SYNONYM

'Synonyms' (in ancient Greek, ''συν'' ("''syn''") = ''plus'' and ''όνομα'' ("''onoma''") = ''name'') are different words with identical or at least similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be 'synonymous', and the state of being a synonym is called 'synonymy'.
An example of synonyms are the words ''car'' and ''automobile''. Similarly, if we talk about a ''long time'' or an ''extended time'', ''long'' and ''extended'' become synonyms. In the figurative sense, two words are often said to be synonymous if they have the same connotation:
:"a widespread impression that … Hollywood was synonymous with immorality" (Doris Kearns Goodwin)
Synonyms can be any part of speech (e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs or prepositions), as long as both members of the pair are the same part of speech. More examples of English synonyms are:

★ ''baby'' and ''infant'' (noun)

★ ''student'' and ''pupil'' (noun)

★ ''buy'' and ''purchase'' (verb)

★ ''pretty'' and ''attractive'' (adjective)

★ ''sick'' and ''ill'' (adjective)

★ ''quickly'' and ''speedily'' (adverb)

★ ''on'' and ''upon'' (preposition)
Note that the synonyms are defined with respect to certain senses of words; for instance, ''pupil'' as the ''"aperture in the iris of the eye"'' is not synonymous with ''student''. Similarly, ''expired'' as ''"having lost validity"'' (as in grocery goods) doesn't necessarily mean death.
In English many synonyms evolved from a mixture of Norman French and English words, often with some words associated with the Saxon countryside (''"folk"'', ''"freedom"'') and synonyms with the Norman nobility (''"people"'', ''"liberty"'').
Some lexicographers claim that no synonyms have exactly the same meaning (in all contexts or social levels of language) because etymology, orthography, phonic qualities, ambiguous meanings, usage, etc. make them unique. However, many people feel that the synonyms they use are identical in meaning for all practical purposes, and are interchangeable. Different words that are similar in meaning usually differ for a reason: ''feline'' is more formal than ''cat''; ''long'' and ''extended'' are only synonyms in one usage and not in others, such as a ''long arm'' and an ''extended arm''. Synonyms are also a source of euphemisms.
The purpose of a thesaurus is to offer the user a listing of similar or related words; these are often, but not always, synonyms.

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Related terms

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External links

Related terms

'Antonyms' are words with opposite or nearly opposite meanings. For example:

★ ''dead'' and ''alive'' (compare to synonyms: ''dead'' and ''deceased'')

★ ''near'' and ''far'' (compare to synonyms: ''near'' and ''close'')

★ ''war'' and ''peace'' (compare to synonyms: ''war'' and ''armed conflict'')
The words ''synonym'' and ''antonym'' are themselves antonyms.
'Hypernyms' and 'hyponyms' are words that refer to, respectively, a general category and a specific instance of that category. For example, ''vehicle'' is a hypernym of ''car'', and ''car'' is a hyponym of ''vehicle''.

See also

★ -onym

★ Synonym ring

External links

★ Synomizer! - supports word and a unique text analysis in five languages.

★ Free Online English Thesaurus and Dictionary. Free Online English Thesaurus and dictionary containing synonyms, related Words, antonyms, definitions, idioms, words and terms using Merriam Websters Thesarus, Wordnet Reference and Roget's Thesaurus Definitions.

★ Synonym tool for websites - creates lists of synonyms for arbitrary page on WWW

★ English Synonym Dictionary - offers 500 searches for synonym per user per day

★ Synonym Thesaurus