, hullo, hi, aloha, salutation, ciao, so long, goodbye, aloha state; (v) hail help: (n, v) assist, assistance, support, benefit, favor, avail, cure, assistant; (v) facilitate, ease, alleviate. ANTONYMS: (n) hindrance, detriment, interference, damage, disadvantage, disservice, manager; (v) worsen, aggravate, halt, hurt helped: (adj) aided, assisted; (v) HALP helping: (n) portion, share, plateful, serving, part, quota, drumstick; (adj) auxiliary, assistant, aiding, assisting helpless: (adj, v) forlorn, destitute, abandoned; (adj) powerless, weak, defenseless, disabled, impotent, feeble, hopeless, unable. ANTONYMS: (adj) strong, independent, capable, invulnerable, armed, powerful, impervious
helplessly: (adv) weakly, powerlessly, lostly, destitutely, shiftlessly, defenselessly, unprotectedly, ineffectively, wretchedly, incompetently, disabledly. ANTONYM: (adv) powerfully helplessness: (n) powerlessness, defenselessness, dependence, impotency, impotence, inability, impuissance, incapability, incapacity, defencelessness, failing. ANTONYMS: (n) resistance, capacity, strength hemlock: (n) hemlock spruce, poison hemlock, California fern, Nebraska fern, conium maculatum, eastern hemlock, wood, nightshade, henbane, Tsuga, poison parsley hemming: (n) seaming, needlework, tapestry, stitching, embroidery, needlepoint henceforth: (adv) hence, in future, after this; (adj) following hero: (n) character, protector, leader, demigod, warrior, protagonist, combatant, fighter, defender, bomber; (adj, n) worthy. ANTONYMS: (n) coward, loser, villain hers: (pron) she, his; (adj) own herself: (adj) oneself, self, himself, myself, yourself, yourselves, themselves, ourselves, itself hesitating: (adj) indecisive, irresolute, undecided, doubtful, hesitate, reluctant, faltering, unwilling, hesitancy, backward, hesitatingly hesitatingly: (adv) indecisively, irresolutely, hesitating, waveringly, doubtfully, undecidedly, vacillatingly, falteringly. ANTONYM: (adv) unhesitatingly hesitation: (n, v) falter, fear; (n) hesitance, faltering, delay, hesitate, diffidence, hesitancy, qualm, reluctance; (v) hesitating. ANTONYMS: (n) certainty, resolution, confidence, decisiveness, enthusiasm, inclination, willingness hidden: (adj) clandestine, concealed, obscure, dark, secret, latent, covert, invisible, arcane, covered; (adj, v) confidential. ANTONYMS: (adj) exposed, open, active, noticeable, overt, revealing, known, explicit, mainstream, transparent, visible hide: (n, v) cover, disguise, shelter, veil; (adj, v) obscure; (n) fur, fell, coat; (v) bury, mask; (adj, n, v) darken. ANTONYMS: (v) show, expose, express, divulge, unearth,
149 amplify, advertise, clarify high: (adj, v) elevated; (adj) great, expensive, distinguished, lofty, tall, exalted, heavy, dear; (n) chief; (v) bad. ANTONYMS: (adj, n) low; (adj) deep, short, sober, reasonable, sad, resonant, lowly, husky, unimportant; (n) depression higher: (adj) greater, upper, major, senior, over, more, better, advanced, bigger; (prep) above, upon. ANTONYMS: (adj) basic, junior, lower highest: (adj, n) most; (adj) best, chief, foremost, first, supreme, topmost, extreme, utmost, top, uppermost. ANTONYMS: (adj) bottom, minor hill: (n, v) gradient, bank, ascent, acclivity, rise; (n) mound, elevation, embankment, hillock, knoll, mountain. ANTONYMS: (n) valley, hollow hills: (n) home, dry land, foothills, earth, ground hillside: (n) acclivity, slope, bank, declivity, hill, gradient, hill-side, mountain waist, the area half way up a mountain, mountainside, side himself: (pron) herself, themselves, yourself, itself; (adj) myself; (n) yourselves hindered: (adj) obstructed, blocked, delayed, stalled, slowed down, slow, in an inferior position, in a weak position, impedite, thwarted, frustrated hint: (v) suggest; (adj, n) trace; (n) suggestion, intimation, inkling, cue, allusion; (n, v) tip, touch, dash; (adj, v) intimate. ANTONYM: (n) overtone hinted: (adj) veiled, roundabout, not explicit, implicit, coded, oblique hire: (v) employ, charter, enlist, take, rent, take on, retain; (n, v) wage; (n) employment, salary, engagement. ANTONYM: (v) fire hired: (adj) leased, chartered, mercenary, hackneyed, hack; (v) contented, compensated, paid history: (n) account, story, chronicle, annals, background, record, narrative, biography, explanation, origin; (n, v) tale hitch: (v) fasten, attach; (n, v) catch, limp, hobble, arrest; (n) hindrance, drawback, barrier, difficulty, check. ANTONYMS: (n) advantage, ease, help; (v) detach, undo hitherto: (adv) as yet, yet, so far, up to now, until now, thus far, before,
150 hereunto, to date, still, all the same hold: (n, v) keep, grip, grasp, entertain; (v) endure, detain, adhere, bear, have, contain, comprise. ANTONYMS: (v) fail, disagree, lose, free, deny, remove, lack; (n) separation, repulsion holding: (n) keeping, belongings, hold, claim, property, asset, ownership, take, retention, capture; (adj) retaining hollow: (adj, n) blank; (n) cavity, depression, cave, dell; (adj) empty, false; (adj, n, v) concave; (n, v) excavate, dent, scoop. ANTONYMS: (adj) convex, sincere, true, full, meaningful, cramped, valid; (n) hump, bump, hill, lump home: (n) domicile, abode, house, residence, base, place, dwelling, family, habitation; (adj) domestic; (adj, n) household. ANTONYMS: (adj) external, national, public, away, foreign; (adv) out homelike: (adj) domestic, cosy, comfortable, homy, easeful, snug, cozy, homey, comfy, homebody homing: (adj) orienting hoop: (n) circle, band, ring, loop, annulus, round, sphere, wheel, circlet, halo; (v) encircle hope: (n, v) trust, desire; (n) aspiration, faith, belief, expectation, confidence, expectancy, anticipation; (v) confide, anticipate. ANTONYMS: (n) reality, past, pessimism, distrust, independence hopeful: (adj) confident, auspicious, bright, optimistic, sanguine, rosy, probable, likely, expectant, upbeat; (n, v) candidate. ANTONYMS: (adj) desperate, pessimistic, gloomy, pained, doubtful, bad, unhopeful, unlikely, unpromising, down hopefully: (adv) confidently, optimistically, brightly, cheerfully, positively, auspiciously, expectantly, rosily, encouragingly, promisingly, buoyantly. ANTONYMS: (adv) hopelessly, despairingly, pessimistically horrible: (adj) awful, fearful, frightful, abominable, grisly, formidable, dire, ghastly, dreadful, fearsome; (adj, v) horrid. ANTONYMS: (adj) wonderful, lovely, nice, lovable, fair, delightful, slight, appealing, minor, attractive, great horror: (n) abomination, abhorrence, dismay, fear, fright, revulsion, alarm, repulsion, anxiety; (adj, n)
Ethan Frome dread, terror. ANTONYMS: (n) delight, attraction, proclivity, bravery, calm, confidence, security horse: (n, v) mount; (n) buck, heroin, junk, charger, knight, pony, rider, trestle, eohippus, dog horses: (n) stock, equidae, domestic animals, cattle, extinct animals, asses, pigs, sheep, family equidae, farm animals, force hour: (n) clock, o'clock, hours, time, hr, term, nonce, moment, occasion, dawn, dusk hours: (n) period, duty period; (adv) o'clock house: (adj, n, v) family; (adj, n) home; (v) accommodate; (n) dwelling, firm, abode, domicile, edifice, habitation, housing; (n, v) lodge. ANTONYM: (adj) public household: (adj, n) house, home; (adj) domestic; (adj, v) ordinary, common; (n) folk, stock, clan, menage; (v) everyday, usual. ANTONYMS: (adj) unfamiliar, public housekeeping: (n) housewifery, household, domestic science housework: (n) housekeeping, chore, work however: (adv, conj, prep) but; (adj, adv, conj) although; (adv) nevertheless, anyway, nonetheless, how, notwithstanding; (adv, conj) though, yet; (conj) albeit; (n) while huddled: (adj) crouched, crouching, hunkered down, hunkered huge: (adj) vast, immense, large, gigantic, enormous, extensive, great, colossal, elephantine, major, considerable. ANTONYMS: (adj) insignificant, miniature, small, affordable, compact, measly, minor, minute, slight, slim hugging: (n) caressing, fondling, stimulation, embracing, kissing, foreplay, gorgerin, necking, smooching, snuggling, arousal hulk: (n) giant, colossus, wreck, carcass, heavyweight, monster; (adj) hull, bole, skeleton greater part, principal part, main part human: (n) person, man, human being, homo, gay, party; (adj, adv) fleshly; (adj) humane, earthly, corporeal, worldly. ANTONYMS: (adj) nonhuman, otherworldly, heavenly, immortal humble: (v) demean, humiliate, mortify; (n, v) disgrace, debase; (adj, n, v) abase; (adj) base, lowly, unassuming, docile, low.
ANTONYMS: (adj) impressive, arrogant, haughty, imposing, conceited, pompous, snooty, overbearing, presumptuous, proud, exalted humbled: (adj) humble, humiliated, crushed, depressed, dispirited, abased, broken in, abject, ashamed; (n) humbler; (v) apart humming: (adj) droning, zippy, reeking, bustling, grunting, stinking; (n) buzzing, vocalizing, sound, murmur, growling hundred: (adj) a hundred, one hundred, many; (adj, n) c; (n) cent, centred, riding, lathe, soke, tithing, carbon hung: (n) hanging; (v) Heng; (adj) fatigued, puzzled, decorated hungry: (adj) eager, avid, famished, starving, esurient, greedy, ravenous, desirous, meager, starveling; (v) starve. ANTONYMS: (adj) full, satiated, sated, thirsty, unconcerned, moderate, healthy, disinterested hunt: (n, v) search; (v) course, follow, hound, rummage, forage, prey, dog, go after, persecute; (n) battue. ANTONYMS: (v) find, precede hunted: (adj) coursed, afraid, wanted, required, sought, sought after; (n) victim hurried: (adj) fast, sudden, speedy, rapid, quick, swift, headlong, abrupt, cursory, precipitate, prompt. ANTONYMS: (adj) unhurried, leisurely, considered, patient, meticulous, thorough hurriedly: (adv) rapidly, quickly, swiftly, abruptly, promptly, fast, in haste, suddenly, speedily, rashly, precipitately. ANTONYMS: (adv) calmly, unhurriedly, patiently, carefully, gradually, thoroughly hurry: (n) haste; (n, v) bustle, hasten, dispatch, flurry, rush; (v) scurry, dash, accelerate, expedite, run. ANTONYMS: (n) slowness, calmness, patience, unimportance; (v) dawdle, delay, linger, crawl, amble; (intj) wait hurt: (adj, n, v) damage, detriment; (adj, n) evil; (n, v) wound, pain, ache, distress; (n) disadvantage, lesion; (v) afflict; (adj, v) injure. ANTONYMS: (adj) unhurt, unaffected, healed; (v) encourage, please, protect, repair, defend; (n, v) help; (n) reparation, pleasure husband: (v) conserve, economize, preserve, save; (n) consort, hubby, man, fellow, lover, master, mate.
Edith Wharton ANTONYMS: (n) wife, bachelor hush: (adj, n, v) calm, silence, quiet, still, lull; (n) peace; (v) shut up, gag, quieten, muffle; (adj, v) soothe. ANTONYMS: (n) noise, turmoil; (v) Louden hyacinth: (n) zircon, amethyst, cape hyacinth, carbuncle, common hyacinth, hyacine idea: (n) meaning, belief, opinion, concept, estimation, fancy, plan, impression, apprehension, notion, conception. ANTONYM: (n) certainty ideas: (n) idea, thoughts, thought, thinking, principles, philosophy, information, imaginings, data, content, communication identity: (n) unity, identicalness, sameness, individuality, personality, identification, character, identity operator, similarity, equality, person idle: (adj) lazy, indolent, inactive, free, unfounded, fruitless, baseless, groundless, frivolous, empty, disengaged. ANTONYMS: (adj) active, employed, industrious, energetic, meaningful, productive, worthwhile, diligent; (v) change, run, work ignorance: (n) illiteracy, nescience, folly, unwisdom, innocence, denseness, ignorancy, stupidity, obtuseness, tabula rasa, unawareness. ANTONYMS: (n) intelligence, acquaintance, education ignore: (v) neglect, cut, omit, forget, snub, disregard, discount, flout, overrule, overlook, rebuff. ANTONYMS: (v) observe, react, honor, notice, greet, accept, address, consider, distinguish, heed, know ignored: (adj) disregarded, unheeded, unnoticed, unattended, overlooked, unpopular, mistreated, undeveloped, forsaken, disliked, companionless. ANTONYM: (adj) popular ill-fitting: (adj) baggy ill-naturedly: (adv) cantankerously, nastily, malevolently, maliciously illness: (n, v) ailment, disorder, distemper; (n) sickness, complaint, malady, attack, affliction, pain, bug, trouble. ANTONYMS: (n) wellness, health illuminated: (adj) lit, lighted, luminous, enlightened, clear, light, shining, irradiated, lighter, Lighty, irradiate illuminating: (adj) illuminate, informative, edifying,
illuminatingly, instructive, descriptive, brilliant, light, elucidate, illustrative, lighten. ANTONYMS: (adj) hidden, unilluminating, secretive illusion: (n, v) delusion; (n) fantasy, apparition, deception, magic, fancy, deceit, dissimulation, phantom, trick, vision. ANTONYMS: (n) reality, fact image: (n, v) picture, fancy, design; (n) impression, conception, effigy, idea, form, resemblance, epitome; (v) depict. ANTONYM: (n) reality imagination: (n) vision, fancy, image, dream, conceit, imagery, originality, invention, resource, reflection, phantasy imagine: (v) believe, conjecture, fancy, conceive, daydream, assume, guess, consider, fantasize; (conj, v) suppose; (n, v) dream imagined: (adj) fanciful, notional, unreal, fancied, fictitious, nonexistent, unseen, hypothetical, feigned, dubious, doubtful immeasurably: (adv) boundlessly, endlessly, immensely, greatly, much; (adj) exceedingly, extremely, exquisitely, acutely, ultra, intensely. ANTONYM: (adv) slightly immediate: (adj) close, sudden, direct, near, quick, present, fast, proximate, forthwith, instant, immediately. ANTONYMS: (adj) slow, gradual, deliberate, consecutive, mediate, delayed, remote, far, distant, vague, considered imminent: (adj) forthcoming, coming, close, future, near, pending, approaching, at hand, menacing, threatening, prospective. ANTONYMS: (adj) remote, past immobility: (adj, n) fixity; (n) fixedness, stillness, stationariness, motionlessness, immovability, immovableness; (adj) vitality, stiffness, stabiliment, solidity. ANTONYMS: (n) bustle, movement impartially: (adv) justly, dispassionately, neutrally, evenly, disinterestedly, objectively, unbiasedly, unprejudicedly, indifferently, evenhandedly, rightly. ANTONYM: (adv) unfairly impatient: (adj) eager, anxious, petulant, fidgety, vexed, keen, edgy, quick, avid, irritable, fretful. ANTONYMS: (adj) patient, enduring, unenthusiastic, calm, happy, relaxed, slow
151 impatiently: (adv) petulantly, restlessly, keenly, intolerantly, hastily, avidly, uneasily, enthusiastically, edgily, fidgetily, restively. ANTONYMS: (adv) uncomplainingly, calmly, unenthusiastically, lightly imperceptible: (adj) invisible, intangible, insensible, faint, evanescent, inaudible, negligible, indiscernible, unseen, unnoticeable, gentle. ANTONYMS: (adj) obvious, overwhelming, clear, visible, perceptible, heavy, noticeable, definite, considerable, conspicuous, strong implied: (adj) understood, tacit, indirect, oblique, silent, inferential, inherent, ulterior, latent, involved, contained. ANTONYMS: (adj) direct, explicit, overt imploring: (adj) appealing, begging, suppliant, pleading, entreating, piteous, importunate, entreating urgently; (v) supplicate, plead; (n) prayer imply: (n, v) denote, betoken; (v) connote, hint, allude, intimate, entail, mean, indicate, convey; (adj, v) involve import: (n, v) matter, sense, denote; (n) meaning, effect, connotation, implication, moment, significance, value; (v) imply. ANTONYMS: (n, v) export; (n) insignificance, inconsequence, triviality importance: (n) account, gravity, import, dignity, prominence, stress, emphasis, value, concern, magnitude; (n, v) consequence. ANTONYMS: (n) unimportance, insignificance, triviality, meaninglessness important: (adj, v) grave; (adj) fundamental, significant, crucial, key, serious, remarkable, chief, earnest, central, heavy. ANTONYMS: (adj) insignificant, trivial, minor, irrelevant, low, worthless, frivolous, secondary, little, superfluous, inconsequential impossibility: (n) impossibleness, option, nonexistence, absurdity, inability, impracticability, alternative, choice, contradiction, contradiction in terms, doubtfulness. ANTONYMS: (n) possibility, probability impossible: (adj) unimaginable, insufferable, unbelievable, hopeless, impracticable, impractical, inconceivable, unlikely,
152 unthinkable, unable, ridiculous. ANTONYMS: (adj) feasible, achievable, manageable, bearable, attainable, on, tolerable, probable, hopeful, easy, consistent impression: (n) feeling, idea, imprint, conception, depression, notion, mark, image, dent, feel, opinion. ANTONYMS: (n) certainty, hump, lump impressions: (n) impersonation, imitation impressive: (adj) effective, commanding, striking, powerful, imposing, influential, exciting, formidable, spectacular; (adj, n) noble, grand. ANTONYMS: (adj) humble, ordinary, weak, unremarkable, insignificant, minor, pathetic, tiny, uninteresting, ineffective, average imprisonment: (n) captivity, confinement, incarceration, durance, detention, arrest, immurement, internment, duress; (adj, n) bondage; (v) imprison. ANTONYMS: (n) release, freedom imprudence: (n) carelessness, indiscretion, folly, improvidence, hastiness, flippancy, recklessness, injudiciousness, rashness, haste; (adj, n) temerity. ANTONYMS: (n) discretion, forethought, wariness, wisdom impudent: (adj, n) bold, daring; (adj) disrespectful, audacious, impertinent, brassy, barefaced, brazen, insolent, brash, cheeky. ANTONYMS: (adj) polite, cowardly impulse: (n) pulse, urge, impulsion, force, motive, whim, drive, goad, motivation, momentum, incentive. ANTONYMS: (n) aversion, disincentive, disinclination inadequate: (adj) faulty, flimsy, poor, deficient, defective, incompetent, feeble, imperfect, inappropriate, short, ineffective. ANTONYMS: (adj) ample, passable, enough, strong, competent, reasonable, acceptable, generous, plentiful, useful, suitable inarticulate: (adj) unintelligible, silent, vague, muffled, incoherent, mute, incomprehensible, unarticulate, speechless, guttural, fuzzy. ANTONYMS: (adj) articulate, eloquent, fluent, distinct, talkative incalculable: (adj) countless, innumerable, numberless, boundless, inestimable, immense, infinite, myriad, numerous,
Ethan Frome invaluable, unpredictable. ANTONYMS: (adj) calculable, negligible, limited, worthless, tiny, slight, finite, few, definite, small, minor incarnation: (n) avatar, personification, epitome, byword, impersonation; (adj, n) quintessence; (adj) essential part, quiddity, lifeblood, marrow, pith incessant: (adj) endless, continual, everlasting, eternal, constant, continuous, perpetual, unremitting, interminable, persistent; (adj, v) frequent. ANTONYMS: (adj) intermittent, occasional, sporadic, broken, finite incident: (n) fact, experience, circumstance, occasion, adventure, happening, occurrence, episode, instance, case, contingency. ANTONYMS: (adj) basic; (n) defense incisively: (adv) shrewdly, penetratingly, acutely, trenchantly, intensely, perceptively, perspicaciously, bitingly, severely, cuttingly, keenly. ANTONYM: (adv) imprecisely inclination: (n, v) desire, bent; (n) fancy, affection, tendency, leaning, drift, appetite, dip, proclivity, bias. ANTONYMS: (n) disinclination, reluctance, aversion, indifference, unwillingness, antipathy, dislike, horror included: (adj) inclusive, incorporated, numbered, enclosed; (adv) under increased: (adj) more, increasing, enlarged, greater, redoubled, augmented, exaggerated, enhanced, multiplied, plus, puffy. ANTONYM: (adj) lesser increasing: (adj) growing, cumulative, crescent, rising, expanding, augmenting, advancing, increased; (n) addition; (adj, adv) getting bigger, getting higher. ANTONYMS: (adj) decreasing, fading, downward increasingly: (adv) gradually, more and more, growingly, expandingly, swellingly, crescently, cumulatively, risingly, yet, spreadingly, steadily. ANTONYM: (adv) rapidly incredible: (adj, n) astonishing, marvelous; (adj, v) inconceivable; (adj) fabulous, extraordinary, unbelievable, implausible, fantastic, unlikely, preposterous, wonderful. ANTONYMS: (adj) credible,
believable, conceivable, unspectacular, likely, mundane, unremarkable, plausible, awful, sensible, real incredulity: (n) doubt, unbelief, skepticism, incredulousness, distrust, wonder, surprise, suspicion, suspiciousness, mistrust, scepticism. ANTONYMS: (n) faith, understanding, belief incredulous: (adj) dubious, doubtful, suspicious, unbelieving, faithless, skeptical, doubting, lacking faith, questioning, cynical, mistrustful. ANTONYM: (adj) convinced indeed: (adv) certainly, exactly, in reality, surely, of course, assuredly, as a matter of fact, admittedly; (adj, adv) really, much; (n) yes. ANTONYMS: (adv) possibly, doubtfully indelicate: (adj) indecent, immodest, crude, gross, improper, coarse, crass, bawdy, unbecoming, broad, scurrilous. ANTONYMS: (adj) decorous, tasteful, sensitive, discreet, decent, correct indentured: (adj) apprenticed, articled, bandaged, binding, destined, unfree, indented indescribable: (adj) indefinable, ineffable, unutterable, vague, beyond expression, nameless, inexpressible, nondescript, terrible, intangible, termless. ANTONYMS: (adj) explainable, conceivable, concrete indifference: (adj, n) coldness, phlegm; (n) detachment, impassiveness, disregard, aloofness, nonchalance, neglect, unconcern, impassivity, disinterest. ANTONYMS: (n) fervor, interest, eagerness, dedication, sympathy, favorite, compassion, anxiety, responsiveness, forcefulness, care indifferent: (adj) apathetic, impassive, cold, cool, callous, fair, insensible, unconcerned, careless, dull, average. ANTONYMS: (adj) enthusiastic, fervent, keen, obsessive, energetic, eager, involved, surprised, exceptional, concerned, shocked indifferently: (adv) carelessly, coldly, nonchalantly, listlessly, unconcernedly, uninterestedly, neutrally, middlingly, casually, unbiasedly, disinterestedly. ANTONYMS: (adv) passionately, obsessively, carefully, eagerly, energetically, warmly, anxiously,
Edith Wharton enthusiastically, sympathetically indignantly: (adv) irately, angrily, wrathfully, enragedly, sorely, acrimoniously, cynically, sulkily, hotly, exasperatedly, furiously indignation: (n) anger, resentment, displeasure, grudge, umbrage, rage, outrage, exasperation, choler, dudgeon; (adj, n) wrath. ANTONYMS: (n) contentment, pleasure indistinct: (adj) indefinite, inarticulate, faint, dull, fuzzy, indeterminate, hazy, neutral; (adj, n) confused, cloudy, dark. ANTONYMS: (adj) clear, slight, separate, certain, precise, audible, strong, definite indistinctly: (adv) vaguely, dimly, hazily, mistily, inarticulately, shadowily, obscurely, unclearly, fuzzily, confusedly, ambiguously. ANTONYMS: (adv) precisely, audibly, coherently, distinctly indolent: (adj) idle, lazy, slothful, sluggish, careless, slow, dull, torpid, inert, drowsy, listless. ANTONYMS: (adj) active, industrious, vigorous, diligent indoors: (adv) at home, inwards, within, inwardly, internally, deep down, at heart, at bottom, in reality, arrived, here. ANTONYMS: (adv) out, outdoors ineffectual: (adj) ineffective, futile, useless, feeble, abortive, powerless, idle, weak, unable, void, vain. ANTONYMS: (adj) strong, effectual, effective, useful, viable, competent, invulnerable, helpful, decisive inefficiency: (n) futility, inability, incompetence, inefficacy, uselessness, fruitlessness, penetration, disability, failure, ineptitude, impotence. ANTONYMS: (n) efficiency, competence, effectiveness inertia: (n) idleness, lethargy, inaction, passivity, laziness, inertness, indolence, apathy, lassitude, languor, inactiveness. ANTONYMS: (n) energy, activity, activeness inevitable: (adj) ineluctable, unavoidable, inescapable, destined, fatal, fated, necessary, obvious, irrevocable, irresistible; (n) ineluctability. ANTONYMS: (adj) evitable, avoidable, optional, preventable, unpredictable, unlikely; (adv) surprisingly inexorable: (adj) adamant,
unrelenting, stern, cruel, relentless, austere, adamantine, inflexible, remorseless, stiff; (adj, v) inevitable. ANTONYM: (adj) gentle inexperienced: (adj) naive, young, callow, ignorant, unsophisticated, new, unexperienced, clumsy; (adj, v) raw; (v) green; (n) inexperience. ANTONYMS: (adj) trained, sophisticated, skilled, knowledgeable, expert, accustomed, sharp, seasoned inexpressibly: (adv) unspeakably, indescribably, beyond words infinitely: (adv) greatly, vastly, immensely, immeasurably, boundlessly, enormously, unboundedly, hugely, ceaselessly, unendingly; (adj, adv) incalculably. ANTONYM: (adv) finitely inflamed: (adj) impassioned, excited, angry, hot, flaming, ablaze, irritated, passionate, painful, burning; (n) red inflection: (n) accent, inflexion, flection, modulation, flexion, intonation, declension, bending, conjugation, accentuation, emphasis inflict: (v) impose, cause, wreak, force, enforce, deal, deliver, administer, foist, put, obtrude informant: (n) betrayer, sneak, informer, squealer, deponent, author, attestant, communicator, fink; (v) mouthpiece, teller infrequent: (adj) few, rare, scarce, seldom, exceptional, occasional, unwonted, sparse, sporadic, unusual, deficient. ANTONYMS: (adj) common, regular, usual ingenious: (adj) adroit, artful, clever, cunning, deft, expert, creative, imaginative, cute, acute, able. ANTONYMS: (adj) impulsive, naive, unoriginal, inept ingratiatingly: (adv) obsequiously, fawningly, unctuously, winningly, sycophantically initiation: (n) inception, commencement, beginning, inauguration, foundation, induction, opening, origination, start, introduction, launch. ANTONYMS: (n) finish, departure, completion, suppression, culmination injunction: (n) dictate, command, behest, bidding, commandment, fiat, direction, enjoinment, enjoining, order, instruction injured: (adj) hurt, broken, wounded, affected, damaged, pained, offended, insulted, defective, prejudiced; (n) casualty.
153 ANTONYMS: (adj) uninjured, unaffected, well inlaid: (adj) decorated inner: (adj) interior, mental, inward, intrinsic, inside, central, middle, within, in, privy, clandestine. ANTONYMS: (adj) outer, superficial, exterior innocuous: (adj) innocent, inoffensive, safe, innoxious, guiltless, bland, unoffending, unobnoxious, unobjectionable, pleasant, not unpleasant. ANTONYMS: (adj) offensive, harmful, malicious, unpleasant innumerable: (adj) countless, numberless, incalculable, multitudinous, infinite, innumerous, unnumbered, uncounted, myriad, immeasurable, untold. ANTONYM: (adj) finite insatiable: (adj) ravenous, voracious, insatiate, gluttonous, avaricious, quenchless, avid, unquenchable, unsatiable, grasping, sateless. ANTONYM: (adj) moderate insensibly: (adv) imperceptibly, apathetically, numbly, motionlessly, inertly inside: (adj, n) interior, middle, center; (adj) internal, indoor; (prep) per; (adv) inwardly, indoors, within, at heart, inwards. ANTONYMS: (adj, n) exterior; (adj) free, external, outdoor, public; (adj, adv) outer; (prep) out; (adv) outwardly; (n) edge inspection: (n) check, review, surveillance, study, scrutiny, inquiry, survey, exploration, search, checkup; (n, v) sight instances: (v) conceive, abate, commotion, decline, decrease, imply, diminution, diminish instant: (adj, n) present; (adj) immediate, prompt; (n) flash, minute, jiffy, point, second; (adj, v) exigent; (adj, n, v) pressing, urgent. ANTONYMS: (n) age, eternity; (adj) considered, delayed, slow instantly: (adv, n) directly; (adj, adv) immediately, at once; (adv) instantaneously, promptly, forthwith, now, readily, quickly, momently, momentarily. ANTONYMS: (adv) later, slowly, gradually instead: (adv) instead of, alternatively, as an alternative, in place of, more willingly, to compensate for, sooner, preferably, otherwise, on the other hand; (n)
154 lieu instinct: (n) impulse, urge, aptitude, gift, feeling, sixth sense, inherent aptitude, knack, inspiration, talent, genius instinctive: (adj) inherent, inborn, automatic, natural, mechanical, spontaneous, intuitive, unconscious, gut, reflex; (adj, v) involuntary. ANTONYMS: (adj) learned, stilted, deliberate, factual, systematic, trained, spiritual instinctively: (adv) involuntarily, mechanically, spontaneously, automatically, intuitively, inherently, automaticly, unconsciously, impulsively, unthinkingly, instinctually. ANTONYMS: (adv) consciously, objectively instrument: (n) channel, deed, tool, pawn, apparatus, agency, document, expedient, appliance, gear; (n, v) implement insubstantial: (adj) frail, fragile, thin, unreal, slight, weak, light, imaginary, incorporeal, illusory; (adj, v) unsubstantial. ANTONYMS: (adj) heavy, sturdy, concrete, substantial, palpable, real, constant, sound, robust, serious, strong insurmountable: (adj) insuperable, unsurmountable, impassable, impossible, unconquerable, unbeatable, indomitable, impregnable, overwhelming, invincible, unruly. ANTONYMS: (adj) vulnerable, easy, manageable intangible: (adj) immaterial, incorporeal, ethereal, indefinite, spiritual, elusive, imperceptible, insubstantial, airy, indefinable; (n) intangible asset. ANTONYMS: (adj) concrete, palpable, touchable, actual intense: (adj) acute, deep, brilliant, fervent, fierce, ardent, burning, severe, furious, extreme; (adj, v) vivid. ANTONYMS: (adj) dull, calm, weak, slight, imperceptible, superficial, shallow, gentle, dim, insignificant, relaxed intensely: (adj, adv) extremely; (adv) strongly, powerfully, severely, violently, vehemently, acutely, keenly, brightly, profoundly, fiercely. ANTONYMS: (adv) mildly, calmly, gently, dully, indifferently, impassively, jokingly, slightly, hardly, superficially, unexceptionally intensify: (v) increase, aggravate, escalate, heighten, accelerate,
Ethan Frome augment, build up, deepen, raise, compound, exacerbate. ANTONYMS: (v) moderate, decrease, reduce, satisfy, lessen, improve, abate, diminish, weaken, alleviate intention: (n) idea, intent, goal, purpose, cause, motive, mind; (n, v) aim, end, design, drift intently: (adv) fixedly, attentively, seriously, raptly, intensely, closely, steadily, eagerly, absorbedly, hard, steadfastly. ANTONYM: (adv) absently inter: (v) inhume, entomb, lay to rest, sepulchre, tomb, inurn, repose, lay, intomb, among, embed deeply. ANTONYM: (adj) intra intercourse: (n) contact, coition, conversation, communication, coitus, dealings, converse, commerce, liaison, congress; (adj, n) acquaintance interest: (n, v) advantage, care, benefit; (adj, v) engage; (n) affair, account, gain, hobby, eagerness, enthusiasm, sake. ANTONYMS: (n) indifference, apathy, boredom, distraction, hostility, detachment, inattention, repulsion; (v) repel, appall interested: (adj) concerned, involved, inquiring, inquisitive, keen, interesting, attentive, fascinated, responsive, partial, eager. ANTONYMS: (adj) uninterested, bored, indifferent, unconcerned, hostile interfere: (n, v) interpose; (v) intercede, obstruct, disturb, conflict, impede, hinder, meddle, intervene; (n) interference; (adj, v) intermeddle interrupted: (adj) discontinuous, fitful, intermittent, discontinued, disconnected, unsuccessive, intervallic, episodic, gaping, periodic; (prep) interrupt interval: (n) intermission, interruption, distance, break, interlude, hiatus, interim, pause, period, respite, gap. ANTONYM: (n) intensification intervene: (v) intercede, interpose, meddle, arbitrate, step in, interject, interlope, pass; (adj, v) mediate, intermediate; (n) interference. ANTONYMS: (v) disregard, provoke intervention: (adj, n) intercession, mediation, interposition; (n) intervene, intermediation, arbitration, hindrance, intermission,
medium, vehicle; (v) interfere. ANTONYM: (n) provocation intestinal: (adj) enteral, intestine, abdominal, inner intimacy: (adj, n) familiarity, acquaintance; (n) closeness, fellowship, association, friendship, intercourse, affair, camaraderie, conversance, confidence. ANTONYMS: (n) distance, formality intolerable: (adj) unbearable, insupportable, painful, obnoxious, detestable, inexcusable, deplorable, undesirable, hard, excruciating, difficult. ANTONYMS: (adj) bearable, tolerable, acceptable, reasonable, nice, understandable, lovable, excusable, inoffensive, manageable intoxicating: (adj) intoxicant, strong, alcoholic, effective, exciting, impetuous, inebriant, inebrious, powerful, provocative, forcible. ANTONYMS: (adj) soft, weak intricate: (adj, n) complicated; (adj) difficult, knotty, hard, tricky, convoluted, tortuous, inextricable, elaborate, obscure; (adj, v) involved. ANTONYMS: (adj) simple, easy, plain intruder: (n) trespasser, interloper, encroacher, raider, invader, aggressor, go between, gatecrasher, stalker, boarder; (adj, n) stranger invited: (adj) welcomer, wanted, cherished inward: (adj) inner, intrinsic, internal, interior, intestine, inherent, domestic; (adv) inwardly, inwards, in; (n) innards. ANTONYMS: (adj, adv) outward; (adj) outgoing, external inwardly: (adv) inside, interiorly, innerly, within, secretly, intrinsically, intimately, privately, spiritually, incomingly; (adj) inwards. ANTONYM: (adv) openly irish: (adj) Milesian, Canadian; (n) ERSE, Irish whiskey, poteen, Irish Gaelic, Irish whisky, Irish people, the Irish iron: (v) firm, flatten; (n) Fe, chain, cast iron, irons; (adj) hard, adamant, steel, harsh, tenacious ironic: (adj) wry, sarcastic, satirical, sardonic, mocking, ironical, derisive, cynical, dry, cutting, scathing. ANTONYMS: (adj) consistent, serious ironically: (adv) sardonically, sarcastically, derisively, wrily, mordantly, satirically, bitingly,
Edith Wharton caustically, illogically, understatedly, deprecatingly irony: (n) sarcasm, ridicule, raillery, banter, derision, quiz, mockery, figure of speech; (adj, n) satire, humor, burlesque. ANTONYM: (n) sincerity irrationally: (adv) illogically, preposterously, senselessly, silly, nonsensically, unwisely, stupidly, absurdly, imprudently, unreasonably, insanely. ANTONYMS: (adv) lucidly, sensibly, logically, reasonably, wisely, fairly irresolutely: (adv) waveringly, undecidedly, indecisively, hesitantly, uncertainly, hesitatingly, weakly, infirmly, spinelessly, unsteadily, unsettledly. ANTONYMS: (adv) decisively, firmly irresponsible: (adj) rash, reckless, untrustworthy, flighty, feckless, unreliable, unwise, imprudent, wild, loose; (v) not answerable. ANTONYMS: (adj) cautious, sensible, dependable, dutiful, careful, prudent, mature irretrievable: (adj) irrecoverable, irremediable, irreversible, remediless, irreclaimable, irrevocable, unrecoverable, incurable, irredeemable, desperate; (v) indefeasible. ANTONYMS: (adj) superficial, flexible, impermanent, temporary isolated: (adj, adv) apart; (adj) separate, deserted, distant, sporadic, separated, solitary, lone, remote, lonely, single. ANTONYMS: (adj) common, accessible, widespread, near, nearby, public, regular, populous, connected, cheerful, attached isolation: (n) estrangement, privacy, alienation, insulation, dissociation, secrecy, loneliness, solitude, seclusion, insularity, desolation. ANTONYMS: (n) companionship, inclusion, unity, kinship, company, cheerfulness, integration itself: (adj) herself, self, oneself, personally, myself, themselves, yourself jacket: (n) sheath, cover, case, covering, envelope, coat, blazer, doublet, dust cover, skin, shield jaws: (n) jaw, chops, fauces, chaps, mandible, maw, lips, holding device; (v) mazard jealousy: (n) suspicion, jealous,
jealousness, envy, envious, alertness, distrust, contention, competition, scruple, qualm jerk: (n, v) jump, yank, shake, twitch, jar, tug, bump, heave, pull; (v) fling, flip. ANTONYM: (v) ease jerking: (adj) arrhythmic, arrhythmical, jerky, unsteady; (n) movement, jolt, dork, jar jingle: (n, v) ring, chime, ding, clank; (v) clang, clink, tinkle, rattle, sound, peal; (n) chink. ANTONYM: (n) silence jogging: (n) run, fast motion, joggling, impulse tachometer, exercising, exercise, inching join: (v) unite, connect, associate, combine, graft, assemble, attach, affiliate, meet, get together; (n, v) link. ANTONYMS: (v) separate, secede, detach, undo, disjoin, exclude, leave, disconnect, diverge, refrain, untie joke: (n, v) banter; (n) hoax, fun, quip, gag, caper, game, antic, prank, humor; (v) tease jolly: (adj) gay, cheerful, happy, festive, genial, bright, cheery, merry, jocund; (v) chaff; (adv) lively. ANTONYMS: (adj) gloomy, miserable, serious journey: (n, v) jaunt, go, travel, cruise, fare; (n) excursion, way, expedition, trip, passage, voyage. ANTONYM: (v) settle joyous: (adj) happy, gleeful, elated, jolly, glad, gay, jovial, merry, festive, cheerful, jocund. ANTONYMS: (adj) despairing, joyless, miserable judge: (v) consider, think, evaluate, believe, condemn, assess, calculate, guess; (n) arbitrator, arbiter; (n, v) umpire. ANTONYM: (v) doubt jump: (n, v) bound, start, bounce, hop, caper, startle, dive, rise; (v) spring, hurdle; (adj, v) skip. ANTONYMS: (n, v) decrease; (v) surface, drop, hesitate junction: (n) joint, connection, meeting, interchange, articulation, join, combination, crossroads, intersection, conjunction, union keen: (adj, v) eager, fresh, biting, brisk, avid; (adj) sharp, intense, intelligent, enthusiastic, exquisite, piercing. ANTONYMS: (adj) indifferent, apathetic, unenthusiastic, blunt, unwilling, reluctant, passive, stupid, unconcerned, lukewarm, disinterested keep: (n, v) hold; (v) preserve, retain,
155 defend, guard, maintain, continue, have, save, confine, observe. ANTONYMS: (v) lose, neglect, entrust, return, let, discontinue, reimburse, allow, stop, destroy, break keeping: (n) care, conservation, charge, guardianship, maintenance, holding, observance, storage, conformation, consistency, conformity kept: (adj) reserved, preserve, retained, remain, store, reserve, hold, lodge, keep, retain, detained. ANTONYM: (adj) broken ketch: (n) clipper, corvette, cutter, foist, lugger, smack, yawl, boat, sloop, hoy kick: (v) grumble, complain; (n) bitch, beef, thrill, gripe, charge, excitement; (n, v) recoil, spurn, protest. ANTONYMS: (v) start; (n) bore kidney: (n) class, variety, feather, genus, kind, stripe, nature, breed, constitution, humour, mettle kill: (n, v) assassinate, destroy; (v) erase, annihilate, eliminate, extinguish, finish, blast, decimate, execute, eradicate. ANTONYMS: (v) revitalize, revive; (n) hunter killed: (n) casualty; (adj) fallen kind: (n) sort, form, class, variety, breed; (adj, n) helpful, good, humane, friendly, gentle; (adj) generous. ANTONYMS: (adj) unkind, cruel, hardhearted, mean, merciless, nasty, spiteful, uncaring, upsetting, callous, disagreeable kind-hearted: (adj) good-natured, good, kindly, clement, benevolent, humane, kindhearted, philanthropic, sympathetic, tolerant, warm kindled: (adj) enkindled, lighted, lit, burning kindly: (adj) kind, amiable, genial, charitable; (adv) sympathetically, benevolently, tenderly; (adj, n) benign, gentle, sympathetic, benevolent. ANTONYMS: (adv) harshly, nastily, callously, cruelly, sharply, disagreeably, grumpily, malevolently; (adj) upsetting, unfeeling, sour kindness: (n) generosity, clemency, compassion, grace, good will, graciousness, humanity, goodness, affection; (adj, n) courtesy, gentleness. ANTONYMS: (n) miserliness, spite, nastiness, callousness, cruelty, unfriendliness,
