Customer Reviews

Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this thesaurus along with The Synonym Finder and compared the two. I found The Synonym Finder far superior in all cases. While the Oxford Writer's was good, it wastes valuable space with unnecessary 'tips' and stories from contributing authors. In order to make space for these, it also saves space by deferring readers to other similar words in a few cases in stead of listing all synonyms for each and every word.

The new edition of the Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus is superior for several reasons...several of which were left out of the editorial review listed above.

1. I noticed the listing of the words have been updated. The listing of words are now printed in a slightly bolder typeface - making it easier to pick out the meaning.

2. The word headings themselves are slightly larger...again making it simpler to locate definitions on the page.

3. The page layout seems to be cleaner. When you open up any page...you'll quickly notice how much nicer the structured plan is for showing words.

There is one more caveat I'd like to mention. I believe this new version, although labeled "Second Edition", should be considered a revision to the first one and not realistically a new printing. I say this because the jacket description mentions the same number of words are incorporated, namely the listing of 300,000 synonyms. There is no mention of "new" synonyms added to this "Second" printing. Otherwise the editors of this edition would have mentioned the addition of newer synonyms added to this edition. Remember, The Synonym Finder, another good resource, has a much higher listing of synonyms than the Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus...about 1.2 million.

Overall, the Second Edition to the Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus is a much cleaner, easier version to use.

OK, it's a decent thesaurus. I have a few different ones, and this one seems fine. I don't know what makes it a "writer's" thesaurus per se... it's just an ordinary thesaurus as far as I can see. But it's OK.

However, it doesn't seem to even remotely approach Rodale's "The Synonym Finder" in completeness, so I don't understand why other reviewers are waxing batty over this one. It has a pleasant layout, nice on the eyes, but I still find myself turning to "The Synonym Finder" as my first choice. It's just bigger, bolder, and broader. "The Synonym Finder" is the real "writer's" thesaurus, if any one is.

Words are a writer's tools. The larger the writer's vocabulary the more options available for expressing ideas. That's why every dedicated writer seeking to master their craft will have a good thesaurus as a core part of their personal and professional reference shelf. Now in a completely updated second edition, the "Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus" provides more than 300,000 synonyms and 10,000 antonyms, with real-life example sentences. enhanced with notes on American English usage by Bryan Garner, Word Spectrums showing shades of meaning between polar opposites, and a comprehensive language guide, The "Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus" is a core reference work suitable for professional authors and non-specialist general writers alike. This new edition also features Word Toolkits and Wordfinder, two invaluable aids that will help to define and delineate nuances of word usage. Simply stated, the "Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus" is a core and recommended addition for personal, professional, community, and school library Writing/Publishing reference collections.

I just purchased the "Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus" less than one month ago. While I like it, I do find there are words "missing," i.e. words that I have actually looked up that aren't there! I don't think I have ever experienced this with a thesaurus before. Nonetheless,I use it, although I sometimes have to rely on my two other Oxfords (i.e., Oxford American Dictionary and Thesaurus" and the "Concise Oxford English Dictionary.") which I purchased through Amazon as well. Probably sometime down the road, I will buy a new edition of one of the "standby" thesauruses that I've had for years, and want a newer edition for:i.e, "Rogets," for example.

Though I have not used the product longer than a week, I have found the book immediately useful, and have recommended it to some friends. I have been told that they don't need a book when they came work from a computer, but I am still a person who feels comfortable working from books. I also find it far speedier going about this way, despite what people say.
I am a faithful user of a Roget's Thesaurus, but I've found this recent book I purchased, really, a good buy. The only disadvantage is that it is somewhat weighty to work from.
I hope this has been of some useful feed-back to you.
All the best for 2009.
SI Teh

My expectations were blown out of the water! It's everything I could ever wish for from a paper thesaurus :) The layout of the book, the packaging, pristine condition.... Everything :) Must buy if you write, no matter what genre!

I bought this for my 10 year old daughter who wants to be a writer and illustrator someday. The "Thematic Lists" in the book will be helpful in brainstorming ideas. It is simply a listing of things in a category. There are lists of Animals, Art, Clothing, Dance, Food, Games, Geography, Music, Mythology, Science, Transportation, and more. They are obviously not complete lists, but will help develop ideas. There is also a listing of "Archaic Words" which list older meanings to words that have totally different meanings today. One example I pointed out to my daughter was the word "learn", the older definition is to teach, as in "what did the teacher learn you today?" Other examples are: let=hinder, buss=a kiss, carl=man of low birth, con=study attentively or learn by heart (a piece of writing), fourscore=80, plight=solemnly pledge or promise (faith or loyalty). There is also a listing of "Literary Words" to be used in poetry or what I call flowery writing. Some examples of them are: bestrew=scatter, cockcrow=dawn, cozen=swindle crapulent relating to the drinking of alcohol, flaxen=pale yellow, gloaming=dusk, nigh-near, zephyr=a soft, gentle breeze, purl=flow with a babbling sound. There is also a language guide containing grammar, spelling, capitalization and punctuation, which I myself will find helpful in brushing up on their proper usage. The last feature I find helpful is the notes by the authors describing word usage, words that are confused (such as founder and flounder, or censor and censure), linked words (such as horse and equine, or tetrahedron and four), shades of meaning between opposites (such as success and failure), and other such notes. I have not had time to really explore the book yet, but it looks good so far.

The term "Writer's" is used primarily for marketing purposes for this thesaurus. I expected more in terms of visual vocabulary but this is basically the same thesaurus on my Mac's dashboard, which is free.

Item was received in time period stated. Item was as stated. Quality was satisfactory. Item was shipped and received in satisfactory condition.