English words and phrases

accused &c v.; suspected; under suspicion, under a cloud, under surveillance; in custody, in detention; in the lockup, in the watch house, in the house of detention.

accusable, imputable; indefensible, inexcusable; unpardonable, unjustifiable; vicious &c 845.

Int. look at home; tu quoque &c (retaliation) 718 [Lat.].

Phr. the breath of accusation kills an innocent name [Shelley]; thou can'st not say I did it [Macbeth].
3. MORAL CONDITIONS
939. Probity -- N. probity, integrity, rectitude; uprightness &c adj.; honesty, faith; honor; bonne foi [Fr.], good faith, bona fides [Lat.]; purity, clean hands.

fairness &c adj.; fair play, justice, equity, impartiality, principle, even-handedness; grace.

constancy; faithfulness &c adj.; fidelity, loyalty; incorruption, incorruptibility.

trustworthiness &c adj.; truth, candor, singleness of heart; veracity &c 543; tender conscience &c (sense of duty) 926.

punctilio, delicacy, nicety; scrupulosity, scrupulousness &c adj.; scruple; point, point of honor; punctuality.

dignity &c, (repute) 873; respectability, respectableness &c adj.; gentilhomme [Fr.], gentleman; man of honor, man of his word; fidus Achates [Lat.], preux chevalier [Fr.], galantuomo [It]; truepenny^†, trump, brick; true Briton; white man [U.S.].

court of honor, a fair field and no favor; argumentum ad verecundiam [Lat.].

V. be honorable &c adj.; deal honorably, deal squarely, deal impartially, deal fairly; speak the truth &c (veracity) 543; draw a straight furrow; tell the truth and shame the Devil, vitam impendere vero [Lat.]; show a proper spirit, make a point of; do one's duty &c (virtue) 944.

redeem one's pledge &c 926; keep one's promise, be as good as one's promise, be as good as one's word; keep faith with, not fail.

give and take, audire alteram partem [Lat.], give the Devil his due, put the saddle on the right horse.

redound to one's honor.

constant, constant as the northern star; faithful, loyal, staunch; true, true blue, true to one's colors, true to the core, true as the needle to the pole; marble-constant [Antony and Cleopatra]; true-hearted, trusty, trustworthy; as good as one's word, to be depended on, incorruptible.

straightforward &c (ingenuous) 703; frank, candid, open-hearted.

conscientious, tender-conscienced, right-minded; high-principled, high-minded; scrupulous, religious, strict; nice, punctilious, correct, punctual; respectable, reputable; gentlemanlike^†.

inviolable, inviolate; unviolated^†, unbroken, unbetrayed; unbought, unbribed^†.

innocent &c 946; pure, stainless; unstained, untarnished, unsullied, untainted, unperjured^†; uncorrupt, uncorrupted; undefiled, undepraved^†, undebauched^†; integer vitae scelerisque purus [Lat.] [Horace]; justus et tenax propositi [Lat.] [Horace].

chivalrous, jealous of honor, sans peur et sans reproche [Fr.]; high-spirited.

supramundane^†, unworldly, other-worldly, overscrupulous^†.

breach of promise, breach of trust, breach of faith; prodition^†, disloyalty, treason, high treason; apostasy &c (tergiversation) 607; nonobservance &c 773.

shabbiness &c adj.; villainy, villany^†; baseness &c adj.; abjection, debasement, turpitude, moral turpitude, laxity, trimming, shuffling.

perfidy; perfidiousness &c adj.; treachery, double dealing; unfairness &c adj.; knavery, roguery, rascality, foul play; jobbing, jobbery; graft, bribery; venality, nepotism; corruption, job, shuffle, fishy transaction; barratry, sharp practice, heads I win tails you lose; mouth honor &c (flattery) 933.

disgrace oneself, dishonor oneself, demean oneself; derogate, stoop, grovel, sneak, lose caste; sell oneself, go over to the enemy; seal one's infamy.

false-hearted, disingenuous; unfair, one-sided; double, double-hearted, double-tongued, double-faced; timeserving^†, crooked, tortuous, insidious, Machiavelian, dark, slippery; fishy; perfidious, treacherous, perjured.

infamous, arrant, foul, base, vile, ignominious, blackguard.

