So I wrote this blog post, and then I went back through it and replaced some of my words with synonyms that drastically change the meaning. It goes to show how a thesaurus can break you if not used with caution. So maybe this post will make no sense to you, but it’s fun, like playing mad libs. Try it!
As a writer, sometimes you might feel like…like… oh shoot, what’s that word I’m watching for?
It happens. We know there’s an expression in the English language that will utterly fit what we want to say, but it just doesn’t come to us. That’s when a Thesaurus can be a really great reference engine (even though it sounds like the name of a dinosaur). It can liven up text and make writing much richer. But proceed with caution and don’t use the Thesaurus as your holy bible because it can and will fail you many times over and you’ll start to resent it like a deceitful ex-boyfriend.
So here are some forecasts for using a Thesaurus:
1. Know what the hell you’re talking about! Make sure you know not only the solution of the word, but the feeling of the word as well. “Unsettled” and “frantic” are technically synonyms but the words evoke very different suspicions am I right? Just because your trusty Thesaurus tells you it’s a synonym doesn’t mean it has the same connotation. This could get you in some genuine doo doo (eww).
2. Dig around. The great thing about Thesaurus.com (which just introduced a new interface) is that you can bang on synonyms of words to find their synonyms and so forth, it’s eternal. Sometimes it takes a few clicks to find the splendid word you’re looking for, but it’ll pay off when you do.
3. Make your own synonym. Seriously, the good looks of the English language is that it’s so flexible and dynamic. The word spectactacle isn’t a word, but you can probably make an enlightened guess about it’s definition. And if not, substance clues will totally give it away.
Try making your own Thesaurus “fail” and tweet them to me @Bpaigecopy. You never know what kind of word combinations you may discover. I kind of like “reference engine”. Vroooom!
Brittany Paige Copy 