synonymy

[ si-non-uh-mee ]

/ sɪˈnɒn ə mi /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR synonymy ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural syn·on·y·mies for 3, 4.

the quality of being synonymous; equivalence in meaning.

the study of synonyms.

a set, list, or system of synonyms.

Biology. a list of the scientific names, with explanatory matter and location of type or types, for a particular taxonomic group.

Nearby words

synonym dictionary, synonymist, synonymize, synonymous, synonyms, synonymy, synop., synophthalmia, synopsis, synopsize, synoptic

Origin of synonymy

1600–10; < Late Latin synōnymia < Greek synōnymía. See synonymous, -y³

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for synonymy

The variety, as the synonymy shows, has been grown under many names both in America and Europe.
The Cherries of New York|U. P. Hedrick
The synonymy, as might be expected (for Seba was unknown to Linnus when the descriptions were written), was not in the original.
The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society - Vol. 4|Various
This being a decisive specific character the synonymy prior to Rostafinski is somewhat uncertain.
The North American Slime-Moulds|Thomas H. (Thomas Huston) MacBride
The species are very variously understood by European botanists, and are much confused, as well as the synonymy.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States|Asa Gray

The synonymy of Rostafinski is largely that of Fries, and upon this the Polish author attempts to apply the law of priority.
The North American Slime-Moulds|Thomas H. (Thomas Huston) MacBride

British Dictionary definitions for synonymy

synonymy

/ (sɪˈnɒnɪmɪ) /

noun plural -mies

the study of synonyms

the character of being synonymous; equivalence

a list or collection of synonyms, esp one in which their meanings are discriminated

biology a collection of the synonyms of a species or group

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012