Synonyms

Synonyms! What a fancy little word for a fairly simple thing.

Definition:

Synonym (sin-uh-nim) A word that means the same or nearly the same as another word. The word rapid is a synonym for quick.
[taken from Scholastic Children's Dictionary]

Synonyms can be very useful! Instead of saying something boring and unimaginative such as 'walked', you can say 'strolled', 'strode', 'sauntered', 'meandered', or 'paced'. They help create a stronger picture when you put them in place of a cliche, or overused, word.

But be careful! Synonyms don't always give the image you want! The word processor I use (and yours is probably like this too) allows you to choose a synonym by just right-clicking on the word. I use it a lot, but sometimes the synonyms aren't very accurate...to say the least! My brother, Peter, and I love typing in random phrases, and then picking ridiculous 'synonyms' until we're rolling on the floor screaming with laughter!

Here's an example.

'Whispering is illegal'

turned into

'Squashy right to be heard is forbidden'

which then morphed to

'Squashy unequivocal to be have the sagacity of proficient of being heard serene mechanism is apex hush-hush'

Isn't that hilarious! =) Try reading it out loud! The 'hush-hush' part always cracks me up.

My point for all of that is this: be careful which synonyms you choose! And don't use a word until you know what it means.

Yours without wax,

Izori