Definition by Synonym

A Definition by Synonym is a Definition that defines by pointing to other Referencer with similar Class Members.

• Example(s):
  • “X is the same as Y and Z but used in context T"
  • “A lawyer is an attorney”.
  • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • “An X is a type of Y.” is a Definition by Example, e.g. a “Mammals include mice and people' but not 'beetles' is an example of a definition by example.”
  • “An X is a type of Y that has property Z and is used in domain D to achieve effect E."
  • “An X is a type of Y that reaches P2 from P1 as the result of cause C.”
• See: AKA, Definition by Example, Analytical Definition.

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References

1999

• (M-W Colleg. Dict., 1999) ⇒ Merriam-Webster. (1999). “Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th edition.
  • QUOTE: The kind of definition that you would write in most cases is called an analytical definition. It consists in its purest form of the statement of a class to which the term being defined is assigned and a number of characteristics which differentiate the individual from members of the class.

    Defining by synonym tends to be inexact because even true synonyms do not have just the same meaning and is perhaps most useful in cases like the one just mentions where one kind of referent has two or more names, a situation that occurs frequently with the common names of plants and animals.

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