synonym
synonym — noun
- synonymsingular
- synonymsplural
1. a word that shares a very similar meaning with another word from the same langua
a word that shares a very similar meaning with another word from the same language — for example, 'happy' and 'glad', or 'large' and 'big'
The teacher asked the class to write a synonym for 'angry' in their notebooks.
synonym for + [word]
Dr. Okafor pointed out that 'tiny' and 'small' are close synonyms but not exact matches.
close synonyms — near but not exact match
The editor replaced 'big' with a better synonym that fit the tone of the article.
The children found five synonyms for 'said' in the thesaurus during the writing lesson.
The exam question asked students to circle the word that is not a synonym of 'brave'.
- equivalent
more formal; used in logic or mathematics to mean interchangeable in value
- near-synonym
more precise; acknowledges the match is not perfect
- antonym
a word with the opposite meaning
用法筆記
Only sense that takes modifiers like 'close', 'near', 'exact', or 'perfect' to show how alike the meanings are.
常見錯誤
2. a word or name that people connect so strongly with a quality or idea that it br
a word or name that people connect so strongly with a quality or idea that it brings that quality to mind — for example, when someone's name becomes a synonym for courage
After thirty years of honest work, Judge Tanaka's name became a synonym for trust.
name became a synonym for + [quality]
That car brand turned into a global synonym for speed and engineering excellence.
brand turned into a synonym for + [quality]
The old industrial town was once a synonym for polluted air and dead rivers.
For millions of readers, that author's name is a synonym for gripping mystery stories.
In election debates, the capital city became a synonym for wasteful spending and corruption.
- byword
more literary; often used for negative qualities (a byword for cruelty)
- embodiment
refers to the person or thing itself, not the word for it
- epitome
the perfect or most typical example of a quality
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1 (SAME MEANING): this sense is about what a word or name represents in people's minds, not about shared dictionary definitions.