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Anglista2008 Posted 17 years ago
Vocabulary
How am I supposed to know the difference?
Howdy,
How am I supposed to know the difference between the following synonyms, and how am I supposed to be 100% sure that the word I've chosen fits best to the context? Here're the words:
ancestor, antecedent, forebear, forefather, forerunner, precursor, predecessor, progenitor, descendant
Thanks!
How am I supposed to know the difference between the following synonyms, and how am I supposed to be 100% sure that the word I've chosen fits best to the context? Here're the words:
ancestor, antecedent, forebear, forefather, forerunner, precursor, predecessor, progenitor, descendant
Thanks!
Top answer
They're not all synonyms... for example, the first and last words are opposites. To be sure it fits well, use a dictionary that has model sentences with the word.
- They're not all synonyms...
- for example, the first and last words are opposites.
- To be sure it fits well, use a dictionary that has model sentences with the word.
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2 Answers
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They're not all synonyms... for example, the first and last words are opposites.
To be sure it fits well, use a dictionary that has model sentences with the word.
To be sure it fits well, use a dictionary that has model sentences with the word.
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As Prof Dunc has indicated, they aren't all synonyms. Furthermore, I would suggest that antecedent is rarely used to refer to ancestors (it's more often a grammatical term). Precursor, forerunner, predecessor, progenitor usually do not suggest family ties, but just someone (something) that came before the current objcet. I use the American Heritage Dictionary of English:
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