Meaning & use
synonymy
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Meanings
noununcountabletechnical
The state of having the same or nearly the same meaning; the relationship between synonyms.
Grammar: Uncountable; used mainly in linguistics. Not used for people.
Patterns
- synonymy between something and something
- synonymy of something with something
The synonymy of 'begin' and 'start' is well known.
There is a high degree of synonymy between the two expressions.
Languages often show synonymy in borrowed and native words.
noununcountabletechnical
The study of synonyms and the relationships between words with similar meanings.
Grammar: Uncountable; refers to an academic field or topic.
Patterns
- the study of synonymy
- research on synonymy
Her research focuses on synonymy in modern English.
The course covers synonymy, antonymy, and other lexical relations.
Synonymy is an important topic in semantics.
Common combinations
- degree of synonymy
- The degree of synonymy between the two phrases is high.
- synonymy between words
- Synonymy between words can be partial.
- study of synonymy
- The study of synonymy helps us understand meaning relations.
Synonyms and how they differ
- equivalence
- Broader; can refer to any kind of equality, not just meaning.
- sameness
- General; means being the same, not specifically about word meaning.
Opposites
Word family
- synonym noun
- A word that means the same as another.
- synonymous adjective
- Having the same meaning.
- synonymously adverb
- In a synonymous way.
Commonly confused: synonymy or synonym?
synonymy vs synonym
Synonym is a specific word; synonymy is the relationship or the study of such words.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'synonymy' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Synonymy' is a noun meaning the relationship between synonyms, so it fits the first sentence. The others misuse it as a quality of people, a verb, or an adverb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “synonymy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.