# Hwo to update a synonym settings with PUT command

**URL:** <https://discuss.elastic.co/t/hwo-to-update-a-synonym-settings-with-put-command/53846>\
**Category:** Elasticsearch\
**Created:** [June 24, 2016, 3:02am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/hwo-to-update-a-synonym-settings-with-put-command/53846 "2016-06-24T03:02:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Kennedy\_Kan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/cc9497/32.png) [@Kennedy\_Kan1](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Kennedy_Kan1)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 3:02am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/hwo-to-update-a-synonym-settings-with-put-command/53846/1 "2016-06-24T03:02:13Z")

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I have created a index setting like this

```
PUT uk-2016.06.22
{
  "settings": {
    "analysis": {
      "filter": {
        "my_synonym_filter": {
          "type": "synonym", 
          "synonyms": [ 
            "british,uk,england,britain"
          ]
        }
      },
      "analyzer": {
        "my_synonyms": {
          "tokenizer": "standard",
          "filter": [
            "lowercase",
            "my_synonym_filter" 
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

```

But then I would like to also include `United Kingdom` into the synonym. But when I just simply add into it and run again, it gives me error

```
{
   "error": {
      "root_cause": [
         {
            "type": "index_already_exists_exception",
            "reason": "already exists",
            "index": "uk-2016.06.22"
         }
      ],
      "type": "index_already_exists_exception",
      "reason": "already exists",
      "index": "uk-2016.06.22"
   },
   "status": 400
}

```

How should I correctly update it?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dadoonet](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/dadoonet/32/137187_2.png) [@dadoonet](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/dadoonet)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 6:01am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/hwo-to-update-a-synonym-settings-with-put-command/53846/2 "2016-06-24T06:01:23Z")

</div>

You can't. You have to reindex.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 10:40pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/hwo-to-update-a-synonym-settings-with-put-command/53846/3 "2017-07-05T22:40:52Z")

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