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Antonyms for science


Grammar : Noun
Spell : sahy-uhns
Phonetic Transcription : ˈsaɪ əns



Definition of science

Origin :
  • mid-14c., "what is known, knowledge (of something) acquired by study; information;" also "assurance of knowledge, certitude, certainty," from Old French science "knowledge, learning, application; corpus of human knowledge" (12c.), from Latin scientia "knowledge, a knowing; expertness," from sciens (genitive scientis) "intelligent, skilled," present participle of scire "to know," probably originally "to separate one thing from another, to distinguish," related to scindere "to cut, divide," from PIE root *skei- "to cut, to split" (cf. Greek skhizein "to split, rend, cleave," Gothic skaidan, Old English sceadan "to divide, separate;" see shed (v.)).
  • From late 14c. in English as "book-learning," also "a particular branch of knowledge or of learning;" also "skillfulness, cleverness; craftiness." From c.1400 as "experiential knowledge;" also "a skill, handicraft; a trade." From late 14c. as "collective human knowledge" (especially "that gained by systematic observation, experiment, and reasoning). Modern (restricted) sense of "body of regular or methodical observations or propositions concerning a particular subject or speculation" is attested from 1725; in 17c.-18c. this concept commonly was called philosophy. Sense of "non-arts studies" is attested from 1670s.
  • Science, since people must do it, is a socially embedded activity. It progresses by hunch, vision, and intuition. Much of its change through time does not record a closer approach to absolute truth, but the alteration of cultural contexts that influence it so strongly. Facts are not pure and unsullied bits of information; culture also influences what we see and how we see it. Theories, moreover, are not inexorable inductions from facts. The most creative theories are often imaginative visions imposed upon facts; the source of imagination is also strongly cultural. [Stephen Jay Gould, introduction to "The Mismeasure of Man," 1981]In science you must not talk before you know. In art you must not talk before you do. In literature you must not talk before you think. [John Ruskin, "The Eagle's Nest," 1872]
  • The distinction is commonly understood as between theoretical truth (Greek episteme) and methods for effecting practical results (tekhne), but science sometimes is used for practical applications and art for applications of skill. To blind (someone) with science "confuse by the use of big words or complex explanations" is attested from 1937, originally noted as a phrase from Australia and New Zealand.
  • noun methodical study of part of material world
Example sentences :
  • It means the "science of the sound which is made by our speech."
  • Extract from : « Ancient Man » by Hendrik Willem van Loon
  • In public health the discoveries of science have opened a new era.
  • Extract from : « United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches » by Various
  • We have made enormous strides in science and industry and agriculture.
  • Extract from : « United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches » by Various
  • Science has done wonders toward the elimination of such fears.
  • Extract from : « The Conquest of Fear » by Basil King
  • I crammed your science into the story because it's good advertising.
  • Extract from : « The Bacillus of Beauty » by Harriet Stark
  • "White elephants" were a science which had a literature of its own.
  • Extract from : « Camps, Quarters and Casual Places » by Archibald Forbes
  • The only philosophy of life is that derived from its science.
  • Extract from : « The Call of the Twentieth Century » by David Starr Jordan
  • And all science must culminate at last in the science of healing—not the weak, but the strong.
  • Extract from : « The Secret Agent » by Joseph Conrad
  • In science, as in morals and politics, there is absolutely no periodicity.
  • Extract from : « Heroes of the Telegraph » by J. Munro
  • Science can do little positively towards the objects of this society.
  • Extract from : « Heroes of the Telegraph » by J. Munro

Synonyms for science

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019