LECTURE
Synonyms and antonyms in English
I. Synonyms in English
II. Antonyms in English
I. A very important principle of grouping words in a language is the synonymic principle (according to similarity of meaning).
Synonyms are words which are the same in the plane of content ( ) but different in the plane of expression ( ), e.g.:
beautiful handsome pretty charming
to glister to beam to shine to twinkle
English is very rich in synonyms because there are a lot of borrowed words in it. There are about 8000 synonymic groups in English. ME is characterized by the existence of a great number of synonymic dominants. A synonymic dominant is the most general word in a given group of synonyms a word belonging to the basic stock of words and the neutral layer of the vocabulary, e.g.:
to aid to help to assist to succor
to behold to see to observe to regard
labour work drudge toil job
cardinal chief principal primary main
A word may enter as many synonymic groups as it has meanings (lexico-semantic variants):
to close to finish to cry to shout head chief leader
to close to shut to cry to weep head top summit
There may be different systems of classifying synonyms. Our native linguists speak of two groups of synonyms:
a). Ideographic synonyms, which have different notional components of meaning:
idle lazy indolent
understand realize
change alter vary (a man changes his habits, alters his conduct, and varies his manner of speaking).
b). Stylistic synonyms have the same notional components of meaning but differ in connotational components of meaning, having different emotive charge or belonging to a different stylistic layer:
child kid wave billow
imitate monkey building edifice
English linguists (and some native ones) also distinguish absolute synonyms (exactly the same in meaning and style):
fatherland motherland to allow to permit
gorse whin
Sources of synonyms in English
1). Synonymic groups in English may reflect the history of the formation of the English vocabulary, especially the participation of different languages in its formation:
Anglo-Saxon Romance
friendship amity
fatherly paternal
deed action
2). Many synonyms of the English language have resulted from the development of meaning:
hand part share
hand handwriting
heart middle center core (The Heart of the Matter by G.Green).
3). Some synonyms appear from dialects:
charm glamour (Scot.)
boy lad
girl lass
4). Some synonyms appear from euphemisms:
to sweat to perspire
to die to depart
God Savior
5). Some synonyms appear from clipping:
comfortable comfy
lunatic luny
doctor - doc
2. Words of the same part of speech but opposite in meaning are called antonyms:
black white to break to mend
big small up down
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Not every word has an antonym, though practically every word has a synonym.
Many words of concrete meaning have no antonyms: table, blackboard, lamp, house, tree.
Names of physical or mental qualities usually have antonyms:
round square kind unkind heavy light
tall short bad good short long
Abstract notions also have antonyms:
love hatred friendship enmity hostility
boundage freedom war peace
Words denoting physical or mental activity or state usually have antonyms too:
to give to take to sleep to keep awake
to put on to take off to tie to untie
Polysemantic words may be put into antonymic groups according to the meanings they express:
dear cheap dry wet light heavy bright dark
dear hateful dry interesting light dark bright dull
We distinguish two types of antonyms:
a). Absolute antonyms, made up of words of different roots, they express polar notions: good bad, to love to hate, right wrong, etc.
b). Derivational antonyms, formed with the help of derivational affixes, they express contrary notions: like dislike. There are several affixes in English which help in the formation of derivational antonyms:
prefixes:
un- (usual unusual)
in- (and its allomorphs) (correct incorrect, legal illegal, possible impossible)
dis- (trust distrust)
a- (chromatic achromatic)
ab- (normal abnormal)
under-, over- (underestimate overestimate)
pre-, post- (prewar postwar)
suffixes: - full, -less (artful artless)
-y, -less (windy windless)
We even distinguish phraseological antonyms:
big fish small fry
as cold as ice as hot as fire