JUDGE.

Synonyms:

arbiter, arbitrator, justice, referee, umpire.

A _judge_, in the legal sense, is a judicial officer appointed or elected to preside in courts of law, and to decide legal questions duly brought before him; the name is sometimes given to other legally const.i.tuted officers; as, the _judges_ of election; in other relations, any person duly appointed to pa.s.s upon the merits of contestants or of competing articles may be called a _judge_; as, the _judges_ at an agricultural fair, or at a race-track; in the widest sense, any person who has good capacity for judging is called a _judge_; as, a person is said to be a _judge_ of pictures, or a good _judge_ of a horse, etc. In most games the _judge_ is called an _umpire_; as, the _umpire_ of a game of ball or cricket. A _referee_ is appointed by a court to decide disputed matters between litigants; an _arbitrator_ is chosen by the contending parties to decide matters in dispute without action by a court. In certain cases an _umpire_ is appointed by a court to decide where _arbitrators_ disagree. _Arbiter_, with its suggestion of final and absolute decision, has come to be used only in a high or sacred sense; as, war must now be the _arbiter_; the Supreme _Arbiter_ of our destinies. The _judges_ of certain courts, as the United States Supreme Court, are technically known as _justices_.

JUSTICE.

Synonyms:

equity, impartiality, legality, rightfulness, fairness, integrity, rect.i.tude, truth, fair play, justness, right, uprightness, faithfulness, law, righteousness, virtue.

honor, lawfulness,

In its governmental relations, human or divine, _justice_ is the giving to every person exactly what he deserves, not necessarily involving any consideration of what any other may deserve; _equity_ (the quality of being equal) is giving every one as much advantage, privilege, or consideration as is given to any other; it is that which is equally right or just to all concerned; _equity_ is equal _justice_ and is thus a close synonym for _fairness_ and _impartiality_, but it has a philosophical and legal precision that those words have not. In legal proceedings cases arise for which the _law_ has not adequately provided, or in which general provisions, just in the main, would work individual hardship. The system of _equity_, devised to supply the insufficiencies of _law_, deals with cases "to which the _law_ by reason of its universality can not apply." "_Equity_, then, ... is the soul and spirit of all _law_; positive _law_ is construed and rational _law_ is made by it." BLACKSTONE bk. iii, ch. 27, p. 429. In personal and social relations _justice_ is the rendering to every one what is due or merited, whether in act, word, or thought; in matters of reasoning, or literary work of any kind, _justice_ is close, faithful, unprejudiced, and unbiased adherence to essential truth or fact; we speak of the _justice_ of a statement, or of doing _justice_ to a subject.

_Integrity_, _rect.i.tude_, _right_, _righteousness_ and _virtue_ denote conformity of personal conduct to the moral law, and thus necessarily include _justice_, which is giving others that which is their due.

_Lawfulness_ is an ambiguous word, meaning in its narrower sense mere _legality_, which may be very far from _justice_, but in its higher sense signifying accordance with the supreme _law_ of _right_, and thus including perfect _justice_. _Justness_ refers rather to logical relations than to practical matters; as, we speak of the _justness_ of a statement or of a criticism. See JUDGE, _n._

Antonyms:

dishonesty, inequity, partiality, unlawfulness, untruth, favoritism, injustice, unfairness, unreasonableness, wrong.

Prepositions:

The justice _of_ the king; _to_ or _for_ the oppressed.

KEEP.

Synonyms:

carry, defend, hold, preserve, retain, carry on, detain, maintain, protect, support, celebrate, fulfil, obey, refrain, sustain, conduct, guard, observe, restrain, withhold.

_Keep_, signifying generally to have and retain in possession, is the terse, strong Saxon term for many acts which are more exactly discriminated by other words. We _keep_, _observe_, or _celebrate_ a festival; we _keep_ or _hold_ a prisoner in custody; we _keep_ or _preserve_ silence, _keep_ the peace, _preserve_ order--_preserve_ being the more formal word; we _keep_ or _maintain_ a horse, a servant, etc.; a man _supports_ his family; we _keep_ or _obey_ a commandment; _keep_ or _fulfil_ a promise. In the expressions to _keep_ a secret, _keep_ one's own counsel, _keep_ faith, or _keep_ the faith, such words as _preserve_ or _maintain_ could not be subst.i.tuted without loss. A person _keeps_ a shop or store, _conducts_ or _carries on_ a business; he _keeps_ or _carries_ a certain line of goods; we may _keep_ or _restrain_ one from folly, crime, or violence; we _keep_ from or _refrain_ from evil, ourselves. _Keep_ in the sense of _guard_ or _defend_ implies that the defense is effectual. Compare CELEBRATE; RESTRAIN.

