Related Words
Dictionary entries often have a “related words” section. For example, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary lists a word, then its definition or definitions, then its synonyms and finally its related words. “Related words” are words that have are similar to a word or have a similar meaning, but are not direct synonyms of that word.
When writing, people often find themselves wanting to use a related word instead of a direct synonym, since a synonym is generally supposed to have the same meaning. So related words are often more useful for a writer than a synonym, since you’re likely to use a synonym only when you’re wanting to avoid repetition of the same word. Related words allow for a little more subtlety in your communications.
So what is an example of a “related word”?
The example the Miriam-Webster dictionary uses for related words are “funny” and “witty”. Though the two have similar meanings, funny and witty are not interchangeable, and therefore are not synonyms. Maybe everyone who is witty is funny, but everyone who is funny is not witty, because funny “is something that causes laughter”, while witty is “displaying a mature, intelligent humor”. Funny can be used in a more contexts, like say something that happened to you in the day was a “funny situation”, but you would seldom say you found yourself in a “witty situation”.
Thesaurus Dot Com
Thesaurus.com is my favorite resource for related words, though those looking for a more traditional dictionary style thesaurus will prefer other sources. When you go to thesaurus.com, you’ll see a search function at the top of the homepage. Type the word you’re interested in and the site will direct you to a page where all of that word’s related words are listed. The page will list how many entries there are, but this does not mean how many synonyms and antonyms you’re going to find. Instead, it shows how many different online sources that Thesaurus dot com references have a section of synonyms for your word. For common words, you’re likely to find dozens of lists of synonyms and antonyms covering several pages of text, though most words will have between 1 to 10 entries and will be contained on one page.
The synonyms are listed most prominently, while a smaller list of antonyms will be listed below the synonyms. Often, there is a very short definition listed, but you can miss this if you aren’t looking closely. Also, synonyms are often highlighted with a link to their page, so you can drift from word to word, seeing how all the words of the English language are related to one another. One thing which might confuse people is the fact that your word might not be the only main word that comes up in the search, so you can easily branch off into only vaguely related terms, if you don’t watch out. Let me give an example.
Related Word Example
Example: I searched for the word “related”. Thesaurus dot com offered “20 thesaurus results”. The first of these is “related”, with the 42 related words and phrases and 7 antonyms. The second entry was the verb “relate”, with 35 synonymous terms and words and 2 antonyms. The next two entries are “relate” and “related”, with similar results. The fifth entry is “alike”, with 39 synonyms and 6 antonyms. The sixth result is “allied”, with 21 synonyms and 3 antonyms. After these six long entries, page one of the search ends. You can choose to look on the several other pages for more matches.
As you can see, thesaurus dotcom offers a lot of information, but if you aren’t careful, you’ll end up searching through “allied” instead of “related” and might end up using non-related words unintentionally. This is still my favorite resource, because I don’t have to look through endless definitions to find a synonym for the word I’m writing. I’m (generally) careful about the list I’m looking on, so its one real drawback isn’t much of one. In particular, Thesaurus Dot Com is great for people looking for “related words”. It naturally generates a related word search for people who aren’t looking for direct synonyms, but words that have a similar (though different) meaning.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary Dot Com
If you prefer a more traditional dictionary layout, then the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary is a solid internet resource for related words. That’s because you’ll find the related words section next to “Related Words:” in bold type at the bottom of each dictionary entry.
Dictionary dot com has related words, but they are buried in the middle of the page and aren’t highlighted, so if you’re looking up a lot of related words, you’re going to add time to your writing project.
“The Free Dictionary” is another great online resource for words and definitions, and the information and related links are massive on any given page of the site. But the layout of the free online dictionary makes it confusing to navigate at times. Its related words are color-coded, so you have to remember to think “blue” when looking for related words. There is the “mentioned in” links, where the site shows other word definitions and phrase entries that your word is mentioned in (implying that word or phrase is related).
But if you’re looking for a simple dictionary entry with easy-to-read definitions, synonyms and related words, you’re probably not going to find a better free online dictionary resource than the Miriam-Webster internet dictionary.
Related Words on Urban Dictionary
The next suggestion will not be for everyone. “Urban Dictionary” has a “related words” section, that covers everything from synonyms, antonyms, common misspellings, associated slang terms and common phrases associated with a word. The online Urban Dictionary website is a kind of wiki, where you write your own definition of a term and readers rate its usefulness.
The Urban Dictionary tends to be a whole lot less formal than other dictionaries, and you generally won’t find the strict definition. In fact, if you’re offended by curse words and sexual innuendo, I would recommend you avoid the Urban Dictionary. Included in the list of slang words are definitions of sexual terms.
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