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Anonymous Posted 3 years ago
Vocabulary

Properly read synonyms and which thesaurus is the best to use

Hi all,


I was wondering when properly reading synonyms on merriam webster they have different shades which they deem as relevance. I thought something was either a synonym or not. According to this website there are certain words that are closest to its exact meaning and then as the shade gets less red the meaning gets not as close. i.e. https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smart


So, for instance, the adjective "smart" has seven definitions and for this example I will be using this definition: "as in intelligent". So according to this site and its shades "wise" is a synonym to "smart". However, the words "Cunning" and "Brainy" are only similar words and not synonyms. Am I reading that correct?


Also, what thesaurus is best for understanding synonyms. For instance "Merriam Webster" thesaurus will show some words as only similar while "collins dictionary" thesaurus will show different words. Confused... Perhaps different places have different usages... I am in america btw.

  

Top answer

anonymous I thought something was either a synonym or not. There are very few real synonyms. A thesaurus is for finding that word that's on the tip of your tongue, so they cast the net fairly wide, and the good ones break the related words out by category.

— Anonymous

  • anonymous I thought something was either a synonym or not.
  • There are very few real synonyms.
  • A thesaurus is for finding that word that's on the tip of your tongue, so they cast the net fairly wide, and the good ones break the related words out by category.
  • Some have tree-like diagrams showing relationships.
  • com adequate.
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1 Answers
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anonymous I thought something was either a synonym or not.

There are very few real synonyms.

A thesaurus is for finding that word that's on the tip of your tongue, so they cast the net fairly wide, and the good ones break the related words out by category. Some have tree-like diagrams showing relationships. I find thesaurus.com adequate.

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