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GRADUATE STUDIES
I N M AT H E M AT I C S 171

Nonlinear
Elliptic Equations
of the Second
Order
Qing Han

American Mathematical Society

 https://doi.org/10.1090//gsm/171

GRADUATE STUDIES
I N M AT H E M AT I C S 171

Nonlinear
Elliptic Equations
of the Second
Order

Qing Han

American Mathematical Society

Providence, Rhode Island
 EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Dan Abramovich
Daniel S. Freed
Rafe Mazzeo (Chair)
Gigliola Staffilani

2010 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 35J60, 35J25, 35J93, 35J96.

For additional information and updates on this book, visit

www.ams.org/bookpages/gsm-171

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Han, Qing, 1964–
Title: Nonlinear elliptic equations of the second order / Qing Han.
Description: Providence, Rhode Island : American Mathematical Society, [2016] | Series: Gradu-
ate studies in mathematics; volume 171 | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015043419 | ISBN 9781470426071 (alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Differential equations, Elliptic. | Differential equations, Nonlinear. | AMS:
Partial differential equations – Elliptic equations and systems – Nonlinear elliptic equations.
msc | Partial differential equations – Elliptic equations and systems – Boundary value problems
for second-order elliptic equations. msc | Partial differential equations – Elliptic equations and
systems – Quasilinear elliptic equations with mean curvature operator. msc | Partial differential
equations – Elliptic equations and systems – Elliptic Monge-Ampère equations. msc
Classification: LCC QA377 .H31825 2016 | DDC 515/.3533–dc23 LC record available at http://
lccn.loc.gov/2015043419

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∞ The paper used in this book is acid-free and falls within the guidelines
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 21 20 19 18 17 16
To Yansu, Raymond, and Tommy
Contents

Preface vii
Introduction 1
Chapter 1. Linear Elliptic Equations 7
§1.1. The Maximum Principle 8
§1.2. Krylov-Safonov’s Harnack Inequality 23
§1.3. The Schauder Theory 42

Part 1. Quasilinear Elliptic Equations

Chapter 2. Quasilinear Uniformly Elliptic Equations 51
§2.1. Basic Properties 52
§2.2. Interior C 1 -Estimates 55
§2.3. Global C 1 -Estimates 58
§2.4. Interior C 1,α -Estimates 61
§2.5. Global C 1,α -Estimates 68
§2.6. Dirichlet Problems 73
Chapter 3. Mean Curvature Equations 79
§3.1. Principal Curvatures 80
§3.2. Global Estimates 87
§3.3. Interior Gradient Estimates 100
§3.4. Dirichlet Problems 105

v
vi Contents

Chapter 4. Minimal Surface Equations 115

§4.1. Integral Formulas 116
§4.2. Differential Identities 127
§4.3. Interior Gradient Estimates 136
§4.4. Interior Curvature Estimates 141
§4.5. Differential Identities: An Alternative Approach 151

Part 2. Fully Nonlinear Elliptic Equations

Chapter 5. Fully Nonlinear Uniformly Elliptic Equations 163
§5.1. Basic Properties 164
§5.2. Interior C 2 -Estimates 172
§5.3. Global C 2 -Estimates 194
§5.4. Interior C 2,α -Estimates 200
§5.5. Global C 2,α -Estimates 208
§5.6. Dirichlet Problems 213
Chapter 6. Monge-Ampère Equations 219
§6.1. Basic Properties 219
§6.2. Global C 2 -Estimates 223
§6.3. Interior C 2 -Estimates 236
§6.4. The Bernstein Problem 241
Chapter 7. Complex Monge-Ampère Equations 253
§7.1. Basic Properties 253
§7.2. Global C 2 -Estimates 258
Chapter 8. Generalized Solutions of Monge-Ampère Equations 277
§8.1. Monge-Ampère Measures 278
§8.2. Dirichlet Problems 300
§8.3. Global Hölder Estimates 313
§8.4. Interior C 1,α -Regularity 325
§8.5. Interior C 2,α -Regularity 340
Bibliography 355
Index 365
Preface

The theory of nonlinear elliptic partial differential equations of the second or-
der has flourished in the past half-century. The pioneering work of de Giorgi
in 1957 opened the door to the study of general quasilinear elliptic differ-
ential equations. Since then, the nonlinear elliptic differential equation has
become a diverse subject and has found applications in science and engi-
neering. In mathematics, the development of elliptic differential equations
has influenced the development of the Riemannian geometry and complex
geometry. Meanwhile, the study of elliptic differential equations in a geo-
metric setting has provided interesting new questions with fresh insights to
old problems.
This book is written for those who have completed their study of the
linear elliptic differential equations and intend to explore the fascinating field
of nonlinear elliptic differential equations. It covers two classes of nonlinear
elliptic differential equations, quasilinear and fully nonlinear, and focuses
on two important nonlinear elliptic differential equations closely related to
geometry, the mean curvature equation and the Monge-Ampère equation.
This book presents a detailed discussion of the Dirichlet problems for
quasilinear and fully nonlinear elliptic differential equations of the second
order: quasilinear uniformly elliptic equations in arbitrary domains, mean
curvature equations in domains with nonnegative boundary mean curvature,
fully nonlinear uniformly elliptic equations in arbitrary domains, and Monge-
Ampère equations in uniformly convex domains. Global solutions of these
equations are also characterized. The choice of topics is influenced by my
personal taste. Some topics may be viewed by others as too advanced for
a graduate textbook. Among those topics are the curvature estimates for
minimal surface equations, the complex Monge-Ampère equation, and the

vii
viii Preface

generalized solutions of the (real) Monge-Ampère equations. Inclusion of

these topics reflects their importance and their connections to many of the
most active current research areas.
There is an inevitable overlap with the successful monograph by Gilbarg
and Trudinger. This book, designed as a textbook, is more focused on basic
materials and techniques. Many results in this book are presented in special
forms. For example, the quasilinear and fully nonlinear uniformly elliptic
differential equations studied in this book are not in their most general
form. The study of these equations serves as a prerequisite to the study of
the mean curvature equation and the Monge-Ampère equation, respectively.
More notably, our discussion of the Monge-Ampère equations is confined
to the pure Monge-Ampère equations, instead of the Monge-Ampère type
equations.
This book is based on one-semester courses I taught at Peking Univer-
sity in the spring of 2011 and at the University of Notre Dame in the fall
of 2011. Part of it was presented in the Special Lecture Series at Peking
University in the summer of 2007, in the Summer School in Mathematics at
the University of Science and Technology of China in the summer of 2008,
and in a graduate course at Beijing International Center of Mathematical
Research in the spring of 2010.
During the writing of the book, I benefitted greatly from comments
and suggestions of many friends, colleagues, and students in my classes.
Chuanqiang Chen, Xumin Jiang, Weiming Shen, and Yue Wang read the
manuscript at various stages. Chuanqiang Chen and Jingang Xiong helped
write Chapter 8. Bo Guan, Marcus Khuri, Xinan Ma, and Yu Yuan provided
valuable suggestions on the arrangement of the book.
It is with pleasure that I record here my gratitude to my thesis advisor,
Fanghua Lin, who guided me into the fascinating world of elliptic differential
equations more than twenty years ago.
I am grateful to Arlene O’Sean, my editor at the American Mathematical
Society, for reading the manuscript and guiding the effort to turn it into a
book. Last but not least, I thank Sergei Gelfand at the AMS for his help in
bringing the book to press.
The research related to this book was partially supported by grants from
the National Science Foundation.

Qing Han
 https://doi.org/10.1090//gsm/171/01

Introduction

The primary goal of this book is to study nonlinear elliptic differential equa-
tions of the second order, with a focus on quasilinear and fully nonlinear
elliptic differential equations. Chapter 1 is a brief review of linear elliptic
differential equations. Then in Part 1 and Part 2, we study quasilinear el-
liptic differential equations and fully nonlinear elliptic differential equations,
respectively.
In Chapter 1, we review briefly three basic topics in the theory of lin-
ear elliptic equations: the maximum principle, Krylov-Safonov’s Harnack
inequality, and the Schauder theory. These topics form the foundation for
further studies of nonlinear elliptic differential equations.
Part 1 is devoted to quasilinear elliptic differential equations and consists
of three chapters.
In Chapter 2, we discuss quasilinear uniformly elliptic equations. We
derive various a priori estimates for their solutions, the estimates of the L∞ -
norms of solutions and their first derivatives by the maximum principle, and
the estimates of the Hölder semi-norms of the first derivatives by Krylov-
Safonov’s Harnack inequality. As a consequence of these estimates, we solve
the Dirichlet boundary-value problem by the method of continuity.
In Chapter 3, we discuss equations of the prescribed mean curvatures,
or the mean curvature equations. We derive various a priori estimates for
their solutions, in particular, the boundary gradient estimates, the global
gradient estimates, and the interior gradient estimates. As a consequence,
we solve the Dirichlet boundary-value problem by the method of continuity.
Difficulties in studying the mean curvature equations are due to a lack of

1
2 Introduction

the uniform ellipticity. The structure of the equation plays an important

role.
In Chapter 4, we discuss minimal surface equations. Needless to say, the
minimal surface equation is a special class of the mean curvature equations;
namely, the mean curvature vanishes identically. It might appear that this
chapter should be included in the previous one. However, there is a reason
for an independent chapter. Results in this chapter are proved by analysis
“upon surfaces”. In other words, we treat minimal surfaces as submanifolds
in the ambient Euclidean spaces and write equations on these submanifolds.
In this chapter, we will derive an improved interior gradient estimate and
an interior curvature estimate for solutions of the minimal surface equation.
Part 2 is devoted to fully nonlinear elliptic differential equations and
consists of four chapters.
In Chapter 5, we discuss fully nonlinear uniformly elliptic equations. We
derive various a priori estimates for their solutions, the estimates of the L∞ -
norms of solutions and their first and second derivatives by the maximum
principle, and the estimates of the Hölder semi-norms of the second deriva-
tives by Krylov-Safonov’s Harnack inequality. As a consequence of these
estimates, we solve the Dirichlet boundary-value problem by the method of
continuity.
In Chapter 6, we discuss Monge-Ampère equations. We derive various
a priori estimates for their solutions, in particular, the boundary Hessian
estimates, the global Hessian estimates, and the interior Hessian estimates.
As a consequence, we solve the Dirichlet boundary-value problem by the
method of continuity. Difficulties in studying the Monge-Ampère equations
are due to a lack of the uniform ellipticity. The structure of the equation
plays an important role.
In Chapter 7, we extend results in the previous chapter to the complex
case and discuss complex Monge-Ampère equations.
In Chapter 8, we discuss generalized solutions of (real) Monge-Ampère
equations. Such solutions are defined only for convex functions, which are
not assumed to be C 2 to begin with. We prove various regularity results un-
der appropriate assumptions on the corresponding Monge-Ampère measures.
In particular, we prove the strict convexity and the interior C 1,α -regularity
for solutions if the Monge-Ampère measures satisfy a doubling condition.
We also derive the optimal interior C 2,α -regularity for solutions under the
condition that the Monge-Ampère measures are induced by positive Hölder
continuous functions. The discussion is based on the level set approach.
Introduction 3

Concerning the arrangement of this book, Part 1 is not a prerequisite for

Part 2. Those who are interested only in fully nonlinear elliptic equations
can skip Part 1 entirely.

