640-649

#640. Insufficiency. -- N. insufficiency

• inadequacy

• inadequateness;

• incompetence

• deficiency

• imperfection

• shortcoming

• paucity

• stint

• scantiness

• (smallness)

• none to spare

• bare subsistence

• scarcity

• dearth

• want

• need

• lack

• poverty

• exigency

• inanition

• starvation

• famine

• drought

• dole

• mite

• pittance

• short allowance

• short commons

• half rations;

• banyan day

• emptiness

• poorness

• depletion

• vacancy

• flaccidity

• ebb

• tide

• low water

• "a beggarly account of empty boxes" [Romeo and Jul.];

• indigence

• insolvency

• V. be insufficient

• not suffice

• come short of

• 304 run dry

• want

• lack

• need

• require

• caret

• be in want

• live from

• hand to mouth

• render insufficient

• drain of resources

• impoverish

• (waste) 6

• stint

• put on short allowance

• do insufficiently

• scotch the snake

• Adj. insufficient

• inadequate

• too little

• not enough

• unequal to

• incompetent

• "weighed in the balance and

• found wanting"

• perfunctory

• deficient

• wanting

• imperfect

• ill-furnished

• ill-provided

• ill-

• stored

• ill-off

• slack

• at a low ebb

• empty

• vacant

• bare

• short of

• out of

• destitute

• of

• devoid of

• bereft of

• denuded of

• dry

• drained

• unprovided

• unfurnished

• unreplenished

• empty-handed

• meager

• poor

• thin

• scrimp

• sparing

• spare

• stinted

• starved

• starving

• halfstarved

• famine-stricken

• famished

• jejune

• scant

• scarce

• not to be had

• not to be had for love or

• money

• not to be had at any price

• scurvy

• stingy

• at the end of

• one's tether

• without resources

• in want

• in debt

• Adv. insufficiently

• in default of

• for want of

• failing

• Phr. semper avarus eget [Lat][Horace]

#641. Redundancy. -- N. redundancy

• too much

• too

• many

• superabundance

• superfluity

• superfluence|

• saturation;

• transcendency

• exuberance

• profuseness

• profusion

• (plenty) 6

• repletion

• enough in all conscience

• satis superque[Lat]

• lion's share

• more than enough

• plethora

• engorgement

• congestion

• load

• surfeit

• turgescence

• overdose

• oversupply

• overflow

• inundation

• 3

• avalanche

• accumulation

• heap

• drug

• drug in the market;

• glut

• crowd

• burden

• excess

• surplus

• margin

• remainder

• 40

• duplicate

• expletive

• work of supererogation

• bonus

• bonanza

• luxury

• intemperance

• extravagance

• exorbitance

• pleonasm

• too many irons in the fire

• embarras

• V. superabound

• know no bounds

• swarm

• meet one at

• every turn

• creep with

• crawl with

• bristle with

• overflow

• run over

• flow

• over

• well over

• brim over

• run riot

• overrun

• overstock

• overlay

• overcharge

• overdose

• overfeed

• overburden

• overload

• overdo

• overwhelm

• overshoot the mark

• surcharge

• supersaturate

• gorge

• glut

• load

• drench

• whelm

• inundate

• deluge

• flood

• drug

• drug the market;

• choke

• cloy

• suffocate

• pile up

• lay on thick;

• impregnate with

• lavish

• send coals to Newcastle

• carry coals to Newcastle

• carry owls to

• teach one's grandmother to suck eggs

• pisces natare

• docere[Lat]

• kill the slain

• "gild refined gold"

• "gild the lily"

• butter

• one's bread on both sides

• put butter upon bacon

• employ a steam engine to

• crack a nut

• exaggerate

• wallow in roll in

• hands

• hang heavy on hand

• go a begging

• Adj. redundant

• too much

• too many

• exuberant

• inordinate

• superabundant

• excessive

• overmuch

• replete

• profuse

• lavish

• prodigal

• 8

• exorbitant

• overweening

• extravagant

• overcharged

• supersaturated

• drenched

• overflowing

• running over

• running to waste

• running down

• crammed to overflowing

• filled to overflowing

• gorged

• ready to burst;

