, and is oftenest used in the favorable sense. _Reputation_
and _repute_ are more limited than _fame_, and may be either good or
bad. _Notoriety_ is evil _repute_ or a dishonorable counterfeit of
_fame_. _Eminence_ and _distinction_ may result from rank, station, or
character. _Celebrity_ is limited in range; we speak of local
_celebrity_, or world-wide _fame_. _Fame_ in its best sense may be
defined as the applause of numbers; _renown_, as such applause worthily
won; we speak of the conqueror's _fame_, the patriot's _renown_. _Glory_
and _honor_ are of good import; _honor_ may be given for qualities or
acts that should not win it, but it is always given as something good
and worthy; we can speak of an evil _fame_, but not of evil _honor_;
_glory_ has a more exalted and often a sacred sense.
Antonyms:
contempt, discredit, dishonor, humiliation, infamy, obscurity,
contumely, disgrace, disrepute, ignominy, oblivion, shame.
* * * * *
FANATICISM.
Synonyms:
bigotry, credulity, intolerance, superstition.
_Fanaticism_ is extravagant or even frenzied zeal; _bigotry_ is
obstinate and unreasoning attachment to a cause or creed; _fanaticism_
and _bigotry_ usually include _intolerance_, which is unwillingness to
tolerate beliefs or opinions contrary to one's own; _superstition_ is
ignorant and irrational religious belief. _Credulity_ is not
distinctively religious, but is a general readiness to believe without
sufficient evidence, with a proneness to accept the marvellous.
_Bigotry_ is narrow, _fanaticism_ is fierce, _superstition_ is ignorant,
_credulity_ is weak, _intolerance_ is severe. _Bigotry_ has not the
capacity to reason fairly, _fanaticism_ has not the patience,
_superstition_ has not the knowledge and mental discipline,
_intolerance_ has not the disposition. _Bigotry_, _fanaticism_, and
_superstition_ are perversions of the religious sentiment; _credulity_
and _intolerance_ often accompany skepticism or atheism.
Antonyms:
cynicism, free-thinking, indifference, latitudinarianism.
* * * * *
FANCIFUL.
Synonyms:
chimerical, fantastic, grotesque, imaginative, visionary.
That is _fanciful_ which is dictated or suggested by fancy independently
of more serious considerations; the _fantastic_ is the _fanciful_ with
the added elements of whimsicalness and extravagance. The _fanciful_
swings away f
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