156 maliciousness, thoughtlessness, sourness, severity, disservice kiss: (n, v) caress, brush, embrace, touch; (n) osculation, salute, lip, Kiss of peace, kiss hands; (v) osculate, love kissing: (n) hugging, cuddling, fondling, arousal, foreplay, necking; (adj) embracing, adhering closely, billing, clinging, interosculant kitchen: (n) galley, cuisine, cookroom, cookery, basement, caboose, fireplace, hearth, room, offices, scullery knee: (n) bracket, articulation, joint, kneel, knee joint, genu, articulatio genus, scythe, zigzag, sickle, bend kneeling: (n) homage, kowtow, kneelingly, prostration, genuflexion, genuflection, curtsy, courtesy, obeisance knees: (n) knee knew: (adj) known; (v) recognize, wist knoll: (n) hill, hillock, mound, hummock, mount, bank, kopje, barrow, hammock; (v) knap; (adj) mole. ANTONYM: (n) hollow knot: (n) bow, cluster, lump, gang, joint; (v) entangle, knit, bind; (n, v) tie, loop, tangle. ANTONYMS: (v) unravel, undo, unknot, disentangle knowing: (adj, v) canny, crafty, wise; (adj, n) clever; (adj) conscious, aware, ingenious, intelligent, bright, conversant, smart. ANTONYMS: (adj) naive, uncomprehending, unconscious known: (adj) familiar, knew, conscious, certain, famous, know, eminent, plain, accepted, published, acknowledged. ANTONYMS: (adj) unknown, secret, unidentified, unfamiliar label: (n, v) name, title, tag, brand, earmark, group; (v) call, classify, check; (n) designation, ticket laboratory: (n) lab, testing ground, workplace, laboratories, factory, research laboratory, Chem lab, chemistry lab, chemistry laboratory, course; (adj) experimental labour: (n, v) travail, labor, toil; (v) grind, fag, drudge; (n) exertion, employment, confinement, childbed, business lack: (n, v) deficiency, need, destitution; (n) default, defect, dearth, absence, insufficiency, deficit, poverty; (v) fail. ANTONYMS: (n) abundance, excess, provision, adequacy,
Ethan Frome affluence, sufficiency, plethora, supply; (v) have, own, possess laden: (adj) burdened, full, loaded, ladened, filled, hampered, heavy, charged, encumbered; (v) lade, load. ANTONYMS: (adj) empty, lacking lady: (n) gentlewoman, Mrs, duchess, countess, spouse, madam, ma'am, milady, matron, woman; (v) squaw. ANTONYM: (n) Lord lagging: (n) insulation, cover, skin, sheathing, casing; (adj) lazy, slack, tardy, remiss, late, behindhand laid: (adj) layed, lay, place, placed, put, situated, arranged, determined, dictated, hardened, ordered lain: (adj) artless, unsophisticated, unaffected, naive, untutored, simple, pure, natural, native, inartificial lake: (n) pond, pool, lagoon, puddle, lough, reservoir, loke, bayou, crimson, lagune, carmine lame: (adj) crippled, disabled, halting, feeble, halt, weak, paralytic; (adj, n) game; (adj, v) paralyze, maim, becripple lameness: (n) limp, claudication, gameness, gimpiness, feebleness, halt, limping, crippleness, disability of walking lamp: (n) light, lantern, beacon, headlight, flashbulb, flashgun, table lamp, oil lamp, storm lantern; (n, v) look; (v) behold land: (n) country, earth, soil, kingdom, field, nation, estate, domain; (v) disembark, debark, get. ANTONYMS: (adj) aquatic, amphibious; (n) sea; (v) lose, depart, embark landing: (n) disembarkation, land, dock, touchdown, debarkation, disembarkment, floor, platform, landing place, bank, bankingground landlady: (n) landlord, madam, proprietor, hostess, innkeeper, landholder, lady of the house landmark: (n) merestone, boundary line, boundary, seamark, milepost, guide, monument, watershed, grief, dolus; (adj) inventive landscape: (n) sight, vista, scene, scenery, outlook, view, ground, lookout, landscape painting, countryside, perspective lane: (n) alley, road, path, passage, avenue, way, track, aisle, side street, line, artery languid: (adj) lazy, dull, indolent, feeble, lethargic, lackadaisical,
sluggish, faint, torpid, inert, apathetic. ANTONYMS: (adj) active, lively, exciting, vigorous languidly: (adv) languorously, listlessly, wearily, lethargically, slowly, dreamily, limply, weakly, torpidly, indolently, impassively. ANTONYMS: (adv) dynamically, vigorously lank: (adj) gaunt, angular, emaciated, meager, thin, skinny, spindly, spare, scrawny; (adj, v) lean, barren lantern: (n) beacon, light, dormer, tube, lighting fitting, bedside light, street light, street lamp, oil lamp, lime light, lanthorn larch: (n) wood, larches, tamarack, black larch, coniferous tree, larch tree larches: (n) Larix, genus Larix large: (adj) ample, generous, considerable, broad, handsome, high, bulky, heavy, capacious, roomy; (adj, n) extensive. ANTONYMS: (adj) small, cramped, insignificant, narrow, microscopic, compact, tiny, thin, short, slim, paltry largely: (adv) chiefly, extensively, widely, mostly, generally, for the most part, spaciously, broadly, liberally, capaciously, voluminously. ANTONYM: (adv) insignificantly larger: (adj) bigger, big, more, major, large, greater, largest, exceed, superior, generously proportioned, excel lashing: (n) beating, drubbing, flagellation, trouncing, whipping, fastening, tanning, lacing, castigation, chastisement, thrashing latch: (v) bar, fasten, grab; (n, v) bolt; (adj, n, v) lock; (n) hasp, clasp, door latch, hook; (adj) link, yoke late: (adj, adv) dilatory, fresh, behindhand, backward; (adj) former, deceased, dead, slow, delayed, modern; (adv) belatedly. ANTONYMS: (adj, adv) early, punctual; (adv) punctually, promptly; (adj) ahead, existing, alive, initial, middle, old, premature lately: (adv) tardily, newly, freshly, belatedly, slowly, latterly, deadly; (adj, adv) anew, late, afresh; (adj) recent lateness: (n) slowness, delay, sluggishness, timing, dilatoriness, late, slothfulness, earliness, late maturity, tarriance, posteriority. ANTONYMS: (n) promptness, punctuality, earliness
Edith Wharton latent: (adj) covert, secret, potential, occult, inactive, cryptic, dormant, hidden, possible, smoldering, concealed. ANTONYMS: (adj) manifest, obvious, unlikely, overt later: (adv) afterward, subsequently, afterwards, then; (adj) following, last, future, ensuing, subsequent, latter; (adj, adv) next. ANTONYMS: (adv) immediately, before, now; (adj, adv) prior; (adj) early, previous, preceding, former latter: (adj) later, last, terminal, recent, posterior, final, following, the latter, past, other, eventual. ANTONYMS: (adj) prior, earlier laugh: (n, v) joke, giggle, chortle, titter, snicker; (v) smile; (n) jest, gag, jape, laughter, cackle. ANTONYM: (v) weep laughing: (adj) merry, smiling, laughable, jolly, gay, lighthearted, frolicsome, playful, pleased, dizzy; (adv) laughingly. ANTONYM: (adj) serious laughter: (n) amusement, fun, guffaw, merriment, chortle, chuckle, mirth, hilarity, giggle, derision, happiness. ANTONYMS: (n) sadness, gloom, despair, boredom, misery, despondency lawyer: (n) counsel, barrister, attorney, jurist, counsellor, counselor, conveyancer, ambulance chaser, adviser, trial lawyer, pleader layer: (n) course, ply, coating, level, film, stratum, crust, floor, covering; (v) pile; (n, v) cover lazy: (adj) indolent, inert, idle, inactive, shiftless, slothful, faineant, slow, sluggish; (adj, n) drowsy, dull. ANTONYMS: (adj) diligent, active, prompt, vigorous, industrious, keen, productive lead: (n, v) guide; (v) conduct, direct, contribute, go, control, conduce, govern, chair, bring; (n) clue. ANTONYMS: (v) follow, trail, descend; (n) disadvantage, inferiority leaden: (adj) heavy, gray, sluggish, grey, inert, torpid, grave, languid, drab, burdensome, livid. ANTONYM: (adj) bright leader: (n) chief, guide, head, captain, boss, director, commander, chieftain, conductor, administrator, lead. ANTONYMS: (n) straggler, laggard, supporter, underdog, inferior leading: (adj, v) first, foremost; (adj) outstanding, head, great, capital;
(adj, n) main, cardinal, principal; (adj, adv) ahead; (n) lead. ANTONYMS: (adj) secondary, subordinate, following, junior, innocent, last, lousy, unimportant, worst; (adv) behind, losing leaf: (n) page, folio, foliage, petal, frond, leafage, slip, verdure, leaflet; (n, v) sheet; (v) leave leafless: (adj) bald, bare, aphyllous, leaveless, hairless. ANTONYM: (adj) leafy leak: (n) crevice, disclosure, breach, hole, chink; (v) leak out, dribble, reveal, disclose, trickle; (n, v) release. ANTONYM: (v) flood lean: (adj, v) gaunt; (adj) emaciated, thin, bony, lank; (n, v) bend, tilt, slant, list, careen; (n) inclination. ANTONYMS: (adj) plump, rich, chubby, greasy, stout; (v) straighten, repel leaned: (v) erudite, lettered; (adj) tilted, inclined, educated leaning: (adj, n) bent, disposition, partiality; (n) propensity, bias, tendency, incline, lean; (adj) tilted, canted, inclined. ANTONYMS: (n) antipathy, dislike; (adj) upright learn: (v) get, find, ascertain, hear, find out, have, determine, con, acquire, tell; (n, v) know. ANTONYM: (v) reject learned: (adj) educated, knowledgeable, scholarly, academic, cultured, literary, bookish, lettered; (adj, v) enlightened, wise, knowing. ANTONYMS: (adj) innate, unconditioned, foolish, unlearned learning: (n, v) erudition, enlightenment; (n) acquisition, education, culture, scholarship, wisdom, acquirement, letter, literature; (v) learn least: (n) minimum; (adj) smallest, minimal, littlest, lowest, insignificant, minutest, negligible; (adj, n) smallest amount; (adv) at least, fully. ANTONYMS: (adj) maximum, greatest; (adj, adv) most leather: (n) fur, fleece, skin, buckskin, fell, pelt, doeskin; (v) drub, thresh, thrash; (n, v) hit leave: (v) depart, go, abandon, desert, lead; (adj, v) forsake, quit; (n) furlough, permission, holiday; (n, v) escape. ANTONYMS: (v) enter, arrive, stay, remain, come, approach, change, reposition, disinherit, occupy, participate leaves: (n) departure, leaving, plants, trees, vegetation
157 leaving: (n) leave, exit, desertion, going, going away, farewell, departing, abandonment, withdrawal, boarding; (v) depart. ANTONYMS: (n) arrival, greeting, Reunion; (adj) incoming ledge: (n) projection, bulge, jetty, board, shelf, rack, bench, hummock, protrusion, rim; (adj) escarpment. ANTONYM: (n) depression left: (adj) gone, absent, port, odd, remaining, larboard, gauche, sinister; (n) left hand, left wing, mitt. ANTONYMS: (adj, adv, n) right; (adj) remaining, center, starboard, present legs: (v) pegs, trotters, pins; (n) patience, pedestal, stamina leisure: (n) idleness, convenience, vacation, inactivity, rest, repose, relaxation, recreation, pastime, opportunity; (adj) idle. ANTONYM: (n) work lend: (v) grant, give, advance, impart, bestow, contribute, borrow, bring, add, confer; (n) lending length: (n, v) extent; (n) distance, range, duration, size, measurement, longness, dimension, depth, compass, quantity. ANTONYMS: (n) shortness, width, breadth, brevity, conciseness lent: (n) Quadragesima, Lententide less: (adj) inferior, wanting, minor, secondary, subordinate, deficient, minus, few; (adj, adv) lesser, lower; (adv) below. ANTONYMS: (adj) additional; (prep) plus letter: (n) epistle, mail, character, communication, alphabetic character, dispatch, note, message, memorandum, type, memo letting: (n) lease, rental, let, renting, hire, leasing, rent, belongings, permission; (adj) lenient level: (adj, adv, v) equal; (adj, adv, n, v) flat; (n) grade, degree; (adj, v) flatten; (n, v) floor; (adj) horizontal; (v) dismantle, raze, aim, demolish. ANTONYMS: (adj) slanting, unequal, angled, unsteady, askew, rough, shaky; (adj, v) uneven; (v) raise, build, crumple lids: (n) lid life: (adj, n) animation; (n) energy, spirit, activity, dash, enthusiasm, being, biography, existence, exuberance, live. ANTONYMS: (n) death, apathy, extinction, nonexistence, lifelessness lift: (n, v) raise, rise, elevator, boost, heave, hike, airlift, advance; (v)
158 elevate, erect, filch. ANTONYMS: (v) lower, descend, drop, hinder, put, return, impose; (n, v) knock lifted: (adj) raised, elevated, lift, lofty, upraised, steep lifting: (n) rising, hoisting, plagiarism, restyling, copying, jacking; (adj) elating, enlivening, exciting, invigorating, thrilling light: (adj) fair, facile, faint; (adj, v) clear; (n, v) fire, glow, flame; (v) kindle, inflame, ignite; (n) illumination. ANTONYMS: (adj) heavy, fattening, nauseating, testing, stale; (n) darkness, shade, gloom, night; (v) extinguish, darken lighted: (adj) illuminated, lit, light, ablaze, bright, ignited, burn, burning, ignite, kindled, lighten lighter: (n) light, flatboat, igniter, cigarette lighter, wherry, primer, scow, kindling, fuze, fuzee, houseboat lighting: (n) light, kindling, ignition, firing, inflammation, burning, combustion, setup, the illumination supplied by lights, illume, illuminate lightly: (adv) slightly, airily, thinly, easily, gently, light, fairly, weakly, flimsily, delicately, wantonly. ANTONYMS: (adv) seriously, heavily, thickly, sturdily, angrily, hard, harshly, densely, brightly, awkwardly lights: (n) illumination, burn, lung, spacing material liked: (adj) popular, loved, favorite, preferred. ANTONYM: (adj) disliked likely: (adj) believable, probable, plausible, expected, potential, conceivable, apt, prospective, verisimilar; (adv) possibly, maybe. ANTONYMS: (adj, adv) unlikely; (adj) improbable, implausible, slight, unwilling, unusual, unbelievable likeness: (n) resemblance, copy, effigy, image, affinity, similarity, correspondence, facsimile; (adj, n) figure, form, semblance. ANTONYMS: (n) difference, diversity, dissimilarity, unlikeness, contrast limit: (v) restrict, circumscribe, restrain, check; (n, v) border, curb, confine, boundary, close; (n, prep, v) extent; (n) edge. ANTONYMS: (v) broaden, extend, increase, derestrict, allow, encourage, express, promote; (n) minimum, extension, freedom limited: (adj) circumscribed,
Ethan Frome qualified, special, moderate, insular, slender, bounded, scanty, narrow, specific, particular. ANTONYMS: (adj) open, infinite, limitless, complete, wide, unlimited, extensive, vague, adequate, ample, diverse limp: (adv, n, v) hobble; (adj, v) flabby; (n, v) hitch; (adj) flaccid, slack, flexible, drooping, flimsy, weak, loose; (v) hop. ANTONYMS: (adj) taut, firm, hard, rigid, upright, alive, strong, stiff, tight lincoln: (n) capital of Nebraska, fin, fiver, president Lincoln line: (n) cord, house, course, family, lineage, breed, field, ancestry, row; (adj, n) file; (n, v) order lineaments: (v) exposition, tract, length, expanse, area, extent; (n) face lined: (adj) wrinkled, creased, wrinkly, striped, streaked, ruled, banded, paved, worn, with stripes, windswept. ANTONYMS: (adj) smooth, plain, unlined, straight lines: (n) cavesson, jaquima, hackamore, headstall, ribbons, words, contour, shape, position, piece, part linger: (v) loiter, delay, dally, hover, stay, hesitate, hang around, procrastinate, dawdle, tarry, saunter. ANTONYMS: (v) hurry, end, rush, depart, lead linked: (adj) allied, related, joined, coupled, correlated, associated, united, combined, conjugate, conjoint, committed. ANTONYMS: (adj) unrelated, unconnected, unattached, disparate lips: (n) lip, inlet, logical inference per second, chops, porch, portal, portico, propylon, snout, door, orifice listen: (v) hear, heed, hearken, attend, harken, list, listening, eavesdrop, mind, concentrate, pay attention listening: (v) listen, hear, obey; (n) auscultation, perception, sensing, audition, audience, earshot, auditory modality; (adj) attentive listless: (adj) indifferent, dull, indolent, careless, languid, inert, inattentive, dispirited, slow, uninterested, spiritless. ANTONYMS: (adj) lively, animated, energetic, strong, spirited little: (adj, adv) small; (adj) diminutive, insignificant, short, tiny, some, brief, petty, minute, exiguous; (adv) rather. ANTONYMS: (adj) enormous, large, important, huge,
high, giant, older, old, tall; (adv) frequently, well live: (adj) alive, living; (adj, v) reside, active, dwell, stay; (n, v) subsist; (v) exist, be, abide, endure. ANTONYMS: (adj) inanimate, inactive, silent, dummy, blank, recorded; (v) die, perish, expire lively: (adj, adv) jolly, sprightly; (adj, v) active, cheerful; (adj) energetic, agile, keen, busy, gay, fresh, jovial. ANTONYMS: (adj) lethargic, listless, inactive, unexciting, lifeless, awkward, sad, gentle, tired, insipid, subdued livery: (adj) liverish, bilious; (n) clothing, accouterment, uniform, complexion, legal transfer, color, hue, dye, bailment lives: (n) life, living, estate, existence, earnest living living: (adj) alive, live, extant, animated, active, fresh, animate, quick; (n) livelihood, life, being. ANTONYMS: (adj) inanimate; (n) death, leisure load: (adj, n, v) charge, fill; (n) cargo, freight, weight, consignment; (n, v) stack, heap, pack, pile; (v) encumber. ANTONYMS: (v) unpack, remove, eject, relieve, empty, alleviate; (n) lightness loaded: (adj) full, flush, moneyed, wealthy, affluent, rich, tipsy, tight, intoxicated, charged; (adj, prep) burdened. ANTONYMS: (adj) empty, lacking, unloaded, innocent, impoverished loading: (n) cargo, load, burden, consignment, lading, charging, filler, freightage, encumbrance, shipment, burthen loathing: (n, v) abomination, aversion, dislike, distaste; (n) hate, hatred, abhorrence, detestation, nausea, antipathy, execration. ANTONYMS: (n) love, adoration, liking, delight, goodwill local: (adj) sectional, topical, home, indigenous, nearby, municipal, civic, limited, vernacular, internal; (n) resident. ANTONYMS: (adj) universal, foreign, worldwide, general, global, central, private; (n) express, outsider, stranger, foreigner localized: (adj) local, locate, thick, sectional locked: (adj) bolted, closed, fast, barred, blocked, fixed, guaranteed, barricaded, safe, protected, fastened locket: (n) jewelry, medallion, pendant, case, ornament, bracelet,
Edith Wharton anklet, adornment, accessory, carcanet lodge: (n, v) cabin, place, house; (adj, v) live, dwell, reside, inhabit; (n) cottage; (v) quarter, accommodate, fix. ANTONYMS: (v) dislodge, evict lodged: (adj) wedged, stuck fast, stuck, jammed loneliness: (n) desolation, aloneness, isolation, solitariness, lonesomeness, bleakness, forlornness, desolateness, temperament, unhappiness; (adj, n) solitude. ANTONYMS: (n) inclusion, cheerfulness, hopefulness lonely: (adj) deserted, lone, dreary, solitary, forsaken, desert; (adj, n) isolated, alone; (adv) lonesomely, solely, solitarily. ANTONYMS: (adj) sheltered, populous, cheerful, nearby; (n) foe lonesome: (adj) lone, desolate, forlorn, dreary, dismal, solitary, secluded, gloomy, unfrequented; (adj, n) isolated, alone. ANTONYM: (n) foe long: (v) yearn, desire, hanker, languish, ache, wish; (adj, n) extensive; (n, v) hunger; (adj) extended, lengthy; (n) length. ANTONYMS: (adj) short, brief, concise longer: (adj) longest, better, lengest; (adv) farther; (n) yearner, thirster long-established: (adj) traditional, confirmed longing: (n, v) desire, aspiration; (adj) eager, wistful, nostalgic; (n) nostalgia, wish, hankering, urge, appetite; (adj, n) yearning. ANTONYMS: (n) apathy, disinclination; (adj) satisfied, unconcerned longitude: (n) line of longitude, meridian, span, great circle, date line, dateline, place look: (n, v) gaze, aspect, figure; (adj, v) seem; (v) appear, expect; (n) appearance, expression, view, glance, guise. ANTONYMS: (v) back, study; (n) perusal looking: (n) face, sensing, aspect, approximation, appearance, watching, outlook; (v) look at, examine; (adv) about; (adj) superficial looks: (n) aspect, countenance, expression, manner, complexion, fashion, costume, garb looming: (adj) threatening, impending, menacing, pending; (v) illusion, anamorphosis, false light, distortion, phasma, appear, mirage.
ANTONYM: (adj) distant loosely: (adv) freely, vaguely, wantonly, broadly, softly, desultorily, laxly, relaxedly, lasciviously, baggily, flabbily. ANTONYMS: (adv) closely, firmly, tight, strictly, narrowly, efficiently, densely, accurately, precisely, clearly losing: (v) lose; (n) loss; (adv) losingly, behind; (adj) unbeneficial. ANTONYM: (adj) lucrative loss: (adj, n) detriment, damage, injury, harm; (n) defeat, deprivation, deficit, destruction, forfeit, forfeiture, bereavement. ANTONYMS: (n) retrieval, appearance, victory, recovery, gaining, income, gain, accumulation, win, benefit, fortune lost: (adj, v) forlorn, extinct, gone, missing, helpless; (adj) hopeless, bewildered, forgotten, disoriented, broken; (n) loss. ANTONYMS: (adj) present, found, existing, won, saved, aware loth: (adj) disinclined, averse, reluctant, unwilling, indisposed, antipathetical, antipathetic, not content, shy of, repugnant; (v) averse from lots: (adj, n) plenty, heaps; (adj) a lot, galore; (n) many, scores, scads, oodles, much, masses; (adv) a great deal. ANTONYM: (n) few loud: (adj) flashy, garish, gaudy, blatant, brassy, boisterous, high, jazzy, brazen, piercing; (adj, adv) forte. ANTONYMS: (adj) tasteful, gentle, quiet, subtle, subdued, low, muted, weak, tranquil, thin; (adv) softly loutish: (adj) coarse, churlish, crude, oafish, rough, rude, uncouth, graceless, brutish, clownish, rustic. ANTONYMS: (adj) civilized, polite, refined, genteel love: (n) desire, fondness, affection, dear, liking, benevolence, charity, honey, devotion; (v) enjoy; (n, v) worship. ANTONYMS: (n, v) dislike; (n) abhorrence, hatred, aversion, detestation, detachment, indifference; (v) abhor; (adv) roughly loved: (adj) beloved, pet, cherished, precious, liked, adored, respected, treasured, esteemed, valued; (n) darling. ANTONYM: (adj) hated lovely: (adj) beautiful, charming, lovable, enchanting, delightful, handsome, alluring, elegant,
159 endearing, gorgeous; (adv) comely. ANTONYMS: (adj) unpleasant, hideous, ugly, unattractive, horrifying, horrid, unappealing, repellent, detestable, dreadful, awkward low-down: (adj) contemptible, shabby, sordid, squalid, wretched, ugly, lurid, paltry, unjust, wicked; (n) direction lower: (adj, v) debase, frown, abase, scowl; (adj, n, v) degrade, diminish, humble; (v) dip, drop, cut; (adj, n) inferior. ANTONYMS: (v) raise, improve, glorify, augment, straighten, upgrade, uplift; (adj) higher, senior, over, superior lowered: (adj) lower, reduced, cheap, bated, humbled. ANTONYM: (adj) raised lowering: (adj) heavy, dismal, gloomy, threatening, dark, glum, murky; (n) fall, drop, cut, decline luck: (n) fortune, fate, accident, destiny, hazard, lot, advantage, providence, portion, happiness; (n, v) chance. ANTONYM: (n) design lucky: (adj, n) auspicious, happy, favored; (adj) favorable, prosperous, propitious, successful, favourable, flourishing, fortuitous; (n) fortune. ANTONYMS: (adj) unlucky, hapless, unfortunate, unsuccessful, disadvantaged, inauspicious, underprivileged, unenviable, unsatisfactory lumbago: (n, v) sciatica; (v) gout, cephalalgia, earache, rheumatism, podagra, otalgia, neuralgia, odontalgia; (n) pain in your back, bad back lumber: (n) timber, wood; (adj, n) jumble, rubbish; (v) log, trail; (adv, v) plod; (adj) junk, litter, huddle, disarray lump: (n, v) heap, knot, chunk, block; (n) gob, tumor, hunk, bit, bulge; (adj, n) clod; (adj, n, v) mass. ANTONYM: (v) divide lumps: (n) repulse, deserts, due, grit, punishment lungs: (v) air pump, air blower, ventilator, punkah; (n) blowpipe, organ lustre: (n) brilliance, gloss, brilliancy, grandeur, splendour, effulgence, splendor, shininess, shine, sheen, brightness lustreless: (adj) dull, lackluster, lacklustre, dim, mat, matt, duller, flat lustrous: (adj, v) bright, splendent;
160 (adj) glossy, brilliant, lucid, shiny, shining, light, luminous, sleek, radiant. ANTONYM: (adj) unhealthy luxury: (n) comfort, luxuriousness, extravagance, opulence, wealth; (adj, n) delicacy, gratification, elegance; (adj) luxurious, deluxe, indulgence. ANTONYMS: (n) paucity, necessity, poverty, filth, discomfort, bareness, shabbiness; (adj) basic, inferior, cheap, Spartan lying: (adj) false, deceptive, mendacious, untrue, misleading, fraudulent; (n) lie, falsehood, fabrication, deceit, dishonesty. ANTONYMS: (n) honesty, truthfulness; (adj) truthful madness: (n) frenzy, insanity, lunacy, idiocy, folly, delirium, insaneness; (adj, n) furor, rage, desperation, furore. ANTONYMS: (n) sense, calmness, order magic: (n) incantation, charm, enchantment, sorcery, legerdemain, conjuring, glamour, black magic, illusion, theurgy; (adj) magical. ANTONYMS: (n) dullness, science; (adj) everyday, prosaic, normal, natural magnified: (adj) enlarged, inflated, enlarge, hyperbolic, hypertrophied, increased, overblown, overstated, puffed up, made larger mahogany: (n) brown, kalantas, hardtack, tree, wood, table, mahogany tree, cedar mahogany, mahogany wood maidenhood: (n) maidenhead, chastity, virginity, maidhood, celibacy, purity, childhood, maidenship, freshness, virginhood mail: (n, v) armor, shield; (v) send, get off, remit, habergeon; (n) hauberk, coat of mail, chain mail, mailing; (adj) postal. ANTONYM: (v) keep main: (adj) grand, great, leading, head, principal, prominent, basic, capital, central; (adj, n) essential, cardinal. ANTONYMS: (adj) minor, secondary, supplementary, auxiliary, subsidiary, peripheral, dependent, extra, side, trivial, marginal making: (n) creation, construction, production, fabrication, manufacture, cartography, devising, fashioning, manufacturing, formation; (v) to make. ANTONYMS: (n) undoing, destruction
Ethan Frome malice: (n) spite, animosity, enmity, venom, ill will, hatred, malevolence, cruelty, envy, hate, spleen. ANTONYMS: (n) goodwill, benevolence, affection, goodness manhood: (n) majority, maturity, valor, resolution, personality, humanity, integrity, bravery; (adj) manliness, ripe age, maturity full age manner: (adj, n) kind; (n) bearing, demeanor, method, form, appearance, carriage, way; (n, v) custom, style, habit mansion: (n) house, manor, residence, castle, home, manor house, hall, building, palace, villa, abode. ANTONYMS: (n) hovel, shack, hut manufacturer: (n) Wright, builder, creator, artificer, shaper, producer, distiller, armourer, brewer, artist, armorer. ANTONYM: (n) destroyer march: (n, v) hike, parade, trek, ramble, journey, tramp, course; (n) demonstration; (v) process, pace, stride marked: (adj) conspicuous, noticeable, pronounced, remarkable, distinguished, apparent, definite, notable, obvious, signal, striking. ANTONYMS: (adj) plain, imperceptible, unmarked, unclear, obscure, inconspicuous, ordinary, loose, slight marriage: (adj, n) bridal, nuptial; (n) matrimony, espousal, union, wedlock, intermarriage, alliance, coupling; (n, v) match; (v) marry. ANTONYM: (n) separation married: (adj) wedded, conjugal, matrimonial, connubial, nuptial, united, mixed, connected, marrying, attached, unite. ANTONYMS: (adj) unmarried, unattached, divorced, public marrow: (adj, n) gist, pith, quintessence; (n) substance, heart, kernel, core, content, center, backbone; (adj) quiddity marry: (n, v) wed, espouse; (v) get married, link, conjoin, wive, splice, tie, unite, couple; (n) marriage. ANTONYMS: (v) divorce, separate, split marrying: (adj) married mass: (adj, n) bulk, lump, block; (n, v) flock, crowd, cluster, pile, bunch; (n) magnitude, collection, majority. ANTONYMS: (n) lightness, few; (v) disperse massachusetts: (n) Bay State,
Massachusetts bay colony, Massachuset, mammy, mamma, ma, am, mama massed: (adj) assembled, collected, congregate, amassed, accumulated, concentrated, accrued, collective, equanimous, crowded, dense master: (n) captain, instructor, lord; (v) control, conquer, command, dominate, defeat; (adj, n) original, head, ace. ANTONYMS: (n) underling, servant, novice, amateur mastered: (adj) down pat, low, downhearted, perfecter, dispirited, depressed, declining, downcast, down in the mouth, cut down, beaten mastery: (n) dominance, dominion, command, domination, ascendancy, ascendency, control, authority, mastership, supremacy, ascendance match: (n, v) mate, meet, pair, fellow; (v) agree, harmonise, accord, correspond, harmonize; (adj, n, v) parallel; (n) peer. ANTONYMS: (v) contradict, conflict, disagree, jar, differ; (n) difference material: (n) matter, body, cloth; (adj) corporal, substantial, bodily, corporeal, concrete, physical, important, real. ANTONYMS: (adj) insubstantial, immaterial, incorporeal, insignificant, unimportant, abstract, heavenly, intangible, ethereal maternally: (adv) parentally, paternally, protectively, motherly matt: (adj, n) matte; (adj) flat, lacklustre, lustreless, matted, compressed; (n) dullness, dulness, lusterlessness, flatness, matting matter: (n) business, substance, issue, material, affair, concern, incident, article, subject; (n, v) case; (adj, n) import matter-of-fact: (adj) prosaic, practical, dry, commonplace, common, normal, ordinary, regular, pragmatic, trivial, realistic matters: (n) affairs, materials, dealings, proceedings mattie: (n) herring, Atlantic herring mattress: (n) bedding, bed, featherbed, pad, blinding, brush gully plug, feather bed, futon, paillasse, pallet, palliasse maybe: (adv) possibly, probably, perchance, haply, peradventure, in all probability, lest, doubtless, conceivably, mayhap; (n) possibility. ANTONYM: (adv) certainly maze: (n) tangle, snarl, web, jungle,
Edith Wharton muddle, confusion, complication; (v) eel; (adj) delicacy, knot, awkwardness meagre: (adj) exiguous, paltry, necessitous, miserable, marginal, meagerly, gaunt, emaciated, inadequate, deficient, beggarly. ANTONYM: (adj) ample meagrely: (adv) poorly, barrenly, leanly, sparingly, slenderly, meager, exiguously, exiguous, meagre meal: (n) repast, farina, flour, feed, banquet, dinner, luncheon, supper, refection, collation; (n, v) spread mean: (adj, n) middle, low, contemptible, average, medium, common; (v) design; (n, v) imply, denote; (adj) ignoble, hateful. ANTONYMS: (adj) generous, kind, extravagant, charitable, luxurious, rich, expansive, extreme, great; (n) maximum, minimum meaning: (n) intent, gist, implication, design, essence, consequence, significance, content, intention, connotation, aim. ANTONYM: (n) triviality means: (n) instrument, agency, income, assets, manner, funds, capital, channel, property, resource, resources. ANTONYM: (n) poverty meant: (adj) destined, implied, sincere, preordained, intentional, predestined; (v) intend, designate meanwhile: (adv) in the meantime, at the same time, for the time being, ad interim; (n) interim, while, interlude, interval, mean, at times; (prep) during measure: (n) amount, criterion, extent, measurement, estimate, degree, beat, benchmark, quantity, meter; (n, v) act. ANTONYMS: (v) guess, estimate measured: (adj) careful, moderate, calculated, temperate, reasonable, regular, rhythmic, metrical, sober, rhythmical, leisurely. ANTONYMS: (adj) rushed, unmeasured, fast, hurried, rapid, rash, thoughtless measuring: (n) measure, mensuration, scaling, surveying, hydrometry, actinometry, gravimetry, densitometry, calorimetry, bathymetry, audiometry meat: (n) food, gist, essence, core, kernel, heart, substance, marrow, crux, matter, beef mechanically: (adv) mechanistically, instinctively, routinely, involuntarily, industrially,
unconsciously, automaticly, intuitively, impulsively, technically, technologically. ANTONYMS: (adv) manually, consciously meddle: (v) intervene, interfere, intrude, monkey, interpose, fiddle, pry, dabble, interlope; (n) interference; (adj) moil. ANTONYM: (v) disregard medical: (adj) aesculapian, medicinal, medic, therapeutic, remedial; (n) checkup, health check, examination, scrutiny, healing; (adv) medically. ANTONYMS: (adj) surgical, theoretical medicine: (n) drug, medication, medicament, therapy, physic, treatment, remedy, cathartic, medical science, preparation; (v) medicate meditative: (adj, v) thoughtful, pensive; (adj) wistful, reflective, broody, museful, ruminative, musing, brooding; (v) philosophical, sedate medium: (adj, n) mediocre, mean; (adj) intermediate, fair, mid; (n) instrument, vehicle, atmosphere, gobetween, means, agency medley: (n) mixture, miscellany, jumble, melange, potpourri, hotchpotch, concoction, admixture, hash; (adj) imbroglio, chaos meet: (v) find, converge, assemble, gather, fulfill, congregate, answer, cross, confront, intersect; (adv, v) encounter. ANTONYMS: (v) diverge, disperse, separate, part, leave, differ, disband meeting: (n) confluence, convention, concourse, assembly, conference, congress, council, meet, caucus, appointment, junction. ANTONYMS: (n) parting, trough melancholy: (adj, v) dreary; (adj, n) gloom, melancholic; (adj) depressed, dejected, dismal, gloomy, doleful; (n, v) low spirits; (n) gloominess, depression. ANTONYMS: (n) happiness, cheerfulness, hopefulness, optimism; (adj) happy, bright, cheery, satisfied melt: (v) dissolve, deliquesce, vanish, coalesce, relent, meld, fade, defrost; (adj, v) run, liquefy; (n, v) thaw. ANTONYMS: (v) freeze, solidify, cool, set melted: (adj) molten, fluid, liquified, dissolved, liquefied, baked, fluent, touched, limpid, sorry, flowing melting: (n) thawing, fusion, melt, dissolution, warming, thaw,
161 liquefaction, fusion range; (adj) liquescent, pathetic; (adj, n) dissolving memories: (n) recollections, reminiscences, nostalgia, memento Mori memory: (n) memento, reminiscence, remembrance, recollection, recall, commemoration, anamnesis, storage, retrospect; (adj, n) posthumous fame; (v) mind mend: (adj, v) improve; (v) correct, cure, heal, doctor, better, amend, restore, convalesce; (n, v) fix, patch. ANTONYMS: (v) worsen, tear, smash, decline, deteriorate; (n) fracture mending: (n) fix, repair, fixing, maintenance, restoration, reparation, improvement, darning, mend, amendment, correction mental: (adj) ideal, psychic, inner, subjective, spiritual, psychical, psychological, insane, genial, cerebral, psychotic. ANTONYMS: (adj) physical, bodily, sane mention: (n, v) comment, name, remark, call, hint; (v) cite, observe, commend; (n) allusion, citation, reference. ANTONYM: (v) conceal mercy: (n) kindness, compassion, pity, favor, leniency, pardon, forgiveness, grace, charity, humanity; (n, v) quarter. ANTONYMS: (n) cruelty, harshness, unkindness, severity, mercilessness, ruthlessness, impatience, inhumanity mere: (adj, n) entire; (adj) bare, simple, pure; (n) loch, tarn, boundary, absolute; (n, v) downright; (adv) merely; (adj, v) clear merely: (adj, adv) only, barely, purely, simply, exclusively; (adv) but, absolutely, entirely, simplely, completely, unmixedly. ANTONYM: (adv) intensely merged: (adj) integrated, amalgamated, unified, incorporate, united, fused, combined, interconnected, mixed, intermingled, complex merino: (n) merino sheep, domestic sheep message: (n) communication, information, errand, letter, mission, dispatch, statement, word, lesson, significance, note metal: (n) gallium, calcium, europium, chromium, cm, cobalt, curium, dysprosium, erbium,
162 caesium, cadmium. ANTONYM: (adj) nonmetallic metallic: (adj) metal, harsh, metalline, metallics, hard, basic, actual, absolute, certain, chalybeate, clearly expressed. ANTONYM: (adj) soft mice: (n) rats, agoutis, guinea pigs, beavers, gophers, order Rodentia, marmots, hamsters, pests, Rodentia, vermin microscopic: (adj) minute, little, atomic, tiny, small, diminutive, subatomic, microscopical, teeny, corpuscular, negligible. ANTONYMS: (adj) gigantic, huge, macroscopic, immeasurable middle: (n) heart, hub, core, center; (adj, n) mean, median, mid; (adj) intermediate, halfway, mediate, central. ANTONYMS: (adj) extreme, outer, late, early; (adj, n) outside; (n) extremity, perimeter, beginning, end, circumference, surface midnight: (n) dark, noon, hour mien: (n, v) deportment, carriage, bearing, demeanor; (n) look, countenance, appearance, guise, manner, aspect, air might: (n) power, energy, ability, influence, strength, puissance, vehemence, intensity; (v) may, can, could. ANTONYMS: (n) weakness, feebleness, meekness mild: (adj, n) kindly, gracious; (adj) easy, lenient, benign, docile, humble, clement, sweet, balmy, delicate. ANTONYMS: (adj) extreme, pungent, spicy, sharp, severe, scathing, incisive, hot, powerful, great, passionate mildly: (adv) moderately, placidly, gently, tenderly, graciously, softly, lightly, kindly, calmly, sweetly, suavely. ANTONYMS: (adv) passionately, intensely, extremely, enormously, pithily, powerfully, harshly, severely, considerably mildness: (adj, n) gentleness, kindness, benignity, compassion, goodness; (n) lenity, mercy, meekness, leniency, lenience, tenderness. ANTONYMS: (n) roughness, pungency mile: (n) MI, nautical mile, land mile, knot, Swedish mile, international nautical mile, Admiralty mile, air mile, geographical mile, Roman mile; (v) furlong miles: (adj) far milk: (v) squeeze, drain, tap, bleed, anodyne, balm; (n) buttermilk, colostrum, foremilk; (adj) gluten,
Ethan Frome chalk milky: (adj) milk, cloudy, lacteal, white, muddy, pearly, milklike, opalescent, lacteous, tender, mild mill: (n) manufactory, grinder, factory, machine, plant, gristmill, foundry, engine, gin; (v) crush; (n, v) notch million: (n) meg, myriad, one thousand thousand, heap, large integer, mint millions: (n) billions, jillions, trillions, large indefinite amount, zillions, myriad, large indefinite quantity mind: (n, v) intellect, notice, regard; (v) care, look, attend, beware, keep, listen, look after; (n) disposition. ANTONYMS: (v) forget, neglect, disregard, disobey, Miss, ignore; (n) emotion, inattention; (adj) physical mine: (adj, v) excavate, sap; (n) excavation, pit, fund, land mine, vein; (v) exploit, burrow; (adj) my, delve mingled: (adj) miscellaneous, complex, indiscriminate, heterogeneous, medley, confused, eclectic, motley, different; (v) blended, blent minister: (n) envoy, priest, deputy, divine, ambassador, churchman, clergyman, cleric, curate, ecclesiastic; (v) supply minute: (n, v) note; (adj) little, delicate, microscopic, small, atomic; (n) jiffy, flash, moment, second, memorandum. ANTONYMS: (adj) huge, big, gigantic, significant, cursory, immeasurable, tremendous, important, colossal, giant, large minutes: (n) record, transactions, records, memorandum, journal, minute, report, proceeding, legal proceeding, judicial proceeding, Hansard miracle: (adj, n) wonder, prodigy; (n) phenomenon, mystery, wonderwork, surprise, sensation, event, theurgy, astonishment, amazement mirror: (v) imitate, reflect, reproduce, represent; (n, v) copy, echo; (n) looking glass, looking-glass; (adj, n) standard, pattern, model miserable: (adj, v) forlorn, wretched, unhappy; (adj) mean, low, abject, deplorable, downcast, bad, desolate; (adj, adv) meager. ANTONYMS: (adj) happy, generous, cheerful, cheery, bright, fortunate, hopeful, jubilant, luxurious, overjoyed, heavenly