• dropsical

• turgid

• plethoric

• obese

• superfluous

• unnecessary

• needless

• supervacaneous|

• uncalled for

• to

• spare

• in excess

• over and above

• adscititious

• supernumerary

• on one's

• hands

• spare

• duplicate

• supererogatory

• expletive

• Adv. over

• too

• over and above

• overmuch

• too much

• too far

• without

• measure

• beyond measure

• out of measure

• with . . . to spare

• over head and

• ears

• up to one's eyes

• up to one's ears

• extra

• beyond the mark

• (transcursion) 30

• acervatim [Lat]

• Phr. it never rains but it pours

• fortuna multis dat nimium nulli

• satis [Lat]

#642. Importance. -- N. importance

• consequence

• moment

• prominence

• consideration

• mark

• materialness

• import

• significance

• concern

• emphasis

• interest

• greatness

• superiority

• notability

• weight

• value

• usefulness

• gravity

• seriousness

• solemnity

• no joke

• no laughing matter;

• pressure

• urgency

• stress

• matter of life and death

• memorabilia

• great doings

• red-letter day

• great thing

• great point

• main chance

• "the be all and the end all"

• [Macbeth]

• cardinal point

• substance

• gist

• sum and

• substance

• gravamen

• head and front

• important part

• principal part

• prominent part

• essential part

• half the battle

• sine qua non

• breath of

• one's nostrils

• salt

• core

• kernel

• heart

• nucleus;

• keynote

• keystone

• corner stone

• trump card

• salient

• points

• top sawyer

• first fiddle

• prima donna[Sp]

• chief

• triton among the

• minnows

• "it" [U.S.]

• V. be important

• be somebody

• be something

• import

• signify

• matter

• boot

• be an object

• carry weight

• make a figure

• be in the ascendant

• come to the front

• lead the way

• take the lead

• play first fiddle

• throw all else into the shade

• lie at the

• root of

• deserve notice

• merit notice

• be worthy of notice

• be worthy of

• regard

• be worthy of consideration

• attach importance to

• ascribe importance to

• give importance to

• n

• value

• care for

• set store upon

• set store by

• mark

• mark with

• a white stone

• underline

• write in italics

• put in italics

• print in

• italics

• print in capitals

• print in large letters

• put in large type

• put

• in letters. of gold

• accentuate

• emphasize

• lay stress on

• make a fuss about

• make a fuss over

• make a stir about

• make a piece

• make much ado about

• make much ado of

• make much of

• Adj. important

• of importance

• momentous

• material

• to the

• point

• not to be overlooked

• not to be despised

• not to be sneezed at;

• egregious

• weighty

• of note

• notable

• prominent

• salient

• signal

• memorable

• remarkable

• unforgettable;

• worthy of remark

• worthy of notice

• never to be forgotten

• stirring

• eventful

• grave

• serious

• earnest

• noble

• grand

• solemn

• impressive

• commanding

• imposing

• urgent

• pressing

• critical

• instant

• paramount

• essential

• vital

• all-absorbing

• radical

• cardinal

• chief

• main

• prime

• primary

• principal

• leading

• capital

• foremost

• overruling

• of

• vital

• in the front rank

• first-rate

• superior

• considerable

• (great)

• marked

• rare

• significant

• telling

• trenchant

• emphatic

• pregnant

• tanti[Lat]

• Adv. materially

• in the main

• above all

•  

• exochin/gr>

• par excellence

• to crown all

• to beat all

• Phr. expende Hannibalem![Lat] [Juvenal]

#643. Unimportance. -- N. unimportance

• insignificance

• nothingness

• immateriality

• triviality

• levity

• frivolity

• paltriness

• poverty

• smallness

• vanity

• matter of indifference

• no

• object

• nothing

• nothing to signify

• nothing worth speaking of

• nothing

• particular

• nothing to boast of

• nothing to speak of

• small matter

• no

• great matter

• trifling matter

• mere joke

• mere nothing

• hardly

• anything

• scarcely anything

• nonentity

• small beer

• cipher

• no great

• shakes

• child's play

• kinderspiel

• toy

• plaything

• popgun

• paper pellet

• gimcrack

• gewgaw

• bauble

• trinket

• bagatelle

• Rickshaw

• knickknack

• whim-wham

• trifle

• "trifles

• light as air"

• yankee notions [U. S.]

• trumpery

• trash

• rubbish

• stuff

• frippery

• "leather or

• prunello"

• chaff

• drug

• froth bubble smoke

• cobweb

• weed

• refuse

• (inutility) 6

• scum

• joke

• jest

• snap of the fingers

• fudge

• pack of nonsense

• mere farce

• straw

• pin

• fig

• button

• rush

• bulrush

• feather

• halfpenny

• farthing

• brass farthing

• peppercorn

• jot

• rap

• pinch of snuff

• old son;

• cent

• mill

• picayune

• red cent [U.S.]

