NEAT.
Synonyms:
| clean, | dapper, | nice, | prim, | tidy, |
| cleanly, | natty, | orderly, | spruce, | trim. |
That which is clean is simply free from soil or defilement of any kind. Things are orderly when in due relation to other things; a room or desk is orderly when every article is in place; a person is orderly who habitually keeps things so. Tidy denotes that which conforms to propriety in general; an unlaced shoe may be perfectly clean, but is not tidy. Neat refers to that which is clean and tidy with nothing superfluous, conspicuous, or showy, as when we speak of plain but neat attire; the same idea of freedom from the superfluous appears in the phrases "a neat speech," "a neat turn," "a neat reply," etc. A clean cut has no ragged edges; a neat stroke just does what is intended. Nice is stronger than neat, implying value and beauty; a cheap, coarse dress may be perfectly neat, but would not be termed nice. Spruce is applied to the show and affectation of neatness with a touch of smartness, and is always a term of mild contempt; as, a spruce serving man. Trim denotes a certain shapely and elegant firmness, often with suppleness and grace; as, a trim suit; a trim figure. Prim applies to a precise, formal, affected nicety. Dapper is spruce with the suggestion of smallness and slightness; natty, a diminutive of neat, suggests minute elegance, with a tendency toward the exquisite; as, a dapper little fellow in a natty business suit.
Antonyms:
| dirty, | negligent, | slouchy, | uncared for, |
| disorderly, | rough, | slovenly, | unkempt, |
| dowdy, | rude, | soiled, | untidy. |
[250]
NECESSARY.