miserably: (adv) pathetically, patheticly, pitiably, unhappily, sorrowfully, pessimistically, tragically; (adj, adv) piteously, grievously, woefully; (adj) miserable. ANTONYMS: (adv) happily, hopefully, brightly, affluently, enthusiastically, fortunately, profusely, contentedly misery: (adj, n) grief; (n, v) distress; (n) affliction, agony, anguish, woe, hardship, evil, ill, infelicity, suffering. ANTONYMS: (n) joy, ecstasy, cheerfulness, fun, hopefulness, peace, contentment, pleasure, wealth, sport, cheer misfortune: (n) accident, hardship, misadventure, disaster, calamity, mischance, catastrophe, mishap, bad luck, misery, affliction. ANTONYMS: (n) joy, bonus, opportunity, privilege, success, happiness misfortunes: (n) misfortune misgivings: (n) anxiety, doubt, misgiving, apprehension, fear, suspicion, doubts, concern, consternation, disbelief, foreboding. ANTONYM: (n) equanimity misleading: (adj) deceptive, false, fallacious, delusive, deceitful, dishonest, illusory, untrue, erroneous, deceiving, lying. ANTONYMS: (adj) honest, correct, real, truthful, valid, fair, balanced miss: (v) lose, fail, jump, omit, overlook, long, forget; (n) maid, girl; (adj, v) fault; (n, v) want. ANTONYMS: (v) perceive, attend, achieve, have, succeed, hit, make, see, find, take; (n) success missed: (adj) lost, irretrievable, incomprehensible, bemused, confounded, befuddled, baffled, disoriented, helpless, at sea, bewildered missing: (adj) absent, wanting, gone, deficient, away, nonexistent, misplaced, vanished; (v) lost; (n) omission; (adv) missingly. ANTONYMS: (adj) found, real mist: (n, v) cloud; (v) blur, cover, obscure, befog, drizzle, bedim; (n) haze, vapor, brume; (adj) misty mite: (n, v) bit; (n) atom, jot, hint, pinch, crumb, acarus, dole, grain, acarid, iota mock: (adj, v) counterfeit; (n, v) ridicule, jeer, gibe, laugh at, flout; (adj, n, v) burlesque, sham; (v) mimic, ape, taunt. ANTONYMS: (adj) real, natural; (v) praise,
Edith Wharton applaud, respect, approve moisture: (n) damp, dampness, wet, humid, moist, moistness, vapor, moisture content, moisten, dank, dampen molasses: (n) syrup, honey, sirup, cure, manna, melasses, molosses, theriaca, sugar moment: (n, v) consequence, weight; (adj, n) instant; (n) flash, jiffy, minute, import, second, time, bit, hour. ANTONYMS: (n) inconsequence, age, triviality momentary: (adj) brief, fugitive, transient, short, instantaneous, ephemeral, passing, momentaneous, temporary, impermanent, temporal. ANTONYMS: (adj) lasting, lengthy, long money: (n) currency, capital, kale, funds, means, lucre, assets, legal tender, pelf, cash, dough monotonous: (adj) dull, flat, boring, dreary, tedious, insipid, monotone, monotonic; (adj, v) dry, uninteresting, stupid. ANTONYMS: (adj) exciting, varied, stimulating, lively, exotic, enthralling, brilliant, flexible monstrous: (adj) huge, atrocious, heinous, monster, immense, gigantic, grievous, ugly, flagitious, dreadful; (adj, v) grotesque. ANTONYMS: (adj) tiny, minute, beautiful, good, small, lovely, attractive month: (n) calendar month, months, lunation, minute, hour, day, period, quarter, quinquennium, year, moonshine mood: (adj, n) humor, frame of mind; (n) atmosphere, climate, disposition, attitude, air, feeling, mode, temper, temperament moon: (adj) lunar; (n) month, moonshine, satellite, moonlight, luck, lunar month, GHURRY, epoch, orb of night; (v) daydream moral: (n) lesson, meaning; (adj) good, decent, right, honest, virtuous, proper, chaste, upright, righteous. ANTONYMS: (adj) bad, unwholesome, unethical, amoral, decadent, wrong, unjust, sinful, irreverent, dishonorable, degenerate moreover: (adv) again, besides, in addition, further, additionally, into the bargain, beyond, what is more; (adv, n) also; (adj, n) likewise; (adv, conj) and morning: (n) dawn, sunrise, morn, forenoon, daylight, first light, am,
dayspring, aurora, cockcrow, dawning. ANTONYMS: (n) sunset, nighttime, nightfall morrow: (n) morning, future, mean solar day, day morsel: (n, v) bite, mouthful; (n) crumb, chew, particle, fragment, taste, piece, nibble; (adj, v) gobbet, mite mortal: (adj) deadly, fatal, lethal, deathly, earthly; (n) man, individual, creature, person, human being, body. ANTONYMS: (adj, n) immortal; (adj) eternal, heavenly, mild, perfect, spiritual mother: (n) mamma, mommy, origin, mama, ma, mammy, mummy; (n, v) father; (v) engender, generate, beget motion: (n) action, movement, gesticulation, play, exercise, passage; (n, v) wave, sign, signal; (v) beckon, gesticulate. ANTONYMS: (n) inertia, motionlessness, inactivity, stillness; (v) dismiss motionless: (adj) inactive, inert, immobile, stationary, fixed, unmoving, quiescent, dead, torpid; (adj, adv) calm, at rest. ANTONYMS: (adj) mobile, active, alive, flowing mount: (n, v) rise, climb, frame; (v) board, arise, advance, jump, increase; (n) hill, mountain; (adj, v) ride. ANTONYMS: (v) drop, decrease, wane, dismount; (n) valley, hollow mountain: (n, v) mound; (n) heap, height, peak, mountain range, stack, pile, mass, Ben, volcano, bundle mounted: (adj) equestrian, mounting, mounts, set, firm, affixed, decorated. ANTONYM: (adj) unmounted mounting: (n, v) mount; (adj, n) climbing; (n) ascent, setting, climb, frame, assembly, chassis, framework, ascension; (adj, adv) rising mounts: (adj) mounted mournful: (adj) sad, miserable, melancholy, funereal, dolorous, dark, pensive, gloomy, lugubrious, lamentable; (adj, n) plaintive. ANTONYMS: (adj) joyful, happy, emotionless mouse: (v) sneak, creep, steal, snoop, seek; (n) track, hunt, field mouse, fieldmouse, trace; (adj) small fry moustache: (adj, n) hair; (n) mustache, mustachio, mastax, whiskers; (adj) whisker, mane, brush, tress, ringlet, shag mouth: (n) lip, lips, aperture, edge,
163 entrance, snout, entry; (n, v) grimace; (v) articulate, pronounce, speak move: (v) excite, go, affect, carry, touch, instigate, travel; (n, v) act, drive, transfer, maneuver. ANTONYMS: (v) stay, restore, refrain, remain, rest, withdraw, stop, repel, come, leave moved: (adj) affected, excited, touched, disordered, enthused, gone, tense, inspired, stimulated, overcome, interested. ANTONYM: (adj) uninspired movement: (n) move, action, campaign, crusade, activity, advancement, cause, passage, drive, drift, flow. ANTONYMS: (n) stillness, inertia, motionlessness, inactivity, retreat moving: (adj) affecting, exciting, emotional, impressive, mobile, pitiful, poignant, touching; (n) movement, motive, transport. ANTONYMS: (adj) motionless, depressing, stationary, unemotional, fixed, unmoving, everyday, immobile, nonmoving, ridiculous, boring muffled: (adj) hushed, muted, hollow, inarticulate, faint, soft, subdued, low, quiet; (v) allusive, covert. ANTONYMS: (adj) clear, distinct, audible, slight mumbling: (n) gumming, diction, enunciation, chewing, mussitation, mastication; (adj) inarticulate, incoherent muscles: (n) sinew, strength music: (n) melody, chorus, musical, sound, composition, monody, folk music, medicine, euphony, drumming, ballet musicians: (n) musical group mute: (adj) dumb, silent, inarticulate, dummy, tongueless; (v) muffle, dampen, deaden, hush; (adj, v) quiet, dull. ANTONYMS: (adj) talkative, speaking, spoken; (v) amplify myself: (pron) me, itself, herself, oneself, themselves, yourself; (n) I, yourselves; (adv) in person, for myself, in my opinion. ANTONYMS: (adv) universally, generally mysterious: (adj) inscrutable, incomprehensible, deep, eerie, inexplicable, obscure, abstruse, dark, cryptic, secret, arcane. ANTONYMS: (adj) known, apparent, normal, open, explicable, facile, obvious,
164 simple, legible, familiar, transparent mysteriously: (adv) enigmatically, strangely, obscurely, secretly, uncannily, mystically, darkly, puzzlingly, weirdly, abstrusely, occultly. ANTONYM: (adv) normally nailed: (adj) fixed, tight, stationary, stable, secure, decided, firm, immobile name: (v) appoint, describe, baptize, list, enumerate, identify, cite, mention; (n, v) title, entitle; (n) epithet. ANTONYMS: (n) nobody, indecency narrow: (adj, adv, v) close; (adj) limited, insular, little, illiberal; (v) limit, contract, lessen, constrict, shrink; (adj, v) confined. ANTONYMS: (adj) wide, broad, comprehensive, extensive, worldwide, substantial, deep; (v) widen, extend, broaden, increase narrowed: (adj) narrow, narrower, pointed, lessened, contracted, constricted, conical, angustate, tapering narrow-mindedness: (n) bigotry, prejudice, bias native: (adj, n) aboriginal, natural; (adj) inherent, inborn, innate, congenital, inbred, indigenous, domestic; (n) autochthon, aborigine. ANTONYMS: (n) stranger, migrant, foreigner; (adj) foreign, learned, acquired, nonnative, overseas, adopted; (adj, n) immigrant, imported natives: (n) nation, populace, community, citizens, public natural: (adj) inherent, innate, unaffected, instinctive, artless, congenital, inborn, normal, intrinsic, essential, native. ANTONYMS: (adj) affected, refined, false, cultivated, unnatural, paranormal, supernatural, abnormal, forced, exceptional, strained nature: (n) disposition, essence, quality, creation, breed, temperament, type, attribute; (adj, n) character, class, manner near: (adj, adv, v) close, at hand; (adv, prep) by, around, towards; (adj, v) familiar, adjoining, approximate; (adj, adv, prep) about; (adj, adv) almost; (adj) imminent. ANTONYMS: (adj) distant, far, further, actual, exact; (v) leave nearer: (adj) adjacent, narre, hither; (adv) more rapidly, sooner, quicker, nigher, NER, faster, earlier, Neer
Ethan Frome nearest: (adj) proximate, immediate, close, near, next, adjoining, intimate, direct, adjacent; (adj, adv) nighest; (adv) fore. ANTONYM: (adj) distant nearly: (adv) closely, intimately, nighly, virtually; (adj, adv, prep) about, just about; (adj, adv) near, all but, close, most; (adv, prep) approximately nearness: (n) closeness, contiguity, vicinity, familiarity, adjacency, proximity, propinquity, presence, immediacy, neighborhood, nearby. ANTONYMS: (n) distance, farness, remoteness necessary: (adj, n, v) requisite; (adj, v) important; (adj) inevitable, compulsory, mandatory, fundamental, main, indispensable; (n) necessity, demand; (adj, n) basic. ANTONYMS: (adj) optional, surplus, needless, unjustified, dispensable, possible, unimportant, voluntary, nonessential, inappropriate; (n) inessential neck: (n) cervix, nape, neckband, neckline, isthmus; (v) make out, pet, love, cut; (adj) stricture, middle constriction need: (adj, n, v) lack, want; (n, v) demand, desire, deficiency, must, destitution; (n) necessity, requirement; (v) require, claim. ANTONYMS: (v) obviate, dislike, have; (n) option, luxury, glut, unimportance, affluence, prosperity needed: (adj) essential, required, requisite, needful, indispensable, wanted, needing, needs, wanting, desired, want. ANTONYM: (adj) optional needle: (v) irritate, goad, sting, rile, gall, aggravate, nag; (n) injection, pointer, awl, plunger needles: (adj) gratuitous, wanton, unwarranted, unprovoked, senseless; (n) nervousness, anxiety needlework: (n) stitchery, sewing, needlecraft, stitching, knitwork, crochet, crocheting, knit, knitting, fancywork, creation needs: (adv) inevitably, needfully, indispensably, by necessity, inescapably, of necessity, ineluctably; (n) must, requirement, necessity; (adj) needed negative: (v) gainsay, disavow, negate, kill, deny; (adj) minus, denying, adverse; (n, v) veto; (n) negation, denial. ANTONYMS: (adj) positive, optimistic, assenting, constructive, useful, neutral,
hopeful, helpful, harmless, flattering; (n) plus neglecting: (n) neglect, disregard neighbour: (adj) neighboring, neighbouring, neighborly, adjacent, contiguous; (v) abut, populate, adjoin, butt on, butt against; (n) neighbourhood neighbourhood: (n) neighborhood, adjacency, locality, near, nearness, proximity, place, community, street, vicinity, nearby neighbours: (n) neighborhood neither: (conj) either, no-one, not either, nor, nother nerve: (n) cheek, audacity, boldness, brass, impudence, heart, mettle, daring, courage, face, fortitude. ANTONYMS: (n) cowardice, timidity, reticence, respect nervous: (adj) anxious, excitable, afraid, uneasy, shy, fearful, apprehensive, firm; (adj, v) tense; (adj, adv) cowardly, excited. ANTONYMS: (adj) brave, relaxed, bold, composed, confident, fearless, untroubled, unflappable, still, unconcerned, carefree nest: (n) den, lair, hole, burrow, home, beehive; (adj) brood, hive, litter; (adj, n) herd; (v) embed netted: (adj) reticulated, reticular, lacy, reticulate, netty, meshy, weblike, webbed, webby, lacelike never: (adv) ne'er, Nevers, always, not ever, by no means, at all times, not at all, not, NE. ANTONYMS: (adv) always, forever nevertheless: (adv, conj, prep) however, although; (adv, conj) but, yet, even; (adv) all the same, even so, though, anyway, anyhow; (adj, adv) still news: (n) advice, message, information, intelligence, tidings, story, report, notice, communication, gossip; (adj) new newspapers: (n) press, papers, the media, journalists, reporters next: (adj) nearest, adjacent, contiguous, following, future, coming, ensuing, after; (adv, conj) then, afterward; (adj, v) subsequent. ANTONYMS: (adj, adv) previous, previously, preceding; (adj) outgoing, distant; (adv) before nice: (adj) fastidious, dainty, fine, good, lovely, kind, likable, delicious, difficult, precise; (adj, n) neat. ANTONYMS: (adj) horrible, nasty, unlikable, rough, mean, loathsome, approximate, unsavory, unfriendly,
Edith Wharton inelegant, bad niche: (n) alcove, hole, bay, recess, nook, compartment, recession, opening, place, ecological niche, fireplace nigh: (adj, adv, prep) near; (adj, adv) close, nearly, almost, nearby, most, all but, about, adjacent; (prep) by; (adj) approximate night: (n) dark, dusk, darkness, gloaming, twilight, nighttime, Nox, eventide, period; (adj) nocturnal, gloomy. ANTONYMS: (n) day, light, sunrise nightfall: (n) dusk, evening, twilight, sunset, gloaming, evenfall, dark, eventide, sundown, darkness, fall. ANTONYMS: (n) daybreak, sunrise nightly: (adv) every night, by night; (n) night; (adj) nocturnal. ANTONYM: (adj) daily nights: (adj) nightly; (n) night nimbly: (adv) adroitly, alertly, lightly, energetically, cleverly, hastily, deftly, rapidly, readily; (adj) dexterously; (adj, adv) neatly. ANTONYMS: (adv) lethargically, heavily, awkwardly nobody: (n) cipher, naught, zero, nil, nothing, nonentity, cypher, zip, whippersnapper, none; (n, pron) no one. ANTONYMS: (n) celebrity, notable, somebody; (pron) everyone, anyone, everybody noon: (n) high noon, noonday, noontide, afternoon, hour, dinnertime, crest, twelve noon; (adj) meridian, meridional; (adj, n) culmination northerly: (adj, adv, n) north; (adj, n) northern; (adv) northwards, northward, in the north, septentrionally, to the north, northernly; (adj) boreal norway: (n) Kingdom of Norway, Norge nose: (n) hooter, neb, nozzle, proboscis, honker, bow, odour; (v) wind, pry, scent; (n, v) sniff notable: (adj) conspicuous, celebrated, illustrious, eminent, memorable, extraordinary, renowned, famous, remarkable; (n) luminary, celebrity. ANTONYMS: (adj) ordinary, unknown, obscure, unimpressive, undistinguished; (n) nobody, nonentity note: (n, v) comment, mind, remark, mention, heed, mark, look, report; (n) indication, annotation; (v) detect. ANTONYMS: (v) disregard; (n) disgrace, invoice
notes: (n) data, commentary, currency, paper, comments, remarks, annotation, information, ready money, observations, newspaper nothing: (adv, n) naught; (adj, n) nil, null; (n) nobody, cipher, nihil, nonentity, trifle, nix, aught, cypher. ANTONYMS: (pron) anything, everything, some; (n) all notice: (n, v) note, mind, regard; (n) advertisement, information, declaration, attention; (adj, v) look, attend; (v) find, detect. ANTONYMS: (v) ignore, overlook, Miss; (n) ignorance, inattention, appointment, unconsciousness noticed: (adj) noted notion: (n) belief, idea, impression, fancy, image, imagination, opinion, conception, concept; (adj, n, v) judgment; (n, v) caprice. ANTONYMS: (n) trust, certainty, fact, reality nourishment: (n) food, alimentation, meal, meat, diet, feeding, nutrition, repast, sustenance, edible, fuel nowadays: (adv) currently, presently, at present, at the moment, immediately; (adv, n) today; (adj, n) present; (n) moment, modern times, these days, nonce. ANTONYMS: (adv) formerly, then nowhere: (n) obscurity, limbo; (adv) not anywhere, nowhither, without, not anywhither; (adj) tiresome, vapid, uninteresting, tasteless, prosaic nucleus: (n) core, kernel, center, essence, nub, root, basis, focus, stone, embryo, germ. ANTONYM: (n) periphery number: (n, v) amount, figure; (v) calculate, total, aggregate, enumerate, come; (n) score, act, volume, issue nurse: (n, v) nourish, nurture; (v) look after, entertain, attend, cherish, lactate, harbor, foster, cultivate, cradle nursing: (n) attention, tending, care, breast feeding, treatment, nurture, suckling, nurse, feeding, treat, rearing oath: (n) expletive, malediction, imprecation, promise, affidavit, cuss, swearing, pledge, assurance, asseveration; (v) swear oats: (n) Avena, grain, millet, cereal, cereal grass, common oats, genus Avena, Haver, holder, maize, buckwheat
165 obediently: (adv) dutifully, yieldingly, compliantly, meekly, acquiescently, respectfully, tamely, subserviently, passively, loyally, devotedly. ANTONYMS: (adv) defiantly, assertively, wildly obeying: (adv) under object: (n) cause, intent, meaning, mark, subject, objective, substance; (n, v) aim, end, intention; (v) except. ANTONYMS: (v) agree, approve, praise; (n) notion objection: (n) dissent, complaint, grievance, exception, gripe, disagreement, outcry, difficulty, expostulation, disapproval, criticism. ANTONYMS: (n) approval, agreement, praise, acceptance obliged: (adj) grateful, thankful, appreciative, forced, accountable, compelled; (adj, v) bound, under obligation; (adj, prep) indebted; (v) oblige, binding. ANTONYM: (adj) ungrateful oblique: (adj) circuitous, devious, lateral, side, roundabout, slanting, evasive, collateral, sloping, inclined, tortuous. ANTONYMS: (adj) direct, level, perpendicular, parallel, overt, explicit, straight, clear, upright; (n) nominative obliterated: (adj) obliterate, destroyed, lost, forgotten, invisible; (v) erased, effaced obscure: (adj, n) cloudy, dark; (adj) gloomy, mysterious, incomprehensible, hidden, ambiguous, concealed; (adj, v) darken, muddy; (v) hide. ANTONYMS: (adj) clear, noticeable, simple, obvious, distinct, mainstream, famous, definite, overt, plain; (v) reveal obscurity: (n) gloom, darkness, shade, dimness, obscureness, night, oblivion, haze, ambiguity, shadow, cloudiness. ANTONYMS: (n) clarity, fame, light, simplicity, prominence, celebrity, brightness observation: (adj, n) observance; (n) remark, comment, attention, contemplation, perception, conception; (n, v) inspection, notice, note, consideration. ANTONYMS: (n) disregard, omission, neglect observer: (n) bystander, spectator, witness, viewer, watcher, eyewitness, onlooker, commentator, student, spotter, finder. ANTONYM: (n) participant observing: (adj) observant, mindful,
166 watchful, commemorative, conscious, observative, perceptive, thoughtful; (n) investigation obstinate: (adj) obdurate, inflexible, intractable, determined, inveterate, disobedient, willful, stubborn, contrary, wayward, dogged. ANTONYMS: (adj) flexible, amenable, irresolute, cooperative, easygoing, docile, biddable, agreeable, accommodating, malleable, gentle obstinately: (adv) obdurately, mulishly, persistently, perversely, doggedly, refractorily, unyieldingly, willfully, pigheadedly, waywardly, firmly. ANTONYM: (adv) helpfully obstruction: (n, v) hindrance, impediment, interruption, check, difficulty; (n) bar, hitch, blockage, blockade, block, hurdle. ANTONYMS: (n) success, boost, help obtain: (v) acquire, have, get, earn, achieve, attain, accomplish, derive, effect, make, collect. ANTONYMS: (v) lose, relinquish, sell, dispatch, give obtained: (adj) fulfilled, derivative occasion: (n, v) cause; (n) case, event, juncture, episode, incident; (v) bring about, create, beget, make, induce occasional: (adj) accidental, irregular, incidental, infrequent, episodic, intermittent, fortuitous, adventitious, contingent, rare, odd. ANTONYMS: (adj) frequent, recurrent, addicted, regular, common, continuous occasionally: (adv) now and then, from time to time, accidentally, every so often, now and again, sometimes, irregularly, uncommonly, casually, every now and then, fortuitously. ANTONYMS: (adv) regularly, usually, often, recurrently, constantly odour: (n) flavour, smell, odor, aroma, scent, bouquet, savour, nose, flavor, smack, redolence offence: (n) insult, injury, guilt, error, delinquency, fault, misdeed, infraction, infringement, attack, offense offer: (v) give, bestow, put, tender, extend, impart, introduce, advance, propose; (n) proposal, proposition. ANTONYMS: (v) refuse, withhold, take offering: (n, v) gift, grant; (n) oblation, contribution, donation,
Ethan Frome presentation, offer, present, endowment, gratuity, bestowal office: (n) function, position, agency, commission, appointment, division, place, bureau, post, job; (n, v) duty often: (adj, adv) oft; (adv) much, again and again, repeatedly, ofttimes, oftentimes, many times, always, commonly, again; (adj) frequent. ANTONYMS: (adv) seldom, infrequently, never older: (adj) old, aged, elderly, ancient, adult, earlier, big, preceding, former, oldest; (adj, n) senior. ANTONYMS: (adj) younger, immature, youthful, present, young oldest: (n) elder, doyen; (adj) older old-fashioned: (adj) obsolete, antiquated, archaic, outmoded, outdated, ancient, old, musty, corny, behind the times, superannuated ominous: (adj) baleful, inauspicious, ill, menacing, threatening, black, sinister, minatory, unlucky, forbidding, minacious. ANTONYMS: (adj) promising, auspicious, reassuring, bright, lucky, wonderful once: (adv, n) formerly; (adv) before, ever, previously, one time, at one time, already, erst; (adj, adv) erstwhile; (adj) former; (n) whilom. ANTONYM: (adv) future one-sided: (adj) unfair, unilateral, unjust, unequal, uneven, prejudiced, colored, doctrinaire, dogmatic, intolerant, jaundiced onto: (prep) upon; (v) follow; (adj) surjective opaque: (adj) dense, muddy, obscure, cloudy, hazy, murky, thick, unintelligible, milky, misty, vague. ANTONYM: (adj) transparent open: (adj, n) frank, candid; (adj, n, v) clear; (adj) obvious, exposed, artless, free, honest, guileless, forthright, naked. ANTONYMS: (adj, v) shut; (v) close, end; (adj) devious, secretive, concealed, furtive, restricted, limited, reserved, secret opened: (adj) candid, exposed, overt, agaze, blatant, blazing, clear, through, conspicuous; (v) distended, blown opening: (n) gap, break, aperture, beginning, door, commencement, entrance, hole, occasion, cleft; (adj, n) preliminary. ANTONYMS: (adj) final, last; (adj, n) closing; (n) exit, finale, finish, ending, shutting, postscript, conclusion openly: (adv) frankly, publicly,
clearly, candidly, directly, straightforwardly, evidently, publically, plainly, outspokenly; (adj, adv) manifestly. ANTONYMS: (adv) furtively, secretively, clandestinely, mysteriously, ambiguously, reticently, covertly, discreetly, affectedly, craftily, deceitfully operation: (n, v) movement; (n) agency, effect, act, management, business, functioning, performance, running, action, function operations: (n) transaction, activity, activities, trading operations, duties, dealing, dealings; (v) campaign, crusade, expedition, battle array opinion: (adj, n, v) judgment, feeling, notion; (n) idea, belief, conjecture, advice, guess, impression, view; (n, v) meaning opportunity: (n) chance, opening, luck, occasion, crack, room, event, time, circumstance, shot, alternative. ANTONYMS: (n) past, disaster opposite: (adj, n) contrary, contradictory, opponent; (adj) adverse, different, opposing, hostile, diametric, opposed; (adj, pron) other; (adj, adv) counter. ANTONYMS: (adj) allied, alternate, identical, like, same, parallel; (n) sameness, alikeness, confirmation oppression: (n, v) hardship, grievance; (n) injustice, despotism, weight, stress, doldrums; (adj, n) abuse, tyranny, dictatorship, autocracy. ANTONYMS: (n) democracy, ease, freedom, liberty oppressive: (adj, v) onerous, close, burdensome; (adj) sultry, stuffy, tyrannical, muggy, despotic, dictatorial, gloomy, domineering. ANTONYMS: (adj) liberal, democratic, humane, free, tolerant, airy, freezing, libertarian opulence: (n) fortune, wealth, luxury, exuberance, comfort, luxuriousness, prosperity, wealthiness, plenty; (adj, n) riches, affluence. ANTONYMS: (n) poverty, paucity, shabbiness, austerity oracle: (n) prophet, divination, vaticinator, diviner, revelation, seer, sibyl, Solomon, soothsayer, vision, authority orchard: (n) park, garden, plantation, arboretum, avenue, pinetum, shrubbery, woodlet, parterre, pinery, copse order: (n, v) command, direct, decree, dictate, sort, rank, array,
Edith Wharton commission, charge; (n) instruction, edict. ANTONYMS: (n, v) request; (n) mayhem, confusion, chaos, mess, anarchy, disorderliness, disarray; (v) disturb, deregulate, supply ordered: (adj) regular, arranged, methodical, trim, orderly, lawful, logical, consistent, coherent, commanded, organized. ANTONYMS: (adj) disordered, disarranged, inconsistent orders: (n) holy orders, information, preparation, remit, briefing, guidelines ordinary: (adj, n, v) customary, usual; (adj) middling, mediocre, average, normal, everyday; (adj, n) familiar, accustomed, habitual; (adj, v) general. ANTONYMS: (adj) unusual, strange, peculiar, outstanding, incredible, special, famous, distinguished, abnormal, particular, exotic organ: (n) instrument, member, limb, apparatus, harmonium, agency, part, mechanism, medium, means, journal ornaments: (n) stuff, trim, ornamentation, equipments, dress, disposition, custom, curios, condition, clothing, gaudery others: (n) rest, cessation, lie, lave, LAN, ease, acquiesce, intermission otherwise: (adv) besides, differently, or else, yet, alias, nevertheless, on the other hand, in addition; (adj, adv) other; (n) or; (adj) different ought: (n, v) need; (v) had better, should, have, possessed, owned, owed, behoove; (n) aught, zero, duty outburst: (n) explosion, spurt, eruption, fit, burst, flash, effusion, gush, ebullition, blast, rage outdoors: (adv) out of doors, alfresco, out, without; (n) open air, open, nature, clear, country; (adj) outdoor. ANTONYM: (adv) inside outer: (adj) exterior, outward, outside, extrinsic, outdoor, outlying, peripheral, surface, utter, extraneous, outmost. ANTONYMS: (adj) internal, inner, interior, inward, inside outline: (adj, n, v) draft; (n, v) line, form, design, edge, abstract; (n) synopsis, contour, digest, figure; (v) draw. ANTONYMS: (n) exposition, light outlined: (adj) clean-cut, clearly defined, formed, distinct, graphic out-of-doors: (n) outdoors, outside;
(adj) airy; (adv) without outside: (adv) outdoors, alfresco, out of doors; (n, prep) exterior; (adj, prep) external; (adj) outdoor, foreign, outer, extraneous, remote, outward. ANTONYMS: (adj, adv, n, prep) inside; (adj) indoor, internal, likely, strong; (prep) in, within; (adv) indoors; (adj, n) interior overcome: (v) crush, subdue, beat, vanquish, overpower, master, defeat, hurdle, get over, overwhelm; (adj) beaten. ANTONYMS: (v) fail, lose, comfort, protect, resist, surrender, capitulate; (adj) unimpressed overhanging: (adj, v) projecting; (v) beetling; (adj) covering, imminent, impending, pendent, obumbrant, hanging over, overspreading, depending, hanging overhead: (adv) aloft, on high, over, up, high up; (n) expense, ceiling, budget items, command processing overhead, operating cost; (adj) upper. ANTONYM: (adj) surface overnight: (n, v) travel; (adj) nocturnal, temporary, meteoric; (n) voyage, trip, tour. ANTONYM: (adv) gradually overtake: (v) catch, attain, catch up with, exceed, overpower, overcome, go by, gain, devastate, outstrip, beat overtook: (v) overtake owed: (adj) due, outstanding, unpaid, payable, deserved, fitting; (v) ought, behoove, owned, possessed; (n) aught. ANTONYM: (adj) paid owner: (n) proprietor, possessor, holder, lord, landowner, landholder, boss, proprietary, landlord, keeper, employer. ANTONYMS: (n) tenant, seller ownership: (n) control, proprietorship, dominion, keeping, occupancy, community, lordship, title, tenure; (adj) claim, right. ANTONYM: (n) title pace: (n, v) walk, gait, rate, march, stride, footstep; (n) speed, tempo, rapidity, tread, celerity packed: (adj) full, compact, filled, jammed, overcrowded, crammed, dense, thick, congested, teeming, cramped. ANTONYMS: (adj) deserted, loose, open page: (n) footboy, waiter, attendant, boy, note, bellhop, pageboy, folio, varlet; (v) paginate, summon pain: (n, v) hurt, afflict, ache, bother, torment, trouble, grieve, anguish; (n) ill, agony, nuisance. ANTONYMS:
167 (v) encourage, cheer; (n) joy, peace, content, balm, ecstasy painful: (adj) hard, difficult, sharp, harrowing, grievous, afflictive, bad, irritating; (adj, v) distressing, harsh, bitter. ANTONYMS: (adj) content, heartwarming, soothing, comfortable, bearable, agreeable, effortless, dull, slight, wonderful, happy pains: (n) nisus, labor, trouble, effort, exertion, labour, pain, care, struggle, attempt, strain paint: (n, v) color, tint; (v) daub, coat, decorate, varnish, depict, enamel, lacquer, apply; (n) painting pair: (n, v) match; (adj, n) brace; (n) duet, duo, dyad; (v) join, mate, link, copulate, equate, marry pale: (adj) faint, wan, dull, weak, light, bloodless, pallid; (adj, v) dim; (n) boundary, confine; (v) blanch. ANTONYMS: (adj) strong, rosy, brown, well, glowing, vivid, healthy, clear, colorful; (v) redden, darken paleness: (adj, n) pallor; (n) pallidness, wanness, whiteness, achromasia, blondness, lividity, luridness, lividness, fairness, pale. ANTONYM: (n) strength palm: (n) medal, decoration, prize, palm tree, victory, thenar, laurel wreath; (v) filch, cabbage, rob; (adj) totipalmate pane: (n) window pane, paneling, pane of glass, panelling, windowpane, window-pane, board, square, sheet of glass, leaf, box panel: (n) pane, jury, control panel, slab, control board, dashboard, caisson, defendant, coffer, wall; (n, v) empanel pang: (n) pain, torture, ache, agony, twinge, affliction, sting, stab, distress, ailment, cramp panorama: (n) view, aspect, prospect, landscape, scene, vista, countryside, background, exposure, perspective, sight panting: (adj) gasping, breathless, blown, winded, puffed; (v) palpitation; (n) heaving, gasp, asthma, heave, puff pantomime: (n, v) gesture; (n) dumb show, mummery, acting, playacting, performing, playing, pantomimist; (v) mimic, roleplay, playact paper: (n) article, newspaper, discourse, newsprint, publication, journal, essay, periodical, report, magazine, certificate
168 papers: (n) paper, documents, document, credentials, identification, newspaper, credential, inclosure, copyright, confession, charter parallel: (v) compare; (n, v) match, duplicate; (adj, n) equivalent; (adj) even, like, comparable, alike; (n) analogy, likeness; (adj, adv) level. ANTONYMS: (adj, n) skew; (adj) dissimilar, conflicting, different, independent, separate, oblique, uneven; (n) dissimilarity, contrast, difference paralysed: (adj) palsied, paralyzed parlour: (n) living room, parlor, sitting room, front room, livingroom, room to meet guests, parlours, parlors, salon, reception room, room part: (adj, n) constituent; (n) piece, article, section; (v) break, disjoin, divide, divorce; (n, v) branch, division, character. ANTONYMS: (n) whole, entirety; (v) join, unite, meet, arrive, connect; (adv) wholly parted: (adj) divided, separate, distributed, separated, divisible, disunited, compounder, compound, dividable particular: (n) detail, item; (adj) fastidious, fussy, finicky, exact, individual, careful, definite, delicate, detailed. ANTONYMS: (adj) careless, easy, vague, ordinary, collective, generalized, slapdash, universal, strong, normal, indeterminate parting: (n) adieu, division, leave, departure, disunion, goodbye, leaving, segregation, dying, rupture; (adj) valedictory. ANTONYMS: (n) joining, meeting, connection, Reunion partly: (adj) half, semi, quasi; (adv) part, constituently, in part, sidely, moderately, halfway, incompletely, relatively. ANTONYMS: (adv) completely, wholly, entirely; (adj) fully partner: (n) copartner, pal, collaborator, colleague; (adj, n) associate, fellow, accomplice, companion, comrade, mate, ally. ANTONYMS: (n) superior, enemy pass: (adj, n, v) run; (v) flow, give, deliver, lead, happen, overtake, proceed; (adj, v) move; (n, v) offer, live. ANTONYMS: (v) reject, make, take, veto; (n) failing, rejection, exclusion passage: (n, v) course, journey; (n)
Ethan Frome gangway, corridor, hall, channel, entry, way, entrance, lobby, duct. ANTONYMS: (n) rejection, room passed: (adj) accepted, approved, legal, gone passing: (adj) transient, ephemeral, momentary, cursory, brief; (n) overtaking, departure, expiration, decease, passage, death. ANTONYMS: (adj) lasting, thorough, intended, lengthy, long; (n) birth, failing passion: (n) affection, fire, fervor, love, feeling, anger, enthusiasm, heat, craving, desire; (n, v) ardor. ANTONYMS: (n) apathy, hate, serenity, meekness, hatred, doubt, dislike, calmness, moderation passively: (adv) inactively, inertly, quiescently, unresistingly, patiently, acquiescently, compliantly, meekly, tamely, dormantly, dutifully. ANTONYMS: (adv) vigorously, actively, assertively, defiantly past: (n) history, yesterday; (adj, adv, prep) beyond; (adj) former, bygone, old, prior, over, gone by; (adv) before; (adv, pref) along. ANTONYMS: (adj, n) future, present; (prep) within; (adj) current, contemporary, modern, upcoming, following, subsequent, later; (n) prospect paste: (n, v) glue, gum, plaster; (n) dough, adhesive, cream, batter; (v) bond, affix, to stick, attach patent: (adj) overt, evident, apparent, manifest, plain, clear, conspicuous, open, palpable, explicit; (n) letters patent. ANTONYMS: (adj) inconspicuous, obscure, subtle, unobtrusive, veiled, ambiguous, furtive, questionable path: (n, v) course, passage, line; (n) way, direction, highway, orbit, track, lane, means, walk. ANTONYM: (n) room pathological: (adj) morbid, diseased, sick, neurotic, ghoulish pauper: (n) poor man, mumper, bum, poor person, starveling; (adj) poor, indigent, penniless; (v) bust, fold pause: (n, v) halt, interruption, adjournment, delay, respite, stop; (adj, n, v) rest; (n) intermission, gap; (adj, v) discontinue; (v) hesitate. ANTONYMS: (n) decisiveness, continuation, start; (v) proceed pavement: (n) walk, paving, path, pathway, road surface, pave, sidewalk, floor, curbside, trottoir, earth
paying: (adj, v) profitable; (adj) paid, lucrative, salaried, stipendiary, good, beneficial; (v) advantageous, remunerative; (n) payment, defrayment payment: (n) compensation, charge, cost, defrayal, bonus, recompense, remuneration, expense, installment, deposit, outlay. ANTONYMS: (n) default, penalty, addition peace: (adj, n) calm, quiet; (n) harmony, hush, repose, ease, amity, agreement, rest, pacification, order. ANTONYMS: (n) noise, chaos, conflict, uproar, commotion, agitation, war, distress, suffering, disruption, turbulence peaceful: (adj) peaceable, quiet, gentle, even, silent, meek, peace, staid, placid, tranquil, imperturbable. ANTONYMS: (adj) aggressive, tense, noisy, turbulent, disturbed, hostile, disruptive, bothered, warlike, unpeaceful, compulsory peak: (adj, n) top, maximum; (n) apex, acme, crown, pinnacle, tip, height, summit, mountain, extreme. ANTONYMS: (n) trough, base, bottom, minimum; (n, v) dip pebbly: (adj) shingly, rocky, rough, grating, flinty, beachy, stony, gravel peculiarly: (adj, adv) particularly, curiously, unusually, uncommonly, singularly; (adv) especially, oddly, strangely, specifically, weirdly, specially. ANTONYMS: (adv) typically, ordinarily, slightly peering: (adj) nosy, prying, snoopy penetrate: (v) bore, imbue, fathom, infiltrate, pierce, permeate, cut, filter, interpenetrate, get through, enter penetrating: (adj) astute, sharp, cutting, discerning, incisive, piercing, perceptive, discriminating, trenchant; (adj, v) biting, acute. ANTONYMS: (adj) mild, soft, mellow, low, gentle, dull, dense perceptible: (adj) conspicuous, appreciable, evident, discernible, obvious, visible, palpable, apparent, detectable, manifest, observable. ANTONYMS: (adj) intangible, unclear, inaudible, inconspicuous, obscure, undetectable, invisible perception: (n) conception, notion, idea, impression, feeling, discernment, insight, comprehension, taste, sensation, penetration. ANTONYMS: (n) unconsciousness, foolishness,
Edith Wharton dullness, clumsiness perfectly: (adj, adv) entirely; (adv) fully, thoroughly, consummately, utterly, flawlessly, absolutely, purely, totally, faultlessly, wholly. ANTONYMS: (adv) badly, imperfectly, incorrectly, wrong, inaccurately, partially, partly, poorly, unpleasantly, wrongly performed: (adj, v) done, finished; (adj) fulfilled perfunctory: (adj) cursory, casual, automatic, passing, superficial, offhand, mechanical, indifferent, hurried, sketchy, formal. ANTONYMS: (adj) careful, thoughtful perhaps: (adv) mayhap, perchance, peradventure, possibly, probably, conceivably, by chance, haply, if, presumably; (n) might. ANTONYM: (adv) certainly peril: (n, v) hazard, risk, endanger, menace, adventure; (n) danger, jeopardy, chance; (v) imperil, expose, compromise. ANTONYM: (n) security period: (n) dot, epoch, era, point, duration, generation, day, conclusion, cycle, length, stage peristyle: (n) arcade, colonnade, crescent, mall, column, cloister, piazza, polygon, square permanent: (adj, v) lasting, fixed, fast, constant, continuous; (adj) everlasting, eternal, perennial, invariable, enduring, immutable. ANTONYMS: (adj) fleeting, temporary, transitory, provisional, impermanent, brief, superficial, fragile, freelance, ephemeral, mobile permitted: (adj) allowed, permissible, allowable, admissible, lawful, free, approved, legitimate, legal, legalized, venial. ANTONYMS: (adj) unlawful, constrained perpendicular: (adj) upright, vertical, steep, plumb, straight, right, sheer, orthogonal, normal, precipitous, true. ANTONYMS: (adj) horizontal, parallel, inclined, oblique, prone, gentle perpetually: (adv) eternally, everlastingly, always, incessantly, continually, endlessly, permanently, unceasingly, ceaselessly, ever; (adj, adv) forever. ANTONYMS: (adv) erratically, sporadically person: (n) individual, human, man, mortal, character, soul, human being, being, creature, body; (n, v) party
