Meaning & use
synonymously
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Meaning
adverbnot comparable
In a way that treats two words or ideas as having the same meaning, so that either could replace the other.
Grammar: Often follows a verb such as use or treat, then with: used synonymously with another term.
Patterns
- use something synonymously with something
- treat something synonymously
Many people use the words weather and climate synonymously, though they differ.
In casual speech, big and large are often used synonymously.
The brand name became so famous that people used it synonymously with the product itself.
Common combinations
- used synonymously
- The two terms are often used synonymously in the media.
- treated synonymously
- Success is sometimes treated synonymously with wealth.
- interpreted synonymously
- The clauses cannot be interpreted synonymously.
- synonymously with
- His name is spoken synonymously with courage in the village.
Synonyms and how they differ
- interchangeably
- Interchangeably says that either item can replace the other in use, whereas synonymously is about having the same meaning.
- equivalently
- Equivalently is more mathematical or logical, while synonymously relates to words and meaning.
- identically
- Identically means in exactly the same way, which is stronger than synonymously.
Opposites
Word family
- synonym noun
- a word with the same or nearly the same meaning as another
- synonymous adjective
- having the same meaning, or closely associated
- synonymy noun
- the state of words having the same meaning
Commonly confused: synonymously or anonymously? synonymously or synonymous?
synonymously vs anonymously
Anonymously means without giving your name, and sounds similar but is unrelated to word meaning.
synonymously vs synonymous
Synonymous is the adjective form, used with is or are, while synonymously is the adverb that modifies a verb.
Practice
Careful writers avoid using 'affect' and 'effect' ______, because they are not the same word.
Choose one answer.
Synonymously means as if they had the same meaning. Anonymously sounds alike but means without a name.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “synonymously”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.