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There are several different kinds of semantic relations and at least the following ones are relevant toWiktionary. Terms that are semantically related to a given term can be included both at the term’s page and ata thesaurus page.

EnglishWikipedia has an article on:

Synonymy

Wikipedia

Definition: Each listed synonym denotes the same as this entry.

The equivalence may be less than perfect, but this may exclude someparasynonyms.

Section:====Synonyms====

Synonymy is asymmetric relation. Although absolute synonymy would be transitive, in practice, synonymy―in its looser and usual senses―is intransitive (in particular due topolysemy).

Synonymy is relative and more complex than it looks. Several theorists define several types of synonymies differently, with no agreed-upon scale of synonymy. Many dictionaries and thesauri use aloose sense ofthe wordsynonym that includes anything somewhat close in meaning (including some hypernyms, hyponyms and parasynonyms).

Wiktionaryaspires not to use the wordsynonym asloosely as the traditionalhodgepodge that many works use. Thus, for example, hypernyms and hyponyms are best marked as such, not as synonyms. (WordNet is another example of a project that uses this precision.)

There is no clear frontier between synonym andparasynonyms (near-synonyms). Use your best judgment about whether to call a term a synonym versus aparasynonym (near-synonym). The result will be close enough, and someone else can easily refine it later if they see a need.

• appreciation andgratitude
• Adjectives:
  • comely andattractive are synonyms.
  • sick andill are synonyms.
  • pocketable andpocket-sized are synonyms (even though someedge cases may exist in which they aredifferentiable).

====Synonyms====*{{l|en|synonym}}<!-- displays language-specific link -->*[[synonym]]<!-- displays non-language-specific link, but also acceptable -->

{{sense|unwell of health}} is useful for disambiguating between synonyms for a partial sense, producing:

(unwell of health):

If a synonym is specific to a single sense, it can be instead listed under the sense’s definition (inline), as the last example inWiktionary:Entry layout § Synonyms shows. The{{synonyms}} template facilitates it. (Similar templates exist for most other relations as well.)

To define a sense by synonymy, the{{synonym of}} template is used. For example,{{synonym of|en|ill}} produces:

Synonym ofill

{{parasynonyms}} also exists for parasynonyms.

EnglishWikipedia has an article on:

Antonymy

Wikipedia

Definition: Each listed antonym denotes the opposite of this entry.

Properties:symmetric

Section:====Antonyms====

Template:{{antonyms}}, as an alternative to listing synonyms in a separate section.

• Antonymy is asymmetric relation.

• up anddown areantonyms
• dead andalive areantonyms
• parent andchild areantonyms

Words withcontrastive force occupy a spectrum, from most contrastive (polar opposite), to almost as much (highly contrastive albeit not polar), to less so (somewhat).

• Some schemas for semantic relations distinguishantonyms fromnear-antonyms on the basis of completenegation or polaroppositeness versus some slightly less degree of contrastive force. Otherslump them together.
  • Words with even less contrastive force (than those aforementioned) are in many casescoordinate terms beneath a sharedhypernymic semantic node. For example,sad has an antonym ofhappy, a near-antonym ofsatisfied, and a coordinate term ofnumb.
• Wiktionary currently allows near-antonyms to reside in the antonym section, which is reasonable because (1) the dividing line between antonym and near-antonym, like the dividing line betweensynonym andnear-synonym, is not always abright line, and (2) for thepractical purposes of Wiktionary's users, it is easy enough to understand that the degree of contrast is high, albeit not alwaysmaximum, for any words in the antonym list, just as it is easy enough to understand that the degree ofsimilarity is high, albeit not alwaysmaximum, for any words in the synonym list.
  • Words that arecontrastive to the headword but do not fit well enough into either of the categories of antonyms or coordinate terms can reside at theSee also section.

====Antonyms====*{{l|en|antonym}} (allows language-specific link)*[[antonym]] (also acceptable)

EnglishWikipedia has an article on:

Hypernymy and hyponymy

Wikipedia

IfG is a hypernym ofS, thenS is a hyponym ofG.Hypernymy andhyponymy aretransitive relations.

Definition: Each listed hypernym is superordinate to this entry. This entry’s referent is (one of) the kind(s) of things each hypernym refers to.

Properties:transitive

Section:====Hypernyms====

Template:{{hypernyms}}

• "animal" is ahypernym of "mammal" (mammals are animals); "mammal" is ahypernym of "dog" (dogs are mammals).
• "plant" is ahypernym of "flower" which is ahypernym of "tulip".
• "red" is ahypernym of "scarlet", "vermilion", "carmine" and "crimson".
• "big" and "large" arehypernyms of "enormous" and "gigantic"(yes,hypernyms,not hyponyms).

====Hypernyms====*{{l|en|hypernym}}<!-- displays language-specific link -->*[[hypernym]]<!-- displays non-language-specific link, but also acceptable -->

Definition: Each listed hyponym is subordinate to this entry. Each hyponym refers to a specific kind of the thing described by this entry.

