The OED also has the derivation of the word from whichever language it originally came from, but its later meanings up to the present day. Along with definitions and etymology, the OED uses quotations from anything in print to show how it was used. The OED not only tells when the word entered the English language, but what it meant when people first began to use it and how it was used. But my go-to favorite for words and their meanings is the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). It reflects a true respect for the reader’s intelligence and dignity of the mind, and also for her being created in the image of God - who himself always spoke in perfectly right words, to which the infinite craftsmanship of the Bible amply testifies.Īs a writer of historical fiction set in Montana during the Civil War, I’m constantly looking up words in the thesaurus (Roget’s) or the dictionary (Merriam-Webster). Finding the truly right word - one that’s perfectly right most of all in meaning, but also in sound and rhythm for its context - is a wonderful service to readers. (My clothbound copy of Roget is frayed on the edges and taped together on the spine - I was going to say it was dilapidated, but I changed my mind.) I would also add here that I think this whole process of finding the right words in well-crafted prose is certainly for a higher cause than winning the esteem of fellow writers (or than fortifying our supply of gray cells). I find that Roget typically gives me a wider range of options, which I very much like, while the other alpphabetical approach can often offer faster help (though sometimes no help at all, when the word I’m looking up isn’t there, something which almost never happens with Roget. I find both approaches helpful in different ways. I had to smile over his closing remarks about fortifying oneself with a small win against the “genocide” that attacks one’s aging gray cells–yes indeed! I use both Roget’s unabridged “International Thesaurus” as well as the “Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus,” which is structured alphabetically like Rodale’s “Synonym Finder,” which I’ve used in the past. These are helpful and delightfully expressed perspectives from Martin Amis. There are no wrong answers here, merely a friendly discussion of the craft of writing. What are your thoughts on this? Please comment below. I suspect you’ve read a poorly written or edited book (or blog!) lately and wondered how it ever saw the light of day. However, sloppy writing is everywhere we look. Sometimes you can get lost in the deep weeds with word choice and end up paralyzing yourself in an endless revision loop. I also appreciate him teaching that speed is not of the essence. We see this regularly in Bible study when studying original Hebrew, Greek, or Aramic to figure out the appropriate English parallel. I like his example showing the misuse of the word “dilapidated.” The origin of a word does have meaning. I suppose Amis’s thinking here is reasonable, but it occurs too often to believe it shows an author at their best. In my reading and editing work, I find that overusing the same words in close proximity is jarring and needs to be eliminated most of the time.

I prefer to use The Synonym Finder by J.I. Below the video I have a couple of comments and then, hopefully, will read your responses. That way you can read his words while also hearing them. I recommend clicking the “cc” close-captioned on the bottom next to the settings button. The following is a five-minute video from Martin Amis, one of Britain’s well-known literary novelists and essayists. Today we look at how one writer uses his thesaurus and dictionary in a fascinating way.

Synonyms for byword