Causation
1. CONSTANCY OF SEQUENCE IN EVENTS
#153. [Constant antecedent]. Cause.—N. cause, origin, source, principle, element; occasioner[obs3], prime mover, primum mobile[Lat]; vera causa[Lat]; author &c. (producer) 164; mainspring; agent; leaven; groundwork, foundation &c. (support) 215. spring, fountain, well, font; fountainhead, spring head, wellhead; fons et origo[Lat], genesis; descent &c. (paternity) 166; remote cause; influence. pivot, hinge, turning point, lever, crux, fulcrum; key; proximate cause, causa causans[Lat]; straw that breaks the camel's back. ground; reason, reason why; why and wherefore, rationale, occasion, derivation; final cause &c. (intention) 620; les dessous des cartes[Fr]; undercurrents. rudiment, egg, germ, embryo, bud, root, radix radical, etymon, nucleus, seed, stem, stock, stirps, trunk, tap-root, gemmule[obs3], radicle, semen, sperm. nest, cradle, nursery, womb, nidus, birthplace, hotbed. causality, causation; origination; production &c. 161. V. be the cause &c. n of; originate; give origin to, give rise, to, give occasion to; cause, occasion, sow the seeds of, kindle, suscitate[obs3]; bring on, bring to bring pass, bring about; produce; create &c. 161; set up, set afloat, set on foot; found, broach, institute, lay the foundation of; lie at the root of. procure, induce, draw down, open the door to, superinduce, evoke, entail, operate; elicit, provoke. conduce to &c. (tend to) 176; contribute; have a hand in the pie, have a finger in the pie; determine, decide, turn the scale; have a common origin; derive its origin &c. (effect) 154. Adj. caused &c. v; causal, original; primary, primitive, primordial; aboriginal; protogenal[obs3]; radical; embryonic, embryotic[obs3]; in embryo, in ovo[Lat]; seminal, germinal; at the bottom of; connate, having a common origin. Adv. because &c. 155; behind the scenes. Phr. causa latet vis est notissima [Lat][Ovid]; felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas [Lat][Vergil].
#154. [Constant sequent.] Effect.— N. effect, consequence; aftergrowth[obs3], aftercome[obs3]; derivative, derivation; result; resultant, resultance[obs3]; upshot, issue, denouement; end &c. 67; development, outgrowth, fruit, crop, harvest, product, bud. production, produce, work, handiwork, fabric, performance; creature, creation; offspring, offshoot; firstfruits[obs3], firstlings; heredity, telegony[obs3]; premices premises[obs3]. V. be the effect of &c. n.; be due to, be owing to; originate in, originate from; rise -, arise, take its rise spring from, proceed from, emanate from, come from, grow from, bud from, sprout from, germinate from, issue from, flow from, result from, follow from, derive its origin from, accrue from; come to, come of, come out of; depend upon, hang upon, hinge upon, turn upon. take the consequences, sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. Adj. owing to; resulting from &c. v.; derivable from; due to; caused by &c. 153; dependent upon; derived from, evolved from; derivative; hereditary; telegonous[obs3]. Adv. of course, it follows that, naturally, consequently; as a consequence, in consequence; through, all along of, necessarily, eventually. Phr. cela va sans dire[Fr], "thereby hangs a tale" [Taming of the Shrew].
#155. [Assignment of cause] Attribution—N. attribution, theory, etiology, ascription, reference to, rationale; accounting for &c. v; palætiology,[1] imputation, derivation from. filiation[obs3], affiliation; pedigree &c. (paternity) 166. explanation &c. (interpretation) 522; reason why &c. (cause) 153. V. attribute to, ascribe to, impute to, refer to, lay to, point to, trace to, bring home to; put down to, set down to, blame; charge on, ground on; invest with, assign as cause, lay at, the door of, father upon; account for, derive from, point out the reason &c. 153; theorize; tell how it comes; put the saddle on the right horse. Adj. attributed &c. v.; attributable &c. v.; referable to, referrible to[obs3], due to, derivable from; owing to &c. (effect) 154; putative; ecbatic[obs3]. Adv. hence, thence, therefore, for, since, on account of, because, owing to; on that account; from this cause, from that cause; thanks to, forasmuch as; whence, propter hoc[Lat]. why? wherefore? whence? how comes it, how is it, how happens it? how does it happen? in some way, in some such way; somehow, somehow or other. Phr. that is why; hinc illae lachrymae [Lat][Horace].
[1] Whewell History of the inductive Sciences, book xviii vol. iii.p. 397 (3d edit.).
#156. [Absence of assignable cause.] Chance.[2]—N. chance, indetermination, accident, fortune, hazard, hap, haphazard, chance medley, random, luck, raccroc[obs3], casualty, contingence, adventure, hit; fate &c. (necessity) 601; equal chance; lottery; tombola[obs3]; toss up &c. 621; turn of the table, turn of the cards; hazard of the die, chapter of accidents, fickle finger of fate; cast of the dice, throw of the dice; heads or tails, flip of a coin, wheel of Fortune; sortes[obs3], sortes Virgilianae[obs3]. probability, possibility, odds; long odds, run of luck; accidentalness; main chance, odds on, favorable odds. contingency, dependence (uncertainty) 475; situation (circumstance) 8. statistics, theory of Probabilities, theory of Chances; bookmaking; assurance; speculation, gaming &c. 621. V. chance, hap, turn up; fall to one's lot; be one's -fate &c. 601; stumble on light upon; take one's chance &c. 621. Adj. casual, fortuitous, accidental, adventitious, causeless, incidental, contingent, uncaused, undetermined, indeterminate; random, statistical; possible &c. 470; unintentional &c. 621. Adv. by chance, accidentally, by accident; casually; perchance &c. (possibly) 470; for aught one knows; as good would have it, as bad would have it, as luck would have it, as ill-luck would have it, as chance would have it; as it may be, as it may chance, as it may turn up, as it may happen; as the case may be. Phr. "grasps the skirts of happy chance" [Tennyson]; "the accident of an accident" [Lord Thurlow]. "There but for the grace of God go I."
[2] The word Chance has two distinct meanings: the first, the absence of assignable cause, as above; and the second, the absence of design—for the latter see 621.
2. CONNECTION BETWEEN CAUSE AND EFFECT
#157. Power.—N. power; potency, potentiality; jiva[obs3]; puissance, might, force, energy &c. 171; dint; right hand, right arm; ascendency[obs3], sway, control; prepotency, prepollence|; almightiness, omnipotence; authority &c. 737; strength &c. 159. ability; ableness &c. adj[obs3].; competency; efficacy; efficiency, productivity, expertise (skill) 698; validity, cogency; enablement[obs3]; vantage ground; influence &c. 175. pressure; conductivity; elasticity; gravity, electricity, magnetism, galvanism, voltaic electricity, voltaism, electromagnetism; atomic power, nuclear power, thermonuclear power; fuel cell; hydraulic power, water power, hydroelectric power; solar power, solar energy, solar panels; tidal power; wind power; attraction; vis inertiae[Lat], vis mortua[Lat], vis viva [Latin]; potential energy, dynamic energy; dynamic friction, dynamic suction; live circuit, live rail, live wire. capability, capacity; quid valeant humeri quid ferre recusent [obs3][Latin]; faculty, quality, attribute, endowment, virtue, gift, property, qualification, susceptibility. V. be powerful &c. adj.; gain power &c. n. belong to, pertain to; lie in one's power, be in one's power; can, be able. give power, confer power, exercise power &c. n.; empower, enable, invest; indue[obs3], endue; endow, arm; strengthen &c. 159; compel &c. 744. Adj. powerful, puissant; potential; capable, able; equal to, up to; cogent, valid; efficient, productive; effective, effectual, efficacious, adequate, competent; multipotent[obs3], plenipotent[obs3], omnipotent; almighty. forcible &c. adj. (energetic) 171; influential &c. 175; productive &c. 168. Adv. powerfully &c. adj.; by virtue of, by dint of. Phr. a toute force[Fr]; δός μοι ποῦ στῶ καὶ κινῶ τὴν γῆν[Grk]; eripuit cœlo fulmen sceptrumque tyrannis [Latin]; fortis cadere cedere non potest [Latin].
#158. Impotence.—N. impotence; inability, disability; disablement, impuissance, imbecility; incapacity, incapability; inaptitude, ineptitude, incompetence, unproductivity[obs3]; indocility[obs3]; invalidity, disqualification; inefficiency, wastefulness. telum imbelle[Lat], brutum fulmen[Lat], blank, blank cartridge, flash in the pan, vox et proeterea nihil[Lat], dead letter, bit of waste paper, dummy; paper tiger; Quaker gun. inefficacy &c. (inutility) 645[obs3]; failure &c. 732. helplessness &c. adj.; prostration, paralysis, palsy, apoplexy, syncope, sideration|, deliquium|[Lat], collapse, exhaustion, softening of the brain, inanition; emasculation, orchiotomy [Med], orchotomy[Med]. cripple, old woman, muff, powder puff, creampuff, pussycat, wimp, mollycoddle; eunuch. V. be impotent &c. adj.; not have a leg to stand on. vouloir rompre l'anguille au genou [French], vouloir prendre la lune avec les dents [French]. collapse, faint, swoon, fall into a swoon, drop; go by the board, go by the wayside; go up in smoke, end in smoke &c. (fail) 732. render powerless &c. adj.; deprive of power; disable, disenable[obs3]; disarm, incapacitate, disqualify, unfit, invalidate, deaden, cramp, tie the hands; double up, prostrate, paralyze, muzzle, cripple, becripple[obs3], maim, lame, hamstring, draw the teeth of; throttle, strangle, garrotte, garrote; ratten[obs3], silence, sprain, clip the wings of, put hors de combat[Fr], spike the guns; take the wind out of one's sails, scotch the snake, put a spoke in one's wheel; break the neck, break the back; unhinge, unfit; put out of gear. unman, unnerve, enervate; emasculate, castrate, geld, alter, neuter, sterilize, fix. shatter, exhaust, weaken &c. 160. Adj. powerless, impotent, unable, incapable, incompetent; inefficient, ineffective; inept; unfit, unfitted; unqualified, disqualified; unendowed; inapt, unapt; crippled, disabled &c. v.; armless[obs3]. harmless, unarmed, weaponless, defenseless, sine ictu[Lat], unfortified, indefensible, vincible, pregnable, untenable. paralytic, paralyzed; palsied, imbecile; nerveless, sinewless[obs3], marrowless[obs3], pithless[obs3], lustless[obs3]; emasculate, disjointed; out of joint, out of gear; unnerved, unhinged; water-logged, on one's beam ends, rudderless; laid on one's back; done up, dead beat, exhausted, shattered, demoralized; graveled &c. (in difficulty) 704; helpless, unfriended[obs3], fatherless; without a leg to stand on, hors de combat[Fr], laid on the shelf. null and void, nugatory, inoperative, good for nothing; ineffectual &c. (failing) 732; inadequate &c. 640; inefficacious &c. (useless) 645. Phr. der kranke Mann[Ger]; "desirous still but impotent to rise" [Shenstone]; the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
#159. [Degree of power.] Strength.—N. strength; power &c. 157; energy &c. 171; vigor, force; main force, physical force, brute force; spring, elasticity, tone, tension, tonicity. stoutness &c. adj.; lustihood[obs3], stamina, nerve, muscle, sinew, thews and sinews, physique; pith, pithiness; virtility, vitality. athletics, athleticism[obs3]; gymnastics, feats of strength. adamant, steel, iron, oak, heart of oak; iron grip; grit, bone. athlete, gymnast, acrobat; superman, Atlas, Hercules, Antæus[obs3], Samson, Cyclops, Goliath; tower of strength; giant refreshed. strengthening &c. v.; invigoration, refreshment, refocillation[obs3]. [Science of forces] dynamics, statics. V. be strong &c. adj., be stronger; overmatch. render strong &c. adj.; give strength &c. n.; strengthen, invigorate, brace, nerve, fortify, sustain, harden, case harden, steel, gird; screw up, wind up, set up; gird up one's loins, brace up one's loins; recruit, set on one's legs; vivify; refresh &c. 689; refect[obs3]; reinforce, reenforce &c. (restore) 660. Adj. strong, mighty, vigorous, forcible, hard, adamantine, stout, robust, sturdy, hardy, powerful, potent, puissant, valid. resistless, irresistible, invincible, proof against, impregnable, unconquerable, indomitable, dominating, inextinguishable, unquenchable; incontestable; more than a match for; overpowering, overwhelming; all powerful, all sufficient; sovereign. able-bodied; athletic; Herculean, Cyclopean, Atlantean[obs3]; muscular, brawny, wiry, well-knit, broad-shouldered, sinewy, strapping, stalwart, gigantic. manly, man-like, manful; masculine, male, virile. unweakened[obs3], unallayed, unwithered[obs3], unshaken, unworn, unexhausted[obs3]; in full force, in full swing; in the plenitude of power. stubborn, thick-ribbed, made of iron, deep-rooted; strong as a lion, strong as a horse, strong as an ox, strong as brandy; sound as a roach; in fine feather, in high feather; built like a brick shithouse; like a giant refreshed. Adv. strongly &c. adj.; by force &c. n.; by main force &c. (by compulsion) 744. Phr. "our withers are unwrung" [Hamlet]. Blut und Eisen[Ger]; coelitus mihi vires[Lat]; du fort au diable[Fr]; en habiles gens[Lat]; ex vi termini; flecti non frangi[Lat]; "he that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill" [Burke]; "inflexible in faith invincible in arms" [Beattie].
#160. Weakness.—N. weakness &c. adj.; debility, atony[obs3], relaxation, languor, enervation; impotence &c. 158; infirmity; effeminacy, feminality[obs3]; fragility, flaccidity; inactivity &c. 683. anaemia, bloodlessness, deficiency of blood, poverty of blood. declension of strength, loss of strength, failure of strength; delicacy, invalidation, decrepitude, asthenia[obs3], adynamy[obs3], cachexy[obs3], cachexia[Med], sprain, strain. reed, thread, rope of sand, house of cards. softling[obs3], weakling; infant &c. 129; youth &c. 127. V. be weak &c. adj.; drop, crumble, give way, totter, tremble, shake, halt, limp, fade, languish, decline, flag, fail, have one leg in the grave. render weak &c. adj.; weaken, enfeeble, debilitate, shake, deprive of strength, relax, enervate, eviscerate; unbrace, unnerve; cripple, unman &c. (render powerless) 158; cramp, reduce, sprain, strain, blunt the edge of; dilute, impoverish; decimate; extenuate; reduce in strength, reduce the strength of; mettre de l'eau dans son vin[Fr]. Adj. weak, feeble, debile|; impotent &c. 158; relaxed, unnerved, &c. v.; sapless, strengthless[obs3], powerless; weakly, unstrung, flaccid, adynamic[obs3], asthenic[obs3]; nervous. soft, effeminate, feminate[obs3], womanly. frail, fragile, shattery[obs3]; flimsy, unsubstantial, insubstantial, gimcrack, gingerbread; rickety, creaky, creaking, cranky; craichy[obs3]; drooping, tottering &c. v.. broken, lame, withered, shattered, shaken, crazy, shaky; palsied &c. 158; decrepit. languid, poor, infirm; faint, faintish[obs3]; sickly &c. (disease) 655; dull, slack, evanid|, spent, short-winded, effete; weather-beaten; decayed, rotten, worn, seedy, languishing, wasted, washy, laid low, pulled down, the worse for wear. unstrengthened &c. 159[obs3], unsupported, unaided, unassisted; aidless[obs3], defenseless &c. 158; cantilevered (support) 215. on its last legs; weak as a child, weak as a baby, weak as a chicken, weak as a cat, weak as a rat; weak as water, weak as water gruel, weak as gingerbread, weak as milk and water; colorless &c. 429. Phr. non sum qualis eram[Lat].
