"No two words mean exactly the same thing."

Everyone knows what a synonym is, right? Webster calls it "one of two or more words or expressions of the same language that have the same or nearly the same meaning in some or all senses." Aunt Onym says, "Ain't no such creature." Aunt Onym is right. No two words mean exactly the same thing. There really are no such things as synonyms. As an example, consider the verb "write". Of course, write itself has two meanings, to put letters on a page, as in teaching a child to write, or to create meaning by doing such, as authors do. In this sense, it covers fiction and non-fiction, poetry, drama, news stories, correspondence, etc. This article naturally is concerned with the latter meaning.

Two of the most common synonyms for write are compose, and author. Some less common are, draft, inscribe, concoct, formulate, record, indite, and redact. Compose "is to form by putting together." It has to do with combining parts to make a whole. It differs from the basic verb write in another way, because it covers not only putting words on paper, but also includes music and art. Author is "to supply the basic ideas that go into the creation." A person can author a work, but not write it, as is true with many celebrity bestsellers. Draft is "to draw up the preliminary version of what is to be written." It is the getting the ideas down on paper before any editing is done. Inscribe does not mean merely to sign your name, or write what others say. It can also mean "to create a lasting record of an important event." Concoct means "to devise or fabricate." It is often used pejoratively, as concocting a lie, or a convincing story with little truth. However, it can also have the positive meaning of creating from scratch, as, "I concocted an entire world out of my imagination for this novel." Formulate is "to put into a systemized statement or expression." It is taking disjointed thoughts and making them make sense, something every writer is familiar with. Record has the sense of "to furnish written evidence of." It has to do with putting down events truly and accurately, which makes it apply more to non-fiction, although sometimes a fiction writer feels like he is only recording what is happening in the world of his book. Imdite might confuse readers, since it currently is mainly used in its legal sense. However, it also means "to make up, or to give formal expression to." A writer can indite a poem. Redact is most often used in its sense of "to edit", but it also means "to put into writing," or "to frame," in the sense of taking ideas and putting them into a structure that makes sense. In this sense it is very close to formulate. Each of these supposed synonyms have a slightly different meaning, which should influence which of them you use when you are writing, composing, formulating, etc.

Various synomyns for "write"

Antonyms for "write"

What about antonyms? Trying to find the exactly opposite term is even harder than looking for another that means almost the same. What is the antonym for write? Is it Erase--to remove writing? Is it Retract (or even better Recant)--to disavow, or publicly admit what you wrote was wrong, or in error? Is it Decompose? This can mean breaking down words into component parts, as well as its more common meaning. Is it Read--to find the meaning in words rather than to write them? Interestingly enough, when a teacher of young children was asked for a synonym for write, she answered instantly, "Read." For teachers these two processes are so much a part of each other, that they are seen as the same process. Is it Speak--to say words aloud rather than putting them on paper? Is it Draw--to communicate with pictures rather than words? Is it Rewrite or Edit--to refine thoughts rather than putting them down originally? The answer is of course, "Yes!" depending on how you are using the word write. Lewis Carroll said it best, in Through The Looking Glass And What Alice Found There. "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean--nether more nor less." "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things." "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be the master--that's all."

The more time you take to think about exactly what you are trying to say, the more you will be master of your words, and use exactly the right one. By the way, the idea for the title of this article comes from The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster. It, along with the Alice books, should be in the library of every logophile.

"...be master of your words..."

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