| apparel, | clothes, | garb, | habit, | uniform, |
| array, | clothing, | garments, | raiment, | vestments, |
| attire, | costume, | habiliments, | robes, | vesture. |
Clothing denotes the entire covering of the body, taken as a whole; clothes and garments view it as composed of separate parts. Clothes, clothing, and garments may be used of inner or outer covering; all the other words in the list (with possible rare exceptions in the case of raiment) refer to the outer garments. Array, raiment, and vesture are archaic or poetic; so, too, is habit, except in technical use to denote a lady's riding-dress. The word vestments is now rare, except in ecclesiastical use. Apparel and attire are most frequently used of somewhat complete and elegant outer clothing, tho Shakespeare speaks of "poor and mean attire." Dress may be used, specifically, for a woman's gown, and in that sense may be either rich or shabby; but in the general sense it denotes outer clothing which is meant to be elegant, complete, and appropriate to some social or public occasion; as, full dress, court dress, evening dress, etc. Dress has now largely displaced apparel and attire. Garb denotes the clothing characteristic of some class, profession, or the like; as, the garb of a priest. Costume is chiefly used for that which befits an assumed character; as, a theatrical costume; we sometimes speak of a national costume, etc.
Antonyms:
| bareness, | disarray, | dishabille, | exposure, | nakedness, | nudity, | undress. |
DRIVE.
Synonyms:
| compel, | propel, | repel, | resist, | thrust, |
| impel, | push, | repulse, | ride, | urge on. |
To drive is to move an object with some force or violence before or away from oneself; it is the direct reverse of draw, lead, etc. A man leads a horse by the halter, drives him with whip and rein. One may be driven to a thing or from it; hence, drive is a synonym equally for compel or for repel or repulse. Repulse is stronger and more conclusive than repel; one may be repelled by the very aspect of the person whose favor he seeks, but is not repulsed except by the direct refusal or ignoring of his suit. A certain conventional modern usage, especially in England, requires us to say that we drive in a carriage, ride upon a horse; tho in Scripture we read of riding in a chariot (2 Kings ix, 16; Jer. xvii, 25, etc.); good examples of the same usage may be[141] found abundantly in the older English. The propriety of a person's saying that he is going to drive when he is simply to be conveyed in a carriage, where some one else, as the coachman, does all the driving, is exceedingly questionable. Many good authorities prefer to use ride in the older and broader sense as signifying to be supported and borne along by any means of conveyance. Compare [BANISH]; [COMPEL]; [INFLUENCE].
Antonyms: