Semantic relationships between words
Semantics is the area of Linguistics that studies the meaning of words, phrases, expressions, etc., in a specific context. Thus, sometimes, the meanings can receive different interpretations because they are in different communicative situations as well. This relationship between the different meanings of a word is called the sense relationship.
Classification of relationship of meaning
The relationship of meaning can be classified into: synonymy, antonymy, hyperonymy and hyponymy. We will analyze each of them below.
- Synonymy – relationship that occurs when different words and expressions have a similar meaning, that is, they are synonymous .
Examples:
signal – traffic light – traffic light – lighthouse
white skin – fair skin
colloquy – dialogue
home – dwelling – home – shelter
- Antonymy – relationship that occurs when different words and expressions have opposite meanings, that is, they are antonyms.
Examples:
loyal – disloyal
beautiful ugly
clean dirty
Bright dark
rich poor
tall short
open close
wide – narrow
Here is a list of some words and their synonyms and antonyms:
| Important | significant, serious, serious, considerable, respectable, interesting, relevant, striking, notable, superior, valiant, solemn, meritorious, commendable, momentous, ponderous, voluminous, indispensable, essential, essential, fundamental, basic, crucial, paramount, main, elementary, necessary, precise, decisive, useful, convenient, pertinent, opportune, profitable. |
| Need | imposition, obligation, inevitability, indispensability, indispensability, primordiality, convenience, usefulness, duty, urgency, urgency, precision, instance, emergency, requirement, tightness, eagerness, will, desire, mister, trouble. |
| goal | purpose, end, finality, object, target, goal, destiny, intention, intent, intent, intention, scope, aim, aim, design, want, dream, impartial, exempt, neutral, fair, nonpartisan, dispassionate, straight, equitable, neutral. |
| Process | method, procedure, technique, manner, methodology, mode, means, resource, norm, system, processing, order, regime, development, tempo, evolution, progress, growth, march, movement. |
| Knowledge | perception, lucidity, understanding, cognition, discernment, understanding, apprehension, reason, clarity, information, report, news, learning, foundations, rudiments, fundamentals, notions, basis. |
| To analyze | investigate, research, ascertain, explore, probe, inquire, inquire, verify, read, see, observe, examine, consider, study, ponder, reflect, think, weigh, criticize, comment, judge, appreciate, assess, assess, dissect, decompose, scrutinize, scrutinize, scrutinize. |
| Consequently | therefore, as a result, as a result, as a result, as a result, as a result. |
| antonyms |
| Generic | unique, special, singular, individual, peculiar, particular, exclusive, specific, proper, characteristic, typical, representative, private, limited, reduced, restricted, restricted, miniature, small, narrow, precise, defined, exact, rigorous, thorough, detailed, fair, perfect, right, punctual. |
| Enlarge | diminish, reduce, shrink, shorten, make smaller, dwindle, lessen, compress, squeeze, shorten, shorten, narrow, restrict, limit, curtail, retract, lower, lower, cut short, summarize, synthesize, condense, abbreviate, summarize, summarize, to recapitulate, to epilogue, to decrease, to involute, to languish, to worsen, to aggravate, to end, to finish. |
| analogous | different, unequal, disparate, diverse, distinct, dissimilar, dissimilar, discrepant, differentiated, divergent, discordant, nonconforming, opposite, opposite, irregular, varied, various, changed, altered. |
| To encourage | discouraging, discouraging, discouraging, discouraging, discouraging, discouraging, disheartening, slowing down, fading, weakening, subduing, weakening, dampening, cooling down, cooling down, discouraging, impeding, impeding, frustrating, hampering, hindering, embarrassing, hindering, stalling, avoiding, repress, restrain, restrain, restrain. |
| verbose | brevity, ineloquent, infacuous, laconic, succinct, concise, short, brief, abbreviated, summarized, summary, synthetic, precise, compendious, telegraphic, little, sparse, meager, exiguous, moderate, controlled, measured, pleasant, amusing, interesting, amusing, amusing, pleasurable, pleasurable, delightful. |
Lexical and semantic fields
Because they are not properly differentiated or defined, the concepts of semantic field and lexical field are often confused. Both the semantic field and the lexical field are used by textual linguistics in order to make the best and most appropriate use of words in the Portuguese language. To understand them better, we propose some clarifications and some conceptualizations:
Lexicon is the set of words belonging to a given language. For example, we have a lexicon of the Portuguese language which is the set of all words that are comprehensible in our language. When these words are materialized in a text, oral or written, they are called vocabulary . The set of words used by an individual, therefore, constitute his vocabulary.
No speaker can master the lexicon of the language they speak, as it is constantly modified through new words and words that are no longer used. In addition to having a very large amount of words, which makes it impossible for someone to archive them all in their memory.
The lexical field, in turn, is the set of words that belong to the same area of knowledge, and is within the lexicon of some language.
Examples of lexical fields are:
- health: stethoscope, surgery, sterilization, medication, etc.
- that of the school: books, subjects, library, school supplies, etc.
- IT: software, hardware, programs, websites, internet, etc.
- that of the theater: expression, stage, costumes, make-up, acting, etc.
- lexical field of feelings: love, sadness, hate, affection, longing, etc.
- lexical field of interpersonal relationships: friends, relatives, family, work colleagues, etc.
Semantics is the study of meaning, in the case of words, semantics studies their meaning individually, applied to a context and influenced by other words.
The semantic field, in turn, is the set of possibilities that the same word or concept has to be used in different contexts. The concept of semantic field is linked to the concept of polysemy .
The same word can take on several different meanings in the same text, depending on how it is used and which words accompany it to make clear the meaning it assumes in that situation.
For example:
- to know: to see, to delve into, to know that it exists, etc.
- basin: kitchen utensil, part of the human skeleton .
- joke: fun, distraction, pastime, teasing, joke, etc.
- state: situation, participle of being, division of a country, etc.
The semantic field can also be the set of ways that are used to express the same concept.
Examples:
- Semantic field around the concept of death: kicking the bucket, passing away, going from this to the best, moving to a higher plane, passing away, erasing, etc.
- Semantic field around the concept of deceiving: cheating, cajoling, playing the fool, vacillating, etc.