We now list some basic notations to be used in this book.

We denote by x points in Rn and write x = (x1 , . . . , xn ) in terms of
its coordinates. For any x ∈ Rn , we denote by |x| the standard Euclidean
norm, unless otherwise stated. Namely, for any x = (x1 , . . . , xn ), we have
 n 1
 2

|x| = 2
xi .
i=1

Sometimes, we need to distinguish one particular direction and write points

in Rn as (x , xn ) for x = (x1 , . . . , xn−1 ) ∈ Rn−1 . We also denote by Rn+ the
upper half-space; i.e., Rn = {x ∈ Rn : xn > 0}.
Let Ω be a domain in Rn , that is, an open and connected subset in Rn .
We denote by L∞ (Ω) the collection of all bounded functions in Ω and define
the L∞ -norm by
|u|L∞ (Ω) = sup |u|.
Ω
We denote by C(Ω) the collection of all continuous functions in Ω, by C m (Ω)
the collection of all functions with continuous derivatives up to order m,
for any integer m ≥ 1, and by C ∞ (Ω) the collection of all functions with
continuous derivatives of arbitrary order. For any u ∈ C m (Ω), we denote by
∇m u the collection of all partial derivatives of u of order m. For m = 1 and
m = 2, we usually write ∇m u in special forms. For first-order derivatives,
we write ∇u as a vector of the form
∇u = (∂1 u, . . . , ∂n u).
This is the gradient vector of u. For second-order derivatives, we write ∇2 u
in the matrix form
⎛ ⎞
∂11 u ∂12 u · · · ∂1n u
⎜ ∂21 u ∂2n u · · · ∂2n u ⎟
⎜ ⎟
∇2 u = ⎜ . .. .. .. ⎟ .
⎝ .. . . . ⎠
∂n1 u ∂n2 u · · · ∂nn u
This is a symmetric matrix, called the Hessian matrix of u. For derivatives of
order higher than two, we need to use multi-indices. A multi-index β ∈ Zn+
is given by β = (β1 , . . . , βn ) with nonnegative integers β1 , . . . , βn . We write

n
|β| = βi .
i=1
4 Introduction

The partial derivative ∂ β u is defined by

∂ β u = ∂1β1 · · · ∂nβn u,
and its order is |β|. For any positive integer m, we define
⎛ ⎞1

2

|∇ u| =
m ⎝ β 2⎠
|∂ u| ,
|β|=m

and the C m -norm by


m
|u|C m (Ω) = |∇k u|L∞ (Ω) .
k=0

For a constant α ∈ (0, 1), we denote by C α (Ω) the collection of all Hölder
continuous functions in Ω with the Hölder exponent α and by C m,α (Ω) the
collection of all functions in C m (Ω) whose derivatives of order m are Hölder
continuous in Ω with the Hölder exponent α. We define the Hölder semi-
norm by
|u(x) − u(y)|
[u]C α (Ω) = sup ,
x,y∈Ω |x − y|α
x=y

and the C α -norm by

|u|C α (Ω) = |u|L∞ (Ω) + [u]C α (Ω) .
For any positive integer m and a contant α ∈ (0, 1), we also define the
C m,α -norm by

|u|C m,α (Ω) = |u|C m (Ω) + [∇β u]C α (Ω) .
|β|=m

Accordingly, we can define C(Ω̄), C α (Ω̄), C m (Ω̄), C m,α (Ω̄), and C ∞ (Ω̄) if
∂Ω is appropriately regular and define [ · ]C α (Ω̄) , | · |C α (Ω̄) , | · |C m (Ω̄) , and
| · |C m,α (Ω̄) similarly.
We adopt the summation convention on repeated indices throughout the
book. The general form of the linear equations of the second order is given
by
aij (x)∂ij u + bi (x)∂i u + c(x)u = f (x) in Ω,
where aij , bi , c, and f are given functions in Ω. Very often, we write deriva-
tives as ui = ∂i u and uij = ∂ij u for brevity. In this way, we can express
linear equations in the following form:
aij uij + bi ui + cu = f in Ω.
Introduction 5

Subscripts here have different meanings for coefficients and solutions. Sim-
ilarly, the general forms of the quasilinear equations and the fully nonlinear
equations of the second order are given, respectively, by
aij (x, u, ∇u)uij = f (x, u, ∇u) in Ω
and
F (x, u, ∇u, ∇2 u) = 0 in Ω.
A significant portion of the book is devoted to the derivation of a priori
estimates, where certain norms of solutions are bounded by a positive con-
stant C depending only on a set of known quantities. In a given context,
the same letter C will be used to denote different constants depending on
the same set of quantities.
 https://doi.org/10.1090//gsm/171/02

Chapter 1

Linear Elliptic
Equations

In this chapter, we review briefly three basic topics in the theory of lin-
ear elliptic equations: the maximum principle, Krylov-Safonov’s Harnack
inequality, and the Schauder theory.
In Section 1.1, we review Hopf’s maximum principle. The maximum
principle is an important method to study elliptic differential equations of
the second order. In this section, we review the weak maximum principle and
the strong maximum principle and derive several forms of a priori estimates
of solutions.
In Section 1.2, we review Krylov-Safonov’s Harnack inequality. The
Harnack inequality is an important result in the theory of elliptic differential
equations of the second order and plays a fundamental role in the study of
nonlinear elliptic differential equations.
In Section 1.3, we review the Schauder theory for uniformly elliptic linear
equations. Three main topics are a priori estimates in Hölder norms, the
regularity of arbitrary solutions, and the solvability of the Dirichlet problem.
Among these topics, a priori estimates are the most fundamental and form
the basis for the existence and the regularity of solutions. We will review
both the interior Schauder theory and the global Schauder theory.
These three sections play different roles in the rest of the book. In the
study of quasilinear elliptic equations in Part 1, the maximum principle
will be used to derive estimates of derivatives up to the first order, the
Harnack inequality will be used to derive estimates of the Hölder semi-
norms of derivatives of the first order, and the Schauder theory will be used

7
8 1. Linear Elliptic Equations

to solve the linearized equations. In the study of fully nonlinear elliptic

equations in Part 2, the maximum principle will be used to derive estimates
of derivatives up to the second order, the Harnack inequality will be used to
derive estimates of the Hölder semi-norms of derivatives of the second order,
and the Schauder theory will be used to solve the linearized equations.
It is not our intention to present a complete review of the linear theory.
Notably missing from this short review are the W 2,p -theory for linear equa-
tions of the nondivergence form and the H k -theory and the de Giorgi-Moser
theory for linear equations of the divergence form. Refer to Chapters 2–9 of
[59] for a complete account of the linear theory.

1.1. The Maximum Principle

The maximum principle is an important method to study elliptic differential
equations of the second order. In this section, we review the weak maximum
principle and the strong maximum principle and derive several forms of a
priori estimates of solutions. Refer to Chapter 3 of [59] for details.
Throughout this section, we let Ω be a bounded domain in Rn and let
aij , bi , and c be bounded and continuous functions in Ω, with aij = aji . We
consider the operator L given by
(1.1.1) Lu = aij ∂ij u + bi ∂i u + cu in Ω,
for any u ∈ C 2 (Ω). The operator L is always assumed to be strictly elliptic
in Ω; namely, for any x ∈ Ω and ξ ∈ Rn ,
(1.1.2) aij (x)ξi ξj ≥ λ|ξ|2 ,
for some positive constant λ. For later reference, L is called uniformly elliptic
if, for any x ∈ Ω and ξ ∈ Rn ,
(1.1.3) λ|ξ|2 ≤ aij (x)ξi ξj ≤ Λ|ξ|2 ,
for some positive constants λ and Λ, which are usually called the ellipticity
constants.

1.1.1. The Weak Maximum Principle. In this subsection, we review

the weak maximum principle and its corollaries. We first introduce subso-
lutions and supersolutions.
Definition 1.1.1. For some f ∈ C(Ω), a C 2 (Ω)-function u is called a sub-
solution (or supersolution) of Lw = f if Lu ≥ f (or Lu ≤ f ) in Ω.

If aij = δij , bi = c = 0, and f = 0, subsolutions (or supersolutions) are

subharmonic (or superharmonic).
Now we prove the weak maximum principle for subsolutions. Recall that
u+ is the nonnegative part of u, defined by u+ = max{0, u}.
1.1. The Maximum Principle 9

Theorem 1.1.2. Let Ω be a bounded domain in Rn and L be given by

(1.1.1), for some aij , bi , c ∈ L∞ (Ω) ∩ C(Ω) satisfying c ≤ 0 in Ω and
(1.1.2). Suppose that u ∈ C(Ω̄) ∩ C 2 (Ω) satisfies Lu ≥ 0 in Ω. Then, u
attains on ∂Ω its nonnegative maximum in Ω̄; i.e.,
max u ≤ max u+ .
Ω̄ ∂Ω

Proof. We first consider the special case Lu > 0 in Ω. If u has a local

nonnegative maximum at a point x0 in Ω, then u(x0 ) ≥ 0, ∇u(x0 ) = 0,
and the Hessian matrix ∇2 u(x0 ) is negative semi-definite. By (1.1.2), the
matrix aij (x0 ) is positive definite. Then,
Lu(x0 ) = (aij ∂ij u + bi ∂i u + cu) (x0 ) ≤ 0.
This leads to a contradiction. Hence, the nonnegative maximum of u in Ω̄
is attained only on ∂Ω.
Now we consider the general case Lu ≥ 0 in Ω. For any ε > 0, consider
w(x) = u(x) + εeμx1 ,
where μ is a positive constant to be determined. Then,
Lw = Lu + εeμx1 (a11 μ2 + b1 μ + c).
Since b1 and c are bounded and a11 ≥ λ > 0 in Ω, by choosing μ > 0 large
enough, we get
a11 μ2 + b1 μ + c > 0 in Ω.
This implies Lw > 0 in Ω. By the special case we just discussed, w attains
its nonnegative maximum only on ∂Ω and hence,
max w ≤ max w+ .
Ω̄ ∂Ω

Then,
max u ≤ max w ≤ max w+ ≤ max u+ + ε max eμx1 .
Ω̄ Ω̄ ∂Ω ∂Ω x∈∂Ω

We have the desired result by letting ε → 0 and using the fact that ∂Ω ⊂ Ω̄.


