Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition (21st Century Reference)

I have found that this thesaurus is the best of the best for usability and for variety. I have had this thesaurus since it was published and it is time for a new one as it goes everywhere with me. I look for new ones but keep comming back to this one, as it is simply the best!

I've bought several thesauri over the years, including good ole Roget's International, but this one by Barbara Kipfer is by far my favorite because it strikes just the right balance between ease of use and comprehensiveness. Roget's International is undoubtedly the king still for comprehensiveness. Unfortunately, Roget's International is also the most onerous to use, so much so that I rarely ever touch it anymore. Other thesauruses on the market in dictionary format, such as Roget II or Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus, are very easy to use, but unfortunately they have few synonyms under each entry. This thesaurus by Kipfer, on the other hand, is just right. I give it five stars.

"Thesaurus" is Latin for "treasury", but all the editions that I came across in my long search of a good one had been anything but. They were either too bulky or too brief, severely abridged or arranged by concepts (!) with alphabetical index at the end. Looking for the right word in these circumstances caused me excruciating pain, both mental and physical. I was in great danger of being sucked in by a tornado of strange, confusing, irrelevant words. Thankfully, I discovered this book. And what a treasury it is! The dictionary format, 450,000 entries, 1 million word results, a wonderful concept index on the back which shows how a word fits into a pool of similar ones - these are only some of the many highlights of this edition. Not only do I keep it by my side every time I sit down to write, but often look into it for pure pleasure, partaking of the wealth it stores.

I've been searching for a good thesaurus for 10 years (no kidding). This is the best one I've ever found anywhere! Under the word "Run," there are 6 word usages, each with about 10-20 synonyms (other thesauruses have as few as 3 synonyms total). Easily navigable, great word listings. A fantastic reference tool.

I have always trusted Roget's as a thesaurus. This one is the best edition yet! The concept section at the back really helps when I can't think of a word but I know what it means. As a writer, I always want to have one of these nearby. As a librarian, I ordered one so all our patrons could enjoy it as well!