3. POWER IN OPERATION
#161. Production.—N. {ant. 162, 158} production, creation, construction, formation, fabrication, manufacture; building, architecture, erection, edification; coinage; diaster[obs3]; organization; nisus formativus[Lat]; putting together &c. v.; establishment; workmanship, performance; achievement &c. (completion) 729. flowering, fructification; inflorescence. bringing forth &c. v.: parturition, birth, birth-throe, childbirth, delivery, confinement, accouchement, travail, labor, midwifery, obstetrics; geniture[obs3]; gestation &c. (maturation) 673; assimilation; evolution, development, growth; entelechy[Phil]; fertilization, gemination, germination, heterogamy[Biol], genesis, generation, epigenesis[obs3], procreation, progeneration[obs3], propagation; fecundation, impregnation; albumen &c. 357. spontaneous generation; archegenesis[obs3], archebiosis[obs3]; biogenesis, abiogenesis[obs3], digenesis[obs3], dysmerogenesis[obs3], eumerogenesis[obs3], heterogenesis[obs3], oogenesis, merogenesis[obs3], metogenesis[obs3], monogenesis[obs3], parthenogenesis, homogenesis[obs3], xenogenesis|[obs3]; authorship, publication; works, opus, oeuvre. biogeny[obs3], dissogeny[obs3], xenogeny[obs3]; tocogony[obs3], vacuolization. edifice, building, structure, fabric, erection, pile, tower, flower, fruit. V. produce, perform, operate, do, make, gar, form, construct, fabricate, frame, contrive, manufacture; weave, forge, coin, carve, chisel; build, raise, edify, rear, erect, put together, set up, run up; establish, constitute, compose, organize, institute; achieve, accomplish &c. (complete) 729. flower, bear fruit, fructify, teem, ean[obs3], yean[obs3], farrow, drop, pup, kitten, kindle; bear, lay, whelp, bring forth, give birth to, lie in, be brought to bed of, evolve, pullulate, usher into the world. make productive &c. 168; create; beget, get, generate, fecundate, impregnate; procreate, progenerate[obs3], propagate; engender; bring into being, call into being, bring into existence; breed, hatch, develop, bring up. induce, superinduce; suscitate|; cause &c. 153; acquire &c. 775. Adj. produced, producing &c. v.; productive of; prolific &c. 168; creative; formative, genetic, genial, genital; pregnant; enceinte, big with, fraught with; in the family way, teeming, parturient, in the straw, brought to bed of; puerperal, puerperous[obs3]. digenetic[obs3], heterogenetic[obs3], oogenetic, xenogenetic[obs3]; ectogenous[obs3], gamic[obs3], haematobious[obs3], sporogenous[Biol], sporophorous[Biol]. architectonic. Phr. ex nihilo nihil[Lat]; fiat lux[Lat]; materiam superabat opus [Lat][Ovid]; nemo dat quod non habet [Latin].
#162. [Nonproduction.] Destruction.—N. {ant. 161} destruction; waste, dissolution, breaking up; diruption[obs3], disruption; consumption; disorganization. fall, downfall, devastation, ruin, perdition, crash; eboulement[French], smash, havoc, delabrement[French], debacle; break down, break up, fall apart; prostration; desolation, bouleversement[Fr], wreck, wrack, shipwreck, cataclysm; washout. extinction, annihilation; destruction of life &c. 361; knock-down blow; doom, crack of doom. destroying &c. v.; demolition, demolishment; overthrow, subversion, suppression; abolition &c. (abrogation) 756; biblioclasm[obs3]; sacrifice; ravage, razzia[obs3]; inactivation; incendiarism; revolution &c. 146; extirpation &c. (extraction) 301; beginning of the end, commencement de la fin[French], road to ruin; dilapidation &c. (deterioration) 659; sabotage. V. be destroyed &c.; perish; fall to the ground; tumble, topple; go to pieces, fall to pieces; break up; crumble to dust; go to the dogs, go to the wall, go to smash, go to shivers, go to wreck, go to pot, go to wrack and ruin; go by the board, go all to smash; be all over, be all up, be all with; totter to its fall. destroy; do away with, make away with; nullify; annual &c. 756; sacrifice, demolish; tear up; overturn, overthrow, overwhelm; upset, subvert, put an end to; seal the doom of, do in, do for, dish*, undo; break up, cut up; break down, cut down, pull down, mow down, blow down, beat down; suppress, quash, put down, do a job on; cut short, take off, blot out; dispel, dissipate, dissolve; consume. smash, crash, quell, squash, squelch, crumple up, shatter, shiver; batter to pieces, tear to pieces, crush to pieces, cut to pieces, shake to pieces, pull to pieces, pick to pieces; laniate[obs3]; nip; tear to rags, tear to tatters; crush to atoms, knock to atoms; ruin; strike out; throw over, knock down over; fell, sink, swamp, scuttle, wreck, shipwreck, engulf, ingulf[obs3], submerge; lay in ashes, lay in