CONF. UNIV.DR.

ADINA NICOLAE

Seminar 6. SENSE RELATIONS

1. SYNONYMY
A. Study the synonymic series of disappointed. Look up the word in any dictionary you find
available. Compare the usefulness of your resources.
a. Which is the synonymic dominant?
b. Which synonyms cannot be used attributively?
c. Which synonyms can be used with:
-the preposition with:
- the preposition by:
-the preposition about:
-the preposition in:
-other structures:
-after verbs such as look, feel etc.
-can be premodified:

d. Translate using the information you have retrieved:

 Nu veți fi dezamăgiți de priveliște.

 Ea a fost dezamagită că el nu a sunat-o.
 Critica ei m-a lăsat cam dezamăgit.
 S-a simțit dezamăgită de purtarea lui.
 Mă simt dezamăgit în căsnicie.
 Sunt tdezamăgi de politică în lumina celor mai recente evenimente.
 Părea dezamăgit de lipsa de progres în dezbateri.
B. Make up pairs of synonyms:

1. stubborn a. fair
2. smart b. down-to-earth
3. reliable c. unremitting
4. honest d. considerate
5. argumentative e. merciless
6. calm f. earnest
7. sociable g. obstinate
8. sly h. hopeful
9. sincere i. vulgar
10. optimistic j. bright
11. cruel k. cunning
12. persevering l. peaceful
13. sensible m. odd
14. eccentric n. trustworthy
15. kind o. gregarious
16. rude p. quarrelsome

C. What motivates synonynymy in each case?

a. to play truant – to play hooky

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b. fun – craic
c. wow – struth
d. child – bairn
e. spiffing-cool
f. lunch-luncheon
g. however- nevertheless
h. fat-oversize -bulky-large-obese-distended- roly-poly – jelly-belly –whalelike – corpulent -
ponderous- elephantine - gargantuan
i. to observe – to behold
j. quickly- ASAP
k. often-frequently
l. basic-boring
m. hello-hi there
n. delight-glee
o. environmentalist-greenie
p. to euthanize- to put down
q. to sadden- to break sb’s heart
r. to indicate – to make a contribution

a. Provide the American English terms for:

British English American English
Aubergine
Bill
Biscuit
Bonnet
car park
caretaker
caravan
chips
cot
curriculum vitae (CV)
dinner jacket
dummy
to fill in
film
flat
fringe
holiday
lorry

2. ANTONYMY
a. Find an opposite for each term, then explain why the pair belongs in each class:

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1. Binary antonyms remember

male
obey
accept
correct
2. Gradable antonyms Wide
Low
Difficult
Thick
Deep
Careful
Clever
pretty
to admire
to like
3. Directional opposites  Antipodals
Top
Peak
Front
Beggining
Always
 Counterparts
Mound
Bulge
Hill
Bump
Convex
 Reverses
Advance
Rise
Appear
Pack
Shorten
Widen
Improve
Damage
Remove
kill
4.Converses (relational opposites) Above
Ancestor
Doctor
Predator
Guest
Give
Buy
master
5.Taxonomic sisters Red-orange-...
Shoulder-upper arm...
January-February..
Baby-child..

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b. What kind of antonyms are the following?

i. sweet -bitter
ii. pass-fail
iii. borrow-lend
iv. childhood-adolescence
v. mount-dismount

3.PARONYMY
What are paronyms? Explain the difference between the paronyms below:
to rise/ to raise; moral/ morale; principal/ principle; all together/ altogether; clothes/ cloths;
assure/ insure/ ensure; climatic/ climactic; continual/ continuous; corps/ corpse; council/
counsel; especially/ specially; human/ humane; loose/lose; ingenious/ ingenuous; lay/ lie.

4. HYPONYMY
Discuss the inclusion of meaning starting from dog, building, cutlery.

5. MERONYMY
Explain meronymy starting from house, car.

6. POLYSEMY
Polysemy is a semantic relationship between the …
Explain why RING is a polysemantic word.

7. HOMONYMY
Define perfect homonyms vs partial homonyms (homophones, homographs).
Assign the following to the right class:

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air/ heir
bore/ bore/ bore;
ascent/ assent -
hour/ our -
right/ write-
wind/ wind –
base/ base –
bill/ bill/ bill
sum/ some-

8. MEMBER-COLLECTION
Provide the collection term:
a …. of workers; a ……. of bees; a….. of fish; a …… of swine; a ….. of houndsa …… of grapes; a
……… of beads; a …………of puppies; a …….. of outlaws; a …….. of stairs; a ……of sticks; a
………. of deer; a ………….of mountains; a ………. of events; a ……..of experts.

9. PORTION-MASS
Provide the portion term:
A ………. of beer; a ………. of water; a …….. of advice; a…… of glass; a ……… of sand; a ……… of
salt; a …….. of laughter; a …………. of lightning; a………. of thunder; a …………. of bacon; a………
of rice; a ……….of hay; a ………of wind; a………..of dust; a …… of luck; a …… of air.