Synonyms: Words That Mean the Same

A synonym is a word that means the same, or almost the same, as another word. 'Big' and 'large' are synonyms. So are 'happy' and 'glad', and 'quick' and 'fast'. Writers use synonyms so they don't repeat the same word again and again.

Read: 'The puppy was little. It had a tiny nose and small paws. ' The writer used three synonyms: little, tiny, and small. To test if two words are synonyms, swap one for the other. If the sentence still means the same thing, they are synonyms.

• 1Synonyms mean the same or almost the same.
• 2Writers use them to avoid repeating words.
• 3Test by swapping: does the meaning stay?