ROGET'S THESAURUS OF ENGLISH WORDS AND PHRASES ...

empiricism, rule of thumb.
feeler; trial balloon, pilot balloon, messenger balloon; pilot engine; scout; straw to
show the wind.
speculation, random shot, leap in the dark.
analyzer, analyst, assayist † ; adventurer; experimenter, experimentist † , experimentalist;
scientist, engineer, technician.
subject, experimentee † , guinea pig, experimental animal.
[experimental method] protocol, experimental method, blind experiment, double-blind
experiment, controlled experiment.
poll, survey, opinion poll.
epidemiological survey [Med.], retrospective analysis, retrospective survey,
prospective survey, prospective analysis; statistical analysis.
literature search, library research.
tryout, audition.
[results of experiment] discovery &c 480; measurement &c 466; evidence &c 467.
[reasoning about an experiment] deduction, induction, abduction.
V. experiment; essay &c (endeavor) 675; try, try out, assay; make an experiment, make a
trial of; give a trial to; put on trial, subject to trial; experiment upon; rehearse; put to the
test, bring to the test, submit to the test, submit to the proof; prove, verify, test, touch,
practice upon, try one's strength; road-test, test drive, take for a spin; test fly.
grope; feel one's way, grope for one's way; fumble, t=atonner, aller =a t=atons [Fr.],
put out a feeler, throw out a feeler; send up a trial balloon, send up a pilot balloon; see
how the land lies, get the lay of the land, test the waters, feel out, sound out, take the
pulse, see, check, check out [Coll.], see how the wind blows; consult the barometer; feel
the pulse; fish for, bob for; cast for, beat about for; angle, trawl, cast one's net, beat the
bushes.
try one's fortune &c (adventure) 675; explore &c (inquire) 461.
Adj. experimental, empirical.
probative, probatory † , probationary, provisional; analytic, docimastic † ; tentative;
unverified, unproven, speculative, untested.
Adv. on trial, under examination, on probation, under probation, on one's trial, on
approval.
Phr. check it out, give it a try, see how it goes; Run it up the flagpole and see who salutes
464. Comparison -- N. comparison, collation, contrast; identification; comparative
estimate, relative estimate, relativity.
simile, similitude, analogy (similarity) 17; allegory &c (metaphor) 521.
matching, pattern-matching.
[quantitative comparison] ratio, proportion (number) 84.
[results of comparison] discrimination 465; indiscrimination 465.1 [Obs.];
identification 465.2.
V. compare to, compare with; collate, confront; place side by side, juxtapose &c (near)
197; set against one another, pit against one another; contrast, balance.
identify, draw a parallel, parallel.
compare notes; institute a comparison; parva componere magnis [Lat.].
Adj. comparative; metaphorical &c 521.