Synonyms and Antonyms

Terms

Synonym: A WORD that means the same as another, such as male and masculine. Linguists and many writers agree that there is ‘no such thing as a synonym’, though the reasons for their opinions may differ. Linguists maintain that no two words have the same distribution, frequency, connotation, or language level; the reasons given by others are often vague, but in essence focus on differences in connotation, or reactions evoked in the reader or hearer by alternative words for the same thing. It is therefore perhaps best to say that a synonym is a word that shares the same denotation with another word.

Antonym: One of two WORDS or other expressions that have opposite meanings: fast and slow, hot and cold. Some words are antonymous in some contexts but not others: straight is generally the opposite of bent/curved, but is the antonym of gay in the context of homosexuality. Linguists identify three types of antonymy: (1) Gradable antonyms, which operate on a continuum: (very) big, (very) small. Such pairs often occur in binomial phrases with and: (blow) hot and cold, (search) high and low. (2) Complementary antonyms, which express an either/or relationship: dead or alive, male or female. (3) Converse or relational antonyms, expressing reciprocity: borrow or lend, buy or sell, wife or husband.