Customer Reviews

Choose the Right Word: Second Edition

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is a very helpful reference. If someone has writer's block, this book will get them moving forward again. It contains many frequently used (and some less frequently used) words and, unlike thesauruses, gives information about words/synonyms so that the most appropriate one can be discovered. The index in the back of the book helps to find the page the word is on. I have quite a few thesaurus-like books and this one I use most often.

This is a very good book on the choice of word when we are writing. I especially found it useful when I am writing on performance appraisal and recommendation for my subordinates. The book explain the meaning of each word among a group of words with similar meaning. You can just pick up the word exactly appropriate to describe a person or situation. I highly recommend this book to you if you also have the problems in choosing the right word while you are writing.

No two words are perfect synonyms. They come from different origins; they evoke different emotional images. Professor/Senator Hayakawa provides excellent guidance on how to choose between similar words. I read an earlier version of this book with a different title.

Look up a word. You will find a list of synonymns. You'll find a definition and correct useage guide for each of the synonyms. And, if the word has antonyms, you'll find those as well. This book is a must for students and writers.

As other reviewers have noted, this book goes further than merely listing synonyms for a given word. If you want to compare the connotations of 'elastic' and 'flexible,' or 'affix' and 'attach,' Choose the Right Word is the book for you.

How I wish there was a software version! Highly recommended.

This title is exactly what I wanted. I was given a hardcover copy in 1969 and have used it endlessly since. At that time I had a severe stutter and my wonderful Mum said "If you can't say a word then don't - choose another". So she provided this book for me, which would have been expensive on their small budget. As a result I have developed a love of words and pride in knowing and choosing just the right word for what I want so say. If I'm not sure - then I know where to go - "Choose the Right Word".

Even if you consider yourself to have a strong command of English, I think you'll be able to find something of value in Choose the Right Word: Second Edition.

I was acquainted with all of the words in the book already. However, before reading this I would have been hard-pressed to explain the distinctions between words such as duplicate, congruent, exact, identical, and true (pages 126-127).

If you are hoping to deepen your understanding, then this is the book for you. It would also be an ideal reference work for ESL (English as a Second Language) learners. If you are planning to learn new words and increase your vocabulary, you may want to look elsewhere.

The moment this book reached my hand, I found it very interesting, easy to use, and first of all excellent in choosing a right word among related words. Especially superb is the onvenience to be found in consulting a word, very convenient I mean compared to other voluminous dictionary of synonyms,such as Merriam-Webster's for instance.
One fatal shortcoming, or rather a missing point, let me add, is that not every word I tried to consult was to be met there. For a thesaurus to be a real thesaurus is to be a treasure-house of words. I wish this kind of inconvenience would be eliminated in the next edition, and be expanded and magnified into much more voluminous kind of thesaurus that comprises almost all necessary words.

I've used the first edition of this book more than any other vocabulary reference and consider it my most important ally when trying to understand something, clarify my thinking, or (sometimes even more difficult) attempting to communicate an idea to someone else.

Real communication can only result when the reader or listener receives the message you intended to convey. If communication is more important to you than merely moving your muscles and creating various sounds or finger movements for your own edification, then I predict it is highly likely that you also will come to treasure this book.

Further, if you understand that using words rigorously is important for your own clear thinking, this book will likely become one of your "bibles"!

However, can anyone tell us what is different about this 2nd Edition? Or is it just another printing? Thanks!

Best book if you like to know the distinction of the words.