10-14-2014, 02:24 AM
If I might offer a slight addition: Use it responsibly. The book How Not to Write a Novel has two chapters regarding the injudicious use of a thesaurus ("The Crepitating Parasol" and "The Crepuscular Handbag"), including writing samples where big fancy words are used for the sake of using big fancy words, and the writing suffers for it.
It helps to go to the sister site, dictionary.com, and look up the meaning of the synonyms you find in the thesaurus. Most of the time, the meanings will be similar enough that you'll have no problem, but every now and then you'll save yourself the trouble of using a word with a different implied use. As Mark Twain put it, "The difference between the right word and the almost-right word is the difference between the lighting and the lightning-bug."
The best way to build your vocabulary is to read a lot. Read and read and read, and when you feel you can't read any more, flop down and think back over what you read and make new connections. When you run into a word you don't know, look it up or try to puzzle out the meaning from its context. But if you're hurting for time, the thesaurus can help enrich your parlance - just remember that it's a tool, and the same hammer that drives a nail in squarely can also smash your thumb if you're not careful. ;)
It helps to go to the sister site, dictionary.com, and look up the meaning of the synonyms you find in the thesaurus. Most of the time, the meanings will be similar enough that you'll have no problem, but every now and then you'll save yourself the trouble of using a word with a different implied use. As Mark Twain put it, "The difference between the right word and the almost-right word is the difference between the lighting and the lightning-bug."
The best way to build your vocabulary is to read a lot. Read and read and read, and when you feel you can't read any more, flop down and think back over what you read and make new connections. When you run into a word you don't know, look it up or try to puzzle out the meaning from its context. But if you're hurting for time, the thesaurus can help enrich your parlance - just remember that it's a tool, and the same hammer that drives a nail in squarely can also smash your thumb if you're not careful. ;)
