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Beautify your writing with the right synonyms


FlyJ

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Synonyms can be defined as words with the same or similar meanings, which can thus be used interchangeably. For instance, instead of saying I have to go now, I can say I have to leave now. So, go and leave are synonyms.

 

But experts warn that a definition such as the above can be problematic. They argue that there are no two words that mean exactly the same thing. If they tend to mean the same thing in a context, they will not in some other contexts. This is what happens in the case of words like go, leave and proceed.

 

While we can say I am eager to go on holiday, it will be wrong to say I am eager to leave on holiday. You can have They can go on with the discussion and They can proceed. But while it is right to ask, How regularly do you go home? it is unacceptable to say How regularly do you leave home? If you say so, the meaning of the sentence has changed as leave has become like the opposite of go!

 

his is why some authorities prefer a definition like ‘a synonym is a word or phrase with a similar meaning with another word, which can also be used in place of it’. You should note that a phrase can also be a synonym for another word. Perhaps, this Webster’s dictionary meaning is more apt: ‘One of two or more words or expressions of the same language that have the same or nearly the same meaning in some or all senses.’

 

In this wise, study the following sentences:

 

When will the match start?

 

When will the match kick off?

 

Popular actor, Olumide Bakare, has died.

 

Popular actor, Olumide Bakare, has passed on.

 

You can see that a solid knowledge of synonyms will help your competency in English as it gives your expressions variety and beauty. The word, ‘beauty’, itself has many synonyms that include prettiness, attractiveness, grace, elegance, grandeur, splendour, good looks and comeliness. For dangerous, you have risky, unsafe, precarious, reckless, exposed, insecure and perilious.

 

Whatever the case, the words generally have similar meanings, but each usually has areas where it fits best. Generally, synonyms help us in the following ways:

 

1) Dealing with repetition

 

A good knowledge of synonyms will help you to deal with repetition. A lot of people bore their listeners or readers by repeating expressions within a sentence, paragraph or passage. This is a sign of immaturity that synonyms can help you to overcome. Consider these:

 

Popular actor, Olumide Bakare, has died. He died on Friday after a protracted illness. The death has saddened many of his fans. Some of them described the death as a big loss.

 

Popular actor, Olumide Bakare, has died. He passed away on Friday after a protracted illness. The death has saddened many of his fans. Some of them described the passage as a big loss.

 

The second paragraph surely sounds better. It shows a mastery of the language unlike what you have in the first where died and death are repeated. Note that there are other synonyms that can be used in place of what the writer presented in paragraph two. For instance, passed on can be replaced with breathed his last while development or departure can come in place of death.

 

2)Using the most appropriate words

 

Many people get into trouble when speaking or writing because they use words that do not fit particular contexts. The knowledgeable person is the one who uses the best word at the right time. You have to consider appropriateness in terms of words that suit the prevailing emotion, place and calibre of people present. This is where the knowledge of register – language according to disciplines or events – is required. For one, some words are more general than others, while some are more precise or exact.

 

For example, kill and murder are synonyms that you may want to freely use interchangeably. But, technically speaking, it is the police or the law court that can determine whether a killing is a murder or manslaughter. Also, children, kids, minors, fruits of the wombs, babies, offspring etc. are synonyms. Yet, it is not every time that they can replace one another:

 

My sister has four children.

 

My sister has four kids.

 

My sister has four minors.

 

My sister has four offspring.

 

Which one will ‘your sister’ prefer among the four descriptions? I guess the first is perfectly okay. She may not have any problem with the second too. Minors is a technical word with restricted usage, meaning that it is somehow out of context here. Offspring? It sounds too heavy and remote – as it usually surfaces when referring to children of a dead person.

 

In effect, you cannot master synonyms halfway because it affects your overall performance in the language. Concerning children and kids, remember that although you have ‘children of nowadays’, ‘kids of nowadays’ is unusual. When you also have Don’t kid with me and not Don’t child with me, it suggests that child may be more honourable than kid. Of course, there is also the question of issue as a synonym for child:

 

My brother has a child.

 

My brother has an issue.

 

Well, Nigerian comedians say issue in the context is trendier and can be more preferred by the educated and well-to-do. But, apart from sounding informal, the problem of ambiguity may arise when the statement is treated in isolation. After all, issue can be a synonym of problem.

 

***)The simpler, the better

 

Simplicity is the hallmark of a good speech or writing. If you want to be like Prof. Wole Soyinka, you have to more than master the art of using words. When the Nobel laureate wants to write simply, he comfortably does so as you have in The Trials of Brother Jero or Child Internationale. In fact, when he chooses to speak Yoruba, he does so soundly – as he did to the surprise of many people who attended the drum festival held over the weekend in Abeokuta, Ogun State. When he needs to dig deeper to suit the ideology or message he is projecting, he launches into what some people call ‘obscurantist English’. Yet, he does so with enviable expertise. If you want to try him in this regard, go and read The Interpreters, The Road and other some other books he authored. There you meet the lion in his den.

 

The man that you dare not imitate at all is Patrick Obahiagbon, the politician who enjoys routing his audience with heavy, strange words. Here is a token from him:

 

At every time I lost an election, I would decide to be more recusant rather than being recumbent. I decided to be more quixotic rather than being laisser-faire to challenge my destiny the more rather than relapsing into a cocoon of levity.

 

Anyway, when you are dealing with synonyms, note that some are simpler than others. And once they (the simpler) satisfy the principle of appropriateness, go for them.

 

There was a conflagration in the market yesterday.

 

There was a fire outbreak in the market yesterday.

 

Has the physician attended to the child?

 

Has the doctor attended to the child?

 

He was attacked by the irate youths.

 

He was attacked by the angry youths.

 

I am not astounded that he is here.

 

I am not surprised that he is here.

 

In each pair, the second expression is preferred because the synonyms are simpler.

 

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Lovely article. You can expect good grammer from me from now on henceforth

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