SYNONYM
What is a Synonym?
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 :
Here are some synonyms of words you use every day:
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
Now, read the three sentences below:
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.
As you can see, the three sentences above share the same situation, but, Sentences 2 and 3 paint a better picture because they use synonyms for some of the dull words in Sentence 1. Words like “rapidly,” “gobbling,” “awful,” and “terrible” are much more descriptive than “quickly,” “eating,” and “bad”—they have the same meanings as Sentence 1, but stronger connotations.
Types of Synonyms
Synonyms exist as parts of speech. Here are some examples:
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
Importance of Synonyms
Since word choice is everything in language (probably the most crucial part!), the importance of synonyms is beyond measure. Synonyms make language more interesting, more meaningful, and more relevant. They have a huge, central role in word choice for both prose and poetry. In fact, you could argue that poetry wouldn’t even exist without synonyms—one of the main reasons we use them is to be descriptive, creative, and expressive, and poetry relies on those three things. Imagine what writing, reading, and speaking would be like if there were only one word for everything! 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 we use synonyms is because words often share the same 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.
Examples of Synonyms in Literature
As mentioned, poetry probably wouldn’t exist without synonyms. In the poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” William Wordsworth describes an afternoon walk that was particularly special for him. In the selection below, he uses synonyms to help his readers imagine the scene that he saw:
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.
Here, Wordsworth uses the synonyms “crowd” and “host” to express that he saw a large number of daffodils, which made them much more magnificent. It’s a technique he is using to emphasize the beauty of his experience. By using two different words with the same meaning, he is able to paint a better picture with his words.
HOMONYM
What Is a Homonym?
In English, homonym is a word that sounds the same as another word but differs in meaning.
Homonyms can refer to both homophones and homographs.
A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning and is spelled differently.
Homographs are words with the same spelling but having more than one meaning.
Examples :
Words that sound the same but have different meaning and are spelled differently (homophones)
Weak — Week
Sun — Son
See — Sea
Plane — Plain
Meet — Meat
Words that sound the same but have different meaning and are spelled the same (homographs)
Address – Address
Band – Band
Bat – Bat
Match – Match
Mean – Mean
Right – Right
Ring – Ring
Learn list of homonyms in English with example sentences.
Address – Address
I can give you the address of a good attorney.
That letter was addressed to me.
Band – Band
The band was playing old Beatles songs.
She always ties her hair back in a band.
Many insects are banded black and yellow.
Bat – Bat
I am afraid of bats.
It’s his first time at bat in the major leagues.
Match – Match
If you suspect a gas leak do not strike a match or use electricity.
Her fingerprints match those found at the scene of the crime.
Mean – Mean
What does this sentence mean?
He needed to find a mean between frankness and rudeness.
Right – Right
I’m sure I’m right.
Take a right turn at the intersection.
Ring – Ring
What a beautiful ring!
The children sat on the floor in a ring.
Rock – Rock
Komuro formed a rock band with some friends while in college.
To build the tunnel, they had to cut through 500 feet of solid rock.
Rose – Rose
She has a rose garden.
Sales rose by 20% over the Christmas period.
Spring – Spring
I’m sorry to spring it on you, but I’ve been offered another job.
He was born in the spring of 1944.
Stalk – Stalk
He ate the apple, stalk and all.
Snatching up my bag, I stalk out of the room.
Well – Well
The conference was very well organized.
The dog fell down a well.
Clip – Clip
They are clips from the new James Bond film.
The wire is held on with a metal clip.
Date – Date
The date on the letter was 30th August 1962.
She and Ron go to the park to date.
Drop – Drop
The apples are beginning to drop from the trees.
A single drop of blood splashed onto the floor.
Fly – Fly
A fly was buzzing against the window.
Let’s fly a kite.
Letter – Letter
There’s a letter for you.
“B” is the second letter of the alphabet.
Palm – Palm
He held the bird gently in the palm of his hand.
The coconut palm is a native of Malaysia.
Park – Park
We went for a walk in the park.
The tennis court is sometimes used as a car park.
Point – Point
He’s just saying that to prove a point.
Everything seemed to point in one direction.
Ruler – Ruler
I have a 12 inch ruler.
King Priam was a firm, but just ruler.
Saw – Saw
Saw is a tool that has a long blade with sharp points along one of its edges.
Last night, I saw a lovely girl.
Scale – Scale
They entertain on a large scale.
He somehow managed to scale the sheer outside wall of the tower.
Ship – Ship
There are two restaurants on board ship.
A new engine was shipped over from the US.
