The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition.
2000.
Synonym Notes.
Synonym Paragraphs. Synonyms of special interest are listed after the entry for the central word in the group. Synonym paragraphs are introduced by the heading SYNONYMS. There are two kinds of synonym paragraphs. The first consists of a group of undiscriminated, alphabetically ordered words sharing a single, irreducible meaning. These synonyms are presented in illustrative examples following a core definition. Antonyms often appear at the end of the paragraph. An example of an undiscriminated synonym paragraph appears at the entry for plentiful.
1
The second kind of paragraph consists of fully discriminated synonyms ordered in a way that reflects their interrelationships. A brief sentence explaining the initial point of comparison of the words is given, followed by explanations of their connotations and varying shades of meaning, along with illustrative examples. An example of a discriminated synonym paragraph appears at the entry for real1.
2
Every synonym in a synonym paragraph is cross-referenced to that synonym paragraph. Sometimes a word is discussed in more than one synonym paragraph. Cross-references are given to all the synonym paragraphs that include this word.
