blackness, darkness, dusk, gloominess, shade, dark, dimness, gloom, obscurity, shadow.
apt, conceivable, liable, probable, credible, conjectural, presumable, reasonable.
_Apt_ implies a natural fitness or tendency; an impetuous person is _apt_ to speak hastily. _Liable_ refers to a contingency regarded as unfavorable; as, the ship was _liable_ to founder at any moment. _Likely_ refers to a contingent event regarded as very probable, and usually, tho not always, favorable; as, an industrious worker is _likely_ to succeed. _Credible_ signifies readily to be believed; as, a _credible_ narrative; _likely_ in such connection is used ironically to signify the reverse; as, a _likely_ story! A thing is _conceivable_ of which the mind can entertain the possibility; a thing is _conjectural_ which is conjectured as possible or probable without other support than a conjecture, or tentative judgment; a thing is _presumable_ which, from what is antecedently known, may betaken for granted in advance of proof. _Reasonable_ in this connection signifies such as the reason can be satisfied with, independently of external grounds for belief or disbelief; as, that seems a _reasonable_ supposition. Compare APPARENT.
doubtful, improbable, questionable, unreasonable. dubious, incredible, unlikely,
Between _listen_ and _hear_ is a difference like that between the words look and see. (Compare synonyms for LOOK.) To _hear_ is simply to become conscious of sound, to _listen_ is to make a conscious effort or endeavor to _hear_. We may _hear_ without _listening_, as words suddenly uttered in an adjoining room; or we may _listen_ without _hearing_, as to a distant speaker. In _listening_ the ear is intent upon the sound; in _attending_ the mind is intent upon the thought, tho _listening_ implies some attention to the meaning or import of the sound. To _heed_ is not only to _attend_, but to remember and observe. _Harken_ is nearly obsolete.
be deaf to, ignore, neglect, scorn, slight.
We listen _for_ what we expect or desire to hear; we listen _to_ what we actually do hear; listen _for_ a step, a signal, a train; listen _to_ the debate.
belles-lettres, literary productions, publications, books, literary works, writings.