What is the difference between dictionary and thesaurus? You’ve probably used a dictionary and thesaurus before, but do you know the difference between them? And more importantly, do you know how to use them effectively to expand your vocabulary? If you answered no, let’s take a look at the difference between dictionary and thesaurus below.
In this blog, we will compare and contrast dictionary and thesaurus in detail through the 3 following parts:
- An overview of the dictionary and thesaurus
- Outstanding difference between dictionary and thesaurus
- How to use thesaurus and dictionary
Right now, let’s keep scrolling down to explore!
Table of Contents
A Glance At Dictionary And Thesaurus
Before having in-depth evaluations about the difference between dictionary and thesaurus, we will help you get basic knowledge through their definition. In particular:
What is a dictionary?
A dictionary is a wide collection of words, together with their meaning and relevant descriptions of usage. With each word in a dictionary, you can learn how to use it in various contexts, which is beneficial to improving your writing skills effectively. Normally, there are 2 main versions of a dictionary: a book and a website (application).
What is a thesaurus?
A thesaurus is a list that presents words as “word families” or synonyms without explaining their definitions or usage clearly. Basically, you can find them conceptually or alphabetically. Besides synonyms, you can still search for relevant antonyms from this list. That’s why a thesaurus can make your vocabulary more flexible.
From the definitions above, the biggest difference between a thesaurus and a dictionary might be how words are displayed in a specific group or according to the alphabet.
Key Difference Between Dictionary And Thesaurus
Below is our table of dictionary and thesaurus differences in 3 main concerns: how to arrange, how to use, and what is provided.
| Dictionary | Thesaurus | |
| Arrangement | Alphabetic | Alphabetic or conceptually |
| Useful information | Main definitions, examples, pronunciations, orthography, and etymology | Synonyms and antonyms |
| How to use | Focus on defining a word or learning how to use it in various contexts. | Search appropriate words to replace, and restrict repetition mistakes effectively. |
To help you have a deeper understanding of these concerns, we will discuss several interesting things, such as:
- While a dictionary is a traditional or online book containing a glossary of word meanings, a thesaurus is a reference book to search for similar words. With this significant difference, it’s ideal to combine both kinds of books to broaden your vocabulary effectively is ideal.
- In all dictionaries, the words are organized in an alphabetical sequence, from A to Z. However, you can find synonyms or antonyms alphabetically or thematically in thesauruses. This depends on relevant suggestions from which words we are searching.
- If you want to learn how to use a word in a specific context, a dictionary will be a better option. In your dictionary, you can easily find similar sentences to satisfy your usage demands.
How To Use A Dictionary And Thesaurus Effectively
The difference between a dictionary and a thesaurus leads to the fact that you should have various methods to approach them. If so, how should you optimize your performance with your thesaurus and dictionary? Let’s discover more below:
When should you use a dictionary?
First and foremost, you must understand what a dictionary can provide, then follow each piece of content to get the proper ones for your needs. Normally, when searching for a word, you can reach the following information:
- Spelling, pronunciation, syllabication
- Part of speech, plural information, word origin, meanings, and examples in context
- Synonyms and antonyms
- Common usage situations
- Alternate spellings and other forms
Depending on the dictionary providers, the sequence to display these elements can be changed. You can refer to the 2 most reliable worldwide websites, Oxford Dictionary and Cambridge Dictionary, to find new words.
When should you use a thesaurus?
Since a thesaurus only focuses on synonyms and antonyms, you tend to use relevant words out of context, which makes it confusing to understand. That’s why we recommend you combine your thesaurus and dictionary to check how to use the synonyms you want to find. This can help you improve your tone or writing style smoothly and naturally.
Below are some top synonyms of all times that you should pick up in your thesaurus
- Other word for simple: clean, elementary, plain, quiet, smooth, straightforward, transparent, and uncomplicated.
- Other words for insight: acumen, intuition, judgment, observation, understanding, vision, and wisdom.
- Another word for appear: arrive, come, come out, crop up, develop, and emerge.
- Another word for depict: characterize, detail, illustrate, interpret, portray, and represent.
- Another word for optimize: advance, amend, correct, develop, enhance, and help.
- Another word for findings: allegation, detention, citation, statement, and prosecution.
- Another word for biggest: bulkiest, largest, and greatest.
Although there is a remarkable difference between dictionary and thesaurus, it’s recommended to use them at the same to improve your vocabulary smartly
FAQs – Dictionary VS Thesaurus
Is The dictionary better than thesaurus?
The answer is “No”. Indeed, you can not decide whether a dictionary is better than a thesaurus. It is simply because their usage values are not the same, which can satisfy distinctive demands from users.
Why is the use of a thesaurus more effective than a dictionary?
In some situations, you can use a thesaurus to get synonyms of a specific word without actually explaining the meanings. This is beneficial to collect a lot of new words to expand your vocabulary collection effectively.
Is a thesaurus like a dictionary?
Absolutely no. While a dictionary focuses on word meaning and how to use it, a thesaurus delivers a range of synonyms or antonyms (if necessary). Thus, you can not consider a thesaurus like a dictionary in reality.
What is a thesaurus used for?
A thesaurus is a book listing phrases or words having similar meanings, called synonyms. Currently, you can also find an antonyms collection of your targeted words from a thesaurus.
Final Thoughts
Our blog has just explained the difference between dictionary and thesaurus clearly. We hope you have a wonderful experience with both books. Moreover, don’t forget to use online books (websites or applications) to make your search easier.
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