Yesterday (January 18th) was National Thesaurus Day, marking the birth in 1779 of Peter Mark Roget, the author of the Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases, a collection of words classified by meaning rather than simple alphabetical order. Roget was a physician and philosopher who apparently used list-making as a coping strategy for mental health problems. He put this habit to good purpose by publishing his thesaurus after retiring from professional life, and can surely not have imagined that his work would still be in print over 150 years later.
Although Macmillan Dictionary’s thesaurus is very different from Roget’s classic work, it serves a similar purpose: to suggest to writers alternatives to words they already know, or have already used. So why not take the opportunity to check out our thesaurus and find out how it can help you with your writing? To get you started, here are some posts about the thesaurus and the ways in which it can be used. If you have any questions about the thesaurus, leave them in a comment and we’ll get back to you.
Email this Post