contemptible, unrespectable, abject, mean, shabby, little, paltry, dirty, scurvy, scabby, sneaking, groveling, scrubby, rascally, pettifogging; beneath one.

low-minded, low-thoughted^†; base-minded.

undignified, indign^†; unbecoming, unbeseeming^†, unbefitting; derogatory, degrading; infra dignitatem [Lat.], beneath one's dignity; ungentlemanly, ungentlemanlike; unknightly^†, unchivalric^†, unmanly, unhandsome; recreant, inglorious.

corrupt, venal; debased, mongrel.

faithless, of bad faith, false, unfaithful, disloyal; untrustworthy; trustless, trothless^†; lost to shame, dead to honor; barratrous.

traitor, betrayer, archtraitor^†, conspirator, Judas, Catiline; reptile, serpent, snake in the grass, wolf in sheep's clothing, sneak, Jerry Sneak, squealer [Slang], tell-tale, mischief-maker; trimmer, fence-sitter, renegade &c (tergiversation) 607; truant, recreant; sycophant &c (servility) 886.

self-denial, self-abnegation, self-sacrifice, self-immolation, self-control &c (resolution) 604; stoicism, devotion, martyrdom, suttee.

labor of love.

V. be disinterested &c adj.; make a sacrifice, lay one's head on the block; put oneself in the place of others, do as one would be done by, do unto others as we would men should do unto us.

Adj. disinterested; unselfish; self-denying, self-sacrificing, self-devoted; generous.

handsome, liberal, noble, broad-minded; noble-minded, high-minded; princely, great, high, elevated, lofty, exalted, spirited, stoical, magnanimous; great-hearted, large-hearted; chivalrous, heroic, sublime.

unbought, unbribed^†; uncorrupted &c (upright) 939.

Phr. non vobis solum [Lat.].
943. Selfishness -- N. selfishness &c adj.; self-love, self-indulgence, self-worship, self-interest; egotism, egoism; amour propre [Fr.], &c (vanity) 880; nepotism.

worldliness &c adj.; world wisdom.

illiberality; meanness &c adj.. time-pleaser, time-server; tuft-hunter, fortune-hunter; jobber, worldling; egotist, egoist, monopolist, nepotist; dog in the manger, charity that begins at home; canis in praesepi [Lat.], foes to nobleness, temporizer, trimmer.

V. be selfish &c adj.; please oneself, indulge oneself, coddle oneself; consult one's own wishes, consult one's own pleasure; look after one's own interest; feather one's nest; take care of number one, have an eye to the main chance, know on which side one's bread is buttered; give an inch and take an ell.

Adj. selfish; self-seeking, self-indulgent, self-interested, self-centered; wrapped up in self, wrapt up in self^†, centered in self; egotistic, egotistical; egoistical^†.

illiberal, mean, ungenerous, narrow-minded; mercenary, venal; covetous &c 819.

unspiritual, earthly, earthly-minded; mundane; worldly, worldly-minded; worldly-wise; timeserving^†.

interested; alieni appetens sui profusus [Lat.].

morals; ethics &c (duty) 926; cardinal virtues.

merit, worth, desert, excellence, credit; self-control &c (resolution) 604; self-denial &c (temperance) 953.

well-doing; good actions, good behavior; discharge of duty, fulfillment of duty, performance of duty; well-spent life; innocence &c 946.

set an example, set a good example; be on one's good behavior, be on one's best behavior.

exemplary; matchless, peerless; saintly, saint-like; heaven-born, angelic, seraphic, godlike.

immorality, impropriety, indecorum, scandal, laxity, looseness of morals; enphagy^†, dophagy^†, exophagy^†; want of principle, want of ballast; obliquity, backsliding, infamy, demoralization, pravity^†, depravity, pollution; hardness of heart; brutality &c (malevolence) 907; corruption &c (debasement) 659; knavery &c (improbity) 940 [Obs.]; profligacy; flagrancy, atrocity; cannibalism; lesbianism, Sadism.

infirmity; weakness &c adj.; weakness of the flesh, frailty, imperfection; error; weak side; foible; failing, failure; crying sin, besetting sin; defect, deficiency; cloven foot.

lowest dregs of vice, sink of iniquity, Alsatian den^†; gusto picaresco [It].

fault, crime; criminality &c (guilt) 947.

sinner &c 949.

render vicious &c adj.; demoralize, brutalize; corrupt &c (degrade) 659.

unprincipled, lawless, disorderly, contra bonos mores [Lat.], indecorous, unseemly, improper; dissolute, profligate, scampish; unworthy; worthless; desertless^†; disgraceful, recreant; reprehensible, blameworthy, uncommendable; discreditable, disreputable; Sadistic.

base, sinister, scurvy, foul, gross, vile, black, grave, facinorous^†, felonious, nefarious, shameful, scandalous, infamous, villainous, of a deep dye, heinous; flagrant, flagitious; atrocious, incarnate, accursed.

