t effort, tax, or strain. _Ease_ may be either of condition or of
action; _facility_ is always of action; _readiness_ is of action or of
expected action. One lives at _ease_ who has no pressing cares; one
stands at _ease_, moves or speaks with _ease_, when wholly without
constraint. _Facility_ is always active; _readiness_ may be active or
passive; the speaker has _facility_ of expression, _readiness_ of wit;
any appliance is in _readiness_ for use. _Ease_ of action may imply
merely the possession of ample power; _facility_ always implies practise
and skill; any one can press down the keys of a typewriter with _ease_;
only the skilled operator works the machine with _facility_. _Readiness_
in the active sense includes much of the meaning of _ease_ with the
added idea of promptness or alertness. _Easiness_ applies to the thing
done, rather than to the doer. _Expertness_ applies to the more
mechanical processes of body and mind; we speak of the _readiness_ of an
orator, but of the _expertness_ of a gymnast. Compare COMFORTABLE;
DEXTERITY; POWER.

Antonyms:

annoyance, difficulty, irritation, trouble, vexation,
awkwardness, discomfort, perplexity, uneasiness, worry.
constraint, disquiet,

* * * * *

EDUCATION.

Synonyms:

breeding, discipline, learning, study,
cultivation, information, nurture, teaching,
culture, instruction, reading, training,
development, knowledge, schooling, tuition.

_Education_ (L. _educere_, to lead or draw out) is the systematic
development and cultivation of the mind and other natural powers.
"_Education_ is the harmonious development of all our faculties. It
begins in the nursery, and goes on at school, but does not end there. It
continues through life, whether we will or not.... 'Every person,' says
Gibbon, 'has two educations, one which he receives from others, and one
more important, which he gives himself.'" JOHN LUBBOCK _The Use of Life_
ch. vii, p. 111. [MACM. '94.] _Instruction_, the impartation of
_knowledge_ by others (L. _instruere_, to build in or into) is but a
part of education, often the smallest part. _Teaching_ is the more
familiar and less formal word for _instruction_. _Training_ refers not
merely to the impartation of _knowledge_, but to the exercising of one
in actions with the design to form habits. _Discipline_ is systematic
and rigorous _training_, with the idea of subjection to au