ruins; sweep away, erase, wipe out, expunge, raze; level with the dust, level with the ground; waste; atomize, vaporize. deal destruction, desolate, devastate, lay waste, ravage gut; disorganize; dismantle &c. (render useless) 645; devour, swallow up, sap, mine, blast, bomb, blow to smithereens, drop the big one, confound; exterminate, extinguish, quench, annihilate; snuff out, put out, stamp out, trample out; lay in the dust, trample in the dust; prostrate; tread under foot; crush under foot, trample under foot; lay the ax to the root of; make short work of, make clean sweep of, make mincemeat of; cut up root and branch, chop into pieces, cut into ribbons; fling to the winds, scatter to the winds; throw overboard; strike at the root of, sap the foundations of, spring a mine, blow up, ravage with fire and sword; cast to the dogs; eradicate &c. 301. Adj. destroyed &c. v.; perishing &c. v.; trembling to its fall, nodding to its fall, tottering to its fall; in course of destruction &c. n.; extinct. all-destroying, all-devouring, all-engulfing. destructive, subversive, ruinous, devastating; incendiary, deletory|; destroying &c. n. suicidal; deadly &c. (killing) 361. Adv. with crushing effect, with a sledge hammer. Phr. delenda est Carthago[Lat]; dum Roma deliberat Saguntum perit[Lat]; ecrasez l'infame [Fr][Voltaire].
#163. Reproduction.—N. reproduction, renovation; restoration &c. 660; renewal; new edition, reprint, revival, regeneration, palingenesis[obs3], revivification; apotheosis; resuscitation, reanimation, resurrection, reappearance; regrowth; Phoenix. generation &c. (production) 161; multiplication. V. reproduce; restore &c. 660; revive, renovate, renew, regenerate, revivify, resuscitate, reanimate; remake, refashion, stir the embers, put into the crucible; multiply, repeat; resurge[obs3]. crop up, spring up like mushrooms. Adj. reproduced &c. v.; renascent, reappearing; reproductive; suigenetic[obs3].
#164. Producer.—N. producer, originator, inventor, author, founder, generator, mover, architect, creator, prime mover; maker &c. (agent) 690; prime mover.
#165. Destroyer.—N. destroyer &c. (destroy &c. 162); cankerworm &c. (bane) 663; assassin &c. (killer) 361; executioner &c. (punish) 975; biblioclast[obs3], eidoloclast[obs3], iconoclast, idoloclast[obs3]; nihilist.
#166. Paternity.—N. paternity; parentage; consanguinity &c. 11. parent; father, sire, dad, papa, paterfamilias, abba[obs3]; genitor, progenitor, procreator; ancestor; grandsire[obs3], grandfather; great- grandfather; fathership[obs3], fatherhood; mabap[obs3]. house, stem, trunk, tree, stock, stirps, pedigree, lineage, line, family, tribe, sept, race, clan; genealogy, descent, extraction, birth, ancestry; forefathers, forbears, patriarchs. motherhood, maternity; mother, dam, mamma, materfamilias[Lat], grandmother. Adj. paternal, parental; maternal; family, ancestral, linear, patriarchal. Phr. avi numerantur avorum[Lat]; "happy he with such a mother" [Tennyson]; hombre bueno no le busquen abolengo[Sp][obs3]; philosophia stemma non inspicit [Lat][Seneca].
#167. Posterity.—N. posterity, progeny, breed, issue, offspring, brood, litter, seed, farrow, spawn, spat; family, grandchildren, heirs; great-grandchild. child, son, daughter; butcha[obs3]; bantling, scion; acrospire[obs3], plumule[obs3], shoot, sprout, olive-branch, sprit[obs3], branch; off-shoot, off-set; ramification; descendant; heir, heiress; heir-apparent, heir- presumptive; chip off the old block; heredity; rising generation. straight descent, sonship[obs3], line, lineage, filiation[obs3], primogeniture. Adj. filial; diphyletic[obs3]. Phr. "the child is father of the man" [Wordsworth]; "the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree", "like father, like son".
#168. Productiveness—N. productiveness &c. adj.; fecundity, fertility, luxuriance, uberty|. pregnancy, pullulation, fructification, multiplication, propagation, procreation; superfetation. milch cow, rabbit, hydra, warren, seed plot, land flowing with milk and honey; second crop, aftermath; aftercrop, aftergrowth[obs3]; arrish[obs3], eddish[obs3], rowen[obs3]; protoplasm; fertilization. V. make -productive &c. adj.; fructify; procreate, generate, fertilize, spermative[obs3], impregnate; fecundate, fecundify[obs3]; teem, multiply; produce &c. 161; conceive. Adj. productive, prolific; teeming, teemful[obs3]; fertile, fruitful, frugiferous[obs3], fruit-bearing; fecund, luxuriant; pregnant, uberous[obs3]. procreant[obs3], procreative; generative, life-giving, spermatic; multiparous; omnific[obs3], propagable. parturient &c. (producing) 161; profitable &c. (useful) 644.
