Despite ‘auto-thesaurus’ sounding a bit like a robotic dinosaur, this post is actually about the ‘Synonym’ function in Microsoft Word. If you’ve not seen this before, it’s available via the menu when you right click on a word.
This can be a very useful tool to help prevent repetition in an essay. But unless you understand the alternative terms that Microsoft Word suggests, it can actually detract from the quality of your work.
The issue is that many English words have more than one meaning and that computers aren’t very good at telling homonyms apart. As such, the synonyms suggested may not apply to the subject you’re writing about.
Take the word ‘principal’ as an example. In contract theory, the terms ‘principal’ and ‘agent’ are used to refer to the employer and employee. But since a more common use of ‘principal’ is to mean ‘first’ or ‘most important’, none of Microsoft Word’s alternatives for this term (e.g. ‘main’, ‘primary’, ‘chief’) would make sense in the context of contract theory!
This might sound like an easy error to avoid, but you’d be surprised how often our proofreaders encounter similar issues. The important thing is to check the meaning of any unfamiliar word that you find in a thesaurus before using it.
To illustrate this, we conclude on one of William Shakespeare’s famous soliloquies:
Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox.
To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them?
And now we see what would have happened if The Bard had used Microsoft Word’s auto-thesaurus to pen his famous words:
Towards live, or not towards live: that is the subject: Whether ’tis nobler in the brain to have a medical condition The throws and cursors of disgraceful affluence, Or to obtain missiles not in favour of a marine of scrapes, And by divergent closing stages them?
We think you’ll agree that the original is probably better.
Δ
3-minute read
In the United States, the US Patent and Trademarks Office issues patents. In the United...
A visually appealing and user-friendly website is essential for success in today’s competitive ecommerce landscape....
Market research is the backbone of successful marketing strategies. To gain a competitive edge, businesses...
4-minute read
Google Patents is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to learn more about patents, whether...
If used strategically, email can have a substantial impact on your business. In fact, according...
Having your writing peer-reviewed is a valuable process that can showcase the strengths and weaknesses...