[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/thesaurus/)

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# thesaurus

noun (a thesaurus, thesauruses or thesauri)

«thesaurus» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A thesaurus is a book or website that lists words grouped with others of similar meaning (synonyms), and sometimes opposite meaning (antonyms). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thesaurus/#m1)
2. You use it to find a better or more exact word. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thesaurus/#m2)

### In the lessons

In English lessons a thesaurus helps make writing more interesting: instead of «said», you might find «whispered», «shouted» or «muttered». Pupils learn to check the meaning in a dictionary, because synonyms are not always exact matches. Phrases: «look it up in a thesaurus», «use a thesaurus», «online thesaurus».

### Examples

- I used a thesaurus to find another word for «big». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thesaurus/#x1)
- The thesaurus gave «enormous», «huge» and «gigantic». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thesaurus/#x2)
- Check the meaning in a dictionary before using a word from the thesaurus. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thesaurus/#x3)
- My thesaurus lists antonyms too. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thesaurus/#x4)
- Instead of «nice», the thesaurus suggested «kind», «pleasant» and «lovely». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thesaurus/#x5)
- The class shared one thesaurus per table. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thesaurus/#x6)
- A dinosaur called «Thesaurus» is a common classroom joke. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thesaurus/#x7)

### Note

Countable. Plural: thesauruses or thesauri. Said «thi-SOR-us». A dictionary explains meanings; a thesaurus gives similar words. Trap: a word from a thesaurus may not fit your sentence, for example «colossal» for a «big» mistake is fine, but not for a «big sister».

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «thesaurus» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thesaurus/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«thesaurus» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/thesaurus.html) on Mova free.