If c ≡ 0 in Ω, we can draw conclusions about the maximum of u rather

than its nonnegative maximum. A similar remark holds for the strong max-
imum principle.
A continuous function in Ω̄ always attains its maximum in Ω̄. Theorem
1.1.2 asserts that any subsolution continuous up to the boundary attains its
maximum on the boundary ∂Ω, but possibly also in Ω. Theorem 1.1.2 is
10 1. Linear Elliptic Equations

referred to as the weak maximum principle. A stronger version asserts that

subsolutions attain their maximum only on the boundary, unless they are
constant.
As a simple consequence of Theorem 1.1.2, we have the following result.
Corollary 1.1.3. Let Ω be a bounded domain in Rn and L be given by
(1.1.1), for some aij , bi , c ∈ L∞ (Ω) ∩ C(Ω) satisfying c ≤ 0 in Ω and
(1.1.2). Suppose that u ∈ C(Ω̄) ∩ C 2 (Ω) satisfies Lu ≥ 0 in Ω and u ≤ 0 on
∂Ω. Then, u ≤ 0 in Ω.

More generally, we have the following comparison principle.

Corollary 1.1.4. Let Ω be a bounded domain in Rn and L be given by
(1.1.1), for some aij , bi , c ∈ L∞ (Ω) ∩ C(Ω) satisfying c ≤ 0 in Ω and
(1.1.2). Suppose that u, v ∈ C(Ω̄) ∩ C 2 (Ω) satisfy Lu ≥ Lv in Ω and u ≤ v
on ∂Ω. Then, u ≤ v in Ω.

The comparison principle provides a reason that functions u satisfying

Lu ≥ f are called subsolutions. They are less than a solution v of Lv = f
with the same boundary value.
In the following, we simply say by the maximum principle when we apply
Theorem 1.1.2, Corollary 1.1.3, or Corollary 1.1.4.
A consequence of the maximum principle is the uniqueness of solutions
of Dirichlet problems.
Corollary 1.1.5. Let Ω be a bounded domain in Rn and L be given by
(1.1.1), for some aij , bi , c ∈ L∞ (Ω) ∩ C(Ω) satisfying c ≤ 0 in Ω and
(1.1.2). Then for any f ∈ C(Ω) and ϕ ∈ C(∂Ω), there exists at most one
solution u ∈ C(Ω̄) ∩ C 2 (Ω) of
Lu = f in Ω,
u=ϕ on ∂Ω.

1.1.2. The Strong Maximum Principle. The weak maximum principle

asserts that subsolutions of linear elliptic equations attain their nonnegative
maximum on the boundary under suitable conditions. In fact, these subso-
lutions can attain their nonnegative maximum only on the boundary, unless
they are constant. This is the strong maximum principle.
For any C 1 -function u in Ω̄ that attains its maximum on ∂Ω, say at
x0 ∈ ∂Ω, we have ∂u ∂ν (x0 ) ≥ 0, where ν is the exterior unit normal to Ω at
x0 . The Hopf lemma asserts that this normal derivative is in fact positive if
u is a subsolution in Ω.
Theorem 1.1.6. Let B be an open ball in Rn with x0 ∈ ∂B and L be given
by (1.1.1), for some aij , bi , c ∈ L∞ (B) ∩ C(B) satisfying c ≤ 0 in B and
1.1. The Maximum Principle 11

(1.1.2). Suppose that u ∈ C 1 (B̄)∩C 2 (B) satisfies Lu ≥ 0 in B, u(x) < u(x0 )

for any x ∈ B, and u(x0 ) ≥ 0. Then,
∂u
(x0 ) > 0,
∂ν
where ν is the exterior unit normal to B at x0 .

Proof. Without loss of generality, we assume B = BR for some R > 0. By

the continuity of u up to ∂BR , we have, for any x ∈ B̄R ,

u(x) ≤ u(x0 ).

For positive constants μ and ε to be determined, we set

w(x) = e−μ|x| − e−μR

2 2

and
v(x) = u(x) − u(x0 ) + εw(x).
We consider w and v in D = BR \ B̄R/2 .
A direct calculation yields

Lw = e−μ|x| 4μ2 aij xi xj − 2μaij δij − 2μbi xi + c − ce−μR
2 2


≥ e−μ|x|
2
4μ2 aij xi xj − 2μ aij δij + bi xi + c ,

where we used c ≤ 0 in BR . By the strict ellipticity (1.1.2), we have

1
aij (x)xi xj ≥ λ|x|2 ≥ λR2 in D.
4
Hence,

Lw ≥ e−μ|x|
2
μ2 λR2 − 2μ aij δij + bi xi + c ≥ 0 in D

if we choose μ sufficiently large. By c ≤ 0 and u(x0 ) ≥ 0, we obtain, for any

ε > 0,
Lv = Lu + εLw − cu(x0 ) ≥ 0 in D.
Next, we discuss v on ∂D in two cases. First, on ∂BR/2 , we have u−u(x0 ) <
0, and hence u−u(x0 ) < −ε for some ε > 0, by the continuity of u on ∂BR/2 .
Note that w < 1 on ∂BR/2 . Then for such an ε, we obtain v < 0 on ∂BR/2 .
Second, on ∂BR , we have w = 0 and u ≤ u(x0 ). Hence, v ≤ 0 on ∂BR and
v(x0 ) = 0. Therefore, v ≤ 0 on ∂D.
In conclusion, Lv ≥ 0 in D and v ≤ 0 on ∂D. By the maximum principle,
we have
v≤0 in D.
12 1. Linear Elliptic Equations

In view of v(x0 ) = 0, v attains at x0 its maximum in D̄. Hence, we obtain

∂v
(x0 ) ≥ 0,
∂ν
and then
∂u ∂w
(x0 ) = 2εμRe−μR > 0.
2
(x0 ) ≥ −ε
∂ν ∂ν
This is the desired result. 

Theorem 1.1.6 still holds if we substitute for B any bounded C 1 -domain

which satisfies an interior sphere condition at x0 ∈ ∂Ω, namely, if there
exists a ball B ⊂ Ω with x0 ∈ ∂B. This is because such a ball B is tangent
to ∂Ω at x0 . We note that the interior sphere condition always holds for
C 2 -domains.
Now, we are ready to prove the strong maximum principle due to Hopf
[84].
Theorem 1.1.7. Let Ω be a bounded domain in Rn and L be given by
(1.1.1), for some aij , bi , c ∈ C(Ω) satisfying c ≤ 0 in Ω and (1.1.2). Suppose
that u ∈ C(Ω̄) ∩ C 2 (Ω) satisfies Lu ≥ 0 in Ω. Then, u attains only on ∂Ω
its nonnegative maximum in Ω̄ unless u is constant.

Proof. Let M be the nonnegative maximum of u in Ω̄ and set

D = {x ∈ Ω : u(x) = M }.
We prove either D = ∅ or D = Ω by contradiction. Suppose D is a nonempty
proper subset of Ω. It follows from the continuity of u that D is relatively
closed in Ω. Then, Ω \ D is open and we can find an open ball B ⊂ Ω \ D
such that ∂B ∩ D = ∅. In fact, we may choose a point x∗ ∈ Ω \ D with
dist(x∗ , D) < dist(x∗ , ∂Ω) and then take the ball centered at x∗ with the
radius dist(x∗ , D). Suppose x0 ∈ ∂B ∩ D. Obviously, we have
Lu ≥ 0 in B
and
u(x) < u(x0 ) for any x ∈ B and u(x0 ) = M ≥ 0.
By Theorem 1.1.6, we have
∂u
(x0 ) > 0,
∂ν
where ν is the exterior unit normal to B at x0 . On the other hand, x0 is
an interior maximum point of u in Ω. This implies ∇u(x0 ) = 0, which leads
to a contradiction. Therefore, either D = ∅ or D = Ω. In the first case, u
attains only on ∂Ω its nonnegative maximum in Ω̄, while in the second case,
u is constant in Ω. 
1.1. The Maximum Principle 13

The following result improves Corollary 1.1.3.

Corollary 1.1.8. Let Ω be a bounded domain in Rn and L be given by
(1.1.1), for some aij , bi , c ∈ C(Ω) satisfying c ≤ 0 in Ω and (1.1.2). Suppose
that u ∈ C(Ω̄) ∩ C 2 (Ω) satisfies Lu ≥ 0 in Ω and u ≤ 0 on ∂Ω. Then, either
u < 0 in Ω or u ≡ 0 in Ω.

1.1.3. A Priori Estimates. As Corollary 1.1.5 shows, an important ap-

plication of the maximum principle is to prove the uniqueness of solutions
of boundary-value problems. Equally or more important is to derive a priori
estimates. In derivations of a priori estimates, it is essential to construct
auxiliary functions. We will provide proofs of all results in this subsection,
as constructing auxiliary functions is an important technique we will develop
in this book. We point out that we need only the weak maximum principle
in this subsection.
We first derive an estimate for subsolutions. In the next result, we write
u+ = max{u, 0} as before and f − = max{−f, 0}.
Theorem 1.1.9. Let Ω be a bounded domain in Rn and L be given by
(1.1.1), for some aij , bi , c ∈ L∞ (Ω) ∩ C(Ω) satisfying c ≤ 0 in Ω and
(1.1.2). Suppose that u ∈ C(Ω̄) ∩ C 2 (Ω) satisfies
Lu ≥ f in Ω,
for some f ∈ L∞ (Ω) ∩ C(Ω). Then,
sup u ≤ max u+ + Cd2 sup f − ,
Ω ∂Ω Ω

where d = diam(Ω) and C is a positive constant depending only on n, λ,

and d|bi |L∞ (Ω) , for i = 1, . . . , n.

Proof. Set
F = sup f − , Φ = max u+ .
Ω ∂Ω

Then, Lu ≥ −F in Ω and u ≤ Φ on ∂Ω. Without loss of generality, we

assume Ω ⊂ {0 < x1 < d} for some constant d > 0. For some constant
μ > 0 to be chosen later, set
 μx1

v = Φ + d2 eμ − e d F.

We note that v ≥ Φ in Ω̄. Next, by a straightforward calculation and c ≤ 0

in Ω, we have
μx1
 μx1

Lv = −(a11 μ2 + db1 μ)F e d + cΦ + cd2 eμ − e d F
≤ −(a11 μ2 + db1 μ)F.
14 1. Linear Elliptic Equations

Note that a11 ≥ λ in Ω by the strict ellipticity (1.1.2). We choose μ large

so that
a11 μ2 + db1 μ ≥ 1 in Ω.
Then, Lv ≤ −F in Ω. Therefore,
Lu ≥ Lv in Ω,
u≤v on ∂Ω.
By the maximum principle, we obtain
u≤v in Ω,
and hence, for any x ∈ Ω,
 μx1

u(x) ≤ Φ + d2 eμ − e d F.

