ly broad, applying to the
placing of a dish, or the possibilities of a life, a fortune, or a
government. Compare HAZARD.

Antonyms:

defense, immunity, protection, safeguard, safety, security, shelter.

* * * * *

DARK.

Synonyms:

black, dusky, mysterious, sable, somber,
dim, gloomy, obscure, shadowy, swart,
dismal, murky, opaque, shady, swarthy.

Strictly, that which is _black_ is absolutely destitute of color; that
which is _dark_ is absolutely destitute of light. In common speech,
however, a coat is _black_, tho not optically colorless; the night is
_dark_, tho the stars shine. That is _obscure_, _shadowy_, or _shady_
from which the light is more or less cut off. _Dusky_ is applied to
objects which appear as if viewed in fading light; the word is often
used, as are _swart_ and _swarthy_, of the human skin when quite _dark_,
or even verging toward _black_. _Dim_ refers to imperfection of outline,
from distance, darkness, mist, etc., or from some defect of vision.
_Opaque_ objects, as smoked glass, are impervious to light. _Murky_ is
said of that which is at once _dark_, _obscure_, and _gloomy_; as, a
_murky_ den; a _murky_ sky. Figuratively, _dark_ is emblematic of
sadness, agreeing with _somber_, _dismal_, _gloomy_, also of moral evil;
as, a _dark_ deed. Of intellectual matters, _dark_ is now rarely used in
the old sense of a _dark_ saying, etc. See MYSTERIOUS; OBSCURE.

Antonyms:

bright, crystalline, glowing, lucid, shining,
brilliant, dazzling, illumined, luminous, transparent,
clear, gleaming, light, radiant, white.

Compare synonyms for LIGHT.

* * * * *

DECAY.

Synonyms:

corrupt, decompose, molder, putrefy, rot, spoil.

_Rot_ is a strong word, ordinarily esteemed coarse, but on occasion
capable of approved emphatic use; as, "the name of the wicked shall
_rot_," _Prov._ x, 7; _decay_ and _decompose_ are now common euphemisms.
A substance is _decomposed_ when resolved into its original elements by
any process; it is _decayed_ when resolved into its original elements by
natural processes; it _decays_ gradually, but may be instantly
_decomposed_, as water into oxygen and hydrogen; to say that a thing is
_decayed_ may denote only a partial result, but to say it is
_decomposed_ ordinarily implies that the change is complete or nearly
so. _Put