Title The Oxford Thesaurus - An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms.pdf ✅

The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms INTRO Introduction =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- In its narrowest sense, a synonym is a word or phrase that is perfectly substitutable in a context for another word or phrase. People who study language professionally agree that there is no such thing as an ideal synonym, for it is virtually impossible to find two words or phrases that are identical in denotation (meaning), connotation, frequency, familiarity, and appropriateness. Indeed, linguists have long noted the economy of language, which suggests that no language permits a perfect fit, in all respects, between any two words or phrases. Many examples of overlapping can be cited; the more obvious ones in English are those that reflect a duplication arising from Germanic and Romance sources, like motherly and maternal, farming and agriculture, teach and instruct. In such pairs the native English form is often the one with an earthier, warmer connotation. In some instances, where a new coinage or a loanword has been adopted inadvertently duplicating an existing term, creating 'true' synonyms, the two will quickly diverge, not necessarily in meaning but in usage, application, connotation, level, or all of these. For example, scientists some years ago expressed dissatisfaction with the term tidal wave, for the phenomenon was not caused by tides but, usually, by submarine seismic activity. The word tsunami was borrowed from Japanese in an attempt to describe the phenomenon more accurately, but it was later pointed out the tsunami means 'tidal wave' in Japanese. Today, the terms exist side by side in English, the older expression still in common use, the newer more frequent in the scientific and technical literature. Any synonym book must be seen as a compromise that relies on the sensitivity of its users to the idiomatic nuances of the language. In its best applications, it serves to remind users of words, similar in meaning, that might not spring readily to mind, and to offer lists of words and phrases that are alternatives to and compromises for those that might otherwise be overused and therefore redundant, repetitious, and boring. The Oxford Thesaurus goes a step further by offering example sentences to illustrate the uses of the headwords and their alternatives in natural, idiomatic contexts. 1. Selection of headwords
Two criteria have been employed: first, headwords have been selected because of their frequency in the language, on the assumption that synonyms are more likely to be sought for the words that are most used; second, some headwords of lower frequency have been included because it would otherwise be impossible to find a suitable place to group together what are perceived as useful sets of synonyms with their attendant illustrative sentences. Obvious listings have been omitted on the grounds that users of the Thesaurus can easily find synonyms for, say, abdication by making nouns of the verbs listed under abdicate. This deliberate attempt to avoid duplication is mitigated in the case of very common words. For the convenience of the user, both shy and bashful are main entries, as are method, manner, and mode, which, though much the same in some respects, differ in detail and application. In this book, however, mitigate is a main entry but not mitigation, mistake and mistaken are main entries but not mistakenly, etc. Where it is determined that such derivations are neither automatic nor semantically obvious, separate listings have been provided. 2. Illustrative sentences On the principle that a word is known by the company it keeps, one or more sentences showing the main entry word in context are provided for each sense discrimination. These have been carefully selected to demonstrate the use of the main entry in a context likely to be encountered in familiar written or spoken ordinary English. (See also 7, below.) 3. Synonym lists Each main entry is followed by one or more sense groupings, each illustrated by one or more sentences. An effort has been made to group the synonyms semantically as well as syntactically and idiomatically: that is, each synonym listed within a given set should prove to be more or less substitutable for the main entry in the illustrative sentence. In some instances, idiomatic congruity may, unavoidably, become strained; where it is felt to be stretched too far--though still properly listed among its accompanying synonyms--a semicolon has been inserted to separate sub-groups of synonyms, and, in many cases, additional illustrative sentences have been provided. Such sub-groupings have been confined largely to distinctions between
literal uses and figures of speech, between transitive and intransitive verbs, and between synonyms that differ in more subtle aspectual characteristics of meaning or syntax. (See also 7, below.) Not all senses of all words are covered for either or both of the following reasons: the sense, though it exists, is relatively rare in ordinary discourse and writing; there are no reasonable synonyms for it. Thus, this sense of mercy, an affecting or moving of the mind in any way; a mental state brought about by any influence; an emotion or feeling: Mercy is an affection of the mind. is not covered for the first reason, as it is a literary and somewhat archaic usage. The same can be said for the sense, a bodily state due to any influence and for other senses listed in the largest dictionaries but rarely encountered except in literary contexts. Even in such contexts it would be unusual to need a synonym for this word and others like it. 4. Cross references There are very few cross references between main listings in the Thesaurus. Where such cross references do occur, they are simple and straightforward: superior adj....3 See supercilious, above. --n 4 See supervisor, below. A number of cross references occur within entries, between variant forms of an expression. At the entry for take, for example, as one can say either take or take it in the sense of 'understand' etc., the option is shown in the following way: take v...19 understand, gather, interpret, perceive, apprehend, deduce, conclude, infer, judge, deem, assume, suppose, imagine, see: I take him to be a fool. I take it from your expression that you've had bad news. 33 take it: a withstand or tolerate or survive punishment or abuse, survive: The Marines are extremely tough and can take