Dictionary, Thesaurus, Or Both?
By Darkwing
@Darkwing (21583)
July 1, 2008 5:11am CST
I was wondering, especially those who write, which you keep at home for reference... a dictionary, or a thesaurus, and what are your reasons for doing so?
I have both... a Collins English Dictionary and a Roget's Thesaurus, as they come in handy for different things. The dictionary gives me definitions of words and also aids with spelling if I'm unsure, and the thesaurus gives me synonyms, that help me to find rhyming words for my poetry. When I'm offline and writing by hand these come in very useful, and I even have them to hand when I'm writing on the computer.
However, there is now a combined dictionary/thesaurus which must be a very handy thing to have, and if online, you can search through this without the need for your paper book. I'll give you an example of a very good word we use in story writing or poetry... Wanderlust. It saves quite a few words and is a great word to use in poetry.
So, do you have either or both of these reference books at home? Do you have them because you write and occasionally need to find the spelling or definition of a word, or a synonym for it? What are your reasons for finding these books necessary or useful and how often do you actually use them? Please share.
15 people like this
43 responses
@patgalca (18181)
• Orangeville, Ontario
2 Jul 08
I have three different Thesaurus books. My original book sis Webster's which I use most often. I have a small "Collins Canadian Thesaurus" which is puny and not very helpful. I have Roget's Thesaurus which is more complicated to look through, but I do use it.
The book I find most helpful, however, is "Building Believable Characters" by Mark McCutcheon. It is filled with valuable information broken down in sections like Character Thesaurus - face and body including facial types, expressions, body types, etc; Personality/Identity including personality traits, bad habits, hobbies and sports, occupations, diseases/disorders & afflictions; Facial Expressions, Body & Vocal Language; different types of clothing, different types of houses, different dialects, given names and surnames from around the world.
This book contains a wealth of information that I highly recommend to any writer.
3 people like this
@Darkwing (21583)
•
3 Jul 08
Wow... thank you for the heads up on the "Building Believable Characters" book. It sounds quite intriguing and a very good asset to one's writing. I think I will have to invest in one of those, my friend.
Brightest Blessings and thank you for your contribution. x
1 person likes this
@Bluepatch (2476)
• Trinidad And Tobago
1 Jul 08
I have both. Dictionary for meaning, Thesaurus for composing, as they go.
I also read them from time to time. You can come up with some surprising things if you do that.
They are also very interesting to read and that gives you ideas.
You can actually create ideas for writing from reading words.
If you see a word and think of a meaning you can get an idea from that.
Good things to have, to be sure.
3 people like this
@pumpkinjam (8539)
• United Kingdom
2 Jul 08
I write a lot. I own dictionaries and a thesaurus but they are rarely used. I am really clever you see! I have little reason to use them very often. I will occasionally look up things in the dictionary if I have a random word in my head an am unsure of the meaning. I also sometimes use an on line dictionary to check spellings. I have rarely sought the use of a thesaurus. There was a time when I felt I needed a particular word but couldn't think of the word so I looked up something which meant something similar.
I find dictionaries (especially on line ones) really frustrating sometimes. The problem is that I write in English but almost every on line dictionary is American, meaning that sometimes I have "wrong" spellings because they are correct in English but not in American English.
2 people like this
@pumpkinjam (8539)
• United Kingdom
3 Jul 08
My spell checks are all set to proper English but they still tell me things like "colour" should be "color"! Although I have just noticed that the Firefox UK English application which I recently added has highlighted the American spelling rather than the English one so it can't be too bad!
2 people like this
@Darkwing (21583)
•
3 Jul 08
Hello extremely clever person! 
I agree, a lot of the online dictionaries are in American English, but if you type UK in the address bar, after the word you're looking for, then you'll be given a link to English spellings. You can also set your spell check to English spellings, I believe.
Brightest Blessings and thank you for your contribution.
I agree, a lot of the online dictionaries are in American English, but if you type UK in the address bar, after the word you're looking for, then you'll be given a link to English spellings. You can also set your spell check to English spellings, I believe.
Brightest Blessings and thank you for your contribution.2 people like this
@michelyn (717)
• United States
7 Jul 08
Currently, the only physical book that I keep at home is a dictionary. The kids use it the most when needed and because I don't give them free access to their computers. I tend to utilize online dictionaries, thesaures and whatnot because I'm normally on the computer when that information is needed. If the kids are using their computers to write something for school, then I will allow them to utilize the online forms as well.
