Best synonyms in English. English synonyms - learn from the dictionary. Synonyms in English and examples of their use

A dictionary containing synonyms, their explanations, and illustrative material for them; not only explains meanings in words, but also puts at the translator’s disposal sets of lexical means for more precise expression of thoughts... Explanatory translation dictionary

synonym dictionary- see linguistic dictionary...

synonym dictionary Terms and concepts of linguistics: Vocabulary. Lexicology. Phraseology. Lexicography

synonym dictionary- A lexicographic publication intended for a systematic description of synonymous groups, series, paradigms characteristic of the vocabulary of a particular language... Dictionary of linguistic terms T.V. Foal

Synonym dictionary- see Synonymy... Russian humanitarian encyclopedic dictionary

linguistic dictionary- A dictionary that provides an explanation of the meaning and use of words (as opposed to an encyclopedic dictionary, which provides information about relevant realities of objects, phenomena, events). Dialect (regional) dictionary. Dictionary containing... ... Dictionary of linguistic terms

dictionary- Cm … Synonym dictionary

index dictionary- noun, number of synonyms: 2 symphony (14) dictionary (50) ASIS synonym dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013… Synonym dictionary

dictionary-translator Synonym dictionary

dictionary reference- noun, number of synonyms: 1 dictionary (50) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin. 2013… Synonym dictionary

dictionary-thesaurus- noun, number of synonyms: 1 dictionary (50) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin. 2013… Synonym dictionary

Books

• Dictionary of synonyms for schoolchildren, M. V. Petrova. The dictionary of synonyms includes about 6,000 words of both the modern Russian language and outdated words, jargon, etc. it contains the most common words that make up... Buy for 564 rubles
• Dictionary of synonyms of the Russian language, Z. E. Aleksandrova. The dictionary is of interest to people of different professions, and primarily to writers, journalists, and translators. It helps you choose the most suitable word or phrase for more...

Good day, dear readers! If you analyze all the beautiful languages ​​of the world, you will notice that they are rich in synonyms, because it is thanks to them that the richness of speech is achieved. It will not be difficult to choose the correct synonym, the use of which will not change the meaning of the phrase in your native language. But what if you want to find a synonym for a word in English? Naturally, you will have some minor difficulties.

Learning synonyms in English Synonyms are words that differ in sound and spelling, but are very close in lexical meaning, that is, in meaning. Analogues of words enrich the language, enliven and diversify speech. With their help, the monotony of presentation and repetition of the same lexemes are diluted. Despite the fact that the lexical meaning of synonyms is very similar, each word still has its own connotation.

For example, the lexeme "Amazing" (amazing) in English can be replaced by a huge number of words: incredible and fabulous, wonderful, fantastic, astounding, extraordinary and many other wonderful English words that will be useful for you to remember.

As you can see, there is no shortage of synonyms in English, as in Russian. The question is different - how to choose the right analogue that is suitable in meaning? I will try to answer this question in the course of this article. In addition, we will look at the equivalents of the most popular English lexemes.

As a rule, people turn to bilingual dictionaries for help to find the equivalent of a particular word in English. It’s good when your dictionary immediately indicates not only the translation of the main word, but also the entire synonymous series with a list of all equivalents. And if you don’t have one, then you will have to try not to make a mistake with your choice.

English homonyms Well, in the meantime, enrich your vocabulary with the most popular synonyms so that with experience you can easily use those lexemes that fit the meaning of the phrase:

• Awful- dreadful, terrible, horrible - terrible, disgusting, terrible
• Angry- mad, furious, exasperated - angry, irritated, enraged
• Brave- courageous, fearless, heroic, valiant - brave, courageous, heroic
• Cry- shout, yell, scream, roar - shout, shout, yell
• Calm- quiet, peaceful, still - calm, quiet, peaceful
• Dull- boring, uninteresting, slow - boring, tedious, uninteresting
• Idea- thought, concept, understanding, view - idea, plan, concept
• Happy- joyful, cheerful, glad, pleased - happy, satisfied, cheerful

Of course, these are not all English synonyms, since there are a huge number of them. But you can continue this list in the comments.

Use synonyms in your conversation as often as possible, this will significantly diversify and decorate your speech!

