ce of
danger. _Courageous_ is more than _brave_, adding a moral element: the
_courageous_ man steadily encounters perils to which he may be keenly
sensitive, at the call of duty; the _gallant_ are _brave_ in a dashing,
showy, and splendid way; the _valiant_ not only dare great dangers, but
achieve great results; the _heroic_ are nobly _daring_ and _dauntless_,
truly _chivalrous_, sublimely _courageous_. Compare FORTITUDE.

Antonyms:

afraid, cringing, fearful, pusillanimous, timid,
cowardly, faint-hearted, frightened, shrinking, timorous.

* * * * *

BREAK.

Synonyms:

bankrupt, crack, destroy, rive, shatter, split,
burst, crush, fracture, rupture, shiver, sunder,
cashier, demolish, rend, sever, smash, transgress.

To _break_ is to divide sharply, with severance of particles, as by a
blow or strain. To _burst_ is to _break_ by pressure from within, as a
bombshell, but it is used also for the result of violent force otherwise
exerted; as, to _burst_ in a door, where the door yields as if to an
explosion. To _crush_ is to _break_ by pressure from without, as an
egg-shell. To _crack_ is to _break_ without complete severance of parts;
a _cracked_ cup or mirror may still hold together. _Fracture_ has a
somewhat similar sense. In a _fractured_ limb, the ends of the _broken_
bone may be separated, tho both portions are still retained within the
common muscular tissue. A _shattered_ object is _broken_ suddenly and in
numerous directions; as, a vase is _shattered_ by a blow, a building by
an earthquake. A _shivered_ glass is _broken_ into numerous minute,
needle-like fragments. To _smash_ is to _break_ thoroughly to pieces
with a crashing sound by some sudden act of violence; a watch once
_smashed_ will scarcely be worth repair. To _split_ is to cause wood to
crack or part in the way of the grain, and is applied to any other case
where a natural tendency to separation is enforced by an external cause;
as, to _split_ a convention or a party. To _demolish_ is to beat down,
as a mound, building, fortress, etc.; to _destroy_ is to put by any
process beyond restoration physically, mentally, or morally; to
_destroy_ an army is so to _shatter_ and scatter it that it can not be
rallied or reassembled as a fighting force. Compare REND.

Antonyms:

attach, bind, fasten, join, mend, secure, solder, unite, weld.

Pre