give place or give way under pressure, and hence under
compulsion. _Yield_ implies more softness or concession than
_surrender_; the most determined men may _surrender_ to overwhelming
force; when one _yields_, his spirit is at least somewhat subdued. A
monarch or a state _cedes_ territory perhaps for a consideration;
_surrenders_ an army, a navy, or a fortified place to a conqueror; a
military commander _abandons_ an untenable position or unavailable
stores. We _sacrifice_ something precious through error, friendship, or
duty, _yield_ to convincing reasons, a stronger will, winsome
persuasion, or superior force. Compare ABANDON.

* * * * *

SYNONYMOUS.

Synonyms:

alike, equivalent, like, similar,
correspondent, identical, same, synonymic.
corresponding, interchangeable,

_Synonymous_ (Gr. _syn_, together, and _onyma_, name) strictly signifies
being _interchangeable_ names for the same thing, or being one of two
or more _interchangeable_ names for the same thing; to say that two
words are _synonymous_ is strictly to say they are _alike_,
_equivalent_, _identical_, or the _same_ in meaning; but the use of
_synonymous_ in this strict sense is somewhat rare, and rather with
reference to statements than to words.

To say that we are morally developed is _synonymous_ with saying
that we have reaped what some one has suffered for us.

H. W. BEECHER _Royal Truths_ p. 294. [T. & F. '66.]

In the strictest sense, _synonymous_ words scarcely exist; rarely, if
ever, are any two words in any language _equivalent_ or _identical_ in
meaning; where a difference in meaning can not easily be shown, a
difference in usage commonly exists, so that the words are not
_interchangeable_. By _synonymous_ words (or _synonyms_) we usually
understand words that coincide or nearly coincide in some part of their
meaning, and may hence within certain limits be used interchangeably,
while outside of those limits they may differ very greatly in meaning
and use. It is the office of a work on synonyms to point out these
correspondences and differences, that language may have the flexibility
that comes from freedom of selection within the common limits, with the
perspicuity and precision that result from exact choice of the fittest
words to express each shade of meaning outside of the common limits. To
consider _synonymous_ words _identical_ is fatal to acc