3 ms·
Synonym is the wrong word here. A synonym means another word that means exactly the same thing. So the synonym of a face mask would, by definition, also have to
by bananabreakfast 7y ago
Synonym is the wrong word here. A synonym means another word that means exactly the same thing. So the synonym of a face mask would, by definition, also have to be a literal face mask.
You mean to ask if this is slang for something else.
Which, in this case, it is not. It's a mask over your face which is extremely common in China.
- alexpetralia 7y agoNot only did your response fail to capture the actual definition of synonym, but you also ignored any nuances. It is most certainly _not_ used linguistically for words with _exactly_ identical meanings. Here's the definition from Merriam Webster: "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." But, even more importantly, words can have nuances! Here's a nuance: "a word or phrase that by association is held to embody something (such as a concept or quality)." In both cases, the notion of identical meaning is absent. It would also completely vitiate its common usage. Synonym is best thought as simply a similarity in meaning.