Synonyms in English: how and when to use correctly 2015-06-15 2015-06-15 https://site/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/logo.svg?1 Native English Schoolhttps://site/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/List-of-Synonyms-3.png 200px 200px

Have you noticed how tenderly and melodiously the language of Ukrainian and Russian literary speech flows? Like silk flowing over a marble maiden. And everything in it is laconic, beautiful, appropriate. You can listen to such a speech for hours without getting tired at all, but on the contrary, relax, listen to the legends and receive a charge of emotions that will last you for a long time. The language, cherished by writers, has a diverse palette of expressions and words, using which you can describe events or express experiences down to the smallest detail. And this is great if a person is sufficiently literate in his presentation. People's attitude towards him is always respectful, since the culture of speech will always be an indicator of good manners. And it’s always a pleasure to relax and work with such people.

In our article today, the Native English School team invites you to get acquainted with the magicians who make speech more beautiful - synonyms. Of course, we will talk about synonyms in English, the rules of their use and the differences between them.

Now let's look at what they are synonyms. These are words that have similar lexical meanings, belonging to the same part of speech, but having different spellings and sounds. There are quite a large number of them in the English language. You need to pay due attention to the study of English synonyms, since in order to express your thoughts clearly and to the point, you need to choose exactly the word that will correspond to reality.

Synonyms in English and examples of their use

Wonderful - wonderful

Synonyms for wonderful: amazing, extraordinary, incredible, astounding, unbelievable, improbable, fabulous, astonishing, great.

What variety! Take a closer look, each word carries its own semantic connotation, each is unique and will change the meaning of the sentence you say in its own way.

The exact meaning can be found in dictionaries, and more comprehensive dictionaries even provide synonyms.

Bad - bad

Synonyms for the word bad: unfriendly, evil, unfavorable, faulty, rotten, immoral, sinful, wicked, depraved, spoiled, harmful, defective, horrible.

Dull - boring

Synonyms for dull: tiresome, boring, listless, stupid, monotonous, tiring, dumb, slow, insensible, tedious, dreary

Look — look

Synonyms for look: see, watch, gaze, study, survey, stare, spy, glance, peek, peep, view, discover, sight, scrutinize.

• See - see
• Watch - observe

(Think about when you use the word SEE and the word WATCH)

(peek and peep are very similar words, you need to pay attention to what prepositions they are with - into, in,..)

• View - review
• Discover - detect
• Sight - notice, look out
• Scrutinize - look closely

You must strive to make your speech richer and more beautiful. Don’t be lazy to look in the dictionary, do exercises to expand your vocabulary and use synonyms. They will be even more happy to see you if they are also happy to hear from you!

Native English School wishes you a pleasant day at work. Let the high temperature not interfere with you during the day, and let the warm evenings be romantic and pleasant. See you at school at English courses, dear students! =)

Every language is rich in synonyms, thanks to which the beauty of speech is achieved. To find a synonym for a certain word, people most often turn to dictionaries. In your native language, choosing the correct synonym that will not change the meaning of the sentence is not difficult. But what if, for example, you are learning English and want to find a synonym for a certain word? Of course, you may have some difficulties.

A typical dictionary entry, for example, to the word "big"(English) big) as follows:

Big (adjective) - big

• big

large, great, greater, big, high, wide

• large

large, major, big, coarse, massive, heavy

• important

important, significant, great, big, substantial, serious

• significant

significant, great, considerable, large, substantial, big

• wide

wide, broad, general, large, full, big

• high

high, tall, lofty, big, elevated, heavy

• extensive

extensive, vast, large, broad, wide, big

• loud

loud, sounding, big, clarion, strong, ringing

• adult

adult, grown, big, marriageable, grown-up, full-grown

• generous

generous, magnanimous, benevolent, forgiving, noble, big

As you can see, there is no shortage of synonyms. The problem is completely different - how to choose the right one according to your meaning? It’s good if you have an English-Russian dictionary of synonyms, that is, immediately with translation. If not, you need to try not to make a mistake. Of course, the use of a particular word depends on the context.

Example:

Youhaveabigdog.-You have a big dog.

Youhaveafatdog.-You have a fat dog.

