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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

syn·o·nym

Audio Help [sin-uh-nim] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	a word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another in the language, as joyful, elated, glad.

2.	a word or expression accepted as another name for something, as Arcadia for pastoral simplicity; metonym.

3.	Biology. one of two or more scientific names applied to a single taxon.

[Origin: 1400–50; < L synōnymum < Gk synnymon, n. use of neut. of synnymos synonymous; r. ME sinonyme < MF < L, as above

]

—Related forms

syn·o·nym·ic, syn·o·nym·i·cal, adjective

syn·o·nym·i·ty

Audio Help [sin-uh-nim-i-tee] Pronunciation Key, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Synonym

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

syn·o·nym Audio Help (sĭn'ə-nĭm') Pronunciation Key
n.

A word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another word or other words in a language.
A word or an expression that serves as a figurative or symbolic substitute for another.
Biology A scientific name of an organism or of a taxonomic group that has been superseded by another name at the same rank.

[Middle English sinonyme, from Old French synonyme, from Latin synōnymum, from Greek sunōnumon, from neuter of sunōnumos, synonymous; see synonymous.]

syn'o·nym'ic, syn'o·nym'i·cal adj., syn'o·nym'i·ty n.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
synonym

1432 (but rare before 18c.), from L. synonymum, from Gk. synonymon "word having the same sense as another," noun use of neut. of synonymos "having the same name as, synonymous," from syn- "together, same" + onyma, Aeolic dialectal form of onoma "name" (see name). Synonymous is attested from 1610.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

synonym
noun
two words that can be interchanged in a context are said to be synonymous relative to that context [ant: antonym]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Synonym

In\, prep. [AS. in; akin to D. & G. in, Icel. [=i], Sw. & Dan. i, OIr. & L. in, Gr. 'en. [root]197. Cf. 1st In-, Inn.] The specific signification of in is situation or place with respect to surrounding, environment, encompassment, etc. It is used with verbs signifying being, resting, or moving within limits, or within circumstances or conditions of any kind conceived of as limiting, confining, or investing, either wholly or in part. In its different applications, it approaches some of the meanings of, and sometimes is interchangeable with, within, into, on, at, of, and among. It is used:

1. With reference to space or place; as, he lives in Boston; he traveled in Italy; castles in the air.

The babe lying in a manger. --Luke ii. 16.

Thy sun sets weeping in the lowly west. --Shak.

Situated in the forty-first degree of latitude. --Gibbon.

Matter for censure in every page. --Macaulay.

2. With reference to circumstances or conditions; as, he is in difficulties; she stood in a blaze of light. "Fettered in amorous chains." --Shak.

Wrapt in sweet sounds, as in bright veils. --Shelley.

3. With reference to a whole which includes or comprises the part spoken of; as, the first in his family; the first regiment in the army.

Nine in ten of those who enter the ministry. --Swift.

4. With reference to physical surrounding, personal states, etc., abstractly denoted; as, I am in doubt; the room is in darkness; to live in fear.

When shall we three meet again, In thunder, lightning, or in rain? --Shak.

5. With reference to character, reach, scope, or influence considered as establishing a limitation; as, to be in one's favor. "In sight of God's high throne." --Milton.

Sounds inharmonious in themselves, and harsh. --Cowper.

6. With reference to movement or tendency toward a certain limit or environment; -- sometimes equivalent to into; as, to put seed in the ground; to fall in love; to end in death; to put our trust in God.

He would not plunge his brother in despair. --Addison.

She had no jewels to deposit in their caskets. --Fielding.

7. With reference to a limit of time; as, in an hour; it happened in the last century; in all my life.

In as much as, or Inasmuch as, in the degree that; in like manner as; in consideration that; because that; since. See Synonym of Because, and cf. For as much as, under For, prep.

In that, because; for the reason that. "Some things they do in that they are men . . .; some things in that they are men misled and blinded with error." --Hooker.

In the name of, in behalf of; on the part of; by authority; as, it was done in the name of the people; -- often used in invocation, swearing, praying, and the like.

To be in for it. (a) To be in favor of a thing; to be committed to a course. (b) To be unable to escape from a danger, penalty, etc. [Colloq.]

To be (or keep) in with. (a) To be close or near; as, to keep a ship in with the land. (b) To be on terms of friendship, familiarity, or intimacy with; to secure and retain the favor of. [Colloq.]

Syn: Into; within; on; at. See At.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Synonym

Syn"o*nym\, n. 1. An incorrect or incorrectly applied scientific name, as a new name applied to a species or genus already properly named, or a specific name preoccupied by that of another species of the same genus; -- so used in the system of nomenclature (which see) in which the correct scientific names of certain natural groups (usually genera, species, and subspecies) are regarded as determined by priority.

2. One of two or more words corresponding in meaning but of different languages; a heteronym. [Rare]

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