Introduction

The Oxford Thesaurus of English (OTE) has been compiled using new evidence in new ways, in order to create an original work of reference that will be most useful to a wide range of users for many different purposes. It is an independent resource in its own right, but it may also be viewed as a companion volume to the Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford’s ground-breaking one-volume dictionary which, based on systematic analysis of hundreds of millions of words of real English, presents the most accurate picture of the language available. OTE draws on the same data to give sets of words compiled according to their similarity in meaning and checked for actual usage against the evidence in the Oxford English Corpus.

All thesauruses contain lists of words that are linked by having a similar or related meaning, but this thesaurus also contains:

• opposites (e.g. for the different senses of smart: scruffy, unfashionable, stupid, slow, and gentle).
• word links (e.g. words related to horse, such as stallion, mare, and equine)
• studies of synonyms with similar meanings, entitled ‘Choose the Right Word’ (e.g. brusque, abrupt, curt, and terse)
• advice on pairs of confusable words (e.g. militate and mitigate)
• a central Wordfinder section of thematic word lists (e.g. herbs: angelica, anise, basil, bay leaf, bergamot, etc.)

For more information on these features, see the following:

• Selection of entries
• Homonyms
• Synonyms
• Illustrative Examples
• Linguistic evidence
• Idiomatic phrases and phrasal verbs
• Register: standard vs. informal and regional English
• World English
• Opposites
• Word links
• ‘Choose the Right Word’ panels
• Confusable words
• Wordfinder