Are there any truly perfect synonyms?

[jcmack13]

Are there two words that mean completely and absolutely the same thing, including connotation, etc?

I was wondering about adjectival ones, and not just a noun that has multiple names (bobcat/mountain lion, etc.)

And if such a pair (or group) exists, why do we have superfluous words?

[sfer]

dearth := lack

[jcmack13]

The problem with those is that "dearth" does not replace all the uses of "lack" (lack can be a verb) and also, "dearth" can also mean specifically a shortage of food or famine.

I was wondering if two words exist that are always completely interchangeable.

[schwza]

i would say no, including nouns like bobcat/mountain lion. a mountain lion sounds scarier, even to someone who knows they are identical.

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
bobcat/mountain lion. a mountain lion sounds scarier, even to someone who knows they are identical.

[/ QUOTE ]

Clearly you have no idea what you're talking about.

[battschr]

Inflammable means flammable?...WHAT A COUNTRY!!

[offTopic]

regardless and irregardless

Vince and Smoothcall

[scotty34]

gigantic - humongous

[YourFoxyGrandma]

Yes, er, affirmative.

[toss]

enormous - massive

[Senor Cardgage]

[ QUOTE ]
enormous - massive

[/ QUOTE ]

Nope.

[jakethebake]

this thread = waste of time

[scotty34]

[ QUOTE ]
enormous - massive

[/ QUOTE ]

I was thinking that one too, but massive can mean "a body that has mass" when referring to objects in the Universe.

[Senor Cardgage]

[ QUOTE ]
Yes, er, affirmative.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not quite.

[nothumb]

If you listen to the postmodernists, words don't even mean the same things as themselves.

Chew on that!

NT

[scotty34]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Yes, er, affirmative.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not quite.

[/ QUOTE ]

Come on, it's a affirmative or no question.

[OtisTheMarsupial]

Mountain lion is a general term that can include bobcats, but really, they're not the same. Bobcats have short, stubby tails and ear tuffs, mountainn lions have long tails, shorter hair and are much bigger.

That, and a Bobcat can also mean construction equipment.

Regardless and irregardless do mean exactly the same thing, but have different connotations - people who say irregardless sound stupid.

[toss]

affirmative - roger that - 10-4

[Senor Cardgage]

[ QUOTE ]
gigantic - humongous

[/ QUOTE ]

Very close, I think. Gigantic can also be used particularly in reference to a giant, so they don't quite match.

Humongous and enormous, perhaps?

EDIT: I checked and there's an archaic definition of enormous as "Very wicked; heinous." Not sure if that really eliminates it or not.

[toss]

Maybe if we looked up the latin roots to these wors. Humong and Enor.

I checked and humungous is actually slang. Enormous is dervied from Middle english enormious.

[tbach24]

Wicked sweet = freakin' awesome

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
Mountain lion is a general term that can include bobcats, but really, they're not the same. Bobcats have short, stubby tails and ear tuffs, mountainn lions have long tails, shorter hair and are much bigger.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've never heard anyone say mountain lion when he means bobcat. They don't look anything alike. They're not even remotely close. Maybe some jackass somewhere came up with some goofy category called mountain lions that includes bobcats. But anyone that knows what the hell they are would never say they're the same, and would never call a bobcat a kind of mountain lion.

[scotty34]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
gigantic - humongous

[/ QUOTE ]

Very close, I think. Gigantic can also be used particularly in reference to a giant, so they don't quite match.


[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure I understand. Give me a sentence where gigantic refers to a giant, where humongous can't be perfectly substituted.

This one seems a little less likely, but tiny - miniscule.

[scotty34]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Mountain lion is a general term that can include bobcats, but really, they're not the same. Bobcats have short, stubby tails and ear tuffs, mountainn lions have long tails, shorter hair and are much bigger.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've never heard anyone say mountain lion when he means bobcat. They don't look anything alike. They're not even remotely close. Maybe some jackass somewhere came up with some goofy category called mountain lions that includes bobcats. But anyone that knows what the hell they are would never say they're the same, and would never call a bobcat a kind of mountain lion.

