wind
(continued)
cyclone
gale
hurricane
squall
storm
tempest
tornado
twister
typhoon
whirlwind
windstorm
wisdom
discernment
discrimination
judgment
sagacity
sense
scale defines a breeze as a wind having a velocity of between 4 and 31 miles an hour; breezes are further defined as “light” (4-7 miles per hour), “gentle” (8-12), “moderate” (13-18), “fresh” (19-24), and “strong” (25-31).
Gale is a general term for a very strong wind capable of doing considerable damage to property and usually regarded as hazardous for small craft at sea. The Beaufort scale defines a gale as a wind having a velocity of between 32 and 63 miles an hour; gales are further defined as “moderate” (32-38 miles per hour), “fresh” (39-46), “strong” (47-54), and “whole” (55-63).
Storm is a general term for any atmospheric disturbance, especially one marked by a great whirling motion of the air and accompanied by rain, snow, hail, etc. The Beaufort scale defines a storm as a wind having a velocity of between 64 and 75 miles an hour, thus placing it between a “whole gale ” and a hurricane, which is defined as a wind having a velocity of over 75 miles an hour.
Whirlwind, tornado, twister, cyclone, and typhoon, as well as hurricane, denote winds that whirl helically around a central axis. Though whirlwind is the general name, this word is chiefly used as a synonym for tornado, an extremely violent vortex of small diameter. A tornado, visible as a funnel-shaped cloud of dust which moves in a relatively narrow path, can be devastating in its destructiveness. In certain parts of the United States, a tornado is popularly called a cyclone. Twister is also a common popular name for a tornado, especially in the central plains. Technically, a cyclone is a vortex, usually hundreds of miles in diameter. In the northern hemisphere, the wind of a cyclone spirals counterclockwise around an area of low barometric pressure. A cyclone that originates over tropical seas deposits driving rain as it advances; such a cyclone originating in the West Indies is called a hurricane, and in the western Pacific, a typhoon.
A squall is a sudden and violent wind of short duration, and is often accompanied by rain or snow. The word is perhaps most commonly used to describe storms at sea. A blizzard is a high, cold wind accompanied by blinding snow that accumulates to a considerable depth. Tempest, nowadays a somewhat poetic term, can be applied to any storm of great violence, especially one involving both wind and rain, snow, or hail. See flood.
These words are comparable in denoting mental qualities that have to do with the ability to understand situations, anticipate consequences, and make sound decisions. Wisdom is a broad term, embracing the meanings of all its synonyms in addition to outranking them all in suggesting a rare combination of discretion, maturity, keenness of intellect, broad experience, extensive learning, profound thought, and compassionate understanding. In its full application, wisdom implies the highest and noblest exercise of all the faculties of the moral nature as well as of the intellect: A great jurist bases his decisions on a wisdom gained from far more than his study of the law.
Sense is also very general in meaning. It can refer to rational perception accompanied by feeling. Used this way it suggests an intense awareness and realization of the stimuli to which it is responding: a highly developed sense of right and wrong. The word is commonly applied to the ability to act effectively in any given situation. It is very close in this meaning to sagacity, both terms suggesting the kind of knowledge or know-how which is the result of broad experience and the
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thoughtful evaluation of such experience: a politician who showed good sense in avoiding the mistakes he’d made in a previous campaign; a sagacity that was reflected in all his business dealings. But sagacity is more formal and can also suggest a searching profundity, like wisdom: the old man’s sagacity about the dilemmas of life.
Discernment and discrimination are alike in denoting an analytic ability that allows one to see things clearly. Discernment is applied to the evaluation of character and is concerned with the kind of accuracy of observation that finds the real behind the apparent: With discernment a lawyer can screen a jury panel in such a way that he will secure impartiality for his client. In another meaning, discernment can refer to making distinctions; in this usage it suggests the power to recognize quality or worth, as in a work of art: a music critic whose discernment of great talent has been proved time and time again. Discrimination is very closely allied to the second meaning of discernment, denoting an ability to perceive very subtle distinctions, even when they might be blurred to ordinary observation: a chef with such gustatory discrimination that he could recognize any seasoning, no matter how delicate, that had been used in the preparation of a meal.
Judgment is sense applied to the making of decisions, especially correct decisions, and thus it depends to some degree upon the exercise of discernment or discrimination: the dangerous fallibility of a man with a good heart and poor judgment. See acumen, discriminate, keen, OBSERVANT.
Antonyms: folly, foolishness, imprudence, indiscretion, miscalculation, misjudgment, senselessness, silliness, stupidity.
These words refer to an introspective frame of mind that is sad, thoughtful, or intense. Wistful stresses sadness that is mild and bittersweet, often suggesting a light, wishful longing after something past or impossible: a wistful hour spent remembering her childhood dream of becoming a great writer; giving his friend’s wife a wistful look. Sometimes, the word suggests an aura of not unpleasant sadness that is not attached to any specific aspiration: feeling tipsy and wistful as the last guests left the party. Nostalgic specifically applies to a longing for familiar or beloved circumstances that are now remote or irrecoverable. Nostalgic thoughts focus on events or people that actually happened or lived, whereas wistful thoughts may center on far-fetched hopes or past illusions. A wistful feeling may be casual or fleeting, but a nostalgic feeling is usually deeply felt and is often suggestive of a mood lasting some time. [She opened the photograph album whenever she was in a nostalgic mood; nostalgic memories of boyhood street games whenever he passed through a lower-class neighborhood] Nostalgic suggests both satisfaction and regret, and usually implies a warmth and intensity of feeling lacking in wistful.
Plaintive may stress any sort of longing, sorrow, or wish expressed in words or song: a plaintive request that he call her up some time; a plaintive melody. But as now used, the word has drawn closer to wistful in not necessarily indicating utterance at all: looking after him with a plaintive smile. The emotion suggested here, however, is a shade more intense than that of wistful, with a possible suggestion both of greater hopelessness and greater need or desire: the plaintive cry of a kitten who had got separated from the rest of the litter.
Pensive, strictly speaking, can refer solely to a musing, reflective thoughtfulness: pensive chess-players bent over the board. Very often,
wistful
moody
nostalgic
pensive
plaintive
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