"When the walk is over there is abundance to think about; and the ramble reviewed at night before the andirons is a repetition of the day's enjoyment."
If you will substitute walk for ramble in the preceding sentence, you will see how much the sentence loses by not using the synonym.
Exercise 46.—In each of the following fill each blank with an appropriate synonym of the italicized word in the same sentence:—
1. Be astir at ——, then, and receive the greeting of that lover of the dawn, the blackcap. 2. The —— thickened, so that now you waded through a condensation of gloom. 3. The thrush filled every lone pathway with its sweet music, and I wondered that the world should hear so little of this woodside ——. 4. The sobering silence of the night was the subject of our conversation, when suddenly a sad, sweet song broke the ——. 5. In the city these conditions are not so well marked; but beyond the —— limits, nature still rules. 6. It was just the day for a ramble, and I was off early for an all-day ——. 7. The gale died away, and he tried to go northward again; but again came the —— and swept him back into the waste. 8. And what became of the little ——, the poor boy in the pretty town of Marbach? 9. He comes up the stairs —— and opens the door noiselessly. 10. When the first week had passed, the queen took little Eliza into the country, and but a short month had —— when the king had entirely forgotten his little daughter.
Exercise 47.—In the following use a synonym in place of one of the underlined words:—
1. He has many wealthy friends, although he is not a wealthy man himself. 2. At his first glimpse of the countenance, Ernest did fancy that there was a resemblance between it and the familiar countenance upon the mountain side. 3. Celia considered that it would be unsafe for two young maids of rank to travel in their rich clothes; she therefore proposed that they should dress like country maids. 4. When the servant of the house of Montague met the servant of the house of Capulet, a quarrel ensued; and frequent were the quarrels from such accidental meetings. 5. Portia dressed herself and Nerissa in men's apparel, and putting on the apparel of a counselor, she took Nerissa with her as clerk and set out for Venice. 6. Portia now desired Shylock to let her see the bond; and when she had read it she desired him to be merciful. 7. The importance of the arduous task Portia had engaged in gave her courage, and she boldly proceeded to perform the task she had undertaken. 8. The lady expressed great sorrow at hearing this, and said she wished to see the father of Helena, a young lady who was present. 9. The mourners sat in silence, with only a smothered sob now and then to break the silence. 10. She tried to comfort the sorrowful girl, but could think of nothing that would comfort her.
Exercise 48.—1. Give one or more synonyms for each of the following words. Consult your dictionary.
Dawn, neglect, perform, astonish, collect, bestow, appeal, destroy, attend, grieve, joy, brilliance, gloomy, happy, gentle, calm, excitable, fond, sweet, simple, just, honorable, gloaming, bewilder.
2. Rearrange the following list, putting together all words that are synonyms:—
Crime, smite, maid, fault, fervent, labor, reverence, ardent, instantly, respect, fraternal, quickly, work, glowing, entreat, toil, honor, brotherly, beg, venerate, beseech, gloaming, waste, importune, twilight, squander, glitter, shine, glisten, sparkle, offense, girl, strike, lass, sincere, faithful, transgression, true, desire, wish.
A knowledge of synonyms, then, is valuable, since it enriches your vocabulary and enables you to give variety to your writing. There is still another way in which this knowledge may be useful to you, There is generally some slight difference in meaning, even in words classed as synonyms, and a wise choice will enable you to express your thought with more exactness.
Example. "I frantically begged a knot of sailors not to let them perish before our eyes."
In the dictionary you will find the following synonyms for beg, with an explanation of the different shades of meaning: ask, entreat, beseech, implore, supplicate.
"One asks what he feels he may fairly claim; he begs for that to which he advances no claim but pity; entreat implies a special earnestness of asking, and beseech, a still added and more humble intensity. To implore is to ask with weeping and lamentation; to supplicate is to ask, as it were, on bended knees." (Standard Dictionary.)
It would be better, then, to write,—
"I frantically implored a knot of sailors not to let them perish before our eyes."
Exercise 49.—Choose one of the synonyms given in each of the following sentences. Consult your dictionary to get the different shades of meaning.
1. They were making out to me, in an [agitated, excited, disturbed] way that the lifeboat had been bravely manned an hour ago, and could do nothing.
2. The thunder was loud and [ceaseless, incessant, continuous].
3. I was [perplexed, confused, distracted] by the terrible sight.