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Title: Roget International Thesaurus Indexed Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer ISBN: 0-06-018575-9 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 15 November, 2001 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.86 (21 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Forget an alphabetically organized thesaurus
Comment: Although one's search begins with an alphabetized listing, the main body of this thesaurus (its original concept) is organized by category. This means that to find a synonym for e.g., "trouble", you will not simply be presented a list all the possible meanings of the word but you can choose your search depending upon the sense you are looking for. If you mean "annoyance" you will be sent one place for synonyms (nouns, verbs, adj, adv); if your meaning is more "presume upon" you will be sent somewhere else. In the case of "trouble" there are about a dozen places to go in the thesaurus depending upon the subtlety of meaning you are looking for. If you are a writer, this reference work is a sine qua non. Look no further than here for the best thesaurus in the world.
Rating: 5
Summary: Not just a synonym dictionary
Comment: If you just need a different word that is easier to spell or say, a dictionary of synonyms will usually suffice. And that is all that an alphabetically organized thesaurus is. Their advantage is that you only have to do one lookup in the book instead of two, making them quicker and easier. A true thesaurus requires that you look the word up in an index to find a numeric index, then look up that numeric index in the body of the book to get a choice of synonyms.
But the true thesaurus will give you a better supply of answers. First, the numeric entries either preceding or following frequently are opposing concepts. That means that if you go forward or backward two entries, you may strike on a subtle change in meanings that fits your intent much better. This had happened to me several times when I couldn't quite get the right word. It was because I didn't quite have the right meaning. Second, because all of the 'answers' are printed once, there is room for more of them. In a simple example, assume 5 words are considered synonyms. For a dictionary of synonyms, that means 5 entries listing 5 words each (the entry and its four synonyms), for 25 words. A true thesaurus lists an entry number in the main body with 5 words, and 5 entries of one-word-one-number in the index. Counting each number as a word, that is 16 words. That I can add 3 more synonyms (3 words in the entry in the body, 3 word-number pairs in the index) in the same amount of space. For larger groupings of words, the difference is much more significant. So now I get 7 choices (8 less the original word) instead of 4 (5 less the original word).
Mark Twain claimed that the difference between a good word and the right word is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning. Lightning strikes more often with a true thesaurus than a dictionary of synonyms.
Rating: 4
Summary: Not Easiest To Use, but Helpful in Expository Writing.
Comment: "Roget's International Thesaurus" is organized by subject as opposed to alphabetically, although all words are also indexed in the back. Which type of organization you prefer will depend upon your needs and tastes. If you are looking for a thesaurus that will simply give you the most and best alternative words, an alphabetical thesaurus such as Rodale Press' "Synonym Finder" is easier to use and more efficient to that purpose. On the other hand, "Roget's International Thesaurus" has traded ease of use for versatility. If it's a synonym you seek, look it up in the index, which will direct you to the appropriate section and subsection. There, you will find synonyms for your word, and if you let your eyes wander up and down the page perusing the contents of that section, you will also find words related to your subject, including antonyms. The part of speech for each word is always given, and abbreviations for "nonformal" and the origins of foreign words are provided for clarity. There are no word definitions. Section/subsection numbers are conveniently found at the top of each page to aid in locating words. If you have no idea what word you need, you can consult the list of 1,075 categories in the front of the book, which will direct you to words related to that subject. Word lists are another of the book's useful features. If you are looking at the subject of lakes, for example, you are provided with a list of the world's major lakes. Other examples include a list of words describing different types of engraving found in the graphic arts section, and over 100 types of ceramic are listed in the ceramics section. A short biography of Peter Mark Roget, the 19th century physician whose work was the basis for all subsequent thesauruses organized by subject, introduces you to the book, followed by a short explanation of how to best make use of this thesaurus. I think that most students will prefer an alphabetical thesaurus to this one. But if you do a lot of expository writing, Roget's organization by subject could prove invaluable. Since I do a lot of writing and have somehow deluded myself into viewing shelf space as endlessly expandable, I have found that having both "Roget's International Thesaurus" and "The Synonym Finder" is the best way to go.
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Title: Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition by Merriam-Webster ISBN: 0877798095 Publisher: Merriam-Webster, Inc. Pub. Date: July, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
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Title: Concise Oxford English Dictionary (Thumb Index Edition) by Oxford University Press ISBN: 0198606362 Publisher: Oxford Press Pub. Date: September, 2002 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition by William Strunk Jr., E.B. White, Roger Angell ISBN: 020530902X Publisher: Pearson Higher Education Pub. Date: 15 January, 2000 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
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Title: Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged by Philip Babcock Gove, Merriam-Webster ISBN: 0877792011 Publisher: Merriam-Webster, Inc. Pub. Date: January, 2002 List Price(USD): $129.00 |
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Title: The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition by University of Chicago Press Staff ISBN: 0226104036 Publisher: University of Chicago Press (Trd) Pub. Date: 01 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $55.00 |
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