general english gse 321
A synonym is a word having the
same or nearly the same meaning as
another word in certain contexts. The
adjective form is synonymous. Synonymy is the relationship that exists between
words with closely related meanings. The word comes from the Greek meaning
"same name." Contrast with an antonym. A synonym for the term synonym is poecilonym
Can Two Words Be Truly Synonymous?
There
is some debate as to whether two words can truly be synonymous. If they're
different words, they must mean something slightly different or have contexts
where you'd use one or the other, the reasoning goes, which makes
them only nearly synonymous but not truly the same thing.
Two
words just can't be completely interchangeable in all occurrences. When would two words have all of exactly the same meanings?
- Baffle:
confuse, deceive
- Beautiful:
attractive, pretty, lovely, stunning
- Bossy:
controlling, tyrannical
- Rich:
affluent, wealthy, well-off, well-to-do
- Strong:
stable, secure, solid, tough
- True:
genuine, factual, accurate, correct, real
- Turbulent:
disordered, violent
- Unhappy:
sad, depressed, melancholy, miserable
- Valid:
authorized, legitimate
- Weak:
frail, infirm, puny, fragile
Antonyms are
words that have contrasting, or opposite, meanings. Like so much of the English
language, “antonym” is rooted in the Greek
language. The Greek word anti means
opposite, while onym means
name. Opposite name – that makes sense!
Since the English language is so complex, people may disagree
about which words truly have opposite
meanings. With the examples of antonyms listed below, we try to clear
that up and offer some tactics for choosing the most appropriate word every
time
ypes of Antonyms
You may be interested
to know that there are three different kinds of antonyms. Let’s take a look at
each one:
Complementary: Complementary antonyms have no middle
ground. Examples include:
- boy — girl, off — on, night — day, entrance — exit,
exterior — interior, true — false, dead — alive, push — pull, pass — fail
Relational: These are similar to complementary antonyms,
except that both must exist for them to be antonyms of each other. Check out
these examples:
- above — below, doctor — patient, husband — wife,
servant — master, borrow — lend, give — receive, predator — prey, buy —
sell, instructor — pupil
Graded: These antonyms deal with levels of
comparison and they can be two words on a scale. Many are relative terms, which
can be interpreted differently by different people. Examples include:
- young — elderly, hard — easy, happy — wistful, wise —
foolish, fat — slim, warm — cool, early — late, fast — slow, dark — pale
examples
1. Agree → disagree
2. Appear → disappear
3. Belief → disbelief
4. Honest → dishonest
5. Tolerant → intolerant
6. Decent → indecent
7. Discreet → indiscreet
8. Excusable → inexcusable
9. Behave → misbehave
10. Interpret → misinterpret
Homonyms are two words that are spelled the same and sound the same
but have different meanings. The word "homonym" comes from the prefix "homo-," which
means the same, and the suffix "-nym,"
which means name. Therefore, a homonym is a word that has the same name as
another word, meaning that the two words look and sound exactly alike.
BILL
Bill – this
is a noun that
means “money owed for goods or services supplied or a written or printed
account or statement of money owed”. It also means a printed or written
advertisement for a programme, event, concert, show, etc. Look at these sentences:
·
He requested his bill from the waiter.
·
We distributed the handbills for the
concert.
Bill –
this is also a noun that means the beak of a bird, that is, the projecting jaws
of a bird, covered with a horny sheath. E. g.
·
The cormorant has a hooked bill.
·
The pelican picked the fish with its large
bill.
FAIR
Fair –
this is an adjective that
means attractive or beautiful to look at, light in colour. It also means just,
impartial, free from discrimination or dishonesty. E. g.
·
She is a fair woman.
·
It is a fair weather.
·
The decision of the judge was fair enough.
Fair –
in this regard, the word fair, which is a noun, means a travelling
entertainment with sideshows, rides, etc. that visits different places from
time to time. It also means an exhibition, a regular assembly at a specific
place for the sale of goods, etc.
·
I got the journal at the university book
fair.
·
The child won big balloons at the fair.
