Why do all thesauri seem to suck?
by Luke Rodgers on February 25, 2010
When I’m using a thesaurus, it generally is not because I want to find, as a synonym for “sad,” a word like “gloomy” or “unhappy.” It’s because I’m looking for something like “lugubrious.”
Show me a thesaurus that will give me synonyms like “mendicant,” “tarradiddle,” “recrudescence,” “bowdlerize,” or “sigil,” and I will be happy convivial.
The relationship does not have to be one of precise synonymy; family-resemblance will do. In fact, that’s often precisely what I’m after. I already know enough run-of-the-mill synonyms. Dear thesaurus, I’m turning to you because I want something different, something new.
One comment
You’d think a thesaurus would have something to offer in terms of expanding vocabulary, but nope: it’s just the same collection of platitudes anyone proficient in English ought to be familiarized with.
by Ros on October 19, 2011 at 9:38 pm. #