Prepositions:

Keep _in_ hand, _in_ mind, _in_ or _within_ the house; _from_ evil; _out of_ mischief; keep _to_ the subject; keep _for_ a person, an occasion, etc.

KILL.

Synonyms:

a.s.sa.s.sinate, despatch, ma.s.sacre, put to death, slay.

butcher, execute, murder, slaughter,

To _kill_ is simply to deprive of life, human, animal, or vegetable, with no suggestion of how or why. _a.s.sa.s.sinate_, _execute_, _murder_, apply only to the taking of human life; to _murder_ is to _kill_ with premeditation and malicious intent; to _execute_ is to _kill_ in fulfilment of a legal sentence; to _a.s.sa.s.sinate_ is to _kill_ by a.s.sault; this word is chiefly applied to the _killing_ of public or eminent persons through alleged political motives, whether secretly or openly. To _slay_ is to _kill_ by a blow, or by a weapon. _Butcher_ and _slaughter_ apply primarily to the _killing_ of cattle; _ma.s.sacre_ is applied primarily and almost exclusively to human beings, signifying to _kill_ them indiscriminately in large numbers; to _ma.s.sacre_ is said when there is no chance of successful resistance; to _butcher_ when the _killing_ is especially brutal; soldiers mown down in a hopeless charge are said to be _slaughtered_ when no brutality on the enemy's part is implied. To _despatch_ is to _kill_ swiftly and in general quietly, always with intention, with or without right.

Prepositions:

To kill _with_ or _by_ sword, famine, pestilence, care, grief, etc.; killed _for_ his money, _by_ a robber, _with_ a dagger.

KIN.

Synonyms:

affinity, blood, descent, kind, race, alliance, consanguinity, family, kindred, relationship.

birth,

_Kind_ is broader than _kin_, denoting the most general _relationship_, as of the whole human species in man_kind_, human_kind_, etc.; _kin_ and _kindred_ denote direct _relationship_ that can be traced through either blood or marriage, preferably the former; either of these words may signify collectively all persons of the same blood or members of the same family, relatives or relations. _Affinity_ is _relationship_ by marriage, _consanguinity_ is _relationship_ by blood. There are no true antonyms of _kin_ or _kindred_, except those made by negatives, since strangers, aliens, foreigners, and foes may still be _kin_ or _kindred_.

KNOWLEDGE.

Synonyms:

acquaintance, erudition, learning, recognition, apprehension, experience, light, scholarship, cognition, information, lore, science, cognizance, intelligence, perception, wisdom.

comprehension, intuition,

_Knowledge_ is all that the mind knows, from whatever source derived or obtained, or by whatever process; the aggregate of facts, truths, or principles acquired or retained by the mind, including alike the _intuitions_ native to the mind and all that has been learned respecting phenomena, causes, laws, principles, literature, etc. There is a tendency to regard _knowledge_ as accurate and systematic, and to a certain degree complete. _Information_ is _knowledge_ of fact, real or supposed, derived from persons, books, or observation, and is regarded as casual and haphazard. We say of a studious man that he has a great store of _knowledge_, or of an intelligent man of the world, that he has a fund of varied _information_. _Lore_ is used only in poetic or elevated style, for acc.u.mulated _knowledge_, as of a people or age, or in a more limited sense for _learning_ or _erudition_. We speak of _perception_ of external objects, _apprehension_ of intellectual truth.

Simple _perception_ gives a limited _knowledge_ of external objects, merely as such; the _cognition_ of the same objects is a _knowledge_ of them in some relation; _cognizance_ is the formal or official _recognition_ of something as an object of _knowledge_; we take _cognizance_ of it. _Intuition_ is primary _knowledge_ antecedent to all teaching or reasoning, _experience_ is _knowledge_ that has entered directly into one's own life; as, a child's _experience_ that fire will burn. _Learning_ is much higher than _information_, being preeminently wide and systematic _knowledge_, the result of long, a.s.siduous study; _erudition_ is recondite _learning_ secured only by extraordinary industry, opportunity, and ability. Compare ACQUAINTANCE; EDUCATION; SCIENCE; WISDOM.

Antonyms:

ignorance, inexperience, misconception, rudeness, illiteracy, misapprehension, misunderstanding, unfamiliarity.

LANGUAGE.