The Synonym Finder

Okay---so when I write I tend to follow my original educational training and plod along stringing together fractured grammatical phrases and hackneyed expressions that although correct tend to reflect the activity of the left side of my brain rather than my creative portion that supposedly gives credence to my inner Shakespeare.Obviously, that dull analytical side needs to kick it up notch and one of the best ways that I know how to add verbal spice to that artistic gumbo is to flip open my well-worn copy of J.I Rodale's "The Synonym Finder."Sadly, as I did not have the foresight to purchase this approximately 1400 page word fest in hardback, the once smooth and blemish-free cover of my copy has since creased and folded many times over, adding nothing to its beauty but detracting little from its immense and efficient functionality. A word to the wise: do buy this tome with the intention of keeping it on your shelves for a lifetime.Using the book cannot be any easier. Written like a dictionary, each word is arranged alphabetically with all the appropriate parts of speech included under a single headword. Unlike Roget's, no complicated system of themes clouds the writer's simple need to find another more exact word to fit his/her specific thought process. Numerical sub-listings of each word indicate different definitions and semantic groupings while usage and technical labels like "slang", "informal", "nautical or "chemistry" are indicated with the appropriate italicized label.What really sets this volume apart from other synonym dictionaries is the wealth of choices available for each word. The word "childlike" includes 37 different words and phrases that just might be that one special term that changes your sentence from mediocre to cutting edge.Highly recommended to all who write and are tired of the usual gamut of word substitutes offered by your word processing program or a standard thesaurus.Diana F. Von Behren"reneofc"

The book version of this book is perfect, thus the 5 stars.The Kindle version is useless. There is no way to go directly to a word you wish to find the synonym of; thus the desire to give only 1 star.First you have to go to the section of the book beginning with the first letter of the word you wish to look up, for example, delta. There is a list to first letters, so you click on d, the first letter of delta. Now you have to page through all the words before delta to find delta.You could use the search function, but you will come up with every word that has delta as a synonym. Then you have to page through that list to find the entry for delta.So why didn't I vent my anger with the Kindle version by giving a rating of 1? The simple reason is the physical book is better than any other synonym book I have ever tried to use. It really is the best and deserves 5 stars.Get the physical book!

To begin, I suppose I should mention that I'm a writer. It's not that you have to be a writer to get your money's worth out of this book, but you do have to at least have a need or a wish to play with words. The Synonym Finder was recommended to me by another writer friend whose opinion I greatly value and the day it arrived I found she was absolutely spot on. This is a reference I use, if not on a daily basis, often.I find it easier to use than most thesauri and each word has a wealth ("abundance, heap, pile, mass, ton, great deal, profusion, bounty, plenitude, plenteousness, bountifulness, copiousness, amplitude; cornucopia, bottomless well, treasury, gold mind, mine") of synonyms. If you like words, you can easily get lost in its pages.I heartily recommend this book as a must-have reference tool to be kept within easy reach.

If you care about PRECISION in your communication, The Synonym Finder is indispensible.Here's why...Page count: Synonym Finder 1371, Roget's Thesaurus 572They're not even in the same weight class.And why is Synonym Finder is superior to online searching?Let me give you an example.I was looking for an alternative to the word "competitor."But I was also exploring the IDEA of competition in the piece I was working on.Roget gave me only "compete." Good grief man, give me something to work with!Synonym Finder gave me:* compete* competition* competitive* competitorThey're all lined up, one after the other, in close proximity,allowing me to scan back and forth between them to find thePERFECT way to express the thought AND the feeling I was trying to convey.THAT is the kind of precision that lends power to the copy I write.Not everybody needs that kind of attention to detail,but it's good to know that when I need it,Synonym Finder is right there next to me.And, there is VALUE in having all the words in front of me at once.Could I have gotten all of these derivatives by searching online?Yes.And could I have typed in ALL FOUR words into separate windowsand cascaded or tiled them so they were all visible at the same time?Well, yeah, but how much screen real estate do you have?But it's SO much easier to have them in print together, organized,and easy to rove from one to the others instantly.But here's what I feel is the most important reason to use a BOOK,as opposed to a computer screen:Typically, I'm writing on a computer or laptop. It's how I learned towrite- on the old Apple IIe...you're looking at a SCREEN.and when you're trying to get clear on a line or a word or a way ofexpressing idea, or you're struggling with the BEST way to communicatewith your reader...you're looking at a SCREEN.Just the mere physical act of looking away from that SCREEN,opening the book, changing your focus, finding the page andseeing a different font style can interrupt your pattern,and open up your mind to a whole new way of seeing andthinking about the subject.It's not just about the words, it's also about the state change.It's a 10-second exercise that gets you OUT of the problem andINTO the solution.The real power is the combination of the two working together,hand in hand.Not everyone needs this level of fanaticism, but there's an unmistakabledifference between the "talking at them" style of copy that's soprevalent today, and communicating with your reader in a way thattells them that you know them you understand them, and you careabout them in a way that nobody else in your market does.The Synonym Finder can help you get there faster than you wouldany other way.