Properties:transitive

Section:====Hyponyms====

Template:{{hyponyms}}

• dog is ahyponym ofmammal (dogs are among the various animals which are mammals);mammal is ahyponym ofanimal.
• tulip is ahyponym offlower which is ahyponym ofplant.
• scarlet,vermilion,carmine andcrimson arehyponyms ofred.
• "tiny" and "miniature" arehyponyms of "small".

====Hyponyms====*{{l|en|hyponym}}<!-- displays language-specific link -->*[[hyponym]]<!-- displays non-language-specific link, but also acceptable -->

EnglishWikipedia has an article on:

Meronymy and holonymy

Wikipedia

IfP is a meronym ofW, thenW is a holonym ofP.Meronymy andholonymy aretransitive relations.

Definition: Each listed meronym denotes part of this entry’s referent.

Properties:transitive

Template:{{comeronyms}},{{meronyms}}

Section:====Meronyms====

• "bark" is ameronym of "tree" (bark is part of what makes up a tree); "tree" is ameronym of "forest".
• "elbow" is ameronym of "arm" which is ameronym of "body".
  • elbow,wrist, andhand arecomeronyms (names for the fellow parts of something) under theholonymarm, in the sense ofarm that means the entire limb.
• "oxygen" is a meronym of "water", which is a meronym of "soda" (carbonated water or soft drink).

====Meronyms====*{{l|en|meronym}}<!-- displays language-specific link -->*[[meronym]]<!-- displays non-language-specific link, but also acceptable -->

Definition: Each listed holonym has this entry’s referent as a part of itself; this entry’s referent is part of each listed holonym.

Properties:transitive

Section:====Holonyms====

Template:{{holonyms}}

• "forest" is aholonym of "tree" (forests contain trees); "tree" is aholonym of "bark".
• "body" is aholonym of "arm", which is aholonym of "elbow".
• "soda" (carbonated water or soft drink) is a holonym of "water", which is a holonym of "oxygen".

====Holonyms====*{{l|en|holonym}}<!-- displays language-specific link -->*[[holonym]]<!-- displays non-language-specific link, but also acceptable -->

EnglishWikipedia has an article on:

Troponymy

Wikipedia

Definition: Each listed troponym denotes a particular way to do this entry’s referent.

Properties:transitive

Section:====Troponyms====

Template:{{troponyms}}

Troponymy is atransitive relation.

• to slide andto spin aretroponyms ofto move.
• to snack andto nibble aretroponyms ofto eat

====Troponyms====*{{l|en|troponym}} (allows language-specific link)*[[troponym]] (also acceptable)

Definition: Each listed coordinate term shares ahypernym with this entry. Coordinate terms name the various fellow kinds of a thing. They are thus also called cohyponyms.

Section:====Coordinate terms====

Template:{{coordinate terms}}, as an alternative to listing coordinate terms in a separate section.

Most coordinate terms should not be added to this section. They should be added to categories instead. Only words that don’t belong in any other sections and are strongly related should be here. In other words, this section is only for thecardinal ones, not for anexhaustive list of all the ones that exist.

• man andwoman arecoordinate terms since they share varioushypernyms, from the most obvious (for example,human,person,adult) to others (for example,vertebrate,mammal,resident)
• Frenchman andEnglishman arecoordinate terms since they share varioushypernyms, from the most obvious (for example,human,nationality,person) to others (for example,vertebrate,mammal,resident)
• cat anddog arecoordinate terms since they share severalhypernyms, includingpet,animal,mammal, andvertebrate
• maple,pine, andwalnut (in the senses of those words referring to kinds of tree) are fellow kinds of trees; they share thehypernymtree, which in turn has ahypernymplant, which in turn has ahypernymorganism.

[[Category:Category of shared hypernym]]

or

====Coordinate terms====*{{l|en|coordinate term}} (allows language-specific link)*[[coordinate term]] (also acceptable)

Definition: Each listed “otherwise related” term semantically relates to this entry.

Section:====See also====

If the semantic relation is none of the above (such as, for example,plesionymic, such that it is partially overlapping on asemantic field but with important distinctions), or if you don't know exactly how a word issemantically related to the word defined by the entry you are editing, please add it to this section. However, since almost all words are semantically related to each other onsome (sufficiently remote) abstract level, please use your own judgement on whether somebody possibly would find it useful.

A representative example of a pair of words whose semantic relation to each other is clear and is relevant, but they are not synonymous (or synonymous only in the loosest sense of that term), isnonexpert andamateur: usually the two concepts arecoinstantiated, which makes them clearly and relevantly semantically related, but the other instances in which they arenot coinstantiated, and their perennial potentialnot to be coinstantiated, have practical importance, so it is reasonable not to call them synonyms but rather to place them in "see also" position.

Other relevant pages on Wiktionary can also be linked here, such as appendices and categories.

Note: For any links toexternal sites, including sister projects like Wikipedia, use the section====Further reading==== (seethis vote).

====See also====*{{l|en|related term}}<!-- displays language-specific link -->*[[related term]]<!-- displays non-language-specific link, but also acceptable -->

Note that foretymologically related words (in the same language), the header====Related terms==== should be used – seeWiktionary:Etymology.

EnglishWikipedia has an article on:

Semantic field

Wikipedia

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