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Synonyms and Antonyms
A synonym (sin--uh-nim) is a word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as
another word. When words or phrases have the same meaning, we say that they
are synonymous of each other. The term synonym comes from a combination of the
Ancient Greek syn, meaning with, and onoma, meaning “name.” Synonyms are regular
and essential parts of everyday language that we use almost without thinking. They
come in all parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and so on. What’s more,
synonyms are so important that there is a whole reference work dedicated to them,
called a thesaurus—it’s a dictionary of synonyms!
Examples of Synonyms
Bad: awful, terrible, horrible
Good: fine, excellent, great
Hot: burning, fiery, boiling
Cold: chilly, freezing, frosty
Easy: Simple, effortless, straightforward
Hard: difficult, challenging, tough
Big: large, huge, giant
Small: tiny, little, mini
Exercise
Read the sentences given below identify the content words and write three synonyms
and antonyms of bold words.
The small child was quickly eating a cold ice cream cone, which gave him a bad
headache.
The little kid was rapidly gobbling a frosty ice cream cone, which gave him an
awful headache.
The youngster was speedily consuming a freezing ice cream cone, which gave
him a terrible headache.
Note:- Words like “rapidly,” “gobbling,” “awful,” and “terrible” are much more
descriptive than “quickly,” “eating,” and “bad”—they have the similar shade of
meanings (synonyms) as sentence 1, but reflect stronger connotations.
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Types of Synonyms
Verbs, Adverbs, Nouns, and Adjectives (VANA) are called ‘Contents Words’, and
synonyms exist as parts of speech.
Verbs
Teach, instruct, educate
Seek, search, look for
Nouns
Teacher, instructor, educator
Test, exam, assessment
Adjective
Smart, intelligent, clever
Dumb, stupid, slow
Adverb
Very, really, extremely
Quietly, silently, without a sound
Significance of Synonyms
The appropriate choice and use of words refine the expression and manifest exactness
and clarity of thoughts and feelings. It is everything in language, and probably the most
crucial part to avoid monotonous in the expression. Synonyms make language more
interesting, more meaningful, and more relevant. They have a huge, central role in word
choice and use in prose, presentation, debates, dialogues and poetry.
In fact, poetry wouldn’t even exist without synonyms, they are used in expressions for
being descriptive, creative, and expressive, and poetry relies on those three things.
Language would be boring, and would have no room for creativity. The way words are
chosen and used is often what defines a piece of literature; so, synonyms allow all
authors to develop their own styles and voices when creating their works. Another main
reason for using synonyms is because words often share the similar shades of words i.e.
reflect sameness of meanings but have different connotations (a word’s implied
meaning). For example, you might say “the soup’s aroma was in the air,” which makes
it sound delicious, but “the soup’s odor was in the air” makes it sound terrible. So, an
author chooses a synonym based on its positive, negative, or neutral connotation. This
helps writers say what they mean, and how they mean it.
As mentioned, poetry probably would not exist without synonyms. In the poem “I
Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” by William Wordsworth describes an afternoon walk
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that was particularly special for him. While describing his feelings, he uses simple
words and uses synonyms to help his readers imagine the scene.
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
To sum it up, it is worth mentioning that synonyms are an essential part of the English
language, particularly in writing or speaking. They are the most powerful type of
descriptive tool, making them an important part of both prose and poetry alike.
Synonyms provide freedom for word choice and allow authors to choose words with the
right connotation to fit their style and serve their purpose.
Antonym
An antonym is a word that means the opposite of another word. For example "bad" is
an antonym of "good". Here are some more examples:
prefix antonyms part of speech
adjective
good bad
adjective
small big
adjective
easy hard
difficult
adjective
soft hard
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adjective
male female noun
preposition
up down adverb
verb
go come
adjective
made by adding prefix un- able unable
adjective
selfish unselfish
verb
do undo
adjective
made by adding prefix in- decent indecent
adjective
tolerant intolerant
adjective
human inhuman
adjective
made by adding prefix non- conformist nonconformist noun
adjective
essential nonessential noun
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