Dalam kamus itu ada penjelasan mulai dari arti dasar sampai sinonim yang lebih formal.

Here dalam means in / inside and emphasizes being within the contents of the dictionary.

• dalam kamus itu = in that dictionary
• di kamus itu is sometimes heard in casual speech, but dalam sounds more natural when talking about something contained inside a book, text, system, or document.

So for physical or conceptual inside-ness, dalam is often preferred:

• dalam buku = in the book
• dalam daftar = in the list
• dalam kamus = in the dictionary

In Indonesian, demonstratives like ini and itu usually come after the noun.

So:

• kamus itu = that dictionary
• buku ini = this book

This is the normal pattern:

• noun + ini/itu

If you say itu kamus, that usually means something more like that is a dictionary or gives special emphasis, not simply that dictionary.

Here ada means there is / there are or exists.

So:

• Dalam kamus itu ada penjelasan ... = In that dictionary, there is/are explanations ...

It does not mean possession here. It introduces the existence of something inside the dictionary.

Compare:

• Di meja ada buku. = There is a book on the table.
• Saya ada uang. is not standard for I have money. Standard Indonesian uses punya or another structure.

So in this sentence, ada is an existential word: it tells you something is present.

Indonesian often places a location or setting at the beginning of the sentence to set the scene.

So:

• Dalam kamus itu ada penjelasan ...

literally feels like:

• In that dictionary, there are explanations ...

This is very natural. It highlights where the explanations are found before telling you what is there.

A different order is also possible:

• Ada penjelasan ... dalam kamus itu

But the original version sounds very natural because it starts with the context.

Indonesian does not use articles like English a, an, and the.

So penjelasan can mean:

• an explanation
• the explanation
• explanations

The exact meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, ada penjelasan is understood as there are explanations or there is explanation/information, depending on how you interpret it in English.

This is very normal in Indonesian: nouns often appear without articles.

Penjelasan means explanation or explanatory information.

It comes from the root jelas, which means clear.

A very useful word family is:

• jelas = clear
• menjelaskan = to explain
• penjelasan = explanation

The prefix-suffix combination peN- ... -an often creates a noun related to an action or process.

So:

• menjelaskan = to explain
• penjelasan = explanation

Mulai dari ... sampai ... means starting from ... up to ... or ranging from ... to ....

In this sentence:

• mulai dari arti dasar sampai sinonim yang lebih formal

This describes a range:

• from basic meaning
• up to more formal synonyms

It is a very common pattern in Indonesian for giving limits of a range.

Examples:

• Mulai dari pagi sampai malam = from morning until night
• Mulai dari anak-anak sampai orang tua = from children to older people

Very often, yes. Mulai dari is a very common set phrase meaning starting from.

You may also see:

• mulai ... sampai ...
• bermula dari ...
• dari ... sampai ...

But mulai dari ... sampai ... is one of the most natural and common ways to express a range.

So in this sentence, mulai dari sounds completely normal and idiomatic.

Arti dasar means basic meaning, literal meaning, or core meaning, depending on context.

Indonesian usually places modifiers after the noun:

• arti dasar = basic meaning
• rumah besar = big house
• bahasa formal = formal language

So dasar comes after arti because that is the normal Indonesian order.

Here arti dasar refers to the most basic or central sense of a word before moving on to more specialized or formal alternatives.

Both are possible in some contexts, but they are not exactly the same.

• sinonim formal = formal synonyms
• sinonim yang lebih formal = synonyms that are more formal

The version with lebih formal is comparative. It suggests the synonyms are more formal than the basic meaning or usual word choice.

So the sentence is not just saying formal synonyms in a fixed category. It is saying the dictionary includes synonyms that are more formal in register.

That makes sense in a dictionary context, where a word may have:

• a basic everyday meaning
• then alternative words that sound more formal

Yang links a noun to a description. It often works like that, which, or sometimes simply marks an adjective phrase more clearly.

So:

• sinonim yang lebih formal = synonyms that are more formal

Without yang, Indonesian can often still use an adjective directly after the noun:

• sinonim formal

But when the description is more complex, especially with lebih, paling, clauses, or longer modifiers, yang is very common and natural:

• orang yang pintar = person who is smart
• buku yang menarik = book that is interesting
• sinonim yang lebih formal = synonyms that are more formal

It means more formal, and the comparison is understood from context.

In this sentence, it most naturally means:

• more formal than the basic meaning or the ordinary everyday wording

Indonesian often leaves the second part of the comparison unstated when it is obvious.

Compare:

• lebih mahal = more expensive
• lebih cepat = faster
• lebih formal = more formal

If needed, Indonesian can state the comparison explicitly:

• lebih formal daripada kata sehari-hari = more formal than everyday words

But here that extra part is not necessary.

Yes, basically. Sampai can mean until, up to, or as far as, depending on context.

In this sentence it marks the upper end of a range:

• mulai dari arti dasar sampai sinonim yang lebih formal
• from basic meanings up to more formal synonyms

So it is not about time only. Sampai can be used with:

• time
• place
• degree
• range of items

Examples:

• sampai besok = until tomorrow
• sampai Jakarta = up to Jakarta / as far as Jakarta
• sampai level lanjut = up to an advanced level

It is not marked explicitly. Indonesian nouns usually do not change form for singular vs. plural.

So penjelasan could be understood as:

• explanation
• explanations
• explanatory information

In this sentence, English might naturally use explanations because the phrase describes a range of content:

• basic meanings
• more formal synonyms

But Indonesian itself does not need to mark plural here.

If the speaker wanted to emphasize plurality, they could say:

• penjelasan-penjelasan

But that would often sound unnecessary.

Yes. Indonesian often allows several natural variations. For example:

• Kamus itu memuat penjelasan mulai dari arti dasar sampai sinonim yang lebih formal.

  • This sounds a bit more formal and uses memuat = contains/includes.

• Di dalam kamus itu ada penjelasan dari arti dasar sampai sinonim yang lebih formal.

  • Also natural; di dalam gives a similar sense to dalam.

• Kamus itu menjelaskan arti dasar hingga sinonim yang lebih formal.

  • More compact, but slightly different in focus.

The original sentence is already very natural and clear.