This yields the desired result. 

The function v in the proof above is what we called an auxiliary function.

In fact, auxiliary functions were already used in the proof of Theorem 1.1.6.
If L in Theorem 1.1.9 does not involve the lower-order terms, i.e., L =
aij ∂ij , we may take
1
v =Φ+ F (d2 − x21 ).
2λ
In this case, a simple calculation yields
1
Lv = − a11 F ≤ −F,
λ
where we used the strict ellipticity (1.1.2).
By replacing u with −u, Theorem 1.1.9 extends to supersolutions and
solutions of the equation Lu = f .

Theorem 1.1.10. Let Ω be a bounded domain in Rn and L be given by

(1.1.1), for some aij , bi , c ∈ L∞ (Ω) ∩ C(Ω) satisfying c ≤ 0 in Ω and
(1.1.2). Suppose that u is a C(Ω̄) ∩ C 2 (Ω)-solution of
Lu = f in Ω,
u=ϕ on ∂Ω,
for some f ∈ L∞ (Ω) ∩ C(Ω) and ϕ ∈ C(∂Ω). Then,
sup |u| ≤ max |ϕ| + C sup |f |,
Ω ∂Ω Ω

where C is a positive constant depending only on n, λ, diam(Ω), and the

sup-norms of bi .
1.1. The Maximum Principle 15

Next, we construct barrier functions for a large class of domains Ω and

discuss global properties of solutions. The geometry of ∂Ω plays an impor-
tant role. We consider the case where Ω satisfies an exterior sphere condition
at x0 ∈ ∂Ω in the sense that there exists a ball BR (y0 ) such that
Ω ∩ BR (y0 ) = ∅, Ω̄ ∩ B̄R (y0 ) = {x0 }.
Lemma 1.1.11. Let Ω be a bounded domain in Rn satisfying an exterior
sphere condition at x0 ∈ ∂Ω and L be given by (1.1.1), for some aij , bi ,
c ∈ L∞ (Ω) ∩ C(Ω) satisfying c ≤ 0 in Ω and (1.1.3). Then, there exists a
function wx0 ∈ C(Ω̄) ∩ C 2 (Ω) such that
Lwx0 ≤ −1 in Ω
and, for any x ∈ Ω̄ \ {x0 },
wx0 (x0 ) = 0, wx0 (x) > 0,
where wx0 depends only on n, λ, Λ, the L∞ -norms of bi , diam(Ω), and R
in the exterior sphere condition.

Proof. Set D = diam(Ω). For the given x0 ∈ ∂Ω, consider an exterior ball
BR (y) with B̄R (y) ∩ Ω̄ = {x0 }. Let d(x) be the distance from x to ∂BR (y);
i.e.,
d(x) = |x − y| − R.
Then, for any x ∈ Ω,
0 < d(x) < D.
Consider a C 2 -function ψ defined in [0, D), with ψ(0) = 0 and ψ > 0 in
(0, D). Set
w = ψ(d) in Ω.
We now calculate Lw. A direct calculation yields
xi − yi
∂i d(x) = ,
|x − y|
δij (xi − yi )(xj − yj )
∂ij d(x) = − .
|x − y| |x − y|3
Hence, |∇d| = 1, aij ∂i d∂j d ≥ λ, and
1 1
aij ∂ij d = aij δij − aij ∂i d∂j d
|x − y| |x − y|
nΛ λ nΛ − λ nΛ − λ
≤ − = ≤ .
|x − y| |x − y| |x − y| R
Next,
∂i w = ψ  ∂i d, ∂ij w = ψ  ∂i d∂j d + ψ  ∂ij d.
Then,
Lw = ψ  aij ∂i d∂j d + ψ  (aij ∂ij d + bi ∂i d) + cψ.
16 1. Linear Elliptic Equations

We now require ψ  > 0 and ψ  < 0. Hence,

 
 nΛ − λ
Lw ≤ λψ + + b0 ψ  ,
R
where
 1

n 2

b0 = sup b2i .
Ω i=1
We write this as
Lw ≤ λ ψ  + aψ  + b − 1,
where
nΛ − λ b0 1
a= + , b= .
λR λ λ
We need to find a function ψ in [0, D) such that
ψ  + aψ  + b = 0 in (0, D),
 
ψ < 0, ψ > 0 in (0, D), and ψ(0) = 0.
First, general solutions of the ordinary differential equation above are given
by
b C2 −ad
ψ(d) = − d + C1 − e ,
a a
for some constants C1 and C2 . For ψ(0) = 0, we need C1 = C2 /a. Hence
we have, for some constant C,
b C
ψ(d) = − d + (1 − e−ad ),
a a
which implies
 
b b
ψ  (d) = Ce−ad − = e−ad C − ead ,
a a
ψ  (d) = −Cae−ad .
b aD
In order to have ψ  > 0 in (0, D), we need C ≥ e . Then, ψ  > 0 in
a
(0, D), and hence ψ > ψ(0) = 0 in (0, D). Therefore, we take
b b
ψ(d) = − d + 2 eaD (1 − e−ad )
a
 a 
b 1 aD −ad
= e (1 − e ) − d .
a a
Such a ψ satisfies all the requirements we imposed. 

Now we estimate the modulus of continuity of solutions with the help of

barrier functions constructed in Lemma 1.1.11.
1.1. The Maximum Principle 17

Theorem 1.1.12. Let Ω be a bounded domain in Rn satisfying an exterior

sphere condition at x0 ∈ ∂Ω and L be given by (1.1.1), for some aij , bi ,
c ∈ L∞ (Ω) ∩ C(Ω) satisfying (1.1.3). Suppose that u is a C(Ω̄) ∩ C 2 (Ω)-
solution of
Lu = f in Ω,
u=ϕ on ∂Ω,
for some f ∈ L∞ (Ω) ∩ C(Ω) and ϕ ∈ C(∂Ω). Then, for any x ∈ Ω,
|u(x) − u(x0 )| ≤ ω(|x − x0 |),
where ω is a nondecreasing continuous function in (0, D), with D = diam(Ω)
and limr→0 ω(r) = 0, depending only on n, λ, Λ, the L∞ -norms of bi and c,
diam(Ω), R in the exterior sphere condition, supΩ |u|, max∂Ω |ϕ|, supΩ |f |,
and the modulus of continuity of ϕ on ∂Ω.

Proof. Set
L0 = aij ∂ij + bi ∂i .
Then, L0 u = f − cu in Ω. Let w = wx0 be the function in Lemma 1.1.11 for
L0 , i.e.,
L0 w ≤ −1 in Ω,
and, for any x ∈ ∂Ω \ {x0 },
w(x0 ) = 0, w(x) > 0.
We set
F = sup |f − cu|, Φ = max |ϕ|.
Ω ∂Ω

Then,
L0 (±u) ≥ −F in Ω.
Let ε be an arbitrary positive constant. By the continuity of ϕ at x0 , there
exists a positive constant δ such that, for any x ∈ ∂Ω ∩ Bδ (x0 ),
|ϕ(x) − ϕ(x0 )| ≤ ε.
We then choose K sufficiently large so that K ≥ F and
Kw ≥ 2Φ on ∂Ω \ Bδ (x0 ).
We point out that K depends on ε through the positive lower bound of w
on ∂Ω \ Bδ (x0 ). Then,
L0 (Kw) ≤ −F in Ω,
and
|ϕ − ϕ(x0 )| ≤ ε + Kw on ∂Ω.
18 1. Linear Elliptic Equations

Therefore,

L0 ± (u − ϕ(x0 )) ≥ L0 (ε + Kw) in Ω,
± u − ϕ(x0 ) ≤ ε + Kw on ∂Ω.

By the maximum principle, we have ± u−ϕ(x0 ) ≤ ε +Kw in Ω, and hence

|u − ϕ(x0 )| ≤ ε + Kw in Ω.

Note that the second term in the right-hand side converges to zero as x → x0 .
Then, there exists a positive constant δ  < δ such that

|u − ϕ(x0 )| ≤ 2ε in Ω ∩ Bδ (x0 ).

This yields the desired result. 

Remark 1.1.13. It is clear from the proof that Theorem 1.1.12 is a local
result. If we assume that ϕ is continuous at x0 ∈ ∂Ω and, in addition, u
is bounded in a neighborhood of x0 , then we can estimate the modulus of
continuity of u at x0 .

By a similar method as in the proof of Theorem 1.1.12, we can derive a

boundary gradient estimate.

Theorem 1.1.14. Let Ω be a bounded domain in Rn satisfying an exterior

sphere condition at x0 ∈ ∂Ω and L be given by (1.1.1), for some aij , bi ,
c ∈ L∞ (Ω) ∩ C(Ω) satisfying (1.1.3). Suppose that u is a C(Ω̄) ∩ C 2 (Ω)-
solution of

Lu = f in Ω,
u=ϕ on ∂Ω,

for some f ∈ L∞ (Ω) ∩ C(Ω) and ϕ ∈ C 2 (Ω̄). Then, for any x ∈ Ω,

 
|u(x) − u(x0 )| ≤ C sup |u| + |ϕ|C 2 (Ω̄) + sup |f | |x − x0 |,
Ω Ω

where C is a positive constant depending only on n, λ, Λ, the L∞ -norms of

bi and c, diam(Ω), and R in the exterior sphere condition.

If ∂Ω is C 1 at x0 and u is C 1 at x0 , taking the normal derivative at x0 ,

we obtain
   
 ∂u 
 (x0 ) ≤ C sup |u| + |ϕ| 2 + sup |f | .
 ∂ν  C (Ω̄)
Ω Ω
1.1. The Maximum Principle 19

Proof. Set
L0 = aij ∂ij + bi ∂i .
Then, L0 u = f − cu in Ω. By setting v = u − ϕ, we have
L0 v = f − cu − L0 ϕ in Ω,
v = 0 on ∂Ω.
Next, we set
F = sup |f − cu − L0 ϕ|.
Ω
Then,
L0 (±v) ≥ −F in Ω,
±v = 0 on ∂Ω.
Let w = wx0 be the function in Lemma 1.1.11 for L0 , i.e.,
L0 w ≤ −1 in Ω,
and, for any x ∈ ∂Ω \ {x0 },
w(x0 ) = 0, w(x) > 0.
Then,
L0 (±v) ≥ L0 (F w) in Ω,
±v ≤ F w on ∂Ω.
By the maximum principle, we have ±v ≤ F w in Ω, and hence
|v| ≤ F w in Ω.
With v = u − ϕ and u(x0 ) = ϕ(x0 ), we obtain
|u − u(x0 )| ≤ |u − ϕ| + |ϕ − ϕ(x0 )| ≤ F w + |ϕ − ϕ(x0 )|.
This implies the desired result. 

