USING THE THESAURUS & DICTIONARY IN MS WORD

A THESAURUS is a book that lists words with similar meanings. These words are called synonyms or near-synonyms.

For example : Money Cash Currency Funds Capital Another example : Beautiful Pretty Gorgeous Lovely Handsome

How is a Thesaurus different from a Dictionary ? A thesaurus does not have all words in it; only words with similar meanings

There is a THESAURUS in the computer program MS WORD that is very easy to use. You can use a print-based Thesaurus but...

highlight it ! For instance, to change a word in a WORD file, like “phenomenon”...

Go to the Review tab at the top of the toolbar. And, click : Thesaurus

On the right, you will see words with a similar meaning to phenomenon.

If you like the word “trend”... You can either : insert it, copy it, or look it up

Click: Encarta Dictionary: English It’s best to look up “trend” in the dictionary to see if it is correct for our text.

It shows you the meaning.

Let’s do it again. Highlight “increasing” Similar words appear on the right.

“Rising” is a good word to use in place of “increasing.” Click: Insert

Highlight it and click the Encarta Dictionary. One century means 100 years; so, write 200 years.

 ORIGINAL ……….. NEW WORD  Phenomenon…... Trend  Increasing …..….. Rising  Centuries ……… years

 ORIGINAL  The phenomenon trend of increasing rising temperatures on Earth over the past one or two centuries 200 years   NEW  The trend of rising temperatures on Earth over the past 200 years Let’s see the new phrase.

I hope this helps you find words to use in your writing. Ask your friendly librarian or teacher if you have questions.

Thank you for listening.