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A thesaurus helps with precise word choice, with two organizing principles: alphabetical or thematic. It lists synonyms and antonyms, with some providing additional information like part of speech and usage notes. Different types of thesauri exist, but ultimately the choice is up to the user.
Once you really know a language, you come to understand that synonyms don’t have exactly the same meaning. For the writer or speaker, particular rather than general words can help focus the discussion. For the poet or lyricist, choosing evocative words can help engage your audience. And in the business world, choosing precise words can help you express the exact meaning you want to convey in a way that fits the situation perfectly, whether your purpose is to explain, persuade, or promote.
A thesaurus is designed to assist users in exact and nuanced word choice. Thesauri usually have one of two organizing principles: They are either organized alphabetically, in what is called a dictionary form, or thematically, so that words with similar meanings are grouped together. So those are the two starting points.
Once you’ve found your first input word to start your search, you’ll find a wealth of options from which to select the word that best suits your purpose. Most thesauri simply list synonyms and/or antonyms, and you may find that you need to do several searches in the thesaurus and possibly resort to a dictionary to make sure your choice really fits.
If your thesaurus provides additional information, such as part of speech and definition, all the better: you may be able to get your job done with just one reference. Less frequent, but also useful, are sentences, clauses or example sentences. And sometimes you can even find usage notes.
There are some thesauri which are adapted for different uses. There are esoteric thesauruses and student thesauri, and you may find one of these more suitable for your purposes than the “standard” thesaurus. Furthermore, at least one writer has prepared a dictionary of slang synonyms.
But whatever type of thesaurus you use as a reference tool, the choice is still something that, ultimately, is up to you. Because, if it’s true, for example, that sloppy and old-fashioned are synonyms, that doesn’t make them interchangeable!
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