synonymous

English

Etymology

From Medieval Latin synōnymus, from Ancient Greek συνώνυμος (sunṓnumos). By surface analysis, synonym +‎ -ous.[1][2]

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /sɪˈnɒnɪməs/
  • (US) IPA(key): /sɪˈnɑnɪməs/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɒnɪməs

Adjective

synonymous (not comparable)

  1. (particularly in semantics, construed with with) Having a similar (sometimes identical) meaning. (See Usage notes below)
    • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Chapter XXVII. Lady Marchmont to Sir Jasper Meredith.”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 243:
      He was not far wrong, for nothing strikes me more forcibly than the universal tendency to grumble: conversation and complaint are synonymous terms.
    • 2019 July 17, Talia Levin, “When Non-Jews Wield Anti-Semitism as Political Shield”, in GQ‎[1], archived from the original on 23 August 2026:
      Jews and Israel are not synonymous; nor is support for Palestine synonymous with anti-Semitism; nor is questioning the orthodoxy of the Republican party, which the majority of us do with relish, an insult to Jewry.
    • 2023 January, Meg Roser, Charlotte Chalker and Tim Squirrell, “Spitting out the blackpill: Evaluating how incels present themselves in their own words on the incel Wiki”, in Institute for Strategic Dialogue‎[2], archived from the original on 29 September 2026, page 5:
      For much of the time that incels have self-described as such, their collective worldview has been synonymous with the ‘blackpill’.
  2. (construed with with) Of, or being a synonym.
    Andy Warhol is synonymous with pop art.
    • 2026 October 1, Andrew Clarance, “What's gone wrong at Nike? How the world's sportswear giant lost its mojo”, in BBC News‎[3], retrieved 2 October 2026:
      Derdenger suggests Mbappé's move had parallels to Jordan's decision decades earlier to choose Nike over Converse and Adidas due to the opportunity for the athlete to become synonymous with one brand.
  3. (genetics, of a SNP) Such that both its forms yield the same sequenced protein.

Usage notes

The main sense of "synonymous" (#1) can be considered polysemous. Since synonymy is relative, linguists distinguish between absolute synonymy and partial synonymy, and many consider synonymy as a scale, meaning that some synonyms are more synonymous than others. For more information, see the Usage notes section of synonymy.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

See also

  • Wiktionary:Semantic relations

References

  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “synonymous (adj.)”, in Online Etymology Dictionary: “from Medieval Latin synonymus, from Greek synonymos”
  2. ^ James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Synonymous (sinǫ·niməs), a.”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume IX, Part 2 (Su–Th), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 385, column 1: “f. med.L. synōnymus, ad. Gr. συνώνυμος: see Synonym and -ous.”
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