ELC BLOG

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When was the last time you opened up a thesaurus? Students often reach for their dictionaries or translators when they see a word they don’t know, but the thesaurus is an important and often underused tool. What is a thesaurus? A thesaurus is a reference book that lists words in groups. The words are grouped by similarity of meaning — in other words, all the words in one group have similar definitions. The key word is that they are similar; they may not be exactly the same. There might be subtle differences in meaning, so keeping a dictionary nearby will be valuable [beneficial, helpful, important, useful, worthwhile].

A thesaurus is a wonderful tool for expanding your vocabulary! Try switching out one word for another — the grammar stays the same but your vocabulary grows.

Here are a number of fun synonyms (words that have exactly or almost exactly the same meaning) for everyday words you are already using:

Have a wonderful day! Have a(n) [excellent, fabulous, fantastic, phenomenal, marvelous, sensational] day!

I’m tired. I’m [beat, drained, fatigued, overworked, sleepy, tuckered out].

That was a terrible movie. That was a(n) [appalling, atrocious, disastrous, dreadful, horrible, unpleasant] movie.

I’d be happy to help. I’d be [glad, pleased, thrilled] to help.

Education makes you smart. Education makes you [agile, brainy, bright, crafty, quick, resourceful, sharp, shrewd, wise].

Pick up a thesaurus today and see what new words you might learn!