Synonyms:

ferocious, furious, raging, uncultivated, violent, fiery, impetuous, savage, untrained, wild.

_Fierce_ signifies having a _furious_ and cruel nature, or being in a _furious_ and cruel mood, more commonly the latter. It applies to that which is now intensely excited, or liable to intense and sudden excitement. _Ferocious_ refers to a state or disposition; that which is _fierce_ flashes or blazes; that which is _ferocious_ steadily burns; we speak of a _ferocious_ animal, a _fierce_ pa.s.sion. A _fiery_ spirit with a good disposition is quickly excitable in a good cause, but may not be _fierce_ or _ferocious_. _Savage_ signifies _untrained_, _uncultivated_.

_Ferocious_ always denotes a tendency to violence; it is more distinctly bloodthirsty than the other words; a person may be deeply, intensely cruel, and not at all _ferocious_; a _ferocious_ countenance expresses habitual ferocity; a _fierce_ countenance may express habitual fierceness, or only the sudden anger of the moment. That which is _wild_ is simply unrestrained; the word may imply no anger or harshness; as, _wild_ delight, _wild_ alarm.

Antonyms:

affectionate, gentle, kind, patient, submissive, tame, docile, harmless, mild, peaceful, sweet, tender.

FINANCIAL.

Synonyms:

fiscal, monetary, pecuniary.

These words all relate to money, receipts, or expenditures. _Monetary_ relates to actual money, coin, currency; as, the _monetary_ system; a _monetary_ transaction is one in which money is transferred. _Pecuniary_ refers to that in which money is involved, but less directly; we speak of one"s _pecuniary_ affairs or interests, with no special reference to the handling of cash. _Financial_ applies especially to governmental revenues or expenditures, or to private transactions of considerable moment; we speak of a _pecuniary_ reward, a _financial_ enterprise; we give a needy person _pecuniary_ (not _financial_) a.s.sistance. It is common to speak of the _fiscal_ rather than the _financial_ year.

FINE.

Synonyms:

beautiful, excellent, polished, small, clarified, exquisite, pure, smooth, clear, gauzy, refined, splendid, comminuted, handsome, sensitive, subtile, dainty, keen, sharp, subtle, delicate, minute, slender, tenuous, elegant, nice, slight, thin.

_Fine_ (L. _finis_, end) denotes that which has been brought to a full end, finished. From this root-sense many derived meanings branch out, causing words quite remote from each other to be alike synonyms of _fine_. That which is truly finished, brought to an ideal end, is _excellent_ of its kind, and _beautiful_, if a thing that admits of beauty; as, a _fine_ house, _fine_ trees, a _fine_ woman, a _fine_ morning; if a thing that admits of the removal of impurities, it is not finished till these are removed, and hence _fine_ signifies _clarified_, _clear_, _pure_, _refined_; as, _fine_ gold. That which is finished is apt to be _polished_, smooth to the touch, minutely exact in outline; hence _fine_ comes to be a synonym for all words like _dainty_, _delicate_, _exquisite_; as, _fine_ manners, a _fine_ touch, _fine_ perceptions. As that which is _delicate_ is apt to be small, by an easy extension of meaning _fine_ becomes a synonym for _slender_, _slight_, _minute_, _comminuted_; as, a _fine_ thread, _fine_ sand; or for _filmy_, _tenuous_, _thin_; as, a _fine_ lace, _fine_ wire; and as a _thin_ edge is _keen_, _sharp_, _fine_ becomes also a synonym for these words; as, a _fine_ point, a _fine_ edge. Compare BEAUTIFUL; MINUTE.

Antonyms:

big, clumsy, great, huge, large, stout, blunt, coa.r.s.e, heavy, immense, rude, thick.

FIRE.

Synonyms:

blaze, burning, combustion, conflagration, flame.

