Synonyms and Antonyms

1. Look it up in a thesaurus

• What is a thesaurus?
• It is a book that lists words and their synonyms.

	definitions	synonyms	antonyms
Dictionary
Thesaurus

• in detail

• short and simple

Where can you find synonyms?

• 1. Look up the word in a thesaurus.
• Go to Thesaurus.com:
• http://www.thesaurus.com/

• Insert a word in the search box.
• Then, press the Search button.

• g

• gr

• gre

• grea

• great

• great
• meaning: excellent, skillful
• This is the list of its synonyms.

Where can you find synonyms?

• 2. Look up the word in a dictionary.
• Go to Wordsmyth children's dictionary:
• http://www.wordsmyth.net/

• Choose Children’s Dictionary.
• Insert a word in the search box.
• Then, press the Go button.

• great

• grea

• g

• gre

• gr

• We are looking for the first meaning –
• great: very large in size

• great
• definition 4: very good.
• This is the list of its synonyms.

One thing to note…

• Some words have more than one
• meaning.
• We call them homonyms.
• With different meanings,
• they have different
• synonyms.

• great
• Meaning 1:
• very big in size or number
• Synonyms:
• big, large, huge…
• Meaning 2:
• very important
• Synonyms:
• vital, serious
• Meaning 3:
• very good
• Synonyms:
• wonderful, excellent, cool, super, fantastic
• Meaning 4:…
• Meaning 5:…

Can you use any synonyms to replace the word great in this sentence?

• Peter is a great football player.

• Meaning 1: great  big in size
• Peter is a big football player.

• Meaning 2: great  very important
• Peter is a serious football player.

Peter is a great football player.

• Peter is a great football player.
• Meaning 3: great  wonderful, excellent, super
• Peter is a wonderful football player.

• The word ‘wonderful’ is stronger and more expressive. Using the right synonym makes you a better writer.

Now you try. Replace the red word with a synonym.

• Go to www.wordsmyth.net

• Peter caught a cold last night. He was very sick.

• Let’s look up the word in a dictionary.

• In this sentence, sick means suffering from an illness; not well .
• So the synonyms of the word are bad, down, ill, unhealthy and unwell.

Now you try. Replace the red word with a synonym.

• Peter caught a cold last night. He was very sick.

• ill.

• unwell.

• down.

• Important:
• Not all the synonyms can replace a word.

Can you help Super Word Kid?

• His friend, Captain Doggy, is doing homework.
• Can you help him to rewrite the sentences so that they become more interesting?

What will I be?

• What will I be?
• When I am big, I will buy a big house and a big car. Outside the big house, I will plant many big trees and build a big pond in my big garden.

• There is a word used many times. What is it?
• Do you think it is good to use the same word over and over again?

Why use synonyms?

• Synonyms are useful in writing.
• They can make your writing more interesting and enjoyable.
• How do you use them in writing?

Step 1: Brainstorming

• Can you think of any words with similar meaning ?
• Big:
• large
• huge
• …

Step 2: Go to thesaurus.com

Step 3: Look for the right synonyms of the word

When I am big, I will buy a _______ house and a _______ car. Outside the _______ house, I will plant many _______ trees and build a _______ pond in my _______ garden.

• When I am big, I will buy a _______ house and a _______ car. Outside the _______ house, I will plant many _______ trees and build a _______ pond in my _______ garden.

• large / gigantic / huge / spacious / roomy / enormous

• spacious

• large

• roomy

• huge

• gigantic

• enormous