Synonyms are usually defined as words similar in meaning, as words that express the same idea. English is very rich in synonyms. A group of synonyms is called a synonymic set. Each synonymic set has a word which expresses the most general idea and holds a commanding position over other words. It is called the synonymic dominant.
In traditional linguistics synonyms are defined on the basis of the notional criterion. According to it synonyms are “words of the same category of parts of speech conveying the same notion, but differing either in shades of meaning or in stylistic characteristics” (V.V. Vinogradov).
The definition of synonyms based on the semantic criterion runs as follows. Lexical synonyms are different words of the same part of speech (having the same grammatical distribution) which have some common denotational component(s) in their semantic structure, but differ either in some denotational component(s) or in some connotational component(s) and thus usually have different lexical collocability (E.B. Cherkasskaya).
In modern research on synonyms the criterion of interchangeability is sometimes applied. According to it, synonyms are defined as words which are interchangeable at least in some contexts without any considerable alteration in denotational meaning. The application of this criterion is limited.
Synonyms have three main functions in speech: the function of substitution; the function of precision in meaning; the expressive, stylistic function.
Synonyms are traditionally divided into ideographic, stylistic and absolute.
The following points are usually considered as sources of synonyms: borrowings, dialectisms, word-building, euphemisms.
Antonyms are traditionally defined as words of the same part of speech which are opposite in meaning. Antonymy is oppositeness in meaning. Not every word of a language may have an antonym though practically every word may have a synonym. Antonymy is different in different parts of speech. Different lexical-semantic variants of a word have different antonyms. Antonyms may be defined as two or more words of the same part of speech which have some common denotational components in their semantic structure, but express some contrary or contradictory (contrasting) notions; they are characterized by different types of semantic contrast of denotational meaning and interchangeability at least in some contexts.
According to the relationship between the notions expressed antonyms are divided into contradictories and contraries. According to their morphological structure antonyms may be subdivided into root antonyms and derivational antonyms.
According to the relations of the general to the particular (specific) words are studied in their hyponymic relations. Hyponymic relations are the relations of inclusion. Hyponymy (or inclusion) is a relationship between two words in which the meaning of one is includes the meaning of the other. The “upper” general term is the superordinate (hyperonym) and the “lower” term is specific – hyponym. The relations between co-hyponyms may be described as the relations of exclusion. The members of the set of co-hyponyms may be described as incompatibles.
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