My daughter (who can be a strange bird at times) often takes off with the dictionary. I'll find it tucked somewhere around her bed. When I ask her why she takes off with it, she claims that she reads at least a page before going to bed at night when she has a hard time sleeping. I shouldn't complain since my son hates to read. I think she took the reading gene away from him.
@Darkwing (21583)
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7 Jul 08
Lol @ your daughter reading the dictionary to help her sleep. I guess that's not a bad thing, because she's learning all the time. Your son will get by with just using it as a reference book, and I'm sure the fact that he doesn't physically read won't take away from his academic abilities. It's a preference really, and one that you can't force upon a child, I think.
Brightest Blessings and thank you for your contribution.
@joliefille (3690)
• Philippines
1 Jul 08
I used to have both when I was in college. I was having so much fun with the thesaurus too because I learn about synonyms and antonyms of the word. It has immensely helped me in writing articles or reports for a project. This was way before I learned how to use the computer. Nowadays I just consult everything online.
3 people like this
@Darkwing (21583)
•
1 Jul 08
Well yes, that would be the easy way, but I find there are times when I need to break with the computer for a while, or the computer goes down, for whatever reason. This is when your thesaurus and dictionary come in very handy!
Brightest Blessings and thank you for your contribution.
1 person likes this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
3 Jul 08
I just use online dictionaries, mostly dictionary.com
as it has the words and thesaurus.
some time if I am looking for a rhyme I will go to an online rhyming dictionary.
2 people like this
@Darkwing (21583)
•
3 Jul 08
That's an idea... the online rhyming dictionary, but I'm not always online when writing. I find it beneficial to occasionally go off out and sit somewhere quiet, and I can take my hard copies with me if I wish. If not, I merely adjust when I get home.
Brightest Blessings and thank you for your contribution, my friend. x
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
1 Jul 08
I have the Websters Collegiate Dictionary, not the new one, but the one before. I should get the new one. I also have Rogers Thesaurus, but I also have the Websters and Dictionary.com and Vocab Vitamins bookmarked and I belong to the latter's mailing list as it is hard to read the dictionary or thesaurus when I have to put on my glasses all the time and I am sort of lazy. I have the free version of Wordweb. I would like to get the paid version as they only want me to travel twice by air a year, but right now I cannot afford it. The meanies.
I used them to find an alternative way of saying something. I use the online dictionaries and thesaurus a lot, and I prefer that they give example sentences so I can get the idea of what word is best.
I used them to find an alternative way of saying something. I use the online dictionaries and thesaurus a lot, and I prefer that they give example sentences so I can get the idea of what word is best.
2 people like this
@mummymo (23706)
•
3 Jul 08
We have several of each my friend - I hav never believed in telling my children what a word means or how to spell it once they reach the stage they can check for themselves. Cruel? I don't think so , not only do they get the correct definition and meaning for a word , or how to spell it but they are also far more likely to remember it then! Hugs xxx
2 people like this
@teapotmommommerced (10359)
• United States
4 Jul 08
I have a dictionary, thesaurus and a medical dictionary. I am a nurse so the medical dictionary sure comes in handy.
2 people like this
@Darkwing (21583)
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5 Jul 08
Oh yes, a medical dictionary would come in very handy for a nurse. I would imagine that it's very difficult to remember everything in the medical world and reference is a great thing.
Brightest Blessings and thank you for your contribution, my friend. x
1 person likes this
@beautyqueen26 (16030)
• United States
1 Jul 08
We used to have all those wonderful books
and some with quotes, too.
But they got lost when we moved.
And now I use the ones online
whenever I am writing and at a loss for the
right word.
Those two books are so essential for anyone
desiring to learn daily.
And I'm sure that I will get both as
my daughter enters her school age
so that she can use them for reference.
2 people like this
@Darkwing (21583)
•
1 Jul 08
Yes, I think you'll find they'll be required school text books when your daughter reaches school age. They're never a waste of money because there's always something you can learn from them, however good your English.
Brightest Blessings, my friend, and thank you for your contribution. x
1 person likes this
@Farside604 (870)
• Canada
3 Jul 08
I use a thesaurus much more than i use a dictinary. AFter writting a paper i sometimes run out of words so thats where the thesaurus comes in handy. As for the dictionary i dont find it as useful because for the most part if i misspell a word or so ill pick it upon reviewing it; i just dont like looking stuff up in the dictionary.
