Roget's Thesaurus by Peter Mark Roget

was a scholar and a ripe and good one" [Henry VIII]; "the manifold linguist" [All's Well That Ends Well]. #493. Ignoramus.—N. ignoramus, dunce; wooden spoon; no scholar. # [insulting terms for ignorant person: see also imbecility 499, folly 501] moron, imbecile, idiot; fool, jerk, nincompoop, asshole [vulgar]. [person with superficial knowledge] dilettante, sciolist[obs3], smatterer, dabbler, half scholar; charlatan; wiseacre. greenhorn, amateur &c (dupe) 547; novice, tyro &c (learner) 541; numskull. lubber &c (bungler) 701; fool &c. 501; pedant &c 492. Adj. bookless[obs3], shallow; ignorant &c. 491. Phr. "a wit with dunces and a dunce with wits" [Pope]. #494. [Object of knowledge.] Truth.—N. fact, reality &c. (existence) 1; plain fact, plain matter of fact; nature &c. (principle) 5; truth, verity; gospel, gospel truth, God's honest truth; orthodoxy &c. 983a; authenticity; veracity &c. 543; correctness, correctitude[obs3]. accuracy, exactitude; exactness, preciseness &c. adj.; precision, delicacy; rigor, mathematical precision, punctuality; clockwork precision &c. (regularity) 80; conformity to rule; nicety. orthology[obs3]; ipsissima verba[Lat]; realism. plain truth, honest truth, sober truth, naked truth, unalloyed truth, unqualified truth, stern truth, exact truth, intrinsic truth; nuda veritas[Lat]; the very thing; not an -illusion &c 495; real Simon Pure; unvarnished tale, unvarnished truth; the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth; just the thing. V. be true &c. adj., be the case; sand the test; have the true ring; hold good, hold true, hold water. render true, prove true &c. adj.; substantiate &c. (evidence) 467. get at the truth &c. (discover) 480a. Adj. real, actual &c. (existing) 1; veritable, true; right, correct; certain &c. 474; substantially true, categorically true, definitively true &c; true to the letter, true as gospel; unimpeachable; veracious &c. 543; unreconfuted[obs3], unconfuted[obs3]; unideal[obs3], unimagined; realistic. exact, accurate, definite, precise, well-defined, just, just so, so; strict, severe; close &c. (similar) 17; literal; rigid, rigorous; scrupulous &c. (conscientious) 939; religiously exact, punctual, mathematical, scientific; faithful, constant, unerring; curious, particular, nice, delicate, fine; clean-cut, clear-cut. verified, empirically true, experimentally verified, substantiated, proven (demonstrated) 478. rigorously true, unquestionably true. true by definition. genuine, authentic, legitimate; orthodox &c. 983a; official, ex officio. pure, natural, sound, sterling; unsophisticated, unadulterated, unvarnished, unalloyed, uncolored; in its true colors; pukka[obs3]. well-grounded, well founded; solid, substantial, tangible, valid; undistorted, undisguised; unaffected, unexaggerated, unromantic, unflattering. Adv. truly &c. adj.; verily, indeed, really, in reality; with truth &c. (veracity) 543; certainly &c. (certain) 474; actually &c. (existence) 1; in effect &c (intrinsically) 5. exactly &c. adj.; ad amussim[Lat]; verbatim, verbatim et literatim [Lat]; word for word, literally, literatim[Lat], totidem vervis[Lat], sic, to the letter, chapter and verse, ipsissimis verbis[Lat]; ad unguem[Lat]; to an inch; to a nicety, to a hair, to a tittle, to a turn, to a T; au pied de la lettre [Fr]; neither more nor less; in every respect, in all respects; sous tous les rapports[Fr]; at any rate, at all events; strictly speaking. Phr. the truth is, the fact is; rem acu tetigisti[obs3][Lat]; en suivant la verite [Fr]; ex facto jus oritur [Lat]; la verita e figlia del empo [It]; locos y ninos dicen la verdad [Spanish: crazy people and children tell the truth]; nihil est veritatis luce dulcius [Lat][Cicero]; veritas nunquam perit [Lat][Seneca]; veritatem dies aperit [Lat][Seneca]; "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth"; "just the facts, ma'am, just the facts." [Dragnet]. #495. Error.