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Are there any rules to be followed while choosing the correct synonym of a word?

In a test I was given the word motive and I had to find its synonym.

I had confusion in two options, options were

  1. Intention

  2. Reason

I chose reason as the correct answer but it was wrong. I looked up its synonym on internet but it listed both reason and intention.

Which one is correct?

Adam
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    The most accurate synonym depends on which aspect of the primary word is being used. And that requires context. – Davo Sep 09 '19 at 16:17
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    But in my exam there was no context only this word was given –  Sep 09 '19 at 16:32
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    Without any additional context, I would have chosen "reason" too. Both "reason" and "intention" have meanings that overlap with "motive" but I feel "reason" is a closer fit. – TypeIA Sep 09 '19 at 16:42
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    How can there possibly be "rules" for choosing a synonym? The meanings of a word - including how far they overlap with the meanings of other words - are essentially arbitrary facts about that word. – Colin Fine Sep 09 '19 at 18:09
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    Given the bare word "motive", I would also choose "reason" as the closer synonym. "Motive" expresses the "reason" for doing something. That's different from having the "intention" to do something. – Edward Barnard Sep 09 '19 at 20:06

1 Answers1

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I would have chosen "reason" as the best available answer from those options also, and I think any test which gives "intention" as the sole correct synonym of "motive" without further context is simply badly constructed.

"Motive" most often means the purpose or reason for doing something, in my experience:

  • The motive for this murder was to gain an inheritance.
  • The political motive for this position was to appeal to the candidate's base voters.

"Motive" can also mean the intent with with the thing is done, and indeed the two meanings often overlap, as in my second example.

English words rarely have a single correct synonym, and often have multiple, often quite different senses, with different synonyms. There are no rules but usage for selecting which synonym is best, and without context one must guess at the intended sense, or the motive of the author.

(There are other senses of "motive" as well, but less common ones. "Motive power" for example. Ultimately a motive is that which moves something, usually in a metaphoric sense.)

David Siegel
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