English-Grammar - Synonym

English-Grammar

Synonym

 

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." There is some debate as to whether two words can truly be synonymous. Two words just can't be completely interchangeable in all occurrences. Synonyms occur in a language in different contexts, such as formal and informal language. Some synonyms have slightly different connotations when they're used, even though they might mean the same thing.

Examples:

Abate - subside, or moderate

Aberrant - abnormal, or deviant

Abeyance - suspended action

Abscond - depart secretly and hide

Abstemious - sparing in eating and drinking; temperate

Admonish - warn; reprove

Adulterate - make impure by adding inferior or tainted substances

Aesthetic - artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciating the beautiful

Aggregate - gather; accumulate

Alacrity - cheerful promptness; eagerness

Alleviate - relieve

Amalgamate - combine; unite in one body

Ambiguous - unclear or doubtful in meaning

Ambivalence - the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes

Ameliorate - improve

Anachronism - something or someone misplaced in time

Analogous - comparable

Anarchy - absence of governing body; state of disorder

Anomalous - abnormal; irregular

Antipathy - aversion; dislike

Apathy - lack of caring; indifference

Appease - pacify or soothe; relieve

Apprise - inform

Approbation - approval

Arduous - hard; strenuous

Artless - without guile; open and honest

Ascetic - practicing self-denial; austere

Assiduous - diligent

Assuage - ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger)

Attenuate - make thinner

Audacious - daring; bold

Austere - forbiddingly stern; severely simple and unornamented

Autonomous - self-governing; independent

Aver - assert confidently or declare; as used in law, state formally as a fact

Banal - hackneyed; commonplace; trite; lacking originality

Belie - contradict; give a false impression

Beneficent - kindly; doing good

Bolster - support; reinforce

Bombastic - pompous; using inflated language

Boorish - rude; insensitive

Burgeon - grow forth; send out buds

Burnish - make shiny by rubbing; polish

Buttress - support; prop up

Capricious - unpredictable; fickle

Castigation - punishment; severe criticism

Catalyst - agent that increases the pace of a chemical action

Caustic - burning; sarcastically biting

Chicanery - trickery; deception

Coagulate - thicken; congeal; clot

Coda - concluding section of a musical or literary composition; summarizes or concludes

Cogent - convincing

Commensurate - corresponding in extent, degree, etc.; proportionate

Compendium - brief, comprehensive summary

Complaisant - trying to please; overly polite; obliging

Compliant - yielding; conforming to requirements

Conciliatory - reconciling; soothing

Condone - overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse

Confound - confuse; puzzle

Connoisseur - person competent to act as a judge of art; a lover of art

Contention - claim; thesis

Contentious - quarrelsome

Contrite - penitent

Conundrum - riddle; difficult problem

Converge - approach; tend to meet; come together

Convoluted - coiled around; involved; intricate

Craven - cowardly

Daunt - intimidate; frighten

Decorum - propriety; orderliness and good taste in manners

Default - failure to act

Deference - courteous regard for another’s wishes

Delineate - portray; depict; sketch

Denigrate - blacken

Deride - ridicule; make fun of

Derivative - unoriginal; obtained from another source

Desiccate - dry up

Desultory - aimless; haphazard; digressing at random

Deterrent - Something that discourages; hindrance

Diatribe - bitter scolding; invective

Dichotomy - split; branching into two parts (especially contradictory ones)

Diffidence - Shyness

Diffuse - wordy, rambling, spread out (like a gas)

Digression - Wandering away from the subject

Dirge - Lament with music

Disabuse - correct a false impression; undeceive

Discerning - mentally quick and observant; having insight

Discordant - not harmonious; conflicting

Discredit - defame; destroy confidence in; disbelieve

Discrepancy - lack of consistency; difference

Discrete - separate; unconnected; consisting of distinct parts

Disingenuous - lacking genuine candor; insincere

Disinterested - unprejudiced

Disjointed - lacking coherence; separated at the joints

Dismiss - eliminate from consideration; reject

Disparage - belittle Disparate adj. basically different; unrelated

Dissemble - disguise; pretend

Disseminate - distribute; spread; scatter (like seeds)

Dissolution - disintegration; looseness in morals

Dissonance - discord; opposite of harmony

Distend - expand; swell out

Distill - purify; refine; concentrate

Diverge - vary; go in different directions from the same point

Divest - strip; deprive

Document - provide written evidence

Dogmatic - opinionated; arbitrary; doctrinal

Dormant - sleeping; lethargic; latent

Dupe - someone easily fooled

Ebullient - showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm

Eclectic - selective; composed of elements drawn from disparate sources

Efficacy - power to produce desired effect

Effrontery - impudence; shameless boldness; sheer nerve; presumptuousness

Elegy - poem or song expressing lamentation

Elicit - draw out by discussion

Embellish - adorn; ornament; enhance, as a story

Empirical - based on experience

Emulate - imitate; rival

Endemic - prevailing among a specific group of people or in a specific area or country