A remark similar to Remark 1.1.13 holds for Theorem 1.1.14.

It does not seem optimal to require ϕ to be C 2 in Theorem 1.1.14. It
is natural to ask whether the result holds if ϕ ∈ C 1 (∂Ω). However, C 1 -
boundary values in general do not yield boundary gradient estimates, even
for harmonic functions in balls. It is a good exercise to derive the best
modulus of continuity for harmonic functions in balls with C 1 -boundary
values.
To end this section, we derive an estimate of the Hölder semi-norms near
the boundary.
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SYN: Lovable, good, kind, benevolent, charitable, delectable, engaging,
fascinating, agreeable, lovely, pleading, charming, attractive.
ANT: Churlish, disagreeable, hateful, abominable, ill-natured, ill-
conditioned, unamiable.
=
KEY: Amicable.
SYN: Friendly, propitious, favorable, kind, cordial, neighborly, sociable.
ANT: Unfriendly, unpropitious, unfavorable, unkind, cold, distant,
antagonistic, hostile, adverse.
=
KEY: Amidst.
SYN: Between, among, betwixt.
ANT: Outside, without, beyond.
=
KEY: Amiss.
SYN: Wrong, untrue, wide, bad, false, defective, short, inappropriate,
inopportune, injudicious, untimely, abortive.
ANT: Right, true, good, complete, effective, successful, satisfactory,
consummate, expedient, appropriate, opportune.
=
KEY: amity.
SYN: Friendliness, peace, sociableness, good will.
ANT: Coolness, distance, indifference, hostility, opposition, acrimony,
antagonism, asperity, hatred, dislike, repugnance, unfriendliness.
=
KEY: Among, [See AMIDST].
SYN: Pardon, acquittal, remission, condonation, oblivion, dispensation,
absolution.
ANT: Penalty, retaliation, punishment, retribution, requital, visitation,
infliction, exaction, trial, account.
=
KEY: Amorphous.
SYN: Shapeless, unarranged, unformed, incompact, inchoate, incomplete,
unordered, floating, unmoulded, natant, discurrent.
ANT: systematized, arranged, compact, finished, shapely, crystallized, de-,
stereotyped, moulded.
=
KEY: Amount \v.\
SYN: Reach, rise, come, attain, extend.
ANT: Fall, recede, relapse, decline, fail.
=
KEY: Amount \n.\
SYN: Total, aggregate, sum, whole, quantity, totality, equality.
ANT: Failure, decrease, deficiency, portion, instalment, deficit, insufficiency.
=
KEY: Ample.
SYN: Large, bountiful, liberal, copious, spacious, roomy, diffusive, full,
complete, sufficient, plentiful, abundant,.
ANT: Narrow, niggardly, insufficient, stingy, scant, mean, stint, bare.
=
KEY: Amplification, [See AMPLIFY].
=
KEY: Amplify.
SYN: Enrich, enlarge, increase, augment, multiply, dilate, develop, swell,
expatiate, expand, discuss, unfold, extend.
ANT: Retrench, amputate, curtail, condense, abbreviate, epitomize, gath,
er, collect, sum.
=
KEY: Amplitude, [See AMPLE].
=
KEY: Amputate.
SYN: Prune, lop, curtail, clip, remove.
ANT: Extend, enlarge, augment, elongate, amplify, t rain, trail, develop, pra
duce.
=
KEY: Analogy.
SYN: Relation, resemblance, proportion, similarity, similitude, coincidence,
affinity, comparison, parity.
ANT: Disproportion, dissimilarity, disharmony, irrelativeness,
heterogeneousness, incongruity, inaffinity.
=
KEY: Analysis.
SYN: Dissection, separation, anatomy, segregation, decomposition,
resolution, partition.
ANT: Composition, synthesis, aggregation, combination, coalition,
amalgamation, coherence.
=
KEY: Anarchy.
SYN: Disorder, tumult, rebellion, riot, misgovernment, insubordination.
ANT: Order, subjection, government, organization, control, law.
=
KEY: Anatomy.
SYN: Dissection, division, segregation, analysis, resolution,
dismemberment.
ANT: Synthesis, collocation, organization, union, construction, structure,
form, body.
=
KEY: Ancient.
SYN: Old, antiquated, oldfashioned, antique, obsolete, old-time, aged,
primeval, primordial, immemorial, time-honored.
ANT: New, young, modern, juvenile, upstart, fresh, parvenu.
=
KEY: Ancillary.
SYN: Assistant, subservient, promotive, auxiliary, accessory, conducive,
available, useful, applicable.
ANT: insubservient, redundant, inappropriate, irrelevant, alien, inoperative,
unconducive, adverse, counteractive, obstructive, impertinent, preventive.
=
KEY: Anew.
SYN: afresh, again, repeatedly.
ANT: Of old, continuously, uninterruptedly.
=
KEY: anfractuosity.
SYN: Tortuousness, ambiguousness, angularity, ambiguity, circumlocution,
disjointedness.
ANT: Straightforwardness, directness.
=
KEY: Angelic.
SYN: Pure, ethereal, spiritual, lovely, heavenly, seraphic, rapturous, divine.
ANT: Foul, hideous, demoniacal, diabolical, hellish, fiendish.
=
KEY: Anger \n.\
SYN: Ire, incentment, vexation, grudge, pique, exasperation, indignation,
enmity, displeasure, irritation, passion, spleen, gall, resentment, rage,
animosity, fury, choler, wrath.
ANT: Peace, peacefulness, peaceableness, appeasement, forgiveness,
goodwill, patience, forbearance, reconciliation, conciliatoriness, mildness.
=
KEY: Anger \v.\
SYN: Enrage, vex, kindle, fret, ruffle, chafe, infuriate, exasperate, provoke,
irritate, incense, wound, inflame, imbitter.
ANT: To appease, compose, forbear, allay, soothe, calm, conciliate, heal.
=
KEY: Angry.
SYN: Wrathful, irate, resentful, ireful, incensed, furious, irascible, choleric,
moody, nettled, touchy, sullen, piqued, excited, provoked, raging, chafed,
hasty, hot, exasperated, indignant, passionate.
ANT: Peaceful, forgiving, forbearing, calm, good-tempered, unresentful.
=
KEY: Anguish.
SYN: Pain, pang, wound, sorrow, distress, grief, discomfort, torture,
excruciation, agony, torment.
ANT: Ease, pleasure, enjoyment, ecstasy, rapture, relief, solace, comfort,
assuagement.
=
KEY: Animadversion.
SYN: Rebuke, disapproval, censure, blame.
ANT: Praise, approval, encouragement, eulogy.
=
KEY: Animate.
SYN: Enliven, Inspirit, instigate, quicken, exhilarate, embolden, rouse,
revivify, cheer, gladden, stir, prompt, incite, stimulate.
ANT: Dishearten, deter, cow, stifle, depress, damp, deaden, discourage.
=
KEY: Animated.
SYN: Boused, excited, inspirited, exhilarated, enlivened, vivacious, stirred,
lively, brisk, enlivening, inspiring, spirited.
ANT: Sluggish, indolent, indifferent, dull, languid, flat, tame.
=
KEY: Animation.
SYN: Life, vivacity, liveliness, airlines, cheerfulness, briskness, alacrity,
buoyancy, spirit, exhilaration, sprightliness, promptitude, alertness,
activity.
ANT: Expiration, spiritlessness, dulness, dolefulness, deadness, stolidity,
inertness.
=
KEY: Animosity.
SYN: Hatred, antipathy, dissention, aversion, acrimony, feud, strife, rancor,
antagonism, bitterness, acerbity, hostility, enmity, malice, anger,
malevolence, ill-will, malignity, feeling against.
ANT: Congeniality, companionship, friendship, sympathy, fellow-feeling,
unanimity, harmony, concord, regard, alliance, kindliness.
=
KEY: Annals.
SYN: Chronicles, memorials, records, registers, history, archives.
ANT: Tradition, legend, romance, lays.
=
KEY: Annex.
SYN: Add, attach, fasten, affix, subjoin, append, connect, unite.
ANT: Withdraw, detach, disconnect, separate, disengage, disunite, remove.
=
KEY: Annihilate.
SYN: Abolish, destroy, bring to nought, uproot, eradicate, nullify,
exterminate, end, extinguish, demolish, obliterate, efface.
ANT: Keep, conserve, preserve, foster, tend, protest, cherish, develope,
stabilitate, augment, cultivate, perpetuate.
=
KEY: Annotation.
SYN: Explanation, criticism, remark, note, commentary, elucidation,
observation, comment.
ANT: Statement, assertion, proposition, narrative, text.
=
KEY: Announce.
SYN: Declare, propound, give notice, enunciate, advertise, publish, report,
notify, make known, give out, reveal, herald, proclaim, intimate,
promulgate.
ANT: Conceal, suppress, hush, stifle, withhold, shroud, bury, burke.
=
KEY: Annoy.
SYN: Tease, vex, irritate, disturb, affront, molest, pain, disquiet,
incommode, tantalize, bother, weary, inconvenience, plague, discommode,
harass, chafe, trouble.
ANT: Soothe, conciliate, appease, regard, quiet, accommodate, study, tend,
foster, cherish, smooth, gratify.
=
KEY: Annoyance.
SYN: Trouble, discomfort, vexation, worry, nuisance, bother, uneasiness,
plague, bore.
ANT: Joy, gladness, gratification, delight, ease, pleasure.
=
KEY: Annul.
SYN: Cancel, obliterate, make void, quash, nullify, revoke, rescind, destroy,
set aside, abrogate, extinguish, abolish, repeal.
ANT: Foster, protect, conserve, confirm, maintain, enact, re-enact, institute,
establish.
=
KEY: Anomalous.
SYN: Irregular, abnormal, exceptional, unusual, eccentric.
ANT: Regular, normal, usual, ordinary, common, wonted, in the order of
things.
=
KEY: Anomaly.
SYN: Irregularity, abnormity, exception, informality, peculiarity, eccentricity.
ANT: Conformity, regularity, illustration, conformance, exemplification,
specimen.
=
KEY: Anon.
SYN: Soon, shortly, presently.
ANT: Hereafter.
=
KEY: Anonymous.
SYN: Nameless, unattested, authorless, unidentified, unauthenticated.
ANT: Authenticated, attested, identified, authorized, verified, signed.
=
KEY: Answer.
SYN: Reply, response, counter-argument, confutation, acceptance, (as of a
challenge), tally, counterpart, solution, vindication, apology, exculpation,
defense, rejoinder, repartee, retort.