Of course, a dog can be just big, and fat, and huge. Think about what exactly you want to say. If you know the translation exactly, then it will be easy for you to choose the correct synonym. If not, try using it in another phrase.

You have a fat house.-Your house is thick. You won't say that, will you?

Not about a house, but about a dog or cat it’s quite possible to say so, of course, if it’s true.

Another example:

Nice – adjective, translated into Russian means "nice". Let's look at the synonyms for the word "pleasant" in English.

Nice (adjective) – good, pleasant

• good

good, well, nice, fine, kind, satisfactory

• nice

pleasant, nice, agreeable, enjoyable, pleasing, good

• Beautiful

beautiful, nice, handsome, lovely, goodly, fair

• Cute

cute, dear, nice, sweet, darling, lovely

• glorious

glorious, nice, famous, decent, pleasant, dear

• Kind

good, kind, kindly, gracious, nice, gentle

• delicious

tasty, yummy, savory, palatable, nice, appetizing

• delicate

elegant, graceful, fine, slim, delicate, nice, courteous

• kind

kind, accommodating, dear, amiable, gracious, nice

• careful

careful, neat, tidy, trim, snug, nice

• thin

thin, fine, subtle, delicate, small, nice

• legible

legible, picky, choosy, discriminating, nice, fastidious

Let's compare the offers:

These flowers smell nice.- These flowers smell nice.

Theseflowerssmellcourteous.– These flowers have a delicate scent.

People usually are courteous if they are civilized. – People are usually delicate if they are well brought up.

As can be seen from the examples, finding a synonym is not a problem. The problem is to use it correctly. A big advantage for you will be the opportunity to speak with native English speakers. In this case, by the expression on their faces or the question, you can understand that “fat house” or “delicate smell of flowers” ​​are not entirely acceptable phrases in English.

The search for interlingual lexical correspondences began at that distant and unknown to the world prehistoric moment when the first interlingual communication began to take place among diverse communities.

The existence of interlingual lexical correspondences is not accidental, but a natural fact of linguistic reality, which, like the possibility of translation itself, is explained by extra and interlinguistic factors.

One of the main reasons determining the natural nature of interlingual correspondences lies in the single material essence of human thinking, which from a physiological, psychological and logical point of view is subject to general laws and is the same for all people, and from a linguistic point of view - mutually adequate. Material reality, which is generally the same for all humanity and is reflected in the concepts enshrined in lexical units, predetermines the existence of interlingual lexical correspondences. Lexical categorization of reality is the division of existence into concepts expressed in words.

In the course of the historical development of human society, the processes of global integration noticeably prevail over the tendencies towards national isolation of peoples. Since the world, the spiritual and material achievements of science and technology, the wealth of cultures, past and present, have many similarities and commonalities and are gaining greater unity in earthly civilization, then the semantic content of the vocabulary of various languages ​​of the world is showing increasing similarity, reducing the amount of so-called non-equivalent vocabulary and conceptual differences in the meanings of compared words. So, the commonality of earthly civilization, the unity of the laws of human thinking and the universality of the natural communication system of mankind determine the possibility of adequate translation in general and the presence of natural lexical correspondences in particular.

Interlingual complete synonyms should be considered words of two (or more) languages ​​that are correlated in one of their meanings, that express the same concept and do not differ from each other in emotional-expressive, stylistic or any other type of constant significant information. House (basically meaning “dwelling, structure, building”) - house - maison - casa; cough -- cough -- tousser -- toser; good -- good -- bon -- bien;

In monolingual terms, complete synonyms (for example, linguistics - linguistics) are a relatively rare phenomenon.

The second type of interlingual synonyms are relative synonyms, which have the same material-semantic content (they are correlated by the same denotation), but the emotional-expressive, stylistic or some other significant information is different. In other words, any word (or an equivalent lexical unit) in the compared meaning is both a complete and a relative synonym, depending on which word of the corresponding synonymous series it is compared with.

The classification of synonyms proposed by Academician V. Vinogradov, namely, dividing them into stylistic, ideographic, and absolute, is successfully used by linguists to describe synonyms in the English language.

Synonyms that represent the same concept in different stylistic registers are called stylistic, respectively, and, as a rule, can be interchanged (especially in the direction of the neutral register). The differences between them are in the scope of application; The shades of the meaning itself are purely stylistic in nature.