• minutiae

• details

• minor details

• small fry

• dust in the balance

• feather in the scale

• drop in the ocean

• flea-bite

• molehill

• nine days' wonder

• ridiculus mus[Lat]

• flash in the pan

• (impotence) 15

• much ado about nothing

• V. be unimportant

• not matter

• go for nothing

• matter

• nothing

• signify nothing

• matter little

• matter little or nothing

• not

• matter a straw

• make light of

• catch at straws

• (overestimate) 482

• Adj. unimportant

• of little account

• of small account

• of no account

• of little importance

• of no importance

• immaterial

• unessential

• nonessential

• indifferent

• subordinate

• mediocre

• passable

• fair

• respectable

• tolerable

• commonplace

• uneventful

• mere

• common;

• ordinary

• inconsiderable

• so-so

• insignificant

• inappreciable

• trifling

• trivial

• slight

• slender

• light

• flimsy

• frothy

• idle;

• puerile

• airy

• shallow

• weak

• powerless

• frivolous

• petty

• niggling

• piddling

• peddling

• inane

• ridiculous

• farcical

• finical

• fiddle-faddle

• fingle-

• namby-pamby

• wishy-washy

• milk and water

• poor

• paltry

• pitiful

• contemptible

• sorry

• mean

• meager

• shabby

• miserable

• wretched

• vile

• scrubby

• weedy

• niggardly

• scurvy

• beggarly

• worthless

• twopennyhalfpenny

• cheap

• trashy

• catchpenny

• gimcrack

• trumpery

• one-horse [U. S.]. not worth

• the pains

• not worth while

• not worth mentioning

• not worth speaking of

• not worth a thought

• not worth a curse

• not worth a straw

• notice

• unworthy of notice

• beneath regard

• unworthy of regard

• beneath

• consideration

• unworthy of consideration

• vain

• Adv. slightly

• rather

• somewhat

• pretty well

• tolerably. for

• aught one cares

• Int. no matter! pish! tush! tut! pshaw! pugh! pooh

• pooh-pooh! fudge!

• what boots it

• what of it

• what of

• that

• what matter

• what's the odds

• a fig for' stuff and nonsense

• stuff!

• nonsense!

• Phr. magno conatu magnas nugas[Lat]

• le jeu ne vaut pas la

• it matters not

• it does not signify

• it is of no

• consequence

• it is of no importance

• elephantus non capit murem[Lat];

#644. Utility. -- N. utility

• usefulness

• efficacy

• efficiency

• adequacy

• service

• use

• stead

• avail

• help

• applicability

• subservience

• function

• value

• worth

• money's worth;

• productiveness

• cui bono

• utilization

• (use) 677 step in the right direction

• common weal

• commonwealth public good

• public interest

• utilitarianism

• V. be useful

• avail

• serve

• subserve

• conduce

• answer

• serve one's turn

• answer a purpose

• serve a purpose

• act a part

• perform a function

• discharge a function

• render a service

• render good service

• render yeoman's service;

• stand one in good stead be the making of

• help

• bear fruit

• bring grist to the mill

• profit

• remunerate

• benefit

• find one's account in

• find one's advantage in

• reap the benefit of

• Adj. useful

• of use

• serviceable

• proficuous|

• good for;

• subservient

• conducive

• subsidiary

• advantageous

• profitable

• gainful

• remunerative

• worth one's salt

• valuable

• prolific

• adequate

• efficient

• efficacious

• effective

• effectual

• expedient

• 646

• applicable

• available

• ready

• handy

• at hand

• tangible

• commodious

• adaptable

• of all work

• Adv. usefully

• pro bono publico[Lat]

#645. Inutility. -- N. inutility

• uselessness

• futility

• ineptitude

• inaptitude

• inadequacy

• inefficiency.

