This app contains the full A-Z text of the Oxford Learner’s Thesaurus, including a complete alphabetical index, and a detailed topic index which shows Thesaurus entries organized into 30 different topic categories.
Each entry in the Thesaurus shows you a group of words with similar meaning, and explains exactly how each word is different from the others, and how you should use it correctly. You can also hear how each word is pronounced, both in British and American English.
You can look up a word in the Thesaurus by typing it into the search box at the top of the screen, or by tapping on a word that is shown in the alphabetical index or topic index. Thesaurus entries, each containing a group of two or more words with a similar meaning, are displayed in the main window of the app.
You can choose the following content views:
When the app is started, the search box is displayed in the top menu bar, and the alphabetical index is displayed in the main window below.
To search for a word in the Thesaurus, start typing the word in the search box and then tap the word you want when it appears in the index below. A Did you mean? list will display some suggestions if you spell a word incorrectly.
To see words containing particular letters, you can do a wildcard search using a question mark (?) or an asterisk (*). Use (?) to replace one letter or (*) to replace any number of letters. For example:
When a particular word has more than one meaning, it may appear in more than one entry in the Thesaurus. (For example, address can mean a place where somebody lives, but it can also mean a kind of talk that is given to an audience).
When a word is included in more than one entry, a small arrow is displayed on the right side of the index item for the word. Tap on the index item to display a list of entries where the word can be found, and a short example that shows each particular meaning of the word. Tap on the item to display the entry.
To move between entries, tap the orange arrows at the top left or top right of the entry.
Tap on the white back (left) and forward (right) arrows to take you back or forwards through entries in your search history.
Tap the History icon to see a list of your recent searches. To clear your search history, tap the delete icon in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
The entry structure of the Thesaurus is different to that of a normal A-Z dictionary. That is because a single entry in the Thesaurus represents a group of words that have a similar meaning: a synonym group.
For example, the entry for exact adj. contains the words exact, precise, accurate and specific.
Each word in an entry is shown in a list at the top of the entry. Tap on the word to take you to the relevant part of the entry.
The synonym group definition appears below the list of words at the top of the entry, and tells you what all the words have in common.
Tap on SEE STRUCTURES to display a list of the most important structures and phrases for the words in the entry. This can show you how the words typically combine with other words. Tap on HIDE STRUCTURES if you do not want to display this information.
The synonyms in the entry are listed in order of how often they are used in English. There is a definition of each synonym, followed by example sentences that show how the word is used. Tap on the synonym to see a list of any other entries in the Thesaurus where the word appears.
To hear how to pronounce a word, tap on the blue speaker for British pronunciation or the red speaker for American pronunciation.
Tap on the Favourites icon at the top of the screen to access the Thesaurus’ topic index, and to view or remove favourite entries that you have added to the topic index. You can also access the topic folders by tapping the top left of your screen to reveal the side menu and choosing Favourites.
There are 30 preloaded topic folders in the topic index, each containing a list of entries that are connected with a particular topic or function of language, for example the money topic folder contains a list of all the entries that have something to do with money, such as bankrupt, bill, borrow, buy.
Tap on the topic folder to display the list of entries. Tap on the name of the entry to see the complete entry. From the entry, tap on the “back” arrow to return to the list of entries.
To create a folder, go to Favourites and tap the Add Folder icon in the toolbar at the top of the screen. Enter a name for the new folder and tap “Create”.
To add an entry to favourites, go to the entry you want to add and tap on the Add to Favourites icon. You can create and name a new folder to store the entry in by tapping 'Create a new folder'. If you don't want to put the entry in a named folder, tap on 'None'.
All your folders and favourite entries will be stored alphabetically for quick and easy reference. To view your favourites later, go to Favourites and tap on a folder or entry to see it. You can browse your favourites by tapping the orange forward and back arrows.
You can delete all your favourites, individual entries or entire folders from your favourites list.
To delete all your favourites tap on the trash icon, and tap 'Yes'.
To delete an entire folder, tap and hold the name of the folder you want to delete. Then tap 'Yes'.
To delete a single entry from a topic, open the topic folder and then tap and hold the entry you want to delete. Then tap 'Yes'.
Tap the icon at the top left of your screen to reveal the side menu and choose Settings to access the Appearance and News settings menus.
Tap on Appearance to change the size of the text in the entries or the index. You can also control the behaviour of the keyboard.
Tap on News to opt in or out of receiving news from Oxford University Press.
Tap the icon at the top left of your screen to reveal the side menu and choose Information for more details about this product and how to use it.
Tap the icon at the top left of your screen to reveal the side menu and choose News to see news on our latest products and special offers. When new news items are available, the number of items is shown in an orange box. You can choose to opt out of receiving news in the Settings menu.
Tap the icon at the top left of your screen to reveal the side menu and choose Manage for information about data storage options.
If you need any further help using this app, please contact us at eltdict.help@oup.com.