Antonyms:
| disintegration, | independence, | isolation, | separation, | solitude. |
Prepositions:
An association of scholars for the advancement of knowledge; association with the good is ennobling.
ASSUME.
Synonyms:
| accept, | arrogate, | postulate, | put on, |
| affect, | claim, | presume, | take, |
| appropriate, | feign, | pretend, | usurp. |
The distinctive idea of assume is to take by one's own independent volition, whether well or ill, rightfully or wrongfully. One may accept an obligation or assume an authority that properly belongs to him, or he may assume an obligation or indebtedness that could not be required of him. He may assume authority or office that is his right; if he assumes what does not belong to him, he is said to arrogate or usurp it. A man may usurp the substance of power in the most unpretending way; what he arrogates to himself he assumes with a haughty and overbearing manner. One assumes the robes or insignia of office by putting them on, with or without right. If he takes to himself the credit and appearance of qualities he does not possess, he is said to affect or feign, or to pretend to, the character he thus assumes. What a debater postulates he openly states and takes for granted without proof; what he assumes he may take for granted without mention. A favorite trick of the sophist is quietly to assume as true what would at once be challenged if expressly stated. What a man claims he asserts his right to take; what he assumes he takes.
ASSURANCE.
Synonyms:
| arrogance, | boldness, | impudence, | self-confidence, |
| assertion, | confidence, | presumption, | self-reliance, |
| assumption, | effrontery, | self-assertion, | trust. |
Assurance may have the good sense of a high, sustained confidence and trust; as, the saint's assurance of heaven. Confidence is founded upon reasons; assurance is largely a matter of feeling. In the bad sense, assurance is a vicious courage, with belief of one's ability to outwit or defy others; the hardened criminal is[62] remarkable for habitual assurance. For the calm conviction of one's own rectitude and ability, self-confidence is a better word than assurance; self-reliance expresses confidence in one's own resources, independently of others' aid. In the bad sense assurance is less gross than impudence, which is (according to its etymology) a shameless boldness. Assurance is in act or manner; impudence may be in speech. Effrontery is impudence defiantly displayed. Compare FAITH; PRIDE.
Antonyms:
| bashfulness, | consternation, | distrust, | hesitancy, | shyness, |
| confusion, | dismay, | doubt, | misgiving, | timidity. |
ASTUTE.
Synonyms:
| acute, | discerning, | penetrating, | sharp, |
| clear-sighted, | discriminating, | penetrative, | shrewd, |
| crafty, | keen, | perspicacious, | subtile, |
| cunning, | knowing, | sagacious, | subtle. |
Acute, from the Latin, suggests the sharpness of the needle's point; keen, from the Saxon, the sharpness of the cutting edge. Astute, from the Latin, with the original sense of cunning has come to have a meaning that combines the sense of acute or keen with that of sagacious. The astute mind adds to acuteness and keenness an element of cunning or finesse. The astute debater leads his opponents into a snare by getting them to make admissions, or urge arguments, of which he sees a result that they do not perceive. The acute, keen intellect may take no special advantage of these qualities; the astute mind has always a point to make for itself, and seldom fails to make it. A knowing look, air, etc., in general indicates practical knowledge with a touch of shrewdness, and perhaps of cunning; in regard to some special matter, it indicates the possession of reserved knowledge which the person could impart if he chose. Knowing has often a slightly invidious sense. We speak of a knowing rascal, meaning cunning or shrewd within a narrow range, but of a knowing horse or dog, in the sense of sagacious, implying that he knows more than could be expected of such an animal. A knowing child has more knowledge than would be looked for at his years, perhaps more than is quite desirable, while to speak of a child as intelligent is altogether complimentary.
Antonyms:
| blind, |