A Dictionary of English Synonymes and Synonymous or Parallel Expressions / Designed as a Practical Guide to Aptness and Variety of Phraseology

The exertion of clothing a thought in a completely new set of words increases both clearness of thought and mastery over words. It is the test of a solid thought that it will bear a change of clothing.—J. R. Seeley.
Transcriber's note: Definitions which are synonyms in alphabetic order in the text (e.g. Afterward, Afterwards) are shown as connected by braces followed by the common description(s). In this text they have been separated and duplicated. Minor typos and numbering errors of descriptions have been corrected. Inconsistent hyphenation has been retained.
The main design of this Dictionary is to provide a ready means of assistance when one is at a loss for a word or an expression that best suits a particular turn of thought or mood of the mind, or that may obviate an ungraceful repetition. Even practised and skilful writers are sometimes embarrassed in the endeavor to make a sentence more clear, simple, terse, or rhythmical, by the substitution of one form of diction for another. It is presumed that they, as well as novices in composition, will find the present work useful in overcoming difficulties of this sort.
As to the method of using it: Whenever a doubt arises in regard to the fitness of any word, and a better one is not readily suggested, let the writer turn to this word in its alphabetical place. Under it will be found the words and phrases, or some clew to the words and phrases, which, in any connection, have the same meaning as itself, or a meaning very nearly the same. That one of them, which comes nearest to expressing the exact shade of thought in the writer's mind, will be likely to arrest the attention and determine the choice.
In most cases, all the words that belong to any group will be found in that group. But in some instances, as when the same word falls into two or more groups that are near to each other, or when there are so many synonymes for a word that a repetition of every one of them under each in its alphabetical place would seem to be too formal and prolix, the inquirer is referred to some prominent word among them for a view of the whole. Under the word Blockhead , for example, reference is made to the word DUNCE,—printed, for this purpose, in small capitals, as here,—under which will be found all the words that are synonymous with it. This example is given because it is the most marked one in our language of a multiplicity of terms for the same idea.