How to Use Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition. 1995

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Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition. 1995.

How to Use Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus

The Entries
Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition, contains three kinds of entries introduced by boldface headwords: main entires having synonym lists; subentries that consist either of a word spelled the same as the headword but with a different part of speech, or of a two-word verb derived from a single-word verb; and cross-reference entries from variant spellings to main entries:
fall

VERB:	1. To take place at a set time: come, occur. See HAPPEN.
PHRASAL VERB:	fall down 1. Informal: To be unsuccessful: choke, fail, fall through. Informal: flop. Slang: bomb. *Idioms:* fail of success, fall short. See THRIVE.

fall down

VERB:

1. See FALL

Entry Order
Main entries and cross-references are listed alphabetically. For instance, the first entry in this book is A-1. It is followed in turn by the separate entries aback, abandon, abandoned, abandonment, abase, and abasement.

Components of Main Entries
These are the components of a typical main entry:
destroy

VERB:

1. To cause the complete ruin or wreckage of: bankrupt, break down, cross up, demolish, finish, ruin, shatter, sink, smash, spoil, torpedo, undo, wash up, wrack², wreck. Slang: total. Idioms: put the kibosh on. See HELP.

In the above example, the entry word destroy is followed by the part-of-speech label VERB. A boldface sense number, in this case 1., appears in all multisense entries, followed by a definition of the meaning shared by the entry word and its synonyms. In this example the definition of destroy and its synonyms is “to cause the complete ruin or wreckage of.” The synonyms are all substitutable for destroy

A colon introduces the list of words synonymous with destroy: bankrupt, break down, cross up, demolish, finish, ruin, shatter, sink, smash, spoil, torpedo, undo, wash up, wrack², and wreck. Labeled synonyms, in this case, total with its label Slang, appear after the main list of synonyms.

When appropriate, idioms equivalent to the synonyms are shown at the end of a synonym list. These idioms are phrases with the same meaning as the basic meaning shared by all the synonyms. In the entry shown here, put the kibosh on is an idiom that is equivalent to destroy and its synonyms. Idioms are not listed as main entries.

Each synonym list concludes with a Category reference, such as See HELP in the entry destroy shown above. For an explanation of this see “Category Index.”

Subentries
Words spelled the same as the entry words but with a different part of speech and also two-word verbs are indented subentries. For instance, the verb abandon is a subentry of the noun abandon, but abandonment is a separate entry. Two-word verbs derived from single-word verbs are shown as subentries of the single-word verbs, as in the case of call down at call.

Cross-references
Cross-references lead to subentries of main entries and variant spellings that differ markedly from the spellings of main entries. For example, call down, as already noted, is a subentry at call; hence call down is also entered at its own alphabetical place:
call down

VERB:

1. See CALL.

The variant spelling aeon is shown at its own alphabetical place:
aeon

NOUN:

1. See eon

Variants
Equal and unequal variants are given following the main entry word. An equal variant is a spelling of a word that is just as acceptable as the entry word spelling. Equal variants are signaled by use of the connective or:

down-at-heel or down-at-the-heel

An unequal variant is a spelling that is less common than the entry word spelling but is nevertheless acceptable. Unequal variants are signaled by the connective also:

lese majesty or lèse majesté

When a single idiom can be worded in a variety of ways, the variant wordings are given parenthetically, as at fall, VERB:

Idioms: take a fall (or header) (or plunge) (or spill) (or tumble).

When variation exists between a verb and a two-word verb, the variation is shown parenthetically. For example, run (around) means that one can use either run or run around to mean “ to be with as a companion.”

Homographs
A homograph is a word that is spelled the same as another word but that differs in meaning and origin. Homographs are signaled by superscript numerals following the words to which they refer. Homograph numbers are used in main entries, synonym lists, and cross-references:

fell¹

VERB:

1. To bring down, as with a saw or ax

fell²

ADJECTIVE:

1. Showing or suggesting a disposition to be violently destructive without scruple or restraint.

fell³

NOUN:

1. The skin of an animal: fur, hide².

In the synonym lists at cut, fierce, and hide² the synonyms are styled as fell¹, fell², and fell³, respectively. Notice also that hide², in the synonym list contains the proper homograph number for that main entry.

Labels
All words requiring labels have been clearly tagged in synonym lists and in main and subentries. The kinds of labels used in this book are temporal labels (Archaic, Obsolete), usage labels (Informal and Slang), dialect labels (such as Regional and Chiefly Regional), and field labels (such as Law).

The label Archaic is used with words that were once common but are now rare. For example, fright, meaning “to fill with fear,” is an archaic synonym of frighten and is labeled as such. Obsolete indicates that a term is no longer in active use, except, for example, in literary quotation. Roget’s II contains very few archaic and obsolete terms.

Usage labels such as Informal and Slang indicate various levels of usage and styles of expression that may or may not be appropriate in all contexts or situations. Informal generally applies to those words that are commonly used in the spoken language and in ordinary writing but that might not be considered appropriate in very formal or official contexts or circumstances. The word thick, for example, carries an Informal label in the synonym list at friendly. Slang, on the other hand, is a style of language characteristic of very casual speech. Slang comprises words and special senses of words denoting things in an exceptionally vivid, humorous, irreverent, or sarcastic manner. For example, in the synonym list at friendly the word tight is labeled Slang.

Dialect labels such as Regional and Chiefly Regional indicate that a term is indigenous to a particular geographic area. For example, the word afeard, a synonym of afraid, is used by speakers only in a limited part of the United States. Hence it carries the label Regional. the word mighty, meaning “very,” is labeled Chiefly Regional because it is used chiefly but not exclusively in the southern part of this country.

Language labels such as British distinguish between British English and American English. Examples of words that carry British labels include: bobby (British), a synonym at policeman; and bonny (Scots), a synonym at beautiful.

Some synonyms are labeled according to the fields of knowledge with which they are primarily associated. An example is the sense of competence meaning “conferred power”—a sense carrying the label Law.

Part-of-speech labels appear in italics at all boldface entries and subentries.

Category Index
The Category Index is designed to provide the maximum number of words choices for the user. Each synonym group ends with one or more cross-references of the type See HAPPY. The word in capital letters is a main entry in the Category Index. At the main entry word in the Index—in this instance happy—there appears a list of Thesaurus entries that are related to the synonym group with the cross-reference HAPPY.

happy

noun

delight

elation

exultation

fulfillment

happiness

heaven

. . . .

unhappy

noun

complaint

disappointment

distress

gloom

grief

grouch

misery

mutter

This list contains words having related meanings or words of opposite meanings. Looking these words up in the Thesaurus proper offers the user many more word choices. This Index is especially helpful when the word sought for is only vaguely known. For a fuller explanation see the introduction to the Category Index.

CONTENTS · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

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