EXAMPLES :
Homonyms can refer to homophones (words that are pronounced the same as other words but differ in meaning and are spelled differently).
Fort – Fought
Just the three of you going to be holding the fort tonight.
He fought many battles with the early Labor party in Lancaster and discrimination against socialist employees was alleged.
Foul – Fowl
He woke up with a foul taste in his mouth.
Fish, fowl and meat, most with a decidedly Southwestern treatment, are represented on the menu.
Groan – Grown
Richard’s jokes make you groan rather than laugh.
He had been a grown man with a small but independent income when he had taken Minnie instead of her to wife.
Holy – Wholly
The priest puts some holy water on the child’s head.
The report claimed that the disaster was wholly unavoidable.
Hour – Our
The interview lasted half an hour.
We showed them some of our photos.
I – Eye
I moved to this city six years ago.
Ow! I’ve got something in my eye!
Know – No
I know people’s handwriting changes as they get older.
“It was Tony.”
“‘No, you’re wrong. It was Ted.”
List of homonyms in English.
Ad – Add
Ail – Ale
Air – Heir
All – Awl
Allowed – Aloud
Alms – Arms
Homonyms List Image
Altar – Alter
Ant – Aunt
Arc – Ark
Ate – Eight
Auger – Augur
Aural – Oral
Baize – Bays
Bald – Bawled
Ball – Bawl
Band – Banned
Bard – Barred
Bare – Bear
Baron – Barren
Be – Bee
Beach – Beech
Bean – Been
Beer – Bier
Berry – Bury
Berth – Birth
Billed – Build
Blue – Blew
Bored – Board
Braid – Brayed
Break – Brake
Brews – Bruise
Bridal – Bridle
Broach – Brooch
Buy – By/ Bye
Capital – Capitol
Cellar – Seller
Census – Sense
Cereal – Serial
Chili – Chilly
Choral – Coral
Cite – Sight / Site
Coarse – Course
Complement – Compliment
Coun – Counsel
Deer – Dear
Die – Dye
Discreet – Discrete
Doe – Dough
Done – Dun
Draft – Draught
Dual – Duel
Earn – Urn
Ewe – You
Farther – Father
Faze – Phase
File – Phial
Find – Fined
Fir – Fur
Flaw – Floor
Flea – Flee
Flew – Flu/ Flue
Flex – Flecks
Flour – Flower
For – Four
Foreword – Forward
Fort – Fought
Foul – Fowl
Gait – Gate
Gamble – Gambol
Genes – Jeans
Gored – Gourd
Great – Grate
Groan – Grown
Hart – Heart
Hear – Here
Heel – Heal
Hi – High
Him – Hymn
Hoard – Horde
Hole – Whole
Holy – Wholly
Hour – Our
I – Eye
Idle – Idol
Incite – Insight
Knead – Need
Knew – New
Knight – Night
Knot – Not
Know – No
Leak – Leek
Lessen – Lesson
Levee – Levy
Links – Lynx
Loan – Lone
Loot – Lute
Made – Maid
Mail – Male
Main – Mane
Manna – Manner
Marshal – Martial
Mask – Masque
Maw – More
Medal – Meddle
Meet – Meat
Might – Mite
Mist – Missed
Moose – Mousse
Muscle – Mussel
None – Nun
Oar – Or
Overdo – Overdue
Pail – Pale
Pain – Pane
Pair – Pear
Passed – Past
Peace – Piece
Peak – Peek
Pedal – Peddle
Plane – Plain
Principal – Principle
Profit – Prophet
Rain – Reign
Red – Read
Right – Write
Ring – Wring
Rode – Road
Role – Roll
Rouse – Rows
Rung – Wrung
Sail – Sale
Sauce – Seen
Scull – Skull
See – Sea
Shoe – Shoo
Side – Sighed
Slay – Sleigh
Soar – Sore
Sole – Soul
Some – Sum
Sort – Sought
Staid – Stayed
Stalk – Stork
Stare – Stair
Stationary – Stationery
Steal – Steel
Stile – Style
Sun – Son
Tail – Tale
Team – Teem
Than – Then
Their – There
Throne – Thrown
Tide – Tied
To – Too / Two
Toe – Tow
Vain – Vein
Vary – Very
Wail – Whale
Waste – Waist
Way – Weigh
Weak – Week
Weather – Whether
Where – Wear
Which – Witch
Who’s – Whose
Won – One
Would – Wood
You’r – Your
Well, I think that’s all the summary of synonyms and homonyms more or less, sorry, hopefully useful and more active learning, the spirit of the nation’s fighters. 💪
nurullaini 