The Synonym Finder [Bargain Price] [Paperback]

J. I. Rodale (Author), Laurence Urdang (Author), Nancy LaRoche (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1986 | ISBN-10: 0446370290 | Edition: Revised

With a simple alphabetical arrangement this book has been expanded to include thousands of new words and expressions that have entered the language in recent years, and includes clearly labelled slang and informal words and expressions.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The most comprehensive work of its kind I know".

-- John Barkham Reviews --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books; Revised edition (August 1, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446370290
• ASIN: B000LP66TS
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (133 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #918,066 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #57 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Synonyms & Antonyms

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

169 of 173 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just Like the Title Says: Best Book for Finding Synonyms., February 21, 2004

By 

mirasreviews (McLean, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Synonym Finder (Hardcover)

"The Synonym Finder" is a thesaurus in dictionary form. There are no word definitions or pronunciation guides. Words are listed alphabetically, as they would be in a dictionary, and an exhaustive list of synonyms is given for each definition of every word. Clarifications such as "informal", "slang", "archaic", etc. are provided where appropriate. There are 1.5 million words in "The Synonym Finder", including variations on the same root word. That's more than 4 times the number of words in "Roget's International Thesaurus". If you simply want to find synonyms, this is the book for you. It isn't as versatile as a thesaurus that is organized by subject, but it's more to the point and easier to use if you are simply looking for word alternatives. Roget's is a better research tool, but this is a better and far more efficient synonym finder, and I think that students will prefer it to Roget's. My one pet peeve about the book is that the hardback edition doesn't have a dust jacket. The publisher may have thought a dust jacket would just be a nuisance on a reference book, but I would have preferred one for protection. I only wish "The Synonym Finder" were also available as software, as I have limited space for books within arm's reach of my computer. I use "The Synonym Finder" more frequently than my dictionary, Roget's Thesaurus, and Random House Word Menu combined. I think any writer will find it indispensable, and it would make great gift for middle school, high school, and college students.

81 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All other thesauri are pretenders to this book's throne, August 18, 2004

By 

Jonathan Appleseed - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Synonym Finder (Paperback)

Until coming across this book, I found thesauri to be more frustrating than trying to chew Captain Crunch cereal without any teeth. Not that I know what that's like, but it's easy enough to imagine.

Then I saw this. And found that all of the thesauri collected in my library had become worthless. This is the OED of thesauri, indispensable and perfect beyond comprehension. You will want to order this in hardcover, for you will find yourself using it again, and again, and again, and again.

When I bought this book I actually did comparisons between the synonyms in this book and others, and was astounded. I don't remember the word offhand, but this book had over twenty synonyms, while Roget's had seven. An Oxford thesaurus had eleven, but that was as good as it got.

The most important thing about this book is that the synonyms are relevant. The author hasn't just packed a bunch of words together here to make it look good.

53 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best, September 12, 2000

By 

D. S. Heersink "D. Stephen Heersink" (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Synonym Finder (Hardcover)

I've had Rodale's Synonym Finder in my reference library for over ten years, and find that I use it at least ten times a month. There is simply no other book in the English language that is more comprehensive (the number of pages is an obvious give away) nor more helpful. As a lover of language, I frequently examine other such books, and always find that they come up short against this exhaustive resource. What makes this particular reference so valuable is that it recognizes each word usually has more than one meaning, and when it gives a synonym, it is by meaning, not simply by word. Moreover, the reference gives various examples when a word is used as an adjective or adverb, and either as a noun or a verb. It's this breadth and depth that makes this particular synonym finder so extraordinarily superior to the competition. My only lament is that it doesn't include antonymns, but then the book would probably be too large and too cumbersome. As it stands now, the words are clearly displayed, and the synonyms - in all their variety - are abundant.