Enervate - weaken Engender cause; produce

Enhance - increase; improve

Ephemeral - short-lived; fleeting

Equanimity - calmness of temperament; composure

Equivocate - lie; mislead; attempt to conceal the truth

Erudite - learned; scholarly

Esoteric - hard to understand; known only to the chosen few

Eulogy - expression of praise, often on the occasion of someone’s death

Euphemism - mild expression in place of an unpleasant one

Exacerbate - worsen; embitter

Exculpate - clear from blame

Exigency - urgent situation; pressing needs or demands; state of requiring immediate attention

Extrapolation - projection; conjecture

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Facetious - joking (often inappropriately); humorous

Facilitate - help bring about; make less difficult

Fallacious - false; misleading

Fatuous - brainless; inane; foolish, yet smug

Fawning - trying to please by behaving obsequiously, flattering, or cringing

Felicitous - apt; suitably expressed; well chosen

Fervor - glowing ardor; intensity of feeling

Flag - droop; grow feeble

Fledgling - inexperienced

Flout - reject; mock; show contempt for

Foment - stir up; instigate

Forestall - prevent by taking action in advance

Frugality - thrift; economy

Futile - useless; hopeless; ineffectual

Gainsay - deny

Garrulous - loquacious; talkative; wordy

Goad - urge on

Gouge - overcharge

Grandiloquent - pompous; bombastic; using high-sounding language

Gregarious - sociable

Guileless - without deceit

Gullible - easily deceived

  

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Harangue - long, passionate, and vehement speech

Homogeneous - of the same kind

Hyperbole - exaggeration; overstatement

Iconoclastic - attacking cherished traditions

Idolatry - worship of idols; excessive admiration

Immutable - unchangeable

Impair - injure; hurt

Impassive - without feeling; imperturbable; stoical

Impede - hinder; block

Impermeable - impervious; not permitting passage through its substance

Imperturbable - calm; placid

Impervious - impenetrable; incapable of being damaged or distressed

Implacable - incapable of being pacified

Implicit - understood but not stated

Implode - burst inward

Inadvertently - unintentionally; by oversight; carelessly

Inchoate - recently begun; rudimentary; elementary

Incongruity - lack of harmony; absurdity

Inconsequential - insignificant; unimportant

Incorporate - introduce something into a larger whole; combine; unite

Indeterminate - uncertain; not clearly fixed; indefinite

Indigence - poverty

Indolent - Lazy

Inert - inactive; lacking power to move

Ingenuous - naive and trusting; young; unsophisticated

Inherent - firmly established by nature or habit

Innocuous - Harmless

Insensible - unconscious; unresponsive

Insinuate - hint; imply; creep in

Insipid - lacking in flavor; dull

Insularity - narrow-mindedness; isolation

Intractable - unruly; stubborn; unyielding

Intransigence - refusal of any compromise; stubbornness

Inundate - overwhelm; flood; submerge

Inured - accustomed; hardened

Invective - abuse

Irascible - irritable; easily angered

Irresolute - uncertain how to act; weak

Itinerary - plan of a trip

Laconic - brief and to the point

Lassitude - languor; weariness

Latent - potential but undeveloped; dormant; hidden

Laud - praise

Lethargic - drowsy; dull

Levee - stone embankment to prevent flooding

Levity - lack of seriousness or steadiness; frivolity

Log - record of a voyage or flight; record of day-to-day activities

Loquacious - talkative

Lucid - easily understood; clear; intelligible

Luminous - shining; issuing light

Magnanimity - Generosity

Malingerer - one who feigns illness to escape duty

Malleable - capable of being shaped by pounding; impressionable

Maverick - rebel; nonconformist

Mendacious - lying; habitually dishonest

Metamorphosis - change of form

Meticulous - excessively careful; painstaking; scrupulous

Misanthrope - one who hates mankind

Mitigate - appease; moderate

Mollify - soothe

Morose - ill-humored; sullen; melancholy

Mundane - worldly as opposed to spiritual; everyday

Negate - cancel out; nullify; deny

Neophyte - recent convert; beginner

Obdurate - stubborn

Obsequious - lavishly attentive; servile; sycophantic

Obviate - make unnecessary; get rid of

Occlude - shut; close

Officious - meddlesome; excessively pushy in offering one’s services

Onerous - burdensome

Opprobrium - infamy; vilification

Oscillate - vibrate; waver

Ostentatious - showy; pretentious; trying to attract attention

Paragon - model of perfection

Partisan - one-sided; prejudiced; committed to a party

Pathological - pertaining to disease

Paucity - Scarcity

Pedantic - showing off learning; bookish

Penchant - strong inclination; liking

Penury - severe poverty; stinginess

Perennial - something long-lasting

Perfidious - treacherous; disloyal

Perfunctory - superficial; not thorough; lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm

Permeable - penetrable; porous; allowing liquids or gas to pass through

Pervasive - spread throughout

Phlegmatic - calm; not easily disturbed

Piety - devoutness; reverence for God

Placate - pacify; conciliate

Plasticity - ability to be molded

Platitude - trite remark; commonplace statement

Plethora - excess; overabundance

Plummet - fall sharply

Porous - full of pores; like a sieve

Pragmatic - practical (as opposed to idealistic); concerned with the practical worth or impact of something

Preamble - introductory statement

Precarious - uncertain; risky

Precipitate - rash, premature, hasty, sudden

Precursor - forerunner

Presumptuous - arrogant; taking liberties

Prevaricate - lie

Pristine - characteristic of earlier times; primitive; unspoiled

Probity - uprightness; incorruptibility

Problematic - doubtful; unsettled; questionable; perplexing

Prodigal - wasteful; reckless with money

Profound - deep; not superficial; complete

Prohibitive - tending to prevent the purchase or use of something; inclined to prevent or forbid

Proliferate - grow rapidly; spread; multiply

Propensity - natural inclination

Propitiate - appease

Propriety - fitness; correct conduct

Proscribe - ostracize; banish; outlaw

Pungent - stinging; sharp in taste or smell; caustic

Qualified - limited; restricted

Quibble - minor objection or complaint

Quiescent - at rest; dormant; temporarily inactive

Rarefied - made less dense (of a gas)

Recalcitrant - obstinately stubborn; determined to resist authority; unruly

Recant - disclaim or disavow; retract a previous statement; openly confess error

Recluse - hermit; loner

Recondite - abstruse; profound; secret

Refractory - stubborn; unmanageable

Refute - disprove

Relegate - banish to an inferior position; delegate; assign

Reproach - express disapproval or disappointment

Reprobate - person hardened in sin; devoid of a sense of decency

Repudiate - disown; disavow

Rescind - cancel

Resolution - Determination

Resolve - determination; firmness of purpose

Reticent - reserved; uncommunicative; inclined to silence

Reverent - respectful; worshipful Sage person celebrated for wisdom

Salubrious - healthful

Sanction - approve; ratify

Satiate - satisfy fully

Saturate - soak thoroughly

Savor - enjoy; have a distinctive flavor, smell, or quality

Secrete - hide away or cache; produce and release a substance into an organism

Shard - fragment, generally of pottery

Skeptic - doubter; person who suspends judgment until having examined evidence supporting a point of view

Solicitous - worried; concerned

Soporific - sleep-causing; marked by sleepiness

Specious - seemingly reasonable but incorrect; misleading (often intentionally)

Spectrum - colored band produced when a beam of light passes through a prism

Sporadic - occurring irregularly

Stigma - token of disgrace; brand

Stint - be thrifty; set limits

Stipulate - make express conditions; specify

Stolid - dull; impassive

Striated - marked with parallel bands; grooved

Strut - pompous walk

Strut - supporting bar

Subpoena - writ summoning a witness to appear

Subside - settle down; descend; grow quiet

Substantiate - establish by evidence; verify; support

Supersede - cause to be set aside; replace; make obsolete

Supposition - hypothesis; surmise

Tacit - understood; not put into words

Tangential - peripheral; only slightly connected; digressing

Tenuous - thin; rare; slim

Tirade - extended scolding; denunciation; harangue

Torpor - lethargy; sluggishness; dormancy

Tortuous - winding; full of curves

Tractable - docile; easily managed

Transgression - violation of a law; sin

Truculence - aggressiveness; ferocity

Vacillate - waver; fluctuate

Venerate - revere

Veracious - truthful

Verbose - wordy

Viable - practical or workable

Viscous - sticky, gluey

Vituperative - abusive; scolding

Volatile - changeable; explosive; evaporation rapidly

Warranted - justified; authorized

Wary - very cautious

Welter - turmoil; bewildering jumble

Whimsical - capricious; fanciful

Zealot - fanatic; person who shows excessive zeal