synonym

noun [ˈsɪnəˌnɪm]

pronunciation

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary via pipeline/ipa-en.mjs (lemma synonym present), open source

Synonym labels a near-equivalent word in the same language, allowing small shades of sense, not a bare claim that two words are identical.

source

Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)

Definitions

ling. A lexical unit nearly matching another unit of the same language in sense: a shared frame with room for shade. Hold the lexical frame: keep apart from an antonym, from a cross-language match alone, and from an identity slogan that never names scope.

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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)
hist. lex. Webster 1913 records SYNONYM (Syn"o*nym; also synonyme) as one of two or more words (commonly of the same language) that are equivalents, or that have very nearly the same signification and may often be used interchangeably. Nearby lemmas include SYNONYMOUS, SYNONYMY, and SYNONYMIZE.

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Editorial team; facts: Webster 1913 (SYNONYM; SYNONYME; SYNONYMOUS; SYNONYMY; SYNONYMIC; SYNONYMIST; SYNONYMIZE), open source
hist. / ety. Skeat 1910 prints SYNONYM as a word having the same sense with another, from F. synonyme via L. synonyma and Gk. συνώνυμος (σύν + ὄνομα, cognate with E. name). The Warsaw Arct lexicon (1921) lists the Polish pair; Brückner omits a headword. Full derivation sits under etymology.

source
Editorial team; facts: W. W. Skeat 1910 (SYNONYM); M. Arct 1921 (Synonim; Synonimika); A. Brückner 1927 (no lemma), open source
colloq. Loose talk often pins the label on any swap name that never asks about shade. Edges blur. This page keeps near-equivalence and possible differences in view, not identity slogans alone.

source
Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)

Examples

The seminar handout on synonyms sat next to an antonym sheet and a list of swap names that named no shade of sense.

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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)
Lexical semantics hours covered synonym; a separate lab handled thesaurus work without renaming the unit.

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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)
Sources on the card: Arct 1921 (Synonim, Synonimika); Webster 1913 (SYNONYM, SYNONYMOUS, SYNONYMY); Skeat 1910 (SYNONYM); Brückner 1927 silent.

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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)
A gloss that never separated near-equivalence from a claim of full lexical identity emptied synonym into slogans about the same word.

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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)
She compared a synonym pair (respect / esteem / honour, as in Arct's Polish examples) with an antonym card and marked where shade ended.

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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)

Usage

Outside class, people often paste synonym onto any swap name that never names a shade. Seminar notes keep Arct's near-equivalent word and near-equivalent markers, Webster's equivalence frame plus near-same signification, Skeat's Greek nest under SYNONYM (σύν + ὄνομα), and Brückner's silence. Drop those layers, and the name collapses into identity slogans alone.

source

Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)

Webster 1913 under SYNONYM records equivalents or words of very nearly the same signification that may often be used interchangeably, notes the spelling synonyme, and marks Syn"o*nym. Related entries include SYNONYMOUS, SYNONYMY, SYNONYMIC, SYNONYMIST, and SYNONYMIZE. Skeat (1910) derives SYNONYM from F. synonyme, L. synonyma, and Gk. συνώνυμος (σύν + ὄνομα). Arct (1921) lists Synonim and Synonimika. Brückner (1927) is silent. Facts first; etymology below.

source

Editorial team; facts: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 (SYNONYM; SYNONYME; SYNONYMOUS; SYNONYMY; SYNONYMIC; SYNONYMIST; SYNONYMIZE); W. W. Skeat 1910 (SYNONYM); M. Arct 1921 (Synonim; Synonimika); A. Brückner 1927 (no lemma), open source

Scholarly English lets synonym cover near-equivalence with room for shade. Careful prose keeps the name off sheets that never ask which shade is meant, and off identity tags that never touch the stock. Authors still disagree on borders. Equating every swap name with synonym drains the term. Founding dates for centres that study such pairs wait for a primary source at review.

source

Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)

Seminar rooms return to near-equivalence, lexical semantics, and the contrast with antonym versus bare same-word tags. The usual adjective is synonymous (Webster 1913). Related labels include synonymy, synonymic, and synonymize. Careful writers keep the name off copy that never names a shade. Borders stay open. Agent: synonymist (Webster 1913).

source

Editorial team; facts: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 (SYNONYM; SYNONYMOUS; SYNONYMY; SYNONYMIC; SYNONYMIST; SYNONYMIZE); M. Arct 1921 (Synonimika), open source

Word forms

Countable noun in ordinary scholarly use (a synonym; several synonyms). Adjective: synonymous (Webster 1913). Related noun: synonymy (Webster 1913). Agent: synonymist (Webster 1913). Verb: synonymize (Webster 1913).

