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The words selected as headwords are general words that nonspecialists are likely
to want to look up. It is the job of a dictionary, not a thesaurus, to explain the
meanings of unusual words, such as
supererogatory
, so such words do not get an
alphabetical entry here. However,
supererogatory
is given as a synonym at entries
for the more familiar words
inessential
,
needless
, and
unnecessary
. A thesaurus
can thus lead the user from the familiar to the unfamiliar, improving his or her word
power.
Homonyms
Homonyms are words that are written the same but have different and unrelated
meanings, such as the
bank
of a river or lake and a
bank
that looks after people’s
money. Each has its own numbered entry, thus:
bank
1
… the banks of Lake Michigan
bank
2
… I paid the money into my bank
Synonyms
It is sometimes argued that no two words have exactly the same meaning. Even
words as similar in meaning as
close
and
shut
may have slightly different nuances.
Closing
a shop implies that the shop is no longer open for business, so no one can
come in. On the other hand,
shutting
a shop implies that the shop is being made
secure, so that nothing can be taken out. A similar distinction is found between
strong
and
powerful
:
powerful enemies
may threaten from outside, but a
strong
defence
on the inside will deter them from attacking. However, these are unusually
subtle distinctions. For most practical purposes,
close
and
shut
have the same
meaning, as do
strong
and
powerful
. Other synonyms are more distant, or
emphasize different aspects of the meaning. For example, another close synonym
of
strong
is
muscular
, but it places much more emphasis on physical strength. By
contrast,
stalwart
and
staunch
are synonyms that emphasize more abstract aspects
of this meaning of
strong
.
Forceful
,
secure
,
durable
,
loud
,
intense
,
bright
, and
alcoholic
are other close synonyms of strong, but all in quite different senses. They
are not, of course, synonyms of each other.
In this title, the broadest possible definition of the term ‘synonym’ has been
adopted, as being the one that will be most useful to users. Even words whose
meaning is quite distantly related to that of the headword are supplied if they can
be used to get the same message across in appropriate contexts or if they are
synonymous with a part of the meaning of the headword.
The synonyms in each entry are grouped together in synonym sets. Major synonym
sets correspond roughly to different senses of a word in a dictionary, but the
divisions are also governed by the matches between headwords and synonyms.
Each major synonym set is numbered, and many have finer subdivisions, which are
separated by semicolons.
At the start of almost every synonym set is a ‘core synonym’: the term which is
closest in meaning to the headword in that particular sense. Core synonyms are
printed in BOLD. If no one synonym is particularly close, there may be no bold core
synonym. Some synonym sets have more than one core synonym; for example at
avant-garde
(adjective), both
innovative
and
advanced
are very close in meaning to
the headword, so both are given as core synonyms. Two different core synonyms
within the same sense group may emphasize slightly different aspects of the
meaning of the headword. For example, at
dutiful
, the first core synonym given is
conscientious
, followed by a group of words closely related to this aspect of its
meaning. Then, after a semicolon, a second core synonym,
obedient
, is given, with
a further group of synonyms related to that aspect.
Synonyms whose usage is restricted in some way, such as regional expressions
and informal or very formal words, are placed at the end of each major synonym
set and labelled accordingly. See Register below.
Illustrative examples
Almost every synonym set in
OTE
is illustrated with a carefully chosen example of
the word in use in the relevant sense. These are authentic examples of natural
usage taken from the Oxford English Corpus (see Linguistic evidence below). The
examples can therefore be trusted for guidance on using unfamiliar words in an
idiomatic way, but it does not follow that each synonym given can be used in the
example, in place of the headword.
Where part of an example is printed in bold
type, this indicates that some or all of
the synonyms can be substituted for that particular phrase, not just for the
headword alone. Thus at
attached
, the example given is: