synonym
/ˈsɪn.əˌnɪm/noun, verb
synonym is spelled S-Y-N-O-N-Y-M: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, synonym means “A term (word or phrase) which is synonymous with others” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of synonym is synonyms.
How many letters and syllables are in synonym?
| Letters | 7: S-Y-N-O-N-Y-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 24,463rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is synonym?
Synonym appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce synonym?
- US /ˈsɪn.əˌnɪm/
- /ˈsɪn.ə.nɪm/
- /sɪˈnɔ.nɪm/
Synonym has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-synonym.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of synonym
- synonyms plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- synonyming participle, present
- synonymed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does synonym mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A term (word or phrase) which is synonymous with others.
Near-synonyms: near-synonym, parasynonym, plesionym
- 2
informalThe subset of those names other than the one to be used according to the rules.
- 3
Any name that has been applied to a taxon other than the one to be used, including those not allowed by the rules such as misspellings or nomina nuda.
- 4
An alternative (often shorter) name defined for an object in a database.
verb
- 1
To make synonymous.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate synonym?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of synonym: syn, syn..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Synonym in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense word with same meaning as another:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | synonyme |
| German | Synonym, Synonymum, Gleichwort, bedeutungsgleiches Wort |
| Portuguese | sinónimo, sinônimo |
| Spanish | sinónimo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does synonym come from?
From Middle English sinonyme, from Latin synōnymum, from Ancient Greek συνώνυμον (sunṓnumon), neuter singular form of συνώνυμος (sunṓnumos, “synonymous”), from σύν (sún, “with”) + ὄνομα (ónoma, “name”). By surface analysis, syn- + -onym.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).