[/ QUOTE ]

Mountain Lion = Cougar not Bobcat

[tbach24]

Definition 1 (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=gigantic)

It looks like tiny-miniscule works though (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=miniscule)

[toss]

How about Jam and Marmalade?

[jcmack13]

[ QUOTE ]


Humongous and enormous, perhaps?

EDIT: I checked and there's an archaic definition of enormous as "Very wicked; heinous." Not sure if that really eliminates it or not.

[/ QUOTE ]

I feel there's a slight connotation difference. You wouldn't say, "Of course, the ethical issues this raises are humongous" or, "the flight suffered humongous complications."

Flammable and inflammable are the best example given here, in that you can always replace one with the other.

[toss]

I also think enormous can be used to describe quantity whilst humungous can't.

[tbach24]

[ QUOTE ]
whilst

[/ QUOTE ]

while?

I know he meant to type whilst, but are these perfect synonyms?

[Senor Cardgage]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
gigantic - humongous

[/ QUOTE ]

Very close, I think. Gigantic can also be used particularly in reference to a giant, so they don't quite match.


[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure I understand. Give me a sentence where gigantic refers to a giant, where humongous can't be perfectly substituted.

This one seems a little less likely, but tiny - miniscule.

[/ QUOTE ]

It can mean "relating to a giant", so I assume it can be used in some other way... I'm kind of hung over right now so I'm not much help.It would be a really awkward usage, anyways- something along the lines of relating some noun to a giant without a specific reference to size. It's kind of a nitpick and assuming this is correct, it's nothing that would come up in any everyday conversation.

[jcmack13]

[ QUOTE ]
How about Jam and Marmalade?

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey Scoob, looks like we got ourselves in a bit of a marmalade...

also, jam is made with sugar.

[Senor Cardgage]

[ QUOTE ]
I also think enormous can be used to describe quantity whilst humungous can't.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would use them interchangeably, but my grammar is [censored]. You're probably right.

[Barry]

[ QUOTE ]
regardless and irregardless

Vince and Smoothcall

[/ QUOTE ]

"irregardless" is not a word, "irrespective" is the word that you were thinking of.

[scotty34]

[ QUOTE ]
Definition 1 (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=gigantic)

It looks like tiny-miniscule works though (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=miniscule)

[/ QUOTE ]

Definition 1 says:

"Relating to or suggesting of a giant"

The second entry for the word gigantic has this defintion:

adj : so exceedingly large or extensive as to suggest a giant or mammoth; "a gigantic redwood"; "gigantic disappointment";


These appear to be the same definition, and humongous can be substituted in these cases. By giant, I don't think they were referring to a giant human. They were merely referring to it as an adjective (or noun - ex: that tree is a giant) meaning large. I still think humongous - gigantic works.

[scotty34]

[ QUOTE ]
Flammable and inflammable are the best example given here, in that you can always replace one with the other.

[/ QUOTE ]

From my understanding, flammable is not actually a word.

[jcmack13]

[ QUOTE ]


This one seems a little less likely, but tiny - miniscule.

[/ QUOTE ]

I might be wrong, but i feel there is an oh-so-slight difference between, "Have you met Ted's new girlfriend? She's tiny!" and, "Have you met Ted's new girlfriend? She's minuscule!"

Also a minor (tiny? minuscule?) quibble, but dictionary.com lists "minuscule" as a noun meaning a small cursive script used between the 7th and 9th century. But of course, we all already knew that.

[scotty34]

couch - sofa

True I've never heard the phrase "sofa potato" but I don't think cliches should disqualify a word.

Edit - I guess this would just be a noun with multiple names.

[disjunction]

"literally" and "figuratively" /images/graemlins/smile.gif

They literally mean the same thing nowadays.

[The Armchair]

[ QUOTE ]
Are there two words that mean completely and absolutely the same thing, including connotation, etc?

I was wondering about adjectival ones, and not just a noun that has multiple names (bobcat/mountain lion, etc.)

And if such a pair (or group) exists, why do we have superfluous words?

[/ QUOTE ]

There are a lot of them, particularly in anything that reeks of a legal proclamation. Take for example "cease and desist."

The reason is that the English legal system (which we adpoted, naturally) were in French until the mid 14th century -- even though the rest of the country spoke English. So, in order to communicate things accurately, they had to be said twice.

