What do you mean by thesaurus?

1a : a book of words or of information about a particular field or set of concepts especially : a book of words and their synonyms. b : a list of subject headings or descriptors usually with a cross-reference system for use in the organization of a collection of documents for reference and retrieval.

Which is better dictionary or thesaurus?

A dictionary gives thorough details on the meaning, definition, usage and etymology of a word. A thesaurus usually does not contain all the words of the language. It provides several similar alternative words (synonyms), as well as contrasting words (antonyms).

What is thesaurus in simple words?

A thesaurus (plural thesauri or thesauruses) or synonym dictionary is a reference work for finding synonyms and sometimes antonyms of words. They are often used by writers to help find the best word to express an idea: …to find the word, or words, by which [an] idea may be most fitly and aptly expressed.

Why do we use thesaurus?

A thesaurus is used to help you become more precise (if you are working on a technical paper) and descriptive (if you are writing a creative piece) in your writing. It provides a list of suggested “replacements” for any word you have in mind. The thesaurus helps you zero in on the best word choice.

What is the purpose of thesaurus?

A thesaurus is used to group different words with the same meaning (synonyms) and similar words. On the other hand, a dictionary explains the definition of a word.

How do you use thesaurus?

This is how you can use a thesaurus in your research:

  1. Choose a word as a starting point.
  2. Like a dictionary, find the word in the alphabetic arrangement.
  3. Once you find the word, look at the words that are listed alongside the main word.
  4. Choose another word that will work to replace the word that was your starting point.

What are the two forms of thesaurus?

There are two types of thesauri: one for general use and another for the use in specific area such as medicine, arts, music, and others. In information science, a thesaurus is a collection of controlled vocabularies which are used for indexing information.