• unskillfulness

• disservice

• unfruitfulness

• 16

• labor in vain

• labor lost

• labor of Sisyphus

• lost trouble

• lost

• labor

• work of Penelope

• sleeveless errand

• wild goose chase

• mere farce

• tautology

• supererogation

• vanitas vanitatum[Lat]

• vanity

• inanity

• worthlessness

• triviality

• waste paper

• dead letter

• blunt tool

• litter

• rubbish

• junk

• lumber

• odds and ends

• cast-off clothes

• button

• top

• shoddy

• rags

• trash

• refuse

• sweepings

• scourings

• waste

• rubble

• debris

• detritus

• stubble

• leavings;

• broken meat

• dregs

• weeds

• tares

• rubbish heap

• dust hole;

• fruges consumere natus

• V. be useless

• go a begging

• fail

• 732

• seek after impossibilities

• strive after impossibilities

• use vain

• efforts

• labor in vain

• roll the stone of Sisyphus

• beat the air

• lash the

• waves

• donner un coup d'epee dans

• fish in the air

• milk the ram

• drop a bucket into an empty well

• sow the sand

• bay the moon

• preach to the winds

• speak to the winds;

• whistle jigs to a milestone

• kick against the pricks

• se battre contre des

• lock the stable door when the steed is stolen

• lock the barn

• door after the horse is stolen

• hold a farthing candle

• to the sun

• cast pearls before swine

• carry coals to

• Newcastle

• wash a blackamoor white

• 471

• render useless

• dismantle

• dismast

• dismount

• disqualify

• disable

• unrig

• cripple

• lame

• spike guns

• clip the wings;

• put out of gear

• Adj. useless

• inutile

• inefficacious

• futile

• unavailing

• bootless;

• inoperative

• inadequate

• inservient|

• unsubservient

• inept

• inefficient

• of no avail

• 6

• ineffectual

• incompetent

• "stale

• flat and unprofitable"

• superfluous

• dispensable

• thrown away

• abortive

• worthless

• valueless

• priceless

• unsalable

• not worth a straw

• (trifling) 643 dear at any price

• vain

• empty

• inane

• profitless

• fruitless;

• unserviceable

• unprofitable

• ill-spent

• unproductive

• hors de

• effete

• past work

• obsolete

• fit for the dust hole

• good for nothing

• of no earthly use

• not worth

• having

• not worth powder and shot

• leading to no end

• uncalled for;

• unnecessary

• unneeded

• Adv. uselessly

• to little purpose

• to no purpose

• to little

• or no purpose

• Int. cui bono?[Lat]

• what's the good!

• chercher une aiguille dans une botte de

• tanto buon che val niente[It]

#646. [Specific subservience.] Expedience. -- N. expedience

• expediency

• desirableness

• desirability

• fitness

• utility

• propriety

• opportunism

• advantage

• high time

• V. be expedient

• suit

• befit

• suit the time

• befit the time

• suit the season

• befit the season

• suit the occasion

• befit the occasion

• conform

• Adj. expedient

• desirable

• advisable

• acceptable

• convenient

• worth

• while

• meet

• fit

• fitting

• due

• proper

• eligible

• seemly

• becoming;

• befitting

• opportune

• in loco

• suitable

• (accordant)

• applicable

• Adv. in the right place

• conveniently

• Phr. operae pretium est[Lat]

#647. Inexpedience. -- N. inexpedience

• inexpediency

• undesirableness

• undesirability

• impropriety

• unfitness

• (disagreement)

• inutility

• disadvantage

• V. be inexpedient

• come amiss

• embarrass

• put to inconvenience

• pay too dear for one's whistle

• Adj. inexpedient

• undesirable

• unadvisable

• inadvisable;

• objectionable

• inapt

• ineligible

• inadmissible

• inconvenient

• incommodious

• disadvantageous

• inappropriate

• unfit

• (inconsonant) 24

• ill-contrived

• ill-advised

• unsatisfactory

• unprofitable

• unsubservient

• inopportune

• out of

• place

• in the wrong place

• improper

• unseemly

• clumsy

• awkward

• cumbrous

• cumbersome

• lumbering

• unwieldy

• unmanageable

• impedient

• unnecessary

• Phr. it will never do

#648. [Capability of producing good. Good qualities.] Goodness. -- N

• goodness

• excellence

• merit

• virtue

• value

• worth

• price

• super-excellence

• supereminence

• superiority

• perfection

• 650

• masterpiece

• prime

• flower

• cream

• elite

• pick

• A

• nonesuch

• nonpareil

• creme de la creme

• flower of

• the flock

• cock of the roost

• salt of the earth

• champion

• prodigy

• tidbit

• gem

• gem of the first water

• bijou

• precious stone

• jewel

• pearl

• diamond

• ruby

• brilliant

• treasure

• good thing

• rara avis[Lat]

