Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Synonyms [Hardcover]

Merriam-Webster (Author), Philip B. Gove (Preface)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0877793417 | ISBN-13: 978-0877793410 | Publication Date: June 1984 | Edition: Indexed

Good communication starts with choosing the right word--not always an easy task when the choise is between words of closely related meaning. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms makes the task easier by providing full discussions of synonymous terms and by describing the subtle distinctions that make one word more appropriate than another in a particular context.

Editorial Reviews

Review

What really makes this US word finder stand out is the detailed discussion of the precise nuance of the various possibilities (for non-native speakers, this would be a particular boon). Each option is illustrated with citations from literature of various periods (both British and American). Caveat: words rarely seen outside America have no cautionary label. A big, handsome book. (Kirkus UK) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Mike Bundlie started his first company at age nine, typing manuscripts for fiction authors. While in high school he started his second company, MiraView Design, with clients such as Harvard Medical, the Mayo Clinic, Pizza Hut, and numerous celebrities. After moving to L.A., Mike's client list included the Los Angeles Times, Universal Studios, PBS, and many leading actors and directors. There, he and Kevin O'Donnell began collaborating on educational entertainment properties for kids.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 944 pages
• Publisher: Merriam-Webster; Indexed edition (June 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877793417
• ISBN-13: 978-0877793410
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #138,102 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Synonyms & Antonyms
  • #45 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Thesauruses

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

87 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential reference work for people who work with words, July 24, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Synonyms (Hardcover)

This excellent reference book deserves to be much better known than it is. I do a lot of writing in my job, and have used it (or its earlier edition) regularly for about 15 years. I am surprised at how many people do not seem to be familiar with it. There are few truly synonymous words in English; many words mean about the same thing, but have slightly different meanings and connotations, and are more appropriate in different contexts. The purpose of this book is to help you sort all of this out.

It is important to understand that this book is NOT a thesaurus, but a completely different, yet equally useful, reference work. A very good essay at the beginning of this book explains this, and gives an interesting history of how books of synonyms developed over the past centuries.

The best thesaurus is Roget's International Thesaurus -- the original work, now in its 6th edition, not one of the ones in "dictionary format." Roget's provides long lists words of similar meaning, grouped under conceptual headings. Its purpose is to jog your memory, spur creative thinking, or help you realize what you are really trying to say. It is absolutely the best thing for easing writer's block and helping you to find a word.

The purpose of this book, on the other hand, is to help you understand the differences between similar words. It explains nuances of meaning and compares words that mean approximately, but not quite, the same thing. It has a number of long entries that discuss 5 or 6 similar words together, explaining when to use each and giving examples (usually from good literature) of the correct use of each. When you look up one of the other synonyms, it will point you to the main article in which it is discussed. For example, the entry for "prim" dicusses and differentiates the near-synonyms "priggish, prissy, prudish, puritanical, and straitlaced." It explains the differences in meaning, and the contexts in which each word is appropriate. If you look up any one of those words, it will list the synonyms briefly but refer you to the main discussion under "prim."

I highly recommend this book to high school, college, and graduate students; to people learning English; and to people who write for a living. I suggest that a writer get this book and Roget's International Thesaurus (as well as a good dictionary, of course). Look up a word in Roget's to find some synonyms, then look them up in the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms to see which of those words are really correct in the context.

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, November 30, 2002

By 

magellan (Santa Clara, CA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Synonyms (Hardcover)

This book and Chamber's Etymological English Dictionary are my two favorite but little-known word reference works. The main difference between this book and Roget's Thesaurus is it focuses more precisely on the actual meanings of the words. A thesaurus will give you plenty of words with similar or nearly similar meanings, grouped by general idea or concept. But most of the words are not exactly synonymous. If you need that, this book will come to your rescue. Another nice feature is, as another reviewer here pointed out, it will even give you examples of words with very similar meanings, but with enough description and definition so you can distinguish among otherwise seemingly identical words and synonyms.

It's also in some ways easier to use than a typical thesaurus, since if you just need a different word and can't recall one, it's easiest to just look it up and get a quick alternative, instead of going through all the extra words you'd get in a thesaurus, but which aren't exactly what you want. Overall, a fine reference work and one that deserves to be better known.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book for vocabulary, March 15, 2005

By 

S. R. Cundiff "Blaue Blume" (Winston-Salem, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Synonyms (Hardcover)

Throw away your thesaurus! Indeed, toss your worthless plain-penny dictionary, and obtain this work! Purchase it hardbacked and thumb-indexed (my forty year old copy is now falling to shambles). For years I have judged and esteemed _Webster's New Dictionary of Synonyms_ as the very best book on precise, pellucid, and exact usage of words. This book is its worthy successor. A thesaurus only lists words; this work discusses, compares, and contrasts words in exhaustive detail, with shades and nuances of meaning, with example sentences from published writers, with antonyms, and with analogous and contrasted words. No writer can do without it. As a teacher, I have recommended it to all my students. As a student myself, all those years ago, I perused nightly ten pages. It belongs with Fowler's as one of the great works in and on the English language.