Mephistophelian, satanic, diabolic, hellish, infernal, stygian, fiendlike^†, hell-born, demoniacal, devilish, fiendish.

miscreated^†, misbegotten; demoralized, corrupt, depraved.

evil-minded, evil-disposed; ill-conditioned; malevolent &c 907; heartless, graceless, shameless, virtueless; abandoned, lost to virtue; unconscionable; sunk in iniquity, lost in iniquity, steeped in iniquity.

incorrigible, irreclaimable, obdurate, reprobate, past praying for; culpable, reprehensible &c (guilty) 947.

unjustifiable; indefensible, inexcusable; inexpiable, unpardonable, irremissible^†.

weak, frail, lax, infirm, imperfect; indiscrete; demoralizing, degrading.

Adv. wrong; sinfully &c adj.; without excuse.

Int. O tempora!^†, O mores!,

Phr. alitur vitium vivitque tegendo [Vergil]; genus est mortis male vivere [Lat.] [Ovid]; mala mens malus animus [Lat.] [Terence]; nemo repente fuit turpissimus [Lat.]; the trail of the serpent is over them all [Moore]; to sanction vice and hunt decorum down [Bryon].
946. Innocence -- N. innocence; guiltlessness &c adj.; incorruption, impeccability.

clean hands, clear conscience, mens sibi conscia recti [Lat.] [Vergil].

innocent, lamb, dove.

V. be innocent &c adj.; nil conscire sibi nulla pallescere culpa [Lat.] [Horace].

acquit &c 970; exculpate &c (vindicate) 937.

inculpable, unculpable^†; unblamed, unblamable^†; blameless, unfallen^†, inerrable^†, above suspicion; irreproachable, irreprovable^†, irreprehensible^†; unexceptionable, unobjectionable, unimpeachable; salvable^†; venial &c 937.

harmless; inoffensive, innoxious^†, innocuous; dove-like, lamb-like; pure, harmless as doves; innocent as a lamb, innocent as the babe unborn; more sinned against than sinning [Lear].

virtuous &c 944; unreproved^†, unimpeached, unreproached^†.

misconduct, misbehavior, misdoing, misdeed; malpractice, fault, sin, error, transgression; dereliction, delinquency; indiscretion, lapse, slip, trip, faux pas [Fr.], peccadillo; flaw, blot, omission; failing, failure; break, bad break! [U.S.], capital crime, delictum [Lat.].

offense, trespass; misdemeanor, misfeasance, misprision; malefaction, malfeasance, malversation; crime, felony.

enormity, atrocity, outrage; deadly sin, mortal sin; deed without a name [Macbeth].

corpus delicti.

Adj. guilty, to blame, culpable, peccable^†, in fault, at fault, censurable, reprehensible, blameworthy, uncommendable, illaudable^†; weighed in the balance and found wanting; exceptionable.

Adv. in flagrante delicto [Lat.]; red-handed, in the very act, with one's hand in the cookie jar.

Phr. cui prodest scelus in fecit [Lat.] [Seneca]; culpam paena premit comes [Lat.] [Horace]; O would the deed were good! [Richard II]; responsibility prevents crimes se judice nemo nocens absolvitur [Lat.] [Juvenal]; so many laws argues so many sins [Paradise Lost].
948. Good Man -- N. good man, honest man, worthy.

good woman, perfect lady, Madonna.

model, paragon &c (perfection) 650; good example; hero, heroine, demigod, seraph, angel; innocent &c 946; saint &c (piety) 987; benefactor &c 912; philanthropist &c 910; Aristides^†; noble liver^†, pattern.

brick [Slang], trump [Slang], gem, jewel, good fellow, prince, diamond in the rough, rough diamond, ugly duckling^†.

salt of the earth; one in ten thousand; one in a million; a gentleman and a scholar; pillar of society, pillar of the community, a man among men.