• one

• in a thousand

• beneficence

• good man

• V. be beneficial

• produce good

• do good

• profit

• (be of use) 6

• benefit

• confer a benefit

• be the making of

• do a world of good

• make a man of

• produce a good effect

• do a good turn

• confer an obligation

• improve

• do no harm

• break no bones

• be good

• excel

• transcend

• bear away the

• bell

• stand the proof

• stand the test

• pass muster

• pass an examination

• challenge comparison

• vie

• emulate

• rival

• Adj. harmless

• innocuous

• innocent

• inoffensive

• beneficial

• valuable

• of value

• serviceable

• advantageous

• edifying

• profitable

• salutary

• favorable

• propitious

• fair

• good

• good as gold

• excellent

• better

• superior

• above par;

• nice

• fine

• genuine

• best

• choice

• select

• picked

• elect

• recherche

• rare

• priceless;

• unparalleled

• superlatively

• good

• bully*

• giltedged

• superfine

• of the first water

• first-rate

• first-class

• high-

• wrought

• exquisite

• very best

• crack

• prime

• tiptop

• capital

• cardinal;

• standard

• inimitable

• admirable

• estimable

• praiseworthy

• pleasing

• 8

• precious

• of great price

• costly

• worth its weight in gold

• worth a Jew's eye

• priceless

• invaluable

• inestimable

• precious as the apple of the eye

• tolerable

• up to the mark

• unexceptionable

• unobjectionable

• satisfactory

• tidy

• in good condition

• in fair condition

• fresh

• sound

• Adv. beneficially

• well

• Phr. "Jewels five words long" [Tennyson]

• "long may such goodness

• live!" [Rogers]

• "the luxury of doing good" [Goldsmith]

#649. [Capability of producing evil. Bad qualities.] Badness. -- N

• hurtfulness

• virulence

• evil doer

• bane

• plague spot

• evil star

• ill wind

• hoodoo

• Jonah

• snake in the grass

• skeleton in the

• closet

• thorn in the side

• malignity

• malevolence

• tender mercies [ironically]

• ill-treatment

• annoyance

• molestation

• abuse

• oppression

• persecution

• outrage

• misusage

• injury

• knockout drops [U. S.]

• badness

• abomination

• painfulness

• pestilence

• guilt

• depravity

• V. be hurtful

• cause evil

• produce evil

• inflict evil

• work

• evil

• do evil

• hurt

• harm

• injure

• pain

• wrong

• aggrieve

• oppress

• persecute

• trample upon

• tread upon

• bear

• hard upon

• put upon

• overburden

• weigh down

• weigh heavy on

• victimize

• run

• down

• molest

• maltreat

• abuse

• ill-use

• ill-treat

• buffet

• bruise

• scratch

• maul;

• smite

• do violence

• do harm

• do a mischief

• stab

• pierce

• outrage

• do mischief

• make mischief

• bring into trouble

• destroy

• Adj. hurtful

• harmful

• baneful

• baleful

• injurious

• deleterious

• detrimental

• noxious

• pernicious

• mischievous

• full of

• mischief

• mischief-making

• malefic

• malignant

• nocuous

• noisome;

• prejudicial

• disadvantageous

• wide-wasting

• unlucky

• sinister

• obnoxious

• untoward

• disastrous

• oppressive

• burdensome

• onerous

• malign

• corrupting

• virulent

• venomous

• envenomed

• corrosive

• poisonous

• deadly

• destructive

• inauspicious

• bad

• ill

• arrant

• as bad as bad can be

• dreadful

• horrid

• horrible;

• dire

• rank

• peccant

• foul

• fulsome

• rotten

• rotten at the core

• vile

• base

• villainous

• mean

• injured

• deteriorated

• unsatisfactory

• exceptionable

• indifferent

• below par

• illcontrived

• ill-conditioned

• wretched

• sad

• grievous

• deplorable

• lamentable

• pitiful

• pitiable

• woeful

• 830

• evil

• wrong

• depraved

• shocking

• reprehensible

• (disapprove) 932. hateful

• hateful as a toad

• abominable

• detestable

• execrable

• cursed

• accursed

• confounded

• damned

• damnable

• infernal;

• diabolic

• unadvisable

• unprofitable

• incompetent

• irremediable

• Adv. badly

• wrong

• ill

• to one's cost

• where the shoe

• pinches

• Phr. bad is the best

• the worst come to the worst

• herba mala presto

• cresco [Lat]

• "wrongs unredressed or insults unavenged" [Wordsworth]