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New Oxford Thesaurus of English
Introduction
The
New Oxford Thesaurus of English (NOTE)
has been compiled using new
evidence in new ways, in order to create an original work of reference that will be
most useful to a wide range of users for many different purposes. It is an indepen-
dent work of reference in its own right, but may also be viewed as a companion title
to the
Oxford Dictionary of English (ODE)
. Where
ODE
presented a new, more
accurate picture of the language than had previously been possible,
NOTE
elaborates the theme, with lists of words grouped together according to their
similarity in meaning and checked against the evidence for actual usage, as found
in the British National Corpus and the database of the Oxford Reading Programme.
It is an essential companion for anyone who wants to expand their vocabulary and
improve their creative writing skills, and for aficionados of word games.
The word
thesaurus
comes from a Greek word meaning 'treasure house'. All
thesauruses contain lists of words that are linked by having a similar meaning, but
this thesaurus goes much further: it also contains antonyms (words with opposite
meanings), related terms, noun lists, detailed studies of closely related synonyms,
advice on confusable words, and other features. A common everyday use for a
thesaurus is as an aid in solving crossword puzzles, and such users will find that
the coverage in this title is fuller and more focused than most. But this is by no
means the only function of an alphabetical thesaurus. Some people will use this
title to look up a familiar word, in order to find a less familiar word which may be on
the tip of their tongue. Others will use it for guidance in choosing
le mot juste
, to
help improve the communicative power and accuracy of their writing, in an essay or
report for example. Whatever the purpose, the user can be assured of finding a rich
and varied selection of words with similar meaning, a selection that has been
systematically enhanced by computerized checking and cross-checking.
Selection of entries
The primary purpose of the thesaurus is to give lists of synonyms for the common
everyday words of English: words with roughly the same meaning as the entry word
or 'headword'. Not every word has synonyms. Some words, especially terms
denoting kinds of animals, plants, and physical objects, have no synonyms, so they
do not get entries in a thesaurus. The user will look in vain for synonyms of
gerbil
and
geranium
. There is an entry for
squirrel
, but it is not there for the noun denoting
the animal, which has no synonym. The entry is there in order to give synonyms for
the phrasal verb
squirrel something away
, and as a reference point for a table
(
) of different kinds of squirrels and related rodents.
The words selected as entries are general words that non-specialists are likely to
want to look up. It is the job of a dictionary, not a thesaurus, to explain the
meanings of unusual words, such as
supererogatory
, so such words do not get an
alphabetical entry here. However,
supererogatory
is given as a synonym at entries
for the more familiar words
inessential
,
needless
, and
unnecessary
. A thesaurus
can thus lead the user from the familiar to the unfamiliar, improving his or her word
power.
Tables (A table is displayed as a in this model.)
A special feature of the
New Oxford Thesaurus of English
is its 480 tables
(
), which are included throughout to give additional information relevant to
particular headwords. They range from lists of different breeds or kinds of animals,
birds, and plants to lists of famous artists, architects, and scientists. For example, at
the entry for
actor/actress
there is a selection of synonyms for the words them-
selves, together with a comprehensive list of well-known actors and actresses of
both stage and screen. (Where an entry includes an link to a table, an asterisk (
)
is displayed at the top of the entry.)
Certain headwords are included despite the fact that they have no synonyms, in
order to direct the user to a table (
). For example, at the entry for
volcano
the user will find no synonyms but instead a pointer to a list of major volcanoes,
together with their location and the date of their most recent eruption. Tables
( ) covering the essential vocabulary of such fields as art, economics,
computing, and cricket are also included. The provision of these tables (
)
makes this thesaurus an invaluable aid to crossword-solving and a