If you use Wordnet as an extension to your text editor, you may eventually begin to wonder what is up with all the nutsy downward sloping oddly indented syntax. Then you might go here, to wikipedia, and read up on all the madness. Or you can browse a few of the tidbits we've pasted below.
This Summary is From Wordnet’s Website
WordNet superficially resembles a thesaurus, in that it groups words together based on their meanings. However, there are some important distinctions. First, WordNet interlinks not just word forms--strings of letters--but specific senses of words. As a result, words that are found in close proximity to one another in the network are semantically disambiguated. Second, WordNet labels the semantic relations among words, whereas the groupings of words in a thesaurus does not follow any explicit pattern other than meaning similarity. ~ Wordnet Website
And This One Is From Wikipedia
WordNet was first created in English only in the Cognitive Science Laboratory of Princeton University under the direction of psychology professor George Armitage Miller starting in 1985 and has been directed in recent years by Christiane Fellbaum. The project was initially funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research and later also by other U.S. government agencies including the DARPA, the National Science Foundation, the Disruptive Technology Office (formerly the Advanced Research and Development Activity), and REFLEX. George Miller and Christiane Fellbaum were awarded the 2006 Antonio Zampolli Prize for their work with WordNet.
The Global WordNet Association is a non-commercial organization that provides a platform for discussing, sharing and connecting WordNets for all languages in the world, and has Christiane Fellbaum and Piek Th.J.M. Vossen and as co-presidents. ~ Wikipedia
The Global WordNet Association is a non-commercial organization that provides a platform for discussing, sharing and connecting WordNets for all languages in the world, and has Christiane Fellbaum and Piek Th.J.M. Vossen and as co-presidents. ~ Wikipedia
Fancy hey? Unfortunately their website is overdue for an update. Still, here's more info:
The database contains 155 327 words organized in 175 979 synsets for a total of 207 016 word-sense pairs; in compressed form, it is about 12 megabytes in size.
WordNet includes the lexical categories nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs but ignores prepositions, determiners and other function words.
Words from the same lexical category that are roughly synonymous are grouped into synsets. Synsets include simplex words as well as collocations like "eat out" and "car pool." The different senses of a polysemous word form are assigned to different synsets.
The meaning of a synset is further clarified with a short defining gloss and one or more usage examples.
An example adjective synset is: good, right, ripe - (most suitable or right for a particular purpose; "a good time to plant tomatoes"; "the right time to act"; "the time is ripe for great sociological changes")
All synsets are connected to other synsets by means of semantic relations. ~ Wikipedia
WordNet includes the lexical categories nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs but ignores prepositions, determiners and other function words.
Words from the same lexical category that are roughly synonymous are grouped into synsets. Synsets include simplex words as well as collocations like "eat out" and "car pool." The different senses of a polysemous word form are assigned to different synsets.
The meaning of a synset is further clarified with a short defining gloss and one or more usage examples.
An example adjective synset is: good, right, ripe - (most suitable or right for a particular purpose; "a good time to plant tomatoes"; "the right time to act"; "the time is ripe for great sociological changes")
All synsets are connected to other synsets by means of semantic relations. ~ Wikipedia
Today, while briefly investigating the word "anathema" - which means 'something one vehemenently dislikes' (see below) - I was delighted to find the following second senses of the word, which I've included verbatim in the form my text editor produces it (except for the word-wrapping).
Online Dictionary
"the Pope laid special emphasis on the second of these anathemas"
"racial hatred was anathema to her"
"racial hatred was anathema to her"
WordNet
\* Coordinate Terms (sisters) of noun anathema
2 senses of anathema
\** Sense 1
anathema, bete noire
-> unpleasant person, disagreeable person
=> aggravator, annoyance
=> alienator
=> anathema, bete noire
=> asshole, bastard, cocksucker, dickhead, shit, mother fucker, motherfucker, prick, whoreson, son of a bitch, SOB
=> bore, dullard
=> cold fish
=> creep, weirdo, weirdie, weirdy, spook
=> critic
=> cynic, faultfinder
=> egotist, egoist, swellhead
=> grabber
=> grouch, grump, crank, churl, crosspatch
=> incubus
=> joker, turkey
=> monster, fiend, devil, demon, ogre
=> oppressor
=> pain, pain in the neck, nuisance
=> pawer
=> peasant, barbarian, boor, churl, Goth, tyke, tike
=> pharisee
=> pill
=> prima donna
=> prude, puritan
=> rotter, dirty dog, rat, skunk, stinker, stinkpot, bum, puke, crumb, lowlife, scum bag, so-and-so, git
=> scoffer, flouter, mocker, jeerer
=> scold, scolder, nag, nagger, common scold
=> selfish person
=> sneak
=> sneerer, scorner
=> snob, prig, snot, snoot
=> snorter
=> unpleasant woman, disagreeable woman
=> upstart, parvenu, nouveau-riche, arriviste
=> upstart
=> vulgarian
=> whiner, complainer, moaner, sniveller, crybaby, bellyacher, grumbler, squawker
=> worm, louse, insect, dirt ball
I don't know about you, but I find that hilarious 😏
Read More About Wordnets on Daniel Jurafsky & James H. Martin 2021 paper:
Download it here:
Word Sense and Word Nets [Daniel Jurafsky & James H. Martin. Copyright 2021]
