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Is there a good english synonym database available in the Internet? I imagine that it should work like a translator: you enter a word and synonyms for this word are displayed.

The reason for asking this: I'm not a native English speaker but I have to write a lot of text in English. I noticed that I tend to use always the same expressions and I think it would be a good thing to for example not always use “that's why” but sometimes “therefore”.

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Google has many results for such a query, though quality sites may be buried under other sites that are better marketed (or more engaged in search engine optimisation).

One main remark: what you are looking for (listings of synonyms and related words) is called a thesaurus (plural: thesauri or thesauruses).

Now, for the sites themselves, I myself am quite fond of:

  • The Merriam-Webster thesaurus
  • The French CNRS online synonym database, which is part of a larger semantic atlas worth exploring:
  • If you own a Mac computer, the Dictionary application (available for free with the operating system) includes the Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, 2nd edition. I use it extensively.
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  • So I removed my google search link and you put it back in ;)
    – mplungjan
    Commented Mar 19, 2011 at 12:06
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http://www.synonym.com/ - in their own words:

Synonyms Thesaurus with Antonyms & Definitions

Synonym.com is the web's best resource for English synonyms, antonyms, and definitions. Type in a word and the synonym finder will come up with a list of synonyms. Check out the most popular online synonym searches to find the right word for any occasion. Use the antonym tool to find find antonyms and check out the definitions feature to read the definition.

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    Strange results from that one. For love it has many synonyms such as sleep together, roll in the hay, get laid, have sex, know, be intimate, have intercourse, screw, fuck, jazz, eff, hump... but it does not have in the list neither affection nor passion or fondness. :)
    – Edwin Ross
    Commented Mar 19, 2011 at 15:46
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    Yeah. Affection does not appear in their dictionary. I should have kept the google search link in there... I was please to find the synonym.com since it looked like it fit the bill exactly. Perhaps we should tell them they need to make love lees of a four letter word ;)
    – mplungjan
    Commented Mar 20, 2011 at 16:19

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