#169. Unproductiveness.—N. unproductiveness &c. adj.; infertility, sterility, infecundity[obs3]; masturbation; impotence &c. 158; unprofitableness &c. (inutility) 645. waste, desert, Sahara, wild, wilderness, howling wilderness. V. be - unproductive &c. adj.; hang fire, flash in the pan, come to nothing. [make unproductive] sterilize, addle; disable, inactivate. Adj. unproductive, acarpous[obs3], inoperative, barren, addled, infertile, unfertile, unprolific[obs3], arid, sterile, unfruitful, infecund[obs3]; sine prole; fallow; teemless[obs3], issueless[obs3], fruitless; unprofitable &c. (useless) 645; null and void, of no effect.
#170. Agency.—N. agency, operation, force, working, strain,
function, office, maintenance, exercise, work, swing, play;
interworking[obs3], interaction; procurement.
causation &c. 153; instrumentality &c. 631; influence &c. 175; action
&c. (voluntary) 680; modus operandi &c. 627.
quickening power, maintaining power, sustaining power; home stroke.
V. be -in action &c. adj.; operate, work; act, act upon; perform,
play, support, sustain, strain, maintain, take effect, quicken, strike.
come play, come bring into operation; have play, have free play; bring
to bear upon.
Adj. operative, efficient, efficacious, practical, effectual.
at work, on foot; acting &c. (doing) 680; in operation, in force, in
action, in play, in exercise; acted upon, wrought upon.
Adv. by the -agency &c. n.- of; through &c. (instrumentality) 631; by
means of &c. 632.
Phr. "I myself must mix with action lest I wither by despair"
[Tennyson].
#171. Physical Energy.—N. energy, physical energy, force, power &c.
157; keenness &c. adj.; intensity, vigor, strength, elasticity; go; high
pressure; fire; rush.
acrimony, acritude[obs3]; causiticity[obs3], virulence; poignancy;
harshness &c. adj.; severity, edge, point; pungency &c. 392.
cantharides; seasoning &c. (condiment) 393.
activity, agitation, effervescence; ferment, fermentation; ebullition,
splutter, perturbation, stir, bustle; voluntary energy &c. 682;
quicksilver.
resolution &c. (mental energy) 604; exertion &c. (effort) 686;
excitation &c. (mental) 824.
V. give -energy &c. n.; energize, stimulate, kindle, excite, exert;
sharpen, intensify; inflame &c. (render violent) 173; wind up &c.
(strengthen) 159.
strike home, into home, hard home; make an impression.
Adj. strong, energetic, forcible, active; intense, deep-dyed, severe,
keen, vivid, sharp, acute, incisive, trenchant, brisk.
rousing, irritation; poignant; virulent, caustic, corrosive, mordant,
harsh, stringent; double-edged, double-shotted[obs3], double-distilled;
drastic, escharotic|; racy &c. (pungent) 392.
potent &c. (powerful) 157; radioactive.
Adv. strongly &c. adj.; fortiter in re[Lat]; with telling effect.
Phr. the steam is up; vires acquirit eundo[Lat]; "the race by vigor
not by vaunts is won" [Pope].
#172. Physical Inertness.—N. inertness, dullness &c. adj.; inertia,
vis inertiae[Latin], inertion[obs3], inactivity, torpor, languor;
quiescence &c. 265; latency, inaction; passivity.
mental inertness; sloth &c. (inactivity) 683; inexcitability &c.
826[obs3]; irresolution &c. 605; obstinacy &c. 606; permanence &c. 141.
rare gas, paraffin, noble metal, unreactivity.
V. be -inert &c. adj.; hang fire, smolder.
Adj. inert, inactive, passive; torpid &c. 683; sluggish, dull, heavy,
flat, slack, tame, slow, blunt; unreactive; lifeless, dead,
uninfluential[obs3].
latent, dormant, smoldering, unexerted[obs3].
Adv. inactively &c. adj.; in suspense, in abeyance.