personal: (adj) own, particular, human, intimate, peculiar, private, direct, proper, subjective, physical; (n) person. ANTONYMS: (adj) public, general, detached, collective, common, orthodox, formal, impersonal, outermost, external, typical persons: (n) folk, public, society, world persuaded: (adj) sure, satisfied, easily affected, impressible, positive, delicate, sensible, intelligent, certain, in no doubt, definite. ANTONYMS: (adj) unsure, uncertain persuasion: (n) belief, opinion, faith, inducement, creed, idea, exhortation, enticement, view, sentiment; (adj, n) conviction. ANTONYMS: (n) force, punishment, dissuasion persuasively: (adv) compellingly, potently, strongly, forcefully, powerfully, eloquently, effectively, soundly, cogently, movingly, slickly. ANTONYMS: (adv) ineffectively, hesitantly, weakly phase: (n) stage, facet, chapter, grade, circumstance, condition, degree, form, period, level, leg photograph: (n, v) film; (n) picture, image, photo, likeness, print, portrait, copy, pic; (v) snap, shoot phrase: (v) formulate, couch, put, articulate; (n) expression, idiom, diction, speech, passage, locution; (n, v) word physical: (adj) bodily, actual, tangible, corporeal, carnal, concrete, real, corporal, animal, palpable; (adv) fleshly. ANTONYMS: (adj) spiritual, mental, intangible, cerebral, intellectual, mystical, gentle, unfit, insubstantial, refined, ethereal physics: (n) astronomy, natural philosophy, natural science, crystallography, astronautics, electronics, physical science, acoustics, physical, astronautical, astronautic piano: (adj) soft, gentle, indulgent, lax; (n) grand piano, pianissimo, softness, upright piano, mechanical piano; (adv) quietly, gently pick: (n) alternative, best, option, selection, choice; (adj, n) cream, elite; (adj, v) select; (v) opt, harvest, gather. ANTONYMS: (v) reject, refuse picked: (adj) select, chosen, best, recherche, rare, priceless, preferred,
169 pointed, elected, named; (v) choose picking: (n) option, selection, alternative, gathering, collection, choice, harvesting, leavings, collecting, indefinite quantity; (v) choose pickle: (n) mess, jam, hole, brine, lot, quandary; (v) cure, preserve, souse; (adj, v) salt; (n, v) pot picnic: (n) junket, outing, pushover, snap, cinch, duck soup, jaunt, expedition, feast, piece of cake, coportion picture: (v) describe, draw, imagine, depict; (n, v) photograph, paint, fancy; (n) effigy, drawing, likeness, depiction pictured: (adj) envisioned, portrayed, graphic, delineate, delineated, impictured, unreal, visualised, visualized, impressed piece: (n) fragment, division, part, article, lump, hunk, composition, component, opus; (n, v) patch, portion. ANTONYMS: (n) whole, chunk; (v) disassemble pieces: (n) debris, trash pierce: (n, v) cut, prick, stick; (v) perforate, bore, enter, thrust, puncture, penetrate; (adj, v) stab, wound. ANTONYM: (v) seal pike: (adj, n) crest; (n) halberd, point, turnpike, autobahn, motorway, mountain, muskellunge; (adj) bluff, cliff, cone peak pillow: (v) rest, breathe, lie, not move; (adj) wadding; (n) throw pillow, Wanger, bed pillow, feather bed, long pillow, padding pinched: (adj) haggard, drawn, emaciated, cadaverous, narrow, penurious, thin, penniless, adenoidal; (adj, n) necessitous; (n) distressed. ANTONYM: (adj) relaxed pine: (v) languish, long, ache, droop, flag, crave, fade; (n) fir; (n, v) yearn, sink; (adj) peak pink: (n) rose, crimson, gillyflower, paragon; (v) knock, gore, impale, stab, spike, spear; (adj) flower pipe: (n) conduit, duct, flue, passage, pipage; (n, v) channel, cry; (v) squeak, sing, peep, screech pitch: (n, v) fling, cast, degree, dip, tilt, lurch, toss, throw, slant; (v) chuck, hurl pitched: (adj) oblique, thrown, slanting, at an angle, leaning; (v) fixed, pight, determined. ANTONYM: (adj) level pity: (n, v) compassion, ruth; (n)
170 mercy, commiseration, condolence, sympathy, clemency, remorse; (v) sympathize, compassionate, feel sorry for. ANTONYMS: (n) blame, cruelty, indifference, harshness, joy place: (n, v) post, order; (v) fix, lay, arrange, locate, install; (adj, n, v) rank, station; (n) domicile, office. ANTONYMS: (v) remove, divest, lift, dismantle placed: (adj) situated, laid, set, positioned, arranged, fixed, sited, collocate, determined, dictated, hardened placidly: (adv) coolly, calmly, tranquilly, peacefully, stilly, quietly, composedly, silently, meekly, impassively, collectedly. ANTONYMS: (adv) agitatedly, boisterously plain: (adj) ordinary, comprehensible, intelligible, apparent, manifest, obvious, clear, simple; (adj, n) flat, homely, humble. ANTONYMS: (adj) elaborate, unclear, multicolored, mottled, ornate, concealed, attractive, confused, fussy, obscure, patterned plaintive: (adj) pathetic, piteous, lugubrious, doleful, sad, wistful, sorrowful, woeful, elegiac, dolorous, lamentable plaintively: (adv) piteously, sorrowfully, mournfully, pitifully, ruefully, grievously, lugubriously, pathetically, woefully, lamentingly, wistfully plan: (n, v) aim, map, figure, scheme, outline, plot; (n) intent, pattern, chart; (v) intend, devise. ANTONYM: (v) improvise planning: (n) calculation, designing, programming, organization, deliberation, applecart, plan, projection, readying, town planning, arrangement planted: (adj) ingrained, established, set, concealed plaster: (n) mortar, paste, gum, glue, bandage, cataplasm; (v) daub, paint; (n, v) cement, stucco, poultice. ANTONYM: (v) uncover plate: (v) gild, cover, coat; (n, v) sheet, dish, leaf; (n) home plate, home, engraving, lamella, disc plates: (n) dishes, tableware, flake powder, dishware, dinner service platform: (n) dais, stand, stage, rostrum, quay, pulpit, plan, landing, ambo; (adj, n) floor; (n, v) program play: (n, v) act, frolic, pastime, game, sport, exercise, joke, bet, wager; (v)
Ethan Frome enact; (adj, v) perform. ANTONYMS: (n) tightness; (v) avoid, leave, real pleasant: (adj) jolly, amiable, agreeable, acceptable, nice, charming, kindly, facetious, joyful, pretty; (adj, v) pleasing. ANTONYMS: (adj) disgusting, horrible, repugnant, nasty, gruesome, unwelcome, harsh, shocking, disagreeable, foul, terrible pleased: (adj) contented, glad, delighted, content, joyful, thankful, gratified, appreciative, overjoyed, cheerful; (adj, v) elated. ANTONYMS: (adj) unhappy, annoyed, angry, worried, ashamed, disappointed, frustrated, sad, unsatisfied, ungrateful, uncomplimentary pleasure: (n) fun, enjoyment, delectation, joy, comfort, happiness, mirth, inclination; (n, v) contentment, content; (adj, n, v) gratification. ANTONYMS: (n) irritation, nuisance, boredom, ache, displeasure, dissatisfaction, misery, pain, sadness, worry, anguish pledge: (n, v) bond, gage, wager, engage, promise, plight, guarantee, bet, contract; (n) assurance; (v) covenant. ANTONYM: (v) redeem plenty: (adj, n) affluence, opulence; (n) many, much, plenteousness, copiousness, plenitude, exuberance, galore; (adj, adv) enough; (adj) adequate. ANTONYMS: (adj) insufficient, inadequate; (n) scarcity, insufficiency; (adv) insufficiently plight: (n) condition, predicament, fix, fettle, quandary, dilemma, case, guarantee; (n, v) engage, promise; (v) covenant plot: (n, v) plan, intrigue, cabal, plat, scheme, design, chart; (n) lot, patch, graph; (v) conspire plumb: (adj) vertical, upright, erect, sound; (adj, v) fathom; (v) measure; (adv) clean, plum, vertically, completely; (n) weight. ANTONYM: (adj) horizontal plunge: (n, v) drop, dive, fall, jump; (v) douse, duck, submerge, crash, dunk, plummet; (adj, v) immerse. ANTONYMS: (n, v) rise; (v) hesitate; (n) improvement pocket: (v) take, appropriate, steal, lift, catch; (n, v) sack, pouch; (n) cavity, hole, hollow; (adj) digest. ANTONYM: (v) return poignancy: (n) pathos, acuity, acerbity, poignance, mordacity,
acuteness, acrimony, sorrow, sorrowfulness, quality, keenness poignant: (adj, v) acrid, biting, harsh, painful, penetrating, brisk; (adj) acute, cutting, moving, affecting; (adj, n) piquant. ANTONYMS: (adj) unemotional, cheerful, emotionless point: (n, v) grade, head, nib, level, aim, degree; (n) peak, article, dot; (adj, n) edge; (v) direct. ANTONYM: (n) middle pointing: (n) punctuation, indication, scoring points: (n) turnout, handicap, interest, percentage, brownie points, commendation, credit, eight points, share, terms pond: (n) lake, mere, pool, plash, loch, fishpond, sea, tank, reservoir, millpond, broad ponderous: (adj) heavy, grave, onerous, burdensome, massive, unwieldy, bulky, stodgy, hard, tedious, dull. ANTONYMS: (adj) elegant, graceful, lively, brisk, manageable poor: (adj) bad, miserable, piteous, destitute, pitiful, insufficient, penniless, pathetic; (adj, v) meager; (adj, n) paltry, mean. ANTONYMS: (adj) wealthy, excellent, privileged, admirable, good, adequate, satisfactory, outstanding, favorable, dignified, comfortable popular: (adj) general, current, fashionable, democratic, customary, plain, known, pop, celebrated; (adj, v) favorite; (n) folk. ANTONYMS: (adj) unpopular, aristocratic, disliked, companionless, out, unknown, unpleasant, minority, forgettable, highbrow, unfashionable porch: (n) lobby, hall, vestibule, veranda, door, entrance, deck, gallery, portico, balcony, inlet portico: (n) portal, arcade, entrance, veranda, corridor, mouth, lips, inlet, chops, balcony, orifice position: (n, v) grade, locate, fix, lay, post, set, rank; (v) arrange; (n) attitude, condition, placement. ANTONYM: (v) dismiss positively: (adv) absolutely, definitely, decidedly, unequivocally, expressly, emphatically, categorically, clearly, confidently; (adv, int) surely; (adj, adv) really. ANTONYMS: (adv) disapprovingly, pessimistically, uncertainly, doubtfully, inauspiciously, ill possess: (adj, v) own; (v) hold, wield,
Edith Wharton occupy, bear, keep, enjoy, contain, retain, to have, maintain. ANTONYMS: (v) lack, remove possession: (n) occupation, ownership, keeping, goods, substance, tenure, property, grasp, estate, domain; (n, v) acquisition. ANTONYMS: (n) vacancy, sale possibilities: (n) potential, field possible: (adj) imaginable, likely, feasible, practicable, earthly, maybe, probable, practical, potential, tolerable, thinkable. ANTONYMS: (adj) unlikely, compulsory, actual, implausible, unrealistic, unattainable postage: (n) postage stamp, token, seal, cast, postage expense, value or prepayment, mold, item, franking, pestle, impression postpone: (v) defer, delay, adjourn, procrastinate, put off, suspend, hold over, remit, shelve; (adj, v) retard, waive. ANTONYMS: (v) advance, continue pouch: (n, v) bag; (n) pocket, poke, mailbag, sac, pod, purse, sack, bladder; (v) bulk, bulge poured: (adj) concrete pouring: (adj) gushing, teeming, flowing profusely, burbling, burbly; (n) casting, affusion, downpour, effusion, tapping, baptism. ANTONYM: (adj) light poverty: (n, v) lack, destitution, penury, need, indigence, want; (adj, n) distress; (n) pauperism, impoverishment, squalor, deprivation. ANTONYMS: (n) wealth, riches, affluence, smartness, luxury, prosperity, fertility, surplus power: (n, v) might, ability, influence, dominion, faculty; (n) potency, energy, control, authority, domination, strength. ANTONYMS: (n) powerlessness, helplessness, weakness, inability, subjugation, moderation, calmness, meekness, inferiority, feebleness, ease powerful: (adj) potent, muscular, strong, hard, able, brawny, vigorous, energetic, intense; (adj, adv) mighty; (adj, prep) forcible. ANTONYMS: (adj) weak, mild, unimportant, calm, faint, frail, gentle, ineffective, modest, insignificant, lightweight powerless: (adj) impotent, unable, feeble, incapable, ineffective, ineffectual, infirm, inefficient, nerveless, weak, prostrate. ANTONYMS: (adj) powerful,
strong, effective, capable, able practical: (adj) practicable, realistic, pragmatic, functional, feasible, efficient, helpful, active, expedient, useful, handy. ANTONYMS: (adj) impractical, theoretical, unrealistic, useless, impossible, passive, idealistic, impracticable, unimaginative, unprofessional, destructive precedent: (n) example, prototype, case, case in point, instance, rule, original; (adj, n) antecedent; (adj) preceding, foregoing, anterior preceding: (adj, adv) anterior, earlier; (adj) foregoing, former, previous, prior, past, precedent, prevenient; (adv) forward; (prep) before. ANTONYMS: (adj) following, succeeding, next, present precision: (n) accuracy, correctness, exactness, accurateness, preciseness, fidelity, nicety, delicacy, truth, exactitude; (adj) precise. ANTONYMS: (n) vagueness, inaccuracy, ambiguity, imprecision, clumsiness, impreciseness, neglect, messiness, incorrectness, faintness, carelessness preclude: (v) forbid, obviate, avert, hinder, forestall, bar, debar, foreclose, prevent, anticipate, obstruct. ANTONYM: (v) encourage preface: (n, v) prelude, preamble, proem; (n) beginning, introduction, preliminary, exordium, overture; (v) introduce, precede, premise. ANTONYMS: (n) addendum, conclusion, postscript premature: (adj) untimely, early, immature, inopportune, forward, previous, rash, unripe; (n) precocity, precociousness, prematurity. ANTONYMS: (adj) overdue, timely, late preparing: (n) preparation, manufacturing; (v) brewing, prepare; (adj) preliminary, forthcoming, coming presence: (n) front, manner, mien, bearing, carriage, figure, air, comportment, demeanor, company; (n, v) attendance. ANTONYMS: (n) absence, nonattendance present: (adj, n, v) gift, grant; (n, v) donation, display; (adj, v) confer, bestow; (v) introduce, give, prefer, offer, perform. ANTONYMS: (v) withdraw, withhold, consume, take; (adj) missing, lost, dated, historical; (adj, n) past, future; (n) history presently: (adv) instantly, directly,
171 currently, before long, shortly, soon, now, at present, readily, just, actually. ANTONYMS: (adv) later, now, formerly preserve: (v) maintain, keep, save, guard, hold, defend, uphold, keep up; (n) jam, jelly, conserves. ANTONYMS: (v) neglect, discontinue, damage, lose, attack, endanger, use, end preserved: (adj) kept, conserved, whole, pickled, condite, safe. ANTONYM: (adj) fresh preserves: (n) conserve, jam, chowchow, conserves, jelly, marmalade, canned food, confiture, European federation of importers of dried fruit, preserved food, apple butter pressed: (adj) compact, urgent, printed, pressing, press, stamped, pushed, impelled, incited, bound, driven pressing: (adj, v) exigent, importunate, important; (adj) imperative, immediate, imperious, instant, critical, insistent; (n) dishing, press. ANTONYM: (adj) mild pressure: (n, v) force, drive, press, urge, weight; (n) load, insistence, duress, exigency, constraint, compulsion. ANTONYMS: (v) protect; (n) relief, unimportance prestige: (n) influence, power, distinction, dignity, authority, repute, status, reputation, standing, attraction, face presume: (v) dare, consider, believe, think, infer, guess, expect, esteem, conclude, suppose, conjecture. ANTONYMS: (v) appreciate, despair, speculate pretence: (n) deceit, pretext, dissimulation, pretense, affectation, falsehood, deception, hypocrisy, bluff, appearance, pretension pretending: (n, v) pretense; (n) affectation, appearance, acting, pretence, mannerism, dissembling, pretension, deception, deceit; (adv) pretendingly pretext: (n) pretense, pretension, color, pretence, mask, plea, guise, sham, appearance; (n, v) excuse, cloak pretty: (adj) fair, graceful, lovely, handsome, attractive, charming, good-looking, picturesque, dainty; (n) nice; (adv) very. ANTONYMS: (adj) plain, unattractive, modern, inelegant; (adv) extremely
172 previous: (adj) past, anterior, preceding, antecedent, prior, back, foregoing, earlier, bygone; (adv) before; (adj, adv) early. ANTONYMS: (adj) subsequent, following, current, next, future, later, present pride: (n) arrogance, conceit, egotism, vanity, lordliness, assumption, insolence, disdain, hauteur; (n, v) boast; (v) plume. ANTONYMS: (n) modesty, sorrow, dregs, disgrace, shame, baseness princess: (n) queen, duchess, begum, czarina, maharani, monarch, archduchess, lady, patrician, maharanee, mopsey principle: (n) rule, method, fundamental, cause, doctrine, ground, precept, reason, law, essence, tenet. ANTONYM: (n) baseness prisoner: (n) captive, hostage, jailbird, accused, con, gaolbird, criminal, detainee, inmate, defendant, unfortunate privilege: (n) liberty, prerogative, immunity, freedom, grant, franchise, exemption, concession, claim; (n, v) license, permit. ANTONYM: (n) insult probability: (n) likelihood, chance, possibility, likeliness, opportunity, expectation, eventuality, prospect, expectancy, contingency; (adj, n) odds. ANTONYM: (n) improbability probable: (adj) likely, plausible, possible, potential, presumable, feasible, hopeful, convincing, believable, to be expected, specious. ANTONYMS: (adj) improbable, implausible, unbelievable probably: (adv) presumably, perhaps, maybe, in all probability, in all likelihood, belike, believably, credibly; (adj, adv) doubtless; (adj) like; (n) may. ANTONYM: (adv) implausibly problem: (n) difficulty, bother, trouble, knot, enigma, matter, riddle, job, case, poser; (n, v) question. ANTONYMS: (n) explanation, answer, capability, ease, help, resolution, pleasure produce: (n, v) effect, gain, make, cause; (v) bring, present, procreate, bring about, generate, breed, construct. ANTONYMS: (v) dampen, consume, halt produced: (v) producing; (adj) formed, manufactured, bent, fashioned, shaped, twisted, wrought
Ethan Frome professor: (n) teacher, scholar, instructor, master, trainer, tutor, don, coach, full professor, connoisseur, academic profile: (n) contour, outline, form, shape, silhouette, figure, soil profile, line, section, cast of countenance, ambit profound: (adj) abstruse, intense, heavy, important, sound, bottomless, grave, obscure, utter, abysmal; (adj, v) solid. ANTONYMS: (adj) shallow, trivial, lightweight, stupid, simple, mild, facile, slight, insignificant, prosaic projected: (adj) proposed, jutting, planned, deliberate, protruding, protrusive, sticking, sticking out, likely, anticipated, expected projecting: (adj) projected, protruding, jutting, protrusive, pendent; (adj, v) overhanging, jutting over, salient; (v) beetling, protuberant, convex prolong: (v) extend, delay, protract, keep up, expand, elongate, drag out, maintain, lengthen, draw out, procrastinate. ANTONYMS: (v) stop, cancel, curtail, quit prolongation: (n, v) protraction; (n) continuance, extension, elongation, production, lengthening, perpetuation, length, maintenance, lengthiness, duration prompted: (adj) impelled, driven, encouraged, provoked, pressed; (n) contumely, abuse, discussions, dictated, insult, invective pronounce: (v) articulate, declare, affirm, say, assert, express, vocalize, proclaim; (n, v) allege; (adj, v) deliver, utter. ANTONYM: (v) mumble pronounced: (adj) clear, emphatic, distinct, prominent, notable, obvious, salient, evident, definite, bold, palpable. ANTONYMS: (adj) faint, inconspicuous, indefinite, loose, slight, small proof: (n) confirmation, probation, authentication, sign, substantiation, evidence, verification, validation, argument, experiment, indication. ANTONYM: (n) contradiction proposed: (adj) intended, projected, suggested, intentional, jutting, planned, future, projecting, predetermined, prospective; (n) moot propped: (adj) fulcrate proprietor: (n) possessor, manager, landlord, holder, host, keeper,
master, employer, patron, proprietress, proprietary prospect: (n) outlook, expectancy, lookout, aspect, anticipation, hope, possibility, perspective, probability, panorama, picture protection: (n, v) care, guard; (n) conservation, shelter, security, defence, custody, cover, guardianship, shield, aegis. ANTONYMS: (n) destruction, attack, susceptibility, danger protest: (n) demonstration, objection, complaint, challenge, question; (v) assert, object, complain, remonstrate, demur; (n, v) moan. ANTONYMS: (n, v) support, praise; (n) approval, acceptance; (v) approve, agree proud: (adj) lofty, disdainful, haughty, exalted, egotistical, gallant, pompous, lordly, majestic, overbearing; (adj, v) dignified. ANTONYMS: (adj) humble, modest, ashamed, embarrassed, sorrowful, disappointed, miserable prove: (v) attest, manifest, evidence, establish, show, examine, verify, essay, check, corroborate; (adj, v) confirm. ANTONYMS: (v) refute, undermine provocation: (n) challenge, aggravation, exasperation, incitement, instigation, annoyance, excitement, stimulation, affront, incentive, defiance. ANTONYMS: (n) conciliation, arbitration, deterrent, disincentive, pleasure provoke: (n, v) excite; (v) defy, offend, enrage, anger, irritate, arouse, kindle, inflame, invite, get. ANTONYMS: (v) please, soothe, mollify, deter, inhibit, dampen, arbitrate, allay, defuse, discourage, douse provoked: (adj, prep) exasperated, inflamed; (adj) irritated, aggravated, infuriated, indignant, irate, huffy, hot, excited; (adv) up in arms. ANTONYMS: (adj) calm, gratuitous, pleased prudence: (n) foresight, economy, frugality, caution, care, forethought, providence, circumspection, judgment, deliberation; (adj, n) wisdom. ANTONYMS: (n) imprudence, profligacy, generosity, hindsight, recklessness, extravagance puckered: (adj) corrugated, wrinkly, unsmooth, rough, inflated, furrowed, cockled, bullate, creased
Edith Wharton pull: (n, v) draw, drag, pluck, tug, wrench, jerk; (v) draught, haul, attract, pick; (n) attraction. ANTONYMS: (v) repel, shove, leave; (n) repulsion, repulsiveness pulling: (n) pull, drawing, traction, haulage, actuation, clout, deracination, draughts, extirpation; (adj) attracting, tractive pulse: (n, v) throb; (n) pulsation, impulse, heartbeat, legume, rhythm, pounding, cadence; (v) pulsate, palpitate, pound punctually: (adv) precisely, exactly, duly, accurately, correctly, on time, regularly, timely, punctiliously, strictly, sharp pure: (adj) absolute, natural, faultless, innocent, immaculate, perfect, good, clean; (adj, n) chaste, genuine; (adj, v) mere. ANTONYMS: (adj) contaminated, dishonored, diluted, tainted, wicked, practical, polluted, flawed, marred, unsaturated, unchaste purple: (adj) violet, lilac, imperial, regal, royal; (adj, n) empurpled; (v) empurple; (n) magenta, purpleness, ermine, pall purpose: (n, v) plan, intention, design, project, resolve, purport, end, object; (n) mind, effect, motive. ANTONYM: (n) weakness push: (n, v) press, thrust, impel, jolt, force, jab, nudge, crowd, prod, poke; (v) jostle. ANTONYMS: (v) drag, haul, unpack, inhibit, leave, oppose, prevent, restrain, understate, calm; (n) apathy pushing: (adj) enterprising, pushy, pushful, ambitious, officious, adventurous; (n) push, propulsion, thrusting, actuation; (v) meddlesome puss: (n) cat, kitten, lass, pussy, pussycat, cunt, chit, countenance, feline, cuckoo, incision putting: (n) placing, putt, botong, swing, puts, miniature golf, golf stroke, golf shot, placing into standby puzzled: (adj) bewildered, confused, baffled, nonplussed, doubtful, bemused, at a loss, curious, mystified, nonplused, dazed. ANTONYM: (adj) clear quarter: (n) part, district, neighbourhood, division, mercy, neighborhood, region, direction, portion; (n, v) place; (v) lodge. ANTONYM: (v) evict queer: (adj) fantastic, odd, eccentric,
funny, curious, gay, peculiar, strange, quaint, fishy, outlandish. ANTONYMS: (adj) conventional, normal, well querulous: (adj) petulant, irritable, fretful, discontented, tetchy, complaining, fractious, touchy, cross, grumpy, grouchy querulously: (adv) peevishly, fretfully, discontentedly, testily, whiningly, grumpily, dissatisfiedly, petulantly, quarrelsomely, cantankerously, crossly quest: (n) pursuit, investigation, exploration, chase, research, inquest; (n, v) probe, hunt, inquiry, examination; (v) call for question: (n, v) query, distrust, interrogate, matter, challenge, demand; (n) inquiry; (v) investigate, inquire, contest, examine. ANTONYMS: (n) certainty, resolution; (n, v) trust; (v) praise, reply, believe, accept quick: (adj) bright, hasty, agile, nimble, intelligent, clever, speedy, active, immediate, instant; (adj, v) prompt. ANTONYMS: (adj) leisurely, dull, dim, thick, unintelligent, thorough, inept, unobservant, lengthy, long, permanent quicken: (v) accelerate, hasten, hurry, dispatch, animate, expedite, advance, enliven, precipitate; (n, v) forward, speed. ANTONYMS: (v) decelerate, delay quickened: (adj) hasty, rapid, passionate, intoxicated quicker: (adv) more quickly, sooner, earlier quickly: (adv) promptly, rapidly, expeditiously, readily, speedily, swiftly, suddenly, hastily; (adj, adv) immediately, shortly; (adv, n) instantly. ANTONYMS: (adv) slowly, gradually, permanently, later, eventually, thoroughly quiet: (adj, adv, v) still; (adj, n, v) lull, hush, pacify, compose, appease, assuage; (adj, v) moderate, cool; (adj, adv) gentle, motionless. ANTONYMS: (adj) noisy, talkative, vociferous, active, oratorical, fierce, vocal, unquiet, busy, disordered; (n) noise quietly: (adv) stilly, calmly, peacefully, silently, softly, smoothly, tranquilly, serenely, restfully, lully, moderately. ANTONYMS: (adv) loudly, harshly, raucously, vociferously, anxiously,
173 energetically, manically, unquietly, clearly, heavily, brashly quilt: (n) blanket, comforter, duvet, bedding, cover, bedspread, counterpane, quilting, eiderdown, sheet; (adj, v) embroider quilted: (adj) thick quite: (adj, adv) altogether, fully, sheer, just; (adv) all, absolutely, completely, entirely, exactly, enough, well. ANTONYMS: (adv) hardly, slightly, insufficiently, partially quiver: (adj, n, v) shudder, shiver, tremble, shake; (v) flicker, flutter, vibrate; (n, v) palpitate, quaver; (n) vibration, tremor radiate: (v) gleam, beam, glow, glitter, shine, diverge, glisten, emit, shed, emanate, flash. ANTONYM: (v) absorb railroad: (n) railway, railway system, tram road, tramway, rails, doctrine; (v) dragoon, push, coerce, bully, dispatch railway: (n) rail, line, railroad track, rails, railway system, sidetrack, funicular, gantlet, railroad line, rail line, tramway rain: (n, v) stream, hail; (n) precipitation, wet, pelting, flow, downpour, rainwater; (v) precipitate, shower, rain down. ANTONYM: (v) drizzle rainy: (adj) moist, pluvial, damp, pluvious, stormy, juicy, dirty, soppy, raining, drizzly; (adj, v) showery. ANTONYM: (adj) pleasant raise: (n, v) lift, boost, increase; (v) erect, hoist, grow, enhance, build, elevate, promote, foster. ANTONYMS: (n, v) downgrade; (v) lessen, demote, decrease, level, reduce, dismantle, knock; (n) lowering, reduction, descent raised: (adj) embossed, erect, convex, inflated, brocaded, high, uplifted, lifted, exultant; (v) in relief, repousse raising: (n) bringing up, nurture, elevation, lift, raise, culture, heave, ascent, ascension, upbringing, rearing rang: (n) rung range: (n, v) roam, order, group, array; (v) arrange, ramble, wander; (adj, n, v) rank; (n) purview, compass, reach. ANTONYMS: (n) narrowness, domain, uniformity, likeness rapid: (adj, v) fast, swift, prompt, fleet; (adj) speedy, agile, hasty, cursory, expeditious, sudden; (adv)
174 quickly. ANTONYMS: (adj) slow, gradual, considered, leisurely, thorough, lengthy, protracted, sluggish rapidly: (adv) promptly, speedily, swiftly, quick, fleetly, hastily, cursorily, readily, expeditiously, fast; (adj, adv) immediately. ANTONYMS: (adv) permanently, gradually, thoroughly, eventually, later, now rapt: (adj) engrossed, intent, ecstatic, preoccupied, spellbound, captive, enthralled, attentive, fixed, enwrapped; (v) engrossed in. ANTONYMS: (adj) detached, inattentive, uninterested, bored rapture: (n) joy, bliss, delight, happiness, exaltation, elation, exultation, enchantment; (adj, n) enthusiasm; (n, v) transport; (adj, n, v) passion. ANTONYMS: (n) indifference, boredom, misery, gloom, agony, hell, despair rare: (adj) uncommon, thin, unusual, seldom, scarce, precious, exceptional, infrequent, few, choice, fine. ANTONYMS: (adj) common, frequent, usual, plentiful, commonplace, recurrent rate: (n) worth, pace; (v) assess, estimate, evaluate, appreciate, compute, appraise, count, calculate; (n, v) value rates: (n) tax, rate, tariff, toll, charge, dues, impost, rate fixing, property tax, municipal tax, local tax rather: (adv) a little, enough, fairly, pretty, moderately, considerably, very, relatively, kind of, instead, kinda. ANTONYMS: (adv) extremely, absolutely; (adj) complete rattled: (adj) hot and bothered, perturbed, upset, unsettled, puzzled, disconcerted, discomposed, bewildered, beside oneself, abashed, addled. ANTONYM: (adj) calm rays: (n) light, sunlight, Selachii, dogfishes, elasmobranch, Elasmobranchii, emission, daylight, sunshine, selachian, subclass Elasmobranchii razor: (adj, n) straight razor; (adj) knife, cutlery, edge tool, penknife; (n) electric razor, shaver, safety razor, electric shaver, rasour; (v) epilate reach: (n, v) fetch, stretch; (adj, v) overtake, pass, extend; (v) obtain, achieve, make, attain, get; (n) compass. ANTONYMS: (v)
Ethan Frome withdraw, differ, fail reaching: (n) reach, arrival, coming, accomplishment, outreach, advent, achievement, grasp, arriver, getting; (adj) suspicious reaction: (n) answer, response, backlash, reply, effect, rebound, echo, retort, repercussion, rejoinder, reception read: (v) say, decipher, understand, learn, construe, perceive, gather, indicate, demonstrate, translate, comprehend. ANTONYM: (v) write reading: (n, v) read; (n) recital, learning, interpretation, lection, construction, version, study, perusal, erudition, exegesis ready: (v) prepare, fix; (adj, v) fit, disposed, willing; (adj) quick, prompt, nimble, apt; (adj, n) available, dexterous. ANTONYMS: (adj) unwilling, reluctant, unavailable, unready, unripe, difficult, unenthusiastic, young real: (adj, n, v) actual; (adj, n) true, pure, authentic; (adj) physical, material, natural, concrete, positive, literal, native. ANTONYMS: (adj, v) pretend; (adj) imaginary, artificial, fake, apparent, mock, insubstantial, imitation, fantasy, false, bogus reality: (n, v) fact, efficiency, deed; (n) existence, certainty, actuality, realism, being, realness, truth, entity. ANTONYMS: (n) vision, imagination, delusion, dream, illusion, idealism, unreality, fiction really: (adj, adv) honestly, genuinely, sincerely; (adv) absolutely, authentically, certainly, substantially, in reality, positively, truely, essentially. ANTONYMS: (adv) hardly, falsely, doubtfully, somewhat, unremarkably, nominally reason: (n) account, intellect, occasion, object, understanding, argument, purpose; (n, v) cause; (v) argue, debate; (adj, n) rationality. ANTONYMS: (n) inconsistency, disincentive reasons: (n) proof reassured: (adj) hopeful, reinsured, secure, confident rebellion: (n) revolt, insurrection, mutiny, disobedience, uprising, unrest, revolution, outbreak, defiance, insurgency, commotion. ANTONYMS: (n) consent, compliance receive: (v) get, admit, assume, have, welcome, bear, obtain, adopt, make,
greet, embrace. ANTONYMS: (v) refuse, disburse, lose, mail, present, spend, dispatch received: (adj) acknowledged, conventional, standard, accredited, acceptable, orthodox, canonical, normative; (v) receiving, current, ascertained. ANTONYMS: (adj) unconventional, nonstandard receiving: (n) getting, reception, acceptance, taking, adoption, recipiency; (v) receive; (adj) received, accepting, admitting, recipient. ANTONYM: (n) rejection recent: (adj) modern, new, novel, latest, contemporary, fresh, green, past, last, current, latter. ANTONYMS: (adj) early, former, dated recite: (v) relate, enumerate, describe, narrate, recount, repeat, say, rehearse, detail, lecture; (n, v) declaim recklessness: (n, v) imprudence; (n) rashness, carelessness, desperation, extravagance, heedlessness, negligence, temerity, adventurism, audacity, neglect. ANTONYMS: (n) care, carefulness, consideration, forethought, parsimony, deliberation, discretion, regard, restraint, thoughtfulness reckon: (v) estimate, judge, hold, compute, guess, calculate, gauge, rate; (n, v) enumerate, count, number recognised: (adj) recognized, undisputed, received, noted, known, established, certified, acceptable, accepted recommended: (adj) registered, advisable, favored, not compulsory, optional, required reconsider: (v) revise, consider, reassess, consider again, go over, retrace, return, redeliberate, reckon; (n) criticism, critique recreation: (n) amusement, distraction, pastime, play, diversion, merriment, leisure, fun, game, frolic, sport recrimination: (n) accusation, incrimination, accrimination, accusal, blame reddening: (n) flush, rubescence; (v) redden reduced: (adj) abridged, curtailed, miniature, limited, cheap, prostrate, bated, lower, cut, inexpensive, low. ANTONYMS: (adj) complete, diluted, increased, large, privileged, inflated
Edith Wharton reel: (n, v) coil, roll; (v) waver, rock, stagger, totter, spin, teeter, falter; (n) bobbin, spool re-enter: (v) return, come back refinement: (n) culture, cultivation, purification, gentility, polish, finish, civilization, nicety, courtesy, grace; (adj, n) elegance. ANTONYMS: (n) vulgarity, adulteration, tackiness, uncouthness, tastelessness, inelegance, coarseness, clumsiness, awkwardness, crudeness reflected: (adj) reflecting, reverberant, reflectent reflecting: (adv) reflectingly; (adj) reflective, thoughtful, calculating, reflected, shiny, shimmering, reflectent; (n) mirroring, reflection, reflexion reflection: (n) contemplation, thought, deliberation, meditation, musing, cogitation, idea, notion, introspection; (n, v) observation, reflexion. ANTONYMS: (n) impulsiveness, confirmation reflectively: (adv) contemplatively, meditatively, wistfully, thoughtfully, speculatively, ruminatively, studiously, regretfully, sadly, longingly, reflexively refreshing: (adj) bracing, invigorating, refreshful, pleasant, fresh, cool, refresh, refreshingly, crisp, tonic, pleasing. ANTONYMS: (adj) unwelcome, soporific, tiring, relaxing, musty refuge: (n) sanctuary, asylum, safety, retreat, cover, harborage, haven, shelter, harbor; (n, v) recourse, resort refusal: (n) denial, declination, negative, rebuff, rejection, no, prohibition, ban, repulse, negation, exclusion. ANTONYMS: (n) permission, acceptance, compliance, approval, disposition, inclination, affirmative, affirmation refused: (adj) forbidden, refuse, prohibited, hence regard: (n, v) respect, esteem, attention, heed, concern, note; (adj, n, v) notice; (v) estimate, believe; (adj, v) attend; (n) deference. ANTONYMS: (n) neglect, disesteem, inattentiveness, disdain, detachment, infamy; (v) ignore, scorn, disregard region: (adv, n) country; (n) field, domain, district, area, realm, part, province, locality, division, circuit regular: (adj) normal, general, formal;
(adj, n) steady, common, customary, ordinary; (adj, v) orderly, conventional, methodical; (adj, n, v) constant. ANTONYMS: (adj) irregular, erratic, variable, unusual, inconsistent, straight, extraordinary, asymmetrical, rare, distant, strong regularly: (adv) usually, often, normally, generally, steadily, customarily, routinely, evenly, frequently, always, habitually. ANTONYMS: (adv) inconsistently, constantly, rarely, erratically, seldom, irregularly, rapidly, intermittently, unevenly, unreliably, exceptionally rein: (n) bridle, curb, restraint, check, strap; (v) leash, harness, contain, rule, rein in, confine reins: (n) bridle, Reins of a vault, reins of government, wheel, gearshift, joystick, pedals, potency, power, powerfulness rejection: (n) dismissal, repulse, denial, refusal, rebuff, abandonment, renunciation, exception, disavowal, negation, repudiation. ANTONYMS: (n) approval, recognition, amalgamation, belief, receipt, welcome, permission, agreement relapse: (n, v) regress, decline, fall; (n) recidivism, recurrence, regression, deterioration; (v) backslide, revert, recur, deteriorate. ANTONYMS: (v) improve, recover, progress; (n) improvement, recovery, regeneration relation: (n) narration, recital, association, affinity, description, rehearsal, kin, relative; (n, v) account, report, regard relations: (n) family, dealings, kin, relation, connections, people, kindred, kinsfolk, contact, relationship, folks relatives: (n) relations, kindred, kin, kinsfolk, kinfolk, relationship, affinity, relation, folks, intimates, house relaxed: (adj) loose, slack, composed, calm, comfortable, easy, cool, at ease, informal, easygoing, happy. ANTONYMS: (adj) nervous, uncomfortable, stiff, anxious, formal, prim, strict, prudish, restless, haggard, reserved relaxing: (v) relax; (adj) soothing, restful, comfortable, gentle, assuasive, clement, comforting; (n) repose, detent, quieter. ANTONYMS: (adj) stressful, trying,
175 uncomfortable, invigorating, irritating, rushed, troubled, tense, stimulating, noisy relentless: (adj) implacable, cruel, inflexible, stern, pitiless, harsh, merciless, grim, obdurate, persistent, unrelenting. ANTONYMS: (adj) gentle, lenient, merciful, finite, soft, sporadic, feeble relic: (n, v) memento, souvenir, keepsake; (n) token, trace, remainder, remains, antique, relict, vestige, remnant relief: (n, v) help, ease, aid, relaxation, assistance, solace; (n) consolation, release, respite, abatement, rest. ANTONYMS: (n) capture, discomfort, worry, aggravation, grief, hindrance, intensification, distress relieved: (adj) alleviated, thankful, mitigated, prominent, pleased, joyful, fresh, delighted, comfortable, cheerful, happy. ANTONYM: (adj) worried reluctance: (n) aversion, hesitation, indisposition, distaste, disgust, dislike, opposition, unwillingness, repugnance, diffidence, scruple. ANTONYMS: (n) readiness, disposition, keenness, willingness, enthusiasm reluctant: (adj) loath, unwilling, averse, loth, indisposed, hesitant, involuntary, backward, diffident, shy, slow. ANTONYMS: (adj) inclined, eager, enthusiastic, happy, disposed, wholehearted, keen reluctantly: (adv) loathly, aversely, grudgingly, backwardly, hesitantly, reluctant, slowly, unenthusiastically, indisposedly, lothly, charily. ANTONYMS: (adv) freely, wholeheartedly remain: (n, v) abide, endure, continue, last; (v) bide, linger, stay, keep, persist, live, hold. ANTONYMS: (v) leave, depart, change, move, go, become, stop remains: (n) debris, corpse, relic, carcass, body, rest, clay, vestige; (adj, n) remainder, remnant; (n, v) trace remark: (n, v) comment, notice, note, mention, regard, mind; (adj, n, v) observe; (v) perceive, mark, discern; (n) observation remedy: (n, v) cure, redress, heal, help, medicine, relief; (v) rectify, amend, relieve, correct; (n) drug. ANTONYM: (n) poison remember: (v) commemorate,
