dictionary and thesaurus

[ dik-shuh-ner-ee uhn thi-sawr-uhs ]

noun

, plural dic·tion·ar·y and the·sau·rus·es, dic·tion·ar·y and the·sau·ri [thi-, sawr, -ahy].

1. a dictionary in which the definitions are followed by an extensive complement of synonyms and antonyms.

Word History and Origins

Origin of dictionary and thesaurus¹

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

He brought a dictionary and thesaurus, studied their work and began writing three or four drafts of a story before turning it in.

From Washington Post

That led Dr. Markel to propose — after consulting a dictionary and thesaurus — what he called “protective sequestration,” like keeping military personnel in mass isolation on docked ships.

From New York Times

A spokeswoman for OUP said the company had finished reviewing the dictionary and thesaurus entries for terms for women and girls, and that changes, including more labels that show certain terms are offensive or dated, would be “visible across various platforms in the next few weeks”.

From The Guardian

However, she says, there is a difference between a dictionary used as a scholarly reference – the OED being the prime example – and a casual dictionary and thesaurus installed as a default on your phone or laptop, or the ones used by Google.

From The Guardian

The long afternoons she spent browsing through dictionary and thesaurus made for constructions that were inept, but hauntingly so: the coins a villain concealed in his pocket were “esoteric,” a hoodlum caught stealing a car wept in “shameless auto-exculpation,” the heroine on her thoroughbred stallion made a “cursory” journey through the night, the king’s furrowed brow was the “hieroglyph” of his displeasure.

From Literature