I am an avid thesaurus user. I probably will not make it through this blog entry without consulting a thesaurus at least once. Words are powerful technologies that allow us to communicate and express our ideas. As Metaphors We Live By suggests, certain words conjure strong images in our head, even if we are not conscious of them. Using the wrong word, even if it is close in meaning, could change the readers perception the text. For instance, the word cold is synonymous with the word cool, yet we imagine that something cold is lower in temperature than something cool.

This is where a thesaurus can be handy, yet they can also add to your confusion because most thesauruses do not provide word definitions or association explanations. Visual Thesaurus has worked around this issue by creating an interactive thesaurus map of individual words. This service visually maps out the possible synonyms and antonyms of a word such as “bring.” It breaks the synonyms down by their relationship to the main word. Primary synonyms or synonyms that are directly related to the main word, are branched directly off the main word. Secondary synonyms or synonyms that are directly related to the primary synonym are branched off of the primary synonym. These branchings can be interconnected, and they are mobile.You can watch the tutorial videos here. Unfortunately, the service is only free on a trial basis; however, the service is inexpensive ($2.95 per month or $20.00 annually).