Synonyms are also a source of euphemisms.

Different words that are similar in meaning usually differ for a reason: feline is more formal than cat long and extended are only synonyms in one usage and not in others (for example, a long arm is not the same as an extended arm).

Some lexicographers claim that no synonyms have exactly the same meaning (in all contexts or social levels of language) because etymology, orthography, phonic qualities, connotations, ambiguous meanings, usage, and so on make them unique. The former are sometimes called cognitive synonyms and the latter, near-synonyms, plesionyms or poecilonyms. Synonyms with exactly the same meaning share a seme or denotational sememe, whereas those with inexactly similar meanings share a broader denotational or connotational sememe and thus overlap within a semantic field. Words are considered synonymous in only one particular sense: for example, long and extended in the context long time or extended time are synonymous, but long cannot be used in the phrase extended family. The standard test for synonymy is substitution: one form can be replaced by another in a sentence without changing its meaning.

For example, in the English language, the words begin, start, commence, and initiate are all synonyms of one another: they are synonymous. Synonym list in cuneiform on a clay tablet, Neo-Assyrian period Ī synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language.

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