---
sourceDocument: Brazil ServiceNow AI Platform Administration
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/platform-administration

 Release :

    - brazil

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Brazil ServiceNow AI Platform Administration

ft:clusterId :

    - platadm

bundleId :

    - platadm

workflow :

    - Platform


---

# Zing can expand search results with synonyms

# Zing can expand search results with synonyms {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Brazil  
Updated September 10, 2026  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 1 minute to read  
Expand search results to include additional search terms.  
By default, Zing includes a sample synonym dictionary consisting of a list of synonym sets (synsets). Zing supports two types of synonym sets.{#search-synonyms-expand-results__table_elz_kyb_fx__entry__3}

| Synonym set type | Description | Example |
|-|-|-|
| Synonym list | A synonym list is a list of words separated by commas. When a search uses any word from the list, Zing expands the search to include all words in the list. | Cyber,Internet,Cybercafe |
| Synonym map | A synonym map is two word lists separated by the equal and greater than characters =\> . When a search uses any word from the list on the left, Zing expands the search to include all words from the list on the right. When a search uses a word from the list on the right, Zing doesn't expand the search to include terms from the list on the left. | IOT,Internet of Things=\>Chip,Nest thermostat,RFID,IOT |
[Table 1. Synonym set types]

{#search-synonyms-expand-results__table_elz_kyb_fx}

## Search results, synonym expansion and weighting {#search-synonyms-expand-results__section_zjn_qql_rgb}

In search results, documents containing the original search keywords have a higher score than documents containing the search synonyms. For example, documents with the search keyword <kbd class="ph userinput">IOT</kbd> have a higher score than documents with the synonym <kbd class="ph userinput">Internet of Things</kbd>.

* One-way synonym expansion to/from multiple terms <kbd class="ph userinput">(blork, cork =&gt; malork, elastic)</kbd> works as expected. <kbd class="ph userinput">Blork</kbd> and <kbd class="ph userinput">cork</kbd> both expand to <kbd class="ph userinput">malork</kbd> and <kbd class="ph userinput">elastic</kbd>.
* Multi-level one-way expansion <kbd class="ph userinput">(blork =&gt; cork =&gt; malork)</kbd> doesn't work transitively. Neither <kbd class="ph userinput">blork</kbd> nor <kbd class="ph userinput">cork</kbd> expands to <kbd class="ph userinput">malork</kbd>.
* Multi-level one-way expansion split between multiple synonym set records <kbd class="ph userinput">(blork =&gt; cork)(cork =&gt; malork)</kbd> doesn't work transitively. Only <kbd class="ph userinput">cork</kbd> expands to <kbd class="ph userinput">malork</kbd>, <kbd class="ph userinput">blork</kbd> only expands to <kbd class="ph userinput">cork</kbd> but not <kbd class="ph userinput">malork</kbd>.
{#search-synonyms-expand-results__ul_wcl_nsl_rgb}

By default, synonyms don't use the same weight as regular search terms. Synonyms are only weighted at 10% of the default search weight. Additionally, multiple instances of a synonym in a single doc/field don't increase the
search weight. The weight of synonyms is controlled by the property glide.ts.synonym.expanded.boost. When this property value = 1, synonyms are weighted equally to normal search terms. 0.5 = 50% weight
etc.

## Wildcard characters and synonym matching {#search-synonyms-expand-results__id_ckr_xhs_ffc}

Zing doesn't expand the <kbd class="ph userinput">%</kbd> and <kbd class="ph userinput">*</kbd> wildcard characters when looking for synonyms that match your search term. These characters are treated as literal characters when finding matching
synonyms. As an example, if you search for <kbd class="ph userinput">issu*</kbd>, Zing doesn't find synonyms for issue, but it does find synonyms for issu\*.
* **[Enable search synonyms](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/5cHqYSq7_irSiWCDWZ_ToA)**   
  Enabling text index synonyms allows Zing to expand text searches with additional search keywords.
* **[Create synonym dictionaries](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/ezIjcq8q~wLata18qTwwCQ)**   
  You can create synonym dictionaries to expand Zing text searches with additional search keywords.
* **[Select synonym dictionaries for a table](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/tYBKWJSCasmpY4Xrs0l4Zg)**   
  Search administrators can specify one or more synonym dictionaries available to a particular table.
* **[Disable synonyms for a table](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/SWHJi5Ul8vSfaEJTBhwzfw)**   
  By default, Zing uses all active synonym dictionaries when a user performs a text search. Search administrators can disable synonym dictionary usage on a per-table basis.
* **[Debug synonym searches](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/2mR0~dohJ4JETGVIoeMBMQ)**   
  You can view debug messages to determine if synonym searches are working as expected.

**Related concepts**   

* [Available search options](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Zqyj1g1PfjpPxDepIyFlNg "Zing offers users several search interfaces and search operators to conduct text searches.")
* [Global search finds records from multiple tables](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/f8WmhlWpnRKE~ELQVmau0A "Search multiple record types from a single search field.")
* [Zing generates search results in four phases](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/pQ27BdZIc5qRUAdBJt_mhQ "Generate search results by dividing documents among shards, searching shard documents, scoring shard documents, and merging scores into an index.")
* [Zing filters search results with access controls](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/KGzE60RcsnStx6ne7mmu6A "Zing filters search results to only display records the user can access.")
* [Zing computes document scores using three components](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/AaYU0TOD30UWRxIjEBpmFw "The Zing search engine computes document scores based on the frequency, sequence, and weight of search terms in the document.")
* [Zing indexes words](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/iWX2_3a_FIyXNiZycrejCA "Index documents by dividing them into words. Depending on the languages your instance supports, a word may be a single character such as a Chinese or Japanese pictogram or a sequence of characters separated by spaces such as with Latin, Arabic, and Pinyin languages.")
* [Zing can include attachments in search results](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/yWYQ4GzM5pPGfxBJLkWaNg "Search content from attachments on indexed tables. Display attachments for search results from the Knowledge [kb_knowledge] table.")
* [Zing removes stop words from queries](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/OvRfPH4Ih7PBgeIr27h97Q "Remove common words from search queries that don't produce meaningful results.")
* [Zing matches derived words with stemming](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/3gWvQEv7cKSt5Y16VPwwBg "Convert any multiple-character search keyword to its stem form to find derived versions of the word.")
* [Zing displays search suggestions as users enter search terms](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/LURBGKFLn5GQgI72Kix48A "Display possible search query completions as users enter search terms.")  
**Related tasks**   

* [Verify that user roles have access to your searchable tables](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/k2mHAG3fNIF1gwvAUORPqw "Evaluate your Zing text index configurations to see whether any user roles lack access to indexed columns in your searchable tables. The checker tool provides guidance on correcting access issues for each affected table's index.")  
**Related reference**   

* [Features of Zing text indexing and search engine](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/dOZ82zU1rfqiW94u13ollw "Enable and configure Zing text indexing and search engine features.")
* [Installed with Zing](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/7VDvxhpw3Ljs1lQE7oAhqQ "Several types of components are installed with Zing.")