On using a thesaurus

Thesauri and dictionaries are not mutually exclusive tools of the writing trade. It seems, though, that quite often people choose to use a thesaurus in lieu of a dictionary when both may in fact be needed. A good thesaurus will offer synonyms for a word that run the entire spectrum, not merely precise synonyms, but also words that mean “sort of” the same thing.

For example, using one of the words in the most preceding sentence, the Microsoft Word thesaurus returns the following for the word “precise”: exact, accurate, specific, particular, clear-cut, defined, strict and fixed. Some of these words would fit the sentence. Some would not. And that’s just in Microsoft Word. A large thesaurus will likely offer many more word options.

When using a thesaurus, it’s never a good idea to just pick the word with the coolest sound and assume that it carries the same meaning as the word that is being replaced. This can change the meaning of the sentence entirely.

The word “walk” returns a list of words, including “saunter,” “march,” and “stagger”. These three words call to mind very different images.

If you do not know the meaning of a word for sure, always double check the definition in a dictionary. Don’t count on a thesaurus to define a word.