This article is devoted to the study of several basic physical terms, namely, their functioning in scientific English-language texts. Physical terminology, as part of the common vocabulary, is not isolated from the laws of its development and functioning. The authors have analyzed physical synonymous terms and established that there are the same lexical–semantic processes in the analyzed terminology, that language has in general (polysemy, synonymy), but taking into account the specific features of the implementation of these processes. It was noted that the language of modern science, including physics, is English and all important results are published and reported in English, although the discoveries are made by representatives of different nationalities. Accordingly, English is the international language and its function is the transcultural transmission of knowledge. Based on relevant and accurate examples, authors suggested that the choice of synonymous variants in the English-language scientific articles due to several factors. Impact on accurate interpretation of scientific knowledge is decisive in the choice of words.