FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   236   237   238   239   240   241   242   243   244   245   246   247   248   249   250   251   252   253   254   255   256   257   258   259   260  
261   262   263   264   265   266   267   268   269   270   271   272   273   274   275   276   277   278   279   280   281   282   283   284   285   >>   >|  
PPARENT. Antonyms: doubtful, improbable, questionable, unreasonable. dubious, incredible, unlikely, * * * * * LISTEN. Synonyms: attend, hark, harken, hear, heed, list. Between _listen_ and _hear_ is a difference like that between the words look and see. (Compare synonyms for LOOK.) To _hear_ is simply to become conscious of sound, to _listen_ is to make a conscious effort or endeavor to _hear_. We may _hear_ without _listening_, as words suddenly uttered in an adjoining room; or we may _listen_ without _hearing_, as to a distant speaker. In _listening_ the ear is intent upon the sound; in _attending_ the mind is intent upon the thought, tho _listening_ implies some attention to the meaning or import of the sound. To _heed_ is not only to _attend_, but to remember and observe. _Harken_ is nearly obsolete. Antonyms: be deaf to, ignore, neglect, scorn, slight. Prepositions: We listen _for_ what we expect or desire to hear; we listen _to_ what we actually do hear; listen _for_ a step, a signal, a train; listen _to_ the debate. * * * * * LITERATURE. Synonyms: belles-lettres, literary productions, publications, books, literary works, writings. _Literature_ is collective, including in the most general sense all the written or printed productions of the human mind in all lands and ages, or in a more limited sense, referring to all that has been published in some land or age, or in some department of human knowledge; as, the _literature_ of Greece; the _literature_ of the Augustan age; the _literature_ of politics or of art. _Literature_, used absolutely, denotes what has been called "polite _literature_" or _belles-lettres_, _i. e._, the works collectively that embody taste, feeling, loftiness of thought, and purity and beauty of style, as poetry, history, fiction, and dramatic compositions, including also much of philosophical writing, as the "Republic" of Plato, and oratorical productions, as the orations of Demosthenes. In the broad sense, we can speak of the _literature_ of science; in the narrower sense, we speak of _literature_ and science as distinct departments of knowledge. _Literature_ is also used to signify literary pursuits or occupations; as, to devote one's life to _literature_. Compare KNOWLEDGE; SCIENCE. * * * * * LOAD, _n._
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   236   237   238   239   240   241   242   243   244   245   246   247   248   249   250   251   252   253   254   255   256   257   258   259   260  
261   262   263   264   265   266   267   268   269   270   271   272   273   274   275   276   277   278   279   280   281   282   283   284   285   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

literature

 

listen

 
listening
 

productions

 

Literature

 
literary
 

intent

 

Synonyms

 

knowledge

 

including


Antonyms

 

lettres

 
belles
 

thought

 
conscious
 
Compare
 
science
 

attend

 

devote

 

PPARENT


department

 

Greece

 
called
 

polite

 

denotes

 

absolutely

 
politics
 

Augustan

 

SCIENCE

 

printed


written

 

KNOWLEDGE

 

referring

 

limited

 

published

 

embody

 

Republic

 
writing
 

philosophical

 

signify


oratorical

 

orations

 
distinct
 
narrower
 

departments

 

Demosthenes

 

pursuits

 
compositions
 

purity

 

beauty