Synonymy refers to the sameness or close similarity of meaning. Words that are close in meaning are called synonyms.

But total synonymy is rare. The so-called synonyms are all context dependent. They all differ one way or another. For example, they may differ in style. In the context “Little Tom ________ a toy bear”, buy is more appropriate than purchase. They may also differ in connotations. That is why people jokingly say “I'm thrifty. You are economical.And he is stingy”. Thirdly, there are dialectical differences. Autumn is British while fall is American. The British live in flats and take the underground or tube to work while the Americans live in apartments and take the subway.

本题考查同义关系。 首先解释同义关系的含义， 然后阐释并不存在真正的同义词， 所谓的同义词都是依赖语境的， 它们总是在这方面或那方面有所不同。