synonym

syn·o·nym | \ ˈsi-nə-ˌnim

Definition of synonym

1 : one of two or more words or expressions of the same language that have the same or nearly the same meaning in some or all senses

2a : a word or phrase that by association is held to embody something (such as a concept or quality) a tyrant whose name has become a synonym for oppression

b : metonym

3 : one of two or more scientific names used to designate the same taxonomic group — compare homonym

Other Words from synonym Some Differences Between Synonyms and Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about synonym

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Some Differences Between Synonyms and Antonyms

The English language (and, we may presume, many other languages) has both antonyms and synonyms. There are many more words with synonyms than there are words with antonyms, since many things exist which do not have an opposite (the word sandwich, for instance, may be said to have synonyms in the words hoagie, grinder, submarine, and many other words, but there is no opposite of sandwich). Antonym is also a much more recent addition to English than synonym is; it first appeared in the 1860s, whereas synonym has been used for more than 500 years. Additionally, both nouns have adjectival forms: synonymous and antonymous. Synonymous, which is often used loosely ("She has become synonymous with good taste"), is the more common of the two.

Examples of synonym in a Sentence

I very much enjoyed the chapter on obscenity, which asks the difficult question of how words deemed taboo differ from their inoffensive synonyms … . It can't obviously be the referent of the term, since that is the same, and it isn't merely that the taboo words are more accurately descriptive … — Colin McGinn, The New York Review of Books, 27 Sept. 2007 The debris hurtled by so fast that the New York Times editorial page seemed to run out of synonyms for disgust, revulsion and abuse. — Michael Duffy et al., Time, 5 Mar. 2001 "Hollywood" is not, of course, a place. Nor is it a synonym for the entertainment business. There are upstanding citizens who make their living in that field. — P. J. O'Rourke, Republican Party Reptile, 1987 “Small” and “little” are synonyms.

Recent Examples on the Web Google has dominated Internet search for so long that the company's name has become a synonym for the act of searching. — Aaron Pressman, Fortune, "5 key things to know about the Google antitrust lawsuit," 20 Oct. 2020 Body-on-frame isn't a synonym for primitive, as evinced by the Escalade's underpinnings. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, "Cadillac gives the new 2021 Escalade SUV a huge technology upgrade," 19 Oct. 2020 The word progressive, therefore, should not be used as synonym for the term liberal, since liberalism concerns itself in the main with individual rights. — Win Mccormack, The New Republic, "How to Make Progressivism Mean Something Again," 25 Sep. 2020 Any word used in a secondary work like the synonym dictionary, according to Merriam-Webster policy, should also be found in the flagship unabridged dictionary. — Ben Zimmer, The Atlantic, "How Racism Made Its Way Into the Dictionary," 4 Sep. 2020 Resetting the line of scrimmage is a synonym for stopping the run. — Ellis L. Williams, cleveland, "Borrowing from the 49ers’ defensive line approach could propel the Browns’ Myles Garrett to his best season yet : Film review," 20 Aug. 2020 Adobe’s photo-editing flagship Photoshop is so successful that the brand is a synonym for digital fakery. — Tom Simonite, Wired, "Photoshop Will Help ID Images That Have Been … Photoshopped," 13 Aug. 2020 The senator’s given name, Kamala Devi—Goddess Kamala—is a synonym for Lakshmi, the Hindu deity of wealth and fortune.... — Tunku Varadarajan, WSJ, "Kamala, Goddess of Wealth Creation," 12 Aug. 2020 Despite a devastating civil war that in the 1980s turned capital Beirut into a synonym for mass destruction, Lebanon has now spent nearly three decades earning praise for innovation, pluralism, and political freedom against the odds. — David Z. Morris, Fortune, "Is this the currency collapse Bitcoiners warned about?," 5 Aug. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'synonym.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.