Determine the meaning of words using synonyms in context

Key Notes :

What are Synonyms?

Synonyms are words that have almost the same meaning. Think of them as word cousins! For example, ‘happy’ and ‘joyful’ are synonyms because they both describe feeling good. Knowing synonyms can help you understand new words.

Context Clues: Be a Word Detective!

Sometimes, you might come across a word you don’t know. Don’t worry! The context (the words and sentences around the unknown word) can give you clues. Synonyms in the context are like helpful friends, guiding you to understand the meaning of the unknown word.

Steps to Find Meanings with Synonyms

Here’s how to use synonyms to understand new words:

1. Read the Sentence: Carefully read the entire sentence where the new word appears.
2. Look for Synonyms: Are there any words in the sentence that you already know and that seem to have a similar meaning?
3. Replace and Check: Try replacing the new word with the synonym you found. Does the sentence still make sense?
4. Confirm the Meaning: If it makes sense, you’ve probably found the meaning of the new word!

Practice Example

Let’s practice! Read these sentences and try to figure out what the underlined words mean:

1. The girl was happy because she got a new puppy. She was also joyful when she played with it in the park.
2. The boy was sad when his balloon floated away. He felt very unhappy about it.

Sentence 1: What’s the unknown word? What’s the synonym you already know? What does the unknown word probably mean?

Answers: happy joyful Feeling good or pleased

Sentence 2: What’s the unknown word? What’s the synonym you already know? What does the unknown word probably mean?

Answers: sad unhappy Feeling down or not good

Keep Practicing!

The more you read, the more you’ll see synonyms in action. Keep practicing, and you’ll become a word meaning expert! Remember to always look for context clues to help you understand new words.

Let’s practice!