VIVA
VOCABULARY!
Practical Ways to
Promote Word
Consciousness
by Lois E. H uffman
by Lois E. Huffman
Each edition of “Viva Vocabulary!” focuses on
different word genres. The goal is to help students
(re)discover the joy of language and the expressive
power of vocabulary.
Lois Huffman is an adjunct faculty member at NC State
University and a consultant with the Center for Applied
Linguistics. She enjoys providing professional development in literacy and language for schools and local
councils. Please contact her at [email protected].
Synonym Power*
Delighted. Gratified. Gladdened. Think about situations in which you have heard or used
each of these synonyms for pleased. Each has a slightly different implication, connotation,
and attitude. As Richard Lederer points out, the "abundance of synonyms [in English] offers
wondrous possibilities for the precise and complete expression of diverse shades of
meaning.” Knowing synonyms can make our students powerful communicators.
Synonyms are words from the same language with nearly identical meanings. Many
polysemous (multiple-meaning) words have synonyms for each of their meanings and
grammatical functions. For example, some synonyms for the word appropriate, when used
as an adjective, are applicable, apropos, apt, becoming, befitting, congruous, and correct.
Other synonyms for appropriate, such as commandeer, confiscate, preempt, and usurp, refer
to its meaning as a verb. Of course, there are words (e.g., synonym) that do not have
synonyms.
Several resources for synonyms are synonym.com/synonyms/, synonyms.net/, and
thesaurus.com/. Another reference is the Scholastic Dictionary of Synonyms, Antonyms,
Homonyms (2001).
Teaching Ideas:
1. Use picture books, such as Synonyms and Antonyms by Ann Heinrichs (childworld.com,
2011) to stretch primary grade students’ knowledge of synonyms. More children’s
books with synonyms are at the-best-childrens-books.org/synonyms-andantonyms.html. Younger students also might enjoy the poem, “Goodbye, Friends!” by
Hollynd Karapetkova, (drjean.org/html/monthly_act/act_2005/05_May/pg11.html).
The poem includes myriad ways to say farewell.
2. Have students in the early grades review common synonyms by playing Synonym Toast
at scholastic.com/wordgirl/synonym_toast.htm.
3. Remind the class that many synonyms cannot be used interchangeably because even
though their meanings are similar, they are not the same. Share an example, such as
persuade and convince. The former is an appeal to emotion, while the latter is based on
data (jargonism.wordpress.com/2007/09/24/persuade-vs-convince/). Reinforce the
importance of using just the right word by having students work with a partner to
clarify the difference between the following: goals and aims; overcast and cloudy;
profession and occupation; climate and weather; soil and dirt; honest and fair; practical
and pragmatic; sports and recreation (Adapted from teachingonline.org).
4. Present the quotation from Bern Williams: “I like the word ‘indolence.’ It makes my
laziness seem classy.” as a springboard for a discussion about word choice and
denotation (i.e., literal, dictionary definition) versus connotation (i.e., emotive response
and other associations with a word). Provide student-friendly examples to illustrate
these differences. One possibility is to show David Coverly’s cartoon, THE SEVEN
DEADLY SYNONYMS (fatal, lethal, mortal, pestilent, deathly, pernicious, mortiferous),
found at cartoonistgroup.com/store/add.php?iid=3909.
5. Discuss contexts (besides writing) in which knowing and using synonyms can be useful.
For example, trying multiple terms can help a person extend an online search. Knowing
synonyms also allows surreptitious expression of a potentially offensive opinion (e.g.,
saying that someone who talks nonstop is loquacious, suggesting that a cowardly
behavior is pusillanimous, or describing a brown noser as obsequious.).
6. Let students know that there are many synonyms for color words. For example, in one
episode of Parks and Recreation, Tommy Haverford reeled off the following color
choices for bunting: obsidian, onyx, midnight, rolling blackout, sleeping panther, and void
(all synonyms / shades of black). If desired, read Laura Vaccaro Seeger’s picture book,
Green (Roaring Brook Press, 2012) to the class. Then invite students to investigate
alternative names for other basic colors by checking out large boxes of crayons,
packages of hair dye, décor and clothing sites, and/or paint chips. Students could create
a “museum exhibit” (“We Live in a Colorful World”) with their finds.
Also share satirist Christopher Buckley’s observation that, “Somewhere out there . . . a
dedicated group of Americans is working day and night to come up with 4000 names
for beige.” Have students consider why decorators and manufacturers, such as those in
the paint, fashion, and automobile industries, use synonyms and other descriptors for
colors. Encourage students to ask family and friends about their favorite color names.
