Contextual Correlates of Synonymy Experimental corroboration was obtained for the hypothesis that the proportion of words common to the contexts of word A and to the contexts of word B is a function of the degree to which A and B are similar in meaning. The shapes of the functions, however, indicate that similarity of context is reliable as criterion only for detecting pairs of words that are very similar in meaning. CACM October, 1965 Rubenstein, H. Goodenough, J. B. CA651013 JB March 6, 1978 6:29 PM 1182 5 1182 1182 5 1182 1182 5 1182