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Do you use a thesaurus?
- Thread starter Eldritch
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It's on the shelf, but I do not use it as a routine means of finding alternative words.
I occasionally refer to it but only if I genuinely doubt if I really have the correct word in a particular situation.
I occasionally refer to it but only if I genuinely doubt if I really have the correct word in a particular situation.
Occasionally. Usually because the word I have just isn't quite the one I was looking for. Sort of like having the word on the tip of your tongue. I just can't quite get the right word so I use the thesuraus to find it.
of ccourse, certainly, aye, true, mais oui, Roger, affirmative, most assuredly, agreed, oh yes!, amen, naturally, without fail, just so, you bet, okey-dokey.
Any other questions?
Any other questions?
I use one, but I don't use words that I wouldn't naturally use anyway. And I never use it as a dictionary. Where people really get themselves into trouble with thesauri is when they assume the words are interchangeable. The thesaurus gives a broad array of synonyms and many will have different connotations and tenses that make them the wrong choice for a given context. This is why it's often best to go with your "first choice" word rather than look up an alternative.
If you have a great vocabulary, a thesaurus can be your best friend. But if your vocabulary is poor, the thesaurus may cause you a lot of problems.
If you have a great vocabulary, a thesaurus can be your best friend. But if your vocabulary is poor, the thesaurus may cause you a lot of problems.
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I use a thesaurus frequently in an effort to avoid repetition. But..I try to keep the verbage in tune with regular conversation. I tell my students that just as in dress, simplicity is elegance in writing as well.
I don't use a physical thesaurus, but I'm constantly frequenting thesaurus.com to help me figure out superhero names and location names. Other than that, I don't use it all that often, but somtiems.
I think the last time I used a thesaurus in connection to writing, was several months ago. I don't normally use one, because I believe I should use what vocabulary I have. For one thing, I don't know whether a word in a thesaurus means what I want it to or not; and for another, I just don't like to run to the thesaurus every time I'm stumped. I like to give thinking of words in my own arsenal a chance first.
So really, I don't use a thesaurus very often. Maybe once or twice a year, at the most, where writing is concerned.
I hope this helps. Good luck to you.
--Sean
Not usually on the first draft. When I'm rewriting, I may see a word appearing too often, and if it's an uncommon word, I might punch up thesaurus.com.
When I was just starting out, yes. And, like many young writers, I tended to misuse it. I look at some of my earliest stuff and can clearly see the occasional but blatant signs of misuse of a thesaurus.
I only use it these days if I know the flavor of the word I need but it's briefly elusive and I'm not patient enough to wait for it to surface on its own.
I only use it these days if I know the flavor of the word I need but it's briefly elusive and I'm not patient enough to wait for it to surface on its own.
I never use it. If the word does not occur to me as natural and belonging in the scene, it's the wrong one.
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I'm like Bufty. I have one. It's within easy referring distance, but I rarely open it. I use it when the right word is persistently eluding me.
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For editing other people's work, yep: I want to give them a broad range of suggestions if I think a particular word doesn't work, not just my own favorites.
For my own writing, no, because I want to work from my own core vocabulary.
For my own writing, no, because I want to work from my own core vocabulary.
I use the online thesaurus when I have a word like right at the tip of my brain (what, your brain doesn't have a tip?) and I know I might lose my train of thought focusing on the word. I don't usually use it to find new synonyms or antonyms- though occaisionally I'll look because I know I'm overusing something.
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Almost never--just when I absolutely cannot think of the word I want, and I know the first one I thought of isn't best.
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For first drafts, I generally won't interrupt my train of thought to check the thesaurus, but I use it constantly during rewrites. And I don't just grab a word, it's kind of like trying on shoes. The word has to fit.
Thanks to my trusty thesaurus, my creatures aren't "scrambling" and "skittering" quite so much.
Thanks to my trusty thesaurus, my creatures aren't "scrambling" and "skittering" quite so much.
I use a thesaurus often. I usually have the correct word right on the tip of my tongue, and my thesaurus helps me taste the word I'm looking for.
I'm a lousy speller, so I tend to use a thesaurus as a dictionary because if I can't spell the word I want, I can usually spell a synonym. Which is why I have a dictionary style thesaurus.
But for the real purpose for which it was intended? A handful of times in 30 years, and then never without my Websters Third International at hand to double-check that's what I truly wanted.
But for the real purpose for which it was intended? A handful of times in 30 years, and then never without my Websters Third International at hand to double-check that's what I truly wanted.
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I'll say I use the dictionary more. I'm in and out of Dictionary.com a lot. But I do use the thesaurus regularly when the existing word doesn't quite do what I want to (and then sometimes I still have to look it up in the dictionary).
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