This brand new thesaurus from Oxford, the most trusted name in reference, is the first to be developed by writers, for writers.

In addition to the more than 300,000 synonyms and 10,000 antonyms found in the thesaurus, each of our distinguished editorial board members (including David Auburn, Michael Dirda, David Lehman, Stephin Merritt, Francine Prose, Zadie Smith, Jean Strouse, David Foster Wallace, and Simon Winchester) has contributed frank, funny, thoughtful, and, most of all, word-wise mini-essays on words that they particularly love, hate, admire, or are just plain puzzled by.

Even more helpful for writers in search of the perfect word, this new thesaurus contains nearly two hundred word banks, collections of nouns to add exact detail to your writing. (Was it just bread, or was it chapatti, rye, dal, or pita?) Brand-new word spectrums show where your word falls in a line between two polar opposites (passable is three-quarters of the way from beautiful to ugly).

Other features include quick guides to easily confused words; helpful, real-world usage guidance to tricky sticking points of grammar and word choice; and careful, expert distinctions among awkward synonyms.

The Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus will unlock the power of language and is certain to be the thesaurus that says on the desk — and stays open.

Contemporary trumping traditional format, the arrangement is alphabetical rather than topical. For each word, groups of words with similar meanings are presented, along with examples of their use. For each group of synonyms, an antonym is noted if appropriate. American authors contribute notes discussing nuances in the meaning and use of synonyms. A writer's reference section offers help with grammar, spelling, capitalization and punctuation, proofreaders marks, and prompts to inspire writing, all oriented to the peculiar American way of using English.
Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

"In the jargon of sportscasters The Oxford American Writers Thesaurus is a triple threat: It's a freshly conceived guide to finding just the right word, it's published by the greatest name in English reference books, and it offers thoughtful, amusing and provocative mini-essays on 240 favorite words by ten distinguished contemporary writers." Michael Dirda, Pulitzer Prize winning critic and longtime journalist for The Washington Post

"...the best new array of synonyms around."--William Safire, The New York Times Magazine

"To help today's writers in the "grail-quest" for the true word, the folks at Oxford have come up with a title that breathes fresh life into a genre very much in need of CPR. This work breaks away from the traditional format of simple lists of synonyms and antonyms by offering a number of ingenious and helpful features set within boxes in the text.... Bottom Line Although loaded with special features, this thesaurus doesn't undermine its more traditional duties. Under a generous 25,000 headwords, it lists 300,000 synonyms and 10,000 antonyms in usefully laid-out entries. Highly recommended."--Library Journal STARRED REVIEW!

"Anyone who writes for a living knows how valuable a good thesaurus can be in finding the exact words to express a variety of thoughts - and this book has more than 300,000 synonyms and 10,000 antonyms from which to choose. Arranged alphabetically, it includes example sentences and distinctions from the most commonly used words....The only drawback to this book is that a person looking up a word may continue reading for another 15 minutes or so just out of interest.

This is probably the best thesaurus yet."--Deseret News

"In the jargon of sportscasters The Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus is a triple threat: It's a freshly conceived guide to finding just the right word, it's published by the greatest name in English reference books, and it offers thoughtful, amusing and provocative mini-essays on 240 favorite words by nine distinguished contemporary writers.--Michael Dirda, Pulitzer Prize winning critic and longtime journalist for The Washington Post

"Oxford also scores high for its new The Oxford Writer's Thesaurus ($40), which employed the skills of several contributing editors. This guide is a tribute to the precisions of the English language, listing more than 300,000 synonyms and 10,000 antonyms. Of special interest are the interspersed notes of the editors, who expound on nuances and crotchetsThe only problem in consulting this book could be that the original purpose soon is lost while the reader becomes immersed in one fascinating passage after another." --Richmond Times Dispatch

With essays, notes, and tips from some of today's most brilliant wordsmiths, this is the first thesaurus "for" writers, "by" writers.