176 recognize, recollect, recall, consider, memorize, think, mind, call to mind, retain, bear in mind. ANTONYMS: (v) ignore, neglect, overlook reminiscent: (adj) evocative, remindful, indicative, suggestive, redolent of, retrospective, aromatic, aware, important, meaningful, mindful remote: (adj) aloof, inaccessible, outside, detached, faint, alien, unapproachable, secluded, far, foreign, isolated. ANTONYMS: (adj) near, nearby, accessible, likely, strong, neighboring, central, close, friendly, relevant, approachable removing: (adj) departing renew: (v) renovate, rejuvenate, restore, refresh, refurbish, modernize, revive, overhaul, reinstate, reiterate, mend. ANTONYMS: (v) reduce, kill renewed: (adj) changed, born again, new, fresh, redintegrate, rehabilitated, transformed, regenerate, reformed, Renate rent: (n, v) breach, fissure, lease, let; (adj, n) cleft; (n) crevice, tear, crack, break; (v) charter, engage repairs: (n) upkeep repeated: (adj) continual, recurrent, frequent, persistent, repeat, double, habitual, chronic, again, common, continuous. ANTONYMS: (adj) temporary, rare, unique, alternate, unusual, spasmodic repeating: (n) repeat, iteration, renewal, repetition, redundancy, copying, reduplication; (adj) repetitious, iterating, iterative, repetitive repetition: (n) gemination, reiteration, recurrence, replication, iteration, return, repeating, renewal, duplication, rehearsal, reduplication. ANTONYM: (n) disappearance repining: (n) regret, plaintive, lamenting, mourning, grief, mournful; (v) taking on; (adj) regretful replenish: (adj, v) fill; (v) refill, recruit, fill up, make good, refresh, furnish, supply, fill again; (adj) load, charge. ANTONYM: (v) deplete reply: (n) echo, response, reaction, repay; (n, v) return, rejoinder; (v) respond, react, rejoin, retort, counter. ANTONYMS: (n, v) question; (v) interrogate, ignore replying: (adj) respondent, responsive
Ethan Frome reproachful: (adj, v) condemnatory, disparaging, vituperative; (adj) admonitory, opprobrious, disgraceful, shameful, reproving, objurgatory, contumelious; (v) denunciatory repugnant: (adj) abominable, abhorrent, odious, hateful, loathsome, ugly, adverse, obscene, offensive; (adj, v) repulsive; (adj, n) contradictory. ANTONYMS: (adj) attractive, agreeable, desirable, lovable, nice, delightful request: (n, v) demand, bid, invite, wish, appeal; (v) ask, order, pray, call for; (n) prayer, application. ANTONYMS: (v) command, grant, insist, force, supply, reject; (n) ruling, response research: (n) exploration, inquiry, investigation, examination, quest, hunt; (n, v) search, check, study; (v) explore, examine resentment: (n) grudge, displeasure, indignation, anger, ill will, rancor, umbrage, rage, envy, grievance, passion. ANTONYMS: (n) friendliness, happiness, contentment, calm reserve: (adj, v) save; (n) reservation, backup, modesty, bank; (adj, n) substitute; (v) keep back, maintain, book, withhold, appropriate. ANTONYMS: (n) warmth, friendliness, informality, approachability, arrogance, boldness, brashness; (v) show, use; (adj) active resist: (n, v) oppose, confront; (v) rebel, defy, revolt, endure, reject, protest, refuse, impede, fight back. ANTONYMS: (v) surrender, yield, assent, agree, suppress, favor, accept, attract, obey, welcome resistance: (n) endurance, impedance, hindrance, friction, obstacle, immunity, insubordination, defiance, renitency; (v) rebellion; (n, v) interference. ANTONYMS: (n) obedience, agreement, susceptibility, acceptance, receptivity, frailty, friendliness, vulnerability, defeatism, attack, softness resolute: (adj, n) constant, firm, fixed, steady; (adj, v) determined; (adj) inflexible, brave, adamant, dogged, unbending, courageous. ANTONYMS: (adj) weak, uncertain, uncommitted, timid, fickle, feeble, indecisive, flexible, flippant, hesitant, undecided
resolution: (n) determination, purpose, firmness, conclusion, answer, solution, resolve, decomposition, resoluteness, perseverance, settlement. ANTONYMS: (n) problem, feebleness, indecision, irresoluteness, irresolution, weakness, indifference resolve: (n, v) purpose; (v) determine, solve, decide, dissolve, decompose, settle; (n) determination, firmness, decision, resolution. ANTONYMS: (n) weakness, irresoluteness, vacillation, cowardice, flexibility, indecisiveness, indifference; (v) aggravate, complicate, exacerbate, waver resources: (n) means, property, capital, finances, money, assets, substance, resource, wherewithal, funds, revenue. ANTONYM: (n) inability respected: (adj) illustrious, respectable, honored, appreciated, dear, revered, valued, redoubtable, celebrated, glorious, famous. ANTONYMS: (adj) ordinary, unreliable, weak respond: (n, v) reply, return; (v) counter, rejoin, echo, retort, react, acknowledge, repay; (adj) correspond; (n) response. ANTONYM: (v) ask response: (n, v) answer, reply, rejoinder, respond; (n) reaction, reception, echo, retort, feedback, return, replication. ANTONYMS: (n) ignorance, request responsible: (adj, v) liable, answerable, amenable; (adj) reliable, dependable, trustworthy, culpable, trusty, faithful, responsive; (v) bound. ANTONYMS: (adj) innocent, untrustworthy, reckless, guiltless, thoughtless, unreliable, corrupt rest: (adj, n) remnant, remainder, residue; (n, v) pause, balance, nap, relaxation, sleep; (n) recess, leisure; (v) remain. ANTONYMS: (n) activity, agitation, intensification; (v) change, stand, deteriorate rested: (adj) comfortable restlessly: (adv) fidgetily, apprehensively, agitatedly, fretfully, unquietly, sleeplessly, nervously, restively, edgily, anxiously, disturbedly. ANTONYMS: (adv) peacefully, unconcernedly restlessness: (n) anxiety, disquiet, impatience, fidget, uneasiness, disquietude, unrest, fidgetiness,
Edith Wharton agitation, insomnia; (adj, n) nervousness. ANTONYMS: (n) calm, contentment, restfulness, peace restore: (adj, v) repair, refresh; (v) mend, reinstate, renew, renovate, rejuvenate, replace, repay, fix, rehabilitate. ANTONYMS: (v) break, oust, neglect, confiscate, disrupt, move, kill, remove, worsen restored: (adj) new, healthy, comfortable, convalescent restrained: (adj) reserved, quiet, modest, temperate, discreet, limited, reasonable, subdued, unemotional, reticent, guarded. ANTONYMS: (adj) unrestrained, open, flashy, immoral, ostentatious, wild, loud, theatrical, outgoing, extravagant, emotional result: (n) fruit, outcome, issue, answer, effect, conclusion, aftermath, produce; (v) ensue, follow; (n, v) end. ANTONYMS: (n) problem; (v) precede resulting: (adj) consequent, ensuing, sequent, consequential, following, subsequent, forthcoming, eventual, ensuant, secondary. ANTONYM: (adj) original retarding: (n) delay, let, hindrance, impediment, obstacle; (adj) ritardando reticence: (n) reserve, reservation, uncommunicativeness, taciturnity, silence, reticency, restraint, secrecy, reservedness, muteness, humility. ANTONYMS: (n) chattiness, honesty, nerve, boldness, openness, arrogance, brashness reticent: (adj, v) reserved, close; (adj) restrained, quiet, distant, modest, uncommunicative, shy, taciturn, retiring, bashful. ANTONYMS: (adj) expansive, chatty, helpful, outgoing, uninhibited, forthcoming, extrovert, careless, affable, arrogant, open retired: (adj) obscure, secluded, sequestered, solitary, emeritus, secret, lonely, withdrawn, superannuated, close; (adj, v) covert retort: (n, v) answer, return, riposte; (n) response, rejoinder, repartee, comeback; (v) respond, repay, rejoin, alembic retreat: (v) retire, withdraw, depart; (n) refuge, departure, asylum, den, lair, retirement; (n, v) resort, return. ANTONYMS: (n) raid, development, extension, arrival, company; (v) progress, remain retreating: (n) flight; (adj) moving
back return: (v) recur, reimburse, restore; (n, v) pay, restitution, recompense, refund, restoration, render, retort; (n) proceeds. ANTONYMS: (n) departure, confiscation, abolition, recovery, loss, disappearance, penalty; (v) keep, depart, take, remove returning: (adj) regressive, return, reversive, recurrent, coming back, ebbing, flowing back, new, newly appointed, newly elected, next. ANTONYMS: (adj) outgoing, unique, occasional revealed: (adj) exposed, disclosed, discovered, open, naked, manifest, unveiled, bare, detected, shown, observed. ANTONYM: (adj) concealed revealing: (adj) telling, telltale, significant, powerfully persuasive; (n) discovery, exposure, revelation, ratting, uncovering, reveal, apocalypse. ANTONYMS: (adj) confusing, secretive, concealing; (n) concealment revelry: (adj, n) revels; (n) debauchery, festivity, orgy, merriment, revel, carnival, mirth, gaiety, carousal, jollification reverberated: (adj) rebounding, repellent, driven back reverently: (adv) reverentially, piously, religiously, devoutly, deferentially, worshipfully, solemnly, godly, courteously, politely, obsequiously. ANTONYM: (adv) irreverently revolt: (n, v) mutiny, rebellion, insurrection; (v) sicken, nauseate, rebel, repel, repulse, offend; (adj, v) shock; (n) uprising. ANTONYMS: (n) attraction; (v) please, delight rheumatism: (n) arthritis, atrophic arthritis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis; (v) lumbago, podagra, otalgia, neuralgia, earache, cephalalgia, odontalgia, sciatica ribbon: (n) band, riband, tape, strip, shred, decoration, medal, ribband, thread, fascia, belt rich: (adj, n) copious, luxurious; (adj) productive, fruitful, full, deep, prolific, opulent, fat, affluent; (adj, v) fertile. ANTONYMS: (adj) poor, impoverished, destitute, broke, light, plain, lean, delicate, infertile, weak, barren ride: (n, v) outing; (adj, v) bestride; (n) run, lift, jaunt; (v) mount, bait, float, rag, tease, harass
177 ridge: (n) ledge, bank, hill, shelf, dune, swelling, projection, ridgepole, peak, ghat; (n, v) crease. ANTONYMS: (n) channel, depression, base riding: (n) ride, horseback riding, travel, hundred, tithing, soke, travelling, manege, athletics; (v) horsemanship; (adj) awheel rightly: (adv) correctly, rightfully, properly, accurately, appropriately, exactly, fitly, straightly, fairly, really; (adv, v) adequately. ANTONYMS: (adv) wrongly, inappropriately, incorrectly, immorally, unjustly, partially, sinfully, unfairly, falsely rigid: (adj) inflexible, hard, fixed, stiff, strict, austere, firm, set, tense, tight, tough. ANTONYMS: (adj) flexible, soft, elastic, loose, nonrigid, limp, liberal, lenient, adaptable, irresolute, floppy rigidity: (n) firmness, inflexibility, rigor, hardness, stiffness, rigour, inflexibleness, tension, rigidness, severity, inelasticity. ANTONYMS: (n) malleability, pliability, softness, limpness, looseness, relaxation, cooperation, weakness ring: (n, v) encircle, peal, call, loop, jingle; (v) resound, echo, reverberate; (n) gang, band, rim ringed: (adj) annulated, circinate, encircled, annulate, circular, annulose, rounded, round, wreathed, married, engaged rings: (n) ornaments, necklaces, jewels, costume jewelry, charms, bracelets rise: (n, v) mount, lift, increase, heave, swell, jump; (v) ascend, arise; (n) elevation, ascent, progress. ANTONYMS: (n, v) decrease, drop; (v) sink, descend, plummet, retire, set; (n) reduction, descent, depreciation, ruin risen: (v) uprise rising: (n) revolt, rebellion, mutiny, ascent, ascension, climb, rise, outbreak, insurrection; (adj) climbing, uphill. ANTONYMS: (adj) plummeting, plunging, decreasing, falling, setting, downward, content; (n) fall risk: (n, v) peril, chance, gamble, bet, venture, adventure, wager, dare; (n) danger, jeopardy; (v) endanger. ANTONYMS: (v) protect, shun; (n) security rival: (n) competitor, enemy, foe, contestant; (adj, n, v) emulate; (n, v) match, contest, corrival; (adj, v)
178 competitive; (v) compete, contend. ANTONYMS: (adj) allied; (n) partner, friend, supporter road: (n) way, track, course, route, avenue, highway, approach, thoroughfare, direction; (n, v) passage, line roads: (n) anchorage, anchorage ground, communications, infrastructure, port, road and rail network, transportation roadside: (n) verge, shoulder, border, edge, margin roan: (n) horse, Galloway, thoroughbred, leather, courser; (adj) dingy, pearly, drab, dun, livid, somber rock: (adj, n) stone; (n) boulder, calculus, cliff; (n, v) sway, jar; (v) waver, toss, jolt, shake, cradle rocking: (adj) vivacious, merry, spirited, spry, festive; (n) metalling, convulsion roll: (n, v) list, wheel, curl, turn; (v) reel, enfold, revolve, wind; (n) revolution, register; (adj, n, v) twist. ANTONYM: (v) unwind rolled: (adj) rolling, furled, involute, scroll, coiled, resonant, trilled, reverberative, reverberating, resounding, spiral rolling: (n) peal, curling, wheeling, rolling movement, finish rolling, pealing, crimping; (adj) resounding, rolled, tumbling, resonating roof: (n, v) top, cover, shelter; (n) crown, housing, ceiling, dome, house, household, back, covering room: (n) chamber, occasion, house, apartment, opportunity, hall, opening, compartment, expanse, extent; (v) board. ANTONYM: (n) walkway roots: (n) heredity, family, origin, line, extraction, ancestry rose: (adj) pink, rosaceous, risen, roseate; (n) pink wine, blush wine, rose wine, rosette, brier; (v) flush, redden rosy: (adj) hopeful, blooming, optimistic, auspicious, promising, bright, roseate, ruddy, fortunate, flushed, pink. ANTONYMS: (adj) gloomy, depressing, hopeless, unpromising rough: (adj, n) hard, grating, jagged; (adj, n, v) harsh; (adj) raw, gross, cruel, crude, gruff; (adj, v) hoarse; (n, v) draft. ANTONYMS: (adj) gentle, silky, soft, sophisticated, refined, polished, precise, exact, pleasant, glossy, even
Ethan Frome round: (n) bout, circuit, beat; (n, v) ring, compass; (adv, prep) about; (adj) circular, entire; (adj, v) plump; (adj, n, v) turn; (v) gird. ANTONYMS: (adj) sharp, slender, thin, square, harsh, reedy, evasive; (prep) exactly roused: (adj) excited, awake, susceptible, emotional, elated, interested routine: (adj) ordinary, everyday, common, customary, normal, habitual; (n) round, process, procedure, method, habit. ANTONYMS: (adj) unusual, exciting, extraordinary, exotic, exceptional, interesting, irregular, abnormal; (n) abnormality, excitement rubbed: (adj) polished, refined, terse, attrite, marked, accomplished, fretten rubbing: (n) friction, abrasion, grinding, detrition, rub, grip, resistance, chafe, sweat, travail, massage. ANTONYM: (n) smoothness ruddy: (adj) cherry, rubicund, rosy, flushed, florid, sanguine, reddish, glowing, blooming, crimson; (adj, adv) blushing ruffled: (adj) rippled, frilly, frilled, upset, disordered, excited, disconcerted, decorated, tousled, tangled, turbulent ruin: (n) devastation, desolation; (adj, n) downfall; (v) break, consume, demolish, destroy; (n, v) doom, ravage, destruction, damage. ANTONYMS: (v) conserve, enhance, save, restore, improve; (n, v) respect; (n) making, success, triumph, rise, preservation runners: (n) runner running: (adj) operative, working, continual, moving; (adj, v) active; (n) course, motion, run, operation, administration; (adj, n) functioning rupture: (n, v) fracture, crack, tear, split, burst; (n) rift, rent, hernia, interruption, breach, breakage. ANTONYMS: (n) repair, unity; (n, v) mend rural: (adj, n) rustic; (adj) agricultural, country, pastoral, countrified, predial, agrestic, agrarian, arable, simple; (n) peasant. ANTONYMS: (adj) city, town rush: (n, v) charge, flood, dash, flow, gush, race, run, speed, attack; (adj, n, v) burst; (n) onrush. ANTONYMS: (v) delay, dawdle,
linger, wander, amble, hesitate, crawl, trickle; (n) shortage, slowness, unimportance rushed: (adj) hurried, rush, precipitate, rapid, unexpected, hassled, immediate, instant, instantaneous, quick, speedy. ANTONYMS: (adj) unhurried, slow, considered, gradual rustling: (n) rustle, whispering, whisper, larceny; (adj) murmurous, susurrous, active, soughing ruth: (n) pity, commiseration, mercy, charity, sympathy, pathos, babe Ruth, poignancy, compunction, condolence, dolor sacred: (adj) holy, hallowed, dedicated, consecrated, divine, religious, pious, spiritual, inviolable, blessed; (adj, v) solemn. ANTONYMS: (adj) profane, unconsecrated, cursed, breakable sacrilege: (n) profanity, profanation, violation, curse, defilement, sacrilegiousness, impiety, vulgarity; (adj, n) blasphemy, desecration; (v) violate. ANTONYMS: (n) piety, respectfulness, reverence, consecration sadness: (n, v) melancholy, despondency; (adj, n) grief, distress; (n) misery, sorrow, desolation, regret, gloom, mourning, affliction. ANTONYMS: (n) joy, amusement, cheerfulness, laughter, contentment, comfort, cheer, hopefulness safely: (adv) surely, safe, certainly, cautiously, soundly, strongly, sure, steadily, harmlessly, unharmedly, unhurtly. ANTONYMS: (adv) harmfully, hazardously, loosely safety: (n) guard, security, refuge, safe, bingle, base hit, sanctuary, asylum, preservation, cover, shelter. ANTONYMS: (n) danger, hazard, instability sagging: (adj) drooping, flabby, slack, baggy, hanging, limp, flagging, lifeless, floppy; (n) sag, dropping. ANTONYMS: (adj) taut, firm, upright, tight sale: (n) fair, disposal, sales, sales event, bazaar, market, demand, marketing, saloon, vend, vendition. ANTONYMS: (n) acquisition, purchase sallow: (adj) pasty, pallid, bloodless, sickly, wan, ashen, fair, white, tawny, sandy; (n) osier. ANTONYMS: (adj) dark, glowing saloon: (n) pub, public house, salon, parlour, pothouse, hall, barroom,
Edith Wharton gin mill, alehouse, tavern, taproom same: (adj) identical, equal, like, corresponding, equivalent, similar, uniform, even, consistent, matching; (adv) equally. ANTONYMS: (adj) different, varying, another, unlike, other, varied sang: (n) panax quinquefolius, sing, herb, herbaceous plant sarcastic: (adj) sharp, poignant, caustic, bitter, biting, pungent, acid, acrimonious, ironical; (adj, v) derisive, satirical. ANTONYMS: (adj) sympathetic, pleasant, approving, kind, complimentary, mild, respectful sardonically: (adv) satirically, cynically, bitingly, ironically, derisively, mockingly, mordantly, contemptuously, scathingly, scornfully, cuttingly satisfaction: (n, v) pleasure, gratification, contentment, content; (n) enjoyment, joy, complacency, amends, reparation, redress, recompense. ANTONYMS: (n) displeasure, discontent, aggravation, sorrow, dismay, anxiety satisfied: (adj) happy, content, full, pleased, confident, complacent, persuaded, fulfilled; (adj, v) certain, sure; (v) convinced. ANTONYMS: (adj) frustrated, anxious, disgruntled, hungry, insistent, pensive, unsure, dissatisfied, ashamed satisfy: (v) please, persuade, meet, satiate, indulge, sate, appease; (adj, v) content, fill, suffice, do. ANTONYMS: (v) intensify, displease, disappoint, disgruntle, frustrate saturday: (n) sat, sabbath, day of rest saucers: (n) tableware, plates, cups, dishware savage: (adj, v) fierce, wild, furious; (adj) ferocious, brutal, cruel, bloodthirsty, rough, pitiless; (adj, n) brute; (n) vandal. ANTONYMS: (adj) civilized, gentle, nice savings: (n) reserve, saving, fund, store, funds, reserved fund, resources, capital, cash, corps de reserve, reserves sawmill: (n) saw, mill, manufactory, factory, sawing machine, manufacturing plant, power saw saying: (adj, n, v) maxim; (n) axiom, adage, phrase, dictum, idiom, byword, aphorism, expression; (n, v) saw, proverb scale: (adj) balance; (v) mount, climb,
ascend; (n) gamut, yardstick, graduation, degree; (n, v) flake, gauge, measure scant: (adj) insufficient, scanty, skimpy, poor, few, inadequate, narrow, little; (adj, v) meager, bare; (v) skimp. ANTONYMS: (adj) plentiful, extensive scarcely: (adv) narrowly, rarely, hardly, just, scarce, uncommonly, insufficiently, scantily, scantly, only just, seldom. ANTONYMS: (adv) easily, liberally scared: (adj) afraid, frightened, fearful, anxious, nervous, timid, intimidated, terrified, horrified, panicky; (adj, adv) cowardly. ANTONYMS: (adj) confident, fearless, brave scarf: (n) neckerchief, handkerchief, stole, necktie, cravat, kerchief, mantilla, shawl, wrap, tie, stock scattered: (adj) dissipated, thin, disordered, disconnected, confused, sparse, sporadic, distributed, rare, diffuse; (v) disperse scattering: (n) diffusion, dissipation, dispersion, distribution, scatter, dissemination, sprinkle, sprinkling, strewing; (adj, n) spreading; (adj) distributive scene: (n, v) aspect, view, outlook, lookout; (n) background, display, spectacle, picture, environment, panorama, perspective scent: (n, v) fragrance, smell, odor, essence, nose; (n) aroma, bouquet, redolence, odour; (adj, n) savor, flavor. ANTONYMS: (n) stench, stink school: (v) educate, instruct, train, coach; (n) class, sect, shoal, college, herd, training, teaching schoolhouse: (n) conservatoire, conservatory, school building, chargehouse, day school, edifice, school day, building scintillating: (adj) sparkling, bright, bubbling, effervescent, fulgid, glinting, glistering, glittery, scintillant, aglitter, brilliant. ANTONYM: (adj) matte scissors: (n) clipper, shears, pair of scissors, scissors hold, compound lever, edge tool, scissor grip, scissors grip; (adj, n) cutters scored: (adj) corroded scowl: (n, v) glare, grimace, roar, sneer; (v) glower, pout, lower, sulk; (adj) black looks, mumps; (n) growl. ANTONYMS: (n, v) grin scrambled: (adj) twisted, snarled,
179 miscellaneous, knotted, jumbled scrap: (n, v) fight, brawl, clash, quarrel, junk; (adj, n) remnant, fragment; (n) end, remainder, bit, piece. ANTONYMS: (v) keep, restore, preserve, adopt, insert; (n) chunk, lot scrape: (n, v) scratch, graze, score, mark; (v) rub, pare, rake, grate, chafe, abrade; (n) abrasion scraping: (n) scrape, scratching, scratch, rub, sizing, rament, incision, mark, prick; (v) rubbing; (adj) grating scraps: (n) garbage, odds and ends, scrap, bits, food waste, leftover, trash, waste, oddments, leftovers, residue scratched: (adj) hurt, abraded, sgraffito, raw, dented, spoiled, damaged, injured screen: (adj, n, v) cover; (n, v) shade, shield, hide, protect, conceal, riddle, shelter, mask, disguise; (n) blind. ANTONYMS: (v) expose, reveal, withhold scrub: (adj, v) scour, mop; (v) scrape, clean, rub, polish, cleanse; (n) brush, bush, scouring; (n, v) wash. ANTONYMS: (v) restore, dirty, insert scrupulously: (adv) carefully, painstakingly, strictly, meticulously, religiously, thoroughly, nicely, exactly, fastidiously, particularly, accurately. ANTONYM: (adv) negligently sculpture: (v) carve, sculpt, mold, model, shape; (n, v) engrave, grave, cut; (n) carving, statue, engraving seamed: (adj) unsmooth, rough search: (v) grope, rummage, ransack, pry; (n) pursuit, exploration, examination, inquiry, inspection; (n, v) inquire, research searching: (adj) piercing, inquisitive, probing, acute, exhaustive, curious, inquiring, profound, exploratory; (adj, v) cutting; (v) excruciating seat: (n) bench, base, behind, bottom, buttocks, location, position, post, posterior; (v) locate, put seated: (adj) sat, sedentary seats: (n) parquet, circle, parterre, seating area, seating room, orchestra, seat, chairs, places, bleachers, elbow room seclusion: (n) retreat, segregation, retirement, isolation, secrecy, concealment, insulation, separation, hermitage; (adj, n) solitude, loneliness. ANTONYMS: (n)
180 company, closeness, inclusion second: (n) instant, jiffy, flash, minute, sec; (v) back, endorse, help; (n, v) support; (adj) latter, further. ANTONYMS: (adj) top, former; (n) age secret: (adj, v) mysterious, hidden, covert, secluded, confidential; (adj) concealed, furtive, occult, obscure; (adj, n) privacy, secrecy. ANTONYMS: (adj, n) known, public; (adj) open, overt, apparent, unrestricted, external, visible, outermost, transparent, blatant secreted: (adj) hidden, unseen, out of sight secretive: (adj, v) secret, near, hidden; (adj) silent, reserved, quiet, uncommunicative, clandestine, tightlipped, incommunicative; (v) reticent. ANTONYMS: (adj) revealing, communicative, meaningful, public secretly: (adv) privately, confidentially, quietly, stealthily, surreptitiously, furtively, in secret, darkly, secretively, clandestinely, occultly. ANTONYMS: (adv) publicly, deliberately, brazenly security: (n, v) pledge, bond; (n) protection, hostage, insurance, strength, guard, secureness, collateral; (adj, n) safety, peace. ANTONYMS: (n) danger, insecurity, unreliability, vulnerability, discomfort, fear, attack sedentary: (adj) lazy, sluggish, motionless, stationary, domestic; (v) untraveled. ANTONYM: (adj) mobile seductive: (adj) enticing, tempting, alluring, inviting, desirable, sexy, irresistible, persuasive, charming, fascinating; (adj, v) seducing. ANTONYM: (adj) repulsive seed: (n) issue, posterity, root, progeny, offspring, origin, nucleus, brood, embryo; (v) inseminate, plant seeing: (prep) because; (adj) Seely, considering; (n) sight, vision, beholding, fusion, visual sense; (v) conceive, comprehend, perceive seek: (n, v) ask, inquire; (v) hunt, endeavor, attempt, look, aspire, pursue, beg, quest, explore. ANTONYMS: (v) answer, grant seeking: (n) hunt, pursuit, hunting, effort, pursuance; (adj) searching, zetetic; (prep) looking for seem: (v) appear, feel, seeming, loom, expect, show, beseem, sound, glitter, glisten, gleam
Ethan Frome seeming: (adj) ostensible, superficial, illusory, outward, probable, deceptive, specious; (adj, n) appearance, semblance; (n) aspect, show. ANTONYMS: (adj) actual, deep, inner seen: (adj) visible, clad, beseen, accomplished, discovered, appearing; (v) observe, perceive, conceive, comprehend, understand seething: (v) ebullient; (adj) irate, raging, enraged, spitting mad, beside yourself, teed off, packed; (n) ebullition, tumult, digestion segregation: (v) detachment; (n) dissociation, separation, disjunction, elimination, discrimination, division, expulsion, isolation, sequestration, purdah. ANTONYMS: (n) integration, inclusion, unity seized: (adj) confiscate, appropriated, condemned, apprehended, grasped, taken, held, seised, detained, obtained, arraught seldom: (adj) scarce, rare, few, infrequent; (adv) occasionally, infrequently, uncommonly, hardly, scarcely, not often, once in a blue moon. ANTONYMS: (adv) often, seldom self-absorption: (n) introspection self-control: (n) self-discipline, patience, forbearance, abstinence, temperance, temper, composure, discipline, self-command, selfpossession, balance self-defence: (n) self-defense sell: (v) deal, handle, dispose, betray, give, promote, realize, merchandise, dispose of; (n, v) cheat; (adj) sold. ANTONYMS: (v) buy, wholesale send: (v) pass, deliver, forward, convey, dispatch, mail, post, give, carry, divert, project. ANTONYM: (v) keep sending: (n) forwarding, dispatch, transmission, transmittal, send, despatch, mailing, transport, dispatching, dispatchment, conveyance senior: (adj) older, old, major, elderly, aged; (n) head, dean, doyen, commander, ruler; (adj, n) superior. ANTONYMS: (adj, n) junior; (adj) subordinate, younger; (n) inferior sensation: (n, v) feeling, impression, sense; (v) affection; (n) emotion, feel, perception, wonder, sensibility, sensitivity, thrill. ANTONYMS: (n) deadness, flop, dud, calm, failure sensations: (n) feelings, vibrations,
ambiance sense: (n) perception, meaning, common sense, sensation, logic, understanding, impression, feeling; (n, v) feel, intellect, mind. ANTONYMS: (n) stupidity, garbage, ludicrousness, nonsense, foolishness, gibberish, illogicality, irrationality, numbness, certainty; (v) observe senseless: (adj) foolish, mindless, preposterous, pointless, irrational, absurd, stupid, insensible, idiotic, fatuous, purposeless. ANTONYMS: (adj) meaningful, wise, conscious, provoked, prudent, useful, worthwhile sensibility: (adj, n, v) feeling, notion; (n, v) sensation, appreciation, sense; (n) emotion, sensitivity, consciousness, perceptivity, awareness; (adj, n) sentiment. ANTONYM: (n) insensitivity sensitive: (adj) excitable, sore, tender, sensible, painful, impressionable, emotional, irritable, receptive, gentle, susceptible. ANTONYMS: (adj) numb, hardhearted, tactless, impervious, dense, improper, insensible, prosaic, straightforward, unconcerned, indiscriminate sent: (adj) dispatched, imported, ecstatic, blissful, fascinated, intoxicated; (v) transmit. ANTONYM: (adj) unsent sentence: (v) condemn, convict, judge, damn; (n) finding, phrase, conviction, punishment; (n, v) decision, doom, condemnation. ANTONYMS: (n) reward, absolution; (v) absolve, acquit sentient: (adj) sensitive, animate, aware, responsive, susceptible, perceptive, aesthetic, sensible, tender, impressionable, alive. ANTONYMS: (adj) inanimate, insentient, unconscious, dead sentimental: (adj) maudlin, mushy, romantic, tender, soft, mawkish, schmaltzy, sappy, schmalzy, bathetic, slushy. ANTONYMS: (adj) hardhearted, cool sentiments: (n) breast separate: (v) part, detach, insulate, scatter, dissociate, cut, disperse, disconnect; (adj) individual, detached; (adj, v) discrete. ANTONYMS: (v) unite, merge, mix, link, combine, fuse, join, associate; (adj) connected, joined, simultaneous sequel: (n) sequence, result, issue,
Edith Wharton aftermath, continuation, continuance, outcome, consequence, ending, upshot, outgrowth. ANTONYM: (n) prelude serious: (adj, n, v) grave; (adj) heavy, austere, great, hard, dangerous, critical; (adj, v) sedate, important, momentous, considerable. ANTONYMS: (adj) lighthearted, mild, flippant, cheerful, humorous, minor, slight, playful, trivial, unimportant, brisk seriously: (adv) earnestly, soberly, severely, solemnly, badly, deeply, staidly, sincerely, thoughtfully, greatly, weightily. ANTONYMS: (adv) frivolously, playfully, cheerfully, slightly, teasingly, jovially, nonchalantly, lightheartedly, briskly, mildly, lightly seriousness: (n) earnest, earnestness, graveness, importance, staidness, solemnity, sincerity, consequence, sobriety, austerity, soberness. ANTONYMS: (n) flippancy, insignificance, frivolity, giddiness, jollity, triviality, cheerfulness, joking, joviality, unimportance, playfulness servant: (n) manservant, domestic, lackey, maid, employee, flunkey, retainer, boy, footman, flunky, menial. ANTONYMS: (n) master, mistress serve: (adj, n, v) avail; (v) assist, aid, act, benefit, tend, attend, operate, function, do; (n, v) officiate serviceable: (adj) practical, helpful, handy, profitable, beneficial, effective, useful, convenient, efficient, operative, practicable. ANTONYMS: (adj) impractical, unusable, unserviceable, useless, flimsy, worthless services: (n) facilities, armed forces, job, commencement, Armed Services, amenities, employment, conveniences, forces, liturgy, military setting: (n) scene, scenery, adjustment, position, background, mount, backdrop, environment, scope, mounting, set settle: (adj, n, v) fix, establish, confirm; (n, v) place, set; (v) resolve, clarify, pay, regulate, adjudicate, agree. ANTONYMS: (v) float, wander, prolong, owe, bungle, open, provoke, rise, weaken, worsen, complicate settled: (adj) definite, set, firm,
permanent, certain, calm, established, decided, formed, defined, finished. ANTONYMS: (adj) unsettled, exciting, temporary settlement: (n) accommodation, colony, hamlet, payment, arrangement, conclusion, resolution, determination, contract, village, colonization settling: (n) settlement, subsidence, defecation, dregs, clearing, sinking, dreg, remission, cave in; (adj) determining, definitive seven: (adj, n) VII; (n) September, septet, week, nine, knave, king, jack, queen, digit, Sevener several: (adj, v) diverse, divers, sundry; (adj, n) a few, some; (adj) various, individual, different, particular, special, numerous. ANTONYMS: (adj) joint, all, none sewed: (adj) stitched, sewn, sew, sewen, seamed sewing: (n) embroidery, sew, needlecraft, stitch, stitching, fancywork, mend, gather, patch, gathering, binding shade: (n, v) screen, tinge, shadow, tint, color, cloud; (n) ghost, hue, blind, conceal, tone. ANTONYMS: (n) brightness, glare; (v) brighten, clarify, expose shaded: (adj) dark, shads, sheltered, shadowed, umbrageous, twilight, sunless, subdued, soft, colored, darksome. ANTONYM: (adj) unshaded shadow: (n) ghost, darkness, apparition, follower, gloom, reflection; (n, v) eclipse, trace, tail, hint; (v) follow. ANTONYMS: (v) brighten, lead; (n) brightness, pallor shadows: (n) dark, darkness, night, dimness, dusk, fogginess, mistiness, gloom, cloudiness. ANTONYM: (n) brightness shadowy: (adj) indistinct, misty, dark, faint, obscure, hazy, gloomy, vague, shady, insubstantial, dusky. ANTONYMS: (adj) clear, palpable, light, distinct, open shaggy: (adj) bushy, hirsute, hairy, bearded, shagged, pilous, brushy, unkempt, hispid; (adj, n) ragged; (n) rugged. ANTONYMS: (adj) sleek, tidy shake: (n, v) jolt, beat, jar, quiver, wave; (v) agitate, excite, disturb; (adv, v) brandish; (adj, v) quake, totter. ANTONYMS: (v) soothe, steady shaken: (adj) jolted, agitated,
181 dilapidated, frayed; (v) passe, lame, broken, threadbare, wilted, shaky, vibrate shall: (n) must, necessity; (v) require, bequeath, leave shame: (n, v) disgrace, dishonor, discredit, humiliate, degrade, chagrin; (n) humiliation, modesty, scandal, insult; (v) abash. ANTONYMS: (n) pride, glorification, making, worthiness; (v) acknowledge, glorify, respect, dignify shamed: (adj) dishonored, ashamed, hangdog, guilty, discredited, abashed, sheepish, embarrassed, shamefaced, bullied, cowed shape: (n, v) cast, mold, fashion, mould, model, make, design; (n) pattern, figure; (v) determine, influence shapeless: (adj) amorphous, misshapen, unformed, unstructured, nebulous, inchoate, unshapely, indistinct, uncrystallized, embryonic, vague. ANTONYMS: (adj) distinct, defined, tailored share: (n, v) portion, allot, part, distribute, apportion, deal, divide; (v) participate, partake, dispense; (n) dole. ANTONYM: (v) refrain sharp: (adj, n, v) keen, acute, bitter; (adj) intelligent, intense, incisive; (adj, v) biting, acid, acrid, severe, harsh. ANTONYMS: (adj) dull, mild, gentle, sweet, rounded, bland, round, smooth, blurred, naive, kind sharpened: (adj) acute, pointed, acuate, sharper, better, sensual sharpening: (n) grinding, training, filing, dressing, acumination, aggravation; (adj) abrasive sharply: (adj, adv) piercingly, harshly, penetratingly; (adv) keenly, severely, abruptly, trenchantly, shrewdly, bitingly, cuttingly, bitterly. ANTONYMS: (adv) gently, kindly, sweetly, politely, gradually, pleasantly shattered: (adj) destroyed, smashed, done in, crazy, shaky, crushed; (adj, v) exhausted; (v) battered, dead beat, done up, lame. ANTONYMS: (adj) fresh, energetic, lively, whole, strong shave: (v) scrape, reduce, pare, cut, brush, chip, whittle, crop; (adj, v) clip, shear, lop. ANTONYMS: (v) augment, expand, lengthen shaving: (adj, n) paring, sliver, shiver; (n, v) shave; (n) cut, splinter, rasher, grazing, slice; (adj) clipping,
182 driblet shawl: (n) wrap, mantle, cape, muffler, scarf, pall, mantlet Mantua, wrapper, kerchief, headscarf, stole shed: (v) discard, drop, moult, scatter, exuviate, molt, cast off, dismiss; (n) shack, hut, cabin. ANTONYMS: (v) keep, cover; (adj) persistent sheepish: (adj) coy, diffident, shamefaced, bashful, shy, guilty, embarrassed, nervous, skittish, faint-hearted, pusillanimous. ANTONYMS: (adj) unabashed, proud sheet: (n) board, leaf, paper, film, bed sheet, canvas, coat, coating, cover, plane, newspaper shelf: (n) ledge, rack, bank, flat, projection, bookshelf, shelves, board, frame, shallows; (adj, n) shallow shelter: (n, v) guard, refuge, harbor, protect, shield; (adj, n, v) screen; (n) protection, asylum, sanctuary, security, hut. ANTONYMS: (n) danger, exposure; (v) endanger shelves: (n) shelf, rack, shelving shield: (n, v) shelter, screen, cover, guard, safeguard, buffer; (v) preserve, secure, defend, hide; (n) protection. ANTONYMS: (n) danger, exposure; (v) endanger, attack, reveal shift: (n, v) change, exchange, turn, interchange, quibble, switch, move; (v) remove, budge, convert, alter. ANTONYMS: (v) restore, leave, straighten; (n) preservation, stillness shine: (n, v) light, sheen, flash, glitter, sparkle, polish, rub; (v) burnish, gleam, blaze; (n) radiance shining: (adj, v) brilliant; (adj) lustrous, radiant, glossy, luminous, glorious, glowing; (adj, n) lucid, resplendent, clear; (v) shine. ANTONYMS: (adj) dull, pale, blemished shirt: (n) Jersey, chemise, blouse, hair shirt, dress shirt, evening shirt, polo shirt shiver: (n, v) shake, tremble, shudder, fragment, thrill, splinter, tingle; (v) quake, shatter, palpitate; (adj, v) break shivering: (adj) quivering, shaking, trembling, shaky, quaking, tremulous, shuddering, chilled; (n) chill, cold, shiver. ANTONYM: (adj) composed shock: (n, v) daze, jar, collision, surprise, outrage, shake, scare; (n)
Ethan Frome impact; (v) startle, offend, revolt. ANTONYMS: (n, v) delight; (v) please, encourage; (n) boost, security, bonus shocked: (adj) dismayed, aghast, amazed, surprised, stunned, distressed, afraid, speechless, appalled, bewildered, dumbfounded. ANTONYMS: (adj) delighted, indifferent, unaffected shook: (adj) shake, vibrate, addled, barrel, cask, confused, distressed, hurt, passionate, puzzled shooting: (v) shoot, hunting, coursing; (n) gunfire, killing, gunshot, shot, murder; (adj) sharp, acute, piercing short: (adj, v) concise, close; (adj) scarce, curt, brusque, sharp, compendious, laconic, deficient, scanty, diminutive. ANTONYMS: (adj) long, high, lengthy, unabridged, sufficient, slender, rangy, rambling, overlong, extended, plentiful shortened: (adj) abridged, cut, short, condensed, curtailed, reduced, cut short, scarce, unfinished, truncated, telescoped shortest: (adj) direct, brusk, brusque, choleric, curt, directer, hotheaded, least, irascible, lowest, most direct shortly: (adv) presently, curtly, before long, soon, concisely, brusquely, abruptly, tersely, succinctly; (adj, adv) immediately, summarily. ANTONYMS: (adv) politely, pleasantly, verbosely, later shot: (n) injection, gunshot, go, fling, shoot, crack, ball, picture, bang, jab, discharge shoulder: (v) carry, push, hold, jostle, sustain, support, assume, accept; (n, v) elbow; (n) back, flange shouted: (adj) screamed, loud shouts: (n) cries show: (adj, n, v) present, appearance; (n, v) exhibit, produce, broadcast, indicate, parade; (v) point out; (n) presentation, ostentation; (adj, v) guide. ANTONYMS: (v) disprove, hide, withhold, suppress, disappear, cover, absorb; (n) concealment showing: (n) display, screening, exhibit, revelation, viewing, appearance, exhibition, exposition, presentation, exposure; (adj) exhibiting shown: (adj) manifest, revealed, exhibited, ostensible, avowed, declared, denoted, given away; (v) appear, represent, indicate.
