One day, three careless friends were late to a party. Seeing that the owner was offended, one of them said: "Do not be offended"; the second added: "Do not sulk," and the third said: "Do not be upset." Have you noticed that the meanings of these words are quite close?
In Russian there are many words with the same or almost the same meaning. Do you remember what they are called?
Synonyms are…
utter, gut.
So, what are synonyms? This rule is taught in elementary school. Let's remember it together.
Synonyms are words that belong to the same part of speech and, having different sound and pronunciation, are endowed with the same or more or less similar meaning.
For example:
- Motherland - Motherland;
- brave - brave - fearless - courageous;
- big - huge - great - large - massive;
- laugh - laugh - burst - have fun - laugh - cackle - grin.
- sadness is sadness.
Types of synonyms
There are several kinds of synonyms:
- Stylistic. Already from the name it is clear that such synonyms are used in various styles of speech (eyes - eyes - eyeballs - lupalki).
- Semantic synonyms are words that differ in shades of meaning (rain - downpour - precipitation). Often the semantic shades of semantic synonyms become distinguishable only in the context.
Thus, synonyms are words with a meaning that is not always accurate to the smallest detail, often they have small differences.
Meaning of synonyms in speech
The main advantage of synonyms is the ability to denote small differences between objects, phenomena, properties or actions, therefore, they allow you to more accurately and vividly express an idea.
In addition, synonyms are magic words that allow you to avoid boring and monotonous repetitions in speech.
Exercise
To better understand what synonyms are, do the exercises and compare your answers with the ones below.
Exercise 1. Pick up as many synonyms as possible for the words: indignant, captive, perplexed, raging, unwell, friend, master, home, strength, sadness, small, cold, brave, faithful,quiet.
Answers:
- Indignant - angry - indignant - angry - grumble - annoyed - annoyed - angry.
- To captivate - to force - to force - to enslave - to captivate - to oblige - to enslave.
- Be puzzled - surprised - amazed - amazed.
- Rage - rage - rage - rage - rage - rage.
- Unwell - unwell - sick - ill - fall apart.
- Friend - comrade - buddy - sidekick - friend - comrade - brother.
- Master - craftsman - specialist - professional.
- House - building - structure - apartment - hearth - monastery - penates - lair.
- Strength - power - power - piss.
- Sadness - sadness - sadness - despondency - melancholy - grief.
- Small - tiny - small - small - compact - miserable.
- Cold - icy - cool - icy - frosty.
- Brave - brave - courageous - fighting - heroic - decisive - courageous - fearless - desperate - daring - daring.
- Faithful - devoted.
- Quiet - silent - calm - subdued - peaceful - mute.
Exercise 2. Replace repeated words in the text with synonyms.
The eighth grade students climbed the steep slope of the mountain. The climb was difficult, but they weren't tired in the slightest. When the guys climbed to the very top, they set up a tent, lit a fire and sat down to rest.
Answer:
Climb - climb - climb - climb.
Conclusion
So, with the help of synonyms, you can describe any object or event in different ways, without repeating. Synonyms help to express the idea most accurately, make it possible to choose the most appropriate from several words that are close in meaning.
