Synonyms, Antonyms, and Analogies
In order to utilize language to the best of your ability while reading, writing, or speaking, you must know how to interpret and use new vocabulary words, and also understand how these words relate to one another. Sometimes words have the same meaning. Sometimes words are complete opposites of each other. Understanding how the words you read, write, and speak with relate to each other will deepen your understanding of how language works. This lesson will cover (1) synonyms, (2) antonyms, and (3) analogies.
Synonyms and Antonyms
Synonyms
A synonym is a word that has the same meaning or close to the same meaning as another word. For example, if you look up the words irritated and annoyed in a dictionary, you will discover that they both mean “showing or feeling slight anger.” Similarly, if you were to look up blissful and joyful, you will see that they both mean “extremely happy.” The dictionary definition of a word is called its denotation. This is a word’s literal or direct meaning.
When you understand that there are multiple words that have the same denotation, it will broaden your vocabulary.
It is also important to know that words with similar meanings have nuances, or subtle differences.
One way that words have nuances is in their shades of meanings. This means that although they have a similar definition, if you look closely, you will see that they have slight differences.
For Example
If you quickly glance at the following words, you will see that they all have a similar meaning. However, if you look closely, you will see that their meanings have subtle differences. You can see their differences by looking at their various levels or degrees:
LEAST ⟶ MOST
| nibble | bite | eat | devour |
| upset | angry | furious | irate |
| wet | soggy | soaked | drenched |
| good | great | amazing | phenomenal |
Another way that words have nuance are in their connotations. A word’s connotation is its positive or negative association. This can be the case even when two words have the same denotations, or dictionary definitions.
For example, the words aroma and stench both have a similar dictionary definition or denotation: “a smell.” However, their connotations are quite different. Aroma has a positive connotation because it describes a pleasant smell. But stench has a negative connotation because it describes an unpleasant smell.
For Example
Look at the following words. Although they have the same denotation, their connotations are very different:
| Denotation | Positive Connotation | Negative Connotation |
|---|---|---|
| CLIQUE and CLUB both mean “a group of people.” | CLUB has a positive connotation because it describes a group of people coming together to accomplish something. | CLIQUE has a negative connotation because it describes a group of people who exclude others. |
| INTERESTED and NOSY both mean “showing curiosity.” | INTERESTED has a positive connotation because it means having a genuine curiosity about someone or something. | NOSY has a negative connotation because it describes who tries to pry information out of someone else to gossip or judge. |
| EMPLOY and EXPLOIT both mean “to use someone.” | EMPLOY has a positive connotation because it means to use someone for a job. | EXPLOIT has a negative connotation because it means to use someone for one’s own advantage. |
Seeing that synonymous words have different shades of meaning and connotations will allow you to more precisely interpret and understand the nuances of language.
Antonyms
An antonym is a word that means the opposite or close to the opposite of another word. Think of an antonym as the direct opposite of a synonym. For example, caring and apathetic are antonyms because caring means “displaying concern and kindness for others” whereas apathetic means “showing no interest or concern.”
Antonyms can fall under three categories:
| Graded Antonyms: | Word pairs whose meanings are opposite and lie on a spectrum or continuum; there are many other words that fall between the two words. If you look at hot and cold, there are other words on this spectrum: scalding, hot, warm, tepid, cool, cold |
| Relational Antonyms: | Word pairs whose opposites make sense only in the context of the relationship between the two meanings. These two words could not exist without the other: open – close |
| Complementary Antonyms: | Word pairs that have no degree of meaning at all; there are only two possibilities, one or the other: dead – alive |
Here are some more examples of the three types of antonyms:
| Graded Antonyms | Relational Antonyms | Complementary Antonyms |
|---|---|---|
| hard – soft | front – back | day – night |
| fast – slow | predator – prey | sink – float |
| bad – good | top – bottom | input – output |
| wet – dry | capture – release | interior – exterior |
| big – small | on – off | occupied – vacant |
There are also common prefixes that help make antonyms. The most common prefixes for antonyms of words are: UN, NON, and IN. All these prefixes mean “not” or “without.”
For Example
UN:
likely – unlikely
fortunate – unfortunate
NON:
tolerant – intolerant
excusable – inexcusable
IN:
conformist – nonconformist
payment – nonpayment
Analogies
An analogy is a simple comparison between two things. Analogies help us understand the world around us by seeing how different things relate to one another.
In looking closely at words, analogies help us understand how they are connected.
In word analogies, they are usually set up using colons in the following way:
Pleasure: Smile :: Pain: ________________________
This can be read as: Pleasure IS TO Smile AS Pain IS TO ________________________
The answer: “grimace”
Sometimes you see analogies written out like this:
Pleasure is to Smile as Pain is to ________________________
These are the common types of word analogies that illustrate how different words relate to one another:
| Type of Analogy | Relationship | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Synonyms | Two words with the same meaning | Beginner : Novice:: Expert : Pro |
| Antonyms | Two words with the opposite meaning | Hot : Cold :: Up : Down |
| Part/Whole | One word is a part of another word | Stars : Galaxy :: Pages : Book |
| Cause/Effect | One word describes a condition or action, and the other describes an outcome | Tornado : Damage :: Joke : Laughter |
| Object/Function | One word describes something, and the other word describes what it’s used for | Needle : Sew :: Saw : Cut |
| Category/Type | One word is a general category, and the other is something that falls in that category | Music : Folk :: Dance : Ballet |
| Performer/Related Action | One word is a person or object, and the other words is the action he/she/it commonly performs | Thief : Steal :: Surgeon : Operate |
| Degree of Intensity | These words have similar meanings, but one word is stronger or more intense than the other | Glad : Elated :: Angry : Furious |
By recognizing the type of analogy two words have, you then can explore how they are connected.
Let’s Review!
- Synonyms are words that have the same meaning. Synonyms also have nuances.
- Analogies are words that have an opposite meaning. There are three types of antonyms.
- Analogies show how words relate to each other. There are different types of analogy relationships to look for.
- Understanding how words relate to each other will help you better understand language, pull meaning from texts, and write and speak with a wider vocabulary.
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