Identify Linked Words with a Common Context

You may have already looked at antonyms (words meaning the opposite to each other) but now here’s a challenge about synonyms.

Can you help us out with these, word detective?

What do you notice about the words below?

painful        throbbing        tender

They all mean the same thing…sore!

These words are called synonyms.

Synonyms are words that mean the same or have a very similar meaning to other words.

We could also use the following words as synonyms for sore: aching, bruised and smarting.

Which of the following are synonyms for place?

suburbs        location        position        centre        site

Location, position and site are all synonyms for place as they mean the same or a similar thing.

A thesaurus is a great resource to use to look up synonyms for words.

Let’s try another:

We need to select a word from the left set of brackets that is a synonym for a word in the right set of brackets.

There is only one possible pair.

(poisonous, nutritious, taste)    (ingredients, nourishing, nutrients)

The answers are nutritious and nourishing as they both mean a food is healthy.

Try this one:

(inquisitive, intuitive, insincere)    (curious, peculiar, crafty)

The answers are inquisitive and curious as they both mean someone is keen to discover new things. 

Pssstt!! Here’s a handy hint to help you reach superstar status: 

The first letter of the word synonym is the same as the first letter for similar.  

It’s a clever trick to remember what synonym means.

If you come across any new words in this activity, make a note of them so that you can use them in your writing.

It’s now your turn to identify synonyms.  

Good luck!