- crowd
- crowd vb1 *press, bear, bear down, squeeze, jam2 *pack, cram, stuff, ram, tampAnalogous words: compress (see CONTRACT): *compact, consolidate, concentratecrowd n Crowd, throng, press, crush, mob, rout, horde are comparable when they mean a more or less closely assembled multitude usually of persons.Crowd basically implies a close gathering and pressing together{
the crowd came pouring out with a vehemence that nearly took him off his legs— Dickens
}It often implies a merging of the individuality of the units into that of the mass{study the psychology of crowds
}{no one in European art has rivalled Keion in the mastery of crowds of men each individually alive yet swept along by a common animating impulse, whether the raging passion of the victors or the panic of the routed— Binyon
}{all our ideas are crowd ideas— Ferril
}Throng varies so little in meaning from crowd that the two words are often used interchangeably without loss. Throng sometimes carries the stronger implication of movement and of pushing and the weaker implication of density{throngs circulating through the streets
}{so they went northward . . . past droves and droves of camels, armies of camp followers, and legions of laden mules, the throng thickening day by day— Kipling
}{sailors hung from yards and bowsprits to shout the names of vessels to the bewildered, harried throng— Kenneth Roberts
}Press differs from throng in being more often applied to a con-centrated mass in which movement is difficult because of the numbers, but otherwise it also suggests pushing or pressing forward{perched on the folded-down top of a convertible, to roll down the boardwalk with a press of people following her car— Pete Martin
}Crush carries a stronger implication than either crowd or throng of compactness of the group, of offering difficulty to one who wishes to make his way through it, or of causing discomfort to one who is part of it{the crush was terrific for that time of day ... for the street was blocked— Wool/
}{a crush of dancing couples packed the floor— Basso
}Mob strictly applies to a crowd or throng bent on the accomplishment of riotous or destructive acts{the citizens were terrorized for weeks by mobs
}{a mob . . . which pulled down all our prisons— Burke
}Especially in the United States and in Australia mob may be employed as an intensive of crowd, sometimes implying more disorganization{it is the tendency of a large crowd to become a mob
}but at other times denoting merely an extremely large crowd{you could scarcely call it a crowd; it was a mob
}In theatrical use mob applies to any large and manifestly agitated crowd of persons that has to be directed as a unit to achieve the proper or the intended effects.Rout applies to an especially disorderly or tumultuous mob{a hireling rout scraped together from the dregs of the people— Milton
}{the busy rout of the street could be seen. He loved the changing panorama of the street— Dreiser
}Horde usually applies to an assemblage or to a multitude massed together. It is sometimes preferred to crowd, throng, mob, or rout when a contemptuous term is desired, especially one that suggests the rude, rough, or savage character of the individuals who constitute the multitude or mass{hordes of small boys roving through the streets
}{the horde of excursionists took possession of the beach
}{hordes of sturdy rogues and vagrants— Fussed
}Analogous words: *multitude, army, host, legion
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.
