使用同义词词典来帮你学习英语

典型的同义词词典中的‘big’（大的）的词条看上去应该是这样的：

Big (adjective): ample, bulky, burly, colossal, considerable, copious, enormous, extensive, fat, gigantic, hefty, huge, hulking, humongous, immense, jumbo, mammoth, massive, monster, prodigious, roomy, sizable, spacious, substantial, super colossal, thundering, tremendous, vast, voluminous…

正如我们看到的，主要的问题不是缺少同义词而是恰当的同义词；一个不会改变太多你句子意思的同义词：

例子：'You have a big dog.' （你有一只大狗）与 'You have a fat dog.'（你有一只胖狗）相比。

那么我如何知道我要使用哪个单词？

尝试在不同的句子中使用同义词一直是个很好的办法：

'You have a big dog'（你有一只大狗）… 'You have a fat dog'（你有一只胖狗）… 'You have a fat house'?（你有一所旁的胖子？） 不是的!

另一个例子：

Nice (adjective): admirable, amiable, approved, attractive, becoming, charming, commendable, considerate, cordial, courteous, decorous, delightful, ducky, fair, favorable, fine and dandy, friendly, genial, gentle, good, gracious, helpful, ingratiating, inviting, kind, kindly, lovely…

例子：'These flowers smell nice.' （这些花闻上去很香。）与 'These flowers smell courteous.'（这些花闻上去很客气。）相比

另一句句子：'People are courteous when they are polite'（当人们有礼貌的时候是客气的）…'These flowers smell courteous'（这些花闻上去很客气）? 不是的!

所以正如我们看到的，诀窍不是找到同义词而是根据你说的内容来使用正确的同义词。

同样地，你应该拥有与本地说英语的人说话的好处，你可以通过看他们的脸或质问的声音来了解也许'fat house' （胖的房子）或'courteous smelling flowers' （闻上去客气的花）不是合适的同义词！

Using the Thesaurus to Help You with English A typical thesaurus entry for 'big' might look like this:

Big (adjective): ample, bulky, burly, colossal, considerable, copious, enormous, extensive, fat, gigantic, hefty, huge, hulking, humongous, immense, jumbo, mammoth, massive, monster, prodigious, roomy, sizable, spacious, substantial, super colossal, thundering, tremendous, vast, voluminous…

As we see, the main issue is not a shortage of synonyms but a fitting synonym; one that won’t change the meaning of your sentence too much:

Example: 'You have a big dog.' compared to 'You have a fat dog.'

So how do I know which word to use?

It is always a good idea to try using the synonym in a different sentence:

'You have a big dog'… 'You have a fat dog'… 'You have a fat house'? No!

Another example:

Nice (adjective): admirable, amiable, approved, attractive, becoming, charming, commendable, considerate, cordial, courteous, decorous, delightful, ducky, fair, favorable, fine and dandy, friendly, genial, gentle, good, gracious, helpful, ingratiating, inviting, kind, kindly, lovely…

Example: 'These flowers smell nice.' compared to 'These flowers smell courteous.'

Another sentence: 'People are courteous when they are polite'…'These

flowers smell courteous'? No!

So as we can see, the trick is not finding a synonym but using the correct synonym for the context in which you are speaking.

Also, should you have the benefit of speaking to a native English speaker, you will know by the look on their face or the questioning sound in their voice that perhaps a 'fat house' or 'courteous smelling flowers' are not suitable synonyms to use!