CHAPTER 23: PASSION and PASSIVITY

We had in the last post ‘ACQUIT’, the opposite of which is ‘CONVICT’.
The antonym for the noun ‘ACQUITTAL’ will therefore be ‘CONVICTION’.

However, be a little careful with the term ‘CONVICTION’, because it is an AMBIGUOUS term. ‘CONVICTION’ in a context of belief can mean FIRM BELIEF. Hence, it can also have the opposite ‘SKEPTICISM, (doubtfulness).

We call a person of SKEPTICISM a SKEPTIC [Refer to CHAPTER XXVIII where we had THEIST, ATHEIST, and SKEPTIC].

A SKEPTIC is a person of too much DOUBT just as a ZEALOT (fanatic) is person of ZEAL (great enthusiasm). Therefore,  

SKEPTIC: DOUBT 

                                   ZEALOT: FERVOR (passion, enthusiasm)  

ZEALOT, as we saw, is from ZEAL, passion and enthusiasm. 

Here follow a few synonyms for

GREAT PASSION and INTEREST: 

ZEAL

ZEST 

ARDOR 

FERVOR 

TORRIDNESS  

IMASSIONATENESS 

The corresponding ADJECTIVES of these terms are  

ZEALOUS 

ZESTY 

ARDENT

FERVENT

FERVID

TORRID

IMPASSIONED

 

All the above terms mean HIGHLY ENTHUSIASTIC. 

If we are FERVID, we are full of PASSION; in the same way, if we are full of WORDS, we are VERBOSE. Hence,  

FERVID: PASSION VERBOSE: WORDS  

Of the terms discussed above, ‘TORRID’ can also denote ‘HOT’. 

Look at the following antonym that appeared earlier:  

TORRIDNESS (hotness) x FRIGIDITY (coldness)  

TORRIDNESS is also IMPASSIONATENESS. 

Hence,FRIGIDITY can mean IMPASSIVITY. So,  

IMPASSIONATENESS x IMPASSIVITY. 

‘IMPASSIVE’ is also called ‘PHLEGMATIC’, and these two terms can mean different things in different contexts. An IMPASSIVE or PHLEGMATIC person may be INERT. He/ she may be INACTIVE; or such a person may be DORMANT or QUIESCENT.

Let’s group these meanings of IMPASSIVE in one place:

IMPASSIVE 

PHLEGMATIC 

INERT

DORMANT 

QUIESCENT 

INACTIVE  

Another denotation of ‘IMPASSIVE’ or ‘PHLEGMATIC’ is to be CALM.
Let’s talk a look at the words which mean

CALM’:  

PHLEGMATIC 

IMPASSIVE

SERENE

TRANQUIL

PLACID

STOLID 

IRENIC

IMPERTURBABLE

COMPOSED

UNRUFFLED

UN FLUSTERED

POISED

EQUANIMOUS 

So, we can see that ‘IMPASSIVE’ and ‘PHLEGMATIC’ can have two types of opposites in two different contexts. If IMPASSIVE is INERT, it can have the opposite ‘ACTIVE’; if it means ‘CALM’, it can have the opposite ‘AGITATED’. WE will have a look at these antonyms, maybe, in the next post.