One of the most easily understood, and therefore
most useful, methods of explaining the meaning of a word or phrase is to use other words
or phrases which have the same, or nearly the same, meaning.
Called DEFINITION BY SYNONYMS, this process can
be used either independently, or in conjunction with other methods of definition, for
example, definition by classification.
EXAMPLE:
In the section on formal definition, a charlatan
was defined as "a person (CLASS) who pretends to have knowledge or skill he does not
possess (DIFFERENTIATION)."
If you substitute for, or add to, that
definition, "A charlatan is a quack, an imposter, a pretender, a fraud," you are
attempting to explain the meaning of the term CHARLATAN by using words which have the same
– or approximately the same – meaning. This process is called DEFINITION BY
SYNONYM.
It looks easy, but you should understand that
some LIMITATIONS on the utility of defining by synonyms do apply:
Limitation 1: Synonyms are
useful in explaining the meaning of a word or phrase only when they are more familiar to
the reader than the term being defined.
EXAMPLE:
The word "mountebank" is another
SYNONYM for charlatan, but it is unlikely to be understood by anyone who does not read
Victorian novels. It is, therefore, not likely to be of much help in EXPLAINING the
meaning of the term "charlatan," and the EXPLANATION of a word's meaning is what
DEFINITION is all about.
Limitation 2: It is very rare to
find two English words which have EXACTLY the same meaning, particularly when the
CONNOTATIONS of words are taken into account.
CONNOTATIONS are the associated, or secondary,
meaning of words. Very often, words that have essentially the same meaning have different
CONNOTATIONS.
EXAMPLE:
The word "quack" which is a synonym for
"charlatan," as in the example above, implies someone who pretends to have medical
knowledge which he does not possess.
EXAMPLE:
The words "evil" and
"naughty" are both synonyms for the word "bad." But even the most
casual user of English will immediately recognize that, while their essential meanings may
be similar, their CONNOTATIONS are very different.
"Evil" connotes something or someone
morally bad, while "naughty" connotes "mischievous" or
"disobedient," and is generally used to describe the way in which a child is
"bad."
EXAMPLE:
The nouns: "trip," "journey,"
"voyage," "expedition" and "junket" have essentially similar
meanings. But the experienced writer will select one or the other of them for use,
depending upon the precise meaning he wants to communicate to an audience.
An investigative reporter might, therefore,
describe a Senator's trip to Latin America as a "junket," a word with
unfavorable connotations.
But the Senator's press secretary might describe
the same trip as an "expedition," a term which implies a long and arduous
journey. Lest we miss the point, the press secretary might dress the term up further:
"fact-finding expedition" sounds even better, especially when accompanied by a
photo of the Senator wearing combat fatigues.
EXAMPLE:
Imagine that you read news stories in three rival
newspapers, each describing the number of persons who attended a political cocktail party
for a Democratic candidate for Governor.
An objective reporter might write:
Chairman Frank Smith said that more than
1,000 people attended.
The local Democratic paper might dignify the
figure somewhat:
Chairman Frank Smith stated that more than
1,000 people attended.
On the other hand, the local Republican paper
might write it this way:
Chairman Frank Smith claimed that more
than 1,000 people attended.
If you perceive the differences in these three
sentences, you are sensitive to the dangers of using synonyms.
