One may be annoyed by the well-meaning awkwardness of a servant, irritated by a tight shoe or a thoughtless remark, vexed at some careless neglect or needless misfortune, wounded by the ingratitude of child or friend. To tease is to give some slight and perhaps playful annoyance. Aggravate in the sense of offend is colloquial. To provoke, literally to call out or challenge, is to begin a contest; one provokes another to violence. To affront is to offer some defiant offense or indignity, as it were, to one's face; it is somewhat less than to insult. Compare PIQUE.
Antonyms:
| conciliate, | content, | gratify, | honor, | please. |
AGENT.
Synonyms:
| actor, | factor, | means, | operator, | promoter. |
| doer, | instrument, | mover, | performer, |
In strict philosophical usage, the prime mover or doer of an act is the agent. Thus we speak of man as a voluntary agent, a free agent. But in common usage, especially in business, an agent is not the prime actor, but only an instrument or factor, acting under orders or instructions. Compare CAUSE.
Antonyms:
| chief, | inventor, | originator, | principal. |
Prepositions:
An agent of the company for selling, etc.
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AGREE.
Synonyms:
| accede, | admit, | coincide, | concur, |
| accept, | approve, | combine, | consent, |
| accord, | assent, | comply, | harmonize. |
| acquiesce, |
Agree is the most general term of this group, signifying to have like qualities, proportions, views, or inclinations, so as to be free from jar, conflict, or contradiction in a given relation. To concur is to agree in general; to coincide is to agree in every particular. Whether in application to persons or things, concur tends to expression in action more than coincide; we may either concur or coincide in an opinion, but concur in a decision; views coincide, causes concur. One accepts another's terms, complies with his wishes, admits his statement, approves his plan, conforms to his views of doctrine or duty, accedes or consents to his proposal. Accede expresses the more formal agreement, consent the more complete. To assent is an act of the understanding; to consent, of the will. We may concur or agree with others, either in opinion or decision. One may silently acquiesce in that which does not meet his views, but which he does not care to contest. He admits the charge brought, or the statement made, by another—admit always carrying a suggestion of reluctance. Assent is sometimes used for a mild form of consent, as if agreement in the opinion assured approval of the decision.
Antonyms:
| contend, | demur, | disagree, | oppose, |
| contradict, | deny, | dispute, | protest, |
| decline, | differ, | dissent, | refuse. |
Prepositions:
I agree in opinion with the speaker; to the terms proposed; persons agree on or upon a statement of principles, rules, etc.; we must agree among ourselves.
AGRICULTURE.
Synonyms:
| cultivation, | gardening, | kitchen-gardening, |
| culture, | horticulture, | market-gardening, |
| farming, | husbandry, | tillage. |
| floriculture, |
Agriculture is the generic term, including at once the science, the art, and the process of supplying human wants by raising the products of the soil, and by the associated industries; farming is the practise of agriculture as a business; there may be theoretical agriculture, but not theoretical farming; we speak of the science of agriculture, the business of farming; scientific agriculture[26] may be wholly in books; scientific farming is practised upon the land; we say an agricultural college rather than a college of farming. Farming refers to the cultivation of considerable portions of land, and the raising of the coarser crops; gardening is the close cultivation of a small area for small fruits, flowers, vegetables, etc., and while it may be done upon a farm is yet a distinct industry. Gardening