One list of color words is at enchantedlearning.com/wordlist/colors.shtml.
7. Make sure students know how to use both print and online thesauri. Students who are
proficient in using this reference will be able to answer Stephen Wright’s humorous
question, “What’s another word for thesaurus?” (There is none.) Older students may
enjoy Richard Lederer’s essay, Our Abounding English Language. This entertaining
piece, which is filled with synonyms and interesting tidbits about English, can be found
at novamova.info/htm/03/big_english.htm.
8. Invite the class to compile lists of synonyms that may be useful in everyday life (e.g.,
entryway, foyer, front hall; boorish, Neanderthal, unrefined; encompass, entail, subsume;
stop, whoa, halt; footstool, ottoman, hassock). Individual students might select a word /
phrase that is important to them and gather synonyms for it (e.g., money: bones, bucks,
cash, dead presidents, dinero, dough, greenbacks, loot, moolah). Post these lists on the
class wiki.
Let students know that use of particular synonyms may be connected to the part of the
U.S. (or other English-speaking country) where a person lives or grew up. Refer to the
April 4, 2013 Viva Vocabulary! column on Regional American English that can be found
at ncreading.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/differentnamesame-thing1.pdf.
9. Remind the class that a euphemism (a.k.a. doublespeak, politically correct speech - a
more agreeable substitute for an offensive or negative word or phrase) is another type
of synonym. For example, heavy cognitive load is a euphemism for mentally challenging.
If desired, show Monty Python’s dead-parrot sketch, which includes many euphemisms
for death (dailymotion.com/video/xoh8j_monty-python-dead-parrot-sketch_news).
Refer to the October 2011 issue of the NC Reading Association Newsletter
(ncreading.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/newsletterOct11.pdf) for more
information on euphemisms and ideas for teaching them.
10. Have students work with a partner to arrange 5-8 synonyms (e.g., impertinent, insolent,
disrespectful, contemptuous, impudent) on a continuum between two relevant polar
adjectives, such as "Least-Most," "Fast-Slow," or "Good-Evil." Encourage students to
consult a dictionary and other print and digital resources to resolve disagreements
about word placement. Let students know they will be expected to give reasons for their
ordering. (Interestingly, this activity goes by many names: Extreme Vocabulary, Linear
Array, Semantic Gradient, Semantic Scale, Shades of Meaning, Rank Opposites, Synonym
Stacking, Value Line, Vocabulary Thermometer, and Word Clothesline.)
11. Ask students to use more sophisticated-sounding synonyms to spice up portions of
familiar poems or simple fairy tales. Challenge students to create the most unusual
versions of the stories and poems. Be sure students choose alternative words with a
connotation that is appropriate for the context. This increases the level of challenge of
the activity.
Or have students develop alternative titles for books they have read. These titles might
be more appealing ones or “ones the publisher rejected.” Here are a couple examples to
get students started: Pal, Not Friend for Bud, Not Buddy; Confused Woman with
Paperwork for From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. (Adapted from
Walton, 2002).
12. Have groups of students make posters similar to the classic San Diego Zoo sign that
says: “Please do not annoy, torment, pester, plague, molest, worry, badger, harry,
harass, heckle, persecute, irk, bullyrag, vex, bother, tease, nettle, tantalize or ruffle the
animals teacher.” (An image of this sign is at
flickr.com/photos/matusiak/3391292342/.) Instruct students to select realistic
situations (e.g., a messy room) and appropriate verbs (e.g., clean) and decide whether
to include NOT in the imperative (This will depend on the context.).
13. Use synonym analogies to develop students’ reasoning skills and reinforce their
knowledge of word relationships (e.g., predicament is to dilemma as hazard is to peril).
Two resources are Unlocking Analogies, Middle School and Unlocking Analogies, Grades
4-5 (veracitylearning.com/?p=510).
14. Invite class members to engage in word play with synonyms. After students have
completed a synonym word pyramid such as the one below, have them work in small
groups to create their own pyramids. Challenge the groups to make their pyramids as
high as possible by including longer and longer synonyms. Students should post their
word pyramids on the school website or class wiki.
Synonym Pyramid
The consonants are missing from the following words, all of which are synonyms for BIG. What are
the words?
B
I
U
G
E
A
E
I
Y
I
E
O
O
O
A
E
A
O
A
U
U
A
(Source: Marilyn vos Savant, Parade, August 5, 2010)
Key: HUGE, LARGE, MIGHTY, IMMENSE, COLOSSAL, MONSTROUS, GARGANTUAN
*With thanks to the members of the Raleigh/Wake Reading Council who offered book suggestions and
encouragement to explore words that are the “same yet different.”