An Empirical Study of Near-synonym Choice: A Comparison of Advanced EFL Learners to L1 English Speakers

Near-synonyms are words which share certain semantic similarities, yet differ in their contextual usage (e.g. acquire vs obtain, evaluate judge). The current study compares lexical preferences and rationalizations for choosing near-synonyms of advanced C1 level non-native speakers English (n = 45) to those given by native 58). data has been collected using a forced-choice questionnaire also included justification section meant explore respondents’ reasoning behind choices. findings the suggest that EFL students may lack depth vocabulary knowledge necessary choose most suitable word from pair near-synonyms. Insufficient target resulted learners’ choices justifications being statistically different speakers. Based on study, it is recommended teachers increase students’ exposure various contexts as well focus depth.