5.5: Working with Language- Using Synonyms

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What Are Synonyms?

Look at these descriptions:

He is happy. He has cleaned his motorcycle, and it looks great. He’s heading out for a ride with his friends. He’s going to have a good day.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): He is happy. He has cleaned his motorcycle, and it looks great. He’s heading out for a ride with his friends. He’s going to have a good day.

She is sad. She’s at an outdoor café. It’s a nice place, but she is alone. She feels bad. She wishes someone would call her.

That was a great game last night! The ref made some interesting calls, but the end result was good. I am happy!

What is your impression of these descriptions? If you said, “Boring!” you are right. Words like happy, sad, good, bad, nice, and interesting do not add much to your description. There is often a better choice of word.

As you develop proficiency in writing, you will want to use synonyms for common words. Synonyms are words that have the same meaning; for example, right and correct are synonyms. Using synonyms makes your writing more engaging for your reader.

You Try It!

For each of the common words below, try to find six to eight synonyms. Consider whether there are slight differences in meaning between the various words you choose.

Bad

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Good

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Sad

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Happy

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Interesting

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Nice

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