thesaurus

Everyday

1. A thesaurus is a book or website that lists words grouped with others of similar meaning (synonyms), and sometimes opposite meaning (antonyms). tree →
2. You use it to find a better or more exact word. tree →

In the lessons

In English lessons a thesaurus helps make writing more interesting: instead of «said», you might find «whispered», «shouted» or «muttered». Pupils learn to check the meaning in a dictionary, because synonyms are not always exact matches. Phrases: «look it up in a thesaurus», «use a thesaurus», «online thesaurus».

Examples

• I used a thesaurus to find another word for «big». tree →
• The thesaurus gave «enormous», «huge» and «gigantic». tree →
• Check the meaning in a dictionary before using a word from the thesaurus. tree →
• My thesaurus lists antonyms too. tree →
• Instead of «nice», the thesaurus suggested «kind», «pleasant» and «lovely». tree →
• The class shared one thesaurus per table. tree →
• A dinosaur called «Thesaurus» is a common classroom joke. tree →

Note

Countable. Plural: thesauruses or thesauri. Said «thi-SOR-us». A dictionary explains meanings; a thesaurus gives similar words. Trap: a word from a thesaurus may not fit your sentence, for example «colossal» for a «big» mistake is fine, but not for a «big sister».