ANT: Challenge, question, defiance, summons, interrogation, query.
=
KEY: Answerable.
SYN: Liable, amenable, accountable, responsible, correspondent, agreeing.
ANT: Independent, unanswerable, irresponsible, different, unsuitable,
disagreeing, dissimilar.
=
KEY: Antagonism.
SYN: Hostility, opposition, animosity, enmity.
ANT: Amity, alliance, association.
=
KEY: Antagonist.
SYN: Adversary, opponent, rival, competitor, foe, enemy.
ANT: Aider, abettor, accomplice, accessory, ally.
=
KEY: Antagonistic.
SYN: Adverse, opposing, inimical, hostile, repugnant, contrary.
ANT: Favoring, aiding, harmonious, friendly, agreeable to.
=
KEY: Antecedence.
SYN: Anteriority, priority, precursorship, premonition, Introduction,
preparation, pre-existence.
ANT: Posteriority, subsequence, succession, sequel, supervention,
consequence.
=
KEY: Antecedent, [See ANTERIOR].
=
KEY: Anterior.
SYN: Prior, foregoing, antecedent, previous, precursive, precedent, earlier,
Introductory, preliminary, former.
ANT: Posterior, later, subsequent, consequent, succeeding.
=
KEY: Anticipate.
SYN: Forestall, prejudge, expect, foretaste, apprehend, prevent,
prearrange, prepare, prejudge, meet, obviate, intercept, forecast.
ANT: Remember, recollect, remedy, recall, undo, cure, misapprehend.
=
KEY: Anticipation.
SYN: Prevention, expectation, forestallment, awaiting, preoccupation,
preconception, foresight, forethought, foretaste, prelibation, preclusion,
pregustation, antepast, forecast, provision.
ANT: Surprise, unpreparedness, Un-expectedness, inexpectation, actual
enjoyment, non-expectation, realization, consummation.
=
KEY: Antipathy.
SYN: Repugnance, dislike, hatred, detestation, contrariety, aversion,
distaste, uncongeniality, antagonism, hostility, opposition, abhorrence.
ANT: Sympathy, kindliness, congeniality, fellow-feeling, affinity, harmony.
=
KEY: Antiquated.
SYN: By-gone, quaint, old-fashioned, obsolete.
ANT: Fashionable, modish, stylish, modern.
=
KEY: Antique.
SYN: Archaic, ancient, ancestral.
ANT: Modern, recent, new-fangled.
=
KEY: Antithesis.
SYN: Contrast, opposition, contradiction, antagonism.
ANT: Identity, sameness, convertibility, coincidence, coalescence.
=
KEY: Anxiety.
SYN: Care, trouble, eagerness, disquiet, apprehension, carefulness,
diffidence, solicitude, misgiving.
ANT: Carelessness, ease, confidence, contentment, acquiescence,
contentedness, apathy, light-heartedness, nonchalance.
=
KEY: Anxious.
SYN: Solicitous, careful, uneasy, concerned, restless, watchful, disturbed,
unquiet.
ANT: Without care, careless, inert, ease, unconcerned, calm, composed.
=
KEY: Apace.
SYN: Rapidly, fast, astride, eagerly, ahead, expeditiously, speedily.
ANT: Slowly, imperceptibly, leisurely, creepingly, crawlingly, sluggishly,
tardily.
=
KEY: Apart.
SYN: Aloof, away, separately, secret, asunder, privately, aside, secretly,
separate.
ANT: Close, together, united, along with, hand ill hand.
=
KEY: Apartment.
SYN: Room, chamber, hall, lodging, berth.
ANT: Resident, dweller, lodger, occupant, inmate, tenant, housebuilding.
=
KEY: Apathy.
SYN: Indifference, insensibility, unfeelingness in company, insusceptibility,
unconcern, sluggishness, hebetude.
ANT: Anxiety, care, eagerness, interestedness, sensibility, susceptibility,
sensitiveness, irritability, curiosity.
=
KEY: Apathetic.
SYN: Unfeeling, stoical, cold, frigid, indifferent, impassive, insensible,
insensitive.
ANT: Anxious, careful, sympathetic, sensitive, susceptible.
=
KEY: Ape \v.\
SYN: Mimic, imitate, simulate, personate, represent.
ANT: Not to imitate, vary, modify, change.
=
KEY: Aperture.
SYN: Opening, gap, chasm, fissure, cleft.
ANT: Closure, blocking up, seclusion, imperviousness, blank wall, shutting
up.
=
KEY: Apex, [See ACME].
=
KEY: Aphorism.
SYN: Adage, apothegm, maxim, saying, precept, rule, proverb.
ANT: Lecture, exhortation, dissertation, disquisition.
=
KEY: Apiece.
SYN: Distributively, individually, separately, severally, analytically.
ANT: Collectively, together, accumulatively, indiscriminately, confusedly,
synthetically.
=
KEY: Apocalypse.
SYN: Revelation, manifestation, unveiling, exhibition, divestment, exposure,
disclosure.
ANT: Concealment, suppression, obscuration, veiling, shrouding, eclipse,
envelopment.
=
KEY: Apocryphal.
SYN: Obscure, doubtful, unauthorized, unauthentic, spurious, legendary,
uncertain, unauthenticated, unverified.
ANT: Palpable, accepted, authorized, authentic, genuine, current,
undisputed, verified, attested.
=
KEY: Apologue.
SYN: Fable, fiction, parable.
ANT: Precept, history, narrative.
=
KEY: Apology.
SYN: Defense, justification, plea, exculpation, excuse, vindication,
acknowledgment, confession.
ANT: Charge, imputation, impeachment, offense, incrimination, injury,
accusation, wrong, insult.
=
KEY: Apostate, [See FEATURE].
=
KEY: Apothegm.
SYN: Proverb, adage, dictum, maxim, saw, saying.
ANT: (As not so condensed), Exhortation, sermon, discourse, disquisition.
=
KEY: Appal.
SYN: Affright, alarm, terrify, scare, daunt, cow, shock, frighten, discouraged,
dishearten, horrify, dismay, astound.
ANT: Encourage, rally, assure, embolden, reassure.
=
KEY: Apparel.
SYN: Clothes, robes, vesture, vestments, raiment, garniture, habiliments,
habit, dress, clothing, caparison, trappings, housings.
ANT: Nudity, disinvestiture, deshabille, tatters, rags.
=
KEY: Apparent.
SYN: Obvious, plain, conspicuous, manifest, appearing, unmistakable, clear,
probable, seeming, presumable, likely, patent, ostensible, visible, evident,
indubitable, notorious, certain.
ANT: Uncertain, dubious, inapparent, minute, unobservable, improbable,
insupposable, hidden, real.
=
KEY: Appeal.
SYN: Accost, address, apostrophize, invite, cite, invoke, urge, refer, call
upon, entreat, request, resort.
ANT: Deprecate, repudiate, protest, disavow, disclaim, defy, abjure.
=
KEY: Appearance.
SYN: Advent, coming, arrival, presence, apparition, aspect, Manifestatlon,
probability, likeness, exhibition, mien, manner, semblance, air, show, look,
pretense, likelihood, presumption.
ANT: Departure, disappearance, unlikelihood, non-appearance,
concealment, evanition.
=
KEY: Appease.
SYN: Pacify, assuage, mitigate, conciliate, propitiate, moderate, satisfy, stay,
allay, quiet, soften, calm, compose, soothe, hush, cool, tranquilize.
ANT: Excite, provoke, aggravate, exasperate, inflame, embitter, incense,
intensify, stimulate, kindle.
=
KEY: Appellation.
SYN: Name, patronymic, cognomen, style, description, designation, title,
denomination, term.
ANT: Namelessness, non-description, anonymousness.
=
KEY: Append.
SYN: Affix, supplement, subjoin, attach.
ANT: Separate, disengage, disconnect, detach.
=
KEY: Appendage.
SYN: Addition, annexation, adjunct, supplement.
ANT: Subtraction, separation, amalgamation, disconnection, detachment,
disjunction, division, incorporation.
=
KEY: Appended.
SYN: Added, joined, affixed, subjoined, attached, appended, additional,
concomitant.
ANT: Detracted, disconnected, separated, disjoined, divided.
=
KEY: Appendix, [See APPENDAGE].
=
KEY: Appertaining, [See CONCERNING].
=
KEY: Appetite.
SYN: Passion, desire, propensity, proclivity, inclination, propension,
appetency, want, craving, disposition, tendency, proneness.
ANT: Repugnance, aversion, antipathy, loathing, indifference, apathy.
=
KEY: Applaud.
SYN: Laud, praise, extol, approve, eulogize, commend, cry up, magnify,
encourage, cheer.
ANT: Disapprove, denounce, decry, censure, execrate.
=
KEY: Applause.
SYN: Praise, plaudit, laudation, encomium, commendation, approbation,
acclamation, approval, eulogy, acclaim.
ANT: Obloquy, condemnation, denunciation, dissatisfaction, contempt,
censure, blame, vituperation, sibilation.
=
KEY: Appliance.
SYN: Contrivance, mechanism, arrangement, means, agency.
ANT: Spontaneity, growth, production, evolution, development.
=
KEY: Applicable.
SYN: Available, ancilla, ry, convenient, useful, pertinent, conducive,
appropriate.
ANT: Useless, unavailable, inconducive, inapplicable, irrelevant.
=
KEY: Application, [See DILIGENCE].
=
KEY: Apply.
SYN: Adduce, use, employ, allot, dedicate, devote, exercise, apportion,
direct, engage.
ANT: Disuse, divorce, discard, supersede, alienate, remove, misapply,
misdirect, divert, misappropriate, misemploy.
=
KEY: Appoint.
SYN: Fix, determine, instal, allot, order, prescribe, institute, employ,
apportion, apply, designate, assign, intrust, invest, ordain, arrange.
ANT: Reverse, cancel, recall, withdraw, reserve, withhold, retain, undo,
suspend, disarrange, disappoint.
=
KEY: Apportion.
SYN: Assign, deal, allot, grant, share, divide, dispense, administer,
distribute, appoint.
ANT: Reserve, retain, refuse, withhold, assume, resume, cancel, divert,
suspend, reapportion, reappoint.
=
KEY: Apportionment, [See APPORTION].
=
KEY: Apposite.
SYN: Suitable, appropriate, befitting, fitting, timely, congruous, consistent,
pertinent, seasonable, relevant, fit, meet, adapted, apropos.
ANT: Untimely, irrelevant, impertinent, unfitting, mistimed, misplaced,
misspoken, inappropriate, misjudged.
=
KEY: Appraise.
SYN: Value, survey, estimate, price.
ANT: Undervalue, discard, condemn, brand, misappreciate, misestimate.
=
KEY: Appreciate.
