Final answer:
Synonyms are attributes that may have different names but the same meaning when they describe the same characteristic of an entity.
Step-by-step explanation:
When two or more attributes have different names but the same meaning, they are called synonyms. Synonyms are words or phrases that have similar or identical meanings, and they can be used interchangeably in certain contexts. For example, 'happy' and 'joyful' are synonyms because they both describe a feeling of happiness. In the context of attributes describing characteristics of an entity, synonyms refer to attributes that convey the same information but may be labeled differently.