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

An Army of "Strong" Slogans

May 17, 2013
By Ben Zimmer
In my latest column for the Boston Globe, I take a look at the rapid rise of the slogan "Boston Strong" in the month since the Marathon bombing. It seemed to come out of nowhere, but it's only the latest in a long line of "strong" slogans.  Continue reading...
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Word Count

Writers Talk About Writing

Unpalatable: A Plateful of Similar Words

May 16, 2013
By Merrill Perlman
"Pallet," "palette," and "palate" all have at their hearts the sense of a "plate," but beware of confusing them.  Continue reading...
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Word Count

Writers Talk About Writing

"Yes, I Could Care Less": A Mixed Bag

Premium content available only to Visual Thesaurus subscribers.May 15, 2013
By Mark Peters
There are two books here. I love one of them, but I don't care for the other. Somehow, they're both Yes, I Could Care Less: How to Be a Language Snob Without Being a Jerk by Washington Post copy editor Bill Walsh.  Continue reading...
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Word Count

Writers Talk About Writing

Balzac's "Lost Illusions": a Novel in Contrasts

Premium content available only to Visual Thesaurus subscribers.May 14, 2013
By Michael Lydon
No other novel is more worldly than HonorĂ© de Balzac's Lost Illusions, delighting us with courtesans and countesses, misers and millionaires. Yet no other novel is more word-y, more focused on the art and business of writing.  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 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 - 14 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

Blog Excerpts

"Love" is All Around: Data-Mining Song Titles
April 24, 2013 - 1 Comment

Word Count

Writers Talk About Writing

Season Openers: Baseball Terms and Myths
premium content - available only to Visual Thesaurus subcribers April 23, 2013

Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

Words from a "Surreal" Week in Boston
April 22, 2013 - 2 Comments

Blog Excerpts

The "Cupertino Effect" and Other Tech Neologisms
April 19, 2013 - 6 Comments
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OVERHEARD

RECENT COMMENTS FROM OUR SUBSCRIBERS

Flash, Gleam, Glint, Sparkle: McPhee, Woolf, and Words
Carla M. said, "I also love to find another dictionary-vs-thesaurus lover. I have a friend who is constantly recommending the thesaurus, but I far prefer a (good)..." - Today, 9:05 AM
"Yes, I Could Care Less": A Mixed Bag
mac said, "thank you, Sandra. another N Y expression?: "the nerve of me" (in this case, for taking credit and taking the bow)." - Yesterday, 11:51 PM
Balzac's "Lost Illusions": a Novel in Contrasts
Meredith C. said, "An amazing review! I never realized what Balzac's writing accomplished until I read this. I'll take a look at his work and decide if I have the..." - Yesterday, 11:27 AM
An Army of "Strong" Slogans
Roberta M. said, "This has little to do with language per se. Or maybe it does. I liked the fact that Bostonians seemed to be warm and resilient with one other after..." - Friday May 17th, 2:15 PM
Covetous: The Difference Between "Jealousy" and "Envy"
christiane P. said, "Thank you so much for the explanation. So I never thought the difference between these two words of." - Friday May 17th, 12:28 PM
An Army of "Strong" Slogans
Kristine F. said, "James, that sentence caught my attention, too. My first interpretation of it was that it was pretty insulting for Reynolds to refer to his target..." - Friday May 17th, 10:34 AM
James R. said, "New Jersey is doing it now too in its "Too strong for the storm" jingo." How is Boston or New Jersey strong? It's a pathetic Oprah like expression of..." - Friday May 17th, 9:15 AM
Karen D. said, "I've got to say I didn't even think of the Armstrong motto when I heard Boston Strong." - Friday May 17th, 4:22 AM
Unpalatable: A Plateful of Similar Words
Laura C. said, "Great article! Thanks. I just discovered an app called Word Wit that features "words and their evil twins" like palate and palette, accept and except,..." - Thursday May 16th, 3:17 PM
"Yes, I Could Care Less": A Mixed Bag
Sandra C. said, "Mac-I like your New York example!--Sandra" - Thursday May 16th, 12:11 PM

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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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Visual Thesaurus Everywhere

Incorporate the Visual Thesaurus into your blog or website, or add it to your home page. Learn all the ways that we offer to make the Visual Thesaurus more convenient to use and easier to share with your friends, family, and colleagues: Continue reading...