forms in use

przypadek	forma
singular	synonym
plural	synonyms
adjective	synonymous (Webster 1913)
related noun	synonymy (Webster 1913)
agent	synonymist (Webster 1913)
verb	synonymize (Webster 1913)

Word forms: Editorial team; facts: Webster 1913 (SYNONYM; SYNONYMOUS; SYNONYMY; SYNONYMIST; SYNONYMIZE) · source

Collocations

lexical synonym

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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)
pair of synonyms

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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)
look up a synonym

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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)
dictionary of synonyms

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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)
near synonym

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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)

Synonyms · Antonyms

Synonyms near-equivalent word / word of nearly the same signification (near neighbour in Webster / Skeat; confirm scope at review), interchangeable equivalent (near neighbour in Webster; confirm scope at review), synonim (classroom Polish match; confirm scope at review)

source

Editorial team; facts: Webster 1913 (SYNONYM); W. W. Skeat 1910 (SYNONYM), open source

Antonyms antonym (lexical foil: an opposite unit versus a near-equivalent; not a strict antonym of the label alone), a word with a clearly different meaning scope (lexical foil; editorial scope), a same-word identity tag with no named shade (contrastive neighbour; confirm at review)

source

Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)

Etymology

English synonym joins Greek syn- / σύν (with) to the onoma / ὄνομα nest (name) and means of like name or like meaning. Webster 1913 links SYNONYM to F. synonyme and L. synonyma (plural of synonymum), points to SYNONYMOUS, marks stress Syn"o*nym, allows synonyme, and lists SYNONYMIC, SYNONYMIST, SYNONYMIZE, and SYNONYMY. Skeat 1910 under SYNONYM derives F. synonyme, L. synonyma, and Gk. συνώνυμος from σύν and ὄνομα (cognate with E. name), and notes derivatives synonymous, synonymously, and synonymy. Arct's Warsaw foreign-word lexicon (9th ed., 1921) lists Synonim (near-equivalent word; near-equivalent markers; examples of shade such as poważanie, szacunek, cześć) and Synonimika (the study that explains near-equivalent words). Brückner 1927 offers no separate headword. Site wording is drafted apart from those dictionary lines. The Polish match is synonim.

source

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 (SYNONYM; SYNONYME; SYNONYMOUS; SYNONYMY; SYNONYMIC; SYNONYMIST; SYNONYMIZE), open source

also

W. W. Skeat, An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed., Oxford 1910 (SYNONYM: Gk. συνώνυμος / σύν + ὄνομα), open source

also

M. Arct, Słownik wyrazów obcych, 9th ed., Warsaw 1921 (Synonim; Synonimika), open source

also

A. Brückner, Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego, Kraków 1927 (no separate lemma synonim), open source

Related words

synonymous , adjective tied to the field (Webster 1913; Skeat 1910)
synonymy , related noun; Webster: quality of being synonymous; system of synonyms; rhetorical figure
synonymize , related verb; Webster: to express by a synonym or synonyms
synonymist , agent noun; Webster: one who collects or explains synonyms
antonym , contrastive neighbour: an opposite unit versus a near-equivalent
thesaurus , lexicographic neighbour: a store of synonyms and related labels
synonim , related Polish noun (Arct: Synonim; Webster/Skeat: SYNONYM; Brückner: no lemma)

Related entries

The same entry in Polish: synonim

Questions and answers

What does synonym mean?

It names a word nearly equivalent in meaning to another, with room for shade. Keep it apart from an antonym and from a bare same-word tag that never names scope.

source

Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)

Where does the word synonym come from?

From the Greek σύν (with) nest plus ὄνομα (name), via F. synonyme and L. synonyma. Webster 1913 prints SYNONYM (also synonyme) beside SYNONYMOUS. Skeat 1910 keeps the material under SYNONYM (Gk. συνώνυμος). Arct 1921 has Synonim and Synonimika. Brückner 1927 omits the headword.

source

Editorial team; facts: Webster 1913; W. W. Skeat 1910; M. Arct 1921; A. Brückner 1927, open source

How do you pronounce synonym, and which forms fit?

This page reads /ˈsɪnəˌnɪm/ from CMUdict via pipeline/ipa-en.mjs (lemma present). Plural: synonyms. Adjective: synonymous. Related noun: synonymy. Agent: synonymist. Verb: synonymize. Confirm vowels and stress at review.

source

Editorial team; facts: CMU Pronouncing Dictionary via pipeline/ipa-en.mjs (lemma synonym present); Webster 1913 (Syn"o*nym; SYNONYMOUS; SYNONYMY; SYNONYMIST; SYNONYMIZE), open source

How does synonym differ from antonym and a same-word identity tag, and does Polish synonim match?

Synonym keeps near-equivalence (with possible shade). Antonym names an opposite unit; a same-word tag may name no shade. Polish synonim is the classroom match. The split is editorial; everyday speech often blurs the labels.

source

Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)