2 people like this
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
1 Jul 08
Hi darkwing, yes I keep both dictionary and thesaurus on
'hand as I love to write poetry and also short stories.
I also have a rhyming dictionary to help when its
necessary. since I have been doing so much mylotting
I have not had much time for my writing. I also have a lot
of books on writing, and sometimes I refer to them and somtimes
I do not. lol
2 people like this
@djhybrid (94)
•
1 Jul 08
As an English teacher I have both on my person every time I go to work. I could go to work without them but I am not a machine and admittedly cannot spell or give a clear definition of every word in the human language. As much as I would love to have that ability, I do not possess it. If I am online, I always resort to my best friend "dictionary.com" :)
2 people like this
@creativedreamweaver (7297)
• United States
12 Jul 08
I use each of them in the writing process on an daily basis. I definitely use both...and a copy of Bartlett's Quotations. I have several dictionaries, including a Webster's Concise Dictionary, a Concord Dictionary, and a Riverside Webster's Dictionary. I also have a Rogets Thesaurus, a Webster's New World Thesaurus, and a Roget's Super Thesaurus. I use each one of them. Sometimes I use the online versions of these research materials. It is necessary to have a variety of resources at your hands when writing.
1 person likes this
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
15 Jul 08
i am a lover of both those books as well as an encyclopedia and in a used store, i found a Scrabble dictionary that i bought for my hubby (we play scrabble quite a bit during the winter) and so as a writer and also with school aged girls (11 and 15) we use the dictionary and thesaurus quite a bit.
1 person likes this
@Darkwing (21583)
•
15 Jul 08
To be honest, I don't think there are many people out there without at lease one dictionary and one thesaurus. I have a set of encylopedias, but I use the net more for the type of information you find in there.
Brightest Blessings and thank you for your contribution.
@faith210 (11224)
• Philippines
1 Jul 08
Hi Darkwing! I do use Thesaurus, Oxford and Webster but most of the time it is the Thesaurus that I am using but it is not the latest edition. haha..I use it often so I can find the synonyms or the definitions of a word. It is important for me since English is not really my mother tongue to begin with so it just follows that there are words that I really don't understand. haha..
Take care and God Bless!
1 person likes this
@cupid74 (11388)
• Pakistan
2 Jul 08
Hi dear,
Nice discussion, well i do have Collins English Dictionary as well as Oxford and Webshire( i think i wrote it correctly). I have thesaurus too and one book of Idioms and Prose.
to be honest i am not using them since few years as when i started my job and most of time i am on computer so where i have spelling mistake or grammatical mistake, its pointed out and i can re look and correct it. i can use thesaurus for synonymous as well.
I used to have all these dictionaries and relevant book during my studies and specially when need to have report writing. i am not much into poetry, specially English poetry ( i am talking about writing as i am not that intellectual)
So in short i use it daily but its not hard dictionary in paper but in built in my Micro soft Out Look
Take care
So in short i use it daily but its not hard dictionary in paper but in built in my Micro soft Out Look
Take care
1 person likes this
@Darkwing (21583)
•
3 Jul 08
You don't have to be intellectual to write poetry, my friend... you just need a good imagination, and the ability to write it down. The book of idioms and prose is another I haven't invested in but which sounds a handy book to have.
Thank you for your contribution, my friend, and Brightest Blessings. x
@cupid74 (11388)
• Pakistan
4 Jul 08
Thanks for ur response, i believe thar Poetry and prose are two differnt things and u need to have apptitude for that,
sure imagination and writing skills are very importantant , byt the way to express and put the write words is important too.
i am sure u might invest on books klike idioms and prose and u would lve them as some times u come across u lovely and intresting idioms that makes ur day
Keep in touch
@hellcowboy (7374)
• United States
1 Jul 08
Me and my fiance have a Webster dictionary on the book shelf in our room,but that is just because I used it when I was high school,but we do use it every once in a while,even though usually if we need to look up a word we will turn to the internet.
1 person likes this
@hellcowboy (7374)
• United States
2 Jul 08
Yes I agree the internet does tend to go down sometimes ,so it is good to have a dictionary handy,and you are more than welcome for the response,I was happy to respond to you,and I hope if I respond to peoples discussions they will respond too mine,have a great day ,good luck in your life,and Happy Posting.
1 person likes this