—N. error, fallacy; misconception, misapprehension, misstanding[obs3], misunderstanding; inexactness &c. adj.; laxity; misconstruction &c. (misinterpretation) 523; miscomputation &c. (misjudgment) 481; non sequitur &c. 477; mis-statement, mis-report; mumpsimus[obs3]. mistake; miss, fault, blunder, quiproquo, cross purposes, oversight, misprint, erratum, corrigendum, slip, blot, flaw, loose thread; trip, stumble &c. (failure) 732; botchery &c. (want of skill) 699[obs3]; slip of the tongue, slip of the lip, Freudian slip; slip of the pen; lapsus linguae[Lat], clerical error; bull &c. (absurdity) 497; haplography[obs3]. illusion, delusion; snare; false impression, false idea; bubble; self- decit, self-deception; mists of error. heresy &c. (heterodoxy) 984; hallucination &c. (insanity) 503; false light &c. (fallacy of vision) 443; dream &c. (fancy) 515; fable &c. (untruth) 546; bias &c. (misjudgment) 481; misleading &c. v. V. be erroneous &c. adj. cause error; mislead, misguide; lead astray, lead into error; beguile, misinform &c. (misteach) 538[obs3]; delude; give a false impression, give a false idea; falsify, misstate; deceive &c. 545; lie &c. 544. err; be -in error &c. adj., be mistaken &c. v.; be deceived &c. (duped) 547; mistake, receive a false impression, deceive oneself; fall into error, lie under error, labor under an error &c. n.; be in the wrong, blunder; misapprehend, misconceive, misunderstand, misreckon, miscount, miscalculate &c. (misjudge) 481. play at cross purposes, be at cross purposes &c. (misinterpret) 523. trip, stumble; lose oneself &c. (uncertainty) 475; go astray; fail &c. 732; be in the wrong box; take the wrong sow by the ear &c. (mismanage) 699; put the saddle on the wrong horse; reckon without one's host; take the shadow for the substance &c (credulity) 486; dream &c (imagine) 515. Adj. erroneous, untrue, false, devoid of truth, fallacious, apocryphal, unreal, ungrounded, groundless; unsubstantial &c. 4; heretical &c. (heterodox) 984; unsound; illogical &c. 477. inexact, unexact inaccurate[obs3], incorrect; indefinite &c. (uncertain) 475. illusive, illusory; delusive; mock, ideal &c (imaginary) 515; spurious &c. 545; deceitful &c. 544; perverted. controvertible, unsustainable; unauthenticated, untrustworthy. exploded, refuted; discarded. in error, under an error &c. n.; mistaken &c. v.; tripping &c. v.; out, out in one's reckoning; aberrant; beside the mark, wide of the mark, wide of the truth, way off, far off; astray &c (at fault) 475; on a false scent, on the wrong scent; in the wrong box, outside the ballpark; at cross purposes, all in the wrong; all out. Adv. more or less. Phr. errare est humanum[Lat]; mentis gratissimus error [Lat][Horace]; "on the dubious waves of error tost" [Cowper]; "to err is human, to forgive divine" [Pope]; "you lie—under a mistake" [Shelley]. #496. Maxim.—N. maxim, aphorism; apothegm, apophthegm[obs3]; # dictum, saying, adage, saw, proverb; sentence, mot[Fr], motto, word, byword, moral, phylactery, protasis[obs3]. axiom, theorem, scholium[obs3], truism, postulate. first principles, a priori fact, assumption (supposition) 514. reflection &c (idea) 453; conclusion &c (judgment) 480; golden rule &c. (precept) 697; principle, principia[Lat]; profession of faith &c. (belief) 484; settled principle, accepted principle, formula. accepted fact. received truth, wise maxim, sage maxim, received maxim, admitted maxim, recognized maxim &c; true saying, common saying, hackneyed saying, trite saying, commonplace saying &c. Adj. aphoristic, proverbial, phylacteric[obs3]; axiomatic, gnomic. Adv. as the saying goes, as the saying is, as they say. #497. Absurdity.—N. absurdity, absurdness &c. adj.; imbecility &c. 499; alogy|, nonsense, utter nonsense; paradox, inconsistency; stultiloquy[obs3], stultiloquence[obs3]; nugacity[obs3]. blunder, muddle, bull; Irishism|!, Hibernicism|!; slipslop[obs3]; anticlimax, bathos; sophism &c. 477. farce, galimathias[obs3], amphigouri[obs3], rhapsody; farrago &c (disorder) 59; betise[Fr]; extravagance, romance; sciamachy[obs3]. sell, pun, verbal quibble, macaronic[obs3]. jargon, fustian, twaddle, gibberish &c (no meaning) 517; exaggeration &c 549; moonshine, stuff; mare's nest, quibble, self-delusion. vagary, tomfoolery, poppycock, mummery, monkey trick, boutade[Fr], escapade. V. play the fool &c. 499; talk nonsense, parler a tort et a travess[Fr]; battre la campagne[Fr][obs3]; ἀνεμώλια βάζειν be -absurd &c. adj. Adj. absurd, nonsensical, preposterous, egregious, senseless, inconsistent, ridiculous, extravagant, quibbling; self-annulling, self- contradictory; macaronic[obs3], punning. foolish &c. 499; sophistical &c. 477; unmeaning &c. 517; without rhyme or reason; fantastic. Int. fiddlededee! pish! pho[obs3]! "in the name of the Prophet—figs!" [Horace Smith]. Phr. credat Judaeus Apella [Lat][Horace]; tell it to the marines. _Faculties_ #498. Intelligence. Wisdom.