accordant, agreeing, compatible, consistent, harmonious, suitable.
The illustrations were incongruous _with_ the theme.
_Deduction_ is reasoning from the general to the particular; _induction_ is reasoning from the particular to the general. _Deduction_ proceeds from a general principle through an admitted instance to a conclusion. _Induction_, on the other hand, proceeds from a number of collated instances, through some attribute common to them all, to a general principle. The proof of an _induction_ is by using its conclusion as the premise of a new _deduction_. Thus what is ordinarily known as scientific _induction_ is a constant interchange of _induction_ and _deduction_. In _deduction_, if the general rule is true, and the special case falls under the rule, the conclusion is certain; _induction_ can ordinarily give no more than a probable conclusion, because we can never be sure that we have collated all instances. An _induction_ is of the nature of an _inference_, but while an _inference_ may be partial and hasty, an _induction_ is careful, and aims to be complete. Compare DEMONSTRATION; HYPOTHESIS.
active, busy, employed, occupied, assiduous, diligent, engaged, sedulous.
_Industrious_ signifies zealously or habitually applying oneself to any work or business. _Busy_ applies to an activity which may be temporary, _industrious_ to a habit of life. We say a man is _busy_ just now; that is, _occupied_ at the moment with something that takes his full attention. It would be ridiculous or satirical to say, he is _industrious_ just now. But _busy_ can be used in the sense of _industrious_, as when we say he is a _busy_ man. _Diligent_ indicates also a disposition, which is ordinarily habitual, and suggests more of heartiness and volition than _industrious_. We say one is a _diligent_, rather than an _industrious_, reader of the Bible. In the use of the nouns, we speak of plodding _industry_, but not of plodding _diligence_. Compare ACTIVE; INDUSTRY.
application, diligence, labor, persistence, assiduity, effort, pains, sedulousness. attention, exertion, patience, constancy, intentness, perseverance,
_Industry_ is the quality, action, or habit of earnest, steady, and continued attention or devotion to any useful or productive work or task, manual or mental. _Assiduity_ (L. _ad_, to, and _sedeo_, sit), as the etymology suggests, sits down to a task until it is done. _Diligence_ (L. _diligo_, love, choose) invests more effort and exertion, with love of the work or deep interest in its accomplishment; _application_ (L. _ad_, to, and _plico_, fold) bends to its work and concentrates all one's powers upon it with utmost intensity; hence, _application_ can hardly be as unremitting as _assiduity_. _Constancy_ is a steady devotion of heart and principle. _Patience_ works on in spite of annoyances; _perseverance_ overcomes hindrances and difficulties; _persistence_ strives relentlessly against opposition; _persistence_ has very frequently an unfavorable meaning, implying that one persists in spite of considerations that should induce him to desist. _Industry_ is _diligence_ applied to some avocation, business, or profession. _Labor_ and _pains_ refer to the _exertions_ of the worker and the tax upon him, while _assiduity_, _perseverance_, etc., refer to his continuance in the work.