The same concept or subject can be named differently in different styles or registers of speech within the same dialect or language variant (gentleman/man/chap; thrifty/economical/stingy), and also differ across dialects and varieties of the same language (cowshed/ cowhouse; haystack/hayrick; tap/faucet; windshield/windscreen). The belonging of synonyms to different styles and registers of speech, i.e. the stylistic coloring of the word, is very important, but it does not affect the conceptual side of the meaning. For example, the words please and pray convey a neutral and archaic connotation of a request, respectively; stop talking and shut up differ in the degree of emotionality and, according to it, areas of use. In this case, there is no conceptual difference between the denotations, but only stylistic restrictions, to which emotive differences can be added. For example, in the series small/ little/ tiny/ wee (girl), the synonyms small and little differ from each other in emotiveness (small -- not large in degree, size, etc.; little -- small, usually emotive, often preceded by another adjective , expressing feeling: a pretty little girl), tiny enhances the meaning of small (tiny -- extremely small), and wee carries semes not only of size and emotional evaluation, but also a stylistic sign of belonging to a dialect (wee -- very small).

Stylistically homogeneous synonyms are usually called ideographic, or conceptual, because they belong to the same (usually neutral) stylistic sphere, they are correlated with the same concept, offering different aspects of the view of it (power -- force -- energy are correlated with the general concept, the most expressed word power (power -- ability to do or act; force -- power of body or mind; energy -- force, capacity to do things and get things done; beautiful -- handsome -- pretty-good-looking describe one and the same feature, expressed to varying degrees and characteristic of different denotations). The meaning common to all members of the series is called invariant, that is, unchanging, to which shades are added in each of the synonyms. The clarifying function of synonymy begins to operate. The bearer of the purest invariant meaning , stylistically neutral is the dominant of the series.In the above examples, the dominant words are power and good-looking.

If the meanings of conceptual synonyms completely coincide (and in a polysemantic word lexical-semantic variants enter into synonymy relations), they are called absolute (or complete) synonyms. There are few such words in the language, and there are pairs (or rows) of absolute synonyms for a short time (spirants/fricatives). Subsequently, a redistribution of semes takes place within the members of the series and synonyms either begin to differ in their sphere of use (term, stylistic coloring, etc.), or acquire a new semantic connotation depending on their compatibility with other words. In the first case they become stylistic, in the second - relative (or partial) conceptual synonyms. Examples of the formation of stylistic synonyms are the division of the spheres of functioning of the nouns valley and dale; verbs sate and cause, the first of which belongs to the general literary layer of vocabulary, and the second is used in the terminological sphere as a philosophical term. The verb cause is also included in the synonymous series cause -- trigger -- start, the members of which are partial conceptual synonyms, differing not stylistically, but in shades of meaning (cause: make smth happen; trigger -- be the cause of smth serious or violent; start -- make a beginning of smth).

The same subject relatedness is also manifested in the fact that synonymous relations can appear in speech between those words that are not synonyms in the language. Thus, the words poet and swan are not connected by any common meaning, but in speech both of these words are used synonymously in the meaning of poet, if we are talking about W. Shakespeare (the Swan of Avon). The generality of the context in this case allows us to call such synonyms contextual. A number of contextual synonyms become fixed in the language over time, appearing in the same context, and then we can talk about contextual synonymy of individual lexical-semantic variants of a polysemantic word. For example, the verbs smash, condemn, stop, fight are not synonyms in their basic meaning, but in the context of racism they are united by the dominant fight.

It is important to consider synonyms not so much as words that can replace each other, but as words that clarify the thought and attitude to what is being expressed. Working on synonyms reveals not only the correspondences, but also the differences between them. These differences may relate to additional meanings, stylistic characteristics and usage in combination with certain words.

Synonyms are distinguished by the commonality of their subject meaning (the subject meaning coincides with the scope of the meaning of the word). Synonyms are single-field, categorically identical vocabulary units that coincide in scope in one or more dictionary meanings.

For example: brave - brave, secret - mystery, linguistics and linguistics; to end - to finish, jail - prison, gulf - bay, car - automobile.

