Synonyms

Deep thoughts by Madeleine this morning:

MADELEINE: I learned a LOT of new words today!  Like "amiable" and "affable."  And I learned that "intellectual" doesn't just mean intelligent, it also means REFLECTING on things.
ME: Right. Where'd you learn all these words?
MADELEINE: Thesaurus.com!
ME: Oh, cool.
MADELEINE: Like, I already KNEW that "intellectual" is a word, I just thought it ONLY meant "intelligent."
ME: Right.
MADELEINE: (thoughtful) Synonyms are WEIRD.  It's like, you already HAVE a word for something.  But...I like them!  Because they give VARIETY.
ME: And they allow you to say something without having to use the same word over and over.
MADELEINE: Yeah, like, if you need to say "I *have* to go get the dog that I *have* that I *have* to take care of."


Well, I wasn't really thinking of "have" as a word needing synonyms when I use it in a sentence, but...she's got the basic idea.