Customer Reviews

Family Word Finder: A New Thesaurus of Synonyms and Antonyms in Dictionary Form

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This is the most functional thesaurus that I have ever used. I attempted to buy one for my entire family, and learned that it was out of print. Reader's Digest should reprint another edition for all word lovers.

I purchased this book for college, but still use it over 10 years later. It is the most throrough thesaurus I have ever used. When I am at a loss for words, it has all I ever need. It also provides numerous word choices for several uses of each word. It is disappointing to use any other thesaurus after this one. I am sorry to see that this book is out of print.

I purchased Family Word Finder on the sole recommendation of one rave review, by one writerly person. What I expected was a replacement for my cumbersome, but comprehensive, Roget's Thesaurus. The big appeal was the dictionary style look up.

Searching for a word is easy, just as I'd hoped. However, half the words I tried to find are simply absent. It might make a nice gift for a grade-schooler. Too bad I don't know one.

Back to Roget's.

I have written a dictionary and have studied them for years. In my opinion, the R. D. Word Finder is one of the very best books of its type. What I particularly like about the book is the care with which commonly confused words are disambiguated. See, for instance, the distinction explained between strategy and tactic. Then compare the distinction made in RDWF with what is commonly presented in most other word references. I think you will then see that the RDWF is really quite good.

Let me first tell you how I came across this unique and fascinating tome.At my local library,there is an area where they sell off books no longer deemed worth keeping in stock.How they make the choice to retain or dispose of books is something I have never been able to fathom.I suppose it depends on how much it is borrowed or how much space they have,or whatever.They also place here any books that they receive as donations.The books are sold for very modest sums of a couple of dollars,more or less.
I had never seen or heard of "The Family Word Finder" and since it was in virtually pristine condition;it caught my attention.I thumbed through it for a few minutes and immediately realized it was like no other dictionary or Thesaurus that I knew of. At the grand price of $2,I had no hesitation in taking it.It was obviously a donated book,since it showed no wear or use at all.After getting home,I sat down with it and was astounded with what an invaluable and useful book it was.Since it had was published in 1975;I thought it was an old edition and had been republished again more recently.I looked it up here on Amazon,and lo and bekold, it was still available ,and still being sold in that edition. I can only conclude that it was so well done the first time ,that there was no point in redoing it again.However;the one question that remains with me is how come it is not better known.This book was published by Reader's Digest, who have also published many other fine books that for some reason don't receive the recognition they deserve.Another great publisher,National Geographic ,also comes to mind.I am an avid Birdwatcher,and I can say ,without hesitation,that they have also published the best all-round,popular "Field Guide to the Birds of North America";though I digress.
The title "Word Finder" describes to a tee what this book is.While it is a Dictionary and a Thesaurus;it is much more than that.It also gives Antonyms when discussing a word and a short sentence using the word.When a word has several different meanings ,they are all covered.Along with that it gives Word Origins,Pronounciation tips in an excellent, simple manner,Word Usage Notes,Spelling tips,applicable quotations using the word,short "sidebars titled "Exploring the Word", etc.
As a result ,when you look up a word you get a wealth of information about that word,that would take a lot of other references and time ;and so easy to use.
I am very impressed with this book and I am sure anyone who likes language,words, quotations etc.,will find it very useful and a treasure as well.
Who doesn't have trouble in the use of the words "lay" and "lie"? This book goes into the usages of similar words ,with excellent examples of use. That's how I came up with my title.

Believe me this book is a must have for writers, students, professional and anyone who wants to add new words to their vocabulary. I've been using this book since I was a teenager when I began writing poetry. Now while working on my first novel I'm still using it. I also like to just read it for information and I find that the section that gives the origin of the words to be interesting. If you purchase this book you'll find that it's much more than your standard word finder.

I am a licensed interpreter. I am continually analyzing words in order to interpret them. This is the best word reference book I have ever owned. I wanted to buy a couple copies for gifts and was disappointed to find out it was out of print. If you can find a copy, grab it.