_Combustion_ is the essential fact which is at the basis of that a.s.semblage of visible phenomenon which we call _fire_; _combustion_ being the continuous chemical combination of a substance with some element, as oxygen, evolving heat, and extending from slow processes, such as those by which the heat of the human body is maintained, to the processes producing the most intense light also, as in a blast-furnace, or on the surface of the sun. _Fire_ is always attended with light, as well as heat; _blaze_, _flame_, etc., designate the mingled light and heat of a _fire_. _Combustion_ is the scientific, _fire_ the popular term. A _conflagration_ is an extensive _fire_. Compare LIGHT.

FLOCK.

Synonyms:

bevy, covey, group, herd, lot, set, brood, drove, hatch, litter, pack, swarm.

_Group_ is the general word for any gathering of a small number of objects, whether of persons, animals, or inanimate things. The individuals in a _brood_ or _litter_ are related to each other; those in the other _groups_ may not be. _Brood_ is used chiefly of fowls and birds, _litter_ of certain quadrupeds which bring forth many young at a birth; we speak of a _brood_ of chickens, a _litter_ of puppies; _brood_ is sometimes applied to a family of young children. _Bevy_ is used of birds, and figuratively of any bright and lively _group_ of women or children, but rarely of men. _Flock_ is applied to birds and to some of the smaller animals; _herd_ is confined to the larger animals; we speak of a _bevy_ of quail, a _covey_ of partridges, a _flock_ of blackbirds, or a _flock_ of sheep, a _herd_ of cattle, horses, buffaloes, or elephants, a _pack_ of wolves, a _pack_ of hounds, a _swarm_ of bees. A collection of animals driven or gathered for driving is called a _drove_.

FLUCTUATE.

Synonyms:

hesitate, swerve, vacillate, veer, oscillate, undulate, vary, waver.

To _fluctuate_ (L. _fluctus_, a wave) is to move like a wave with alternate rise and fall. A pendulum _oscillates_; waves _fluctuate_ or _undulate_; a light or a flame _wavers_; a frightened steed _swerves_ from his course; a tool or weapon _swerves_ from the mark or line; the temperature _varies_; the wind _veers_ when it suddenly changes its direction. That which _veers_ may steadily hold the new direction; that which _oscillates_, _fluctuates_, _undulates_, or _wavers_ returns upon its way. As regards mental states, he who _hesitates_ sticks (L.

_haerere_) on the verge of decision; he who _wavers_ does not stick to a decision; he who _vacillates_ decides now one way, and now another; one _vacillates_ between contrasted decisions or actions; he may _waver_ between decision and indecision, or between action and inaction. Persons _hesitate_, _vacillate_, _waver_; feelings _fluctuate_ or _vary_.

Compare SHAKE.

Antonyms:

abide, adhere, hold fast, persist, stand fast, stay, stick.

FLUID.

Synonyms:

gas, liquid.

A _fluid_ is a substance that, like air or water, yields to any force that tends to change its form; a _liquid_ is a body in that state in which the particles move freely among themselves, but remain in one ma.s.s, keeping the same volume, but taking always the form of the containing vessel; a _liquid_ is an inelastic _fluid_; a _gas_ is an elastic _fluid_ that tends to expand to the utmost limits of the containing s.p.a.ce. All _liquids_ are _fluids_, but not all _fluids_ are _liquids_; air and all the _gases_ are _fluids_, but they are not _liquids_ under ordinary circ.u.mstances, tho capable of being reduced to a _liquid_ form by special means, as by cold and pressure. Water at the ordinary temperature is at once a _fluid_ and a _liquid_.

FOLLOW.

Synonyms:

accompany, come after, go after, obey, pursue, attend, copy, heed, observe, result, chase, ensue, imitate, practise, succeed.

Anything that _comes after_ or _goes after_ another, either in s.p.a.ce or in time, is said to _follow_ it. A servant _follows_ or _attends_ his master; a victorious general may _follow_ the retiring enemy merely to watch and hold him in check; he _chases_ or _pursues_ with intent to overtake and attack; the chase is closer and hotter than the pursuit.