#173. Violence.—N. violence, inclemency, vehemence, might, impetuosity; boisterousness &c. adj.; effervescence, ebullition; turbulence, bluster; uproar, callithump [obs3][U. S.], riot, row, rumpus, le diable a quatre[Fr], devil to pay, all the fat in the fire. severity &c. 739; ferocity, rage, fury; exacerbation, exasperation, malignity; fit, paroxysm; orgasm, climax, aphrodisia[obs3]; force, brute force; outrage; coup de main; strain, shock, shog[obs3]; spasm, convulsion, throe; hysterics, passion &c. (state of excitability) 825. outbreak, outburst; debacle; burst, bounce, dissilience[obs3], discharge, volley, explosion, blow up, blast, detonation, rush, eruption, displosion|, torrent. turmoil &c. (disorder) 59; ferment &c. (agitation) 315; storm, tempest, rough weather; squall &c. (wind) 349; earthquake, volcano, thunderstorm. berserk, berserker; fury, dragon, demon, tiger, beldame, Tisiphone[obs3], Megaera, Alecto[obs3], madcap, wild beast; fire eater &c. (blusterer) 887. V. be -violent &c. adj.; run high; ferment, effervesce; romp, rampage, go on a rampage; run wild, run amuck, run riot; break the peace; rush, tear; rush headlong, rush foremost; raise a storm, make a riot; rough house*; riot, storm; wreak, bear down, ride roughshod, out Herod, Herod; spread like wildfire. [(person) shout or act in anger at something] explode, make a row, kick up a row; boil, boil over; fume, foam, come on like a lion, bluster, rage, roar, fly off the handle, go bananas, go ape, blow one's top, blow one's cool, flip one's lid, hit the ceiling, hit the roof; fly into a rage (anger) 900.. break out, fly out, burst out; bounce, explode, go off, displode|, fly, detonate, thunder, blow up, crump[obs3], flash, flare, burst; shock, strain; break open, force open, prize open. render violent &c. adj.; sharpen, stir up, quicken, excite, incite, annoy, urge, lash, stimulate, turn on; irritate, inflame, kindle, suscitate|, foment; accelerate, aggravate, exasperate, exacerbate, convulse, infuriate, madden, lash into fury; fan the flame; add fuel to the flame, pour oil on the fire, oleum addere camino[Lat]. explode; let fly, fly off; discharge, detonate, set off, detonize[obs3], fulminate. Adj. violent, vehement; warm; acute, sharp; rough, rude, ungentle, bluff, boisterous, wild; brusque, abrupt, waspish; impetuous; rampant. turbulent; disorderly; blustering, raging &c. v.; troublous[obs3], riotous; tumultuary[obs3], tumultuous; obstreperous, uproarious; extravagant; unmitigated; ravening, inextinguishable, tameless; frenzied &c. (insane) 503. desperate &c. (rash) 863; infuriate, furious, outrageous, frantic, hysteric, in hysterics. fiery, flaming, scorching, hot, red-hot, ebullient. savage, fierce, ferocious, fierce as a tiger. excited &c. v.; unquelled[obs3], unquenched, unextinguished[obs3], unrepressed, unbridled, unruly; headstrong, ungovernable, unappeasable, immitigable, unmitigable[obs3]; uncontrollable, incontrollable[obs3]; insuppressible, irrepressible; orgastic, orgasmatic, orgasmic. spasmodic, convulsive, explosive; detonating &c. v.; volcanic, meteoric; stormy &c. (wind) 349. Adv. violently &c. adj.; amain[obs3]; by storm, by force, by main force; with might and main; tooth and nail, vi et armis[Lat], at the point of the sword, at the point of the bayonet; at one fell swoop; with a high hand, through thick and thin; in desperation, with a vengeance; a outrance[obs3], a toute outrance[Fr][obs3]; headlong, head foremost. Phr. furor arma ministrat[Lat]; "blown with restless violence round about the pendent world" [Measure for Measure].
#174. Moderation.—N. moderation, lenity &c. 740; temperateness, gentleness &c. adj.; sobriety; quiet; mental calmness &c. (inexcitability) 826[obs3]. moderating &c. v.; anaphrodisia[obs3]; relaxation, remission, mitigation, tranquilization[obs3], assuagement, contemporation[obs3], pacification. measure, juste milieu[Fr], golden mean, ἄριστον μέτρον[Grk]. moderator; lullaby, sedative, lenitive, demulcent, antispasmodic, carminative, laudanum; rose water, balm, poppy, opiate, anodyne, milk, opium, "poppy or mandragora"; wet blanket; palliative. V. be -moderate &c. adj.; keep within bounds, keep within compass; sober down, settle down; keep the peace, remit, relent, take in sail. moderate, soften, mitigate, temper, accoy|; attemper[obs3], contemper[obs3]; mollify, lenify[obs3], dulcify[obs3], dull, take off the edge, blunt, obtund[obs3], sheathe, subdue, chasten; sober down, tone down, smooth down; weaken &c. 160; lessen &c. (decrease) 36; check palliate. tranquilize, pacify, assuage, appease, swag, lull, soothe, compose, still, calm, calm down, cool, quiet, hush, quell, sober, pacify, tame, damp, lay, allay, rebate, slacken, smooth, alleviate, rock to sleep, deaden, smooth, throw cold water on, throw a wet blanket over, turn off; slake; curb &c. (restrain) 751; tame &c. (subjugate) 749; smooth over; pour oil on the waves, pour oil on the troubled waters; pour balm into, mattre de l'eau dans son vin[Fr]. go out like a lamb, "roar you as gently as any sucking dove," [Midsummer-Night's Dream]. Adj. moderate; lenient &c. 740; gentle, mild, mellow; cool, sober, temperate, reasonable, measured; tempered &c. v.; calm, unruffled, quiet, tranquil, still; slow, smooth, untroubled; tame; peaceful, peaceable; pacific, halcyon. unexciting, unirritating[obs3]; soft, bland, oily, demulcent, lenitive, anodyne; hypnotic &c. 683; sedative; antiorgastic[obs3], anaphrodisiac[obs3]. mild as mother's milk; milk and water. Adv. moderately &c. adj.; gingerly; piano; under easy sail, at half speed; within bounds, within compass; in reason. Phr. est modue in rebus[obs3]; pour oil on troubled waters.
