RAE Releases First Synonym Dictionary in 313 Years

Why this is here: The dictionary lists roughly sixty synonyms for the word “borrachera” (drunkenness), including terms like trompa, merluza, and chupeta.

The Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) in Madrid presented its first dictionary of synonyms and antonyms in over three centuries. The work, a collaboration between 23 language academies across the Spanish-speaking world, contains over 255,000 synonyms and 20,000 antonyms distributed across 44,000 entries.

The extensive difference in number between synonyms and antonyms reflects that languages primarily name things, and not all concepts have direct opposites—for example, there is only one antonym for “horse”: sobriety. The dictionary notes regional variations in language, marking words originating in America or Spain, as well as colloquial terms.

Elena Zamora of the RAE’s Institute of Lexicography explained that while the online version of the Dictionary of the Spanish Language already includes synonyms since 2023, a printed volume offers a different kind of resource for language enthusiasts. The RAE acknowledges that determining true synonymy is complex, as subtle differences often exist between words with similar meanings. Further research will continue to refine understanding of these nuances in the Spanish language.