Search for synonyms using the Visual Thesaurus

The Visual Thesaurus is an online thesaurus and dictionary of over 145,000 words that you explore and visualize using an interactive map.

Type in a word and the Visual Thesaurus will show you a map of synonyms, antonyms, and definitions.

Unlike Roget's Thesaurus, the Visual Thesaurus contains over 39,000 proper nouns and American and British spellings and pronunciations.

It's a tool for people who think visually. Look up your word now!

Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

Leaning Back to Look at "Lean In"

May 23, 2013
By Ben Zimmer
"Lean in," thanks to the title of a new book by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, has become "the idiom of the moment," Motoko Rich writes in the New York Times, adding "the phrase seems to have taken on a life of its own." But where did all of this "leaning in" come from?  Continue reading...
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Word Count

Writers Talk About Writing

Participial Con-Fusion: When Possession is the Law

Premium content available only to Visual Thesaurus subscribers.May 22, 2013
By Merrill Perlman
If you ever knew what a "participle" was, you may have forgotten. Same with the word "gerund." And if you ever heard the term "fused participle," you probably zoned out completely.  Continue reading...
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Behind the Dictionary

Lexicographers Talk About Language

"Beat-Upedness"?

Premium content available only to Visual Thesaurus subscribers.May 21, 2013
By Neal Whitman
In February, the author Gary Schmidt was interviewed by Michele Norris on NPR about his novel entitled OK for Now. Schmidt said this about the book's protagonist: "He brings all of his beat-upedness with him." "Beat-upedness"?  Continue reading...
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Word Count

Writers Talk About Writing

Such Examples as These

Premium content available only to Visual Thesaurus subscribers.May 20, 2013
By Erin Brenner
Recently on the Copyediting-L discussion board, member Levi Bookin presented this conundrum: one of his authors avoids the phrase such as to such an extreme that he seems allergic to it. Possibly, Bookin wrote, this is because he dislikes commas so much.  Continue reading...
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VOCABGRABBER

Automatically create lists of vocabulary from any text using the Visual Thesaurus VocabGrabber.
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SPELLING BEE

Think you are a good speller? Take the Visual Thesaurus Spelling Bee and find out!
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Blog Excerpts

Silicon Valley's Favorite Word: "Delight"

May 14, 2013
Los Angeles Times tech reporter Chris O'Brien has discovered that the favorite word among techie types is "delight": "A squishy, subjective, hard-to-pin-down term. So daringly unquantifiable, so proudly immeasurable. And now, suddenly, all the rage in data-driven Silicon Valley." Read O'Brien's delightful piece here.
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Blog Excerpts

A Taxing Day for Dictionaries

April 15, 2013
"Yes, April 15th is still the dreaded tax day," writes Mim Harrison. "But thanks to Samuel Johnson, it's also a great day for the English language and its wealth of wonderful words." That's because it is the date on which Johnson published his monumental dictionary of the English language in 1755. Read Harrison's look back at Johnson's Dictionary here.
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Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

An Army of "Strong" Slogans
May 17, 2013 - 4 Comments

Word Count

Writers Talk About Writing

Unpalatable: A Plateful of Similar Words
May 16, 2013 - 7 Comments

Word Count

Writers Talk About Writing

"Yes, I Could Care Less": A Mixed Bag
premium content - available only to Visual Thesaurus subcribers May 15, 2013 - 9 Comments

Word Count

Writers Talk About Writing

Balzac's "Lost Illusions": a Novel in Contrasts
premium content - available only to Visual Thesaurus subcribers May 14, 2013 - 2 Comments

Word Count

Writers Talk About Writing

How to Overcome Your Writing Shame
premium content - available only to Visual Thesaurus subcribers May 13, 2013 - 4 Comments

Blog Excerpts

Getting "Gatsby": The Language Behind the Novel
May 10, 2013 - 1 Comment

Word Count

Writers Talk About Writing

Writing Tics: The Optics of Metrics
premium content - available only to Visual Thesaurus subcribers May 9, 2013 - 3 Comments

Word Count

Writers Talk About Writing

What's in a -Nym?
premium content - available only to Visual Thesaurus subcribers May 8, 2013 - 9 Comments