PULSE
Pulse – a
pulse, in this context is the “the rhythmic contraction and expansion of an
artery at each beat of the heart, often discernible to the touch at points such
as the wrists”. E. g.
·
He has a weak pulse
·
The doctor could not get the baby’s pulse.
Pulse –
Pulse, in this other sense, means “the edible seeds of any of several
leguminous plants, such as peas, beans, lentils, clover, alfalfa, etc.
·
To stay healthy, one must eat food made
with pulses.
Row
·
Row (noun)
– an arrangement of persons or things in a line or a line of seats
·
Row (verb) – to propel or steer a boat
by means of oars
Bear
·
Bear (noun)
– a large omnivorous animal with a large head, a long shaggy coat, and strong
claws
·
Bear (verb)
– tolerate or endure, support or hold up, hold something in one’s mind or
feelings
Rear
·
Rear –
to care for and raise children, breed animals, erect a monument or building
·
Rear –
the position at the back, back or hind part.
Low
·
Low (noun)
– the sound utter by cattle
·
Low –
(adjective) – having little value or quality, containing a small amount, having
a small distance from base to top, situated short distance above the ground or
sea level
pike
pike (the fish) and pike (the weapon)
(These homonyms are homographs - they have the
same spelling.)
·
lead (the metal)
and lead (which attaches to
a dog's collar)
(These homographs are
heteronyms.)
tear
·
tear (water drop from
the eye) and tear (a rip)
(These homographs are
heteronyms.)
·
lie (an untruth)
and lie (to lie down)
- Address -
to speak to / location
- Air -
oxygen / a lilting tune
- Arm -
body part / division of a company
- Band -
a musical group / a ring
- Bark -
a tree's out layer / the sound a dog makes
- Bat -
an implement used to hit a ball / a nocturnal flying mammal
- Bright -
very smart or intelligent / filled with light
- Circular -
taking the form of a circle / a store advertisement
- Current -
up to date / flow of water
- Die -
to cease living / a cube marked with numbers one through six
- Express -
something done fast / to show your thoughts by using words
- Fair -
equitable / beautiful
- Jag -
a sharp, jutted object / a crying spree
- Kind -
type / caring
- Lie -
to recline / to tell a falsehood
- Match -
to pair like items / a stick for making a flame
- Mean -
average / not nice
- Pole -
a person from Poland / a piece of metal that holds a flag
- Pound -
unit of weight / to beat
- Quarry -
a site for mining stone / to extract or obtain slowly
- Ream -
a pile of paper / to juice a citrus fruit
- Ring -
a band on a finger / something circular in shape
- Right -
correct / direction opposite of left
- Rock -
a genre of music / a stone
- Rose -
to have gotten up / a flower
- Spring -
a season / coiled metal
- Stalk -
a part of a plant / to follow or harass someone
- Tender -
gentle / offer of money
- Tire -
to grow fatigued / a part of a wheel
- Well -
in good health / a source for water in the ground
A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as
another word but differs in meaning. A homophone may also differ in spelling.
The two words may be spelled the
same, as in rose (flower) and rose (past tense
of rise), or differently, as in rain, reign,
and rein. The term "homophone" may also apply to units
longer or shorter than words, such as phrases, letters, or groups of letters
which are pronounced the same as another phrase, letter, or group of letters.
Any unit with this property is said to be "homophonous".
·
Homophones that are spelled the same are also both homographs and homonyms.
References[edit]
1.
^ a b homonym, Random House Unabridged
Dictionary at dictionary.com
2.
^ "Linguistics 201: Study Sheet for Semantics".
Pandora.cii.wwu.edu. Archived from the original on 2013-06-17. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
3.
^ Semantics: a coursebook, p. 123, James R.
Hurford and Brendan Heasley, Cambridge University Press, 1983
4.
^ "the
definition of homonymous". www.dictionary.com.
5.
^ "homonymous — definition, examples, related words
and more at Wordnik". Wordnik.com.
Fausto Cercignani, Beispielsätze mit deutschen Homophonen (Example
sentences with German homophones).