4. INDIRECT POWER
#175. Influence.—N. influence; importance &c. 642; weight, pressure, preponderance, prevalence, sway; predominance, predominancy[obs3]; ascendency[obs3]; dominance, reign; control, domination, pull*; authority &c.737; capability &c. (power) 157; effect &c. 154; interest. synergy (cooperation) 709. footing; purchase &c. (support) 215; play, leverage, vantage ground. tower of strength, host in himself; protection, patronage, auspices. V. have -influence &c. n.; be -influential &c. adj.; carry weight, weigh, tell; have a hold upon, magnetize, bear upon, gain a footing, work upon; take root, take hold; strike root in. run through, pervade; prevail, dominate, predominate; out weigh, over weigh; over-ride, over-bear; gain head; rage; be -rife &c. adj.; spread like wildfire; have the upper hand, get the upper hand, gain the upper hand, have full play, get full play, gain full play. be recognized, be listened to; make one's voice heard, gain a hearing; play a part, play a leading part, play a leading part in; take the lead, pull the strings; turn the scale, throw one's weight into the scale; set the fashion, lead the dance. Adj. influential, effective; important &c. 642; weighty; prevailing &c. v.; prevalent, rife, rampant, dominant, regnant, predominant, in the ascendant, hegemonical[obs3]. Adv. with telling effect. Phr. tel maure tel valet[Fr].
#175a. Absence of Influence.—N. impotence &c. 158; powerlessness;
inertness &c. 172; irrelevancy &c. 10.
V. have no -influence &c. 175.
Adj. uninfluential[obs3], ineffective; inconsequential, nugatory;
unconducing, unconducive, unconducting to[obs3]; powerless &c. 158;
irrelevant &c. 10.
#176. Tendency.—N. tendency; aptness, aptitude; proneness, proclivity, bent, turn, tone, bias, set, leaning to, predisposition, inclination, propensity, susceptibility; conatus[Lat], nisus[Lat]; liability &c. 177; quality, nature, temperament; idiocrasy[obs3], idiosyncrasy; cast, vein, grain; humor, mood; drift &c. (direction) 278; conduciveness, conducement[obs3]; applicability &c. (utility) 644; subservience &c. (instrumentality) 631. V. tend, contribute, conduce, lead, dispose, incline, verge, bend to, trend, affect, carry, redound to, bid fair to, gravitate towards; promote &c. (aid) 707. Adj. tending &c. v.; conducive, working towards, in a fair way to, calculated to; liable &c. 177; subservient &c. (instrumental) 631; useful &c. 644; subsidiary &c. (helping) 707. Adv. for, whither.
#177. Liability.—N. liability, liableness[obs3]; possibility, contingency; susceptivity[obs3], susceptibility, exposure. V. be -liable &c. adj.; incur, lay oneself open to; run the chance, stand a chance; lie under, expose oneself to, open a door to. Adj. liable, subject; in danger &c. 665; open to, exposed to, obnoxious to; answerable; unexempt from[obs3]; apt to; dependent on; incident to. contingent, incidental, possible, on the cards, within range of, at the mercy of.
5. COMBINATIONS OF CAUSES
#178. Concurrence.—N. concurrence, cooperation, coagency[obs3];
union; agreement &c. 23; consilience[obs3]; consent, coincidence &c.
(assent) 488; alliance; concert, additivity, synergy &c. 709; partnership
&c. 712.
common cause.
V. concur, conduce, conspire, contribute; agree, unite; hang together,
pull together, join forces, make common cause.
&c. (cooperate) 709; help to &c. (aid) 707.
keep pace with, run parallel; go with, go along with, go hand in hand
with, coincide.
Adj. concurring &c. v.; concurrent, in alliance with, banded together,
of one mind, at one with, coinciding.
Adv. with one consent.
#179. Counteraction.—N. counteraction, opposition; contrariety &c. 14; antagonism, polarity; clashing &c. v.; collision, interference, inhibition, resistance, renitency, friction; reaction; retroaction &c. (recoil) 277; counterblast[obs3]; neutralization &c. (compensation) 30; vis inertiae[Lat]; check &c. (hindrance) 706. voluntary opposition &c. 708, voluntary resistance &c. 719; repression &c. (restraint) 751. opposites, action and reaction, yang and yin, yang-yin (contrariety) 14. V. counteract; run counter, clash, cross; interfere with, conflict with; contravene; jostle; go against, run against, beat against, militate against; stultify; antagonize, block, oppose &c. 708; traverse; withstand &c. (resist) 719; hinder &c. 706; repress &c. (restrain) 751; react &c. (recoil) 277. undo, neutralize; counterpoise &c. (compensate) 30; overpoise[obs3]. Adj. counteracting &c. v.; antagonistic, conflicting, retroactive, renitent, reactionary; contrary &c. 14. Adv. although &c. 30; in spite of &c. 708; against. Phr. "for every action there is a reaction, equal in force and opposite in direction" [Newton].