Phr. si sic omnes! [Lat.]
949. Bad Man -- N. bad man, wrongdoer, worker of iniquity; evildoer &c 913; sinner; the wicked &c 945; bad example.

villain, rascal, scoundrel, miscreant, budmash^†, caitiff^†; wretch, reptile, viper, serpent, cockatrice, basilisk, urchin; tiger^†, monster; devil &c (demon) 980; devil incarnate; demon in human shape, Nana Sahib; hellhound, hellcat; rakehell^†.

bad woman, jade, Jezebel.

scamp, scapegrace, rip, runagate, ne'er-do-well, reprobate, scalawag, scallawag.

rou_e [Fr.], rake; Sadist; skeesicks [Slang], skeezix [U.S.]; limb; one who has sold himself to the devil, fallen angel, ame damnee [Fr.], vaurien^†, mauvais sujet [Fr.], loose fish, sad dog; rounder [Slang]; lost sheep, black sheep; castaway, recreant, defaulter; prodigal &c 818.

rough, rowdy, hooligan, tough, ugly customer, mean mother [Coll.], ruffian, bully, meanie [Joc.]; Jonathan Wild; hangman.

incendiary, arsonist, fire bug [U.S.].

thief &c 792; murderer, terrorist &c 361.

blackguard, polisson^†, loafer, sneak; rapscallion, rascallion^†; cullion^†, mean wretch, varlet, kern^†, ame-de-boue [Fr.], drole^†; cur, dog, hound^†, whelp^†, mongrel^†; lown^†, loon, runnion^†, outcast, vagabond; rogue &c (knave) 941; ronian^†; scum of the earth, riffraff; Arcades ambo^†.

self-reproach, self-reproof, self-accusation, self-condemnation, self-humiliation; stings of conscience, pangs of conscience, qualms of conscience, prickings of conscience^†, twinge of conscience, twitch of conscience, touch of conscience, voice of conscience; compunctious visitings of nature^†.

acknowledgment, confession &c (disclosure) 529; apology &c 952; recantation &c 607; penance &c 952; resipiscence^†.

awakened conscience, deathbed repentance, locus paenitentiae [Lat.], stool of repentance, cuttystool^†.

penitent, repentant, Magdalen, prodigal son, a sadder and a wiser man [Coleridge].

V. repent, be sorry for; be penitent &c adj.; rue; regret &c 833; think better of; recant &c 607; knock under &c (submit) 725; plead guilty; sing miserere [Lat.], sing de profundis [Lat.]; cry peccavi; own oneself in the wrong; acknowledge, confess &c, (disclose) 529; humble oneself; beg pardon &c (apologize) 952; turn over a new leaf, put on the new man, turn from sin; reclaim; repent in sackcloth and ashes &c, (do penance) 952; learn by experience.

Adj. penitent; repenting &c v.; repentant, contrite; conscience-smitten, conscience-stricken; self-accusing, self-convicted.

penitential, penitentiary; reclaimed, reborn; not hardened; unhardened^†.

hardness of heart, seared conscience, induration, obduracy.

lost, incorrigible, irreclaimable.

unreconstructed, unregenerate, unreformed; unrepented^†, unreclaimed^†, unatoned.
952. Atonement -- N. atonement, reparation; compromise, composition; compensation &c 30; quittance, quits; expiation, redemption, reclamation, conciliation, propitiation; indemnification, redress.

amends, apology, amende honorable^†, satisfaction; peace offering, sin offering, burnt offering; scapegoat, sacrifice.

penance, fasting, maceration, sackcloth and ashes, white sheet, shrift, flagellation, lustration^†; purgation, purgatory.

V. atone, atone for; expiate; propitiate; make amends, make good; reclaim, redeem, repair, ransom, absolve, purge, shrive, do penance, stand in a white sheet, repent in sackcloth and ashes, wear a hairshirt.

set one's house in order, wipe off old scores, make matters up; pay the forfeit, pay the penalty.

apologize, beg pardon, fair l'amende honorable [Fr.], give satisfaction; come down on one's knees, fall down on one's knees, down on one's marrow bones.
4. MORAL PRACTICE