ome, that he has good medical attendance, careful nursing, etc., are
consolatory _circumstances_. With the same idea of subordination, we
often say, "This is not a _circumstance_ to that." So a person is said
to be in easy _circumstances_. Compare EVENT.

Prepositions:

"Mere situation is expressed by '_in_ the circumstances'; action
affected is performed '_under_ the circumstances.'" [M.]

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CLASS.

Synonyms:

association, circle, clique, company, grade, rank,
caste, clan, club, coterie, order, set.

A _class_ is a number or body of persons or objects having common
pursuits, purposes, attributes, or characteristics. A _caste_ is
hereditary; a _class_ may be independent of lineage or descent;
membership in a _caste_ is supposed to be for life; membership in a
_class_ may be very transient; a religious and ceremonial sacredness
attaches to the _caste_, as not to the _class_. The rich and the poor
form separate _classes_; yet individuals are constantly passing from
each to the other; the _classes_ in a college remain the same, but their
membership changes every year. We speak of _rank_ among hereditary
nobility or military officers; of various _orders_ of the priesthood; by
accommodation, we may refer in a general way to the higher _ranks_, the
lower _orders_ of any society. _Grade_ implies some regular scale of
valuation, and some inherent qualities for which a person or thing is
placed higher or lower in the scale; as, the coarser and finer _grades_
of wool; a man of an inferior _grade_. A _coterie_ is a small company of
persons of similar tastes, who meet frequently in an informal way,
rather for social enjoyment than for any serious purpose. _Clique_ has
always an unfavorable meaning. A _clique_ is always fractional, implying
some greater gathering of which it is a part; the association breaks up
into _cliques_. Persons unite in a _coterie_ through simple liking for
one another; they withdraw into a _clique_ largely through aversion to
outsiders. A _set_, while exclusive, is more extensive than a _clique_,
and chiefly of persons who are united by common social station, etc.
_Circle_ is similar in meaning to _set_, but of wider application; we
speak of scientific and religious as well as of social _circles_.

Prepositions:

A class _of_ merchants; the senior class _at_ (sometimes _of_) Harvard;
the classes _in_ college.

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