In this article, we will familiarize ourselves with such an important linguistic concept as words that are close in meaning. This is an extremely important language category. Agree that there are a lot of words in a speech that are similar in meaning. We will tell you what synonyms are and what groups they are divided into.
What is a synonym?
If the same word is repeated in the same statement in each sentence, then the perception of information is maximally complicated. We pay attention to the duplicated word and completely miss the meaning of the whole phrase. As a result, the text becomes uninformative.
It is important to know how to choose words that are close in meaning. They are needed in order to expand our vocabulary and eliminate repetition in the text.
In the Ozhegov dictionary, it is indicated that synonyms are words or phrases that coincide in meaning with another word or expression. That is, between two speech units you can put an equal sign.
Similar words are a fairly broad category. They can be divided into several types.
Semantic synonyms
These are words that differ in some insignificant connotation of meaning. They can be used interchangeably and used in the same style of speech.
Let us give an example of a series of semantic synonyms: joy, rejoicing, rapture.
These words have one common meaning in common: a sense of satisfaction with life. But each semantic synonym has its own unique connotation of meaning.
- Joy is a feeling of inner pleasure.
- Glee is a sensation of wild fun.
- Rapture is a state of ecstasy and admiration.
That is, the words are similar, but slightly different in meaning, have one unique connotation of meaning. Remember that words that are close in meaning are not completely identical language units. Some difference in values is nevertheless observed.
Stylistic synonyms
Already by the name it is clear that such synonyms belong to different styles of speech. You probably know that words can be both neutral and stylistically colored.
Neutral speech units are acceptable for all styles. Stylistically colored words are used in colloquial style. They express the expression, the emotions of the author. Words that are close in meaning are speech units that can refer to different styles of speech.
Here are some examples: face, face, face.
These three words are acceptable to use in different styles. The face is a neutral word, the face is a book, the face is a colloquial word. Please note that the use of slang words in texts of a scientific or business subject is considered a stylistic mistake.
Absolute synonyms
The last group indicates words that are absolutely no different in meaning. They belong to the same style and do not have any additional connotation of meaning.
Often an absolute synonym for a word is a scientific term. This is due to the fact that several variants of the same concept appear, they just came from different languages.
Here is an example: a hippo (a word of Greek origin) and a hippo (a noun appeared in the Hebrew language). Both of these words point to the same animal. And the names are different due to the fact that nouns have different etymologies.
Synonyms and phraseology
As already indicated, synonyms can be not only individual words, but also whole phrases. Including stable expressions.
You can replace whole phraseological units. Here is an example:
- the cat cried - a drop in the sea;
- to distant lands - where Makar did not drive calves.
Phraseologisms will enrich your colloquial speech and help expressively express your thoughts. Synonymous stable phrases can be used in texts of colloquial or artistic style of speech.