The Synonym Finder.pdf

îynonym

Finder

Completely Revised

Laurence Urdang, Editor in Chief

and

Nancy LaRoche, Managing Editor

Faye C. Allen

Assistant Editors

Barbara W. Carlson

Susan L. Duquès

Janet S. Muller

Catherine A. Eckert

Mary B. Redfield

Adela Haberski French

Vincent D. Regan

Editorial Assistant

Marilyn Scott

Winifred vanRoden

Jack Vestali

Charles GerraS, Project Development and Coordination

for Rodale Press

Rodale Press, Emmaus, Pa.

/-(The

tion may be reproduced or transmitted in

any form or by any means, electronic or

mechanical, including photocopy, record-

ing, or any information storage and retrieval

system without the written permission of

the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America on recycled paper,

containing a high percentage of de-inked fiber.

16 18 20 19 17 15

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Rodale, Jerome Irving, 1898-1971, ed.

The synonym finder.

1. English language—Synonyms and antonyms.

I. Urdang, Laurence.

II. LaRoche, Nancy.

III. Title.

PE1591.R64 1978

423 M

78-11440

ISBN 0-87857-236-8

ISBN 0-87857-244-9 deluxe

INTRODUCTION

Those who work with language know that there is no such thing as a

true "synonym." Even though the meanings of two words may be the

same — or nearly so — there are three characteristics of words that al-

most never coincide: frequency, distribution, and connotation. Panther a

leo and lion, cucurbit and squash, sodium carbonate and washing soda

have quite different frequencies in English. We all know that a house is

not a home, that not all women are ladies, that not all men are gentlemen;

at a more subtle level, we soon learn the differences between motherly

and maternal, fatherly and paternal, brotherly and fraternal. These are

connotative differences.

It is a curiosity of English that it continuously acquires words from

other languages to expand its lexicon. Observers have often noted that

even if a new coinage or a loanword from another language starts out

with "exactly" the same meaning as an existing word in English, the

meanings begin to drift apart before very long, one acquiring quite

different frequency, distribution, and connotation from the other. An

incredible fact about English is that it retains many of the words de-

veloped in its lexicon. Some words do become obsolete and are dropped

forever. Most, however, remain and develop nuances that expand for

the writer and speaker the opportunities for expression and expressiveness.

For these reasons, a synonym dictionary must be used with caution.

Even though two words may be quite similar in meaning, the substitu-

tion of one for the other may not always be appropriate, and the writer's

intent may be ill served by his failure to select the mot juste. The Synonym

Finder contains more words than any book of its kind — more than

1,500,000. Sometimes, it will be consulted to find a word that will lend

variety to the user's language ; other times it will be consulted to remind

the user of the temporarily lost word or expression that was "right on the

tip of his tongue." In either case, it should be used with understanding.

Every effort has been made to make this book as accurate, as com-

plete, and as easy to use as possible. Inevitably, a user may disagree with

the treatment given a particular word. In that case, he is urged to consult

a major dictionary where he is likely to find fuller information on the

word than The Synonym Finder can be expected to offer. The nature of

language and the behavior of words defy precision in the preparation of

a work like The Synonym Finder. The editors have often had to make

admittedly arbitrary decisions on word inclusion and placement. It is to

be hoped, however, that among the many related words offered, the user

will find several that suit his subject and his context.

Laurence Urdang

Essex, Connecticut

July 28, 1978

A Note on the Style of

THE SYNONYM FINDER

The Synonym Finder follows dictionary format. Entries are arranged al-

phabetically, with all appropriate parts of speech included under a single

headword. Homographs — words spelled identically but of different

origins — are entered separately with an identifying superior number.

Word listings have been organized numerically according to definition

and major semantic groups; further discriminations are shown within

these groups by separating subgroups by semicolons.

Usage levels are indicated by appropriate labels, such as Slang, In-

formal, etc. ; technical or specialized words are identified by a field label

such as Chemistry, Nautical, etc. In addition, gist information {enclosed

in parentheses) is often included to help the user avoid inappropriate

choices.

All gist and usage information appears before the word to which it

applies, and applies to that immediately following word only, unless

otherwise clearly indicated (e.g., Both Inf., All SI.). Foreign words and

phrases as yet unassimilated into English are appropriately labeled and

italicized.

In most cases, usage or technical labels have been written in full (e.g.,

Archaic, Literary). Common and easily understood abbreviations that

have been employed are listed below. The labels Informal and Slang,

when written in full before an entire listing, refer to the entry headword,

rather than to the synonyms that follow. When abbreviated {Inf. or SI.),

the labels, like others in The Synonym Finder, refer to the following word.

List of Abbreviations

Aeronaut.

Anat.

Anthropol.

Arc hit.

Astron.

Aeronautics

Anatomy

Anthropology

Architecture

Astronomy

Med.

Metaphys.

Mil.

Medicine

Metaphysics

Military

Naut.

Nautical

Bacteriol.

Biol.

Bot.

Brit.

Bacteriology

Biology

Botany

British

Obs.

Ophthalm.

Ornithol.

Obsolete

Ophthalmology

Ornithology

Parl.

Parl. Proc.

Pathol.

Pharm.

Philos.

Phonet.

Phys. Chem.

Physiol.

Pi.

Print.

Psychoanal.

Psychol.

Parliament

Parliamentary Procedure

Pathology

Pharmacology

Philosophy

Phonetics

Physical Chemistry

Physiology

plural

Printing

Psychoanalysis

Psychology

Chem.

Ch.

Civ. Eng.

Class. Myth.

Chemistry

Church

Civil Engineering

Classical Mythology

Derog.

Dial.

Derogatory

Dialect

Eccles.

Educ.

Elect.

Embryol.

Entomol.

Euph.

Ecclesiastical

Education

Electronics

Embryology

Entomology

Euphemistic

Relig.

Rhet.

Rom. Cath. Ch.

Rom. Hist.

Religion

Rhetoric

Roman Catholic Church

Roman History

Fig-

Fort.

Fr.

Figurative

Fortifications

French

Scot.

SI.

s.o.

Sp.

s.t.

Scotland/Scottish

Slang

someone

Spanish

something

Geom.

Ger.

Gk.

Geometry

German

Greek

Hist.

Hort.

History

Horticulture

Theat.

Theol.

Theater

Theology

Inf.

It.

Informal

Italian

U.S.

usu.

United States

usually

Vet. Med.

Veterinary Medicine

Mach.

Math.

Machinery

Mathematics

Zool.

Zoology

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: