Synonyms are  two or more words that are spelled differently but express the same or nearly the same thing.

Synonymy occurs between words with enough relation of similarity in their meaning, so that one can be replaced by the other.

For example:

  • abundant – a lot
  • glasses – glasses
  • hair

See also: Synonymous words

What are synonyms for?

The main function of synonyms is that they allow the texts to alternate the use of a word with others that imply the same thing.

This is important when writing texts in which a term becomes very frequent; in that case it is convenient to alternate with synonyms so as not to bore the reader with repetitions.

video explanation

We made a video to explain it easily:

It is common for words with a very concrete or specific meaning to lack synonyms (example: stethoscope), while words that express feelings, emotions or rather abstract concepts usually have many synonyms (example: cute/beautiful/graceful).

  • See also: Synonyms and antonyms

Examples of synonyms

The following list includes pairs of words that are synonyms :

abundant much
finish end up
warn notice
altered nervous
height elevation
amplify enlarge
anguish discomfort
glasses glasses
suitable skilled
harmony Calm down
penny pincher tie up
cheap economic
battle war
fool foolish
ticket ticket
beautiful handsome
hair hair
warm hot
to calm attenuate
bed bed
road path
canteen Pub
punish sanction
tail tail
combat contest
comfortable comfortable
purchase acquire
understand understand
Constitution statute
to create invent
summit top
generous detached
dance0 dance
tell to pronounce
default imperfection
crazy mad
disobedient undisciplined
destroy remove
bliss joy
drunk drunk
economize save money
Eden paradise
educate to teach
to choose choose
raise go up
bewitch bewitch
lie lie
infuriate anger
enigma unknown
teaching education
whole full
written note
hear attend
student student
express expose
strange weird
easy simple
die To die
famous famous
faithful loyal
skinny slim
arrow arrow
training instruction
Photography portrait
fragment piece
frize freeze
garage garage
generous generous
giant enormous
Fat obese
modesty modesty
smoke smoke
identical same
idiom tongue
to illuminate light
amount value
incredible Awesome
indication clue
insolence arrogance
insult grievance
intelligence wisdom
invariability uniformity
Council delegation
work job
throw throw
flat flat
struggle Fight
teacher teacher
Magnate powerful
magnificent splendid
kill murder
marriage wedding
afraid panic
mercy piety
moment instant
monarch King
mount ride
card deck of cards
to name appoint
rule rule
never Never
hear hear
oil oil
pray pray
page leaf
stop stop
leave divide
peace tranquillity
pedagogy teaching
hair hair
gloom darkness
flat flat
little bit scarce
possible feasible
concern restlessness
previous previous
deep deep
complaint lament
want pretend
weird strange
reason reason
repose stillness
Steal steal
face expensive
to know know
wise scholar
tasty rich
heal cure
healthy healthy
satisfy satiate
whistle whistle
silhouette outline
pride haughtiness
shade darkness
Add add
mean penny pincher
maybe maybe
have to drink
transcribe manuscript
triumph victory
brave risky
valuable valued
fast Quick
sidewalk track
to live live
return to get back

See more in: List of Synonymous Words

Types of synonymy

There are four types of synonymy:

  • full synonym . They are synonyms regardless of the context in which they are used. For example: dentist/dentist
  • Partial or conceptual synonymy . They are different words but they mean the same thing. It may happen that certain words are used more in one dialect than in another. For example: lady/woman.
  • referential synonym. They are words that can mean the same thing but not in all contexts, but rather they need the context in which they are used. For example: dance/dance, lemonade/drink, table/furniture.
  • Synonym of connotation. Synonymy, in these cases, is relative or objective and precise in the interpretation of the reader. For example: “Andrés is a Maradona of computers”. In this case, the word Maradona works as a synonym for gen.

Characteristics of synonyms

Synonymy is a relationship of sense or meaning, as is also the case with antonyms, which are words with opposite meanings. Homonyms or paronyms, on the other hand, are words that are linked for reasons associated with their form.

The synonymy relationship can be given by its strict meaning (from the dictionary) or by the connotation that a word can assume under certain circumstances.

For example, the words ‘husband’ and ‘husband’ will be synonyms in any case, while the words ‘burden’ and ‘heavy’ will be synonyms only in certain contexts, since the word ‘heavy’, in its basic meaning, is only it means that it has a lot of mass or weight (in physical or material terms).

Although in general the synonymy relationship occurs between words of the same morphological class (between several nouns or between several adjectives), sometimes an adverb can be synonymous with an adjective , for example.

Synonyms in literature

As indicated, synonymy is especially important in narrative texts and in literary genres in general, where each word adds an aesthetic value to the work.

The correct use of synonyms becomes a virtue of the writers of stories, novels or poems, surely achieved from reading and the constant enrichment of vocabulary.

In any case, synonymy should not be confused with rhetorical figures such as metaphor or comparison , which although ‘say the same thing in another way’, do not do so through the simple change of individual words, but in a more complex and elaborate way. .

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