ˈsinəˌnim noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English sinonyme, from Latin synonymum, from Greek synōnymon, from neuter of synōnymos synonymous — more at synonymous
1. : a word having the same meaning as another word: as
a. : one of two or more words of the same language and grammatical category having the same or nearly the same essential or generic meaning and differing only in connotation, application, or idiomatic use : one of two or more words having essentially identical definitions
nonscientific writers are free to use a variety of synonyms to express the same idea in subtly different ways — Aldous Huxley
a determined repetition of the same word, where it occurred often in a passage, instead of hunting about for a synonym or periphrasis — Robert Graves
— compare antonym
b. : one of two or more words that have one or more senses in common
c. : one of two or more expressions any one of which can in accordance with the rules of the language be substituted in a statement for each of the others without changing the meaning of the statement
2. : a name that suggests another through real or supposed association : a symbolic or figurative name : metonym
the name of the street was … the local synonym for poverty — Nadine Gordimer
3. : one of two or more names for the same thing in different languages or localities
whose name, Minerva, suggested the Greek synonym , Athena — American Guide Series: Vermont
4. : a taxonomic name (as of a species or genus) rejected as being incorrectly applied or incorrect in form or spelling or rejected in favor of another because of evidence of the priority of that other
declared a synonym because another name had been applied to the same type specimen four years earlier
— compare homonym , nomenclature