Blog Excerpts

Flash, Gleam, Glint, Sparkle: McPhee, Woolf, and Words
May 7, 2013 - 3 Comments

Word Count

Writers Talk About Writing

Orwell and Singular "They"
premium content - available only to Visual Thesaurus subcribers May 6, 2013 - 5 Comments

Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

How "Baloney" Got Phony
May 3, 2013 - 2 Comments

Evasive Maneuvers

Euphemisms old and new

Gentleman Turkeys and Other High-Class Gobbledygook
premium content - available only to Visual Thesaurus subcribers May 2, 2013 - 2 Comments

Language Lounge

A Monthly Column for Word Lovers

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Meronymy?
May 1, 2013 - 11 Comments

Word Count

Writers Talk About Writing

Blame Excuses: Where to Point the Finger
premium content - available only to Visual Thesaurus subcribers April 30, 2013 - 4 Comments

Teachers at Work

A column about teaching

Always Never Something: Eliminating Five Overused Words
April 29, 2013 - 15 Comments

Behind the Dictionary

Lexicographers Talk About Language

Trespassers Will Be Trespassed
premium content - available only to Visual Thesaurus subcribers April 25, 2013 - 7 Comments
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OVERHEARD

RECENT COMMENTS FROM OUR SUBSCRIBERS

Leaning Back to Look at "Lean In"
Michele H. said, "I'm not a sports person, but I am a walker. That probably explains why I've always had a completely different image of leaning in. When you walk into..." - Today, 7:07 AM
Always Never Something: Eliminating Five Overused Words
Heather W. said, "I am arriving late to the discussion! Karen D, isn't "was seeping" past (not present) progressive? And I believe there is one too many "abouts" in "if..." - Today, 1:37 AM
Participial Con-Fusion: When Possession is the Law
Charles F. said, "Is the present participle the same as the present imperfect (?), because when it comes to the present imperfect...I'm loving it." - Yesterday, 7:32 PM
James R H. said, "I think Perlman kicks ass." - Yesterday, 3:56 PM
"Beat-Upedness"?
catwalker said, "Perhaps I'm the only one who sees this, but I regard most of the verbs/participles you're considering as informal, if not slang, whereas deriving a..." - Yesterday, 12:36 PM
Participial Con-Fusion: When Possession is the Law
Karen D. said, "The problem is that once you claim you're talking about nouns you're in trouble with things like"knitting sweaters" or "raising objections", since..." - Yesterday, 5:06 AM
"Beat-Upedness"?
Neal Whitman said, "I would pronounce it "up-ed-ness". When I was a child, I pronounced "striped" with two syllables, following my mother's pronunciation. But one day I..." - Tuesday May 21st, 2:36 PM
Julie C said, "I'm interested in how you pronounce beat-upedness. Is it "uptness" or "up-ed-ness"? My mother said "stry-ped" for striped - a pronunciation that..." - Tuesday May 21st, 2:29 PM
Wood F. said, "Great article! I love hearing about the nuts and bolts of language formation." - Tuesday May 21st, 10:23 AM
James R. said, "Indeed, she was warned about that window." - Tuesday May 21st, 8:41 AM

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Lesson Plans

Put the VT to work in your classroom

"Fair is Foul, and Foul is Fair": Sound Devices in Shakespeare's "Macbeth"

April 30, 2013
In this lesson, students use the Visual Thesaurus to explore the pronunciation and meaning of several key vocabulary words in Macbeth. They then examine how Shakespeare uses these vocabulary words to enhance the text through the sound devices of alliteration and assonance.  Continue reading...
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Contest

The Visual Thesaurus Crossword Puzzle: April Edition

Premium content available only to Visual Thesaurus subscribers.April 26, 2013
For this month's crossword, the resilient city of Boston is very much in our thoughts. Figure out the Boston-themed word chain and you could win a Visual Thesaurus T-shirt!  Continue reading...
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Announcements

Words in the Wake of the Storm

November 5, 2012
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, our Lower Manhattan-based offices were shuttered and without power. Today, our offices reopen.  Continue reading...
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Self Promotion

Now Wear This!

November 8, 2006
Give your favorite somebody your favorite word map! Now you can order a Visual Thesaurus word map on a t-shirt, mug, even a postage stamp. Simply search for a word, click on the "Share" button on top right hand of the Visual Thesaurus window, and follow the easy steps. We can't think of a better gift -- or a gift to yourself, for that matter! (Hey, we're biased!)
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