—N. intelligence, capacity, comprehension, understanding; cuteness, sabe * [obs3][U.S.], savvy * [U.S.]; intellect &c. 450; nous[Fr], parts, sagacity, mother wit, wit, esprit, gumption, quick parts, grasp of intellect; acuteness &c adj.; acumen, subtlety, penetration, perspicacy[obs3], perspicacity; discernment, due sense of, good judgment; discrimination &c 465; cunning &c. 702; refinement &c (taste) 850. head, brains, headpiece, upper story, long head; eagle eye, eagle- glance; eye of a lynx, eye of a hawk. wisdom, sapience, sense; good sense, common sense, horse sense [U.S.], plain sense; rationality, reason; reasonableness &c. adj; judgment; solidity, depth, profundity, caliber; enlarged views; reach of thought, compass of thought; enlargement of mind. genius, inspiration, geist[Ger], fire of genius, heaven-born genius, soul; talent &c. (aptitude) 698. [Wisdom in action] prudence &c. 864; vigilance &c. 459; tact &c 698; foresight &c 510; sobriety, self-possession, aplomb, ballast. a bright thought, not a bad idea. Solomon-like wisdom. V. be -intelligent &c. adj.; have all one's wits about one; understand &c. (intelligible) 518; catch an idea, take in an idea; take a joke, take a hint. see through, see at a glance, see with half an eye, see far into, see through a millstone; penetrate; discern &c (descry) 441; foresee &c 510. discriminate &c. 465; know what's what &c. 698; listen to reason. Adj. intelligent[Applied to persons], quick of apprehension, keen, acute, alive, brainy, awake, bright, quick, sharp; quick witted, keen witted, clear witted, sharp- eyed, sharp sighted, sharp witted; wide-awake; canny, shrewd, astute; clear-headed; farsighted &c 510; discerning, perspicacious, penetrating, piercing; argute[obs3]; quick-witted, nimble- witted, needle-witted; sharp as a needle, sharp as a tack; alive to &c (cognizant) 490; clever &c. (apt) 698; arch &c (cunning) 702; pas si bete[Fr]; acute &c 682. wise, sage, sapient, sagacious, reasonable, rational, sound, in one's right mind, sensible, abnormis sapiens[Lat], judicious, strong-minded. unprejudiced, unbiased, unbigoted[obs3], unprepossessed[obs3]; undazzled[obs3], unperplexed[obs3]; unwarped judgment[obs3], impartial, equitable, fair. cool; cool-headed, long-headed, hardheaded, strong-headed; long- sighted, calculating, thoughtful, reflecting; solid, deep, profound. oracular; heaven-directed, heaven-born. prudent &c (cautious) 864; sober, stand, solid; considerate, politic, wise in one's generation; watchful &c. 459; provident &c (prepared) 673; in advance of one' age; wise as a serpent, wise as Solomon, wise as Solon. [Applied to actions] wise, sensible, reasonable, judicious; well- thought-out, well-planned, well-judged, well-advised; prudent, politic; expedient &c. 646. Phr. aut regem aut fatuum nasci oportet[Lat]; "but with the morning cool reflection came" [Scott]; flosculi sententiarum[Lat]; les affaires font les hommes[Fr]; mas vale saber que haber[Sp]; mas vale ser necio que profiadol nemo solus sapit [Lat][Plautus]; nosce te[Lat]; γνῶθι σεαυτόν[Grk]; nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura dementiae fuit [Lat][Seneca, from Aristotle]; sapere aude [Lat][Horace]; victrix fortunae sapientia [Lat][Juvenal]. #499. Imbecility. Folly—N. want of -intelligence &c. 498, want of - intellect &c. 450; shadowness[obs3], silliness, foolishness &c. adj.; imbecility, incapacity, vacancy of mind, poverty of intellect, weakness of intellect, clouded perception, poor head, apartments to let; stupidity, stolidity; hebetude[obs3], dull understanding, meanest capacity, shortsightedness; incompetence &c (unskillfulness) 699. one's weak side, not one's strong point; bias &c 481; infatuation &c. (insanity) 503. simplicity, puerility, babyhood; dotage, anility[obs3], second childishness, fatuity; idiocy, idiotism[obs3]; driveling. folly, frivolity, irrationality, trifling, ineptitude, nugacity[obs3], inconsistency, lip wisdom, conceit; sophistry &c. 477; giddiness &c (inattention) 458; eccentricity &c. 503; extravagance &c (absurdity) 497; rashness &c. 863. act of folly &c. 699. b. be - imbecile &c adj.; have no -brains, have no sense &c. 498. trifle, drivel, radoter[obs3], dote; ramble &c (madness) 503; play the fool, play the monkey, monkey around, fool around; take leave of one's senses (insanity) 503; not see an inch beyond one's nose; stultify oneself &c. 699; talk nonsense &c.