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What is a thesaurus?

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Sometimes you might want to find a different way of saying something. A thesaurus can help you with this.

If you look up a word in a thesaurus it will show you a list of synonyms. These are other words that mean the same thing or something similar.

One of these synonyms might be a better way of saying what you want and you could use it instead.

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Watch: A thesaurus

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How to use a thesaurus

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A thesaurus is set out in alphabetical order, like a dictionary, so you look up words in the same way.

For example, if you wanted to find another word for 鈥榥ice鈥 in a thesaurus:

You start by finding the words beginning with 鈥榥鈥, then 鈥榥-i鈥, then 鈥榥-i-c鈥 until you eventually narrow it down to 鈥榥-i-c-e鈥.

You'll then see lots of other words that mean the same as 'nice' that you can use in your writing, such as 'lovely' or 'pleasant'.

Instead of saying 'The man has a nice smile', you could use a thesaurus to find some more descriptive words.

For example, 'The man has a pleasant smile' paints a clearer picture for your reader.

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Activity 1

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Activity 2

Watch this video about baby animals in spring and complete the activity below.

Now write five sentences about what you saw in the video.

Try and include an adjective (describing word) or adverb (describes a verb) in each sentence.

For example:

The delicate birds sang beautifully.

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Activity 3

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Look back at your five sentences from Activity 2. Underline an adjective or adverb in each sentence.

Now use a thesaurus to find a synonym for each of your underlined words. If you don't have a thesaurus, there are lots online - just search for one to help you.

Write the word in a different colour above or below your original word.

For example:

The delicate birds sang beautifully.

The delicate birds sang delightfully.

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You may need to look for the root word when searching in a thesaurus.

For example, 鈥榖eautifully鈥 might not be there, but 鈥榖eautiful鈥 will be.

You can then change the synonyms you find into adverbs if you need to by adding -ly.

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Play our fun English game Crystal Explorers. game

Use grammar, punctuation and spelling skills to explore jungles, caves and tombs on your mission!

Play our fun English game Crystal Explorers
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