ANTONYM: (adj) hidden shrank: (v) minify shred: (n) rag, piece, scintilla, iota, bit, strip, remnant, sliver; (adj, n) scrap; (v) rip, tear shrill: (adj) piercing, penetrating, strident, keen, shrewd; (v) shriek, screech, scream, yell; (adj, v) high, sharp. ANTONYMS: (adj) low, quiet, resonant shrivelled: (adj) shriveled, withered, wizened, shrunken, sere, sear, thin, lean, dry, shrunk, dryer shrunken: (adj) wizened, shrivelled, shrunk, withered, contracted, wizen, narrow, dried, thin, lean, sear. ANTONYMS: (adj) plump, bloated shudder: (adj, n, v) shake, quake, tremble; (n, v) quiver, twitch, thrill; (n) quivering, shivering, chill, frisson; (v) flutter shuddering: (adj, n) quivering, shaking; (adv) shudderingly; (n) cold sweat, tremor; (adj) rough, shaky, jumpy, quaking, shivery, bumpy. ANTONYM: (adj) smooth shunned: (adj) undesirable, friendless, abandoned shut: (v) seal, bar, fasten, obstruct, lock, exclude; (adj) closed, cut; (n) shutting, end, finish. ANTONYMS: (v) admit, undo shyness: (n) diffidence, modesty, bashfulness, humility, shame, timidity, coyness, pudency, timorousness, backwardness, timidness. ANTONYMS: (n) sociability, brashness, confidence, urbanity, arrogance sick: (adj) ill, queasy, poorly, ailing, weary, diseased, sickly, morbid; (adj, v) indisposed, unwell; (adj, n) invalid. ANTONYMS: (adj) healthy, fond, wholesome sicker: (adj) syker sickliness: (n) feebleness, debility, malaise, disease sickly: (adj, adv) poorly; (n) invalid; (adj) sick, ailing, pale, sallow, indisposed, morbid, diseased; (adj, n, v) infirm; (adj, v) faint. ANTONYMS: (adj) healthy, bitter, robust sickness: (n, v) disease, indisposition, malady, disorder, distemper, ailment; (n) complaint, qualm, nausea, disgust, queasiness side: (n) rim, faction, brink, direction, hand, aspect, margin; (adj, n) part; (n, v) party, border, face. ANTONYMS: (adj) distant, central, major, primary; (n) back, front,
Edith Wharton center, middle; (v) straddle sideway: (adv) sidewise, sideways, lateral, side, laterally, sidewards, obliquely, crabwise sideways: (adj) side, crabwise, crosswise, indirect; (adv) obliquely, laterally, sidelong, sideway, sidewise, sidewards; (adj, adv) aslant. ANTONYMS: (adj) level, direct; (adv) across siege: (n) blockade, envelopment, encirclement, investment, besieging; (v) beleaguer, encompass, environ, envelop, encircle, beset sight: (n, v) vision, glimpse, show, aspect, appearance; (v) aim, spot, see; (n) view, prospect, scene sign: (n, v) mark, motion, gesture; (n) portent, indication, manifestation, imprint, presage, brand, poster; (v) indicate. ANTONYMS: (n) successor; (v) dismiss signal: (n, v) omen, gesture, presage, wave, alert; (n) indication, flag, alarm; (v) indicate; (adj, n) salient, prominent. ANTONYMS: (adj) inconspicuous, ordinary signed: (adj) gestural, engaged, employed, communicatory, communicative, nonverbal significance: (n) sense, moment, purport, connotation, meaning, consequence, effect, intent, concern, importance, point. ANTONYMS: (n) insignificance, triviality, unimportance, meaninglessness signs: (n) situation, indications, signage, appearances, cipher, cryptogram, discriminating marks, indicia, secret code, secret language, symbols silence: (adj, n, v) calm, still; (int, n, v) hush; (n, v) lull; (n) mum; (adj, v) appease; (v) mute, allay, pacify, muzzle; (int, v) shut up. ANTONYMS: (n) sound, openness, uproar, movement; (v) amplify, Louden, encourage, rouse silent: (adj, adv) motionless; (adj) dumb, tacit, mute, noiseless, reserved, placid, reticent, mum, taciturn, hush. ANTONYMS: (adj) spoken, talkative, loud, explicit, open, live, forthcoming, verbal, audible, talking, moving silently: (adv) mutely, stilly, quietly, noiselessly, soundlessly, taciturnly, wordlessly, secretly, speechlessly, placidly, tacitly. ANTONYMS: (adv) loudly, audibly, openly, brazenly silver: (n) money, gold, bullion, precious Metals; (adj) silvery,
argent, white, silvern, gray, neutral tint; (v) plate simple: (adj, n) plain, humble, innocent, rustic; (adj) homely, elementary, natural; (adj, v) pure, clear, mere, downright. ANTONYMS: (adj) complex, complicated, compound, elaborate, difficult, multiple, obscure, ornate, problematical, sophisticated, confusing simplest: (adj) rudimentary simply: (adj, adv) only, exclusively, barely; (adv) just, alone, directly, purely, absolutely, easily, plainly; (adj) straightforward. ANTONYMS: (adv) elaborately, ornately, majestically, covertly, dishonestly, incoherently, obscurely, pretentiously since: (adv, conj, prep) because, seeing that; (adv, prep) afterwards, before; (adv, conj) for, as; (adj, adv) ago; (conj) whereas; (prep) from, of; (adv) after singing: (v) sing; (n) chanting, caroling, crooning, hymnody, humming, intonation, scat, psalmody, harmonization; (adj) cantabile. ANTONYM: (adj) silent single: (adj) celibate, odd, particular, separate, solitary, isolated, sole, lone, lonely, simple; (adj, n) one. ANTONYMS: (adj) double, multiple, divorced, attached, dual, involved, widowed, general, common; (n) record sinister: (adj) dark, forbidding, black, menacing, wicked, baleful, threatening, malevolent, malign, inauspicious, vicious. ANTONYMS: (adj) innocent, hospitable, good, normal, favorable sink: (n, v) sag, dip; (v) decline, fall, set, descend, drop, fell, subside, settle; (adj, n, v) droop. ANTONYMS: (v) rise, float, improve, increase, recover, drift, ascend, raise sinking: (n) sinkage, settling, fall, descent, foundering, depression, immersion, submersion, submergence; (v) decrease, decline. ANTONYM: (adj) rising sipping: (n) imbibing, imbibition; (adj) libant sirius: (n) blazing star, Canicula, Sothis sitting: (n) session, seat, seance, meeting, seating, conference, posing; (adj) seated, inactive; (v) incubation, batching. ANTONYMS: (adj)
183 standing, active situation: (n) employment, position, post, job, matter, location, circumstance, circumstances, condition, site, office skies: (n) heavens, firmament, expanse skill: (n) artifice, capacity, capability, knack, ability, faculty, finesse, cleverness, expertise; (adj, n) craft, cunning. ANTONYMS: (n) clumsiness, incompetence, uselessness, stupidity, ineptness, tactlessness, inexperience, ignorance, inaccuracy, delay, drawback skin: (n) hide, fur, rind, coating, shell, hull; (v) pare, scrape, excoriate, flay; (n, v) bark skirting: (n) skirt, edging, fringe, list, frill, frame, flounce; (adj) border, flanking, parietal, marginal slab: (n) hunk, chunk, bar, monument, block, layer, board, flag, floor; (adj) plate, tablet slack: (adj, v) loose, lax, remiss, slow, dull; (adj) indolent, negligent, idle, flaccid, limp, baggy. ANTONYMS: (adj) strict, taut, thorough, brisk, diligent, attentive, upright, prompt, meticulous; (v) tighten; (n) tautness slacken: (adj, n, v) loosen; (v) abate, remit, retard, loose, douse, lessen, slow, slack up; (adj, v) slack; (n, v) ease. ANTONYMS: (v) tense, increase slammed: (adj) tight slant: (n, v) incline, angle, pitch, bias, tilt, lurch; (v) lean, bend; (adj, n, v) slope; (adj, n) inclination; (adj) obliquity. ANTONYMS: (v) level, straighten slanted: (adj) slanting, diagonal, lopsided, tilted, sloped, sloping, oblique, skewed, aslant, askew, aslope. ANTONYMS: (adj) straight, balanced, impartial, level, upright slate: (n) list, platform, plank; (v) condemn, paper, papyrus, parchment, foolscap, chide, lambaste, intend slatternly: (adj) blowzy, sluttish, untidy, dirty, blowsy, sordid, loose, dowdy, squalid; (adv) dowdily, drably sled: (n) sledge, luge, toboggan, bobsleigh, pung, maul, jumper, dogsled, dog sleigh sledge: (n) toboggan, sleigh, maul, bobsleigh, sledge hammer, pung, dog sleigh, dogsled, bottom, jumper; (n, v) sledgehammer
184 sleep: (n, v) nap, repose, doze, kip, slumber, catnap; (adj, n, v) lie; (v) hibernate, nod; (n) dream; (adj, v) lodge. ANTONYMS: (v) awaken; (n) alertness, agitation sleet: (n, v) rain; (n) hail, snift, downfall, glaze, metabolic residue, moment; (v) come down sleety: (adj) clouded, cold, dirty, dirty water, filthy, foul, frozen, groveling, gusty, nasty, base sleeve: (n) arm, liner, cover, cuff, wristband, collar, socket, skin, sheath; (v) plexus, skein sleigh: (n, v) sled; (n) sledge, toboggan, bobsleigh, pung, dog sleigh, dogsled, sledgehammer, maul, jumper slide: (n, v) slip, glide, fall, decline, slump; (n) chute, landslide, transparency; (v) slither, run, skid. ANTONYMS: (n) recovery; (v) rise slight: (adj, adv) light; (adj) thin, flimsy, slender, fragile, petty, little; (adv, n, v) neglect; (n, v) insult, scorn; (v) ignore. ANTONYMS: (adj) considerable, major, obvious, thickset, severe, wide, fat, intense, heavy, likely; (v) acknowledge slighter: (adj) smaller, less slightly: (adv) slenderly, slimly, lightly, somewhat, little, thinly, moderately, weakly, faintly, trivially, unimportantly. ANTONYMS: (adv) significantly, infinitely, excessively, terribly, tremendously, solidly, particularly, much, considerably, seriously, intensely slim: (adj, v) thin; (adj) slight, narrow, lean, remote, fine, skinny, tiny, meager; (v) reduce, lose weight. ANTONYMS: (adj) heavy, hefty, plump, stocky, wide, considerable, substantial, strong, stout; (v) gain slip: (adj, n, v) lapse, miss; (adj, n) fault, blunder; (n, v) slide, drop, mistake, escape, skid, trip; (n) cutting. ANTONYM: (n) invoice slippery: (adj, v) precarious; (adj) crafty, glib, elusive, oily, glossy, untrustworthy, wily, unreliable, tricky; (v) questionable. ANTONYMS: (adj) rough, dry, reliable, straight, direct slipping: (n) skidding, slippage; (adj) slithering, gliding, down, labent slope: (n, v) pitch, slant, dip, tilt; (v) cant, lean; (n) declivity, acclivity, hill, gradient; (adj, n) inclination. ANTONYMS: (v) level; (n) descent,
Ethan Frome hollow, ascent sloped: (adj) slanting, oblique, sloping, inclined, aslope, diagonal, aslant, leaned, leant, colored, biased slow: (adj, v) slack; (adj) dull, sluggish, heavy, stupid, lazy, indolent, inactive; (adj, adv) easy, behind; (adj, n) gradual. ANTONYMS: (adj) intelligent, rapid, bright, speedy, alert, brisk, quick, prompt, hasty, rushed; (v) accelerate slowly: (adj, adv, v) slow; (adv) deliberately, sluggishly, tediously, dully, gradually, unhurriedly, slackly, lethargically, belatedly; (adj, adv) lento. ANTONYMS: (adv) fast, hurriedly, promptly, rapidly, immediately, briefly, intelligently, vigorously, brightly, nimbly, punctually sluggish: (adj) inert, indolent, inactive, idle, slow, torpid, slack, languid; (adj, n) lazy, drowsy, heavy. ANTONYMS: (adj) energetic, fast, brisk, lively, alert, speedy, industrious slumbering: (adj) dormant, asleep, latent. ANTONYM: (adj) awake small: (adj) little, narrow, slight, minor, inadequate, petty, fine, insignificant, light, remote; (adj, v) low. ANTONYMS: (adj, adv) big; (adj) sizeable, colossal, considerable, enormous, great, huge, bulky, major, giant, important smaller: (adj) littler, inferior, lesser, less, little, shorter, lower, littlest, subordinate smart: (adj, n) sharp, quick, bright; (n, v) pain; (adj) shrewd, crafty, sly, dapper, prompt, astute, intelligent. ANTONYMS: (adj) stupid, scruffy, unkempt, dim, shabby, slow, naive, unfashionable, unstylish, unintelligent, thick smash-up: (n) crash smelt: (v) fuse, temper, anneal, to smelt, distill, refine, heat; (n) sparling, capelan, caplin, capelin smile: (n) grin, grinning, smiling, luck, facial expression; (v) laugh, beam, chuckle, simper; (n, v) grimace; (adv) smilingly. ANTONYMS: (n, v) scowl; (v) glower smiling: (adv) smilingly; (adj) bright, cheerful, jolly, joyful, of good cheer, twinkly, fair, sunny; (n) grinning, grin. ANTONYMS: (adj) sad, gloomy smoke: (n) fumes, cigarette, cigar,
smog, fog; (n, v) reek, fumigate, puff; (v) exhale, cure; (adj) tobacco smoking: (n) fume, marijuana, respiration, roll of tobacco, sens; (v) candent, ebullient, glowing; (adj) smoky, rabid; (adv) on a roll smooth: (adj, v) quiet, level, facilitate; (adj) calm, oily, facile, fluent, flowing, flat, fluid, graceful. ANTONYMS: (adj) rough, uneven, wrinkled, peeling, jerky, ridged, flaking, abrasive, coarse, prickly; (v) wrinkle smoothed: (adj) round, smoothened, curved. ANTONYM: (adj) sharp smoothness: (n) slipperiness, slickness, sleekness, evenness, polish, glossiness, softness, silkiness, grace; (adj, n) elegance, delicacy. ANTONYMS: (n) resistance, unevenness, hesitation, dampness, awkwardness, harshness, hesitancy smote: (v) smite smothered: (adj) strangled, stifled, smothers, pent-up, covered smothering: (adj) choking, suffocative, suffocating, tight, sultry, breathless; (adv) smotheringly; (v) suffocate snatched: (adj) hasty, speedy, brief, hurried, quick, rapid, short, sudden, swift. ANTONYM: (adj) slow snow: (n) cocaine, precipitation, snowfall, bark, barque; (v) overwhelm, beguile, hoodwink, bamboozle, lead by the nose, play false snowed: (adj) drugged, fooled snowy: (adj) white, pure, clean, blank, hoary, achromatic, snowwhite, unblemished, wintry, wet, favorite sobbing: (adj) crying, weeping, weepy, tearful; (n) lamentation, shortness of breath, shit, prick, motherfucker, tear, lament sober: (adj, v) grave, sedate; (adj) sane, earnest, quiet, solemn, moderate, modest, serene, dull, somber. ANTONYMS: (adj) intoxicated, unrestrained, drunk, playful, sensational, emotional, cheerful, frivolous, funny, muddled, delirious sociability: (n) conviviality, joviality, affability, openness, extroversion, comradery, ambiversion, camaraderie, civility, amicability; (adj) sociality. ANTONYMS: (n) unfriendliness, hostility, unsociability, reserve, rudeness sociable: (adj) outgoing, affable,
Edith Wharton amicable, genial, congenial, cordial, companionable, amiable, gracious, agreeable; (adj, n) social. ANTONYMS: (adj) unfriendly, reserved, lonely, introvert, discourteous, frosty, hostile, inhospitable, disagreeable, shy, inaccessible social: (adj, n) sociable; (adj) national, public, friendly, companionable, common, neighborly, convivial; (n) mixer, party, society. ANTONYMS: (adj) unsociable, unfriendly, shy sofa: (n) couch, lounge, divan, bench, davenport, seat, squab, chair, form, convertible, daybed soft: (adj, adv) easy, quiet; (adj) limp, light, balmy, delicate, slack, loose, smooth; (adj, v) feeble; (adj, adv, v) low. ANTONYMS: (adj) hard, firm, harsh, loud, hoarse, stiff, rough, solid, strong, shrill, alcoholic soil: (adj, n) dirt; (adj, v) smudge; (v) pollute, dirty, contaminate, mire; (n, v) grime; (n) land, dust, earth; (adj, n, v) blot. ANTONYMS: (v) wash, cleanse, purify; (n) sea soiled: (adj) grubby, dirty, nasty, grimy, unclean, filthy, muddy, black, mucky, polluted, foul. ANTONYMS: (adj) pure, immaculate solace: (n) consolation, relief, balm, solacement; (v) console, allay, relieve, recreate; (n, v) ease, cheer, support. ANTONYMS: (n) distress, grief sold: (adj) depleted, interested; (v) to market sole: (n) bottom, flounder, base; (adj) single, singular, one, exclusive, individual, only, alone, solitary. ANTONYM: (adj) common solemnly: (adv) earnestly, gravely, majestically, stately, sternly, staidly, thoughtfully, soberly, formally, ceremoniously, importantly. ANTONYMS: (adv) cheerfully, flippantly solitary: (adj) forlorn, only, alone, single, lonely, lone, sole, unaccompanied, isolated; (adj, n) recluse; (n) hermit. ANTONYMS: (adj) sociable, combined, common, outgoing sombre: (adj) dismal, dreary, dark, shadowy, mournful, morose, murky, gloomy, sober, dull, glum somebody: (n) person, personage, mortal, man, creature, notable, human; (n, pron) someone; (adj, n) celebrity; (pron) anybody; (adj)
notability. ANTONYM: (n) nonentity something: (n) what, object, thing, article, entity, substance, somebody; (adv, n) somewhat; (adv) rather, a little, kinda. ANTONYM: (pron) nothing sometimes: (adv) from time to time, occasionally, every now and then, now and again, every so often, once, sometime, once in a while, formerly; (n) at times; (adj, adv) on and off. ANTONYM: (adv) regularly somewhere: (adv) someplace, approximately, anyplace, about, wherever, where, roughly, everywhere, around, passim, ultimately soon: (adv) shortly, presently, anon, immediately, directly, at once, before long, betimes, quickly, promptly; (adj, adv) early. ANTONYMS: (adv) now, eventually, later, slowly sooner: (adj, adv) rather, earlier, before, preferably, instead; (adv) first, before now, faster, previously, beforehand; (adj) prior soothe: (n, v) comfort, allay, console, solace; (v) alleviate, palliate, ease, calm, mitigate; (adj, v) appease; (adj, n, v) assuage. ANTONYMS: (v) upset, irritate, aggravate, annoy, intensify, worry, enrage, scare, provoke, incite, disturb sorrel: (n) russet buff, shamrock, carroty, goatsfoot, oxalis, murrey, common sorrel, brown, pier, red sorrel, reddish brown sorry: (adj) pathetic, sorrowful, remorseful, contrite, pitiful, pitiable, piteous, penitent, paltry, base, sad. ANTONYMS: (adj) glad, happy, admirable, unremorseful, fine sort: (adj, n, v) class; (n, v) type, group, rank; (n) variety, breed, assortment, form, pattern; (adj, n) manner, description sought: (adj) required, quest, seeking, popular soul: (n) creature, human, person, personification, ghost, individual, mind, essence, life, self; (adj, n) heart. ANTONYMS: (n) surface, body sound: (n, v) chime, echo, peal; (adj) reasonable, complete, healthy, sensible, sane, rational; (adj, v) fit, fast. ANTONYMS: (adj) illogical, unsound, confused, unreliable, flawed, flimsy, silent, weak, unreasonable; (n) silence; (v)
185 devoice sounded: (adj) measured, oral sounding: (n) investigation, depth, exploration, test; (adj) resounding, resonant, looking, audible, sonant, voiceful, hollow sour: (adj, n) morose, harsh; (adj, v) acid; (adj) bitter, rancid, gruff, grim, glum, dour; (adj, n, v) severe; (v) ferment. ANTONYMS: (adj) kindly, pleasant, bland, amiable, fresh, mature, mild, kind; (v) sweeten, enhance soured: (adj) rancid, sore, disenchanted. ANTONYM: (adj) unsoured south: (n) confederacy, due south, Dixie, Dixieland, s, souther, south side; (adv) in the south, southwards; (adj) southern, polar space: (n) gap, scope, opening, period, place, void, margin, latitude, extent, emptiness, distance. ANTONYM: (n) mess spaced: (adj) space, detached, separate, isolated, drugged, distributed, disjointed, dislocated spangled: (adj) sequined, jeweled, bejewelled, jewelled, bejeweled, beady, beaded, bespangled, buttonlike, spangly, twinkling. ANTONYM: (adj) dull spare: (adj, v) free, reserve, save, thin; (adj) slender, slight, additional, lean; (adj, n) extra, excess; (v) exempt. ANTONYMS: (n) shortfall, original; (adj) principal, fat, basic, abundant, stout; (v) need, include spark: (n, v) flicker, flash, gleam, glint, glitter; (n) light, glimmer, arc, flame, fire; (v) activate sparkling: (adj, v) effervescent; (adj) bright, brilliant, radiant, glittery, bubbly, glittering, scintillating, shining, scintillant; (n) sparkle. ANTONYMS: (adj) dull, dirty, lifeless, lethargic spasm: (n) fit, outburst, cramp, attack, twitch, paroxysm, convulsion, pain, pang, start, tic speak: (adj, v) pronounce, utter; (v) converse, say, deliver, articulate, recite, talk, discourse, lecture; (n) language speaker: (n) loudspeaker, narrator, orator, spokesman, president, conversationalist, rhetorician, chairman, bullhorn, announcer, caller speaking: (n) talk, discourse, speech, public speaking, reading, oral presentation, recital, recitation,
186 disputation; (v) speak; (adj) expressive. ANTONYMS: (adj) nonspeaking, silent specific: (adj, n) particular; (adj) special, individual, peculiar, precise, exact, concrete, definite, especial, positive, accurate. ANTONYMS: (adj, n) general; (adj) universal, vague, nonspecific, indiscriminate, indeterminate, generalized, ambiguous specified: (adj) specific, given, certain, set, appointed, particular, individual, named, assigned, destined, precise speck: (adj, n) point, atom, particle; (n) blot, flaw, smudge, blotch, blemish, grain, mote, dot. ANTONYM: (n) lot spectacles: (n) glasses, specs, spectacle, eyeglass, goggles, lorgnette, monocle, bifocals, dark glasses, optical instrument, shades spectator: (n) eyewitness, observer, onlooker, witness, audience, beholder, viewer, watcher, spectators, looker, ogler. ANTONYM: (n) player spectators: (n) spectator, gallery, viewer, viewers, attendance spectral: (adj) ghostly, phantasmal, apparitional, unearthly, ghostlike, supernatural, ghastly, shadowy, insubstantial, eerie, cadaverous speech: (n) lecture, expression, language, conversation, sermon, diction, communication; (n, v) delivery, discourse, say, saying speechless: (adj) silent, mute, dumb, dumbfounded, voiceless, quiet, tongueless, tacit, noiseless, mum, wordless. ANTONYMS: (adj) loquacious, eloquent, talkative speed: (n, v) hurry, hasten, rush, race, dispatch; (v) quicken, run, dash, expedite; (n) velocity, rapidity. ANTONYMS: (n) amble, tardiness; (v) decelerate, hinder, linger, delay, crawl spend: (v) expend, exhaust, squander, pay out, blow, deplete, pass, wear, lead; (adj, v) waste; (n) outlay. ANTONYMS: (v) conserve, earn, hoard, keep spent: (adj, v) prostrate; (adj) fatigued, expended, finished, gone, dead, played out, effete, jaded, tired; (v) spend. ANTONYM: (adj) energetic spine: (n) backbone, prickle, quill, back, vertebral column, barb, rachis, spinal column, vertebra; (adj, n)
Ethan Frome point, spike spinning: (n) rotation, revolution, gyration; (adj) rotary, revolving, rotating, turning, whirling, swirling; (v) rotate, revolve spirit: (n, v) courage, mind; (n) mood, ghost, apparition, disposition, energy, essence, soul, phantom; (adj, n) animation. ANTONYMS: (n) lethargy, body, cowardice, surface, sluggishness, lifelessness, defeatism spirits: (n) alcohol, booze, humor, frame of mind, liqueur, strong drink, hard drink; (adj) cheer, geniality, good humor; (v) wine spite: (n) malice, grudge, hatred, malevolence, rancour, venom, rancor, maliciousness, ill will, animosity; (n, v) pique. ANTONYMS: (v) please; (n) benevolence, goodwill, love, affection, harmony spoke: (n) bar, rung, radius, rule, shoe, skid, rundle, line, clog, round; (v) said spoken: (adj) verbal, expressed, speaking, speak, unwritten, vocal, voiced, talk, said, informal, conversational. ANTONYMS: (adj) written, unspoken, tacit, formal, silent spot: (n, v) place, speck, blemish, speckle, fleck, dirty, dapple; (adj, n, v) stain, soil; (n) dot, space spread: (n, v) scatter, stretch, increase; (adj, n, v) reach; (v) disperse, expand, propagate, disseminate, diffuse, circulate; (adj, v) extend. ANTONYMS: (v) suppress, gather, collect, fold, prevent, regress, shrink, specialize, concentrate; (n) decline; (n, v) decrease spreading: (n) dissemination, propagation, dispersion, circulation, spread, dispersal, extension, scatter, distribution; (adj) scattering, diffusing sprightly: (adj) spirited, cheerful, alive, blithe, agile, airy, keen; (adj, v) nimble, active; (adj, n) brisk; (adj, adv) jolly. ANTONYMS: (adj) inactive, slow, clumsy, sluggish spring: (n, v) leap, bound, hop, fountain, skip, caper, bounce, dive, dance; (n) source; (v) originate springing: (v) jumping, climbing, bounding, furious, conspicuous, prominent, ascending, projecting outwardly; (n) growth, suspension, emanation springy: (adj) flexible, elastic,
resilient, bouncy, yielding, whippy, pliable, spongy, lively, live, supple. ANTONYM: (adj) unyielding spruce: (adj) dapper, neat, natty, jaunty, trim, rakish, stylish, dashing, snappy; (adj, v) tidy; (adj, n) bright. ANTONYMS: (adj) untidy, messy, unkempt spume: (n, v) froth, foam, bubble, suds; (n) head, scum, barm, spray, bubbles, surf; (v) effervesce spun: (adj) spined; (v) rotate, revolve squalid: (adj) sordid, nasty, foul, seedy, filthy, grimy, abject, dingy, grubby, seamy, sleazy. ANTONYMS: (adj) clean, reputable, smart, respectable, fresh, comfortable, wholesome, habitable square: (n) area, rectangle; (adj) rectangular, fair, honest; (adj, v) even, correspond, agree; (v) settle; (adv, n) foursquare; (adj, adv) just. ANTONYMS: (adj) round, underhand, trendy, fresh, activist, relaxed stability: (n) durability, firmness, poise, permanence, equilibrium, solidity, security, balance, stableness, strength, endurance. ANTONYMS: (n) unsteadiness, inconstancy, fluctuation, upheaval, softness, interruption, flimsiness, inconsistency, imbalance stable: (adj, adv) firm; (adj) reliable, stationary, fixed, fast, lasting, constant, durable, secure, solid, sound. ANTONYMS: (adj) shaky, wobbly, dangerous, volatile, precarious, rickety, tenuous, temperamental, fickle, temporary; (adv) loosely stage: (n, v) phase; (n) floor, point, period, level, degree, proscenium, arena, layer; (v) present, order staggering: (adj) astounding, amazing, incredible, inconceivable, prodigious, marvelous, startling, ghastly, shocking, remarkable, extraordinary. ANTONYMS: (adj) unremarkable, normal, lovely, comforting stained: (adj) besmirched, dirty, colored, tarnished, soiled, tainted, sullied, flyblown, discolored, painted; (v) polluted. ANTONYMS: (adj) unspoiled, unstained, unblemished, clean stainless: (adj) spotless, immaculate, chaste, faultless, clean, unblemished, guiltless, innocent, clear, unstained, white staircase: (n) stair, ladder, flight,
Edith Wharton steps, flight of steps, stairs, backstairs, escalator, companionway, way, entrance stairs: (n) stair, ladder, staircase, stairway, flight of steps, flight, steps, flight of stairs, escalator, companionway, backstairs stall: (n) bench, barn, compartment, stand, carrel, hut, stalling, cabin, kiosk; (n, v) delay; (v) procrastinate. ANTONYM: (v) advance stalls: (n) auditorium, auditory, horse barn, boxes, pit, stables, seating, seats, seating room, seating area, parquet stamped: (adj) beaten, marked, pressed, printed; (v) fixed, engraved stamping: (n) impression, blocking, coin, postage, stamping of rail stand: (v) endure, undergo; (n) rack, booth, attitude, base, pedestal; (n, v) live, position; (adj, v) suffer, tolerate. ANTONYMS: (v) sit, lie, yield, forbid; (n) top standing: (n) fame, position, importance, prestige, place, reputation, footing; (adj) erect, motionless, continuance; (n, v) stand. ANTONYMS: (adj) seated, moving, horizontal, falling, temporary star: (n, v) asterisk; (n) ace, luminary, personality, headliner, leading, lead, idol, asterism; (adj, n) principal, champion. ANTONYMS: (n) nonentity, failure, villain; (adj) insignificant, lousy stare: (n, v) gaze, look; (v) gape, glare, peer, squint, goggle, see, outface; (n) regard, contemplation. ANTONYM: (v) glance stars: (n) heavenly bodies, fate start: (n) onset, origin; (v) begin, originate, drive, commence, embark, spring, enter; (n, v) launch, shock. ANTONYMS: (n, v) finish, stop; (v) conclude, halt, terminate, arrive; (n) conclusion, demise, departure, middle, culmination started: (adv) happening, in progress, ongoing; (v) stert, leaped starting: (adj) opening, initial; (n) start, commencement, first, outset, kickoff, origin, departure, origination, onset startled: (adj) dumbfounded, dismayed, distressed, aghast, frightened, astonished, amazed, terrified, afraid, shocked, astounded starved: (adj) famished, starving, ravenous, meager, emaciated, malnourished, thin, esurient,
hungerly, lean, starveling. ANTONYM: (adj) healthy starving: (adj) famished, hungry, malnourished, voracious, skinny, undernourished, thin, empty, peckish; (adj, v) starved; (n) starvation. ANTONYMS: (adj) satiated, healthy state: (n) nation, position, kingdom, status, country; (n, v) say, show, place; (adj) national; (v) express, expound. ANTONYMS: (adj) private; (n) monarchy; (v) conceal, refute statement: (n) account, affirmation, instruction, announcement, communication, proposition, description, assertion, command, enunciation, profession station: (adj, n, v) rank, standing; (v) locate, put; (n, v) post, seat, position, stand, base, site, order stay: (adj, n, v) remain; (n, v) rest, prop, stop, delay, abide, continue, pause, endure, halt, support. ANTONYMS: (v) change, abscond, depart, move, disappear, become, go stayed: (v) staid, serious, philosophic, sedate, platonic, stoical; (n) stays; (adj) late steadily: (adv) constantly, stably, regularly, fixedly, strongly, continually, steadfastly, uniformly, tightly, calmly, determinedly. ANTONYMS: (adv) unsteadily, nervously, loosely, weakly, rapidly, suddenly, excitedly, haphazardly, inconsistently, unevenly steady: (adj, v) steadfast, even, secure, resolute, regular, calm, sedate; (adj, adv) stable; (adj) constant, continual, fixed. ANTONYMS: (adj) shaky, wobbly, intermittent, unreliable, irregular, fluctuating, inconsistent, unbalanced, unstable, unfaithful; (adv) unsteadily stealing: (n) pilferage, larceny, theft, steal, burglary, misappropriation, embezzlement, stolen, thievery, pilfering, thieving stealthily: (adv) furtively, sneakily, surreptitiously, covertly, clandestinely, underhandly, underhandedly, in secret, privately, sneakingly; (adj, adv) noiselessly. ANTONYM: (adv) brazenly steam: (n, v) mist, smoke, fume; (v) exhale, evaporate, cook, pull; (n) fog, haze, cloud; (adj, n) vapor steaming: (adj) hot, sweltering, roasting, baking, hot under the
187 collar, hazy, scorching; (adv) piping; (n) fumigation steep: (adj, v) immerse, soak; (v) douse, dip, imbue, saturate; (adj, adv) excessive; (adj, n) abrupt; (adj) sheer, outrageous, exorbitant. ANTONYMS: (adj) gradual, undulating, inexpensive, flat, lenient, reasonable, cheap; (v) dip steeple: (adj, n) spire, tower; (n) campanile, minaret, turret, dome; (adj) pyramid, column, obelisk, monument, pillar steeply: (adv) abruptly, precipitously, suddenly, perpendicularly, sheerly, extortionately, loftily, highly, excessively, exorbitantly, harshly steer: (v) navigate, guide, direct, drive, aim, conduct, maneuver, run, manage; (n, v) lead, point steering: (n) management, steerage, direction, navigation, driving, pilotage, control, aim, attitude control, piloting, managing stenography: (n) tachygraphy, brachygraphy, handwriting, shorthand writing; (v) cryptography step: (n) stage, degree, rank, level, gait, gradation, footprint; (n, v) walk, measure, stride; (v) tread stepladder: (n) steps, step ladder stepped: (v) advanced, gone, stopen steps: (n) step, stairs, staircase, stairway, flight, stepladder, scale, backstairs, companionway, escalator, stair sternly: (adv) severely, strictly, austerely, harshly, rigidly, grimly, rigorously, stringently, seriously, relentlessly, solemnly. ANTONYMS: (adv) leniently, lightheartedly, kindly, warmly, cheerfully stewed: (adj) poached, tipsy, intoxicated, done, drunk, huffy, inebriated, baked, tight stiff: (adj) hard, formal, inflexible, difficult, rigorous, numb, firm, sturdy; (adj, n) stark, severe; (n) corpse. ANTONYMS: (adj) soft, supple, flexible, floppy, pliable, free, easy, loose, informal, mild, pliant stiffening: (n) stiffness, rigidification, reinforcement, process, rigidifying, procedure stiffly: (adv) firmly, stiff, awkwardly, unbendingly, difficultly, woodenly, strongly, formally, stringently, clumsily, strictly. ANTONYM: (adv) loosely stifled: (adj) strangled, suppressed, muffled, deafened, completely
188 covered, dead, deadened, weak, deaf corn, regardless, decayed stillness: (n) hush, calmness, immobility, serenity, silence, quietness, peacefulness; (adj, n) calm, quiet, peace, still. ANTONYMS: (n) bustle, movement, uproar, motion, turbulence, turmoil, vigor, disturbance, chaos, agitation sting: (n, v) bite, hurt, con, pain; (v) prick, itch, irritate, prickle, goad, provoke, smart. ANTONYMS: (v) calm; (n) honesty stinging: (adj) cutting, bitter, piquant, prickling; (adj, v) caustic, acrid, piercing, poignant, biting, pungent, keen. ANTONYMS: (adj) stingless, gentle stirring: (adj) lively, exciting, alive, rousing, spirited, touching, thrilling, active; (n) agitation; (v) eventful, brisk. ANTONYMS: (adj) depressing, boring, inactive, dull, conciliatory, asleep, uninspiring, unimpressive; (n) suppression stocking: (n) hosiery, boothose, trunk hose, supplying, stocking level, tights, silk stocking, nylons, nylon stocking, rayon stocking; (adj) stockinged stoicism: (n) indifference, unemotionality, apathy, emotionlessness, impassivity, selfcontrol, phlegm, sluggishness; (adj, n) philosophy, equanimity; (adj) suttee stole: (n) wrap, stolen, scarf, stolon, stealing, robe, alb, tunicle, surplice, alba, cassock stolid: (adj) impassive, obtuse, stupid, heavy, doltish, bovine, insulse, expressionless, shallow, petty, apathetic. ANTONYMS: (adj) emotional, imaginative, exciting stomach: (adj, v) brook, digest; (v) endure, stand, abide, bear, suffer, tolerate, take; (n) abdomen, appetite stone: (n) jewel, rock, pebble, gem, calculus, gemstone, kernel, concretion; (n, v) pit; (v) lapidate, pelt stony: (adj) rocky, hard, rough, callous, cold, pitiless, flinty, unfeeling, obdurate, bleak, icy. ANTONYMS: (adj) smooth, kind stoop: (v) crouch, bend, deign, condescend, descend, squat, couch, cringe, lean, lower oneself; (n) porch. ANTONYM: (v) straighten stooped: (adj) hunched, stoop, stooping, crooked, bended, not straight, inclined, not erect, arched,
Ethan Frome asymmetrical, droopy stooping: (adj) hunched, crooked, asymmetrical, not erect, not straight, corrupt; (n) patronage stop: (int, n, v) hold, stand; (adj, n, v) stay, cease; (n, v) check, end, close, block, bar, arrest; (v) obstruct. ANTONYMS: (n, v) continue; (v) begin, encourage, permit, prolong, persevere, expedite, accelerate; (n) continuation, proceed, go stopped: (adj) stopped up, stoped, congested, unmoving, stop, finished, stopen, stopt, blocked, stopping, stops. ANTONYMS: (adj) unstopped, moving stopping: (n) stoppage, cessation, shutdown, padding, fillet, suspension, stay, discontinuance, abeyance, interruption; (adv) haltingly store: (n, v) stock, hoard, bank, cache, supply; (n) shop, market, business; (v) accumulate, garner, keep. ANTONYMS: (v) spend, delete; (n) dearth storm: (n, v) rush, tempest, hail, attack, assault, charge; (v) fume; (n) shower, blizzard, hurricane, gust. ANTONYM: (n) trickle stormy: (adj, n) inclement, boisterous, rough, severe; (adj) fierce, windy, wild, dirty, foul, tempestuous, blustering. ANTONYMS: (adj) calm, still, pleasant, fair, mild, relaxed story: (n, v) history, tale, narrative; (n) recital, narration, report, account, level, legend, novel, stage. ANTONYM: (n) fact stove: (n) cooker, hearth, heater, furnace, fireplace, kiln, oven, cooking stove, cookstove, kitchen stove, kitchen range straight: (adj) erect, honest, upright, even, fair, perpendicular, correct; (adj, adv, v) direct; (adj, adv, n) right; (adj, adv) level, flat. ANTONYMS: (adj) diluted, zigzag, winding, curly, curved, curvy, twisted, wavy, knotted, askew; (adv) indirectly straighten: (v) tidy, unbend, neaten, square away, extend, dress, adjust, stretch, unwind, right, straight. ANTONYMS: (v) bend, sink, withdraw, align, stoop, distort, confuse, complicate, tilt straightening: (n) tapping, straightening of a water course straightforward: (adj) direct, open, square, simple, candid, plain, honest, sincere, forthright,
immediate, frank. ANTONYMS: (adj) difficult, tricky, deceitful, complex, mysterious, pompous, devious, ambiguous, dishonest, disingenuous, evasive strained: (adj) tense, labored, intense, constrained, laboured, unnatural, nervous, affected, taut, artificial, tight. ANTONYMS: (adj) natural, calm straining: (n) effort, push, exertion, distortion, overrefinement, tension, endeavor, torture, twisting; (adj) arduous; (v) tighten strains: (n) tension, tenseness strange: (adj) foreign, peculiar, unusual, abnormal, outlandish, irregular, odd, new, mysterious, extraordinary, curious. ANTONYMS: (adj) ordinary, normal, familiar, typical, usual, conventional, explicable, sensible, mainstream, known, human stranger: (n) foreigner, outsider, newcomer, outlander, immigrant, intruder, unknown, tramontane, trespasser; (adj) foreign, strange. ANTONYMS: (n) pal, native, associate, resident, familiar stray: (v) wander, ramble, range, digress, straggle, meander, depart, deviate, rove, drift, err. ANTONYM: (v) settle strayed: (v) stray streak: (n, v) ray, dash, mark, flash; (adj, n) stripe; (n) band, beam, run, bar, groove, gleam stream: (adj, n, prep, v) current, course; (n, prep, v) flood; (n, v) brook, run, crowd, jet, gush; (n) river; (v) pour, swarm. ANTONYMS: (n) shortage; (v) drizzle streamer: (n) banner, standard, ensign, pennant, pennon, emblem, pennoncelle, pennoncel, colors, sign, ribbon streaming: (adj) flowing, flapping, detached, incoherent, baggy, slack, relaxed, loose, lax; (n) cyclosis; (v) disheveled street: (n) road, avenue, way, highway, route, lane, neighborhood, path, track, boulevard, Main Street strength: (n, v) power; (n) energy, firmness, endurance, stability, potency, health, soundness; (adj, n, v) might; (adj, n) vigor, intensity. ANTONYMS: (n) frailty, shortcoming, flaw, faintness, powerlessness, moderation, limitation, instability, impotence,
Edith Wharton feebleness, disadvantage stretch: (adj, n, v) strain; (adj, v) extend, elongate, lengthen; (n) extent, expanse; (v) prolong, draw; (n, v) run, spread, range. ANTONYMS: (v) shorten, shrink, withdraw, narrow, relax; (adj) inflexible stretched: (adj) extended, stiff, tight, tense, stretched out, strained, expanded, outstretched, elongated, outspread, prolonged. ANTONYMS: (adj) loose, short stretches: (adj) stretched stretching: (n) tension, stretch, expansion, workout, reach, amplification, stretchiness, enlargement; (adj) stretched, long; (v) extend strewn: (adj) spread, distributed, disordered, strewed, confused, covered, diffuse, disconnected, disjointed, circulated, dispersed stricken: (adj) smitten, struck, beaten, laid low, affected, hurt, low, impaired, dotty; (v) heavy laden, victimized stride: (n, v) pace, tread, walk, stalk, rate, toddle, stump; (n) footstep, gait, progress; (v) march strike: (n, v) hit, beat, bang, knock, assault, slap, clap, rap, smash; (v) impress, move. ANTONYMS: (n) defense; (v) extinguish, defend striking: (adj) outstanding, dramatic, spectacular, salient, imposing, conspicuous, vivid, remarkable, notable, astonishing; (n) strike. ANTONYMS: (adj) ugly, ordinary, unimpressive, unremarkable, inconspicuous, unattractive, uninteresting, plain, insignificant, humble, obscure strip: (v) deprive, despoil, peel, rifle, plunder, divest, denude, ransack, pillage; (n) band, slip. ANTONYMS: (v) decorate, cover, add stroke: (adj, n) blow; (n, v) touch, caress, mark, buffet, lick, pat; (n) beat, hit, knock, bang stroking: (v) caress, strike, blow; (n) cam stroke, feeling, effleurage, diagonal, CVA, commendation, glide, slash strong: (adj) intense, able, firm, stable, steady, solid, hard, lusty; (adj, v) deep, sound; (adj, n, v) steadfast. ANTONYMS: (adj) weak, pale, unconvincing, slight, feeble, frail, bland, faint, delicate, mild, lightweight stronger: (adj) reprobate, insensible,
