Synonyms

What is a synonym?

A synonym is a word that has the same meaning as another word (or nearly the same meaning). For example, beautiful and attractive are synonyms of each other because they both refer to someone or something that looks good. 

Synonyms come in every part of speech, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions.

As a synonym example, let’s look at synonyms for good. As one of the most commonly used words, good has a lot of synonyms that mean the same or almost the same thing: fine, excellent, satisfactory, wonderful, superb, etc. 

Notice how the meanings are not always identical; for example, excellent is a high degree of good, while satisfactory is more like a minimal amount of good. Still, the central idea is the same. All these synonyms refer to something that is positive and not bad. 

What is the purpose of synonyms?

Synonyms can improve word choice, or choosing the single best word for what you are trying to communicate. 

Synonyms are necessary to avoid overusing the same word.

1. Word choice

First, synonyms are crucial for choosing the perfect word. While some languages have only one word for one meaning, English uses a variety of words to convey a single meaning, each with its own unique and subtle distinction. This variety of words is partly thanks to English’s usage of loan words, or words from other languages. 

Let’s return to our synonym example for good. If you want to call something good, you can also call it fine or excellent. However, while good, fine, and excellent are all similar, there are some subtle differences. Fine tends to have a lesser degree of good, while excellent tends to have a greater degree of good. 

Choosing the precise word is essential to writing well. The differences between good, fine, and excellent can affect communication, so if you say a meal was “fine,” it has a slightly different meaning than if you say the meal was “excellent,” even though they’re synonyms. 

In short, the more synonyms you know, the better you will be at choosing the best word for what you want to communicate. That nuance is a significant part of all writing—especially persuasive writing, where you are choosing words that connect with a specific type of reader. 

2.  Avoid overusing words

The second main use of synonyms is to avoid using the same word over and over again. Repeating a specific word can be a problem when your writing focuses on a single topic—as writing often does—and most of your sentences involve words related to that topic. Alternating synonyms for the sake of variety is known as elegant variation. 

For example, let’s say you’re writing a research paper about dogs. If every sentence used the word dog, your writing would become repetitive, and your reader might lose interest. 

In this case, you’d want to alternate your sentences with synonyms of dog. You could use general synonyms like hound or canine, or if you’re talking about a particular type of dog, you could use words like puppy or mutt. 

By alternating synonyms for each new sentence or clause, your writing becomes more interesting and dynamic. This holds the reader’s attention and makes reading your work more enjoyable.