Synonyms name the same class of objects. When we talk about synonyms in lexicology, we mean and compare the dictionary meanings of words.

The same objects acquire two names:

• a) due to chance (in this case, one of them gradually falls out of use)
• b) or due to logical necessity: each of the words characterizes the subject differently (in this case, each of the words is preserved in the language, assigned to different styles of speech).

The criterion for synonymy is the coincidence of the volumes of meaning and the possibility of using a word to name all objects that make up the volume of meaning of the word.

The difference between synonyms as words with identical subject meaning can go along several lines.

Synonyms can:

do not coincide in all dictionary meanings (if the word is ambiguous)

not coincide in all combinatorial meanings (i.e. differ in compatibility)

differ in the component composition of meanings (i.e. have different defining, emotional and associative meanings)

vary in place of distribution, time of use and area of ​​use.

Based on the above, we can distinguish the following types of synonyms:

• 1) full and partial
• 2) combinatorially identical and combinatorially non-identical;
• 3) identical in component composition (semantic doublets) and different in component composition (emotionally - non-identical, defining - non-identical);
• 4) single-style and multi-style
• 5) American-British synonyms - names of the same objects adopted in American and British English.

The same synonyms can belong to different types, for example, they can simultaneously be partial, emotionally non-identical synonyms that differ in the place of distribution.

Complete synonyms - they have all the same dictionary meanings.

Pilot: airman - flyer - flying man

Screenwriter: screenwriter - scriptwriter - scripter - scenarist

Partials are polysemantic words that coincide only in some of their dictionary meanings.

Combinatorially non-identical synonyms are words that coincide in dictionary meanings, but do not coincide in combinatorial meanings. They have different compatibility and cannot replace each other in all similar contexts.

Table 1

Semantic doublets, i.e. synonyms having the same component composition, i.e. There are very few that coincide in defining, emotional and associative meanings, they practically do not exist.

While coinciding in their subject meaning, synonyms usually differ in other components.

4) emotionally non-identical synonyms - express different emotional-evaluative attitudes towards the same objects and, as a rule, belong to different styles of speech, being at the same time multi-style synonyms.

soldier (stylistically unmarked) - warrior (triumphant)

get arrested - get nailed (rude)

get married - get buckled (joking)

he saw a girl (stylistically neutral) - he was held a girl (celebratory, book style)

5) associatively non-identical synonyms have different associative meanings.

They are semantically derived from different roots and correlate the same object with different classes of objects.

For example: money: cabbage, chips, berries, dough, brass

prison: cage, den, cooler, school, can, hotel.

Associatively non-identical synonyms, as a rule, differ in emotional coloring and scope of use and are multi-style synonyms.

6) definitively non-identical synonyms - synonyms, of which one expresses an everyday concept, and the other a scientifically developed one, about the same subject. Let us compare, for example, the conceptual content of the words water, acid, power, area in everyday and scientific understanding.

Over a period of time, synonyms may be used in parallel, differing only in associative meaning (which is a secondary component) and compatibility, but ultimately they are either clearly differentiated stylistically, or one of them falls out of use.

There are many synonymous pairs in English, in which one of the synonyms is the phrase:

Die - pass away, join the great majority, take the ferry, kick the bucket, go the way of all flesh.

7) false synonyms are single-field categorically identical words that, unlike synonyms, name not one class of objects, but different classes of objects.

There are 2 types of false synonyms: interchangeable in some cases: car and vehicle, and non-interchangeable: famous and notorious.

Vehicle (vehicle) and car (car, machine) - express generic and specific concepts. Their volumes partially coincide, they can sometimes replace each other, but at the same time the content of the statement changes: the thought is expressed more accurately or less accurately.

Vehicle is not only a car. If we say vehicle, meaning a car, then the features that distinguish a car from other means of transportation are not important to us.

I.V. Arnold distinguishes ideographic synonyms and stylistic synonyms:

Ideographic synonyms differ either in additional meanings, or in their use and compatibility with others, or both.

to understand - to realize

to understand - refers to something. a specific statement to understand words, a rule, a text, to realize - implies the ability to grasp some situation.

Stylistic synonyms are close, and sometimes identical in meaning, but used in different language styles:

enemy (v. neutral)

opponent (official)