How to get Synonym for small sentence using Python NodeJS Java

Question

I'd want to find synonyms for short sentences. I'm not sure how I'm going to accomplish it.

My wordnet python code looks like this:

from nltk.corpus import wordnet as wn
print(wn.synsets('work'))

Then i will get some synonyms returned like this:

employment, work, exercise etc...

But can i get the synonyms for some small sentences like "not working", "not feeling well"

Example I am expecting synonym for "not working" as-- faulty, not functioning etc.. Is there any libraries available to do that? I have tried using SimpleNLG but its not helping my case.

Answer 1

Compound words are supported by WordNet, however they are largely nouns. For example, the entry for faulty only comprises the words "defective" and "imperfect." It does not contain the words "not working" or "not operating."

However, you might be able to locate them by using antonyms and then just adding "not" before them? This answer illustrates how to use NLTK to obtain adjectival antonyms from WordNet: https://stackoverflow.com/a/24199627/841830.

It's a bit hazardous because you won't know whether "not" is widely used to negate that adjective, and you could wind up with some odd language. "Not nonabsorbent," for example. (Some corpus analysis can help you figure out how popular the compounds you make from antonyms are.)