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patronage has 12 distinct synonyms spread across 5 of its 7 senses. Each sense below keeps its own list, because a synonym belongs to a meaning and not to a word: swapping one sense's substitute into another sense's sentence is how a thesaurus makes writing worse. WordNet records no antonym for it — antonymy is a relation between word forms rather than concepts, so it is deliberately sparse.
Counts are distinct word forms across every sense. A synonym that appears under three senses is counted once here and shown three times below, under each sense it belongs to.
the act of providing approval and support
“his vigorous backing of the conservatives got him in trouble with progressives”
a communication that indicates lack of respect by patronizing the recipient
(politics) granting favors or giving contracts or making appointments to office in return for political support
Synonyms, antonyms and the broader and narrower relations for patronage come from Princeton University’s WordNet. Full sources and licences.