[jcmack13]

[ QUOTE ]

From my understanding, flammable is not actually a word.

[/ QUOTE ]

dictionary.com, which has become my reference of convenience for this thread, lists flammable and inflammable as coming from the latin flammare, so i think they're both legit.

[jcmack13]

[ QUOTE ]

The reason is that the English legal system (which we adpoted, naturally) were in French until the mid 14th century -- even though the rest of the country spoke English. So, in order to communicate things accurately, they had to be said twice.

[/ QUOTE ]

This gets added to my list of "Why Canada Sucks."

[scotty34]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

From my understanding, flammable is not actually a word.

[/ QUOTE ]

dictionary.com, which has become my reference of convenience for this thread, lists flammable and inflammable as coming from the latin flammare, so i think they're both legit.

[/ QUOTE ]

I just remember reading in another thread that the original word was inflammable, derived from inflame. People were confused because they thought it was derived from flame and using the prefix "in" and it actually meant that it could not combust. Flammable was then created to stop idiots from burning themselves.

[Jersey Nick]

[ QUOTE ]
Are there two words that mean completely and absolutely the same thing, including connotation, etc?

[/ QUOTE ]
No.

[ QUOTE ]
I was wondering about adjectival ones, and not just a noun that has multiple names (bobcat/mountain lion, etc.)

[/ QUOTE ]

BTW Bobcat does not = Mountain Lion

Bobcat
Lynx rufus
http://www.lancasterfontana.com/images/combo01-7.jpg

Mountain Lion a/k/a Cougar, Puma, Catamount, Panther
Felis concolor
http://www.lancasterfontana.com/images/combo01-6.jpg

[RicktheRuler]

[ QUOTE ]
humongous

[/ QUOTE ] I am not sure "humongous" is in the dictionary. I know a few years ago when I was still in college it was not.

[jakethebake]

Is that you, Jersey Nick? If so, I'm jealous. I've killed bobcats, but none that big. And I've actually only seen two mountain lions, much less ever shot one.

[jcmack13]

Okay, so not bobcat and mountain lion, but you know what I mean. There's some wild cat with multiple names that I was thinking of. Clearly not the bobcat.

[shadow29]

[ QUOTE ]
regardless and irregardless

[/ QUOTE ]

If we accept that "irregardless" is a word, you still sound like a gigantic moron if you use it. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Jersey Nick]

[ QUOTE ]
Is that you, Jersey Nick? If so, I'm jealous. I've killed bobcats, but none that big. And I've actually only seen two mountain lions, much less ever shot one.

[/ QUOTE ]
Not me - I just thought that the pics with the same guy would illustrate the difference properly. I would never treat a pussy that way. Hey, wait a minute...

[maryfield48]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
regardless and irregardless

Vince and Smoothcall

[/ QUOTE ]

"irregardless" is not a word, "irrespective" is the word that you were thinking of.

[/ QUOTE ]

Let's not start that again.

[Skipbidder]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Flammable and inflammable are the best example given here, in that you can always replace one with the other.

[/ QUOTE ]

From my understanding, flammable is not actually a word.

[/ QUOTE ]

Flammable is more of a word than your earlier example of "miniscule".

[offTopic]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
regardless and irregardless

Vince and Smoothcall

[/ QUOTE ]

"irregardless" is not a word, "irrespective" is the word that you were thinking of.

[/ QUOTE ]

Let's not start that again.

[/ QUOTE ]

Indeed, I thought the inclusion of the second line would imply that I wasn't being serious in the first line, but apparently I needed to include a /images/graemlins/grin.gif in the post body somewhere. Oh well...lesson learned.

[The Goober]

efficacious = effective

But really, virtually all synonyms are going to have at least slightly different connotations because the people who choose one word over the other. For instance, only wanks and people who work in the drug industry would say "efficacious"

[beckham9]

is there a difference between sarcastic and facetious? i seem to use them mostly interchangably.

[RocketManJames]

Here's my guess at a few that might make the cut:

1) INNATE / CONNATE
2) LISTLESS / LANGUID
3) PALE (adjective) / PALLID

But, the latter two pairs probably don't really work that well due to multiple definitions.

-RMJ