reproof, iniquity, hardening, shameless, graceless, immoralities, ministry; (v) Milman, misery struck: (adj, v) smitten; (v) stroke; (adj) affected, afflicted, doting, dotty, enamored, gaga, hurt, in love, infatuated struggle: (n, v) contest, battle, conflict, combat, strain, endeavor, attempt, dispute, quarrel; (n) effort, exertion. ANTONYMS: (v) flourish; (n) ease, surrender, friendship struggling: (v) strive; (adj) harassed, hostile, under pressure, stressed, aggressive, agonizing, rebellious, belligerent, careworn; (n) colluctation stubble: (n) stalk, shuck, chaff, husk, bran, straw, shackle, leavings, pale yellow, result, stalking stubbly: (adj) bestubbled, stubby, bristly, thick, bearded, wiry, coarse, hairy, unshaven stuck: (adj) stranded, jammed, delayed, fast; (adj, adv) aground; (n) stuck ware, thrust, sticking; (v) sticked, fasten, attach. ANTONYMS: (adj) unstuck, loose stud: (n, v) knob, boss, button; (v) dot, nail, sprinkle, constellate; (n) rivet, scantling, peg, stallion student: (n) scholar, learner, disciple, pupil, apprentice, schoolboy, collegian, novice, pundit, savant, trainee. ANTONYM: (n) expert study: (n, v) examine, review, survey, research; (v) learn, check, contemplate, ponder, inquire; (n) consideration, learning. ANTONYMS: (n) neglect; (v) skim stuff: (v) fill, jam, pack, ram, squeeze, pad; (n) material, cloth, matter, gear; (n, v) force. ANTONYMS: (v) starve, unpack, empty stuffed: (adj) crammed, packed, congested, replete, loaded, filled, fraught, chock-full, crowded, jammed, gorged. ANTONYMS: (adj) hungry, lacking stunted: (adj) scrubby, little, scrawny, diminutive, puny, short, spare, weak, underdeveloped, dwarfish; (v) strangulated. ANTONYM: (adj) tall stupidly: (adv) dully, thickly, obtusely, senselessly, fatuously, slowly, insanely, unwisely, doltishly, crassly, densely. ANTONYMS: (adv) shrewdly, brightly, sensibly, wisely, sensitively, prudently, carefully subdue: (adj, n, v) conquer; (v)
189 overpower, crush, defeat, quell, quash, suppress, restrain; (n, v) reduce; (adj, v) repress; (adv, v) control. ANTONYMS: (v) incite, enliven, resist, submit subdued: (adj) quiet, muffled, dull, restrained, muted, tame, faint, repressed, low, meek; (adj, v) resigned. ANTONYMS: (adj) enthusiastic, lively, uninhibited, unsubdued, rebellious, noisy, bright, elaborate, frivolous, upbeat subject: (n) matter, citizen, motif, question, issue, affair, point, national; (adj, v) exposed; (adj, n) dependent, inferior. ANTONYMS: (n) foreigner, resolution; (adj) impervious submerged: (adj) sunken, immersed, submersed, underwater, subaquatic, submarine, covered, inundated, flooded, semiaquatic; (pron) drowned submit: (v) comply, obey, acquiesce, give in, present, hand in, put forward, hand over, propose, give; (n, v) resign. ANTONYMS: (v) resist, persevere, defy, overpower, face, disobey, conquer submitting: (n) submission, delegation; (v) submit; (adj) ductile subsequent: (adj) next, consequent, later, following, ensuing, second, coming, sequential, proximate; (adj, prep) after; (n) posterior. ANTONYMS: (adj) previous, preceding, first, prior, antecedent, former, earlier succeeding: (adj) following, subsequent, after, consecutive, posterior, ensuing, consequent, successive, consequential; (adj, adv) later; (v) succeed. ANTONYMS: (adj) outgoing, preceding success: (n) conquest, prosperity, achievement, hit, passing, victory, effectiveness, accomplishment, triumph, coup, achiever. ANTONYMS: (n) flop, disappointment, prevention, debacle, defeat, fruitlessness, poverty, dissatisfaction, inefficiency, criticism sudden: (adj) precipitous, quick, abrupt, hasty, rash, unexpected, steep, unforeseen, drastic, immediate, swift. ANTONYMS: (adj) considered, slow, gentle, leisurely, protracted, sensible, smooth suddenly: (adj, adv) quickly, rapidly, immediately, presto; (adv) hastily,
190 short, all at once, sudden, sharply, unexpectedly, instantly. ANTONYMS: (adv) increasingly, predictably, slowly, gently, progressively, sensibly, eventually suffered: (adj) permitted, permissive suffering: (n) distress, agony, affliction, anguish, torture, grief, torment, misery, hardship; (adj, n) hurt; (adj) miserable. ANTONYMS: (adj, n) content; (n) peace, ecstasy, joy, pleasure sufficient: (adj) adequate, proper, commensurate, competent, good, acceptable, apt, ample, full; (adj, n) enough; (adv) quite. ANTONYMS: (adj) inadequate, insufficient, unacceptable, unsatisfactory, impossible, appalling sufficiently: (adv) fully, satisfactorily, enough, amply, quite, properly, competently, decently, abundantly, goodly, completely. ANTONYM: (adv) inadequately suffocated: (adj) suffocate; (v) asphyxied suffused: (adj) distributed, covered, full suggested: (adj) advisable, proposed, tacit, optional, not compulsory, nominal, implied suggestion: (n) advice, intimation, proposal, counsel, allusion, sign, trace, proposition, recommendation; (n, v) touch, dash. ANTONYMS: (n) warning, practice suit: (adj, v) fit, please; (adj, n, v) correspond; (n) lawsuit, plea, action, case; (v) adapt, accommodate, become; (n, v) answer. ANTONYM: (v) clash suited: (adj, v) proper, fit, fitted, adapted, convenient; (adj) appropriate, good, apt, eligible, capable, useful. ANTONYMS: (adj) incompatible, wrong, inappropriate sullen: (adj, n) morose, sulky, sour; (adj) gloomy, gruff, glum, moody, dark, cross, surly; (adj, v) grim. ANTONYMS: (adj) bright, cheery; (n) cheeriness summer: (n) summertime, joist, rafter, beam, scaffold, season, skeleton, corner stone, lintel, transom, girder. ANTONYM: (n) winter summertime: (n) summer, season sunday: (n) sun, sabbath, week, day of rest; (adj) not forged, resulting favorably, full, good, right, just, morally admirable sunless: (adj) cloudy, dark, cheerless,
Ethan Frome clouded, lightless, gloomy, tenebrous, mentally disordered, blurred sunlight: (n) sunshine, daylight, the sun, positive, solar, sunbeam, brightness, sunbeams, rays, shaft, beam sunlit: (adj) bright, light, sunstruck, lighter. ANTONYM: (adj) dark sunrise: (n) dawn, sunup, daybreak, daylight, aurora, first light, dayspring, twilight, dawning, break of day, crack of dawn. ANTONYMS: (n) sunset, sundown, nightfall sunset: (n) dusk, sundown, nightfall, twilight, night, sunsetting, periodic event, crepuscule, atmospheric phenomenon, hour, recurrent event. ANTONYMS: (n) sunrise, daybreak sunup: (n) dawn, daybreak, break of day, first light, dayspring, daylight, foreday, morning, good morning, forenoon, crack of dawn. ANTONYM: (n) sunset superiority: (n) predominance, priority, excellence, mastery, precedence, preference, distinction, supremacy, domination, eminence; (adj, n) odds. ANTONYMS: (n) humility, weakness, friendliness, mediocrity, simplicity superseded: (adj) outmoded, archaic, extinct, obsolete, out of date, outdated supervision: (n) oversight, control, direction, charge, management, superintendence, guidance, custody, care, command; (n, v) observation supper: (n) meal, tea, lunch, repast, reception, mealtime, siesta, social affair; (v) dejeuner, bever, whet supplement: (n, v) accessory; (n) annex, accompaniment, adjunct, addition, addendum, appendix, increment, continuation; (v) add, append suppleness: (n) pliability, pliancy, litheness, flexibility, elasticity, pliantness, lissomeness, spring, plasticity, consistency, agility. ANTONYM: (n) inflexibility supplied: (n) supplying; (adj) adequate, ample, copious, complete, fitted, impregnated, made pregnant, offered, perfect, plenteous. ANTONYM: (adj) unavailable support: (n, v) stand, aid, keep, prop, comfort, patronage; (adj, n, v) assist; (v) brace; (adj, v) encourage, back; (n) maintenance. ANTONYMS: (n, v) neglect; (v) undermine, reject, weaken, abandon, condemn,
contradict, disapprove, release; (n) hindrance, opposition suppose: (v) infer, guess, speculate, divine, presume, conjecture, reckon, imagine, estimate, consider, assume. ANTONYMS: (v) disbelieve, know, measure, despair, doubt, speculate supposed: (adj) hypothetical, reputed, alleged, assumed, imaginary, putative, apparent, ostensible, suppositional, supposititious, suppositious. ANTONYM: (adj) actual supposing: (adv) admitting, conditionally, in case; (n) supposition, conjecture, thought, theory, assumption; (conj) although, what if; (v) suppose supposition: (n, v) conjecture; (n) assumption, hypothesis, presumption, premise, speculation, surmise, guess, supposal, thought, imagination. ANTONYMS: (n) fact, knowledge, proof, reality, practice sure: (adj) secure, reliable, safe, indisputable, dependable, assured, positive; (adj, v) steady, firm; (adv) certainly; (adj, adv) for certain. ANTONYMS: (adj) doubtful, uncertain, unsure, hesitant, humbled, dubious, indefinite, wavering, wobbly, unconvinced; (adv) doubtfully surely: (adv) positively, definitely, confidently, securely, undoubtedly, clearly, firmly, assuredly, absolutely; (adj, adv) really; (adv, int) of course. ANTONYMS: (adv) questionably, uncertain, weakly surface: (n) superficies, grain; (v) emerge, appear, coat, come out; (adj, n) exterior, outside; (n, v) face; (adj) external, superficial. ANTONYMS: (adj, n) interior, middle, inside; (n) core; (v) sink, submerge, fall; (adj) deep, subsurface, overhead, inner surgical: (adj) postoperative, key, functional, chirurgical, effective. ANTONYM: (adj) medical surprise: (n) fright, amazement, wonder, astonishment; (n, v) alarm, shock, jolt; (v) amaze, startle, astonish, stun. ANTONYMS: (n) expectation; (v) encourage, comfort surprised: (adj) amazed, dumbfounded, shocked, astounded, stunned, taken aback, bewildered, startled, surprise, aghast, to be astonished. ANTONYM: (adj) unsurprised surprising: (adj, n) marvelous, strange, incredible; (adj) amazing,
Edith Wharton remarkable, wonderful, shocking, extraordinary, striking, unusual; (adj, v) startling. ANTONYMS: (adj) predictable, comforting, ordinary, normal, unremarkable surrounded: (adj) enclosed, ingirt, not independent, ringed, inside, rooted, conditioned, circumstanced, bounded; (v) beset, furnished suspect: (v) mistrust, suppose, distrust, conjecture, guess, surmise, divine, disbelieve; (adj) fishy, questionable, shady. ANTONYMS: (adj) trustworthy, trusted, innocent, reliable, credible, aboveboard; (n) plaintiff; (v) know, believe suspenders: (n) brace, pair, bitstock, harness, couple suspicions: (adj) entertain doubts, have doubts; (n) doubts, misgivings, reservations, qualms, worries, fears, uncertainties swallowed: (adj) engulfed, gulped, inundated, overcome, overwhelmed, flooded, overpowered, enclosed swallowing: (adj) absorptive, unsuspecting, absorbent, absorbing; (n) consumption swarthy: (adj) dusky, black, swart, sable, somber, dun, tawny, coloured, colored, atramentous; (n) brunette. ANTONYMS: (adj) fair, light sweat: (n, v) work, toil, struggle; (v) perspire, drudge, exude; (n) perspiration, lather, sudor, effort; (adj) perspiring. ANTONYMS: (v) ignore; (n) entertainment, ease, relaxation sweating: (n) sweat, exudation, diaphoresis, hidrosis, sudation, extravasation, fermentation, transpiration, bodily process; (adj) perspiring, sweaty sweeps: (n) sweep period sweet: (adj) fresh, mellow, lovable, dear, pleasant, musical, melodious, pleasing, sugary; (adj, v) lovely; (adj, n) beloved. ANTONYMS: (adj) discordant, bitter, acid, sharp, acidic, pungent, salty, harsh, detestable, cacophonous, dry sweetness: (n) sugariness, sweet, redolence, pleasantness, fragrance, aroma, charm, perfume, amenity, niceness, kindness. ANTONYMS: (n) sourness, sharpness, unpleasantness, harshness, tastelessness, unkindness swelled: (adj) big, inflated, bloated, swollen, adult, boastful, bighearted, bad, fully grown, crowing, elder
swept: (adj) clean swerve: (n, v) curve; (v) depart, stray, turn, wander, deflect, sheer, veer, diverge, shift, slew. ANTONYMS: (v) straighten, converge swift: (adj, adv, v) fast; (adj) quick, fleet, speedy, alert, nimble, hasty, prompt, sudden, hurried; (adj, v) rapid. ANTONYMS: (adj) considered, leisurely, sluggish, gradual, delayed, clumsy swiftness: (n) speed, haste, rapidity, celerity, acceleration, quickness, promptness, pace, velocity, agility, dispatch. ANTONYM: (n) clumsiness swimming: (n) swim, natation, diving, bathing, skin diving; (adj) vertigo, naiant, liquid, natatorial, oily, overly diluted swinging: (adj) swaying, excessive, lilting, inordinate, hanging, exorbitant, pendulous, outrageous, preposterous, extravagant; (n) slewing swollen: (adj, v) inflated, distended; (adj) bombastic, puffy, turgid, puffed, high, egotistic, bulging; (v) blown; (adj, prep) pompous. ANTONYMS: (adj) contracted, shrunken symbolic: (adj, v) representative, typical, symptomatic; (adj) emblematic, figurative, symbolical, characteristic, metaphorical, significant; (n) symbolics; (v) diacritical. ANTONYM: (adj) literal sympathetic: (adj, v) compassionate, tender, affectionate; (adj, n) kindly, congenial, humane, gentle, favorable; (adj) merciful, agreeable, friendly. ANTONYMS: (adj) hardhearted, unfeeling, callous, uncaring, unsociable, unforgiving, unfriendly, negative, sarcastic, opposed, unhelpful sympathetically: (adv) compassionately, tenderly, considerately, agreeably, favorably, sensitively, caringly, benevolently, thoughtfully, mercifully, humanely. ANTONYMS: (adv) meanly, thoughtlessly, unfeelingly, severely, unkindly, roughly, negatively, disapprovingly, cruelly, tactlessly sympathy: (n) compassion, kindness, commiseration, mercy, feeling, understanding, rapport, benevolence, agreement; (adj, n) humanity, charity. ANTONYMS: (n) indifference, cruelty, coldness, disdain, incompatibility,
191 thoughtlessness, mercilessness, callousness, incomprehension, inhumanity, insensitivity symptoms: (n) syndrome table: (n) board, schedule, chart, stand, list, desk, plateau, platen; (v) defer, shelve, postpone. ANTONYMS: (v) decide, vote, withdraw taciturnity: (n) reserve, silence, uncommunicativeness, military reserve, modesty, secrecy, oblivion, substitute, pauciloquy, quietness, muteness taken: (adj) occupied, full, interpreted, appropriated, seized, overcome, affected, besotted; (v) take, get, receive. ANTONYMS: (adj) given, free taking: (adj) fetching, attractive, contagious, winning, catching, fascinating, captivating; (n) capture, receipt, angry mood, acharnement. ANTONYM: (n) rejection tale: (n) account, narrative, narration, recital, fib, fable, report, fiction, lie, relation, yarn. ANTONYM: (n) fact talk: (n, v) discourse, gossip, converse, lecture, chatter, chat, address; (v) articulate, speak, prattle; (n) language. ANTONYMS: (v) refuse; (n) silence talker: (n) speaker, conversationalist, orator, chatterbox, babbler, raver, stammerer, chatterer, speechmaker, caller, mutterer talking: (n) talk, conversation, nothingness, speech, speaking, verbal communication, words, yak, language; (adj) sound, levelheaded. ANTONYM: (adj) silent tall: (adj) elevated, high, exalted, big, lanky, towering, eminent, unbelievable, strapping, long, gangling. ANTONYMS: (adj) low, small, sensible, reasonable, little, believable, easy, stocky tangible: (adj) substantial, concrete, actual, real, perceptible, physical, palpable, evident, corporeal, definite, sensible. ANTONYMS: (adj) intangible, impalpable, incorporeal, disembodied, conceptual, abstract, ethereal, insubstantial tangle: (v) entangle, embroil, enmesh, embrangle, ruffle, mat; (n) maze, confusion; (n, v) jumble, muddle, knot. ANTONYMS: (n) order, line, peace; (v) unravel, undo, untangle, straighten task: (n) job, assignment, duty, labor,
192 commission, charge, enterprise, project, stint, occupation; (n, v) exercise tasks: (n) farm duties, household tasks, odd Jobs, errands taste: (n, v) relish, sample, smack, touch; (n) flavor, liking, penchant, morsel, bit, drop, fondness. ANTONYMS: (n) dislike, tastelessness, disinclination, hate, lot, coarseness, uncouthness; (v) abstain, refrain tattered: (adj) shabby, ragged, scruffy, dilapidated, threadbare, frayed, seedy, worn out, torn, shattered; (adj, v) bedraggled. ANTONYMS: (adj) elegant, smart, new taught: (adj) instructed, educated, schooled, instruct, well-bred, scholarly, provided; (v) firm, fast, close, taut taunt: (n, v) ridicule, gibe, flout, insult, mock, deride, sneer, twit, quip; (n) scoff; (v) bait. ANTONYMS: (n, v) respect, compliment; (v) applaud, comfort team: (n, v) pair, band; (n) company, gang, squad, organization, party, side, troop, couple; (adj) rank. ANTONYMS: (n) teammate; (v) separate teaming: (n) cooperation tears: (n) cry, crying, snivel, brine, weeping, activity, bawling, bodily function, bodily process, body process, lacerations technological: (adj) technical, technologic, scientific, technicological teeth: (v) mortar and pestle, gristmill, nutmeg grater, grater, file, arrastra, rasp, mill, unguis, tentacle; (n) gear teeth tell: (n, v) disclose, impart, count; (v) relate, reveal, recount, divulge, explain, communicate; (adj, v) declare, express. ANTONYMS: (v) request, misunderstand, estimate, listen, figure, guess, withhold, conceal, suppress, confuse telling: (adj, v) significant; (adj) revealing, emphatic, impressive, effectual, effective, pregnant, cogent; (n) relation, recounting, notice. ANTONYMS: (adj) secretive, unimportant, insignificant, hidden tempered: (adj) attempered, temperate, moderated, toughened, subdued, set, enured, proportioned, properly adapted, emotionally hardened, treated. ANTONYM:
Ethan Frome (adj) untempered temples: (n) brow tend: (v) incline, lean, nurse, guard, attend, run, nurture, contribute, gravitate, go, nourish. ANTONYMS: (v) ignore, abandon tendency: (n, v) drift; (n) proclivity, propensity, leaning, trend, direction, inclination, partiality, disposition, bent, course. ANTONYM: (n) dislike tender: (n, v) offer, proffer, bid; (adj, v) affectionate; (adj) painful, sensitive, soft, loving, sore; (v) propose, present. ANTONYMS: (adj) hardhearted, rubbery, hard, rough, uncaring, healthy, mature, unfeeling, cold, experienced; (v) withdraw tenderness: (n) fondness, soreness, love, affection, sympathy; (adj, n) clemency, mildness, compassion, gentleness, softness, delicacy. ANTONYMS: (n) pleasure, dryness, hatred, strength, detachment tentatively: (adv) provisionally, diffidently, hesitantly, cautiously, uncertainly, indecisively, experimentally, undecidedly, timidly, trially, falteringly. ANTONYMS: (adv) boldly, decisively tents: (n) encampment tenuous: (adj) rare, fine, slight, slender, subtle, flimsy, subtile, slim, insubstantial, ethereal, faint. ANTONYMS: (adj) substantial, stable, incontrovertible, healthy, precise, proven, considerable terrified: (adj) afraid, frightened, fearful, panicky, panicked, aghast, timid, timorous, apprehensive, startled, alarmed. ANTONYMS: (adj) fearless, brave terror: (n, v) alarm, scare; (adj, n) dread, awe; (n) fear, dismay, consternation, horror, panic, apprehension, scourge. ANTONYMS: (n) peace, security, delight, calm, confidence testing: (n) test, examination, experiment, experimentation, scrutiny, inspection, check, exam; (adj) hard, tough, trying. ANTONYMS: (adj) satisfying, simple thank: (v) give thanks, recognize, bless, thanks, give thanks to, convey, acknowledged, remercy, impart thaw: (v) fuse, dissolve, warm, unfreeze, soften, liquefy, defrost, run, liquify; (n) melting, thawing.
ANTONYMS: (v) cool, chill, congeal theme: (n) matter, motif, subject, text, substance, composition, stem, question, base, motive, paper themselves: (pron) myself, itself, yourself; (n) yourselves thence: (adv) therefore, thus, therefrom, thereof, consequently, then, so, thereafter, thenceforth, since, on account of therapeutic: (adj) remedial, curative, healing, medicinal, therapeutical, sanative, alterative, analeptic, beneficial, healthful, restorative. ANTONYMS: (adj) damaging, harmful therefore: (adv) thence, so, hence, accordingly, as a result, thus, for that reason; (conj) since, because, then, ergo thick: (adj) compact, stupid, crowded, slow, opaque, dull, heavy, stocky, deep, close, familiar. ANTONYMS: (adj) thin, intelligent, sparse, bright, slight, clever, transparent, diluted, fine, clear, runny thickening: (n) thickener, inspissation, growth, lymph node, pommel, indiscerptibility, node, bodying up, lymph gland, knob, indivisibility thimble: (n) tablespoon, spoon, spatula, shovel, ladle, dipper, stirrer, cinder pot, containerful; (v) gauntlet, bulletproof vest thin: (adj) tenuous, flimsy, light, fine, emaciated; (adj, v) lean, gaunt, slight, sheer, meager, dilute. ANTONYMS: (adj) fat, concentrated, chubby, plump, wide, heavy, broad, strong, resonant, solid; (v) thicken thing: (n) affair, occurrence, object, event, concern, something, article, happening, substance, occasion, being things: (n) gear, belongings, equipment, garb, garment, clothes, paraphernalia, goods, life, property, palliament thinking: (n) consideration, idea, opinion, reasoning, intellection, cogitation, conception, contemplation; (adj) intelligent, thoughtful, meditative thirst: (n, v) hunger, lust, wish; (n) longing, yen, craving, hankering, dryness, appetite; (v) starve, crave. ANTONYM: (n) dislike though: (adj, conj) however; (conj) still, notwithstanding, nevertheless,
Edith Wharton albeit, whereas, while; (adv) even, after all, tho'; (adv, conj) tho thought: (n) idea, impression, conception, belief, concept; (adj, n) opinion, feeling, sentiment; (n, v) consideration, reflection, observation. ANTONYMS: (n) thing, vacuity, vacancy, concrete, thoughtlessness, inattention, impulsiveness, certainty, neglect, trust thoughtfully: (adv) considerately, carefully, kindly, reflectively, meditatively, attentively, solemnly, contemplatively, seriously, prudently, cautiously. ANTONYMS: (adv) unsympathetically, unthinkingly, carelessly, contentedly, rashly, inconsiderately, selfishly, meanly, insensitively, tactlessly, cruelly thoughts: (n) mind, opinion, depth of thought, feelings, reflection, ideas, workings of the mind, view, stance, position, considered opinion thousand: (adj, n) one thousand, k, m; (n) grand, g, thou, cat Valium, constant of gravitation, grounds, curtilage; (adj) a thousand threatened: (adj) vulnerable, in jeopardy, exposed, endangered, doomed, at risk threshold: (n) brink, beginning, outset, entrance, entry, doorsill, doorstep, doorway, edge, vestibule, border. ANTONYM: (n) end thrice: (adv) three times, thirdly thrill: (n, v) delight, shudder, quiver, shiver; (v) excite, exhilarate, exalt, stir; (n) shake, excitement, chill. ANTONYMS: (v) dishearten, discourage, disappoint, displease; (n) depression, calm, boredom, agony, sorrow; (n, v) bore thrilling: (adj, n) electric; (adj) exciting, sensational, exhilarating, electrifying, emotional, rousing, gripping, stimulating; (adj, v) impressive; (n, v) swelling. ANTONYMS: (adj) boring, depressing, discouraging, upsetting, uninspiring thriving: (adj) successful, prosperous, prospering, booming, rich, affluent, growing, lush, lucky, healthy, luxuriant. ANTONYMS: (adj) declining, languishing, arid, moribund, dying, disappearing, poor, unwell throat: (n) orifice, pharynx, gorge, mouth, muzzle, nozzle, sucker, shaft, quarl, throat depth, nostril
throb: (n, v) quiver, ache, pulse, pound, thrill, tingle; (v) pulsate, palpitate, flutter, shudder; (n) pulsation throng: (n, v) swarm, herd, mob, flock, press; (n) multitude, host, horde, mass, assembly, concourse. ANTONYMS: (n) trickle, few; (v) disperse thronged: (adj) throng, busy, populous, brisk, teeming, swarming, sprightly, sensitive, replete, overflowing; (n) persistent throw: (n, v) cast, pitch, push; (v) shed, hurl, heave, chuck, flip, pass, hurtle; (n) shot. ANTONYMS: (v) explain, help, receive, clarify, encourage thrust: (n, v) poke, stab, jab, drive, shove, force, punch, boost, cast, dig; (v) ram. ANTONYM: (n) inertia thrusting: (n) thrust, push, jab, poke, jabbing, stab, driving force, scoke, sack, punch, Phytolacca Americana thumping: (adj) spanking, whacking, roaring, thudding, lubberly, walloping, lumpish, gaunt; (n) thud, thump, clump thunder: (adj, n, v) boom; (n, v) roar, bang, roll, bellow; (adj, n) peal; (adj, v) explode, detonate; (v) howl, rumble, fulminate thus: (adv) then, so, consequently, hence, thence, accordingly, as a result, ergo, thusly, for that reason, as tick: (n, v) beat, mark, check; (n) score, credit, moment, second, minute, ticking; (v) tally, click ticking: (n) tick, cloth, fabric, ticken; (adj) living tide: (n, v) wave, flood, surge; (n) stream, flow, course, drift, time, high tide, run, piping times. ANTONYM: (v) ebb tidy: (adj, v) clean, trim; (adj) spruce, shipshape, respectable, natty; (v) clear, straighten, clear up, clean up, arrange. ANTONYMS: (adj) knotted, disheveled, disorganized, messy, slovenly, hairy, unsubstantial, dense; (v) litter, disorganize, disorder tied: (adj) bound, connected, laced, united, fixed, even, liable, tight, spiked, responsible, attached. ANTONYMS: (adj) untied, unlaced tight: (adj, v) narrow, parsimonious, compact, stingy; (adj, adv, v) fast, firm; (adj) mean, taut, secure, snug, tense. ANTONYMS: (adj) generous, baggy, slack, wide, easy, open,
193 leaky, giving, free, floppy; (adv) loosely tightened: (adj) secure, securer, firm tightening: (n) clamping, thinning, tapering, alteration, modification, narrowing, reduction, adjustment. ANTONYM: (n) expansion till: (conj, prep) until, unto; (v) plow, hoe, farm, dig; (adj) up to; (n) tiller, drawer; (adv) so far; (prep) to tilted: (adj) leaning, slanting, inclined, oblique, crooked, slanted, atilt, askew, sloping, at an angle, uneven. ANTONYM: (adj) upright timber: (n) lumber, forest, plank, beam, girder, rafter, tree, woodland, timberland, boards, coulisse times: (n) present time, modern times, contemporary world, multiplication, time, period, era, many years duration, epoch, present, arithmetic operation timidly: (adv) fearfully, timorously, cautiously, shyly, diffidently, anxiously, nervously, shily, gingerly, modestly, apprehensively. ANTONYMS: (adv) confidently, bravely, daringly, brashly, fearlessly, decisively, brazenly tinge: (n, v) color, hue, tint, dye, stain, touch, tincture; (n) shade, cast, undertone; (adj, n, v) dash. ANTONYMS: (v) whiten, pale; (n) white, information, pallor tingling: (n) tingle, itch, thrill, pins and needles, tickle, somesthesia, somatic sensation; (adj) stinging, tickling, tickly; (v) turn tiny: (adj) minute, minuscule, small, diminutive, petty, infinitesimal, midget, teeny, puny, petite, slight. ANTONYMS: (adj) huge, enormous, vast, gigantic, large, big, considerable, roomy, significant, giant, immeasurable tired: (adj, v) fatigued, weary, exhausted, stale; (adj) threadbare, commonplace, trite, banal, haggard, stock, jaded. ANTONYMS: (adj) invigorated, alert, refreshed, energetic, original, strong, awake, energized, lively, rested, relaxed tobacco: (adj) nicotine; (n) filler, nicotian, plant product, mustard tree, herb, herbaceous plant, common tobacco, drug of abuse, street drug, smoking mixture together: (adv) in concert, conjointly, at the same time, at once, simultaneously, mutually, in unison, all together, at the same moment; (adj) united, stable. ANTONYMS:
194 (adv) separately, individually, independently, apart, alone; (adj) separate, upset, unstable, separated, imbalanced, scatterbrained tokens: (n) decorations, discriminating marks, indications, indicia, insignia, signs, appearances, badges told: (v) related, narrated; (adj) numbered, oral, spoken, legendary, verbal, manifest tone: (n) note, accent, timbre, spirit, tinge, shade, air, sound, tint, manner; (n, v) color. ANTONYMS: (n) atonicity, flaccidity; (v) jar tongue: (n) lingua, speech, idiom, dialect, clapper, glossa, natural language, striker, talk; (v) lick; (adj) flowing took: (adj) taken; (v) receive toothless: (adj) powerless, immobilized, edentulous, dull. ANTONYM: (adj) effective torch: (n) brand, light, flambeau, burner, great mullein, blowlamp, Verbascum Thapsus, flannel mullein, common mullein, blowtorch; (v) burn tore: (v) tare; (n) moulding, molding torn: (adj, prep) lacerated, rent, mangled; (adj) ripped, tattered, blasted, lacerate, shabby, goddamned, infernal, made uninhabitable. ANTONYMS: (adj) pristine, sure, resolute, healed, decided, mended torrents: (n) white water, rapids torturing: (n) torture, excruciation, crucifixion, torment, agony, anguish, dismemberment; (adj) harrowing, agonizing, torturesome, agonising totally: (adj, adv) completely, wholly, perfectly, altogether, quite; (adv) fully, utterly, absolutely, thoroughly, all, unconditionally. ANTONYMS: (adv) partly, incompletely, slightly, somewhat, mildly, superficially, hardly, barely touch: (v) hit, affect, border, adjoin, strike, reach; (n, v) contact, stroke, tinge, regard, tap. ANTONYMS: (v) shrink, secrete, separate, diverge, abstain, leave; (n) lot touched: (adj) insane, cracked, tinged, not right, daft, crazy, nutty; (v) compassionate, sympathetic, pitiful, mucid. ANTONYMS: (adj) untouched, sane, unemotional, unmoved, well tough: (adj) difficult, strong, arduous, rugged, severe, stout, laborious,
Ethan Frome sturdy; (adj, v) tenacious; (n) bully, rowdy. ANTONYMS: (adj) weak, easy, flimsy, soft, lightweight, simple, feeble, gentle, kind, fragile, facile toward: (prep) to, towards, approaching, headed for, just before, of, in the direction of; (adv, prep) on; (adv) about, around, by. ANTONYMS: (prep) from, away towel: (v) napkin, handkerchief, cloth, malkin, maukin, dry, wallop, make dry; (n) mop, bath towel, face towel town: (adj) municipal, urban; (n) borough, township, village, burgh, burg, municipality, townspeople, metropolis; (adj, n) community. ANTONYMS: (adj) country, private track: (n, v) trail, course, path, hunt; (v) tail, chase, pursue, follow; (n) line, route, racetrack. ANTONYMS: (v) lead, precede tracks: (n) network tragedy: (n) calamity, disaster, misfortune, play, cataclysm, drama, bad luck, bale, apocalypse, farce, tragic. ANTONYMS: (n) humor, blessing, joy, boon, advantage, comedy tragic: (adj) calamitous, disastrous, dreadful, grievous, catastrophic, unlucky, unfortunate, woeful, tragical, comic, heartbreaking. ANTONYMS: (adj) humorous, heartwarming, blessed, advantageous, lucky, fortunate, joyous train: (v) aim, exercise, direct, educate, tame, prepare, school; (n, v) coach, trail, tail; (n) chain. ANTONYMS: (v) neglect, forget; (n) head trained: (adj) experienced, skilled, capable, competent, expert, practiced, accustomed, educated, efficient, skillful, professional. ANTONYMS: (adj) inexpert, untaught, untutored, amateur, unqualified training: (n) instruction, teaching, preparation, breeding, practice, exercise, nurture, discipline, drill, schooling, experience tramp: (n) bum, hobo, beggar; (n, v) walk, trudge, vagabond, ramble, march; (v) roam, range, plod. ANTONYMS: (n, v) loyalist; (n) resident tranquil: (adj, v) quiet, unruffled, smooth; (adj, n) peaceful; (adj) placid, still, serene, sedate, collected,
composed, equable. ANTONYMS: (adj) noisy, tense, agitated, anxious, troubled, bustling, loud, perturbed, frenetic, moving, bothered transfixed: (adj) fascinated, hypnotized, mesmerised, mesmerized, hypnotised, stranded; (v) engrossed in, wrapped in, absorbed, rapt; (adv) aground transformed: (adj) changed, malformed, rehabilitated, bewitched, misshapen, distorted, reformed transparent: (adj) diaphanous, obvious, plain, limpid, sheer, filmy, gauzy, pellucid; (adj, n) lucid, luminous, bright. ANTONYMS: (adj) solid, unclear, cloudy, thick, vague, subtle, questionable, hidden, robust, heavy, furtive transplanting: (n) transplantation, transplant, movement, graft, organ transplant, planting, colonization transport: (v) transmit, carry, enrapture, bear, exile, take, banish, ravish; (n, v) delight; (n) rapture, transportation. ANTONYMS: (v) disenchant, hold, repulse, keep, leave; (n) idle, dislike, boredom, stay, indifference, misery travelled: (adj) cosmopolitan travelling: (n) travel, peregrination, riding, commuting, aviation, driving, commutation, seafaring, junketing, circumnavigation, journey treasure: (n) gem, fortune, riches, funds; (n, v) hoard, prize, store; (v) cherish, appreciate; (adj, n) jewel, precious stone. ANTONYMS: (v) dislike, disparage, scorn, neglect; (n) dud, poverty treated: (adj) tempered, hardened, emotionally hardened, inured, baked, physically toughened, enured, burned, tough, burnt, considered. ANTONYM: (adj) untempered treatment: (n) manipulation, handling, therapy, medication, remedy, dealing, reception, method; (n, v) conduct, management, behavior. ANTONYMS: (n) hurt, harm treble: (adj) threefold, ternary, triplex, thribble, double, dual, high, voce di testa, shrill; (adj, v) triple; (v) sing tree: (n) gallows, gibbet, stem, pedigree, kurchee, quandong, poon, platan, lemonwood, lancewood, lacebark
Edith Wharton trees: (n) foliage trembling: (adj, n) shaking; (adj, n, v) tremor; (adj) shaky, quaking, shivering, flutter; (n) palpitation, quiver, vibration, shiver, quake. ANTONYMS: (adj) stable, steady tremor: (n, v) shiver, quake, shudder, shake; (n) agitation, vibration, earthquake, convulsion; (adj, v) flutter; (adj, n) trepidation; (v) tremble tremulous: (adj) shaky, trembling, shaking, fearful, apprehensive, quavering, fidgety, shivering; (n) nervous, diffident, coy. ANTONYMS: (adj) stable, confident, steady tribute: (n) commendation, tax, honor, testimonial, duty, homage, respect, eulogy, compliment; (n, v) contribution, subsidy. ANTONYMS: (n) blame, accusation, dishonor trick: (n, v) deceive, cheat, fraud, deceit, joke, sham, con; (n) prank, deception, device; (v) mislead. ANTONYMS: (n) frankness, honesty, misunderstanding, seriousness, truthfulness; (adj) real, genuine, innocent tricky: (adj) crafty, cunning, artful, sly, deceitful, slippery, delicate, foxy, difficult, shifty, wily. ANTONYMS: (adj) straightforward, honest, simple, uncomplicated, aboveboard, frank, safe, open, naive, amicable, straight tried: (adj) reliable, tested, trustworthy, dependable, proven, proved, experienced, practiced, just, conquered, believable. ANTONYMS: (adj) untried, unreliable trim: (adj, v) tidy, spruce; (adj, n, v) dress; (n, v) cut, clip, garnish, lop; (adj) neat, orderly; (v) shave, embellish. ANTONYMS: (adj) scruffy, unkempt, sloppy, large, chubby, disorderly, overweight; (v) lengthen, develop, expand, lose triumph: (v) exult, prevail, crow, rejoice, succeed; (n, v) glory, win, joy; (n) victory, conquest, exultation. ANTONYMS: (n) failure, defeat, sorrow, unhappiness, dud, sadness, loss, flop; (v) fail, lose, forfeit trolley: (n) tramcar, streetcar, tramway, trolly, transport car, horsecar, troll, routine; (v) van, train, subway trot: (n, v) run; (n) crib, canter, pony, gait, ride, lope; (v) gallop, general, frequent, household
trouble: (n, v) inconvenience, pain, bother, disquiet, disorder, worry, annoy, fuss, afflict, torment; (adj, n) difficulty. ANTONYMS: (v) please, help, assist, aid, placate, soothe, comfort; (n) fitness, pleasure, advantage, ease troubled: (adj, v) concerned, solicitous; (adj) distressed, anxious, worried, uneasy, uncomfortable, disconcerted, upset, apprehensive, restless. ANTONYMS: (adj) unconcerned, composed, calm, easy, relaxed, tranquil, assured, carefree, brave, stable, unaffected troubles: (n) dilemma, evils, harms, ills trudge: (n, v) tramp, trek, hike, slog, ramble, march, walk, wander; (v) trail, pad, shack true: (adj, n) genuine, authentic; (adj) right, faithful, even, correct, accurate, honest, straight, truthful; (adj, v) actual. ANTONYMS: (adj) inaccurate, untrue, bogus, untrustworthy, unrealistic, mythical, fraudulent, faithless, disloyal; (adv) wrongly, dishonestly trunk: (n) stem, boot, torso, bole, body, stalk, snout, proboscis, stock, tree trunk, box trunks: (n) short pants, pants, luggage, Jockey shorts, Jamaica shorts, Bermuda shorts, bathing trunks, bathing suit, costume, drawers, swimming trunks trust: (n, v) credit, rely, hope; (n) confidence, faith, reliance, belief, cartel, assurance; (v) believe, confide. ANTONYMS: (n, v) distrust, doubt, mistrust; (v) disbelieve, keep, hold, despair; (n) disbelief, suspicion, independence truth: (n) exactness, actuality, sincerity, verity, fidelity, fact, correctness, genuineness, faithfulness, certainty, honesty. ANTONYMS: (n) dishonesty, fabrication, falsehood, fiction, lie, inaccuracy, idealism, falsity, disloyalty, fallacy, invention trying: (adj) hard, taxing, arduous, thorny, severe, bothersome, tough, demanding, annoying, tiresome, rugged. ANTONYMS: (adj) rewarding, facile, relaxing, satisfying, simple, pleasant, pleasing, refreshing, soothing tuck: (n, v) crease, pleat; (v) insert, pucker, enclose, gather, inclose, ruck, enter; (n) wrinkle, rapier tuft: (n) wisp, crest, cluster, truss,
195 knot, fagot, tassel, strand, thicket, curl; (adj, n) feather tumbler: (n) acrobat, beaker, turner, mime, roller, buffoon, tumbler switch, cup, bowl, flute; (v) glass tune: (n) song, strain, air, harmony, note, concord; (v) adjust, regulate, string, tune up; (n, v) chant. ANTONYMS: (n) silence; (v) untune tuneful: (adj) musical, melodious, harmonious, melodic, sweet, tunable, euphonious, dulcet, sonorous; (n) lyric, lyrical. ANTONYMS: (adj) tuneless, harsh turn: (n, v) curve, roll, twist, go, coil, round, change, bent, spin; (n) bout; (v) revolve. ANTONYMS: (n) failure, Miss, stagnation; (v) unbend turned: (adj) off, curved, rancid, twisted, false, bent, altered, sullen, having inflections, versed, glowering. ANTONYM: (adj) unturned turning: (n) turn, revolution, bend, rotation, deviation, gyration, conversion, veering; (adj) rotating, revolving, rotary twenty: (adj) vigesimal; (n) large integer, twenty dollar bill twice: (adv) doubly, bis, two times, in two ways, once more; (adj) twenty twilight: (n) nightfall, night, sunset, gloaming, evening, sundown, eventide, fall, decline, evenfall; (adj) aurora. ANTONYMS: (n) daybreak, sunrise twinge: (n, v) pinch, sting; (n) pang, pain, stab, hurt, throb, qualm; (v) nip, prick, prickle twinkling: (n) moment, jiffy, minute, second, flash, trice, twinkle, wink, split second, breath; (adj) sparkling. ANTONYM: (adj) dull twirl: (n, v) twist, turn, roll, coil, whirl, curl, wheel, swirl; (v) twiddle, pivot; (n) rotation twisted: (adj) perverted, deformed, bent, distorted, misshapen, coiled, twined, curved, wry, contorted; (adj, v) winding. ANTONYMS: (adj) tidy, normal, perfect, wholesome twisting: (adj) tortuous, winding, sinuous, crooked, zigzag, meandering; (n) distortion, turn, spin, torsion, overrefinement twitch: (n, v) twinge, pull, yank, pluck, tug, tweak, wrench, pinch, start; (v) draw, nip twitching: (n) tic, fibrillation, cramp, fasciculation, spasm, contraction, vellication, spasmodic tic twittering: (n) chirping, peeping,
196 tweeting ugliness: (n) eyesore, offensiveness, hideousness, garishness, gaudiness, grotesqueness, grotesquery, repulsiveness, homeliness, unsightliness; (adj, n) unpleasantness. ANTONYMS: (n) beauty, attractiveness, pleasantness ugly: (adj, adv) surly; (adj) nasty, repulsive, frightful, forbidding, disagreeable, hideous, gruesome, evil, offensive, shocking. ANTONYMS: (adj) attractive, flowing, ornamental, nice, lovely, pleasant, safe, kind, gentle, appealing, agreeable ultimate: (adj) conclusive, final, supreme, definitive, decisive, elemental, extreme, furthest; (adj, n, v) end; (n) maximum; (adj, adv) farthest. ANTONYMS: (adj) first, worst, tentative, introductory, beginning, lowest, extra, inessential, least, proximate, auxiliary unappetising: (adj) tasteless. ANTONYM: (adj) appetizing unapproachable: (adj) aloof, distant, remote, interminable, unreachable, immeasurable, incalculable, inexhaustible, illimitable, innumerable, out of reach. ANTONYMS: (adj) accessible, friendly, easy, affable unbidden: (adj) unbid, uninvited, spontaneous, voluntary, willing, unwanted uncertainly: (adv) dubiously, doubtfully, unsurely, unsettledly, falteringly, unsteadily, waveringly, irresolutely, undecidedly, undeterminedly, unfixedly. ANTONYMS: (adv) firmly, determinedly, decisively, steadily, indisputably, boldly, certainly, admirably unchanged: (adj) regular, undeviating, unalterable, unchanging, invariable, unvarying, unvaried, unmoved; (adj, v) identical, same; (v) like. ANTONYMS: (adj) reformed, distorted, affected, changed, altered, varied, fluid uncomprehending: (adj) vacuous, expressionless, undiscerning, inane, empty, obtuse. ANTONYMS: (adj) knowing, animated unconsciousness: (n) blackout, insensibility, grogginess, loss of consciousness, coma, trance, stupefaction, faint, unawareness, ignorance, torpor. ANTONYM: (n)
