Informal usage is more prevalent than it was even just a few years ago. Expressions once considered slang are now used in writing and more formal contexts, while the use of swear words and taboo words is on the increase. This thesaurus therefore includes a rich selection of informal and vulgar synonyms, but users should treat the vulgar slang labels as warning notices.
Most of the synonyms given are part of standard English; that is, they are in normal use everywhere in the English-speaking world, at many different levels of formality, ranging from official documents to casual conversation. These general synonyms are given first in each synonym set. Some words, however, are appropriate only in particular contexts, and these are placed after the standard expressions and labelled accordingly. The technical term for these differences in levels of usage is ‘register’. The main register labels used in this thesaurus are the following:
informal: normally used only in contexts such as conversations or letters between friends, e.g. swig as a synonym for drink.
vulgar slang: informal language that may cause offence, usually because it refers to bodily functions.
formal: normally used only in writing such as official documents, e.g. dwelling as a synonym for home.
technical: normally used only in technical and specialist language, though not necessarily restricted to any specific field, e.g. littoral as a synonym for beach. Words used in specific fields are given appropriate labels, e.g. Medicine, Christianity.
literary: found only or mainly in literature written in an ‘elevated’ style, e.g. ambrosial as a synonym for delicious.
dated: no longer used by the majority of English speakers, but still encountered occasionally, especially among the older generation, e.g. measure one’s length as a synonym for fall down.
historical: still used today, but only to refer to some practice or article that is no longer part of the modern world, e.g. ruff, the type of collar.
humorous: used with the intention of sounding funny or playful, e.g. terminological inexactitude as a synonym for lie.
archaic: very old-fashioned language, not in ordinary use at all today, but sometimes used to give a deliberately old-fashioned effect, or found in works of the past that are still widely read, e.g. aliment as a synonym for food.
rare: not in common use, e.g. acclivitous as a synonym for steep.