Is there a term for words that are stronger than a similar counterpart? (e.g. Dislike vs. Hate)

Question

Title says it all, but some more examples could be:

• like vs love
• pleasure vs euphoria
• carelessness vs apathy

etc.

...essentially words that carry more weight than their counterpart despite having similar definitions. I hesitate to call them synonyms- though that may not be incorrect to say, it isn't the term I'm looking for here.

Answer 1

I suggest the three types of adjectives--positive, comparative, and superlative--are somewhat analogous to the three dyads or counterparts you provided in your question.

If you were to take the word pleasure, for example, and then rank it adjectivally, you would have:

• pleasurable
• more pleasurable
• most pleasurable

The dyads you have provided could be expanded into triads, as follows:

• fondness, like, and love (or, I'm fond of, I like, and I love)
• stimulation, pleasure, and euphoria (or, I'm stimulated, I'm pleasured, I'm euphoric
• detachment, complacence, and apathy (or, I'm detached, I'm complacent, and I'm apathetic, with my word detached as perhaps a better substitute for your word carelessness)

As for a way to name synonyms of varying strengths, I am at a loss to suggest a single word that fits the bill. I do, however, have some multiple-word suggestions:

• gradations of synonyms
• positive, comparative, and superlative synonyms
• rank order of synonyms, from less, to more, to most
• affective ranking of the intensity of synonyms
• varying valences of synonyms