SYN: Esteem, recognize, acknowledge, respect, value, prize, regard, reckon,
estimate.
ANT: Undervalue, misconceive, misjudge, ignore, misappreciate.
=
KEY: Apprehend.
SYN: Comprehend, understand, take, expect, seize, conceive, arrest, fancy,
dread, imagine, presume, anticipate, fear, conjecture.
ANT: Ignore, miss, lose, misconjecture, misconceive, misapprehend,
misanticipate.
=
KEY: Apprehension, [See APPREHEND].
=
KEY: Apprise.
SYN: Tell, inform, disclose, publish, advise, advertise, communicate,
enlighten, acquaint.
ANT: Hoodwink, mystify, deceive, mislead.
=
KEY: Apprize, [See APPRISE].
=
KEY: Approach.
SYN: Access, avenue, entrance, adit, vestibule, arrival, approximation,
advent, Bearing, admission, appropinquation, admittance, mode, path,
way, advance, similarity.
ANT: Exit, egress, debouchure, outlet, departure, recession, distance,
diversity, disparity.
=
KEY: Approbation.
SYN: Approval, satisfaction, praise, encouragement, confirmation, assent,
consent, permission, commendation, concurrence, acceptance.
ANT: Disapproval, censure, blame, dissatisfaction, discouragement,
repudiation, protest, denial, refusal, disclaimer, disavowal, disparity,
dissimilarity.
=
KEY: Approval, [See APPROBATION].
=
KEY: Approve.
SYN: Like, comment, sanction, praise, support, second, promote,
encourage, authorize.
ANT: Disapprove, dislike, censure, blame, disown, disavow.
=
KEY: Appropriate, [See FIT].
=
KEY: Approximate.
SYN: Approach, resemble, border, abut, near, trench.
ANT: Separate, differ, vary, recede, diverge, deviate.
=
KEY: Appurtenant.
SYN: Belonging, connected, appropriate, appended, homogeneous,
attached, co-ordinate, concomitant.
ANT: Unconnected, disconnected, Inappropriate, detached, isolated,
incongruous, unallied, unrelated, independent, heterogeneous.
=
KEY: Apt.
SYN: Fit, apposite, clever, meet, liable, becoming, appropriate, ready,
fitting, suitable, pertinent, qualified, prompt, adapted, likely.
ANT: Unfitted, ill-timed, awkward, unlikely, inapt.
=
KEY: Aptitude.
SYN: Fitness, liability, susceptibility, suitableness, readiness, quickness,
cleverness, proneness, tendency.
ANT: Unfitness, unsuitableness, insusceptibility, slowness, stupidity,
unreadiness, awkwardness.
=
KEY: Arbiter.
SYN: Arbitrator, judge, umpire, moderator, director, referee, adjudicator.
ANT: Appellant, claimant, disputant, litigant.
=
KEY: Arbitrary.
SYN: Tyrannical, harsh, dictatorial, imperious, bearing, overbearing, selfish,
absolute, irresponsible, tyrannous, domineering, peremptory.
ANT: Mild, modest, lenient, considerate, obliging, limited, equitable,
constitutional.
=
KEY: Arbitrate.
SYN: Settle, adjust, compose, decide, determine, accommodate,
adjudicate.
ANT: Dispute, claim, appeal, misdetermine, litigate, contend, misjudge.
=
KEY: Archaic, [See ANCIENT].
=
KEY: Architect.
SYN: Constructor, contriver, designer, builder, surveyor, agent.
ANT: Workman carrying out plans, destroyer, extinguisher.
=
KEY: Ardent.
SYN: Longing, passionate, aspiring, warm, eager, fervent, excited, fiery,
glowing, zealous, fervid, fierce, keen, vehement, hot, affectionate,
impassioned, burning, heated.
ANT: Cool, cold, indifferent, dispassioned, apathetic, passionless,
unimpassioned, phlegmatic, platonic.
=
KEY: Ardor, [See ARDENT].
=
KEY: Arduous.
SYN: Difficult, hard, lofty, onerous, laborious, steep, precipitous.
ANT: Easy, practicable, unlaborious, light, trivial.
=
KEY: Argue.
SYN: Discuss, debate, prove, question, evidence, establish, imply, sift,
dispute, persuade, controvert, contend, demonstrate, reason.
ANT: Dictate, assert, propound, command.
=
KEY: Argument.
SYN: Reasoning, controversy, evidence, discussion, topic, dispute.
ANT: Assertion, assumption, without proof or evidence.
=
KEY: Arid.
SYN: Dry, parched, sterile, unproductive.
ANT: Moist, dewy, watered, fertile, luxuriant, exuberant, verdant,
blooming, productive.
=
KEY: Aright.
SYN: Right, well, rightly, correctly, truly, properly, uprightly,
unexceptionably, justly, suitably, appropriately.
ANT: Wrongly, awry, incorrectly, improperly, defectively, erroneously.
=
KEY: Arm \v.\
SYN: Equip, gird, accoutre, array.
ANT: Disarm, ungird, divest, disarray.
=
KEY: Army.
SYN: Troops, soldiery, legion, soldiers, military, phalanx, host, multitude.
ANT: Fewness, a small number, Individual, paucity, single person.
=
KEY: Aromatic, [See FRAGRANCE].
=
KEY: Around.
SYN: About, environing, encircling.
ANT: Within, amid, among.
=
KEY: Arouse.
SYN: Stir, excite, disturb, animate, wake up, stimulate, alarm, provoke,
cheer.
ANT: Allay, assuage, mitigate, pacify, compose, moderate, still, quiet.
=
KEY: Arraign.
SYN: Summon, accuse, censure, indict, charge, impeach.
ANT: Acquit, condone, discharge, release.
=
KEY: Arrange.
SYN: Order, put In order, group, array, place, adjust, range, locate, dispose,
assort, deal, sort, parcel, classify.
ANT: Derange, disarrange, confuse, disturb, disperse, jumble, disorder,
Arrangement, [See ORDER].
=
KEY: Arrant.
SYN: Notorious, consummate, atrocious, vile, flagrant, veritable,
unqualified, utter, infamous, emphatic.
ANT: Suspicious, slight, mitigated, likely.
=
KEY: Array \v.\
SYN: Vest, deck, equip, decorate, rank, adorn, dress, accoutre, invest, attire,
place, arrange, draw up, marshal, set in order, dispose.
ANT: Disarray, disarrange, confuse, jumble, divest, denude, strip.
=
KEY: Array \n.\ Arrangement, order, disposition, sight, exhibition, show,
parade.
ANT: Disarray, disorder, confusion, confusedness, jumble.
=
KEY: Arrest \v.\
SYN: Seize, take, stop, capture, withhold, restrain, hold, detain, apprehend.
ANT: Release, dismiss, liberate, free, discharge, expedite.
=
KEY: Arrival, [See ARRIVE].
=
KEY: Arrive.
SYN: Reach, attain, come to, enter, get to, land.
ANT: Embark, depart, start.
=
KEY: Arrogance.
SYN: Haughtiness, contemptuousness, overbearingness, hauteur,
browbeating, loftiness, self-conceit, stateliness, vainglory, insolence, self-
importance, assumption, discourtesy.
ANT: bashfulness, servility, considerateness, deference, courtesy, modesty,
shyness, diffidence, politeness.
=
KEY: Arrogate.
SYN: Claim, assume, vindicate, assert, demand.
ANT: Forego, waive, resign, surrender, abandon, disclaim.
=
KEY: Art.
SYN: Science, literature, aptitude, readiness, adroitness, skill, dexterity,
cunning, deceit, duplicity, tactics, profession, artifice, management, trade,
business, calling.
ANT: Inaptitude, maladroitness, candor, openness, frankness,
mismanagement.
=
KEY: Artful.
SYN: Cunning, designing, maneuvering, sharp, knowing, subtle, sly, crafty,
wily, shrewd.
ANT: Simple, undesigning, artless, open, innocent, unsophisticated.
=
KEY: Artifice.
SYN: manoeuvre, cheat, wile, contrivance, craft, trick, fraud, machination,
punning, imposture, stratagem.
ANT: Fairness, candor, simplicity, openness.
=
KEY: Artificial.
SYN: Invented, fabricated, fictitious, constructed, manufactured,
pretended, simulated, false, assumed, concocted, contrived, deceptive,
artful, affected, unnatural, constrained.
ANT: Natural, inartificial, genuine, spontaneous, transparent, artless,
unaffected, [See ARTFUL].
=
KEY: Artless, [See ARTFUL].
=
KEY: Ascend.
SYN: Rise, mount, soar, surmount, go up, climb, tower, scale.
ANT: Fall, descend, sink.
=
KEY: Ascendancy.
SYN: Superiority, advantage, mastery, control, influence, supremacy, sway,
domination, authority.
=
KEY: Ascertain.
SYN: Prove, verify, find out, discover, confirm, detect, determine, learn,
discern.
ANT: Guess, conjecture, surmise, suppose, presume.
=
KEY: Ascribe.
SYN: Assign, attribute, impute, refer, render, allege, charge.
ANT: Deny, refuse, exclude, dissociate, disconnect, dissever.
=
KEY: Askant.
SYN: Away, askew, asquint, obliquely, aslant.
ANT: Straightforwards, forwards, rectilinearly, ahead, straight.
=
KEY: Aspect.
SYN: Front, face, phase, side, appearance, presentation, exhibition,
exposure, feature, view, air, mien, deportment, countenance, bearing,
complexion, sight.
ANT: Back, obverse, rear.
=
KEY: Asperity.
SYN: Acerbity, harshness, acrimony, bitterness, sharpness, tartness,
sourness, roughness, moroseness, severity, crabbedness.
ANT: Mildness, softness, sweetness, gentleness, pleasantness, smoothness.
=
KEY: Asperse.
SYN: Slander, calumniate, bespatter, befoul, defy, attack, defame, vilify,
traduce, scandalize, malign, detract from, blacken, tarnish, befoul,
backbite.
ANT: Clear, defend, eulogize, vindicate, shelter, shield, praise, laud, extol,
uphold.
=
KEY: Aspiration.
SYN: Longing, desire, aim, wish, craving, ambition, endeavor, hope,
appetition, effort, eagerness.
ANT: Apathy, indifference, aimlessness, lulness, inertia, callousness,
carelessness, aversion, avoidance, rejection, repudiation.
=
KEY: Assail, [See ASSAULT].
=
KEY: Assault.
SYN: Onset, attack, aggression, onslaught.
ANT: Defense, resistance, repulsion, retaliation, undermining, sapping,
stratagem.
=
KEY: Assay.
SYN: Test, endeavor, prove, try.
ANT: Survey, conjecture, guess, scan.
=
KEY: Assemble.
SYN: Gather, collect, congregate, amass, muster, call together, convoke,
convene.
ANT: Scatter, disperse, go away, dismiss.
=
KEY: Assembly.
SYN: Meeting, concourse, assemblage, multitude, group, synod, conclave,