Ethan Frome awareness unconstrained: (adj) free, familiar, independent, at liberty, informal, unobstructed, unbound, unrestrained, voluntary, unconfined; (adj, v) easy. ANTONYMS: (adj) constrained, limited, inhibited, imprisoned, conventional uncouth: (adj) rough, rude, barbarous, vulgar, crude, awkward, clumsy, gross, unrefined, ungainly, common. ANTONYMS: (adj) refined, couth, polite, sophisticated, pleasant, proper, genteel uncovered: (adj) naked, open, bare, nude, unclothed, bald, unreserved, unprotected, evident, frank, manifest. ANTONYMS: (adj) indoor, concealed uncurtained: (adj) curtainless. ANTONYM: (adj) curtained under: (adj) lower, down, nether, bottom, inferior, low, subject; (adv, prep) beneath, underneath; (adv) downstairs, infra. ANTONYMS: (adv, prep) over, above; (adv) primary, higher, major underground: (adj) clandestine, hidden, covert, undercover, subterranean, surreptitious, furtive; (n) tube, subway, metro; (v) buried. ANTONYMS: (adj) sky, aboveground, authorized, ground, known, public, majority, overt underneath: (adv, prep) below, under; (adj) down, inferior, supporting; (n) bottom, base, underside; (adv) under that, under it; (prep) unbecoming. ANTONYMS: (n) top; (adv) up, over, above, apparently understand: (v) interpret, hear, see, catch, learn, translate, grasp, construe, gather; (adj, v) realize, take. ANTONYMS: (v) misinterpret, misconstrue, misunderstand, disbelieve, mistake, reject, deny, Miss understood: (adj) tacit, implicit, implied, silent, assumed, accepted, appreciated, unstated, undeclared; (v) of course, admitted. ANTONYMS: (adj) explicit, spoken, written, explained undertaker: (n) funeral director, mortuary, embalmer, entrepreneur, contractor, skilled worker, funeral undertaker, mute, trained worker undressed: (adj) naked, unclad, unclothed, bare, raw, stripped, unattired, unappareled, crude,
rough, disrobed. ANTONYMS: (adj) covered, decent unexpected: (adj) sudden, abrupt, casual, unforeseen, unanticipated, accidental, strange, unsuspected; (adj, v) unlooked for, unpredicted; (n) surprise. ANTONYMS: (adj) expected, gradual, normal, commonplace, protracted, ordinary, typical, customary unexpectedly: (adv) by chance, suddenly, abruptly, casually, unforeseenly, unawares, surprisingly, unanticipatedly, hastily, strangely, circumstantially. ANTONYMS: (adv) intentionally, gradually, normally, predictably unfamiliar: (adj) strange, new, unaccustomed, unacquainted, uncommon, novel, mysterious, foreign, unidentified, inexperienced, unusual. ANTONYMS: (adj) familiar, recognizable, known, usual, experienced, versed, accustomed unfinished: (adj) rough, rude, unaccomplished, imperfect, incomplete, partial, immature, unpolished, raw, undone; (v) uncompleted. ANTONYMS: (adj) finished, complete, complex, completed unfounded: (adj) groundless, unwarranted, false, idle, unsound, untrue, unsupported, erroneous, gratuitous, unsubstantiated, vain. ANTONYMS: (adj) valid, proven, justified, supported, substantiated, admiring, sound, rational, logical unfriendly: (adj) inimical, distant, adverse, antagonistic, unkind, cold, inhospitable, icy; (adj, adv) chilly; (adj, v) unfavorable; (adv) hostilely. ANTONYMS: (adj) friendly, welcoming, warm, amiable, approachable, sociable, hospitable, kindly, nice, outgoing, pleasant ungrudgingly: (adv) unsparingly. ANTONYM: (adv) grudgingly unhappily: (adv) wretchedly, unluckily, disconsolately, badly, woefully, forlornly, sorrowfully, unfortunately, dismally, dejectedly, despondently. ANTONYMS: (adv) cheerfully, contentedly, luckily, willingly, enthusiastically, fortunately unhappiness: (n) sadness, misery, melancholy, distress, grief, regret, infelicity, woe, sorrowfulness, depression, displeasure. ANTONYMS: (n) cheerfulness,
Edith Wharton pleasure, joy, elation, contentment, satisfaction, cheer unhappy: (adj) gloomy, dismal, depressed, melancholy, sad, miserable, sorrowful, distressed, disconsolate, infelicitous, low. ANTONYMS: (adj) happy, cheerful, satisfied, pleased, glad, euphoric, fortunate, contented, joyful, timely, lucky unharness: (v) unbind, unbar, unchain, outspan, unbolt, unclose, unhand, unclog, uncork, unhitch, untackle unhitch: (v) unyoke, unharness, loosen, unfasten, detach, unyoked uninhabitable: (adj) uninhabited, undwellable, unfit for habitation, unfit to live in. ANTONYM: (adj) inhabitable universal: (adj) general, global, ecumenical, international, common, worldwide, public, ubiquitous, comprehensive, widespread, oecumenical. ANTONYMS: (adj) local, specific, idiosyncratic, confined, isolated, narrow, rare unless: (adv) but, if, yet, besides, except with, further; (adv, conj) save; (conj) without, if not; (n) provisionally; (adj) not necessary unlikely: (adj) incredible, unbelievable, implausible, dubious, doubtful, fantastic, marvelous, unthinkable, questionable, remote, not likely. ANTONYMS: (adj) likely, probable, plausible, possible, imaginable, certain, probably, established, credible, considerable, practical unlit: (adj) lightless, unlighted, unilluminated, unkindled, obscure, gloomy, dull, completely dark, tenebrous. ANTONYMS: (adj) bright, lighted unloading: (v) unload, dismiss, clear, annul, acquittal, evacuation, absolve, acquittance, emission, explosion; (n) delivery. ANTONYMS: (n) loading, dispatch unmoved: (adj) apathetic, unaffected, indifferent, unconcerned, unimpressed, uninspired, dispassionate, imperturbable, calm, undisturbed, fixed. ANTONYMS: (adj) affected, compliant, uptight, concerned, enthusiastic, tolerant, sensitive unnoticed: (v) unheeded, unthought of, unregarded; (adj) disregarded, unmarked, hidden, neglected, ignored, obscure; (adj, v)
unremarked, unobserved. ANTONYMS: (adj) evident, seen, noticeable, noted, obvious unpainted: (adj) undyed unperturbed: (adj, v) unruffled; (adj) calm, tranquil, placid, cool, unconcerned, composed, unflustered, untroubled, easy; (v) undisturbed. ANTONYMS: (adj) agitated, anxious, perturbed unreality: (n) irreality, cloud, falseness, imagination, immateriality, pointlessness, uselessness, futility, emptiness, nonexistence, hollowness. ANTONYMS: (n) reality, value, existence unreasoning: (adj) irrational, unintelligent, unintellectual, thoughtless, unreasonable, partisan, vacuous, unthinking, unreasoned unseal: (v) uncover, unfold, unmask, open up, unkennel, unveil. ANTONYMS: (n, v) seal unseen: (adj, v) unknown; (adj) invisible, concealed, hidden, unobserved, secret, veiled, latent; (v) unheeded, unperceived; (n) spiritual world. ANTONYMS: (adj) seen, visible, open, famous, noticeable unskilled: (adj) incompetent, inexperienced, inexpert, raw, unprofessional, unqualified, amateurish, awkward, green, untrained, bungling. ANTONYMS: (adj) skilled, competent, trained, dexterous, skillful unsteady: (adj) insecure, changeable, dizzy, unbalanced, rickety, unsettled, shaky, unsound, precarious, uneven; (adj, n) uncertain. ANTONYMS: (adj) steady, stable, alert, firm, secure, constant untenanted: (adj) vacant, uninhabited. ANTONYM: (adj) occupied untidy: (adj) unkempt, disheveled, disorderly, sloppy, messy, disordered, confused, disorganized, sluttish, frowzy, scruffy. ANTONYMS: (adj) tidy, neat, elegant, orderly, smart, legible, clean untrained: (adj) unskilled, uneducated, inexperienced, green, raw, inexpert, new, unseasoned, unhabituated, untaught; (v) undisciplined. ANTONYMS: (adj) trained, expert, professional, prepared, accomplished, experienced, mature, educated, competent
197 untrodden: (adj) pathless, trackless, untracked, unhandseled, untried; (v) unapplied, untouched, unspent, unexercised, unemployed, undisposed of unusual: (adj) peculiar, odd, uncommon, quaint, exotic, eccentric, remarkable, curious, irregular, special, exceptional. ANTONYMS: (adj) normal, common, customary, typical, ordinary, familiar, routine, conventional, orthodox, inconspicuous, commonplace unusually: (adj, adv) uncommonly, particularly, outstandingly, remarkably, singularly, curiously; (adv) rarely, peculiarly, extraordinarily, signally, abnormally. ANTONYMS: (adv) usually, regularly, typically, frequently, slightly, commonly, ordinarily unwilling: (adj) involuntary, loath, disinclined, averse, recalcitrant, backward, indisposed, grudging, loth, adverse, forced. ANTONYMS: (adj) inclined, amenable, keen, prepared, ready, eager, disposed, agreeable, accepting, happy unwinding: (adj) moving unworthy: (adj) undeserving, base, disgraceful, ignoble, low, contemptible, despicable, ugly, unmerited, unseemly, shameful. ANTONYMS: (adj) deserving, valuable, honorable, estimable, reputable upon: (adv, prep) above; (prep) up, onto, against, towards; (adv) on, on that occasion, then, before, by; (n) at upper: (adj) top, higher, overhead, over, topmost, highest; (n) stimulant, bennie, meth, speed, amphetamine. ANTONYMS: (adj) lower, below, junior, under, bottom uppermost: (adj) top, upmost, upper, highest, chief, maximum, supreme, greatest, major, outermost; (n) main. ANTONYMS: (adj) bottom, lowest, trivial, lower upright: (adj) perpendicular, erect, fair, good, righteous, just, virtuous, true, honorable, plumb; (adj, n) vertical. ANTONYMS: (adj) prone, disreputable, degenerate, hanging, unwholesome, dishonest, dishonorable, lying, horizontal, falling; (adv) horizontally upstairs: (adj) upstair; (adv) on a higher floor, in the mind, in the head, up the stairs, over; (n) heaven, administration, authority, board,
198 eternity. ANTONYMS: (adj, adv) downstairs upward: (adv) upwards, upwardly, aloft; (adj) overhead, rising, upper, increasing, open, vertical, mounting, upright. ANTONYMS: (adj) descending, downward; (adv) down urgent: (adj, v) importunate, important, clamorous; (adj) imperative, instant, immediate, quick, earnest, critical, serious, vital. ANTONYMS: (adj) unimportant, moderate, unnecessary, halfhearted, gentle, routine urging: (n) spur, encouragement, prod, prodding, goad, advocacy, spurring, goading, influence, exhortation; (adj) driving used: (adj) exploited, old, accustomed, worn, spent, victimized, wont, tried, decrepit, second hand, exhausted. ANTONYMS: (adj) new, unused, spanking, misused using: (n) colonialism, employment, enjoyment, victimisation, mistreatment, victimization, development; (adv) through, via, by; (adj) usant usual: (adj, n, v) ordinary, common, customary; (adj, n) habitual, accustomed, familiar, average, regular; (adj) everyday; (adj, v) frequent, general. ANTONYMS: (adj) unconventional, extraordinary, abnormal, irregular, atypical, exceptional, unprecedented, uncommon, rare, changing, unacceptable usually: (adv) generally, ordinarily, normally, frequently, habitually, customarily, mostly, regularly, typically, as a rule, in general. ANTONYMS: (adv) rarely, exceptionally, occasionally utmost: (adj, n) maximum, extreme, uttermost, furthermost, best, highest; (adj, adv) farthest; (adj, v) supreme; (adj) last, furthest; (adj, n, v) greatest. ANTONYMS: (adj) moderate, worst utter: (v) say, state, speak, breathe, articulate, deliver, voice, pronounce; (adj, n, v) express, declare; (adj, v) tell. ANTONYMS: (adj) qualified, incomplete, uncertain, rather, slight; (v) conceal, hide, block vacancy: (n) emptiness, blank, opening, void, incogitancy, post, blankness, inanity, absence; (adj, n) vacuity; (adj) depletion. ANTONYMS: (n) fill, tenancy,
Ethan Frome overflow vague: (adj) obscure, indistinct, indeterminate, undefined, undetermined, indefinite, uncertain, faint, ambiguous; (adj, v) loose, equivocal. ANTONYMS: (adj) clear, distinct, exact, particular, precise, specific, sure, certain, defined, alert, detailed vaguely: (adv) hazily, faintly, indistinctly, ambiguously, dimly, mistily, unclearly, loosely, shadowily, indeterminately, obscurely. ANTONYMS: (adv) clearly, definitely, unmistakably, exactly, closely, distinctly, alertly, calmly, considerably, intelligibly vain: (adj) proud, arrogant, conceited, fruitless, idle, empty, abortive, ineffectual, unproductive, narcissistic; (adj, v) useless. ANTONYMS: (adj) shy, successful, possible, persuasive, selfless, fruitful, humble, useful, responsible, worthwhile, effective vainly: (adv) uselessly, futilely, fruitlessly, conceitedly, in vain, worthlessly, abortively, bootlessly, arrogantly, unproductively; (adj, adv) foolishly. ANTONYMS: (adv) fruitfully, successfully, effectively valiantly: (adv) bravely, valorously, gallantly, intrepidly, heroically, boldly, audaciously, fearlessly, doughtily, pluckily, heroicly. ANTONYMS: (adv) execrably, nervously, timidly, fearfully valise: (n) portmanteau, trunk, bag, suitcase, baggage, overnighter, luggage, overnight case, overnight bag valley: (n) vale, gully, dale, hollow, glen, depression, dell, gap, gorge, canyon, coulee. ANTONYM: (n) hill value: (adj, n, v) price; (n) cost, importance, consequence; (n, v) rate, appraise, measure; (v) appreciate, evaluate, esteem, assess. ANTONYMS: (n) disadvantage, futility, uselessness, insignificance, detriment, inefficiency, inferiority; (v) scorn, disregard, disrespect, hate vanished: (adj, v) extinct, lost; (adj) disappeared, departed, missing, died out, absent, dead, wiped out, bygone; (v) exhausted. ANTONYMS: (adj) found, living vapours: (n) vapors, megrims, blue devils, blues varied: (adj) mixed, various, diverse, assorted, different, sundry, diversified, heterogeneous,
manifold, motley, many. ANTONYMS: (adj) dull, homogeneous, uniform, same, unvaried, similar, like, conservative, unchanged, limited variety: (adj, n) kind, sort, species, style, class; (n) form, variation, type, diversity, breed; (n, v) change. ANTONYMS: (n) monotony, dearth, likeness various: (adj, v) several, sundry, divers, diversified, separate; (adj) varied, many, different, manifold, miscellaneous, numerous. ANTONYMS: (adj) homogeneous, same, individual, uniform, limited, none vault: (n, v) leap, bound, spring, jump, arch, hop, hurdle; (n) grave, tomb, cellar, crypt vehemence: (n) force, violence, fury, passion, eagerness, strength, impetuosity, enthusiasm, fierceness, heat, fervor. ANTONYMS: (n) indifference, meekness, serenity vehemently: (adj, adv) ardently; (adv) violently, zealously, strongly, fervently, passionately, ferociously, fervidly, keenly, intensely, furiously. ANTONYMS: (adv) feebly, gently, impassively veil: (n, v) cover, hide, disguise, mask, cloud, shroud, camouflage; (v) cloak, conceal; (n) curtain, blind. ANTONYMS: (v) disclose, unveil, expose veiling: (n) gauze, cheesecloth, gossamer, netting, mesh, gauze bandage, net velvet: (adj) velvety, down; (n) profit, gain, velour, velours, revenue, prosperity, receipts, satin, wealth venom: (n) poison, malice, bane, spite, rancor, malevolence, maliciousness, malignity, hate, bitterness; (adj, n) gall. ANTONYM: (n) affection version: (adj, n) reading; (n) translation, construction, interpretation, rendition, variation, rendering, account, variant, description, report vertical: (adj) perpendicular, straight, erect, standing, plumb; (adj, v) sheer; (n) column, jamb, pillar, scantling, stile. ANTONYMS: (adj) prone, gentle, inclined, parallel vexed: (adj) troubled, irritated, angry, pestered, peeved, harassed, sore, harried, uneasy, cross, offended. ANTONYMS: (adj) calm, uncomplicated
Edith Wharton vibration: (n) tremor, shudder, quiver, beat, pulse, oscillation, shiver, pulsation, trembling, undulation, movement. ANTONYM: (n) stillness victim: (n) prey, quarry, object, sufferer, dupe, martyr, gull, target, mug, butt, sucker. ANTONYMS: (n) culprit, hunter view: (n, v) sight, scene, regard, opinion, judgment, prospect, outlook, thought; (adj, v) observe, see; (n) idea. ANTONYMS: (v) disbelieve, mistrust viii: (n) eighter from Decatur, octad, ogdoad, octonary, eighter, octet, octette, eightsome, digit village: (n) neighborhood, settlement, city, community, kraal, thorp, dorp, campong, pueblo, small town; (adv) town violence: (n) force, fury, fierceness, strength, vehemence, intensity, ferocity, impetuosity, might, outrage, power. ANTONYMS: (n) peacefulness, peace, passivity, nonviolence, friendliness, defense, indifference, orderliness, calmness, meekness violent: (adj, n) rough, furious, tempestuous, severe, turbulent, boisterous, powerful; (adj, v) vehement; (adj) raging, intense, sharp. ANTONYMS: (adj) gentle, calm, nonviolent, mild, passive, moderate, pleasant, slight, refined, relaxed, friendly violently: (adj, adv) vehemently, hotly, madly, ardently; (adv) wildly, passionately, strongly, hard, furiously, turbulently; (adv, n) vigorously. ANTONYMS: (adv) gently, nonviolently, feebly, impassively, peacefully, tamely virginia: (n) Decemvirate, Old Dominion, old dominion state, Va; (adj) New Jersey, Middle Atlantic, Pennsylvania, Maryland visible: (adj) obvious, conspicuous, apparent, open, evident, clear, plain, manifest, discernible; (adj, adv) noticeable, observable. ANTONYMS: (adj) invisible, imperceptible, unclear, obscured, concealed, hidden, obscure, undetectable, inconspicuous; (adv) absent vision: (n) view, dream, imagination, daydream, outlook, specter, ghost, spirit, image, apparition; (n, v) fancy. ANTONYMS: (n) sightlessness, fact, actuality,
blindness visit: (v) frequent, attend, call, view, gossip, jaw, inspect, haunt; (n, v) tour, chat; (n) sojourn vitality: (n) energy, life, animation, life force, vigor, liveliness, verve, sparkle, spirit, vigour, vim. ANTONYMS: (n) lethargy, apathy, sluggishness vivid: (adj) intense, graphic, lifelike, brilliant, rich, live, strong, acute, animated, glowing, colorful. ANTONYMS: (adj) weak, bland, light, vague, straightforward, dark, modest, secretive vocabulary: (n) lexicon, glossary, wordbook, terminology, words, mental lexicon, language, word list, diction, lexis, text voice: (n) speech, vox; (v) enunciate, pronounce, speak, say, vocalize, express, utter, articulate; (n, v) sound. ANTONYMS: (v) devoice, block void: (adj, n) hollow, null, blank; (n) emptiness, vacancy; (adj, v) vacant; (v) nullify, quash, rescind; (adj) invalid, vacuous. ANTONYMS: (v) validate, sanction, permit, keep, allow; (adj) full, occupied, filled, meaningful, solid; (n) fullness volcanic: (adj) igneous, plutonic, Vulcanian, unstable, extrusive; (v) simmering, stanchless, ungovernable, inextinguishable, burning, irrepressible volubility: (adj, n) fluency; (n) eloquence, articulateness, gab, gift of gab, smoothness, communicativeness, readiness; (adj) flippancy volume: (n) size, book, magnitude, mass, dimension, intensity, capacity, amount, tome; (adj, n) quantity, deal. ANTONYMS: (n) quietness, softness vulgar: (adj) rude, coarse, plebeian, nasty, common, foul, indecent, gross, unrefined; (adj, n) low, vile. ANTONYMS: (adj) refined, sophisticated, tasteful, polite, aesthetic, muted, fashionable, decent, artistic, pleasant, clean wages: (n) pay, wage, earnings, reward, stipend, allowance, hire, remuneration, income, payoff, compensation wagon: (n) truck, wain, paddy wagon, waggon, lorry, station wagon, dray, car, chariot, Jagger wagon, beach wagon wainscot: (n) wainscoting, panel,
199 plinth, wall, panelling, parietes, skirting board, wainscotting, lining, paneling wait: (n, v) pause, hold, stop; (v) expect, anticipate, stay, await, lurk, ambush, remain; (adj, v) tarry. ANTONYMS: (n) act, continuation, doing; (v) interrupt, leave, begin, depart, continue; (intj) hurry waiting: (n) abeyance, suspense, expectancy, hold, time lag, postponement; (adj) ready and waiting, ready, expectant; (adv) to come, in the making wake: (v) awaken, awake, rouse, stir, vigil, provoke, arouse, waken, excite; (n) train, trail. ANTONYMS: (v) nap, dissuade, discourage, snooze, stifle waking: (adj) wakeful; (n) awakening, wakefulness, consciousness walk: (adj, n, v) step; (n, v) gait, ramble, march, pace, hike, course, saunter, stroll, roam; (n) path. ANTONYMS: (v) run, ride, stride walked: (adj) exempt; (v) yode walking: (n) gait, ambulation, wading, shuffling, shambling, marching, noctambulism, traveling; (adv) afoot; (adj) moving, active wall: (n, v) fence, bar; (n) barrier, rampart, bulwark, cliff, earthwork, fortification, screen, rail, fencing walls: (n) brickwork, buttresses, defenses, masonry, ramparts, fortifications wandering: (adj) itinerant, nomadic, erratic, rambling, errant, migratory; (adj, v) stray, vagrant, vagabond, unsettled; (n) peregrination. ANTONYM: (adj) resident want: (n, v) lack, desire, miss, wish; (n) poverty, deficiency, deprivation, famine, necessity, destitution, shortage. ANTONYMS: (n, v) hate; (n) glut, despise, luxury, option, prosperity, supply; (v) disinterest, answer wanted: (adj) welcome, cherished, precious, treasured, marketable, invited, necessary, needed, desirable, desired, loved. ANTONYMS: (adj) unwanted, unwelcome wants: (n) need, necessities warm: (adj) hot, affectionate, tender, ardent, cordial, fervent, lively, fond, loving, earnest, tepid. ANTONYMS: (adj) cold, unfriendly, aloof, reserved, hostile, uncaring, unenthusiastic, unwelcoming, stale,
200 offhand; (v) chill warmed: (adj) warmer, warm, baked warming: (n) thaw, melt, melting, warm, thawing, warmer, heat, heating system, temperature change, radiant heating; (adj) calefacient warmly: (adv) cordially, ardently, hotly, genially, affectionately, vigorously, fervently, zealously, eagerly, strongly, pleasantly. ANTONYMS: (adv) coolly, inhospitably, sourly, disagreeably, indifferently, frostily, roughly, rudely, apathetically warmth: (adj, n) glow, fire; (n) temperature, warmness, passion, fervor, geniality, affection, tenderness, fondness, sympathy. ANTONYMS: (n) aloofness, chill, chilliness, coldness, coolness, unfriendliness, hostility, sourness, abruptness, plainness, frostiness warn: (v) counsel, caution, admonish, advise, inform, alert, threaten, exhort, forewarn, tell, notify. ANTONYM: (v) protect warning: (n) notice, indication, caution, advice, example, lesson, hint, premonition, caveat, admonition; (adj, n) monitory. ANTONYMS: (n) encouragement, recommendation, approval; (adj) promising warped: (adj, n) twisted; (adj) deformed, crooked, perverted, misshapen, kinky, curved, distorted, wry, partisan, superficial. ANTONYMS: (adj) wholesome, impartial wash: (adj, n, v) soak; (n, v) paint; (v) clean, scrub, mop, moisten, lave, scour, bathe; (n) washing, ablution. ANTONYM: (v) soil washing: (n) laundry, laundering, ablution, lavation, bathing, cleaning, purification, elutriation, dishwashing, backwash; (adj) cleansing wasting: (n) homicide, atrophy, slaughter, slaying, cachexia, assassination, cachexy, amyotrophy, carnage; (adj) consuming, consumptive watch: (n, v) view, sentinel, clock, wake, regard, care; (v) observe, look, see; (n) sentry; (adj, n) surveillance. ANTONYMS: (v) neglect, overlook, harm, hurt, glance watcher: (n) spectator, bystander, viewer, lookout, watchman, onlooker, observer, witness, eyewitness, scout, sentinel
Ethan Frome watchful: (adj) alert, observant, careful, cautious, wary, attentive, wakeful, mindful, circumspect, sleepless, awake. ANTONYMS: (adj) inattentive, negligent, oblivious, forgetful, careless, asleep, trusting, unprepared, reckless watching: (n) observation, stargazing, sighting, observance, watch, remark, notice, ambush, reflection, ceremonial occasion, ceremony water: (n) urine, sea, lake, ocean, moisture, juice, river; (n, v) wet; (v) moisten, soak, dampen. ANTONYMS: (v) dehydrate, dry watery: (adj) moist, diluted, wet, dilute, washy, thin, damp, fluid, aqueous, weak, insipid. ANTONYMS: (adj) strong, solid, dry, soft, dehydrated, lively, dark, clear, thick, hard wave: (v) flap, undulate, swing, flourish; (n, v) gesture, billow, flutter, swell, motion, curl; (n) surge waved: (adj) undulating, wavy, curly, not dated, undated waver: (v) vacillate, fluctuate, hesitate, totter, hover, wave; (n, v) quiver, flicker, shake, flutter, tremble. ANTONYMS: (v) resolve, continue wavering: (adj, v) vacillating; (n) fluctuation, hesitation, vacillation; (adj) irresolute, indecisive, undecided, hesitant, uncertain, variable, changeable. ANTONYMS: (adj) decided, constant, resolute, stable, decisive; (n) resolution, stability waves: (n) brine, effect, salt water, deep, main, ocean, undulation, breakers, influence, emission, offing waving: (adj) flying, aflare, fluttering, flaring, flared, curly, burning, blazing, billowy, palpitating; (n) wafture ways: (n) behavior, process, shipway, slipway, means, childbearing, conduct, construction, demeanor, direction, traveling weak: (adj, n) frail; (adj) flat, watery, fragile, flimsy, faint, thin, light, sickly, soft, nerveless. ANTONYMS: (adj) concentrated, firm, brave, safe, forceful, effective, healthy, intense, determined, powerful, robust weakly: (adj) feeble, infirm, weak; (adv) frailly, badly, softly, lightly, infirmly, effeminately, slightly; (adj, adv) sickly. ANTONYMS: (adv) strongly, confidently, powerfully,
firmly, well, competently, convincingly, wholeheartedly, admirably, persuasively, interestingly weapons: (n) weaponry, weapon, ordnance, munitions, defense, guns, armaments, artillery wear: (n) clothing, clothes, apparel, attire, garb; (v) endure, fatigue, waste, bear, tire, fray. ANTONYMS: (v) refresh, reject, rebuild, please, freshen, disrobe, delight, cheer, refuse; (n) improvement wearily: (adv) sickly, boredly, dully, languidly, jadedly, exhaustedly, sadly, soberly, gravely, heavily, seriously. ANTONYMS: (adv) hopefully, untiringly, energetically, dynamically weariness: (n) exhaustion, tiredness, lassitude, languor, asthenopia, defatigation, grogginess, listlessness, boredom, ennui, prostration weary: (adj, n, v) fatigue; (v) exhaust, tire out; (adj) tired, exhausted, fatigued, aweary, beat, languid; (n, v) jade, bore. ANTONYMS: (adj) energetic, fresh, lively, untiring, hopeful, refreshed; (v) refresh, enliven, energize, activate, rally weather: (v) survive, withstand, resist, brave, stand, brave out, wear; (n) climate, atmospheric condition, downfall, inclemency. ANTONYMS: (v) succumb, reject wedding: (adj) bridal, marital, matrimonial; (n) matrimony, nuptials, marriage ceremony, wedding ceremony, wedlock, remarriage, espousal; (adj, n) nuptial wedge: (v) compress, jam, pack, ram, stuff, lodge; (n) chock, shim, slice, cuneus; (n, v) stick. ANTONYMS: (v) dislodge, remove; (n) whole week: (n) period, minute, second, hour, rag, day, calendar week, year, sevennight, Wyke, workweek weeping: (adj) tearful, lachrymose, dolourous, dolorous; (n, v) lament, lamentation; (v) wailing; (n) sobbing, tears, cry; (adj, n) howling. ANTONYM: (n) celebration weighed: (adj) determined, deliberate, tared weighing: (n) deliberation, consideration, think, advisement, speculation, quantify, weigh, unhurriedness, study, slowness, ponderation weight: (n, v) load, burden, charge, heaviness, bias; (n) significance, consequence, importance, pressure,
Edith Wharton stress, influence. ANTONYMS: (n) lightness, benefit, advantage, unimportance, meaninglessness, powerlessness, weakness, feebleness; (v) unburden weighted: (adj) laden, leaden, adjusted, plodding, impure, unfair, prejudiced, gray, loaded, opinionated, grey. ANTONYM: (adj) impartial welcome: (adj) pleasant, acceptable, pleasing, agreeable; (n, v) accept; (n) hospitality, reception; (v) receive, greet, invite, hail. ANTONYMS: (adj) unwelcome, unwanted, unacceptable, displeasing, disagreeable, unpleasant; (v) reject, evict, bar; (n) unfriendliness, goodbye well-being: (n) prosperity, good, health, comfort, happiness, interest, satisfaction, sake, rapture, peace of mind, luxury went: (v) walked, proceeded west: (n) due west, w, the occident, watt, geographic region, tungsten, New world; (adv) westwards; (v) to the west, south, north east western: (adj) occidental, Hesperian, occasive, occiduous, ponent, westbound; (n) horse opera, western sandwich, western movie, country, cowboy picture wheel: (v) revolve, spin, trundle, gyrate, twirl; (n, v) turn, cycle, circle, bicycle, bike; (n) gear when: (adv, conj) once, as soon as; (adv) then, because, than, since, after; (conj) although, while, if; (prep) during whenever: (n) anytime, convenience; (adv) always, whene'er. ANTONYM: (adv) immediately where: (adv) there, here, wherever, whither, in which, wherein, in what; (adv, pron) anywhere; (pron) everywhere; (n) point, spot whereabouts: (adv, n) whereabout; (n) place, site, position, seat, location, venue, station, address, situation, actions whether: (pron) where while: (adv, conj) whereas, as, although; (n) time, spell, period, moment, interval; (adv) when; (conj) though; (prep) during whine: (n, v) groan, cry, whimper, grumble, sigh, wail, squeal, screech; (v) complain, howl; (n) complaint. ANTONYMS: (n) happiness; (v) praise, compliment whining: (adj) whimpering, whiny,
sniveling pitiful, Snively, tearful, whiney, singing, peevish; (v) fretful, lamenting; (n) sniveling whinny: (n, v) nicker, whicker; (v) whinner, hinny, emit, wigher, let loose, utter, jeer, let out whip: (n, v) lash, strap, goad; (v) flog, flagellate, beat, punish, thrash, trounce, stir, wallop. ANTONYMS: (v) lose, return whirl: (n, v) spin, turn, eddy, roll, wheel, twist, swirl; (v) reel, gyrate; (n) go, fling whisper: (n, v) murmur, hum, mumble, suggestion, hint, inkling; (v) breathe, hiss; (n) rustle, trace, breath. ANTONYM: (n) information whispered: (adj) low, voiceless, unvoiced, nonvocal, weak, unheard, surd, supposed, sharp, thought, quiet whistle: (v) sing, twitter, hiss, warble, tweet, cheep, chirp, wheeze; (n, v) cry; (n) whistling, tin whistle white: (adj, n) pale; (adj) clean, blank, snowy, ashen, wan, achromatic, pure, pallid; (v) whiten; (n) Caucasian. ANTONYMS: (adj, n) black; (adj) dark, rosy, red, dirty; (v) blacken whiten: (adj, v) blanch; (v) white, pale, whitewash, turn white, blench, decolorize, blanco, dealbate, discolor; (adj) bleached. ANTONYMS: (v) dirty, darken whiteness: (n) paleness, ivory, chalk, pearl, bone, bleach, alabaster, frostiness, hoariness, pallor, innocence. ANTONYM: (n) black whitewashed: (adj) overpowered, overcome, crushed, conquered, beaten, routed, painted whole: (adj, v) entire; (adj, n) total, integral, sum, aggregate, well; (adj, adv, n) all; (adj) complete, healthy, intact, full. ANTONYMS: (adj) incomplete, broken, partial, imperfect, unhealthy, deficient, destroyed, fractional, impaired, half, sick wholly: (adj, adv) totally, entirely, altogether, quite, exclusively, perfectly, solely; (adv, pref) all; (adv) fully, utterly, absolutely. ANTONYMS: (adv) partially, inclusively, hardly, incompletely, slightly wide: (adj) broad, spacious, roomy, extensive, comprehensive, large, vast, ample, capacious, open, sweeping. ANTONYMS: (adj) thin, restricted, skinny, straight, cramped,
201 minute widely: (adv) broadly, generally, greatly, wide, largely, far, deeply, farly, comprehensively, sweepingly, openly. ANTONYMS: (adv) secretly, barely widow: (n) woman, relict, widower, adult female, widow woman, war widow, nobbled line; (adj) widowed, additional; (v) leave behind width: (n) extent, wideness, size, latitude, length, broadness, distance, dimension, thickness, amplitude, measurement. ANTONYMS: (n) thinness, height, tallness, narrowness wife: (n) matron, missis, partner, married woman, spouse, consort, helpmate, housewife, lady, woman, viscountess wild: (adj, n, v) waste, desert; (adj, v) fierce, violent, reckless, raging; (adj) boisterous, untamed, stormy, rude, desolate. ANTONYMS: (adj) calm, orderly, manageable, sane, domestic, cultivated, tame, restrained, mild, sensible, passive wind: (n, v) twist, turn; (v) meander, curl, bend, twine, curve, weave, crook; (n) air, gust. ANTONYMS: (v) unwind; (n) breeze window: (n) casement, pane, skylight, gap, Ventian window, clearstory, transom, windowpane, rosette, clerestory, embrasure windy: (adj) gusty, verbose, blowy, flatulent, wordy, breezy, tempestuous, empty, airy, prolix, bombastic. ANTONYMS: (adj) calm, still, straight, uncommunicative, unresponsive, airless, pleasant, direct wing: (n) pinion, limb, arm, fender, flank, pennon, Ala, extension, feather; (v) fly, soar. ANTONYM: (n) headquarters wings: (n) insignia, agency winter: (n) wintertime, season, time of year, hiems, frost, chill; (adj) wintery, wintry; (v) spend. ANTONYM: (n) heat wires: (n) chains, rigging, ropes, dealings wisdom: (n) judiciousness, knowledge, sapience, sagacity, sense, prudence, discernment, insight, learning, depth, reasonableness. ANTONYMS: (n) stupidity, folly, inexperience, ignorance, flippancy, banality wish: (adv, n, v) will; (n, v) want,
202 hope, need, inclination, longing, aspiration, aim; (v) like, choose; (n) pleasure. ANTONYMS: (n, v) dislike, hate; (n) hatred, coercion, disinclination, aversion wishing: (n) wish, want, velleity, option, need, privation, lack, deprivation, deficiency, choice; (adj) desirous wistful: (adj, v) reflective, meditative, thoughtful; (adj) contemplative, sad, melancholy, longing, plaintive, wishful, yearning; (v) anxious. ANTONYMS: (adj) alert, satisfied, shallow within: (adv, n, prep) inside; (adv, prep) in; (adv) indoors, internally, inwardly, inly; (adj, n) interior; (prep) into, on, between; (adj) inwards. ANTONYMS: (prep) beyond, out without: (adv, n, prep) outside; (adj, adv) except; (adj) lacking, save barring; (prep) out of, sans; (n) minus, provisionally; (adv) save, beyond; (adv, prep) besides. ANTONYMS: (prep) with, having; (adv) inside woke: (v) arouse woman: (n) girl, female, lady, dame, madam, mistress, matron, maid, gentlewoman, Donna, petticoat. ANTONYMS: (n) man, gentleman womanly: (adj, v) effeminate; (adj) ladylike, womanish, female, womanlike, wifely, weak, maidenly, matronly; (v) soft, feminate. ANTONYM: (adj) unwomanly women: (n) sex, gentle sex wonder: (adj, n) prodigy; (n) astonishment, admiration, amazement, surprise, miracle, phenomenon, muse; (v) admire, reflect, question. ANTONYMS: (n) expectation, belief, disapproval; (v) know, believe, anticipate, decide wondering: (adj) inquisitive, speculative, suspicious wood: (n) timber, tree, grove, lumber, jungle, coppice, walnut, linden, larch, guaiac; (adj, n) woods wooded: (adj) arboreous, sylvan, woody, timbered, densely forested, leafy wooden: (adj) wood, stilted, awkward, expressionless, inept, clumsy, dead, impassive, woody, timbered, made of wood. ANTONYMS: (adj) flexible, bending, pliable, emotional, natural, relaxed, expressive woods: (n) forest, woodland, grove,
Ethan Frome timber, jungle, sir Henry wood, vegetation, timberland, Natalie wood, virgin forest; (adj) wooden woody: (adj) arboreous, ligneous, wooden, forested, woodsy, arboraceous, arboreal, harder, hard, lignified, nemorous wooing: (n) courting, suit, bundling, suit of clothes, the soft impeachment, entreaty, prayer, cause, causa, case; (adj) amatory word: (n) news, tidings, password, expression, report, vocable, statement, term; (v) formulate, phrase; (n, v) advice words: (n) speech, expression, row, text, fracas, argument; (n, v) altercation, squabble, tiff, dispute, quarrel worked: (adj) elaborated, beaten world: (n) cosmos, nature, creation, earth, public, sphere, society, realm, globe, macrocosm; (adj) global worn: (adj) haggard, tired, tattered, threadbare, ragged, drawn, jaded, fatigued, exhausted, faded, wasted. ANTONYMS: (adj) new, smart, unused, unworn, pristine, original worse: (adj) worser, subordinate, waur, worsened, warre, unrelieved, minor, lesser, junior, poorer; (n) badness. ANTONYMS: (adj) improved, healthier, higher worst: (v) whip, trounce, defeat, overcome, vanquish, pip, rack up; (adj, v) best, rout; (adj) floor, lick. ANTONYMS: (adj, n) best; (adj) highest, first, secondary wound: (n, v) bruise, cut, harm, pain, damage, scratch, stab, sting; (n) injury; (v) offend, injure. ANTONYMS: (v) heal, appease, aid, cure, repair wraith: (n) shade, specter, phantom, spook, apparition, spectre, spirit, vision, shadow, comb, fetch wrapped: (prep) covered; (adj) clothed, draped, rapt, intent, absorbed, engrossed, mantled, packed, immersed; (adj, prep) cloaked wrapper: (n) cover, wrap, cloak, peignoir, housecoat, neglige, envelope, wrapping, covering, dust cover, mantle wrapping: (n) covering, wrapper, envelope, bandage, wrap, swathe, case, packaging, plaster, film, lint wraps: (n) concealment, veil of secrecy, cover wrath: (n) rage, resentment, ire, fury, displeasure, indignation, passion,
madness, choler, irritation; (adj) angry. ANTONYMS: (n) happiness, love, composure, serenity wrinkles: (n) crow's feet wrist: (n) wrist joint, radiocarpal joint, neaf, gliding joint, fist, articulatio Plana, neif; (v) paw, hand, finger write: (v) pen, indite, draw up, correspond, spell, record, publish, compile, draw, outline, type writhing: (adj, n) twisting; (adj) wriggly, squirming, wiggling, wiggly, twisty, tortuous, snaky, winding, sinuous; (n) twist writing: (n) script, print, composition, lettering, document, autograph, paper, record, inscription, authorship, handwriting written: (adj) registered, clerical, conscript, enrolled, literal, hard-andfast, on paper; (n) examination. ANTONYMS: (adj) verbal, unscripted, unwritten wrong: (adj, n) evil, ill, injury, injustice; (adj, n, v) damage, injure; (adj) improper, false, incorrect, bad, inappropriate. ANTONYMS: (adj) correct, good, proper, honest, appropriate, just, true; (adv) correctly; (n) justice, virtue; (v) sympathize yard: (n) court, courtyard, garden, backyard, barnyard, grounds, farmyard, quadrangle, close, enclosure, junkyard yellow: (adv) cowardly; (adj) amber, xanthous, chickenhearted, fearful, chicken, craven, spineless; (n) coward, saffron, maize. ANTONYMS: (adj) bold, brave, confident yesterday: (n) past, yesteryear, yore, mean solar day, past times, solar day, day, history, water under the bridge; (adj) pass, stale. ANTONYMS: (adv) nowadays; (n) today yield: (n, v) produce, return, allow, give; (v) surrender, concede, submit, give up, grant, cede; (n) output. ANTONYMS: (v) persevere, survive, stand, withstand, repel, reject, prevent, withhold, acquire, oppose, veto yielded: (v) yold, yolden yonder: (adv) beyond, further, farther, abroad, thither, further away, at that place; (adj) distant, yond, furious, fierce young: (n, v) offspring; (adj, n) juvenile; (adj) immature, fresh,
Edith Wharton adolescent, new, raw, baby, childish, early; (n) progeny. ANTONYMS: (adj) old, mature, adult, ripe, older, late; (adj, n) aged yours: (adj) own yourself: (adv) herself, themselves, itself, myself, ourselves, yourselves, physically youth: (n) youngster, young person, lad, juvenile, boy, adolescence, kid, younker, stripling, juvenility; (adj, n) young. ANTONYMS: (n) adulthood, adult, ripeness, maturity, aged zero: (n) nothing, nobody, cipher, naught, cypher, null, nought, nihil, nullity, aught, nix. ANTONYMS: (n) being, something, thing
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