Solicitude, solicitation.
51. He made frequent —— for money and clothes.
52. My mother watched over my infancy with tender ——.
53. Coriolanus yielded at the —— of his mother.
Stimulus, stimulant, stimulation.
54. He worked hard under the —— of a desire to get rich.
55. The providential —— of conscience is always present.
56. The doctor came and administered a gentle —— to the patient.
III. ADDITIONAL NOUNS SOMETIMES MISUSED.[31]
Ability, capacity.—Ability is the power of doing; capacity, the power of containing, of understanding, of acquiring.
Adherence, adhesion.—Adherence is used of moral relations, adhesion, of physical connection. We speak of the adhesion of glue to wood, of a man's adherence to the principles of his party.
Amount, quantity, number.—Amount means "sum total," and is used of numbers or quantities; quantity is used of things which are measured; number, of things which are counted.
Argument, plea.—"Plea (in the legal sense) is properly used of the pleadings or the arraignment before a trial, not of the argument at a trial. A plea is always addressed to the court; an argument may be addressed either to the court or to the jury. A similar remark applies to the verbs plead and argue."[32]
Balance, rest, remainder.—Balance, meaning "the difference between two sides of an account," is a commercial term, and cannot properly be used for rest or remainder. Rest is used of persons or things, and of large as well as of small parts. Remainder is used only of things, and denotes a comparatively small part.
Centre, middle.—The centre is a point, or a definite place; the middle is a line, or a space, and is less definite than centre.
Character, reputation.—Character is what a man is; reputation is the prevailing opinion of his character.