conference, convocation, unison, company, congregation, collection,
crowd, gathering, convention, aggregate.
ANT: Dispersion, dissipation, disunion, disruption.
=
KEY: Assent \n.\
SYN: Coincidence, agreement, concert, acknowledgment, consent,
acquiescence, approval, concurrence, approbation, compliance.
ANT: Dissent, disagreement, difference, disavowal, repudiation, declension,
disclaimer, protest.
=
KEY: Assent \v.\ [See CONCEDE].
=
KEY: Assert.
SYN: Asseverate, declare, pronounce, depose, maintain, statement, avow,
avouch, affirm, allege, protest, claim.
ANT: Deny, contradict, contravene, waive, abandon.
=
KEY: Assets.
SYN: goods, proceeds, possessions, effects, property.
ANT: Debts, liabilities.
=
KEY: Asseverate, [See ASSERT].
=
KEY: Assiduity.
SYN: Attention, perseverance, pains, patience, exertion, labor, application,
effort, politeness, constancy, sedulousness, diligence.
ANT: Indolence, remissness, inattention, desultoriness, inconstancy.
=
KEY: Assiduous, [See ASSIDUITY].
=
KEY: Assign.
SYN: Attribute, apportion, allege, refer, specify, consign, intrust, commit,
point out, allot to, adduce, advance, appoint, convey.
ANT: Withhold, withdraw, resume, retain, refuse, disconnect, dissociate.
=
KEY: Assimilate.
SYN: Compare, liken, match, engross, identify, incorporate, absorb,
appropriate.
ANT: Separate, segregate, part, contrast, reject.
=
KEY: Assist.
SYN: Help, succor, aid, support, relieve, befriend, second, co-operate with,
back, benefit, further.
ANT: Hinder, resist, oppose, antagonize, counteract, clog, prevent.
=
KEY: Assistance.
SYN: Help, aid, countenance, support, abettance, protection, maintenance,
coadjutorship.
ANT: Resistance, obstruction, opposition, counteraction, antagonism,
drawback, clog, preventive.
=
KEY: Assistant.
SYN: Helper, aider, attendant, coadjutor, auxiliary, ally, associate,
contributor, partner, confederate.
ANT: Hinderer, opposer, rival, foe, antagonist.
=
KEY: Associate.
SYN: Companion, friend, ally, coadjutor, consort, helpmate, comrade,
partner.
ANT: Rival, alien, foe, antagonist.
=
KEY: Association.
SYN: Union, connection, conjunction, contortment, companionship,
alliance, familiarity, community, membership, society, company,
denomination, partnership, fellowship, fraternity, friendship.
ANT: Disunion, disconnection, estrangement, separation, severance,
independence, avoidance, disruption, dismemberment, solitude,
individuality.
=
KEY: Assorted.
SYN: Separated, chosen, selected, clarified.
ANT: Mingled, mixed, confused, unclassified, jumbled, heaped up.
=
KEY: Assortment.
SYN: Collection, disposition, distribution, class, quantity, selection, stock,
miscellany, lot, variety.
ANT: Misarrangement, disarrangement, displacement, misplacement.
=
KEY: Assuage.
SYN: Mitigate, soothe, console, soften, moderate, pacify, lenify, allay, ease,
alleviate, abate, diminish, lessen, compose, appease, calm, tranquillize.
ANT: Exasperate, excite, increase, stimulate, incite, provoke, inflame,
embitter, aggravate.
=
KEY: Assuagement, [See ASSUAGE].
=
KEY: Assume.
SYN: Take, appropriate, arrogate, wear, exhibit, postulate, suppose,
presume, usurp, claim, pretend, feign, affect.
ANT: Waive, allow, doff, render, surrender, concede, grant, demonstrate,
abandon, argue, prove.
=
KEY: Assumption.
SYN: Arrogance, boldness, impudence, self-confidence, selfreliance,
effrontery, presumption, conviction, certainty, self-assertion.
ANT: Distrust, timidity, bashfulness, misgiving, self-distrust, consternation,
dismay, alarm.
=
KEY: Assure.
SYN: Advise, advertise, promise, inform, rally, console, encourage,
countenance, aid, support, convince, uphold, certify.
ANT: Misinform, misadvise, mislead, deceive, discomfit, disconceit, deter,
discourage, warn, dissuade, unsettle, intimidate.
=
KEY: Assurance.
SYN: Arrogance, impudence, boldness, self-confidence, selfreliance,
promise, assertion, presumption, effrontery, self-assertion.
ANT: Distrust, timidity, bashfulness, self-distrust, consternation.
=
KEY: Astonish.
SYN: Startle, surprise, confound, amaze, astound, fill with wonder, stupefy,
alarm, terrify, electrify, scare, dumbfounder.
ANT: Rally, encourage, assure, embolden.
=
KEY: Astonished.
SYN: Amazed, astounded, overwhelmed, dumbfounded, thunderstruck.
ANT: Calm, tranquil, assured, bold, undisturbed.
=
KEY: Astonishing.
SYN: Amazing, wondrous, surprising, wonderful, striking, marvelous.
ANT: Foreseen, unamazed, common, astonished at nothing, ordinary,
natural, usual, everyday, trite.
=
KEY: Astonishment.
SYN: Wonder, surprise, marvel, amazement, admiration, awe,
bewilderment, stupefaction, fascination.
ANT: Expectance, expectation, anticipation, foreseeing, absence of wonder,
awe, etc.
=
KEY: Astray.
SYN: Loose, abroad, missing, about, at large, wrong, erring, wandering.
ANT: Right, close, at home, safe.
=
KEY: Astute.
SYN: Crafty, shrewd, knowing, sharp, discriminating, sagacious,
penetrating, acute, discerning, keen.
ANT: Dull, unobserving, undiscriminating, stolid, asinine, anserine, blind.
=
KEY: Asunder.
SYN: Separate, apart, disunited, divided, in twain.
ANT: In one, close, united, together.
=
KEY: Athletic.
SYN: Strong, vigorous, powerful, stalwart, brawny, muscular, ablebodied,
lusty, sinewy, robust.
ANT: Weak, puny, effeminate, nerveless, strengthless, unbraced.
=
KEY: Atom.
SYN: Molecule, particle, mote, speck, scrap, bit.
ANT: Mass, whole, aggregate, lump.
=
KEY: Atonement.
SYN: Reconciliation, expiation, compensation, preparation, satisfaction,
recompense.
ANT: Alienation, separation, enmity, estrangement, division, offense,
transgression.
=
KEY: Atrocious.
SYN: Monstrous, nefarious, wicked, outrageous, villainous, enormous,
shameful, heinous, cruel, flagrant, facinorous, flagitious.
ANT: Laudable, noble, honorable, generous, humane, admirable,
chivalrous.
=
KEY: Attach.
SYN: Fasten, apply, append, add, fix, subjoin, annex, unite, conciliate, tie,
connect, conjoin, attract, win, bind.
ANT: Unfasten, Ioose, disunite, untie, disconnect, detach, alienate,
estrange, repel.
=
KEY: Attachment, [See ATTACH].
=
KEY: Attack. \v.\
SYN: Assail, assault, invade, encounter, charge, besiege, impugn,
contravene.
ANT: Defend, resist, repel, protest, withstand on one's own part, or for
another, support, aid, shield, uphold, vindicate, shelter.
=
KEY: Attack. \n.\
SYN: Invasion, assault, onset, aggression, onslaught.
ANT: Defense, resistance, repulse, protection, aid, vindication, support,
maintenance, shelter.
=
KEY: Attain.
SYN: Reach, extend, master, arrive at, compass, earn, win, achieve,
accomplish, get, obtain, acquire, gain, secure, grasp.
ANT: Lose, fail, forfeit, miss, abandon, resign.
=
KEY: Attainment.
SYN: Information, acquirements, accomplishments.
ANT: Intuition, inspiration, genius.
=
KEY: Attemper.
SYN: Moderate, subdue, compound, commingle, adapt, adjust, harmonize,
modify, blend, attune, mix, mold, work, medicate, amalgamate,
accommodate.
ANT: Discompose, confuse, spoil, aggravate, mar.
=
KEY: Attempt.
SYN: Try, endeavor, strive, undertake, seek, essay, attack, violate, force.
ANT: Disregard, abandon, pretermit, dismiss, neglect, shun, drop.
=
KEY: Attempt \n.\ [See EFFORT].
=
KEY: Attend.
SYN: Listen, heed, notice, observe, wait on, serve, mind, watch,
accompany, consort, follow, imply, involve.
ANT: Wander, disregard, leave, forsake, abandon, desert, exclude,
neutralize.
=
KEY: Attention.
SYN: Observation, notice, regard, watchfulness, heed, consideration,
circumspection, study, vigilance, care.
ANT: Disregard, inadvertence, remission, indifference, carelessness,
abstraction, distraction, absence.
=
KEY: Attentive, [See OBSERVANT].
=
KEY: Attenuate.
SYN: Educe, elongate, reduce, fine-drawn, narrow, contract, diminish,
compress.
ANT: Broaden, increase, expand, dilate, swell, enlarge, develop, amplify.
=
KEY: Attest.
SYN: Vouch, aver, assert, certify, witness, vouch for, affirm, testify,
evidence, support, confirm, suggest, prove, involve, demonstrate,
establish, imply, bespeak.
ANT: Deny, controvert, contradict, contravene, disprove, disestablish,
exclude, neutralize, upset, oppugn, refute.
=
KEY: Attestation, [See EVIDENCE].
=
KEY: Attire.
SYN: Robes, garments, clothing, vestments, habiliment, habit, raiment,
clothes, garb, apparel, accoutrement, livery, uniform, costume.
ANT: Nudity, divestment, exposure, denudation, bareness, disarray,
dishabille, tatters, rags, patches, shreds.
=
KEY: Attitude.
SYN: Posture, position, situation, standing, composition, collocation,
aspect, pose, lie.
ANT: Evolution, exercise, bearing, deportment, movement, gesticulation,
manoeuvre, gesture.
=
KEY: Attract.
SYN: Influence, induce, dispose, incline, tempt, prompt, allure, charm,
fascinate, invite, entice.
ANT: Repel, deter, indispose, disincline, estrange, alienate.
=
KEY: Attraction.
SYN: Inducement, influence, adduction, inclination, disposition, charm,
beauty, allurement.
ANT: Repulsion, disinclination, aversion, indisposition, deformity,
repugnance.
=
KEY: Attractive.
SYN: Winning, alluring, tempting, inviting, engaging, captivating,
fascinating, enticing, interesting, charming, pleasant, beautiful, agreeable.
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