Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus: Updated and Expanded 3rd Edition, in Dictionary Form (21st Century Reference)

It sits on my desk within arms reach. I will never start to write unless I know it is near by.And I use it often.One huge mistake writers make is, using the same words too often.After a bit readers will notice certain words popping up over and over.When that happens those particular words begin to stand out like a lighthousebeacon in a storm.Soon readers will start to count them in their subconscious.Not something you as a writer want to have happen.This thesaurus will make sure you won't take your readers down that boring street..

Should fiction writers use Roget's Thesaurus? I've read and heard arguments on both sides. Those who say "No" think that writers using It write overblown prose, using a long word where a shorter one would be better.I disagree. There are times when the first word that comes to mind is the easy word that does not get at the real meaning of a character's thought, or the feeling I want to convey. If I just write, "the room was cold," I've shortchanged the reader. How cold and why does the temperature matter? But if I show that people wear two pairs of thick wool socks just to sit inside, or get up three times in the night to make sure the baby's bed cap is on his head, or have another character remark that the mercury has frozen in the thermometer, the reader feels the cold.This thesaurus is not only a word-finder that lets me locate synonyms to vary my writing vocabulary, it jogs my brain into new was of thinking about what I'm writing.This book lies on my desk waiting to help me write better. It must work, because I've won one Spur Award and been a finalist for another.

I bought three thesauri at the same time. I do quite a bit of technical writing and I needed multiple sources to draw from.I ordered this title, along with Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus, and Roget's International Thesaurus.The first synonym I needed was for "coordinate," as in "to coordinate..." Roget's 21st Century gave me 23 words and phrases, Websters gave only seven, and Roget's eight. I've found similar disparities among the volumes for numerous other words.Roget's 21st Century is a terrific little book, inexpensive, small, and easily stays beside my PC. The others, well, I wish I'd saved my money. But they'll come in handy at some point, I'm sure.

Almost the whole "H" section is missing. Pages 403-434 are simply not included in our book. I would not have known by looking at it. It's of course when you need it and you're teaching kids how to use it, that you discover it's gone. Bummer!

The font is REALLY small, so if you're an older person (like me), be prepared to use your magnifying glass or reading glasses. But, other than that, it's a great book. I use it nearly everyday.

This is the best Thesaurus around, a valuable tool to any writer. I'm really hoping there will be a fourth edition someday.... Kipfer - thank you for the work and let's see the next iteration!I would suggest spending 60 seconds exploring the unique 'Concept Index' on page 923 - the 'Concept Index' is indispensable for finding like-concept words and is what makes this Thesaurus so valuable. I mean, really, this is so much better than looking words up online. I have bought this book for many of our employees and the writing across our work has improved dramatically.Five stars and thank you!And again, get the 'paperback' version for the larger type. The diminutive type of the 'mass market paperback' is indeed quite small. -yepyep

I needed a new thesaurus and had to decide which was going to be my go to book for writing and reading. I read across all the reviews in a variety of volumes including the heavily debated international versions that use conceptual classification systems.The problem with a person like me is my vocabulary is already quite distinguished, and I don't have the time to be sorting through conceptual ideas when all I want is a quick look at a variety of words that are on the tip of my tongue. Reading the likes of Henry Miller, John Barth, or simply editing my own poetry, I just need a simple guide and easy to access A-Z thesaurus. This is basically what I wanted.Now if you want to go further into research and understand more than just simple word choice then the international volumes are where you want to go. Just be warned some people seem to like the 4th edition which is out of print. The newest 7th edition is much like the past couple versions and not quite organized as some would like it to be. For me I don't want to bother with word history or concepts when I just need to know the meaning of a word as fast as possible while reading or writing. This book does the job very well!

Sometimes, you need a better way to say something. Maybe you are sending your lover a card. "I love you!" BORING! How about, "I adore you!" Better. Or, "You enchant me!" Even better. Another, "You instill in me a sense of rapture!"That, and box of chocolate, and you're home free!

I was very disappointed to find this book to be small in format but thick for a format of this size. In the case of a novel, which may be read once or twice, this hardly matters but a reference book should withstand constant use without falling apart. The spine is gummed and breaks easily. I foresee that this book has a limited life. Moreover, the text is uncommonly small, making it hard to read. A magnifying glass is practically essential. I think these considerations should be made clear at the point of sale. I use Roget constantly and I see that I shall not get my money's worth. I award two stars for the quality of the contents but for the means of delivery, zilch (blank, diddly-squat, goose egg, hill of beans, insignificancy, nada, naught...)

An excellent little Thesuarus that's made easier to use by its dictionary format. Be warned that the type is rather small, ( it has to be really to keep it a manageable size ), so you'll need good eyesight or some form of magnification.I bought it for my daughter, to improve her vocabulary and all in all it does the job very well.

Excellent reference book. Small, handy and well-organized. Words are easy to find. Good quality binding. Does not fall apart or loses pages. A flexicover binding would be a welcome addition to the next edition of this

It wasn't until I opened the package that I realised it was the US version - in US English (a misnomer to me - English should be uniquely English).

Purchased for a 96 year old lady who thought her Scrabble partner might be cheating. I'm not sure if she intends to look up words or throw the book at him - she hates to lose.

Print is very tiny but you wouldn't mind if you are a regular user of pocket dictionaries. Has almost all the words. The paper is sort of like thicker newspaper quality which is ecofriendly and is totally acceptable than the polished smooth papers that harm environment.Thesaurus itself Hasn't been very useful for me yet, but just for a couple of exams. I'm sure it will definitely be of more help some day.

Content is good. But I can't use it so practically waste of time and money.

Pocket edition reference books have their pros and cons. This one is very handy and quite comprehensive but the writing is very small. If you have trouble reading small print, this isn't the right format. If you're a school-age student, this is perfect.

Even though the font of this book is small,the thesaurus if excellent.One point is if you need big font ,then the dimensions and size of book will increase eventually as it contains syns and antyns for 500000 words.Isn't it wonderful.Hence I rate it 5 stars...

Excellent companion to anyone who seeks to build vocabulary. Major improvements in tune with the times on the original masterpiece of Roget. I would strongly recommend this book to all students and to those who have the desire to improve their English language skills. Amazon India just amazed me with its low price on such a quality book.

Für einen unschlagbar günstigen Preis bekommt man hier ein dickes Buch mit hochaktuellem Wortschatz geliefert, das sowohl beim Schreiben von englischen Texten auf hohem Niveau als auch bei der Suche nach interessanten Wörtern, die man noch nicht kennt, unersetzlich ist. Vor allem geeignet für Leute mit Englisch-Kenntnissen auf Proficiency-Nivau und darüber. Vorsicht: Die Schrift der Taschenbuchausgabe ist sehr klein.

Awesome Book..Must bye for those who willing to increase vocabulary..In this book`s last there is a section Named "CONCEPT BUILDING" Which is very useful..

Content wise the book is a classic.But the font is very very small and extremely difficult to read.This particular version is not recommended at all.

The idea-based thesaurus! Sounds good! It is indeed very informative. One will not get bored as one gets while browsing a dictionary. But there is a trade off. Less price gives you smaller fonts. Exactly you find in dictionary. Else, fantastic product to have!

This thesaurus is very handy. And, it's indispensable for every English learner. The overall package is good enough, but good enough is never enough: the size of the font is too small to read. After all, a book is to read. Hence, I hit at 3 stars.