The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms 1st Edition

If you’re wondering why not just use a thesaurus, check out the sample pages in the images. This is more of a synonym usage guide with a more limited set of more frequently used words. It also seems to be more slanted toward descriptive adjectives.So you look up one word, and only get maybe 4-5 synonyms (plus a reference to the antonym entry) but unlike a thesaurus (and similar to a usage guide) you get quite a bit of information explaining the fine distinctions between synonyms.This means that it is especially useful for non-native speakers and kids at a middle school or better reading level who are trying to improve their written vocabulary. It’s also useful for story writers looking for ideas of words to use, but the extended usage explanations are increasingly more useful as the number of words someone is familiar with decreases. The more words someone has extensive familiarity with, the less advantage it has over a standard thesaurus.It seems a bit skewed toward more general prose, but could still be useful for business writing (it just lacks business and technical language).I mostly got it for my somewhat advanced middle school level kid, and for her it is great, but most adults would probably find it useful if they’re trying to write but aren’t hardened professional writers.

Quick delivery. Great reference and learning tool.

I teach at a language school in Fort Lauderdale. Dozxens of students each month ask me, "How can I improve my English?" I tell them, "Get a dictionary with synonyms and opposites." The Webster S and A is the best I've found -- and portable, too.It is vital for language learners to have something interesting to pull them forward. We tend to learn by what we are interested in and in what the opposite is. "That movie was ________" (interesting, great, fantastic...not boring, not slow, not hard to understand.) We tend to think in similars and opposites, so why not use a book that is designed to give you shades of meaning as well as the opposites? I highly recommend this book and I encourage students to pick it up. What is very good in this book? There is an example sentence to show the meaning, such as:weak, feeble frail weak is broad, like a weak muscle, a week excuse, foundation. feeble usually shows ineffectiveness or smoethign we should pity: a feeble old man, feeble joke. frail suggests an inherited weakness, that something is weak in the structure: her frail body, a frail conscience.You see what a valuable tool this is? I urge you to recommend this book to your learners of English, even if they are native speakers.

I like this reference material. I was looking for a thesaurus, but I got this, because the back cover said that it was "more in depth" than a thesaurus. There are not many words; mostly very common words. It is very helpful for those, though. I would say that if you are a serious college student, get the MW Collegiate Thesaurus. If you are a high school student, get the MW Thesaurus. If you are an elementary/middle school student, get this. - 4 Stars - Few Words - Serves its Purpose - Please Rate as Helpful -

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms, is used by me frequently, in conjunction with other sources and is valued by me greatly!

Oe of the best handbooks any writer and lover of language could own. When I taught high school Language Arts, I highly recommended it to my college-bound students. A number of them listened, bought it, took it to school with them, and later reported it one of the most useful tools they had along with Strunk/White's Elements of Style. If words like elude and evade seemed alike, this book would solve the puzzle. Connotation and denotation of similar words are carefully and fully defined. Utterly fascinating just to read through.

The back cover describes this book perfectly. It is "practical, in-depth advice on using the right word in the right place". The explanations are clear, precise and presented in a way that makes the writer look more accomplished than he or she may be.

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